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Chapter 45.1 – The Devil King’s Name (2)
Translator: HH Editor: ShaSha
One stroke.
Since I was holding a single sword,
Two extremes.
There was something that only I could cut.
-Gong-ja!
Blink.
-Now!
I looked in front of me.
No.
What was in front of me showed me.
-The head’s empty!
In front of me, there was someone with a black body.
Wastewater endlessly flowed from their body.
Even if I cut water, it was still water, so there was a lot to cut.
One sword, two extremes. [TN: korean idiom]
I cut what I had to cut.
-Keaaahhhhhh!
As they were cut, wastewater flowed from the King of Black.
It might not have been wastewater.
If it was, why was it red?
Blood.
Vibrantly red blood flowed from the Devil King’s body.
-Uk

keuk
.!
The Devil wavered and stepped back. One step. Two steps. When he took his third step, wastewater didn’t flow from the Devil King’s right arm.
The footsteps of the Devil King were puddled with wastewater, but the puddle shrank with every step he took.
And eventually.
-Keuk, heuk

uekk
..
The wastewater was completely parting off from the Devil King’s body.
Drip. Drip.
Wastewater couldn’t flow anymore, so instead, blood flowed down.
The color of life was red.
[The being of the Devil King of Fall Rain is becoming even fainter.]
And the all-powerful was no more.
-No

this can’t, uek
.!
The Devil King covered his left arm with his right hand. Blood was flowing from his left hand. The Devil King pressed tightly against his left arm like he forbade even a single drop of blood from dripping out.
-My child

not like this
.my hate
.
“Retreat.”
I spoke in a low voice.
The Devil King paused like he had been cut by my voice.
“Fall back to the 20th floor. You can’t win against me anyway. Return to your base, to the Devil King’s Castle.”
Even without looking at the ‘world map,’ it was clear what was happening.
Blue territory. The territory of humans covered the continent again. It passed the hills. It passed the area called the goddess’s shield. The temple with the one-eyed giant, the fields where the fairies were dancing, the waterfalls where the mermaids were playing, the mountains where dragons flew
..there wasn’t a single place that wasn’t blue on the continent.
Meanwhile, the red territory was,
“Go back to where you started from.”
One point.
It was only a single point.
Just as how a fire died down afters burning everything in its path, there was only a tiny red point on the world map.
That place was,
“Your final stop. Devil King.”
The Devil King groaned.
-You
.
The Devil King lifted his head. Wastewater had stopped and blood was pouring down, but half of the Devil King’s body had been burned black. So was his face. His red eyes flashed violently, but that was it. The Devil King glared at me with an ash-covered face.
“Hmm.”
The Sword Saint wordlessly gripped his sword.
“I’ll leave the last attack to the Death King.”
The Witch slowly pulled her mirrors back.
-······.
There wasn’t a chance to turn the tables. They didn’t have any weakness. Was it because I saw the Devil King’s trauma? I felt like this was the situation where they were surrounded by the soldiers in the village.
-Keuk!
There wasn’t anything else for the Devil King to do other than escape. But the reason why the Devil King couldn’t easily decide was because he knew as well. It was the same.
Like how avoiding a fire only extended your life for a minute, even if the Devil King retreated to the 20th floor, his defeat was just pushed back.
-Shit
.! Shit!
Blood dripped from his mouth.
[The Devil King has decided to retreat.]
[The Devil King of Fall rain is falling back to the 20th floor!]
Yes.
Running away even though you knew you would burn to death was something a human would do.
The further the Devil King was running away, the closer he was to becoming a human.
[Confirming the Devil King’s retreat.]
[Historical change.]
[The 19th floor stage is being revised.]
The world was covered by raindrops of light again.
After I checked that the Devil King was gone, I turned to look behind me.
“Sword Saint.”
“Mm.”
“Black Dragon Master.”
“Yeah.”
“Sorry. I want to clear the 20th floor by myself.”
I hung my head.
“Thank you for helping me so far. But I want to finish it with the Devil King. Please let me go alone.”
“······.”
The Witch shrugged her shoulders.
“Okay. I’m fine with that. You contributed the most coming on our way here
and I promised not to move for 5 days as you said. I broke that promise and helped you, so I’ll honestly stay still this time.”
“Hmm.”
The Sword Saint put his sword back in its sheath.
“After today, it’ll already have been 5 days. Meet me after you’re done with the 20th floor. We have a lot of things to talk about.”
“Yes, sir. Understood.”
I hung my head again.
“Thank you.”
And I moved on.
“Transmit.”
To the 20th floor stage.
[Welcome, Death King.]
Devil King.
To the village that Estelle was born in.
2.
[You have entered the boss stage.]
The second time.
This was the second time that I entered the boss stage.
Compared to that time
.there were a lot of similarities and a lot of differences.
[The challenger(s) is Death King. 1 person.]
[May luck be with you.]
First, the notifications.
Like on the ‘Hellfire Residence,’ there was only 1 challenger. It was solo playing. The tower, like always, wished me luck.
However.
There was something definitely different from last time.
[The clear rewards are being given.]
[The rewards from the 11th floor to the 19th floor are all being calculated.]
Now, I wasn’t a simple challenger.
I was a conqueror who had cleared the 11th floor up to here.
The tower greeted me, a conqueror, with 9 different trumpet sounds.
[Calculating the 11th floor clear rewards.]
[Calculating the 12th floor clear rewards.]
[Calculating the 13th floor clear rewards.]
[Calculating the 14th floor clear rewards.]
[Calculating the 15th floor clear rewards.]
[Calculating the 16th floor clear rewards.]
[Calculating the 17th floor clear rewards.]
[Calculating the 18th floor clear rewards.]
[Calculating the 19th floor clear rewards
]
Plod.
I took a step forward.
[Calculation complete.]
Listening to the melody that greeted my footsteps.
[The tower acknowledges your accomplishments.]
[The power to change any skill is given to you!]
[As long as it is not an EX Class, you can strengthen any skill.]
It was like an anthem that was blessing me.
The tower had made a stage in advance. The direction of the quests was decided as well. But I didn’t walk the path that was already paved for me. I made a completely new stage and cleared the stage using my methods.
The tower had acknowledged my methods.
As if it was trying to say ‘that’s also fine.’
[The powers of the Death King are being readjusted!]
It also happened during this time.
[The limited powers of an apostle are given to you.]
[With this reward, you are given a limited authority,]
[The skill that you want to strengthen is up to you!]
A stage that wasn’t chosen in advance.
A method that wasn’t chosen in advance.
Just like that, the rewards weren’t chosen in advance either.
‘
Hm.’
I nodded my head inwardly.
‘They’re leaving the choice to me I see.’
I didn’t know why the tower was built. I didn’t know who did it either. I didn’t know if the tower was filled with life from other worlds.
There was still a lot that I didn’t know.
But I faintly knew what kind of being the tower was now.
‘A being that watches over our decisions.’
And it was a being that remembered my decision.
‘Fine.’
Kashing!
I lifted my sword.
‘I’ll show you my decision this time too.’
An artifact that an ancestor of the empire had used.
[Lefanta Aegim’s Holy Protection Sword] reflected my Aura, shining white.
I pointed my sword at the [Enemy] in front of me.
“Alright.”
The entrance of the 20th floor stage.
It was standing on a path that led into a small village.
“It’s time to meet your end, Devil King.”
-······.
It growled quietly.
It looked like a beast that had been irrevocably injured.
The beast that had been chased by the fire of the world was only able to have a small shelter like this. It was the path that led to the village.
-It’s my
.
In the middle of the road with white flowers, the beast was standing all alone by itself.
-It’s my village!
It cried out.
-Don’t you dare destroy my paradise!
And its voice rang out.
[The boss stage is being opened.]
The curtains of the stage had opened.
The stage of defeating the world’s weakest boss.
“······.”
I looked at the sky for a moment.
It was clear. It was blue.
The sky had originally been blue territory.
Looking at the cloudless sky, I was sure.
Today.
The rain didn’t pour.
Translator: HH Editor: Shasha
3.
Acacia flowers drifted in the air.
The path was soundlessly covered with white flowers, and above, only the sound of people breathing filled the air.
-I can’t forgive you.
The breaths sounded rough.
-I can’t ever forgive you! In my eyes, the trace of burns is still left! The scent of burning is carved into my head! That fire! You! Did you think I would forget all your evil!
It screamed while it flung its sword around.
Every time someone screamed, the world became that much smaller.
The 20th floor stage was especially smaller.
Looking at the world map, this floor wasn’t even a hundredth of the other floors. It was just a red point on the map.
This was the 20th floor boss stage.
-Going back! You’re trying to go back!
It was an ordinary rural village.
-And burn my paradise again!
It was the world’s smallest stage.
And the world’s weakest boss monster.
-Again! You bastards always! Like that!
On the path with Acacia flowers, it was crying. It was a single scream. A frail voice. But the world was so small that it was filled with the screams of just one person.
A small world.
A tiny village.
“Our situations have been completely reversed.”
I blocked the Devil King’s sword.
Blade clashed against blade.
“Do you remember? On the 12th floor, you were the Devil King and I was the warrior. You attacked, and I defended. Hey, the world is pretty fair. Right? Now, you’re defending.”
-Die!
“Sorry, Devil King.”
I twisted my sword.
“That phrase doesn’t have any meaning to me.”
My sword pushed the Devil King’s away without too much trouble. The amount of strength itself was different. The Devil King’s physical strength was already insignificant. The Devil King couldn’t endure against it, and he ended up exposing his waist.
A blind spot.
My sword cut the Devil King’s upper body.
-Keahhhhhhh!
Red blood burst out.
[The being of the Devil King of Fall Rain is becoming faint.]
Blood poured out.
The white Acacia flowers on the path.
Red blood had dripped down onto them.
“You’ve become weak. Devil King.”
I took a step forward.
The red flowers were crushed under my feet.
“You’ve become really weak.”
-Ueh, keup
.uek
., keukkkkk!
“But it’s still not enough.”
I swung my sword.
“Become even weaker.”
-You
.
“A lot more than now.”
My blade split the Devil King.
The white flowers became even redder.
[The Devil King of Fall Rain’s being is becoming fainter.]
A step.
[The Devil King of Fall Rain’s being is becoming fainter.]
Another step.
Every time the Devil King stepped back, the white flowers faded away.
Every time I took a step forward, the Acacia flowers became redder.
That wasn’t just it.
-Keuk
.uek
..
The Devil King’s body was revealed little by little.
Hate. Regret. Resentment.
His wastewater was skinned away.
-No
.
The top of his feet was revealed.
-No
! No, no more than that

His two legs on the path were shown.
-Uek
..
His left and right arm were completely revealed.
Above and below parts of his waist were revealed.
His long neck was revealed.
-Tower, no
..no

!
And.
Finally, his face had stripped off.
[The Devil King of Fall Rain’s being is becoming fainter.]
Chin.
His upper and lower lip.
The tip of his nose, and his cheeks.
[The Devil King of Fall Rain’s being is becoming fainter.]
His red eyes.
Pale forehead.
[The Devil King of Fall Rain’s being is becoming fainter.]
And finally.
[The Devil King of Fall Rain’s being is becoming fainter.]
His hair, which was like a lion’s mane.
Each strand had lost its black color.
The last of the wastewater flowed down.
-Ah


It groaned. His long arms were trembling. It wasn’t able to endure the weight of the sword.
-Ueh, euh


The thing under the Acacia tree was no longer the Devil King. You didn’t call something that couldn’t even properly lift their sword a Devil King.
And.
[The Devil King of Fall Rain’s being is becoming more faint.]
[The Devil King of Fall Rain cannot maintain his authority.]
The tower no longer called it a Devil King either.
[The readjustment of the class is beginning.]
[The Devil King of Fall Rain’s nickname has been taken away.]
The thing that used to be the Devil King trembled.
-No

!
White light wrapped around it.
It shook like it was being attacked by bees.
-No

! No! No, no!
But it didn’t matter. The white light wrapped around it without fading away.
[Letting you know again.]
It began.
[The Devil King of Fall Rain’s nickname is being taken away.]
[The Devil King of Fall Rain’s authority is being taken away.]
It screamed.
-Ahhh
..!
The throne of absolute power had fallen.
-Ahhh, ahhhh! Ahhhh!
It extended its hand like it was trying to catch the sprinkles of light. But it couldn’t. It just escaped its fingers.
It faded and scattered away.
-Ah,
And in its place.
“Ahh,”
There was a small weak beast.
“Ah, euh
.no, uek
ahhhh.”
It wasn’t the Devil King of Fall Rain.
Nor was it the Owner of Nightmares.
It wasn’t the saintess of the rural lands.
Just a frail being.
“Yes.”
I gripped my sword.
“You’re weak enough now.”
“Don’t come
..don’t come any closer.”
“Then stop me.”
Plod.
I took a step closer.
“What will you stop me with, your words? Your sword? Try anything. If not,”
A step closer.
“I’ll stand in front of you.”
It took a step back.
It spoke up with much effort.
“You
.all of you, to me, to my children
..you don’t even deserve to do this,”
“You’re wrong.”
I took another step forward.
“Like what you said, I’m an outsider who came from another world. Yeah. Everyone allied themselves to burn you and your village-the Emperor, the military, everything. Let’s say that no one on this continent is free from that responsibility. But not me. I’m a complete outsider. Hunters like us have the freedom of choosing.”
“Ut
.”
“You don’t deserve to hold me responsible. And of course,”
I took another step forward towards what stepped away from me.
“You don’t have the strength to stop me.”
It trembled. The trembling escaped from its mouth.
“I
.I didn’t do
..”
“Are you trying to say you didn’t do anything wrong?”
“I! I just healed
”
“[Estelle] was probably as scared as you.”
It flinched.
“She probably had screamed to live more. She probably shouted that she didn’t want to die. She looked for her father. But what did you do?”
I spoke nonchalantly of what it did because it became Estelle, and had the memory of humans.
“You dug your teeth into a human’s flesh. You ate what you wanted, and became it. And is that all? You swallowed the newborn baby that the mother entrusted to you. And you acted like you were the best, saying that you saved people. You betrayed the mother that entrusted you with her child.”
“I
, that’s not it. I didn’t do that. I just
..”
“You hid the truth. Even though you knew that people would misunderstand, you stayed quiet because you thought you would be treated as a monster. You tricked people.”
I took another step forward.
“Even if you make excuses, it doesn’t matter. There’s no one who knows you as much as I do in this world. What you went through, what you felt, and how you changed. I know everything.”
“······.”
“You’re not a flawless saintess. You’re not an innocent victim. We don’t even have to talk about the mother and her child. As I said, the moment you swallowed Estelle, you lost your innocence and,”
“I!!”
And it shouted in response.
“I didn’t know!”
I paused.
With its teeth clenched, trembling, it covered its face. Cries escaped through its fingers.
“I didn’t know. I didn’t have the memory of humans
the knowledge, I didn’t know
”
The meaning of pleading to be saved.
The begging.
“Then
.then, I didn’t know what it meant
I,”
“Are you saying you did it because you didn’t know?”
“Yeah! So I, if only I knew, I never would’ve,”
It tried to say it wouldn’t have eaten her, and I cut it off.
“That’s what humans do.”
It became speechless.
“The kings that you killed will be able to say the same thing. No, they definitely will. And they probably did, right? What did they say to you before you covered their world with blood/’
I didn’t know,
I didn’t know that you didn’t have evil intentions towards us.
I just thought you were a twisted witch.
They explained themselves,
“Ut
..”
Eventually, it became completely silent.
“Sorry, I’m not that well-educated. I’m stupid. All I know is the justice of the world.”
A step more.
“More than retributive justice.”
Its shoulders trembled.
“An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. If you believed what you swallowed became humans, fine. You should go through the same thing. Then wouldn’t that be fair?”
“What
.what are you talking
.?”
“Tower!”
I looked up at the sky.
“I want to use my clear reward!”
I pulled out a golden card. It was the clear reward that I earned after crushing through the 11th to the 19th floor. I had decided to use it on a skill.
+
[Hundred Ghosts Summon]
Rank: SS
Effects: What you killed will be summoned as monsters. The dead cannot use their abilities from when they were living. They can’t remember it either. They’ll be summoned as goblins, orcs, zombies, skeletons, etc.
※ However, you can only summon them once a week.
+
Hundred Ghosts Summons.
An SS Class skill.
I lifted the card high up in the air.
“You said I could adjust a skill to however I wanted!”
[The tower agrees to what you’re saying.]
There was a voice that responded to what I was saying.
[But you cannot do too much.]
[To help you understand, the tower is giving you an example.]
[Evolving an SS Class to SSS Class is possible.]
I nodded my head.
From the beginning, there was only one thing I wanted anyway.
“I request to adjust the skill Hundred Ghosts Summons!”
[The tower is questioning your intention.]
“You don’t have to touch anything else! Just, memory. I hope you change the part about ‘they can’t remember it either!’ So if under my control, the summoned ones can remember their life!’
Flinch.
It paused.
“You
.what are you trying to do
.?”
“How’s that?! Doesn’t that seem logical!”
I ignored Estelle and shouted.
“I’m not even asking for their ability to be kept! I’m not even asking for the cool time to be decreased. Memory! Just the memory. I hope the people I killed can remember their life!”
It was quiet.
The sky was silent.
[Your request is being calculated.]
[Calculating
]
A moment later.
[The tower acknowledges that it is within reason.]
Permission came.
[Checking the conditions.]
[Will you use the rewards from the 11th to the 19th floor on the skill ‘Hundred Ghosts Summon?’]
“Yeah.”
[The condition of the skill you want is the following.]
[If you want, the dead will keep their memory of when they were alive.]
[Do you confirm this is it?]
“Yeah.”
[Confirmation complete.]
And.
[The request of the Death King has been approved.]
White light surrounded my skill card.
A storm of light lashed around.
When the light completely settled, I slowly observed my card.
+
[Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation]
Rank: SSS
Effects: What you killed will be summoned as monsters. The dead cannot use their abilities from when they were living. But if you want, the dead will be able to keep their memories and their looks from when they were alive. If you don’t want to, they’ll just be summoned as monsters.
※ However, you can only summon them once a week.
+
Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation.
It was the name of the first SSS Class skill that I had.
‘Nice.’
Everything that I wanted, happened.
I turned my head to look at it.
Our eyes met.
“From now on, I’m going to kill you.”
“If you don’t like the phrase of me killing you, think of it as [Swallowing] like what you did. Estelle, the sick people, the children. Like how you swallowed them into your shadow. I’ll kill you in that same method—”
Steadily.
I lifted my sword.
“And I’ll save you in that same way.”
It trembled in fear.