Immortals vs. Grim Reapers - chapter 34
Chapter 34. Your Name Is (1)
A few days later.
Gangrim was climbing the foothills of Cheonggyesan Mountain. Wol-ryeong didn’t come along. Instead, Magpie was with him.
Magpie had her hat and hood pulled down low and didn’t bring her trademark crossbow, but she kept anxiously looking around.
“Are you that nervous?”
“Well, you don’t know how quick the Elder is with information. Especially if you’re an executive, you have to be extra careful. Why else do you think I even left Maeng-gu behind?”
“Is that supposed to be impressive? Do you always take your dog with you?”
At Gangrim’s words, Magpie glanced around slightly, as if checking her surroundings. Though she knew no one else was around, she couldn’t help but be cautious considering who she was with.
“There’s a rumor that the Elder… first takes away the soul of those he chooses to give immortality to.”
“Takes away the soul.”
“Yes. And then he puts all sorts of ghosts into that soul. Each ghost has a lifespan and life force. And those ghosts…”
Magpie swallowed hard before continuing, as if telling a scary story.
“If an executive who gained immortality tries to reveal secrets or harbors wicked thoughts, they immediately scatter. Then that executive, on the spot…”
Slit. Magpie made a gesture of cutting her throat.
Gangrim could understand from her words why James Lopez had died like that.
In Han-taek’s case, he clearly intended to deceive him, so it didn’t matter.
But what about Magpie?
“What about you? You’ve clearly betrayed, but Maeng-gu is fine?”
“He couldn’t take my soul, so it doesn’t matter. As for Maeng-gu, well, what thoughts could he have or what could he say? Unless he takes his soul again, he won’t know.”
It didn’t seem like as stringent a monitoring system as he had thought.
From the perspective of an executive who became an immortal, having to watch their words and thoughts wouldn’t be pleasant.
‘Still, I’ve gained a clue about how to become an immortal.’
He had heard that there were various types of immortals and various ways to become one.
Gangrim had only heard one of them, but if the fundamental principle was similar, it might be an important clue for the future.
“Where are we going, anyway?”
“You’ll see when we get there.”
There was a reason Gangrim brought Magpie along to climb the mountain.
Magpie seemed accustomed to mountain climbing, casually scaling up even as Gangrim started to get short of breath.
It seemed her claim of being a hunter wasn’t a lie.
After straying far from the hiking trail and moving along the ridge for a while, Gangrim spotted a red string tied to a tree. Wiping away sweat, Gangrim spoke.
“We seem to be getting close.”
“What’s that string?”
“Five-colored thread. It means there’s a tutelary deity here, so evil spirits should stay away.”
“It says ‘Nowon Mountaineering Club’ on it.”
“…They might have recycled it.”
This wasn’t a joke.
Walking a bit further, they indeed saw flags of various colors hanging around. It was blatantly a shaman’s house.
Not just the Nowon Mountaineering Club, but strings with the names of all sorts of groups and even business cards of managers and directors from well-known companies, as well as famous organization names, were hanging. Gangrim knew he had come to the right place.
“Seems like a pretty famous shaman’s house.”
Magpie said, looking around with a disgusted expression. These were business cards and names left by visitors praying for good fortune.
Among the five-colored threads strung up like Christmas tree decorations stood a small stone house.
It was an old house that made one wonder if electricity even reached here.
Gangrim pushed through the undergrowth and moved forward.
Inside the stone wall, numerous five-colored threads hung from a large guardian tree. That’s when Gangrim spotted ghosts standing behind the guardian tree.
“Wow! I thought there wouldn’t even be electricity in a place like this, but there’s even Wi-Fi!”
“Quiet.”
Gangrim silenced Magpie, who was noisily chattering while holding her phone. The ghosts stood motionless like dead trees around the tree.
Gangrim didn’t know much about shamans. He had just skimmed through the ‘Encyclopedia of Korean Folklore’ before coming here. But he knew what it meant for evil spirits to be loitering inside a shaman’s house.
Gangrim crouched low and approached the entrance. The sacred rope hanging at the entrance was finely shredded.
Seeing traces that looked like it had been randomly chewed up, not torn or cut by someone, Gangrim drew his Death Sword.
As soon as he drew the Death Sword, the surrounding ghosts flinched and began to react.
Rustle rustle rustle.
Like a swarm of cockroaches hiding, the surrounding ghosts concealed themselves. Magpie, startled by Gangrim suddenly drawing his hand axe, pulled out a dagger hidden at her ankle with a panicked expression.
“Wh-what’s there?”
“Seems we have a predecessor.”
As soon as they entered the yard, the nauseating smell of blood wafted over. Gangrim didn’t think twice and immediately kicked in the door.
Bang. But inside was only the half-rotted corpse of a shaman. It had been dead for at least a month.
“Damn it all.”
“Wh-why? Who is this person?”
“The Necromancy General’s teacher.”
Magpie’s eyes widened. Gangrim looked down at the shaman’s corpse and let out a long sigh.
“I came here to find out the Necromancy General’s name.”
***
“The name ‘Necromancy General’ started appearing in records from September two years ago, starting here. Until then, the guy who had his own name received a divine name here and became the Necromancy General.”
“Th-then this shaman…”
“This is the shaman who performed the divine possession ritual for the Necromancy General and gave him his name. She must have had extraordinary talent, since even well-known company presidents and members of the National Assembly came to seek her advice.”
But judging by the traces, it seemed she was no match for the Necromancy General. Gangrim had visited this place as soon as he found traces of the Necromancy General.
“No, the Necromancy General was probably quite a skilled shaman even before this. But here, he received an even more absurd, outrageous god than before.”
“A god… do such things exist?”
“Your mutt has a ghost attached to it, but you can’t believe in shamans?”
“Well, I’ve never seen one myself…”
“Anyway, this shaman… I heard she regretted it so much that she told other clients, ‘I received an outrageous god,’ ‘I’ve unleashed Dueoksini.’ But clients wanted to find the Necromancy General because he was so powerful, and word spread.”
“Oh, then…”
“Right. The Necromancy General probably has connections with higher-ups in political and business circles. That’s why they can’t properly stop such outrageous acts in the northern part of Seoul.”
“How did you find all this out?”
“Once you know someone’s social name, it’s simple to figure out their social relationships. What I wanted to know was the Necromancy General’s real name before receiving divine possession.”
To fight the Necromancy General, you obviously need to know his real name. You can’t find out by clashing like with other low-level immortals. If you can’t find out the real name, you might lose even when you’ve almost caught them.
“Th-then what should we do? Is it all wrong?”
“No.”
Gangrim turned to Magpie and said.
“Did you think I brought you here for nothing?”
***
Gangrim started by thoroughly searching through the materials in the shaman’s house. There were talismans full of hard-to-read Chinese characters and bizarre drawings.
But useful materials seemed to have been taken by the Necromancy General, as nothing that could serve as a clue was visible.
“Well? Any names you recognize?”
“W-well, I’m not really…”
The materials Magpie was searching through were ledgers, something like receipts.
If the Necromancy General had been a client, there should surely be traces in the shaman’s house.
The client list wasn’t very long, as this wasn’t a high-volume business.
“I’ve looked at all the names from September two years ago, but I can’t really tell…”
“Hmm.”
「Yeomna: I can’t stand watching this.」
Just then, a message came from Yeomna.
「Gangrim: Pardon?」
「Yeomna: You’re a Grim Reaper, kid. With so many witnesses there, why are you rummaging through materials one by one? Don’t you know how to do your job properly?」
Witnesses? Gangrim wondered what he meant before looking around at the surrounding ghosts. The ghosts were observing Gangrim with just their heads peeking out.
「Gangrim: Are you saying I should round them up and interrogate them?」
「Yeomna: What, are you scared?」
「Gangrim: It’s not that…」
To be honest, he was scared. Not of ghosts, but of conversing with them.
Gangrim hadn’t talked with ghosts since he was very young, except once.
After having an experience he didn’t want to recall back then, ghosts had been no different from walking telephone poles to him.
But it was absurd for a Grim Reaper to still be afraid of ghosts.
Gangrim sighed and approached them for interrogation. Seeing them about to scatter, Gangrim clicked his tongue.
“Stay put, I’m not interested in taking you for ascension right now…”
Just then, Gangrim suddenly felt their reactions were strange.
If they were afraid because he was a Grim Reaper, they could just run away. But they weren’t fleeing, just watching.
‘Can they not escape?’
If the Necromancy General had done something to this shrine?
That could be possible.
But looking at the broken sacred rope at his feet, Gangrim thought of another possibility.
A sacred rope is something hung to ward off ghosts. Yet they insist on staying here even with it destroyed?
In other words, these guys aren’t trapped. They’re trapping something.
Just like how the Necromancy General monitors the immortals under him.
Some of the ghosts approached cautiously at Gangrim’swords that he “wouldn’t ascend them.”
They looked intimidated, as if seeing a corps commander visiting a shabby battalion headquarters. Hoping he would leave quickly.
In that moment, Gangrim revealed a cruel smile.
Gangrim immediately drew his Death Sword and slashed the ghost in front of him. The ghosts screamed and scattered.
The ghosts were absorbed into the Death Sword as soon as they touched it, as if being sucked in. They were such lowly spirits that he could barely feel the sensation of cutting them.
Riiip.
As if Gangrim prediction was correct, he felt the air become much fresher as soon as the ghosts scattered outside the shaman’s house.
Even Magpie, who was in the room, came out surprised by the sudden rush of fresh mountain air.
“What is it?”
“When complex matters arise, it means cut first and ask questions later.”
Scraaaape.
Just then, a bizarre sound like something scraping the floor came from inside the room.
The shaman’s corpse, which had clearly been dead and rotting, was moving.
Gangrim immediately grabbed his Death Sword, thinking of zombies. However, unexpectedly, the shaman’s corpse began to speak.
[Who dares wake a sleeping spirit!]
Boom.
At the thunderous voice that couldn’t possibly have come from a rotting corpse, all the birds in the vicinity scattered at once.
Gangrim’s eyes flashed.
Among ghosts, a spirit with such a loud and clear voice meant it was strong enough to still be talked about among people.
「Yeomna: Well, well, this is…」
「Gangrim: Do you know this person?」
「Yeomna: Know him? Almost no Korean wouldn’t know him.」
「Yeomna: But it seems like it would be a spoiler, so you figure it out.」
For Yeomna to say this much, it really seemed like a significant spirit.
Indeed, the attire of a Joseon-era general was faintly visible around the corpse. It seemed the Necromancy General couldn’t destroy this spirit and had merely sealed it away.
The general’s spirit clicked his tongue, seeing the shaman’s state.
[Pathetic fool! You ended up in the grave you dug yourself. Not even leaving a soul behind.]
“Necromancy General?”
At Gangrim’s words, the general’s spirit whipped his head around.
[Who are you, rascal!]
Gangrim glanced slightly at Magpie. It was difficult to speak with Magpie present.
Magpie, seeing Gangrim’s look, took the hint and went outside the room.
Instead of speaking at length, Gangrim slightly showed his Death Sword. The general’s spirit flinched upon seeing the Death Sword and rolled his eyes around.
[A noble guest has arrived.]
“I greet you, General.”
Not knowing the difference in rank between a Grim Reaper and a general, but seeing that he wasn’t running away with his tail between his legs, he didn’t seem to be in a position of being chased. So Gangrim spoke politely for now.
The image was blurry and the form hazy like fog, making it hard to recognize even if one knew the face. The general’s spirit seemed pleased by Gangrim’s polite inquiry and stroked his beard.
“Pardon my rudeness, but may I ask your name, General?”
[Hmm, if you’re asking about me, I am the Three Provinces Naval Commander who led the navy during the Japanese invasion of the Imjin year.]
Gangrim’s eyes widened. Could it be? Could it really be that famous…?
[I am Won Gyun.]
“Oh, shit.”