Ranker Who Lives Twice
chapter-722

[Vimalacitra has crumbled into pieces.]

[The crumbled pieces of Vimalaictra's legends are projecting images one after another.]

Between the scattering particles of Vimalacitra's crumbled spirit body, the legends Vimalacitra achieved over the years started to appear. The scenes of his legends appeared and disappeared one by one.

Vimalacitra was born in the world of hell, at the very bottom of the three realms and six planes. And, even within hell, he was born in the bottom-most wrung of the hundred eight levels of hell. From the lowest point and humblest of beginnings, Vimalacitra had risen to become the Asura King.

His legends started with his earlier life, which was filled with constant battles and wars. Then it moved on to the time he was trapped in the Tower and then his time on Earth. All were recorded and played back. His end was also recorded.

[According to Vimalacitra's will, a part of Vimalacitra's legends will be replayed in full for the Black King's ego.]

***

After the Tower collapsed, Vimalacitra went directly to Earth, unlike the other gods and demons who quickly returned to their homelands after being released from the restrictions of the Tower. He had moved to Earth because he had no doubt that Yeon-woo would someday awaken.

Though many heavenly societies were now interested in Earth, as they were interested in R'lyeh and the fragments of darkness, at the time the Tower had just collapsed, many of those in the heavenly societies actively avoided Earth because it was the central location where the Black King would arise and where the Night sought to be.

However, Vimalacitra did not care about these things. No, on the contrary, he was open to the idea of being attacked. He had never lost the will to fight. In his mind, every place was a battlefield.

On Earth, Vimalacitra did not often reveal his divine powers or openly show himself to humans. He often went somewhere deep in the mountains or forests, where there were few people, and concentrated on self-cultivation. Thus, the Andes became his hiding place.

During that time, a man came to see Vimalacitra. Strangely, at that time, Vimalacitra thought the face of the man who visited him seemed 'familiar', but upon later recollection, Vimalacitra could not recall any of the man's features, as if it had been shrouded in shadows.

Back then, Vimalacitra recalled that the man gave him a positive impression. Other than that, nothing of note came to mind, neither what clothes the man wore nor the characteristics of his divine powers.

"Are you Vimalacitra?"

"…Yes?"

"I'd like to hang out with you."

"Stop being a bother and go away." Vimalacitra had waved his hand to shoo away the stranger. After achieving his divine-being status and powers, Vimalacitra only clashed with those who he deemed worthy. And each time he clashed, Vimalacitra had always been in top condition to battle with all his might. He was in the same frame of mind as he waited for Yeon-woo to awaken.

The main reason Vimalacitra chose to go into hiding was to avoid being tangled in unnecessary clashes and to maintain his peak condition so that he could fight Yeon-woo as soon as he appeared. If necessary, Vimalacitra was willing to stay in one place for hundreds to thousands of years.

Thus, when an unknown being, who Vimalacitra had never seen before, appeared and started a fight, Vimalacitra had no desire to cross swords.

If his opponent was powerful, then a fight may allow Vimalacitra to sharpen his skills and powers, but if the man was not a worthy opponent, Vimalacitra felt that he would only be expending unnecessary energy. Therefore, his intention was to not get involved in a troublesome situation.

"Well! This will disrupt 'our' plans." The man spoke as if there were other people besides himself. "I've heard from others, so I know you're strong. The Heavenly Demon had worked hard to defeat you and get to where he is today, and even the Bull Demon King refrains from bragging about his strength in front of you, right? So, 'we' think of you as a comrade who can understand and agree with our intentions."

"I've made myself clear. Scram."

"Don't be that way. Why don't you just have a talk with 'us'? Even if you don't want to, you might change your mind if you clash swords with us."

"What you just said… It seems like you're going to resort to force if I don't listen, am I right?"

"Oh, did you interpret it that way? Well. I never meant it that way. There are some ruthless characters among 'us', but I'll try to persuade them to not act out as much as possible."

"Do you know what I hate most in the world?"

"Oh! I guess you're open to having a conversation. What do you hate most in the world?"

"Talkative people."

"…Oh?"

"Whenever I come across talkative people…" At that moment, Vimalacitra shot forward. "I kill them all."

Whoosh! Vimalacitra swung Shizu Sword violently with the intention of getting rid of the guy in front of him. Since Vimalacitra had struck with his full force, he expected his opponent's spirit body to be torn into pieces, as would be the case for most divine beings. However, the man easily blocked Vimalacitra's attack without much difficulty.

"I guess you're not just a guy with an overactive mouth."

"Oh no. I had no intention of wanting to fight like this… But I think it's good that it has come to this." Though the man initially gave a bitter smile, as if he was put in an awkward position, his expression soon conveyed a sense of interest.

At that moment, Vimalacitra realized that the man in front of him probably walked a different path than him, but his inclinations were like Vimalacitra's. Through their brief clash, Vimalacitra was certain that the other man had also fought through countless battles and battlefields. He felt his opponent's fighting spirit.

Thus, the clash between the two beings started in earnest. It was at that time that the Andes Mountains, where Vimalacitra had been hiding, became a magic region. Their battle had left almost nothing unscathed.

***

"…Ha! To think I'd be defeated so easily."

Whoosh! Facing an incoming barrage of attacks, Vimalacitra smirked with a sense of despair. The place where he had quietly stayed for several years became a wasteland, and with the destruction of several nearby cities, many people lost their lives. However, Vimalacitra did not concern himself with those things.

Only one thought was in Vimalacitra's mind. Defeat. Total defeat. Even though they had only exchanged a few strikes, Vimalacitra was forced to lay his Shizu Sword down. Moreover, Shizu Sword had received its fourth permanent scar.

With two such divine beings clashing against each other, the Earth should have been blown to smithereens. However, his opponent had minimized and offset Vimalacitra's attacks to the point where only the South American continent had been devastated.

When was the last time Vimalacitra lost by such an overwhelming skill gap? Even when he was defeated by Indra, Vimalacitra had lost because he had fallen into a trap that was laid down by the members of Deva. Vimalacitra did not lose in terms of skill. When he was defeated by the Heavenly Demon, Vimalacitra had lost out in a one-on-one battle, but if he clashed with the Heavenly Demon now, Vimalacitra was certain that he would not lose in terms of ability. However…the man in front of him was different.

"You are definitely strong. Even if you're not as strong as 'us' yet, you have nothing to worry about. You can still develop and shore up your weaknesses. What say you? I like you very much. Would you like to work with 'us'?"

Vimalacitra rejected the offer. It was true that he felt momentarily terrified from the shock that such a strong being existed in the world. However, Vimalacitra did not want to be mixed up in his opponent's plans because he knew all too well that he would end up losing his independence if he associated himself with such an existence.

Rather, the more Vimalacitra thought of the possible restrictions, the stronger his thoughts of wanting to break away from those restrictions with his own two hands.

"Well… If that's the case, I guess nothing can be done." The man gave a bitter smile and then fired a sword strike at the fallen Vimalacitra. The strike left a deep scar on Vimalacitra's spirit body. It was a wound unlike anything he had ever suffered in any of his previous, countless fights.

"The scar is a kind of reminder. It will haunt you forever. 'We' will make you find the 'dream' on Earth, and I will take that 'dream' someday. Until then, I plan to prevent the owner of the 'dream' from taking the 'dream'."

In essence, the man and the others associated with him were saying that they would make Vimalacitra a watchdog. It was not exactly known what the being was aiming for. However, like in the past when the Great Sage Sun Wukong was forcibly tied up to become a disciple of Xuanzang, the man's intention was to forcibly detain Vimalacitra on Earth in a similar fashion.

Naturally, Vimalacitra was not the type to put up with such a condition. Thus, he resisted. However, Vimalacitra had suffered severe wounds from the fight, and the scar left on his spirit body bound him too strongly.

"In the end, even the Great Sage was never able to solve that scar. It'll probably take a lot of work and effort on your part to completely get rid of it."

The scar was a cursed brand.

***

After that meeting, Vimalacitra had to go through a lot of troublesome things. He had to slay countless humans. They had swarmed him stating something along the lines of seeking revenge for losing their homeland. Some of the swarming humans mentioned something about the association or government as well, but Vimalacitra did not care or listen to their words.

Vimalacitra was annoyed that he had to fend off the countless waves of annoying flies rather than concentrate on his recovery. Moreover, noticing that Vimalacitra's condition was different from normal, many gods and demons came out of the woodwork to challenge Vimalacitra, so he needed to contend with these opponents as well. During that time…

"You… What are you?"

Vimalacitra met a girl. She was a scruffy, wide-eyed girl who appeared to be about five years old. She was so skinny that her bones could easily be seen from the surface of her skin. For a little over a year, because he had killed so many humans, there was no one around Vimalacitra anymore. He had been taking a breather when the strange young girl appeared.

Though he did not know much about humans, Vimalacitra knew that a healthy young human girl should not be so skinny. Furthermore, there were no signs of any parental care. The fact that she was left alone in such a place meant that she was not in a good situation.

When Vimalacitra was about to turn away from the girl…she cried out, "Mister!"

"…?"

"Aren't you hungry?"

"…What are you talking about?"

"I'm hungry! Give me food!"

Even though Vimalacitra was shocked by the young girl's shameless attitude, as if she was confronting a debtor, Vimalacitra threw some emergency rations which he had taken off some dead humans to the girl.

At the time, Vimalacitra did not understand why he had responded to the girl. Maybe it was because he was bored, or maybe it was because he was annoyed by the scar, which was slowly devouring his soul, and he needed to calm his heart a little.

However, from then on, in a place of 'complete chaos', Vimalacitra and the girl's bizarre life together began. Most of the time, they spent their days chatting. One could say that the time they spent together was peaceful, or one could say it was boring.

Looking back now, Vimalacitra felt comfort when he was with her. For him, who had been crazy about fighting all his life, he had never taken a rest. There was no place that offered him any sense of rest.

Bound by the scar and forced to take on an unknown mission, while his heart was filled with impatience and anger, it was the girl, Sarina, who comforted him.

[The playback of Vimalacitra's legend is over.]

"…" Yeon-woo slowly raised his head without uttering a word.

"Mister! Mister! Please open your eyes! We're friends! How come you're leaving your friend? Don't go! Waaaaa." Sarina slammed on the wall of the barrier while pouring out tears. No one knew what her story was, but one thing was for certain. She must have been happy during the brief time she spent together with Vimalacitra. The barrier was proof that Vimalacitra considered her as someone important as well.

Yeon-woo's heart throbbed as he recalled his own emotions when the Martial King perished. Additionally… 'Was he…a friend?' Just as Vimalacitra was Sarina's most precious friend, Yeon-woo also felt that Vimalacitra had been one of his precious friends.

Vimalacitra had silently supported Yeon-woo from the time he was a player, and when Yeon-woo attained his divine status, Yeon-woo thought Vimalacitra was just an expectant old geezer who was crazed about fighting and looking forward to clashing swords with Yeon-woo. It seemed that Vimalacitra was not such a simple, one-dimensional being. Maybe Vimalacitra saw a glimpse of his past self in Yeon-woo.

In the end, Vimalacitra was satisfied in getting what he longed for, finishing his fight with Yeon-woo.

Although the wound he suffered from the mysterious man had not completely healed, Vimalacitra was satisfied in having given his all, even if it was in a partially recuperated state. And when the result turned out to be his defeat, he wanted to convey and explain all the circumstances he had gone through to his friend, Yeon-woo.

However, Vimalacitra could not freely divulge all the facts due to his scar. Therefore, he deliberately wanted to have a match on Earth rather than in Yeon-woo's illusory world. If the Earth were to be blown away, the things the mysterious man and his associates were trying to hide in the magic region would be exposed. Moreover, Vimalacitra would be able to show a part of his legends to Yeon-woo.

Thanks to this, Yeon-woo was able to see and hear Vimalacitra's side of the story and learn about the mysterious existence and its intention behind the magic regions.

The being behind the curtain wanted to obtain R'lyeh. In addition, Yeon-woo was able to recognize the face hidden in the shadow, which Vimalacitra had forcibly 'forgotten' to convey his partial legend.

"Father."

『Ugh, I have no idea. Why the hell is he there…?』 Seeing everything that Yeon-woo saw through their unity, Kronos was thoroughly confused and at a loss for words.

"Taking the 'dream'. That's our goal."

The face shrouded in shadows… It was a face that Yeon-woo had seen in Kronos' legends as well.

'Why is Oceanus…?'

Oceanus. Kronos' elder brother and Uranus' eldest son. Oceanus was the one who defeated Vimalacitra. In other words, Oceanus was the one behind the magic regions, the being behind the curtain.