The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player Novel - Chapter 330
Chapter 330 – Heaven’s Gate
Ryu Min sighed as he teleported to the Demon King’s Castle.
[You have left your position during the current round.]
[If you do not return to the round’s location within an hour, you will lose your player status.]
[Time remaining until disqualification: 00:59:59]
‘I haven’t escaped this damn survival game yet.’
The message indicated he was still trapped in the survival game. Of course, if he didn’t return in an hour, Ryu Min would be free.
Losing player status meant becoming a civilian again.
‘But I can’t give up now, not after coming this far.’
Give up when only one round was left? And with the Wish Stone that grants any wish right within reach.
‘Besides, I have a reason to obtain the Wish Stone.’
Now, he had no interest in becoming a civilian again. He would gladly participate as a mercenary in the Celestial War and lead his team to victory.
‘But first, I have something to do.’
Ryu Min closed his eyes and summoned the remaining noble demon. Then, Sitri, the only surviving noble demon, appeared after a teleportation.
[You, you called me, my king? I’m glad to see you again.]
“Yes. How have you been?”
[Th, thanks to you, I’ve been well, but…]
Sitri was trembling with fear for some reason. Anyone would think he was about to be executed.
‘Does he feel guilty for leaving the boss room alone? Seems like he has loyalty.’
Ryu Min, guessing it was due to guilt, stared at him. Sitri, misinterpreting his gaze, quickly prostrated himself.
[I, I’m sorry! I will accept any punishment!]
“Why are you apologizing?”
[For leaving earlier during the round.]
“I told you to leave.”
[Even so, I shouldn’t have left. I am just a miserable servant who left his king. I don’t deserve to live…]
“Forget those nonsense. I just want to ask you something.”
[What, what is it…?]
“You know how to get to Heaven, right?”
Sitri’s eyes widened at Ryu Min’s question.
[You want to go to Heaven?]
“Yes. I can go to and from the Underworld, but I don’t know how to get to Heaven. Do you know?”
[Yes, I know, but… it can’t be entered through the normal route.]
“So, it can be done through an unconventional route?”
[Yes. There is a way to reach Heaven’s gate. But the guardian won’t let you in.]
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll force my way in.”
[…….]
“Just take me to the entrance. I’ll handle the rest.”
[No. There’s a better way.]
Ryu Min smiled as he read Sitri’s thoughts, who also smiled.
“Good. Lead the way.”
—————-
Heaven and the Underworld exist in different dimensions.
Being distinct realms, it is almost impossible to travel or invade between them.
Moving between dimensions consumes a lot of energy.
However, in the final round, both can meet without paying that energy cost.
The system of the other world acts as a bridge between the two dimensions.
But that’s not the only way.
There are always unofficial routes everywhere.
“Is that the gate to enter Heaven?”
[Yes, correct. That gate leads to Heaven without needing to go through the other world.]
In front of the enormous gate hundreds of meters high built on the clouds, Ryu Min looked at Sitri.
“Can you really do it?”
[Of course. Don’t you trust my skills?]
“It’s just that you haven’t shown them to me before.”
[Don’t worry, leave it to me. I’ve used my skills with the Celestials many times.]
“Then go ahead.”
Upon receiving the order, Sitri nodded and changed his appearance. He transformed from a winged leopard into a beautiful angel. It was one of Sitri’s skills: shape-shifting.
“You are impressive.”
[Then, I will proceed.]
With a radiant smile, Sitri confidently approached the celestial gate’s guardians. The two guardians looked at him with wary eyes.
[State your purpose.]
[Identify yourself.]
Despite having the appearance of their own race, the guardians did not lower their guard. If they detected any suspicion, they would send a signal and block the gate so no one could open it.
[Hohoho, guardians. You’ve worked hard. Don’t be so stiff and look here.]
Mimicking the characteristic smile of angels, Sitri shone with a radiant smile. His eyes glinted in purple, hypnotizing the guardians in an instant.
[Ah, such beauty.]
[Tell me what you desire. I will do anything for you.]
The two guardians stared at him with hypnotized eyes, but Sitri simply gestured towards his lord.
[It’s done, my king.]
“Do you have a similar skill to Yamti? It works well.”
Another skill of Sitri was seduction. Although he could use it in his usual form, it was more successful when he shape-shifted.
Ryu Min approached, and Sitri smiled broadly at him.
[You can ask them for anything now. What orders should I give them?]
“First, have them open the gate.”
[Understood. Guardians, can you please open the gate?]
[Oh! Of course! We must open it.]
[We cannot keep such a beautiful lady waiting.]
The guardians, entirely focused on Sitri, did not even notice Ryu Min.
Gruuuaaak-
The enormous gate opened by itself, offering an impressive spectacle. Ryu Min looked at the time appearing in his vision.
[Time remaining until disqualification: 00:39:42]
‘I don’t have much time.’
He had to finish his mission and return before time ran out.
[We have entered Heaven. What do we do now?]
“I need to find someone.”
[Find someone?]
“It’s a celestial being I saw before. He should be here. Plunictos told me he sometimes appears in the Hall of Heaven.”
Sitri opened his eyes wide in surprise, hearing that Ryu Min was going to seek a God.
“Return to the Underworld. I’ll handle the rest.”
[Are you sure? Isn’t there anything I can help with?]
“No, don’t worry. Don’t look so guilty and go back. I’ll search for the God myself.”
[In this vast Heaven, how will you find him?]
“I have my ways.”
Ryu Min used a skill, and a reassuring notification appeared.
[Matching face and name. Tracking the target’s location in progress.]
[The target ‘Nemesis’ has been found.]
[Currently located 4,431m away.]
[To track the target, follow the arrow in front of you.]
“Fortunately, he’s in Heaven.”
Ryu Min’s lips curled into a satisfied smile.
—————-
‘What is happening here?’
Sitting in the Hall, the Goddess of Vengeance, Nemesis, was utterly perplexed by the current situation. She had already been surprised when Michael let Black Scythe escape, and even more when she heard that Black Scythe had killed him.
But that was nothing compared to the news she had just received.
‘To have survived even after Chaos himself got involved! What kind of human is this?’
When she heard that Chaos, the God of chaos and destruction, had personally gotten involved, Nemesis thought Black Scythe was finally doomed.
But somehow, the survival game hadn’t ended, and Black Scythe had been designated as the sole survivor, advancing to the final round.
‘Could this be luck? If Black Scythe gets involved, the Celestials’ victory would be assured.’
If Plunictos had pushed forward the war as planned, the Celestials would have been defeated. However, for some reason, there had been no news of Plunictos since round 18, and the war didn’t move forward without the delivery of Black Scythe.
‘At that time, not handing over Black Scythe to Plunictos meant a sure defeat, but now the situation has changed.’
Now, keeping Black Scythe alive had become the key to the Celestials winning the bet.
‘The problem is that Lord Chaos wants Black Scythe to die.’
In the Great Tournament between the Celestials and the Demons, held every hundred years, the Celestials had only won once.
They lost in the first and second times.
So, the Gods, considering it would be boring if only one side won, implemented a system to use humans as mercenaries.
In the third time, when the Celestials lost, for the first time, the program to train humans as mercenaries was introduced.
However, the difficulty level was so high that no human had reached the final round, and the fourth edition of the tournament ended again in a defeat for the Celestials.
After continuously losing from the first to the fourth editions, the Celestials achieved a miraculous victory in the fifth edition, but it wasn’t thanks to the humans.
They hadn’t managed to raise any human to the 20th round.
It was a victory achieved only by their own efforts.
‘But in the sixth edition, they lost again.’
And now, in the seventh edition of the Great Tournament, the gods naturally expected the Celestials to lose again.
They thought human mercenaries wouldn’t be a decisive factor.
Until then, no human had reached the final round under the Celestials’ guidance.
‘But he has done it. Defying all the gods’ expectations.’
Black Scythe showed overwhelming skills, enough to defeat both Celestials and Demons, earning the right to participate in the final battle.
With Black Scythe fighting alongside them, the Celestials’ victory was assured.
‘And then, we would win a tremendous amount of [Terra] thanks to the bet because most bet on the Demons winning.’
But Nemesis soon frowned with concern.
Although the Celestials’ victory seemed assured, the problem was that Chaos had changed his mind.
He decided that, regardless of the bet, Black Scythe had to die.
‘Why did he change his mind after deciding to support the Celestials?’
Chaos also had his energy bet in the game, so he would also wish for the Celestials to win. So why would he want to kill Black Scythe, who is practically a winning card?
‘It’s something I really can’t understand…’
“I found you.”
[Wha-!]
Suddenly, Nemesis turned around startled upon hearing a voice behind her. Seeing the person’s face, she was even more shocked.
[You, Black Scythe!]
“We know each other, right?”
[How did you get here?]
Schling
Ryu Min placed the scythe against Nemesis’ neck without warning.
“You don’t need to know. Just answer my questions.”
[Curse you!]
Nemesis didn’t seem to fear the scythe on her neck and burst out in anger.
[How dare you enter Heaven without permission and threaten a Goddess! You’re crazy! Do you know who I am?]
“You’re Nemesis, the Goddess of Vengeance.”
[And yet you do this?!]
“And you also know who I am, right? I’m the human who made Artaros surrender and killed Plunictos.”
[What, what? Who has died?]
“Artaros and Plunictos.”
Hearing those shocking names, Nemesis sighed deeply.
[A mere human daring to mock me!]
“I don’t have that intention.”
[Stop talking nonsense!]
“Did you really not know? It’s surprising. I thought Gods with celestial vision would be quick to get information… Could it be due to Chaos’ interference?”
[You’re completely insane! How could a mere human kill a god?!]
“Although I’m a player, I’m not just a human.”
[What are you saying?]
“Should I show you?”
Just as he finished speaking, Nemesis felt a sharp pain in her neck. Looking down, she saw a trickle of scarlet blood oozing from her neck.
“See? Could a mere human do this to a god?”
[……]
“So start listening carefully. If you make a mistake, you’ll die right here.”
Ryu Min pulled the scythe closer to Nemesis’ neck, causing her to shudder in fear. In her eyes, a fear reflected that she had only felt when facing Chaos.
[W-what do you want?]
Ryu Min smiled satisfied, as if he had been waiting for those words.
“Tell me everything you know about Chaos.”