Myths Reawakened

Betrayal!

Infidelity!

Deceit!

Deception!

Wayne squinted. What do you mean that some of the sins suit me? What do betrayal and infidelity have to do with me? And calling me deceitful and deceptive is slander!

Envy is right. There is no fairness and justice in Hell. Truths are twisted, and the culprits point fingers at the victims. The objective facts are not valued here!

The Book of Greed had things to say. It would like Wayne to stop getting hung up on Pride’s truthful accusations. It was getting impatient!

You don’t even know how the word patience is spelled. I’m getting framed by a demon, and my reputation is on the line. I need to get the facts straight.

So are you digging in or not?

I am.

Under the four demon lords’ hungry gazes, Wayne picked the thickest book for the biggest portion. “I pick Deceit.”

Deceit, a new addition to the Seven Deadly Sins!

“Are you sure? I think betrayal, infidelity, and deception suit you more.” Pride smiled at Wayne. “Deceit works, too. You may not know, but ever since your birth, the Book of Hell representing Deceit has been growing thicker.”

Ha, twisting the truth again! Wayne thought.

Pride, should you be insulting yourself like this? x3

Lust, who knew the truth, looked at the four Books of Hell with longing. She hoped that she could chat Pride up and acquire three or four books to further her study, but on second thought, Pride seemed disinterested in her. She would have to seek out Bat Demon to fulfil her dream.

Bat Demon wasn’t a good option, though. He only ever filled her in one way, and afterwards, he would shamelessly say that he had made a big investment in her.

Pride’s eyes glinted with black light. The four projected Books of Hell before Wayne vanished. Before the black veil faded away from the sky, two sinful books lowered to Wayne and Pride’s replica.

“One titled Deceit, and one titled Fear...” Pride said. “The new Seven Deadly Sins will henceforth be Pride, Envy, Deceit, Sloth, Greed, Fear, and Lust. Bat Demon will be Deceit, replacing Wrath, and my replica will be Fear, replacing Gluttony.”

The replacements applied to the territories in Hell and the Abyss. The two layers of the Abyss would welcome new masters and new names.

Pride dismissed Deceit and Fear with a wave, leaving them pondering the changes on their own. The trivial matters weren’t his concern.

“Um, I have a question,” Wayne said curiously. “The Seven Deadly Sins and the Seven Sacred Virtues correspond to each other, but the two new Deadly Sins do not have counterparts among the Sacred Virtues now. What should be done about that?”

His obsessive tendency was complaining.

“That’s simple. Just have Heaven change the names of the Sacred Virtues!” Pride said like it was the obvious thing to do.

As expected of you. Your pride is amazing. x5

Taking the Book of Hell for Deceit, Wayne had officially become one of the Seven Demon Lords, and Pride’s replica was now named Fear. According to Pride, any demon was entitled to challenge the Lord of Fear. If anyone won, they would take Fear’s place.

That would be more difficult than Pride defeating Heaven with this band of vermin. None of the great demon lords believed Pride; Wayne was no exception.

“That concludes today’s meeting. Deceit, quickly get your—hey, I’m talking to you, Deceit!” Pride huffed at Wayne, disapproving of his lack of awareness. “Stop frequenting the Lost Paradise and renovate your Third Abyss as soon as possible. I’ll give you three days. Do you understand?”

Are you really going to make the Anointed One a permanent resident in Hell? Wayne gave in. Since Pride had gifted him four and a third Books of Hell, he would keep his comment to himself. Such a generous investor wasn’t easy to come by. He couldn’t afford to piss him off.

He had to say, a demon investor was much more reliable than the goddesses and angels.

This trip hadn’t been in vain. He should’ve come to Hell sooner!

***

The Land of Cycles, Third Abyss.

After Wrath’s demise, the Abyss that belonged to him hadn’t been razed down and reconstructed. The hostile environments of blood lakes, poisonous forests, deserts, and tundras remained, awaiting their new master’s judgment. Whether they would stay and what they would become would be the Lord of Deceit’s decision.

Wayne scratched his head, looking down at the space the head and tail of which were connected like an ouroboros. “Nice idea. The new Third Abyss will have the same structure, but I’m not interested in wastelands like these. Any suggestions?”

“...”

“Lilith, speak!”

“Oh! Oh? Oh...”

Lilith’s mouth was open in an O. She gaped at Bat Demon blankly, still reeling from the shock.

Her master had suddenly become a great demon lord and one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

The fact that Wrath and Gluttony had met a sudden death, leading to a significant shift in the political landscape in Hell, didn’t matter as much to her. She was a nobody, and the two great demon lords’ deaths didn’t concern her. What truly concerned her was her master’s sudden promotion and her sudden rise in status as a result of it.

“Any suggestions?”

“Um...”

“Go stand in the corner.”

“Yeah.”

Wayne dismissed Lilith to do the thinking on her own. In three days, he would like to see a hundred thousand words on how the Land of Deceit should be developed.

Auriel was generous, but Pride, even more so. He had given all of Wrath’s inheritance to Wayne, including but not limited to Wrath’s territory in Hell and the Third Abyss.

The vast territory granted him a powerful Authority, and his power in Hell thus underwent another significant growth. He could take on all great demon lords... save for Pride.

Of course, he could’ve done that before, just not as easily.

While he hadn’t been able to defeat Envy, he had managed to bring down Lust with Bat Demon’s help. Under Bat Demon’s torrential assault, Lust had many times entered Heaven’s gate under the impact of the great storm and rain. Sometimes, she couldn’t get back out until much later.

[Smug Cat.jpg]

Again, there is no Bat Demon! Only you! Just you! Bat Demon would’ve argued if he were sentient enough to argue.

After Wrath and Gluttony met their demise, the soldier factories on their territories and their vassals had vanished, including their creations and familiars.

Wayne, the Lord of Deceit, had taken Wrath’s territory and become neighbors with the Lord of Fear. He had no time to manage the territory, so Lilith was put fully in charge.

What? A cultural and artistic soldier[1] turned spy didn’t know management? The leader didn’t care. If she couldn’t take care of the territory, he would take care of her. She would find a way on her own!

Lilith sighed. Her superior seemed to harbor misunderstandings about her. She didn’t really mind getting involved with him and had only been playing along because he liked his nonsensical punishment game.

Being a subordinate was hard. Writing a hundred thousand words in three days? Not even Franc had tormented her like that.

As expected of a demon.

Lilith started drafting the development plan in her quiet corner while Wayne looked down at the territory, stroking his chin. “The seven layers of the Abyss should correspond to the Seven Deadly Sins, featuring the sins heavily. The Lost Paradise is a good example. Whenever Bat Demon messes around there, I feel sinful in his stead...”

“Wrath’s Land of Cycles is the same. It cycles through environments that bring despair to inflict an inescapable pain that cannot be overcome. The idea is sophisticated...”

“It’s lacking in innovation, though. It’s no Lost Paradise!”

Wayne regarded the Lost Paradise highly. Among the Abysses he had seen, only the Lost Paradise and Heaven caught his eye. All the others were stereotypically grim, dark, and hellish. That was the wrong approach!

“To make one see their sin, an Abyss first has to lure people in. With attention comes following, and only with following could people be made to realize their mistakes...”

“Tsk, I have to praise the Lost Paradise again. That’s terrible. I didn’t want to do it.”

“Speaking of which, what’s with the First Abyss, Heaven? What sin would one feel in there? I heard that Pride keeps a bunch of angels in his Abyss... Does he miss home after being undercover for so long?”

Wayne shook away his questions. Thinking of his ideal of an Abyss that would challenge one’s weakness and make one reflect on oneself, he made quick work of modifying the Third Abyss.

The Lord of Deceit was the Third Abyss’s new master, enjoying a supreme Authority. He could be considered the god of this land. All of Wayne’s thoughts could be manifested into reality there.

First, a sandy beach under warm sunlight, sitting right beside a blue ocean. This would make sure that he—all demons who came to challenge their weaknesses would get to enjoy the scenery.

Then, buildings rose to different heights to form an endless cycle of amusement park, opera house, cinema, luxury restaurant, bar, private club, holiday hotel, hospital, school, church, office building, airport... All proper establishments. There were no casinos, opium dens, or other inappropriate businesses. The Lord of Deceit meant it when he swore zero tolerance for gambling and addiction.

“All done. The only thing missing is the succubi!”

“They aren’t necessary. I heard that Pride has female vampires in his territory, and Envy has catwomen. I’ll invite some of them to do an internship here for work experience. I won’t charge them for the storefronts and the education...”

“Oh, there were dragon and wolf waifus in Wrath’s territory before. I wonder if they’re gone. If not, they can work here!”

“Wait, I’ve replaced Wrath and claimed dragons and wolves as my representations. I can create dragon and wolf waifus on my own...”

“This will work!” Wayne nodded to himself and rubbed his hands together, getting excited about the idea. “That’s it! The Third Abyss, the City of Decadence!”

Now he was getting into it. He was ready to head to his territory to build the City of Decadence as soon as possible. After a trial period, he could open it to the public.

“The trial has to be done with care. I can’t entrust the work to anyone else if I want to ensure the quality. I don’t want them to undermine my credibility.”

“I have to try more times to make sure nothing will go wrong. Can’t be too careful.”

Wayne nodded to himself. As everyone knew, he was a perfectionist. If something didn’t meet his standards during the trial period, he would try again. He would not open the Abyss to the Heavenly Fathers visiting it until it was perfect.

Grinning, he turned to rush to his territory, but as soon as he turned around, he fell into darkness, his vision going pitch black.

Wayne froze rather than pulling back immediately. He knew this impressive embrace. This couldn’t be Lilith. And the fragrance...

It was his white moonlight!!!

“How much longer are you going to stay on top of me—”

“Hey, I’m talking to you! Stop sucking!”

1. In China’s PLA, there are soldiers specialized in performances and promotional activities. ☜