CHAPTER 1: 3AM AND A STUPID DECISION.
`3:17 AM`
`Battery: 4%`
`Sanity: 0%`
Darius Cole threw his phone across the bed.
“i***t! i***t! i***t!”
Chapter 342 of _Heaven’s Chosen Blade_.
The Male Lead had just stabbed the Demon Lord in the back.
The same Demon Lord who raised him. Who shielded him. Who looked at him like he was the only light in 1000 years of darkness.
And why?
“Because Heaven commanded it.”
“Because it was the right thing to do.”
“BULLSHIT!” Darius screamed at his empty room.
He grabbed his charger and typed a 1-star review with shaking hands:
_“Worst ML in history. If I was him I’d defy heaven, burn the gods, and make the Demon Lord queen of everything. Author doesn’t deserve her.”_
He hit post. Plugged in his phone.
“Stupid novel. Stupid plot. Stupid me for caring.”
He rolled over and passed out.
---
Pain.
Cold stone under his back.
The smell of incense and blood.
Darius cracked his eyes open.
Golden armor. Holy sword. A glowing halo hovering above his head.
And a crowd of angels kneeling before him.
A voice like church bells rang in his skull.
`[WELCOME, CHOSEN ONE]`
`[YOU HAVE BEEN TRANSMIGRATED INTO THE NOVEL: HEAVEN'S CHOSEN BLADE]`
`[IDENTITY: ELDRIN VALE - THE HERO PROPHESIED TO SLAY THE DEMON LORD]`
`[MAIN QUEST ISSUED]`
A blue screen popped up in his vision.
*[MAIN QUEST: SLAY THE COLD QUEEN DEMON LORD]*
*[LOCATION: ABYSSAL PALACE, 9TH HELL]*
*[TIME LIMIT: 30 DAYS]*
*[REWARD: ASCENSION TO GODHOOD. ERASURE OF ALL SINS.]*
Darius sat up so fast he got dizzy.
“...No way. No f*****g way.”
He was in the novel.
He was Eldrin Vale. The OP MC. The guy from Chapter 342.
The guy who betrays her.
A different voice cut in. Softer. Glitchy. Like static.
`[...detecting host emotional anomaly...]`
`[...scanning novel data...]`
`[...CRITICAL PLOT DEVIATION RISK: 99.9%]`
`[INITIATING EMERGENCY PROTOCOL]`
`[SIMP SYSTEM ACTIVATED]`
`[WELCOME HOST DARIUS COLE]`
Darius blinked. “...Simp System?”
`[CORRECT. PRIMARY DIRECTIVE: ENSURE THE SAFETY AND HAPPINESS OF TARGET: COLD QUEEN DEMON LORD]`
`[CONFLICT DETECTED: MAIN QUEST VS SIMP SYSTEM DIRECTIVE]`
`[RESOLUTION: HEAVEN'S WILL HAS BEEN OVERRIDDEN]`
`[NEW MAIN QUEST: PROTECT THE DEMON LORD AT ALL COSTS]`
`[WARNING: DEFIANCE OF HEAVEN DETECTED]`
`[PENALTY FOR FAILURE: TOTAL SOUL ERASURE]`
`[REWARD: UNKNOWN]`
A cold sweat ran down his neck.
So he didn’t get godhood.
He got a death sentence.
And a stupid, suicidal, down-bad system.
The doors to the cathedral burst open.
An angel with 6 wings landed, sword drawn.
“Eldrin Vale! The Heavenly Council awaits. It is time to begin your journey to slay the Demon Lord.”
Darius looked at the holy sword in his hand.
Then he thought of Chapter 342.
Of her bleeding on the floor.
Of the original ML’s empty eyes.
He took a deep breath.
And dropped the sword.
_Clang._
The angel froze. “...Lord Vale?”
Darius smiled. It wasn’t the hero’s smile. It was the 3AM rage-reader’s smile.
“Yeah. About that quest... I quit.”
`[DING!]`
`[NEW QUEST UNLOCKED: REACH THE ABYSSAL PALACE]`
`[FIRST SUB-QUEST: DON'T DIE ON THE WAY THERE, i***t]`
`[REWARD: 1 CUP OF TEA MADE BY HER]`
“Tea?” Darius muttered. “...Worth it.”
He turned and walked toward the gates of hell.
Behind him, Heaven started to scream.