The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 414: The Moon Rises (2)

The pink-scaled dragon turned its small head, surveying the surroundings. A hint of drowsiness lingered in its eyes. It hadn’t fully recovered the power it had expended, but the magical beast created through Diarma’s method was influenced to some degree by its master’s stats.

Thanks to that, now that Han Yujin possessed S-Rank or higher abilities, it could awaken for a brief period.

Changeling scratched at his clothes with tiny claws and climbed onto Han Yujin’s shoulder. Then it whispered softly.

– Dad, are you really doing this?

“Of course.”

– …As long as Dad is the real Dad, I can’t refuse.

Changeling coiled its body around Han Yujin’s neck like a scarf and rubbed its head affectionately against its dad’s cheek.

– I still need more sleep, so I’ll go inside. Depending on how you use it, it will be possible for one hour to a maximum of three hours.

“Thanks.”

The fairy dragon’s form scattered and vanished. His silver eyes moved slowly to look at the people standing below. The corners of Han Yujin’s lips curved upward gently.

“How considerate of you to wait. Well, since it’s a child in my body, you probably couldn’t stop it anyway.”

“Isn’t it too much to use our child in a fight?”

At Seong Hyunjae’s words, Han Yujin’s eyes narrowed deeply.

“You’re absolutely insane. Why do you have to talk like that? And it has nothing to do with you.”

He muttered and clicked his tongue, then—

“…!”

Han Yujin’s figure vanished. As Han Yuhyun and Park Yerim tensed, Seong Hyunjae moved. His destination was directly in front of Noah.

BOOM!

Seong Hyunjae’s foot powerfully kicked off the asphalt and rushed before Noah in an instant. Simultaneously, with a jingle, a golden chain wrapped around his wrist, and—

CLANG!

Han Yujin’s sword clashed with the chain.

“It’s standard procedure to eliminate the healer and support class first.”

Han Yujin laughed and swiftly withdrew his sword. Seong Hyunjae didn’t pursue as he lightly retreated. Instead, water pooled at Han Yujin’s feet and froze solid—a slippery ice rink. Just before stepping on it, Han Yujin conjured flames at his feet.

WHOOSH—

The reddish-black fire instantly melted the ice, and stepping on the wet asphalt, Han Yujin’s body launched upward as if to widen the distance. Park Yerim shouted in disappointment.

“I hit it perfectly!”

“It was a good attempt, Yerim-ah.”

Han Yuhyun charged at Han Yujin, who had instantly retreated to the center of the wide road. With a swish, the black blade transformed into a whip sword with the sound of clashing scales and cut through the empty air in a circle—

CLANG! CLANG!

It collided with flying ice spears. Ice fragments scattered in all directions, and both the charging Han Yuhyun and the floating Park Yerim flinched. Han Yujin looked at them both and shrugged his shoulders.

“Yuhyun-ah, Yerim-ah. You two have the worst compatibility.”

“But I got along well with other people.”

“It’s not just the attribute—Yuhyun’s fighting style is difficult to coordinate with others. After acquiring the Ruler of the Wind, he’s even less suited for team combat. If he were to pair with someone, it would be Liette, perhaps? Or a support class like Mr. Noah. As for you, Yerim, among the people here, you’re best matched with Mr. Seong Hyunjae.”

“…Mister is definitely Mister.”

Meanwhile, Han Yuhyun had rushed right up to Han Yujin’s face. Swish—cutting through the air, the Ruler of the Wind descended mercilessly toward Han Yujin’s body. Han Yujin leaned his upper body back to dodge the attack, and the aftershock of the missed sword strike scraped up the asphalt. With the momentum of swinging the sword, Han Yuhyun spun around and hurled the bluish-black flame that had materialized in his hand.

A spear of blue flame cut through the darkness and flew at Han Yujin. Instead of dodging, Han Yujin held out his palm toward the spear’s tip.

CRUNCH!

The spearhead pierced his hand, and red blood splattered. The dripping blood turned black and wrapped around the bluish-black flame. Then, a spear of black flame rested in Han Yujin’s grasp.

The black flame that bloomed from drops of blood. A smile formed on Han Yuhyun’s lips without his realizing it. His heart pounded. Seeing the black flame that had swallowed his own fire, he felt exhilarated. Hot energy rose along the Ruler of the Wind. Han Yuhyun stepped forward, powerfully kicking off the ground, and closed in on Han Yujin as if to leap into his embrace.

CLANG!

Flame clashed with flame, intertwined, and dyed each other black and blue. The bluish-black fire, enhanced with the Ruler of the Wind’s power, matched evenly with the fire so black it seemed bright. Facing his little brother, Han Yujin also laughed.

“Even with S-Rank stats, there’s the double attack skill buff.”

The fire Han Yujin currently wielded was weaker than that of the twenty-five-year-old Han Yuhyun, which was equivalent to SS-Rank, or even higher considering just the Black Blood Flame. But with the double buff, it should have been stronger than the twenty-year-old Han Yuhyun. Even with the SS-Rank sword’s power added, to face it so easily meant the current Han Yuhyun had grown tremendously.

“Our Yuhyun, you’ve grown so much.”

Han Yuhyun’s eyes curved into crescents. The straight blade curved and tried to bite Han Yujin’s neck. A hand with scales growing on it caught the blade, and with a sharp scraping sound, a faint trace of blood appeared.

“It’s thanks to Hyung.”

Han Yuhyun pulled the whip sword forcefully toward himself and swung his long leg at Han Yujin’s side. Normally, one would release the sword to avoid being pulled. But Han Yujin, accepting that his palm would be carved up, gripped the sword even tighter and threw his body into the air.

With the force of pulling the sword, Han Yujin’s body was drawn along, naturally dodging Han Yuhyun’s kick. As if to burrow into his little brother’s arms, Han Yujin sharpened the nails of his uninjured hand. Han Yuhyun’s chest was slashed lengthwise. But thanks to his formal wear’s defense, only the regular clothes underneath were torn—no wound appeared.

Han Yuhyun raised his elbow and struck Han Yujin’s shoulder at close range. At this distance, evasion was virtually impossible. But Han Yujin released the sword he was holding and quickly lowered his body as if half-lying down.

Han Yuhyun’s elbow cut through empty air, and instead, the tip of the sword that had transformed into a longsword was about to pierce the defenseless Han Yujin lying down, when—

Crunch—with the sound of biting and swallowing a cookie, Han Yujin’s body suddenly shrank. It even vanished in a flash with teleportation.

WHOOSH—

Han Yuhyun, without panicking, created flames and searched for his brother’s location. His mana, spread out in flame form, immediately caught a presence behind him. Han Yuhyun’s body spun around and accurately swung his sword at the shrunken Han Yujin.

CRUNCH!

“…Hyung?”

Han Yujin’s body split in half and fell to the floor with a thud. As Han Yuhyun unconsciously stopped moving, a kick flew at his back!

“Tch!”

He quickly twisted his body, but Han Yuhyun, struck hard in the waist, was pushed back. The small Han Yujin, split in two, was kicked by his foot and completely crushed. Han Yuhyun, his upper body bent, received the healing skill Noah sent and looked at his brother, who had appeared in his original size, unharmed.

“That’s the doppelgänger doll, mini version. By spreading your mana, you can only detect form and movement. Since it’s small, it’s even easier to be deceived.”

If he took his time, he could sense the opponent’s mana and energy to distinguish between fake and real even with small objects, but it was difficult during battle where split-second judgment was required.

Han Yujin healed his injured hand and looked at Noah in the distance.

“As expected, eliminating the hunter with healing skills first is standard practice.”

Noah, receiving his gaze, took a step back. Seong Hyunjae still stood guard in front of him. Park Yerim was also positioned in the air nearby.

“I’ll protect Noah-oppa, so how about working together?”

“I don’t match with either of you. Hunter Park Yerim, or perhaps Mr. Song Taewon would be suitable. And right now, stalling for time is the optimal strategy.”

Rather than ganging up for attacks, taking turns facing Han Yujin, stalling for time, and draining his strength was the safest and most certain method. Above all, Changeling’s power couldn’t be maintained for more than three hours at most. In other words, if they just held out for three hours, Han Yujin would lose all his attack skills.

However, the corner of Seong Hyunjae’s eye twitched slightly.

“It seems to be just a warm-up for now.”

“Uh, are you talking about Mister?”

CLANG! Flame clashed with flame again. Han Yujin hadn’t used many skills yet. Seong Hyunjae spoke without taking his eyes off Han Yujin.

“Hunter Noah, are the potions sufficient?”

“Yes. I will use a potion when Hunter Han Yuhyun is out of combat.”

It meant it was better to save the healing skill that could serve as backup during combat as much as possible. Park Yerim, who still lacked experience, tilted her head, puzzled by what he meant.

“It means Hunter Han Yuhyun’s injury frequency is likely to be high.”

“Really? I thought it would be similar to Mister. No, Mister got hurt more.”

“I said it would be difficult to handle large amounts of water.”

Park Yerim nodded. She had already used too much power. Even if she replenished her mana, the accumulated fatigue remained. Large-scale control, such as bursting water pipes and creating waves like in the battle before sunset, was impossible.

“I think I can manage if I push myself.”

“Then please focus on teleportation. The only person who can catch up with Han Yujin if he tries to escape is Hunter Park Yerim.”

SCREECH, THUD! A streetlight, severed by a blade, fell onto the broken road. Han Yujin climbed up the wall of the building across the street, and Han Yuhyun pursued him, scattering blue willow leaves. CRASH, CRASH—glass windows shattered in succession.

Han Yujin looked at his little brother following him with what seemed like affection. This time, as a human and as a hunter, he was a little brother he had raised.

So naturally, he belonged to him.

“Yuhyun-ah.”

His silver eyes curved into thin lines. On the building’s middle floor, Han Yujin kicked off the wall. Crunch—his feet indented, and Han Yujin’s body shot out at Han Yuhyun in the air. Han Yuhyun calmly angled his sword at his brother, who was charging recklessly.

It appeared to be a simple charge, but he didn’t know what variables might emerge. Teleportation? Or perhaps he would use the Willow Leaves skill to change direction. He could also eat a cookie, use a skill other than Black Blood Flame, or produce an unfamiliar item.

Han Yuhyun’s mind raced. But it was none of those things. Han Yujin, just as he was, leaped at Han Yuhyun defenseless, and—

CRUNCH!

The Ruler of the Wind pierced Han Yujin’s shoulder. What on earth. Even in a situation that deviated from his expectations, Han Yuhyun was about to continue his attack to completely subdue his brother, when—

JINGLE

With a small chime, silver chains poured down.

“Han Yuhyun!”

Park Yerim’s surprised shout echoed in air thick with the smell of blood. Han Yujin, using his flight skill, embraced his little brother, who had been pierced by the chains, from behind. There was no fatal wound. But both his arms and legs were pierced by moonlight and he couldn’t move. His blood-soaked arm twitched, but he couldn’t even muster enough strength to break the chains.

Park Yerim reflexively created an ice spear, but Han Yuhyun’s body completely covered Han Yujin, making it difficult to attack. The same was true for Seong Hyunjae. Noah also couldn’t use his healing skill now that the chains were tearing at the wounds.

The chains, connected to the moonlight in the sky, slowly descended to the ground with their bodies. Han Yuhyun’s feet touched the ground first, and he swallowed a weak groan. Han Yujin, still floating slightly in the air, wrapped his arms around his little brother’s neck.

“My little brother, you’re so wonderful.”

Han Yujin kissed his little brother’s head and grabbed the half-wig with his other hand. Han Yuhyun’s head tilted back slightly.

“Anything looks good on you, but I still prefer it short.”

The half-wig, torn off as it was, burned and scattered into ash instantly. Han Yuhyun released a breath mixed with blood.

“I want to play with you more because you enjoy it, but Hyung doesn’t have time. I have to find Chief Song and kill him. Or, Yuhyun-ah, do you want to come with me now? Take Hyung’s side.”

You like Hyung the most, don’t you? You said you only love Hyung. At the affectionate whisper, Han Yuhyun’s pupils shifted right, toward his brother.

“…That’s right. But it’s not what Hyung wants.”

“That’s true. It’s what Crescent Moon wants. But Yuhyun-ah, I really want to kill Chief Song. In fact, the Chief might want it too.”

Instead of answering, Han Yuhyun created flames. Bluish-black fire rose up his body and flickered over to Han Yujin.

“With my flame resistance—”

Seeing the fire’s color gradually change to clear blue, Han Yujin’s eyes turned fierce. Jingle—the silver chains were instantly withdrawn, and Han Yujin roughly threw Han Yuhyun away. Han Yuhyun’s body slid across the floor for a long distance.

“Han Yuhyun!”

“Hyung, cough, you really are Hyung.”

Park Yerim teleported Han Yuhyun to Noah, and a golden chain stretched out as if to take its place. Brushing past Han Yujin’s cheek, the chain pierced the building’s wall. Simultaneously, crackle—a powerful electric current flashed.

Intense light that momentarily burned away the darkness blinded Han Yujin, and in that brief gap, Seong Hyunjae closed in. Han Yujin crossed his arms to block the kick thrusting with terrifying momentum and was pushed back right against the building.

His silver eyes sharpened.

“I won’t go easy on you.”

“That’s what I’m hoping for.”

Seong Hyunjae smiled, lowering the leg he had raised.

“Still, it’s a relief that Han Yujin is certain.”

“Even if Crescent Moon were possessing me, do you think I would fawn over you instead of Yuhyun?”

Red flame rose from the tip of Han Yujin’s foot and was dyed black as if absorbing the darkness. His silver eyes examined the black and red coat Seong Hyunjae wore. He has lightning attribute resistance, so focusing on flame resistance is the correct choice.

“For my dear partner, please remove that coat and come at me.”

“Han Yujin has coveted Cilekia for a long time.”

Seong Hyunjae’s hand lightly brushed his coat’s collar.

“If you go to the aquarium with me, I’ll take it off as much as you want.”

“Really? Let’s write a contract right now. After we write the contract and I get the down payment.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t have an L-Rank contract, so let’s do it with post-payment.”

“Bullshit, what guarantee do I have? If you’re going to be stingy, just admit you’re stingy.”

“Could I possibly be stingy with a mere coat like this?”

Rumble—the golden chain emerged from the wall, shedding concrete fragments. With his gaze on the chain circling Seong Hyunjae’s body, Han Yujin raised his nails to his palm. The dripping blood formed the shape of a sword, and silver chains hung around Han Yujin like a jeweled curtain.