Ranker Who Lives Twice

Chapter 366 Sky Wings (4)

Team: HH, Yahiko, thursdays, Seven(temp)

『Now that the computer’s hardware is stable, all that’s left is to build the OS.』

“That’s the most difficult part.”

『It’s more than just difficult.』

Jeong-woo clicked his tongue lightly. He knew all too well just how arrogant gods and demons were.

They were so arrogant that they would never compromise or bend their wills, and they would only seek to further their own myths.

How would they react when a mere mortal tried to control their power?

Jeong-woo didn’t think they would be offended. But he was certain that they would think it was ridiculous, and many of them would even tell him to do it if he could while laughing in secret.

Therefore, asking for their cooperation would never happen.

Furthermore, considering that the main reason why the gods and demons gave Yeon-woo their authorities was to make him their Apostle…

‘Rather, it would be a blessing if they didn’t interfere.’

Jeong-woo shook his head. He didn’t think it would be easy.

That was why he was even more curious as to how Yeon-woo would overcome the biggest obstacle in the creation of the new Sky Wings.

『Have you thought of a way?』

“Roughly.”

『Oh. What is it?』

“Maybe something similar to what you did.”

Jeong-woo frowned at that.

『Why would you want to do that?』

In any case, it was the same as in the past, where he would look at his opponents and steal the things he needed. He was simply doing the same thing to his younger brother, who said he’d help him.

Yeon-woo chuckled softly. It felt good, like back in the days when they would argue about everything.

On the other hand, he couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like if their mother could see them like this.

“Tell me first. I’ll keep it in mind.”

『……Ha! I think categorization should be your first priority.』

Currently, Yeon-woo had over 5,000 authorities. And even at that moment, more were constantly being added.

They might have heard rumors about him or arrived after learning he had slain a god.

As a result, the authorities he had were very muddled.

Authority was the medium that contained the divinity and mythology of the transcendent beings.

Naturally, even if they were in the same godly society or had the same godly aspect, they were all independent because they were different internally.

Therefore, Jeong-woo felt that the most urgent task was to create several large ‘frames’ that would become common denominators through which they could organize the authorities accordingly.

“I had the same idea. Then how will we make the common denominators?”

Yeon-woo nodded before asking another question.

Jeong-woo’s answer was simple.

『The wings are divided into left and right, aren’t they? So we can use this as our standard. Gods on the left and demons on the right.』

Yeon-woo also felt it was a good idea.

“And then, we’ll break them into smaller subcategories?”

『Yeah. We have to discuss how exactly to divide the categories. The easiest way would be to group them by society.』

Despite their individualistic tendencies, gods and demons were incredibly wary of wandering alone. Therefore, they created societies with those who shared the same mythos as them to work together and strengthen each other.

Based on that, Jeong-woo thought it would be much easier to control if he grouped the authorities of the gods and demons by their societies.

If they did that, the conflicting authorities could be somewhat pacified.

However.

“No. It sounds like a good plan, but it would be a bit, no, very dangerous.”

Yeon-woo thought about it before shaking his head.

Jeong-woo seemed a little upset because Yeon-woo was ignoring the plan he’d spent all night devising.

He grumbled, pouting.

『Why?』

“That would only lead to an imbalance in the factors.”

Jeong-woo was about to grumble about what that was supposed to mean, but he stopped as he realized what it meant.

『Ah. I didn’t think about that.』

The ratio of gods to demons who were currently connected to Yeon-woo was 3:7.

There were far more demons.

This was because Yeon-woo was walking a path that was closer to the side of the demons. The fact that the alignment in his personal status window was close to ‘evil’ also played a major role.

In this situation, separating the Sky Wings in this way would only lead to imbalance.

Of the three factors that Yeon-woo possessed, the magic factor would develop more.

『Then, what about if we controlled the number of authorities? Wouldn’t it be better if the ratio was 5:5?』

[A few gods nod their heads, thinking that’s a good idea.]

[A few demons are furious at the implications.]

[The demons who joined the channel belatedly feel anxious.]

[The low-ranking demons glare at your brother.]

[Agares laughs and points his fingers at the offended demons.]

Jeong-woo could feel the scorn in the gazes of the Demons, but he blatantly ignored them.

Yeon-woo shook his head once again.

“No. Each transcendent being is different, so even if we rate them by power, their weights are bound to be different. Moreover, even if I try to solve the balance problem, it’s very likely that my body would be damaged.”

If he divided the wings like Jeong-woo suggested, his body would basically be divided into two parts, and there was a high chance that the godly factor on the left and magic factor on the right would develop even further.

Then, the triangular balance that he had created in his body would be destroyed.

『Dammit. This is too hard.』

Jeong-woo scratched the back of his head. It was the first time he had ever encountered the Demonic Divine Dragon Body, so it was difficult for him to reach any conclusions because of how little data he had.

『Then, what are you going to do?』

“I’m thinking of setting keywords to divide the categories.”

『Keywords?』

“Yeah. I’m thinking of separating the gods and demons who are interested in me in that way. Death on the left, and war on the right.”

The gods and demons of death had been showing keen interest in Yeon-woo as he was considered to be the Black King’s successor.

On the other hand, the gods and demons related to war showed favor because of the path Yeon-woo had been walking so far—in other words, his karma.

It was a glimpse of their own myths.

In other words.

On the left would be the power of the Black King.

And on the right, the wings would be created from his own karma.

[The gods of death are happy with your choice.]

[The demons of death are interested in what you’re trying to do.]

[The gods of war are curious about your idea.]

[The demons of war laugh at all the other gods and demons.]

[Agares looks a little confused.]

[Agares is attempting to deliver a message.]

[The time limit hasn’t ended, so the attempt has failed.]

[Agares is being a pain in the neck.]

[Agares’s access has been restricted.]

[Agares’s access has been restricted.]

『You’re going to group the authorities into two categories? What about the ones that don’t fit either of them? Will you throw them away?』

For example, there was the case of Hondon, a Demon who had shown great interest in Yeon-woo from the start, even though he hadn’t said much.

Although he was notorious for the nickname ‘Four Evils,’ he was, in fact, not deeply related to either death or war.

But what he’d just said was no different from saying he’d throw them all away.

“I’ll add them in….. somehow.”

『How are you going to do that?』

“Do you know what the root of a myth is?”

『……I suddenly feel like I’ll say something wrong again.』

“It’s ‘struggle.’”

Jeong-woo made a strange expression.

“Struggle can be against oneself or fighting against the world. Or it could be against fate.”

『In that way….. there certainly aren’t many who could escape from death or war.』

It seemed that Jeong-woo had finally understood what Yeon-woo meant.

『To put it simply, you intend to stretch the frame for the authorities as wide as you can?』

“Right. And after putting them in these larger categories, I can then separate them into smaller, more specific categories.”

Jeong-woo clicked his tongue.

Even though it sounded a bit far-fetched, it was theoretically the most efficient method. It would balance the gods and demons more evenly, and then, the mixed authorities would be put into large and small frames.

『I wonder if the authorities will accept that.』

“They will. Somehow.”

Yeon-woo then finally looked at the notifications that were constantly in his face.

[Hondon is silent.]

[Vimalacitra bursts into laughter, finding the idea interesting.]

[Cernunnos wonders where he will be classified and asks if there will be any other category keywords.]

……

[Nergal crosses his arms and decides to take a closer look.]

[Ares burst into laughter.]

[If Agni doesn’t like it, he will upturn everything.]

……

The responses in the messages were all over the place.

The gods who were related to death or war generally liked the idea, but there were also a few who were displeased.

Some even seemed to be trying to pressure Yeon-woo by strengthening the Channeling.

However.

Such reactions were already expected, so Yeon-woo just ignored them and continued. In fact, these keywords weren’t things he could compromise over.

Death was not something he could throw away while he had the Black King’s set.

War was the most necessary factor for the ‘karma’ he had built so far and would continue to build.

‘To one day transform my karma into a myth… I can’t give up.’

Yeon-woo was targeting the upper floors, and he had no intention of stopping after taking his revenge.

He would climb higher. Farther.

To do that, he had to prepare one by one then progress step by step.

『Hyung, by chance……?』

Realizing what Yeon-woo was thinking, Jeong-woo’s eyes widened in surprise.

Yeon-woo lifted his finger to his lips, gesturing for him to be quiet, and Jeong-woo nodded heavily before closing his mouth.

On the other hand, he didn’t need to say it aloud.

Because he knew that the Sky Wings, which would be added to his Demonic Divine Dragon Body, were actually just the beginning.

Jeong-woo decided to concentrate even more.

‘Hyung probably made a decision like that because of me.’

He felt his shoulders become heavy.

* * *

As each of the wings had different keywords, they would naturally be produced separately.

The first one they started making was the left.

For the left wing, the category word was ‘death’.

Making the left wing was actually much easier than expected.

Jeong-woo used the same process and routine he used when the first pair of Sky Wings was created. They just reworked it a bit to fit the Atman System in addition to adding the Black King’s authority.

‘Although I don’t know who the Black King is yet, the gods and demons of death are following the Black King to the end.’

Then, what if he used the Black King’s authority to subdue the other authorities?

This allowed him to control them with more ease.

Based on that, Yeon-woo designated the condition to activate the left wing as the frame of the Black King, and he set the first command to the authority ‘Soul Harvester.’

[Creation of skill Sky Wings(Left) has begun.]

……

[The option of the Black King’s frame set, ‘Soul Harvester,’ has been specified as the first command.]

[The category ‘death’ has been successfully associated with the first command.]

[The authorities within the category ‘death’ begin to be affected by the first command.]

[Taesanbu looks at you with an angry expression.]

[Nergal shakes his head with a cheery expression.]

[For the first time, Ksitigarbha has a troubled expression on his face.]

……

[Izanami says you can’t defy her.]

[Halpas sighs with an irritated expression. He has no choice but to follow your will.]

[Aesma-daeva declares that she will pursue ‘death’.]

[Hel’s face becomes red.]

[All the gods of death declare.]

[Message: With your malicious desires, an attempt to recklessly cut and gather their power in one place is impudent.]

[All the demons of death declare as one.]

[Message: If you can build a solid foundation and bring back his power, anything is possible.]

[Message: However, if you dare to defile his reputation, death will devour you.]

[Message: You’ll have to keep that in mind forever.]

Paaah—

When all the declaration notifications were over.

Click, click—

Yeon-woo felt 444 channelings surrounding him suddenly coalesce into one.

To be precise, it was as if strands of twine had been twisted into a rope and the smaller channels had combined to form one large body.

Cloud? Server?

Wasn’t it okay to describe it in this way?

Yeon-woo had that thought for a short moment. But the name didn’t matter, so he focused on the left wing once again.

In his hand, 444 black feathers suddenly appeared.