Blood Empress: A Simple Graduation Trip Gone Wrong
It started as a simple end-of-semester trip. I'd finally made it into a university in Seoul—a success by most people's standards, the dutiful daughter fulfilling her parents' expectations. But really, it was just my own selfish ambition. My parents weren't the type to obsess over their kids' achievements like others did. Maybe that's why I could focus on my studies without any stress, just naturally throwing myself into it.
But my little brother, two years younger, turned that laid-back home environment into poison. Studies took a backseat; he'd hole up in his room playing games all day. They say men mature after military service, but even as I packed for my trip, he was screaming at his computer like a maniac. I could only sigh.
From a young age, I'd nagged him in place of our gentle parents. Like any siblings, we'd bickered and fought through childhood, but our tastes aligned, so we played together more than most. He relied on me a lot, and I didn't mind it. His noisy gaming at home? That was me blocking his trips to the PC bang, which ate up 80% of his allowance.
But... in the end, my choices led to his disappearance.
It was the second day of the trip. I saw the news: our entire apartment complex half-destroyed by a sudden gate. I frantically called my parents and brother—no answer. I rushed home.
What I found first was a blue rift where our house had been. Hunters emerging from the gate. As they exited, the rift vanished.
I desperately wanted to check on my family, but the Hunter Management Bureau insisted on clearing the debris first. I had no choice but to wait, praying.
Three hours later, their response: The shockwave from the gate killed my parents on the spot inside the house. My brother's body wasn't found—likely sucked into the gate.
When I came to, their funerals were over. I'd cried until my throat gave out, my body dehydrated, tears dried up.
Relatives had held his funeral too without telling me and were trying to file a death certificate. I stopped them, ready to kill.
How could they declare him dead without proof? Their answer was absurd. In the old days, gate disappearances meant death. But with rare "returnees" emerging, perceptions shifted—no more "deceased," just "missing." Insurance payouts got tricky. File a death certificate after family gives up, though, and it pays out normally. My uncle from the Bureau told them that.
Something snapped in my head. I screamed.
"Insurance money? I don't need that crap...! My brother... my brother's not dead yet!! Don't you dare decide he's dead on your own!!!"
Yoo Ji-na's eyelids slowly lifted. In the dark hotel room, she sat alone on a one-person sofa instead of the bed. The room had been bright when she entered; now it was night.
"Fuck..."
She spat the curse like a sigh, clutching her forehead. Four days since real sleep, but it wasn't welcome.
As she raised her hand, an unnoticed blanket slipped off. She stared at her teeth quietly.
So-hee? If she saw, why didn't she wake me...
Standing, she folded the blanket on the sofa and headed to the bathroom.
Whoosh—
Turning the faucet, cold water gushed from the sink. No makeup, so not just washing off grime—it was to snap her mind straight.
She stared at her reflection. Eyes turned red since awakening. Dark circles from sleep deprivation that could pass for decadent allure. Her only grooming: wavy black hair to her shoulders, forcibly managed by her boss and sole friend, Cheon So-hee.
Beep—
As she finished washing, the door lock clicked open.
"Huh? Ji-na. When'd you wake up? Turn on the lights at least..."
The complainer was the blanket's owner: red ponytail, black eyes, guild master of Korea's top guild Maru Guild—Cheon So-hee.
Ji-na's voice was husky from unintended sleep: "So-hee... what time is it?"
"Just woke up? A bit past 8. Our turn's at 10, so leave at 9 and we'll make it."
She'd checked in around 6. Seemed like a long nap, but only two hours. Half the average Korean sleep time, but she'd had this insomnia for over five years.
Falling asleep brought nightmares of that accident. She'd jolt awake gasping. Better to skip sleep altogether.
Normal people would break down health-wise, but as an awakener, it barely fazed her.
"Hey, Ji-na. What's this...?"
So-hee, now at the sofa, spotted something. Her usual bright tone turned cold and low.
Ji-na wiped her face with a towel and turned. So-hee held an awakener pill bought on the black market.
"How long ago did I tell you to toss it, and you're taking this again?"
"......Don't throw it away. Hard to get."
"Is that the issue?! I told you!! Long-term use is dangerous!!"
The 5-star hotel muffled noise, but So-hee's yell filled the room—loud enough to worry the neighbors.
The drug Ji-na took wasn't safe.
Even tough awakeners suffer from chronic sleep deprivation. Willpower has limits, so she turned to drugs: caffeine drinks, then awakener pills. When those failed, "otherworldly" substances from dungeons and gates.
Her current fix: LimitBurst, made from rare dungeon plant NightKiller.
Once supplied by the Bureau to top guilds for long ops—great for no sleep or fatigue in dungeon raids. But they ignored "emergency use only" warnings, abusing it for promotions.
No side effects? Wrong. Overuse caused heart attacks, brain hemorrhages, deaths. Bureau halted supply, cracked down. Now black market only.
So-hee raged at Ji-na's folly—she knew better.
"You know 'side effects' mean nothing to me. It's just regular meds then."
"Still a drug!! We don't know how it'll affect you!!"
"I recover from deadly poison fast. Drug sides won't be worse."
"Sigh... Ji-na... Therapy, okay? Even if it takes time. Please think of your body. I don't care what others think—I'm worried sick about you..."
"..........Sorry."
Ji-na reluctantly agreed to So-hee's plea. They'd been together since Hunter Training Center—more family than friends. Seeing her self-destruct was torture.
Her ability fueled this disregard: Healing Factor, always-on unique magic. Near-death? Back to normal in seconds. God's gift making her S-rank hunter, and curse after her loss—doomed to live undying.
She truly couldn't die.
So-hee broke the chill first—the mood-maker herself.
Forced smile not fully genuine: "Dinner, even if late?"
"...Not hungry."
"Sigh... You're impossible. Skipped yesterday too? Gotta feed you myself?"
"Stomach feels heavy before dungeons."
"Kimchi rice roll or... Porridge. Good for empty stomach."
So-hee dragged her out for dinner anyway.
#
They hit a porridge chain near Pohang. Diners stared at the abalone porridge eaters.
"Hey, isn't that S-rank Yoo Ji-na?"
"What? No way, for real?!"
Late night, but spoons paused, eyes on the women.
Ji-na, my-way-or-highway, ignored them, slurping away. So-hee hated the attention.
"Sorry, Ji-na. Should've ordered delivery or takeout..."
"Whatever. Already eating—finish fast and go."
So-hee's mistake: S-ranks—one of Korea's five—draw mobs.
Ignoring it, So-hee shifted to the raid.
"You're the key this time. We snagged priority over White Wolf Guild—gotta move fast."
"Kim Se-ah coming for them?"
"Yeah. That failed UK dungeon hit them hard. Focusing domestic now."
Conquering unclaimed dungeons: Find the core, infuse mana—yours. Infinite rare resources, everyone's dream. But deadly monsters, harsh environs—most can't reach core.
Report finds to Bureau; guilds raid by contribution order, lowest first to prevent top-dog monopoly.
Maru outranks White Wolf in fame but lags contributions—new to overseas ops. That low score got them first shot.
"Mm... Still low? Chicken on the way?"
"You said porridge 'cause empty stomach."
"Too little for awakeners~"
"I'm full. Eat alone if hungry."
"Tch... Watching you eat makes me doubt you're awakened."
"Good mileage, I guess."
"So I'm a gas-guzzler?!"
Laughter restored normalcy. Then, a phone rang—like on cue.
Ji-na's smartphone. So-hee mid-rant—"I max at four burgers!!"—but Ji-na answered anyway.
"Hello?"
"Hey! Yoo Ji-na! I'm saying you eat too little!!"
"So-hee, on a call. Talk later."
"Wha—?!"
Face beet-red, So-hee fumed as Ji-na continued.
"Yes? Who is this?"
Hearing the affiliation, Ji-na scowled. Air chilled instantly. Fellow awakener So-hee felt it; even civilians sensed the killing intent.
"Why are you calling again? If I hear one more lie..."
"Ji-na... Dunno what's up, but calm down. Civilians around."
Then—
".........What?"
Her eyes shook violently, shocked. Phone slipped from loosened grip—caught quick.
So-hee panicked. The "Blood Empress," cold and brutal in battle, acting like this? First time.
"Got it. Heading there now."
Calmer, she hung up. But dazed, soul elsewhere.
So-hee: "Ji-na, what's wrong? Big trouble?"
"So-hee! No time! Keys! Where's the car key?!!"
"Uh, here..."
She snatched the table-corner key and bolted.
"Hey, Ji-na!! Where to?!! Say something!! Waiter! Bill here!"
So-hee paid and ran to parking—too late. Her new sports car sped off.
She stared blankly.
"Ji-na...... How do I get back?"
Even then, she admired her new car's sleek rear.