WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈
Chapter 339: Blood and Wine (3)
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4.
The Goddess of Protection is composed of five fragments.
Those pieces now emitted light around me.
[She is the worshiped one,]
The Idol Sword.
The Goddess is always revered by the people. She bears it. She is the one who is expected. The one who must meet those expectations. The one who must proudly hold her head high until the end of the world.
For she is a monarch.
[She is the compassionate one,]
The Pity Sword.
The Goddess always understands the wounds of the people. She takes them in. Even when her flesh bears no wound, her heart is slashed apart by wounds transplanted from others, and she keeps their nameless screams within it.
For she is a monarch.
[She is the tester,]
The Prayer Sword.
The Goddess always makes judgments. She selects. She tests whether those who petition her hold sincerity. Whether they whisper falsehoods to deceive. To ensure that genuine pleas are never buried under false accusations.
For she is a monarch.
[She is the sacrificer,]
The Sacrifice Sword.
The Goddess always suffers. She volunteers. As her time is devoured, others' time flourishes, and as her pain deepens, others' lives brighten. Meaningless suffering is not permitted for her.
For she is a monarch.
[She is the savior,]
The Salvation Sword.
The Goddess always saves others. She forsakes herself. She places parts of herself she wished to protect, her tastes, pleasures, preferences, aesthetics, on the cold scales. On the other side of that scale are others. Other people. To elevate others, she continuously lowers herself. She must lower herself.
Thus.
[Worship her.]
She is a monarch.
[The Goddess of Protection manifests.]
My sword shone brightly.
Someone screamed.
It was the Crocodile Gentleman.
"Five? More than the four promised sayings?"
The gentleman widened his eyes in disbelief, staring at me as if he couldn't believe it.
"It can't be! Impossible! The Goddess of Protection... Hwiya must have been the constellation first torn apart by the Constellation Killer! She must have been divided into five pieces!"
A cry of astonishment leaked between the crocodile's large teeth.
"Even if you somehow collected and assembled the fragments, the final piece would still remain! The last fragment was still with the Constellation Killer! How on earth did you manage to obtain the sword of the Constellation Killer...?!"
Indeed.
Kim Yul had knelt before me long ago, yet the Crocodile Gentleman was completely unaware of this fact. Perhaps it was only natural. There would only be a few constellations that could know this, like the [Ruin-Harvesting Cow] that had seen through my past or the [Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth] that had read my information.
"It's a trick... Yes! It's a trick! King of Death! You were not only the King of Death but also the King of Sorcery! But such tricks won't fool us..."
"I have never played nor allowed games with my existence."
A voice interrupted the Crocodile Gentleman's words.
It wasn't mine.
"It's been a while."
Light leaking from the holy sword twisted and formed a shape. Radiance filled the area. Somehow, the light wasn't blinding, instead, one could keep watching it indefinitely.
Crackle! Crunch. The light intensified. Not only the holy sword I held but also the Pity, Prayer, Sacrifice, and Salvation, the four shadow swords, shattered into light and were sucked in.
"It has been a long time since I have manifested fully in one body."
And then, giant wings spread out.
"King of Death."
There were five pairs of wings.
"You are my hero."
A thunderous noise resounded.
A table was blown away as one pair of wings unfolded. Crash! When the second wing unfolded, the walls of the assembly hall shattered. The ceiling split as the third wing spread. The fourth wing stirred a gale, and the fifth, the last wing, covered the skies of this world.
[The Goddess of Protection manifests her authority.]
The angel obscured the sun, and a five-branched shadow fell across the earth.
"I will fight alongside you."
Those shadows were the authority of the Goddess.
The territory cast by the 'Goddess of Protection.'
A world of shadows, where the sun was ousted, the sky was fended off, and only the white wings reigned as the sole light, had descended here.
"I refuse!"
The Crocodile Gentleman screamed as if vomiting blood.
"Hwiya! The one who became light in the shadows! The 67th floor doesn't belong to you! It's mine! Ours! [The Eternal Dance of the Twins] and [The Noble of Dry Fingerprints], and me, [The Reddest Sommelier], are the true masters of this place! Your sanctuary will lose its light here!"
The crocodile's outcry wasn't just a desperate act.
[The manager has rejected joint ownership.]
[The Goddess of Protection does not own this place.]
The sky turned blood red.
The sun that illuminated the 66th world twisted away from its familiar form. The sphere that emitted white light suddenly turned black. Line by line, as if a child had colored it with a crayon, it was painted black.
[The Reddest Sommelier manifests his authority.]
A black hole.
Where the sun once was, now only an abyss remained.
"Overflow!"
From the hole, vast like a giant well, gushed a liquid thicker than water and stickier than alcohol. Gurgle! It was blood. Red blood flowed endlessly from the well in the sky.
"Look at it! Every single drop forming this torrent of blood was collected by me! They are my lovely followers!"
The Crocodile Gentleman raised his arms. Drip! Blood poured from the sky.
Blood pooled in the small palm of the crocodile, overflowing through the thick webbing.
"This is my temple! My sanctuary! No one can deny me,"
"Is that so."
The Goddess of Protection folded and then spread her wings horizontally.
Light burst forth.
The white wings, like the cross-guard of a sword, cast shadows as if the body extended straight was a blade.
The flickering sword, the Goddess of Protection Hwiya, spoke.
"Then, I shall cut."
[The Goddess of Protection manifests her authority.]
[The Goddess of Protection is the manager of the 65th and 66th floors.]
Hwiya reached out her hand.
Her fingers, curled like hooks, pointed towards the Crocodile Gentleman.
[The Goddess of Protection invades the 67th floor!]
And then, five rays of light burst from the tips of each fingernail, striking the Crocodile Gentleman.
5.
[This world is not subject to beginner protection.]
[The battle for floor control commences.]
[A battle for floor control is currently underway: Lion World, Silver-White World, and Moonlit Night World versus Banquet World, Taiji World, and Demon Realm.]
"Arghhhhh!"
The crocodile screamed.
The five rays of light carved into his body, like fissures in the earth spewing lava, were [squeezing] out the crimson wine from the crocodile's body.
"The souls are dense."
The Goddess of Protection remarked.
"Only beings capable of ruthlessly sucking the essence from the heart can squeeze out such blood. Even a beast that eats flesh would feel compassion for its hairless young, and even a scaled beast would stop hunting when satiated, yet."
[The Reddest Sommelier's existance becomes faint.]
"You were no more than an insect."
[The Reddest Sommelier's existance becomes faint.]
"Damn it, damn it! Being betrayed and split by humans you chose yourself! A trash that couldn't even handle an unheard-of lower constellation!"
"Yes. I was such a being."
Hwiya calmly received the crocodile's screams and let them slide away,
As if a master swordsman deflecting an opponent's strike.
"But before that, I was a founding monarch who established an empire."
The deflected blade, like a butterfly, whirled around, spun, and struck the crocodile's shoulder three times.
"Aaagh!"
[The Reddest Sommelier's existance becomes faint.]
[The Reddest Sommelier's existance becomes faint.]
"Stop!!"
Startled by the sudden turn of events, the allies of 'The Reddest Sommelier' sprang into action.
The Noble of Dry Fingerprints shouted at the Twins.
"It's your fault! Why are you frozen? If you had fulfilled your role properly, 'The Reddest Sommelier' wouldn't have been injured like..."
"Is that really so?"
Of course.
The Goddess of Protection also had allies.
Swoosh!
"There's a simple weakness to [skills that activate upon targeting someone]."
The constellations widened their eyes.
In the blink of an eye, my fist was racing through the air.
"Go ahead, try scooping out rainwater with both hands."
My fist plunged directly into the crocodile's stomach. Boom!
The vibration pierced through the crocodile's body and spread like a wave in the surrounding air.
Droplets of blood were mixed into the formless wave.
"Kuh, hah...!"
"Your stomach is sturdy. It's not punctured yet."
I swung my fist again.
"It shouldn't be like this. It's embarrassing."
Thump!
The same blood that was scattered around stained my knuckles.
"As the owner of Hwiya, I should at least be able to match Hwiya."
Once more, I delivered a punch.
"Keugh, eugh...!"
A hole was punctured in the crocodile's stomach.
Thus, even if the Noble of Dry Fingerprints transferred the damage from Hwiya's sword strikes to the twins, the amount of wine bursting from the crocodile would not decrease.
[The Reddest Sommelier's existance becomes faint.]
[The Reddest Sommelier's existance becomes faint.]
[The Reddest Sommelier's existance becomes faint…]
"Ah,"
The sky opened up.
As more wine burst from the crocodile's belly, blood gushed from the hole in the sky. Like a broken sewer during the rainy season, the blood gurgled continuously.
[The Reddest Sommelier can no longer maintain his authority.]
A small crocodile, swept away by the crimson flood, might have been the final fate of the sommelier.
[Initiating rank adjustment.]
[The Reddest Sommelier's alias has been revoked.]
[The quest on the 67th floor has been cleared!]
[The result of the floor control battle has been updated.]
[The 67th floor is now under the control of The Goddess of Protection!]
Good.
I turned my head. There, the goddess floated. We exchanged glances, with the crocodile's shed skin between us.
"Hwiya."
"Yes, hero."
That was the end of our conversation.
I dashed towards the left. Hwiya flew to the right.
Only the crocodile's shed skin remained in the middle, swallowed by the crimson flood and swept away somewhere.
"…Ah!"
At the end of the space where Hwiya flew, stood the White one.
At the end of my path stood the Black one.
"If attacking one side is meaningless,"
I threw a punch towards the Black one.
"Then attack both sides simultaneously."
Hwiya swung her wings at the White one.
[The Noble of Dry Fingerprints manifests their authority!]
Though the Noble of Dry Fingerprints tried to transfer the simultaneous damage with damage transfer...
[The manager has rejected joint ownership.]
[The Noble of Dry Fingerprints does not own this place.]
Just as the crocodile did, the Goddess of Protection, now the manager of this floor, repelled that authority.
"Damn it,"
[The Noble of Dry Fingerprints begins invading the 67th floor---]
"Too late."
One step ahead, collisions occurred on both sides of the battlefield.
It was a fight that was disadvantageous for the Twins from the start. The Twins were merely performing the role of a tank. Their martial prowess was not remarkable.
On the opposite side, Hwiya swung her multiple pairs of wings simultaneously.
Striking down.
White's limbs were shattered to pieces.
"It's okay."
The Black one, facing me, spoke to the White one.
"You're okay."
Even as I approached, Black did not resist. Perhaps they lacked the ability to resist. Black's attention was fixed solely on their other half.
"You're okay. As long as I'm here. You are…."
"Right."
I swung my fist.
"As long as you are here, that is."
The storm of punches struck.
Black was completely exposed to my attack. Before they could continue saying, "You are all right," blows struck their shoulder and jaw.
With the Black one's words gone, there was no one left to negate the damage to the White one.
"Aaaaah!"
The White one fell first. Unable to deny the accumulated damage and the wounds that could no longer be negated, the White one finally fell. Splashing! Into the blood-red surface of the water, which now extended to the horizon, the White one helplessly collapsed.
The fate of the Black one was no different.
"Ah…."
The Black one collapsed onto a rock, body shattered by my punches.
"To grit your teeth and rise again is an incredible feat."
I looked down at the Black one.
However, the Black one's gaze was not directed at me. Below the fluttering wings of Hwiya, it was towards the White one dimly submerged in the water. Their gaze remained fixed on their other half.
"Each time, if you had become a little stronger, I wouldn't have won today. But instead of chewing, you spat it out. That's all."
"......"
The Black one smiled faintly. Finally, the Black one turned their head, their eyes lacking focus and pupils, filled with nothing but darkness, and looked up at me.
"Some people in this world cannot become stronger."
I nodded silently.
Without a word.
After a moment, the Black one spoke again.
"You guys can become stronger."
Their lips held a smile.
"Die. All of you."
That was the curse the twins' Constellation left upon the world.
[The Eternal Dance of the Twins' existence becomes faint.]
[Initiating rank adjustment.]
[The Eternal Dance of the Twins' alias has been revoked.]
The bodies of the Black and White ones simultaneously disintegrated into specks, turning to ash. Where the Black one had lain, a one-winged parrot raised its head.
[The quest on the 68th floor has been cleared!]
[Updating the result of the floor control battle…]
Yes.
I turned to face the last remaining constellation.
"You bastards!"
The Noble of Dry Fingerprints was furious.
But their anger was futile.
As proven in classic games, a lone support left behind can do nothing but quietly take a portal.
A support refusing to take the portal only ends up highlighting their name on the scoreboard.
The Noble of Dry Fingerprints must have understood this fate as well.
Still, they glared at me with eyes burning with hatred. Splash, splash. My approach, the sound of blood splashing, Hwiya flying behind me: everything reflected in their eyes seemed hateful to them.
"There is no constellation left for you to pass your damage onto."
The Noble of Dry Fingerprints looked at Hwiya.
[The Noble of Dry Fingerprints manifests their authority.]
[The Goddess of Protection refuses.]
[The authority has been nullified.]
Perhaps, the Noble of Dry Fingerprints attempted to transfer the damage they were about to receive to Hwiya, but this process required the consent of the other party.
Naturally, Hwiya refused.
The Noble of Dry Fingerprints glared at me.
[The Noble of Dry Fingerprints manifests their authority.]
[The Noble of Dry Fingerprints has chosen you to bear the damage they are about to receive.]
[Do you accept the choice?]
I shook my head.
[The authority has been nullified.]
The Noble of Dry Fingerprints ground their teeth.
"You must understand me."
"......"
"It is not my fault. I did nothing wrong. It is your fault, the fault of all of you, and the Tower's error. That is how everything must be. Therefore, you must understand my circumstances."
I reached out my hand.
Gradually, Hwiya disintegrated.
The five pairs of wings detached one by one, turning into five swords. The five swords merged again, condensing into one holy sword.
"No."
I grasped the hilt of the holy sword.
"Your presence in the tower is already proof that the Tower Master has understood you."
"Understand me..."
"Enough. More than enough."
The sword traced an arc.
Something heavy plunged into the crimson water with a splash.
[The Noble of Dry Fingerprints's existence becomes faint.]
[Initiating rank adjustment.]
[The Noble of Dry Fingerprints' alias has been revoked.]
A chicken fluttered on the water's surface where a heavy object had fallen. It was a chicken with a red comb. The chicken, dyeing its white feathers red, swam past my feet.
Thus.
[The quest on the 69th floor has been cleared!]
[Updating the result of the floor control battle…]
The alliance of the three constellations fell under my blade.
[You have earned the right to challenge the 70th floor.]
The path to the seventieth stage was now open.
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