WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈

Chapter 326: The God and The King (2)

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My sword shadow and Mutia's hammer wind merged.

The Apostles did not just watch as we dueled though.

"Where do you think you're going!"

"How dare…"

"You think we'll let you get away with this? King of Heresy!"

Having reorganized their formation, the Apostles charged one by one. The fervor in their eyes was not mere madness or blind faith.

It was their devotion to the deity they believed in.

The righteousness to repay the blessings bestowed by their deity was blazing hotly in the eyes of the Apostles.

"Impressive."

I exclaimed in admiration.

"But I've already warned you."

I swung my sword with admiration. The five swords bit into their targets like a viper’s fangs.

"------!!"

Left eye. Right eye. Vocal cords. Back of the neck. The internal organs.

Wherever my sword passed, terrible screams followed in succession.

The [Pain without Wounds] had gouged out spots that brought unbearable pain which humans could not endure.

"Aaaah!"

And that was not all.

"......! ......!"

I remembered the spots where I had inflicted pain on the Apostles. And every time the Apostles, gritting their teeth and holding back groans, charged at me, I precisely hit the same spots again. I pierced through the pierced spots and slashed the slashed spots again.

"Hiuk, ugh! Ah, ah----"

Screams. More screams. And even more screams.

As Mutia and I exchanged blows, the area around us was filled with screams.

"You fight quite efficiently. To the extent that it's almost terrifying."

Mutia commented. It was a critique filled with sarcasm. I decided to return the favor with sarcasm as well.

"It is not as efficient as ganging up on someone."

"Many humans insist on not killing, but your way of fighting, although it doesn't kill, inflicts pain worse than death. Perhaps, the very path you take to ascend the Tower is such."

"It's touching to see you consider humans. If only that compassion had extended to the guests at the wedding attacked by Lady Goldencup, I would have been more moved."

"Those were not my believers."

"Is that the end?"

"What do you mean?"

"I've seen your first, second, and third strategies."

Chaang!

I parried Mutia's strike.

"Is that all?"

I charged.

"Even if you are among the brightest Constellations in the Milky Way, that brilliance is not due to martial prowess."

Mutia attacked, and I deflected the blow aside.

"The prowess boasted by your Apostles is thanks to the [Indestructible Body]. They are nothing more than those who rush in, trusting their unharmed bodies. Therefore, they are no match for me, who can inflict pain on anyone."

I unleashed all five swords at once.

Sword wind.

The swords became a black storm, devastating the area. "Ugh!", "Ah", "Lady Mutia!" The Apostles screamed briefly before being flung far away. Bang! Dozens of them were thrown against the walls of the colosseum, the sedimentary rock.

"I am the lord of a fighting organization that has endured for thousands of years solely to embody the Demonic Heavens in the sword."

There were Apostles who were not blown away by the sword pressure. They gritted their teeth and endured. "Eeeek…!" Some even slammed their hammers into the ground, using that force to hold their ground.

Impressive.

To them, I especially swung four swords, stabbing each one swiftly.

"My master sliced through the peak of a snowy mountain with a single sword stroke. My son, who is also my disciple, conquered a continent with his bare body. My daughter, my adviser, split the earth with one strike, and my family can bring down a spire of the Magic Tower with a single cut."

Then, there were no more Apostles standing.

[The Constellations watching the fight hold their breath.]

[The Lonely Seeker falls silent.]

[The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains falls silent.]

[The Incarnation of Love and Lust falls silent.]

In the artificially created hell at its very center.

I stood tall, looking down at the Constellation that lay on the ground.

"Lastly, I am a descendant of the Sword Emperor."

"And so, I have a question for you."

Grinning.

"Is that all?"

I smiled.

"If there's nothing more, please write a letter of surrender. I'll even give you my pen as a souvenir."

"How insolent!"

Mutia bared her teeth.

"I will bring down your very existence!"

The golden eyes of the Constellation blazed with fury.

[The Ruin-Harvesting Cow requests a covenant from the Tower.]

[Domain designated.]

The golden eyes turned blood red.

[Approved.]

[From this moment on, this place belongs to The Ruin-Harvesting Cow.]

The sky turned red.

[She is the one who destroys and recreates; worship her.]

"She is the one who destroys and recreates; worship her!"

The Apostles who were thrown against the cliff, those who were kneeling in agony, all chorused in unison, even as if they were spitting out their last breath.

"She is the one who destroys and recreates; worship her!"

Again.

"She is the one who destroys and recreates; worship her!"

At the moment when the Apostles praised their deity for the third time.

[The Ruin-Harvesting Cow manifests her power.]

Creak.

Bones shattered throughout my body.

"......!"

It was a familiar sensation: the pain of my muscles and ki points breaking apart because they could not withstand my Aura. I immediately reduced the amount of Aura circulating through my body, trying to adapt to the pain.

But there was no need.

‘The Aura disappeared?’

The Aura that had coursed through my meridians had evaporated in an instant.

-Kim Zombie!

I felt strength draining from my body.

-You've aged now!

I could have asked, "What?" or demanded, "What do you mean?" Instead of wasting time on questions, I accepted the Guardian Spirit's words as literal fact.

I looked at my face reflected on the blade.

"......."

I opened my lips.

"Indeed."

The voice that came out was unmistakably mine, but somehow it sounded a bit worn out.

A sword as clear as a mirror.

"There it is."

A man just entering old age was reflected there.

The memory that flickered through my mind.

Like a broken tape recorder looping the same segment.

"Ruin-Harvesting Cow is 'Mutia’."

Or so the blond-haired priest boy had said.

The Heretic Inquisitor stroked his chin.

“Mainly governing the areas of [Destruction] and [Recreation].”

"Simple but powerful."

This statement has lingered long in my memory.

Not because it was a memorable recollection, but rather because it remained as an unresolved riddle.

-It's simple but powerful!

Why ‘destruction’ and ‘recreation’?

Destruction was straightforward. Understandable. The image of Lady Goldencup swinging her hammer and smashing everything in sight was the very embodiment of a destroyer.

But recreation?

-It's simple but,

What part of Lady Goldencup's actions corresponded to ‘recreation’?

-powerful,

And then I realized.

-isn't it!

The thing in this world that is both destruction and recreation.

-Primarily, she governs 'destruction' and 'recreation'!

Regression.

Or time itself.

-Lady Goldencup didn't need to show a glimpse of ‘recreation’.

Yes, Lady Goldencup didn't need to display a fragment of 'recreation'. Her actions of escaping from a future where Raviel became the empress, returning to the past, and stealing the Crown Prince's heart under the guise of a mere baroness, were already a life that had been 'recreated'.

"Time continuously destroys itself and also recreates."

After a brief recollection and quick deduction, I spoke with a voice seasoned with time.

"Handling time. Is that your power, Mutia?"

"Indeed. Your reputation precedes you."

The golden Constellation murmured. Unlike the previous sarcasm, this time there was genuine admiration in the voice.

"Though it is said that your sword is fierce, it's not as sharp as your mind."

"There was a reason your followers and Apostles are so loyal."

That’s right.

Everything made sense.

I lowered the tip of my sword and looked around.

"These are people who made wishes to you, not wishes to be made rich or healthy, but one single plea: [Let me return to the past]. They are people whose wish you granted."

"......."

"Everyone gathered here are regressors."

Mutia laughed.

"Indeed, it is so!"

The Constellation gripped the hammer tighter.

The most precious thing in this universe, as precious as gold, was time itself. Befitting that power, the god who governed it let golden hair stream behind her.

"I am the Harvester of Ruins! To those who have nothing left but ruins, I promise the season of harvest again! A god who brings fruition! King of Heresy!"

The earth and heavens trembled.

"I am the ruler of reincarnation and the keeper of aeons, Mutia!"

The sedimentary layers danced like serpentine tails.

"Kneel before me, lowly creature!"

[The Ruin-Harvesting Cow manifests her power.]

[Aeons of Reincarnation.]

[Your timeline will be altered.]

[Your possibilities will be fixed.]

"Return to your ruined place!"

The world, shifting into another scene.

『If you had never met the Sword Saint.』

The history I walked through was shaken.

『If you had never met the Sword Emperor.』

Rumble.

Beside me, the Guardian Spirit, the image of the Sword Emperor, suddenly vanished.

The luck that had been granted to me, one by one, disappeared.

And was replaced by the possibility of some unfortunate timeline.

『If you had never met the Heretic Inquisitor.』

『If you had never met Viper.』

『If you had never met the Countess.』

『If you had never met the Paladin.』

『If you had never met the Black Dragon Master.』

Like layers of sediment being peeled away, my timeline was erased line by line.

『If you had never met the Goddess of Protection.』

Rumble.

The holy sword in my hand disappeared.

And so did the shadows that had been guarding me.

『If you had never met the Peony that blooms in winter.』

The Aura pulsing in my veins faded away into nothingness.

『If you had never met the Flame Emperor.』

Even the strength swirling in my muscles vanished without a trace.

『If you had just aged and withered away.』

『If.』

Before long, the surrounding scene had become desolate.

『If you were merely not the King of Death.』

They were ruins.

Looking closely, this was Babylon's slum district.

Hadn’t there been a fire that burned it down?

There were no proper buildings.

Now an old man, I had settled in this ownerless place, pitching a tent among the toothless pillars and keeping a grime-stained toothbrush, a yellowed paper cup, an old crumpled cigarette pack, and other junk too worthless even to be considered antique.

"Let me say it once more."

But no matter how desolate the surroundings, it wasn't as desolate as myself.

Hands that never held a sword.

Feet that never climbed the Tower.

A heart that never reveled in victory.

"Kneel before me."

Cough.

Weakly coughing, I was faced with the towering golden Constellation.

"Make a contract with me. Thus, return to the past before you dared kill my child."

"......."

"King of Heresy, renounce your throne. Cast aside your arrogance. Acknowledge the greatness of the power of time. Then I shall forgive you."

"…It’s a pity."

I coughed and curled the corners of my lips.

"What is it that you regret? Your insolence?"

"No…."

Squeak.

A cry was heard from somewhere.

"Your power."

Mutia turned around.

"Because the first opponent I ever defeated in my life..."

At the foot of the Constellation.

There was a small golden-furred fox.

"was time, the first opponent I ever killed."

At the moment Mutia's eyes widened.

『If you had never met your Constellation...』

"Sorry, but..."

The fox spoke.

"There's no such 'if'."

Tick.

"I decided to dream of Lord Gong-Ja's reality."

The clock turned.

[A Music Box Just for You manifests its power.]

Tick.

[The Universe's Vast Expanse.]

[The universe may be vast, but not so vast that music cannot play within it.]

[And I am not so small that I cannot play your song.]

[My universe plays for you, and only you.]

A sandstorm blew.

The ruins, the pillars of the ruins, the antiques, and every trace of this life were swept through the sandy wastes and the desert of time until not even a trace remained.

Mutia looked around in confusion.

"What......."

"My power may be insignificant. Lord Gong-Ja may have reduced me to a shabby piece of junk. But at least I can protect the reality he walks through."

The fox smiled with its eyes.

"Begone, ox-head."

"This man's time belongs to me."

Squeak.

I stroked the fox wrapped around my neck like a scarf.

Beside me, the Guardian Spirit still stood with his arms crossed, the holy sword remained in my hand, and my feet had still trodden all sixty-two floors.

"It has finally come to this."

My heart still beat for victory.

"Well..."

Grinning.

I still smiled as myself.

"Shall we conclude this, Mutia?"

[1] Aeon or Aion is a Hellenistic deity associated with time, the orb or circle encompassing the universe, and the zodiac. The "time" which Aion represents is perpetual, unbounded, ritual, and cyclic: The future is a returning version of the past, later called aevum. This kind of time contrasts with empirical, linear, progressive, and historical time that Chronos represented, which divides into past, present, and future.

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