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◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈

Chapter 30: Autumn Rain of Blood (3)

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3.

[You are given the floor 12 quest.]

As soon as the voice sounded, something began pouring against the windows.

Drip, drip.

It was raindrops.

The grand windows of the audience hall were hit by raindrops, sliding down. We were briefly captivated by the rainwater on the windows. It wasn’t the sudden downpour that slightly startled us. There was something else.

"Oh, oh..."

"The nightmare rain... the rain of nightmares falls again!"

It was the color of the rainwater.

The rain running down the windows was red as blood. No, perhaps it truly was blood. The NPCs in the audience hall with us, military and civil officials alike, began clutching their heads and groaning.

"Oh Goddess, do not abandon us!"

"What… what's this? Why are they suddenly acting like this...?"

Exhausted from fighting with the Sword Saint, Viper looked around tiredly.

"It's the Demon King..."

An armored NPC muttered. They were lying face down on the floor of the audience hall, trembling. As if their trembling was contagious, groans spread around.

"The Empire is done for..."

"The Demon King is coming..."

"Your Majesty... Where has our sovereign gone...?"

There was not a single NPC whose face wasn't shrouded in despair. Despair, resignation, lamentation. Their expressions were indistinguishable from real humans.

Viper swallowed hard.

"Th-these guys are funny. Hey, this is all just a setup, right? What's going on?"

"The quest has started."

I said quietly.

"It looks as though we won't keep fighting even if they leave us alone. If they cannot stir up any more internal conflict, their only option is to attack us directly."

"Attack? Who?"

"Who else."

I glared outside the window.

"The one who induced internal strife among us by offering such rewards."

Laughter echoed in my head.

[The Demon King of the Autumn Rain affirms your words.]

The rain grew stronger. Initially cautious, like a gentle knock on the window, the sound of rain rapidly became boisterous. Dozens, hundreds, thousands of droplets, all red, bombarded the windows.

"......"

I approached the window. We couldn't see the outside from here. The rain was so intense that the glass windows were entirely stained red. I shattered the glass with the hilt of my sword.

Crash!

Crimson raindrops poured into the audience hall. Finally, the outside was clearly visible. In the middle of the palace. Outside the audience hall was the imperial palace. Beyond the palace was the city, and beyond that, a massive wall.

[The Demon King of the Autumn Rain manifests.]

Beyond the wall, it was there.

-Pitiful creatures.

It whispered softly.

Yes, it was just a whisper.

Just by whispering, its voice crossed barriers, leaped over countless palace walls, and finally flowed inside through the broken window.

-Do you think summoning humans from other worlds and seating them as your leaders will be your shield? You call them heroes, but are they truly heroes for you?

The rain kept falling.

-Call them. Call as many as you can. There’s no reason not to. Summon thousands of warriors and tens of thousands of knights. They are merely humans like you. Your foolishness knows no bounds, pitiable indeed.

The voice resonated everywhere. Against the city walls. Along the palace walls. Against the walls of the audience hall. It laughed. A loud laughter. The echo of laughter reverberated through our skulls.

"Uh, ahh..."

The NPCs buried their heads even lower. In pain, they clawed at their heads.

Unlike them, we hunters were better off. Unlike the NPCs, this was our first time hearing the Demon King's laughter. It was bearable. Of course, if we had to listen to that laughter for a year, it would be a different story.

-You who do not see humans as humans.

That’s when it happened.

A map visible only to me. The mini-map illuminated by the War God's blessing. Red dots began appearing on it. One. Two. Three. The dots accumulated slowly at first, then suddenly multiplied at a tremendous rate.

Hundreds.

Thousands.

Tens of thousands.

Soon, the horizon beyond was painted entirely red.

-Be consumed by your own evil.

Lightning struck.

For a moment, heaven and earth turned pale, revealing everything in between starkly.

The red dots on the map were all monsters.

"......"

"......"

The hunters fell silent. A monstrous horde of a scale incomparable to the 11th-floor stage. Countless armies were approaching from beyond the horizon.

-Kirr.

-Kek, kek!

The monsters howled. Bared their teeth. Twisted their necks. Raindrops flowed down the twisted faces of the goblins. To them, the rain of blood seemed more like holy water. Like knights embarking on a great crusade, the monsters looked up to the sky and worshipped the red rain.

"…I told you."

I gripped the hilt of my sword tightly.

"It's not the time for us to fight each other."

Then, letters appeared before my eyes.

+

[Defend the Empire’s Capital]

Difficulty: A~SSS

Mission objective: Heroes! You bravely fought the Demon King's army and defended the supply route. Sensing the danger, the Demon King has personally taken the field. The Demon King can summon legions of monsters anytime and anywhere. Its target is the heart of the Aegim Empire, the imperial capital of Hacamonia.

Fortunately, the Demon King's power has weakened due to manifesting from afar.

Stop the Demon King!

*However, if you fail in battle, the 13th floor will not open.

+

Silence lingered for a moment.

"...Weakened?"

Viper muttered absentmindedly.

"That thing?"

It was a sentiment shared by everyone.

"This is... unfair. How are we supposed to clear this? This isn't a quest made to be cleared. Even if the first 10 floors were just tutorials... This is a completely different level of difficulty."

"Enough. Let's stay calm."

I turned and looked at the audience hall.

There were hunters. Behind them, NPCs were in despair.

"We can do this. The tower does not give quests that can't be cleared."

"But how are we supposed to fend off that many monsters with just us...?"

"That's why I'm telling you to calm down."

I pointed at the NPCs.

"Here, we're not just hunters. Have you forgotten what you chose yourself? Viper, you're [the Captain of the Imperial Guards of the Aegim Empire]. As the captain, you should lead your guard."

"……."

"We can't clear this stage with just us hunters."

Exactly.

"Convince the NPCs. Rally them. Command them. Treat them as real people and somehow lead them into battle."

That's how we cleared the 11th-floor stage.

"We shouldn't fight each other. Sword Saint, you are the commander of the empire's knights. It's absurd for the knight commander and the captain of the guard to duel each other. How can a country facing foreign invasion defend itself properly?"

"……."

"Did you think receiving the Knight Commander's reward meant nothing but benefits? It is a benefit, certainly. But once you claim the rights, you must shoulder the duties as well. Like it or not, we have inherited the [roles] of the empire's leadership, and now it is time to play them."

I looked at the Paladin.

She was looking at me with a serious expression.

"Foreign Minister."

"Um."

"This is the audience hall, yet the emperor is nowhere to be seen. They must be somewhere in the palace. Take the Foreign Ministry's NPC officials with you and find them. Without their leader, the NPCs will not follow us properly."

The Paladin nodded.

"Understood."

"Grand General."

I turned to the Heretic Inquisitor. Despite losing his right arm, he was still smiling brightly, looking at me with an expression of genuine interest.

"Yes! As the Grand General, that would be me!"

"I really don't like hunters like you. Honestly, I dislike you. After watching what you did earlier, I felt we need to settle our differences someday. However, we can't afford to lose someone as important as the Grand General right now."

"Ahaha. I'm finding you more and more likable, Hunter Kim Gong-Ja!"

"Since you've entrusted me with full authority, just shut up and listen to me."

I examined the map as I spoke.

There wasn’t much time. The red tide was increasingly approaching the capital.

"There should be many soldiers on the walls. With monsters rushing in like a tidal wave, they must be in no state to think straight. As the Grand General, you must go up on the walls and console the soldiers."

"Hmm! Noblesse oblige!"

"Defend the walls at all costs. If the walls are breached, this stage is over."

"Don’t worry."

The Heretic Inquisitor smiled.

"I've never broken a promise in my life. I'll stake my life on it and defend it!"

"Okay."

I looked at the crowd.

"Then I'll go ahead."

It was time for war.

4.

Whoosh! Pop!

As I left the palace, other hunters were being summoned one after another.

"Wow, where is this place?"

"It's nice that it's not a shabby port."

Like tourists on a trip, the hunters looked around the streets of the capital.

"Ew, is this acid rain? What's with the color of the rain...?"

"Get under the roofs! Quick!"

"Hey, it says to choose a role for the reward?"

"Role? What role?"

The later arrivals were completely clueless. Perhaps because they arrived after us.

'Even the top rankers who arrived on the 12th floor first doubted and fought each other.'

They even killed three people on mere suspicion. What would these latecomers be like? It was too much to expect much from hunters who had just entered a new stage.

'I don't have time to persuade the hunters now.'

The Demon King's legion was approaching every moment.

'I’ll first try to block the attack with NPCs!'

Ignoring the hunters, I ran into the streets. It was terribly crowded, but luckily I had the mini-map. I diligently followed the shortest route to the walls.

"Kim Gong-Ja."

It was just as I was leaving the palace. Someone appeared beside me.

"Witch?"

"Call me Black Dragon Master. I don't care for my alias."

The Witch, the second-ranked hunter, suddenly appeared and ran alongside me. Was she using aura in her steps? She seemed to glide across the streets.

"How did you suddenly appear here?"

"…It’s my skill. Teleportation. I can move anywhere within my line of sight."

That was an overpowered skill.

-Zombie, die once to her! Teleportation is too good! I'll admit it if you die to her. Hurry up and die!

Ignoring the Guardian Spirit's words, I asked.

"Then why didn’t you go to the walls first instead of coming to me?"

"I came to get you. Isn't that obvious?"

She replied expressionlessly, unfazed by the running.

"I saw you in the 11th floor. You have a sword that the NPCs respond to. I don’t know what kind of sword it is, but with it, you can boost the morale of the NPCs. Right now, the soldiers on the walls need you, not me."

The Witch looked at me.

"Agree."

"Excuse me?"

"Agree to come with me for Teleportation. If you don’t verbally agree, I can’t move you. It's a limitation of my skill."

I was slightly flustered.

"Wait. Teleportation must be at least an S-rank skill, right? Are you sure it's okay to tell me about its restrictions? It's your trump card."

"That's a strange thing to say."

She wiped her forehead. Red rain continued pouring over us, and wet strands of hair clung to her pale forehead.

The Witch's black eyes looked at me.

"According to you, I'm the empire's prime minister, right? Isn’t it natural for a prime minister to use their trump card to protect their country?"

"……."

"We're out of time. I don't care how you phrase it, so hurry and give your consent."

I nodded.

"I consent to the Black Dragon Master's use of her skill."

That instant, she reached out with her left hand and grabbed my right. Tightly. Her long fingers interlocked with mine, ensuring we wouldn't slip in the rain.

"Huh?"

"-There's one more condition."

She whispered, holding my hand.

"Teleport."

Whoosh!

In the blink of an eye, we were on the walls.

As expected, the walls were in chaos. Despite the approaching monster army, the empire's soldiers didn’t react. Rather, they couldn't. The soldiers hid behind the walls, trembling or praying to the gods.

"It's over…"

"God, grant us mercy, and please take pity on our wretched state..."

"Hic, hu… huhuh…"

NPCs. Yet indistinguishable from living humans.

Even if they were mere illusions, their fear wasn’t. Their expressions of despair weren’t illusions either.

"Black Dragon Master, thank you for bringing me here. From this point on, I'll..."

"Wait."

She sighed.

"I cannot show my junior nothing but my pathetic side and then be sent away."

"What?"

"I didn’t become a guild master by just sitting around."

She took a deep breath.

Then she spoke.

"Soldiers of the Aegim Empire!"

Black aura flowed from her body.

The black was even darker than the red.

"Stand up! What are you doing on top of these stone walls? Do you think these walls will automatically protect you? Don’t you realize that the real barrier protecting our empire isn’t these stones, but you, the soldiers of the empire?"

One by one, the soldiers hiding behind the walls began to raise their heads.

"The Prime Minister…?"

"It's the Prime Minister."

Murmurs spread among the soldiers. To them, the Witch appeared as their prime minister. One person recognized her, and their words spread like a contagion through the rain.

The Witch nodded.

"Stand up! I command you to stand! One day, these walls may crumble, and our homeland may be destroyed. But as long as you stand, our empire, our Aegim Empire, will not fall! Because you are the empire!"

It was completely unlike her usual demeanor.

"Stand up!"

Her face, usually cold and expressionless, was now filled with fervor. As she looked down at the soldiers from the walls, they seemed to be caught in her gaze, unable to look away.

"Stand up, soldiers of the empire! Last wall of Aegim! Warriors who are now the empire itself! Take up your spears! Seize your swords! Fight until nothing remains to be seized, until no hands remain to grip spear or blade! Stand for the empire, and stand for yourselves!"

She clenched a hand.

My hand.

"The Goddess protects us!"

The Witch raised my right hand high.

I realized what I had to do.

Swoosh!

The holy sword was drawn from its sheath.

I held the hilt and raised it high. Amidst the red downpour on the walls, the blade of the holy sword shone brilliantly. The white light pierced the rain and illuminated the faces of the soldiers.

"The Founder's Sword…"

"The holy sword! The holy sword to which the Goddess herself bears witness!"

Then.

[The Goddess of Protection expresses her gratitude for your choice.]

[The Goddess of Protection squeezes out her last power.]

There was light.

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