Immortals vs. Grim Reapers - chapter 44
Chapter 44. The Hunting Dogs (2)
Weak against the strong, strong against the weak.
It may not be the most righteous way of life, but isn’t that how most people live anyway?
“The problem is being content with clinging to the strong and remaining weak forever. Some are even satisfied being the strong’s lackeys. But I have no intention of staying weak.”
Ju Gangrim continued with a smirk.
“When you’re weak, secretly siphon the strong’s power, and when they become weak, devour them whole. That’s the right way to live. That’s ambition, that’s growth. The moment you’re satisfied and stop, you die.”
“…I can’t say I find that particularly righteous.”
“Doesn’t every person have their own philosophy?”
But Yu Wolryeong could understand Ju Gangrim’s aggressive attitude towards immortals.
For him, immortals must have been like an insurmountable wall he’d lived under his entire life.
Ju Gangrim, who tried to devour everything and rise up while sucking bitter water, must have harbored a terrible grudge before that unknowable, unscalable wall.
And then one day, he became a death messenger who could hunt immortals?
That alone reverses Ju Gangrim’s attitude.
Now they are prey, and Ju Gangrim is the hunter. The relationship between strong and weak is reversed.
Finally, Ju Gangrim overcomes his lifelong grudge and annihilates the beings that were above him.
‘But what then?’
What if Ju Gangrim isn’t satisfied even after killing all the immortals? If he still wants to rise higher? If he thinks he’ll die the moment he stops?
Yu Wolryeong felt uneasy as her thoughts reached this point. Who could be above a death messenger?
‘I know Lord Yeomna has been watching and chose Ju Gangrim over a long time. But is it really okay?’
But instead of thinking deeply, Yu Wolryeong shook her head.
It’s meaningless to worry about what comes next when it’s uncertain if they’ll even succeed in eliminating all the immortals right now.
Ju Gangrim’s growth rate is remarkably excellent even among death messengers, but that’s due to the hardships created by the times and Yeomna’s active support.
There are many immortals, and the Prince of Gangreung is just one of them.
It’s unknown when Ju Gangrim will truly hit his limit. Until then, all Yu Wolryeong could do was assist him and help his growth.
“Very well. Since you’re not reckless by nature, I’ll trust you, Death Messenger Ju Gangrim.”
“Well, you could have taken him down in a minute if you had come, right?”
Ju Gangrim said, thinking of the grotesquely defeated Water Bear. If the Prince of Gangreung kept him as a bodyguard, he must have been formidably strong.
But Yu Wolryeong had finished off the Water Bear without a single hair out of place.
“As I’ve said before, the Prince of Gangreung is your prey. I don’t want to steal that from you.”
“If we’re work partners, shouldn’t we cooperate?”
“No. You must do it. It’s better if you finish off as many immortals as possible with your own hands.”
Ju Gangrim tilted his head at Yu Wolryeong’s decisive words.
‘Is she trying to help the new death messenger grow?’
Ju Gangrim also used to give difficult tasks to new hires and watch them.
You need to know their limits to know how much work you can assign them. And if they only do easy tasks, their skills quickly rust.
Someone like the Prince of Gangreung was an appropriate challenge for Ju Gangrim.
“Alright. Then let’s discuss how to deal with the Prince of Gangreung this time.”
***
Before engaging in his second battle with the Prince of Gangreung, Ju Gangrim conducted an interim check.
Having gained many abilities and grown rapidly in a short period, he still couldn’t properly handle many of his weapons.
Though he had already cornered the Prince of Gangreung, he couldn’t risk another reckless move like using a 100-year Blood Sucker.
It wasn’t because he valued his lifespan.
The 100-year Blood Sucker felt like it was gnawing away his entire body. Even now, his fingertips still tingled from the aftereffects.
If he had been an ordinary person, he would have died on the spot, aftereffects or not, so this level of aftereffect was cute in comparison.
Still, he needed to push the Prince of Gangreung to his limits as much as possible without overdoing it.
“The Prince of Gangreung’s accomplice might step in this time.”
Yu Wolryeong warned sternly.
“Due to your promise with Lord Yeomna, I’ll leave the Prince of Gangreung to you. Leave the others to me.”
“Yes. Ah, but if possible, please leave one for me. I have a bet with Lord Yeomna, you see.”
Ju Gangrim listed what he had.
“First, what I have passively. My unique power that I can’t separate from my hands.”
“Tell me about the Death Sword.”
Ju Gangrim had now been recognized as a full-fledged death messenger by the Death Sword and could successfully complete his robe refinement.
The areas covered by the robes become faster, stealthier, and stronger. The robes themselves are the battle gear of death messengers.
Among the abilities of these robes, Ju Gangrim had evenly enhanced stealth, attack, speed, and defense abilities.
“Come to think of it, you said you increased your defense ability too. Have you checked the special effects?”
“No, um. I was too caught up in the moment…”
Ju Gangrim belatedly checked the traits from his increased defense ability.
«Acquired ‘Uncrumbling Tower’ trait»
«Increased pain tolerance»
«Ignore physical limits»
«Increased defense of worn clothing»
Yu Wolryeong nodded after confirming Ju Gangrim’s traits.
“Hmm, the ‘Uncrumbling Tower’ trait. Quite a good trait. Especially the ‘ignore physical limits’ trait shines the longer a battle goes on.”
“Huh? Are there other traits?”
“Yes. I have the ‘Thorny Ghost’ trait. It returns proportional damage to enemies when attacked. But I prefer to win without getting hit if possible.”
“…”
Come to think of it, Ju Gangrim had never properly seen Yu Wolryeong’s Death Sword.
He had seen the basic sword form of the Death Sword, but he had never seen her use it for combat like he did.
Most ordinary zombies can be dealt with bare-handed without needing to draw the Death Sword.
“And ‘Hunter in the Dark’, ‘Swift Tracker’, ‘Mighty Warrior’… all not bad. You’ve drawn traits that suit you.”
“Is that lucky?”
“No. The Death Sword learns your behavior patterns and assigns traits accordingly. It means the sword understands you that way.”
Ju Gangrim tilted his head at this.
“Didn’t you say you prefer to win without getting hit?”
“Yes.”
“Then why do you have a trait like ‘Thorny Ghost’? You shouldn’t have been hit at all.”
“…”
Yu Wolryeong was silent for a moment.
She didn’t answer and turned her gaze elsewhere.
Ju Gangrim thought that although he didn’t know how Yu Wolryeong became a death messenger or how she grew, she must have been quite different from how she is now.
“Next are the active abilities you can trigger at will.”
“I have the soul-binding talisman, Blood Sucker, ghost eyes, and Ttaekachi.”
The soul-binding talisman that had been stuck in Ttaekachi’s heart was now back in Ju Gangrim’s hands.
Though Ttaekachi’s death was regrettable, thanks to her, he could discover new value in the soul-binding talisman.
“In emergencies, the soul-binding talisman could serve as a first-aid tool.”
“First-aid?”
If someone just dies, they become a zombie or a wandering ghost, but if tied down with the soul-binding talisman, there might be a way to save them.
“Moreover, it would be even more useful against someone like the Prince of Gangreung who commands ghosts. If there’s someone who absolutely can’t die, we can at least do something for a short time with the soul-binding talisman.”
“Hmm, I see. I hadn’t thought of using the soul-binding talisman that way…”
Yu Wolryeong nodded, seemingly perplexed.
It was understandable. She had only associated with people from the afterlife until now and had never been deeply involved with the living like this.
Moreover, having people like Ttaekachi or Han Mina as companions was unthinkable. Unless it was a one-sided relationship like with the Samdo Hotel staff.
Yu Wolryeong pointed out the ghost eyes next.
“We’ve already talked about the Blood Sucker… Let’s move on to the will-o’-wisps. They’re still useful against ordinary people, but the fact that they’re equally visible to those with ‘qi’ or ‘spiritual power’ is a concern.”
“Yes. But they should at least serve as position markers.”
Thanks to attaching a will-o’-wisp to the Prince of Gangreung, Ju Gangrim could consistently track his location.
As a former soldier, Ju Gangrim deeply understood the tactical value of this in darkness.
But Yu Wolryeong shook her head as if to say he should be cautious.
“Someone who knows about will-o’-wisps could pick them up and move them elsewhere. It’s best not to rely on them too much.”
“Ah, yes.”
The Prince of Gangreung had noticed Ju Gangrim’s approach by seeing the will-o’-wisps. It was something to be cautious about, as someone with a similar ability could appear anytime, anywhere.
“And… Ttaekachi.”
Caw. Though there was no crow around, such a sound was heard.
Ju Gangrim patted his suit that made the crow sound and said,
“You’ve seen her usefulness on our way here, haven’t you?”
“I can see she’s useful when the situation and timing are right. But…”
Yu Wolryeong seemed about to warn something but closed her mouth. After thinking for a while, she shook her head and said,
“Never mind. She’ll prove her worth herself. It wasn’t an ordinary determination she had.”
The person who saw Ttaekachi’s final moments wasn’t Ju Gangrim, but Yu Wolryeong. Whatever Yu Wolryeong saw in her, she now held Ttaekachi in quite high regard.
Ju Gangrim moved on to the last item on the list.
“And the miscellaneous firearms lent by the informant.”
These were weapons he now had to return.
Ju Gangrim regretted having to hand over most of these weapons without properly using them, but he knew that even if he kept them, he’d end up using only the weapons he was familiar with.
Rather than risking danger by using unfamiliar weapons, it’s more reassuring to use a weapon you trust and have faith in, like Yu Wolryeong does.
“By the way, what happened to that one?”
“That? Ah, the blunderbuss. It wasn’t much.”
Ju Gangrim grumbled, pointing to a carrier in the corner of the room.
“I shot it at the Prince of Gangreung’s back when he was running away, but he just staggered and fled. It’s just at the level of a shotgun, but its accuracy and range seem worse than a regular shotgun. I’m thinking of returning it and getting a modern recoilless rifle instead.”
“What? You fired it? How did you fire it?”
“Ah, there were no bullets, so I just put in whatever I could find and fired. That’s how guns from that era work, right?”
“There were special musket rounds in one part of the trailer. I thought you couldn’t test it because you didn’t take them. It’s a muzzle-loading firearm, so it shouldn’t have fired without loading gunpowder.”
“Huh? I thought it would be pre-loaded with gunpowder.”
Ju Gangrim and Yu Wolryeong stared at each other with expressions as if possessed by ghosts.
Ju Gangrim rushed to the carrier and pulled out the musket. Then, hesitantly, he looked down the barrel.
Though severely worn, there was no gunpowder inside. Ju Gangrim hesitated for a moment, then, with a sense of “just in case,” he raised the musket and pulled the trigger into the air.
Bang. Kyaaaaaaah.
Along with a sound like a cannon firing, a terrible scream echoed.
Ghosts that burst out of the musket writhed and scattered in all directions before seeping back into the musket like a swarm of flies.
Ju Gangrim stared at the musket in shock. Fortunately, nothing seemed to be broken or damaged.
A phone rang. It was a hotel staff member.
“Do you need any assistance?”
“It’s fine. Sorry for the disturbance.”
“Alright. Take care.”
The hotel staff ended the call without seeming particularly surprised. Ju Gangrim looked down at the shotgun with a blank expression and said,
“Instead of gunpowder… it shoots ghosts?”
“More precisely, it seems the ghosts are propelling the bullets. The accuracy is probably quite high too. They’ll guide the bullets with malice.”
Ju Gangrim imagined fragments scattered everywhere suddenly converging on a single target. It was quite an impressive image.
“However, since it’s rampaging evil spirits guiding the bullets, I’m not sure what would happen against someone like the Prince of Gangreung who commands ghosts. It seems to have worked well this time though.”
“Hmm, I’ll have to use it selectively then.”
It working on the Prince of Gangreung was likely a result of surprise and chance. If the Prince had known what hit him, he might have tried to control the blunderbuss instead.
“But if there’s nothing inside, it seems only air comes out. What did you shoot at the Prince of Gangreung back then?”
“Ah, whatever I could grab from my pocket…”
Ju Gangrim thought of coins or keys, but suddenly something crossed his mind. He hastily searched his pockets but found nothing.
Ju Gangrim was flustered, realizing he had made a mistake but not knowing how big of a mistake it was.
Yu Wolryeong nodded with an expression of understanding.
“What did you shoot?”
“Jang Han-taek’s… black mass.”
The black mass bead extracted from Jang Han-taek through soul summoning.
He had lodged the black mass containing Jang Han-taek’s final moments, terrified and his body and soul torn to shreds, into the Prince of Gangreung’s body.
Ju Gangrim carefully asked, wondering if it might have benefited the Prince of Gangreung.
“What happens if a black mass is lodged in the body?”
Yu Wolryeong muttered as if regretful.
“A black mass is the remnant of a soul that couldn’t attain enlightenment. It’s no different from a deeply resentful earthbound spirit, so he’ll suffer from the trauma of repeating the deceased’s final moments. The Prince of Gangreung might fear ghosts for the first time in his life.”