The Divine Twilight's Return

Chapter 336: Star, Heavenly Spirits (6)

Immense explosions, large enough to cover the sky of Chang-Sun’s divine ground, followed one after another.

“Since I promised to spare you, I’ll stop now,” Chang-Sun said as he held out his hand in the air, smiling coldly. The [Twilight Spear] was absorbed into his palm like a rewinding video. He added, “I need someone to deliver my message anyway.”

However, only three out of the Seven Mansions of the North had managed to survive relatively intact; still, they were in such critical condition that they could shatter and fall to the ground at any moment.

『That bastard’s temper… must have gone rotten in twilight…!』

The three Mansions muttered under their breath; in response, Chang-Sun pretended that he was going to throw the [Twilight Spear] again. The three <Stars> soon took the shape of a snake and disappeared into the sky, but the four remaining <Stars> helplessly fell to the ground.

Thud…!

They transformed into a giant tortoise, but they looked very noticeably fatigued and unsteady, having trouble holding up their head.

『I… want… to… live…』

The tortoise spoke with difficulty as they watched Chang-Sun approaching them, talking far more slowly than before.

“You <Purple Star Astrology> people killed me the first time, and tried to kill me this time too. Besides…” Chang-Sun said, firmly shaking his head. With his eyes narrowed, he continued, “This is the destiny of all <Stars>, both you and me alike. We kill each other again and again until only one of us is left.”

『…』

“This destiny started from the time of the <First Star>, so there’s nothing you can do about it,” Chang-Sun finished.

The tortoise opened and closed their mouth for a moment, but they soon clenched their teeth, as they had already realized that Chang-Sun’s decision would remain unchanged no matter what they said.

Slash―!

Chang-Sun swung the [Twilight Spear] toward the tortoise’s head without hesitation. The moment the tortoise’s neck was cut, a line opened up high in the sky, and then a giant eye manifested.

[The ‘eye in the darkness’ has appeared!]

The enormous eye turned into the shape of a crescent moon as Thanatos looked around at the surroundings and the disintegrating tortoise.

『Five Heavenly Spirits and forty-one monster Celestials… And the Black Tortoise’s front head? Wow, the fish net is fully loaded.』

Thanatos guffawed, feeling very pleased.

Swoosh―!

At the same time, Divine Steel chains rained down and tied up all the criminals, including the tortoise.

Clink, clank! Click―!

『Do you intend to keep carrying those guys around inside your flag? It looks as if they would be good for making upgrades.』

“I don’t need them.” Chang-Sun scoffed quietly and threw the five cloth strands away after ripping them off.

Then, new chains flew out from the spatial gaps and tied up the cloth strands. Lu Junyi, Qin Ming, and the other demonic Celestials screamed, begging for their lives as they were strung up in the air.

Of course, Chang-Sun and Thanatos were not the sort to be moved by such pleas. After checking to make sure that the cloth strands had grown back, Chang-Sun put the [Liuhunfan Flag] back into his coat as he looked at Thanatos. He asked, “How is the war coming along? Good?”

『Hahaha! Do you really think so?』

“I’ll take that as a no,” Chang-Sun said with a nod.

『If things in the world worked out the way we wanted to, you and I wouldn’t have worked our asses off like this.』

“Is the United Army causing you trouble?” Chang-Sun asked.

『To be honest, it’s a miracle that we came this far without any major problems.』

Chang-Sun nodded in agreement. They had seen it coming from the beginning, as the United Army was a soup with too many cooks. The only reason why the soup had not burned up yet was thanks to Thanatos making countless deals under the table, but he seemed to be reaching the limit now.

‘<Purple Star Astrology> must be fighting back hard, so it’s understandable that the people in the United Army might be starting to have second thoughts,’ Chang-Sun thought; he believed that the United Army had outlived its usefulness. However…

『That is why you need to rebuild <Muspelheim> as soon as possible.』

It seemed that Thanatos had a different opinion. Surprised, Chang-Sun looked at Thanatos with his eyes slightly widened.

『Why are you so surprised? It’s only natural. Before you’re the special-rank reaper of the <Underworld>, you’re the king of <Muspelheim>. On top of that, you’re the co-leader of the United Army just like me, so you need an official rank to be equal to me.』

“…!”

Thanatos’ advice was meant to tell Chang-Sun which path to walk down, seeing as Chang-Sun had started to reveal his true self.

『So finish rebuilding <Muspelheim>, since you happen to have fine subordinates by your side. It’ll be even better if you can unite <Jotunheim> and <Niffelheim> the way Bestla did in the past.』

Chang-Sun stayed silent.

『Well, it would be best if you also restored <Asgard> and merged the <Society> with the others. A Celestial King that surpasses Bestla and Odin! Hahahaha!』

Chang-Sun chuckled quietly, but he could feel his heart pounding hard.

Badump!

He had believed that he would finish reviving <Muspelheim> and conquer <Jotunheim> someday, but that it would take place in the distant future, since his priority right now was revenge. Previously, he would only have given serious thought to executing those plans if he saw limits to his ability to take revenge.

However, Thanatos was telling Chang-Sun that it would be better to do it now. In addition, rather than stopping at simply restoring those three <Societies>, Thanatos advised Chang-Sun to take the United Army, which was on the verge of splitting apart, under his control to become a new Celestial King.

‘Making the Changgwi Cave into <Muspelheim>…’ Chang-Sun thought as he turned to look at the Undead Army soldiers, who were taking a break due to fatigue.

At that moment, Jin met Chang-Sun’s gaze briefly before hurriedly looking away. Jin’s reaction was a bit odd, but everyone in the Undead Army was Chang-Sun’s loyal subordinate.

‘Just as Thanatos said, it’ll be good to accelerate those plans a little more.’

In truth, it was not as if Chang-Sun was totally unqualified anymore.

『It looks as if you’ve made up your mind.』

“Somewhat,” Chang-Sun said with a nod. Thanatos’ eye turned into the shape of a crescent moon again.

『I can’t sit on my hands when my friend has already made his decision.』

Chang-Sun tilted his head in confusion, wondering what Thanatos was trying to do, but something soon fell from the sky.

‘A scroll?’ Chang-Sun wondered.

It was too long to call it an ordinary scroll, as it was five meters long.

Thud…!

The scroll was so heavy that the ground shook when it landed.

“What is this?” Chang-Sun asked.

『It’s a letter of appointment.』

“…?”

What was Thanatos talking about all of a sudden? Chang-Sun just watched the scroll in confusion. The lock around the scroll automatically disengaged, and the paper spread out, revealing the white letters of the <Underworld> filling its black paper.

Whooosh!

The letters simultaneously began shining.

『I, Thanatos, declare as the king of the <Underworld>...』

Thanatos’ solemn voice echoed across the divine ground.

『Lee Chang-Sun, the special-rank reaper, shall be granted the position of ‘Ksitigarbha King’. As my plenipotentiary, he shall have the authority to oversee the life and death of <Stars> on behalf of the <Underworld>. In times of necessity, he will also have the authorization to open up the gates to the Purgatory Plane’s hells and mobilize the army, so he should take great caution in his speech and actions.』

“…!” Chang-Sun’s eyes widened, as he had never expected Thanatos’ gift.

Ding, ding!

[An Appellation has been created!]

[Ksitigarbha King: A being who is known to sit on the other side of the Ten Purgatory Kings and reform spirits. Wandering the planes where Buddhas do not exist, Ksitigarbha King connects the <Saha World> and the <Underworld>.]

[You have acquired a Khakkhara!][1]

[You have acquired a Maniratna!][2]

…

[Khakkhara]

A divine relic given by the King of the Underworld to the Ksitigarbha King. It opens up the gates to the hells of the Purgatory Plane once certain requirements are met.

· Type: Relic.

· Effect: Jail Gate Unlock. Underworld Connection.

[Maniratna]

A divine relic given by the King of the Underworld to the Ksitigarbha King. It releases light that shuns darkness once certain requirements are met.

· Type: Relic.

· Effect: Sacred Light Release. Evil Purification.

[The Authority ‘Execution Sword’ has been enhanced with the Effects of ‘Khakkhara’.]

[The Authority ‘Soul Exploitation’ has been enhanced with the Effects of ‘Maniratna’.]

…

[Your Darkness attribute has been enhanced.]

…

The position of Ksitigarbha King was also known as Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, and it carried a varied range of powers on par with the Yama[3] King, who was practically the leader of the Ten Purgatory Kings. As becoming the Ksitigarbha King meant that Chang-Sun was in charge of managing all the <Underworld> reapers and envoys, he was dumbstruck as he watched Thanatos.

Up until a moment before, Thanatos had been urging Chang-Sun to rebuild <Muspelheim>, but now he suddenly wanted to make Chang-Sun the Ksitigarbha King?

After realizing Thanatos’ intention, Chang-Sun chuckled. ‘He wants to maintain our relationship.’

As Chang-Sun was now free from his Divine Steel shackles, the deal between Chang-Sun and the <Underworld> was as good as over. Of course, their alliance would still stand until the fall of <Horoscope> and <Purple Star Astrology>, but their connection had weakened without the shackles.

In order to remedy that, Thanatos had offered Chang-Sun the position of Ksitigarbha King, which happened to be vacant. In truth, the Appellation of ‘Ksitigarbha King’ was that of a king in name only; Thanatos had to have considered that he could revoke the Appellation if necessary.

“You didn’t have to do this, but… I’ll put it to good use,” Chang-Sun said, not turning down the offer.

He also did not wish to end the deal he had made with the <Underworld>, and liked the part about being able to open up the gates to the Purgatory Plane’s hells. Chang-Sun had already tried opening the gate to Sanjiva to catch Sangwon, so he knew how powerful the ability was. There were many things Chang-Sun could do when he used such an ability wisely.

‘It’ll be very useful when I shove Richardus into the Bottomless Void,’ Chang-Sun thought as his cold eyes gleamed.

『Then I look forward to continuing working with you, Ksitigarbha.』

Thanatos spoke, and Chang-Sun nodded. However, Chang-Sun belatedly remembered something and said, “Likewise. Oh, and there is something I would like you to do for me.”

『Go on. I’ll do anything for you unless you’re asking for my seat.』

“I want you to deliver a message for me to the Red Heaven,” Chang-Sun said.

『…?』

Unable to understand Chang-Sun’s request, Thanatos blinked. The Red Heaven was Durga, the ‘Wrath Incarnation', so why was Chang-Sun trying to contact her? After a moment, however, Thanatos remembered how Kali and Baek Gyeo-Ul were with Durga now.

‘He’s trying to do something new,’ Thanatos thought with a grin, thinking to himself that something interesting was going to happen again.

Whenever Chang-Sun got up to his schemes, a disaster would take place.

『What is the message?』

“All you have to deliver is…” Chang-Sun said with a half-smirk. “...‘Don’t you want to go skin a lion and look for our big sis?’”

1. This is a staff with rings on the top. Buddhist monks usually carry them around. ☜

2. A collective term for beads and jewels with supernatural and mystical power. ☜

3. He is usually known as the deity of death, but he is more popularly known as the king of the underworld in Korea. ☜