Ranker Who Lives Twice

Several societies tried to stop Yeon-woo and Olympus from taking drastic action.

"I believe I was clear. I said not to be greedy," Yeon-woo growled while turning towards each of the gazes.

[The godly society, <Memphis> is silent!]

[The godly society, <Avesta>, is silent!]

…

[All societies that have received a declaration of war request mercy from the Black King's ego!]

"You were aware of my warning, yet you still went ahead and took these actions, right? Alright, let's see what happens."

[Olympus has formed a conquest force.]

[List of Conquest Forces]

First Corps Commander: Ares

Second Corps Commander: Hercules

Third Corps Commander: Apollo

…

[The First Corps has been deployed to Deva.]

[The Second Corps has been deployed to Memphis.]

[The Third Corps has been deployed to Avesta.]

…

[The heavenly world societies that have received a declaration of war from Olympus prepare their defenses!]

[The demonic societies that have been invaded by Olympus prepare for the coming war!]

…

[Some of the godly societies want to send envoys to Olympus.]

[Some demon societies have expressed their intention to surrender.]

[The Black King's ego has refused all envoy visits.]

[The Black King's ego has ignored all intentions and conveyances to surrender.]

…

[All gods of death are moving to execute 'death'!]

[All demons of death are moving to bestow the blessing of 'death' on those who have defied the king's dignity!]

[Allied forces, <Chan Sect>, are ready and awaiting their orders.]

[Allied forces, <Niflheim>, are ready and awaiting their orders.]

…

[The heavenly world has fallen into extreme chaos and disarray!]

During the entire time, Yeon-woo completely ignored the wishes of the various societies who wanted to send him envoys. Furthermore, he also left a separate order to his apostles who were in charge as corps commanders…to not let up the attack unless their opponents surrendered unconditionally.

'I can see why the Heavenly Demon tried to lock up all the gods and demons in the Tower.'

If they could see the slightest of openings, gods and demons were prone to taking whatever advantages that they could of a situation. They only acted for themselves, which made them too difficult to control. This time, while Yeon-woo had momentarily slept, they had almost destroyed Earth.

Yeon-woo felt that it was not enough to suppress them using force. He needed to lock them up or tie them down somewhere.

Chan Sect and Niflheim, who still have a good relationship with Olympus, expressed their willingness to mobilize and support Olympus. However, Yeon-woo did not accept their offer. There was absolutely no need to borrow their forces and distribute the spoils. Moreover…

[According to the request of Olympus' leader, 'Ananke' is descending!]

The only being from Olympus who was not joining the combat forces quietly descended onto Earth. Ananke was a goddess who possessed warm, comforting eyes. In Olympus, she was a being who had 'destiny' as her divine domain. Additionally, she was a familiar face for Yeon-woo.

"Did you call?" Ananke spoke in a very polite, formal manner to Yeon-woo.

At that moment… Crack! Scythe shattered and took on a human form. Kronos looked at Ananke with her tender gaze. His eyes were watery, seemingly filled with tears.

『It's been a while, godmother.』

"I'm glad to see that your future and fortunes look brighter than before, Kronos."

When Yeon-woo experienced Kronos' legends, Ananke, along with the giant Atlas, were the two existences who had always been by his side.

Ananke was like a mother to Kronos. All the love he received during his youth came from her. However, after Kronos became infected with Demonism and became a tyrant, Ananke resigned from all her posts at Olympus and took a step back within the society. And after Kronos' fall, she stopped appearing publicly and quietly lived a life of seclusion in the heavenly world's senate.

The reason Ananke had to live quietly was because those on Zeus' side were constantly wary of her existence. She also remained quiet because she was not the type to seek power.

And now, these two were meeting together once again.

『About the past…I wanted to apologize.』

Even though it had been some time since Kronos awakened, he did not feel comfortable meeting Ananke. No, Kronos did not dare to meet her. It was just like how Kronos felt terrible and sorry for Poseidon and the others but did not approach them directly for forgiveness. He had committed so many atrocities towards Ananke that he could not muster the courage to face her.

Kronos: Godmother. I understand that, in your eyes, I still seem like a young child, but I am now king. Your caring actions are actually an interference for me.

Ananke: You want me to forgive them? You're asking me for a favor? Do you think what you're saying makes sense?

Kronos: Does godmother know how much of a negative impact your actions have had on me? You should be grateful that I am only requesting self-constraint.

Kronos' reign was mostly marked by tyranny and fear.

Ananke, with her warm personality, was the only person that the others, those who suffered under Kronos' tyranny, could depend on.

As a result, they had no choice but to constantly argue with each other. And each time they argued, Ananke would be turned away with a fresh new emotional wound.

In a way, Kronos' apology was a bit too late.

"Kronos." Ananke smiled. Her expression and aura had returned to the warm-hearted caregiver who had taken care of an immature child. "I'm glad your visage is brighter than it was back then. This godmother was always really worried about that."

『…!』 Kronos stiffened and remained quiet. His godmother was still his godmother, even after all this time.

"I've heard that you have a connection with By the Table." Yeon-woo carefully approached the two.

Ananke gave a warm smile and bowed her head to Yeon-woo. "Please speak comfortably. You are the king. A king never speaks up to one's subjects." She used a noble yet direct tone.

Yeon-woo seemed to know where Kronos' somewhat stately manner came from. "Since Ananke is like my mother to my father, I view you as my grand-godmother. I do not dare be impolite."

A strange smile appeared on Ananke's lips as she looked at Yeon-woo. "You seem to resemble your father, but you developed in a much more mature fashion."

"I am much better than my father."

"Well, that's not really saying much. Kronos was essentially just an idiot…"

"I, on the other hand, am not an idiot."

"What would have happened if he never met Rhea? Kronos really was truly lucky."

『What the hell are you two talking about?!』 Kronos could no longer stand by and listen to their judgmental comments, so he screamed.

The two laughed lightly. Kronos still had a grim expression on his face. Then Ananke, with a serious expression, said, "After taking a step back from Olympus and focusing on the heavenly world's senate, I often took a position as an intermediary between Olympus and By the Table whenever it was needed."

This was the main reason why Zeus and the others could not easily get rid of Ananke. Ananke maintained a close relationship with By the Table, the organization that managed Rhea's legacy. Moreover, Ananke had a very special relationship with Rhea.

Zeus and the others required an ample reserve of supplies and resources to maintain their rule within Olympus, so they depended heavily on By the Table. Thus, it was not possible for Zeus and the others to do anything to Ananke, their intermediary agent. Thus, Yeon-woo was planning on asking Ananke to arrange a meeting for him with By the Table.

Yeon-woo could have found some other way to meet them if he were still in the Tower, but now that he was outside, he did not have any means of communicating with or meeting them. 'After saving Sesha and the others with the ark, they were said to have just left.'

"But after the Tower collapsed, there seems to be a lot of confusion and chaos within By the Table."

In an instant, Yeon-woo's eyes lit up. "Confusion and chaos…?"

"I think there was internal strife. I don't know the exact details."

"Hmm."

Just as Yeon-woo suspected, something was up.

"In addition, it is known that the current leader has not made a public appearance in a long time, and the successor has largely taken over most of the management and operations… it seems the successor has taken over control and power of the group, or the one truly in power has put the successor out as the public face of the organization."

Yeon-woo seemed to have an inkling of what was going on. "Is the successor's name 'Yul'?"

Ananke's eyes widened after hearing Yeon-woo's words. "Do you know him…?"

***

[Olympus begins the war!]

[The heavenly world is in an uproar.]

"…ah, my oraboni, I can always tell right away wherever you are and what you're doing. Still, shouldn't you have visited me at some point? I'm really hurt." Edora murmured with a sigh. She knew that Yeon-woo had fallen into a deep sleep.

Though Edora always carried herself well outwardly, there were many times when she internally resented Yeon-woo quite a bit. She had finally conveyed her true feelings for him, and she thought that her dreams had come true… However, Yeon-woo made a choice to sleep arbitrarily without any consultation with her.

Even if Yeon-woo decided to sacrifice himself to save everyone, Edora would be losing her one and only lover, so her heart had ached. Still, for more than ten years, Edora did not give up on or change her feelings towards Yeon-woo. And she was certain that Yeon-woo felt the same way. The thread of the bond between them could never be broken from time.

However, Yeon-woo's indifference infuriated Edora. No matter how much work he had to do, he could have at least sent her a message. Unfortunately, despite Yeon-woo causing such a great commotion, there was no sign of any incoming message. Did he forget about her? Such a heartless person. While grumbling like that, Edora hugged Divine Evil and went on her way.

"…Huh?"

[A message has arrived from the Black King's ego.]

Edora's eyes widened as she saw the sudden system message appear in front of her eyes. After leaving the Tower, outside of entering a gate, she had rarely ever seen a message pop up.

[Message: I'll pay a visit soon. Sorry.]

As she saw the blunt message, Edora unwittingly smiled wryly. "Anyway, so not a gentleman." Even as she said that, she looked glad.

"Miss!" Suddenly someone ran into the field where Edora was. It was another 'sister' who had once trained with Edora to become a potential priestess. However, something in the sister's expression seemed urgent. It was a facial expression full of sadness and confusion.

Edora felt something ominous and made a serious face. "What's going on?"

"The Psychic Medium…!"

***

"Don't cry. To be honest, I've been alive here for too long. I'm just going back to Shaohao Jintian's side."

The Psychic Medium caressed Phante's shoulder as he burst into tears in front of her. She thought her son would be immature all his life, but his shoulders had become broad as he carried the heavy responsibilities as the tribe's chief. The Psychic Medium suddenly had a thought that, just like his father, Phante would lead the tribe well. With that thought in her mind, the Psychic Medium smiled.

However, seeing this response from his mother, Phante broke down and cried even louder.

Since escaping from the Tower, the One-horned Tribe had taken great efforts to find a place to stay while fighting the war against Night while supporting Day.

Shaohao Jintian was the original ancestor of the One-horned Tribe members. This was the reason why the tribe members had entered the Tower long ago. Since too much time had passed to return to their original hometown outside the Tower, they began to look for a new home. They had finally settled in one place.

However, in the process of searching for a place to call home, the Psychic Medium consumed an inordinate amount of spirit power. Her mental and physical exhaustion after the Martial King's passing was already great, but with the added responsibility of overseeing the fortunes of her tribe on her shoulders, she quickly wore thin. As she used up more of her spirit power, her vitality started to dim, and as a result, she started aging quickly.

Each time Phante saw this, he told her to hold back and argued with her, but she remained stubborn.

From a certain point in the past, like the Martial King, the Psychic Medium was given a nickname within the tribe. She was their 'Holy Mother'.

The titles bestowed on the two illustrated just how influential both figures were to the tribe. And now…

The Psychic Medium could feel the last remaining time pass before her eyes.

"Mother!" After hearing about her mother's precarious status, Edora had rushed to her mother's abode. Edora was huffing and puffing as she entered.

"Why is everyone making such a fuss?" Unlike what her pale complexion indicated, the Psychic Medium had a smile on her lips. She continued to pat the shoulders of her grown son. "Phante, as you promised, will you give me some time with your sister?"

The Psychic Medium had previously asked her son to give her some privacy to speak with Edora one-on-one. Though he wanted to state that he was unwilling to leave his mother's side…

"…I'll take my leave." Biting his lower lip, Phante left his mother's room, along with the other tribal members who had been guarding her bedside.

"I'm not sure what mother is planning to say…but it seems like she has a very important request for you. So…make sure you listen well." Phante was only able to leave after continuously badgering his sister about the importance of listening to his mother's last words.

After Phante left, Edora approached her mother and cautiously dropped down on her knees.

The Psychic Medium rummaged through her coat and quietly placed two wooden boards on the floor. The words 'Absolute' and 'Death' were written on the boards respectively.

"This is…?" In an instant, Edora felt an ominous feeling as her eyes fluttered.

"Before I leave…I used my last remaining strength to conduct a fortune-telling of my future son-in-law. This is the divination I received."

These were words that Edora had never considered, so Edora froze.

The wrinkles around the Psychic Medium's eyes deepened. "It's the same no matter how many times I conducted his fortune-telling. It's the same result each time, like your father's divination. It doesn't change."

"…!"