The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player - Chapter 284

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Maxed-Out Player’s 100th Return – Episode 284
284. Meeting with the Demon Archduke
At my acceptance, Michael’s expression bloomed like a flower in full bloom.
[Thank you! I can’t believe you accepted such a burdensome request so easily.]
“It’s hardly a difficult favor to just catch a glimpse of the Demon Archduke’s face. Besides, aren’t we comrades in the same boat? To receive your support up to round 20, a request like this is nothing.”
[I appreciate you thinking that way! You truly are an awakened human, unlike the others!]
Michael laughed and flattered me, but his true thoughts were different.
-Kekeke, what a foolish insect. You accepted without even realizing you’ve fallen into a trap. The moment you set foot in the Demon King’s Castle, you won’t be able to escape.
Michael wore a smile with a different meaning, but Ryu Min, who could read thoughts, couldn’t possibly be unaware of this fact.
‘You’re the fool, Michael. Do you think I’d meet the Demon Archduke without any countermeasures?’
I smirked with derision, but in Michael’s eyes, I was nothing but a sucker grinning away.
[Shall we go right now? With the Divine Beings watching, this seems like good timing.]
“Let’s go. Lead the way.”
Michael nodded and soared into the sky.
I spread my black wings and followed behind him.
Buuuuuuu—
As we flew, the sound of a war horn announcing the beginning of battle reached my ears.
Along with it, the battle cries of both sides shook heaven and earth.
[Waaaaaaaaa!]
[Kill them! Filthy Demon Tribe bastards!]
[Damn angelic dogs!]
Five thousand Angels and ten thousand Demons clashed on the ground.
Watching from the sky above, it was truly a magnificent sight.
Then I spotted players mixed among the Angels, cutting down Demons.
‘Our Saesin Religion followers are fighting desperately.’
Of course, since their fate is determined by their contribution, they had no choice but to be obsessed with producing results.
Min Ju-ri, Christine, Victor, and Russell with buffs would see their contributions rise even without doing anything, so they should be fine.
‘I don’t need to worry much about the supporters. I already told them to be careful.’
Besides, I had informed them of the appearance and characteristics of the Demons they should be cautious about, so they wouldn’t die meaninglessly in battle like last time.
[It’s over there.]
Michael, still flying, gestured with his chin toward beyond the hill.
Unlike the sulfurous flames raging until moments ago, a desolate area shrouded in darkness came into view.
[That is the Demon King’s Castle.]
I didn’t need to be told.
There was only one structure that looked like a castle.
Tak—
I landed on the ground following Michael and turned to look back.
The figures of Angels and Demons locked in fierce combat were nowhere to be seen.
It was so quiet it didn’t seem like a war at all.
[My guidance ends here. You can walk to the Demon King’s Castle alone.]
“Can’t I just fly there?”
[If you want to be hit by blind attacks, you can, but I wouldn’t recommend it.]
It seems unverified intruders are attacked without question or hesitation.
“I’ll walk then.”
[An excellent choice. Well, see you later.]
-If you can escape, that is. Heh.
I heard the true sentiment hidden beneath his words, but I nodded without showing it.
After all, I’d be seeing Michael again soon enough.
Flap—
Michael soared into the sky and returned to the Battlefield without hesitation.
‘He probably thinks he won’t need to see me again. Once I enter the Demon King’s Castle, he’ll know escape is impossible.’
But I had no intention of falling into the trap so easily.
And I certainly wasn’t going to surrender my soul to the Demon Tribe.
‘First, let me go see what the Demon Archduke looks like.’
Walking across barren land toward the grand castle gates, I heard the sound of barking from somewhere.
Woof! Arf!
A three-headed Cerberus growled from behind iron bars.
Beside it stood Demon Tribe soldiers with tridents, ready to open the gates at any moment.
If I was deemed a threat, they would immediately unleash the beast.
At that moment, the gatekeeper guarding the castle gates approached me.
[Are you Black Scythe?]
“I am.”
Thanks to the translation function, I could communicate with the Demon Tribe.
More surprising was that a mere soldier recognized me at all.
[This way, please. We have been expecting you.]
Despite Michael’s concerns, I was treated with respect, but I wasn’t surprised.
‘My reputation with the Demon Tribe is eternal ally. They wouldn’t dare disrespect me.’
I had already anticipated this from my reputation.
The moment I entered the castle following the gatekeeper soldier, a message appeared.
[You have abandoned your position during the round.]
[If you do not return to the progression location within 1 hour, your player status will be revoked.]
[Time remaining until status revocation: 00:59:59]
The same message that appeared when I entered the Heavenly Realm, but I wasn’t flustered.
I had anticipated this.
However, a slightly different message also appeared.
[You have entered the Demon King’s domain.]
[You cannot leave the Demon King’s Castle without permission from the Demon Archduke, who has inherited the Demon King’s authority.]
As expected, I couldn’t leave without permission.
‘Just as I read from Michael’s thoughts.’
By now, this was the moment to notice the trap and grow angry, but I, already knowing the truth, walked on in silence.
With an unconcerned expression, I surveyed the vast hall.
Thud, thud—
The interior carried a desolate, bone-chilling atmosphere, yet Ryu Min refused to be intimidated.
Instead, he walked with his shoulders squared and chin high, as though he owned the castle.
His demeanor remained unchanged even when confronting the Demon Archduke.
[I have brought the guest you awaited, Your Excellency.]
Upon a throne wreathed in flickering flames sat a giant whose height exceeded ten meters.
His skin was so dark that one might mistake him for a statue at first glance, yet the twitching of his lips confirmed he was indeed alive.
[Well done. You may go now, Chrome.]
[Yes.]
As the gatekeeper withdrew, Ryu Min looked up at the Demon Archduke with an expression of mild surprise.
‘He even remembers the name of a mere gatekeeper. Perhaps he’s not a tyrant after all.’
I had slain countless demons, but this was my first encounter with a Demon Archduke.
Neither the Archangel nor the Demon Archduke had appeared even once in my previous cycles.
‘Yet in this cycle, the consequences of my actions have led to unprecedented encounters. Not only the Archangel, but even the Demon Archduke, whom I’d only heard rumors about—I’m meeting him face to face.’
The Demon Archduke differed somewhat from the image I had conjured.
I had expected him to look demonic like the other soldiers, yet there was an almost handsome quality to his features.
Had his stature been normal, women would surely have flocked to him.
However, contrary to his appearance, his manner of speech was far from courteous.
[So you are Black Scythe. I have been expecting you.]
“You?”
At Ryu Min’s question, Phlunikthos’s lips curled upward.
[What? Did you think I would speak to you with honorifics and deference like those other angels?]
“Your Demon Tribe should be in an eternal alliance with me, shouldn’t you?”
[Ah, you speak of the system’s reputation. How pathetic—to place blind faith in such hollow metrics. Contemptible.]
Phlunikthos let out a contemptuous sneer.
[We demons have raised humans before. We know what abilities players possess and what they perceive.]
Suddenly, Phlunikthos’s expression twisted into something grotesque and menacing.
[Vermin masquerading as humans. Slaves to the system. Pathetic insects—you cannot resist such numbers. Amoebas incapable of recognizing your true master.]
Just as suddenly as he had erupted, Phlunikthos’s expression smoothed, as though nothing had happened.
[Forgive my sudden outburst. Yet every word is truth, is it not? Your human intellect is demonstrably inferior.]
“….”
[Of course, I do not fault you for this. Having gained such tremendous power through the system, it is only natural that you would rely upon it.]
Phlunikthos smiled, and sharp fangs gleamed between his lips.
[I am grateful that you slew the Archangels. From our perspective, you are indeed a noble worthy of being called an eternal ally. Yet nothing is eternal. Though the system may be a divine creation, know that there exist beings beyond its reach.]
“Are you suggesting that you yourself are a god? Is that why you, unlike the other soldiers, are unaffected by the system’s reputation?”
Phlunikthos’s eyes widened in surprise.
[Interesting. I thought all humans were fools, yet perhaps that is not entirely true. Yes. I am a god. At least within the Demon King’s Castle.]
“Strictly speaking, that means you’re not a god at all.”
Though Ryu Min taunted him, Phlunikthos refused to be baited.
[Stop with these petty provocations. Do you truly believe a magnificent being like myself would fall for such trivial tricks?]
“Cut the evasions. Either way, you’re admitting you’re not a god.”
[I am not a god, but I am a being who approaches godhood itself—I am Phlunikthos. Within the Demon King’s Castle, I hold a station equal to that of the divine.]
“Is that why you’re cooped up in this desolate fortress? Reeking of a lonely widower?”
Phlunikthos had claimed provocation wouldn’t work, but I caught the subtle twitch of his eyebrow.
[You show no fear of death, it seems, insignificant human.]
“We’re allies, you and I.”
[How foolish. What have you been listening to all this time? Standing there so confidently on nothing but a single reputation?]
“I understand. Here in this place, you are god, and the system’s authority doesn’t reach. So reputation means nothing, and you could crush me to death this very instant.”
[You understand all this, yet you remain so confident?]
“Because I know you won’t kill me.”
Phlunikthos’s eyes widened once more in surprise.
[Why do you think that?]
“Michael told me. Even after receiving the authority of the Akashic Record, you kept demanding me until the very end.”
[That fool spoke of such things?]
“He said more than that. How you Demon Tribe and Celestial Tribe orchestrated all this to cultivate us humans as mercenaries.”
[A loose-tongued angel. There’s nothing he won’t say to humans.]
“You’re hardly one to judge. Here you are, chattering away with me like this. With a worm of a human, no less. If you were going to kill me, you’d have crushed me long ago. So what’s lacking? You’re not just conversing out of loneliness, are you? Admit it.”
[What are you trying to say? Do you actually believe I desire something from a creature like you? This is absurd.]
“You don’t desire anything? Then kill me.”
[….]
Phlunikthos fell silent, apparently unable to follow through with the killing blow.
“See? You do want something. So spare me the long speeches and tell me what it is. I’ll hear you out before I decide.”
[Remarkable confidence. I like it. You’ve impressed me, Black Scythe. Very well. I shall speak the truth.]
Phlunikthos’s expression grew far more serious.
[I desire your soul.]
“My soul?”
[A human soul serves as excellent material for us Demon Tribe. I won’t explain what it becomes, but I need a soul as formidable as yours.]
“My soul is formidable? Isn’t it the same as anyone else’s?”
[You speak foolishly. Not all human souls are treated equally. You may know this already, but the Player system’s power derives not from the body, but from the soul. When a Player distinguishes themselves, that soul becomes material of superior quality. Just as products vary in quality despite being the same commodity.]
“Being treated like an object leaves a bad taste.”
[Your feelings are irrelevant. Regardless of what anyone says, you are my property.]
“Now you’re openly treating me as an object?”
[Did I misspeak? I demanded you from the gods as compensation for the death of my avatar, and I received you before the eighteenth round ended. It was a legitimate claim.]
“Then why all this prattling? Why not just kill me and use my soul as material?”
[The reason is simple. I am more gentlemanly than appearances suggest. I’m not so barbaric as to beat a dog I’ve adopted into my home without warning. Though if you refuse to obey, I’ll have no choice but to beat you senseless.]
“So you’re explaining out of courtesy before you kill me and use me as material?”
[Precisely.]
It was absurd, but I didn’t judge him to be lying.
I believed his claim that he wielded divine power within the Demon King’s Castle.
‘That’s the proof—I can’t read their thoughts.’
Moreover, the Eternal Item I’d recently acquired, the Eye of Insight, was piercing through the target’s true nature.
[Phlunikthos]
└ Race: Demon Tribe
└ Alignment: Evil
└ Status: Demon Archduke
└ Special Notes: While the Demon King is the nominal ruler of the Demon Realm, the throne remains vacant. He governs the Demon Realm as the de facto supreme authority. Within the Demon King’s Castle, he wields influence comparable to that of the Divine Beings.
└ Weakness: ….
‘Evil alignment—that must be by my standards, right?’
Probably.
Hadn’t he just announced he’d kill me on the spot and use me as material?
Yet Ryu Min maintained his composure.
“So? You’re going to kill me?”
[…Still so confident. It seems you truly have no fear of death.]
“I have no intention of dying yet.”
[You have no choice in this matter. What I say is not a proposal—it is a decree. I will kill you, extract your soul, and use it as material to cultivate the Demon Realm. Besides, no one can escape from the Demon King’s Castle without my permission. Michael knows this, which is why he didn’t dare enter and fled before the gates. So you should accept this gracefully. While I’m still being civilized about it.]
“There are three points I’d like to correct in what you said….”
Ryu Min looked up at Phlunikthos and folded his fingers.
“First, Michael didn’t bring me here. I came of my own volition. Second, I have no intention of fleeing.”
As he folded two fingers, his middle finger pointed directly at the Demon Archduke.
The statue-like creature’s eyebrows twitched.
“Third, I have no intention of dying either.”
[Don’t you understand words, human? That is not your choice to make….]
“I know. I know that’s what you think. But once you hear what I’m about to say, you might change your mind.”
[What is it you wish to say?]
A smile leaked from Ryu Min’s lips.
“I have a proposal for you.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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