Return of the Frozen Player

Seo Jun-Ho’s gaze turned to one direction as he entered the battlefield.

“Heh…”

Jun-Sik, who could barely control his own body without being able to use magic, was smiling at Seo Jun-Ho as if to comfort him.

‘Jun-Sik, you idiot. What are you smiling about…was this the reason why I couldn’t recall him?’

The connection between Seo Jun-Ho and Jun-Sik had been completely severed. Only after coming to the battlefield did Seo Jun-Ho understand the reason.

‘Heavenly Demon, that sly fox imitating a tiger! He has quite a brain. I never thought he would freeze the magic of the entire area.’

“...”

Seo Jun-Ho looked around for a moment and nodded.

‘At least he didn’t actually get rid of the magic.’

He was basing his assumption on the fact that magic still existed in his and the Players' bodies. Yet this was something only he could very vaguely feel, considering that he was the only one who reached the Star Destruction Stage.

Seo Jun-Ho checked his physical condition for a moment and nodded.

‘But I won’t be able to use magic anyway.’

Magic refused to move according to Seo Jun-Ho’s will. It was as if his river of magic had frozen. In other words, all of his abilities requiring magic couldn’t be used either.

“Why did you come in?”

Shin Sung-Hyun approached Seo Jun-Ho from the side and whispered in a small voice.

“No one can use magic in this space. Only that bastard can use his demonic energy.”

“No,” Seo Jun-Ho shook his head. “Magic and demonic energy have different evolutionary processes, but their roots are the same.”

In the first place, demonic energy was nothing more than energy resulting from transforming magic into a destructive force. Therefore, a space where magic could not be used while demonic energy could was an impossibility.

“But that bastard certainly used demonic energy earlier to…”

“Even if he can use demonic energy, he can probably only do it once or twice at most.”

The Heavenly Demon smiled upon hearing Seo Jun-Ho’s voice full of conviction.

“How can you be so confident?”

“Because I can hear you think all the way from here.”

The Heavenly Demon was a clever man. If he had been able to use demonic energy without restriction, there were only two courses of action he would have chosen.

“You would have either hidden the fact that you can use demonic energy in order to deceive us, or you would’ve gone for a show of force and toyed with everyone here.”

“...”

“But you purposely showed us that you can still use demonic energy to prove your strength. Since when have you been so kind to let us know that?”

The Heavenly Demon simply shrugged at Seo Jun-Ho’s sharp question.

“If you don’t believe me, there is only one way to find out the truth. Check it out yourself.”

“Then come at me.”

“...I’ll play with you if you manage to get to me.”

At the Heavenly Demon’s words, Seo Jun-Ho looked over at the enemies who stood in front of him.

‘There’s lots of these cyborg guys. Were they all brought from Neo City?’

However, he couldn’t feel any life in them…were they corpses?

Seo Jun-Ho felt like he could understand why Jun-Sik was defeated.

‘If his magic was suddenly sealed and he got surrounded by those guys…no wonder he was defeated.’

Shin Sung-Hyun glared at the enemies in front of them and murmured.

“Then what are you going to do?”

“Is there any other way?”

As soon as they took a step back, tens of thousands of citizens evacuated to the baseball stadium behind them were bound to become hostages. If this was going to happen anyway, it made more sense to fight for their lives here.

“I will break through them.”

Swoosh.

Seo Jun-Ho drew out the White Dragon, and Shin Sung-Hyun nodded without hesitation.

“All right. I will help.”

“But you won’t be able to use magic. Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

“I might not be as good as you, Mr. Specter, but I’m pretty good with weapons too.”

Tension rose on Shin Sung-Hyun’s face as he grabbed a short club from the inventory.

Seo Jun-Ho took a glance at the club and asked.

“...A club? Really?”

“I found this is perfect for me. Also, the sensation of smacking enemies with this club is pretty decent.”

Seo Jun-Ho felt awkward to see Shin Sung-Hyun holding a club in his hand rather than his usual baton.

“Well, then. I wish you the best of luck.”

With those words, Seo Jun-Ho jumped forward right away. The corpses approached Seo Jun-Ho, narrowing the distance significantly with each step they took.

‘I need to aim for their faces.’

Perhaps because Seo Jun-Ho had reached the Star Destruction Stage, his speed was enough to keep up with the corpses even without magic.

Seo Jun-Ho blocked twelve attacks in a row and thrust his spear forward.

Slash!

The corpse’s arms were cut off in one move, but there was no emotion on its face.

“I’m sorry you have to go through this, corpse.”

Seo Jun-Ho accurately cut off the corpse’s head and searched for the next prey.

At the same time, the Players in the back also drew their weapons.

“There’s more of us than the enemies! Keep pushing!”

“Only those who can fight even without magic should step forward!”

Close-quarters fighters pompously stepped forward. After going against the corpses a couple of times to test the waters, the Players naturally formed groups of five to deal with each corpse.

‘This is a good flow.’

Seo Jun-Ho scanned the battlefield and nodded.

At that moment, a bored voice reached his ears.

“I heard that there is a saying on Earth about putting out fires…”

When Seo Jun-Ho turned his head, he saw the Heavenly Demon shaking his head with a smile on his face.

“...make sure you really drown every last ember.”

“...?”

Doubts and suspicions passed through Seo Jun-Ho’s head for a moment, then his eyes opened wide and he turned around in a haste.

“The corpses!” Seo Jun-Ho shouted.

“Oh, don’t worry! This guy is still moving. I’ll take care of it!”

Splat!

One of the Players stabbed a headless corpse through the chest.

“No, get away from the corpse right NOW!”

“Huh?”

“Damn it!”

Seo Jun-Ho tightly clenched his teeth and ran toward the Player without thinking about the outcome.

However, at that moment, the corpse emitted a blinding light and exploded on the spot.

BOOM!

The shockwave blasted Seo Jun-Ho away.

“Jun-Ho!”

Kim Woo-Joong, shocked by the sudden explosion, ran to Seo Jun-Ho.

“Are you okay?”

“Cough!”

Seo Jun-Ho had rolled on the ground several times. He made a gesture that he was okay and stood up. His face was twisted as he spat out the sand and dust that filled his mouth.

“Damn it…”

The force and extent of the explosion were well above Seo Jun-Ho’s expectation. The Player who had stabbed the corpse had been blasted apart, with not even a single bone left, and three Players standing around him had also been swept into the explosion as well.

‘I know them. Gustave, Kenichi, Louis, and Flores…’

All four of the Players were people Seo Jun-Ho knew. He closed his eyes as he recalled eating a meal with them while clearing the 7th Floor.

“Damn it.”

Seo Jun-Ho didn’t know when it had become like this, but the death of those with whom he fought shoulder to shoulder on the battlefield was more painful to him than having his own limbs cut off.

“Jun-Ho, Jun-Ho!”

Seo Jun-Ho focused again as a rough hand shook him awake.

When Seo Jun-Ho opened his eyes, Kim Woo-Joong’s intense gaze met his.

“You need to get it together. Things are going bad around here.”

“What?”

Only then did Seo Jun-Ho scan the battlefield.

‘Wait. What’s going on…?’

As Kim Woo-Joong said, things were looking bad on the battlefield. The Players’ movements had become hesitant as they realized that the corpses exploded.

“Guns don't work against them, and we can't use magic. So the only way we can deal with them is to chop them to pieces. But…”

“But they explode like a bomb the moment you stab them.”

All the Players could do was parry away the corpses’ fierce attacks as they had no idea how to solve this difficult problem. In the process, they were slowly being covered in large and small wounds.

Seo Jun-Ho watched the scene with calm eyes.

“Kim Woo-Joong.”

“I’m right here.”

“Listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”

Seo Jun-Ho turned his head and looked directly into Kim Woo-Joong’s eyes.

“From now on, you’re an assassin.”

“An assassin?”

“Yes. Taking down the corpses one by one by yourself is too slow, so while they’re fighting the other Players, attack them from behind.”

“I got it.”

Kim Woo-Joong nodded without any doubt because he didn’t think Seo Jun-Ho would ask him to play such a dangerous role without an alternative plan.

“Then I’ll get going.”

Kim Woo-Joong immediately left, not waiting for any further explanations.

Seo Jun-Ho looked at Kim Woo-Joong’s back and snapped his fingers.

There was one single skill that he had which did not consume magic.

“Frost.”

The monarch of ice bloomed on the battlefield like a flower.

Seo Jun-Ho had only one request for her.

“The enemies explode the moment they die. The explosion’s destructive power and damage are beyond imagination.”

“I understand.”

The Frost Queen nodded, understanding the situation at once.

“You want me to freeze them at the right time, right?”

“Right. As frozen as possible.”

“Okay. As frozen as possible.”

The Frost Queen closed her eyes.

***

‘I am an assassin. I am an assassin. I am an assassin.’

Kim Woo-Joong murmured to himself in his head to convince himself that he was an assassin right now.

And he was faithfully immersed in his role.

‘I can see the opening.’

He charged forward with his stance as low as possible and suddenly rose from behind the corpses who were busy facing the Players.

‘I am an assassin.’

Although he had no magic to work with, Kim Woo-Joong’s muscles all bulged up. This was the fruit of his blood and sweat which the Sage of the Astrologers’ Tower had told him to trust.

‘My body, my experience, and my swordsmanship.’

The sword without a speck of magic cut the world more beautifully than ever.

The corpse was split in half by the surprise attack, and a blinding light forced Kim Woo-Joong to squint.

Flash!

“...”

However, the pain that he had prepared himself for never came.

The Players in front of Kim Woo-Joong, who were holding their breath in shock, also managed to exhale.

“It’s…it’s frozen.”

“Ice…? That means…it’s a spirit! It’s Mr. Specter’s spirit!”

“Oh my goodness! We can cut them down as much as we want as long as his spirit can freeze them before they explode!”

“Thank you so much, Mr. Sword Saint!”

Kim Woo-Joong slightly nodded at the Players.

“I am an assassin.”

***

The corpses began to fall one by one under the Players’ collaboration. However, the process was extremely slow; Kim Woo-Joong could only deal with only one corpse at a time, and there were not many Players there adept at close-quarters combat.

“Hmmm.”

The Heavenly Demon, who was watching the battlefield with his hands behind him, could not hide his displeasure. The situation was not exactly going according to his plan.

“He, he, hehe.”

As if to tease him, Jun-Sik continued to chuckle.

The Heavenly Demon glanced down at Jun-Sik and murmured, “Come to think of it, you’re no longer useful now. Die.”

‘Specter found out all about my plans and tricks anyway.’

Jun-Sik dissipated into fine particles as his head was ripped off.

“...”

The Heavenly Demon began to calmly calculate the odds he had against Specter.

‘I can still use demonic energy three more times. Maybe even five times if I really try my best.’

In terms of probability, the Heavenly Demon was confident that he had a more than ninety-five percent chance of winning. It was only natural for him to think so, because there was bound to be a huge gap between those who could use magic and those who could not.

‘There’s no need for me to think about what will happen next.’

As long as Specter was gone, the Heavenly Demon was confident that he would win even if he fought against the entire Earth.

‘Everything will be over once I kill that guy.’

Those who reached the Star Destruction Stage had the ability to destroy stars, hence the name. The Heavenly Demon was well aware of how powerful they were.

‘Lots of people reached the Star Destruction Stage beside the archduke.’

For this reason, he felt both fear and excitement at the same time about the fact that Specter was on par with them.

‘All I have to do is to beat him at all costs. All I have to do is kill him… Then I can reach the Star Destruction Stage after absorbing his power.’

“...”

The Heavenly Demon exhaled a nervous breath and looked ahead.

Specter was coming for him.