Return of the Frozen Player

Kimaris was riding a huge black horse across the snowy plain. He looked down at his horse’s feet and found that the snow had reached up to its calves.

“What an annoying place,” he muttered.

“...” The Frost Queen didn’t bother to reply. She looked up and saw a figure enveloped in the dark flames of hell flying toward her.

Thud!

“You’re late, Ballak.”

“I went out as soon as possible.”

The two Transcendents greeted each other before turning toward the Frost Queen.

“Is she the famous Frost Queen?”

“Indeed. I guess rumors are truly often exaggerated,” said Kimaris. He wielded his spear and continued. “If those rumors are true, why is she confined to such a remote planet?”

“It’s good to be confident, but you better not let your guard down. Keep in mind that the Archduke sent the both of us here.”

A rumor had spread throughout the universe, and it said that there was a powerful being living on a small planet called Niflheim, somewhere in the periphery of the universe. It was said that any Transcendent was no match for her.

“Frostbringer of Worlds.”

The rumors said that the Frostbringer of Worlds was a monster who had defeated a total of three Transcendents who had attempted to conquer Niflheim.

‘But…’

‘Hmm. I don’t know about that.’

The Frost Queen emitted an inscrutable and indescribably contradictory air.

She looked flawless but full of openings.

Ballak couldn’t help but say, “The benevolent Archduke said that the door is always open for you if you’re willing to change your mind.”

“Benevolent?” the Frost Queen scoffed. “It seems that the word benevolent has a different meaning in the dictionaries outside this planet.”

“...So you refuse. I must admit I think highly of your confidence.”

The Frost Queen stood unblinking and steadfast in the face of two Transcendents. She seemed to be the epitome of poise and confidence, which betrayed her delicate appearance.

“It becomes funnier the more I think about it,” said the Frost Queen. She swept her gaze across the two Transcendents, and the two Transcendents felt that the world had gotten colder under the Frost Queen’s gaze.

“How many of my people do you think you’ve killed?” she asked.

“Kimaris,” Ballak turned to Kimaris and asked, “How many have we killed so far?”

Kimaris shook his head. It had been a long time since Kimaris reached the Transcendent Stage, so everything was meaningless to him. He didn’t have the hobby of counting how many ants below the Star Destruction Stage he had killed so far.

“Why would I know how many of those things I’ve killed?”

“Things?” The Frost Queen’s eyes turned freezing cold. “Get on your knees and end your lives. That is the greatest mercy I can show you two.”

Kimaris glanced at Ballak and shrugged at the Frost Queen’s ruthless words.

“As you can see, I’m riding a horse right now. The ground is too far for my knees to reach.”

“Then…”

Flinch!

An unknown chill climbed up the spine of the two Transcendents.

“Come down.”

“...!”

Even the sound waves that carried the Frost Queen’s voice were cold, and it made them feel as if their eardrums would freeze.

Kimaris jumped off his horse and frowned.

‘When did she…?’

His horse had survived even the fiery pits of hell, but it had unknowingly frozen solid.

Kimaris fell into deep thought upon seeing that even his horse’s soul had frozen as well.

‘I guess it wasn’t just a complete rumor.’

‘She’s a tricky opponent. Can she freeze anything with her thoughts alone? Aren’t there any prerequisites?’

The two Transcendents shivered. They had to be wary at all times. A moment of neglect meant that they would become ice statues.

“The people of this nation regard their monarch as their parents,” said the Frost Queen.

The two Transcendents frowned.

The Frost Queen continued. “Wouldn’t it make sense for me to consider them my children?”

The Frost Queen had lost many of her children, so she was understandably angry.

“And that is why you should not be angry at me for what I am about to do.”

Ballak narrowed his eyes upon noticing the subtle change in the Frost Queen’s aura.

“How cheeky. It has been only a few decades since you became a Transcendent.”

“Are you sure about that? Every single one of your children will perish the moment you express your fury.”

The Frost Queen shook her head. “How funny. You only fight when you’re confident, you lower your heads when you aren’t confident of winning? Ah… I see. That must be why you two knelt down and lowered your heads to the Archduke. How pathetic.”

“...”

The pride of the two Transcendents was injured by the Frost Queen’s biting words.

“Well, I guess it is indeed impossible to resolve this by words.”

“You’ve made your bed, so you better lie in it.”

“I will.”

‘I’ll take responsibility, even at the risk of losing everything.’

***

The Seven Counts[1] looked down at the battlefield from the peak of a snowy mountain.

“They’re doing pretty well,” said one of the Counts.

The enemies were doing pretty well even against demons. They had noticed the presence of a hundred knights ruthlessly tearing apart every demon that ran up to them.

The Counts fell into deep contemplation at the sight.

‘They’re holding out much better than I thought.’

‘This is annoying. Should we start moving?’

‘I guess this is great. It would have been boring if they had collapsed so easily.’

The surefire win to victory was using their demon subordinates as consumables along with a ton of demonic creatures to exhaust their enemies’ stamina and strength. It was a dirty method to win a battle like this, but they didn’t feel any guilt.

The Archduke only acknowledged those who brought him results as well.

‘A single drop of blood from the Archduke will give me enough power to beat these bastards sitting next to me.’

‘Seven Counts to share the underworld… there are too many of us.’

‘These bastards next to me are more dangerous than the enemies here.’

No one said it out loud, but everyone was well aware that the Counts wouldn’t hesitate to point their swords at each other if they were given the opportunity to do so.

“Then, I’ll go ahead. Sit down and rest,” said Gorgon.

He stood up, and the other Counts stood up right away as well.

“As if we’re going to let you take all the credit.”

“Don’t even think about it.”

“Do what you want,” said Gorgon.

The Counts had no intention of conceding even a bit to each other, so they immediately jumped into the battlefield. This was just a game for the Counts, but it was a reality heavier than anything else for the Niflheim soldiers.

“Arh!”

“The enemy commanders! The enemy commanders are here!”

“Let the lines retreat! The mages on top of the walls should buy—ah!”

The Niflheim soldiers burst like balloons and disappeared into the snowy wind.

The three gates, which had been somehow holding out pretty well until now, collapsed in an instant as soon as the Counts joined the battle.

“Lord!”

The knights looked back and shouted in a loud voice. They had been risking their lives to break through the enemy’s lines, but their base was now collapsing.

“We have to go back!”

Kis came to a halt. He looked back for a moment and then looked forward again.

“...”

‘A bit more… just a bit more.’

He needed just a bit more time, and he would soon destroy the enemy’s core forces.

‘But if I do that…’