Ranker Who Lives Twice
chapter-278

When Yeon-woo had taken care of about 40% of all of Triton, he could feel Benteke’s energy. It was on a large ship that was away from the rest of the other boats like a lone island.

As soon as Yeon-woo felt it, he headed in the direction of the ship, moving away from the ship he had been hunting.

It didn’t matter how many small fry he dealt with; if the leader wasn’t caught, none if it mattered. Before Poseidon attempted something else, he was going to get Benteke.

Pat—

He advanced using Wind Path and Blink. Whirlwinds spun around him as he moved at a rapid pace.

Just one. He was planning on breaking the large ship Benteke was on with just one hit. A speedy Wave of Fire was something that even Yeon-woo was afraid of.

Just then, he could see Benteke standing up from his throne with a spear-like weapon, using it as a cane.

It was a trident about 3 meters long. The sapphires on the trident had a strange charm.

Suddenly, Benteke released his magic and holy power. Yeon-woo realized that he was about to use the Authority that Poseidon bestowed upon him.

But the range of Benteke’s Authority was wider than he thought.

The holy power spread across the River of Souls and reached the sky, carried by the wind.

‘You can release this much holy power?’

Just when Yeon-woo looked up at the sky in surprise…..

Urrrr, kwakwakwakwang!

The dark clouds that were gathered in the sky spewed down lightning. The storm crashed as tsunamis that were tens of meters tall rose to trap Yeon-woo.

This wasn’t a simple Authority.

A Disaster.

A great power that moved nature itself. Nature gods were amongst the top of gods. If you had a great holiness on top of that, the Authority would become a Disaster.

It was clear that Poseidon was using Benteke to absorb Yeon-woo in the River of Souls.

Yeon-woo clicked his tongue.

He had originally planned to blow away the ship that Benteke was on, but he had no option but to release it now.

Yeon-woo twisted his body and drew Vigrid.

The Wave of Fire that was condensed in the black Aura released at once.

Speed and circulation were added to it, and it was combined with the 72 Bian.

[Wave of Fire]

[Holy Fire]

[72 Bian – Pok, Ryul]

Krrrrrng!

The uncontrolled Wave of Fire was horrifyingly destructive. Not only did it sweep away the tsunamis that seemed like they were going to cover the entire world, it also swallowed the lightning that came from the sky like it was nothing.

A powerful light spread out, as if the sun had exploded, and the aftershocks continued to hit the environment around it.

The tsunamis evaporated, and the dense fog dried up. The River of Souls was tossed more violently than before and shook the ship that Benteke was on.

The hot heat wave burned the skin of the players on deck. Players that had subconsciously gasped screamed at the pain that they inhaled into their lungs.

However, the screams couldn’t be heard because they were buried under the great explosion.

Then—

Kwakwakwang!

This time, lightning bolts of fire came from where Yeon-woo was to Benteke’s ship.

It was a lightning wall that had been created by combining the 72 Bian. He was going to sink the colossal ship by swinging down Vigrid.

However, Jinrang and the players who guarded Benteke were skilled. They protected the ship from the fire lightning using their skills and artifacts.

It wasn’t easy. Because it was such a powerful attack, they experienced the same effect as being hit by a large hammer. The shock waves beyond the barrier weren’t easy to deal with either.

The ship bobbed up and down. It was cracked in some areas, and a burning smell wafted around it.

What made them even more frustrated was the excruciatingly hot air.

The horrifying heat that was hard to believe was created by a human was leaving a black trace along the ship.

“What the…..!”

“What is that!”

Triton’s players who had barely been creating a barrier trembled.

They had definitely examined Yeon-woo thoroughly.

When he had fought against the Nine Dragon Sons, Apophis’s shedding on the 26th floor, the Cannibal Monster King on the 27th floor…..they had examined all his powers, and they had judged that they could catch him even if Benteke didn’t step up.

Poseidon’s Authority could be used easier in the River of Souls. They considered themselves superior in terms of the surroundings too.

However, that wasn’t it.

Had he gotten stronger in that short time? Or had he been hiding his abilities? Or did he just not need to reveal them?

Whatever the reason was, Yeon-woo’s powers were greater than they had thought.

He…..wouldn’t fall short when compared to their leader, Benteke!

Hwiii—

Regardless of whether they were surprised, Yeon-woo’s eyes under the mask were indifferent.

He was mechanically bringing Vigrid towards them, like he was only focused on sinking them into the River of Souls.

Strong winds that had been swept away from the shock waves began to blow over. The simmering heat wave caused a large whirlwind, and the River of Souls began to boil.

Steam blew around.

Yeon-woo was planning on exploding a Wave of Fire once again, this time with an abundant amount of magic power. Since things were already like this, he wanted to confirm the strength of his Wave of Fire too.

Where else would he be able to do this? The only people in front of him were his enemies.

Like that, the strong winds were tightly gathered around Vigrid. Vigrid shook like it was going to break any moment, and it emitted a blue light.

Just when he was about to swing it, the space in front of Yeon-woo opened, and Benteke appeared. He had a violent and cruel expression, as Yeon-woo had seen inside the diary and Lana’s vestige.

There was one difference. His energy had evolved.

Benteke harshly hit Yeon-woo’s head. There were blue beads in his hand.

Yeon-woo couldn’t tell for sure, but it looked like the condensed holy power of the River of Souls.

Crunch—

Krrrng!

Fire and columns of water clashed and created whirlpools in different directions.

The two whirlpools pierced through the atmosphere, and an even larger tornado was created.

A large tornado that stretched from the River of Souls far into the sky was created.

Explosions coming from inside the tornado spilled out.

Droplets of water poured down, then evaporated in the simmering atmosphere. The River of Souls began to boil like lava. The waves tossed, and the storms crashed.

In the center of that, Yeon-woo circulated his Magic Circuit and swung Vigrid in a straight line.

Benteke gripped Triaina in his hands and swung it upward.

Chang—

Kwang!

With the sound of metal clanging between them, a column of water soared up high above them once more.

Water that was gathered into a sharp blade cut Yeon-woo’s chest, and fire and lightning fell on top of Benteke’s head.

This time, both of them suffered quite a bit of damage.

As if they had both promised each other beforehand, they didn’t clash again and moved far apart instead.

“Kahalhalhalhal! I never would’ve imagined such a person would still be on the lower floors! How surprising! The world of the Tower is really fun. Very!”

Standing above the water, Benteke touched the deep burn on this body with his left hand. A red spark was left behind, and his flesh was still being destroyed, but he felt overjoyed.

Benteke hadn’t planned on coming.

He was busy focusing on Triton with all kinds of new clans growing.

The rest of the four new emerging clans that had risen with Triton, especially the Fantasy Regiment, were growing bigger by the second, so his hands were full.

Even if the god he served, Poseidon, rushed him, he didn’t do things if he didn’t want to.

Benteke was someone who would laugh if Poseidon threatened to get rid of his apostle position.

The only reason why he had become Poseidon’s apostle was because he thought that he would receive a powerful and comfortable strength to use.

He was confident in the powers that he already had, so he thought he could just serve another god instead.

There were quite a lot of gods and demons who wanted Benteke as their apostle. Also, Poseidon was inwardly satisfied with Benteke’s confidence, so he didn’t particularly take action.

However, it was different this time.

Poseidon had strongly suggested that he do his duty as an apostle this time. He had given it the title of a Necessary Quest.

Poseidon had never urged Benteke this forcefully before, so he had to follow his orders. On one hand, the reports that his subordinates had brought were amusing as well.

A rookie causing commotion in the lower floors. He was setting new records in each of the halls of fame, and he was tied with Allforone’s previously untouchable score on the 21st floor.

Of course he would be interested.

More than anything, Benteke was curious who had made Poseidon this aggravated. If it was someone to make Poseidon, an arrogant being who didn’t even look at the lower floors, furious, he thought it wouldn’t do him any harm to check.

But it seemed like it would be even more fun than he thought.

The pain that made his spear shiver. There weren’t many people who could reflect the spear of the ruler.

It was something that not anyone could do.

Benteke looked Yeon-woo up and down. A black mask and clothes. And the wings of fire on his back. He thought that the Hoarder looked quite unique.

“Hm?”

Just then, Benteke saw the necklace on Yeon-woo’s neck.

He hadn’t recognized it because of the black fire around it, but it was definitely similar to Benteke’s.

“Where did you get that item? Did you go to the Quartz Palace?”

It was an item that reminded him of the dead Heaven Wing.

Lana had held onto it until her end, so it was an unpleasant memory for him. To Benteke, Heaven Wing was a ghost who had pushed Lana into a corner and caused the Blue Rose’s collapse.

He might’ve had good memories from when he was alive, but he didn’t have any good feelings for him after he died.

“…..”

But Yeon-woo just touched the necklace with his left hand and didn’t say anything.

Benteke could feel the many gazes on him, but he ignored them. He especially ignored the gazes filled with enmity.

[Poseidon wants to punish you.]

[Poseidon is watching you.]

[Poseidon reveals an intense murderous intent.]

[Hermes is cheering you on.]

[Athena gives you a Blessing.]

[Athena hopes for your victory.]

[Athena is glaring at Poseidon with a flat look.]

[The godly society, ‘Olympus,’ becomes silent from the tensions between Poseidon and Athena.]

[Many godly and demonic societies are watching ‘Olympus.’]

‘Thinking about it now, Poseidon and Athena have never had a good relationship, even though they’re family.’

Athena looked nicely upon Yeon-woo. On the other hand, Poseidon held a murderous intent. Like in the legends, they were standing against each other here.

Yeon-woo could feel the holy power being delivered through the channel of Authorities.

Agares aside, from Azrael to Athena, there were a lot of beings interested in him.

He felt unpleasant because they were only playthings for the gods and demons.

Yeon-woo spoke to Benteke.

“I hope you’re different from Apophis’s shedding and the Cannibal Monster King.”

“What?”

Benteke frowned at Yeon-woo’s strange answer to his question and widened his eyes feeling the air around Yeon-woo suddenly change.

[Dragon Body Awakening]

[The 3rd Spirit]

[Hyoongshin Acksal]

[Goddess’s Stigmata]

Crunch—

Dragon scales grew on Yeon-woo’s skin until right below his eyes, and the Spirit Familiars that he had sent out came into his body.

The Philosopher’s Stone began to emit magic power. Demonism slowly spread in his body as his Magic Circuit spun, and with the holy power from the goddess of war…..

Hwakk—

Yeon-woo swung Vigrid with the power of the Draconic species, gods, and demons—three Superior species.

With a flash, the air cracked apart, and black Aura pierced Benteke.

[TN: Just a heads up, the five chapters that are left in the cycle will all be released at the beginning of the next cycle! I will be translating them on a plane, and maybe I’ll even sneak in a little bonus chapter or two, haha.]