Chapter 388: Star, Purple Star Astrology (9)
[The ‘eye in the darkness’ is looking at the criminal!]
Black clouds filled the sky of ‘Polaris’, and a vast spatial gap opened wide, revealing Thanatos’ eye. He was normally lethargic, but he looked delighted now. Finally, he had gotten to capture the leader of <Purple Star Astrology>, who had been running and hiding from him like a rat!
『Taeul, I never expected to meet you like this. But isn’t this a happy encounter, in a way?』
Taeul tried to answer Thanatos, but...
Drip!
...blood dripped out of his mouth. Even at that moment, Taeul was quickly aging. His face was covered with wrinkles, and black age spots spread over his face. As his back slowly hunched over, his eyes also gradually lost focus due to his relapsing presbyopia.
『It seems you’re in no condition to exchange small talk, huh? Hahahahaha!』
When Thanatos’ laughter echoed thunderously throughout ‘Polaris’, the other monstrous and demonic Celestials of <Purple Star Astrology> finally realized what was going on.
『The K-King of the Underworld?』
『But the <Underworld> withdrew from the <Anti-Star> Alliance...!』
『W-Wait! If the King of the Underworld is here... Does that mean ‘Zi Wei Yuan’ is...!』
The worst possible turn of events had come true, so the monstrous and demonic Celestials urgently looked around their surroundings. The moment they lost the protection of ‘Polaris’, they would have practically zero way to escape from the pursuit of the <Underworld>. The only reason they had been able to run wild was the protection of Taeul and the other Three Enclosures and Twenty-Eight Mansions. If that protection was no longer available, that meant they had to flee this place as quickly as possible before the vicious King of the Underworld got to them! But...
『I’m right here, so how dare you try to go anywhere else?』
Thanatos’ eye widened more than ever. In fact, it was enough to cover the entire of ‘Polaris’, intensifying the pressure over the place.
[The Celestial ‘King of the Underworld’ reveals his Divine Class!]
Thanatos’ resolve was greater than ever before, showing the difference in levels between him and them.
Paaah!
The black energy of the <Underworld> fell upon the world like a curtain.
[The Authority ‘Execution Sword’ is active, indefinitely pausing all activities in the Divine Ground ‘Polaris’!]
[The Attributes of the Divine Ground ‘Twilight-Setting Battlefield’ have been activated, manifesting the Hell ‘Sanjiva’!]
Rumble...!
With a strong earthquake, the terrain changed. The sky turned the color of sunset, and the ground continuously rose and fell, releasing lava onto the surface. Hellfire blazed fiercely as the unleashed lava flowed in sticky rivers.
One of the <Underworld> hells, where the Celestials that broke the <Treaty> passed through before they were shoved into the Bottomless Void, emerged.
Clatter―!
Additionally, spatial gaps opened up everywhere in Sanjiva, Divine Steel chains flowing out to arrest the criminals.
『Untie me! Untie me right now! Right nooooow!』
『Shit! Shiiit! Why can’t I destroy it?! Get destrooooyed!』
The monstrous and demonic Celestials desperately tried to escape the ‘Twilight-Setting Battlefield’, but whenever they attempted teleportation...
[The following feature is unavailable in the area.]
The same message appeared every time. Thus, they tried to flee ‘Polaris’ on foot.
[This space has been selected as a special deliberation area, restricting entry and exit.]
With those messages, an invisible magic barrier appeared and stopped them from advancing any further.
Boom, boom, boom!
Some of those Celestials tried to destroy the barrier using all sorts of Authorities and magic spells, but the barrier was so strong that their attempts were unable to leave even a mark. The divine ground built by both Chang-Sun and Thanatos was already an inescapable prison.
[The area currently belongs to the Celestials ‘Divine Twilight’ and ‘King of the Underworld’. If you wish to enter or exit, first receive the Celestials’ permission.]
『Shiiiiiit!』
『W-What in the world is this?! Arrrrgh!』
『Something strange is being engraved on me!』
『Gone! Be gone!』
While they had been venting their anger after being blocked by the hell’s magic barrier, some of the <Stars> in the front suddenly screamed as each of their arms was stamped with a brand. The scent of sizzling flesh filled the air.
―Sinner.
It was the personal brand of the <Underworld> that they imprinted on criminals. Once marked with the brand, criminals would be hunted by <Underworld> reapers until they were arrested. Even after they were incarcerated, the brand could never be erased until they completed their sentences. However, there was another reason why the people of <Heaven> hated and feared the brand.
『It’s the target mark for Divine Steel restraints.』
In other words, the brands pulled Divine Steel restraints toward those who bore them.
Clatter―!
The pulleys quickly rotated, and Divine Steel chains poured down toward the criminals with the brands.
『R-Ruuuun!』
『Get out! Get out of my way!』
『You get out of my way, you jerk!』
『What? What did you say right now? You’re not even an Earthly Fiend, so how dare you talk that way to a Heavenly Spirit...!』
『Ah, fuck. What do Earthly Fiends and Heavenly Spirits matter now?! We’re all going to get killed anyway!』
『You low-ranking bastard, I should beat you to death before I get arrested...!』
The Celestials ran away hurriedly to escape from the chains. They grabbed the ones in front of them, abandoned the ones who fell behind, pushed the ones beside them to make those people get arrested instead... ‘Polaris’ had descended into pure mayhem. Their chances of victory would have been uncertain even if they joined forces and fought back, but none of the monstrous and demonic Celestials even thought about stepping forward and reorganizing <Purple Star Astrology>. They were just a chaotic mob, not an organized army.
『Soldiers of the Purgatory Plane, listen.』
“I await your order!”
“I await your order!”
Jingwang, Chogang, and the army of the Purgatory Plane went down on their knees and bowed in Thanatos’ direction. Meanwhile, other Purgatory Kings descended from the air one after another. Songjae, Ogwan, Byeonseong... Five of the Ten Purgatory Kings awaited Thanatos’ next command, leading a grand army.
『Arrest and transfer everyone who dares to defy my call to the <Underworld>. You’re clear to kill them if necessary.』
“Yes, sir!”
“Yes, sir!”
Paaah, paah―!
The Purgatory Plane soldiers spread all across ‘Polaris’ with their new goal of arresting the criminals, rather than going to war against them.
『Arrrgghhh!』
『Please! Please save me! I don’t want to get trapped in the Bottomless Void...!』
『The fish net is full. It’s a very pleasant sight.』
Revealing his entire upper body, Thanatos watched the sight of the screaming monstrous and demonic Celestials in contentment from the sky of ‘Polaris’, as if he were observing a small world on his desk.
『Hmmm...?! This is...!』
『I never knew <Purple Star Astrology> would fall this devastatingly...』
『What should we do now?』
The sight instilled fear in the <Anti-Star> Alliance Celestials, since there was no guarantee that the chains would not start flying toward them as well.
『King of the <Underworld>! You withdrew from the Alliance, so why would you show up again and meddle with our great war?!』
Neptune yelled in fury, being the first to call Thanatos out. From his perspective, Thanatos had showed up at the last minute, hoping to catch a free ride on the <Anti-Star> Alliance Celestials’ extremely hard work. But...
『Don’t worry. I have no intention to ask for a share of the trophies and privileges.』
Despite Neptune’s protests, Thanatos smiled faintly as if he were pacifying a sulky child, continuing.
『All I want is to arrest all the criminals who have disrupted the balance of the world and transfer them to the Bottomless Void. Aside from these tasks, I’m not planning on intervening in the affairs of the <Saha World>. The <Saha World> should belong to the people of the <Saha World>, and the affairs of the <Underworld> should be entrusted to the people of the <Underworld>.』
Thanatos was quoting a part of the <Treaty>, asserting that he had no intention to influence the affairs of the <Saha World>. Beings such as Thanatos could not speak lightly, as they were always bound by the law of causality; thus, it seemed the <Anti-Star> Alliance Celestials did not need to worry about Thanatos breaking his promise.
『Cough, cough! I guess it doesn’t matter then.』
Neptune cleared his throat, his face slightly reddened due to embarrassment. Thanatos smiled quietly, understanding Neptune’s reaction. After a moment, Neptune silently gestured in Thanatos’ direction to express gratitude, and Thanatos nodded in acknowledgment before turning to look at Taeul again. Taeul had lost all his hair and teeth and was now barely skin and bones; thus, it was unclear how long he would be able to last in the Bloodless Hell even if the <Underworld> transferred him into it.
『Taeul the defendant, do you want to deliver a closing argument before the judge delivers the verdict?』
When Thanatos asked his question, Taeul slowly looked up with a face as pale as a corpse; however, he had already gone blind, unable to look Thanatos in the eyes. Taeul simply turned in the direction where he heard the sound as he said, “I-I... It’s unfair...”
Chang-Sun watched Taeul, wondering what he was going to say, but it did not seem as if was going to say anything useful.
“I j-just wanted to rise up... The Black King... I wanted to meet the Black King again... After meeting him...” Taeul’s eyes lost focus, but he seemed to be looking somewhere beyond this place. Did he also have a story that he had never told anyone?
『The judge delivers the verdict of...』
Thanatos stopped listening to Taeul, his solemn voice reverberating across ‘Polaris’.
『...sealing the Celestial.』
As the chains tightened, the huge gate to the Bloodless Hell opened up below Taeul’s feet.
“I...! I genuinely mis...!” Taeul managed to speak up for the last time, and yet the gate soon closed, completing the sealing process. Thus, no one heard what he was going to say.
[Announcement! The Celestial ‘Zi Wei Yuan’ has plummeted.]
[Announcement! The Celestial ‘Zi Wei Yuan’ has fallen from <Heaven> after losing his light.]
[In addition, following the decision of the <Underworld>, all the Star Signs of <Purple Star Astrology> have lost the rank of Celestial, and warrants will be issued to all...]
...
『N-No...!』
『Shiiiiiit!』
The monstrous and demonic Celestials screamed in despair, instinctively realizing their future fates.
『One of my most nerve-wracking problems is finally solved.』
Thanatos grinned gently, heaving a sigh of relief. In response, Chang-Sun scoffed as he adjusted his grip on [Gungnir]. “What are you talking about? We still have a lot of small fries left.”
『Well, you have a point. You need to eradicate cockroaches down to the eggs to call the job finished.』
At the same time, Chang-Sun sprang forth toward the remaining <Purple Star Astrology> Celestials.
Paaah―!
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