Solo Swordmaster

Chapter 11: Memories

He had been to this place he'd never been to before.

Logically, that was impossible. But Limon didn't doubt himself.

From all sorts of strange skills, to magic that overturned the providence of God, Psionics beyond human knowledge, even elementalists that could summon armored monster soldiers.

He knew from experience that there were always mysteries that made the impossible possible.

Of course, unfounded beliefs could turn into blind faith.

But Limon had a way of finding out.

"Boss? What are you doing?"

It was an obstacle he would have normally cut in half right away.

Yoo Na-kyung thought it was strange as she watched Limon approach the thick metal door instead.

Beep beep beep beep beep beep—

She grumbled, dumbfounded when Limon started pressing the number panel on the door.

"How would you know what to press? It doesn't open just because you enter a code randomly."

"…"

"…R-right?"

Yoo Na-kyung's jaw dropped. Blankly watching the door as it slowly opened, she spoke.

"Boss? How did you just do that?"

"I guessed."

"How could you just guess something with a one-billionth chance of getting right?!?!"

"What? I tried, and it worked."

"No— But… that's, I mean…!"

Was it because she'd seen something so bizarre?

Limon didn't pay much attention to the glitching Yoo Na-kyung, only absentmindedly watched the commotion unfold behind the slowly opening doors.

"Huh? Why's that door opening?"

"Didn't you say it was closed until the job was done?"

"Hey, what are you looking at?! Focus on what's in front of you!"

Once a banquet hall, the entire floor had been renovated into a large space.

Dozens of people with various items such as bats, bow and arrows, armor, and bulletproof vests filled the area.

The members of the Liberation Brigade stopped whispering when they saw the back door slowly open, stunned.

"Huh?"

"What the…"

They were disconcerted, like they had just seen a flying pig.

Yoo Na-kyung also looked stunned seeing the Liberation Brigade behind the door.

Even if it was their main base, this was overkill.

Even a veteran PAB agent would have been frightened by the number of players huddled together, armed as if preparing for the dungeon.

However, Limon remained unfazed. He already knew of their presence before he even opened the door.

And so, he calmly moved forward amidst the ruckus.

One step to close their distance.

One step to get in between them as they were whispering to each other.

One step to swing his sword as he turned in his place.

"Aaargh!"

"Wh-what? What just happened?"

The members of the Liberation Brigade were bewildered. They were certain they had their eyes on Limon.

But they didn't even realize it when Limon had gotten in between their ranks, and took down five members in an instant.

To everyone else, it looked like they just suddenly collapsed.

"The fuck are you sitting around for? Hurry up and attack!!"

But they were players first.

At the cry of a man who seemed to be a leader of sorts, the members came to their senses, attempting to charge at Limon with all their might.

And an attempt it was. Nothing more.

Whether they swung a sword engulfed in flames, shot an arrow that would always hit its mark, or tied his feet together using shadows, it was useless. Limon fended off all the attacks by dodging, slashing, and smashing them, each in a single step with ease.

"What the hell…?!"

The head of the Liberation Brigade, Kang Seok, couldn't believe this.

The Liberation Brigade may have been regarded by the world as a psychotic criminal organization, but by no means were they weak.

Only mid-level players of 30 and above could be initiated as official members. Players below that were deemed weak and treated worse than errand-boys.

And true to their name of 'Liberation Brigade', they were pretty well-coordinated in group combat. They especially took pride in being better at PVP matches than most high-level guilds.

It didn't matter how strong a high-level player was. At the end of the day, they were just miners who fought monsters.

When it came to matches between people, no organization had more experience than the Liberation Brigade, who actually murdered people.

But Kang Seok's diamond pride was sliced in half like it was a piece of paper with Limon's sword.

'Just what is this monster?!'

He would've accepted the circumstances if it was simply their attacks that weren't getting through.

There were more than a few high-level players with skills like 「Absolute Defense」 and 「Immortality」 that could completely nullify attacks.

He could also look past knocking down everyone in a single blow each.

It was hard to have both defensive and offensive abilities like that, but it would be possible if they were a Grand Duke.

And yet, Kang Seok was trembling, for one reason.

The eyes of that man…

Eyes even the criminals and psychos of the Liberation Brigade had never never seen before.

Even while slamming his sword into people's heads, his golden eyes displayed nothing but a deep zen.

The only thing that seemed normal was his appearance. He was by no means a normal human being.

A true monster the Liberation Brigade could not hope to compete with.

But the realization came too late. From the moment Limon entered, none of them had a chance of escape.

"Kill him! Kill him if you don't want to fucking die!"

***

***

Unable to handle the despair, Kang Seok cried out desperately, like a cornered mouse biting the cat.

He frantically charged at Limon, swinging his half moon blade and activating 「Blade Storm」, his skill.

It was what made Kang Seok the head of the Liberation Brigade.

A skill that rained down 36 cuts in an instant, able to shred solid metal in the blink of an eye.

Clank—!

But after he casted it. Kang Seok couldn't help but widen his eyes.

Just as his half moon blade was about to unleash the skill,

Limon's sword lightly grazed the edge of the blade, redirecting all its force even before the sword was swung.

But Limon was just getting started.

Cling—!

36 simultaneous blows came from all directions.

"……How?"

It was a long explanation, fit into less than a hundredth of a second.

It should have been impossible to attack that much in such a short amount of time, no matter how agile the player was.

A supersonic onslaught that was only possible through the power of the skill. Kang Seok couldn't even control it, only able to blindly swing with it in effect.

So how did Limon block every single one of those completely random swings?

"I'd have to be a complete dumbass to not be able to block something you showed me twice."

"…Twice? When did you ever see my skill?"

"Now's the first."

"What the…!"

Kang Seok was speechless.

It wasn't that he couldn't understand what Limon meant when he said he saw 「Blade Storm」 twice.

It was the fact that Limon was able to defend against such supersonic cuts just because he saw it once before that was so astounding.

"Irk!"

"What are you, my student? What's with all the fucking questions? We're in a fight right now."

Limon swung the back of his sword at the back of Kang Seok's head, knocking him out.

The remaining members of the Liberation Brigade looked like they were on the verge of dying from fear after losing their loser.

As Limon took them down, he thought to himself.

'More and more things are coming to mind.'

Blocking every individual strike from 「Blade Storm」 wasn't something he normally would have done.

It would've been over in a single swing, so there wasn't really any reason to have swung an additional 35 times.

But as soon as he saw Kang Seok's 「Blade Storm」, it occurred to him naturally how the blade would've been swung.

As if he was recalling something he'd forgotten.

It was like that with the other members as well.

Every time their swords clashed, Limon already knew how they were going to attack. And so, the fragments of his memory crystallized and awakened other memories.

"Mon-monster…"

Slash—!

As the last member fell, Limon froze in place.

Not just because he didn't need to swing his sword anymore.

It was as if taking down all the Liberation Brigade members turned on a switch. A scene came to mind as the memories floating in his head came together.

A scene he'd never seen, couldn't see, and didn't want to see. And yet, the scene he could never forget.

The moment he saw it, Limon quietly muttered to himself.

"……I remember now."

"Remember? Remember what?"

As soon as the Liberation Brigade was defeated, Yoo Na-kyung hopped over their unconscious bodies and approached Limon. It seemed like she was bored of just watching Limon.

"Everything."

"Do you have Alzheimer's or something? How can you forget everything?"

Yoo Na-kyung let out a laugh as if she'd heard a ridiculous joke.

Taking out her phone, she looked into each of the fallen members' faces.

"Looks like all of the core members were gathered. It's a shame the boss wasn't here, but this looks like enough to say we destroyed the Liberation Brigade."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, we should bring the Director and the other teams to take care of the cleanup. Then, it'll be easier to claim as the PAB's achievement.

"Yeah, sure it will," Limon nodded emotionlessly.

He looked oddly tired. Figuring that he was just getting old, Yoo Na-kyung let go of her suspicion and reached her hand out to him.

"Well then, let's go."

"……"

"……Boss? My hand."

"Do I have to?"

"Of course. Aren't you going to report to the Director?"

Yoo Na-kyung was aghast. Limon wasn't doing anything except staring vacantly at her hand. Hearing his response, Yoo Na-kyung was completely dumbfounded.

"I'm not going."

"What? Why?"

Yoo Na-kyung tilted her head.

She couldn't understand why Limon was trying to stay behind.

But the moment Limon revealed his reason, she could only freeze in place, her head still sideways.

"It's a trap."

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