Chapter 777: Culprit (1)
“Sigma’s gone? What about Hyunah?”
Sigma had been inside a sealed room wrapped in the Mermaid Queen’s water, which Yerim had drawn out. No one should’ve been able to sneak in there, and Hyunah was supposed to be guarding it. How the hell had he disappeared?
[Big Sis is gone too! Mister, what do we do? There’s no sign anyone went outside. They just evaporated from inside the room! A locked room!]
“Calm down, Yerim.”
[The outside of the room is packed full of water, so there’s no way I wouldn’t know if someone even took one step out! I’m serious!]
Before dungeons and Awakened people appeared, this would’ve gone down as an unsolved locked-room mystery. But now, there were all kinds of skills and items. Maybe one of the Gardener’s dependents had a teleportation skill.
‘There wasn’t any water inside the room, so they would’ve been able to use skills. Should I have kept Sigma submerged?’
More importantly, how had they found Sigma’s location? And Hyunah wasn’t someone who would just let herself be taken, so the fact that she’d vanished without a single sign of a fight was strange too.
“Hayul! Sigma—no, you won’t be able to find him either. Find Hyunah’s location!”
[If I could, I would’ve said so already~.]
Park Hayul answered with shameless confidence. Right. Of course this wasn’t going to be that easy. Liette leaned in, asking what was going on, and Chief Song gave her a quick explanation.
[Mister, what do we do? How am I supposed to face that doll man? I mean, it feels like I lost someone else’s kid…!]
I could practically see Yerim stamping her feet in panic. Even if Sigma’s time had been frozen, he was still older than you. The Puppeteer had left his side, saying that if he stayed near Sigma, he’d basically be broadcasting his location. Since he was contracted to the Gardener too, Yuhyun could track him.
“Uh, first of all, I don’t think he’s in the Gardener’s hands yet. Yuhyun reacted that way too. Yerim, you didn’t hear anything at all, right?”
[No! Just in case, I was up on the roof of the Sesung Guild. I didn’t hear a thing through the water. Since it was a locked room, sure, ordinary conversation wouldn’t get through, but if there had been even a slightly loud noise, I would’ve heard it through the water. It was really quiet!]
“Then either whoever it was was strong enough to subdue Hyunah instantly…”
Or.
‘Hyunah went with them willingly.’
It had to be one of those two. And the more I thought about it, the more I leaned toward the second option, unbelievable as it was. Even if the Yuhyun from before my regression had ambushed her, there should’ve been at least one loud sound. Hyunah didn’t seem like the type to get dragged off so helplessly.
But why? There was no reason.
“…First, let’s find Sigma. Which means.”
A way to find someone whose very existence had practically been erased. One thing came to mind immediately, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it.
“The Puppeteer should be able to find him. Maybe he already—.”
“I can’t find him either.”
The Puppeteer’s voice cut in abruptly. Was it my imagination, or did it sound a little cold? He stepped down onto the car’s body. The heels of his shoes rang softly against the metal.
“I attached Hwang Rim to him as a tracking device as much as protection.”
…Right. If the Gardener couldn’t find Sigma, who was the price of his contract, the Puppeteer wouldn’t be able to either. Then—
Bang!
Almost at the exact same time as the gunshot,
Clang.
The sound of a bullet ricocheting struck my ears. A chain rattled. Only then did I register the gun in the Puppeteer’s hand. His dry voice followed.
“Die for a moment.”
I mean, yes, that was the surest method, but!
“If Mr. Seong Hyunjae dies, the Gardener’s side will realize Sigma’s location too!”
“Mm-hm. So you stop them.”
“What?”
“Our kid isn’t in your brother’s hands yet. If he were, the contract would’ve been completed, and I’d know.”
“That’s a relief, yes, but—.”
“Just keep the Gardener’s dependent tied up. You can do that, can’t you? He’ll make a decent enough lure too, and he’s on his way here right now. I can handle the other dependents.”
I swallowed against a dry throat. If it were twenty-one-year-old Yuhyun, I’d be confident I could hold him back somehow, but my twenty-six-year-old brother was… And there was no way the lullaby trick would work again.
“…I’ll do whatever I can. But if we meet the kidnapper, please at least hear them out.”
At my words, the Puppeteer lifted the corner of his eye. No, because, see, somehow.
“Fine. Then—.”
“I’ll somehow cling to Yuhyun’s leg and hold him back, so finding Sigma without killing Mr. Seong Hyunjae is… yeah, not happening, is it…”
The Puppeteer ignored my words and looked at Seong Hyunjae. Seong Hyunjae, standing beside the car, raised the corner of his mouth.
“This is your problem too, so be good and put your head down.”
“No.”
Seong Hyunjae answered shortly. The Puppeteer’s eyes narrowed. Liette, entirely unable to read the room, raised her hand and said, “I want to try killing him too~.”
“Have you suddenly decided the Gardener is better than Crescent Moon after all?”
“In the sense that both sides ignore my will and use me as a tool for their own purposes, there’s no difference. And that includes your side as well.”
Seong Hyunjae’s words made my heart drop. Even if it was for the sake of protecting Sigma, protecting Seong Hyunjae, a moment ago, the Puppeteer and I had definitely decided everything on our own—You just die, okay?
“I’m sorry, Mr. Seong Hyunjae. That wasn’t what I meant.”
“You don’t need to apologize, Han Yujin.”
Seong Hyunjae stepped closer as he spoke. Gold eyes looked down at me.
“I’ve been treating you the same way.”
“…Ah, yes. I take back my apology.”
Right. You did do that, yes. His gaze curved in amusement at me.
“So take the gun.”
“…What?”
When I froze, the Puppeteer said in a disgusted tone,
“There, you heard him. Hurry up and kill him. What an annoying bastard, dragging his own standards into something that concerns his very existence. I suppose that’s why he’s held out this long, but he still isn’t cute.”
Seong Hyunjae lightly tapped his own temple with the tip of his finger. It wasn’t difficult. He wouldn’t truly die. But the movement of my hand was visibly stiff. I barely managed to take out the white gun. My throat went dry, and I swallowed without thinking.
“It isn’t your first time.”
Seong Hyunjae smiled. The first time—when had that been? In the dungeon in Japan? All I had to do was aim and pull the trigger. And yet my hand shook. Seong Hyunjae watched that trembling with interest.
‘It’s okay this time.’
I wasn’t being controlled, and I wasn’t going to ruin everything because of it. No one would say I’d failed again or that my emotions were gone. I could hit his head wrong and wipe out his memories, maybe. Even as I repeated that to myself, my finger refused to move. After I let out several short breaths, a large hand wrapped around the gun in my hand and stopped me. It was Chief Song.
“I should have the right as well.”
A short blade touched the nape of Seong Hyunjae’s neck.
“Since it’s your death.”
Seong Hyunjae didn’t dodge. That was his answer. My body was pulled back, and blood sprayed. A beat too late, the thought that I should have pulled the trigger flashed through my mind. At the same time, I was grateful.
“…Not far?”
With those words, the Puppeteer vanished. Chief Song’s arm caught Seong Hyunjae as he collapsed. I hurriedly grabbed him too.
“F-first, we need to stall for time here! Yerim, it’s hard for you to move, right? So bring the water with you!”
[Ah, yes. To drag the Mermaid Queen’s sea along too, I’ll need Hayul oppa’s help. I have to fall asleep again.]
“Then stand by. If we go to Yerim, Yuhyun will go after Sigma without a second thought. But if we run into him here, he’ll try to catch me first.”
To erase my memories. Plus, the Puppeteer had said Sigma was far away. With that much distance between them, it would be better for him to catch me first and then chase after Sigma.
“And Mr. Seong Hyunjae is defenseless right now too. Sigma’s location will show up again if we kill him.”
I took Seong Hyunjae from Chief Song.
“Will you be all right?”
“My stats are F-rank, but my items are S-rank or higher, you know? I can carry one person easily enough. Liette.”
“Yeah, darling.”
“As soon as Seong Hyunjae wakes up, he’ll run. Snatch us up and jump into the Han River.”
Even if it was Yuhyun, it’d be hard to evaporate the Han River in one go. The Han River was huge. …It would be hard, right? Chief Song and Liette drew their weapons. I adjusted my hold on Seong Hyunjae. The wound on his neck was slowly closing. His body, not yet cold, was warm, but his breath still hadn’t returned. I used the Teacher skill on Chief Song and Liette. Immediately after—
“Hyung.”
A black butterfly fluttered. The tip of a foot stepped down onto wings like swaying leaves. Yuhyun looked down at us.
“I don’t know what’s going on.”
Flutter. Above Yuhyun’s head, winged dependents appeared. One was the winged person who had tried to catch me, and the other was a scaled-wing dependent I’d never seen before. The two only glanced this way before flying straight across the sky. Toward the East Sea.
[That’s the direction where the Sesung Guild Leader’s younger brother is!]
Park Hayul sent a message. I told you Sigma isn’t actually Seong Hyunjae’s little brother.
[Uh, I think it’s around Gangneung.]
Wasn’t Gangneung about three hours away by car? How had they moved him all the way there in an instant? So someone who could teleport—long-distance teleport, at that—had helped after all.
“They hid him far away. Or did they lose him?”
Yuhyun’s gaze touched Seong Hyunjae, then returned to me. Seong Hyunjae had died without any signs of combat. In other words, he had been killed to find Sigma’s location. That was what it meant. His read on the situation was fast.
“He ran away from home. Like you.”
I met Yuhyun’s eyes squarely as I spoke. Shouldn’t this Seong Hyunjae bastard be waking up by now?
“You should stop this and come home too.”
“I’m not going back, Hyung. I can’t go back.”
His calm voice continued.
“I’m dead.”
It sounded like he was whispering, Give up. I hugged Seong Hyunjae tighter. His long legs scraped against the ground. He was uselessly big. Even if I fed him a mini cookie now, it probably wouldn’t do anything. It’d be hard to sling him over my shoulder, so should I carry him on my back?
“I don’t care. No matter what happens, I’m taking you home.”
No matter who tried to persuade me, my answer would be the same. My brother stood still. Silent as a statue. But in that instant, I felt it. I immediately used the Teacher skill on Yuhyun. As the backlash returned, my brother moved. Without a single warning sign, he shot forward in an instant.
Boom!
He collided with Chief Song right in front of me. Relying on the sensations the Teacher skill sent him, Chief Song barely managed to block Yuhyun’s sword. Black shadow clung to the wire wrapped around his forearm. It swallowed the flames flowing along the blade. At the same time, Liette swung her longsword. Tap—Yuhyun lightly dodged the attack and rose into the air again, standing on a butterfly.
Flames began falling from the sky one by one, and the asphalt slowly started to melt. Chief Song let out a short breath. Liette seemed to guess what had happened and took out a potion for him. The moment he collided with Yuhyun, he hadn’t been able to withstand the force completely, and the bone in his arm had cracked. It was a minor injury, but the difference in rank really wasn’t something to take lightly.
“You’re different from the Chief Song Taewon I remember.”
Yuhyun said.
“Hyung is F-rank. Isn’t he someone you should prioritize protecting and remove from the battlefield?”
“Yes.”
Chief Song opened his mouth. Normally, that would have been true. In fact, Chief Song had once tried to separate me from S-ranks even if he had to scare me into it. Looking back, it had been similar to Yuhyun’s actions.
“If Han Yujin wants to be protected, I will always do so. I will hide him from every danger and stand guard before him.”
Chief Song adjusted the wire around his arm as he spoke.
“However, even F-ranks, even non-Awakened people… have the right to stand at the front. To our eyes, it will seem frustrating and frightening. Even now, that is how I feel. But.”
His words continued with a short breath.
“Protection alone does not allow them to live.”
His voice was heavy. The back and two shoulders before my eyes felt heavy as well.
“Even the weakest child can have a moment when they want to protect someone. Hunter Han Yuhyun, you know that very well. You, too.”
Yuhyun looked at me. Our childhood surfaced naturally in my mind. I met Yuhyun’s eyes. I don’t regret it. I would do the same thing, again and again.
“The civil servant’s right.”
Liette pouted as she spoke.
“You can’t assume someone will never protect you just because they’re weaker than you.”
She was right, but there was something odd about Liette’s expression. Had Noah perhaps…
“You certainly have changed.”
Despite the surprise implied by his words, Yuhyun’s expression and voice remained almost coldly calm.
“Be careful!”
The Song Taewon Yuhyun knew would likely have helped him protect and hide F-rank Han Yujin. But not anymore. Now that persuasion no longer worked—
Crunch, thunk!
Short and long blades flew in and embedded themselves. Chief Song grabbed me and threw me backward, dodging the blades. Still holding Seong Hyunjae, I flew more than ten meters before barely landing. The swords stuck in the ground melted in an instant. Blade-Devourer. A use of the skill far faster than the current Yuhyun’s. Even a dagger cutting through the air melted into red-hot molten metal and bent, grazing Chief Song’s shoulder.
“That’s hot~.”
Liette’s longsword carved through the air in a wide arc. Everything in front of it tore apart with a sharp, ripping crack. The melted blades scattered like dandelion seeds caught in a gale. Through the molten metal that lost its force and hesitated for a brief instant, Chief Song charged. Yuhyun simply watched him as he reached right in front of him—
‘No way.’
An ominous sensation hit me. Following my instinct, I threw myself aside. Immediately after, Yuhyun’s hand reached out.
‘Teleportation? An item?’
He had something like that too? Or was it a support skill I didn’t know about? I barely avoided it and rolled across the ground. Seong Hyunjae skidded over the asphalt with me. Why the hell is this man not waking up? He should’ve woken up by now and then some!
“Han Yujin!”
Chief Song shouted urgently. The distance wasn’t great, but the moment I thought there was no way he could reach me before Yuhyun—
Craaaack!
With the sound of the ground being gouged open, everything in front of me went dark. It was Liette. As she transformed into a dragonkin, she had—
“Ugh—.”
Put us in her mouth. Thanks to her body swelling up in an instant, she’d managed to bring her huge mouth to us almost like she’d teleported. But it was wet! She wasn’t going to swallow us, was she? I quickly held Seong Hyunjae tight so we wouldn’t slide down past her throat. I could feel a tongue below and hard teeth behind my back. Before I could get my bearings—
Rumble!
Everything shook again. My body was thrown upward. After crashing around this way and that, suddenly, my vision flared bright, and instead of a tongue, cement floor slammed against my whole body. I tried to grasp the situation somehow through the Teacher skill, but smoke and flames blocked my senses. Ash drifted through the air.
“Put that down and come to me, Hyung.”
Yuhyun’s voice reached me. Beside him, I could see Chief Song. Blades from Blade-Devourer had pierced through his limbs. From the direction of the Han River came the sound of water. It seemed to be Liette, thrown away.
“Let’s erase your memories.”
Seong Hyunjae was still silent. Warmth remained, and I could feel the faintest breath and heartbeat, but he was in a deathlike state.
Just like Sigma.
“It’ll be all right.”
Yuhyun held out his hand to me.
In the salty sea wind, Sigma opened his eyes. An old face—familiar as though he’d seen it only yesterday—looked down at him.
“Hello.”
Moon Hyunah smiled.
“You’ve been kidnapped by me.”
–TL Notes–
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