Ranker Who Lives Twice
chapter-553

Mother Earth’s enormous size seemed to fill the entire world. She looked at Yeon-woo—who was as tiny as a speck of dust next to her—furiously. Yeon-woo laughed without knowing the exact reason why. ‘She also seemed larger than life when I last saw her in Tartarus… But she’s not.’ He’d had the same feeling when he encountered Typhon.

When they’d first met, Yeon-woo thought that Typhon’s presence alone was suffocating. However, this time around, Typhon seemed like a rather pitiful existence, and this was how Mother Earth seemed to Yeon-woo now, as well.

Of course, Mother Earth’s power was still great. However, Yeon-woo felt that he wasn’t lacking next to her, especially when he combined with the Demonism. She was about as powerful as the Crawling Chaos, possibly a bit stronger. Wasn’t this a fair assessment? Yeon-woo felt that he could go toe to toe with her. ‘However, I feel like she’s hiding something.’

Yeon-woo did not hide his confidence, and as if she could read his mind, Mother Earth’s face twisted. Her aura grew violent and lashed against Yeon-woo fiercely. A shadow appeared and made its way to Yeon-woo as though it were ready to swallow him whole.

Boom! Some of the sparks grazed Mother Earth’s cheek. At first, Mother Earth didn’t realize what had happened. She slowly raised her gigantic hand and stroked her cheek lightly. When she saw her holy power dripping like blood on her fingertips, her eyes trembled.

‘She’s probably going to say something crazy again.’ Yeon-woo gripped Vigrid tightly. He was expecting a full-fledged fight with her. His Dragon Heart, which had almost been completely drained, already regained its magic power through its restorative ability. He was ready.

“Mother, please wait a moment.” Before Mother Earth could act, a lightning bolt landed in front of her. It was Persephone.

Mother Earth looked at her Apostle and then quietly turned to Yeon-woo. Her glowing eyes exuded an intense desire. Rumble. However, as though she’d never appeared, Mother Earth slowly pulled her body back into the darkness, which quickly engulfed her.

Yeon-woo did not dare pursue the retreating Mother Earth. For a moment, he even wondered if he should take advantage of this opportunity to come to some sort of agreement with her. ‘Well, it wouldn't be easy either way.’ Yeon-woo realized that fighting Mother Earth at this moment would be of no use to him.

He was in Typhon’s Illusory World based on Typhon’s Consciousness, which was in turn fueled by the remnants of holy power bestowed by Mother Earth. A fight would only waste his energy. Mother Earth had probably been surprised by Typhon’s sudden death, and she appeared only to confirm Yeon-woo’s power. It was clear that her true body was still in the heavenly world.

Yeon-woo’s eyebrows twitched. Son? “What kind of dog shit are you spewing about?”

“Since you inherited everything from Hades, aren’t you like my adopted son?”

Boom!

“Keep spewing nonsense and I’ll tear off your snout,” Yeon-woo growled as he swung Vigrid a few times. His golden eyes glowed with an intense light, and the atmosphere trembled.

Persephone patted the side of her neck with her fingertips and clucked her tongue lightly with a smile on her face. “Oh, dear. You sure don’t know how to take a joke. Is this all it takes to possess the Throne of Death? Hades didn’t possess a sense of humor, as well. However, your lack of humor seems worse than his.”

Yeon-woo’s eyes widened even more. When Yeon-woo’s grip on Vigrid tightened, Persephone took a few steps back. “Fine. No more useless words. Would you rather talk business? This is so fun to see. Nearly 200 years have passed, although time rewound in the middle… but still, such an incredible development in a short amount of time. I wonder what will happen once you achieve exuviation and transcendence?” Persephone smiled gently as she stroked the goosebumps on her forearm, if she was ecstatic just thinking about Yeon-woo’s development. “You might even achieve what Allforone has desperately wished to do.”

Yeon-woo didn’t place too much importance on Persephone’s words. He had no reason to see her in a positive light since she repaid Hades’ love with betrayal and brought on Olympus’ downfall in the process. The only thing holding Yeon-woo back was his superhuman patience. It was purely a courtesy to Hades.

Persephone slowly said, “I want to make a proposal.”

A proposal. The same words that Typhon had said.

“After the Titans backstabbed you, I guess your back got itchy, right?” One corner of Yeon-woo’s lips twisted up.

Persephone sighed in an exaggerated fashion as though she were acting onstage. “Even if I say no, it will only sound like I’m bluffing, so I have no choice but to say yes, right? Right. We are in a very difficult situation right now.”

“Because you lost Tartarus.”

“Right.” Persephone’s relaxed manner faded away and she showed her emotions for the first time. She was probably grinding her teeth over the fact that she’d waited so long to take control of Tartarus, only to see it snatched away in the blink of an eye. “We’re planning to launch a massive offensive against the Titans. Thus…”

“In the meantime, you don’t want any hostilities with me, even if that means working together or forming a truce, right?”

Persephone smiled. “It’s nice to talk to someone who understands. You know how to be flexible when necessary.”

Yeon-woo forced himself to hold back his laughter. ‘What bullshit.’ Her words were so ridiculous that it left Yeon-woo speechless. Yeon-woo never thought that Persephone and Mother Earth would suggest a proposal like this. Were they that angry about losing Tartarus? Or were they simply lashing out at the Titans who had betrayed them?

If they did not retaliate after this betrayal, the other societies in the heavenly world would probably look down on them. It was possible that they needed to make a show of force to dispel any loss of face. However, Yeon-woo thought he could sense another reason. ‘What could it be?’

Losing Tartarus was not the only issue. Once everyone ascended to the heavenly world, Tartarus would be a useless wasteland to them. Furthermore, Tartarus was a battlefield full of rebels, and the previous gods of Olympus might show up at any time. Why did they need Tartarus so much? They had to have a reason, and Yeon-woo could think of only one: ‘Kronos.’

Typhon had used Kronos to his advantage… If they had seen how the Titans and Gigantes used Kronos’ corpse to defeat Hades and Dis Pluto, then it made sense that they would want Tartarus, and Kronos’ corpse. How should Yeon-woo answer? ‘It wouldn’t be a bad thing to get along for now.’

Yeon-woo did not have to join hands with Persephone. He just needed to negotiate a non-aggression pact, encircle the Titans with a two-front attack, and destroy them. The Titans would be overwhelmed by two enemies attacking at the same time.

Afterwards, Persephone and her group could deal with the Gigantes, which benefited Yeon-woo anyway. However, if they continued to battle each other, they would waste energy and resources, and in this light, it made sense to accept Persephone’s proposal. ‘However.’ Yeon-woo closed his eyes slightly. He could still recall his tearful escape from Tartarus as vividly as if it had just happened yesterday.

Mother Earth had tried to devour Tartarus, and Persephone smiled coldly as things fell apart. Hades had instinctively sensed the end. Although he detested Yeon-woo, Poseidon told him to survive since Yeon-woo was the successor to the throne. There was Athena, Hermes, Apollo, and Artemis…and many others… He recalled their last desperate appearances and expressions.

Boom! Yeon-woo swung Vigrid down, and a diagonal crimson line appeared on Persephone’s body. Slash! Slip! The two parts of her body slid apart and shattered to pieces with a small explosion. Boom! A shadow rose over the pieces, and Persephone reappeared in another incarnation. She was now tremendously angry; Yeon-woo did not know if it was because the destruction of her previous incarnation caused her pain or because of Yeon-woo’s response to her proposal. “How dare you…!”

“Don’t even think about spewing more nonsense.” Yeon-woo cut Persephone off and gave her a toothy grin. “You and the Titans are the same in my eyes. That goes for Mother Earth, as well. You all should make sure to pick out your burial places now.”

“I almost forgot. You appear flexible, but you’re actually as stiff as a blockhead.”

“Let’s just say that I have a strong backbone.”

Persephone’s expression twisted even more at Yeon-woo’s words. After taking a deep breath, she regained her composure. Phew! She put on a bright smile once more, saying, “I guess it can’t be helped. Since you’re so confident, I have no choice but to rise above it.” She was pretending to be so dignified, but her passive-aggressive words were declaring an all-out war and her intent to trample Yeon-woo along with the Titans.

“I welcome it. Oh, and since you’re being so sincere, I’ll accept your gift as well.”

“What…!” Persephone did not know what Yeon-woo was talking about or what he was up to. Her smile once again faded into a frown.

Cuckoo! Suddenly, the Illusory World began to violently shake.

[Hades’ Spirit Eating Sword is attempting to consume the Illusory World!]

Persephone’s expression crumbled when she realized what Yeon-woo was doing. She no longer exhibited any haughtiness. “Wait, no way…!” Yeon-woo was planning to consume the Illusory World? Yeon-woo would not only be forcibly devouring Mother Earth’s Factors and holy power but also some of Mother Earth and Persephone’s Consciousness, which they had used to project their presence in the Illusory World!

If part of her Consciousness were taken away, it would be a huge blow even to a great god like herself. She quickly tried to withdraw her will and Consciousness, but no matter what she did, she could not. Yeon-woo had already taken control of the Illusory World.

She finally realized what had happened. When Yeon-woo had sliced apart her first incarnation in an apparent fit of emotion, he’d set a trap. When Persephone created a second incarnation, she had been forced to project more of her will and Consciousness. She had never thought that she would be slapped across the face like this. For the first time, Persephone’s grip on her emotions faltered. “You dog bastard!”

“Fenrir would have been very happy to hear those words.” Yeon-woo smiled leisurely as he devoured everything in the Illusory World, which twisted as it surged into Yeon-woo’s hand.

[The power of Hades’ Spirit Eating Sword has successfully taken over the Illusory World!]

“Argh!” Persephone felt a part of her will and Consciousness being torn away as she was thrown back into the heavens. Hades’ Spirit Eating Sword consumed the Consciousness and will that she left behind.

Boom! Boom! Boom! As the Illusory World shattered completely, reality returned.As if he were prepared to intervene at any moment, Shanon stood next to Yeon-woo in his shadow form, his flaming blue eyes staring at Yeon-woo in disbelief.

Yeon-woo smiled lightly and asked, “Why are you staring at me with such a worshipful and respectful expression?”

「Forget it. It’s nothing.」 Shanon had to shake his head at Yeon-woo’s lack of shame.