The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 277

275. Even If I Replay It (3)

“…Now you’re even making up fake memories? If it’s not real, nothing you say can affect me.”

[Is that really so?]

The jellyfish bastard’s voice echoed.

[What appears before you is ultimately something you create. Your brother’s memory information is mixed in, but it’s based on you. Doubt, worry, anxiety, concerns, and so on~ My skill only guides the direction!]

No need to deeply engrave such nonsense. Let’s retrieve Yoohyun’s memories, crush that jellyfish bastard, and go back. Let’s just focus on that.

“I made things harder for hyung because of me.”

“…That’s utter bullshit.”

Unconsciously, my teeth clenched. Yoohyun’s face, when he said he seemed to only cause me harm, flashed in my mind. Did that memory cause this illusion to appear?

“If I hadn’t been there, hyung could have had a normal, happy family. If it weren’t for me, our parents were good people.”

“I chose you. I could have gone to our parents anytime. What the hell, what’s based on me?”

“There wouldn’t have been any hardships. You wouldn’t have dropped out of school, graduated, or gone to university. If you hadn’t traveled to avoid me, our parents wouldn’t have died.”

I wanted to slap the face of this fake younger brother who spoke so calmly. The fact that he might have actually thought such things made me even angrier.

“You could have avoided all those things. Everything hyung has seen. You wouldn’t have suffered because of me, and you wouldn’t have been subjected to violence and abuse. You wouldn’t have had to lose the people around you so painfully.”

Yoohyun smiled silently, saying I would have only experienced the normal difficulties that ordinary people face. Of course, I wouldn’t have entered dungeons, risked my life fighting monsters, or committed murder. Even if I had awakened, I would have been an F-rank, so I wouldn’t have become a hunter. There would have been no reason to jump into danger with low stats.

I would have only seen S-rank hunters on TV screens and simply admired them. Completely unaware of how the world was changing, thinking that dungeons, monsters, and hunters were distant stories, and saying it’s safe these days.

“Hyung could only be happy if I wasn’t there.”

“Hey! Han Yoohyun! No, you fake bastard!”

Unable to bear it any longer, I strode towards Yoohyun. I grabbed his collar and looked up into his dark eyes.

“I’m doing well! I’m okay now, because I know my brother’s true feelings. So, shut up if you don’t know!”

“Don’t lie. If you were really okay, hyung, you wouldn’t have regressed.”

Yoohyun’s hand covered mine, which was grabbing his collar. It was the same hand and the same body temperature, so my heart sank for a moment. Even though he’s not real.

“It was the Philosopher’s Stone.”

“……”

“I regressed because I wanted to erase everything and make it as if it never happened. Because it was so hard that I wanted to.”

“No, I. To save you. But impossible, deceived.”

“If you could have saved me and regressed, if you thought I would be perfectly revived even after regressing, what choice would you have made, hyung?”

…Even if I had saved Yoohyun back then, the world would have remained the same. Still, I couldn’t easily say, ‘I only need you.’ If I were told to give up everything I have now and go back, I would…

“For me, Yoohyun, you’re the most.”

“‘I’ am here too, hyung. If you have both of me, you don’t even need to hesitate, right?”

“Yoohyun.”

“That leg too.”

My spine chilled at the suddenly lowered voice. Yoohyun let go of my hand and gently pushed me. Thud, I fell and sat down, and Yoohyun leaned down in front of me.

“You wanted to get it treated, didn’t you?”

My younger brother grabbed my trembling leg. His fingers pressed near the scar, and a tingling pain shot up to the top of my head. It was a sensation I had forgotten, wanted to forget.

“You hesitated and hesitated, and eventually came to me, begging.”

“Let go of this!”

“And me too, hyung.”

Yoohyun said, clutching my injured leg.

“I had a hard time because of hyung.”

Still with a gentle and sorrowful voice. He brought up what I was most worried about – thoughts that I had hidden deep inside, but that pricked me like thorns from all directions.

“If hyung had given up on me.”

“Shut up.”

“I wouldn’t have become like this either. I wouldn’t have liked hyung from the start, and I wouldn’t have bothered caring about other people. I would have remained my original self.”

My throat tightened. Honestly, I couldn’t help but think that way. Which would have been better for Yoohyun? Which would have been better? Wouldn’t Yoohyun without me have been happier?

“I became who I am because hyung loved me. Hyung made me this way. The current me is all created by hyung. Yeah, hyung.”

“…Han Yoohyun.”

“Hyung killed me.”

The fake narrowed his eyes. Yoohyun would never, ever say such things to me. Even if I strangled him myself, he wouldn’t blame me. He would have worriedly asked if I was angry with him. He has Yoohyun’s appearance, but what it spits out is not Yoohyun’s innermost thoughts.

It’s mine.

“You slowly strangled me and eventually murdered me. If it weren’t for hyung, I wouldn’t have died.”

“…Alone, alone, I wouldn’t have lasted long in the end. I wouldn’t have, so.”

“You never know, hyung. And at least I wouldn’t have suffered. I would have lived as my heart desired, without suppressing myself. There wouldn’t have been an F-rank hyung digging into my heart.”

I swallowed a wet breath, several times. The inside of my throat felt like it was about to tear apart. I scratched the floor with my fingertips.

“Admit it, hyung.”

“……”

“We were poison to each other.”

Isn’t that right? We were slowly killing each other. Look at the end. What remains.

Yoohyun came even closer to me. He smiles so beautifully.

“We shouldn’t have met from the beginning.”

“Yoohyun.”

“You’re still thinking that I’m still suppressing myself and tied to hyung, aren’t you?”

“Han Yoohyun.”

“Let’s end it here. I’ll be okay. If I just cleanly erase the memories of hyung, I’ll live freely. It’s the same for hyung. You’ll be comfortable.”

“You’re waiting for me.”

No matter what you say, I will return. With Yoohyun’s memories. I wonder if everyone is worried that only I haven’t come out yet. When I go out, they will surely greet me with bright faces.

“And I will receive a watch as a gift. You will definitely say that you made me wait too long and apologize. I’ll say it’s okay and curse at the jellyfish bastard. It’s not Yoohyun’s fault. Don’t apologize.”

Yerim will scold me, saying, ‘But being late is being late!’ She might ask if there’s anything I want as a gift too. Peace will whine and rub his body between my legs, and Noah will cautiously chime in, ‘Then me too,’ looking around. Sung Hyunjae will try not to be left out, saying, ‘If it’s a gift from my partner…’ Hyunah will egg him on, finding it amusing, and, ah, I have to convey Sigma’s words too.

“We will go home together. Home.”

“Hyung.”

A familiar hand grabbed my neck and pressed down. The back of my head hit the living room floor.

“You never did this to me. It’s cheating to inflict violence that’s not in my memories.”

“I can’t go back.”

Before the following words could come out of my mouth or reach my ears, they tore through my heart first.

“Hyung gave up.”

“…No.”

“You abandoned me and chose other people.”

“I didn’t give up or abandon you.”

“You could have retrieved me, but you left me. If this was going to happen in the end, hyung.”

“That’s not true.”

“Why did you love me?”

If you were going to give up like this anyway, you should have let go sooner. Yoohyun’s voice blamed me for why he held me in his arms. No, it’s my voice.

You should have just let go sooner. Then I wouldn’t have died. I wouldn’t have suffered. I wouldn’t have been left alone in that distant place again. If I had known it would end like this, why did I grit my teeth and stubbornly endure it?

Everything felt like my greed and my fault.

But, still, Yoohyun.

“How could I do that?”

I pushed away the hand that was grabbing my neck. I stood up.

“It hurt. It still hurts. But even if you bring all of that before my eyes, I can’t bring myself to not love you when you were young.”

“Why, though?”

“I wonder why.”

I saw the fog spread at my feet. I felt that the skill of the King of No Harm would soon disappear. I roughly grasped what kind of terrible skill it was. It must be an ability that unfolds painful pasts in order, making you give up on these difficult memories. If you give in and want to erase the past, the King of No Harm will steal your memories.

Choi Seokwon grew stronger by swallowing memories, so the King of No Harm must be similar. Moreover, if a large amount of memory disappears, you may even forget combat experience or how to use skills. I thought it was a mental attack, but it was a more dangerous skill than I thought.

It would also be easier to take me away if my memories were completely gone.

Whoosh, flames rose and devoured the fog. Han Yoohyun stepped back. His figure became blurred.

“Why don’t you just give up now.”

I felt the weight on my shoulder again. Changeling wagged its tail greatly.

[I can’t understand.]

The jellyfish bastard’s hollow voice echoed.

[How can you carry such a past as it is? You’re even a regressor! Those who have turned back their lives once are much more vulnerable to temptation. They have no choice but to be weak. They easily give up because they have experienced that opportunities can be given again.]

“You’re mistaken.”

The old house disappeared, and fog filled its place instead. I turned back my life once, and an opportunity was given again.

“It’s not turned back. It’s continuing. If I hadn’t had that maddening time, I wouldn’t be who I am now.”

If I had cleanly erased the five years and regressed as if they never happened, then the same thing would have just been repeated in the end.

It’s not that an opportunity was given by regressing. It’s that an opportunity was given—no, created—because of all those things.

My brother created it for me.

It must have been painful, it must have been hard. But Yoohyun smiled. To throw that away? Are you crazy?

“If you don’t have the talent to hold me back any longer, keep the contract, King of No Harm.”

There was no answer. Instead, a small bead appeared in front of me. I gritted my teeth and clenched the bead in my hand. At the same time, the fog thickened even more.

Shhh! Shhh!

I heard a sound like a snake crawling. It seems he has no intention of giving up even though he lost the bet. That’s how it should be. I scattered blue willow leaves along with the electric current. At the same time, I used the teleportation skill. It’s still clumsy, but it was enough to avoid the incoming attacks.

“It seems you’re trying to block my vision with fog, but…”

Immediately after moving into the air, I stepped on the willow leaves and changed direction. A tentacle that popped out from the fog savagely tore through the spot where I had been. The air vibrated strongly.

“It’s no use!”

The subtly extended electric current digs into every corner that my eyes can’t reach. It was similar to a kind of radar. Thanks to the increased magic detection ability, this became possible. I detected tentacles swarming through the fog. It’s a bit disgusting.

I could also easily find the main body of the King of No Harm. I tried to use spatial movement, but it was still difficult. Is it impossible to use without the characteristics of the race itself being the basis? Instead, I made a long cut on my forearm.

The overflowing blood bloomed into black flames. Suddenly, the dark blue flames that had spread out came to mind.

“…Now it’s only left to me.”

The black blood flames raged fiercely. The extending tentacles melted away without even properly touching them. I threw the blood flame, which had turned into a long spear, with all my might, pulling my arm back.

Kwaaa─ The spear of fire cut through the fog, creating a large hole. Beyond the fog that scattered like sheep fleeing from a wolf, I saw the King of No Harm. A reddish barrier spread out in front of the jellyfish bastard.

Kuaang!

A loud explosion occurred. Black flames containing poison and heat scattered in all directions. Without hesitation, I jumped into the storm of flames that even a decent S-rank hunter would not dare to approach. Even if it wasn’t because of Grace, I trusted my brother’s high fire resistance.

Kwarurung, I dropped lightning onto the weakened jellyfish’s barrier and immediately stabbed deeply with a sword made of blood flames. The barrier couldn’t withstand it and shattered. The jellyfish screamed sharply and swung a huge greatsword with golden patterns to block my attack.

“Look at your state! How long do you think you can last?”

“Longer than you.”

About a hundred years more. Kagagak, the greatsword and sword clashed violently.