SSS-Class Sui**de Hunter - Chapter 54

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

Episode 54. The Ultimate Fan (2)
“Sigh.”
The Black Dragon Lord exhaled with obvious concern.
“Don’t go overboard, though. I can cover most mistakes. But if you really push it, even I can’t control the press.”
“There’s no one as careful as me. You know it yourself. I’m a Prophet, okay? I know roughly what the most model-student answer should sound like.”
“…are you really sure I can trust you?”
“Of course.”
I took the microphone from the Black Dragon Lord. Even as she handed it over, she seemed worried about me, but it was genuinely fine.
Because I had my Secret Method.
“Ah, testing, testing.”
I cleared my throat lightly. My voice spread through the Plaza over the speakers.
“Hello, everyone. I’m a Hunter who’s been given the epithet of Four Kings. It’s an honor to meet you.”
Click! Click!
Light blazed across the plaza in waves. I wasn’t particularly flustered. Was yesterday’s experience being surrounded by crowds a kind of inoculation? I handled the camera flashes with more ease than I’d expected.
“Your name is… John Evans, isn’t it, reporter?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
The young reporter stared directly at me. His eyes burned with journalist spirit—he wouldn’t miss a single move I made, and his gaze blazed with the determination to expose my identity no matter what.
It was quite an unsettling stare.
“Hmm.”
Now, facing such a gaze.
Only one thought occupied my mind.
“I believe all the concerns being voiced stem from my own shortcomings.”
The inverse counterexample.
I’d do anything but end up like Yeo Je!
“Pardon?”
The reporter’s eyes blinked as he held the microphone. He probably hadn’t expected me to respond this way. Meanwhile, I conjured the image of Yeo Je’s insufferable face and continued.
“Let me reiterate. I believe all the concerns being voiced stem from my own shortcomings.”
My Secret Method was extremely simple.
‘Just say the exact opposite of whatever Yeo Je would say!’
What interview skills did I possess?
I was nothing like the Black Dragon Lord. I had no talent for swaying crowds with speeches. No talent, no technique, no experience.
But there was one thing.
I knew something nobody else did.
The interviews of the most arrogant Hunter in this world!
‘As long as I go the complete opposite direction from Yeo Je, I’ll at least do decently.’
I’d been a fan of Yeo Je for nearly a decade. Thanks to that obsession, my mind had become something like a library—a library cataloging all the terrible things and nonsense Yeo Je had ever spouted.
If the person holding the microphone right now were Yeo Je instead of me?
He would’ve said something like this.
“I cleared twenty floors because I’m just that good. You pathetic brats.”
“I broke my back clearing that dungeon, so what? That’s none of your business. The items and experience I got from there are obviously mine. Now listen here, you hack journalists—if I don’t keep them, then who the hell should I give them to? Huh?”
“Your old man?”
These weren’t words I’d just made up on the spot.
He actually said things like that!
‘That’s why the Witch’s face turned pale at the press conference before I went back in time…’
The so-called “Your Old Man” incident.
Naturally, the press conference exploded spectacularly. Reporters’ profanities went out over live broadcast, and by the time the Black Dragon Lord rushed to end it, it was already too late.
An absolute disaster.
The live broadcast was hastily cut off, but the tragedy didn’t end there.
Yoo Suha launched a counterattack at the reporters, spewing every curse imaginable—insults about parents, insults about in-laws, compound insults, every profanity that existed in the world—and personal broadcast streamers transmitted the whole thing live.
‘No wonder his nickname is literally “epidemic.”‘
According to rumors, the Black Dragon Lord had been bedridden for a week after that day.
It was probably after the “Your Old Man” incident that the Black Dragon Lord gave up on Yoo Suha. And wasn’t it that same incident that caused the major guilds to split with him?
‘In the past, Yeo Je completely botched this press conference.’
In other words.
‘I just have to say the complete opposite of what Epidemic would say.’
Flip the worst upside down, and you get the best!
I held the microphone firmly, conjuring Yoo Suha’s collection of ridiculous remarks.
“I cleared twenty floors because I’m just that good. You pathetic brats.”
“I’m aware that public opinion about me is quite heated. However, I believe I’m being overrated. If the Black Dragon Lord and Sword Saint here hadn’t helped me, I could never have cleared twenty floors on my own.”
“I broke my back clearing that dungeon, so what?”
“Of course, I take pride in having done my very best. I set zero casualties as my goal and poured in truly painstaking effort. But I don’t regard this as a ‘sacrifice’ on my part. It’s simply what I ought to do as a human being, what I must do as a Hunter. Above all… it’s something I wanted to do.”
“The items and experience I gained from it are naturally mine. Listen here, you hack journalist. If I don’t take them, then who should I give them to, huh?”
“Therefore, I have no intention of claiming my rights. The reason I’ve entrusted all my rights for floors eleven through nineteen to the guild leaders is precisely this. You said I was monopolizing floor twenty… but no. Floor twenty is, in a sense, a Green Belt zone. The original inhabitants of the Tower who lived there will continue to dwell on floor twenty. I will be satisfied merely with an administrative role.”
“Your old man?”
“That concludes my remarks, Mr. Evans.”
“…….”
“Are there any further questions?”
The young journalist, burning with the spirit of inquiry, stumbled over his words.
“I… no, I don’t.”
Good.
My mind raced faster in this moment.
What would Yeom Je have done if he’d heard that journalist speak?
“Fine, if you’ve got nothing to say, get lost, you American pig bastard.”
The scene played out vividly in my imagination.
And he’d probably cap it off by showing off the magnificent middle finger as well.
‘So. If I recite the exact opposite…’
I opened my mouth.
“Thank you. Ah, if anyone has other questions, I’d be happy to take a few more, everyone.”
A brief silence fell over the plaza.
Though it was truly only a moment.
“Here! Hwanmun Newspaper!”
“Please answer our question, Your Majesty! Utop Daily News!”
“We’re from the Babel Tower Broadcasting System!”
“Your Majesty!”
The journalists raised their arms in unison. The moment they sensed I was someone willing to engage with them, they swarmed forward like vultures circling fresh meat, eager to extract every possible headline.
It resembled nothing so much as baby ducklings chirping eagerly up at their mother bird.
‘Wow.’
I gazed at the assembled press corps and felt a genuine surge of admiration.
‘…The reverse strategy really is genius, isn’t it?’
Damn Yeom Je. The most unbearable psychopath in this world.
He was always my compass—pointing the way through sheer negativity.
Even now, that compass showed me exactly how to respond.
“What? Hwanmun Newspaper? I’m not doing interviews with you. That place is nothing but old fossils. You can smell the stench of age just from opening the paper. If you call yourselves journalists, at least wash yourselves before going out.”
I spoke, conjuring Yeom Je’s words.
“…Then let’s take a question from the Hwanmun Newspaper first.”
The effect was extraordinary.
The press conference concluded in resounding success. A complete triumph. More than an hour of rapid-fire questions and answers, yet I didn’t stumble once.
Even ending the conference had proven difficult—the journalists clung tenaciously, trying to squeeze out one more line of copy. In the end, the Witch had to seize my microphone and soothe the horde of reporters.
“Everyone! I understand your desire to learn more about our new hero. But unfortunately, time is running short.”
The Witch gestured gracefully toward the sky.
[00:05:27]
The luminous clock had crept ever closer to midnight, zero hours and zero seconds.
Barely five minutes remained until the new floor would open!
It was the perfect excuse to end the press conference.
“After a night’s rest, we will return today to dedicate ourselves to climbing the Tower. Please watch over us with keen interest and warm support. Once more, we will do our utmost to achieve our goal of zero casualties.”
“Ahhh…….”
Sighs of reluctance rose from various corners.
Just as the conference seemed to be wrapping up, one brave soul raised their hand.
“B-Black Dragon Lord! Please, just one final question!”
“Yes, this will truly be the last question before we conclude.”
“Black Dragon Lord and the Sage King! What is the nature of your relationship?”
In that instant, every eye in the plaza gleamed.
Pure curiosity. A touch of malice.
Since time immemorial, the gossip humans were most desperate to hear was romance. The journalists clearly wanted to weave some salacious narrative between the Witch and me.
“Hmm…….”
The Witch glanced sideways at me.
A mischievous quality, perhaps?
In her eyes, a faint glimmer of playfulness danced.
“Our relationship, you ask… well, then.”
The Witch parted her lips slowly.
And then came the remark that would go down in history.
“…More than friends, we are comrades.”
Murmur.
The journalists stirred. Should they focus on the phrase “more than friends”? Or on the word “comrades”? The air was thick with uncertainty.
The reporter who had asked the question opened her eyes wide.
“You, you mean to say a relationship beyond friendship?”
“Well.”
The Witch spoke at ease.
“As I said, we are comrades who share more than friendship. That is all. I hope there is no room for misunderstanding or misinterpretation.”
“Misunderstanding and misinterpretation, you say…!”
“The press conference held by Black Dragon ends here.”
The Witch rose from her seat.
“I offer my sincere gratitude to all of you for your interest and support. I am the Black Dragon Guild Master, the Witch. I wish you all a wonderful day.”
The journalists scrambled to their feet.
“W-wait, Black Dragon Lord! You can’t leave like this!”
“Please give us more detailed comments on what you just said!”
“Black Dragon Lord!”
“Demon King, what do you think of that statement! Demon King!”
Wow.
The journalists shouted until their voices grew hoarse, but the Witch remained composed throughout. She smiled faintly as she guided me toward the back of the stage.
“Let’s go.”
“Right.”
I glanced back at the reporters. Their faces fell in unison.
“…You’re just going to stoke the flames and leave like that?”
“I’m a woman who watches dramas.”
The Witch slowly shut her left eye.
A playful wink.
“In the end, you have to light the fire to leave a lasting impression.”
It was a remark that revealed the gravitas of a guild master who commanded the Tower.
3
Behind the stage.
We walked until we reached a place where no eyes could follow. Only then did the Witch let out a long breath—”Phew!”—before suddenly grabbing both my hands.
“Perfect! Demon King!”
The Witch’s eyes gleamed with delight.
I could hardly believe this was the same person who had maintained such a blank expression throughout the entire press conference.
“Who knew you had such a knack for interviews! I’m impressed!”
“Well…”
I just did the opposite of what the Flame Emperor used to do.
“Your humility was especially a plus! People love heroes, but you know what they love even more? A hero who bows their head to them! Of course, humility shouldn’t cross into servility, but… you struck just the right note. It was exquisite, truly!”
I just recited the opposite of what the Flame Emperor always said.
“I never knew you had such a gift for handling the press. My goodness, what on earth have you been doing all this time before showing up now! You conquer the Tower for me, you build my image, my shoulders feel ten times lighter…!”
“…….”
What’s going on?
Seeing her this happy made my chest feel heavy.
I couldn’t bring myself to tell her I was just mimicking a psychopath in reverse.
“If there’s anything you want, just say the word. Money? Fame? Power? Or perhaps a lover? Don’t worry. Whatever exists in the Tower, I’ll give it to you.”
“I’m managing well enough with what I want, so it’s fine… But Black Dragon Lord, what was that earlier about being more than friends but less than comrades? You surprised me.”
“Oh, that?”
The Witch shrugged her shoulders.
Her expression was dismissive.
“It’s nothing. I just threw out some smoke.”
“Smoke?”
“Yes. The press will dig into scandals that don’t even exist anyway. Your image will take a hit either way, so it’s better to throw out some smoke and keep their attention on you and me instead.”
“I see…?”
Having never dealt with the media before, I couldn’t tell if that logic was sound or faulty.
The Witch smiled faintly.
“Don’t worry, Demon King. I’ve been handling public opinion on my own for years now. In this field, trust me entirely and leave it to me. Professionals handle what’s professional. Understood?”
“Yes, of course.”
This is strange.
For reasons I couldn’t name, there was something uncanny about it—like the feeling of being hunted by an unknown monster in a hunting ground. But this wasn’t a hunting ground; it was Babylon, the city on the First Floor. There shouldn’t be any monsters here.
Is it just me, or…?
Tsk-tsk-tsk.
The Backhoe Spirit clicked his tongue.
—Pathetic, you zombie. You have a head yet lack a brain—how could I not call you one? A so-called Hunter, and you march straight into certain death without even knowing it. Good grief.
‘What are you going on about now?’
—Pathetic! Absolutely pathetic!
The Backhoe Spirit thumped his chest emphatically, the motion turning his already fearsome visage into something unmistakably simian.
It was at that moment.
“Waaaaaaaah!”
From beyond the Stage, in the direction of the Plaza, a thunderous roar erupted—different in character from the cheers that had been directed at us.
“Ten!”
“Nine!”
“Eight!”
A countdown.
I stopped talking with the Black Dragon Lord and looked up at the sky.
[00:00:05]
Time had drawn near—the twenty-first Floor was about to open.
“Three!”
“Two!”
“One!”
And then.
[00:00:00]
The beams of light that had formed numbers in the sky scattered in all directions. The crowd’s cheers swelled louder still. As if answering their fervor, the light gathered once more, reshaping itself into the form of a Goddess.
[Warriors.]
The blue expanse of sky.
The Goddess’s form parted her lips.
[Those who climb the Tower.]
[I congratulate you on breaking through the shadow cast by the Demon King’s resentment.]
A new Floor was opening.
Since the crowd had already witnessed the Goddess’s form once before, they buzzed with jubilant excitement.
But I, who had experienced the Tower in ages past, knew better.
—Zombie.
‘Yes.’
I nodded.
‘It’s all right. I won’t drop my guard.’
Just as the Tower’s first ten Floors had been nothing but a Tutorial before it changed from the eleventh onward.
From the twenty-first Floor, an entirely different stage would unfold from anything that came before.
[You could have remained forever on the Tower’s first Floor.]
The Goddess’s form declared this coldly.
[This place is a sanctuary for those who flee.]
[You could have chosen contentment instead of facing further trials.]
[Yet by conquering the tenth and twentieth Floors, you have made your choice.]
Her voice rang across the vast sky.
[To witness the end of this Tower.]
[Then it is only right that we answer your resolve.]
Whoooosh!
White light engulfed us without warning. It wasn’t just the Black Dragon Lord and me. Startled cries echoed from the direction of the Plaza as well.
“What—what is this!”
“No one said anything yet…….”
This was the greatest difference from last time.
No one had even spoken the word “Teleportation,” yet the white light had swallowed us whole.
The Black Dragon Lord gazed down at her feet with alarm.
“…Could it be a forced Teleportation?”
Her suspicion was correct.
[Those who climb the Tower.]
[Those who have resolved to climb the Tower.]
[Those who have willingly received a new name and become warriors of the Tower.]
The Goddess brought both hands to her heart.
As though offering prayer for someone.
[From this moment forth, only the chosen warriors shall bear this noble burden.]
In that instant, white light engulfed us completely.
SSS-rank Hunter: To Live You Must Die (Serialized)
Author │ Shin Noa
Publisher │ Kim Joo-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 Noa 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 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
—————