WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈
Chapter 316: I'm a Fan (3)
──────
4.
The battle with the Blood Demon truly resembled a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
5.
I blinked.
"Huh...?"
What just happened?
It felt like an eternity had passed, yet it also seemed like only a moment had gone by.
It was as if the sense humans have to perceive time had momentarily been paralyzed. To give an example, it was similar to the sensation of being under anesthesia for medical treatment from an Apothecary.
"King of Death. King of Death! Please come to your senses, King of Death!"
Before I knew it, I was lying down. When, why, and where I had lain down were all difficult to discern.
I can't quite remember.
What's clear is the face of the person sobbing in front of me. A boy, an all-too-familiar boy, held both of my hands, looking as though he might burst into tears at any moment.
*”The girl” from the previous chapter is now “a boy”. It’s not a translation error or author inconsistency, the character themselves switched genders.
"Are you alright? Please come to your senses."
"Where is this..."
"You've been injured while you were fighting with the Blood Demon. It was a dishonorable fight. While it was 1-on-1, the elite members of the Blood Demon God Cult joined the fight..."
The boy wiped his tears on my sleeve. It seemed as though the floodgates to his eyes had broken, as tears streamed endlessly, causing me concern just from watching.
"Fight... injuries..."
"Ah, please don't move recklessly...!!"
The boy urgently stopped me as I tried to get up.
"You've sustained severe internal injuries, King of Death! Your body is in shambles... bones shattered and organs torn to shreds... just a moment ago, I feared you might never open your eyes again!"
That's when it happened.
“Ugh?!"
As the boy said, a surge of pain swept through my body. I tried to circulate aura and check my condition. Snap! My ki pathways twisted. Crunch! It felt like a thorny club was ravaging the insides of my veins.
"Ugh, kuh... uh..."
"Ah, what should I do? Wh-what can I do? How can this be fixed?"
It hurts. I feel like I am dying. The rims of my eyes grow wet. My cheeks are cold. Sensation evaporates from my fingertips. Pain. Only pain remains. It feels as though someone is peeling away my skin one layer at a time, like peeling an orange.
No human could endure such pain.
Only I could, because I had died so many deaths.
"Aah."
Suddenly.
From somewhere beyond my consciousness came the trace of excited breathing.
"Really, what should be done...?"
The scene faded into darkness.
"......"
I opened my eyes.
Again, it felt like a long time had passed, or perhaps, I had merely taken a breath.
What had changed since I lost consciousness was that my mind was somewhat clearer and the boy was coming toward me with a tray of porridge, having donned an apron.
"Say ah, Gong-ja."
"Ah."
The Constellation dipped an invisible spoon into an empty bowl and fed me.
The boy scooped up some porridge with a wooden spoon and fed it to me.
"......"
Huh?
"How does it taste?"
The Constellation looked at me expressionlessly.
The girl smiled affectionately.
"I went to the trouble of making your favorite porridge, Gong-ja..."
The Constellation murmured softly.
The boy hesitated.
"Is the taste alright?"
"......"
The scent of anchovies wafted in my mouth.
Whenever I caught a cold as a child, the director would scrape apple for me, then cook white rice porridge with tiny anchovies. Just as scraped apple tasted different from the apples I ordinarily ate, that rice porridge tasted different too. The anchovies, swollen soft in the porridge, tasted bad, but if I kept chewing they sometimes crunched and developed a subtly savory flavor.
"Yes. It's delicious."
"Phew, that's a relief."
The corners of the Constellation's mouth lifted into a smile.
The girl let out a sigh of relief.
"It was a real crisis. I merely wished for an enemy to block your path, but out of nowhere, a formidable enemy appeared. It seems you unconsciously believe that [nothing less than this level of strength can hinder you]."
"Yes?"
"No?"
The Constellation spoke as if it were nothing.
The boy tilted his head slightly.
"I did not say anything just now, Gong-ja."
"......"
"Why were you so angry at the Blood Demon? Even when attacked, you were dignified, but suddenly hearing about the Blood Demon God Cult, you became agitated. Honestly, I was a bit surprised."
"Ah."
My mind was foggy.
"Because I'm the Vice-lord of a place called the Demonic Cult..."
"Ah."
"I place significant meaning on the two words Demonic Cult. I believe it's a name that shouldn't be used lightly. The fact that mere riffraff dared to mention a cult similar to the Demonic Cult made me enraged."
"Indeed. Indeed."
The Constellation propped up their chin and gazed steadily at me.
The girl nodded thoughtfully.
"So, that's your sore spot...?"
Hmm.
"I'm curious about the Demonic Cult. If it holds such deep meaning for you, there must have been someone precious. Would you share your story with me?"
......
"Ah. You had a master called So BaekHyang. It sounds lonely, yet clear, like a fragrance that tickles the nose."
......
"You love someone named Raviel Ivansia. Heh, she's that beautiful? Ah. Indeed. So that's why no matter how hard I tried, you never fell for any beauty tricks. Troublesome indeed. Being the loved one is the easiest and most powerful way. But with such a deeply engraved presence in your heart, any manipulation would backfire. Scary. Terrifying. I must be careful."
Huh.
"......Did I just say something?"
"Yes? No."
The Constellation caressed my cheek.
The boy grinned with a soft smile.
“You have not said a word, Gong-ja.”
Is that so?
It was.
“The Sword Emperor's presence is rather inconvenient, though. A Guardian Spirit, of all things. It must be why it took so long for my power to seize you. What should I do...? But if I remove him, you would become too different from who you are now, Gong-ja. It cannot be helped. Yes. It will be a little tiring, but I will handle both of you at once.”
Swoosh!
An arrow flew towards me.
-Hey, Zombie Kim! What are you doing!
The Guardian Spirit shouted incredulously.
-Losing focus during a fight, have you become so complacent, thinking you're some high-and-mighty expert who has devoured the heavens!?
Ah.
Right.
Right. I was in the Blood Demon God Cult's stronghold, in the middle of wiping out the enemy.
Because... how I ended up attacking this place was…
“Gong-ja!”
I lifted my head towards the direction of the voice.
“Over here!”
The girl.
I had encountered her by chance in the forest a fortnight ago. She had once been a Constellation, but had now lost all her power. The 60th floor was home to the Thirteen Evils and several demonic cults. This stage held not only the Blood Demon Cult, but also the Divine Demon Cult, White Demon Cult, and Mad Demon Cult, the forces collectively known as the Four Demons.
They were all…
Aiming to kidnap this boy for their nefarious uses.
Just like the Magic Tower.
Due to being bedridden a few days ago, I couldn't do anything but watch as the girl was kidnapped.
That was something I couldn't possibly accept.
“Please save me…!”
The boy's scream snapped me back to reality. Right, what's there to hesitate about? Deep within this fortress, the girl was chained to a pillar with iron chains.
No matter if she had lived for thousands of years or was once a Constellation, the child now was fragile. A fragile being. Someone must protect her. It just so happened to be me.
“Yes. Awaken in such a manner.”
From the far reaches of my mind. No, the very bottom of my consciousness. Perhaps from the highest sky, a distant voice echoed.
“What will you do now?”
“I will save the boy.”
I answered firmly. Answered? No. In this fortress-like castle, countless arrows flew at me, and I barely managed to fend them off one by one. Because, uh, because...
“Even though you haven't fully recovered from the injuries sustained in the fight against the Blood Demon, do you still intend to save the boy?”
“Yes."
“If so, the Blood Demon would come out and ask, [To think you'd dare confront us with a body no better than a rag, it's utterly ludicrous. Are you seeking death?] The Blood Demon seems to have been wounded in the previous bloody battle as well, but look... there are hundreds of trustworthy subordinates around him….”
"......."
“Ah. How unfortunate. An arrow has flown and struck your thigh."
Throb.
Pain surged through my thigh. It hurt. I almost kneeled.
“What will you do? Will you swing your sword again?”
The Constellation slowly stroked my thigh.
The boy cried out, calling for me.
“…Yes.”
“Really? You might really die at this rate?”
The Constellation chuckled.
The boy started crying.
“Arrows continue to rain down from the sky, piercing you.”
“I dodge.”
“Yes, you are strong. Your aura can indeed cover the sky and block the rain of arrows. But at that moment, the internal injuries you sustained flare up in agony.”
Crunch!
It was the sound of the pain of bones being torn apart coursing through my entire body.
“Argh."
“Does it hurt?”
“Gah. Uh, ah! Damn, it…!”
“Let me ask again. Does it hurt?”
“Damn… these, bastards. Getting all high and mighty with their bow skills.”
“One last time, I'll ask. King of Death, where does it hurt, how does it hurt, and how much does it hurt? Please answer me. It would please me to hear it.”
It was torturous.
“My body.”
As if it was burning, no.
It was actually burning.
My body, my blood vessels, and my ki pathways all needed rest and recuperation. Yet I was drawing up aura beyond my limits and overworking them, so my own aura was setting my body on fire. Normally, I should use aura only after first protecting my bones, ki points, muscles, and nerves with it. In this state, however, I had no strength left to protect myself.
"Ah......."
My veins bulged and burst, scorching every muscle as though lava had poured through them. Aura pooled in my ki points, and my bones melted into a sticky sludge.
“Oh dear.”
The Constellation reveled in my agony.
The girl cried out in despair at my pain.
“How could this be…”
The Constellation's breath was feverish.
“How can you imagine [pain] so vividly?”
“Ugh, ah. Gah……, ugh.”
“All I did was tell you that an arrow struck you, Gong-ja. I merely presented the situation you would face if I were kidnapped and you came to rescue me. But how... how could you imagine it this vividly, all the way to such detail?”
It’s amazing, someone seemed to murmur.
“Incredible. It's as if, as if you've really experienced [agonizing death] before…? But that can't be. It shouldn't be. How can you imagine such pain? Have you experienced your bones melting before? Have your blood vessels ever burnt up? How do you know such pain to recreate it under my power…?”
I pressed forward despite the pain.
Arrows struck my shoulder and forearm but I ignored them. Pushing my aura to its limits, I stepped forward and slashed through the ranks of the Blood Demon God Cult who had tied the boy to the pillar.
“Without a doubt…”
The Constellation reached out and cupped my cheeks.
The boy sobbed, bound tightly to the pillar.
“You are the one I have awaited for thousands of years.”
Just a little more.
“For someone you’ve only known for a few days, you throw your life into the fray, facing pain worse than death, not just in words, not out of ignorance, but knowing what death and pain are, yet you still move forward…”
Just a little more.
“You could imagine any quest I gave you. If I said you were in danger of dying in the middle of the ocean, you would truly fall into the sea. You would drown. That is on an entirely different level from my having to curry favor with second-rate hunters. You would truly imagine every crisis, every pain, and every death exactly as it was. I have waited only for someone like you to climb this far.”
Finally.
My blade cut down the Blood Demon.
Blood spattered.
“You are my third disciple.”
[■ ■■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■■■■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■■.]
“I will create quests for you. I will continue the campaign. I will make you a world where you can feel accomplishment and joy. I will become a god solely for you. I desire only one thing: that you believe in me, Gong-ja.”
A bright smile emerged from the blood-stained scene.
“Will you trust me?”
[■ ■■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■ invites you to their faith.]
[Will you accept ■ ■■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■ as your Constellation?]
Darkness enveloped my vision.
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
