SSS-Class Sui**de Hunter - Chapter 120

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

Episode 120. Hero (2)
King.
“Well…….”
I lifted the corners of my mouth. They say humans instinctively smile when faced with unexpected circumstances.
I looked around at those gathered. Black Dragon Lord, Heresy Inquisitor, Viper, Holy Paladin, Count. My eyes met each of theirs in turn.
“…You’re joking, aren’t you?”
“Of course.”
Of course, the Black Dragon Lord said. I had hoped she would continue with something like “of course I’m joking.” But what spilled from the Black Dragon Lord’s lips was entirely at odds with my expectations.
“Of course we’re not about to adopt monarchy at this late hour. Four Kings, you wouldn’t know this, but the Tower’s system right now—we crafted it with genuine dedication… through repeated failure and setback, over and over again.”
“We are making our own efforts to realize the ideals of anarchism. Ahem. The ‘Guilds’ that operate in the Tower are actually a kind of cooperative, you see…….”
“Enough. Such talk won’t help the Four Kings.”
The Holy Paladin cut short the explanation.
“A king is merely a symbol. Yet symbols possess real, tangible power. Kim Gongja, you already possess such power. People see your name, they trust your character, and a hundred thousand people enter the Tower in a single day.”
“…….”
“Even the Black Dragon Lord hasn’t achieved this. You’re the first. There’s no precedent for a Hunter in the Tower wielding this much influence!”
Only then did I notice that the Holy Paladin was more agitated than usual.
The Holy Paladin was always composed and serene. The only time she had raised her voice before was during [the incident on the Twelfth Floor]—long since forgotten by all—when everyone fell into paranoid delusion and tried to destroy one another.
Yet here she was, stirred to passion.
She was not alone.
Save for the Heresy Inquisitor, every leader of the great Guilds was seized by a strange fervor. They labored to keep that heat from igniting into fanaticism. But the gleam in their eyes as they looked at me laid bare their excitement.
“In the old days, we couldn’t have managed this much population influx. Food was scarce. But now [we] have secured enough land and trade routes… it will be difficult, but we can sustain them.”
“Above all, we have [experience].”
The Count spoke.
“No boast, mind you, but every Guild leader here has weathered chaos. The Holy Paladin is a refugee from a fallen nation. The Black Dragon Lord is an orphan from a country torn by civil war, and the Heresy Inquisitor and Viper were ground beneath the hands of mafia and thugs since childhood. I myself was born in the poorest village in the world. Everyone gathered here is an ‘expert in chaos.'”
“That’s right.”
The Black Dragon Lord nodded sharply.
“Only we in this world can face such crisis. No nation, no country in the outside world could do it. But [we] can! We have overcome far worse turmoil than this!”
“…….”
I swallowed. The fervor of the Guild leaders washed over me completely.
They had abandoned the old world and fled to a new one. And these Guild leaders, who stood at the pinnacle of that new world, had not surrendered their passion to build something better still.
“Four Kings, we can do this.”
A dream.
“Let us do what no nation in the outside world has done. Create a place—just a little better. Give those cast out and driven to flee from the outside world a place where they can finally breathe.”
An ideal.
“We know what it means for a society to collapse. So we can prevent it.”
The Holy Paladin, who fled from somewhere in South America.
“We know what it means for people to splinter and wage war upon themselves. So we can avoid civil conflict.”
The Black Dragon Lord, who survived the war-torn Black Sea.
“We know what violence is. So we can wield it.”
The Heresy Inquisitor, raised in East European organized crime.
Viper, who grew up in a Central Asian triad.
“We know what poverty is. So we can overcome it.”
The Count, born in a slum village of India.
“Show them, Four Kings.”
The Black Dragon Lord spoke.
“Show people that we can build a better world!”
And then I understood.
The one who had transformed the Guild leaders was none other than me.
This had never happened in the previous world. In the world where Yeom Je monopolized first place… the Tower remained merely the Tower.
A refuge for the hopeless.
A paradise for criminals and the condemned.
I had never once seen the Black Dragon Lord with eyes gleaming as she spoke of [a new world]—not in photographs from any magazine, not in any interview footage.
The Black Dragon Lord had always been a woman whose eyes had grown cold and distant.
Because of me, she had changed.
“…….”
My heart raced.
“Let me.”
The realm my master dreamed of.
“Tell me what I must do.”
I can change the world.
“Yes… yes. I thought you’d say something like that.”
The Black Dragon Lord smiled softly. Trust shone in her gaze as she looked at me.
“All you need to do is be yourself. That’s the most important thing. We can teach you the ways of politics gradually, step by step.”
“Aha. Well, if we’re being cynical about it, it means we’ll have a monopoly on real power, and the Four Kings will just keep playing the figurehead role!”
“…I won’t deny it. But honestly, if I could pass this position to someone else, I’d hand it over in a heartbeat. Do you know how many serious crimes happen every single day right now?”
“Ah, and crimes dressed up in religious garb are terrifyingly frequent! Just in the last ten days, twenty-one extremist terror attacks were prevented before they could occur!”
“Let’s not talk about such things. It only makes our situation feel more pitiful…”
Hmm.
So being myself—that was the most important thing.
‘Then.’
I looked around.
“Librarian! Bookworm Librarian! Where are you?”
My voice echoed through the vast library. Then, from behind a bookshelf the size of a house, a tiny shadow slowly raised its head. It was the Constellation known as the Bookworm Librarian—someone I hadn’t seen in ages.
“What are you doing over there? Come here for a moment.”
“B-but… but you see…”
The Librarian’s lips trembled violently.
“How could such a wretched creature dare to behold the presence of the Four Kings? Their sight would be sullied by this humble servant. I beg you, treat me as though I do not exist—as nothing more than dust drifting through the library…”
“Ah, enough of that nonsense. Just come here.”
“U-ugh… hnnngh…”
The Librarian floated toward me weakly, long sleeves billowing in the air. They looked just like the drooping ears of a bedraggled Maltese pup.
“You summoned me…”
“Bring me a book to conquer the next stage.”
“Which Apocalypse do you wish to see?”
“A fairy tale.”
“…”
The Librarian clamped their lips shut. I pressed on regardless.
“Among all the Apocalypses we’ve been given, there’s only one fairy tale book. Bring that one.”
“Hmm. Indeed. How curious a fate this is.”
The Librarian’s expression shifted. The eyes that had trembled with reverence only moments before now narrowed slightly, a hint of knowing mirth in the corners.
“Very well. The Apocalypse you speak of is this one.”
A single volume flew from among the books circling the Librarian. As the Librarian opened its cover, information about the Apocalypse materialized before me.
+
[Me and Our Scapegoat]
Genre: Fairy Tale
Difficulty: A-rank
Minimum Participants: 2 or more
※ Serial publication is currently suspended.
Description: The human race of this world succeeded in creating a Utopia. However, maintaining that Utopia required a special power source—namely, the screams of an innocent child who had committed no sin whatsoever. A tragedy, surely, but for the perfect happiness of seventeen million people, cannot one innocent child endure the pain? Thanks to sophisticated torture techniques and life-sustaining treatments, one child could produce approximately five years’ worth of screams. Efficient, isn’t it!
Reason for Suspension: One hundred and eighteen thousand years have passed since the creation of the Utopia. Eventually, all the innocent children were consumed. The Utopia, now stripped of its power source, came to a complete halt.
+
‘Yes.’
This Apocalypse.
From the first moment I saw it, I had carried it in my heart.
“Everyone, I would like to choose this Apocalypse for our next stage.”
“Huh?”
The Guild masters turned to look at me.
Among them, the Black Dragon Lord tilted her head.
“A fairy tale book? I’m sorry, but Four Kings, that fairy tale world had neither significant resources nor territory worth claiming. The difficulty is also rated at A-rank… is there any real reason to conquer it?”
“Yes, there is.”
I met the Black Dragon Lord’s eyes.
“Until now, we’ve chosen Apocalypses based on what would be most useful to the tower. The martial secrets kept in the Chronicles of Cheonjma will strengthen the tower’s military might, and trade with the SF world will greatly advance our scientific capabilities.”
So far, the Apocalypses we have conquered are as follows.
+
21st Floor: Grand Library of Ten Thousand Thoughts
22nd Floor: Chronicles of Cheonjma (Genre: Martial Arts, Fusion)
23rd Floor: Cosmic Iron Knights’ Chronicles (Genre: SF)
24th Floor: Journal of Yeomyeong Mountain Manor (Genre: Mystery, Historical)
25th Floor: Sormewin Academy Tales (Genre: Romance)
26th Floor: Festival City Apocalypse (Genre: Sports)
27th Floor: Bakery Street Saga (Genre: Cooking, Management)
+
I remained in the tower for a fortnight after completing the mission from the Sormewin Academy arc. During that time, other Hunters conquered Floors 26 and 27. All Hunters bearing Distinctive Names pooled their strength to press forward with the conquest.
What remained now were Floors 28, 29, and 30.
‘But.’
I had my own plan laid out. If things unfolded as I hoped… this Floor 28 would be virtually the final Apocalypse.
Recalling that strategy, I opened my mouth.
“Resources and techniques aren’t the only things useful to us. Heresy Inquisitor, you said it yourself—nearly a hundred thousand people join the tower’s population each day.”
“Mm.”
“What we need now is a cohesive center. Unity.”
The Heresy Inquisitor blinked.
“I agree, but isn’t that precisely why we should support the Four Kings? They are the tower’s cohesive center. We will establish an appropriate position for them shortly! We’ll create a splendid title like Guild Coalition Leader or Council Chair and rally behind them!”
I shook my head.
Leader of the Guild Coalition.
Some might be tempted by such a title. Outwardly, it would appear as though one had ascended to the highest seat in the tower.
“Empty deception won’t work.”
“How do you mean, deception?”
“Not just I, but everyone here needs the people’s support. Right now, I’m not the one truly governing the tower. You all are. Only when you too receive their backing will the tower finally become one.”
“…….”
The surroundings fell silent.
The Heresy Inquisitor smiled.
“A fair point. But do you know? Four Kings, we carry original sin. We have committed—and continue to commit—terrible deeds in the name of ending the tower’s chaos. Unfortunately, we have no moral standing whatsoever!”
“…The Inquisitor’s right.”
The Black Dragon Lord murmured.
“We have committed too much to become a symbol.”
“You can make amends starting now. Please, I’m asking you to.”
“…….”
“We are a team. I cannot handle religious matters with the same decisive force the Heresy Inquisitor does. I cannot respond to criminal elements the way Viper does, and I won’t be as competent at politics, economics, or security as you all are. This isn’t false modesty—it’s simply fact.”
But then.
“I will never betray you. You can trust me.”
I was confident in uniting these capable individuals as one.
“If conflict arises among you, I will mediate. If dialogue is needed, I will create the space for it. Trust me. Become one team.”
“…….”
The guild masters remained silent.
I raised before them a single fairy tale book: Me and Our Scapegoat.
“As you said, this Apocalypse contains no remarkable resources. No fertile lands. But it does contain sacrifice that no one can condone. You all—such sacrifice must never be tolerated. By conquering this world, let us show the people what we truly are.”
Yes.
This was a manifesto.
A declaration of how we would govern the tower.
We would not avert our eyes from sacrifice. We would face it. Even if insurmountable obstacles lay ahead, we would break through them head-on.
We would show the world that we were that kind of people.
“Only then can we earn trust. Only then can we ask the tower’s residents to believe in us.”
“Indeed. Trust in the regime.”
“Yes.”
I looked at each guild master in turn.
“This Apocalypse happens to require at least two people to conquer. Black Dragon Lord, Heresy Inquisitor, Count, Viper, Holy Paladin…….”
The tower’s most brilliant all-star roster.
And my comrades.
“Fight alongside me.”
This Apocalypse would have us all participate.
S-rank Hunter Must Die to Live (Serial Publication)
Author │ Shin Noah
Publisher │ Kim Ju-hyeong
Publishing Company │ JaePlus Media Co., Ltd.
Marketing │ Han Jae-hyeok
Address │ 204, 288 Digital-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong, Daelung Post Tower 1st)
Email │ [email protected]
Website │ www.jayplemedia.com
ⓒ Shin Noah 2019
※This work is published by JaePlus Media Co., Ltd. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder, and the content may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and author.
Violation of this may result in criminal and civil legal liability.

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