Chapter 317 - 315: End Of Stage One... You Cheater...

(A/N):

Drop a meme here that you find funny. Or reflects your mood.

Guys I hope you put more comments and power stones... Which will encourage me...

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Meanwhile, Devara finally reached the opposite side of the river.

The undead shark surged forward one last time before slowing down near the shore.

Devara pulled on the divine chain and guided it toward the bank, then carefully stepped onto the barren ground.

He loosened his grip.

The moment the chain disappeared from around the shark’s body, the creature immediately turned around and swam toward the deepest part of the river.

It didn’t even look back.

Devara watched it disappear beneath the green water and couldn’t help chuckling.

"After everything I put you through, I suppose you’ve had enough of me."

The shark was probably thinking the same thing.

Devara turned toward the shore, but the moment he looked down, he realized that his journey across the river had left him with another problem.

The souls, they were still there.

A ridiculous number of them had followed him across.

They were clinging to his shoulders, arms and back, while others had wrapped themselves around the souls already holding onto him.

From a distance, they looked almost like a massive mountain of pale, translucent figures resting on Devara’s shoulders.

Devara stood there carrying the entire collection of spirits.

He slowly looked over his shoulder.

"You all actually came with me."

The souls looked toward the land.

For the first time since he had entered the river, their expressions weren’t filled with desperation.

They looked happy.

Some were staring at the barren ground as though they had never seen land for an eternity.

Others simply remained still, seemingly unable to believe that they had managed to escape the river.

Devara’s expression softened.

Then a familiar voice suddenly appeared inside his mind.

[-Dum!-Dum!-]

[Hidden Objective Discovered.]

Devara raised an eyebrow.

[Task: Grant Mukti to the wandering souls who crossed the River of Sin with you.]

[Reward: 15,000 Karma Points.]

[Additional Ability Unlocked: Atma-Adhikara.]

[Atma-Adhikara: Allows the user to exert spiritual influence over spirits and other weaker non-corporeal beings. The user may calm, command, restrain or guide spirits whose spiritual strength is inferior to his own.]

Devara listened quietly.

He glanced at the enormous number of souls still gathered around him.

"So that’s why you followed me."

The spirits looked at him silently.

He understood now.

The river had not simply been testing whether he could reach the other side.

Perhaps it had been giving these souls an opportunity they had been waiting for longer than anyone could remember.

Devara looked toward the opposite bank.

Kandarpaasura was still somewhere behind him.

The first trial was still technically a race.

Yet Devara couldn’t simply leave these spirits behind after bringing them out of the river.

He slowly raised his hand.

The souls immediately became quiet.

A faint divine radiance began gathering around his palm.

Devara looked at them with a calm expression.

"All right."

His voice was gentle.

"You made it this far."

He looked toward the open land before them.

"Now let’s see if I can help you go the rest of the way."

The spirits remained around him, no longer desperately clinging to his body.

For the first time, they were waiting patiently.

And Devara prepared to give every one of them the freedom they had been unable to find within the River of Sin.

Devara remained completely still for several minutes after reaching the opposite shore.

His eyes were closed, and his attention was focused entirely on the countless souls gathered around him.

The divine energy flowing from him had begun to spread gently through the spirits, and one by one, their restless expressions were slowly changing.

Then a heavy sound came from the river.

Kandarpaasura finally emerged from the water.

He stepped onto the shore, breathing heavily, his spear still firmly in his hand.

His body was covered with water, and his expression was anything but pleased when he saw Devara already standing there.

His eyes immediately narrowed.

"You..."

Before Kandarpaasura could say anything else, the gods began appearing on the opposite shore as well.

The Trimurtis and the other observers had crossed over through their divine means to witness the conclusion of the trial.

Lord Vishnu looked toward both contestants and calmly announced,

"The first stage is complete."

He paused for a moment.

"Devara is the winner."

Kandarpaasura’s face immediately darkened.

"What?"

He pointed toward Devara.

"How can you declare him the winner?"

Vishnu remained calm.

Kandarpaasura’s frustration finally spilled over.

"He cheated!"

Several gods exchanged glances.

Kandarpaasura continued angrily.

"I fought my way through that cursed river. I used my own strength to force myself forward while those souls were dragging me down. I had to use my spear repeatedly just to keep moving!"

He pointed toward the river.

"And what did he do?"

His finger shifted toward Devara.

"That shameless human found a shark and used it as a mount!"

A few of the gods struggled not to smile.

Kandarpaasura wasn’t finished.

"He didn’t cross the river properly! He simply grabbed that creature and allowed it to drag him across. How is that different from using a vehicle?"

Vishnu calmly looked at Devara.

Then his eyes moved toward the enormous mass of souls still gathered around Devara’s shoulders.

"Because he didn’t use a forbidden method."

Kandarpaasura frowned.

Vishnu pointed toward Devara.

"Look carefully."

Kandarpaasura did.

The expression on his face slowly changed.

The souls that Devara had carried across the river were still there.

There were so many of them gathered around his shoulders that they almost looked like an enormous mountain of translucent figures.

Vishnu continued.

"The objective was to reach the opposite shore."

He looked toward Kandarpaasura.

"There was no rule stating that the contestants had to swim."

Kandarpaasura opened his mouth.

Vishnu continued before he could interrupt.

"You chose to rely on brute strength. You attacked the souls, fought them repeatedly and forced your way through the river."

He then looked toward Devara.

"Devara chose another method."

His gaze shifted toward the undead shark.

"He did not destroy the creatures of the river merely to clear his path. He used the strength of one of them to move forward."

Vishnu’s expression became slightly more serious.

"And unlike you, he did not simply leave the souls behind."

He gestured toward the enormous mass surrounding Devara.

"He carried them with him."

Kandarpaasura stared.

Vishnu continued to explain with a smile.

"That is the difference."

Kandarpaasura’s expression remained irritated.

"He still used the shark."

"Yes."

Lord Vishnu nodded his head.

"And there was nothing in the rules preventing him from doing so."

Kandarpaasura looked toward Shiva.

Shiva gave a calm nod.

"The rules were explained before the trial began."

Kandarpaasura clenched his jaw.

Vishnu then added,

"You were trying to defeat the river."

He looked toward Devara.

"Devara understood the river."

That sentence silenced Kandarpaasura.

Vishnu turned toward the gathered souls.

"His method allowed him to reach the shore while carrying the very beings who were meant to test him."

Kandarpaasura looked at the enormous group of spirits surrounding Devara.

He had spent the entire trial cutting them away.

Devara had allowed them to hold onto him.

And somehow, that decision had brought him victory.

Vishnu finally announced,

"The first stage belongs to Devara."

Kandarpaasura’s expression remained dark.

But he couldn’t argue with the rules.

Not this time.

The first point had been decided.

And Devara had earned it without defeating a single soul in combat.

Even though Lord Vishnu’s explanation was perfectly reasonable,

Kandarpaasura wasn’t convinced in the slightest.

He stood silently, his eyes still fixed on Devara and the enormous number of souls gathered around him.

From the outside, he appeared to have accepted the decision, but inside his mind, he had already reached his own conclusion.

’There is no way that happened naturally.’

He had been inside that river.

He had seen how every creature behaved.

The souls had attacked him the moment they sensed him, and the aquatic predators had been no different.

They had been hunting everything that moved, tearing into the wandering spirits as though they were nothing more than food.

Yet somehow, one of those very creatures had allowed Devara to grab hold of it and had then carried him almost all the way across the river.

Kandarpaasura’s eyes narrowed.

’And that shark just happened to cooperate with him?’

He didn’t believe it not for a second.

There had to be something else behind it.

Perhaps the gods had secretly interfered.

Maybe they had altered the behaviour of the creature or given Devara some unseen advantage.

Kandarpaasura glanced toward the Trimurtis.

None of them looked particularly concerned.

That only made him more suspicious.

’Of course.’

He almost laughed.

’They won’t admit it.’

If the gods wanted Devara to win, they wouldn’t need to openly break the rules.

They only needed to give him a tiny advantage at the right moment.

Kandarpaasura looked back toward Devara.

The sight of the souls still gathered around him irritated him even more.

’So that is how they want to play this.’

But he kept those thoughts to himself.

There was no point openly accusing the Trimurtis without evidence.

Doing so would only make him look like a sore loser, and Kandarpaasura had no intention of giving them the satisfaction of seeing him lose his composure.

Instead, he slowly smiled.

"Very well."

His voice was calm.

"I accept the result."

Devara glanced at him, seemingly unconcerned.

Kandarpaasura’s smile remained.

But behind it, his mind was already working.

’One stage.’

He looked toward Devara.

’You may have taken the first one.’

His grip tightened around his spear.

’But I won’t allow whatever trick the gods have prepared for the next stage to save you.’

He turned toward the path leading to the location of the second trial.

For now, he would keep his suspicions to himself.

Let the gods believe he had accepted their judgment.

Let Devara believe he had gained the advantage.

The second trial would be different.

And Kandarpaasura intended to make sure there would be no convenient shark waiting for Devara next time.

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(Author note:)

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