The difference between Yuhyun and me was obvious. Even if he wrapped himself head to toe in SS-rank items, there was no way I—let alone an S-rank, even an A-rank—could keep up. Charging him head-on, my chances of winning were virtually nil. What’s more, Yuhyun knew me well. An S-rank with limited intel might look for an opening, but that wasn’t possible either.

I drew a sharp breath. At the same time I activated Teacher Skill toward Yuhyun and leapt backward.

Crack!

A blade whisked past me and pierced the asphalt beneath. Grabbing the tip of the upright sword, Yuhyun’s body spun and his foot came flying straight at me. Even knowing his next move from Teacher Skill, there was no way to dodge such speed.

“Ugh!”

He kicked me squarely under the jaw, sending me airborne. Thanks to Eun-hae’s protection, I only tumbled backward, but before I could pull myself upright there was another crack. Like a horseshoe, a bent rebar snatched my wrist and drove deep into the road. Then my other hand and both feet were fixed as if tied.

Before I could even twitch, Yuhyun’s foot pressed lightly on my chest. Suddenly I felt how weak I really was alone. But, well, having people ready to lend a hand is a skill in itself.

“Yuhyun-ahnae-mal-euep—”

I tried to speak, but Yuhyun knelt, pressing on my chest instead of his foot, muffling my mouth. Maybe he feared I’d waver if I heard my own voice. ...Still, I wish I were a bit stronger. At least I should be able to speak.

[Hang... Hyul-ah!]

I sent a message to Park Hayul. Although clumsy compared to speaking aloud, thanks to the Puppeteer who had trained me it wasn’t difficult.

[Bomb! Send the bombs over!]

[Hyung, those items can’t be moved! Mana- or magic-imbued objects beyond a certain threshold are impossible to touch. Otherwise we’d have stopped both you and your brother. Even setting off a bomb earlier was tough.]

If I could move anything at will, it would be an overpowered skill. It’s still extremely useful, though.

[Not items—]

“Hyung.”

Yuhyun spoke, his voice dark as if cloaked in shadow.

“I don’t think you’re weak. You’re stronger than anyone.”

I wanted to answer and thank him, but my mouth was still tightly sealed. And my messages were blocked.

“But look at this.”

Yuhyun’s gaze fell on my arm stuck in the steel rebar. No matter how much force I applied, it only creaked slightly.

“Pure physical strength, there’s nothing you can do. No matter what I do right now, you can’t dodge. Nor could any other S-rank.”

Even a hunter weaker than S-rank. I know well myself—I’ve been on the receiving end often. Yuhyun’s eyes twitched. A short breath scattered over my hand.

“Still, it was okay. Because you allowed it.”

Permission, that is.

“I would’ve preferred you alive, but even if things went wrong... you told me it was okay to stay by your side.”

You said I could follow you. You accepted that I was different from you. Instead of saying “live on,” you said “stay with me.” Though it made me uneasy, for Yuhyun that was how to keep living.

“So even in danger, I followed you and protected you.”

Indeed, since then Yuhyun tried less to hold me back. Between Chatterbox’s party and the Transcendents’ wagers, everything was fraught with peril, but he didn’t overdo it and just followed me.

“But now it’s different.”

Yuhyun’s jaw tensed as if biting down hard.

“At this rate, only your shell will remain.”

‘Shell?’

I wanted to ask, but I couldn’t speak. Fortunately Yuhyun continued.

“Seeing the me before regression made it clear. At first I didn’t realize, but what faded away close up—aside from my memories—wasn’t me.”

Even if I said it wasn’t, still.

“If your core shatters, you’ll become like that too. Leaving nothing but a trace I can’t even devour.”

I could clearly see his pupils tremble. Irin, who had climbed onto my shoulder without me noticing, spoke in a mournful tone.

“Hyung, we could intermingle and blaze together forever. I didn’t know the exact meaning, but I think it meant merging our cores. Both Irin and Yuhyun instinctively understood. So the one we truly love and want to stay with forever is what we must perfectly consume! It can’t be many—only one.”

Not an end in death, but something more fundamental—our world’s term would be that souls unite.

“But if you yourself vanish... then Yuhyun truly, can do nothing!”

Irin spun anxiously. If my core shattered and my existence erased, Yuhyun would be left utterly alone. My permission would mean nothing. The flame that lost its world would sputter out by itself.

I wanted to reach out, embrace my brother, tell him that would never happen. I wanted to calmly share words to ease his fears.

[...A mundane bomb.]

[Yes?]

[It doesn’t need to be an item. Ordinary bombs are everywhere. I’ll tell you the location.]

Then, first, I needed to set us apart.

[Found them! Where should I move them?]

“Even now, Hyung.”

[To my body. Hand me the trigger device.]

Park Hayul moved. Bombs rolled down onto and around me. Yuhyun reacted, but my fingers moved faster. One detonator I triggered. The blast set off the others in noisy succession.

Kraaaang!

My breath hitched. The air vaporized as immense pressure surged. Ordinary bombs without mana couldn’t pierce an upper-rank hunter’s magic. But pressure was different. The force hurled Yuhyun from me in an instant. I was swept up too. The bars tying my limbs rattled until successive blasts finally tore them free. I whooshed through the air, the wall of a building looming before me. Borrowing the power of the Wildcat Template, I barely twisted my body.

Thunk.

My toes slammed into the wall. Smoke and flames thickly blanketed the road. I immediately used Stealth Skill. Even Yuhyun would struggle to spot me in this chaos. As expected, he hesitated. Between the smoke, green willow-leaf sparks drifted. Cutting through the blast’s aftershock, Yuhyun leapt into the air.

[Hayul-ah!]

Holding my breath, I ran along the wall. His red-tinged black eyes calmly scanned everywhere. The flames of the explosion bent to his control, the willow sparks spreading more densely. Like a spider’s web—but even more so—they danced continuously. In human form it was hard to evade. I landed on the next building, transformed my body into Deleuze Fluid. The flames barely brushed my fur. Exiting the bombed area, I reverted to human form. At that moment the fire touched me.

Thud!

Yuhyun shot forward like an arrow. He landed on the wall just behind me. Without a wall-run skill, his foot dug into the concrete. Just before he seized me, I fired the Wildcat Gun preloaded and aimed at the wall.

Twang!

The recoil blasted me backward. Yuhyun’s fingertips gripped the spot where I’d been. He reached the opposite building in an instant and leapt down. Park Hayul had positioned a bike there. Without a moment’s hesitation I sped off along the road.

[This bike really is a great deal!]

Yeah, the acceleration is insane. In no time I hit a hundred KPH and kept climbing. Even an S-rank would struggle to match a machine’s speed. For now, Yuhyun has no Peace. Just as I felt safe—

[Hyung, follow me!]

The roar of a bike came from behind. Sure, it must be Yuhyun. No reason he couldn’t ride too. Maybe he’d always kept one stashed away. I quickly checked my surroundings. Map, map.

[Newbie, can you turn on the map here?]

[Yes, one moment!]

Good, I turned direction into a narrower street.

[Hayul-ah, place bombs on that building ledge over there.]

Down below, a heap. I drew my gun. I fired at the bombs stacked on the adjacent buildings.

Bang, Kraang!

The explosions roared, followed by—

Rumble—

The building began to collapse. Blowing out the facade alone wouldn’t bring down a structure so easily. But this building had been pre-seeded with bombs and items. When the lower section and the interior detonated together, it couldn’t hold and tumbled toward the road. Kra-rung, bang! The crashing echoes rang out. Because of the late start, Yuhyun, who trailed slightly behind, was buried under the rubble. Without slowing, I glanced back.

......

Through the dust cloud rising from the debris, Yuhyun stood watching my fading form. The black butterfly circling him felt both creepy and ominous.

‘By now even Yuhyun must be in that Gardener’s grasp.’

He receded into the expanding dust, then vanished completely.

“...I wanted to talk, to talk!”

He’s not letting me speak. I sighed heavily.

‘I understand his turmoil.’

It’s not simply death, but the possibility of complete erasure—anyone would lose their mind. Still, can’t we at least talk? I’m talking alone here.

“This Hyung never raised you like that.”

When we were young he barely spoke, so I used to talk to myself. Anyway, it seems talking won’t work. He won’t even hear me; he’s sealed my mouth. I’ll need Yerim’s help to somehow pin Yuhyun down so we can talk.

[Yujin-i hyung, is it really okay to go on like this? It seems dangerous, just like what Willows said.]

“Yes. The one in most danger is my brother.”

As for the others... the Han River caught my eye. Because Yerim’s water had spouted along the river, most subordinates had fled across it. They were still gathering beyond the river—so we were near Seoul Station.

‘Not far from Sesung Guild. They wouldn’t come this side of the river because of Yerim.’

Twenty-one-year-old Yuhyun came on reconnaissance, perhaps. Unlike the other subordinates, he knew this area well and Yerim wouldn’t truly attack him. The other subordinate was probably still with the rest.

“Director Song, how are things on your side?”

[We just captured one subordinate. We heard several explosions—are you all right?]

“Yes. We got out safely.”

We crossed the Han River and kept riding. With the roads clear, we soon neared Seoul Station.

[Newbie!]

Suddenly the rookie messaged in a panic.

[I think I have to check something. There’s a problem!]

“Problem?”

[Yes. It seems related to the subordinates. I’ll confirm and tell you!]

What is it? If it’s good news... thinking we’d grow closer again before regression made my mouth go dry. That Yuhyun, too, didn’t seem in a state to communicate.

‘Besides protecting me, he really doesn’t care about anything else.’

At least the current Yuhyun voiced his own desire. He said he wanted to stay with me. But he wasn’t the pre-regression brother. I had no plan how to persuade him, but I’d have to try.

[Subordinate!]

Park Hayul’s message flashed urgently. Right on cue.

Rumble!

The ground upheaved. Asphalt cracked and flew like a turtle’s shell, and I was thrown off the bike. Landing with a heavy thud, I saw a flat cobra-like head emerge from the earth. Somehow a Snake Transcendent had become like my family’s pet—were we acquainted? If I were his parent, I’d be something like his ancestor.

—I am.

“Hey! What are you doing to a fragile F-rank? Are your superiors making you do this? Capture that odd F-rank and bring him in as a mangled corpse?”

The cobra hesitated. Waving the scraped palm from his failed escape, he croaked as if near death.

“If you’re unlucky, one misstep and F-ranks are hellbound! Touch me and I’ll shatter like a glass bead!”

I’m going to die! The snake threatened, “If you touch me I die!”

—...Calm down.

“Ouch, my back, my leg, my arm, my whole body aches—I’ve lost ten years off my life, ouch ouch.”

Hayul mounted the bicycle she’d just brought. She rang the bell crisply toward the cobra.

“Move on, please. Why hassle someone already rolling in on their own?”

Pedaling leisurely, she made the snake shudder. At the same moment the ground trembled, and I went flying sideways.

“Argh!”

The cobra froze. Hey! If you touch me I die! I die!

“Anyway, this is why strong ones... don’t gauge the durability of fragile F-ranks.”

Grumbling, Hayul set the bike upright again. The snake hissed softly behind. Hmm, maybe I teased it too much. It looks like it’ll use poison—that’s no problem, but constricting me with its body is risky. The ground heaved again. Click—fangs met behind me. Still, it wouldn’t aim ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) to kill outright. It knows I’m weak, so it’d underestimate me and take a light first strike—

Thunk.

Something heavy fell. I turned my head. It was the snake’s head. No slicing sound, the body detached and lay there. The black scorched cross-section revealed no blood. The half-buried body soon thudded over.

“You’ve become even more reckless, Hyung.”

With the flutter of butterfly wings, I heard Yuhyun’s voice.