WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈
Chapter 85: The Reader's Heart (1)
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1.
I held the Master in my arms for a long time.
Even when the breath ceases, the human body remains.
That's why death is so harsh and cruel.
"Sir."
After a while, I heard a voice calling me. Warriors in black martial arts uniforms, the elite of the Demonic Cult, gathered around me.
While I silently held the Master, the Great Orthodox-Demonic War continued. In the end, the Demonic Cult emerged victorious.
"We were too preoccupied during the battle to take proper notice, but several cult members overheard the Cult Leader call you [Disciple]."
A warrior asked with a tense face.
"Could it be that you, Sir, are the rightful successor appointed by Lord Heavenly Demon?"
"......."
I looked around.
All the surviving disciples gazed at me. Even those whom the Master called the Four Demon Lords. Some had bleeding noses, torn lips, or severed arms. Everyone was soaked in blood, all silently waiting for my response.
“…I'm not sure whether I've inherited the direct lineage."
“Didn’t the Master accept you as a disciple?"
“That's true."
I held the Master's cold body a bit tighter.
“I am the Master's disciple."
"......."
The warrior's face hardened further.
“If the Cult Leader truly accepted a direct disciple, then surely you were taught the Divine Art of the Demonic Heaven. Forgive my rudeness, sir, but please demonstrate a portion of the Divine Art of the Demonic Heaven before us."
The tone was polite, but it was the same as saying [Prove that you really are the Heavenly Demon's disciple].
‘Just being the Master's disciple is enough for them to treat me as the successor.'
I realized why the Master hesitated so much in accepting me as a disciple. Becoming the Heavenly Demon's true disciple meant being the rightful successor of the Demonic Cult.
Now that my master's last warmth had left this world, the Demonic Cult's legitimate line of succession rested with me.
“...Alright. Would demonstrating the Sword of Starving Death be sufficient?"
“Yes. The Cult Leader often said, [If you fall short by even a hair's breadth, I will not recognize you as my successor]. We are merely nameless swordsmen, but we have enough discernment to judge after witnessing a single stroke from you."
Other disciples murmured around us.
“Hey, what's that Blood Demon ranting about?"
“Don't you get it? By seeing the first form of the Divine Art of the Demonic Heaven, we can tell if he's really the Heavenly Demon's disciple."
“Really? But why's that guy representing us?"
“They're the most mannered among us, coming from the Moyong clan. Even though they're an illegitimate child."
“What? That guy's from the Moyong bastards?"
“Hey, why are you acting surprised? This story has been told dozens of times… Enough. A river is a river, a mountain is a mountain, and a meathead will always be a meathead."
“What's that supposed to mean?"
“It means your mere existence is comparable to the toxic techniques of the Sichuan School. Sword Demon, considering I currently have cancer because of you, despite mastering the Thousand Poison Invulnerability, you're quite remarkable."
“Oh? Is that a compliment?"
“Fuckin' blockhead."
“Ahem."
The warrior coughed and glared at the murmuring disciples. Their eyes carried a stern warning to keep quiet.
But the Sword Demon and Ghost-Soul Flame Demon tilted their heads in confusion.
“What're you looking at? Wanna fight?"
“Annoying. Look somewhere else. It makes me sick."
"......."
The warrior turned back to me. Their eyes seemed to say, [Nothing just happened].
“Ah."
I chuckled a bit.
‘Yeah. This place has always been like this.'
The Demonic Cult had always been a refuge for the uneducated. My master alone was refined. It was only natural that most cult members knew nothing of etiquette.
"Starvation means---"
I didn't draw my sword. I didn't want to swing a blade while holding the Master. I just channeled Aura into my left hand and gestured.
A strike engraved itself on the snowfield.
"---children waiting for sunlight."
Everyone flinched.
The representative warrior and the murmuring disciples all fell silent. My strike created a deep ravine in the snow, like a wound on someone's body.
I didn't stop at just demonstrating the first form. I performed the second, third, fourth... all the forms I had mastered to the extreme.
Silence fell around us.
Thanks to witnessing the Master and Guardian Spirit's fierce battle, each of my strikes seemed sharper than before. This, too, was the Master's arrangement.
"I haven't fully mastered the remaining forms yet. It would be embarrassing to show them."
“.......”
“Is this enough?"
Rustle!
The warrior knelt on the snow.
“I greet the rightful successor of the Demonic Cult. Our new Heavenly Demon."
Following them, the Ghost-Soul Flame Demon, Moon Shadow Demon, and Sword Demon knelt in succession. Rustle, crunch. Their knees crushed the snow. All the surviving disciples from the Great Orthodox-Demonic War bowed down on the snowfield.
“We greet the rightful successor of the Demonic Cult! Our new Lord!"
I slowly spoke.
"The title of Heavenly Demon is too grand. I already have the alias King of Death, and I wish for the Master's title to remain forever in her name alone."
“Then..."
“The title of Lord also feels too weighty."
I turned my head. Across from me, the Guardian Spirit stood with arms crossed and eyes closed in silence, probably replaying the duel with my master in his mind. After studying his face, I spoke to the cult members.
“I still have much to learn. How can I be the Lord when I have nothing to teach you? A title for the sake of a title."
The warrior looked perplexed.
“…In life, the Heavenly Demon never erred when choosing people. Since the Heavenly Demon accepted you as a direct disciple, you are undoubtedly suited to the position of Cult Leader."
“Thank you. But by my judgment, I am still lacking to carry on the teachings of the Demonic Cult."
The disciples murmured.
“Then, how shall we address you, Sir? We can’t just keep calling you 'Sir'..."
“Vice-lord."
Someone blurted out.
“Why not call him Vice-Lord?”
It was the Ghost-Soul Flame Demon. The disciple who lied about giving three moves to the Shaolin monk. Their broken nose hadn't fully healed, leaving dried blood on their philtrum.
“In the martial world, it's common to call someone Junior Master or Junior Clan Lord. If it’s too burdensome to assume the role of Lord, but not outright refusing it, calling you Vice-lord is appropriate."
“Hmm."
I nodded. That was acceptable.
“Yes. Let it be so."
The disciples sighed in relief. Their faces visibly relaxed as they looked at me.
“Vice-Lord, allow us to offer our formal thanks. We do not know what wondrous art you used, but we all remember being bitten by the gangsi. Without you, we could neither have brought the Great Orthodox-Demonic War to its conclusion nor fulfilled our loyalty to the Heavenly Demon!"
The warrior saluted me.
“One of the Demonic Cult's Four Demon Lords, the Blood Demon. I and every member of the Blood Ghost Troop under my command pledge our loyalty to you, Vice-Lord."
A dozen or so cult members followed them and gave the same salute.
“One of the Demonic Cult's Four Demon Lords, the Ghost-Soul Flame Demon. I and every member of the Spirit Consolation Unit under my command swear loyalty to you, Vice-Lord."
“One of the Four Demon Lords, the Moon Shadow Demon. Every member of the Shadow Corpse Troop under my command pledges loyalty to you, Vice-Lord."
“Sword Demon! Together with the Extermination Troop under my command, I pledge my loyalty!”
Dozens more followed.
"......."
I gently laid the Master down.
The Master, like a flower born in the snowfield, matched perfectly with the white snow.
Leaving behind that single peony blossom, I saluted the cult members.
"I pray that, as long as my life endures, the doctrine of the shadows shall remain immortal."
Just then.
[Stage Cleared.]
[You have cleared the quest, ‘Remake the World, Volume 1’!]
It felt like forever since I heard this voice.
[Today, the 22nd floor stage has been cleared.]
[Announcing once again.]
[Today, the 22nd floor stage has been cleared.]
It seemed so long since I heard it.
[Assessing raid participants...]
[Assessment complete.]
Without releasing my salute, I spoke.
"Please arrange the Master's funeral."
[Announcing the 4 raid participants.]
The mountain split in two by the Master's gesture.
Letters carved into the sky above the mountain peak.
+
[Raid Contribution Ranking]
1st place: King of Death
2nd place: Apothecary
3rd place: Viper
4th place: Medicine King
+
“Please don't hold a grand funeral. The Master wouldn't want it. Just being present until the end of the funeral will make her happy. As for my master, please..."
Please. I did not say the words that would have followed.
There was no need, and I couldn't.
When I blinked, my body was no longer in the snowfield.
“Welcome back, King of Death."
The Great Library of Myriad Thoughts.
“I have longed for you as though each day were three autumns!"
The Constellation, the Head Librarian, smiled with their eyes and looked at me.
2.
"Congratulations!"
The Head Librarian was floating in the air.
Their 5-meter-long sleeves fluttered like goldfish fins.
"Hmm. The last word of 'The Veritable Records of the Heavenly Demon' ended with 'please'. Hmm. The word 'please' signifies a wish for someone. A wish, a prayer. In the Demonic Cult, it's called 'Baraya'. 'Please' and 'Baraya' can be seen as the same. In that sense, it's quite an appropriate ending..."
"Wait a moment."
I interrupted the Head Librarian's lengthy explanation.
I felt a sense of [dissonance].
It was my second time in the Great Library. I had spent nights reading here before. I was quite familiar with this place.
However, compared to my last visit, something was glaringly different.
"...Why are all the other hunters unconscious?"
The hunters who participated in the Apocalypse strategy.
All 250 hunters with aliases lay sprawled on the floor.
"Hmm."
The Head Librarian raised the corner of their lips.
"Don't worry. They're just put to sleep temporarily."
"Asleep...?"
"Yes. I used a harmless fragrance."
The Head Librarian reached out their hand. Around the Constellation, dozens of books floated. Among them was one titled [Tale of a Lotus-Scented City].
"There are many worlds where people communicate with words, but there are also worlds where they communicate through song, and even through scent. In this Apocalypse, people converse using the scents of anger, sorrow, and joy."
"......."
"Of course, there's also a scent for sleep."
I was on alert.
"Oh, don't look at me like that. I just wanted to talk to the King of Death, so I quieted the surroundings for a bit."
A talk.
"What kind of talk do you want to have after knocking out my colleagues?"
"Ah, [colleagues]. That's just like the King of Death! Though you could see them as burdensome and useless baggage, naturally, you think of them as colleagues. I'm moved to tears once again by your noble heart."
"......."
"This place has seen every move and step of you and your companions. Like a movie. A crucible of emotions. Really. The people here would've greeted the King of Death warmly."
The Head Librarian giggled.
"But if I left them as is, I would only be able to talk to you much later, right? My turn would be far back in line." The Head Librarian shrugged.
"To create a moment for conversation, I had no choice but to calm people down for a while. Don't worry. I used the most gentle method available to put them to sleep."
I found it hard to believe at once.
I quickly looked around. The Witch was there, leaning against a bookshelf with her long hair trailing down. I approached her and gently felt her pulse.
Thump.
Thump.
Thankfully.
Her complexion looked relaxed, and her breathing was back to normal.
I confirmed that my colleague was safe and then looked up at the Head Librarian.
"...Finish your talk quickly and wake everyone up."
"Are you in such a hurry? I wanted to have a more leisurely conversation with you. I specifically summoned only you, leaving out the other participants."
"I still have unfinished business on the 22nd floor. A sword to find..."
"Later."
The Head Librarian's eyes smiled like inverted crescent moons.
"That can be explored later."
"......."
Tension filled the air.
Despite their small stature, the Head Librarian was no joke. They could summon the bizarre monsters of other worlds at will. Last time, they swallowed up nearly 50 hunters in an instant.
'Even with the mastery of the Divine Art of the Demonic Heaven, facing them now would mean certain defeat.'
I swallowed hard.
"...What do you want to talk about?"
The Head Librarian's smile deepened.
"A very intimate conversation."
Flutter.
The Head Librarian fluttered their sleeves and landed on the ground. Approaching me, they took something out of their sleeve.
"Hmm."
It was a pair of scissors.
"Why the scissors all of a sudden...?"
"Your hair has grown quite a bit, King of Death. Let me trim it for you."
The Head Librarian rose onto tiptoe and snipped at my hair. Not much was cut, only about half a handspan from the back. The cut hair went into a red silk pouch.
"......."
"And your nails are long too. It's a big deal if a martial artist doesn't maintain their nails. Let me cut them for you."
The Head Librarian took out another item from their sleeve.
It was a nail clipper.
They grabbed my right hand and started clipping my nails, one by one. From the pinky to the thumb, they cut them all. Each nail was placed into different silk pouches.
Hmm.
"Excuse me, Head Librarian?"
"Yes."
"What exactly are you doing?"
"King of Death."
The Head Librarian bent down, kneeling on the floor. They started to remove my shoes as if it were the most natural thing.
"Imagine someone you like very, very much. So much."
"...I'll try. What about it?"
"There is not a single thing about that person, from the tips of their toes to the top of their head, that you dislike. It is love, the purest and most devoted love. The problem is that the person does not exist in reality, only on the printed page, only as a character in a novel."
The Head Librarian took off my socks.
"But then, voilà! What a twist of fate! The character from my dreams appears right before my eyes."
"Uh..."
"Imagine your feelings then."
The Head Librarian spoke earnestly, holding a toenail clipper.
"Yes. That's it."
"......."
"That's it."
What do they mean by 'that's it'?
"Ah, ah! Don't move! What are you doing! If you move, my toenail clipper might leave a terrible scar on your marble-like toes! That would be terrible!!"
"Why are you yelling at me! Leave now!"
"Wait! Wait! Just let me clip one little toenail! Just one toenail! I’ve compromised this much, shouldn’t that be enough!"
"What is wrong with this star freak?!"
"Ah! Ah! If not the toenails, then how about three eyebrow hairs? I'm fine with negotiating for that!"
At that moment, I realized the true nature of the [dissonance].
"You didn't normally speak this politely!"
That's right.
The Constellation Head Librarian did not normally use deferential polite speech. The Head Librarian insisted on the old-fashioned hao style. That was how it had always been, yet now the Librarian was speaking deferentially to me. That was the source of the dissonance.
"Use your usual hao-style speech!"
The Head Librarian's lips quivered.
"It's impossible! How can I, a mere insignificant creature, dare to speak in such a manner to the Radiant Sir?!"
Insane.
[The Holed-Up Head Librarian wants your toenails.]
What insanity.
'Character Window!'
Struggling not to give up my toenails to the Head Librarian, letters appeared before me.
+
Name: Holed-Up Head Librarian
Favorability: 95
Preferred Genres: [Fusion], [Romance], [Mystery], [Adventure], [Horror], [History], [War], [Sports], [SF], [Mythology], [Fairy Tale]…
Disliked Genres: None
Preferred Characters: [Fictional Characters], [Constellation Killer]
Disliked Characters: None
Preferred Plots: [Story]
Disliked Plots: [Serialization Cancellation]
Psychological State: ‘Toenails! I must obtain them, even eyebrows if possible! Ah, I wish he would grow a beard so I could ask him to pluck some hairs for me, but that's impossible. Ah, Radiant Sir, Light of Lights! Oh brilliant protagonist! How I wish to preserve you as a bookmark forever!’
+
Such madness.
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