WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈

Chapter 303: The Grey Spider (2)

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Blood splattered.

-Keugh, huck!

The Grey Spider looked down at the corpse without interest. When the Grey Spider raised her head and looked around, one especially frail person was trembling like an aspen leaf.

Isn't that an amusing sight?

The Grey Spider smiled.

-Trembling?

-Hic, ah… hiiik…

-Why are you trembling?

The Grey Spider waved her hand, and instantly, the person was dragged right up to her nose as if caught by an invisible hand.

-Hi, eeeek!

-You said you were a god. A god should not tremble. When you tremble like that, you look human. The races that served you so faithfully would be disappointed if they saw you.

Ah.

The Grey Spider tilted her head slightly to the left as if just remembering something.

-They won't be disappointed, since they're all dead.

-S-Spare me! Please spare me! Spare me!

-Yeah. I like that phrase. There's something about it that never gets old. When people are about to die and they beg for their life, that's the moment. You're probably hanging onto every word I say right now, right? Wondering if I'll spare you or kill you.

This time, the Grey Spider tilted her head to the right.

-You should've done that earlier.

Blood splattered again.

-Aaaaaaah!!

-Hey. I heard from your companion. There's a separate world where you gods live, right? We call it the Divine Realm. I'd love to visit, but I don’t know the way. Can you secretly tell me how to get there?

-Ah, uh, ugh…! Ahhh, save me, save me…!

-You're quite a crybaby.

The Grey Witch lightly tapped the tip of the nose of the thing in her hand.

-I'm telling you right now.

-....... ......, .......

-Come on.

-Stage… s-stage… [Transfer]…

The view before the Grey Witch was enveloped in brilliant white light.

The Grey Spider watched the light, winding around like tentacles, and chuckled.

-So, this is how it is?

That day, a world's tower was set ablaze.

The massacre was easy. The [Divine Clan] had entrusted the attack to a few warriors. Except for a few enemies, they could not use aura, nor were they adept in magic.

The Grey Witch was honestly disappointed. It was dull. Destroying the five races they had ruled had been harder than wiping out the [Divine Race] itself.

-It’s unprecedented, a subjugated clan rebelling and destroying the ruling clan.

Hop.

Footsteps were heard from behind. Turning around, she saw a platinum-haired child with hands clasped behind, looking at her intently.

-Who are you?

-I’m the Princess Who Strolls Through Mirages. Just Princess is fine.

-I didn’t ask for your name.

-Hmm. I’m like a guide to those kids.

The Princess pointed a finger down the mountain. The city was on fire, an inferno blazed through it. Magic-made clay walls encircled the outskirts of the city, and all life was being scorched inside it.

-But they're all either dead or even worse off. Well, it can't be helped, I guess.

The Princess smiled faintly.

-Congratulations! From now on, you are the rulers of this tower!

-.......

-It’s an unexpected situation, but not against the rules. Certainly not a breach. Your Witch Clan was rightfully part of the 40th floor, and now, being the only survivors, you have the right to ascend to the 50th floor.

The Grey Spider remained silent.

The silence was not out of confusion. She was just processing the overwhelming influx of information. Combining what she had learned while massacring the [Divine Clan] and what the Princess had just said, the Grey Spider easily came to a conclusion.

-Hmm.

But there was one puzzle she couldn’t solve alone.

-Are there other clans like us under servitude?

-That is correct.

-So, those who ascend the stage, do they all go to the 50th floor like this? Making themselves gods and using lesser clans?

-Not necessarily, but they all do.

-So every human who arrives at the 50th floor is treated as a god?

-Yes. At least until now.

Indeed.

A smile formed on her lips.

-Thank you.

-Why?

The Grey Spider responded.

-You've just given me a reason to not die.

It was clear from the moment our eyes met that we were formidable foes.

"Everyone. Even if we're working together for the first time in decades, surely we haven’t lost our edge to the point of not being able to catch a mere newbie who just ascended to the 50th floor?"

"We're all too old to fight by instinct. Let's exchange plans through telepathy."

"Sorry, but that won't work."

As the spiders charged forward, they exchanged words. All were accelerating in a time stream, enhanced by aura. Before a cloak could flutter once, they had exchanged numerous sentences, listened, and rebutted.

"Why not?"

"That guy, the King of Death, is listening to our conversation."

I could sense tens of spiders in the north of the city simultaneously casting magic. In the east, a group jumped over the city walls, probably using invisibility magic before circling around to ambush me from behind.

"Really? He’s not just some rookie then. I’ve upped my speed."

"Increase it more. He’s still tracking us with his eyes."

"Increase it more?"

"More."

"Stop."

"How is it now? If we compress the telepathy further, some of us won’t be able to hear."

"No use. He’s still [listening] to us."

One of the spiders coldly muttered.

Seems like that spider had temporarily taken command. She was not exactly a commander, but definitely serving as a control tower.

"Moreover, he’s at ease. His stream of time is faster than ours."

"What, no way! Impossible!"

"He's not moving at all. He’s just standing there. Isn’t he just pretending to listen?"

"It’s not that. He's not just standing still..."

Found it.

"......! Transfer command to the [Marquis of Bone Thorns]!"

At the instant the control tower transferred the command, I discarded a piece of my memory, sharpened my aura, and shot towards the location of the control tower's voice.

Kwaaaang!

The very moment the control tower called for the transfer, the balcony of the shabby 3-story apartment building where she was hiding was sliced open.

"------"

The pause in the spiders' breath was distinctly felt for a moment.

"Attention. I am the [Marquis of Bone Thorns]."

A dry voice murmured. It was a different individual from the one who had just served as the control tower. The tone of the murmur carried an effort to suppress the rage towards me.

"From now on, I will exercise command. I won't allow telepathy for spiders below the rank of viscount."

"......Damn it. Crazy."

"Agreed."

"Serena just got taken down in one hit!?"

"She's not dead. Not sure if that's good news, though."

"Oh, please. Don't tell me that bastard is going easy on us. It'll make me lose the will to fight."

"Phase it."

"You idiots! Split the telepathy into two stages! It doesn't matter if only viscount-ranked spiders and above can understand the first stage, so increase the speed! Each commander can relay the remaining orders to their unit!"

"Ready."

"We'll adopt that. Fallen Ones, prepare to bombard."

"Faster! More! More!"

"He isn't some common rabble! Stay sharp!"

"No, wait. Everyone, hold on. That last strike was the Constellation Killer's..."

"......!?"

The initial control tower had passed command to a spider farthest from me. Probably thinking that would buy more time.

But that's exactly why I could read the move.

Immediately after downing the control tower, I focused on the north side of the city. Of course, a dry voice near me pretended to be the commander, saying things like 'no telepathy allowed' or 'prepare for bombardment.'

It was a fake.

The owner of the irritable voice was not the [Marquis of Bone Thorns]. Or perhaps they were the Marquis, but at the very least, they were not the commander.

The real commander was the one who had been briefly giving orders like [Agree], [Phase], [Ready].

They deliberately made it seem as though command had passed to the spider barking out full sentences, while the real commander issued clipped, code-like orders. It was a remarkably elaborate feint. They must have arranged it among themselves before the battle began.

But I wasn't fooled.

"Warning!"

I drew my shoulder back.

And swung.

The loaded strike shot out. It was stronger this time. The sword strike sliced the sky, cleanly cutting through the northern wall. It struck a terse spider hiding behind it. Just before being incapacitated, she screamed a warning to her comrades.

"Target, Constellation Killer level! Warning! Target----"

And the sound was cut off.

"......."

"......."

The web of spiders fell silent.

Crunch.

Someone ground their teeth. Tsk, a tongue click sounded, and ptooey, the sound of spit echoed. However, not a single word was spoken.

Not a single word. The thousands of elites all shut their mouths at once, as though their exuberant chatter intended to distract me had been a lie.

"You made a good choice."

Even so, the exchange of blows continued.

"Having a commander is just asking to be sniped. It’s better for each one to attack me separately. Hmm. It diminishes the significance of gathering thousands, but it's better."

"However, saying I'm Constellation Killer level is a mistake."

A bombardment of magic from the north hit me. Bang! Kwaang! I carefully dodged the falling blue magic cannons.

"I'm stronger than him."

The flanking force from the outskirts hit my back.

There were 24 in total. Specializing in assassination, they wore masks covering the lower half of their faces. They swung their swords simultaneously. A nearly perfect formation, though not quite a battle array.

"Too bad."

I respectfully moved the holy sword.

"If it was me before reaching the 40th floor, I would have died from this."

Divine Art of the Demonic Heaven.

The First Form.

Sword of Starving Death.

The surroundings descended into chaos in an instant. Wraithlike hands surged from my shadow. They seized the spiders by their three "necks": wrists, ankles, and throats, then hurled them to the ground. “Keugh!” “Huk!” The spiders' breath caught.

“I've heard a lot about you.”

The tendrils of shadow did not stop there. Hundreds of gestures spread in all directions. They climbed the outer walls of buildings and seeped through the cracks of windows. “Ah,” "Keup!?” "That’s impossible…” Spiders that had been lying in ambush inside the buildings fell.

“Witch Clan.”

Flames engulfed the surroundings.

“Every world must pass through the same kind of stage before reaching the fiftieth floor: the task of becoming gods and ruling their respective races. You were originally a race native to one of those fortieth-floor worlds... In other words, you were a subject race ruled by hunters.”

“We’re wrong!”

A spider within the range of my Divine Art of the Demonic Heaven shouted. A formidable opponent, she had repelled the shadowy hands five times.

“We misjudged! It’s not that the King of Death pulled in the constellations to beat us! It's the other way around, damn it! We worry about each other, which limits our attack range…!”

“But the hunters who ruled you made a mistake.”

Thump.

The fifth exchange of blows did not continue into a sixth. A hand struck the back of her neck. The spider fainted, succumbing to a deep sleep from the pressure point strike.

“Damn it! Is this silence meaningful?!”

“They marked you, the Witch Clan, as the scapegoats. They nurtured the five clans with care. However, the Witch Clan was made to be despised by all, taking on the anger and condemnation meant for the gods.”

“That’s right! Staying silent just means being attacked!”

“Push forward with numbers!”

“That might have been a good strategy. But they didn’t consider the possibility that you would become so strong, annihilating the five clans and even the revered hunter gods.”

“He's a monster…"

“Bombardment! Bombardment first, then attack!”

“Fallen Ones!”

The web of spiders quivered. They uttered a word, and I muttered five in response. We were both in an accelerated time stream, but between us flowed an insurmountable torrent.

“Erase that crazy bastard completely!”

What followed was as such.

The Fallen Ones were literally those falling from the sky. Wrapped in special magic, they plummeted from the high skies. Whether it was a suicidal attack, I couldn't tell.

Not knowing, I decided to act first.

“What----"

I leaped from the ground, shooting into the sky. I met eyes with the spiders who were just beginning their fall. We were so close, the trembling of their eyebrows was visible. I touched the forehead of the first falling spider, causing her to faint.

Divine Art of the Demonic Heaven.

The Third Form.

Sword of Drowning Death.

There were seven in all. I swallowed the Fallen Ones' unit in a torrent of Aura. Their mistake was faltering for even one second when they saw their leader struck down. The Fallen Ones lost consciousness and plummeted helplessly.

“One must always consider all the possibilities.”

I landed first, then caught each of the Fallen Ones as they descended, gently placing them on the ground. They groaned in their unconscious state, tormented by nightmares.

“Someone you think nothing of, can in fact, be stronger than you.”

I dusted off my hands.

“Right, everyone?”

“You all make the same mistakes. That’s how it is, making mistakes, learning from each other, fixing shortcomings if possible. That’s what life should be. I believe we can surely help each other.”

Around me, hundreds of flames flickered.

Tendrils formed by aura writhed around.

“……King of Death......"

Someone seemed to mutter.

“No, the Great Demon King..."

Hmm.

I gave an awkward smile.

"I told you, that's incitement and fabrication."

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