Ranker Who Lives Twice

Side Story Chapter 54 - Tea Party (4)

“How are the cookies? Are they to your liking?”

“They’re delicious. My wife will like them very much.”

“Heh.”

“…Why are you laughing like that?”

“You’re already calling her your ‘wife.’ Nice times.”

Metatron and Baal soon received an invitation from Yeon-woo, who had already known of their descent. Yeon-woo treated them respectfully as the friends of Uranos, his grandfather. These were beings who had worked with his grandfather before the wheel of the universe began to spin, and tried to prevent the Black King’s reign. Although only a miniscule portion of their power from their prime remained, their missions were still deserving of admiration.

Yeon-woo requested they speak informally to him, and Baal readily agreed like the demon he was. Metatron just smiled in response.

But as soon as Baal dropped the formalities, he suddenly pulled something out. He said it was a wedding present. They were…cookies and tea. Yeon-woo suddenly wondered if demons ate cookies, but he recalled Baal had the same hobby before the wheel was spun. He’d said something about how baking was his only hobby in the despair of repeating universes… Something along those lines.

Together, they all had cookies and tea. Baal treated Yeon-woo like the grandson of his close friend, and this made Yeon-woo’s heart heavier for a moment. He was reminded of his grandfather, whom he’d seen in Kronos’ legends.

Since Yeon-woo could rewind the wheel now, he thought about taking Edora to greet his grandfather too… Yeon-woo began to make plans to visit.

“You know now, right? That we were watching you all this time.”

The Black King chose an executor from the wheel to lead the universe to its end. Yeon-woo was chosen as the executor for this universe, and Metatron and Baal made preparations to step up in case Yeon-woo awakened.

“But…your existence was suddenly transported somewhere else, and your aura changed entirely. As if your new aura was always yours. I was so shocked back then. Ha!” Baal shivered as if he was still overcoming the shock when he realized Yeon-woo had become the Black King. For the Baal of this time period, it felt like the moment he’d been waiting for so long suddenly arrived. “Will you tell us about your life?”

Yeon-woo nodded, ready to tell them everything. These beings deserved to know everything as they were the heroes who’d awaited the peace and safety of the world more than anything else.

* * *

“…And that’s what happened.”

“Mmmm.”

Yeon-woo told the two the truth about everything that took place. He shared how he became the Black King, why he rewound the wheel, and his plan to search for the star fragments after the wedding ceremony was over.

Baal crossed his arms and became lost in thought. Then, Metatron spoke up for the first time. “…Then there are two questions I have here, my lord.”

Clink. Metatron put his teacup down, a small action that pulled all attention to him. “First. What will happen to this Yvlke who opposed you? And there’s also the issue of the other executor candidate, Harmonia.”

Yeon-woo chuckled and responded, “Did you forget what the purpose of the Bureau is, sir?”

“Purpose…? Oh!” Metatron tilted his head, and let out an exclamation when he belatedly came to a realization.

The beings of the Bureau were spokespersons for the system. They carried out the necessary procedures the system wasn’t able to do itself. So what power did Yeon-woo have over them as the system’s administrator?

“I retrieved all his abilities as the Black King’s ego. I also removed him from his Guardian position. I think it’s only obvious what happened after that.”

An Yvlke who wasn’t an ego of the Black King or a High Guardian… He did have his status as a face of the Heavenly Demon, but all greater divine beings knew the Heavenly Demon didn’t pay attention to his shadows.

Yvlke had most likely lost the majority of his power as a face of the Heavenly Demon. On top of that, Yvlke was an object of fear and resentment within the Bureau due to acting as the villain for so long. There weren’t many in the organization who wanted him to stay in his position.

Yvlke’s political enemies also wouldn’t leave him alone. But Yvlke wasn’t one to silently suffer, so he would step up to the fight. There were still a good number of beings who took Yvlke’s side.

Metatron could picture clearly the Bureau divided over internal conflict.

“Temper…” Metatron was reminded of what Yeon-woo’s subordinate called him. He quickly lifted his hand and lightly smacked himself on the lips. “My bad.”

“…The way your eyes are crinkled suggests you don’t feel bad at all.”

“It’s a misunderstanding, my lord.”

“You know, the truth always comes out when faced with a fist, sir.”

“…You’re quite similar to your grandfather in that aspect.”

“The genes never went anywhere.”

Yeon-woo’s brazen way of speaking was similar to Uranos as well.

Metatron shifted to look outside the building’s window. It was the direction of where the resurrected Kronos was staying. Based on what he could sense, Kronos had definitely restored his power to when he was king of gods. The Black King and the king of gods roaming the universe together…

‘…The end of things might be coming.’

Perhaps it wasn’t the right thing to stop the wheel from spinning. Metatron decided not to think any further on the topic. He asked, “Then I will ask you my second question now. What will you do about this Tower now, Black King?”

“I’ll leave it alone.”

“Leave it alone…?”

“There needs to be a device in place that keeps the Black King’s real body bound.”

Metatron stiffened, and Baal spoke up. “You’re trying to prepare things in advance, just in case you get stabbed in the back when you leave for the Unreal World in search of the stars?”

“I prefer to be the one doing the stabbing. I’d hate to be stabbed by someone else.”

Baal had a dumbfounded expression as he turned to Metatron. “…I think he really is Uranos’ grandson.”

“I believe it would be more accurate to say he is a more advanced version of Uranos and Kronos.”

“All three generations are bad-tempered…” Now, even Baal was starting to worry about the future of this universe, but Yeon-woo wasn’t affected by their reactions.

“Anyway, so you’re saying you want us to make sure no one touches the empty real body while you’re absent searching for the star fragments, huh?”

“Yes, sir.”

“The Tower will be binding the true body of the Black King, R'lyeh, so you don’t have to worry about it running wild on its own… So all we have to do is prevent stars and other small fish trying to approach it… Hm?” Baal tilted his head when something suddenly occurred to him. “Something’s weird though. To approach R'lyeh, they’ll have to approach the Tower. Then they’ll be trapped inside…!”

Baal trailed off and covered his face with his hand. “…So it’s a trap.”

“We need to catch the mice that are attracted to the cheese.”

Baal started to become scared of Yeon-woo. Most of the small fish were probably going to be stars. They had preyed on each other, and they were probably starving for more power. If Yeon-woo happened to “coincidentally” be absent, they’d gather toward the Black King’s real body like moths. And that was what Yeon-woo was aiming for. Once they were trapped in the Tower, no matter how strong they were, they wouldn’t be able to escape the Tower if they couldn’t clear the one-hundredth floor. That meant Yeon-woo could retrieve many star fragments without having to lift a finger.

However, Baal was flabbergasted by Yeon-woo’s plan. He could understand trying to create a trap for the stars, but who would think of using the Black King’s real body as bait?! He was at a loss for words. ‘I suppose he’s gotten to where he is today because that’s how he thinks.’

Yeon-woo was fearsome in more ways than one.

“Anyway, so you require beings who can control and rule the creatures who enter the Tower. Like what we’ve been doing all this time.”

Baal scowled at what Metatron said. “I thought I could finally rest now. But you want me to suffer through that again?”

Yeon-woo shook his head firmly. “Do you think I would work my grandfather’s friends like slaves?”

“I think it’s plenty possible.”

“Of course not.” Yeon-woo’s grin deepened. “I will send companions to work with you.”

“See! I told you so!” Baal stood up in disbelief, but contrary to his tone, he didn’t truly seem upset. Rather, he seemed curious. He had spent his entire life trying to achieve peace and balance. But now that he was being set free, he was at odds at what to do.

However, Yeon-woo was now giving Baal a job that was similar to what he’d done in the past, but it wasn’t going to be as difficult. He was definitely curious. And since he was being given companions, he wouldn’t be bored anymore…!

“So who will you send over?” Metatron asked, also curious.

Yeon-woo smiled mysteriously and raised his head. “I invited them here, so they should be arriving any minute.”

“What…?! W-What’s this?” Baal paused mid-tilt at the sudden pressure that tried to push him down and widened his eyes.

Crash! The sound that echoed in the air was something that resounded not in Baal’s soul, but in the abyss that lay deep beneath. Baal knew what this sound meant, so he frantically stepped outside. When he looked up, he saw it.

“What the f…!” Baal unwittingly cursed. The sky…was being stained black. At the same time, it was covered by fog and countless tentacles.

“What in the world…?”

“W-Why is that appearing here?!”

“Otherworld gods! Multiple otherworld gods have appeared!”

Baal wasn’t the only one surprised. All the guests who came to bless Yeon-woo’s wedding couldn’t contain their shock. Beings of the outside who looked gruesome to the beings of the inside… The otherworld gods who instilled fear and horror were about to descend!

[‘The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young’ responds to her father’s cry with a monstrous cry!]

[‘The Nameless Mist’ shouts his father’s name as he sweeps over!]

[‘The Source of Uncleanliness’ says he washed up for the first time in a long while so he can make a good first impression on the being who will become his mother!]

[‘The Green Flame’ congratulates his father’s marriage and dances around!]

[‘The Harbinger’ clears his throat saying he will sing a song for his father!]

…

[The Eight Gods of Disorder and other otherworld gods reveal themselves.]

[‘Night (Nox)’ blooms!]

Each of the otherworld gods were larger than most planets, so only a few of them had come. However, that was more than enough to display their presence. Everyone had been hysterical when only the Crawling Chaos appeared in the past, so they were speechless with all the Eight Gods of Disorder having arrived.

Just then, a giant eye opened where Night bloomed.

[‘The Resident of the Border’ salutes his one and only father.]

“By companions, did you perhaps mean…” When Yeon-woo smiled quietly, Baal dropped his face into his hands. He almost cursed. As someone who had lived eons on hostile terms with the beings, this was something he’d never expected. “…Hey, Metatron.”

“Yes. Please speak, Baal.”

“I take back what I said. That guy’s a greater psycho than Uranos.”

“I agree.” Metatron smiled wryly and nodded.

But just then… du du du…! From the other side, a gigantic shadow began to stand up. A scary-looking bunny with thick muscles was slowly becoming bigger.

[‘The Lord of the Pole’ begins a muscle show for his father!]

『Ohuhuhu. Please don’t forget about me, the cutie Laplace!』Laplace was an attention-seeker who would rather die than have the attention stolen from him.