The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 583: Preparing the Ingredients (5)

Craaaack, trees snapped like straw, too many to count. Even towering old trunks tens of meters high broke off with dull snaps, their age–rings exposed in neat circles. Some trees had been ripped out entirely, roots and all. Rootless boulders rolled around like leaves in a typhoon, and the ground was such a wreck it was hard to remember what it had looked like before.

On the split, torn–up earth, another heavy thud! crashed down. The surviving trees shed their leaves in a rattling shower. Even the S–class Hunters avoided getting close to that uproar and backed away. Clatter– sharp spikes bristled and knocked together with a dry sound. A tail covered in hard, jet–black scales whipped through the air and slammed into the ground.

– Yeah, this is it!

The black dragon bared her teeth and shouted in delight. Liette’s full dragonform skill was undeniably powerful. But she still hadn’t had many chances to truly fight in dragon form. Mediocre opponents went down too fast, and whenever she met someone worth trading blows with, she kept slipping back into her familiar humanoid shape.

It wasn’t that Liette didn’t value her own life. The idea of staggering around against a strong enemy, all for the sake of getting better at her personal transformation skill, was something she instinctively avoided. But here and now, that restriction was gone.

Liette’s front paw lifted. Two toes were sliced off by the spear, but she didn’t so much as blink; instead she swung that venomous blood like a weapon. Wherever that dark–red blood splashed, trees and grass shriveled black and died.

Moon Hyunah retreated back to avoid it, pulling a water bottle out of her inventory and tossing it over her head. There was no time to unscrew the cap and pour it – she sliced the bottle in midair, dumping the water over herself to wash the blood away. A small, wood–chip–like item was clamped between her teeth, an antidote. She crunched down on it, shoved it into one cheek, and reset her grip on her spear.

The skin around the claw–slash on her arm was already turning black. Even with anti–poison gear equipped, Liette’s venom was no joke. The miasma she exhaled was manageable, but the blood of a Venom and Curse Dragonkin was vicious.

“…Feels great to land the hit, but I get drenched every time I stab you.”

– Isn’t it thrilling?

Thud! The black dragon kicked off the ground. Her massive body lunged forward as fast as a swallow skimming the surface of a lake. Faced with that terrifying charge, Moon Hyunah didn’t dodge. She instead planted her feet, braced hard, and leveled her giant spear straight at her.

Wind gathered at the tip of the spear. Whooom– it swept outward as if carving a path, expanding its domain around her. Clank, clank – an extra layer of scales formed over Liette’s hide. The scales on her head, neck, and front legs thickened, leaving the rest comparatively thin. Small, thick bumps sprouted in a line down the center of her head. With sharp white fangs bared, the black dragon lowered her head and slammed it into the giant spear.

BOOOOM!

The impact was monstrous. The spear bit into her scales and the horn scraped roughly along Moon Hyunah’s body. Liette’s charge ground to a halt. Moon Hyunah’s legs were driven into the earth up to her shins. Blood ran down the spear, but it was no more than some skin peeled away.

The dragon’s eyes rolled to look at Moon Hyunah, amusement in them. Moon Hyunah’s lips curled into a matching grin.

“Thought my arm was gonna snap. Keep this up and I won’t be able to look the Haeyeon guildmaster in the eye.”

– You and Honey’s brother really don’t mesh~ My poison doesn’t work on him at all, you know? I really want a proper rematch next time.

Liette’s claws scraped the ground. Her massive head snapped up, and Moon Hyunah’s body was flung into the air. She twisted midair, flipping to face downward, wind gathering beneath her feet. Using that pressure like a drawn bow, she shot forward, her giant spear driving down toward the black dragon.

Wham!

The ground shook. Liette jerked her head aside, but one horn was sliced clean off, spinning in the air before dropping. Dirt billowed in a ring around the newly carved crater. Even with her view completely obscured, Liette didn’t hesitate to use a skill. The air shuddered – and split. Even the dust cloud was cleaved in two, torn open in a straight line. Through that gap, Moon Hyunah came into view, spear held upright.

Clang–clang–clang! The spear shaft met invisible sword strikes, and Moon Hyunah staggered back, body twisting. “Urk,” she spat, blood mixed in with her saliva. The physical shock was bad enough, but the poisoning was getting serious. On top of that, she had agreed to fight without using potions, and her recovery couldn’t compare to a dragon’s.

“Still, ending it like this would be boring.”

– Grrrrr.

Liette rumbled in agreement. Power gathered through the black dragon’s whole body. Pure strength against strength – as if declaring she wouldn’t rely on anything else, she lowered her upper body and bared her sharp teeth. Clack, clack – her dragon scales shifted again.

Moon Hyunah also drew up every last bit of her mana. Abandoning defense entirely, she leveled her spear and fixed Liette with a blazing stare. Scrrrape – dragon claws scored the earth. Then, with a deep gouging crunch…

BOOM!

The dragon charged. This time she slammed forward with such force it was clear she had no intention of being stopped. The momentum rolling toward her would have sent any S–class Hunter flying in an instant, and it was almost on top of her when Moon Hyunah suddenly dropped her body low.

The jagged horn barely grazed past her, and the dragon’s fangs lunged close enough to stab her eyes out—

Moon Hyunah leaped, spear and all, straight into Liette’s open jaws.

CRUNCH!

The spear pierced the relatively soft roof of the dragon’s mouth. At the same time, dozens of teeth tore into Moon Hyunah’s limbs.

“Just once…!”

I wanted to try this at least once! – but the words never finished. Her body and her voice were buried under the blood pouring down along the spear that skewered the dragon’s upper jaw.

– Ghhk!

Liette groaned as the spearhead drove in at an angle all the way into her skull. Even with her skills dulling the pain, it was hard to endure. Thud, thud – the black dragon’s huge body reeled. From the lethal wounds inflicted by that vicious poisonous blood and those teeth, Moon Hyunah received a death ruling, and both she and her spear vanished. But the wound remained. In fact, with the spear gone, the bleeding only grew worse. If she turned back into a human now, she would definitely die instantly.

– This…really…hurts!

Her vision blurred. Feeling her senses slowly dulling, Liette tried to use a potion. It was so tiny against the tip of her dragon claw, but she still lifted it to toss the whole bottle into her mouth when—

Clink!

Sparks flew as the potion bottle shattered. Liette’s eyes rolled wildly as the liquid splashed over her claw and disappeared. At some point, Seong Hyunjae had stepped onto the bridge of her nose.

– What the hell, if you wanna, fight, at least let me plug the hole first.

“Sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave the stage for today.”

– Why?

Seong Hyunjae gave the black dragon a polite little bow.

“I don’t think we can let them go so far as to slay a dragon too.”

Liette blinked. Her head was already hazy, and Seong Hyunjae’s contextless words made even less sense.

– Quit talking nonsense!

Liette’s head shook violently, poisonous blood splattering in every direction. The instant before she jerked her head, Seong Hyunjae hopped lightly down, golden chains unfurling around him. The droplets the chains couldn’t block evaporated in a sizzle of electricity just before they could touch their owner.

“I’d love to explain…”

Clang! Razor–sharp claws lashed out, and Seong Hyunjae took a few more steps back. Liette let out a low growl.

“…but I’m not exactly in the loop on the details yet myself.”

Seong Hyunjae’s eyes flicked toward the chat window. Make sure you beat Han Yujin. I hate seeing Han Yujin beat a bunch of Hunters. At a glance, it was just another cheer from a viewer who didn’t like Han Yujin.

But it was highly likely that Hwang Rim had sent it.

A Hunter connected to a Transcendent. And the Puppeteer was generally on Han Yujin’s side. He couldn’t simply take that at face value, but…

“What is certain is that this stage is harmful to my dear partner.”

That much was obvious. There was no need to think twice about the fact that Chatterbox was targeting Han Yujin. Liette spat blood and tilted her head.

– Don’t know about any of that. What about the Police Chief?

“Judging from the lack of burning smell, I’d say he either forfeited or lost in front of his beloved big brother.”

– You really think Honey actually beat his brother?

“Han Yujin isn’t the type to declare he’ll take down every Hunter without having some kind of countermeasure.”

Liette rumbled in her throat, low and long. The smell of blood thickened.

– He really is something else. Anyway, if the Police Chief’s out, guess I’ll call it here too~

Noah doesn’t seem like he’s in the mood to fight me, either,” she muttered, shifting back into her human form. A moment later, Liette vanished. Only a huge pool of blood remained where she’d been.

Seong Hyunjae stared for a moment at the poisonous bog that was melting the ground, then lifted his gaze to the sky. At some point, Noah had appeared and was now meeting his eyes. Seong Hyunjae’s eyes curved as he smiled.

“Seems you were worried about her after all.”

“…Challenging someone who’s already injured is unfair.”

“Or is it that you just didn’t like seeing Liette of all people end up like that?”

Noah’s brows knit slightly, but he answered honestly.

“Let’s just say I dislike you a little more than I dislike her.”

“How unfair. I was under the impression I treated you quite well, Noah.”

This time, there was no reply. Noah’s gaze lingered for a moment on the spot Liette had occupied. He’d said he wouldn’t be bound to her anymore, but even so, he had no desire to see the strongest person in his world brought down so helplessly.

“…Does Mr. Yujin need help?”

“I’d appreciate it if you could take out the other Hunters and then forfeit.”

“That’s what I’m in the middle of. I was thinking of fighting instead of forfeiting, though.”

He didn’t want to fight Han Yujin, and yet he kind of did want to, at least once. Noah beat his wings wide and climbed higher.

“I’ll clean up the surroundings and then surrender.”

Noah’s figure quickly disappeared into the distance. Left alone, Seong Hyunjae also turned away. His steps deeper into the forest were as quiet as a shadow. He silenced every trace of his own presence and focused on the sounds that reached him.

There were no animals in this forest besides Hunters. Even if there had been, they would have long since fled. So any movement that brushed his senses was a target.

Footsteps. They walked, stopped, and snap – a branch broke. The careless movement belonged to someone strong, someone who didn’t think they could be attacked, didn’t even imagine they might lose. A Hunter came into view between the trees. Seong Hyunjae walked straight toward them without hesitation. The Hunter turned, looked a little surprised, and opened their mouth to say something to Seong Hyunjae as he came right up to them.

Like he was just greeting an acquaintance, Seong Hyunjae closed the distance, his hand settling around the Hunter’s neck. There was no killing intent, no hint of an attack – his posture was that of someone reaching out for a handshake.

“…!”

The Hunter’s eyes flew wide. No matter how great a powerhouse someone was, when they moved in to attack, it always showed somehow. A faint bit of tension, a hint of fighting spirit would leak out. Even a tiger hunting a rabbit would lower its body first.

But this Hunter had felt nothing at all. With the same everyday ease as picking up a pen to write, crack – their neck snapped. The corpse vanished, and Seong Hyunjae moved on. Another Hunter brushed his senses and was eliminated just as quickly. Then, a few steps later…

Squelch.

The ground was wet. A tree speckled with melting chunks of ice came into view. Seong Hyunjae kept walking. Between the broken trees and little puddles, he saw Song Taewon sitting on a rock. Looking slightly tired, Song Taewon raised his head to look at him.

“Seems the young lady gave you a pretty hard time on her way through.”

“…Not really.”

“I went through something similar. She said she’d forfeit…”

But she hadn’t given up until the very end. At Seong Hyunjae’s words, Song Taewon let out a small sigh.

“I expected as much, but she’s even more stubborn than I thought.”

“It was a good opportunity. She wouldn’t want to let it slip by.”

It wasn’t hard to imagine Park Yerim insisting on a safe match against Song Taewon, doing her best to fight mostly in close combat without relying on her skills. Seong Hyunjae approached, smiling faintly. Song Taewon gave him a small nod, without much wariness.

“…I also think she’s…impressive.”

The schedule had been exhausting and difficult for Song Taewon in many ways, but at the same time, he found himself sincerely impressed. At times, she’d even seemed dazzling.

“It’s…a side of things I wanted to protect, even before I was a Hunter.”

The way she chatted and laughed and played around with the viewers. Park Yerim was an S–class Hunter, but she was also just a normal, cheerful kid – a bit too energetic, maybe. It was a scene Song Taewon had wanted to watch from a step back. The fact that he kept getting pulled into it only made him feel more tired. That place was uncomfortable and awkward for him, but he couldn’t bring himself to shake off the hand reaching for him.

Seong Hyunjae quietly looked down at Song Taewon, who was lost in thought.

“I considered suggesting you forfeit.”

Crunch! A golden chain punched through Song Taewon’s chest. He looked up at him, confusion in his eyes.

“…Why?”

He couldn’t begin to guess the reason. Of all people, there was no way Seong Hyunjae would kill him like this – or so Song Taewon’s common sense insisted. Seong Hyunjae gave a small shrug.

“They say you died because of me, but I don’t have any memory of it. So I wanted to try killing you once and see.”

“…”

Song Taewon’s brow furrowed. Seong Hyunjae beamed at him, all bright and sunny.

“You seemed like you’d changed, but…you’re still the same.”

“Then go on ahead and get some rest.”

The chain slid back out with a clatter, spraying blood, and Song Taewon’s figure vanished. The surroundings fell quiet. There were hardly any presences left to sense. His golden eyes cooled.