Chapter 128: The Compatriots (1) SSS-Class Revival Hunter

Chapter 128: The Compatriots (1)

—Hero, can you hear me?

Kim ■ blinked blankly. He was standing in the middle of a ruined wasteland, holding a sword. “This place is...”

—You were in a fierce battle until just a moment ago.

The voice was coming from the sword. It belonged to the Goddess of Protection, the Constellation that had brought him into this world. Although he could recognize the goddess, ■’s mind was somehow blank. How had he made it here? It was as if his memories were covered in soot. Even when he tried to remember and claw out the soot, the black dust always came back, clouding his head.

The goddess sounded like she was about to cry.

—You... fell into your enemy’s trap. It was an ambush you just couldn’t overcome. If you kept fighting normally, you would have lost for certain... so you used Salvation’s power for the first time.

“Salvation...”

—Yes, it’s the power that can save you depending on how much you give up. You gave up a syllable of your name, Hero.

Only then did ■ realize the reason behind the soot.

“I see. Yeah, that’s correct. I did that.”

He threw away a syllable of his name forever. He could no longer remember what his name was no matter how hard he tried. In return, the battlefield around him became a devastated wasteland and the group that attacked him with evil schemes evaporated from this world. Once more, the hero survived an unsurvivable adversity.

“It’s not so bad,” ■ muttered. “I didn’t like my name anyway. Throwing away one syllable gave me this much power...”

How much value his name carried mildly surprised ■. Not only had his name been worthless, but his life before coming to this world also didn’t have any value. At least, that was what ■ thought.

“Hwia.”

—Yes, Hero...

“We’ll be able to save this world a little faster.”

Kim ■ knew what he had to do. He had to throw away worthless memories to gain valuable ones in return.

“Before that, I’m going to make a new name for myself.”

Lefanta meant man of the wilderness in an ancient language. Kim ■ never called himself that, but at some point, people started looking up to him and referring to him by this name.

Lefanta Aegim.

Kim ■ became a man of the wilderness.

***

The land the wizards had passed through was now a ruined wasteland. I charged across the land like a gust of wind.

The silver-haired man, the Constellation Murderer, looked at me calmly.

Demonic Heaven Arts,

First Form:

Starvation Death.

Mimicking the movement of a child reaching for the sky as they died of starvation, I became the claw that scratched the sky. With the most primal movement and scream, I tried to cut off the Constellation Murderer’s head.

The Constellation Murderer gripped his sword tighter. “Maximum Sensory Enhancement. I give up one hour of my memories.”

Claanng!

Our swords locked. The Constellation Murderer blocked my attack and met my eyes, his gaze devoid of emotion. He held his diary in his other hand.

“What strange swordplay. It seems you use your aura based on your mind practice to strike. I heard that those born from murim are obsessed with the mind practice they use. Perhaps you learned this swordplay from somewhere other than the Righteous Faction. Probably the Heavenly Demon Cult you spoke of...”

I swung my sword.

Demonic Heaven Arts,

Second Form:

Thirst Death.

Dry wind blew across the wasteland, sending the sand dust flying. There had been a man who died of thirst because he couldn’t take a sip of water, even though he was surrounded by seawater. To him, the world had been a desert.

I summoned a desert and unleashed it toward the Constellation Murderer.

The Constellation Murderer blinked as he faced the desert wind. “Defense Enhancement. I give up the memories of how water tastes.”

Clang!

Again, my attack was blocked by the end of his sword.

“Fighting like this isn’t good, Death King.” His voice sounded as dry as a desert. “You're righteous. If your justice is built on sound logic, you...”

“Whish.” I recited the prayer. “Whish.”

It was the only prayer I used. My red aura howled as my blood boiled. All the memories I had accumulated, the deaths I collected, and the events I lived through answered my prayer.

“Iwish.”

Another person had died because she couldn’t breathe as she sank into the sea. There were so many different ways for people to die, so the alleys—no, any ground I’ve ever walked on all held the record of someone’s death. Therefore, death was present in all worlds.

Demonic Heaven Arts,

Third Form:

Drowning Death.

The silver-haired Constellation Murderer swung his sword. “Interception Enhancement. I give up the memories of how the sea smells.”

“How much do you think you can throw away?”

“As much as I can.”

I clenched my jaw. Now I understand.

As I launched a barrage of attacks, I glared at the Constellation Murderer, who blocked every single one of my attacks. That was when realization dawned on me.

I could have become just like him.

He was a hero who had honed his demonic arts to the limit, and the Guardian had faced him one hundred fifty years prior. That was why the Guardian had roared when he went up against my teacher.

—I’m going to teach him how to be happy.

“You’re not the slayer of Constellations! You are a Constellation who kills other Constellations!”

The Constellation Murderer... More like the Murderer Constellation.

“If killing the Constellation is your only duty, kill yourself first, the Constellation of Murder!”

Demonic Heaven Arts,

Ninth Form:

Self-Determination Death.

My sword tried to pierce the Constellation Murderer, but I was only able to cut through the middle of the worn-out diary he could not take his eyes off of. Countless pages flew into the air, his notes scattering like flower petals.

“I give up... one second of my memories,” the Constellation Murderer muttered.

Not a lot of time had passed since his intense battle with the Magic Tower’s Spiders, and he and I had been fighting for quite a while. All the memories he had accumulated over a week were exhausted; he was out of his ammo.