Myths Reawakened

Afterwards, Wayne held the beautiful goddess in his arms and heaved a sigh. “Don’t worry. From now on, you’ll be my only top shareholder. You now outrank the Goddess of Sun.”

Ines glared at him, giving him one chance to rephrase.

“You’re stunning, Ines!”

Next.

“That’s it? I thought you would be more impressive. You’re far worse than Ana.”

“...”

Ines’s eyes twitched. If it wasn’t because She didn’t want to move right now, She would step on his face.

Wayne pulled Her into his arms and kissed Her deeply. “Who did you bet on before me? Another ally? Or Allies?”

My ally is in your eyes. Ines kept the correct answer to herself. “You may not believe it, but Sun and Moonlight are my allies. When Nature targeted them, they sought me for support, and I reluctantly agreed to an alliance.”

Despite the opposition between light and darkness, they were forced to form a steadfast alliance due to outside pressure.

Wayne didn’t believe her. Even disregarding Ines’s calculative mind, Siluk, the Goddess of Moonlight, was no easy prey. The fake friends could only have entered a forced relationship to use each other for their own reasons.

“Is it possible that the Goddess of Death is your ally?” Wayne asked bluntly.

I knew you two were in cahoots! Tell me, did you sleep with her?

Ines’s heart sank. “That’s impossible,” She said impatiently. “Nature took her life. Though she still exists, she won’t be up and about in the near future. Nature won’t give her a chance to start over. I’ll only be hurting myself by allying with a dead goddess.”

“I think She’ll come back,” Wayne said with certainty. Even if the Goddess of Death were no longer, there would be a God of Death. He would thank Nature for Her generous gift.

“Yeah, and then she would die again...”

Their conversation sounded like one between two people speaking different languages. Worried that She would unwittingly expose Herself if She spoke too much, Ines dropped the topic and asked about the demon god of Hell instead.

The change in topic was so forced that Wayne resisted and returned to the course. “I assume that the Goddess of Nature is your common enemy. Because of the Goddess of Death’s demise, you had no choice but to form a united front. It’s just my speculation, though. Aren’t you going to say something to your ally?”

“What are you going to do with the truth?” Ines held Wayne’s chin. “You want the truth? Fine. Once you reach my level, I’ll tell you even if you don’t want to know.”

“Tell me a part of it, at least. I’ve sweated so much for you earlier.”

“...”

“Fine. I’ll make a compromise. Just tell me Death’s and Nature’s real names.”

This was about setting up a precedent so that he could get more answers from Her in the future. This would be far from the only time he slept with Ines. It wouldn’t be too late to interrogate Her after deepening their relationship a few more times.

Aztimor has given you such a big part of her thoughts, even letting you transform her life essence. You must know her name already.

Ines huffed, growing more and more annoyed. She kicked Wayne off the bed.

Wayne was stunned for a moment. Realization dawning on him, he climbed back up and took Ines’s hands, speaking in a sappy tone, “I’m just curious about their names, nothing more. I’m the Darkness Knight, remember? My heart only ever belongs to Darkness.”

Ines couldn’t be bothered to respond to that. “Death’s real name is Aztimor, and Nature’s real name is Elian. Any other questions?”

“Many. I’d like to know—”

“You’ve used up your quotas. It’s now my turn,” Ines cut him off. “I’m asking again, if there is a god in Hell, is Pride the great demon god or not?”

Since Wayne had shut Her up physically earlier, he decided not to retaliate. “He far surpasses all Seven Deadly Sins and possesses a great amount of knowledge on different Sins. I don’t know about when he’s in the human world or Heaven, but in Hell, at least, he might as well be a god. I’m ninety percent sure that he is the great demon god of Hell.”

“And that ten percent?”

“He may be a spy.”

Wayne nodded to himself. Pride was either a spy or the great demon god. There was no third option.

There were important logical links that were missing, so dwelling on the theory would reveal too many inconsistencies. However, Wayne ignored them. Pride had done too many unexplainable things. The First Abyss, Heaven, was especially absurd. He might as well have written ‘angel’ in bold letters on his forehead!

“Ines, we take turns asking questions. It’s now my turn—”

“I’m tired. Let’s call it a day.”

Ines covered his mouth and closed Her eyes in his arms, taking a rest. When he failed to offer sweet words or tighten his arms, She slapped him again.

The goddess was too difficult to understand. Wayne decided to do things in his own way. No actual sleeping was allowed on his bed!

“Bastard, can’t you stop for a second?”

“Get off. Die!”

“Shameless!”

Ines knew Wayne very well. She derisively granted him rewards and, when Bat Demon took down the Lord of Lust, they were still exchanging breaths in a tangled heap of limbs.

***

Around June eighteenth in the Chosen Land, under a deep blue sky with no clouds, a luxury cruise ship floated in the heart of the ocean.

Splash!

Ines kicked Wayne off the ship, sorting out Her clothes. Standing by it, She spat, “Demon, how much longer are you going to stay in Hell? If there’s nothing else, I’m really going to go.”

“Take me with you.” Wayne lay by the ship and spat out seawater. “You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for you in this damn place.”

“If you want to go, why did you reject me?”

“We’re doing business. Why would I, a demon, tell the truth when doing business?”

Ines was speechless. She raised Her hand, about to whisk Wayne away.

“Wait, there is business I need to take care of first.”

Closing his eyes, Wayne piloted Bat Demon to pull out of Lust and issued orders about a few tasks as quickly as he could, including but not limited to the construction of the territory, the creation of familiars, and the cultivation of vassals.

Wayne didn’t plan to bring Lilith with him this time. Instead, he granted her Authority over the Third Abyss and his territory, telling her to do a good job and quickly develop her boss’s business. For the foreseeable future, her boss would be spending time at the Lost Paradise, so she should refrain from seeking him out, even if she had a good reason.

Wayne didn’t have anyone he could trust in Hell. Lilith was his only option. She had to stay in Hell.

Lilith’s wish was to save her home country, which Wayne would grant. Even without her, he would’ve paid Prussia a visit for the evolution of Mechanical Augmentation.

Ines looked at Wayne with curiosity. “What? Are you reluctant to leave Hell because you now see it as home?”

“Somewhat. Pride has made a heavy investment on two conditions: I’m meant to corrupt Heaven and to ensure there are still seven Deadly Sins in Hell.” Wayne closed his eyes and explained. “It’s difficult for me to fulfill the first condition. As I told you last night, I’m really not the Anointed One. I can, however, fulfil the second condition. Pride has spent so much money on me. I have to show him some results.”

“Ha.” Ines didn’t believe him. In Her opinion, Wayne was clearly using Hell as insurance. If he ever found himself cornered, he could hide in Hell.

She would suggest he give up and step on a path of evolution. He either survived on his feet or died on his back. He couldn’t hide forever. Sooner or later, he would have to make a choice for his future.

She smothered a sigh. She had made a bad decision. Was it too late to pivot?

Looking down at the shameless pretty boy, She decided it was probably too late. If She pulled out now, Wayne would surely put on his pants and walk away, pretending that nothing had happened. She couldn’t allow that!

“My goddess, how did you enter Hell? Why are you able to come and go as you wish?” Wayne held onto her long legs and climbed back onto the ship, asking earnestly, “Isn’t there Heaven’s seal on Hell? You didn’t break the seal, did you?”

“Heaven’s seal was created by angels. They aren’t gods. The seal may be able to stop demigods, but not gods. It’s not even an obstacle to me.” Ines smiled at Wayne. “Why are you opening your eyes so widely? Wanna learn?”

Very much. You don’t know how entertaining the council meeting of demon lords could be!

Wayne longed for the Seven Deadly Sins in Hell and the vast knowledge Pride possessed. It would be a shame if this were his first and last trip to Hell. He wanted more. He would like to return to the supermarket to empty the shelves.

“Diligence is a virtue, but why should I teach you?” Ines’s smile deepened, amplifying Her charm.

“I understand.” Wayne let go of Her legs and sprawled on the deck, tilting his head to the side with his eyes closed. As tears streaked down his face, he said, “Do whatever you want, Master. I’m milked dry.”

You’re a man who has slept with the Goddess of Darkness. Can’t you act like one? Don’t you know that I’m regretting my decision because of your frivolity?

You’re incorrigible!

Irritated, Ines stepped on his chest and injected him with threads of dark light that contained the knowledge on space.

Wayne opened his eyes in surprise, taking the delicate foot on his chest. “This isn’t you, Ines. You haven’t named your price.”

“We’ve slept together. Now you’re saying this?”

Ines looked down at him with distaste. Sneering, She lifted Her fair, pinkish foot and shifted it to Wayne’s neck.

The goddess was a great student and learned quickly. After only three days, She was able to take the initiative from him.

Wayne opened his mouth in surprise, waiting for Her foot. She pulled back with disgust, cursing out the pervert silently.

She felt regretful again.

The knowledge that Ines just gave away wasn’t enough to teach Wayne how to leave Hell, but he had already come up with a rudimentary theory before. With Ines leading the way, he would record the data with his thoughts, and the next time, he would be able to find his way here on his own.

“I’m warning you, don’t rush into whatever space you encounter,” Ines said with a scoff. “If you accidentally enter the Divine Realm of Darkness, your good days will come to an end.”

Wayne nodded. “Don’t worry. I won’t let you have your way with me.”

Splash!

With increasingly deep regret, Ines couldn’t help but kick Wayne into the ocean. Closing her eyes, She swayed slightly as Her body faded away, vanishing into thin air.

Bubbles popped up on the surface of the ocean. Capturing the spatial disturbances around Ines, Wayne followed suit and disappeared from Hell.

***

The First Abyss, Heaven.

Within infinite light, Pride, standing before a cross, opened his eyes. His gaze pierced through layers of space and saw the Third Abyss, the City of Decadence.

In his vision, Wayne was fading away, about to leave Hell.

Pride lifted a hand and closed his fingers, but he decided against trapping Wayne at the last minute. Bat Demon was still around. Hell might have gained her Anointed One.

“The Anointed One sees Hell in the Mortal Realm...”

“So that’s how it is. That’s why he was born there rather than Heaven or Hell.”

Pride looked up at the sky blankly, murmuring to himself, “Father, you never told me that there would be an Anointed One... I’m better than him. I can do whatever he can do...”

“If you think I’m not good enough, that I’m not the perfect Anointed One you imagine, why does he take my form in Hell?”

“I envy him!”

Pride raised his voice, his face distorted. After a prolonged moment, he lowered his head and murmured, “I didn’t kill him. I gave him the Seven Deadly Sins and let that corrupt him. I called the corrupted Anointed One Deceit. He will never embody the Seven Sacred Virtues his whole life. The Anointed One you’ve created is a failure!”

“That is my choice rather than yours, or perhaps... it’s part of the future you’ve foreseen...”

“So why?”

“You said that I was your most outstanding child!”

“Father...”