Chapter 338
"While Shiva played a part, since he burned me, the main reason is because I am the Demon King."
Kama said it naturally, without any intention of hiding anything, and even felt a sense of teasing.
"As expected... Mom, you've returned to Mara."
"The depths of this Labyrinth are now equivalent to my Universe."
Kama glanced at Parvati. "Parvati, my goal is for your father, so we're in cahoots. Come back, and I'll spare you, you unfilial daughter."
"We've gone too far, Mom..."
"Even now, you still won't listen to my advice. Forget it, fighting the Universe is pointless. Even if Durga transforms into Kali, it won't help. If you don't give up, I'll beat you until you do. Although you're unfilial, you're still my daughter. Even if you can't understand, I'll still forgive you."
"Wow, that's quite a rare skill. My body feels like it's been dropped into another Universe, and I'm having trouble breathing..."
Kisshouin looked around at the Kama with interest. "No matter what, even the Demon King Mara alone shouldn't be able to wield such powerful Universe energy, right?"
"Yes, you're right."
Standing before the Chaldea group, Kama, who should be considered the defendant's lawyer, turned around. "Because it was so shabby, we didn't notice at all... you are Kichijo-in Kihara, right?"
"Oh dear, the lawyer representing the defendant doesn't even know the defendant's name?"
However, this Kama did not refute, but calmly continued:
"You are Fragment of the Right who has not yet ascended to immortality."
"I see."
Kisshouin- in nodded. "That's precisely why I'm asking why you're targeting Lord Novia and Chaldea."
"That unqualified guy actually has the title of 'adult'? It's laughable."
Kama, on the Judges' Bench, laughed. "Because London is calling for someone from Chaldea, as the system administrator, I naturally had to make the arrangements."
"So, Kama, what exactly is going on with Parvati's mother...?"
Ritsuka, bewildered by the changes on the scene, murmured in confusion.
"That's a beast."
Novia explained, "It is Beast of Humanity, which, as the name suggests, is the stain on humanity, referring to the various disasters that destroy humanity. But it is also human love; simply put, it is the enemy. I will tell Ritsuka more details when we return to Chaldea."
"Alright, alright, let's stop with the small talk."
Kama, the Judges' Bench, struck his Gavel, and the sound echoed throughout the entire space.
"The defendants, the Tokugawa shoguns, have plagued Japan for over a century. Their numerous atrocities have violated the rights of countless people in Japan. Scotland Yard has decided to sentence them to death."
The Demon King's expression was more stern than ever before.
"I have no objection."
Agreed.
"May you die a good death."
Both on and off stage, even the lawyer Kama, who should have been defending the defendant, agreed.
"This is just a blatant one-man show, purely a formality..."
Aria couldn't help but complain.
"And what do we do now? That's Beast of Humanity! Where do we get the strength to fight against it?"
"Ah, what a pity. If we were to go to that world, the academy could also possess the power to contend with it, but I believe Lady Novia will surely have a way."
I also believe in my mother.
"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you, you don't need to acknowledge that you are 'Tokugawa Shoguns,' because having broken the Four Commandments, you are already sinners in name and in fact, and you have no right to refute it, so--"
Kama, the Judges' Bench, smiled broadly and then struck his Gavel, the sound echoing throughout the space.
"Be free, and then it will all be over."
What am I pursuing?
Once Kama understood this, Kama could do it even if it meant going against everything. The Chaldea were the last of humanity, and by letting them fall, her love would be among all things. That's what she thought.
Now, Kama has finally reached the "final stage of ascension," reshaping the Indian Sector within its small Universe.
There, lies the image of a lover who has vanished forever.
It's Kavia.
Right next, within my reach, I will be the sole master.
I love everything that is "him"—the sky, the earth, the grass and trees, the flowers, the animals, the insects, humans, Deity.
Even if they are all equally powerless beings.
Even though they are all equally pitiful beings.
Even if they are all incompetent and worthless beings.
Even if they are all insignificant.
The world is valuable because 'it' exists among all things.
"... strangeness."
However, what happened next was beyond Mara's expectations. The two Chaldea Human Order their souls as fuel, or perhaps fallen into corruption... But everything that was in front of Mara confused her for the first time.
Because there was no response, it was as if his verdict had no effect.
"What's going on? As the Tokugawa shogun, how could Scotland Yard's verdict be completely ineffective? They've clearly broken the rules..."
Mara muttered to himself, while Novia gazed at her for a long time.
Suddenly, Mara felt a familiar, floating sensation, as if the world were gently pushing him aside.
A gust of wind blew into the room.
Mara didn't look in that direction; he simply listened to the creaking and groaning sounds emanating from the essence of the Courtroom's Universe.
Something was flying around in front of him. Mara stared blankly at it, then suddenly took a fright and transformed the surrounding environment into the Universe.
Soft black petals danced in the wind, passing through her field of vision.
"Could it be...?"
Looking back, the source of the Black Lotus was the person he couldn't see beside the Master in Chaldea.
"You are Buddha..."
As the lotus flowers seemed to ripple through the Universe, Mara's expression changed, and he glared at Novia, whom she couldn't see, through gritted teeth.
"No, impossible! You broke all the precepts, how could you not be affected! This is impossible! Even the Spirit Origin of a Buddha could not possibly be affected!"
Indeed, as the Demon King said, once these precepts are violated, even Buddha would find it difficult to escape them, after all, she is Buddha's Enemy.
"I am not a Buddha now... but Buddhist teachings say that we should save all sentient beings, which, from another perspective, is also about universal love for the Universe."
The Buddha does not possess the right to all choices, but rather the ability to accept all outcomes.
Just as the Sun is both setting and rising at every moment, so too is humanity as a whole: successful and unsuccessful, poor and rich, incompetent and excellent. Only in this way can humanity as a whole be considered complete.
The Savior why enlightened beings are recognized by the world as 'Savior' alongside Jesus is not because their 'viewpoints' exist only in the distant Universe or in the lofty heavens and earth, but because they still exist in the humblest dung.
Gautama Siddhartha is the answerer for humanity, just like the father of humanity as a whole. When children encounter difficulties, the father will provide answers, but the father cannot walk the path for the children. The path of human prosperity and decline, which belongs to humanity, should be walked by humanity itself.
It is neither the will of 'Buddha', nor the will of 'God', nor the will of 'Beast of Humanity'.
"All Buddhas and World-Honored Ones arise from the 'world,' not from heaven."
Instantly, faceless monks dressed in various robes stood around Novia, each sprinkling shimmering water onto the ground, one after another drawing the mark of Buddha across the Universe. The mark, symbolizing chanting, transformed into blessings, and rained down light centered on Novia.
"Beast III/L, the third 'joyful' beast, the Demon King who has never reached the Buddha, your 'love' is a forceful redemption of humanity from a personal perspective. Is this truly the kind of redemption that Gautama Siddhartha sought?"
The Demon King still couldn't see the person in front of her, but then a strong and unwavering will surged into her mind.
"Nonsense! What I want is none of your damned Buddhas' understanding! You weren't even present during the Age of Age of Gods! Everything must be decided by me! I absolutely cannot let anyone else decide! My love must spread throughout all things! Only in this way can I find 'Him'!"
"... It is all sentient beings who have saved the Buddha, not the Buddha who has saved all sentient beings, Demon King, the Mara. However, you have indeed become the Demon King."
"Who do you think you are! How dare you speak so arrogantly to me in such a familiar way! How disgusting, how disgusting! You're like a worm with its leg broken but still able to move, it's absolutely disgusting!"
Then--
Something emerged from the shadows beneath Novia's feet.
"This... this is the flames of the Great God! Who... who are you...?"
When Parvati saw it clearly, she gasped in surprise.
It was not an invisible void, but Black Lotus that appeared with an overwhelming aura, just like the blue flames on Kama's Limbs. At the same time, a terrifying, bottomless, seductive sound that far surpassed the aura of Mara himself pierced the eardrums of the listeners, as if to erode and corrupt the very marrow of everyone present.
"The 'Demon King' before he reached Buddha."
"The Seven Emotions and Six Desires, Pride, Wrath, vanity, Greed, and illusions—all belong to me."
"Heaven of Freely Enjoying Others' Emanations Papiyas."
Chapter 381 You've been eating me for two thousand years.
"No, impossible! How could you be me! You can't be me!"
Mara stared intently at Novia, who called herself 'Papiyas,' with a fierce expression, as if he saw through everything.
But what exactly did she see?
That was the so-called aura of endlessness. Even though it was just a self-introduction, for Mara it was like experiencing the feeling of corruption seeping into his very being.
The tone of this unseen person was not filled with the depraved desires that only Demon King should have; on the contrary, the bottomless, seductive voice that pierced the eardrums of the listeners, as if to erode and corrupt the very marrow of everyone present, was spontaneously generated by the surrounding space.
"Novia, the Consultant from Chaldea... is also a mother?!"
Parvati's gaze kept shifting between Novia and Mara. She sensed the Od of this Labyrinth connecting with the man before her, but since Parvati wasn't the master of the Labyrinth, she couldn't immediately determine whether the two were truly connected.
"Could it be, could it be, you are Pradyumna?! No, no, Miss Pradyumna does have a very mature and composed personality, but although she is rumored to be male, she is actually female, after all, she is the reincarnation of her mother..."
The Pradyumna that Parvati speaks of is the child of Krishna. According to the currently circulating Indian Mythology, Kama, who was burned to death by Shiva, was reincarnated as the son of Krishna. However, due to the numerous cycles of reincarnation in India, there are many versions of the legend.
"No! This guy is definitely not Pradyumna! And Parvati, I'm your mother!"
After a brief silence, Mara, with an astonishingly calm demeanor, continued, "You, you were the 'light' part that was born without my knowledge, right? No, it shouldn't be like that. You possess the power to fight against the Beast of Humanity within me. The simple 'me' could never have done that..."
In Mara's view, as an aura so closely connected to himself, and also an unknown man known as Mara, Papiyas is complementary in many ways, such as in terms of gender. In other words, he can be seen as an existence on both sides of light and darkness.
As she thought this, for a fleeting moment, Mara's lips curled up into a smile.
I almost burst out laughing.
"I understand now. You are the 'Papiyas' of Buddhism, aren't you? You are the 'I' who was created by Human Order to stop me from taking the place of 'Buddha' from human legends. No wonder you have the aura of Buddha."
Buddha's Enemy, Papiyas most notorious enemy of Buddhism, actually repented and protected the Buddhism after his failed attempt to tempt Siddhartha.
According to the second chapter of the Great Compassion Sutra:
When Demon King Papiyas, dies, the five signs of decay will appear before him. He will be terrified and fall directly into the deepest and most painful Hell, Avīci Hell. In Hell, he will deeply repent. After leaving Hell, he will ascend to the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven. Finally, he and his retinue will take refuge in Buddhism and practice the Dharma, and thus be liberated. He and his retinue will be able to become Buddhas in the future, each becoming a different Buddha.
In fact, enemies within the Buddhism system almost always eventually 'repent and turn to protect the Dharma'.
"But ultimately, you are not me, because I could never be like that. You are merely a counterfeit created based on my distorted legends. Ah, how... how..."
Suddenly, a hint of joy seemed to appear in Mara's sarcastic smile.
"How pitiful you are! So self-righteous, so pathetic, so ridiculous it's infuriating. Human Order actually believes that creating a fake like you can defeat me. After all, daring to enter here so brazenly is suicidal."
It was as if the Universe itself was constantly resounding, emitting a sound that was almost breaking, violently vibrating the space. The rhythm of the "thump, thump" grew faster and faster, as if something was about to appear there.
Around the seemingly endless Universe, something emitted light—the radiance of countless stars, filled with the aura of beasts.
In the next instant, countless Mara emerged, not clones, nor splits, but genuine beasts, each one a true creature.
"How can there be so many beasts?!"
This time, Tamamo Aria was truly frightened.
"Because this place is nothing more than a collection of identical entities, enough to fill the Universe."
Mara laughed.
"If I don't do this, how can I love? As a being who loves all things, this is only natural. I will give love to those who pitifully yearn for it, and I will give love to those who intensely crave it. This is the complete opposite of the other half that ultimately converges into one kind of love; one could say that I embody the infinite diversity that love possesses."
"... Mom, you────"