Immortals vs. Grim Reapers - chapter 48
Chapter 48. The Highway Man (3)
“Death Messenger Ju Gangrim, please tell me about the Vito Family.”
Ju Gangrim looked at Yu Wolryeong with surprise.
“Didn’t you regress as well, Death Messenger Yu Wolryeong? I thought you’d know to some extent.”
“Any useful knowledge I have about the world stopped updating in the early 20th century. Especially information about groups or individuals.”
“…Early 20th century, you mean the Japanese colonial period?”
“The late Joseon period. That’s why your existence is valuable now, Death Messenger Ju Gangrim. The fresher the death messenger, the more extensive their knowledge of the living world and the better they adapt.”
Ju Gangrim felt he understood something. He had thought Yu Wolryeong was an old being, but he didn’t realize it was to this extent.
She could drive a car and seemed familiar with gambling like ‘Today’s Fortune’.
But like many elderly people, while adapting to some changes, there are others they can’t adapt to.
Especially things like the names of short-lived humans or organizations.
If death messengers aren’t a group that easily turns over, new talent and knowledge would naturally be precious.
Ju Gangrim asks Yu Wolryeong about knowledge of death messengers, and Yu Wolryeong asks Ju Gangrim about the human world.
It’s this kind of cycle.
“Hmm… I think I get it. Well, you could say the Vito Family developed from an ordinary gang into a transnational corporate form.”
“Transnational corporation?”
“Yes. The Vito Family. They’re a Romanian organization, and it’s no exaggeration to say they’ve taken control of Europe’s underworld. Drugs, human trafficking, smuggling, contract killing, mercenaries – there’s hardly any dirty work they won’t do.”
“They sound like bad people.”
“Yes. But despite their actions and scale, I understand that the core personnel actually moving the Vito Family is just over a hundred people. The Vito siblings, and the blood relatives, lovers, or absolutely loyal subordinates around them. They’re called the ‘Main Family’.”
“Main Family… It seems to be a kind of clan structure.”
“Something like that, I suppose. Though probably not blood-related.”
“Not blood-related.”
“Yes. They’re mostly European whites, but there are quite a few cases of different races too. I don’t think they have any particular racial discrimination. Within the Vito Family, what’s most important is whose recommendation got you into the ‘Main Family’.”
“You seem to know quite a lot.”
“Yes. I was quite close with the Vito siblings, especially the younger sister, Natasha Vito.”
“Close?”
“Ah, of course, not ‘close’ in the true sense. It was just because I could consistently deliver the items or people Natasha asked for. After all, there can’t be true friendship between a supplier’s boss and a competitor’s subordinate, right?”
Ju Gangrim answered with a bitter smile.
The Vito siblings were on Gerald’s VIP list. In other words, they were people Ju Gangrim had served devotedly and provided conveniences for.
They weren’t just at the level of ordinary mafia; they could even manipulate governments in some Eastern European countries.
Politicians or dictators received money and sponsorship while guaranteeing their activities, and the Vito Family used this to exploit citizens at will.
“If it’s only about a hundred people, isn’t it difficult to maintain such a large organization?”
“The Main Family members are just over a hundred. In reality, there are probably over 10,000. Even members of parliament or executives of large corporations can’t compare to the Main Family members of the Vito Family. And only the Vito siblings, called the Godfather and Godmother of the Vito Family, can decide on admitting new members.”
Except for occasionally bringing in mercenaries during conflicts, they always maintain about a hundred core members.
Without Gerald, Ju Gangrim wouldn’t have been able to even see the faces of the Vito siblings, let alone have any acquaintance with them.
And now Ju Gangrim was convinced that all these ‘Main Family’ people shrouded in secrecy were likely immortals.
If it’s not just a secretive organization but a group of about a hundred people all made up of immortals, it’s by no means a small group. And the Vito siblings had stringent criteria for controlling such immortals.
“And for some reason I don’t understand, the abilities of the awakened ones in the Vito Family are usually quite similar.”
“Similar in what way…”
“Shapeshifting, acceleration, and… good looks.”
“Good looks?”
Yu Wolryeong asked back, feeling like something odd had slipped in. But Ju Gangrim was speaking seriously, not joking.
“Yes. Everyone in the Vito Family is either pretty or handsome. Without exception. Especially the Vito siblings, they’re both unrealistically charming.”
It was for this very reason that Ju Gangrim immediately thought of the Vito Family when he saw the motorcycle assassin’s bare face.
If you see a beauty who looks like she should be on a movie set wielding a deadly Japanese sword in the middle of the night, you can’t help but think of the Vito Family.
Of course, temporary mercenaries are exceptions. Because of this, he had sometimes thought that those said to be part of the Main Family might all be of the same bloodline.
But seeing that they don’t discriminate by race, he also thought maybe the Vito siblings just like beautiful people.
“But thinking about it now, I have another thought. It’s unlikely to be common to find awakened ones with shapeshifting, acceleration, and looks… Maybe the Vito siblings are granting these abilities.”
“If they’re granting abilities…”
“I mean immortality.”
Ju Gangrim spoke, thinking of the Prince of Gangreung.
“We’ve heard that immortals can create other immortals. Moreover, the Prince of Gangreung taught his subordinates ‘necromancy’. Although it’s just at the level of controlling zombies created by drugs, it’s still granting a new ability.”
“That’s right.”
“So my guess is, the Vito siblings have the power to grant shapeshifting, acceleration, good looks, and even immortality.”
Looking at it this way, it seems there wouldn’t be such a cheating ability, but the drawbacks must be equally great.
And Ju Gangrim thought he knew the fatal weakness of the Vito siblings.
“And there’s a quite famous immortal in history with such abilities.”
“A famous immortal… Who?”
Ju Gangrim muttered while touching his canine teeth.
“Vampires.”
***
“That’s the ship.”
The Prince of Gangreung looked at the large cargo ship docked at the pier. It was an old and desolate vessel, hardly expecting any comfort.
His accommodation was just a single container with some food and drink to last a few days.
The Vito Family doctor who had guided the Prince of Gangreung here said,
“It ended up like this due to prioritizing time and security. I ask for your understanding.”
“No, it’s fortunate it’s not a coffin.”
It wasn’t a joke.
The Prince of Gangreung, being an immortal, literally doesn’t care as long as his body can be moved.
He even thought that in the worst case, he could be dismembered and moved in a small bag. Compared to that, a container is a 5-star hotel.
“Tell Vasha Vito I’m grateful. And… ugh.”
The Prince of Gangreung stopped mid-sentence, staggering and leaning against the wall. A foul odor wafted from his back.
Due to fragments that couldn’t be completely removed, human-faced boils were still oozing pus from his back. It seemed like he might need to skin his back to remove them all.
“Are you alright? If it’s too hard, I have some medicine prepared that you can use.”
Drugs do work on immortals too. The Prince of Gangreung considered taking the drugs and staying unconscious until reaching the destination, but shook his head.
“No, I want to arrive with a clear mind. Who knows when that madman might appear.”
“Do you think he’ll appear again? We’ve dispatched our assassins based on the information about them. I heard they’ve left Seoul, so they should have been dealt with by now.”
“Have you contacted them?”
“It’s not the regular reporting time yet…”
“Contact them.”
The doctor frowned.
The assassins were not just anyone, but those dispatched from the Main Family of the Vito Family. They were among the elite of the Vito Family.
Moreover, one of them belonged to the Royal Family, directly receiving blood from the Vito siblings.
As a member of the Vito Family, the doctor knew how incredibly capable they were.
But the person speaking now was the Prince of Gangreung. An ability user actively supported by Vasha Vito, the elder of the Vito siblings.
The doctor hesitated before raising his phone. As the dial tone lengthened, he felt cold sweat forming on his forehead.
Before the tenth ring, the Prince of Gangreung picked up his bag.
“Go ahead. Come to think of it, you don’t seem to be from the Main Family, doctor?”
Main Family members are strikingly beautiful men and women, recognizable at a glance. But the doctor’s face was ordinary.
“Ah, no. I’m part of the Vito Family, but I’m employed…”
“That’s good. Then if you escape well now, they won’t chase you to death.”
The Prince of Gangreung looked at the cargo ship preparing to depart and smiled bitterly.
“The ones coming now are real professionals.”
Leaving only those words, the Prince of Gangreung boarded the cargo ship.
He recalled the look in Ju Gangrim’s eyes as he relentlessly pursued him.
The ship would soon depart, but he was sure he would come. It wasn’t revenge, or a fight, or even a hunt. He could imagine Ju Gangrim rushing to devour him.
He had no intention of being a sitting duck. The Prince of Gangreung was about to be busy with preparations.
“…”
The doctor watched the Prince of Gangreung board the ship, then hurriedly ran towards his parked car.
***
Screech!!
A police car violently broke through the barricade and entered the port.
Seeing the police car rushing in with sirens blaring, a security guard emerged in shock, but Ju Gangrim hurriedly waved a police badge and shouted,
“Police, police!”
It was an obvious lie, but enough to break the guards’ momentum.
Ju Gangrim was grateful to the police officer who had carelessly left their badge in the glove compartment.
He felt the evil spirits in the blunderbuss writhing more violently. They were causing an increasing commotion, like hunting dogs catching the scent of blood as they got closer to the Prince of Gangreung.
“We need to hurry.”
“We are hurrying.”
Yu Wolryeong replied curtly. The fact that the destination was a port meant there was a high probability he had already left.
Yu Wolryeong knew this fact too, which is why she was doing her best to hurry.
Just then, someone darted out from a corner.
Yu Wolryeong’s eyes widened as she simultaneously manipulated the gear, handbrake, and steering wheel to perform maximum evasive maneuvers to avoid that person.
But the person, startled by the suddenly appearing police car, threw themselves right into the car’s path.
Bang.
The police car came to a stop with a loud noise.
Yu Wolryeong, always pale, was staring at the steering wheel with an especially pallid expression.
Ju Gangrim understood her bewilderment, but what was urgent for him now was the Prince of Gangreung.
“Let’s get out and check first.”
Ju Gangrim got out first to check on the person hit by the car. Fortunately, they weren’t dead, just seemed to have a few broken bones. Yu Wolryeong belatedly confirmed this and sighed in relief.
Ju Gangrim noticed that the person hit by the car was wearing a doctor’s gown.
“Seems to be a doctor. They’ll know first aid better than us, so I’ll go ahead…”
“Go.”
Yu Wolryeong nodded. The Prince of Gangreung had to be caught by Ju Gangrim anyway.
Ju Gangrim left the doctor hit by the car to Yu Wolryeong and hurried to the pier.
Just then, a ship was seen leaving the port. Ju Gangrim gritted his teeth as he saw the blunderbuss acting up more.
“Damn it!”
Ju Gangrim realized he was too late.
The traffic accident wasn’t the problem. The ship had already left the pier and was almost 50 meters away.
Ju Gangrim quickly looked for a boat he could take, but none of the docked boats were light and agile enough to catch up to the cargo ship.
If the ship reached China like this, there would be no way to find the Prince of Gangreung in that vast land.
Ju Gangrim’s eyes blazed fiercely.
“You bastard, where do you think you’re running!”
Ju Gangrim ran to the end of the pier and hurled himself into the air with all his might.
Thanks to the enhanced abilities from the Death-Summoning Sword, Ju Gangrim leapt a distance worthy of an Olympic world record, but the vast sea was too wide to cross in one jump.
But Ju Gangrim had a friend to help with his run-up.
“Ttaekachiiiii!”
Thud. The moment Ju Gangrim stomped on her back, Ttaekachi almost blurted out ‘crazy bastard’.
Was this really the right path?
Had she become the slave of a madman who would trample a bird to jump across the sea because of a dog?
All sorts of complex thoughts arose, but Ttaekachi was already faithfully understanding and accepting Ju Gangrim’s will, and doing her best to fulfill it.
The flocks of seagulls standing all over the pier gathered under Ju Gangrim’s feet.
It was a white bridge of magpies connecting Ju Gangrim and the Prince of Gangreung.