Chapter 22: Your name

When a fight breaks out between one and a multitude.

Few people call that a battle.

A battle is fundamentally a fight between one army and another.

A single enemy cannot be called an army, and it is difficult to call a one-sided massacre or suppression by a majority a battle.

In that respect.

What was happening at Cheong Wa Dae was not a battle.

But at the same time, it was more like a war than any actual battle.

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

Tens of thousands of bullets raked the earth.

Boom!

A Humvee firing a machine gun flipped over.

“Aaaagh!”

“Medic! Medic!”

“Fuck! When is the backup coming?!”

Blood, screams, and vicious shouting raged.

That desperate scene was something one would only see on a front line where the fate of a nation was at stake.

There were only three problems.

First, this was a fight against a single individual.

Second, a one-sided slaughter was taking place.

And third, the perpetrator of that slaughter was the individual, not the many.

“Die! Just die already!”

As if he were taking a stroll in a garden.

A white-haired man walked slowly through the middle of the battlefield.

Someone screamed in desperation at Limon, firing their rifle like a madman.

But the result was the same as before.

No matter how much they fired, they only scraped the ground. Far from killing Limon, they couldn’t even graze his collar.

“Why the hell won’t you get hit?!”

It was a scream that represented the feelings of everyone there—soldiers, police, regardless of their affiliation or abilities.

It would have been understandable if he had used some kind of skill.

If he had dodged the bullets at high speed.

Or if his body had deflected the bullets.

In this Iron Age, where all sorts of Players were overflowing, superhumans who were immune to guns were not rare.

The problem was that Limon wasn’t using any skills, nor was he even attempting to dodge or block the bullets.

The bullets simply flew off to random places as if they were avoiding Limon.

To them, it felt as if they were being haunted by a ghost.

Especially those who were normally confident in their marksmanship looked as if they were about to lose their minds.

Rumble.

“It’s the backup!”

When three tanks appeared, shaking the earth.

It was understandable that they cheered as if they had met their savior.

At least the shells from a tank, even if they missed slightly like the bullets, had enough power to blow a person away.

However, Limon didn’t even bat an eye at the sight of the heavy tanks.

Instead, he just wore an expression of pity.

“You bunch of idiots…….”

The three tanks blocked his path.

Until they rotated their turrets and aimed at him.

Limon, who had been watching calmly, only slowly swung his sword after the tanks fired their shells.

It was a strike that was incredibly slow.

Far from blocking or cutting anything, it was a movement so sluggish that even a slug could have seen it and dodged.

But after that sword path was completed.

The result was astounding.

Clatter.

“…What is that?”

“Ar-are they duds?”

“All three of them? No, more than that, does it make sense to catch them like that even if they are duds…?”

Looking at the three shells placed softly on the tip of Limon’s sword, they wore stunned expressions.

It wasn’t like a butterfly landing on a flower.

To catch shells fired at supersonic speeds like that.

In their common sense, it was something they couldn’t believe even after seeing it.

“Here, take them back.”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

How on earth did he do it?

The moment Limon lightly flicked his sword.

The shells, flying back in the exact opposite direction, did not explode but became lodged precisely in the turrets of the three tanks.

Watching those who were aghast at the tanks being neutralized as soon as they appeared, Limon clicked his tongue.

“You morons, try to think for a second. Do you think these hunks of junk, which can’t even catch a high-level Player, could be my opponent?”

They were lost for words.

It was a sharp point.

High-level Players were superhumans who could crush even tanks with their bare hands.

That was why each and every one of them was treated as an indispensable national asset and asymmetric power.

But Limon was a PAB agent who specialized in hunting high-level Players.

In fact, right here on this spot, several high-level Players had already been knocked unconscious while attacking him with skills.

There was no way a few tanks would be a threat to such a man.

“H-how can a ‘civilian’ do something like this…….”

“Damn it! I never heard that Limon Aspelder was a high-level Player!”

That was why.

The more they fought Limon.

The more they had no choice but to go crazy.

They couldn’t understand how such things were possible without being a Player.

By their standards, a Sword Master was merely a civilian who was ‘a bit’ good at swordplay.

Clang!

“Is this all you’ve got?”

But Limon didn’t bother to explain to them in detail what a Sword Master was.

He simply asked calmly as he cut down a sniper bullet that flew from somewhere.

“A traitor has supposedly struck the heart of the nation, and is this really the best you can do?”

No one answered that question.

A frantic downpour of bullets served as the answer instead.

That alone was enough to tell.

At least for now, there would be no more backup or support, nor would any missiles or bombings be coming his way.

‘These bastards didn’t even request support properly.’

Limon let out a hollow laugh.

Yes, it was understandable.

They couldn’t mobilize the entire army and request support from private guilds just because a single person invaded.

It would be a blow to their pride.

Even if the nation were to be overthrown, these people would bet their lives on their pride until the very last moment.

Just like people these days.

‘The peace lasted too long.’

Deflecting the pouring bullets just by moving his feet leisurely, Limon lamented inwardly.

Judging by pure military power.

This country had certainly become stronger than in the past.

Instead of old rifles that broke down constantly, they used state-of-the-art firearms as basic equipment.

Since the majority of even individual soldiers had become Players, they possessed abilities incomparable to the soldiers of the past.

Furthermore, among the private organizations known as guilds, many possessed power exceeding that of the national army.

But more than getting stronger externally, this country had become lazy.

An army that had never experienced actual combat.

Commanders who prioritized pride over the nation.

Guilds that moved only after calculating their profits.

Even the citizens, who gathered at the windows of high-rise buildings to film with their phones as if the fall of Cheong Wa Dae were a spectacle.

Could this really be called progress?

No, hadn’t they actually declined?

‘I suppose this is what an era that doesn’t need war looks like.’

Limon gave a mocking smile.

From the Bronze Age to the Heroes Age.

In those times when blood and violence were constant, peace was what everyone dreamed of.

And yet, why did the peace they finally obtained feel so empty?

Harboring concerns for which he didn’t know the answer himself, Limon finally left the pouring bullets behind and stepped into the main building of Cheong Wa Dae.

“Block him! If you can’t block him, at least buy some time!”

“Hyaaaap!”

Was this the final line of defense?

The agents in suits blocking the stairs tried to stop Limon by pouring out all sorts of skills.

Attacking his mind with hallucinations.

Targeting his heart by manipulating blood flow.

Firing a Petrification Ray that worked unconditionally.

As expected of the President’s bodyguards, their skills as high-level Players were certainly powerful.

Even an Archduke-level Player over level 90 would die instantly if their reaction was slow.

There was only one problem.

Their opponent was Limon.

Slash!

“What……?!”

“He… he cut the skills?”

Feeling their skills being severed as a single sword carved through the air, they were horrified.

Limon didn’t even give them time to be surprised.

By simply tapping them with the flat of his blade, he lightly knocked them down and ascended the stairs with composure.

But after reaching his destination.

Limon couldn’t help but stop in his tracks.

Despite making it all the way to the President’s office, what greeted him was only an empty desk.

The important substance was missing.

“He really ran away, this brat.”

Limon clicked his tongue.

To think he would just flee while his subordinates were risking their lives to defend Cheong Wa Dae.

Well, it was a wise decision.

If the supreme commander of the nation stayed until the end just to save face, it would only be a widespread nuisance.

‘But it lacks dignity.’

Even so, was it because he was a man of the old age that the escape felt unsightly?

Or was it because of the sly behavior of watching until the last moment and only running away after Limon entered the main building of Cheong Wa Dae?

“How stupid. If you’re going to run anyway, you should have run sooner instead of hesitating.”

After a short laugh.

Moving to the center of the office, Limon whispered to himself.

“Even if the result would be the same.”

As if measuring something invisible.

Scanning the air with narrowed eyes for a moment.

Limon gripped his sword with both hands and slowly raised it above his head.

Then, aiming at a single point in the air, he swung his sword down vertically.

Shatter!

“……?!”

It was right after that.

The perfectly fine air split to the left and right.

Through the gap in the fractured space, the shocked faces of an elderly man and his aides, who were just about to board a bulletproof limousine, appeared.

They were frozen as if they had seen a ghost.

Before they could even come to their senses, Limon reached out his hand.

And grabbing the elderly man by the collar, he dragged him through the gap in space in one go.

Thud!

“Gah……!”

Like a fish caught through a hole in the ice and thrown onto the frozen surface, the elderly man rolled pitifully across the floor.

President Han Jeong-guk asked in a panic even in that situation.

“H-how? You shouldn’t be able to use a Teleportation skill?”

It was a natural question.

If Limon could use Teleportation, Yuna Gyeong, a rare Teleportation user, wouldn’t have been attached to his team.

“Didn’t you know?”

Whether because it made no sense to him.

Or because he was in a state of panic.

Looking at President Han, who prioritized his curiosity even in this situation, Limon chuckled.

Then, crouching down in front of President Han to meet his eye level, he said with a grinning face.

“No one can run from a Sword Master, kid.”

Despite his kind answer.

Far from understanding or accepting it, President Han wore an expression that showed he was even more bewildered.

But Limon didn’t bother to explain.

What kind of existence a Sword Master was.

Those who didn’t know wouldn’t understand no matter how much he spoke.

Above all, Limon had something he needed to settle first with this airheaded head of state.

“Now then, in honor of our meeting, I have a few favors to ask…”

In the middle of speaking with a cold smile.

Limon suddenly fell silent.

And as if trying to recall something.

He rolled his eyes around, scratched his cheek, and asked.

“By the way, what was your name again?”