Return of the Frozen Player

“Specter!”

“Specter!”

“Specter!”

Seo Jun-Ho was surprised by the loud shouts piercing his eardrums. He tried to acknowledge everyone by nodding, but he couldn’t move at all.

‘This is similar to what happened with Sir Kis.’

This was not just an ordinary memory projection. He was watching Specter’s life in Specter’s body. Seo Jun-Ho figured that the reason probably had to be because the target of Confession of the Dead was none other than himself.

‘Well, I guess I don’t have any control, so I’ll just chill.’

Seo Jun-Ho decided to enjoy the scenes as if he were watching a movie.

“Specter!”

“Specter!”

“Specter!”

The citizens who filled the streets shouted Specter’s name like fanatics.

‘Looking at the statue… this must be around the third year after he became a Player.’

The statue that was built in Gwanghwamun after Sejong the Great and Admiral Yi Sun-Sin was of Specter.

Specter’s feelings flooded Seo Jun-Ho’s mind.

‘The pressure is getting too much for him to bear.’

Specter was trembling. Seo Jun-Ho could empathize with Specter, as he had gone through the same experience.

‘To live up to their wishes…’

Clench.

The young Specter clenched his fists.

‘I need to work even harder.’

The scene peeled away.

***

- The death of Kim Woo-Joong and Shin-Sung Hyun, the representatives of the Republic of Korea among the Nine Heavens, caused a wave of mourning that lasted for several days…

- The President of India visited the Republic of Korea this afternoon. The president expressed deep sorrow over Rahmadat Khali’s death and announced that India’s relationship with the Republic of Korea will continue in the future…

Beep.

The hologram screen disappeared, and the room was plunged into complete darkness.

“...” Specter curled up on his bed with his face between his knees.

They had succeeded in clearing Adonia, but the party suffered a massive loss.

Creak.

The Frost Queen carefully opened the door. Her head peeked out from behind the door as she asked carefully, “...Contractor. Are you sleeping?”

“I want to be alone for now.”

“Ah, okay. Rest well.” The Frost Queen quickly closed the door.

Specter slowly raised his head in the dark. He had been saying from the moment that they cleared the 6th Floor that the party would suffer a lot on the 7th Floor if they were to try and clear it without any major improvement in their prowess.

The vampires and werewolves on the 6th Floor were just that strong.

“If they had just listened to me…”

Specter recalled telling the party that he would drink a demon’s blood to become even stronger. To no one’s surprise, everyone vehemently opposed the idea. Of course, Specter knew why they were so against it.

“The hope of mankind should never betray mankind? Hah.” Specter shook his head. ‘Do I really have to care about the opinions of other people when the safety of the world is at stake?’

- Stop talking nonsense. I will cut you down with my own hands if you become a fiend.

Kim Woo-Joong glared at Specter with a warning, but he was no more.

- Jun-Ho, you are not just an ordinary Player. You are mankind’s hope. Please don’t let them down.

Mio’s life after emerging from the ice was brief.

She took her own life after getting caught in her family’s internal strife.

“...”

Specter’s eyes turned clear.

‘I’ve decided. I don’t care what everyone says, I’ll drink the cursed blood of demons and become a fiend.’

It was the only way he knew that would surely improve his strength. In addition, he possessed Watchguard of Darkness, which meant he could increase his Magic stat by absorbing demonic energy.

‘I’m confident. With that power, I will be able to bring peace to the world.’

Specter was confident that he would be able to ignore the temptations of demonic energy.

Specter silently made up his mind.

The Players soon went up to the 8th Floor, but he headed to the 5th Floor by himself.

***

“Argh!”

A sword pierced the Heavenly Demon’s abdomen.

He smirked as he wiped the blood off of his mouth with his sleeve.

“Look who we have here? The hero of mankind! What brings you all the way here?”

Specter had no ill feelings against the Heavenly Demon.

It was a pity that he killed the Thunder God, but the Thunder God had perished because he was weak.

Swoosh.

Specter brought his sword near the Heavenly Demon’s neck.

“I’m here to receive your blood. Give it to me,” Specter said in a cold voice.

“...What?” the Heavenly Demon asked in astonishment.

‘A Player is voluntarily demanding the blood of a fiend? And the Player is none other than Specter himself, hahaha! This is too funny!’

“Pfft! Puhaha!” The Heavenly Demon boisterously laughed.

His wound worsened as a result, and more blood oozed out, but he didn’t mind.

“That’s the greatest joke I’ve ever heard…” The Heavenly Demon was overwhelmed with joy. He seriously thought that he had lived a long and boring life just for this moment.

Slash!

The Heavenly Demon cut his own palm and reached his hand out to Specter.

“Of course, I’m more than happy to give you my blood, but… will you really drink my blood and become a fiend?” the Heavenly Demon asked.

“...”

Specter wordlessly stared at the Heavenly Demon’s blood dripping to the ground.

Many different thoughts popped up in Specter’s mind in the blink of an eye.

Slash!

“AH!” the Heavenly Demon screamed.

Specter severed the Heavenly Demon’s hand and drank the blood dripping from it.

Specter’s heart throbbed violently.

Veins bulged all over him, and his eyes widened.

His eyes were so painful that he felt like they would burst at any moment.

Specter trembled with his eyes closed.

“Ha….” he groaned. A white mist tainted with demonic energy emerged from his mouth.

The Heavenly Demon went wild with joy at the sight.

“Hahaha! It worked! You’re actually a fiend now!”

Specter—his biggest obstacle to annihilating the Players—was now a fiend.

The Heavenly Demon jeered inwardly, ‘What a foolish punk.’

Fiends followed the law of the jungle.

In other words, strength was the fiend’s absolute good and law.

‘And fiends can exert slight control over those who have consumed their blood…’

The contract required the consent of both parties, and that was exactly what happened here. In other words, Specter was bound to be friendly to the Heavenly Demon.

The Heavenly Demon smiled and said, “Specter. I want you to get rid of this disgusting energy crawling around the wounds on my abdomen and wrist.”

“...”

Specter slowly opened his eyes at the Heavenly Demon’s words.

‘It’s red.’

The Heavenly Demon flinched upon seeing Specter’s ruby-like eyes, which resembled the Archduke’s eyes.

“Why would I do that?” Specter answered indifferently.

The Heavenly Demon felt nervous, so he urged, “Wh-what do you mean why? I’m having a difficult time recovering because of this disgusting energy.”

“It seems that you’ve misunderstood something here.”

Clench!

Specter clenched his fist.

Boom!

The darkness coursing through the Heavenly Demon’s veins exploded. A rain of flesh and blood pelted down Specter, but he didn’t mind it.

“I needed your blood, not you,” he muttered coldly.

After all, he already had great friends.

***

“What have you done?! I warned you many times not to do such a foolish thing!”

“G-give me a minute! I’ll explain! I’m really confident about this. It’s the most efficient method as well!”

“No. It’s done. It’s all over. It ended the moment you drank the demon’s cursed blood!”

Specter quarreled with the Frost Queen.

[The Frost Queen has unilaterally ended the Spirit Contract.]

[Skill: Summon Spirit has disappeared.]

[Your connection with the Frost Queen has been severed.]

The quarrel was so bad that the relationship between the two went past the point of no return. The Frost Queen couldn’t understand Specter’s decision, and she no longer trusted Specter, who had become a fiend.

The Frost Queen’s hateful and disgusted eyes wouldn’t disappear from Specter’s memories.

“...”

At first, Specter was furious at the Frost Queen. He didn’t become a fiend for his own sake. He had made such a monumental decision to protect everyone and clear the Floors.

‘I can really do it with this power.’

He had become a fiend, but the fiend’s instincts to destroy and slaughter couldn’t sway him.

[Hero’s Mind (S) has resisted the majority of Death Drive’s effects.]

[Hero’s Mind (S) has resisted the majority of Mental Pollution’s effects.]

Specter was right.

‘I’m sure I can resist them perfectly if Hero’s Mind were EX.’

Unfortunately, Specter had no choice but to be satisfied with what he had.

[Apostasy of the hero of mankind. Specter becomes a fiend.]

[Specter killed the Heavenly Demon and drank his blood. Why?]

[The hero of mankind has forgotten the most important thing in his quest for more power.]

The media outlets around the world criticized him every day.

“Fucking morons.”

‘What’s the most important thing? Isn’t it clearing the Floors?’

Specter’s heart burned with fury upon seeing so many people criticizing him despite knowing nothing.

“...”

‘Am I always this irritable?’ Specter felt slightly afraid, so he made sure to suppress his anger as much as possible. ‘...I’ll have to move on my own for the time being. I won’t be able to join the advance party in this state, anyway.’

The Players who once fought with Specter on the front lines had ceased all contact with him.

‘I can prove it by myself.’

Specter wished to prove that the demonic energy couldn’t consume him. He was convinced that the moment they realized that he was still working hard for humanity as he had always done, his friends and the Frost Queen would reach out to him again.

‘Until then… I’ll have to be a bit lonely.’

Specter skipped the 8th Floor that didn’t have a Floor Master.

He packed his luggage and headed for the 9th Floor by himself.

***

There was a clear social division in the Underworld, and the most powerful demons were the Counts.

There were a total of seventy-two Counts throughout the Underworld.

“S-s-stay away!”

Count Marmon quivered violently as he retreated.

He eventually found himself cornered with his back against the wall.

“I-I said stay away! Get out of my city!”

“...”

The Count Hunter wordlessly showed his tempestuous demonic energy.

His demonic energy was so powerful that Marmon lost his will to fight upon seeing it.

“Ah, ah…ah…” Marmon’s fearful eyes reflected the looming darkness, and he was quickly shredded to pieces.

[You’ve defeated Count Marmon of the Underworld.]

[Count Hunter’s effect has been activated. All stats has increased by 10.]

“...” Specter was neither pleased nor tired.

He acted like a public official as he absorbed Marmon’s demonic energy.

‘This is the 65th one.’

Specter had become a monster after devouring the Counts of the Underworld. He was already a Star Destruction Stage creature, so it wasn’t that difficult for him to kill the Underworld’s Counts, who were at Liberation Stage at most.

‘...’

It had already been two years since he came up to the 9th floor, but he was still alive.

The players had attempted to clear the 9th Floor, but they never came back again after the demons vanquished them.

‘Perhaps they need more time. It takes a lot of money and time to nurture elite Players.’

Specter would sometimes go back to Earth whenever he wanted to see humans and got tired of fighting. However, he wasn’t welcome anywhere. The citizens were afraid of him, and the staffers of the World Player Association would follow him everywhere.

“...”

This wasn’t the future that he had envisioned. The most frightening thing was that he would always feel this strong urge to slaughter whenever he felt annoyed.

“Damn it. What the fuck are you looking at?!”

“...”

The citizens simultaneously looked away.

At that, Specter finally realized that something was wrong.

‘I-I have to go before it’s too late… while I’m still sane…’

Specter had to kill the Archduke soon.

***

“Huff, huff.”

The Archduke was strong.

Specter had been fighting the Archduke for many days now, but the Archduke still hadn’t lifted even a finger against him.

“You know what?” the Archduke suddenly said.

Perhaps it was because the fight had gotten too boring for him.

“No one has ever owned two EX elemental skills just yet.”

“...?”

“To be honest, I really want to see that happen. I was sure you’d do it.” The Archduke shook his head and said, “Unfortunately, it’s clear that I was mistaken.”

There’s no need for me to drag this meaningless fight on any longer,’ the Archduke murmured to himself.

The stars in the universe above the Archduke sparkled.

Swoosh!

Dozens of stars made a beeline for Specter.

“...”

‘No one has ever owned two EX elemental skills? Does that mean that Frost is the reason my Watchguard of Darkness has been sitting at S all this while? The only useful thing abut Frost (EX) is the power to freeze. It’s a half-baked EX skill.’

Specter was furious at the thought that he had been fighting with a handicap all this while, and it was all because of the garbage power to freeze. Indeed, the power to freeze was garbage compared to Watchguard of Darkness’ scornful power.

‘Then I don't need this useless power.’

Specter put his hand over his heart and muttered, “Watchguard. Absorb the Frost skill.”

The nonsense that he wanted to do was supposed to be impossible, but he drank the Heavenly Demon’s blood, who had inherited a Mimic’s gluttony.

[Watchguard of Darkness has absorbed Frost (EX).]

[Frost (EX) has disappeared.]

[Watchguard of Darkness (S) has evolved to Darkness (EX).]

[The Watchguards departs.]

An overwhelming power burst out of Specter.

Specter was nothing more than a bug compared to Archduke.

He was like the dumb David trying to fight the mighty Goliath.

‘But I can feel it.’

He could feel that the scornful power of Darkness (EX) was capable of shredding the defenses of the monster in front of him.

He just had to hit the monster.

“Deathscythe.”

Specter swung the scythe with all his might, and the dozens of stars vanished.

“...Hmm?”

The Archduke’s eyes sparkled with interest.

As evidence, he sat up straight for the first time since the battle started.

“I guess I wasn’t completely wrong,” the Archduke muttered with interest.

The deluge of darkness loomed over the Archduke.

“Curtain of Darkness!”

Specter sealed off everything to prevent the Archduke from escaping.

The old iron sword in Specter’s hand was emboldened by a titanic layer of demonic energy.

‘Things will go back to normal once you’re dead.’

Specter was convinced that the fearful gazes toward him would turn warm once again, and he was convinced he would be able to get along with his friends once again.

‘So, please…! Please die so I can get my life back.’

Boom!

The mighty conflagration of demonic energy seemingly capable of destroying galaxies drew a beautiful arc as it struck the Archduke.

“...”

The Archduke’s chair shattered, and the planet where they fought was split in half.

The dimensions struck by the attack were lacerated, and space itself was shattered.

“Hmm.” The Archduke’s voice echoed behind Seo Jun-Ho. “I can still move, you know.”

In other words, the Archduke was implying that Specter’s attack would have been dangerous if he hadn’t dodged it.

“You were just one step short.”

Only one person came to Specter’s mind as he collapsed out of exhaustion.

‘Frost… if only I had her with me… perhaps I would have succeeded. Perhaps she could have stopped him from moving. If only… if only…’

Specter’s assumptions eroded his mind.

[Hero’s Mind (S) has failed to resist Death Drive’s effects.]

[Hero’s Mind (S) has failed to resist Mental Pollution’s effects.]

“Hmm…?”

The hero finally became a true fiend at the collapse of his mental barrier.

The Archduke smiled and offered him something sweet and irresistible.

***

Specter was living in a dimensional gap, but he would always go out to hunt the Counts of the Underworld whenever it opened. Whenever he did, Seo Jun-Ho and the Frost Queen of a parallel world would always visit him soon afterward.

Of course, he devoured them as well.

“...”

He was getting tired of everything, and his encounters with the fake Frost Queen who couldn’t even remember him were more annoying than exciting.

‘Once this is all over…’ Yes, the world that the Administrators, his friends, the Frost Queen, and mankind had been wanting to see would definitely come. “A peaceful world where everyone is happy… yes, it will come.”

It would be a world that would last for as long as the universe.

‘The peace and happiness that all of you have been wanting so badly is coming.’

There was only one step left.

Specter patiently waited for the final Seo Jun-Ho.

***

Specter was defeated.

Seo Jun-Ho and the Frost Queen told him he was wrong. It was even more shocking to hear that because it was said by Seo Jun-Ho, who had received the memories of his Frost Queen on the 8th Floor.

“You just don’t want to admit that you’re wrong. Didn’t we just show you an alternative way to defeat the Archduke without abandoning one’s humanity?”

The final Seo Jun-Ho’s words were strange, but Specter wasn’t annoyed for some reason.

‘Does it really exist? I couldn’t find an alternative way to defeat the Archduke without abandoning my humanity, no matter how long I agonized and thought about it. To think that there’s actually a way…’

Specter’s gaze went blank.

‘If I had chosen that path… could I have stayed with Frost and my friends? Could I have avoided living a painful and lonely life?

’If that’s true… if such a path really exists… I have no choice but to root for these two, even though it means I’ll be denying everything that I’ve done so far.’

Specter slowly let go of Frost’s neck and gently patted her on the cheek.

The Frost Queen’s eyes widened like a surprised rabbit. Specter’s hand felt warm, and it was similar to what her contractor had always done to cheer her up.

“...Good luck.”

The two slowly faded away from his vision, and Specter soon found himself staring at the Seo Jun-Hos he had killed. They were reaching out toward him, and their faces were telling him that he should come with them.

“...”

Specter accepted their offer and closed his eyes as he lay on the mountain of bones.

***

“...”

Seo Jun-Ho was abruptly pulled out of Specter’s memories. He had already returned, but he was still staring blankly into space.

The Frost Queen saw that, and she muttered, “I guess I have no choice…”

She stretched and swung her fist as if she were preparing herself.

“I have to wake him up by beating him u—”

“I-I’m awake,” Seo Jun-Ho said in a hurry.

He didn’t want to raise Blunt Force Resistance to the highest level.

“Hmm. Well… was there any useful information?”

“Yes, there was more useful information than I thought.”

Seo Jun-Ho could finally understand why Specter had made such a decision. However, it didn’t mean that he empathized with Specter.

“His experience was very much different from mine.”

“It sure was. He failed to get the diary on the 4th Floor, and he also failed to learn the Black Moon Martial Arts on the 5th Floor. To make matters worse, he made an enemy out of the werewolves on the 6th Floor rather than turning them into friends.”

“His life was in hell mode.”

Seo Jun-Ho felt grateful that he had been lucky enough to have chosen only the right answers throughout his journey so far.

“...No.”

‘Perhaps the reason I managed to choose only the right answers was that the Seo Jun-Hos from the parallel worlds who have perished before me had engraved some hints in my soul.’

“...”

Seo Jun-Ho bowed lightly before the mountain of bones before looking down at Specter’s corpse. “It’s going to look a bit different from the world you’ve been wishing to see, but…I’ll try my best to make your wish come true.”

Seo Jun-Ho placed his hand on Specter’s forehead and started absorbing the latter’s demonic energy.

“Argh!”

The absorption process was painful due to the overwhelming amount of demonic energy contained in Specter’s corpse. However, Seo Jun-Ho was determined to endure the pain, as this opportunity would never come again.

‘Be strong, Seo Jun-Ho.’

For the sake of picking up where Specter had left off, Seo Jun-Ho forcefully endured the excruciating pain and continued on absorbing Specter’s demonic energy.

The Frost Queen stood silently next to him—all she could do was trust and wait for him.

“...”

It took Seo Jun-Ho sixty-two hours to absorb every ounce of demonic energy in Specter’s corpse, and digesting them took 114 hours. Seo Jun-Ho experienced his third Body Transformation once he was done absorbing Specter’s demonic energy.

[Watchguard of Darkness (S) has evolved to Watchguard of Darkness (EX).]

[The Watchguards has become more ruthless when biting enemies.]