Second Life Ranker

『I opened my eyes because I heard something strange while I was sleeping. It seems like things are a mess.』 Doyle smiled bitterly as he looked around him. The curse of the Heavenly Demon had messed things up once more. If only he didn’t need to sleep in order to transform, things wouldn’t have gone so awry. 『Anyway. I always think that I ought to do something about those Draconic Eyes. Thanks to them, I missed seeing Heaven Wing’s daughter.』

At that moment, the aura around Doyle completely changed. A heavy and intense pressure rose out of him. It was Doyle’s body but someone else was inside. Black demonic energy wrapped around him, and his hair turned white. His eyes flashed red. 

『Head Bishop! Where is Doyle?』 Kahn glared at the Head Bishop, gritting his teeth to stop himself from running to the Head Bishop.

『I don’t know. Where is he?』 The Head Bishop smiled lightly. 

Something in Kahn snapped. 『You son of a bitch!』 Boom! Kahn hurled himself at the Head Bishop. Blood poured out of a cut on his hand and took the form of a sword. 

〈Flow of Blood〉

It was Blood Sword’s signature skill. Bian combined to take the form of a sword, and amplified its attack power by creating ripples with each swing of the sword, reaching even enemies who were far away.  

However, to the Head Bishop, it was only child’s play. He put his hands behind his back and gently scraped his feet across the ground. Boom!

The result was hardly gentle. The mountains trembled as cracks began to appear on their surface. Kahn was blown away as he ran to the Head Bishop, and even the Ice King and Victoria were swept away as they waited for their chance to attack.

Dust clouds descended and the space began to twist. The Head Bishop rubbed his creaking hands and feet. 『Hmm, I can’t rein in my strength because I’m not used to my body yet.』

This was why he needed the power of the exuviae. He clucked his tongue. He didn’t just want to become a divine being. He wanted the power to erase the curse on his soul. However, his painstaking preparations had gone up in flames. He was tired just by the thought of looking for a replacement for the exuviae or searching for another face of the Heavenly Demon. He didn’t have much time left. ‘Do I really need to pull in their power?’

The Head Bishop realized that the guy who had caused him all this trouble wasn’t among those blown away. He clasped his hands behind his back again and lifted his head. The space moved again and the white dust clouds disappeared, revealing Yeon-woo in the sky with his Fire Wings spread open. 

The Head Bishop realized that hundreds of Ruyi Bang pieces—the ones used for the sacrificial vessel—were circling him. Yeon-woo owned them now.

『Are you going to seal me with that? How amusing!』 The Head Bishop laughed lightly and took a step forward. Although he was in Doyle’s small body, he emitted an enormous presence that made him seem like a giant. 

Urk! He paused in the middle of rushing to Yeon-woo and vomited blood. 『Oh, dear. Is this too much?.』 It was the disharmony of soul and body. Doyle’s vessel was still not enough to hold the Head Bishop’s great soul, but the Head Bishop had forced himself in.

The body was only holding together because Doyle was abnormally advanced and had divine abilities. It was hard to find a vessel like this.

At that moment, the pieces of the Ruyi Bang began to whirl around the Head Bishop.

[72 Bian- Bong, In]

Boom! Boom!

The pieces shot down as Yeon-woo used the Bian. Boo appeared through a new space at some point and added more magic. The number of attacks grew. It seemed as if the Five Mountains would collapse at any moment.

The Head Bishop removed one hand from behind his back and waved it as though he were pushing curtains aside. The pieces attacking him were swept away. It was an unbelievable amount of divine energy. 

『This...』 He clenched his left hand. 『Is how you do it.』 He extended his hand in the air. Boom! Demonic energy wrapped around his fist and exploded right in front of Yeon-woo. 

The impact made Yeon-woo feel like he was being beaten up. He only managed to endure it after protecting himself with Fire Wings. The layers of barriers that Boo had created shattered. 

The Head Bishop was too strong. How could he use such strength with a body he still hadn’t familiarized himself with? For a moment, Yeon-woo thought of the Martial King and the Summer Queen. As he’d expected, the Head Bishop was as strong as they were. If he were in his real body, how much more destructive would he be?

A thought occurred to Yeon-woo. ‘How…did Jeong-woo fight this guy?’ He just managed to regain his balance as he fell through the air. He activated Blink and immediately reached the Head Bishop, blasting out his condensed black Aura at the same time.

The destructive power of the Wave of Fire made the Head Bishop shiver. Surprise spread across his face as he escaped. 『I heard a lot about you, and I see you’re more amazing than they say! The Six New Stars? How can they put you in the same group?! Yes. The fact that you can even get in my way means a lot. Yes. Of course.』 The Head Bishop stretched out his hand and bent forward. 『All right, shall we see if you can stop this, too?』

His hand quickly split through the air to cut space. Everything in the way was swept away. Yeon-woo blocked the Head Bishop’s strikes with black Aura. It was a speedy attack that was hard to follow with his eyes alone, but the Draconic Eyes, Extrasensory Perception, and Time Difference helped fill in the gaps.  

Still, the Head Bishop had the upper hand. Yeon-woo had become stronger after swallowing the exuviae, but he hadn’t learned all the Seventy-Two Bian’s tricks and the Heaven Bracket yet, so there were limits to what he could do. 

As the intense battle went on, a shadow opened behind Yeon-woo, and his subordinates jumped out. Shanon rose high in the sky mounted on the Bone Dragon, who spewed out Poison Breath. Hanryeong and Rebecca aimed for the Head Bishop’s blind spots. 

Boo flicked his finger and drew different magic circles in the air. Magic attacks poured out of the opened Void. It was the power that reduced the alliance to nothing.

『What an amusing thing you have there.』 However, the Head Bishop was still relaxed, as though he were only out for a stroll. When he moved his feet again, the ground suddenly shot up and prevented the Bone Dragon from moving. 

As it hesitated, trying to catch its balance, the Head Bishop didn’t miss the opportunity and struck the air. Boom! The Bone Dragon’s right wing exploded. As the large body pitched towards the ground, Shanon jumped off and tried to attack the Head Bishop. 

『Is it there?』 The Head Bishop stretched out his thumb and middle finger to draw a line in mid-air. Steps appeared in the air and cut Shanon’s body. 

「No way!」 Shanon disappeared with those words. 

『One down.』 The Head Bishop smiled in satisfaction and flicked away Vigrid, which was almost at his neck. He turned and reached out with his left hand, and two swords shot into them as though they were magnets. Rebecca and Hanryeong’s faces hardened. 

『Three more to go.』 He closed his left hand. The high-quality swords cracked, and as the pieces flew into the air, demonic energy exploded once again to fling away Rebecca and Hanryeong. He hadn’t familiarized himself with his new body yet, but he already eliminated three of Yeon-woo’s subordinates.

『And the last one.』 He flicked his finger at Boo. 

〈Space Disconnection〉

As space twisted, the Inferno Sight disappeared. The Head Bishop blocked off any interference from the outside. 『You have some good subordinates, but they’re nothing in front of my power.』 He smiled at Yeon-woo, who was still fighting with his right hand. 『Right?』

Boom! All of Yeon-woo’s skills were crushed when the Head Bishop swung his sword again, pushing him far away, a deep groove forming in the earth as he was propelled away. Blood dripped from the hand that held Vigrid. 

There was too much of a difference between their strengths. Yeon-woo was reminded once more of the greatness of the Nine Kings. It was as though he’d rammed against a city wall.

『Just give up. You can’t defeat me. Or…what about this proposition? I’ll make you a bishop if you agree to serve the Heavenly Demon.』 Doyle clasped his hands behind his back with a smile. 『If you help me become another face of the Heavenly Demon, my position will be yours. It’s a shame the others have died, it will be a great blessing for us if you join our ranks.』

The Head Bishop had taken a liking to Yeon-woo and Kahn as he watched them during the ceremony. If things worked out, he genuinely wanted to give them the Head Bishop position. 

Of course, Yeon-woo wasn’t tempted at all. 

「What’s that crazy bastard going on about?」

「It’s because he’s the leader of crazy believers. Still, he’s too strong. I heard that monster is the only one who is still growing among the Nine Kings. It seems the rumors were correct.」

Hanryeong and Shanon appeared behind Yeon-woo and muttered. They couldn’t die because they were undead, but their existences had almost been extinguished, and so their bodies were fainter than before. Rebecca appeared quietly above them. She didn’t say much, but her face was determined. 

‘If I can take in Heaven Bracket—if I can absorb the strength of the rest of the exuviae, will I be able to catch up?’ Yeon-woo quickly checked the area between him and the Head Bishop. The Head Bishop was still adjusting in Doyle’s body. Yeon-woo thought there might be a way to attack his vulnerabilities.

‘There is.’ He forced himself to get ready to fight the Head Bishop again. His body screamed in pain, but he forced his sword up. He gritted his teeth, already having trouble moving his hand. ‘But I can’t use Heaven Bracket right away. What if I activate powers? Will that work?’

However, he quickly realized that it wasn’t feasible. ‘What if I amplify my strength temporarily by accepting all the powers?’ This time, the answer was: ‘It will work.’

The gods and demons began to send Yeon-woo messages after reading his thoughts. 

[Thanatos looks at you expectantly.]

[Nergal suggests you examine his power.]

[Osiris is expectant.]

[Ares is expectant.]

[Prince Nezha is expectant.]

[Vimalacitra makes a suggestion to you.]

……

[Agares screams, saying not to look at what’s his.]

[All godly societies ignore him.]

[All demonic societies ignore him. They want an answer from you.]

Messages popped up endlessly. 

[Current possible powers: 925]

If he accepted all of them, he was sure that he could fight toe-to-toe with the Head Bishop for a short while. There wasn’t any time to waste. 

『Haa…』 Yeon-woo inhaled deeply and awakened his senses. 『Hup!』 He gripped Vigrid tightly. Nine hundred great beings extended their hands to Yeon-woo as if they had been waiting. 

[You have gained Thanatos’ power, ‘Night of Harvest’.]

[You have gained Nergal’s power, ‘Hogubyeolsung’.]

[You have gained Vimalacitra’s power, ‘Gubidara’.]

[You have gained Prince Nezha’s power, ‘King of Ten Thousand Soldiers’.]

……

[You are accepting too many powers. Your body cannot withstand them. It is advisable to stop contracting the remaining Apostle positions.]

[Warning! You are obtaining too many powers. Your body may be destroyed.]

[Warning! You are obtaining too…]

Powers represented the strength of the different beings. Crunch, crunch! Holy powers that contradicted each other collided. Voices rang in his ear as power overwhelmed his body. Vigrid cried out. 

Yeon-woo opened his Draconic Eyes and combined them with Heaven Bracket. Then, he brought Vigrid down powerfully. 

[The 3rd step of the awakening has been activated.]

[All powers have been released.]

[Wave of Fire]

[Heaven Bracket – Lightning Strike]

A storm of fire, lightning, and holy power fell on the Head Bishop. It was too much even for him to handle. 『What the…?!』 He managed to avoid the full brunt of the Lightning Strike, but he was still injured. Burns were scattered through his body. 『You heretic! You dare! To me!』

The Head Bishop gathered his demonic energy with a scowl. He was worried his body would fail him, but he couldn’t let Yeon-woo get away. However, he seemed to have lost the power to use his body. 『What?』 He glared at Yeon-woo with wide eyes. 

『Sorry, it’s over.』 Although Yeon-woo was sitting on the ground, weak from overexertion, he snickered at the Head Bishop. 

The Head Bishop could feel a small but deep injury on the back of his head. It was an injury that didn’t hurt his body, but it was at the exact location where his soul had connected to Doyle’s body.

『Just….when?』 The Head Bishop turned around to see Kahn glaring at him as he panted for breath. Blood dripped down his right hand. 

〈Blood Bomb〉

It was a skill that condensed blood. While the Head Bishop had been busy with the Lightning Strike, Kahn had quickly cut his veins and thrown his blood. Was this what they had planned to do all along?

The Head Bishop had a lot to say, but he fell over as his soul returned to its original body. Plop!

Yeon-woo could finally pass out after seeing the Head Bishop fall. Yellow sparks of holy power jumped around his body.