Return of the Frozen Player
chapter-94

Midnight Visitor (4)

Like Teleport, Shadow Step consumed a lot of magic because it allowed him to cross through space. And, as with other surprise attacks, it couldn’t be used twice. But on the other hand, that meant that it was extremely effective the first time.

This is my stage. The darkness around him gave him plenty of places to go. As Curtain of Darkness started to unravel, Seo Junho moved, appearing right behind Kal Signer. He thrusted Black Dragon Fang toward his heart.

But Signer sensed his presence and turned, blocking it with his hand.

“…!” It cut through his wrist, but he did not scream. In fact, he held out his injured arm toward Seo Junho. Does he not know that he was hit?

He didn’t expect there to be any danger because he’d already cut off his hand. But he noticed a second too late that a red hand had emerged from the stump.

“The fucking demon clan techniques!”

A large, sharp fingertip shredded through the space where Seo Junho had just been standing. He barely managed to dodge as he rolled on the ground.

“I’m surprised. I didn’t expect you to be able to make this kind of ambush.” Kal Signer stepped away from Curtain of Darkness. He studied his hand and made a face. “Tsk. It’ll take at least a month for my hand to fully restore.”

Most fiends drank the demon clans’ blood by diluting it with water. There was less chance of dying, but the amount of power they could acquire was also limited.

But occasionally, there were those who had nothing to lose—who would do anything for power. They drank down the pure, undiluted blood, but only about two in ten survived. An even smaller number was compatible with the blood. But those who were chosen could use special skills and techniques from the demon whose blood they drank.

“Did you drink the blood of a High Vampire or something?”

“Nope. I like sunlight, you see,” he replied lightly. His weapons aimed at Seo Junho once more. “Seeing as you didn’t use that teleporting skill from the beginning, I assume that it comes with a heavy price.”

Clever bastard.

“Ah, ah, ah. I can’t let you get closer to that wall of darkness either.” Kal Signer took another step back and prepared his Demonic energy. “This time, you’ll die for real.”

“I thought you were just going to kidnap me.”

“Of course. If you’ll let me put you in these handcuffs, I’ll spare you.”

Seo Junho gave him the middle finger.

Signer laughed as he loaded his weapons. “That’s why you should’ve hit here, not my wrist,” he said, tapping on his chest.

“Hup!” Seo Junho sprinted toward him. Now that his ambush had failed, there was no other option but to face him directly.

“Haa… It seems that you don’t value your life.”

Projectiles rained down on Seo Junho, whistling as they flew. He had to focus, but it was getting harder to do so as Booster’s time limit approached. His head felt like it was on fire.

Focus…!

“Die!” Signer’s scream pierced through his ears.

Seo Junho sliced through an arrow with his sword, but he’d already been hit on his left shoulder and twice on his right thigh. He sliced through three more arrows and two ballistas, but he slowed as an arrow pierced through his right shoulder.

“Ugh…!” He gritted his teeth and ran harder as the distance between them started to close.

“Die, die, die! I said, die!” Signer’s voice grew louder as Seo Junho approached.

Why isn’t he dying? Even if he’s wearing armor, how can he keep moving after getting hit so much? He’s… He’s not going to reach me, is he?

Signer trembled. He sensed the danger and created a powerful arrow.

Seo Junho couldn’t get any closer. His breath was cold against the roof of his mouth as pain shot through his body, but he didn’t let go of his sword. The attacks were still coming.

He swung his weapon like a bat to hit a ballista, and it exploded in the air. He cut through an arrow, and its electricity shocked his body.

An arrow pierced through his stomach. It had penetrated Black Armor like butter.

“Ha… Hahaha, that’s right.” Signer’s lips twitched into a smile. Seo Junho fell to his knees, only three meters away. “…Is it finally over?”

Seo Junho’s breath was shallow as he replied, “That’s… a death flag… bitch.”

Seo Junho sprung forward, sword raised.

Signer grunted as he held out his left hand, but he used the other to grab Seo Junho’s throat. There was a loud crack as he broke his neck.

Finally…! Seo Junho was dead. And he had killed him. He grinned, full of relief.

“That was your wrist, you dumbass.”

Seo Junho’s cold voice echoed in his ear.

“Wha—”

Before he could finish his sentence, a sharp ice sword pierced through his heart.

“Gah!” Black blood spilled from his lips. His hand trembled as he brought his hand to his chest. The blood was warm in his hand, hot enough to steam, but all he felt in his body was cold. He staggered as he grabbed Seo Junho’s collar, vomiting blood all over him. His eyes were bloodshot with resentment.

An automatic ballista fired at Seo Junho, but he didn’t look away. “Clean it up, Watchguard.”

The darkness seemed to burn as it formed the shape of wolves. They growled as they bared their teeth and crunched through the weapons.

Signer’s eyes widened. “Watchguard… of Darkness?”

How hadn’t he realized?

He started to laugh uncontrollably. “Hahaha! Ha! Cough!” Even as blood spurted from his lips, he didn’t stop. “Ahahaha! You have the whole world fooled!” He’d finally discovered his identity.

“I’m… satisfied…” The life quickly started to fade from his eyes, but he needed to know. “You… What are you planning?”

“Me?” Seo Junho crouched down and whispered in his ear. “You don’t need to know. You’re already dead.”

He raised his hand, and the ice sword shattered inside Signer, filling him with unfathomable pain. His body convulsed as it broke like his arrows.

My dream… He looked up. He’d wanted to become one of the Heavens, no matter what it took, but he quickly realized that he didn’t have the potential. I just want to see the stars one last time…

But all he saw was the jet-black of Curtain of Darkness, as if it were taunting him.

There’s… nothing…

He closed his eyes. Once upon a time, he’d wanted to become the Tenth Heaven, but it had all been for naught. This was how he met his end.

Kal Signer’s arms went limp, and his head drooped. Seo Junho let go and let him drop to the ground. The Demon Bow rolled on the ground of the nameless mountain.

Seo Junho finally released Curtain of Darkness and looked around. “What a mess.”

The area around them had been completely devastated—enough to change the terrain. He didn’t know if he’d be able to erase their traces completely.

“His memories first.” He didn’t even have the strength to lift his finger, but Seo Junho sat down and activated Confession of the Dead. “Shit, it’s doing it again.”

Most of the memories were locked because the skill’s rank was too low. He swallowed down his frustration and quickly looked for something useful.

— You’re the Demon Bow? Your skills are commendable.

— From now on, you’ll be in charge of a unit. Kill the hypocrites.

— Mission? I have none. I steal if I want to steal, I kill if I want to kill.

— I will follow you to the depths of hell.

— Bring Seo Junho to me.

After using it a few times, the highlights feature started to slow, and the projection quickly ended.

“I got it,” Seo Junho muttered. He’d found two useful things in his memories. First, he’d verified the extent and validity of Dokkaebi’s information. There weren’t a lot of major fiends in Kal Signer’s memories, but there were many that had been in Dokkaebi’s files. They’d better stay quiet. If he ever met one of them, he’d kill them instantly.

The second was the location of the Fiend Association. Kal Signer had been there multiple times. Information about the exact location was locked, but he’d been able to deduce the region.

Schumern… It’s not a big city.

It was a small, cheerful city where many people lived, and Kal Signer had gone there whenever he had business with the Fiend Association. He’d be able to verify this once he went up to the 2nd Floor.

Other than that, there wasn’t much else. The only thing that caught Seo Junho’s eyes was the fact that he’d been chased by Kim Woojoong for months.

That guy’s really stubborn. Even though he’s one of the Nine Heavens, he spent months chasing one person. It would be unwise to make him an enemy. As he smiled, a message appeared in front of him.

[Skill rank has increased from repeated use.]

[Confession of the Dead (C) has evolved to Confession of the Dead (B).]

“Huh?!” He grinned. That meant he’d be able to get more information in the future. He tried to use it on Kal Signer again.

[You have already read the target’s memories.]

“Can I not use it twice on the same target?” He sighed, but more messages popped up. He’d leveled up because of the skill rank increase.

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[All stats have increased by 2.]

[You have regained 4 Speed stats.]

[You have received 2 Stamina stats from ⟬Limit Breaker⟭’s effect.]

Seo Junho looked up at the sky, tired. His body was heavy, but he felt exhilarated.

“…I avenged you, Tushar Vishi.” Now, he could finally rest. “As for cleanup…”

It was impossible to do it alone, so he would probably have to ask Deokgu for help. He moved his finger.

“Clean up the corpse.” Fang of Darkness consumed Kal Signer’s body. Not a single drop of blood was left behind.

Seo Junho picked up a large bow off the ground. It was the only thing that had remained. The other weapons had been broken and destroyed when Fang of Darkness had consumed the automatic weapons.

“If I knew this would happen, I would’ve controlled it a little better. Oh well.”

He studied the blood-red bow.

「Final Horizon」

Grade: Unique

Force of arrow increased by 500%

Arrow speed increased by 1000%

When the bowstring is pulled all the way, the arrow can be shot to the end of the horizon.

Use Requirements: Level 40, 130 Strength, 130 Speed

“It’s sturdy. So that’s why it didn’t break.” He gave a dim smile and slowly stood up. He had run here, but he definitely needed to take a taxi back.

As he started to stand, he heard footsteps.

“…!” His body moved on its own, crouching down. Alarms went off in his head, sensing something dangerous. He was jittery from the aftermath of the battle, but a powerful force froze him in place.

“Certain scents can’t be concealed no matter how hard you try.” A voice came from beneath the trees. He knew that it was that man that was holding him in place. “Like the stench of fiends, or the Trace Incense.” It was a Unique-grade item that lets you find the target it was attached to no matter how far they went.

“I didn’t think you’d come down to Earth. I was wandering for a while because the scent disappeared.” As the man placed his hand on the sheath of his sword, the magic pressed harder on Seo Junho. It felt like there was a knife held to his neck.

A figure stepped out from the shadow of the trees. “Is that a disguise? Or an artifact? Well, it doesn’t matter.” His eyes were emotionless. “You can’t run away this time, Kal Signer.”

“…What?” His eyes widened. Am I dreaming?

The man before him had many names. He was a swordmaster, the Vicemaster of Silent Moon, and one of three players who were Counts in the Ruben Empire.

“…The Eighth Heaven.”

He was the Sword Saint, Kim Woojoong.