Myths Reawakened

The two demon lords sprang into action furiously, their auras surging and wreathing their massive bodies in thick, rolling black mist.

From the depths of the darkness, two colossal figures loomed over all, gazing down like gods. To meet their demonic eyes was to hear thunder crack beside one’s ears. Thoughts would shatter, and the mind would go utterly blank.

Ottilia’s face paled. The crushing pressure made it impossible to breathe, as though she were sinking into a bog. Every movement was an exhausting struggle.

Hestia, disguised as Regina, put on a convincing display of terror.

Wayne was also going to play the part of a frightened man, but the two demon lords’ target was the two angels. His plan hinged on sending Hestia, taking the form of Regina, deep into enemy territory to locate the processing plant of the Philosopher’s Stone fragments. With everything on the line, he couldn’t let the act fall apart.

So what if they’re demon lords? I’m fighting you.

Wayne stepped forward. Two pale arms extended from his back, and with the grinding turn of mechanical gears, a pair of gleaming metal cannons locked into position over his shoulders.

Having absorbed a large number of Philosopher’s Stone fragments, the Mechanical Augmentation he had grasped was formidable. With the Pale Knight’s buff, he could hold his own against two weakened demon lords.

“Bastard...”

The wolf-headed Wrath seethed with blazing crimson eyes. Ever since they descended into Prussia, the demon lords’ authority had been steadily declining. Here, every soul followed Führer Hidler; the title of the demon lords carried no weight whatsoever.

It was one thing for the marshals of the three armed forces to be assertive. They were allies, and the demon lords acknowledged their strength. But how dared a mere major bare his teeth at them?

“Wrath, don’t lower yourself by picking a fight with a major,” Gluttony suddenly said. The tiger-headed demon reeled his aura back in and continued in a cold tone, “Prussia is our ally. Given how well our partnership has been going, let’s follow the rules of the mortal world for a little longer.”

“What?” Wrath stared in disbelief, suspecting that Gluttony had eaten his own brain. Nothing else would explain the dimwitted suggestion.

“The angels are destined to be ours. Why does it matter if we wait a little?” Gluttony said before walking away.

Wrath followed after a bemused moment, an unreadable look on his face.

The two returned to the projected abyss. Once there, Wrath let his fury fall away. His eyes went glacial. “This country lacks reverence for life. I don’t like it here.”

“What do you suggest then? Open the Gates of Hell?” Gluttony said calmly. “You and I both know that Prussia doesn’t care about Hell’s power. They only manufacture vessels for demon lords as a smokescreen, concealing the true source of their power. Without sufficient followers and proper sacrificial rituals, neither of us can truly descend, nor can we open the gates.”

Prussia had initiated a specialized project to study Hell and mass-produce vessels for demon lords. Some time ago, Gluttony and Wrath had detected vessels for them appearing in the mortal world. With nothing better to do, they came to toy with humanity and kill time.

They hadn’t expected the surprise that Prussia had in store: Mechanical Augmentation, a new evolution path that they had never seen before.

They knew how valuable the evolution path was. Its potential was limitless, with a real possibility of reaching godhood. To prevent other demon lords from stealing it, the two joined forces to lock down the place and prevent any information leak.

Just when the two demon lords were about to force their way in, the marshals of the three armed forces arrived and gave them a little taste of mechanical prowess.

According to them, there existed a more powerful individual who had advanced further down the path. Who it was, the marshals didn’t say, and the demon lords didn’t ask. They didn’t care. They just wanted to know where Prussia had obtained the evolution path. Just as Wayne had failed to deduce the answer, the two demon lords couldn’t figure out who was pulling the strings from the shadows.

The temptation of godhood was too great. Wrath and Gluttony were unwilling to leave, so they returned to Prussia periodically, biding their time and waiting for an opportunity to seize the path for themselves.

They knew that Prussia hadn’t been studying Hell and manufacturing vessels because they coveted Hell’s power; Hell was simply a red herring to draw attention away while they developed Mechanical Augmentation in the shadows.

To go from fearsome demon lords to guard dogs, and even being used as someone else’s weapon, Gluttony and Wrath found the indignity intolerable.

But godhood was right within reach. If they missed this chance, who could tell when the next chance would come? Compared to waiting an eternity in infinite boredom, swallowing a little humiliation was nothing.

Let them walk all over us for now. They’ll pay with interest one day!

With that thought in mind, the two demon lords started studying Mechanical Augmentation and managed to steal fragments of knowledge, sending them back to Hell for research.

They hadn’t rushed to learn and master it themselves. Power was neither good nor evil, but power had an owner. Until they found out who Mechanical Augmentation belonged to, neither was going to make a rash move.

They would find the owner and kill them to claim the path as theirs!

That was the demon lords’ real plan. Until then, there was nothing they couldn’t endure.

“The more I think about it, the angrier I get,” Wrath said icily. “I don’t understand how you stand it. What, is eating shit also part of your diet?”

Gluttony sneered. “Compared to an infinite future, every moment of the present is becoming the past. Why should I get angry?”

They might be smiling, but they were cursing in their heads. The Seven Deadly Sins were, at their core, one and the same. Gluttony was beyond furious as well.

“What did you make of the major?” Gluttony asked.

“He’s powerful,” Wrath said darkly. “Though he’s an unfamiliar face, he gave me the impression that I couldn’t take him down quickly. Prussia has been developing far too fast.”

“Funny, that’s exactly how I felt.” Gluttony’s expression was grim. “Where we’re not looking, the faith of Mechanical Augmentation has grown at a terrifying rate, to the point that we cannot defeat it without our true forms.”

“Aren’t you exaggerating?”

“If that’s a major, what about the marshals of the three armed forces? What about the being who actually holds the faith?”

“...”

The logic was sound. Wrath couldn’t argue against it.

Indeed, if a mere major posed that much of a threat, they would have to descend in their true forms to seize the evolution path, and they had to do it quickly. If they dragged things on a little longer, even their true forms might suffer a one-sided defeat.

“Gluttony, what’s your plan?”

“We can’t descend in our true forms unless we break Heaven’s seal, but if we don’t descend in our true forms, we’ll only be losing our thoughts bit by bit in vain.” Gluttony narrowed his eyes. “It would be best if we could pit the Church of Heavenly Father against Prussia. The angels are already here and have even been corrupted by Mechanical Augmentation. If the news gets out, we’ll have muddied the water if not secured the victory halfway.”

“The church moves too slowly.” Wrath frowned. “I have a better idea. A native of the Abyss is visiting, Solsknar. He follows Darkness. We could use him to test the water.”

Gluttony understood the intention: use Solsknar as a scout to stir up trouble and locate the source of the Mechanical Augmentation. Then the two of them would strike at the perfect moment and seize all the knowledge for themselves. However...

“It’s viable, but think about it carefully. Why would a native of the Abyss who has embraced Darkness suddenly return to Hell? What is his purpose?”

“To become a god, in Hell.”

“Kekekeke—” x2

“If it were so easy for a god to be born in Hell, the Seven Demon Lords would’ve already ascended. These outsiders are each more arrogant than the last, convinced that fate favors them—as if the Seven Demon Lords are fools who chose to be complacent.”

“Isn’t that better? Let them keep that arrogance!”

They exchanged a glance and came to an agreement. The plan was sound. They deliberated further, “Solsknar wants the Seven Deadly Sins and a territory. We can give him those, but he has to destroy the city of Berlo and open the Gates of Hell in Prussia.”

“He won’t do it, will he?”

“Of course not. He’ll do just enough to look busy and fail a second before the gates open.”

“That’s good enough!”

“I’ll seek him out.”

“How about the two angels?”

“Leave them be. What is ours will always be ours.”

That’s right. What’s mine will always be mine in the end. x2

***

Meanwhile, Wayne had left Regina, wearing Hestia’s skin, in the holding cell. He, on the other hand, returned to his office with his two succubus secretaries. He made a call and waited for his superiors’ reply.

“Boss, sending Regina in like that... Won’t she be in danger?” Ottilia asked worriedly.

“It’s because it’s dangerous that I turn her into Lust incarnate.” Wayne took her hand and gave her a tender, adoring look. “You know me. I always worry most about you.”

“Boss, would you stop sweet-talking me with this face?” Ottilia pulled her hand back uneasily. “It makes me feel like I’m having an affair, that I’m a terrible cheater.”

Wayne shifted back into his own appearance. “Better?”

“Now it feels like you’re a cheater piloting several relationships,” Ottilia deadpanned.

Wayne rolled his eyes, reclaiming her hand to pull her into his arms for a deep kiss. “Worry not,” he murmured against her lips. “My thoughts are connected to Regina’s at all times. With me watching over her, she’ll come out of danger just fine. Your bestie won’t suffer.”

“You’ve been treating her better and better.”

“Have I?”

“Yes, ever since you met her twin sister.”

“Ah, well...”

Wayne exchanged flirtatious glances with his secretary. The air was so thick with scumminess that one could cut through it.

Hestia couldn’t bear to look. She didn’t understand how that angel turned out like this. What happened to his purity?

Hell had its Seven Deadly Sins. Heaven, on the other hand, had its Seven Sacred Virtues.

Hestia suspected that Wayne was the mortal reincarnation of Śār Hesione, and that he had already awakened. Why, then, would the Śār of purity become so thoroughly impure in the human world?

He first wielded the Seven Deadly Sins with ease, and then he manipulated people’s hearts masterfully. He deceived women without difficulty and locked Hestia in a basement, trying to make her fall and become a succubus.

Not a single one of those things had anything to do with purity. Had the Śār fallen? Or had he been repressed for so long in Heaven that the moment he came to the mortal realm, he simply... let go?

Hestia’s eyes lit up. Of course. That would explain why the Śār refused to admit it, even though he’d clearly awakened. He felt ashamed. He still wanted to maintain his dignity!

“Hey, you over there. What are you mumbling about?” Wayne looked over with a frown. “I have a feeling that you’re having rude thoughts. My secretary is undergoing hardship in your place, so you’ll be taking over her work. That’s not a problem, is it?”

Have you forgotten that I once served as your secretary back in Heaven? Hestia kept her comment to herself. Setting aside the inconvenient facts, Wayne was the Śār she had long admired. Returning to her old post was exactly what she wanted.

She nodded and stepped forward to stand behind Wayne. Looking at the succubus making leery eyes at the Śār, she frowned deeply. “Given your station, it’s unbecoming of you to be this intimate with a succubus. It’ll damage your reputation if word gets out.”

“If you don’t tell, and I don’t tell, no one will ever know,” Wayne spoke up for Ottilia. “Besides, she’s only turning into a succubus to help you. If you were the only succubus here, you would look suspicious. If not for that, she would’ve stayed in her human form. You should thank her.”

“Thank you.”

“...” x2

Wayne glanced down to exchange a look with Ottilia. The newbie was no fun at all. She didn’t blush. She didn’t make any comebacks, and she never made a single snarky remark. She was even worse than Regina. She couldn’t even be part of their roleplay.

She was a bit of an eyesore, really, like a third wheel.

Ottilia settled in Wayne’s arms, studying Hestia’s composed appearance despite being a succubus. She narrowed her eyes. “Boss, what do you think she’ll be like once she falls?”

Wayne didn’t say anything. Just like how angels instinctively disliked succubi, Ottilia, influenced by her succubus form, found angels disagreeable. To avoid any lives from being lost or created, he decided not to get into that conversation.

Angels or demons, Mona and Ottilia were accidents. He had no real desire to get involved with any of either kind.