The S-Classes That I Raised - Chapter 745: Sleeping Beauty (5)

“I’d naturally agree!”

“In return, you’ll send my companions back to reality safely, and grant me one thing I desire.”

If that were done, I’d have nothing more to ask. Now that Park Ha-yul’s power had grown, it was the perfect opportunity. Hyun-ah frowned but watched me closely, trusting I had a plan. Ye-rim looked helpless but didn’t dare act without Hyun-ah’s cue. Yuhyun remained calm, staring icily at Park Ha-yul.

‘Yuhyun saw it too.’

He must have guessed by now. All right, hold on a bit. Everyone, trust me.

“Um, no.”

“…What? Why?”

Park Ha-yul gave an unexpected answer. I’d thought she’d say, “Of course I will!”

“First of all, I don’t think I can let you send my people back.”

…Must be the crescent moon’s influence. Park Ha-yul raised an index finger and continued.

“And besides, what if what you want is to go home? I’m not an idiot, you know?”

Her head shone with cunning, but she’d done nothing so far—just decoration.

“Then at least you could promise not to harm them. That’s too much?”

“That I can do!”

“I’ll exclude “release me” from my demands. We can write prohibited actions in the contract.”

Her blue eyes sparkled as she smiled at me.

“You really underestimate me, oppa.”

Her tone was neither displeased nor angry, but relaxed—so my reaction was slow. Park Ha-yul twirled her fingertip, conjuring briars in midair. Dozens of sharp thorns shot toward a single point.

“Stop!”

A ping and crack echoed; I saw Ye-rim’s dodge in slow motion. Yuhyun and Hyun-ah turned to swat the thorns away, but it was too late. Then—

—KYA-ROK!

“…Peace!”

Ye-rim screamed. The red-furred Flame-Horned Lion planted itself before her, swaying mightily. Its mane sizzled. Yuhyun and Hyun-ah hurried to check Peace.

“He’s okay—thorns missed the vitals. Ye-rim, open a potion.”

“Yes, yes!”

“His hide and muscles are far thicker than a human’s. The wound isn’t deep. I’ll hold him steady.”

Yuhyun cradled Peace. Hyun-ah yanked the thorns from his pelt in one swift motion. Peace growled low, and Ye-rim poured the potion onto the wound. My chest tightened watching them.

I’d entrusted Ye-rim to Peace’s protection. He guarded her loyally. My throat burned. I looked back at Park Ha-yul.

“You….”

“But I spared Guildmaster Hae-yeon because I thought of you. Besides, Hunters die all the time, right? If they face a strong enemy like me, one or two might die.”

Park Ha-yul said casually. A contract appeared before her.

“I’ll only promise not to harm them. Asking you to grant a wish is too troublesome. I know how to draft contracts—I read them thoroughly when signing with my agency, and I’ve studied Hunter profiles.”

“……”

“Tell me exactly what you want, and I’ll grant it.”

“I want you to disappear from my sight forever.”

“Oppa, you’re something else. So you won’t do it?”

Moon Hyun-ah looked at me, then slowly backed away with Ye-rim and Peace. Yuhyun hesitated, then also put some distance between us. Yet Park Ha-yul could obliterate everyone here in an instant, without hesitation.

I inhaled deeply. I couldn’t voice my desire now. I nodded.

“Two contracts.”

“Not one?”

“Yours and mine—separate, for precision. ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) The more clauses, the more loopholes.”

“You really know your stuff, oppa! I’ll be careful.”

“I don’t know your full influence, so let’s include “no harming my favorites, including my companions” as protected. You can’t remember all my monsters, so once I say “I like them,” you can’t touch them.”

“Oh, so if you just insist you like someone, nobody can harm them?”

“If I falsely claim affection, there’ll be a mark—tiny red spots on my cheek.”

“And! If you attack me first, I should be allowed to strike back.”

“Mistakes happen—let’s allow you three strikes. Just dodge or block; you’re way stronger.”

“One.”

“Two.”

“Honestly, even one is generous.”

Her smugness made my stomach churn. The bastard knew exactly how advantageous he was.

“We should add “deliberate” strikes. I might accidentally send a paper plane at you—but it could hit.”

“…Fine. If you break the contract, I’m freed and gain your power.”

“Shouldn’t you just be freed? That’s harsh.”

“Then you could attack us again. That defeats the purpose of a contract. If you really mind, half-and-half: normally I’d become yours on breach, but I’m letting that slide.”

“Hmm, okay!”

“The contract activates on our handshake. If both documents share the same trigger, they form a linked pair.”

“Ah, you’re right!”

Park Ha-yul produced the second contract—about ownership of me.

“Han Yujin shall be forever the property of Park Ha-yul. Oppa, you haven’t made such a contract with another Transcendent, right?”

“…Huh?”

“If duplicates exist, they auto-nullify. So in item trades, you add penalties or check first.”

“You know your stuff.”

“You’re popular, oppa~ You never know.”

“I’ve never contracted with another Transcendent.”

I’d declined many offers.

“Also, if similar contracts exist with SSS-tier or higher, they take precedence—penalty applies if you have one.”

“With whom?”

“What.”

“Since you flatly denied it, you must have done it. Guildmaster Se-seong?”

“I did it with my brother—why?”

He’d be the prime candidate if any such contract existed. It was somewhat true, retrospectively.

“Then breach penalty: the death of the Guildmaster—my own brother.”

“You lunatic!”

“But it’s the surest.”

“You can’t stake your family as guarantor!”

“I don’t want you to die.”

“If you involve others, you need their permission!”

“They’re here. Let’s ask. Guildmaster Hae-yeon, can I stake your life for my brother’s?”

The inevitable answer made me sick. Yuhyun silently nodded. Damn, it was a useless penalty—yet my gut twisted.

“Judging by your reaction, this is better. Why do you like Guildmaster Hae-yeon so much? Because you’re too kind? Or is this… Stockholm syndrome?”

“Shut up and sign.”

I added handshake as the trigger on the second contract too. Both contracts were complete. Park Ha-yul grinned and extended his hand. I stared at it; he impatiently waved.

“Hurry up~.”

I took his hand. We shook. The contracts activated and Park Ha-yul beamed.

“Now, oppa is—”

[Mine.]

A screech cut through my ears as a rift tore open midair. A pale hand pried it wider, wavering like a fish. Park Ha-yul’s smile crumpled; the moonlight warped and twisted mana pulsed wildly.

Thud! He hammered at the rift to block the intruder. The white hand flipped, gently deflecting his blow.

“Han Yujin is—”

The breach yawned fully. From it, someone stepped out and onto the ground.

“…Oppa?”

Park Ha-yul’s eyes widened.

“For a very long time—perhaps six months ago.”

He smiled. The face was identical to mine but larger, with long black hair tied loosely below the waist. Once indistinguishable, now more mature and striking—like an older brother everyone would recognize.

“You were mine.”

The Puppeteer spoke. Park Ha-yul spun to me.

“Oppa! You said you never contracted with a Transcendent!”

He had. But the second contract remained valid. The Puppeteer waved his hand elegantly.

“More precisely, you were the property of my ward. The property of a Transcendent’s subordinate belongs to the Transcendent.”

“I contracted with an SS-tier hunter.”

Long ago, in a vanished world, with Sigma. Ye-rim gasped. Hyun-ah’s eyes widened.

“I thought the Puppeteer was Sigma. But it was a contract made at SS-tier—so not a lie.”

Yet this person before me shared my face. Though manifested from my dream, using it showed he was my doppelgänger puppet.

Other Transcendents couldn’t intervene here. But the Puppeteer, molded from me, could slip through my dream-puppet.

“So, Uncle, you’re a clone puppet? You were a puppet at first!”

“At first. But all objects gain power over time. Since I was modeled on a real human, I could become human more easily.”

“What about Sigma?”

Hyun-ah asked. The Puppeteer sighed softly—a gesture both like and unlike mine.

“I endured so much caring for our princess. I couldn’t let the crescent moon discover her, so our child couldn’t act. Thus I became a Transcendent myself. It’s a long story: we belonged nowhere, so we could enter any world—except this one.”

The Puppeteer looked at me, then at Seong Hyun-jae.

“We didn’t exist here before you entered Japan’s dungeon.”

In the original past, Sigma was taken by the crescent moon, and my doppelgänger puppet never existed.

“The moment you entered the dungeon and we began to exist, Sigma fell asleep.”

“Slept?”

“Unlike me, I remain linked to the puppet.”

It was Seong Hyun-jae. The Puppeteer had been told to protect him. Those calm eyes, so like mine yet different, watched us. He felt no strong emotion toward us—if not for Sigma, he wouldn’t have interfered. Yet he seemed to favor me somewhat—perhaps I was a parental figure to him.

“In real time, it’s also six months ahead—and I’m a Transcendent.”

Flare—Park Ha-yul’s first contract burst into flames.

“That contract is void.”

As with Chohwayun’s pact with Hwangrim, only the higher Transcendent’s contract endures. Park Ha-yul stared at the burning document in disbelief. The first contract was annulled, but the second remained. He could not harm my companions.

“…That’s harsh.”

Park Ha-yul muttered. At the same moment, vines snaked around his hand, seizing him. Voices called out in alarm. I shouted urgently:

“As long as the system holds, I can break free!”

So please, don’t do anything rash—the counterstrike only fails once. I faced the stunned Park Ha-yul.

“You said you didn’t want to kill me.”

“Oppa, I’m getting kind of angry. I think I’m angry.”

Park Ha-yul pushed me away. Yet to me—

“…Huh.”

My legs buckled—I collapsed as if wooden stumps had replaced them. A chill ran through me. I felt no sensation. My own legs dangled lifelessly before my eyes.

“It’s just a dream.”

Dragging my torso forward, my legs scraped the floor. Yuhyun and Ye-rim stared at me, utterly frozen. I’d broken limbs and limbs amputated before, but this sensation was unfamiliar. My breath caught.

“This is easy. I must keep oppa from running.”

“Ugh!”

A rope snaked around my neck. Park Ha-yul tugged lightly.

“If you can’t use your arms or eyes, you can’t flee. Also—”

He turned to the others.

“I can make you like this too. To affect you in reality—mind stuff, you know?”

A cold silence fell. It was brief. Some tried to wake themselves, but failed.

“Hit my head harder!”

“Water—ice water!”

“No use.”

Park Ha-yul laughed. No one could leave. Reinforcements no longer appeared. We were trapped. Even foreigners understood the words; the murmurs grew. The Puppeteer looked troubled.

“So, everyone! Listen to me!”

Park Ha-yul raised an arm and shouted.

“This time, catch them for real—those S-Ranks in there. We’ll need to re-contract oppa, so don’t kill them! Breaking some limbs is fine!”

They hesitated—but not for long. The moment he set an example, most would comply.

“Now!”

“Park Ha-yul!”

I barked.

“I care about everyone here! Except you and the Puppeteer!”

Park Ha-yul froze mid-action. He studied my face, but no red spots marked my cheek. His crooked smile faltered.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by readnovel.co