Chapter 345 (2): “I can tell it’s fake news immediately. I’m not even going to fact-check.” - Sloth

“Fine. I get it. No matter who’s done wrong, the bastard is definitely wrong to involve an outsider against you.” Silvia scowled and clenched her fists.

Under Wayne’s incredulous gaze, she tried and failed to muster much rage. Only after she took a photo out of her pocket did her fury peak.

“Bastard, I’m gonna kill you!”

Boom!

Amid sweeping gusts and swirling dust, she leaped far away.

(눈_눈)x2

“Veronica, we aren’t going to become them, are we?”

“I don’t think so. That’d be sad. I don’t want to become a cussed old woman like her.”

Veronica shook her head. It was shameful to admit, but her role model was Senna. She wanted to become a graceful, dignified, and free-spirited older sister like her.

***

“Young Master, Master is looking for you.”

Megan found Wayne waiting for her in the underground base. They walked to the main house together, during which she kept hesitantly opening her mouth, her walk slowing.

“What’s wrong, Aunt Megan? If you need anything, just tell me, and I’ll get it done.”

You’re a sweet talker, Young Master.

Megan came to a stop and said with a blank face, “Young Master, I saw the photos. Though the resemblance is uncanny, there are many holes. Master could resolve the misunderstanding with a few words.”

I know, or I wouldn’t use the photos.

Wayne was here to join the family, not to tear it apart. Aside from the fact that Auston was the head of the family instead of him, he was satisfied with everything else.

Honestly speaking, he wanted to make Auston the former head of the family so that from now on, there would only be Master Wayne, Mistress Veronica, and Butler Veryl.

“You’re right, Aunt Megan. Would you mind pointing out the mistakes to me? I promise not to repeat them next time,” Wayne asked humbly.

“One person is missing,” Megan said in a low voice. “Wherever the master goes, I follow. He never avoids me. Next time, include me in the photos, and you’re good.”

Do you want to make progress this much, Second Mom?

Wayne looked at her strangely. Blushing, she hurriedly explained, “Don’t take this the wrong way, Young Master. I don’t mean it like that.”

“I understand. Next time, there will be no Queen, but only my father and second mother.”

“Young Master, you’re still misunderstanding me.”

“I’ve made up my mind. Don’t stop me.”

“If you’ve made up your mind, I won’t stop you.” Megan sighed softly. She was in no position to stop the young master from doing what he wanted to do. She couldn’t even reveal it. She only hoped that the young master wouldn’t go overboard. “Young Master, careful not to cross a line, or Mistress will be heartbroken.”

“Don’t worry. Master Silvia will feel bad for you, and Auston is the only one who will suffer.”

Soon, a change of scene:

INT. STUDY - after the butler set up a barrier[1].

Wayne sat across from Auston, looking at the bloodied bandages on his head with confusion. “What’s going on? How did you get so seriously injured in only a few days? Who did it? Who would dare to attack the Prince Consort of Windsor in broad daylight? Is the law still the law?”

Auston didn’t have time for Wayne’s nonsense. He said irritably, “I take it that you met Ivan last night.”

“Who is that?”

“Be serious!” Auston said darkly. “I’ve been tolerating you messing around outside the family, but not this time. The Holy Maiden’s purity must not be tainted, or once the Goddess of Darkness finds out, she won’t be the only one suffering the consequences, but also you and the family.”

You’re late, Darkness Knight, for twelve full hours. Lady Holy Maiden has already lost her purity at midnight.

The line was so villainous that Wayne didn’t say it, but only nodded in understanding.

“Are you really listening to me? The Holy Maiden is directly connected to the goddess. This is no trifling matter!”

You may not believe it, but the Goddess of Darkness is the most desperate one. If She hadn’t pushed so hard, the Holy Maiden wouldn’t have lost her purity last night.

Wayne nodded noncommittally no matter what Auston said.

Resigned, Auston made a compromise. “If you can’t do it, at least wait until the Holy Maiden resigns. Do not mess around during her term, I’m begging you.”

“Do you fear the Goddess of Darkness so much?”

“My power comes from Her. What do you think?”

Auston’s expression tightened. Were he a man without baggage, he would fear no god. However, the assault of Darkness’s messenger had given him such a scare that he had had multiple nightmares about it.

Every time he woke up in fright, he would feel a sense of defeat. He could not resist or run away, so he only hoped that Wayne wouldn’t create more messes.

Wayne touched his chest. The Goddess of Darkness was undoubtedly the deity he was most deeply involved with. Auston was the Darkness Knight, Megan was a great dragon of Darkness, one of his lovers was Darkness’s Holy Maiden, and his new father-in-law was Darkness’s Pope.

The Goddess of Darkness had control over many people around him, and they would all become Her leverage...

Thirty years was too long. He wanted to reach the other bank of the River Thames in three years, or preferably, three months!

“I only sent Ivan after you to warn you, nothing else.”

“Of course there was something else. You wanted to watch me suffer.”

“I didn’t. You’re overthinking.”

“Yeah, right.”

Wayne rolled his eyes. Auston had paid a heavy price for the attempt, so he would consider the score settled. He looked forward to their next clash.

He retrieved an envelope from his personal storage and placed it on the table. “This is the investigation report about the Republic of Erland. Take a look. The Lord of Envy was behind the cults...”

He had briefed Auston via phone on what had happened. The report, drafted by Mona, left out many plot points related to her, giving Wayne most of the credit for defeating the demon.

Auston didn’t suspect anything. While the Lord of Envy’s reputation preceded him, he had only descended to the human world with part of his thoughts. It wasn’t strange that Wayne had managed to banish him in a one-on-one fight.

It would be stranger if Wayne had lost.

***

In the grim, dark Hell, a black, dead sea occupied Envy’s territory.

Under the infinite night sky, the air seemed to thicken with heavy oppression. The black water was calm, every inch radiating a lifeless energy. It was cold, despairing, and suffocating, like viscous ink.

The waves gently lapped at the coast. The low rumbles resembled a dead man’s last breath or a summoning call from another world. There was no sign of life—no seabirds, no fish, and not even a hint of green. There was only an infinite darkness and lifelessness.

Only the occasional low groans broke the stillness. The sounds swirled in the air like a vicious curse and dragged the curious to the bottomless abyss below the dead sea.

Bam!

“Those bastards. I’m lying? I saw it with my own eyes. It’s the truth!”

In a shadowed land in the abyss, a cluster of extravagant black structures stretched. Inside one of the main halls, a black-haired man slammed the table in frustration.

Lord of Envy!

He had generously shared with other demon lords the latest joke from Heaven, but they mocked him because the joke wasn’t hellish enough.

Such tall tales should be beneath a proud demon like you, Pride said.

I saw you as a brother, but you lied to me? Wrath said.

I can tell it’s fake news immediately. I’m not even going to fact-check, Sloth said.

Is there another joke? Tell me, Greed said.

Enough is enough. You’re getting radical, Gluttony said.

Hesione couldn’t have lost their purity, Lust said. I haven’t done anything. A human mage isn’t qualified for that.

The Lord of Envy was beyond frustrated. He had thought that the joke would spread like wildfire in Hell, and Hesione would turn into a laughingstock, but all the demon lords thought he was lying.

They said, and he quoted, “We’re demons, but lying to humans is one thing; don’t lie to yourself just to force an entertainment.”

After that, they mocked the Lord of Envy for his poor, easily-satisfied pride, infuriating him so much that he exited the group chat.

Envy had not met the other demon lords in person, lest his weakened state be discovered, leading to his territory being stolen. Then he would become even weaker when he needed power, creating a vicious cycle.

Forbearance begot peace, and compromises... made him angrier and angrier. Pride’s prideful expression grated on his nerves, especially. He could not let it slide.

After a moment of consideration, he waved and summoned a servant in his territory. The shadow had no tangible shape, constantly morphing like mist or flowing water. The only concrete thing was the hellish mask floating within, with basic facial features and a pair of crimson lips.

They spoke impassionedly, “O Great Lord of Envy, what may this servant do for you?”

“How are Night and the others doing? Have they opened the Gate of Hell?”

“Lord Envy, they seem to have encountered some difficulties. I asked, and they said that the Death Knight has refused to cooperate and kept creating trouble for them.”

“The Death Knight’s head is in hell, but he’s still resisting?”

“That is the case.”

“Useless trash, can’t even deal with the Death Knight, and they want to dethrone one of the demon lords?”

Lord of Envy scoffed. According to his spy, Night, Blood, and other demons had banded together in an attempt to replace one of the seven demon lords. His spy had investigated and acquired more precise intel: the alliance of demons was after the master of countless succubi and the creator of the Lost Paradise in the Seventh Abyss—the Lord of Lust.

Envy didn’t have much hope for the alliance, and he questioned the validity of the intel. Demons could fool humans, but it wouldn’t be so easy to fool their own.

“How’s Lust? Any countermeasures against the demon alliance?”

“No. The Lord of Lust has taken in a new pet and shown the pet great favor. It’s been a while since the demon lord’s last appearance,” the black shadow said respectfully.

“What kind of pet could take all that?”

Envy was curious. Stories about succubi’s milking ability weren’t only stories, and as the OG succubus, the Lord of Lust was on another level. Someone who could endure so long under Lust had to be something else.

“I’m not sure, but it’s said that the pet resembles the Lord of Pride.”

“???”

The two of them together? Would Pride really see any appeal in Lust?

Envy huffed in disapproval. If Pride saw something in her, Envy would, too. “I’ll give you a mission. Select a few loyal familiars and take them to me.”

“Great Master, have you come up with a new plan?”

“It’s the same plan. Send them to the mortal realm...”

Envy was after the Gate of Hell that the demon alliance was trying to open, planning on playing with the Death Knight’s head. His goal was simple: to prove that he hadn’t lied, and Hesione had not only lost her purity, but lost herself in the process.

It would be even better if he could lure Hesione and her partner to Hell to give all demons a live show. He was getting excited just thinking about it!

He would bet another part of his thoughts on the plan. He could not possibly fail again.

No one’s luck would remain rotten forever. It was time for him to bounce back and win a round!

1. The original is “Study, butler, barrier. Sofa, father and son, bandages.” It’s structured like a classic poem that starts with three lines that each consist of three two-character nouns, Sunny Sand: Autumn Thoughts by Ma Zhiyuan. It’s a distinctive and very rhythmic way of writing. The sentence structure is so well-known that if you stack two-character nouns together in a row, people will recognize it as a replication of the poem. It works because Mandarin is a high-context language, but it just reads as strange in English. One common published translation of the poem renders the images into full sentences rather than retaining the original structure because it just wouldn’t have the same effect. This is a long-winded explanation of why I chose to render this line differently: the structure doesn’t really work in English, and there is no classic precedent in English literature. ☜