Chapter 4 - Hero Hunting (1)

1

'I can't beat the Flame Emperor by ordinary means.'

My heart pounded. I tried to calm down, but it was anything but easy. Maybe that was only natural. Just a moment ago, I had been burned to death, starting with my head.

The pain of having my flesh and bones burned while I was still alive... It had been truly horrific.

"Damn it. That fucking bastard."

I glared at the newspaper clippings on the wall.

The Flame Emperor's history. Countless interviews and articles plastered the wall, tracing his rise from an unknown newcomer to the world's number-one hunter.

Naturally, his photographs were up there too. His face disgusted me so much I wanted to tear them down right then.

"Tch. But this bastard goes back twenty-four hours whenever he dies, too."

Even if I killed him, I couldn't kill him.

That was an enormous problem.

'That's practically an invincibility cheat, isn't it?'

The gap between our abilities was already as vast as the difference between the sun and a firefly. He was ranked first in the world. I was unranked. My jealousy might have been so extraordinary that even the Tower acknowledged it... but having powerful jealousy didn't make my abilities powerful.

Even with coincidence piled on coincidence and miracle piled on miracle, killing the Flame Emperor would be difficult.

'Even if I actually manage to kill him, there's still a problem.'

What would happen if I killed the Flame Emperor?

He would simply return to twenty-four hours earlier. That would be that. He would try to kill me by any means necessary, and the moment he realized I couldn't be killed, he would try to lock me up forever.

He might build a prison in a basement and throw me in there.

With his strength and abilities, he could subdue me easily. Then I would spend the rest of my life locked away.

Bad ending number two for Kim Gongja's life: the spectacular imprisonment ending.

"Fuuuck..."

Killing him was a problem, and so was having killed him.

How the hell was I supposed to get revenge on this psychopath?

'What should I do? How can I fuck up the number-one hunter?'

A day.

I shut myself in my room and thought for over twenty-four hours straight.

I wrestled with the problem while staring at the newspaper articles on the wall. They contained every piece of information about the Flame Emperor. Maybe looking at them would give me a clue.

「Flame Emperor Clears Floor 39 Alone!」

「Floor 38 Cleared Solo! Another Legend for the Flame Emperor!」

「Hunter Yoo Suha Takes World's Number-One Ranking. First Korean to Reach the Top.」

.

.

.

「Sword Saint's Disappearance Leaves Number-One Throne Vacant. Who Will Claim It Next? Overseas Experts Agree: “Korea's Yoo Suha Is the Strongest Contender.”」

「Impregnable Tenth Floor Conquered. Who Is the Mysterious Hero?」

「Day 22 of Sword Saint's Disappearance. Is the Hunter Industry Facing Its Worst Turmoil Yet?」

"..."

That was when it happened.

"Huh?"

A shiver shot through my head.

"Wait. ... Well, look at this."

I muttered as I touched a clipping. It was a magazine interview with the Flame Emperor. The article had originally been posted online, but I had printed it out myself and stuck it on the wall.

+

Q. Mr. Yoo Suha, how old were you when you first awakened?

A. It was the summer when I was twenty-one. So it's already been eleven years.

Q. You must have an excellent memory to remember even the season so precisely.

A. I've never thought my memory was particularly good. The day I awakened just happened to be my birthday. June 7, eleven years ago. That's why I remember.

Q. You awakened on your birthday. What happened that day?

A. I was on the Tower's first floor. I'm not going to tell you any more than that. It's private.

+

In a way, it was an ordinary interview.

But... to me, it was an incredibly precious clue.

"Holy shit. Hold on. Seriously? This could actually work!"

There was a way. A way to kill the world's number-one hunter.

It wouldn't be easy at all, and anyone who heard about it would curse me out and ask if I was insane. But I had thought of the one way to get rid of the Flame Emperor. It was something even I, a lowly F-rank hunter, could do.

'I really can get revenge!'

Just then—

"Fire!"

A commotion broke out outside my window. Wondering what was happening, I opened it. Deep red smoke was rising from the other side of the neighborhood. Residents came out into the alleys, talking loudly.

"Oh my goodness. What are we going to do? Oh my!"

"Let's not stand around here! Let's go put it out!"

"Let's go!"

The residents rushed off together.

The place where I lived was different from the "outside world." People who had entered the Tower to become hunters had gathered here and built a city on its first floor.

The city had many names. Some called it Babylon, others the Abyss. Some hunters simply called it "First-Floor City," while others used the old-fashioned name "City of Heavenly Ascent."

Probably because people of every race had gathered here from countries all over the world.

Most people living here were hunters. Whether they liked it or not, they had faced mortal danger before. When a crisis struck, they knew how to act faster than people in the outside world.

I hurried down from my room and joined the residents heading out to fight the fire.

'Shit.'

I checked the time on my smartphone. It had already been twenty-four hours since the Flame Emperor killed me and I regressed. It matched the time he had murdered the Saintess exactly.

In other words...

'It's the Flaming Fuck! He set the fire! To destroy the evidence!'

Yoo Suha, the Flame Emperor.

That bastard really was a fucking devil.

2

The neighborhood watch had already arrived at the scene. Hunters from the major guilds were arriving one after another, too. Ordinarily, they snarled at each other with their claws bared, but now that a raging fire had struck, everyone joined forces.

"Water users, don't use your skills individually!"

"That's it, time them all together! That's it!"

"The Black Dragon Guild is taking temporary command here! Everyone, please follow Black Dragon's orders for the time being!"

These were hunters I rarely got to see except in newspapers. Even two or three of the top-ranked hunters had shown up. As I helped the other residents, I stole glances at them.

"F-first, we've finished cordoning off the area. The question is whether there are any survivors inside... I think we need to send in a rescue team immediately."

Rank five. The guild leader of the doctors and pharmacists, the Alchemy Ministry Head.

"It's all right. This used to be a slum. No one has lived here for five years, and entry has been prohibited. It's a tremendous stroke of luck that the fire broke out here, of all places."

Rank ten. The leader of the neighborhood watch responsible for the city's public safety, the Paladin.

As expected of hunters famous for helping others. Even among the top-ranked hunters, they weren't the sort to go it alone. They had arrived before anyone else and were directing the response.

'Normally, the Saintess should be among them...'

But the Saintess was nowhere to be seen.

Of course she wasn't. She had been murdered by the biggest asshole of all the lone wolves.

Only two people in the world knew that: the Flame Emperor and me. A truth even the top-ranked hunters didn't know yet... No, perhaps a truth they would never know.

The Alchemy Ministry Head looked around.

"How strange. Why hasn't the Saintess arrived yet...?"

"She said she had something planned tonight. I don't know the details, but perhaps she's on a date."

The tenth-ranked hunter, the Paladin, chuckled.

"She's been spending a lot more time with the Flame Emperor lately."

"... I don't like that man, the Flame Emperor."

The Alchemy Ministry Head hunched their shoulders.

"He makes me a little uncomfortable, I suppose... Though it isn't polite to talk behind his back here. Still, I think the Saintess should meet someone better."

"Your standards are too high. If she needs a man better than the number-one hunter, who exactly is she supposed to date? That's why you're still single."

"I-I could find someone whenever I wanted... I'm just not interested yet..."

Speak of the devil.

"It's the Flame Emperor!"

The people helping fight the fire stopped for a moment. The top-ranked hunters turned their heads, too. There was the Flame Emperor—no, the Flaming Fuck—ambling along in a hoodie and sweatpants. He looked unbelievably annoyed.

"Hey, shitheads. Who's been playing with fire without my permission?"

Crazy fucking psychopath.

"Welcome, Flame Emperor."

"Yeah. Your big brother's here."

"As you can see, someone has set fire to the old slum district. Could you help us?"

The Paladin spoke courteously, but the Flame Emperor was indifferent.

"What do I get if I help?"

"The satisfaction of helping many people for free."

"Oh, cut the bullshit. Tell me what you're offering."

"Tomorrow, news outlets and broadcasters around the world will run the headline [Flame Emperor Performs Great Good Deed by Extinguishing Fire] in enormous letters. You can give the world a pleasant surprise while improving your image."

"Pfft."

The Flame Emperor sneered, his hands thrust into his pants pockets.

"Have I ever given a damn what those presstitutes think?"

He truly was an utterly deranged lunatic.

The residents had already taken out their phones to film him. His expressions and words would be streaming around the world in real time. The internet must have been heating up, split between those defending him and those cursing him.

What would his defenders say?

-Of course. You've got to protect your own interests without compromise.

-Helping people for free makes you a sucker.

-I like that he's still honest even after becoming a hero.

My head reeled.

'Nobody knows.'

It was terrifying enough to send a chill down my spine.

'That's not honesty. He's... just insane. He's out of his mind.'

Even with flames licking at the air nearby, my heart felt cold. These flames, this arson, this disaster—the Flame Emperor himself had caused it all. Yet he had returned with a perfectly composed face and asked, "What are you going to give me?"

At last, I was certain.

'He has to go!'

A monster.

It wasn't just for my revenge. For humanity, for the honor of hunters, that monster deserved to be exterminated. A monster was a monster. Wasn't hunting monsters our duty and mission as hunters?

'By any means necessary... I have to kill him.'

A flame-licking monster lived in this Tower. Yes, it did. But simply saying it "lived" here wasn't appropriate. Not appropriate at all.

Because that monster was my prey.

'Even if I have to die.'

I started walking.

One firm step.

Past the heroes discussing how to deal with the aftermath. Past the ordinary people struggling to put out the fire. Toward the endlessly rising blaze. I walked toward the flames burning as fiercely as hell.

"Huh? Wait. Where are you going?"

I kept walking.

"Hey, buddy! Don't get too close!"

I kept walking.

"Oh my! That man must be crazy!"

"Somebody stop him!"

"Fuck, is he out of his mind or what?"

Then I ran.

People raised an uproar behind me. Some stamped their feet anxiously. Others stopped fighting the fire to shout. I ignored them all. I ignored them and ran.

'It's hot.'

The place was no different from hell.

WHOOSH!

Flames flickered everywhere like red tongues.

'It hurts!'

My flesh melted with every step. My eyes, the membranes covering my eyeballs, were scorched dry.

But—

'It's better than being killed by the Flaming Fuck!'

This was the only way to kill the Flame Emperor.

How long had I run? It felt like ages, but it also seemed that only a minute had passed. Smoke clogged my throat and made me cough. As the coughing stopped, I heard a voice.

[You have died.]

Yes.

[Returning to twenty-four hours ago.]

This was my second death.

3

When people saw me run into the flames, they made a fuss, asking if I was crazy.

Naturally, I wasn't crazy. Quite the opposite. I understood my situation with perfect composure.

"... I'm back."

My hell. My single room, all three and a half pyeong of it.

Interview articles plastered the walls, and a live broadcast played on the television. A live broadcast I was hearing for the third time already.

-Breaking news. The Black Dragon Guild, which attempted to conquer the Tower's fortieth floor...

I had returned to yesterday again.

'Good. The skill works properly.'

Unlike last time, I didn't glance at the television. There was no need. The skill that returned me to twenty-four hours earlier worked properly. That was all I needed to be certain of.

With this alone, I could kill the Flame Emperor.

[Your current hunter rank is F.]

[No penalty is incurred from the skill.]

"Just as I thought," I muttered.

'Regressor's Clockwork Watch... It said the higher my hunter rank, the greater the penalty.'

Conversely, if my hunter rank was at rock bottom, there wouldn't be much of a penalty.

For an F-rank like me, there wasn't even a penalty yet.

'Now's my chance.'

Right now, while I was still F-rank.

The one perfect opportunity to hunt the Flame Emperor.

'This is my last chance.'

I took a knife out of my backpack.

An old knife. A dagger I had kept ever since I started working as a hunter. Even if I could no longer use it to hunt monsters... it was sharp enough to kill a person.

'How do I kill the Flame Emperor?'

I kept thinking it over.

'Work with the Saintess, who should still be alive? Reveal my ability to the Black Dragon Guild, prove it, then devise a plan to imprison the Flame Emperor forever? Or secretly film him killing the Saintess and leak it to a broadcaster?'

Any of those methods would be fine.

But only fine. None could send the Flame Emperor to his grave with absolute certainty.

'I don't have a track record that would make the Saintess trust me.'

I had no track record.

'I don't have the power to keep the guild from discarding me once they've used me.'

I had no power.

'I'm not confident I can film the Flame Emperor without him noticing.'

I had no confidence, either.

'But...'

Even I had something.

'When I die, I return to twenty-four hours earlier.'

A skill.

Regressor's Clockwork Watch, copied from the Flame Emperor.

'Right. I have a skill. Don't worry, Kim Gongja. You can do this.'

I swallowed hard and looked at the wall one last time. The interview Yoo Suha, the Flame Emperor, had given a magazine reporter was written there in full.

+

Q. Mr. Yoo Suha, how old were you when you first awakened?

A. It was the summer when I was twenty-one. So it's already been eleven years.

Q. You must have an excellent memory to remember even the season so precisely.

A. I've never thought my memory was particularly good. The day I awakened just happened to be my birthday. June 7, eleven years ago. That's why I remember.

+

'Eleven years.'

June 7, eleven years ago. Summer.

Counting backward from today...

'4,050 days.'

Yes.

'I just have to die 4,050 times.'

That was the only way to kill the Flame Emperor.

'Yoo Suha. If you're a monster who won't die even when killed...'

I raised the knife high.

'I'll kill you before you become a monster!'

Then I stabbed myself in the neck.

To return to the past.

To return to June 7, eleven years ago. To the time when Yoo Suha, the Flame Emperor, had not yet awakened his skill. To that summer when he still didn't have the ability to return to twenty-four hours earlier upon death.

To return to the past, when the Flame Emperor could still be killed!

"Urgh...!"

It was hot. It hurt. My heart pounded madly. Every nerve in my body screamed. I could no longer see anything, and then I could no longer feel anything.

But I heard a voice.

[You have died.]

[Returning to twenty-four hours ago.]

I returned to the previous day.

The me of the previous day was lying in bed. The television was off. But the newspaper clippings still plastered the wall. Going back just one more day hadn't erased the Flame Emperor's history, that lunatic's legend.

I glared at Yoo Suha's photograph.

'It doesn't matter.'

If a day wasn't enough, then a week. If a week wasn't enough, then a month. If a month wasn't enough, then a year. And if even a year wasn't enough...

"All right."

I took out the dagger again.

"Now it's 4,049 days."

Then I stabbed myself.