Return of the Frozen Player

Rahmadat stared at the man in front of him. The smell was certain, and the aura only reinforced that certainty.

"That's strange. Jun-Ho wouldn't have left a guy like you."

Seo Jun-Ho would have tracked down and taken care of the fiends until they were extinct. As such, the only fiend left should have only been the Heavenly Demon and his executives.

"No way, did the demons create new fiends in the meantime?"

"K-kuhu."

The man in the white suit covered his mouth and laughed, which made Rahmadat frown.

"What are you splitting your mouth for?"

"Split…? What does that mean?"

"Why are you fucking laughing when your mouth smells?" Rahmadat growled.

The man smiled at that. "Ah, I just found it funny. The real deal is in front of you, but you’re comparing me to a mere imitation."

“The real deal?"

Rahmadat understood, and his eyes narrowed.

"Are you saying that you're a demon?"

"Ah, finally! Nice to meet you. My name’s George, a Common demon."

It was the first time Rahmadat was seeing a demon. His friends had probably never seen a demon before, so he couldn’t help but start asking, "Why is a demon wandering around this place?"

"Ku, keup! Just how stupid are you." George wiped the tears off of his eyes and said, "Your friends have already noticed us, but since you haven’t noticed yet, you must be very dumb.”

"Don't beat around the bush. Tell me in a way that I will understand if you don't want to get beaten up."

"In short, it means that we designed this entire floor."

"...What?"

"It was pretty eventful. It was hard to interrupt the System. In the end, we couldn’t get through the security of the damned elevators, so we had to invite you all in a cumbersome way.”

"Did you mean the riddle?"

"That's right. We could have easily invited more Players if we had just broken through the elevator’s security,” said George with deep regret.

"Hmm. Are you saying that because you want to confess before you die?"

"It's the other way around." George grinned. His crimson eyes sparkled with killing intent. "Should I say that it’s a gift for the old relics who are about to die?"

"Hmm."

"I have heard a lot of rumors about you.”

George's two fists were clearly enveloped with crimson demonic energy, which made him look like he was wearing gloves.

"Rumor?"

"Yes." George’s voice suddenly echoed next to Rahmadat.

Craaack!

Rahmadat turned, but George’s fist had already buried itself into Rahmadat’s side, shattering all of the former’s ribs.

"The rumor says you’re the best sandbag ever. Apparently, you will never break even until I get tired of punching you.”

“It’s wrong, then.” Rahmadat's voice was calm, even though there was a gaping hole in his left torso, which made his crushed organs and bones clearly visible.

However, he quickly recovered from his wounds.

"...Your regeneration is faster than what I saw in the report," George muttered bitterly.

The regeneration speed was much faster than expected. According to a report by the Fiend Association, the wound he had inflicted on Rahmadat should have taken ten seconds to regenerate.

“Let me ask you then: when did you receive the report?"

"It's been less than a year since I received it before the Fiend Association collapsed.”

"I see. Did the report really only say things about how I’m the best sandbag?”

"What else does it need to say?"

"…Is that so?" Rahmadat laughed, revealing his teeth. "You said you were a Common demon?"

"That's true. So what?"

"In that case, there has to be someone stronger than you.”

"High and Arch demons exist, and once a demon becomes an Arch demon, they will have the right to challenge the nobles of the Underworld."

"That's interesting. I wonder how strong they are."

George frowned. ‘This human, why is he so calm? What does he believe in?’

Rahmadat was so slow and weak that he couldn’t even react to his demon’s attack. So why was Rahmadat so happy to hear that there were stronger demons than him?

"You won't be able to meet even a High demon, let alone a noble demon."

It was all because Rahmadat would die here.

"Well, my thoughts are a bit different from yours."

Crack, crack.

Rahmadat slowly turned his head.

"I think I've heard everything I need, so I’m going to start beating you up."

"Kuhuhu." George sneered. ‘He is nothing without his stamina and regeneration, so why is he so confident?’

He blinked behind Rahmadat and punched Rahmadat’s neck.

Craaack!

Rahmadat’s neck was broken, and his head drooped down in response.

"Do you finally understand your situation?" George moved around and put his head in front of Rahmadat’s head. However, he was forced when he saw a sight he didn’t expect at all. ‘This crazy bastard, why is he smiling?’

Hehe, hehehe.

Rahmadat laughed incomprehensibly and set his own neck. Then, he stared at George.

"You're fast."

"What nonsense are you speaking? If I want, I can keep you from even seeing my shadow."

"I see. Then I should respond properly.”

Smiling, Rahmadat started hopping in place. It was like a boxer practicing his steps or a dancer warming up.

George asked blankly, "Dancing all of a sudden? Have you gone mad, human?"

"I'm fine. Oh, I'm going crazy with excitement." Rahmadat asked back, "I’ll ask again. Did the report really not say anything other than how I’m the best sandbag?”

"Anything else…?” George thought about it, and he finally recalled one thing. However, it wasn’t something that was included in the recent reports submitted by the Fiend Association.

‘However, twenty-seven years ago, I could remember one line from that year’s report of the Fiend Association.’

George smirked when he recalled the line.

‘This punk is the second coming of Shiva? Crazy bastards.'

Shiva, along with Brahma and Vishnu, were actual transcendents, and they were called the three major gods in Hinduism. Therefore, George cursed as soon as he read the sentence.

‘No matter how great he looks in their eyes. Does Shiva really look like this bitch?’

Shiva was a transcendent—worthy of the title of the god of destruction. He was too powerful to be compared to a mere human being.

"Before I became a Player, I was living in Varanasi,” Rahmadat spoke. In the meantime, he kept bobbing up and down. "Varanasi. It’s a beautiful city that was once called the City of Light."

"…You talk more than expected. Are you perhaps afraid to fight?" asked George.

Rahmadat smiled. "It is a city of pilgrims serving the god Shiva."

Hop, hop, hop, hop.

George frowned.

‘The rhythm?’

It was perfectly offbeat.

It was a chaotic movement that momentarily threw off George’s reasoning.

‘He’s shaking my sense of balance with just those simple movements?’

Upon noticing something strange, George burst forward like lightning to stop Rahmadat from moving.

“When I was young, I kept on walking on the path to the temple there, and I really think that I benefited a lot from it.” It was Rahmadat’s first time using this skill since he emerged from the ice. "I really think that way because I managed to learn Tandav.”

Tandav was Shiva's favorite dance of destruction. It was also known as the dance of death, and it was a dance that was still being handed down among the pilgrims of Varanasi.

However, Rahmadat not only learned it, but he also turned it into a ‘Skill.’

"You talk a lot for a sandbag!" The impatient George finally stopped using honorifics.

A fist covered in demonic energy aura made a beeline for Rahmadat’s face.

"As expected, you're fast." Rahmadat grinned.

Baaam!

Rahmadat’s figure blurred as his fist struck the pit of George's stomach, sending George flying into the fence of the Octagon on the other side.

"Ugh, kuk! Ugh...” George desperately gasped for air.

George looked at Rahmadat with a look of disbelief. Was it because his opponent had caught up with his speed? Or was it because Rahmadat was stronger than he thought?

It was none of them.

“T-th-that crazy bastard."

As expected of a Common demon, he immediately figured out the secret behind Rahmadat’s Tandav.

"You crazy bastard! Humans are forbidden from using that technique!"

"I know." Rahmadat, who ended up on the floor at some point, got up while breathing heavily. George was right. Humans were forbidden from performing the dance that the transcendent Shiva enjoyed.

"This crazy… bastard." George's eyes shook.

He knew that every time Rahmadat used Tandav, Rahmadat’s entire body would literally get destroyed. It meant that Rahmadat’s bones, muscles, and even his cells were annihilated every time the technique was executed. In other words, it was a technique that forced Rahmadat to suffer an agonizing death every time he executed it.

"You’re a mere human, so how are you enduring the pain?”

"I'm not just enduring it. Shiva is not a god who simply destroys."

Shiva's beliefs were simple and easy.

- Destruction is just a step toward new creation.

The same was true of Shiva’s follower, Rahmadat.

"My body is created again as it is about to be destroyed completely. I can bear it, so I’m confident about using it."

"Crazy bastard, you really are a crazy bastard! You motherfucker…!."

The pain would be tantamount to falling onto the boiler room of hell. In exchange for using a literal god’s skill, Rahmadat had to endure that kind of pain?

George shook his head. ‘A human being cannot possibly be enlightened about a god’s skill. Well… assuming that Shiva himself didn’t let him learn the technique.’

George gulped a mouthful of his own saliva as the cogs in his mind started to spin rapidly. If Rahmadat’s technique was truly Tandav, then there was no way George would be able to defeat Rahmadat—even if Rahmadat’s Tandav was a watered-down version of the original.

'…No, that’s not it.'

Something suddenly came to George’s. If that technique could be used endlessly, then the 5 Heroes wouldn’t have sent Specter to fight the Frost Queen on the 1st Floor. Upon recalling that information, George deduced something.

'There's a limit on the number of times he can use Tandav.'

George’s eyes lit up. He got up and spat the blood in his mouth before saying, "To be honest, I’m surprised."

He had never imagined that a human being would be able to fight on an equal footing with a Common demon. However, if it was only a temporary power, then there was no reason for him to be scared.

"Let's see how many more times you can do that dance."

The grinning George rushed at Rahmadat. According to George’s calculations, Rahmadat could only do it three times even with Super Regeneration (S). Rahmadat could only embody the Tandav dance three times at most.

“…”

Craaack!

Rahmadat sent George flying once again, but he also fell to the floor. As soon as the two got up, George immediately rushed in like a zombie. Rahmadat had just used Tandav, so his face distorted when he saw George rushing at him.

Baaang!

George could feel that his organs had been torn apart, but he still laughed like a madman.

"Kuhuhu, kehehe." He was sure of his victory. When he saw Rahmadat's ugly and distorted look, he couldn’t help but harbor such thoughts. "Three times is your limit, isn’t it?"

Super Regeneration (S) was definitely an excellent skill. However, it couldn’t completely bear the embodiment of Tandav, which was a god’s technique.

“…” Rahmadat was silent for a while, but he eventually spoke, "Did it feel like this?"

"What?"

"Jun-Ho did me dirty earlier rather than fighting like a man, but it seems that fighting dirty is fun in its own way." Rahmadat’s distorted expression vanished like a lie as he stood up and started dancing once again. "Hey, once you go to hell. Make sure to tell the demons there that Rahmadat Khali's Super Regeneration was upgraded to EX on the 5th Floor."

“…!” George immediately panicked upon hearing that. He hurriedly reached out and said, "W-what?! Now, hold on a second! I'll just walk away like this, so how about—”

"I never let evil escape from me." Rahmadat's fist seemed to have opened up a wormhole that was connected to George’s abdomen.

Baaaam!

With a sound similar to a balloon being popped, George's body actually burst like a balloon.

"Rahmadat-nim! What's the matter?!"

"I came down after receiving reports of a fierce fight!"

The Guild members of Silent Moon finally arrived. They looked wary of their surroundings as they shouted. Meanwhile, Kim Woo-Joong looked at Rahmadat and asked, "What happened?"

"Ah, ah, well, I just…"

Crack, crack.

Rahmadat cracked his neck and smiled. "I just caught and punched a bastard."