Ranker Who Lives Twice
chapter-492

“The Demonism?” Yeon-woo’s eyes widened. How did the being that was supposed to be sleeping inside the Stone of Sin manage to manifest itself outside? Didn’t it only have the ability to show itself by borrowing his body? All the questions flashing through his head found an answer when he felt a sharpness to the Demonism, as well as an auspicious and familiar, albeit strange, energy.

He quickly moved his hand to his waist. There wasn’t anything there and his expression stiffened. “…You took Vigrid?”

『Good guess, kiddo. You’ve definitely ripened even more than I imagined. A lot.』

Yeon-woo hadn’t been the only one who changed after reading the revelations. As his Stone of Sin became stronger, so did the Demonism inside of it. It normally had to stay asleep because of the immense amount of energy it required to move, but now it could even appear outside. As Yeon-woo grew, the Demonism regained more of its strength.

Now that Yeon-woo was close to exuviation, it finally revealed its sharp teeth to collect the ripe fruit it had been waiting for. However, it hadn’t chosen to manifest in Yeon-woo but Vigrid, the magic sword with countless vestiges of spirits and creatures. Since it was a holy sword whose curses had been cleansed with holy power and dragon blood, it was a worthy choice, but someone else was already occupying it. “What happened to the Vampiric Lord?”

『I heard she also chased after darkness, and she was better than you in the past. Keekeek! But that’s it. Fools like her are nothing more than a single bite. I’m actually hungrier than before.』

He stiffened. He’d done what to the Vampiric Lord?

『But don’t worry. Right now, you’re much…!』

Before the Demonism could finish, Yeon-woo suddenly appeared directly in front of him with a murderous aura. He landed a punch on the Demonism’s face, sending the being flying back with the magic power that burst from his Dragon Heart.

The Demonism fell against a wall and shattered it with a crash. The room began to collapse around him, but the Demonism continued to fly back like a kite with a cut string, knocking over the shelves of the Changgong Library as though they were dominoes. Innumerable books spilled onto the floor and paper floated in the air like snow until the Demonism was buried under multiple layers of broken shelves.

The Demonism smiled as though it were having the time of its life. It had waited so long for this moment. 『Yes! That’s it! The more you struggle against me, the tastier you’ll be!』

A red light exploded out of Yeon-woo. The Sword Thunder of Meteor Sword Art burst out in web-like formations, shredding the shelves around him. Each bolt had the same power as the one that had struck Nessie’s neck. Yeon-woo could now create hundreds of them instantly at the same time.

However, the Demonism exuded darkness, as though it would never lose to him. Thick, dark fog quivered in the air and bared its teeth. It was a technique similar to the Vampiric Spirit. However, just as the Sword Thunder and the darkness were about to collide, Allforone interfered.

『It seems that I have to block two things here, splendid, how very splendid.』

The Sword Thunder and darkness were torn apart by a white energy, and Yeon-woo flapped his Sky Wings to get to a shelf far away. The Demonism was a huge problem, but Allforone was a greater pain in the neck. He had ruled over all for thousands of years, blocking the heavenly world and the lower world, which led to his name “all for one.”

Yeon-woo already knew how strong he was since they’d fought before. Allforone was the wall even the Martial King hadn’t been able to climb. He didn’t think he could defeat him even if he worked with the Demonism. At most, their chances of victory were at forty percent. Still, he didn’t plan on giving up. Just because something hadn’t worked once, it didn’t mean it would fail the second time.

Also, this was the perfect time to fight because Allforone didn’t know how strong he’d become. If Yeon-woo caught him off guard, he might have a chance. Besides, he wasn’t trying to kill Allforone. He only needed a window to attempt exuviation. He needed time to break out of his shell and escape the constraints of the system and stand entirely on his own. ‘The Demonism is here, and this is the Changgong Library. Anything can happen.’

In a fierce battle with all combatants hostile to each other, an opportunity could arise at any time. Yeon-woo once again spread his Sky Wings open. Swoosh. At the same time, the Demonism expanded the darkness and Allforone spawned more white light—they were all thinking the same thing Yeon-woo was. The pressure each of them exuded made the Changgong Library quake as though it were about to collapse. They crashed into each other again.

* * *

‘They’re strong!’ As soon as they collided, Yeon-woo could feel the strength of his opponents. It was a single clash but his hands had immediately grown numb, and his scales, which were stronger than most armor, had been crushed along with his muscles and bones. Regeneration helped him recover quickly, but it was hard to believe that this would happen even though the revelations had made him so much stronger. ‘But…’ Still, he didn’t lose his nerve. Instead, he grew more self-assured. ‘I’m strong too.’

He was stronger than he’d expected. In the past, the clash would have left his entire body bloody, but now, only his right hand was slightly crushed. ‘It might be doable!’

He instantly chased after the Demonism. Along with Allforone, the Demonism had been caught off guard as well. They thought the collision would leave him on the brink of death. Spark!

[Meteor Sword Art - Sword Thunder]

Meteor Sword Art condensed in his hand, emitting a black-red light so bright it was almost blinding. He lashed it down on the back of the Demonism’s neck. Clang. He felt like he’d hit steel. Since the Demonism was inside Vigrid, its body was the sword itself, which explained the metallic sound. Yeon-woo was aware of this, and so he’d protected his hand with layers of Aura first. A long injury on the Demonism’s torso.

‘Too shallow.’ Yeon-woo clucked his tongue. He thought he had found the Demonism’s weakness, but he had quickly moved back after realizing what Yeon-woo was up to, and Yeon-woo had only managed to reach him with his fingertips.

Still, the Demonism hadn’t been able to avoid Yeon-woo completely and instead of blood, darkness spurted out of the wound. Although blackness immediately healed the injury, it didn’t heal the Demonism’s hurt pride. 『You dare!』

He had only allowed the first attack to observe Yeon-woo’s abilities, but Yeon-woo had attacked while he was busy with Allforone. If the injury had been any deeper, he would’ve died. It wasn’t that death applied to spirit bodies like him, but it couldn’t accept that a mortal had caught him off guard. 『I was going to savor you at the end, but if you want to be eaten that badly, be my guest! I won’t stop you!』 The Demonism dashed towards Yeon-woo with sharp teeth glinting in its wide-open maw.

Yeon-woo instinctively flapped his Sky Wings and activated Blink. Everything in the spot where he had just stood was ripped apart—not only were the shelves and books torn asunder, even space itself was blown away. The teeth marks that the Demonism left behind revealed pitch-black emptiness that reminded him of a shark eating its prey ravenously. If he had been caught in the attack, even his soul wouldn’t be left behind.

Nothing existed within the Demonism’s maw, only an abyss that sucked everything inside like a black hole. It was most likely the true Demonism. Crash. The Demonism kicked off the ground as if to say that he wasn’t done. Boom! Boom!

He was too fast. Yeon-woo evaded him, but he was right at Yeon-woo’s heels, chewing and swallowing all the areas Yeon-woo had just been in. He gathered Sword Thunder to attempt a counterattack at the Demonism’s head, but the Demonism only scoffed and ate it with relish. 『Keekeekeek! Do you think that’ll work?』 The occasional bolt cut his arm or leg, but he quickly recovered with blackness.

‘Then…’ Yeon-woo’s eyes widened further at the being laughing so confidently. If the Demonism liked to eat that much, Yeon-woo would feed him to his heart’s content.

[Time Difference]

[Draconic Divine Eyes]

Golden eyes narrowed and searched for the being’s weaknesses. The Demonism was almost flawless, and it was hard to find imperfections in his spirit body. However, his vessel, Vigrid, wasn’t perfect. He could see the injury on the back of his neck.

[Breath]

With all his strength, he released the Draconic species’ greatest power along with the Dragon Heart that symbolized them: Breath condensed with Sword Thunder. Rumble! Although it was only a shallow Breath, a massive tsunami soared high up, as if it would blow away everything in his vicinity.

『You!』 The Demonism spread his darkness to stop the Breath. Black waves rolled around him like splashes of ink, but it wasn’t enough to stop the overwhelming Breath.

Whoosh. Not only did the Breath eat up the black waves, it swept away the Demonism as well. The Demonism shouted something, but he was buried under the explosive Breath, which pushed forward and erased everything it reached. The library’s books burned without leaving a trace behind.

Rumble. The collection of all knowledge in the world shook turbulently.