Ranker’s Return

Chapter 454

Winding purple horns that appeared to be around 50 centimeters long, muscles that were densely packed all over the body, and huge wings sprouting from the back… The owner of all of these was Rubolle, and he had a crumpled expression.

“What am I doing? Do I need a reason to come here? I can come and go when I want.” Baler, on the other hand, had an expression that contrasted Rubolle’s. He was all smiles in anticipation of the battle that would soon take place.

Rubolle’s attention left Baler and focused on John Blake: “John! Is this your doing? Don’t you know who you are up against?!”

The difference between Rubolle and Baler was so immense it was insurmountable, even with the help of the magic power stone.

“The coward who doesn’t dare go out of the city for a second because he is afraid of me? In addition…” John Blake stared at Rubolle and smiled. He had never been a kind or good-natured person, and he had only become a lot duller with the passage of time. Back when he was a young man, John Blake was a moving tyrant. He removed all those he found unpleasant and killed them against their will. There was no forgiveness or reconsideration, only immediate action.

“Today is your last day. That position… I have to deal with what I’ve put off for a while,” John Blake said.

He reached out. Suddenly, a black longsword appeared in his hand where there was previously nothing. The appearance of the longsword was very ordinary. It was just a common longsword; there was nothing special about it. The only difference… was that a blade-like pressure started to storm in John Blake’s body. It was a different appearance from when the magic spirit was summoned.

“Don’t tell me…?” Rubolle stared at John Blake with eyes wide open as if he didn’t believe it. The black magic power was sharper and more explosive than before. All of this meant one thing.

“You learned dark magic power!” Rubolle exclaimed. It was almost impossible for the already strong John Blake to become so much stronger, even if he absorbed magic power from the magic power stone. A bit of improvement was possible, but it didn’t make sense for him to be as strong as he was now.

“If you know this, give up. It is a waste of time for you to act,” John Blake stated. Then his body disappeared. He moved so fast that it looked like teleportation. Reappearing before Rubolle’s eyes, John Blake swung his black longsword from top to bottom. The strong pure energy from the longsword split the chair and ground where Rubolle had been sitting. 

When Baler saw traces of lightning patterns on the ground after John Blake’s strike, he said admiringly with the pure look of a child in awe, “Wow, isn’t this really great? Is this John’s original ability?” 

Few people could leave such marks simply by swinging the sword without any preparation. No, there were only two people among the demon kings, including himself.

‘It’s great.’ Hyeonu also admired John Blake’s attack. The strike that shattered everything in front of him was amazing. It was a wonderful blow. Hyeonu felt it was doubtful Crescent Moon Cut could show such power even if he used all his buffs.

‘He is truly the teacher of monsters.’

It was truly believable that John Blake was Lebron’s and the emperor’s teacher. No, Hyeonu had to believe it. It was impossible to raise such monsters unless the teacher was also a monster.

‘How can I put one foot in?’

There was nothing to see. The battle was already in a state where John Blake had overwhelming dominance. Rubolle was struggling to fight back, but it was clear John Blake wouldn’t hand him the victory. As a demon king, Rubolle might have a lot of combat experience as a demon king, but so did John Blake.

‘The problem is that the dominance is so overwhelming there is no room for me to participate.’

Hyeonu smiled bitterly. The issue was that it was too easy for John Blake to win.

***

“Aren’t you satisfied with the position of duke?!” Rubolle screamed. He thought he had given everything he could give to John Blake. Rubolle hadn’t pursued revenge for the deaths of his subordinates and even gave John Blake the title of duke. However, these were just Rubolle’s thoughts.

“I said several times that I needed to use that magic circle… Don’t you remember? Have you gotten dementia from living too long? In that case, it is better for you to die here,” John Blake stated. Ever since learning about the existence of the magic circle, he had asked to use it to head back to the middle world, but Rubolle had declined such a request.

The reason was simple. John Blake was stronger than Rubolle. No, he was a factor that would disrupt the demon world. He was powerful enough to beat a demon king even in the demon world where his abilities were limited. In the middle world, it seemed like no one would be able to win against him except for Baler. Therefore, the most effective way was to tie John Blake to the demon world.

Rubolle had denied the request on such a basis…

‘Getting dark magic power and breaking free of the ban here…’ 

Yet the situation unfolded in an unexpected way. Somehow, John Blake had gotten rid of the taboo in the demon world. Rubolle sucked in magic power from the magic power stone straight away, and dark magic power started to rise from the magic power stone underground.

“Now you’re doing it properly,” John Blake said. When he saw Rubolle surrounded by the dark magic power, John Blake summoned the magic spirit. A huge black snake appeared behind him. As it flicked its forked tongue, there was an unusual glow around its mouth.

The snake howled, and a circular wave shot out and fired at Rubolle. Then the dark magic power wrapped around Rubolle’s body shot forward and formed the shape of a shield. The black magic shield blocked the circular wave. The wave struck, but the shield showed off its existence without shaking.

Nevertheless, Rubolle retrieved the shield straight away. To be precise, he recovered the magic power that made up the shield. He knew he couldn’t win just by blocking. In addition…

It was polite to give back what he had received. Rubolle’s body suddenly stretched out. He moved so quickly that only an afterimage remained, and the air exploded wherever he passed by.

Rubolle appeared within range of John Blake and swung his fist. His two fists had black gauntlets with sharp horns. It seemed like it would cause flesh to burst just by brushing past. Rubolle’s gauntlet collided with John Blake’s long sword, and there were black sparks as they pushed each other away. It was a typical battle of power. This one was a zero-sum game, where the loser took all the damage.

Just then, pure energy emerged from John Blake’s sword. Rubolle’s body was pushed back little by little. He was on the verge of losing the power battle. Eventually, Rubolle took back his gauntlet and stepped back.

“Kyaaaak!”

Simultaneously, the giant snake opened its mouth and pounced like it was going to devour Rubolle. The black snake just ended up chewing on the ground. Stones and dirt fell from the snake’s mouth. There wasn’t the body presumed to belong to Rubolle.

‘Is he going easy on purpose?’ Hyeonu cocked his head as he watched the battle that was fiercer than he imagined. It was slightly different from John Blake’s words about an unconditional victory.

‘Yes, I will use this to insert a foot into this battle.’

There was no need for Hyeonu to participate directly in battle. His contribution to the battle would be recognized to a certain extent even if Hyeonu’s pet, Tang-E, took part in the battle.

“Tang-E, come out.” Hyeonu called Tang-E out. The black-eared Tang-E emerged from the magic circle.

“Master dude!!” Tang-E rushed to Hyeonu immediately after being summoned. “Why did you only call me now? I almost had to eat the meal my mom prepared for me. I was about to run out of Master’s meat.”

Hyeonu felt there was something strange about Tang-E’s words and asked, “You ate everything already? You alone? Even though there was so much?”

Not long ago, Hyeonu had filled up Tang-E’s subspace with meat and many meat dishes. So he couldn’t help feeling flustered when hearing that Tang-E ate it all. It wasn’t an amount that someone could eat alone…

Hyeonu asked some more, “Aren’t you eating too much? Won’t you become fat?” 

“No, Master dude. That won’t happen.” Tang-E showed a strong reaction.

Despite that, Hyeonu continued the teasing: “Yes, I like you when you’re fat. Being skinny is also good. Um… No, don’t lose weight. It should be around what you are now. I prefer you to be a bit chubby, rather than skinny.”

Hyeonu tapped on Tang-E’s bouncy belly.

“Uwoo, Master dude is hateful.” Tang-E scowled at Hyeonu’s actions.

“It is a joke, a joke. It is because I feel you are a bit thin,” Hyeonu soothed Tang-E. He patted Tang-E’s head and poured out affectionate words.

“By the way Master dude, why did you call me?”

“Ah, that’s right. Do you see that uncle over there? Give him your buffs. He is my master’s teacher, and he is fighting a demon king.”

It wasn’t until some time later that he remembered why he summoned Tang-E. He had been preoccupied with playing with Tang-E and forgotten his original purpose.

“Demon king? So we’re on the good side? That uncle is a warrior?” Tang-E’s eyes shone brightly. For Tang-E, a demon king and warrior were a set. The demon king was a bad guy, and the warrior was a good guy.

“Tang-E will help the warrior.” Tang-E aimed his buffs at John Blake.

Bear’s Momentum, Forest’s Blessing, and Breath of the Wind—all the available buffs were used. The moment John Blake received Tang-E’s buffs, his movements changed. Originally, he was so fast that he left afterimages. Now, no afterimages could be seen at all. It was instant movement. Such a change had an immediate impact in combat.

Rubolle’s eyes couldn’t follow John Blake’s movements, which had changed in an instant. Right then, Rubolle’s body was slammed deep into the ground. “Kuock…”

Rubolle released his magic power at the last moment to reduce the damage he received as much as possible. However, this didn’t mean he received no damage. John Blake’s attack wasn’t that light. Rubolle didn’t even have time to lie on the ground.

The black snake was aiming at his body. Rubolle got up halfway and quickly rolled over, leaving the black snake to bite the spot where he had just been lying. He got up in an instant and prepared for an attack. Rubolle had a hunch that defeat was in front of him if he continued in this way. So he pulled out all the remaining magic power from the magic power stone.

Just then, the black snake that was crawling from side to side and chasing Rubolle shook its body quickly and roughly. A thick tail suddenly appeared in front of Rubolle, and he used the magic power he had just gained to strike the snake’s tail. This was Rubolle’s fatal mistake.

The magic spirit was just a spirit. The disappearance of the magic spirit didn’t cause catastrophic damage to John Blake. It was just a means of regaining some competence while under the penalty. Now it was just a buff skill after the stats restriction was lifted due to the Mysterious Sky Demonic Art.

A longsword passed over Rubolle’s neck, and his head fell to the ground. This was the moment when a demon king of the demon world was overthrown.