Immortals vs. Grim Reapers - chapter 29
Chapter 29. Burning the Thatched Cottage (1)
Near Gangnam Station’s entertainment district.
Just a few kilometers away, northern Seoul was still teeming with the zombie plague, but the streets south of the Han River were gradually regaining stability following the government’s announcement of safety.
Though the problem still loomed overhead, people clung to more primal desires as if trying to avert their eyes from the immediate terror.
Yet even amidst this, some were grappling with a new fear.
Armed security guards patrolled the second-floor corridor of a room salon with uneasy eyes.
The second floor had a corridor layout, with the center open to provide a clear view of the first floor below.
Due to recent security issues, they had decided to clear out the entire second floor and operate only on the first.
This wasn’t a problem as the number of customers had already decreased due to the zombie plague. However, a different issue was troubling the owner and security guards.
“Damn it, won’t customers be more scared if we’re carrying guns like this?”
A guard on patrol grumbled.
What they were carrying under their jackets wasn’t just ordinary guns, but submachine guns, even loaded with live ammunition from military stock.
Though these were the most common weapons circulating in the black market, the guards knew where these weapons came from. This knowledge only heightened their anxiety.
“That’s why we’ve turned off the lights on the second floor and are on guard.”
“That’s just hiding our heads in the sand.”
Even with the second-floor lights off, customers on the first floor couldn’t help but feel uneasy knowing someone was watching them from above. Some had already left, complaining about the ruined atmosphere.
The guard clicked his tongue and moved to change positions, nearly tripping over another guard’s foot.
With the lighting already dim and the second-floor lights off, it was naturally difficult to see.
“Watch it.”
“Damn, this is going to drive us crazy.”
One guard grumbled under his breath.
“I’m not joking. I’ve already seen things that weren’t there several times.”
“Focus on your guard duty. Haven’t you heard about what happened at the Cheongdam store?”
“You mean the ghost story? That survivor employee went completely insane, right? Rambling about ghosts and whatnot. Wasn’t he just high and set fire to a gas line?”
“Idiot, it’s not just a one-time thing.”
The guard glanced around before whispering urgently.
“After two executives died, our stores have been getting hit one after another. Don’t you believe it?”
“So you want me to believe that a ghost appears in the middle of the night, killing off our entire organization? Damn it, the story about U.S. military involvement sounds more plausible. They showed up right after both high-ranking members died, didn’t they?”
“Would you rather fight the U.S. military or a ghost?”
“……”
It was a complex and difficult question.
The guards looked anxiously at the submachine guns tucked inside their jackets. They didn’t think these would be effective against ghosts or the U.S. military.
Rather, they hoped the situation where they’d need to use them would never arise.
Thump.
Just then, a heavy footstep was heard.
The guards startled but relaxed when they saw who it was. It was one of the Elder’s drug slaves, his body covered in protective gear.
The only exposed part was his bloodshot eyes, but the drug slave passed by them without any sign of fatigue.
Seeing this, one guard spoke up.
“Hey, we’re still in the best shape among our group. I heard they’ve tightened security up top, filling it with these high-level armed drug slaves. Whether it’s the U.S. military or ghosts, if they have any sense, they won’t come here first.”
“…I guess so? There are weaker targets out there.”
“Our job is just to report properly if we spot anyone. I just wish we could get a look at whoever this bastard is.”
“Oh, speaking of which, didn’t one of the hunters hired by the Elder find a clue about the guy?”
“A clue? What was it?”
“Something about ‘Grim Reaper’ being written?”
At this, another guard burst into laughter. He shook with laughter for a while before finally speaking.
“What? Grim Reaper? Death God would’ve sounded more plausible. What’s a Grim Reaper doing here? Catching ghosts? Is it the Grim Reaper Ghost-Busting Marines?”
The guard chuckled at his own joke for a while, but the others didn’t join in.
Feeling embarrassed and about to get angry, he noticed their gaze was fixed not on him but on the opposite corridor.
“What’s wrong with that?”
***
The large drug slave was flinching and backing away.
The guards were startled, having never seen him retreat before.
As a guard approached to check, there was a splat sound, and the drug slave’s head split open.
Behind him, a dark shadow burst through the blood mist and pounced on them.
“Enemy!”
Whoosh, thud.
The guard hurriedly drew his gun and aimed, but the dark shadow had already vanished.
Flustered, the guard swung his gun muzzle around. His shout made the customers on the first floor look up in confusion.
“Damn it, an enemy has app…”
The guard frantically turned his head to alert his colleagues but realized no one was in sight. Cold sweat soaked his back.
“Hey, quickly radio…”
The guard looked urgently to his side, but his companion had also vanished.
“Hik…”
Realizing that his colleague who had been talking beside him just moments ago had disappeared, the guard nearly collapsed. Just then, in the flickering emergency light, he saw something being dragged away.
It was his colleague’s shoe.
Until that foot disappeared around the corner, his colleague didn’t make a sound.
Terrified, the guard frantically radioed in.
“Center, Center. Damn, damn. We’re under attack. Send backup to the second floor immediately!”
Click, static.
But no response came, no matter how long he waited. Only an eerie static noise persisted. The guard swallowed hard at this unanswered static.
The other guards patrolling the second-floor corridor were nowhere to be seen. How could so many guards disappear without anyone noticing?
The guard crawled, barely moving, towards the corner where his colleague had vanished.
In the darkness, the only light came from the emergency exit sign. And beneath that light, a long trail of blood stretched out.
But what awaited at the end of the blood trail wasn’t his colleague.
It was his colleague’s leg.
Whoosh, crack.
Suddenly, a sharp, intense pain shot through his right hand. The right index finger that should have pulled the trigger was severed.
The guard tried to scream, but something rough was shoved into his mouth. He tasted sharp, cold metal on his tongue.
“I have a question.”
A man’s whispered voice came from behind. The guard wet himself.
“Ha, haugh…”
“Where is the Shine Sand?”
The guard raised his trembling hand to point somewhere. Only then did Gangrim slowly withdraw the knife from the guard’s mouth.
Even after the knife was removed, the guard couldn’t move, shaking violently.
“Not turning around? Smart.”
A dry voice whispered. His voice coiled around the guard’s nape like a snake.
“Keep standing still. Then I’ll let you live.”
The guard nodded vigorously while standing in place.
There was no response. But the guard couldn’t be sure if the man had really left or not.
At some point, as his heart raced even at the act of breathing, with a clunk, all the lights in the room salon went out simultaneously.
Screams and shouts erupted. As there was no sign of the lights coming back on after a while, employees with flashlights began urgently trying to control the customers.
“Everyone, please follow the instructions and move outside. Follow the emergency lights!”
Customers began to file out, grumbling. Meanwhile, the guard remained frozen, staring straight ahead.
The red emergency light flickered, illuminating his colleague’s severed leg.
The red bloodstain and the severed leg.
It seemed like an image he would never forget. And it was his only world.
In the pitch-black darkness beyond, that man was lurking.
It felt like he might still be behind him, watching with a knife or axe in hand.
In his invisible delusion, that being was the U.S. military, a ghost, and the Grim Reaper. Or a monster combining all of them.
While the whole world waited to devour him, all he could do was stare at the feeble emergency light, flickering like a candle.
The man never returned. An eternity seemed to pass. But the guard couldn’t escape his terror.
He was left alone in the darkness.
***
Waaaail.
‘I’ve been hearing that sound a lot lately.’
Along with the clamorous fire engine sirens, water jets sprayed out. Thanks to the fire trucks arriving quickly, befitting Gangnam Station, it didn’t seem like the fire would spread as much as feared. But since the Shine Sand had certainly been taken care of, there shouldn’t be any problems.
“Even ordinary security guards are carrying guns now.”
Wol-ryeong spoke, recalling the recent hunt.
“Unable to dispose of the U.S. military weapons, they seem to have released them into the market. With regulations loosened due to zombie hunters, and the huge demand for firearms…”
In a situation where Gates could burst open anywhere at any time, the more weapons one had to protect oneself, the better. Because of this, even the government couldn’t handle the guns spreading covertly.
Gangrim ‘s burning of the Necromancy Faction’s warehouse had at least suppressed this somewhat. Gangrim opened his memo to check how much of the current mission had been completed.
「Mission: Burning Sand Castle」
「Objective: Destroy Shine Sand supply points (4/5)」
「Reward 1: 2,500 nyang of soul money」
「Reward 2: (Special) 100% additional reward for eliminating immortals」
Destroying the Shine Sand supply points wasn’t difficult.
Most were disguised as bars or room salons, so they didn’t have as many armed personnel as the warehouses in northern Seoul. However, care had to be taken to avoid civilian casualties due to firearms or explosives.
But so far, Gangrim had been handling the enemies without problems.
“How strange that despite all this commotion, not a single immortal has shown up.”
Gangrim looked disappointed at the additional reward item.
He had hoped, since this burning room salon was the largest of the targets, but as expected, no one appeared.
It was even more deflating since Wol-ryeong was also accompanying him in case an immortal showed up.
“Didn’t you say the Necromancy General was planning something?”
“Yes. According to those I interrogated, the Necromancy General dispatched an executive called ‘Magpie’, but…”
Gangrim had been extracting information through interrogations while taking out the security guards.
This included information about other establishments, ghoul equipment, and the status of executives and the Necromancy General.
Thanks to this, clearing out the establishments was easy, but he still hadn’t seen the executive called Magpie.
“Come to think of it, we don’t know his name. What do we do with an immortal whose name we don’t know?”
“Finding out the name is the priority.”
“Is it impossible to kill them without using the Death Summon?”
Ding.
「Yeomna: It’s not impossible, but it requires extremely difficult and cumbersome methods or special equipment.」
「Gangrim: Did you plant a listening device or something?」
「Yeomna: The memo records the voice, location, and status of all Grim Reapers on duty.」
Where has the labor rights of the afterworld gone? To the other world?
「Yeomna: If it’s really not possible, cut them into appropriate sizes, divide them into containers, and fill them with concrete.」
「Yeomna: Actually, we’ve already dealt with about three or four that way.」
「Gangrim: Only three or four?」
「Yeomna: Most choose to call out their own names during the process.」
「Yeomna: We don’t really like this method either.」
「Gangrim: It does seem unethical.」
「Yeomna: No, it’s not that. It’s just that they end up as missing persons, so they’re not removed from the register or counted as achievements. It’s all effort for nothing, and the immortals just keep piling up.」
That’s true.
To prevent the world from ending, we need to reduce the number of immortals, but canning them is just hiding them from sight.
Just then, someone was carried out of the room salon. It was a man who seemed to have inhaled smoke. Judging by the respirator he was wearing, he didn’t seem to be dead.
“Wow, he really didn’t move at all. The smoke must have filled the place.”
At those words, Wol-ryeong turned her head.
“You spared another one.”
Gangrim nodded as if suddenly realizing who she meant.
“Ah, if they haven’t seen my face, I try to spare one or two.”
“Why?”
“Because self-PR is important in this era.”