SSS-Class Revival Hunter - Chapter 202

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈

Chapter 202: Black Dragon (1)

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We headed toward the heart of the Dream World.

-Hahaha! Hurry and pay homage to this Empress!

Behind us, the succubus impersonating Goldencup was still whipping away, but we ignored it and moved on. No one in our group wanted to get involved with that.

As we walked, we encountered bizarre and peculiar landscapes.

First off, the sky above us was unusual.

"The moon… has eyes, my Lord."

"Indeed."

Blink.

The moon blinked its eyelids. As Preta mentioned, the full moon had eyes, and its pupils were red. The red-eyed moon blinked at us.

"Kind of creepy, but the eyes are pretty. Makes me want to keep looking up."

For some reason, my heart fluttered.

Preta gave me a subtle look.

"Uh, well, I think that's influenced by your subconscious, my Lord. Perhaps it imitates the eyes of the Duchess…"

"Oh? Really?"

Looking again, they did resemble Raviel's.

Just with the eyes, she steals my heart. Truly, our Duchess is enchanting, not a single unattractive trait from head to toe.

Next, we arrived at a place influenced by Preta.

"Hmm."

Under the red moon, a field of yellow wheat stretched out before us.

Between the stalks, farmers bent their backs, laboring.

"......"

Preta's expression noticeably stiffened.

I immediately recognized where this place was modeled after.

“It's Ester’s village.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

It was the village annihilated by the Aegim Empire and the allied forces.

Children I once saw in Preta's trauma were playing in the wheat field.

-Spirit! Spirit!

Something lay amidst the ripe wheat grains.

A massive beast.

A blue-furred wolf with half-closed eyes watched the approaching children.

-Here’s a gift for you!

-We picked the prettiest ones to make this!

The village children offered the wolf bouquets of flowers.

However, the wolf’s head was too large for the bouquets to fit. The children, slightly puzzled, then simply hung the bunches on the wolf's ears. Suddenly, the wolf sported flower earrings.

-Grrr.

Seemingly pleased, the wolf let the children ride on its back.

The wind caressed the wheat field, and the children's laughter rippled through the air.

Their laughter carried on the wind was named happiness.

“That beast is…”

“It seems to be my fantasy, my Lord.”

Preta murmured.

“If I hadn’t devoured Ester and remained a beast instead of becoming human… such a possibility. Then I wouldn’t have become Ester, revered as a saintess, nor would I have been reviled as a witch. The village wouldn’t have burned down either.”

Preta's tone was even.

“How foolish.”

She quietly gripped her sword.

“If I hadn’t consumed humans, I wouldn’t have understood human hearts. I only understand what I’ve devoured, only after digesting them. If I hadn’t eaten Ester, I wouldn’t have harbored the wish to be with humans. This landscape laid before us is a contradiction filled with wishes.”

Preta approached the wheat field.

The wolf carrying children stopped.

A silent confrontation.

The doppelganger coldly gazed at her imitation.

“Sever.”

Then Preta drew her sword and bisected the wolf with a single stroke.

As soon as it was sliced by Preta’s blade, the wolf melted into pink paint.

The children riding it, the farmers working the field, even the village itself, all instantly melted away.

“…Phew.”

Only Preta remained under the red moon.

She slowly turned her head to look at me.

“Let’s move on, my Lord.”

“…Quite decisive. Even though that was a scene of your happiness.”

“It may be presumptuous of me to say so, but I have not lived a life so light that I could cast it aside for a contradictory delusion. The memories of drinking Ester's blood and swallowing a child's flesh remain vivid in my mind. How could I make them never have happened, even in a dream?”

I nodded.

“You’re right.”

We continued our journey.

Along the way, we encountered the dreams of the cult members, Uburka’s dreams. In this Dream World, Uburka was laughing hysterically, having crushed me underfoot, shouting Ugor! Ugor! Since Uburka was also in contact with the Dream Demons, it seemed his subconscious was reflected.

“Are we still far from the core of this world?”

“No, my Lord. We are almost there.”

Preta kicked Uburka aside and pointed ahead.

“There, I sense a presence comparable to a constellation.”

Ahead was an old barbed wire fence.

Sitting in front of the shabby barricade was a Dream Demon.

As we approached, the Dream Demon tilted its head. “Heh. You truly are maintaining your sanity in this place. Fascinating.”

The succubus looked familiar.

Smaller and more fragile than the person I knew, I realized who she was modeled after.

“Black Dragon Master?”

-Yes, the person you call by that name. This human.

Maybe seven or eight years old.

The Black Dragon Master from a much younger age rose to her feet with a small “Heave-ho.”

-We have no faces of our own. We must borrow another beast's form in order to converse. This child was the only person I found whom you cherish but who can still speak with you dispassionately.

“What do you mean?”

-It's simple. She doesn’t easily get swayed by emotions.

The succubus glanced over my shoulder.

Yoo Soo-Ha, Preta, Goldencup, the Four Demon Lords, and the cult members followed behind me.

-So many guests, but not a single table to entertain them. Sorry. But understand our plight. We have nothing to plunder in this wretched place. Why did you bring so many soldiers?

“We weren't the ones who joined in the plundering. You were. Aren't you invading from across the sea?”

-Nature dictates that wild beasts are drawn to the scent of blood.

“By that reasoning, the strong beating the weak senseless is also a law of nature, so I'd appreciate it if you quietly did as I said.”

-Scary.

“Want me to be scarier?”

Step.

I left the others behind and approached the succubus.

“Seems like you’re taking us lightly since physical force doesn’t work well here…”

-Oh? And if that's the case?

“Then if we can't negotiate, I'll have to play my trump card.”

-Interesting.

The young succubus smiled.

-Tell me about this trump card of yours.

“I have the skill to resurrect the dead. I’ll kill you all and then revive you.”

I summoned the [Ghoul Reincarnation] card.

The golden card sparkled in my hand.

"Any being that dies by my hand becomes obedient to my commands after resurrection. Subjugating your Dream Demon clan will be a piece of cake for me."

-......

“Think I’m bluffing?”

I looked directly into the succubus’s eyes, just inches away from me.

I had already obliterated [The Immortal Missionary of Happiness] once.

There was no reason, at least for me, not to do the same thing again.

The hint of a smile vanished from the Dream Demon’s lips.

-…No, I don’t doubt your sincerity. King of Death, you are a terrifying person.

The succubus, who had been staring into my eyes, shook her head.

-It's just regrettable.

“Regrettable? What do you mean?”

-Actually, it's not us but the original creature this body is based on that feels regret. In the end, even your way of persuasion resorts to the logic of force.

That’s when it happened.

Gunshots rang out from behind the barbed wire.

“Lord!”

“Vice-lord!”

Preta and the Four Demon Lords instantly surrounded me for protection. However, there was nothing wrong with me. Neither Preta nor the Four Demon Lords seemed to be injured.

Watching our reaction, the succubus chuckled.

-Don’t worry. According to your way of speaking, this is also just a fantasy.

The gunshots continued behind the barbed wire and fence.

Looking in the direction of the gunfire, I saw a man clutching a small child, running frantically, as if being chased.

-It is astonishing how deep a mark a single moment's experience can leave upon you. The more I learn, the more astonishing it becomes.

The man kept looking back but made sure the child never turned around, protecting the child with his body.

The bushy-bearded man whispered to the child.

-Don't ever look back. Understand?

-Yes.

Hearing the child's voice, I realized.

This was Black Dragon Master’s childhood.

Both the man and the child were dirty, as if they hadn’t washed for a long time. Mud stained their clothes, solidifying at the hems, weighing them down. Dragging their heavy steps, the man and child were fleeing.

「I was seven.」

I remembered the story the Black Dragon Master had told me long ago.

「My father died in a civil war when we were still in the outside world.」

There was a small door in the fence.

The man pushed the child through the door first.

The gunshots were getting closer.

「I was fleeing with my parents, and it seems soldiers were chasing us. My father stayed behind.」

The child screamed as she got stuck in the door.

-Dad! Dad...

-Don’t look back! Go ahead! I’ll follow!

The man forcefully pushed the child through the fence. The child continued screaming, but as per the father's instructions, kept moving.

「I really didn’t look back and just ran.」

What happened to the man afterward was not captured in Black Dragon Master’s memory.

But at the end, just behind the young Black Dragon Master, there was a thud, like something hitting the ground.

That sound marked the end of the fence scene.

"......"

I could guess what the sound meant.

The man must have tried to climb the fence after sending the child through.

He must have climbed the fence as though climbing a tree. Then a bullet struck him, killing him instantly, and he fell to the ground.

The last sound Black Dragon Master remembered must have had such a backstory.

-No matter how strong you are, you can't reverse the irreversible.

The succubus spoke indifferently.

-That's why it’s best to prevent problems before they happen. Always prepare and be on guard. The original being of this body thinks that way. She has a habit of imagining the death of everyone she meets first. Sadly.

“I know, even without you saying it.”

-Huh. Then you must also know that this person has prevented eight kidnapping and assassination attempts on you so far?

“…What?”

I was shocked and turned to look at the Dream Demon.

-The world knows you've grown rapidly. It wouldn’t be strange if some nasty forces took interest in you. The original has smashed and obliterated them, but there are still spies sent from the outside world remaining in the Tower.

"......"

-Without power, you can't even protect the lives of those around you.

Crash.

The moon in the sky of the Dream World shattered.

The red moon broke into pieces and fell toward the horizon.

-King of Death. Because you possess power, I will bow my head for now. I will order our kin who sailed across the sea to return. But even you cannot remain on the continent forever and care for all seven races, can you?

The earth became soft and turned into a pink sea.

Splash, splash.

The fragments of the moon that fell plunged into the pink seawater.

-You have only subdued us temporarily. You have not truly won us over. That is all coercion by force can ever accomplish.

A tidal wave rose from the sea where the moon had fallen.

Just as the wave was about to engulf us, the form of the succubus melted away too.

-See you next time. King of Death.

And the Dream World collapsed.

“---King of Death? Are you all right, junior?”

I suddenly came to my senses.

Black Dragon Master was looking at me with concern.

"Senior?”

“Thank goodness. Your eyes are back to normal.”

I looked around.

We were no longer in the jungle landscape that unfolded in Uburka’s dream.

I lay in the square of the harbor town.

“The Dream Demons...”

“Right after your conversation with the stag, we were suddenly ejected from the dream. What happened? Did you succeed in persuading them, or did you fail?”

“For now, I succeeded.”

As if to prove my words, the people lying in the square began to wake up one by one.

Their movements were sluggish after dreaming for so long, but fortunately their lives did not appear to be in danger.

“Sigh…”

Black Dragon Master let out a deep sigh of relief.

She finally seemed to have relaxed.

“Well done. I can hear what happened a little later, so...”

“Senior.”

I grabbed Black Dragon Master's wrist.

She turned to me, tilting her head in confusion.

“I have something to tell you.”

“Why so serious all of a sudden?”