"What are you talking about? You're going to kill an enemy you went to all the trouble of capturing, just like that?!" The narrow-eyed young man looked aghast; he clearly hadn't expected a summary execution. Even Wei Ling, who had her foot planted on his chest and was looking down at him coldly, objected.

"I'm against it."

"That's right! You know what's what, comrade!"

"Even if we kill him, we should torture him first."

"Hold on, comrade?!"

The young man looked as shocked as a magical girl betrayed by the mascot she trusted. But just as no mascot would cancel its contract, Wei Ling paid his reaction no mind and continued.

"If you're afraid of torture, confess who your accomplices are and who's behind you. Then I'll cut the time we spend torturing you in half."

"So I'm getting tortured even if I confess?!"

"If you wanted a painless death, you shouldn't have crossed the Seven Dragons Society."

Wei Ling gazed down at him with icy eyes. It was clear that this narrow-eyed young man was one of those responsible for the Black Dragon Construction massacre. And today, he'd carried out another slaughter here at Heavenly Flower Department Store, one of the Black Dragon Clan's subsidiaries. It was a crime so grave that, of the Seven Dragons Society's thirty-six thousand five hundred torture techniques, he deserved to endure at least a thousand before he was allowed to die.

["Hey, forget that. Just kill him."]

That was why Wei Ling frowned the moment she heard Limon's words. If the exhilaration of wielding her sword hadn't still lingered, the order would have made her fly into a rage like Xue Rong.

"What nonsense is that?!"

"What's nonsensical about it? Considering human rights, it's the obvious order!"

The young man, by contrast, was delighted, apparently seeing a chance at a painless death. But Limon's response was a sneer as cold as ice.

["Human rights are for humans. You think I give a shit about the rights of a bastard like you?"]

"Now you're not even treating me like a person?!"

"Then why do you want him killed?" Wei Ling asked quietly, ignoring the young man's dismay. Limon, of all people, would never have ordered her to give him a painless death out of compassion.

["Because something's suspicious."]

"What do you mean?"

["Doesn't it strike you as odd? This bastard slipped away like a ghost even from subsidiaries where combat units had been deployed. But he went up against just you and got captured that easily?"]

"... You're saying he let himself be caught?"

["That's what my gut says."]

"Ridiculous! What could he possibly gain by letting himself be caught?"

Wei Ling looked grave. Xue Rong, on the other hand, flared up. Unless the young man's brain was made of tofu, he had to know that capture by the clan meant a gruesome death. No matter how insane he was, he wouldn't knowingly let that happen. Limon, however, remained unruffled.

["Plenty."]

"Such as?"

["He could deliberately become a prisoner to spread a disease, gather intelligence inside enemy territory, or even turn a torturer into a spy for him."]

"That's pure speculation! By your logic, we'd have to kill every prisoner on the spot!" Xue Rong shot back.

Before this narrow-eyed young man was the enemy who had killed his subordinates, he was a murderer who threatened the clan. They couldn't kill him without getting information out of him. If he died now, Guardian would get all the credit, while Xue Rong would bear the blame for failing to protect a clan subsidiary.

Perhaps Limon read his thoughts. Or perhaps he simply couldn't be bothered to argue. Either way, he answered flatly.

["Not every prisoner. You just have to tell which ones would try something like that and which ones wouldn't."]

"And how exactly can you tell?!"

["I'm an expert on the subject."]

"Hah. I didn't know the Sword Lord was so well versed in underhanded tricks."

["Neither did I. I didn't know much about them at first, but a certain group used them so often I became an expert before I knew it."]

"Who would do something that insane?!"

["You would."]

Xue Rong froze. Wei Ling asked in his place, her voice low.

"Who do you mean by 'you'?"

["You didn't know? Deliberately infiltrating as prisoners is an old trick of the Seven Dragons Society—especially your Black Dragon Clan."]

"..."

Unfortunately, Wei Ling couldn't say a word in rebuttal. Schemes and plots were second nature to the Black Dragon Clan; she knew they were perfectly capable of it. In fact, getting captured so they could use seduction or spread false information was even part of the clan's elementary curriculum.

"Th-that's different from this!"

["You think so?"]

"In any case, the only reason you have for killing him immediately is your intuition! We can't risk losing valuable information over something so flimsy!"

["Is that so? Then let me ask you one thing."]

"What?"

To Xue Rong, who was struggling to argue back, Limon quietly said, ["I noticed it when this fool called me, too. Didn't that bastard seem oddly intent on dragging things out?"]

"What are you..."

["Wasting time on pointless chatter in the middle of a fight, for example. Or tormenting people instead of killing them right away."]

"..."

Xue Rong flinched. The young man certainly had talked an unusual amount. He had even waited while Wei Ling spoke to Limon on the phone. All told, he'd spent more time talking than fighting. What if that had been deliberate?

["Sure, maybe he's just a crazy bastard who likes the sound of his own voice."]

As though anticipating Xue Rong's objection, Limon preempted it, then added quietly, ["But if he isn't, why was he stalling? Unlike at Black Dragon Construction, they haven't cut off every connection to the outside."]

"You mean he was deliberately waiting for someone to come and capture him?"

"That's impossible!"

Xue Rong shouted as if fighting off the idea. If it were true, the desperate battle he'd fought would mean nothing more than that the young man had toyed with him. But his flushed face and wavering eyes made it plain that the suggestion had shaken him.

"... Let me ask one last time, just to be sure. Do we really not need to extract information from him?"

["No. If he prepared to be caught, he'll have prepared for torture too. Information he's prepared for us to hear is worse than none at all."]

"In that case, understood."

"What do you mean, understood? Comrade? Comrade!"

Wei Ling made up her mind. She tightened her grip on her sword, and the young man, realizing what was about to happen, drew breath to scream.

"Would you wait a moment, please?"

Wei Ling stopped short. It wasn't only the sudden interruption. A middle-aged man with a mustache that curled upward on both sides had appeared with that voice.

"Family Head Wang!"

"... What brings you here?"

"What else would bring me? I heard the killer had appeared and came running as fast as I could."

At the sight of the mustached Wang Gi-neung, relief brightened Xue Rong's ashen face. Wei Ling, by contrast, looked cold. Xue Rong alone would have been one thing, but now that Wang Gi-neung, head of the Wang family of Shanghai, had arrived, she could hardly execute the narrow-eyed young man on her own authority.

["Hey, Director Wang. You're here."]

"Hm? That voice... Could it be the Sword Lord?"

["Don't ask what you already know. There can't be many people besides me who'd speak to you this casually."]

"Oh, forgive my rudeness. Who else could possess a voice so deep and distinguished but the Sword Lord?"

True to his position as head of the Wang family of Shanghai, Wang Gi-neung never forgot to flatter, even over the phone. Yet even as he rubbed his palms together, his eyes keenly gauged the situation.

"I hope I haven't interrupted you without realizing you were on a call, Sword Lord...?"

["No. Your timing's good, actually."]

Though Wang Gi-neung's intervention had stopped them from killing the young man, Limon made no mention of it. He simply went on as calmly as ever.

["I've got a favor to ask you, Director Wang."]

"A favor, you say?"

Wang Gi-neung looked uncertain what Limon could possibly ask of him. Limon spoke as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

["That bastard there. I'd like you to kill him right now."]

"You want me to kill this man?"

["Yes."]

"Why would that be?"

["Because he's one of the killers behind the Black Dragon Construction massacre. Revenge never feels quite right unless you take it yourself."]

Only then did Wei Ling understand why Limon had said Wang Gi-neung's timing was good. The Wang family of Shanghai was hunting the people who had killed its own. Even if one of those enemies had attacked first, the family might resent having someone else execute him on the spot. But if Wang Gi-neung took his life himself, the problem would be solved.

"I see... You're considerate enough to leave this to me. The Sword Lord is generous indeed."

["Enough flattery. Just do it."]

"Yes, of course. As you wish, I'll take him away and make sure he's dealt with."

Wang Gi-neung grinned and nodded, as though this was what he had wanted all along.

["... Director Wang."]

The chill in Limon's voice filled the air, sending a shiver down Wei Ling's and Xue Rong's spines.

["What the hell are you playing at?"]

"Whatever do you mean?"

["I asked you to kill that bastard 'right now.' Why are you talking about 'taking him away' to deal with him?"]

Limon wasn't even there, yet his voice alone carried a terrifying pressure. It was fierce enough that an ordinary person could have fainted just hearing it.

But Wang Gi-neung didn't so much as twitch an eyebrow. He merely smiled and replied, "Because he's my enemy, and how I kill him is up to me."

["Even if that means defying me?"]

"Oh, come now! 'Defying' is rather an unpleasant word. You're the chief of security for our clan, Sword Lord, not my liege."

["Wang Gi-neung."]

Limon was still an outsider to the clan; until he was formally engaged to Li Qingyu, he had no authority to give Wang Gi-neung orders. As Wang Gi-neung smiled and said as much, Limon spoke quietly.

["You know I already made a considerable concession by giving you the chance to finish that bastard off."]

"And I'm grateful for it."

["Yet you insist on taking more than I offered? After saying you wouldn't forget what I did for you?"]

"You were the one who told me it was hardly a favor worth worrying about, Sword Lord."

Wang Gi-neung was referring to what Limon had said when he yielded the hunt for the killers to the Wang family: he had asked for nothing in return, but hadn't promised to do Wang Gi-neung a favor, either. With a sly smile, Wang Gi-neung added,

"Besides, I said I wouldn't forget the favor. I never said I'd repay it."

At that, Wei Ling frowned despite herself. Even Xue Rong, who sympathized with Wang Gi-neung, was briefly at a loss for words. Whatever his reputation, Wang Gi-neung was the head of a distinguished clan and a martial artist renowned as a master-level expert. It was a brazen thing for a man like him to say.

Limon, however, neither grew angry nor seemed taken aback. He merely murmured languidly, ["Yes. That's just like the Black Dragon Clan."]