The six evil gods didn’t understand, but one thing was for certain: Lord Sanctuary was a mole who had long taken Heaven’s side.

“Are you insane, Murphy? Look at yourself. Do you think Heaven will accept you?”

“Don’t waste your breath. Let’s take him out together. No mercy for a traitor.”

The fight between Astral beings was simple: appearance was power. The more horrific one looked, and the more knowledge one possessed, the louder their voice and the more corruptive they were.

The seven evil gods had about the same amount of knowledge, differing only slightly in strength. When it was six against one, the six were confident they could take out Lord Sanctuary in seconds.

“Kekekeke—”

Wayne swung his tentacles around, piercing into the six evil gods’ bodies. Appearance was power, and his appearance would be seen as beautiful if power were equated to beauty.

Seven voices engaged in an intense debate. Even an ancient god’s vassal, Thoggua, had been rendered speechless by Wayne, forced to return to their parent. Six evil gods with shallow knowledge were never going to be his match.

If they had opted to fight with magic, they might just have a fifty-fifty chance since Wayne was prevented from using his full power with the need to suppress the Goddess of Darkness. Going after Wayne through their evolutions, on the other hand... Well, he welcomed it.

Splash!

Amid the sounds of slushing tides, six melted figures were lost in the ocean of knowledge. Their selves became one with knowledge, melding their humble insights with the ocean and demonstrating their understanding of life.

Wayne retracted his six tentacles, devouring the six evil gods whole. The Book of Greed feasted. Though the tastes left something to be desired, the variety was good, making it a pleasant enough meal.

The six black robes falling to the ground were swept away by a strong gust from a distance, the only proof that they had once existed.

After dealing with the six evil gods, Wayne gave Umar, who had come as reinforcement, a thumbs-up. He didn’t need help. While the evil gods were powerful, he wasn’t one to be trifled with. She should help Mona take out Envy’s familiar as soon as possible.

Umar blinked after witnessing what had happened, wondering what exactly the Śār was tangled with. Her superior worked in mysterious ways, but there had to be a reason she was enduring the humiliation. Since Umar couldn’t figure out an answer, she didn’t try. She flew straight to the battlefield far away.

“That one actually bought Mona’s nonsense and sees me as the Śār.” Wayne shook his head in resignation. As an imposter, he had been quickly climbing up the stairs. Thankfully, he wasn’t a demon, or he would’ve become the top dog in Heaven in six years.

Well, maybe not the top dog, since that would be the Heavenly Father, the actual heavenly grade leader. He was easily satisfied and wouldn’t ask for much. Being second to the Heavenly Father would be good enough.

“Hm, wouldn’t that be the Śārs? I’m already considered one...”

Boom!!!

With ugly open wounds on his face, Smedley soared through the sky while swinging his black greatsword. Black light shimmered, dragging a dark space distorted by venom with it, exuding an unrivaled prowess.

The Sacred Lance of Heaven thrust down, detonating space and scattering broken shards in ripples. Everywhere the violent waves reached, the barriers of Holy Light in the distance shook before Smedley was even hit.

Darkness soared before plunging toward the ground with even greater speed, triggering rising dust and rumbling earth. Smedley had descended to the mortal realm in near-perfect form, his thoughts and body closely fitted together. It was a state that would make most demons salivate, but no matter how he turned the world around, Mona could always keep him in check.

Dust settled. Smedley bled poisonous blood all over his body, the poison contaminating the ground at his feet into black sludge. Gripping his black greatsword, he looked up at the sky while panting.

He couldn’t win, not at all.

Before he could finish the thought, another winged figure landed. With two angels looking down at him, Smedley saw no chance of winning this fight.

“Am I to meet my demise today?”

Lives were full of dramatic ups and downs, even for demons. Smedley had acquired the holy grail and reached his peak, but at the moment of glory, things came crashing down. He fell from Hell right to Heaven, with no time to even take a breath.

Smedley could accept failure, but not failure in offering Lord of Envy the great gift. He growled, hurling his black greatsword at Mona’s head in a streak of black lightning. His handsome face distorted, losing the human disguise to reveal his true appearance in Hell.

The thousand-meter-long python lay prostrate on the ground, hissing out its fiery red tongue. Two chilling snake eyes fixed on Mona, injecting a large volume of venom into the space it inhabited.

Clink!

Mona swung her lance at an accurate angle to send the black greatsword flying away. Looking down at the demon in his original form, she glared with killing intent blazing in her eyes.

The disjointed memories swarmed her again. The voice told her to show no mercy to the demon. This time, she didn’t reject the voice. She was obsessed with demons even without the voice’s influence.

Obsessed with killing them!

The Sacred Lance of Heaven radiated brilliant light. The scriptures of the Golden Law circled her in the form of bands. When the radiance peaked, white sacred flames blazed and melted space, burning away all the venom in the area.

Below, Smedley surged up with his large maw open, intending to swallow both angels together.

Looking at the open maw, Mona raised the sacred lance and morphed the Golden Law into a phantom of a sword-wielding angel, penetrating Smedley’s head and pinning him to the ground.

“How vicious...”

Wayne looked on from afar, once again marveling at Saint George’s prowess. A trace of his blood had pushed Mona to such a height. In comparison, the Book of Greed didn’t seem that impressive. Mona was the one using a cheat code.

Clang!

Smedley’s black greatsword fell to the ground, near Wayne’s feet. He put it in his personal storage. It would go well with his incomplete Philosopher’s Stone and make his demon disguise more convincing.

Loot: Weapon x1, Holy Grail x1.

Wayne picked up the spoils of the fight happily.

Back on the main battlefield, the enlarged, fully released Sacred Lance of Heaven had pinned the massive python to the ground. Its long tail swung around in twisted ways, grappling the lance and struggling to free itself. The sacred flames spread at contact, engulfing the python and bringing about even greater pain.

Smedley continued to secrete venom in an attempt to put out the sacred flames, but the flames he countered today were different from the ones he had known. Even though he was resisting with his trump card, the Divine Comedy of the Seven Deadly Sins, he couldn’t put the fire out, but only slow the burning.

Umar wasn’t sure what to do. She stood aside with an energy lance in her grip. Due to her quiet personality, she couldn’t even serve as a cheerleader.

“Arch... Mona, should we capture him alive for interrogation?”

“No, I never spare demons.” Mona stared coldly, remembering an ocean of blood.

Smedley was burned to a crisp by the sacred flames. After the pungent venom dissipated, the python became golden brown on the surface, emitting the mouth-watering aroma of roasted protein.

Wayne itched for a taste. The demon roasted with sacred flames smelled tasty, but he wondered if it tasted as good as it smelled.

Smedley growled in fury. He knew that he could no longer give this world to the Lord of Envy personally. With his mind made up, he praised the prowess of his master with himself as the vessel. As a strange tune came out of his maw, the air grew heavy, and the crumbling projection of Hell began to mend.

Umar was a veteran, and this was far from her first time witnessing something like this. The Śār’s presence further cemented her confidence. She calmly threw her energy lance.

The moment the lance pierced through the projected hellish territory, it scattered into pure white feathers of light, weaving into crisscrossing white chains. A seal that resembled the Gate of Heaven thus formed.

Smedley’s praises grew louder and clearer. By the end, he snarled, “My master, I, Smedley, hereby offer you everything, including my tattered thoughts and body. My only hope is for your might to reach the edge of the world!!”

As soon as he finished, the python’s eyes dimmed and greyed, lifeless.

Mona didn’t put the Sacred Lance of Heaven away. Instead, she pushed the sacred flames further, burning not only Smedley’s body but also the world that had been contaminated by him.

She was overdoing it a little.

Boom!

A pillar of black light rose toward the sky, originating not from the projected hellish territory, but Smedley’s broken body. Chilling willpower cascaded and overwhelmed all sounds and light, plunging one part of the world into darkness. The barrier of Holy Light that isolated the area also became shrouded in a layer of black light.

The seal of the Gate of Heaven in the sky shook, as if a massive beast were knocking against it. The white chains broke apart, unable to endure the force. The gate cracked and shattered audibly.

Sensing the terrible pressure in the air, Umar hurriedly turned to Mona. She had an icy look on her face, and the golden holy intention in her eyes alone boiled.

“That’s...”

Wayne’s heart sank. He put his hand on his chest and sensed the Goddess of Darkness awakening. She had noticed the changes in the outside world in her slumber.

Don’t. You’d better stay.

Wayne pushed his corruption further to convert the goddess’s partial thoughts. The moment the goddess opened Her eyes, She saw a boundless ocean of paleness rumble toward Her. Worried that She would end up covered in white in the basement of Wayne’s body, She hurriedly went back into slumber, shutting herself off from the outside world.

High in the sky, the broken pieces of the Gate of Heaven fell, reverting to pure Holy Light energy and blending into the sky, providing some luminosity in the dark world.

The clergy members outside the barrier gaped in shock. Watching the pure black barrier, they wondered which powerful demon had descended.

They had their guesses. It couldn’t be a regular demon, but one of the Seven Demon Lords who ruled over Hell.

The projected territory distorted and slowly contracted until it contracted into the shape and size of a human.. The man’s long hair ran down his shoulders. With star-like eyes, he was unusually handsome and extraordinarily noble.

The extravagant purple long robe he wore was adorned with golden, white, and black patterns that resembled slithering venomous snakes. As the robe fluttered in the still air, the snakes writhed along.

Lord of Envy!

Envy closed his eyes and took a deep breath, savoring the air. “Smedley, you’ve done well. I’ll create a familiar after your name so that your loyalty will live on.”

He opened his eyes and ignored Umar, the first angel he saw. Then he saw and smiled at Mona...

And paused.

“What...”

“It’s you?!”