Return of the Frozen Player

"The Queen of Thorns… is it that Heaven?”

Mr. Shoot nodded.

- She is the left hand of the Heavenly Demon. She defeated hundreds of Players by herself and became a Heaven.

"Is she strong?"

- Yes, she’s strong.

Mr. Shoot was there when the Heavenly Demon and Valencia Citrin defeated hundreds of Players.

- Her bushes are tricky to handle because they distort one’s senses.

“I see. I guess that is the reason why I did not notice the bushes until it was too late,” said Mio. She examined the bushes and asked, "Can these bushes conjure illusions?"

- No, the bushes aren’t strong enough to do that.

"That is a relief, then.”

- We should regroup first and think about what we should do.

"Indeed." Mio turned around, and her eyes widened because the road they had gone down to reach here had become a dead-end.

"T-there is no path?"

- Give me some space.

Mio retreated behind Mr. Shoot.

Dozens of weapons poured out of Mr. Shoot’s Inventory.

- Weapon Hell.

Brrr!

A circle made out of sharp weapons struck the bushes, but Mr. Shoot was forced to withdraw his skill after a few moments.

- This is bad.

The wet bushes were much tougher than when they were dry, and they regenerated as fast as they were destroyed. Mio realized that they were in a much more serious situation than she initially thought, and she couldn’t help but feel worried.

“I wonder if they’re going to be okay…”

- They won’t die that easily, but…

Mr. Shoot trailed off. He stored his weapons away in his Inventory and continued.

- We better hurry, just in case.

They were surrounded by bushes in all directions, and one couldn’t tell when they would be ambushed

***

"Brava!" Isaac Dvor clapped without restraint. He truly admired Valencia’s skill. “It seems that your training in the Underworld has paid off. I did not expect you to grow so much."

“I don’t like how you sound,” said Valencia with a frown.

Isaac sounded like Valencia was his subordinate.

Isaac sighed and said, "Phew, you are as sensitive as always. You make me feel like I am talking to a girl in puberty.”

"Stop talking nonsense and do your job, Isaac,” Valencia said with a glare.

Isaac shrugged at the cold rebuke.

"All right, but do you really want me to leave?" he asked. They were currently on the top floor of Valencia’s Bush Castle. If he left to hunt the Players, Valencia would become defenseless.

"I’m sure you’ll have a hard time maintaining this castle and summoning bush monsters at the same time.”

"It does not matter. I am an absolute in my castle,” said Valencia. "Go."

"All right, if you say so," Isaac grinned.

He bowed toward Valencia and said, "Let the show begin."

Swoosh!

A burst of flame engulfed Isaac, and he disappeared like a magician.

***

The fog was so thick that one couldn’t see what was below one’s knee.

‘Caution is imperative.’ Mio made sure that her senses were razor-sharp, but she could only see half of what she could usually see. It was probably because of the bushes' ability to distort one’s senses.

‘Wait…’

Mio suddenly got worried about her companion.

"Mr. Shoot, Mr. Shoot? Where are you?” she asked.

She waited for quite a while, but she received no answer.

‘He would have already responded if he could hear me.’

Mio initially thought that Mr. Shoot was mute, but last night’s battle proved that it wasn’t the case at all. Hadn’t he warned her verbally while they were fighting the Overminds?

'His voice was strange…’

Mr. Shoot’s voice was hoarse. It sounded like he had forcefully squeezed those words out of his vocal cords, and Mio felt comfortable hearing his voice, which was even stranger.

'This isn’t the time to think about that.'

Mio picked up her pace.

The fog finally cleared, and a large clearing appeared.

“Ah!” Mio waved her hand at the familiar figure in the clearing. "Mr. Shoot! You were here?"

- So you were fine. I was getting worried.

Mr. Shoot walked over to Mio.

"Watch out!"

However, a familiar voice interrupted the two, along with a stream of weapons. Mio turned, and her mind went blank.

The weapons belonged to Mr. Shoot.

- Mio-nim, stay away from him.

The new Mr. Shoot warned.

The old Mr. Shoot unleashed his weapons as well.

- That's weird. I told you earlier that you won’t see illusions.

"Earlier?” Mio stared deeply at the old Mr. Shoot.

‘I think this Mr. Shoot is real...’

However, words also appeared on the new Mr. Shoot’s helmet.

- You asked me if the bushes can conjure illusions, and I told you that they aren’t strong enough to do so.

"Uh… That’s right.” Mio’s eyes trembled. The two could still remember the same conversation, there was no difference in their appearances, and the two used Mr. Shoot’s Monarch of Steel (S) to launch weapons.

‘Just who is… the real Mr. Shoot?’

Mio was wary of both sides because she had no idea who was real.

- I was just starting to wonder because the Queen of Thorns is here... It seems that bad predictions will often turn out to be correct.

- This is likely the work of the Magician of Death—Isaac Dvor’s work.

The two Mr. Shoots glared at each other.

Mio deduced that Isaac Dvor’s goal was to create chaos by imitating Mr. Shoot, but the issue was that Mio couldn’t tell which of the two was the real Mr. Shoot.

The old Mr. Shoot cast his signature skill.

- I'll take that mask off.

- Mio-nim, please step back.

Whooong!

The incessant noise of spinning weapons was twice as loud as usual.

- Weapon Hell

- Weapon Hell

Shrieeek!

The two Weapon Hells collided with each other, and a shrill noise echoed.

"Ugh." Mio covered her ears and examined the two.

‘I need to find out.’

Mio had to find out the real Mr. Shoot between the two.

Boom!

The old Mr. Shoot’s Weapon Hell collapsed. He was sent flying toward a wall.

- Argh!

The old Mr. Shoot curled up in pain, and his shirt was stained with blood.

- Don't fall for it.

The new Mr. Shoot advised.

- He’s just acting.

- Nonsense!

The old Mr. Shoot gasped and stared at Mio.

- I don’t want to reveal my identity, but I can only do it…

Pwooosh.

The old Mr. Shoot removed his helmet, revealing the face of a sweaty, middle-aged Caucasian.

“…!” Mio's eyes widened. "John Maverick?"

"It's been a while." The old Mr. Shoot’s voice sounded similar to what Mio had heard last night. "Has it been twenty-nine years?"

"Why are you...”

John Maverick was a player who had been active with Mio many years ago. Mio thought that the fiends had killed him, but to think that he was still alive and was hiding his identity by wearing a helmet.

"Why are you wearing a helmet—ah!" Mio covered her mouth in shock.

John Maverick’s eye was red, and he smiled bitterly at her as he explained, "They forced me to drink a few drops of their blood. I didn’t become a fiend, but one of my eyes became like a fiend’s eye, and I can’t just go around with this eye, right?”

"So that’s why you’re wearing a mask…” Mio nodded.

‘Jun-Ho told me…’

Shim Deok-Gu had apparently seen Mr. Shoot's face, and he was instantly convinced that Mr. Shoot couldn’t be anything else but an ally.

"In that case…" Mio's cold eyes turned to the new Mr. Shoot. "You are the fake."

- No, I’m not...

The new Mr. Shoot shook his head, feeling wronged.

However, Mio ignored his feelings. She pointed one of her swords at him and said, "If you’re real, then prove your innocence by showing your face."

- …

"Are you going to do it or not?" Mio asked.

The new Mr. Shoot clenched his fists.

His innocence would surely be proven if he removed his mask here.

'This isn’t the best situation to do that…’

If he were in Mio’s shoes, even he wouldn’t believe that he was Tenmei Ibuki. Mr. Shoot was certain that Mio would suffer massive mental damage if she were to learn of his true identity.

'It’ll be difficult for us to deal with Isaac Dvor if Mio is out of commission.’

Mr. Shoot was in a dilemma, but he knew that there was only one answer.

‘I can’t allow my sister to kill me…’ Mr. Shoot’s trembling hand slowly reached for his helmet. He was afraid—afraid that his sister would reject him and afraid about how his sister would look at him.

'I’m afraid that she’ll look at me with the same eyes as those bastards.’

Mr. Shoot shut his eyes tightly.

"Oh! You're here!" Christin Lewis suddenly appeared in the clearing, and his condition looked much worse than his condition last night. "Whew, I was worried because a ridiculous number of monsters made out of bushes ambushed—Hmm?”

Christin Lewis was confused to see two Mr. Shoots—one without a helmet and one wearing a helmet.

"Mio-nim, what is going on here?”

"Isaac Dvor has created an illusion of Mr. Shoot. That one there is much more suspicious to me."

"Hoh, I see." Christin Lewis smiled. He instantly understood the dilemma. "Then, my arrival is God’s grace.”

"…What do you mean?"

"The Sun God is omnipotent, and He is impartial to all." The holy symbol of the Sun God appeared behind Christin Lewis, and his eyes turned golden. "My eyes can see through all lies. I will see through their innocence and deceit with my Holy Eye."

“...!” Mio was overjoyed. Christin Lewis’ skill would allow them to verify if the helmet-wearing Mr. Shoot was lying.

"Take a look at that Mr. Shoot first!"

"Yes, leave it to me,” Christin Lewis answered in a confident voice. He turned to look at the helmet-wearing Mr. Shoot and asked, "Are you sure you're the Mr. Shoot that we know?"

- W-wait!

The helmet-wearing Mr. Shoot hurriedly revealed words on his LED display.

Christin Lewis was currently under suspicion of being a traitor.

How could Mr. Shoot let someone who was under suspicion decide his innocence?

'I can’t answer him...’

Mr. Shoot started to panic.

"How troublesome,” said Milphage.

He entered the clearing while scratching the back of his head.

Christin Lewis glanced at him and nodded. "Oh, you're here? This is indeed troublesome, but God’s grace will allow us to see the truth.”

"Yes, that’s it. That’s why it’s troublesome."

“Yes?”

Christin Lewis doubted his ears and turned to look at Milphage.

Crack!

Milphage’s big and powerful hand instantly crushed Christin’s neck.

"Whew. Those fiends are sloppy as always,” Milphage muttered, seemingly annoyed.