Immortals vs. Grim Reapers - chapter 8
Chapter 8: An Experienced Rookie (Part 5)
Gangrim managed a bitter smile.
It seemed they really had succeeded. The choice from here on was up to him.
But Gangrim still couldn’t bring himself to leave. After all the effort he’d put in, he desperately wanted to catch that thing.
‘I’m going to die at this rate.’
Just then, another message arrived.
“Yeomna: Yu has arrived outside.”
“Yeomna: Hurry up and catch it, then get out~ Yu is waiting.”
“Yeomna: Making your senior wait, you’ve got guts, rookie.”
“Gangrim: I might die at this rate. Should I run away?”
Gangrim couldn’t help but smile wryly.
He was fighting with his life on the line, and Yeomna was just hurrying him along.
But Yeomna’s reply was unexpected.
“Yeomna: A grim reaper has his pride. Running away from mere zombies?”
“Yeomna: Besides, why would you die?”
Gangrim thought this meant he should definitely catch it before leaving, but a series of messages flew in from Yeomna.
They were full of mockery.
“Yeomna: No, you idiot lololol. Do you still not know what you are?”
“Yeomna: Do you still think you’re Ju Gangrim the zombie hunter, Colonel Ju Gangrim, Gerald’s lackey Ju Gangrim??”
“Yeomna: You’re none of those anymore. You’re not even human lol”
“Yeomna: Who in this world do you think can kill you?”
Yeomna’s messages were blatant, but hard to accept easily.
Yeomna was saying:
What kills a person?
Everyone is born the same, but the ways of dying are innumerable.
Whether tripping over a stone on the road or vanishing without a trace in the flames of a nuclear missile, people die in various ways.
Yeomna was telling him what happens next.
‘Who do you think can kill you?’
Gangrim had already experienced the afterlife. And he had become part of that afterlife, contracted to hunt those who refuse death.
In other words, death was already Gangrim’s ally, friend, and tool. Not something to flee from in fear.
If so, what he needed to do was clear.
Gangrim looked at the enhanced zombie and said,
“I’ll have to kill you before I go. I’ve got some time now.”
Gangrim walked purposefully towards the enhanced zombie, regretting the time he’d wasted.
The enhanced zombie sensed Gangrim’s presence and immediately took a stance.
Bang.
Gangrim narrowly dodged the thing as it charged like an arrow, pressing himself against the wall.
The enhanced zombie was right beside him.
It tried to strike Gangrim with its remaining arm stump. But at that moment, Gangrim voluntarily shoved his fist into its mouth.
Crack.
The horrific pain of being bitten was unpleasant.
Gangrim grimaced but didn’t withdraw his fist. Instead, he firmly grasped the enhanced zombie’s tongue.
Then he slammed the zombie’s head hard against the floor and raised his axe with his other hand.
The creature probably never understood what was happening until the very end.
Bang.
Gangrim’s hand axe struck the enhanced zombie’s neck. It thrashed about, but couldn’t shake off Gangrim, who had his hand thrust deep into its throat.
Gangrim clung to the enhanced zombie, hacking away wildly with his axe.
Thud, bang.
Gangrim was battered here and there by the enhanced zombie’s violent thrashing. But before he had struck ten times, its head finally came off.
Thud, rumble…
Gangrim exhaled a long breath and threw the enhanced zombie’s severed head to the floor.
The Death Sword was absorbing the enhanced zombie’s black matter.
His bitten forearm was in tatters, but hadn’t come off.
Instead, it was already turning a dark blue due to the zombie plague’s influence.
‘Hmm, this much would usually mean instant death.’
Suddenly, Gangrim felt dizzy. At the same time, his body collapsed to the floor.
A text message arrived on Bimang.
“Yeomna: Generic message about being awesome”
“Yeomna: Generic message about getting stronger”
“Yeomna: Generic message about your achievements being known far and wide”
“Yeomna: Oh, and Yu says you have 5 minutes. Get up by then.”
“Mr. Ju Gangrim.”
Gangrim felt someone gently nudging him. But his whole body was stiff and tired, and he really didn’t want to get up.
If it were a rescue worker, he hoped they’d just load him up and carry him out, but the other person was persistent.
“Mr. Ju Gangrim.”
Suddenly, Gangrim realized this voice was familiar.
Though it felt like long ago, it was the voice of Yu Wolryeong, the Messenger of the Moon he had met under the bridge by the Sandocheon.
Yu Wolryeong whispered sharply in his ear,
“If I call once more, your soul will be dragged out. I know you’re awake, so get up.”
“…Yes.”
Gangrim barely opened his eyes.
Yu Wolryeong was in front of him.
She was still in a suit with dark circles under her eyes. But the ghostly pale complexion was gone, replaced by a somewhat more lively appearance.
“Is that person over there alright?”
Just then, someone spoke from behind Yu Wolryeong.
A person holding a crossbow and a hand axe.
He looked like a zombie hunter.
Behind him, other non-combat personnel were entering and handling the situation.
Yu Wolryeong glanced at Gangrim’s left arm. Though traces of the zombie plague had mysteriously disappeared, his left arm still bore clear bite marks.
“Yes. There’s no problem.”
Yu Wolryeong lightly touched the bite marks with her finger. At that moment, the skin seemed to heal and close up along her touch.
But judging by the lingering pain, it seemed she had covered it with something invisible rather than actually healing the wound.
“You say he killed all these zombies alone… without getting bitten?”
The zombie hunter asked incredulously, but Yu Wolryeong nodded. After hesitating, the hunter said,
“Look, I don’t mean to doubt you, but procedure requires a thorough examination…”
“Do as you wish.”
The zombie hunter sent other members to examine Gangrim. The members looked over Gangrim’s body and soon murmured in amazement.
“Huh, he killed all those zombies and is covered in blood, but not a single wound?”
‘Huh?’
Gangrim looked at his body with a puzzled expression.
As they said, there were no wounds on Gangrim’s body. Only the spot where the enhanced zombie had bitten him still felt slightly painful, but it was invisible due to whatever Yu Wolryeong had done.
The members even touched his left arm, but they found nothing unusual.
“Ah, um. Thank you. Can we escape now? Or do you have any other business?”
Instead of a long reply, Yu Wolryeong tapped on her phone. Soon, with a ding, a notification sounded on the zombie hunter’s phone.
The hunter’s face brightened.
“Thank you for the prompt payment. This mission is complete. Please take care of the aftermath.”
“Ah, yes. Yes. Understood. Please let us know if you need anything else.”
It seemed Yu Wolryeong had hired these zombie hunters to come here. Gangrim staggered as he stood up, grabbing her arm.
Gangrim mumbled with difficulty,
“So I really don’t get infected by the zombie plague.”
“It’s not that. Your flesh simply can’t be killed.”
Isn’t that the same thing?
Gangrim pondered what the difference was, but Yu Wolryeong didn’t explain further.
As Gangrim started walking, the zombie hunter began to follow alongside him. He looked at Gangrim with curiosity as he spoke.
“Excuse me, what’s your name?”
“…Ju Gangrim.”
“Are you from another zombie hunting company or PMC? You look young, but how did you manage such exceptional skill…”
Gangrim considered his career.
He had been the head of a zombie hunting company, a colonel in humanity’s last resistance force, and even a PMC member at one point.
His career was impressive, but now he was just a high school graduate with no job.
He wasn’t sure whether to praise or criticize the zombie hunter Lee Tae-hoo’s judgment.
“I’m not affiliated with anyone at the moment, but…”
“Ah! I see? In that case, you must have innate talent. If you’re not busy and haven’t grown tired of this situation, would you mind contacting me?”
Lee Tae-hoo pulled out a business card and slipped it into Gangrim’s front pocket.
However, Yu Wolryeong immediately reached into his pocket, took out the card, and flicked it back at Lee Tae-hoo.
“Mr. Ju Gangrim is affiliated with our company. Please don’t try to poach him.”
“……”
Lee Tae-hoo stared at Yu Wolryeong with a dumbfounded expression before hastily nodding.
Gangrim became curious about what position and affiliation Yu Wolryeong was operating under in the living world.
Come to think of it, since Yu Wolryeong was also a grim reaper, she could have intervened directly if she had a physical body.
‘There must be some other afterlife law or something.’
As soon as Gangrim and Yu Wolryeong went outside, a private ambulance was waiting.
And in front of it, nurse Han Min-ah, who had been pacing anxiously, spotted Gangrim and rushed over.
“Mr. Ju Gangrim! I’m so glad you’re safe! Everyone, thanks to you…”
Just as Han Min-ah was about to take Gangrim’s hand and check his condition, Yu Wolryeong sharply intercepted.
Instead, she pressed down on Gangrim’s head and pushed him into the ambulance.
“I’m sorry, but Mr. Ju Gangrim is under urgent transport. Do you have a business card?”
“What? Ah, yes.”
Han Min-ah, looking confused, pulled out a business card from her front pocket.
Yu Wolryeong glanced at Han Min-ah’s card and continued,
“We’ll contact you later, so please talk to us then. Ms. Han Min-ah.”
Urgent transport?
Gangrim was puzzled but had no choice but to enter the ambulance as Yu Wolryeong directed.
Until the ambulance doors closed, Han Min-ah stood behind, staring blankly.
As soon as the doors closed, the ambulance sped off quickly towards somewhere.
Inside the ambulance.
Gangrim looked down at his left arm and carefully said,
“I seem to be fine… Is something actually wrong?”
“No. That nurse has spiritual perception, so she might have noticed that what’s attached to your left arm is fake human skin, which is why I blocked her.”
“Fake skin… So it wasn’t really healed after all.”
“Physical damage can be healed quickly anyway. Or replaced with something suitable. Either way, it’s good to establish hospital connections, so we’ll contact Ms. Han Min-ah appropriately later.”
After that, silence fell in the ambulance.
With only the siren blaring loudly, Gangrim glanced uncomfortably at Yu Wolryeong.
It was because Yu Wolryeong was staring intently at Gangrim without taking her eyes off him for even a moment.
Though not human but a grim reaper, it was like being under surveillance camera level scrutiny.
“Do you have something to say?”
“You caught that enhanced zombie at the end, didn’t you?”
“Yes. Uh, is that a problem? Getting bitten by a mere zombie?”
“No. You did well.”
Yu Wolryeong calmly praised him.
“Even when you realize you’ve become a being that doesn’t die easily, instincts are hard to overcome. But you’ve successfully crossed that threshold, Mr. Ju Gangrim.”
“Threshold?”
“You’ll now understand that the physical body is merely clothing, and the soul is the master and ruler of the body.”
“I’m starting to not understand suddenly.”
“From now on, you’ll learn through experience.”
He could tell it meant he was going to suffer like hell.
But for Gangrim, who had already been through the end of the world, the term ‘suffering’ wasn’t particularly frightening.
Then it suddenly occurred to him that Yu Wolryeong must have seen that era too.
All this time, Yu Wolryeong continued to stare intently at Gangrim.
“…Why are you looking at me like that? Are you impressed?”
“If it’s not too presumptuous, may I ask why you caught that creature?”
The reason for catching the enhanced zombie?
“Once you’ve put in that much effort, don’t you just want to catch it somehow?”
“Lord Yeomna’s message that the patients had escaped was meant to tell you to stop and withdraw. The enhanced zombie was trapped in the basement anyway, and no longer a threat to the patients.”
“Well, actually, to test my limits…”
“No.”
“I was tempted by the reward for catching and bringing it out.”
Gangrim admitted the truth with an awkward expression. Come to think of it, he hadn’t checked how much soul pay he’d received for catching it.
However, Yu Wolryeong spoke as if not allowing even a moment’s gap.
“No.”
“No?”
“There’s a reason you clung to that enhanced zombie. While you were willing to leave all the other zombies behind, there was a reason you couldn’t let that one go.”
Gangrim wondered what Yu Wolryeong was talking about. He had tried to leave the enhanced zombie behind several times. But at the same time, Gangrim questioned his own actions.
Every time he wanted to escape, for some reason, he forcibly found reasons to fight the enhanced zombie.
Even Yeomna’s urging messages were telling him to just leave it behind and get out.
There was no reason to risk danger to kill it.
Then suddenly, something occurred to Gangrim. And he realized why he absolutely couldn’t let it go.
“I couldn’t leave it be.”
In Gangrim’s memory, that enhanced zombie eventually escaped the hospital and killed a nearby family of four.
Countless people died because of the Bukhansan Gate, but the reason this memory stood out was because it happened at the hospital Gangrim had escaped from.
By killing the enhanced zombie, Gangrim had cut off that possibility.
Yu Wolryeong finally nodded.
“Thank you for answering honestly.”
Is that so? Was it honest?
In fact, he wondered if she hadn’t just pressured him until she got the answer she wanted.
“…What were you curious about?”
Gangrim asked, wondering what conclusion Yu Wolryeong had drawn from this questioning. But Yu Wolryeong shook her head.
“I didn’t ask out of curiosity.”
“What? Then why?”
Yu Wolryeong looked at Gangrim for a moment before speaking.
“I asked because I didn’t want you to deceive yourself.”