WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Ryuu

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

SSS-CLASS HUNTER WHO DIES TO LIVE

Chapter 376: The Place Called a Sanctuary (1)

The Black Dragon Witch's declaration of conversion was no joke.

[You have gained a follower.]

[The Black Dragon Witch becomes your follower.]

[You can now bestow your protection and power upon the Black Dragon Witch.]

Our contract was sealed merely through an exchange of "Are you really going to believe?" "Yes" "Really?" "Yes, really, so hurry up and seal the deal." That was the end of it. There were no other formalities.

Is it always this easy to form such agreements?

"Wow. I never thought it would be like this...."

[The Cat That Bites Gold] looked at us with disbelief in its eyes.

"To form a follower contract without even offering a skill card. That's unbelievable. Something's strange about your sword."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Above all, Constellations and their followers must trust each other. Followers must believe they won't be stabbed in the back by their Constellation, and Constellations must trust their followers not to betray them. And they usually require a significant connection......"

It seems we are an unusual case.

But to me, this felt normal. Not just the Black Dragon Witch, but Paladin, the Countess, and others had all easily agreed to become followers.

"This isn't normal. Duh. What kind of life have you been living?"

The tricolor cat made a disgusted face while our preparations were completed.

The raid team gathered in the vast garden of the communal dormitory. A total of 12 members. Among the vassals, Kim Yul, Ester, Uburka, Silvia, and the Four Demon Lords were selected. Among the companions, the Black Dragon Witch, the Heretic Inquisitor, Viper, and the Paladin participated.

Including me, that made 13 members.

It was exactly the number to correspond one-to-one with the puppets of the Constellation Killer.

"....With this lineup, we could end most worlds."

Surveying the raid team's imposing presence, Silvia clicked her tongue in amazement.

Frankly speaking, Silvia, the Four Demon Lords, and the Paladin were not skilled enough to confront the Constellation Killer. However, they could buy us some time. While they held out, I would quickly dispatch the puppets to come to their aid.

"The Constellation Killer is a foe capable of decimating average worlds, after all. It can't be helped. If only he didn't resort to overwhelming us with numbers, I would have faced him in a fair one-on-one battle."

"By the way, Master. If what Ester told me is correct, you overwhelmed the Demon King with numbers when you defeated it...."

"Is everyone ready? Hey, Silvia, the maid, everyone else is ready to dive into battle, why are you the only one dawdling? Get ready."

"Damn. This is so disgusting I might just quit my position as a maid someday."

Silvia grumbled and stepped back.

I turned my gaze and looked down at the snake wrapped around my wrist.

"Hisimet Cretsu."

"Sssss."

"Pinpoint the location of the Constellation Killer's sanctuary."

The snake nodded its head then slithered off my wrist. As I felt its slimy touch wrap around my hand, I walked toward Kim Yul.

And then I grabbed Kim Yul's right hand.

[You temporarily transfer the ownership of The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth to another.]

Ssssss.

The snake slithered from my fingertips to Kim Yul's fingers.

"......Hmm."

Perhaps unfamiliar with the touch of the snake's scales, Kim Yul slightly furrowed his brow.

"It feels strange. My chest feels a bit tight. Is this what it's like to be surrounded by a Constellation's presence?"

"Ah, yes. It's like a feather's weight is added to your breath."

"That's right. ...Master, have you always been burdened with this?"

"You get used to it surprisingly quickly."

Kim Yul just stared at me intently without saying anything else. Silence ensued. Only the snake wrapped around his wrist kept hissing softly.

[The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth manifests its authority.]

[The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth searches for the sanctuary of the Constellation Killer.]

[Searching.]

I remained silent. Could the snake really find the Constellation Killer's sanctuary? It confidently assured it could, but was it truly possible?

Time enough for a droplet of candle wax to melt and fall passed.

[Search complete.]

[The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth has pinpointed the sanctuary of the Constellation Killer.]

'Good.'

I exhaled the breath I had been holding. But it was too soon to relax. A troop aiming to conquer a fortress had only just discovered the location of the fortress.

"Don't worry, Kim Gong-Ja."

Kim Yul broke the silence.

"The enemy won't be expecting our surprise attack. This operation will definitely succeed."

"....Yes, but the Constellation Killer is a hunter who prepares for all possibilities. Even if he hasn't anticipated this, he probably has a manual prepared for when his sanctuary is invaded."

"There probably is. However, he definitely hasn't prepared for [an invasion by himself]."

Kim Yul pulled something out of his pocket.

A hair tie. Not the yellow rubber band mockingly given by those vile beings, but the hair tie I had gifted him when I accepted him as a vassal.

"The Constellation Killer will definitely hesitate for a moment. All we need is that momentary lapse. If you need a second, I will buy you that second."

Kim Yul tied his hair with the band. Thousands of strands of hair were gathered into a single braid. As if to signify his resolve, Kim Yul murmured softly.

"Transfer."

Flash!

White light enveloped Kim Yul's entire body. As he was swallowed by the light and disappeared, I began counting in my mind.

My lips barely moved.

'1 second.'

At this moment, Kim Yul would have arrived at the sanctuary of the Constellation Killer.

'2 seconds.'

The Constellation Killer would have noticed the intruder from outside and immediately launched an interception.

If it were an ordinary Constellation or hunter, they would first panic at the fact that their sanctuary, which had never allowed an outsider, was breached. But not the Constellation Killer. He would move according to the pre-entered manual.

'3 seconds.'

But the identity of the intruder was someone no manual could ever prepare for. Himself.

At this point, the Constellation Killer would momentarily halt the interception to confirm if the intruder really was an identical person to himself.

Therefore.

'4 seconds.'

Kim Yul could keep his promise to me.

[Your Apostle calls out to you desperately.]

A voice echoed in my mind.

I pushed my aura to its limit and extended my sense of time. Regardless of how my own time flowed, the voice coming from the 1st floor, isolated from all stages, flowed solemnly.

[Your Apostle wishes for you to be where he is.]

[Will you descend?]

Despite this being a message I encountered for the first time, I didn't hesitate. To inform the waiting raid team of my sortie, I deliberately opened my mouth and shouted.

"Yes!"

A dark shadow covered the top of my foot.

Under normal circumstances, I would have merely perceived it as "black light enveloping me." However, in this vastly extended time, I was able to look closely at the "black light."

It resembled human hands.

Arms rose from the shadows. Fingers caught on my toes. Palms grabbed my ankles. Numerous arms, painted black like noise, crawled up.

'.......'

Although there were countless hands, for some reason, I could distinguish each one of them. They were differentiated. These were the hands, the arms, of those who had been killed by me— the hands and arms materialized from the traumas I had glimpsed.

Among them was Kim Yul's hand.

I reached out and grabbed his plea.

[You respond to your Apostle's call.]

Countless palms crawled up and covered my entire body.

[Descending.]

And so, I was transferred, buried in the black hands.

'6 seconds.'

The next moment, what greeted me was a scene that felt familiar if one could say so.

It was a junkyard.

Outdated scrap metal and plastic containers that had emptied their contents were merely waiting to be picked up by someone. No one picked them up, so the trash formed a tomb. All the way to the horizon.

Summoned from the high skies, I looked down at the junkyard that stretched to the end of the world and fell rapidly.

[You have entered the sanctuary of the Constellation Killer.]

The sunset was dazzling.

The sunset bypassed me and illuminated the junkyard on the ground.

'7 seconds.'

Like the ancient mounds left in a city of ruins, the trash was piled up into mounds. At the top of those giant tombs, like an orange partially peeled and left behind, plastic PET bottles hung with their labels flapping loosely.

The labels of the PET bottles, originally blue, had faded to a grayish hue. The metals had their skin peeled off, revealing the raw insides.

In that place where all colors declined and all metals degenerated, there were those who swung their silver swords with silver hair fluttering.

They all looked the same.

'8 seconds.'

But they were not the same at all.

Twelve puppet bodies were rushing towards one human. They were in the middle of rushing when they simultaneously sensed my presence and all at once raised their heads. From high above, falling down, my gaze met with 12 pairs of eyes.

I drew my holy sword.

'9 seconds.'

And I murmured within my mouth.

[The Heaven that Gathers Wails summons its Apostles and followers.]

[Several Apostles respond to your call.]

[Several followers respond to your call.]

Dark shadows formed around me, still descending from the sky.

[The Apostles of The Heaven that Gathers Wails manifest.]

[The followers of The Heaven that Gathers Wails have been summoned.]

There were eleven shadows.

We fell fiercely, like fragments of a meteor split into many pieces. The strong wind brushed my cheeks.

Initially buried in dark shadows, my companions, exposed to the wind, shed the blackness. Their true faces were revealed. Some blinked in wonder, some furrowed their brows against the strong headwind, and others gripped their sword hilts, looking down at the ground.

"—Teleport!"

And the Black Dragon Witch unhesitatingly used her ability.

Employing her instantaneous teleportation skill, the Black Dragon Witch collected each of the scattered, falling companions one by one. She was also a hunter skilled in aura. The Black Dragon Witch didn’t waste even a few seconds to link all eleven members of the raid team from hand to hand.

"Kim Gong-Ja!"

The Black Dragon Witch reached out to me last.

"Grab on!"

Why hesitate?

I grasped the Black Dragon Witch's bare hand.

'15 seconds.'

The next moment, we were on the ground.

The Constellation Killer had taken a defensive stance against our arrival.

But he had only been granted a mere 6 seconds.

Initially, he spread a net to attack Kim Yul alone, then changed formation to intercept me, and finally, had to adjust again for 13 intruders.

'16 seconds.'

Thrice. Unexpected situations consecutively hit him three times.

Three times, the Constellation Killer was deprived of breathing time by us.

'17 seconds.'

And we were not so weak as to fail to hunt someone who showed an opening three times.

Shwaaaaah!

My sword was the first to slash through a puppet. It was the one closest to Kim Yul. A strike, a second strike, a third strike, three directions of sword waves smashed the puppet's limbs.

"Ughhhh!"

Next to swing his weapon was Uburka. He swung his axe and simultaneously chopped off both legs of another puppet.

Under normal circumstances, the Constellation Killer could have fought Uburka on equal footing, but the Black Dragon Witch's teleportation was a surprise. The Constellation Killer couldn't assume a proper stance and fell.

The battle that started 13:13 instantly turned to 13:11.

"So it is."

One of the Constellation Killer's puppets muttered.

"Wailing Heaven, were you a prophet?"

The balance of the battle sharply tilted.

The remaining 11 puppets were forced to scatter and face us individually. Uburka and Kim Yul joined forces to cut down another puppet.

13:10.

"Did you foresee my plan to seal you and preemptively invade this place?"

"No. I'm not a prophet. I'm a returnee."

Kim Yul, Uburka, and Silvia joined forces to rush at a new puppet. By this time, the puppets had barely regained their composure. Battles erupted all over. The Black Dragon Witch's sharp voice and Paladin's shout tore through the sunset.

"A returnee? Impossible. I anticipated you were a time manipulator and prepared nearly perfect countermeasures."

"It would have been perfect if I were alone."

I charged at the Constellation Killer.

Seeing me rapidly approach, the Constellation Killer bit his lip for a brief moment.

What calculations were going through his mind now? How quickly was he reviewing the numbers?

I couldn't know what was in his mind.

But the voice that the Constellation Killer let out was clearly audible.

"I abandon the memories of the past 29 days."

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