[ Calm Down (3) ]
Since Yuhyun still didn’t know what Noah looked like, we could possibly get through this without too much trouble.
‘Might as well wish for beans to grow from a pumpkin seed while I’m at it.’
There’s no way Yuhyun wouldn’t catch on. An S-class foreign Hunter just sitting outside my house? It’s like slapping a name tag on him with neon lights. Besides, Noah’s the only foreign S-class Hunter currently in the country.
I quickly set Peace down and sent a message to Song Taewon before grabbing Yuhyun’s arm. There was no point in trying to physically stop him—we weren’t even in the same league strength-wise—but he stopped willingly.
“You’re not going to do anything, right?”
“It’d be rude not to introduce myself at least.”
Who raised this kid to have such impeccable manners? And yeah, right, like this was going to be a simple greeting.
“I can’t just walk by without thanking the guy who did a favor for my brother.”
…He already figured it out. He hadn’t even seen Noah’s face yet, but he knew.
“And Park Yerim’s also a member of Haeyeon. Since she protected you against an S-class Hunter, she must’ve been hurt, but you said that guy was perfectly fine. So, tell me, where did Park Yerim get injured?”
“…Her arm.”
There was no way I couldn’t answer that. Whatever had happened to me, Yerim was Haeyeon’s responsibility, and as Guild Leader, Yuhyun couldn’t ignore it. It wasn’t my place to interfere.
I let go of his arm and sighed. Yuhyun blinked, his eyes widening slightly.
“Don’t worry. We’re not in a break zone, so I’ll keep things civil. Besides, you’re here, so I won’t do anything dangerous.”
“Song Taewon told me that if he had to face you, he’d have to be ready to lose an arm.”
“He says the most unnecessary things. I was young then.”
You still are.
“I’ve only been living here for two days. I don’t care about the house, but there are monsters here too.”
Stop smiling. But just as I said that, Yuhyun’s expression darkened for a moment. He quickly resumed smiling, but the atmosphere was completely different. Peace must’ve sensed it too because he silently grew to about the size of an adolescent beast and stuck close to my side.
When I turned, I saw Noah walking toward us from the lobby. His pale silver eyes reflected an eerie light under the dim lighting. He stopped about ten meters away, watching us.
“He’s young.”
“He’s a year younger than you. Still a kid.”
They looked about the same age, though. After all, they were only a year apart.
“I’m Han Yuhyun, the Guild Leader of Haeyeon. I hear my brother and Park Yerim Hunter owe you a great deal.”
Though Yuhyun emphasized the words “owe you,” for now, it was still just a polite greeting. Noah looked between Yuhyun and me with a dazed expression. He wasn’t about to have a breakdown, was he?
“…Brothers?”
He mumbled, tilting his head as if he couldn’t quite understand. It wasn’t like he would’ve come here without knowing I was related to Haeyeon’s Guild Leader, so why did he seem confused? People often said we looked alike.
“He’s in a weird state.”
Yuhyun murmured under his breath.
“I told you, he’s pitiful. Try to go easy on him.”
Liette might’ve been the main reason, but my skill had probably played a part too.
“If he’s unstable, doesn’t that make him more dangerous? Has Song Taewon been slacking off?”
“He probably has a stealth skill. It’d be hard to keep him restrained.”
“What else?”
Yuhyun pulled a coat out of his inventory and draped it over my shoulders as he asked. Of course, it was too big. Clearly, he wasn’t planning on letting this go quietly.
“…He has a poison skill and a partial transformation into a draconic form. The poison skill is likely S-class. Most antidotes won’t work, but it spreads slowly. He’s categorized as a Venom and Curse Dragonkin, so it’s better to watch out for curses too. He also seems to have a healing skill.”
I didn’t know what “Silent Scream” did. Since he hadn’t used it yesterday, it was probably not an offensive skill.
“He can spread poison, but I don’t think he has any long-range attack skills. He’s likely specialized in support.”
If he had any ranged skills, there’s no way I would’ve gotten away unscathed yesterday. Noah only used close-combat attacks.
“He probably has weapons, but he didn’t take them out yesterday. Maybe he didn’t think they were stronger than his transformed claws, or he just didn’t have time to grab anything. It’s probably the former.”
He wasn’t in his right mind, so maybe it was the latter. Yuhyun looked pleased with my detailed explanation.
“You’re being more thorough than I expected. You’re making me want to go all out.”
Well, I could always give him advice when they start the ranking matches.
“If all he’s spreading is poison, I won’t worry too much.”
“Talk to him first. Talk.”
Maybe I shouldn’t have told him so much. I swallowed a sigh and used my Teacher skill on Yuhyun and Peace, just in case. If things got serious, it’d be better to have them subdue Noah quickly. It’d be nice if I could use the skill on Noah too, but he’d almost certainly resist.
Yuhyun told me to stand back as he approached Noah. They were only five steps apart now.
“Noah Luhir?”
Noah, who had been staring in my direction, shifted his gaze to Yuhyun. His pupils narrowed, but he still looked more human than beast.
“…You’re his brother?”
“That’s correct.”
Why does he keep asking that? And why does he look so confused?
‘Wait. Is he reflecting his situation onto us?’
Noah was seeing me as Liette, but the person who was a natural-born S-class like Liette was Yuhyun. And since we were siblings, it must be confusing him. It’s a similar yet opposite relationship. If it weren’t for the keyword effect, Noah might’ve reflected Liette onto Yuhyun instead of me. We don’t have those problems, but…
“…Han Yujin.”
Noah’s voice trembled as he turned his gaze back to me. His voice was soft, and his eyes looked unstable. I hadn’t planned on getting involved since this was Haeyeon Guild’s business, but… that wasn’t going to happen, was it?
“Yuhyun, could you step back for a moment?”
From Noah’s perspective, it was like he had two versions of Liette standing in front of him. He was probably already afraid since he’d failed to carry out Liette’s request, and now he was facing immense pressure from the situation.
“Why?”
“Then I’ll step back instead. I think that might help.”
“If that’s what you want, but you’re weak anyway. So obviously—”
His words were cut off, and then both Yuhyun and Noah moved. Noah had moved first, but Yuhyun’s instincts and reactions were sharper, so it happened almost simultaneously. The distance between them closed in an instant, and Noah’s claws flashed under his pale platinum scales.
In my mind, I saw a fragile hand being shredded by those claws. But Yuhyun’s hand skimmed along the edge of the scales and grasped Noah’s wrist instead.
Immediately, there was the smell of burning flesh, and—
Boom!
Yuhyun twisted Noah’s arm behind him and slammed his head into the marble floor. A long crack split the smooth surface. Without hesitation, Yuhyun started to apply pressure as if to break Noah’s arm, but—
Swish!
Sensing the threat from behind, Yuhyun quickly stepped aside. Still, in that short time, black marks had appeared on his arm. Poison.
“I didn’t expect him to have a tail.”
Yuhyun said casually, pulling out a dagger and swiftly slicing the poisoned part of his arm. It was the fastest and most accurate way to deal with S-class poison since it spread slowly. Still… damn. Even seeing him immediately heal the wound with a potion didn’t make me feel any better.
Noah got back to his feet, his pupils narrowing into thin slits as he growled. Behind him, a long, platinum-scaled tail swayed back and forth.
“He’s half-monster. I could probably kill him.”
“No. Absolutely not. My monsters are here. This is my home. The foundation is solid, so the floor should hold, but please, be careful of the walls and ceiling.”
They’d barely shaken hands, and the floor was already wrecked. If Noah died here, I’d be in serious trouble. We didn’t know each other well enough for me to fully receive his memories, and with his S-class status—especially with the influence of the Lautitars title—it’d be hard to control.
…This is really dangerous. Maybe I shouldn’t have used the keyword.
“Noah, calm down!”
He’s on the edge. Why did this have to happen now? A little warning light would’ve been nice.
At my shout, Noah turned his head toward me. His long tail scraped noisily against the floor.
What should I do? Should I call Liette? But if I do, won’t that just make things worse with there being three “Liettes” here?
“Let’s talk this out. What do you want us to do for you?”
“I’ll catch him without causing too much damage. He doesn’t seem too strong for an S-class.”
“Yuhyun, I’m begging you, calm down and wait a little.”
This wasn’t a monster. This was a person.
“…Han Yujin, does that person not seem dangerous to you?”
Noah’s voice was shaky as he spoke.
“Are you saying you attacked Yuhyun because you saw him as Liette?”
“I never attacked.”
Huh?
“I was trying to get to you.”
“…Yuhyun?”
“I saw him reaching for you with those claws. Of course, I had to stop him.”
Yuhyun answered like he hadn’t done anything wrong. Fair point. I turned back to Noah, who slumped his shoulders.
“This time, I wasn’t trying to hurt anyone. But that person just seemed so dangerous. So…”
He trailed off, glancing at Yuhyun.
“Han Yujin, are you really okay?”
His voice was filled with concern. How unexpected. Maybe the keyword effect wasn’t the issue; he was more affected by the fact that I was Yuhyun’s brother. Maybe he thought I was getting scolded or mistreated by my family, like he was… Oh, wait, Yuhyun did say I was weak earlier, didn’t he?
“Don’t worry. My brother isn’t a bad guy—”
Yuhyun threw his dagger. But not at Noah. He aimed for the entrance.
Thwack!
The dagger stopped just inches from Song Taewon’s throat. Blood trickled from his fingers where they touched the blade. If it had been anyone other than an S-class Hunter, Yuhyun would’ve severed the man’s fingers and pierced his throat.
“Is this how you repay people?”
Song Taewon calmly pulled the dagger from the wall and tossed it back to Yuhyun.
“I think I owe you more than that, but my brother wouldn’t like it.”
“Then I should be thanking Han Yujin.”
…Is this place cursed? I did call Song Taewon, but not for this. To calm my nerves, I reached over and pet Peace. As expected, my Peace is the best.
“Noah Luhir. You’re making this very difficult.”
Song Taewon approached Noah, who didn’t seem to care at all. He was still glaring at Yuhyun while looking at me with concern.
“He’s such a strange guy. Why is he so worried about you now?”
Yuhyun walked over to me as Song Taewon stepped back. Noah’s face darkened again.
“Wait, hold on.”
“And to think he calls you weak. Does he really think I’m going to hurt you?”
Yuhyun ignored my attempts to stop him and stepped even closer. On reflex, I took a step back, then realized my mistake. To Noah, it must’ve looked like I was trying to escape.
And then Yuhyun’s hand touched my neck. He wasn’t holding me, just brushing his fingers against my skin, but the gesture was clearly meant to provoke. To make matters worse, he followed it with,
“You couldn’t do anything to stop me, anyway.”
He was taunting Noah. Damn it, he probably thought Noah wouldn’t hurt me, so it didn’t matter.
“Yuhyun!”
“Don’t touch him!”
— Grrr!
Noah’s growl turned into a full-fledged beast’s snarl. His body shifted completely, and Yuhyun smiled.
“Song Taewon, maybe you should start evacuating the staff.”
Song Taewon’s expression stiffened, but he stepped back. Noah, no longer human but a small golden dragon, bared his teeth.
There are a few skills that allow full transformation like this, but they’re rare. When fully transformed, the user’s physical body becomes much stronger than a human’s. But Noah had only received the Dio Valsesis title a month ago. There was no way he’d mastered moving around in his draconic form yet.
Not to mention he had wings, and we were indoors.
Staying human would’ve been better for him, but he must’ve thought he couldn’t handle Yuhyun like this.
“Don’t kill him, you maniac!”
“I’ll think about it.”
Damn it, he never listens!
Flap!
Noah took to the air, his wings barely managing to keep him aloft in the high-ceilinged lobby. His movements were unstable, but being airborne was still an advantage. At least against someone who couldn’t fly.
“Blue Willow Leaves.”
Blue leaves fluttered through the air, filling the wide lobby and confusing Noah’s vision. In that moment of disorientation, Yuhyun launched himself upward. Noah tried to dodge, but the way he flapped his wings was clumsy. Yuhyun moved far faster and more precisely.
“This place is too small for a real fight.”
His lighthearted voice was dripping with condescension.
Crunch.
His sword sliced through Noah’s wing, tearing it down to the bone.
Kraaaah!
Noah screeched as he plummeted to the ground. Poison-laced blood splattered everywhere, but flames erupted around Yuhyun’s body, burning it all away before it could reach him.
Thud!
Marble shards flew as Yuhyun’s foot smashed into the dragon’s head. The floor cracked again beneath the force of the blow.
Krrrk!
Noah’s wings began to heal, a soft glow enveloping the torn membranes. He must’ve used a healing skill. He growled, digging his claws into the floor as he tried to scramble back. But before he could fully retreat, thick ropes wrapped around his neck and yanked him back.
Crash!
“Sorry, the wall broke a little. That’s the training area, right? No one’s in there right now, right? It’s taking a bit longer than I thought. His scales are tougher than I expected. Why don’t you sit this one out, Yujin?”
Noah stood up in the rubble, crouching and growling. He looked pathetic, really. Even though they were both S-class, Noah had originally awakened as an A-class and specialized in support, so the gap between them was huge.
It was more than enough, but Yuhyun didn’t seem like he was going to stop. Damn it.
I hurriedly used the Teacher skill on Noah, linking his senses to Yuhyun. Both of them flinched at the same time.
“That’s enough.”
“Yujin.”
“If you keep going, I’ll share all of the sensations only to him.”
If I did that, Noah would be able to sense how Yuhyun was moving, but Yuhyun wouldn’t know what Noah was doing. He wouldn’t lose, but the fight wouldn’t be as easy as it had been.
And the more they fought, the more damage there’d be, and my house would be ruined, and as the Guild Leader of Haeyeon, Yuhyun needed to restrain himself.
“…I didn’t know you could use it that way.”
Yuhyun pouted but backed off. Geez, this kid…
–TL Notes–
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