SSS-Class Revival Hunter - Chapter 238

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈

Chapter 238: King of Death’s Family (2)

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Swoosh-

Black water swirled around Goldencup. Or perhaps it was not water, but shadows.

Whether it was the first water one touches at birth, or the shadow one drags until death, it was too fitting for announcing a birth.

[The Earth Bone Dragon’s Box activates.]

The water... the shadow... the water-shadow soon enveloped Goldencup completely. Swish, swish. From within the cocoon came the continuous sound of the water-shadow whirling.

And then, it began to shrink.

The cocoon surrounding Goldencup shrank smaller and smaller, until it finally condensed into the size of a child's toy bell. In my palm, a bead lay, squishy like water, yet dark as pitch-black shadow.

"......."

This tiny thing represented the existence of Silvia Evanair.

With one hand, I picked up the bead, slowly and respectfully opened my mouth, and dropped it in, as though putting the cherry from atop a cake into my mouth.

"......."

Everyone in the room watched me, tense.

To them, I was neither Ivansia's consort nor the Vice-lord of the Demonic Cult. I was a demi-god with power.

As they silently observed the miracle of the demi-god, I simply chewed.

Squish.

I chewed the bead and worked it around in my mouth. Naturally, it tasted different from a cherry. Cherries are sweet, with a tart aftertaste. But this bead, this existence of Silvia Evanair, tasted more and more like sorrowful rainwater the longer I chewed and bit into it.

-M-Milady Silvia.

-Remember, you're a bastard to someone too.

-Butler! What are you doing, where are you going!?

Memories fragmented.

Each time I chewed the bead, memories popped like popcorn kernels.

"Hmm."

I swallowed the finely crushed memories of Goldencup, then swallowed again. A human life was too vast or too sticky to swallow in one go.

Goldencup's existence was on the gooier side, like yanggaeng made far too soft and sticky.

I steadily, really steadily, swallowed Goldencup's existence.

[The Earth Bone Dragon’s Box is complete.]

And then.

"Huuu..."

I slowly exhaled. The breath I released had mass. It had weight. It even had color: a pitch-black breath like poisonous smoke.

In the dark mist, two eyes shone like a beast's.

[The Apostle of 'Ruin-Harvesting Cow' manifests!]

The tower called her eyes by an ancient name.

But that old name now fit her far too loosely to encompass what she had become.

“Silvia Evanair.”

"......."

The one who regained form from breath.

To call it reincarnation would be too grand, and transformation too magnificent, so let’s say it was a change of life. The one who had once died now kneeled before me.

“Do you have a new name you wish for?”

“…No. I wish to live as I have been called, as I have been known. More importantly… What should I call you?”

Goldencup's face was filled with awe.

Naturally.

From her perspective, I had resurrected her.

Using the memories of the ghouls stored in [Ghoul Reincarnation], I compressed those memories into a box with [Earth Bone Dragon's Box], then implanted that box into my body. Now I could revive Goldencup whenever I wished.

Even for someone who has dealt with magic and gods, this was undoubtedly a miracle.

“R-resurrection is truly proof of divinity. It feels far too inadequate to simply call you the Wife of House Ivansia as I did before...”

“Family head.”

“Pardon?”

“You can call me family head in public. In private, Kim Gong-Ja, Mr. Gong-Ja, or whatever is fine. But in war or battle, call me family head.”

"......."

I slowly stood up.

Merely straightening a bent back, yet to me, it felt like a beast awaking from a long winter's sleep. If I felt this way, so must have the many watching me.

“Listen.”

I spoke, letting aura flow into my voice.

“The word 'family' has two meanings. One is family, and the other is a house. Raviel and I are a one-of-a-kind family. My ideal is for every being who comes to me in this world to become my family.”

If I could love someone else as I do Raviel.

If there was even a chance to achieve that impossible feat.

“Ester.”

“Yes, master… Father.”

At my call, Ester hurried over and kneeled on one knee. Seeing this, I chuckled softly and stroked her head.

“That’s it.”

“…Yes?"

“Even if Ester calls me Father and I call Ester my daughter, a [family] is not magically created at that very moment. Look, Ester. Where would you find a daughter kneeling on one knee to her dad?”

“Oh…"

Ester was flustered.

“This is, well, even in parent-child relationships, if the parent is a king, the child must fulfill both the duties of a child and a subject, so it’s unavoidable…!”

“It’s alright.”

I smiled.

“We haven’t become close enough to each other yet.”

“…Father?”

“I am an inexperienced father. Ester, you’ve never been a daughter, so you wouldn’t know. So, we haven’t reached the stage of being a family yet. We don’t know what kind of father I'll be, or what kind of daughter you’ll be.”

The night wind blew.

More than ten years ago, such a wind had also blown through an orphanage outside the Tower.

It had blown.

“There’s still so much we don’t know.”

What we will be to each other, is not yet determined.

“We’re not a family yet.”

We're only at the starting line.

“If we ignore this and think, ‘We’re family’, ‘We’re closely bonded’, one day, these thoughts themselves will shackle us. ‘Even though we’re family, I didn’t know anything about you.’ ‘Why can’t you do this much even though we’re family?’ Such despair will follow.”

The heart racing ahead is beautiful.

But the heart is more beautiful when it supports actions.

In front of all of us orphans, the director had said so.

“We're…”

I recited what the tired-faced director once told me.

“We understand one another. We understand the parts each of us wants understood, to the extent we want them understood, and refrain from understanding what we are asked not to understand, for the reasons we are asked not to. What you want. What your habits are. The one desperate cry you ultimately wish to leave behind in this world. Why you love sunsets...”

I slowly recited the signs of love.

“Until we learn and understand these things about each other, we’re not yet a 'family’.”

I looked at each one - the Demon King who tried to destroy the world, the believers from the eternal winter, the noble lady who cursed people.

“We’re people striving to become a family.”

Director.

“Family isn’t completed or ended with the word 'family’. Family is a relationship, the extreme of relationships. It's a promise to strive for each other. It's hard enough to care for each other, and striving is even harder. How can a family be easily formed?”

Right.

“It’s going to take a lot of effort.”

Though there will be many fights.

We can do it.

“Until then, rather than draping ourselves in the shell of a 'family,' let us become a single [house].”

At my declaration, Ester, who was being stroked on the head, reacted.

Her ears perked up.

“Father… Lineage, did you say?”

“A house has distinct offices and roles. The chief steward is responsible for the house's hygiene and welfare and cooks when its members are hungry.”

Just as the director assigned each of us a role at the orphanage.

Ultimately, people act as they have learned and strive to be better.

I looked at Ester seriously.

"The eldest daughter is usually the heir. Alongside receiving an heir's education, she takes charge of balls and social gatherings when the head of the house cannot entertain guests. Ester, as the eldest daughter of our house, you will be entrusted with many things from now on."

"......."

"Warriors, on the other hand, protect the house. They prevent any vicious bastard from abducting a member of the house, and when some force dares attempt to bring down our house, they go out and fight."

The night sky.

My precious believers, merged with the darkness of the night. The warriors sat on the walls, under the walls, in the courtyards, and on the main floor, looking up at me.

“I will strive to become a family to you.”

Though not a single one of us is related by blood.

“Until that day comes, first, let's become a lineage.”

We will cherish each other more than anyone else.

Because we’ve experienced pain, hated humans, been betrayed by the world, witnessed annihilation, and yet somehow, we’ve arrived here, met like this.

I spoke.

“Four Demon Lords.”

“Yes!"

From the dark corners of the mansion, each occupying one of the four directions, the Demonic Cult's four greatest elites gathered at my feet.

Among them, the eldest, Blood Demon, spoke.

“Please command, Vice-lor...”

A wrinkle formed on Blood Demon’s handsome forehead. Principled on the good side, but stubbornly old-fashioned on the other, he was a guardian warrior who maintained discipline among the believers. Tall and good-looking, but a stickler for rules.

After a short contemplation, he adjusted his address with a sigh.

“...Family Head.”

“Hmm.”

“We would be content even to be used as tools. Vice-lord... no, Family Head, you possess an upright nature. Even if you use us as tools, no day will come when we feel self-loathing or regret. It will be enough if you merely admire us as well-honed blades.”

“The master was like a mother to me.”

"......."

"To you, the master was more than a mother."

"......."

“Blood Demon.”

I bent down and covered Blood Demon’s fist salute with my hands.

“We lost someone, and that person was like a mother to all of us. Isn’t that right?”

“...Yes, it is so.”

“So, we are brothers.”

I declared.

“People don't unite over what they have, but over what they have lost. That is the doctrine of Demonic Heaven. Hence, losing our master, we are undoubtedly a sorrowful one.”

"......."

“We will share more stories, try to understand more, learn about each other’s boundaries, sometimes become bastards to each other, and through that..."

More than now.

Much more than now.

“We will become more beautiful and happier."

"......."

“Until that day, I will take the responsibility of the head of this lineage.”

Blood Demon moistened his dry lips.

“Yes, Family Head.”

“I entrust the military affairs of the house to Blood Demon. Your office shall be Deputy Warrior Commander. I will soon appoint a Warrior Commander, so assist that person as their deputy.”

“Yes! Family Head!”

I turned my head.

“Uburka!”

“Hmm.”

Boom.

Uburka stood up from the main floor, and the courtyard vibrated lightly under his step. Until now, Uburka had controlled his aura, managing the weight of his body. Now, being called by me, Uburka unleashed his restrained aura.

“Did you call? Daddy.”

Frightened breaths escaped from all around.

The believers of the Demonic Cult, now warriors of my lineage, realized the heights Uburka had reached.

Uburka was a monster.

A martial artist who underwent bodily rebirth in childhood and rejuvenation in old age. The greatest martial talent in the history of the goblin race. Given time and a fortuitous encounter, he might glimpse the realm my master once reached. The warriors of my house recognized this and tensed.

Amidst the warriors' tension, I smiled.

“You are my son.”

“Ugor. Indeed.”

“Lately, it seems your brain has gone crazy, falling in love and confessing to everyone you meet…”

“Have you forgotten my constellation name, father? Do you want to be beaten by a madman?”

[The Constellation 'The Muscle Pig Dreaming of Parricide' threatens you.]

Hahaha.

I laughed a bit more.

“It’s alright. Even if you're going through adolescence, our son is still cool. Your father only experienced love once, but that one time was with the greatest person in all existence, wasn't it? From a cost-benefit perspective, I am already the king of romance. Feel free to consult with father anytime.”

“Your case is very special and extremely unique, unlikely to be of any reference... Ugor. But, I'll talk if there’s something.”

“That’s right. You are my eldest son.”

I nodded.

“And the strongest warrior I know.”

"......."

Uburka looked down at me.

“Even though I’ve challenged and lost to daddy several times?”

“I lost hundreds of times to Ester for a single victory. The number of defeats only serves to embellish the victory.”

“Will I ever be able to defeat daddy?”

“I believe in your talent, your effort, and your will. You are the most perfect warrior in this world.”

"......."

“Become the Warrior Commander of my house.”

I placed my palm on Uburka's large hand.

“When we must fight, lead us from the very front alongside me. You learned the Divine Art of the Demonic Heaven, and you did more than merely learn it: you comprehended it completely. After me, you have come closest to the art's pinnacle, so the warriors of the house will gladly obey your commands.”

The warriors’ breathing quietened a bit more.

Fear lessened, replaced by anticipation.

"I modified the Divine Art of the Demonic Heaven and created the Demonic Heavenly Battle Formation, elevating it from one person's blade into the dance and song of hundreds. Learn it. You will learn it well. Then teach it to the warriors. You will teach it well."

"......."

“My son, far better than I deserve. Uburka.”

Uburka lifted his other hand and covered my palm.

Despite being a giant, my son, who still seemed young, nodded.

“I will become the chief warrior of my daddy.”

And he vowed.

“I will not forgive those who dare damage this place, our house. I will protect Father and those precious to Father, and I will strive so that they may become precious to me as well. As long as Father loves me, I too shall love the world.”

I smiled.

Thank you.

I was born an orphan, and you were born with albinism, but now I have loved ones around me, and just as you don't know why you hate the sun...

Far in the future, we will have become something a little different.

Proving something to this world.

"......."

I then thought of a Ghoul I hadn’t summoned yet.

His scent, hair, eyes. The hint of a being lost in that person's scent, the traces of wounds hidden between strands of hair, a buried past in those blue, expressionless eyes. I recalled them.

“Come forth.”

I called what I had envisioned.

[Activating skill.]

The shadow surged.

From it, bubbling and boiling, a hand reached out, followed by hair, a face, a body. The pale Ghoul breathed softly.

“Hoo.”

As I imagined, the being had the scent, hair, and eyes.

Raviel's distant ancestor resembled Raviel, and it was very easy to think of someone who looked like Raviel.

“You called.”

I nodded.

And called the person's name.

"Kim Yul."