The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 587: Mist of Memories (1)

My breathing turned rough. This presence wasn’t something that surpassed my L–rank Fear Resistance. If it had, it wouldn’t have affected me at all. But only part of it was blocked. Even reduced by Fear Resistance, an oppressive pressure that made the back of my neck prickle washed over my whole body.

At least SSS–rank. Maybe even L–rank. In our current world, that kind of presence shouldn’t exist. Even among monsters, nothing above SS–rank had ever shown up.

‘…What the hell is this.’

A silhouette appeared through the thick fog. It was Chatterbox.

Unlike usual, they wore a white tailcoat, and there was no mask. Under their white hair, bright blue eyes were completely exposed. With a gentle smile, they took a step forward. Along with the chill, a strange feeling washed over me.

Objectively speaking, the body Chatterbox inhabited was on the handsome side. But for me, the disgust always came first. No matter how good–looking he was, he was someone I hated, so just seeing him made my face scrunch up.

But right now…

“What… did you do to me.”

I felt… fondness. It was similar to Park Hayul’s skill. No, it leaned more toward worship than that. Awe–inspiring, charming, the kind of ideal you wanted to look up to.

The emotion clashed with my reason, making my stomach churn. Chatterbox looked up at me as I frowned.

“Chatterbox is that kind of being.”

“…What? More importantly, this is a breach of contract!”

My voice shook a little, but I stubbornly met Chatterbox’s eyes.

“A Transcendent… isn’t supposed to show up like this, are they?”

This wasn’t quite at Transcendent level. But it also wasn’t a power you could just drag into our world. If they could do this, they could just interfere, wipe everything out, and be done with it!

Chatterbox stepped one pace closer. The cords binding me lowered. My feet still didn’t reach the ground. I was still hanging in the air, and my arms, bearing all my weight, throbbed with pain.

“Gi Os Sanus is gone. The one standing here before your eyes is the human Chatterbox.”

“…What?”

Those blue eyes narrowed. A hand in a white glove, matched to the outfit, reached toward me and straightened my torn–up clothes.

“Transcendents cannot interfere directly with this world. They can only wield the power permitted through the System.”

…That was why Chatterbox had spent the whole party just moving us into dungeons. Outside the dungeon, they’d mostly only used teleportation. They could perfectly rewind injuries and deaths, but even Rookie had done that. This place was still inside a dungeon, so maybe that was why they could have this kind of presence. Still, it felt too off to write it off that easily.

“However, Chatterbox is different. A being created as part of this world, a member of this world. Because of that, there are no restrictions.”

“Even if there are no restrictions, that body was only S–rank at best.”

“If I recall correctly, it was A–rank. A special type.”

“Then how the hell!”

“Chatterbox is an astonishing existence recognized by billions of intelligent beings.”

My torn and filthy clothes quietly restored themselves. The Lynx set vanished, then thumped down onto the floor. Grace also fell with a clink, rolling next to the Ruler’s Sword. In place of my boots, dress shoes appeared. It was the same outfit as last time in the arena.

“Of course, mere recognition alone cannot make something real. Most intelligent beings in this world still possess only low–level mana. If over a billion high–rank Awakened thought and felt the same way, it would have a clear impact on reality. That is why the Unfilial Children let their guard down.”

The buttons that had been ripped off my shirt reappeared. Chatterbox’s fingertips slowly fastened them.

“The Chatterbox that people cheered for didn’t fully manifest, but the shape settled into this world. You could say the blueprint, the mold, was prepared.”

Fingers wrapped in white gloves brushed my ear. The red earring vanished and dropped with a soft tap near Grace.

“At the moment that mold was at its strongest—when an F–rank Hunter took the throne—I erased one Transcendent and, as the price, completed Chatterbox.”

“…You insane bastard.”

Chatterbox laughed. A real lunatic.

“So you held the party just to make Chatterbox’s mold…”

“Without a foundation, it couldn’t settle properly in this world, and most of it would have scattered.”

“Why…”

I couldn’t get the words “go that far” past my lips. Throwing away the seat and power of a Transcendent might look insane. But I’d already done something similar once.

The Wish Stone. I’d used that item, whose power I could never quite gauge, to turn back time. If I held a Wish Stone again now, even if it could make me a Transcendent, there’s only one wish I’d make.

“Of course, at first, it really was just a gathering to train Awakened. I planned to make contracts with suitably strong Hunters, grant them items and abilities, then have them catch you all and wrap it up there.”

A tie settled around my neck. The hands tying the knot were almost tender.

“But my love chose Han Yujin.”

Those blue eyes gleamed with delight.

“My lovely mist received the admiration of the whole world. There was nowhere the mist did not reach, and everyone feared her even as they revered her.”

“…So she’s, uh, someone way, way out of my league.”

“Compared to her, you fall far short, but most intelligent beings in this world still recognize you as impressive. If this game had overlaid true self–awareness onto you, it would have been even more perfect… but it can’t be helped.”

Chatterbox took a step back.

“Damn it, so what now! You gonna lock me up in some back room or something? You’re not a Transcendent anymore! Aren’t you basically stuck here?”

“I’ll live at ease until this world is swallowed by the Source. Wouldn’t it be a happy thing to sleep together in my love’s grave?”

The bastard said it as calmly as if it were nothing. Sure, with that kind of power, they could eat well and live well until our world ended. So they didn’t care whether the world went under or not, huh. Just because the King of Harmless died here?

My teeth clenched on their own. They were even more insane than I’d thought. It was like bad–mouthing yourself in public, but I was still alive, so I was allowed to curse him out. I’d tried to shoulder everything and end it by myself. If he wanted to die, he could lie down alone in that damn love grave of his and shovel dirt over himself. Why the hell was he dragging me in to bury me with him, you piece of shit.

“Damn it, Yuhyun! I’m fine!”

Was the broadcast still on? I turned my mic on and shouted.

“Don’t rush in recklessly, get advice from Senior Tree and Rookie! You won’t be able to get out anyway!”

At least they’d said they’d stay in this world until the very end, so there was no need to rush. Chatterbox had definitely pulled a kind of foul play here, so Rookie might be able to help somehow. Thank god I’d made it so they could meet Rookie even without me. Plus, Myungwoo was still meeting with Rookie, so they’d be able to get help.

“Don’t worry too much. I’ll be—”

The fog gathered softly and rolled in around my feet. The sensation of it sliding up my body made my skin crawl. I’d thrown this power away in the end, but I’d used it many times, so it blended into my mana with little resistance. I swallowed hard and turned the mic off again. Chatterbox looked at me with a trace of regret in their eyes.

“Forcing it over you will consume quite a lot of power.”

“…Well, congratulations to you.”

Drop a rank or two and I’ll even clap for you. Then we wouldn’t have to wait that long. The Ruler’s Sword lying on the floor caught my eye. I had to give it back to Yuhyun.

“The others… their contracts.”

“To avoid a commotion, I put each of them in a private waiting room. They should be able to see this scene right now. They’ll be released safely, so don’t worry. Their contracts, of course, are still bound to Chatterbox.”

I relaxed a little at the news that the contracts hadn’t been voided. The creepy sensation dug into my entire body, but I forced my expression under control and turned the mic back on.

“Chatterbox can’t be the one to attack you first. I’ll really be fine, so, um… just think of it as me taking a short vacation and get some rest.”

It’s not like they’re going to drag me off and put me to hard labor. I should at least be able to rest. Forcing myself to sound okay, I turned the mic off. It would’ve been nice if I could turn the video off too.

“…Those items too, give them back.”

At least the sword. What would happen to the Black Dragon? Could the sword keep growing even if we were apart? Something white flickered at the edge of my vision. I tilted my head, thinking it was fog, and it swayed with the motion. White strands… hair?

“W–wait! My hair!”

It was even a bit longer. As multicolored lights shimmered and stained the white hair, the King of Harmless came to mind. No way, no way, no way.

“You’re overlaying even the appearance? Seriously?!”

“I thought you’d already guessed.”

“I only braced myself for the clothes!”

After seeing Ru Ga Pheya in that tank, I’d wondered if I might end up looking something like her. I figured it’d be like special effects makeup at worst. A shiver of sheer, visceral disgust squeezed my heart—not because of the mana invading me.

Was I going to grow an extra eye or something? And tentacles and… My Fear Resistance skill kicked in again.

“You psycho! You perverted freak!”

“Outside and inside, both will change.”

The bastard said it like it was nothing.

“And you were not included in the contract.”

“What does the contract have to do with…”

“My lovely mist was quite interested in your little brother as well. Don’t you think she might’ve wanted to dissect him, at least?”

Ru Ga Pheya had absolutely said something like that before.

“So this new mist, even without my request—”

There was no Grace. My hands could still move, so I could still use my inventory. I immediately pulled out a bomb. But whatever Chatterbox had done, it wouldn’t detonate.

“Kill me. End it like that.”

My insides went cold. If I changed completely—if not just my appearance but my insides stopped being Han Yujin… I might, of my own will, hurt Yuhyun, hurt the people beside me. The one who couldn’t touch my precious people was Chatterbox. It wasn’t Ru Ga Pheya, and not Han Yujin turned into Ru Ga Pheya.

Chatterbox’s lips curved.

“You’ll be the one to end it with your own hands.”

My breath caught. I almost wished it would stop for real. I twisted my body, but the dark red cords didn’t budge. There was no way out.

Yeah, that was perfect revenge. Turning me into Ru Ga Pheya and making me kill the people I cared about. My heart pounded so hard it felt like it would flip over. In my mind I was tearing that damn Chatterbox to shreds, but my body couldn’t do a thing.

“…No.”

There was nothing I could do. I was powerless. As resentment toward that kind of Han Yujin welled up, the mist’s erosion sped up. But how was I supposed to not blame myself… Me, from the very beginning.

“…No, please.”

No matter how this ended, someone would be hurt.

“End it with just me. I’m the one Ru Ga Pheya was interested in. From start to finish, I’m the one she found most fascinating. The others don’t matter!”

I shouted. How could I get Chatterbox to change their mind? What did I have to put on the table to make this end with just me?

“She told me her name, she wanted to observe me more, and—!”

I remembered the feeling on my eyelids.

“The King of Harmless refused to come back! I said I’d help her, but she said that wasn’t her! You really think she’d want you to make a fake like this?!”

Chatterbox tilted their head slightly.

“If it were her, yes.”

“She’d hate this, obviously! What you’re doing right now!”

“It doesn’t matter. The mist that would refuse me doesn’t exist at all. Matching yourself to the one you love is something you do while your beloved is still by your side.”

…Right. That’s the kind of bastard he is. The mana constricting around me grew stronger. Meanwhile, Chatterbox’s presence weakened a little. They were pouring out every last bit of their power to erase me and create the King of Harmless.

The King of Harmless born that way would obviously be stronger than Yuhyun, stronger than anyone precious to me. My throat burned. Someone, please…

[Wow, that’s me, isn’t it?]

A voice rang out then.

[Just how many people are watching? My mist is packed full of memories.]

She laughed in wonder. Her clear laughter filled my head, and then—

“Hello, everyone! I’m Ru Ga Pheya, the King of Harmless!”

—it burst out. At some point my eyes had closed; I snapped them open. Chatterbox was staring, not at me, but just above me. I turned my head as well. White hair fluttered like mist.

She—Ru Ga Pheya—smiled and waved at the viewers watching her.