Chapter 216: Star, the Owl (2)
“You’re the famous Twilight.”
~
There was a time before Chang-Sun met Xerxes, Kali, and his other colleagues that he fought alone as the ‘Divine Twilight.’ That was when he joined the <Purple Star Astrology>. He joined without any specific reason, not because he liked the ideology of the <Purple Star Astrology> or believed the sweet offer it made.
Chang-Sun was full of self-loathing at the time. Having lost his lover and achieving <Transcendence> somehow, he swung his spear indiscriminately. His life had neither destination nor goal, and he had no awareness of what he was doing. There was no way he could find ‘himself’ in that kind of life, so his condition was understandable.
At some point, he even lost his desire to return home. Having his revenge seemed so impossible that he wanted to give up, thinking no one would worry even if he disappeared anyway. Chang-Sun joined the <Purple Star Astrology> since it was known to be a <Society> for fiends like him, and that was where he met the Emperor’s Seat.
“You look similar to the children in this place... Maybe I’m mistaken.”
While blankly strolling, Chang-Sun ran into a middle-aged man. Unfitting his fancy appearance, he tended to a small flowerbed as if he didn’t mind fertilizer ruining his silk clothes. The origin of this chapter's debut can be traced to N0v3l--B1n.
“What’s wrong with my face?” Chang-Sun asked with hostility.
“As you can see, all the children here are wildflowers. They sprouted randomly on the streets but got kicked and stomped all over. They could have been uprooted anytime, so I moved and planted them here instead.”
Chang-Sun found out about this later, but the Emperor’s Seat called his children wildflowers. For different reasons, they all wanted to bloom beautifully, but the world’s rough storm wounded them so hard that they couldn’t recover on their own. The Emperor’s Seat personally took those beings under his wings and nourished them, becoming their fence and flowerbed so they could bloom fully again.
“In my own way, I tried to heal these flowers’ wounds, but it didn’t really work as I hoped it would. Still, they’re with people like them, so they eventually grew up together and cheered for each other, gaining strength.”
The Emperor’s Seat lightly stroked a small petal, looking at Chang-Sun.
“Many children in this place are like you, so I hope your wound could get better at least a little bit here.”
If the Emperor’s Seat had pathetically sympathized with Chang-Sun by saying he understood him or his pain, Chang-Sun would have immediately pounced at the Emperor’s Seat in anger, telling him not to spout nonsense. However, the Emperor’s Seat just told him that he hoped the <Purple Star Astrology> could provide Chang-Sun a small consolation, so Chang-Sun just listened, unable to say anything.
‘Back then...’
The Emperor’s Seat looked the same as before. Despite his fancy appearance, he looked gentle, and his smile made him seem innocent. However, Chang-Sun knew that the nature of a ruthless ruler was hidden inside the Emperor’s Seat. [Human Face]? [Demon Face]? The Emperor’s Seat had something far more powerful than those. His [Smile] had made countless people kneel and lower themselves in defeat.
‘I should have killed him back then.’ Chang-Sun gritted his teeth behind his iron mask.
His Inferno Sights blazed up. His purple lighting became dozens of times stronger due to the divine class of the ‘Divine Twilight.’
『So you still hate me very much. Is it because of what happened back then? Hmm...! I know we can’t just smile and have a joyful reunion, but I didn’t expect we would be fighting with so much intensity. 』
“You and I don’t share nostalgic memories,” Chang-Sun said firmly.
The Emperor’s Seat literally created a net that spread all over the world by deploying apostles and followers across the lands and the Celestials to the skies. However, Chang-Sun turned it upside down and nullified every trap that they had prepared in advance by bringing them all to the ‘Owl’s Nest,’ where the ‘Gemini’ were also present.
One silver lining was that Suo Chao and Texile Ruler had moved as soon as Chang-Sun had activated the [Execution Sword], allowing them to enter the divine ground. Of course, the <Purple Astrology> Celestials outside were in critical danger now that Suo Chao and Bo Du had left the frontlines. After all, it was impossible for only four Earthly Fiends to hold off both Castor and Pollux.
However, the Emperor’s Seat wasn’t that worried since the Seven Stars Azure Dragon, the constellation that protected the eastern sky of the <Purple Star Astrology>, would have descended on Suo Chao and Bo Du’s behalf. With their cintamani[1], which could summon storms and rains, and strong fangs that could bite through stars, the Azure Dragon would be more than capable of fighting the ‘Gemini.’
『Twilight, you always surpass our expectations.』
However, the Emperor’s Seat didn’t seem to mind that the traps he had tried really hard to make had been rendered useless—no, he was actually having fun.
『So I’ll ask you. Why don’t you take my hand again? Come back to me. Become my first son and heir.』
Surprised, Suo Chao stopped fixing the grip on his guandao and turned to look at the Emperor’s Seat. Bo Du, the son of the Emperor’s Seat, did the same. They knew how outrageous the offer was, but they couldn’t stop him since they knew he meant it and there was no way to dissuade him when he was acting like this.
Pzzzzzzz!
“First son?” The purple lightning sparks flying around Chang-Sun intensified. “Go back to the moon and spout your fucking bullcrap there.[2]”
Boom!
Chang-Sun sprang forward, cutting through the air.
Swoosh―!
Chang-Sun, enveloped by an intimidating aura, moved so fast that he was leaving sonic booms in his tracks. He didn’t really care that the Emperor’s Seat brought Bo Du and Suo Chao into his divine ground. Although they did make it trickier to deal with the Emperor’s Seat, he had already made preparations for this scenario. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have pulled out the [Execution Sword] in the first place.
Clang!
The first one to stand between Chang-Sun and the Emperor’s Seat was Suo Chao. Chang-Sun’s [Yuchang Sword] and Suo Chao’s guandao clashed fiercely. Suo Chao looked to be at an advantage because he was riding on a Dragon Horse, making it appear as if he had the upper hand in this battle of strength. Seemingly detecting its owner’s desire to win, the Dragon Horse neighed loudly.
『Come to think of it, I never got the chance to fight you properly, Twilight. That has always been my biggest regret.』
Suo Chao’s eyes gleamed. He was a Celestial who became a general because he was devoted to improving himself as a warrior, making it inevitable for him to have the desire to fight the fiend named ‘Divine Twilight.’ Few were as skilled as the ‘Divine Twilight’ and Suo Chao back then, but he couldn’t fight Chang-Sun because he was on the front line of the battle against the <Maleakhe>, and Chang-Sun was in the middle of the war against the <Purple Star Astrology>. Suo Chao had always found it a shame.
Fighting idiots who still thought this universe belonged to them wasn’t fun, so Suo Chao couldn’t stop thinking about fighting the ‘Divine Twilight’ to determine who was stronger. Fortunately, although it came when he least expected it, he finally had an opportunity to have the battle of his dreams, so how could he not be happy?
『After I beat you, the other demonic deities in <Heaven> won’t have a problem crowning me as the strong—!』
Interrupting Suo Chao, Chang-Sun said, “Get out of my way.”
[The third chapter of ‘Prelati’s Spellbook’ has been unlocked!]
Chang-Sun could hear the sound of pages turning inside his head. If he couldn’t subdue these two Celestials with the second chapter of [Prelati’s Spellbook], then he just had to open the third chapter.
‘I don’t have much time left. I have to exponentially increase my combat power and overpower them,’ Chang-Sun thought.
[The third chapter ‘Drăcōnígĕna Monólĭnum’ has been applied, making your core evolve!]
The