Chapter 428: Midday Nightmare (1)
“It says it definitely has been opened.”
Young Chaos said that while keeping his gaze on the air, likely reading a message from the rookie.
“It says this area is made up of one person’s memories. Only people who have ties to that person can enter.”
“…Ties?”
“Someone they recognize? Or it could be said someone they’ve accepted, even a little.”
Without realizing it, I bit down hard on my lower lip. My fist clenched tight too. After hearing that much, there was no more room left for doubt or hesitation.
“…Shouldn’t dead people not appear?”
Yoohyun had died just before the regression, so from the point in time where twenty-nine-year-old me existed, he had still been perfectly alive, but still.
“If what Rabbit said is true, it would be hard for that to be the case. We’ll have to go inside and confirm it to know the details. Rabbit is trying to figure it out, but apparently it’s not easy. The boss monster here is a servant of the King of Harmlessness.”
It seemed to be because, unlike the other places, this one had the greatest amount of the King of Harmlessness’s power worked into it. Then shouldn’t that naturally mean that demon king should show up, not my little brother?
I drew in a deep breath and tried as hard as I could to calm my wavering heart.
“Then I suppose only Yoohyun and I can enter.”
“I’m blocked too.”
Yoohyun said, touching the empty air. What?
“You too? No, why?”
“If it were me from then, who had never fully reconciled with you the whole time… then that would make sense. More than enough. No, even the me from before your regression. I had to keep suppressing myself and pushing myself away.”
“The second brat really is a first-rate one-track mind.”
No, but even so…. Yet even the current Yoohyun had taken time to accept himself, to become greedy for his own sake and not just over my wellbeing. If it were twenty-four-year-old Han Yoohyun, then yes, it would make perfect sense for him to reject himself.
“…If it were the current you, you’d have been able to enter too. Maybe even Yerim.”
“Bak Yerim… maybe.”
Yoohyun said it as though he wasn’t entirely sure. Even so, it was an incredible improvement. The brat who used to have only me had admitted himself, Yerim, and Peace too. As your older brother, I’m very satisfied with even this much. I don’t ask for much now. Just keep this frame of mind going.
“Can’t we at least check? I’m curious.”
Yerim said that if I couldn’t get in, she was going to block the Guildmaster brat too. How exactly do you block someone?
“Then first—”
“No.”
The moment I started to speak, Yoohyun said it firmly. When I looked around, it didn’t seem like anyone would take my side except Yoon Yoon. Just look at those eyes full of curiosity, dying to get in there.
“Right now I’ve got Eunhye, and if it really is you, Yoohyun.”
If it’s my little brother.
“There’s no way he’d hurt me.”
If it’s Han Yoohyun, whether monster or whatever else.
“Or is there some other method?”
Young Chaos gave a short shake of his head.
“At present, it seems the only option is for you, First, to go in and persuade him.”
“See?”
We couldn’t remain standing around here forever. If night fell right now, Rauchitas might regain his power and appear again, and then we’d be in danger all over again anyway.
“…With my flames—”
“No.”
“But—”
“No. Besides, for an attack to connect, wouldn’t the monster inside have to respond?”
“That’s…….”
There wasn’t any other method anyway. I wasn’t going to allow Yoohyun to consume his own Source. Even if it meant sacrificing part of his lifespan, we still had to go in and bring out the little brother inside.
In the end, my little brother nodded slightly, looking utterly reluctant. Before he could change his mind, I hurriedly stepped into the area first.
“Stealth won’t work, so put on Silekia.”
Sung Hyunjae said that, telling me to be careful.
“If it seems dangerous, come back immediately.”
“Don’t worry.”
“At this rate, if I keep doing nothing but watch, I’m going to end up growing pearls inside my body.”
With all due respect, I think you’ve already grown at least a dozen of those thanks to Chief Song.
“Hyung, my ceremonial robe is bett— hyung?”
Yoohyun flinched and his eyes widened in surprise. I turned to look where my little brother’s gaze had gone.
“Hey, you!”
Before I knew it, the me from before the regression had stepped inside the area too. Holding the cake box in his arms. He’d gone all quiet, and the moment everyone’s attention was on me, he slipped in!
“Get back out!”
“Why should I?”
I said that firmly.
“If only one of us can go in, then it should be me. Not you.”
Not twenty-five-year-old Han Yoojin, but twenty-nine-year-old Han Yoojin. The aura that said he would absolutely never back down made me grab his arm and yank—damn it.
“Damn stats! No, if I throw on equipment—”
“I’ve got equipment too.”
He would have all those mana-increasing pieces of gear he had painstakingly collected. On top of the difference in our base stats, his level would be higher too, so there was no way I could beat him by force.
“Hey! Seriously!”
“If you’re confident enough to say that, then I’ll be safe too, won’t I?”
“That’s….”
“He’s my little brother.”
That shut me up. Better than anyone, I knew that there was no way I would give up here. Damn it.
“Hyung…….”
Yoohyun looked anxious and fidgety, then took off his ceremonial robe and held it out. I accepted it and threw it to the me from before the regression.
“For now, put it on.”
“Ahjussi! The ring too! This—if it’s Han Yoohyun, then fire and poison won’t work on him anyway. Seseong ahjussi! Electricity, electricity.”
Yerim said that while pouring her cold energy into the ring she had been wearing. Sung Hyunjae also added electric current to it.
“Take the shawl too!”
“Please take this as well.”
Song Taewon removed the SS-rank handcuffs and held them out. The shadow on his hardened face deepened. Sending in only an F-rank and an E-rank was clearly weighing heavily on Chief Song.
“I’ll put support skills on you too. The duration’s pretty long.”
“I’ll cheer for you! 힘내라! Fighting!”
Yeah. Thanks.
After taking the equipment, I turned toward the Haeyeon Guild building. I hadn’t even gone in yet, but already the inside of my chest ached faintly. I took a few steps toward the stairs, then came to a dead stop.
“Hey.”
“What.”
“Come here for a second.”
The me from before the regression walked toward me with a distrustful look in his eyes.
“You may not really understand it, but we’re strongly connected.”
“…That sounds pretty disgusting.”
“I’ve clearly felt your emotions before, and our mana was linked too. And our memories also came back at the same time.”
At this point, we were almost half one body. Just thinking about it was making me feel gross too. I mean, we are the same person, but still.
“So maybe we can share skills too.”
“…Skills?”
“Yeah. Come a little closer. Put the cake down.”
It was certain that we were connected. If I found that connection and strengthened it further, maybe something would happen. If I could make the system recognize that I and I were the same person. I touched the hesitant me from before the regression—and then just grabbed him and pulled him into a hug.
“Uh, hey!”
“I don’t like this either, so stay still!”
I could feel everyone staring at us like, What the hell are those two doing? So embarrassing. Keeping my eyes closed, I tried to ignore the spectators as I traced the flow of mana. The power of the mana imprint added itself, and I felt something linking the two of us. My senses sharpened even further, and the lines connecting us appeared before my closed eyes as if visualized.
“…You know.”
“Be quiet.”
“No, this is, kind of…….”
I moved the mana and added Teacher’s skill, making the connection even stronger. Then we could clearly feel each other’s emotions. We simultaneously thought, Ugh, this feels gross. My stat values rose. His skills probably changed too. Let’s reduce the emotional sharing a little. Even so, completely blocking it was impossible.
“Your skills…….”
“Don’t say it.”
The me from before the regression checked his skill window and widened his eyes.
“Wow, holy shit.”
“Crazy, right?”
“These are really useless skills for an F-rank. What a waste.”
That’s harsh. I agree, but still, I’m using them pretty well.
“I’m going to set damage nullification to SS-rank. It eats up a lot of mana, so don’t mess with it on your own.”
“Yes, yes.”
“Then let’s go.”
We turned back around. The hem of the coat swayed long behind us. Standing before the familiar glass doors, I gripped the handle. The palm of my hand felt cool. I pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Jingle, jingle.
A bell rang out. A large Christmas tree stood near the entrance. A golden star perched at the top, decorated all over in bright colors. Multicolored lights glittered, and ornaments shaped like doves, baby angels, canes, and stockings swayed. Green tinsel and garlands like pine needles decorated the ceiling here and there, and Santa sat atop the reception desk.
Creeeak. The door that had opened swung shut again. We moved forward quietly. Our footsteps echoed on the smooth floor. As we slowly entered deeper into the wide lobby, a faint voice could be heard.
[Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you.]
It was singing. My voice singing.
[Happy birthday dear little brother… happy birthday to you.]
After a short silence, the voice continued again.
[Happy birthday, Yoohyun.]
And then the song started over again. My insides hurt. The me from before the regression wouldn’t know why, but maybe he could feel my emotions, or maybe just hearing that song itself was unbearable, because his expression was not good. A sigh leaked out of both our mouths at the same time.
My eyes caught a large reindeer decoration standing at the very back of the lobby. Presents were piled high like a wall, and a soft white carpet like snow was spread out around them, and there in the middle—
“…Yoohyun.”
My little brother was asleep. The recorder hanging limply from his hand kept playing the song. Over and over again. My steps stopped on their own, and I could go no closer, just standing there blankly when—
“Han Yoohyun!”
The me from before the regression shouted. The cake box dropped to the floor with a thud. Before I could stop him, he ran forward. At the same moment, the closed eyes snapped open.
“Hey, you bastard!”
“…Hyung?”
Yoohyun, springing up as though launched, hastily turned off the recorder and staggered backward. Toward that little brother, I swung my fist. Since I did have experience working as a Hunter, the punch flew out pretty sharply, but Yoohyun lightly dodged it and furrowed his brow.
“Don’t ever come here again— that’s!”
My little brother stretched out an arm and pulled the me from before the regression into an embrace. I kicked Yoohyun’s leg and clawed wildly at the arm around the waist. Of course, he didn’t budge at all. My little brother glared sharply at me, where I stood apart from them.
“…Just what, what did you get dragged into! I told you to stay put!”
“You lousy bastard! Fuck, if you’re a bastard then I’m a bastard too! You little punk, you! Did you leave home to do this?!”
Resentment, frustration, injustice, sadness. My emotions flowed in through a thin membrane.
“Hyung!”
“Apologize!”
I shouted till my throat felt like it would burst.
“Apologize!”
A crying edge mixed into the scream.
“Say you were wrong!”
“Hyung, wait—”
“Then I’ll forgive everything……. Everything. Whatever it is.”
All of it. My little brother’s eyes shook violently. Thump, thump! The kicking at his legs continued. Yoohyun, flustered, tried to stop me.
“Y-you’ll hurt yourself, hyung.”
“Yoohyun.”
At the sound of my voice, my little brother looked at me again. If I had to put it into words, he looked slightly frightened. He had probably already realized that I wasn’t fake. He had to be deeply confused.
“It’s alright now.”
“…….”
“You probably feel that something is strange too. This is inside a dungeon, and you and that me are monsters made of memory and information.”
“What in the world…….”
“So you don’t have to keep enduring anymore. It’s all alright now. The transcendent you made a contract with is dead, and outside the dungeon we reconciled.”
Apologize…. The voice thick with tears muttered it. A sharp sound of someone drawing in a deep breath was heard. Yoohyun’s fingertips trembled.
“H-hyung…….”
“Y-you bad brat, you bad bastard…….”
He no longer needed to keep pushing me away. The reason for doing that was gone. My little brother’s expression crumbled as he struggled to understand that. He looked like a lost child. No, maybe the opposite—like a child who had finally found his parents after wandering for a long time.
“…I was wrong.”
Yoohyun’s voice leaking out in a thin thread turned wet as well. Not knowing what to do, he hugged the struggling me even tighter.
“I’m sorry. I was wrong, hyung…….”
I stopped moving. Haha, a small laugh could be heard.
“Han Yoohyun.”
“…Yeah.”
“Happy birthday.”
“…Hyung.”
“Happy birthday, my little brother.”
“I, hyung. I…….”
“You’re supposed to say thank you.”
“…Thank you, hyung. Really, thank you.”
It felt strange. I and my little brother were reconciling. I was purely happy. The me here could do that. I, who had never completely lost my little brother, rejoiced at having him back completely.
If he said he was sorry, that was enough. If he said he had been wrong and came back, that was enough for everything.
I was jealous.
That it was still possible here.
“Mm, sorry to interrupt the nice mood.”
I cleared my throat and spoke up. It would be nice if this could end with something like, well then, all’s well that ends well, but it couldn’t. We had to clear the dungeon and get out.
“For now—”
Rumble—
Space shook. The first one to move was Han Yoohyun. Almost as if snatching me, Yoohyun slid over to my side. Right after that, the scenery around us changed in an instant.
The reindeer and the piles of gifts became masses of rock. The smooth floor turned into rough earth, and the ceiling and walls all turned into rugged stone faces. In other words, we were inside a giant cave. A place painfully familiar, one I could never forget even in dreams.
-Grrrr.
A low growl struck the cave walls and spread heavily through the air.
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