Ranker’s Return

“This?!” Hyeonu’s eyes widened at the appearance of the familiar tortoise. It was a disbelieving expression.

‘Why is this tortoise here?’

That tortoise shouldn’t be near Etono. The name of the giant tortoise was Teramas. Right...

‘Why is Baler’s pet here?’

He was Baler’s pet.

‘This guy can’t come alone... Did Baler come? Here? Why?’

Just when Hyeonu tilted his head puzzledly, a black shadow stretched out from the turtle’s back.

“It has been a while.” The giant two-meter-tall man waved and greeted Hyeonu the moment he appeared. It was Baler.

“What’s going on, Baler?” Hyeonu changed his expression to his usual one and gave his greetings to Baler.

“What happened…? I wondered if things were going well as planned. No matter what, you are the only noble under my command,” Baler said with a smile. It was quite a smug attitude.

‘He is more like an uncle next door rather than a demon king,’ Hyeonu remarked inwardly.

“It surprised me. There was suddenly the smell of a powerful demonic creature. I might’ve killed it if you hadn’t jumped down,” Hyeonu answered Baler in a gentle tone.

“You can’t do that. Do you know how hard it was to raise this guy...?” Baler made a fuss even though he knew it wouldn’t happen. No one in Etono was a threat to Teramas. It was true even for a group raid.

‘Perhaps it might be possible if it was New World,’ Hyeonu thought.

If the group were one that was full of divine power, there might be some hope. Still, the possibility of this was very slim. This was, after all, the demon world. The divine power could exert its power, but the recovery would be very slow. It was clear that they would get tired first while striking at Teramas, who had high physical strength.

‘What is he thinking about in front of me?’

“Right, do you know about that?” Hyeonu frowned slightly before showing a subtle smile.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Baler’s eyes grew wider. Hyeonu’s words stimulated his curiosity.

‘What’s he talking about?’ Baler pondered. It sounded like something that he should know about already, but he didn’t, so he naturally wondered about it.

“John Blake’s student went to his city. You don’t know about it yet? I thought Baler would’ve known earlier...” Hyeonu said so, but it was normal for Baler not to know.

‘He would be the demon god, not the demon king, if he knew this. No, he’d be the operator.’

Baler couldn’t possibly know everything. He was strong, not omnipotent.

“What? Something like that happened? I don’t have time to waste here. I need to go to Blanc right now.” Baler’s eyes shone. They were full of pure eagerness like a child who had discovered a fun toy.

‘That monster’s student?’ he thought excitedly. It was a student of John Blake, the one who killed Rubolle and ascended to the throne. His level would be formidable.

‘Shall I try fighting him once?’ Baler had some expectations that he could stretch his hands for the first time in ages. Nevertheless, Baler’s imagination quickly came to an end because Hyeonu talked to him.

“Baler, can you take me with you?”

“You too? Um... ” Baler seemed to think about it for a moment before nodding.

‘It doesn’t matter,’ he concluded inwardly.

“Okay, let’s go together. It is a gathering of three generations. It is something that can’t be seen in the demon world.” Baler once again jumped onto the back of Teramas, the giant tortoise demonic creature.

“Thank you, Baler.” Hyeonu immediately followed him and got on Teramas’ back. Once Baler confirmed that Hyeonu was on Teramas’ back, he flicked his finger. Then the giant Teramas, Baler, and Hyeonu disappeared from Etono.

The players who saw the whole process had blank expressions. “What is going on? What the...”

***

Baler moved by teleportation as usual. He traveled together with Teramas, a huge demonic creature. It was a ridiculous ability.

‘Is this the power of the first demon king?’ Hyeonu was shocked. It was a different kind of shock he got from seeing the emperor kill the crazy hatchling in Rondal. Hyeonu couldn’t believe that Baler could teleport a demonic creature the size of a soccer field...

Just then, Baler spoke to Hyeonu, “Hmm... I’m just asking because I’m curious... Are they really master and disciple?”

Hyeonu had an expression that wondered ‘why are you saying this stupid thing’ while replying, “Of course they are? He is John Blake’s disciple. Why else would John Blake treat me like that?”

“You are right... Hmm... then why are they doing this?”

“Is something wrong? Why don’t we think together instead of you doing it alone, Baler?” Hyeonu raised his voice due to his frustration.

“Yes, that would be better. Listen carefully,” Baler said. He stopped talking and made eye contact with Hyeonu. Then he slowly opened his mouth and stated, “The two people are fighting right now in a very intense manner. I think around a quarter of Blanc has already been blown away.”

“Huh?” Hyeonu looked dumbfounded. Baler’s words were that shocking.

“What do you mean by a fight...?” Hyeonu asked.

“Didn’t I just say it? Part of the city has already been destroyed. The disciple is a crazy guy as well. It shouldn’t even be possible for him to take action in front of John unless he is also a demon king. Has the level of the middle world gone up that much?”

At Baler’s repeated words, Hyeonu had to admit that it must be true.

‘They really are fighting?’

Then the two people must be real madmen. It had been a while since they met yet they had started fighting all of a sudden.

“Then is it time to just be sitting here? We should quickly go to the location of the battle...” Hyeonu said.

Upon hearing that, Baler looked enlightened. “Yes, sightseeing comes first. Why am I thinking about this?”

Baler flicked his finger, and the surroundings changed. It was a movement through space. The spread of destruction grew larger. Hyeonu saw the pure energy flying through the air sharply and used Mysterious Sky Steps to escape. The pure energy that passed by Hyeonu collided with a building, which then shattered and left only traces behind.

“What?!” Hyeonu’s eyes moved around in a fluster. He couldn’t figure out the situation properly.

‘Pure energy as soon as I arrive...’

This was too violent. It was only now that he realized this was the battlefield where Lebron and John Blake were fighting.

Baler approached Hyeonu’s side and muttered while touching his chin, “No matter how I look at it, they aren’t master and disciple. They are bitter enemies...”

He seemed to find the battle between Lebron and John Blake quite extraordinary.

“Amazing...” Hyeonu’s words couldn’t continue because three or four pure energies appeared in front of him. The black pure energy that appeared from somewhere exploded in the air.

‘If it becomes more broken... one of the largest cities will collapse.’

“Should I stop it? This is a city where a demon king stays, but if it is half destroyed... it isn’t good. It really isn’t good,” Baler murmured, shaking his head.

It was a bit of a problem. Blanc was the largest of the 72 cities in the demon world. Naturally, the number of demonic creatures and demons staying here was astronomical. Then what if they were scattered elsewhere? It wasn’t an ordinary matter.

‘I have to stop it.’ Baler quickly headed to the center of the battle.

“It is up to here. If you destroy a few cities... those who lost their place might go to Etono,” Baler said as he stood and stretched out his arms in between Lebron and John Blake, who had drawn their swords.

“It isn’t enough yet. I didn’t see what I wanted to see...” Lebron refused.

Upon hearing that, Baler held his forehead with his right hand. Lebron was a completely crazy guy. This might be the demon world where demonic creatures and demons lived while struggling, but...

‘He is human, human!!’

“Then finish it with one blow! It is no longer possible to destroy the city. I emptied Etono, and a lot of demons have lost their way,” Baler shouted.

John Blake and Lebron nodded. Even if Baler hadn’t interfered, they were already going to prepare for an end to the fight.

“Now, use your magic spirit, Master,” Lebron said.

“This is why you came to me despite the fact that you usually have a heavy ass. He told you about it, right?” John Blake asked before looking at Hyeonu in the distance.

Lebron answered, “Who else would’ve told me? It can only be my disciple who informed me.”

A huge magic power flowed from Lebron as he finished speaking. It was a strong pressure that was different from before.

“Huhu... I didn’t do it right, but I didn’t know you would have so much spare force...” John Blake looked pleased to see it. Lebron had progressed one step further since the last time they met.

“Yes, I will show you what you want,” John Blake said. A huge amount of magic power also left his body. It soon became a giant snake that was over a dozen meters long. The giant snake flicked its tongue while glancing in the distance.

It stayed like this for a while before it suddenly charged at Lebron, shooting forward like an arrow with its body straight and flat. Lebron lightly stabbed his sword at the huge flying snake. A black glow rose from his sword and hit the snake’s nostrils. The moment that happened, the snake screamed, “Kuaaaaaah!”

A circular wave produced by the snake’s mouth shot around it and started to destroy everything it touched.

“Take advantage of this opportunity to expand the city. In any case, aren’t there many people who can be called workers?” John Blake said when he saw Baler’s distorted expression.

Just then, a huge figure emerged behind Baler’s back. It was several hundred meters tall with its entire body made up of muscles and two huge horns on its forehead. The figure looked just like Baler. The black-red body seized the snake magic spirit and threw it at John Blake.

Baler yelled, “Stop! Stop it now! There will be disruptions in the plan! If you want to fight, go to Damanos and immediately apply for a duel!!”

***

‘How many levels do I have to gain before I can get in the middle of this?’

Hyeonu was deep in thought. The battle before him was astonishing. No, it was a marvel in itself. Dozens of pure energies that were dozens of hundreds of meters long flew around.

‘Will it be different when I level up and my items change?’

He wasn’t sure if he could fight like this even if his stats increased by two or three times. The more he thought about it, the more he was filled with the idea that he shouldn’t fight them.

“Tang-E, there are people like this in the world. Be careful,” Hyeonu said while looking at Tang-E, whom he was holding.

“I realized it a long time ago, Master dude. Thus, our house is peaceful. Don’t you know absolute obedience?” Tang-E stared up at Hyeonu with a faint sneer on his face.

“Yes, it is good that you know that, Tang-E.” There was also a smile on Hyeonu’s face. Hyeonu’s left hand was supporting Tang-E’s body, and he rubbed his free right hand against Tang-E’s head.

“Uwahh!” Tang-E screamed from the extreme pain coming from his head.