The hem of his garment tore in a long line from a kick that didn’t even connect. Faint red lines appeared on the shirt underneath—and even on his skin. Yet he barely avoided a direct hit. Before he knew it, a small body spun around and struck Seong Hyunjae’s back with its elbow. For a moment, his heel scraped the ground as he tried to brace himself, but then he rolled away like a fallen leaf caught in a whirlwind, leaving only a trail in the dirt. Seong Hyunjae didn’t bother to stand; he let his body roll two or three more times to put distance between them, then planted a hand in the earth and raised only his upper body. If he stood straight up, the next attack would land on him in that exact spot. Even though he expected it... A thin rope flew toward his throat. Neither combat prediction nor his own guesses worked. A dagger appeared in Seong Hyunjae’s fingertips. He held the blade with the edge facing outward, erecting it before his neck—and the rope immediately coiled around it. As if waiting for that moment, the blade sliced through the rope in an instant, and Young Chaos appeared before him. His cold red eyes met the faintly excited golden ones. A tiny fist cut the air as if to block him, and an electric current flashed. Crash! Thunder erupted in light. A terrifying surge of mana poured out, but Young Chaos didn’t flinch; he spread his hands. His palm cut deftly through the light, targeting Seong Hyunjae’s shoulder like a fish slicing smoothly through a raging current. Seong Hyunjae twisted his shoulder in a swift motion, and the blade slid down the line of his arm. Shhh! Just brushing him shredded every layer of fabric, leaving a savage slash across firm muscle. Blood trickled down too slowly, staining his hand and dripping onto the back of his palm. Panting, Seong Hyunjae staggered back. Young Chaos shook his fingertips clean. “This lesson is rather brutal.” “Teaching is for your second and youngest brothers. You get beat up.” “Discrimination, is it? Compared to Elder, I’m still quite young.” “So you want me to look at you with pity? You’ve got to do something cute to earn that.” Seong Hyunjae glanced at the droplets of blood falling from his fingertips and smiled brazenly. “I had thought you regarded me as somewhat cute.” “Since you’re taking such care of me.” “You’re only getting this as damage control because you burned the contract and part of yourself helping First.” Young Chaos clicked his tongue in indignation. “That space-warp ability will never be yours again. Even if you couldn’t use it, it was yours—but not anymore.” If he’d merely lost it, it might be tolerable. But part of Seong Hyunjae’s power had vanished, leaving a small void—a subtle crack added to an already unstable state. To compensate, Young Chaos himself acted as Seong Hyunjae’s opponent. It was only possible because the connection from the contract still remained. A thin rod of birch appeared in Young Chaos’s hand. Seong Hyunjae’s brow twitched. “It’s whipping for doing good deeds. So there really is no Santa Claus in this world.” “Is that what you call pure self-sacrifice?” “Let’s say it’s half and half.” “Youngest must live.” Without a sound, Young Chaos’s body sprang forward. Almost teleport-like in its speed, Seong Hyunjae drew his longsword. He gripped the blade—nearly as long as his own height—in both hands, whirled his entire body, and brought it up in a powerful overhead strike. “You shall live too!” Blade and branch collided. Seong Hyunjae’s foot sank into the earth with a creak. The branch snapped away, and Young Chaos tumbled through the air, landing atop the raised tip of the sword. Crackle! Electricity raced along the blade; this time Young Chaos retreated at the intense flash focused on the S-rank metal. Thud! Seong Hyunjae twisted the sword’s direction and planted it in the ground, then pulled his grounded foot free. “I still can’t believe that collision carries the same S-rank strength.” “Other S-ranks probably think the same about you and Second.” “My sincerity in caring for Han Yujin is genuine.” Ping— A half-split branch shot forward like an arrow. The planted sword tilted, and the branch drove itself into the flat of its blade. Moments later, the other half fell from the sky. It brushed Seong Hyunjae’s cheek and landed at his feet— the upper half that had just been cut away. He wiped the blood droplet from his cheek with a fingertip. “First loves him so dearly.” “Why indulge it ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) in Second, then throw that at me? First is—” “No matter how broken I become, he’ll love me still.” He would cherish and pity him all the more. And the other one, too. Song Taewon wouldn’t abandon Seong Hyunjae, even fallen to the lowest depths. A satisfied curve formed on his blood-stained lips. “Life and death, indeed. Far removed in peaceful days, yet never felt closer when sinking into the mire.” Even touching the very bottom—it meant nothing more than a moment that affirmed his existence. From the highest heights to the deepest lows, it remained unchanged. Young Chaos gazed at the man who would never lose himself in any circumstance. “...The crescent moon—that’s why it chose you.” It wasn’t truly a choice. No one could replace him. And he had endured until now. “A firmer shell can hold much more inside.” Not a transcendent being breaking free, but an unhatched egg. The moment that solid shell finally shattered could be horribly agonizing, yet perhaps dazzlingly beautiful. If the birth of something new scales with the sacrifice of that shell, then even a divine entity born in place of its source would not be surprising. A sigh slipped from between Young Chaos’s lips. Even he had no clear idea how to handle what lay before him. His path had been long but simple—now strewn with complex problems. “What a hardship at this age.” “I find it remarkable you choose such hardship.” Seong Hyunjae drew the longsword fully. “Is there something special about Han Yujin?” “If so, then I’m glad!” This time Seong Hyunjae lunged first toward Young Chaos. Wielding the longsword with graceful precision, he drove the blade toward Chaos’s nape—his movements betraying years of skill. “No matter how you look at it, First is ordinary.” Young Chaos ducked. The blade grazed just above his head. Measured like by ruler, he evaded perfectly, then lashed a rope at Seong Hyunjae like a whip. The airborne sword twisted unnaturally upright, catching the rope. Whish! The rope coiled up the blade to the hilt. “Besides loving Second, there’s nothing remarkable.” That was all. Only that he loved what he couldn’t cherish. Chaos pulled the rope. Instead of resisting, Seong Hyunjae surged with the force and swung the blade. A palm—soft but unwavering—diverted the strike that seemed impossible to avoid without space-warping. “That’s precisely the problem. Even if everyone has potential to grow, innate differences exist.” It was an unavoidable reality. “Talents differ. Some break their molds, but most live within their limits. To put it bluntly, First is a normal man. The so-called heroic qualities lie in the youngest or that redhead.” Their natures and talents had decided that. Thud! The palm that diverted the blade struck Seong Hyunjae’s chest. Prepared, he leapt back to absorb the shock. Young Chaos immediately followed, tripping Seong Hyunjae’s leg with his foot. “Yet First has defeated three Transcendents.” It couldn’t have been by his abilities alone—but by Han Yujin’s, surely. Screech! Dragging one leg, Seong Hyunjae barely kept his balance. But it was only momentary before another rope flew and struck his other leg, and he finally collapsed. Young Chaos stood over his chest and looked up at the dim sky. “And ordinarily, the higher and firmer the mold you break, the greater the price you pay.” What feats a gifted being accomplishes might be predictable. But a mere human... “...What did the White Bird see?” He could not fathom its scope. “The jester got what he deserved, so other Transcendents should’ve warned about First—but being the third is the issue. Once or twice, a Transcendent falling to the world below occurred. But never thrice.” And the crescent moon, too. Young Chaos’s gaze shifted to beneath his feet. The approach of a fully awakened moon was distinctly felt. Beneath silvery hair, golden eyes stared into the void beyond the helicopter window. Calm, composed—yet... It’s hard not to give anything away. Even Gyeol felt faint anxiety. He could play Seong Hyunjae briefly, but not continuously. Still, Samir wore a doubtful expression. After all, Seong Hyunjae might be pretending. You must know something about Seong Hyunjae. Of course. To demand a political marriage, they’d have researched Korean Hunters. And Seong Hyunjae was known for overseas exploits. An inscrutable opponent, so Samir couldn’t outright distrust Gyeol’s demeanor. Meanwhile, Princess Isabella was fidgeting with SNS feeds. Foreign messages poured in, though unintelligible. Samir bounced between calls and texts, but Isabella’s fingers flew faster than the eye could track. Even Yerim was quick, but no match for Isabella. “What’s the cat’s name?” Isabella asked Gyeol. He stared out the window and answered, “Let’s call him Lemon.” Why Lemon? Average naming sense in this world matched mine, it seemed. I tried escaping several times, but whenever I tried slipping from Gyeol’s lap, a texting hand swooped down to catch me. Let me go, please. Until the helicopter landed at the villa, I couldn’t break free of Isabella’s grip. Though Gyeol tried signaling he wanted to be alone, Samir showed no inclination to step back. [Hang in there a bit, Gyeol. Uncle and aunt will arrive soon.] He said that, but coming from America would take more than a day. The distance, the procedures—no guarantee they’d reach here immediately upon Africa arrival. It’s been five days already; if it takes more days... Yuhyun’s birthday—only half a month away. Time was tight. I hadn’t even prepared a gift! A watch... the watch must be almost done. Should I go fetch it myself? Switzerland... near France, right? France was just above here, so it can’t be far. And there was Seong Hyunjae’s wedding problem. Why pick the busy year-end? Even if not by his will, couldn’t he adjust the date? January 1st—seriously! It might collapse at this rate, but still. I must send a New Year card! As head of the Giseungsoo ranch, I can’t do nothing. The chatterbox party ended, and reality crashed in like a tsunami. If this continued, no rest at home. New Year would flash by, then Lunar New Year. World-ending or not, let’s rest until Seollal. “Then we shall be family,” Samir approached Gyeol with sudden affection, drawing close enough their noses nearly touched. Gyeol jumped back in surprise. I reflexively bristled. What is he doing?! To a flustered Gyeol, Samir feigned confusion. “Just a greeting. You know that, don’t you?” Thıs text ıs hosted at 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵•𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒•𝙣𝙚𝙩 Greeting? Like a kiss on the cheek? Gyeol narrowed his brow as I commanded. “With my current condition, close contact with an S-rank could be unpleasant.” Stop the theatrics, Your Highness. Gyeol contains about 0.01 percent of Seong Hyunjae, so just treat him as the same person. “Please return the cat now.” Gyeol told Isabella. Though reluctant, Isabella handed me to Gyeol. He hugged me tight. I couldn’t hug him back, but I patted him gently with my paws. Poor Gyeol, you’ve had a hard time. Everyone else stepped back, and following Samir’s lead, we ventured deeper into the villa. The garden’s green warmth made the season feel irrelevant. “You mentioned knowing about Han Yujin Hunter’s Return.” In the spacious reception room, Samir got straight to the point. "Is the five-year regression true?"