WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈

Chapter 331: A Glass Palace (1)

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1.

[You have entered the 63rd floor.]

[The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth detects your presence and becomes enraged!]

Sandstorms enveloped me before settling down.

Like a hand that grabs only to release after a moment.

Feeling the scent of sand grains polished by the wind and dried by the sun, I straightened up confidently.

"There's really no need to say it through messages anymore, Serpent."

I didn't use telepathy.

My opponent is a Constellation that governs all riddles and secrets.

Peeking into unseen places and eavesdropping on unheard sounds must be easy for them. In other words, an expert in wiretapping.

[The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth shivers its scales at your rudeness!]

Hmm.

I squinted one eye.

"Perhaps negotiation is possible. I, for one, am a man who tends to get along surprisingly well once spoken to. Instead of hiding and spending an eternity, why not have some tea time and chat?"

[The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth scolds you for attempting to butter it up!]

As expected.

'It has no intention of letting me hear its real voice, no matter what.'

I looked around.

'It’s probably being cautious so its location isn't exposed by its voice. Having witnessed Mutia being defeated by me... It probably doesn't have the courage to show itself before me. Now then... should we start a game of hide and seek from now?'

The Labyrinth.

I was surrounded by towering walls.

I was not sure they could even be called walls. At least, none of the walls I knew soared so far beyond the sky that they looked capable of casually touching the stratosphere.

Moreover, the sky was sealed in a dome. It was as if an eggshell covered the earth. Climbing the walls would likely only lead to being blocked by the shell of the sky.

'The ground?'

It was made of wood.

The wooden floor swirled with patterns akin to snake scales.

I tried swinging my sword as a test, but both the walls and the floor remained intact, undamaged. They were probably designed to be very hard to destroy.

"...Is this stage shaped like a maze itself?"

I muttered.

"This is troublesome. The serpent will keep changing its position. While I'm unfamiliar with this place, the serpent knows it inside out. If it just keeps running away, there's no way for me to catch it..."

"You don't need to worry about that."

A voice came from behind me.

The reason I didn't reflexively swing my sword to attack was that I had heard this voice before.

"The Staff of Time Immemorial?"

"Just call me a mage. Because I am a mage."

With a face that looked like it had never smiled, [The Staff of Time Immemorial] spoke. The mage was yawning, maintaining a distance of about 6 meters from me.

"It’s not really a big deal. I’m just the greatest mage in the world, that's all."

"No, I think that's quite an impressive achievement..."

"No, it's not a big deal. Before becoming a Pillar, I slaughtered thirteen Dragon Emperors alone, conquered seven Dragon Kingdoms, and was the first to reach the Void Pole, the root and starting point of the world, planting a flag there. But, I was just a mage, nothing more."

"Are you just trying to brag to me now?"

"King of Death. Do you know why people who have achieved great success are incredibly humble? Once you reach such a position, being humble makes others feel inferior. While making others feel inferior, I remain completely innocent. Only those in power can afford to be genuinely humble. In that sense, it's not surprising that successful people are humble. What do you think? Have I enlightened you?"

"The only thing I realized from your words is that your character is rotten..."

"Congratulations. You've realized a lot already."

Clap. Clap. Clap.

The mage clapped her hands. Not with her hands, but with her mouth. In other words, she moved her mouth to make 'clap, clap, clap' sounds. Listening to the mage's mouth clapping, I sensed that this Pillar was also an extraordinary lunatic.

"Let's get back to the main point. Why don’t I need to worry?"

The mage took out a piece of paper from her pocket and wrote something on it.

The paper read [Main Point].

The mage attached the paper to the wall, took three steps back, then three steps forward again.

"Ta-da."

"......"

"I've returned."

I decided to calmly ignore the events of the last approximately 15 seconds. When dealing with a lunatic, one must arm themselves with madness too.

"Right. Insane mage. Why don't I need to worry?"

"Constellations are unfair beings. They are so powerful that ordinary humans can't possibly oppose them, not only in physical strength but also because their very existence is grand."

The mage spoke as if she were the only sane person around.

"But even within that unfairness, there's a hint of fairness."

"Fairness?"

"Yes. A riddle, no matter how difficult, is a riddle because it has an answer. A labyrinth, no matter how complex, is a labyrinth because it has an exit. A riddle without an answer is just an annoying string of sentences, and a labyrinth without an exit is merely a tedious sequence of locations."

The mage muttered expressionlessly.

"That wouldn't be any different from the 'ordinary human' lives that Constellations look down upon."

"......"

"Even if it's a twisted answer. Even if it's a warped exit. The role of a Constellation, no, the very essence of a Constellation's existence is to provide answers to a world without answers and to create doors in a life without doors."

In other words.

"Hisimet Cretsu... The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth won't run away, will it?"

"Every palace has a throne. A labyrinth is also a palace. A king who flees from the throne is no longer a king."

I see.

I nodded and then glared at the surrounding walls.

[The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth clenches its teeth.]

[The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth manifests its power!]

And then, as if responding to my provocative gaze, the world transformed at that moment.

2.

The world was still made of walls.

But they were no longer opaque walls that blocked my view.

[The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth requests a pact with the tower.]

[Sanctuary designated.]

[Approved.]

The outer shell of the walls melted away.

[From this moment, this place belongs to The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth.]

The shell peeled away, revealing glass beneath.

Transparent glass windows.

My view was no longer obstructed, so I could freely look inside. Whether I intended to or not, I looked into the glass, and there I saw...

"...Mannequins? Figures?"

Numerous dolls were displayed inside the glass walls.

The expression "countless" was quite literal here.

The glass walls, tall enough to reach the sky and so vast their ends were unknown, formed a glass labyrinth. In each glass window, the dolls were densely lined up, layer upon layer, row upon row, creating an elaborate display.

[They are the one who conceals and reveals; worship them.]

Creak.

A mannequin hanging near the closest glass window suddenly lifted its head.

Its mouth opened.

"They are the one who conceals and reveals; worship them."

To the left, right, and above the mannequin, other frozen figures began to open their mouths.

"They are the one who conceals and reveals; worship them."

Then the dolls surrounding them.

"They are the one who conceals and reveals; worship them."

Mannequins on both sides of the long, straight corridor, mannequins along the walls at dead ends, and mannequins at every right-angled turn in the winding paths opened their mouths. Dozens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands within my sight, and a number verging on infinity beyond it, all creaked and groaned behind the glass as their mouths opened.

"If you dare seek me, then try."

The voices of thousands and millions layered together.

Each doll's distinct voice created a discordant harmony.

"One among these is my true body."

"......"

Among them.

In this place where hundreds of millions, or perhaps even more, dolls were displayed, The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth was hiding.

I smiled slightly.

"For a game of hide and seek, it seems too biased against the seeker."

"It's still a fair game, nonetheless."

A doll displayed on the glass wall to my right moved its lips.

"If you cannot find me, simply admit defeat and leave. Or you might as well wander in my glass palace forever!"

Each doll had its unique features.

Some resembled meticulously made life-sized figures. No, they were so precise that they might as well have been real. They had faces. They had eyes. They looked ready to breathe at any moment, yet their expressions never changed, as though time itself had stopped.

Others were little more than mannequins: wooden dolls, faceless and expressionless marionettes with every joint exposed.

The dolls varied in craftsmanship, from perfectly finished pieces to unfinished ones that looked as though a carving knife had never touched them. Countless puppets hung from strings, each striking a different pose.

But one thing was common.

『I am the murderer who killed the neighbor's child.』

Every doll held a sign.

『I deceived my best friend.』

This was their one similarity.

『I committed adultery with a priest from the temple.』

『I am the one who plotted to poison the Macaque Grand Duke.』

『I killed my father.』

『I hate the noble who took me in.』

『I conspired with the enemy of my lord to destroy my own family.』

The dolls' signs varied in content.

Some were serious; others were trivial.

"...They're all secrets."

I easily realized what the signs meant.

"Things people don't want to show others. Confidential information they don't want revealed. Each person has at least one secret. And with that, you can deduce the person's identity."

"Well done, you're quick-witted."

Creak-crack.

A puppet ahead of me opened its mouth. The creaking of its joints was probably intended by [The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth] as mocking laughter.

"These are all individuals who once prayed to me for a wish. They have all, at least once, relied on my power. My realm is vast, incomparable to a newly born star like you!"

"I don't particularly desire to create such a vast world..."

Hamusutra was a grand library. Mutia was a sand temple. And Hisimet Cretsu is a glass exhibition hall?

"What kind of wishes do you usually grant?"

"[Please, tell me the weakness of that detestable person.]"

"......"

"[Make sure no one knows what I did.] [Please.] [Let me kill that person without anyone finding out.] [Even if they dig through my past, keep them from learning my secrets.] [What happened that summer.] [As though I were perfectly innocent.]"

Creak, crack.

Seven mannequins simultaneously sneered.

"Every human has once deeply wished for such things in their heart. You humans have many secrets you wish to reveal, but even more that you wish to conceal!"

Hisimet Cretsu.

The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth.

Keywords are snake, egg, labyrinth, secret, riddle, paradox, maintaining and securing secrets.

Locks and keys.

Exposure.

"Of course, I faithfully keep their secrets as they wish. Under my power, they enjoy the blessing of not having their most dreaded secrets exposed, but here, their hidden secrets are blatantly displayed!"

I nodded in understanding.

"That's why you could be related to my skill [Trauma Penalty]."

Seven mannequins simultaneously tilted their heads.

"Hmm?"

"A person's past is the epitome of secrets. The deepest scars held in one's past are the perfect keys to understanding them."

I took a deep breath and continued.

"The Tower Master told me that this power originated from [All Lives], and that tracing it backward would lead to the Tower Master's own ancestor, who was an Apostle of Hamusutra. But at the same time, the part where my skill lets me [peer into] things touches upon your authority as well."

The mannequins burst into laughter.

"Ah, indeed! Correct! Yes, a person's past is a [memory] and thus a [story], but it is also a [secret]. You have excellently exposed that."

From the corner of my vision, a mannequin creaked and raised its hand.

"One who exposes the truth so wisely deserves a reward."

Wooden fingers pointed somewhere.

"Rejoice. I shall bestow upon you a small gift."

"Is it a hint about your location?"

"You'll know when you see it."

I followed the direction indicated.

There was another mannequin in that direction, and it raised a finger to point somewhere else. I repeated the same process sixteen times as I walked onward.

And then...

"......"

Upon finally reaching the destination, I stopped short.

"How do you find it, young star?"

Through the thin glass, a doll moved its lips.

The marionette was intricately crafted.

It had a voice and face I recognized well.

"Do you not wish to know this child's secret?"

There…

A doll identical to the Paladin was on display.

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