SSS-Class Sui**de Hunter - Chapter 46

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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 46. The Name of the Demon King (3)
4
Fear.
The most human of all emotions.
“Hee…….”
That was what colored Tacheonzwa’s face.
Anxiety about an uncertain future. The terror that I might die just like this.
‘It’ was afraid of me. The moment I stepped forward, it whimpered in terror. But a mere whimper couldn’t stop someone’s footsteps.
“I’m genuinely grateful that you became human.”
I said.
“If you’d stayed a monster instead, even if I killed you with all my effort, you wouldn’t qualify for Baekgwi Sohwan, right? Or is it Baekgwi Hwansaeng now? The skill name doesn’t matter much…….”
“Aaaahhhhh!”
It staggered.
It was resisting fear one last time. The demon king’s Red Greatsword. A blade now so heavy it could barely be lifted. In a final, desperate convulsion, it seized that great sword. Arms weakened beyond measure raised the Red Greatsword, and it swung wildly toward me.
“Mm.”
Of course, I wasn’t about to fall for such crude flailing. I nimbly sidestepped. Once, twice, three times. Tacheonzwa swung the blade while trembling violently.
Baehurryeong muttered curtly.
-Pathetic.
His brow was furrowed.
-Sloppy stance. Feet aren’t even planted properly, doesn’t even look ahead while swinging, no conviction in the blade path. Hey, what’re you planning to do after that swing? What’s the point?
Baehurryeong grumbled on.
-Tsk, a textbook swordsman who relies entirely on skills and aura. No—not even a swordsman at that.
Ever since clearing the 19th Floor, Baehurryeong had remained silent, but the ‘farce’ Tacheonzwa was putting on before our eyes seemed deeply offensive to the sword master’s eye.
-Look here, Sawang. See that? That’s exactly why I keep hammering on about mastering fundamentals. In the end, all you can rely on in the final moment is your own hands and feet.
Baehurryeong said.
-Show me how you end it.
I showed him.
I swung once and shattered one blade. Clannnng! Steel shrieked savagely against steel. Tacheonzwa’s eyes flew wide with shock.
“Ah.”
A single, perfect cut.
The Red Greatsword before my eyes split cleanly in two.
“Ah, uh… ahhhhh…….”
As the blade shattered, so too did the final defiance of the Fallen Seat. Thump. The frail creature crumpled to the ground. Acacia Petals crumpled and crushed beneath its small frame.
‘Is this the demon king’s end?’
I looked down at it, broken and defeated on the earth.
‘The one who harvests death…….’
Suddenly, I remembered what the Tower had said when it granted me this title. Pay homage to the king who harvests death. That’s what it declared. For some reason, it felt like it fit this moment perfectly, and the thought unsettled me.
‘Yeah, it’s not wrong.’
I slowly tightened my grip on the hilt.
I was about to bring the blade down to take Tacheonzwa’s neck.
-Uh, Sawang? Hold on a second, though.
“…….”
-Sorry for butting in while you’re putting on such a dramatic show. Actually, not sorry at all. Just bored, so I figured I’d say something. Anyway, don’t kill him yet. Wait a bit.
As always, Baehurryeong being Baehurryeong, he had to object.
“Ah, damn. Why?”
I was so irritated that I voiced my frustration without thinking. Besides, I hadn’t brought the Sword Saint or the Witch to the 20th Floor. There was no Hunter here to misunderstand and think I’d lost my mind.
-No, just thought you seemed like you were taking it for granted.
“Taking what for granted.”
-Listen. Say we accept that he’s not a monster anymore. But does that make him human? I mean, is he treated as human just like you—like a proper human? Maybe he just became a regular NPC?
“So what if he did…….”
-You sure that if you kill an NPC, it falls under Baekgwi Hwansaeng?
I stopped my sword.
“Uh… I assume it would?”
-You’re such a sucker that you’ve never killed an NPC in your whole life. We know monsters don’t fall under Baekgwi Hwansaeng, but we still don’t know about NPCs.
“…….”
-What if you just barrel ahead on vibes and then later find out it was like [Sorry! NPCs aren’t valid skill targets!]? Huh? You gonna take responsibility when the whole mood dies right there?
“But still…….”
-Hey, Sawang. Get it together! I know from experience—the Tower gets brutal about stuff like this.
Damn it all.
Tacheonzwa was still watching my face anxiously, still wearing an expression of fear.
Eyes drenched in the terror of death.
I cursed under my breath and checked the skill card again.
+
[Baekgwi Hwansaeng]
Rank: SSS
Effect: Summon those you have directly killed. The Deceased do not inherit the abilities they possessed in life. However, should you wish it, the Deceased inherit their memories and appearances from life. Should you not wish it, they are summoned merely as Monsters.
※However, you may summon only once per week.
+
-Look, look. It says ‘those’ you directly killed, right?
Baehurryeong pointed at the card.
-How do you even know whether NPCs fall under that ‘those’ or not? Hm? Can you be certain?
“Well, NPCs are people too, people.”
-Ooh, that’s your opinion, of course, Sawang.
Baehurryeong spoke with a severe, solemn, and earnest expression.
-Before you go cutting off that creature’s head, try negotiating with the Tower first.
“Negotiate with the Tower……”
-Why not? It’s nothing. I saw you just now—you handled it well on your own. You’ve done it once already; surely you can do it twice?
“Hmm……”
He had a point.
I looked up at the sky with a slightly awkward feeling.
“Um, Tower…?”
[The Tower lends you its ear.]
Fortunately, I wasn’t met with the catastrophe of being ignored outright.
A while ago, I’d heard a notification that I would be granted ‘the authority of an Apostle,’ limited though it was—perhaps that was the reason. At least for now, it seemed I could communicate freely with the Tower and exchange intent.
“There’s something I’d like to ask.”
-Hey, a moment ago you were speaking to the Tower casually, so why are you suddenly switching to formal speech? Funny fellow.
“That was just emotions flaring up—I didn’t mean to speak casually, but, ah, never mind. Please be quiet!”
Even as we bickered back and forth, the Tower answered faithfully.
[The Tower confirms your question.]
“So, about the Baekgwi Hwansaeng skill—does it recognize NPCs as the Deceased if I kill them? Or does it only count Hunters like me?”
Then an unexpected answer came back.
[Seeking confirmation from Zlakua.]
[Confirmation impossible.]
[This question exceeds the Tower’s authority.]
“Pardon?”
But that wasn’t the end of it.
What came next surpassed even my expectations.
[The Tower verifies the authority of the questioner.]
[Verification passed. Sawang currently holds the qualification of a provisional Apostle.]
[The Tower recognizes Sawang’s raised issue as a formal Agenda.]
And then.
[The Tower requests a Majority Vote Council with the six Pillars of Mangsaeng.]
Flash!
White light engulfed my vision.
* * *
‘…What?’
In the instant it took to blink, I found myself already in a desolate place. It wasn’t unfamiliar. That it wasn’t unfamiliar made it all the more disorienting.
Myeonggye. My dark hell.
It was the starting point I returned to each time I died.
In other words, a place I had no reason to visit unless I was dead.
‘Why here…?’
Then a voice stirred my consciousness.
[Confirming participants.]
No.
It wasn’t just the voice.
[The Sixth Pillar, ‘The Staff of Antiquity,’ attends.]
[The Fifth Pillar, ‘The Princess Who Treads the Mirage,’ attends.]
[The Fourth Pillar, ‘The Moon That Observes Blindness,’ attends.]
[The Third Pillar, ‘The Legislator of Genesis,’ attends.]
[The Second Pillar, ‘The God Who Dances in the Void,’ attends.]
‘…….’
I held my breath.
No matter how I looked around, nothing stretched before me but endless darkness—my eyes registered nothing. Yet even unseen, I could feel it.
Presence.
[Confirmed: Six Pillars of Mangsaeng in attendance.]
[The Tower shares the agenda raised by provisional Apostle Sawang.]
Presence emanated from all directions.
Too overwhelming to call mere awareness—this was something else entirely.
They remained motionless, watching me from beyond the darkness.
[Sharing complete.]
A voice flowed through the space where gazes wavered.
[Proceeding with Majority Vote Council regarding the agenda.]
[Does the skill Baekgwi Hwansaeng include NPCs as targets?]
[If you consent to NPCs being included, vote in favor.]
[If you do not consent to NPCs being included, vote against.]
And then.
Formless beings opened their mouths.
-Gesh… la… ZaquA cho… Deo…….
A language I could not understand.
-Sato, yovela? Weloyo-na Shu……! Deo phenta…….
-kunto, nyola Gesh-ve-Nail na? Nai-Gesh-Nail na?
It was a language woven from shadow.
Invisible serpents filled this place. From left and right, from above and below. No—hissing at the very edge of my awareness. Shhh… shhhk……. Their voice was the forked tongue of a snake. The tongue was crimson and long, flowing into my ear canal, touching a corner of my mind. Licking it.
-Gesh… Mula-Gagamia… cho Gretehen Weloyo…….
-Nail.
Vertigo seized me.
Dizziness overwhelmed me.
Though I was surely nothing but consciousness without a body now, nausea rose in my throat. I wanted to vomit. Anything would do. I wanted to expel something, anything. Something oily seeped into my belly—no, into my brain.
The sensation of my soul being licked by those tongues down to its very depths.
-Layo na.
Then, all the voices stopped at once.
-Gesh. Nail. Nai-Gesh-Nail.
-…….
-…….
-Deo zakun.
Silence.
Silence descended into the void. No presence spoke. All fell quiet. Those voices that had flowed into my ears, licking at my brain fluid—they too ceased. Only then did I feel, at last, as though I could breathe.
‘They are not beings of the Tower!’
Painfully, I regained my mind.
‘Whatever language Tower dwellers speak, it all translates—I hear it all. But these are different. These are creatures dwelling outside the Tower. They are beings incomparable to someone like the Demon King of Autumn Rain!’
Perhaps they were the very architects who designed this Tower.
Beings lurking somewhere I could not yet fathom.
After a long silence,
[Proceeding with vote on the agenda.]
A familiar voice resonated.
Hearing that voice, I felt almost as though I’d returned home.
[The Sixth Pillar, “Staff of Antiquity,” casts a vote against.]
[The Fifth Pillar, “Maiden Walking the Mirage,” casts a vote in favor.]
[The Fourth Pillar, “Moon Contemplating Blindness,” casts a vote in favor.]
[The Third Pillar, “Legislator of Beginnings,” casts a vote against.]
[The Second Pillar, “Divinity Dancing in the Void,” abstains.]
Two votes in favor.
Two votes against.
One abstention.
‘…….’
I faltered.
I still did not know who these beings were or where they came from. I did not know. Yet this much was certain: they held the authority to decide the fate of my skill Baekgwi Hwansaeng. And still, they had rendered a verdict neither for nor against.
Why?
What did they want from me?
‘…Wait.’
I understood something then.
Now, with the hissing serpent voices gone, I surveyed the space around me.
‘There’s still one entity that hasn’t voted.’
That’s right.
When I first materialized in this space, I heard it clearly in my mind.
「The Tower requests a Majority Vote Council from the six Pillars of Mangsaeng.」
Was that the only time?
Just before the serpent voices began hissing, I’d heard a similar announcement.
「Confirming participants.」
「Confirmed: the six Pillars of Mangsaeng are in attendance.」
‘Right, six. That’s what it said.’
The Tower had guaranteed that six entities were present in this place. But the vote that had just unfolded made no sense. Two in favor, two opposed, one abstaining. That came to five votes total.
Where had the sixth vote gone?
And.
-…….
-…….
Why were they all silent about who this remaining one was?
‘…….’
One who had no need to attend this space.
One who dwelt here from the beginning, so had no reason to come.
One who was always here, and therefore knew everything.
The Tower’s master.
‘…I.’
I stared directly into the darkness.
There, the weightiest presence lurked.
‘I believe the vote should be in favor.’
I thought as calmly as I could.
I spoke aloud what I had been deliberating all this time.
‘Suppose NPCs weren’t included in the definition of skills. Then how did the Demon King summon so many Monsters? The humans from the empire and the people from the kingdom that the Demon King slaughtered—they would have all been NPCs, wouldn’t they?’
Eyes watched me quietly.
‘Of course, I understand what you’re worried about. You fear I might indiscriminately kill NPCs and then command them as summoned creatures…… But I’m confident I’ve shown you clearly enough what kind of person I am.’
The dark space.
I looked toward each presence I could feel, one by one.
And I spoke.
‘That’s not who I am.’
-…….
‘I won’t live that way in the future either.’
In the end, it’s always the same.
No matter how overwhelming the opponent, I have only two options available to me.
Fight or persuade.
‘The Demon King can command NPCs as summoned creatures when killing them—but I cannot? That’s unfair, isn’t it?’
-Not a bad point.
In that moment, something spoke.
A voice.
It sounded like a whisper at the edge of my ear, yet also distant and far away. It was chilling. With each syllable, electricity coursed through my spine.
-But it’s unnecessarily complicated.
That voice carried laughter within it.
-Sawang, speak from your heart, not your head.
‘…….’
I fell silent for a moment.
And I said what I had to say.
‘That Demon King is my prey.’
I said what I could say.
‘…It’s mine. Don’t touch it.’
The voice erupted into laughter.
[First Pillar.]
[The ‘Master of Mangsaeng’ casts a vote in favor.]
Laughter that cleaved through the darkness and shattered it.
[Vote concluded.]
[Three votes in favor. Two votes opposed. One abstention.]
[Sawang’s skill Baekgwi Hwansaeng includes NPCs.]
Clang, screech! Screech-screech!
Laughter shattered the darkness like a pane of glass. In the hollow hell, more hollow fissures tore open. White light poured through them.
[Sawang’s temporary Apostle authority is hereby revoked.]
Drowning in brilliant light, I understood.
[The session is concluded.]
That I had succeeded in persuading the Tower.
[May fortune follow you.]
* * *
—Zombie? Hey, Kim Zombie?
A blank moment.
When my eyes opened again, what filled my vision were Acacia Petals, Baehurryeong. And Tacheonzwa, once called the Demon King of Autumn Rain. Acacia Petals made no sound, and Tacheonzwa didn’t dare to make one.
Only Baehurryeong spoke, hovering uncertainly in the air.
—Why’d you space out like that all of a sudden? I told you to ask the Tower.
“…….”
—Kim Zombie? Hey, Zombie King. Can you hear me?
Something felt wrong.
It seemed as though only a moment had passed—the blink of an eye—and yet it also felt as though an eternity had flowed by. It was strange. The memory of what had just happened was already growing hazy, and I couldn’t quite recall exactly what had been said.
“Swordmaster…….”
—Wow, now you’re responding. I guess because he keeps calling you zombie, your brain really is starting to resemble an actual zombie’s.
“You didn’t hear it? You didn’t see it?”
—Hear what?
“The Tower summoned me to Myeonggye, and something about Mangsaeng, some Pillar or other……. Then something like the Tower’s master appeared and laughed… You didn’t see?”
Baehurryeong’s brow furrowed.
The face of someone who’d seen a rabid dog.
The expression of someone looking at a madman, plain and simple.
—Zombie, I’m sorry. I think I’ve pushed the zombie thing too far. I’m a man who’s never apologized to anyone in his life, and suddenly I’m feeling apologetic……. From now on, I’ll hold back a little, so get your head on straight.
“…….”
I don’t know.
Neither the Swordmaster who had conquered the Tower to the 99th Floor in this other world, nor the legend standing before me who had thereby earned the title “Constellation of the Sword” and become Baehurryeong… neither of them understood what I was saying.
The nape of my neck grew cold.
‘Who did I just meet?’
That chill crept around my nape and spread to my shoulders. Finally it traced down my spine.
‘What in the world…….’
Grip.
I deliberately squeezed the sword’s hilt tighter.
‘…No. Calm down, Gongja.’
I swallowed once, then looked ahead.
The path I had to take still lay stretched before me.
‘Though there is still much I don’t know.’
Tacheonzwa crouched in the middle of that path.
‘There is certainly what I do know.’
I lifted the sword slowly.
‘Now, I deliver the final blow to my prey.’
Perhaps when I reached the Tower’s 100th Floor someday, I would learn something.
Baehurryeong tilted his head.
—Uh, Gongja? You’re just going to kill him? You don’t need to ask the Tower first?
“It’s fine.”
I said.
“I already have my answer.”
Tacheonzwa reached out his hand.
“Wait……! Spare me……!”
I swung the sword.
This blade was the weapon I had received as compensation for consecrating the 10th Floor. It was the sword that had moved the hearts of soldiers when I first conquered the 11th Stage. Dozens of times, hundreds of times, thousands of times. It was always in my hand when I was trapped in the 12th Stage like a prison.
A sword that walked through my time, proof of my existence.
With that blade, I cut down Tacheonzwa, the Constellation.
“……!”
There was the smallest cry.
As the cry faded, Tacheonzwa fell.
Blood spilled.
Blood dripped, staining another Acacia Petal crimson. I watched as white touched red, one droplet bleeding into the white surface, and slowly I opened my mouth.
“Baekgwi Hwansaeng. Return to life.”
Writhe—
My shadow convulsed.
From that flat expanse of darkness, a black hand shot upward. Like something clawing free from hell’s depths, that hand thrashed with desperate resistance—as though it loathed escaping from this hell. But it was a futile struggle.
“Rise.”
The shadow could not defy my command. It gagged up a head from the darkness. Then a chest. The waist came free, then the legs.
“I… hah, a… aaa…….”
It trembled like a newborn lamb, limbs quaking violently. No matter how completely it wore the body of a grown adult, it was—for now—nothing but a life that had only just been born.
And.
“Estelle was merely a name you stole. It is not a name you deserve to keep.”
Whoever brings a life into this world always carries a responsibility.
The first of those responsibilities is to give a name to the life I have created.
“Agui.”
With long hair streaming, it looked up at me.
“From this moment forward, your name is Agui.”
…….
“You shall serve me as your master, and live.”
Once, she had been called Estelle.
Lauded as a saint of the borderlands.
Revered as the Autumn Rain Demon King—her shoulders now trembled.
“Yes…….”
She who had no right to bear any name bowed her head at last, receiving one from me. A white petal from the Acacia fell and caught in her hair.
“I shall obey your command…….”
The final day of the promised five days.
“……My lord.”
The Sawang and the Demon King.
One of two monarchs had fallen like scattered blossoms.
SSS-Rank Hunter: Must Die to Live (Serialized)
Author │ Shin No-ah
Publisher │ Kim Ju-hyung
Published by │ J Plus Media Co., Ltd.
Marketing │ Han Jae-hyeok
Address │ 204, 288 Digital-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong, Daekyung 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 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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