It was a mound of corpses.

Forgotten and severed, layered one atop another like sediment at the bottom of a deep lake. Seong Hyunjae gazed at them.

Originally, they had all been one person. But having lost their own world and been cut from their body, there was no life left in them. They had lived in their respective worlds, but now they were discarded husks.

“Was there spatial movement involved, too?”

Unlike a dungeon gate or portal, he had experienced Chatterbox’s skill multiple times in rapid succession, and by now the sensation felt familiar. Perhaps because it wasn’t a simple teleport but a powerful force moving dozens of people at once.

The ancient ability he once possessed had shown a faint reaction to Chatterbox’s power. Seong Hyunjae regarded the pile of corpses with mild boredom.

It wasn’t a real corpse heap, nor real space. It was merely how those gathered things were represented. Countless heaps of unknown numbers. Limbs tossed about. To others, these might gleam like priceless jewels—a mass of power. But to Seong Hyunjae, they were nothing more than unpleasant cadavers.

He was rummaging through them out of necessity. He exhaled softly.

“Feels like I’m a grave robber.”

No—it was worse. He was after the corpses themselves, not valuables. Reluctantly, he took a step forward. Before he knew it, he was perched atop the heap. His eyes met those of another identical figure.

“Handling this now is almost impossible.”

Someone from long ago had told Seong Hyunjae those words—words similar to the warning from the Young Chaos. He lightly moved the hand that had been propping his chin. A disturbingly familiar gesture. He thought of Han Yujin. Were he here, he would surely have looked disgustedly elegant, wearing an expression of revulsion.

“As the crescent moon erased and severed memories, there must have been intent behind how they were piled up. The difference between placing wooden blocks one by one from the bottom of a vessel, and dumping them all in at once, without order.”

If the connections hadn’t been cut and had linked properly, perhaps he could have processed all of this. But taking in a mess thrown together without rhyme or reason all at once was far more difficult.

“Either dredge out enough to handle, or accept the Young Chaos’s proposal.”

Choosing one or the other would maximize his chances of survival as Seong Hyunjae.

“There isn’t a single person to offload onto. Even if Song Taewon couldn’t handle it all, Han Yujin remains. There’s still plenty of empty space in him.”

From the nape of his neck to the tips of his toes. Seong Hyunjae let the words wash over him—they were all things he already knew. And then—

“This isn’t something I should be saying.”

Silver threads drifted down onto the corpse heap, one strand per body. Contracts accumulated over ages. The man atop the corpses was wrapped in thread, too.

Seong Hyunjae’s hand reached out toward himself. The moment his fingertip made contact, it would melt away: the hand, the wrist, the entire arm. But this time it stopped at a single arm. It would affect his real body as well, but he was currently under party protection—that meant Chatterbox’s shield was active.

So, without hesitation, he tried to extend his other arm—

Swoosh!

A cold liquid splashed across his face.

“Wow, a wasteland.”

Park Yerim swept her gaze around. There was no sea, no lake, not even a stream. Instead—

“Huh?”

A familiar face lay collapsed. Park Yerim, about to start the broadcast, faltered as she stared at the fallen man.

“…Guildmaster Seong? We haven’t even started yet.”

What happened? A message window popped up, informing her of the victory condition. It said victory occurred once the opponent was incapacitated—but perhaps because he was unconscious before it began, it didn’t apply.

“Are you pulling a trick on me? Hey, Mr. Seong! Yoo, Seong Hyunjae!”

The moment she shouted, Park Yerim felt a pang of guilt. After all, he was almost like a parent—at least an uncle—hardly someone she could address so casually by name.

“Wanna know the secret my uncle’s hiding? If you wake up now, I’ll give you a voucher for a ticket to the Dodam Breeding Facility. I got it in a bet. I was saving it to ditch Han Yuhyun and go have fun.”

In truth, she hadn’t used it even when she had the chance. Cutting out Han Yuhyun left her feeling, °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° even if slightly, regretful. Park Yerim craned her neck to peer at the fallen Seong Hyunjae.

“You really aren’t waking up… The voucher was a lie, though. But if you get up now, I’ll sell it to you at a high price.”

Still no reaction. She crept closer. His eyes were firmly shut, but faint breaths reached her—he was alive.

“If it were my uncle, I’d at least grab his nose and twist it.”

But she couldn’t bring herself to do that. Tapping Seong Hyunjae with the tip of her spear, Park Yerim drew a potion. If he was this quiet, maybe he was hurt? He was an S-Rank Hunter, but the Seong Hyunjae she’d known was softer than his reputation suggested.

Especially in Han Yujin’s presence, he was like a harmless neighbor. Han Yujin would casually chide him: “You came out without a coat in this cold, you’ll catch a cold.”

Still, as Guildmaster of Sesung, Park Yerim stayed back and tilted the potion bottle at arm’s length, pouring it over him. Immediately—

Clink!

Golden chains shot up. The vicious onslaught of chains forced her to blink and teleport away at once, but—

Zzt-!

Electric currents crackled in the space she had just vacated. It was too late to dodge! Gritting her teeth, Park Yerim spread Magos’s shawl in front of her, wetting it with water and freezing it solid. Shards of ice flew as the frozen shawl collided with the electricity. Even beyond the shifting cloth, the sharp sting of magic reached her, but she bore it.

When the electrical storm died down and the shards melted, she saw Seong Hyunjae rise beyond the partly charred shawl. She took another step back, glaring.

“That’s dirty!”

“How unfair. I truly was unconscious.”

Seong Hyunjae lightly smoothed the arm that had been coated in chains.

“Hunter Park Yerim, you’d do well to avoid approaching an abnormal S-Rank. There are cases of them attacking without distinguishing friend from foe.”

“…I know that, okay?”

She had heard the warning countless times: even if severely injured, don’t approach rashly—call for a long-range healer, protect the healer; if none, use potions from afar. That was why she’d kept her distance. Park Yerim raised her head stiffly.

“I approached because I was confident I could handle it. See? I’m fine. My hair’s a bit singed, but.”

A few slightly curled strands trembled as she nodded.

“You could’ve used the potion remotely.”

“…I got a bit careless. It’s someone I know. I didn’t have time to be formal.”

She answered sheepishly. If it had been Han Yujin or Han Yuhyun instead of Guildmaster Seong, she would have rushed forward heedless of caution. She poutily promised to be more careful.

“Anyway! I didn’t expect Guildmaster Seong to show up. I picked him because he got the most votes in the survey. Fighting without using skills, pretending to be unawakened—that was the plan.”

“Indeed, it was unexpected.”

Seong Hyunjae tilted his head. Although Park Yerim’s name was on the ballot, most votes had gone to Han Yujin and Song Taewon. And more importantly—

“Chatterbox wouldn’t accept the survey answers at face value. Few would answer honestly.”

There must have been other conditions. Park Yerim’s face fell.

“So you didn’t really want to fight me? I got all hyped up for nothing!”

“I wouldn’t mind sparring with a little girl, but you are too young.”

“But in the last game—!”

“And Han Yujin did intimidate me, too.”

At that, Park Yerim froze.

“…True. He’d probably scold me if he knew.”

“Right. He’d say, ‘What are you doing with a child?’”

“And after living more than twice as long, you can’t even let a kid win once? But he’d be mad even if I didn’t fight properly.”

Seong Hyunjae made a distressed face.

“Thus I had to hold back.”

“My uncle’s picky like that… I wondered how he managed when Han Yuhyun awakened—he was a minor, after all.”

“I’m grateful he wasn’t rough with the young master. There was nothing Han Yujin could rightly take offense at.”

In truth, there was almost nothing to offend him—Han Yujin had barely any cause for complaint at Seong Hyunjae’s gentle aid to his brother. Park Yerim frowned.

“You seem surprisingly good with kids. Soyeong-unnie said you even bought things for her.”

“Protecting children is a duty of adults.”

“This isn’t an interview~”

Park Yerim sprang upward, and golden chains coiled around Seong Hyunjae. She swallowed dryly.

‘He’s difficult.’

She didn’t know how to fight him. Her brow furrowed. Among all the S-Ranks she’d fought, the strongest realization was:

‘None of my hits land.’

She had no decisive blow against him. Her skills were ideal for crowd control, but against a single stronger foe, she was at a disadvantage. She could bind Han Yuhyun, Seong Hyunjae, or Song Taewon, but she couldn’t defeat them.

Drops of water formed around her—though the underground was hardly humid.

“Electricity hurts just by spreading, but water and ice alone aren’t that dangerous.”

Touching water doesn’t injure. Ice the same—it would need to be extreme cold to hurt, and she couldn’t produce such in a brief contact.

“Focusing it doesn’t increase its power. I could shoot it with pressure, but that’s hard, too. In the plaza, it was only ever a standoff.”

Her ice spears, infused with magic, had been threatening but paled against an SS-rank weapon. In other words, easily parried.

“Everyone has different strengths.”

“But to catch you, I’d need a place teeming with water and days to wear you out. Same with Hyunah-unnie, Han Yuhyun, or Director Song. I’m confident I wouldn’t lose to Riet-unnie either.”

That was as far as it went. She toyed with the orb on her necklace.

“Normally—”

Seong Hyunjae pointed a fingertip at her.

“I can’t even keep you trapped.”

“…Well. Still.”

“I enjoyed watching your broadcast, Miss Park. I wish it were live rather than a rebroadcast. Director Song Taewon had quite the ordeal.”

He smiled, and Park Yerim felt awkward.

“Maybe I overdid it a bit. But I still won the popularity award!”

“Not a bad thing. Rather, it’s good. Children can be freed of too much responsibility.”

“It’s not hard. I’m a middle schooler. And I’m very responsible, you know?”

“I’m sure you were. You had to be. Park Yerim had responsibilities.”

After losing her parents, no one had taken care of her. She managed basic needs, but everything else fell to her. Even after meeting Han Yujin and gaining a new family, she couldn’t shed that ingrained responsibility.

“…So what if I’m responsible?”

“The more you shoulder, the fewer things you can do. Challenges become impossible, and you follow the safe path.”

Under a dependable guardian, a child can try many things. Failure is okay because the guardian shares the burden. To be unburdened means to experience many failures freely.

“Han Yujin would accept any wrongdoing from a little girl.”

“……”

Park Yerim hesitated, then nodded.

“I do feel… I’ve loosened up a bit.”

No matter what happened, she had a guardian. Not only Han Yujin, but Han Yuhyun, Moon Hyunah, and even Seong Hyunjae could be trusted. They might scold her if she erred, but they would also protect her.

“But that uncle needs to stay healthy! Many are targeting him!”

“That’s true. Breaking Guildmaster already carries enough burdens.”

“…I hope he’ll be the last.”

Park Yerim clenched her spear. The parched earth cracked, dark moisture seeping upward.

“Here I go!”

Bang! Boom! Water erupted from below. The ground beneath Seong Hyunjae split open. He dodged the jet but couldn’t shield himself from the downpour. It was as though he stood in a torrential rain, soaking his hair and clothes.

At once, cold spread outward. The hem of his garment stiffened. Still, it wasn’t enough to immobilize him. Indeed—

Crackle!

Electric currents skittered over him, and ice shards burst in all directions. Seong Hyunjae brushed his thawed hair back.

“Sorry, but I can’t spare much time today.”

“Don’t underestimate me!”

He curled the corner of his mouth and began moving. Ice arrows launched at him as he rapidly closed the distance. Clang, crack! Some shattered against his chains; the rest didn’t even graze his collar. Park Yerim’s brow furrowed.

“Your combat foresight is unfair!”

“A wretched body without flight skills.”

Seong Hyunjae reached directly beneath her. Chains shot up like arrows, and she vanished. At the same moment, he flung a metal arrow from his hand. It cut through the air—

Rumble!

Lightning struck the arrow midflight. And then—

“Argh!”

Park Yerim appeared at that very spot. Magos’s shawl enveloped her, and surrounding cold disrupted the electricity, but she couldn’t absorb the full impact. Her vision went black. The flight skill faltered, and she fell—only to be caught lightly by Seong Hyunjae’s single arm.

“…Can’t you turn off combat foresight? There’s no contest!”

“You shouldn’t use teleportation against me.”

“Let’s go again! I’ll concede and talk nicely to you!”

“An offer hard to refuse.”

Park Yerim soared again. It didn’t last long—she habitually used teleportation and met the same fate. But she didn’t concede. On the third round, she refrained from teleporting, yet Seong Hyunjae subdued her with one hand as soon as they reached melee range.

On the fourth, she drew all water to bind him—but lacking moisture and mana, it held only briefly. The fifth time, she lasted longest; his strike missed momentarily—

[Park Yerim Defeated]

Silence. Yet Han Yujin continued to listen. Finally, Seong Hyunjae shouted:

“Now you say that!”

…………

…………

“…Now you say that.”

…………

…………

Han Yujin’s form vanished.

[Han Yujin Conceded]

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep