Chapter 203 – Sariel
‘He said to bring me in? Who did?’
Ryu Min stared carefully at Sariel, who had a gloomy edge for an angel.
From the way he spoke, it sounded like an order had come down from above to capture him and bring him back.
He needed to dig up information.
Of course, there was no need to do something unproductive like torture.
With the Rune of Inner Thoughts, finding out would be incredibly easy.
As Ryu Min quietly watched Sariel, his thoughts came through.
‘So it was an order from Michael, the number one among the archangels.’
He’d heard the name Michael before, back in the 68th run.
He’d even met him directly, so he knew how strong that bastard was.
‘So it really was Michael. He’s the head of the archangels.’
No wonder he’d felt a level of strength that was in a different league from other angels.
‘If it’s an order from the archangel leader, then it makes sense.’
And that wasn’t the only information he got.
That Michael had ordered him brought in cleanly, without a single wound.
That an archangel named Raguel was itching to kill him.
That the archangels wanted to make him an example for the sake of Heaven’s order… and more.
He got everything he needed.
[No answer… are you mute? I didn’t hear anything about Black Scythe being mute?]
Muttering, Sariel aimed his curved blade as if it didn’t matter.
[Even if you can’t speak, you’re not deaf. I’ll say it again—do not resis—]
“Jeffrey.”
Ignoring the angel, Ryu Min called to Jeffrey behind him.
“Take the party members and fall back as far as you can. It’s about to turn into a wreck.”
“Understood, Black Scythe-nim.”
Watching Jeffrey go to gather the frozen companions, Ryu Min turned his head forward again.
Sariel’s expression was something else.
His face was so twisted up you’d believe he was a demon, not an angel.
[So you do have a tongue after all.]
“And you’ve got a finger you can curse with too, don’t you?”
When Ryu Min raised his middle finger, the angel’s brow twitched.
[You’ve gained a speck of power and now you’re drunk on arrogance. A mere human, yet—]
Mid-sentence, Sariel suddenly looked shocked.
From the looks of it, he’d noticed the demon’s pendant hanging at Ryu Min’s neck.
In an instant, dagger-like killing intent stabbed into Ryu Min’s entire body.
[That necklace… where did you get it?]
“What’s it to you?”
[Do you even know what that item is?]
“You look like the quiet type, but you sure talk a lot.”
Ryu Min’s entire body was swallowed by pitch-black darkness.
After casting Reaperization, he activated the buff he’d prepared.
[Demon’s Blessing has been applied.]
[Based on your total current stats (109,967), the following effects are applied.]
[When you kill an angel, you obtain 1x (109,967) gold. Depending on the angel’s level, it increases up to 1,000x (109,967,000).]
[When you kill an angel, you obtain stat points equal to 0.01% (11) of the base value. Depending on the angel’s level, it increases up to 10% (10,996).]
[When you kill an angel, Demon Faction reputation increases slightly.]
[This buff lasts until the end of this Round.]
Startled by the numbers in the message, he checked his status window—his stats had risen to an absurd degree.
-Strength: 25,274, Intelligence: 27,325
-Agility: 27,532, Luck: 29,836
He’d already received Min Juri’s strengthened buffs, and on top of that, Buff Zone was spread across the ground.
Add in the Rune of Balance, the Rune of Slaughter, The First Angel Slayer, and Reaperization…
Once he tallied it all up, it made sense why his stats looked like this.
‘And I also collected a hefty stat reward when I killed Remiel last time.’
Ryu Min was far stronger than he’d been when he fought Remiel.
Still, it wasn’t time to let his guard down.
‘Just because he’s sixth doesn’t mean I can treat him like a pushover.’
Since he didn’t yet know Sariel’s full capabilities, he needed to test him first.
‘After that, I’ll kill him without mercy.’
The razor-sharp killing intents of human and angel collided in midair.
‘So you won’t come quietly, is that it?’
Sariel suppressed a snort of laughter as he watched the insolent human who didn’t know his place.
‘Of course I didn’t expect you to submit.’
Would someone who had killed an archangel so much as blink at a threat?
‘He needs to understand the difference in power.’
Since he’d been ordered to bring him in without injury, Sariel had no intention of using a lethal strike.
He planned to go easy on him.
Until he saw the demon’s pendant.
‘To dare wear that necklace in front of me…’
Even now, the angels were waging a long war with the demons.
The archangels still in existence—including Sariel—had naturally fought in it as well.
That was why he couldn’t fail to recognize the necklace demons wore with pride.
‘He’s wearing it openly—right in front of me—like he’s showing off a symbol of shame for us angels…!’
An unnameable fury filled his entire body to bursting.
‘Arrogant human. I’ll make you suffer so much you’ll wish for death.’
He’d intended to handle this as coldly as possible, without personal malice—but after seeing that pendant, it couldn’t be helped.
Even if he cut off both arms and took him, it would still be fine.
‘But it’s strange. That appearance.’
With his whole body cloaked in darkness and a scythe in hand, he looked like a god of death.
‘Still just a human. No matter how you imitate a god, a bug is a bug.’
Sariel knew it.
The gap between the “Death Archangel” and this human was incomparable.
A Reaper-class human’s darkness could never overpower his.
That certainty let Sariel calm his excitement and keep his composure.
[Come. Human. I’ll show mercy and yield the first move.]
Without even answering, Black Scythe charged in and swung his scythe.
Sariel was surprised by the speed—but only that.
‘From the scythe’s trajectory… a horizontal cut aimed at the waist? How predictable.’
With a hook-type weapon, targeting the waist made it hard to retreat backward.
You either had to jump or block, but Sariel had no intention of playing along.
‘I’ll dodge. Forward.’
Instead of retreating, he burst forward—evading the waist-level sweep while closing the distance to the enemy’s heart.
If he drove his curved blade into the chest now, Black Scythe would die instantly.
‘But I can’t let it end that easily.’
He redirected the blade like lightning, chopping upward and severing the arm instead.
Thud—!
Hearing the scream behind the enemy’s shoulder, it seemed the spectators had seen it.
“B-Black Scythe-nim!”
Those bug-like humans stared as if watching a show.
[Pathetic. You rushed in so confidently with skills like th—]
In that instant, Sariel felt danger.
It wasn’t a situation that should have been “dangerous”—he’d only cut off an arm—but he felt it clearly.
A chill crawled along his back, and his body twisted on instinct.
But his reaction was too slow.
Five wings were severed, spraying golden blood as they fell.
[Keuk!]
“Nice instincts. I was trying to cut them all.”
Sariel couldn’t answer.
He was too busy being shocked by Black Scythe’s sudden ambush.
“Looks like even an archangel can’t see through a Doppelganger.”
‘Doppelganger?’
Sariel snapped his gaze around—only to find the Black Scythe whose arm he’d cut was gone without a trace.
In front of him stood only a perfectly intact Black Scythe.
“I’ve got a decent read on your skill. So this is what ‘sixth place’ amounts to?”
[What?]
Sariel was visibly shaken.
He’d never said “sixth,” yet this human spoke as if he knew exactly who he was.
[How…?]
CLANG—!
Before Sariel could ask, an attack came in, and he blocked it with his curved blade.
CLANG—CLANG—!
‘W-what is this strength?’
It made no sense.
From the start until now, Sariel had been drawing on the power of darkness.
Just as humans used something called mana as their power source, he—being the Death Archangel—used darkness as his root.
‘Then why…? Why am I being pushed back in strength?’
By nature, higher darkness resists the impact of lower darkness.
No matter how high this human’s stats were, Sariel shouldn’t be getting overpowered.
So why was the opposite happening?
CLANG—KANG—CLANG—
He clashed blades repeatedly, but the question didn’t resolve.
Instead, Sariel panicked as the enemy’s power and speed kept increasing as if climbing stages.
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and he was reduced to defending—barely able to block at all.
“As I thought. Your strength and speed are only about this much.”
[What did you say—keuk!]
A sudden pain flared in his wings. Sariel turned his head—
All of his wings were gone.
‘When…?’
His speed was beyond imagination—so fast Sariel hadn’t even seen when the cuts happened.
‘Dangerous. This is dangerous.’
Truly sensing crisis, Sariel had to use the ability he’d saved for the final moment.
Kiiiiiiiiiiiiii—
The curved blade trembled violently, letting out an eerie wailing sound.
It was a technique he’d forbidden himself to use for fear of looking like a demon—
[Wail of Souls].
“Ah… aah…”
“Aaaah…”
The spectators watching from afar trembled in fear.
The range of Wail of Souls was that wide.
‘It’s over.’
All living beings could hear sound.
Since Black Scythe wasn’t deaf, he had no choice but to hear it.
‘Wail of Souls paralyzes the limbs of any living being that hears it and drags fear to the surface. No one is exempt… except the caster—me.’
Casting it was practically a death sentence.
Because nothing was easier than cutting down an opponent who couldn’t move.
[Playtime is over. I’ll take just two arms.]
Seeing Black Scythe standing motionless, Sariel walked forward leisurely.
He naturally assumed the fear effect had taken hold—
But it was nothing but a misunderstanding.
“Playtime? You think you’ve been playing with me this whole time?”
[……!]
Sariel’s steps stopped dead at the sight of him moving as if unaffected.
“I’m the one who was playing—testing your level.”
Why didn’t Wail of Souls work?
There was no time to think.
The thought of running for his life seized his mind.
Kiiiiiiing—
The opponent suddenly pulled his scythe back and took a stance, preparing something.
‘Th-that… I have to dodge that.’
Sariel tried to leap on instinct—but his body jolted as if brakes had been slammed on.
‘Ah—my wings!’
Without wings, escaping into the air was impossible.
And by the time he thought, Then how do I dodge? it was already too late.
The flash had already closed in.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWANG—!
With a single Moonlight Slash, the cavern was turned to scorched ruin.
‘W-what the hell is happening?’
After being told to fall back, John—who had retreated far away with the party members—was thrown into confusion by the angel’s sudden appearance.
‘At first I thought it came to hand out rewards, but it’s pointing a blade at Black Scythe!’
And to be fair, the angel’s wings were far too magnificent for it to be some mere guide, and the atmosphere was icy.
He’d also never seen an angel carrying a weapon before.
‘Why is it suddenly trying to fight Black Scythe?’
Since it appeared out of nowhere and started talking about killing or not killing, John could tell it wasn’t for any good reason.
After that, he was too busy taking cover with the party to have the presence of mind to listen to the conversation.
“Will Black Scythe-nim be okay? The 분위기 didn’t look good…”
“He’ll be fine. Even if the opponent is an angel, is Black Scythe-nim the kind of person to lose?”
“Angels can blow your head apart if they want to.”
“Ah… when you put it that way, it does sound dangerous.”
Min Juri and “Jephy,” those idiots, were worried—but John’s thoughts were different.
‘Perfect timing, angel. Kill Black Scythe. Please. Fighting!’
He actually cheered for the angel, hoping Black Scythe would die here and now.
And from the start, the angel even cut off Black Scythe’s arm.
‘Nice! Ange—’
He celebrated in his head, but only for a moment.
When he saw Black Scythe perfectly fine, John had to doubt his own eyes.
‘H-how? Why are there two Black Scythes?’
After he realized it was a Doppelganger, the flow reversed.
The angel—its wings cut—exchanged several blows with Black Scythe.
But to anyone watching, the angel was getting pushed back.
Eventually, it even reached a point where it lost all its wings.
‘I’m screwed.’
Just as despair hit him, an eerie screeching sound rang out.
“Ah… aah…”
“Aaaah…”
Not only John but even the party members went rigid, lips trembling in terror as paralysis took hold.
But only for a moment.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWANG—!
With an explosion loud enough to make him think the cave might collapse, the status ailment was released.
When the thick dust finally settled, all that remained was a half-destroyed cave wall—and an angel whose upper and lower body had been split apart.
‘It’s over…’
Disappointment spread across John’s face.
No matter what, even an angel had no chance of surviving after being cut at the waist.
‘Huh? Wait.’
At that moment, an idea flashed through John’s mind.
‘Could it… be possible?’
As a necromancer, his specialty was raising the dead.
And right now, a dead angel was about to appear in front of him.
‘If I can make that angel my summon…?’
Wouldn’t it become a way to oppose Black Scythe?
It was a ridiculous thought—but John didn’t know.
Ryu Min was reading that thought at that very moment.