Even Today, the Ranker Dreams of Retirement

The appearance of Hyun Siwoo.

Of course, outwardly he was disguised as a demon, so Jiseok hesitantly stepped back.

“Nothing, I was just… looking for the Demon God…”

“As one of his loyal servants, don’t you know where the Demon God has gone?”

“He’s such an elusive figure.”

“Hmm. That’s certainly true.”

‘Indeed, Hyun Habin is quite the unpredictable one.’

Hyun Siwoo nodded deeply in agreement. Chae Jiseok asked with a puzzled expression.

“But why are you looking for the Demon God?”

“Well… um…”

‘How should I explain this away?’

Hyun Siwoo and Chae Jiseok, unaware of each other’s true identities, were fumbling for excuses.

‘What are these two humans doing?’

Chae Jise, watching this scene, couldn’t help but smile wryly.

Screech-

Suddenly, an unpleasant noise filled the banquet hall.

And then.

-Attention, everyone. Please focus your attention here.

A booming voice echoed throughout the Demon King’s castle, as if broadcast over a loudspeaker.

At that sound, everyone, including the Chae siblings and Hyun Siwoo, turned their heads.

‘What’s going on?’

At the front of the banquet hall, on a slightly protruding stage-like area, a demon stood silently.

His voice, though seemingly quiet, reached everyone. Soon, all eyes were fixed on him.

A demon with silver hair and red eyes.

He was clearly dressed as a common servant. There were numerous servants at this banquet wearing the exact same attire.

However.

‘His aura is completely different from ordinary demons.’

Hyun Siwoo noticed this and gripped Neaiba tightly. He could sense it from the energy the demon exuded.

He had a strong feeling that this silver-haired demon was no ordinary figure.

-Hmm…

The servant-clad demon, having captured everyone’s attention, opened his mouth as if satisfied.

-I apologize for interrupting your enjoyment of the banquet, but the auction for the ‘Demon God’s Ring’ is about to begin.

‘The Demon God’s Ring?’

Hyun Siwoo’s face hardened. That was the conquest item for the 50th floor.

He wasn’t the only one who reacted. Everyone in the banquet hall stopped what they were doing and stared at the silver-haired demon.

Not just the demons, but also the other hunters in hiding, and even the other Demon Kings. They all raised their heads and looked at the silver-haired demon.

A moment of silence swept through the crowd.

It was then that someone in the crowd cautiously spoke up.

“Uh, come to think of it, wasn’t there supposed to be a specific demon overseeing the auction? Why is this guy doing it?”

A voice filled with confusion.

“Yeah, that’s right?”

“What’s going on?”

From that point on, murmurs of bewilderment and surprise began to spread.

“Who is that guy? Judging by his attire, isn’t he just a servant?”

“Who told him to do this?”

“Where are all the auction managers?”

“And why is the auction starting so early?”

As the murmuring grew louder, the silver-haired demon smiled as if displeased. He clapped his hands once with a slow motion.

Kheuk-

Simultaneously, a heavy pressure descended upon the entire ballroom.

‘Huk…!’

The demons, caught off guard, looked at each other in surprise.

‘This level of power is at least that of a Demon King…!’

‘What in the…!’

Silent shock erupted among them.

-I asked for your attention, didn’t I?

While everyone wore expressions of confusion, the silver-haired demon continued speaking slowly.

His tone seemed to be holding back irritation, as if exercising patience, or perhaps it was just extremely bored.

-I’ve nicked the ring that was stored in the Demon King’s castle. Here it is. Satisfied?

As he raised his hand, a black ring with a red glow appeared.

“…!”

Everyone stared at the ring in astonishment.

The Demon God’s Ring.

“Is… is that the real thing?”

“Quick, verify it!”

At the Demon Kings’ orders, other servants hurriedly ran to where the ring had been kept. Not long after, they returned with pale faces.

“It… it seems to be genuine!”

“The ring that was there is gone!”

“What?!”

The demons who heard this news wore expressions of disbelief.

“How on earth…!”

The Demon God’s Ring.

It wasn’t that everyone else had been too foolish to steal it earlier.

What kind of beings were the Demon Kings?

If they were truly evil Demon Kings, they would have stolen the ring long ago without waiting for the auction day.

The reason they hadn’t was because the ring was protected by the legendary Demon God’s magic.

The auction date was set to coincide with when that magic would wear off. Until then, it was an item that no one had been able to touch.

It should have been an item that no one but the Demon God could have touched, and yet…

‘How did he manage to take it?’

Hyun Siwoo also watched the scene with a serious expression. The reason he had specifically come to target the ‘ring’ on the auction day was because even he, the world’s strongest magician, couldn’t do anything against the ‘Demon God’s magic’.

So how did this being obtain the ring so easily?

While they were lost in confusion, the silver-haired demon plopped down on a nearby railing decoration.

Playfully tossing and catching the ring, he slowly opened his mouth.

-Still, your efforts were so touching that I’m thinking of holding the auction as planned.

“Ahem, then we Demon Kings will-“

Just as the Demon Kings of Wrath, Sloth, and others were about to rise from their seats, the silver-haired demon shook his head.

-No, please remain seated. Because I just heard some very interesting news.

“What is it?”

-I heard that the position of the Demon King of Lust has just become vacant.

“……”

He smiled and cast his gaze to the distance. There lay the Demon King of Lust, already a corpse.

-So it wouldn’t be bad to consider every demon here as a candidate for Demon King, would it?

“Wh-what nonsense are you spouting?”

One of the Demon Kings retorted with an incredulous expression.

Originally, they had set the principle that only Demon Kings could participate in the auction, but this silver-haired demon was ruining everything.

-It seems you don’t understand, so let me explain again. Now that you all qualify, I’ll start the auction with all of you as participants.

At those outrageous words, the demons looked at each other in shock.

The Demon Kings, who already had the right to participate, snorted angrily and shouted.

“What kind of nonsense is this! How dare those who aren’t Demon Kings participate? Just try it, and I’ll tear you to shreds!”

“Unacceptable! Why should we follow your words?”

One Demon King even leaped directly at the silver-haired demon.

It was the Demon King of Greed, wasn’t it?

Bang-

And that attack was rendered useless with a single hand gesture from the silver-haired demon.

The Demon King of Greed, who had been flung far away without even realizing it, raised his head with a dumbfounded expression.

-Please don’t make me repeat myself. I’m not finished speaking.

The silver-haired demon, with an annoyed expression, opened his mouth.

-Anyway, the auction starts now. Everyone present here is eligible to participate.

And the condition for winning the bid is…

-Defeat me and take the ring.

At those words, a chilling silence descended.

◆◇◆◇◆

Rumble, boom boom boom-

“Die! Die!”

“Hand that over right now!”

The banquet hall had turned into chaos.

After a moment of silence, the Demon Kings who grasped the situation took turns attacking the silver-haired demon.

Most were knocked out after a few hits, but the walls of the banquet hall were half-destroyed by the relentless attacks of the Demon Kings who hadn’t yet tired.

“Fides-nim! What should we do!”

“Fides-nim!”

“……”

‘What in the world is…’

The voices of bewildered hunters calling for Hyun Siwoo could be heard. Hyun Siwoo bit his lip.

It hadn’t been long since the silver-haired demon started the auction. Nevertheless, the ballroom had turned into complete pandemonium.

Demon Kings who had given up attacking the silver-haired demon and were now tearing at each other, magic spells flying everywhere.

It was a scene of utter chaos that could be mistaken for the final battle of a demon realm war.

Yet, the mysterious silver-haired demon maintained his position with nonchalance.

Surprisingly, none of the attacks directed at him seemed to have any effect. Instead, the silver-haired demon provoked them with a bored expression.

“If this is all you’ve got even when you all attack together, the demon realm is truly in its twilight. It seems we’ll really need to recruit that junior.”

“Eeek! This one dares to mock us!”

Boom.

The attacks aimed at him disappeared like mirages. Seeing the demon unscathed by any impact, Hyun Siwoo tilted his head.

“Neaiba.”

[Yes?]

“Surely that demon couldn’t be… the legendary ‘Demon God of Nothingness’, right?”

Tock.

The moment he uttered the words ‘Demon God of Nothingness’, Hyun Siwoo felt the distant silver-haired demon staring directly at him.

Their eyes met.

“……”

Somehow, it sent chills down his spine. The heavy pressure he felt just from eye contact.

‘Just who is…’

He was incomparably stronger than the Demon Kings. A realm that couldn’t even be mentioned in the same breath as humans or demons.

‘Was there ever such a powerful being in the demon realm?’

Unless it was the legendary Demon God.

Hyun Siwoo turned his head. The silver-haired demon was an unexpected variable.

‘This is definitely a variable that never appeared before my regression. I’m certain.’

He had never encountered the ‘Demon God’ before his regression.

At that time, even the ‘Demon God’s Ring’ item that this being was holding didn’t have much presence.

Hyun Siwoo remembered what Hyun Habin, who had obtained the Demon God’s Ring before the regression, had said.

‘The Demon God’s Ring? It’s just an item with a flashy appearance but no abilities. It seems like it might activate under certain conditions, but I don’t even know what those conditions are.’

‘Ah, it’s just junk.’ Hyun Habin had said, tossing it into her inventory. So it had only been passed on as a condition for clearing the 50th floor.

But now it had appeared with this impossibly difficult variable, this unbelievable being.

‘If that’s really the Demon God…’

This was beyond what Hyun Siwoo could handle.

‘Where did it all go wrong?’

Was it from when Hyun Habin impersonated the Demon God?

Or was it because she killed the Demon King of Lust too early?

‘Should I withdraw and make a new plan?’

And where had Hyun Habin disappeared to now, was she alright?

As he was turning these complicated thoughts over in his mind…

Creeak…

At that very moment.

Behind him, the shutter covering the terrace opened.

Step, step.

Hyun Siwoo instinctively turned his head in that direction. At a glance it seemed like ordinary footsteps, but the energy was far from ordinary.

It was a presence so overwhelming that one could believe a new Demon God, no, something even greater, had appeared.

…Another being with such presence had appeared?

As Hyun Siwoo gulped, it happened.

“Ha… You really like your senior, don’t you? What kind of karma did I accumulate in my past life to keep running into situations like this?”

“…?”

“I treated you respectfully because you’re indeed much older, but you don’t know when to stop, do you?”

At that all-too-familiar voice, Hyun Siwoo slowly examined the figure.

A woman holding her characteristic large sword in one hand, gritting her teeth and glaring at the silver-haired demon.

“I even gave you my precious cup ramen, and this is how you repay me? This goes against all business ethics!”

A voice and tone somehow filled with indignation and irritation.

“……”

Anyone could see that this was-

‘Hyun Habin?’

It was his sister, whom he had been searching for until just now.