Burning the Straw Shack (4)
Ju Kang-rim raised his hand axe the instant the count ended. It was a blatant threat, as if to say light up right now. But he caught Ttakkachi smirking.
No way?
Something barreled toward him from behind at breakneck speed. Ju Kang-rim swung the axe on reflex, but he was a beat too slow.
Bam.
The massive dog slammed into him full-force, throwing Ju Kang-rim off balance. He should have gone down. But he only staggered for a split second before regaining his footing, bracing for the follow-up attack.
"Run!"
Ttakkachi ditched her weapon and bolted with the dog. The beast, which had been skewered and gushing blood moments ago, loped away as if nothing had happened. Ju Kang-rim watched in disbelief.
"Wait, no fucking way... the immortal... was the dog?"
Come to think of it, there was no rule saying a dog couldn't be an immortal. Whatever her story was, Ttakkachi had chosen to make her dog—not herself—the immortal.
Ju Kang-rim sighed, eyes on the fleeing pair, then took off after them. They'd caught up to him right after he'd been dosed with anesthetic. Both were exhausted and injured; no reason he couldn't run them down now.
"No, really, I really fucked up. Can't you just let me off this once? Please?"
The dog lay whimpering, its back twisted at an unnatural angle, while Ttakkachi wrapped herself around it, groveling at Ju Kang-rim's feet.
Now that he knew the dog was the immortal, there was zero reason to go easy.
Yoo Wol-ryeong eyed the scene and asked, "Were you sparing her because it was a dog?"
"I wasn't sparing her."
"I'll handle the dog. Reaper Ju Kang-rim, you take the hunter."
Yoo Wol-ryeong stated flatly that she'd only deal with immortals. Ju Kang-rim nodded and advanced on Ttakkachi.
"W-wait! Okay, fine, me—but what about the dog? I messed up, not him. He was just following orders. Think about it! Yeah?!"
"It chomped my leg like it was gonna rip it clean off."
"Everyone's scared of his size! He never actually bit anything off! He's up to date on shots, rabies too! He's big, sure, but he's a total softie!"
"No leash, no muzzle."
"I'll do it! I will!"
Ju Kang-rim stared at the groveling Ttakkachi, speechless.
She's got the makings of a shrike, but she's still this soft and green...
Hard to imagine now, but he remembered Shira Vito from the Middle Eastern deserts, carving through hordes of zombies.
He couldn't help pondering. Killing her like this would be a waste. Plus, once she awakened as Shira Vito, she'd be a huge asset against abominations.
But meddling recklessly might stunt her potential.
Of all things, the dog being immortal.
A normal dog? He'd probably let it live, like she said. But an immortal dog? No mercy there. Whatever the backstory, it had to die.
As Ju Kang-rim closed in, Ttakkachi squeezed her eyes shut, clutching the dog tight, bracing for the end. But no cold blade pierced her.
When she cracked her eyes open, Ju Kang-rim was crouched in front of her.
"What's the dog's name?"
"The... dog's name?"
"You don't just call it 'dog,' do you?"
"Uh, y-yeah, his real name's Maenggu."
Cute name for such a brute. Ju Kang-rim eyed the dog skeptically. But at "Maenggu," the beast perked its ears despite the pain, trying to turn.
Seemed legit. Ttakkachi continued timidly.
"But honestly, he gets commands without me saying much. No need to call his name. Bad for business if he gets targeted."
Even without a name, that mug screamed infamous: Riverside Man-Eater or Baskerville's Mad Hound.
Ju Kang-rim cleared his throat and intoned the Reaper's Call at Maenggu.
"Maenggu."
A guttural shriek ripped out immediately. The thing, fine despite a broken back, thrashed and howled—classic immortal reaction to the call.
Ttakkachi screamed too and lunged at Ju Kang-rim.
"What the hell! What're you doing?!"
He twisted her arm, slamming her down and pinning her. Unarmed, she was no threat. Still, he gave her a few solid thwacks to be sure.
Once she was limp, he tested: "Calmer now?"
"Ask... before... hitting..."
Watching her flop like this, he started doubting if this was Shira Vito material.
Maenggu groaned on the verge of passing out, drool pooling. Ju Kang-rim could kill it anytime now. Big and scary, sure, but no awakening or special powers apparent. Still, gates could change that—stay cautious.
"How'd the dog become immortal?"
"Well..."
Ttakkachi hesitated, then spilled.
"...About a year ago, a gate opened in a city up in Gangwon Province."
A record blizzard hit at the same time, trapping the city in isolation. Ttakkachi had been in the mountains with her dad, hunting zombies for loot. Caught by the storm and gate, they hunkered down in a nursing home.
Problem: old folks' home = zombie ground zero from gate fallout.
Staff welcomed her and the hunters with licenses. But zombies spawned from inside.
She pulled every trick to carve out a safe zone. But it all crumbled—her dad got bit, numbers dwindled. No rescue soon? Freeze or starve with the few survivors.
So she weaponized the zombies. Helicopters and drones buzzed Gangwon for isolated folks, prioritizing dense pops.
Plan: truss zombies to rooftop pillars to fake a big survivor cluster. Make it visible.
While corralling them, zombies swarmed her near-death. That's when she awakened, and her dad's hunting dog, Maenggu, charged in with a feral pack to save her.
Plan worked—they escaped. But survivors tying up zombie grannies? Folks didn't approve. Rumors flew: not tied, impaled on pillars. Earned her "Ttakkachi" moniker.
"Hey."
Ju Kang-rim swallowed his irritation, whispering sweetly.
"Got the Maenggu part. When's the immortal bit come in?"
Unexpected backstory for Shira Vito, but not world-shaking.
Stung, Ttakkachi rushed the end.
"Oh, right—early on as a zombie hunter, some old guy from an org pitched joining. Felt off, so I kept saying no. Then one day Maenggu got badly hurt. They said join and we'd save the dog."
"...So the dog got immortal, and you stayed mortal?"
"Yup."
Ju Kang-rim mulled if he bought it. But a loyal beast immortal? Not bad if obedient. No leaks or betrayal risk. To Kangryeong Daegun, immortality was bait, not for loved ones.
Guy might just crave stale power, indifferent to the concept.
"How old are you?"
"Huh? Sudden? Twenty-two..."
"The dog."
"Oh, five-ish. Stray, so not exact."
"Good. Five-year-old Maenggu."
Ju Kang-rim slammed the hand axe down with a clang in front of her eyes.
"Sorry, but you're both dying. Same day, same hour."
Ttakkachi's eyes dimmed with despair. But he continued.
"Dog's blameless, like you said. So I'll match its lifespan. Dogs live twelve to fifteen years? Seven to ten left for you."
"S-so then..."
"Beg all you want after that. Live it out. I'll collect when due."
Death sentence, but hope flickered in her face. Ju Kang-rim cut it cold.
"In exchange, till Maenggu dies, you're our dog. He's your leash and muzzle. Bark when we say, bite on command. Got it?"
She flinched. Betray Kangryeong Daegun. No choice, though. She'd joined for Maenggu; dying here voided that.
She nodded.
Ju Kang-rim unbound his arm to let the anesthetic flow. Ttakkachi had antidote—capture prep, probably. Saved him 80 nyang on Blood clot recovery pills from the shop.
Yoo Wol-ryeong watched him suck it down.
"Letting Maenggu live?"
"For now."
"What's Maenggu got over Jang Han-taek?"
Ju Kang-rim paused. Comparing man and dog? Humans betray; dogs don't. Pick one? Human. But would she get it?
"...Dog's more trustworthy? Can't trust Jang Han-taek 'cause he's scheming. Dog doesn't hide malice. Except when eyeing human as a snack."
"Maenggu follows Ttakkachi. Trust her?"
He glanced at Ttakkachi, guiding them to the Shine Sand stash, disarming massive traps en route. Wedding hall was a blood-soaked hellscape of tear gas, gore, corpses—but ghouls tidied busily.
"I trust those I hold leverage over."
"Her weakness?"
He nodded. Green now, but awakened Shira Vito? Waste to kill. Turned down Gerald for a dog? Handed over immortality?
Maenggu's the weakness.
Didn't know how deep her love ran. But something made her lose him—maybe her awakening trigger.
"They chain each other. She knew immortality, gave it to the dog? Useful dynamic."
"Kangryeong Daegun could threaten Maenggu back. Easier than Lopez. What if she betrays us?"
"Oh, accounted for."
Cheerfully: "Kill Kangryeong Daegun before he tries."
"Worth recruiting someone who might stab us in the back?"
Even if revenge later, betrayal sucks. Ju Kang-rim pondered her insistence. Safest: kill Ttakkachi.
Yet he stalled her death, gave chances. Why?
Future S-rank? Tempting, but not risk-it-all.
Honest: "I owe her one."
"Owe her?"
"In the future, I saw Ttakkachi... no, Shira Vito... die."