Ranker Who Lives Twice

Hades' Spirit Eating Sword, which had completely assimilated with the black shadow, was already beyond the scope of simple power. It seemed to possess its own instinct, revealing a strong sense of gluttony as it devoured Laplace's body with serrated teeth.

However, perhaps because Laplace's body boasted such a huge size, Hades' Spirit Eating Sword took a considerable amount of time to fully devour Laplace.

Moreover… Screech!Screech! Terrifying and bizarre cries rang out from Laplace's body every time the serrated teeth devoured parts of him. Those were clearly cries of pain, but there were also hints of joyous laughter.

Ha. Ha. Very. Fun… Laplace seemed to be truly laughing. Despite his existence being devoured, the joy in his loud laughter went beyond simple enjoyment and seemed closer to absolute bliss. His reaction was completely different from the others who had been devoured before.

『Son, I think this guy has lost his marbles.』

'I agree.' Yeon-woo should have noticed right away from the time Laplace wore rabbit ears on his bald head and spoke nonsensical things in a low-pitched tone.

Kronos, who could boast of seeing many crazy people throughout his long life, looked at Laplace tiredly. And if things kept up at the current speed, Yeon-woo felt that he would also turn crazy, so he pushed Vigrid deeper into Laplace's eye.

『Hey! Stop pushing it deeper in! I can feel that terrifying bastard!』

'Did anyone tell you that you need to keep your sword shape?'

『What! You bastard…!』

Yeon-woo ignored Kronos' complaints, slashing with Vigrid once again. A Sword Thunder strike detonated once more. Dark red flames blazed across Laplace's huge body, creating elongated oval shapes… Yeon-woo did this to break Laplace up into smaller pieces, so that Hades' Spirit Eating Sword could quickly devour him as soon as possible.

[The spring of time is spinning faster!]

[The current speed is 4x.]

…

[The spring of time is spinning much faster!]

[The current speed is 8x.]

[An enormous amount of overload is being transmitted to your body!]

Boom! A foul-smelling bodily fluid spurted from the wide gap on Laplace's true body like a fountain. The fluid contained the nature of chaos, and it was so poisonous that it could melt one's existence upon contact. However, before the fluid could even reach Yeon-woo, it evaporated and disappeared from the tremendous heat that Yeon-woo emanated.

Of course, with Formless Poison, Yeon-woo had nothing to worry about. Moreover, Yeon-woo's constitution was based on the yin soul. On the contrary, negative environmental factors may work to Yeon-woo's benefit.

Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha… Being shredded into pieces, Laplace still did not stop laughing and his tentacles constantly shot out. Along with his Illusory Change, he tried to disturb Yeon-woo with various attacks that raged like a storm. Unfortunately, his attacks couldn't pierce through the Wall of the Dead that surrounded and protected Yeon-woo.

『Stop it, son!』

Boom! Boom! Boom!

『How can a son throw his own father into such a sticky, dark, and weird place?! This is abuse! Are you trying to send me to my grave?』Kronos' constant screams were a bonus.『This feels nasty! Stop it!』

And then… Slice! Once Vigrid finally pierced the last open eyeball, Yeon-woo could see a black rabbit-eared bald man surrounded by strange cells.

"Oho. You've made it all the way here." With eyes wide open, Laplace clapped his hands together. Although he was on the verge of death, his lingering smile showed that he was truly enjoying this last moment.

Thinking that no good could come by responding to such a pervert with a bizarre masochistic hobby, Yeon-woo swung Vigrid down on Laplace's head.

"Stop!" Just then, Laplace suddenly raised his arms up.

Wanting to know what Laplace had to say, Yeon-woo allowed Vigrid to stop right in front of Laplace's throat. "What?"

"I surrender! So, how about you go easy on me?"

Yeon-woo's brow twitched, since Laplace had fought and constantly interrupted Yeon-woo throughout all these years. This declaration of surrendering felt suspicious, at best.

"I'll tell you everything you want to know, and I'll cooperate with you in good faith, so can you please put away your sword?"

"…"

"If you see my cute ears and still want to harm me, that means you're a very bad person." As he spoke, Laplace's rabbit ears cutely twitched. At the same time, he put his hands together neatly to the corners of his mouth, and his eyes blinked like a certain cat in boots…

Yeon-woo felt the urge to end Laplace's life immediately. If a black muscular man with copper-toned skin tried to show off his cute side with a low-pitched voice mixed with a nasal tone…it truly was a terrifying sight to behold. As he looked at such a being, Yeon-woo lowered Vigrid, which had been placed right in front of Laplace's neck. "Alright. I'll let you off."

"Oh. Then…!"

"Instead, I have some conditions."

"What could those be?"

Yeon-woo smiled. "First, you die."

Slash!

[You have succeeded in devouring the player, 'Laplace'!]

[The concept of death has succeeded in being implemented onto 'Laplace'.]

[All gods of death are satisfied.]

[All demons of death are pleased.]

***

「Ugh, how could you do this to me, your close friend? How can you hold a sword in front of such a cute and adorable creature with innocent bunny ears? In your previous life, ### must have been an evil and cold-hearted villain.」

Mumble. Mumble. Grumble. Grumble… Laplace, who woke up again as a spirit, squatted on the ground. He constantly muttered to himself as if he was a castaway sitting alone in the rain. Although he clearly expressed his intention to surrender, Laplace was dissatisfied that Yeon-woo chose to swing his sword. Of course, his appearance had not significantly changed…

Yeon-woo had told Laplace to stop wearing such a weird outfit, but Laplace did not even consider those words. Laplace simply said something along the lines of his current appearance being his true identity. In the end, Yeon-woo had no choice but to let it be, as Laplace stubbornly argued like a child, stating that he would never cooperate if Yeon-woo did not let him remain in his current form.

If he had his way, Yeon-woo would have long ago thrown Laplace into the Purgatory Furnace and burned him until all his evil karma was incinerated.

'But then, I'll be wasting time.' The Sea of Time probably already noticed that Yeon-woo had finished his closed-door training and had started chasing after them. Right now, time was tight. Yeon-woo could not afford to waste time interrogating Laplace. This was also the reason why Yeon-woo had briefly paused when Laplace said he was going to surrender.

Of course, Yeon-woo could not help but feel frustrated at constantly hearing Laplace's bickering. "What the hell do you mean we're close friends?"

「We have such a close relationship. With rippling muscles and sweat…we're best friends who can sympathize and understand each other! Have you already forgotten the fun times we had while holding hands?」

"…" For a moment, Yeon-woo felt a strong urge to just throw Laplace into the Purgatory Furnace.

『Son.』Kronos asked in a low voice.『Is he your type?』Though Kronos pretended to be serious, he was laughing himself silly on the inside.

'…Father.'

『What?』

Yeon-woo could not understand how Kronos could speak in such a serious, caring tone. He stated coldly, 'Unless you want to spend time stuck in that pervert once more, please keep quiet.'

『…』Kronos decided that nothing good would come about if he kept making fun of Yeon-woo, so he decided to take a step back.『…It seems I didn't give birth to a child but a monster.』

Kronos' gaze turned to the rabbit-eared macho man.『Anyway, can't you do something to shut up that blubbering fool? I'm truly concerned that, if things continue, a scar will form in my ears.』

Yeon-woo frowned. As he was about to respond…Ananta and the Head Elder came to his side. They asked, "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine."

"It seems you're somewhat useful now." The Head Elder put on his glasses and scanned Yeon-woo from head to toe. A twinkling light could be seen in the Head Elder's eyes, and he immediately noticed what Yeon-woo had achieved over the past couple years in closed training. He noticed that Yeon-woo's constitution seemed to be completely opposite to the sun-related nature of the One-horned tribe. "I'm guessing you've awakened the Yin Sword?"

"Yes."

"Good. Good…" The Head Elder quietly nodded in response to Yeon-woo's answer. His face was filled with many different emotions. He felt a release that someone had unlocked the secrets of the Yin Sword, something his tribe had been seeking an answer to for many years. Moreover, the person to achieve this feat was the disciple of the Martial King, whose dream was now fulfilled.

"Like the Martial King said, his legend won't disappear and will continue to live on through his disciple." The Head Elder mumbled while nodding softly. Soon, he cleared his thoughts and narrowed his eyes. "As you just saw, even though Nayu and I went through the process of exuviation and transcendence, Allforone did not show up. The reason is unknown, but the Sea of Time seems to be taking advantage of this opportunity to pursue something. It seems that Brahm is moving to stop them."

Strength and focus returned to Yeon-woo's eyes. He asked, "Did Brahm also go to the gathering of the supreme gods suffering from the Heavenly Demon Disease?"

"That's right. He said that if you want to catch a tiger, you have to go directly into the tiger's burrow."

Yeon-woo let out a sigh. The Sea of Time… The reason why he jumped into plot scheming to replace Allforone was probably because of his resentment, love, and hate towards Harmonia.

It seemed that the next place Yeon-woo would have to go to would be the battlefield where all the supreme gods were gathered. At that time, it would be difficult for him to jump in as easily as he did here. Thus, knowing that the Sea of Time would do everything in their power to block him, Yeon-woo knew that it was important to find out what the Sea of Time was thinking. "Laplace, what was your side planning?"

Everyone's gaze turned to Laplace, who grinned.「To receive so much attention… As an attention-seeker, I am very happy.」

"If you keep spewing nonsense, I'll throw you into the Purgatory Furnace and never take you out."

「Hew! Hew! Hew! Let me get one thing straight first. The Central Bureau under Yvlke hasn't exactly gone over to the Sea of Time. They're working together at the moment because their objectives aligned.」 Laplace continued to chatter excitedly. 「The two align in exactly one objective; disabling the Tower's system. And the birth of a new system. A reset. That should make it clear.」

"Reset?"

「Yes! The system that Allforone is representing is very different from the one pursued by Yvlke and the Sea of Time.」

"What kind of system are they pursuing?"

For the first time, Laplace's eyes, which had been full of playfulness, sharply narrowed.「What else can it be? They want to do away with the present order. Yvlke considers the triangular balance of power among Allforone, the Central Bureau, and the heavenly world, as a fundamental evil that contributes to the constant stagnation of the Tower society, which in his eyes, should be more dynamic.」

The collapse of the triangular balance of power… Yeon-woo finally felt that he had glimpsed into Yvlke's inner thoughts. As the first High Guardian and Director, Yvlke lived and observed the long history of the Tower. Thus, it was not all that strange that Yvlke held some opinions and ideas about the Tower. Yeon-woo then asked, "Then what about the Sea of Time?"

「What the Sea of Time wants is much simpler than Yvlke's ideal. The Sea of Time wants to bring the end of days.」

Yeon-woo's eyes widened slightly. Because now, he knew exactly what those words meant. What the Sea of Time calls time. An apocalypse, the end of days. In other words, they intend to carry out the last part of the revelations. That only means one thing, for the being that the Heavenly Demon stuffed into the bottom of the Tower to open his eyes. Only then will everything that happened in this world disappear as if it had all been a fleeting, short-lived dream.

"… they're planning to resurrect the Black King."