SSS-Class Sui**de Hunter - Chapter 39

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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 39. The Epithet of a Hero (3)
5
It grew larger and larger.
A frog… yes. Now it knew that the first creature it had devoured was a frog. It came to know so much more. It knew the frog, it knew the snake, it knew the eagle.
As a frog, the joy of bare skin meeting rainwater.
As a snake, the joy of a naked body gliding through soft earth.
As an eagle, the joy of surrendering its own weight to the sky.
It came to know the joy of rain, of earth, of sky.
A low growl rumbled from its throat.
It became, at last, a lion—and tasted the joy of the hunt.
The flesh of a stag was exquisite. Fragrant beyond measure! In the moment its fangs sank into the neck and it became drunk on blood, it seemed it could close its eyes now without a single regret.
By the natural order, it should have become a spirit or a divine spirit.
But then…
By the merest accident.
A shriek pierced the air.
If it had not chanced upon a noisy creature.
A terrible wailing cry echoed through the forest.
The creature turned and fled, showing its back.
By instinct alone, it gave chase.
“P-please… save me…! Father! Father! Help me!”
The creature was loud, yet its feet were slow. It even stumbled over itself, crashing to the ground.
What was it doing?
It did not understand that the creature had “fallen.” It could not understand—for in all the countless creatures it had consumed while ranging between earth and sky, never had it encountered one stupid enough to trip while running.
“I don’t want to die! Father! Help me…!”
Before the loud creature could grow louder still, it drove its fangs home. Crack! Snap! Blood flowed between its teeth. As its mouth filled with crimson, it froze. A bolt of lightning split its mind.
Fragrant!
What was this scent?
It was entranced. Addicted. Drunk on blood. Mindless, it buried its jaws and devoured everything of this creature. Blood… flesh… bone! Entrails! Everything. Everything was fragrant.
From blood to flesh. From flesh to bone. From bone to viscera.
With each bite deeper, its hind legs grew thinner. Its front legs grew longer.
The hind legs became legs.
The front legs became arms.
The lion’s mane became hair.
It happened in an instant. It calmly consumed the creature’s remains. When it had licked clean the very last shred, the creature’s memories began to flow into it.
……
Human.
That was what the creature was called.
The human was born in a village at the edge of the world. It grew up surrounded by family love. Love was never wanting. Yet somewhere in life, there is always something lacking. This human lacked one thing: health.
Disease.
In that poor countryside, there was no cure for incurable illness. And even if there had been, there was no money. In a house overflowing with love alone, the human died a little each day. Stubbornly, defiantly, this young human refused to die in bed.
“I want to walk while I still can!”
“I want to breathe the outside air, just a little more.”
A mistake.
The human had wandered too far. It had tested how far it could go before death claimed it.
Where the human arrived was death itself. Inside its stomach.
“There you are! Esdel!”
No.
“So you were here!”
It ceased to be what it was.
“How many times must I tell you not to wander off alone! It’s dangerous near the forest. A beast could emerge at any moment. From now on, you must never go out alone… and why are your clothes like that!”
……
The girl opened her lips.
“Father.”
She smiled.
“I think… I’m healthy now.”
Esdel.
It was the first name the Demon King ever had.
6
A voice echoed in my mind.
[Activating Skill.]
The Plain began to turn inside out.
The transformation started beneath my feet. A shadow. My shadow, cast large as my own body, began to expand endlessly. Over the Plain already drenched in the Demon King’s filth, my shadow spread like a second skin.
—Grooooaaaa…….
Writhe!
Something erupted from the darkness.
—Grooooaaaa!
Bone.
White human bone stretched forth from the shadow.
It looked like demons clawing their way out of hell.
‘Geom Seong.’
I spoke to myself, surveying the landscape my shadow had created.
‘You wondered why I chose the Hundred Ghosts Summoning, didn’t you?’
—Yeah. You did wonder about that.
‘At first, I was drawn to other skills too.’
Like a technique to amplify Aura, for instance.
The red beam the Demon King fires possesses truly fearsome power. How magnificent it would be if someday I could wield an attack like that.
But after thinking it over a bit longer, my mind changed.
‘Open Skill Card.’
+
[Hundred Ghosts Summoning]
Rank: SS
Effect: Summons as monsters those you have directly killed. The dead do not inherit their former abilities. They do not inherit their memories. They are summoned only as monsters—goblins, orcs, zombies, skeletons, and the like.
※However, you may only summon once per week.
+
A card gleaming brilliantly in golden light.
‘All those I’ve directly killed, summoned to me as monsters…….’
I muttered, scanning across the card.
‘Here’s the problem though—how many people do you think I’ve actually killed directly?’
—Hmm.
Bae Hu-ryeong furrowed his brow.
—You and that plague-ridden bastard combined? Two, at most?
‘That’s right. That’s what it should be.’
I laughed.
‘But then why does my kill count show over four thousand on Geom Seong’s Detective’s Insight?’
—What?
‘Honestly, it’s unfair. It’s strange. No matter how much I threw away my life, I never killed some random person by mistake. The count kept going up on my account alone. So why does my kill count register at four thousand? By ordinary logic, it should show two.’
—…….
‘That is to say, this is it.’
I gazed ahead.
‘The Tower accounts for death in a specific way.’
At the shadow-covered Plain spread before my eyes.
‘Even if you kill the same person twice, that counts not as one death but as two.’
And at the monsters crawling up from the shadows.
I saw the legion of skeletons clawing free from my hell.
‘So let me ask again.’
It was an army.
Countless skeletal soldiers blanketed the wasteland.
‘How many deaths do you think I’ve brought into being?’
Four thousand and ninety-seven suicides.
The first hunt for Yu Su-ha, and then a second hunt required when Geom Seong killed me before twenty-four hours had passed.
Therefore, four thousand ninety-nine deaths.
The traces of my dying spread across the vast expanse.
“Yaaaaah…….”
I nodded.
Watching with satisfaction the vision of hell I had drawn with my own hands.
“I really did die a lot.”
That was when it happened.
—Grooooaaaa!
The legion of bone howled.
—Kraaaaaaaa!
The skeletons bared their teeth. They all looked identical. Their frames matched mine, their heights equal to my own. Was it any wonder? These creatures were proof of my death itself, nothing less.
‘Even their weapons are all the same.’
Short Daggers.
Every skeleton gripped an identical short dagger.
The same blade I’d wielded when I threw away my own life. The same blade I’d used when I hunted Yu Su-ha.
“This can’t be real……!”
Yet here on this vast plain, I alone stood leisurely admiring the skeletons’ weapons. The Witch and Geom Seong, both hunters, turned about in bewilderment, their faces pale.
“What is this? Kim Gongja. Don’t tell me this is your skill?”
“Yes.”
“You’re lying.”
The Witch gasped.
“Good heavens. A skill that summons thousands of monsters? I’ve never even heard of such a thing! No wonder you cleared the tenth floor alone!”
“Um…….”
The Witch seemed to have misunderstood my strategy entirely. Before I could correct her misconception, she spiraled into admiration all on her own.
“Actually, that’s not quite…….”
Never mind.
Let it go.
“Well, yes. That’s right.”
“I knew it!”
“We can discuss the details later.”
There was no pressing need to correct the misunderstanding right now.
Making small talk with the Demon King staring us in the face was pushing it.
-How can you… possess the same technique as I…….
The Demon King was disconcerted as well, not just the hunters.
The Demon King stood motionless. Though his face showed no expression, the voice that emanated from him made his dismay abundantly clear.
A pity.
If I could see his face, I’d witness every trace of arrogance crumble into confusion.
“Curious, are you?”
I suppressed my disappointment and smiled sharply.
“Too bad. I have no intention of telling you.”
-…….
“Go on wondering. Or shall I teach you—provided you surrender your head to me? What do you say?”
-Unforgivable……! This must not be permitted! Such a thing!
The Demon King shrieked like a wounded lion.
-How long will you mock me! Goddess! Was it not promised that you would accept my resentment, my rage, all my hatred! How can this be……!
“Geom Seong!”
I paid no heed to the Demon King’s lamentation. He had his reasons, and I had my role to play. The Demon King was my enemy. An enemy distracted was an opportunity made to order.
“Fight alongside the skeletons! If you join in, we won’t be pushed back at least!”
“Hmm.”
Geom Seong answered with reluctance written across his face.
“I take your meaning. Fighting in tandem with monsters leaves a bitter taste… yet it troubles me less than aiding you.”
“Thank you! Black Dragon, lend me your hand too! Between the three of us, we’ll crush the Demon King!”
“I know the plan. Just don’t trip me up!”
Geom Seong swung his blade, and the Witch unleashed her aura. Both seemed resolved to follow my command until the Demon King fell. I nodded once, then cried out to the manifestations of my death.
“Hundred Ghosts Summoning!”
Four thousand bones rumbled low in unison.
“Show me what you do best!”
I issued my command.
“Kill, and perish!”
The legion obeyed my will.
-Grooooooo!
Skeletons rushed in from all sides. Bounce! Light as bones alone, one creature leapt high into the air and landed atop an orc’s head. With legs of nothing but bone, it locked the orc’s throat while driving its short dagger down with both arms.
Thuck! Thuck-thuck!
The skeleton hacked with rabid fury. The blade rent the orc’s eyes, its mouth, its throat. The orc gave a final choked scream and crumpled. The impact shattered the skeleton’s left arm, yet it did not pause—only rushed toward the next prey.
-Kyiiiieee!
Elsewhere, a goblin shrieked in agony. A skeleton, its torso shattered until only the skull remained, tore at the goblin’s forearm with nothing but its teeth.
-Grooooo!
-Kyiiiiii!
More skeletons converged on the goblin. Every single one bore visible cracks and fractures.
Some missing an arm. Others lacking a leg. Still others with heads torn away.
But they all held Short Daggers. The goblin shrieked and thrashed, but it was nothing but futile resistance. The skeletons surrounded the creature and brought their blades down in unison.
Blood sprayed across the ground.
—Damn.
Bae Hu-ryeong clicked his tongue.
—Look at those skull bastards—who do they remind you of? All that grit, refusing to fear death. A monster army that doesn’t know when to quit. What even is that? It’s terrifying!
Slaughter unfolded across the Plain in every direction.
The Demon King trembled with rage.
—How dare you!
Filth poured endlessly from the Demon King’s shadow. Had it been crimson, I would have sworn it was blood the creature was hemorrhaging. The Demon King was screaming as though vomiting gore.
—You have no right!
The Demon King’s shriek split the heavens,
—a mere wanderer from another world!
and shook the earth.
—One who bears none of this world’s malice, none of its resentment, none of its life! How dare you stand in my way!
The cry echoed between sky and ground.
“It matters not where I came from.”
I spoke into that echo, facing it head-on.
“I stand here now. And if that alone is deemed insufficient qualification…….”
The echo had not yet faded.
Then I heard it—that familiar voice in my mind.
[The Tower grants you an Epithet.]
As though someone who had watched over me all this time was blessing me.
Congratulating me, now finally freed from the prison of time.
[Your Epithet is the Death King.]
The voice resonated, lingering.
[Reverence to the King who harvests death.]
Yes.
Someone remembers me.
Even if I die again and again each day.
Someone knows why I stand here.
That is enough.
“Do not interfere.”
I drew my blade.
And spoke to my enemy:
“The Tower bears witness to my qualification.”
The Death King.
That was my second name.
SSS-Rank: The Hunter Who Must Die to Live (Serialized)
Author │ Shin Noah
Publisher │ Kim Ju-hyung
Publishing House │ J Plus 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 J Plus Media Co., Ltd. under contract with the copyright holder, and its contents may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from the publisher and author.
Violation of this prohibition 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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