A hand settled on my shoulder. It felt human. A third eye on Luga Peya’s forehead was gone—now, like any human, she had only two. Below her upper body was nothing but swirling mist.

In any case, she was the Harmless King.

“…How did you—”

My mouth moved in confusion. Luga Peya brushed her overflowing hair behind her shoulder and answered.

“I am the Mist of Memories.”

“Memories?”

“All I left you was a message. But that, too, was a fragment of my memory. Under normal circumstances that fragment would have scattered after a single word—~ but now look at this!”

Her white hand waved again at the people beyond.

“The Harmless King! Luga Peya! The mist devours memories, and memories are my nourishment and strength. I made myself known to so many, and when the seed-bearing pot held that power, how could it not sprout?”

…So I was the pot. Throughout the party Chatterbox had been gathering people’s awareness of me—and planned to transform that awareness into the Harmless King.

“No one didn’t know the sovereign of the sea of mist—~ even children who understand speech heard the tale first. Remember the master of the mist. If you forget the mist, you’ll forget father and mother, too~”

Humming like a song, the Harmless King rested her chin on my crown. Then she looked at Chatterbox.

“Tell them!”

Tell them the story so far. Luga Peya was truly delighted.

“Um, what do we do? Aren’t you supposed to help me?”

“Huh? Why would I?”

…No answer to that. Yet she wouldn’t have wanted to be resurrected this way. …Or maybe she would—but I couldn’t just stand by, so I kept shouting at Chatterbox, who stared unblinking at Luga Peya.

“Your mist is here—”

“Why would I be her mist?”

Luga Peya tapped my head with her chin and said. Realizing it, I felt ashamed. The Harmless King was never that madman’s possession.

“That’s Chatterbox’s claim; I don’t consent. Anyway, Luga Peya, can you at least say I didn’t kill you?”

“That doesn’t matter, does it? No matter whose hands I died by, the outcome would’ve been the same~ So what happened now? Why is Chatterbox like that? Why are you becoming me? What’s with the broadcast? Didn’t we agree not to tell this world about Transcendents?”

Sounds fun—tell me quickly! Luga Peya slapped my shoulder playfully. She was so warped. Like jellyfish caring only for her own amusement. That was his nature—he was a Transcendent, after all.

“…Luga Peya.”

Breaking her silence, Chatterbox spoke, lifting his hands in adoration.

“Perfect.”

“Why do you both keep saying unrelated things?”

Ignoring Luga Peya entirely, Chatterbox held back a silent laugh. The mist halted briefly then surged toward me again, its mana seeping into my body.

“Chatterbox!”

“With my own hands I birth my beloved mist here once more!”

“Guys, I’m getting bored.”

Not the Harmless King’s hair—I felt my own hair brush my shoulder. Chatterbox was ecstatic. Ecstasy itself. Of course he ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) was happy: from the raw material he’d been shaping to create a counterfeit, an actual specimen had popped out. A replica, really—but far more genuine than any forgery.

“Luga Peya, ugh, do you think I’ll heed your words? If you make me this way, I might try to kill you!”

“That, too, is part of perfection.”

“…You insane bastard!”

She was fine with dying by the Harmless King’s hand? And the resurrected Harmless King would surely turn on Yuhyun. He’d meddle for his amusement. The interested—Seong Hyunjae and Song Taewon—would hardly escape unscathed.

“Damn it, I’m Han Yujin!”

Not the Harmless King. I struggled to cling to that identity. But the corruption was advancing unrelentingly. Chatterbox watched my futile resistance with cold detachment.

“Right now, people aren’t seeing the true Han Yujin.”

“…But they are.”

“They see the F-rank who surpassed S-rank in the party.”

“But that is me.”

Thunk—my Sovereign’s Sword caught on the toe of Chatterbox’s dress shoe. He pressed down on the hilt with a smile.

“That, too, does not belong to Han Yujin.”

“I—I bought it!”

With my points! …Though Seong Hyunjae’s points, essentially, but still.

“It’s a blade you shouldn’t even be able to lift. Even if you swung it, you’d only leave scratches.”

“……”

I could only defeat Seong Hyunjae with the Sovereign’s Sword because of Yuhyun’s power. Still my brother—lost.

“This, too, this, too.”

The sword slid away, nudging the lynx set, Grace, and the earring aside.

“If you stripped away all of this, what could Han Yujin do?”

“…I earned it. I worked for it!”

“An F-rank cannot defeat an S-rank.”

His calm voice stated the obvious.

“In this moment, the Han Yujin people watch is the product Chatterbox created.”

No—it wasn’t. I knew that. I’d come this far.

Yet those words shook me. I had done well. I achieved more than my abilities. Everyone would think so. But Han Yujin carried failure from the start. The foundation of that column had been hollowed out.

…The reason I could be here now was because of Yuhyun. I’d only received, neither protecting nor reclaiming. That hadn’t changed.

“Therefore Han Yujin must vanish. What more people see and feel is the truth. As always.”

“…Bullshit.”

Truth, indeed. I bit my lip. The sting snapped me back a bit.

“Yeah, everyone said that. They thought so. But still! It wasn’t true!”

My brother protected me to the end, and I loved him. They were wrong. They were wrong, and that’s why I’m alive here.

“A voice unheard—”

Startled, I tried to unmute. A warning about Transcendents popped into my mind, but now wasn’t the time. Even if the Harmless King just had SSS-rank power, the world would collapse.

…But the voice didn’t turn on.

“It’s useless. It will be buried quietly.”

“This isn’t what our contract said!”

“The party is over. No matter what Han Yujin shouts, people won’t listen.”

“……”

It was like before regression. A few certainly would hear me. But most ignored or twisted my words. I felt hollow. Why, again…?

“…No, you stopped me. This time they’ll listen!”

Unlike before, this time someone would hear and believe my voice. There were people who cheered for me—so I thought. I tried unmuting again. Still no response.

“Chatterbox!”

“You will, as you are, become the strongest being in this world.”

There was no way. That thought brought the mist surging deeper. How much longer could I hold out? Biting my lip, I looked at the Harmless King.

“Promise me just one thing.”

“Hmm?”

“You know those dear to me. Please, don’t touch them.”

At least that. Luga Peya tilted her head.

“Boring. So Chatterbox is broadcasting, right? For me.”

“…Yes. Countless people are watching. You probably sense it too.”

Luga Peya tapped my shoulder as if playing piano. Then, instead of a voice—

[It’s no fun for Han Yujin to disappear.]

Her voice echoed in my head.

[So show them you too!]

“What… how?”

I answered softly, barely moving my lips. Luga Peya smiled and stirred the mist around her with her fingertip.

[Your memories.]

“……?”

[Show people you! This broadcast is mine; they’re connected to me. Sharing memories is no trouble~]

“That….”

Sharing memories.

[Show the world that Han Yujin is Han Yujin! A firm awareness that no matter what Chatterbox does won’t waver!]

Luga Peya lightly brushed my cheek and swept her hand away.

[I’m curious too. So? Will you give me your memories? Answer before they’re devoured and vanish!]

“…Not all of them.”

[Hm, fine. I’ll let a few key parts slide. Then~]

I hesitated, then nodded. Luga Peya clapped.

“I will enjoy them well!”

My vision went jet-black, then—

“Welcome home.”

My familiar house appeared. I looked to be about twelve, standing in the entryway to greet someone. My parents, blurred as if shrouded in mist, fled the house. I turned and ran to my brother in his room. Yuhyun smiled at me. I smiled back.

“You can come out to the living room now.”

“Okay, hyung.”

He nodded. We told ourselves we had to respect our parents’ privacy. We believed that excuse. They didn’t hate us—Mom and Dad just loved each other too much. Though we were left alone in the house, the siblings’ faces were bright.

The scene changed to a funeral parlor. Our parents had died, leaving only the two of us, and I soon withdrew from school.

“I can help you too.”

Middle schooler Yuhyun said to me. I beamed happily.

“It’s okay. You don’t need to worry about anything!”

I meant it. It really was fine. It wasn’t without hardship, but it was joyful. I looked genuinely happy.

“My brother’s really kind, you know. Sometimes I worry he’s too kind and someone might hurt him.”

“Being handsome is power among kids nowadays. You’ll be fine!”

“If only that were true. Look at this.”

Despite teasing about how many times they’d heard it, I still laughed. It was an ordinary daily life. Summer, autumn, winter. We celebrated Christmas, my birthday passed. Every memory was good. Both Yuhyun and I wore bright expressions.

And then—

“Han Yuhyun!!”

I shouted. My hand clutched my phone, my expression desperate.

“It’s dangerous! Why are you going into a dungeon! Yuhyun, leave that to adults… right?”

My brother awakened, and I tried desperately to hold him back. I shouted, begged, even cried.

“I’ve seen this before.”

Luga Peya said, leaning on my shoulder. It hurt my heart no matter how many times I saw it. My expression had completely changed. The look on my brother’s face in the TV changed utterly.

“There’s no need for Hunter Han Yuhin to worry about Hunter Han Yuhyun. Hunter Han Yuhyun is S-rank, after all.”

A person from the Hunter Association said to me. Others echoed, clicking their tongues that my brother was doing well.

“You really worried about your brother? He’s S-rank by birth.”

“…Look at his face.”

How could I not worry? He was thriving—and if he’d left home by choice, he should look happy. People said Guildmaster Haeyeon was just like that, but the brother I’d known for over ten years was not.

“…Guns don’t work easy, I hear.”

Armed, I asked a senior with a gloomy face. He had only months of monster-fighting experience.

“That refers to high-rank monsters. Lower ranks do get pushed back—though penetration is poor.”

At that time, the army focused on Dungeon Break responses at home, not external threats. Thus my service was short. They said it was because the situation was dire, but the army was actually safer. Each unit had Hunters posted and weapons were allowed.

…In retrospect, being drafted likely ensured I survived a period of frequent Dungeon Breaks. I’d even sought out dangerous areas to keep Yuhyun from working as a Hunter.

“…Bastard.”

After discharge, I stepped into our empty house. Any hope I had vanished the moment I opened the door. My face twisted as if to cry. Left alone in that house, I couldn’t endure and moved on in flight.

Then my Awakening. My fist clenched instinctively. My shameful self before Regression was on display for all to see.

“What? F-rank?”

One of the men who’d offered to sponsor me sneered.

“You always yammer about your brother! What are you gonna do now? Maybe get it from Guildmaster Haeyeon!”

“W-what are you talking about! We can just cancel the contract! I’ll return any gear!”

They said they’d help me establish myself as a Hunter. New Hunters aren’t exactly flush, so it’s hard to gear up. Dungeon clear permits were the same. The contract wasn’t canceled, and I ended up with debts labeled equipment rental and clearance fees.

If I’d been mid-rank it’d be normal. But I was F-rank, and in a support class.

—Kyahrrrek!

“Hey, newbie! Where’d you go?”

I cowered behind a rock, trembling. The dungeon, entered with zero training, was pure terror. Terrified, I ran and ran, and naturally received no reward. Thus Han Yujin became an F-rank Hunter.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep