Chapter 753: Opportunity (1)
“What do we do?”
Yuhyun asked. I could feel the Puppeteer step up in front of me. My heart was pounding. I felt feverish and cold at the same time.
“You made a contract with Sigma first, so you’re not fully bound. If you hadn’t, the second you took Park Hayul’s power, Crescent Moon would’ve had you on a leash. Keep her from getting any closer for now.”
“Peace! Just wait a little longer. Mister Shishio, please go back to the castle too!”
I heard Yerim’s voice. I needed to do something, but I had no idea what. My body didn’t feel like mine anymore.
“But even so, for you to get controlled this easily… You said Crescent Moon has taken over before, right?”
“Yes. Three times, as far as I know.”
In the Chinese dungeon, at the wedding hall, and right before I fell into the dream world. The Puppeteer clicked his tongue.
“Once a path gets opened, it gets easier to come through. Might as well clean it out completely while we’re at it.”
“Can you?”
“I know a thing or two about controlling people myself. I’m the Puppeteer, after all. I’m rougher around the edges compared to Crescent Moon with the Cradle, but still. Let go.”
The darkness over my eyes cleared. I saw the ground, hardening into a dark red crust. My breathing turned ragged. It wasn’t the first time I’d killed someone, or killed Seong Hyunjae, but this felt different. It felt like the hope that everyone could make it home safe had been trampled flat.
No, worse than that.
It felt like I’d smashed the exit with my own hands right when it had finally appeared in front of us.
“Look at me.”
Snap.
My head jerked up at the sound as if pulled by a string. My eyes met the Puppeteer’s.
“Luckily, the vessel’s ready. We just shove all of it into that brat and put him right to sleep.”
I saw Park Hayul shakily push himself upright.
“H, have to…”
He forced the words out.
“Send it… back.”
“Hey. If people start falling asleep again, your power’s going to get stronger too. Along with Crescent Moon’s hold over what’s inside it. It’s safer to hand the power over and put you under before that happens.”
…I knew that.
But I couldn’t make myself nod.
We’d only been one step away. Everything could have ended perfectly. Even as it all came crashing down inside me, no tears came. I just felt hollow.
Why is this so hard?
So hard. So exhausting.
“You said people would stay awake for at least three hours, right? We’ve still got time, so let’s head inside first. You need to get your head on straight before we do this. Stay next to me. I’m not letting you cause another disaster.”
Yuhyun lifted me into his arms, and Park Hayul, glancing our way, went to stand beside the Puppeteer.
“You gonna go to sleep quietly?”
“…Yeah. But if I’m gonna sleep anyway, can I go to Seoul? The Dodam Breeding Facility would be even better.”
“What are you scheming now?”
“It’s not a scheme! I really do like Yujin hyung. And right now… I really want to help.”
Park Hayul made a miserable face as he looked at me.
“I was really shocked too. Crescent Moon was scary, sure, but I’d never seen hyung like that before. Yujin hyung always looked like he’d be fine no matter what happened. Back in China, you mouthed off to S-Classes like it was nothing, and you were like that during the Chatterbox party too. You were like that with me, too. You were amazing and cool, and I was happy you liked me, and it pissed me off when you kept saying you didn’t. I wanted to protect you too. I think maybe… I was doing all that to get your attention. Because it felt like I could.”
“And then?”
“…I don’t know. I feel weird. But, uh, I think I need to be careful now. Anyway, I suddenly wanted to do something for you. Not what I want. What Yujin hyung wants.”
Park Hayul spoke haltingly, like he didn’t know how to explain his own feelings.
…I’m not that strong.
I’ve just barely managed to hang on.
“So you finally got to know him a little better. Up till now, you were just staring at the version of him you made up in your head.”
“My chest feels insanely complicated right now! But I know this much for sure.”
Park Hayul continued, looking dejected.
“I don’t want to see hyung like that again. I like it when he gets mad and grabs me by the hair even after I kidnap him. Ah, maybe I should kidnap him again after all!”
Park Hayul started spouting nonsense again. I didn’t even have the energy to react, so I just stared blankly.
“Yeah, I think I like it when Yujin hyung fights back! When I mess with him and he snaps at me!”
“This lunatic, seriously.”
The Puppeteer slammed his fist into the back of Park Hayul’s head. Clang—the sound rang out loud and sharp. Park Hayul looked wronged, but he’d earned that.
Yeah. Even a guy like that could go on living bright-eyed and cheerful.
When we headed back toward the castle, Yerim and Peace, who’d been watching us warily, came over. But they couldn’t quite bring themselves to speak first. I wanted to say something, but my mouth wouldn’t open. When I glanced up, the stars in the sky were moving slowly.
Cautiously. As if watching.
And there were more of them now.
The cold came back. It seeped under my skin. With everyone’s worried eyes on me, I went inside the castle. Gyeol, who’d been pacing in front of the door, came running over.
“Dad…”
“Mister isn’t hurt anywhere. He’s okay. He was just startled because Mister Sesung got hurt.”
Yerim hurried to explain for me. Gyeol nodded.
“Don’t worry too much, Dad. He’s not the kind of person who dies easily. Really. Gyeol knows.”
“Come stay with your auntie, Gyeol~”
Yerim scooped Gyeol up in her arms. We went into a room farther inside.
“Hyung, want to wash up? You should probably change clothes too.”
Yuhyun spoke in an easy, natural tone, like nothing had happened. I slowly let out a breath.
I had to move.
I didn’t have time to sit here in a daze.
“…Yeah. Right. I should wash my face.”
I had to get it together.
I forced myself to stand. It felt like my arms and legs were being pulled by frayed, ancient strings that could snap at any second. I wanted to collapse and shut my eyes, but I clenched down on that urge.
“I’m handling your contract too while I’m at it. My kid’ll complain, but whatever.”
By the time I’d washed up, changed, and come back to the room, the Puppeteer was holding out a contract.
It was the contract I’d made with Sigma.
“Good thing ours came first. I can rip out even what’s sunk into the floorboards and clean the whole thing up. That should erase the path that got punched through, too.”
“Even though… I failed to keep the contract?”
“Ah, Seong Hyunjae? I smoothed that over for now. At the moment, you getting tossed around by Crescent Moon is the bigger headache. If this contract disappears too, you’ll have to be really careful. If you throw your body away again, there won’t be any way to save you.”
I nodded.
If I hadn’t stepped in during the Nightmare Dungeon, would none of this have happened? But back then, I really hadn’t seen another choice.
“Take me to Seoul! Even if hyung comes into my dreams, I won’t do anything!”
“…Aren’t you going to be asleep anyway?”
“This place is a dream, isn’t it?” the Puppeteer said. “That brat dreams too. It’s a dream inside a dream, so he won’t have much power there, but still.”
Then he pulled out a new contract.
“With the power I have now, I can’t make a contract strong enough to bind a Transcendent. And once that brat gets his original power back, Crescent Moon’s influence will only grow stronger, which makes it even riskier. So I’m going to tie this contract’s strength to Park Hayul’s. The stronger Park Hayul gets, the higher-grade the contract becomes.”
Calling it a special clause, the Puppeteer started writing out the terms.
“I don’t usually do contracts like this. A weakling could sign one and still end up bound by it after becoming a Transcendent. Seong Hyunjae’s contract might be something similar.”
A contract he couldn’t escape even after amassing power close to the source.
“Time piled up layer upon layer, sure, but there’s a good chance he ended up shackling himself with his own power too. The source is something neither Crescent Moon nor any other Transcendent can control.”
The Puppeteer kept writing.
“Sleep duration: ten years. Han Yujin may be awakened early if Han Yujin, and three sapient lifeforms whom Han Yujin has chosen and who each hold clear affection for him, give voluntary consent free of outside interference. That should do it, right?”
“Yes.”
I nodded. He was frighteningly practiced at drafting contracts. The Puppeteer held the paper out to Park Hayul.
“Sign here. The moment both sides consent, Han Yujin’s power goes back to you, and you fall asleep immediately.”
“Hyung, the Breeding Facility! Seriously, please!”
“…There aren’t any rooms there. I’ll set one up for you in the building.”
“Yes! Can you bring me a Peace doll too?”
“Fine.”
“And Peace pajamas—”
“I’ll get you the full set.”
Park Hayul signed the contract.
Then the paper was held out to me.
I wrapped my fingers around the pen, but I couldn’t move right away. The second I signed, Park Hayul would fall asleep. Any way of sending our group home before the system stabilized would disappear, and…
…so would any way of getting Yuhyun back.
No new idea came to me.
Everything ahead was black.
Even if the system came into effect, Crescent Moon would absolutely try to stop us from leaving. The other Transcendents who were merely watching for now would join in too. Could we really escape their grasp?
And if we ran—
I’d have to let go of my little brother forever.
“Hyung, people are going to start falling asleep again soon.”
Yuhyun’s voice was gentle, coaxing.
I moved the pen.
The last stroke of my slow signature dragged across the page, and the tip lifted.
At that exact moment, the power drained out of my body.
Park Hayul’s eyes closed, and he crumpled to the floor. The contract with Sigma in the Puppeteer’s hand went up in flames.
[I’ll be waiting.]
With that final whisper, Crescent Moon’s hold vanished completely.
Even if she waited, I…
“It’d be better to move somewhere familiar, even if it’s not with that brat. Tell the dreamers to wake up and come back in. How many others are there? Moving all of them through space is going to be…”
“We can call Yun Yun. And the Goblin King.”
I could use skills now with the Puppeteer’s help.
I looked down at the sleeping Park Hayul.
My hope had fallen asleep.
I needed to give up and find another path, but I couldn’t stop clinging to it.
Get it together.
I had to get it together.
[Honey!]
A system message appeared.
[I couldn’t contact you because I was afraid Crescent Moon would see! Are you okay?]
“…Yeah.”
[I, I was really shocked too. It looks like Lord Chaos knew what Chain really was! Uh, things are absolute chaos over here right now!]
“Yeah. I figured.”
[There’s no route in yet before the system fully applies, so the Transcendents won’t be entering. Even if they do, they’ll be around your level, Honey, or weaker. Unless it’s a special case like Crescent Moon.]
That meant we had at least a little breathing room.
[The problem is… once the system applies, your group’s plan to return to your original world… it got a lot harder.]
“So there is interference.”
[…Yes. The Transcendents are waiting to force their way into the dream world. If they all move the moment the system applies, the system itself will be thrown into violent instability… which makes moving through it far too dangerous. If you’re lucky, you’ll return safely to your world, Honey, but if you’re unlucky, you could get flung somewhere completely different… or die.]
I took the news that our escape route had been cut off more calmly than I expected.
Or maybe I was just too worn out to react to one more thing.
[At least the Transcendents themselves probably won’t come in. Dream or not, this is still another world. There could be a mad bastard like Chatterbox, but normally they’d send their bound servants or avatars.]
“Then they’d be weaker than the Transcendents themselves.”
[The world rank affects them, so they’d fall somewhere between S-Class and SS-Class. But they’re not like monsters. Their gear, skills, and intelligence will all be much higher.]
So they’d be opponents I could talk to.
Then maybe I could make them fight each other. In that sense, they might be easier to deal with than monsters.
[There isn’t much time left until the system applies. Everyone’s helping… at the shortest, one day. Two at the absolute most.]
“Got it. Thanks.”
[…We’re still looking for a way to get your group out. Be careful, Honey. Still, if there’s any way…]
The message cut off abruptly.
One or two days.
We could handle the Transcendents’ servants somehow. But bastards like Chatterbox were bound to show up too. I started walking, my steps heavy, and headed out alone. Gyeol, who’d been with Yerim, called out to me.
“Are you okay, Dad?”
“Yeah. I’m okay, Gyeol. We’re all moving to the Breeding Facility. Could you call Yun Yun and the Goblin King for me?”
“Okay. Gyeol will go home too. This place should hold for about an hour even after Gyeol leaves.”
I told the other dreamers besides Gyeol to meet us in Seoul.
And then—
“Seong Hyunjae’s on the second floor. Second room down the hall.”
Moon Hyunah spoke before waking up.
“Don’t worry too much, hyungnim. He’ll probably just shrug it off as another new experience.”
“…Right.”
Maybe she was right.
But it didn’t make me feel any lighter.
I stared for a moment at the place Hyunah had vanished from, then turned away.
“I’m going to go up for a minute.”
“I’ll come with you, hyung.”
“No. Explain the situation when Yun Yun gets here. Yerim, you stay here too.”
Yuhyun looked at me with strangely sunken eyes. But he didn’t insist on following. Alone, I climbed the stairs to the second floor.
Had he woken up by now?
He’d probably act like nothing was wrong. He might even start by worrying about me.
‘He really is a pretty decent person, when it comes down to it.’
Even if I’d been through plenty because of him.
I was frustrated that all I had to offer was a useless apology, but I still reached for the doorknob. I opened the door and stepped inside.
Seong Hyunjae was standing beside the bed.
Chief Song Taewon turned toward me first.
“Uh, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Seong Hyunjae slowly turned around.
His golden eyes landed on me.
The look in them was strangely cold.
“Too bad it came to this.”
“…What?”
“The opportunity I gave Han Yujin has disappeared.”
I stared at him, not understanding.
The sharp click of dress shoes came closer.
Seong Hyunjae looked down at me.
A faint smile touched his lips.
“You did well. But you failed.”
–TL Notes–
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