SSS-Class Suicide Hunter

Chapter 304: Grey Spider (3)

The spiders froze at the sight of my smile.

"...."

"...."

I've met many people who have lived for a long time.

In the tower, it's possible to overcome the limits of lifespan.

Here, there are humans who have survived over a hundred years, and constellations like Hamustra who have roamed the stars for tens of thousands of years. I realized one thing while meeting them.

Fear is constant.

"It's a bit tricky."

I smiled broadly.

"If you are just going stay still, shall I make the first move?"

My feet moved faster than words.

I dashed out. The next moment, a spider hiding in the ruins of a building and holding its breath let out a short scream, "Eek". She and I locked eyes, face to face. She was of the witch race, with freckles sprinkled across her face. I pressed a point on her vein, smiling reassuringly.

"Ah..."

"No matter how eternal it feels, a thousand years is not forever."

I hummed to myself.

Meaning?

None.

"It takes ten days for the red flower to wither. A thousand years are needed for the autumn of the Magic Tower."

What mattered was that the spiders positioned throughout the city were listening to every word that flowed from my mouth.

They would desperately seek meaning in my words.

That was enough. If it could cause even a slight confusion among them, I would gladly feign composure and recite these enigmatic answers.

"Ah. I should have worn a black robe. It's a historical moment where the Thousand-Year Witch and the Thousand-Year Magic Tower are brought down, and here I am, not paying attention to fashion. Well, it's a trivial matter. My master would surely laugh it off."

"Retreat!"

A commanding spider shouted as if spitting blood.

"Fall back! Fall back! 33rd Battalion, even for a moment, stop that monster!"

"Retreat, but where to...."

"We'll regroup at the headquarters! There's no answer to this! The elder must step in!"

Objectively, the Magic Tower still had the upper hand.

The number of enemies I had taken down since the fight began was just over a hundred.

But I had focused on striking down only the high-ranking commanders. The enemy's command structure was now in disarray. The spiders, who relied entirely on telepathy for communication, were helpless against me once their wide-area communication network — the 'Spider Web' — was torn apart.

[The quests of the Constellations are progressing.]

['The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains' orders its followers to advance!]

This meant dividing and conquering.

[Quest progress. 'The Eye Living in the Labyrinth' exposes the enemy's retreat routes.]

[Quest progress. 'The Bell that Mourns the Dead' posts the identities of those who lost their lives in past rebellions throughout the city.]

[Quest progress. 'The Incarnation of Love and Lust' exposes the identities of spider commanders and above.]

As soon as it seemed the campaign was moving forward, the Constellations immediately provided their followers with 'appropriate rewards' and 'adequate motivation'.

It wasn't that they hadn't encouraged their followers before; it wasn't because they had no intention of resisting the Magic Tower.

Ultimately, it's not the Constellations in the night sky but the humans on the ground who clear the quests. The followers must step forward, and only then will the Constellations respond in kind.

"Hahahaha! Such a thrill to kill!"

Thus, a counterattack began throughout the city.

"Forgive me for once treating you lightly, Death King! How long has it been since I've freely used telepathy? Great, great, great! It's the best! I am the high priest of [The Whip That Descends on the Self-Abuser], the Constellation captured by you spiders in the 4th headquarters! The Apostle [Berserker]!"

A hunter who had resolved to rebel with me in that underground cave roared.

"Return my Constellation~noona! You bastards!"

"...Sword Emperor, Sword Emperor, you said but I never really believed it would come to this. Honestly, I had my doubts… But yes. This might really be the last chance. Everyone. As an apostle of Lord Babit, I command you. Even if fighting isn't your forte, rise up with all your might and fight to the death."

"How splendid."

The momentum of both forces had reversed.

The spider webs, which had been cast like a barrier over Monopolized City, were being dismantled piece by piece.

Up to now, suppressed voices, representatives of numerous Constellations, had seized the city. From the north. From the west. From the south. Or the east. In open-air pubs and along streets lined with taverns, blue, red, yellow, and white auras rippled like waves. These waves overlapped and shook the skies above the city.

"Is today the last day of whispering in hiding underground?"

Swoooosh!

Something resembling a firework soared into the sky.

It was a blow packed with compressed aura. It wasn't a sniping aimed at commanders like I had done. No, it targeted no one in particular. The firework was aimed at 'the sky'.

And it split the bottom of the dark clouds.

It was weak. A weak blow, embarrassingly so compared to Constellation Killer. But the value of a sword is determined not by the hand gripping the hilt, but by the target it cuts. In that sense, the firework launched by the Apostle of [The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains] was undeniably precious.

"Let's go. Bearers of the banner."

Light leaked through the split clouds.

"Follow Death King, the successor of the Sword Emperor."

Shouts erupted throughout the city.

"Ye-, you vermin!"

One spider raged.

"We retreated because of that guy, not because we're afraid of you brats! Where do these bugs get off, yapping without knowing their place! Who the hell do you think you are, showing off like this…"

Ah. There it is.

I launched a sword strike.

"What?!"

The spider's voice jumped. Along with the sound of a building collapsing, I could hear the spider jumping around.

"You unprincipled bastard! Why hit when someone is talking, huh? Hey! That blow just wiped out my entire squad! It's unbelievable, wow, seriously, are you really the successor of the Sword Emperor? Huh? Smiling foolishly all this time! From your face alone, the aura of misfortune overflows like crazy, just like the Sword Emperor, damn it, damn!"

I launched another strike.

"Damn it!!"

With that scream, the voice was cut off.

The commander, who had let his guard down thinking he wouldn't be defeated just by emitting a telepathy signal, was already gone. The brave one who knew he was doomed but couldn't let go of the command baton until the end, also disappeared. And the lunatic who, despite knowing he was going to be defeated, wanted to curse a storm before dying, just made his exit.

Now, only one role remained.

"—Yes. It's familiar."

The only ones left were those who had the power to be complacent, couldn't let go of their command baton, and never forgot to curse until the end.

"This familiar damnation. Though the face is different, this aura of misfortune reminds me of 'that bastard'. Honestly, it's surprising. Even with entirely different directions, the misfortune is the same."

I didn't hesitate. I launched a strike towards the direction from which the voice had come. And, Kwaaang! For the first time today, my attack was neutralized in mid-air.

"I want to ask."

Far away, in the clouds split by the firework.

Her finger was stretched out in a ray of sunlight.

"Where did you learn that shitty attitude?"

Behind the finger.

An expressionless face still shrouded in shadow looked down upon the earth.

The brim of the hat she wore was long and wide, leaving no gaps for the sunlight to penetrate.

"If there's a specialized hospital that removes such shitty attitudes, let me know. From what I see, that seems to be the root of all evil. No matter how much you stomp them, cockroaches keep crawling out, so there must be an academy somewhere breeding these vermin."

The Elder.

Liberator of the Niglus-Kukulu, the witch race.

The one who annihilated five races. The forsaken owner of the grey. Godslayer. The witch who nailed six constellations. The greatest stakeholder. Master of all spiders. Truly, a hunter with so many titles that counting them becomes meaningless. A human even the Constellations hold in awe, along with the already dead Sword Emperor and Constellation Killer, who might as well be considered dead.

"...."

I smiled.

Regardless of how many aliases she had, it didn't matter to me. From the moment Bae Hu-ryeong told me the old stories, I had already decided in my heart what name I would use when I first met her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, 'Grey Spider'."

I called her as I had decided.

"I am known as the Death King."

"...."

Ha, a short laugh escaped.

"The King of Death? The boss of the underworld, huh? Then you should be playing king in hell. Why crawl out here and cause trouble, kid?"

"Ah. It's already hell being alive, so there's no need to go to the underworld."

"It seems you're not one to hold your tongue."

"If I'm a brat, does that make you a double brat, Grey Spider?"

"What.... ...what?"

The Elder seemed momentarily at a loss for words.

I swung my holy sword and smiled.

"It's a joke. Just a boss's gag to lighten the mood."

"...."

The Elder pursed her lips, looked down at me with contempt, and then seemed to realize something. Quite a variety of expressions. She held her staff in one hand while touching her forehead with the other.

"A real nutcase. Damn…"

Why does everyone I meet seem to have a revelation that 'nutcase' is the most fitting word in the entire universe to describe me? It's really a mystery, a mystery indeed, my mysterious friend, Capitan Lee.

(TL: Capitan Lee here is a reference to korean name 꺼삐딴 리 whose main protag is Lee In-guk. Its quite famous among korean from what I have read about it. You can read about it here- https://namu.wiki/w/%EA%BA%BC%EC%82%90%EB%94%B4%20%EB%A6%AC)

"Please understand."

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Aren't I the successor of the Sword Emperor? Trying to imitate him, I ended up acting like a nutcase in method acting. I'm not usually this bad."

"You are definitely not his successor."

Hmm?

"I've seen your swordsmanship. You're skilled in aura manipulation. But you're different from that Sword Emperor bastard. There's malice in you. Yes, you have poison in your heart."

Even as she spoke to me, the Elder's gaze wandered around.

'Aha.'

Indeed.

Currently, the Constellations are encouraging their followers with quests. But those quests are based on the premise that I am [the successor of the Sword Emperor]. If the narrative shifts to suggest that I have no connection to the Sword Emperor, [The Incarnation of Love and Lust] would have to stop their quest immediately.

That's why the Elder spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear.

'Clever.'

A pinpoint attack.

The Elder clicked her tongue.

"Those who use swords, do they divide themselves into orthodox and unorthodox? Even I, who don't care, can see it. Death King. You silly little kid. You walk a heretical path. How could you be the successor of the Sword Emperor when the intent within your sword is completely opposite? Hardly."

I felt the silence of the followers. They stood still, or continued their battles, listening intently to the exchange between the Elder and me, suspended in the sky.

['The Incarnation of Love and Lust' looks troubled.]

The Constellations as well.

"The Sword Emperor is dead."

A giggling laughter adorned the sky. When the Elder laughed, the tail of her broomstick she was riding on slightly wiggled. As if mocking the Constellations' agitation.

"Let's say that bastard left a secret manual and raised a successor. Yeah. Maybe somewhere there is a disciple of his! But Death King, you are definitely not that disciple."

Should I wait a bit longer?

"You claim to be his predecessor because you inherited the Sword Emperor's will? What was the Sword Emperor's will anyway? To rebel against our Magic Tower? Ha. If that's the case, then all of you, thousands and tens of thousands, would all be his successors!"

"...."

Just a little longer.

"You vermins. The Constellations are always like that. Ah, there's not a single decent one among those who claim to be gods. Knowing it's not true. Clearly knowing it won't work but still trying to push the campaign forward, picking up some insignificant kid and going crazy claiming they're the coming of the Sword Emperor…"

"Hello."

Yes.

"Fucktards."

Now is the time.

"You gotta air out the place sometime. People can't live all cooped up."

Hesitation.

"C'mon, I'm in a good mood! I'll remodel it for free today."

"...."

"I should laugh [hehehe] at this point. But even as a master of method acting, I can't laugh like that. A person should at least have some dignity, right?"

The gaze.

I can feel it.

The Elder was looking at me. If our eyes really meet, if only the exploration of each other became important, then during that gaze, time would stand still. And nothing else would matter.

Until just a moment ago, the Elder was focused on tearing us down. Speech. Provocation. Strategy. She was ready to relentlessly attack our weakest points. To buy time for the retreating spiders, to make the followers doubt the Constellations, and ultimately, to win the war.

All of that became unimportant.

"Hey."

Among the countless names she had, I spoke the nickname that only the Sword Emperor had used.

"Grey."

"...."

"Are you still living like that?"

Showing the Sword Emperor's expression, his tone, his smile.

"How do you never change, whether it's a hundred years or a thousand?"

"In my opinion, that's also a sickness. A disease. Basically, you're picking a fight with the world. You think if you change, you're losing to the world? From now on, I'll call this disease the 'Grey Disease'. Consider it an honor."

"You."

"You," The Elder said.

"You—-."

"Haha."

"...."

"Or so I would say."

I smiled.

"It's a joke. Just a joke."

"...."

"How about it? Was it a little funny this time?"

And then, I saw.

The clouds swirling above the city, the massive flow of magic causing them to whirl. Spiders retreating to the spires even flinched, turning back to look, gazing up at the sky. The sight of the five spires vibrating, causing an earthquake throughout the entire city.

I saw many things.

"Okay."

But none of that mattered.

"I wanted to see that look in your eyes."

The moment I raised my holy sword.

The magic storming the sky, all of it, overwhelmingly, crashed down on me.