The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player

Chapter 239: The Demon Grand Duke (Part 2)

[I hate it when people interrupt me, but since you’re the Black Scythe, our steadfast ally, I’ll let it slide this time.]

“No need for long speeches. Why are you here?”

Ryu Min had no intention of humoring the demon’s chatter. After all, demons and angels both regarded humans as nothing more than insects.

[Sigh, if you must know the answer to your question, I didn’t come here of my own accord.]

“Then why are you here?”

[Someone used the Demon Resurrection Spell. I descended here after consuming five sacrifices.]

“Descended? And what exactly are you?”

[I am the Demon Grand Duke Plunictos. Haven’t you heard of me?]

“Never heard of you.”

[Never… heard of me?]

The demon’s eyebrows twitched, clearly offended.

[Well, I suppose a player wouldn’t know. Fine, I’ll let that slide.]

“Enough pointless talk. Tell me your purpose here.”

[You’re quite arrogant. Even if we’re allies, you’ve been nothing but rude since earlier. You have no more respect than that lowly angel over there.]

“I have no reason to show respect to a demon who won’t reveal their purpose.”

[Is that so? Then I suppose it’s time I teach you some manners.]

A whip materialized in the demon’s hand. But before it could strike, Ryu Min’s hand moved first.

Thud-

The demon’s gaze dropped to his arm. His hand, which had been gripping the whip, had fallen to the ground.

[This human…]

“I said, tell me your purpose.”

[And what if I refuse?]

The demon didn’t get a chance to respond before its head rolled across the floor.

***

‘What… what just happened?’

Plunictos, the Demon Grand Duke, found himself utterly bewildered.

It was shocking enough that someone had used the Demon Resurrection Spell from the Great Heavenly War. But what was even more astonishing was—

‘He killed me without even letting me speak.’

Ryu Min, the Black Scythe—an ally as far as the demon knew—had just killed his manifestation without hesitation.

‘Unbelievable.’

Of course, it was just a manifestation of his power, so Plunictos hadn’t truly suffered any damage. The avatar that had just been killed represented only about one-hundredth of his actual strength, little more than a puppet.

However, that didn’t change the fact that Plunictos had been observing the world through the eyes of his avatar, and had been speaking through it as well.

To have it killed so abruptly felt like a challenge to his authority.

‘Does he not understand how high my rank is? What a fool.’

The demon clicked his tongue in irritation as he lounged on the Flame Throne within his citadel in the Demon Realm.

[Tch. Humans truly are irredeemable pests.]

Black Scythe’s disrespectful behavior—interrupting his speech, killing his avatar—was intolerable. Though the Black Scythe had once done him a favor by killing several archangels, there was a limit to his patience.

‘I was planning to wipe out that pathetic angel and those worm-like players… but I didn’t expect to be killed so quickly.’

Had Ryu Min sensed his true intentions? His avatar hadn’t even had the chance to wreak havoc before it was slain.

‘Killing my avatar like that… Maybe it’s time I make my move.’

Even though it had been only a fraction of his power, Plunictos took the killing of his avatar as a direct challenge. He had been looking for a pretext to stir up trouble, and this incident provided him with exactly that.

‘Perfect. I can use this as an excuse to raise hell with that damned archangel Michael. He’s the one who will pay for the misuse of the Demon Resurrection Scroll.’

Plunictos glanced at the five souls he had captured earlier, who were now shackled by chains beside him.

[Baal.]

From the shadows, Baal, the highest-ranking demon among the 72, emerged.

[You called for me, my lord?]

[Take these insignificant human souls and toss them into the infernal flames. Use them as ingredients.]

[Understood.]

Clink—

As Baal tugged at the chains, the souls of the five humans, including the Soso and the Messiah members, began to plead desperately, their faces streaked with tears.

“Please, save us! Let us go, sir, please!”

“I’ll be a good person! Please, just spare me…!”

Baal’s hand swiped through the air, cutting off their voices. Now, like goldfish gasping for air, their mouths moved, but no sound came out.

[Move along, vermins.]

After Baal led the souls away, Plunictos pondered for a moment.

‘But something’s odd. Why didn’t my avatar even manage to dodge the attack?’

Even though it had only one percent of his strength, his avatar should still have had power comparable to a high-ranking archangel. For it to be killed without even putting up a fight was baffling.

‘Could the Black Scythe really be that powerful?’

The fact that Black Scythe had already slain several archangels proved his strength, but he was even stronger than expected.

Resting his chin in his hand, Plunictos made a decision.

‘It seems I’ll have to bring the Black Scythe to my demon fortress.’

The demon with red skin vanished, scattering sulfur powder into the air.

***

‘Plunictos’s avatar…’

Earlier, Ryu Min had pretended not to recognize the name, but he knew exactly who Plunictos was.

He had heard NPCs in this dimension speak of the Demon Grand Duke Plunictos in passing.

‘Plunictos is the de facto ruler of the demon realm.’

While there was a Demon King, his title was largely ceremonial. In truth, it was Plunictos who controlled the affairs of the demon realm. Ryu Min had even seen the demon in the distance during the battles with the angels in the 18th round.

‘He wiped out both humans and angels alike. Even if he’s listed as an ally, I can’t trust him.’

Though the system labeled Plunictos as an ally, Ryu Min knew better than to think of him as a friend to humans. That’s why, as soon as the demon drew its weapon, Ryu Min had severed its arm and decapitated it without hesitation.

‘So, he used the Demon Resurrection Scroll to manifest here in this realm…’

In the process, the Soso and his Messiah lackeys had been sacrificed, but that was of no concern to Ryu Min. He had only been using them as pawns anyway.

But as he stared at the message in front of him, a troubled expression crossed his face.

[The reputation of the Black Scythe with demons has decreased from “Eternal Ally” to “Very Friendly.”]

‘My reputation fell by a whole rank just from killing one avatar?’

Considering that the avatar had belonged to Plunictos, it made sense that he had lost significant favor with the demons.

‘It doesn’t matter. If I hadn’t killed it, the avatar would have slaughtered every angel and human in sight.’

Even though his reputation had dropped, there was another message that brought him satisfaction.

[You have slain the avatar of Grand Duke Plunictos.]

[You are the first player to kill a Grand Duke-level demon.]

[You have earned the title “Defender Against Evil.”]

‘That’s a first. I’ve never gotten a title like this before, since I’ve never killed a Grand Duke-level demon.’

Technically, Ryu Min had only killed an avatar, but it still counted as slaying the demon.

Curious, Ryu Min opened the information on the new title.

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