Chapter 413 (2): Uh Oh, the r Wants to Kill Her!
It took Wayne 0.25 seconds to choose between Lust incarnate and Śār Hesione; it wasn’t a multiple-choice question, but a one-choice question. He unleashed his vitality field and injected it with a great amount of Holy Light, pouring in all of his Golden Law to reconstruct Heaven.
He had walked through the gates once, so he knew what Heaven and real angels looked like. They were a curious bunch, always swarming toward spectacles.
Endless white clouds took on a faint golden hue, forming a soft haze that gave the scenery a dream-like quality. The sky resembled a vast, flawless gemstone with no worldly colors but only a gentle radiance of sacred intent.
In the distance, above the roiling sea of clouds, white palaces stretched like mountain peaks, glowing with golden light. Every corner was carved with intricate patterns, and every door was adorned with brilliant jewels.
The towering gates of Heaven seemed to lead to an infinite cosmos. Any soul that stepped through would peek into the mysterious Greater Universe.
Following a stirring hymn were the sounds of bell rings and dragon roars. The phantoms of angels could be faintly made out.
⁽⁽ଘ(੭ˊ꒳ˋ)੭✧ଘ(੭ˊ꒳ˋ)੭✧ଘ(੭ˊ꒳ˋ)੭✧
The familiar surroundings made Hestia feel right at home. With a serene mind, she thought back to how she had lost her temper and angered the Śār. She felt guilty, but then she reconsidered and blamed the wench instead. She was the one who deprived the Śār of his purity. Someone like that didn’t deserve his divine power!
She would defeat Hesione with her own hands. She would make the blasphemer understand that even with Wayne’s power, she was still nothing.
Hesione’s heart was cold as ice, but she had put on an expression of meek compliance, like a country bumpkin seeing Heaven for the first time. Wordlessly, she drew the Oath Sword and unfurled three pairs of pure white wings. Bands of Golden Law fluttered around her as she radiated a blazing aura, her sacred energy rippling out like a tide.
“Damn it,” Hestia gritted out after a moment of surprise. “The Śār gave you this much? You sinner, what have you done to him?”
“Hestia, please, stop talking!” Wayne shouted, spectating from a distance.
Hestia scowled. After finally calming her heart, she flew into a rage once more, her chest heaving. She drew the Sacred Lance of Heaven and pointed it at Hesione. “You—the Śār pleaded for you... I...”
I’m jealous of you!
Golden light erupted from Hestia’s chest as she activated her stigma. It marked her as a member of one of the four legions of angels, representing Hesione, one of the Four Śārim. She would use the Śār’s power to defeat the shameless woman!
Hesione’s expression remained blank as she opened her mouth slowly. The tip of her tongue gathered golden light, its holy intent powerful enough to shake the space.
The next second, a torrential golden waterfall crashed down with earth-shaking power. Wherever it passed, it turned the wonderful ‘Heaven’ into rubble. The sheer magnitude of energy made Hestia blanch. She transformed into her metallic angel form in panic, swinging her lance before her chest with both hands with one pair of wings unfurling behind her back.
At the same time, her heavenly dragon answered her summons, its enormous body coiling around her to shield her with its metal armor.
Boom!!
The holy intent boiled!
The next five minutes were a one-sided beatdown. The dragon retreated not long after its appearance, not even making a sound. Hestia ended up pinned to the ground and beaten up. Her lance was taken from her, and her metallic armor was peeled off.
From afar, Wayne only heard the sound of fabric tearing. He was too far away to get a good look, so he only knew that there was a mole below Hestia’s left breast.
It was smaller than a sesame seed.
The one-sided fight left Hestia helpless. She tried to resist, even using the Eye of Judgment, but Hesione broke it with a slap and ended her resistance.
Soon after, the vitality field dissolved.
Hesione returned to the opera house and sat on Wayne’s lap, burying her face in his chest while speaking in a tearful whimper, “The energy went out of control all of a sudden. I couldn’t stop it. I didn’t mean to do all that.”
Wayne fell silent as he looked down at Hestia’s prone figure on the floor. She was disheveled, her eyes blank.
Śār, this is out of character!
What could he say? The only thing he could do was pat Hesione on the backside.
Hestia looked like a CG of a defeated character with barely any fabric covering her private parts. Looking closely, one would see the flaming red print on her left cheek, evidence of a forceful slap.
One could only imagine the psychological damage of the slap for someone who had entered the fight confident. The trauma would be soul-deep. In comparison, tainting the Śār’s eyes with her impure form in her current state of dishevelment was nothing.
Hesione continued to whimper in Wayne’s embrace, still insisting that her energy had gone wild. Wayne said nothing. He never knew Hesione had it in her.
After a long stretch of silence, Hestia took a deep breath and sat up, thinking about the philosophical questions of who she was and where she came from. When Wayne stared at her unblinkingly and reminded her to put on some clothes in a roundabout manner, she raised a trembling hand and conjured a white robe to cover herself.
She stood up in silence, her eyes red.
Unlike her, Hesione whimpered a few more times and straddled Wayne, kissing him with fervor. It was meant as a direct humiliation to the subject of Hestia’s admiration!
As the defeated party, Hestia could only watch the abuse play out. Two streaks of tears ran down her face before she realized it. “Śār, I’ve failed you. I can’t protect you.”
She sobbed quietly, wrapping her arms around herself.
“Enough already. You’re going to break the poor girl.” Wayne pulled away and pressed Hesione against his chest. Seeing Hestia’s devastated expression of someone who had just been thoroughly humiliated, he had to offer a few words of comfort. “It’s fine. I wasn’t pure to begin with. A clear conscience fears no accusations. I’ll be fine.”
“No!” Hestia looked up to stop more tears from falling. “In my mind, you’re always pure!”
Hesione finally stopped her troublemaking. She got to her feet and stood behind Wayne, fetching glasses from her pocket and putting them on. Then she took out a lipstick and a compact mirror to touch up her makeup, in a purposefully provocative and infuriating manner.
“Um, you’re actually quite strong. She’s just... How do I put it?” Wayne stammered. Then, brightening up, he clapped and said, “It’s the Golden Law! I added Golden Law! That’s what it is.”
What does that have to do with the Golden Law? Hestia thought. She’s only a clergywoman, and a mortal can’t carry that much Golden Law.
She reached an answer on her own. “Śār, her life essence is now close to that of an angel. She’s a demigod, isn’t she? You’ve modified her, haven’t you?”
“...Kind of?”
Hestia nodded. “I understand.”
“What did you just understand?”
“She’s absorbed your holiness,” Hestia said solemnly. “With every injection, she’s transformed further into an angel. You’ve sacrificed your purity to create a powerful vassal in order to fight demons and complete your mission.”
“Um...”
Have you considered that I simply desire her?
Wayne gave up. Hestia had come up with her own answer, so there was no point arguing. The current version of the story was quite nice, consistent with his image as a compassionate, noble soul.
“Śār, I can do it as well,” Hestia said, taking a step forward. “My body is purer than hers. I can absorb far more holy intent and Golden Law. Please use me for Heaven.”
Wayne’s eyes went wide, and his hands started fidgeting. He was just about to say something when warm lips smacked his face, leaving freshly applied lipstick.
The Śār was displeased. If he wanted to do something, do it to her. He must not tempt Hestia into falling!
Wonderful! Wayne thought, schooling his expression into one of severity. “Nonsense. You were lecturing me about losing my purity, and now you’re going to break the rules yourself? How shameless!”
Hestia’s face became flushed. The kiss print on Wayne’s face grated on her nerves and filled her with burning jealousy. “Śār, I have no ulterior motives. This is purely for your own benefit. You may not be aware, but Pedro’s real name in Heaven is Auriel. Like yourself, he’s a Seraph and one of the four Śārim. You aren’t on particularly good terms.”
“Auriel...” Hesione frowned.
“Auriel and Mikhael are close, so he values Mikhael’s bloodline in the human world—namely, the descendants of Saint George...”
“In your absence from the Papal State, nearly every reincarnated angel has been taking orders from him!”
Hestia explained the situation in the Papal State, and it was not a reassuring picture. Wayne needed to return as soon as possible, or Auriel would become the leader everyone turned to, and no one would bother with Hesione.
“That’s what’s happening...”
Wayne frowned deeply. He hadn’t known about the different factions in Heaven.
Then again, angels were of flesh and blood, too. Those of flesh and blood had a heart, and a heart always came with desire.
***
Underground catacombs.
A white-robed figure was tossed unceremoniously to the ground like trash, her limbs twisted and face distorted beyond recognition.
It was Givenchy.
Facing her was a figure in a grey robe. Judging by the slender silhouette, the person was a woman.
Of course, it could also just be a skeleton.
“Givenchy, isn’t it?” a graceful female voice said, calm and serene, utterly free of impurity. “Even now you refuse to speak. How admirably loyal you are to your master.”
She lifted Givenchy off the ground and pinned her to the stone wall, her eyes flickering with bewitching light. “Tell me, what is the name of your faith?”
“...”
“Can you not say it, or do you not want to?” The woman changed tactics. “Is your master in Palis?”
“He is,” Givenchy said weakly.
“Is he from the Astral Plane or Hell?”
“Astral Plane.”
“What a powerful evil god. He must be a transcendent being. Would a nobody like me have the honor to hear his name and follow his teachings?” Her voice had an enchanting charm that made it impossible to reject her.
“My great master,” Givenchy said in a trembling voice, her ashen face lighting up with fervor, “is named Wayne.”
“Wayne?!”
Why is he here? He should’ve gotten Shadow Nightmare and Julia.
Stiffening, the woman said in a low voice, “Take me to him, now. He shouldn’t be here.”
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