Jo Dong-geun's Miserable End
“Gaaahhh!!”
Jo Dong-geun, screaming amid the barrage of attacks, finally cried out in surrender.
“Stop! I was wrong!! I'm sorry!”
Of course, hearing that didn't make me stop for a second. He seemed clueless about why we were even fighting. If the roles were reversed, would he have stopped just because I begged? All those people he'd killed must have felt the same. Why should he expect special treatment?
“I'll give you the throne! I'll be your right-hand man!”
He still hadn't abandoned his ambitions. Becoming my right-hand man—must be a desperate last-ditch decision on his part, but to me, it was laughable. I had no interest in a right-hand man like Jo Dong-geun. Better to cut off that rotten, stinking arm.
I didn't stop dropping the sorcery talismans. I still had hundreds left to use.
“Fine! I get it! I'll give you everything I have! Just spare my life! I'll go abroad and never come back!!”
No matter what he said, it was just noise. I wished he'd shut up already. And soon enough, that wish came true.
Jo Dong-geun, who had been shrieking like a madman to be spared, fell silent. Of course, the voice stopping didn't mean he was dead for sure. I kept pouring down sorcery for a few more minutes after that.
Whiiiiiing~~~
I'd unleashed so much sorcery that even after stopping, the debris refused to settle. I stayed vigilant, peering into the dust. Couldn't let a cockroach like Jo Dong-geun sneak up on me. He might have been holding back one final burst of power.
I glanced back. The barrier was cracked all over, on the verge of collapse. That it had held this long was impressive. Top-tier shamans, indeed.
The dust finally settled, visibility clearing. No trace of a human remained there. Jo Dong-geun wasn't standing tall as usual, nor kneeling in defeat. He was simply gone.
Still, I had to check. I stepped into the rubble.
The deep crater held nothing. The bugs had melted away like bugs, the ants like ants—utterly dissolved.
As I stared at the settling dust with that thought, something suddenly grabbed my ankle.
I looked down. There, unbelievably, was Jo Dong-geun.
Not in one piece, of course. Only one arm and part of his upper body remained. Half his head had melted, leaving just one bulging eye visible. That eye glared up at me.
Tenacity—at least that much, I could acknowledge.
I raised my foot. And crushed his head.
Kwachik.
This couldn't have been a peaceful end, but it suited Jo Dong-geun perfectly.
The moment the fight ended, the barrier shattered.
Rumble—
The other women came into view. Valentina beamed brightly, Lisa remained expressionless as always, and the rest looked worried. Tears glistened at the corners of Kim Eun-bi's eyes.
Having unleashed so much sorcery on Jo Dong-geun, I wasn't unscathed either. Covered in dust myself. Yet the women rushed to me anyway.
Kim Eun-bi hugged me first, followed by Jo A-young and Kim Seol-bi.
Valentina stood with hands on hips, looking proud. Kang A-jin wore a relieved expression. Lisa fixed me with her signature geeiiing stare, and I got the sense she envied the women embracing me.
“You won.”
Valentina said it like she was showing off.
“Yeah.”
“What a shame.”
Kang A-jin said something that didn't fit the moment. But she had her reasons. Gazing at the landscape where even the corpse had vanished, she continued.
“If Jo Dong-geun had been alive, we could've extracted his mana and given it to you, Sung-gi.”
Her words made me kick myself. Should've said something sooner. But things had moved too fast. Plus, Kang A-jin's mouth had been sealed by Valentina's sorcery.
What if I'd claimed Jo Dong-geun's mana? Recalling his monstrous vitality to the end, it probably would've been a huge boost.
'But...'
Still, I wasn't that disappointed. Kang A-jin seemed to feel the same. She shrugged and smiled.
“Can't be helped. Feels good to get it off my chest.”
# Jo Dong-geun is dead.
That meant our bizarre cohabitation could end. Kim Seol-bi might stick around a bit—her house was still under repair after being half-destroyed. But the rest had no real need to crowd Kang A-jin's place anymore.
What to call it? Naturally, the topic should've come up, with some packing their bags. But everyone seemed to dodge it.
Finally, Kang A-jin—the homeowner and straight shooter who bowed to no one—spoke up.
“We don't all need to live here together anymore, right?”
The moment she said it, the mood at the dinner table turned icy. Chill-inducing, even. No one answered. Some kept eating as if they hadn't heard. Hunters with hearing far superior to normals, no less.
“Didn't hear me?”
Kang A-jin repeated, looking neither angry nor different from usual.
“Yeah~ Even if this house is huge, we're not family. Sticking together like this is kinda weird~~”
Valentina said it like it was someone else's problem. But she was the most qualified to be a permanent resident—Kang A-jin's master, who'd arrived via the warp zone in the basement. No visa, no official entry; nowhere else to stay.
Lisa was in the same boat.
“What's wrong with that? We're basically family!”
Kim Eun-bi chimed in.
“Huh?”
I couldn't help blurting out the same.
Family? How'd we get there?
Kim Eun-bi declared boldly.
“I mean, we're one big family centered around Sung-gi oppa. We're all basically his wives!”
Her words brought a different kind of chill to the table. You couldn't just drop polygamy talk like that, even in a world that might tolerate it. There'd be rules, procedures. I hadn't married any of them.
“That's true.”
Surprisingly, Kim Seol-bi—the most conservative one—nodded. Cousins with Kim Eun-bi, even.
“I... I can't really go back to that house with Jo Dong-geun.”
Jo A-young said. Fair enough—she'd lived with him. His place was huge, sure, but she had nowhere immediate to go.
Though that had a flaw. No house? Hotels existed, and they all had the means.
“Things are chaotic outside right now. Better to wait till it calms down.”
Jo A-young nailed it shut.
“Yeah...”
Hard to argue. Jo Dong-geun must've stirred things up searching for his “sister.” If she showed up now, reporters and cops would swarm.
What could she say? About Jo Dong-geun's sudden disappearance? Her position would be awkward—unwanted attention, misplaced blame.
In an era where S-rank hunters were national power, Korea's strongest vanishing would breed anxiety. Jo A-young, linked to him, would draw excess scrutiny and hate. Sometimes things spiraled illogically.
Back and forth we went, but the conclusion was clear: no one wanted to leave. They all seemed desperate for excuses to stay longer. Valid reasons—for everyone but Kim Eun-bi—meant I couldn't just kick them out.
What about me? I had even less reason to stay. My studio repairs were nearly done—just door and balcony fixes.
As I thought that, ever-rational Kang A-jin spoke.
“Sung-gi, you can stay here as long as you want.”
Her tone toward me was worlds apart from the others. Like she'd read my mind.
“Uh...”
What to say? Suddenly, even I couldn't bring myself to say I was leaving.