I Became a Genius Swordsman in the Pretty Girl Game

In the coastal port city of Acapulco, Mexico, an unexpected explosion occurred.

-BOOM!

It was a sudden terrorist attack orchestrated by a group of demons.

“Academy brat! Over there!”
“Catch her!”
“Kill her!!!”

Amidst the chaos stood a small, short-haired woman with sharp, upturned eyes.
Fen Miao, also known as Blood Engraving, peeked out cautiously from inside a warehouse before letting out a small sigh.

“Good. My decoy led them away. I’ve bought some time.”

She turned her head to look at five children trembling in fear.

“S-sister…”
“I-I’m scared…”
“Are we going to die here…?”
“Mom… Dad…”

Their whimpering grated on her nerves. She hated dealing with kids.

“Sniff, sniff… Waaah…”

When the youngest boy was about to burst into tears, Fen Miao quickly covered his mouth and whispered urgently.

“Quiet. If they hear us, we’re all dead. I’ve already called for help. Just wait a little longer.”

The children didn’t look reassured despite her words. Fen Miao silently cursed her lack of comforting skills.

“…Damn those wretched demons.”

The whole mission had been a trap from the beginning. Responding to a report of five missing children, she had arrived at a back alley where they were lying unconscious.

She sent a mission completion message and was ready to return to the academy, but demons ambushed her from behind.

Fortunately, she used her ability, “Clone,” to engage the demons in a fight while she rescued the children. However, escaping was another story.

Most of the demons chased after her clone, but two remained in the area, continuing their search. If she revealed herself, the demons who had left might return immediately.

“…Tch, coming alone was a mistake.”

If she had come with another academy cadet, someone could have guarded the children while she fought the demons head-on.

“Or, if there had been more of us, those cowards would’ve just watched and backed off.”

Demons were like that—opportunistic creatures who avoided confrontations they couldn’t win.

But Fen Miao was known for keeping to herself and working alone, a habit born from her aversion to socializing. Now it was costing her dearly.

In truth, she wanted to charge out and tear those demons apart.

After all, wasn’t her reason for enrolling in Velvet Hunter Academy to avenge her family, killed by demons? Her ultimate goal was to wipe every single demon off the face of the earth.

She needed power to achieve that goal, which was why she entered the academy.

And now, the demons she despised were right in front of her, yet she was forced to hide.

Blood dripped from her bitten lips.

“Ah! Sister, you’re bleeding! Blood! Ugh!”

One of the children, eyes wide, exclaimed in panic. Fen Miao quickly covered his mouth again, but it was too late.

“Hey, I think I heard something nearby.”
“Really? Where?”

She closed her eyes and cursed her carelessness. She should have anticipated the children’s reaction to seeing blood.

Sigh—

Exhaling deeply, she turned to the teary-eyed children.

In the softest voice she could muster, she said:
“Listen carefully, kids. From now on, I’m going to punish those bad people out there.”

The older children’s faces stiffened with fear.

“So, close your eyes and count to 100 right here, okay? Once you do, I’ll come back and save you. I promise.”

Forcing an awkward smile, she tried to reassure them. The older kids hesitantly nodded, which was enough for now.

‘Tch. I sound just like my mother’ she thought bitterly.

She felt like everything she did was clumsy and imperfect.

Steeling herself, Fen Miao stepped out of the warehouse and revealed her presence.

.

.

.

Hoo—

Her breath was ragged.

How many hours had she been playing a life-or-death game of cat and mouse with the demons?

Each time it seemed like they were about to catch her, she used her clone ability to confuse them.
Every time their attention began to shift away, she deliberately revealed herself within their net to draw them back toward her.

But she was reaching her limit.

Standing at the peak of the church’s cross, Fen Miao looked down at the crowd of demons swarming below her and let out a hollow laugh.

“Filthy little rat!”
“You’ve got nowhere left to run!”
“Go ahead, use that damn clone again! We’ll kill you no matter what!”

The demons shouted furiously as they glared up at her, their voices filled with rage. They had been chasing her for hours, utterly outmaneuvered and humiliated by a single woman.

“Wow, all of you came out here just for little old me, huh?”

Now that they were all gathered, it looked like there were nearly a hundred of them.

Crack, crack—

Fen Miao tilted her head side to side, loosening her stiff neck.

“Give it up! Maybe we’ll spare your life! You’d make a great bargaining chip for the Demon King!”

One demon, seemingly their leader, shouted up at her.

Heh.

She smirked, pulling up one corner of her mouth.

“Pleading for my life?”
“Exactly! Bow your head and beg for forgiveness, and maybe we’ll let you keep one limb!”

She raised her middle finger in response.

“Screw you.”

“Kill her!!!”

Enraged, the leader barked the order, and the demons began scaling the church to get to her.

Fen Miao turned her gaze toward the ocean.

The horizon marked the transition from day to night, the sunset painting the sea in brilliant red hues.

‘I wonder if the kids are behaving. I shouldn’t have told them to count to just 100. I should’ve made it 1,000. Another misstep’ she thought to herself.

She had lived for revenge, yet here she was, about to be torn apart by demons before even coming close to her goal. What a pathetically anticlimactic end.

“Still, the view’s nice,” she mused.

As she closed her eyes, ready to meet her end, an unfamiliar arm suddenly wrapped around her waist.

“Found you, Fen Miao.”
“…What?”

Startled, she turned her head toward the voice.

The face she saw was anything but clumsy or weak.

“Sorry I’m late. This place was pretty far.”

.

.

.

How far had I run? I had no idea.

‘Normally, the academy would’ve flagged this kind of trap mission’ I thought.

After the mission in the Yunkai Forest, the academy implemented stricter verification processes for unclear requests.

But recently, Velvet Hunter Academy had been swamped with reforms, leaving them overwhelmed.
And today, of all days, the Demon Slayer Squad had been summoned for budget discussions, leaving the entire unit on leave.

That’s why this trap mission had slipped through the cracks.

‘It’s no coincidence Fen Miao fell into it, though’ I mused.

I had a good idea why.

Her trait: [Demon Hatred].

It increased her combat effectiveness against demons by 150%.
But it also caused frequent encounters with demons, making her a magnet for them.

That’s why she’d been sent on this mission.

‘Almost lost the academy’s most promising demon magnet in this mess.’

If she’d unlocked even a fraction of her potential, these demons wouldn’t have stood a chance.

‘The fact that she’s struggling means her potential is still dormant.’

Fen Miao stared at me, still in shock. I tightened my grip on her waist.

“Ugh?! What the hell!?”

She let out a high-pitched scream as I lifted her like a sack of rice and leapt to where my master was waiting.

“Master, did you secure the kids?”
“Hm. They’re here.”

Five tear-streaked children stood by my master’s side.

“Ah! It’s that weird-smiling lady!”
“…You’re all safe.”
“Sister! We counted to 100, but you didn’t come back!!”
“…Yeah. My bad.”

A heartwarming reunion, sure. But we could save that for later.

“Fen Miao.”
“…What?”
“Stay here and watch the kids for a bit.”
“…Watch the kids? I’m exhausted—”
“We’re about to deal with those demons, and it might get ugly. Even if you’re out of strength, you can still cover their eyes, can’t you?”
“…Wha—what!?”

Ignoring her indignant protests, I joined my master’s side.

“Master.”
“Hm.”
“It’s been a while since we fought together.”

I grinned.

“…Indeed.”
“I’ll take the left. Can you handle the right?”
“Very well.”

We unsheathed our swords in unison.

“What the hell? Who are those guys!?”
“Wait a minute!!”
“It’s Utopia! That’s Jin Yuha!!!”
“What!?”
“And next to him is the Butcher Maniac!!”
“Why are they here!?”

Exactly. Why were we here?
Surely, they already knew the answer.

A dark smile spread across my face.