SSS-Class Sui**de Hunter - Chapter 108

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 108. 1 DAYS (3)
“That shameless bastard……!”
Beyond the darkness.
Someone ground their teeth together.
Unlike before, everything they said was now translated to me.
“Compose yourself, child. Fragments from the Padark era are beginning to surface.”
Yet their voices remained opaque still. Like a song recording layered with static, the voices drifted away at will before suddenly rising near my ear.
“Anger and jealousy do us no service in our deliberation.”
“I’ll kill him!”
“The Four Kings, you said? To convene a meeting twice over a single person—it’s been ages. How long has it been since the Killing Star?”
“Moreover, the connection between these two continues to deepen. Can this truly be coincidence?”
That was when it happened.
“…This is troublesome.”
The chatter ceased abruptly. Silence descended. Into the space where idle gossip and banter had flowed, a single emotionless voice sank down.
“Had the Immersion Rate been a perfect 100%, reverting a single day from the Butler’s perspective would suffice. Had it been 90% or below, rolling back a day from the Four Kings’ perspective would be simple. But alas—99%.”
I recognized that voice.
“It’s ambiguous. Which side ought I favor?”
The Tower Master.
I swallowed hard.
“I believe the day should be reverted from the Butler’s perspective.”
“Convince me.”
“First, the numbers themselves make this clear. An Immersion Rate of 99% means the Butler was 99% and I account for merely 1%. Since the Butler’s share is overwhelmingly dominant, it is only right to base our reasoning upon him.”
“Yes. But the Regressor’s Clockwork is a Skill you obtained, is it not? The Four Kings—it belongs to you. Only the one who possesses a Skill may wield it.”
An unseen gaze hidden in shadow swept across my face.
“Should not you be the one to regress?”
…….
“Do not be alarmed. I merely pose a question out of curiosity.”
Don’t be alarmed, the voice said kindly. Yet it was consideration that could never be granted. With each phrase, each measure of speech, it felt as though a long serpent were crawling up the back of my neck.
“…That reasoning is tilted far too heavily to one side.”
“Hmm?”
“Consider the Butler’s position. Throughout the entire Stage, he and I fought over who would claim the body. I consumed him, true—but he also consumed me.”
In other words.
“The Butler won through fair combat and, as the price of victory, seized my Skill. The Regressor’s Clockwork is now his Skill as well.”
“Ho.”
The serpent’s voice trembled oddly.
I realized only a moment later that it was laughing.
“A fair point. Indeed. Much as you copied Yeom Je’s Skill and made it your own.”
…….
“I wondered what would transpire if two Regressors clashed. But to think—reverting to a point before you possessed the Skill. That ingenuity earned even my admiration. In fact, we were all astounded.”
Small one.
The Tower’s absolute ruler spoke of himself with deliberate humility. The speech was deferential.
As if he were courteous to everyone alike.
To me, it felt only more ominous.
“Remarkable. You could have chosen merely to evade Yeom Je’s gaze and flee. But you did not. Why?”
Those who had been silent while the Tower Master spoke now opened their mouths.
“It was revenge, pure and simple. That bastard couldn’t forget what was done to him, not even in death. So he chased to the end and destroyed the one who burned him—killed him 4,050 times? A merciless creature.”
[The Moon that Gazes Upon Blindness curses you.]
“It was righteousness. Yeom Je killed many, and would have killed more still. He could not let it stand. The thought ‘this cannot continue’—that feeling and conviction drove the Four Kings. Yes, he is a righteous man.”
[The Young Lady who Walks the Mirage blesses you.]
The serpent’s voice nodded slowly.
“Indeed. At times his own vengeance would cut his throat. At other times his sense of justice would compel him to suicide. But vengeance and justice are commonplace. What earned my admiration was but one thing.”
Someone took up the Tower Master’s words.
“That there was no other way to defeat Yeom Je with absolute certainty.”
[The One who Established the Beginning speaks quietly.]
“Yes.”
The Tower Master laughed.
“Four Kings, your heart burns raw and fierce, yet your mind is cunning. Always, ever, you seek the path to certain victory. So I await with interest—have you prepared the logic to convince us completely?”
This is the moment of truth.
I cannot falter here.
“Yes.”
“Please, go ahead.”
“I… we haven’t done anything wrong.”
The serpent’s voice turned toward the coil and spoke.
“This is entirely the Tower’s mistake—an error. The problem itself is that it’s difficult to judge whether to rewind one day from the Butler’s perspective or from mine. If the Tower were perfect, such an error should never have occurred in the first place.”
“Yes. I concede the point. And then?”
“We are victims of this error. Please compensate us.”
“…….”
I spoke with deliberate confidence.
“And we are the ones who discovered the error. Without us, you’d never have known it existed at all, would you? Please, reward us for this.”
Silence.
A moment passed.
“How presumptuous.”
[The god dancing in the void fixes its gaze upon you.]
“Did you hear how this fool speaks? Does it want to be ground into existence itself?”
[The moon that contemplates blindness seeks your death.]
The voices bubbled and churned.
“Enough.”
But the moment the serpent’s voice parted its lips, all fell silent once more.
“Fascinating.”
“…….”
“Do you know what fascinates me? Yes—that you believe without a shadow of doubt that I will properly compensate you and reward you. Why should I? Why must I? I could simply wipe my hands clean and look away.”
“Because…….”
I spoke plainly.
“Because you have always wished us fortune.”
The Tower.
Each time a Stage was cleared, our Hunters heard a voice.
‘Those who ascend the Tower.’
‘May fortune walk with you.’
That was all.
But it was unmistakably a blessing.
“You are absolute, yet you do not mock us. You show no contempt. You do not pressure us in any direction. A Hunter who wishes to remain on the first Floor may do so forever. To those who climb higher, you offer fortune and ask only that they take heed.”
Sanctuary for those who seek rest.
Good fortune for those who face challenge.
“But there is more.”
The children of the Inferno Mansion.
The Demon King weeping crimson raindrops.
Moran, forever solitary in the Snow Plain.
A heart that repeats ten endless days.
“Everyone you granted a place in the Tower carries loneliness and sorrow. You gathered only the tragic, only those destined for suffering, and from them you built the Tower.”
I understand.
“You are good.”
The Tower Master before me is a benevolent absolute.
“You never interfere when we quarrel and kill each other—you respect our freedom. But for damages caused by the Tower’s error, you will surely make amends.”
Because that burden belongs to the Tower, not to us.
“Thank you for building the Tower.”
“…….”
“I’ve wanted to tell you this for so long. I didn’t have the chance before. I’ve always wanted to express my gratitude—if the Tower hadn’t existed, I would have been nothing but refuse in the outer world. No, actually, I’ve lived like refuse even within the Tower…….”
I lived wrongly.
I lived wrongly, yet I was allowed to bite back at life itself.
“If you hadn’t existed… I could never have gone back over four thousand days alone. Never. You all spoke of vengeance and justice, but… knowing someone was watching over me somewhere—that was the only reason I endured. Nothing more than that.”
I lowered my head.
“Thank you.”
I bowed deeply.
“Thank you, truly, from the depths of my heart.”
A long silence stretched.
“Hmm.”
Someone whispered.
“I rather like this one after all.”
[The young lady walking through mirages expresses her favor toward you.]
“Me too. It’s been so long since anyone came here and expressed gratitude—I can barely remember. Actually, did that ever happen? Maybe it’s the first time.”
[The Primordial Staff regards you favorably.]
“…These days, the young tend to harbor resentment toward beings like us, for reasons they can’t quite name. The world’s grown so harsh, you see. They need someone to blame, someone to condemn.”
[The God Dancing in the Void regards you favorably.]
“Ha. They simply resent acknowledging the existence of something greater than themselves.”
[The Moon Observing Blindness regards you with displeasure.]
And then came laughter.
“Quite so.”
It was the Tower Master’s laugh.
“Certainly. There is something rather endearing about it.”
“…….”
“I am merely a mirror, Four Kings. If I appear virtuous to you, it is simply because you yourself are virtuous.”
The serpent’s voice smiled.
“State your desired reward.”
“I wish to regress twenty-four hours from the Butler’s perspective.”
“And what recompense do you seek?”
“The Silver Lily Young Lady’s…….”
My heart began to race with tension.
“Please preserve the memories of my beloved.”
“Indeed.”
The serpent’s voice chuckled softly.
“You could demand a tremendous skill as your reward? After all, it is the merit of discovering the Tower’s error. I should offer generous compensation. Shall I enhance your Regressor’s Clockwork?”
Temptation.
“Not merely one day—you could turn back time as you please. Or perhaps you’d prefer I enhance your Hundred Ghost Rebirth? That way, you could inherit not just memories, but the very abilities they possessed in life.”
“I have no need for that.”
I knelt down.
“I beg you.”
Reverently, I lowered my brow toward the direction of that voice.
“I wish only to live together with the one I love.”
“…….”
And then.
A hand caressed my bowed head.
Very, very slowly.
“Four Kings.”
[The audience is concluded.]
“May fortune walk with you.”
[May fortune walk with you.]
* * *
[Recalibrating Immersion Rate.]
[Your current Immersion Rate is 99%.]
[Regressing twenty-four hours.]
.
.
.
* * *
Blink.
“…….”
The first thing I felt when my eyes opened was the scent of spring blossoms drifting through the window.
My head felt hazy.
It was as though I’d just woken from a long dream.
“Oh.”
A voice both strange and familiar reached me from nearby.
“You’ve finally woken. Your nap was quite long, Butler.”
The Geumsamae Young Lady.
My mistress.
“…Young Lady?”
“Yes, your one and only young lady.”
The Geumsamae Young Lady laughed with delight—was my reaction amusing to her? She gazed at me with her eyes half-open in narrow slits.
Now, in the eyes of anyone who saw her, she had adapted completely to the capital; there was no trace left of the wild child she’d been known as back home. I found this fact oddly disappointing. Though, of course, her appearance had merely grown refined—her heart remained unchanged, still the same young lady as before.
…….
What is this?
“I had dinner with the Crown Prince, and when I came back, there was the Butler sitting in a chair, snoring away. He’d abandoned his master and fallen asleep on his own—rather inexcusable, I thought. But his sleeping face was so endearing that I decided to let him be.”
“Young Lady…….”
“What’s this? You look like you’re about to cry. Did you have a nightmare?”
A nightmare? Perhaps. Had I been dreaming?
An inexplicable heaviness pressed against my chest. As if I’d just forgotten something terribly important—a sensation that slipped further away the more I grasped for it, forever out of reach.
“With the Crown Prince…….”
I forced the words out, desperate to shake off that sensation.
“Did you enjoy your evening with His Highness?”
“Yes, quite. Listen, Butler—today His Highness gave me the Blue Coral Ring as a gift!”
Geumsamae Young Lady’s face broke into a radiant smile. Blue coral was a precious stone, its value modest enough, yet in the southern provinces of the Empire it was customarily given when a man proposed to his beloved.
“And in front of everyone at the Student Cafeteria, no less! All the other young ladies and gentlemen saw it. The Crown Prince is a fool, truly, but at least he’s a fool who knows how to make someone happy. I wonder what expression Raviel will have when she hears this!”
Suddenly, my breath caught.
“Raviel…….”
“Ah, you’re curious too, aren’t you?”
“…….”
What was it?
What in the world was it?
The tumult in my chest vibrated up through my throat.
“Raviel…….”
Geumsamae Young Lady stared at me, bewildered.
“Butler? No matter the circumstances, calling the Countess by her given name so openly is rather—even if we’re alone together, it’s far too improper. Mind your courtesy. Sometimes I think you understand courtly etiquette even less than I do.”
In that instant.
-■■■, ■■ ■ ■■■. ■■. ■■ ■■■ ■ ■■ ■■■■!
My head began to ring.
[■■■■ ■■■■ ■■■■.]
I clutched my temples in agony.
“Young Lady… do you not hear something? Some kind of sound?”
“A sound?”
Geumsamae Young Lady tilted her head.
“What sound do you mean?”
“I’m not entirely sure myself. It’s as if someone is crying out…….”
“Oh, Butler. At first I thought you were joking, but now you’re starting to frighten me. Are you hurt somewhere? Is your head hot? Should we go to the Infirmary?”
“No… I apologize. I’m sorry for speaking such strange things.”
I rose from the chair.
“I seem to have a slight headache. Not a cold, but… I think I should step outside for some fresh air. Is that all right, Young Lady?”
“Ah. Yes, of course.”
Geumsamae Young Lady’s eyes were clouded with concern.
“Would you like me to accompany you?”
“No, truly I’m fine…….”
-■공■ ■ 개■■!! ■■ ■■! ■ ■■ ■!!
“…. A short walk should help.”
“Understood. Do come back soon, though. Don’t stay out too late.”
“Yes, thank you.”
I left the Young Lady’s chambers and stepped out of the Dormitory.
Magnolias bloomed white like the moon hanging pale in the night.
Yet even after entering the Garden, the unease in my chest would not subside.
『This was back when I was not yet a Regressor.』
I walked.
『The Crown Prince would become bound to Geumsamae Young Lady.』
I walked without direction.
Like a sleepwalker lost in a dream.
『I was so bitter, so resentful, that I leaned upon the sword passed down through my house and made a wish.』
『Let their love endure forever.』
『And then my own life became eternal.』
At the end of my aimless wandering stood, impossibly, the sprawling residence of Raviel. A place I had passed by countless times before, yet never once chosen to approach myself.
A place bound to no one.
『My heart was locked in place after that day.』
It should not have been.
“…….”
Why had I come to such a place?
‘Go back.’
To where my master waits.
‘Go back.’
Thinking thus, I moved my feet.
‘I have to go back.’
And yet, for some reason, my feet would not turn. Even as I thought I must return, my legs carried me forward. My hand pushed against the iron bars of the gate.
Creak—
The gate swung open lightly.
No guards stood watch at the Duke’s residence.
“…….”
It was truly strange.
Perhaps I was still trapped in a dream.
If so, everything would make sense.
That I would cross through the gate and traverse the garden without reason.
That my chest would ache at the sight of the cherry blossoms and magnolias in bloom for no apparent cause.
That I would somehow know my way through the corridors leading to the Duke’s daughter’s quarters, though I had never been invited there, and my feet would carry me forward as though guided by memory itself.
‘You came.’
That she stood at the end of that hallway.
‘I have been waiting for you.’
That she gazed at me with a faint smile upon her lips.
“I was waiting.”
All of it.
S-Rank Hunter: Must Die to Live (Serial Publication)
Author | Shin Noa
Publisher | Kim Ju-hyung
Published by | J Plus Media Co., Ltd.
Marketing | Han Jae-hyuk
Address | 204, 288 Digital-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong, Daelung Post Tower 1st)
Email | [email protected]
Website | www.jayplemedia.com
© Shin Noa 2019
This work has been published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. under contract with the copyright holder. No part of this work may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without the permission of the publisher and author.
Violation of this restriction may result in criminal and civil legal liability.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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