I Became a Genius Swordsman in the Pretty Girl Game-Chapter 262: The End of the Divine Family (4)

Staggering and stumbling, Shin Do-hwa dragged herself back to her residence. Blood trickled down from her head, and her entire body was covered in dust and dirt.

Entering an empty alley, she placed her hand against the wall.

Whoosh

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

Thud!

“...Ha...”

Collapsing into a plush sofa, she stared up at the ceiling and let out a deep sigh, then covered her face with both hands.

“This is how it’s supposed to be... This is the only way...”

Yes, there was no other way to preserve the Shin family’s name.

Her great and terrible family, her everything.

The Shin family.

The only way to keep its legacy intact was to pass everything down to her daughter, Shin Se-hee.

“Have I... lost in the end?”

She still couldn’t fully comprehend it.

The Shin family, which once dominated the world after the Gate Incident, had all crumbled in an instant, despite everything she had built over the years to restore its former glory.

“No... If it’s her, she’ll make the Shin family even # Nоvеlight # greater...”

The only solace she could take was in that thought.

She let out a hollow laugh as she recalled her daughter, whom she had seen for the first time in a long while.

Her excessively clever and cunning second daughter.

How could she not be her own blood?

Surely, Shin Se-hee must hate her, resent her to the core, but she had kept her emotions in check, coldly assessing the situation and quickly understanding her intentions. In that regard, Shin Se-hee was truly her daughter, so much like herself.

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

If she had left her unchecked back then, she would have surely overturned the Shin family and devoured it with her own power, just as Shin Do-hwa herself had done. That was why she had made the incompetent and foolish first daughter her heir, to keep Shin Se-hee under control.

Choosing a more manageable path had come back to bite her.

“Hmph, well... I’ll just have to be satisfied that the Shin family’s legacy won’t be completely erased.”

Forcing herself up, Shin Do-hwa tried to head toward her desk. There were still documents she needed to send to Shin Se-hee.

At that moment.

Bzzz—

A fly landed on the back of her hand.

Shin Do-hwa’s face hardened.

‘Did it come with me...?’

She had taken meticulous measures to prevent any insects from entering this space.

Insects.

The beginning of everything falling apart. Yes, everything that happened today started with these insects.

Squirm

She tried to use her power to burn the insect.

But.

“...Huh?”

For some reason, her ability didn’t manifest. Disgusted, she tried to swat it away with her hand.

Rustle rustle

She heard the creepy sound of insect legs from somewhere in her house.

“What... what is this?!”

Panicking, Shin Do-hwa frantically looked around.

Goosebumps rose all over her body.

The entire house was infested with insects, blackening every corner.

She had been so distracted that she hadn’t even noticed her room had been taken over by so many insects. She had never imagined they could infiltrate her sanctuary.

“How... how did this happen...?”

At that moment.

Crackle

Bzzt!

A large TV occupying one wall flickered on.

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

“...D-daughter!?” “Mother.”

Realizing what had happened, Shin Do-hwa let out a defeated sigh.

“...You already had the private guard ransack this place, didn’t you? While we were talking just a moment ago?” “Yes, that’s right.” “You’re truly thorough... just like your mother...”

Shin Se-hee smiled brightly and nodded.

“Thank you for the compliment. There were some interesting things in your lab, Mother. For instance, techniques to turn ordinary people into Awakened, or drugs that could revert an Awakened back to an ordinary person.”

Shin Do-hwa’s face hardened.

‘Did she use that on me? When did she...?’

Ah. She recalled that brief moment of contact with Shin Se-hee.

She had asked the party’s healer to treat her, and when the golden arrow struck her to heal the burns, there had been a small prick of pain. She had thought it was from the arrow itself...

‘So that’s when she injected me.’

Shin Do-hwa’s face stiffened as the black insects swarmed around her.

“Daughter, did you really have to go this far? You must have known I wasn’t planning any tricks... and that I’d already decided what I would do...”

Yes, Shin Do-hwa had planned to send the documents to Shin Se-hee and then take her own life. It seemed her daughter had figured that out too.

Shin Se-hee sighed deeply.

“I didn’t want to do this either. But what can I do? I’m your daughter, after all.” “...” “I’m not the kind of person who can let you go so easily.” “Does your husband know? Does he know you’re capable of this?!”

In a desperate attempt, Shin Do-hwa tried to grasp at straws.

But instead, Shin Se-hee’s smile only grew brighter, as if she liked hearing the word "husband."

“Yes, of course he knows.” “...What? He knows?” “Yes. He’s incredibly accepting and told me he would love me no matter what side of me he sees.” “...” “Still, there’s a part of me that doesn’t want to show him this side. You understand, don’t you, Mother? Now, it’s time to say goodbye.” “W-wait!”

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

Whoosh—

But with the sound of air escaping, a thick smoke filled the room.

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

The white gas clouded her vision, making it impossible to see Shin Se-hee anymore.

Her consciousness began to fade.

“I should have killed you when you were young...! Leaving you alive out of some faint hope was my greatest mistake...!”

With her last breath, Shin Do-hwa cursed Shin Se-hee in a voice full of bitterness as she collapsed.

Thud

Finally, Shin Do-hwa fell to the ground.

Buzz

Plop

A single cockroach landed on her head and folded its wings.

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

Beep—

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

With those final words, Shin Se-hee bowed her head and said her last goodbye to her mother.

When she lifted her head again, her reflection stared back at her from the now-black screen.

As she gazed at her own image, she spoke quietly to herself.

“Am I a little broken after all?”

A strange emptiness filled her chest.

But there was no other choice.

If she hadn’t done it, it would have felt like something remained unresolved, and the stress would have consumed her.

She didn’t have the talent for enduring such emotions.

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“Husband... Still, you left me with kind words in the end.”

Shin Se-hee smiled softly.

Don’t worry. I’ll be your family. A real family.

Not the kind that torments you, leaves you lonely, and fails you at the end. A family that will stand by you no matter what you do, no matter what you say, even if the whole world turns its back on you.

Closing her eyes and recalling Jin Yoo-ha’s voice filled her with a warm, overwhelming sensation.

“If I do have a family like that... Could I finally stop living like this? If I start a family with Jin Yoo-ha and become part of a normal family...”

At that moment.

Knock, knock, knock—

“Flower Garden. The Chinese Public Security Hunter Association is here. They’re looking for you.”

It was Kang Do-hee who came looking for her.

“Oh, yes! I’m coming!”

The moment she heard that Jin Yoo-ha was asking for her, Shin Se-hee quickly stood up and headed toward the door.

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

With her arms crossed, she expressed her displeasure openly, ignoring the tea in front of her.

After staring intently at the Utopia members, she finally spoke.

“...Utopia, you really have a knack for sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. Even in China’s internal affairs.”

Sip

Jin Yoo-ha calmly sipped his tea.

“Yes, we had no choice. Utopia’s principle is to carry out any mission for which we’ve been fairly compensated.”

Grit

A vein throbbed on the Chinese hunter’s forehead.

She felt as though they were mocking her.

Despite her coming here personally, the party leader simply drank his tea with a calm expression, while it was the woman next to him, Shin Se-hee, who answered.

Bang!!

She slammed her hand down on the table, leaving a deep imprint of her hand.

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

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

“Yes, we never hesitate to lend a hand where it’s needed. But it’s strange, isn’t it? Shouldn’t China be thanking us instead?”

“Thanking you? Thank you?!”

“Yes. You’re fully aware of what Ryu Jin, the landlord of Guangdong Province, has done, aren’t you?”

At those words, the Chinese hunter’s face twisted even more.

Indeed, just as the woman had said, she had already completed her investigation before coming here.

Ryu Jin, the landlord of Guangdong Province, had been abducting humans and conducting illegal experiments. In the process, she had even sacrificed her own husband as a test subject.

And the strange phenomenon of insects gathering here was also revealed to be Ryu Jin’s doing.

There was no justification to blame Utopia for this.

‘She’s probably speaking like that because they’ve already gathered all the information...’

The hunter pursed her lips and glared at Utopia.

There were already issues with public security within China, making things tense. If it became known that Utopia had solved this incident as well, just thinking about the potential backlash made her head throb.

At that moment.

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

“A lot on my mind? Yes! If you hadn’t blown this out of proportion—”

“Yes, we know. That’s why we have a proposal.”

Shin Se-hee cut her off.

Slide—

She handed the hunter a document.

“Would you like to hear it?”

Shin Se-hee smiled brightly as she spoke.