Second Life Ranker

“Urk.” Astraeus gasped at the power that pushed her back and sent her flying off. For a moment, disbelief filled her eyes. She looked at her right hand, which was only starting to heal after being burnt to a crisp.

She looked around instinctively. The ground had been torn up and the atmosphere was scalding. If she hadn’t sacrificed her right hand to create a barrier, her body might have been partially destroyed. How was this possible?

He was only a mortal player. She couldn’t believe a mere bug that could barely live a hundred years could hurt someone like her, who had been alive for eons. Even the strongest player in Dis Pluto had never been able to injure her like this. 

The only exception was Ghost Rifle Lam, but Hades’ Apostle, who was on the verge of becoming a divine being, was beyond what a mere player from the lower world could hope to attain. It was impossible for a mere mortal to hurt a divine being. Even with the Ruyi Bang, it couldn’t happen—unless he also wielded the Great Sage’s power properly.

Astraeus believed that she must have made a mistake. Perhaps something had gone wrong with her holy power after Deneb broke apart. She thought she had an easy solution, and she stretched out a hand filled with holy power.  

〈Curse of Starlight〉

She could force her holy power onto her opponent and leave a poison with no antidote—this would be enough to get rid of the annoying fire, break the Ruyi Bang and his strange sword, and crack his irritating mask. 

However, Yeon-woo thrust the Ruyi Bang forward once again. The spear twisted, and fire condensed tightly around it before exploding once more.

[Vortex]

It was Benteke’s signature skill that had once threatened Yeon-woo.  

[A hidden god is looking at you with the help of a goddess of <Olympus>, Hestia.]

[A hidden god is shocked by the skill you used.]

[The hidden god reveals his name.]

[A message from Poseidon has arrived.]

[Message: How?! Why can you use that skill?]

[A message from Poseidon has arrived.]

[Message: Stop now! That is a power I gave to my Apostle! It’s not something you have the right to use!]

[The Channel with Poseidon has been blocked due to the characteristics of Tartarus.]

Yeon-woo knew that more than 900 gazes were on him after he released all of the powers. Some had probably paid a price to the gods and demons giving Yeon-woo his powers in order to share the Channel with them temporarily. 

He didn’t pay too much attention to it because it was better for him if more gods and demons were interested in him. It seemed that even Poseidon couldn’t resist watching through the help of Hestia, the goddess of the hearth and protection.

She had given Yeon-woo a power called Point of Spark. Fortunately, the Channel had cut off while Poseidon was shouting in anger because of the unique effect of Tartarus. ‘I hope I don’t hear from him again.’

[The gods and demons connected to you begin to have a discussion about you.]

[A vote is currently in progress.]

…..

[There is unanimous agreement to stop Poseidon from approaching you.]

[The Channel with Poseidon has been blocked permanently.]

The gods and demons had stepped in to stop Poseidon from communicating with him. It seemed that they’d found him annoying. Although Agares was also a pest, he had goodwill towards Yeon-woo, so they didn’t block him. Yeon-woo smiled to himself in satisfaction and stabbed Ruyi Bang forward. 

Each time a Vortex shot out of it, Astraeus staggered back. Her right hand was crushed again, and she was feeling danger from the relentless attacks. Yeon-woo continued to strike, not willing to let go of his opportunity.  

[Black Gubitara – Wise Man’s Eyes]

[Draconic Eyes]

[Extrasensory Perception]

Using the senses of Extrasensory Perception and Draconic Eyes on top of Fiery Golden Eyes, he continued to attack with the power of Vimalacitra, backing Astraeus into a corner. Vigrid aimed at the imperfections of her divinity, and the eyes of Vimalacitra, who was considered the greatest of the demons of war made calculations, aided by Time Difference. With the Great Sage’s Ruyi Bang and Heaven Bracket added to the mix, there was no escape for her.

Thwack! Vigrid, which had been following Astraeus like a snake, slashed up, and Astraeus tried to dodge back, but Vigrid had already slashed her left eye. “Kyaaaak!”

[You have succeeded in planting a Blood Flower in a god of 〈Titan〉, ‘Astraeus!’]

[You have critically injured a god.]

[You have critically injured a god.]

…..

[You have made an achievement that is not easily accomplished. Additional karma will be provided.]

[You have gained 20,000 karma.]

[You have acquired 30,000 additional karma.]

[You have gained the title ‘One Who Has Injured a God’.]

…..

[You have unlocked part of the hidden conditions of the artifact ‘Vigrid-???’ Additional information is being provided.]

“You dare! You dare!” Astraeus screamed. Her holy power moved, trying to restore her left eye, but it kept dissipating, leaving her with agonizing pain. She realized belatedly that something strange had bloomed in her left eye and reached her divinity.

It was the grotesque seed of a demon: Blood Flower. The Black Gubitara had embedded itself in her soul. 

During the legendary era, before order came to the Tower, the Asura King Vimalacitara was feared by god and demon alike. Why was his power here? From what she knew, Vimalacitra was a lofty being who never cared about the lower world. He ignored and detested the weak. He was famous for being so exacting that he hadn’t taken a single Apostle. And yet he’d given his greatest power to a player who wasn’t even his Apostle!

He had given a power that gods and demons tacitly considered taboo to a mortal: the dangerous ability to kill a divine being. 

‘No! I’ll be in real danger at this rate!’ Astraeus felt threatened for the first time in her life. She had been defeated by Hades’ Apostle, Lam, because she had let down her guard like this in the past as well, but she felt even more endangered now. It was a threat to her existence, a threat she hadn’t felt ever since she was trapped in Tartarus. 

Gubitara was ravenously eating up her soul, like a poison that was slowly taking away her breath. Her body felt heavy. 

Buffed with the holy power that Gubitara swallowed, Yeon-woo cut off Astraeus’ right arm. Thwack! A fountain of blood spurted from her shoulder, sparkling in an almost fantastical way. Astraeus was now screeching. 

‘I can do it.’ Yeon-woo was sure he could kill Astraeus. She was a Titan who had fought for dominance against the gods of Olympus, but she was weaker than the Nine Kings. The only reason she could look down on players was that her level was higher than theirs. 

But as soon as the gap between levels had been sealed, she fell to the ground right away. Yeon-woo didn’t know why. Perhaps she hadn’t trained because she’d been too confident in her divine level or perhaps there was a secret that players didn’t know.

It didn’t matter to him. If he could kill a god, he would. Gripping the Ruyi Bang again, he shot more Vortexes towards her. He didn’t have to worry about his magic power draining because the amount of holy power that came from her was immense. Hunting someone with her own power was a sweet feeling.

Vigrid spewed black Aura again to corner her. Her left arm was destroyed, then her left leg, then her right. Only her torso remained, rolling on the ground. “Aahh!” Astraeus had been reduced to a pathetic state for a Titan. 

When was the last time had she ever been this humiliated other than when she’d been chased away from Olympus and locked up in Tartarus. Hades had continued to watch them, but a thousand years ago, Titans already began to get the upper hand.

However, Yeon-woo’s interference was making everything crumble. The monsters they were using to invade the holy territory had been swept away, and she was in horrible shape. 

Hades had also begun to attack the other Titans with renewed vigor. The tide of victory was now on the temple of the King of the Underworld’s side. The war that she thought they had won was now a massacre.  

Vigrid stopped right in front of her neck. Astraeus didn’t have any choice but to say the name she didn’t want to say. “T-Typhon! I’ll accept your offer! So please, rescue me!” She shouted at the sky. However, nothing happened. “Please! Typhon!”

As soon as the blade was about to cut her throat, a column of light descended from the sky around her, flicking the black Aura away.  

Yeon-woo raised his head with a stiff expression. Something out of the ordinary was trying to appear, bearing an extraordinary pressure that could make even the great divine beings kneel. It was a dangerous feeling that threatened Hermes, Athena, and even Hades. 

The battlefield instantly fell into silence. Dis Pluto and the monsters froze. 

『Such…pandemonium…』 A huge eye was looking down from between the black clouds, as though a being too colossal to even imagine was peering through a small hole he had made in the clouds.

His eye rolled around as he quickly scanned the chaotic battlefield, spotting Astraeus, whose pathetic life was being threatened by a mortal. 

『You made a fuss…saying you could do it yourselves…but you’ve ended up in this state…?』

Hades put down his sword with a frown. “Typhon.” Two species had been causing trouble in Tartarus:Titans and Giants.  Kronos, the king of Titans was already dead, but the king of Giants still ruled over them. There were stories that he was half-human, half-monster; he had the torso of a human but the lower body of a snake. A hundred snakes sprouted from his head and shot out lightning. He was so big that if he spread his wings open, he could block off all the light from the sun and send the world into darkness. He was a monster who had once bound and tortured Zeus: Typhon.

The god of Giants was showing himself for the first time. 

[Hermes is silent.]

[Athena is quiet.]

[Ares grits his teeth.]

[Hestia looks away.]

The proud gods of Olympus were keeping their silence. 

『There’s…a familiar face…』 Typhon’s eye narrowed as he looked from Astraeus to Yeon-woo. 『The player that I saw…from the Ten Gates…』 His eye looked amused, and Yeon-woo realized that the gaze that had followed him from the ten gates was Typhon’s. Typhon turned to Hades as though he had nothing to say to Yeon-woo. 『This…looks like…enough. How does that sound…? If you let me take back these good-for-nothings…you…will not lose face, right…?』

Everyone turned to Hades. His face was twisted because he’d been on the verge of turning the tide. However, he had no other choice but to nod. Dis Pluto was exhausted from the long war. If they continued to fight, even though they might be able to damage the Titans, it would be hard to stop the Giants from participating in the war. 

Clack! He put his sword back into its sheath. It meant that he’d accepted Typhon’s offer. It was a ceasefire. 

『Thank you…I trust you... unlike that cowardly Zeus…』 With that, Typhon closed his eye. The black clouds filled in the hole, and the light shining down on Astraeus grew dimmer. The presence of the Giant gods was turning faint as they began to return, Astraeus among them. 

Astraeus sighed in relief. She would live. Although Titans would have to bow to the Giants, they had to live so that they could battle again. ‘Wait and see, human!’ Astraeus hardened her resolve to rip apart the human who had reduced her into this state. But as she looked down at Yeon-woo’s hateful face, she noticed something flying towards her. ‘What…?’ The Ruyi Bang spear was heading straight at her.

But Yeon-woo had watched Hades and Typhon agree to a ceasefire. How could a mere mortal like him choose to break it? This was her final thought.  

[Congratulations! You have succeeded in killing a god.]

[You have made an achievement that is not easily accomplished. Additional karma will be provided.]

[You have gained 100,000 karma.]

[You have acquired 20,000 additional karma.]

[A new reward will be given. It will take some time for the reward to be chosen.]

……

[You have gained the title ‘God Killer’.]

……

[All gods watching are shocked.]

[All demons watching are smiling creepily.]

[A few gods look at you negatively.]

[A few demons express new thoughts about the level that will be given to you.]

[The ceasefire between Hades and Typhon has been broken.]