[Penalty commencing.]
[The trauma of the Monster Hellfire Maiden is being created.]
A fancy western style residence.
I was here.
No, the word ‘here’ probably didn’t fit. I wasn’t here. It was just my consciousness floating around like a ghost, looking down at things from a third person perspective.
‘What is this?’
I was taken aback.
‘What’s happenin…?’
-S, Save me.
Then, I heard a voice.
A young child was sitting in the corner of the 2st floor lobby. At first, I thought she was talking to me, but she pleaded to someone else.
-Please save me…I’m hungry…something to eat…something to eat, please…
-Mm.
A person dressed like a noble.
-Orphans like you are the plague of this kingdom.
-Something to eat…
-Left alone, you eat society. You don’t even work. You wander around from one village to the next, spreading your disease. I’m a prison ward that isolates those like you from the kingdom.
In an instant, information entered my brain.
A time when there were many wanderers because there wasn’t enough food. The noble gathered orphans into his residence. He funded an orphanage as a cover. He was known as a kind wealthy man, a great businessman, and a conscientious man with knowledge.
-Others treat you as rotten. I’m different.
But in this large mansion.
-I’m going to educate you.
The noble was just a tyrant.
-Those who look for food just because they’re hungry are beasts. Of course, you were born in the field like beasts, but you shouldn’t live like one.
-I’m hungry…hungry…
-Endure it. Even if you’re hungry, endure it. Endure it, and become a human.
The noble smiled. It was a generous smile. He was someone who was able to smile at a skinny child who’s rib cage could be seen.
-Repent!
The crazy bastard called other crazy bastards.
-Aaaaaack!
-Oh, children of witches! The plague of our kingdom! Don’t worry. God never turns his back on you. Like him, I won’t turn my back on you sheep!
-It hurts…it…hurts…
Some god’s priest raised his hammer.
-Pray!
A time when lunacy was wrapped up as kindness.
The screams didn’t end inside the mansion.
-I’m hungry…
Starvation.
-I don’t like it…please forgive me…why…forgive me…
Torture.
-Ah. Thank you…kind sir. Kind man…reward for enduring pain. Promise. Thank you. Thank you, kind man…
Brainwashing.
These orphans were brought in like corpses and left as corpses. It was only the death of someone who was about to die, but the children couldn’t imagine the pain between the two.
Tens, hundreds, thousands were in the mansion.
And tens, hundreds, thousands of deaths.
‘…’
I stared blankly at the sight in front of me.
‘Just what…’
-Wow. Eff. What’s this?
I was able to come to attention thanks to someone.
‘You were looking too? I thought you weren’t here.’
-I was looking from the beginning. I didn’t know you were here. I couldn’t see you.
‘Mm. Seems like both of our consciousnesses are floating around…’
-That’s not my problem.
Bae Hu-ryeong spoke.
-What kind of crazy psychos are these? Ha. They’re educating them into humans? How would these nonhuman bastards educate others into humans?
‘…This is probably the origin of the 10th floor boss stage.’
Before my consciousness flew over here, a voice told. [The death of the enemy who killed you is being reenacted.]
If it was the enemy who killed me…it was the real doll hiding somewhere in the hellfire residence. That meant this was the trauma the doll remembered.
‘I had no idea.’
I whispered.
‘The monster was a human when it was alive…’
-Not all monsters are like that. Only the bosses are like that. Usually boss monsters are made from humans from other worlds.
I heard him click his tongue.
-Carnivorous plants, or heroes of other worlds. Things like those. As you cross the 11th floor, it becomes more intense.
‘What? Why didn’t you tell me that?’
-You didn’t ask.
‘…’
He was so shameless that I was speechless.
-But I’ve never seen something like this. Tsk.
‘What?’
-The origin you talked about. The scenes we see now. I knew boss monsters were from other worlds, but how would I know what happened to them. It’s not like I’m psychic…
Bae Hu-ryeong muttered to himself.
-I feel like shit.
Agreed.
‘…Yeah.’
Things worse than this were probably happening all over the world right now, but imagining it and seeing for myself was different.
I didn’t know if it was a good or bad thing.
-F, Fire!
But the [Trauma] ended soon.
Some servant accidentally tipped over a candle. The servant passed by without noticing it. It was nighttime. When people were sleeping, fire slowly and quietly spread. It was too late when someone realized the flames.
-Cough, gasp. Cough!
-We have to get awa…
The flames soared up.
The ropes in the basement burned up. The chains burned up. The cuffs around the orphans burned up as well, and brainwashed kids, tortured kids, and starved kids burned. It was like the fire burned all brainwashing, injuries, and starvation.
-Ah…
The children opened their mouths. The burning chains were tightened around the childrens’ ankles and wrists. They couldn’t move, like they were dolls. They just screamed.
However, I could hear it.
-I don’t want to die.
Hate.
-I’m hungry.
-I want to live…
-Kind sir.
The grudges and resentment entering my consciousness.
-I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t have a family. But it was still ok. I wanted to play a bit more. But…
-It’s not our fault. I feel wronged. I didn’t do it.
-I’m hungry.
The mansion burned up.
The chandelier in the 1st floor lobby burned up. The bedroom of the residence’s owner burned up. The fancy curtains. And the stone stairs that led down to the basement.
-I don’t want to die.
Crack.
Crack-
Sparks flew everywhere.
Now what I could see was a mansion burning up from far away.
[Trauma reenactment finished.]
[The penalty is ending.]
And I returned to a day before.
.
.
.
.
.
.
When I opened my eyes.
Bae Hu-ryeong and I didn’t say anything. We both silently sat on the bed.
Rather than being shocked…it was because we didn’t know how to react.
-Mm…
After a while, Bae Hu-ryeong scratched the back of his head.
-It was really sad and pitiful. I saw it well. But isn’t there nothing we can do?
“Wow. That’s the first thing you say? You really…”
-Yup. Right. My personality is trash.
He frowned. Have you ever seen a gorilla get mad? It was totally similar to this.
-But the truth is always like shit! The 10th floor boss is just a monster, and the children have already died in another world. It’s something that happened a long long time ago. Zombie. What can you do!
“…”
-And if it was something that happened in this Tower, you could die 4000 or 5000 times to return to the past. But that happened in another world in a different time. Even if I was alive, I couldn’t fix that! Even if I was Sword God and not Sword Emperor, I couldn’t do it.
He was right.
-Find the real king and hunt it. Kill it.
Bae Hu-ryeong spoke.
-And go the the 11th floor. That’s the only way you’re gonna clear the 20th, 30th, 40th, and 50th floor. If you decided to become the hunter at the top, deal with these things yourself!
He was right again.
But.
“Flame Emperor also thought that way.”
-Hm?
“Flame Emperor. Shit Emperor. Yoo Soo-ha. The first human I hunted.”
I got up from my bed.
I tied my sleeping back to my backpack. I carried my backpack. I inserted my sword into my waist. In other words, I was ready to climb the tower. Even though it wasn’t the best, I was still getting ready a a hunter.
“Did you know? Yoo Soo-ha would’ve 100% found the real doll and exploded its head. Whether he saw the trauma or not. Without any hesitation.
-So what?
“I don’t want to be like that Flame Emperor bastard.”
I climbed the tower.
Like the last time, I tricked the doorkeeper.
And I stepped in front of the mansion again.
The same noble mansion that I saw in the trauma.
-Hey! You’re not a baby. You’re not gonna get the boss just because you don’t want to be like that guy? What are you gonna do. You have to get rid of the boss to clear the stage, you zombie fool!
“Who said so?”
-What?
I put my hands on the door and murmured to myself.
“Damn. I was stupid.”
-What are you talking about?
“I was stupid! And you were equally stupid. Shit. We’re saying we can’t remember.
Bae Hu-ryeong wrinkled his forehead.
-Did this kid lose his mind? You being stupid is a fact all over the world, but why am I stupid too? I grew up hearing that I was a genius.
“Skill card.”
I mumbled in annoyance.
“The S Class skill card we didn’t pick. Do you remember it? The Hellfire Limit. You went crazy saying I had to pick this one.”
-Hm? Of course I remember.
-Huh, this Zombie. Fine…listen.
Bae Hu-ryeong rattled on with a frown. I guess the fact that he was called a genius when he was younger wasn’t a lie. He said everything on the card without a single mistake.
+
[Hellfire Trap]
Rank: S-
Effects: Regrets. Resentment. Complaints. What you couldn’t do, the voice that you couldn’t say, the wishes that you weren’t able to achieve. Burn them all. ‘It’s hot.’ Is it hot? Make the world a clump of fire. ‘I feel like I’ll die.’ Die. If you want you, the Aura’s hellfire will descend anywhere within 2 km of you.
No one can leave the hell without your permission.
No one.
※However, you have to be within the radius.
I quietly listened to the skill summary and asked him.
“Sword Emperor. Don’t you think something’s wrong?”
-Sheesh, this is so frustrating. What’s wrong!
“The last section.”
[No one can leave the hell without your permission.]
[No one.]
I spoke.
“It says no can can escape from the hellfire trap without the boss monster’s permission. No one. Then just how were the players who challenged the 10th floor able to escape from it.
-Huh?
Bae Hu-ryeong blinked.
-…Huh? Fuck, yeah, why?
There was a guild called Black Dragon.
The person who controlled them was the Rank 2 hunter. The Black Witch challenged the 10th floor countless times. Everytime she did, she failed. The Rank 2 failed, but all the hunters came back alive.
They all came back alive.
“It doesn’t make sense.”
I put some strength onto my arms.
It slowly opened.
“It says escaping itself is impossible if the boss doesn’t let you go. That’s the skill…and they escaped perfectly fine even without killing the boss. Everyone. So it doesn’t make sense.”
-Then…what happened?
“Shit. There’s only one answer!”
Creaaak.
The door opened like it was welcoming me with its arms wide open.
“The boss let them! Escape!”
The 10th floor boss.
The stage that humanity hadn’t been able to subjugate.
The mansion of hellfire prison came to view.
[You have entered the boss stage.]
[The challenger is hunter Kim Gong-ja. 1 person.]
[May luck be with you.]
“Can’t you tell seeing how she let them escape? The boss, these, they never considered the hunters enemies.”
-…..
[The boss stage is commencing.]
“They just wanted to play with the people who came.”
Candles.
All over the mansion, candles tilted over. Fire spread from where they fell over.
-Giggle giggle!
Dolls came from flames. They couldn’t move, like they were tied down by something. They just turned their heads to look at me.
-Are you gonna play with me?
The dolls opened their mouths.
-Are you gonna play with us?
-Freeze tag? The flower has bloomed? Hide and seek?
-The ice melted. The flowers all ripped. Let’s go with hide and seek!
-Let’s! Play with us! Play hide and seek with us!
-Hahahahah!
The flames soared up.
The chandelier in the 1st floor lobby burned up. The bedroom of the residence’s owner burned up. The fancy curtains. And the stone stairs that led down to the basement.
In the midst of everything, the children, who were now dolls, didn’t burn up.
“…”
I clenched my teeth.
“Alright. I’ll play with you.”
[Your skill is activating.]
The skill I received from my last lie. I used the fire immunity skill on myself. The moment the skill was activated, the heat washed away from my body. I could breathe easily. My vision was a bit clearer from the smoke too.
I could see the faces of the dolls.
-Huh?
-He’s not burning.
The dolls’ faces were all different. They didn’t have any expressions, but I knew.
-Isn’t it hot?
-Weird guy.
-Can you play?
-Are you gonna play with us?
I nodded my head again.
“Yup. Hide and seek. Be careful. I never lost hide and seek when I was young.”
-Giggle giggle! It’s a weird guy!
-Hide! Everyone hide!
The dolls all laughed. I told them to hide, but no one moved. Tens. Hundreds. Thousands of children laughed.
-Ready or not, here I come. Ready or not…
Hide and seek began.
“…got you.”
I roamed the mansion. I grabbed dolls while I walked around. When I patted their heads, the dolls’ heads creaked up. Then, they opened their mouths to speak.
-Beep! Not me!
The dolls disappeared while laughing.
-Not me!
-Not me!
Everywhere I turned, there were dolls. There were so many. I got each and every one of them.
-…
One.
-Hey, this is…
Another one.
-This is…a memorial service.
Bae Hu-ryeong muttered.
Memorial service.
Comforting the soul of a dead person.
I quietly walked around the mansion. I saw the chains that wrapped the orphans, and I saw their cuffs. Where the chains and cuffs were, there were always dolls there.
The fire burned up.
-It’s not me! Not me! Not me!
-No! Not, me. Me…me…not…me…
-Not…me…
Time flew by.
Eventually, I was in the basement. I had just stepped down the long stone stairs. There were dolls on the stairs as well. They were all toppled over. Like they had stopped while trying to escape from the basement.
“…”
I got all the children who had fallen on the stairs, and stood in front of the last doll.
-Are you gonna play with us?
The doll was leaning against the wall.
Around the doll, there were hammers, scythes, and nails.
-…
I slowly walked towards it.
And I patted the hairless doll’s head.
“Got you.”
The head of the child who made this hellfire was small. Enough to be wrapped around one hand.
“…You’re it now. Kiddo.”
There was silence.
The doll raised its head. Like the other dolls, the doll was expressionless. The doll spoke with the face that lost its expression.
-Kind man.
Its voice wasn’t the only thing it let out. Lips. Skin, Eyes. Her body slid down like paper. The fire instantly swallowed the doll, and it continued to speak like a broken record.
-Thank you.
And it melted.
-Thank you.
The doll burned up. The chains melted down. Cuffs, hammer, scythe, pick, nails, they all burned up. Even the trace of starvation. The fire that had lived its life completely disappeared.
Death disappeared without a trace.
I stood alone in the middle of the abandoned mansion.
“…”
For years.
[Congratulations.]
For years, humanity hadn’t been able to clear this place.
[Normal stage clear.]
[Hidden stage clear.]
[You have cleared the bonus stage.]
That day. The tower’s 10th floor was cleared.
[TN: This chapter was such an emotional rollercoaster. I got a bit teary-eyed while translating it T-T ? Wherever you guys read this from, I hope these things don’t happen. This is the USA hotline for reporting child abuse (1-800) 422 4453 T~T.]