Return of the Frozen Player

Two figures were standing on an open field illuminated by the pale light of the bright full moon, and they were surrounded by a forest filled with lush trees and vegetation.

"The rule of this forest is simple—only the last man standing is allowed to leave," said Mio. She lifted her sword and aimed it at Mr. Shoot.

“Please answer me honestly." Her voice carried both resentment and fragile hope as she asked, "Are you Isaac Dvor?"

If the man in front of her were Isaac Dvor, Mio would have no qualms fighting him because he would be just a mere fiend mimicking Mr. Shoot's appearance.

‘And…’

If the man in front of her turned out to be Mr. Shoot, her memories of John Maverick, who had already revealed himself earlier, wouldn’t be trampled on.

- …

However, Mr. Shoot remained silent.

Nothing could be heard aside from the rustling leaves.

"...I see."

There was no reason for Isaac to lie here. In other words, the man in front of her was indeed the Mr. Shoot she knew—her companion over the past ten days in the wilderness.

“Keeheehee, keeheeheehee.”

“Keehee, keeheehee.”

The eerie laughter of the hiding oni sounded like laughing children, and they were encouraging the two to fight. They were giddy with excitement. They wanted to witness them duke it out for supremacy.

Mio took a stance with her sword and said, "Raise your weapon. I will strike you down."

- I will not be an easy opponent.

Mr. Shoot flicked his hand, and thousands of sharp weapons poured out of his Inventory to form four small rings instead of one massive ring.

"Let me confirm one thing. Did you attack me because you’re a fiend?"

A brief pause ensued.

Mr. Shoot eventually nodded

- You just have to know that I had a deal with them."

"I see." Mio's eyes lost all trace of hesitation. She felt relieved as she said, "Your answer has allowed me to strike you down without hesitation."

- Strike me down if you can.

Tap!

Mio lightly tapped the ground, and the distance between her and Mr. Shoot narrowed in an instant.

"Die!" she exclaimed as she swung her sword with all her might. The air shrieked as it was torn apart by the force behind Mio’s attack. Naturally, her target was Mr. Shoot’s head.

‘It’s done.’ A master swordsman could tell whether their sword move would strike true or not the moment they swung their sword, and Mio could feel it.

‘My sword can’t be avoided,’ she thought.

Mr. Shoot raised a finger.

-Too bad.

Clang!

The sword abruptly stopped in mid-air.

"...!"

- Metals are ineffective against me.

Mr. Shoot’s Monarch of Steel (S) was the bane of all swordsmen.

Mio unhesitantly stored her two swords in her Inventory.

- Hoh, are you giving up?

"Not at all!"

- Then, go ahead and struggle

Brrr!

Mr. Shoot’s four rings rotated and flew toward Mio.

Mio retreated and hurriedly pulled something out of her inventory.

It was the wooden sword that she had been using during her childhood. She wasn’t allowed to wield a real sword at the time, so she had been using a wooden sword as a substitute.

- ...

Was it a misunderstanding? Mr. Shoot’s eyes couldn’t be seen because of his helmet, but Mio somehow felt that Mr. Shoot’s gaze was fixed on her wooden sword.

"It’ll be an expensive mistake to underestimate a wooden sword just because it is made out of wood,” said Mio.

“I know…” Mr. Shoot muttered, and he lifted his hand once more.

- Can you really face my Weapon Hell with a mere wooden sword?

"Indomitable," Mio declared. Mio would never waver, bend, or break once she had set her mind on something. "A steadfast and strong enough determination is enough for my sword to cut through anything.”

A vibrant blue sword aura enveloped Mio’s wooden sword.

Brrrr!

The wooden sword shrieked upon being subjected to the sharpness of Mr. Shoot’s Weapon Hell.

‘No! Hold on a bit longer, please…’ Mio pleaded as she charged at Mr. Shoot.

Mio was aware that time was on her side.

- How reckless...

Brrr!

Mr. Shoot’s four Weapon Hells spun like crazy and shot toward her.

‘Focus.’

Most swordsmen would need about a month to adapt to new swords. It was a phenomenon commonly referred to as breaking in.

‘Focus.’

However, Mio’s talent allowed her to stay in optimal condition at all times, so she didn’t need to break in a new sword. She would instinctively know how to wield it.

‘I’m coming.’

Mio’s eyes flashed.

The first ring was flying toward her head, while the others were flying toward her limbs.

"Blue Moon Style Fifth Move: Moon Reversal."

Claaaaang!

Sparks flew as Mio’s sword aura parried one of Mr. Shoot’s Weapon Hells.

‘First one down.’

Moon Reversal was a sword move that allowed the swordsman to parry the opponent's attack. The first Weapon Hell crashed to the ground and shattered, but there were still more Weapon Hells to come.

"Red Sun Style Seventh move: Red Rainbow."

The vibrant blue color of Mio’s sword aura abruptly changed to red. The process was seamless. It didn’t look jarring at all, and it was as natural as it could get. Mio’s sword technique changed from The Blue Moon Style to the Red Sun Style.

Claang! Clang!

Seven collisions echoed throughout the battlefield.

- Hoh...

A single color illuminated the dark forest as Mio’s swordsmanship destroyed not only the second Weapon Hell but Mr. Shoot’s third Weapon Hell as well.

‘One left...’ Mio became even faster. ‘I can hear it.’

A swordsman who had spent a long time communing with the sword could hear its voice. Perhaps that was why the agonizing scream that the wooden sword was emitting resonated in her heart.

The wooden sword had surpassed its limits and had gone well beyond it.

‘It wouldn’t be strange if it broke at any moment.’

She had to move faster, faster, and even faster.

She had to end Mr. Shoot’s life while the wooden sword was still alive.

Mio swung her wooden sword with determination, shattering the sound barrier.

"Red Sun Style Final Move: Red Flash under the Moon."

Would a red light twinkle beneath the moonlight?

The light could cut and penetrate anything.

Booom!

The fourth Weapon Hell exploded like a bomb, sending shrapnel flying everywhere.

"..."

- ...

A deafening silence descended on the battlefield.

Crack!

There was an audible crack as Mio’s wooden sword exploded into a cloud of dust.

"..." Mio stared in confusion at her hand.

‘I couldn’t reach him...’

Mio wasn’t sure, but it seemed like Mr. Shoot had stepped forward at the apex of her sword move.

"Cough!"

Mr. Shoot collapsed.

Mio’s wooden sword didn’t destroy his heart instantly, but it bore a hole in his chest.

“How poignant…” Mr. Shoot muttered something incomprehensible and took something out of his Inventory. It was a clean booklet that seemed to have been made recently.

- This is yours.

"What is it?"

Mio was wary. Why was her opponent suddenly handing over something to her?

‘It’s a trap. Perhaps it’s a bomb that will explode the moment I take it.’

She was certain that it had to be some kind of trick.

- I told you—I owe your mother a huge debt.

"..." Mio could still remember his words back then, and the fact that Mr. Shoot could still remember her mother was the reason Mio felt like they had known each other for a long time.

- She asked me one favor—she asked me to deliver this to you.

"...My mother?" Mio was astonished, but she soon shook her head. Her path so far had not been so smooth that she would trust her enemy’s words so easily. “If you’re trying to taunt me, you can stop now. I will not let my guard down.”

- The duel is over. I lost, and the oni will take me away soon."

Mr. Shoot was right.

The oni behind the trees were licking their lips while staring at Mr. Shoot.

- Hurry up and take it. It contains the cultivation method of the Purple Dawn Style."

"Nonsense!" Mio retorted sharply and snatched the booklet.

She quickly scanned the contents while remaining wary of Mr. Shoot.

‘Of course, he must have written something plausible…’

However, her doubts started to vanish as she read the booklet. She had mastered the sword techniques of the Tenmei Family, so there was no way she would be fooled so easily.

"Why... is this real?" Mio asked. The cultivation method strongly resembled the teachings and principles of the Tenmei Family.

‘And these passages aren’t just random passages.’ The profound passages made Mio realize a few things, and she also instinctively realized that she would reach another level if she learned this cultivation method.

‘But it doesn’t make sense…!’

And that was why the entire thing was so confusing to her…

"What exactly is going on here? My mother should not be aware of the Purple Dawn Style’s cultivation method.”

The Purple Dawn Style cultivation method was a secret that only the head of the family would know, and even if her mother somehow learned about it, there was no way she would have shared it with an outsider.

- I am unaware of the details. I am an outsider, after all.

Mr. Shoot’s helmet seemed to be staring intently at her.

- I was simply asked to deliver that booklet to you. How could I know what it contains?

"..."

Mio didn’t know what to say as she stared intently at Mr. Shoot’s helmet.

She suddenly became curious about Mr. Shoot’s current thoughts and expression.

"Cough, cough!"

Blood started to drip down Mr. Shoot’s helmet.

Mio mustered her magic as Mr. Shoot stood up.

- Don’t worry about me. Memorize the cultivation method as quickly as you can.

"What are you… talking about?"

-You seem to have forgotten, but you will have to face Valencia Citrin outside.

The current Mio was too weak to defeat Valencia, and there was no way she could beat the latter after studying the Purple Dawn Style for a few minutes.

- I’ll buy as much time as you can until you’ve grasped everything in that booklet.

“Kihihi, kihihihi!”

The oni finally emerged.

It seemed that they had marked Mr. Shoot as the loser of the duel, and they had come out to add him to their collection.

Mr. Shoot remained steadfast. He gathered his weapons to form a ring.

- Please hurry.

"..."

Mio stared at Mr. Shoot in total incomprehension. Why was he buying time for his enemy who had basically sealed his fate? Who in the world would do something so foolish?

- I understand that you don’t believe me.

Mr. Shoot urgently displayed words on his helmet’s LED display.

- Just think of it as repayment of my debt to your mother.

"What... what debt do you owe my mother?"

Mr. Shoot fell silent.

Swoosh!

An oni reached out with its hand toward him.

Brrr!

Mr. Shoot’s Weapon Hell rotated to resist the oni.

- It is a debt that I will not be able to repay even for a lifetime. If it hadn’t been for your mother, I would not be alive right now.

- She asked me to take care of you.

He didn’t lie, but he decided to exclude a phrase.

@@-Listen carefully, Ibuki.@@

Mother sat him down and said…

@@-You have to take good care of your sister. You are the only one who can become your sister's shield.@@

Mio was a rare genius.

Aside from him, everyone in the family was both wary and jealous of her.

He was the only one who liked her and kept on following her.

- I haven’t been able to keep my promise.

He was young, he was incompetent, and he was a coward—it was all because of these that his sister had to stay in a cold prison for twenty-five years.

- I regret every single waking moment of my life that led to that moment.

Mr. Shoot wiped away the blood that was flowing down his helmet, and his Weapon Hell spun violently.

- It is time I keep my promise.

Even at the expense of his own life...