Limon fell into deep thought.
Having lived a long life, he had encountered all kinds of people.
Among them were many who claimed they could see something special.
Most, of course, were simply madmen or swindlers.
But on very rare occasions, there were those for whom it was the truth—those who could communicate with spirits, see the souls of the dead, or pierce through curses.
To verify this, Limon threw a few questions at Yuna-kyung.
“Nakyeong, did you make an enemy somewhere?”
“Hmm, I probably don’t have any enemies? There’s an ‘Enmity Totem’ named the Captain right here, so who would waste their energy begrudging a sidekick like me?”
“Then do you have siblings you’re splitting a massive inheritance with?”
“I’m an orphan, remember?”
“Or maybe you skipped out on a debt to a warlock or a shaman?”
“…Captain, are you feeling sick?”
Yuna-kyung looked at Limon with suspicious eyes.
At first, she had answered lightheartedly as if it were a joke, but the questions were becoming increasingly serious.
‘Hmm, it doesn’t seem like she knows anything about a curse.’
Aside from her tone being a bit pricklier than usual, there was nothing out of the ordinary in her behavior.
After stroking his chin for a moment, Limon suddenly made a strange expression.
As he thought about Yuna-kyung, something had come to mind.
“……Nakyeong, you were a Player, right?”
“Do I look like a normal person to you?”
“Players usually sign a contract with a Constellation to receive skills.”
“Are there people who don’t?”
Yuna-kyung made a face as if he were saying something completely nonsensical.
Limon asked her, “What is the Constellation you’re contracted with?”
“Don’t tell me you still didn’t know that?!”
“Just answer the question, brat.”
“Sheesh, is that any way to talk when you’re asking your subordinate of several years about her Constellation for the first time?”
Yuna-kyung grumbled at Limon’s cold reaction.
If it were a total stranger, it might be different, but for colleagues or acquaintances working together, knowing each other’s Constellation was basically common courtesy.
However, courtesy depended on the person.
Since she knew Limon’s personality—that he usually couldn’t care less about such things—Yuna-kyung honestly revealed her Constellation.
“The Constellation I’m contracted with is ‘The Snake that Connects the Ends.'”
“Hmm, is that so?”
“Yes. It’s a very popular Constellation among Players because it primarily grants ‘Spatial Movement’ skills.”
Limon nodded.
It wasn’t because he was particularly impressed by her kind explanation.
It was because her words confirmed a suspicion.
‘Could that snake bastard be the Constellation Nakyeong contracted with? And I’ve become able to see a Player’s Constellation?’
If that were the case, then Seo Yong-chan looking like a bull’s head also made sense.
Considering he handled a brass bull, it was highly likely Seo Yong-chan was contracted with a Constellation related to cattle.
If this was true, it was a remarkable feat.
Seeing through to an opponent’s Constellation without using any appraisal-type skills was unprecedented.
‘It’s a pretty useless ability, though.’
Limon, however, was indifferent.
In this era, most Players were desperate to show off their Constellations.
One could easily find out someone’s contracted Constellation with a simple internet search.
Therefore, Limon didn’t care much about being able to see them.
The problem was Yuna-kyung’s current appearance.
‘……Seeing this doesn’t give me a good feeling.’
Limon narrowed his eyes.
From the snake’s fangs embedded in Yuna-kyung’s neck to the tail that coiled around her neck and torso before piercing through her chest—no matter how he looked at it, it didn’t look like a Constellation granting a blessing.
It looked like a venomous serpent itself.
Especially that shimmering gaze, as if it were eyeing its prey, made Limon’s brow furrow involuntarily.
Particularly now, while they were discussing whether or not to go after the Liberation Brigade, having such an unpleasant feeling wasn’t a good sign.
“Hmm.”
With his arms crossed, tapping his finger against his forearm, he agonized for a long while.
Finally, Limon spoke softly.
“Nakyeong.”
“Yes, Captain?”
“Do you really want to catch the Liberation Brigade?”
“That’s why I came all this way.”
“Even if going after them might lead to your death if something goes wrong?”
At Limon’s serious question, Yuna-kyung answered nonchalantly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Isn’t that always the case? Our work at the Special Management Bureau is a life-and-death job anyway.”
She wasn’t wrong.
The PAB’s main duty was regulating high-level Players.
Among them were many heinous criminals who would treat someone like Seo Yong-chan as a mere amateur, and it was a common occurrence in the PAB for an agent to die in the line of duty after a bad encounter with such monsters.
“Besides, there’s no way I’d die over something like this.”
“Where is this baseless confidence coming from?”
“Oh, I have a basis.”
“What basis?”
“You, Captain.”
“What?”
Perhaps because of the unexpected answer, Limon blinked blankly.
Yuna-kyung beamed and answered energetically.
“Whether it’s the Liberation Brigade or whatever, who would dare kill me as long as I’m stuck right next to you, Captain?”
Limon was silent for a moment at that bold answer.
Then, he pressed a hand to his forehead.
His shoulders began to shake before he burst into a roar of laughter.
“Heh, heh-heh. Pwahahahaha!”
“Captain? Why are you laughing?”
“No, no. They say even a fool has something to teach. I suppose even you say something good once in a while.”
“What’s with the sudden slander?!”
Whether Yuna-kyung, who was suddenly treated like a fool, felt sulky or not, Limon wore a refreshed expression.
‘Right. Since when did I start caring about things like Constellations?’
He had been momentarily confused because he saw something so unexpected, but thinking about it, there was no reason to be.
So what if the Constellation’s gaze was suspicious?
So what if Yuna-kyung might be in danger?
‘Who cares about that crap.’
Humans were bound to die someday anyway.
If today was that day, he would simply protect her.
If there was an unstoppable disaster, he would cut down the disaster.
If a Constellation got in the way, he would cut down the Constellation.
It didn’t matter if it was reckless.
Even if the times had changed, he was still Limon Asphelther.
He was a Sword Master who had spent his entire life risking his neck on the edge of a blade and carving out his own destiny with a sword.
“Hey, let’s go.”
“Huh? Where?”
Seeing Yuna-kyung looking puzzled at the sudden words, Limon smirked.
Since he had decided to throw his ominous premonitions to the dogs, Limon’s destination was set.
“To catch those sons of bitches.”
***
“Is this the place?”
“Yep!”
It took exactly three minutes.
From the moment Limon decided to leave until they arrived at the Liberation Brigade’s hideout.
Considering that most of that time was spent finding and putting on his coat buried under a pile of laundry, it was a truly terrifying speed.
It was only possible because of Yuna-kyung.
There were very few Players who could travel such a long distance in an instant while bringing a companion along.
Thanks to her, Limon stood in front of the Liberation Brigade’s headquarters and stroked his chin.
“Using a place like this as a hideout for a criminal organization…… are these bastards actually insane?”
“Aren’t they psychos to begin with? Besides, there’s a saying about it being darkest under the lamp.”
“This isn’t under the lamp. This is the lion’s den.”
Limon clicked his tongue.
Mocking Limon’s expectation that they would be in a secluded forest, an abandoned factory, or a deserted island, the Liberation Brigade’s headquarters was right in the middle of the city.
And it wasn’t just anywhere.
It was a perfect vantage point with the Police Agency right in front, the Player Association slightly to the side, and a military base further back.
On top of that, they were even disguised as a respectable company under the sign ‘Heacheong Trading Co.’
If he hadn’t known beforehand, he never would have guessed this was the headquarters of psychopaths like the Liberation Brigade.
“How did you even find this place?”
“Hmph, information naturally gathers around a charming woman.”
“Sure, know your place.”
“I’m a peerlessly beautiful young girl.”
Limon stared intently at Yuna-kyung as if asking if she wasn’t embarrassed to spout such nonsense.
However, she didn’t bat an eyelash.
She simply gave a thick-skinned smile and asked Limon.
“What are you going to do? A frontal breakthrough as usual?”
“Well……”
Limon hesitated at Yuna-kyung’s question.
After staring at the entrance of Heacheong Trading for a moment and thinking for a bit, he continued.
“Let’s go with ‘divide and conquer’.”
“…Divide and what?”
“Let’s sneak in and take them out one by one, quietly.”
“Captain, you knew how to use methods other than a frontal breakthrough?!”
“What do you take me for?”
“A meathead whose only three strategies are charge, rush, and smash……!”
*Thwack!*
“Ow!”
Limon, having delivered divine punishment to the subordinate who didn’t know how to fear her superior, clicked his tongue and said, “Try using your brain. If we charge in through the front, do you think they’ll just stand there? They’ll scatter to save their own skins.”
“You usually say it’s fine as long as you cut them down before they can run……”
“Do you want to get hit again?”
“No, Captain, you are very smart.”
Watching Yuna-kyung quickly make excuses while clutching her forehead, Limon snorted.
In fact, her point was valid.
Normally, Limon’s philosophy was to just charge through the front, break everything, and chase down anyone who tried to run.
Despite that, the reason he chose a tedious method like ‘divide and conquer’ this time was half due to a gut feeling.
‘Going through the front feels… bothersome.’
There was no specific evidence.
The image of Yuna-kyung being coiled by a snake looked normal again now.
But just feeling uneasy was reason enough to choose infiltration.
Limon preferred a frontal breakthrough only to reduce tedious time-wasting, not because he was incapable of stealth.
Especially now with Yuna-kyung, it was even easier.
“Who……? Gack!”
“Why is a PAB agent here……? Urgh?!”
“In-intruder……! Ack!”
*Thud, whack, crunch!*
Once the infiltration began, Limon and Yuna-kyung swept through the Liberation Brigade’s headquarters like a hot knife through butter.
It wasn’t particularly difficult.
After neutralizing the security room using Yuna-kyung’s spatial movement, they just had to go down and knock people out one by one as they sensed their presence.
Of course, there were some high-level Players who tried to resist.
But it was futile.
Whether it was a speed-type user as fast as lightning, a telekinetic user deploying a shield, or a stealth user hiding their form—if Limon tapped them once with the flat of his blade, they would fall over seeing stars.
Thanks to that, the suppression speed was so fast that they cleared the interior at a pace no different from a frontal breakthrough.
“This is something I feel every time, but looking at you, Captain, the idea that Players are superhumans feels like a total lie.”
Yuna-kyung shook her head.
It wasn’t just about killing Players who had transcended human limits; it was about neutralizing them with a single strike.
In her eyes, the fallen weren’t criminals of the Liberation Brigade, but looked more like the frail elderly in a nursing home.
‘It’s strange.’
Limon let her words go in one ear and out the other.
It wasn’t because it wasn’t worth replying to.
It was because of the bizarre sensation he felt as he roamed the Liberation Brigade’s headquarters.
‘Why does this feel so familiar?’
At first, he thought it was just a feeling.
Since many buildings are built similarly these days, he thought he was just experiencing déjà vu from the internal structure.
But as they moved further in, that déjà vu was felt in more places.
*Whack!*
“Captain? Why did you hit this one twice?”
“This guy has a regeneration-type skill. If you only hit him once, he’ll get back up quickly.”
“Oh, was he a criminal you knew?”
“No, it’s my first time seeing him.”
“…How did you know he was a regeneration user if it’s your first time seeing him?”
“I just felt like he would be.”
Yuna-kyung looked at Limon as if he were a madman, then nodded, accepting it with, “Ah, right, you were always a mad dog.”
Limon decided to show some mercy.
Even to himself, what he said sounded quite crazy.
However, he didn’t think he was wrong.
Every time he encountered a member of the Liberation Brigade, the knowledge of what kind of ability they had naturally popped into his head even before they could activate their skills.
As if he had been here once before and swept through the Liberation Brigade.
‘Is this also an influence of being able to see Constellations?’
It wasn’t that he particularly saw the Constellations of the Liberation Brigade members like he did with Seo Yong-chan or Yuna-kyung.
He just knew naturally. Considering he hadn’t had this experience before, it wouldn’t be strange if it was a premonition that came with the ability to see Constellations.
‘No, this isn’t just a premonition.’
But Limon rejected that assumption himself.
If this was just a gut feeling, the sensation of striking those guys wouldn’t remain in his hands twice.
And Limon was a Sword Master.
He might mistake the number of suns in the sky, but he was a being who could never mistake the sensation of the sword he gripped and swung.
Yet, why did the sensation of striking guys he had only knocked down once remain in his hands twice?
While clearing the building and pondering this for a long time, he finally finished cleaning up the people on the upper floors and reached the middle of the building.
Limon suddenly realized.
‘Right.’
A metal door that looked particularly large and sturdy, more suited for a bunker somewhere than a building.
A door he was certain he was seeing for the first time.
Yet, looking at that familiar door, Limon became certain.
He found the reason for this bizarre déjà vu he was feeling.
‘I’ve been here before.’