Chapter 387 (2): Tsundere Is Never Outdated
Interesting, Wayne thought. He had been getting too close to the Goddess of Darkness lately and came to resemble Her a little. Seeing Hestia’s potential for being molded, he pushed harder, “You called me vulgar. Let me ask you something: is there a reincarnated angel named Kael in the Papal State?”
“...”
“Demon got your tongue, Hestia?”
“I don’t want to curse,” Hestia said derisively.
“...”
“Whether you reject it or not, Kael and I are reincarnated angels. There are also me, Archibald, and Derrida, making it four perverts in total.” Wayne pounded his chest, speaking proudly. “That’s how angels are!”
“What does that have to do with me? I don’t have desires like that...” Derrida mumbled. Hestia had rejected any nun or priest that the Pope was going to assign her as her secretary, depriving Derrida of his benefits, too. He had been irritated in the beginning, but then he realized that clergywomen weren’t as appealing as Holy Light magic.
“You shameless man. You’ve spoiled Heaven’s image!” Hestia glared at Wayne. These despicable reincarnated angels were the reasons that the angels’ reputation had plummeted.
“You’re being prideful again!”
“That’s not my pride, but my judgment.” Hestia’s chest heaved from anger. She pointed at Wayne and said, “I challenge you to a duel. I’ll beat you into awakening your memories. Let’s see who you are in Heaven.”
You’ll have to beg for forgiveness on your knees when that happens. Ever consider the possibility?
Wayne was eager to see that, but it wasn’t yet the right time. He continued to taunt her, “A duel it is then. You’re such a prideful angel who refuses to accept reality. If you want power, you could just say it, but you insist on challenging me from the moral high ground. You find me an eyesore? Well, you’re a bigger eyesore to me!”
“Derrida—” Hestia screamed, her voice almost breaking.
“Alright, but I’ll be upfront. We’re all in the same boat, so don’t get too serious and sink the boat.”
Derrida said the appropriate line before happilyreluctantly conjuring a vitality field, taking Wayne and Hestia in. He even considerately put Ottilia and Regina in the audience seat.
A sacred, scenic landscape stretched. The sky was an indescribable deep blue, like an upside-down ocean adorned with countless sparkling stars. The ground was covered by an endless carpet of white clouds, emitting a sacred glow; the golden ranges drew fluctuating lines on the horizon.
A breeze passed through the serene world. The reverse world represented Derrida’s impression of Heaven.
Holy, you’re quite talented, kid. You’re already a legendary mage.
Wayne looked at Derrida in surprise. Both being reincarnated angels, Kael was merely a Silver-ranked mage.
On second thought, though, it was probably because of the Papal State. Derrida had reincarnated in a neighboring area and was thus discovered early. With all the resources the Papal State had invested in him, it would be stranger for him not to reach Legendary rank.
Imagining Kael gleefully boasting that he had reached Legendary rank the next time they saw each other, Wayne couldn’t help but feel pressured. He decided to work harder so that he would be a demigod when he met Kael again.
Boom!!
“Wayne, the fight is starting. Why are you distracted?!”
A violent gust made Wayne’s clothes flutter audibly. He raised a hand to block the wind and smoothed his wind-swept hair back to his usual slicked-back style.
Hestia wielded a Sacred Lance of Heaven with golden aura enveloping her, her eyes holy and dignified, and her wings pristine white. The lance was identical to the pendant lance that Wayne had received. He suspected that it was a mass-produced product, and that the Pope had given every reincarnated angel one.
Both the weapons and the clergywomen were delivered in bulk. They weren’t special gifts at all.
Still, considering that Wayne had pulled an SSR Śār from the gacha draw, he decided to forgive His Horniness.
“Warning your opponent before the fight starts? Since you do show some integrity, I’ll only use thirty percent of my power.” Wayne huffed, taking out a half-complete Philosopher’s Stone. While letting out a dark, twisted cackle, he transformed into a demon.
Unlike the other demons with distinctive hellish style, though, he had a pair of black wings on his back.
The sudden turn of events caught Hestia and Derrida off guard. Hestia, especially, frowned in disapproval. “What are you doing? Fight me with your Holy Light. Your imitation of a demon is so convincing that I feel like you’re a spy planted by Hell. That’s disturbing.”
“Kekekeke—”
(ꐦ▔皿▔)ง
Hestia seethed. Demons’ very existence was a provocation to angels, and Wayne didn’t seem like he was acting at all. While she knew that he had transformed with a half-complete Philosopher’s Stone, that he was still an excellent reincarnated angel on the inside, she couldn’t stop her burning ire. She wanted nothing more than to shove her fist into Wayne’s mouth and pull out and cut his tongue.
“Hestia, I haven’t awakened my memories, so I don’t know who I was in Heaven. However, my experience in the human world taught me that in our fight against demons, we must lower our pride. Only by getting to know demons could one defeat demons,” Wayne said hoarsely like a laryngeal cancer patient, grinning and showing his cold, white teeth. “These black wings represent my determination. As long as it’ll help me defeat demons, I’ll even fall to Hell.”
Hestia didn’t know if Wayne was telling the truth, but she decided to take his word for it this once. “That’s a decent belief,” she said coldly. “I’ll allow you to fight me in this form!”
“You too, Lust incarnate. I’ll allow you to use your depraved body to—”
Wayne was interrupted before he could finish. Raising his black greatsword, he blocked the sacred lance thrusting toward his chest. He stared at Hestia right in her furious eyes. “I’m not done yet. Why the hurry? Don’t you know that my words could be misconstrued because you didn’t let me finish?”
Furious, Hestia refused to waste any more breath. Making several swings with her sacred lance, she ignited golden sacred flames with the Golden Law, unleashing a downpour of golden fire to force Wayne back. He struggled to dodge the attacks, wobbling like a small boat that would be capsized by a violent wave at any time.
Yet he never did!
Hestia was surprised by how powerful the incomplete Philosopher’s Stone was. Not only had it allowed Wayne to play a convincing demon, but it also contained an extremely devilish source of the Divine Comedy of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Experts were called experts for a reason. Hestia could tell that her sacred flames couldn’t burn the black chains surrounding Wayne, so she had to increase her output to defeat him. However, that would destroy the incomplete Philosopher’s Stone, escalating their conflict. It would be difficult for them to work together going forward.
“Lust incarnate, could you do nothing but draw attention with your bouncy bosom?”
Escalating the conflict? What if it does? I’m tearing his tongue out today!
Hestia’s rationality snapped. Holy Light surged around her as she swung her lance with double the speed, unleashing expansive, volatile golden fire that took the shape of a white dragon in the sky. It wasn’t a great dragon like Senna or Megan, but a dragon with a long, slim body, like the symbol of the East that Wayne was familiar with.
The great dragon spanned a hundred meters with spike-like horns and a pair of wings. Instead of four limbs, it only had two claws. Its entire body, its wings included, was covered in armor of Golden Law. The white material with golden patterns seemed like an unidentified alloy, with crisscrossing circuits for energy to flow through. The holy intent pulsed like it was breathing, making the dragon look like a futuristic artifact.
Is machine ascension a thing in Heaven, too?
The moment of surprise made Wayne raise his sword to parry the attack a beat later. He ended up being kicked in the chest by a furious Hestia, flying backward in a straight trajectory across the land of white clouds before slamming into a mountain of golden light.
Roooar—
From up in the sky, the massive dragon growled. Two rays of golden light lit up the white helmet, shooting out straight at Wayne.
Rumble!!
Dust rose endlessly. From the heart of the explosion site, a giant face of darkness emerged with crimson eyes. The mouth lined with serrated teeth let out a silent cackle.
White chains shot out from different directions to grapple the face and tear it to pieces. Only after that did the shockwaves of the explosion spread, pushing the white clouds apart and crushing the mountain ranges of golden light in the area. The deep blue ocean sky was left muddy.
The damage to his world made Derrida’s heart clench. When Wayne’s two secretaries remained unfazed, he asked, “Aren’t you worried? Although Hestia is still in the memory integration phase and hasn’t recovered all of her power, Wayne hasn’t awakened, and he’s using a demon’s power. An angel’s power is a demon’s bane. He must have suffered a serious injury.”
“Boss once said that when there is smoke, it means that the target is fine!”
“It’s not a problem. If Boss dared to provoke Lust Incarnate, it means that he knew he wouldn’t lose.”
Regina and Ottilia spoke up one after another.
Lust Incarnate? Derrida thought. You’re audacious. Wouldn’t you show Hestia some respect? If she hears, she’ll teach you a harsh lesson.
“You’re too confident. Lust incarnate is strong!” Derrida said.
“Looking forward to it!”
“Boss is stronger.”
In the sky, Hestia stood on top of her dragon’s head while flapping her wings, holding her Sacred Lance of Heaven. With golden light brimming in her eyes, she observed the battlefield below.
“Kekekeke—”
Black wings sliced through the ocean of clouds. Wayne soared with his greatsword until he was level with Hestia.
He had lost part of his calf, but now, wrapped in the chains of grave sins, it was recovering quickly.
“I was going to say, Wayne,” Hestia said icily, “Are you really not a demon? You’ve mastered the Seven Deadly Sins too deeply.”
Wayne accepted the praise gracefully. “It’s only a manifestation in appearance. Thank you for the compliment. If I could deceive an angel, I would have more confidence infiltrating the demons’ ranks.”
“I’m not complimenting you!”
“Liar.”
“...”
Having a conversation with Wayne made Hestia’s heart burn. She tried her best to calm down, but still couldn’t tamp down her ire.
“As for the Seven Deadly Sins, you may think that I’ve mastered too much of it, but I share the same sentiment. No offense, but are you really not Lust incarnate in the human world?”
“...”
Hestia tightened her grip around the sacred lance. If he was saying his last word, she would not stop until either of them died.
“I know you can’t accept it. How about we make a bet? If I win, I’ll call you Lust incarnate in the future,” Wayne suggested fairly. “If I lose, you may call me ‘demon’. What say you?”
“You don’t have a future.”
“Are you in or not?”
“I’m in!!”
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