Ranker Who Lives Twice
chapter-575

『Impossible…!』 The Demonism's eyes trembled at the intense aura and strength that shook the world. He had abandoned Vigrid because he thought he had already swallowed all the legends of the heroes inside Vigrid. He never imagined Yeon-woo would connect it to the Cast of the Black King and release its power!

He was annoyed because it was a method he hadn't even thought of. If Kronos really descended, things would become dangerous. Even though the Demonism had invaded Kronos' true body, if the real Kronos' ego appeared, he could take his body back. The Demonism quickly dashed towards Yeon-woo in an attempt to stop him, but Vigrid exuded a heat so powerful that the Demonism couldn't even maintain his balance.

Crash. In the meantime, Yeon-woo looked at the messages popping up above the trembling Vigrid.

[The summoning has failed.]

The messages all said he had failed to summon Kronos. Had his father's soul also gone to darkness like Jeong-woo's? Was that why he couldn't respond? Then, another round of messages appeared.

[Vigrid has not been completely purified. The 'spring' inside is broken. It cannot summon the one you wish to see.]

[Current progress of purification: 99.5%]

[Searching for ways to complete the remaining 0.5%...]

[Options for repairing and restoring the 'spring' are being reviewed.]

…

[The 'spring' can be repaired.]

[The functions of the 'spring' can be repaired.]

[Searching for methods of repairing…]

[It has been confirmed the qualities of the 'spring' are similar to those of death.]

[The option of connecting the left wing (death) of the power, 'Sky Wings,' is being reviewed.]

[It is possible.]

[Vigrid's 'spring' has been connected with the left wing of Sky Wings.]

[The domain of death has been connected for automatic restoration!]

[Expected restoration time: 12 min 41 sec]

Fortunately, Kronos' soul hadn't fully moved into darkness yet, and a part of him was still left inside the spring. At the moment, the pocket watch was with Ananta, so it was possible that even if Kronos were summoned, he would only have half his original strength. Regardless, Yeon-woo still felt reassured. After all, they were inside the world of his father's conscious mind, as well as inside his true body. If he could successfully summon his father here, it wouldn't be difficult to defeat the Demonism together.

The only problem was time. Yeon-woo had twelve minutes to go before Kronos appeared, and he would have to fight the Demonism and prevent Vigrid from being broken. 'That's a bit tough.' Yeon-woo gulped and gripped Vigrid's hilt. Time could pass quickly or seem to move at a snail's pace in a situation like this.

Under normal circumstances, Yeon-woo would have been confident he could endure for that amount of time. In fact, he might even be victorious against the Demonism. But now, the Demonism was quickly taking over Kronos' true body after they synchronized. It was difficult to say whether the Demonism would snatch the legends from Kronos' body faster than the spring could be restored.

Suddenly, the Demonism frowned at Yeon-woo and blasted out the legends he had absorbed. 『You're a nuisance until the end!』 Darkness danced around him and his body split into three. Chhhhh.

『Then.』

『Then.』

『Then.』

The three Demonisms spoke at the same time.

『I'll have to use some tricks.』

『I'll have to use some tricks.』

『I'll have to use some tricks.』

Pwoosh! The three Demonisms moved towards different directions and tried to climb the intense storm of aura. Then, three became five, five became eight, and in the end, there were ten of them exploding Sword Thunder at the same time.

Boom! Rumble! Something flashed among the Demonisms, and the storm of aura began to rip itself apart. Just as the world of Kronos' conscious mind was shaken to a dangerous level, one Demonism appeared through the black fog and swung his sword. Clang! Kashing!

As Yeon-woo stood his ground and deflected the attack with Vigrid, other Demonisms appeared and attacked from all directions.

"You're like an amoeba with all this division. You bastard…!" Yeon-woo was flabbergasted at the onslaught of attacks from the Demonisms. Even though they were in a world of a conscious mind that the Demonism had invaded, which meant that anything was possible, it was too much. It meant that not only was the Demonism invading Kronos' true body at a rapid rate but also that the holy power and legends of the true body were incredibly powerful.

Swish! Yeon-woo plunged, barely escaping the attacks. However, two Demonisms were waiting for him below, their swords raised high and black aura lingering at their sword tips. Two bolts of Sword Thunder crossed each other.

Thinking there was no way to avoid this attack, Yeon-woo raised two bolts of Sword Thunder with all his might and exploded them. Rumble! Boom! The streaks of Sword Thunder Vigrid released split through the air, and Yeon-woo quickly activated Blink to attack the two Demonisms from behind. The Demonisms turned around too late—Vigrid was already releasing a third Sword Thunder. It was the Third Extreme, which was eight times the original power.

[Durendal]

Kashing! Vigrid easily slashed through a Demonism. Darkness spurted from a line that appeared from the Demonism's crotch to his forehead and he was destroyed. It was Durendal's folklore, "cutting in two with one strike of the sword".

[The restoration of the 'spring' is in progress.]

[Purification is in progress.]

[Only 75.4% left until the true name 'Kronos' will be released.]

[The release of other true names will be possible.]

The release of the true name "Kronos" was different from releasing the other true names. The other true names only activated folklores, but the true name "Kronos" would release legends—which were a combination of multiple folklores. Vigrid would return to its original appearance. And in that process, Yeon-woo would be able to use all the other folklores freely.

『Hup…!』 The remaining Demonism quickly flapped his Sky Wings to get away, realizing that the blade's strike would be fatal. However, Yeon-woo had anticipated this reaction, and he let go of Vigrid, pulling the chains to himself instead. The black chains whizzed through pockets of emptiness and wrapped around the Demonism's right foot.

[Harpe]

Vigrid, which had transformed into a scythe, instantly ripped through the Demonism's wings and neck.

『Ack!』

Yeon-woo pulled Vigrid back as he looked down at the dead Demonism who had been slashed into five pieces. He had eliminated two, but there were still many left.

『How strong. Very…!』

『I've become more certain.』

『I can't leave him be anymore. If he grows any stronger…』

『I'll get sick.』

『He's at the perfect moment of ripeness for eating.』

When the black fog cleared, and Yeon-woo looked up, he discovered a throng of Demonisms filling up the world of Kronos' conscious mind. The Demonism had divided so many times that Yeon-woo didn't know where to start counting.

[00:09:12]

[00:09:11]

…

At this point, only three minutes passed, and yet the Demonisms had multiplied to such a huge number! He still had a long time to go, but Yeon-woo extended Sky Wings and tightened his grip on the chains and Vigrid. "It's not over until it's over."

The Demonism was getting stronger as he swallowed Kronos' legends, but that meant Yeon-woo would also be able to use Kronos' holy power through Vigrid.

[Excalibur]

Another round of heat and wind burst out.

* * *

[Gáe Bulg]

Vigrid tore through several Demonisms at the speed of light.

[Arondight]

The light left in Vigrid's trail blazed with black fire and turned the other Demonisms into ash.

Clatter.

The faster Yeon-woo swung Vigrid and the chains, the greater the scale of the battle grew.

Ascalon, Amas, Xuan-Yuan Sword, Bident… True names Yeon-woo had never been able to uncover until this point continued to appear and add to the folklore. The restoration of the spring began to speed up. Most importantly, Yeon-woo could feel himself synchronizing with Vigrid. The spring of death was connected to his left wing, and although the cogs inside the spring were tiny, he could feel them moving and helping him with a new synchronization.

During this process, Yeon-woo managed to learn the many folklores and legends Kronos had built up through his many lives. He successfully gained all the experiences of his father on Earth, and his control of Vigrid improved. He could defeat the Demonisms much faster as more of Vigrid's abilities were revealed. Yeon-woo was enlightened multiple times as he forced the Demonisms into defeat.

Crash. The Demonisms were swept away with a single strike of the blade.

『How!』

『Just why! Why!』

『Why can't I defeat you?!』

The Demonisms became more anxious. Their ego was becoming more complete as they took over Kronos' true body, but it wasn't getting any easier to defeat Yeon-woo. Vigrid seemed to grow even stronger, making them feel nervous. Eventually, the Demonisms felt too threatened and they dashed to Yeon-woo without thinking of the consequences. Hundreds of Demonisms died, but it didn't matter.

『I have no choice.』

『But to take you by force!』

The Demonism was going to use brute strength to swallow Yeon-woo. Pow, pow! No matter how many times Yeon-woo slashed at the Demonisms, he would reach his limit. A few Demonisms cleared through the explosions and successfully attacked Yeon-woo's hands and feet. Sword Thunder sparked endlessly as the Demonisms tore off Yeon-woo's arms and legs, which healed with Regeneration over and over.

[00:00:02]

[00:00:01]

[00:00:00]

[The 'spring' has been repaired.]

[The restoration is successful!]

[The purification is complete!]

…

[The release of true names is beginning!]

Crash!

All of the power released into the world of Kronos' conscious mind combined into darkness, spinning inside Vigrid at an intense speed.

『This can't be!』

『N-No…!』

"Too bad for you guys." Yeon-woo smiled twistedly at the Demonisms surrounding him. "My father's kinda strong."

[Summon of the Dead is beginning.]

Spark.

Black sparks shot above Vigrid, and cracks began to appear on its blade.

[An unaffiliated god, 'Kronos', is descending!]

Boom! Vigrid detonated with a powerful force. However, its pieces didn't scatter in different directions. Instead, they climbed to the swirling darkness above and began to take on a new form. Click. Click. The pieces combined not into the shape of a sword but of a person. It was someone whose face was familiar to Yeon-woo. Although the face was more wrinkled than Yeon-woo remembered, it was not one he could forget.

When the being opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Yeon-woo.

"Father," Yeon-woo said. "Those things hurt me. Teach them a lesson."