Ranker Who Lives Twice

Whoosh!

「It's been a while since I last smelled the outside air.」

「Why did the new King of the Underworld call us this time?」

「Well, we won't know until we hear his orders. He must have called us for a reason, so we'll soon find out.」

The three Cyclops brothers took deep breaths of fresh air. They hadn't been out in the world for a while. Since they were already dead, they didn't actually need to breathe, but old habits from when they were still alive were hard to break.

The youngest, Arges, had grown up separate from his two older brothers. To escape from Tartarus, he'd followed Dis Pluto's decision to become one of Yeon-woo's familiars and had been in a deep sleep within the shadows ever since.

Thanks to Yeon-woo's power, the three Cyclops brothers could stay together even after death, and so they referred to Yeon-woo with honorifics. Yeon-woo was their benefactor and the successor of their previous master, Hades. They bowed their heads in his presence without a second thought.

Moreover, since the brothers had a connection with Yeon-woo at all times, they understood just how powerful Yeon-woo had become. Yeon-woo's soul had grown so much that they wondered how a development like that could even be possible, especially when they had their doubts about the newly anointed successor of the Black King when they'd first been summoned.

However, it seemed that Yeon-woo had already fully consumed the power of the Throne of Death and made it his own, so they guessed that he would soon be able to reach a position equal to that of Hades. Even in Olympus' long and illustrious history, very few had ever shown such remarkable growth. At most, they could only compare Yeon-woo's growth to that of Hercules, a hero who inherited the blood of Zeus.

As a result, they had no choice but to acknowledge Yeon-woo with deep respect. The appearance of the giant Cyclopes on one knee and bowing their heads in front of their master looked impressive.

"I have a request for you all."

The three were puzzled that the Great King of the Underworld was making a request. After all, they would follow it as though it were a command, and they blinked their big eyes in confusion.

***

After hearing Yeon-woo's request…

「Ah, damn it.」

「We temporarily forgot what type of person our Great King of the Underworld truly is.」

「Sir Shanon was right all along.」

The three Cyclops brothers muttered in dissatisfaction as they moved around busily. Yeon-woo had asked them to do something very simple yet physically demanding: build a fortress in the village where he was staying. He wanted to turn it into a base where his army could stay.

The Cyclops brothers were not only accomplished blacksmiths, they also possessed the skills to make things beyond weapons and tools. They were also proficient in a variety of fields, such as civil engineering, bridge construction, land surveying, and all other related fields. The various holy territories that existed in Tartarus during their war with the Titan and Giants were in fact structures that they had built long ago. Furthermore, the camps that Dis Pluto set up whenever they went to battle were based on the blueprints created by the three Cyclops brothers.

Yeon-woo understood how much strength and talent they had, so he immediately ordered the brothers to transform the half-giant village into a fortress. Yeon-woo planned to use this hidden stage as a sanctuary in the future, and so, he paid a tremendous amount of attention on where the base would be built.

Carrying out Yeon-woo's orders was not difficult for the brothers because this was something they'd done their entire lives. They knew they would be contributing to the legend and mythology that the new King of the Underworld was striving to achieve. The main issue was that the village was in terrible shape. Even a rural village would have been a better starting point.

The brothers had grown up seeing refined marble buildings and prosperous, bustling cities, and they couldn't help being astonished by the chaotic, backwards, filthy, and crowded village. When they discovered who the founders of this village were, they couldn't help screaming in frustration.

「Are these people really the descendants of the infamous giant race? No matter how I look at it, they don't seem to be anything like the giants.」 Brontes, the eldest, said as he shook his head in disbelief.

The giants were famous not only for being fearless invaders and battle fiends, but also for their logistical capability, engineering skills, and social structures that could support long, protracted wars. In other words, they had sophisticated supply chains and organizations, and their ability to wield the sword was matched by their ability to create. At one time, the three Cyclops brothers even went as far as to try and somehow get their hands on the giants' camp-building plans.

The brothers could not believe that the giant's descendants had fallen to such an absurd level. The level of deterioration went beyond a simple decline, it was complete collapse. When the brothers realized that Yeon-woo was trying to become their god and was planning to resurrect the giant race, the first words that popped into their heads were, 'Is he crazy?'

Of course, it was impossible to express this, and so, the brothers took on their duties and began to execute their tasks one by one. Brontes concentrated on building the fortress, Steropes concentrated on building the base, and Arges concentrated on making weapons.

Fortunately, there was no shortage of workers. As Yeon-woo grew more powerful, the brothers had also benefited, and they'd almost regained the level of power they had when they were alive. Additionally, Boo raised a large group of undead to help them, so they were able to proceed with their work relatively quickly. In addition, for some reason, the various gods and demons who had their noses squashed by Yeon-woo fell head over heels to offer him their best blessings and protection spells for the fortress. However, all this help did not keep the brothers from sighing and complaining.

Of course, they did not sigh or complain in front of Yeon-woo since the nickname "King Temper" that Shanon used for his master ran through their heads all the time.

Woof! Woof! Woof! A puppy ran out and started panting while spinning around their feet.

「What the hell? Why is a dog in a place like this?」

The brothers knew that the hidden stage was the personal territory of the Crawling Chaos, and so it was impossible to find plants and animals that were common in the Tower. The yellowish-golden dog made them cock their heads in confusion.

「This…」 Steropes possessed eyes that could peer into the essence of things, so he stared long and hard at the yellowish-golden dog. After a while, he cocked his head again in the other direction. 「I think this is Fen…rir?」

「Fenrir?」

「Second brother, surely you're not referring to that dog-like bastard from Niflheim, right?」 Arges said with a chuckle as he remembered Fenrir, whom he had met in the heavenly world long ago. He vividly remembered how powerful Fenrir had been. Fenrir, the lone wolf demon, along with his siblings Jormungandr, the world serpent that wrapped its body around worlds, and Hel, the mistress of hell, were the three great demons. How many worlds did Fenrir destroy every time he roared loudly, and how many gods did he tear apart whenever he exposed his ferocious teeth?

Even the nickname bestowed on him was ferocious: God Eater. Fenrir literally ate anyone he considered an enemy, and he could amplify his magic power after digesting his opponent. Even immortals and transcendents could not escape being consumed. For this reason, whenever Fenrir appeared on the battlefield, many soldiers ran away without looking back.

'That guy became a yellowish-golden furball that wags its tail?' Arges dismissed his second brother's words as nonsense.

However, Steropes firmly nodded with a frown. 「It seems like it.」

「What a ridiculous joke…」 Arges waved his hand dismissively

Woof! Woof! Suddenly, the yellow furball looked at Arges and started barking loudly. Woof! It was as though it were shouting, "I'm here! It's truly me!"

Arges' back straightened as he suddenly sensed danger from an unknown source, and Steropes, who understood the yellow furball's barks, turned blue in the face. 「I-I-I think it's saying that it'll turn us into eunuchs.」

Woof! Pitter-patter!

「S-stop him from getting away!」

The yellow furball quickly scurried away on its short legs as the three Cyclops brothers rushed after it.

***

After Yeon-woo had summoned the three Cyclops brothers, the training and arming of the half-giant warriors proceeded at a rapid pace. Shanon continued his personal training sessions with the half-giants. Shanon did not enjoy this process, and he felt worse as time went on because the half-giants' motivation levels continued to fall, and their insincerity towards his training regimen became more blatant.

Fortunately, a little boy named Nohite showed promise, but he had never received proper training before, so he always reached his physical limits. If the half-giants were forced into battle in their current state, they would be nothing but cannon fodder to the otherworld gods. Valdebich would fall into deep thought whenever he observed Yeon-woo's orders being carried out, but he never tried to stop Yeon-woo.

The gods' and demons' envoys also just did what Yeon-woo told them to do. They put on protection spells on the fortress, gave blessings whenever a new weapon was made, and more. They did not have time to think of anything else.

Eventually, the village continued to expand, and eventually, it could even be called a proper fortress. After nearly a month passed, an army armed with splendid weapons was born. The envoys were forced to swallow their swear words as they watched this development.

"Damn it…"

"To give such precious things to that bunch…!"

They seemed to shed tears of blood as they watched the warriors putting on dazzling armor. Had anyone ever seen a legion armed exclusively with god-grade artifacts like this? Did they not all have the highest blessings and powers bestowed upon them by the highest gods? The new pieces were masterpieces created by the three Cyclops brothers who had pounded throughout the night for an entire month. The three Cyclops brothers were excellent masters who were known far and wide, and the weapons they created were traded at very high prices, even in the heavenly world.

The envoys also heard that the materials used to make such items were the main ingredients of Adamantine Nova: Blood Tear Stones and Blood Essence! Even if one looked in the various godly and demonic societies until one's eyes popped out, no one would find a single unit armed with things as valuable as this army carried. It was like putting a pearl necklace around a pig's neck, only much worse.

Still, the half-giants could not hide their discomfort, as if the armor they were wearing and the weapons they were holding made them feel cramped and uncomfortable. To the gods, demons, and their envoys viewing this scene, it was heartbreaking to see an invaluable number of precious items being put on such trash.

At least, if they had these items in their possession, the gods and demons felt that they would be able to gain the upper hand in the upcoming war against Allforone, and the general strength level of all the societies would increase many times.

Furthermore, the godly and demonic societies had openly supported Yeon-woo with whatever they thought he needed in order to gain his favor and alliance, but it did not seem that Yeon-woo was interested in allying with them.

「Let's go.」 As Yeon-woo sent his command, the army advanced. Maybe all the training they had gone through had not been in vain since they were marching in an organized manner, but it didn't matter to the envoys. In their eyes, the warriors looked like they were flapping around like awkward penguins.

As the envoy members were all breathing out deep sighs of annoyance, Yeon-woo shouted in their ears. 「What are you guys doing? Why aren't you also following?」

They hurried to follow. It seemed that they, too, would be dragged into a war whose outcome was already obvious.

***

「Based. On. Investigation. The other. World. Gods. Are situated in. Seven. Territories.」 During the march, Yeon-woo listened to Boo share the results of an investigation he'd conducted in the past hour.

At Yeon-woo's orders, Boo had completed a detailed investigation by placing undead all over the hidden stage. Thanks to Boo's efforts and the data collected by the undead, Yeon-woo now understood the geographical topography of the hidden stage and discovered that the Crawling Chaos had territories in seven areas. The Crawling Chaos was in the central area, which Boo called the central territory, and was using the rest of the areas as a defense.

「Crawling. Chaos. Cen. Tral. Territory. Up to. Something.」

"It's up to something?"

「Yes. A form. Of. Consciousness. Detected.」

The Crawling Chaos had not shown any reaction despite Yeon-woo's open declaration of war. Occasionally, lower-ranking otherworld gods approached the fortress, but they were easy to deal with. They tied the otherworld gods up in chains and threw them into the void. After this happened several times, the visits began to peter out.

Thanks to that, Yeon-woo managed to buy time to arm and train his army. However, he couldn't help feeling a sense of concern as he could not figure out what the Crawling Chaos was up to. The Crawling Chaos was immensely displeased with a mere mortal running around claiming to be the Black King's successor, and the giants had pestered it before. It might have a strong desire to get rid of these troublesome beings.

Since it wanted to take over the Tower, the Crawling Chaos was probably seething with frustration. It was clear that the Crawling Chaos was up to something, but Yeon-woo had no idea what it might be. 'It's probably just having fun and horsing around…but I can't stake everything on that guess.'

In any case, Yeon-woo felt it necessary to take the seven territories, each one controlled by an otherworld god, as soon as possible. Since the idea of the army carrying out this task was laughable, Yeon-woo had already prepared a plan. "Valdebich."

Valdebich came up to Yeon-woo after being summoned. He said uneasily, 「Do I really have to do this?」

"It's for the sake of your people."

「Ah! I guess it can't be helped.」 Valdebich said as he sighed heavily. He turned over the bag he was carrying on his shoulders and shook its contents onto the ground. All sorts of rubbish came pouring out.

[The godly society <Malach> shows curiosity about the items that have been taken out.]

[The godly society <Deva> is paying close attention to the bag.]

…

[The demonic society <Jie Sect> asks what all those things are.]

...

The various societies, as well as all the envoys, cocked their heads at the items. Meanwhile, a cacophony of cries came out of the half-giants' mouths.

"Wait a minute!"

"Hey, why is that there…!"

"I was wondering where that had gone. I've been searching for it forever! Why the hell is it there?"

The sight of the items on the ground made the half-giants yell. No one had ever seen them so impassioned before. They wanted to abandon their battle formation and run towards Valdebich, but Boo suddenly appeared from the sky and bound their feet with a large area-of-effect magic spell.

Yeon-woo looked at the half-giants, whose pupils were shaking as though there were mini earthquakes inside them, with an expressionless face. He reached for the items on the ground and picked up a diary. "'Month 13, Day 11. Today, I confessed to Iba, who lives next door, but she rejected me because she heard from her mother who heard from my mom that I drew a map on my blanket last night. I hate my mom.' Oh my. You did that kind of stuff on your blanket at the age of fourteen? Ouch. I feel sorry for you. Oh, there's something else like this as well. Ahem. 'Month 15, Day 32. I think I'm the chosen one. I can feel the black darkness running through me.' Isn't this a bit serious?"

The half-giants screamed as their faces turned white. "No! Stop!" they mouthed. However, all their screams were muffled by Boo's silencing magic. Yeon-woo continued to wave around their old diaries in front of everyone and read aloud the various novels they had written during their adolescence and even their teenaged NC-17 thoughts. These were diaries that they had hidden in secret areas around their houses, and each time Yeon-woo waved or read one, the owners turned beet-red with embarrassment.

"Boo. Throw all these in the middle of the territory's square."

「Your wish. Is. My. Command.」

Flutter! After all the objects disappeared through the portal with Boo, Yeon-woo turned his attention to the bewildered half-giants and said with a large smile, "What are you all looking at? Shouldn't you hurry and take your things back before others read them?"