The S-Classes That I Raised - Chapter 767: Black Butterfly (5)
Clang! Two blades met. The pure-white sword buckled, twisting as it slid aside. The gaze on me fell away, and seizing that moment, the ebony blade arced in a long sweep. The edge grazed my arm, yet miraculously, the white sword thrust back the Monarch’s blade with brutal force.
None of it felt real. Like a mirage shimmering in heat haze, it threatened to vanish at any second. The blades clashed again, and through Peace’s eyes I had to admit the truth.
“…Han Yuhyun!”
He was stronger than the current Yuhyun—but he still wouldn’t strike to kill. Meanwhile, Yuhyun baited him into grievous blows. When the blade swung for his shoulder, Yuhyun thrust his neck forward, then darted aside.
“Stop! Both of you!”
I leapt down from Peace’s back and strode onto the scorched ground where fire and flame intertwined. Peace tried to hold me back in panic, but I pushed him away. Though the situation favored me, I saw wounds across Yuhyun’s body. One arm was cut where I’d appeared—otherwise he seemed unharmed, but the butterflies obscured my view.
“ I said stop!”
The parched earth cracked beneath my feet and melted into slick mud before me. Heat washed over me in waves. Even as I activated Grace, my face flushed red. As I approached, both their movements slowed. Their eyes turned to me. I advanced without hesitation and plunged into the fire.
“Hyung!”
My eyelids snapped shut from flames even S-Rank resistance couldn’t fully block. Immediately, arms wrapped around me, and the heat vanished. I opened my eyes to see the butterflies beyond Yuhyun’s shoulder.
“That was dangerous!”
“…Han Yuhyun.”
His form still blurred, the swarm covering him like a living cloak.
“Yuhyun.”
There was no answer. He held me tight; his black eyes didn’t even blink in the hush.
“Han Yuhyun!”
“He’s just a corpse.”
Yuhyun said. Startled, I looked at my brother. I met his sunken, tangled gaze.
“You said it yourself.”
“…I did.”
“That if I couldn’t help you, I’d leave you behind.”
You were alive, and there were people here. That’s what he’d said. But this… this situation—
“It’s okay, Hyung.”
A voice drifted out. The butterflies scattered, and a familiar face came clearly into view.
“I’m not the real one.”
…My voice caught. He claimed he wasn’t real. Holding Yuhyun’s arm, I forced out words.
“What do you mean?”
I racked my dizzy head for thoughts. If he truly was a fake—
“If I’m not real, then this Yuhyun…”
He would never have come here to kill the real Yuhyun. If he were a simple copy, he’d just have told me he wasn’t real. I might have wavered, but then I’d grow angry.
“This body is nothing but a husk. Left alone it would rot and vanish.”
“…I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“Originally you couldn’t even enter this place—just a discarded corpse.”
His quiet words cut like ice.
“A fragment of him entered that corpse.”
His calm gaze shifted to the Yuhyun holding me. Yuhyun’s eyes flickered.
“…A part of Yuhyun?”
“Memories.”
Memory. Something surfaced in an instant—the memory orb stolen by the King of Innocence. I’d lost it under the snowfall by the tree. It had vanished then.
“Th-that alone—!”
“When a link to this world formed, the Gardener discovered this body. Even as a husk, the memories remained intact, so he made it move using a shard of the living ‘me’.”
The Gardener… had found Yuhyun’s root self beneath…
“That’s all, Hyung. I’m dead.”
He spoke as if to warn me not to hope. But still! I looked at my brother. Faded, distant memories surged back.
“You remember me and move like me. Even if you say you’re dead—! Besides, you’ve changed. You’re taller… stronger than the current me.”
“It was adjusted to match your rank. My true self was suppressed too.”
“Even so! You’re still Yuhyun—just Yuhyun!”
I didn’t know. He called himself a mere husk, but I didn’t believe it. He looked at me, spoke to me… how could he not be real?
“And the Gardener—why you?!”
“Hyung.”
Yuhyun’s eyes chilled. I looked to the one embracing me.
“Take this one and go back.”
“…What?”
“You don’t need to be involved.”
“That’s true.”
The quiet Yuhyun spoke.
“This isn’t your affair. I know you’d take everyone back if you could. I had no intent to stop it—so long as you’re safe.”
Two voices, two identical gazes. His words echoed the guilt-free advice. But what could I do? Even the lost brother felt real to me.
He was Yuhyun.
Suddenly, the flames around us subsided, leaving only scorched earth. Rain resumed, evaporating before touching me. Far off I spotted the Puppeteer, and behind him Seong Hyunjae and Song Taewon. Their discussion was likely drowned by rain and thunder.
I longed to stand in the rain—it would clear my mind. Yet Yuhyun never let raindrops fall on me.
“Yuhyun.”
Always grateful, but—
“Right now I want the rain.”
“No. You’ll catch a cold.”
His refusal was firm. I knew it was what I’d want for him too: stay dry, take care. But I needed the cold rain on my head. I shoved off my brother’s arms. I couldn’t overpower him, yet I did.
“So what if I catch a cold?”
“Hyung!”
“I’ll do what I want.”
“But—”
“Let go of my hand.”
At my firm words, he flinched and released me, stepping back. Rain seeped through his hair. The other brother recoiled. Two Yuhyuns stood before me.
“So you do what you want too.”
“…What does that mean?”
“I want you happy. I wanted to grant your every wish.”
I still did.
“But we’re different. Yuhyun, I’m your brother, Han Yujin. You’re my brother, Han Yuhyun.”
We’re separate people. We can’t always act as the other wishes, nor should we.
“I thought maybe I should give up everything for you. Just walk away. But that’s not what I want. No matter how I think, I can never give up.”
“You’d be in danger!”
“True. But Yuhyun, I—”
My voice shook. Twenty-one-year-old Yuhyun alone wasn’t here. My younger self stood here too, looking at me.
“I won’t abandon myself for you.”
I’d do anything for my brother, but I resolved to hold on to one thing—for both our sakes. Yuhyun drew a sharp breath and spoke.
“That’s what I want too! I don’t want you to sacrifice yourself for me!”
“No, that’s not it. If you’re in danger, I’ll stand in your way—stake my life to protect you.”
“But just now—”
“Because that’s what I want. It’s what Han Yujin truly desires, and so, must do.”
Yuhyun’s eyes trembled, lost.
“I don’t, I don’t understand you, Hyung.”
“What I’ve lived and will live—that is me.”
Some might see it as sacrifice, but it wasn’t. It was my pure desire.
“I just want you to be…”
“You too. Tell me what you want.”
And even if our paths diverged, it would be okay.
Whoosh! A cord flew in, wrapping around me before Yuhyun could react, yanking me back.
“Hyung!”
Familiar arms caught me. A black butterfly swirled inches away. The Puppeteer’s flustered voice drifted.
“I have but one desire.”
Yuhyun said. The arm gripping me grew ice-cold, chilling my heart. Yet he spoke and acted and looked at me—and still—
“Return safely, Hyung.”
“Yuhyun, I—”
“So please help for a moment.”
His gaze fell to faint lines on the scorched ground. What were they?
“Wait, Han Yujin—look!”
The Puppeteer shouted. I sensed I shouldn’t stay.
“Let my brother go!”
“But you want him safe too, don’t you?”
Yuhyun hesitated, tried to pull free, but the arm held fast—firmer than either brother.
“What are you doing, Han Yuhyun!”
“Don’t worry. I’ll give him back. I’m only clearing out the useless things—so you won’t have to worry!”
“What, you!”
Stepping on butterflies, Yuhyun descended onto the lines engraved in the earth.
“If there’s no reason left, you won’t need to stay here either.”
“Han Yujin! Skill!”
A skill? Crackling electricity coiled around the Puppeteer as he Spatial Shifted in. Yuhyun faced off with Yuhyun.
“Block him.”
“……”
“I’ll handle the aftermath.”
“Yuhyun!”
“It’s okay. I’ll bear it all.”
A faint smile brushed his cold lips—just as before regression. My throat tightened with heat.
“You idiot! What are you! Why /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ are you—”
Yuhyun stepped before the Puppeteer. Dark blue flames shot upward. He pressed his foot to the line as electricity crackled.
“You’ve clearly weakened.”
A drop of blood formed on his white fingertip. Poisonous flames bloomed. Fire dripped onto the line. Holding me down, a surge of black fire roared up, burning the marking away.
I stared, dazed—then snapped back.
‘He must’ve crafted it. My skill? Poison? Curse?’
I didn’t know, but I must stop it. Yuhyun said he’d clear the rest.
‘It’ll be Seong Hyunjae. And Sigma?’
If the Puppeteer fought so hard, likely. I hastily toggled off poison and curse resistances. The fire ceased consuming the line. It hissed, radiating heat, but stopped advancing.
“Hyung.”
“I don’t care if you’re alive or dead. You’re my brother—let go of my hand!”
I twisted free. Thunder rolled. The foot sliding against earth wasn’t the brother holding me, but the other one. Director Song leapt before the Monarch’s blade, a dark shadow following his arm.
“I can’t ascertain the situation, but is that also Hunter Han Yuhyun?”
Rather than answer, Yuhyun took two steps back toward us. Seong Hyunjae appeared beside the Puppeteer. Golden chains intertwined with silken threads. The two Yuhyuns exchanged a brief glance.
“I never envisioned such a pairing.”
Seong Hyunjae looked on with intrigued eyes.
“Master Han Yujin, may I inquire what’s happening?”
“…I won’t forgive it if my brother is harmed.”
“To hear an answer, quite a process awaits.”
“Then you, Han Yujin, get out yourself!”
The Puppeteer spoke coolly. Three figures faced three. Flames flickered, light glinted. I bit my lip unconsciously. The hand on me was still ice-cold, my mind muddled. But I couldn’t just let them clash.
Rumble—
The ground trembled. First to react were the Puppeteer and the Yuhyun holding me. Their gazes darted, but each in a different direction.
“What now?”
The Puppeteer frowned. Something unseen struck the earth again from all sides—
Swoosh—!
The rain pounded down, growing heavier.
Crackle! Boom!
Water began surging in from everywhere—an unseen force of water. Through it came a welcome voice.
“Uncle! I’m here!”
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