The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 586: Completion

Seong Hyunjae did not dodge. Me closing in on him was actually something he welcomed. The only thing barely covering the gap in power was the Ruler’s Sword, and the difference was still obvious. I knew that, too.

Klang─

He swung his sword without fully closing the distance. Cracks ran through the once jet–black, smooth blade, and it bent long and curved like a reptile’s tail. The blade of the whiplike sword tore fiercely through the air, but Seong Hyunjae lightly sprang back out of its reach, and the Seeker’s chains flew toward me.

My attacks didn’t reach Seong Hyunjae, but his attacks weren’t much use on me either. His only options were to find Grace and tear her off me, or slowly tighten the noose and choke me out over time. So even if the chain came for my neck, I just had to cut it with my sword, or so I thought. But the angle of the chain was a little different.

Clink.

Instead of my neck, the chain flew at eye level, and electricity crackled along it. That would hit Grace anyway, so– hang on.

“Damn it!”

The moment I realized his intention, I hurriedly squeezed my eyes shut, but I was just a little too late. A blinding light exploded. It was like the sun blew up right in front of my face. Even through my tightly closed lids my vision flared red, then a white flash seared across it.

A headache flared for a moment, but I quickly backed off and focused on the view my Teacher Skill was relaying to me. The me that was staggering in my shared vision suddenly rushed closer. Seong Hyunjae had come right up in front of me. His sword swung with my eyes shut, the chain wrapped around it, and his one remaining hand reached out. I dropped, practically collapsing onto the floor, barely dodging his grasp. Right after, as if he had been waiting for it, his shoe slammed down on my ankle.

Kragarak! The Ruler’s Sword, tangled in the chain, was yanked and bent into a half–arc that pressed right against my neck. Dark red flames whooshed up, wrapping around the blade. I barely managed to force my eyes open, and Seong Hyunjae’s face came into view as he looked down at me.

“If you were going to blind someone, you should have taken the chance to drink an antidote.”

“Aren’t I trying to drink one right now?”

…Should I just shut off Poison Resistance. I am more effective than any antidote in the world anyway.

But even then, Seong Hyunjae couldn’t easily reach for me. His attacks still didn’t work on me. In contrast, the Ruler’s Sword was waiting, edge bared, for the enemy to step into its range. His gaze swept slowly over my body. He was looking for where Grace was attached.

Sssk, the shoe pressing my ankle rubbed against the cloth of my clothes. After confirming there was only bare skin underneath, his foot slid a bit higher. Irritated, I kicked at his leg with my free foot, but he didn’t budge. If I tried to use the sword, the moment the Ruler’s Sword shifted toward his leg, his hand would close around my throat.

The tip of his shoe pressed into my shin. He twisted my ankle slightly, checking again if anything snagged. His shoe barely touched my body, but maybe the detox effect was kicking in already, because a hint of color returned to his face. Blood circulated throughout the body, so at this rate, he would slowly but completely detox.

Dragging this out would be bad for me. I sucked in a breath and clenched the Ruler’s Sword tight. Then I dumped all the power inside the blade in one go.

Klang! Kang!

The gold chain caught on my thrusting sword. But the black blade cut through the chain and in the same instant reached all the way toward its master. The dark red flames, soaked with poison and heat, spread like a dragon’s breath, and right in front of Seong Hyunjae a black–and–red hem fluttered open.

“You said you wouldn’t use that!”

The wings of Silekia that blocked the surging flames vanished back into his inventory. Seong Hyunjae, having leaped back, stood there with an apologetic expression. With a metallic clatter, the broken chain rejoined and slid back to his side. I pushed myself up and glared at his shameless face.

‘Thought that would at least hurt him a bit.’

His mana consumption had been big, but the power left in the Ruler’s Sword was almost completely drained as well. If I used up all the power Yuhyun had left in it by pouring in his own blood, I wouldn’t even be able to grip the sword properly. Seong Hyunjae seemed to have caught on to that, too.

‘As things are now, there’s no way I can win.’

If I completely exhausted the Ruler’s Sword, imbued with Han Yuhyun’s abilities, I’d have no way to attack Seong Hyunjae. Even if I got my hands on an SSS–rank weapon instead of an SS–rank one and swung it with all my might, I was still an F–rank. He’d just casually, tap, block it.

With the power I had left, I’d barely be able to keep swinging the sword for a few more minutes. The flames that had been wrapped around the blade were already gone. I exhaled slowly and gripped the hilt tighter with my one remaining hand. Having gauged my condition, Seong Hyunjae waited leisurely for me to come at him.

I gathered strength in my toes. Focusing on the senses of the Teacher Skill, I kicked off the ground. If this attack failed, that was it. The chain flew to meet me as I charged.

In my head, the gold chain moved in slow motion. I checked its trajectory and twisted my body a little. I could have easily blocked it with the sword, but I didn’t. The chain slipped unhindered toward my chest, and Seong Hyunjae weakened the force behind it. He didn’t even use electricity. Just enough power to knock me back even if Grace blocked it.

The moment the tip of the chain touched my chest—

Thuck!

I switched Grace off. The chain pierced straight through my chest and out my back. Blood burst out, and my back burned hot. My blood, my little brother’s blood, the shard of the Black Dragon’s heart. I stirred my mana and poured all of it into the Ruler’s Sword that eroded everything.

The blade swallowed my blood and mana greedily, reclaiming the power that had originally been its own.

Crunch–!

It bent sharply and skewered Seong Hyunjae’s chest. The spike in the sword’s stats was so abrupt that even Battle Precognition couldn’t keep up. Even if you foresaw it, it was meaningless if your body couldn’t move in time.

Unlike me, who had been run through by the relatively thin chain, Seong Hyunjae’s chest was ripped wide open. It was a wound so bad it was a miracle he didn’t die on the spot. The corners of his lips, stained with blood, curled upward. Our knees buckled at the same time. The Ruler’s Sword, now completely drained of power, suddenly felt heavy. My palm was burning so hot I ended up dropping it.

His upper body tipped toward me first. No, he deliberately leaned over and rested his head on my shoulder. A faint chuckle tickled my ear.

“What… are you laughing about. Cough. You just got taken down… by an F–rank, in a live broadcast.”

“Because it was… fun.”

Well, it wasn’t something you could experience twice. And it was a method I could never use if this were my real body. It felt like the power of the magic stone was going berserk; my back felt like it was melting away. There wouldn’t be any actual damage, right? If something happened to the Black Dragon, the Ruler’s Sword would never grow beyond SS–rank. So far, even dead people had been restored just fine…

“And… ngh… you too, Seong Hyunjae…”

I was out of breath. I wanted to tell him that if he’d been serious from the start, this would have ended long ago, and that anyway, he was pretty incredible. If it had been any other hunter than Seong Hyunjae, it would have been much easier. Thanks to Grace, attacks didn’t work on me, and thanks to the Ruler’s Sword I had attack power on par with an S–rank hunter or higher. My body was slow, but with the Teacher Skill, I could move almost like I had Battle Precognition.

‘…Come to think of it. I’m actually… kind of amazing.’

I wasn’t kidding. Chatterbox had helped with the mana engraving, but still. …Like Seong Hyunjae said, it was something I’d earned for myself too. At my muttering, Seong Hyunjae let out another small laugh. The sound of his breathing on my shoulder grew fainter. And in the end, his figure vanished.

[Han Yujin Wins!]

I stared blankly at the message window.

[The party has ended.]

The next message followed, and at the same time my ragged breathing smoothed out as if it had been about to cut off at any moment. The pain in my chest and arm faded away cleanly. My clothes were still soaked in blood, but the wounds had healed perfectly as if they’d never been there.

‘The sword’s still here.’

Normally, damaged weapons and items would be restored too, but maybe because the Ruler’s Sword was something Yuhyun had given me directly, it remained as it was. I bent to pick it up, then stopped and took out the scabbard first. He’d told me it was dangerous to touch carelessly. I slid it gently into the scabbard, then lifted it carefully.

‘But then why am I still here.’

As I looked around—

Saaaaa─

White mist rolled in. It was the mist of the King of Harmless. The party was over, so all the items we’d received should have been collected, right? Startled, I started to get up–

“Urgh! What the hell!”

A dark red line wrapped around my arm. With a swish, it coiled around my other arm and both legs as well. Before I could resist, the pulling force ripped the Ruler’s Sword from my hand and sent it rolling across the floor. Through the white–spreading fog, I could see the broken staff of the King of Harmless. Lines extended from the staff, binding me and hauling me into the air.

“…”

I swallowed dryly as the mist grew thicker and thicker. A bad premonition tingled down my spine.

[Some of the Intimidation effect is nullified!]

A Fear Resistance Skill message popped up.

On the TV, Han Yujin was gasping for breath. Yu Myungwoo’s face was still frozen rigid, but faint relief flickered over it. Hwang Rim let out a long, impressed whistle.

“That’s our Jin. Really hot–blooded. He burned that hot that night, too.”

Calling it a fond memory, Hwang Rim grinned, but Yu Myungwoo let it slide past one ear and turned to look at Chatterbox. Han Yujin had won as Han Yujin. Even though the hostage–like image from the middle of the fight still lingered, he had cast aside the mist and the staff. Above all, Han Yujin would be thinking he had finished it with his own power.

So it would have been fair to say Chatterbox’s goal hadn’t been achieved.

“What a shame. It could have been even more perfect.”

The lips beneath the mask were still smiling. The hand Chatterbox had resting on the armrest of his chair lifted. Yu Myungwoo flinched and tightened his grip on the sword. As if the blade pointed at his own throat didn’t bother him at all, Chatterbox casually grasped the edge of his mask.

“But with this…”

The mask came off. A clearly smiling face was revealed.

“Chatterbox is now complete.”

Yu Myungwoo’s brows knit. He felt the ominousness of it, but didn’t understand what it meant. Chatterbox closed his eyes.

The party was over. Countless viewers were still wrapped up in excitement. Almost every human in this world now recognized Chatterbox. The host who’d gathered S–rank hunters, thrown a grand party the likes of which had never been seen, revealed the secretive interior of a dungeon to the entire world, and placed the weakest, an F–rank hunter, at the very top.

“The youngest of the Broken Labyrinth, the magician bearing a birdcage, Gi Os Sanus disappears at this very moment.”

Chatterbox declared. Yu Myungwoo’s eyes flew wide open. To abandon himself as a Transcendent, what that meant– he didn’t have the luxury to think it through. Yu Myungwoo’s arm shot out and—

Slice─

The blade bit into Chatterbox’s neck. His tall body, seated in the chair, rocked slightly. But that was all. With the sword still lodged in his neck, Chatterbox stood up. Yu Myungwoo sprang back and stared at him in disbelief.

“I am Chatterbox. Host of an impossible party! Clown for my beloved mist!”

The existence of the Transcendent Gi Os Sanus was gone. In his place, Chatterbox stood. His smile grew brighter, broader. An ominous energy surged.

“Mr. Blacksmith!”

Thump! Hwang Rim kicked the thick wooden table. The table flew in front of Yu Myungwoo, crumpling with a crash, and Hwang Rim grabbed Yu Myungwoo’s arm and yanked him back.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but this seems kind of dangerous, yeah?”

Yu Myungwoo ground his teeth. Powerful mana was swirling inside Chatterbox’s body. His gaze flicked toward the TV, which was starting to crack. They couldn’t leave this alone. But there was no way to stop it right this second. Transcendent matters belonged to Transcendents. The best move was to contact Rookie and Young Chaos as quickly as possible.

Clenching his fist in anger, Yu Myungwoo still took Hwang Rim and moved them to the Golden Forge.

Unbothered by the disappearance of the two, Chatterbox watched the TV with feverish eyes.

“For my mist.”

Transcendent Gi Os Sanus could not set foot in this world. And the Chatterbox anchored in this world could not become a Transcendent.

An old Transcendent and a newly made party host. The two were the same, yet clearly different existences, and because of that, even the Unfilial Children allowed Chatterbox’s actions to extend his influence over this world.

No one had ever imagined a Transcendent would abandon themselves.

But the wizard of the Labyrinth chose Chatterbox instead. A chatterbox for the one he loved, the name his beloved had called him by. The host of a grand banquet for his love.

Crack–crack─ Just from the backlash of the gathering mana, the walls split. The already cracked TV shattered completely. Sacrificing the Transcendent, and coalescing the awareness of this world’s intelligent beings around him, Chatterbox was being completed. The sword piercing his throat gave off a faint light and then disappeared. The wound healed without spilling a single drop of blood.

He was no longer a Transcendent. His level was much lower. But the terrifying power gathering in Chatterbox’s entire body could not be compared to S–ranks or even those above them.

Clatter, pieces of shattered wall and broken furniture tumbled to the floor. In the now–quiet ruins, Chatterbox straightened his clothes.

“Well then, shall I go welcome him now.”

The party was over. But the broadcast was still ongoing. For the final act of the funeral. Chatterbox’s gaze turned to the broken TV. The fractured screen rewound as if turning back time, restoring itself, and the image of Han Yujin bound in the mist appeared.

Smiling gently, Chatterbox vanished from the room.