Chapter 530: Corrupt Star (7)

Seo Jun-Ho's vision was blurry, but he could vaguely make out someone's shimmering back profile.

'Rahmadat...?'

Rahmadat's back wasn't that small. So why? Why was he excited and emotional to see that not-so-wide back?

'Is it because of the smell?'

There was a faint metallic smell in the air, and Seo Jun-Ho was familiar with that smell. It was the smell of the man he had been missing and had permanently occupied a corner of his heart and mind.

"Master?" Seo Jun-Ho's hesitant and trembling voice echoed as tears welled up in his eyes. The man in front of him smelled like his master. "Is it really you, Master...?"

As far as he could remember, his master—the Thunder God—had given him as much as he could give, but the Thunder God had passed on before he could repay him.

The figure turned around and smiled faintly. "It's been a while, junior brother."

Seo Jun-Ho forgot his physical condition and sprang up.

"Geon-woo hyung?!" Seo Jun-Ho forgot his injuries and sprang up. "Argh!"

Bzzzt!

Baek Geon-Woo inexplicably appeared next to him and stopped him from falling.

"Don't overdo it, just sit down."

"...Is it really you, Geon-woo hyung?"

"Yes. It's really nice to see you again," replied Baek Geon-Woo.

Seo Jun-Ho took in Baek Geon-Woo's entire figure.

Now that he was seeing him up close, Seo Jun-Ho became sure of it. The man in front of him was Baek Geon-Woo, his one and only senior brother. He had shared the joys and sorrows of life with their late master.

"Where in the world...? Just where in the world have you been...?"

Seo Jun-Ho became sorrowful. To avenge his master, Seo Jun-Ho had killed a myriad of fiends, but until now, Baek Geon-Woo had been missing.

"I-I thought you made a wrong decision..." Seo Jun-Ho thought that Baek Geon-Woo might have embarked on a suicide mission to avenge their master. Therefore, Seo Jun-Ho also looked for traces of Baek Geon-Woo from the fiends' memories.

"It's a long story." Baek Geon-Woo scratched his cheek and smiled bitterly. "And it's a much longer story than you can imagine..."

"Just what have you been doing...?"

"I was trying my best." Baek Geon-Woo stared at his hands longingly. "I wanted to carry Master's legacy."

Seo Jun-Ho blinked.

However, he couldn't ask any more questions after recalling their current situation.

"Did you come here by yourself? Those guys are strong—they are the generals of this empire."

"Don't worry," said Baek Geon-Woo.

He sounded so confident that Seo Jun-Ho had to take a closer look at him, and he saw it—Baek Geon-Woo was covered with scars. The time, patience, and pain he had to have experienced to sustain those scars were conveyed to Seo Jun-Ho.

"Go rest."

Baek Geon-Woo's voice sounded warm, and it made Seo Jun-Ho feel as though he had returned to his mother's arms. Seo Jun-Ho's eyelids closed as the accumulated fatigue finally caught up to him.

***

Upon confirming that Seo Jun-Ho was fast asleep, Baek Geon-Woo stood up.

Bocello—a general of Babella—spoke, "Are you done talking?"

"You speak Korean?"

"I have mastered your language. Overminds are more than capable of doing that."

Bocello put his halberd on his shoulder and raised his chin. "I don't really like to get interrupted while I'm fighting, so if there are other people hiding, then you should tell them to come out."

"Relax. I'm here by myself," replied Baek Geon-Woo.

"Really?"

Baek Geon-Woo nodded.

'He's fast, but I've never seen him in any of the reports...'

In other words, he shouldn't be that strong.

All of a sudden, a fellow general—Bamon—walked up to him.

"Let's work together."

"What? Together?"

Bocello frowned. They only had one opponent, and their opponent wasn't even in the reports, but Bamon actually wanted to fight two versus one?

Bocello expressed his displeasure. "Hey, turtle. I know you like to play it safe, but this is going too far."

"What has gone too far is your conceit." Bamon retorted. "His speed is dangerous."

"Sure, but if you're wrong, then I will hold you accountable for this humiliation," Bocello growled and abruptly swung his halberd.

Baek Geon-Woo muttered, "Thunder Body."

It was a skill that allowed him to transform his body into a physique capable of housing an element beyond the five elements.

- Y're going to wield lightning, so ya have to maintain this even when yer asleep, got it?

'I finally understand.'

The disciple was dumb and a laggard, so it took him a long time.

However, the disciple finally understood.

Bzzt, bzzzzt!

Baek Geon-Woo's lightning burst out.

"Aargh!"

"Bocello!" Bamon screamed.

Bocello stiffened and melted into liquid upon being struck by lightning.

'Slime?'

Baek Geon-Woo scanned the ground coldly. It was raining, so it was impossible to distinguish between slime and water.

"...I don't have to know the difference," he muttered indifferently before putting his palms. "The dragon of thunder shakes the world..."

A vast amount of magic and thunder energy burst out of him.

Roooarr!

A huge thunderbolt in the shape of a dragon rose. The dragon was so overwhelmingly massive that it would easily instill fear into all living creatures. Baek Geon-Woo's gaze decided the dragon's path.

"Thunder Dragon Shakes the Heavens..."

Rumble!

There was a flash of lightning as the dragon collided with the ground.

Boom!

"Aaargh!" Bamon screamed upon being electrocuted. The marching troops of the two generals abruptly came to a halt as well.

'I don't think they'll chase us...'

Baek Geon-Woo had been protecting Rahmadat and Seo Jun-Ho with his magic, and he finally picked them up when he confirmed that the troops were intimidated enough.

His lengthy training had strengthened him, but he still wasn't confident that he could defeat thousands of troops, considering that each of them was comparable to an elite Player.

'To think that he's strong enough to deal with two army divisions by himself—it's really unbelievable.'

Of course, Seo Jun-Ho had always been capable of accomplishing the impossible.

Baek Geon-Woo smiled while looking at his junior brother.

Bzzt!

He turned into a bolt of lightning that quickly disappeared into the horizon.

***

Seo Jun-Ho felt weightless as he opened his eyes slowly.

'Where am I?'

When Seo Jun-Ho came to his senses, the platform he was standing on plummeted.

He reacted instinctively, but he froze when he realized where he was standing.

'The clouds?'

Seo Jun-Ho found himself standing on an island high in the sky.

He was surrounded by clouds that he usually had to look up to see.

Seo Jun-Ho was confused, but he hurriedly started shouting, "Frost? Frost...! Intuition? Geon-Woo hyung! Rahmadat!"

He couldn't see anyone else, but he suddenly felt someone's presence behind him.

"Oh, It's me. Don't be surprised. I'm just glad to see you."

"...Sir Hart, how are you—" Seo Jun-Ho trailed off upon seeing that Hart's figure seemed to be translucent.

Hart scratched his cheek, seemingly embarrassed. "I'm confused as well. I didn't expect that I'd get to talk to you like this, my lord."

"But, Sir Hart, aren't you..."

'Dead?' Seo Jun-Ho didn't dare to say it out loud.

However, Hart nodded as if he had seen through Seo Jun-Ho's thoughts.

"Of course, I'm dead. Do I look alive?"

Hart's figure was certainly translucent.

Hart said, "I have no idea why, but you're translucent as well..."

"Yeah... why am I—wait, could it be that...!"

Seo Jun-Ho's eyes quivered violently, and he examined himself to find that his figure was also translucent.

Seo Jun-Ho was devastated as he asked, "Sir Hart... did I die in my sleep?"

"No, as far as I know, you should still be alive."

"But, why...?"

"Well, won't it be faster for us to just ask the owner of this place?" replied Hart.

The owner? Now that he thought about it, Seo Jun-Ho wasn't familiar with this place.

He looked around and saw stars everywhere.

"..." Seo Jun-Ho wordlessly made eye contact with Hart, and he nodded before moving over to the nearby staircase. His bare feet could feel solid feedback from the dusty stone steps.

'This is...'

Seo Jun-Ho climbed up the stairs and saw a small fountain and a garden.

"It looks like it has been abandoned for a long time."

"Indeed, there's too much dust, and it seems that everything has been corroded by time."

The fountain was dry, and the flowers in the garden were dead.

"..."

Seo Jun-Ho didn't know why, but he felt sad at the sight.

Hart stood there and pointed at a new staircase up ahead.

"This is as far as I'm allowed to go. You should climb those stairs on your own."

"Thank you."

"It's fine, I enjoyed our meeting after such a long time."

With that, Seo Jun-Ho left Hart and slowly climbed up the stairs.

There was a temple similar to the Parthenon beyond the stairs.

"That's enough."

A cold and crisp voice interrupted him.

Seo Jun-Ho looked up and saw someone at the top of the stairs.

'Why is her skin glowing...?'

The individual at the top of the stairs was a woman in a black suit. Her blonde hair was so long that it lay on the floor, and there was a halo behind her head.

"Don't come up. I feel like my temple will get desecrated."

Clack, clack.

The blonde-haired woman with a dignified bearing came down the stairs, and she stared deeply at Seo Jun-Ho as if she were evaluating a product.

"Hmm... Tsk." The blonde-haired woman clicked her tongue, seemingly dissatisfied with something. However, her expression soon turned grave.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" asked Seo Jun-Ho.

"According to the words of your people, I am what you call an Administrator."

The Administrator of the 7th Floor!

Seo Jun-Ho hadn't even digested the reveal just yet, but the blonde-haired woman continued. "I'll keep it short because there's not enough time. I'm currently in an extremely bad situation. The desecrator is keeping tabs on me, so I could only call your soul here."

"What? Who dares to keep tabs on an Administrator?"

"The emperor," said the blonde-haired woman. Afterward, she took out a map and added. "I have no choice but to leave this up to you because my apostle is busy. You better prioritize what I am about to say."

"Oh, okay..."

The map depicted the entire continent, and there were three 'X' marks on the map.

"The foul thing actually took away my holy relics. Without my holy relics, I am nothing more than a scarecrow."

"Even though you are an Administrator?" asked Seo Jun-Ho, seemingly doubtful.

The blonde-haired woman frowned. "If it hadn't been for those demons, I would have been the one running Frontier."

"Frontier? Isn't Reiji in charge of Frontier?"

"No, she's my r-r-re..." the blonde-haired woman stuttered.

"Replacement?" concluded Seo Jun-Ho.

"Yes, she's my replacement. I was supposed to be in charge of that place."

Was that why Reiji was always talking about her retirement?

Seo Jun-Ho stared at the map and asked, "What exactly should I do at these marked places?"

"I want you to destroy all their crucial facilities and retrieve the holy relics. Once you've completed that, I'll finally be able to use my authority as an Administrator. Come to think of it, you destroyed one of their crucial facilities."

"I did?"

"Yes, the Radio Tower. Unfortunately, the holy relic there disappeared before it could be recovered..."

That made sense. Even Skaya had no idea how one could ensure that everyone throughout such a vast continent would hear one's voice, but now, it seemed that the holy relic had been powering the Radio Tower.

Seo Jun-Ho was curious, so he asked, "Do the other Administrators have their own holy relics?"

"What? The reason I have holy relics is that I am a higher existence than them. I even have three holy relics," replied the blonde-haired woman. She suddenly started looking around before she finally said, "Anyway, just remember what I said. We're running out of time, so you're dismissed."

"O-okay, ah...." Seo Jun-Ho was startled to see himself scattering into innumerable light crystals.

"Administrator-nim, may I know your name?"

"..." The blonde-haired woman at the top of the stairs stared begrudgingly at Seo Jun-Ho before responding, "Helic. I am the Sun God Helic—the master of all light."

***

"..." Seo Jun-Ho opened his eyes and saw a dull and damp gray ceiling.

'Where... am I?'

Seo Jun-Ho could still remember how the Frost Queen created a grave of Overminds, but what happened afterward? Oh, he somehow met the Administrator of the 7th Floor.

Seo Jun-Ho scoured his memories, and he abruptly sprung up.

"Geon-Woo hyung!"

His senior brother had definitely appeared on the battlefield, but what happened afterward?

"Damn it!"

Clack! Clack! Clark!

The handcuffs on his limbs and the bars in front of him made it clear where he was.

'Did I end up getting caught?'

No, that couldn't be... Otherwise, why did the Administrator give such a heavy duty to someone who had already been captured?

Seo Jun-Ho bit his lips as the cogs in his mind churned to think of a way out.

"Oh, you're up?" said Skaya. She opened the doors to the jail cell and walked inside.

Seo Jun-Ho was flustered. "What? They caught you, too?"

"Huh? Caught? We're in the headquarters."

"The headquarters?" He pointed at the handcuffs and the bars with his chin. "What are these, then?"

"I made them. This is an illusion I made with my spells." Skaya clapped her hands lightly, and the jail cell peeled away into an ordinary-looking room. She walked over to Seo Jun-Ho and uncuffed him before staring at him cheekily.

"Did your heart sink? You could have gotten captured, you know?" she said.

Seo Jun-Ho shut his mouth. He had nothing to say. It was true that he had collapsed from exhaustion, and it seemed that he had been asleep for a long time.

"I'm not taking the piss here. If it hadn't been for our Deok-Gu, the emperor would have dissected you by now."

"Deok-Gu?"

"Deok-Gu sent your senior brother here."

'I see...' Seo Jun-Ho nodded and said, "I did tell Yeon to ask for reinforcements."

The original plan was to detonate a bomb in Gulat and sweep through the city with reinforcements.

Seo Jun-Ho asked, "What happened in Gulat?"

"If we consider just the results, then we won by a landslide. After all, the whole city has been devastated. However, the counterattack of the Capital Defense Guards and the Archmage is a bit fiercer than expected, so the Players are retreating as we speak."

"A retreat... Will it be fine?"

"More than ninety percent of the Players have already retreated successfully, so the rest should be coming back soon."

Seo Jun-Ho nodded. If that was the case, then it was a relief.

"The entire city has actually been devastated? Just how many reinforcements did we receive?"

"We received about 2,800 people."

"2,800?!" Seo Jun-Ho's eyes widened at the unexpected number. He expected to receive a thousand reinforcements at most.

"I didn't know that we had so many Players on the 7th Floor?"

"Well, it's all thanks to you."

"Thanks to me?"

"The Players broke through their bottlenecks using the martial arts that you have been selling on the 5th Floor," explained Skaya.

"Ah!" Seo Jun-Ho nodded. It made sense.

Skaya smiled brightly. "I thought I was already familiar with you, but it seems that I was mistaken. Anyway, Jun-Ho, were you always looking that far ahead?"

"No, well... I guess," said Seo Jun-Ho. He couldn't say that he had decided to pay the Players with martial arts rather than credits because he wanted to earn as many credits as he could on the 5th Floor.

However, Seo Jun-Ho still felt guilty, so he decided to change the subject.

"How much damage did we sustain?"

"Well, we did suffer a lot," said Skaya.

They lost a total of 128 Players in the Battle of Gulat. It was a great loss that couldn't be glossed over by comparing the number of casualties on the enemy's side.

"Anyway, I'm glad that you're already awake. Meanwhile, the idiot lump of meat has already eaten four meals."

"How is he?"

"Well, he's all smiles, and he's trying to relax after going through so much torture. However, I actually don't know what he feels inside," Skaya said. She was saying that even though Rahmadat looked fine on the outside, he was probably suffering inside.

"Anyway, I have one more piece of good news." Skaya grinned and said, "A group of Players on their way to the headquarters found Si-Eun, and they came here together. Isn't that great?

"Oh, no wonder." Seo Jun-Ho nodded. He had been feeling like he had received Cha Si-Eun's treatment, and it seemed that it was truly the case. After all, he wasn't suffering as much as he expected, so Cha Si-Eun had definitely fixed him up.

"...What about Gilberto and Mio?"

"We still haven't received any news about those two, but I'm sure they're safe. Anyway, I'm sure that the empire cannot treat us lightly anymore. In other words, they'll take the initiative to look for us."

There were still many Players out there, but Seo Jun-Ho decided to be satisfied with the results that they had achieved so far.

"Yeah, everything will be fine."

However, it seemed that Seo Jun-Ho was mistaken because an invasion disguised as a hospital visit was conducted with Rahmadat at the helm.

"I guess I can say that their friendship is solid. I was honestly moved."

"Did you cry?"

"Hmm? I didn't cry because my tear glands were dry," said the Frost Queen. "However, I definitely looked like I wanted to cry because this lump's expression was so pitiful, especially when he said—Jun-Ho, I think this is it."

"Brat, stop talking nonsense," protested Rahmadat.

Seo Jun-Ho had no idea why they were talking in his room, but Seo Jun-Ho didn't dislike it. They had always been chasing after him, so it was nice that they had a space where they could laugh while talking to each other without any burdens on their shoulders.

"Ms. Chae-Won."

"..."

"Ms. Son Chae-Won?"

"...Oh, yes? Did you call me?" Son Chae-Won emerged from her reverie and looked up. She smiled apologetically and said, "I'm sorry. I'm just worried about Woo-Joong."

"He still hasn't returned?"

"No—Well, he's probably helping the others retreat. He wants to be like a certain someone," said Son Chae-Won.

"...?" Seo Jun-Ho repeatedly blinked, seemingly confused. However, Son Chae-Won found even Seo Jun-Ho's blinking to be a bit too similar to Kim Woo-Joong's confused blinking.

Son Chae-Won shrugged and said, "I think we did great, so what's the next plan?"

"First of all, we will gather the scattered Players." The moment they all got together would be the moment they would raise their banners and lay siege to the empire.

"And it won't take long..." Seo Jun-Ho muttered with bright eyes.

***

The air was ghastly in the graveyard, and the thick fog of dawn made it feel even eerier.

The Heavenly Demon's hands were behind him as he said, "I just want to teach him a lesson."

"..." A kneeling man wordlessly glared at the Heavenly Demon. His comrades, who were supposed to return to the headquarters with him and celebrate, had become headless ghosts of the graveyard.

"He has so many people he considers precious. In other words, he has so many people to protect."

Perhaps—no, the Heavenly Demon was sure of it. He was sure that the harsh lesson he was about to teach Seo Jun-Ho would make the latter cry. The corners of the Heavenly Demon's mouth curled up as he imagined such a scene.

"Do you really think that my death will cause him to collapse?"

"I don't think so, but I'm sure that he'll be furious."

The Heavenly Demon walked over to the kneeling man.

He took out a small pocket knife from his pocket and slashed his palm open.

Grab!

The Heavenly Demon forcibly opened the kneeling man's mouth.

"And don't you think he'll be quite sad about killing a fallen friend with his own hands?"

"U-ugh! Uaaahhh!" The kneeling man struggled to no avail.

Drip, drip, drip...

The Heavenly Demon's blood landed on the kneeling man's tongue before going down his throat.

"Kuk, ugh, ahhh!" screamed the kneeling man as his eyes turned bloodshot.

The Heavenly Demon smiled at the sight. "It seems that the title Sword Demon has become more apropos for you rather than Sword Saint."

~

- End of Season 2 -

~

*Author's Note*

Hello, I'm Jerry M.

The Frozen Player Returns. The second part of 'FPR" has been completed as of April 23. The remaining episodes include finishing the seventh floor and the eighth, ninth and tenth floors. There are still human relationships and the finale that needs to be solved, so I'm going to take some time to organize and reflect on it. I'm not just playing around and resting. It is to refine the plot that had only been set up and run continuously until the completion. Another purpose is to regain my physical strength and mental strength that had recently fallen to the bottom.

Once again, I would like to thank the readers who have read the first and second parts of 'FPR' so far. Then I'll try to come back around June with higher quality, more interesting stories, and more thrilling covers and illustrations. Take care of your health, readers!

From Jerry M.