Ranker Who Lives Twice

[The godly society <Asgard> has declared total war on <Olympus>!]

[The godly society <Chan Sect> has declared war on <Olympus>!]

[The godly society <Memphis> has declared war on <Olympus>!]

…

“…I must be getting old. I’m seeing things.”

“Uranus.”

“What is it?”

“That’s a good joke, but you’re seeing things fine.”

“…”

“I express my condolences.”

“###, this bastard…!” After Metatron forced him to face reality, Uranus’ face turned red as he jumped up and down. He already had a bad headache from dealing with the Night, but he also had to deal with the gods from other societies now. If Yeon-woo was in front of him, he’d probably have beaten up Yeon-woo before throwing inside of the Night.

However, Uranus forced himself to calm down. This wasn’t his fault but the milk had already been spilled. He could catch and beat Yeon-woo up later, but what he needed now was to make quick decisions.

Baal added, “Still, how commendable it is to see him running around in an attempt to do something instead of just hiding. Thanks to him, the Heavenly Demon is pretty busy too.”

Baal smirked as he took a bite of a cookie. Just moments ago, he had been weary because of the trouble Yeon-woo had caused, but he felt better after the youngest, seventy-second ranked Andromalius brought him some cookies.

“But the problem is whether he pulled in the other societies to escape from the threat of the Heavenly Demon, or if he has something else up his sleeve.”

It didn’t matter what his former identity was; Baal was now the king of demons. He couldn’t help but like Yeon-woo’s actions, even if he was concerned about them. Most demons were defiant creatures who didn’t like being restricted by a set order.

Still, Baal tried to make an indifferent assessment of Yeon-woo. He was curious if Yeon-woo had stubbornly caused this trouble to survive, or if it was part of a bigger scheme to turn the tides. If it was the former, Yeon-woo was an idiot who’d be defeated without being able to handle the aftermath, but if it was the latter…

‘He’ll be the pillar that can make Olympus into the heavenly world itself.’

Crunch! The cookie in Baal’s mouth crumbled.

‘And L’Infernal’s future will be decided on that.’ Baal knew Uranus’ rule of Olympus wouldn’t be for much longer. Unlike himself or Metatron, who had relatively more of their power from the “past,” Uranus had given up nearly everything. Uranus’ divinity had taken a toll as he tried to restore the Day and expand Olympus to be the center of the Day. Although he was currently one of the most powerful beings among the godly societies, Baal knew too well that it was a sandcastle that could easily come collapsing down.

Uranus knew the state of his body better than anyone. In fact, he had already somewhat spoken with the two about the “order” that would follow his death.

‘L’Infernal and I will become the pillar of absolute evil, and Metatron and Malach will become the pillar of absolute good so Day doesn’t collapse… Then, things will roll smoothly without us having to interfere.’

However, that was only their promise with Uranus. It didn’t extend to Baal’s descendants.

‘The problem is what comes after that. Even if we try to protect the boundaries of absolute good and absolute evil, Metatron and I will eventually want to seek our own authority and rule,’ Baal thought. They might have started with noble ideals. However, they couldn’t help but become selfish when leading a group made up of many others.

‘Olympus’ position is very important. Uranus’ eight children are the descendants of those who were once with us, but…they don’t particularly have the passion or calling of their ancestors. Based on the path the future Olympus will take, Day will be affected greatly.’ Baal shoved the rest of the cookies in his mouth and dusted his hands.

Time would continue to flow, and nothing could be done about it. There were questions regarding what would happen to Olympus, who would have forgotten about their ancestors’ dying teachings… But this could only be answered with one question: Who would become the next king after Uranus?

‘The oldest, Oceanus, works the hardest to take after his father. It would be nice if he sat on the throne…but that doesn’t look like it’ll happen. It seems like after all kinds of trouble that kid will eventually become king.’

Yeon-woo seemed to be more of a scoundrel than Kronos, so Baal appraised Yeon-woo higher. Since he had the seed of Pneuma and Quirinale, the power of the Black King, and even had a smart brain, there was nothing else Baal needed to think about. It was clear that the kid would someday hold the authority of Olympus.

‘Then I can be confident that he’ll somehow overcome the fate as the ‘egg’ and that’ll be when Day rises again.’ Baal knew Metatron’s thoughts weren’t too different from his own.

Either oblivious or pretending not to know their thoughts, Uranus just crossed his arms and snorted. “Humph! You think that sly bastard won’t have planned that out?”

“Ha.” A chuckle escaped Baal’s mouth.

Uranus’ eyebrows twitched. “Why are you laughing?”

“Even though you’re mad, you’re still bragging about your grandson.”

“What?”

“I suppose even the great Uranus can’t do anything about his love for his grandson. Even though they’re adopted, they’re still your kids, huh? I wonder where the cold Yad-Thaddag of the past went.”

Uranus’ nose turned red. “Stop with the nonsense! Anyway, let’s go get that scoundrel before things become worse! Why aren’t you moving?” Uranus grumbled as he moved to where Yeon-woo was in the middle of causing trouble.

“He’s such a dishonest geezer.” Baal shook his head as he watched Uranus, then turned to look at the silent Metatron. Noticing that Metatron was deep in thought, Baal asked, “What are you thinking about so seriously?”

“The Book of Enoch.”

“…What about it?”

The Book of Enoch was a book of records that contained the secrets of the universe that L’Infernal called Lemegeton.

“Just something.” Metatron just glanced at Baal and followed Uranus without any other word.

Baal’s face crumpled. “One bastard is bad-tempered, and I can never tell what the other is thinking. Do I have to keep at it with these two?”

‘But what can I do? It’s my fault for siding with these deranged idiots.’ Baal grumbled to himself, and disappeared after leaving a command to his right arm. “Agares. Hold the house down.”

The second ranked demon of L’Infernal, Agares, didn’t reply. Baal didn’t care either, since he had already experienced Agares’ strange personality from the past.

“…” Then, Agares’ gaze turned toward an empty space.

Swish! Space was uncovered and the barriers were lifted to reveal Yeon-woo, who had been hiding behind them.

“Agares. I’m hoping we can bargain.”

* * *

Yeon-woo stared at Agares. The reason why he had come here was simple. ‘Agares is the only way to contact the gods and demons of death without getting caught by the leaders of the Day.’

Yeon-woo didn’t have any way to approach the gods and demons of death during this time period. There were probably a few where the Heavenly Demon was fighting multiple societies, but that place was too dangerous. On the other hand, if it was the Day, where Uranus and the others were absent, it was possible.

“Ha. You came to see me after evading Baal and the others. What a foolish child.” However, Agares’ attitude was cold. He appeared very arrogant as he crossed his arms and lifted his nose. Yeon-woo even read some disdain from his eyes. It was a sharp contrast to the mad obsession he had with Yeon-woo in reality.

But Yeon-woo preferred this side to Agares, since an arrogant and self-centered Agares was easier to talk to.

“Wicked Devil,” Yeon-woo said randomly.

Agares frowned. “What?”

“It’s the power you gave me.”

“…”

“It’s also your trademark power. Isn’t it?”

Suddenly, all emotion disappeared from Agares’ face. He looked as beautiful as a wax doll.

“And it seems like you recognized it too. So…”

“I don’t know what you’re going to do, but I’ll help you.” Agares smiled before Yeon-woo could finish his sentence.

『He appears to be someone who doesn’t pay much attention to things outside of his interests. Does he always listen to requests like these?』

‘Of course not.’ Yeon-woo narrowed his eyes at the Crawling Chaos’ question. He didn’t know what Agares was thinking.

Yeon-woo’s plan had been to attract Agares’ interest with Wicked Devil and present the details of their trade. Since Agares had always been obsessed with his and Jeong-woo’s souls, Yeon-woo intended to give up a part of the legends that made up his soul. It was a dangerous bargain that could negatively influence and weaken his divine level, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.

However, Agares was saying he’d help without even listening to the conditions of the bargain. This was impossible, considering Agares’ cynical personality. Yeon-woo couldn’t help but become wary of him.

“Aren’t you gonna tell me what you want? You probably don’t have that much time on your hands.” Agares smirked at Yeon-woo, as if trying to infuriate him.

『I don’t know what happened, but you have the upper hand. Why don’t you just go ahead with it? I don’t know what he’s planning, but you won't see each other again after you escape these legends. Huhu!』The Crawling Chaos laughed as he looked at the two, but his words held some sense.

Yeon-woo didn’t know what clues Agares had, but if he could pay after the deal was done, he could just dine and dash. He stated, “Let me meet Halphas.”

“Why are you looking for him?”

Halphas, the thirty-eighth in ranking, was a demon who symbolized death and war.

Agares’ eyebrows twitched in dissatisfaction. It was like he had seen delicious candy and was looking forward to it, but he was told it was someone else’s.

Yeon-woo momentarily wondered if he could trust Agares, but he decided to go all the way since he had already chosen to trust him. “Am I not allowed to?”

“It doesn’t matter if he’s a part of the East Demon Army that I command, but he’s not. And I’m heeding your request, so don’t I deserve to know why?”

“I need to meet gods or demons with the domain of death.”

“…I see. That’s what it was. I never imagined there was a crazier bastard than me. Kek! So that’s why the future me left such a mark.” Agares snickered, having read Yeon-woo’s intentions. He was trying to hold back his mad laughter. “Fine. Then any demon of death should be fine, correct?”

“That’s true, but…”

“Then you should avoid Halphas. He’s a commanding officer who unconditionally follows Baal. I’ll introduce you to someone else instead.” Agares waved, and a portal appeared through the cracks in space.

[A portal to the demonic society <Niflheim> has been opened!]

If it was Niflheim, it meant Agares was introducing Yeon-woo to Hel. Yeon-woo thought this was for the better. He didn’t know Agares had a relationship with Niflheim during this time period, but it was easier to deal with Hel, who he already knew.

“Oh right, I almost forgot. There’s something you need to be careful of before you enter.” Agares turned back to Yeon-woo before entering the portal. The smirk on his face felt oddly ominous. “I don’t know if you’re aware, but the leader of Niflheim is quite perverted. You should be careful.”

“…?” Yeon-woo wondered what that was supposed to mean when flashbacks came to him.

Woof! Woof woof!

Ahh! ###! I won’t have any regrets if I die now that I’ve met you!

Yeon-woo thought of Fenrir, who joyfully wagged his tail like a dog, and Hel, who was strangely always panting whenever they met. The leader of Niflheim was…their father, Loki, if his memory served him correctly.

‘What if their personalities were taken after their father…?’ Yeon-woo suddenly felt chills running down his spine.