WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈

Chapter 298: The Legend Himself (3)

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3.

The man's hair was disheveled, and dark circles hung under his eyes. He gazed at me with eyes devoid of emotion.

“Greetings. I am an Apostle of the [Warhorse of the Eternal Plains], one who has received their flag.”

The man spoke.

"Pleasure to meet you. I am the King of Death."

“I know. Ordinarily, there would be no reason for me to meet you. None at all. But [Assistant Writer], [Berserker], and [Paparazzo] asked me to come.”

The black-haired man surveyed the surroundings. Deep within the underground cave, the hunters who had summoned Mahos's Apostle at my request stood well back. They glanced at us as though wondering whether agreeing to my request had been wise.

"It's rare for the three of them to ask something together. I enjoy rare events."

"Thank you for accepting the invitation."

"Don't mention it."

Mahos's Apostle curled his lips slightly.

“I should be thanking you. Once this conversation ends, I will capture you. For the first time in a very long while, I can complete one of Mahos's quests with genuine satisfaction.”

"So, why did you want to see me? If you're here to surrender, I welcome it anytime."

I smiled.

"I want to understand all of you."

4.

“Understand? Us?”

The petite girl frowned. Her golden hair was tied in two buns on either side of her head. They looked warm enough to touch even in the coldest winter, but there was no need to do so. Her voice always seemed to be fueled by anger, 365 days a year.

She was an Apostle of [The Incarnation of Love and Lust], Babbit.

*Baravit has been changed to Babbit, due to context clues and some reader’s corrections.

"Yes. I want to deeply understand the Constellations you serve."

"You're funny. It's already a joke to say that a person can understand another person, and you, a mere human, want to understand Constellations? If [Holed-Up Head Librarian] hadn't asked, I wouldn't have set foot in this stinking cave."

In the middle of her tirade, Babbit's Apostle narrowed her eyes. She gestured irritably as though shooing away a mosquito.

"Ah! Stop it. It's noisy. I'll talk to him myself!"

It seemed Babbit kept sending the girl messages. Perhaps this was what it meant to be a Constellation's favored Apostle. She treated Babbit with a familiarity ordinary followers could hardly imagine.

"Sheesh. Really, what does Babbit see in someone like you..."

"I will bring down the Magic Tower."

"......."

“But there would be little meaning in bringing it down by myself. I will weave together all your quests and all the Constellations you serve, then hurl the whole thing against the Magic Tower.”

"What are you talking about..."

"To do that, I need to properly understand the nature of the Constellations."

I looked straight at Babbit's Apostle. She wore her cloak like a noblewoman. By spreading the red cloak over a damp stalagmite and using it as a cushion, she had established a small territory of her own.

“As an Apostle, you must be able to speak with your Constellation far more freely. I want to converse with the Constellation through you, more vividly and accurately than by message, and more deeply.”

"......”

“What does Babbit like? What kinds of quests do they prefer?”

I poured tea for the Apostle.

Through the red liquid of the tea, the girl's expression was reflected.

"What is Babbit like to you as a Constellation?"

5.

“The followers of the [Warhorse of the Eternal Plains] are a kind of army.”

The man spoke.

"An army?"

“Yes. Ordinary followers are soldiers. An Apostle like me is a general. We think only of victory in battle and the spoils of war. To us, every battlefield is nothing more than a [dungeon].”

He took a sip of his tea. His eyes widened, and he looked down at the teacup. "...Delicious." After blinking a few times, he returned to his expressionless state and looked at me.

"Where was I? Right. Our quest is to clear dungeons. When we topple the tower and plant our flag, only then can our quest from Mahos be considered complete."

He smiled faintly.

"You’re planning to gather various quests from different Constellations and clear them all at once? That's ambitious and brave, King of Death, but it lacks practicality."

"Why do you think so?"

"Because Constellations are too different from each other."

Mahos's Apostle answered with certainty.

"We must destroy the tower. However, for instance, [The Incarnation of Love and Lust], Babbit would propose a completely different quest. And that would be irreconcilable."

"......."

“Meet Babbit's Apostle. Then you will understand what I mean, and just how impossible your plan is.”

6.

“We need to win over the Magic Tower's Elder.”

Babbit's Apostle spoke.

"We, or rather Babbit, place the utmost importance on human relationships, dismissing everything else as unnecessary. For us, clearing the 50th floor isn't about demolishing the lifeless tower structure, but winning the heart of the Elder, the leader of the Tower and mother of all spiders."

She asserted confidently.

"But that's impossible."

"Why is it impossible?"

"The Elder of the Tower has never opened her heart to anyone."

Babbit's disciple drank her tea. "What? Damn, it's good." She vented her irritation and then sighed.

"Our Babbit's power is the [Pink-Hued Rom-Com]."

"......."

"Don't look at me like that. I didn't name it. I'll give you a smack. Anyway, with [Pink-Hued Rom-Com], it becomes easier to fall in love. Let me give you a demo."

She set down her teacup and clasped her hands. She closed her eyes and prayed. Pink light flowed from her hands and spread in a circle across the ground to a radius of five meters.

Aside from that, no other peculiar sign was noticeable.

"Now."

When she opened her eyes again, they were filled with seriousness.

"I'm ready. Go ahead."

"Me? Go ahead with what?"

"I don't know. Just do anything. Stand up or keep talking, whatever. No matter what you do, you'll immediately understand the nature of this power."

"Um... then."

I picked up the teapot. The girl's teacup was empty.

Just as I was about to pour her a second cup...

"Oh?"

I stumbled.

There was nothing on the floor that I could have tripped over, yet I somehow misstepped.

I quickly tried to secure the teapot, but then I stumbled a second time. Like an acrobat failing a tightrope walk, my body swayed.

"Whoa? Whoa!"

Splash!

I ended up falling over, along with the teapot.

The person I had fallen on was none other than Babbit's disciple.

"......."

"......."

I blankly looked down at the disciple, who in turn stared back at me. Indeed, I had fallen onto her, unintentionally assuming a push-up posture.

What laws of physics or mechanics had come into play here?

“As you can see.”

Unlike me, Babbit's Apostle showed no surprise at all. She reacted as though she had merely tipped over a cup and watched the water spill.

“In the realm of Babbit's power, whatever you do, however much you struggle, people inevitably become closer to each other, whether in physical or emotional terms.”

“Ah…”

That does ring a bell. I think the Heretic Inquisitor showed it to me once.

Right. Babbit was the Constellation that turned everything into a love-comedy event.

“For instance, even as you fell, you were mindful of the teapot until the very end. Because of that, I wasn't splashed with hot water. Instead, you ended up dousing yourself with tea.”

Drip. Drop.

Red tea trickled down my face, soaking my hair. Droplets running down my jaw exquisitely missed Babbit's disciple's cheek, landing right beside it.

“Now I've come to understand that you’re someone considerate of others. I didn't want to know that. I didn't want to get closer to you, yet here we are, physically and emotionally closer.”

“Wow.”

“Exactly. To add, right now, I have a man’s face drenched in red tea in front of me. Statistically speaking, men are four times more attractive when wet.”

There's a statistic for that?

“……So annoying.”

Babbit's disciple irritably pushed me away. She stood up and shook off her cloak.

“See? Do you get it now? Our Constellation is obsessed with love, plain and simple.”

"......."

“No, if Babbit were merely obsessed with romance, I could dismiss it as cute. But Babbit does not love only affection. [Hatred], [Regret], [Obsession], [Possessiveness]. Babbit loves every intense emotion one person can feel toward another. And Babbit is convinced that the figure who must be cleared on this 50th floor is the Magic Tower's Elder.”

The disciple smiled.

“Can you handle it?”

It was a mocking smile.

It seemed directed more at herself than at me, and more at the situation itself than at herself.

“When a person lives for over a thousand years, King of Death, you don't say [I've lived for a thousand years]. You say [I've been dying for a thousand years]. The Elder of the Tower is a big shot who's been dying for that long. Do you think you can extract even a shred of emotion from her, whether it's affection, hatred, obsession, or regret?”

Clatter.

The disciple took out a gold coin and placed it on a flat stalagmite. Then, she brushed past me, her cloak trailing behind her.

"That's for the tea. Keep it."

"Wait a moment, please."

I grabbed her cloak.

I tightened my grip.

The weight of her body pulled against my grip.

"What?"

"It might be impossible to gain the Elder's affection, but drawing out hatred is feasible."

"……You seem to misunderstand. The hatred Babbit speaks of isn't just an extension of annoyance."

The disciple flicked my hand away with a snap.

"True hatred, akin to the weight of love. A lifelong dedication to despising someone, cursing them, letting that hatred become a part of you, only such profound emotions are recognized by Babbit. Do you have what it takes to extract such deep hatred from someone who's lived a thousand years? Do you possess something worth hating for a millennium?"

I nodded affirmatively.

“I don’t.”

"See that..."

"However, I can still draw it out."

I looked intently into Babbit's disciple's eyes.

Her eyes were the same red as her cloak. A cloak was a fortress, one final layer donned by someone who could not feel secure with only skin and clothing. Her eyes were the same: twin concentric circles lay submerged in her crimson pupils.

“My master is the person the Magic Tower's Elder hates most in all the world.”

"......."

"Even if others can’t, my master can provoke the Elder's emotions. No. He can drive the Elder mad."

[‘The Incarnation of Love and Lust’ listens intently to your words.]

"Entrust me with your quests. Share them with me. It might be impossible alone, but with my master's name, anything is achievable."

Silence fell.

Babbit's disciple slowly parted her lips.

"......Who is your master?"

7.

“The Sword Emperor (劍帝).”

I replied.

"......."

The mask of indifference Mahos's Apostle had maintained throughout finally cracked. He froze with his teacup still raised. Only after the steam had thinned slightly did the black-haired man manage a short, nasal “Hah.”

"A man who died a hundred and fifty years ago? That's absurd."

"A hunter who reached the 99th floor. A legend. Do you really believe he left no trace and just died? There are countless ways to leave a legacy. Reincarnating as another person, wandering as a ghost, or even hoping for a successor to carry on his will…"

"......."

"I can prove that I am the Sword Emperor's successor."

I smiled.

"Imagine. If I were truly his successor, provoking the tower's Elder would be possible. The Elder, in unprecedented fury, would reveal her emotions towards me. I can accomplish the quest set by the ‘The Incarnation of Love and Lust’."

"Not just that. The emotion the Elder will show towards me is hatred, a bottomless, abyssal hatred. She will issue a kill order and deploy all of the tower's forces to wage war against me. If we win that war..."

"……So the quest given by ‘Warhorse of the Eternal Plains’ can also be accomplished at the same time."

The black-haired man, a disciple of Mahos, bowed his head in thought.

[‘The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains’ listens intently to your words.]

"Entrust me with your quests."

I continued.

"I’ll show you evidence that I am the Sword Emperor’s successor in a while. The Constellations will recognize it. What you need to consider now is whether my proposal is realistic or not."

One by one, I spoke to the Warhorse of the Eternal Plains, the Incarnation of Love and Lust, the Eye Dwelling in the Labyrinth, the Lonely Seeker, the masters of faith who had now lost even their names, and the agents who represented them.

"I can bring down the Magic Tower."

I would weave all the quests of the Constellations into one.

I named this operation:

The Grand Campaign.

[‘The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth’ listens intently to your words.]

[‘The Lonely Seeker’ listens intently to your words.]

[‘The Last Sword Left in the Wilderness’ listens intently to your words.]

[‘The Bell That Rouses the Dead’ listens intently to your words.]

I nodded affirmatively.

"Spread the word that the Sword Emperor’s successor has returned to this land."

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