I Became a Genius Swordsman in the Pretty Girl Game

Stumble—

Shin Do-hwa dragged her feet as she headed toward her dwelling. Blood flowed down from her head, and her entire body was filthy with dust.

As she entered a deserted alley and placed her hand on the wall—

Whoosh—

The floor opened, revealing a marble staircase. As she descended the stairs, she was greeted by a luxurious, spacious room with a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. This windowless space was her private sanctuary.

Thud!

“…Ha.”

Sinking into a plush sofa, she looked up at the ceiling and let out a deep sigh. Then she covered her face with both hands.

“Yes, this is right… This is the only way…”

Yes, there was no other way to preserve the Shin Family name.

A hated yet magnificent family that was her everything.

The Shin Family.

The only way to maintain its lineage was to pass it entirely to her daughter, Shin Se-hee.

“Have I… in the end, lost?”

It still didn’t feel real.

The Shin Family, once ruling the world after the gate incident, had spent so long rebuilding its status, only for everything to crumble in an instant.

“No, that child will surely make the Shin family even greater…”

If there was any consolation, it would be that.

She let out a bitter laugh as she recalled her daughter, whom she had met after a long time.

A second child who was excessively intelligent and cunning.

No doubt, her blood relative.

Even though she must have resented and hated her mother to death, she coldly suppressed her emotions and quickly grasped her intentions. Just from that, Shin Se-hee was very much like her mother.

‘Yes, that’s why I tried to suppress her…’

If she had left her alone back then, she would surely have overturned the Shin Family, devouring it with her own power, just as Shin Do-hwa had done. That’s why she made the incompetent and foolish firstborn the heir to suppress Shin Se-hee.

Choosing the easier path for herself had now returned as her karmic retribution.

“Sigh, yes… I should be satisfied that the Shin Family family’s lineage will continue.”

Shin Do-hwa forced herself to get up and moved toward the desk. She still had some materials to send to Shin Se-hee.

Just then—

Bzzz—

A fly landed on the back of her hand.

Shin Do-hwa’s face hardened.

‘Did it come in on me…?’

She had taken thorough measures to ensure that not even a single insect could enter this place.

Insects.

The start of everything falling apart. Yes, today’s events were all because of this insect.

Twitch.

Shin Do-hwa tried to use her power to burn the insect.

But—

“…Huh?”

For some reason, her power didn’t manifest. So, disgusted, she tried to grab it with her hand.

Rustle—

She heard the eerie sound of insects’ legs from within her own house.

“W-What is this!!!”

Shin Do-hwa frantically looked around.

Goosebumps rose all over her body.

Her entire house was now infested with pitch-black insects.

She hadn’t realized that her room had been overtaken by so many insects. She had been so distracted that she hadn’t even considered the possibility of insects infiltrating her sanctuary.

“How… how did this happen…”

At that moment—

Buzz—

The large TV covering one wall flickered on.

On the TV screen, Shin Se-hee appeared, sitting on a sofa.

“…D-Daughter!?”

“Mother.”

Finally understanding what had happened, Shin Do-hwa spoke in a hollow voice.

“Have you already sent the Shin Family guards to raid this place? While we were just talking a moment ago?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“You’re so thorough, just like your mother…”

Shin Se-hee responded with a broad smile and nodded.

“Thanks for the compliment. When I visited your laboratory, I found some interesting things, like a technique to turn ordinary people into Awakened ones, or a drug that reverses the process, turning Awakened people back into ordinary ones.”

Shin Do-hwa’s face stiffened.

‘She used that on me? When…?’

Oh. Come to think of it, there was a moment when Shin Se-hee had briefly touched her.

She had asked the party’s healer to treat her, and when she was hit by the golden arrow to heal her burns, she felt a sharp sting. She thought it was the pain from the arrow, but…

‘Was that when she injected me?’

Shin Do-hwa’s face grew rigid as she stared at the swarming black insects gathering around her.

“Daughter, did you really have to go this far? You must have known that I wouldn’t resort to any tricks… And that I would make a certain choice…”

Yes, Shin Do-hwa had planned to send the materials to Shin Se-hee and then take her own life. It seemed her daughter had also realized this.

Shin Se-hee sighed deeply.

“I didn’t want to do this either. But what can I do? I am your daughter, after all.”

“……”

“I could never let you go peacefully.”

“Does your boyfriend… does your boyfriend know what kind of person you are?!”

In desperation, Shin Do-hwa grasped at straws.

However,

Shin Se-hee’s face brightened into a wide smile at those words, as if the mention of her boyfriend was particularly pleasing.

“Yes, of course, he knows.”

“…What? He knows?”

“Yes. He’s incredibly understanding. He said he would accept every part of me, no matter what.”

“….”

“Still, there’s a subtle feeling that I don’t want to show him this side of me directly. You understand that feeling, don’t you? Since you’re my mother. Well, it’s time to say goodbye.”

“W-Wait!”

Shin Do-hwa reached out toward Shin Se-hee, trying to say more.

Hisssss—

But before she could, a hissing sound filled the room as thick smoke began to rise.

“Mother, it’s time to return to the room of insects.”

The white gas obscured her vision, and Shin Se-hee’s figure disappeared.

Her mind began to fade.

“I should have killed you when you were a child…! Sparing you because I thought there was a chance has become my downfall…!”

Even in her last moments, as she collapsed, Shin Do-hwa cursed her daughter with a voice full of venom.

Thud.

Finally, Shin Do-hwa fell.

Buzz.

Click.

A cockroach folded its wings and perched on her head.

.

.

.

Shin Se-hee watched the screen until it was filled with gray smoke before disconnecting.

Beep—

“Please, live a long, painful life, Mother.”

Shin Se-hee bowed her head slightly in a final farewell to her mother.

When she looked up again, her face was reflected in the now black screen.

As she stared at her reflection, Shin Se-hee muttered to herself.

“Am I perhaps a little broken?”

An inexplicable emptiness filled her chest.

But there was nothing she could do about it.

If she didn’t do this, it felt like nothing would be fully resolved, and it stressed her out.

She wasn’t talented at enduring such emotions.

“A boyfriend… Even in the end, she said something nice.”

Shin Se-hee smiled faintly.

-Don’t worry. I’ll be your family. Your true family.

-Not the ones who have tormented you, made you lonely, and who, until the very end… weren’t really your family. No matter what you do or say, even if the whole world turns against you, I’ll always be on your side.

As she closed her eyes and recalled Jin Yuha’s voice, a heavy sensation welled up in her chest.

“If I were to have such a family… would I no longer have to live like this? If I started a family with Jin Yuha and lived a normal life, then…”

At that moment,

Knock, knock, knock—

“Flower Field. Someone from the Chinese Public Security Hunter Association is here. The Little Fool is looking for you.”

The person who had come to find her was Kang Do-hee.

“Oh, yes! I’m coming!”

At the mention of Jin Yuha, Shin Se-hee quickly got up and headed for the door.

.

.

.

A female hunter dispatched from the Chinese Public Security Hunter Association glared at the Utopia party.

She crossed her arms, making no effort to drink the tea before her, openly displaying her displeasure.

After staring at the Utopia members for a long time, she slowly parted her lips.

“…Utopia, you people sure are meddlesome. To interfere even in China’s internal affairs.”

Slurp—

Jin Yuha calmly sipped his tea.

“Yes, we couldn’t help it. Utopia has a strict rule: we always fulfill a commission for which we’ve been duly paid.”

Veins bulged on the forehead of the Public Security hunter.

She felt utterly disregarded. Despite her coming in person, the party leader was calmly drinking tea, and it was the woman next to him, Shin Se-hee, who was responding.

Bang!!

She slammed her hand on the table, leaving a deep dent in its surface.

“Don’t be ridiculous! Are you telling me you flew all the way from Korea to China just because of that child’s word!?”

But such a feeble threat didn’t even make Utopia blink.

“Yes, we don’t hesitate to lend a hand to those in need. But isn’t it strange? Shouldn’t China be thanking us instead?”

“Thank you? Thank you, you say!?”

“Yes. You must be aware of all the things Liu Jin, the landlord of Guangdong, has done, right?”

At that, the Public Security hunter’s face twisted further.

In fact, just as the woman said, they had already completed their investigation before coming.

Liu Jin, the landlord of Guangdong, had been abducting people and conducting illegal experiments. In the process, even her own husband had been sacrificed as an experimental subject.

And now it had been revealed that the strange phenomenon of insects gathering in this place was also Liu Jin’s doing.

They had no grounds to blame Utopia for this.

‘She’s probably saying that because they’ve already gathered all the information…’

The hunter bit her lip and glared at Utopia.

China was already in turmoil over internal security issues. In such a situation, if word got out that Utopia had solved this incident, she couldn’t even begin to imagine the backlash.

At that moment,

“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”

“Worried? Of course! If you hadn’t blown this up—”

“Yes, we understand. That’s why we have a proposal for you.”

Shin Se-hee cut her off.

Swish—

Then she slid a document toward her.

“Would you like to hear it?”

Shin Se-hee said with a bright smile.