The Hunters (3)
Clint McCallen's face twitched. It was a more violent change than ever before.
Of course, Clint knew about Han Min-seong's ability. He'd sent him here partly to test it out.
But someone with the exact same ability had shown up, achieved the goal in his place, and Han Min-seong ended up dead? It was a situation that screamed something was off, no matter who looked at it.
After a brief silence, Clint opened his mouth.
"……Intriguing."
But whether Ju Kang-rim had killed Han Min-seong or not wasn't the point. What mattered was that Ju Kang-rim had passed the test in Han Min-seong's stead—and might possess the ability they'd been trying to recruit him for, Blood Rain.
On top of that, Ju Kang-rim claimed to have killed an immortal.
A blade that could kill immortals. To an immortal fighting other immortals, it was more alluring than anything.
"……Hah."
Clint cleared his throat and fixed his gaze on Ju Kang-rim. His face was expressionless, but Ju felt like he could read the man's thoughts crystal clear.
I've been butting heads with bastards like you for over ten years, you prick.
Ju Kang-rim had survived in a savage world where a moment's lapse meant getting your ankle snapped, and one wrong word could get you blacklisted by Gerald. A mere D-rank awakener like him had made it among contenders for A- and S-rank because he'd fought ten, no, dozens of times harder than they had.
Ju's eyes flicked briefly to Han Min-seong's corpse.
But Clint showed no further interest in him now. Someone far more intriguing had appeared.
A dangerous blade.
Clint already saw Ju Kang-rim as a threat.
But a dangerous blade wasn't something you let wander freely—you kept it close. Besides, Blood Rain ability users were exceedingly rare, and many hid their identities.
"What's your name?"
And finally, he'd bitten the bait.
"Ju Kang-rim."
"Ju Kang-rim."
Clint repeated the name as if committing it to memory.
Beep.
At that moment, a report came in over Clint's radio. They'd found the warehouse storing the goods Lopez had siphoned off.
Clint acknowledged it, then turned back to Ju Kang-rim.
"Ever thought about working with us?"
"Pardon?"
Ju couldn't help but be a little surprised by the unexpected offer. In his original life, it had been years before he joined Gerald's group.
But he quickly realized this was Clint testing the waters.
"Ah, sorry, but joining the US military might be a bit..."
"Not the military. Something far more valuable. I can offer better terms than any Korean company or clan right now."
Clint laid out the salary, benefits, and all sorts of support they could provide. It was generous enough to make any normal person's eyes bulge.
But to Ju Kang-rim, who'd once been Gerald's direct adjutant, it was laughable.
If he accepted here, he might infiltrate as a low-level grunt under Gerald again. And like before, he could claw his way up through the convoluted vetting process. He'd done it as a D-rank before. With Han Min-seong's Blood Rain ability, it'd be even easier.
But Ju had no desire to.
Joining now would make him the eon—the weaker party. Better to have them begging him to come. He refused to be used and discarded at some midway point like last time.
No, this time, he'd use them and toss them aside.
"Sorry, but I'd like to think carefully about my career path for now."
After feigning deliberation, Ju gave off a vibe of polite refusal.
Clint seemed even more interested in his coyness.
"Fair enough. Hard to decide on the spot. I'll contact you later—expect a positive response then."
"Ah, could I at least get a business card? Sorry, I don't have one myself..."
At Ju's lingering interest, Clint looked at him with an I knew it expression.
"I'll have my adjutant give you one. And..."
Clint glanced at Han Min-seong.
"Thanks for handling our business."
Ju smiled without a hint of tension.
"No big deal. It's an honor to meet someone as distinguished as Clint McCallen."
"The soldiers will see you out."
Ju bowed politely and headed out.
Just as he was nearly through the door, Clint suddenly spoke up.
"By the way, I think there was one more person here. Any colleagues with you?"
"Pardon? No, none."
It was a sudden jab, but Ju answered without hesitation.
Inwardly, though, he was rattled.
Did he pick up on Yoo Wol-ryeong's presence?
Yoo Wol-ryeong was so ghostly faint in presence that she felt invisible even up close.
But he couldn't mention her.
"I see. Alright."
Clint let Ju go.
Once he was out, a captain entered, and Clint issued orders.
"Investigate that hunter who just left. Ju Kang-rim. Dig up everything—contacts, address, family, personal connections, all of it."
"Yes, sir."
After the captain left, Clint pondered Ju Kang-rim. There were no obvious holes in his story.
And those eyes of his...
They weren't lying. If anything, they carried the thick scent of one of their own.
If he'd really killed Lopez, he could be far more valuable than Han Min-seong.
We'll see.
"Honestly, I'm not sure it was wise."
Ju Kang-rim rejoined Yoo Wol-ryeong only after putting enough distance that he was certain no eyes were on him.
She spoke with a displeased expression.
Ju shrugged.
"You mean revealing my existence, name, and that I have Han Min-seong's ability?"
"It feels like a one-sided loss. I thought you'd kill that immortal Clint right there."
"Haha, I considered it, but Clint's Gerald's right-hand man. Gerald sends him wherever brute force is needed. I know his power and abilities well."
No matter how much stronger he'd gotten as a grim reaper, he couldn't take Clint easily yet.
But Ju wasn't worried about him.
"Say we somehow took him out. Dealing with Clint is just a matter of time. The real problem is the chain of Gerald's forces behind him."
Ju knew better than anyone the power, wealth, and might Gerald wielded.
"Facing not just Gerald but the army backing him? Worse, if he hunkers down behind his underlings, it's a nightmare. To drag them all down together, we need a plan."
"A plan?"
"To excise a deep-rooted malignant tumor like immortals, you can't just scrape the surface."
No matter how vital Clint was, Gerald could replace him anytime.
Ju chuckled, imagining what Clint was doing right now.
"He's probably digging for dirt on me as we speak. But that's the regressor's advantage, right? My record's cleaner than ever before."
Even if Clint tore the world apart, all he'd find on a 20-something unemployed guy was a history of hypochondria.
Going from hospital bed to hunter? In zombie hunter circles, that was nothing. Plenty got awakened, conscripted, and forced into zombie cleanup.
"But this buys Clint's trust."
"Trust... you say?"
"Yeah. And I'll use that trust to turn Clint into the immortals' malignant tumor. I know his weakness."
"His weakness?"
"Yep. When the chance comes, I'll leverage it to make Clint Gerald's tumor. For that, he needs to stay alive."
Just as immortals had infested human society from within, Ju would become their cancer cell in reverse.
Clint was just the first candidate for metastasis.
"I can't wait to see Gerald cut off his own right arm."
Two weeks passed.
Despite Ju's bold claims, no word from Clint.
But Ju wasn't anxious. He had Clint's business card.
Having it meant he could contact Clint anytime—which meant Clint was waiting for his call.
He's probably got my number and hotel by now.
Still, Clint wouldn't call first. His pride wouldn't allow reaching out to an unproven hunter, and it would weaken his negotiating position. Calling now would look like begging.
Just snagging that card had flipped the power dynamic.
But time's on my side.
Ju flicked the card onto the desk as he thought it over.
Over the past two weeks, he'd focused on physical training, testing his new gear and Saingeom, and practicing Blood Rain.
Those were straightforward enough, but the issue was "proper uniform manifestation."
The hotel's underground training room.
Beep, clang!
Yoo Wol-ryeong hurled a shuriken at him.
Ju swung his hand axe hard to deflect it, but the impact made his hand throb.
She spun without pause, launching more in rapid succession.
Thud, thud, thud.
Deflecting the fourth sent his axe flying from his grip.
Clang.
The fifth grazed past his neck.
"......Go easy, will ya?"
"No one's coming to reap you if you die—what's to worry?"
Her "practice" was full combat. Meaning, over two weeks, Ju had nearly died 26 times at her hands.
If he weren't a grim reaper, he would have died.
Being one let him survive non-fatal wounds.
The good news: no near-deaths in the last 48 hours.
The bad: Yoo hadn't used her uniform or Saingeom at all.
"Still can't manifest the uniform properly?"
She pulled a shuriken from the wall.
Ju nodded.
Since the Lopez fight, he hadn't fully succeeded once.
His hat was crooked on his head.
"In a do-or-die spot, maybe, but draping the robe's my limit now. Lopez was a fluke."
"Beginner's luck. Like pulling Bi-hyeong's Eyes from your first 'Today's Fortune'."
It'd go down in her gambling lore forever.
"Anyway, you're officially registered as a hunter now."
"Finally."
She pulled an ID from her suit's inner pocket and handed it over.
Hunter license.
Mostly symbolic these days. With gates and zombies everywhere, lines blurred between hunters, civilians, and cops.
The perk: carry blades, axes, guns openly without hassle.
But most importantly, it gave a solid social identity.
Outwardly, just another zombie hunter.
Behind the scenes, a grim reaper hunting immortals.
That separation was key for immortal hunts.
"Hey, what day is it today?"
"October 14th."
Ju remembered the date.
The day Korea fully abandoned control over northern Seoul.
Now, save a few Han River bridges, all were sealed, military blocking zombie crossings.
North of the river was a full dungeon now.
But that wasn't all.
Sudden millions of refugees—that's the real issue.
Ju had been one.
Refugees had few options.
Lucky ones had hometowns to return to.
Many enlisted or became hunters; most sank deeper.
But a few would claw opportunity from the collapsing sky.
"Awakeners will start pouring out soon."
Not much was known about awakeners.
But theories on triggers: one, near a gate opening. Two, extreme physical/mental stress.
But the world wasn't fair.
Even crisis-born powers varied wildly—useful vs. trash.
D-rank: unfit for combat.
C-rank: combat support.
B-rank: direct combat viable.
A-rank: high impact.
S-rank: national assets.
But rankings meant little later. The system would change in years, gates overrun Korea anyway.
Surviving alone would be SSS-rank.
"Time to move, yeah?"
"Mm. Got work tonight anyway."
Yoo nodded.
"Lopez moved weapons multiple times. Found one spot."