SSS-Class Suicide Hunter-Chapter 378: The Place Called Sanctuary (3): The Gardener of the Withered Flowers (1)

4.

[Constellation Killer is annihilated.]

Thud.

Having lost, Constellation Killer buried himself in the trash heap. The silver hair fluttered as if spreading across the surface of water.

It was as if one was looking at a pile of cut strings from a puppet.

[This world does not possess a Constellation.]

A still voice echoed throughout the world.

[World destruction's condition 1 is satisfied.]

[There are no apostles in this world.]

[World destruction's condition 2 is satisfied.]

[There are no believers in this world.]

[World destruction's condition 3 is satisfied.]

From somewhere, the growling of a beast could be heard.

[Warning.]

[All conditions have been met.]

Initially, the beast's growling only echoed from the outskirts of the world. But soon, it closed rapidly from all directions. The ground shook, and the mountains of trash rising on the horizon trembled. The trash from the mountain peaks tumbled down with a crashing sound.

It was not the sound of a beast.

It was the sound of this place collapsing and sinking.

[The world will be destroyed.]

The sunset shattered into pieces.

The sky turned into a sheet of glass and shattered as soon as it became glass. The fragments of glass, still imprinted with the pre-split sunset, fell down.

Kwuuung!

A piece of glass, quarter the size of the sky, fell far onto a trash mountain. The trash mountain collapsed, spewing countless plastic bottles. The glass also shattered into pieces. Billions of glass fragments scattered, each still marked with the sunset, making the pieces appear red.

So the garbage dump seemed to be sprinkling blood droplets in the air.

"…It's beautiful."

It wasn't hard to understand why Crusader muttered this absentmindedly.

Covered in cuts from fighting a slaughter puppet, Crusader looked up at the broken sky, clutching a wound on her forearm.

"It's like the world is blessing its own destruction. If destruction come like this, it's not too bad. If this is the scenery I'll see at the end…"

"What are you idly critiquing here for!"

The Black Dragon Master shouted angrily.

"Hurry up and run away, you fool! Unless you want to die crushed under glass fragments!"

"But Anastasia. Look. To run away from such a spectacle, it would be too inhumane..."

"Stop spouting nonsense! I was forced into a promise by Nisha! If I don't bring you back safely, my remaining life will be joyless!"

The Black Dragon Master forcibly grabbed Crusader's wrist.

"Kim Gong-ja, I'll note down help as a debt. But first I'll take this fool back to Babylon, so do as you please!"

"Ahh, it's such a pity. Think about it. If I must die, I want my cause of death to be stabbed to death by the sunset. If I could just stay a bit longer..."

"Transfer!!"

A white light enveloped the two. The Crusader, filled with regret, soon disappeared engulfed in the radiance.

"Hmm! Then I will take my leave as well, Master!"

"Father. I will retreat first."

Pop! Flash!

Other companions and vassals also escaped from the collapsing world.

In the next moment, only Kim Yul and I remained.

"...."

We silently watched the world crumble into red.

Suddenly I realized that there were only 2 people in this world now.

I wondered if Crusader's oddity had been passed on to me. Thinking that the world had barely left anything to still be called a world, yet for some reason, I wanted to linger here a bit longer.

"Why was it a landfill?"

Kim Yul's voice was heard beside me.

I did not turn my head. I simply looked up at the redness of the world side by side.

While some relationships require eye contact to communicate, others are content with merely sharing breaths in the same air.

"Why was it here of all places?"

"...."

"I have no fond memories of home. I lost my indoor shoes on Wednesday and had to wear outdoor shoes to school until Saturday. Right after class on Saturday, I came back and searched through the trash around the house to see if someone had thrown away the indoor shoes."

In the world that only Kim Yul and I were left, his tone was — a bit different.

Maybe it hadn't changed, but rather momentarily returned to normal.

"I found one shoe, but couldn't find the other. You can't exactly go to school wearing only one indoor shoe. I couldn't find it even after Sunday passed, so I was about to give up, but on Monday morning, the remaining shoe was there. My father had found it overnight."

"I see."

"Yeah. But they didn't match. The sizes were different. I don't think my father stayed up all night worrying and caring for me. He probably felt like I was trying to get his attention by roaming the trash all weekend."

Kim Yul muttered.

"That's the best memory I have related to my father."

Kim Yul moved his hand. Only then did I turn my head to look at him. He was undoing the hair tie from his hair and putting it back into his pocket.

"Constellation Killer must have discarded all memories of Kim Yul's past. Why he chose this place as the scenery of his sanctuary, how he could have chosen it, I don't know."

As the hair tie was removed, Kim Yul's tone returned to normal during those brief moments.

"Maybe even if forgotten from the mind, it's engraved in the soul. What a silly notion."

"But like this, it has adorned a corner of the Tower. Including you and me, thirteen people have seen this place."

"...Yeah."

And then, I thought I saw Kim Yul smile very faintly.

"After that day, a few pairs of unused indoor shoes began to pile up in a corner of the house. When I think about it, it doesn't seem like such a bad memory."

Thump. Kim Yul elbowed me gently.

"I will go ahead, Family Head. This is no longer my home."

With the word "Transfer," Kim Yul was enveloped in a light.

And thus, I was left alone in the world.

The horizon had completely collapsed. Stripped glass pieces from the sky had all crashed to the ground, and plastic and scrap metal scattered through the air. A pitch-black darkness swallowed the world from its edges.

I finally looked down at the remains of the slaughter puppets for the last time.

"...."

After capturing the sight of thirteen decapitated puppets one last time, I let out the last voice to be recorded in this world.

"Transfer."

[You are being transferred to the 81st floor.]

Thus, the world closed its eyes.

Welcoming the pitch-black darkness.

5.

As soon as I returned to the 81st floor, I was greeted by the somewhat listless voice of a magician.

"Good job, Screaming Sky. Even though it was you, I thought you might lose this time. But annoyingly, you killed Constellation Killer."

[The Wand of Ages] stood there, leaning on a broken wand.

In this stage still enveloped in darkness, the magician looked like a white orchid blooming this future sanctuary of mine.

"You were out of options fighting, weren't you?"

"It was more than just my mind. If Raviel had hesitated even slightly, I would have been forever preserved here."

"Yes. To give you an update, since you wouldn't know, all the constellations residing in the tower are in an uproar because of you. The death of Constellation Killer was just announced a moment ago."

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Honestly, it's not the first time I've caused a commotion among the constellations. They should be getting used to my existence by now."

"How annoying… Do you only act particularly annoyingly in front of me, or is it just my imagination?"

"Anyway, there's something I want to consult with you about."

"Look at you shamelessly changing the subject."

The magician sighed.

"Well, losers must graciously endure their humiliation. What consultation? Is it perhaps a question related to your sanctuary?"

"Yes. It's about the skill [Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation] that I possess."

I opened my palm.

"Skill card, open."

Whoosh-.

Golden sparks overflowed from the center of my palm, soon forming the shape of a card.

+

[Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation]

Rank: SSS+

Effect: Summons those you have directly killed. The dead do not inherit their abilities from when they were alive. However, if you wish, the summoned can inherit their memories and appearance from when they were alive. If you do not wish, they are summoned as mere monsters.

+

The magician nodded after looking at my card.

"Right. It's your trademark, isn't it? The skill you've used most and owe the most to. So is there anything left to consult about it?"

"Yes. Especially this part… [If you do not wish, they are summoned as mere monsters]."

"What about it?"

"Can I decide what type of monster they will be summoned as?"

The magician blinked.

"That is… hmm. Wait a moment. Let me think."

He paused, resting his chin in his hand, then glanced at me.

"First of all, I don't know why you asked such a question. Normally, when you summon the Hundred Ghosts as monsters, they take the form of skeletons. It's to maintain balance, of course. Imagine if they were all summoned as Bone Dragons instead. It would be disastrous. So, you can't really choose the type of monster…"

"Ah, that part is not a problem."

I waved my hand.

"I'm thinking of summoning them in a much weaker form than skeletons."

"…Even weaker than skeletons?"

The magician furrowed his brows. He seemed unable to fathom my intentions.

"If that's really the case, then it's fine. But why? What are you planning to do? The only thing weaker than a skeleton I can think of is a slime. And what does this have to do with building your sanctuary?"

"You'll know when you see it."

I smiled.

"Let's start by defining a monster. How about [a being without reason]?"

"I don't particularly mind, but… don't play any tricks with this. Don't forget that the Tower Master has already shown you favor regarding your skills once. Not again."

"Of course."

"Alright. I'll temporarily modify the skill for you."

The magician tapped the ground with the end of his wand.

[The authority of the skill 'Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation (SSS+)' is being modified.]

[Warning. This modification is temporary.]

Even though he lost to me and his wand was broken, it seems he still has the authority to handle such matters independently.

I half-closed my eyes,

Feeling my mind settle, I clasped my hands together as if washing my face.

"...."

What came to mind were the 13 murder puppets that had just been abandoned and shattered in the world.

The more precisely I recalled the murder puppets, the darker the ground beneath my feet became. It was a shadow.

Just like when I invaded Constellation Killer's sanctuary, arms, identically painted black, were crawling up my ankles.

Perhaps the only difference from that time was that there were thirteen pairs of arms.

'Come up a little more.'

I left the arms alone.

Whether it was because it understood my intention, or because it was the original instinct of the shadows, the arms kept struggling and crawling up my body. I focused all my senses to guide these arms to one place.

The shadow arms grabbed my hips, climbed my elbows, passed my wrists—finally crawling into the palm of my hand.

The moment all thirteen pairs of shadows gathered in my palm.

"...Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation."

I spoke with intent.

[Activating the skill.]

Squirm,

The arms, extending from the shadows at my feet, gradually sucked into my palm. They converged. The pitch-black swirled into a point, slowly taking shape.

[The Wand of Ages], watching what I was doing, parted its lips in puzzlement. He must have been curious about which monster I intended to summon, but what reflected in his eyes was something entirely unexpected.

"...A flower?"

It was a Lily of the valley.

The Lily of the valley locked in my palm was withered. It stretched out its head, with thirteen faded bell-shaped white flowers hanging from its stem.

"Yes."

I carefully placed down the withered Lily of the valley so as not to damage it. Squelch. The soil of the 81st floor, covered in mud-like darkness, gently accepted the Lily of the valley.

"This child is Constellation Killer."

"If the condition is [a being without reason], there's no need to summon it only as a beast."

I planted the flower with thirteen bell-shaped white flowers hanging in this world. I transplanted it from the world that had just been destroyed to this world, which was still shrouded in darkness.

"From now on, I will either revive the ghosts in human flesh, or simply transplant them as flowers."

I turned to look at the magician.

"So this world will bloom with flowers that couldn't bloom in other worlds, with flowers that have withered and crumbled away. Right now, only one has been planted, but soon hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of withering flowers will be planted here."

"....."

"A garden of witheredflowers."

I smiled.

"That is my sanctuary."

Perhaps the magician was not the only one who heard my vow.

[Your skill is being renamed.]

Always watching over me, the Tower Master seemed to reach out to bless me this time too, wrapping my skill card in white light.

When the light subsided, the final destination my skill had reach was illustrated there.

+

[Hundred Flowers Reincarnation]

Rank: SSS+

Effect: You summon those you have directly killed. The dead do not inherit their abilities from when they were alive. However, if you wish, the dead can inherit their memories and appearance from when they were alive. If you do not wish, they are summoned as merely flowers.

+

Someday.

This place will become where millions of flowers dream of being reborn.

1.

So.

Now then.

Let's plant flowers in the world.

"Okay. ...Let's get to work."

After stroking the bell-shaped flowers of Constellation Killer, I stretched vigorously with a grunt.

From now on, I'll need to move around quite diligently. In this world where nothing yet exists, where it's practically nothingness, blooming even a single flower will indeed require a lot.

-What do you plan to do?

Bae Hu-ryeong asked.

Thinking about it, Bae Hu-ryeong has been quiet lately. Even when he was nearly sealed by Constellation Killer, and even when he ultimately managed to counterattack and defeat Constellation Killer, Bae Hu-ryeong didn't say anything. He just watched from a few steps away.

If you ask me if I felt neglected, not really.

I guessed why Bae Hu-ryeong did not interfere. Even without any conversation, I could understand Bae Hu-ryeong's feelings. Unlike when I was climbing the 10th floor, I am now strong. I have reached a state just half a step behind Bae Hu-ryeong.

'This is where the teachings end.'

'The rest is for you to solve on your own.'

If I had been defeated by Constellation Killer and captured by eternal seal, that would have been the end. My journey towards the top of the tower would have concluded there.

Advice is unnecessary among equals who are rivals.

"That's true...."

I took off my coat and rolled up my sleeves.

"First, we need the sun."

-The sun?

"Yes. We need light, don't we? It's pretty dark here, right? Even if only withered flowers are expected to bloom here, it would still be too gloomy for the flowers."

Bae Hu-ryeong looked at me as if he was looking at a madman.

-How do you plan to create a sun? Just so you know, you can hang up something resembling a sun with aura, but even that would be difficult to maintain continuously.

"Well. I guess we'll manage somehow."

We have plenty of time.

"And I feel like we could get it from an expert."

2.

"It can't be done, can't be done. Absolutely not."

Unfortunately, after going down to Babylon and consulting with an expert, all I got back was a cat shaking its head vigorously right in front of my eyes.

"Is it too much?"

"Woof. Even though we agreed to bark like this, shouldn't you at least have some conscience? Your budget for a 'sun' is a bit, no, quite unreasonable."

[The Cat that Bit a Gold Coin] looked at me like a real estate agent looking at someone asking if a brand new apartment rent could fit within a budget of 50 million won. It was so realistic that it hurt.

"Woof, I can provide you with a long-lasting light bulb…"

"Nah, that's not cool. This is a garden after all. If it's not natural light, it won't do."

"Eeeum.... What about a phoenix then? You could hang a cage from the ceiling and put a phoenix in it, that might create somewhat of a sun-like atmosphere."

"Is that really natural light?"

"It's somewhat similar, isn't it? It all depends on how you think about it, and the world is always a series of reasonable compromises."

Hmm.

I was momentarily tempted by the cat's words, but no matter how I thought about it, the image of a phoenix hanging above the garden and screaming sounded stupid.

'However.'

The world is a series of compromises, a phrase the cat uttered without much thought, inspired me.

"That's right. We don't necessarily need to bring the sun here to get light. Sunlight might actually be too dazzling for the withered flowers."

"Yes, yes, that very self-justification is exactly what a Constellation should possess! Now, Screaming Sky, if I may elaborate on the current market price of the phoenix, the price of fire-attribute creatures has dropped a lot since Dochul went bankrupt…."

"Thank you for the consultation. Goodbye."

"Meow?"

I bought work gloves, burlap bags, and various equipment and returned to the 81st floor.

"…..You look like you're going to dig up potatoes or something."

Seeing me with work gloves on both hands and a burlap bag slung over my shoulder, [The Wand Of Ages] looked at me with eyes that saw a crazy person.

Huh? Did all people in the world, somewhere I don't know, agree to enact a new law about gazes, stating that they must look at me like that?

"I heard your talk about needing the sun and needing light. You're not planning to capture and pack the sun into a sack and bring it here, are you?"

"Um. Something like that."

"What?"

"By the way, could I stop by Constellation Killer's sanctuary for a moment?"

[The Wand Of Ages] blinked.

"What are you talking about? The sanctuary of Constellation Killer has already been destroyed. You saw it with your own eyes just yesterday."

"Yes. But the voice of the tower said the world would be destroyed, not vanished. The tower master I know, even if the Constellations, Apostles, and followers all disappear and the world is destroyed… She wouldn't completely erase that place."

"..."

"It might still be there, frozen just as it was destroyed. Somewhere. Please let me stop by there for just a moment."

[The Wand Of Ages] held his forehead.

"Screaming Sky… You really are a strange person. What are you going to pick up from a place that's completely finished? Trash? Or maybe the corpse of a slaughter pupeet? I'd understand if you asked for a legendary item, but what from a place that's left with nothing but trash."

"Ha… Wait a moment."

The magician stared into the dark void.

['The Wand Of Ages' requests an entry ticket to the already ceased sanctuary.]

[Approved.]

[You may enter the sealed sanctuary of Constellation Killer.]

The magician nodded with a somewhat displeased expression.

"You've got the permission. The tower master must be curious about what you're doing. Gaining her favor isn't an easy task, but you do have some skills."

"Just live kindly, like me, only kindly."

"That's funny. If I lived like you, I'd have a rotten soul, not to mention no life left."

What's wrong with my soul.

"A person who wants to turn their own sanctuary into a garden of withered flowers can't be sane. No, just imagine if someone planted flowers on their balcony, but they were all rotten flowers. Would that be normal?"

Is that so?

Hearing it put that way, it does sound a bit strange.

Maybe there's a reason why starting with Bae Hu-ryeong, all started looking at me like I'm mad, but I didn't change my plans.

Transfer.

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

And so, I stepped back into the world I had destroyed yesterday.

The scenery had not changed.

The wind had stopped, and time had ceased. The sunset sky had vanished, and the red of the shattered glass sky was broken into countless pieces.

In the void, the falling trash and shattered glass-skies were frozen as if in a still frame.

"Here. I brought you here as you requested."

This time, [The Wand Of Ages] had followed me. He usually hesitated to show himself when I'm with other companions, but now that I was alone, it easily revealed its face.

"I have no choice but to ask again what you intend to take from here."

"The sky."

[The Wand Of Ages] furrowed its brow.

"Ha? The sky…?"

"Yes. I will take the sky with me."

I began rummaging through the mountains of trash in the frozen world.

What I was looking for was glass. Originally the sky imprinted with the sunset, now shattered into fragments, nothing but pieces of glass remained.

Though the world was destroyed, the glasses still retained the red color they had been etched with at the very moment they were shattered.

I picked them up, one piece at a time. Carefully.

The too small glass shards were difficult to use. I found pieces at least as big as the upper half of a person. When slowly placed into the sack to prevent breaking, the glasses inside the dark sack emitted red and yellow light.

[You are being teleported to the 81st floor.]

I filled the sack with the sunset and returned to the 81st floor.

Aside from the Lily of the valley flower, there was still nothing here.

I ascended the space filled only with darkness using void steps, as if stepping on stairs. Soon, I was able to reach the pitch-black ceiling.

"Good."

I took the glass out of the sack. Then, using my fingernail, I made a small hole in the glass. The cut made by the aura was impeccably clean.

I threaded a string through the hole, a string I had commissioned from [The Cat that Bit a Gold Coin] instead of purchasing a phoenix, which the cat had assured would never break. Then I guess I can trust it.

"If I twist this and hang it from the ceiling… there."

Swing-.

The glass, tied by the string, hung in today's darkness.

It was like a candle lit in the middle of a basement without any lights, small yet clearly shining in red and yellow, illuminating the remnants of some sunset.

"It's still too weak as a light. But it should be okay soon."

"..."

I went back and forth between Constellation Killer's sanctuary and the 81st floor, gathering fragments of the sunset.

[The Wand Of Ages] watched me silently, though he had been grumbling just before, now strangely pursing its lips.

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

[You are being teleported to the 81st floor.]

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

[You are being teleported to the 81st floor.]

[You have…..]

How much time had passed?

The ceiling was adorned with strings hanging densely.

At the end of each hanging string, the sunset swayed. Sometimes from glass pieces as big as a person, sometimes as small as a palm. But all of them were imbued with the sunset light of a world that had perished, quietly dripping exuding luster.

Though the lengths of the strings were uneven and the sizes of the glass varied,

"From below, it looks just like a vine."

I was satisfied.

The 81st floor was no longer dark. But if you ask if it's bright, it wasn't bright either. The sunset that once set gloriously had lost its grandeur, now only fading.

Faded sunset.

And so, I liked it.

Such light wouldn't be too much for the withered flowers, and they would willingly accept it.

"...I see."

[The Wand Of Ages] looked up at the sunsets hanging in the sky. After surveying the sunset that lightly tinged the world of the 81st floor, he murmured,

"This is the light of the heavens and earth you are creating."

And so there was light.

Probably, no other Constellation would gather such unimpressive light to decorate a sanctuary. My followers were the corpses of flowers that had lost their place to go, and my sun was the relic of a world that could no longer shine on anyone.

Trash.

Ruin.

A place where flowers blossoms instead of life, a place that merely persists rather than truly exists."

"Yes. It's not too bad, right?"

"..."

[The Wand Of Ages] did not answer. I wasn't really expecting one, so I just shrugged.

I brought back a plastic bottle from Constellation Killer's sanctuary for the last time. In that place filled with crumpled trash, it was a relatively intact plastic bottle.

"Hmm. It's been quite a while since I made one of these."

I sat cross-legged and picked up a pair of scissors.

Snip.

The scissors crisply cut through the waist of the bottle. It was neatly divided in half. As I shaped it, I was lost in old memories.

"I used to make these quite often when I was in the orphanage…'

What I was making was a planter.

A vessel to hold flowers.

Planters, when you actually go to buy them, are more expensive than you'd think. That's why at the orphanage, we used to cut plastic bottles and make them into planters. They turn out quite pretty when you make them.

"Fill this with soil…"

I pondered a lot about the soil for the planter.

But in the end, I went to the world where Kim Yul had lived—now a world where Kim Hwang-tae is enduring all kinds of hardships while studying abroad—and chose the soil there.

I went to the dumpsite where Kim Yul's house used to be, dug a hole, and brought back some dark, blackened soil.

"Phew."

After compacting the soil in the planter, I carefully planted the Lily of the valley flower. Fortunately, the flower was transferred to the planter without any harm.

The red light flowing from the glass in the sky shone brightly, glistened over the transparent surface of the plastic planter.

"Okay."

And just like that, I brought light into this world and planted my first flower.

After placing the planter with the Lily of the valley flower in the middle of my sanctuary, I turned around and looked at [The Wand Of Ages].

While giving a bright smile to the still silent magician.

"This is how I will create the sky here, make waterways, and plant flowers, many more flowers. It might not be a sanctuary fun to watch. Um. I think I will probably come to love it here."

"Shall we move on to the next one, Magician-nim."

[A sky has been created in your world.]

[The 81st floor has been cleared!]

[A land has been created in your world.]

[The 82nd floor has been cleared!]

Now it's time to climb to the 83rd floor.

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