Chapter 813 |
I stared blankly at the open window.
I did not know Seong Hyunjae very well. Apparently, we had once been close, but my memories had been stolen. Still, I was pretty sure he had never been the kind of person who would casually slip away like this. He had run off so naturally, like he was just stepping out for a walk!
“Seong Hyunjae!”
I started to chase after him, then stopped.
Because Chief Song was still on my mind.
When I turned my head, I saw the smiling sheep, and above it, a weary face.
“Go after him.”
“Uh, no. It’s fine. He won’t be able to get far anyway.”
Honestly, if I did not follow him, wouldn’t he come wandering back on his own, wondering what I was doing? For some reason, I had a feeling he would.
“Um, I was kind of rambling earlier, wasn’t I? But to me, Chief Song, you’ve been a person from the very beginning, and you still are. It doesn’t matter what kind of essence you were born with. I’m sure of that much.”
“It’s all right.”
“There you go saying it’s all right again.”
“This time, I mean it. In the end, I was not human. Even so.”
The fingertips resting on the sheep’s wool lightly curled into the black fleece, then released it.
“As you and Hunter Seong Hyunjae said, I was being protected.”
“…Yes. You definitely were.”
“My younger brother held me in place so that I could live as a person. From that day, from that moment on, my origin must have been my brother.”
As if he were sorting through his own heart, his own thoughts, Chief Song continued speaking slowly.
“Even though I could not endure it, even though I forgot and buried it, it was unquestionably there inside me—and because of it, I was able to remain Song Taewon.”
The young boy who had tried so desperately to protect his older brother, wrapping himself around him, appeared vividly before my eyes. A bitter taste spread through my mouth.
“After I Awakened, I could not help but waver. The power of the Eclipse had fully awakened, and I became an S-rank, a being no different from something entirely unlike an ordinary human.”
“…Of course you would have felt rejection. Even without the memory, your instincts would have known.”
“To be honest with you.”
Chief Song let out a short sigh. A shadow of an emotion different from the anguish he had shown until now gathered around his eyes.
“I leaned on Hunter Seong Hyunjae.”
“Uh, well. That can happen.”
My memories. I needed my memories. Seong Hyunjae had definitely… done something to torment Chief Song, hadn’t he? When I clutched my head, a faint emotion did float up. Our poor Chief Song. I had no idea what had happened over all that time, but it was unbearably pitiful.
“Given Hunter Seong Hyunjae’s nature, his own interest and amusement would have come first. At the same time, however, he must have known very well that he was supporting me. He stood in front of me and gave me a target, so I would not be crushed by my own weight and suffocate beneath it.”
…
I had no memories of Seong Hyunjae, but it was not hard to imagine.
A monster among monsters. Someone Song Taewon had to stop, someone who stood one step above him and wielded power from that height. On top of that, Seong Hyunjae was a pseudo-origin that the Eclipse had to devour. By facing Seong Hyunjae, maybe Chief Song had gained something like stability.
An opponent who satisfied the instinct to tear into something, while also giving him the satisfaction of protecting people.
“There were many difficult things because of Hunter Seong Hyunjae…”
Chief Song fell silent for a moment. Mm. It seemed there really had been quite a lot. His expression said that if he started listing them, there would be no end.
“My younger brother was the one who gave me the foundation that allowed me to remain a person. Hunter Seong Hyunjae was the one who supported me so that I could stand on that foundation and endure. And you, Han Yujin.”
His complicated gaze turned toward me, too.
I did cause my fair share of trouble… yes.
“You are the road laid before me where I had stopped.”
…
The back of my neck grew a little hot.
That, uh, how should I put it? I probably had not been an easy road. I had probably shoved it at him by force, too. Still, hearing him say that made me happy.
“Though rather than simply lying there, you seized my ankle and dragged me along.”
“No, that, uh… I’m sorry.”
“Hunter Seong Hyunjae was the same. Rather than catching me when I fell, he was closer to kicking me back onto my feet.”
The fact that he said it so calmly, as if he had no resentment at all, made my conscience hurt even more.
“For someone like me, anything less would likely have been useless.”
“No! You and I—no, Seong Hyunjae and I—were just unconditionally in the wrong! Especially Seong Hyunjae!”
“I will likely continue to be frustrating.”
A very faint smile drew itself over his stiff mouth.
I stared at it as if spellbound.
It looked like a small, red fruit appearing in dots over a deep stroke of ink. But before long, it was covered in black again.
“I am still confused, and everything still feels difficult. For now, I do not think I can offer any answer except that I do not know.”
Chief Song’s eyes closed quietly, then opened again.
For now, maybe this was enough.
That thought came to me.
“It seems you have clearly recognized the fact that Hunter Seong Hyunjae took your memories.”
“Ah, yes. Since this place is also inside Seong Hyunjae’s consciousness, I think it connected to my memories a little. I can feel the emotions tied to the memories I forgot, too.”
“That is a relief. I was worried, because until now you could not hear anything about Hunter Seong Hyunjae at all.”
If I had not been able to hear anything at all, then the silence back inside the drawer really had not been actual silence. In that case, this was basically my only chance to get my memories back. Once we got out of here, I probably would not even be able to properly feel that my memories had been stolen again.
“Why the hell did Seong Hyunjae steal someone else’s memories in the first place?”
“Originally, Hunter Seong Hyunjae could not use any skills other than electricity.”
“What? Seriously?”
He used all kinds of things, though.
Chief Song explained that Seong Hyunjae had passed through many worlds, and the skills he had gained and lost in those worlds had, in truth, accumulated within him. Because of that, he could not acquire duplicate skills. He possessed all kinds of skills, but he simply could not use them.
“And my memories…”
The moment I wondered, How, exactly? the title of Nurturer came to mind.
The power of Perfect Nurturer.
I felt as if that had been it.
“Hunter Seong Hyunjae is trying to draw out the power accumulated within him, make it his own, and escape the Crescent Moon. But it is not an easy task, which is why I am preparing for it. If he fails, I intend to help him meet his end as himself.”
“Then you, Chief Song… you won’t get out of it unharmed either.”
“I was born for that purpose. Even if that were not the reason, I would still want to help him. I do not want Hunter Seong Hyunjae to lose himself.”
I wanted to say no, but I swallowed it down.
This was not something Chief Song wanted as the Eclipse. It was something Song Taewon wanted. From my position, I had no right to interfere beyond hoping Seong Hyunjae succeeded or finding some other way.
“…Then shouldn’t Seong Hyunjae keep holding on to my memories?”
“Hunter Seong Hyunjae should have explained and asked for your consent. So go. Speak with him, and decide for yourself, Han Yujin.”
Chief Song spoke firmly.
Right. They were my memories, and it was my decision.
“Okay. Chief Song, you rest properly.”
I turned around.
Beyond the wide-open window, I soared into the sky.
Song Taewon watched Han Yujin’s back.
Golden wings spread wide, covering the brilliant blue sky. A piece of sunlight soon grew distant.
He quietly fixed his gaze on the sky and clouds, framed as if inside a picture.
He had not said this to Han Yujin, but there were others who had surrounded him besides Song Taeil, Seong Hyunjae, and Han Yujin.
The people who had believed in Song Taewon and followed him.
Song Taewon had kept a wall between himself and them. Even so, they had liked him. Perhaps it was because they did not know the innate essence of the Eclipse, but even so.
Song Taewon thought of the people who had tried to protect him in the dream world. Their superior was an extraordinarily powerful S-rank Hunter, and yet they were probably still worrying even now.
‘I… should go back.’
The desire to return lifted its head inside him, small and quiet.
If he returned safely, perhaps things could become a little different then.
But he still had something left to do.
“Seong Hyunjae!”
I shouted loudly.
A peaceful country village spread out beneath my feet. There was no sign of people, only a stream babbling softly as it flowed. The school where Chief Song was staying stood far in the distance, left all alone.
“I’ll talk it out, so why don’t you come out!”
Let’s settle this through conversation. You are not exactly weak yourself, so why are you hiding? But Seong Hyunjae was nowhere to be seen.
Hmmm.
“After you left, Chief Song confessed!”
It was not a lie. He had opened up about his true feelings.
“Aren’t you curious? Come out in the next five seconds and I’ll tell—”
“I am out.”
“Uaagh!”
I shrieked and flailed near my right ear. What, what! I hurriedly flapped my wings and backed away, looking around. That had sounded like Seong Hyunjae’s voice. Was it a stealth skill? Just how high was the skill’s rank that I could not sense…
Uh.
A tiny pink something fluttered.
I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand.
“…What the fuck.”
It was a miniature Seong Hyunjae with fairy wings.
It was a sight I truly could not understand, and did not want to understand. What the hell was this man? Why had he shown up looking like that? Why had he even gotten a skill like that? I had Mini-Mini Cookies too, and I used them in plenty of useful ways, but I did not attach pink fairy wings to myself.
It seemed I had not noticed him because he had shrunk, and because his presence had become strangely faint.
Still, seriously, what the hell.
“You used to call me cute. Your feelings cooled quickly.”
“I don’t even have those memories in the first place. You’re the one who took them! And cute, my ass…”
Did he think everything small was cute? Well, his face was his face, so it was not as if he was not cute, but our kids were way cuter.
Seong Hyunjae spun in a circle and flew up.
Where was he trying to go now?
A butterfly net for retrieving Chirp appeared in my hand.
“Come here for a second.”
“I would prefer not to be mounted.”
“I don’t need you mounted either, okay?”
Whoosh! I swung the butterfly net swiftly, but Seong Hyunjae teleported away.
Give me back my memories!
His fairy wings expanded in an instant and turned black. I chased hard after the faded back of his head as it rapidly pulled away.
“If you need them, explain it properly and ask, and I can lend them to you!”
I could not give them to him completely, but if it was to get away from the Crescent Moon safely, fine. Chief Song’s life was on the line, too.
“So hand them over first, and then write me an IOU!”
“Is there a reason I should?”
“What?”
Seong Hyunjae’s figure abruptly vanished downward. I folded my wings as well and plunged after the black wings in a sharp dive.
Splash! The water surged high, swept up by the wind shoved aside by our wings.
At that moment, Seong Hyunjae spun around.
Bang—
– The black wings beat the air violently.
Boom!
The water that had leapt up around me exploded.
Ugh!
“You want to do this, is that it!”
Using a healing skill on the fine wounds scattered across my wings, I reached out. At the gesture of my hand, the water froze all at once and shot up toward Seong Hyunjae in sharp spikes. At the same time, I kicked hard off an ice platform and lunged at him.
Kagagak!
The transformed black claws clashed against the golden chain. I pulled on the chain and swung my body around in a wide arc. The thick tail jutting out from me drove into Seong Hyunjae’s torso.
Thud!
My tail slammed into the defensive barrier that had been thrown up in an instant. Immediately afterward, the chain in my hand shattered into pieces and scattered. Electricity sparked. I charged straight into the flashing light and transformed into an electric dragon.
– Grrrrrr!
Lightning struck between the dragon’s roar.
Golden light flowed over black scales four times tougher than Liette’s, so hard they seemed almost impossible to break. I opened my jaws just like that. My fangs came down on Seong Hyunjae, who was wrapped in a defensive barrier.
Crunch!
The barrier shattered, but my teeth bit through empty air.
The black dragon vanished, and a small golden dragon took its place.
Seong Hyunjae’s presence caught in the spreading poison. I teleported toward him.
Kang!
A chain caught on my teeth.
I gathered fire in my mouth.
A deep black flame.
The chain melted away, and I opened my mouth again.
Kkadeuk. My neck shot out long like a fired arrow, and my fangs caught Seong Hyunjae’s shoulder. The taste of blood touched me faintly.
‘Ah, yes. I love you, Seong Hyunjae.’
‘What are you trying to dodge for? It’s not like you’re an adult going to the dentist for the first time in ten years.’
‘Pardon the intrusion~ Next time, I’ll bring toilet paper.’
Memories rushed up in a flood.
They had not returned to me.
I had completely connected to the memories of mine that Seong Hyunjae possessed.
Wham!
“Ghk!”
Seong Hyunjae mercilessly kicked me while I staggered. I spun once, landed on the ground, and glared at that bastard.
“Hey! Seong Hyunjae!”
That damned man!
My head throbbed. Right. That was what had happened. I remembered the nonsense about burying his emotions or whatever, too. That had pissed me off enough already, and now he had erased my memories on top of it?
Shaak. Glossy claws rose at the tips of all ten of my fingers.
“They say a handsome guy still looks decent even if you shave his head. Let’s test that.”
“I hardly think this is the kind of face that needs testing.”
“Shut up and hand over your hair, you son of a bitch!”
Boom!
My hand grazed past Seong Hyunjae and slammed into the ground. With my other hand, I drew a sword.
Chareureureu—
– The golden chain swayed.
Beyond it, my eyes met golden ones.
Those emotions of his. Were they still gone?
I stabbed the sword into the earth and carved a broad line through it. Soil and stone surged up as if I had sliced through a soft cake and flipped it over.
Boom, boom!
The clods of dirt pouring toward Seong Hyunjae exploded, and the sky began to darken.
“You have a weather-control skill too?”
“This is also inside my consciousness.”
Tap. Tap, tap.
Rain began to fall.
Rumble—
– Between layered clouds, the pulse of electricity could be heard as well.
Apparently, he had no intention of going easy on me.
Not that I did either.
“It looks like you got back the memories from before the regression, too.”
“Strictly speaking, they are Han Yujin’s memories. But what happened between me and the version of myself before the regression was also treated as part of my memories and passed along.”
“Bet that was fun.”
Instead of answering, Seong Hyunjae smiled.
If he had even those memories, then it made sense that he would not easily trust me. Back then, I had been much weaker than I was now, and I had been shaken badly.
I drew in a deep breath. The wet air struck against my airways.
“Since things have come to this, I’ll be honest. I disliked you, Seong Hyunjae.”
“Did you?”
“You saw the memories and you’re still asking?”
“The emotions did not come through completely.”
“I envied you. It was ridiculous coming from an F-rank, but I was jealous. I wanted to become like you.”
Because at the time, he had been the strongest S-rank Hunter.
Because he had seemed capable of doing anything.
“From head to toe, you were my ideal type.”
Overwhelming strength, an easygoing attitude, an adult who had successfully established himself in society. His appearance was, well, something to envy too. Not so much his face as his height and build. The face was nice to look at, but having it myself would have been too much pressure.
“What an honor.”
“It might have been worse because there weren’t any proper adults around me.”
My parents had died early, and they had not exactly been in a position to serve as examples either. It was not as if there had been no decent adults at all. There had been Kyunghoon hyung, for one. But for my younger brother’s sake, I had needed a strong adult.
Naturally, the Sesung Guild Leader had caught my eye.
“I cannot say I did not project my parents’ shadows onto you.”
“I see.”
Seong Hyunjae spoke with a magnanimous expression.
“Try calling me Dad.”
Instead of answering, I pulled in the rainwater and froze it.
Pababak—
– Sharp ice spikes shot toward Seong Hyunjae.
Golden electricity burst, and powdered ice scattered everywhere.
“Was it your mother, then? If that is what Han Yujin wants, I can make an effort.”
“I don’t need it! If I’d known you were this kind of person—”
“If you had known?”
Either way, Seong Hyunjae was Seong Hyunjae.
“I’m saying it feels fucking amazing that I got to know!”
Thud!
I kicked off the ground.
Blue Willow Leaves flowed naturally around me. Seong Hyunjae spread his wings as well.
Receiving the refreshingly heavy downpour with my whole body, I leapt upward.
–TL Notes–
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