Chapter 398 (1): One Demon Makes a Dragon, and Two Demons Make a Worm
The mouth of the volcano was an inferno of boiling lava. Volatile molten rivers roared like liquid fire, painting an intimidating scene. Thirty to fifty meters above the flowing fire, a space warship made of unknown alloy hovered quietly. It was entirely silver with a streamlined shape and a futuristic style. It hovered vertically like a well-polished blade.
From afar, it seemed as if the mouth of the volcano was a beating heart, and the sharp blade would penetrate it at any moment.
Gulp!
Wayne swallowed. No wonder Prussia’s technology level had reached the top of the world. It was reverse engineering.
That wasn’t meant to discredit them, of course. The fact that they could reverse-engineer the technologies proved their competence. Many countries wouldn’t even be able to copy the homework like that.
Wayne closed his eyes and pondered. Back in the First World War of the Chosen Land, Prussia hadn’t shown such advanced technology, which meant that the spaceship was discovered after the war.
They had managed to keep it under wraps from the previous government, or the black sheep among them would’ve sold the intelligence for money.
From the discovery of the spaceship to the application of Mechanical Augmentation on the Prussian military, everything was closely linked to the current Prussian government.
After some consideration, Wayne opened his eyes. He couldn’t keep the snarky comment to himself, “I knew it. There are ancient gods, so there have to be alien civilizations with advanced technology.”
Whether extraterrestrial life existed was a hot debate topic in both the Chosen Land and Wayne’s original world. He found the argument pointless. The universe was vast, with numerous galaxies that might each house planets that could harbor life. Under the circumstances, humans couldn’t be alone in the universe.
There were even numerous theories hypothesizing the existence of other universes. Then, it was even less likely for human beings to be a unique exception.
While he believed in their existence, though, it was Wayne’s first time coming into contact with the third kind. He couldn’t help but want to board the ship for a clear look.
“Regina, take a look inside.”
“What if it’s dangerous?”
“You’ll be fine. At worst, you’ll be critically injured. It won’t be so easy for you to die. Even if you’re crippled, I’ll take care of you for the rest of your life.” Wayne made a direct command with his thoughts, telling Regina to work faster.
It wasn’t going to be dangerous. Prussia had gained the evolution of Mechanical Augmentation, meaning that they had already explored the interior of the ship, filling it with corpses. Regina could just step on the corpses as she entered. There would be no danger.
Regina grimaced, mumbling about the difference between tax-payer and sex-payer. Unfurling her succubus wings, she flew around the spaceship.
It had the ability to absorb and convert energy. With the geothermal energy it extracted and converted, the ship was able to remain suspended in the air.
There were no jet engines to propel the ship. On the left side of the ship was an entrance around three meters tall. Regina cocked her head and looked at it for a moment. Then she flew in.
Wayne widened his eyes with anticipation, but soon saw nothing but black. He was disconnected from Regina!
“...”
The spaceship came with a defense against prying eyes, like spatial barriers. Worried that Regina would be in danger, Wayne set out to follow her.
On the ground, the Grand Admiral looked up at the unfolding fight. Wrath and Gluttony were overpowering the two Marshals.
Though Mechanical Augmentation could evolve, the speed of evolution lagged behind the speed at which the demon lords could bring more thoughts to the human world. Since their power hadn’t been evenly matched to begin with, the moment the demon lords got serious, the fight became one-sided.
Unlike Solsknar, who had walked away in disappointment, the two demon lords had been waiting for this chance for too long. Whether it suited them or not, they wanted to have the power first. Even if it didn’t suit them, they would have someone else use it.
Crack!
The massive fly buzzed and flapped its wings, pinning down the flying bastion that the Air Marshal had transformed into. A fanged maw opened on its abdomen, biting into the bastion and swallowing it as fast as possible.
Gluttony’s power was similar to that of Abyssal Python. The consumption itself wasn’t the end, but a means to an end. Through consumption, he could gain the target’s Laws.
Gluttony didn’t immediately integrate the Laws. After devouring the Air Marshal, he flew over and swallowed the Grand Admiral as well.
The secondary corruption wasn’t that valuable a source of information. The actual source was key.
The fly with a massive head looked over at the volcano in the distance, flapping its wings to fly into the sky. With a bang, a dark figure plummeted from the sky and slammed to the ground. It was Wrath!
The half-dragon had torn the Field Marshal apart and sent the components into the projected Abyss. Then, turning into a sinful dragon of Hell, he grappled Gluttony and slammed him to the ground.
A literal Hell Wheel![1]
“Wrath, you bastard! Let go of me!”
“Idiot, do you think we need to keep acting at this point?”
The two demon lords went after each other’s throats in the rolling sphere of darkness, snarling as they rumbled toward the mouth of the volcano. They fought to be the only one to access the source of Mechanical Augmentation.
A ray of white light shot through the sinful dragon and the massive fly, pinning both demon lords to the ground. With the rhythmic glow, the giant energy lance unleashed blazing white flames to counter the darkness and ignite the demon lords’ thoughts and flesh, making them cry out in pain.
Three flying figures hovered in the air: Wayne, Hestia, and Derrida.
Wayne wore a long white robe with a golden cross sewn on the back and sleeves, completed with a white mask on his face for a distinctively Heavenly look. It was the battle suit tailor-made for clergy members. He conjured it with his thoughts to conceal his identity and avoid attracting too much attention for Hesione. The mask that covered his face was created with white foam.
It was his first time using Heaven’s disguise. With the sacred flames of Golden Law manifesting as rotating golden bands around him, he cut a dignified figure brimming with holy intention. Without thinking, Hestia fell back a little out of respect. Then Derrida followed suit.
Hesione held an impressive status in Heaven, representing Purity of the Seven Sacred Virtues and symbolizing the purity of all angels. It had been appropriate for other angels to stand back deferentially.
But not anymore. Hesione was getting further and further from purity.
Of course, she could tell herself that only by standing in the dark could she look toward the light, and that it was because she was bathed in filth that the purity in her heart was precious.
She had always been good at fooling herself.
Bom!!
The energy lance exploded. A pillar of scorching white flames rose into the air, illuminating the sky in the form of a massive cross. Golden light rained down along the droplets of white ember, washing over the scorched land.
A gust of wind dispersed the smoke. In the crater at the heart of the explosion, the two demon lords transformed into humans and looked icily at the sky.
Gluttony and Wrath both took the form of a human male. Gluttony was handsome, tall, and fit despite being a glutton. The well-tailored black suit accentuated his sculpted figure. Wrath had blond hair and blue eyes with gentle facial features and a graceful temperament, giving off a warm air of friendliness. The word ‘wrath’ couldn’t be further from his image.
Gluttony wasn’t overweight, and Wrath looked mild-tempered. They were living proof of Hell’s dishonesty.
The two demon lords slowly rose into the air and once again stood together against the reincarnated angels of Heaven. They put their earlier conflict behind them with such ease that it was almost impressive.
It was the internal culture of Hell, or inferno culture. Outsiders wouldn’t understand.
“Frey, Fred...”
“You haven’t been captured?”
Gluttony frowned at the three reincarnated angels, his heart sinking. If this Frey was the real one, who was the ‘Frey’ that had been corrupted by Mechanical Augmentation?
A shudder ran down his spine. He realized that they had fallen for Heaven’s deception and danced to the angels’ tune.
“Those two don’t matter. He’s the key!”
Wrath glared at Wayne, who took the leading position in the formation. He kept his face hidden yet clearly held an important position, judging by the respect the two Thrones showed... Was he a Cherub...or a Seraph?
Just like Gluttony, Wrath sensed a conspiracy. They quietly waited for Wayne to introduce himself.
“Vermin of Hell, the great legion of angels is coming,” Wayne said slowly, using an androgynous voice to conceal even his gender. “This isn’t where you should be. Go back to Hell, or I’ll trap your thoughts in a Sacred Tome of Golden Law to bring back to Heaven.”
“Who are you?”
“Hiding your face like that? We’re old friends. Why are you acting all shy?”
The demon lords extended their thoughts, trying to figure out Wayne’s identity through his energy. However, that only confused them further. Wayne seemed like a complete stranger they had not met before.
Heaven and Hell had been at war for eons. Wrath and Gluttony knew every higher-tier angel, and even if they didn’t know some of them well, they had seen all of them. A higher-tier angel they had never met... Either the angel was concealing their identity on purpose, or this was another trick!
“I’ll know if you're the real deal with a test. I’ll tear off your deceptive mask.”
Gluttony huffed, overtaking Wrath with black light radiating from his eyes. It pierced through space and stirred up ripples of disturbance, which expanded rapidly and triggered a rising wave.
That distorted the space that Wayne, Hestia, and Derrida inhabited. After it fell apart, a vast energy of the Seven Deadly Sins rose and fell like a black ocean fluctuating violently in the sky.
Splash!!
White chains scattered. Derrida conjured a magic circle under his feet with his stigma, expanding white holy intent and manipulating the white chains to seal the volatile black ocean, restoring space.
Gluttony seethed, glaring at the troublemaker. With a clawing motion, he distorted space once more to separate the three angels. Then he roared and rushed toward Hestia.
...You think I’ll believe that act? Wrath glared.
Demons had no credibility, and demon lords were especially adept at deception. Wrath was so used to it that he couldn’t even get angry.
Gluttony had picked an easy prey, leaving Wayne, the unknown entity, to him. He stepped forward with a scoff.
In the sky, angels and demons clashed. Derrida had created a vast force field to weaken the Seven Deadly Sins in the area while strengthening the Golden Law, giving the Holy Light-users, Wayne and Hestia, several buffs.
Anything related to Holy Light would be empowered, while the two Demon Lords were put under varying degrees of restriction.
Derrida had defensive skills, crowd control skills, and healing skills. Aside from his mediocre damage output, he was close to perfect.
Both demon lords saw him as the primary target, but Wayne and Hestia intercepted them. They had to bring down more of their thoughts to make up for their weakened power.
Roooar—
In the projected Abyss, Hestia had been weakened by the unfavorable domain, restricting her to fifty percent of her power. The fight had been particularly difficult because of that. Today, she had the Śār on her side. She summoned her sacred dragon of Heaven without delay.
The hundred-meter-long dragon roared at the sky, venting the grievances Hestia had bottled up. She held her Sacred Lance of Heaven with the Golden Law spinning around her. It transformed into a futuristic light silver battle suit.
In comparison, Gluttony appeared much more minimalist. He wielded a spear of darkness that the Seven Deadly Sins had transformed into, wearing no armor.
The angel and demon clashed. Flashes of light accompanied rumbling noises and the roars of the sacred dragon. The violent collision of volatile energy compressed space and threatened to break it.
Whoosh!
A golden bolt of lightning tore the sky open, drawing an elongated line of lingering radiance.
Flapping his white wings, Wayne raised his white greatsword of Holy Light and swung it toward the back of Wrath’s head with blazing white flames.
Righteous backstabbing!
1. A reference to a fighter-type skill in Pokemon, じごくぐるま, literally Hell Wheel. It’s translated into ‘Submission’ in the official English localization. Here, the ‘Hell’ part is necessary for the double meaning, so the literal translation of the skill is more appropriate. ☜
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