Chapter 482 (1): If She’s a Sar, Am I not Dead? - Pontiff Reza

December twenty-fifth.

Study, Lando Estate.

Wayne lowered the newspaper with a depressed look, murmuring, “It’s the twenty-fifth, yet Franc still hasn’t surrendered. How is the world going to get better? That’s an intangible cultural heritage!”

Auston fiddled with his silver coin with an expressionless face, not understanding Wayne’s anguish in the slightest. “O Great Lord of Deceit of the Seven Deadly Sins,” he said sarcastically. “What insight do you have into the international landscape of the Chosen Land?”

Auston hadn’t attended the meeting, but he had heard from the other Tulip Families. He had been unwilling to believe it. Wasn’t Wayne supposed to be the Anointed One? How did he suddenly become a demon? And he was even one of the Seven Deadly Sins, at the top of Hell’s hierarchy?

It didn’t make sense!

Gradually, though, Auston came to believe it. It had become increasingly easy to do business with the other families competing to bribe the Lando family, claiming it was just a simple offer out of respect. When pressed, they would bring up the fact that they had bought Auston meals.

The vermin in Londan were adaptable. They didn’t care whether Wayne was a Śār or a Great Demon Lord. To the fence-sitters, right and wrong didn’t matter. Whoever was the strongest would be Windsor’s king.

Auston was Wayne’s father, so he was the strongest!

Auston wondered if he had imagined it, but he felt like the Queen’s skirt had been getting shorter and shorter the past two days. Since he didn’t want to understand her motive, he assumed it was because it was summer. It made sense for her to wear shorter skirts in such hot weather.

With all those facts presented to him, Auston had to believe that Wayne was Deceit even though he didn’t want to. Not only had Wayne become a demigod, but he had also become one of the Seven Deadly Sins in Hell. He had also achieved the glorious feat of cutting down two great demon lords: the Lord of Gluttony and the Lord of Wrath.

Those mythical names represented the greatest power in Hell and were goals mages would spend their whole life pursuing. Yet they had died at the hands of Trash Jr., who couldn’t even sit upright.

Auston truly couldn’t wrap his mind around it. If Wayne was so talented, why would he remain unknown for twenty years until Veronica encountered him by chance? Auston fancied himself a man with a good eye for talent, more so than Silvia and Veronica. But the truth disproved that...

“What went wrong?” Auston couldn’t figure it out. Holding a silver coin, he turned to Wayne and said, “I’ve received quite a lot of invitations the past few days, all of them mentioning you. There will be a lot of beautiful women at those banquets. Are you going?”

“Nah, my body can’t take more.”

“Ha, at least you have some self-awareness!” Auston sneered. He didn’t bring up the invitations again. Those classless women were nothing without their beauty. They weren’t good enough to have a tryst with the Lando heir.

“You’re Windsor’s Vice Minister of Magic, so without you, a meeting can’t begin. I know you don’t care about it, but it’s your right. I have to inform you...”

Auston told him about the changes in the international climate and Windsor’s future strategy, including but not limited to suppressing Franc, liberating the territories that Prussia had conquered, deploying troops to Prussia, and defending the Rus Federation.

The intelligence said that Prussia’s bedfellow, Enoria, had taken a firm stance. The day after the Chancellery of the New Reich exploded, Enoria had decisively declared war on Prussia, sending an army across the border...

Then they lost miserably.

Enoria was eagerly asking Windsor to lend a hand as a comrade on the side of justice.

Who’s your comrade? It’s too late!

The weak should be aware of their weakness; the nation of pasta had clearly overestimated herself. Windsor ignored Enoria, allowing her to take Prussia’s abuse on the frontline.

Prussia had lost her leader. Rear services were heartbreakingly terrible, and she could no longer afford to fight on so many fronts. Almost all her troops had retreated to the Prussian border.

On the one hand, those with practical power were allowed to take over. On the other hand, there was such disorder in the rear that supply couldn’t sustain the army at the front lines.

As Prussia retreated, the other countries advanced. The Chosen Land was in chaos.

“What do you think? Any comments?” Auston asked.

“Nah, I’ll just be an observer.” Wayne shook his head. He wished for world peace, but that was a difficult ordeal that the Heavenly Father couldn’t figure out with the globe in hand. He had no choice but to keep thinking.

He had little interest in the war. He changed the subject: “For the next few days, I’ll leave Londan with the reincarnated angels, following them to Heaven.”

“Heaven...” Auston’s eyes twitched. Lowering his voice, he said, “You’re one of the Seven Deadly Sins. What are you doing in Heaven? Can Hell not satisfy you?”

“Listen to yourself,” Wayne grumbled. “I’m also the Anointed One!”

“I’d rather believe you’re a demon.”

Rumors stopped spreading once they reached the wise. Auston chose to believe what he was willing to believe.

“Sorry to disappoint you. I’m neither a demon nor the Anointed One, but I have to visit Heaven...”

Wayne frowned. The Anointed One remained at large, and he didn’t want to wait any longer.

Among the seven reincarnated angels, Auriel had recovered his full power in Heaven early under pressure and anxiety. Wayne believed that without him, Auriel would be the strongest person in the Chosen Land.

Auriel had recovered his power, but hadn’t found the Anointed One. With the Lord of Deceit as a neighbor, Auriel became even more anxious. Wayne, kind as he was, decided to help him out.

Auriel could stop worrying about who or where the Anointed One was. Just leave it to the other Sacred Virtues.

The priority now was to open the Gate of Heaven in the Papal State. Wayne couldn’t wait to accept the Heavenly Father’s heritage. He would learn it, but not claim it. What belonged to the Anointed One would still be the Anointed One’s. He wouldn’t stop them from becoming a god.

“Are you really not the Anointed One, Wayne?” Auston asked curiously.

“I’m not. I’m certain of it.” Wayne pointed at himself, surprised. “Given your intelligence and your understanding of me, why would you believe such an absurd rumor?”

“Perhaps Śār Hesione is right...” Auston closed his eyes. “If I look at your actions in Hell and not yourself, the rumor that you’re the Anointed One doesn’t seem so absurd.”

“What an indirect compliment. I would’ve thought you were insulting me!” Wayne shook his head. “If only I were the Anointed One. I know what I should and shouldn’t do. The Anointed One, on the other hand... I don’t even know what they look like or what their personality is. If they’re just like me, the Chosen Land will be doomed.”

They talked some more. Then Auston headed to the Ministry of Magic’s headquarters to work overtime, while Wayne went to sleep at the young lady’s mansion.

He wasn’t sleeping, but playing cards.

He had arranged games at the manor of the Holy Maiden of Darkness, and he did the same at the Lando Estate. Wayne wanted to put Vera and Darienne at the same table since they knew each other, but Vera didn’t want that.

There were too many mature ladies at the Holy Maiden of Darkness’s place. Everyone except for the slacker made Vera insecure.

Anastasia, especially, was so perfect that without her two friends by her side, Vera wouldn’t even dare look her in the eyes.

***

Fallen Angel.

The seat in the corner was surrounded by colorful lights. Four top-level handsome men sat at the table, while the one odd Throne was relegated to the outer seats because of a lack of status, serving as a human wall to block out the freaks' freaky gazes.

The experience was terrible. Even to the angels, this place seemed like Hell. Fred didn’t understand why Gerar would allow Kael to mess around here again and again.

The name of the bar, especially, was too much of an irony to them.

“Gerar, why did you arrange the meeting here?” Auriel asked darkly. He, a Śār, could hold a meeting anywhere. Wouldn’t Buckingham Palace be a much better choice? Why the Fallen Angel? Was it a jab at him for losing to a demon like a kicked dog?

“This is safer since these are all my people,” Gerar said. “They won’t talk.”

Vilkul swallowed his rage. He got right to the point. “I still haven’t found the Anointed One. It’s not because Londan is too big, but because we have no useful information. I’ll be blunt. Unless the Anointed One shows themselves, we’ll never find them.”

“But we have to find them!” Auriel bit out.

“I’ve been wondering,” Gerar said. “We’re certain that the Anointed One is in Londan because of Pride. Isn’t it possible that Pride lied to us?”

“That can’t be,” Auriel said with certainty. “Deceit has been staying in Londan. While a demon’s words cannot be trusted, their actions don’t lie.”

You trust demons too much! x2

The two Cherubim shared a glance, seeing resignation in each other’s eyes.

Auriel had been defeated by Deceit twice—one-sidedly, with no chance of winning. Even after recovering his full power, Auriel had not challenged Deceit to prove himself like he had said he would.

Clearly, the Śār was scared. The only tough part of him was his talk.

Auriel wasn’t confident that he could defeat Deceit, and the two Cherubim, even less so.

After a moment of silence, Gerar said, “Rather than looking around blindly without leads, it’s better to search according to the original prophecy about the Anointed One. Resurrection after death, a humanoid but unhuman human, and a god in the human world. A human who meets the conditions will have to be the Anointed One even if they aren’t that.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Lahr is a traitor, so his interpretation of the prophecy cannot be trusted!” Auriel blatantly disregarded the three traits. Then he concluded, “Forget Londan. There is no one like that in all of the Chosen Land. Lahr has provided false information, most likely to waste our time in the human world.”

He became increasingly worked up. “And Mikhael must have interrogated Lahr and extracted the correct information, but he hasn’t told us. That bastard only cares about his position as the Viceroy of Heaven. I’ve misjudged him.”

“Calm down, Śār Auriel. You’ve allowed your anxiety to get the better of you.” Vilkul told Auriel to relax, maintaining the virtue of gentleness.

Auriel sighed. He knew that, but he couldn’t help it. He was under too much stress.

“There’s one thing I don’t understand. If Śār Mikhael knows the real traits of the Anointed One, why hasn’t he sent his confidants to look for them?”

“Is it possible that the Anointed One isn’t in Londan?” Gerar asked gravely. “Perhaps Mikhael has found the Anointed One, but hasn’t told us.”

“That... can’t be...”

Auriel wanted to deny that, but his response lacked conviction. He snapped his fingers dejectedly and had the Throne order him drinks.

“One for me, too.”

“Same for me.”

Gulp— x3

ε=(´ο`*)))x3

Life was hard.