Solo Swordmaster

Chapter 5: Decision

Limon blinked at Seo Yongchan, trying to process what the curse of sight had just shown him.

"Hey, is this his skill, too?" Limon asked, looking to Kang Jungsoo and Yoo Na-kyung.

"Excuse me?"

"That, right there. Can't you see it?"

"What do you mean by 'that', boss?

The two people's confusion spread to Limon.

Seeing how their eyes were searching their surroundings, he realized that they couldn't see it.

Seo Yongchan's head had transformed into that of a cow's.

'Am I the only one that can see this?'

If he saw this in the past, the first thing Limon would have done was draw his sword.

In the past, it was a rule of thumb that whenever something bizarre occured, nine times out of ten, it was the work of a priest of a witch's magic.

Although, rules had changed.

'Hm. It looks to be some kind of skill.'

Limon may not have been a player, but he was still a PAB agent.

He knew there were plenty of metamorphosis skills.

But that was also why he was so taken aback.

'…Why would a metamorphosis skill activate now?'

Fundamentally, skills could only be activated by the user's will.

But Seo Yongchan had passed out a while ago.

Even as a cow head, his eyes were rolled to the back of his head. Limon couldn't help but have a bad taste in his mouth.

"Hey, are there any skills that only activate once the person blacks out?"

"What kind of crap is that?"

Flick—

"Eek! Why are you hitting me again?!"

"How can you call your boss's question crap, huh?!"

"Your question needs to make sense! Where in the world is there a skill that only activates when you're blacked out?"

"It doesn't make sense, does it?"

"Of course it doesn't!"

Limon looked away and shook his head after seeing Kang Jungsoo. His expression was asking him what kind of moronic question that was.

"Well, if such a thing had occurred before, there would be no way no one knew about it."

Whether it be a Constellation wanting a live sacrifice, a wonder drug that brought back the dead, or the players who made multiple deals with a single Constellation.

The world of players was full of ludicrous rumors.

But there wasn't a single story about a player casting a skill while unconscious. It was just that stupid of an idea.

'…The problem is that that stupid idea actually did occur.'

Limon was deep in thought.

Why was this happening?

But no matter how much he tried to think, he couldn't come up with an explanation at all.

"Why are you even asking this?"

"Uhm, well…"

Limon went quiet and looked at Yoo Na-kyung and Kang Jungsoo's confused expressions.

Would the two of them be in awe and surprise if he told them that Seo Yongchan's head looked like a cow's?

Or would they look at him like he'd gone insane?

Unfortunately, considering how they've already reacted, it seemed like it would be the latter.

"Actually, nevermind."

Limon gave up trying to explain.

Instead, he poked Seo Yongchan's cow head with his finger.

'I don't think I'm hallucinating…"

From the horns rising from his head to the feel of fur on his face, Limon confirmed that Seo Yongchan's head was indeed a cow's.

'How strange.'

He was a Swordmaster.

He wasn't some clumsy rookie that couldn't differentiate between hallucination and reality.

And the fact that this wasn't a hallucination only meant one thing.

'Was this little shit hiding his natural cow head with a skill?'

That was the most logical conclusion that would explain it.

If Seo Yongchan was concealing his real head with a skill, it would make sense that his true form would reveal itself once he passed out.

Of course, that meant that Limon would have to come to terms with the shocker that Seo Yongchan had always had the head of a cow.

But that wasn't an issue, as Limon was a very open-minded person.

The Demon War in Europe, the Great Spirit Rebellion over the Americas, the Alliance of the Seven Dragons Council.

As a Swordmaster, Limon took part in many world-defining wars. He had encountered countless monsters and the inhumane.

After everything he's been through, he wasn't that surprised to see a cow's head.

'But how am I the only one able to see that?'

Was it because he was the one who beat up Seo Yongchan, or perhaps because he was a Swordsmaster?

And no matter how much he blabbered on about it, no one— including Yoo Na-kyung and Kang Jungsoo —would believe him.

As the way things were, he wouldn't be able to give a convincing explanation for why he killed Seo Yongchan. He'd be executed on the spot.

'Well… now what?'

Limon stared at Seo Yongchan's cow head.

He had been pondering whether to kill him or not since the start of all this.

Now, the fact that Seo Yongchan actually had a cow's head all along was just another factor tipping the balancing scale.

Although, between sparing or killing him, the answer was already decided from the very beginning.

"Hey, Jungsoo."

"Yes?"

"If someone complains about this later, you can blame me."

"Who else would be responsible if not you, sir?"

Limon became offended at that response, but only for a moment.

As he put his foot on Seo Yongchan, Kang Jungsoo widened his eyes as he instinctively tried to stop him.

"Sir, wait…!"

But it was too late.

Before Kang Jungsoo could finish his sentence, Limon already landed the fatal blow.

***

***

The Infinite Art Museum.

Despite its notoriety for housing internationally infamous paintings, it didn't have a lot of visitors.

After all, it was made specifically for one person in mind.

"There is something I need to report."

"What is it?"

"Young master Seo Yongchan got into an incident at the PAB headquarters."

Neatly tied hair. A spotless white suit. Rimless glasses and a composed demeanor.

The man radiated a particularly calm aura. He didn't even bother looking up at the sudden report.

His eyes fixed on a painting, he simply asked a question.

"Is he dead?"

"They say that there aren't any issues with his life."

"It sounds like everything but his life is an issue."

"……According to the Healers, he is in a 'half-dead' state. It's a miracle he is still alive."

"Hm. It appears that my brother-in-law has been through a rough patch."

"Yes. The general consensus among the Healers is that his male functions would be difficult to recover without the Divine Monarch's intervention."

High-level Healers could reattach severed limbs.

If even those Healers were unable to help, it would have been more fitting to describe Seo Yongchan as a 'living corpse' than 'still alive'.

"That's a shame."

But the man wasn't surprised, nor did he empathize with the horrific news.

He only muttered to himself quietly.

"I told him time and time again to stop drinking and acting out. It seems my advice was lacking."

His tone rang of regret, but his expression was ever so cold.

Park Hyun-gun didn’t need to see his face to know what the man was thinking.

If he had actually pitied Seo Yongchan, instead of expressing it only through his words, he would have started searching for a way to receive the Divine Monarch's help.

As Park Hyun-gun predicted, the man had already moved on from his brother-in-law.

"I'm asking just for clarification, but who did you say was with my brother-in-law at the time of the incident?"

"Limon Asphelder, sir."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. The PAB director has already confirmed that it was Limon Asphelder's arbitrary decision and has suspended him."

It was the obvious outcome.

Even Limon couldn't just get away with making someone a living corpse.

Considering who his victim was, it was a rather generous punishment.

Almost too generous, in fact.

"Limon Asphelder, you say."

The man ruminated on the name. Looking over the title of the oil painting in front of him, he continued.

"The last Swordmaster, the nation's hero, the Guardian of Humanity. He is a man of great respect."

The name of the oil painting was 'The Twilight Hero'.

It was a renowned piece of art, featuring a great swordsman who saved the world by going against the Demon God when he descended on Earth.

Its price tag ranged in the dozens of billions, at least.

It would easily net over a hundred billion if he'd put it up for auction. He reached his hand out to the painting, and said in an icy voice,

"If only that honorable name remained inside the history books."

Rip—!

In the blink of an eye, that world-renowned cultural artifact was shredded into bits of paper.

But neither the man who committed such a brutal act, nor Park Hyun-gun, displayed any emotion at such a loss.

Park Hyun-gun only answered as if he had been waiting.

"I will take care of it."

What was he going to do, and how?

It lacked explanation, but the man didn't ask to elaborate.

Not because he trusted Park Hyun-gun, but because he didn't care about it anymore.

The time when he ruled the world as the strongest was in the past.

It was just a story from back when duels between knights determined the outcome of a war, and when one could become a hero simply by handling a sword well enough.

This era had Constellations and skills.

Limon wasn't even a player. He was too insignificant to matter.

Instead, the man changed the subject to one who was 'worthy of attention'.

"Besides that, what happened to her?"

His question was ambiguous.

But Park Hyun-gun understood right away.

There was only one woman the man was interested in.

"It has been confirmed that she has entered the country, but we are still locating her whereabouts."

"You mean you couldn't even find a trace of her even though I assigned the best Tracers in the guild to you?"

"……I have no excuses, sir."

Park Hyun-gun was shaking. He knew he was done for if the man felt displeased that he had failed to track her down.

"It's fine. She's not someone that's easy to find, anyway."

But the man didn't blame him. He only added one more thing calmly.

"Use as much money as you need. Hire more of the best tracers."

"What if it creates a dispute between the other guilds?"

"That doesn't matter. What's important is the results."

On the surface, it was an act of generosity. But underneath, it spoke of a hidden message — given the incredible support, Park Hyun-gun had to provide good results. Or else, he would be in a lot of trouble.

"…I swear by it."

And still, Park Hyun-gun hung his head.

No, he had to.

The man in front of him did not tolerate failure. Among the Ten Great Monarchs standing on the zenith of all players, he was the most thorough.

He was Lee Chun-gi, the Infinite Monarch.

"Then, I shall be awaiting positive results."

He walked off, leaving the bowing Park Hyun-gun behind.

The man had completely forgotten about the Swordmaster. He'd soon disappear into history anyways.

——

——