Return of the Frozen Player

“This bastard… Did he figure out that we were planning to attack him?”

“There’s no way.” They looked around, trying to find Seo Jun-ho, but their abilities weren’t honed enough to find him in the already-dark forest. 

“Ugh, then are you saying he ran away for no reason?”

“He’s probably planning to use us as bait.” 

“…Son of a bitch.” The Shadow Brothers didn’t think that he would be testing them. 

“They call him Korea’s hero or whatever, but he’s just an opportunist.”

“I keep telling you. There’s no such thing as heroes in this generation.” The Shadow Brothers chatted quietly, coming together and staring up at the dragon ahead of them. 

Shiver. They got chills just by getting close. 

“…I didn’t know dragons were this strong.”

“Same here. But we can defeat it if we work together.”

“And what about Seo Jun-ho? The Gate will be cleared if we kill it, and we’ll fail our mission.” The older brother, Edvar, thought to himself for a second before coming to a decision. 

“I’ll deal with the dragon while you go after him, then. He’s probably watching us from the forest over there.”

“Will you be alright on your own?”

“Who do you think I am?” As he sneered, the shadows cast on the ground slowly started to rise. 

One, two, three… Fifteen shadows formed into humanoid shapes, holding spears and swords made from the same shadows. They were formidable soldiers. 

“Don’t worry about me and just kill him. Meet up when you’re done.”

“Ok, hyung*. Be careful.” As the younger brother broke away, the Nameless Dragon’s eyes briefly followed. 

(TN: Older/big brother.)

“Over here, you worm!” Its attention shifted as Edvar landed an attack on its scales. 

* * *

“That rat bastard. Where the hell did he go?” Vincent was the younger brother simply because he had been born a little bit later. He looked around, eyes wide. 

God dammit. When’s the last time we messed up like this? There was a simple reason as to why their personal commission success rate was 100%. They planned their missions meticulously and had the ability to execute them perfectly. Those two things had the perfect synergy, which was why they’d never failed before. 

How dare he ruin our plans? I won’t kill him gracefully. His pride as a professional was hurt, and Vincent ground his teeth. He’d never wanted to come here in the first place. It’s hard enough preparing for the Las Vegas auction… I can’t believe I have to deal with something like this. 

This year’s auction would feature a high-class magic core from an ancient dungeon in the 2nd floor: Heaven’s Breath. There was no way the Fiend Association would miss out on such an opportunity. If the core fell into their hands, it would serve as another foothold for them. 

If Seo Jun-ho messes up our plans for the auction… A shiver went down Vincent’s spine. Even if he and his brother lived, death might be more merciful. 

Vincent remembered his current predicament, and bloodlust started to trickle into his eyes. His bloodshot eyes soon turned red as he started to look around the forest. I’ll kill him quickly and complete our assignment. 

Woosh! His body suddenly disappeared into the ground, only to reappear dozens of meters ahead. ‘Shadow Movement’ allows the brothers to travel through shade and shadow. Of course, it had a limit: they could only travel 30 meters in one stride. 

“…I can feel him.” Vincent arrived deep in the forest, looking up at the dense cover of leaves. He muttered to himself, sensing a subtle magic wavelength behind the tree. He’d picked up on Seo Jun-ho’s magic aura when he’d fist-bumped him outside the Gate, and it was the same as this one. Vincent sneered and quietly started to gather his magic. He moved inconspicuously so his opponent wouldn’t be able to notice. 

In an instant, the shadows gathered in his hands to form a sharp dagger. He hid it behind his back and shouted, sounding panicked. 

“Hey, are you there? Hyung’s fighting the dragon right now! We need your help!” He’d already figured out his location and stepped close. He gripped his dagger, intending to kill Seo Jun-ho in one hit. 

“What did we do to deserve this? We decided that we’d work together, so…” 

Vincent built a pitiful expression, looking like he was about to cry. Anyone that saw him would feel bad. But as he took one, two, three steps… He reached his destination and his face turned dark like a demon’s. 

“…Stop fucking around and die already!”

Woooosh! Vincent didn’t swing his dagger. There was no need for it. This deep in the forest, the thick cover of leaves and branches created numerous shadows. 

This is my home ground. He must be crazy. The dagger in Vincent’s hand disappeared, reappearing a second later where he felt Seo Jun-ho’s magic. 

Stab! He felt it. He hadn’t wielded the dagger himself, but he felt the weight in his hand and the thick sound. Vincent laughed in delight and strode over. 

“Why are you causing trouble when you’re this weak…” Vincent’s face crumbled as he stepped behind the tree to check on the corpse.

…It’s not a body? The dagger had hit a doll formed out of condensed darkness. 

A trap! As he realized this, Vincent expanded his senses with his magic. He was confident that he’d be able to find Seo Jun-ho even with his eyes closed. 

But… he couldn’t sense anything. 

What? There’s no way… As he tried to process his confusion, a voice came from behind him. 

“So you really were fiends. What a shame.” He whipped around to find Seo Jun-ho leaning against a tree with his arms crossed. He realized what Seo Jun-ho had said. 

“…What do you mean by that?”

“Hm? I said it in English, so you should understand.” Seo Jun-ho tilted his head. “You’re a fiend. Why are you denying it? Fuck that.” Vincent trembled. 

How did he…? The only people who knew about this mission were the two brothers and the person who’d sent them—a servant of Kal Signer. Those were the only four people who would know, and there was no way any one of them would let the information leak. Then that means…

He was bluffing. He shrugged. “What do you mean I’m a fiend?”

“Aha, so you’re playing dumb? You just tried to kill me.”

“That’s because you betrayed us first.” Seo Jun-ho smirked. He found it cute that Vincent was trying to make excuses. It was like watching a child hide under a blanket in hide-and-seek, thinking it was a good hiding spot. 

“If you get rid of those red eyes first, I’ll consider it.”

“What?”

“How am I supposed to believe you when you have a fiend’s scarlet eyes?”

“……” 

Momentarily confused, Vincent bit his bottom lip. 

I… can’t control it? When fiends used Demonic energy, their eyes turned red. It was a special trait of theirs. Because of it, they trained themselves to control it while they lived among people.

Vincent thought he was good at controlling it. After all, he and his brother had never been suspected during their two years of activity. 

“It’s hard to control, isn’t it?” Seo Jun-ho was right. Vincent looked at him with a furious expression. 

“Shut up. You don’t seem to understand the situation you’re in… Did you think I’d just stand by if you figured out that I was a fiend?” He said coldly. 

“Nope. You’d try to kill me to hide the evidence. That’s how you guys operate.” The way he spoke was infuriating.

“So you do know.” Vincent gave up on hiding his identity and let his scarlet eyes glisten with bloodlust. Most players would have noticed where this was going and braced themselves, but Seo Jun-ho didn’t look the least bit fazed. 

“Aww, are you mad, pal?”

“Pal? I humored you for a bit… and now you’ve forgotten your place!” 

Demon clans appeared very rarely in Gates, but the players who drank their blood and survived became those savages known as fiends. Vincent brought out his Demonic energy. 

Seo Jun-ho stroked his chin and looked upon the Demonic energy. He hadn’t seen it in a long time. 

Yup, Demonic energy is a lot more violent and unrefined than normal magic. Just seeing it could also cause the opponent to shrivel. 

Vincent took Seo Jun-ho’s silence as fear. 

“Tremble all you want.” He gripped his fists. It had been a while since he’d used all his Demonic energy. 

Ah… This is the best feeling. He felt light and fuzzy, as if he was on drugs. Power flowed out of his body like he was a god. He felt like he could crush the likes of Seo Jun-ho any time he wanted. 

“I won’t kill you quickly. You’ve pissed me off too much.” Vincent had no thoughts of giving him an easy death. He’d taunt and torture Seo Jun-ho until he begged to die.

“Let’s get rid of those useless legs first.” Vincent summoned three daggers from the shadows and muttered to himself. Seo Jun-ho wouldn’t need those legs while he tortured him. 

Finally, Seo Jun-ho uncrossed his arms. 

“Well, since you’re showing me something interesting, I’ll return the favor.”

“No need!”

Woosh! The floating daggers disappeared, then reappeared behind Seo Jun-ho to cut off his legs…

“What?” Vincent started, shocked. In the blink of an eye, Seo Jun-ho had vanished. 

Did I aim wrong? No, there’s no way…

A voice spoke from behind him. 

“At first, all I could hide was my general presence.” Vincent whipped around, only to find Seo Jun-ho rippling in the darkness at his feet. His ankle, calves, and thighs emerged, as if growing from the darkness. 

“As I got used to it, I could hide my sounds and scent.” 

“What… what’s with this energy?” Vincent’s whole body started to tremble. The energy surrounding Seo Jun-ho was definitely not Demonic. 

What is he saying? And what’s with this intense pressure? It was far more fierce and atrocious than anything he’d ever encountered. A simple touch gave him a violent sense that he would be consumed. 

“I erase one part at a time. Presence, sound, scent… What would come next?” As he spoke, the rippling darkness beneath him covered every hair on his head.

……

A peaceful silence covered the forest. 

Seo Jun-ho’s scent, presence, sounds, magic aura… Every part of him had disappeared. 

This was Specter’s unique skill that could deceive legions of monsters. 

Night Walking. 

“Ha… haha?” Vincent was left alone in the forest. He let out a dejected laugh. He was fighting an opponent who could hide himself perfectly. 

I fucked up. This wasn’t his home ground. It was the stage Seo Jun-ho had chosen so he could go wild. I’d be crazy to fight him here. 

One word filled his mind. 

Run. 

He started to sprint, not looking back.