Second Life Ranker

[A message has arrived from the Abuser, Cha Yeon-woo.]

While Baal and Metatron were staring warily at Yeon-woo, who chose to be part of the Night, Yeon-woo’s message arrived. 

[Message: Run.]

『…!』 

『…!』 

The message did not state much, but Metatron and Baal instantly understood what Yeon-woo was aiming for. Although they never really intervened, the two had watched Yeon-woo’s every move up to this point, so they knew Yeon-woo’s personality a lot better than anyone else. They knew that they could not fully trust Yeon-woo just because he was an ‘ally’.

Yeon-woo had an infinitely open heart for those who he embraced, but other than those few beings, he wouldn’t even take a moment to consider throwing someone away mercilessly.

Metatron and Baal could not help but bitterly smile when recalling the song that Shanon had written a long time ago about Yeon-woo. Thus, they were grateful just for receiving a message.

『This wouldn’t be a trap, right?』 However, for a moment, Baal considered if this too was part of Yeon-woo’s plan to target and devour the Day.

Clank! In an instant, the chains wrapped around Baal and Metatron’s wrists broke and their divine power was being returned. Once their divine power started raging inside their bodies like a storm, Baal no longer doubted Yeon-woo’s intent.

『This… This is…!』 

『Divine domain! They’ve regained their divine domain!』 

『The restrictions have been lifted!』 

The archangel and demon kings, along with all the others who had been warily looking at those of the Night, all raised their heads in surprise. The invisible constraints that had been forcibly detaining them inside the Tower were now lifted. They had lived under the constraints of the law of causality for so long that it felt as if it had become a part of them. But now, they were finally free of the Tower’s constraints.

[All restraints that were forcibly applied to those who entered the Tower have been lifted.]

[The restraint function has been released.]

[The bondage function has been released.]

[The enslavement function has been released.]

…

[All backup data recorded in the cloud of the Tower’s system has been deleted.]

[All records pertaining to players have been expunged.]

[All records pertaining to gods have been expunged.]

[All records pertaining to demons have been expunged.]

[All records pertaining to guardians have been expunged.]

…

[The ranking system will be deleted.] 

[The ‘Hall of Fame’ will be deleted.]

…

[The heavenly world has disappeared!]

This sudden freedom was what they sought when pursuing Vivasvat… It led them to pursue the Heavenly Demon’s downfall… And now that they received this freedom, all the gods and demons rejoiced. They were no longer held captive in this small and cramped world as if they were confined in a pigsty.

But their joy was short-lived.

[The floors are collapsing!] 

[Stages are collapsing!] 

…

[The Tower is collapsing!]

[Warning! The Tower is collapsing. All functions of the system are focused on the divine iron structure. Everyone in the Tower is warned to be careful not to be swept away by the subsequent shock.]

[Warning! Everyone still within the Tower, please evacuate immediately!]

[Warning! The Tower’s collapse is accelerating! If you do not evacuate, it may become dangerous!]

…

[‘Night (Nox)’ is running rampant!] 

[The wormhole is getting larger.]

[The connection with the otherworld is strengthened.]

…

[The Black King prepares to wake up from the ‘dream’.]

[The promised ‘end of things’ is coming.]

[R’lye, who had been buried under the Tower, is preparing to rise!]

[The collapsing speed of the Tower is accelerated by the effect of ‘Night (Nox)’.]

Rumble! The gods and demons’ expressions all went stiff at the constant messages. As the Tower shook violently, the darkness roared chaotically as if it was about to spread above their heads at any moment.

And then…they soon saw pieces falling around them. Like a broken window, cracks started spreading all over the world, then pieces from those cracks soon started falling around them, one by one.

The collapse of the seemingly everlasting Tower brought a new shock to all the beings. The fact that the Ruyi Bang was collapsing was so shocking that they all fell into a state of momentary panic.

『What are you all doing? Run, bastards!』 Baal roared with as much magic power he could muster.

『…!』 

『…ugh, ahh!』 

『Cha Yeon-woo, that bastard! How come nothing ever goes according to plan with that guy?!』 

The gods and demons came to their senses and began to organize themselves into a formation. Some of them visibly showed signs of disgust whenever Yeon-woo passed by and kicked up a storm, but everyone’s behavior and reaction followed a specific plan.

Malach and L’Infernal stood at the forefront and tried to block the Night’s progress. The archangels, who had been gathered together like a battalion, quickly dispersed into smaller squads and started dealing with the falling pieces of the world. Meanwhile, the demon kings started pouring out their demonic energy and tried to clear a path to the outside.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Rumble, Rumble, Rumble!

Where. Are. You. Going.

Interesting. Things.

See. The. Traitor.

And. Insignificant. Beings.

We. Also. Pursue.

After seeing what the gods and demons were doing, the otherworld gods forcibly enlarged the size of the wormhole by forcing themselves through. They tried to pursue the gods and demons to forcefully expand the realm of Night.

[The territory of ‘Night (Nox)’ is expanding at a fast pace!]

However, unlike the otherworld gods, whose entry speed increased along the path opened by the Black King, the heavenly world’s gods and demons were slow in making their escape. They had lost many of their previous powers after being locked up in the Tower for such a long time.

No, even apart from that, it was difficult for them to go up against the Night, especially when the Night was being actively protected by the Black King.

At that moment…

[Vimalacitra bursts into laughter as he watches the world crumble!]

[Cernunnos slowly rises from his seat, realizing that a new age is coming!]

The two beings who were quite influential and powerful in the heavenly world started to move.

[Vimalacitra says it is very entertaining and draws his sword!]

[Cernunnos stretches his hands to the sky!]

Vimalacitra, who had been looking up at the seventy-seventh floor and waiting for Yeon-woo to come back, raised his sword and swung. 

Cernunnos quietly closed his eyes and recited a mantra that few, if anyone, would remember.

[Powers are exploding!] 

[A strong shock follows.] 

[A strong shock follows.]

…

[The path to the outside has opened!]

A huge sword mark was engraved along the sky, and once it expanded, an escape route to the outside was made wide open.

『O faithful servants, let us all follow the open path.』 

『What are you all doing?! If the gods beat us to the exit, you’re all dead!』 

The heavenly world’s gods and demons all flew haphazardly towards the opening made by the sword gash. Following Metatron and Baal, the great escape began.

[Exodus begins!]

And the world of the Tower, which had been the center of many worlds and dimensions for many years, started collapsing.

***

“The…Tower is collapsing...!”

“What the hell is going on?” 

The collapse of the seemingly everlasting Tower had a huge impact on the areas outside the Tower. After being forcibly ejected from the Tower, strange occurrences were arising one after another seemingly without pause. This time, the top of the Tower, which had not yet been enveloped by the darkness, started collapsing.

The Tower, the world that imprisoned gods and demons and brought heroes from different worlds together to compete against each other, was collapsing. Even though the beings outside the Tower were seeing it with their own eyes, they wondered if they were dreaming.

“Wait.” 

And then…

“Something seems off, no?”

“It’s not collapsing…” 

“The Tower is covering and enveloping the darkness…?”

Those with keen eyesight were able to discover the strange phenomenon without focusing solely on the group of divine beings escaping from the heavenly world.

Fragments from the upper parts of the Tower, which many had thought were falling haphazardly from the collapsing Tower, began to blanket the darkness. The brilliantly golden-colored Tower seemed to be trying to cover the rapidly expanding darkness. The shape of a sphere, where gold and darkness were intricately intertwined, was being created. Amidst this process…

‘Hyung, what are you trying to do…?’ Cha Jeong-woo felt that the initial ‘egg’ shape was gradually taking a firmer shape. With the players, gods, demons, and even the guardians now all outside the Tower, only Yeon-woo remained within. Jeong-woo could not quite understand what his brother was trying to do. For a moment, an ominous thought flashed past his mind.

『No way, right?』 

Forcibly covering the darkness with the Tower’s fragments was obviously an attempt to prevent the second coming of the Black King. However, Yeon-woo would not be able to move if he pursued this strategy. If Yeon-woo escaped the Tower, the Tower which was enclosed around the darkness would not be able to maintain its shape. Thus, it seemed as though Yeon-woo was planning to remain within the Tower.

『You crazy bastard!』 Only then did Cha Jeong-woo fully read Yeon-woo’s intentions and started spitting out swear words. Jeong-woo did not have the wherewithal to act or speak respectively towards his older brother. All he felt was a feeling of haste.

Jeong-woo also wondered what the hell his dad was thinking. If Yeon-woo wanted to do such a crazy thing, his father should have done something to prevent it… He couldn’t believe that his father left Yeon-woo alone…!

As Cha Jeong-woo wanted to run towards the Tower, Ananta blocked him. “What are you going to do?”

『Ananta, get out of the way. Please!』 

“You’re not really thinking of going inside there, are you?”

『My older brother and father are inside!』 

“Do you hear yourself?! It’s too dangerous, what are you going to do even if you…!” Ananta shook her head vigorously as she stopped Jeong-woo from approaching the Tower.

Bam! Suddenly, a loud noise rang out and the ground violently shook. The explosion of various auras suddenly captured Cha Jeong-woo and Ananta’s attention.

On the darkness’ surface, which the Tower’s fragments had not yet covered, a huge hole had opened, and various gods and demons were seen attempting to escape from the hole. The aura that they emitted quickly filled the area outside the Tower, but strangely, the players did not feel any pressure at all because of the ominous aura emanating from the darkness.

No, aside from that, the number of gods and demons seemed to have decreased considerably compared to before. Most of the middling and lower gods and demons seemed to have perished, and only the higher divine beings remained. Many of the gods and demons had been sacrificed during the war with Vivasvat, and many died while preventing the invasion of the otherworld gods, so the number of divine beings had reduced to below forty percent of the original number.

The issue was that the otherworld gods were trailing closely behind the escaping gods and demons.

Must. Consume.

Swallow.

A. Giant. Dreamful.

[‘Night (Nox)’ has appeared!]

Unconsciously, Cha Jeong-woo firmly gripped Dragon Slayer. His body reacted instinctively as chills began to run down his spine.

[‘Night (Nox)’ has detected the successor of ‘Day (Eros)’]

[‘Night (Nox)’ wants to kill their old traitorous enemies, those of the ‘Day (Eros)’, and return the world to eternal chaos.]

[‘Night (Nox)’ has decided to eliminate the successor of ‘Day (Eros)’!]

Suddenly, one of the otherworld gods, who had trailed the gods and demons from the heavenly world to the outside of the Tower, found Cha Jeong-woo and flew towards him.