SSS-Class Suicide Hunter

is the first time I’ve died in 153 years, 7 months, and 2 days.
The Hunter who killed me in the past, the Sword Emperor, was distinctly more skilled than I.
Thus, I added a rule on page 2.
[If I am about to be killed by an opponent stronger than me, I will escape].
This is the lesson I gained after dying three times in three battles against the Sword Emperor.”

The silver-haired man scanned the old notebook with his blue eyes.

“From my judgment.”

Then, he looked at me.

“You avoided two of my blows.
But if you were a fighter on the Sword Emperor’s level, you would have counterattacked immediately after dodging.
The Sword Emperor said his level of martial arts was called the Dawn Circle Sword.
Your skills are not on that level.”

The Holy Sword by my waist trembled.

“It’s hard to understand why I was killed by a person on your level.”

The one who massacres Constellations.

“This means that you are smart enough to devise a method that I cannot guess.
A Hunter who is smarter than me is dangerous.
If you gain more outstanding power than you have now, you may grow into a Hunter comparable to the Sword Emperor.”

A human weapon.

A person who plans for his own death and has made an additional body.
Whether it was a [clone], a [puppet], or some Constellation’s technique, the Constellation Killer, Lefanta Aegim, stood before me.

『Don’t see him as a human.』 

『The Constellation Killer bastard is a Hunter, Gongja, just like you.』 

Like me, who never really dies no matter how much I die.

The Constellation Killer was another person who had measures against death.

“I judge that you are a dangerous person whom I cannot leave alone.
I will neutralize you immediately.”

The Constellation Killer pulled a yellow rubber band from his chest pocket.
Slowly, he tied his silver hair.

“Our fight begins now.”

The world fractured.

-Come on, Gongja.

Bae Hu-ryeong laughed loudly.

The slightly frayed sleeves of a robe fluttered.

-This is the world after the 50th floor!

4.

I pulled forth my red aura with all my strength.

“Dammit! A doll? You’re really no different from a machine, are you?!”

“In my battles against the Sword Emperor, there were no witnesses except for one Constellation.”

The Constellation Killer looked between me and his diary.
It would be nice if looking was all he did.
He continued to rain down blows without pause.
I did my best to avoid his repeated attacks.

“It was because the Sword Emperor considered the duel to be sacred.
The Sword Emperor called it a martial arts contest.
However, too many have witnessed this death.
It will be difficult to eliminate all witnesses.”

-This crazy bastard…

I heard a voice muttering absently in the faraway sky.
It was the voice of the Magic Tower Master.
Regardless, the Constellation Killer continued to calculate how to act next.

“Therefore, I will threaten them instead of killing them.
Listen.
Look.
To those who oppose me and to those who will oppose me in the future, I have artificially acquired immortality.
Even if you kill me, I will stand before you again.”

-……

“And I vow to kill the person who has killed me.
If a group worked together to kill me, I will destroy the whole group.”

Booooom!

I narrowly managed to avoid the Constellation Killer’s attack.
The attack I dodged did not cut me but [the Constellation Killer’s corpse].
The corpse was cut off at its waist in one stroke.
This was crazy.
That guy, the Constellation Killer, shredded a body that looked exactly like his own.

“My declaration is not just a threat.
I will kill you here to prove it.”

His face was still expressionless.

It was like he placed no value on his own body.

“Strengthening one blow.”

The Constellation Killer dashed at me.

“I abandon all the beauty of the world.”

‘Ah.’

I had been under the illusion that time had stopped.

As a wave of air from his sword strike ripped through the earth, I looked the Constellation Killer in the eyes.
They were apathetic.

Pure madness.

His eyes were not afraid of any sacrifice or price he had to pay in order to act on his convictions.
Yes, Bae Hu-ryeong was right.
This man was a person who lived as a hunter just like I did.

‘It’s me.’

I lamented.

‘It’s me if I didn’t meet Raviel—‘

Staring at my imminent death, in that moment, I gave up on defending.
I ignored it.
But I wasn’t just throwing away my life.

『Don’t kill yourself without my permission.』 

『Don’t die even when there’s an easy escape.』 

『Even if you don’t think you can escape death, struggle until the end.』 

As I gave up on defense, I swung my sword.
If I couldn’t block the blow anyway, even if I was going to die, I could at least hit him properly.
That was just who I was.
That was the promise I made with Raviel.

Chwaak!

My sword collided with the Constellation Killer’s strike.

My blade cut open the diary in the Constellation Killer’s left hand.

“……”

I saw the Constellation Killer’s silver eyebrows twitch.

“——.”

His blow had pierced me.

‘I admit it.’

I coughed.
Blood poured back down my throat.
My vision turned white.
Even as my body boiled, I glared at the Constellation Killer until the very end.

‘You are a monster.
You’re stronger than me.
You’re very cautious like me.
However, you’re not the only one who has another chance, Lefanta Aegim.’

[The Corner Librarian sighs.]

‘Kill me.
I’ll die for you now.
Kill me again and again.
Let’s kill each other! Your hell and my hell can compete.
The last person standing will be me.
You are wrong!’

[The Corner Librarian rejoices but also despairs.]

I will beat you.

[You have died.]

Just wait.

[Currently, your Hunter rank is B-Class.]

[As part of your penalty for leveling, the order of your skill activation will be changed.]

I will definitely, to you—-.

[Warning.]

[The trauma of the enemy who killed you is being materialized.]

[The data necessary for materialization will be extracted from your memories.]

The whiteness I saw turned red.

[The severity of the penalty is high.]

[The penalty is the animal road.][1]

My consciousness drifted away.

From a faraway world, like it was crossing nirvana, there was a melody.

Ding,

Dong,

Dang,

Dong.

……

Somehow, the tune sounded very familiar.

It was the sound of a bell I think I heard a long time ago.

‘Where did I hear this… Oh? Where… Where was it?’

I tried to open my eyes.
My eyelids felt like they were being weighed down with iron.
My whole body was tingling with sleep paralysis.
Only the unclear melody, the hazy bells, could be heard. 

Ding, dong, dang, dong…

At some point, I could hear another sound.

-This is the broadcasting department, notifying all students remaining on school grounds…

School?

-Other than the students who will participate in nighttime self-study, everyone, please go home now.
Once again, the broadcasting department announces…

Go home.

-Recently, some students have remained on school grounds after dismissal time has passed.
To the students at school now, please return home if you have not applied for nighttime self-study.

Ding, dong, dang, dong.

The bell rang again, and the voice stopped speaking.

“……”

What the hell was this?

I struggled to break free of the sleep paralysis.
But struggling was no use, so I concentrated my consciousness on one point as much as I could.
I felt my body fidget.
As I was trying to move my fingers by concentrating a bit more, something hit my head.

“Sunbae, wake up! We’ve been dismissed!”

Only then could I move, like I had been released from binding magic.
I exhaled violently.
Gradually, I regained control of my body.
Sensations returned.
The first to return was hearing, then sight.

“Aha—”

Drawn by the familiar laugh, I raised my head.

“It’s not good for you to sleep on your desk! It’s bad for your back, and more importantly, you won’t sleep well.
I understand that you’re studying hard since it’s almost midterms, but please go home and sleep instead!”

The Heretic Questioner was smiling down at me.

However, something was different.

“…Heretic Questioner?”

The Heretic Questioner was wearing a school uniform.

“What? A heretic questioner?”

He tilted his head side to side.

“Who’s that?”

“…Maybe… Are you the Golden Silk? Were you possessed by the Heretic Questioner again?”

“Possessed? Ah.
Did you have a dream? Ahaha.
Sunbae, you read a lot of books.
You must have had an interesting dream!”

“……”

I slowly looked around.

The two of us were at… a library.
But even though it was a library, it was shabby when compared to the Great Library of All Things.
If the Great Library was a magnificent chateau, this was a cramped kennel.

Looking out the window, I could see a wide schoolyard.

“……”

Like a normal school.

‘Sword Emperor.’

Feeling my mouth go dry, I muttered in my head.

‘There’s trouble, Sword Emperor.
This.
I think the penalties became totally weird as my level went up.
Before, I saw the trauma like I was peeping in a dream, but this… Sword Emperor?’

There was no response.

I looked around again.

‘Hello?’

It was quiet.

‘Hey.
Sword Emperor.’

It was silent.

“……”

Then, I realized.

“Now, sunbae.
Let’s leave now.
The student council president will probably be waiting at the school gate today! You can’t make your girlfriend angry! I’ll organize the books, so sunbae, you go first!”

I had entered a new stage.

The trauma was unfolding on a different level than before.

~~~

[1]: I’m not sure if any of the previous TLs explained it, so here it is just in case: