Leveling with the Gods

C328

Thud, thud-.

Magic rumbled and echoed beneath their feet. Raguel mumbled in front of a building filled with blue light.

"We really messed up."

A power so vast that a single person couldn't control it.

It wasn't surprising.

After all, this phenomenon wasn't caused by a Player's abilities.

'The Heavenly King has control over the Teleportation Gate authorization.'

Around him, the Angels who guarded the gate lay fallen as Raguel observed the Teleportation Gate.

'If the balance is already tipping in one direction...'

Thud, thud-.

The gate started changing to a reddish hue.

'It's better to stick with the tipped side.'

[The Teleportation Gate has been activated]

The room filled with magic up to the ceiling. YuWon had already provided the coordinates for the Teleportation Gate.

Though Raguel hesitated for a moment upon hearing the coordinates, he couldn't simply ignore them.

If what YuWon said was true.

He, who had manipulated the Great Heaven Demon War for a long time by taking Metatron's hand, had no choice.

"The Demon Kings will arrive soon."

The Demon Kings.

The Demon Grand Guild led by Diablo.

They too were preparing for the Great Heaven Demon War, just like the Heavens.

"Now that Michael has risen, the balance of the Great Heaven Demon War has been broken. Baal must have been purged by now too."

The balance of the Great Heaven Demon War was maintained by himself and Baal.

Raguel as the Chancellor of the Heavens, and Baal as the General of the Demon Kings, both adjusted the forces and supplies so that the Great Heaven Demon War could end at a suitable point.

But Baal was defeated, and Raguel found himself in a situation where he couldn't move as usual.

Moreover, there was also Michael's betrayal.

The situation was very different from usual.

"What will happen if the Great Heaven Demon War takes place at times like this?"

The balance that had been maintained for so long had been broken.

If he had to make a decision, the obvious choice was to join the more favorable side.

Raguel looked at the Teleportation Gate that had begun working.

"Please, come in."

Clack.

Raguel kneeled.

"Oh, Demon King."

Zzuzzzz-.

Someone started walking from the brilliant glow of the Teleportation Gate.

A man with red hair and a prominent jaw.

Just with his appearance, the sky was dyed red. The appearance and face of that person were familiar.

'Demon King, Diablo.'

The pinnacle of Demons, Rank 14 in the High-Rank classification.

Raguel was tense at Diablo's appearance.

"Are you Raguel? Your face has improved a lot."

Diablo spoke in a careless tone, as if he didn't care.

It was completely opposite to Metatron, the Heavenly King.

"I didn't expect to see you again like this."

"The feeling's mutual."

"That damn guy really..."

Swish-.

Diablo's hand moved towards Raguel's head.

"You've grown a lot. You're a Chancellor now."

Thousands of years had passed since Raguel became the Chancellor of the Heavens.

But their first meeting was long before that.

Back then, Demons and Heavens weren't as hostile as they were now. They didn't get along, but there wasn't hatred to the point of killing each other.

Raguel trembled as Diablo's large palm covered his head.

It was natural to be afraid when one had committed a great sin.

Diablo gazed at Raguel as Raguel trembled before him.

"He said not to kill you."

Crack-.

Raguel was surprised and grabbed Diablo's hand as he exerted a malevolent force on his head.

"Ugh... Ughh..."

He felt like his skull would break any moment, and his brain would be crushed. The pain made his eyes widen, and Diablo's face came closer.

"You know, I'm not someone who breaks promises."

Hum, hum, hum-.

The Teleportation Gate began to emit light. One after another, the Demon Rankers from Diablo's faction began passing through the gate.

"But I also don't like being played with."

Clank-.

Diablo's hand grabbed Raguel's wings.

Raguel instantly knew what he intended to do.

"No, no...!"

Crack-!

The wings were torn apart by the force of his grip.

Aaaghhhh-!

Raguel's scream echoed in the sky. The pain of having his wings torn apart was immense, but for an Angel, the wings were more precious than arms and legs.

"Consider this a way for me to vent. Baal was purged in a single strike, so don't feel so unfairly treated."

Thud-.

When Diablo let go of his hand, Raguel's body collapsed on the ground.

The other Demon Kings followed Diablo, advancing rapidly.

"There is no entry without bloodshed."

"It seems we are ahead of schedule. Is everything okay?"

"The administrator will take care of it."

"Well, it's no big deal. What could go wrong?"

The Demon Kings, filled with excitement, prepared themselves and unleashed their fury. As the demon army crossed the gate, the sky turned red.

As expected...

[The Great Heaven Demon War will begin in 10 minutes]

The Administrator, who had been observing the situation, immediately announced the start of the Great Heaven Demon War.

There was no more room for hesitation.

"This time, let's bring this to an end."

"The Great Heaven Demon War?"

"Why now all of a sudden?"

"Are the demons here...?"

The intense battle stopped, and the battlefield entered a brief state of calm.

It was a familiar message. And that was the situation.

There were ten minutes left until the Great Heaven Demon War began.

That meant the forces from the Demon King's side had arrived in Heaven at this moment.

"Is this your doing?"

It was Metatron who broke the silence.

At this very moment, time continued to march forward without rest.

"So, this is what you meant by 'safe'."

"Originally, I planned to prepare more calmly."

Kim YuWon sighed and looked at Michael.

"But that impatient hothead wouldn't allow it."

"Were you trying to destabilize our position from within?"

"That's right."

"Why did you choose such a difficult path?"

Metatron raised his head as if he couldn't understand.

Shaking Metatron's foothold from inside Heaven, with Michael at the center, and expelling him.

That was the image YuWon had drawn when he first arrived in Heaven.

For that, it required time and the power of several Archangels, including Raguel.

But that was only a problem between Heaven and the Demon Kings.

In the end, the simplest thing was to find Raguel and Baal, upset the balance, and unleash the war.

"You don't seem to be someone with a hero's mentality."

"It's because of the Indoctrination."

"What do you mean?"

"There's something like that."

The reason he had no choice but to go round and round.

YuWon didn't like choosing such difficult paths either.

However...

"If possible, we should avoid a total war between Heaven and the Demon Kings." (Odin)

Odin, recognized as the greatest advocate for peace, insisted on not shedding too much blood.

"Listen to what I have to say. If we can first draw Michael in, we can resolve it from within Heaven..." (Odin)

'I should have followed my own path from the beginning.'

If he had done that, he wouldn't have to go round and round like now, nor face dangers.

The power of the Demon Kings was similar to that of Heaven, or even greater.

The problem was removing Diablo, who had lost interest in the Great Heaven Demon War.

But that problem could have been solved by removing Baal. There was no emotion easier to evoke than betrayal.

'Although it didn't go as I initially planned, the board is set.'

Though the methods have changed, the goal remained the same.

The Great Heaven Demon War was a battle that needed to end. As it continued, the power of both the Angels and the Demons would steadily diminish, and in the end, both sides would destroy each other.

However, ironically, the safest way to end this fight was precisely in the same Great Heaven Demon War.

"Hmm..."

Metatron looked around.

Two Archangels fallen at Michael's hands. There were more injured Archangels, and among the High-Rank Angels, there was a significant number of casualties.

In this situation, it was not good to clash with the Demon Kings. Furthermore, it wasn't a large-scale battle as usual, but a situation where the Demon Kings infiltrated deep into Heaven.

'This is not good.'

The conclusion of the Great Heaven Demon War had to be a spectacular explosion.

But at this moment, although it was only carrying the name of the Great Heaven Demon War, it was, in reality, nothing more than a small-scale fight.

His mind became confused.

If he wanted to plan for the future, he had to quickly leave this place.

If he wanted to fight, he would have to face both Diablo and Michael, but that was a fight with no chances of winning.

So, in the end...

"I surrender."

He wouldn't fight in a battle he couldn't win.

If he couldn't win, he would surrender cleanly and wait for the next opportunity.

That was what Metatron believed.

However...

"I do not accept your surrender."

Thud-.

Sometimes, there were opponents who couldn't be convinced with words.

"A long time."

"...Diablo."

The Demon King, Diablo.

For a long time, he had been Metatron's archenemy, a formidable High-Ranker enemy who had staunchly resisted as the leader of the demon side.

He advanced towards the Heavenly Castle with a threatening aura.

"Who surrenders so easily?"

His voice was chilling.

"There he is!"

"Metatron is there!"

"Today is the end of the odious Great Heaven Demon War."

The sounds of demon troops climbing up towards the Heavenly Castle were heard.

The Angels were restless.

The situation had reached the worst scenario imaginable for Metatron.

He should never have encountered Diablo, at least not in a situation like this.

"Not a very pleasant situation."

"That's right. You surely don't want to fight. That's why you only sent the pawns forward."

Clack, clack-.

Snapping his fingers, Diablo closed in on Metatron.

"You always disappear whenever the Great Heaven Demon War begins. You hide so well that it's hard to see you even once, but we finally meet."

Metatron did not participate in the Great Heaven Demon War and stayed hidden.

Because of that, Diablo's objective to catch Metatron had lost interest in the Great Heaven Demon War.

"Have you waited too long and decide to surrender? There's no chance."

"Do you really want to see the end?"

"Yes."

With his response, Diablo halted his steps.

"That would be perfect too."

[The Great Heaven Demon War will begin in 5 minutes]

There were 5 minutes left until the start of the Great Heaven Demon War.

At the moment he heard that message, Metatron realized why Diablo took no action despite his impatience.

The Great Heaven Demon War would end when the enemy field's King was captured.

If Metatron or Diablo were to die during the Great Heaven Demon War, naturally this battle would also come to an end.

In other words, Diablo was waiting for the officially recognized start, the Great Heaven Demon War.

'We've come this far...'

Diablo and Metatron faced each other.

Originally, this was the task YuWon was supposed to carry out.

"The Great Heaven Demon War is the war between the Demons and the Angels. The winner takes all from the opponent; it's a fight where the loser loses everything. But well."

The Great Heaven Demon War.

This battle wouldn't end in a massive collision, as it was the ideal image they had planned.

"If we can avoid a major collision in this battle and just capture Metatron, perhaps the Demon Kings and the Heavens will join together in an even larger guild."

The Demon Kings and the Heavens.

Two Great Guilds that were recognized even in the Tower, joining together as one.

That was a perfect image beyond expelling Metatron and preserving the power of the Heavens and the Demon Kings.

But that solely depended on Diablo's hands.

At this moment, YuWon's concerns were different.

"But the problem is this."

[The Great Heaven Demon War will begin in 3 minutes]

[Contribution: 0]

[After the conclusion of the Great Heaven Demon War, rewards will be granted based on contribution]

[After the conclusion of the Great Heaven Demon War, rankings within the Demon Realm will change based on contribution]

Contribution.

A score that only the Demons and Angels who qualified to participate in the Great Heaven Demon War could obtain.

Somehow, YuWon had become a participant in the Great Heaven Demon War.