The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player Novel - Chapter 327
Chapter 327 – Hope and Despair
[Huh?]
For the first time, Chaos’s expression changed strangely.
It was a look as if he had witnessed something confusing.
And it was no wonder, for the deadly spear seemed to be absorbed by Black Scythe’s body.
‘It’s not being absorbed. It’s being sucked into space.’
Chaos traced the trajectory of that space.
And soon he couldn’t help but be surprised.
The destination of the trajectory was fixed on himself.
‘Reflection? Did they reflect my technique?’
Without time to digest the surprise, Chaos hurriedly altered his phase dimension.
However, due to the half-second delay, part of the reflected damage reached him.
[Aaaargh!]
The thunderous scream surprised all the players watching.
For an entity believed to be invulnerable to damage to let out a scream of pain was incredible.
Even for the one responsible, Ryu Min, it was hard to believe.
‘The knight’s revival rune worked!’
Deliberately getting hit by the mortality spear had been a risky move.
Since it was an attack from the primordial god, there was a possibility that the rune wouldn’t activate.
‘But the fact that it worked means that, even though he is a primordial god, the runes and skills of the players can still affect him.’
Though Ryu Min smiled, the situation was not so encouraging.
It would have been great if the attack had killed Chaos, but unfortunately, his eye remained intact.
[How dare you! A mere human dares to attack me!]
“Human, you say. I am also a god, you know?”
[I will kill you… I will tear you apart and make you experience eternal pain in the underground prison.]
Chaos’s eyes widened with fury.
No matter what kind of attack he was preparing, it had to be stopped.
Shuk shuk shuk shuk shuk!
Ryu Min swung his scythe at the bloodshot eyes, but Chaos dodged them with his phase shift.
Still, Ryu Min did not stop his attacks.
He slashed dozens and hundreds of times, as if he didn’t want to give him a chance to strike back.
However, Chaos’s eyes, which were blurred like a curtain, suddenly glowed red.
‘What is this? Did he complete his attack even in the phase shift state?’
Could it be that he couldn’t speak, but could still recite a spell?
This is dangerous.
His instinct told him that he was in mortal danger if he didn’t move away.
As Ryu Min hurriedly retreated, he heard Chaos’s voice.
[The game is over. All the humans here will be annihilated without exception.]
Before he finished speaking, space opened up.
Sixteen spaces appeared, one for each person.
Up to that point, everything was the same as before.
The difference was that instead of dark red spears, blood-red spears emerged.
[This time you won’t be able to dodge them.]
With those words, Chaos blinked.
As if that were the signal, the sixteen red spears hurtled down at an incredible speed.
Or at least, they were about to.
‘Phew, I’m glad I used the Rune of Light Speed in time.’
The Rune of Light Speed made time around him seem to slow down.
Or rather, it made him move as fast as light, making everything around him appear slow.
As he looked up, he saw the red spears descending slowly like turtles.
Clearly, they seemed much more powerful than the spears he had seen before.
‘Chaos said this time I couldn’t dodge them.’
It wasn’t a boast or empty words.
There was something special about those red spears.
As he carefully examined the spears, Ryu Min moved out of the way.
He smiled as he saw the spears turning to follow him.
‘As I suspected. They had a tracking function.’
Each spear seemed to have a designated target, changing direction according to the movement.
To be sure, Ryu Min moved people who were standing still like mannequins.
As expected, the spears turned their heads.
Even if he hid the people, the spears would find and follow them without fail.
‘As Chaos said, it’s impossible to avoid this. All the people are set as targets to be hit.’
If those red spears fell at the same time, the players here would be annihilated in an instant.
No chance to revive anyone.
‘It would be great to have total invulnerability at times like this… wait.’
A strange thought suddenly crossed his mind.
‘Not everyone is a target.’
There was an exception.
‘Artaros. That guy is not being chased by the spears.’
The spears are set to kill one person per player, but they don’t chase Artaros.
From the beginning, there were no spears aimed at him.
The spears were only created for the number of players present.
‘Is it because he’s their subordinate? No, even if that’s the case, it’s still strange. Artaros is immortal. They must know he can’t die, so why exclude him as a target? Could it be…?’
A possibility crossed Ryu Min’s mind, and he had no choice but to bet everything on it.
There was no other option.
‘First, gather the people.’
Ryu Min gathered the remaining people in one place.
As he grouped them, he saw that only 15 people were left besides himself.
He looked at the faces with concern, but all the main members were alive.
‘Many of Jo Yong-ho’s mercenaries died.’
In the slowed time, he saw Jo Yong-ho’s somber expression.
‘There’s nothing we can do for the dead. We can only try to save the ones left.’
As he grouped the people, the sixteen red spears converged on a single point.
And in front of the spot where the spears converged, Ryu Min placed Artaros.
He hoped Artaros would block those spears like a shield.
‘If he spreads his wings like this, he should be able to block them to some extent.’
When he took position, Artaros, with his enormous wings, seemed to be protecting the 16 of them, including Ryu Min.
It was ironic to see a former enemy protecting them, but there was no other choice.
‘I just hope the spears don’t pierce through Artaros and hit the people behind him.’
With that thought, Ryu Min released the time constraint of the Rune of Light Speed.
Time returned to its normal state, and the spears, which had been moving slowly, shot towards Artaros.
Puf, puf, puf, puf, puf, puf, puf, puf!
Splat!
In an instant, the people were covered in crimson blood and were startled.
“Aaaah! What is this?”
“What… is this?”
It was natural for people to be scared.
In the blink of an eye, their positions had changed, and they were grouped together.
Moreover, the angel who had been fighting Black Scythe was there, pierced by the sixteen spears.
That’s why they couldn’t help but be surprised.
Chaos, who was watching, felt the same.
[How?]
The humans, who seemed doomed to die, were suddenly grouped in one place, and Artaros had shielded them.
Chaos, who didn’t know the Rune of Light Speed, was astonished.
Among the shocked people, Ryu Min was the only one who remained calm.
‘Thank goodness. The spears didn’t pierce Artaros’s body.’
He had feared that the spears might pierce through Artaros and hurt the people behind him, but fortunately, that didn’t happen.
In fact, the situation turned out better than expected.
Artaros, who was supposed to revive, fell to the ground as if he were dead.
With a dull thud, the spears holding him disappeared like smoke, and Artaros collapsed powerlessly.
Crimson blood continuously poured from the holes in his body.
[Cough, cough… Ha, ha ha ha…]
Even while dying in pain, Artaros had a faint smile.
As if he had finally achieved his wish.
Thus, Artaros closed his eyes for the last time.
As if he were an ordinary person dying.
‘It’s not an illusion. He’s really dead.’
Ryu Min, who was watching, couldn’t hide his astonishment.
The curse of immortality didn’t work.
And he wasn’t the only one surprised; Chaos’s pupils were also trembling back and forth.
He had inadvertently killed one of his own, but that didn’t seem to be the only reason for his shock.
[The boss of Round 20 has died.]
[Congratulations on completing Round 20!]
[The round will end shortly.]
Artaros, the boss of Round 20, had died, and a message announcing the completion of the round appeared.
At that much-desired message, the players opened their mouths in disbelief.
“The boss is dead?”
“We completed the round?”
“Can we finally get out alive?”
“Ha, ha ha! We’re alive! We’re alive!”
A ray of hope illuminated the corridor that had only shown despair before.
It was the light of confirmation of their escape.
The players couldn’t help but feel euphoric, but it seemed that Chaos didn’t hear their voices.
He was so shocked that he just stared into the void with wide eyes.
[Wow… This has been a tough blow. Making the instant-death spears impact Artaros to end the round.]
Chaos’s empty eyes turned to Ryu Min.
[This is your doing, isn’t it?]
“…….”
[Of course, it could only be yours.]
Ryu Min didn’t respond.
He didn’t want to provoke him unnecessarily.
It wasn’t over yet.
Especially since Chaos’s atmosphere was unsettling.
[Damn it. To be caught by my own system. It’s ridiculous to have to withdraw like this.]
Chaos’s empty eyes looked at the people celebrating their victory.
[But insignificant humans. It’s too soon to rejoice. I have enough time to kill you all, even if it’s just for an instant.]
Chaos was determined to deliver one last blow before withdrawing.
Unable to use the Rune of Light Speed again, Ryu Min swung his scythe in desperation.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
However, as before, Chaos, in his phase-shifted state, could still cast spells. His eyes glowed intensely.
Uuuuuuuuuung—
Sixteen spaces appeared in the sky, and the players’ faces turned pale.
They were the instant-death spears that Chaos had used before.
[If you can dodge them this time, try it.]
Before finishing speaking, the spears plunged down.
The speed was such that, hopefully, they could dodge them, but the problem was the tracking function of the spears.
‘This is bad!’
Before the spears fell, Ryu Min looked for Christine.
‘Use the Rune of Sacrifice!’
[You have designated a target to protect.]
[You will receive the damage instead of the target.]
[If the distance between the target and you exceeds 100 meters, the protection will automatically cancel.]
‘Temporary skill, invulnerability!’
[The temporary skill ‘invulnerability’ has been activated.]
[You will be immune to all damage for 60 seconds.]
[You have used a one-time skill.]
[The skill has disappeared from your skill list.]
After protecting Christine with the Rune of Sacrifice, Ryu Min used the temporary invulnerability skill.
At that moment, the red spears mercilessly pierced his nearby comrades, killing them instantly.
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!
“Aaaah!”
“Huff!”
Some screamed, but others died without being able to utter a word.
Seo Arin, Min Juri, Joo Sung-taek, John Delgado, Jeffrey, Russell, Yamti, Jo Yong-ho, Eom Jun-seok, Victor, Sophia, Alex, Dorothy, and other comrades who had shared life and death fell before his eyes.
Only Christine and Ryu Min survived.
‘I saved Christine with the Rune of Sacrifice.’
He was able to save her by blocking the damage from the spears with his invulnerability.
He also nullified the spear aimed at himself with the invulnerability.
‘Saving one is already something.’
Although the loss of his comrades was regrettable, there was no time for sorrow.
[You blocked my attack with invulnerability. I congratulate you. But don’t relax yet.]
Chaos’s attack was not over.
[Of course, I don’t plan to attack now. I’ll kill you just when your invulnerability ends.]
Ryu Min gritted his teeth upon hearing his death sentence.
‘Damn it! When will the round end?’
There were about 40 seconds of invulnerability left.
A time that could seem long or short depending on the situation.
Ryu Min couldn’t just wait.
“Christine! Snap out of it, Christine!”
He shook Christine’s shoulders hard, but got no reaction.
She only stared blankly with vacant pupils.
‘Damn it. She went into shock seeing our comrades die in front of her.’
She seemed deeply impacted, unable to hear even his close shouts.
‘There’s no other choice.’
Ryu Min used the last control command on Christine.
“I order you, Christine. Use your resurrection skill to revive Sophia.”