Ranker Who Shatters Myths - Chapter 225

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Broken Ranker

Devours Myths

Chapter 225

Savior (6)

A brief silence passed.

And then,

『I wondered what you were suddenly trying to say. Did you come here to spout nonsense?』

What returned was only the Bull Demon King’s mockery.

『I thought you were at least somewhat different from other humans, that you could hold a conversation… How disappointing.』

The Bull Demon King narrowed his two Honyaosan eyes.

Lee Hyeon was reflected in those two eyes, larger than his own.

『The humans who meet me always say two things. One is to save them. The other is to grant them power.』

“…”

『Of course, there were cunning ones like you who wagged their tongues in sly ways. But in the end, what they all said was exactly the same without exception. They wanted me to help them.』

Whoooosh—

The darkness of the Abyss began to churn. Demonic energy formed whirlpools, trapping Lee Hyeon.

Clack clack!

The wind carried something serrated like saw teeth.

『Still… I thought you would be different. You knew how to boldly meet my gaze even while constantly clashing with me, and you struggled desperately to reclaim your brother.』

The emotion contained in his Honyaosan was now singular.

Contempt.

『Even though you’re the apostle of that most detestable youngest, I thought you might be worth having a conversation with… It seems I was mistaken.』

[Oma King reveals hostility toward you!]

[The dignity of Logos begins to weigh down upon you.]

The Bull Demon King’s pressure grew like a snowball,

but strangely, Lee Hyeon smiled.

“I had no idea you thought so well of me all this time. It seems like I’ve only been troubling the Bull Demon King until now.”

『Are you going to wag your cunning tongue again?』

“There’s nothing cunning about it. I’m simply stating facts.”

『…』

“However, there seems to have been a slight misunderstanding in our communication. I have no intention of asking the Bull Demon King for help.”

『Ridiculous. You’ve already forgotten what you said just moments ago—』

“An alliance means exactly that—joining hands together. Making a deal with each other.”

The Bull Demon King was silent for a moment.

Lee Hyeon smiled leisurely and continued.

“Currently, the battle lines surrounding the Palmyra Ruins are all too complexly intertwined. Just what I can see amounts to five factions. Us, the Bull Demon King, the Sima Society, the Axis of Evil… and the Heavenly Court.”

『…!』

“Though he hasn’t shown himself yet, I believe the Jade Emperor is definitely watching both me and the Bull Demon King from somewhere.”

『…』

Bubble bubble—

The whirlpool of demonic energy surrounding Lee Hyeon began to boil more intensely. Bubbles rose along the wind currents.

‘A normal relationship with the Bull Demon King is impossible right now anyway. If he’s built such strong walls around his heart… I have no choice but to approach as slowly as possible.’

Lee Hyeon saw his own self from just six months ago in the Bull Demon King’s current state.

Himself, who had completely cut off from the world after losing everything.

Even when his comrades kept contacting him, he simply didn’t have the capacity to accept it.

‘The turning point when I finally opened my heart was when I met the Great Sage.’

When he was completely freed from the curse.

When he regained hope by being able to use magic power again.

‘If I could become that very hope for the Bull Demon King…’

It might be presumptuous to see himself reflected in such a great being.

But Lee Hyeon knew.

That the Seven Great Sages and the Three Law Kings weren’t fundamentally different from humans.

Just look at Son Wukong.

He cherishes his brothers the same way, loves his partner the same way.

He grieves before sad events and rejoices before happy ones just the same.

No matter how great an Achievement they had accomplished, no matter how great they were called,

in the end, even immortals shared the same emotions as mortals.

So,

loneliness would be the same too.

Affection.

If even a little affection remained in the Bull Demon King’s heart, there was still some corner where he could approach and extend his hand.

However, he mustn’t rush.

That would only make the other party more wary.

So as slowly as possible.

Approaching very carefully so he could gradually seep in.

—Salvation.

What the Bull Demon King had so desperately sought when he lost his family,

Lee Hyeon wanted to somehow give that to him.

『…』

There was even a good justification for it.

“There’s no need to unnecessarily expand the battle lines, is there? I’m not telling the Bull Demon King to reconcile with the Great Sage or your other brothers.”

It wasn’t exactly a lie either.

“Since we have a common enemy called 【Heavenly Sect】, I’m proposing that we focus our firepower in that direction first.”

『….』

Still, there was no response from Bull Demon King.

But for Lee Hyeon, that alone was already half a success.

“As Bull Demon King well knows, the ones who made this research institute are those called the Sima Society. And I suspect 【Heavenly Sect】 is behind them.”

Lee Hyeon judged that the Sima Society was able to maintain their strength even after going into exile because they had the Jade Emperor’s protection.

“I intend to cut off all their lifelines with this opportunity. So,”

『…You want me to join as well?』

“I’m saying your hostility toward the Great Sage could be dealt with later.”

After another deep silence flowed,

Whoooosh!

Suddenly the whirlwind intensified, then gathered in front of Lee Hyeon and took human form.

[Oma King attempts descent by consuming part of 【Gehenna】’s causality!]

At the same time, a silver-haired middle-aged man appeared.

He looked exactly like the avatar that had once fought with Lee Hyeon at Gyoma King’s sealed location.

‘Got it!’

Lee Hyeon intuitively knew that Bull Demon King was willing to have a conversation, and smiled slightly.

Bull Demon King frowned.

“That obvious smile is quite irritating. It reminds me of someone and makes me unpleasant.”

“….”

Lee Hyeon immediately wiped away his smile.

Being reminded of Son Wukong was unwelcome for him too.

* * *

Bull Demon King lightly waved his hand.

Then a small table and two chairs, along with a tea set, appeared.

Lee Hyeon quietly sat in the chair and looked at the teacup. Steam was rising from it.

The tea fragrance was pleasant.

It seemed to reflect Bull Demon King’s taste.

“Why are you smiling again this time?”

“I suddenly thought that Wuyong Wang would dislike seeing this.”

“You mean… Gushen?”

“Yes. He really loves alcohol.”

“…Did you drink together?”

“Yes. There was an opportunity within the myth. Though in reality he’s still not fully recovered so he’s abstaining from alcohol, I plan to become his drinking companion again once he gets his body in order.”

“Gushen’s treatment… That’s fortunate.”

Lee Hyeon didn’t miss the slight relief that flickered in Bull Demon King’s eyes. He too had been worried about Wuyong Wang.

“Gyoma King is fine too. Now he exchanges jokes well with his other brothers.”

Bull Demon King only nodded quietly without giving any response.

Lee Hyeon didn’t bother adding more words either.

Right now he too would need some time to sort out his feelings.

And….

When Bull Demon King raised his head again, a firm light had settled in his two Honyaosan eyes.

“Let’s not exchange any more small talk related to this matter and get to the main point.”

“I only mentioned it first because I thought you might be concerned about our military strength.”

A sly attitude.

Bull Demon King looked at Lee Hyeon with a displeased expression for a moment, but was satisfied with just clicking his tongue lightly and said.

“If it’s a temporary alliance, exactly how do you propose we form it? It’s not just going to end with simply not interfering with each other when fighting 【Heavenly Sect】, right?”

“That would be one method, but since a front line will open up anyway, wouldn’t it be better to properly plan our strategy?”

Bull Demon King gestured with his chin while drinking tea.

Meaning to continue speaking.

‘It seems he’s relieved some of his worry and guilt about his brothers.’

Lee Hyeon nodded and continued speaking.

“The reason you released Sata Wang. Actually, I believe it was to make 【Heavenly Sect】 descend to this land. Am I right?”

“…You’re quick to catch on.”

“As I mentioned, I have good ‘eyes’.”

Lee Hyeon pointed to his own eyes that shone gold and blue respectively.

Tsk.

Bull Demon King clicked his tongue and answered.

“If you’ve seen that far, there’s no need to hide it. That’s right. Isan is bait to lure in 【Heavenly Sect】. The ones behind those who were experimenting with Isan are them in the first place.”

A strange light flickered in Lee Hyeon’s eyes.

“The work to scatter the surface’s causality continues, and there’s not much left to finish. No matter how much you try to stop Isan, 【Heavenly Sect】’s descent is an inevitable sequence.”

Though Bull Demon King spoke in a calm tone, Lee Hyeon read the sadness underlying it.

‘As expected… There’s definitely some secret behind Sata Wang’s transformation.’

“I intend to drag the Jade Emperor down to this land at that time.”

For a moment, Bull Demon King’s eyes blazed with fire.

“And then…”

“【Gehenna】 will step forward?”

Bull Demon King’s gaze fixed directly on Lee Hyeon.

Lee Hyeon felt as if his soul was being pierced through.

“That’s right.”

Lee Hyeon nodded heavily.

Following Sata Wang, even Gehenna. All his guesses had been correct.

“However, since I’m not yet an official member of 【Gehenna】, I’m still taking tests. So I don’t know how many will participate.”

“But even if they participate at minimum level, it seems like it would be a level that even the Jade Emperor absolutely couldn’t ignore.”

“I don’t really know what those bastards are thinking in the first place. For me, I’m only thinking about tearing off the Jade Emperor’s head. Of course, other societies from the Heavens might jump in too.”

One corner of Bull Demon King’s mouth twisted.

The great demon king’s sneer with fangs fully exposed.

“Then chaos will break out on this surface, so only those 【Malakh】 chicken coop bastards will be desperately busy.”

Lee Hyeon’s mind raced quickly.

[‘Sacred Relic: Golden Headband’ activated to accelerate thinking speed!]

Whiiiing!!

Instantly, the Golden Headband rose above Lee Hyeon’s crown and began rotating.

‘A battle between 【Heavenly Sect】, or possibly even more heavenly societies, and 【Gehenna】… If the Seven Great Sages jump into the middle of that, victory would naturally tilt toward our side. It’s definitely a fight worth trying.’

The problem was the Palmyra Ruins, which had a high possibility of becoming a battlefield due to the Logoi’s war…

‘But if I use this opportunity well?’

Crisis is opportunity.

Lee Hyeon didn’t even consider defeat.

He built up various strategies layer by layer to design a battlefield where the Sima Society and 【Heavenly Sect】 would both experience defeat.

“Then our… especially my performance will be most important. After all, I’ll be the one opening the battlefield.”

“Since we’ve come this far, let me be honest. Originally, 【Gehenna】 wanted to bring not only you, but even the youngest into our fold. As you said, this is a matter where the direction will greatly depend on how we fasten the first button.”

Lee Hyeon smiled faintly.

He had stepped in at precisely the moment when his own value would be highest.

Lee Hyeon, who had been enjoying the tea fragrance, was fully reflected in the deeply sunken Honyaosan eyes.

“In that sense, if you join together, 【Gehenna】 would be very pleased. I would also benefit from being able to focus on one place. However,”

“【Gehenna】 would need solid assurance. Solid assurance that we won’t pull out halfway through.”

The Bull Demon King twisted his lips.

“This matter hinges on how much Isan disrupts the causality of the surface. It means the demonic nature must not be scattered. But if you mess things up trying to release the demonic nature, then 【Gehenna】 wouldn’t need to deploy many forces either.”

In the end, it meant Son Wukong’s group would have to accept Sata Wang’s sacrifice.

However,

Even if Son Wukong agreed right now, neither the Bull Demon King nor 【Gehenna】 would immediately believe it.

Moreover, what was here was merely an envoy of the Seven Great Sages.

“There is one method.”

“A method?”

“We will become hostages.”

Lee Hyeon glanced at Kim Min-jeong, who was still undergoing the mutation of complete victory.

The Bull Demon King’s lips parted.

Hideous teeth were revealed.

Jagged demonic saw teeth that didn’t match his human appearance.

“Surely you don’t intend to end it with just that? That one is already my believer.”

“Of course not. I’ll add one more to this.”

“What?”

“I’ll stake myself.”

“…!”

The Bull Demon King’s Honyaosan eyes widened slightly,

and Lee Hyeon put force into his words.

“The sole successor of Great Sage Equal to Heaven Son Wukong, and the joint disciple of the Seven Great Sages and Three Law Kings.”

“….”

“That should be a sufficiently satisfying hostage for 【Gehenna】. Don’t you think so?”

The Golden Eyes of Truth and Noeancheongjeong flashed more fiercely than ever before.

“So make me your hostage, Bull Demon King.”

“…!!!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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