Chapter 479 (1): Evolution Isn’t a Bloody Fight, But a Diplomatic Negotiation

“Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Garville, the Great Sage of the Church of Moonlight.” Garville held a Book of Hell in his hand, his smile graceful.

“I’m not interested in you. Since you’ve appeared with a Book of Hell, you’re nothing but a demon’s pawn—to me and to the church behind you.” Auriel shot him a derisive look. “Pitiful man, you’ve offered your loyalty to a demon, yet the demon cares not about your life. Even if I don’t kill you, the Church of Moonlight will.”

Filomina nodded. Indeed, the church would not let Garville off the hook. The Great Sage would be replaced.

Garville smiled slightly, unconcerned.

He had been ready for that the moment he acquired the Book of Hell and made a decision for his future. People had to live with their decisions, whether the consequences were positive or negative.

Auriel’s full attention was on the Lord of Deceit. The High Reverend of the Church of Moonlight was a nobody to him. “Cut the nonsense,” he snapped. “Who is the Lord of Deceit?”

“You’re impatient, Śār Auriel,” Garville said at a deliberate pace. “Once I tell you, you angels will surely get into a fight to the death with him. Don’t you want to hear about the current Seven Deadly Sins and the situation in Hell before that?”

Auriel wavered. They could never go wrong with getting more information, but a demon’s pawn could not be believed. If the man lied, and he bought the lie, he would be making a clown of himself.

Rather than confusing truth with lies, it would be better not to hear him out.

“Heaven isn’t interested in Hell. Stop wasting my precious time. I’ll ask you one last time, who is the Lord of Deceit?”

“Śār, you sound... quite anxious!”

Garville’s lips curled up into a smirk. The line between him and the stubbornly anonymous Forest blurred.

Auriel’s eyes twitched. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

He wasn’t the only anxious one. All Sacred Virtues who had descended to the human world, except for Hesione, shared the sentiment. They were under so much pressure that it had been half a month since Gerar last allowed Kael to ride on tanks at Fallen Angel.

He was truly the embodiment of temperance!

“Before I tell you the identity of the Lord of Deceit, allow me to share with you the truth about the Deadly Sin. He isn’t a demon born in Hell, but a human from this world, born and raised in Londan, Windsor.”

“...” xN

The vermin lost their calm, and the reincarnated angels looked visibly shocked.

“Moreover, he’s been the demons’ enemy...”

Garville told the story from the beginning, affecting an admiring tone. “In March, 1938, the Lord of Deceit discovered magic for the first time and saw the truth of the world. After entering the world of magic, he showed godlike talent...”

“In August, he banished the descended Lord of Blood on Dragonheart Island. In September, he banished the Thousand-Eyed Demon in Londan. On the same day, he found the Lord of Pride’s altar and sent half of himself to Hell...”

“Later, he banished all the demons who descended to the human world and stopped the Gate of Hell from opening again and again...”

“In June 1940, he entered Hell and found his other half, becoming one with him and ascending to demigodhood. He killed Wrath and then Gluttony, two of the Seven Deadly Sins. That forced Hell to adjust its rules, allowing him to become a new Deadly Sin, the Lord of Deceit.”

“My master, the Lord of Envy, once said that when he entered Hell, all of Hell was calling out his name...”

“He banished all demons and ended up becoming one himself...”

“He’s a born demon!”

“...” xN

Among the flabbergasted vermin, Pride, who had remained in hiding, almost exposed his true form in rage.

╰⋛⋋‸⋌⋚╯

Bastard, I told you to spill the truth. I didn’t tell you to embellish the story!

Garville was himself. He hadn’t been possessed by a demon. Worried that manipulating him from a close distance would draw Wayne’s attention, Forest had told Garville the information as Envy and imposed few restrictions on him.

You there, just do it at your discretion.

But who told you to exercise so much liberty?!

Hearing someone talk up Wayne felt worse than discovering during the act that his newly recruited secretary had falsified her diploma; she wasn’t a dance student, and she hadn’t studied theology.

Garville had more to say.

“He spent two years going from a regular man who knew nothing about magic to a strong individual who could rival a god. Śār Auriel, you must know how talented he is.” Garville smiled at Auriel. “He’s strong enough to challenge two Deadly Sins and kill them in Hell. Can you do the same?”

Auriel ignored Garville. Halfway through Garville’s monologue, he had turned around to fix his eyes on Wayne. All this time, he had found everything about Wayne disagreeable save for his merciless stance against demons. He had learned about Wayne enough to figure out who Garville was talking about.

Hesione and Filomina had also turned to Wayne in shock. Hesione wasn’t just shocked, but frightened. Hell had gotten its claws on the Anointed One two years ago!

She remembered Wayne telling her that he had never used Pride’s altar, but... Oh, perhaps the Anointed One had hidden that from her for a reason. That was right. Her lack of wisdom would only invite trouble. It might be better for the Anointed One to keep it a secret.

Meanwhile, Filomina shot Wayne a questioning gaze. The bastard hadn’t told her about the Lord of Deceit. Bah, scumbag. Not a word out of his mouth can be trusted.

Wayne felt wronged. He had told her the truth. He had said that he would battle the reincarnated angels as a demon, so there would be a bit of a commotion. It was Filomina who hadn’t put two and two together.

“The Lord of Deceit is among the Tulip Families.” Garville’s eyes lit up with black light. “What do you say, Mr. Wayne?”

In his gaze was a gleam of... admiration.

(는_는)

What’s this? Is he cheating on me? Forest thought. Oh, he’s cheating on Envy. That’s fine then.

“It’s not bad... Everything you said is true, so I don’t see how I could pick on you.” Wayne shrugged. “Indeed, I’m the new Deadly Sin, the Lord of Deceit.”

Bam!

Auriel slammed the table and shot to his feet, circling Wayne along with Gerar, Vilkul, and Fred. When he saw Hesione, Hestia, and Olga remain seated, he scowled darkly.

“What’s the meaning of this, Hesione? He’s a demon!”

“Watch your tone, Auriel. He’s the Anointed One!” Hesione said without hesitation.

“Hesione, you’re Purity, yet you willingly let a demon taint you and...” Auriel was so angry that his face became distorted, but there were things he should not say for the sake of Heaven’s glory. “Stop saying he’s the Anointed One. He’s a born demon and the living embodiment of deceit. He lies as easily as he breathes. You’ve been fooled.”

Hesione shook her head, once again warning Auriel to watch his tone.

There’s no helping her. She’s hopeless! Auriel shot her a glare and labeled her an embarrassment to Heaven, while he paid no attention to Hestia and Olga even though they had been deceived by Deceit as well.

That showed the status of Thrones—or the lack thereof.

“There are too many people here, Auriel, and I cannot say everything I want to say.” Glancing at the shocked vermin, Wayne worried that the news would reach Auston and undermine his future profit, so he patted his pants and said, "Think about it. If I were the Lord of Deceit, everything I said would be lies. Then, since I’ve admitted to being the Lord of Deceit, I must not be the Lord of Deceit. So, I’m not Deceit.”

The circular logic confused the vermin. They only had one question: wasn’t Wayne Hesione’s reincarnation? How did he suddenly become a great demon lord in Hell? Which was the real him?

Hum—

A giant white magic circle appeared on the floor of the banquet hall, radiating surging holy intent. The projected angels representing the Seven Sacred Virtues sealed the long table, cutting the space from the outside. At the same time, the scriptures of the Golden Law morphed into golden chains and tied Wayne’s hands and feet to the chair.

“Amazing. You sealed me instantly. Is this a new trick?” Wayne marveled at the chains grappling him. “Hesione, Hestia, Olga, don’t move. I’m going to play this game with Auriel and the others. Give me some space.”

Hesione nodded obediently, grabbing the two Thrones and walking back.

“Hesione, Heaven is ashamed of your existence!” Auriel snarled.

He finally understood why Hesione had lost her purity and why she had refused to change her ways. The reason was simple: Hesione had succumbed to a demon’s trickery and fallen for Deceit’s lies. No matter what the demon said, she believed it. All her talks about the Anointed One were because of that, too. It was all the demon’s schemes.

This demon wanted to go to Heaven!

Eyes bloodshot, Auriel came to embody Vilkul with his rage, glaring at Wayne. “Lord of Deceit, I, Auriel, will protect Heaven. As long as I’m around, you’ll never set foot in Heaven, much less become the Anointed One. It could be anyone but you!”

“Really?” Wayne retorted loudly. “You almost got beaten to death by me!”

“It’s different this time. The seal I just applied is Heaven’s—”

Crack!

Under Auriel’s heartbroken gaze, the supposedly unbreakable seal couldn’t even slow Wayne down. He simply raised one hand, and the chains shattered into pieces instantly.

Nom.

“That’s too little to even sate my hunger...” Wayne patted Filomina on the backside and kissed her on the face. “Śār Auriel and I have a misunderstanding. It’ll be fine once I clarify it. Go home and take a bath. I’ll let you punish me without resisting.”

He gave her a gentle push and sent her to the manor—not hers, but the Holy Maiden of Darkness’s.

The High Reverend could never bite as well as she barked, so while she looked like a domineering mature lady, the reality was quite the opposite. She always started begging before Wayne could do much.

So that she wouldn’t suffer the same humiliation tonight, Wayne had helpfully found her two teammates. Hopefully, with Anastasia and Vichy supporting her, Filomina would be able to clear her name and turn her image as someone with nothing but bravado around.

Wayne placed his hands on the table to trap Auriel and the other reincarnated angels. When space shattered audibly, everyone around the long table was already gone from the banquet hall.

“...” xN

The vermin stared, gulping one after another.

“So, is Wayne an angel or a demon?”

“He’s most likely a fake Śār. Didn’t you hear? Śār Auriel called his secretary Hesione.”

Hiss—

“The Śār of Purity was tainted by a demon?”

“Damn it, I don’t envy him at all!”

“If Wayne... Sir Wayne is a great demon lord in Hell, wouldn’t Auston be a great demon lord’s father?”

“We’re part of the Tulip Families, too. Why is his son so strong? Why is his son capable of bedding a Śār?”

“Damn it, I envy him so much!”

“Well said!”

Amid the chattering, Queen Sophelia stood out like a sore thumb as she quietly wiped her tears. She hadn’t joined them in voicing her shock, nor had she voiced her agreement. Thinking back to how her father had broken her and Auston up, she felt a deep hollowness inside.

If that hadn’t happened, and she had stubbornly married Auston, she would’ve given birth to a great demon lord.

Now, the privilege was Silvia’s.