Ranker Who Lives Twice

"Oho!"

"So. he's finally taken Olympus as well," Prince Nezha exclaimed in astonishment as the messages in the sky, and Erlang Shen nodded nonchalantly.

They had expected this victory ever since Yeon-woo became Kronos' successor and defeated Mother Earth, but they were still surprised to see him become a supreme god of Olympus.

'Olympus divided the throne of the king of gods into three so there wouldn't be another tyrant like Kronos. But will that be inevitable now?' Erlang Shen's eyes darkened. Although each of the brothers had wanted to take their share, the pressure of the other societies who didn't want the creation of another Kronos had also been a large part of the decision to split up the throne.

Zeus had wanted to take the throne for himself, but since they had to sort out the confusion as quickly as possible, he was forced to share it with his two brothers despite his frustration. However, his new brother, Yeon-woo, had now unified the throne. What kind of expression would Zeus make when he learned of this? During his slumber, Olympus had been destroyed, and the throne he thought would last forever had been taken from him.

However, he couldn't do anything since this was the law of the heavenly world. It was inevitable that your position would disappear if you didn't protect it.

'There might be a fight with Zeus soon.' Erlang Shen liked Yeon-woo, and he felt pulled towards him. However, as a leader of the Chan Sect, he couldn't react positively to the united Olympus.

The power that Olympus had was equal to that of the Chan Sect. He was worried about the possible birth of a new Kronos, and he secretly hoped Zeus would wake up to create some internal strife in Olympus. 'Of course, only after the Stone of Casitas comes over to us, as promised.'

Apparently, Yeon-woo had used the Stone of Casitas to treat Hermes and other gods poisoned by Erebus' curses. Now that it seemed to truly have the potential to treat the Heavenly Demon Disease, Erlang Shen desperately wanted it.

"But anyhow." Erlang Shen turned inquiringly to Prince Nezha, who had suddenly spoken up. "Leizhenzi must be in a tight spot now."

Erlang Shen nodded in agreement and smiled wryly. The companion they had left behind in the heavenly world was probably jumping up and down in frustration. Leizhenzi was busy supporting the two from the heavenly world, but now he would have to clean up after Asgard. It was probably the same situation that Yeon-woo's allies, like Niflheim and the East Demon Army, were facing.

Even if Asgard was no longer part of the hostile alliance, the others couldn't allow Asgard off the hook so easily. Right now, Asgard was probably running interference to appease Yeon-woo's allies. Of course, the allies were probably planning to take as much as they could from Asgard. The other societies who were watching might try to take some benefits as well.

Leizhenzi would have to work his brain quite a bit for these tough negotiations.

"He's been complaining about hair loss recently, and his head will probably be shiny and bald by the time we get back. Haha!" Prince Nezha burst in laughter as he thought of Leizhenzi, who was probably glaring at them right now. A corner of his lips rose as he said, "Anyway, since we helped them reclaim Tartarus and restore Olympus as promised…the time to request our share has come."

"Indeed."

"What do you think? Any chances of victory with ###?"

"Aren't you wiser than I am when it comes to war?"

"That's true. Still, the enemies we'll be facing from now on won't be easy."

Erlang Shen nodded heavily. The matters of the Chan Sect had to do with their long-standing enemies, the Jie Sect, and Pandemonium. Pandemonium was too small to be called a society, but their manpower couldn't be underestimated. The Seven Demon Kings who ruled over Pandemonium included the Great Sage, who was another face of the Heavenly Demon, so there was no need to even describe their strength.

Their oldest, the Bull Demon King, was so strong that even Kronos hadn't had the confidence to fight him in the past. He had awakened from a piece of the beginning and despite that, he was still quite active, which put a lot of pressure on the Chan Sect. It was hard to tell whether Yeon-woo could handle him.

'Just from the way he took Olympus, it's no exaggeration to say ### is a monster, but…the heavenly world is swarming with monsters greater than him.'

In the Chan Sect alone, there was Sanhuang Wudi, the West Empress Dowager, and other beings who called themselves "elders" and had no interest in the Tower. There was also the Trinity Wonder, who had set up the Tower.

There were already a handful of beings who were on the same level as Yeon-woo, or possibly even stronger. And of course, there was Allforone, who was like a wall blocking the heavenly world.

Erlang Shen hoped Yeon-woo would be able to stand against the Bull Demon King.

* * *

After Athena restored the throne, she left it empty. Since Yeon-woo couldn't ascend to the heavenly world, she prevented anyone from approaching it. However, she took care of internal affairs in Yeon-woo's stead and immediately got to work.

She moved forward with the punishment of the traitors who assisted the Titans and Gigantes while giving orders for the collapsed holy territories to be restored. She also went to the underground prison of Omphalos herself. It was where the elders of Olympus had been locked up for treason after they resisted the Titans and Gigantes.

If the elders had used their full strength, Olympus wouldn't have fallen so easily to the Titans and Gigantes, but because Mother Earth was on their side, the elders were able to use their powers as well as they wanted to. This was because most of them were Mother Earth's children. There was also the fact that most of them had already forgotten how to use their powers because they were conceptual beings.

Creak! Athena opened the iron door and was greeted by a massive hall. However, she didn't see any traces of the elders, even though she'd been told that they were inside. There wasn't a single humanoid figure in the hall. Instead, there were many rays of light of different shapes and sizes.

Instantly, various voices whispered in her ear.

『You are…?』

『Who…is this child again? She looks familiar.』

『Idiot! Have you already forgotten? She's Zeus' eldest daughter!』

『Oh right…』

『I forgot because of my long slumber.』

『Why is Zeus' eldest daughter here?』

『What about the Titans and Gigantes?』

『Athena.』

『Why are you here…?』

The voices were so disorganized that it was hard to tell how many there were, as if numerous mosquitoes were buzzing in her ear. Some voices were pure chaos and couldn't finish their sentences. However, unlike the Crawling Chaos and Mother Earth, most of the voices were controlled, so they were intelligible.

These were the elders. Since they had existed even before Olympus had been created, they eventually forgot their own existence over time and only the barest of their consciousness remained.

Thanatos, Ker, Momus, Potnia…and the real Nemesis and Nike. Athena quietly paid her respects to them. "A daughter of Zeus, Athena, greets the elders."

『That's enough with the pleasantries.』

『Outside』

『Tell her stories of the outside.』

『The fact that you're here must mean something has happened again?』

They had been awakened from their deep sleep to become the laws of the universe and had been forced here by the Titans and Gigantes. The only thing they wanted was to leave this place as soon as possible. Athena told all the elders they were all free now and explained the reclaiming of Olympus in simple terms.

The elders hadn't shown much emotion when they had been locked away, but they seemed to brighten at the news.

『That's truly a relief.』

『Now I'll be able to sleep peacefully again. This world is too small.』

『Kronos' son was born in that faraway place and returned here?』

『Is this what the Moirai mentioned…?'』

The Moirai were the three goddesses who looked over fate. They were similar to the Three Norns on the sixteenth floor, and they were known in the heavenly world as well. Had they prophesied something about Yeon-woo? Before Athena could ask, someone spoke up.

『Athena.』

『You must have come here yourself to wake Zeus, right?』

"Yes, that's correct." Athena bowed politely.

Although the Titans and Gigantes had taken over Olympus, they hadn't been able to eliminate Zeus because they couldn't find him. His rooms were hidden so carefully that they had believed he wasn't even in the heavenly world. But Athena knew better. Zeus' rooms were right beneath their noses, below the elders' prison. The only reason the Titans and Gigantes hadn't been able to find it was that it couldn't be opened without the permission of the elders.

Now that they had reclaimed Olympus, Athena wanted to see Zeus. She needed to tell him the truth. It would be a bolt from the blue for him, but she considered it a duty she had to do as his eldest daughter and Yeon-woo's chief Apostle.

『Zeus, that poor thing.』

『The Heavenly Demon was the problem…』

『Yes. We'll open the path, go on in.』

"Thank you." Athena bowed to the elders and began to walk towards a stone door.

Yeon-woo had healed the poison of Erebus, which had seemed untreatable at first. Athena thought that he might also be able to cure the Heavenly Demon Disease, and she wanted to see Zeus and confirm his symptoms up close. "Fa…!"

However, when she stepped into Zeus' bedroom for the first time in thousands of years, Athena stopped and gasped. The bed where Zeus was supposed to be sleeping in was…empty. As if there had been no one there in the first place.

* * *

"What?" Yeon-woo's eyes widened at the message he received from Athena. Zeus had disappeared?

『I apologize. I don't know what happened. The elders don't have any idea either. I'll look into the situation and contact you with more details soon.』 Athena's voice was trembling, which was understandable since her father had suddenly gone missing. He might have tried to escape from the Titans and Gigantes, so they needed to find him as soon as possible. Nothing good would happen if the other societies caught wind of this.

Yeon-woo ordered Athena to carry out a close examination and, after he closed the Channel, he turned to see Kronos, who had a stiff expression on his face.

『This fool, where would he…』 Kronos felt guilt toward Zeus, so he seemed very anxious at the news of his disappearance.

Yeon-woo couldn't do anything other than say it would be all right. However, later that evening, Yeon-woo learned that Zeus wasn't the only one who had disappeared. The Yellow Emperor from Chan Sect, Odin from Asgard, An from Dilmun, and the other creator gods from each society had all disappeared without a trace. They were all divine beings who suffered from the Heavenly Demon Disease.