Solo Swordmaster

#144. toughest day.

* * *

Slurr.

Like snowflakes wetting the winter.

The light powder that fell from the air and disappeared as if melting on the palm of one’s hand.

Limon gazed intently at the fragments of starlight that exploded the moment the constellation that occupied Velos’ body was cut down.

‘indeed.’

Whether it’s cutting the Constellation.

Whatever absorbs its fragments.

It was Limon, who had already become accustomed to it.

Nevertheless, there was a reason why he was paying attention to the fragments of starlight.

‘Are these the words of a human who has not digested the power of the Constellation?’

I had vaguely guessed from the time I felt a strange sense of difference in my body after cutting the Constellation.

The fragments of starlight are not just blessings.

It can also be a curse if not handled properly.

That’s why I put everything aside and focused on digesting the power of the Constellation.

and this moment today.

Following Ryu Kang-cheol, who had been encroached on by the Constellation, he realized clearly as he cut down even Velos, who was mixed with the Constellation.

That this is a form of catastrophe that could come to him if he just indiscriminately absorbs the power of the Constellation.

That’s why he had felt so different from the power of the Constellation.

‘Well, there’s nothing surprising about it.’

When you think about it, it was natural.

Only the characters in the game can become stronger unconditionally by defeating the enemy.

Originally, the more you fight, the more you get hurt and weak, and the world’s logic is that you lose more than you gain.

Even more so, there was no way that such a mighty power that encompassed even the godhead wouldn’t come without a price.

Players who get items by catching monsters and become stronger by leveling up may wonder why strength requires a price.

‘It’s not like players only gain strength unconditionally.’

After accepting the last bit of starlight remnants.

Limon slowly turned around.

Then, after staring at the blonde woman sitting down with her chest open, she quietly opened her mouth after a short silence.

“It was a great song.”

Eugene didn’t answer.

just smiled

Seeing that, Limon frowned and gestured lightly.

“Nakyung, come over here for a second.”

[yes? Why?]

Yu Na-gyeong, who was puzzled by the unexpected call, but ran as she was told.

Limon picked her up and pulled out the ring that was on her ankle.

[uh? Wait a minute, chief! That’s my item…!]

Beep beep!

Maybe it’s because the item was suddenly stolen.

Yuna-kyung, who was flustered and chirped, flapped her wings in protest.

Limon threw her away.

Then, he took Yoo-jin’s hand, which was drooping, and put the ring he had stolen from Yuna-kyung on his finger.

[You’re quick-witted, partner.]

“You’re not getting old in vain.”

As soon as he put the ring on, Limon let out a laugh at the flame that came to his head.

And then he asked out of nowhere.

“Was this? What about the personal circumstances you mentioned?”

[For now.]

“Yes, it must have been.”

Limon understood.

Why did Eugene say that he could not give up the mission of the Liberation Brigade?

Still alive with a hole in the chest and a ripped out heart.

The fact that Eugene’s lips kept moving but he couldn’t utter a single word was telling us the reason.

“Was it congenital or acquired?”

[Fortunately, the back.]

“Is it fortunate that I can’t speak a word, let alone sing, without borrowing the power of the constellation?”

[Thanks to that, I learned that money ruins the soul.]

Eugene said calmly.

If you haven’t liked singing since childhood.

So unless white orphans could make money just singing in the street.

If, as a result of being blinded by money, he would not be in a position where he could not sing again after resisting to keep the pennies.

After all, money has no value, and he would never have known all his life that Germany was the only thing that tainted the soul.

[Including the fact that every reward has a price.] He

loses his voice and survives begging and pickpocketing, and ends up risking his life to enter the dungeon.

The fact that she accepted the contract unconditionally after being offered to sing again by the ‘frenzied immortal giant’ who coveted her talent.

Because of that, he was forced to lose his voice if he did not follow the orders of the Liberation Brigade.

After killing all the culprits who stole his voice, he became a berserker who enjoyed the pleasure of killing little by little every time he used his skills.

He said that it was a valuable learning opportunity that he would never have had if he had not been able to sing at all from birth.

To Eugene, who spoke naturally, Limon said quietly.

“It sounds like you have no regrets.”

[huh? Why do you have regrets?]

“You mean you have no regrets even though you’ve only served as a puppet of the Constellation all your life?”

[Because there’s no reason to do that.]

Eugene cut it off.

Even if I could go back to the past, I would make the same choice.

[At least I could sing to my heart’s content.]

If she hadn’t become the specter of the Liberation Brigade, she would have ended up selling herself in a back alley.

Like cattle that are confined to a cage without the freedom to speak freely, let alone sing, and end up being eaten.

In that case, the present life where I could sing freely was better.

Limon quietly asked Eugene, who spoke without hesitation.

“I don’t think you’ve killed more than one or two people for that song?”

[It’s a pity.]

“…is that so.”

Limon knew.

Eugene feels sorry for the people he killed, but that also means that’s all.

And the fact that if he could sing again, Eugene would gladly offer up hundreds or thousands of people as a living sacrifice.

After all, she is a Berserker.

That he is a mad murderer and the worst criminal.

“I can’t let you live either.”

[uh? Could I have lived if I answered well?]

“No, I would have killed him anyway.”

[That’s a real pity.]

“What kind of regret is that, since I didn’t intend to live anyway.”

[HAHAHA partners know me well.

]

He is barely surviving with the remnants of his immortality.

As long as the ‘frenzied immortal giant’, the source of that power, disappeared, Eugene’s death was as promised.

And even if he could live like this, Eugene himself would have rejected it.

A life that can’t sing more.

Because Eugene could only die.

That’s why Limon quietly raised a question he couldn’t understand.

“Let me ask you one last thing.”

[What?]

“Why did you help me? It would have been better for you to have him win.”

Eugene, who only values singing, would not have helped him out of vengeance anyway.

Receiving the constellation back after Belos won was the only possibility for her to sing again.

But why did he give up hope and help himself?

When Limon asked why, Eugene gave a clear answer.

[Because your partner is my partner.]

“Is it just because of that?”

[No. I’ve become a body that can’t live without a partner now.]

Yujin chuckled.

Originally, she was a free spirit and could be satisfied with just singing alone.

However, after meeting Limon and knowing the happiness of singing along to his playing, she could not be satisfied with singing alone.

Because her soul had already been tamed by Limon.

As much as I wanted to help him, even if it meant giving up my own life and the song that was more precious than that.

After all, when I first met Limon.

From the moment she accepted his request to borrow her song, her doom was

set

.

[Let me hear it one last time. Not a fake to my song, but a real performance with my partner’s soul.]

He wanted to know if Limon’s performance, which he had given up everything to save, was really worth it.

Looking at Eugene, who made such a bold request, Limon asked timidly.

“Do you think I’ll do that favor?”

[Yes.]

“…What is that confidence?”

[That’s right, you promised your partner before, right? Next time we meet, he will hang out with me until he dies.]

“I didn’t say until I die. I just said all night.”

[Anyway, a promise is a promise, right?]

Was Limon a man of two words?

Eugene shamelessly questioned.

She grinned at Limon, who frowned.

[Instead, if my partner does my favor, I’ll tell you a good one.]

“A good one?”

[Yes, the most important purpose of our liberation brigade. This is something your partner must know.]

Eugene said confidently.

Organizational Liberation Brigade, where everything is covered in a veil.

There will never again be a chance to hear their key information for the price of just one performance.

“Are you serious?”

[I swear to my soul,

I really mean it.]

Take a moment to look at Eugene, who winks lightly even with his heart pierced.

Limon sighed.

Then, he picked up the deep-black violin that had fallen at the spot where Bellos’ corpse had turned into light powder and disappeared.

“I’ll tell you in advance, but I can’t guarantee that it will be a performance that will satisfy you.”

[It’s okay, just play with your partner’s soul.]

“I’m just saying this because I don’t know what that soul is.”

Limon babbled, but took his violin and bow and poised himself.

Then, I closed my eyes while forcibly holding my body, which was about to start playing automatically due to the curse.

He still didn’t know what the soul Eugene was talking about was.

But I could guess.

That soul is the source that Eugene’s songs always dig into the heart, and the reason why Limon’s own performance doesn’t develop further.

‘ said Julia. If I love music, my playing will be better.’

As the violin witch pointed out at the end, Limon didn’t particularly like to play.

I just started learning the violin as a means to melt the Constellation’s power.

That’s why I said that I don’t play because I like it.

‘But is it really?’

Limon asked himself.

Can’t you like it as a means?

Can you be offended or moved by something you don’t even like?

Was the reason why he visited Eugene whenever he had free time simply because he had plenty of free time?

‘Yes, I’ll admit it.’

Looking at himself objectively, Limon had no choice but to admit it.

‘It was fun playing with you.’

Although he may not be able to dedicate everything to music like Eugene, he has already come to like playing.

Like clothes getting wet in drizzle.

Or like following a friend to the sword tower.

While hanging out with a madman named Eugene, who risked his life in singing, he too began to enjoy music.

Nevertheless, unlike Julia’s words, there is one reason why his performance did not develop.

Because I didn’t want to.

It was because I unconsciously felt that I had to put my sincerity in order to develop a performance that had already been completed technically.

‘Being honest is a difficult thing.’

A fresh young man might not know it, but a cunning old man has a hard time revealing his true feelings.

The longer you live.

And the more experience you have.

It’s normal for people to know their own ugliness and get used to hiding that much.

Not to mention, Limon is a swordsman who has lived for hundreds of years.

For him, who spent most of his life covered in blood, it was difficult and painful to put old memories and emotions intact into his performance.

Especially in that you can’t even imagine how horrible a performance that contains your emotions will sound.

If I had to compare it, it was like publishing an autobiography of a diary I wrote as a child and exposing everything.

‘It’s a damn thing.’

Nevertheless, Limon never let go of the violin.

To hear the secrets of the Liberation Brigade?

A reward for helping yourself?

It didn’t matter.

Whatever the circumstances, Eugene, who had committed countless crimes as a lunatic killer, had neither the right to negotiate nor the right to reciprocate.

But as a friend of friendship.

and as a performer.

Limon decided to accept the pain for now.

The moment he made that decision, he opened the door to his heart that had been firmly closed and slipped the bow of his violin.

Gee ying.

the stars tremble

The world held its breath.