WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈
Chapter 121: Hero (3)
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After hearing my request, my comrades remained silent for a long time. Perhaps they were looking back on the lives they had lived thus far, on days stained by purges.
"Really, you're asking for a difficult path."
It was only after a while that the Black Dragon Master slowly opened her lips.
Her voice was close to a lament.
"People can become competent through effort. With effort, they can become moral too. They can even become powerful. But becoming a competent and moral person in power is nearly impossible. It's simply too difficult. ...It is a difficult path."
"Someone once told me that the road to hell is paved with good intentions."
I reached out my hand towards the guild leaders.
"Then the road to heaven must be covered with countless evils."
There will be many who envy us. Those who stir up trouble for fun. Those who incite fights among people for power, or even agitators among the residents.
Such people exist.
Plenty of them.
Evil is toxic because it is ordinary.
"But that doesn't mean we have to give up. Let's show a slightly better world to those who have given up on the outside world and fled here."
I extended my hand. Not a gesture to shake hands with someone but rather a pose to gather several hands at once.
Like team members of a sport shouting "fighting" before a game, I quietly reached out my right hand towards the guild leaders.
"......"
"Ahaha."
While the Black Dragon Master hesitated, the Heretic Inquisitor was the first to place a hand on mine. Gently, the Heretic Inquisitor's palm came to rest against the back of my hand.
"I don't mind! The moral legitimacy of a regime has a powerful appeal. And the King of Death is the only person who can gild us with morality. It would be a pity to miss such an opportunity!"
"Cough."
Viper laid his hand.
"I guess this means I'm the successor to the Orthodox Faction now. The old man is always nagging me to remember the proper mindset of the orthodox path. Well, I'll join in as a way of showing some filial devotion to my retired master."
"Umm."
The Paladin placed her hand on ours.
"I have been activating my skill since before the conversation started."
Lie Detection.
"Among those gathered here, no one has spoken any falsehood. More than anything, Kim Gong-Ja. I know that in [The Veritable Records of the Heavenly Demon] and [Tales of the Sormewin Academy], you've always run with an upright heart."
"......"
"I believe in your genuine attitude, your true love, and above all, your character. All revolutions fail. Then at least, let our revolution be remembered as the most beautiful failure, as I dedicate my life and soul to it."
"Umm."
The Countess laid her hand.
"I can't follow all this talk from you romantics. Fine. I'm merely going along with the prevailing tide. I only hope the stocks I went all-in on don't crash. I wish you all the best of luck."
"......"
Finally.
The Black Dragon Master hesitantly laid her hand.
“……I can't promise much. I can't guarantee your success. I won't be able to abandon the methods I've used so far. But, yes.”
Her black eyes scanned us.
“If we fail. If a time comes when one of us must die... I will be the first to die. That's the only promise I can make.”
“Then I too make a promise.”
I smiled.
“I won't let anyone here die. Anywhere. Anytime.”
“You're recklessly issuing checks you can't cash. You….”
The Black Dragon Master smirked bitterly. But she didn't retract her hand.
All six of us.
Our hands came together.
“Hmm. Good!”
The Holed-Up Head Librarian floated in the air, laughing.
“King of Death. Black Dragon Master. Heretic Inquisitor. Countess. Viper. Paladin. I designate these six as characters in [Me and Our Scapegoat]! When you open your eyes, you will be in a world whose Apocalypse is enjoying a highly acclaimed serialization cancellation. Take care. It is quite different from the Apocalypses you have faced until now!”
The Holed-Up Head Librarian opened a book. Whoosh! Light flowed from the pages of the Apocalypse and fell upon our stacked hands.
“The difficulty of this Apocalypse is A grade!”
The light enveloped us.
“Unlike last time, I cannot bestow many blessings upon you. A Constellation is alive in this Apocalypse. Alive and reigning. You will enter the Apocalypse as a kind of invading force. Naturally, that Constellation will be hostile to you.”
The Holed-Up Head Librarian smiled faintly.
“King of Death. That Constellation will especially regard you as an enemy!”
‘Enemy?’
Before I could even understand what that meant, our vision was completely covered in light. In fact, there was no need to try hard to understand the Holed-Up Head Librarian's words.
The world turned white, and before we could fully open our eyes to greet the new world...
[The Immortal Missionary of Happiness detects the intrusion.]
A sharp voice brushed through our minds.
Like an urgent siren, the voice surged continuously.
[The Immortal Missionary of Happiness warns you.]
[The Immortal Missionary of Happiness seeks to annihilate the intruders.]
[The Immortal Missionary of Happiness declares war on you!]
Me and Our Scapegoat.
[The Immortal Missionary of Happiness despises ‘you’.]
This fairy tale was a world ruled by a constellation who invaded Raviel's world.
3.
In the story of the hero and the Demon King, the Demon King always lets down their guard.
The Demon King never reveals their full strength from the beginning. They dispatch their weakest minions first to the hero. The hero, initially weak at the start of the story, grows stronger by defeating progressively more powerful enemies.
Until they're ready to face the Demon King.
-I've been waiting for you.
The constellation of this fairy tale was different.
-How dare you antagonize my master!
The constellation revealed its fangs to us right from the start.
The first to sense the crisis among us was none other than my holy sword.
[Shiny detects the presence of a sister sword!]
The hilt at my waist vibrated, as if alerting us to the crisis. Before our vision was fully cleared, Shiny urgently cried out.
[The nature of ‘The Immortal Missionary of Happiness’ and the ‘Sacrifice Sword’ match!]
[The Immortal Missionary of Happiness is the fourth sister sword left by Leafanta Aegim, ‘Sacrifice’!]
As soon as Shiny's warning ended, our vision cleared.
Blue sky.
Our party was plummeting from the sky. Right after being summoned to this world, we were briefly floating, so I didn't realize it. But our bodies were swiftly pulled by gravity.
Whoooosh!
Wind brushed across my forehead. Blood rushed to my head. We were plummeting headfirst.
"Umm!"
That’s when the Heretic Inquisitor grabbed my forearm. As we were being scattered by the wind, he managed to hold onto me first. Skilfully wrapping his legs around my waist, he then formed hand seals.
"King of Death, grab my right foot! Don't ever let go! Holy Technique. God of Teleportation!"
I clung to the Heretic Inquisitor's right foot as instructed. The next moment, the Heretic Inquisitor moved beside the Black Dragon Master.
"Black Dragon Master!"
"Right! Give me your leg!"
As if it were the most natural thing in the world, the Black Dragon Master caught the Heretic Inquisitor's left foot. "Ahaha," the Heretic Inquisitor's laughter mingled with the wind. Hearing it, I thought the gravity crushing all of us grew lighter for a moment.
"Holy Technique. God of Teleportation!"
The Heretic Inquisitor successively gathered the Countess, Paladin, and Viper. We hung onto the Heretic Inquisitor like piglets clinging to their mother. Viper, apparently quite embarrassed by the situation, let out a loud yelp.
"Hey! Why am I the last?!"
"Because you are the least useful person here! Master of the Celestial Martial Clan! Losing you would do no significant harm to our fighting strength!"
"You fucking religious nut!"
As five of us clung together, even the Heretic Inquisitor could not form his hand seals. There was simply no room. Nor was there time. The ground was getting closer every second.
"Well done, little one!"
But as if she had been waiting only for us to gather, the Black Dragon Master raised her voice.
"Everyone, say you agree with my skill! Quick! Quick!"
"Yes!" "I agree!" "Alright then!" "I agree." "Damn it, I'm in!"
"Teleport!"
All six of us moved at once. Instant teleportation. Unlike the Heretic Inquisitor, who had to form hand seals, the Black Dragon Master could activate her skill through physical contact alone.
The same technique we relied on when facing [Demon King of Autumn Rain].
Thus, we safely landed on the ground.
-You won't escape!
However, the ground itself was far from safe.
-Sing, my apostles!
Tens of thousands. Or hundreds of thousands. Perhaps millions.
Things in the shape of 'children' stood all the way beyond the horizon. Each was identical to the apostle that had invaded Raviel's world. Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of children surrounded us in layer after layer.
-La.
And they sang.
-La, la.
-Lu. Lala.
-La.
A million voices formed an a cappella melody together. A hundred thousand low voices, a hundred thousand high voices, and a hundred thousand whistles overlapped. The children danced in circles as if delighted. Each time they took a step, the ground trembled lightly.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
-La.
This was the difficulty of an A grade Apocalypse.
A world that sees us as [enemies], doesn't let its guard down, and tries to annihilate us from the start.
"Ugh!"
The group hastily raised their auras. But it wasn't enough. Within less than a minute of transitioning into the Apocalypse, we were under a total attack. An onslaught of happy dreams, too overwhelming for any individual aura to handle.
"Countess!"
The Heretic Inquisitor shouted.
"Lend me money!"
"Damn, feels like I'm gonna break the bank...!"
"Yes! Better than your head getting broken!"
"Interest 15%! Compounded!"
"If it's not for free, I'm not interested!"
"What, that's nonsense...."
"Nisha!"
The Paladin yelled. Initially, I didn't understand what 'Nisha' meant. But seeing the Paladin's gaze directed at the Countess, I realized. Nisha was the Countess's real name.
"Shut up and take out your wallet! I'll kill you!"
"Ugh. Damn it! Withdrawal, unlimited!"
The Countess pulled out a pouch from her attire. A pouch with a snail pattern. She untied the gold thread at its opening. Chrrrr! Countless gold coins poured onto the ground.
"User change! Heretic Inquisitor!"
"Ahaha, thank you!"
The Heretic Inquisitor quickly formed hand seals.
"Holy Technique, God of Donation!"
Light burst from within his hands. White light enveloped the pile of gold, turning the gold coins into dust. In exchange, the aura enveloping us was strengthened unbelievably.
"Holy Miracle, Aura Enhancement and Immunity to Mental Attacks! Enhancement targets: Countess, Heretic Inquisitor, King of Death, Black Dragon Master, Paladin, and Viper. Enhancement duration: undetermined. Gold shall seize our hands. Technique complete!"
"Hiiiiioooaaah! Hyaak! My money!"
The Countess screamed. Gold coins kept pouring out of the pouch, immediately evaporating into light. Overwhelmed, cat ears sprung atop the Countess's head.
"My money! Nyah! My blood-like money! More precious than my blood!"
"Ahaha. Should I donate blood?"
"No need! If I go bankrupt, the Tower goes bankrupt that very day! Understand? If you don't want to be eating gruel fit for dogs tomorrow morning, hurry up and clear this stage!"
From falling from the sky, to a million songs, we managed to escape the relentless crisis without a moment's rest.
Only then could we take a closer look at the main culprit who attacked our party.
-Tch. Are you capable enough to engulf The Idol, The Pity, and The Prayer? I stealthily hid my presence and ambushed you, but...!
The constellation floated in the air.
It was similar to the Prayer Sword, entirely red in color. However, slightly darker than the Prayer Sword. A child wrapped in dark red blood trembled in the air.
-But it is useless! Leader of the traitors! My loyalty to Leafanta Aegim will never falter. I will kill every one of you so that nothing can obstruct my master's path of conquest!
Indeed.
I grasped the hilt and drew out the holy sword.
'Raviel became a constellation by stabbing her heart with a fragment of the [Goddess of Protection].'
Even just a fragment had the potential to become a constellation.
Then it's possible for a fragment itself to evolve into a [New Constellation].
The Sacrifice Sword had evolved from a fragment of the [Goddess of Protection] into [The Immortal Missionary of Happiness].
-Apostles! Eliminate them!
And the Sacrifice Sword still remained loyal to Leafanta Aegim.
Unlike the other sister swords that were helplessly absorbed by me, the Sacrifice Sword had gathered its strength. As if anticipating my arrival, it ambushed us. That was the whole story of the current situation.
"......"
I gripped the holy sword and stared ahead.
Literally hundreds of thousands of troops were rushing towards us from all sides.
The apostles sang instead of shouting, and danced instead of thrusting spears. But they were more threatening than any battle cry and more lethal than any spear or sword.
Our forces: six.
The enemy, innumerable.
"Countess."
"What is it!"
"You still have plenty in your wallet, right?"
It's the perfect moment for me to shine.
"What?"
"Foot the bill for one huge blowout on this stage."
At the moment the Countess blinked, I quietly recited.
"Ghoul Reincarnation."
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