The Frozen Player Returns

y were horrible enemies who had bewitched the party members who entered a Gate together with him and drove them to their deaths.

“Goodbye.”

Cruush. 

Just before her head could explode, the banshee let out a thin voice.

 

[Oh, Ice…
Witch…
That's not… me…]

 

“…What?”

Seo Jun-Ho frowned.
Between the fingers clutching the banshee's face, he could see eyes filled with grievance.

“…”

They were just the words of a monster.
There was no reason for him to believe her, and if he got rid of her here and went back, the mission would be over.

‘But if she's really not the Ice Witch…’

It could be dangerous when the White Anvil tribe migrated here.

“Contractor, she doesn't look like she’s lying.”

“…”

Seo Jun-Ho hesitated for a while, but he slightly relaxed his fingers.
He decided to invest a moment to find out the truth.
When Seo Jun-Ho’s forceful banishment of her to the heavens up above momentarily stopped, the banshee spoke in an urgent voice.

 

[Th-thank you for believing me.
If you ask me anything…
I'll answer…]

 

“I don't need answers, ”Seo Jun-Ho responded coldly and continued.
“I can just find out for myself.”

To be honest, he had sensed something fishy, but he had believed that there was no use to confirm his theory—he could just deal with the banshee and get it over with.

“Confession of the Dead.”

 

’

[Confession of the Dead]

Rank: B

Effect: Allows you to look into the memories of the target.
However, it only works on dead lifeforms.

 

The Confession of the Dead began on a body that had already died hundreds of years ago.

***

Whooosh.

Even the sturdily-built brick house could not completely keep out the cold of the snowstorm.
In front of the fireplace in the house, three sons and two daughters huddled together to share their bodies’ warmth with each other.

“Ugh, it's cold… Noona…”

“Unni…
When are Mom and Dad coming?

“Waaaah.”

“Wait just a little longer.
Just a little longer.”

From the wooden floor, they could feel the coldness of the ground.
They threw books and fabrics in the house into the fireplace to keep the fire going, but the temperature kept dropping.

Piiik.

“N-no.”

To make matters worse, the fire that provided them with warmth eventually died down.
The girl's eyes were filled with a sense of hopelessness when she looked at the fireplace full of black ashes.

“It's cold…”

“Unni…
I'm sleepy…”

“No! Don't fall asleep.
Our parents will be back soon.
Just hang in there.”

The girl hugged her younger siblings tightly and whispered.
She dressed her younger sibling in her own clothes and animal skins, hoping that even a single extra layer would keep them from freezing, but their bodies had already become as cold as ice.

“They said they'd go ask the Ice Witch politely, so it'll be warm soon.
They even took the tiger skin.
Do you know how expensive it would be if they sold it on the market? I'm sure even the Ice Witch will be tempted.”

“…”

The children's parents were hunters.
As hunters selling high-quality wolf, bear, rabbit, and tiger skins, they were a fairly famous couple.
Unfortunately, it took only about a month for the peaceful lives of the family to change completely.

“The Ice Witch…”

Originally, the snowfield where they lived hadn't been this cold.
In fact, they would even feel hot in the morning because of the warm sunlight.
However, everything changed since the Ice Witch had come to Hamel Ice Canyon.
The temperature had dropped day by day after she had arrived, and eventually the parents had to make a major decision.

 

“We have to move.”

“…Why don't we try meeting and asking her once before we move? She could be human too, so she probably won't just tell us off.”

“Do you think we’ll be able to communicate with her? She seems suspicious considering she entered this deep canyon on her own.”

“Let’s take the tiger skin we hunted last time.
Even if we move, we have to do it after winter.
Otherwise, it would be too dangerous for the youngest.”

“Hmm… Let's do that, then.”

 

Their parents took the expensive tiger skin and went into the canyon to ask for the Ice Witch’s favor.
It had already been 15 days since they went out and the food had already run out.
The girl tried to get food with the hunting technique she had learned from her parents, but due to the severe snowstorm, both wild animals and monsters were nowhere to be found.

 

“I want to eat the mushroom soup that Mom made.
How about you? You'll be able to eat it when they get back soon.”

“…”

“Won't Dad grill the hind leg of a pig again? You guys always fought to eat that first.”

’

“…”

“Hey kids, are you sleeping?”

“…”

“You're sleeping, right? You shouldn't be sleeping… Then just a little… Only sleep for five minutes, okay?”

The girl began to cry.
She could feel it against her skin which had already begun to go numb.
But she did not want to face reality so easily, so she kept talking to them.

“When our parents come back… If they come back…”

She spoke that sentence for a long time like a spell as if she was brainwashing herself.

 

How long had it been?

 

– Chirp, chirp, chirp.

 

When the sounds of birds chirping entered her ears, the girl slowly opened her eyes.
At the same time, the sound of snow being crushed with each step could be heard outside the door.

“Mom? Dad?!”

The girl opened her eyes.
She carefully laid her sleeping siblings, then staggered over to the front door.

“Why are you so…
Why did you come so late…?”

Tears flowed nonstop and her cheeks felt hot.
The moment she opened the front door with her skinny hands, however, was the last time she had memories as a 'human.’

***

“…”

“…”

Seo Jun-Ho and the Frost Queen kept their mouths shut.

 

[Ah…
Ahhh…
Ah…]

 

Still in his grasp, the banshee didn’t cry.
A spiritual body couldn’t shed tears.
When Seo Jun-Ho carefully released her face, she hugged the four blue vengeful spirits and sobbed.

Watching the scene, the Frost Queen finally opened her mouth to speak.
Her voice was as cold as the first time Seo Jun-Ho had met her in the Nest.

“Contractor, the Ice Witch is someone else.”

“…Yeah.”

“I do not know why, but the Ice Witch was being chased.
She needed a stand-in to act as a decoy…”

“…Yeah.”

“After hurting that girl and her family, the Ice Witch afflicted an ice curse on her.”

“Yeah.”

When Seo Jun-Ho slowly turned around and was about to leave quietly, the banshee questioned him.

 

[Where…
are you going?]

 

At the question, Seo Jun-Ho stiffened.
He turned his head slightly.
“To the Ice Witch.”

A ferocious look was on his face.