Ranker Who Lives Twice

It occurred before he could do anything. There had been no indication of their plans, and they didn’t have any last words. They just surrounded Allforone and suddenly turned their spears on themselves.

The creature that seemed like Yeon-woo could sense that Allforone was surprised for the first time. Even if he was always looking down from above, he couldn’t predict the future. A mass suicide was…too shocking.

The blood of divinities spurted from torn hearts, and souls floated above lifeless eyes.

As he watched, the creature that seemed like Yeon-woo knew what he had to do. The three Casts of the Black King shook. Swoosh. The shadows in the ground quickly began to spread.

Although the light ate some of the shadows, some of them contained a darkness that swallowed the light. The Black King was made up of shadows, and they were the foundation of his power. Soul Collection was one of the shadows, and a black haze soared over the shadows, mixing with the souls of Dis Pluto. They were being added to the Soul Collection.

『Foolishness!』 Allforone caught onto what they were doing and spread fog around to stop the shadows from expanding.

「Hahaha! This is crazy, you’re all crazy! Everyone’s lost it! But Allforone, even if you’re the craziest one here, there’s no way you can block this from happening!」

「Stop…bothering…Master.」

The Bone Dragon laughed in an insane manner and burned the fog with her Breath. Boo/Faust used the Spirit Guai to defend against Allforone’s other powers. They were doing their utmost to prevent Allforone from stopping Yeon-woo and Dis Pluto were attempting.

Chhhhh. Meanwhile, the minds of the Dis Pluto members reached Yeon-woo after merging with the black haze. All of their thoughts, emotions, and desires were relayed to the creature that seemed like Yeon-woo as one voice.

「New king.」

「Please.」

“As king—” Yeon-woo instinctively laughed at their invocations and a corner of his lips rose. “I accept your implorations.” With that, Yeon-woo opened his left hand and placed it on the ground. There was no need for him to say the command. The greedy guy wouldn’t lose such an opportunity. White canines grew on the black bumps and stuck to the ground. Clack.

[‘Bathory’s Vampiric Sword’ is progressing with a large-scale absorption.]

A gigantic shadow of the souls of Dis Pluto whirled into Bathory’s Vampiric Sword. All the soldiers of Dis Pluto, from the lowest footsoldier to the generals, were divine or nearly divine. Their souls were great and holy, which meant that their deaths would affect Yeon-woo greatly due to the throne he sat on.

On top of that, they hadn’t simply committed suicide. They’d acted based on their trust—in fact, their faith—in Yeon-woo. These acts of faith were the deeds of martyrs, and they were considered outstanding offerings to gods. At this moment, the creature that seemed like Yeon-woo was the king and god of Dis Pluto, who had chosen to martyr themselves.

“Haha.” The creature that seemed like Yeon-woo felt his incomplete darkness fill up and laughed. “Hahahaha!”

Death! It was the most fundamental form of darkness!

[The second and third conditions of the sudden quest (Exodus) have been completed.]

The second condition of the Exodus quest was to successfully escape Tartarus, and the third was to create a base camp in a safe location. However, there hadn’t been any specific conditions attached to the location, as long as it was something the system could approve and Dis Pluto would feel safe in. Those considerations meant that the Soul Collection, which had the power of darkness, was second to none in safety.

There was no need for concern once one was inside it. As long as Dis Pluto had their king and god, the Soul Collection would never collapse. Even in death, they would be with their god, which made it a paradise.

[You have successfully completed the sudden quest (Exodus).]

[You have made an achievement that is not easily accomplished. Additional karma will be provided.]

[You have acquired 100,000 karma.]

[You have acquired an additional 200,000 karma.]

…

[You have been rewarded with the ‘Underworld Domain Declaration’. You can project the power of the throne in designated locations.]

[You have been rewarded with the qualification to reconstruct Tartarus. You can set a new Tartarus that leads to Erebus.]

[You have been rewarded with a piece of holiness. You have been given an additional reward of a hint of transcendence.]

…

[The locked power ‘Dark Army’ has been unsealed.]

[The locked power ‘Throne’s Inner Eye’ has been unsealed.]

…

“The vessel has become more durable.” The creature that seemed like Yeon-woo laughed, then clucked his tongue. He’d done something nice for the annoying guy, but this was fine, too. After all, the body was a vessel that would be completely his anyway, so the more durable it became, the better it was for him.

Feeling joy wash over him, he looked at Allforone. He could see the Bone Dragon and Boo/Faust still engaged in a fierce battle. He raised his hand and shouted, “Underworld Domain Declaration.”

[A new property is added to the designated territory ‘Binah’.]

[The Underworld territory has been set!]

The dancing haze extended like tentacles to stain the sky black. Darkness descended, pushing away the fog and creating something underneath. The haze took on human forms little by little. They were soldiers with shining black armor, helmets, and spears, whose red eyes blazed like fire under their helms.

The army of the Underworld had been reborn from the new King of the Underworld’s shadow, and they raised their spears. They were an invincible army that would never die. The impossible feat of creating a divine army that would recover no matter how many times they were crushed had been achieved.

The soldiers of the army weren’t just composed of martyrs but also souls that Yeon-woo had collected in Tartarus. Lam’s soul, which glowed with the brightest light, shouted, 「He dirties the name of our king!」

In response, the other commanders continued.

「Suppress him!」

「All forces!」

「Forward!」

「Forward!」

The army of the Underworld ran towards Allforone with the energy of death. Facing the Bone Dragon, Boo/Faust, and what seemed to be an endless wave of soldiers, Allforone, who had ruled the Tower for so long, now looked like a lone island in the ocean.

Allforone turned his gaze to Yeon-woo, as if asking if he thought he could stop Allforone with this. The creature that seemed like Yeon-woo smiled in reply. “Of course, it won’t end here.”

Allforone frowned, unsure what he was thinking. Then, his eyes widened when Yeon-woo suddenly raised Vigrid high, only then realizing what Yeon-woo was planning to do. But before he could stop him, the creature that seemed like Yeon-woo ripped space apart, and another energy gushed out of the emptiness.

『You’ve gone crazy!』

“Keekeekee! Even though the vessel might be a bit hurt, I should do this much to stop you in this body, no?” The energy from the emptiness poured out as though it was glad to break through a wall and began to fill the stage.

Thump. Thump. With a great shockwave of breaking space, the emptiness opened again, and fierce winds began to swirl. It was a powerful tornado that even Allforone had trouble dealing with.

I’ll. Eat. You. Give. It. To. Me. Mine.

It looked around and moved towards the being controlling the stage, its natural instinct to eliminate the owner of the territory and take over the territory. The owner, of course, was Allforone.

Swish. Boom!

The creature that seemed like Yeon-woo doubled over in laughter. The thing that had appeared through the ripped space of Tartarus was emitting an intense vestige that made it clear to everyone what it was: Mother Earth. She had been searching for Yeon-woo—and searching for the stage.

Give. It. Even though Yeon-woo was right next to her, Mother Earth couldn’t sense him because something greater had swallowed Yeon-woo up and hid his presence.

Because of this, Mother Earth thought Allforone had consumed Yeon-woo, placing him in an awkward position.

Allforone was flustered. He’d never expected that both the army of the Underworld and Mother Earth would appear. Still, he couldn’t allow someone like Mother Earth to invade the stage either. He thought it would be too dangerous. Allforone’s expression grew grim, and he brought over half of his true body from the seventy-seventh floor.

Swish! The light around him burst open and unspooled like string. Thump! The pressure on the stage expanded as an extraordinary presence soared up. It was Allforone’s first appearance in dozens of years.

On his right, the soldiers of the Underworld ran to him, and on his left, Mother Earth’s aura approached. Allforone began to move in order to quickly eliminate them. If he wasted time, the seventy-seventh floor would be invaded by the beings of the heavenly world.

“Fuck…! What to do now…”

“Ohyohyohyo!”

The Guardians cried out with devastated faces. Yeon-woo turned around and stretched out his shadow to his party. He thought he had caused enough trouble. Even Allforone would have trouble dealing with all of them. After the fight was over, he’d probably have to rush to the seventy-seventh floor and focus on propping up his defenses.

Restoring the damage and the effects of his descent would tax him greatly, and the system could limit him. Everything worked out, especially since the union was on the verge of becoming undone. That annoying monster could be avoided for the time being. Most of all, it was satisfying to have landed a punch on that stuffy face.

“Keekeekeek!” The creature that seemed like Yeon-woo laughed and moved floors.

[Will you move to the next floor?]

[You are being transported to the 36th floor.]