SSS-Class Suicide Hunter
SSS-Class Suicide Hunter - Chapter 295: Return of the Sword Emperor (3)

3.

“You… What exactly are you?”

A follower of Hamustra, the [Assistant Writer], asked directly.

“It’s surprising enough that the Corner Librarian chose someone… but what about that immense aura just now? A skill? How did you learn such a skill?”

“I’m just a newbie who arrived on the 50th floor yesterday.”

“Don’t lie. Where on earth is there a newbie like you?”

“Every company is looking for an experienced newbie like me.”

The Assistant Writer’s face twisted like a sweet potato.

I shrugged my shoulders.

“Let’s get out of here first. I’ve been feeling uneasy since earlier. It seems like some annoying creatures are following us.”

“…Alright.”

The Assistant Writer reluctantly swallowed her words. She wanted to probe further, but given the situation, she held back.

The other companions also hurried their steps.

-Roooaaar! Grrroooar!

Through the hole I had made, monsters started pouring out of the escape route we had just crawled through.

A full-fledged chase began.

“Eek!”

“Ru-run…! Hurry!”

The companions screamed. They seemed unable to shout properly due to exhaustion from running. Perhaps their physical strength had significantly dropped from being imprisoned for so long.

“That’s unfortunate.”

I clicked my tongue in pity.

“Come here. I’ll help you. How are you going to survive in this harsh world with such stamina?”

“Yes, ye-es?”

I didn’t wait for a response. Instead, I grabbed one of the followers by the nape. I lifted them up effortlessly.

It wasn’t difficult. Prolonged imprisonment takes various things away from people. Those who had lost their dignity over a long time weighed less.

“Wha-what?”

“Relax your muscles. Got it? If you tense up, you might get hurt.”

“Uh, umm…”

“Keep your mouth shut. Don’t bite your tongue.”

I put more strength into my right arm as I continued to run.

“Hup!”

And then, I threw them.

Literally.

Like an Olympic shot put athlete.

I threw the follower I had picked up with my right hand, wrapped in an aura shield, far ahead.

“—-Eh.”

The follower flew. Slowly, in the elongated time. And especially, through the air.

Like a flamingo gracefully dancing over a zoo lake.

The follower desperately flailed their arms and legs, but, as is often the case in life, there was nothing in the air to grab onto. There was only nitrogen and oxygen.

“Aaaaaiiiieeek!?”

And one of the most innovative screams I had ever heard in my life also existed there.

I clicked my tongue.

“I told you to keep your mouth shut.”

Woosh!

The follower flew gracefully and crash-landed. Some might call it a crash rather than a landing, but in the long run, there isn’t much difference between the two.

“Next, let’s go.”

“Huh?”

I grabbed another follower by the nape. It was easy. The followers, dumbfounded, were looking up at the sky, losing themselves in the sight of their comrade flamenco dancing, and had no presence of mind to resist.

“It’s dangerous, so keep your mouth shut.”

“Huh? …Yes?”

“Hnngh!”

“Ahh, eek, aaaahhhhh!?”

The process repeated itself.

I selected followers weakened by their imprisonment and threw them one by one. Then, I ran to where they had fallen and picked them up to throw again.

“Pl-please… save us…”

“This is all for your survival.”

Thanks to me, the followers, despite their lack of strength, were able to move quickly while sitting still. The monsters couldn’t catch up with our speed and gradually fell behind.

It was like a divinely inspired dribble.

[‘The Lone Seeker of Truth’ is at a loss for words at your behavior.]

[‘The Eye Living in the Labyrinth’ realizes you are out of your mind.]

[‘The Incarnation of Love and Lust’ now finds you to their taste.]

These local broadcasts are noisy.

-Ah, ah! Mic test! Mic test!

“How far did we run? Eventually, a familiar voice came from the direction of the Magic Tower.

It was the spokesperson of the Magic Tower, the one who publicly tortured the followers of Hamustra just yesterday.

-What the hell, who are you?

The spokesperson was fuming. His voice came directly to me through telepathy, pinpointing me exactly. I was also ready to respond via telepathy.

-Are you deaf? I’m asking what kind of crazy bastard are you?

“Good day to you. You must be busy. The weather is nice today.”

-You really are crazy!?

Talking to himself.

-Do you even realize who you’ve messed with? Eh? Eh?

“Well, I’m not quite sure since you haven’t introduced yourself. Don’t you think self-introduction is an important manner in society?”

-Where on earth did this lunatic come from… We are the Magic Tower! Magic Tower! Thousand-Year Magic! The force that dominates this great monopolized city on the 50th floor!

So, the city is called the Monopolized City.

“Yes. Nice to meet you.”

-Can’t you just return those people right now!?

“Ah, I’m sorry, but that might be a bit difficult… I saw your broadcast yesterday. It seemed a bit too much. Life is precious even if we live peacefully, so why bother the innocent followers of Hamustra? I felt sorry for them, so I’m helping them escape.”

-My god, you really are a total lunatic!

The spokesperson’s voice was accompanied by the sound of something being furiously kicked.

While appropriately provoking the other party, I continuously sought an escape route, intending to buy as much time as possible.

We could easily escape by returning to our tower.

‘But almost certainly, they would catch our trail.’

I shook my head.

The Magic Tower has been a dominant force in this city for over a thousand years. Even if they take a beating, they will chase to the end for revenge.

Of course, the Sword Saint and Black Dragon Witch might be fully prepared to repel invasions from other worlds, but it’s best to avoid unnecessary battles.

-Which constellation’s lackey are you? Eh? I don’t care which constellation it is, if I catch you, I’ll grind you to dust!

“I don’t serve any constellation. If I must say, I always carry my beloved in my heart.”

-Oh! Just catch that guy and finish him off! Anyone will do, please!

That’s when it happened.

“…This way.”

The Assistant Writer, who had stuck close to me, spoke. While all the other followers had transformed into flamingos, she was the only one who managed to keep up with my pace using her own strength.

“It’s dangerous to flee to whichever world you’re from. Not everyone in that world can be as strong as you.”

“I was just thinking the same thing.”

“We have a secret hideout where our comrades are hiding. I’ll guide you there. …Normally, I shouldn’t tell an outsider, but since you received a message from him.”

The Assistant Writer murmured.

“Grey, envelop us.”

At that moment, the voice of the tower echoed in my mind.

[A certain skill is affecting you.]

I tilted my head. I couldn’t feel any effect from my senses.

However, it seemed different for the observer, as the spokesperson of the Magic Tower immediately became enraged.

-Damn it! Assistant Writer! How dare you resort to such crude tricks…!

The telepathy changed. Until just now, the telepathy had been hitting me directly, but now it seemed to be coming from the sky, no longer inside my head.

I wondered what was happening.

“It’s a skill that hides our aura.”

The Assistant Writer explained beside me.

“The Magic Tower identifies people by their aura to send telepathy. Aura is like a person’s fingerprint… Now, for a while, even the constellations won’t be able to communicate with us.”

“Ho.”

Indeed. The constellations, which had been noisily sending messages, suddenly fell silent.

In short, the Assistant Writer had activated a kind of [stealth] technique.

For a moment, I thought I saw something wrong, so I rubbed my eyes. Removing nonexistent eye gunk, I focused again, enhancing my vision with aura, and clearly looked at [something] I had just seen.

“…….”

“However, it can’t hide physical aspects. …Thank you. Because you helped us escape this far, I was able to use the skill with peace of mind.”

“It’s amazing. Quite a convenient skill.”

“In my opinion, what’s really amazing is you…”

The Assistant Writer gave a bitter smile.

“This skill won’t last long. Follow me, Mr. [Protagonist] of this story. I’ll take you to our hideout.”

-I’ll kill you!

The spokesperson’s voice raged from behind.

-As crazy as you are, let’s see if you can maintain your nerve once we catch you! Yes! I’ll slowly tear your nails and shove them in your eyeballs, and Charumu! You, I saw everything you were involved in!

“Hic…”

The young mage who had been silently following us hiccuped.

-You’ll see what happens to traitors, you know that very well. Ahaha! But you’ll soon realize how foolish you were. Because, oh! Because you will set a new record for the worst punishment ever given to traitors!

“Ugh… huh…”

-Thud!

A loud bang echoed. It sounded like the spokesperson had slammed his hand on a table.

-You will all receive the worst massacre! No! The worst eternal life! Absolutely! Certainly!

4.

We successfully shook off the pursuit.

“Here.”

The place the Assistant Writer led us to was an underground cave.

“As you know, the 50th floor is eroded by void poison. The land itself emanates a powerful magic aura. The deeper underground we go, the stronger the noise becomes, so the spiders of the Magic Tower can’t accurately track us. It’s a natural fortress.”

As the Assistant Writer said, the secret hideout extended deep underground. There was no light.

“Is there only one entrance?”

I lit the tip of my finger with aura to use as a light. The followers cautiously descended the passage, using my light as a guide.

“No, there are several. I know 14 exits, and there are probably more than 23 times that which I don’t know of.”

“That’s impressive.”

“Well, it has to be, so we can each escape separately in case of an invasion.”

Even the Magic Tower occasionally invaded this hideout, but the underground cavern was so vast, and there were so many entrances and exits, that it was practically impossible to completely eradicate them.

“…….”

There were gazes observing us from the dark depths of the cave.

“…They’re the librarians…”

“Why have they returned? How did they come back?”

“Shh, don’t draw attention…”

These were shabbily dressed people. Some had set up living spaces in the corners of the cave, with miscellaneous living items scattered around. There were also dirty tents spread out to avoid the drips from the ceiling.

As we walked down the cave passage, we encountered such people, with their belongings strewn about.

“…This is a communal shelter.”

Realizing my curiosity, the Assistant Writer explained.

“A communal shelter?”

“Yes. Not only librarians like us who serve the Corner Librarian, but almost all hunters who have lost their constellations live here. The toxicity makes it hard to live long, but… it’s better than being captured by the Magic Tower and subjected to human experiments.”

Indeed.

Now that I looked, I could see small shrines among the tents of the cave dwellers.

Some had set up modest altars with small deity statues on them.

“In the outside world, we are called ‘escapees’. Well… although we are in similar situations, there’s no sense of solidarity. We even hate each other. We served different constellations, each believing theirs to be the greatest.”

“I can imagine.”

“Is your world the same? Well, the world is all the same. This way. Even though we have strict divisions based on the constellations we served, don’t enter any other areas just in case.”

As I followed the guide and glanced around.

“…Huh?”

Something odd caught my eye.

However, my vision was normal.

In one corner of the cave.

There was another passage extending in a different direction from the one we were walking. What I had noticed [something] on both sides of the passage. It was a carving, resembling the Four Heavenly Kings carved in the Seokguram Grotto. (ED Note: The Seokguram Grotto is a hermitage and part of the Bulguksa temple complex in Gyeongju, South Korea. It has carving as shown in below image and what Gongja comparing the scene in front of him)

It was a statue with a face very familiar to me.

“Huh?”

The Assistant Writer, who was walking ahead, stopped and turned around.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing… It’s just that I am seeing something surreal in real-time…”

“What is it?”

The Assistant Writer also looked in the direction I was staring.

She tilted her head in confusion after seeing [something].

“Huh? Why?”

As if it was a very familiar part of her everyday scenery.

“It’s just a normal [Sword Emperor] statue.”

“…………..”

I nearly fainted.

“Careful, Mr. Intruder.”

If the young mage behind me hadn’t caught me, I would have fallen right over.

“Sword, Sword Emperor statue? Swoooord Emperor staaaatue?”

“…Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”

“Why. Why. Why on earth is there a statue of the Sword Emperor carved here!?”

I grabbed the Assistant Writer’s shoulder and shook her. I couldn’t help but shake her. She looked at me as if I was crazy and then brushed off my hands.

“Why? Well, because the Sword Emperor is also a constellation. Of course, there are people who serve the Sword Emperor.”

“What?!”

“I don’t understand why you are so surprised…. The sword constellation, commonly known as the Sword Emperor, is quite famous. One hundred and fifty years ago, when he was still human, he once destroyed the Magic Tower. It’s said that he, like our Librarian, didn’t create followers…. but there are always followers everywhere.”

The Assistant Writer frowned.

“Especially the followers of the Sword Emperor are often criticized as fools obsessed with martial arts. I’ve seen them a few times passing by, and I would advise you not to get involved with them. How should I put it…? They seem to live in a different world.”

“…………………”

Creeeak.

I slowly turned to look at Bae Hu-ryeong.

He looked at me with an expression of ‘What are you looking at now?’

-What?

‘Explain this to me.’

-Flip over your card.

‘Card? What damn card?’

-My card, you rotten-brained zombie. The one you copied from Marcus Calenberry.

I summoned the card.

I flipped it over.

+

[Sword Constellation]

Rank: A+

Effect: A being from another world. He cleared up to the 99th floor of a tower in another world but failed and died at the 100th floor. His resentment lingered, preventing his salvation and turning him into guardian ghost. He cannot physically interfere in this world, but he can meddle in the owner’s mind.

A ghost from another world. He cleared the 99th floor but failed the 100th floor and died.

Seek his advice for his rich experience and astounding skills!

※ Except for the owner, no one else can see Bae Hu-ryeong.

※ This skill was copied from the hunter Marcus Calenberry.

+

What is this?

-Look at the card name, Mr. Zombie.

I looked.

-[Sword Constellation] – does that appear to your eyes, or does it not?

“…….”

-Then, am I a constellation or not? You brain-dead zombie.

This is insane.

Why didn’t you tell me?

-You didn’t ask?

This insane double whammy.

-And I did tell you.

‘When?’

-Today, when you were infiltrating the Magic Tower. When I told you the secret passage to use. I told you the old story.

[Yes, the Sword Emperor had a deep purpose for destroying the spire of the Magic Tower. Even if they rule the 50th floor, they aren’t eternal victors! Anyone can become a traitor. The Sword Emperor picked up his sword himself to teach us, the common people, this noble truth, oh, praise him. From now on, we are followers of the Sword Emperor, disciples of the Sword Emperor Sect. We shall all follow him…]

-But you told me to stop talking nonsense and just guide you.

“…….”

-I always speak the truth. You brain-dead zombie. But you always dismiss my true words as nonsense. Even now, realize that I am a respected elder with a righteous character.

So.

‘So, in this world, there really is a Sword Emperor Sect, and there are followers who worship you? Really?’

-Yeah.

This world is insane.

*****