Ranker Who Lives Twice

"What about part B7 of "Tears of Grief"?

"It's here."

"Hmm. I don't think the size fits though? Try shaving this part off."

"Hey! Does anyone know where the 'ruptured brake' is?"

"That's here!"

"How could you leave it here?! We have to study the engine and its combination factors right now!"

In a pitch-black world, the work of the master craftsmen centered around Henova and Anastasia was coming to an end. They had only been given 12 hours at most, so one might even wonder how they could have made something properly.

But Yeon-woo had prepared a lot of parts alongside Henova, and the flow of time here was thoroughly isolated from the outside world. Thus, the time felt by the master craftsmen had already been equivalent to a few days.

They were mentally and physically tired, but they kept hammering without rest. As if to show how they had gotten the title of 'master craftsman', every product they crafted displayed a high level of completion.

[Eternal masterpiece, 'Indicator of Time' has been crafted!]

[Eternal masterpiece, 'Blue-imbued Jade Marble' has been crafted!]

…

[The collaboration among the master craftsmen increases efficiency by more than 300%!]

[Eternal masterpieces are being crafted one after another. It is a legendary moment that will remain in history.]

[Due to the correction effect, the master craftsmen's stamina recovers 40% faster.]

[The rate of mental consumption decreases by 60%.]

…

[All the items being created are set artifacts!]

[If combined as one, it can cause a strong resonance.]

[They are objects that all gods and demons especially covet as divine items. When given as an offering, the target's divine powers will be amplified, and a great blessing will be blessed upon the creators.]

Anastasia was in charge of the overall process, and Henova was in charge of the speed and quality of the work as he managed the details. Then... Thangggg! As Henova swung his hammer down while biting on the short pipe...

[The last eternal masterpiece, 'Jade-Breaking Drive-Derivative Device' has been completed!]

Finally, the long-awaited last message appeared.

Huff! Henova let out a deep breath. Thanks to that, he released the cigarette smoke that he had kept in his lungs. His gaze was fixed solely on the disc whinging on the anvil.

"Henova, that is…?"

"Oh! Did you finally finish it?"

"You probably didn't have enough time, but you completed the task! As expected of you!"

The master craftsmen gathered around Henova's completed masterpiece and burst into admiration.

Clearly, Henova just crafted an item that stood unrivaled even among the completed masterpieces so far. As such, the object that was born now occupied the most unique position among the completed ones, and it was also the most important part of Scythe.

However, all of those compliments sounded like mockery to Henova.

[Jade-Breaking Drive-Derivative Device]

Type: Support

Rank: Immeasurable

Description: A device made to assist and drive a specified item. It is an item that many gods and demons will covet as a substitute if it is disclosed to the outside world because of its technology that is great enough to handle and control huge amounts of holy power. Unfortunately, however, the durability does not seem to be very good.

"Why do you all have so much to say just for a disposable item?! Wrap up the rest of your work instead!"

Just like its name implied, Jade-Breaking referred to 'destruction of jades.' The Jade-Breaking Drive-Derivative Device was a control device that could draw out the power from the Darkness Jade, which would become the Scythe’s core.

Considering how much time and mental strength it took to design and produce this, Henova couldn't stop himself from cursing. There was enough time when the Philosopher's Stone was made, but this was not the case now.

Still, this item was definitely much more valuable than the Philosopher's Stone. It was a device designed to properly materialize the power of the Black King, who most people didn’t even know existed. Hence, a lot of hard work and effort was bound to go into it. Perhaps even if Henova and the other master craftsmen put their heads together again in the future, it was unclear whether they would be able to produce better results than this.

However, the problem was that the Jade-Breaking Drive-Derivative Device wasn’t durable… This weakness was inevitable. This was because if Henova had paid attention to durability, the device wouldn't be able to properly extract the power of the Darkness Jade, and there was a high possibility that it would only cause Scythe’s level of completion to fall. So even if they had to give up its durability, the master craftsmen all agreed to aim for the best efficiency, and this was the result of it.

Although it was only a one-time use item, Henova was confident. The moment this was revealed to the world, it would turn the Tower upside down. The problem was that the person who would be the owner of this item was insensitive.

"Damned bastard. He always works me like a horse, but doesn't even show his face. Hmph." Henova clicked his tongue while holding a short pipe in his hand. Even though he was obviously dissatisfied, his gaze was firmly fixed elsewhere.

‘It’s about time for him to come…’ Like the tobacco leaves burning in the short pipe, Henova's annoyance blazed on.

[0:59:47_88]

[0:59:47_87]

...

* * *

Kabooom! With a violent explosion, Count Ferenc and the Vampiric Lord were blasted away. They barely landed on the ground. Both of them were plastered with wounds.

"It's not easy, huh..." With a cough, blood flowed from the corners of Count Ferenc's lips.

"You're...!"

"I'm still doing okay. I'm not going down yet. Rather, what about you? It seems like the Vampire Spirit has been trembling ever since just now." Count Ferenc admonished the Vampire Lord with a worried gaze. He looked at the black haze which shook dangerously, thinking it could fade away at any moment.

The Vampiric Lord bit her lower lip and shook her head stubbornly. "I'm still fine."

"Then, that's a relief." Count Ferenc was well aware that it was a show of pot-valiant bravery from his wife.

While facing countless divine beings who were trying to invade the world of light, Allforone showed no signs of being shaken. Instead, he tried to remove the root of the problem by manifesting his true body.

Of course, the root of the problem was Yeon-woo.

They managed to fight Allforone after receiving the baptism of darkness, but Allforone had always been too strong. Many of the followers were already seriously injured, retiring from the battlefield. There were also quite a few deaths. Of course, the injured were sucked into the shadows before reappearing as members of Dis Pluto. Still, it was not easy to deal with Allforone.

More than half of the Vampire Spirit that the Vampiric Lord was proud of was in a 'torn' state. Darkness was an enemy light couldn’t defeat, but light was also undefeatable by darkness. Yeon-woo's believers were fatally injured because of Allforone's power, which used light as its source. In fact, they were not evenly matched. But nevertheless, the Vampiric Lord and others tried to resist Allforone. They were filled with the desire to somehow get one hit in.

Allforone had forcibly detained them all. Even if they escaped him, they had to run away endlessly. They wanted to vent their anger now. If they didn’t even take the slightest revenge, they didn't know when such an opportunity would arise again.

Therefore, Count Ferenc did not dissuade his wife’s obstinance. In fact, he shared similar thoughts. He slowly stood up from where he sat and laughed. "I also feel like I can stay up for a few more days… Our daughter is also working hard, so let's go at it again."

Far away, Allforone's true body slowly walked towards them. Lana was blocking his way, and in the sky, a giant monster was violently throwing a barrage of punches in his direction.『Spirits of the dead, why do you not follow the laws of nature and instead go against death to fight me? Why do you not realize that all these attempts you refer to as the resistance of freedom are nothing more than chains that tie you down and reduce you to the likes of dolls?』

Rumble. Then, suddenly, a ray of light that burst forth along with Allforone's bellowing mutilated the monster. Cracks spread like spider webs across its body, then a random middle-aged man appeared amongst those cracks as the sounds of glass breaking rang out.

「It hurts! It hurts so much! This hell difficulty is too hard for weak ol' me to handle! Seriously, what was ### thinking when he threw a delicate person like me into such an unsophisticated place!」

Although 'delicate' was a term that did not suit the black skinhead with rabbit ears, Laplace scratched his bald head while frowning. He seemed to be aching all over. Count Ferenc hurried toward Laplace, asking with a laugh, "Are you okay?"

「Do I look like I'm okay?」

"I don't think so."

「Then, don't ask weird questions. I don't even have the leisure to talk properly because I'm in pain.」

"But you look like you're having fun."

「How so?」

"Aren't you smiling?"

Only then did Laplace touch his lips, and belatedly found out that the corners of his mouth had unknowingly tugged up into a smile.「That's right. Rather than the Demonic Sea which was filled with the foul stench of a sewer and boredom, this place is way better. I’d have no regrets even if I die right here and now.」

"You're already dead though?"

「So isn't that even better? Hohoho.」

While Laplace laughed, the source that shook the world slowly approached them. Boom. Boom. Allforone walked slowly while pushing Lana away. The laws of the world revolved around him, stirring the darkness that was about to dye the world of light black.

『I'll ask you again. Why do you chain your hands and feet on your own accord? And why do you express yourself through resistance? In the end, only your position has changed. Isn't it nothing more than just a useless repetition of events?』Allforone's voice was rather low, as if he was mumbling to himself. But his words still rang all across the world of light and were firmly imprinted in their minds.

『Death is just death. However, darkness goes against that, and sweet talks the lot of you by promising you a new life and giving you back your freedom. But truly, it makes you a slave. Rather, it is only eternal bondage. Also, did you say you wanted to get away from me and ascend? You are also mistaken about that.』

Count Ferenc somehow thought Allforone sounded rather angry. It felt like the complaint of an existence that no one acknowledged.

『The upper floors are just the home of gods and demons who regard creatures like you as just mere beasts to raise. Without stopping them and leaving them to fully bloom, mortals will always be led to ruin. There is no future for the creatures who have to live on this land without blocking the path between heaven and earth.』

Soon, Allforone was already near them. With that in mind, Count Ferenc tried to tell him that he was wrong. He wanted to criticize Allforone's narrow-mindedness of thinking that only his mission was just and that their desires were wrong.

『No. The premise of your argument is wrong.』

There was no opportunity for Count Ferenc to step in, because someone else responded before he could. The mockery in the person’s voice went undisguised.

Swish! In front of Count Ferenc and while blocking the way of Allforone, Cha Jeong-woo's vestige body stared at Allforone with a crumpled face.

『What qualifications do you have to have to judge those sort of things, Vivasvat?』

[0:45:66_92]

[0:45:66_91]

...

* * *

[0:39:78_87]

[0:39:78_86]

…

Yeon-woo stared at the gods and demons of death who appeared in succession and pledged their loyalty to him. At first, he was curious why they appeared at once. However, after a little while, he thought about it calmly and came to the conclusion that it wasn’t impossible. "You sensed my existence when I completed Sky Wings."

『At first, we were unsure... However, when your majesty faced the Heavenly Demon, we became confident upon seeing the various miracles that happened then.』Hel bowed elegantly as she knelt on one knee. It was an unimaginable sight in the original timeline. Yeon-woo thought that she was acting all innocent.

Yeon-woo nodded quietly. Certainly, he ran away from the Heavenly Demon, but there were more than one or two societies involved with the entire incident. There must have been a few beings who could sense the traces of darkness from him. Still, in this era where many societies did not yet have much exchange, there was only one reason why they could gather together at one spot so quickly. 'As expected, the gods and demons of death are bound by their own association regardless of their affiliation. Of course, the center of that is the Black King.'

They did not pledge loyalty simply because Yeon-woo was a successor of the Black King. Since they watched the process of his fight with the Heavenly Demon, they must have judged that Yeon-woo was trustworthy enough.

Yeon-woo’s struggle to live had unexpectedly led to a new opportunity. Yeon-woo quickly glanced at the gods and demons of death. Most of them were unfamiliar faces, but he did spot a couple of familiar ones. Among them was also Azrael, who vanished completely in the original timeline. Although each of them gave off different impressions, the feeling they exuded was the same.

Click! Click! Yeon-woo was at their center. All the faith they radiated was connected to him, and their domains were connected to him like cogwheels. Because of his existence, their existence was also validated.

'They said it was prophesied that I would come, right?' Yeon-woo knew that meant that it was written in the revelations. 'Did the Black King guess that I would visit?'

If that was not the case…

[The Black King stares at his descendant from a distant dream.]

All the phenomena and facts that occurred in the world were said to be the 'dreams' of the Black King, so Yeon-woo wondered if the Black King knew this was a part of his dream.

As the concept of death was completed, Yeon-woo could clearly sense the gazes of the sleeping beings from the world's backend concentrating on him. He was now sure that the Black King had been observing his every move from the moment he first entered this legend. The Black King was waiting for his successor to hurry up and find him.

"Where did the Black King fall asleep?" Yeon-woo deliberately did not use honorifics such as 'he' or 'father'. He felt like he would be forcibly bound with lesser leeway if he used such honorifics in his words.

[The Black King is observing his successor with interest.]

Hel slowly got up from her position and waved her hand into the air.『I will open the path.』

A new portal opened in front of Yeon-woo as well as the gods and demons of death. Beyond that, a vast universe was revealed. It was in the middle of the universe that could be easily seen anywhere, but the gods and demons of death were excited and thrilled. After all, they were approaching the place where the Black King fell into a slumber. However, contrary to them, Yeon-woo's expression hardened. He found the place very familiar. It was the solar system, and he spotted a blue star that was the third planet: Earth.