Ranker Who Lives Twice

Kraaaa! The creature was colossal. The giant mass seemed to connect the heavens and earth, and it exuded an intense aura.

『The first beast… It's definitely not easy to fight this guy.』

"I agree." Cha Jeong-woo nodded at Kronos' voice that rang in his head. He found fighting against the Bull Demon King was extremely difficult.

After the battle began, the Bull Demon King transformed into his real body and attacked Cha Jeong-woo's party without any moment of rest. He was the first beast and emperor. And because he had lived through the ages, he was an opponent who was too strong and overwhelming.

Since Jeong-woo and the Bull Demon King had directly opposing strengths and Jeong-woo lacked power compared to him, Jeong-woo's party was busy trying to defend themselves.

[The first beast attacks the 'Sun of Day (Eros).']

[The first beast wants to destroy 'Day (Eros).']

"Damn it!" Cha Jeong-woo jumped back in surprise.

Thud, thud, thud! However, the Bull Demon King displayed a speed that was shocking for his size. Each step he took crushed space and made the distance seem irrelevant. Rhea activated Quirinale's power to try and stop him.

[The power 'Absolute Territory Designation' has failed!]

[The power 'Domain Declaration of Quirinale' has failed!]

[The power 'Magic Space Compression' has failed!]

…

[The first beast is running rampant!]

The Bull Demon King didn't just invalidate Rhea's powers, but he swept them back with the impacts of his holy power. Jeong-woo's party wasn't able to fight back. Kra, kra, kraaaaa. Crash! The moment the Bull Demon King's massive hoof struck the ground, the stage quaked and cracks spread throughout.

[An immeasurable shock wave shakes the entire stage!]

[Cracks have appeared throughout the stage!]

[The durability of the stage is decreasing rapidly!]

[Warning! Intense battles can be restricted by system managers and guardians! Take caution!]

[Warning! Evidence of hacking has been uncovered and the maximum-level defense system is activated!]

…

[The defense system has failed!]

[The defense system has failed!]

The Bull Demon King easily crushed through the limits of the stage.

『The question is how that crazy old man is going to be stopped…』Kronos laughed in disbelief as he looked at the Bull Demon King. During his rule, the Seven Demon Kings had been difficult to deal with, but he had never fought against the Bull Demon King himself, so he thought the many rumors surrounding him were exaggerated. But compared to the current Bull Demon King, those rumors were nothing.

Rather, Kronos thought it was more incredible the Bull Demon King hadn't been greedy for more. The Bull Demon King appeared more fearsome, and Kronos was frustrated because he couldn't figure out how to defeat him. If Sun Wukong came and helped, this entire fight would flow more smoothly…

『But he seems pretty busy over there too….』

Pew pew pew! Kronos couldn't bring himself to ask for help, seeing the tight battle between Sun Wukong and Tongtian Jiaozhu. However, he was annoyed that Nocturne, who Jeong-woo had brought saying he was absolutely necessary, was standing still doing nothing.

Nocturne looked to be deep in thought as he looked blankly in front of him, trying to force himself to remember something.

'What should I do?' At this rate, they wouldn't be of any help to Yeon-woo. Kronos felt himself become anxious. His son was fighting alone in a dark place, but he wasn't able to do anything to help as his father.

As if Kronos' other son had read his thoughts, Jeong-woo gripped Scythe more tightly. "Don't worry too much, Father."

『But…!』

"Hyung will do well as he always does."

『I know, but…』Kronos' voice trailed off. He felt like finishing what he was saying would make him feel like a pathetic father. He felt too apologetic toward his sons.

"And our job is to stop the Bull Demon King, not defeat him, right?"

Kronos realized that Cha Jeong-woo wasn't simply trying to comfort him, but trying to look at the situation in a positive light. He asked.『Do you have a plan?』

"I don't know if it'll work, but…"

Haaaa! Cha Jeong-woo let out a heavy sigh. Then, he took in a big breath and spread his Sky Wings.

[The sun of 'Day (Eros)' shines brightly!]

"I think we'll be able to annoy him a bit."

[The sun of 'Day (Eros)' attempts to expropriate all the ancient gods connected to him!]

…

[The forgotten ancient gods respond!]

[The ancient god 'Oryx' opens his eyes for the first time in countless dreams and looks at the sun.]

[The ancient god 'Sibelcug' calculates the light of the sun and whether or not the sun can utilize him properly.]

[The ancient god 'Sty' distinguishes whether the sun can be their new representative.]

…

['Oryx' accepts the summons.]

['Sibelcug' accepts the summons.]

['Sty' accepts the summons.]

…

[All the connected ancient gods have acknowledged the sun of 'Day (Eros)' as not a mere successor, but a complete inheritor!]

[The laws and holy power of the ancients gods are given to the sun of 'Day (Eros).']

[The light of the sun becomes brighter.]

Just then, the Bull Demon King, who was chasing after Rhea, looked toward Cha Jeong-woo. A pupil that was larger than Jeong-woo's height wiggled, and the creature let out a beastly roar.

A. New. Sun?

He seems to be amused.

Nothing. Good.

Will. Come. Of.

Chasing. Them. Away.

There was some concern in the Bull Demon King's voice.

Succeeding the positions of the ancient gods who had become the laws of the world meant Jeong-woo would be trapping himself within limits that could never be escaped. However, Jeong-woo didn't seem to care, and the light surrounding him became even brighter.

[A new 'emperor' has been born!]

The moment the message he had been desiring popped up, Jeong-woo turned into a ray of light and dashed toward the Bull Demon King. He was faster and fiercer than before.

『Jeong-woo, you…!』Kronos knew that Cha Jeong-woo forcefully increased the level of his soul and it had taken a toll on him, but he wasn't able to finish his sentence once he heard what Jeong-woo said next.

"I can't just keep receiving help from Hyung, right? I have to help him now."

『…』

"I'm going to save him this time." Just as Yeon-woo fought battles without any rest to get here, Jeong-woo was saying it was now his turn to do so.

Du du du! Chwaaa! The Bull Demon King's body was covered in injuries in an instant. He narrowed his eyes as he activated Bull Step. It was the power that inspired Heavenly Demon Reigning Step.

['Bull Step' is activated!]

[It has been canceled.]

['Reigning Step' is activated!]

[It has been canceled.]

…

However, Jeong-woo managed to escape before Bull Step dominated space, and he countered with his own Reigning Step. The Bull Demon King destroyed the activation of the power and used Bull Step again. Their battle changed into a type of hide-and-seek. There was no particular hider or seeker, so the victor would be whoever caught their opponent first.

Of course, even if Jeong-woo was now in a different class of strength, he was lacking in ability. Rhea continued to support him from the side so her son wouldn't be caught. Krakrakra! Whirlwinds swept throughout the entire stage.

* * *

Nocturne opened his closed eyes. Even after he had left the previous stage, his head was still stuck on the ninety-ninth floor. What he had seen there was too unrealistic for him.

'Who…am I?' Nocturne thought he was a shadow from the twenty-first floor's Shadow Dojo. That was what Faceless/Sword God had said, and the Martial King didn't say anything otherwise. 'But how were there so many legends in the trial?'

If Nocturne was truly a shadow of Allforone/Vivasvat like they said, there should've only been a few legends. At most, there should've been legends of when he was a shadow and when he was the Martial King's disciple. But what greeted Nocturne on the ninety-ninth floor was a myriad of his selves. All of them looked at him with different gazes. Some of them looked at him pitifully, while others looked at him sadly. Others looked at him with envy, and others with admiration.

Although the identities should've been missing memories, they all seemed to recognize Nocturne. There was a legend who was in his teenage years, a legend of a passionate young man, a legend who was hardened by his years, a furious legend… All of them recognized him. Even after defeating them all to come here, Nocturne still didn't understand. 'Who am I?'

[The Heavenly Demon watches you silently.]

'What am I missing?'

[The Heavenly Demon watches you silently.]

The messages that kept on popping up were getting on Nocturne's nerves. The gaze that kept on watching him from somewhere was somewhat uncomfortable. He had ignored the gaze because he thought the Heavenly Demon's pity for his son was being transferred onto him, but it felt different now.

[The Heavenly Demon watches you silently.]

Nocturne turned toward where the Heavenly Demon's gaze was fixed on him. He felt frustrated. It was like an invisible hand was gripping his heart, and he had a hard time breathing. If he asked, would the being answer?

"Who are you?"

[The Heavenly Demon watches you silently.]

"What relationship do you and I have?"