Ranker Who Lives Twice

Just before tearing the ticket, Yeon-woo felt the flow of time and space around him shake. “Hm?”

An enormous vortex appeared beyond the Three God Mountains, sucking the time and space into the Rabbit Tunnel as though it were a giant drain. ‘Tarneck!’ It seemed that Tarneck had anxiously sprang into action as soon as he thought that Yeon-woo’s companions were escaping the Three God Mountains. Yeon-woo tried to withstand the pressure and rip the ticket, but it wasn’t easy.

[Portal creation has been unsuccessful.]

[Portal creation has been unsuccessful.]

…

[You cannot use the ticket here.]

[The coordinates of time and space cannot be recognized and the portal cannot be created. Please move to a safe location and use it again.]

In the end, Yeon-woo couldn’t withstand the winds and was blown away. Whoosh.

* * *

『Dammit!』 Tarneck felt like he was going to lose his wits. In the Demonic Sea where his true body was, Laplace was attacking him with the monsters, and in the Sea of Time and Space where his incarnation was, the Vampiric Lord was spreading a strange darkness. What was more, Vlad Tepes and Gilles de Rais had returned in shreds. Thanks to awakening as demons, their existences weren’t completely destroyed, but with their critical injuries, they most likely needed some time to recover.

Things were becoming dangerous for him, and so Tarneck finally made a decision. His true body might be fatally injured, but it wasn’t the time to worry about that.

Crack! Tarneck’s true body in the Demonic Sea was already holding the Rabbit Tunnel open with all his might, but he mustered up even more strength. Brrr. The giant body shook. It was like watching a mountain tremble from an earthquake.

Twisting a hidden stage and the cracks of space that led to it, as well as forcefully pulling the people inside away from it, took a significant toll even on entities like Tarneck with greater divinity. However, it was definitely effective. Tarneck pulled not only the cracks of space, but also the causality that was mixed among them.

He would twist the cause—the opening the Rabbit Tunnel—and the effect—Yeon-woo and his companions moving beyond the Sea of Time and Space—and make it as though it had never happened. It was a forced inversion of the principle of causation. Crack, crack!

Just as he’d worried, he was fatally injured. Cracks began appearing all over his body, a sure sign that his level would be damaged. He was exceeding the amount of law of causality that Klus could handle. Even so, Tarneck’s eyes blazed with the determination to force Yeon-woo here.

Today, no matter what it took, he was going to put them down. However, those beyond the space couldn't be overlooked either. Yeon-woo was the successor of the Throne of Death, and the Vampiric Lord was a king of the Demonic Sea. He was beginning to feel frustrated when the inversion of causation didn’t occur when Laplace suddenly stopped pushing away Lupi with his magic power and began laughing at the sky. “Kyahaha!! I’ve come back! Finally!”

The sound of the middle-aged baldy’s high-pitched laughter was repulsive, but Laplace didn’t care. He was extremely happy, and he spread his arms open in joy. Tarneck suddenly realized what had happened.

『No!』Laplace had been locked away in the Demonic Sea for a simple reason—he’d abandoned the Guardians’ hands-off policy, and he’d captured a skilled player in an attempt to steal his system and earn freedom through the qualification of a player. Laplace wanted nothing more than to explore beyond the Demonic Sea where he’d been born and escape from the strict rules of the Bureau.

Very few knew of the incident, and it was only thanks to the fact that Klus had dispatched Lupi over quickly that things didn’t get out of hand.

The Central Bureau stripped away Laplace’s High Guardian position and removed his authority over the system. Laplace had been forced to escape to the Demonic Sea since the fates of those whom the Tower designated as aberrant were obvious. The Central Bureau had left him alone because it wasn’t easy to interfere with the Demonic Sea, where the influence of the system wasn’t great.

If Laplace was laughing now, only a fool wouldn’t know that things were going badly. Beyond the Rabbit Tunnel was the Sea of Time and Space, and the Three God Mountains where the Yellow Emperor slept. The Yellow Emperor was one of the few who could directly interfere with the system without needing the Central Bureau’s permission. What if Laplace had made a deal with him?

“I think you’re too late! Oh dear, what should we do?” His wide smile was strangely horrifying as an intense wind blew around him.

[The system is being applied to new player ‘Laplace’.]

[Stats are being calculated.]

[The skill directory is being organized.]

[Powers are being schematized.]

…

[A new title ‘One Who Has Quit Administration’ has been created for player ‘Laplace’.]

[A new title ‘One Who Has Instantly Gained Divinity’ has been created for player ‘Laplace’.]

It was an aura that no king of the Demonic Sea had.

“Wh-what’s going on? Y-y-you’ve become a p-player?” Lupi just managed to regain his balance and looked up at Tarneck with wide, trembling eyes. However, Tarneck didn’t have the attention to spare. It wasn’t that Lupi didn’t know what was going on; it was just that the situation was impossible. Even though it was theoretically possible, in the entire history of the Tower, a High Guardian had never become a player, much less an otherworld being.

“Aw, what do you think is going on?” Laplace grinned as the blessing of the system he so desperately desired was fully applied and a status window appeared in front of him. “You’re all fucked now!” He instantly attempted to activate the skill that was at the very top of his skill directory.

〈True Body Release〉

Boom! The middle-aged baldy with bunny ears suddenly popped like a balloon. The demonic energy of chaos whirled in the sky, and a mammoth monster appeared. It was a colossal king of the Demonic Sea that dwarfed Nessie and Tarneck. It was so large that it seemed to fill the otherworld god’s stomach.

It hadn’t been easy for Laplace to pull out his true body even in the Demonic Sea because it was too bulky and powerful. But now with the blessing of the system and the Demonic Sea acknowledged as his territory, it was no longer a problem. That was how much having the system’s blessing mattered. This was what it meant to be free, even though it was annoying to be affected by the law of causality.

『It’s easy to get rid of you un-cute people!』 The large rabbit, Laplace, emitted waves of his will, as he shook his hand in the air.

Crash! Although it seemed like he was simply waving his hand, the superior beings who could see the other side of the world saw the terrifying sight of the laws of nature shattering.

His fingertips knocked over causations and truths like dominoes. Space returned to emptiness. Chaos and disorder crawled over their skins. Anyone who was swept in wouldn’t just die, their souls would be torn into pieces and their entire existences destroyed.

It was at that moment that the inversion of causation made Yeon-woo and the Vampiric Lord reappeared in the Demonic Sea, and they were shocked by the sight that met them.

「What…!」 Shanon exclaimed in astonishment. The other familiars were also silent. Laplace’s hand was destroying everything, as though it were a wave crashing over a sandcastle.

The monsters Laplace summoned, the Chase Team, and the Special Police Unit that accompanied Tarneck were scattered into pieces without uttering a single scream. The army that roamed various dimensions and universes under the great Demon King Tarneck-Maxwell vanished in a pointless manner, Lupi among them. The infamous High Guardian who always ate whatever he desired shouted, “I-I wanted to eat but I’m being eaten instead! I-I’m scared! But th-this is fun too!”

Boom! Crash. Laplace’s true body smiled in satisfaction after removing everyone in his way in the Demonic Sea and headed to Tarneck’s body.

Tarneck slowly crept back. For the second time since he’d become a Demon King, he felt fear. He’d only felt this when he met the Martial King for the first time, and it was a humiliation unbecoming of a Demon King that he never wanted to experience again.

『No! No!』

『Please become my liver.』 Laplace gripped Tarneck and tore him apart. Blood spurted out and turned the Demonic Sea red. Monsters from the depths of the sea swam up to the surface and ripped at the flesh.

Ahhhhh. Tarneck’s screams of despair filled the Demonic Sea.

「That…is…on the level…of the past greats…」 Yeon-woo watched in shock as the High Guardian died and turned to Boo. Past great?

「They are…also...」

“They’re also called the old rulers.” The Vampiric Lord appeared, cutting Boo off. “They’re the greatest of the otherworld gods. The owner of this stomach, the Military King of Totalitarianism, was also among them. Of course, that Laplace guy is way beneath him, but he’s still among the top positions.” The Vampiric Lord chuckled, adding that Laplace wasn’t the second king of the Demonic Sea for nothing.

The fact that Laplace was the second king of the Demonic Sea stupefied Yeon-woo more than anything else. There were eight kings in the Demonic Sea. If the second one was this strong, then how powerful was the first? All he knew was that the first king wasn’t the Vampiric Lord. ‘And what’s this about the Military King of Totalitarianism?’

He thought of the Crawling Chaos. That god was probably one of the past greats as well. He didn’t understand where all these monsters were coming from. At that moment, Laplace turned to look at them after finishing his meal. Yeon-woo tensed. He released all his powers and gripped Vigrid, Sky Wings high behind his back.

Suddenly, what seemed to be Laplace’s face grinned. 『Oh dear. Oh dear. You don’t have to be that worried. No matter how hungry I am, I’d never endanger my savior.』

Yeon-woo was speechless.

『It seems like you’ve been swept up here. Aw, I’m sorry. You can go on your way now!』

The Demonic Sea stopped.

〈Illusory Change〉

Like rewinding a cassette tape, everything that had fallen returned to its place. The vaporized Demonic Sea filled up again, the destroyed monsters were put back together as they returned to their homes. The Rabbit Tunnel connected to the Sea of Time and Space shut off and the unstable space settled. Laplace shrugged, as though giving them permission to leave.

Yeon-woo watched him warily and tore the Tutorial ticket. A red portal appeared beneath his feet, swallowing him and the Vampiric Lord.

『Goodbye.』 Laplace waved his gigantic hand and watched them leave.

As Yeon-woo disappeared into the portal, he muttered to himself, “What kind of monster did I unleash on the world?”

* * *

『I’ve always thought that you’re an amusing friend!』 Laplace grinned again as he looked at the spot where Yeon-woo had disappeared. He’d heard Yvlke had taken a personal interest in Yeon-woo ever since the Tutorial, and he could see why. He thought their paths would cross again because of their plans. 『Then shall I move again? Yvlke keeps on hurrying me.』

Thump. Thump. Laplace moved his great body to the location where his friends were probably raising a ruckus: the Central Bureau. He was going to visit his old job. The Demonic Sea trembled violently.