Sinan County survived the aftermath of the First Great Rift in the past, but the entire administrative region was practically annihilated due to the powerful aftermath of the Second Great Rift.
Of course, over time, cities and villages were reorganized, and recovery was successfully achieved, but the newly created foundations attracted not the original residents but rather those who could not live in the sunlight.
Debtors, criminals evading capture, gamblers, and drug offenders sought refuge in this place.
And Park Won-hyung and Lee Seon-mi, the parents of Park Yoonjeong, who had been traveling for gambling without regard to regions, were also here.
“Ugh, ugh…”
“Hik, I’m sorry… I’m really sorry…”
The two were kneeling on the floor of a gambling house, trembling and covered in torn human flesh and blood.
The gambling house was fundamentally a den of criminals, and they often hired non-registered Awakened or criminal Awakened for security instead of officially registered Hunters.
Given that they paid a hefty sum for their protection and security, they were composed of quite formidable individuals; on average, they hired B-grade Awakened but sometimes even A-grade capable individuals were seen guarding the gambling house.
“I heard it’s a lawless zone in Korea, so I had my hopes up… but it’s just a bunch of lowlifes, isn’t it?”
And those Awakened were butchered by a single individual.
The security Awakened were skewered by shadow spears that suddenly erupted from below, and those who barely sensed the attack couldn’t last even ten seconds before succumbing to Wang Soyoung’s onslaught.
“Wang Soyoung, I’ve dealt with all the remaining ones. We can safely assume there are no witnesses left.”
“Is that so? Good job.”
The Awakened, who politely bowed their heads to Wang Soyoung, were dressed not in the red clothes typical of other guild members visiting Korea but in dark outfits featuring plum blossoms and masks.
They were all members of the Black Plum Blossom, directly under Wang Soyoung, specializing in assassination and massacre.
While Hunters typically hone their abilities to combat monsters, those born under Wang Soyoung and the Black Plum Blossom were designed to efficiently kill and torture ‘humans’ as well.
“Other official schedules are at risk of being recorded, but this place is a jurisdictional area abandoned even by the government, isn’t it?”
This area had turned into a garbage dump, gathering criminals, lawbreakers, and unseemly individuals in one spot.
Unless there was a genuinely urgent matter, the government had long decided it was more convenient to manage and gather these individuals rather than capture them all.
Simply put, after two Great Rifts, Sinan County was nearly a lawless zone where Korean law didn’t apply despite being part of Korea.
Clack.
“Hik…”
“So anyone can kill anyone here, and no one would know.”
Clack.
“Whoever it is, they can do as they please… no one knows.”
Park Won-hyung and Lee Seon-mi trembled as Wang Soyoung approached them like a serpent.
“Just to double-check, you’re Park Won-hyung and Lee Seon-mi, right?”
“Hik… yes… yes…”
“Hik!”
“Oh, don’t be too scared. Despite my appearance, I want to bring you a very good proposal.”
“Pro-proposal…? You’re not debtors, are you?”
“Shut up, you wench! Clearly, offer your money or your lives if it’s not that…”
“Hohoho, you’re overestimating yourselves. How much do you think the organs of mere commoners would be worth? Even if I suck your bodies dry and sell them, you’d barely make 10% of your debts.”
“…….”
Speechless, the two gulped.
So… why were these strong and scary people looking for them?
“I wanted to discuss Park Yoonjeong for a moment.”
“…Yoonjeong… who was that…?”
“Our daughter…”
“Did I have a daughter by that name?”
Wang Soyoung silently laughed at the parents who didn’t even seem to remember their own child.
Things were looking a lot easier than expected.
“I promise you, for you and Yoonjeong, this proposal will not only be good… no, it’s akin to gold.”
Gold.
At the mere mention of that word, the eyes of the two glimmered with greed.
○○○○○○
“Wait! Just 30 seconds, please!”
“30 seconds?”
“It’s nothing serious, just something personal…!”
“Well, fine. Everyone has their personal matters, right? It could be about perverted magazines or adult videos, I guess?”
“Y-yeah. That’s it!”
Bang!
With that, Shia entered her house, grabbing the Bladed Centipede that was curled up and sleeping before Yoonjeong returned.
“[Kki-ekk?]”
Thunk!
“[Kkiieeek!]”
Then, like kicking a soccer ball, she kicked the coiled Bladed Centipede into the storage room.
“[Miracle – Silence]”
The Bladed Centipede wailed in a pitiful tone, as if protesting what was happening to it, but instead of answering, Shia bestowed the miracle of silence, completely erasing the Bladed Centipede’s noise.
Once Yoonjeong entered, seeing a 15-meter giant centipede crawling around would no longer be a cleaning issue…
“J-just come in!”
“Excuse me… ugh…”
Upon entering Shia’s Returnee Shelter, Yoonjeong gasped at the horrific sight before her.
The furniture was simple.
A bed, a computer, a TV, and several large spheres that appeared to be Hunter Assistant Drones.
And in the kitchen, various spices like green onions and garlic, various sauces, cooking oil, milk, and an enormous fryer that still had remnants of grease on it were piled up.
That alone made Yoonjeong giddy, but over 50 empty chicken boxes rolled around the floor. Beyond those boxes were leftover pig’s feet and bossam, along with empty pizza boxes and over 100 drink bottles blocking the entrance to the balcony.
“Oh my goodness…”
“W-wait…”
“What are you doing…?”
“Y-yes?”
“Hurry up and clean this up!!!”
At the sound of Shia’s voice, like a tiger roaring, Yoonjeong shrank back.
“Start separating those right now! I saw a trash dump outside while I was coming in!! Why aren’t you going?!”
“…I-I have purification abilities, so it’s fine…”
“Fine? You think it’s fine? Does the rotting smell of food not get to you?! Is your nose broken?!”
While it’s true the miracle of purification would eliminate the stench and dirt whenever it was used, it merely eradicated the filth; if the source of that filth wasn’t cleaned up, the odor would inevitably return as filth piled upon filth.
“This won’t do. You’d better be prepared today! Get rid of all these PET bottles rolling around like your house’s bedroom!”
“…Yes…”
“Why aren’t you moving quickly, you pig-headed one!”
“Y-yes ma’am!”
It was fortunate that Yoonjeong did not come across the Bladed Centipede… Shia gathered a handful of PET bottles with her tentacles and threw them in the trash before returning.
What she found upon returning was Yoonjeong wearing an apron, seemingly salvaging Shia’s house with a fierce cleaning effort.
“Hey! What kind of child of the dark are you! Why didn’t you close the curtains when you went out? It’s common sense to close the curtains when leaving!”
“…Well, it’s dinner time anyway when I come back…”
“I ask because I have to, but what do you usually do when you wake up in the morning?”
“…Um… just wash up and eat…”
“What about cleaning?”
“…….”
“In this day and age, you can’t clean when the vacuum cleaner and mop are just sitting there like that? Hey! Back in the day, we didn’t even have a vacuum cleaner to help us up. We had to sweep the corners with a broom all day long! Now, you just press a few buttons and the vacuum does it all. And you can’t do that?!”
“……….. I was going to do it later…”
“Later? Later?? Did you say later!? How long has it been since you’ve been here?!”
“…Half a year…”
“Does it make sense that your home is in this state after half a year?! Hurry up and clean it up, you pig-minded lady!!”
When Shia turned her head away, a vein popped on Yoonjeong’s forehead.
“Get rid of this, this, and this too immediately!”
“But that’s still useful…”
“Are you saying expired milk is useful? Good grief… sure, go ahead and eat it. Eat whatever you want!”
“I’m sorry… I’ll throw it away…”
With that, Yoonjeong stepped into Shia’s Returnee Shelter and could not hide her shock as she began handling this and that.
Well, to say she was handling things was an understatement; she began a massive cleaning effort with thunderous sounds crashing around like an explosion.
A mere high school student… was cleaning really well.
While Shia had only tossed out the piled-up trash, Yoonjeong had cleaned Shia’s house at light speed.
Dusting, sweeping with the vacuum, it didn’t seem like she was a beginner.
As an hour… no, two hours passed, Yoonjeong’s efforts seemed to bear fruit.
“Oh man, now it looks like a livable house…”
“You did a great job.”
Fortunately, Yoonjeong had not entered the room used for storage.
If she saw the Bladed Centipede as well, she might have fainted…
“You worked hard, so I’ll treat you to a meal.”
“…No, we already ate seolleongtang earlier, unnie.”
“That’s different. This is this. Hunter’s gotta eat, you know.”
In truth, while cleaning Shia’s house vigorously, Yoonjeong had exhausted herself, and her calories were spent.
Plus, while bustling about, it had already turned into nightfall.
Since there was no real reason to refuse, Yoonjeong nodded, and in the meantime, Shia ordered ten chickens, five servings of bossam, five servings of pig’s feet, and even draft beer just for Yoonjeong.
“Do you like this?”
“…How did you know I like draft beer?”
“You just look like you would.”
“…Yeah, I guess I do.”
With that, the two began their meal, having draft beer on the side.
Though most of it was eaten by Shia, just watching her made Yoonjeong feel full as she subtly raised the corners of her mouth.
“You really eat with gusto.”
“Hehe, it’s delicious.”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s nice to see you eat a lot, unnie. But you’ve got gas, and… seriously! What’s with your house? Even if I’m not here, you should at least clean it up once a day if not every two… no, every three days.”
“Not you…”
“Huh?”
“Not you… call me by my name.”
At Shia’s sudden words, Yoonjeong fell silent.
As drops of water fell on the now clean sink, Yoonjeong chuckled and said,
“You suddenly say that.”
“Just…”
She had no choice but to feel it as good.
Even if it was all nagging and criticisms from A to Z, it reminded her of old times.
It felt good, like returning to those days when things were peaceful and harmonious…
“Just, I hope you do it… please.”
“……”
A request.
Why did those words sound so heavy?
“I probably won’t ask for such a favor again in the future.”
“….!”
Realizing the meaning behind those words, Yoonjeong bit her lip hard to suppress her trembling.
“I’m probably going to… go for a rank-up battle starting tomorrow.”
“…Rank-up… huh. That’s good.”
“I want to be supported by you, Yoonjeong.”
Yoonjeong couldn’t show this face.
Both of them surely had expressions they couldn’t show each other.
What kind of face do you have now?
I’m making a face I don’t want to see…
“…..Do well.”
“…..”
“Shia.”
I’m really a terrible person.
Yoonjeong could only say that.
It was a word spat out in a panic, yet despite that, Shia smiled.
That smile was so bright and pure that Yoonjeong couldn’t bear to look directly at Shia, like avoiding the brilliant sun.
Yet, despite everything, Shia felt happy.
This was the end. The end.
With this, we were Isia and Park Yoonjeong.
Yeah, this was enough.
“Thank you.”
In Shia’s smiling eyes, tears didn’t flow.
But Yoonjeong had the thought that it would be not long before the tears overflowed from that face.
○○○
And the next day, Yoonjeong’s life continued as always.
[Do well in your rank-up battle.]
[Thanks ^0^]
Exchanging short messages through her smart watch, Yoonjeong once again headed to the association from early morning to take requests and share quests with party members while circling dungeons.
This time, she also had to go down to Gyeongsangnam-do Gyeongsan and run through dungeons.
Dragging her weary body, when she arrived in Seoul, she shared some simple soup and stew with the older men, before dragging her tired self back home.
Yup, nothing had changed.
That’s what she thought.
“What’s this again?”
However, that night, upon returning home, Yoonjeong faced the most unpleasant humans.
“As of now, I announce that Park Yoonjeong’s debt has been transferred from Glass Capital to San Guild.”
“….”
Yoonjeong saw her biological parents, who were counting stacks of money with vile faces behind the officials and members of the San Guild.
It was astonishing how they approached her immediately after Shia disappeared to prepare for rank-up battles… but then again, wasn’t this quite gentlemanly?
If they wanted to take her, they could have just sent any organization member or guild member to beat her up and carry her off in sackcloth.
“Don’t misunderstand, Yoonjeong. I recognize that we may have used somewhat coercive measures. I’m aware you may feel uncomfortable.”
“How can someone aware of that do something so pitiful?”
“I can’t help it. From our position in San Guild, we desperately need you. Please understand that we have to take you by any means necessary.”
“….”
“But don’t worry. Our previous offers and conditions still stand. With the transfer of your debts to San Guild, all repayment obligations have been suspended, and all interests are frozen. You only need to pay back the principal amount, or actually, you don’t need to repay at all, considering it’s technically a debt. We will shoulder everything ourselves, and we won’t skimp on any support and advice to help you grow as a Hunter.”
It once again felt that the conditions were indeed fantastic.
No, it would be downright foolish not to agree to such terms.
“Therefore, Yoonjeong, you only need to show up. No need for clothes or luggage. We guarantee the best support. If you have trouble with language, we’ll provide an interpreter and, if you wish, we can even provide an assistant AI drone equipped with a translation module!”
Hiding from others.
And keeping it hidden from myself too.
Could I say I’ve preserved the truth?
How could causing you pain be protecting you…?
Or perhaps everything was simply my stubbornness and willfulness.
“Uh, um… I’m really sorry, Yoonjeong. But you’re our daughter, right? You’ll help your dad out, won’t you?”
“Right, Yoonjeong! How have we raised you till now…!”
Raised?
What a ridiculous statement.
Did they ever make me food or dress me?
They had come home every four months since I was three, grabbing money and liquor and leaving again.
I never held any expectations for them.
While they had never given me a parent’s love… yet they were the ones who had given me a new life.
As far as I could muster, I only wanted to fulfill the minimal duty.
“I’m so damn…!”
Though I never expected anything from them, this was simply too much…
If Shia finds out… will she get angry again…
I wanted to share the weight of the new name I had in place of the daughter I’d become.
I didn’t want to see the pathetic image of struggling from the dirt.
Knowing he, being kinder than anyone, would certainly still not forsake me, despite being such a mother.
Of course, there arose a thought to rely on them.
But as a parent, how could I do that?
To ask for a child I don’t love to repay my debts. To ask him to support me. To ask him to kill all those who torment me… how could I utter such words?
I’m a child who could not keep my promise once. It was too much to welcome such a son back.
He was a child who could shed my baggage and soar to the heavens.
No, I suppose I should call him my daughter now…
So I will remain as Park Yoonjeong.
Shia.
My beloved Shia.
You carry on your path.
I won’t even say I’m sorry.
To me, that’s already a luxury…
But, Shia.
Just know this one thing.
This mother really loves you.
From the past, present, and will continue forever.
○○○
Meanwhile, in the gambling house targeted in Sinan County to retrieve Park Yoonjeong’s parents, several members of the Black Plum Blossom still remained.
Even if this place belonged to a jurisdictional area, if they continued to remain soaked in blood so blatantly, it would eventually lead to their downfall.
If it had been a unilateral action by the Black Plum Blossom, there would have been no issue, but there were also Awakened among them with abilities to reconstruct crime scenes or trace bloodstains.
If, by chance, they were caught, it would be an insult to the head of San Guild.
“By the way, isn’t it like that place near the Gobi Desert? What was it called again…”
“Oh, isn’t it the Yongju Inn guild? There are lots of unregistered Awakened gathered there making gambling houses and casinos. But look here; these are just lowlifes, right?”
“That would be thanks to Commander Wang Soyoung. She’s S-grade, right? And highly qualified, so normally, even S-grades would have a hard time against her.”
“Hey, hey. I get it; just catch them. My insides are churning just thinking about this…!”
“Forget it, let’s just burn this all down.”
As the members of the Black Plum Blossom masked their faces and the recovery crew dispatched from the San Guild organized this bloodied scene, they were chatting idly.
Having seen such horrific scenes more than once, there wasn’t even a trace of agitation in their actions and words.
“By the way, I heard Commander Baek Wisin lost to that key figure? Is that true?”
“No, no. That woman must have caught him off-guard. If Baek Wisin was truly at full power, he wouldn’t have lost.”
“So he lost, huh.”
“That key figure is also presumed to be S-grade, so I can see why…”
SWOOSH!
“Hey, get him over there…”
PLOP!
“Ugh!?”
At that moment, a member of the Black Plum Blossom felt his colleague’s head get cut off and immediately sensed an attack coming at him, hiding into the shadows.
Though their abilities varied, they could manipulate shadows to some extent due to being led by Wang Soyoung.
Of course, using them all up with just one dodge was a heavy price, but at least he managed to keep his life.
“……!”
“Looks like they paid us a little visit while we were away…”
Clack.
“Looks like rats have appeared.”
With the shimmering illusion, two figures appeared.
A fairly tall, handsome man and another dressed in full plate armor like something out of a medieval fantasy novel.
The armor covered their entire body, so their gender was indeterminable.
As the shimmering illusion gradually solidified, the member of the Black Plum Blossom realized who stood before him.
The manifestation of an illusion.
It was the first returnee, Yujin.
“Y-you, Yujin…!”
“Do you know me? Doesn’t matter.”
[Should we kill them?]
“No, don’t move, Tia. You usually just kill them all before extracting information anyway.”
[Seems there’s no need to keep them alive.]
“Enough. I’ll handle it.”
With that, the figure that had taken on a masculine appearance suddenly shrunk, and his black hair flapped in the wind.
A slender young woman with long black hair emerged.
Revealing her true appearance that she usually hid behind an illusion, Yujin had her reasons for showing herself now.
Either it was to show her face only to those she could trust…
Or it meant she was about to kill all those in front of her.
“Hah, did you think we weren’t prepared for you?!”
BOOM!
Then a member of the Black Plum Blossom slammed the ground fiercely, causing shadows to shimmer and dozens of human figures to emerge, surrounding Yujin.
Each was a backup prepared for emergencies, and each was an A-grade Hunter.
If it were a one-on-one against another A-grade Hunter, the Black Plum Blossom, specializing in killing and torturing humans, would have a significant advantage.
“We will kill Yujin here! If that’s impossible, just kill yourselves for the leader!”
The members of the Black Plum Blossom that had sprung from the shadows nodded silently and attacked Yujin.
In an instant, explosions of unknown origin erupted in the air near Yujin.
Those attacks alone couldn’t deal a fatal blow, but shadows with thunder imbued spears and knives pierced deeply into Yujin.
“….!”
Yujin had manifested her illusion for defense to block those spears and knives but found it futile.
The Black Plum Blossom had trained over a long time on various S-grade abilities worldwide to devise ways of killing them.
Yujin’s mistake was thinking it was just a light attack and trying to block it with her illusion.
THUD!
THUD!
WHAM!
In a fleeting moment, the first returnee carrying the title of S-grade Hunter lost her life.
Her neck, head, and one eye were pierced by daggers and spears from the Black Plum Blossom, and the follow-up attacks continued on and on as if to confirm her demise.
THUD!
THUD!
POW!
SWISH!
“….Did we win?”
“What? Did we win…?!”
“Target Silenced.”
“Confirmed Silence…”
“Attack Successful!”
“We’ve killed her!”
Huh? That was too easy?
I had even prepared to kill myself if I lost here… Hahaha!
[Yujin, this bastard is smiling?]
Of course, I couldn’t help but laugh!
S-grade Hunter, the first returnee, had ended up at the hands of the Black Plum Blossom and was not even able to finish her as a San Guild executive!
It seems the so-called S-grade Hunters of this nation are so weak and despicable when compared to the San Guild…
“Leave her be.”
[Really?]
Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?
Yujin, you just died at our hands, right?
So why are you casually talking…
“You should laugh when you have the opportunity to laugh.”
[Scissors-Clip-Pulling]
Snip.
Snip.
The sound of scissors echoed.
Snip.
Snip.
No one could comprehend where that sound was coming from, nor could anyone speak, as they were directly experiencing the scissors in their heads.
Yeah, it was only natural they couldn’t speak.
As they were all feeling their heads being snipped.
“Ugh… Aah… Wha…?”
“Aah… Eek…”
“Ugh… Gah…”
The illusion ended.
The dream was shattered.
As reality set in, the only thing visible was the horrific pain of their heads being clipped, and the expressionless gaze of Yujin, observing them as they rolled on the ground like a dead body.
“Unfortunately, you won’t have time to laugh from now on.”
