Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Ace (3)
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《Ace》 - (3)
01.
"Guhk…! Hahk…!!"
"……."
Yun Sol, her chest pierced by the Ice Blade I had fired, staggered backward, struggling for breath.
It would have been an instant kill even for a graze on a regular person, but players possessed durability that transcended human limits, so Yun Sol managed to cling to consciousness for a little while longer instead of dying right away.
"Hahk…!! Hngk…!!"
She didn't know what to do with the thick ice blade embedded in her solar plexus. Her hands hovered in the air, unable to pull it out due to the anticipated agony and the fear of blood gushing forth.
"Ugh, ahh…."
The face of Ace's guild master, Yun Sol, was growing paler by the second. Terror began to fill her features, and thick teardrops welled up in her eyes.
"……."
What must she be thinking in this moment?
Despair at realizing there was no way out alive?
Regret over her past choices?
Or simple resignation to just hurry up and die?
…Whatever it was, it was surely nothing but negative thoughts.
Unlike the other Ace members, I hadn't frozen her right away precisely so she could taste those emotions deeply and personally.
As the head of the capital region's operations and the master of a major guild like Ace, it didn't make sense for someone in her lofty position to receive the same punishment as those beneath her.
She had to pay her own price, and the terror of awaiting and facing her impending death head-on was the punishment I, the victor, imposed on her, the defeated.
…Even to the very end, Yun Sol had refused to back down from her choices, pointing her blade at me. So this outcome was simply the reality she had to accept.
"Cough, cough…."
Dark red blood poured from Yun Sol's mouth. The area around her pierced chest began to freeze slowly due to the 'freezing' effect of the ice blade.
Not just the surface skin, but all the internal organs touched by the blade as it pierced her chest were freezing over simultaneously.
Realizing that everything inside her body was turning to ice must have been utterly terrifying.
"Uh, ugh…!!"
Enduring that pain and fear for the little time she had left was akin to the world's cruelest torture.
…Thus, she tried to end it painlessly by thrusting the tips of her twin swords into her own neck for a quick suicide.
"……No chance."
But I had no intention of letting her go peacefully. After all, she had led hundreds to their deaths through her foolish actions—painless rest was a luxury she didn't deserve.
"……!!"
…With a snap of my fingers, both of Yun Sol's arms—which she had raised to stab her neck—froze solid and detached from her body along with her weapons.
"Wha? Wha? M-my, my, h-hands…?"
Amid the chest wound, now numb in both hands as well, she fell into panic. A horrific scream echoed around us.
"K-Kyaaaaaaaah!!"
No weapons, no hands, and unable even to choose death. Yun Sol's only option was to wait as everything inside her froze, halting all life functions.
"Sa, sa, sa…."
Her mouth began to move amid the despair and agony of her inevitable fate. She forced out words toward me.
"Sa, save……."
"……."
"Pwease… save me……."
Her tongue had lost control from the pain and panic, her plea slurred and garbled. Tears streamed down Yun Sol's face as she gazed at me with desperate eyes.
"I-I was w-wrong… pwease save me…."
"…."
She was probably trying to say, 'I was wrong, please spare me.' A plea unimaginable just ten minutes ago.
…Why do people only feel and regret so much right at the brink of death?
If Yun Sol had taken this reality more seriously—that this was real and death meant the end—she never would have dreamed of raiding Selverion, nor ended up in this predicament.
It was simply karma for treating this unprecedented crisis as nothing more than an extension of the game, taking it far too lightly.
"Spare, spare me pwease…."
Feeling the freeze creep from her chest, Yun Sol begged nonstop for her life. But sadly, I had only one thing to say to her.
"…Too late."
It was tragic, but I wasn't generous or kind enough to show mercy to someone who had pointed a blade at me. If anything, I preferred to root out threats thoroughly to avoid future trouble.
…The only moment Yun Sol could have begged for forgiveness was that fleeting instant when I left the warning with Aegis's Red Hand Mirror.
Having squandered every chance herself, what more opportunities did she think she could claim? It was nothing but arrogance, greed, and avarice.
"Just get trapped in ice and reflect on your foolishness for eternity."
"Ahh……."
Realizing I had no intention of forgiving her, tears poured from the eyes of Yun Sol, nickname 'Sol-sol,' like a waterfall.
Perhaps her will to resist crumbled with those tears. Like a blocked vein suddenly clearing, the freezing that had been slowly spreading from her chest rapidly engulfed her entire body.
"No, no, no, nooooo!!"
Yun Sol screamed in horror, watching herself gradually freeze over. Even as she glared at me with eyes mixed with fear and resentment, she begged for her life until the very end.
"Spare me, please spare me, mercy, please, I'll do anything!!"
"……."
"I'll do whatever you say. Money? An office? It's all yours!! So please! Forgive me just once!! I was short-sighted!! Please!!"
"…."
Like a rapid-fire rapper, Yun Sol unleashed a barrage of pleas for forgiveness. But as before, I had no answer for her.
"Ah, ah. Ah!! No!"
"…."
"I can't die like this!! I refuse!! Se-Selverion, no, Lady Selverion!! Please!! Pweaaaaase!! I was wrong!!"
…The tendrils of frost now reached for her head. She thrashed desperately, but with no arms, a blade in her chest, and me taking no action, her screams only grew louder.
"This can't be happening, please, please…!!"
"……."
"Ahh, no!! Nooooooo!! ……!!"
…In the end, her voice cut off mid-scream, vanishing into the air. All that remained before my eyes was a single ice statue frozen in a dynamic pose.
"…Don't even think about respawning."
I spoke those final words toward the ice statue.
Leaving frozen enemies to potentially revive later was amateur work.
I stared coldly at the frozen Yun Sol and snapped my fingers. Like her comrades, she shattered into ice crystals and vanished completely.
With the guild master—the last survivor—meeting her end, the guild 'Ace' had finally vanished entirely from Yeouido.
All that lingered were biting cold, a chill in the air, and piles of unmelted Ashen Snowstorm flakes on the asphalt.
"This can't be…."
"No way…."
"…?"
…Uncomfortable stares pricked at the back of my head. Turning cautiously, I saw Dessert Club members standing there, eyes wide with shock and terror.
"Se-Selverion…."
"Wiped out all of Ace in under five minutes…."
"This is insane…."
"……."
Most gazes held simple awe, but a few scowled deeply, gripping their weapons tightly.
They exuded clear killing intent, viewing me as a threat. Yet their rigid bodies betrayed their tension despite clutching weapons, which I noted clearly.
…I had no idea how they saw me, Selverion, but I had zero intention of launching a preemptive strike on Dessert Club, who had done nothing to provoke me.
"Ah……."
"Uh, th-that, um……."
…Meanwhile, the chef woman who seemed to be their acting leader and a scientist man who looked like a key figure stood blankly in the middle of the asphalt road, staring at me.
Whether their brains had overloaded from watching Ace get annihilated in seconds or they were simply stunned to face the boss monster 'Selverion' up close, they couldn't process the situation or take any action.
If even the leaders were like that, what could the rank-and-file members do? The silence before the National Assembly was only natural.
…Except for one person acting completely unfazed.
"Kya! Frost Wave! So damn cool!"
…None other than Kim Arin, Pirate World rank 1.
"Seeing it in real life is just art! Pure art! Turning them all into ice crystals? Kyaa!"
"……."
Unprompted, she gushed about my skills and slowly approached me.
She carefully stepped only where Ashen Snowstorm hadn't piled up, finally reaching me. With a wistful tone and a wink, she said,
"Ah, I wanted to beat down that bitch Yun Sol myself to show you my sincerity, so it's a bit disappointing. But still, Lady Selverion! You were so cool!!"
"……."
I stared at Arin in astonishment.
Despite hundreds of Ace members dying in an instant—in reality—she spoke to me so casually, utterly unshaken.
It seemed Selverion truly was her everything. As long as Selverion was fine, anything she did was okay—a fanatical devotion that had consumed her entirely.
"…Not a single wasted move! Even the swirling Ashen Snowstorm! It was all perfect. Just too flawless."
Kim Arin looked up at me with sparkling eyes, like an excited puppy. If she had a tail, it would be wagging furiously.
"……Mm, anyway, looks like we're done here, so shall we head back?"
…After her fangirl outburst, she calmly surveyed the area and suggested we leave now that we'd dealt with Ace.
"The pirate ship will get us there quick. I'll hurry and take you. Won't take long. Sun's setting, so let's move."
"…Yeah."
As she said, no point lingering where our business was done.
Ace and Yun Sol, who tried to raid me, were gone. The other guilds didn't seem hostile either, so nothing left to do here in front of the National Assembly.
……Right now, I just wanted to burrow into my bed back in the rundown neighborhood and play on my phone to my heart's content.
"…Mind giving me a lift? Thanks."
"Y-your voice is so cute…."
"Huh? What'd you say?"
"N-nothing! This way!"
When I asked her what she muttered, she shook her head hurriedly. With an awkward smile, the pirate guided me demurely to her parked pirate ship.
"W-wait a sec…!!"
"Yeah…?"
…Only then, as I was leaving, did the Dessert Club's chef leader find her voice and call out desperately. She reached out pathetically, like grasping at a departing lover.
"I-I want to talk…!!"
"Talk…?"
Cold sweat beaded on the chef woman's forehead, as if summoning great courage. Understandable—addressing the worst boss who just wiped a guild before her eyes wasn't easy.
"Hmph, what talk? Don't bother."
"……."
…In that sense, Kim Arin beside me was an enigma.
"Hoo…."
Regardless of her courage, I had no desire or reason to chat with them, so I refused flatly.
"……I have nothing to say."
Such requests in this situation were predictable: assurances of safety from Selverion's existence, or Korea's security.
…If it ended there, I'd have obliged no problem. But experience showed most talks dragged on beyond the point.
Realizing no hostility, they'd seek proof or ask for help.
But I had no intention of joining a group like SPR or following orders.
SPR was a government-player collab inevitably tangled with corrupt politicians. Joining and dancing to their tune would just lead to them exploiting me for their greed.
Even helping players or saving Korea, I'd do it independently, my way, on my terms—not under SPR.
"……."
Most importantly, my intent not to antagonize others was clear from sparing Dessert Club here.
Selverion could have frozen them and Ace alike in seconds if I wished.
So even without talking, sparing them conveyed everything to Dessert Club, others, and SPR.
"…Let's go."
"Yes!"
Thus, I boarded Kim Arin's pirate ship without looking back. Sails unfurled, and the massive vessel prepared to sail the asphalt road littered only with abandoned cars.
"Ahh…."
……From the other side, the frail Dessert Club chef reached vainly toward my departing ship.
02.
"Hm."
…Riding Kim Arin's pirate ship back to my familiar rundown neighborhood, I finally checked my phone after quite a while.
Of course, having cut ties with family and friends after my business collapsed, there were no messages or calls—checking meant just scanning new news and communities.
"Mm…."
Scrolling my old smartphone, it struck me how advanced Korea's—and the world's—SNS had become lately.
In the past, suppressing media or imposing embargoes hid truths from the public.
But now, with SNS and communities so developed, everything spread worldwide instantly—hiding truth was practically impossible.
…Thus, no matter how much the government and SPR suppressed media or scrambled,
🔍 Selverion Keyword Feed (300+ Latest Posts) [View More] — Anonymous [Live Yeouido Selverion…jpg.] — User123 [Korea one second from annihilation lololol] — Fanboy [Selverion has ARRIVED!!!] — Doomer [We're screwed for real] ⭐ Top Post — Shocked [Ace got totally wiped? For real?] — Hunter [Where's Selverion now? Coords plz] — Seoulite [Fml why did Selverion spawn in Seoul of all places?] — GIFLord [Selverion battle clip GIF incoming] — Simp [Selverion is insanely pretty fr] — Gamer [Does Selverion's real-life appearance match the game? D:D:] — Cynic [Anyone praising Selverion rn has brain damage?] — Chant [Selverion! Selverion! Selverion!] — Worrier [Ace broken means no one in Korea can take Selverion?] — Noob [Selverion's Frost Wave OP af lol] — Insider [Live leak from Dessert Club member] — Leak [Ace internal footage: Selverion small skirmish (graphic)] …Appearing in Seoul's heart, Yeouido, meant Selverion's existence spreading far and wide—absolutely unstoppable.
"Spreads… fast…."
I'd expected footage after the commotion, but not that it would flood every internet community and SNS in under five minutes.
How could it spread this ridiculously fast?
It was infuriatingly quick.
I'd thought it'd stay quiet at least for the day.
"Ugh…."
But who could I blame?
Heading to Yeouido to deal with Ace was my choice, after all.
"Haa…."
I squeezed my eyes shut and buried my face in the pillow.
A gut feeling told me even more chaos awaited ahead.
……Yet the bed remained as soft and comfy as ever.