Ranker Who Lives Twice
chapter-706

"How did you know?"

『How did you know?』

Kim Bum-seung's voice and a low-pitched voice overlapped, resounding outward. A dark blue shadow formed behind Bum-seung. Both of Bum-seung's eyes glistened with a bright blue hue as if they were made from jasper… It was Kim Bum-seung. To be more precise, Zeus, the god Kim Bum-seung worshiped and served, had temporarily descended into Bum-seung's body.

In terms of ancestry, Zeus was technically Yeon-woo's older brother, but in terms of emotional and mental development, it was difficult for Yeon-woo to consider Zeus an older brother.

Yeon-woo somehow felt that Zeus had considerably changed since their last meeting. Even though Zeus was using an Apostle as a medium, the aura emanating from Bum-seung was tremendous. Just as Yeon-woo devoured numerous Demonisms to become the main ego of the Black King and successfully exuviated, it seemed that Zeus had also undergone a dramatic change. Yeon-woo felt that he could guess what Zeus had been up to during that time.

"If I can't even recognize those who enter my territory, all my hard work would have been all for naught, no?"

"Well. That sounds about right."

『Well. That sounds about right.』 Zeus followed his words with a chuckle.

Sesha was startled by the appearance of an unexpected being, so she naturally hid behind Yeon-woo's back. Sss. As if to protect her, fragments of Yeon-woo's sword came up and slowly assembled. The fragments eventually took on a human form: Kronos. Unlike Yeon-woo, Kronos looked at Zeus with a slightly depressed face.

『Zeus, what are you doing here?』

"What's wrong, father? This son came to see his father, his youngest brother, and his niece. Why the long face?"

『What's wrong, father? This son…』

The voices, which had been separated into two, gradually merged into one.

『If someone overhears our conversation, they'd think…』 Zeus then smirked.『…that I'd come here to kill my younger brother and niece.』 As soon as Zeus finished stating those words… Flash! Zeus sunk down and soon disappeared.

Whoosh! Kronos instantly transformed into Scythe and was sucked into Yeon-woo's grasp. Clash! Yeon-woo swung Scythe downward. Even though it was a simple clash of blades, Zeus was thrown upwards as a reflective, oscillating wave from the clash shook the entire dungeon.

Zeus smiled coldly, twisted his body in the air, and landed on the edge of a stalactite in the distance. His eyes continued to shine brightly as if they were set with different sparkling jewels.

Yeon-woo knew at that moment that Zeus was in possession of two Soulstones instead of one. He could also sense the innumerable miscellaneous auras swirling within the two Soulstones. No, Yeon-woo expressed it as miscellaneous, but each bundle of 'miscellaneous' energy was from a supreme god. Only the domains related to 'creation' and 'heaven' were compressed. It was not a source of power that came purely from the cultivation of one's skills.

Zeus had gathered power from forced seizure or exploitation, and Yeon-woo knew all too well because he had developed in a similar fashion before. Yeon-woo commented, "What the hell have you been eating all this time?"

『Well, it's hard to say. It wasn't just one or two things. In fact, you've helped me considerably to become what I am today. I'm very grateful for that.』

"…it seems you've devoured many gods?"

『Bingo.』

Seeing Zeus' grin, Yeon-woo lightly clicked his tongue.

When the Tower was crumbling and the world of the Tower was collapsing due to the battle between Day and Night, countless gods and demons had been buried within the Tower or perished altogether. They had all been busy trying to run away.

However, it seemed that Zeus saw that situation as an opportunity. The general chaos was a great environment for him to raid other divine beings from behind. Zeus took advantage of the chaotic environment to roam through the various godly and demonic societies, and, when the chance presented itself, devoured the divine beings. Clearly, Zeus had devoured to his heart's content.

'Still, the targets he devoured weren't picked at random. He only devoured the main gods who possessed the qualities related to creation and heaven… He deliberately chose which divine beings to consume.'

If one devoured a plethora of gods and demons, one could become stronger that much faster. However, by devouring such a wide variety of different properties, there was bound to be a limit of growth one could achieve.

Zeus was a figure who had once led Olympus and dragged Kronos down from his throne. Thus, Zeus did not especially lack strength, so there was only one thing Zeus had aimed for…which was the emperor level, a supreme place that divine beings could only reach by transcending.

Heaven and Creation were two domains that symbolized Zeus, so Zeus had handpicked beings that would supplement and bolster these two domains.

Just like how Yeon-woo had the domain of 'death', Zeus seemed to want to elevate his domain of 'creation'. And it seemed that Zeus had accomplished what he intended to some extent. The other Soulstone, which was embedded in Zeus' other eye, was probably loot obtained in the process.

Of course, reaching the emperor level was still not an easy feat. However, this did not mean that Zeus was at a power level that Yeon-woo could easily ignore.

『If everything went according to my original plan, I was going to backstab my beautiful niece before moving on to you. It seems that my original plan won't be coming to fruition.』

Yeon-woo frowned. Sesha clenched her jaw.

『Sesha, I feel a bit jealous that you're so clingy and showing preference to only one of your uncles.』 Zeus smiled.

Sesha could not look into Zeus' eyes as she trembled uncontrollably. Yeon-woo stood in front of her protectively. He said, "I guess there's just one solution."

Whoosh!

"To finish you off here."

Rumble! Yeon-woo swung Scythe once more. On the surface, it seemed like a very light movement, but the result was the complete opposite. The Sword Thunder strikes that left the tip of Scythe fell upon the heavens and the earth one after another, constantly striking Zeus.

The players watching the unfolding situation were startled by the amazing sight that seemed only possible during the end of the world. They soon felt the power that had been holding them back suddenly disappear, so they all immediately took cover and hid while trembling in fear.

Zeus stretched out his hand into the air, paying no attention to the scurrying mere mortals.『You're like a little cat hissing at a full-grown tiger. Lightning is my specialty.』 Before the Sword Thunder strikes could get to him, they were all blocked. Zeus had generated yellow lightning bolts in his hands and easily swept away the approaching Sword Thunder strikes.

"I wonder how loud that tiger's roar will be." Yeon-woo smiled lightly and swung the Scythe in succession. Though it was interesting that Zeus was stronger than what Yeon-woo had initially expected, Yeon-woo did not bat an eyelid. If his current attacks did not work, then Yeon-woo would just elevate the power level of his attacks.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Second Extreme and Third Extreme Sword Thunder strikes exploded one after another as Yeon-woo continued to lay down his attack. The dungeon exploded.

***

"Breaking news! Currently, three days have passed since the raid and gathering team, which included 'idol' Cha So-yeong, 'Big Mountain' Wei Chen, and 'Kill King' Daniel Gunther, disappeared after being swept away by a previously unseen phenomenon. The search team has been keeping an eye out for a Gate Break…"

The unclosing gate 'A distant swamp area' caused a runaway phenomenon after two attack groups and one gathering group entered without any signs of abnormal activity. The gate aurora (magical field flowing around the gate), which had been stable for the past ten years, fluctuated greatly, and suddenly, the color of the aurora had quickly changed from red to black.

The vividness and sharpness of a gate aurora's color increased with its difficulty level. In other words, black meant extreme difficulty.

In particular, the extreme vividness of black that the 'A distant swamp area' exhibited was at a level far beyond a simple black. The shade of black was closer to complete darkness. It had only been seen twice before on Earth, and one of those occurrences led to Africa turning into a land of death within a day. However, this time around, it occurred in Korea, and it also happened to be in the middle of the capital, Seoul…

As soon as this news was announced, the Korean stock market plummeted, and all roads leading out of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province were filled with vehicles attempting to evacuate the capital. Neighboring countries such as North Korea, China, Japan, and Russia were also keenly monitoring the situation and preparing for any contingency situations that may arise.

"Hurry! Hurry up!"

"Be vigilant of your surroundings and be careful not to leave anyone behind!"

"What about the players? When the hell are they arriving? Damn it! Normally, they pretend to be so powerful and are always on a power-trip, but at times like this…!"

While all the front-line units, including the Capital Defense Forces, which were led by the Capital Defense Command, got into position, the ROK-U.S. Combined Command Forces also mobilized and situated themselves in strategic positions rapidly.

Brigadier General Woo Ji-hoon rubbed his eyes hard with his thumb and forefinger as he watched the troops rushing into position and preparing for the gate break. '…so tiring.' Unless one was a player, it was natural that one would not have slept properly for the past three days to stand guard and watch the area.

Woo Ji-hoon had long ago left active operations. Moreover, not listening to his commanding officer's command in the field, Woo Ji-hoon had been relegated to this valley area in Korea. Essentially, he thought he would be confined to this sort of work for the remainder of his career before retirement. He was content with his seemingly inevitable, uneventful future.

Thus, he was naturally annoyed when he was suddenly given a front-line leadership position once again. Perhaps, once the gate break occurred and many monsters poured out, his commanders intended to make him shoulder all the blame.

Woo Ji-hoon was very dissatisfied that the military was not acting like the military but like a political vehicle that only considered strategic movement and public perception, but…he couldn't do much. He was told that he was the only commander-level officer capable of leading and coordinating in such an urgent situation.

Brigadier General Woo Ji-hoon knew that he would become a political victim. Still, taking charge of this field command gave him a bit of vague longing to atone for his past deficiencies.

'Sergeant Cha, would the story be different if you were still in the military?" Brigadier General Woo Ji-hoon always wondered what happened to his sergeant, who had left to retrieve the remains of his brother before suddenly disappearing.

In fact, the events of that time were forever etched in Woo Ji-hoon's heart. This was because Woo Ji-hoon knew better than anyone how much pain his subordinate had suffered, thus a scar remained on his heart.

The sergeant had been abandoned by his colleagues in the field while carrying out a critical operation and barely survived after being on the verge of death, and even after returning, the sergeant had suffered additional pain, such as losing his lover. Then, when his twin brother, who was said to have gone missing, came back dead…the sergeant must have died inside at that moment.

Still, Woo Ji-hoon only thought that he had to comfort his subordinate after he returned to Korea. Woo Ji-hoon had not thought deeply about the entirety of the situation. So, when his subordinate called to say that he was going to apply for immediate discharge, Woo Ji-hoon had only felt anxious about the fact that 'Cain' was disappearing.

Looking back now, Woo Ji-hoon felt that he must have been a terrible leader at the time. Thus, Brigadier General Woo Ji-hoon Woo often reflected on that time.

If Sergeant Cha had not gone missing and remained in the military… No… What would Sergeant Cha be doing right now if he had remained in Korea?

Brigadier General Woo Ji-hoon had never seen such a talented person in his entire life. The sergeant's cool judgment, excellent reflexes, and excellent motor skills… In retrospect, the sergeant was a person who excelled in talent as a player rather than as military personnel.

If that sergeant was here right now, Woo Ji-hoon could not help but wonder if all these confusing situations would have been alleviated. 'No. It may be an old man's vain delusion to think that one person might be able to stop all these chaotic events in the first place…'

Woo Ji-hoon was still curious about how the sergeant was living now. Was he living well? Was he starving somewhere out there in the big, wide world…?

Crack! While Woo Ji-hoon was immersed in various thoughts, his radio transmitter made a crackling noise before a report came through.

[An attack squad will be deployed soon…]

It was a common, shared understanding by the US and South Korean government that this gate break should be prevented at all costs. For this reason, special forces had arrived from the United States the night before.

Spiral Band was the strongest attack force and the pride of the United States. The group was made up of only S-class players. They were to be deployed after taking a brief break from their travels. In addition, several large multinational corporations and the nine largest guilds who heard this news expressed their intention to help.

Brigadier General Woo Ji-hoon truly hoped that they succeeded in the attack. Otherwise, he may never be able to set foot in the hometown where he had lived most of his life. After receiving the report that such an attack force would be added, a series of players were preparing to enter the gate with Spiral Band.

[Gate runaway! A break is suddenly occurring!]

[What do you mean? There's still a limited time of over four hours until the break!]

[I don't know! It's currently impossible to measure the value of the magic field emitted by the aurora…!]

[Spiral Band? What the hell are they doing!]

Amid the countless wireless communication messages filled with shrieking astonishment and nervous screams…

[Break is occurring! 3, 2…!]

Boom! The gate exploded. A pillar of fire filled with magic power soared high into the sky, and a flame storm embraced by a cloud of dust spread around the area in an instant. Screams erupted here and there, but the roar of the magic-powered flames was so loud that the screams could not be heard.

In the meantime, Brigadier General Woo Ji-hoon saw two huge lightning bolts crackling within the pillar of fire. And among the thunderbolts that boasted different colors, at the very end of the black thunderbolt, Woo Ji-hoon saw a familiar face.