Ranker Who Lives Twice

『That’s going too far, ###. I mean, Death King.』

『Please be more careful with your words.』

The envoys all stiffened when they were compared to dogs. They knew that they were all under Yeon-woo’s thumb, but this kind of humiliation was too much for them. However, Yeon-woo just crossed his arms and scoffed.

“Leave if you don’t like it.”

『What…?』

“Vayu, are you leaving? Is this what Deva wants?”

Vayu was about to speak, then froze when he felt the other envoys carefully watching him. They were ready to attack and eliminate him just as they had done with Thor. Vayu clenched his teeth. He had never been treated like this before.

Deva was a godly society on par with Olympus, Asgard, and the Chan Sect. It was overwhelming in scale, with thousands of gods as members. Eight Lokapala gods ruled over them, and over them were three sovereign gods who were said to have peeked at the universe’s creation.

Vayu was one of the Lokapala and ruled over the northwest. He was famed for his winds, and even among the envoys, there weren’t many who were equal to him. He’d never been treated like this before. To make matters worse, some of the divine beings looking at him warily now were allies of Deva. If they attacked and chased him away, the alliances would be canceled or in extreme cases, war would break out. However, the allies were willing to go that far for a chance to possess the revelations. The revelations were so priceless that societies risked ostracization just to have it.

Vayu glared at the gods who abandoned their pride as transcendents to become a mere mortal’s dog. They probably believed that all they had to do was endure, and they’d be rewarded later. They probably planned on attacking Yeon-woo after gaining the revelations. However, Vayu knew that once you became a dog, you would stay in that lowly position forever. 『Fine. If you want a dog, I shall become one.』 But there was nothing else he could do.

The revelations contained wisdom beyond the gods and demons. He couldn’t let the other societies take it for themselves. Deva had to have it, and if they couldn’t, no one else was allowed to have it.

“Is that it?” Yeon-woo’s eyebrow twitched as he smiled.

『I shall become your dog, sir.』 Vayu immediately bowed and apologized.

Yeon-woo smirked at him. The other envoys clucked their tongues when they realized that Yeon-woo was giving Deva another chance. They had thought that they would be able to get rid of their most dangerous competition.

Vayu narrowed his eyes at them, exuding a murderous aura as if he were warning them that he’d rip them apart. They quickly looked away, not confident about fighting with him one on one. Instead, they watched Yeon-woo carefully, planning to get on his good side.

It was difficult to believe these were truly gods and demons.

‘Getting rid of one is enough. I need to get the most out of these guys.’ Yeon-woo kept a smirk on his face while he carefully examined the beings in front of him. He’d only eliminated Asgard to show that he wouldn’t kneel to them. Now that his point had been made, he didn’t need to get rid of Deva, particularly since they were too big to discard.

Valdebich was still speechless from the shock.

‘But they should be here about now. Why don’t I see them?’ A few of the envoys he’d been expecting hadn’t arrived. It was understandable that the small societies couldn’t handle the laws of causality, and the societies that weren’t interested in the lower world wouldn’t care to participate. However, two societies had signaled their participation, and he couldn’t find them at all. Did they have a change of heart? He wouldn’t have cared normally, but they were the two societies that Yeon-woo needed abilities from the most. They represented absolute good and absolute evil, which were the best means of writing legends. Yeon-woo needed them to resurrect the giants.

They were probably aware of this, too, and they were probably planning their offers to him. However, if they were trying to assert their dominance by taking their time arriving, he would eliminate them ruthlessly. Yeon-woo might need them, but they needed him more desperately. He had no intention of allowing the societies to use him when he had the revelations in his possession. Although having good and evil was ideal, he could just create something similar.

He waited for a little while longer, but the two societies showed no reaction. The envoys began to mutter among themselves, wondering why Yeon-woo was just standing there. Finally, Yeon-woo turned away without any lingering attachment. Just then, he felt something in the air and looked up. ‘What great manners they have.’

The sky opened and black lightning landed on the ground. The envoys flinched from the extraordinary demonic energy that was so intense, it seemed to have the ability to shred their incarnations. Only Vayu and Erlang Shen were unaffected, but they couldn’t help frowning and showing their hostility to the demonic energy.

The owner of this energy storm was the enemy of all the godly societies. He was the second-in-command of L’Infernal, which represented absolute evil. It was the infamous leader of the East Demon Army that had invaded countless dimensions and universes and crushed gods.

『Agares.』

『The Grand Duke of the East is here! Madness and destruction are here!』

Swish! The black demonic energy scattered like fog ,and Agares appeared with his dozens of black wings.

『It always seems to me that the air of the lower world is so stale. Is it because of the energy the otherworld things left behind? This is worse than normal.』 Agares muttered with a face so beautiful that it seemed completely androgynous. He frowned at the other envoys who stared at him. 『What do you think you’re looking at?! How dare you lowly creatures!』

Whoosh. The demonic energy began to soar up like a tsunami again. This time, even Vayu and Erlang Shen stepped back, raising their holy power. The quality of the demonic energy was incomparably violent. When the powers of madness and destruction that represented Agares combined with the storm, the demonic energy seemed to bare its fangs like a hungry beast.

『Are you trying to take what’s mine? How should I deal with you? Should I cut off your heads and use it to decorate my throne, or should I pull your eyes out and make a necklace out of them?』 Each word he spoke shook the heavens and the earth. At the same time, his demonic energy became fiercer.

He was angry since he was the one who’d watched Yeon-woo from the start, and it seemed like more and more entities were taking an interest in Yeon-woo. He wanted to get rid of these annoying bastards now that he was here. The storm wasn't simply a warning, it also contained killing intent.

If no one intervened, he would have begun fighting with the gods and demons. However, the appearance of a new entity made him stop.

『How about you stop throwing a tantrum now, Agares?』

Swoosh! A bright light appeared like a blooming flower in the dark air, splitting into the colors of a rainbow before it revealed a woman with white wings and pure white energy that seemed to be at the opposite extreme of Agares’. Just standing in front of her calmed the soul and raised one’s health and magic power.

Agares’ storm faded away. His frown deepened when he saw her since she wasn’t someone he could easily touch. She was an archangel who was part of the Seraphim. She managed the Annunciation and always had the Ark of the Covenant with its knowledge and wisdom on her back.

『Gabriel.』

Gabriel smiled and waved her hand. 『Hi. Long time no see.』 She acted like she was seeing a friend she hadn’t seen in a while.

Agares’ expression was still dark. 『I thought Malach wasn’t interested anymore after Azrael ended up like that. Did you have a change of heart?』

『What can I do? It was an order from the higher-ups.』

『What?』

After the archangel Azrael who ruled over death had been eaten by the Demonism, Malach decided to only observe Yeon-woo and not interfere. Darkness was in opposition to their light, but they had no intention of becoming enemies in Yeon-woo. Suffice to say, they simply avoided him, and after Yeon-woo allied himself with L’Infernal during the war with the Titans and Giants, they distanced themselves from Yeon-woo even further.

Malach and L’Infernal weren’t just different groups, they couldn’t co-exist peacefully. Agares couldn’t help feeling wary at Gabriel’s arrival. Was it really an order from the prime commander of Malach, Metatron?

『Do you think I know what our geezer thinks? If I don’t want to be fired, I have to do what he says.』

[Metatron from the godly society <Malach> looks at Gabriel in disapproval.]

『O-OK. Sheesh. Glare much?』

[Metatron clicks his tongue at Gabriel’s lowbrow speech.l

[Metatron urges Gabriel to stop with the nonsense and get to the point.]

『See? That’s our geezer for you.』

[Metatron frowns.]

[Metatron adjusts the laws of causality Gabriel is using. He warns that any waste of the laws of causality must be paid back.]

『That narrow-minded fool!』 Gabriel protested to Metatron.

Agares muttered to himself as he watched them. 『Just why…!』 Then, as if he realized something, his twisted expression stiffened. 『I see.』 Agares’ eyes turned cold. 『You need the Book of Enoch?』

Gabriel shrugged. 『I won’t deny it. We’re not doing too well these days. But you’re probably in the same state, aren’t you? Don’t you need Lemegeton?』

The greater demon in L’Infernal who stood behind Agares replied instead.

[Baal from the demonic society <L’Infernal> laughs wordlessly.]

[Metatron observes Baal.]

[Baal watches Metatron.]

While the two leaders and commanders of absolute good and absolute evil looked at each other, Vayu and the other envoys frowned when they saw that Agares and Gabriel weren’t fighting despite being in close proximity to each other. Everyone keenly felt the importance of the revelations.

『Anyway, I’ve come down to be a dog, as I was ordered to. What should I do, Master?』 Gabriel shrugged and turned back to Yeon-woo.

Agares and the rest of the envoys turned to him as well. They were curious about the commands he planned to give him. Would he order them to help train the half-giants? They would willingly share some of their powers. Although the gods disliked being used to resurrect the power of their enemies, the giants, they could give up a tiny amount that wouldn’t affect them. They were even willing to give artifacts or elixirs as long as they could have the revelations—or even a fragment of it. No price was too high.

It was impossible that Yeon-woo wouldn’t know what they were thinking. He already had some ideas about what he wanted them to do. The first and most important step was to recover the lost potential of the half-giants and help them regain transcendence again. This wasn’t something that could happen overnight, but there were times when shortcuts were allowed in legends.

“You two.” He turned toward Gabriel and Agares. “I’d like you to make me the Fruit of Good and Evil.”