Gates, Hunters, Monsters, and... Grim Reapers? (1)
They say a crisis is an opportunity. So how big an opportunity would humanity's survival-or-extinction crisis be?
Except "survival or extinction" didn't mean thriving or dying out—it meant "we're royally fucked."
To cut to the chase: no opportunity, no nothing. Humanity was royally fucked.
Truth be told, whenever phrases like "at the crossroads of survival or extinction" got tossed around, it never felt all that different. Even Ju Kang-rim, who once saw this crisis as his shot, now struggled to view the world in a positive light.
Ju Kang-rim thought that as he stared at the zombie horde swarming right in front of him.
This was Migido Fortress. Humanity's last bastion of resistance.
Zombie waves crashed like the tide around the fortress planted in the middle of the desert. There were so many, they outnumbered the grains of sand.
Alive, they thrashed desperately to survive; dead, they thrashed to kill everything. A world where living or dying made no difference in the struggle.
This life's done for.
Humanity had tried countless ways to stop the zombie plague, but all failed. Efforts continued, yet objectively, hope looked slim.
If it were just zombies, blocking them wouldn't have been so hard...
Thud.
A massive deer emerged from the zombie pack, trampling them underfoot as it prowled the fortress perimeter. Half-rotted, with fourteen legs, towering as tall as an eight-story building—this was one of the monsters dubbed an abomination.
That size? You'd need at least three S-rank awakeners to take one down.
Such abominations encircled the fortress—over ten of them. The S-rank awakeners who could handle them were mostly dead or gone.
But the root cause of failing to stop the zombie plague wasn't the abominations or politicians' delayed responses. It was the Gates—opening too many places, all at once.
Wherever Gates appeared, the dead rose as zombies, biting people to spawn more. Just when folks got used to zombies, unseen monsters started crawling out like some buy-one-get-one sale.
Luckily, it was more like buy-one-get-two, with awakeners emerging to fight back against zombies and abominations. No one wanted this global event, but humanity tried adapting to the new era.
Yet with 99% of the world blanketed in Gates, "adapting" just meant turning zombie. Hardly a welcome path.
Ju Kang-rim irritably stubbed his cigarette on the windowsill. His last one. A perfect chance to quit.
A knock echoed at the door. Before he could answer, it burst open, and a soldier rushed in.
"Colonel Ju Kang-rim! General Gerald is back!"
"What?"
Gerald—the general. The hero who kept hope alive even as humanity teetered on the brink. One of the few surviving S-rank awakeners, leader of the remnants.
But what truly made him humanity's hope was his nickname: Immortal. A tenacious life force like no other. No mission, success or failure, ever kept him down. He always returned.
And Ju Kang-rim was his adjutant, always by his side.
This time, too, Gerald had plunged into the horde—zombies and abominations—to destroy a regional Gate core. Even Ju Kang-rim thought he wouldn't make it back.
But here he was.
"Is the general safe?"
"Well..."
The soldier's face paled. Ju Kang-rim headed straight for Gerald without another word. The soldier hurried alongside.
"The general said to tell only you about his return."
"What?"
"You'll see when you look at him."
A bad feeling stirred in Ju Kang-rim's gut.
***
Humanity's pinnacle: Gerald. And he, his adjutant.
Standing at the pinnacle's side might seem like second-in-command, a lofty rank. Assuming anyone still craved power after 99% of humanity perished.
Unfortunately, Ju Kang-rim was one of those power-hungry madmen.
He'd staked his life on success.
As he sought Gerald, thoughts raced through his mind. A mere D-rank awakener—how many dirty tricks had he pulled to climb this far?
Humanity's doom was opportunity for a bottom-feeder like him. Some called him selfish.
Who's the real selfish one?
Gritting his teeth, Ju Kang-rim recalled past humiliations. His ambition hadn't just saved his skin—it saved countless lives. It fueled his refusal to quit, drove him into reckless ops.
As adjutant, soldier, awakener, or just another human—he never slacked or surrendered.
Heroic deeds piled up: aiding Gerald, rescuing hordes from zombies. As a D-rank, he'd worked harder than higher-ranks to earn this spot.
All that effort...
Becoming adjutant made him think he'd neared the top. But someone still loomed above.
Not just Gerald. Their elite circle at humanity's apex. Kind on the surface, but Ju sensed the off vibe. No matter his grind, he'd never stand equal. A subtle, contemptuous gaze.
Connections—school, region, blood—didn't explain it. An invisible ceiling persisted amid extinction.
Even death wasn't equal for them. As humanity died off, their casualties were countable on one hand. And no one had seen them die—just "missing."
Those VIPs...
Ju Kang-rim had been shocked at first, but figured he'd join them someday. Uncover their secret—how Gerald always returned from death.
But if Gerald dies, it's all pointless.
The soldier led him to the fortress basement. Ju Kang-rim wondered: was there a subway down here? Nearly a year and a half guarding the place, and he'd never known.
Deep in the tunnel, a car waited. Opening the door hit him with the stench of blood.
"...General."
Gerald lay collapsed inside. Ju Kang-rim scanned his pale form—not for wounds, but for any intact parts.
This wasn't evacuating the wounded. It was corpse retrieval.
Even an S-rank Immortal like Gerald couldn't be called "alive" in this state.
Think.
No despair, no shock. Ju Kang-rim calculated damage control. Gerald dead meant no hope for the fortress.
How to handle this...
"Colonel."
Gerald's voice cut in. Ju Kang-rim's eyes widened at the impossible sound. In the car's gloom, Gerald's eyes gleamed fiercely, fixed on him.
"G-General! You're alive? How in the world..."
"Summon the VIPs here."
Gerald interrupted, commanding. Slurred and slow, but clear.
VIPs: elite socialites, politico-business bigwigs. The ones above Ju's ceiling. As their protector-adjutant, he knew them well.
"Quickly. Hurry."
"Yes, sir."
Obey power, pick the right side—that was Ju Kang-rim's survival secret.
Gerald dead? Unavoidable. Alive? Still the apex. How he lived didn't matter—follow orders.
Gerald beckoned the soldier privately. As Ju turned to climb out, he paused.
Protecting VIPs mattered. But the fortress sheltered soldiers and civilians.
"General, what about the civilians?"
Bang.
A gunshot answered. The soldier crumpled, head holed.
Ju Kang-rim stared at the car in shock. Gerald slowly emerged, a mangled mess, locking eyes.
"Can't have this getting out."
"But... no, nothing."
Ju clenched his jaw. First time covering Gerald's cruelty? Hardly. To remain hope, he couldn't be seen like this—a zombie knockoff.
"What about civilians? Guide VIPs first, then evac via routes?"
"Evac?"
Gerald tilted his head, as if the word was alien. Head injury muddling him.
"Ah, civilians. No need. Use 'em as bait to delay the monsters. Scoped a path to the third shelter nearby. Issues en route, but safe now. Buy time here, they'll make it."
Gerald waved his pistol.
"Time's short. Move."
Ju didn't budge.
"Colonel?"
"You scouted the shelter... with Captain Park Ha-yuri and Sadmael to close this region's Gate? Where are they?"
"Can't you tell by my state? All dead, obviously. I'd be too, if not Immortal."
Immortal?
His nickname. But he said it like a plain fact. As if Immortals truly existed.
Gerald shook his head, noticing something off.
"Ah, right. Colonel Ju Kang-rim isn't one of us. Forgot after so long together."
Us.
Ju grasped the unease he'd felt lifelong. Us, VIPs, apex of society—Immortals.
His unreachable ceiling.
He wasn't shocked. A near-corpse walked before him; zombies devoured the world. Rumors of Immortals, ageless VIPs, Gerald's returns—he'd suspected.
Maybe—definitely—he wanted to become one.
But Gerald now ordered sacrificing humanity as bait, prioritizing Immortals.
Ju, who'd served from his twenties? Just a skilled slave to them.
"Other adjutants died quick. You lasted, confused me. Or head injury..."
Gerald lurched forward slowly. Ju moved fast—action, initiative.
But Gerald's hand clamped his throat first.
Even corpse-like, post-betrayal command, Gerald was Gerald. His blank gaze chilled.
Like crushing a bug, fingers tightened. Crack. Ju blacked out.
***
"Gack... cough..."
Ju Kang-rim awoke coughing harshly. Screams, shouts, footsteps echoed above.
He squinted for Gerald. Car and general—gone.
Took the VIPs and split.
Did he fetch them, or another adjutant? Either way, Ju was used and discarded.
He laughed hollowly, struggling up—but his body failed. Neck grated like broken gears.
Not fully paralyzed, but close. Gerald hadn't finished the job.
Thud.
He slammed his fist into the ground. All that thrashing, and he was just a slave? This pinnacle?
Bloodshot eyes glared at the floor. Years obeying Gerald blindly—hell reserved for him.
Result? Thousands of civilians as bait, him discarded.
"Gerald!"
A scream tore from him. Screams above nonstop—monsters breached.
He eyed the tunnel opposite. VIPs and Gerald gone that way.
Dragging himself up the stairs. Each step, screams faded. No survival odds inside—Gerald took all fighters.
Fine. He'd snag their heels at least.
Throw people as bait?
A grotesque chuckle escaped his throat.
Not happening. First defiance head-on.
He flung open the basement's hidden door.
"Come on!"
Zombie horde charged opposite—rushing like rapids into the open tunnel.
Arms wide to the swarm: "Fresh meat you crave—right here!"
Crash.
Bare-handed into the horde. Crunch, rip. Tumbling downstairs amid zombies, Ju laughed.
More than expected poured in. Fewer zombies inside meant slim survival odds for hiders or fighters rose—0.1%, 0.001%.
He knew it changed nothing. They die. He dies. Only Immortals survive this world.
But a blemish on Gerald's command. A slave's lifetime revenge: this tiny rebellion.
Teeth sank into flesh; he laughed.
I defied you, Gerald.
Zombie claws gripped his shoulder. Arm torn sensation.
"This rebellion's all I have now... but..."
Us, VIPs, society's apex—Immortals.
"If chance comes again... you—no, all of you..."
I'll kill every last one.
Snap. Throat ripped. Hot blood soaked him. Consciousness faded fast.
"Hey, I like how this guy's thinking. Feels like we'll get along."
Amid zombies, Ju spotted someone. Pale-faced man in black suit. Grinning whisper toward him.
"Good. I'll give you that chance—so work with me on one thing."