Chapter 543 (2): Wayne, I Finally Found You - Envy

Rumble—

In the vast starry cosmos, two blurred silhouettes slowly approached each other against a pale backdrop. At the moment of collision, light and darkness intertwined, as if dawn and dusk had arrived at the same time. It was neither pure daylight nor complete darkness, but a chaotic and mysterious middle ground.

?ār Auriel, tasked with guarding the Gate of Hell, stared in confusion at the descending Heaven and then the rising Hell. It suddenly dawned on him: Heaven and Hell are about to join!

Oh no. This is bad!

Auriel brandished his Spear of Thorns, his form expanding infinitely. The phantom of a six-winged angel stood between the two worlds, supporting Heaven above while his feet were planted in Hell amid the chaos.

For a moment, he was mighty like a god of war.

The next second, a colossal pale tendril lashed out, slamming the god of war to the ground. With a splat, his entire face was plastered onto the golden seal Heaven had put on Hell.

Crack!!

A continuous chorus of something shattering resounded as the golden bands sealing Hell collapsed layer by layer, unable to withstand the collision of the two worlds. They teetered on the brink of annihilation.

Auriel stared helplessly as Hell’s seal broke apart. He wanted to stop it, but couldn’t do anything. He prayed silently that the Anointed One, reasonable as he was, would be reasonable this time. Auriel hadn’t neglected his duties. He wasn’t to blame this time.

The merging process was unstoppable. The grand spectacle continued.

One side was Heaven, radiant, orderly, and virtuous. The other side was Hell, dark, deep, and steeped in chaos and sin.

The two worlds each represented the pinnacle of holiness and evil. No matter how one looked at it, they were absolute opposites that could never reconcile or come together. Yet, driven by the pale ocean, the two Divine Realms clashed and readily accepted each other following some esoteric rule.

Against the pale backdrop, the light and darkness merged. The information of the Seven Sacred Virtues and the Seven Deadly Sins clashed fiercely. The clash gave rise to complex and eerie phenomena that were grand in scale.

At the heart of the chaos, holy hymns and evil curses wove together in what seemed like an attempt to reach balance, becoming indistinguishable. The cacophony carried both voices.

Virtues and sins entangled, clashed, and assimilated each other, taking on tangible forms of looming phantoms of angels and demons. The golden bands and the black chains intertwined.

Next, the pillars of the Seven Sacred Virtues blazed in Heaven, their light piercing through the chaos in an attempt to illuminate the Hell below.

Hell gave as good as it got, erecting seven twisted pillars of light. Together, they formed an eerie tableau where light and darkness coexisted.

The Seven Sacred Virtues: Humility, Honesty, Diligence, Generosity, Purity, Courage, and Tolerance.

The Seven Deadly Sins: Pride, Deceit, Sloth, Greed, Lust, Fear, and Envy.

The embodiments of the Sacred Virtues and the Deadly Sins emerged from their respective factions, clashing in an epic battle.

The first to collide were Humility and Pride, followed by Honesty and Deceit, then Tolerance and Envy, and Diligence and Sloth. The counterparts faced each other. Perhaps influenced by the angels and demons embodying the virtues and sins, the battling phantoms took on various forms. For example, Humility and Pride clashed like mortal enemies, fighting relentlessly. Another example was Lust versus Purity...

Um, both were quite lewd. For a moment, it was hard to tell which was the Lust of Hell and which was the Purity of Heaven.

In the end, the Laws reached balance. The radiance of the Seven Sacred Virtues shone in Hell, and the shadows of the Seven Deadly Sins crept into Heaven.

It was impossible to discern whether justice had triumphed over evil or if darkness had swallowed light. Heaven and Hell reached equilibrium, forcing a new world where light and darkness, virtues and sins, and top and bottom complemented each other.

The sacred Heaven sat above, woven from endless radiance. Golden clouds drifted, each bearing magnificent palaces and gardens, with clear streams flowing in between. The shimmering figures of angels flitted about.

Hell, the distorted realm, stood below. Fire and darkness formed the Abyss. Rivers of magma churned and roared beneath the surface, with jagged rocks and towering peaks forming its skeleton. Sulfur permeated the air, and dark shadows of demons lurked everywhere.

The tremors ceased. Heaven and Hell had merged into one.

Hesione stood above on the ninth level, looking down below. Although Wayne had told her that Hell was Elohim’s creation, and the sins were foils meant to emphasize virtues and guide people to goodness, it was still shocking and awe-inspiring to see the two Divine Realms readily coming together.

Wayne closed his eyes, sensing the rebirth of Heaven and Hell. His gaze settled on the region of limbo. It was the gateway to the mortal realm. Both angels and demons could now cross over directly to the Chosen Land.

In the past, Wayne would’ve done everything in his power to stop demons from opening the Gate of Hell, but now... He hoped that the demons were strong-willed enough to bravely overcome all hardships, not to be intimidated by the pale Chosen Land.

“This... is power!”

Wayne raised his fist, feeling good about himself. He could even take on all Four Horsemen on his own now.

The illusion lasted only seconds before his cautious rationality crushed it with a sucker punch.

He turned to Hesione. “So? Do you feel stronger?”

Hesione nodded. “It does feel that way, and... suddenly, I can sense Hell. It’s as if...”

As if it’s also Heaven!

At that moment, Mikhael, who had been struggling to ignite his divine fire in Hell, sensed the shift. He opened his eyes in confusion, unsure of what had happened.

The Seven Sacred Virtues and the Seven Deadly Sins could sense each other, and the angels and demons met. In an instant, Heaven and Hell descended into chaos.

Wayne faded away before descending into the chaotic region. He cleared his throat, ready to address the crowd as the master of the Divine Realm. He designated Hesione as the bosslady of Heaven and Mikhael the bossman of Hell, while he himself was the boss of the new divine system.

“Great Anointed One.”

Auriel flew over in a hurry, his tattered clothes barely clinging to him. He looked like he had been through hell.

“Oh, no, Great Anointed One,” he exclaimed in panic. “The seal on Hell was destroyed in the collision. The demons will surely reignite the war. Heaven is in danger!”

Have you considered that this was all the Anointed One’s doing?

Wayne shot Auriel an annoyed look. Taking the mic from the leader? You’re asking to be replaced by another angel with a crime you haven’t committed as the justification.

The old boy named Reza, for example, was a promising young prospect, full of potential.

“Auriel, do you know why the seal was destroyed?”

“Great Anointed One, I don’t—”

“Oh? Are you making excuses?” Wayne widened his eyes. “I saw it from above. You crushed it. And it’s because of your negligence that Heaven and Hell came into contact. You’ve committed unforgivable crimes. Prepare to die.”

He sent Auriel to Heaven with a wave.

“Ahem!”

Wayne cleared his throat again. Noticing Mikhael craning his neck and looking up at the sky with fear, Wayne sent him a reassuring message: “My Viceroy of Heaven, He Who Is Like God, strongest angel, right side of the divine throne, second only to one leader, Mikhael. By the name of the Anointed One, Wayne, I swear that your glory shall forever reside in Heaven, on the right side of my throne.”

He then added that under the top leader’s blind eye, Pride could easily be substituted with a replica.

Mikhael’s heart finally dropped back down from his throat. Basking in Father’s praise, he no longer cared whether he was the Viceroy of Heaven or Pride of Hell. Nothing mattered as long as Father complimented him.

Of course, it would be even better if he could receive praise as the Viceroy of Heaven.

After comforting Mikhael, Wayne prepared to address the crowd formally...

“Hahaha—”

Suddenly, a booming, arrogant laugh interrupted Wayne. It carried the vindication of finally clearing one’s name, the resentment for justice’s tardiness, the sympathy for one’s own suffering, and the condemnation of an unjust world.

There was no need to guess who could possibly express such complicated emotions in laughter; it was the Lord of Clowns in Hell.

???(???)???

So lost in Father’s praise, Mikhael, the most accomplished of the family, had not noticed the Lord of Clowns’s offensive presence.

“Hahaha—”

Black smoke rose into a column, standing at the same height as Wayne. The Lord of Envy stared at Wayne with crimson eyes. His entire body trembled with excitement. “Look who’s here. Wayne, I finally found you!”

Ever since he failed to capture Wayne and lost the trail, Envy had been working tirelessly to comb through Hell, determined to find Wayne even if he had to dig six feet under.

In reality, Envy had met Wayne several times. During the council meeting of the demon lords, in particular, Wayne had held Lust in his embrace in the skin of the Bat Demon, becoming the Lord of Deceit and the second in command in Hell.

Given the great gap between them, with Pride vouching for Wayne, Envy never put two and two together. He was convinced that Wayne had been hiding in some dark corner of Hell out of fear of Envy’s overwhelming power. So terrified was Wayne that being found would mean death, he had been living like a rat in the sewers.

As it should be!

When he found Wayne and saw how well-dressed he was, his hair slicked back immaculately, Envy could not contain his displeasure. He had been imagining and hoping that Wayne had been leading a tormented life, but this was what he got?

No matter. Envy would clear his name today. It had only been three months. Wayne couldn’t have gotten that much stronger!

The Lord of Envy’s fighting spirit surged. Today, he would definitely take Wayne down. Not even the Heavenly Father would be able to save Wayne.

“Hahaha—”

Envy laughed so hard that tears brimmed in his eyes. He declared with fervor, “Wayne, I’ve been searching for you for so long!”

“So? What do you want?” Wayne blinked, looking at the Lord of Clowns curiously. The demon lord’s intel was so outdated. If it was because there was no internet in the village, Envy should ask the village busybody; she knew the most up-to-date gossip.

“I want you to tell everyone that you’ve slept with Purity of Heaven!”

“Um, not now.” Wayne shook his head. There was nothing between him and Hestia.

“Bastard! After all this time, you dare tell more lies? I saw—” Envy took a deep breath and announced to the world, “You defiled Purity of the Seven Sacred Virtues. Hesione—”

Bam!

Envy exploded with a deafening rumble. It was Mikhael. Jolted awake by the Lord of Clowns’ laughter, he saw how Envy had been standing at the same height as Wayne and flew into a rage.

Who do you think you are, standing at my father’s level?!

Then, hearing Envy’s honest words, he punched Envy in a panic and made him explode.

Hesione? Father? Heaven no. You can’t just say that!

Wayne stared blankly at the remains of the Lord of Clowns. Good thing that he wasn’t completely dead yet. The entertainment could continue.

“Ahem, let me say a few words...”

Damn it. What was I going to say?