Ranker Who Lives Twice

Side Story Chapter 49 - Marriage (4)

“So this is that star or whatever, huh?” The Martial King scanned the being in front of him with his chin resting on his palm.

Tremble, tremble. Tigris shook every time the Martial King’s eyes swept over him. ‘B-Black King… This crazy bastard…! He had to bring me in front of the First Star of all beings…!’

As an energy source that shone most brilliantly across all worldlines and had near unlimited potential…star fragments were the greatest nourishment for food. So the stars couldn’t help but be curious who the original being who left behind all these fragments were. Many stars called this original the “first star,” and they began to investigate it. Then, when they came to a conclusion, they discovered unbelievable accomplishments.

A descendant of Shaohao Jintian, the strongest being in the Tower, the king of the One-horned tribe, the destroyer of Asgard, and the Black King’s teacher… Each achievement was incredible, but this being possessed all of them. Especially the fact that he was the Black King’s teacher was the most shocking.

The Black King…in particular, the main ego, Yeon-woo, and the Heavenly Demon, were the two beings the stars avoided the most. The stars had been evading the two because they thought they were ready to stand against them yet, but if the first star was the Black King’s teacher, they were destined to be involved somehow.

On one hand, they were fearful of how powerful the first star must be to have created such a monster. And now…Tigris was facing a very powerful being—the first star!

‘He was destroyed! I heard he was destroyed with the end of Asgard after he became emperor…! Just how…!’

The reason the star fragments were able to have such unlimited energy was because of the heights of power the Martial King had reached when he was alive. He was an emperor. It was a level the stars found unimaginable, which was why the fragments were so incredible, but it appeared Yeon-woo had restored the emperor.

Was that possible? Even if the Black King was the universe itself and had omnipotent power… Although Tigris was doubtful of how that was possible, he couldn’t refute it because there was a being who was proving the very fact in front of him.

Of course, the Martial King wasn’t on the “emperor” level. He was a star, a star who had just realized what he was. His starlight didn’t even reach as far as Tigris’s, but that made Tigris even more scared of him. The Martial King, whose starlight wasn’t even that bright, looked as if he could easily swallow Tigris.

Tigris felt like a criminal standing in front of a guillotine. However, he could not even dream of running away. Half of his body was trapped in Yeon-woo’s shadow, and the Divine Iron was tightly bound around his limbs.

“Hm…” The Martial King seemed blind to Tigris’ feelings as he examined Tigris for a while. “Disciple.”

“Yes, Seseung-nim.”

“This thing really came from me?”

“To be exact, this guy swallowed something that came from you.”

“Tomato, tomahto. And he destroyed an entire world?”

“Yes.”

“But why does he seem so dumb?”

“Because he is.”

…

Although they were openly mocking him, Tigris couldn’t say anything. No, to be exact, he didn’t even hear it.

“No, that’s why he seems even dumber.”

“In what way?”

“Well, duh. If he took something that was from me, even if it was my shit, this guy should look a lot more brave! Musly! Handsome! But this is…” The Martial King trailed off and scanned Tigris again. “This is just an idiot.”

“Hmm. I see.”

“Right? You agree with my disciple, don’t you?”

“No. It just occurred to me that there’s a very great disparity between how you really are and what you think of yourself.”

“What, you punk? Do you wanna get beat up by this teacher of yours with a great disparity before your wedding?”

“Stop with the nonsense. You’re going to have to walk the bride in with makeup on your face to cover your bruises.”

“Ha! Look at you. You’re blatantly being impudent now? They say a teacher is like a father! On top of that, I’m your father-in-law now, so I’m really like another father to you!”

“Well, children always take after their parents.”

“You punk!”

“Do you really wanna go at it?”

“Fine. Let’s do it!”

The Martial King lifted his sleeves and Yeon-woo got into stance. They growled at each other.

Tigris, who was stuck in between them, continued to tremble. When he turned to the left, Yeon-woo was there, and the Martial King was to his left. This was definitely what it meant to be caught in a crossfire. ‘Just kill me instead…!’ The star who wanted to survive more than anything else just wanted to become free now.

* * *

Tigris’ wish was accomplished soon enough.

『How old are you to be fighting with your disciple?! Grow up!』The weary Psychic Medium, who was waiting for Yeon-woo and the Martial King to come out, disrupted them.

The Martial King flinched. “No, the thing is… This punk keeps on getting on my nerves…!”

『Now Cain is your son-in-law, not just your disciple! He is the husband of your daughter! We’re family now! Until when are you going to call him ‘punk?’』

“B-But…he was my disciple first…!”

『He was Edora’s acquaintance first! Also! Stop talking back!』

“S-Sorry.” The Martial King attempted to counter her, but he ended up being scolded by the Psychic Medium and had to surrender.

『Just hurry up and finish!』

“Okay…”

『Are you okay, son-in-law? You’re not hurt anywhere?』

“Sob. Sob. My heart was very hurt.” It obviously sounded like Yeon-woo was reading from a book, but it didn’t appear that way to his mother-in-law. And they said taking care of the son-in-law was the mother-in-law’s duty.

『Oh dear…! Why would someone bother such a kind child like you?!』

“I’m all right. I should listen obediently to what my teacher says.”

『And you’re so humble too…!』

“Thank you.” Yeon-woo was acting like he was going to jump into his mother-in-law’s arms if she was actually here.

The Martial King looked at Yeon-woo in disbelief, but he couldn’t do anything further than that because the Psychic Medium was probably glaring at him. He just beat his chest in frustration.

And after that, Yeon-woo and the Martial King returned to the subject at hand.

“…So you want me to take this guy’s fragment?”

“Yes. You need to be complete.”

Although the Martial King had gained transcendence as a star, he didn’t have a soul, so it wasn’t weird for him to collapse at any moment. The only reason why he still maintained his existence was because of how powerful his conscious ego was.

“Uhrrm!”

Tremble, tremble! Tigris wanted to scream at the fact that he was going to be offered as a live sacrifice, but his vocal cords were closed off due to fear.

“What could ever come out of this idiot…? Oh well.”

In all actuality, Yeon-woo didn’t have any reason to keep Tigris alive. It was easier for him to kill the guy and keep it in his soul collection. The collection would keep the soul bound more tightly. But he had brought him alive here to hand over the fragment to the Martial King.

Slice!

[The constellation ‘Tigris’ has died!]

The Martial King swung his hand and Tigris’ head flew in the air.

[The star fragment is revealed.]

Something floated above the fallen body. Whoosh! It released a stunning light. It was a light that kept anyone who watched it rapt. Its limitless and warm power had a charm that would naturally pull any human toward it. Even Yeon-woo was surprised by it, so it was likely no one would be free from this magic power.

“So this is a piece of my soul.” No, there was one person: the Martial King. He was looking at the fragment strangely. It was only the Martial King’s existence that had been awakened, so he still didn’t have a soul. He should’ve been pulled toward the fragment more than anybody else, but he was busy observing the fragment.

“I suppose the me who died before was really quite incredible. Just a tiny piece is this much. Hahaha!” The Martial King seemed to have mixed feelings as he chuckled. Although he was acting calmly, he had seen something that was nearly his corpse, so it made sense he was feeling strange. “But can I really eat this? I feel like something bad might happen because there’s a bunch of dirty stuff on it.”

Tigris’ fragment wasn’t pure in the slightest. Every part of Tigris' life was on it. It was contaminated. Moreover, Tigris had even swallowed the Sagitta and Solarium. There were many other stars he had swallowed somewhere in there as well.

The fragment didn’t look too appealing to the Martial King. Even though he wanted to find his soul again, if he swallowed this, the basis of his existence could be ruined.

“No. You don’t need to worry. I’ve already cleaned everything off.”

“Really?” The Martial King dubiously crossed his arms. The way he was acting was foreign to Yeon-woo.

‘Is he afraid…?’

The Martial King Yeon-woo knew was confident in everything, but he was showing his weak side for what might be the first time. Yeon-woo didn’t know exactly what the Martial King was afraid of. Perhaps it was because of the fear that he might become someone different after swallowing the fragment, or the fact that he had to accept he wasn’t the real Martial King.

So Yeon-woo decided to patiently wait for the Martial King to decide. The Martial King was the only one who could empower himself.

『Husband.』Reading her husband’s mind, the Psychic Medium spoke softly to him.『I want to live until I become a grandma with you.』

The words moved the Martial King, and he uncrossed his arms and stretched a hand out for the fragment. “All right. I’ll do it.” His eyes were more determined than ever.

Whoosh! The absorption of the fragment was rather anticlimactic. When the Martial King’s fingertips touched the piece, the light was sucked into his hand.

“…What, that’s it?” It was so unimpressive that the Martial King wondered what he’d been hesitating for. He blinked for a while after it was over.

“I told you, sir. You don’t need to worry because I already purified it.”

“Yeah, I guess. If I knew this was how it’s gonna be… uh.”

“You were scared.”

“…No, I wasn’t.”

“I understand. Of course.”

“I said I wasn’t.”

“I understand.”

“Hey!”

『You’re at it again?! I said just moments ago to be nice to our son-in-law!』

“No, he keeps on getting on my…”

『Again!』

“He just…!”

『Are you okay, son-in-law?』

“My heart just hurt a little more.”

『Oh, dear!』

“Argh…!” The Martial King felt so wronged by this unending cycle of events. He simmered with anger when Yeon-woo smirked at him while pretending to sniff.