Ranker Who Lives Twice

"…!"

"…!"

"…!"

The players who were watching the situation, including Wei Chen/'Big Mountain' and Daniel/'Kill King', and the players who had just arrived at the scene all turned pale. It was as if their faces had been drained of all blood. For a moment, they wondered if they had seen something wrong.

After all, Sesha/Cha So-yeong was famous for being proud and not smiling often. Amongst the world of players, there were only a few who were close to her. She publicly drew a line with all other players and made sure that they never crossed it.

However, she maintained a good public image due to her active participation in charity events and volunteer work. Additionally, she had a beautiful appearance that would probably never be seen again in anyone's lifetime, often being compared to the great actress Audrey Hepburn, who had a beautiful heart that matched her physical beauty.

Thus, it was shocking to see such a So-yeong run into the group of otherworld gods and shout out 'uncle'. At first, everyone wondered what her words meant.

After all, it was widely known that Cha So-yeong's uncle had disappeared ten years ago, on the day of the beginning. That was the reason why she had appeared in various gatherings and associations that looked for missing people after the gates' appearance. It was also the reason she was leading this event.

Cha So-yeong's long-lost uncle… Was she able to miraculously find her uncle like how the other returnees found their missing persons? Or was it that she just instinctively called for him because of the situation? Though the exact reason was unknown, it did not really matter.

Suddenly, the crystal that the otherworld gods had gathered around broke. Black and red lightning bolts soon fell one after another. This sudden change of events came as a great shock to the players. Since the opening of the gates, the players had been through countless different situations. Although they were used to seeing nonsensical phenomena, the destructive power of these lightning bolts was something beyond their comprehension.

Soon, the surrounding forest made up of sturdy, seemingly unbreakable trees was ripped apart. The otherworld gods were soon riddled with holes, looking like swiss cheese. Their tattered body parts scattered into the air. Even the gods and demons of the world, who claimed to protect humans, were reluctant to bump into even one of these otherworld gods. However, they had been dispatched with such ease…

[Warning! You are now in the most dangerous zone! You are strongly advised to escape the area!]

[Warning! You are being exposed to the most dangerous powers! We strongly recommend that you leave the area as soon as possible!]

[Warning! You are…]

…

Urgent system messages were rapidly appearing in every player's retina. The players amounted to nothing in this place, so they were advised to run away without looking back if they wanted to survive. However, the players were all already in a state of shock after seeing the effects of the sword thunder strike.

Moreover, even after the sword thunder's main strike had scattered, the thick stench of burning, the cindering caused by the sparks left behind by the sword thunder strike, and the air that was so hot and sticky that it took one's breath away, had taken all the strength out of the players' legs. They felt that they might instantly be vaporized if they moved and made the other aware of their presence.

Furthermore, Daniel, an Apostle of Vayu, a god in 'Deva', received a completely new type of message.

[Message has arrived from Vayu.]

[Message: H-How… How the hell is he here…?]

Since becoming Vayu's Apostle, Daniel had always been protected from danger by his god. Thus, for Daniel, Vayu was like a vast, omnipotent, and unreachable sky. However, at this moment, Daniel could feel the tension through the Channel that connected him to Vayu. Beyond that, Daniel also picked up on the embarrassment and fear that permeated deeply in Vayu's voice.

[A message has arrived from Vayu.]

[Message: My child. Hurry! You need to get out of there! Wake up! Hurry up and leave!]

'My god. Why are you saying such things? Who is that person…?' Daniel could not help but be stunned by his god's reaction. He couldn't understand why Vayu was showing such an intense emotional reaction.

When the otherworld gods had appeared, Vayu had confidently stated that Daniel would be protected, and Daniel was told by Vayu that he could go ahead and save So-yeong if he wanted.

Moreover, Vayu was one of the most prominent beings in the heavenly world, to the extent that Vayu even possessed the nickname 'Heavenly Wind'. Additionally, Vayu was also one of the Lokapala, the eight great gods that represented the godly society of 'Deva'. This was why Daniel was able to become one of the strongest amongst all human beings.

Daniel narrowed his eyes. True to his title as the Kill King, he had excellent eyesight, so he could accurately recognize what his opponent was doing even from a great distance. He could see that the being who had caused such a commotion was male, had black hair, and had black eyes. Even the clothes the male was wearing were black, but there was nothing else that stood out. Daniel thought the male looked like a typical Northeastern Asian male.

'The being doesn't have the aura of intimidation that gods and demons have, and he doesn't have the overwhelming presence of power that the top players normally give off. He just looks like a relatively handsome ordinary human. Then why…?'

[A message has arrived from Vayu.]

[Message: W-W-What are you doing right now?! I said run…! I-If you happen to get caught by him…!]

Although Vayu had nervously shouted in the Channel to prevent Daniel from doing anything stupid…

The dark-haired man, Yeon-woo, turned his gaze towards Daniel. Yeon-woo and Daniel's eyes met.

At that moment, Daniel thought his heart had stopped beating. If it was not for his open Channel with Vayu, Daniel would have thought that he had already died from shock. Just by making eye contact, Daniel felt like he had fallen into a deep abyss that seemed to exist within the other's eyes. He felt that the mysterious man was slowly eating his soul.

The instinctive fear that all living beings possessed inevitably reared its head within Daniel. It was a primal emotion that Daniel had no choice but to feel when confronted with the concept of 'death' itself. The difference in their power level was so great that one would never consider the other a fellow human being.

"Ugh, argh!" Daniel screamed as his complexion turned white. He turned around and started aimlessly running like a headless chicken.

"K-Kill King…?"

"Calm down, Daniel! Why are you acting like this?!"

The other players shouted at Daniel, not understanding his behavior, but Daniel did not heed their calls.

[A message has arrived from Vayu.]

[Message: My child. Calm down…!]

"Get out of my way!" Although Vayu tried to calm him down, Daniel, who had already gone half-mad from fright, drew his sword and started swinging it around haphazardly at the people who stood in his way. At that moment…

"Stop moving."

At the sound of a low voice, Daniel's actions suddenly stopped. The voice was very quiet, but strangely, it rang out right in everyone's ear. The voice had an irresistible power, so Daniel and the other players suddenly stopped as if time itself had froze up. Even Vayu, who was connected by the Channel…

[A message has arrived from Vayu.]

[Message: …Ah…I guess you're fucked.] Vayu's deep sigh was the last thing that reached Daniel's ears.

***

「This is so exhilarating and stimulating for Laplace! Ah! Ah! Master, please lay down an even bigger, thicker, and more exhilarating punishment…!」

"Laplace."

Yeon-woo's sword thunder strike did not only tear through the otherworld gods that had threatened Sesha, but it also ripped past Laplace. However, it was not Yeon-woo's intention to strike Laplace. No matter how bad of a temper Yeon-woo possessed, he would not go as far as harming his own familiars.

Rather, Laplace had suddenly jumped in the line of the sword thunder strike. And after receiving a portion of the sword thunder strike, Laplace started spewing such weird words. Somehow, even though Yeon-woo had not seen Laplace for many years, it did not seem that Laplace's masochistic, weird personality had changed at all.

To hear Laplace's words after having just woken up, Yeon-woo could not help but feel extremely annoyed. And as if Yeon-woo's wish had been conveyed, Laplace stopped spewing nonsense for a moment. Yeon-woo wondered, 'Did Laplace perhaps grow a conscience and some social manners during my absence?'

「Master.」

"…?"

「More! Just like a moment ago, with a voice full of utter contempt! Can you call out to me once more with a voice filled with utter hatred and anger?」

"…" Yeon-woo suddenly felt the urge to terminate his familiar contract with Laplace and to turn Laplace into a vestige so that Yeon-woo could shred him up into pieces.

But if Yeon-woo did that, Laplace would probably continue to exist as a filthy, greedy vestige within his shadow. Since this problem could not be resolved, Yeon-woo mustered superhuman patience and resolve and managed to put up with Laplace's act. "…Shut up and devour."

「Ooh! I will do as Master wishes~!」

The fragments of Laplace that were scattered in the air were sucked into Yeon-woo's shadow. At the same time, the middle part of Yeon-woo's elongated shadow split apart and revealed a large set of jagged teeth.

[The power, 'Hades' Spirit Eating Sword' reveals its vicious teeth!]

Just as a hungry beast would urgently devour its prey, the fragments of the otherworld gods' vestiges that had been torn to pieces by Yeon-woo's sword thunder strike were quickly being devoured.

Father.

Dim-witted. Father.

Why.

Why. Have. You. Forsaken. Us.

The otherworld gods, who were just barely alive, started sending their last thoughts towards Yeon-woo.

In their eyes, Yeon-woo looked like their great yet dim-witted father, the Black King.

Though Yeon-woo had not completed the process of becoming the Black King's main ego, nonetheless, Yeon-woo was the only being in the universe that could be called the Black King. So, of course, they had no choice but to appeal to Yeon-woo as if he was their father. They had no idea that their father would abandon them.

However, Yeon-woo looked at the otherworld gods with cold, unemotional eyes. Crack, Crack! Crunch! Crunch! After a long period of time, Yeon-woo's shadow devoured the otherworld gods.

「Hahaha! So delicious! I haven't felt this full in such a long time!」Laplace smiled happily before sinking back into Yeon-woo's shadow. Having finally met his Master, Laplace naturally returned to his Master's shadow. It had been a long time since Laplace had been connected to his Master and devoured so much, so it was going to take Laplace some time to digest all that he had devoured.

Finally, Yeon-woo felt he was free from Laplace's overt perverseness. With that thought in mind, Yeon-woo brushed off all the remaining crystal fragments from the hem of his clothes, and quietly got up. Then he took a deep breath of the thick, musty air.

Although Yeon-woo did not need to breathe anymore, as he existed without the constraints to the general laws of physics, the old habit that Yeon-woo had developed throughout his life did not go away so easily.

'The scent of darkness. It's a swamp of darkness.' Yeon-woo laughed bitterly when he realized he was standing in a swamp of darkness, something he had seen in Kronos' dreams before.

The swamp of darkness were the remnants of the Black King formed at the point of contact where 'dream' met reality. Of course, realizing this connection, Yeon-woo concluded that it should have been obvious that he would appear in one of these swamps once he awoke. While having these thoughts…

"Uncle!"

Yeon-woo suddenly stopped his train of thought as he saw Sesha run up and hug him tightly. Yeon-woo also stretched out his arms and hugged Sesha tightly back. She was much bigger than when Yeon-woo saw her last before he fell asleep. Still, somehow, like back then, Sesha seemed very small and slender.

"Uncle, is it really you?"

"You've grown a lot. In terms of height, you've probably already outgrown your mother." Yeon-woo smiled lightly while stroking Sesha's hair.

Only then did Sesha realize that the other person was not another being with Yeon-woo's face, but the real Yeon-woo. Sesha soon burst into tears. "We… Dad and mom… We've all been looking for you for so long, why did you come back so late…"

"Sorry." Yeon-woo could not think of anything else to say, so he kept repeating his apology.

Although there were many eyes around them, Yeon-woo did not have to worry about it. Everyone had been paused and made motionless, so Yeon-woo could take care of them at his leisure. No, there was still one person left.

While calming Sesha down, Yeon-woo stared at a space in the air.『I know you're there. Come out Zeus.』 Once he finished saying those words…

Whoosh! In the area where the otherworld gods had just perished, a space opened up. With a rigid expression, Kim Bum-seung quietly stepped out.