The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 376

374. The Owner of the Territory (3)

The accumulated rubble of buildings, along with the soil and stones beneath, couldn’t withstand the force and scattered wildly. Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of light streaks spread in all directions, crushing everything they touched. Even though elemental power weakens significantly when dispersed rather than focused, the storm of electricity was so fierce that even an S-Rank Hunter would have to retreat and protect themselves.

Clang!

A battle hammer brimming with electrical energy slammed down on an S-Rank Hunter who couldn’t evade the blinding light. Due to the weapon’s nature, its movements were large and its attack trajectory simple, making it easy to block.

Crack!

“Ugh!”

The hammer’s heavy head shattered the opponent’s weapon, digging into their shoulder. Simultaneously, the battle hammer also cracked.

“Damn.”

As expected, the weapon couldn’t hold up. The hunter, whose shoulder collapsed as if crushed, staggered. Seong Hyunjae casually turned the hammer sideways, as if it were a thin baton, and spun it half a turn. Thwack! The hunter, struck by the rotating hammer, collapsed, and Seong Hyunjae, gripping the hammer in reverse, stored it directly into his inventory.

He didn’t often use weapons other than the Seeker’s Chains, partly because he didn’t need to, but also due to durability issues. Even an S-Rank weapon couldn’t withstand the intense electrical current intact.

He could use it as a simple weapon without infusing elemental power, but there was no reason to do so when he had the Seeker’s Chains.

However, the semi-transparent longsword in Seong Hyunjae’s hand didn’t have a single crack. Rather, it was absorbing the electricity and glowing pure white. As he wasn’t the owner, he couldn’t use the skills imbued in the weapon. Yet, it was a sword harder than any other item in the world.

“It was unshaken even during the plunder, they say.”

In a way, it resembled its owner quite a bit. A sword that could withstand any skill of any S-Rank Hunter. Its appearance was like fragile glass, but in reality, it was a powerful dragon’s heart.

Amidst the fading light, Seong Hyunjae’s gaze briefly turned to the sky again. He wouldn’t be able to come down until the cleanup was finished.

The tails of his coat, which had billowed up, settled calmly. The gazes of the S-Rank Hunters, who had barely regained their senses, converged on the tip of the sword, elegantly extended as if inviting a formal duel. Most of them wore expressions of dismay, but they didn’t retreat.

His golden eyes curved slightly, and Seong Hyunjae’s body shot forward.

The movement appeared to be a simple straight charge. However, the hooked iron ropes that flew to bind him were deflected with just a slight tilt of his body. The tip of a spear that stabbed in also grazed only his hair by a hair’s breadth.

Seong Hyunjae, who evaded all attacks with minimal movement, instantly cut through the attack-type hunters. A defense-type hunter, who had recovered, raised a shield with a dent in the center. At the same time, Seong Hyunjae lowered his body sharply.

Accurately predicting the height the shield would defend, his lowered body spun around. The long outstretched arm, with the sword in its hand, swept strongly across the defense-type hunter’s legs.

Crack!

As a sword, its function was F-Rank level except for its hardness, so it couldn’t cut through flesh and bone. Moreover, it was even less effective against a defense-type opponent. Instead, it crushed everything it touched and instantly released the contained electricity, burning it away.

With a scream, the shield fell from their grasp, and a gloved hand snatched it up. He then hurled it towards the support-type hunter behind the defense-type hunter. Still in the middle of his body’s rotation, he grabbed the shield and threw it in a wide half-circle, embedding it in the support-type hunter’s legs with a crack!

Almost simultaneously, two people collapsed.

In the same lowered posture, Seong Hyunjae lowered the glass sword behind his back. With a thud! A dagger filled with poison bounced off.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had to move like this.”

With Battle Prediction and the Seeker’s Chains combined, he didn’t need to lift a finger against insignificant opponents. Even when dealing with someone more substantial, his golden chains would handle about half of the attacks and defenses.

Seong Hyunjae leisurely straightened up, even dusting off the tails of his coat that had touched the ground. Only two S-Rank Hunters were still standing properly on their own feet. Although there were a total of six S-Rank Hunters, including those who had joined in the middle to support the defense and support types, more than half had collapsed without lasting long.

The remaining two S-Rank Hunters stared intently at Seong Hyunjae, filled with tension. Despite the distance between them, they were frozen as if locked in a tight confrontation right in front of him. Unable to muster the courage to attack first, Seong Hyunjae wore a faint smile towards them as they gritted their teeth. The S-Rank Hunters gripped their weapons even tighter, their minds so preoccupied with the monster before them that they couldn’t perceive anything else.

In that instant.

A strong wind blew from behind.

“Behind─!”

They shouted urgently, but it was too late. Sharp claws dug into the S-Rank Hunter’s back, and their head was bitten off with a crack. The remaining one turned around just as quickly.

Thwack!

The golden chains pierced their chest, and a thick poison spread. Han Yoojin, using the blood-soaked chains as a support, landed on the ground.

“…I’m going to die, seriously. Mr. Noah, spit it out quickly.”

The end of Han Yoojin’s voice trembled. His body was also visibly shivering as if he were cold. It was long after sunset, and the wet lake breeze was chilly, but with the flames still burning here and there, it couldn’t be said to be cold.

It was fear. The act of jumping into a battlefield of S-Rank Hunters. Moreover, he had been constantly subjected to violence. No matter how strong his mind was, his body, his instincts, would naturally react more sensitively to danger and shrink back.

– Beep! Beep!

Even amidst Eunhye’s urging, Seong Hyunjae didn’t move. Instead, the chains slipped out as if throwing away the S-Rank Hunter and stretched out horizontally to the ground, so that he could rely on it instead of a crutch.

Han Yoojin raised his gaze to look at him. Seong Hyunjae didn’t bother to suppress the ominous aura that naturally flowed out after the battle. It would have been easy to erase the presence that even other S-Rank Hunters would feel repulsed by. He skillfully adjusted it according to the opponent, from right after his awakening, as if he had been doing it for a long time.

If the opponent was a non-awakened person, or someone of a lower rank but with usable value, he could even make them feel comfortable, being kind, gentle, and affectionate. He could even melt away the fear that the opponent instinctively sensed and completely envelop them so that they wouldn’t know anything about his true nature. It wasn’t difficult.

The same was true now. He could have approached first and comforted him with a gentle voice, asking if he was okay. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but he waited. Remaining wrapped in the aura that would feel like a terrifying monster to the current Han Yoojin.

Han Yoojin’s hand grabbed the chains again, slowly sliding forward. Noah, who had thrown away the corpse, lowered his body and asked if he should help, but he declined. It wasn’t a long distance, but the steps were slow, even though an S-Rank Hunter could close the gap in an instant without much effort.

Even if it wasn’t just because of his injured leg, he was noticeably struggling, and the trembling of his body was also getting stronger.

“…For now.”

With a final step, Han Yoojin said. He swallowed, gathering saliva in his dry mouth, and looked up at Seong Hyunjae. He muttered that he was scared to death, but unlike his words, he didn’t avoid eye contact.

“I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t expect to hear an apology.”

“Well, what was it. I, uh, believed in you in a rather cold way. Actually, I still do to some extent, but I’m adding that to it. Anyway, Seong Hyunjae-ssi [honorific title].”

Han Yoojin’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Are you okay?”

“…I think that’s what I should be saying.”

“Well, me.”

– Beep!

The bluebird perched on Han Yoojin’s shoulder, chirping nervously.

“I’m really sorry to you too, Eunhye.”

– Beep!

The chilling air relaxed. Han Yoojin took a long breath, saying that he could finally breathe a little, and held out his hand.

“I have to go see Yoohyun, so give it back.”

“We’ve only just met again, and you’re already talking about your brother. What a cold partner.”

“We even had dinner together, what are you talking about. Stop acting pitiful. But what about Chief Song?”

“He’s hunting helicopters.”

“Helicopters?”

“If it’s not completely over yet, a necklace would be better than a bracelet.”

Seong Hyunjae raised the sword. The bluebird wagged its tail, and the sword’s form changed. Han Yoojin’s expression twisted at the glittering, extravagant light.

“Eunhye-ya!”

– Beep! Beep!

Han Yoojin flinched slightly at the clearly angry beeping. Since he had committed a sin, he couldn’t unconditionally refuse.

“No, but still… this is too flashy. It looks like hundreds of diamonds are embedded in it. Can’t you make it less visible right now? Huh? I was really wrong.”

“Or how about glass slippers?”

Han Yoojin looked at Seong Hyunjae as if he were crazy.

“Wow… really… Did Cinderella become covered in ashes because she was blowing up bombs? Did the castle fly away as soon as the clock struck twelve, and only the prince who chased after her survived? Is finding the glass slipper a wanted poster for a terrorist?”

“There’s no dream or hope, but that’s the version I like best.”

“Let’s stop with the nonsense. Eunhye-ya, no! Don’t listen to that human! Shoes come off easily.”

– Beep.

Eunhye tilted her head. The anger hadn’t completely subsided, but the number of jewels on the necklace was reduced by about half, and the color also changed to a deep blue. Seong Hyunjae handed the necklace to Han Yoojin.

“I don’t think they’ll still be here, but just in case, please look for Park Hayool. What are you doing?”

With a rustling sound, a candy popped out of his coat pocket.

“You can blame the smell on someone else.”

“Ah……”

Han Yoojin put the candy in his mouth and rolled it around. It had a strong mint scent.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had peppermint candy. Thank you. And when I get back, please make some time. I still haven’t been able to say what I wanted to say. Mr. Noah!”

The golden dragon strode closer. The chains wrapped around Han Yoojin’s body and placed him on Noah’s back. The wings spread, and soon it soared into the sky. Seong Hyunjae watched the receding figure for a moment before moving his feet.

‘Hwangrim isn’t here.’

And Gwan Cheonhwon, another hunter who resided here, was also nowhere to be seen. Hwangrim’s words about moderately searching the American side came to mind. The place Han Yoojin had asked him to look for Park Hayool led to was none other than America. But at the same time, he also said that it was none of his business.

It wasn’t that there was no connection, but it also meant that they weren’t directly involved.

‘In the few months I turned my eyes away.’

Had a major change occurred that he didn’t know about while he was only paying attention to domestic affairs? Seong Hyunjae, who was trying to find those who hadn’t shown up despite this chaos, suddenly stopped.

Grumble-

Faintly, a ground tremor was felt.

Clang!

The swords, colliding roughly, scattered sparks and flew apart. Han Yoohyun narrowed his brow slightly at the hair that shook with his movements and interfered with his vision. He still didn’t like long hair. It wasn’t enough to be a hindrance, but it was annoying.

Amidst the rising flames and smoke, the two swords clashed again. The black-bladed sword seemed to be pushed back slightly before slipping out. After several intense collisions, the two men retreated simultaneously. Cho Hwawoon bared his teeth fiercely and said.

“Not even with a support-type attached, you’re quite capable.”

Cho Hwawoon’s combat support skill, ‘The Autocrat Above the Tower,’ was a skill that greatly increased all stats when fighting opponents of the same or lower rank than himself. He himself was an S-Rank Hunter with high stats. When combined with ‘Autocrat,’ it was safe to say that there was no hunter with higher stats than Cho Hwawoon alone without a support-type.

Because it was a skill with clear limitations, only working against opponents of his rank or lower, the stat increase was considerable.

Instead of answering, Han Yoohyun adjusted his Lord’s Sword. He needed to deal with the man in front of him as quickly as possible to chase after his brother, but he was being held back longer than he had expected.

‘Should I use the Last Door?’

The melted Last Door had a defined area, and like most special support-type skills, it had a cooldown after use. Han Yoojin had warned that the Chinese military had something they believed in. That’s why he hadn’t used the Last Door yet, but the opponent’s stats were higher than expected.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t catch him if he took his time. But he didn’t want to waste that time.

“I’ve heard you have a good brotherly bond.”

Cho Hwawoon narrowed his eyes as he spoke to Han Yoohyun, who seemed to be hesitating. Han Yoohyun’s gaze, which had seemed to be thinking about something else the whole time, looked straight at him. There was definitely a reaction. Cho Hwawoon, who didn’t like Han Yoohyun’s perfunctory attitude, spat out even more provocative words.

“Your brother is quite stubborn.”

Han Yoohyun frowned slightly.

“Even with his legs crushed─”

Thump! With a heavy stomp, Han Yoohyun’s body instantly shot forward in front of Cho Hwawoon. Their weapons collided again, and Han Yoohyun gritted his teeth tightly before speaking in a low voice.

“You were worth taking the time for.”