Chapter 5: Choose

Limon Aspelder blinked for a moment after seeing a human head suddenly transform into a cow’s head.

Without realizing it, Limon Aspelder turned to look at Kang Jeong-su and Yuna Gyeong.

“Hey, is this one of his skills too?”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m talking about this. This right here. Can’t you see it?”

“What do you mean by ‘this,’ Team Leader?”

Seeing the bewildered expressions on the two, Limon Aspelder made a strange face.

Through their pupillary responses as they scanned the area, he realized they couldn’t see Seo Yong-chan, who now had the head of a cow.

‘Is it only visible to me?’

If this had happened in the past, Limon Aspelder would have drawn his sword immediately.

Back then, it was common sense that whenever something bizarre occurred, the culprit was nine times out of ten the magic of a priest or a witch.

But not anymore.

Common sense had changed.

‘Well, it seems like some kind of skill.’

Although he wasn’t a Player, Limon Aspelder was still an agent of the PAB.

He knew well enough that skills capable of transforming the body existed.

That was exactly why Limon Aspelder was perplexed.

‘…Why would a transformation skill activate so suddenly?’

Skills are activated by one’s will.

That was basic common sense.

However, Seo Yong-chan had been unconscious for a long time.

Looking at the still-upturned eyes of the cow-headed man, Limon Aspelder couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

“Hey, are there skills that only activate when you’re knocked out?”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

*Whack!*

“Ow! You hit me again!”

“What kind of subordinate calls their superior’s question ‘nonsense’?”

“You have to ask a question that actually sounds like a question! Where in the world would there be a skill that only activates when you’re unconscious?”

“So it really doesn’t make sense, right?”

“Of course not!”

Limon Aspelder subtly shifted his gaze.

He nodded as he looked at Kang Jeong-su’s face, which looked as if he were asking why Limon Aspelder was asking such a stupid question.

‘True, if such a case existed, there’s no way it wouldn’t be known.’

From Constellations who demanded living sacrifices to elixirs that could revive the dead, or rumors of Players who had contracted with multiple Constellations… the world of Players was filled with all sorts of preposterous stories that circulated like ghost stories.

But he had never even heard a rumor about a Player who used skills while fainted.

That was how nonsensical it was.

‘…The problem is that this nonsense is actually happening.’

Limon Aspelder fell into thought, wondering why this was happening.

But no matter how much he searched his memory, nothing came to mind.

“Why did you ask that, anyway?”

“Well, that’s…”

Limon Aspelder suddenly shut his mouth.

He looked at the faces of Yuna Gyeong and Kang Jeong-su, which were filled with curiosity, and reconsidered.

If he told them Seo Yong-chan looked like a cow, would they be surprised and impressed?

Or would they think he was crazy and look at him with suspicion?

Judging by their previous reactions, it would unfortunately be the latter.

“Never mind.”

Limon Aspelder eventually gave up on consulting them.

Instead, he poked Seo Yong-chan’s cow head with his finger.

‘It doesn’t seem like an illusion…’

From the horns sprouting from the head to the texture of the fur covering the face, Limon Aspelder confirmed the cow head through touch and made a peculiar expression.

He was a Sword Master.

He wasn’t some clumsy novice who couldn’t distinguish a measly illusion.

And the fact that this wasn’t an illusion meant one thing.

‘Could this guy have originally been a cow head and was using a skill to hide it?’

Thinking logically, that was the most plausible conclusion.

If Seo Yong-chan had been using a skill to hide his head, it would make sense for his true form to be revealed upon losing consciousness.

Of course, he would then have to accept the shocking fact that Seo Yong-chan was originally a cow head.

But that was easy.

From the Demon God War that broke out in Europe to the Spirit Riot that swept the American continent, and the uprising of the Seven Dragons Society that overturned Asia… Limon Aspelder was a Sword Master who had participated in every major war and had seen countless monsters and freaks.

There was no reason to be surprised by the addition of one cow-headed person now.

‘The problem is why I’m the only one who can see it…’

Was it because he was the one who knocked Seo Yong-chan down?

Or was it just because he was a Sword Master?

It was clear that Seo Yong-chan’s cow head was only visible to his eyes.

And no matter how much he talked about it, neither Yuna Gyeong, Kang Jeong-su, nor anyone else would believe him.

In other words, if he killed Seo Yong-chan now, it would be undeniably viewed as murder.

‘Now then, what should I do?’

Limon Aspelder stared intently at the cow-headed Seo Yong-chan.

Limon Aspelder had been contemplating whether to kill him or not from the beginning.

Now, the fact that Seo Yong-chan was actually a cow head was simply added to the scale.

And which of the two options—to kill or to let live—he should choose had been decided from the very start.

“Jeong-su.”

“Yes?”

“If anyone asks later, tell them it’s all my responsibility.”

“Then whose responsibility would it be if not yours, Elder?”

While Kang Jeong-su was momentarily dumbfounded by those words, his eyes widened as he saw Limon Aspelder place his foot on Seo Yong-chan’s body. He instinctively tried to stop him.

“Elder, wait a second…!”

But it was too late.

Before Kang Jeong-su could even finish his sentence, Limon Aspelder was already delivering the final blow to Seo Yong-chan.

***

Infinity Art Museum.

This museum was famous for housing many world-renowned paintings, yet it had very few visitors compared to its reputation.

This was because the Infinity Art Museum itself was established for only one person.

“I have something to report.”

“What is it?”

“Young Master Seo Yong-chan has met with an accident at the PAB headquarters.”

Neatly groomed hair swept back.

A white suit without a single speck of dust.

Rimless glasses and an exceptionally calm expression.

The man, who exuded an unusually composed atmosphere with all these elements combined, did not turn his gaze even after hearing the sudden report.

He merely kept his eyes fixed on a single painting and asked calmly.

“Is he dead?”

“His life is not in danger.”

“That makes it sound like everything except his life is a problem.”

“…The healers say he is in a state close to being ‘half-dead.’ It’s a miracle he’s even alive.”

“Oh dear, it seems my brother-in-law has suffered quite a rough ordeal.”

“Yes. In particular, the consensus is that his function as a male will be difficult to recover without borrowing the power of a Divine Monarch.”

High-level healers were capable of reattaching severed limbs.

If even such healers declared the situation helpless, he was likely more of a living corpse than an injured person.

“That is a shame.”

However, the man did not show surprise or agitation upon hearing the terrible news. He merely murmured softly.

“I told him repeatedly to moderate his drinking and not to act out. It seems my advice was insufficient.”

His tone sounded truly regretful.

However, unlike his calm voice, the man’s expression was extremely cold.

Park Hyun-gun couldn’t see that face, but he could easily guess the man’s expression.

If he truly felt sorry for Seo Yong-chan, he would have looked for a way to entrust the treatment to a Divine Monarch rather than just expressing regret in words.

As Park Hyun-gun expected, the man asked about something else instead of Seo Yong-chan.

“Just to confirm, who was with my brother-in-law when the accident occurred?”

“It was Limon Aspelder.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes. The PAB Director has already acknowledged Limon Aspelder’s arbitrary actions and has placed him on suspension.”

It was a natural outcome.

No matter who Limon Aspelder was, he couldn’t just get away with turning a person into a living corpse.

Considering the victim was Seo Yong-chan, it was an incredibly lenient punishment.

So lenient, in fact, that it was bothersome.

“Limon Aspelder.”

The man repeated the name.

Then, checking the title of the oil painting in front of him, he continued softly.

“The last Sword Master, the guardian of humanity, and the hero who saved the nation. He is indeed a person worthy of respect.”

The title of that oil painting was ‘Dawn’s Hero’.

It was a world-class masterpiece depicting a great swordsman who stood against the descending Demon God to save the world.

The painting was worth at least tens of billions… and would easily exceed a hundred billion if put up for auction.

Reaching his hand toward that painting, the man spoke coldly.

“It would have been better if that illustrious name had remained only in history books.”

*Rrrrrip!*

It happened in the blink of an eye.

That was all the time it took for a globally acclaimed cultural heritage to turn into scraps of paper.

However, neither the man who committed such an atrocity nor Park Hyun-gun, who witnessed it, expressed any regret.

Park Hyun-gun simply replied as if he had been waiting.

“I will take measures.”

The man didn’t ask for details, nor did Park Hyun-gun explain what he would do or how.

It wasn’t because he trusted Park Hyun-gun.

It was because he no longer cared.

The era when Sword Masters reigned supreme was in the past.

That was a story from a time when the outcome of a war was decided by a duel between knights, and one could become a hero just by being good at swordsmanship.

Just as knights and warriors fell with the invention of firearms, in this era where skills and Constellations appeared, Limon Aspelder—who wasn’t even a Player—was too insignificant and worthless for him to worry about individually.

Instead, the man shifted his focus to an ‘opponent worth caring about.’

“More importantly, what happened to her?”

It was a vague statement.

However, Park Hyun-gun immediately understood the meaning.

There was only one woman this man cared enough about to ask after personally.

“We have confirmed her entry into the country, but her whereabouts after that are still being tracked.”

“Are you saying you haven’t even found a clue yet despite being assigned the guild’s best Tracer?”

“I have nothing to say for myself.”

Park Hyun-gun trembled.

He knew that if the man felt displeased about the failure of the pursuit, it would be the end for him.

“I have no intention of reprimanding you. She isn’t an opponent easy enough to be found quickly anyway.”

The man did not blame him.

He simply added one more word calmly.

“You may use as much money as you need. Hire additional top-tier Tracers.”

“Is it alright if we cause friction with other guilds?”

“It doesn’t matter. Results are what’s important.”

Park Hyun-gun could guess.

The fact that it didn’t matter as long as the results were good meant that this merciful consideration was essentially an ultimatum: if the results weren’t good even with this much support, he wouldn’t let it slide.

“…I will keep that in mind.”

Despite this, Park Hyun-gun bowed his head.

No, he had no choice but to bow.

The person before him was one who did not tolerate flaws.

He was the most thorough man among the ten Monarchs who stood at the pinnacle of all Players.

He was the Infinity Monarch, Lee Cheon-gi.

“Then I shall look forward to good results.”

Leaving the bowing Park Hyun-gun behind, Lee Cheon-gi began walking again.

He completely forgot about the last Sword Master who was reported earlier, a man soon to vanish into the other side of history.