WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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SSS-CLASS HUNTER WHO DIES TO LIVE

Chapter 42: His Time (3)

4.

I crossed countless decisive battles.

I endured endless duels.

And so, at last, I arrived.

The thirteenth stage.

‘A stage comprised of the ominous number 13.’

Was it because of this number? From the moment of entry, this place exuded a unique aura. As soon as we were transported to the stage, two completely different kinds of voices welcomed me.

One was a voice of joy, and the other, a voice of terror.

[Welcome, King of Death.]

First, there was the familiar voice.

The Tower no longer called me 'Hunter Kim Gong-Ja.' Instead, it used my alias, my second name, King of Death. I had been duly recognized as a resident of this place and welcomed as a legitimate member of the Tower.

Was I too modest to find such a fact mildly pleasing?

-Kaaaah!

Then there was the other voice.

-I will not forgive you!

Like a tearing scream.

-How dare you! How dare you take my children!

No, the owner of the voice was literally being torn apart.

-You dare to take away the children I nurtured and raised! Are you mocking me? Trying to deceive me? Taking my flesh, my blood, my soul!

The Demon King.

The ruler of the red nightmare was bleeding black fluids all over.

-I curse you!

The Demon King's form was literally tearing apart. Black blood. Bubbling wastewater bore stark witness to the Demon King's pain. Looking even more wretched now than when it fled the twelfth floor, the Demon King screamed toward the heavens.

-I curse you! I curse the world! I curse everything that is not me! If the world seeks to erase me, I shall swallow the world whole! Your seas shall become my gastric juices, and your lands shall become my flesh! I shall chew up your flesh! Your bones! Your hearts! Every last organ!

"Uh..."

The Witch next to me held her breath.

The Demon King's howling screams were ominous and filled with deadly intent.

Even the Sword Saint stepped back, gripping his sword handle tighter.

“This is a dreadful outcry.”

The Sword Saint muttered.

“I've never heard such a voice before. It's like it has thousands of mouths.”

“Really, why is it screaming like that...?”

Both the Witch and the Sword Saint raised their auras, perhaps to avoid being engulfed by the murderous aura. It was clear that, even if only momentarily, they were overwhelmed by the Demon King's presence.

Only one person remained unfazed.

-Eh?

As always, Sword Emperor was nonchalant.

-What's with that guy?

Then, unexpectedly, Sword Emperor dropped a surprising remark.

-It's gotten weaker, hasn't it?

‘What?’

- It's much weaker than when we fought on the lower floor.

Much weaker?

I looked at the Demon King again, examining him closely.

‘That?’

-Yeah.

The Sword Emperor frowned.

-Well, it's understandable that it's damaged from the Witch's aura assault. But it's not just an injury... Its [rank] seems to have dropped.

‘Rank dropped?’

-Let's say... compare its combat strength to a Great Goblin King. On the twelfth floor, it was like an SSS-tier Great Goblin King created by fusing Alexander, Arthur, and a goblin.

‘Your comparisons are getting more creative. When did you learn about Alexander and Arthur?’

-An Emperor always diligently pursues knowledge. That’s why one becomes an emperor and remains so.

‘Ah, yes. Let's assume that, Sword Emperor.’

I said inwardly.

‘So, the Demon King was like that SSS-tier Great Goblin King on the 12th floor...'

-Right. Now it feels like an ordinary Great Goblin King with the SSS-tier label stripped off. Not even the Great Goblin King that led an army on the eleventh floor. I mean that weakened version you barely beat by going goruk, goruk and pulling a dirty Brutus-style betrayal.

It had happened only a short while ago in the Tower's time, but in my time it was already a truly distant memory. As he mentioned it, the Sword Emperor kept tilting his head.

-Huh! That's strange. Normally, the higher you climb the Tower, the stronger the bosses get, right? So what happened to that thing? Does the Witch's aura-grilling have a level-down effect or something?

"......"

I looked around, pondering the Sword Emperor's words.

The temple had turned into ruins.

In the middle of it all, the Demon King was still howling at the sky. Like a lion struck by an unexpected blow. The Nightmare of the Autumn Rain was lamenting, above all, furious.

‘Perhaps.’

This sight gave me a certain conviction.

‘Is there an unexpected change in the stage?'

It was then.

[Tabulating 12th floor rewards...]

[Unable to tabulate!]

[You are currently undertaking a hidden quest.]

[All rewards will be tabulated upon clearing the 19th floor.]

[Only a simplified reward will be given for now.]

Swoosh!

A translucent something unfolded before me.

[Blessing: the War Deity's Protection has been strengthened!]

It was a map.

But unlike any map I had seen before.

[Maps from the 11th to the 20th floor are now open to you!]

A world map.

The maps I had received as a special privilege were just 'minimaps.' They were limited to the range of a single floor, no matter how wide. However, what unfolded before me now was on a different level.

This was a map of this world and the otherworld, the so-called 'world map.'

"......!"

And upon seeing the map, I realized.

“I got it!”

“Huh?"

The Witch and the Sword Saint both turned to me. The Witch with a puzzled look and the Sword Saint with a stoic expression.

“What do you mean, you got it?”

“I know why the Demon King is like that. Black Dragon Witch, think back to the previous stage.”

I spoke quickly, explaining my realization.

"The history of the Demon King invading the capital has disappeared. The city has completely changed. The refugee camps are entirely gone."

"And how does that matter...?"

"Think about it logically! Where would these refugees have fled from? Not just from all over the empire, but from across the continent. But now, even the refugee camps have completely vanished."

"…Ah."

Finally, the Black Dragon Witch seemed to catch on.

"I see."

The owner of the Black Dragon narrowed her eyes.

"Not only the history of the empire being invaded but also refugees who fled from all over the continent have disappeared..."

"Yes."

I nodded.

"It's not just the empire; the entire continent has changed. We've returned to a time [before the Demon King officially invaded the continent]!"

Exactly.

"And now!"

That was it.

"This temple is under attack at this very moment!"

Upon seeing the world map, it became clear to me.

The continent of this world was divided by a vast mountain range. So high and wide that even birds dared not cross it. But in the middle of this expansive mountain range, there was a narrow pass. East and West of the continent were connected through this pass.

This temple was built right at that location.

A temple bridging the East and West of the continent. It must have been built with a grand history and many legends unknown to me. Due to such reasons, it resembled a fortress and a wall, functioning as a temple.

This temple was the Goddess's shield, standing across the middle of the mountain range.

Inside the shield, to the east, lay plains. Small nations occupied the plains, and beyond them stood the empire. Since nothing but sea lay beyond the empire, its borders began at the land's horizon and ended at the sea's horizon.

A realm of humans, vividly blue.

On the other hand, beyond the temple, the West was entirely red.

All the lands beyond the goddess's shield were stained blood-red. That was the realm of the Demon King.

The Demon King had broken this shield and surged eastward. He had engulfed the small nations and the empire. Finally, he even pushed to the ports.

In the original history, it must have been so.

'History alteration means this!'

I realized.

The time of this otherworld was regressing into the past.

History alteration.

Perhaps [history regression] would be the more accurate name for this phenomenon.

-Kaaaah!

That's why the Demon King was crying out so desperately.

Why the Sword Emperor was talking about the Demon King's rank.

I could now perfectly understand.

I murmured inwardly.

‘That thing lost levels.’

-Huh?

Sword Emperor narrowed his brows.

-Lost levels?

‘You know, Sword Emperor. The voice we hunters hear when our levels rise.’

Yes.

The voice heard when a hunter grows stronger is always the same.

「Your existence becomes more defined.」

「You are leveling up.」

Sword Emperor also seemed to recall the same phrase quickly.

-Are you talking about that 'Your existence' thing?

'Yes, exactly that!’

What did it mean when it said [your existence becomes more defined]? I had thought it was just a fancy expression but looking at the Demon King now, it all made sense.

“Maybe that boss monster grew by killing countless imperial citizens and refugees. But now that slaughter and hunt have become [nonexistent]. So...”

Therefore…

“That amount of growth was deleted.”

His existence is becoming fainter.

"The Demon King’s path... The history of his continuous slaughters has been erased because..."

I had completely altered the history of the 12th floor.

Enduring endless duels and countless decisive battles, my time, woven stitch by stitch.

-Kaaaah!

The Demon King’s time had regressed by that same stitch.

[The Demon King of the Autumn Rain is enraged.]

[The existence of the Demon King of the Autumn Rain is becoming faint.]

The timely voice proved my thoughts were correct.

-You...!

The red nightmare growled.

The murderous intent, just as strong as before, but no longer could it overpower any hunter.

Not me, not the Witch, nor the Sword Saint. We all looked straight at the Demon King.

“Let’s go.”

I said.

"Let's ignite the beacon of counterattack."

5.

-O hundred ghosts!

Rumble!

The Demon King's body boiled.

-O ten thousand demons!

A voice that sounded like a scream.

-My children!

In response, monsters all over the stage slowly rose. It wasn't a summoning spell. Probably the monsters that were originally prepared for the 13th floor.

From the temple pillars, from the ruins that had become rubble, monsters began to rise.

-Uuuuh.

Thousands of zombies.

Were these the people who were in this temple, the [Shield of the Goddess]? There were zombies wearing priest hats, some dressed in paladin uniforms, and others in merchant clothes. They moved their lifeless eyes around aimlessly, moaning as they shifted their bodies.

The Demon King commanded.

-Kill them!

The horde of zombies charged towards us.

Beside me, the Witch sighed.

“Ah, I’ve always hated zombie movies…”

“Me too, not a fan.”

“Can you handle this, King of Death?”

“It’s not about whether we can win or not.”

I drew my sword.

“I will win.”

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