What Only She Didn't Know. (2)

"...."

Shin Se-yeon instinctively formed a hand seal and drew up her spiritual power at Shin Chun-gyun's words, which sounded as if he had known she was coming from the start.

He was not only her father and head of the Muryu clan—but also a sorcerer known as the "Eungeok."

All that information flashed through Shin Se-yeon's mind in an instant, reminding her of one absolute fact.

'I have to finish this now...!'

Too many things had diverged from what the original Shin Se-yeon had planned.

For some reason, Shin Chun-gyun knew that she would come to kill him today.

That alone meant that her surprise attack had already failed.

However, Shin Se-yeon did not give up.

After all, now that her intent to attack had been exposed to Shin Chun-gyun, there was no turning back.

Nor would she ever be able to make preparations like today again.

"... Hup!"

Roughly controlling her spiritual power, she brought forth two types of sorcery.

One was Muryu, the clan's signature sorcery that had allowed her to come as far as the Sorcery Institute.

The other was astrology—something Kim Dojun had insisted she learn, swearing it would be the way for her to kill her father.

Buuuum—

As that peculiar activation noise, audible only to her, rang out, she saw Shin Chun-gyun before her.

No—more accurately, she saw a projection of his future, one second ahead, his soon-to-take action lingering before her eyes like an afterimage.

'Only one chance...!'

Shin Se-yeon immediately drew the dagger she kept hidden on her person.

The "Poison Fang"—the single-use artifact she had bought in secret by siphoning off the Muryu clan's funds, which would place a curse of death with just one stab.

Certainly, for the astronomical price she had paid, the dagger's effects would vanish after a single use, but that fact was immaterial to Shin Se-yeon.

She'd only ever intended to use it on the man before her, anyway.

Thud—!

She launched herself from the floor directly at Shin Chun-gyun.

And yet, even in that moment, Shin Chun-gyun merely stared at her complacently.

Se-yeon sensed something was off.

With her eyes that could see glimpses of the future, Shin Chun-gyun remained standing in place.

Even the "future" when her dagger touched his heart showed him collapsing easily, as if felled by her blade.

But even while sensing something was amiss, Shin Se-yeon did not stop.

Strange though it was, this moment looked to her like an irreplicable chance.

So she surged forth.

― Thock!

The Poison Fang in her grip struck Shin Chun-gyun's heart.

Just as she'd seen, Shin Chun-gyun collapsed—exactly as in the future she'd glimpsed.

Yet even as she realized she'd finally enacted the revenge she'd so long desired, Shin Se-yeon did not smile.

For good reason.

'He's... smiling?'

On the face of Shin Chun-gyun as he fell was a hideous, chilling grin—one so grotesque that Se-yeon shuddered at the sight.

Crash!

As his body fell, it shattered the desk, slamming down onto the wooden floor.

Even so, while her vision of the future had become reality before her eyes, Shin Se-yeon still could not smile.

Because—

"Is it over now?"

With the dagger embedded in his heart, Shin Chun-gyun asked the question with a twisted expression.

At once, Shin Se-yeon dashed to his fallen form.

Splurt—!

She yanked the dagger out, covering herself with fresh blood.

Unconcerned, she plunged the dagger into his body again.

Thok—!

Yet still, Shin Chun-gyun kept smiling.

The instant Se-yeon raised the dagger once more to stab again—

"Does a revenge ten years in the making taste sweet?"

"!"

Shin Chun-gyun spoke.

"Why stop? Stab me more. Over and over, until you're satisfied. I will indulge your revenge."

"Wha...?"

At his words, seyun's brows drew together in confusion.

"Hurry, do it! More! More!! More!!!"

Shin Chun-gyun shouted, that grotesque grin stretching wider, as if urging her on, but Se-yeon no longer stabbed the dagger down.

At that moment—

"This is boring."

The twisted smile vanished, replaced with a blank, impassive face.

"Pity. Watching a foolish bitch take her revenge was rather entertaining. Ah, was my acting too poor this time?"

"What are you—"

Se-yeon began to speak.

But she could go no further.

Wham—!

"Kuh!?"

A searing pain burst from behind her, launching her into the wall.

"Ugh!"

As Shin Chun-gyun stood up, wholly unconcerned, he seized Se-yeon by the hair.

"Well, don't worry too much. For a fool like you, I'll kindly explain the situation myself."

—he sneered.

"My daughter."

At those words, Shin Se-yeon lost consciousness.

####

"Hic...!"

When Shin Se-yeon next opened her eyes, she was in a pitch-black room, unable to see anything.

She struggled to focus her eyes, trying to understand her surroundings.

But the darkness yielded nothing.

Clang—

"Nngh..."

Her entire body was bound. As she tried to recall the events that had just taken place, her mind spun in confusion.

"Awake, now, foolish girl?"

A small candle flared into life before her, revealing Shin Chun-gyun standing there, just as she had last seen.

In one hand, he held a candle.

In the other, the Poison Fang Se-yeon had wielded.

"... Who are you?"

Staring at him, seyun fired off the question.

The reason was simple: his body.

His wounds were still gaping—the blood still seeping from the spot where she had stabbed his heart, his torn face unhealed.

Yet Shin Chun-gyun appeared perfectly unfazed, and Se-yeon instinctively realized—

The being before her, atmosphere and spiritual power aside, was not actually her father, Shin Chun-gyun.

"Me? Why, I'm Shin Chun-gyun."

He tried to deceive Se-yeon with utter nonchalance.

But Se-yeon's face became resolute.

Seeing her expression, Shin Chun-gyun shrugged, as if he found it all boring.

"So my acting was really that poor, huh?"

"...."

"But isn't that a bit funny too? After all—"

"...?"

"—I've lived as Shin Chun-gyun for over ten years now."

"...!"

"So, don't you think I have the right to call myself Shin Chun-gyun?"

"What...?"

He giggled at his own riddle, clearly amused by Se-yeon's confusion, and patted her shoulder lightly.

"... Don't look so glum. As a reward for having the gall to try to kill me, I'll tell you something."

Then, squatting in front of her, he spoke.

"The secret of the Muryu clan."

"...."

With a wide smile, Shin Chun-gyun locked eyes with Se-yeon and asked,

"Se-yeon, how many survivors do you think there are in the Muryu clan?"

"... What?"

"The survivors of the Muryu clan—your family, your relatives, everyone who bore the clan name. How many do you think are alive within it?"

"...."

Se-yeon fell silent.

Grinning wider, Shin Chun-gyun answered himself.

"And the answer is—ta-da! Two!"

"... What does that—"

Se-yeon finally responded.

To her knowledge, the Muryu clan had dozens of relatives.

That wasn't all.

Even branch families, for whom she wasn't a direct kin, numbered plenty.

After all, the Muryu clan was one of the three greatest families in Korea.

So Se-yeon neither understood the question nor the answer, but Shin Chun-gyun continued, undaunted.

"Se-yeon, haven't you ever thought it odd? Starting from a certain day."

"...."

"Your relatives, who once looked after you with such pity when your mother and sister died—one day, they just started acting like you didn't exist."

"...."

"And then, members from the branch families, who always cared for you, stopped speaking to you at all. Before long, they ignored you entirely. As if you had never existed at all."

"...!"

"Next came the servants. Those who comforted you, who received your affection—all started disappearing, one by one. Some said they quit, some said they were ill—it was always one or the other. Do you know why? It's because—"

He grinned—

"—they were all replaced."

"... What did you say?"

"Your relatives, the branch families who held key positions in the Muryu clan, and even the servants—every last one was replaced. By 'us'."

"What...?"

Se-yeon scowled in complete incomprehension at Shin Chun-gyun's claim.

He, however, simply wore an amused smile.

"Yes, it's a hard story for a fool like you. Want a simpler explanation?"

He brought his lips right to her ear.

"The Muryu clan was destroyed thirteen years ago, already—by our Prophet."

"...!"

He whispered the 'truth.'

Shin Se-yeon, wide-eyed in total shock—

"Every single Muryu clan member was slaughtered thirteen years ago—their hearts pierced."

"The branch families? We couldn't be bothered to deal with them one by one, so we gathered them all up in a spirit zone and massacred them."

—heard him speak the truth.

"Oh, and the servants were amusing, but truly, the most fun were your mother and your sister."

"!"

Shin Se-yeon's grimace darkened, but Shin Chun-gyun went on blithely.

"Your sister, Shin Yurim, was it? She was the most fun to kill~"

He smiled.

"You son of a bitch!"

A demonic fury overtook Se-yeon at those words, and she tried to rise somehow, but the chains binding her body only tightened all the more.

Watching her, Shin Chun-gyun lifted both hands above his head in mock surrender, as if to calm her.

"Calm down~ I prepared a present, since I figured you might react that way."

"You bastard! Let me out of this!"

Se-yeon cursed.

"I told you, there are two Muryu clan survivors."

Regardless of her shouting or curses, Shin Chun-gyun lifted the Poison Fang Se-yeon had brought with the same playful manner.

"Shin Chun-gyun is still alive."

He spoke those words.

"!"

The moment Shin Se-yeon's curses ceased and her eyes snapped wide open, the once-inky room filled with light as more candles were lit.

And then, Shin Se-yeon saw it.

In a ceremonial chamber, sitting debilitated with age—her father.

She realized at once.

That the decrepit man at the heart of the ritual chamber was, in fact, her father.

And then, in that instant—

"Your dearest wish is to kill your father, isn't it?"

He grinned—

"I'll grant your dearest wish."

Shin Se-yeon saw the smile of a devil.

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