End. The Conclusion of the Hunt

At the moment when Jang Yi-sang was activating his happiness circuit to turn the succubus female.

“Is this all?”

Elena looked around while holding the severed head of the dead Succubus Queen.

About three months had passed since the apocalypse began.

During that time, she had steadily grown stronger, completing quests one by one until she finally hunted down the Black Dragon.

By this point, Elena had not only absurd stats but also collected all sorts of skills and items.

“How boring.”

She felt a strange sense of emptiness. From the moment survival became trivial, an inexplicable weariness began creeping in.

It was as if this immense power was deliberately making her spirit lazy. Yes, ever since chewing and swallowing the Black Dragon’s heart, she’d been feeling increasingly bored.

The dragon’s curse. Elena couldn’t grasp the nature of the Black Dragon’s curse of arrogance.

Every story needs conflict, and that conflict usually manifests as villains or hostile entities.

In this world, Elena’s position was undeniably that of the ‘villain’.

In this twisted world where heroes and hunters coexisted, she could be considered the one and only truly evil villain.

Over the past three months, she had killed and absorbed countless people, becoming the enemy of all. A being everyone feared and wished would disappear.

“Hmm.”

She didn’t know. How many vengeful spirits clung to her shoulders, wailing for her death.

How could she? Death had become something too distant to matter.

“Seoul is finished, so what’s left is…”

After burning the Succubus Queen’s head to ashes, Elena turned around.

“You… what are you?”

“Me? I’m the possessor.”

There stood the long-awaited guest.

The true protagonist of this story, a once-in-a-generation genius naturally gifted with both light and dark attributes without any external interference.

“You came?”

Elena greeted Jang Yi-sang with a smile.

Her smile seemed hollow. Like someone who could see the end approaching, she smiled as she welcomed him.

“….”

Jang Yi-sang instinctively sensed danger. From this seemingly ordinary woman, he glimpsed a bottomless abyss.

If he approached recklessly, he felt he might be swallowed whole into that abyss.

His instincts were correct. Having abandoned all humanity, Elena would unleash unrestrained attacks.

Elena only wanted to kill Jang Yi-sang quickly and go home. This world felt unbearably empty to her.

To survive, she distanced herself from others, often traveling alone. Becoming too strong eliminated any need for companions.

Now, when she tried rebuilding relationships, everyone feared and hated her.

Ultimately, Elena became truly alone. A lone wolf who couldn’t blend in with anyone.

“Hoo…”

Jang Yi-sang gathered his magic power. Having glimpsed the endless void in Elena’s empty eyes, he realized she wasn’t someone to be taken lightly.

“What will you bring out? A sword of light? A shield? Anything’s fine.”

Elena waved her hand.

“Whatever you bring, I can counter it all.”

Dozens of spears materialized before her – the exact same ability Jang Yi-sang possessed.

At this point, Jang Yi-sang decided to flee. He couldn’t fight this unknown entity unprepared.

‘To escape without being followed…’

He needed to use shadow ambush for evasion rather than attack. His opponent was a monster of unfathomable depth. If carelessly pursued, all the monsters he’d collected would be slaughtered.

“Don’t try clever tricks.”

But Jang Yi-sang couldn’t even hide in the shadows.

*Clap!*

With a light clap of her hands, Elena canceled the skill Jang Yi-sang was about to use. Worse, part of his magic power was consumed against his will, slamming his arm into the wall.

“What the hell!!!”

In this bizarre situation where his own magic power was sealing him, Jang Yi-sang immediately severed his arm.

Blood gushed out. The pain felt like it would make all his hair fall out. He wanted to scream and rage, but he endured.

If he succumbed to the pain, that woman would kill him instantly. So he bore it. Withstanding the agony, he focused magic power where his arm had been.

A new arm made of light formed where his right arm had been.

The bleeding stopped as the wound healed. The glowing arm of light mended the injury.

‘I’ll get proper treatment back at the Academy. First, I need to kill that woman.’

Maintaining his composure, Jang Yi-sang looked for an opening. But Elena found his weakness first.

“Come to think of it, was the first girl you picked up a werewolf?”

“What?”

“Name was Hattia. Gray-furred werewolf. Right?”

“How do you… know that.”

“I just killed her.”

“…?”

Jang Yi-sang tilted his head in confusion at Elena’s words.

The woman he’d been with just hours ago couldn’t possibly be dead. He couldn’t comprehend it.

Or rather, he refused to face this worst-case scenario.

“The moment you left, the Academy’s future disappeared. You came for the Succubus Queen, right? I can guess your intentions. You came running here desperate to claim the whore you’ve been saving, didn’t you?”

“…”

“Didn’t you think Seoul was too quiet? When silence becomes unnatural, you should investigate first, not chase women. You’re rotten to the core.”

“Did you really… really kill her?”

“Tore her to pieces. I didn’t do it personally, but the Academy is probably a bloodbath by now.”

“Why… why would you…”

“Ask God about that. Blame the god who threw me into this rotten world and gave me power until I grew bored with it. This isn’t my fault.”

“Bullshit!!!!”

“Hehe. The real bullshit was your girlfriend’s screams.”

“Raaaaah!!!!”

When Elena threw Hattia’s severed head at him, Jang Yi-sang charged at her with half his sanity gone.

‘Disappointing.’

Elena watched Jang Yi-sang charge and thought.

To her eyes, he moved as if in slow motion.

‘I’ve become too strong.’

Three weeks ago, they might have been evenly matched. But now, they were on completely different levels.

“Guhhk!!!!”

Jang Yi-sang’s throat was caught mid-charge.

“Ghk… Graaah…”

“Hmm. More boring than I expected.”

“Khh… Guhhk.”

“You’re the protagonist. Show me something. Go berserk, awaken, do something. I destroyed everything you cherished. They were your awakening materials, weren’t they? From that werewolf Hattia to the chimera girl you captured recently. So show me. Show me the protagonist’s power. Do something!!!!”

*CRASH!!!!*

After slamming Jang Yi-sang into the ground, Elena laughed hollowly.

“What is this? If it ends already, what’s the point? This is boring. Nobody wanted this ending. Dragging it out for nothing. You didn’t even show me anything proper.”

“Khha… St-stop..”

“I will stop. I was going to anyway.”

Elena looked down at the squirming Jang Yi-sang and drew her sword.

When she first opened her eyes in this world, her top priority was survival.

She struggled desperately to live, and after absorbing HP Bio, she fought to kill this story’s protagonist and return home.

“I thought of you all as just characters in a story. Killed you one by one. The boundaries blurred. Now you’re just a crying lump of meat to me. If you can’t prove your worth… I’ll remember you forever as just meat.”

“Ghk… Wh-what nonsense…”

“It is nonsense. Rambling because the ending was too bland. Goodbye, protagonist.”

“W-wait..!!!”

Elena cleanly ignored his words and drove her sword through his face.

The protagonist dies. The villain stands over his corpse, looking up at the sky.

Light broke through the dark clouds, illuminating her and the crushed Jang Yi-sang beneath her.

“There. I killed him. I killed the original protagonist! It’s over now, right? The story’s ended!!! Send me back!!! I want… I want to go home now. I miss mom. I hate being Elena. Let me be myself again. Please. Please please.”

No answer came.

Elena’s worst fear had come true.

“No way. This can’t be the end? I killed the protagonist. This can’t be it? What more do I need to do? What must I do to go back? I’ve done everything. Wiped out all survivors in Seoul. Killed every major character with my own hands. The Gatekeeper in North Korea is dead too. Everyone’s dead.”

Still, no answer came.

The dark clouds returned, swallowing the light that had illuminated her face.

That light seemed not meant to save her, but to collect Jang Yi-sang’s departing soul as it vanished quickly.

In seeking salvation, she’d pushed everyone into hell, yet remained unsaved herself. Perhaps this was the inevitable ending.

“Fuck.”

Elena burned Jang Yi-sang’s corpse.

She had failed. Needed to find another way home.

“Maybe…”

She wondered.

Perhaps this was the punishment intended by whatever being sent her to this world.

The thought that no matter what she did, she might never return home plunged her into deep despair.

“Get a grip. Haah. Fuck it. So what if I can’t go home.”

Elena stood up again.

Now she would need to find a new purpose. Rebuild cities, conquer the world. Or perhaps invade other dimensions.

She could do anything.

Except go home.