SSS-Class Suicide Hunter - Chapter 203 - Black Dragon(2) >
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Chapter 203 - Black Dragon(2) >

Chapter 203.

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Translator: Seven ED: Sasha

What?

The Black Dragon Master blinked.

The leader of the Towers top guild slowly lowered her eyelids before raising them up again. Slowly. The entire action literally took a full second.

Then, she furrowed her brows.

Returner? What are you talking about?

Ive been thinking about it for a long time. Senior crossed the Aegim Empire with me. It would have been easier if I had revealed my ident.i.ty back then, but at that time, I didnt completely trust Senior yet. So I hid it until now.

The more I said, the heavier Black Dragon Masters expression became.

It was clear to her now that I wasnt telling a joke.

Senior always said. You dont know where this rookie who doesnt seem like a rookie appeared from. That Im like an old fox despite my age. Senior was right. Im not a rookie.

I summoned a skill card.

Skill card open.

Golden light s.h.i.+ned.

I flipped the golden card in my hand and showed it to the Black Dragon Master.

+

[Returners Clockwork Watch]

Rank: EX

Effect: Activates automatically upon death. Returns to 24 hours before death. Even after returning, all memories and stats are retained.

However, the higher the Hunters rank, the more the penalty will increase.

This skill was copied from Hunter Yoo Soo-ha.

+

Wait a minute.

The Black Dragon Master stretched out her left hand and grabbed my hand which was holding the card. Her hand covered the skill card, so the Black Dragon Master was unable to see its description.

The Black Dragon Master herself was blocking the skill that I wanted to show her.

Dont.

Dark eyes.

Her dark eyes, which resembled a bottomless well, somehow looked desperate at that moment. She was looking at me with an urgent expression. Beyond those eyes, at the very bottom of the well, a ripple appeared in the pool of water. (TL: A bottomed bottomless well)

Dont do this. Please.

There was a faint tremor in her voice.

I dont know what youre talking about. However, I know what would happen if I were to listen to it. Theres a line between people that should never be crossed. No matter how familiar you are, no matter how close you are, that line should never be crossed.

The Black Dragon Master spoke naturally as though shed predicted that this would happen a long time ago.

This naturalness probably came from her many past experiences.

Dont tell me your secret. Dont share it. If you were to reveal your secret now, we will cross the point of no return. When we begin to rely on each other too much, its no longer reliance, its dependence.

I know. I know that too.

you and I are good friends. Reliable comrades. You shouldnt expect more than this in your relations.h.i.+ps with people. I take care of my work, and you take care of your life. Wouldnt that be best?

The Black Dragon Master was basically asking my consent.

Her serious words made me ponder again. It was always difficult to decide what kind of relations.h.i.+p you wanted to have with someone.

Soon, I came to a conclusion.

Then listen to me first and then decide.

It will be too late then.

It wont. I can return. Even if we talk now, I can make it so that this never happened. I have that ability.

The Black Dragon Master fell silent.

In the Port Towns square, the people who were gradually waking up began to look around. The residents groaned and stretched, expelling the poisonous qi that acc.u.mulated in their bodies due to sleeping for too long. Uaah. Uhh. The sounds of yawns could be heard from all around us.

lets not talk about it here.

The Black Dragon Master, who was still holding my hand, muttered.

Transfer.

The next moment, we were out of the square.

The town pier.

The s.h.i.+ps tied to the dock creaked as they were pushed by the waves. Almost as if they were responding to the s.h.i.+ps cacophony, for a moment all we could hear was the roar of the waves.

Fine. Alright.

As if shed finally made up her mind, the Black Dragon Master nodded.

Ill listen to what you have to say first. But we cant talk about this sober.

The Black Dragon Master waved her hand and a black vortex appeared in the air. It was as if shed opened a portal to a pitch black abyss. The Black Dragon Master stuck her hand into it without hesitation.

And after a while, pulled her hand out with a wine bottle in her grip.

I was a bit surprised.

Is that a skill?

Mhm. [Item Storage]. Although the storage s.p.a.ce is limited, there is no better skill than this when it comes to killing people and destroying the evidence.

The Black Dragon Master said those words casually before taking two gla.s.ses from the vortex.

You should be honored. Not many people know I have this skill. Youre also the first living Hunter to see it, Death King.

I took the gla.s.s from the Black Dragon Master.

For a while, we only quietly emptied the bottle.

Before I began to sober up, I opened my mouth.

I am a returner.

Then, I started talking again.

I dont know where to start I have a skill that allows me to turn back time. To be precise, it allows me to go back 24hrs when I die. Thanks to this, I was able to overcome many difficulties. The 10th floor. 20th floor. I used my regression skill to survive all of them.

I showed Black Dragon Master the skill card.

This time, she didnt avert her gaze.

I see.

However, she then let out a soft sigh.

As if shed found the final puzzle piece that shed been looking for for a long time.

You suspected something?

Kind of. At the very least, I knew that [Prophet] was a lie.

The Black Dragon Master lifted her cup.

No matter how you look at it, it just felt like a convenient excuse. Ive been watching you from the side for a long time. You never did [what you already know]. You always fought like every battle was your last. Right. You didnt know the future, you were going back to the past.

She turned to look at me again.

I would like to ask you something.

Please ask.

The battle on the 11th floor.

It felt like she was about to say something shed doubted for a long time.

On the 11th floor, our Tower experienced our first group battle. Everyone was so excited about clearing the 10th floor which we had been stuck on for years that we jumped into the 11th floor. There, we fought the Devil Kings army. Do you remember?

Yes.

At that time, miraculously, not a single Hunter lost their life. Some people got hurt, but no one died. So

The Black Dragon Master hesitated for a long time.

By chance.

Yes.

did you return at that time?

Yes.

Until there were no casualties?

Yes.

The Black Dragon Master closed her mouth.

The well within her eyes seemed to become a bit lighter.

How many times?

A lot.

Ten times? Twenty?

Probably a bit more than that.

The 12th floor too?

It continued after that. It was always like that until I met Raviel.

The Black Dragon Master began to breathe a bit faster.

Why? Going so far There was no reason for you to do that.

I didnt do it because Im a good person. If I had gone up to the 11th floor on my own, I would have needed to redo it dozens or hundreds of times. You were also one of the reasons why I returned.

I looked into the Black Dragon Masters eyes.

Every time the number of people who died on a stage decreased, the Black Dragon Master would smile a bit more.

It was something she couldnt remember.

Before that, Id never seen the Black Dragon Master smile even slightly. While they werent bright smiles, they were still smiles filled with happiness. During a raid, when the Hunters died by the hundreds, you carried out your duties with a rigid and emotionless att.i.tude The Black Dragon Master changed a lot when the casualties dropped to double digits.

I was the only one who could remember her transformation.

Oh my G.o.d! Less that 40 Hunters probably died!

This doesnt make sense It seems, less than 10 people died.

This is unbelievable. It shouldnt be possible. On a battlefield like this.

A smile that blossomed like a tightly closed flower bud spreading its petals.

I could still remember that moment vividly.

When I saw it, I thought it was really beautiful.

It made me happy. It was the first time I realized I could make someone smile.

I smiled.

Thanks. Black Dragon Master. Senior.

Why?

Thanks to Senior, I was able to walk a path that I would never have been able to walk on my own. I now know about loving life. Im with someone I love. Even if it wasnt your intention, I was able to step onto this path because of the smile you showed me that day.

I wanted to say this.

I wanted to tell her.

Senior, you are someone who helped me get this strength. You are not alone. Even if Senior worries about saying goodbye to every person you meet, you dont have to worry about me.

Since I have the ability to go back one day upon death.

Ill be fine.

I wont die.

You dont have to stop the a.s.sa.s.sinations against me. You dont have to worry about what will happen if you dont stop them. Im here, and Ill keep being here as long as you let me.

Its fine even if we fail.

Saying something like that.

You dont have to be afraid of failure anymore. You can do whatever you want to achieve. Even if something goes wrong, I can give you another chance.

Dont say that.

The Black Dragon Master was afraid.

I already knew what she feared the most.

Even when we got drunk with the Crusader, the Black Dragon Master had been muttering.

Dont be late. Death King.

You cant always be late.

An irreversible situation.

That was what the Black Dragon Master was most afraid of.

So, I decided to give her the sincerest gift I could.

I said the one thing that only I could say.

You can be a little late sometimes.

The Black Dragon Master paused as if she had been stabbed.

As long as I am by your side, nothing is irreversible. Anything can be redone. So its fine to take more chances and gamble, Senior. Senior deserves it.

The wind from across the ocean swept the Black Dragon Masters hair.

Senior is much more skilled than I am. You started your own business and you manage an entire organization You rule over the entire Tower. That is a talent I dont have. Likewise, the talent to start over was only given to me by chance instead of you, Senior.

My dear best friend.

We can do a lot more if its the two of us.

I didnt want to see her shedding tears.

So I lowered my head and took the Black Dragon Masters hand.

Im already dependent on Senior, so please depend on me too.

You, really.

The Black Dragon Master swallowed her words.

Youre a bad person. Why are you saying all of this after saying that you can make it so this conversation never happened? That. Youre saying its okay since if you die and go back one day our conversation will disappear. Would you kill yourself to make this conversation go away?

Yes.

Crazy guy.

The Black Dragon Master held my hand.

Crazy guy.

She murmured again.

Youll see. Ill use it till youre sick of it. What was it? Returner? How dare you share such an ability with me without being scared? You really dont know how crazy the leader of the Black Dragon Guild is. Youll see. Crazy guy. Crazy b.a.s.t.a.r.d.

I waited for the Black Dragon Masters trembling to subside.

After some time pa.s.sed, Black Dragon Master spoke in a much calmer voice.

Anastasia.

Thats my real name. Kim Gong-ja.

I slowly lifted my head.

The Black Dragon Master had a thin smile on her face

Ill make sure to use it properly, so be prepared for the future.

Yes.

I also let out a genuine laugh.

Senior Anastasia. (TL: Anastasia sunbae)

The people climbing the Tower.

Among them, I found a comrade with whom to share my secret for the first time.