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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 1: D & F (1)
Humanity has been defeated.
Two days ago, Seoul fell.
Yesterday, Tokyo was submerged.
And today, the United Allied Command stationed in New York has been annihilated.
We have failed.
The powers granted by the gods.
The martial arts passed down by our ancestors.
Even the magitech we boasted of so proudly was useless.
Now, only one option remains.
A self-destructive and immoral measure.
…To all the Awakened around the world who are hearing this voice, I implore you.
Let us.
Become Undead.
Even if our limbs are severed and our heads are torn off, we will not die.
Even if we die, we can be revived.
Let us become the undead.
...I know.
I too am afraid.
I am afraid of death.
I am afraid of becoming the pawns of the necromancers we once scorned.
I am afraid of the gods who promised to save us turning their backs.
But there is something even more terrifying than this.
The future that awaits my family, my people—that terrifies me more.
The thought of my parents becoming prey to demonic beasts…
The thought of my children living as slaves to other races…
The thought of it chills my blood and eats away at my soul.
If that's the future we're facing—
Then let my blood run cold now.
Let my soul rot here and now.
Rather than gods who stand by and watch from a place we cannot reach, I would rather entrust our future to the necromancers who fought alongside us.
Even if it is not a noble ending.
Even if it is an unholy sacrifice.
If I can protect my people with this body until the very end—then there is nothing I would not do.
My Comrades.
My fellow heroes, who may be hearing my final plea.
I implore you once more—
Let us fight, even in death.
＊ ＊ ＊
Hero, take your own life!
For your flesh shall be humanity’s salvation!
The man's gaze lingered on the massive monument outside the car window.
The smooth, ash-colored stone towered toward the sky, yet the inscription carved into it pierced only the wrong places.
“…That’s still the same.”
The man muttered to himself.
The woman sitting beside him responded.
“Was that there back when you were a student, Commander?”
“It was built before this place even existed.”
The car carrying the two came to a stop in front of the main gate.
The man looked outside the window.
Beyond the towering stone walls and sharp spires of a castle-like building, a holographic sign floated above the entrance.
[Necromancy Officer Academy]
“Tsk…”
He clicked his tongue and lowered his gaze.
In front of the gate stood a long line of people clad in jet-black uniforms.
“I told you—I hate this kind of thing.”
“There was nothing I could do. They said the cadets needed a role model.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the people in uniform snapped to attention and saluted the car.
The sharp clack of their polished shoes hitting the ground echoed all around them.
“Stiff old traditions…”
As the man stepped out of the car, the person at the front of the line shouted.
“It’s an honor to meet you, sir!”
The rest of the line followed suit, voices booming in unison.
—It’s an honor, Commander Baek!
The booming voices brought passing students to a halt.
Those inside the academy pressed against the windows, eyes drawn to him.
They looked upon the hero of humanity with a mix of awe and near-religious reverence.
＊ ＊ ＊
“The decisive factor in humanity’s defeat was the number of Awakened.”
The gruff voice of the elderly professor echoed through the vast lecture hall.
“Dimensional rifts appeared with increasing frequency, but we had far too few Awakened to stop them. And that’s only natural. Humans die—and when they die, that’s the end of it.”
The lecture hall was stark white.
From the floor to the walls, even the desks.
Against that, the students' pitch-black uniforms gave the room an eerie, almost mystical atmosphere.
“…And yet, humanity stubbornly survived. Even after every trace of civilization on the surface was destroyed, we've been fighting back for decades.”
Despite the large number of students, the hall was completely silent.
Everyone sat upright, listening intently to the old professor.
“…The solution turned out to be surprisingly simple. Since artificial Awakening was impossible, the idea was to make full use of the Awakened we already had. That’s where the concept of undead Awakened came from—the ‘Immortal Reaper Project’.”
When the professor paused, a man sitting off to the side stood up and walked to the center of the stage.
His steps were heavy, his expression grim.
Around his neck was a thick collar of solid metal.
“The core trait of these Reapers is immortality.”
The professor raised his pointer and gestured toward the man’s head.
“As long as the embedded ‘vessel’ beneath the brain remains intact, they cannot die. No matter the damage, restoration is always possible—as long as the manufacturer is paid the required fee.”
He then pointed at the man's left shoulder.
Immediately, the man reached over with his right hand and pulled on his left arm.
With a hiss of escaping air, the arm detached from the shoulder, revealing not flesh and bone but a complex weave of machinery inside.
“During restoration, our necromancers can make a variety of custom modifications. It's the easiest way to enhance a Reaper's capabilities.”
The professor made a slight motion with his fingers in the air.
The man’s arm and shoulder snapped back together instantly, like magnets clicking into place.
“Even though they combine necromancy with magitech, Reapers still retain the same desires and senses as ordinary humans.”
Without warning, the professor pulled a pistol from his belt and fired directly at the man.
Bang!
Blood spilled from his abdomen, drawing a crimson line across the white floor as he collapsed to his knees.
Clawing at the ground, he gasped with his mouth wide open.
Despite the sudden outbreak of violence, not a single student flinched.
The silence remained, just as it had from the beginning.
“Why do you think the companies that create them bothered to replicate their sense of pain?”
In response to the elderly professor’s question, a female cadet raised her hand.
“Yes, you there.”
“It helps preserve their sense of humanity. By tricking them into believing they’re still human, they’re more likely to internalize the idea that they’re fighting for mankind…”
“That last part is wrong.”
The professor cut her off.
He casually tossed the pistol he’d been holding in front of the kneeling man.
“Pick it up.”
At the professor’s command, the man slowly grasped the pistol with trembling hands.
“Aim for your head.”
The man moved the muzzle toward his own temple.
His grip shook violently.
Tears streamed from bloodshot eyes.
“They don’t need a sense of purpose like fighting for humanity. Reapers are just tools for necromancers. All they need to do is follow orders.”
The professor paused, then spoke again.
“Fire.”
Just as the man was about to pull the trigger—
Sshhk—
A black sphere shot out from the back of the lecture hall.
The moment it made contact with the man’s body, he froze and collapsed, unable to complete the action.
The students, who had shown no reaction to gunfire or blood, now gasped and turned around in surprise.
At the entrance stood a middle-aged man in a black uniform, stiff as an old tree.
“Th-That’s Commander Baek of the Special Operations Unit!”
With that shout, the entire room erupted in commotion.
The same students who hadn’t so much as blinked when someone was shot now behaved like fans spotting a celebrity they adored.
Even the old professor was no exception.
Though his lecture had been interrupted, he greeted the man with a bright smile.
“Well, look who it is—our next Supreme Commander himself.”
＊ ＊ ＊
A ‘Reaper Commander.’
Refers to a Necromancer who leads Reapers into battle.
Their mission was to reclaim Earth from the clutches of the Beasts and secure humanity’s survival…
The hallway echoed with the sounds of overlapping lectures.
As the elderly professor led the way, he spoke to Commander Baek walking beside him.
“That man earlier was a criminal. Killed a fellow soldier and stole his prosthetic body.”
“Yes.”
“Just making sure there's no misunderstanding. Anyway, what do you think of the new cadets? Do they give you hope for the future?”
“Hard to say. I just want to get them to the frontlines as soon as possible.”
“Haha, always in a hurry. Just a little more patience.”
They soon arrived at their destination—
A wing filled with professors' offices.
The old professor stepped inside first, while Commander Baek paused and turned around.
He looked at the woman with brown hair who had come with him.
Since stepping out of the car, she’d kept a respectful distance, following silently.
Now, she stood still, making no move to enter.
“Sophia. Is there a problem?”
“It says I’m not allowed in.”
Sophia pointed to a sign beside the automatic door.
In bold red letters, it read: [NO UNDEAD ALLOWED]
“I’ll wait here.”
“I’ve never liked this place.”
Leaving Sophia behind, Commander Baek entered the office.
The professor’s office was oppressively spotless—The kind of place where even breathing or moving felt inappropriate.
“I must say, I’m not pleased you summoned me to the academy.”
Commander Baek brushed some dust from his coat and took a seat.
“Isn’t this the best place to avoid attracting attention? For people like you and me, this is the kind of effort we need to avoid rumors.”
The old professor patted Baek’s shoulder and walked to the window.
Beyond the glass stretched a clear night sky and a well-kept green lawn.
At the edge stood a statue of the first necromancer, the academy’s founder.
And beyond that, the glowing skyline of a sprawling metropolis.
“I’ve always been grateful to your father, you know. He’s the reason we necromancers have come this far.”
The professor shook his head as he continued.
“And your son—he should’ve carried on that legacy… Tsk.”
At the mention of his son, a slight twitch flickered across Commander Baek’s firm brow. Noticing this, the professor waved a hand.
A small holographic screen appeared before Baek’s eyes.
Displayed on it were a withdrawal form and a leave of absence request.
“It’s from your son. I scrapped the withdrawal and processed it as a leave of absence instead.”
“…Thank you.”
“No need for thanks. It’s only natural. We can’t let someone from the Baek family—your bloodline—waste away as a mediocre necromancer, can we?”
Commander Baek said nothing.
The professor continued, his tone more chiding than before.
“Does he hate the battlefield? I suppose I can understand, given the survival rate of his own father.”
“No. He’s been aiming to become a commander since he was a child.”
“Then what’s the point, if he just throws it all away and runs?”
“......”
“So what’s the reason? What kind of ‘extraordinary’ excuse justifies throwing away the chance to be humanity’s savior?”
＊ ＊ ＊
“Just because it’s all bullshit.”
The black-haired man downed the drink on the table in one shot.
He lit a cigarette and gazed out the window.
Shhhhhhh—
Rain soaked the city, buried in the night.
The towering megastructures glistened as water streaked down their sides.
Neon lights twisted in the puddles, painting the streets with scattered color.
“A reason? Nothing so grand.”
There were plenty of people out on the streets.
A man with a body covered in metal.
A woman staggering in a drug-induced haze.
A naked old man.
A child clutching a pistol, glancing around nervously.
Each one looked like they had a story, but no one interfered.
No one could tell who was human and who was undead.
“So stop asking already.”
As the man moved his gaze, a holographic ad playing on the side of a building caught his eye.
-Don’t hide. Don’t run. UnderHeaven needs your power.
Next to it, beneath a skybridge connecting two buildings, red graffiti was scrawled across the wall.
-UnderHeaven isn’t a city! It’s a graveyard stuffed with machines and corpses!
He exhaled a long breath of smoke and looked around the space he sat in.
Thump— Thump—
Electronic music pulsed in waves.
Voices shouted, cursing and laughing over the beat.
The air was thick with smoke of all kinds, vision hazy, the stinging scent of pheromone-laced perfumes cutting through it all.
This was the cheapest refuge the city’s night had to offer.
One of the countless bars tucked into every back alley.
“Why aren’t you saying anything? You drunk?”
The black-haired man looked across the table.
A massive man sat there, half-lidded eyes picking at his nose.
Thick mechanical fingers flared his nostrils wide before pulling out.
“What are you talking about? Frank fine. Frank drink more.”
“Take it easy. You still haven’t upgraded your arm? Gonna blow all your money on your liver again?”
“Doesn’t matter. Frank is man. Booze is pride.”
“You dumbass… whatever. Move for a sec.”
At his words, Frank shifted his body to the side.
“What’s up?”
“That woman.”
“Woman?”
Frank rolled his eyes around.
After a few moments of squinting, he abruptly turned his head.
Only then did he spot the brown-haired woman a short distance away, drinking alone.
Even with her hood pulled low, her beauty couldn’t be hidden.
“Ooh, pretty. Baek Ho likes pretty girls.”
“Not that. What’s a Reaper doing in a place like this…?”
Frank cut him off, raising his hand.
“Frank go pee first.”
“Do it outside. You’re not allowed in the bathroom here.”
“Okay.”
At that moment, three pairs of eyes in the bar were watching them.
One belonged to a hulking man with dreadlocks, the other two to a pair of scruffy-looking men.
“The big guy’s an undead?”
“For sure. I saw him pissing—both legs are metal. No way a normal human could stand like that.”
“No way he’s a Reaper, right…?”
“Pfft. A Reaper here? He screams construction-grade undead. If you’re right, then that guy must be a necromancer, huh?”
“Ahh…”
All three shook their heads.
“There’s no way a necromancer would show up in a dump like this, where it’s sketchy just walking around. Besides, a necromancer who hangs around with the undead like buddies? Never heard of such a thing.”
“What if that guy’s an undead too…?”
“I saw the bartender scan his code earlier. He’s human.”
“Then we’ve got our target. Let’s move.”
Grins of greed spread across their faces just as the music in the bar changed.
< ♪ Come back—! Baek—!~ ♬
A heavy beat pounded through the air, accompanied by a voice like molten steel.
As the well-known song blared, the crowd nodded to the rhythm and sang along.
“Come back—! Baek—!”
< ♪ We’re not ready to die yet—!~ ♬
“We’re not ready to die yet—!”
A song every UnderHeaven citizen had heard at least once.
An anthem that praised the legendary Baek family—heroes and idols among necromancers.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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