Return of the Frozen Player

Chief Jung continued to explain the situation as they walked, perhaps to demonstrate his competence.

“Maliva has a population of roughly 20,000, making it somewhere between a small and a medium-sized city.”

“It’s still considered a city even though it only has 20,000 people?” Seo Jun-Ho asked. On Earth, and specifically in South Korea, a settlement with a population of that size would only be considered a district at best.

“It’s easier if you think of it in terms of Europe during the Middle Ages. Back then, a settlement with a population of 40,000 was considered a large city.”

“Hm, it makes me uncomfortable to think that 20,000 people haven’t been able to sleep lately.” Rahmadat had a slight frown as he studied the crowds of people filling the streets. Even though something nonsensical was happening, no one was asking any questions.

There was definitely something creepy about this if you looked at it closely.

“We’ve arrived.”

There were two armored knights standing guard at the entrance of the lord’s mansion. Of course, they stopped the three men.

“Halt. It seems like you never get tired, Player.”

“How many times must you be rejected until you understand?”

The guards’ eyes narrowed when they saw Chief Jung. He was the Player that had been persistently asking to meet the city lord ever since two weeks ago.

“I’ve come today with my superior,” he said.

“Superior?”

The knights both looked at Rahmadat, and he shrugged. “Not me. Him.”

Without even confirming his words, Seo Jun-Ho took out the letter of recommendation and handed it over to them.

“This is...”

“This is most definitely a letter of recommendation with Viscount Hosen’s seal.”

“Please let us inside,” Seo Jun-Ho said. The knights looked a little flustered.

“Come now, Player. Can you return at a later time?”

“Milord has been terribly sick lately.”

“I won’t take up too much of his time,” Seo Jun-Ho reassured.

The knights pursed their lips at his stubbornness and let them pass. With their status, they couldn’t refuse entrance to someone carrying a letter of recommendation from the city lord.

As the three of them entered the courtyard, they encountered the butler.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had guests. I shall escort you from here on in.” Instead of a stereotypical old man, the butler was a young twenty-year-old man. He led them inside the living room, walking with dignified steps. “The Viscount will be with you shortly.”

“Understood.”

Jung Hyun sat down. He spoke as soon as the butler left the room, “What a surprise. To think he’s a butler at such a young age...”

“Is that all you’ve noticed?”

“Huh?” He simply blinked at Seo Jun-Ho’s question.

It was Rahmadat who laughed after taking a large gulp of tea. “Hehe, did you not say you invested tens of millions of dollars? I don’t know if it’s worth it.”

“...” Seo Jun-Ho pursed his lips; he didn’t know what to say. Jung Hyun only looked even more confused at that.

At that moment, a small old man entered the room while holding on to the butler’s arm. Seo Jun-Ho stood up immediately and bowed. “I am Player Seo Jun-Ho.”

“Player Rahmadat Khali.

“I am Player Jung Hyun.”

“I am... the head of Maliva...Viscount Hosen.”

“I’ve heard much about you,” Seo Jun-Ho said.

“Yes...I heard that you had a letter of recommendation...”

“Yes. I received it from Captain Gong from the Goblin Guild.”

“Ah... I see...” Viscount Hosen nodded. “Yes... And why did you want to meet with this old man...?”

“I wanted to ask you a few questions about the recent events that have been happening in Maliva.”

“Recent events... Are you referring to the status of sleeplessness...?”

“Yes. Do you have any suppositions as to what has been happening?”

“Suppositions... I do not...”

“...”

Seo Jun-Ho stopped, sensing that something was off. Hosen kept talking lethargically, and his eyes kept going in and out of focus. From a glance, he was clearly abnormal.

“Then, is that...all...?”

“Oh, there’s one more thing.” Seo Jun-Ho smiled brightly. “When I told him that I was coming to meet you, the city lord of Gilleon asked me to relay his thanks for the supplies you have provided for their reconstruction. He’ll probably send you another token of his gratitude.”

“Ah... The supplies, yes... We must help our neighbors.”

Rahmadat turned to Seo Jun-Ho. “What should we do?”

“...” His eyes were cold and sober as he placed down the teacup with a clack. He turned to Jung Hyun, and he could clearly see the unease on the latter’s face. “Chief Jung. Is this your first time witnessing something caused by a fiend?”

“E-excuse me?”

“It would be best if you start to get used to it.”

“I’ve decided.” As soon as the words left his mouth, Rahmadat leaped off of the sofa and ripped the butler’s head off in the time it took Jung Hyun to blink once.

“W-w-what...?” Jung Hyun stammered, as his face was splattered with sticky blood.

Seo Jun-Ho slowly stood as he spoke. “I asked you earlier if that was all you noticed.”

“...Pardon?”

“Is the blood warm?”

“H-huh...?” Jung Hyun grimaced as he wiped the blood off of his face. “It’s not... Blegh! The smell...!”

“It will smell like a corpse. That person hasn’t taken a single breath since we met him.”

The butler’s lungs had been contracting as if he were breathing, but there wasn’t actually any air coming out of his lungs. Part of the reason Seo Jun-Ho had laid the bait was that it was suspicious. After all, Phivir had told him there had been no word from Hosen.

‘And he fell for it...’

Hosen was still calm. When Seo Jun-Ho looked into his eyes, they looked like they were looking at something behind him, not at him.

“So, who is this bastard?”

“...Kik!”

Hosen had been solemn the whole time, but now, his lips had literally ripped wide. And blood dripped from the ends of his mouth.

“How did... You know...? Keke.”

“What a troublesome skill,” Rahmadat said as he observed the butler’s severed head. “As I thought, it’s a corpse. I think the citizens affected by the skill will probably end up like this too.”

“...Seeing how sloppy they were, I don’t think this is the head honcho.”

“It’s... Too late...” Hosen started to let out a low laugh. His shoulders started to shake as the three stared at him. “You’re all too late, late, late, late, la—”

Crack!

Rahmadat wrapped his thick forearm around Hosen’s neck, making him pass out. “How noisy.”

He then looked around. “I don’t think he was lying, though.”

“M-magic... No, it’s demonic energy!” Jung Hyun trembled. He was the weakest among them, but the demonic energy coming from the courtyard was so powerful that even he could feel it.

“...What is that?” Seo Jun-Ho muttered, frowning.

Rahmadat Khali was with them, and Seo Jun-Ho’s own skills were commendable as well. Their opponent shouldn’t be an idiot, so they should know this.

‘But the fact that they’re openly challenging us...’

It could only mean that they were that confident.

Once they exited the mansion, the three men instantly discovered the culprit.

“That... How...?” Jung Hyun froze when he saw the dark creature emanating demonic energy. It was crouched down in the courtyard and was so large it was impossible to look away from it. Its overwhelming aura was enough to make one tremble simply by being near it. “Is that a monster?”

“I don’t know what it is, but I know that’s the culprit,” Rahmadat said, sounding sure of himself. He had been wondering from the beginning as to what kind of benefit would the perpetrator gain from snatching away the citizens’ ability to sleep.

“I think... The fiend drank the blood of a mare and somehow combined that with his skill.”

“Keke, you’re smarter than I thought. That’s correct.”

The three of them turned. Next to the crouching creature was a man with a potbelly sitting on a palanquin. Beneath him, several burly men were carrying the palanquin, and they knelt down to lower it.

“You’re smarter than you look,” he said.

“What is this pig?”

“Ah, well... I am the Squadron Leader of Sloth, Piglet. Does that sound familiar?”

“A Squadron leader?!” Jung Hyun’s jaw dropped.

There were some fiends in the Fiend Association who were much stronger than the average fiend. Squadrons were apparently made up of such people. However, it was merely a popular urban legend.

‘It wasn’t just a rumor?’

The Big 6 had already heard of this information, but Moonlight was too new in the industry to have such information.

“And he’s not simply a Squadron member, he’s a Squadron leader...” As Jung Hyun gnashed his teeth, Rahmadat turned to Seo Jun-Ho.

“Hey, he said he’s a Squadron leader. Have you fought one before?”

“Actually, I’ve killed one. They aren’t much.”

Piglet’s scowled at Seo Jun-Ho’s nonchalant answer. “The Pride Squadron Leader was a weak bastard who never should have become a leader in the first place!”

“He told me he was ranked 37th within the Fiend Association.”

“Hmph, he even had a big mouth. The political move to promote him to Squadron leader had been quite problematic, as he wasn’t even in the top 10,” Piglet said, panting and wiping the sweat off of his forehead with a towel. “Whatever the case, your games end here.”

When Piglet gestured with his finger, the monster slowly rose. Standing straight, it looked to be about 4 meters tall.

“He seems pretty strong, despite how he looks...” Rahmadat muttered. He didn’t usually acknowledge his opponents like this, but the monster was radiating that much demonic energy. When looking at just the sheer amount of demonic energy, it seemed to have even more than the great Heavenly Demon.

‘Considering how pure-hearted he is as well... He’s just a piece of trash that only has his body as his capital.’

However, he was still a threat. Piglet petted the monster while saying, “Oh, isn’t she so pretty?”

“...Are you crazy?”

“No, I’m being serious. She is a symbol of peace and happiness.”

The gray monster had neither eyes, nose, nor ears. The only thing on its face was a large mouth.

“Look. The people in this town are happy, and I’m getting what I want as well.”

“...Can it really be called happiness when you forced them to be like this and live a lie?” Rahmadat asked.

“Why not? They won’t sleep until they die, and until then, they’ll spend plenty of time being happy.”

“And then they’ll turn undead and live as your minions.”

“Mm... Well, I think it’s a small price to pay for living a quiet, peaceful life.”

Rahmadat shook his head. It had been 26 years since he had spoken to a fiend, but he still couldn’t understand them. “I’ll kill you along with that ugly monster.”

“I’m not ugly! Do you only care about looks, you asshole?!” Piglet squawked as his victim complex kicked in. “She’ll eat, eat, and keep eating people’s dreams... And make me the chairman of the Fiend Association. My little treasure. Hehe.”

“...”

Seo Jun-Ho and Rahmadat exchanged looks.

‘I knew it.’

Seo Jun-Ho had been wondering how the chain of command was functioning after the Heavenly Demon’s disappearance. But based on Piglet’s remark, he could infer what was going on.

‘Like the Warring States Period... It must be something like that.’

Seo Jun-Ho took out the Sword of Ambition from his Inventory. But Rahmadat held out his muscular arm and stopped him.

“My body’s starting to get itchy, so let me have him.”

“Why?”

“Ahem. I am one of the 5 Heroes, Rahmadat Khali. Don’t you think my junior should step aside?”

“...Alright.”

If Jung Hyun weren’t there with him, Seo Jun-Ho would have never conceded. He clicked his tongue and sheathed his sword again.

“Kekeke, not even the three of you will be enough, but you’re gonna take turns? You must be crazy.” Piglet’s belly shook before giving out an order, “Now, Rosemary. Kill those lookist scum.”

“Geez. Its name is weirdly cute considering the way it—” Just as Rahmadat grinned, something shot past him.

“...Huh?”

At that, Jung Hyun let out a shrill cry next to Seo Jun-Ho. It felt like deja-vu because he had already experienced this earlier.

pαпᵈα-nᴏνɐ1·сóМ ‘But this time...’

It was warm.

“Rahmadat...-nim?” Jung Hyun mumbled, wiping off the blood that splattered all over his face.

In the time it took to blink, Rosemary had severed Rahmadat’s head, turning his body into a blood fountain.

“R-R-Rahmadat-nim!” he wailed.

“Stop making a fuss.”

“B-but Jun-Ho-nim, Rahmadat-nim was...”

“I didn’t say that,” Seo Jun-Ho said, side-eyeing Jung Hyun.

Jung Hyun was still trembling, unable to compose himself. “Huh? T-then who...”

“Oi, I told you to stop making a fuss. Toss my head over there,” Rahmadat’s head said from the ground, yawning.