Chapter 170: Goddess of Atonement (1)
Kwa kwa kwa kwa!
The Abyss shook violently as something flew up.
The angels in front of it were shocked.
“T-this is?”
“Perhaps?”
They were guards of the Abyss but stayed far away from its entrance.
They were too afraid to even look down at the Abyss.
In fact, it should be impossible for anything to ever emerge from it.
It was because even the chief gods of the Celestial World wouldn’t be able to ascend if they fell down.
Yet now there was a huge roar from the Abyss and a young man wearing white armour soared up.
They knew who the young man was at once.
It was impossible for them not to know since they personally threw him into the Abyss.
“Unbelievable! How did you get out of the Abyss…?”
“D-demonic god Lucan has escaped from the Abyss…!”
The angels couldn’t say anything else. It was because the moment they met Kang-jun’s eyes, they literally became stone statues.
All the other angels that had rushed over also found themselves stuck in place.
The curse of petrification.
In the blink of an eye, the lowest level of hell that contained the Abyss was captured by Kang-jun.
Hell had a total of 100 layers.
Among them, the 100th floor was where the entrance to the Abyss was located.
It was said that the lower the floor, the more severe the punishment. Therefore, the 99th floor was the scariest place in hell except for the Abyss.
Kang-jun ascended to the 99th floor and looked over it.
He saw nothing. The barracks to imprison the captives were all empty and there were no guards as well.
Was there no one imprisoned on the 99th floor?
That couldn’t be.
‘There is another area separated by a veil.’
The 99th floor of hell itself was connected to another space. It was the true 99th floor of hell.
“Who?”
“Who dares come here?”
The angels ran forward as Kang-jun entered.
However, they all turned to stone at Kang-jun’s gaze.
Kang-jun entered the area.
Hwaruru!Hwaruruk!
It was filled with flames. However, it wasn’t a normal fire but one where just the heat alone caused pain.
In other words, the flames were just an illusion and it was actually the energy that was giving the worst suffering.
Of course, it was nothing compared to the power of destruction in the Abyss.
Furthermore, Kang-jun couldn’t feel anything since he had Hwanmong power.
However, those trapped in it felt the worst pains.
“Kuaaaaak!”
“Aaaagh!”
There were people wailing.
What sin had they committed to end up in this hell?
He looked at a demonic god.
The great demonic gods were thrown into the Abyss while the demonic gods seemed to be punished here.
Why bother doing this when they could be thrown in the Abyss?
They were demonic gods.
Kang-jun saw the great demonic gods and realised how wicked they were.
Although she was now his lover, Cardia had also spent a long time doing evil.
He embraced such a woman after becoming a Hwanmong Ruler, but he didn’t agree with her wickedness.
He didn’t think lightly of the potential consequences which was why he sealed her.
Therefore, it was very good that the Celestial World placed the wicked demonic gods in this hell.
It just didn’t make sense to Kang-jun.
They could just throw all demonic gods in the Abyss so why bother with a separate area on the 99th floor.
The demonic gods would be destroyed immediately after falling into the Abyss. There were very few among the great demonic gods who could realise the essence of destruction and settle on the snowy field.
At that moment, Kang-jun witnessed a strange scene.
One of the demonic gods crouching down in pain suddenly vanished in a splendorous light and appeared somewhere else.
Although his existence was completely hidden, Kang-jun easily noticed that his traces were connected with an adjacent space.
Kang-jun instantly moved there.
Angels and celestial gods were waiting there so Kang-jun watched their actions.
If Kang-jun decided to conceal his figure then no one in the Celestial World could find him.
“W-where is this place?”
On the other hand, the demonic god was confused by the absence of pain and of being moved to another place.
Furthermore, there were angels and celestial gods surrounding him so he was nervous.
One of the celestial gods said.
“You, a repentant demonic god! Don’t be afraid. You deserve to come here because you have truly repented for your past mistakes.”
“How…! How did you know that I regretted the past?”
The celestial god smiled.
“This is a space that becomes available when you have truly repented. Don’t be alarmed because the light of repentance led you here.”
The demonic god was even more amazed. He had been punished on the 99th floor for so long.
He realised that the acts of slaughter, destruction and all the types of wickedness were indeed wrong.
So even though the punishment was harsh, he felt like he deserved it.
And if he had the opportunity to live in the world once again, he wanted to be a good god instead of an evil one.
Of course, it was impossible to be given a second chance so he just endured the pain.
How much time passed like this?
All of a sudden, he was moved to a place where angels and celestial gods were.
“What am I going to do now?”
The demonic god asked and the celestial god replied.
“You will live a new life. I don’t know what you will be reborn as. The Well of Trials will give you a destiny as a new god.”
The angel guided the demonic god to a huge well of light located in the centre of the space. The demonic god’s expression became filled with emotion.
“A new life. Not a demonic god, but a new being.”
“You aren’t a demonic god anymore so don’t think of yourself as a demonic god. You are just one of many gods. If you become a worthy person after passing the trials in the Well of Trials, then you might defend the Celestial World as another god.”
The demonic god was startled by these words.
“I can become a celestial god?”
“That’s right. Of course, everything depends on your will. The will to break away from evil towards good.”
“I am now no longer disillusioned about evil.”
“That’s why you were brought here. I wish you all the best.”
The demonic god shook the celestial angel’s hands and disappeared into the Well of Trials.
‘Hrmm.’
Kang-jun fell into thought as he watched it.
Originally, he hadn’t been planning to get rid of the Celestial World but he had thought about turning hell upside down.
But now he realised that the purpose of hell was to open a new path through penance.
Kang-jun was very angry but he couldn’t get rid of hell since it contained this special arrangement.
Even the worst demonic gods should be given a chance at penance.
It was clear that the Celestial World maintained the order of the dimensional system in various ways.
The great demonic gods were thrown in the Abyss because there was no possibility that they would repent.
Or the Celestial World couldn’t handle them so they were thrown into the Abyss.
That was the case with Kang-jun.
Thus, Kang-jun decided not to touch hell except to take out all his household members.
Destroying this place would eliminate the possibilities for many who might gain a new life through repentance.
He climbed up to the 98th floor that had a similar structure to the one below, fallen angels and celestial gods were imprisoned here.
However, he couldn’t see Shaoniel.
Kang-jun went up again.
Unlike before, the angels couldn’t find Kang-jun as he moved.
On the 97th floor, he found a familiar person.
It was Goddess Shaoniel.
The structure here was similar to the 99th floor.
She was suffering in the middle of a frozen lake.
The extreme cold caused great pain to her flesh.
However, the intensity of the pain here was stronger than the 98th or 99th floors.
It was also unusual because Shaoniel was the only one trapped here.
“Ugh!”
An angel was standing outside the area with a face full of pain and sadness.
The advanced angel Luminael.
He tearfully shouted towards Shaoniel.
“Shaoniel… even now, it isn’t too late. The chief gods told me that if you withdraw your words, they will forget about the past.
“……”
Shaoniel didn’t say anything as she just frowned from the pain.
Luminael stared at her with frustration.
“Shaoniel, why do you have to suffer the worst of hell in place of Lucan’s household members?”
Shaoniel finally opened her mouth.
“Lucan did nothing wrong. The Celestial World made a wrong judgement and his people were punished as well.”
She breathed painfully as she talked.
“My strength is weak so that I couldn’t save him, but I can at least get rid of the punishment for his people. That is what I can do.”
“Sob! Shaoniel! Of course, I also feel that Lucan isn’t a wicked person.”
“……”
“He disappeared into the Abyss. Thanks to Shaoniel, all of his people have returned to their original lives. Isn’t Shaoniel all alone now?”
Shaoniel responded with sorrow and rebuked Luminael like he was a child.
“I am getting something else, not punishment right now Luminael. My purpose is to receive the punishment itself.”
“What does that mean?”
“Shouldn’t there be a single person in the Celestial World atoning for Lucan who was thrown into the Abyss?”
She said with a moan.
“Of course, this won’t be any comfort to him. However, it will be one way to ask for forgiveness once he comes back.”
Luminael’s expression distorted.
“Once he comes back. Can he really return from the Abyss?”