Chapter 400 (2): Like a God
Night fell. Wayne was in his secretary’s home. After briefing Wayne on work, Mona handed the freshly made cream puff over to Hesione. She clenched her teeth, her knuckles going white from balling her fists up.
Curse. Why aren’t you cursing?
Sensing that an interesting soul had taken over the body under him, Wayne said seriously, “Hesione, on my trip to Berlo, I banished... So... They’re too strong.”
“I’ve shed blood and broken back for Heaven, and I’ve done everything for you. You have to reward me!”
“Boss, I’m Mona, not Hesione.” Hesione mimicked Mona’s tone.
“Impossible. Mona knows me, and she would’ve said she was Hesione.” Wayne looked at Hesione with expectation. If there were no reward, punishment would do, too. He wasn’t picky.
Hesione’s eyes twitched. Taking a deep breath, she put on a forced smile. “You did well, Wayne. You’ve lived up to Heaven’s glory. But... Get out before we continue this conversation.”
“Get out? I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“...”
Hesione’s face darkened. She snarled at Wayne, hurling insults like ‘scumbag’, ‘shameless’, and ‘thick-skinned’ at him. Her vocabulary was so limited that it aroused Wayne.
This was it. He had been missing this for two months.
—The Hundred and Eight Ways of Making Cream Puffs—
Hesione lay in Wayne’s arms, long hair tousled. She resented the shameless scumbag, but her feelings aside, there was work to be done. She sneered, “Boss, sorry to disappoint you. I’m really Mona.”
“Alright, Śār of Purity.”
“...”
Hesione’s chest tightened. She turned away, snarling at Mona in the depths of her mind.
Two minutes later, she took a deep breath and said, “Boss, no matter what you think, I am Mona.”
“No problem, Śār of Purity.”
“...”
Hesione’s chest hurt even worse. She said through clenched teeth, “What’s the deal with the two demon lords of Hell? Did you attract demons again?”
“So this is what happened...”
Wayne explained what had happened in Prussia, bringing up the two reincarnated angels and demonstrating the evolution of Mechanical Augmentation.
“When Lust incarnate—”
“Wait, weren’t Gluttony and Wrath the only ones to descend? Was Lord of Lust there, too?”
“You misunderstood. Lust incarnate is Hestia, a Throne you know. Her name in Heaven is Frey.”
“Frey?!” Hearing the name of her once subordinate, Hesione straightened worriedly, her expression stiffening. “Why would she be involved with the Lord of Lust? That’s a formidable enemy she cannot defeat. How’s she? She hasn’t been corrupted by the Seven Deadly Sins, has she?”
“You misunderstood again.”
“???”
Hesione’s confusion compounded. Only after Wayne explained everything did she realize what had happened.
“You teased her as me and called her Lust incarnate, even trying to make her fall...” Hesione sat up, covering her body with the comforter while glaring at Wayne. “How-how could you do that? She’ll misunderstand.”
She had Wayne assume her identity because she was worried about the mysterious, powerful demon lord hiding in Londan, and because she didn’t want to face the other reincarnated angels since that way led to inevitable social suicide. She would rather continue to play Mona.
No, as Purity of the Seven Sacred Virtues, she represented the purity of all angels. It wouldn’t so much be social suicide but betrayal. She’d tarnished the reputation of Heaven. She was a great sinner.
She had thought it would be fine if she avoided making an appearance, but Wayne’s misdeeds made her past subordinate think that her personality had done a one-eighty. While being serious in Heaven, the Śār let themselves go after entering the human world. They were a hypocritical bastard of an angel.
She made an adorable groan, wishing for death.
“Why are you so sad? Aren’t you Mona?”
“...”
Yes, I’m Mona. There is no Śār Hesione in this world.
Eyes bloodshot, Hesione glared at Wayne with her teeth clenched, wanting nothing more than to kill him, even if she would die for it.
(⁄⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄⁄)
In the Śār’s sacred and righteous golden eyes, Wayne saw a burning emotion. He didn’t know what the emotion was, but it seemed that she wanted to eat him, which made him blush.
Hesione stared at Wayne’s neck, imagining draining his blood with the Oath Sword. She knew that Mona would disagree and prevent her from doing it, but it didn’t stop her from fantasizing.
“Hesione, actually...”
“Mona!”
“Hesione, you should be thanking me. Before my departure, Lust incarnate requested to be my secretary in Londan. I rejected her without hesitation for your reputation.” Wayne took Hesione’s hand. “For you, I turned away an angel throwing herself at me. That... is love, isn’t it?”
Shameless! Who do you think is responsible for making me an embarrassment?
Hesione ground her teeth together, forcing herself to speak, “Boss, I’ll thank you on behalf of Hesione.”
“That’s not the important thing. About why angels reincarnated in the human world, Lust incarnate has told me the truth. I’m curious—”
“Wait, why did she tell you everything?” Hesione paled, her composure shattering.
“It’s thanks to your stigma. I just stuck my tongue out and questioned her with the excuse of testing her, and she told me everything.”
Hesione felt that like an arrow to her chest. It hurt so much that she didn’t want to talk.
“About our father’s successor in the human world, the Anointed One—do you have any clues about that?” Wayne asked curiously.
“Why are you asking?” Hesione asked in alarm. She admitted that Wayne was an excellent exorcist who stopped at nothing to banish demons. In that aspect, he was reliable.
However, Wayne never went soft on angels, either. She was speaking from personal experience. Every time Mona made her take over, the shameless bastard only went harder.
Hesione had reason to believe that if Wayne found the Anointed One, the Anointed One would suffer.
“Don’t take it the wrong way. I’m just curious.” Wayne pointed at his innocent face, batting his eye bashfully. “Could I be the Anointed One you’re looking for?”
Hesione didn’t say anything. She turned away and covered her mouth, her shoulders going up and down.
(ꐦ￣～￣)
It was Wayne’s first time making the Śār laugh. That made him happy!
“Don’t take this the wrong way. I just remembered something nice.”
Seeing Wayne’s irritated expression, Hesione tightened the comforter around her and said with her lips curved, “Purity, diligence, generosity, humility, gentleness, temperance, and tolerance. These are the Seven Sacred Virtues of Heaven, corresponding to the Seven Deadly Sins of Hell. All angels keep the virtues to heart, while the Anointed One will embody all seven virtues as the purest being in the world. You...”
Hesione rolled her eyes, letting him finish the sentence on his own.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Wayne grunted. “No one’s that perfect!”
“The Anointed One is.”
“Ha, and you’re the Śār of Purity, but look how much taint you carry!”
“...”
Hesione glared at Wayne, demanding that he take that back.
With a huff, he reluctantly took his comment back.
Inside Hesione’s heart, Mona explained that their boss was jealous, that Hesione shouldn’t have praised another man before Wayne and called him perfect. Because of what she said, Wayne would go from merely being curious about the Anointed One to pondering ways to take care of the Anointed One.
Hesione responded with a huff. Wayne wouldn’t get jealous over her since he felt nothing but possessiveness and desire for her. If he felt dissatisfied, it would only be out of a selfish, possessive nature.
Then why are you angry? You don’t understand at all!
Mona sighed. Since Wayne wouldn’t say anything, and neither would Hesione, they entered an impasse. She took over the body and leaned into Wayne’s arms.
“Boss, I’m Mona.”
Wayne rolled his eyes. Was she coaxing him like she would a child?
He didn’t want to speak to Hesione, and Hesione didn’t want to speak to him. As the middlewoman, Mona relayed the information instead. “Boss, I’ve learned a few things about the reincarnated angels’ mission from the memories I’ve received. I can answer your question.”
His secretary was gentle and considerate, and she always knew the right thing to say. She was Wayne’s favorite.
“I didn’t speculate about me being the Anointed One without any basis. First, I run into demons wherever I go. Not even the Śār has been attracting demons so much. It can’t be a coincidence.”
“Second, you’re a Śār’s reincarnation in the human world. Before you awakened, you were my secretary, and after you awakened, you still couldn’t resist me. The patterns are undeniable.”
“Lastly...” Wayne couldn’t make up a third reason. “Anyhow, it must be the Heavenly Father’s arrangement. The Śār has found the Anointed One in the human world and even baptized him personally, showing him the glory of Heaven and pointing the way for him.”
While listening to Hesione’s insults and Wayne’s shameless claims, Mona rubbed her temples. She had a headache. “You’re right, Boss. If there is an Anointed One in the human world, it has to be you.”
“Right? I knew it.” Wayne huffed. “You’re not like the shortsighted Śār. She’s staring the facts right in the face and even swallowing them, but she refuses to believe it.”
Please stop, Boss. She’s going to have a stroke.
“Has she gone mad? If not, ask her what the deal is with Heaven’s prophecy. Has the Heavenly Father really departed? What’s Heaven’s attitude toward the Anointed One? Who is Heaven’s second in command...?”
“Is it possible that since the Anointed One is a human, and the prideful angels look down on humans, they pridefully believe themselves to be the existences closest to the Heavenly Father? That the moment the Anointed One enters Heaven, a Śār would rebel with the support of a third of the angels?”
Mona didn’t immediately respond; instead, she asked Hesione for an honest answer.
Work with us, and we’ll all fare better. Or I’m gonna make you a cream puff again.
The threat didn’t land at all. Hesione had been turned into a cream puff more than once. After zero time became one time, the threat lost its effectiveness.
Still, Hesione told the truth in the end. It wasn’t to improve her relationship with Wayne. It was just that with her and Mona’s memories integrating after her awakening, Mona would eventually remember the answer even if she said nothing.
“Boss, Hesione told me. There is a second in command in Heaven, Mikhael. He’s the most mentioned angel in the Sacred Tome and the most powerful angel.”
“Mikhael is one of the four Śārim, a Seraph. He represents fire of the four elements and Humility of the Seven Sacred Virtues...”
“He’s powerful like a god...”
“There is such an angel in the Sacred Tome.”
Wayne stroked his chin. The element he had the most affinity with was fire, too. Based on what he knew, fire was linked to desire, and a mage with a high affinity for fire would have a strong desire.
A strong desire and humility... Even if they weren’t considered opposite, it should be difficult to equate the two.
“The prophecy was interpreted by another Śār. Before the Heavenly Father’s transcendence, He left a prophecy that should only be revealed and interpreted at an opportune time...”
Mona relayed Hesione’s words: “Heaven is loyal to the Heavenly Father. All angels are willing to follow in Father’s footsteps and listen to Father’s teachings. They also accept and embrace whichever successor He selected.”
“Your concerns are unfounded, Boss. Heaven is stable, and all angels are at peace. There won’t be a defiant challenge to the Anointed One’s leadership from a third of the angels.”
“What if there is?” Wayne raised an eyebrow.
“Then I’d do whatever you want me to do.” Hesione suddenly replaced Mona, facing Wayne.
Wayne huffed. “I’ll make that a bet, given how arrogant you’re being!”
“Hmph!”
“Hah!”
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