The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 415: The Moon Rises (3)

Han Yujin took another step back, his shoulders pressing against the cold wall. A dozen strands of moonlight struck the surface behind him with sharp, crystalline chimes.

After a heartbeat of silence, they both moved.

CRACKLE— Ice spread across the sidewalk in a glittering path. Han Yujin slid sideways along the wall, desperate to escape the trap closing around him from both directions. The moment he ducked low, the golden chain pursuing him tangled with the silver ones in a chaotic mess of clanging metal. Seong Hyunjae sprinted alongside the expanding ice, his footsteps eerily silent.

SCREECH— Han Yujin’s boots carved harsh lines across the frozen surface before he skidded to a stop at the path’s end. He’d cleared the building that had been at his back, emerging into a wide intersection bathed in streetlight. Seong Hyunjae caught up instantly, hand already reaching out before Han Yujin could even straighten.

He could have used teleportation, but Han Yujin chose speed over the skill’s delay. The gun he’d drawn while sliding appeared in his grip. Just as Seong Hyunjae’s fingers brushed toward him, Han Yujin fired.

BANG!

The magic bullet caught Seong Hyunjae’s forearm and exploded. The hastily charged shot barely stung, but the recoil sent Han Yujin stumbling backward, buying him precious distance.

Han Yujin shaped flame into a spear and hurled it with everything he had. Seong Hyunjae dodged with a casual twist of his shoulder, the black weapon screaming past. Then he planted his foot and—CRUNCH—shattered the checkered asphalt beneath his sole, launching himself forward like a missile.

“There’s a weight class difference, but you keep pushing for close combat! And you’re using your longer legs!”

Han Yujin blocked the incoming kick with both scaled arms, grumbling even as the impact jarred his bones. They might both be S-rank, but reach mattered. In a simultaneous exchange, only one of them would land their hit.

“It would have been the same with the young master.”

“A younger brother always looks small even when he’s grown up. Besides, Yuhyun will forever be younger than me.”

Han Yujin ducked and weaved through a flurry of punches, then bent one leg and snapped it upward. As if choreographed, Seong Hyunjae’s knee rose to meet his foot. THUD! Using the impact as a springboard, Han Yujin vaulted skyward.

The golden chain stretched after him like a hunting snake, only to tangle once more with the defensive silver ones.

“Use a weapon, a weapon! You must have a full inventory, right?”

Han Yujin called down from his perch atop a traffic light. When he noticed Seong Hyunjae’s gaze flick toward Noah, a knowing smile crossed the man’s lips.

“It’s basic strategy to keep a teleporting opponent close. You’re deliberately avoiding it, aren’t you? Waiting for an opening?”

“You know ver—”

BOOM! Lightning struck the traffic light. The signal flickered once, twice, then exploded in a shower of sparks. Electricity danced up toward Han Yujin’s position. He whipped out a wire, wrapping it around a nearby streetlight and yanking hard to swing clear.

SCREECH— The streetlight groaned and bent under the sudden force. Han Yujin’s body arced across the intersection faster than his flight skill could manage, landing hard on the opposite sidewalk just as Seong Hyunjae closed in.

BOOM!

The bomb detonated between them. Both men flew through the air—Han Yujin slamming into a building wall while Seong Hyunjae’s heels carved deep trenches in the asphalt as he skidded to a stop. The mana explosion left neither unscathed.

Seong Hyunjae’s defending arm was shredded, clothes and skin hanging in tatters. Blood matted his disheveled hair, and one ear was split nearly in half, crimson streaming down his neck. Noah started to rise from where he’d been healing Han Yuhyun, but the distance was too great for his skills to reach.

Instead of retreating for healing, Seong Hyunjae didn’t even reach for a potion. He charged straight at Han Yujin.

Han Yujin, who’d deliberately taken the full brunt to draw his opponent in, was mid-heal when he threw himself sideways. CRUNCH! Seong Hyunjae’s foot carved a deep gouge where he’d been, exterior chunks raining down like debris from an earthquake.

Han Yujin’s palm hit the ground, body spinning as he rolled upright. Seong Hyunjae stepped off the cracked wall, leaping high with his heel aimed downward. No time to dodge, too much force to block—

Under his wildly flapping coat, Han Yujin finally used teleportation.

The instant he vanished, Han Yuhyun and Park Yerim went on high alert. Park Yerim moved first. Cold mist bloomed about ten meters from their group, and Han Yujin materialized right within its reach.

“As expected! The maximum range of my skill is exactly there!”

“Our Yerim, you did really well this time, didn’t you?”

Han Yujin immediately conjured flame to burn back the mist, but the brief gap was unavoidable. Han Yuhyun started forward, then caught sight of Noah and stopped. Instead, he pulled a spear from his inventory and hurled it.

“Keep him at a distance.”

“Got it!”

Park Yerim followed up with ice spears, forcing Han Yujin to check his advance. CRUNCH! The metal spear embedded itself at his feet as frozen projectiles whistled past. Han Yujin deflected them with black flame spears, grudgingly giving ground.

“They’re growing too fast.”

Copying someone else’s skill from brief exposure was difficult enough. Overwriting and upgrading familiar techniques was even harder. Except for skills from the dead—like the pre-regression Han Yuhyun—Han Yujin’s borrowed abilities inevitably grew weaker than their original owners over time.

The double effect only applied to attacks anyway, useless for support skills like resistance.

Seong Hyunjae approached through the chaos. Cilekia’s self-healing coat had mended itself, revealing glimpses of muscle where potion-healed forearm showed through. Han Yujin glanced back at him.

“I’m thinking of going to find Chief Song right now. Can’t you give me a hint?”

“I’ll answer any other question.”

“Ah, this is troublesome.”

Han Yujin scratched the back of his head like a man with a dilemma. He was confident he could escape right now. If no one here knew Song Taewon’s whereabouts, there was no reason to stay trapped.

He could just search Seoul the hard way.

But since Seong Hyunjae was here, getting the location from him would be faster. That had been the plan from the start.

“I didn’t want to go this far, but…”

Han Yujin backed away slowly. The silver chains returned to orbit around him, jingling their soft melody as his silver eyes narrowed.

“Even if they say it’s safe because it’s an incarnation—is self-harm completely impossible?”

Every face went rigid.

“The body, well, let’s say it can’t be touched. But what’s inside is me, right? Right, Yuhyun?”

“…Hyung.”

“Because if it were me, I would never stand by and watch my naughty little brother do something to shorten his own lifespan. I was influenced by Crescent Moon, but it’s still me.”

Han Yujin’s gaze shifted from Han Yuhyun back to Seong Hyunjae. He tapped his temple with one finger.

“What about mentally? Well, I guess it doesn’t matter to Mr. Seong Hyunjae, right? As long as it can understand and follow orders, a shell that can’t do anything foolish would be easier to handle.”

“If that’s what I wanted—”

Seong Hyunjae stepped forward cautiously, golden chain coiled around him like a striking snake.

“—it would already be carefully stored in my private residence.”

“Come on, you must have wanted it at least once. Should I grant my partner’s wish this time?”

Something appeared at Han Yujin’s fingertip, as if drawn from inventory. Seong Hyunjae exploded into motion. Faster still, the golden chain wrapped around Han Yujin’s wrist. In that split second of restraint, Seong Hyunjae caught the bound wrist and popped whatever Han Yujin held into his own mouth.

“It’s dried fruit.”

“What if it’s poison pretending to be dried fruit?”

Han Yujin laughed, reaching out to smooth Seong Hyunjae’s coat collar as if tidying his appearance.

“Turn off the poison resistance, and I think swallowing something strong will do the trick. What do you want to do?”

“You have to think about your little brother.”

“Yuhyun will like any version of me, you know. Unlike you.”

“Hyung!”

Han Yuhyun’s shout cut through the night.

“But I don’t want Hyung to hurt himself!”

“I’ll just stay quietly at home, and Seong Hyunjae will lose interest in me, won’t he?”

“That’s—”

“Are you crazy, Han Yujin? Why are you hesitating? Mister! Don’t do anything foolish!”

“That’s right, Mr. Yujin!”

“The kids are so nice.”

Han Yujin pulled his wrist free and stepped back.

“Don’t follow me. There’s no way for you to stop me. I’ll give you time to think. Let’s see… there’s still quite a bit of time left, so about three minutes?”

Seong Hyunjae, who’d been about to pursue, froze. Han Yujin crossed the street to the opposite sidewalk and waved at the group of four.

“Kids, try to persuade Mr. Seong Hyunjae well!”

“Mister, really!”

Noah patted Park Yerim’s shoulder as she shouted, then whispered something low to her and Han Yuhyun. Park Yerim frowned and gestured to Seong Hyunjae.

“Sesung-ahjussi, come here for a moment. I think Mister is really going to cause trouble.”

Seong Hyunjae approached the three, and again hushed voices were exchanged. Han Yujin tilted his head, watching them.

“It’s good to see the four of you getting along so well. But Mr. Seong Hyunjae doesn’t have the right age to be in there, does he?”

“I’m sorry to make you feel lonely. By age, it should have been Han Yujin.”

“My body is twenty-five. Well, thirty is right, though. As for physical age, if you take good care of yourself, you can look like you’re in your twenties even at forty. Now then, two minutes left.”

Han Yujin raised his empty wrist, pretending to check a watch. Seong Hyunjae stood motionless. This time, Han Yuhyun, Park Yerim, and Noah stepped forward together. Han Yujin’s eyes widened.

“Huh? What’s this? You’re protecting Mr. Seong Hyunjae by stepping up yourselves? Because you think I can’t do anything foolish in front of the kids?”

“Even if you hurt Seong-ahjussi, Mister will definitely be greatly hurt too.”

“Maybe not. Yerim, don’t talk too much. The brakes on my tongue are broken right now.”

“I’ve heard a lot of heart-wrenching things, so I’m used to it.”

“Should I just kill your uncle’s family instead? And just because you’ve learned to endure pain doesn’t mean it cuts less deep, or heals any faster.”

Han Yujin rolled his eyes as he spoke. Han Yuhyun stepped forward, Noah behind him, then Park Yerim. Noah spread his wings wide and flew up beside her.

“Wow, you’ve really changed. You look cool.”

“Thank you.”

“But it feels like you’re screaming at me to target you.”

‘Is the strategy to use Noah as bait to capture me securely? But it’s clumsy.’ Han Yujin kept tilting his head, looking at Seong Hyunjae. The man had even turned around.

“Mr. Seong Hyunjae! Did you block sound too? To protect the Chief to this extent—that’s so mean. You said I was your only partner.”

Han Yuhyun charged at the grumbling Han Yujin. Silver chains shot toward him as a black blade curved through the air. CLANG, CLANG, CLANG! The skillfully wielded whip sword deflected every chain. They retreated like living things before striking again, but this time Park Yerim’s ice spear intercepted them, protecting Han Yuhyun.

“So this is what you two agreed on?”

Unlike before, they’d clearly divided offense and defense. Park Yerim’s abilities would hinder rather than help in close combat, but she perfectly intercepted the long-range attacks.

CRACKLE— Ice climbed the silver chains, slowing their movement. She didn’t get greedy, just blocked and withdrew.

Meanwhile, Han Yuhyun had closed in. SCRAPE! Weapon met weapon, and Han Yujin took half a step back.

“It’s so obviously a trap, but it’s a shame to just pass by.”

As long as Noah was present, properly dealing with Han Yuhyun and Park Yerim would be difficult. To neutralize them, he’d have to inflict injuries serious enough that Noah’s healing couldn’t recover them.

To safely block them both, he had to capture Noah first.

Han Yujin clicked his tongue and twisted his black flame sword. The Ruler of the Wind, seeing the opening, plunged into Han Yujin’s arm without hesitation. Blood sprayed, immediately transforming into black flame that momentarily blinded Han Yuhyun.

Han Yujin detonated a smoke bomb. Red mist spread instantly as his body vanished from the spot. On Noah’s wing—

CRUNCH!

A sword embedded itself deep.

“……!”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Noah!”

Han Yujin carved a long line across the golden-feathered wing. To avoid causing a silent scream, he’d deliberately targeted the wing, intending to paralyze and capture Noah with poison enhanced by the double buff. Just as he reached for wire, having nearly severed the wing—

“Aaargh!”

Han Yujin’s scream pierced the night. His body crashed to the ground with a heavy thud, breath coming in ragged gasps. Agony lanced through his entire body. Fighting to stay conscious, Han Yujin fumbled for a spare teleportation item with trembling hands.

BOOM!

He teleported just as a flame-wreathed sword gouged the spot where he’d fallen.

“Gasp, ugh… Noah, Mr. Noah. The skill…”

He’d definitely attacked the wing, but pain blazed through Han Yujin’s chest like a heart attack.

“Yes, ugh, it changed.”

Noah landed and began healing his wing. Han Yujin’s eyes widened as he struggled to his feet, panting.

“Seong Hyunjae…!”

The man had vanished without a trace.