The Divine Twilight's Return

Chapter 300: Star, the Source (9)

“Jingwang[1], Chogang[2].”

At King of the Underworld Thanatos’ call, the two divine generals came forward. Although Thanatos was no longer speaking in his Divine Voice, he still exuded a formidable aura. It was the same for the two divine generals. They didn’t just have the dignity of Celestials but also looked as menacing as demonic generals. All they did was take a step forward, yet they still emitted a presence comparable to demonic monsters.

The concept of divinity and demons seemed impossible to coexist, yet the divine generals seemed to be both at the same time. After all, they were part of Thanatos’ Ten Purgatory Kings, the judges who made verdicts for the sinners and punished them in the Purgatory Plane.

“We await your command.”

“We await your command.”

[Jingwang]

The first judge of the Ten Purgatory Kings. He stays at Blade Mountain and drops sinners on top of a pile of blades, making them feel like their souls are getting shredded.

[Chogwang]

The second judge of the Ten Purgatory Kings. He stays at Fiery Pool and drops sinners into barrels of lava and acid, making them suffer in pain as they burn.

“Get them,” Thanatos commanded.

“Yes, sir!”

“Yes, sir!”

Jingwang and Chogwang immediately leaped and disappeared into the air.

Paah!

Paah―!

They then each showed up on top of the Vermillion Bird and Azure Dragon.

“I actually don’t have any personal grudges against you, but I have to follow the King of the Underworld’s orders. As his subordinate, I will likely have to be extra hard on you. I’d be grateful if you keep that in mind.” Jingwang looked calm and gentle as he stood in front of his enemy. He didn’t feel nervous or hostile at all.

However, when he pulled out a greatsword from his inventory, he exuded an aura that could be described as the epitome of menace. What seemed like a demonic monster with a contorted face circled around his greatsword as if to show the pain that the sinners felt when they were executed with it.

The relic in his hand was the [Northshade Sword], a greatsword made by the 6,666 finest blacksmiths in the <Underworld>. Using a hellfire pit as a brazier, they pounded on the sword for 6,666 years to create it.

Swish―!

Paah, paah, paah!

As soon as Jingwang fiercely swung the [Northshade Sword], sharp gusts of wind that seemed to be duplicates of the sword rained down. Each of them was imbued with thick ghost energy.

[The Celestial ‘First Purgatory King’ has activated the Authority ‘Northshade Blade Wind’!]

『Kyaaah! You’re resorting to cheap tricks!』 The Vermillion Bird frowned deeply upon noticing Jingwang’s presence. They sounded as bizarre as several ghosts speaking at once since their voice was all of the seven <Stars> that made up the bird combined.

Booom, boom, boom―

While gliding down to the ground, the Vermilion Bird abruptly changed course and soared up in the sky, leaving behind a rain of fire with their feathers.

[The Constellation ‘Vermillion Bird’ has activated the Authority ‘Fire Rain’!]

When Jingwang’s sharp-edged winds cut off the Vermillion Bird’s fiery rain, the raindrops exploded and scattered the winds. The heat instantly engulfed the sky in chaos.

Chogang and the Azure Dragon fought below them.

[The Celestial ‘Second Purgatory King’ has activated the Authority ‘Fire Dragon of the Eternal Mountain!]

[The Constellation ‘Azure Dragon’ has activated the Authority ‘Typhoon Summoning’!]

Unlike Jingwang, Chogang remained silent. However, it wasn’t because he was taciturn. Judging from his crooked smile, he seemed to think that coming all the way out here to fight the Azure Dragon was quite the hassle.

Woosh, woosh, woosh…!

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

The fire dancing around Chogang soared up, transformed into a Fire Dragon, and flew at the Azure Dragon.

Roaaaar!

Angered that a phenomenon that hadn’t found their Spirituality was challenging them, the Azure Dragon let out a long roar and held out the bead in their hand.

Flash!

[Cintamani] was the Azure Dragon’s famous relic—no, notorious demonic relic. The moment it was activated, it unleashed a rainstorm that transformed into a chain and tied up the Fire Dragon. The harder the Fire Dragon resisted, the more the chain tightened. It evaporated and reformed several times.

Their attacks’ collision spread fog all over the area, making the sky look so terrifying from the ground that it seemed the world could collapse at any given moment. Nevertheless, despite the fog being so thick that it made it hard to see an inch ahead, lights kept flashing and earsplitting thunders continuously rang beyond it.

The clashes had rendered Sanjiva inhabitable.

“I know they’re extraordinary people, but…”

“... this is beyond anyone’s expectation!”

The Purgatory Plane army that followed the two divine generals to this place tensed up. Even though they were elite soldiers of the <Underworld>, they rarely saw a battle that turned the world upside down yet also made it seem as if a world was being created.

Tap.

The little boy kept smiling as he softly landed on the ground.

“Hello, Mister King of the Underworld! I’m really, really glad to see you. It has been so long! How have you been?” ‘Tai Wei Yuan,’ the little boy, waved his arms around to say hello to Thanatos. He looked as if he was just greeting his fun uncle.

“Thanks to a certain someone, not so fine.”

“Hup! Maybe it’s because you lack sleep. Tortoise said that people feel tired and become really sensitive if they don’t get enough sleep. You’re a workaholic, so that’s probably the case!”

“You’re responsible for eighty percent of my workload, so I don’t think you should be giving me this lecture.” Thanatos snapped.

“Hehe! I got a compliment!”

Thanatos clicked his tongue, then answered expressionlessly, “I see your face is as thick and shameless as usual, Sangwon.”

‘Tai Wei Yuan’ always slyly hid his real intention behind an innocent smile, so Thanatos didn’t like him.

Regardless, ‘Tai Wei Yuan’ kept grinning. “Hahahaha! It’s been really long since I last heard my real name! No one has casually called me that these days.”

Naturally, no one would. ‘Tai Wei Yuan’ was one of the three rulers in the <Purple Star Astrology>, which was popular for their strict adherence to their hierarchy. Other <Societies> required their members to follow their ranking systems as well, but they were not as strict as the <Purple Star Astrology>.

They divided their members into rulers, subjects, and citizens. With such an important difference in their ranks, following their superiors’ orders was a must. Disobeying orders from above or defying their superiors could result in execution. Even If they only showed discontent, they could still get severely reprimanded.

That was why the Emperor’s Seat and his children were treated as the odd ones within the <Purple Star Astrology> and why Chang-Sun left the <Purple Star Astrology> not long after joining them. The <Purple Star Astrology> also branded Chang-Sun as their enemy and hunted him for the very same reason. From their perspective, one’s withdrawal from the <Society> could be viewed as a catalyst leading to disorder within their ranks. Perhaps they were more obsessed with their hierarchy because they were born yokai or monsters, not ordinary humans.

Sangwon had only ever been called cheesy names like ‘Your Majesty’ and ‘Sage Ruler’ lately, so he found it refreshing to hear his real name. It even made him smile in delight. He was only happy because Thanatos was a king like him, though.

Thanatos stayed expressionless no matter how frivolous Sangwon behaved.

After some time, Sangwon stopped laughing. “Anyway, do you really have to go this far?”

He was still smiling like a genuinely happy child, but Thanatos could see Sangwon’s true side now, which was devilishly hideous.

“We might have tried to tamper with R’lyeh and broke some parts of the <Treaty>, but when you bring your army like this, it makes it seem like you want a full-scale war. Hehehehe.” Sangwon laughed like a demon that was about to break out of the shell named ‘Tai Wei Yuan’.

“It hasn’t been long since the <Myth War> came to an end, but you’re already using Twilight as your secret weapon and even brought Jingwang and Chogwang with you… You filled the empty seats of the Purgatory Kings with weirdos. Are you sure you want to start another war?” Sangwon pointed at the sky with his index finger. “Look at them. Every last one of them is behaving like a hyena constantly looking for a chance to come over here.”

[The Celestial ‘New Tian Shi Yuan’ observes Sanjiva.]

[The Celestial ‘Zi Wei Yuan’ stays silent.]

…

[The Celestial ‘Taurus’ observes the movement of the Society <Purple Star Astrology>.]

[The Celestial ‘Scorpio’ tenaciously observes the army of the <Underworld>, waiting for their next move.]

…

The <Purple Star Astrology> and <Horoscope> Celestials weren’t the only ones watching Sanjiva right now.

[The <Memphis> Celestials observe the <Saha World>!]

[The <Deva> Celestials are concerned about the possibility of another Myth War breaking out!]

[The <Niffelheim> Celestials are on guard, anticipating the next move of <Muspelheim>!]

…

The other <Societies> were also observing the situation. All of <Heaven>’s eyes were basically on them, knowing full well that the collision between the <Purple Star Astrology> and <Underworld> wouldn’t just end with a simple conflict. The <Horoscope> Celestials could never give up on R’lyeh, so they would definitely join in on this fight. Claiming to be mediators, the <Maleakhe> and <L’lnfernal> Celestials might also interfere. Eventually, all of <Heaven>’s Celestials would be involved in this war.

It was going to be mayhem. Nothing would be worse than Trailokya, <Heaven>, the <Underworld>, and the <Saha World> tangling up and creating chaos. However, the bigger problem was that the Six Paths would also get caught in the crossfire. This war would create a horrible battlefield where the line between the dead and the living didn’t exist… No matter how belligerent Thanatos was, Sangwon believed that he wouldn’t want to escalate this conflict that far.

“So why don’t we talk this out? I’ll make compromises, okay?” Sangwon offered as if he was willing to accept any proposals.

<Heaven> hadn’t fully recovered from the aftermath of the Myth War yet, so the last thing they would want was another war in their hands.

However, Thanatos maintained his expressionless face as he curtly said, “Sangwon.”

“Hmm? Have you changed your mind?”

“Wipe that grin off first before you say that kind of stuff to make it more believable.”

“Oops.” Sangwon hurriedly covered his face, then spread his ring and little fingers, revealing his grinning eyes. “Was it that obvious?”

“It’s ridiculous.” Thanatos scoffed before he continued, “You’re obviously having so much fun right now, yet you talk about peace so smoothly.”

“Oh, no. I thought I kept myself from smiling, but I made a boo-boo!” Sangwon winked and stuck out his tongue. “Anyway, I’ll take it the <Underworld> is not willing to make any compromises?”

“The <Treaty> is still a treaty.”

“Ah, you’re too stubborn. Being that inflexible isn’t good for you. Fine, then let’s start the war between <Heaven> and the <Underworld> for real no—!”

“I never said I’m going to start a war.” Thanatos tilted his head.

“Hmm?”

“I mean it literally. I have no intention to escalate this into a war, considering I only plan to turn the <Purple Star Astrology> upside down. Your members were caught red-handed, after all.”

“What are you talking about… Huh?” Sangwon abruptly stopped and looked up at the sky.

[The Society <Nammu> has declared war against the Society <Purple Star Astrology>!]

“What…?!” Sangwon opened his eyes wide.

<Nammu> was the <Society> led by Tiamat, the notorious Faraway Heaven of the Nine Heavens. Although Sangwon was aware that Tiamat was deeply interested in Chang-Sun, she was already busy with the war against ‘Taurus,’ so he thought she wouldn’t be able to pay any attention to other events in <Heaven>.

“Why are you so surprised? This is just the beginning, you know.” Thanatos beamed.

[The Society <Olympus> has declared war against the Society <Purple Star Astrology> in accordance with the agreement that the Celestials ‘Tsunami Bringer’ and ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ have signed!]

[The Celestial ‘Antlered Animal King’ has declared his intention to join the war as an individual!]

[After the persuasion of the Celestial ‘Plague Monarch,’ the Society <Memphis> has turned hostile against the Society <Purple Star Astrology>! ]

…

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ clicks his tongue, saying that he has no other choice in this case.]

[The Society <Niffelheim> has declared war against the Society <Purple Star Astrology>!]

…

[The United Army, which centers around the Societies <Muspelheim> and <Nammu>, has issued a statement of condemnation for what the Society <Purple Star Astrology> has done so far, declaring their suppression against the Society <Purple Star Astrology>!]

“…!” Sangwon’s eyes widened in surprise.

Up until now, the <Purple Star Astrology> was viewed as a <Society> so powerful that no one other than <Horoscope> could fight against them. However, an opposing force was just founded. When in the world did this happen?

Sangwon quickly looked back at Thanatos.

“How is it?” Thanatos still beamed. “You got backstabbed pretty badly. Is your back okay?”

1. One of Buddhism’s ten underworld kings, Jingwang is in charge of the first hell, Dosan Hell(which is Scorning Hell in TDTR). 👈

2. The underworld king in charge of the second hell, Hwatang Hell(which is Burning Hell in TDTR). 👈