Immortals vs. Grim Reapers - chapter 1
Chapter 1: Gates, Hunters, Monsters, and… Grim Reapers? (Part 1)
They say crisis breeds opportunity.
If that’s true, then how vast must be the opportunity presented by humanity’s existential crisis?
However, the word “existential” here doesn’t refer to survival or extinction, but rather to the fact that humanity is royally screwed.
To put it bluntly, without opportunity or anything else, humanity is utterly fucked.
Come to think of it, this isn’t too different from most situations where the phrase “existential crisis” gets thrown around.
Even Ju Gangrim, who once saw this crisis as an opportunity, found it hard to remain positive in the face of the world before him. He watched the seething zombie horde with this thought in mind.
This was the “Mugido” Fortress.
Humanity’s last bastion of resistance.
Zombies surged like waves, surrounding the fortress built in the middle of the desert. There seemed to be more of them than grains of sand.
In a world where the living desperately struggle to survive and the dead violently strive to kill, life is challenging whether you’re alive or dead.
‘This life is a wash.’
Humanity had made countless attempts to stop the zombie plague, but all had failed. Though efforts continued, objectively speaking, there was no hope in sight.
‘If it were just zombies, it wouldn’t have been so hard to stop, but…’
Boom.
A giant deer appeared among the zombie hordes, trampling them as it prowled around the fortress.
It was a deer with fourteen legs, half-rotted, standing as tall as an eight-story building.
This was what they called an “abomination,” a type of monster.
‘At that size, it would take at least three S-class awakened ones to handle a single one.’
There were over ten such abominations around the fortress.
Most of the S-class awakened ones capable of stopping these abominations were already dead.
But the fundamental reason they couldn’t stop the zombie plague wasn’t because of the abominations or the politicians’ delayed response.
It was simply because too many gates had opened simultaneously in too many places.
In areas where gates appeared, the dead rose as zombies, and these zombies bit people to create more zombies.
Just as people were getting used to zombies, monsters they’d never seen before began to creep out as if part of some buy-one-get-one-free deal.
Fortunately, it turned out to be a buy-one-get-two deal, as “awakened ones” also appeared, providing the means to combat zombies and abominations.
Though no one wanted this global event, humanity tried to adapt to this new era.
But in a world where 99% was covered by gates, adaptation meant becoming a zombie.
It wasn’t exactly a welcome career path.
Ju Gangrim irritably stubbed out his cigarette on the windowsill.
It was his last one. A good opportunity to quit smoking.
A knock on the door. Before Gangrim could answer, it burst open and a soldier entered.
“Colonel Ju Gangrim, General Gerald has returned!”
“What?”
General Gerald.
The hero who kept humanity from losing hope even as extinction loomed.
He was one of the few surviving S-class awakened ones and the leader of what remained of humanity.
But what truly made him humanity’s hope was his notorious tenacity, earning him the nickname “the Immortal.”
No matter the mission, whether it succeeded or failed, Gerald always came back alive.
And Ju Gangrim was the adjutant who assisted Gerald.
This time too, Gerald had set out on a mission to destroy the gate core in the region, breaking through the enormous numbers of zombies and abominations.
Even Gangrim thought he wouldn’t return this time. But once again, he had.
“Is the General safe?”
“Well…”
The soldier’s face was pale.
Gangrim wasted no time and headed straight for Gerald. The soldier hurriedly followed, speaking as they went.
“General Gerald said to inform only you, his adjutant, about his return.”
“What?”
“You’ll understand when you see his condition.”
Gangrim felt a sense of foreboding.
The pinnacle of humanity, Gerald.
And himself, the adjutant who assisted him.
The position of assisting humanity’s apex might seem like that of a second-in-command, or at least a very high rank.
Of course, that’s assuming there are lunatics who still crave power even when 99% of humanity has perished.
Unfortunately, Ju Gangrim was one of those lunatics.
Gangrim was a man who risked his life for success.
As he went to find Gerald, many thoughts raced through his mind.
How he, a mere D-class awakened one, had used every means necessary to climb this far.
Some had accused him of being selfish.
‘Who’s really being selfish here?’
Gangrim gritted his teeth, recalling past humiliations. His ambition had saved not only his own life but countless others.
It was the driving force that kept him from giving up on life, the motivation that made him throw himself into any reckless operation.
As an adjutant, as a soldier, as an awakened one, and simply as an ordinary member of humanity.
Ju Gangrim had never once failed to try or given up.
He had achieved brilliant military exploits, assisted Gerald, and saved numerous people from zombie hordes.
Being only a D-class awakened one, he had to work harder than those of higher ranks.
That’s how he earned his position as Gerald’s adjutant.
‘After all that effort…’
When Gangrim attained the position of Gerald’s adjutant, he thought he had finally come close to humanity’s apex.
But there was still someone above Gangrim’s head.
Not just Gerald.
The society of “them” positioned at humanity’s pinnacle, including Gerald.
They seemed outwardly kind, but Gangrim felt a sense of alienation.
There was a subtle, contemptuous gaze suggesting that no matter how hard he tried, he could never stand alongside them.
Even amidst humanity’s extinction, there remained a strange ceiling that couldn’t be explained by school ties, regional connections, or blood relations alone.
Even death wasn’t equal for them. Among them, those who died could be counted on one hand, even as nearly all of humanity was going extinct.
Even then, no one had seen them die; they had merely gone missing.
‘They, the VIPs…’
When Gangrim first learned of their existence, he was shocked, but he thought he could eventually stand in the same position as them.
And he expected to uncover their secrets, the secret of Gerald who returned even from death.
‘But if Gerald dies, it all becomes meaningless.’
The soldier guided Gangrim to the fortress’s basement.
Gangrim wondered if there had always been an underground passage in the basement.
In the year and a half he had been guarding the fortress, Gangrim had no idea such a secret underground passage existed.
A car was parked inside the passage. When the car door opened, the first thing Gangrim noticed was the smell of blood.
“…General.”
Gerald had collapsed inside the car.
Gangrim examined Gerald’s condition with a pale face.
It would be easier to find the parts that weren’t injured than to list all the injuries.
This wasn’t evacuating an injured person. It was recovering a corpse.
Even if Gerald was an S-class ability user nicknamed “the Immortal,” he couldn’t be considered alive in this state.
‘Think.’
Gangrim didn’t despair or feel shocked. Instead, he thought about how to handle this situation.
Gerald’s death meant there was no more hope for this fortress. How should he…
“Colonel.”
At that moment, Gerald opened his mouth.
Hearing an impossibly alive voice, Gangrim’s eyes widened.
Gerald was staring at him with brightly shining eyes from within the darkness of the car.
“Ge-General! You’re alive? How on earth…”
“Summon the VIPs here.”
Gerald cut off Gangrim’s words and gave an order.
His speech was slurred and slow, but the meaning was clear.
VIP.
Socially prestigious individuals or famous figures from political and financial circles.
The very existence above the ceiling that Gangrim felt.
“Quickly. Hurry.”
“Yes.”
Thorough obedience to power and knowing how to align oneself properly. That was the secret to Gangrim’s survival so far.
When he thought Gerald was dead, there was nothing he could do, but if Gerald was alive, he was still humanity’s apex.
Even if Gangrim didn’t understand how Gerald was alive right now, he had to follow orders for the time being.
Gerald gestured as if he had something to say to the soldier who had come with Gangrim.
Gangrim hurried to follow the order and started to climb the stairs, but suddenly stopped.
Protecting the VIPs was important. But there were soldiers and numerous civilians taking refuge in the fortress.
“General. Then what about the civilians…”
Bang.
Instead of an answer, a gunshot rang out.
Thud. The soldier who had guided Gangrim here collapsed with a hole in his head.
Gangrim looked at the car with a bewildered expression. Gerald slowly emerged from the car.
Still in a terrible state, Gerald met eyes with Gangrim, who had not yet left.
“We can’t have others gossiping about this appearance.”
“But… No, it’s nothing.”
Gangrim gritted his teeth.
It wasn’t the first time Gangrim had covered up Gerald’s misdeeds.
If he was to remain humanity’s hope, this zombie-like appearance couldn’t be revealed.
“What should we do about the civilians? I think we should guide them to the evacuation route after the VIPs pass through first.”
“Evacuation?”
Gerald tilted his head as if hearing an unfamiliar word. His head injury seemed to be confusing him.
“Ah, the civilians. No, forget it. Leave them as bait to delay the monsters as much as possible. I’ve looked into a route to move to the third refuge nearby. There were some issues along the way, but I’ve confirmed it’s safe. If we buy time here, we can move safely.”
Gerald waved the gun in his hand as he continued speaking.
“But we don’t have much time. Hurry.”
Gangrim didn’t move.
“Colonel?”
“You said you looked into a refuge… Didn’t you say you were going to close the gate in this area with Captain Park Ha-yuri and Sadmael? Where are they?”
“Looking at my condition, can’t you guess? They’re all dead, of course. If I wasn’t the Immortal, I’d be dead too.”
‘The Immortal?’
The Immortal was Gerald’s nickname. But Gerald was using it not as a nickname, but as a common noun.
As if the Immortal really existed.
At that moment, Gerald seemed to notice something was off and shook his head.
“Ah, right. Colonel Ju Gangrim wasn’t one of ‘us’. I’ve been with you for so long, I forgot.”
‘Us.’
Gangrim realized the true nature of the alienation he had felt all his life.
Us, the VIPs, those at the pinnacle of human civilization, them.
The nature of the ceiling that Gangrim could never reach was the Immortals.
Gangrim wasn’t surprised.
After all, right in front of him was Gerald, walking around alive despite looking like a corpse, and zombies that eat people even after death were filling the world.
Gangrim had already vaguely guessed their identity.
From rumors about the Immortals, from the appearance of VIPs who never seemed to age, from Gerald’s returns from situations where he should have surely died.
Gangrim may have wanted, no, definitely wanted to become like them.
But now Gerald was telling him to throw humanity away as bait and look after the safety of the Immortals.
Even Gangrim, who had been assisting Gerald at the risk of his life since his 20s, was merely an outstanding slave to them.
“All the other adjutants died early, but Colonel Ju Gangrim alone lived unusually long, so I got confused. Or maybe it’s because I hit my head…”
Gerald began to move slowly. Gangrim moved quickly.
Both the action and the start were all faster for Gangrim.
But the next moment, it was Gangrim whose neck was grabbed.
Even looking like a dying corpse, even after ordering to throw away all remaining humans as bait, Gerald was still Gerald.
Gerald’s expressionless gaze was cold.
Gerald applied force to his fingers as if crushing an insect. With a cracking sound, Gangrim lost consciousness.
Gangrim woke up with a violent cough. Screams, shouts, and footsteps could be heard from the top of the stairs.
Gangrim squinted, trying to find Gerald. But the car and Gerald were already gone.
‘Did he leave with the VIPs?’
He didn’t know if Gerald had gone to find them himself, or if there was another adjutant like him. Either way, Gangrim had been thoroughly used and discarded.
Gangrim laughed bitterly and tried to get up with difficulty, but his body wouldn’t listen.
His neck, which Gerald had tried to break, seemed to rattle and collide. Fortunately, Gerald hadn’t succeeded, but Gangrim was left in a state close to half-paralysis.
Bang.
Gangrim swung his fist and struck the ground.
After all that struggling, was he merely a slave? Was this pathetic state the highest point he could reach?
Gangrim glared at the floor with bloodshot eyes.
For the past few years, Gangrim had faithfully carried out Gerald’s orders. If there really was a hell, he had probably reserved a ticket.
And as a result of those efforts, tens of thousands of civilians were thrown away as bait, and he was abandoned.
“Gerald!”
Gangrim let out a scream-like shout.
Screams continued unabated from above. It was clear that abominations and zombies had already invaded the fortress.
Gangrim looked at the other side of the underground passage.
The VIPs and Gerald must have disappeared beyond there.
Gangrim painfully crawled up the stairs. With each step he climbed, the screams grew less frequent.
There was no chance of survival inside the fortress anymore.
Gerald must have taken all those who could be of use. So Gangrim decided to at least slow them down.
‘You’re going to throw people away as bait?’
A strange, sobbing laugh escaped from Gangrim’s throat.
That can’t happen.
For the first time, Gangrim directly defied Gerald’s order. Gangrim flung open the hidden door in the basement.
“Come on!”
Just then, a horde of zombies was running on the opposite side. The zombies rushed towards the underground passage Gangrim had opened, more like a rapid current than people.
Gangrim spread his arms wide towards the oncoming zombies.
“Here’s the fresh meat you love!”
Bang.
Gangrim met the incoming zombies head-on with his bare body.
Crunch, crunch. Even as he tumbled down the stairs with the zombies, Gangrim burst into laughter.
An even more enormous number of zombies than he had expected was pouring into the underground passage.
If zombies flood into the underground passage, the number of zombies in the fortress will decrease, even if only slightly.
Then the chances of survival for people hiding somewhere, or those still resisting, will increase, even if only by a tiny margin.
0.1%, or even 0.001%.
Of course, he knew that nothing would change.
They will die. Gangrim will die.
In this world, only the Immortals can survive.
But there will be a blemish on Gerald’s order. This trivial defiance was the only revenge Gangrim, who had lived his entire life as a slave, could manage.
Gangrim laughed as he felt teeth digging into his flesh.
‘I defied your order. Gerald.’
A zombie’s hand gripped his shoulder. Gangrim felt his arm being bitten.
“This small act of defiance is all I have now…”
Us, VIP, the apex of human society, them.
The Immortals.
“If I get another chance… then you, no, all of you…”
I’ll kill every last one of you.
Without leaving a single one alive.
Crack. He felt his neck being bitten. Hot blood soaked his body.
Gangrim’s consciousness faded in an instant.
“Hey, I like the way this bastard thinks. Seems like we’d get along well.”
Suddenly, Gangrim noticed someone among the zombie horde.
A man in a black suit with a pale face.
He was whispering to Gangrim with a voice tinged with amusement.
“Alright, I’ll give you that chance, so let’s work on something together.”