SSS-Class Revival Hunter

Chapter 45: The Demon King\'s Name (2)

[May luck be with you.]

This was the second time I entered a boss stage. If I compared then and now...many things were both the same and different at the same time. One of the similarities was the notification messages. Just like the time I had challenged the Infernal Mansion, I was alone, and as always, the Tower wished my luck. However, there was certainly a difference too.

[Initiating collective calculation for clearing the eleventh to nineteenth floors.]

I was no longer an ordinary challenger. I was the champion who was now on the twentieth floor after clearing from the eleventh to the nineteenth floors. The Tower welcomed the champion by blowing the trumpet nine times.

[Calculating the reward for clearing the eleventh floor.]

[Calculating the reward for clearing the twelfth floor.]

[Calculating the reward for clearing the thirteenth floor.]

[Calculating the reward for clearing the fourteenth floor.]

[Calculating the reward for clearing the fifteenth floor.]

[Calculating the reward for clearing the sixteenth floor.]

[Calculating the reward for clearing the seventeenth floor.]

[Calculating the reward for clearing the eighteenth floor.]

[Calculating the reward for clearing the nineteenth floor...]

[Calculations have been completed.]

I walked on as I listened to the welcoming melody.

[The Tower has acknowledged your feats.]

[You have received the right to upgrade your Skill.]

[You are able to upgrade any Skill below Class EX.]

It was like an anthem to me. The Tower had created the stages in advance and assigned premade quests to them. However, I chose not to walk down the set path. I had created entirely new stages and cleared them in my own way. The Tower acknowledged my way as if it was okay too.

[Adjusting the Death King’s authorization level!]

[You have been temporarily given the authorization level of an apostle.]

[The temporary authorization level will be maintained until you are given your reward.]

[You may choose which Skill you will upgrade!]

The stages I had cleared weren’t set in advance, so there were no predetermined ways to clear them. No rewards were decided either.

...I see. The Tower is leaving the choice to me.

I nodded.

I didn’t know why the Tower had been built or who had built it. I also had no idea why the Tower was filled with lives from different worlds. There were many mysteries, but I could guess what kind of being the Tower was.

The Tower watches what choices we make.

And the Tower also remembered my choices.

Alright. I drew my sword. I’ll show you my choice again.

Lefanta Aegim’s Holy Protector Sword, the relic used by the Aegim Empire’s first emperor, resonated with my aura. I pointed the glowing blade at my enemy. She was standing in front of a small village, the entrance to the twentieth floor.

“It’s time you met your end, Demon King.”

She growled quietly like a dying animal. The fire of the world drove her away and eventually caught up to her, leaving her only this small haven.

—It’s...

The road to the village was lined up with acacia trees in full bloom. In the middle of the road, the creature stood alone.

—It’s my village! Don’t ruin my paradise!

Her cry echoed off of the trees.

[Initiating the boss monster stage.]

I was going to defeat the weakest boss monster in the world. I briefly looked up at the clear sky—an endless, unbroken sea of blue. It made me sure that it wasn’t going to rain today.

***

White acacia blossoms silently fluttered through the air, covering the road in white. Only the sound of breathing disturbed the silent world.

—I won’t forgive you!

The breaths were hoarse.

—I will never forgive you! I still see the burn marks and smell the scorching scent! They’re branded in my brain! Your fire! Your malice! Do you think I’ll forget them? she cried as she swung her red sword.

Every time she screamed, her world became smaller. The twentieth-floor stage was especially small—it was less than one-hundredth the size of the other stages on my mini-map. Looking at it on the world map didn’t help either. It was just one red pixel on the world map.

That was the twentieth floor’s boss monster stage.

—Are you trying to go back?

The world’s smallest boss monster stage was just an ordinary, rural village, and in it was the world’s weakest boss monster.

—Are you going to go back in time and burn my paradise again? Again! You people are always like that!

On the road where acacia blossoms fell, the Demon King howled. As feeble as it was, however, it was enough to fill this small world, her small village.

“The tables have turned completely.” I deflected the Demon King’s sword and responded with a sharp attack. “Do you remember? You’re the Demon King, and I’m the hero. You invaded the twelfth floor, and I stopped it. You never know how life is going to turn out, do you. Now you’re protecting your land from me.”

—Die!

“I’m sorry, Demon King.” I flicked my wrist. “That is the most meaningless thing you could say to me.”

I parried the Demon King’s attack without a problem. My strength was on another level from the Demon King. She couldn’t handle my parry and left an opening that was as wide as a highway. I slashed the Demon King’s upper body.

—Arghhhh!

Her red blood splashed onto the ground.

[The Demon King of Autumn Rain’s presence has weakened.]

It dripped on the white acacia blossoms, fouling them with the smell of blood.

“You’ve gotten weak, Demon King of Autumn Rain.” I took a step forward, crushing the red blossoms beneath my feet. “You’ve gotten so much weaker.”

The Demon King wheezed and coughed.

“But it isn’t enough.” I swung my sword. “Become weaker.”

—You...

“Become much, much weaker than you already are.”

When I cut the Demon King, the blossoms became a little redder.

[The Demon King of Autumn Rain’s presence has weakened.]

The road behind the Demon King was white, but the road behind me grew redder and redder as I got closer to the village.

[The Demon King of Autumn Rain’s presence has weakened.]

I took another step.

[The Demon King of Autumn Rain’s presence has weakened.]

And then another. Every time the Demon King stumbled backward, the number of white blossoms decreased. At the same time, more red acacia blossoms covered the road with each step I took.

—Gah... Urgh...

The filth dripping from the Demon King, the mixture of grudges and resentment, was stripped away, revealing her body little by little.

—No...

The first was the top of the Demon King’s feet.

—No...! N-no more...!

Next was her two legs.

—Ugh...

Both of her legs were revealed entirely, and then her waist and then her torso. Soon, I could see her long neck.

—Tower, no... Don’t...!

I swung my sword again.

[The Demon King of Autumn Rain’s presence has weakened.]

[The Demon King of Autumn Rain’s presence has weakened.]

Finally, the sludge on her face was stripped away. Her chin, her lower lip, her upper lip, her nostril, the edge of her nose, and her cheeks were unveiled.

[The Demon King of Autumn Rain’s presence has weakened.]

Next were her red eyes and white forehead.

[The Demon King of Autumn Rain’s presence has weakened.]

[The Demon King of Autumn Rain’s presence has weakened.]

Lastly, her hair, which resembled an unruly mane, lost its darkness one strand after another, until every last bit of the waste was gone.

—Ah...

She moaned. Her thin arms quivered, unable to bear the sword’s weight.

—Urgh.... Urghh....

The person standing under the acacia tree was no longer the Demon King. No one in the world would call someone who couldn’t even properly hold up their sword a demon king.

[The Demon King of Autumn Rain’s presence has weakened.]

[The Demon King of Autumn Rain is no longer able to maintain authorization level.]

[Adjusting authorization level.]

[The Demon King of Autumn Rain’s title has been revoked.]

And then the Tower didn’t call her the Demon King either. The person who used to be the Demon King quivered.

—No...!

The white light enveloped her. She writhed as if it were a swarm of bees.

—No...! Don’t! No! You can’t do this!

However, it was no use. The light wrapped around her refused to dim.

[Announcement.]

The light delivered the execution.

[The Demon King of Autumn Rain’s title has been revoked.]

[The Demon King of Autumn Rain’s authorization level has been revoked.]

The Constellation who once held absolute power had fallen.

—Ahhhh...! Ahh! Ahhhh! Arghhhhh!

She frantically reached out for the drops of light scattering into the air, but they couldn’t be captured. They slipped between her fingers as they flew away.

—Ah.

Only a weak animal was left behind.

“Ahh. Ahhhhh. N-no... Ugh...”

She was no longer the Demon King of Autumn Rain, master of nightmares, nor the Saintess of the Outskirt. She was just a feeble being.

“Yes.” I clutched my sword. “Now you’ve weakened enough.”

“Stay away... Stay away from me...”

“Then stop me.” I took a step toward her. “How are you going to stop me? Are you going to bring up my right? Will you use your sword? Use anything you can.”

I took one more step.

“If you don’t, I’ll stand in front of you.”

As I approached her, she stumbled away.

“You... You people...” she wheezed, “have no right to do this to me... after what you did to my children...”

“You’re wrong.” I got a little closer. “Just like you said before, I’m an outsider from a different world. Yes—beastfolk, the temple, the kings, the emperor... Everyone in this world united to burn you and your village. Let’s say that not a single person on this continent is free of responsibility, but it doesn’t apply to me. I’m a complete outsider, so Hunters like me bear no responsibility.”

She moaned and took a step back.

“You don’t have the right to hold me accountable.” I went a step closer. “And of course, you no longer have the power to stop me.”

The quivering in her body reached her voice.

“I... I didn’t do...”

“You didn’t do anything bad?”

“I—! I just treated the sick...!”

“The real Estelle would have been scared like you are right now.” I narrowed my eyes.

She was startled.

“She screamed for her father’s help,” I calmly continued. “She screamed that she didn’t want to die. What did you do with her?”

I confronted her with what she’d done before she became Estelle and gained the memory of a human.

“She struggled to break free from you, but you sank your teeth into her neck. You devoured her against her will and became Estelle. And there was the baby the woman cherished. She trusted you to save him, but you ate him. Yet you acted all pompous, all high and mighty, and told her that you saved him. You betrayed the woman’s trust.”

“Th-th-that’s... not true,” she stammered, bewildered. “I...”

“You hid the truth. You hid the fact that you took Estelle’s place and devoured the baby. You knew that people would get the wrong idea, but you kept your silence because you were afraid that people would treat you like a monster. You deceived people.”

I took another step forward.

“Your excuses are of no use. No one in this world can understand you better than I do. I know what you went through and the emotions you felt. I know every one of your changes. You aren’t an impeccable saintess or an innocent victim. I don’t need to bother bringing up the woman and baby—the moment you ate Estelle, you lost all claim to innocence...”

“I—!” she shrieked. “I didn’t know!”

I stopped walking.

Her teeth clattered. She covered her face, but her plaintive howling still slipped between her fingers. “I-I didn’t know. I didn’t have the memory of a human...or knowledge. I didn’t know...”

She didn’t know what it meant to save someone. Nor had she been aware of what struggling or pleading were.

“At the time... At the time...I didn’t know what it meant... I...”

“Are you saying you made a mistake because you didn’t know?”

“Yes! If I knew, I would have never...”

Before she could say “eaten Estelle”, I said, “That is what humans do.”

She stared blankly at me.

“The kings who burned you and your village could give you the same excuse. They certainly would—no, I’m sure they already have. What did they say when the world was covered in blood and you stood in front of them?”

“I didn’t know.”

“We didn’t know that what you did wasn’t out of malice.”

“We thought you were just an evil witch.”

“We believed you were a monster.”

“If we had known...”

“They were... obvious lies...” She clenched her fists.

I nodded. “I’m sure that some people lied. No doubt they gave the order to burn you and your people out of a lust for power, or because of their arrogance, or their prejudice. So I’m sure that there were people who tried to escape their responsibilities. Why wouldn’t they? They’re human, after all. But are you really sure that every human was like them? Can you be certain that none of their excuses were actually said with sincerity?”

“I...”

“Even if every last ruler tried to avoid shouldering responsibility, it changes nothing,” I bluntly stated. It had to be said. “What about the soldiers who just followed their orders? How about the people who suddenly had to flee from their homes? Do you think no one among them could have sincerely said that they didn’t know?”

Her face contorted harder than the time she had been struck with my sword.

I got closer to her. “What did the one-eyed giant from the mountain tell you?”

She fell completely silent.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not a man of learning,” I quietly said. “I only know one kind of justice in this world.”

I came closer.

“And it’s karma.”

Her shoulders trembled.

“An eye for an eye. If you believe that what you devoured and spat out of your shadow was a human, then okay. Go through the same thing. At least it would be fair that way.”

“W-what are you talking about...?”

“Tower!” I looked up at the sky. “I want to use my reward now!”

I pulled out a golden Skill Card to use the reward for clearing the eleventh to the nineteenth floors.

Monster Legion Summon

Class: SS

Effects: You are able to summon those you killed as monsters. The deceased won’t have their original abilities nor have their memories. They are only summoned as monsters like goblins, orcs, zombies, and skeletons.

※However, you can summon your legion only once a week.

I held up the Class SS Skill Card to the sky. “You said that I can upgrade whichever Skill however I want!”

[The Tower affirms your statement.]

[The Tower explains that the upgrade is not limitless.]

[The Tower uses an example to help you understand.]

[It is acceptable to upgrade an SS-Class Skill to SSS-Class.]

I nodded—I only needed one upgrade anyway.

“I ask for an upgrade on the Skill Monster Legion Summon!”

[The Tower asks what upgrade you want.]

“You don’t have to upgrade anything else! I just ask for a change regarding the part that the deceased won’t have their memories! If I want, the deceased I summon will have their memory!”

The woman flinched. “What... are you trying to do...?”

“How is it? Isn’t it a reasonable request!?” I shouted, ignoring her. “I’m not asking you to preserve the dead’s abilities and Skills; this isn’t even a request to cut down my Skill cooldown. Memory! I only ask to change the part about their memory! I want the people I kill to remember their life!”

The sky fell silent. For a while, everything was quiet.

[Evaluating the level of your upgrade...]

[Evaluating....]

[The Tower has acknowledged that your request is reasonable.]

[Confirming your request.]

[Will you use your reward for clearing the eleventh to the nineteenth floors on the Skill Monster Legion Summon?]

“Yes.”

[The upgrade you want for the Skill Monster Legion Summon is as follows: if you wish, the dead’s memory shall be preserved.]

[Is it correct?]

“That is correct.”

[The confirmation has been completed.]

[Requesting Zrakua’s approval.]

[Approval has been received.]

[The Death King’s request has been approved.]

The familiar white light wrapped around my Skill Card. After the burst of light faded, I slowly read the card.

Monster Legion Reincarnation

Class: SSS

Effects: You are able to summon those you killed as monsters. The deceased won’t have their original abilities. However, if you wish, the deceased will have their memory and appearance. If not, they are summoned as monsters like goblins, orcs, zombies, and skeletons.

※However, you can summon your legion only once a week.

Monster Legion Reincarnation was the new name of my first Class SSS Skill.

Good.

Everything worked out like I wanted it to.

I turned back to her. Our eyes locked.

“I’m going to kill you. If you don’t like how I phrased it, then think of it as me devouring you. It’s just like what you did with Estelle, the sick, and the children using your shadow. I’ll devour you...”

I slowly raised my sword.

“...and spit you out the same way.”

She trembled in fear.