The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 512: Dogfight (3)

The position Song Taewon had taken was on a slope. Perhaps because the land had been cleared, the ground tilted diagonally toward the fence. The boulder, chosen to be as round as possible with its angular parts smoothed down, began rolling faster as it picked up speed.

Click—the shell casing ejected and Seong Hyunjae pulled the trigger. Timing it precisely, Song Taewon rolled forward. As if anticipating this, the shot was aimed low, but once again the bullet only struck the boulder and deflected.

Song Taewon, who’d rolled once, smoothly continued the motion and sprang up as if bouncing, sticking to the back of the boulder. The fence was already right in front of him. Song Taewon’s body spun around, and—

Boom!

He kicked the boulder hard. With even more force added to the already speeding boulder, it collided with the fence in an instant.

Crash!

While fragments of the wooden fence flew up and obscured his vision, a stone came flying toward Seong Hyunjae. This time, instead of dodging, Seong Hyunjae fired the gun he’d been loading. Thud! Along with the sound, the stone hit by the bullet tumbled down. Even if it was a sling throw powered by human strength, the speed was extraordinary and the target was small. Yet his marksmanship was incredible, hitting it with just one shot.

Having knocked down the stone, Seong Hyunjae immediately reloaded, but Song Taewon had already taken cover behind a nearby building.

“The non-Awakened state is rather inconvenient.”

If he could use skills, he could simply blow away a small house like that in one go. However, this current sensation wasn’t bad either. While not taking his eyes off the place Song Taewon was hiding, Seong Hyunjae leisurely filled the rifle with bullets.

“Come out of the bushes now, Mr. Rabbit.”

Since there’s no hunting dog to flush you out. But Song Taewon didn’t move rashly. Seong Hyunjae shrugged his shoulders and took out a couple of bullets. Then, after tying the bullets together with string to make them heavy, he threw them toward the roof of the house Song Taewon had entered. Then he shot at the bundle of bullets.

Whoosh!

Sparks flew and fire began spreading to the roof. It was a flimsy house made of straw and wood. In an instant, fire spread across the entire roof, and as it burned, pieces of wood dropped down below. Then—boom! A wooden window shattered. Seong Hyunjae aimed his gun at what burst through the window but didn’t pull the trigger. A chair tumbled across the dirt ground.

As soon as he saw that, he immediately turned his gaze. Another chair burst out, breaking through another window, and a large wooden barrel burst out, smashing through the door. It was an action meant to divert attention.

What’s next? But it suddenly went quiet.

“Oh no.”

Seong Hyunjae, who’d been watching the house, quickly turned his head. The barrel. The barrel that had been rolling toward the house where Seong Hyunjae stood burst open with a bang. Song Taewon burst out from among the wooden fragments scattering in all directions and started running.

He hadn’t thrown the barrel. He’d smashed through the door with the empty barrel and completely hidden his body inside it at the same time.

The distance had completely closed. Seong Hyunjae pulled the trigger a beat too late, but Song Taewon launching his body toward the house where Seong Hyunjae was came first. Bang! The bullet barely grazed Song Taewon’s leg, and ramming through the closed door, Song Taewon entered the house.

“…”

Having broken through the door, Song Taewon rolled once across the wooden floor and landed. Blood seeped into his leg, but it was a minor injury that didn’t hinder movement. He got up while quickly surveying the dim interior. After checking the condition of the wire wrapped around his entire forearm, he climbed the stairs leading to the second floor.

Even having closed the distance, Song Taewon was still at a disadvantage. The moment he stuck his head out onto the roof, a bullet would definitely come flying. So then.

The second floor was closer to a half-attic. Two pillars supporting the roof were erected, and above them the forms of purlins and rafters were fully exposed. It didn’t look very sturdy. Song Taewon picked up a chair in the corner of the second floor. Then he swung it forcefully at the pillar.

Boom!

The chair shattered and the pillar shook greatly. Seong Hyunjae would quickly catch on to what Song Taewon was trying to do. Next, a new chair was swung and crack—the pillar broke. After also destroying the other pillar by swinging a table, he shot the two remaining stones for slinging up at all the structures supporting the roof.

Soon, rumble rumble, the roof began collapsing. With the walls of the second floor remaining as they were, only the roof caved in below. Song Taewon’s entire body tensed, ready to rush in at any moment, but—

Seong Hyunjae’s figure wasn’t visible even as the collapsed roof raised dust. Song Taewon’s brow unconsciously furrowed. Of course, he wasn’t someone who’d fall down obediently. He quickly pressed his body beside the window and carefully looked outside. As soon as Song Taewon’s face appeared beyond the window—

Bang!

A gunshot rang out. The bullet grazed past the ear of Song Taewon, who’d hastily dodged.

“Even in a non-Awakened state, a second-floor height is nothing.”

“With the current body, there’s sufficient possibility of injury.”

“Isn’t that minor compared to Mr. Song Taewon’s actions?”

The gun fired again and hit the window frame. Song Taewon moved away from the window and pushed the roof debris toward it. Then, holding the broken pillar, he forcefully stabbed and pounded at the wall below the window. Boom—along with the sound, cracks formed in the flimsy wall. When he also pounded and destroyed the walls on both sides of the window, the inside of the second floor was completely exposed.

Seong Hyunjae, who’d been aiming his gun, pulled the trigger, but Song Taewon quickly hid behind the piled roof debris. Then he forcefully pushed the pile of debris as it was.

Rustle rustle—Song Taewon fell outside and below the second floor along with the pile of debris. The roof debris mixed with straw, dirt, and wood softly blocked the bullets that came flying in succession. Song Taewon, who’d landed buried in the pile of debris, defended his head with the arm wrapped in wire and got up. Watching that, Seong Hyunjae’s lips curved up.

“Seems you have no intention of giving up.”

“None.”

A curt answer came back. The gap between the two was at most a few meters. Song Taewon put strength into his two legs buried in straw, taking a stance that showed he’d endure one hit.

He’d block his head with his arm. Since the bullet would have difficulty penetrating the wire, it was the area that would sustain the least injury. He’d defend his chest area by holding up a wooden board. Even if he got shot after the bullet penetrated the board, he could avoid fatal injury as long as the power was halved. His legs were still buried, so they were safe.

As long as he avoided fatal injury, he just had to ignore his two legs and one arm. The gun would fire, and the moment it hit, he’d rush in during the gap while reloading.

A chilling silence settled between the two. The gunshot would be the signal flare. Seong Hyunjae’s finger on the trigger twitched slightly. Distinct pleasure formed in his curved eyes.

Song Taewon, and Han Yujin too, were trying to help him. They were clashing with all their might from different directions. So how could he not be delighted? Even if it was a heart that had died long ago, it couldn’t help but heat up.

“Truly.”

Speaking as if in admiration, Seong Hyunjae’s finger moved. When they were coming at him this fiercely, he had to meet them head-on.

Bang!

Fire burst from the muzzle aimed precisely at Song Taewon’s head. The wire that was hit dented deeply and Song Taewon’s upper body also flinched. But only for a moment—ignoring the dull pain surging through his arm, Song Taewon’s body shot out explosively.

Boom—kicking off the ground with all his might, not missing that brief gap during reloading. While watching Song Taewon charging at him, Seong Hyunjae spun the rifle around instead of pulling the bolt. The rifle’s stock swung down toward Song Taewon. Song Taewon’s ankle twisted sharply as he dodged past the stock, then stretched forward the arm he’d pulled far back.

Thud!

Seong Hyunjae’s forearm and Song Taewon’s fist collided. Sliding backward, Seong Hyunjae threw the rifle toward Song Taewon’s face. Rather than attacking, it was an action to obstruct his vision. At the same time, he swung his leg widely.

Whoosh—the sharp kick passed over the crown of Song Taewon’s head as he quickly lowered his body, and right after, Song Taewon extended his leg low as if sweeping the ground. It was an attack aimed at Seong Hyunjae’s ankle. If the leg supporting his body was hit, he’d have no choice but to fall.

Right before his ankle was kicked, Seong Hyunjae’s body fell backward with a thump. Before being knocked down, he bent his body backward as if falling first, touched the ground with his hand, and whoosh—did a backflip. After lightly spinning around using just one hand and landing properly, Seong Hyunjae jumped back one step lightly. Behind him, the house that had burned more than half collapsed with a rumbling sound.

Song Taewon also got up while looking at Seong Hyunjae. In the light of the flickering flames, his pale hair was stained red. It was a much more distinct and vivid color than usual.

“Isn’t it enjoyable?”

Song Taewon didn’t answer. But his heart was definitely beating. Desperately pretending not to notice that, Song Taewon rushed at Seong Hyunjae again. As if he was going to charge straight ahead—

Swish!

He stopped abruptly and deeply scraped the ground with his toes, kicking it up. The pieces of the shattered barrel and dirt mixed together and surged toward Seong Hyunjae. Along with blocking his opponent’s vision, Song Taewon swung his leg aiming for his side. It was a kind of gamble, anticipating he’d dodge to the side. If he dodged in the direction he was aiming for, he’d strike his abdomen precisely.

However, Seong Hyunjae spun his body in the opposite direction as if anticipating everything and launched a low kick. With an accurate attack as if seeing through Song Taewon’s position and movements—

Thud!

Seong Hyunjae’s toes dug into Song Taewon’s leg as if being sucked in. Rather than trying to forcibly withstand his swaying body, Song Taewon fell over as-is and rolled once across the ground. Having put distance between them while covered in dirt, he sprang up and looked at Seong Hyunjae.

“Your combat foresight skill disappeared too, didn’t it? Or is it simply luck?”

“Intuition.”

It was instinct, not a skill. But he could feel it. Seong Hyunjae lowered the leg he’d raised and took a step toward Song Taewon.

“The accuracy rate will be lower than usual.”

Again, crack—the sound of the building wall collapsing, engulfed in flames, echoed. Seong Hyunjae glanced up at the sky.

“The weather’s clouding over.”

It might rain soon. Song Taewon swallowed his breath shortly. Whether before or now, he was a difficult opponent. That made it even more welcome. He hoped Seong Hyunjae would resist with all his might. And if he was defeated, he hoped to be thoroughly suppressed. To the point where he couldn’t harbor regrets.

But even so, he would continue to harbor the same feelings. As long as he couldn’t let go of his doubts and anxiety about Song Taewon.

Within the spreading heat, the two became entangled again. Arms and fists, legs and arms collided and separated several times. Without any decent effective hits, only the innocent ground was torn up and beaten.

“Try a bit harder.”

Seong Hyunjae laughed while throwing a punch, pulling the muscles of his back fully taut. The nape of his neck was faintly damp with sweat. Flying ash stuck to his cheek and occasionally blocked his vision.

Song Taewon also exhaled slightly rougher breaths. Sweat that had rolled down and pooled above his exposed collarbone scattered with his vigorous movements. Landing an attack on Seong Hyunjae was extremely difficult. Even if the accuracy rate was lower than combat foresight, he still easily anticipated attacks, dodged, and counterattacked.

Then the only option was to make him unable to dodge even if he anticipated it. Song Taewon abandoned technical movements. Instead, he recklessly clung to Seong Hyunjae.

“Kugh.”

Seong Hyunjae’s fist dug into Song Taewon’s side. A groan leaked out from the fiercely piercing attack, but gritting his teeth, he entangled Seong Hyunjae’s arm with his own arm and pushed using his entire body.

Boom! The two bodies tangled together and rolled across the ground. Even Seong Hyunjae felt troubled by Song Taewon’s reckless charging attitude. Seong Hyunjae was superior in height, but the overall physique was hard to say was advantageous.

Toward Seong Hyunjae trying to break free, Song Taewon threw a punch without even taking proper form. The fist that glanced off Seong Hyunjae’s cheek hit the ground, and Seong Hyunjae also kicked upward with his bent knee. Thud—along with the sound, Song Taewon’s brow furrowed. Pain to the point where bones creaked was felt, but ignoring it, he threw punches repeatedly.

The two, who’d been rolling across the ground in a grapple, fell toward the collapsed building. Taking advantage of the gap where ash rose up, Seong Hyunjae headbutted Song Taewon’s face. Thud! Song Taewon, who’d been headbutted straight in the nose, couldn’t help but stiffen momentarily. Not missing that, Seong Hyunjae kicked up forcefully at Song Taewon’s solar plexus.

“Kugh!”

Even Song Taewon, who’d been enduring stubbornly, couldn’t withstand it this time. Seong Hyunjae’s forearm wrapped around the neck of Song Taewon, who’d been sent flying backward and collapsed. Then he stabbed in the dagger he’d drawn at some point into his shoulder. The blade twisted and one of Song Taewon’s arms drooped limply.

“Well then, Mr. Song Taewon.”

The withdrawn dagger dripped blood as it was raised high, and at that moment—

Bang!

A gunshot rang out. The bullet embedded itself in front of Seong Hyunjae’s foot, and Han Yujin lowered the gun he’d been aiming and spoke.

“He’s my share.”