Ranker Who Lives Twice

It was a while after the chaotic stage suddenly became silenced. Crack! It was a minute sound, but nobody missed it. Cha Jeong-woo and the Bull Demon King who were in the midst of an intense battle and Rhea, Sun Wukong, and Tongtian Jiaozhu turned in the direction it came from. Nocturne pulled himself away from his thoughts and looked up as well.

[The battle of taking the Black King's authority is finished!]

"…!"

"…!"

"…!"

『…Already?』

Everyone widened their eyes. They thought the battle would take at least a few days or a few months, but it had ended so quickly. A few of them felt that their fights had been futile. The time they felt on the outside might've been short, but no one really knew how long the battle inside the object had been. Time was relative, after all. They could only hope that the battle had ended in their favor.

Cha Jeong-woo and the rest of Yeon-woo's family gazed up with desperate expressions. Then, the object turned completely dark, and it began to blaze red. Whoosh! Seeing those colors, Cha Jeong-woo and the others realized who won the battle.

[The being 'Sage/Yvlke' has been destroyed!]

[The unification of the Black King has begun.]

[Unification rate: 91.1, 91.2%…]

[Organizing the data will take a significant amount of time due to the massive size of the being.]

[Li's Torch slowly becomes brighter.]

[The stage mission of the hundredth floor is still in progress.]

At the following messages, the eyes of the composed and unshaken Bull Demon King turned desolate.

So. This. Is.

How. It. Ends.

[The 'Bull Demon King' stops his manifestation!]

Sssss. The Bull Demon King returned to his elderly man form and tapped the ground with his cane. The sound was similar to the sound of tongues being clicked.

『What are you doing, Bull Demon King?』Tongtian Jiaozhu pushed Sun Wukong, who was tight on her heels, away and ran toward the Bull Demon King.

"Can't you see? Our plan is already done for. We're going to wait until our next chance."

『Says who!』

"Me, of course. I don't want to hope for something that's impossible. Also…" The Bull Demon King looked towards Sun Wukong with a bittersweet gaze. He seemed a bit relieved. "I felt uncomfortable from when our intelligent youngest was so against it.

"So if you want to continue fighting, you can do it yourself. My back hurts because it's been a while since I've moved so energetically. Ahh." The Bull Demon King pounded his back with a fist and turned to Sun Wukong. "What are you doing? Your elder brother is saying his joints hurt, but you're standing still?"

"You were breaking down the stage just a few moments ago. Stop exaggerating…"

"Hey! Do you want to be beat up too?"

"Fine." Sun Wukong used Shukuchi with a pout, speeding toward the Bull Demon King, and he supported his elder brother up.

"Whew. I'm tired."

"You should've thought of your age beforehand, eh?"

"Why do you think I pushed myself to do this?"

"Ah, yes yes. Because of me. I'm at fault here, yup."

Sun Wukong and the Bull Demon King walked out the stage, bickering as they hadn't just fought like they were going to kill each other.

『My job is done. I'll take care of my brother, so you take care of yours.』Sun Wukong sent a message to Jeong-woo and left.

['Sun Wukong' and the 'Bull Demon King' have exited the stage!]

Left alone, Tongtian Jiaozhu gritted her teeth.『Those damned bastards…!』

However, nothing would change no matter how angry Tongtian Jiaozhu was. Suddenly, pieces of glass poured down in front of her from the sky where the object was. They were pieces of Yvlke's legends that were determined to be unnecessary in the process of unifying the Black King.

Ohyohyohyo! Please take a close look at Oceanus and Vimalacitra. Then it'll be easy for you to find your path.

Tongtian, listen to me. Vimalacitra dying like that…

It was all due to conflict like this. If a safe haven can be made and everyone is moved there, all struggle and uncertainty will disappear, won't it?

Yvlke showed Tongtian Jiaozhu the events of what happened like a film. How Yvlke used Oceanus to endanger Vimalacitra, and how he approached Tongtian Jiaozhu saying Yeon-woo led to Vimalacitra's death… Tongtian Jiaozhu's main reason for participating in this battle was to avenge Vimalacitra, so what she had been doing had no purpose.

『…I see. Was I tricked like an idiot?』

A long while ago, in a time that few today remembered, the young Tongtian Jiaozhu was able to take authority over Jie Sect thanks to Vimalacitra, who was like her adoptive father. Vimalacitra, who despised being tied down, had only remained at Jie Sect for so long because of his loyalty to her.

『In the past and now, I'm just a idiot who's used.』

It was a dismal situation for Tongtian Jiaozhu as she'd been searching for a place to happily live with Vimalacitra over the dreams. Swish! Downcast, she left the stage.

['Tongtian Jiaozhu' has exited the stage!]

All that was left was Cha Jeong-woo's party. Then, a new message popped up in front of them.

[The 'Heavenly Demon' invites you all to the Changgong Library.]

[Will you enter?]

[In addition, the time left to complete Li's Torch is currently ???:???:???_???]

"…" Cha Jeong-woo turned to where Rhea and the rest were with a stiff face.

The Heavenly Demon's invitation was significant. It meant there was a reason for him to step up when he had only been watching until now. Nocturne's expression seemed to be stiff as well. However, Rhea nodded, indicating it was all right, and Cha Jeong-woo stopped contemplating, moving his hand toward the message. Whoosh! Light surrounded them.

* * *

[You have entered the Changgong Library!]

When they opened their eyes, what greeted them was a vast library.

『…I didn't think I'd get to the Akashic Records like this.』Kronos returned to his human form with a laugh of disbelief.

"Aren't the Akashic Records a place with a collection of everything that happens in all the universes? It was real?" Cha Jeong-woo asked. He had heard about it in passing. It was a mysterious world that the Nine Kings of the past had frequent debates about. It was rumored that one's level would be increased just by touching it. The priceless treasury that people would've given anything to enter had suddenly appeared in front of them…so he wondered why it randomly appeared right here.

"Because I'm the librarian of this place."

Cha Jeong-woo was about to ask Kronos when a voice spoke up from behind him. It was a mischievous-looking man who had spoken up. Jeong-woo didn't recognize the man's face, but his gaze was very familiar. It was the Heavenly Demon. Even the gods and demons couldn't fathom the power of this mighty being who was standing in front of them.

『It has been quite a while.』Kronos, who had met the Heavenly Demon before, stepped up first with a nod.

The Heavenly Demon smiled in greeting. "You kiddo, you're speaking like an adult because you're in front of your son and wife. You've grown a lot, huh? The times go by fast. It was just yesterday when you chased after my coattails wanting to be like me."

『…Allow me to have face in front of my family.』

"And?"

『…please.』

"Hehe. This is why I like you."

Kronos sighed at the Heavenly Demon's words.

Cha Jeong-woo was unfamiliar with this side of his father. Kronos was very generous to his family, but he cared greatly about his dignity due to his habits when he'd been the king of gods. Yet, he wasn't able to defy the Heavenly Demon.

"It's been a while, Rhea." The Heavenly Demon's gaze turned from Rhea to Cha Jeong-woo. "This is the first time we meet in person like this, isn't it?"

"Why did you summon us?"

"Geez. You twins are so rash." The Heavenly Demon clicked his tongue, then took on a solemn expression. "The first reason is to deliver Cha Yeon-woo's message. And the second is to warn you."

The family stiffened.

"Yeon-woo said to tell you he loves his family."

『…』

"…"

Kronos and Rhea closed their mouths, and Jeong-woo swallowed the emotions building up in his throat. He asked, "And the warning?"

"To prepare yourself for the worst."

"…?"

"The brighter Yeon-woo's Li's Torch becomes, the fainter the darkness of the Black King will become. Yeon-woo will be able to dominate the Black King and become closer to transcending."

"Then what's the problem…?"

"The brighter the light, the further he'll become from this world."

"…!"

"…!"

『What do you mean!? Please explain!』Kronos shouted urgently.

The Heavenly Demon's voice turned low. "It's exactly as I said. The more complete his soul becomes, the further he'll be from this world, and he will not be in anyone's range of perception. He'll be located outside of this world, the dream and wheel."

『Please explain so we can understand. Then what happens?』In actuality, Kronos understood what the Heavenly Demon was saying, as one who'd been the king of gods. He just didn't want to accept the truth.

However, the Heavenly Demon shot down Kronos' hopes. "It means he'll move away from your perception, as you're all trapped inside this dream and wheel. One cannot truly be called 'mighty' if they are easily perceived by mortals."

The Heavenly Demon continued. "So Yeon-woo will slowly disappear from your memories. Eventually, he will remain as an indistinct being called the 'Black King,' and no one will remember the human named Cha Yeon-woo. The traces and accomplishments he left behind in this world will steadily disappear too."

『Impossible! How can a father forget his son?! How can parents do that?! How could a family do that?! There's no way that's—!』

"Do you remember Cha Yeon-woo's message I delivered to you?"

『I…!』Kronos was about to shout, asking how he could forget that, but he soon became speechless. Strangely enough…he didn't remember. He remembered the Heavenly Demon had said something, and it was vaguely left in his mind, but he couldn't remember exactly what it was.

Thump, thump! Kronos felt chills run down his back. It felt like an invisible hand had tightened around his chin.

"That's how it is. It'll start with your most recent memories. The world will slowly erase any record of Cha Yeon-woo too. He's being erased from this Changgong Library as we speak. Look."

Kronos and the others spun to the shelf the Heavenly Demon was pointing at. Books were pulled out one by one, their covers unbound, pages torn out, letters erased, until the book was ultimately destroyed. It was clear whose records had been on that shelf.

"Yeon-woo knew this was going to happen from the beginning. That's why he didn't tell you the truth and told you he'd sink into the Black King and sleep."

『B-But it doesn't make sense that we'd completely forget about him! Heavenly Demon, if what you're saying is true, we shouldn't be able to perceive you or speak with you like this…!』

"Do you know my true name?"

『…!』

"What about my nickname?"

『…』

"Do you know in detail about my divinity?"

Kronos pressed his lips together.

"Exactly. You can only remember the vague concepts of a Heavenly Demon and Black King. But you'll never be able to see exactly what kind of beings we are. Can you?"

『…』

"And your youngest son seems to be aware of all this."

Kronos' gaze frantically turned to Jeong-woo, who hadn't spoken a single word all this time.

I need your help. Cha Jeong-woo recalled the words Yeon-woo had said to him before he entered the final stage, as well as what he said next. Remember me.

Cha Jeong-woo looked at the Heavenly Demon and Kronos with a determined gaze. "He loves us. Isn't that the message my brother left behind?"