‘I still don’t get it.’
Limon could tell.
The shadows, including the One-eyed Old Woman attached to Kang Jeong-su, were mere avatars of the Constellations.
Compared to their true forms, they were nothing more than faint afterimages of starlight.
Even if he cut them down, the damage dealt to the Constellations themselves was equivalent to having a fingernail or a finger clipped off.
He knew this because the sensation of his blade was far too light compared to the heavy impact he felt when the Constellations screamed before his Regression.
What Limon couldn’t understand was something else entirely.
It was the blatant mockery and murderous intent in the eyes of the Constellations.
‘Did they harbor such bloodlust because Jeong-su and the others were trying to kill me…?’
It wasn’t an unreasonable thought.
According to the common sense of this era, Constellations were beings that bestowed blessings upon Players.
Therefore, it was only natural for the Constellations to be hostile toward Limon if the Players they contracted with were also hostile.
But was that really all?
Many owners adore their pets, but few are willing to get angry, feel joy, and even fight on their behalf.
Would the Constellations, beings that transcended humanity, waste such emotions for the sake of a mere contractor?
And would hundreds of them do so simultaneously?
Limon couldn’t bring himself to believe that.
Instead, he harbored a different suspicion.
‘……Did the Constellations use those kids because they wanted to kill me themselves?’
It was a baseless delusion.
Anyone else would have called it the ramblings of a madman.
In fact, he had intentionally cut down several Constellations first while killing the 200 Players, yet the situation hadn’t changed.
Nevertheless, it was hard for Limon to shake his lingering doubts.
The way that snake had mocked Yuna Gyeong the moment she died.
The way the Players—excluding the two Grand Dukes who fled late—had charged at him like they were possessed until the moment they died.
These things left an unsolvable suspicion in Limon’s heart.
What if those suspicions were true?
What if he just hadn’t seen it before?
When he fell into that trap in his past life, were the Constellations mocking him even then?
And perhaps, this trap itself was…….
‘Well, it doesn’t matter either way.’
For a moment, he stared down at the face of Yuna Gyeong.
In this place covered with gruesome corpses, hers was almost the only one with a peaceful expression.
Limon took off his coat and covered Yuna Gyeong’s body, shaking his head slightly.
‘Nothing changes anyway.’
Whether it was their own will or the result of being used.
Whether it was the country deciding Limon was no longer needed, aiding Kang Jeong-su’s betrayal, or driving Yuna Gyeong to her death.
The fact that the Constellations lent them power remained an unchangeable truth.
“Let’s see. Now, is it time to clean up the aftermath?”
A man once hailed as a hero.
A man abandoned by his country as the times changed.
A man who had now even been branded a traitor.
Because of that, the last Sword Master of humanity, who no longer had anything tying him down, wore a bleak smile.
The world would soon find out.
That he hadn’t stepped down from the position of the absolute because he lacked power, but because he had simply yielded to the flow of the times.
He hadn’t done it because it wasn’t necessary.
If it became necessary, they would see what he was capable of.
They would see exactly what kind of being he could become.
And the first person to realize that truth would be the one who had manipulated Kang Jeong-su to liberate him.
*Rustle.*
It was at that moment.
An Orb of Light began to rise from the coat he had placed over Yuna Gyeong.
It was the Orb of Light that the snake had pulled out the moment Yuna Gyeong died, which Limon had then seized and put back.
The moment it began to shine brightly, an anomaly occurred.
The shadows melting around them—the fragments of starlight from nearly 200 entities—began to seep into the Orb of Light.
As it absorbed the remains, the faint light grew more vivid.
The sphere gradually thinned out until it took the shape of a feather.
After all the starlight had been absorbed and the transformation of the glowing sphere was complete, it became a White Feather, as white as an angel’s wing.
It flew into the night sky like a firework, leaving behind a brilliant flash of light before vanishing.
Limon stood there for a long time, staring blankly at the sudden spectacle.
He let out a hollow laugh.
“That girl, making a scene until the very end.”
Limon didn’t know what that Orb of Light was.
He didn’t know why it turned into a White Feather, or what had just happened.
He was a Sword Master, not a shaman or a mage.
However, he could vaguely sense it.
Just as his eyes could now see the Constellations, that feather was something he had gained because he had cut down a Constellation and absorbed its fragments before his Regression.
And the power that the Constellation had said it would give Limon was probably…….
‘……I need to hurry and finish my work.’
Limon gazed at Yuna Gyeong, who was covered by his coat.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he turned and left the area.
“Hic, ugh.”
***
When Sia thought about it honestly, the Hanbit Orphanage wasn’t a particularly amazing place.
The facilities were dilapidated, and grants or donations were rare.
But it wasn’t a bad place.
The director, an unmarried woman, was a penny-pincher and a nagger, but she never picked on the kids for no reason.
She made sure they were fed and clothed properly.
Furthermore, a few years ago, a famous guild started sponsoring them.
As gifts poured in, their situation gradually improved.
Doing laundry became easier with a new washing machine.
They received pretty clothes that weren’t second-hand.
Side dishes increased during mealtime.
School supplies became abundant.
To some, these things might be common or even expected.
But to Sia, who had lived in the poor Hanbit Orphanage since she was a baby, even those small changes were a source of immense happiness.
And yet, what Sia liked most wasn’t the gifts themselves, but the older sister who gave them.
“Shh, don’t cry.”
Sia admired that sister.
It wasn’t just because she was the most successful person to ever come out of the Hanbit Orphanage.
She came to volunteer every weekend.
On Christmas, she would appear using Teleportation dressed as Santa, only to get scolded by the director for scattering gifts everywhere.
She would confidently claim she’d cook a luxurious meal, only to burn the rice and end up buying a bunch of hamburgers instead.
No matter how busy she was, she always brought a cake to celebrate the children’s birthdays.
Just being with her made everyone feel happy.
To Sia, she was blindingly radiant.
That was why Sia made up her mind. She would become a PAB agent when she grew up.
She would become a person who shined just like that sister.
“But sister. The director, the director is…….”
“The director will be fine.”
“Really……?”
“Yes, really. So just hang in there a little longer.”
That was why the children were clinging to Sia, weeping.
There were older children in the orphanage, but Sia was the only one smiling kindly even in this situation.
‘It’s a lie.’
But the children didn’t know.
Sia, the only one smiling, had the dullest eyes of them all.
‘The director is already dead.’
Sia knew.
After the bad adults came to the Hanbit Orphanage, that strict director had been murdered while resisting to protect them until the end.
She knew the other adults who tried to run or hide were already dead too.
She knew they were the only ones left alive.
‘We’ll end up like that too.’
Sia had held onto hope even when the director was murdered and only the children were kidnapped.
They hadn’t killed them yet.
That meant they had a reason to keep them alive.
She thought that as long as they were alive, it would be okay, regardless of the reason.
She believed that the sister, a PAB agent, would save them somehow.
She didn’t know how futile that belief was.
‘……Because Na-kyung sister is dead, too.’
Perhaps it was because they intended to dispose of the kids anyway.
Thanks to the bad adults talking loudly without trying to hide anything, Sia had learned everything.
They were hostages.
Bait to manipulate Yuna Gyeong.
And the one who tried to save them had died after doing exactly what the bad adults told her to do.
It was from that moment that Sia gave up on hope.
With a hollow, shell-like smile on her face, Sia asked herself.
‘Why did this happen to us?’
What did they do wrong?
Why did good people like the director or Na-kyung sister have to die because of bad adults?
After asking, thinking, asking, thinking, asking, and thinking, Sia finally realized.
‘……Ah, right.’
‘There didn’t need to be a reason.’
After all, the world had always been like this.
Is there a reason why parents have to abandon their children?
Is there a reason why children have to lose their parents?
Because of sins committed in a past life?
Because it’s just fate?
Those aren’t reasons.
Sia, who had seen and experienced countless children being abandoned just because they were born or losing their parents just because they were unlucky, knew this well.
There isn’t always a cause.
It’s an illusion to think the world is rational; reality is irrationally unfair and unjust for no reason.
That’s why the world is cruel.
She had simply forgotten it until now because of Na-kyung.
Recalling the truth, Sia waited for her approaching death with those dull, dead eyes.
*Boom!*
Suddenly, the building shook.
“H-How are you here……!?”
“How? You bastard! You slapped wiretaps and tracking devices all over Na-kyung. Did you really think you wouldn’t be counter-tracked?”
“That’s impossible! That’s a product that can’t be counter-tracked!?”
“The only thing impossible here is your survival.”
“Aaaaagh!”
Following the shocked voice of disbelief and the unhesitating profanity, a series of screams rang out.
“Eek!”
“Waaaaah!”
Startled by the sounds from outside, the children clung to her and burst into tears.
Sia, who had remained still, opened her eyes the moment the firmly closed iron door swung open.
*Bang!*
“Ha, these mouse-brained bastards. This isn’t even a Dungeon, so why the hell did they coat this sewer in so many traps?”
With just one kick, the person who had smashed the iron door like a cardboard box stepped inside.
Seeing the white-haired man who looked more terrifying than the bad adults due to the scar near his eye and his blood-soaked appearance, the children let out shrieks of terror.
They cried out that they were in trouble, shouting that the bad adults had sold them to that scary man.
But he didn’t care.
As if he was used to such reactions, he calmly looked around at the children.
“Let’s see. All twenty-three are here, so it looks like no one’s kicked the bucket. Is anyone hurt…… hm?”
The man, who was counting them like a human trafficker checking his merchandise, made a strange face.
He then strode over to Sia, who was sitting quietly alone amidst the frantic children, and stared into her eyes.
“Why does a brat like you have eyes like a rotten fish?”
“……Is that not allowed?”
“I came all the way here to save you lot. Seeing eyes like that makes me feel uneasy.”
“You came to save us?”
“Yeah.”
Normally, those words should have brought joy.
But Sia didn’t smile at all.
She simply looked back at the man with eyes as dull as a corpse and asked quietly.
“Why?”
She was asking why someone she didn’t even know would come to save them.
It wasn’t an accusation, it wasn’t curiosity, and it certainly wasn’t gratitude.
The man didn’t find it strange that Sia asked so calmly.
He simply stated the reason plainly.
“Because that was Na-kyung’s last request.”
“Na-kyung, sister’s…….”
At that moment, Sia’s eyes wavered slightly.
But it was only for an instant.
Much like a pebble thrown into a swamp causing a brief ripple, her eyes quickly lost their light and became dull again.
The man didn’t seem disappointed.
Instead, he placed his bloodied hand on Sia’s head.
“Yeah. So don’t give up anymore.”
A girl who had despaired and despaired again.
As he stroked the head of the child who had given up on everything to avoid further despair, Limon spoke quietly.
“As long as you’re with me, no one will be able to harm you.”
“Harm us? My ass.”
***
Perhaps it was because the tension had snapped, or perhaps it was because they hadn’t eaten properly.
After wolfing down their meals, Limon let out a heavy sigh as he watched the children huddled together, sleeping soundly.
Of course, his words were 100% sincere.
Whether it was the government bastards who didn’t even know how to do their jobs or the Monarch who didn’t know his place, he was confident he could protect these children no matter what schemes they pulled.
The problem was that Limon’s protection was literal.
‘Talking big when I’m digging through corpses for cash because I don’t have enough to feed these kids.’
Had they already frozen his accounts?
Limon clicked his tongue, thinking of the card that had displayed a red screen on the ATM the moment he swiped it.
His account had been mostly empty due to frequent pay cuts, but it was still disappointing to see what little money he had disappear.
He had been so short on cash to buy lunches that he’d had to use the “dropped items” (wallets) of the kidnappers.
‘I need to find a place for them to sleep first…….’
Thinking about accommodations made the situation even bleaker.
He was using a nearby pension for the time being, but he couldn’t stay there forever.
The Hanbit Orphanage?
That place was already all over the TV.
The news was screaming about a horrific incident, and it was obvious that by tomorrow, Limon would have murder and human trafficking added to his list of crimes.
His own house was out of the question.
Now that he was branded a traitor, he had no one to turn to for help.
Nor could he leave the children at a police station.
There was no reason those bastards wouldn’t use the children as hostages a second time.
‘Not that I ever intended to do something so irresponsible.’
Whether out of respect for Yuna Gyeong or because of the girl with the dead eyes, he had intended to take responsibility for these children from the start.
The problem was that the situation was more difficult than expected.
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