Myths Reawakened

Lando Estate.

After contacting Wayne, Auston returned home with Megan. He waited for half an hour before Wayne finally arrived.

“What took you so long?” Auston said with a frown. He strongly suspected that Wayne was messing with him. Ever since he called Wayne ‘Master Wayne’, the two of them had begun to intentionally keep it vague which of them was the head of the family.

Wayne had won the bet, but, worried that Auston would leave him with all the responsibilities concerning the nation in retaliation, he had refrained from pushing Auston. He knew Auston. The man’s ultimate dream was to lead a happy life with his wife and daughter, with billions in savings. If someone was there to take over his work, he would happily abandon all his responsibilities.

Auston, on the other hand, had sworn to never get anywhere close to gambling or addictive substances again. He didn’t want Trash Jr. to order him around, claiming to be the head of the family. He had lost the bet, and Wayne had always been antagonistic toward him. As a result, he always felt like Wayne was up to something.

Now, for example, it felt like Wayne was abusing his power as the head of the family by calling him home and making him wait for half an hour.

“I swung by Saint Paul Cathedral to check if there were any handsome guys and gals lodging there. It took some time.” Wayne sat on the couch across from Auston, fiddling with an antique silver coin. Behind him, Hesione and Hestia stood with poker faces in place. One of them was his personal secretary, and the other was a bodyguard preventing the secretary from getting up close and personal. Wayne could watch their interplay all night.

“The cathedral...” Auston frowned. “Tell me then. Why did you ask me to be here?”

“Nothing. I wanted to make sure you’re still alive.”

“...”

Auston scowled. Megan was the only one standing behind him, so he felt inferior to the scumbag. It grated on his nerves.

“I’m being serious. I wanted to see if you’re still alive.” Wayne pointed behind him. “Let me introduce you. This clergywoman is Hestia, a reincarnated angel and my subordinate back in Heaven.”

“Hestia, this is Auston Lando,” he continued, “My father in the human world.”

“That’s not the right way to put it, Śār,” Hestia reminded him in a soft voice. “Whether we’re in Heaven or the human world, we only ever have one father.”

The Heavenly Father was the supreme leader of Heaven. Wayne would be giving the enemies ammunition against him by wording it that way.

“You’re being way overboard,” Wayne said seriously. “We each have our father, and in addition, we have one shared father. Do you understand?”

“Thank you for your teaching.”

“...”

Auston looked at them in exasperation. Yesterday, Wayne had told him that Mona was Hesione. Because of reasons that shall not be shared in polite company, though, Wayne had been pretending to be Hesione. Judging by the deferential way Hestia treated Wayne and how she had been glaring at her actual superior, she had to still be in the dark.

Would that really be alright? Auston asked himself how he would react. He was a leader himself, and someone like Hestia would be sentenced to death in any workplace.

Speaking of which, was she really a reincarnated angel rather than a reincarnated succubus? Wasn’t she too lewd to be an angel?

Usually, Auston wouldn’t use derogatory words to describe women who weren’t his enemies, but Hestia was a special case. Her appearance was top-tier, and her temperament was solemn and holy. For some reason—perhaps because of the contrast between her figure and temperament—her existence alone put one’s mind in the gutter.

Were Veronica here, she would be gulping.

Auston would bet that Hestia would become the next Mona/Hesione if Wayne kept her around. He truly was sure of it this time!

“Auston, Hestia brought information back from the Papal State. The seven reincarnated angels have all gathered in Londan,” Wayne said concisely. “They are led by Auriel, another Śār. To fight for political power, he’s going to help the Windsor family wipe out the villains. Namely, you, the head of the Lando family.”

“You won the bet, so you are the head of the family.”

“That wasn’t what you said yesterday!”

“I called you Master Wayne, didn’t I?”

“...” Wayne rolled his eyes. “Auriel’s after the Lando family. You can’t run. I called you to make sure that you weren’t kept captive in some basement.”

Auston nodded. “Should I call Silvia back? Almost no one in the mortal realm could take on a Śār and four reincarnated angels.”

It wasn’t completely impossible. Were all the chosen knights of the previous generation here, they might put up a fight against the angels. Rognes, especially, was incredibly powerful at his peak. It was hard to say whether Auriel could defeat him without reclaiming all his power in Heaven.

Rognes and his four helpers would give the five reincarnated angels pause. Moreover, Moula, Leo, Darienne, and Vichy weren’t regular helpers. Even in their respective Divine Realms, they were formidable individuals who could play different roles.

Unfortunately, Rognes had nothing but his faith in mind and had charged straight into the Divine Realm after regaining his freedom. Otherwise, Wayne could just take Rognes on a tour around Londan, and he needn’t be worried about Auriel.

“That won’t be necessary,” Wayne said. “Auriel is a Śār. He must make sure that everything he does and says is in line with his status, so he won’t resort to lowly tricks. He should be worried about us doing it instead.”

Auston nodded. That was true.

You’re a Śār as well, Śār!

Hestia’s eyes widened. The Śār she so admired had changed so much in the human world that it was becoming increasingly difficult to reconcile Wayne with the superior she knew. She found an excuse for him, putting the blame on Auston instead.

As soon as she stepped in, she noticed the striking similarity between Auston and Wayne. The Śār had to have changed because of the influence of his father in the mortal realm.

You terrible sinner!

“That’s true on paper, but just in case, Silvia should be staying away from the office lately.” Auston glanced at Wayne. As a black-hearted man, he assumed the worst of angels and demons alike.

“Alright. As an Oracle High Reverend, I’m technically her superior. I’ll make a call to give her a vacation so that she can keep her daughter-in-law, who has been having too much fun to come home, company.”

“Hey, who is Silvia?” Hestia asked quietly.

Hesione didn’t want to humor Hestia, but it was Silvia they were talking about. She spoke more deferentially, “She’s Boss’s mother and holds a special place in his heart. You’d better not bare your teeth at her. Otherwise, even if Boss forgives you, I won’t.”

(Wayne=Anointed One)≈(Silvia=Holy Mother).

In other words, the unnamed churches of the Holy Mother in the Chosen Land would all be renamed as Holy Mother Silvia Cathedrals.

Hesione had wondered why those churches existed in the Chosen Land, what the Heavenly Father intended, and who the Holy Mother referred to. Now she understood everything. The omniscient and omnipotent Heavenly Father had seen the future, as supported by the prophecy. The Anointed One would be born, so the Anointed One’s mother in the mortal realm would be Holy Mother.

Why weren’t there any churches of the Holy Father, one might ask. The answer was simple: it would overlap with the Heavenly Father, and it was clear from Wayne’s attitude toward Auston that the father wasn’t a desirable one.

Hesione would have to say something that Auston wouldn’t like to hear: they could be certain that Silvia was Wayne’s mother, but his father...

She hoped that Auston would know his place. He should be satisfied with the Anointed One being a Lando raised in his household.

“How are you going to deal with Auriel, Wayne?” Auston asked.

“Angels shouldn’t be angels’ opponents. That would damage Heaven’s reputation and make us a laughingstock to the heretics. Demons are different. Real angels should go after demons.” Wayne stroked his silver coin. “Based on my investigation, there is a demon in Londan at the level of the Seven Demon Lords. Remember the Book of Hell? Its origin is quite suspicious.”

Auston nodded to himself. Since Wayne had made the necessary arrangements, he had nothing to worry about.

Reincarnated angels had too much baggage and too many worries because they considered themselves the righteous ones. Under constraints imposed by themselves, they wouldn’t be able to defeat the human trash.

“Also, I’m going to arrange a meal with Auriel. I’m guessing that he’s with the Queen. He’s either at the Ministry of Magic’s headquarters or Buckingham Palace,” Wayne continued. “I’ll send an invitation to the Queen. Tell her that she should make the necessary arrangements for dinner tonight or tomorrow. Make it quick.”

“Why the rush? Aren’t you going to play the game with the reincarnated angels?”

“I never see the reincarnated angels as enemies,” Wayne said. “The demons are our shared enemies.”

Hesione nodded. Though the Anointed One had changed much, his attitude toward demons and Hell remained unchanged. That she had always approved of fully. She had wondered why Wayne attracted demons wherever he went, even more so than a Śār like her, but now she understood. It wasn’t because he was attracting his kins, but because the Anointed One was born with a demon detector.

Auston promised to get it done and issued an invitation to Queen Sophelia. There were reincarnated angels around the Queen. To avoid being roasted on a stake, he decided to make a call instead of inviting her in person.

The Darkness Knight was very much self-aware and as cautious as ever.

Not long after, Silvia returned home because of a call from her superior. It was clear from her aggravated expression that she blamed the son’s action on his father. Auston would surely be launched into the sky... Or not.

Silvia’s attention was on Hestia. Marveling at her beauty, Silvia pulled her to the side and asked about her in a friendly manner.

Hestia was flabbergasted. It took her a moment to realize what was going on. Then she played the obedient daughter-in-law and did whatever Silvia asked her to do.

Hesione furiously grabbed her arm and dragged her away from the Holy Mother. If Wayne hadn’t ordered her to keep her killing intent under control, she would already be planning to recreate And Then There Were No Angels at the Lando Estate.

Seeing the unresolvable tension between them, Silvia smothered a smile and threw Wayne a glance that said there was nothing she could do.

Wayne was speechless. He couldn’t stay here any longer. Silvia, ignorant of the situation, wasn’t just fueling the fire, but was handing a torch to Hesione. Hestia’s life was in danger. They had to go.

The black car drove out of the Lando Estate and headed straight to Wayne’s residence. He had planned to stay at Filomina’s place tonight, but Auriel’s unwarned visit had delayed his schedule.

In the car, Wayne, the superior, was driving. He had kicked his bodyguard and secretary to the backseat, hoping that their catty conversation would continue.

Hestia had just had a private conversation with Silvia, so she was currently lost in her fantasy while staring ahead with a serious expression. As long as she didn’t start anything, Hesione wouldn’t break her image by picking a fight. She stared at nothing with a murderous look on her face.

It was a silent comedy. Wayne’s lips twitched up. How fun.

Halfway to his residence, he accelerated into a dark place with a slight frown. A hundred meters in, the darkness faded away, replaced by a magnificent heaven—it wasn’t the actual Heaven, but a legendary mage’s vitality field.

“Boss, it’s Auriel’s subordinate,” Hestia said with furrowed brows. “Should I kick them out?”

“He isn’t Auriel’s, at least not yet.” Wayne pulled over, his eyes curving slightly with a smile.

The door to the passenger seat opened. Kael the tanker dove in, wiggling his eyebrows at Wayne. “How do you know I’ve become a legendary mage already, Wayne?”

“Cut your crap. Legendary mages are no longer the meta,” Wayne huffed. “Look at your sorry excuse of a vitality field. Clearly, you’ve reached Legendary with the resources that the Church of Heavenly Father threw your way. Your foundation is lacking in stability and strength. It’s nothing to be proud of.”

“But I am a legendary mage, ain’t I?” Kael huffed. Then he turned to Hesione in surprise. “Oh, Sister?”

Clearly, Kael didn’t know who Hesione was, so he mistook her for Mona. Back then, Archbishop Gunther of Saint Paul Cathedral had sought out Kael and asked for his help, having him introduce his ‘sister’, Detective Mona, to Wayne’s detective agency. The reincarnated angels he was looking for had been right before him, but Gunther hadn’t recognized them.

He couldn’t be blamed. Gerar had sealed himself and hidden in the dark after sensing a demon lord in Londan, while Hesione had failed to awaken because said demon lord had sealed her. Neither were conditions Gunther could’ve seen through.

Hesione closed her eyes, refusing to acknowledge Kael’s address for her. She was curious who Kael was in Heaven, but what he had done in the human world filled her with distaste.

It might be offensive to the Anointed One, but compared to Kael, Wayne was exceptional.