Chapter 43
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Impressions?
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Crash!
It was almost a reflexive action.
The moment he heard Rimon's voice,
Park Hyeon-gun knocked over not just his chair but the desk itself as he scrambled back into a defensive stance.
It was a nimble but pathetic retreat.
Like a mouse startled by a cat, frantically searching for a hole to hide in.
Yet Park Hyeon-gun didn't even register it.
He simply stared at Rimon, sweat pouring down his face.
The pressure that had exploded from those golden eyes when Rimon opened his mouth had been so vicious and murderous that no other thought could enter his mind.
"Do you know why I was laughing?"
But the very man who had frozen Park Hyeon-gun in place
didn't care one bit whether he backed away or groveled on the floor.
He just chuckled and continued speaking.
"You probably have no idea. How much I've been spinning my wheels just to track down a single guy like you."
Was he finally glad to have found his target?
Or furious at all the wasted effort up to now?
Or maybe both.
Either way, the smile curling at the corner of his mouth was a fierce one that no one could decipher.
"The bastard I thought was the boss turned out to be a clueless puppet, and then I had to raise the white flag and surrender to the real black幕 behind it all."
As if even he found it ridiculous thinking back on it,
he shook his head briefly.
Then Rimon suddenly wiped the smile from his face.
His gaze turned icy cold on Park Hyeon-gun, making the cheerful tone from moments ago feel like an illusion.
"After all that circling around, the guy I finally meet is an obvious liar like you. How could I not be thrilled?"
"……!"
No need to gauge the depths of his sins.
No need to wrestle with questions of good or evil.
For an enemy as straightforward as a villain you could just cut down, what could be easier?
Rimon delivered the joking words with a perfectly serious face,
and Park Hyeon-gun swallowed hard as he watched him.
He didn't know the details, but he could tell Rimon saw him as easy prey—someone worth killing without a second thought.
'Fighting... no way. Impossible.'
Rimon was the monster who had wiped out 150 high-level players in one go.
And with Lee Cheongi's communications cut off, Rimon's pristine appearance here spoke volumes.
Park Hyeon-gun grasped the disadvantage in an instant.
So he gave up on confronting Rimon.
He also abandoned any hope for backup, long overdue since he hit the emergency button.
Instead, he activated his unique skill.
『False Divine Name』
Unique Skill: Enhances deception, lies, persuasion, and disguise.
A so-called false god's name.
True to its grandiose title, 『False Divine Name』 boosted disguise, lying, persuasion, and more.
Its effects were so absolute that even Lee Cheongi—with skills like 『Truth Discernment』 and 『Character Appraisal』—hadn't seen through it.
So Park Hyeon-gun was confident.
If he could just talk his way through it, he could persuade even a bloodthirsty Rimon.
"There must be some misunderstanding..."
Splat.
"...?"
But right after he spoke,
he stopped.
No, he had to stop.
He couldn't process what had just happened to him.
It had all unfolded in an instant.
"Gah, gaaahhh!"
Only after feeling the burning pain did he register the sword embedded in his shoulder, and he let out a tearing scream.
But the man who had stabbed him
couldn't care less.
"Misunderstanding... nice word. Add that to any obvious criminal, and they sound innocent. Even the world's worst villain turns out to be a saint if you 'look into it.'"
As if he hadn't even heard the scream,
he nodded casually once.
Then Rimon grabbed Park Hyeon-gun by the hair,
forced his eyes to meet his own, and asked in a languid voice.
"So why didn't you ask who Na-kyung is? Why'd you jump straight to 'I don't know'?"
Park Hyeon-gun, writhing with the sword still in him, flinched.
Overwhelmed by Rimon's presence, he realized his hasty answer had been a mistake.
But the panic was brief.
With 『False Divine Name』 steadying his emotions, he hurriedly made excuses.
"I-I knew Agent Yuna Kyung was on your team!"
"You said you didn't know her a minute ago."
"I meant I didn't know about the hostage situation and suicide bombing!"
"Oh, really?"
As if genuinely surprised,
Rimon put on a shocked face.
He scratched his cheek apologetically and said,
"Oops. My bad, I misunderstood."
"You're saying that now?!"
Crunch!
"Gaaahk!"
Park Hyeon-gun screamed as Rimon casually crushed the bones in one of his fingers underfoot.
Rimon spoke languidly.
"You shouldn't say things that invite misunderstandings. Now I'm the embarrassed one."
As if the fault lay entirely with the one who provoked the misunderstanding,
and he bore no blame or responsibility at all.
He spoke so brazenly.
"To avoid any further misunderstandings, let me ask again."
Rimon tugged the sword slightly.
Like a fish hooked on a line, Park Hyeon-gun was lifted toward him.
Rimon whispered in his ear.
"How much do you know about Hanbit Orphanage?"
"N-Nothing! Just that Agent Yuna Kyung came from there!"
"Huh, is that so? How convenient."
Was it the pain of the sword piercing him?
Rimon smirked at Park Hyeon-gun's desperate, flinching answer.
Then he pulled something from his pocket and continued.
"I've been chasing dead ends lately, so before coming here today, I did a little digging. And I found something interesting."
What Rimon held was a single sheet of paper.
Just a document listing a few account numbers and company names.
But the moment he saw it,
Park Hyeon-gun went pale as a ghost.
Rimon laughed coldly at his frozen expression, like he'd seen a specter.
"Someone used Hanbit Orphanage's name for money laundering."
"……!"
"And when I traced those accounts, the name that popped up... doesn't it look familiar?"
Of course it did.
He'd used Hanbit Orphanage to set up a sham foundation in its name.
Under the pretext of tax benefits, he'd funneled Infinity Guild funds there as "donations," siphoning off a fortune.
His own name was right there.
'H-How?'
He couldn't believe it.
Those were Infinity Guild accounts, laundered through shell companies and proxies multiple times.
Tracking them back to him? Unthinkable.
"Looking back, I was the idiot."
Park Hyeon-gun looked more terrified than when he'd been stabbed.
As if it were the best show in town, Rimon giggled—then stopped abruptly.
Instead, he fixed him with a chilling gaze and muttered,
"Whether influenced by constellations or not, no one stupid enough to take hostages and force a PAB agent into a suicide bombing just to get me would exist."
Kang Jeongsu knew Rimon's power
and had staked his director position to mobilize over 200 high-level players—that was it.
Forcing a PAB agent into a suicide bombing?
Holding kids hostage and making her do it by force?
Just to catch one Rimon?
In this era after the Sword Master's fall, even the Seven Dragon Society wouldn't attempt that madness.
Not just because it'd piss off Rimon— the cost-benefit and cleanup made no sense.
It'd be cheaper to throw in 100 more high-level players.
Even if constellations were involved, there'd be no reason to push something so inefficient.
So why do it?
The answer was obvious from the start.
"Unless what they really wanted to 'handle' wasn't me, but Yuna Kyung and Hanbit Orphanage."
The orphanage he'd secretly used for laundering.
The PAB agent who visited it weekly.
To Park Hyeon-gun, they must have seemed like ticking time bombs.
PAB agents already had broad investigative powers over high-level players.
Especially one like Yuna Kyung, dumping most of her salary into the orphanage—she might uncover his sham foundation any day.
"So when Seo Yongchan got nabbed by me and Na-kyung, you egged him on to storm PAB headquarters for compensation and an apology, right?"
"Th-That's...!"
Thud!
"Guhk! Heuk, kuhuk!!"
Rimon drove his knee into Park Hyeon-gun's solar plexus.
As he gagged for air, Rimon warned him in a languid voice.
"Don't play dumb. I already confirmed it with that bastard."
Whether from the horrific treatment
or another reason,
Seo Yongchan had spilled everything.
Park Hyeon-gun was the one who'd advised him to go to PAB for reparations and an apology.
In the end, escalating the clash between Rimon and Lee Cheongi had been his goal.
For him, with Yuna Kyung and the orphanage as thorns in his side, the friction with Rimon was the perfect chance to bury them both.
"Really caught me off guard."
Rimon muttered suddenly.
"Who'd have thought Na-kyung ended up like that because she did good deeds."
If Yuna Kyung had been a bit more selfish and ruthless?
Ignored the orphanage that raised her and focused on living well alone?
She probably wouldn't have died like this.
But Yuna Kyung was too kind, pouring money, effort, and heart into repaying the orphanage that raised her.
All without knowing she'd get tangled in this absurd plot and die for it.
What a tragic end.
"Some things never change, past or present. This damn world."
"Kuh...!"
No matter how culture and society advanced,
no matter new laws and systems took root,
no matter amazing technologies emerged.
The good died young, the wicked clung to life—that never changed.
Rimon muttered softly and twisted the sword.
He locked eyes with Park Hyeon-gun, writhing from the blade tearing his shoulder.
"So, got any more lies left?"
As if inviting him to keep talking if he had more,
Park Hyeon-gun paled at Rimon's languid words.
His actions so far made it clear: Rimon had no intention of letting him live.
And with evidence in hand, denying it was pointless.
But he didn't give up.
No, he shouted with a look of utter sincerity.
"W-Wait! It was all on the Infinite Monarch's orders!"
"Using Hanbit Orphanage to siphon guild funds, and taking out Na-kyung— all at Lee Cheongi's command?"
"Yes! I was just following orders!"
A mere secretary like him couldn't defy the Infinite Monarch.
All the blame lay with him.
He was innocent.
Just another victim exploited by power, he cried with all his might.
Rimon stared at him silently for a moment.
Then he spoke.
"He's saying all this— what do you think?"
"...?"
Park Hyeon-gun looked puzzled.
He couldn't tell who Rimon was asking.
So when a reply came from the darkness,
he froze solid.
"Do you need my opinion?"
"You're a key player, after all. I wanted to hear your impressions."
"If you insist, then one word."
The figure emerging from the shadows:
slicked-back hair, white suit, rimless glasses, and that signature impassive expression.
A bit paler than usual,
but unmistakable.
The Infinite Monarch, Lee Cheongi, regarded the ghost-struck Park Hyeon-gun and gave his one-word impression.
"Disgusting."