Second Life Ranker

Yeon-woo looked shocked and questions sprang into his head. He asked in a slightly trembling voice. “Did you…know?”

Henova put his pipe back in his mouth with a serene face, as if he finally had the upper hand. “I made you your armor and mask. If I still didn’t know after that, I’d be a fool.”

Yeon-woo’s eyes widened. To make the armor and mask, he had to know a great deal about Yeon-woo’s physique. Yeon-woo had shared his information window with him because it was impossible for Henova to make something for him without knowing the smallest details.

But even with that aside, Henova had known him well and there was always warmth in his eyes and actions towards Yeon-woo.

“At first, I thought a dead child had returned. I was so happy…I just thought that you were hiding your identity because nothing good would come from others knowing.” White smoke steadily filled the room. “But after getting to know you better, I realized that you weren’t him. You had his face, body, eyes, and voice. But you were someone completely different. Your attitude and personality.”

Henova’s gaze was fixed on the furnace, where only sparks were left. The popping and crackling sounds filled the room. “I thought someone was trying to trick me, but that wasn’t it, either. Then, I figured it out. He’d said something a long time ago in passing.” 

“Old man! Old man!”

The voice of the dead rang out in Henova’s mind. He remembered how the kid had entered his smithy without permission and talked up a storm while he was working on a piece of iron.

“What now? If you’re just gonna babble, go get a hammer and help!”

“Do you have a family?”

“What in the world are you going on about?”

-Just answer my question.”

“Hmph! I’m a black dwarf who’s strayed from his path as a blacksmith! Why would I have anything so troublesome? This anvil is my son and this hammer is my wife…”

“What? You’re no fun.”

“What? Then what about you?”

“Mine is better than your boring life.” He remembered the child’s smile as he said, “I have a rude brother.”

Henova’s gaze was fixed on Yeon-woo’s waist where the Magic Bayonet exuded a cold aura. The weapon he’d been working on at that time was now in the possession of that kid’s brother. 

“I only waited for you to bring it up yourself since I didn’t think it was right to ask. I thought you just needed time to collect your thoughts.”

Yeon-woo was silent.

“So now, you’re telling me? Oh, I see, you want me to do something for you, but your conscience won’t let you ask unless you tell me first. Is that it?” Henova glared at Yeon-woo with narrowed eyes. 

Yeon-woo shook his head firmly. “That’s not it.”

“No? You’re in the palm of my hand. I can read you like a book.”

「Seems like the old man knows your personality well. Guess it’s because he’s experienced so much.」 Shanon’s laughing voice echoed in Yeon-woo’s head.  

‘Shanon.’

「Hm?」

‘Please shut up.’

Henova puffed deeply on his pipe again, and silence rose between them. Yeon-woo wondered what to say. Did he need to apologize? Or…“What did he say about me?”

Yeon-woo asked, his face just like Cha Jeong-woo’s.

“He said you were rude.”

‘That bastard…’

“Hehehe, when I think about it, he was right, eh?” Henova chuckled. All his annoyance seemed to be gone. 

Yeon-woo laughed with him and slowly said, “You asked me why I needed to make Kynee earlier.”

“I did.”

“It’s to find Jeong-woo.”

Henova’s smiling mouth tightened in a line. “What are you…?!” His eyes widened at the unexpected answer. Yeon-woo began to explain his situation: the Cast of the Black King that could only be completed with Kynee, the promise of the three Cyclops brothers, and the pocket watch that contained a secret. 

“Can you show me?”

He held out the pocket watch to Henova. Henova examined the pocket watch for a while. Then, he frowned. “The seal is too strong. It won’t be enough to use metallurgy to repair it. And…you said something about the Soulstone, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“If that’s in here, I’m even more certain that it’ll be too difficult for me to do anything with it. Even they might find it too hard.” Henova didn’t clarify who “they” were, but Yeon-woo knew he was referring to the three Cyclops brothers. He avoided explicitly mentioning their names out of respect since they were considered blacksmith gods.

That was how hard it was to deal with Soulstones. 

“Yes. I thought it would be hard.”

“Then why?”

“Still, if three gods work on it along with Victoria and Brahm, wouldn’t there be some kind of result? And we have you, so why would I be concerned?”

“Hmph. Did you think flattering me will get you anywhere?” Henova scoffed, but there was a smile on his face. 

“And even if we fail, Hades agreed to give me Kynee after we help him…”

“Ah, so you’re saying you can awaken the power of the Black King to find another solution?”

“Yes, sir.” Yeon-woo nodded. If he had the power of death—the power that gods and demons respected and Poseidon saw as a threat—he thought a path would open.  

Henova crossed his arms and nodded. “So whatever ends up happening, you’re saying that making Kynee is at the top of the list.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And going to Tartarus is necessary?”

Yeon-woo smiled wryly. 

Henova grimaced and put the pipe back in his mouth. “I’m going through all kinds of things after meeting you brothers near the end of my life. I don’t know what kind of sin I committed in my previous life to deserve this.” However, even as he grumbled, Henova’s eyes were blazing like the fire in the furnace in the hopes that he would once more see the person he’d considered his son.

* * *

The Head Bishop slowly woke, opening his eyes. He saw a familiar room with a solemn atmosphere. He knew right away that things had gone badly, but he still looked at his hand in hopes that he was mistaken. However, the hand he saw was wrinkled and spotted with age, his bones and veins bulging out. It looked weak and powerless. And in fact, he had no strength.

His magic power organ had dried up, and his muscles couldn’t recover anymore. The only reason he had been able to last this long was his outstanding soul power. However, even that would be useless if his body was destroyed. And if the curse took over his soul before that, it was truly the end. This was why he desired a new body so much.

He had hoped to awaken as a new being, but: ‘Did I fail again?’ Things hadn’t gone his way once more. “I thought I was closer to success this time.”

The damned curse. The damned Heavenly Demon. The Head Bishop muttered words that were unimaginable for a Head Bishop to say. But the skies were silent, as though they didn’t care. He would have preferred the skies to punish him instead, but nothing followed. 

Were they saying he was too insignificant to be punished? They couldn’t even be bothered to take note of him? Whatever it was, the Head Bishop was frustrated. If he’d known that he would end up this way…‘Shouldn’t I have stood up back then?’

The previous Head Bishop, Black Dawn, once ruled at the top of the Tower with his abilities. He had been as powerful as the Blood Red Philosopher from the One-horned tribe. The bishops who followed him were the strongest in history but they were as tyrannical as they were strong, and Black Dawn’s rule had been hell.

Followers of the Heavenly Demon died every day for different reasons. And yet, their god wasn’t satisfied, their god wasn’t satisfied, their god was hungry…their god, their god, their god!

Every act of tyranny was given the excuse “The Heavenly Demon wanted it.” The followers died happily, thinking that they were pleasing their god. However, the Head Bishop saw this as lunacy. Although outsiders saw them as crazed devotees, they were bound together by warmth and affection. The teachings of the Heavenly Demon were about the brightness of love and peace. 

He didn’t want to see the clan become stained with darkness, and so he had flipped everything over. During the ceremony for the Heavenly Demon that happened every ten years, while everyone else was on their knees, he alone stood up and killed Black Dawn and the other bishops.

He had placed the bloody crown on his head and announced that he would be the new Head Bishop. Everyone was shocked, but they couldn’t reject him since he had killed Black Dawn. The ceremony ended in that manner, and a curse was carved on his soul. The power of the Heavenly Demon was closed off from them, and many bishops and diocesan bishops died because of that.

Because they weren’t allowed the power of the Heavenly Demon, there were limits to their power, and compared to those who came before them, their strength was nothing.  

None of this was known to the public because the Head Bishop’s strength was so outstanding, and Kindred, the Second Bishop, had accomplished a lot. However, even this was in danger. The curse had grown malignant and was eating away at him. He had no choice but to turn to evil.

Even with the curse, he had never resented the Heavenly Demon. He had spent day and night correcting Black Dawn’s teachings. Although they had less power than before, the lives of the followers had improved. Also, he prayed every day to the Heavenly Demon, hoping to change his mind. But to this day, there was no reply.

‘I’m not scared of dying. I’ve already lived a long life. But…what will happen to the clan after I disappear?’ What would happen if the Devil Army’s situation were revealed to the rest of the Tower after the Head Bishop disappeared?

The peace they could barely sustain would crumble. Peace was a house constructed with bricks of power. The Head Bishop decided that he needed to force the Heavenly Demon to answer. If he became another face of the Heavenly Demon, wouldn’t the Devil Army regain its strength again?

He progressed with his plans, but everything had gone wrong. Of course, there were faces other than the Monkey King’s exuviae, such as the Ruyi Bang pieces that were scattered throughout the Tower. 

But even then, the Head Bishop didn’t have much time left. With all the bishops and diocesan bishops gone, there was nothing he could do. ‘I guess I don’t have a choice.’ He decided it was time to make the decision he had been dreading. ‘We will…abandon our god.’

If their god rejected them, they had no other recourse but to find another one. ‘Or else swallow him.’ The Head Bishop’s eyes flashed. 

Creak! The door opened, and Kindred entered. He bowed, looking ashamed.

“Kindred, get ready to leave immediately.”

“But…” Kindred’s eyes widened as he looked at the Head Bishop’s poor condition, but he nodded. “Where should I bring you?”

“The temple of the Seven Demon Kings.”