Immortals vs. Grim Reapers - chapter 26
Chapter 26. You Will Die (2)
Gangrim returned to the Samdo Renaissance Hotel, provided by Wol-ryeong as lodging, around noon that day.
With no need to leave the sealed-off Seoul, Gangrim was able to return early.
The taxi driver asked no questions of the blood-soaked zombie hunter who boarded with an ominous weapon.
After washing up and sprawling out for half a day, he awoke again in the evening.
Gangrim rolled around in bed, examining Han-taek’s black matter obtained from this hunt.
‘Han-taek…’
While the possession skill was useful for gaining strength quickly, its side effects meant it wasn’t used in combat except in truly desperate moments.
Rather, its original purpose was more for hearing stories from the dead.
‘But the dead’s stories are incoherent and their memories faint.’
With proper communication impossible, the information gained is limited. But there were moments when this possession skill shone.
When mimicking one’s living appearance.
‘That’s why he was so glib in the warehouse.’
Though Gangrim never intended to trust Han-taek, there was a grain of truth in his words.
It couldn’t be helped.
The Han-taek Gangrim conversed with wasn’t Han-taek, but another ghost.
Being possessed by a different ghost, it was natural for the appeal to contain sincerity.
However, to Gangrim ‘s eyes with the Dog’s Eye skill, it was a transparent deception. He even felt pity for Han-taek, who tried so hard to deceive while trusting his own possession skill.
‘But anyway, civilian zombie hunters keep joining this Necromancy Faction organization…’
It’s natural for people struggling with life to be drawn to a safe and easy path.
But considering the world to come, eliminating the Necromancy Faction as soon as possible was the way to save as many people as possible. To do that, he first needed to uncover the identity of this “Elder”.
‘I should have interrogated him more thoroughly.’
Gangrim thought as he examined Han-taek’s black matter.
The exact nature of black matter was still unknown.
It was only speculated to be the substance causing the zombie plague because it didn’t come from living people’s heads, only from zombies’.
But since it not only suppressed the plague but was also used for ability enhancement, it couldn’t simply be detested and avoided.
‘The fact that abilities can be enhanced with black matter might mean zombies and awakened aren’t that different.’
That’s why some people treated awakened like zombies. But regardless, it remained unchanged that without awakened, it was only a matter of time before they were annihilated by the zombie plague.
However, the fact that black matter came from an immortal was problematic.
Han-taek wasn’t a zombie.
Though his appearance was infinitely monstrous, it was certain he wasn’t a zombie. Moreover, no black matter emerged from Lopez.
‘The Death Summon, is that perhaps the difference from Lopez?’
Lopez self-destructed before the Death Summon was completed. But Han-taek met his death as the Death Summon was completed.
Of course, it wasn’t a normal death, but at least he didn’t rot and crumble like Lopez.
“Hmm… I wonder if Grim Reaper Wol-ryeong can explain when she returns.”
Gangrim was about to put down Han-taek’s black matter he’d been rolling between his fingers.
That’s when he heard a rustling sound.
As Gangrim was startled, a strange voice brushed past.
[…der.]
“Huh?”
Gangrim looked at the black matter again, wondering if he’d misheard.
Something was moving within the mysterious patterns of the black matter.
The black matter was slowly but constantly moving, making a rustling sound.
From within that indescribable turbulent vortex, a scream-like wail that Han-taek had cried out at the end was flowing out like a whisper.
It was calling for someone.
“…Necromancy General Elder?”
***
「Wol-ryeong: Necromancy General?」
「Gangrim: Yes. Do you know the name?」
Though it seemed too simple for the boss of an organization called the Necromancy Faction to be named Necromancy General, at least it was something of a name to go on.
Of course, it was still unlikely to be his real name, but it might lead to something if traced.
「Wol-ryeong: It doesn’t seem to be a real name, at least.」
「Gangrim: It’s not an alias I know either. I guess he wasn’t one of Gerald’s VIPs.」
He had expected as much, since he seemed to be in opposition to Gerald. Even Gerald wouldn’t look after all immortals, only those he considered on his side.
「Wol-ryeong: But we should be able to find someone who knows him.」
「Wol-ryeong: It’s a much easier name to specify than just “Elder”.」
「Gangrim: Ah, to that informant of yours?」
「Wol-ryeong: Yes.」
He had thought it strange that the memo gave such detailed location information, but apparently there was an informant who had tipped them off about the Elder’s warehouse building in Hapjeong.
Thanks to that, they were able to not only take down the immortal Han-taek but also destroy the weapons they were gathering, so it was a great help.
It was a shame about the weapons that were used once and destroyed, but U.S. military weapons are easily tracked anyway.
He didn’t want to give Gerald’s forces, which he was working on, any reason to pick on him for doing unnecessary things. That’s why he destroyed everything.
If he couldn’t have it, he wanted to keep it out of Gerald’s hands too.
「Wol-ryeong: The informant said that from now on, instead of destroying the weapons, if you contact him, he’ll pay for them.」
「Gangrim: …Money? Is that person a Grim Reaper too?」
「Wol-ryeong: Not a Grim Reaper, but one of Lord Yeomna’s people.」
「Wol-ryeong: Perhaps someone Grim Reaper Gangrim knows as well.」
「Gangrim: Someone I know?」
「Wol-ryeong: Yes. But he’s requested anonymity for now, so I’ll arrange a chance to meet later. We’ll likely meet often anyway as we continue this work.」
Hearing that the informant worked for Yeomna, Gangrim suddenly thought about this ‘Samdo Renaissance Hotel’ where he was staying.
The hotel staff don’t ask or question anything even when Gangrim returns covered in blood, silently going about their duties. Though the hotel name is tacky, the staff are efficient and neat.
Moreover, Wol-ryeong herself is the CEO of ‘Samdo Security’, a company specializing in zombie hunting.
From what Gangrim found out, ‘Samdo Security’ is a subsidiary of the parent company ‘Samdo Group’.
Not quite a conglomerate level, but a substantial mid-sized company.
‘Are there perhaps many more people working under Yeomna than I thought?’
It was entirely possible.
Gangrim reconsidered even the company name.
‘Surely the name Samdo isn’t derived from Samdo-cheon?’
Gangrim realized he had been so focused on the immortals that he had neglected to consider Yeomna or the afterlife.
Of course, he had no anxiety since Yeomna and Wol-ryeong were clearly allies and solidly supporting him.
But that was also the case when he was with Gerald.
A hero striving to the last to protect humanity amidst its extinction.
Where could there possibly be room for doubt?
Trustworthy allies are good, but even better are allies whose weaknesses you hold.
「Wol-ryeong: So you say this Necromancy General’s plans will ultimately fail?」
As Wol-ryeong brought up the topic of the Necromancy General, Gangrim decided to focus on the immediate goal for now.
Gangrim had already made countless speculations about the Necromancy General’s objectives.
「Gangrim: Yes. Seeing as I don’t remember much about this incident, it seems so.」
「Wol-ryeong: I heard the Necromancy General hired many zombie hunters, didn’t you hear anything?」
「Gangrim: At the time, I was fortunate to find a decent team to work with…」
「Gangrim: But we should try to find out what his plan is.」
Coup d’état, state collapse, civil war, and so on.
The possibilities are diverse.
But even if it’s a plan doomed to fail, it’s not bad if we can infer the purpose.
We could predict his next moves.
「Wol-ryeong: Do you have any guesses?」
「Gangrim: Honestly, I don’t think there’s any grand scheme or plan.」
「Wol-ryeong: Why do you say that?」
Gangrim smiled bitterly as he tapped out a message on the memo.
「Gangrim: Because the people he uses and the things they do are like what petty thugs would do.」
「Gangrim: They might have mysterious powers, but their actions are closer to common criminals. I can see why Gerald suppressed them.」
Gangrim had seen Gerald manipulating businessmen and national leaders, and freely recruiting talents from all over.
Just looking at what the Necromancy General was doing, he could tell the measure of the man.
Though he didn’t know how he obtained immortal abilities, Gangrim was certain he wasn’t a remarkable being.
‘Of course, to ordinary people like Han-taek or Lopez, an immortal would seem mysterious and inherently authoritative.’
But once you see the ‘real deal’, your thoughts change.
The only people who made Gangrim shudder and think he absolutely didn’t want to get close to were Gerald and Yeomna.
Ironically, Gangrim ended up working under both of them.
Returning to the original point, Gangrim considered what an immortal who could control ghouls might be plotting in South Korea.
「Gangrim: Come to think of it, I might be able to figure out his objective.」
「Gangrim: I’ll go out in a bit.」
「Wol-ryeong: No.」
“Huh?”
Gangrim was surprised by Wol-ryeong’s unexpected sharp opposition.
「Wol-ryeong: Grim Reaper Gangrim has already returned with severe injuries today.」
「Wol-ryeong: Though physical recovery may have occurred, the damage is filled by the soul.」
「Wol-ryeong: I’ll return the day after tomorrow, so rest until then.」
In short, it meant, “Your body isn’t even in good shape, so where do you think you’re going?”
Gangrim was greatly bewildered by this unfamiliar conversation.
What is this, vigilance? Or jealousy towards a junior growing too quickly? Or disapproval?
But after a moment’s thought, Gangrim figured out the nature of this unfamiliar conversation.
It was concern.
‘No, why?’
Gangrim started to type “Why are you…” but deleted it again.
Thinking about it, it was only natural for a senior to worry about a junior who returned bruised all over, with broken bones and covered in blood.
It was just that such a situation itself was unfamiliar to Gangrim. It was something he couldn’t even imagine when he was under Gerald.
「Gangrim: But if I hurry, I might be able to save even one person.」
「Wol-ryeong: This is an order as your senior Grim Reaper.」
「Yeomna: Yeah, listen to your senior.」
He started to type “Don’t rudely interrupt when seniors and juniors are talking, you old fogy,” but deleted it again.
But with even Yeomna saying this, he couldn’t argue.
Gangrim thought about trying once more, but decided against it when he saw Wol-ryeong’s avatar with hands on hips and a frown.
「Gangrim: Then I’ll rest until Grim Reaper Wol-ryeong returns.」
And so, Gangrim gained an unexpected two-day vacation.
Pondering what to do for two days, Gangrim suddenly remembered something.
“…Come to think of it, I haven’t contacted Mother once since regressing.”
***
“So how can we agree to that civilian control-obsessed bill!”
“It’s not about civilian control, the country is in danger! The country!”
“Are you really worried about the country? It seems like you just want to use the entire population as you please!”
Sejong City.
Because Yeouido had become a dangerous place where monsters could cross over at any time, the interim National Assembly had been moved to Sejong City. The party offices of each party were the same.
But even with the change of location, the ruling party’s conference room was as noisy as ever.
The difference was that instead of fighting with members of other parties, they were fighting among themselves within the same ruling party.
It was all because of a bill proposed by the opposition party.
The ruling party was fiercely fighting over whether to support or oppose this bill.
Amidst the murderous atmosphere where it seemed they might come to blows at any moment, the woman shouting with the loudest voice, Assemblyman Seo-kyung Yoo, finally climbed onto the desk and threw papers in all directions.
“What kind of measure is it to conscript all awakened individuals!”
“To prevent the outflow of awakened individuals overseas…”
“In short, you just want to use them cheaply! Look at the soldiers now! Because they’re conscripted cheaply, they’re used cheaply, and even if they die, it’s not considered much of a loss! Do you really think you can prevent the outflow of precious awakened individuals with such thoughts…”
“Assemblyman.”
Seo-kyung, who had been loudly denouncing, came to her senses at the touch of her aide pulling on her sleeve.
Realizing she had gotten too excited, Seo-kyung came down from the desk, breathing heavily.
The aide was holding a phone. Seo-kyung was about to ignore it but closed her mouth after checking who was calling.
“Let’s take a 5-minute break.”
Seo-kyung glared at the others with murderous eyes and went outside with the phone.
After confirming there was nothing around, Seo-kyung opened her mouth.
“Yes, son. Have you eaten?”
[…Shouldn’t you first ask if I’m alive?]
Gangrim answered bitterly from the other end of the phone.