SSS-Class Revival Hunter - Chapter 201

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈

Chapter 201: The Mirror Reflected in a Mirror (3)

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-What?

My vision turned completely white.

In my mind, or rather, within my spirit, the demon beast let out a sound of panic. The Dream Demon had realized that something unusual was happening.

-What are you doing… Attempting to invade [our world]? Impossible. You have no terminal to connect to us. How can you…

“Feeling scared?”

I let out a mocking laugh. I could feel the Dream Demon flinch. Though I had no mouth to express laughter in my current state, my taunting intent and emotions were clearly conveyed.

-Insolent…!

“Got no confidence, huh? Ah, but you're a stag, so you naturally have a long tongue.”

-How arrogant for a creature living in the wretched material world. We command the dreams of all creation. Even if you set foot in our world, do you think you could remain sane for even a quarter of an hour?

“So, you’re saying you allow me to enter?”

-Come if you dare!

Okay.

I smiled inwardly.

“I'll take that as your consent. Guest.”

The view, which was solely white, transformed.

My consciousness overlaid with the consciousness of the Dream Demon.

[Congratulations!]

[You are the first foreigner to visit the Dream World.]

[You are the first to achieve this accomplishment.]

[You are awarded 3000 race points!]

And the world that unfolded before me was extraordinary.

A pink sky.

The color was so enticing, it seemed like it would sweeten my mouth just by looking at it. It was as if a child's imaginative coloring of the sky had been carefully brought to life by some transcendent being.

"......! Uh!"

The pink not only filled the sky but also invaded my consciousness. My consciousness? No, it was indistinguishable from inside and outside. At this moment, I was the consciousness itself.

“Ah…”

Memories rapidly receded.

The components that made me. The steps Kim Gong-Ja had taken were being erased. Like footprints on the beach washed away by a single wave. Quickly, the pink wave eroded the beach of my memory.

"-----."

Somewhere, the sound of children laughing echoed.

An auditory hallucination.

A hallucination.

Before I knew it, the sky was no longer pink but yellow. The color of my consciousness also turned yellow.

The sky turned blue. My consciousness, too, was bruised blue.

"Um."

My existence was transparent, like water in an Erlenmeyer flask. Each time this world added a drop of colorful paint, my water turned red, yellow, and blue.

A world where moments flickered rapidly.

This was the place where the Dream Demons lived.

“This is a bit dangerous.”

The past vanished. Memories faded.

As the past disappeared, my ability to act freely diminished, and as memories faded, my shadow became fainter.

Feeling intoxicated, my consciousness was hazy.

Now, all I could perceive was the present.

If I let my guard down even slightly, I feared I would lose myself.

‘If I were alone, I would have been helplessly overwhelmed.’

But what constitutes a person is not just oneself.

In a rush of anxiety, I shouted desperately.

"---Ghoul Reincarnation."

Suddenly, my shadow expanded.

[Activating skill.]

My shadow was black. Not a translucent shade, but sheer, pitch-black darkness. A darkness that permitted no other color spread rapidly in every direction.

Swoosh-

The blackness consumed the pink sky, swallowed the yellow, and even the blue.

My shadow became tens of thousands of fingers and clawed at this world's sky from its edges inward. Scratched by black nails, the sky bled multicolored fluid.

“No. What the fuck?”

Where the pink paint melted and flowed, my Ghouls, borrowing fragments of my memory, started to reveal themselves one by one.

“What kind of unclassifiable shitshow is this?”

Flame Emperor.

A handsome man with a ponytail looked around irritably.

"......."

Preta.

A girl who hid half her face behind an animal-bone mask looked up at the sky. A chilling cold permeated her eyes. Preta looked down upon the world as though it were an animal's carcass.

“No, I'll brew the tea again immediately. I'm sorry, Your Grace! I swear I'll make you fragrant tea as though I'd just been reborn... Huh? Uh. What the fuck? What is this?”

Goldencup.

A young lady in a maid's uniform blankly raised her head. She was kneeling on the ground in a full-body prostration. For reference, Lady Goldencup, Silvia Evanair, was serving as a maid in our ducal household.

‘Raviel…’

It seems she was summoned while being scolded by our Duchess.

Happy to see you enjoying life, my love.

“Where is this?”

“Look over there. The sky’s color is quite strange.”

“It’s too bizarre for the Peach Blossom Spring. Really. Our young master sure knows how to find interesting places!”

“Hmm…”

Four Demon Lords.

The elites of the Demonic Cult, clad in ink-dark robes, were summoned. The Four Demon Lords marveled at the strange landscape. By the time their hems had fluttered once, then twice, the summoning of one thousand Demonic Cult troops was complete.

“Phew.”

Finally, I sighed.

A place to accommodate my breath was prepared here.

“Nice to see you all again.”

The Ghouls turned to look at me. I looked at them. As our gazes met, the distant past returned. Memories became clear. The outline of my existence became more defined.

To the Flame Emperor, I am his mortal enemy.

To Preta, I am a ruler.

To Goldencup, I am the lover of a rival.

To the followers, I am the Vice-lord.

My vengeance, duty, love, responsibility. All were reflected in the eyes of the Ghouls. Just as they became Ghouls reborn through me, so too had I reached the current Kim Gong-Ja through them.

As long as they were with me, I wouldn't disappear.

“Good to see you all. Except for that chimpanzee over there swearing.”

“Huh? Are you talking about me?”

Yoo Soo-Ha frowned. He was wearing a brown apron with [Cafe Planetarium] written across it. Yoo Soo-Ha worked part-time at the cafe run by the Head Librarian, where he and Kim Yul were making an enormous contribution to attracting customers. Both Yoo Soo-Ha and Kim Yul wore ponytails. One was an unruly thug who cursed at the end of every sentence, while the other was a taciturn, aloof city man. Their hair was even black and white, making them a perfectly matched pair. No wonder the regulars ordered Americanos every day until they became caffeine addicts.

“Then, asshole, you call me out while I'm working and expect me to watch my language? What am I, some barber who makes house calls whenever you summon me? Hah, you little brat. You've got no manners at all. I was already pissed that I couldn't even make E-rank while I was alive, and now even in death I have to clean up after some kid...”

“Go dance over there.”

“Damn it!”

While Yoo Soo-Ha performed a hip-hop dance, I explained the situation to the Ghouls.

“Interesting, a race that parasitizes dreams.”

Hearing my story, Lady Goldencup stroked her chin. Despite wearing a maid's outfit, her elegance, known as 'The Flower of the Imperial Social Circles,' still shone brightly.

“Then is this a dream within a dream? A dream dreamed in turn by succubi who live inside dreams? It resembles the state of being eroded by a Constellation. How romantic. I find it romantic, Butler.”

“I'm not your butler. I'm the Duke's wife.”

“Ah, don't sweat the small stuff, Butler. You'll go bald worrying like that. I sense an aura of baldness around you! I see it, I really do! The Duchess sighing and stroking your bald head…”

“Go dance over there too.”

“Damn it!!”

While Goldencup danced a waltz next to Yoo Soo-Ha, the rest of us, the sane ones, discussed our strategy.

“As the golden-haired maid pointed out, the Dream Demons' traits do seem similar to a Constellation.”

Preta spoke.

“They’re not a combat-type Constellation but rather a characteristic-type. They infiltrate their ideologies into reality, distorting phenomena... Such beings can’t be defeated by force.”

“So they’re the type who set their own rules.”

“Precisely, my Lord.”

Clink.

Preta fiddled with her skull mask.

“Dreams are a reproduction of experiences and a realization of wishes. Recollecting the past or contemplating the future. Among these, my Lord, I believe the latter should concern you. If you can fulfill their wishes more satisfactorily than the dreams created by the Dream Demons, then naturally, we could subdue this world…”

At that moment, Preta fell silent. Bewilderment clouded the eyes that seemed unfeeling year-round.

Not only Preta, but everyone else was startled.

-Hahaha! Can you guess who I am?

Slap.

In the distance, a lady riding in a magnificent four-horse carriage appeared. The carriage was being pulled not by horses, but by half-naked people. The lady gleefully lashed them with her whip.

-Come on, hurry!

-You are the brightest moon in the empire, Her Majesty Empress Silvia Evanair, whom all the people look up to!

-Ah, your words are music to my ears! But your voice lacks passion. A more agonized, wrung-out tone, please praise me with that!

-Oh, gracious and beautiful Empress…

-More!

It was Goldencup.

Precisely, a dream figure resembling Goldencup.

"......."

Hmm.

We all turned our heads and stared at one side.

There, the real Goldencup, still in her maid outfit, was earnestly showcasing her waltz skills.

“That isn't me! It's a false illusion! A fabrication and propaganda campaign by the ignorant masses!”

“But this is the world of dreams. In other words, [that] is your dream…”

“How unpleasant, Butler! I'll sue you in the imperial court!”

“Half of the judges in that court receive funding from our Ivansia Ducal family. You know that, right…?”

“Damn it! This is why I hate the powerful!”

The real Goldencup performed a triple axel.

Beside her, the Goldencup of dreams, or rather the fragment created by the Dream Demons, laughed ‘haha’ while relentlessly whipping the people tied to the carriage.

Truly a world of dreams.

It was a goddamn mess.

“Ah.”

Preta, realizing late, murmured.

“It seems... our dreams are starting to be reflected as well.”

“Seems so.”

“This is another world, my lord. The longer we remain, the more your original common sense will distort and your knowledge will come apart. We must find the core of this world and deal with it as quickly as possible, our grip on... minimize the damage...”

Preta probably meant to say ‘to hold onto our sanity’ but couldn’t finish.

“Where might the core be? Do you have any idea?”

“In a place like this, location has almost no meaning. Direction is not what matters. Sequence and order are important.”

“Hmm.”

“To use a game commonly enjoyed in my lord's world as an analogy, this is linear, not a sandbox. If you endure each dream that unfolds before you, then someday... might you reach the [first dream] dreamed by the Dream Demons...? Ah. I... think... so...”

There was a reason Preta's speech grew more halting toward the end.

-Yoo Soo-Ha, here is the signature cocktail you ordered.

-Ugh, it’s not good. I can get this in any local bar.

-I'm deeply sorry. To sully your refined taste, I deserve to die a thousand deaths.

-No need for that, just...

-Oh, Yoo Soo-Ha, such modesty. They say even a ripe rice stalk bows its head, but with your virtue, not even a grain could fit.

-Hey, hey, don’t exaggerate, man.

-I'm sorry. I accidentally let my true feelings slip...
-Well, if that's how you sincerely feel, it can't be helped.

The dream world’s Yoo Soo-Ha was dressed in a tank top and sweatpants.

An endless stream of well-dressed gentlemen surrounded him.

-Yoo Soo-Ha, here is a watch our brand will soon release. If you would grace our humble junk with your noble wrist, it would be an honor for our ignorant kind.

-Eh, it’s so-so. But out of kindness, I'll wear it. Just for two days, and then I'll throw it away.

-We will remember those two days for a thousand years.

-Yoo Soo-Ha, I've gathered the most famous chefs from the Tower to prepare a full course. If you could enjoy our food just a bit...

-Ah, so noisy. Just bring it.

-You are calling me noisy... I'm so moved.

In the distance, the sky shimmered pink.

We quietly observed the 'real' Yoo Soo-Ha.

He looked as if the phlegm he had swallowed had somehow refluxed onto his tongue.

“What the fuck? You think your dreams are going to be any cleaner?”

“…My Lord.”

Preta spoke.

Behind the skull mask, Preta's eyes were serious.