Chapter 44 - The Last Resort

“M-Monarch...!”

Park Hyeon-gun’s mind went blank.

Whether he was stabbed, had his bones broken, or was beaten by Limon, he had never once stopped thinking. That was the power of his unique skill, 『False God’s Renown』: it enabled him to lie in any situation.

But even Park could do nothing now but open and close his mouth like a fish. The situation had caught him that completely off guard.

“Disgusting? That’s a bit harsh for someone who was supposedly your trusted right-hand man, isn’t it?”

“Didn’t you ask for my honest opinion?”

“Well, I did.”

Limon chuckled as he chided Lee Cheon-gi, who took the remark in stride. Park stared at the two men before him in utter disbelief.

‘How...?’

As far as Park knew, these two could never coexist. Lee had tried to get rid of Limon because he stood in the way of Lee becoming an absolute being, while Limon had gone so far as to stage a hostage-taking to draw Lee out.

Yet here they stood side by side, calmly talking. Park was so astounded his eyes nearly popped out.

“What, surprised? That this bastard and I are both still alive?”

“...”

Limon seemed to have noticed his bewilderment, but Park could only stare at him, eyes darting in confusion. Limon gave a faint laugh.

“To be honest, I did mean to kill him.”

Originally, Limon’s only question about Lee Cheon-gi had been how painfully to kill him. He had no particular reason to spare him.

“But the more I thought about it, the less sure I was that this bastard was the one I should collect the blood debt from.”

After interrogating the dying Lee, Limon had found himself facing a different question. He had realized Lee was only a puppet, with someone else pulling the strings. Did he really want to kill the man who might be his only clue before he knew who was behind it all?

Limon considered the matter coolly and came to a decision.

“So I decided to hold off on killing him. Until I find the one who really owes me that blood debt.”

It was an outrageous way to think—impossible unless he regarded Lee’s life as casually as a pebble in his pocket.

Yet Lee himself remained composed, as if Limon’s ability to kill him whenever he wished was so obvious that there was no point getting upset.

‘Th-this is insane...!’

Park let out an involuntary groan. After serving Lee for so long, he knew how proud the man was. He could scarcely believe that the Infinite Monarch would accept such words without protest.

Even so, pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place for Park. How Limon had gotten here. Why the guild members weren’t coming. How he had found Park’s accounts. Why Seo Yong-chan had told him everything.

Those things might have been difficult for Limon, but for Lee Cheon-gi they would have been simple. And that could mean only one thing: Lee knew every sordid detail Limon had exposed about Park.

“Monarch, you’ve got it wrong!”

“Wrong...”

Even on the verge of panic, Park instinctively tried to make excuses. But Lee did not listen. He merely asked in a low voice, “Are you saying it was all a misunderstanding when you claimed I ordered you to divert guild funds and use the children at the orphanage as hostages?”

“Th-that’s...”

“Chief Park.”

Lee cut him off. His voice was so cold it seemed capable of freezing Park’s heart.

“Stop talking. You’re making my ears rot.”

“...!”

Lee looked as though the mere sight of Park disgusted him. Naked contempt filled eyes that were normally so calm, and Park’s face contorted.

He understood now. Lies would no longer help. Lee would never trust him again. His position in the Infinity Guild was finished.

Of course, it was only to be expected. However powerful 『False God’s Renown』 was, it could not turn every lie into truth. Could Park really persuade Lee, who had learned of everything Park had done and heard him try to pin all the blame on Lee himself? If that were possible, Park would already be called the eleventh Monarch.

Besides, Lee tolerated no flaws. He would cast someone aside for failing to achieve the best result even after doing their utmost. There was no chance he would forgive Park after this disgraceful display.

As Park stood frozen, knowing that better than anyone, Lee delivered his ultimatum.

“You’re fired.”

No disappointment, no hesitation, no regret. Lee dismissed him coldly, as if throwing away a piece of trash. At those words, Park felt something snap inside his head.

‘Fired? He’s throwing me out? Me, out of the Infinity Guild?’

The despair of losing everything. The frustration of being fired from the guild that had been his whole life. They mingled with his fury at Limon and Lee for cornering him, until his vision seemed to turn red.

With a roar, Park swung his fist.

“Raaaaagh!”

CRUNCH!

Perhaps because he had forced himself to move with a sword still lodged in his shoulder, a sound like splintering bone accompanied the excruciating pain. Park paid it no mind. When Limon took a quick step back to avoid his fist, Park wrenched his shoulder free of the sword and shouted in desperation.

“I’m the one who built the Infinity Guild into what it is while you played around in dungeons! There isn’t a part of this guild I haven’t had a hand in!”

Park had worked there since the earliest days, when Lee had only just founded the Infinity Guild and was not yet called a Monarch. While the other guild members raced around dungeons intent on leveling up, Park had handled every aspect of running it: organizing its structure, cultivating political connections, arranging sales channels for dungeon loot, and recruiting new talent.

He took pride in believing that the Infinity Guild had become one of the ten great guilds thanks to his efforts. And because it had grown so much thanks to him, he believed the guild was as good as his.

“And you’re kicking me out over something like this? You became a Monarch thanks to a cheat skill you got by luck, you bastard!”

Park ground his teeth. If he had possessed a cheat skill like 『Ability Copy』, he could have grown the Infinity Guild several times larger than it was now.

Yet Lee Cheon-gi, who had done nothing but clear dungeons and serve as the guild’s public face, who hadn’t given a damn about running it, was firing him. How could anyone be so ungrateful?

That was why Park, his reason burned away by anger, resolved to use his last resort.

“If that’s how it is, I’ll kill you both!”

It was an insane declaration. To attempt such a thing against Lee Cheon-gi, the Infinite Monarch, and Limon, who had defeated even him, was all but suicide.

But Park had something to rely on.

[Probability that a lie told using the target’s name will be accepted: 76%.]

[Credibility has met the minimum requirement.]

[Unique skill 『Borrowed Name, False Authority』 activated.]

[For 152 minutes, you may use forged copies of all Lee Cheon-gi’s skills and stats at 76% of their power.]

[However, after use, the bonus from 『False God’s Renown』 to lies told using the target’s name will be reset.]

“Hmm...?”

As the system messages appeared, Lee felt the strength suddenly drain from his entire body. A strange look crossed his face. Watching him, Park’s expression turned murderous.

“It’s too late for regrets, Lee Cheon-gi! Now that you’ve made me use this skill, you’re going to die by my hand!”

“... I see. So you were hiding a skill like this.”

『Borrowed Name, False Authority』.

It was Park’s final move: a skill derived from 『False God’s Renown』 that deceived even the constellation contracted to his target, letting him steal and use the target’s skills and blessings.

The forged skills were less effective, of course, and could only be used for a limited time. But the effect was overwhelming: it could copy even unique skills, and the target was weakened by however much of their blessing Park stole.

Lee could now wield only 24% of his original power, while Park could use forged versions of Lee’s abilities at 76%. Even by stats alone, that made Park more than three times as strong. He could kill Lee in an instant now.

Limon was the problem, but Park wasn’t worried about him either.

‘A mere Sword Master is no match for me!’

From their conversation, he could tell Limon had defeated Lee. But that only meant Lee had been too incompetent to use his skills properly. Park was confident that even with just 76% of Lee’s original power, he could toy with an obsolete relic like Limon all he liked. Someone with thousands of skills losing to an ordinary person should never have been possible in the first place.

“You’re first, Limon Aspelder!”

Park targeted Limon first, intending to defeat him and prove how incompetent Lee was—to humiliate him.

“Di—”

SLASH!

Before Park could even use a skill, he froze. His right hand, which he had thrust forward to unleash an attack skill, had been severed at the wrist and was rolling across the floor.

“Aaaagh!”

“Didn’t I tell you?”

Limon, the one who had cut off Park’s hand, lowered his sword, blood dripping from its blade. He looked at Park clutching the stump of his wrist and screaming, then continued in a chilling voice.

“A shit like you doesn’t get to say my name whenever he wants, asshole.”

“Y-you obsolete relic! Attacking me like that was cowardly...!”

“Cowardly?”

Park was accusing him, furious, of attacking without warning. Limon stared at him in disbelief, then shot back, “Get this straight, asshole. I didn’t come here to play duels with you. I came to kill you.”

If Park wanted a fight that started at the signal, he should become an athlete. Limon’s mockery was unmistakable. Park glared at him, eyes bloodshot.

“Don’t get so full of yourself just because you landed one hit when my guard was down!”

“Ever think that maybe I’m not showing off? Maybe you’re just an idiot for letting your guard down in front of an enemy.”

“You son of a bitch...!”

Park ground his teeth at Limon’s taunt. This time, radiating murderous intent, he prepared his skills.

‘I’ll kill him. I’ll make damn sure he dies!’

With healing skills such as 『Regeneration』, 『Hyperregeneration』, 『Combat Recovery』, and 『Pain Numbing』, he would block the pain and regrow his right hand. Enhancement skills such as 『Hyperacceleration』, 『Hypersenses』, and 『Giant’s Strength』 would push his physical abilities to their limits. Skills such as 『Accelerated Thinking』, 『Future Foresight』, and 『Weakness Detection』 would let him foresee the future and find an opening.

Then all he had to do was pour hundreds of attack skills into that opening at once!

He had only been caught earlier because he hadn’t managed to activate his skills. If they fought properly, he was certain he could blow away a non-player like Limon in the blink of an eye.

Park activated his skills all at once. Power from dozens of them flooded his body and mind, filling him with the sense that he could do anything. And at that very moment—

POP! POP! POP!

“Guh?!”

Blood spurted from all seven openings in Park’s head—his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. As he collapsed to the floor and convulsed, Limon blinked at him blankly.

“... What the hell? Why’d you fall over all by yourself?”