Return of the Frozen Player

“...”

However, Seo Jun-Ho did not even blink at the irksome sound.

‘On the left.’

As soon as he confirmed the location of the princess, who had just disappeared from his sight, Seo Jun-Ho lightly stomped the ground.

“Ice Wall.”

An opaque wall of ice rose like a mountain from the ground, separating Seo Jun-Ho and the princess in an instant.

“Don’t even think about it!”

Crashhhh!

The princess let out a fierce shout and easily blasted apart the wall with her fist.

“...Huh?”

But what was waiting for her as she broke through the ice wall was Seo Jun-Ho’s hand.

Seo Jun-Ho calmly grabbed the princess’ wrist and tugged.

Crack!

The princess landed on the floor head-first and broke her neck. This would’ve instantly killed most people, but that was not the case with her; even from that awkward position, she twisted her hips and kicked him.

“Hmm.”

Seo Jun-Ho blocked the attack with the back of his hand and took a step back with a frown.

The princess stumbled to get up and popped her dislodged vertebrae back into place.

“Hmm. I must admit you have more experience than I do, human. You are a veteran.”

Seo Jun-Ho did not fall behind the princess in terms of speed because he had entered the world of 400% Overclocking. Furthermore, he was ahead of her in terms of diversity and utilization of combat skills.

‘But I shouldn’t be relieved about that. It’s only natural that I am more experienced than her.’

Seo Jun-Ho had come all the way here by crossing the line between life and death numerous times. On the other hand, the princess had only dealt with terrified Overmind criminals at best; it was only natural that there was an experience gap between the two.

Seo Jun-Ho let out a light sigh.

‘Above all, the fact that she is basically immortal is much more annoying than I expected.’

The princess was not afraid to lose her life. Rather, if she could give Seo Jun-Ho a solid strike like just now, she would not hesitate to risk her life at all.

‘...It almost feels like I’m fighting against Rahmadat. She is a tricky enemy.’

Thanks to this, Seo Jun-Ho couldn’t help but feel complicated. After all, he was ultimately bound to lose if he fought simply to kill the enemy as he had done until now.

‘But it’s not like I can do anything about it.’

The reason was speed.

Seo Jun-Ho and the princess were exchanging dozens of attacks in the blink of an eye. For that reason, it was only natural that the speed of instinctive actions exceeded the speed of his conscious thought process.

‘I can’t help but attack her out of sheer instinct whenever I see an opening.’

That was the way Seo Jun-Ho had been living until now. He did not hesitate to stab and kill the enemy whenever he saw a gap in their defense, because that was usually the answer. After all, the battle was bound to end if he killed the opponent.

‘But…’

But against the bloody immortal monster, his answers were wrong and his ways rather put him at a disadvantage.

“I’ve already died seventeen times. It would have been really dangerous if it wasn’t for the power plant,” the princess said with a grin.

The princess was clearly being pushed back in every aspect, but the expression on her face seemed to speak otherwise.

“I wonder how many more times you’ll be able to kill me.”

Once he used a method to kill her, that method did not work a second time. In other words, the more they fought, the less of a chance Seo Jun-Ho had of winning.

‘This is just like when I fought Janabi.’

In other words, the enemy accumulated experience at a speed far exceeding common sense.

Seo Jun-Ho clenched and opened his fist again and again.

‘...Do the guys need more time?’

There was no sign that the power plant would be destroyed any time soon.

On the contrary, thirty minutes had already passed since the battle between Seo Jun-Ho and the princess began. Soon, it would be impossible for Seo Jun-Ho to maintain the state of 400% Overclocking.

“Damn it.”

Seo Jun-Ho tightly closed his eyes.

The time he had left was a little over two minutes at the most. In this frustrating situation, he had no choice but to fight with all his might and burn the last bit of gas he had in the tank.

“Hmm?”

The princess noticed that Seo Jun-Ho’s expression had changed.

“Hey, you. Seems like something happe—”

Slash!

Before she could finish her sentence, her face was marred by a long, bleeding gash left by a sword.

‘Ah?’

The princess was not given the time to open her wings and dodge. Seo Jun-Ho had not only limited her movement but also sped up his own movement by using the Wheel of Time(S) to accelerate.

‘Right now, with things being as they are…this princess still has no idea about my skills, and she can’t escape death no matter how much she struggles.’

Like an office worker single-mindedly doing his regular job, Seo Jun-Ho silently burst the princess’ heart, slashed her throat, froze her body, and cut her apart with his blade of darkness.

“...”

Seo Jun-Ho’s cruel methods left even Baek Geon-Woo surprised as the scale which he thought was balanced was unexpectedly tilting to one side.

‘More, more, more. If I kill her more rapidly, she might not be able to regenerate.’

The princess might not be able to regenerate if her cells and particles were eliminated as a whole. With that thought in mind, Seo Jun-Ho tightly clenched his teeth and frantically erased every bit of the princess like crazy.

“Huff, huff.”

Seo Jun-Ho managed to kill the princess four hundred and twenty-six times in just two minutes.

In front of Seo Jun-Ho’s brutal attacks, the cells which made up the princess could not last.

“...”

Gulp.

Baek Geon-Woo only swallowed dry, unable to say anything. Although everything seemed to be over at first glance, he felt that he would jinx it if he said so out loud. Thus, he just carefully looked around in silence.

‘It’s quiet. Wouldn’t she have revived by now if she could?’

After struggling with himself for a few seconds, Baek Geon-Woo slowly opened his mouth to call out to Seo Jun-Ho.

“Phew!”

At that moment, a strand of hair that was floating in the air expanded and formed a human shape. A woman wearing absolutely nothing stepped on the ground and breathed out a sigh of relief.

“You are much more stubborn than you look. I was worried that I would actually die for real this time.”

“...”

Seo Jun-Ho felt all the strength in his body draining out at the sight. But that wasn’t just due to the disappointment which came from not being able to kill her for good.

‘Damn it.’

He was now in such an exhausted state that he could no longer maintain the 400% Overclocking.

The princess’ expression changed in an instant.

“Hmm?”

She scanned Seo Jun-Ho from head to toe with a sharp look and confirmed that the amount of energy he was emitting had dramatically decreased.

‘Is this some sort of a trap?’

Of course, there was no reason for the princess to contemplate, as she could easily find out by attacking him.

‘He killed me a few hundred times anyway. Might as well vent a little.’

The princess licked her lips in satisfaction. Then something long and sharp popped out of her hip bone—something that resembled a scorpion’s tail stinger rather than the stinger of a bee.

“This will sting a little.”

Fwoosh!

The stinger stretched out in an instant, aiming for Seo Jun-Ho’s heart.

‘...!’

The Overclocking Seo Jun-Ho could currently maintain was 150% at best. That aside, Seo Jun-Ho still had his vision, and he was clearly aware of the oncoming attack. This was possible because he had fully prepared himself with Wheel of Time and the Power to Freeze.

‘Damn it!’

However, no matter how clearly he saw the attack, the difference in sheer speed meant he had no chance of dodging.

Banggggg!

“Keuk!”

Seo Jun-Ho slumped to the ground when he was helplessly thrown away like a bowling ball.

He quickly fumbled his chest, but neither was there any wound nor did he feel pain.

When he raised his head, he could see a wide back in front of him.

“Geon-Woo-hyung…”

“You’ve fought well. Good job. I appreciate it.”

Baek Geon-Woo showed a trustworthy smile and nodded.

“Leave the rest to me now.”

“...Be careful. She is very strong.”

Seo Jun-Ho could not hide the look of concern on his face.

‘I feel bad about saying this…but Geon-Woo-hyung is no match for the princess.’

Having fought the princess himself, Seo Jun-Ho could tell that Baek Geon-Woo would be pushed back as time passed—and his prediction was spot on.

“I thought you got something special because you were just watching from behind all this time, but…there’s nothing much to see about you.”

The princess quickly lost her interest in Baek Geon-Woo. Even during the fight, her eyes were fixated on Seo Jun-Ho.

‘That guy is a much tastier enemy than this one. He is a stronger enemy.’

The desire to prey on the stronger, unique to the Atonic Bee, was making her crave Seo Jun-Ho.

‘Damn it.’

Seo Jun-Ho took cover, then quickly opened his inventory and poured the highest-level potion over his head.

Splash!

Then he immediately iced his magic circuits by using the Frost skill to cool off.

‘The torn circuits and musclesare slowly recovering now, so…’

Seo Jun-Ho figured that he might be able to use the 400% Overclocking once more if Geon-Woo could hold out for ten more minutes.

‘Of course, I won’t be able to use it as long as I did earlier.’

Rather, the time he could maintain the Overclocking would be ridiculously short. Chances were that the time wouldn’t be measured in minutes but seconds.

‘But even that is enough if the main army destroys the power plant and we can make sure that she will never be resurrected again. I will be the one to kill her.’

Seo Jun-Ho curled up and glared at the princess in silence. In spite of his incredible exhaustion, his eyes were burning fiercely more than ever.

“Ptui! Damn it!”

Baek Geon-Woo spat out curses. The battle felt completely different from when he was watching Seo Jun-Ho and the princess.

‘...Was Jun-Ho really at an advantage over this monster?’

The monster in front of him ignored his lightning even if it hit her in the face. She seemed like an insurmountable wall.

‘Damn it. Master. Are you sure I can help? Well, buying him some time is kind of a help, I guess.’

Baek Geon-Woo snapped his fingers. He was feeling rather insignificant.

‘If I am not even competent enough to fight and I can only buy some time at best…the least I can do is buy enough time.’

Baek Geon-Woo released the entire lightning energy inside him at once.

“Let the dragon of lightning shake the world.”

‘Lightning-Class, Final Skill, Thunder Dragon Shakes the Heavens.’

“...!”

The princess opened her eyes wide for the first time since the battle with Baek Geon-Woo started. The giant golden dragon that filled the entire basement was threatening even in her eyes.

The princess nodded.

“I see. So this is what you’ve been hiding.”

The golden dragon rushed toward the princess, caught her in its jaws, and threw her against the basement wall.

“Huff, huff.”

Baek Geon-Woo breathed heavily. He was a mess, and he knew that there was no way an enemy who did not even die from her whole body being shredded down to cellular level would die from this attack.

‘But if I can slow down her recovery…’

Baek Geon-Woo’s gaze turned to the opposite wall where the dust rose from. When the cloud of dust slowly cleared, a silhouette appeared on the ground.

‘What’s going on? Did she recover already…? Wait. That’s not it.’

Baek Geon-Woo hurriedly threw himself back after confirming what the silhouette was.

Buzz!

His retreat had been fast, but an instant later, he felt the left side of his body burning.

“Well you’re quick witted, aren’t you?”

“Ugh…”

Baek Geon-Woo fell down on the spot and grabbed the side of his abdomen. Blood and guts flowed out from the grievous wound.

“...Did you use that as a lightning rod?”

The princess no longer had a scorpion tail—the tail was now lying down somewhere in the distance.

“I see…you have the genes that allow you to absorb electricity.”

Baek Geon-Woo understood that the princess had simply cut off her tail and thrown it as bait to the golden dragon, then attacked him before he even realized it.

‘...I lost.’

It was his perfect defeat, both in strategy and in skill.

However, he felt more resentment and regret than fear.

‘I should have done everything to buy some more time…’

Seo Jun-Ho had managed to drag on the fight for thirty-two minutes. On the other hand, Baek Geon-Woo had only dragged the time by about nine minutes at most.

Tap, tap.

The barefoot princess approached Seo Jun-Ho.

‘If only I can eat this guy…I can take that half-step I’ve been looking forward to so much.’

The sense of exaltation made the princess’ heart beat for the first time in hundreds of years.

“I won’t…let you…”

“...”

For some reason, the princess felt extremely bothered and annoyed by the random human holding onto her ankle even as he was dying.

“I’m sorry, but this is not the time for a brat like you to step in.”

The princess clicked her tongue and stomped on Baek Geon-Woo’s wrist.

“Aaarrrrrghhhh!”

The wrist was instantly shattered, and the hand naturally let go of her ankle. However, Baek Geon-Woo let go of his deep wound and grabbed her ankle with his other hand.

“...Hah.”

Beyond being irritated, the princess was simply dumbfounded. With a cold gaze, the princess looked down at the worm-like human crawling at her feet.

“It seems that you really wish to die. I can grant you that wish.”

She slowly raised her leg. The moment she was about to stomp on Baek Geon-Woo and crush his head to pieces, however, she flinched and suddenly came to a stop.

“...!”

The reason was simple.

‘The…power plant…?’

The power plant, which had been connected to her and provided her with endless force, had just been destroyed.

In other words, the immortality she had boasted about was no more.

‘Those damn incompetent bastards! I can’t believe they couldn’t protect the power plant!’

The princess clicked her tongue and immediately turned around. She no longer had the time to waste on killing Baek Geon-Woo.

‘I need to eat the stronger one.’

The princess’ anxiety would only be resolved by eating Seo Jun-Ho and reaching the Star Destruction Stage.

Buzz!

The princess’ wings fluttered wildly. Breaking through the speed of light in an instant, the princess flew toward Seo Jun-Ho.

“...”

Meanwhile, Seo Jun-Ho was picking himself up.

‘No, I’m still the one who has the advantage.’

Not only was the opponent’s posture awkward, but he also did not feel as strong as he used to.

“Just stay down and let me eat you!”

Swoosh!

In an instant, the princess’ fingernails crossed the space between them and dug deeply into Seo Jun-Ho’s chest.

‘I finally killed him.’

The princess’ eyes flashed with joy.

The opponent had raised his hand to prevent the attack, but it was already too late.

No matter what he did, there was no way he could stop her fingernails that had already dug into his flesh.

The princess was certain that she had won as she confirmed that the opponent hadn’t regained the strength he had used before.

‘Ah. Finally, I can take the last step to—’

Just as a bright smile illuminated the princess’ face, her hand passed through the opponent’s body as if it was made of air, and Seo Jun-Ho dissolved into darkness.

“...?”

‘Darkness?’

At the same time, she sensed the same strong energy she had felt earlier, but from behind her back.

“You said you wanted to know, right?”

Seo Jun-Ho snatched the Twilight Sword that had just taken shape in the air.

“It was four hundred and forty-four times.”

Slash!

‘Ah…’

The world began to spin like crazy. And among the whirlpool of images that flooded her eyes, the princess could see her own headless body falling on the floor.

“I mean, that’s how many times I killed you.”

Roooaarrr!

The Watchguards of Darkness soared up from the darkness, mercilessly consuming her without leaving a single strand of hair behind.