The Heavenly Demon looked down at the ground with a bored expression.

“G-gueh…” The Thunder God threw up blood. It was hard to describe the horrible state he was in. His two legs were severed, and his two arms were also cut off from the shoulder.

“...”

However, his body still writhed, refusing to give up. He was trying to stand up and keep fighting.

The Heavenly Demon watched the spectacle as he sat on a rock.

“Just lay down. You have fought very well,” he advised.

The sky couldn’t make a tiny strand of thunder, let alone a roaring dragon of lightning.

“You have lost too much blood as well.”

However, the Thunder God’s internal injuries were the worst. The injuries he had received 6 years ago had been ticking time bombs, and as the battle intensified, they had quickly started to eat away at his vitality.

“...”

The Thunder God could barely hold on even in the beginning, and with such a handicap, he had never been a match for the Heavenly Demon. While the Heavenly Demon had become even stronger in the past 6 years, the Thunder God was in a weakened state.

“All humans become old, sick, and weak in the end… Though, someone as powerful as you may be described as something other than human.”

They were such ephemeral creatures. The Heavenly Demon looked down at the Thunder God regretfully. “You refused me the last time I offered, but what about now?”

“Ha… Hehehe…” He laughed uncannily. “You’re… Tellin’ me… To drink… The dirty demons’ blood?”

“Are you not afraid of death? You can become young again. You can even regain the power of your prime days.”

“Forget it… Never…”

The Thunder God was not afraid of death, nor did he have any desire to live beyond the providence of nature.

“I suppose that this is the limit, even for you.”

“Kehehe… Ya sure talk a lot… For a stupid kid… Who’s afraid of an old man like me…”

“You misunderstand me greatly. On the contrary, I merely offered you an opportunity.”

The Heavenly Demon had given the Players plenty of time to become powerful. However, the most powerful among them had become weak after only a short amount of time.

“Be… afraid. Not of an old man like me… But their claws… Will rip you apart.”

“Hm.” A few people came to mind. “Shin Sung-Hyun and Kim Woo-Joong…are you referring to those people?”

“Ha, haha!” Even as he bled, the Thunder God didn’t stop laughing even though there wasn’t anything funny. It disturbed the Heavenly Demon.

“...Why are you laughing?”

“Their claws… are already against your neck…and ya haven’t even noticed… are you a dumbass?”

Claws? Against his neck? The Heavenly Demon thought for a second and spoke again, “Are you referring to your student?”

“Oh, Geon-Woo…My Geon-Woo… He is magnificent…” A soft smile spread on the Thunder God’s face.

There were many times that he felt angry and frustrated because of the student he raised in his latter years. However, he was still happy. Baek Geon-Woo still had a long way to go, but when the time came, he would spread his wings and take to the sky.

‘I won’t be able to see that…’ 

He had wanted to tell Baek Geon-Woo that he was proud of him and thank him for following him better than he had expected, but he had held back earlier because Baek Geon-Woo might sense that something was wrong. Now, he realized that he should have told him anyway.

The Thunder God swallowed a bitter laugh and continued. “You… Know nothing…”

The Heavenly Demon didn’t know that Baek Geon-Woo wasn’t the only weapon that he had prepared. He didn’t know that the Thunder God had a second student who was even sharper than the one he had raised for years.

‘Course, I dunno if that rascal thinks of me as his master…’ 

Now that he thought about it, the kid had promised to buy him a drink. And there were things he wanted to tell him as well.

The Thunder God blinked his eyes. His consciousness was starting to fade.

“...”

The Heavenly Demon stared down at his barely-breathing figure. Even if he asked any more questions, he would no longer be able to answer.

“How boring.”

When he stood, all the Fiend Association executives kneeled.

“Where shall we escort you?”

“Where… Where to, indeed…” the Heavenly Demon muttered, looking across the Wailing Mountains.

There was nowhere to go. The emperor had unsheathed his sword, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers had marched to Outland. Their predecessors had once escaped here after being chased out of Earth, and now they had finally lost their second home.

‘We won’t be able to take them.’ 

Unfortunately, he wasn’t powerful enough to face the emperor’s sword just yet. That meant the fiends would no longer be able to stay on the 2nd floor.

“...Then, I suppose the question is once again a matter of up or down.” He already knew the answer.

“We will go up.”

He would cultivate his power as he ascended the floors. He would gather an insurmountable amount of power and destroy everything humanity had built.

“...Just like the way you lot destroyed our base.”

The Heavenly Demon turned around.

Dozens of fiends followed behind him like shadows.

***

The Korean Player Association was full of people since morning.

“What about the others?” Shim Deok-Gu asked.

“They’re picking out clothes and getting their makeup done. Rahmadat said he doesn’t care about that stuff and went to work out,” Seo Jun-Ho said.

There were three big announcements that the Korean Player Association would make today. The first, of course, was Mio’s return.

“For the second one, you’ll have to go up to the podium yourself. You’re the main character today,” Shim Deok-Gu said.

“I know. It’s about the fall of the Fiend Association, right?”

Though the emperor was currently hunting the fiends, rumors had already spread to an extent. No one knew why he was suddenly making a move; however, that would be revealed today.

And the final announcement was about Specter’s official membership into the Nine Heavens. Compared to the first two, this one was expected to be less heavy.

“Specter is supposed to be staying at the hospital for a while longer, anyway.”

The main reason why Seo Jun-Ho was currently hiding his identity was the fiends. He had internally been bracing himself to reveal his identity once he became as powerful as a Heaven. However, the Heavenly Demon was dead and the Fiend Association had crumbled. As such, he no longer had a reason to keep his identity secret, but he also no longer had a reason to bother revealing it.

“You know I’m not the type that likes attention,” he said. He liked his life as Seo Jun-Ho a hundred times more than his life as Specter. He was liberated from the constant stares, and could now go around freely, which would have been impossible as Specter.

“It’s a hard-earned freedom. I don’t really want to go back to living such a suffocating life,” he explained.

“That’s a good decision. I think that’s better, too,” Deok-Gu agreed.

Specter’s existence as a symbol was enough. A new hero named Seo Jun-Ho had already been born, after all.

“Time sure flies. I feel like it has only been a few days since I visited you in the hospital.” Shim Deok-Gu recalled how lonely his friend had seemed, looking out that window. “You looked so pitiful, like a dog in the rain. It’s such a miracle that you were able to gather them all.”

“I can only say this in hindsight, but it was really hard.”

“You’ve been through a lot. Though, of course, you’ll go through even more in the future.”

“Hey, can’t you at least tell me to rest up on days like this?”

Shim Deok-Gu laughed as he complained. He checked his Vita. “Hm? They said there’s someone named Baek Geon-Woo looking for you at the front desk. Is that the Thunder God’s disciple?”

“He’s here! I’ll be right back.”

Seo Jun-Ho walked out in a hurry, but he came back in to take the traditional liquor he had bought. It was a unique Korean liquor with only a few bottles in existence. It had been difficult to acquire, but he had managed to find it to drink with the Thunder God when they met again.

“Geon-Woo hyung!” Seo Jun-Ho ran up to the desk, grinning as he greeted Baek Geon-Woo.

The latter gently smiled. “It’s hard to get used to crowded places like this…after living in the mountains for so long.”

“You’ll get used to it soon enough. How about the old man?”[1]

“Um…” Baek Geon-Woo had a peculiar look on his face. “Well, he said he’d come here in time… But when I asked at the Elevators, they said he still hadn’t come down.”

“Huh? He definitely said he would participate, though. He said he would officially announce you as his disciple.”

“Yeah. It’s taking him so long that I’m actually a little worried.”

Seo Jun-Ho glanced at the time. There were still about seven hours before the ceremony began. “I’ll bring him, then.”

“Huh? All the way from the Wailing Mountains? If that’s the case, I should go instead.”

“Not at all. I’m faster, too.”

Unable to refute him, Baek Geon-Woo smiled bashfully. “I’m counting on you, then.”

“Get some rest while I’m gone.”

Just as he was about to leave the Player Association, Cha Si-Eun called after him.

“Wait, Jun-Ho-nim! Where are you going?”

“I have something quick to take care of on the 2nd floor.”

“Excuse me? But you have to change, get your makeup done, and rehearse.”

“It won’t take long. If I’m fast, I’ll be back within an hour.”

“But it’s still tight—”

“Please prepare my clothes and makeup so I can deal with them as soon as I return.”

After putting Cha Si-Eun’s mind at ease, Seo Jun-Ho immediately headed to the Elevators in the Pacific. His heart started to pound for a different reason from when he woke Mio up.

‘I bet he’ll be shocked.’ 

Seo Jun-Ho had boasted about how he would pull out the fiends from the roots when he came down from the mountains. It hadn’t been that long since he emerged from the Wailing Mountains, and the Fiend Association was already destroyed. He would probably be shocked.

The thought of receiving high praise when the old man was so stingy with compliments made him laugh.

“To Denver, please.” He took the Teleport Gate to the city near the Wailing Mountains and summoned his magic power.

He kicked off of the ground while raising Overclocking’s output to seventy-eight percent, and he felt pretty good as he started dashing up the mountain like a flying squirrel.

‘I missed this road.’ 

Back then, he traversed this mountain path every morning with Baek Geon-Woo. When they reached the top, the old man would be waiting in the yard with breakfast waiting on the table.

‘His deodeok bibimbap was good.’ 

The training had been difficult, but now, those times had become precious memories. Seo Jun-Ho couldn’t hold in the small smile that kept appearing on his face and went even faster.

“Phew.” He landed on the highest peak with a light exhale, and a familiar slope came into view. Just beyond it was the familiar yard and house.

“...!”

Just then, his smiling face slowly crumbled. The stench of blood pricking his nose made him stop.

‘Why is there a scent of blood…?’ 

His face fell. He ran up the hill as if he were possessed.

There was a pile of flesh and blood next to the rock the Thunder God had always used to relax. When Seo Jun-Ho saw this scene, his pupils dilated, and he trembled.

“Sir?”

“...”

There was no response.

“Sir…!”

He sprinted to the Thunder God and embraced him. The first thing Seo Jun-Ho did was check the Thunder God’s breathing.

‘He’s still breathing!’ 

The moment he realized it, he opened his Inventory.

‘Please… Please…!’

He grabbed as many potions as he could hold and poured them all over the Thunder God’s body like they were water. He didn’t hold back and used dozens of bottles. Only then did the Thunder God open his eyes with great effort.

“Ptoo…!”

“S-sir, are you awake?”

“...Hey, y’re gonna drown me.”

“I-I’m sorry…”

“Hehe…”

Seo Jun-Ho smiled when he saw the Thunder God chuckle.

Seo Jun-Ho helped him up. There was nothing where his arms and legs should have been.

“What is… How… Who… Why?!” Seo Jun-Ho yelled as his emotions surged. He quickly draped the Thunder God onto his back. “Let’s go down right away. I know a talented priest. She can—”

“Jun-Ho.” The Thunder God slowly shook his head. His breath started to pick up. “I know my body. Sit ‘ere, and let’s talk.”

He could already see the light. In his mind, he was already at the moment before the sun started to set, when sunlight was the strongest.

“...You can live. You won’t die! If we go down quickly and get you treated…!”

“Jun-Ho. Are ya just gonna send me off like this?” When the Thunder God looked at Seo Jun-Ho, the former’s eyes were as clear as ever. The Thunder God was breathing sharply, but the warmth in his voice had returned.

“...”

Seo Jun-Ho bit down his lips, hard. He knew all too well what the Thunder God meant, as he had experienced it countless times.

“...Who was it?”

“Who else?” The Thunder God didn’t lie. Even if he told Seo Jun-Ho not to avenge him, the idiot in front of him would do it anyway. In that case, what he had to give his student now was realistic advice. “That bastard’s a monster. A monster. Don’t rush in recklessly. Y’re no match for him yet.”

“...”

“Raise yer level as much as ya can… And make good use of that Overclocking or whatever it’s called… and train yer Frost skill…”

He gave him the same lectures he had always done.

“Ya have a tendency ta rely too much on magic power. It’s a bad habit, so fix it.”

“Question everything ya see, hear, and feel. Ya know how good you are and have an abundance of experience, so you tend to trust yourself blindly.”

“Always think ahead, and keep growing. Players will have to grow stronger… If ya settle for less, it’s over.”

It was the same nagging as always. Even though it stung, the Thunder God’s voice was thick with thoughtfulness and worry.

And it made Seo Jun-Ho even sadder.

“...Sniff.” 

The Fiend Association was dead.

He had awakened all his comrades as he had always imagined in his dreams.

He had thought that the rest of his days would be filled with happiness.

However, he had been mistaken.

“Ugh… Sniff…”

“...”

The Thunder God felt a deep sense of regret. If he had but one arm left, he would have been able to silently stroke the idiot’s hair.

“Please… Please don’t die…” Seo Jun-Ho begged as the tears fell.

This was the first Player who had ever guided him, the first Player he had ever considered his teacher.

“...Cough! Blegh!”

The Thunder God vomited black, dead blood.

He didn’t have much time left.

Realizing this, Seo Jun-Ho swallowed down the rest of his tears and stayed quiet. He had to listen carefully to the last words the Thunder God would impart in this world.

“Hehe… Shutting up after crying like that… what a selfish child.”[2]

The Thunder God had to be in a lot of pain, but he forced his trembling lips into a bright smile.

“Don’t… Don’t cry. Don’t ya know? If ya laugh, so will the rest of the world… But if ya cry, they’ll just make fun of ya…”

It didn’t make Seo Jun-Ho feel better at all.

The tears blurring his vision were eventually absorbed instead of falling down. He bit down on his lips with rage, tasting the sharp blood oozing out of them.

The Thunder God laughed weakly as he watched his student. “I didn’t know… that humanity’s hero was such a crybaby.”

“...!”

“Keke, why so surprised…there is nothing…that yer master doesn’t know.”

His old friend, the Sage of the Observatory Tower, had asked him a favor a long time ago: to take a young man as his student without complaint if the young man gave him the Sage’s name. When the Thunder God asked why, the Sage smiled sadly and said only one thing.

- He will combine the past with the present and connect the present to the future. He is the same child who will be there in the final moments of the thunder, when it can cry no longer.

When Seo Jun-Ho had come to him and mentioned the Sage, the Thunder God had realized that he was Specter, and that he was the one who would be at the Thunder God’s deathbed.

“I’ve always… had a lot of things I wanted to say to ya if we met…” His voice started to grow weaker and weaker. His time was almost up. “To thank ya… that I’ve always respected ya… that it must have been hard for a little thing like ya, but it was admirable how ya soldiered on… And…”

He was really, really sorry for wanting to say this. However, he wanted to tell Seo Jun-Ho not to give up on humanity and to keep being strong.

“Lastly… My Geon-Woo…Take care of ‘im.”

With that, the last bit of lingering life faded from his eyes.

“No…. No!”

The tears Seo Jun-Ho had been holding back punched out of him. He hugged the Thunder God’s corpse, which was now as light as a feather as he cried for a long time.

“...”

Seo Jun-Ho could only bear to place him down after he cried until his mind turned fuzzy.

“...I’m sorry. I’ll take a short look.”

He held out his hand and checked the Thunder God’s memories. His eyes narrowed as he watched his final struggle closely.

- How unfortunate. If you were but ten years younger, you would have made a fine opponent.

- As you grew older, your body has become heavier and your attacks have become lighter.

- Disappointing. I did not expect that there would not be a huge difference between you and Specter, whom I met on Earth.

The Thunder God knew that he would die from the very beginning. The internal injuries he had received from the Heavenly Demon back then were just that bad.

‘And yet you said you would easily live for another twenty years.’ 

The Thunder God was such a liar. Even if nothing happened, he would have died within a year. And because he knew that, he fought even more fiercely without a care for his body. He fought so that he could take at least one of the Heavenly Demon’s arms, or even just a finger.

- You are like an insect.

The Heavenly Demon knew that he would win, and taunted the Thunder God to the end. He didn’t even fight properly, and he laughed as he severed each of the Thunder God’s limbs.

“...”

Seo Jun-Ho knelt there for a long time. He eventually got up and started to dig a hole large enough for exactly one person.

The Thunder God’s body was so light it was hard to believe that it belonged to a human. Seo Jun-Ho carefully placed him inside and covered him with dirt. He made a tombstone out of the rock in the yard and placed it on the mound. Then, he placed the liquor in front of it.

“...I’ll be counting on you.”

Seo Jun-Ho took out a dagger and swiftly cut off his long hair with Watchguard of Darkness. It scattered all over the ground.

“Please let me postpone our drink for the day I come back with the Heavenly Demon’s head.”

His voice was so sharp it sounded like it could cut.

Seo Jun-Ho swore his vengeance and sat in front of the grave for a long time before he disappeared.

***

“Where in the world is he? What is he doing?” Cha Si-Eun paced back and forth. She wasn’t even a secretary anymore, but she had volunteered to help. She kept checking the time.

‘I’m sure he said he’d return within an hour if he were fast.’ 

In the end, Seo Jun-Ho still hadn’t returned even after his turn passed. In that case, he had to show his face at the least. She let out a small sigh as she paced at the front desk.

Suddenly, the person she had been waiting for entered the building.

“Jun-Ho-nim!” She was about to tell him off firmly, but she stopped.

‘Jun-Ho-nim…?’

She had never seen such an expression on his face before. He looked like he was frozen in rage.

Seo Jun-Ho glanced at her.

“Are they still going?” he asked directly.

“Oh, um… Your turn has already passed, so they’re currently announcing Specter-nim’s entrance to the Nine Heavens…”

“Good...”

And then, she saw…

Seo Jun-Ho passed by her without care and put on a familiar mask.

“But Specter-nim is unfortunately still recuperating at—”

Bang!

President Deok-Gu’s words were cut off, and all eyes turned to the noisy entrance.

“Huh? That’s…”

“Specter? Isn’t that Specter?”

“I thought he was still recuperating at the hospital?”

“Is it a stand-in? Or a surprise appearance?”

“There’s blood on his clothes…”

“Just take pictures for now! This is a scoop!”

Specter didn’t even spare them a glance as the reporters gathered like clouds. He silently walked up to the stage.

“You…”

Shim Deok-Gu looked at his friend, worried. He didn’t know what had changed within Seo Jun-Ho in the past few hours, but to be honest, he wanted to tell him off for the choice he was about to make.

‘...This is the freedom you’ve always wanted.’ 

Even just a few hours ago, he had been grinning brightly, saying how he didn’t want to give up this freedom. Now that he was about to give it up with his own hands, what did he feel right now?

‘I can’t even dare to make a guess. But if this is truly what you want…’ 

Looking conflicted, Shim Deok-Gu closed his eyes and stepped to the side.

Things were different compared to the days when he was still powerless.

‘I’ll support you so I can give you even the smallest bit of freedom.’ 

Specter caught the dumb and honest look on Shim Deok-Gu’s face and slowly walked up the stage. He could see the eyes following him. The hundreds of Players, reporters, and Guild members. But right now, he didn’t meet any of their gazes.

“...This is for the Heavenly Demon.” He spoke with his uniquely powerful voice, which gave people no other choice but to listen. It was filled with an unusual rage.

‘Wait, isn’t the Heavenly Demon dead?’

‘So what the heck is he doing?’

‘There’s so much I want to ask, but I can’t.’

‘But one thing’s for sure…’

No one spoke. They all instinctively held their breaths.

They were scared of catching Specter's eyes. They were scared they would end up as the target of his cold fury.

“I am here.”

Specter looked at the hundreds of cameras and lights pointing at him and spoke once more.

“I am Specter, the one you have been looking for all this time.”

Specter—No, Seo Jun-Ho took off his mask. His eyes glinted coldly.

“This is me.”

***

- This is me.

The scene was broadcast live all over the world. It spread to the 2nd and 3rd floors in an instant as well, through Community. News outlets reported the unprecedented news nonstop.

And each of the Big 6 started to create a new plan for this unexpected situation.

“We must keep him in line. The moment they take the lead, we’ll be pushed to the side. Just like in the past.”

“We’ll cooperate with them. We can’t lose to them a second time.”

Some didn’t want to lose the crown, while others welcomed the return of the 5 Heroes. The gears started to turn as they came up with plans for their survival.

“...”

As he walked through the lava region, the Heavenly Demon slowly stroked his neck.

“I see. You were those claws.”

His shoulders shook as he laughed. He turned his head with a satisfied look. “I shall accept your proposal.”

“Are you sure you’ve given it enough thought?”

“But of course. This vicious wolf has its claws on my throat, so I have no choice but to prepare in kind.”

“I shall escort you to your master.”

The Heavenly Demon followed the horned, winged demons.

- End of Season 1 -

*Author’s Note*

Hello, this is Jerry M.

Frozen Player’s Return! Frozen Player’s Return season 1 is finally over TT

It’s been a little more than 8 months since I started last year on July 30th. I have been working hard since then. It makes me think that it was only possible because of all your generous support hehe

There are some parts I feel unsatisfied with…Because looking back, I know that I can write it better. I especially feel that way about the parts I rushed while trying to meet deadlines.

The main plot point of FPR season 1 was supposed to be about the 5 Heroes’ return. But to think that it took 312 chapters just for all of them to gather…Thinking about how many loose ends there are makes me dizzy.

In season 2, I plan to write about a number of Guilds, including the Big 6, a proper conflict with the demons, and about going up the Floors. Of course, I suppose our Jun-Ho’s personal goal would be to avenge Grandpa Thunder God TT

The 4th Floor, 5th Floor, 6th Floor…Floors with diverse, unique characteristics will be introduced, and I expect that things will start to unfold faster than in season 1, where we spent 300 chapters just on the 1st and 2nd Floors.

I’m already excited about writing these new Floors! Just who made the Floors, and why do they need to climb them…?! (Not me, but among the characters)

I will be taking a short break and come back on May 11th with a new cover after season 2 is finished being approved.

Along with the unofficial illustration of the Frost Queen that you all like so much, other illustrations are also being prepared.

I can’t speak about the webtoon in detail, but it’s going very smoothly, so I ask that you be patient.

Thank you so, so much for loving <Frozen Player’s Return Season 1>.

I hope you also love <Frozen Player’s Return Season 2> when it comes out next month!

To all the supportive readers who leave replies and reviews and even send fanart, thank you so much! I’m always grateful.

I’ll see you next month!

1. This is actually a respectful title. It’s similar to ‘sir’, but only used for elderly men. ☜

2. There’s really no good translation for this; he says “child who does whatever they want”, which in this case is just making fun of Jun-Ho for going back and forth, but the word is also usually used to describe someone as spoiled or misbehaved. ☜