Chapter 24 - A Somewhat Loud Response

And with that, Limon's press conference ended. Park Hyeon-gun understood perfectly why Lee Cheon-gi still couldn't take his eyes off the TV. He himself had sat frozen in a daze for minutes when he saw it live. The footage was that shocking. Taking the president hostage. Announcing a string of further hostage-takings. Sending a message to a Monarch. Each was insane enough on its own, and Limon had bundled them all together and hurled them out in one blunt blow. Any sane person would be stunned.

"... Limon Aspelder is a more formidable man than I thought. I didn't expect him to catch me off guard like this."

"What do you mean?"

Park looked puzzled when Lee finally spoke. Limon was clearly no ordinary lunatic, but Lee seemed to mean something more.

"Don't you see? It's checkmate."

"If you mean that insane threat demanding you come to the Blue House, my lord, you can simply ignore it..."

"Then people will think I'm using someone else's blade to seize control of this country."

"Surely no one would believe such lunacy?"

"What I actually intend doesn't matter. The problem is that the senior officials he named as his next targets now have grounds to make that claim."

Park's face hardened. His mind, stalled by the sheer absurdity of the broadcast, had finally started working again.

"You mean they'll pressure you, my lord?"

"Their lives are at stake."

Ordinarily, even senior officials would never dare do anything so reckless. In this age, a Monarch was an absolute power. To cross one was to invite ruin. But Limon's hostage crisis had changed the situation in a peculiar way. Staying on a Monarch's good side mattered only if they lived; at this rate, they might all end up dead. They no longer had the luxury of political calculations. And with the need to save the president as justification, anyone who valued their life would cling to Lee Cheon-gi. Even a Monarch with absolute power would find that hard to ignore.

"If they draw another Monarch into this, it'll turn into an ugly fight."

Lee was not the only Monarch. If he refused to act to the bitter end, plenty of senior officials would run to the others to save their own skins, consequences be damned. That was a threat incomparably greater than anything Limon could make. Unlike Limon, a relic of a bygone age, the other Monarchs were opponents even Lee could not ignore.

"Are you saying Limon Aspelder planned all this?"

"I don't know how much of it he intended, but he clearly meant to create a situation where I would have no choice but to act in person."

Worst of all, Limon had practically advertised the whole affair. A discreet phone call might have been another matter. But with that broadcast seen almost around the world, Lee had no choice but to step in and resolve the crisis. Whether to protect his interests, preserve his reputation, or for any other reason.

"Chief Park, pull our people away from Leviathan."

"Are you sure?"

"Better to lose track of the Black Dragon Princess than draw the other Monarchs' attention there."

"Then I'll redirect them to the Blue House."

"No. That won't be necessary."

Lee shook his head. He gazed coldly at Limon's grinning face on the frozen TV screen and continued in a low voice.

"It seems humanity's guardian deity wants to settle this. I'll settle it with him myself."

* * *

CLINK, CLINK.

"Oh, this is good."

The Blue House luncheon room. President Han Jeong-guk was quite fond of the place, which he had spent a considerable sum remodeling early in his term. He enjoyed inviting people from every walk of life there, from foreign envoys and corporate chairmen to students studying abroad and entertainers. But at that moment, the room he loved felt like hell.

"The world's really come a long way. Kings in the old days had their food tasted and checked for poison. They couldn't even dream of a hot meal."

'How long ago was that?'

"And they had to eat bland food for their health and couldn't have a late-night snack whenever they wanted. Poor bastards."

'They weren't as miserable as I am.'

"Speaking of which, Mr. President, why don't you eat? This was made with precious tax money. Wouldn't want it going to waste."

'You think I can eat right now?'

"Hey, bring me more liquor. Something expensive, if you've got it."

'That was bought with precious tax money too!'

Limon sat at ease on the floor, picking up food and popping it into his mouth as if this were his own home. Watching him, President Han felt his anger simmer. If he could, he would have said a word in defense of a head of state's dignity. No, a hundred words. But he couldn't bring himself to open his mouth. The blade held to his throat even while Limon ate had taught him the virtue of silence.

'You crazy bastard! At least put the sword away while you're eating!'

"I suppose I am a little crazy."

"Gah?!"

President Han nearly jumped out of his skin. Limon had answered the words in his head as casually as if he'd spoken them aloud.

"H-how...? Do you have the 『Mind Reading』 skill?!"

"Skill, my ass. Men like you who glare at me when you think I'm not looking all have the same thing on their minds."

Limon snorted. He had done this sort of thing plenty of times. After dealing with all kinds of hostages, guessing what President Han was thinking was easy. Most of it would be insults anyway: mad dog, lunatic, nutcase, psycho, and the like.

Realizing he'd just fallen for a leading question, Han flushed scarlet. But that passed. Seeing Limon remain calmer than expected despite catching him cursing inwardly, Han decided to speak.

"Aren't you afraid of what will happen after doing this?"

He made sure to be polite, of course. Being president didn't give him a second life.

"Is there anything I should be afraid of?"

Fortunately, Limon didn't cut his throat merely because a hostage had the nerve to speak. He only asked back, sounding genuinely curious. Emboldened, Han declared, "Did you think you could take the head of state hostage and get away with it? You've gone from hero to traitor!"

"I nearly got arrested for terrorism and treason before I even did this."

He asked with indifference what difference one more act of treason made when he'd already been accused of it.

"I-if there was a misunderstanding, surely talking it through would have been the proper course!"

"Are you admitting you framed me?"

"That's not what I..."

"Then what? You sent in Unit 909 over something you weren't even sure about and got them all fucking killed? Can you say that to the reporters outside?"

"..."

President Han thought he should have kept his mouth shut. Once Unit 909 had been deployed, he had no excuse. If he'd known, that was a problem; if he hadn't, he could be impeached for failing to know the country's most elite special forces unit was committing illegal acts on its own.

But Limon wouldn't let him be. As if the opportunity suited him perfectly, he tapped Han's neck with his sword and asked, "I'm the one who should be asking questions. What the hell made you think you could pin a treason charge on me?"

"That..."

"No, don't answer. You did it because you were counting on the Infinite Monarch, obviously."

'Then why ask, you lunatic!'

Whether Han cursed him inwardly or not, Limon calmly continued, tearing into a chicken leg. "I've thought this for a while: you people think the world is too easy. If you're going to accuse someone of treason, you should be prepared for them to actually commit it."

Just like a preachy old man, he was lecturing Han even now. Han ground his teeth. "... Talk all you like. You won't have much longer to act so smug."

"Why do you say that?"

"Do you really think even you can stand against the full might of the Infinity Guild?"

Han made the threat with confidence. He had underestimated Limon and ended up in this position, but the Infinity Guild was on an entirely different level from the Blue House guards. It was one of the ten great guilds vying for supremacy in the world. If it intervened directly, Han had no doubt it could subdue Limon.

"If you release me now, I'll do everything I can to stop the Infinite Monarch from mobilizing Infinity."

'Come on, take the bait!'

Han spoke as though offering a generous favor and activated his unique skill, 『Pledge for Support』. It let him win someone's support in exchange for a pledge. The pledge had to appeal to the other person, and he was obliged to fulfill it if he gained their support, but the possibilities were endless. Indeed, that skill was how he had become president-elect.

"Puhahaha!"

But at his words, Limon burst into uproarious laughter. He rolled around on the floor several times before asking the bewildered Han with a chuckle, "Th-the full might of the Infinity Guild? You don't actually think Lee Cheon-gi will bring all his guild members with him, do you?"

"... Of course he will," Han answered uneasily. With the president taken hostage, there was no reason to hold back their forces.

Limon scoffed at his judgment. "Will he, though? I think Lee Cheon-gi will walk into the Blue House alone, head held high."

"Don't be ridiculous!"

"Well, we'll see."

Limon gave a faint smile, as though the outcome didn't matter to him. But he was certain: after a public provocation like this, the Infinite Monarch would never bring mere subordinates along. That was the pride of an absolute ruler.

"Even if the Infinite Monarch comes alone, you're finished all the same!"

Perhaps Limon's composure had made Han anxious instead. He shouted as if in desperation. Limon tilted his head at him.

"Hmm. There's something I've been wondering for a while."

As if he couldn't understand it at all, or was dying to know the answer, he looked at Han with golden eyes full of questions and asked bluntly, "Why are you people so certain I'm weaker than a Monarch?"

Han looked at him incredulously. Not just because the question was unexpected. The answer seemed as obvious as which direction the sun rose.

"Because you're not a player, are you?"

A gun was stronger than a sword, and cavalry couldn't defeat tanks. How could an "ordinary person" without skills defeat a Monarch at the pinnacle of all players? Han answered without a moment's thought, and Limon gave a faint smile.

"Right. You're all the same."

As though asking had only been a waste, Limon muttered with a bored look and lost all interest in Han. Instead, he murmured inwardly, 'It still bothers me.'

It was a question no one else would understand, a discrepancy only he could sense. Turning it over in his mind, Limon was about to resume eating. But before he could reach for his plate, he grabbed Han with lightning speed and hurled himself away.

And immediately afterward—

BOOOOM!!!

A missile plunged through the ceiling and slammed into the luncheon room.