SSS-Class Sui**de Hunter - Chapter 41

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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 41. His Time (2)
3
The light that engulfed me wasn’t alone.
[Searching for Demon King’s presence on 12th Floor… Not found.]
[Demon King’s retreat confirmed.]
Crash!
[History Rewrite.]
White light spread in every direction. Like a pale, shimmering mist, if you had to describe it. The luminous aura swept across a vast plain in an instant, then soon blanketed the Capital of Aikm Empire itself.
Light Orbs.
Countless spheres of light—there was no other way to describe them—drifted like dandelion seeds scattered on the wind.
“What is this……?”
The Witch looked about in confusion, turning her head this way and that.
“Kim Gongja, what on earth is happening?”
“Uh, well, no. I’ve never seen anything like this before either…….”
I was just as bewildered.
Watching the world wrapped entirely in luminous threads, I posed a silent question.
‘Geomje, do you have any idea what’s going on right now?’
-No, this is my first time seeing something like this too. What is this? It’s frightening.
‘…….’
Aside from when I was learning swordsmanship, this man really isn’t helpful at all.
I have no idea how someone this ignorant managed to conquer ninety-nine floors.
-Mm? Hey, Kim Zombie. You just insulted me in your head, didn’t you? Didn’t you?
‘No, no. I was merely thinking that Geomje is far too extraordinary, and someone as lowly as me could never presume to fathom your true thoughts.’
-That’s strange. That’s not it. Your face has the exact look of someone secretly cursing me out…….
Geomje frowned and muttered in irritation.
While we exchanged these idle words, the Light Orbs continued their endless drift.
“Hm?”
That was when I noticed a distinct change.
I pointed with my finger toward the grand wall of the empire.
“The Witch, look over there.”
“What?”
“The city wall. The number of Military Flags seems to have dropped sharply.”
Military Flags planted atop the wall, fluttering in the wind.
The red and golden banners were vanishing rapidly. Even a rough count showed that what had numbered in the hundreds was now down to mere tens. And they continued to diminish even as we watched.
“…You’re right. You’re absolutely right.”
The Witch narrowed her brow.
“Hold onto me for a moment. I need to verify this.”
“Yes, I agree.”
“Teleportation!”
The Witch seized my hand and activated the skill. The next instant, rather than standing in the middle of a desolate plain, we found ourselves atop the Castle Tower of the empire. The ornate cityscape spread out before us in its entirety.
“My goodness…….”
The Witch let out a soft gasp.
“Everything is transforming.”
It truly was.
The world was changing.
The slums—or rather, the refugee district—had vanished. Those displaced persons who had fled here from every corner of the continent after the Demon King’s devastation, huddled together in their makeshift quarter, all now engulfed in pure white light…… and simply gone.
As if the refugee district had never existed at all.
“…….”
The clothing of the pedestrians moving through the streets had changed as well. Tattered rags transformed into serviceable cloth garments.
Even the fruits displayed at market stalls underwent transformation. Apples that had begun to rot gradually took on a fresh, lustrous sheen.
I murmured absently.
“History Rewrite…….”
“What?”
“History itself has been rewritten.”
The number of guards patrolling the wall had noticeably diminished as well.
It wasn’t just their numbers that had decreased—even their expressions had changed.
The soldiers’ faces were no longer painted with despair born from terror of the Demon King. Tedium in their duty. Weariness at their patrol. They bore the ordinary expression of people simply living their daily lives.
“Originally, the Aikm Empire should have faced an invasion by the Demon King. Should have had to. Whether they’d achieved victory in the ensuing battle or been annihilated in defeat…… either way, they would have confronted the Demon King’s assault. But…….”
I swallowed hard.
“In this world now, the Demon King’s invasion itself has become [something that never occurred].”
While no one was watching.
While no one could see, the Demon King’s invasion simply ceased to exist.
Yes.
I erased it.
“…History has been rewritten.”
The result unfolded before my eyes.
[Revising the 11th Floor Stage.]
[Revising the 12th Floor Stage.]
White light engulfed the city.
The glow touched the face of a child wandering as a beggar.
Light Orbs clung to the hem of a man’s clothes as he shuffled aimlessly, worried about tomorrow’s meal.
Whissssh…….
The Light Orbs scattered like dandelion seeds on the wind.
In the city’s lower streets, at the crossroads, in some shop with crumbling pillars, in a home someone was returning to after work.
Light’s fingertips gently caressed the world,
[Revision complete.]
then faded.
It vanished somewhere.
“…….”
I closed my mouth.
The Witch fell silent as well.
In the frozen world, no sound could be heard, so though we two said nothing, it felt as if the world itself held its breath.
But then.
“…Come now, they’re cheap! Buy them!”
Soon the silence shattered.
“Fresh apples just arrived from Ailbrand! The finest apples! My lord, even elves won’t pass up fruit in season! Have a look at these beautiful apples before you go!”
Sound.
“The bathhouse water’s been terrible lately. I can see the filth with my own eyes. Honestly, what do those bureaucrats expect us to trust when they can’t even maintain proper water…….”
Sounds were returning.
By accepting the quest, time that had been frozen until now began to flow once more.
“My word, those imperial princes are quite the troublemakers, aren’t they? They say every night the sounds of His Majesty’s weeping echo from the palace walls. It’s only rumor, of course, but in my opinion…….”
“How about we have a drink together this evening? What do you say?”
“Spare a coin, just one! The Goddess loves you all.”
“Apples from Ailbrand that even elves would savor! They’re cheap!”
The world breathed again.
“There!”
Among those sounds was a voice directed at us.
“Who in blazes are you!”
The Witch and I turned our heads. From the direction of the voice, a general stood upon the castle wall, sword in hand.
The general’s expression twisted into something fierce.
“How dare you! What sort of brigands trample upon the Castle Tower of the Aikm Empire! Come down at once!”
For some reason, that face seemed familiar.
I muttered.
“Sarbas Aikm…….”
The general NPC’s eyes widened.
It was the look of someone seeing a human like me for the very first time.
“Ha! Outrageous bandit. How do you know my name?”
I pressed my lips firmly shut.
‘…I see.’
A general who should have been on the 11th Floor, not the 12th.
An Aikm citizen who greeted Hunters with kindness before anyone else.
An NPC whose skill I had copied by deliberately allowing myself to be killed.
“You there! Did you not hear my command to come down!”
That same man now shouted at me as if I were a complete stranger.
Not only the 12th Floor’s history had changed—the 11th Floor’s had been rewritten as well.
Thump.
‘Ah.’
Suddenly, my heart struck against my ribs.
An unnamed emotion seized my heart, my chest, and my entire body in succession. My throat felt so constricted I could barely speak. Why? The world had reclaimed its breath, yet mine seemed to have been stolen away by something unseen.
“…….”
I looked down at the general, working my lips.
A memory that had already faded into the distant past.
Recalling the words the general NPC had spoken to me.
“To end the life of a hero? I cannot do such a thing!”
“On behalf of the empire, I thank you.”
“I was skeptical. This isn’t even their world—would these so-called heroes truly fight so hard for us? But it was merely an old man’s worry. I offer my gratitude once more.”
The general’s smile came to mind one last time.
“Please, I entrust our empire to your care.”
“…….”
Ah, yes.
So this is what it is.
“Huh.”
For reasons I couldn’t quite name, laughter spilled from my lips.
“Ahahaha, ha! Hah, ahahaha!”
I doubled over, laughing.
The general stared up at me with wide eyes. The soldiers’ gazes fixed upon me. The Witch looked at me with something like confusion. Geomje regarded me with the expression of someone watching a madman.
But I didn’t care.
There was sadness, certainly, that the people of the empire had forgotten me.
Yet an enormously greater emotion had seized my entire being.
“Ah.”
I took a deep breath.
Then opened my mouth even wider.
“…I protected it!”
The Lion’s Roar erupted from my lips.
The general’s shoulders flinched, shrinking back.
“I protected it!”
The soldiers standing on the castle walls froze.
“I protected your empire!”
Still I did not stop.
Channeling it through a crimson aura, I let the Lion’s Roar ring out across the expanse.
“I! Have kept my promise!”
The people of the empire turned their heads.
In the streets, at the crossroads, in the markets, in someone’s home.
My voice shook the castle walls, resonated against the palace ramparts, and crashed against the walls of the audience chamber—it must have echoed there too. I laughed. Laughed loudly. My laughter reverberated and reverberated again, shaking the tower.
“Without a shred of shame!”
I stood towering on the Castle Tower and pointed toward the sky.
“Not a single regret!”
Hundreds of days.
Until my palms turned black from the marker,
Driven by the sole conviction that I wanted to see not even one victim fall,
After crossing through hundreds of days, I had finally defeated the Demon King of Autumn Rain.
“I’m proud of it!”
It was glorious.
“I did it!”
It was the first time in my life.
I had never felt an emotion like this before.
I had lived like garbage.
Envying others, mocking different people, squandering entire days on nothing but drinking. Wasting away. I had frozen my heart in the name of coldness. Abandoned my life. Abandoned myself.
But not today.
[Stage Clear.]
At least today, I could hold my head high.
[Today, the 12th Floor Stage has been cleared.]
I could face people with pride.
The Witch and Geomseong as well.
The world itself.
And most of all, I could face myself with pride.
[I announce once more to all.]
I was.
Able to be proud of myself.
[Today, the 12th Floor Stage has been cleared.]
Such a person had actually existed.
[Measuring clear participants…….]
[Measurement complete.]
My heart was so full I thought it might burst.
[Announcing 3 clear participants.]
Light carved itself across the empire’s sky.
+
[Clear Contribution Rankings]
1st Place: Death King
2nd Place: The Witch
3rd Place: Geomseong
+
Probably invisible to NPCs, this message.
The general remained frozen by my Lion’s Roar.
“W-what on earth are you even saying…….”
“Sarbas Aikm!”
The general flinched.
I looked down at him from the Castle Tower.
“I’m counting on you to run the empire well!”
“…….”
“Sorry, but the hero’s role ends here! I defeated the Demon King for you—that’s enough! Your empire’s probably rotted away somewhere you can’t see, and you’ve got all sorts of problems, I’m sure! But that’s so typical! You know?”
I broke into a wide grin.
“From now on, you lot figure it out however you can!”
“…….”
“Go, us! Let’s go, let’s go! Fight on!”
The general’s mouth opened and closed like a goldfish.
“I—I still don’t understand what you’re saying… It’s completely… utterly…….”
—Bwahahahahaha!
Geomje clutched his belly and rolled through the air.
—Ack! Tee-hee-hee-hee! Gwahahaha! You—you absolute madman! What a maniac! What a zombie! I thought, ‘Maybe he’ll at least wallow in regret like a proper adult,’ but no—this lunatic’s just straight-up bragging! Your thought process is fascinating, you crazy bastard! Kim Zombie! I admit it! You’re a genuine research subject!
‘Ah.’
I brushed my bangs back.
‘What can I do? Today’s version of me is far too charming.’
—Y-you absolute lunatic…! You maniac! Ha-ha, yeah! I like that you don’t whine pathetically! Tee-hee-hee-hee!
After laughing like that, Geomje still wasn’t satisfied—he kept rolling through the emptiness.
I turned toward the Witch.
“Come on, my lady! What are you doing? Let’s head to the 13th Floor!”
“…….”
The Witch sighed with an inscrutable expression.
“Yes… among top-tier Hunters, sane ones are rare anyway. It’s fine. I understand. I’ll just be grateful you’re at least better than the Inquisitor.”
“What?”
“Teleportation.”
The Witch seized my hand and activated the skill. The next instant, we stood again in the wasteland. Without warning, she grabbed Geomseong by the forearm.
The master of the Black Dragon examined my face.
“Entry Tickets are always given to the top ranker first.”
She spoke.
“Speak our transmission in our stead, Death King.”
It was the first moment I’d been called by my alias.
Today held so many firsts.
“Yes.”
I smiled.
“…Transmission.”
And then.
My stage advances onward.
SSS-Rank: The Hunter Who Must Die to Live (Ongoing Serialization)
Author │ Shin Noah
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 No-ah 2019
※This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder. The content may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and the 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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