Ranker Who Lives Twice

"Let's talk later." Yeon-woo abruptly cut off his conversation with Kronos. Once Yeon-woo recognized the establishment of another Night, he immediately moved his shadow towards it.

『Hey, Yeon-woo…!』 Kronos hurriedly called out to his son, but Yeon-woo had already utilized Shukuchi. In times like this, Kronos usually accompanied Yeon-woo, but now, Kronos showed no intention of assisting him.

Yeon-woo's attitude towards his father had gone beyond awkward and became somewhat cold. Kronos, who had been through thick and thin with his son, knew that Yeon-woo was acting outwardly cold because he wanted to hide something.

『Ugh, really… You…!』 Feeling sorry for putting his son in this position, Kronos could not continue speaking. He felt guilty for putting his son in such an awkward predicament and began to lament his inability, as a father, to help his own son.

Still, Kronos was eager to somehow convince Yeon-woo. With that singular thought in mind, Kronos was about to move…

"Father." Suddenly, Jeong-woo quietly approached his father's side. Unconsciously, Kronos straightened his back and turned his head towards Jeong-woo, who was frowning. And behind Jeong-woo, Rhea could be seen with a restless expression on her face.

'Ah. It's all my fault.' Kronos couldn't help but cover his face with his hand. He belatedly realized that he had not been cognizant of his surroundings. Usually, in cases like this, one would deal with the issue quietly so as not to worry one's family members.

However, Kronos could not overcome the shock he felt at that moment, so his emotional agitation got the better of him. He now regretted shouting so loudly at Yeon-woo.

"What is hyung planning to do?"

For a moment, Kronos pretended not to know what Jeong-woo was talking about. If possible, he wanted to avoid telling Jeong-woo and his wife about Yeon-woo's plan. However, the moment Kronos saw Jeong-woo's intense gaze, Kronos intuitively felt that he should speak the truth.

Jeong-woo's Draconic Eyes, which had awakened Insight, were firmly fixed on Kronos. If Kronos told a lie, Jeong-woo would notice right away. Furthermore, it was clear that Jeong-woo would relentlessly pressure his father until he told the truth. What's more, Jeong-woo's eyes…expressed a willingness to sacrifice anything to save another.

It was the same feeling Kronos had for his family… Rhea for her sons… Yeon-woo for Jeong-woo…

Jeong-woo would do anything for Yeon-woo. Since Kronos could clearly see this determination in his son's eyes, Kronos could not lie. Thus…

『… Ah!』 Kronos took a deep breath before speaking.

Jeong-woo soon widened his eyes.

***

['Night (Nox)' makes a dazzling appearance!]

['Night (Nox)' blooms gloomily!]

[Two separate 'Night (Nox)' collide!]

Goosebumps arose for all those who observed the violent scene of Night clashing against Night. However, Yeon-woo was not too concerned. He knew the other Night would collapse sooner or later.

If Sage or Yvlke had descended, then the matter would have been different. However, Yeon-woo was facing Michael, a mere pawn who was colluding with Sage/Yvlke, so Michael's Night had no choice but to be limited.

However, not knowing this fact, Michael ran wild as if he was Luciel from a thousand years ago. "Hahaha! Yes! This is it! This is it!" Michael's divine power, which had been upgraded after swallowing the Soulstone (Temperantia), was certainly superior to any creation gods or supreme gods.

To begin with, Michael had already reached a level where he possessed greater power than Metatron, but his compatibility with the Soulstone (Temperantia) was so ideal that his potential power exploded. Additionally, Michael was now exuding darkness power, which he gained while converting to Night.

Completely intoxicated with this newfound power, Michael felt as if he possessed everything in the world.

A firestorm rained down non-stop. Olympus and Athena had their hands tied as they busily deflected Michael's attack. Moreover, the power of the archangels, who were circling around Michael to defend him, was formidable. Although Uriel and Raphael had their own personal qualms regarding Olympus, they were still fully faithful in carrying out Metatron's dying wish.

However, without realizing it, their souls had been sacrificed to Sage, and their bodies, filled with the darkness' divine power, were being used as tools to support the Army of Perished Gods.

[The godly society, <Malach>, has been infected!]

[<Malach> has been overtaken by the Army of Perished Gods.]

While the turn of events was sudden, once the Eight Gods of Disorder made their appearance, the tides of battle completely changed.

[The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young scoffs at the appearance of the insignificant otherworld gods of the other Night.]

[The Green Flame states that all the insignificant otherworld gods should be thoroughly incinerated and offered as sacrifices for their father.]

[The Source of Uncleanliness agrees with their sentiments and invades the realm of the other Night (Nox).]

Rumble! Michael and Malach initially had the upper hand, but the flow of the battle gradually changed. Starting with the Source of Uncleanliness, the Eight Gods of Disorder began to spread their power and influence on the battlefield without hesitation. It was as if they were clearing bits of trash that littered the area.

"Hahaha! Do you think that'll make a difference…!" Michael laughed as he watched the Eight Gods of Disorder rush forward while ignoring his recreated Night.

If his Night easily collapsed, could it really be called Night? Though the Eight Gods of Disorder were powerful, Michael felt that they were just fools that could not think for themselves. At least, this was what Michael thought…until his infected archangels exploded like fireworks one after another.

Boom! Boom!

"Huh? What is this…?" For a moment, Michael had a dumbfounded expression. He never thought that Malach would be pushed away so easily.

Of course, Michael knew very well how powerful the gods of Night were. Though the Day fought tooth and nail over the past decade against Night, Day had never been able to take the upper hand, not even once. This fact gave Michael all the more reason to forsake Day and join Night.

The others in Day had no doubt that Yeon-woo would wake up someday and come to save them, but Michael never believed in this. Even if Yeon-woo did wake up, was there any certainty that Yeon-woo would be able to defeat Night?

On the other hand, the story would be different once Michael joined Night. Once he joined Night, Michael would be able to possess and control the ruthless power of the otherworld gods. Thus, he did not hesitate in deciding to join Night.

'But why…!' The problem was that the level of power Michael gained, which was stronger after swallowing a Soulstone, was helplessly futile in front of Yeon-woo. The extent of the difference in power level was so great that Michael could not help but doubt if he really possessed control over the same Night he had fought against for over a decade.

Michael was confused because he did not know that the essence of Night (Nox) had essentially been transferred from Sage to Yeon-woo.

Rumble! Yeon-woo lightly waved his hand in the air.

[Sword Thunder strikes are raining down!]

[Sword Thunder strikes are raining down!]

…

[Black-Red Gubitara is violently raining down!]

Yeon-woo's otherworld gods marched forward as the rain of Black-Red Gubitara Sword Thunder strikes pushed Malach away. And when the likes of Dis Pluto and Shanon followed like an occupying force behind the main vanguard, the battlefield quickly tilted towards Yeon-woo's side.

"Damn it! Fuck! What the hell are you doing?!" Michael screamed at the top of his lungs. He was unable to attack. All he could do was defend against the oncoming Sword Thunder strikes.

After swallowing the Soulstone (Temperantia), Michael thought that, even if he could not win outright, he would be able to muster an advantageous fight…! It quickly dawned on him that the power gap between himself and Yeon-woo would never be reduced. Michael also realized that Yvlke had seduced him with lies. 'Yvlke…! You deceived me!'

Rumble. Rumble. It seemed that Yvlke simply needed someone to grab onto Yeon-woo's ankles, even if it was for just a moment. Michael's realization came too late. Yeon-woo's Sword Thunder strikes continued to grow stronger.

Boom! Seeing a Sword Thunder strike above his head, Michael deflected the strike using his long spear, Mont Saint-Michel.

'Ugh!' However, due to the aftereffects of that one shot, cracks started spreading throughout Mont Saint-Michel. It completely lost its function and stature as a divine weapon. Even the magic power that the Soulstone (Temperantia) had constantly been providing him stopped functioning, as it seemingly exceeded its output limit.

With just one shot, Yeon-woo had virtually incapacitated Michael. Facing such an absurd and previously unthinkable situation, Michael's resolve completely broke.

"Where are you looking? Shouldn't you be focusing during battle?" Suddenly, Athena appeared in front of Michael as she swung her sword. Like Michael's, Athena's sword was also filled with condensed darkness. The difference was that Athena's darkness possessed a sense of absoluteness.

Boom! In the end, Michael was not able to enjoy the full effects of the Soulstone (Temperantia). He was constantly placed on his backfoot as he hurried to fend off Athena's constant attacks.

'This can't be it, right?' However, Yeon-woo frowned. For a being like Yvlke, this trap was too simple. Yeon-woo felt it was too wasteful to throw away a Soulstone and Michael in such a simple manner. 'Before anything, I need to quickly take care of Michael and head over to where Yvlke is.'

Since Kronos had found out about his plans, Yeon-woo felt that he needed to catch Yvlke as soon as possible. After all, Yeon-woo's family members had been secured, and all of Night would soon be recovered and consolidated under his hands. And due to the latter, Yeon-woo felt that his power level had reached that of Sage/Yvlke.

Yeon-woo felt that it would be good to face Yvlke as soon as possible since Sage/Yvlke had probably not yet healed after fighting against the other egos. Once he defeated Sage/Yvlke, Yeon-woo would be in control of all the darkness.

Yeon-woo also needed to find out what Yvlke was up to at Li's Tomb. He felt that he needed to quickly act. And more than anything…

'Once Jeong-woo hears everything from father, everything will become a headache. So, I need to hurry…!' Wanting to wrap up the fight quickly, Yeon-woo swung his sword towards Michael's neck.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Suddenly, several arrows of light were seen flying across the air.

'Hou Yi!' Realizing the identity of the attacker, Yeon-woo frowned. It was Hou Yi, the one who killed Brahm!

Rumble! Crackle! When Yeon-woo threw out a Sword Thunder strike, various lightning bolts spread out in the form of a spider web. The lightning bolts easily connected and neutralized the arrows of light that were approaching Yeon-woo.

Meanwhile, Hou Yi quietly landed on the ground. "Long time no see." Hou Yi waved his hand as if he was happy to see Yeon-woo.

Boom! Yeon-woo was already flying towards Hou Yi while kicking up a dust cloud.

"Hey! Are you attacking without even greeting me? You've gotten quite violent while I haven't seen you."

[7th-step Dragon Body awakening]

[Powers fully open]

[Sky Wings]

Yeon-woo spread his fiery black and red wings as his body became covered in dragon scales. He soon threw out an uncountable number of Sword Thunder strikes.

"Well, if you just want to fight, I'm not against it. Yvlke asked me to buy him as much time as possible." As if he knew that Yeon-woo would immediately attack, Hou Yi took out two small daggers (arrows of light) from the quiver that hung on his back and clenched the daggers like short swords. Soon, he started a hand-to-hand battle with Yeon-woo.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Yeon-woo and Hou Yi had a series of clashes on the spot. Their weapons, fists, and powers collided. Amid the divine power that rippled out in all directions…

[The leader of Day (Eros) is descending!]

Suddenly, between Yeon-woo and Hou Yi, Jeong-woo appeared with his Sky Wings spread wide.

If they remained in Jeong-woo's vicinity any longer, the two would fall under the power of Quirinale, so Yeon-woo and Hou Yi pushed off against each other.

Bam!

"I've been warned to be wary of the Quirinale descendent. I guess that's you?"

"Shut it for a second." Jeong-woo glared at Hou Yi with fierce eyes before turning his gaze toward Yeon-woo. "Hyung! Do you really think I'd appreciate…!"

"That guy behind you." Jeong-woo was about to continue screaming out with a reddened face, but Yeon-woo cut Jeong-woo's words with a calm attitude and pointed to Hou Yi, who was standing far behind Jeong-woo. "He's the one who killed Brahm."

"…!" Jeong-woo's gaze turned towards Hou Yi.

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