Immortals vs. Grim Reapers - chapter 19
Chapter 19. The Hunters (3)
Clint’s face twitched. It was the most dramatic change yet.
Naturally, Clint knew about Han Min-sung’s ability.
This mission was partly to test his capabilities.
But now, someone with the same ability had appeared in his place, achieved the objective, and Han Min-sung was dead?
It was a bizarre situation by anyone’s standards.
After a brief silence, Clint spoke.
“…Interesting.”
However, whether Gangrimhad killed Han Min-sung or not wasn’t important.
What mattered was that Gangrimhad passed the test in Han Min-sung’s place, and he might possess the ‘Blood Taker’ ability they had sought to recruit Han Min-sung for.
Moreover, Gangrimclaimed to have killed an immortal.
A blade capable of slaying immortals.
For an immortal engaged in battle with other immortals, nothing could be more enticing.
“…Huh.”
Clint stroked his chin, eyeing Gangrimintently.
Though his face remained expressionless, Gangrim felt he could see right through Clint’s thoughts.
‘I’ve been butting heads with your kind for over a decade. Damn bastard.’
Gangrimhad survived in a cutthroat world where a single moment of carelessness or one misplaced word could put him on Gerald’s bad side.
The reason, a mere D-rank ability user, had managed to survive among A-rank and S-rank awakened individuals was that he had worked several times, no, dozens of times harder than them.
Gangri’s gaze briefly flickered to Han Min-sung’s corpse. But Clint no longer seemed interested in Han Min-sung.
A more intriguing individual had appeared.
‘A dangerous blade.’
Clint had already recognized Gangrimas a threat. But it was wiser to keep a dangerous blade close rather than let it roam freely.
Besides, Blood Taker ability users were extremely rare and often concealed their identities.
“What’s your name?”
And finally, he took the bait.
“Gangrim Joo.”
“Gangrim Joo.”
Clint murmured the name repeatedly, as if committing it to memory.
Click.
Just then, a report came through Clint’s radio. They had discovered the warehouse where Lopez had stashed the diverted supplies.
Clint acknowledged the report and turned back to Gangrim.
“Would you be interested in working with us?”
“Pardon?”
Gangrim couldn’t help but be slightly surprised by Clint’s unexpected proposal.
In his original life, Gangrim had joined Gerald’s group years later. But he also realized this was Clint’s way of testing the waters.
“Ah, I’m sorry, but joining the U.S. military is a bit…”
“I’m not talking about the military. I’m referring to something far more valuable. We can offer you a better deal than any company or clan in Korea right now.”
Clint then proceeded to detail the salary, benefits, and various forms of support they could provide.
It was an offer generous enough to make most people’s eyes widen, but to Gangrim, who had served as Gerald’s direct adjutant, it was merely amusing.
If he accepted here, Gangrim might be able to infiltrate Gerald’s organization again as a low-ranking member.
And just as before, he could climb the ranks through a complex process of qualification and verification.
It was a path Gangrim, as a D-rank awakened, had traversed before. With Han Min-sung’s Blood Taker ability, it would undoubtedly be easier.
But Gangrim had no desire to do so.
Joining now would only make him a subordinate. The one in the superior position is the one being begged to join.
He had no interest in being used and discarded at some middling level like before.
No, this time, Gangrim intended to use them and discard them.
“I’m sorry, but I’d like to think carefully about my future path.”
After some deliberation, Gangrim conveyed a sense of reluctance.
Clint seemed even more intrigued by Gangrim’s hesitation.
“Fair enough, it’s difficult to make a career decision on the spot. I’ll contact you later, and I hope for a positive response then.”
“Ah, could I possibly get a business card? I’m sorry, but I don’t have one myself…”
Clint looked at Gangrim with an ‘I thought as much’ expression at his lingering interest.
“I’ll have my adjutant give you one. And…”
Clint glanced at Han Min-sung before continuing.
“I should thank you for handling our business.”
Gangrim responded with a gentle smile, showing no signs of tension.
“It was nothing. I’m just honored to have met such an admirable person as Lieutenant General Clint McCallen.”
“The soldiers will see you out.”
Gangrim bowed politely and headed for the door.
Just as he was about to step out, Clint suddenly spoke up.
“Oh, it seemed like there might have been another person here. Did you have a companion?”
“Pardon? No, I didn’t.”
Despite the sudden question, Gangrim answered without a moment’s hesitation.
In truth, he was quite flustered internally.
‘Did he somehow detect traces of Wol-ryeong?’
Wol-ryeong was a person with such a faint presence that he could be standing right next to you and feel like a ghost. But Gangrim couldn’t mention Wol-ryeong.
“I see. Understood.”
Clint sent Gangrim out again. After Gangrim left and a captain entered, Clint issued an order.
“That hunter who just left. Investigate Gangrim Joo thoroughly. His contact information, address, family relations, and all personal connections.”
“Yes, sir.”
After the captain left, Clint pondered about Gangrim.
There were no apparent flaws in his story.
‘And those eyes of his…’
Those eyes weren’t lying. If anything, they exuded a strong sense of kinship.
If it was true that he had killed Lopez, he could potentially become a far more significant figure than Han Min-sung.
‘I’ll have to keep an eye on him.’
***
“Honestly, I’m not sure if that was a wise move.”
Gangrim reunited with Wol-ryeong only after putting enough distance between them to be certain they weren’t being followed.
Wol-ryeong spoke with a disapproving expression.
Gangrim shrugged.
“You mean revealing my existence, name, and the fact that I possess Han Min-sung’s ability?”
“It seems like we’ve taken a one-sided loss. I thought Grim Reaper Gangrim was going to kill that immortal, Clint, right there.”
“Haha, I considered it, but Clint is Gerald’s right-hand man. Gerald sends Clint wherever brute force is needed. I’m well aware of Clint’s strength and abilities.”
Even with his enhanced abilities as a Grim Reaper, Gangrim couldn’t easily overcome Clint at this point. But Gangrim wasn’t worried about Clint.
“Let’s say we somehow managed to eliminate Clint. Dealing with Clint is something we could resolve given enough time. But the real problem is Gerald’s network of power that’s strung out behind him.”
Gangrim knew better than anyone the extent of power, wealth, and strength Gerald held.
“Facing not just Gerald, but the military behind him? No, worse yet, if he goes into hiding behind his underlings, it would be disastrous. To take down everything behind him, we need a plan.”
“A plan?”
“To cut out a deeply rooted malignant tumor like the immortals, just scraping the surface won’t do.”
No matter how much of a right-hand man Clint was, Gerald could easily find a replacement for him.
Gangrim smiled, imagining what Clint might be doing now.
“He’s probably busy digging up information about me. But this is the advantage of being a regressor, isn’t it? My information will be cleaner than at any other point in my life.”
No matter how hard Clint investigates Gangrim, he’ll find nothing but a jobless 20-something with a history of being a malingerer.
The fact that he suddenly became a hunter after being hospitalized is nothing unusual among zombie hunters.
It’s common for those who gain awakened abilities to be forcibly recruited by the military to help with zombie disposal.
“But with this, I can gain Clint’s trust.”
“Trust… you say?”
“Yes. And I intend to use that trust to turn Clint into a malignant tumor within the immortal group. I know Clint’s weakness.”
“Weakness?”
“Yes. I plan to use that weakness to turn Clint into Gerald’s malignant tumor at every opportunity. For that, he needs to stay alive.”
Just as the immortals had eaten away at human society from within, Gangrim planned to become their cancer in return.
Clint was merely the first candidate for a metastasized cancer cell.
“I’d like to see Gerald cut off his own right arm.”
***
Two weeks passed.
Despite Gangrim’s bold claims, there had been no contact from Clint.
But Gangrim wasn’t anxious. Because he had Clint’s business card.
Having Clint’s business card meant he could contact him anytime. In other words, it meant Clint was waiting for his call.
‘By now, he’s probably figured out my contact information and even the hotel I’m staying at.’
Still, Clint couldn’t make the first move.
His pride wouldn’t allow him to reach out first to a hunter with no notable achievements, and to maintain the upper hand in future negotiations, he couldn’t make contact.
Calling now would look like begging him to come.
With just one business card, he had reversed the positions of superior and subordinate.
‘But time is on my side.’
Gangrim thought as he flicked Clint’s business card onto the desk.
Over the past two weeks, Gangrim had focused on physical training and experimenting with his new equipment, the Spirit Summoning Talisman, and the ‘Blood Taker’ ability.
These weren’t particularly challenging, but the real issue was the ‘Official Attire’.
In the underground training room beneath the hotel.
Chik, ta-tang!
Wol-ryeong threw a flying dagger at him. Gangrim swung his hand axe with all his might to deflect the dagger but felt a numbing impact in his hand.
Wol-ryeong didn’t stop, spinning and throwing more daggers in quick succession.
Thump, thump, thump.
After deflecting the fourth dagger, Gangrim finally lost his grip on the hand axe.
Clang. The fifth dagger grazed past Gangrim’s neck.
“…Let’s take it easy, shall we?”
“What’s there to worry about when there’s no one to take you if you die?”
Wol-ryeong treated practice exactly like real combat. In other words, Gangrim had nearly died about 26 times at Wol-ryeong’s hands over the past two weeks.
No, if he weren’t a Grim Reaper, he would have certainly died. Thanks to becoming a Grim Reaper, he could avoid death from wounds that weren’t fatal.
The good news was that he hadn’t nearly died even once in the past 48 hours, and the bad news was that during all this time, Wol-ryeong hadn’t even donned his official attire or used his Death Sword.
“You still can’t properly manifest your Official Attire?”
Wol-ryeong asked as he pulled his daggers out of the wall.
Gangrim nodded. Since the final battle with Lopez, he hadn’t fully succeeded in manifesting his Official Attire. The hat on Gangrim’s head was tilted.
“It feels like I might be able to do it in a desperate situation, but for now, just draping on the robe is my limit. It’s amazing that I managed it in one go against Lopez.”
“That’s beginner’s luck. Like drawing the Eyes of the Beholder on your first ‘Today’s Fortune’.”
That incident seemed destined to be remembered in Wol-ryeong’s gambling history for a long time.
“By the way, Grim Reaper Gangrim, you’ve been officially registered as a hunter.”
“Ah, finally.”
Wol-ryeong pulled out an ID from his suit’s inner pocket and handed it to Gangrim.
A hunter’s license.
In reality, it was a rather useless item.
After the Gates opened and zombies started appearing, it became difficult to distinguish between zombie hunters, civilians, and police.
The only difference was that zombie hunters weren’t stopped for carrying knives, axes, or guns in public.
But most importantly, it provided a solid social identity as a zombie hunter.
On the surface, an ordinary zombie hunter.
But behind the scenes, a Grim Reaper hunting immortals.
Moving with this distinction was advantageous for hunting immortals.
“Oh, by the way, what’s today’s date?”
“October 14th.”
Gangrim remembered that date.
It was the day Korea completely abandoned control over northern Seoul.
Now, except for a few bridges over the Han River, all would be closed, and military units would be stationed to block incoming zombies. The area north of the river would be completely dungeon-ized.
But that wasn’t the only problem.
‘The real issue is the hundreds of thousands of refugees created overnight.’
Gangrim had been one of those refugees. And there weren’t many options available to refugees.
Those with hometowns to return to were the lucky ones.
A significant number would join the military or become zombie hunters, while most would sink into deeper despair.
But among them, a few would find opportunities to climb out of the collapsing sky.
“Soon, awakened individuals will start pouring out.”
Not much was known about awakened individuals. But there were two theories about the conditions for their emergence.
One, they needed to be in a location where a Gate had opened.
Two, they needed to be pushed to extreme mental and physical limits.
But when was the world ever fair?
Even the abilities awakened in life-threatening situations varied from person to person, and among them, there were precious abilities and useless ones.
D-rank, unsuitable for combat.
C-rank, suitable for combat support.
B-rank, directly applicable in combat.
A-rank, from which great achievements could be expected.
And S-rank, handled at a national strategic level.
But even such distinctions would become meaningless later. After a few years, this ranking system would change, and when the Gates start to rampage, the entire Republic of Korea would be covered in Gates.
By then, just being alive would be equivalent to an SSS-rank.
“Shouldn’t we start moving soon?”
“Hmm, as a matter of fact, I do have something to do starting tonight.”
Wol-ryeong nodded and said.
“It seems Lopez moved weapons more than once. I’ve found out about one of the locations.”