Return of the Frozen Player

Seo Jun-Ho opened his eyes and found himself on a chair in the dark train station. It was currently deep in the night, and the cold floor of the train station covered in darkness appeared in his eyes.

“...”

At the same time, memories began to flow into his head like waves.

“So I got trapped in Paradox’s Unique Realm the moment I entered the train station.”

Seo Jun-Ho clicked his tongue at Paradox’s plan.

‘Paradox placed the entire train station within his Unique Realm because he had no idea who among the people is going after the Chef.’

Paradox had to have thought about what would happen if the train were to depart without any incidents.

‘Which means…’

Seo Jun-Ho finally realized how Paradox managed to identify him despite his disguise.

- We have received a report that someone who isn’t a vampire is in the first compartment.

- Therefore, all passengers in the first compartment must wound their own arms to prove that blood isn’t flowing through their veins.

Seo Jun-Ho thought that he had perfectly fooled everyone by acquiescing to the request, but it seemed that Paradox saw through his disguise the moment he wounded his arm because the train was already within the latter’s Unique Realm.

After all, there was no way Paradox would have failed to notice even the tiniest undulation of magic within his Unique Realm.

“Hah, hahaha.” Paradox, who was sitting on a chair on the opposite side of the platform, shook his head as he laughed, seemingly dumbfounded. “This doesn’t make any sense.”

Paradox’s Land of God was a powerful skill. Paradox had never lost in his Unique Realm because he was an omnipotent god in his realm.

‘There is only one way to escape from my realm...’

The opponent had to kill the fake that Paradox had constructed inside them.

“How did you figure it out?”

The skin was nearer than the shirt. In other words, most people wouldn’t usually think that they were the illusion itself amidst the illusions around them.

“Because I didn’t feel anything…” Seo Jun-Ho muttered with his hand over his heart. He had always been viewing things objectively. Therefore, he had always known instinctively that there was something wrong.

- I reckon that my Imperturbable Mind will shatter like glass the moment I hear that something untoward happened to one of my precious friends.

Skaya was on the brink of dying earlier, but his Imperturbable Mind remained calm. He felt neither sadness nor fear of losing a friend.

And that was when he became sure of it…

“So I became sure that I was a fake.”

“...”

Paradox remained silent. He still couldn’t understand it.

“But how… how were you able to readily give up your life for someone else? You didn’t even hesitate,” Paradox asked, seemingly confused.

“Because that fool has always been that kind of person…” Skaya replied while exiting the nearby ticket booth. There was a huge purple bruise on Skaya’s neck. “I wouldn’t have been here if Jun-Ho hesitated for even a few seconds earlier.”

Seo Jun-Ho was a fake earlier, so everyone else aside from him and Paradox would have died in reality if they had died in the Unique Realm.

“Honestly, I was caught off guard. Personally, I think that it was a good experience,” Seo Jun-Ho said.

“You’re right. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” the Frost Queen agreed with a nod.

Seo Jun-Ho had been thinking that he was invincible against all kinds of psychic attacks because of Hero’s Mind. Today, he had learned the hard way that a powerful ability like Paradox’s Unique Realm could still bypass his Hero’s Mind.

“...”

Paradox looked around without saying anything.

‘Three versus one.’

He was obviously at a disadvantage.

‘Tsk. I should stop here tonight.’

Seo Jun-Ho and Skaya standing in front of him were strong opponents beyond imagination. Paradox figured that he would have to risk suffering severe injuries if he really wanted to deal with them.

‘There’s no reason to go that far. Let’s run away at the right time.’

“Running away at the right time…” Seo Jun-Ho muttered.

Paradox’s eyes widened in surprise.

“That’s what you’re probably thinking, right?” asked Seo Jun-Ho.

Specter had dealt with so many opponents like Paradox that he could already read them like a book.

“Well, I guess it’s only natural for you to have your own plans...” Seo Jun-Ho’s voice trailed off.

“...!” Paradox’s wide eyes turned next to him.

“And if you’re going to ask me if you’re capable of carrying out your plan. Then, I would say that it’s… questionable,” said Seo Jun-Ho.

‘When did he…?’

Paradox could swear that the seat next to him was empty just a few moments ago, but Seo Jun-Ho was now sitting on that chair.

‘He’s too fast…!’

He could easily track Seo Jun-Ho’s movement in his Unique Realm, but Paradox couldn’t do the same in reality. Naturally, it was all because he wasn’t an omnipotent god in reality, unlike in his own Unique Realm.

‘But at this distance, I might be able to…’

Seo Jun-Ho was sitting so close to him that he could easily wrap his hand around the former’s shoulder.

‘I might be able to trap him again.’

The biggest reason Paradox managed to become one of the True Vampires was definitely because of his Unique Realm. He had trained himself intensively and had figured out endless ways to activate his Unique Realm.

Swoosh!

Paradox swiped with his sharp nails toward Seo Jun-Ho.

“...?!”

However, all he could see was darkness.

Seo Jun-Ho scattered like a fleeting fog and stared at Paradox like a ghost in the middle of the night.

“Tsk. That was a failure,” Paradox muttered.

“I expected that you would be more scared,” said Seo Jun-Ho.

“Scared? Me? Scared of you?” Paradox crossed his legs and burst into laughter.

Of course, Paradox was caught off guard.

He didn’t expect that a trivial human being could be this strong.

“But that doesn’t mean you can kill me…”

Paradox grinned and asked, “Aren’t you curious about why Tepes decided to keep a man of great ability like me alive?”

“...”

“He didn’t really choose to keep me alive. He actually tried to kill me dozens of times, but he failed every time.” Paradox lifted his index finger and muttered, “Unique Realm.”

Then, he lightly tapped his chest with the same finger.

“You’ve seen the absurd range of my Unique Realm, so I think you should have also thought about the possibility that I could do the exact opposite as well, am I right?”

“...What do you mean?”

“I mean that my body has now become a Realm itself.”

Of course, Paradox couldn’t exercise the power of omnipotence as if he was within his Unique Realm. However, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to defend himself.

“Is that so?” Seo Jun-Ho snapped his fingers.

Paradox instantly turned into an ice statue.

Paradox smiled mockingly despite being frozen.

Crack!

The ice imprisoning him was shattered as Paradox emerged from the ice.

“I’ve said this earlier, but you really aren’t the type to trust others easily.”

Paradox brushed off the dust from his lap and said, “Well, then. Let’s call today’s brawl a draw and call it a day.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Skaya frowned and mustered her magic. “Who said that we’re going to let you go?’

“If you’re not gonna let me go, then you better kill me before the other True Vampires arrive here. I won’t stop you.”

Fwoosh!

An arrow made out of chaos pierced Paradox’s heart.

“Keuk…! Arghhhh!”

It was extremely painful, but there was no way that Paradox would die from such an attack. Paradox writhed in pain for a while, but he soon stood up with a grin. “Haha, that hurt like crazy. You guys are very strong. I’m even doubtful if you two are humans.”

“...” Skaya’s expression darkened. She thought that Paradox was only bluffing, but it seemed that he wasn’t lying when he said that he wouldn’t die.

‘That attack was strong enough to stop Rahmadat from regenerating for at least a few minutes…’

Skaya turned to Seo Jun-Ho. “What are we going to do? Are we just going to let him go?”

“Of course not,” Seo Jun-Ho answered. A flower blossomed over his hand.

Moon Eye.

Seo Jun-Ho held the flower by its stalk and swirled it around.

“This is actually perfect. I’ve been curious about something for a long time now, and this is the perfect time to test it. What do you think will happen if a spear that can pierce anything collides with a shield that can block anything?”

The effectiveness of either one of the two was bound to be completely disproven.

“I see what you’re trying to do here,” Paradox nodded at Seo Jun-Ho’s question.

Paradox’s Unique Realm was now his entire body; in other words, he had become the strongest shield that could block anything in the world.

“The spear will break for sure. I just can’t imagine myself dying,” Paradox affirmed.

“...Are you sure about that? It seems that you lack creativity,” Seo Jun-Ho smiled slightly and stared intently at Paradox. “Then, what do you think will happen if the irresistible spear had a special ability?”

“What kind of ability are you talking about?”

“The scornful ability to disregard any defenses.”

“...”

Paradox’s lips quivered momentarily. With a stiff look, he spoke, “That’s a ridiculous ability. If the spear has such an ability, then the shield should have a similar ability as well.”

“Then, you should give yourself that kind of ability,” Seo Jun-Ho said. He then casually hurled the flower that he was holding toward Paradox. “Feel free to do so—if you’re capable of doing that, of course.”

Seo Jun-Ho could remember Paradox saying that he had gotten sick of his flowers.

“I infused it with more power to scorn than usual, so it’s an extra special flower.”

“...!” Paradox’s pupils widened.

The flower blossomed and scattered its scornful petals everywhere.

The sight was just as beautiful as the first time he had seen it using Tria’s ability.

‘This is…’

The petals looked as soft as silk. However, every single petal falling on his skin was more terrifying than any ghost stories he had ever heard in his life.

“Ah, ahhh…!”

The petals shredded his Unique Realm into nothingness.

Paradox held his tightening heart as he collapsed to the cold floor once again.

However, this time, he couldn’t get up anymore.

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[All stats has increased by 12.]

[... received from Limit Breaker’s effect.]

After a quick glance at the system messages, Seo Jun-Ho turned to look at Paradox and said, “See? The spear wins.”

Seo Jun-Ho thought that he should tell Rahmadat about this. He could still remember that they had discussed this topic before.

With that being said, Seo Jun-Ho gently laid his hand on Paradox’s corpse.

“Give me your memory. All of it.”

***

Rattle.

A simple, rugged casket slowly opened, and a man raised himself up.

“...Paradox.”

He had tried to kill the man countless times before, but he had always failed.

Today, Paradox finally died.

“The time has come.”

The man’s ambition had always been restrained due to the existence of the strongest shield called Paradox. After all, Paradox had always been wary of the man getting stronger than he should be.

“But you ended up dying first…”

The man slowly donned a purple cloak.

His eyes turned red as he stared at the moon beyond the window.

“Nothing can stop me now…”

It was time to establish a brand new world.

***

“The spear wins.”

“...What?” Rahmadat asked while blinking his huge eyes. “What are you talking about?”

“When the irresistible spear collides with the immovable shield, the spear wins.”

“That’s nonsense. The shield would definitely win.”

“Nope. I tested it myself.”

“That means your opponent wasn’t the strongest shield.”

Seo Jun-Ho, Skaya, and the Frost Queen returned to the village of the Twilight Claw tribe.

Arnold stared at the three with a stiff look.

“Are you all right? I heard that you went missing,” he asked Seo Jun-Ho.

“We’re fine. We just ran into an annoying enemy, that’s all.”

“An annoying enemy?” Arnold asked, perplexed.

Skaya shrugged at the curious eyes and exclaimed, “Let me give everyone here a quiz! What walked on four legs yesterday and walked on three legs today?”

The confident Orca standing next to her exclaimed, “I know the answer! The answer is human! Yesterday refers to a baby crawling on all limbs, and today refers to a senior who has to walk with a cane. I found the answer in a quiz book.”

‘Wow, he’s good.’

However, Skaya shook her head. “Wrong! It was a great answer, but it’s wrong.”

“What? Then, what’s the answer?”

“The answer is a True Vampire!” Skaya exclaimed.

“...”

The Arch Warriors staring at her repeatedly blinked. They were obviously confused.

Arnold picked his ears and asked, “I’m sorry, I think there was something in my ears. Can you say that again?”

“True Vampire, True Vampire, and True Vampire! We killed Paradox!” Skaya exclaimed.

‘True Vampire Paradox is dead? Are they talking about that notorious monster who has been reigning half of the city of Trium for the past few decades? Is he really dead?’

The werewolves turned to look at Seo Jun-Ho.

Their expressions seemed like they were saying that Skaya was talking nonsense.

“It’s true.”

However, Seo Jun-Ho nodded and confirmed Skaya’s words.

“True Vampire Paradox is dead.”