The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 386: New Dungeon (5)

Clink, clank—

It was as if hundreds of small bells were ringing. It was too early for night, but under the sunset sky, a silvery light spread out.

I couldn’t move an inch. The Fear Resistance skill message window appeared before my eyes, and my entire body froze as if chilled. Young Chaos’s low voice sounded in my dazed ears.

“Crescent Moon!”

At that one word, I snapped to my senses. The description window of the elegant Seeker’s Chain that I had seen before flashed in my mind.

[A chain forged from the deepest moonlight of the Crescent Moon. It looks like metal, but its essence is light.]

The deepest moonlight.

KA-GANG!

A loud noise echoed. The moonlight that had poured down on Young Chaos changed into the form of a silver chain. The chain touched the trajectory of the swung greatsword, breaking and melting. But the difference in power was clear. The relentlessly storming moonlight finally dug into the gaps of the greatsword.

“Old Man!”

CRUNCH. And then the sound of flesh and bone being pierced struck my ears. The smell of fresh blood mixed anew with the already damp air. Young Chaos spat out blood.

“This is a power that shouldn’t be here, cough.”

“What?”

“Wait quietly, Firstborn.”

His form began to slowly blur. His red eyes looked up at the sky where the moonlight shimmered.

“He doesn’t seem to have any intention of harming you right now, so wait without doing anything foolish.”

“Y-yes…”

Clank, the chains fell to the ground. Only a large bloodstain remained. My mind still dull, I turned my head. My eyes widened.

“Mr. Seong Hyunjae…?”

It was hundreds of strands of moonlight. Some had turned into chains, and some remained as streaks of light. They were touching Seong Hyunjae’s body.

As if they were the strings of a puppet.

“The Seeker’s Chain is…”

Seong Hyunjae took a step. The moonlight moved along with his steps. He looked like a butterfly caught in the middle of a spider’s web.

I couldn’t easily continue my words. What happened? What happened with Crescent Moon? Questions swirled in my mind, but it was hard to ask them outright.

Entangled in the swaying moonlight, Seong Hyunjae reached me. A silver chain extended and wrapped around my body. It lifted me lightly, like a piece of meat hanging from the ceiling.

“I apologize in advance for the poor hospitality.”

Seong Hyunjae began to walk back towards the building.

“The inside is a mess, but the garden should be somewhat better.”

With a metallic sound, the chain supported him beneath his feet. He leisurely walked towards the rooftop garden as if climbing stairs.

The rooftop garden was not intact either. Debris from the collapsed tall buildings on either side was scattered here and there. Still, it was better than the inside of the building, which reeked of blood. Fortunately, there were also benches and tables that had avoided the debris and were intact.

It didn’t have a Christmas atmosphere, but since it was winter here too, it felt more desolate than the garden I had seen. The flowers had withered, and the grass had dried up.

Seong Hyunjae, who had righted a fallen chair next to the table and sat down, looked up at me.

“Do you have a signal flare or something?”

“No. I was suddenly brought into the dungeon in the first place.”

I answered, catching my breath. Why would I use a signal flare for you? If I recklessly gathered my party, we’d just be wiped out. The best thing to do is to trust Young Chaos and the Rookie and stall for time.

“What about you, don’t you have any questions? Many things have changed from your memories.”

“You look like you have far more questions for me.”

“Well, of course.”

I have a lot. So many that it’s hard to decide what to ask first. But will he answer easily if I just ask him outright? It would be better to approach it from the side rather than head-on.

“If it’s what I’m most curious about, it’s always my little brother. Before the regression, we weren’t close.”

Even if it was a question that went off to the side with no importance, it was what I wanted to ask the most. No matter who the opponent was, not just Seong Hyunjae. Seong Hyunjae loosely crossed one leg over the other. It was a posture he often took. Since it was him, it was only natural, but it was exactly the same.

“The last time I saw the Haeyeon Guild Leader was two, almost three years ago, so I won’t be much help. Soyeong has been the acting guild leader for three years, so she’ll know more about Han Yuhyun. However.”

Seong Hyunjae’s gaze briefly touched the floor, which could be called the building’s ceiling.

“She’s in a state where conversation is impossible.”

My mouth felt a little dry. I forced the imagined scene out of my mind. It’s not real, it’s a monster. It’s just something the dungeon created, but my chest felt tight.

“Th-three years, then it must have been a long time since Chief Song passed away…”

“A little over a year and a half. It hasn’t been two years yet.”

So it’s the Seong Hyunjae from after his disappearance. Since the pre-regression information remained, I had expected him not to be dead, but he looked more intact than I thought. I thought he might have been asleep all this time because his condition was bad.

“Did you not enter the country at all after you were known to be missing? Your whereabouts were unknown even abroad. Did you change your appearance and travel? What did you do all this time?”

“I raised sheep in the Alps.”

“Don’t joke.”

What nonsense is this all of a sudden? As I frowned deeply, Seong Hyunjae’s lips curled up slightly.

“I even sent a postcard.”

A p-postcard? Did something like that ever come?

“Don’t you remember?”

“No, I don’t check my mail properly. Bills are on autopay, and I get contacted by phone… most of it is weird stuff. Still, sheep, does that make sense?”

“As you can see, I couldn’t enter Korea in this state. Crescent Moon would have tried to retrieve me if she had woken up.”

Seong Hyunjae held up one arm. Several strands of moonlight surrounded his arm. I don’t think I could ever get used to that. It might look pretty at a glance, but it’s really unpleasant.

“What happened? A year and a half ago.”

What happened that caused Song Taewon’s death and Crescent Moon’s slumber? Seong Hyunjae, who had lowered his arm, tilted his head slightly. His golden eye, like a slenderly risen moon, contained me.

“Chief Song is one thing, but what do you mean it’s because of me? Shouldn’t you at least tell me that? It’s unfair to be told it’s my fault without knowing anything.”

“It’s not uncommon for a higher being to cherish a lower being.”

A leisurely voice flowed out.

“Even when I found out that Han Yuhyun was actually protecting his brother, I thought it was possible. Liette also cherished her younger brother in her own way.”

Liette, in her own way, was plausible, but it was a story that would make Noah’s chest burst if he heard it.

“I was the same. So I still wasn’t sure. How long the Haeyeon Guild would last.”

“Because you were afraid I’d leave suddenly without lasting long like you?”

“Moon Hyunah refused, and I thought about raising Soyeong, but it was impossible for me to obtain an S-Rank dragonkin.”

“Now Soyeong has a monster mount. It’s called Comet, a Thornwing Rock Dragon.”

Seong Hyunjae smiled, saying Soyeong must have been very happy. At that smile, I nodded with an even more sullen feeling. I replied that she was doing well, taking care of it precious.

“So I decided to check out Han Yujin myself.”

I swallowed dryly. It felt like I was entering an interview. I must have been unremarkable back then. Exactly when was it?

“What… was I like.”

“A useful F-Rank Hunter.”

“Useful, was I?”

“A low-rank Hunter has sufficient value just by steadily clearing dungeons for more than two years. Even more so if it’s by his own strength, without any affiliated guild or background.”

That, I think so too. Usually, they join a small guild at least. But me, myself, I don’t know.

“Ah, even so, a huge guild like Sesung wouldn’t even glance at them.”

“A chronic problem.”

It’s your guild, but you talk like it’s someone else’s.

“And Han Yujin.”

My Adam’s apple bobbed up and down again.

“He loved Han Yuhyun. Very much.”

“I would have cursed him.”

“The curse where you get angry if someone else agrees?”

“Well, of course. I’m the one who suffered, so why are they cursing my little brother?”

“If you truly love and cherish someone, it’s natural to get angry even if what others say is right.”

No, well, it wasn’t particularly right either. In the end… Anyway, if anyone was to blame, it was me. I even got a slap on the back from my close friends because of this. But still.

“That was what was strange. The fact that an F-Rank who had been through enough, who knew about Hunters, still loved an S-Rank.”

“Because he’s my little brother that I raised.”

“The little brother that even his parents would have been reluctant to have?”

“What, he was cute! The kid was so pretty and lovely. That was just nonsense because I was in a hurry, but my little brother was a real angel. Don’t talk if you haven’t seen him! He was even asked if he wanted to be a model on the street. He refused because it was too much work, but maybe I should have taken one.”

Thinking about it now, it was a bit of a shame. It would have remained as a photo or maybe a video.

“Even if he didn’t know anything when he was young—”

“I said he knew! My little brother is the kindest person in the world!”

Seong Hyunjae stared at me with a slightly dumbfounded expression.

“It’s gotten worse than before.”

“I’ve always been like this.”

“It’s severe.”

What do you know? Well, up to being the kindest person in the world, um, I even said Seong Hyunjae was kind, so this is mild. Compared to that, it’s true that he’s the kindest person in the world.

“It’s close to impossible for a rabbit that knows everything to love a wolf. Let alone trying to protect and shield a fully grown wolf, it’s something you can’t do unless you’re quite mad.”

Is he indirectly calling me mad right now?

“So I took some more time to check. Thanks to that, Song Taewon had a hard time.”

“Chief Song?”

“Around that time, I had promised to tell him my whereabouts in the country in detail. For abroad too, if it was to the extent that Song Taewon would be dragged out, I had promised to tell him in advance.”

“What on earth kind of huge trouble did you cause?”

If you even made such a promise, Chief Song must have had a really hard time. What did you do, Seong Hyunjae?

“And the opponent was an F-Rank Hunter, no different from a non-Awakened. The three of us even met once.”

Seong Hyunjae’s face looked quite amused as he said that.

“It was fun. Unexpectedly. It was new too.”

New. At that word, it suddenly came to me. Overload. Seong Hyunjae, who had become full and was having a hard time supporting himself.

So that was it. Song Taewon had also said it was new. After being involved with him for a long time and gradually filling up, I must have been the last drop. In Seong Hyunjae’s long, long life, there would have been no occasion to associate with an F-Rank who loved a born S-Rank, of course.

“So you entered the dungeon for that? To use Chief Song’s Plunder, taking a vacation.”

“That part is not Han Yujin’s story.”

Seong Hyunjae closed his mouth. Damn it, then what. Is he saying he’ll only talk if I bring Chief Song here? Before that, if the current Seong Hyunjae comes, he’ll, well, deal with it?

“It’s fine if it’s about Crescent Moon or other transcendent beings, can’t you tell me? You said it was fun. For the sake of our past relationship, just tell me a little.”

“The problem is me, so you don’t need to worry about—”

Seong Hyunjae’s words cut off. He looked at my face. At the same time, I also felt it.

“Uh…”

Tears fell. My cheeks were instantly soaked, and my stomach twisted in pain.

“Wh-what.”

I was very sad and also happy. This, what on earth.

“Yuhyun?”

A strangely comfortable feeling came over him. So Han Yuhyun couldn’t open his eyes right away. Although he felt a presence hovering around him, he didn’t feel the need to get up and check. It felt like it would be okay. Without any problems…

‘Hyung!’

A moment too late, the last image he had seen of Han Yujin came to mind. Han Yuhyun hurriedly got up. At the same time, something scurried into a corner.

“Hyung!”

The goblin, Yun Yun had pushed Han Yujin away, and a dangerous energy had flowed out of her body. Then, the moment the surroundings were covered in thick smoke, a blood-red wisp of smoke pierced Han Yujin’s leg. That was the last scene Han Yuhyun had seen.

Han Yuhyun hurriedly checked the back of his hand. There was no wound. A sigh of relief escaped. At least Han Yujin was safe. Then, here.

‘Where is this.’

It was indoors. It seemed to be a studio apartment, as the small entrance and kitchen were visible at a glance. It was a place that was not in Han Yuhyun’s memory. As he turned his head a little more.

“…!”

It was Han Yujin. Han Yujin, who was sitting slumped against the wall, was carefully observing Han Yuhyun. Han Yuhyun slowly got up and stood. It was the same form as his brother, but a little different. He looked a little older, and tired and weary.

Is it a fake? The moment he thought that, a system message window appeared.

[New Dungeon, ‘A Nightmare on Christmas’]