Player who Returned 10,000 years Later

Side Story Chapter 53: Bloody Family Trip (4)

Blood splattered everywhere and dyed throughout the pool as if a can of red ink spilled into it.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!"

"Wh-What the hell?!"

"Holy shit!!!"

Screams of despair from the depths of Hell echoed from everywhere. Someone had died out of nowhere after showing no signs or foreshadowing of it happening. Nightmare filled the rooftop under the shining sun. The woman in her early twenties who had been swaying in a stupor had suddenly vomited every drop of blood she had and was floating lifelessly in the pool.

"Gaaaaaahhh!!"

"C-Call an ambulance!!"

"Argh! The blood splattered all the way here!"

The guests enjoying their time in the pool stepped backward from the red pool as they screamed. The guards at the pool entrance quickly ran over as they contacted someone with their walkie-talkies. The hundreds of people in the pool dyed red ran away to the corners, either crying or vomiting. Chaos dawned on the peaceful pool.

"What…" Oh Kang-Woo pulled on his hair as he bore witness to the hellscape. "In the ACTUAL FUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK?!!"

Of course, he was not screaming out of sympathy for the woman’s death or in shock. His fury surged as he saw the pool dyed red, the chaotic atmosphere, and the panicking people. He could easily tell how things would turn out.,

"Fuck… I guess we can kiss the swimming pool goodbye."

Cha Yeon-Joo in a white gown placed her hand on her forehead. No one knew what kind of drugs the woman was on or if she had been ill from the beginning, but someone had died; there was no way the hotel would reopen the pool after replacing the water and cleaning the blood. The pool would be closed for at least a week— a month at most.

"P-Please wait. I’ll take a look at her," said Han Seol-Ah as she stepped forward.

Kang-Woo grabbed her shoulder and remarked, "Don’t, Darling. You can’t use healing spells anymore."

"Oh…"

Her wings had dyed black after she fell from grace, completely changing the qualities of her magic from healing and buffing to curses and debuffing. She became unrecognizably powerful compared to before as a result, but she could no longer be relied on for utilities such as healing.

"R-Right. I completely forgot." Seol-Ah lowered her head in sorrow.

Kang-Woo softly grabbed her hand and remarked, "Besides, it’s too late."

"Pardon?"

"She’s dead."

Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes and stared at the blonde woman floating in the water. He examined her using the Authority of Insight but couldn’t detect even a hint of life force in her. Even without using an Authority, anyone could tell the woman was dead from how much blood she vomited.

"My king," Lilith called quietly.

Kang-Woo could tell what she was about to say. Kang-Woo dipped a finger into the red pool water and shook his head.

"It’s not demonic energy. I don’t feel any other energy either."

There was no demonic energy, sacred power, or other special energies inside the blonde woman’s corpse. There were two possibilities; she either died due to a harmful substance or illness, or she was killed by a power that not even Kang-Woo could detect.

’The latter is highly unlikely.’

There was no way he would be unable to detect power that could kill someone.

"Could she have ingested some kind of poison?" Yeon-Joo suggested.

"I don’t know." Kang-Woo shook his head. He was not knowledgeable in poisons. "In any case…"

Slam!

The pool entrance door swung open and people who seemed to be lobby employees and paramedics barged into the pool. Police officers followed behind them and gathered the witnesses to get their witness accounts. It was only natural since whatever the reason, someone had died out of the blue.

"Everyone, please leave the pool in a single file line! We will be closing the pool!" shouted a man who looked like the hotel manager, through a megaphone.

Kang-Woo groaned in despair. "Motherfucker."

’My fucking swimsuits.’

***

Click.

"Haaa."

"What a disaster."

Kang-Woo and the others returned to their suite after giving their witness accounts and flopped on the couch. Yeon-Joo sat down on his lap with one leg over the other.

"Fuck! What the hell?!" she yelled as she cracked open a beer from the fridge and chugged it.

"That’s expensive shit, you know."

"Did you fucking say something?"

"Nothing at all, ma’am."

"Haaa. Fuck… I was looking forward to playing in the pool, and we got hit with that shit."

"I’ll say."

Kang-Woo rubbed his chin on the couch sorrowfully. He was in despair, but not because of the death of a woman with a long life ahead of her or because he couldn’t play in the famous Marina Bay Sands pool.

"Swimsuits…"

The new swimsuits the women had bought! The dazzling and beautiful ?One Piece?hidden under their white gowns! Kang-Woo was met with infinite regret and despair after failing to witness something arguably more precious than even the birth of life.

"My, did you want to see our swimsuits that badly?" Lilith asked as she walked over to Kang-Woo. She slightly unraveled her gown and smiled seductively. "Then why don’t we show you right here?"

"No." Kang-Woo shook his head sorrowfully. If he wanted to see swimsuits, he could’ve seen them in the suite. "I wanted to see them at the pool…"

Seeing swimsuits in a room instead of the pool was like watching a film illegally downloaded in the worst resolution possible instead of in theaters. Swimsuits not seen at the pool would make them no different from underwear.

"Fucking pervert," said Yeon-Joo as she hit Kang-Woo’s head with an empty beer can. "You sure are stubborn in the weirdest ways."

"You wouldn’t understand a man’s hopes and dreams."

"I see, I see~ Good for you."

"Also, you’re heavy. Get off me."

"Heh, bullshit. I know how monstrously strong you are."

"Yeah, it’s bullshit. I can barely feel you on me."

"Right? So stay sat on."

"I think it’s because you have no boob weight."

"The fuck you say?"

"Sorry." Kang-Woo sighed deeply.

"Urgh… I wanted to play with Kang-Woo in the pool."

"Me too. I wanted to play in the beautiful place we saw in the pictures. What a shame."

Echidna and Seol-Ah’s shoulders drooped in dejection.

"Well, then how about this?" Lilith clapped her hands together as if she had thought of a great idea. Kang-Woo looked up at her in wonder and saw her pointing at the bath with a wide smile. "I saw the bath earlier and it was massive. Large enough to easily fit everyone here."

"..."

"..."

Silence fell. No one was dense enough not to understand what she was implying.

"S-So you’re saying… we go in the bath t-together in our swimsuits?" asked Yeon-Joo, her face blank as if she was notified about the world ending tomorrow.

"Yeah."

"W-W-W-W-W-W-Wait! That’s a bit much, isn’t it?!" Yeon-Joo sprang up in embarrassment.

Seol-Ah nodded in agreement. "She’s right! There’s no need for us to wear swimsuits in the bath! We can just go in naked—"

"You shut your mouth, Seol-Ah!" Yeon-Joo shouted as she covered Seol-Ah’s mouth.

"Mmrp!"

"Hm! I think it’s a great idea!" replied Echidna as she snorted with her eyes sparkling.

Kang-Woo only went in the bath with Seol-Ah and Lilith when they were home, so she always wanted to enter the bath with Kang-Woo.

"Hoho. Then I guess we can all go in the bath except for Yeon-Joo."

"Ugh… Th-That’s…" Yeon-Joo was lost for words. She crushed the beer can, her face bright red, and shouted. "I-I’m going in too!!"

"..."

The four women stared at Kang-Woo, who stood up in silence.

"I’LL FILL UP THE TUB!" he shouted as he raced to the bath without hesitation, sparks running throughout his body.

’What a blessing in disguise!’

There was no other phrase he could think of to describe this situation.

’Fuck yeah!! I didn’t even think of that!!’

Being able to take his time relishing in the women’s swimsuits— he was certain that, at this moment, he was the most blessed man in the world. This was on par with— no, even better than playing together with the ladies in the pool!

’Jokes on you, I’m into that shit!’

Kang-Woo turned the faucet to the max and poured water into the tub.

"Since this is a replacement for a swimming pool, the water should be the right amount of cold, right?"

They could always fill the tub with hot water later if they wanted to go for an onsen feel.

"I’m filling the tub now, so gimme a few seconds!"

"Fufu. Okay, my king."

"Hehe. I was a little embarrassed to wear my swimsuit in front of others since I picked a bit of a bold one, but I guess this solves that problem."

"...!"

Kang-Woo’s eyes widened after hearing Seol-Ah’s shocking statement. Sparks traveled down his back at light speed and throughout his body.

’SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTT!!’

He felt like screaming his lungs out in ecstasy. He couldn’t suppress the rising corners of his mouth.

"Why the hell did I fall in love with that pervert…?"

Yeon-Joo sighed and shook her head but clenched her gown, excited to see how Kang-Woo would react to her swimsuit.

"Hehehe. Oh, just a second. Let me grab everyone something to eat as the tub fills," Kang-Woo mentioned.

"Why don’t we just order? I’m sure there’s unlimited room service here since we’re in a suite room."

"They only have meal courses, so I was going to order later."

What they needed at the moment was snacks and drinks they could enjoy as they played in the water.

"Then let’s go together, Kang-Woo! I wanna pick the snacks!" Echidna shouted.

"Okay, sure."

Kang-Woo left the room with Echidna and entered the long hotel hallway.

"Huh? Kang-Woo. Isn’t that the woman from earlier?"

It was the middle-aged woman who was covered by the blonde woman’s blood at the pool because of their proximity.

Kang-Woo tilted his head in wonder. "Looks like her room is on this floor too. I’m surprised she can still walk around fine after what happened to her."

"Huh? Her room’s on this floor?" asked Yeon-Joo, who came out in slippers after hearing Kang-Woo and Echidna’s conversation. "I told you I was in Singapore for a meeting, right?"

"Yeah."

"I was in this room back then as well, but…" Yeon-Joo frowned. "This suite is the only room on this floor."

"Eh? Then what is that lady doing on this fl—"

"A-Arghh."

Just then, the middle-aged woman, swaying as if she were drunk, turned toward them.

"KERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!"

She screeched in a way that couldn’t have come from a human as she vomited red blood.