Ranker Who Lives Twice

‘Is that it?!’ The Bow God Jang Wei’s eyes widened. From a distance, he could see Yeon-woo flapping his wings to escape the collapsing buildings, pursued by gigantic tentacles larger than most buildings.

『What…!』

『Crawling Chaos, this is different from what you promised!』

『Kegh!』

『Dammit!』

The black energy turned over the ground like an incoming tidal wave, and the Giants who were in its path shouted with frozen expressions. However, the tentacles didn’t care. After a couple of Giants were injured, those who recognized the danger of the situation quickly began to run from the battlefield.

『Hahaha! An otherworld god! To think you’d bring one from the smoldering emptiness at that. Mother Earth! You’ve gone too far now!』 The leader of the demon army burst out laughing at the black wave.

This. Is.

An. Infringement. Of. The. Promise.

Ooooooo.

Mother Earth, who had taken on the appearance of the head of Walpurgisnacht, the Witch of Stars, expanded her body and let out a thundering cry at her former ally, the owner of the tentacles. Above it, the Bone Dragon spread its wings open, prepared to spew a cursed Breath.

‘What a mess.’ Jang Wei couldn’t contain his laughter as he watched. He was holding his breath to hide his presence, but it seemed it wouldn’t matter even if he made a sound. With all those monsters thrashing about, who would care about a tiny being like him?

The Elohim’s Outer Space was already nearing collapse from the clash of so many transcendents. Cracks were appearing in space, followed by earthquakes. It was unnecessary to hide his presence in this confusion.

Mortals were barely holding onto their lives and pleaded for mercy to the gods they served, but no one tossed them any ropes of salvation. The gods were indifferent to them.

‘That’s just how the world is.’ It had been so on the day Jang Wei lost everything. He hadn’t even expected any kind of rescue. He hadn’t wanted anything too impossible. He had only wanted one simple thing: a small act of generosity from the one he once called “Captain”. But that hope was dashed, and he lost everything.

『Prepare, child that is like me.』

When he was left alone in the world, a divinity in the Chan Sect known for the folklore of shooting the sun, Hou Yi, extended his hand to Jang Wei. Jang Wei managed to enter the Tower after grabbing that hand and began a new life. It wasn’t a life with a purpose, but a life he chose because of his sister’s dying words to stay alive.

His life took on a new purpose when Cha Yeon-woo, the man he once called his captain appeared. At the moment, he was demonstrating great strength on the battlefield that swarmed with gods and demons. Even if they were restricted by the lower world, it was an incredible sight.

Jang Wei was aware that although he was the equal of a member of the Nine Kings, he was far too weak to join that battlefield. ‘But that’s not all.’

He crouched on the ground and notched a white arrow on the bowstring of the Sun-Shooting Bow. They were artifacts he’d received from Hou Yi that never lost their aim and always hit their target. The arrow was pointed at Yeon-woo, and Jang Wei felt time slow. He had no intention of clashing directly with Yeon-woo, who had killed the Gluttony Emperor and Magnus.

In the past, his captain had taught him a clear lesson: you had to quickly recognize the parts that were disadvantageous and abandon them. It was the only path to victory, and this lesson helped Jang Wei rapidly gain his position in the Tower. It applied even now.

Yeon-woo was busy dealing with the great beings, and he had no idea Jang Wei was targeting him.

Jang Wei specialized in long-range attacks, and he knew Yeon-woo better than anyone. This was the perfect chance.

Clatter. Just then, he saw Yeon-woo pull the chains. As soon as the coordinates appeared at the end of the arrow, Jang Wei let go. The arrow of light shot through the air and the slowed time returned to normal.

Jang Wei immediately retreated. Even if he missed his target, he needed to leave out of fear of being caught. However, he was sure the arrow of light had pierced Yeon-woo.

Suddenly, thunder boomed in the sky and red lightning poured down, neatly splitting the arrow of light in two. Rumble.

Jang Wei stopped retreating. The white arrow had been split? But he hadn’t felt any presence. He put his questions aside and instantly turned to notch another white arrow.

Boom! A large shadow that was about two-meters tall fell to his spot. The ground trembled and dust floated up in the air. Blood-red lightning—the same color as the lightning that split his arrow of light—crackled and sparked.

Jang Wei shot the white arrow at a target he couldn’t even see. In an instant, the arrows of light divided into hundreds of arrows and pierced holes through the dust.

“Ha!” The attacker only snorted, as if asking if this was all he had, and blasted lightning once again that tore through the arrows and blew away all the dust.

As the air cleared, Phante charged towards Jang Wei with a bright smile. “I didn’t think I’d see you here! Haha!”

When Phante sensed him accidentally, he thought Jang Wei was like an oasis in the desert. He’d been bored because Yeon-woo was handling all the powerful beings. But now, not only would his boredom be alleviated, he even found the enemy of his tribe that they’d been chasing for the past few years!

He didn’t know why Jang Wei had targeted Yeon-woo, but he didn’t want to know. All he had to do was crush him, and that was enough. Rumble.

“How annoying.” Jang Wei, irritated that his opportunity had been wasted, tossed the Sun-Shooting Bow down and quickly pulled out two white arrows as though they were daggers. ‘The Martial King’s son…the One-horned tribe will be more annoying now.’ He jumped toward Phante. He needed to get rid of this nuisance first.

* * *

[Time Difference]

In the slowed time, a being that was not quite Yeon-woo split through space rapidly, using the five seconds it had. The time was too short for ordinary players. ‘But I’m not a normal player.’

Transcendents and mortals couldn’t be judged on the same scale. The gods and demons realized what the space Yeon-woo escaped was and quickly guessed what would happen now as they watched the tentacles furiously chasing after him.

『What…!』

『Crawling Chaos, this is different from what you promised!』

The Crawling Chaos’ only thought was to catch Yeon-woo. He didn’t seem to care that Mother Earth and the Giants would get caught up in his pursuit.

The Giant could only scream as Mother Earth protested. But the black wave of Crawling Chaos not only seemed like it would consume them, but also the Elohim’s Outer Space.

『Get away!』 The Giants all scattered at Typhon’s shout.

The East Demon Army turned to their lord, Agares, their faces hard. Even if they were aggressive combatants, clashing directly with an otherworld god was too dangerous. However, Agares just rubbed his face with lunatic laughter, as though he were enjoying the moment greatly. 『Hahaha! Yes! You brothers are so fun! You make me this crazy, so how can I not want the two of you?!』

Five seconds.

Yeon-woo ignored Agares’ reaction. He knew that Agares’ lunatic obsession with himself and his brother wasn’t out of simple goodwill, so he needed to draw a boundary despite receiving help from him. However, right now, it was more important to focus on using the Crawling Chaos. ‘Withdraw domain.’

[The dragon territory ‘Binah’ has been withdrawn.]

[‘Underworld Territory Settings’ have been withdrawn.]

When he released Demarcation, his familiars throughout the Outer Space were released, and the shadow under their feet scattered along with their presence. The Bone Dragon, who’d been in the middle of ripping apart Mother Earth, turned to him with a smirk.

「Looks like you’re going to go all the way. The name King Temper fits you.」 The Bone Dragon was the last one to disappear.

Four seconds.

The being like Yeon-woo pulled the chains towards itself, feeling the Soul Collection fill up at a rapid pace. Clatter. It grasped the large scythe accompanied by the clanging of steel. ‘It feels pretty right.’ The thing similar to Yeon-woo smiled coldly, satisfied with the heft, and swung the scythe down. Rip!

It tore space apart, releasing an emptiness that was leagues beyond what Yeon-woo had previously released.

Three seconds.

Chhhhh. Suddenly, emptiness began to pour out into the Outer Space like a greedy monster, filling it up as though it were wine pouring into a glass. Whirlwinds appeared.

『Aaaack! What is this!』

『The emptiness is…encroaching on us…ugh!』

『We have to stop our descent! This is dangerous!』

The Giants screamed. In their hurry to escape from the Crawling Chaos, they had ended up in a space that held an even greater evil. Even the existences of gods and demons would be erased in emptiness, and it was exploding out.

Two seconds.

Black. King!

Black. King!

Mother Earth pulled her holy power towards herself to protect the Giants that she could reach. She couldn’t even think about catching the being that was like Yeon-woo. Even though she had descended through a manifestation, if she was infected by the emptiness, it would damage her actual body. That was how dangerous emptiness was.

Mother Earth could do nothing but cry as she watched the being that was like Yeon-woo spin in the sky, cutting apart space. “Keekeekeek!”

Clatter.

“Keekeekeek! What a sight! All of this! It’s not good to associate with otherworld things in the first place. You’re in this state because you broke that world.” The being that was like Yeon-woo bared his teeth and guffawed. The torn space continued to pour out emptiness that spun in a great whirlwind as it collided with the Crawling Chaos.

The Crawling Chaos tried to move beyond the emptiness and catch Yeon-woo, but its darkness and tentacles couldn’t withstand the waterfall of emptiness raining from the sky. Mother Earth and the Giants were like shrimp caught in a fight between whales.

Clatter. The being that was like Yeon-woo pulled its chains for the last time as it looked at their pathetic situation. Then, the skies above split into two, and emptiness cascaded down, overwhelming the Crawling Chaos.

A massive whirlwind rushed across the Outer Space. The ancient traditions and history of the Elohim completely disappeared, and all survivors that remained drowned.

One second.

Keekeekeek! The being that was like Yeon-woo couldn’t hold in his laughter as it looked on. It felt revitalized as it watched the arrogant bastards fall to their pitiful state.

Ooo.

Oooooo.

King.

God. King!

The Crawling Chaos’ tentacles occasionally appeared through the whirlwind as he spoke, but the being that was like Yeon-woo just smirked. Then, it swung its scythe behind its back. “Don’t look for what you want in stupid places, you fool.”

It wanted to watch all their idiotic conditions a while longer, but its body wasn’t tough enough to endure in the emptiness, so it had to stop. As he was buried in the falling emptiness, the Crawling Chaos’ cries rang out in the collapsing space. Ooooo.

Boom! The last thing the being that was like Yeon-woo saw before hiding its presence was the fight between Mother Earth’s manifestation, who was ripping through emptiness, and the Crawling Chaos, who was trying to swallow her and move past the emptiness.

Because. Of. You.

Move.

Boom!