The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 736: Ambush (2)

“…Who?”

– I’m not totally sure, but it’s not a dream. They’re right outside the door.

So it was the one who’d gone after Seong Hyunjae and Chief Song. I was definitely curious what kind of lunatic this was.

“Gyeol.”

– Right now, I’m the strongest one here.

He cut me off before I could say anything, already knowing what I was about to ask. My kid was way too sharp for his own good. After confirming that he really could stop our visitor, I decided we’d go down together. I told Yerim to call if anything happened, then headed for the elevator. Yuhyun followed like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

We took the exterior elevator straight down to the main entrance. Gyeol had been full of confidence, but just in case, I had him stay behind us before stepping out.

Standing in the middle of the wide path that ran through the lawn was a face I knew all too well.

Mine.

The hood was pulled low, so I could only make out part of it, but it was definitely my face. The hoodie hung loose on him, which somehow made him look broader than me.

…And taller too.

So this was somebody’s dream version of me. No idea whose, but apparently they thought very highly of me. Honestly, he looked like he cleared six feet with room to spare.

…And to be even more honest, he was better-looking too.

Jealousy hit me hard, even knowing this was somebody else’s fantasy. Why did this bastard have to show up looking like that? Was he trying to get under my skin? Hell of a first impression.

“Hey.”

The thing wearing my face spoke first. He didn’t seem openly hostile. I glanced at Yuhyun beside me. The guy didn’t just ignore him—he barely even looked at him. So it really was just my face on the outside.

“Are you the one who attacked the Sesung Guild leader and Chief Song Taewon?”

“No. The transcendents still can’t interfere with this world directly. Talking to you like this is about all I can manage. The timing just happened to work out.”

He spoke with both hands shoved into the pocket of his hoodie. So he really was one of the transcendents. I ran through the ones I’d met so far, one by one. None of them had this kind of attitude. This really was my first time seeing him.

“Then—”

“There’s only one being in this world who could have that much influence, isn’t there?”

The center of the dream world.

Marisa.

That tracked. She’d absolutely have reason to try to kill Seong Hyunjae and Chief Song. If those two were gone, our world would be perfectly safe.

“Do you happen to know how to meet the one holding this world together?”

“No. And it’s already too late anyway.”

“Too late?”

He tipped his head back and looked up at the sky. I followed his gaze. Thick clouds had swallowed the darkening sky overhead.

“The Filial Duty Addicts won the wager, but they never got their reward. The representatives from both sides who were supposed to take responsibility disappeared too. So Crescent Moon stepped in.”

“If by Crescent Moon, you mean…”

I played dumb, and he let out a quiet snort. Apparently he knew a lot more about our situation than he should have. Who the hell was this?

“Crescent Moon offered to send down her moonlight and make it easier for transcendents to interfere with this world, since the system hasn’t been applied here yet. Officially, she made it sound like she was stepping up as the representative of the Unfilial Children, sacrificing herself to clean up the mess. But that’s not what this really is. You know as well as I do that this world was practically made by one of Crescent Moon’s own servants.”

“…So Crescent Moon never needed to spend her own power in the first place. She could just use her servant.”

The transcendent seed Crescent Moon had planted in our world ahead of time. The doom that had been meant to swallow our world one day. This dream world had been created by that seed, which gave Crescent Moon the upper hand from the start. One of her servants was the pillar holding this place together.

“Right. But the other transcendents have no idea. So Crescent Moon’s reputation’s gone up.”

Enough that even if she started something behind their backs, they wouldn’t suspect her easily. If she made it look like she’d exhausted a huge amount of power, she’d have even more freedom to move outside their notice.

But still—

“Why would Crescent Moon want to draw the other transcendents into this world at all? That doesn’t help her.”

I had no idea how much this transcendent knew, so I kept the question vague. Crescent Moon needed to hide the little moon—Seong Hyunjae’s true nature. So why make it easier for the others to interfere? Wouldn’t that put her at an even bigger disadvantage?

“How should I know?”

He answered lightly.

“I’m sure she has a plan.”

Silence hung between us for a moment. I turned it over in my head, but nothing came. I would’ve expected Crescent Moon to keep the other transcendents out, not invite them in. So why? What was she aiming for?

I let out a short breath and looked straight into my own face.

“Who are you? What do you want?”

“As for me, I’m not interested in you—”

His eyes flicked briefly to Yuhyun.

“Or your brother. But if I had to say something, I’d say I want the two of you to live well.”

Huh. Better than expected. It had been a long time since I’d met a transcendent who claimed not to care about us at all.

“As long as Seong Hyunjae continues to exist as Seong Hyunjae, that’s enough.”

“Oh, so that’s where your interest is.”

“No.”

That was not what he’d just said.

“I don’t care how that man lives. He just has to remain in existence. Which means, as you know, he can’t die here.”

“What?”

Wasn’t he not supposed to die anyway? I stared at him, confused, and he tilted his head.

“He didn’t tell you?”

“…Didn’t tell me what?”

“Seong Hyunjae is well hidden. But the moment he dies, that protection is bound to weaken. If he dies somewhere a transcendent’s gaze can reach, things get dangerous in a lot of ways. He ought to know that by now.”

He said Seong Hyunjae had probably already figured it out. My eyes drifted toward the rooftop without thinking.

…Did he leave that out on purpose?

I mean, sure, I could see why. Compared to Seong Hyunjae, I was still weak. And I had things I was hiding too.

So I couldn’t say I didn’t get it.

But I was still pissed off.

And, a little—

hurt.

Wasn’t that the kind of thing you were supposed to tell someone? What if I hadn’t known and sent him into danger because, hey, you don’t really die anyway? He’d already been critically injured once. Why hadn’t he said anything then? Too many people around? Was he planning to tell me after treatment? Maybe. It hadn’t exactly been the right time for a calm, serious conversation.

“There wasn’t exactly time to talk. Somebody had a hole in his stomach. How do you know all this?”

“It’d take too long to explain, so let’s skip that. Crescent Moon will move soon. Once the moon rises and the light falls, every transcendent with an interest in this mess will start interfering.”

The sky was still buried under thick clouds. No stars. No moon. I swallowed against my dry throat.

“The system won’t apply to the transcendents either, so they’ll mostly use monsters. Protect Seong Hyunjae until this world stabilizes. Just keep him alive.”

“That’s—”

“Why should hyung do that?”

Yuhyun spoke for the first time, his voice low and cold.

“Yuhyun.”

“I know you want to protect the people around you. But how long? How far?”

His eyes turned to me.

“You’re all I have.”

“…”

“We can go back now. Somewhere safe.”

If we gave up on just one person.

From Yuhyun’s perspective, this had to be maddening. I was being put in danger for someone who meant absolutely nothing to him. My chest tightened. Wanting to help Seong Hyunjae was my selfish choice. I could drag myself into it, sure, but I couldn’t let everyone else get pulled in too.

“…Yuhyun, that’s—”

“Fine. If that’s what you want that badly.”

He cut himself off so abruptly that it threw me for half a second.

Then it hit me.

“Hey. You’re not—”

No way.

“You’re not planning to kill Seong Hyunjae right in front of the transcendents, are you?”

“No.”

Yuhyun answered without blinking. Clean. Immediate. Not a shred of hesitation.

Which was exactly why I didn’t believe him.

He would do it. No skills. Lowered stats. The moment the transcendents interfered, all he’d have to do was shoot him. Hand over Seong Hyunjae’s corpse, and we’d be completely out of their sights.

And honestly… why wouldn’t he?

Not just Yuhyun. Liette would probably do it too. Hell, even Noah might.

“Wait, Yuhyun! Hold on! You are thinking about it! No matter what, Seong Hyunjae—”

“I don’t feel anything toward the Sesung Guild leader.”

Yuhyun cut me off flatly.

“To me, he’s nothing. Just something you care about. No more, no less. If it weren’t for you, he’d mean less than a rock on the side of the road. If he were harmless, I’d leave him alone. Because you like him. But he keeps getting you hurt. He keeps putting you in danger. How long am I supposed to keep putting up with that instead of getting rid of him?”

“…That’s—”

“What would you do if it were me?”

I had no answer.

If our positions had been reversed, I would’ve tried to get rid of Seong Hyunjae long ago. And if the other side had been too strong, I would’ve hidden my brother however I could.

…Yuhyun had already put up with far more than enough.

“If you can’t stand the idea of the Sesung Guild leader dying, then leave him behind.”

His voice softened when I couldn’t say anything.

“Let’s just take Peace and Park Yerim and go. We can meet up with Hunter Noah and Hunter Liette if we need to. Then we wait for the system to be applied and go home.”

“…”

“The Sesung Guild leader can deal with his own problems. Chief Song will help him. They’re not helpless children you need to protect.”

“The transcendents will obviously come after me too—”

I broke off and drew a short breath. Yuhyun looked down at me in silence.

The best option for him really was killing Seong Hyunjae.

Behind us, Gyeol fidgeted with his front paws together. He looked like he wanted to say something, but didn’t know if he should interrupt.

“At the very least, I can’t dump my problem on you too.”

“Okay, hyung.”

I didn’t trust that answer for a second.

But then—

“Want to take a look at this?”

My own voice came from the side. I turned.

He was holding up a sheet of paper, waving it lightly.

What the—

No.

“You!”

That—

I lunged without thinking. What the hell was that doing here? He slipped easily out of reach. The paper vanished from in front of me, and in the same motion he caught my wrist, twisted my arm behind my back, and pinned me.

– Dad!

At Gyeol’s cry, Yuhyun’s sword flashed out and came to rest against the bastard’s neck. Since a gun might hit me too, Gyeol must’ve swapped it out for a blade. The guy held me half against his chest and looked at Yuhyun.

Damn it. Was it the size difference? He was way stronger than me. I twisted hard, but there was no easy way out.

“Han Yujin is mine.”

“Who the hell are you?!”

He laughed under his breath at my shout. Beside us, Yuhyun ground his teeth.

“I’ll give him back if Seong Hyunjae survives until the system is applied.”

“So this is why you showed up?”

“The odds were high that Seong Hyunjae would either get abandoned or killed. Other than you and Eclipse, no one here is attached enough to keep holding on to him. Even without knowing what death would mean for him.”

“I’m a target too, so if you hadn’t run your mouth for no reason—”

“No. Seong Hyunjae is the only target.”

“…What?”

“Young Chaos publicly declared that he was the main culprit behind the system’s damage.”

That old man.

My thoughts knotted up instantly. There was no way Chaos had decided on his own to use Seong Hyunjae as bait. He hated manipulating other people like that.

So then it had to be—

Seong Hyunjae.

That bastard must’ve asked for it himself.

“…Is he seriously trying to die?”

A man who valued himself above all else—why the hell would he do that? There had to be another reason. He’d never do something that left him holding the short end of the stick for nothing.

Even so, my stomach still twisted.

“Yuhyun.”

His brow tightened.

“There’s nothing we can do right now. You saw it too.”

With an audible grind of teeth, Yuhyun pulled the sword away and stepped back.

“Hey. Change the terms. Make it this instead: until the system is applied, we don’t deliberately split up from Seong Hyunjae, and we don’t try to hurt him.”

“That’s all?”

“If we lose our kids trying to protect Seong Hyunjae, then what’s the point? Like Yuhyun said, he’s a grown man. He can protect his own damn body. We don’t have the room to protect anybody else. I want him to make it out of this alive, but my kids come first.”

I was not dumping that burden on them too.

The bastard shrugged and let me go. Yuhyun pulled me back immediately.

“Fine. Bring him with you, then. More than anything…”

His eyes shifted to the fairy dragon.

I stepped in front of Gyeol at once. Don’t you dare touch my kid.

“It’ll work better for you that way.”

“Well, sure, if we stay hidden in here—”

“That won’t work. Don’t let Crescent Moon set her sights on that child.”

The words hit like a punch to the chest. If Gyeol stayed here protecting us, Crescent Moon would absolutely try to eliminate him.

“Send him back.”

– Dad! I’m okay!

“That’s the key.”

Sending Gyeol back was the key…

Oh.

Maybe—

I spun around.

“Gyeol!”

– Y-yeah?

“You have to go home. Listen to Dad, and wake up right away.”

– But!

I quickly explained what he needed to do next. Gyeol nodded hard.

– Okay, Dad. I’ll change the Breeding Facility. Even after I wake up, the building and weapons should stay in place for a while. Items and skills still won’t work, though.

The bright candy-colored castle began to shift. Smooth vertical walls formed out of impossibly solid alloy, and the roof sealed over with thick reinforced glass.

“Gyeol, angle the walls a little. Especially near the top—curve them in like this. And put firing slits in the rooftop walls.”

I added a few more details after that.

“Then I’m going.”

The unknown transcendent disappeared.

…Or maybe not unknown.

I felt like I almost knew who it was. But not quite. Or maybe I was wrong. What the hell was going on? It felt like he was and wasn’t the person I was thinking of.

Gyeol opened the door for us. We stepped inside, and the door itself vanished behind us.

– Dad, be careful.

Gyeol started to fade too, then disappeared completely, like he’d woken up. He probably took Byeol and Seol with him safely too.

“Let’s go up. We should tell Noah and Liette to stay hidden.”

They’d be a huge help if they were here, but we couldn’t let them in right now. Yuhyun followed me toward the elevator.

“You come first for me. Before anything else. Don’t forget that.”

“I know. …I’m sorry.”

I wanted to give Yuhyun everything he wanted.

But I couldn’t let go of what I wanted either.

At some point, I’d gotten far too greedy.

“Mister!”

The moment we reached the rooftop, Yerim rushed over and asked what happened. I gave her the short version as fast as I could. Treatment must’ve finished, because Seong Hyunjae was sitting on the edge of the bed now. The hole in his stomach was gone without leaving so much as a scar.

His ear, though, was still missing.

Unless the severed piece was recovered, high-grade potions couldn’t regenerate a lost body part.

“You really couldn’t have picked up your ear?”

Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you step in for me without asking? I had plenty to say, but instead I circled around behind the bed and—

Smack!

“Ah!”

“Ugh.”

I brought my hand down hard across Seong Hyunjae’s back. He was a lot softer than when he’d been an S-rank, but my palm still stung like crazy. Seeing the bright red handprint blooming across his back made me feel a little better.

“The moon’s about to rise.”

The clouds trembled. Pale light began to seep through the masses of dark gray overhead.

I tightened my grip on my weapon.

Moonlight poured down.