SSS-Class Sui**de Hunter - Chapter 35

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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 35. My Death (2)
“Geom Seong…?”
Sung Gi-sa narrowed her brow.
“What business do you have in this place?”
I never would have guessed I’d run into Geom Seong in such an alley. It was an unexpected location, an unexpected figure. The old man’s presence was too formidable to dismiss as mere coincidence.
“The young lady’s memory already growing foggy, is it?”
The elderly man was radiating killing intent toward me.
“I told you to step aside. I have business with the man there.”
“Your words are crude. Are you suggesting you have matters to discuss with Kim Gong-ja the Hunter, alone?”
“Bah. I’ve no interest in what that fool’s name is.”
“……”
The air in the alley shifted.
Sung Gi-sa ceased narrowing her brow. She simply stared at Geom Seong with an expressionless face. Clear wariness. This skilled operative who had climbed to Number Two in the massive Jakyeongdan Guild had made her judgment. The old swordsman harbored no benevolent intent.
“Step aside.”
Geom Seong spoke.
“I’ve told you three times already.”
“What cannot be accomplished with one word will not be accomplished with three, nor with thirty. Geom Seong, have you grown so old that you’ve forgotten the simple truths of the world?”
Sung Gi-sa slowly moved her hand to the hilt of her blade.
“Kim Gong-ja the Hunter is formally registered with the Jakyeongdan and the Five Major Guilds alike. To attack Kim Gong-ja is no different than declaring war on the Five Major Guilds themselves. Whatever you’re thinking… don’t imagine the Jakyeongdan will stand idly by.”
“Ha!”
Geom Seong let out a scoff.
“So that’s it. The guilds are all in it together, aren’t they? I suspected as much.”
“In it together? I find myself increasingly at a loss as to what you’re driving at.”
As time crept forward, the air in the alley grew more treacherous.
“Geom Seong, I’m already aware through multiple reports that you engage in Human Hunting from time to time. Of course, the Jakyeongdan is too preoccupied to meddle with your personal convictions. But if you attempt such hunting right before my eyes, matters change.”
“Change how?”
“I will stop you with my life on the line.”
“Are you confident you could?”
“No.”
Sung Gi-sa stared at the old man with an impassive gaze.
“I will fight you with all my strength, and I will die. And the moment I fall, you will become nothing but a worthless murderer who slaughtered an innocent man. Geom Seong, if you wish to spend your remaining days as a killer, come ahead.”
“……”
“Your days are numbered anyway. I’ll drag you into the sewers.”
The old man’s weathered face contorted.
Evening had already fallen. In the alley, the sun set quickly. From somewhere deeper in the passage, the sounds of distant footsteps echoed, but here there was no one but us. Between Geom Seong and Sung Gi-sa hung a deafening silence.
This very silence.
‘Exactly.’
I had brought Sung Gi-sa here to create this silence.
‘Geom Seong is weak against the innocent.’
And Sung Gi-sa was perhaps the only executive in the enormous guild who qualified as innocent.
In the last cycle. On the 12th Floor Stage when Geom Seong tried to kill me.
Even then, Sung Gi-sa had stepped forward to mediate between Geom Seong and me. The old man had let slip meaningful words before gracefully handing her the role of mediator.
—So you’re Miss Sung Gi-sa.
—You’re the only person here who hasn’t harmed a soul. Good. I’ll trust you.
Words that seemed to pass innocuously.
But my ears caught them.
In other words.
‘Sung Gi-sa’s Kill Count registers at [0].’
No matter how depraved Geom Seong’s morality might be… or rather, precisely because he possessed such an extreme code of ethics, in the old man’s eyes Sung Gi-sa could only appear as a virtuous person.
‘Geom Seong can never bring himself to harm Sung Gi-sa.’
A kind of matchup.
To the wicked, Geom Seong was a terrifying instrument of murder.
But to the virtuous, Geom Seong was merely a harmless old man.
And moreover……
‘Sung Gi-sa wasn’t the only one.’
Thud.
Someone stepped forward into our presence. It was Yak-je-sa. Frozen until now by the successive arrivals of Sung Gi-sa and Geom Seong, he finally found his footing and spread both arms wide.
“Hey, hey there!”
Yak-je-sa opened his mouth. Each word came haltingly—his jaw trembled with tension. Yak-je-sa bit his lip repeatedly, spitting out his words in fragments.
“I don’t know what’s happening, but… this g-guest here! They are my savior!”
A Hunter who would one day rise to become the Guild Master of the Yeon-geum-seong.
The Master of Yeon-geum-seong.
The Hunter with a guaranteed path to success spoke with all the force he could muster.
“Babylon doesn’t have laws like the outside world… but protecting my customers is only natural as a shopkeeper… and no matter who you are, even if you’re Geom Seong, I cannot forgive anyone who lays a hand on my customers!”
“…….”
“J-just a few days ago, ruffians caused a disturbance and gave us no end of trouble! I’m sorry, but please leave the front of my shop! This is an official eviction notice!”
Yak-je-sa shouted. If he were to come into direct conflict with Geom Seong, his head would fly off in less than a second. And yet—despite everything—it was Geom Seong’s momentum that faltered instead.
It was for the same reason.
‘Sung Gi-sa. The Saint. The Master of Yeon-geum-seong.’
These three were Hunters who would become famous for their virtue even in the future.
‘When Yeom-je set the Slums ablaze, it was Sung Gi-sa and the Master of Yeon-geum-seong who arrived at the fire first.’
Good people.
Those who suffered a little more than others in their daily lives, who bore a little more stress than others, and for that reason were often treated as fools by many.
But the only person who could stand against Geom Seong, ranked first among all Hunters… was such a good person.
There was no one else.
“What will you do?”
Sung Gi-sa spoke.
“If you want to fall into the gutter, I’ll gladly oblige.”
“…….”
Geom Seong hesitated for a long moment. If my thinking was correct, the ending was already decided.
And my thinking was correct.
Not long after, the elderly swordsman withdrew his hand from his sword hilt.
“…It was simply not the day for it.”
Geom Seong withdrew his killing intent.
Even as he turned to leave, the old man kept his eyes fixed on me to the very end.
“I pray we do not meet again. Had it not been for Miss Sung Gi-sa and this proprietor here, your head would already be lying in the street.”
Good.
Stage Two condition cleared.
With this, I had avoided the fate of Geom Seong drawing his blade the moment he laid eyes on me. Even if he killed me, at the very least I could exchange a few words before he did.
What I needed was precisely that much breathing room.
“Geom Seong!”
Before the old man could turn away completely, I called out.
“I will be waiting at the empty field north of the city tomorrow at noon!”
“…….”
“You may come if you wish, or not come if you prefer. I will wait there alone. Truly! If you wish to know what manner of person I am, please come tomorrow at noon!”
The old man turned his head slightly to regard me. His blue eyes swept across my face, scrutinizing every detail. But that was all. Without another word, Geom Seong quietly left the Alley.
Thump. Thump.
Only after the sound of his footsteps faded and finally ceased altogether did Sung Gi-sa let out a long breath.
“Whew! That aged me ten years. Meeting a serial killer on a moonless night…”
A serial killer.
“…Is Geom Seong famous as a serial killer?”
“Not famous. But at least the heads of the Five Major Guilds know well.”
Sung Gi-sa shook her head slowly.
“He lost his daughter to a murderer back when he lived in the outside world. He’s a man who keeps his own affairs to himself, so I don’t know all the details… but that’s what happened.”
“…….”
“Perhaps because of that, Geom Seong shows no mercy to murderers. His hand is swift and merciless. But since there’s no evidence, we essentially turn a blind eye to it…. Well, needless to say, this conversation is confidential.”
Bae Hu-ryeong interjected in front of me.
-Yeah. Marcus mentioned it to me once. He said Geom Seong lost his daughter and son-in-law to a serial killer. Only his grandchildren survived.
‘Why are you telling me this now?’
-Huh? What do you mean? You didn’t ask.
Bae Hu-ryeong spoke shamelessly.
Right, this is the type he’s always been.
“Well, I can’t say I don’t understand Geom Seong’s feelings either.”
Sung Gi-sa looked around with a sorrowful expression.
A shabby Alley.
This city’s impoverished district spread out like a shadow against the evening glow.
“Working for the Jakyeongdan, you encounter all sorts of criminals. The more you talk with them, the more you often think—should this kind of human even be allowed to live? Eliminating someone deserving of death before they can kill again…. Even I sometimes succumb to that temptation.”
Sung Gi-sa murmured.
“All the great Guild Masters carry deep burdens of their own. Kim Gong-ja, now that you’ve joined our ranks, you’ll gradually come to understand…. There are truly many places rotted so thoroughly they reek. How you’ll react to it all, I wonder…”
Sung Gi-sa shook her head. Perhaps she felt she’d already revealed too much to an outsider.
“You’re getting off track.”
She pitched her voice deliberately brighter.
“So then—what’s the price of the potion here? The Jakyeongdan’s budget is always tight, and if it’s too expensive, we’ll have a problem…….”
4
The next day.
I stood alone in a barren empty field, eyes fixed on my smartphone.
The wasteland, already sparse with people, was utterly deserted now. As it should be—the Hunters of Babylon had gathered in the plaza for the festival.
It resembled the previous cycle.
‘But there are differences.’
A glance.
I read the news flickering across the phone screen.
-[BREAKING] 11th Floor is a group battle? All Black Dragon executives assembling.
-Ahead of the festival, major guilds frantically organizing conquest teams by squad…….
-Exclusive interview with the Heretic Inquisitor! “If you want to conquer the 11th Floor, you must form your team with absolute precision.”
-Yet another secret alliance of the mega-guilds?
-The source of this information remains a mystery…….
That’s right.
The world had shifted slightly.
Because of me, precisely.
……
And it would shift further still.
Hm.
Geom Seong walked slowly across the wasteland toward me. Perhaps it was the black suit—the sky that stretched behind the old man’s back seemed an especially vivid blue. From the direction of the city in the distance came the faint echo of cheering crowds.
[00:01:31]
The Clock of Light hung serenely in the air above.
The blue sky, the voices of people, the Clock of Light.
Leaving it all behind, Geom Seong approached me.
“So you’re truly alone.”
Geom Seong came to a halt.
“Confidence that you can face me by yourself? I suppose an assassin who’s committed such slaughter has earned that confidence in his own strength.”
His gaze.
The old man’s eyes, as they rested on me, felt strangely unfamiliar. It was nothing like the previous cycle. Last time, those eyes had held trust and recognition.
Now there was neither trust nor recognition.
Distrust. Hostility.
Only the look one gives to a murderer was present there.
-Are you okay?
‘…….’
-You holding up?
I nodded inwardly.
‘Yes, I’m fine.’
My heart only ached a little.
“Geom Seong.”
I steadied myself.
“There’s something I need to tell you urgently.”
“Go ahead. I’ll listen to your last words.”
“I know why you’re trying to kill me.”
Geom Seong’s lips curled slightly.
“Indeed. A thief betraying himself, it seems. You’re aware of your own crime, then.”
“It’s because of the Detective’s Insight skill.”
……
Geom Seong’s expression froze.
“You—how in the world did you……?”
“Please, believe what I’m about to tell you.”
As I spoke, I thought about it.
How difficult it is to earn someone’s trust.
Everyone clings to their own stubbornness. In Geom Seong’s case, it is the Detective’s Insight—a skill that reveals the kill count of those he faces. The possibility that this skill could be wrong, that it might commit some error, Geom Seong simply ignores.
That is precisely his stubbornness.
The old man before me had lived by that stubbornness all his days.
Those who have lived by their stubbornness cannot separate their lives from it. The two have become one. When they abandon their stubbornness, they believe they abandon their life as well.
‘I must persuade such a man.’
I had to make him trust me.
I had to convince the man before me to deny the very life he’d lived until now.
When I think about it again, how impossible was this task?
‘But… I can do it.’
I clenched my fists.
‘All I have to do is stake my life on this.’
I opened my mouth.
“I’m a Prophet, sir.”
“What?”
“To be precise, I possess a skill similar to Prophecy. Thanks to this skill, I was able to discover that you possess the Detective’s Insight. If I simply stay silent, you’ll kill me, and I’ll die without ever knowing why.”
………
“That’s when you’ll tell me—you have a skill called Detective’s Insight, and according to it, the number 4093 is hovering above my head.”
It was a small lie.
But right now, I needed to persuade the old man even if it meant lying.
That I knew the future.
Only if Geom Seong came to trust this fact would it be possible to clear the 12th Floor safely.
[00:00:00]
The Clock of Light in the sky had already pointed to zero. Fireworks burst in the distant city. Cheers celebrating the dawn of a new age drifted faintly through the air.
The old man and I.
Only the two of us stepped back from the festival and stared at each other.
After a long silence, Geom Seong spoke.
“Try to guess.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m hiding my left hand behind my back right now. And I’m holding up fingers. Try to guess how many fingers I’m holding up. If you’re truly a Prophet, it shouldn’t be difficult.”
Okay.
This was exactly how I’d expected it.
As predicted.
“If you can’t guess correctly, I’ll consider it proof that you’ve dared to lie——”
Geom Seong had probably been fully prepared in case I tried to attack him. No matter what I did—a surprise assault, using an item, casting a skill, any form of attack—the old swordsman would have blocked it easily.
But he hadn’t anticipated ‘something like this.’
Before Geom Seong could even finish speaking, I drew my Dagger. He flinched. And the moment the old swordsman took a defensive stance against an attack, I unhesitatingly drove the blade into my own throat.
“What—?”
Geom Seong’s eyes widened in shock.
The elderly swordsman had only prepared for an attack from outside. He never anticipated that I would stab myself. A moment of carelessness. One second. That was all I needed to end my life.
And then.
[You have died.]
[Returning to 24 hours earlier.]
I needed only one second.
The day began again.
I descended from the 10th Floor Stage and met with the great guild masters. We played poker. I won. I asked Sung Gi-sa to accompany me into the Alley. I encountered Geom Seong. Sung Gi-sa and Yak-je-sa backed me up. Geom Seong withdrew, and I shouted that we’d meet again at noon tomorrow.
[00:00:00]
And now I stood at this moment again.
Geom Seong spoke exactly as he had yesterday.
“Try to guess.”
The same test as last cycle.
But my response was different this time. When Geom Seong said “try to guess,” I didn’t stupidly ask “Pardon?” like before. Instead, I answered as if I’d anticipated his move.
“You’re about to hide your left hand behind your back.”
………
“Then you’ll hold up your fingers and ask me to guess how many. You’ll think that if I’m truly a Prophet, I should have no trouble figuring it out.”
Geom Seong’s face stiffened noticeably.
“Please believe me, sir. I have mastered a skill similar to Prophecy. It would be simple for you to kill me right here. But if you do, clearing the 12th Floor Stage safely becomes impossible. Many people will lose their lives.”
“Wait. Hold on.”
Geom Seong said.
“This alone isn’t enough proof. You could possess X-Ray Vision or Mind Reading instead of Prophecy. Where’s the guarantee that you’re truly a Prophet……?”
Right.
One attempt wouldn’t be enough.
I’d already steeled myself for this.
[You have died.]
[Returning to 24 hours earlier.]
Convincing a single person was never going to be easy.
All the more so if that person were an elder who had reached the pinnacle of some field.
“This alone isn’t enough evidence. Not Prophecy, but…….”
“Not Prophecy, but perhaps Clairvoyance or Mind Reading instead—you’re suspecting I might possess one of those. And you’re asking: what guarantee do I have that I’m truly a prophet?”
But that’s fine.
If you want to test me, test away.
[You are dead.]
[Returning to 24 hours ago.]
Doubt me all you like.
[You are dead.]
[Returning to 24 hours ago.]
Whether it takes a week or two weeks, it doesn’t matter.
[You are dead.]
[Returning to 24 hours ago.]
I’m confident I can convince you.
My deaths are longer than your life.
“…….”
At last, Geom Seong fell silent.
All the suspicions and doubts the old man harbored had been overturned and swept away.
I spoke calmly.
“Geom Seong, please believe me.”
“…….”
“If you kill me here, countless casualties will occur on the 12th Floor Stage. I’m telling you the truth. I’m not saying this to claim my innocence, nor am I begging you to let me live forever.”
“…Then what?”
“Five days.”
I spread my fingers open.
“For the next five days only, please don’t kill me. Follow me around, watch with your own eyes whether I truly deserve to die or not, and make your judgment directly.”
Geom Seong remained silent.
I could tell without needing to raise the dagger to my throat again that the old man was wavering in his heart. This was the moment for a final blow.
And I knew exactly what that final blow would be.
“You still don’t believe my words.”
“…….”
“Later, in the distant future, you’ll tell me something. You said that if I could say just this one thing, you’d believe I’m truly a prophet.”
“…What is it?”
I answered.
“Sword Emperor.”
The old man’s eyes widened.
Regardless, I continued.
“I don’t know whose epithet it is, but you said that this one phrase alone would make you believe me.”
“…….”
Silence settled like sediment.
From the distant city, cheers still echoed. I could catch glimpses of a goddess descending and delivering a grand speech.
As the goddess began to fade, the aged swordsman finally opened his mouth.
“Five days, you said, young one?”
“Yes.”
“Very well.”
Geom Seong looked into my eyes and spoke.
“For the next five days, I will follow in your footsteps. I will observe without missing a detail everything you say, everything you do, your bearing and demeanor. After that, I will judge for myself whether you deserve to die or whether you truly are a prophet who has come to me.”
“…….”
“Is that settled?”
Good.
“…Yes, that’s enough. That’s all I need.”
I bowed deeply.
“Thank you, sincerely.”
All conditions were now cleared.
First: secure promises from the Guild Leaders.
Second: keep Geom Seong from killing me on sight.
Third: make Geom Seong trust me for now.
‘Finally.’
Now, at last, the Guild Leaders and Geom Seong won’t turn against each other even if I climb to the 12th Floor.
There will be no pointless suspicion and conflict between them.
Innocent Hunters being put to death.
“Then, Geom Seong. I’ll see you on the next Stage.”
I forced the words out, my throat tight.
Geom Seong was watching me with an unreadable expression, but I had no time to dwell on it. I had to do what needed to be done.
“Transfer.”
Whoosh!
White light enveloped me.
I felt my heart racing as a single thought took shape.
‘Now there’s only one thing left—hunt the Demon King.’
The world had changed.
‘Wait for me, Demon King.’
And it would change still further.
SSS-Rank Hunter: Must Die to Live (Serial)
Author | Shin Noah
Publisher | Kim Ju-hyeong
Published by | J-Plus Media Co., Ltd.
Marketing | Han Jae-hyeok
Address | 204-ho, 288 Digital-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong, Daelung Post Tower 1)
Email | [email protected]
Website | www.jayplemedia.com
© Shin Noah 2019
※This work is published by J-Plus Media Co., Ltd. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder. The contents may not be used in any form or by any means without the permission of the company and author.
Violation of this 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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