Ghosts Die Twice (1)
“Urghhh!!”
Ju Kang-rim gritted his teeth, his face flushed beet red as he ran. A healthy adult male weighed in the 70kg range. And Ju Kang-rim was kitted out with all sorts of gear for combat. The Saingeom-formed ceremonial robes boosted his agility and strength, but that weight wasn't going anywhere. Right now, all of it was bearing down squarely on Ttakkachi.
Thud. Thud.
There was no time to feel sorry for the seagulls tumbling into the sea. Ju Kang-rim, who had leaped into the air, soon felt the hem of his robe soaking through with seawater. The ship was close now—just a few meters away. But the ojakgyo bridge alone wasn't going to cut it anymore.
“Kangryeong Daegun!!”
Right before plunging into the water below, Ju Kang-rim kicked off the surface with all his might. The robe-enhanced leap ability, combined with superhuman willpower, yanked his body back into the air for a moment. But that was it. It still fell short of reaching the ship.
Then a miracle happened. Instead of dropping, his body shot up several times higher than expected. Stunned by the sudden turn, Ju Kang-rim twisted around to look behind him. Ttakkachi had clamped her talons firmly into his shoulder and was flapping her wings desperately.
He'd always thought she was big, but with her body the size of an adult man's upper torso and her wings spread wide, she rivaled a decent eagle. Even so, Ttakkachi's bird-surpassing strength couldn't quite haul Ju Kang-rim up. She slammed him straight into the ship's hull instead.
Bam.
It felt like he was being thrown to shatter, but it was enough for Ju Kang-rim. He jammed his hand axe into the surface and secured his body.
“Good job!”
Ttakkachi let out a harsh caw—protest or curse, who could tell?—before crash-landing onto the water's surface like a felled tree. The seagulls Ju Kang-rim had stomped earlier floated around in dazed expressions.
Ju Kang-rim offered another silent thanks in his mind and began crawling up the hull.
Clang, clang, thud.
The Bongshin-do wasn't sharp enough to pierce the hull, so he had to climb using only the Saingeom. Ju Kang-rim propelled himself upward while slamming the hand axe into the smooth surface, ascending step by step. It was impossible for any normal person, but he pulled it off.
“Hah, huff, huff...”
Finally hauling himself onto the deck, Ju Kang-rim spotted a crewman staring at him in bewilderment by the railing. Thinking he might be in cahoots with Kangryeong Daegun, Ju Kang-rim gripped his hand axe tighter. The crewman dropped his walkie-talkie and bolted in the opposite direction.
Ju Kang-rim picked up the walkie-talkie. A stream of curses poured out from it.
“What the hell? Some lunatic hopping across seagulls over the ocean, suddenly sprouts wings and smashes into the hull, and now he's bouncing up with just an axe? You on drugs or something?”
“No drugs. All true.”
Ju Kang-rim replied in his stead. The response came instantly.
“No drugs, that's why you're in that state! Get your ass to a psych consult the second we hit land!”
Ju Kang-rim could understand the captain's concern for his crewman's mental health, but far more pressing worries lay ahead. With the safety of the captain and innocent crew in mind, he radioed back.
“Captain.”
Ju Kang-rim hoisted the Blenderbus and scanned the countless containers for signs of Kangryeong Daegun.
“Get your crew to safety. Things might get dicey where I can't pick and choose who to fight.”
The sun had risen, but the day stayed dim. Clouds slanted steeply westward, heavy with imminent rain, casting deep shadows. The waves ran high, but the hefty freighter barely rocked.
Yet in the middle of the ocean, an ominous tension hung silently.
Clink, clink.
The alleys of containers were a chaotic maze. Ju Kang-rim tapped them lightly with his hand axe as he passed. He doubted the captain would call the coast guard or come to subdue him personally. This was a shady ship, bribed by the Vito family to smuggle illegals. Involving the cops could only spell trouble. The captain probably saw this as a turf war between organizations. With assassin families in play, enemy hitmen showing up wasn't odd. And if the intruder was an awakener? The captain just needed to haul cargo—no need to risk his neck.
Sure enough, the captain got the message: no crewmen or anyone else in sight.
But presences lingered.
“How'd he gather ghosts in the middle of the ocean?”
Ju Kang-rim muttered, eyeing the ghosts lurking between containers. Dawn had broken, so they huddled in the cramped spaces, fixated on him. Observing them, he realized none were ordinary.
His prized collection, huh?
The ghosts wore varied garb and sported grotesque forms. Deep grudges, long haunting the living world—malevolent spirits, no doubt with plenty of victims. Kangryeong Daegun's hunting dogs.
Why didn't he unleash them back at the museum? Probably needed a medium.
Monkey paws, straw dolls—something to bind and control them. Ju Kang-rim didn't know much about sorcery or shamanism yet, but he could guess. Principles weren't so different from science. Catalysts and actions triggered reactions. Somewhere in these containers, Kangryeong Daegun was probably hiding, performing a ritual or dancing.
“So, what's the plan? Gonna lurk in the shadows watching me like a creep?”
Ju Kang-rim idly tapped a container with his hand axe, then struck the chain securing it. Just the poll of the axe—nothing to worry about. But what followed was.
Ting, ting-ting!
The chains snapped suddenly, whipping toward him. Thick, heavy links meant to secure containers—enough to take a man's head clean off. Ju Kang-rim barely dodged. But it didn't stop: the container tipped, crashing down.
Boom!
With a thunderous roar, Ju Kang-rim stared at the container's edge wedged between his legs. He'd evaded by a hair, but imagining it hitting home sent chills down his spine.
Was this Kangryeong Daegun's doing? No telltale signs yet.
Hiss, static.
The walkie-talkie crackled.
[Ah... ahhh... aaaaaah...]
A chilling groan emanated briefly. A cold chill seeped from the device, then a subdued woman's voice followed.
“Tough bastard.”
A woman's voice, but unmistakably Kangryeong Daegun. He'd possessed Ju Kang-rim's walkie-talkie with a ghost to speak.
“That attack—you?”
Ju Kang-rim asked without pressing the button. The bastard wasn't really using the radio; he was listening and speaking through the attached spirit.
“Attack? Hilarious. That's just the 'flesh' still clinging to your lifeline. Weakened a bit, sure—no Korean shaman around capable of a proper soul-cleansing ritual.”
“Nothing happened all this time—why now?”
He'd nearly choked to death once, but survived zombie hordes, packs of eight dogs, motorcycle ninja ambushes on the highway. Now a pile of inert containers attacks?
“Luck, or someone strong nearby. But you're alone now.”
Someone strong? Ju Kang-rim pondered, then thought of Yoo Wol-ryeong. But she absorbed worldly gloom rather than exuding strength. Only one answer fit.
“Or maybe you're just a hack shaman?”
“...Let's make a deal.”
Kangryeong Daegun ignored him, speaking slowly.
“Turn back. I'll perform your soul-cleansing. No more close calls from bad luck.”
“And if I say no?”
“Then we play hide-and-seek in this mountain of containers. Fair warning: this ship's loaded with things you won't expect.”
“You joking?”
Ju Kang-rim snorted, stuffing odds and ends into the Blenderbus he'd prepped. He muttered through clenched teeth.
“You think I chased you here with some half-assed bunshin saba or whatever?”
Ju Kang-rim strode toward the wails of malevolent spirits from the Blenderbus. Kangryeong Daegun's ghosts watched silently. The faster he moved, the more ghosts prowled.
Plip, plip.
Dark spots bloomed across the deck. Rain had begun to fall. The closer he got to the spirits' cries, the more the atmosphere shifted. Unknown branches strung with gold thread draped everywhere; containers plastered with talismans scrawled in red on yellow paper—blood, from the metallic stench.
Kangryeong Daegun had prepared hastily but thoroughly.
Caw.
A crow cried. Ju Kang-rim snapped to attention and halted. Fallen leaves rustled at his feet. This was a container-laden freighter, yet impossible leaves and a desolate incense scent pressed in from all sides.
He realized he'd walked straight into Kangryeong Daegun's trap. The bastard had nearly caught him once; confidence in winning a rematch didn't make this smart. One escape was enough.
Then a noise shattered his thoughts.
“G-g-g-gah, g-g-gah.”
Something burst from the opposite side, limbs twisted unnaturally. Ju Kang-rim recognized the crewman who'd fled from him earlier. But now his limbs stretched grotesquely, jaw split to his chest, drooling blood.
“K-ki-gik, ki, ki-gik.”
“Gyah-ha, gyah-ha, gyah-ha, gyah-ha.”
Sounds like unknown beasts howling in a midnight forest echoed from everywhere. The ghosts that had merely prowled now donned intact fleshly forms.
Ju Kang-rim realized they were all crewmen, turned ghouls by Kangryeong Daegun.
“Gah-gah-gah-gah!”
The long-limbed ghoul charged first. Ju Kang-rim swung his hand axe with a hiss, blocking. The Saingeom pierced steel, but the reinforced zombie's arm halted at half-depth. Talismans clung beneath tattered clothes.
The other ghouls swarmed. Ju Kang-rim clocked they all had enhanced zombie-level strength—hell, they were enhanced zombies. Deep-grudge spirits boosted by Kangryeong Daegun's talismans.
Hiss, static crackle.
“The deeper you go, the deeper the flesh clings.”
Kangryeong Daegun whispered.
“You've slaughtered plenty. Your karma runs deep. Ghosts harboring grudges against you will drag you to hell. Don't gnaw your own lifeline—jump in the sea.”
Ju Kang-rim's lips twisted at Kangryeong Daegun's words. His strange expression soon curled into a smirk.
“You... still have no idea who I am, do you?”