SSS-Class Suicide Hunter

Chapter 45.2 – The Devil King’s Name (2)

3.

Acacia flowers drifted in the air.

The path was soundlessly covered with white flowers, and above, only the sound of people breathing filled the air.

-I can’t forgive you.

The breaths sounded rough.

-I can’t ever forgive you! In my eyes, the trace of burns is still left! The scent of burning is carved into my head! That fire! You! Did you think I would forget all your evil!

It screamed while it flung its sword around.

Every time someone screamed, the world became that much smaller.

The 20th floor stage was especially smaller.

Looking at the world map, this floor wasn’t even a hundredth of the other floors. It was just a red point on the map.

This was the 20th floor boss stage.

-Going back! You’re trying to go back!

It was an ordinary rural village.

-And burn my paradise again!

It was the world’s smallest stage.

And the world’s weakest boss monster.

-Again! You bastards always! Like that!

On the path with Acacia flowers, it was crying. It was a single scream. A frail voice. But the world was so small that it was filled with the screams of just one person.

A small world.

A tiny village.

“Our situations have been completely reversed.”

I blocked the Devil King’s sword.

Blade clashed against blade.

“Do you remember? On the 12th floor, you were the Devil King and I was the warrior. You attacked, and I defended. Hey, the world is pretty fair. Right? Now, you’re defending.”

-Die!

“Sorry, Devil King.”

I twisted my sword.

“That phrase doesn’t have any meaning to me.”

My sword pushed the Devil King’s away without too much trouble. The amount of strength itself was different. The Devil King’s physical strength was already insignificant. The Devil King couldn’t endure against it, and he ended up exposing his waist.

A blind spot.

My sword cut the Devil King’s upper body.

-Keahhhhhhh!

Red blood burst out.

[The being of the Devil King of Fall Rain is becoming faint.]

Blood poured out.

The white Acacia flowers on the path.

Red blood had dripped down onto them.

“You’ve become weak. Devil King.”

I took a step forward.

The red flowers were crushed under my feet.

“You’ve become really weak.”

-Ueh, keup….uek…., keukkkkk!

“But it’s still not enough.”

I swung my sword.

“Become even weaker.”

-You….

“A lot more than now.”

My blade split the Devil King.

The white flowers became even redder.

[The Devil King of Fall Rain’s being is becoming fainter.]

A step.

[The Devil King of Fall Rain’s being is becoming fainter.]

Another step.

Every time the Devil King stepped back, the white flowers faded away.

Every time I took a step forward, the Acacia flowers became redder.

That wasn’t just it.

-Keuk….uek…..

The Devil King’s body was revealed little by little.

Hate. Regret. Resentment.

His wastewater was skinned away.

-No….

The top of his feet was revealed.

-No…! No, no more than that…

His two legs on the path were shown.

-Uek…..

His left and right arm were completely revealed.

Above and below parts of his waist were revealed.

His long neck was revealed.

-Tower, no…..no……!

And.

Finally, his face had stripped off.

[The Devil King of Fall Rain’s being is becoming fainter.]

Chin.

His upper and lower lip.

The tip of his nose, and his cheeks.

[The Devil King of Fall Rain’s being is becoming fainter.]

His red eyes.

Pale forehead.

[The Devil King of Fall Rain’s being is becoming fainter.]

And finally.

[The Devil King of Fall Rain’s being is becoming fainter.]

His hair, which was like a lion’s mane.

Each strand had lost its black color.

The last of the wastewater flowed down.

-Ah……

It groaned. His long arms were trembling. It wasn’t able to endure the weight of the sword.

-Ueh, euh……

The thing under the Acacia tree was no longer the Devil King. You didn’t call something that couldn’t even properly lift their sword a Devil King.

And.

[The Devil King of Fall Rain’s being is becoming more faint.]

[The Devil King of Fall Rain cannot maintain his authority.]

The tower no longer called it a Devil King either.

[The readjustment of the class is beginning.]

[The Devil King of Fall Rain’s nickname has been taken away.]

The thing that used to be the Devil King trembled.

-No……!

White light wrapped around it.

It shook like it was being attacked by bees.

-No……! No! No, no!

But it didn’t matter. The white light wrapped around it without fading away.

[Letting you know again.]

It began.

[The Devil King of Fall Rain’s nickname is being taken away.]

[The Devil King of Fall Rain’s authority is being taken away.]

It screamed.

-Ahhh…..!

The throne of absolute power had fallen.

-Ahhh, ahhhh! Ahhhh!

It extended its hand like it was trying to catch the sprinkles of light. But it couldn’t. It just escaped its fingers.

It faded and scattered away.

-Ah,

And in its place.

“Ahh,”

There was a small weak beast.

“Ah, euh….no, uek…ahhhh.”

It wasn’t the Devil King of Fall Rain.

Nor was it the Owner of Nightmares.

It wasn’t the saintess of the rural lands.

Just a frail being.

“Yes.”

I gripped my sword.

“You’re weak enough now.”

“Don’t come…..don’t come any closer.”

“Then stop me.”

Plod.

I took a step closer.

“What will you stop me with, your words? Your sword? Try anything. If not,”

A step closer.

“I’ll stand in front of you.”

It took a step back.

It spoke up with much effort.

“You….all of you, to me, to my children…..you don’t even deserve to do this,”

“You’re wrong.”

I took another step forward.

“Like what you said, I’m an outsider who came from another world. Yeah. Everyone allied themselves to burn you and your village-the Emperor, the military, everything. Let’s say that no one on this continent is free from that responsibility. But not me. I’m a complete outsider. Hunters like us have the freedom of choosing.”

“Ut….”

“You don’t deserve to hold me responsible. And of course,”

I took another step forward towards what stepped away from me.

“You don’t have the strength to stop me.”

It trembled. The trembling escaped from its mouth.

“I….I didn’t do…..”

“Are you trying to say you didn’t do anything wrong?”

“I! I just healed…”

“[Estelle] was probably as scared as you.”

It flinched.

“She probably had screamed to live more. She probably shouted that she didn’t want to die. She looked for her father. But what did you do?”

I spoke nonchalantly of what it did because it became Estelle, and had the memory of humans.

“You dug your teeth into a human’s flesh. You ate what you wanted, and became it. And is that all? You swallowed the newborn baby that the mother entrusted to you. And you acted like you were the best, saying that you saved people. You betrayed the mother that entrusted you with her child.”

“I…, that’s not it. I didn’t do that. I just…..”

“You hid the truth. Even though you knew that people would misunderstand, you stayed quiet because you thought you would be treated as a monster. You tricked people.”

I took another step forward.

“Even if you make excuses, it doesn’t matter. There’s no one who knows you as much as I do in this world. What you went through, what you felt, and how you changed. I know everything.”

“······.”

“You’re not a flawless saintess. You’re not an innocent victim. We don’t even have to talk about the mother and her child. As I said, the moment you swallowed Estelle, you lost your innocence and,”

“I!!”

And it shouted in response.

“I didn’t know!”

I paused.

With its teeth clenched, trembling, it covered its face. Cries escaped through its fingers.

“I didn’t know. I didn’t have the memory of humans…the knowledge, I didn’t know…”

The meaning of pleading to be saved.

The begging.

“Then….then, I didn’t know what it meant…I,”

“Are you saying you did it because you didn’t know?”

“Yeah! So I, if only I knew, I never would’ve,”

It tried to say it wouldn’t have eaten her, and I cut it off.

“That’s what humans do.”

It became speechless.

“The kings that you killed will be able to say the same thing. No, they definitely will. And they probably did, right? What did they say to you before you covered their world with blood/’

I didn’t know,

I didn’t know that you didn’t have evil intentions towards us.

I just thought you were a twisted witch.

They explained themselves,

“Ut…..”

Eventually, it became completely silent.

“Sorry, I’m not that well-educated. I’m stupid. All I know is the justice of the world.”

A step more.

“More than retributive justice.”

Its shoulders trembled.

“An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. If you believed what you swallowed became humans, fine. You should go through the same thing. Then wouldn’t that be fair?”

“What….what are you talking….?”

“Tower!”

I looked up at the sky.

“I want to use my clear reward!”

I pulled out a golden card. It was the clear reward that I earned after crushing through the 11th to the 19th floor. I had decided to use it on a skill.

+

[Hundred Ghosts Summon]

Rank: SS

Effects: What you killed will be summoned as monsters. The dead cannot use their abilities from when they were living. They can’t remember it either. They’ll be summoned as goblins, orcs, zombies, skeletons, etc.

※ However, you can only summon them once a week.

+

Hundred Ghosts Summons.

An SS Class skill.

I lifted the card high up in the air.

“You said I could adjust a skill to however I wanted!”

[The tower agrees to what you’re saying.]

There was a voice that responded to what I was saying.

[But you cannot do too much.]

[To help you understand, the tower is giving you an example.]

[Evolving an SS Class to SSS Class is possible.]

I nodded my head.

From the beginning, there was only one thing I wanted anyway.

“I request to adjust the skill Hundred Ghosts Summons!”

[The tower is questioning your intention.]

“You don’t have to touch anything else! Just, memory. I hope you change the part about ‘they can’t remember it either!’ So if under my control, the summoned ones can remember their life!’

Flinch.

It paused.

“You….what are you trying to do….?”

“How’s that?! Doesn’t that seem logical!”

I ignored Estelle and shouted.

“I’m not even asking for their ability to be kept! I’m not even asking for the cool time to be decreased. Memory! Just the memory. I hope the people I killed can remember their life!”

It was quiet.

The sky was silent.

[Your request is being calculated.]

[Calculating…]

A moment later.

[The tower acknowledges that it is within reason.]

Permission came.

[Checking the conditions.]

[Will you use the rewards from the 11th to the 19th floor on the skill ‘Hundred Ghosts Summon?’]

“Yeah.”

[The condition of the skill you want is the following.]

[If you want, the dead will keep their memory of when they were alive.]

[Do you confirm this is it?]

“Yeah.”

[Confirmation complete.]

And.

[The request of the Death King has been approved.]

White light surrounded my skill card.

A storm of light lashed around.

When the light completely settled, I slowly observed my card.

+

[Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation]

Rank: SSS

Effects: What you killed will be summoned as monsters. The dead cannot use their abilities from when they were living. But if you want, the dead will be able to keep their memories and their looks from when they were alive. If you don’t want to, they’ll just be summoned as monsters.

※ However, you can only summon them once a week.

+

Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation.

It was the name of the first SSS Class skill that I had.

‘Nice.’

Everything that I wanted, happened.

I turned my head to look at it.

Our eyes met.

“From now on, I’m going to kill you.”

“If you don’t like the phrase of me killing you, think of it as [Swallowing] like what you did. Estelle, the sick people, the children. Like how you swallowed them into your shadow. I’ll kill you in that same method—”

Steadily.

I lifted my sword.

“And I’ll save you in that same way.”

It trembled in fear.