Chapter 415: Asmodeus
Could a fragment of the Original Sin’s will truly become a new Original Sin?
The answer was, of course, yes.
Original Sin had been born from will itself. It had always been an aggregate of countless wills, only that these wills had contracted around a single concept, transforming into an individual consciousness.
That was what the Seven Original Sins here and now were.
Individual power could never transcend the world. Even those primordial Divine Figures who had nearly stood on equal footing with the world itself, who had created this world, were no exception.
They had created the world, but they had also created a prison that belonged to themselves.
The Seven Original Sins were no different.
They had created nine hundred and ninety-nine overlapping worlds, intending to use them to block Corleon. Yet now, the very world they controlled had become a prison Corleon prepared for them, confining them and buying time for the birth of a brand-new Original Sin.
‘So this is what you meant by wanting to destroy us?’ Sloth said. ‘Completely erasing us is impossible, and it is also something you would not permit. But placing shackles upon us, making us controllable—that is what you truly want.’
Corleon did not deny it. He nodded and said, ‘In the New Era, everything must be orderly. Chaos cannot be allowed.’
‘In your eyes, has this already become a settled matter?’ Sloth asked.
Corleon responded, ‘What I speak is the future of the world.’
Sloth nodded. Just as he was about to speak again, he suddenly closed his mouth and looked toward a certain black knight.
‘Asmodeus… that is a rather good name. Then I shall accept your bestowed reward.’
The one who spoke was Sloth.
The black knight Sloth was looking at was precisely the same one.
At the moment those words were spoken, a brand-new concept was born upon him.
That subtle change was also sensed by the other Original Sins.
Wrath cursed loudly, ‘Are you betraying us?’
Pride said coldly, ‘You have already lost the pride that existed among us since the ancient era.’
Asmodeus paid no heed to either accusation. He said, ‘What I pursue, what we pursue, ultimately comes down to existence. Only by existing can there be a future, can we continue to pursue what we want, what we desire.’
After saying that, he looked at Corleon. ‘Am I not right, Godfather?’
Corleon nodded in great satisfaction. ‘Naturally so. Your birth was something I permitted. You should naturally cherish the existence I have granted you.’
‘Bullshit!!’ Wrath hurled curses at Corleon.
Asmodeus continued, ‘How benevolent, how great a Godfather. I am willing to repay your bestowed reward with everything I know. Perhaps when you and I sink into indulgence together, whether I call you Godfather or Father, it will make you feel my docility.’
Corleon said, ‘That is Greed. You should not harbor such thoughts. The moment such thoughts arise, you commit the sin of Greed. Asmodeus, you must whip yourself and use pain to cleanse your greed, for what you seek is pleasure and joy.’
As Corleon’s words fell, the black knight armor on Asmodeus suddenly disintegrated, revealing an absolutely perfect body.
He was the aggregation of all desires in the world. Thus, in the eyes of all things, he would manifest in the most perfect form—whether for humans, beasts, dark creatures, or even flowers and trees.
So long as something possessed the need to reproduce, he would manifest in that form.
And now, upon that perfect body, streaks of whip marks appeared out of thin air.
‘Is this the most perfect state you imagined, Godfather?’ Asmodeus said while moaning.
The pure white body bore flawless curves. Black long hair cascaded smoothly downward. On a face marked by a small mole, pitch-black eyes gazed at Corleon with utter innocence, faintly glimmering with tears.
‘I thought what you envisioned would be some form that was not humanoid at all, or perhaps simply the land beneath our feet. Yet I never imagined that what you envisioned would be so filled with humanity.’
As he spoke, the frequency of whip marks appearing on his body did not lessen.
Corleon remained silent and did not respond.
The one who spoke was Sloth. In his current state, he was not lazy in the slightest.
He said, ‘It is precisely because it is too human that he is doing this now.’
‘Back then, Pegira could also have completed unification as he did. But whether in humanity or divinity, Pegira was not pure enough. He neither became a god nor remained a pure human. In the end, he only lost himself within time and became a lifeform that had to emphasize its own existence.’
‘That is also why, even though Pegira received the favor of the Primordial Divine Figures, he ultimately disappointed them.’
After finishing, he looked at him—or rather, at the wounds covering his body.
‘I can feel it—the pain penetrating deep into your will. Is this the weakness that appears after acquiring a baptismal name?’ Sloth said calmly. ‘So long as one commands you by that baptismal name, you have no power to resist.’
Wrath and Pride did not say anything further. They were sharing the sensations Asmodeus was displaying to them.
At this point, how could they not understand? He was using himself to test the function of a baptismal name for them.
‘But now I feel an unprecedented satisfaction,’ Asmodeus said. ‘It is as if I, who was always empty, was instantly filled.’
His face carried enjoyment, as though he were savoring the pain of the whipping.
That enjoyment even caused a holiness to manifest upon his face.
This was a sanctity even more sacred than that of the Church Nation’s Saintess Alice back then.
Especially when seen within this Gluttony World.
‘This is something you can only feel after establishing a connection with the world, after having an anchor,’ Sloth explained. ‘This is a good thing. It means that even if a new Original Sin is born, it will not be Asmodeus. One could even say that you can continue to propagate as the Original Sin Asmodeus.’
‘It is also a bad thing, because you have placed shackles upon yourself. From now on, even the lowliest human slave can speak your true name and send you back to Hell.’
Asmodeus said, ‘How is that a bad thing? It is not as if I have never been pressed beneath human slaves, nor have I not pressed slaves beneath me. Even those beasts and demi-humans have all enjoyed me and fallen into pleasure with me. And after obtaining this name, those who sink into indulgence with me will feel even more real.’
He spread his arms and faced Corleon, his entire body resembling a white jade cross.
‘Father, you have already set my name within the Scriptures. Then my name should naturally be known by all. Am I not right?’
His voice was like that of a tearful young girl, trembling with sobs.