Myths Reawakened

“Hesione, you can run away from reality, but you can’t run away from the consequences of running away from reality. We’re both Śārim. You can fool others, but not me. Mikhael and the others can see the truth, too.”

Auriel scoffed. “Same with the Seven Demon Lords in Hell. Do you think you can fool them?”

Hesione stayed quiet while telepathically urging Wayne to respond. The culprit should take responsibility, so he shouldn’t be enjoying the show.

“Hesione, you’re willing to let me take responsibility?” Wayne responded in pleasant surprise.

Hesione didn’t say anything. She had thought about that—or rather, Mona had. If she couldn’t return to Heaven, she would stay by Wayne’s side as his secretary; if she had to return to Heaven, she would take Wayne with her, making him a higher-tier angel. Simply put, he had to stay with her!

But that was no longer viable. Wayne was the Anointed One and the Heavenly Father’s successor. She was no longer good enough for her incredibly important little brother.

“Speak, Hesione!”

“You have my divine power and stigma, so you can fool lower-tier angels beneath my status,” Hesione said, changing the subject. “The three other Śārim, the three Cherubim with special status, and the Seven Demon Lords, however, you cannot fool.”

The Seven Demon Lords and the other three Śārim were self-explanatory. The three Cherubim, though, required further explanation.

Hell had the Seven Deadly Sins, and Heaven had the corresponding Seven Sacred Virtues. The four Śārim were Mikhael, representing humility, Hesione, representing purity, Auriel, representing generosity, and Lahr, representing tolerance. As there were only four Seraphim, not enough to fill all seven virtues, three powerful Cherubim were bestowed the unique status.

Milia represented diligence, Gerar, temperance, and Virkku, gentleness.

The Seven Sacred Virtues were the Golden Law of Angels, also known as the Logos of the Seven Virtues, corresponding to the Divine Comedy of the Seven Deadly Sins. The seven angels held the core power of Heaven, just like the Seven Demon Lords in Hell.

The Heavenly Father’s power did not exist in Heaven!

Hesione quickly listed the thirteen beings Wayne wouldn’t be able to deceive, warning him that even if he could deceive Auriel, there would be twelve other beings waiting for his lie.

“How troublesome. I’m a terrible liar. If I had known that I would have to lie to the entire world after sleeping with you, I would’ve resisted...” Wayne mumbled. Sensing Hesione’s burning ire, he hurriedly amended, “Running away is useful and not as shameful as Auriel said. Just stay put. I’ll take care of him.”

He cleared his throat. Once Auriel turned to him impatiently, he said, “You’re the one running away from reality, Auriel. Both you and I know who the real Hesione is. Why wouldn’t you admit it? What are you plotting?”

“What?!” Auriel laughed with fury. He would see how the pretty boy was going to talk his way out of this.

Thinking back, he had been too busy being shocked and amused that he neglected an important fact—Hesione’s personality!

Given Hesione’s loyalty to Heaven and bone-deep honor, she shouldn’t have forgiven the man who had defiled her after awakening. Even if she was going to forgive an ignorant culprit, she would at most allow him to live. The Hesione he knew wouldn’t have kept the man around, pushing her already tainted purity further toward corruption.

The stigma on Wayne’s tongue, for example, was so finely crafted that she had obviously made it with prolonged tongue action.

Hesione shouldn’t have been capable of that. That was more the style of the Lord of Lust!

Auriel was curious what it was about Wayne that could’ve made Hesione show him special treatment. It couldn’t be because he was good in bed. Angels didn’t have base desires like that, and they would never unwisely look for love.

There had to be something special about the human, or Hesione would’ve burned him to ashes with sacred flames.

“Stop twisting the truth, Auriel. Look at you. You represent generosity, but not long after your descent to the human world, you’ve put aside your virtue and become consumed by power and ambition.” Wayne reprimanded Auriel with disappointment before narrowing his eyes and saying, “You have fallen!”

The unwitting onlookers, Olga, Fred, and Hestia, cautiously took two steps back. They couldn’t figure out who the real Śār Hesione was, but they could tell that the power struggle between the Śārim had become an open conflict. It wasn’t a conflict they could take part in.

Following their example, Hesione stepped back, too. If even Thrones weren’t powerful enough to get involved, a mere clergywoman named Mona certainly should stay away.

“Human, are you being serious?” Auriel squinted. “Impersonating an angel—especially a Śār—could land you in Hell!”

In his right eye, his sclera and pupil were replaced by a golden cross stigma. Hesione’s stigma resembled a cross-shaped greatsword with an extended crossguard that was also a scale. Her fellow Śār, Auriel, had a unique stigma, too. It was a lance with extended wings.

What a handsome reincarnated angel. He’s almost as handsome as I am!

Wayne approved silently. Times were changing. Angels no longer descended in bizarre forms that were beyond verbal descriptions. They had learned from the demons and presented themselves as good-looking, idol-like men and women. No longer would they scare their followers into screaming.

“I’m not impersonating anyone. I am Hesione!” Wayne straightened his back, opening his mouth to reveal the stigma on the tip of his tongue.

“That’s fake,” Auriel said contemptuously. “It’s bestowed upon you by Hesione. The real stigma is on her.”

“You got it wrong,” Wayne said in the same derisive tone. “Mine is the actual stigma, while hers is a gift from me.”

“You—”

“I what? Don’t think I didn’t know what you’re planning,” Wayne interrupted him, sneering. “This clergywoman is Mona, a secretary assigned to me by His Horniness. I don’t have to tell you what he’s planning. As fellow reincarnated angels, you know as well as I do.”

“Mona is impure but pure. She’s impure because she’s lost her purity, but she’s pure because the one taking her purity from her is me, a Śār.”

“As a clergywoman, she’s given her all to her devoted faith, which she shouldn’t be faulted for.”

“If you must frame her as Hesione, that would mean the Śār of purity has committed a great sin and become a humiliation of Heaven, making her the laughingstock of Hell!”

Hesione lowered her head to hide her eyerolls. Enough already. She was reflecting on herself.

Also, was he on her side or not?

“Auriel, we’ve descended to the human world to look for our future leader. There are too many people here that I’d rather not put some things into words. If you want all reincarnated angels to listen to your orders, I, Hesione, will willingly step back. Except for my old subordinate, Frey, all other reincarnated angels will be yours to command. However...”

Wayne’s voice hardened. “You shouldn’t resort to false accusations. It’ll only give Hell a reason to celebrate. Your desire for power has corrupted you. That saddens me. You have fallen.”

Hestia showed contempt—at Auriel. How could the two Śārim be so different? Look at the Śār she admired. He could keep his head high because he had done nothing wrong. In comparison, Auriel might as well be projecting the Seven Deadly Sins, a demon in the human world.

Wayne’s righteous exclamation had swayed Olga and Fred, too. It was true that Auriel had reincarnated not to look for the Anointed One, but to use the Anointed One to reaffirm his authority. He had indeed undergone some change in pursuit of power.

Fred was Auriel’s subordinate, and Olga was temporarily under Auriel’s command. Since they were on his side, they didn’t voice their thoughts, keeping their heads bowed and their ears closed.

Clearly, they had become convinced that Wayne was Śār Hesione, and Auriel had ‘accidentally’ misidentified him for power.

Sensing that, Auriel scowled darkly. How shameless one had to be to call white black and make the plaintiff the defendant?

Then came an even worse accusation. Hesione turned to him furiously with wide eyes, projecting a justified rage.

Shameless! You’ve truly fallen, Hesione! Auriel snarled in his head.

Wayne not only didn’t give him a chance to defend himself, but even pressed his advantage, “Auriel, it’s fine if you don’t want to admit the truth, but there’s a question I hope you’ll answer honestly.”

He pointed at Hesione. “Tell me, is she pure?”

“Absolutely not!”

“Then tell me, if she were Hesione, how would the demons react?”

“The Seven Demon Lords would have a field day and spread the news far and wide, making sure that it reaches the human world. Heaven’s reputation will hit rock bottom, and its glory will be gone.”

“Well said, Auriel. That’s the price of your fight for power.” Wayne pointed at his own chest, keeping his head high. “With the glory and reputation of Heaven at stake, swear on your determination to fight Hell and demons. Tell me honestly, who is Śār Hesione?”

(는‸는)

You’re asking a question with only one right answer! Why should I be Heaven’s public enemy when it’s you and Hesione’s fault for sleeping together?

An honest answer? With the talk about Heaven and Earth, you’re forcing me to lie against my conscience!

“Don’t hesitate, Auriel,” Wayne declared. “Give me your answer. The Seven Demon Lords are waiting to high-five and hug you!”

Auriel was put between a rock and a hard place. If he told the truth, he would be an ally to the demons, so it was better not to.

“Speak, Auriel!”

“I-I may have seen it wrong...” Auriel closed his eyes, feeling ashamed of his ‘lies’.

It once again proved that there was no difference in factions in Heaven when it came to Hell. For Hesione’s purity, even Mikhael, the Viceroy of Heaven, would lead by example and lie.

“You’ve seen wrong?” Wayne scoffed. “Ha, I didn’t want to expose you, but you obviously did it for power.”

“Don’t push your luck, brat!” Auriel glared at him. “I’ve only lied for the reputation of Heaven. The Golden Law will prove that I haven’t been corrupted by power.”

“Really? Then are you going to keep your authority over the reincarnated angels? Are you going to keep looking for the Anointed One?”

“Even without the authority, I’ll still complete my mission. The two matters are separate.”

“So you don’t want it, do you?”

“Hmph, I don’t have time for your nonsense!”

“See, you want to have your cake and eat it too.”

“...”

Auriel seethed. He strongly suspected that Hesione’s purity had been claimed by a demon. Taking two deep breaths to suppress his fury, he turned to Hesione and said, “You’re no longer qualified to lead the reincarnated angels or complete the mission. I’ll keep your secret safe in the human world, but once you’re back to Heaven, Viceroy Mikhael will judge you. Treasure your time here...”

“Or stay in the human world and never return to Heaven!”

“Who are you looking at?” Wayne put his hands on his hips. “I’m Hesione.”

“Indeed, you’re Hesione,” Auriel said flatly. “You’re the Śār who represents purity. I’ll insist on that before demons.”

“In that case, you’ll be the leader of the reincarnated angels,” Wayne responded. “As far as the Papal State is concerned, I’ll stay away, so you should refrain from seeking me out.”

“You’d better!”

Auriel coldly turned around and left with his two subordinates.

After taking two steps, he paused and said, “Hesione, I detected the Lord of Envy’s presence. The Gate of Hell has opened by a crack. I hope that you still remember your past honor and will join me to foil the demons’ ambitions.”

No one responded.

Under Hesione’s urging, Wayne took one big step forward and declared, “I’ll say the same to you, Auriel. I hope you haven’t forgotten your honor and won’t use me to bait demons for your pursuit of power.”

Are you done? Auriel raged. All the good lines belong to you, don’t they?