Ranker Who Lives Twice
chapter-525

Valdebich's words made the envoys' expressions harden even more. They were trapped in their enemy's holy territory. It was as though they'd placed their heads between the jaws of a tiger.

『Bullshit!』 The envoys organized their thoughts and their eyes grew sharp. 『We only need to kill you insignificant beings.』

Although their connections to the heavenly world had been cut off and their dialogue with the half-giants had grown tense, the envoys did not feel frustrated. The real owner of the holy territory, Yeon-woo, had left the Tower. Since that was the case, all they needed to do was capture the territory's current manager.

After all, the Crawling Chaos' attack had halved the warrior corps, and it was impossible for the envoys to lose to such a weakened force. Besides, even if the warrior corps still had their full strength, the envoys were sure that they would be victorious. They were all high-level gods in their respective societies with incredible legends. How could unformed creatures who had just realized their transcendence handle great heavenly beings?

Although some envoys still stood with the warrior corps, the traitors weren't concerned since they were sure that those envoys would switch sides soon enough. The traitors were of one mind to get rid of Valdebich and the other half-giants before the otherworld gods found their bearings and started their attack.

A vicious aura was spreading when Valdebich pulled his greatsword out of the ground. He confidently said, 『Then.』 He used the greatsword to motion to the traitors to approach. 『Go ahead and attack.』

『Arrogant bastard! We'll show you what it means to be a god!』

Bam! One envoy stamped his foot on the ground and rushed towards Valdebich. His immense divine power raged like a storm, enveloping Valdebich as if it would consume him at any moment. However, before the sword even reached Valdebich, someone intervened. Clang!

『You're being so annoying.』 A dark knight in a black helmet who was much larger than the attacker looked down with blazing Inferno Sight.

『Right, so you're still here. The Throne of Death's dog. I was wondering where you went. It turns out you've been hiding here the entire time.』

『Who said I was hiding? I was waiting.』

『What nonsense…ugh…!』 The attacker was about to yell, but he found that he couldn't speak anymore.

Ch! Ch! Ch! The shadow below Shanon's feet began to ripple. A black haze drifted up like firelight, and Boo's eyes opened behind Shanon. As soon as the attacker saw those eyes, he instinctively stiffened. Boo could contain and project the Black King's darkness with his eyes, and Faust's Infernal Eyes could put fear even in divine beings.

Shanon smiled coldly as if he knew what the attacker was thinking. 『This is a great opportunity for us to consume your Divine Factors. I'm very grateful for your generosity.』

<Domain Declaration>

[The dragon domain, 'Binah', has been declared. It is now possible to exercise power and influence over a certain area.]

[All stats increase by a certain amount over a period of time.]

[Physical defense increases by a certain amount over a period of time.]

…

[The holy territory, 'Underworld Territory', has been established!]

Shanon's shimmering shadow rushed out in all directions as though it were a spiderweb, covering the hidden stage and rising up from the ground like water. The creeping shadows began to gradually take human forms. They were all dressed in heavy black armor, and they each held a spear in their right hand and a tower shield in their left.

It was the Legion of Death, Dis Pluto. However, Dis Pluto's attitude and appearance had changed drastically from what the gods and demons had observed from the heavenly world. They were vicious, and the energy they emanated was something the envoys had never experienced before. Unlike the otherworld gods, they didn't have an aura of chaos or disorder, and they had similar energies like the gods and demons. However, their aura was completely different.

It was the effects of Yeon-woo's keyword "death". It was the energy that drove all living beings to their eventual end, representing a law that even transcendent beings such as gods and demons could not disobey.

The members of Dis Pluto were divine beings of Tartarus who had suffered a setback when they first joined Yeon-woo's side, but as Yeon-woo gained greater enlightenment through the revelations, they gained nearly a thousand years of experience and achievements. They had been in a state of suspended animation to maintain their power, but they had been brought into the world at Shanon's command.

The Dis Pluto soldiers had already achieved metamorphosis, and they opened their eyes one by one and took in deep breaths. They relished the familiar scent of their homeland, which they had not smelled in a long time. They were not breathing in the air of Tartarus, but the air of their current environment, which rejected the living and embraced the dead, was close enough. To others, it might be a prison, but to them, it was like a paradise. The air made them feel as though their hearts were beating again even though they were dead.

Thump! Thump! Their souls resonated like heartbeats as Hanryeong, who was in command, shouted out loudly, 『To our great god, victory and glory!』

『Victory and glory!』

『Victory and glory!』

Rush! Raising their spears and shields in the air, Dis Pluto shouted in unison and started running towards the traitors. Boo summoned numerous ghost horses, which were like Phantom Steeds. Unable to handle the immense strength of the new arrivals, the traitors found one side of their attack collapsing.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Bam!

The traitors found themselves in disarray.

『W-what is going on!』

『How can familiars act independently of their owner?』

The envoys knew about Dis Pluto. The elite soldiers of Tartarus were widely known even in the heavenly world. Hades had been famous for his command of Dis Pluto, but Yeon-woo hadn't summoned Dis Pluto ever since he left the Changgong Library, so they did not know what had happened to the legendary army.

All they knew was that Dis Pluto had fallen in power from their heyday once they joined Yeon-woo. However, the Dis Pluto standing in front of them was very different from the Dis Pluto they were expecting. They had been restored to their peak strength! Leading them was another huge threat—Hanryeong, who sat on a red horse that spit fire, swung his swords, creating whirlwinds to wreak havoc on the traitors.

[Death Lord]

[Position: Familiar]

[Description: As the familiar who leads those who have turned against his master on the path of death, Hanryeong has the power to rule the abyss. He will spread his master's will across the land as the second-in-command, faithful knight, and great general.]

[Special Note: Completed the divine position of Monster and reached the divine position of War.]

Just as Boo had reached the divine position of Pale, Hanryeong had gained War because he'd lived his entire life and death on the battlefield.

Bam! Bam! Bam! The traitors tried to fight Hanryeong and Dis Pluto with their heavenly abilities and powers, but they soon found it too difficult to withstand the combined strength of Hanryeong and Dis Pluto. Victory fell into Hanryeong's hands.

『Argh!』

『Damn it!』

Many of the traitors were trampled under the hooves of the horses or torn apart by Dis Pluto's spears. The rest began to scatter in all directions without looking back. Some tried to restore their connections with the heavenly world, but each time they tried, they got an error message saying that the connection could not be established.

[The godly society <Malach> turns away from the horrific slaughter.]

[The demonic society <L'Infernal> is very happy with the screams coming from the battlefield!]

[Vimalacitra is carefully observing the battlefield.]

[Cernunnos is searching for his Apostle in the chaotic battlefield.]

Yeon-woo had only permitted four heavenly entities to observe the battlefield. One was Malach, the godly society symbolizing absolute good, and another was L'Infernal, the demonic society that represented absolute evil. Since they'd given Yeon-woo the Fruit of Good and Evil, they were allowed to observe his every move. However, they could not intervene.

The other two were Vimalacitra and Cernunnos. Vimalacitra was busy examining the battlefield, and Cernunnos was busy looking for his child. Soon, Cernunnos found Rebecca moving fast in the middle of the sky.

[Heavenly Spirit]

[Position: Familiar]

[Description: The spirit who was once the follower of a great being is now the familiar of another great being. Though she is blind, she can see into the distance, and though she is deaf, she can hear what she cannot see. She has become a bridge between heaven and earth.]

[Special Note: Completed the divine position of Mystery and reached the divine position of Famine.]

Rebecca no longer had a proper human form. When she had first become Yeon-woo's familiar, she expressed her hopes about becoming human again, but now she seemed to have forgotten that. Her strong will was conveyed through a black wind, and her divine position had the power to consume everything.

Her targets fell to the ground, feeling unappeasable thirst and hunger. The divine power that they were so proud of just moments ago quickly dried up. Boo summoned numerous undead and performed various magic spells while commanding the battlefield and spreading death everywhere.

『No! This is absurd!』 A god who was clashing with Shanon screamed at the unbelievable situation.

『Heeheehee! I told you, didn't I? If you mess with King Temper…wait…God Temper, you'll fall into his trap. So, hurry up…』 Shanon smirked as he attained the completion of his extreme strength and opened up his divine position, Conquest. 『And die!』Bam! Shanon's divine power raged out. He slammed down Sword Breaker and cut his opponent in two.

Swish! His opponent's body scattered like sand in the wind before Shanon absorbed it. Shanon grinned as he felt the spiritual powers and Divine Factors filling his body. The experience was always a pleasurable one. 『Oh! This place really has a lot of specialty food. I wonder what the others taste like?』Shanon rushed into another area. Sss!

***

『Ah, argh!』

『Save me! Please!』

It was a one-sided slaughter. Shanon, Hanryeong, Rebecca, and Boo, Yeon-woo's representative familiars, now symbolized the four paths of death: Conquest, War, Famine, and Pale. They were the sword that represented Yeon-woo's divinity and executed his will. Each divine position could lead to the opening of a new one.

There were also other beings who had pioneered the path of Yeon-woo's keyword "fight".

"Did he plan to make the hidden stage his holy territory and consume everything within it from the start? I suspected he was a greedy person from the start. Is he planning to be single his whole life? I guess that's what I've always liked about him. Hahaha!" The Vampiric Lord burst into laughter, exposing her sharp fangs. She initially hid in Vigrid before escaping into Yeon-woo's Soul Collection to avoid the Demonism. She had also been blessed by the revelations and managed to reach the Black King's darkness, something she had longed for all her life.

Right after she opened her eyes, she couldn't help admiring the plans that Yeon-woo had set in motion. Since the sixtieth floor's hidden stage had been the Crawling Chaos' holy territory and the final resting place for many otherworld gods, thanks to Yeon-woo, it had an abundance of high-quality nutrients that could not be compared with other floors.

By using this place as his holy territory, Yeon-woo could swallow all the nutrients within it. He managed to induce a quick awakening for his familiars by pouring all the nutrients into his shadows, which was why they'd managed to develop in such a short time.

Furthermore, Yeon-woo had even more goals in mind. From the start, he'd expected that many of the envoys would betray him, and he'd already planned to absorb their powers, Factors, and souls. 'It will eventually lead to the awakening of transcendence for the half-giants.'

『For our god!』

『For god!』

All the half-giants, including Valdebich, pointed their swords to their hearts and stabbed themselves without hesitation. Puck! Puck! Puck! It was a terrible sight. Blood splattered everywhere, and the sight of the half-giants' mass suicide was bloodcurdling.

However, it was more than just suicide. It was a ritual meant to remove their physical shells and help them enter a state of awakening, and the smiles on their lips were evidence of their determination.

Sss! Shadows arose from their hearts and filled the emptying veins inside their bodies. As the shadows flowed through their bodies, their souls began to turn black.The shadows possessed a bountiful amount of energy which had been extracted from the souls of the fallen gods and demons that had betrayed them.

From the start, Yeon-woo had never intended to give the Fruit of Good and Evil to the half-giants. There were so many nutrients around them, why would he limit himself to blessing only one person! The shadows' bountiful energy strengthened their bodies and souls, activating the process of transcendence. They jumped a few levels in their transcendence process in one go.

Crack, crack!

Little by little, the half-giants' bodies began to crumble, but they laughed despite the terrible pain. This long-awaited moment had finally arrived, and they could finally fulfill the aspirations, the longings, and the grudges of their ancestors. When their laughter became shouts of joy, the half-giants' physical bodies crumbled like imploding sandcastles. Crack!

The spirit body within each half-giant started to slowly rise. Ku! Ku! Ku! The spirit bodies were enormous, easily dozens of meters tall. Black and red blood circulated in their veins, which sprouted along their skin. Their eyes glowed with an intense light.

The forgotten beings who only lived in myths had finally been resurrected after thousands of years.

Roar! The giants roared in unison.