Chapter 4 - Choice

Anyone could become a player. All it took was a contract with a constellation. But not all players were equal. Their standing depended on the stature of the constellation they contracted with and the skills they received from it.

At the pinnacle stood the Monarchs (君主): ten superhumans who had contracted with the greatest constellations and developed their unique skills to the limit, reaching level 100. In the Iron Age, the title of Monarch carried immense weight. Even a nation's president could not treat one lightly, and every power bowed before them. True to their title, they held absolute sway over everything in this age.

"What? Finally realizing you made a mistake?"

Having one of those ten Monarchs as a brother-in-law was an extraordinary connection. Add the fact that Seo Yong-chan himself was a high-level player in the eighties, and it was only natural that he behaved as though he owned the place. Once you lived among the heavens, people on the ground stopped looking human to you.

"Then you shouldn't have ambushed me. Why pull a dirty trick like that and piss me off, huh?"

"... Ambushed you?"

"Fuck, you attacked me while I was drunk and defenseless!"

Limon blinked. Then he glanced at Yu Na-gyeong, asking with his eyes, 'Since when does tearing around on a bull count as defenseless?'

'If that's defenseless, arson must count as fireworks.'

'Then why's he talking this bullshit?'

'Maybe he blacked out?'

'Even if he doesn't remember, someone must have told him. There are mountains of CCTV footage.'

'Maybe someone told him a pack of lies?'

After silently puzzling it over with Na-gyeong for a moment, Limon gave up on finding the answer himself and asked the man directly.

"Just to make sure: what makes you say I ambushed you?"

"Why do I need proof? Unless you pulled some dirty trick, there's no way my summon would have lost to a has-been like you."

Limon frowned despite himself. It wasn't because Seo Yong-chan's answer was so absurd. He had realized the real reason Seo had come all this way to insist on such nonsense.

'Ah. His pride's been hurt.'

Seo had probably spent his life lording it over everyone from his lofty perch. Then a summon that had been one of the foundations of his confidence was smashed in a second. He couldn't possibly accept it—especially when the one who'd done it was Limon, whom players regarded as a has-been. And Limon knew from experience how men like this tried to restore their pride.

"A government employee assaults an innocent citizen? How is that even possible?! It gives me the creeps knowing my taxes pay to feed people like you!"

How did they do it? Simple. They crushed whoever had wounded their pride. Strangely enough, men like this believed that ruining the other person would make their pride good as new.

"Think this ends with compensation? Not a chance! If I wanted to, ruining a has-been like you would be child's play."

In that sense, Seo's threat couldn't be dismissed as empty bluster. CCTV footage, dashcam recordings—he only had to erase anything that could serve as evidence. With one high-level player who specialized in electronics, that wouldn't be difficult.

Witnesses? Easier still. All he had to do was hint at his connection to a Monarch, and anyone who didn't have a death wish would keep their mouth shut. Throw in a little money and he could even conjure up witnesses who hadn't been there. That alone would make the story [Infinite Monarch's Brother-in-Law Runs Amok in City Center!] vanish without a trace. In its place, reports of Limon's assault would spread everywhere.

But Limon wasn't the one most alarmed by Seo's threats.

"Mr. Seo, are you threatening a Player Administration Bureau agent right in front of me?"

"Why? Am I not allowed?"

"Don't be absurd!"

Kang Jeong-su's face twisted. He had held his tongue until now because of Seo's connection to the Infinite Monarch, but there were limits. Seo had gone too far, and Kang burst out, "If you keep this up, I'll call the Infinite Monarch here and speak with him myself! Is that what you want?"

Seo flinched at his firm words. Even as family by marriage, he couldn't take a Monarch's name lightly. If he made someone as senior as the PAB director contact the Infinite Monarch directly over this, even Seo would get a severe dressing-down.

"Tch. Fine, fine."

After wavering between pride and fear for a moment, Seo reluctantly backed down.

"Since the good director's begging me, I'll make an exception this time and settle for compensation."

'When the hell did I beg you, you little shit?'

Kang frowned at his insolent tone, but didn't argue. Dealing with a Monarch would be a burden, after all. If he could resolve the incident with money, he'd count himself lucky.

"Provided that man over there gets on his knees and apologizes to me."

That was when Seo pointed at Limon. Kang froze at the words, and Na-gyeong's eyes widened. Limon tilted his head to one side.

"... You want me to kneel?"

"Isn't that obvious? If you hurt someone, the least you can do is show some remorse!"

"Mr. Seo, that's...!"

"Why? Don't like it? Then forget it. I'll just take a scolding from my brother-in-law."

'You idiot!'

Kang swallowed the curse. Negotiation, damage control—it was all over. Still, he turned to look, just in case. When he saw Limon throw a punch with a murderous look on his face, Kang shut his eyes.

THUD!

* * *

'Just as planned.'

Watching Limon's fist shoot toward him, Seo Yong-chan grinned triumphantly at the murderous look on his face. 'He fell for a little provocation like that. Stupid old man.'

Seo hadn't acted so arrogantly from the moment he'd arrived simply because he was conceited. He had deliberately provoked Limon to make him charge in like this. His goal was clear: defeat Limon head-on and settle the score!

Of course, that plan depended on his being able to beat Limon one-on-one, but Seo was confident. Yesterday he'd been drunk and hadn't been wearing his equipment. That was the only reason he hadn't stopped the surprise attack. Now that he was wearing every kind of item and was fully prepared, there was no way he couldn't handle one has-been. Seo believed it without a doubt—until Limon's fist slammed into his solar plexus.

"Urgh?!"

Seo was bewildered. The fist he was sure he'd blocked had somehow driven deep into his stomach. Still, as befitted a high-level player, he endured the pain and tried to strike back. But that was nothing more than wishful thinking.

SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!

"Listen here, you son of a bitch."

THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!

"When you've done wrong, you need to know how to repent."

CRACK!

"What was that? Compensation? You want me on my knees? You really have a death wish, don't you?"

'Th-this can't be happening.'

His cheek swelled from the slaps. Kicks landed all over his body. A fist smashed into his face. As Limon beat him without giving him room to breathe, let alone fight back, Seo felt more bewilderment than anger.

A high-level player was a superhuman. Levels strengthened the body until it was tough as steel and sharpened reflexes until one could even snatch an arrow out of the air. And equipped with his items, Seo was strong enough to smash a tank barehanded. So why did the punches of a mere "ordinary person" like Limon hurt this much? He couldn't understand it.

But his bewilderment didn't last. The pain of the relentless beating drove him into a frenzy.

"Y-you bastard! You think you'll get away with this?! If I tell my brother-in-law what you did...!"

"Tell him? How's a dead bastard going to tell anyone?"

"What?"

Only then did Limon stop punching. He seized Seo by the hair, pulled him close until their eyes met, and smiled coldly.

"Did you think you could say that to me and leave here alive?"

"...!"

A chill ran down Seo's spine. He fancied himself something of an expert at going too far. That was why one look at the murderous gleam in Limon's golden eyes told him everything: Limon was a madman with a disposition as rotten as his own... No, Seo couldn't even begin to compare.

'This bastard means it!'

In that instant, Seo forgot all his anger and resentment. Driven by a surging instinct to survive, he hurriedly spoke.

"W-wait. Let's talk..."

"Too late, asshole!"

"Aaagh!"

As if to deny him even the chance to speak, Limon drove his knee into Seo's jaw. The blow was so hard that broken teeth spilled from his mouth. Limon didn't stop there. He pinned Seo's sprawled body to the floor with his foot and smiled coldly.

"You're going to die anyway. You won't need this anymore, will you?"

Even while writhing in pain, Seo's eyes flew wide. Limon's murderous gaze was fixed on his lower body—his groin, of all places.

"N-not there...!"

"Yes, there, asshole!"

Trampling Seo's desperate plea, Limon kicked without mercy.

CRUNCH!

"Aaaaaagh!"

It was a man's scream.

* * *

Seo Yong-chan finally passed out. Naturally. There was no way he could have remained conscious after a blow that dreadful. More dreadful still, Limon's violence didn't stop.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

"Who said you could pass out, you little shit? Is this your bedroom? Huh? Fine, if you want to sleep, sleep! I'll make sure you sleep forever!"

"S-sir! Please, calm down. You're really going to kill him!"

Unable to watch any more, Kang hurried to stop Limon. But the next moment, he froze.

"I am going to kill him."

"... What?"

"I'm beating him because I intend to kill him."

Having stunned Kang with that matter-of-fact answer, Limon went on indifferently. "What, you idiot? Did you think I was joking when I said I'd kill this bastard?"

"No, but...! He's the Infinite Monarch's brother-in-law! What will you do if the Infinite Monarch finds out?"

"Make sure he doesn't. We've got plenty of people in our organization who are experts at erasing evidence like that."

"Do you think the Player Administration Bureau is some kind of criminal organization?! And dozens of people must have seen this man storm in here. How could we hide that?"

"We can't?"

"Be reasonable!"

"Tch."

Limon clicked his tongue as Kang shouted at him, then glanced down at the battered Seo.

'Should I just kill him or not?'

He weighed the choices seriously. Should he ignore the Infinite Monarch, the law, and everything else and kill the bastard right now? Or should he hold back for the time being, as a government employee charged with upholding law and order ought to?

While he was deep in thought, Seo's appearance suddenly changed. A dark sheen crept over him.

"... Now what?"

Seo's eyes had rolled back, but he had at least still looked human. A black glint flashed across Limon's vision, and suddenly Seo's head had turned into a bull's. Limon could only stare in disbelief.