The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 416: The Moon Rises (4)

“Right, this way I have no reason to self-harm.”

Han Yujin swept back hair damp with cold sweat, silver eyes moving slowly to assess the three people blocking his path.

“I couldn’t see which direction, and enough time has passed. It’s a search for Kim Seo-bang—no, Seong Seo-bang in Seoul. Rarer than the surname Kim, but still…”

“It’ll be difficult to do in time. Give up, Mister!”

“Who knows? He might be found surprisingly easily. It’s a quiet city without a sound. Since there’s a possibility of him meeting up with Mr. Seong Hyunjae, Chief Song probably wouldn’t have gone far, and not in my direction. And—”

Han Yujin tilted his head slightly.

“He probably wouldn’t have gone near the river either, since I have Yerim’s skill too. To prepare for the worst, he’d avoid places with lots of water. If he crossed the river completely, it would be too far, so in the end… Yeoksam, Nonhyeon, at most Seocho to Bangbae?”

“Th-that’s still wide.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

A smile formed on Han Yujin’s lips—soft and gentle at first glance.

“So why don’t you obediently let me go and head back to the hotel? There’s no need to drag this out, is there?”

But Park Yerim, Han Yuhyun, and Noah showed no signs of backing down. He could just slip away, but if they followed, it would be like helping Seong Hyunjae and Song Taewon escape. Even if he shook them off, a battle would eventually break out and they’d interfere again.

“I was trying to save my skills as much as possible.”

The incarnation with S-rank stats could be maintained until sunrise, but most attack skills would become unusable once Changeling’s power disappeared. That’s why he’d deliberately tried to minimize skill usage, responding with body and items instead.

Above all, his opponent was Song Taewon—and now it was the combination of Seong Hyunjae and Song Taewon. Just thinking about it made his whole body ache. Han Yujin let out a short sigh.

“There’s no choice.”

Without any preparatory movement, his body shot forward. Han Yuhyun raised his sword as if he’d been waiting. The hem of his formal wear, which had hung calmly, swayed violently as he clashed with his brother, added force from momentary acceleration.

BOOM!

The asphalt caved in. Under raging flames, it began melting black. Sticky tar clung to their shoe soles before burning away, unable to withstand the heat. Han Yujin held his ground against his brother’s strength, swords locked, while relentlessly scattering poisonous gas. Han Yuhyun’s bluish-black fire swallowed all the poison, growling fiercely.

JINGLE—the silver chains rang again. Han Yuhyun tensed momentarily, but the chains flew at Park Yerim instead. She dodged with teleportation, but the chains flowed along moonlight and instantly gave chase.

Cold mist scattered as large water droplets floated around Park Yerim. SPLASH, SPLASH! The moment chains pierced the droplets—CRACKLE—water froze rapidly. The chains’ movements, heavy with ice beads, weren’t difficult to handle.

But the distance between Park Yerim and Noah had widened!

Han Yuhyun, keenly noticing this, closed in on Han Yujin to keep him pinned. Unlike spatial movement, it wasn’t impossible to intercept teleportation mid-transit. As he tried pushing Han Yujin toward a building to minimize movement paths—

“……!”

Willow leaves appeared before his eyes. Han Yuhyun’s attack was momentarily deflected by the sudden wave of leaves without warning. Not missing that brief gap, Han Yujin’s figure vanished. Teleportation—and instead of the relatively slow flight skill, he ran across the leaves, rushing at Noah with terrifying speed.

Of course, Noah didn’t just stand and watch. Scales and feathers quickly grew on his hands and arms. Sharp nails, more vividly golden than before, flashed. Instead of dodging, he used a support skill to partially enhance his defense, protecting vital areas.

If he was injured, he could return it. Whether wings or anywhere else.

But Han Yujin—

THUD!

Instead of attacking Noah, he grabbed his wrist and yanked him hard toward his shoulder. Noah, with stats suited for support class, couldn’t overcome Han Yujin’s strength. His nails dug deep into Han Yujin’s shoulder.

“Aaargh, ugh!”

It wasn’t Han Yujin’s scream. Noah gritted his teeth, letting out a groan. Noah’s skill—Silent Scream. If it were just double the pain of a shoulder injury, it wouldn’t have been difficult for Noah, used to pain, to endure. But with the double attack skill and natural enemy effect of Venom and Curse Dragonkin added, his consciousness momentarily faded.

SWISH—a wire shot out, wrapping around Noah’s falling body. Holding the tightly bound Noah in his arms, Han Yujin patted his back affectionately.

“My beloved Mr. Noah, sleep well.”

Sweet dreams. Pat, pat, lullaby, lullaby. As expected, the double effect appeared on the Venom and Curse Dragonkin. Since he’d just fainted and experienced severe pain, it worked even better—similar to how sweetness feels stronger after eating something salty or bitter.

Without putting up decent resistance, Noah fell asleep.

“Don’t try to wake him for no reason. The skill effect is strong, so he won’t wake easily.”

Han Yujin placed Noah on a building roof. SCRAPE, SCRAPE—the chains dug up and broke free from binding ice, then charged at Park Yerim again to tie her down. Han Yuhyun looked up at Han Yujin standing on the roof railing.

Under the black sky with only moonlight and no stars, his silver eyes shone like a pair of small moons.

“Do you want to take Mr. Noah back to the hotel?”

“No. And besides, Hyung definitely hasn’t used the Blue Willow Leaves skill before, right?”

“It’s easier to use a skill that creates specific forms if you say the skill name, but it’s not like you can’t use it without saying it.”

Han Yujin’s hand slowly swept the back of his neck.

“If you have excellent mana control, you can use it with just your will. Look at the transcendent beings. Except for the Old Man—but the Old Man is weak.”

TAP—Han Yujin lightly kicked off the railing and jumped down. As he landed softly on the sidewalk, Han Yuhyun took a battle stance, watching him.

“I don’t want to hurt my cute little brother any more. The body is one thing, but the heart…”

“If there’s anything I’ve done wrong, tell me. I want to know more—everything I didn’t know about Hyung.”

“People live together while hiding things in moderation. No matter how great a person is, it’s hard to have no dark side. If you rashly try to know everything, it’s easy to end up hurting each other.”

“I love any version of Hyung. And Hyung wants to accept all of me too.”

“Yuhyun…”

While defending against chains with water and ice, simultaneously binding them so they couldn’t target Han Yuhyun, Han Yujin glanced up at Park Yerim then ran along the road. Han Yuhyun immediately followed.

“You’ve done nothing wrong.”

BOOM—sidewalk tiles under Han Yujin’s kick rose like dominoes, flying at Han Yuhyun. Han Yuhyun lightly swung his sword, deflecting them. CRASH! A missed shop window shattered, glass fragments soaring.

“If there is fault—”

A wire swung in circles. A flower shop’s display was swept away, the glass window broke, and petals scattered. CRACKLE—Han Yuhyun dodged the wire mixed with poison and electricity by leaning back, sliding in front of Han Yujin. Flower buds were crushed underfoot, releasing their scent.

“—it would be mine.”

Han Yuhyun, body lowered, swung his sword upward strongly. Han Yujin’s hands grabbed both ends of his black spear, blocking the blade as if striking it down. CLANG! Immediately after the loud sound, the Ruler of the Wind stretched like a whip, shooting at Han Yujin’s neck.

Han Yujin tilted his head instantly. His white neck was stained red by the blade grazing his skin.

“The cake I bought when I was twenty-nine.”

Han Yujin’s foot flew at Han Yuhyun, still in low position. Han Yuhyun, one hand on the floor, spun around and slid to dodge. A pile of flowers from the display caught in the momentum, scattering between them.

CRUNCH! Striking the floor hard, using the foot that had just struck as a pivot, Han Yujin swung his other leg at his little brother. SWISH—black hair brushed his foot tip and scattered wildly.

“That’s for the twenty-four-year-old Han Yuhyun.”

My poor little brother. Han Yujin’s low whisper pierced Han Yuhyun’s ear.

“There are truths better left unknown.”

“But, Hyung!”

“I’m sorry, Yuhyun.”

Han Yuhyun’s movements stopped abruptly. Not missing that gap, Han Yujin snatched Han Yuhyun’s arm and pulled him in as if to embrace him. Sharp nails scratched Han Yuhyun’s shoulder while instinctive counterattack tore Han Yujin’s waist. Simultaneously, Han Yujin let out a silent scream.

“Keuk……”

Han Yuhyun’s hand grabbed Han Yujin’s back, the hem of his clothes, tightly.

“Don’t apologize to me. Tell me that I was wrong.”

He couldn’t bring himself to ask about the truth that might be hidden in those words of apology. Han Yujin reached out, stroking his little brother’s hair.

“Don’t worry, my little brother. Hyung loves you most. Any kind of little brother.”

Paralyzing poison seeped directly into the shoulder wound. Additionally, Silent Wound—a skill that lowered the opponent’s stats every minute—activated.

Han Yuhyun, holding his brother tightly, gasped for breath. The scent of flowers mixed with blood was sickeningly strong. Han Yujin patted his little brother affectionately.

“Now, now, Yuhyun. Forget what just happened. Hyung will be back to you soon.”

Not long after, Han Yuhyun’s body went limp in Han Yujin’s arms. Silver eyes looked up at the sky. The chains withdrew, and freed Park Yerim approached with a hardened expression.

“I know it’s not what Mister wants.”

“Yerim…”

“But you’re the one who gets hurt, Mister.”

“There might still be Hunters wandering around. So please take them both safely back to the hotel. You will, right?”

Park Yerim bit her lip and nodded.

“Even if you fail, we’re still on Mister’s side.”

Even if Song Taewon were to die by his hands.

“I’m sorry to Chief Song, but I’ll say it’s not Mister’s fault.”

“You shouldn’t do that.”

“Then don’t make us do things we shouldn’t do. We’ll protect Mister no matter what, and we’ll say it’s okay, and if it’s Han Yuhyun, he’ll probably even create fake evidence to make you innocent.”

Han Yujin scratched his cheek as if troubled, carefully lowering Han Yuhyun’s body.

“I’m sorry that I’m lacking.”

“What are you lacking! I’m starting to get annoyed, you know? Mister is a hundred times better than Han Yuhyun! Han Yuhyun would agree too!”

“Our Yerim is so nice—”

“I’m not nice. I’d protect you even if you killed someone with a clear mind, so what’s nice about that?”

Han Yujin scratched his cheek. He looked down at fallen Han Yuhyun, then his gaze went up to the building roof where Noah slept. Han Yujin opened his mouth as if to say something, closed it again, and disappeared from the spot.

Park Yerim furrowed her brow and lifted the unconscious Han Yuhyun.

Golden wings spread under the dark night sky. Han Yujin purchased a tracking item from the item shop. A small ice bead appeared before him, containing a drop of red blood within.

It was his blood that he’d stolen while stroking Seong Hyunjae’s coat collar.

“…To be honest, it’s a loss. A tracking item that tracks with a body part instead of a contract—it’s expensive. And the radius has to be wide too.”

Han Yujin muttered.

“I know I have to kill Chief Song. But that’s not the end of it, is it? I’m using too many points. I’ve already used several items. I even bought new wire.”

He spoke as if reiterating to himself.

“I’m doing my best. And it’s Chief Song and Seong Hyunjae, right? I probably won’t even have time to use an item. They’ll try to snatch it as soon as I take it out, and I might end up caught in my own trap.”

Han Yujin continued speaking, dropping the blood from the ice bead onto the tracking item. To persuade himself.

“So, to avoid doing anything foolish—because it really is a foolish thing to do. Rookie! Can you temporarily close my point shop?”

A moment later, a system message window appeared.

[The point shop will be closed until sunrise! ＞?＜b]

Now he could no longer purchase new items from the point shop. Han Yujin let out a long sigh and used the tracking item. A butterfly emitting blue light appeared and began fluttering away somewhere.