Chapter 143: A Seeping Fragment (5)
The door beyond the mini portal opened without any resistance, no additional verification required. Han Yuhyun removed his glasses and placed them in his inventory. If it was Seong Hyunjae, he’d figure it out soon enough anyway.
The house was spacious, but finding Han Yujin’s location wasn’t difficult. He simply needed to head toward where his spirit was. As he began walking, he roused Iryn. Merging part of his senses with the spirit, the surrounding scene soon came into view.
Han Yujin was asleep. His face was noticeably pale. He was still unconscious, and the location had changed since earlier. What exactly had happened?
“As I suspected, it was you, Young Master.”
Han Yuhyun, who had been gritting his teeth unconsciously, stopped in his tracks, startled. While observing his brother through Iryn, his own awareness had dulled. As his senses returned, he noticed a small indoor garden and a tank of shimmering blue water. Beyond it stood Seong Hyunjae.
Han Yuhyun didn’t hesitate to let his anger show. His eyes blazed with cold fury, and Seong Hyunjae’s lips curved into a smirk.
“I’d like to tell you nothing happened, but that would be too obvious a lie. It seems you’ve already caught on, Young Master.”
“What have you done?”
His low voice growled, as if ready to rip into the man before him. In response, Seong Hyunjae answered lightly.
“I don’t quite remember.”
Crack. A faint fracture formed beneath Han Yuhyun’s foot. Yet, he refrained from attacking. He knew the fault also lay with himself for leaving Han Yujin vulnerable and unprotected.
“Cut the nonsense. I’m taking my brother with me.”
“If you simply leave now, it won’t be you who’s inconvenienced, will it? He must have had a reason for coming all this way.”
The pale-colored eyes narrowed with a faint smile, as if asking whether he was wrong.
“Young Master seems to have come to make a request that’s beyond his abilities.”
Han Yuhyun let out a short breath.
“Are you trying to pick a fight with me?”
“I’m merely stating the facts.”
Seong Hyunjae began walking slowly. His steps, clad in indoor slippers, crossed the path through the garden.
“I won’t be imposing for long.”
“You’re still young, so you’ll grow further in the future. But even so…”
Seong Hyunjae’s gaze lingered on the Hunter before him, who was young to the point of being green. It was clear he was restraining himself, holding back the desire to pounce.
“When that time comes, you’ll still be a younger brother. Someone to be protected, to be cared for.”
Han Yuhyun’s hands clenched into fists.
“Isn’t that why you leave me alone? Because your beloved brother needs someone to share his burdens with, someone he can rely on. Han Yujin has this bad habit of trying to protect anyone he accepts as his own, almost blindly.”
“…That’s only for the time being.”
“Let me say this again. You’ll always just be the younger brother. And Han Yujin’s stubbornness isn’t something easily changed. So instead of doing something unnecessary, it’d be better for your brother if you just acted spoiled for him—”
Thunk.
Even though it was only a collision of fist against palm, the heavy sound of impact reverberated through the space. Seong Hyunjae had intended to block it effortlessly, yet Han Yuhyun’s scowl deepened. Every fiber of his being wanted to tear into the man’s neck. They were close enough for his hands to reach with ease. And yet, no one understood better than him that it was an impossible task.
“When my brother no longer has any use for you, you’d best leave quietly.”
“Discarding me after use? That’s harsh. But at this rate, with Young Master still behaving so adorably, replacing me will take some time.”
The sound of grinding teeth was audible. As much as it enraged him, Han Yuhyun knew all too well that Han Yujin’s behavior wouldn’t change easily. In some ways, Han Yujin seemed to care more about protecting his younger brother now, when he was much harder to hurt, than he had back when Yuhyun was actually fragile.
It was strange. It felt gratifying and yet unsettling, even anxious.
“A proper division of roles isn’t so bad, is it? Especially when I’m offering to take on some of the burden.”
Why did he keep poking the hornet’s nest? At the relaxed tone, heat began to rise around Han Yuhyun. He couldn’t hold back anymore. He wanted to summon Iryn and leave a searing burn on him. Preferably somewhere visible, like his face.
“This is why you’re still a child. I’d like to indulge your heated temper, but fire is strictly forbidden in the garden.”
Right after,
Swoosh.
A deluge of water from the tank suddenly poured down over the two of them.
‘One is more than enough—why are there two?’
Technically, there was only one physical body. But seriously, what the hell was going on with this guy? He was supposed to be “merged,” but here he was, functioning as two separate entities.
“Um… Seong Hyunjae?”
“I’m not complete, but yes.”
It was likely the pre-regression Seong Hyunjae who spoke.
“Can I ask what’s going on?”
I had assumed the person who’d dunked me in water earlier was simply a fragment of pre-regression memories temporarily surfacing while the current Seong Hyunjae’s consciousness receded. But now, this felt like something entirely different—like they were split.
“I was told you’d merge. I heard that perceptive people might feel a sense of dissonance, but…”
“You could say it’s not just dissonance, but outright rejection.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Both my current self and my pre-regression self felt an overwhelming sense of dissonance as the two worlds began merging. So instead of blending, they split. Of course, it’s not a perfect division—I’m essentially a collection of fragments.”
Seong Hyunjae’s expression, uncharacteristically, showed a hint of wounded pride. He had rejected his own self after feeling not just sensitivity, but outright strangeness? Truly, only he could manage something so absurd, and yet it somehow suited him.
“So, will it stay like this indefinitely?”
“No.”
His dissatisfied face looked noticeably younger. While his appearance hadn’t changed much, he seemed like someone who’d look the same even ten years ago or ten years later.
“In the end, everything will be assimilated. I already don’t have much memory from the five years leading up to the merge. The memories up to this point are still mostly intact because ‘I’ also fully retain them.”
“So that’s why you feel younger.”
“Younger?”
“You feel your age. Being in your late thirties isn’t even considered old these days.”
He was still in his prime, after all. In any case, if everything merged, there wouldn’t be any big issues.
“Well, I’ll take my leave now. Enjoy the rest of your time.”
Let go of my wrist already. Please. But instead of letting go, the younger fragment pulled me closer to him. If he didn’t have much of his pre-regression memory left, I could probably take him down, but my body already felt like it was halfway to the afterlife—I couldn’t afford to risk it.
“Cold-hearted.”
“Are you really saying that? After tying me up with chains and dunking me in water when we first met? Any goodwill I had is long gone.”
“I did fish you out, dry you off, and even let you change clothes. Not to mention, I allowed you to stay within me.”
“That was to save you—”
“It wasn’t me, Han Yujin.”
…True. His crooked gaze felt ominous, making me uncomfortable. No wonder he wasn’t in a good mood. If I were on the verge of being assimilated and disappearing, I wouldn’t be calm either. Mentally, he was clearly younger too.
“Should I apologize, then?”
“Give me something else instead.”
“What?”
“Your body.”
“Sorry, that’s not happening. You and the other one can play rock-paper-scissors for it or something. I’ll judge the match, if you want.”
That might actually be fun to watch. I’d bet on the current Seong Hyunjae winning nine times out of ten. The fragment smirked at my words.
“Taking over my current body isn’t an option. But…”
His fingertip lightly touched my chest. He traced over the scar beneath my clothes.
“You do have something quite suitable to substitute for it, don’t you?”
“…What? Hey, wait a second.”
What the hell was this guy aiming for?
“The SS-grade mana stone may have cracked, but it’s still fused with an L-grade mana stone.”
“That will do nicely.”
“Nice? Are you crazy? Not even the entirety of the Sesung Guild could pay for this thing!”
SS-grade mana stones were one thing, but the Diarma stone was completely irreplaceable. How could a mere fragment with no bargaining power dare to even look at it?
“In its current state, it’s not like the stone can properly awaken anyway.”
He spoke with unsettling confidence.
“How would you even know that? Didn’t you say you didn’t have any memories?”
“They’re not entirely gone. I still remember a bit about that foolish lizard.”
Was he telling the truth? I wasn’t sure, but I had no way to verify it either. Still, it was a fact that the fused mana stones had shown no reaction for quite some time now.
“So, what’s your plan? If I hand over the stone, is some Seong Hyunjae replica going to pop out of it—ugh! No way! Hell no!”
Just the thought of such a horrific sight made me curse. Absolutely not. I’d rather rip open my chest and pull the mana stone out myself. One Seong Hyunjae was already too many in my life. Sure, he was functional, but he was still Seong Hyunjae.
“Are you that opposed to it? It’d be nice if it worked that perfectly, but it’s impossible.”
I mean, he was probably right. But what if it did work… Damn, I couldn’t shake the thought. I shook my head to dispel those ridiculous ideas.
“Realistically, it’d be an entirely different being, closer to a magical beast.”
“Then why don’t you just let yourself be absorbed here and now?”
“Giving up doesn’t suit me.”
The way he smiled was eerily similar to the current Seong Hyunjae. Well, they were technically the same person. I furrowed my brow for a moment before speaking.
“So, you’re saying you can guarantee the successful synthesis of a magical beast?”
“That’s correct. The current issue is that the higher-grade mana stone isn’t intact. Its mana is faintly leaking out.”
He explained that by supplementing the mana himself, the magical beast would be complete within a month at most. It wasn’t a comfortable prospect, but letting the mana stones go to waste would be a huge loss. And even if this was just a fragment of Seong Hyunjae with barely five years of pre-regression memories, he was still Seong Hyunjae, so the resulting magical beast’s stats would likely improve.
…Even if the “Seong Hyunjae” aspect was annoying.
The decision didn’t take long. It was better to have one more card in my hand.
“Fine, I’ll accept. What do I need to do?”
“Just take me back with you. I’ll transfer to the mana stone on my own.”
“You’re not going to try and take over my body instead, are you?”
“If that were possible, I’d have asked for a sturdier body already.”
Sorry for being so frail. Though I think I’m at least above average.
With the fragment of Seong Hyunjae in tow, I deactivated the skill. My consciousness blurred for a moment before I opened my eyes again.
“Ugh…”
My vision was hazy. I quickly pulled out a mana potion and drank it, but everything still looked blurry. It seemed my eyesight had deteriorated. Hopefully, it was temporary.
Of course, my entire body felt like a wreck—every joint ached. After gulping down several vitality potions, I finally managed to stand. The mana stone in my chest… didn’t seem to have changed yet.
‘…I’m going to die at this rate.’
I could barely speak. Judging by the fact that I’d woken up in a bed rather than on the sofa, it seemed Seong Hyunjae had returned properly. But why couldn’t I see him? The moment I thought that—
Swoosh.
The faint sound of water pouring reached my ears. I didn’t know what was going on, but an image of the massive tank immediately came to mind. Staggering, I walked out of the room, only to see Iryn suddenly appear and glance at me before moving ahead to lead the way.
It must be Yuhyun. Well, who else could it be?
Following Iryn, I made my way down the stairs, almost falling a couple of times. Would it kill them to have an elevator? When I finally entered the garden, I saw the tank was gone, and two people, soaking wet, stood in its place.
“Yuhyun!”
“Hyung, are you okay?”
Yuhyun let go of Seong Hyunjae’s collar and turned to look at me. Ugh, the dirt had turned into a muddy mess from all the water. It’d be a nightmare to clean up. Why would anyone build something like this indoors, anyway? Especially when there’s a perfectly well-maintained rooftop garden right outside.
“You could’ve waited a little longer. Why’d you have to step in and get yourself completely soaked? Shouldn’t you be taking better care of your home facilities?”
“I think the fire suppression was handled just fine.”
Hmm. It seemed like my brother had been a bit worked up. Then again, who could blame him? Considering what Seong Hyunjae had done to me, burning the garden a little didn’t seem like a big deal. Though I wasn’t sure if Yuhyun was aware of the specifics.
“By the way, Han Yujin.”
Seong Hyunjae suddenly pointed a finger at me.
“How many fingers am I holding up?”
“…Three.”
Even with my blurred vision, I could make that out.
“Wrong.”
“What? I’m sure it’s three.”
I grabbed his hand and pulled it closer. What the hell? It was three.
“Why are you lying—”
“The fact that you felt the need to pull it closer to confirm means your eyesight really isn’t great right now.”
The sharp-witted snake remarked, and Yuhyun turned to look at me with wide, alarmed eyes. What a hassle these two were.
–TL Notes–
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/MattReading
Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt
Haha gottem