Martial Arts Returnee’s Game Broadcast

Chapter 56

The audience room, where the mirror was retrieved and the confrontation with the silent swordsman took place, was filled with an air of tension. The swordsman stood face to face with the prince, who had been waiting for her. Her appearance was a chaotic mess, with the blood she had shed and the blood of the Queen that had been smeared on her—indistinguishable from each other. The bloodstains, which she had tried to wipe off with her sleeve, left clear marks on her face. The prince, his head bowed, stood before her.

"I am sorry. I lost my composure earlier and spoke harshly to my mother," he said.

Mother.
Even now, is he clinging to that shallow relationship?
The swordsman adjusted her straw hat as she thought, keeping a detached look in her eyes. There was no trace of the repentance or maternal feelings she once held for him.

"Had it not been for my mother’s help, I would not have come this far. I understand that I have hurt your feelings, but please, just give me one more chance."

The prince was confident.

"Now that the power in the palace has all but disappeared, the power of the Youkai realm is in my hands. In this realm, I can grant you anything you desire."

The prince had become the ruler of a world. He was the supreme power now. No person was beyond his reach, no treasure was unattainable. He could give her anything she wanted, even if it was something as unimaginable as her own desires.

Clink.

"Mother?"

It would have been so if she had not rejected him.

"My lady, are you truly going to see this through to the end?"
"..."

He gasped in shock. "I’m sorry! I spoke out of turn."

The crossing of the river of no return had been made.
It no longer mattered who crossed it first—the prince or the swordsman.
What mattered was that the swordsman held a sword, and the prince had become the target of its reach.

"...Mother. Why are you turning your back on me? It is I. Please, do not take away the chance to show you my filial devotion."

The swordsman took a step forward with the sword in her hand.
Though invisible, the sword’s domain moved along with her, a presence that could be felt through her skin.

"You no longer have to hide in the filthy alleys, waiting for your enemies. Instead of washing your body with blood, you can bathe in warm water."

"Sweet treats, long-lost treasures, and soft clothes—anything you desire, I can give you."

"I will provide whatever you ask for, just say the word!"

The swordsman’s steps did not falter.
Like when she had intervened in the prince’s life before, she moved forward, leaving him behind.
At this point, if they parted, it would be forever.
The prince realized this too late.

"Please, do not leave this way. There are so many things I still want to give you. There are so many things I want to do with you!"

His heartfelt plea.
His pitiful expression, just like when they first met.
But what had changed since then was his heart.
The desperation.
The longing.
He could no longer see it through the lens of their past in the martial world.
He knew.

‘Once someone betrays you, they can betray you again. The next time, it will be at an even more crucial and decisive moment.’

She had to lock the door of her heart.
Because if she didn’t, it would be her who would suffer the next time.
To survive in the brutal martial world, there was no other way.
That was the life she had lived, the life of a martial artist she had endured.

"Even if the Youkai realm falls, you need not worry. If you gather enough wealth and subordinates to live in the human realm, you can live comfortably without envy!"

"Enough, prince. You will bring ruin upon yourself. The lady will truly sever things."

"Maganom! Why are you standing by and doing nothing? Are you planning to leave me and follow her too? Are you willing to throw away the power you've always dreamed of, the power that would never again make your life at risk!"

Within the swordsman’s domain,
Maganom, who had always followed her, flinched and stopped in his tracks.

"Th-That is..."
"If you don’t stay, I have nothing to give you!"

Maganom’s eyes trembled violently.
For the last three days,
he had secretly dreamed in his mind,
dreamed that it would be him, not the prince,
to stand by her, to be her servant, to protect her, to become her child and be sheltered.

He dreamed of enjoying all that the prince had enjoyed and doing everything the prince had done for her.
His yearning to receive the swordsman’s affection grew stronger than ever.
An opportunity like this was rare, maybe even once-in-a-lifetime.
But he hesitated.

Life reversal.
Beggars and scoundrels crawling at the bottom.
His life, once miserable like a stray dog, had come to this chance, like a blind turtle grasping a tree that may never come again.

‘Can I give up this one opportunity just for the hope of standing by her?’

Maganom stopped in his tracks.
He lowered his head.
The sound of him bowing in front of the swordsman echoed, but she did not stop or look back.
No one could blame him for choosing power over following her, seeking a stable life.
This was the Youkai realm.
In this world, powerless humans were treated like livestock or food.
Maganom had lived a hard life and had earned the right to take power.

"See, mother. Maganom, who has served you, has decided to stay by my side. Where could you go alone in this savage world?"
"It’s over now. Take my hand and let’s go to the Queen’s dimension door. I will escort you."

However, this did not become the reason for the swordsman to follow the prince.

Clang!

The sword swung towards the prince who was blocking her way.
Wendigo’s arm intercepted the strike.

"Prince, step back."
"...You are really rejecting me? Are you telling me you cannot accept anything I offer for mother’s sake?!"
"It’s dangerous, prince. The human will really kill you."

Wendigo realized it.
How formidable the strongest swords in the human realm were.
But at the same time, he realized that despite having fought such fierce battles, she was not invulnerable.

"Give the order. Kill the human."

"Wendigo! How could you say such nonsense? You want to kill mother?"

"If you let her go now, she will become an enemy. When she’s weak, kill her. That is the common sense of the Youkai realm. Am I wrong?"

The prince’s eyes shook violently.
Wendigo’s words were right.
If the swordsman left the Youkai realm, then considering the path she had taken,
it was almost a foregone conclusion that she would become an enemy to half-youkai like himself.
If the prince was ever going to strike, now was the moment.
If he didn’t act now, he might never get another chance to take down the strongest human sword.

‘Mother will never love me again. She will never forgive me.’

For a brief moment, they had once considered each other the closest people in the world.
The prince and the swordsman, these two could understand each other.
He could instinctively feel it.
He knew the person he loved, the one he didn’t want to let go of,
was the swordsman.

Wendigo’s words were correct.
Mother, too, was ultimately human.
Even if she were not, after having fought such a battle, she would be weaker than ever.

—May I call you... mother?
—Please accept this hairpin.
—Mother.
—Mother?
—I trust you, mother.

But the weight of the time they had spent together,
the regrets for a relationship that could never be reclaimed,
the love she had shown him without conditions,
the gratitude for the maternal love,
the foolishness of it all…
Yet even knowing this was foolish, his heartfelt affection,
kept him from crossing that final line.

"Let her go."
"You will regret this, prince."

He knew. Of course, he would regret it.
That’s why he couldn’t repeat this mistake again.

"It is all the result of my own foolishness. How could I blame mother?"

Ignoring the prince’s sorrowful gaze from behind,
the swordsman stood before the Queen’s dimension door.
Beyond this door, the half-youkai realm’s human realm awaited.

"......"

The prince, the only true ruler of the Youkai realm,
leaving him behind was the right choice.
But the swordsman felt a strong urge to kill.

"Kill her. We must remove future trouble."

The primal urge whispered to her.
She knew it was the right decision.
The only ruler of Youkai was about to leave.
The rightful heir of the Youkai King’s blood.

Mother.
For a moment, she remembered the soft warmth of the spring sun.
The cold, rough heart returned, and yet she didn’t forget the spring breeze.

‘This is my last mercy.’

As Ha Eun-eung, not as the silent swordsman,
she did not strike the prince and instead passed through the dimension door.

2.
The dimension door that the silent swordsman left through,
leading to the human realm, was now before the prince.
Maganom asked him quietly.

"Will you follow her?"
"...Even if I do, my mother’s decision will not change."
"It may not be too late yet."
"It’s enough."

The prince gazed down helplessly,
his eyes drawn to the marble floor that had cracked under the effects of their battle.
As his gaze moved to the dirt beneath,
he had unknowingly written a single word.

??

It was the same word his mother had once spoken to him—
a word filled with the intent to be his shelter from the stormy world,
the hand to hold when he could not stand on his own.
It was a word that carried her deep, meaningful affection.

"Yeah… it’s already too late. I shouldn’t have said that."

Had he prioritized an apology to his mother instead of revenge,
perhaps that cold heart might have softened.
But now it was too late.
In exchange for losing his mother,
he had become the one and only ruler of the Youkai realm.
Was the power he gained worth it?
Maganom believed so, but the prince could not know.
He couldn’t truly know.

"I... I also have one thing to say."
"Is it something that must be said now?"
"The Boogeyman is nowhere to be found. It seems he left for the human realm before the lady did."

That sly creature, even leaving without telling anyone.
Though anger rose in him,
the prince actually felt a strange lightness in his heart.

"He may not be the one to face trouble, but with one of us leaving for the human realm, the lady won’t be alone."

The Boogeyman was the second-in-command among the team, only below the silent swordsman.
With him, there would have been some comfort, but now, it was just him left.

Please, Boogeyman, stay by her side until the day she faces my mother again.