Immortals vs. Grim Reapers - chapter 45
Chapter 45. The Hunting Dogs (3)
Ju Gangrim had never feared ghosts in his previous life.
He had memories of ghosts from his earliest recollections. He merely regarded them as slightly strange wild animals.
After all, even if he saw the dead, he couldn’t really interact with them.
Rather, ghosts tended to avoid Ju Gangrim.
Thanks to this, aside from being suspected of having mental issues when he was young, he had no particularly painful or troubling memories because of it.
In fact, he wasn’t even sure if this was an awakened skill. All awakened ones appeared after the Gate.
It was only when he took an awakened one test later that his ability to see the dead was confirmed and given the name and rank of “Spirit Vision.”
Even then, people were ambivalent about the existence of “ghosts.” Ju Gangrim himself thought it was a useless skill.
‘But isn’t the Prince of Gangreung a stronger spiritual ability user than me?’
So Ju Gangrim couldn’t quite understand why the Prince of Gangreung would be tormented and frightened by ghosts.
Unless ghosts appeared as terrifying as in horror movies, real ghosts aren’t that scary.
“Are you afraid of ghosts, Death Messenger Yu Wolryeong?”
“It depends on the ghost.”
Yu Wolryeong paused briefly, then continued as if sensing an explanation was needed.
“Hunters die by their prey, and woodcutters die crushed by the trees they fell. Death messengers can’t be an exception. Nothing can harm a spirit as much as another pure spirit.”
“Hmm.”
“The same goes for the Prince of Gangreung. He exerted his power by commanding ghosts so much, so conversely, if he’s tormented by ghosts, he’ll be bewildered.”
It means the ghosts lodged by the black mass fragments can’t be controlled by the Prince of Gangreung.
“Death Messenger Ju Gangrim. What ability did Jang Han-taek have?”
“He had a possession skill. His whole body was wrecked, and in the end, his soul tried to scatter and flee before exploding and dying.”
“That’s exactly it. Right now, inside the Prince of Gangreung’s body, the rampaging Jang Han-taek and his resentful spirits are causing havoc. The pain, fear, and shock Jang Han-taek experienced are stirring up the Prince of Gangreung’s soul.”
“Huh, is that what black masses are normally like?”
“They’re the essence and remnants of souls. Yes. That’s why we need to collect and send them back.”
Ju Gangrim recalled how black masses were used in the market.
They’re made into zombie plague suppressants and used as agents to enhance awakened ones’ abilities.
Now an indispensable material in this society, but hearing that it’s a trace of souls that must be returned to the afterlife made him feel uneasy.
“By the way, black masses ‘collected’ by the Death-Summoning Sword accumulate inside it. The blade becomes heavier and sharper with the weight of those souls. Later, when you go to the afterlife, you lighten the Death-Summoning Sword by shaking off the accumulated souls.”
“Ah, so that’s how the system works.”
“Yes. The soul fee is like an additional bonus paid by the afterlife.”
Ju Gangrim could understand that souls slain by the Death-Summoning Sword would eventually return to the afterlife, but he didn’t know what happened to those absorbed by others.
“What happens when you absorb a black mass?”
“You’ve seen enhanced zombies, right? That’s what happens. Zombies are the lowest form of existence straddling the afterlife and this world, able to devour other souls. Zombies that have harmed many people become enhanced zombies.”
Yu Wolryeong clenched one hand into a fist and wrapped it with her other hand.
“In other words, killing an enhanced zombie that has harmed 100 people is equivalent to sending 100 souls to the afterlife. This applies whether it’s a human, an awakened one, or an immortal.”
Whether they did it knowingly or unknowingly, it meant that even awakened ones who enhanced their abilities with black masses were beings that needed to be sent to the afterlife.
The fortunate point was that the proposition that all people die is inviolable. If they refuse, it’s fine to treat them as immortals and kill them.
In the end, no problem. The end.
“Anyway, hearing that the Prince of Gangreung is suffering makes me want to go later, but you don’t have much time, Death Messenger Ju Gangrim. Do you have a way to find the Prince of Gangreung?”
“Ah, plenty. Don’t worry.”
Ju Gangrim knows how an organization boss who has lost his main force and all his direct subordinates would act. Moreover, if he has a background to extract him.
He will surely try to escape Korea.
In an instant, routes for illegal entry in each coastal city, contact points, and names of people who could transport someone as important as the Prince of Gangreung flashed through Ju Gangrim’s mind. Among these, there weren’t many the Prince of Gangreung would choose.
However, Ju Gangrim didn’t need to bother with tedious inquiries. He lifted the blunderbuss and said,
“But there seems to be an easier way.”
In Ju Gangrim’s eyes, the ghosts of the blunderbuss musket were seen howling, writhing, and screaming towards a particular direction.
He had seen this before, but he didn’t know why they were acting like this or what they were looking at. But now he knew.
The ghosts of the musket, harboring intense resentment towards their victim, were frantic like hunting dogs catching the scent of their wounded prey.
The ghosts of the blunderbuss were tracking the Prince of Gangreung like hunting dogs that had caught the scent of blood.
“It seems we just need to follow the direction these fellows are pointing.”
***
“Ugh, cough…”
The Prince of Gangreung groaned and spat out dark red blood.
The blood he spat splattered into a trash can full of fish heads.
The Prince of Gangreung was currently undergoing the worst surgery of his life in a dark, damp warehouse reeking of fish.
“Urrrgh…!”
Being an immortal’s body, they started the surgery boldly without worry of infection or death from shock. He even refused anesthesia.
But the pain emanating from deep within his body was hard to bear even for one who had lived such a long life.
Clatter.
The pale-faced doctor performing the surgery finally put down the scalpel with an displeased expression. The Prince of Gangreung turned his head with a tired look.
“Is it over already?”
“No. But it seems impossible to proceed any further.”
“I suppose my groaning bothered you?”
Not using anesthesia was the Prince of Gangreung’s stubbornness. The skin under his eyes was already dark and lifeless.
On the way to this warehouse, the Prince of Gangreung had been tormented by unidentifiable ghosts.
Though Jang Han-taek’s traces were strongly felt, it was closer to a clay lump of numerous resentful spirits torn apart and haphazardly merged together.
Whenever the Prince of Gangreung lost focus even slightly, the lump of resentful spirits would scream to take his ears off and go together.
It was terrible even with his eyes open, but trying to sleep was even worse.
The moment he closed his eyes, monsters trying to tear him apart appeared from every direction in the world.
Ordinary monsters or ghosts would be fine. But the monsters appearing before the Prince of Gangreung were different.
It appeared wearing a black robe and a gat, swinging a hand axe.
The Prince of Gangreung couldn’t sleep facing that. That’s why he refused anesthesia. But the doctor shook his head.
“That’s not the issue. The problem is that the resentment mixed in this bullet is too deep.”
The purpose of the surgery was to remove the black mass lodged in the Prince of Gangreung’s body. The unrefined black mass was the cause of the ghosts stuffed into the Prince of Gangreung’s head.
However, this black mass was beyond mere hallucinations and auditory hallucinations, it was altering the Prince of Gangreung’s back.
“…let’s go, Prince…”
Pok. With a sound like gas escaping from his back, pus burst out.
The doctor irritably swung his scalpel to cut it away.
Human-faced boils were forming wherever the black mass was lodged. These boils tormented the Prince of Gangreung with wounds and voices that transcended hallucinations into reality.
“Damn bastards, I took in and raised you when you had nowhere to go, and this is how you…”
The Prince of Gangreung knew the identity of the voice. It was one of the organization members who had died fighting alongside Jang Han-taek.
“Did I kill you! Go after the one who killed you!”
The Prince of Gangreung shouted forcefully.
Befitting a powerful shaman who called himself the Shaman King, even though weakened, the resentful spirits’ aura shook violently.
But the resentful spirits, momentarily quieted, began to moan ominously again. It seemed difficult to drive these resentful spirits away without performing an exorcism ritual.
The doctor muttered as he watched this.
“I don’t know who killed these fellows… but it seems they fear that person more than you.”
The Prince of Gangreung gritted his teeth.
“That hanbok-wearing youngster was clearly no match for me when I first saw him. But…”
“But?”
“…As we fought, he grew at a frightening rate. He’s clearly an immortal too. Yet, every time he overcame a life-or-death crisis, he seemed to grow three or four times stronger than before. Especially that lightning…”
The Prince of Gangreung involuntarily chattered his teeth.
His body began to tremble as soon as he recalled the scene he saw when struck by that lightning.
When the operating table shook so much, the Prince of Gangreung gritted his teeth and slammed his head down hard.
Only after a stream of blood gushed from his head did the Prince of Gangreung barely stop trembling.
The doctor asked.
“By lightning, do you mean an electricity-awakened one?”
“Electricity ability? Ha, hahaha. That doesn’t even begin to explain it. It wasn’t even lightning to begin with.”
“Then what was it?”
The Prince of Gangreung knew the exact expression. In fact, it was the expression that came to mind the moment he was struck by the lightning.
But he wasn’t sure if he should carelessly speak it, not wanting to be scorned for saying it thoughtlessly.
However, he had no choice but to say it in the end.
Because he wanted to share his fear with someone, even if just a little.
“It was divine punishment.”
“…Divine punishment?”
As expected, the doctor frowned as he looked at the Prince of Gangreung.
“You mean, do bad things and heaven punishes you, something like that? Then, what, I suppose your opponent is some angel sent by heaven?”
“Yes. I know what you’re thinking. But nothing else explains it. Though messenger of death fits better than angel.”
“Messenger of death, huh. Come to think of it, there were people talking about such things. The messenger of death of the capital region, or something?”
If the rumors were true, there would be no reason for him to come this far. But the Prince of Gangreung didn’t even have the energy to humor the joke.
The doctor began pouring oil on the Prince of Gangreung’s back.
The human-faced boils that touched the oil began to shriek and wither away. He wanted to remove them through surgical means if possible, but since that didn’t work, he had to use precious holy oil.
“Let’s talk about something realistic instead of unrealistic stories. There was evidence and traces of U.S. military involvement, so it’s probably one of the others on that side, isn’t it?”
“Do you have anyone in mind?”
“The boss is keeping a close eye on this area. If it’s an immortal on the U.S. military side… there’s one immortal called Clint. He might have brought a new subordinate under his command.”
“Clint…”
The Prince of Gangreung was naturally suspicious of the U.S. military as well.
The Prince of Gangreung had messed with U.S. military property and drawn Lopez, a former U.S. Forces Korea member, to his side. It was natural for the U.S. military to seek revenge.
But the Prince of Gangreung’s instincts were screaming that it wasn’t that.
“I don’t know. It feels like there’s something else behind this.”
“U.S. military involvement alone is already the worst-case scenario. They have quite a few strong awakened ones on their side.”
The doctor said as he applied oil to the Prince of Gangreung’s back.
“The boss and we are moving with the mindset of preparing for the worst, so don’t worry too much. You just need to think about establishing your country in this land when you return later.”
“Hmm.”
The Prince of Gangreung nodded. Though it sounded full of goodwill at first glance, the Prince of Gangreung knew their true intentions.
It was they who had provided the drug to create ghouls and supported weapons that would help establish the Gangreung faction.
But those weren’t free.
They wanted something in this land based on the Prince of Gangreung. While the Prince of Gangreung shed blood with his countrymen, they would try to take what they wanted.
In other words, they’re keeping the Prince of Gangreung alive for now because they think he’s still useful as an immortal and powerful shaman. If he becomes unnecessary, they’ll immediately discard him and look for someone to replace him.
“A ship departing for Shanghai will arrive tomorrow. Please recover from your wounds until then.”
“Right… Aren’t you all coming along?”
“Of course, forces to escort you will accompany you. But…”
As the doctor took off his surgical gloves, other shadows rose, crawling out of the warehouse shadows.
Though the warehouse wasn’t particularly dark, it seemed difficult to spot their silhouettes within.
“The boss thinks it’s safer to kill the enemy in advance and silence them rather than blocking attacks.”
***
That night.
Ju Gangrim and Yu Wolryeong were driving a Bentley down the highway.
Their destination was Mokpo, South Jeolla Province.
It was the direction the ghosts of the shotgun were howling towards fiercely.
They considered bringing Han Mina along, but it was difficult given the long-distance schedule right after an intense battle.
Unlike the two of them, she was close to an ordinary person and hadn’t slept.
“You seem to enjoy the speed?”
“Sometimes I do.”
Perhaps because it was late at night, there wasn’t a single car visible on the highway, so Yu Wolryeong was driving at quite a speed.
Ju Gangrim was starting to worry whether his body could regenerate if they crashed into a highway barrier at this speed.
But because Ju Gangrim also wanted to hurry, he trusted Yu Wolryeong and didn’t stop her.
And though they weren’t going for a good reason, just getting out of Seoul for once made him feel good somehow.
The Gate that opened in northern Seoul had something that made people uneasy and agitated just by its presence.
Perhaps the ominous cracks spreading in people’s hearts were because of it.
Maybe that’s why the ordinary night sky of South Jeolla Province was enough to refresh his mood.
“You look like you’re in a good mood.”
“I am. It’s good weather for catching immortals.”
“Is that so? That’s fortunate. Then my words won’t ruin your mood.”
Yu Wolryeong said to Ju Gangrim while adjusting the Bentley’s rearview mirror.
“We have enemies. They’re tracking us.”