SSS-Class Hunter is Going to Rest - Chapter 91



Only Krnovel

Episode 91 Towards the 100th Floor (4)
2024.06.17.

Inside a private plane heading to England.

Team Daphne’s group sat in their respective seats.

Peace and Saint started playing chess, Elaine checked her terminal to see if there was anything to check, and Nature closed her eyes while listening to music because she was tired.

Suzy, who sat in the front row, looked back at her team members and sat up straight again, looking toward the window.

About 30 minutes had passed since takeoff. There were no more soft clouds, and only a blindingly blue void filled the window.

If you stare at that blue void for a long time, you can see the upper floors of the “Sage’s Tower” of some unknown country passing by.

‘… … It’s like hell.’

As the game’s words said, I hated everything about this situation where I was holding on to my only life and heading toward the game’s ending.

Suji covered her forehead with both hands, then pressed her eyelids deeply and swept her hands down as if washing her face.

When her body was still, her head naturally became noisy.

That wasn’t a good thing.

Rather, the moments when she confronted death with a sword were less frustrating.

In this situation, she habitually raised her hand and searched for a terminal as if she wanted to run away. Then she went to the bulletin board and scrolled down, clicking on each post that she wasn’t particularly curious about.

It was now a daily routine for public opinion toward herself and her team to change every day like turning the palm of her hand. She

didn’t really care about good or bad comments.

Even so, the reason she looked at the bulletin board was at first because she wondered if there were any rumors about Ageha and others who had gotten hints from “Laurel Tree.” And now it had become a habit.

She and her teammates aside, what on earth were the other people thinking when they knew about the imminent destruction of the world… .

‘If you’re going to tell people, you have to decide how much to tell and when.’

She let out a deep sigh and buried her body in the back of the chair.

Is it right for a 19-year-old to decide something like this?

Isn’t this an important matter that the president or the high-ranking officials at headquarters should decide?

When I stopped thinking blankly, the Messiah came to mind.

The monster that covered the sky and arrogantly announced the end of the world.

Every time I recalled that sight, I couldn’t breathe.

If I worked hard in the same order I was doing, would there really be a way to defeat the Messiah?

Is that possible?

– Calm down. I said I’ll save you? I’ll save you even if the second wave comes. I.

Suddenly, I remembered what the owner of the ring had whispered to me as I trembled in fear after seeing the prophecy about the Messiah.

‘It’s so funny, I’m falling asleep

.’ What on earth was I supposed to do if I survived alone?

I felt like I had dozed off while I was pressing my eyes with both hands.

The boundary between reality and fantasy collapsed.

Visions distorted and passed before my eyes.

The sight of Elaine standing there, calling herself ‘Daphne’ and crying so hard that her cheeks were wet.

It was a scene I had seen from the top of the Laurel Tree that I had recalled over and over again.

It had become a habit to review it in hopes of finding even one more clue.

‘The Tower of the Philosopher… This is the Tower of the Philosopher. And it’s the top floor.’

“This time, really, don’t worry and close your eyes. I don’t know if there will be a good outcome… I don’t have much regrets about life, but I want to find a good outcome.”

“Because, I think Daphne… … ”

The voice passed by again. Just like when I heard it in the Laurel Tree, the words were muffled and I couldn’t hear them clearly.

Suzy reached out to wipe away the tears that were spreading across Elaine’s cheeks, but she suddenly woke up. She

didn’t need much sleep, but it was rare for her to doze off like this.

‘… … Is it really the future when Elaine cries and says this to me?’

That thought suddenly occurred to her.

The image of the Messiah in “Laurel Tree” was also something that happened in the future, so I always thought that Elaine’s image would happen too.

And when I thought of it as something that happened in the past, many things made no sense.

Elaine had never grown her hair out that long, and she had never called herself Daphne.

Suzy moistened her lips with her tongue.

Nothing was being resolved clearly. Not

even destruction. Not even the premonition about Elaine. And not even the crack.

Naturally, her thoughts moved to the grim reaper monster that had emerged from the crack.

‘… … Under what conditions does a crack form?’

Wave and the Tower of the Philosopher were said to be created by the powerful people who oversee the betting, so could the cracks be the same? Or could they be created by the pattern of that monster in the form of a god of death? The

reason I had this suspicion was because I witnessed the space being torn wherever the tip of the god of death’s blade touched.

If that was true, then maybe something stimulated the god of death and created the cracks. Like a cat reacting to the scent of a mouse.

Suji chewed her lips and stroked the ring on her hand, and eventually couldn’t hold it back anymore and asked.

“Hey, can you hear me?”

[Νύμφη laughs at your actions.]

[Μουσα laughs at your actions.]

[Πολυδεύκης is amused by your actions.]

[σκιά is intrigued by your actions.] [

Τύχη notes your actions.]

[νόμος protests your actions.]

– Hey. Humanity has been calling us ‘great beings’ with such high regard. Since when did we start being treated that way?

Suzy leaned against the window, watching the clouds passing by below, making a sound of the wind blowing. She

should have been thankful that they weren’t throwing her away right away. She kept complaining about her situation.

“There’s a saying in English. If you want to be treated well by others, treat them well first.”

– You’ve done enough for me. To be honest, you’ve done too much. To the point where I thought the bet itself would be invalid if it continued like this.

If the bet itself were to be nullified, what could be better?

Of course, she wouldn’t do as she pleased. She didn’t know whether she would throw the world, which had become useless, into the trash can or into hell.

Suzy told herself not to get angry, if only to get information.

“Cracks, you know.”

– Cracks. Yes.

“I thought I hadn’t seen you much lately, but you suddenly appeared twice in a row. Is there a condition for this?”

– Wasn’t that the case with Laurel Tree?

νόμος answered Suzy’s question with the same question.

Suzy hated such conversations that were like a Zen question. She especially didn’t want to have such a joking conversation with this guy.

She asked again with emphasis.

“Are you not doing it because you can’t answer? Or are you trying to play a joke with me?”

– You answered me properly. Laurel Tree was like that too.

Suzy narrowed her eyes.

The owner of the 〈Laurel〉 was νόμος, who was talking to me right now.

The reason the 〈Laurel〉, which had not appeared for a long time, suddenly appeared was probably because it wanted to contact me in some way. It was no different from openly designating itself as the owner of the 〈Laurel〉.

If that’s the case, what about the crack?

‘Are the cracks intentionally showing up to give me a hint about something?’

Suji frowned.

“Does it mean that the ‘great beings’ are in charge?”

– There is an area that cannot be spoken of.

“Here we go again. If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to just keep your mouth shut?”

– 〈Laurel〉, crack, 〈Tower of the Philosopher〉, wave. The names that humans call them are all different, but their essence is not much different. They are beings created by borrowing someone’s power. Up to here. This is the extent of what I can tell you. As

if he was trying to read someone’s mind, he hurriedly poured out his words and then became quiet.

Suzy tapped the table with her fingertips.

I understand that 〈Laurel〉 and 〈Tower of the Philosopher〉 are under the jurisdiction of the ‘Great Beings’.

Wave is under the jurisdiction of the ‘Messiah’.

So the two parties in the bet balance their power.

Then whose jurisdiction is the crack?

And if it is under the jurisdiction of the ‘Messiah’, does it mean that it started with a human being as a medium like Wave?

The moment Suzy was absorbed in her thoughts, she heard a sound.

She could tell who the footsteps were from just the sound of the airplane slippers.

“Who did you talk to?”

“Oh, Nature. I thought you were sleeping.”

“You weren’t sleeping. Did you talk to someone? I thought I heard you talking.”

Nature smiled softly as she brushed her blonde hair back.

Suzy was about to answer reflexively, but stopped. She

hadn’t told Nature about the ‘Great Beings’ yet.

She had already accepted her as a team member. It wouldn’t be a good idea to discriminate between information now. It could be a problem that could make you feel left out as a team member.

But perhaps because of the conversation I had with Elaine, I felt uncomfortable telling her everything right away.

Suzy unconsciously held out her terminal.

“With the person in charge. Why?”

She fiddled with her hair, feeling awkward because of her lame lie.

“No, it’s just that. I was bored after a long flight. I thought we’d talk.”

“We’ll be there soon. We just need to get to the dungeon entrance.”

“I know. It’s just… … that I like talking to Daphne.”

Nature smiled and gently covered her hand with her own, then pulled it away.