Chapter 533 (2): Flip the Table if You Can’t Win

“You and Hesione stand at the right side and the left side of the divine throne. You’re angels I trust and favor the most. With the Final Judgment on the horizon, I need you to complete a mission for me.”

“Your mission is to become the great demon god of Hell. I know you’re capable of that. You’ve only refrained from doing so because you yearn for Heaven.”

Mikhael’s expression stiffened. “Great Anointed One, I don’t want to stay in Hell.”

“I know. You want Heaven, and being its viceroy is your goal.” Wayne nodded. “But being a great demon god in Hell isn’t going to affect your glory as the Viceroy of Heaven. It’s a crucial mission only you can take on. My viceroy, He Who Is Like God, strongest angel, right side of the divine throne, he who is second only to one ruler, Mikhael, you aren’t going to disappoint me, are you?”

The affirmation and the string of compliments pleased Mikhael more than ever before. He got on one knee and said, “Great Anointed One, I, Mikhael, am willing to take on the mission. For you, I will become the great demon lord in Hell.”

“Good.” Wayne never doubted Mikhael’s capability. If he said he could do something, he could. “Notify me when you sense your ascension near. I want to see how you ignite your divine fire.”

Ines and the other three goddesses had told him more than once about the divine fire and the ascension to divinity, but it was so abstract that not even the images they had compiled for him could help him understand and emulate it. He needed to be there in person. Better yet, he should witness everything from Mikhael’s body.

Among all of Wayne’s demigod vassals, Mikhael was the closest to godhood, followed by Hesione and then Seleucia. All three of them were worthy investments. If he could learn about divinity through them, he would have an easier path ahead of him.

Also, he wanted to test if godhood was possible for Mikhael.

Seleucia had once said that the knowledge Wayne had bestowed upon her was enough for her to attempt the ascension, but due to the change in her life essence, she saw no possibility for her to ignite her divine fire. To be more precise, she couldn’t sense her divine fire.

The actual reason was still a mystery, but it might be because her life essence was too strong. Perhaps that had raised the knowledge requirement too high, or perhaps that had twisted her evolution path and thus made divine fire outside her reach.

The change to the life essence had to be key.

Then there was Aztimor. After Her life essence mutated, She remained the Goddess of Death, but couldn’t ascend and become the Goddess of Life with the information of Nature She possessed. Aztimor didn’t think She was the problem; Wayne was.

Wayne, on the other hand, didn’t think he had a problem. He was just such a special case that he had no frame of reference to figure out what was missing.

“Are ancient gods... gods?”

“The current gods call themselves the new gods... Are they gods?”

“Which of them are gods?”

Those weren’t questions Wayne could answer just by thinking in a vacuum. Only experimentation would tell him the answers. Mikhael stood the best chance at becoming a god. Whether he succeeded or not, the process would give Wayne clues.

It would be good if he succeeded, but if he failed... even better.

The failure would mean that Wayne no longer had to worry about the divine fire since his evolution differed from the new gods’. What applied to Ines and the other goddesses didn’t apply to him.

“Then the mage ranks mean nothing to me, either. Their evolution needs to proceed step by step, while my evolution... only requires the satisfaction of desires.”

Wayne frowned, remembering the ancient god on Dragonheart Island. That god had tried to satisfy his greatest desire: knowledge!

“No, if I only satisfy my desire for knowledge, that desire will crush all my other desires, then I’ll stop being myself...”

“Still, it’ll be a last resort,” he murmured to himself, his frown deepening. “If I can’t defeat the Four Horsemen, I’ll flip the table. They are not getting what they want if I ever lose my humanity.”

***

On August fourteenth, the Church of Nature’s plane arrived at Londan. Pope Senna traveled light with the headquarters’ Philosopher’s Stone and completed its relocation. In addition to the Church of Nature, Darkness, Sun, and Moonlight were also busy moving houses. Including the Church of Death, which had already established its headquarters in Londan, all five churches now gathered in the city.

It was Wayne’s idea. To eliminate all risks, he had not only gathered all the Divine Realms, but also the headquarters of all churches.

Originally, he was going to move the headquarters of the Church of Heavenly Father, too, but the Papal State was massive, and he had to watch out for Elohim. Therefore, he excluded the Papal State.

Such large-scale immigration was a concern for the locals. The Londan Ministry of Magic trembled in fear, and the Queen hadn’t been able to sleep at night.

According to insider information, Queen Sophelia had been prone to temper tantrums recently, always launching into curses whenever she saw any woman with short blonde hair. Because of that, Juno, who kept her hair short, had been scolded more than a few times.

She snitched to Wayne that the evil, jealous queen often badmouthed Saint Silvia with a hideous, distorted face, accusing Silvia of stealing her love—both her husband and her son.

Wayne tried and failed to figure out what Sophelia meant. He turned down Juno’s invitation to an afternoon tea.

Tea time with her fiancé at the princess’s manor? Bah, she wasn’t talking about tea, but his body.

The Anointed One should protect himself in the real world. No clergywoman seeking quick promotions would get what they wanted!

Wayne had realized that before he became the Anointed One. Juno wanted to trap him in a sandwich? Only in her dreams!

He suggested that she stop wasting effort. The moment she was corrupted, she was already doomed to Heaven. Anyone might be kept out of the gate but her.

She could rise to Heaven without getting Little Wayne to rise. She didn't have to work so hard.

***

Office, library.

“Regina.”

“Nilsson!”

The twin sisters threw their arms around each other, hopping around with their faces pressed together. Their chatter filled the room and livened it up.

It was difficult to differentiate between the sisters, but at least their makeup and outfits were different. Regina wore a women’s suit like a typical secretary, while Nilsson was dressed in a Church of Nature’s robe, white just like the Pope’s robe. The difference in style was stark.

Of course, Wayne could tell the difference readily since vengeful spirits had entirely different energy than vassals.

He wasn’t boasting when he said that he had always been good at telling twins apart. Filomina’s two sidekicks, for example, had always been distinct to him. He had never mixed them up. Even without the clothing and energy difference, he would still be able to tell Regina from Nilsson.

Sitting on the sofa, Senna sipped on black tea with her knees pressed together and her legs slanted slightly to the right. With her stunning beauty and sophisticated grace, she would attract the most attention even without saying anything.

In the break room adjacent to the office, a few vengeful spirits peeked in, too intimidated by Senna’s aura to speak out loud. These vengeful spirits were all Holy Maidens who had been abandoned and sacrificed by the church, so they didn’t just lack goodwill for Pope Senna; they felt strong negative emotions toward her.

Even so, they couldn’t help but shudder when they saw her.

Ottilia was no exception. She stood behind Wayne with a stiff face. Then, thinking that the demonstration was too weak, she sat on Wayne’s lap instead, putting her arms around his neck to lay claim. Senna had seen the same thing happen many times. The trio of magical girls had once put their differences aside to band together against her because of how much of a threat she posed.

Senna loved bullying girls. Biting her bottom lip, she looked at Wayne with misty eyes, tucking a strand of long blonde hair behind her ear.

She was so good at it that he couldn’t stop himself from sucking in a breath.

That displeased Ottilia. She immediately transformed into a succubus and, flashing Senna a smile, tipped Wayne’s chin up for a kiss.

Senna kept her jealousy to herself. Again, one girl wasn’t a threat to her. If Ottilia wanted to compete with her, she should get two more friends.

Ottilia’s sudden transformation made Regina jump. When she saw her sister calm down after an initial surprise, she had to marvel at the training that the headquarters of the church provided. Before, her sister would’ve gotten startled and kept asking for an explanation.

“Nilsson, don’t you find that strange?” Regina tugged at Nilsson’s robe, pointing at Ottilia’s succubus form.

“It is quite depraved.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about...” Regina agonized for a moment, her voice softening. “Don’t you want to ask me about my condition when you see Ottilia?”

“Um, actually... there’s my condition, too.”

“What?!”

The sisters mumbled and made it to the breakroom to examine each other. Hearing the yell of surprise coming from the room, Wayne covered his face and shot Senna a glare.

“Look what you’ve done. How am I going to explain to Regina?”

“What is there to explain? You’re too lenient with them.” Senna rose to her feet and stretched, showing all her alluring curves.

Her flawless charm made Ottilia panic. She tightened her arms around Wayne to stop Senna from sneaking up on him.

Where are you, Regina? Come lend your sister a hand!

Senna shot Ottilia a contemptuous glance. Lowering her eyes to look at Wayne, she said, “My faith, where do you plan to place the entry to the headquarters of the Church of Nature? This library?”

“No. I had a plot of land in the suburbs,” Wayne said. “There’s an old castle there. Just have some people clear it.”

The library wouldn’t work. This was the vengeful spirits’ turf, and the dead Holy Maidens bore strong resentment for the Church of Nature. If a conflict broke out... all of the Church of Nature, save for Senna, would die.

Times had changed. The vengeful spirits had become stronger alongside their master and were no longer the immature Holy Maidens they had been. To put it bluntly, if Senna stayed on the sidelines, not even all of the Church of Nature could defeat Wayne’s dog.

Do was probably the strongest dog in the world of magic. One day, even the phoenix subordinate god wouldn’t be its match.

“My goddess, have you arranged for my accommodation tonight?” Senna asked with a smile.

Ottilia tightened her arms around Wayne’s neck, pulling him into her arms.

He said in a muffled voice, “The Lando Estate. You are the Pope, so you should check on the District High Reverend’s work in Londan. Control your temper. Do not pick on Master Silvia.”

Senna’s smile stiffened. The concern wasn’t her picking on Silvia, but the other way around. She had a feeling that having to serve Silvia tea and water would be the least of her worries. Silvia would even boldly order her master to drink the water she had washed her feet in.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be there with you tonight. She won’t do anything to you.”

Smiles never vanished; they transferred. Wayne gave Senna a thumbs-up with a bright beam.

He could expect a good show tonight!