Ranker Who Lives Twice

Team: HH, thursdays, Yahiko (1/12)

『Hades…… Hades……! You dare……!』

Kwakwakwang—

Hades swung his sword roughly. All he did was swing it in the air, but it seemed like the sky would split with every stroke.

The tightly condensed darkness fell in a downpour, and the heat that arose from it lashed at Perses.

Yeon-woo stood and looked at the scene blankly.

‘There are….. no flaws.’

Complete perfection. The slight flaws he had seen within Hermes and Athena weren’t present in Hades.

Was that the strength of a true “superior god?”

The impact of every stroke shook Tartarus up and down, and he felt like his mind would be destroyed just from looking at it. As always, if it weren’t for his Cold-blooded trait, he wouldn’t have been able to endure it.

God.

Yeon-woo was able to know what that word meant after seeing Hades. All laws and principles were moving around Hades.

[A message has arrived from Hermes.]

[Message: It’s been a while seeing Uncle like that. Has it been about 700 years?]

[A message has arrived from Hermes.]

[Message: It wasn’t just me. Ares and Heracles were also enamored with his strength in the beginning. My sister Athena was his biggest fan.]

[A message has arrived from Athena.]

[Message: Would you shut up?]

The being who was able to surprise the goddess of wisdom and war. Hades was proving that he was indeed the oldest of the gods of Olympus.

“You dare? Did you ask me if I dare?”

Perses stretched his hand out to grab Hades while he easily avoided it.

“Perses, you’ve finally gone crazy. You grew bigger after consuming Kronos’s corpse. Have you grown bolder too? You think you’re Kronos, huh?”

Hades gripped his sword tighter.

Urrrg. Urng—

The darkness sent through his arm turned his sword pitch black.

“I must wake you up from those delusions first.”

Chwak!

Hades brought his sword down. The blade drew a line from Perses’s right shoulder to his lower body.

Kwoooooo—

The body of the Giant god burst into flames. Something began to flow from his injuries.

As black smoke wafted, his abnormally large body shrank, like a deflating balloon.

『No……! No……!』

The Giant god squirmed to hold onto the smoke somehow. Perses tried to heal his injuries with holy power, but Hades swung his sword again, not giving him the opportunity.

Every time the sword flashed, the amount of black smoke that crept out increased. It filled the air around them.

‘What is that?’

Yeon-woo looked at the black smoke silently. He knew it was the power that made the Titan abnormally larger and caused the strange occurrences in Tartarus.

But.

‘Why is it so familiar?’

Just when Yeon-woo’s face turned stiff.

Brrrr—

The Despair and Grief of the Black King suddenly cried out.

Yeon-woo looked for the reason why.

Kwang!

Hades brought down his final blow. Then, Perses’s head was cut off, soaring through the air. It was frightening to see the massive head fly.

A black bead-like object was left where he had been.

“What a rat-like bastard. Did he get away during that time?”

Hades snorted, then flicked his finger to destroy the black bead. He turned his body to where Yeon-woo was.

“……!”

Despite the distance, right when they made eye contact.

Pat—

Hades arrived right in front of Yeon-woo in the blink of an eye. He looked much more sneering up close.

Yeon-woo stepped back in surprise and tried to move his hand towards Vigrid, but his body froze, and he couldn’t move.

Although Hades didn’t release much of his aura, Yeon-woo felt like his soul was being squeezed.

Yeon-woo had met Poseidon and many other gods, but Yeon-woo was able to use his trait to stay calm.

But in front of Hades, he couldn’t.

The trait didn’t activate. His body didn’t move, as if he had lost control over it. Hades was superior to all the gods and demons he had met so far.

However.

‘I don’t like it.’

Yeon-woo’s face crumpled. Being held over like this by someone else was quite unpleasant. He activated Time Difference and quickly woke up his cells through his Magic Circuit in the slowed-down world.

Then, when Hades opened his mouth, Yeon-woo was able to regain his composure after time began to flow normally.

He could stand in front of Hades confidently.

[Hermes nods in satisfaction.]

[Athena looks at you with a warm gaze.]

[Agares giggles.]

[Hondon is silent.]

For a moment, Hades’s eyes shined keenly.

“There are many faces I missed. Are you a child cherished by my brother’s children? Agares. It’s been a while since I saw that Demon King. And…..”

Hades’s sentence faded away as he looked Yeon-woo up and down. Yeon-woo felt like everything about him was being revealed.

Then, Hades’s gaze stopped at his black bracelet and sabaton. The Despair and Grief of the Black King rang out in response. However, it was quite different from what he usually felt. They were shaking roughly in anger.

“And ‘his’ inheritances?”

A corner of Hades’s mouth curved. In a way, it looked like he was smirking, but it also looked like a bitter smile.

“I thought you just brought Persephone’s message, but you’re a more interesting child than I thought.”

Hades chuckled.

“And the human that’s over there has quite an interesting toy.”

He glanced back at Creutz, who was gasping for breath with the holy sword Zulfikar. Creutz’s eyes were shaking under his helm.

Then, Hades shouted at the members of Dis Pluto, who were prostrating on the ground.

“We’re returning to the temple!”

* * *

[You have successfully completed the sudden quest (Persephone’s Long-time wish). Additional Karma is being rewarded.]

[You have earned 10,000 Karma.]

[You have earned an additional 15,000 Karma.]

[As rewards, you have earned the ‘Ring of Life (Persephone’s holy artifact),’ ‘Blessing of Spring (Persephone’s Blessing),’ and ‘Judgement Division (Persephone’s Authority).’]

The quest Persephone had given was to meet Hades and confirm if he was alive or dead.

Since he had met Hades, the news would’ve been successfully delivered to Persephone. Thanks to that, a message that he completed the quest popped up.

A ring wrapped in light came floating down above Yeon-woo’s palm. It was a ring made of wildflowers. Persephone’s holy artifact, the Ring of Life.

Yeon-woo confirmed the rewards.

[Ring of Life]

Category: Ring

Rank: Holy artifact

Summary: A gift the goddess of spring, seedlings, and the underground, Persephone, gave to the one who found her husband in her stead.

Vivid energy of life spins around it, so just by wearing it, your exhaustion will be relieved.

Also, it adds buffs the soul of the user.

* Soul Life

The strong vestiges within humans can turn the soul into various colors. These colors will be purified to cleanse the mind and eases you of detrimental stimuli.

It has the effect of lowering the exhaustion stacked up inside of you from 20% to 40%.

*Soul Growth

To mortals, who will die no matter what, souls are a forbidden territory that is hard to reach. This has the effect of stimulating the soul continually to help realize the meaning within it.

Authority of the use of soul power and soul pressure is given.

The moment that Yeon-woo wore the Ring of Life, he could feel the pressure in his body that he didn’t know he had disappear.

Tartarus was a prison designed to hold gods. Of course it would be a challenging environment for mortals to roam freely in.

Creutz was moving comparatively freely with the holy power given from Zulfikar.

However, Yeon-woo was different.

He had the Despair and Grief of the Black King, but neither of them helped to ease the pressure of Tartarus.

He was receiving greater pressure than most because of his Draconic, Demonic, and Divine Blessings.

The Ring of Life stimulated his soul and gave vitality to it, helping him relieve the pressure.

In other words, the authority to move freely in and out of Tartarus had been given.

Also, because it could help on other floors as well, it was a generous gift. It was an outstanding reward that wasn’t lacking in any aspect.

However.

[You lack the qualifications to view the ‘Blessing of Spring (Persephone’s Blessing)’ and ‘Judgement Division).’ You must satisfy the new conditions to view them.]

Only the names of the other two rewards given with the Ring of Life popped up, along with a label that said “Unable to be viewed.”

There was something Persephone said before he had entered the gates.

-The quest window says that 3 rewards will be given, but you will most likely only be able to use the Ring of Life after you meet my husband.

-What is the reason for that?

-The Ring of Life is a present that I’m gathering my holy power to give you, so you will definitely be able to use it. However, the other two are different. It is because of the different environment of Tartarus.

Persephone’s explanation was simple.

Tartarus was cut off from the outside. It was said to be the only area that the heavenly world of the 98th floor couldn’t access.

‘That’s probably why all of my other Authorities other than Dragon Body Awakening dissipated.’

Although his Channeling connected with Athena, Agares, Hondon, his Authorities had failed for the same reason.

-Then what should I do to unlock the two rewards?

-You’ll probably have to be acknowledged by Hades. Tartarus is pretty much my husband’s holy territory.

It meant he had two options: being acknowledged by Hades or leaving Tartarus.

Just then.

Ding—

[A continuation quest has been created.]

Another message popped up again.

Yeon-woo checked the quest.

[Continuation Quest / Persephone’s Desperate Wish]

Summary: You have succeeded in finding Hades, as Persephone so desperately requested of you.

However, Hades isn’t in the best situation. The war with the Titans and Giants has been prolonged, and Tartarus has become ruins in many areas.

Help Hades here, be acknowledged by him, and support him so he can return to his original temple.

Only then will you be able to view the details of the Blessing (Blessing of Spring) and the Authority (Judgement Division).

Conditions to be satisfied: Hades’s acknowledgment, Hades’s return

Time Limit: None

Rewards:

1.Blessing (Blessing of Spring) qualification

2.Authority (Judgement Division) qualification.

Yeon-woo clicked his tongue.

‘Nothing’s ever easy.’

Persephone had guessed that Hades was tied up and had hidden a continuation quest.

If he wanted her Blessing and Authority, he had to help Hades.

She had acted like she would give him all the rewards after he found Hades, but the last condition was hidden.

Yeon-woo laughed.

Actually, he did want Persephone’s Blessing and Authority, but he wasn’t desperate for them. His connections were cut off right now, but there were still many gods and demons who wanted to make provisional contracts with him by giving him their Authorities.

Of them, many things were similar to or even better than what Persephone offered.

However, Yeon-woo wasn’t angry. She must’ve been quite worried about her husband to do this.

Although players probably couldn’t be of much help to gods, she still wanted her husband to have all the help he could get.

He understood her desperate wish better than anyone, so he didn’t want to nitpick.

‘And I have to stay behind here anyway.’

Because he hadn’t found the other two Cyclops brothers, Yeon-woo had to stay behind in Tartarus to help Hades. Only then would he be able to unseal the pocket watch.

However.

‘It won’t be easy.’

He clicked his tongue, seeing ruins as he followed Hades and Dis Pluto.

Although Tartarus was normally a place of darkness void of life, it looked nightmarish. There were traces of battle everywhere, with corpses of gods scattered on the ground.

Most of the Hades’s garrisons seemed to be crushed or unsalvageable.

Just then.

Far away, he could see Hades’s temple.

However, it was hard to call it a temple because of how deserted it was for one of the three greater gods of Olympus.

Had he read Yeon-woo’s eyes?

“You’re not asking anything. Even though you must be quite curious.”

Hades chuckled, looking at Yeon-woo.

It was a cynical laugh. Yeon-woo had felt this on the journey here, but Hades had a cold personality.