Load, Aim, Fire (4)
…This guy's really into bombs.
That was Ju Kang-rim's thought as he took cover behind the wall after the zombie with the tripwire on the stairs exploded.
Ju Kang-rim had been on guard for booby traps from the moment he entered the hotel. It was the sniper's main base, after all. Booby traps were a given.
He'd spotted the trap beforehand, kicked the zombie right into it, and ducked behind the wall before the blast— that's how he'd come out unscathed.
As he caught the whiff of gunpowder, Ju Kang-rim thought of Lopez's impending doom.
I'll let you die hugging the bombs you love so much.
After that, he used his enhanced Stealth skill to muffle his footsteps as much as possible while searching for Lopez.
The hotel's carpets, meant for soundproofing, made it easy to stay quiet.
Zombies and traps were around, but to Ju Kang-rim—skulking in the shadows with Bi-hyeong's Eyes lighting the way—they were just toys.
Should be around here.
Ju Kang-rim cleared the zombies in the hallway, analyzed the trap placements, and pinpointed where Lopez was likely hiding.
Gunfire would confirm it, but the guy had gone quiet—maybe getting cautious.
Easy way to check if someone's inside.
He smashed the jaws of the remaining zombies, dragged them over, then strapped every trap he'd disarmed onto their bodies and hooked up the tripwires.
Midway through, a massive explosion rocked the outside.
Probably the fake Lopez just blew up. Biggest decoy, after all.
That meant the real one would move now.
Sure enough, rustling came from inside the room.
Ju Kang-rim knocked on the door. The noise stopped dead.
He flung the door open and dodged aside. Flames and shrapnel erupted out.
Right after, he shoved in the trap-rigged zombies.
They charged toward Lopez in the bright, noisy spot rather than Ju Kang-rim lurking in the dark.
Zombies'll even go after immortals.
You could tell from how Gerald and the VIPs avoided them.
Zombies were a type of immortal, sure, but no special treatment.
As expected, the zombies blundered through the smoke, spotted the real Lopez, and lunged.
They couldn't bite, but getting close was enough.
The moment the gunshot rang out, Ju Kang-rim yanked the tripwire.
Another explosion lit up the room.
"How's that taste? Sweet, huh?"
Ju Kang-rim leaped in, expecting a mangled Lopez.
But no sign of him. Maybe blown to bits—but no time to search. The hotel was catching fire.
Ju Kang-rim eyed the only escape: outside.
He rushed to the window. There, on the wrecked car's hood, a man in a poncho crawled—legs shredded to rags, but torso spared the worst.
"You really are an immortal, huh."
Ju Kang-rim chuckled incredulously, about to jump—then remembered it was the fifth floor.
Grim reaper or not, no need to break his legs.
He bolted for the stairs.
***
"Ha, that bastard. Crawling fast without legs."
Ju Kang-rim raced down to the first floor. Traps slowed him, but not as much as a legless guy.
Blood trailed from the crashed car to the road.
Ju Kang-rim gripped his hand axe tighter, ready to finish Lopez at the trail's end.
Then someone yanked his arm hard.
Bang.
As Ju Kang-rim dropped, a bullet pierced where his head had been.
He whipped around in shock. Yoo Wol-ryeong crouched beside him, under cover.
"You got careless."
"No, he didn't have a gun earlier!"
"That's what careless means."
Fair point. A shredded, unarmed, legless enemy counterattacking? He'd blanked on that.
"Lopez is an immortal. Don't treat him like a normal human."
"…Right."
Gerald had killed him from a corpse-like state. Not just awakener strength—true immortality.
Until fully subdued, assume full combat power.
Then Lopez's voice boomed.
"Listen up, hunter!"
Fluent Korean, unfitting for the name.
"You think this'll kill me?! No matter what you do, I won't die!"
"Immortal, huh."
"Yeah. Confessed it himself."
Ju Kang-rim eyed the bullet mark on the wall, tracing the trajectory. Hiding in one of the flipped cars, blasted by explosions.
"Torture him, we might get the immortal backers."
He spotted a mirror shard on the ground, peeked it out from cover.
Bang. It shattered.
Damn good shot. If he'd sniped from the start, it'd be dicey.
"Regular rounds, looks like. Charge and grab him?"
"Sure you won't get headshot?"
"Doesn't the head regenerate?"
Yoo Wol-ryeong stared.
"Soul rules the flesh doesn't mean unkillable. Shredded clothes can't be worn forever. Gonna walk around in rags even if it regens?"
"…So it doesn't regen?"
"You have a precious gift: staying alive. Don't waste it. Headshot won't kill instantly, but brain death leaves you defenseless."
"But you said grim reapers don't collect our souls?"
"True death makes you underworld property. Bound by our laws—like me. Useless as a hireling then."
"Shelf life over, huh."
Tolerate minor wounds, avoid major ones regen can't fix. Like total dismemberment or head explosion—yeah, he'd dodge those too.
"Then you, Yoo Wol-ryeong…"
She stared. Her ghost-like skills could handle Lopez easy.
But this was training. Her jumping in would defeat the purpose. She'd already intervened big by saving his head.
"You already have the means to subdue him."
She tapped his forehead.
He glanced at his Saingeom.
"Strengthened Saingeom means you're ready for Yi-gwan Jeong-je. You just don't know how. It'll be imperfect, but possible."
"How do you call it?"
"Become flesh's ruler. Command its pain and senses. Wrap and protect it with your soul. That's the reaper's rite. Saingeom will help."
Vague. Ju Kang-rim puzzled it out. Needed imagination—not easy.
Impatient, she spoke.
"Or just…"
"Got it."
He stood, ready.
Her eyes widened.
"Ready?"
"Nah, still fuzzy. But I'll wing it. Thrive in crises, improvise. Sun's almost down anyway."
He wasn't the desk-sweating type. Growth came from clashes.
He gauged distance to Lopez's spot, his speed.
When he'd crossed the road earlier, Lopez missed. At least one dodge chance.
Then Yoo Wol-ryeong spoke.
"Fine. One shot."
"Huh?"
She popped her head over the wreck.
Bang. Bullet through her forehead.
Ju Kang-rim froze at the sight. Her eyes rolled back as she slumped.
Her lips moved.
"Go."
Ju Kang-rim ran.
Post-shot reload to next aim: about 1.7 seconds max.
He closed the gap fast.
Spark from the flipped car.
He dove low, shadows blurring his outline.
Bang, bang!
Bullets grazed his shoulder, ricocheting off another wreck.
Distance halved.
Hand axe out.
Lopez had one shot left. But he held fire.
As Ju Kang-rim charged the wreck.
Close enough for eye contact.
Lopez aimed at his forehead.
Bang.
Lopez smirked at the headshot.
But it vanished.
Ju Kang-rim's head shimmered like a mirage, swallowed by darkness.
Sunset hit.
Thud.
Brief pain; Lopez twisted.
Too late—his gun hand was gone.
Left hand snatched a grenade.
Thud. Off with it.
Then he felt the weight pinning him.
Chill seeped from above.
"Time to die."
A murmur from the dark brushed his neck.
Lopez got it now.
No hit. Ju Kang-rim was inside, astride his back.
The "sunset" was that weird black fabric cloaking him.
From its pitch depths: whispering wind, lonely western breeze.
"Wait…"
Thud.
World flipped. Limbs severed, body below; Ju Kang-rim hunched like a ghost atop.
In the dark, only his jade-green eyes gleamed eerily.
***
"Success."
As Ju Kang-rim crawled from the wreck, Yoo Wol-ryeong stood there, applying fake skin to her bullet-holed forehead.
He stared, sighing.
"Didn't need to take the bullet for me. Just avoid the head."
"Senior's lesson. You're still green with the job. And 'success' means the Yi-gwan Jeong-je."
He looked down.
Black dopot and jeogori. Matte black gat and shoes. Minus the color, perfect scholar's garb from a museum.
Fabric like predawn darkness, sleeves light as night mist.
Swishing sound: indistinguishable from swaying grass.
"Full Yi-gwan Jeong-je head to toe in one go… Impressive."
"Uh… weird?"
He tilted the awkward gat.
"Only thing to say: you're born for this. Some take 1-10 years for full attire."
"Old job was killer, maybe."
Zombies, technically. And now immortals post-death.
Ju Kang-rim wondered how closely Yeomra watched. Hidden cams?
He texted back.
Ju Kang-rim sighed but accepted it.
Griping aside, it wasn't bad. He didn't fuss over looks; comfy, practical—no nitpicks needed.
"Anyway, what about this?"
He held up Lopez's severed head before Yoo Wol-ryeong.
"Korean features. Reimi-Kyo? Explains the fluent Korean."
Unconscious, but warm, blood un clotting. Even a rookie reaper knew: still alive.
Yoo Wol-ryeong peered, then said,
"Time to begin Saja Chohun."