I Killed the Game’s Heroine

Chapter 15

Arc 3: Today, I continue to struggle through life. Just like usual.

To cut to the chase, the A-grade malevolent spirit Sethani was exorcised by the exorcists, and I survived.

When I was captured by Sethani, I thought to myself, “Ah, I’m going to die like this.”

Ironically, because Sethani took me to his domain, I survived even with the wound on my belly.

What was that again? Was it because I was dragged there and fell into a stupor that I was able to survive?

Anyway, when I came to my senses, I was in a hospital room.

I thought that if I opened my eyes, I would fight to the death, but I was pleasantly surprised to find myself in a hospital room, skipping the intermediate process.

I thought I had died and returned to this damned hospital again, so I tried to open the window to find my freedom, but thankfully, I realized my legs were fine and my vision was no different from before, preventing me from making a hasty judgment.

That aside, I couldn’t help but have questions.

What were the exorcists doing while Sethani appeared before me again?

“Bad luck.”

“Can you not see my face? Elder. This face belongs to someone who is utterly perplexed.”

I told the old lady Gaeddong to look at my face properly, but due to her age, she seemed unable to hear and merely rubbed her ears.

I wondered if she was someone who should be receiving tests instead of coming to visit me in the hospital. But what could I do? She had no desire to receive treatment.

I clicked my tongue, and the old lady Gaeddong grumbled that Sethani’s sudden behavior was quite bothersome.

“I thought that the student who was with you could revive its consciousness and release the captured children, allowing them to attain enlightenment, but—”

Old lady Gaeddong said that once Sethani regained its consciousness, it released everyone else but suddenly came after me, who was still trapped within the barrier.

It was somewhat surprising that Sethani, who seemed ready to disappear after fulfilling all its grudges, had such a sudden change in behavior.

The exorcists watching that scene, however, attacked Sethani with full force, saying they had expected this.

Although I was captured within Sethani’s domain, it was actually outside the domain, which made it easier to exorcise.

But the fact that they did that after I was captured was infuriating.

Damn exorcists.

Of course, let’s not include the old lady Gaeddong in that damn exorcist category.

Suddenly, the thought of not fighting crossed my mind. I rolled my eyes and looked at the corner of the hospital room.

On the TV in the corner, there was a report joyfully announcing the successful exorcism of a malevolent spirit without any casualties, showing scenes from the site.

While the malevolent spirits were rampaging and Sethani was spreading some kind of black darkness, the scene of the old lady Gaeddong tearing apart and killing the malevolent spirits with her bare hands appeared.

If this person hadn’t done anything, I would be the one who looked like a fool.

Actually, it was terrifying to question what I was doing while being attacked by the world’s strongest exorcist.

Honestly, wouldn’t it have been enough to just tell me the prophecy you saw? I had nothing to say in response.

I was used to the unfairness of the powerless, so I quietly kept my mouth shut.

In the TV footage, old lady Gaeddong was demonstrating a magic trick where she kicked the head of a malevolent spirit over six meters tall, causing its neck to disappear.

“Originally, a malevolent spirit is something that transcends the framework of evil spirits, so predicting its behavior is itself a foolish act.”

“I’ve never heard of a malevolent spirit regaining its reason after becoming a malevolent spirit, and even the slanderers plotting something. This incident has been quite strange, hasn’t it?”

“So you will provide compensation for the damages, right?”

“Haha. I don’t dislike a person who takes care of their own bowl.”

What was scary was still scary. I had to get what I could get.

As I twisted my words, thinking that perhaps they were trying to sneak away from compensating for the damages from this incident, old lady Gaeddong chuckled and handed me a bankbook.

It had a note attached with numbers that looked like a password.

One large bankbook with five million won in it was written on it.

Seeing that, I felt my lips curl up involuntarily, but I was also puzzled.

The amount of money was more than I expected. No, it was small to consider it a life’s worth.

When my friend died, those suit-wearing bastards threw money at the old lady, telling her not to say anything elsewhere, which was less than this.

Those bastards, really.

“This is the damage compensation and the hush money for this incident. They want you to forget that you were in danger because of our mistake. And later, the academy and the exorcism department will formally present you with a letter of thanks and a reward, so you can receive it properly then.”

Old lady Gaeddong said it would be paid later.

But I felt it. I realized something from her words.

This was not from those high-ranking suit-wearing folks. I couldn’t stay like this.

I continued to think for a moment, rolling my eyes.

Seeing my expression, old lady Gaeddong let out a sigh and continued speaking.

“But isn’t it strange? It’s odd that the most vicious slanderers, the Shadow Realm, are targeting you. The moment the malevolent spirit regained its reason as a human, it came after you.”

“The curse was only cast a few hours ago. And the time it took for that guy to take the children was a week.”

“It doesn’t make sense to say they went after you because of the curse when the curse doesn’t follow the rules. Moreover, all the slanderers attacking you were ripped apart and killed.”

Hearing old lady Gaeddong’s words, it certainly seemed strange. I knew it was unnecessary to find logic in the actions of malevolent spirits.

But listening to her, it seemed that Sethani was in a state where it had regained its humanity and was about to attain enlightenment, just like in the original story, yet it chose to kidnap me.

Then, it meant there was some reason behind it—what could that reason be?

“Do you know? The Shadow Realm rarely operates as a group. They hardly move at all unless there’s a word from the spirit they follow or if they are marked as an obstacle.”

“…And on another note, the parents of that malevolent spirit. Both of them are exorcists, yet they are in the Shadow Realm? It’s certain since the torn corpses were found with a scarf on and a diary confessing what they did.”

“Isn’t it strange how coincidences happen? Young one. The world is full of mysterious events happening in succession. Isn’t that right?”

“Indeed.”

Honestly, I didn’t think the term coincidence was appropriate. It would be more accurate to say I was incredibly lucky.

The parents of Sethani when it was human were not merely child abusers but rather pathetic trash who believed in the Shadow Realm.

Humans who lost their minds to a cult abuse their own children? It must have been horrifying.

If it were me, before becoming a malevolent spirit, I would have stabbed those humans at least once.

Sadly, Sethani could only fulfill that dream after becoming a malevolent spirit.

It is far too futile when one loses their reason and rampages, causing their enemies to be caught up and die instead of properly maintaining their reason and taking revenge imbued with their resentment.

Thus, Sethani chose to deliver justice to those lunatics instead of attaining enlightenment immediately after regaining its reason.

In that process, I merely survived. That’s how I see it.

I survived because Sethani, seeing me being tormented by the slanderers, pitied me and saved me.

Although there were quite a few differences from the original story, isn’t it the case that malevolent spirits don’t all behave the same way?

Not that it was insignificant, having read quite a few web novels, I thought this situation wasn’t that bad.

Sethani must have been satisfied after directly dealing with the trash related to its parents and attained enlightenment.

And then, why did it spare the slanderers in the original story?

In the original story of the game my younger brother played, the character attained enlightenment because they had no one to take revenge on after fleeing from the barrier.

In this world, there are those who wore filthy scarves near me while attacking, so did it choose revenge before enlightenment?

Hmm—I don’t know. It’s all in the realm of speculation anyway. I am particularly terrible at guessing or deducing.

When I worked part-time at a second-hand bookstore, I secretly read a few detective novels.

Whenever I tried to deduce the culprit or predict the circumstances of the case, I was always wrong. Getting it right once or twice out of ten was a miracle.

When I watched my younger brother and I guessed the culprit while reading books, my younger brother would even ask why I thought this person was the culprit.

…Damn, I miss those times.

I felt tears welling up slightly from nostalgia, but I shook them off by stopping my thoughts.

Anyway, Sethani was exorcised. Even if it was revealed that the humans who created Sethani were not just trash parents but rather complete trash who believed in the Shadow Realm, they were already dead.

Dead people have nothing more to say. Even if it was merely a coincidence that I survived, I survived thanks to Sethani.

Moreover, I learned and gained a lot from this incident.

First of all, I learned how to use the Spirit Power. The sensation of my spirit power rising and something swelling inside me was still vivid.

I even thought that if I used the Spirit Power, I might be able to face an A-grade malevolent spirit.

And secondly, I also experienced how to fight against humans.

Not just against rampaging malevolent spirits, but how to deal with people.

The experience of facing someone who can think, find my weaknesses, and persistently target me will be a great help in living in this world. More specifically, it will help me earn money.

There are not just slanderers among them. If I continue to chase malevolent spirits to earn money, the likelihood of encountering slanderers will be high, so this experience was truly invaluable.

Finally, the third thing. Money. Having received five million won, I could go see the old lady without any hesitation.

Moreover, since Sethani supposedly killed all the slanderers, the fact that I killed a spirit would only be known to the protagonist—and yes, only to Nokra.

Nokra seems suspicious and doesn’t believe it, so it doesn’t matter. Through this incident, I gained benefits and achieved my goal of messing with the quest window.

– Oh. Looking at it this way, I seem to have only gained benefits? I thought it was okay that I had a hole in my belly.

I felt a surge of gratitude towards Sethani once again.

Sethani had done a good deed until the end, so what was the big deal about just praying for its soul?

I closed my eyes and quietly prayed for Sethani’s soul.

When I opened my eyes again and looked at old lady Gaeddong, she was looking at me with a face full of dissatisfaction, as if she had eaten a bad candy.

…What could this old lady be dissatisfied about again? I sighed through my nose and raised my eyebrows, and old lady Gaeddong chuckled and said.

“…I like smart young ones, but I don’t like young ones who make that face.”

Suddenly, a critique of my face?

I grimaced. Honestly, while the crisis turned into an opportunity, it was beneficial.

But if we get technical, doesn’t this mean I’m the only one suffering because she couldn’t keep her promise to protect me?

Critiquing someone’s face in front of a person who got hurt because they didn’t do their job properly. Given my personality, I would have raised my finger and told her to shove it.

But with the power of the Korean DNA that respects the elderly, I smiled politely and said.

“Don’t worry, Grandma. I don’t like faces like yours either.”

“What?! What’s wrong with my face! When I walk down the street! Ah! Even the young ones blush at my face! When I was young! Ah! I was known as beautiful even across the river!”

Across the river. It seemed like she couldn’t help but reveal herself as a person from the Joseon Dynasty, so I let that pass through one ear and out the other.

As I pondered what to do next, I looked around the hospital room.

A single room. It looked quite expensive.

Pouting my lips, I said to old lady Gaeddong.

“By the way, I have my clothes at Nokra’s house. Could you bring them to me before doing something strange?”

“…Alright, I’ll bring them. I thought it was dangerous when that crazy girl was blushing at those filthy little things.”

Old lady Gaeddong turned around, chuckling ominously, but that was only for a moment.

Just before leaving the room, old lady Gaeddong stopped and looked directly at me.

“I’m glad you’re alive. I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything. This is just an insignificant worry of an old lady, so whether you remember it or not is up to you. But try not to get involved with the exorcism department too much.”

“They like kids who don’t want to go to the academy. Whatever they say, just ignore them like you have until now. So—stay healthy wherever you go. Make sure to eat well. Isn’t living ultimately about eating?”

She said that and left the hospital room.

It seemed she already knew what I was thinking.

But it didn’t matter. My belly still hurt a bit, but with the words of gratitude, the exorcism department, and government officials, there was no good coming my way.

Thinking about the fuss I made with the old lady, it was certain. This bankbook wasn’t some government compensation; it was something old lady Gaeddong prepared from her own pocket.

Old lady Gaeddong earns a lot, but I remembered my younger brother’s words explaining that she didn’t have enough money because she was helping people suffering from malevolent spirits.

After saying that, he drew a picture he didn’t usually draw when he was short on time, but it resembled old lady Gaeddong and some goblin-like kids—let’s forget that.

I looked at the bankbook again. From the moment I opened my eyes in the hospital room, I decided to forget the grudges I had against the exorcists and old lady Gaeddong.

This was enough as compensation for a mistake, not malice.

Thinking that way, I took off the patient gown and pulled out clothes from the bankbook.

Dressed in a light brown short-sleeve shirt and black shorts, I opened the window and prepared to throw myself outside.

[ General Quest ]

[ Do you accept? Y / N ]

Yeah, this bastard. I thought it was about time.

I simply ignored the quest window and threw myself out the window.

The quest window stubbornly reappeared in front of me, as if pleading with me not to do that.

But obstructing my view was not a big problem for me.

When I was young, my face was swollen from being beaten badly, yet I managed to live just fine.

Moreover, it was incredibly amusing to show that I was upset because things weren’t going my way.

What a ridiculous thing. Do you think I’ll listen to you in the future?

Now that I’ve come this far, I wish this quest window was a person. If it saw me rolling around in anger, my stress, cholesterol, blood pressure, and fatigue would plummet.

I smiled brightly and leapt over the hospital room window.

So, what I had to do now—yes, I just had to go find the old lady.

I felt my lips naturally curl down and stared blankly at the clear summer sky.

End of Chapter