Ranker Who Lives Twice-Chapter ss8: Side Story 8 - Allforone (8)

Side Story Chapter 8 - Allforone (8)

As soon as the words Vivasvat stated those words…

[Olympus’ forces have appeared!]

Boom! Boom! Whoosh! The grass shook from the surrounding fields, and soldiers soon appeared everywhere. They had expressionless faces as if they were wearing a mask, but Vivasvat sensed that they were feeling unsettled. They seemed to have been rattled, fearing a mere mortal. Some of the forces had reached low-level divine status, but none of them seemed to think they could ‘beat’ Vivasvat.

‘Then there’s nothing more to see or think about.’ Vivasvat smiled coldly and started to recharge his Great Handprint.

Rumble. Thunder roared incessantly as a palm formation wind swept through the enemy camp like lightning. Eventually, when his opponent’s advances were slowed, Vivasvat turned his attention and senses to Garmr. She was still fighting with Urd.

Clash! Clash! Boom! It was a fierce fight that did not offer either opponent an inch to breathe. Garmr fought with a ferocity and power that Vivasvat had not seen in the past year he served under her command. The sight of explosions, exploding one after another, occurring every time she swung her ax-like sword was enough to make every observer’s spine chill.

Urd, who was fighting with all her might, seemed to show why she was considered the best among the Valkyries. However, for some reason, Urd showed signs of impatience. She must have been wary of Vivasvat joining the fight, as her two trusted sisters had easily succumbed to his attacks just moments ago. In the end, no matter how good or accomplished a warrior was, it seemed inevitable that one would always seek to retain one’s precious life.

Reading the situation, Vivasvat was about to enter the fray and help Garmr.『Don’t join.』 Vivasvat heard Garmr’s voice ring in his ear. Though Vivasvat frowned, Garmr’s voice was firm.『You have some work to do.』

『What work…?』

『Rescue the villagers. They’re probably detained somewhere around here. If the battle continues like this, all the villagers will be killed, as they’ll just weigh the enemy down. So, move!』

Vivasvat clenched his jaw. He hesitated as he pondered what he should do. He wondered whether he should listen to Garmr or not.

『Hurry!』

However, due to Garmr’s continued requests, Vivasvat forced himself to move in the opposite direction.『…I’m sorry.』

『For what?』

『To put you in this position because of me…!』 Vivasvat bit down on his lower lip. At the thought that all the things befalling on Bifrost was due to him, Vivasvat felt a sense of guilt, which weighed down heavily on his heart.

『What the hell are you talking about? So self-centered. Why is this all because of you?』 Rather than any rebuke or concern, Garmr responded back with a smile.

Vivasvat opened his eyes wide, not understanding what Garmr was saying. Garmr suddenly gathered her magic energy and let out a Lion’s Roar. “Bifrost!” Her voice reverberated and echoed out loudly.

Urd, who was facing Garmr, as well as everyone else on the battlefield, was startled and hurriedly turned to her. However, only the members of Bifrost showed an unwavering response.

“Everyone, open a path for the youngest to pass!”

“Understood!”

“Understood!”

“Finally! I was wondering when an order would be issued! Hmpf!”

The Bifrost members began to move in unison as they answered loudly. They no longer just stood their ground against the rushing enemies but started pushing back.

Bam! Bam! Any outside observer would have marveled at the formation that allowed Vivasvat to move forward without much deterrence. Of course, the damage suffered by the troop members increased because of that, but they did not seem to care very much.

“Hurry!”

“Hurry up, youngest! Your brethren are strong, but not that strong!”

“Yeah! Run like your life depends on it!”

Vivasvat could not help but feel confused. The way everyone moved without hesitation after receiving Garmr’s order made his heart ache. On the other hand, he wondered what problem awaited them for disobeying Asgard’s command.

『Move to Zone Z19. If you go there, the reinforcement unit should be waiting for you. But be careful, if you don’t arrive on time, they’ll leave you behind without looking back.』

『What’s the meaning of this…!』

『What’s happening? Is that what you’re asking?』 There seemed to be some laughter in Garmr’s voice.『Surely, you didn’t think that you were the only one who detested the gods, right?』

『Then…?』

『Suffice it to say that we all have similar thoughts as you do. You’re the Heavenly Demon’s son, right? You and your past is quite popular amongst the members. It seems you wreaked havoc in the outside world.』

『…!』

『Still, one can’t believe all the rumors, so I was planning on testing your mettle one way or another… Too bad things happened as they did before that.』

In Garmr’s voice, Vivasvat could feel a sense of peace and calm. It seemed she was happy to finally speak out about the secrets that she had to keep within herself.

『Anyway, run. You can do it right? The situation isn’t great, but you can probably do it.』

Vivasvat nodded heavily.『Of course.』 He knew that was enough small talk.

Bam!

<Shukuchi>

Vivasvat followed the path made by his colleagues and activated his skills one after another. A call to grab him quickly rang out from everywhere, but there was no one who could stop him. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The gusts that arose whenever he stepped on the ground soon turned into violent typhoons and covered the entire mountainside and valley. Additionally, the flashes of light that occurred within this realm moved with a ferocious sharpness.

As if slashed with a sharpened sword, the enemies who attacked Vivasvat fell one after another while vomiting blood. Moreover, the Bifrost attacks were already wreaking havoc on their enemies. The enemies had lost the momentum a long time ago.

One Against a Thousand Enemies… Unmoving Against Ten Thousand Opponents… These maxims all seemed to refer to them.

[The Asgard forces in hiding have made their appearance!]

In the end, the Olympus forces alone were not enough to stop Vivasvat, so the Asgard forces, who had been on standby as auxiliary forces, poured into the battlefield. But even they fell helplessly like dominoes.

Suddenly, Vivasvat lifted his head up to the sky instead of running forward. He felt an unusual energy. He saw a group of black, dark clouds gathering. ‘A great god!’

Though the level of the being was termed ‘great’, the intensity and power possessed by gods at that level could not easily be expressed in words. Even if all the lesser gods of a society banded together, they would not be able to muster a challenge against a single great god. A great god was like a vast sky. With its will, a great god seemed to be able to move the world.

[Odin is descending!]

[Zeus is descending!]

Though he possessed calm eyes, Odin exhibited a force that flowed like a bloody storm. Meanwhile, Zeus exuded a strong sense of force like lightning. The appearance of these two people was bound to cause tension for Vivasvat.

『Hahaha. I was wondering who was causing all this ruckus. I guess the Heavenly Demon’s son is truly the Heavenly Demon’s son?』

『…』

Whenever Zeus burst out into laughter, the entire stage, no, seemingly the entire world shook. It felt as if the Tower would collapse at any moment.

‘How the hell did father manage to entrap these guys here?’ Unconsciously, Vivasvat tensed up. Although he knew that these main great gods were strong, he thought he had largely caught up to them after honing his skills for the past year within the Tower. However, at this moment, Vivasvat knew that he would be fighting an uphill battle.

Vivasvat was especially wary of Odin, more so than the laughing Zeus. The figure of Odin, who showed no emotion as if he was wearing a mask, was terrifying. He somehow felt that Odin was an arch nemesis. There was no particular reason. It was just an intuition. However, that was enough to keep him on edge. Vivasvat’s sense of intuition surpassed most people’s ability to see into the future.

‘Rescuing the villagers may not be easy…’

With such a thought, Vivasvat smacked his lips. And then… Boom! Without further delay, he flung himself forward.

***

Bam!

“Do you recall up to here?”

“…” Nocturne slowly tilted his drink and nodded in response to the question that the Heavenly Demon asked after putting down his drink. These memories were already in his mind, but they felt far away, as if he was viewing them through an old television set.

When the Heavenly Demon personally offered him a drink, everything came to life as if Nocturne had truly returned to that time. It was a feeling that could only be recalled by those who had experienced those things ‘directly’, experiences that had ‘actually’ happened in that bloody place. Thus, Nocturne was sure that his memories were ‘real’.

“At that time, you really went through a lot of struggles. Even though Zeus and Odin were somewhat hindered with the Heavenly Demon disease, they still weren’t pushovers.” The Heavenly Demon scratched his cheek with his index finger, apparently because he was unfamiliar with verbalizing ‘Heavenly Demon’ when referring to himself. “Odin was especially persistent. He wanted to catch you somehow at all costs.”

Nocturne quietly nodded his head.

After the clash with Zeus and Odin, Vivasvat had to fight off a relentless pursuit. He had to safely rescue the hostages while fending against the two gods. No matter how much Bifrost helped, he was in a disadvantaged situation. As a result, considerable sacrifices and damage ensued.

Among his troubles, Odin caused Vivasvat the greatest headache. Odin ran rampant in his storm with an expressionless face… He was fear itself. Underneath Odin’s expressionless face, which Vivasvat could not fathom, Odin’s cruel hands unleashed relentless magic spells and attacks.

“I can understand why he was so persistent. Odin had a different purpose than that of Zeus.”

“…?” As Nocturne was hearing this for the first time, he had no choice but to open his eyes wide.

“Zeus was going to catch you and use you as bait to lure me out. However, Odin was concerned that you might be the one that appeared in their great prophecy.”

“The Great Prophecy…?”

“Yes. It’s like the curse that Odin received after defeating the colossus Bestla, before his ascension as a creation god… One day, when a wildly burning star arises, the sun and moon will be devoured, and the age of wolves will come, and the world will be drenched in darkness. You gods will be drawn together into the setting twilight.” The Heavenly Demon laughed as he recited the great prophecy, which was once popular and all-consuming within Asgard.

“Twilight… Curse…” Nocturne mumbled the two words as if he understood. It was Ragnar?k. The great prophecy, meaning ‘the fate of the gods’ or the ‘Twilight of the gods’, was something that he certainly heard.

Various societies speculated that the prophecy referred to the impending great war that would inevitably happen between Asgard and their arch enemy, Niflheim. But in the end, before even approaching anything like Ragnar?k, Asgard had been put in their place by Nocturne’s master. If one thought about it that way, one would end up dismissing the great prophecy as being something insignificant, but it seemed that it was very important and all-consuming for Odin.

“Odin had been collecting all kinds of prophecies for a very long time. Even when he was unconscious and asleep. Then, he saw you suddenly appear, a wildly rising star. He put two and two together and concluded that you must be the rising star in the great prophecy.”

The name Vivasvat referred to the sun god. It literally meant ‘star’. Besides, Vivasvat at that time must have looked especially splendid since he always emanated a dazzling light distribution around his body.

Moreover, the being was already contending against gods, so it was natural for Odin to assume that Vivasvat was the being stated in the great prophecy.

“Then, was the great prophecy incorrect?”

“Well.”

Nocturne frowned as if he did not appreciate the Heavenly Demon’s non-committal answer. He felt frustrated at looking at the Heavenly Demon’s seemingly smug, omniscient expression.

“Regardless.” As if there was no need to talk about the great prophecy anymore, the Heavenly Demon continued the conversation’s topic to something else. “You managed to escape from the sixteenth floor with the hostages after evading their relentless pursuit, and thus your name became very popular in the Tower. And then you became the singular Resistance within the Tower. You carried the name…”

The Heavenly Demon paused and smiled, and Nocturne had to forcefully suppress his curses. It was a name that would always make one’s heart flutter, and a being that served mortals rather than the gods. It was someone fighting for the individual rather than a society, for freedom rather than oppression, and a name created to serve the mortal rather than the immortal.

“…Allforone.”

It was not Vivasvat/Nocturne’s original name.