Ranker Who Lives Twice

Team: HH, Yahiko, thursdays (5/10)

“What’s up with that look? Do you wanna die?”

The Monkey King’s shedding frowned and growled.

Yeon-woo flinched because he knew that he had been thinking about something ridiculous, but since the Monkey King hadn’t read his mind, he decided to be shameless.

『I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir.』

“Geez, all these bastards left and right. They only have thoughts of betrayal. Whew.”

The shedding sighed, extremely annoyed.

『How did you end up like this?』

“I know, right? It’s so embarrassing why I am….. wait. Hey, let’s talk later.”

Yeon-woo was about to ask why, but he felt something approaching them and quickly hid his presence behind a column.

Soon, someone walked into the cave.

Yeon-woo’s eyes widened when he realized who it was.

‘Kindred.’

The second bishop of the Devil Army grinned mischievously like a child as he spoke.

“I came to greet you today as well, other face of the Heavenly Demon. How have you been, sir? Did you sleep well?”

“I would feel better if I didn’t have to see your face.”

“Oh, dear. That’s a shame. I want to help with that, but the people who can come here to serve you are limited…..”

“That’s why I said I don’t need any of that, so untie me right now.”

The Monkey King lifted up the chains that bound his arms and legs.

They made a clacking sound as the chains connected to the wall extended and fell back down on the ground again.

“You said I’m one of the gods you serve? Then how can you treat a god like this?”

“I would like to help you with that as well.”

Kindred raised a corner of his mouth.

“But won’t you try to kill me then?”

“No. Why would I kill you?”

“Really?”

“Of course. I won’t just kill you. I’ll rip you apart.”

The shedding’s eyes turned sharp.

Hwak—

An intense, murderous aura settled upon them. It was a fighting spirit fitting of a trace of the Heavenly Demon.

Sweat beaded on Kindred’s forehead, but he didn’t lose his smile.

“See? I don’t have any other way if I want to live. Please wait just a little more. Nothing will change anyway.”

“Nothing will change?”

“Yes, sir. Can’t you just think you’re moving houses?”

“I should definitely rip your mouth apart first.”

“I apologize if I said anything to infuriate you.”

Kindred politely bowed.

“And I want to break that head.”

All that came in return was the Monkey King’s murderous aura and smirk.

However, it didn’t matter to Kindred. From when he had caused the Monkey King’s shedding to end up like this, no, from when he had refused to be served during their first meeting, Kindred had expected this.

Being disliked by the god you served was dejecting, but it wasn’t enough to bend Kindred’s lunatic faith.

“Then you won’t change your mind even now?”

“I already said so, but if I leave here, there’s only one reason why I would.”

The shedding grinned.

“To rip your mouth.”

Kindred frowned. In the end, he couldn’t convince the shedding. It seemed he would have to forcefully progress with things now.

“The ceremony will start soon. We’ll do our best not to make you uncomfortable, but things may be hard for a bit, so please prepare for it.”

He disappeared into smoke after he finished talking.

Dum, dum, dum—

The world began to tremble. It shook up and down as the sound of a bell ringing in a temple steadily descended upon them.

As the shaking became worse, the space began to crack.

『What is…….』

Yeon-woo came out from behind the column.

“What do you think it is? Those damned bastards began the ceremony. Psychos. They don’t care about what the god they serve thinks, and they’re talking about honor? Bulls***.”

Annoyance was on the Monkey King’s shedding’s face. The crumpled space became whole again.

He was probably fighting against the forces from the outside that were trying to seal the Imaginary World.

Yeon-woo thought that the Devil Army was going to win this fight.

『When I first heard the Devil Army was creating a sacrificial vessel, I thought you were in on it.』

“Me? Why would I be?”

The shedding snorted.

“Let me just tell you one this. The kiddo…… the one they call the Heavenly Demon never wanted that. He’s worse than me, so he doesn’t like noisy things like this.”

Yeon-woo remembered what he heard about the Heavenly Demon having thrown the Devil Army away a long time ago.

It was a long time ago when the Heavenly Demon fell into a deep slumber. It was when the head bishop replaced all nine of the bishop spots after Black Dawn’s fall.

It’s a truth that only a few people know, but the current bishops of the Devil Army are only “halves” that aren’t permitted the Heavenly Demon’s Authority.

No, to be exact, cursed halves.

All they could do was borrow the strength of the Heavenly Demon from his other bodies using an artifact.

There was information about the Devil Army in the diary.

Yeon-woo learned the artifact they used was the Ruyi Bang some time ago.

‘And the current head bishop who got rid of the previous head bishop and the other bishops is…. A real monster.’

There was a hierarchy within the Nine Kings. Obviously, the Martial King and the Summer Queen were at the top. The one who was considered to be near their level was the head bishop.

And if the head bishop was given permission to use the Authority?

No one knew what would happen.

This was the reason why the Devil Army had caused this situation. If they could awaken the Monkey King through his shedding, they would be able to gain an Authority indirectly.

‘And if he changes his body, he can cleanse himself of the curse.’

The current head bishop was cursed by the Heavenly Demon.

But if he moved into a new body, that would change. That was why Doyle was needed.

The reason why Kindred had tried to take Sesha in the past was to provide a potential candidate for the head bishop.

Moreover, that was why he had appeared in the fight against Walpurgisnacht to obtain the Philosopher’s Stone.

Yeon-woo wanted to mess this up for them.

They always interfered with whatever he was doing, so in the end, there was nothing he could do but fight.

『Why are you like this?』

“Can’t you see? I was caught by the damned thing.”

Yeon-woo looked closely at the chains around the shedding. Realizing what it was, his eyes widened. It was a metal he knew too fell.

『Is this Divine Iron?』

“Yeah. To be exact, it’s the Golden Headband.”

『……!』

The Golden Headband. It was the divine artifact that was placed on the Monkey King’s head to stop him from wrecking chaos.

He had taken off the headband after finishing everything the heavenly world assigned to him, but if the Devil Army had forced it back on?

“They even used the Golden Headband. Shit, I couldn’t do anything.”

It meant the Devil Army had caught the Monkey King’s shedding after a lot of preparation.

It could seem impossible for such a powerful being to be caught, but there were probably limits to what he could do because he was in the Imaginary World.

“And Sheng, that guy was flicked out too….. f***.”

Yeon-woo didn’t know exactly why, but it seemed the Dragon God couldn’t get into this world anymore.

“Anyways. Why are you here? I saw you were causing a ruckus outside. Did you come to do the same here?”

『You knew?』

“Hey. This is my palace. If I don’t know what’s happening in my own front yard, I’d be a stupid a***, not a human.”

The shedding flicked his finger.

Then, the space in front of Yeon-woo wavered, and different scenes appeared.

-How are you…..!

-The. Toy. Who’s. Copying. Me. Only. Amounts. To. That. Much?

Doctor Doom seemed out of it because of the continuous magic attacks that Boo was shooting at him. Most of his magic circles were cracked, and his artifacts were broken.

The magicians that he brought were already slaughtered by the skeletons.

In a moment, the strongest of the Magic Tower were dead, and as their souls were absorbed by Yeon-woo, their knowledge was naturally absorbed by Boo.

-How can a person like you serve a mere human?! What happened to you?!

It seemed Doctor Doom had realized Boo’s identity. He was shouting as he vomited blood.

-Faust!

The scene changed.

-A Bone Dragon and Death Nobles? What are these?! Cain! Don’t hide cowardly and come out! Give me my son!

Ivan shouted with a crumpled face. But his hands were tied by Shanon’s consecutive attacks, and his feet were tied by the Poison Breath the Bone Dragon was emitting from above.

He was trying to endure the attacks, as if proving why he was called Lion of the Battlefield.

The more he did, the more intense Shanon’s attacks became. The Bone Dragon wasn’t able to show its full power because it was incomplete, so he had to be more active.

Then, Shanon suddenly fell back.

It was because someone appeared from the darkness. Ivan frowned, not knowing what kind of tricks the new enemy had up his sleeves.

-It’s been a while, Father.

His face hardened seeing his son’s face.

-Hm? You have an interesting technique. It’s a bit familiar. But he definitely died….. no, is this the way you look like after you’ve died?

-Are you……?

In the next scene, Faceless and Hanryeong were in the middle of an intense battle.

Faceless fought with the bandages like Faceless always did and tilted their head feeling something was wrong.

Hanryeong also felt something strange from Faceless while he was swinging his nine swords around.

-Huhu! I didn’t think I’d meet you here! My dear friend!

Suddenly, Faceless burst out laughing. It was an indifferent but chilling voice.

It was a voice that no one had heard before.

At the same time, the air around Faceless changed. As if Faceless was a different person, the hidden figure appeared.

The bandages around Faceless became sharper. Faceless looked free-spirited all this time, but during this moment, Faceless looked like a true swordsman. Ivan wouldn’t be able to follow either.

Kwang—

Hanryeong shouted while pushing against the attacks.

-Faceless’s body….. no, you swallowed him?

Other scenes flashed by.

The undead army, stepping on the pursuing forces. The Monster Portents continued to power up as they swallowed the souls. With the limits of the Black King released, they began to grow again.

There was also Victoria and the Ice King protecting Yeon-woo’s body.

The scene ended there.

Yeon-woo nodded, thinking there was no point in hiding what he was doing.

『Yes. Like you said, I’ve come to cause ruckus here, too.』

The Monkey King snorted, flabbergasted.

“I felt this before, but you’re like that kiddo when it comes to creating incidents. And your personality, too.”

He added that there wouldn’t be a boring moment here while he was tied up thanks to Yeon-woo.

“So how are you gonna cause a ruckus? I might seem like I’m relaxed right now, but I’m bloody tired.”

『I’ll serve the you, the Monkey King, from now on.』

The shedding’s mouth curved wider.

“You’re saying that you’ll be like them?”

Dum—

The world shook again. It meant the ceremony was still progressing quickly.

[00:04:21_36]

There wasn’t much time left for Yeon-woo. Taking into consideration the time it took to return to his body, he had less than 3 minutes left.

『I won’t deny it. But I’ll be better than them.』

“Based on what?”

『You know what they’re after, don’t you?』

“…….”

『They’ll try to swallow the Monkey King as well and become another face of the Heavenly Demon..』

The reason why the Devil Army needed the Philosopher’s Stone? They tried to excuse themselves saying it was to serve the Monkey King, but there was no need to tie up the shedding here.

Their “true” goal was something else.

Swallowing the Monkey King’s shedding successfully. The head bishop was planning on becoming a new divine being.

The Monkey King’s shedding frowned, already knowing that was the plan.

“So you want me to become your hunting dog? I don’t want to.”

Even so, the Monkey King didn’t want to give himself easily to Yeon-woo.

He was looking at the Despair and Grief of the Black King.

“The bindings of the Black King. Do you think I don’t know what it is?”

『…….』

This time, Yeon-woo closed his mouth. Actually, his plan was to bind the Monkey King’s shedding to the Cast before the Devil Army could do anything, like he had to the Cyclopes. But the Monkey King wasn’t as easy to persuade as they were.

Kookookoo—

The shakings of the world became severe. The cracks in the space opened up. The world would soon disappear at this rate.

[00:02:56_08]

‘What should I do?’

Yeon-woo contemplated deeply. The shedding didn’t seem like it was going to fall for his persuasion. Then did he have to force him?

But even though he had fallen, he was still a divine being. It was hard to do it without his consent. Then did he have to use the Bathory’s Vampiric Sword? He didn’t know if his skill would work properly because of the shedding’s situation.

“Then let’s do this.”

The shedding broke the silence again.

Yeon-woo paid careful attention to words.

『How?』

“Just swallow me.”

It was unexpected.

Yeon-woo’s eyes widened.

『But then…….』

“I’ll disappear. Of course.”

The shedding’s eyes were sharper than ever.

“I don’t want to be pulled away like a cow dragged to the slaughterhouse. I’ll make my own destiny. I’ll choose.”

The monkey born receiving the vitality of the sun and the moon. He was born a king, and he gained a divine level after overcoming many obstacles.

Destiny was only something for him to destroy.

So.

He was planning on doing the same now.

“I’ll choose where I’ll die. It’s an additional life I’m living right now anyway. I won’t feel wronged if I die.”

Yeon-woo felt himself become overwhelmed by the shedding’s power. Was this the true appearance of a real “king” and “god”?

He suddenly wanted to be like the Monkey King.

“However, I have two conditions.”

The Monkey King raised two fingers.

『Go ahead, sir.』

“First. Step on those sons of b***** who made me like this.”

『I will.』

Yeon-woo nodded.

He was planning on doing that even if he didn’t ask.

“Second. Wake me up later.”

『But…….』

“Yes. You might think it’s impossible because my existence will disappear. I said I wouldn’t feel wronged if I died, but if I can, I still want to live a bit longer. So think about it well. There’re still some ways to resummon me.”

Yeon-woo thought of the additional option in the Cast of the Black King.

Summons of the Dead.

It said only the “dead” could be summoned, but what if there was a way to get around that?

“How about it? Can you do it?”

『Yes, sir.』

“That mouth of yours.”

The Monkey King’s shedding laughed for the first time.

Then, in an arrogant manner, he spread his arms apart and spoke.

“Fine. Swallow.”

『Thank you for everything.』

Yeon-woo bowed.

“You say that like we’ll never see each other again.”

A smile spread on the shedding’s face.

Yeon-woo approached him with his right hand. Sharp teeth appeared on his palm.

Clack, clack—

[‘Bathory’s Vampiric Sword’ has been released.]