Return of the Frozen Player

“Hah! Addicted, my ass. I’ll bet you a hundred demonic stones that I’m not a gambling addict.”

‘Gambling.’

“Hey, can I fight strong individuals here?”

“Hehehe, you came to the right place.”

‘Fighting.’

“This is the most recent drug around here. You’ll definitely be satisfied.”

“Hmm. It better be good or else…”

‘And drugs.’

Cologio was a city that had everything that demons loved. It was like a holiday gift set, so the city was always teeming with demons.

“...It’s huge,” Seo Jun-Ho said.

The city looked even bigger than the city where Gorgon resided.

- It seems like each city reflects their Count’s personality.

Gorgon and Orpheus did not particularly enjoy gambling, fighting, and drugs.

However, Lavue and Horizon were the opposite. For such a reason, it was only natural that large cities in the West and the East were much larger and had more entertainment facilities for the visitors to enjoy.

- Partner. The city is bigger than we expected. Can we really carry out the plan?

‘It’s definitely possible.’

Seo Jun-Ho actually thought it would be easier to achieve his goal using such a big city.

“Let’s go.”

Seo Jun-Ho was running out of time, as the Counts were definitely tracking him down at the moment.

Seo Jun-Ho down the streets filled with demons.

“Hey, did you hear about the rumor? Count Gorgon of the South was murdered.”

“Wait, what? Who killed him?”

“Who knows? The counts had declared the culprit as the public enemy of the Underworld, and they put a bounty on his head.”

“Yikes. Then it’s not just a simple rumor at this point.”

“Why don’t we look out for the culprit just in case? They say that the culprit deals with darkness.”

The news had already spread in the Underworld. Seo Jun-Ho knew that everyone would eventually discover Gorgon’s death, but the news had spread much faster than he thought.

‘I have to hurry.’

He had to achieve his goal before the Counts arrived at this city. Seo Jun-Ho entered a luxury residential complex located by the road, which looked fancier compared to other buildings on the streets.

His destination was the most splendid and enormous mansion among them.

Clang!

Seo Jun-Ho rang the bell at the front door, and someone appeared a moment later.

“I apologize for the inconvenience, but my master has given me instructions to refuse all visitors in the next few days. Please come back later,” said a man who looked like a butler of the mansion.

“Deliver this message to your master—I have brought a worm to soothe the crying cuckoo.”

“...Please come in,” said the butler. He led Seo Jun-Ho down a long corridor.

“Are you a guest from the South?” asked the butler.

How do you know?”

“I am Chavez, the butler of this mansion. I share my master’s will, but of course, I’m still not good enough to truly represent my master.” The butler led Seo Jun-Ho in front of a room and bowed. “I hope that good news is waiting for my lamenting master.”

“It won’t be bad news. That’s for sure.”

Seo Jun-Ho opened the door and entered the room.

He frowned at the strong smell of alcohol and drugs.

“Heh…he.”

A good-looking young man was lying on a sofa made out of demonic beast hide.

Seo Jun-Ho stood in front of the man and said, “Cannell Weiner.”

“Kehe, hehet!”

“Hmm.”

The young man was obviously not in the condition to chat.

Seo Jun-Ho froze his palm slightly and slapped the young man’s cheek.

Slap!

“Ah!”

The young man fell to the ground. He looked up at Seo Jun-Ho in a daze and started shouting, “What the… who are you?! Chavez! Chavez!”

Seo Jun-Ho sat down on the sofa across from the young man.

“Take a seat; stop such pathetic antics,” said Seo Jun-Ho with his leg crossed over the other.

“Who do you think you are, huh?! Wait, who are you?”

“Cannell Weiner, the Liberation Army’s cash cow. Sit down.”

“...!”

The young man’s unfocused eyes abruptly became clear. His aura instantly changed, and his eyes shot wide open as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him.

Click!

Pushing the button on the table at the speed of lightning, the man pulled out a gun-like weapon and aimed it at Seo Jun-Ho.

“Who are you? Identify yourself.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

“Where is Chavez? Did you kill him?”

“Who knows? Why don’t you ask him yourself?” replied Seo Jun-Ho with a smile.

Boom!

Cannell had pulled the trigger without hesitation, but the spinning demonic energy had stopped right in front of Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes.

“I wouldn’t have done that if I were you.”

“What is going on…”

Cannell gnashed his teeth out of frustration.

The weapon he was holding was called Demon Slayer, and it was capable of killing High demons in an instant. He barely managed to purchase it by spending two hundred thousand demonic stones at an auction.

“Sit down,” said Seo Jun-Ho while gesturing at the sofa with his chin. “I hate repeating myself twice, and I certainly won’t repeat myself thrice.”

Incredibly, the young man pointed the gun at his own temple and raised his middle finger at Seo Jun-Ho. “Fuck you, I won’t let—”

“...Master?” Chavez’ surprised voice echoed in the room.

Cannell turned to look at Chavez and asked incredulously, “Chavez. You’re still alive?”

“I’m certainly old, but I’m not old enough to die of a natural death just yet.”

“No, that’s not what I mean…”

Cannell stared at Seo Jun-Ho with confused eyes.

“What are you looking at?” Seo Jun-Ho asked.

“Well, you told me to ask him myself. So I thought you were telling me to ask him in the afterlife…”

“You have an active imagination.” Seo Jun-Ho took a sip of the tea that Chavez had brought and said, “You made me repeat myself thrice. Sit down.”

“...”

Cannell politely sat down, but he was still confused. He had let his guard down, but his eyes were still full of suspicion as he stared at Seo Jun-Ho.

“Sigh. Why is it so hard to have a normal conversation?”

“Where are you from? Seventh Division of the Eastern Army? Or are you an executioner directly under the Count’s command?”

“I think it’d be for the best if you cut back on thinking. You really have an active imagination.” Seo Jun-Ho gave Cannell serious advice and went on. “Cannell Weiner. I’m assuming you already heard about what happened in the South.”

“...I heard Count Gorgon died.”

“Yes, but nothing changes. You can continue what you’ve been doing.”

“What? But Gorgon is dead…”

“Does that matter?”

Cannell puffed his lips and muttered, “I mean, what if…”

“But what if…what? Did you really think that Gorgon would have protected you if you had gotten caught while he was still alive?”

Seo Jun-Ho snorted and flicked his finger. A transparent window manifested, and it revealed the figures of Haran and Gorgon.

- My lord. Will the Liberation Army really succeed?

- Those bugs don’t matter at all to me.

- Pardon? But if Count Lavue finds out that you’ve provided them with information…

- I’ve made my own preparations against that.

Gorgon’s cold eyes turned to Haran.

- I can just kill them all before they get caught.

The transparent window disappeared.

Cannell was trembling in anger. “Gorgon…!”

“You fool. Did you really think that he had decided to help you because he was impressed by your will?”

Cannell couldn’t retort at all. “But it’s all over now…”

“It’s not over. Keep doing what you’re doing.”

“How can I keep working without someone protecting me?”

“...”

Seo Jun-Ho wordlessly stared at Cannell for quite a while before standing up.

“So that’s the extent of your determination? All right, stop what you’ve been doing, then.”

Seo Jun-Ho stood up and started walking toward the door.

“What am I supposed to do, then?!” roared Cannell.

“...” Seo Jun-Ho came to a halt.

“I’m just a weak merchant! I have no power! And what can I do even if I join forces with those humans who are being treated as nothing more than slaves?”

“Why did you even decide to take revenge?” Seo Jun-Ho asked. He turned around to stare at Cannell before continuing. “Isn’t it for the sake of discovering why they were killed?”

“That’s…” Cannell bit his lips. His family and friends belonged to the so-called moderates. When the Underworld was reorganized into the Four Counts system, the moderates were slaughtered overnight.

Cannell managed to survive because he was away from his family and friends at the time by becoming a merchant.

“Your parents, brothers, sisters, and your friends. Did you not want to take revenge on Lavue? She murdered them all, right?”

“...”

“Listen carefully, merchant. Revenge is not like a deal where you lose one and gain one in return. It’s a path only those who are determined to either gain everything or lose everything can walk on.”

Seo Jun-Ho took a step toward Cannell and asked, “Decide now. Will you trust me and continue taking revenge? Or will you live a normal life as the owner of a merchant group?”

“I…” Cannell looked around. The luxurious room was filled with expensive items. Even if he gave up on taking revenge, he would be able to live a life of opulence until his death.

‘But…’

However, Cannell had long realized that there was no pleasure in such a life. He hadn’t been able to get rid of the emptiness in his heart after losing everyone close to him.

“...Let me ask you one thing.” Cannell looked at Seo Jun-Ho with a look of determination. “I don’t care about losing everything. All that matters is revenge. I don’t even care if I end up dying, so tell me—can it really be done?”

“It will be done.”

“How can you say for sure?”

“I killed Gorgon. I killed the man whose death you were grieving by getting high on drugs.”

“...!” Cannell’s eyes widened. “Y-you’re Underworld’s public enemy?!”

“They did put a few pennies on my head. Why? Do you covet the bounty?”

“No, I have a lot of money, but are you really…” Cannell trailed off. He was having a hard time believing the fact that Seo Jun-Ho was the public enemy of the Underworld, as the Counts were no different than gods to the demons.

“What I want is a one-on-one match against Lavue, and that is why I need you and the Liberation Army.”

“...I see.” Cannell’s eyes shone. His hunch as a merchant that he had honed for decades was telling him to invest everything in the man in front of him.

“What should I—no, what should we do first?”

“First of all…” Seo Jun-Ho shrugged and said, “Let’s spend some money.”

***

A few days later, an unbelievable rumor spread throughout Cologio.

“Hey, have you heard? The Cannell Merchant Group opened up their safe.”

“I heard, but are they preparing for some kind of war or what? Apparently, they’ve been signing contracts with all the demons in the Colosseum.”

“I heard that they\'ve already signed thousands of contracts.”

“Yeah. I heard that they’re going on a large-scale slave trading expedition to the West. They’ll earn a ton of money if they succeed.”

“Ah, I see. I guess that’s why they need so many guards.”

“I envy those strong enough to participate in the Colosseum fights. The Cannell Merchant Group has offered them double their original pay.”

The Cannell Merchant Group’s move created a huge aftereffect.

The Colosseum had to close down because their players had joined the merchant group. In just a few days, the Cannell Merchant Group had signed a contract with all the competent demons in the city, and they immediately headed to the West.

The crowded Cologio quickly became empty, making it appear as though the entire city was in the eye of a storm.