SSS-Class Revival Hunter - Chapter 335

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈

Chapter 335: The Constellations’ Auction (2)

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[The 68th floor stage is up for auction.]

[The 69th floor stage is up for auction.]

I listened blankly to the messages ringing in my head one after another. I was so stunned that my face might as well have turned into a fish face, like that of a crucian carp pancake...

No, that pun isn't quite right.

Let's just keep watching blankly.

[The 70th floor stage is up for auction.]

"Stop."

Finally, the last floor among the stages available for auction was listed.

The Tower's pillar, the Staff of Time Immemorial, held the staff crosswise.

"Beyond that is not the territory I govern. If you want to escape from the King of Death, you should look for another pillar. There might be Constellations who don't know who I am. And Constellations who have never even heard of a 'pillar,' but consider this a special case and......."

The message cut off, and silence fell all around.

"Now then, shall we find someone to buy the items up for auction?"

It wasn't long.

"I'll explain the gist of the auction."

With a tap, the Staff of Time Immemorial prodded the void with the tip of the staff.

"As you know, the King of Death is a [Hunter], in other words, a challenger climbing the tower towards the hundredth-floor, the [Apex of Heaven]. Though not fully bloomed yet, he is also a Constellation known as 'The Heaven that Gathers Wails.'"

Indeed.

So in the tower, a 'hunter' refers to those who climb the tower.

"From now on, it's not a battle between a teacher giving a test and a student taking it, but a fair fight between warriors."

The mage's voice was low in pitch and temperature.

Like the sound of a piano playing softly outdoors on a winter day.

Many Constellations dwelling above the tower became spectators for a moment, listening to the song of the mage.

"I believe every warrior has the right to flee from a duel."

The mage's eyes were silver.

"A sword should be wielded only by those who wish to use it in a duel."

Eyes resembling the color of a blade looked at me.

"So, who wants to duel with the King of Death?"

"......."

"Among the countless Constellations, which beast has yet to forget the joy of victory? Which snake, even after rising into the sky, could not relinquish the pleasure of scraping its scales against the ground? What light does the star now cast that, even after entering the Tower Master's embrace, refused to serve the Tower Master as its master?"

With a tap.

The mage rolled her tongue inside her mouth.

"Floor 64. The auction begins."

[The Bird That Burns Fire places a bid.]

As soon as the mage finished speaking, there was someone who sent a message.

[The Bird That Burns Fire warns everyone not to outbid it if they do not want to die.]

The mage tilted her head.

"Well, using that tone might actually provoke others to pounce due to spite."

[The Bird That Burns Fire advises anyone who does not want to die to join the auction starting with the next stage.]

"Good. Much better."

I had difficulty finding the difference between the two statements, but it seemed the mage detected a meaningful difference.

An unknown Constellation continuously poured out messages.

[The Bird That Burns Fire offers an opinion on how the auction should be conducted.]

[The Bird That Burns Fire says that rather than appointing every manager through floor 70 at once, the next floor should be auctioned each time the King of Death clears a stage.]

[The Bird That Burns Fire argues, with impeccable logic, that if the King of Death loses on floor 64, the Constellation that went to the trouble of bidding on floor 65 would be the only one left looking like a dodo.]

"Hmm..."

The mage closed her left eye.

"That makes sense."

[The Bird That Burns Fire reminds everyone that it always says what is right.]

"Let's assume that's true. But the most important part is still left."

The mage looked up at the sky.

"What's your bid? How much do you want to pay for the manager's rights?"

[The Blazing Bird of Immortality answers.]

[Everything it has.]

The mage nodded.

"There is no reason not to accept. I will change the manager of floor 64 from ‘The Righteous Nine-Tailed Fox’ to ‘The Bird That Burns Fire.’"

And with that, it was over.

The mage turned to look at me.

"King of Death, proceed to the next stage."

"......."

The fox that had coiled around my neck chirped.

The fox fluttered its tail, asking for my opinion.

"Sure, I have no reason to refuse either."

I slipped the thread-thin snake on my palm, Hisimet Cretsu, into my pocket. Then I lightly ignored its quiet kieeeek and nodded.

"Frankly, cutting that snake did not feel satisfying enough. Please, my god."

"Chirp."

At my words, the fox didn't hesitate and immediately declared.

[Quest Cleared!]

[The 63rd floor has been cleared.]

[A Music Box Just for You will give you the same quest from the 64th to the 69th floor as the previous stages.]

[You will be instantly transferred to the 64th floor according to your request.]

The sandstorm wrapped around my sight.

-Zombie.

As the scent that crossed the desert wrapped around my nose and swirled throughout my body during that brief moment, the Guardian Spirit directly spoke to my consciousness.

-I climbed up to the 99th floor, but I didn't know about the pillars. Thinking back, it's not that I never encountered a pillar. I must have forgotten after meeting one.

'.......'

-These things called pillars or whatever probably have the [authority to erase memories related to themselves].

Indeed.

That must be the case.

-Perhaps even after this ordeal ends, that is, after you climb up to the 70th floor, all memories might vanish.

That's possible.

-But the likelihood is low.

The Guardian Spirit said.

-You met the Tower Master. No matter how great those pillars are, they shouldn't be able to erase the time imbued with meaning by the Tower Master.

His voice was calm yet filled with regret.

-You and I walked different paths.

The Sword Emperor said.

-Go that way.

Finally, the sandstorm completely obscured my vision.

-No one will look down on you as weak anymore!

And so, I opened my eyes.

[You have entered the 64th floor.]

Upon opening my eyes, it was all grey.

A land where only ash stretched endlessly to the horizon.

[The Bird That Burns Fire manifests!]

In the center of that world, a bird with its entire body aflame, a phoenix, was fluttering its vast wings.

"I was bitterly aggrieved."

A strong smell clung to the mucous membranes of my nose.

It was the smell of burning.

The bird, whose entire body was aflame, could easily envelop the world with its two wings. The wings traversed between heaven and earth. Due to the burning wings, there was no distinction between up and down.

Looking up or down, everything was reduced to ashes.

"When the Sword Emperor shot up the Tower with the vigor of bamboo shoots after rain, I ignored him. I scorned him. Thus, I threw away my chance to pit myself against the warrior who had climbed higher than any other since the Tower was built. Bitterly aggrieved, again and again."

I gripped the hilt of my sword.

"I understand why you participated in the auction."

The phoenix's eyes looked down at me. It was unclear whether it even had eyes due to its entirely engulfed form. The phoenix was burning ceaselessly, leaving no part untouched by flames.

So perhaps the phoenix was glaring at me not with the eyes of the flesh but with the eyes of the soul.

"You are the successor of the Sword Emperor, I hear. Is that true?"

"Even with ears on fire, you managed to pick out the one thing that was true."

"Good. This is a good opportunity. I cannot allow myself to be resentful twice."

The phoenix flapped its wings.

All the ash that had settled in the world was stirred up by the fluttering, swirling around.

Ash fluttered down, touching even my cheeks.

"I am the fire that burns fire. An omen of disaster, a bird of disaster. I wish to be the last fire left in the world."

"I am the King of Death."

I wiped the ash off my cheeks. My mouth felt gritty. Ash had swept in, filling my throat. I willingly chewed and swallowed the remnants left by the fire, showing respect for the duel.

"I am the sword that wishes to break other swords."

There was no point in further conversation.

The judge who had followed me onto the stage, the Staff of Time Immemorial, stood between us.

The mage raised the long staff and tapped the ground lightly.

Taking that subtle signal as a cue, I dashed across the ash-covered ground.

"Hisimet Cretsu, fulfill your promise."

The loser of the previous stage responded to my command.

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

Squirm.

The snake crawled out of my pocket and wrapped around my wrist like a bracelet. The snake had sworn to assist me in conquering the tower and was now fulfilling that promise.

[The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth exposes the enemy's information.]

In the flow of aura, time slowed down, and within the sluggish current, characters were etched before my eyes.

I could see the true name of the enemy.

The Bird That Burns Fire (Phoenix).

Taotie[1].

Then, the origins of the phoenix were embroidered in the void.

In one stroke.

The writing of Hisimet Cretsu was as serpentine as its body, yet as distinct as the light in its inverse eyes, making it easy to read.

Taotie is fire.

If water flows downward as the righteous path, fire goes against it, signifying a rebellious heart. Taotie's fire represents emotions.

Fire grows by devouring others. It has no eyes with which to look upon the world. Thus, among all emotions, Taotie governs only the blind ones: [hatred], [disgust], and above all, the [pleasure] derived from showing itself off.

It screams as if it’s about to die at any moment but never dies, instead, it kills only others.

If I was addicted to the pleasure of observing others, Taotie was addicted solely to the act of displaying itself.

It demands that all eyes be fixed on itself, yet in truth it cannot even burn by itself unless there is something nearby to burn.

Its names are [The Fire that Burns Fire], [The Self that Consumes Itself], [Blindness].

Merely a blind fire.

Indeed.

In an instant, I saw through the phoenix's true nature.

"You were never bitter because you failed to fight the Sword Emperor."

The phoenix's wings fluttered.

In other words, the phoenix opened its eyes.

Although it had a form far removed from a human, I was confident in reading [the expression of fire] better than anyone.

The angles at which the flames enveloping the Constellation bent, the lines where the fire split, and the signs of embers flaring up allowed me to see its psychology.

"You were just resentful that you couldn't participate in the 'event' called the Sword Emperor. It wasn't about the duel between warriors at all."

"......."

"You merely craved the calling cards that say, ‘I once fought the Sword Emperor’ and ‘I crossed swords with the King of Death.’ You envied the Constellations fortunate enough to possess those cards, envied the Constellations that lost to me, and resented the sincerity of the stars that truly measured themselves against me. You came forward only to claim a place among them."

I sent a voice transmission as I swung my sword.

"You're probably pondering not how to defeat me but how to stage the most impressive scene to imprint yourself on the other Constellations."

"......!"

The phoenix couldn't refute my words. It wasn't that it didn't want to refute but that it couldn't.

Not because it had nothing to say, but because it had no time to say it.

The Constellation could not begin to keep pace with the flow of time I had accelerated by drawing up my aura. In the time it took the Constellation to utter one word, I poured out twelve, leaving it no turn in which to answer.

And if that was the case with the voice, what about the speed of the sword?

"You must have been the Constellation who gifted the flame skills to Yoo Soo-Ha."

The Sword Emperor once said that the Demon King of Autumn Rain, Ester, was a D-class Constellation.

Purely in terms of strength, this phoenix would be about the same. D+ to C- class.

"I have no time to entertain someone who has no intention of dueling with me."

In a flash.

I conveyed two meanings in one go.

"Go out."

And I cut down the Constellation that could have become Yoo Soo-Ha's god.

Screams followed.

If it took years to cut down the Demon King of Autumn Rain, this time it took not even seconds.

"The 64th floor. The duel is over. The winner is the King of Death."

The Staff of Time Immemorial, which had witnessed the whole ordeal, declared.

Amid the drifting ash, the voice settled softly.

"Then, let's immediately start the auction for the 65th floor."

[1]: The Taotie is an ancient Chinese mythological creature that was commonly emblazoned on bronze and other artifacts during the 1st millennium BC. Taotie are one of the "four evil creatures of the world".

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