“The more a magic stone has lost its original nature and the longer it’s been left—say, over half a year—the more it can hold.”

“Do either of you happen to have an S-rank magic stone that’s over six months old?”

“…I do not.”

Chief Song replied. Well… of course not. Shouldn’t have asked. I felt bad. On the other hand, Seong Hyunjae pulled out four magic stones from his inventory.

“Emergency funds, of a sort. You can easily convert these to cash in any country. But does she eat magic stones?”

He held one out toward the child.

“I don’t eat that.”

“What about bread? Want a snack?”

“Don’t need it.”

Changeling glared at Seong Hyunjae, then shifted into a small dragon and climbed onto my shoulder. She bared her tiny fangs and growled.

— Don’t make Daddy suffer.

Seong Hyunjae looked genuinely wronged, but considering what we were about to do, she wasn’t wrong. No—he was already exhausted.

“So it was a monster.”

Song Taewon said, his voice oddly relieved.

“She’s a fairy dragonkin. A bit unusual, right? But thanks to her, we’ve got a safe method now, so don’t worry. …It is safe, right?”

— Yep. As long as you go through me, you can transfer it to the magic stone safely. It won’t explode or kill anyone.

It must be because she was originally a part of Seong Hyunjae. And the nature of being a Changeling probably helps, too. After all, if you want to swap something out, you have to remove the original first.

“What do we do?”

— The same way I was made.

…So I need to combine two magic stones and insert them into my body?

“…Then another beast will be born.”

— Nope. These are old stones. To create a beast, the stone needs to still carry the original owner’s data. If it’s older than half a year, it’s like a dead seed. Just a vessel. It can only be used for storage.

Got it. Oh—Black! It hasn’t been half a year yet, but I should still ask Myungwoo to preserve it just in case.

“It doesn’t matter where I put it, right? Hey, Seong Hyunjae. I was going to bring this up anyway, but the heart-side of the back—it’s reserved for our Yuhyun.”

Seong Hyunjae looked mildly surprised.

“I doubt the young master would accept that.”

“Well, I’ll just have to convince him.”

“Do your best.”

That was one half-assed cheer.

“So let’s say this is your reservation. Any place you’d prefer? Where should I put it?”

Since I’m storing a piece of him, I’ll at least offer him a choice. I spread my arms and twirled in place. Seong Hyunjae shrugged.

“Even if I survive this, the young master and the little lady will probably still try to kill me. I can already hear the scolding—‘You should’ve just died alone.’ Crystal clear.”

“Don’t whine. We can put it somewhere out of sight. How about the side? Or maybe the hip?”

The butt is a little too much.

“Let’s do this quickly. If Yuhyun shows up, it’ll be chaos. I’m pretty sure he heard the explosion.”

“I didn’t make this place that sloppy. He shouldn’t know yet. He might’ve sensed the mana shift, but if he’s at the entrance, even that should be hard to pick up.”

True, it was a mini-portal setup, so he could be pretty far from here.

“Still, he’s not exactly the patient type. Give me the magic stones—I’ll do it.”

As I reached out my hand, Changeling tapped my shoulder with her front paw.

— He has to do it. That’s what it means to willingly hand over a part of yourself.

“Well, technically he’s an adult—you shouldn’t call him that. Anyway, she says so.”

— Don’t make Daddy bleed.

“Are you the Judge of Venice or something?”

With a resigned sigh, Seong Hyunjae pulled a dagger from his inventory. Song Taewon flinched reflexively. The tip of the blade touched just above my elbow. A faint red line ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) appeared, and at the same time, he moved his mana. Two magic stones pressed against the wound, soaking up the blood and slipping into the opening.

Thanks to Grace, I didn’t need to use a mana potion this time.

The slightly opened wound quickly sealed, leaving behind only a small red mark. Maybe because we weren’t combining a beast, the scar was barely noticeable—unlike the one on my chest.

“Blood,” Changeling grumbled as she fluttered into the air.

— I’m going to transform into a dagger now. Stab me into that man’s chest, Daddy.

“…He won’t die, right?”

— He won’t.

An S-rank Hunter won’t die from a little stab to the chest. There are potions, and Sesung has top-tier healers. It should be fine. The small silver dragon transformed. A dagger with a blade like a dragon’s fang dropped to the ground with a soft clink.

All right, now—

— Daddy!

“Han Yujin!”

Before I could even bend down to grab the dagger, both their voices rang out—and then a hand clamped around my throat. My feet lifted off the ground, and I was slammed into the wall. Right in front of me were golden eyes, filled with killing intent.

“Kh… Wh… ugh.”

Thanks to Grace, my neck didn’t break, but the grip was tight enough to crush my windpipe. Still clutching my throat, Seong Hyunjae lowered his other hand. Toward my leg—toward where Grace was hidden. He grabbed the scarf.

A second too late, a chill ran down my spine.

Then suddenly, Seong Hyunjae leapt back. His hand still around my throat. The moment he moved, an explosion erupted where he had just been.

“S-Song, khh…”

Like a hunted animal, I barely turned my head. At the center of the warped and shattered floor stood Song Taewon. His sharp eyes were locked on us, tense and alert.

I didn’t quite understand what had just happened.

But… he looked completely fine.

Grit—the sound of someone clenching their teeth echoed. And then, my body was thrown. I rolled across the floor, and Song Taewon quickly caught me. Changeling flew back over, once again in her dragon form.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, ugh, I’m fine. But…”

— I’m sorry, Daddy. I didn’t know either.

The silver dragon clung to my arm as if hugging it. Didn’t know? Know what? I sat up with Song Taewon’s support. I saw Seong Hyunjae standing by the island bar across the room. Cracks ran through the marble countertop where his hand rested. His eyes and lips were twisted in a grimace.

I’d never seen him look this unstable before.

“This… isn’t going to work…”

His voice, suppressed and leaking out, was deeply unsteady. No way—were we too late?

“Seong Hyunjae!”

— Daddy, it’s because we’re too alike! I’ve mixed a lot with others, so I’m usually fine, but right now, I’m threatening his sense of self…

“I’m sorry, Han Yujin.”

Seong Hyunjae spoke at last, barely catching his breath. Marble was still crumbling at his fingertips.

“This method… won’t work. As long as I have a self—an identity—I can’t help but reject it.”

— Because I’m like him, I can draw out what’s been stably stored, but maybe that’s why he’s rejecting it more! Sorry, Daddy…

“Why are you apologizing?”

So it’s like… a doppelgänger? It’s not just taking a piece of himself, but a threat to his identity itself, that kind of feeling? The uniqueness of existence or whatever—I’m not sure, but basically, Seong Hyunjae strongly rejects Changeling digging into his core.

“That’s the only issue though, right?”

“…What?”

“So basically, you just don’t want to hand over your chest willingly. Got it.”

Well, that simplifies things. It just means there’s one more step in the process. A tricky step—subduing Seong Hyunjae. And the one who has to stab him directly is me, with F-grade stats.

“Someone else can’t do the stabbing, right?”

— Nope. But, Daddy, don’t tell me…

Changeling’s round eyes folded into crescent moons in dismay. Yeah, well. Not much choice, is there?

“Chief Song, please help me.”

“…I refuse.”

I looked up at him from where I was sitting on the ground. His stern face was shadowed. He answered while putting on the golden lynx shoes that didn’t even cost any points to equip.

“This has a higher chance of succeeding. I’ll call Yuhyun, too.”

He didn’t respond. Instead, Song Taewon turned toward Seong Hyunjae. I hastily grabbed his leg.

“If you’re not careful, you’ll both die. And even if you are careful, you’ll die, Chief Song!”

“Han Yujin, I have a duty to protect you. I can’t allow this anymore.”

“I don’t need protecting. Not with Changeling supporting me. And you know, even normal people risk their lives when they have to!”

Sure, I’m weak. From Chief Song’s perspective, it might look like a kid whining while clinging to an adult. But we’ve always lived like this. Unless there’s a Chief Song in every household, this is how things are—and will be.

“What I need right now isn’t protection. It’s help. Same goes for Seong Hyunjae.”

Song Taewon looked down at me. His steely eyes trembled slightly.

“Why… do you, Han Yujin…”

“Please. Assist me.”

Song Taewon clenched his teeth, then reluctantly nodded.

He finished putting on his shoes and stood up. He also threw on the black lynx jacket. I considered equipping the full set to match but decided against it. Wouldn’t want a newbie reclaiming it and costing me points.

“There’s no spare pants… You don’t have any either, right, Chief Song?”

“…No.”

“I’m going to use the Teacher skill, so please don’t resist. You too, Changeling.”

— Uuugh.

Changeling made a disgruntled sound as she clung to my shoulder. Using an S-rank Hunter’s power in reality puts strain on me, and she clearly didn’t like that. Sweet of her to worry. But we can’t leave Seong Hyunjae like this. If we make the wrong move, we’ll all be wiped out. When it’s time to overdo it, you just have to.

“I’ll only use it in short bursts when necessary. Just support me well.”

Seong Hyunjae was watching us in silence. He looked visibly displeased. Understandably so—he’d just lost control and lunged at me. With his personality, it must’ve pissed him off. I pulled out my phone, cracked but still working. Not for long, though.

“Yuhyun.”

[Hyung, are you okay?]

“Yeah. But I need you to come here. First, evacuate everyone from Sesung Guild.”

[I’ll be right th—]

“Evacuate first!”

The call cut off. He was probably with Evelyn, so she must’ve heard too. The phone wasn’t going to survive much longer anyway, so I just tossed it behind me. Changeling transformed into a dagger again. At the same time, Seong Hyunjae’s eyes twisted. I activated the Teacher skill.

“I won’t get hurt, I promise. If it looks dangerous, you can even use me as a shield.”

“Even so, it’s unthinkable for you to attack the Sesung Guildmaster directly, Han Yujin.”

“No, it’s possible. I can use an S-rank Hunter’s power for a brief moment. Thanks to this Changeling here.”

Song Taewon looked between me and the silver dragon in surprise. Even Seong Hyunjae, though struggling to suppress himself, showed interest. I considered hiding the fact that I couldn’t sustain S-rank power for long—but who was I kidding? He’d figure it out instantly anyway.

I gripped the dagger in one hand. The opponent had combat foresight above all else. That meant he could read every attack. In other words, to stab the dagger into his chest accurately, I’d have to create a situation where he couldn’t dodge.

“Hang in there as best you can.”

“If you come any closer… it’ll be hard. No, even now…”

Crackle— static sparked through the air. Song Taewon slowly widened the distance between us. He seemed willing to trust me for now. But just the two of us wasn’t enough. Realistically, it was basically just Chief Song alone. We needed to wait a bit more until Yuhyun arrived. I should’ve contacted Yerim too.

Seong Hyunjae let out a short breath. A moment later, golden lightning surged. Tables and chairs shattered into fragments in an instant, debris flying through the air. The floor cracked violently, scattering stone shards in every direction.

‘Ugh!’

The blast that hit me directly caused no damage, but the grazing edges left fine lines across my skin. While wallpaper and ceiling were scorched and ornaments smashed to pieces, Seong Hyunjae charged straight at me.

“Dodge!”

Song Taewon shouted. I knew. But instead of moving, I stared directly at Seong Hyunjae. I wanted to feel out just how far things had gone, with my own body, and then—

Clang-clang—

Something black and massive cut between us. A jet-black, ominously sharp blade sliced the air, forcing Seong Hyunjae to twist aside and retreat. At the same time, Song Taewon’s sword gleamed with a flash. Clang! Blade and chain collided, sparks flying.

“What the hell is that about now.”

Yuhyun landed beside me. The Ruler’s Sword, which had been writhing and dragging along the ground, shrank into a longsword. Glancing briefly at Song Taewon, who was fending off the whipping chains with his bare fist, Yuhyun turned his eyes to me.

“Let’s go home, Hyung.”

“No, I need to stab Seong Hyunjae in the chest. Right now—”

“What?”

Yuhyun’s eyes twisted instantly. He looked not just surprised, but completely bewildered.

“What the hell did Seong Hyunjae do that you’re trying to kill him yourself—damn it! Still, let’s just go for now.”

“No, that’s not it. To save him, I have to stab him. It’s a long story—just help me!”

Yuhyun looked again between Seong Hyunjae and Song Taewon, then suddenly lifted me up.

“Fine. Die later. We’re leaving.”

“Hey!”

“Chief Song will take care of it.”

I can’t say I didn’t see it coming, but wow, Yuhyun really doesn’t care what happens to Seong Hyunjae, huh.

“If we don’t stop him now, I’m in danger too!”

If the power building up inside Seong Hyunjae exploded and wiped out the world, I’d die with it—so I wasn’t lying. At my words, Yuhyun, though visibly displeased, finally set me down. Then he tried to drape the Thunderbird Regalia over my shoulders.

“No, I have Grace, so this jacket’s better for now.”

Wearing overlapping equipment was technically possible, but if the mana flows or effects clashed, they could cancel each other out. That’s why you had to avoid overlapping effects beyond a certain point. The Regalia’s defense and all-attribute resistances weren’t necessary for me, so the current jacket was better.

At that moment, thunderously, Song Taewon was thrown back and slammed into the wall. Seong Hyunjae, surrounded by swirling chains, looked straight at us.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep