## Chapter 2360 – 2360. The Ascent To Brightness
As my name spreads, my influence over Avici Hell naturally grows.
“The Lord of Demons has returned!”
“Mara Cheon! Mara Cheon!”
“Our heaven! Tear apart and kill the judges and messengers of hell!!”
The demons go wild, praying to me. I ignored their pleas. What’s important now isn’t the demons’ wishes.
Just because I’ve become a god doesn’t mean I’ve gained omnipotent power. I’m a newborn god right now. There are fewer things I can do in this Underworld than I thought.
Rather, the situation was bad. No, it was the worst.
The moment I received the heavenly mandate as Mara Cheon, all the powerful beings in the Underworld would have realized it. Those who want to maintain the status quo would never acknowledge me.
The entire Underworld darkens. The demons flinch, trembling in fear.
“He’s coming!”
“The darkness of the Underworld is coming…!”
“Oh… Mara Cheon… please flee….”
Looking at the darkening sky, I briefly checked a memory that surfaced.
The Great War of Annihilation.
That war annihilated Shakyamuni, Indra, and the Bodhisattvas. Originally, the Bodhisattvas were not weak, but they fell into the trap of the primordial demon and chose annihilation to protect humans. Among the dead Bodhisattvas was Ksitigarbha, who ruled hell. The primordial demon was also annihilated, and one of the Ten Kings took the place of the absolute ruler of the empty Underworld.
King of the Five Paths, King of Reincarnation.
He’s coming to kill me.
‘If I fight, I’ll lose. I probably wouldn’t last 30 seconds.’
The opponent is the absolute ruler of the Underworld. There’s nothing I, a newly born god, can do. The karma they’ve accumulated is different.
‘No matter how much I rack my brain, there’s no way.’
Escape with a space-time scroll? Impossible. This is the Underworld, which can be considered another world. Even if it’s connected to the Middle Realm, the passage between them blocks space-time travel. Even gods with great power and authority cannot space-time travel to the Underworld.
‘Even if the space-time scroll works… I can’t leave the Underworld in my current state.’
Having become a god of the Underworld, I’m bound to it.
Just as other gods and immortals cannot interfere in the Middle Realm without a special cause, neither can I.
[The Heavenly Eye is opened.]
I can see the King of the Five Paths, King of Reincarnation, flying from afar. The closer he gets, the darker Avici Hell becomes.
The moment he arrives, I’ll die, and [The Ascent to Brightness] will end in a way I don’t want.
‘That can’t happen.’
I took out my smartphone and launched the game app. Honestly, it would be a lie to say I don’t feel like it’s a waste… but I can’t lose everything in [The Ascent to Brightness] here.
[Life and Death Authority
You must know the target’s name and face.
Revives the dead.
Kills the living.
Price –
※Caution
Targets with resurrection abilities may be resurrected.]
[Do you want to use the Life and Death Authority on the King of the Five Paths, King of Reincarnation?]
‘Use it.’
[The King of the Five Paths, King of Reincarnation, dies by the Life and Death Authority.]
The King of the Five Paths, King of Reincarnation, was torn to pieces and died while flying towards me.
It was a very anticlimactic death for the absolute ruler of the Underworld.
‘He’s completely dead… but not annihilated. The karma of the King of the Five Paths, King of Reincarnation, remains throughout the Underworld. Did he scatter his karma in the Underworld just in case? He’s a meticulous guy.’
Still, he’s dead as completely as possible.
It’s absolutely impossible for him to resurrect on his own. Even if someone helps him, it would take an enormous amount of time. If someone interferes, resurrection will be even more difficult.
“Mara Cheon killed the King of the Five Paths, King of Reincarnation!”
“The darkness is disappearing!”
“Freedom for us!!”
For now, the crisis is over. The next problem is returning to the human realm.
There’s a small hole above, which I can barely feel if I don’t concentrate, but I, bound to the Underworld, can’t go out through that hole. Of course, it’s not like there’s no way.
‘I’ll abandon the heavenly mandate.’
I have to abandon the name Mara Cheon. Of course, abandoning the name is the same as abandoning power.
‘It’s impossible to completely abandon the heavenly mandate in the first place. But it’s not like there’s no way.’
I focus my mind and use my authority. The Demonic Heavenly Energy inside me moves and then escapes. The pitch-black Demonic Heavenly Energy clumps together, taking the form of a person. It was a clone with the same height and face as me.
‘If the appearance is the same as mine, there might be variables later. I’ll change it a bit.’
I changed it to a sharper and heavier impression. At a glance, no one would think it’s my clone.
‘The name that is now my origin. I’ll pass Mara Cheon to this clone.’
I passed the name Mara Cheon and part of the Demonic Heavenly Martial Art. Actually, there’s no reason to pass both. The reason I was able to receive the heavenly mandate of Mara Cheon was because of the Demonic Heavenly Martial Art.
The heavenly mandate settles on the clone. At the same time, my power, knowledge, and the authority of hell moved to the clone.
The clone, Mara Cheon, opened his eyes. It smiled, looking similar yet different from me.
“Hahaha! You’re throwing away power so easily?”
“Shut up, Demonic Heavenly Martial Art. No, Mara Cheon.”
“Right. I am the Demonic Heavenly Martial Art and Mara Cheon. Your power. It’s not too late. Absorb me. I’ll gladly return to you.”
“I don’t need it. It’s not like I can’t use the Demonic Heavenly Martial Art without you.”
“Are you really okay with that?”
“Power can be accumulated in other ways.”
“No. That’s not it. Right now, I’m stronger than you, the main body. I can kill you here and gain uniqueness.”
Mara Cheon revealed his power.
His presence shook hell, and all the demons knelt and trembled.
I stared at Mara Cheon and said,
“Try it.”
“……”
“I said try it? Right now, you can kill me with a single finger. No, you don’t even need to do that. The moment you decide, I’ll die. If you want to kill me, try it.”
“……”
The expression disappeared from Mara Cheon’s face. Thud. He knelt on the floor and prostrated himself.
“I’m not an idiot. Even if I have power, I know better than anyone that I can’t beat you. I am your power, so I will do as you command. My master.”
“You know why I created you and passed on the name without me having to say it.”
“I know. It’s because of the women in the human realm, right?”
“You know well. Then now, help me return to the human realm.”
“What happens after that? After the master leaves. What am I supposed to do in this hell until the master returns?”
“Do whatever you want. Well, it’s not like I’ll ever return to this hell.”
I looked around Avici Hell. It was a boring place. I never had any interest in the demons from the start, and the sinners all looked like they weren’t human. There wasn’t a single noticeable beauty. I have no desire to come back.
“Entrust your body to the Vajra Lightning with the Flying Thunder God technique. The master now should be able to give his body the properties of lightning. The Vajra Lightning will lead the master to the human realm.”
Is that possible? While doubting Mara Cheon’s words, I acted.
I grabbed the Vajra Lightning that was floating in the air around me. Perhaps because I wasn’t using the Demonic Heavenly Martial Art, it didn’t resist like before.
Crackling.
Thunder Heaven Style, Flying Thunder God.
The properties of lightning settled in my body. I belatedly realized what I had learned while acquiring the Thunder Soul Arhat. I felt connected to the Vajra Lightning.
“I will open the passage. That is, the hole above. And I will close the hole as soon as the master leaves. So, it will be impossible to fall into hell by a loophole like this time.”
“I don’t care. Start.”
Mara Cheon gestured towards the sky. A hole in the Underworld opened, and the Vajra Lightning in my hand wriggled.
‘The current owner of the Vajra Lightning, Jeon Jeong, is calling.’
I also had ownership of the Vajra Lightning. Jeon Jeong had no choice but to hand it over to sacrifice me to the Annihilation Thunder Soul Technique. However, it’s not enough to oppose the ownership that Jeon Jeong has.
To make the Vajra Lightning completely mine, I have to kill the current owner, Jeon Jeong.
“Let’s go.”
I entrusted my body to the Vajra Lightning. The Vajra Lightning soared towards the sky, flying towards its master. As soon as I entered the passage, I felt pressure. It was a pressure I hadn’t felt when I fell into the Underworld.
‘Still, it’s bearable.’
It won’t take long. The Vajra Lightning is moving at the speed of lightning.
• • •
Mara Cheon confirmed that Seong Yu-jin had safely crossed over to the human realm and then closed the hole in the Underworld. The existence of the hole had been noticed by the beings of the Underworld. If they didn’t know, they wouldn’t know, but now that they do, strange things will start to gather. So, it had to be gone before that.
‘The master will think that falling into the Underworld was a coincidence.’
This is fate.
You say there’s no such thing as fate? Then this is destiny. A destiny that will surely come to pass.
‘Having mastered the Demonic Heavenly Martial Art of the King of Demons, the master’s existence can be said to be Mara itself. Where else should Mara be but in hell?’
The reason he achieved ascension in an instant and received the heavenly mandate of Mara Cheon was also because of that. Strictly speaking, it’s not a completely new ascension, but closer to an inheritance. That’s why knowledge and memories that didn’t exist flowed in along with the name.
‘I can feel the master’s connection to the Underworld. The master will return to the Underworld someday.’
Mara Cheon looked around.
The demons who had witnessed the series of events were bewildered. Mara Cheon used his power on the demons.
Demonic Heavenly Martial Art, Demonic Heavenly Monarch’s Step.
Thud.
The power of the demon spread in all directions. The demons trembled and submitted.
“I am the clone of that being. I am that being’s power, and I am that being’s hand. I am that being’s name, and I am that being’s representative. My name is Mara Cheon.”
As the name spread, hell stirred. The agony and desires boiling in hell were his power.
The ruler of the Underworld, the King of the Five Paths, King of Reincarnation, was dead. The other Ten Kings won’t be able to move recklessly until the sudden death of the absolute ruler is explained. They’ll think they might die like that too.
“Someday, that being will come. That being will find the name that was originally his, and will rule the Underworld. The Demonic Heavenly Rebirth, All Demons Bow Down.”
Then all the demons followed, shouting.
“The Demonic Heavenly Rebirth, All Demons Bow Down!!”
