WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈
Chapter 281: Final Vote (2)
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Peach blossoms fell.
The flowers were snow that wasn't cold.
“Alright.”
I spoke and raised my sword.
“Let’s test it.”
I charged.
I swung my sword.
My sword collided with Viper’s blade.
Clang...!
The sound of metal rang out.
Clang…!
The sound of metal rang out.
Clang…!
Viper’s shoulder flinched, then suddenly, with a pop, his coiled muscles unfurled, splitting the sword path.
It created the illusion that three or four sword paths were closing in simultaneously.
‘No, not sword paths, but a review of them?’
He was drawing up his Aura to create several afterimages of his blade, asking which one I would answer.
Depending on which one I choose, the change in the sword path will be completely different.
And none of those changes will be favorable to me.
‘Unrivaled Martial Artist.’
That was probably the skill Viper gained when he first entered the tower.
It must have been the ability to read an opponent's anticipated moves that I had glimpsed in my master's world.
“Then…”
I lifted my sword.
“There's no need to choose!”
It wasn’t just one sword.
The sword strike Viper swung from the upper left was countered by [The Pity Sword].
“One!"
The strike aiming for my waist was blocked by [The Prayer Sword].
“Two!"
The strike targeting my wrist was stopped by [The Sacrifice Sword].
“Three!”
The attack diving for my neck was deflected by [The Salvation Sword].
With that, I sealed off every attack Viper had unleashed. Once his hands were tied, I instead leaped into his guard.
“Haat!"
I swung [The Idol Sword] in my hand.
"Eut..."
Viper stepped back.
He’s probably trying to create distance and regroup.
Sorry, but I had no intention of giving him time to recover. I charged.
I slashed.
"-----Hoo!"
And at that moment, I saw a smile flicker across Viper’s lips.
“Hryaaaah!”
Clang! The metallic sound rang out.
[The Idol Sword] was blocked by something.
It wasn't Viper’s sword.
Viper's wrist, or rather, the glove wrapped in Aura around it, had stopped the blade.
Not only that, he turned his hand around, gripping the blade.
And pulled.
“Liǎofàn,”
Viper’s single eye, whoosh, came closer.
“Aren’t you a swordsman,”
“I’ll tell you two things,”
Our voices intersected, and at the next moment, they were drowned out by a loud explosion.
Boom……!
The sonic boom that occurred as Viper's other fist brushed past my ear swallowed up all other sounds.
-This is also one of the fine arts of swordsmanship,
Thus, Viper’s words were conveyed only by the movement of his lips.
-I mainly use the sword, just because it suits me and looks cool.
In the moment his fist brushed past, Viper was already moving into the next attack.
Pulling on the sword he had seized, he tried to drive his bent knee into my abdomen. If I released the sword and retreated, he would swing it around, blade and all, and smash my shoulder with the crossguard. Should I plant my legs and hold my ground, then? No. He would straighten his bent knee and strike my solar plexus.
-Right, I see.
I see it.
I feel it.
-You also handled many weapons simultaneously when controlling the Seven Ghost Heroes.
-Yes.
Viper's intentions. His predictions of my responses. The next moves built upon those predictions. The single, pure purpose supporting all of it.
-From a scythe to a fist, there’s no weapon I can't handle!
We are now 'conversing.'
-Yes.
Swimming in the flow of time created by Aura, I glanced at the number of cards Viper could play.
I tried counting but soon gave up.
-That's a lot.
Dozens.
Even counting the traps waiting to be triggered, there are hundreds.
In a fleeting moment, from my left, right, behind, all around, and beyond, I felt Viper’s intentions and murderous intent.
-Wow.
It’s a literal human wave tactic.
Seven Ghost Heroes, Twelve Winged Generals, Seventy-two Demon Kings, One Hundred and Eight Arhats… Whatever it is, it’s different from the harmony he once spread by controlling numerous bodies with a single will.
Spreading numerous wills with one body.
That was why the figure before me was one Liǎofàn, yet at the same time was not merely one Liǎofàn.
-That is really a lot!
A fist like a blacksmith's hammering bore down on me. A hand-blade like a farmer's sickle, attacks like a gardener's shears and a fisherman's net, countless assaults unfolded toward me.
-Right, give it your all.
I, too, will meet you with everything I have.
No, to defeat you all.
‘Let’s go, Hwiya.’
I leaped headlong into the force pulling me and swung my fist as well. It must have been the right answer, because the strength left Viper's sword hand.
‘Resonate with my heart.’
The moment my fist cut through the air, I willed it.
‘The Torn Goddess's Salvation.’
Among the four swords floating in the air, [The Salvation Sword] vibrated intensely.
[Activating skill.]
A secret technique once possessed by Constellation Killer.
It discarded memories and drew out power equal to the weight of what had been forgotten.
The more the past is discarded, the more the current me dies. Since I promised Raviel not to recklessly throw away my life, I try not to use [The Torn Goddess's Salvation] unless it's a moment when I must exert all my strength.
Like right now.
‘The Salvation Sword.’
I swung the sword.
Divine Art of the Demonic Heaven.
The First Form.
Sword of Starving Death.
The Salvation Sword thrashed violently through the air. “Kuh!” The fist of a blacksmith charging from my right was knocked far away. One, two, three, then four lives joined the attack, but even they could not stop [The Salvation Sword].
I too was fiercely consuming Aura.
But.
‘I discard the memories of the four attacks I just repelled.’
Suddenly, my vision cleared.
My heart beat. The depleted Aura replenished itself. My steps grew lighter, and my movements quicker.
Glancing to the right, although surrounded on all sides, that area alone is clearly empty. Looking closer, four lives are groaning and rolling on the ground.
Although I could not remember how it had happened, why it had happened and what it meant were both clear.
‘Okay.’
My right side was open.
‘The Sacrifice Sword.’
Then the next thing to do was clear.
Divine Art of the Demonic Heaven.
The Second Form.
Sword of Parched Death.
[The Sacrifice Sword] swept through my left side. Groans spilled out and screams rang. The attacks approaching from the left had been cut off.
‘I discard the memory of the attack I just blocked.’
My left side was open.
‘The Prayer Sword.’
Look.
Celestial Martial Clan Master.
I am giving it my all right now.
Divine Art of the Demonic Heaven.
The Third Form.
Sword of Drowning Death.
You are not an insignificant existence to me.
How could I wield the sword of Demonic Heaven against someone who meant nothing to me? Even if each memory amounted to no more than a single moment, how could I cast them away? How could I scrape at my soul, gather the crumbled scraps of flesh from its wounds one by one, and join them into a single stroke of the sword?
‘The Pity Sword.’
You said you would stop me.
You said you would take me as your karma.
Divine Art of the Demonic Heaven.
The Fourth Form.
Sword of Freezing Death.
I am the one taking you on with everything I have.
To be all-out means my life is laid upon my sword.
I wonder what excuse I will give to Raviel. I can’t say I didn’t break our promise since I didn't die. How can I show Raviel such shamelessness, stubbornly sticking to the literal meaning of words?
Right?
Divine Art of the Demonic Heaven.
The Fifth Form.
Sword of Death by Poison.
I am conscious of the Guardian Spirit’s gaze. This gentleman. He has become much more serious since I developed Demonic Formations Art. He spends more time watching me than talking to me. He’s started to see me as a more equal warrior, which pleases me but also keeps me anxious. What does the Guardian Spirit think of the swordsmanship I display?
Right?
Divine Art of the Demonic Heaven.
The Sixth Form.
Sword of Death by Disease.
I think of my master. I recall my master's decisive battle with the Head of the Martial Alliance. My master fought even at the cost of shattering true qi, and peach blossoms bloomed and streamed from every footprint. The world devoured the true qi my master scattered and the blood shed, bringing a handful of blossoms into bloom.
Divine Art of the Demonic Heaven.
The Seventh Form.
Sword of Bludgeoning Death.
That level is needed to convince the opponent.
Only at that level can I cut you down.
Whether I can touch that level with so much as one fingertip, one finger,
Divine Art of the Demonic Heaven.
The Eighth Form.
Sword of Burning Death.
I am worried.
Because you have made me worry over, fret over, and agonize over my love, my friendship, and my admiration.
You cannot be a mere existence to me.
Isn't that so?
‘The left is clear.’
Gone.
‘The right is clear.’
Nothing to hinder.
‘The rear is empty too.’
No one to grab my nape.
'Then.'
The only place left is the front.
My path ahead.
With the three sides to my left, right, and rear cleared, only the path toward Viper himself remained wide open.
‘I’ll go ahead.’
I step forward.
‘Piercing through the entire life you have lived.’
One step.
I called back the swords I had sent out to stop the oncoming lives. Salvation, Sacrifice, Prayer, and Pity quickly gathered and circled close around me.
‘I will cut your heart.’
Three steps.
The four swords scattered like iron dust. The Aura used to maintain the Flying Ki Sword Technique was withdrawn. Instantly, my vision brightened and blood boiled in my body.
An accountant's pen, a vegetable seller's measuring box, and a drunkard's bottle flew toward me, along with the countless daily lives of countless people, but...
‘Good.’
I stomped the ground with a determination to face all of it.
"Celestial Martial Clan Master!”
My voice burst out.
As the long night settled, the forest shadows turned deep blue and the leaves shivered coolly in the dawn light, my lion's roar thundered through the jungle.
“Viper!”
Suddenly.
Something seemed to flow where I stepped.
“Liǎofàn!”
Three steps.
My feeling that something flowed was not an illusion.
With each step, a few petals flow from the ground I stepped on.
They had fluttered only briefly across the bottom of my vision. Unlike my master and the Head of the Martial Alliance, flower stalks did not spring up wherever I stepped. Blossoms did not bloom in riotous profusion, leaving fragrance in the air wherever a sword passed, nor did the space where our blades crossed become a garden. Only a few white petals had flickered between Viper and me for a moment.
Divine Art of the Demonic Heaven.
The Ninth Form.
Sword of Self-Inflicted Death.
Four steps.
My sword cut through a petal.
"------"
The sound of inhaling.
A breath panted at the tip of my sword.
-.......
-.......
The petal cut by the blade silently split in two. As its white halves parted left and right, my view slowly opened. Liǎofàn's black eye patch appeared beyond one half, and his left eye beyond the other.
The blade had stopped beside Liǎofàn's neck.
No.
It had to stop.
"......."
My heart.
At my solar plexus, Liǎofàn’s fist rested.
-.......
-.......
Perhaps my blade had stopped a little late. It had left a shallow cut, and a millet-sized bead of blood trickled red along its edge.
Perhaps Liǎofàn's fist had stopped a little late. The place it had struck was slightly caved in, and blood forced its way between my lips and trickled red down my chin.
"......."
“.......”
I could not swing my sword any farther. The moment I did, my heart would burst.
He could not drive his fist any farther. The moment he did, his head would fly from his shoulders.
Knowing this, we naturally stopped.
“Ah...."
“How, how could this..."
“Incredible.”
The forest swayed.
Again, not only hunters were spectators in this forest. The tribes following the hunters thronged, especially our King of Death Family’s retainers were attentively watching the martial field from the shaded forest.
A mountain of people, a forest of people.
With such a scale, it's not just people in the forest; the forest is made of people.
Receiving everyone's gaze, I first casually said.
“I even defeated the Sword Saint.”
A corner of the forest twitched. Probably the Sword Saint.
Viper casually replied.
“I beat that old man too. A long time ago. In the past.”
Sure enough, the Sword Saint twitched again.
I laughed.
“You said you lost an eye.”
“That doesn't mean I lost.”
“What? Then does the Sword Saint do nothing but lose? He's a total combat-power measuring device.”
“He's an old man.”
“Isn’t there some kind of rejuvenation chance like in stories?”
“Ah. He could suddenly become a silver-haired pretty boy, right? It's a cliché, but it sounds possible.”
“No, I was imagining him becoming a young man, or maybe middle-aged... A pretty boy? What is that even supposed to mean...? I'm starting to feel really uncomfortable...”
“I'm sure you're not as upset as me!?”
The last shout was from the Sword Saint.
I laughed. Liǎofàn also laughed. Blood flowed with that laughter. Droplets of blood fell to the ground with a plunk.
"Ugh...."
And then, both of us collapsed simultaneously.
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