Myths Reawakened

“I don’t care whether you are pure, but you shouldn’t rob him of his purity!”

“You’ve committed a great sin!”

“Heaven is ashamed of you, and demons are proud of you!”

Hestia continued her verbal barrage, her tongue as sharp as a butcher’s cleaver, hacking away Hesione’s dignity relentlessly until the Śār’s face became pale as a sheet. Head bowed, she held onto her shoulders and trembled.

To prevent Hestia from being found dead outside the cathedral with feathers scattered around her the next day, Wayne cleared his throat loudly to interrupt her.

“Enough!” He went up to Hesione and pulled her into his arms. She struggled briefly, but Mona kept her in place. She wasn’t going anywhere.

Hesione had finally figured it out. She must have committed a terrible sin in her past life, something on the scale of destroying the Chosen Land. Because why else would she be leading a life that should end right now?

Seeing Wayne hold his secretary close and comfort her like he was utterly obsessed with her, Hestia’s fury burned hotter. She opened her mouth, “You—”

“I said, enough!” Wayne cut her off, hand curling around Hesione’s shoulder. “Whatever you think of her, she’s innocent. His Horniness is the root of all evil. He was the one who made her bind herself to me through a contract of the Golden Law. He was the one who made her spend days and nights with me under the guise of bestowing a stigma...”

“It was a time when I hadn’t awakened my memories. I was a hot-blooded young man facing a blindly devoted and obedient clergywoman. It was all too easy for me to make a mistake.”

“It was a stormy night. I woke up to answer nature’s call, running into her in the bathroom. Our eyes met, and the air thickened with tension. She averted her gaze, her breath quickening. Then...”

“Anyway, the fault doesn’t lie in her, but me and His Horniness.”

(ꐦ￣皿￣)ง

You’re gonna skip the climax after all that build-up? Juno seethed. Tell the story properly. I’m dying here!

Hestia and Wayne were both important figures, so their conversation left Juno feeling like a background extra, no different from Mona. Neither had any right to speak. No matter how curious Juno was, she could only keep it to herself.

“Damn Pope!” Hestia cursed again, staring at Wayne with gritted teeth. “Even so, you... you’ve now recovered your memories and remembered who you are. You should sever ties with her immediately. That’s the only way for you to preserve your purity.”

“Resorting to self-deception, you mean?” Wayne snorted, looking at the quiet angel in his arms. He slowly said, “After everything, what has happened has happened whether I like it or not. If I abandoned her now, it would prove that I am a hypocritical angel who only cares about my reputation. How would that make me any different from the demons?”

Mona, she’s manipulating me even now, Hesione thought.

You’re imagining things, Mona responded.

“True purity isn’t in the flesh, but in the soul and the character,” Wayne continued. “After weathering her trials, I emerged uncorrupted. I’ve faced reality honestly while never losing my inherent goodness. Who has the right to call me impure then?”

Mo... Fine, whatever, Hesione thought resignedly.

Hestia opened her mouth to say something, but couldn’t find the words. After a moment, she bit out again, “Damn the Pope!”

She threw Hesione a withering glare, who was still nestled in Wayne’s embrace. The Śār was too kind-hearted to push for a breakup. The shameless woman had better watch her back when she went out at night and pray that she never ended up in Hestia’s hands.

Hestia, hot-tempered as she was, wanted nothing more than to kill the secretary when she thought about how the Śār had been tainted—repeatedly. Her eyes were sharp enough to see that Mona was far from pure, but at the same time, she was blind enough that she missed entirely that the clergywoman was, in fact, her superior.

Once Hestia quieted, Wayne guided Hesione back to her VIP seat on his lap, reassuring her, “Don’t worry. Hestia is a good angel, if a little rough around the edges. She means no harm... Isn’t that right, Hestia?”

“...”

“Say it!”

“Hmph!”

Hestia had nothing to say. She glared daggers at the wench instead.

She didn’t quite understand. Angels had no sex, but they had inclinations. She herself leaned feminine when she was still a sexless angel in Heaven. Her superior, Hesione, and Olga, who had reincarnated into Serceris, were the same way. Logically, since she and Olga had reincarnated as female humans, Hesione should have as well.

Hestia couldn’t figure out what had gone wrong to make her superior take the wrong turn, which led to all sorts of complications. Still, it could’ve been worse. At least as a man, the Śār would still be salvageable. The wench sticking to him, on the other hand, had no redeeming value.

Hestia consoled herself that at least it was Wayne rather than his secretary. If Mona were the Śār, the demons in Hell would laugh themselves to death. Hellish jokes would no longer be the trend, and heavenly jokes would top the comedy rankings for ten thousand years.

Hestia’s pointed huffs were dripping with sarcasm.

“Make one more sound, and I’ll pull out your tongue!” Wayne threatened. “Tell me, what are Pedro’s and Serceris’s real names in Heaven?”

“You’ve heard already?” Hestia frowned, shooting Juno a displeased look. She knew that the opportunist couldn’t be trusted.

Juno groaned. She was just a nobody who couldn’t afford to offend either of them. What was she supposed to do?

Hestia glared at Juno with the focused intent of someone trying to kill a person with her eyes alone. It took Juno a moment to catch on. “Wayne, I just remembered something important—my fiancé is about to give birth. If there’s nothing urgent here, I’ll head back to accompany her.”

“Let me be clear, your fiancé isn’t pregnant with my child.”

“...”

You sure this is an awakened angel? Or is this how all high-ranking angels are like?

Juno had a lot of questions she didn’t dare voice, especially not to Hestia. She made a quick retreat from the opera house with her head bowed and her gaze downcast.

“Remember what I said,” Wayne called out at her back. “Don’t say what you shouldn’t say, or you’ll regret it once you make it to Heaven!”

After the warning, he turned back to meet Hestia’s eyes.

Hestia was still dissatisfied—mainly with Mona. When Wayne said nothing, she stayed quiet, too. They stared at each other silently.

Hesione was desperate to learn Pedro’s real name. It was maddening to see Wayne play dumb. She discreetly pinched him on the waist.

Wayne didn’t react. You want a horse to run, but won’t give it hay. Is this how Heaven conducts business?

Hesione was caught between mortification and fury. With Mona serving as Wayne’s accomplice, she couldn’t do anything to him. She had no choice but to speak in a soft voice, “Boss, this angel is a good angel, so you should resolve your differences and get to business.”

Wayne’s eyes went wide. It was his first time hearing Hesione speak in that sweet, cutesy voice. She had been making cutting remarks, scoffing and huffing. Though that was what he preferred, hearing the Śār speak in a soft voice had a different appeal. He almost felt like his soul was leaving his body.

More. I like it!

And don’t just talk. You know what I want.

Hesione was nearly losing her mind. She steeled herself and stomped, pressing her lips to Wayne’s cheek.

Actually, it was more of a bite than a kiss.

“Don’t be angry, Boss,” she said in the same saccharine tone. “You’re both good people.”

“Shut up, who told you to kiss him?! Have you no shame?!” Hestia snapped unthinkingly. “You’re a clergywoman. Don’t you know dignity and shame?”

(▔皿▔)

Just wait until we get back to Heaven! Hesione hissed silently. Her face, buried in Wayne’s chest, was distorted. She wanted nothing more than to kill Hestia right this moment, staging a scene that made it look like it was done by a demon.

Wayne said nothing. Only after Hestia was finished with her insult did he manually manipulate his face into a scowl. “Are you done? My patience has limits. I like her, a lot. If you don’t learn to control yourself, don’t blame me for punishing you for it!”

Hestia’s expression crumbled, eyes misting up with tears. “Śār, she’s just an ordinary clergywoman, while you and I have known each other for years. Besides... I’m protecting your purity.”

“I’ve lost my purity long ago.”

“It’s not too late. No one would know as long as she’s gone.”

Good lord, you can’t just say that!

Feeling the angel in his arms go still, like she was lost in thought, Wayne launched into a lecture about facing reality and staying loyal to those around you. Forget purity. One shouldn’t abandon someone after receiving their goodwill.

“Do you even hear yourself, Hestia? Killing an innocent person for reputation? How’s that different from a demon’s way? Do you want to push Śār Hesione to fall to Hell and become the eighth demon lord? Will you finally stop then?”

“I’m not—that’s not what I meant—”

“Then stop pointing fingers at my secretary!” Wayne scoffed, lifting Hesione’s chin and having Mona open her mouth and activate the stigma at the tip of her tongue. “See? She’s remarkable. Because of our contract and the union of our bodies and souls, she’s able to embody my divine power and all of the Golden Law. If you get into a fight, you may not be her match.”

“Impossible. I’m not her match?”

Hestia wouldn’t accept that. She had started out as a clerk in charge of logistics and accounting in the office, but to get closer to Hesione, she had joined the legion of angels and followed Hesione into battle. She was a powerful angel who had survived Heaven’s bloody battles with Hell. The wench shouldn’t even be compared to her. Just because she was the Śār’s secretary and had been baptized by him, she, a mortal, was supposedly stronger than Hestia?

How laughable. She wasn’t laughing at all!

“If you don’t believe me, you’re welcome to test it.” Wayne patted Hesione on the shoulder. After being on the receiving end of insults the whole night, she must have a lot of bottled-up grievances to vent.

Hesione shook her head slightly, brows furrowed. “Lady Angel is too powerful,” she said softly. “How could I possibly be her match? What if I get hurt? It would hurt a lot.”

(꒪⌓꒪;)

Uh oh, the Śār wants to kill her!

Wayne slapped her on the backside and snapped, “Nobody’s getting hurt. Hestia knows where the line is. If she crosses it, I’ll punish her. That goes for you, too. Understood?”

Hesione shot Wayne a disgruntled look. Before she could reply, Hestia laughed out loud and snarked, “Please don’t worry. She’s just a mortal who’s only gained power because of your grace. I won’t take my frustrations out on her. After all... she’s filthy. I don’t want to touch such a tainted body!”

Hesione pressed her face firmly against Wayne’s chest, her shoulders shaking.

Wayne despaired. Hestia’s triumphant look convinced him that she was done for. He made a cross sign and scoffed, “What do you mean? That my holy water is filth?”

“No, that’s not what I—I just meant—”

Hestia scrambled to explain, but couldn’t. She thus redirected the blame to the secretary. “It’s her. She polluted your holy water.”

Wayne fell silent. He took it back. Now Hestia really was done for.

Once he stopped speaking, Hesione looked up and kissed him on the face with a meaningful look.

Unfold your damn vitality field right now, at once!