Return of the Frozen Player

Seo Jun-Ho felt bothered, but he didn’t show it.

‘I don’t like this feeling.’

It was all because whenever his gut feeling was bothering him—

"How about that gentleman by the wall over there? Would you please step forward for a moment?"

—it would always end up being correct.

The vampire apostles followed the gaze of the man in the butterfly mask.

“…”

‘What should I do?’ Seo Jun-Ho thought and sighed.

‘Walk over, get rid of the four apostles on the left side with Watchguard of Darkness, then deal with the five apostles on the right with Moon Eye. Then, I’ll summon Hart to create a disturbance on the rear.’

He imagined what the battle would be like.

‘The best way is still…’

The best option was to not fight. There were simply too many enemies. If he refused to drink it, they probably wouldn’t force him to drink it. The others would get suspicious, but it was better than fighting them head-on, considering their numbers advantage.

"Gentleman?" urged the man in the butterfly mask.

Seo Jun-Ho’s expression turned cold, and he felt as if he were a tiny boat in stormy seas.

"I’ll—” Seo Jun-Ho started.

Thud!

However, a guard flung the doors open and hurriedly ran over to the man in the butterfly mask.

"What? Just what were they doing?!”

The man in the butterfly mask was furious. The vampire apostles had no idea what was going on, so the man in the butterfly mask quickly explained, "An urgent business came up, so I will be away for a moment. We will talk about the wine upon my return."

The man in the butterfly mask hurriedly walked away.

Seo Jun-Ho withdrew his eyes as well, and the vampire apostles started muttering among themselves.

"What do you guys think?"

"You mean about the wine? Well… if he wasn’t lying, then it’s the best."

"But I have some doubts about the efficacy. He said it’s better than the original.”

Naturally, they started talking about the revolutionary Wolf Wine. The vampire apostles talked to each other for about ten minutes before the man in the butterfly mask returned.

"I'm sorry. My dog suddenly left the house." The man in the butterfly mask seemed to have freshened up as he smiled and grabbed a bottle once again before looking at Seo Jun-Ho. "I choose that gentleman earlier, right?"

Seo Jun-Ho was about to clearly express his intention to refuse.

"Wait."

However, a red-faced woman with a seemingly impatient personality raised her hand and interrupted. She stared alternatingly between the man in the butterfly mask and Seo Jun-Ho before raising a few suspicious points that she had discovered.

"It's a bit suspicious how you keep on insisting on letting him test the new Wolf Wine. I must ask, but you didn’t plant him here, right?"

"Hmm, that does make sense...”

"He pointed at that guy without hesitation as well.”

The public’s opinion started going against the man in the butterfly mask, who was frowning.

Seeing that, the red-faced woman continued. "How about you let me try it? This way, everyone will be at ease, and I won’t be suspicious of you anymore."

Seo Jun-Ho was impressed.

Things had turned for the better because an idiot was trying to act as if she were smart.

The man in the butterfly mask glanced at Seo Jun-Ho before nodding slowly.

"Well... I don't really care who drinks it, as long as the effectiveness gets proven. Then, please come up."

The red-faced woman then walked up to the second floor.

She opened the bottle and smelled it. "Hnng, it smells stronger."

"The original Wolf Wine wasn’t very pure. However, this is different. Its purity is unprecedented." The man in the butterfly mask smiled and held his glass high before saying, "Everyone, please applaud this lady's courage."

The vampire apostles started clapping, and the red-faced woman poured the wine into her mouth without hesitation.

"Mmm..." The red-faced woman’s face wrinkled as she savored the wine’s taste.

Clank!

The glass in her hand fell to the floor and broke, and she started staggering.

"Haaa… haaaa!"

The vampire apostles’ eyes narrowed when they saw her gasping for air.

"Wait, is something wrong?"

"She doesn't look very well."

"Is she really okay?"

"Ah, please calm down." The man in the butterfly mask reassured the vampire apostles and asked the red-faced woman, "How do you feel?"

"Haaa!Ha—haha! Ahahaha!" The red-faced woman’s breathing gradually returned to normal, and she started laughing as she stared at her hands. "This is the best feeling ever...! The ecstasy fills me up to the brim! This has to be at least two times more effective than the original version! It’s refreshing!"

The red-faced woman’s words caused a stir.

"Ohhh! So Wolf Wine is still alive?"

"It’s alive, and it’s even more effective!”

"And with the new manufacturing method, we should be able to produce lots of it!”

The vampire apostles were relieved and delighted. The fact that it was more effective and could be mass-produced was great news for those who still couldn’t forget Wolf Wine’s taste after tasting it once before.

"Now, now, this is just the beginning of the show." The atmosphere in the hall finally reached its climax, and the man in the butterfly mask knew that it was time for him to continue the show. "This should be enough proof of the wine’s effectiveness. Now, I want to show you how to make it."

“What?”

"Didn't you say earlier that we just have to inject the syringe into the dogs?"

"You got it right."

Clap, clap!

He clapped his hands twice, and the door opened.

A steel cage covered with cloth was dragged over to the second floor.

Seo Jun-Ho's face stiffened.

‘This smell... This can’t be...’

He clenched his fists unknowingly.

The man in the butterfly mask finally removed the cloth.

"Right now, I will show you how to make this new and revolutionary Wolf Wine."

There was a woman in the cage. Her head and limbs were chained, and she was obviously a werewolf.

"Sniff! It’s a dog."

"Hahaha! I can't believe that I will have the honor of witnessing a live demonstration."

"As expected of the Paradox Clan. Their prowess in marketing and pharmaceutical really is top-notch.”

The vampire apostles clapped in delight. Today, they weren’t really expecting that much from this social club, but the rare live demonstration brought them a pleasant surprise.

“All right, let's produce the wine right away."

The man in the butterfly mask retrieved a syringe. He was about to stick it into the chained woman’s neck when a voice interrupted him.

"Wait."

A heavy silence filled the hall. The man in the butterfly mask and the vampire apostles turned to where the voice had come from.

The voice had come from Seo Jun-Ho, who had raised his hand in the air. He then quickly explained, "It was regrettable that I lost my chance earlier, so may I try using that syringe?"

"Well..." The man in the butterfly mask thought about it for a moment before nodding. It wasn’t a difficult task at all; he just had to insert the syringe into the dog's body.

"Well, sure. This will be more interesting."

If Seo Jun-Ho were the one to use the syringe, it would prove that just about anyone could make Wolf Wine with the special liquid in the syringe.

Step, step.

Seo Jun-Ho climbed up the stairs to the second floor with the demeanor of a gentleman.

"Take it."

“…”

The man in the butterfly mask smiled upon making physical contact with Seo Jun-Ho.

‘I was just worried for nothing.’

The reason the man in the butterfly mask chose Seo Jun-Ho earlier was that he felt that there was something foreign about Seo Jun-Ho. However, the slight physical contact made the man in the butterfly mask certain that Seo Jun-Ho was an apostle.

‘I’m sorry that I was suspicious of you…’

The man in the butterfly mask decided to explain with unprecedented goodwill out of guilt. "Stick the syringe into that dog's body and then inject the liquid inside the syringe into that dog’s body."

"Is that really it?"

"Yes, it's so simple that it’s a bit unbelievable, no?”

The man in the butterfly mask looked down at the apostles with a smile.

The vampire apostles were obviously full of expectations.

'Hehe. It’s the end once you’ve seen how easy it is to make Wolf Wine.’

The man in the butterfly mask decided that he would sell the syringes at a much higher price than he originally intended. Despite the high prices, he was sure that the syringes would constantly be flying off the shelves.

“…”

Seo Jun-Ho approached the cage.

He reached out and placed the tip of the needle on the chained woman’s neck.

Flutter.

The chained woman trembled ever so lightly.

‘Sadness, anger and… fear.'

Seo Jun-Ho could feel the chained woman’s complex emotions through the needle, and he asked, "Are you a wild dog of the Twilight Claw Tribe?"

"S-shut up…! Don't speak of my family with that filthy mouth of yours!" The chained woman exclaimed with a trembling voice. She was crying, but she still glared at him with clear killing intent.

“…” Seo Jun-Ho slowly closed his eyes. His thoughts tilted to the other side of the scale.

'I have a debt to repay them.’

He had also left his precious friend with them.

Having made his decision, Seo Jun-Ho opened his eyes and withdrew his hand. He held up the syringe and looked at the shining liquid inside of it before asking, "Hey, host."

"Yes?"

"What happens if a dog manages to get their hands on one of these syringes, and they somehow managed to stick it into our bodies?”

"Uh…" The sudden question flustered the man in the butterfly mask. He pondered for a moment before revealing an awkward smile. "That won’t happen. Our clan is very thorough when it comes to storage.”

"Considering the attack on Astaneca, I think it’s within the realm of possibility."

"Hmm." The man in the butterfly mask sighed. He couldn’t help but think that the recent attack could have lowered the vampire apostles’ trust in their clan. "From now on, we, the apostles of the Paradox Clan, will work even harder to prevent that from happening."

"I applaud you for that. So, what's the answer to my question?"

"Oh, you mean what will happen if the dogs somehow managed to stick the syringe into one of us?" asked the man in the butterfly mask.

Honestly, he had never even considered the possibility of that happening because he was convinced that the wild dogs weren’t strong enough to steal from their clan.

The man in the butterfly mask smiled and finally said, "Well, if you think about the ingredients that were used to create the special liquid inside the syringes—Oh, honestly, I don't even want to imagine it.”

"Is that so?" Seo Jun-Ho nodded lightly and slowly turned to the man in the butterfly mask.

The man in the butterfly mask stiffened upon seeing the light in Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes.

'...What's with those eyes?'

There was a thick fury contained in Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes.

"What should I do, then?" Seo Jun-Ho seemed apologetic because he had no idea what to do as he said, "I’ve always been someone who can’t hold back from satisfying my curiosity."

Seo Jun-Ho’s lips curled up eerily.

The man in the butterfly mask frantically looked around for his subordinates. "H-hey! I think there’s something wrong—”

Poke!

‘Huh?’

The needle penetrated the man in the butterfly mask’s neck and even reached his skull.

The man in the butterfly mask stared at Seo Jun-Ho with trembling eyes.

"D-don't… Don't do it. T-this isn’t a joke..."

‘Please don't inject the medicine…’ the man in the butterfly mask fervently prayed.

"Nope, this is all a joke."

"Ack, aaaack! Ahhh!”

The man in the butterfly mask started screaming in horror when he felt the cold liquid flowing out of the syringe and into his skull.

Terrified, the man in the butterfly mask scrambled away from Seo Jun-Ho.

“…”

Seo Jun-Ho took a step back and calmly watched.

Bubble!

The man in the butterfly mask started melting as if he were a bath bomb in a bathtub.

"Uaahh, arrrgh!" the man in the butterfly mask let out one final scream before collapsing to the floor.

“…”

The vampire apostles could feel it—this wasn't a show anymore.

Seo Jun-Ho swept his gaze across the dozens of vampire apostles, and while leaning over the railing of the second floor, he said, "This is a joke, yes. However, I only play this kind of joke to scums like you lot…"

Boom!

Seo Jun-Ho’s body temperature abruptly returned to normal, and there was a burst of energy as he violently unleashed his magic.