Chapter 241. Nemesis, Goddess of Vengeance
The being who appeared was Nemesis, the one called the Goddess of Vengeance.
The archangels, including Michael, offered her a respectful salute.
[We pay our respects to Nemesis-nim, Goddess of Ramnus.]
It was only natural to show proper courtesy, given that a god-tier being had appeared.
But Nemesis’s expression was far from pleasant.
[To think the seven archangels have been reduced to three. Because of one mere human, what kind of sorry sight is this? Aren’t you ashamed, calling yourselves rulers of the heavens?]
[W-we… have no excuse.]
[Excuses, my foot. Lift your heads. I intend to see just how thick-skinned your faces are.]
[……]
The archangels raised their heads, but they still couldn’t bring themselves to meet her gaze.
[Tsk, tsk. Looking at your faces, it seems you at least have some conscience left.]
Nemesis clicked her tongue, and her eyes turned to Michael.
[Michael. You came to me, asking me to find a human who harbored vengeance toward the human called Black Scythe, didn’t you?]
[That is correct.]
[Do you remember what I told you then?]
[Of course. You said that since we were using the demon grand duke’s item, we absolutely had to see it through. That Plunictos, too, would be satisfied once he saw the caliber of the offering… .]
[That’s right. And what happened now?]
[……Shamefully, we failed.]
[Do you know what happened because of that failure?]
Michael, who had been averting his eyes in a posture of repentance until now, met her gaze.
[What happened?]
[Plunictos is making a fuss, demanding that we bring him Black Scythe—the one who killed his avatar.]
[Black Scythe?]
[He threatened that if we don’t bring him by before Round 18, we should be prepared for war.]
[Ah……]
As if they had made a promise, the archangels’ mouths fell open.
What had begun as an attempt to capture Black Scythe had grown far beyond what they had expected.
[He’s holding us responsible for using the demon’s Resurrection Tome without permission. Of course, that’s the outward reason—when in truth, he’s trying to create a pretext to start a war.]
[……]
The archangels remained silent.
Gabriel, in particular, had nothing to say even if he had ten mouths.
Because his operation was now on the verge of causing a war.
[Because of this, the Seventh Heavenly-Demon War may break out. We were in an armistice, so it was a war that would happen someday anyway—but its timing has been pushed forward. Because we handed him that damned pretext.]
Nemesis’s brow furrowed even deeper.
From the moment she appeared until now, the goddess’s brow had not relaxed even once.
[As it is, we’re already short on archangels because of Black Scythe, and now war…… If we clash now, the angels’ defeat is obvious. Plunictos knows that too, which is why he’s trying to seize this opportunity.]
[Is… is there no way to refuse?]
[If the enemy says they’ll wage war, what way is there to refuse?]
[……]
[Well, if you had used the Resurrection Tome and offered Black Scythe’s soul as a sacrifice, Plunictos would have been satisfied. But you failed, didn’t you? He ended up losing only his avatar without gaining anything. So now he’s doing this to squeeze something out of it.]
[Th-then… if we give him only Black Scythe, as he wants, does that mean the war won’t happen?]
[Most likely. With all the gods in the world watching, do you think he can break his word?]
[……At least there’s a way to contain this. That’s a relief.]
He said that, but Michael’s insides could only burn away.
Because he might have to shatter, with his own hands, the wish of becoming a god.
[The promised deadline is before Round 18. Until then, by whatever means necessary, subdue Black Scythe and throw him to Plunictos. I don’t like the idea of handing over a criminal who killed archangels, but what can we do? If we want to delay the war, we have no choice but to comply.]
After speaking as if lamenting, Nemesis looked at Gabriel, who was bowing his head like a criminal.
[I heard. This was all an operation you came up with, was it?]
[……Yes.]
[Gabriel, who led the last war to victory and earned the gods’ high hopes—how did you end up like this?]
[I’m sorry…… It’s all my fault.]
[I know. That is exactly why you must take responsibility. You know the gods’ expectations for the next war are great, don’t you? So take this chance and prove your worth. So that the epithet “God’s Oracle” suits you.]
[I will definitely bring results that meet your expectations.]
[Don’t disappoint me twice. If you want to keep receiving my patronage.]
With that, Nemesis met eyes with Michael and Raphael once each, then tore through space and vanished.
Those last words were not meant for Gabriel alone.
They were a warning to all three angels.
‘Hoo…… This is bad. To think Plunictos would use the Resurrection Tome as leverage to move the war up.’
Just as Nemesis said, if war broke out now, defeat was guaranteed.
‘At the very least, we’d need to get past Round 20 to have a chance. If we don’t bring him by Round 18, he’ll start war immediately—so that’s what he means?’
There is a way to delay the war.
Simply hand over Black Scythe.
But is that really as easy as it sounds?
And what about his own aspiration?
‘Does that mean the great undertaking of becoming a god must be pushed back again?’
Unlike Michael, who sighed inwardly, sparks were flying in Gabriel’s eyes.
Because of the mission that said he had to subdue Black Scythe no matter what.
[Michael-nim. Please send me in Round 15.]
[……]
[I will definitely neutralize Black Scythe and drag him back to the Heavenly Realm.]
[If Gabriel-nim goes alone, what do you think might happen to you? I will go as well.]
[Raphael. This is not a place for you to interfere. This is something I must solve alone.]
[That’s not true. Didn’t you hear what Nemesis-nim said? This is everyone’s matter.]
When Raphael said “everyone,” Michael could no longer step aside.
[Hm. We still have time until Round 18. There’s no need to rush.]
[But Michael-nim.]
[This time, you will listen to me. I don’t want to ruin things again.]
Gabriel’s eyebrows twitched, and he shut his mouth.
Someone who was no different from a criminal had no right to speak.
[We must approach this carefully. Don’t you know what happened when the other archangels underestimated Black Scythe? And you, too, this time.]
[If the three of us go together, wouldn’t we be able to subdue him for sure?]
[That may be true. But arrogance is poison. And because of that, haven’t we failed time and again? I’m starting to think that rather than the straightforward approach, another method might actually work better.]
[Do you have some method in mind?]
[From now on, I have to think of one.]
[……]
The archangels fell silent.
Not realizing it was Michael’s shallow trick to try and buy time.
While resting at home, Ryu Min received a call from John.
Put nicely, it was a report; put badly, it was tattling.
-Master. The Church of Despair is preparing to strike the Reaper Church.
“Why?”
-They need to recruit more believers, and they claim the Reaper Church is getting in the way. They say you stole their prospective followers… .
“Well, that’s not exactly wrong. But what makes them so confident they can strike me?”
-They’re planning to kidnap Christine-nim and threaten you. It seems they think Christine-nim is Black Scythe-nim’s weakness.
‘She is a weakness.’
Christine is the key to Round 15.
If we use the wide-area heal she has, we can save many people in Round 15.
‘That said, it’s not like we can’t clear it without Christine.’
But if she’s not there, we’ll have to pay that much more in sacrifices.
It was the same in the previous loop.
There were over two thousand challengers, yet not even fifty survived.
Because Christine had died early.
‘If only to bring as many people along as possible, I need to protect Christine.’
As he fell into thought for a while, John on the line asked cautiously.
-What should we do? For now, I told them I’d review it… .
“Keep doing that—stall for time. Don’t proceed with anything, no matter what.”
-Understood.
“And since there may be variables, I’ll go there in person.”
-To the United States?
“Yeah. I’ll meet Christine too.”
-Ah… understood. Please contact me when you’re about to arrive. I’ll go pick you up at the airport.
“No need. I’ll meet Christine first. Don’t act suspiciously—just behave as usual. If there are any instructions you need, I’ll contact you again.”
-Understood, Master.
After hanging up, Ryu Min switched which phone he was holding.
Not as Black Scythe, but as the Prophet, he intended to call Christine.
“Ah, Christine? This is Ryu Min.”
-Prophet-nim! It’s been a while. I was actually thinking about contacting you.
“Me?”
-Yes. I’ve owed you a lot in various ways. The next Round strategy too, and thanks to you I came to know Black Scythe-nim… . So I was thinking I might go to Korea and pay my respects.
“That won’t be necessary. I’ll come to you.”
-What? You’re coming to Dallas?
“I have something to tell you in person. It’s a prophecy about Round 15—could you make time?”
-Of course. I have plenty of time.
“Then I’ll see you in two days. I’ll contact you again.”
-Yes. When you come, let’s have a meal. It’s on me.
“Haha, sure.”
After ending the call with a smile, Ryu Min tapped his phone and booked a ticket.
After reserving the earliest flight, he went out to the living room.
‘I should tell Won too.’
His younger brother was lounging in the living room watching TV.
On the screen, there was news about Black Scythe.
“Hyung, isn’t Black Scythe seriously amazing?”
“In what way?”
“He took care of bad guys all by himself and saved a ton of people. They’re praising him like crazy, saying that even in Round 14 he killed the final boss in a single blow and prevented any casualties. Was it really like that?”
“How do you know that?”
“I got some info from the Player Gallery. Regular people and players alike are going crazy because of Black Scythe right now.”
“Yeah?”
He said “going crazy,” but Ryu Min didn’t really feel it.
He didn’t use the internet often, and no one recognized him like a celebrity.
‘Since I hid my identity, that’s only natural.’
As he let out a quiet chuckle, his younger brother looked at him and spoke.
“Hyung, anyway, why are you just standing there? You got something to say?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you about to say you’re traveling again?”
“How’d you know?”
“Lately you’ve been going overseas a lot. Because of your girlfriend in Japan, I guess.”
He had no girlfriend, but rather than making up excuse after excuse, it was easier to let his brother misunderstand.
“Anyway, I’m going to be away overnight again. I’ll be back within a week.”
“Okay. Go. Don’t worry about me. The world’s gotten better now thanks to Black Scythe.”
Does he know?
That Black Scythe he talks about so much is right in front of him.
“Yeah. I’ll go with peace of mind. And don’t be lazy and keep ordering only jjajangmyeon—cook something at home too.”
“Hey, do you think I’m a kid? I’m a high school student now.”
“You don’t even go to school, and you say that.”
“Ah! I really want to go to school again!”
Leaving his younger brother behind as he said something he didn’t mean, Ryu Min moved away.
‘In my eyes, you’re still a kid.’
With a faint smile at the corners of his mouth.