WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈
Chapter 44: The Demon King’s Name (1)
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1.
It was long.
I crossed a long stretch of time to reach this place.
[You are penalized by the skill.]
[Re-enacting the trauma of your killer.]
It seems about time to talk about a particular nightmare.
The battle on the 12th floor.
A moment when I was swept away in the torrent, reduced to a mere droplet of water.
[The level of penalty is medium.]
It was after being killed by the Demon King that I saw it.
[This is the Hungry Ghost Realm (餓鬼道).]
Trauma.
The nightmare of the one known as the master of nightmares.
[Initializing the penalty.]
[Recreating the trauma of the Monster - The Demon King of Autumn Rain.]
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A village engulfed in flames.
Before I knew it, I stood alone amidst a sea of fire.
No.
-Burn it down!
Perhaps it wasn't me who was standing alone.
At least, I was accompanied by my Guardian Spirit.
The one truly alone, plunged into the hellfire, was on the other side of the fire.
-Burn down the witch's nest!
Ester.
Saintess of the Outskirts.
The one who saved broken people.
-Show no mercy. They are all monsters cursed by a spell!
-Don't let a single one escape!
Ester couldn't comprehend.
She was at a loss for words.
Unable to understand, her mouth merely quivered slightly.
Why?
How can humans set other humans ablaze?
Parents who had thanked her, newborns given a new lease on life through her - all of the children were slaughtered.
-By the lord's command!
Soldiers bearing countless banners demolished the village's wooden palisade,
-We have orders from Their Majesty, the King!
Knights bearing various crests struck down with their swords.
-Their Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of the Great East, watcher over the rising sun and guardian of all who dwell between land and sea...
-As per the Holy Pope's decree, the heretic who dares call herself a saint...
-The Lord of the Forest entrusted us with this task, so, O spirit, grant this arrow...
-May this jewel bestowed by the Wise Ruler of the Merfolk grant magic to our staves...
-For the honorable promise made in the primordial volcano, we, the dragon cavaliers, have arrived! Now, dragons, unleash your fire upon these cursed beings...
Though they proudly announced their affiliations and names, Ester still couldn't recognize them.
Who were these people?
Who were they that they would burn human beings?
-Ahh, ahhh!
-Save us!
They hunted with precision. Surrounding the village like it was a grand hunt, there seemed no escape. A fleeing family was quickly caught and hunted down.
The only refuge was the village square.
Impaled by spears,
Chased by swords, struck by arrows,
Struck by hammers, assailed by magic, and burned by flames, the people were driven closer and closer into the square.
-Cough!
In the center of the village.
In the heart of the paradise she had created.
Amidst the thick smoke, Ester slowly surveyed her surroundings.
-Hang in there, just a little longer...
A father bent his back. A small gap formed between the earth and his waist, a space where his young child hid. The father took the brunt of the flying sparks, inhaling the acrid smoke in his child's stead.
The father died first.
The child managed to live a minute longer.
-Just a bit more...
An old grandfather and grandmother embraced each other. Was it to bid farewell to their companion at the end? Ester thought so at first. But upon closer inspection, she saw a newborn nestled between them.
-Just a bit more...
As the flames spread, the elderly couple screamed. But they did not separate. Their elbows charred and solidified by the fire. Even as they turned into blackened cinders, the old couple held each other tightly. Not a farewell, but an embrace to save the small child.
The couple died first.
The cries of the newborn spilling from the gap ceased a minute later.
One by one.
The coughing in the square fell silent.
The family that became the wealthiest in the village by establishing an orchard. The elderly person who toiled in the fields every dawn. The old woman who looked over the wheat fields in autumn, muttering about the golden ripeness of the grain.
-Why…?
Every citizen was shattered. A terminal illness dormant in the stomach. Cancer eating away at the brain and spine. Blind eyes. Legs that couldn't walk. With numerous ailments in the world, Ester willingly swallowed them all.
Even more than when she had swallowed all those diseases,
-How…?
Her heart now blackened even more.
Blackened by the smoke.
Scorched by the flames.
She cautiously parted her lips.
-......
From her mouth, came the smell of char.
Ester realized her heart had darkened a bit more.
Overnight, the village was engulfed in flames.
Overnight, Ester was consumed.
Crunch!
Ester scratched at the ashes with her fingertips.
No one disturbed her. The soldiers had leisurely departed after seeing the village wrapped in flames.
The remains of a burnt paradise.
-Leafandor...
There lay the corpse of a father.
-Dajenna...
Underneath him, the body of a child.
-Solafe... Chou... Ugensache...
She dug.
-Mobazaijan..., Topo..., Enna..., Garchev...
With her bare hands. With her fingertips.
Through the remnants of a village reduced to debris. Through the ashes of a paradise settled into dust. Even as her fingers turned black and her nails cracked, bleeding blackened blood, Ester dug.
-......
And then, she opened her mouth and ate.
The flesh of humans.
Their bones.
And if there was no flesh or bones, then the ashes.
-......, .... . ......
Human flesh no longer had any fragrance. She could feel no hunger, no beauty. Only the scent of char. The mere lingering smell of something burnt. Yet, Ester kept eating the charred remains. Devouring them greedily. Even if it was hideous.
Ester's mouth was dirtied black.
Her teeth stained pitch black.
-Poor souls...
Her esophagus was painted black, and pus collected in her stomach. The blood turned into a viscous fluid, spreading throughout her body. It wasn't just blood. Something was flowing from her eyes too.
Perhaps it wasn't tears.
If they were tears, why weren't they clear?
-Poor souls...
So, it was nothing but dirty water.
Waste water discarded by other humans, flowing and flowing until it reached her.
With nowhere else to go, it just collected in her heart.
-Poor souls...
The black wastewater kept flowing, unstopped.
-You,
It flowed into the square.
-You… you too. You too were human.
It flowed through the village.
-You, born as humans, knew the beauty of life and shed tears. How, how could you...
It flowed through the wilderness.
-You called them monsters. But you burned them like monsters? Wasn't it enough that they knew beauty and shed tears? Did you feel no hesitation in branding and burning them?
It flowed through the mountains and fields.
-So, you remain human, while these... my children are forever doomed to be monsters? Is that your world?
Hatred flowed like rain.
-In that world, only you smile. Are only you granted the grace to be beautiful? Only you worthy of shedding tears? Is it only you who is truly human? For you, proof is needed to be recognized as human.
The heart cries out in echoes.
-Then now, you prove it.
Rain fell.
-Show me.
Rain fell.
-I curse you.
Because the rain falls.
No longer will any village burn, nor will any borderland be engulfed in flames.
My children. My blood. The color stolen from my heart.
Though my blood has lost its color and flows merely as ash and wastewater, the red rain falling upon this world testifies in my stead.
-Be swallowed by your own malice.
Rain fell.
Rain.
-You…
Rain,
Rain fell.
-You made me this way,
Continuously.
-And thus, I made you that way.
Rain,
The rain fell...
-Gong-Ja.
Blink.
-”Wake up.”
A voice.
-"This is not your hell."
At the soft voice, I barely managed to open my eyes.
[Trauma re-enactment complete.]
[The target’s ego has remained intact.]
[Ending the penalty.]
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One stroke.
Just holding one blade in hand.
Two halves.
Only because something I must cut still remains in this world.
-Gong-Ja!
Blink.
-Now!
I looked ahead.
No.
What lay before me came into view.
-Its head is exposed!
I drifted through an instant as though it were an eternity.
Having crossed that fleeting moment, I saw before me someone whose entire body was black.
Wastewater flowed ceaselessly from her body.
Water, even when cut, remains water, leaving much to be cut down.
With one stroke, I cut in two what had to be cut.
-Aaaaaah!
As she was cut, the black king spilled wastewater.
Perhaps it wasn't wastewater after all.
If it were, why would it be red?
Blood.
Bright red blood dripped from the Demon King's body.
-Ugh... Cough...!
The Demon King staggered backward. One step. Two steps. Three steps. When she took the third step, wastewater ceased flowing from her right arm.
Where the Demon King stepped, black puddles still gathered, but each step lessened the pool, shrinking gradually.
Eventually.
-Cough, gasp... Ugh...
The Demon King's body was shedding the wastewater.
Drip. Drop.
No longer flowing wastewater, blood took its place.
The color of life, naturally, was red.
[The existence of the Demon King of the Autumn Rain becomes faint.]
The being that had once boasted absolute martial might was no longer there.
-No... I can't... Ugh!
The Demon King clutched her left arm with her right hand. Blood flowed from her left arm. As though unable to forgive even a single drop for escaping, like someone desperately trying to gather spilled water back up, she pressed the wound shut.
-My children... It cannot end like this... their resentment, their cries of grievance...
"Retreat."
I spoke softly.
A human’s sword may divide the body, but a voice can sever the soul.
As if cut by my voice, the Demon King hesitated.
"Retreat to the 20th floor. You can't defeat me anyway. Return to your base, to your final castle."
The 'World Map' made it clear.
Blue territory. Humanity's domain once again covered the continent. It crossed the central mountain range. It passed through the gorge called the Goddess's Shield. The temple watched over by the one-eyed giant. The forest where fairies danced. The waterfall where merfolk played. The volcanic crater filled with a clear lake instead of lava... From the open plains to the furthest corners, there was no territory that was not blue.
In contrast, the red territory…
"Return to your starting point."
Was just a dot.
Merely one dot.
No matter how far the flames burned the fields, in the end, they reduced to a single ember. Even if the waters flooded to the very skies, eventually, they dwindled to a single droplet.
On the vast world map, only a tiny red dot remained.
That was…
"Your end. Demon King."
The Demon King hissed through her teeth.
-You, scum...
She raised her head. The wastewater had stopped and blood now flowed, but half of the Demon King's body remained charred black. So did her face. Only her red eye gleamed with particular menace. With her face still submerged in ashen water, the Demon King glared at me.
"Hmm."
The Sword Saint silently gripped the hilt of his sword.
"I’ll leave the final blow to the King of Death."
The Witch casually controlled her six mirrors.
-......
There was no chance for a reversal anywhere. No gaps. Was it because I witnessed the Demon King’s trauma? The situation felt eerily similar to a village surrounded by soldiers.
A barrier of humanity with no escape.
-Cough!
The Demon King had no answer but to flee. Yet she could not readily choose that answer, because she too knew it was not the correct one.
Just as fleeing to the square from the flames only prolonged life by a mere minute. Being chased away by us to the twentieth floor would only delay the moment of defeat.
-Damn it...! Damn it all!
Blood spilled from the Demon King's mouth.
[The Demon King of the Autumn Rain decides to retreat.]
[The Demon King of the Autumn Rain retreats to the 20th floor!]
Yes.
Fleeing, knowing one will burn to death, is what humans do.
The more she fled, the closer the Demon King came to being human.
[Confirming the Demon King's retreat.]
[Timeline Alteration.]
[Altering the 19th floor.]
The world was enveloped in light droplets once again.
After confirming the Demon King's disappearance, I turned around.
"Sword Saint.”
“Hmm.”
“Black Dragon Master.”
“Yes.”
“I apologize. I wish to conquer the 20th floor alone.”
I bowed.
"Thank you for your help so far. But I want to settle this with that Demon King. Please let me go alone."
"......"
The Witch shrugged nonchalantly.
“Sure. I'm fine with that. You contributed more than anyone to getting us here... Besides, I agreed to follow your wishes and refrain from acting for five days. I already broke that promise on my own to help you, so this time I'll truly stay out of it.”
"Hmm."
The Sword Saint sheathed his sword.
"When today ends, it'll be five days. After clearing the 20th floor, we should meet separately. There's much to discuss between you and me."
"Yes. Understood."
I bowed again.
"Thank you."
And then I proceeded.
"Transfer."
The 20th floor.
[Welcome, King of Death.]
The Demon King.
To the village where Ester was born.
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