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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 4: Undeadog (2)
A black SUV drove through the city.
It passed through a tunnel of neon-lit buildings and entered a crowded plaza.
-Give the Undead the right to vote! Give them access to healthcare!
On one side, a protest was in full swing, demanding civil rights for the Undead.
On the other, a holographic military recruitment ad played, urging citizens to volunteer for war as Undead.
-Pick up your weapon for your family. Protect the city for our future. You too can be a hero.
Outside, the world was a mess of noise, but inside the car, sweet music played.
< ♪ I’ll kill you~ ♬
“Kill you~”
< ♪ Even if every circuit in my body rusts~ and all my mana runs dry~ ♬
“Even if it runs dry~”
As Frank kept chiming in with his enthusiastic falsetto, Baek Ho pressed the switch next to the steering wheel.
A thick window slid up between the front seats and the back, cutting off the high-pitched harmony.
“Is Mr. Frank a fan of I_Vu?”
Sitting in the passenger seat, Sophia asked Baek Ho, who was driving.
“Look at his shirt.”
“Shirt?”
Sophia turned and glanced into the back seat.
Frank, still singing with his mouth wide open, was wearing a T-shirt with a pink knife stabbed into a purple heart.
It was the symbol of ‘I_Vu’, the most popular girl idol group in UnderHeaven.
“I just noticed…”
“It’s on his underwear too.”
“Oh my god…”
Something awful flashed through Sophia’s mind.
Trying to erase it, she quickly changed the subject.
“Um… Mr. Frank, he never had his memory reset, right?”
"Yeah. I brought him in right before he got drafted. Paid for the Reaper conversion out of pocket too."
"That must’ve been tough."
"It was."
Unlike standard undead conversion, awakened individuals must undergo memory reset to become Reapers.
It’s mandatory — due to various side effects.
"You still don’t plan to go through with it? If the brain keeps deteriorating, he’s going to turn into a Mad Eater before long. Honestly, I think the cognitive decline’s already started… don’t you?"
Baek Ho kept his eyes on the road, saying nothing.
He just adjusted the wheel in silence.
Sophia was about to give up when he finally spoke.
"Better to be a fool than to forget everything."
"That’s not really the point, is it? If he goes Mad—"
"Drop it. Let’s just get there."
"...Okay."
The car fell quiet.
The sweet song on the radio ended, replaced by the chipper voice of a radio host.
< Citizens of UnderHeaven! Did you see the weather today? It’s a perfect day to step out from your concrete tombs and take a walk! Back in the day, people called this kind of outing a ‘trip’! Leaving the city for some unfamiliar place! Haha! Old folks really thought mass suicide was a vacation, huh?
Baek Ho turned the wheel, guiding the car into the depths of a megabuilding.
This was the residential block where Devin, their target, used to live.
Being a bottom-tier complex, trash was already piled high at the entrance to the parking lot.
While hunting for a parking space, Baek Ho felt a faint vibration on the back of his left hand.
-[Yo! Bro! (•̀ω•́)/]
A small holographic window appeared at the edge of his vision — visible only to him.
It was a message from a contact he’d asked yesterday to look into Sophia.
[Yeah?]
-[Yo! Bro! ୧(˙Ⱉ˙)୨]
[Hey.]
-[Yo! Bro! (≖_≖ )]
[Yo, Elise!]
-[Got the results from yesterday’s request!]
[Nice! (❛ ڡ ❛)]
Baek Ho glanced sideways at Sophia.
The Reaper who'd first appeared at a bar, then later came to him with a job request.
He was finally about to uncover her identity.
[Took you a while.]
-[She’s a weird case! (*´⌒*)]
[Weird how? What do you mean?]
-[See for yourself! ╭( ๐_๐)╮]
The message window disappeared, replaced by Sophia’s Reaper profile.
⋯⋯⋯
{Sophia Elizabeth}
◆ Grade – ?? (Access Restricted)
◆ Manufacturer – Chernobog
◆ Base Body – ?? (Access Restricted)
◆ Necroshell – ?? (Access Restricted)
◆ Handler – ?? (Access Restricted)
◆ Notes – ?? (Access Restricted)
⋯⋯⋯
[What the hell? That’s it?]
-[Wild, right? (⚆₀̑⚆)]
Baek Ho frowned.
‘Everything about her — except the company that handled her Reaper conversion — is locked. If even a hacker like Elise couldn’t dig anything up, there are only two possibilities: she is either a notorious criminal… or a Reaper tied to someone very high up. No way. Could it be him? …No. That doesn’t add up.’
His father was the kind of man who didn’t say a word when Baek Ho gave up on becoming a commander and left home.
Unlike his sister, who yelled, or his aunt, who cried, the man didn’t even spare him a glance. And not once had he reached out since.
-[So who is she? She was gorgeous in the pic.]
[No idea.]
-[No way. ( ｰ̀εｰ́ )]
[...Anyway, I’ll send your payment after the job’s done.]
-[C’mon, Bro! We don’t need money between us! Just text me more often…]
Baek Ho closed the chat and looked sideways at Sophia again.
She was staring right back at him.
"Aren’t you getting out?"
"...Yeah."
Baek Ho pulled a revolver from inside his coat.
As he aimed it at the vagrants crowding around the car windows, he thought to himself.
‘Whatever this woman really is… I shouldn’t trust her.’
＊ ＊ ＊
Ding—
As the elevator doors opened, a foul stench greeted them.
“Go ahead.”
Baek Ho said, nudging Frank in the back.
Frank let out a guttural yell and stepped forward.
“Shit! It reeks here!”
He puffed up his chest, eyes wide, baring his teeth as he glared in every direction—from the central lounge where vagrants were grilling something questionable, to the hallways crowded with drugged-up drifters and couples tangled in each other. He scanned them all.
“Get lost unless you’re looking to die!”
Frank flared mana from both fists, making it clear he was a Reaper.
Only then did all the stares that had converged on the three of them finally disperse.
Even the gang member lingering nearby quietly slipped back into his unit and shut the door.
“Bit unexpected.”
“What is?”
“You looked like newcomers yesterday, not used to city life. But today’s different.”
“Oh, so that’s why you scammed us.”
“Scam? D, please. It’s actually common to work with brokers, especially if you’ve been with the Fixer Guild for less than a year. Sometimes, it’s even recommended.”
“…I know.”
Using Frank as a walking shield, the three continued down the corridor.
They passed several doors before finally arriving at Devin’s apartment.
Click—
The doorbell made no sound.
When Sophia knocked, a frightened woman’s voice came from inside.
“Who… who is it?”
“We spoke this morning—”
Before Sophia could finish, the door suddenly flew open.
“Y-You’re here…”
The woman’s face was pale and gaunt.
Her expression full of anxiety, her shoulders slightly trembling.
Over her shoulder, a little girl clutched a stuffed dog, while a well-dressed man in a crisp suit sat behind them.
Sssshhhk—
The man took a long drag from his cigarette and stood up.
“Who the hell are you?”
“Who the hell are you?”
Baek Ho shot back.
The man sneered and flashed the ID hanging around his neck.
It read: Department of Special Identity Control — he was a government-affiliated Reaper.
“Let me guess. You’re Fixers?”
He stepped forward, exhaling a stream of cigarette smoke as he casually pushed Devin’s wife aside.
His eyes narrowed as he looked Sophia up and down.
Then tilted his head back to glare at Frank, who was wider than the doorway.
‘No way a family like this could afford real Fixers. Just some low-grade Reapers, all flash and no substance.’
He scoffed.
“The job’s off. Get lost.”
“And if we say no?”
“…This little shit.”
The man blew smoke directly into Baek Ho’s face.
“Don’t try to play tough. You and I? Not even in the same league.”
“Hm. I’d say we’re equals.”
“What? Equals? You talk big, asshole.”
He gave his cigarette a casual flick through the air.
The smoke twisted unnaturally, swirling once around Baek Ho’s face before dissipating.
He was showing off—clearly a Mage-Type.
“I’m giving you a chance to walk away.”
“Put the cigarette out. There’s a kid here.”
“......”
The man’s face twisted in disbelief.
’That attitude? From someone like him?’
From experience, guys like this were either freshly minted Reapers or vessels that hadn’t been rebooted for long.
That would explain why he could meet the eyes of a government agent so casually.
"You messed with the wrong guy today, asshole."
He flicked his left hand to bring up his SmartCore interface.
Accessed identity data using his government clearance.
“…Hm?”
Thinking his ocular implant was glitching, he squinted and blinked his right eye.
“What the hell…”
{Unable to retrieve data on this subject.}
There were only two reasons someone wouldn’t show up in the central system:
They were either a high-risk criminal whose records had been purged—Or a Necromancer.
He cleared his throat.
‘No way a top-level criminal would be wandering around the city this openly.
Which meant… Necromancer.’
Sure, there were Necromancers who worked as Fixers. But they were so expensive, they only took jobs from corporations or billionaires.
They didn’t waste their time on grunt work like this in places like this.
“Could you be someone—”
Before he could finish, Baek Ho raised his hand.
A black mist unfurled from his palm, curling once around the man’s face.
“I said. Put the cigarette out.”
The cigarette slipped from the man’s gaping mouth and hit the floor.
His face was drained of all color.
Sophia chuckled as she looked at him.
“Yep. Definitely in a different league.”
＊ ＊ ＊
-[The Department of Awakened Affairs won’t back off. Awakening is hereditary, so they’ll keep a close eye on the daughter too.]
[Yeah.]
-By the way, wasn’t you being a necromancer supposed to be a secret?
[Not really. Never planned on hiding it.]
-Then why all this time…?
[Don’t know. I never hid it.]
Baek Ho had never hidden the fact that he was a necromancer, even after starting work as a Fixer.
He’d even submitted a request to have his rank upgraded through the Association—but it was denied.
And Baek Ho understood why.
It was likely the influence of his aunt, who held a high-ranking position in the central government.
“This… This is everything,”
Devin’s wife said quietly.
Baek Ho closed the message window and looked down at the items laid out in front of him.
She said they were taken from the cabinet at the factory where Devin used to work.
“Hmm…”
He’d heard this was where most Undeadogs started from.
But there wasn’t much here worth salvaging.
-[Shall we head out? I think we should check the last location he showed up on surveillance.]
[Hang on.]
As Baek Ho kept sifting through the items, a familiar word suddenly caught his eye.
“…Undeadog?”
He picked up a stiff, rectangular piece of paper.
It was a reservation certificate confirming a successful pre-order, with the pickup date listed as today.
The name written on it was the daughter’s.
He glanced over at her—she was peeking out from behind her mother, eyes fixed in wonder.
Following her gaze, Baek Ho saw Frank curled up like a pill bug in the corner of the living room.
It was his attempt at minimizing damage to any furniture or belongings.
“......”
Secondhand embarrassment was all Baek Ho’s.
He turned his head away, and his eyes landed on a worn, scruffy plush dog nearby.
At that moment, Devin’s voice—heard from the VO footage—echoed in his head.
‘No matter how many times I see it… I can’t help it. She makes me happy.’
He remembered the way Devin looked at his daughter’s photo, eyes red and swollen.
He’d mentioned her birthday was coming up in just a few days.
“…Alright.”
Baek Ho snapped his fingers and stood up.
He stepped over Frank and walked out the front door.
“Looks like our necromancer came up with a good plan.”
Sophia smiled gently.
“Ah… yes…”
“Well then, we’ll be on our way.”
She bowed politely, then waved a hand at Frank.
“Come on, get up. We need to go…”
“Help me. My leg’s cramping.”
Sophia let out a sigh.
＊ ＊ ＊
After Baek Ho's group left, only the two of them remained in the house—just like always.
“Mom…”
Devin’s daughter tugged on the sleeve of her mother’s limp arm.
Her mother managed a strained smile and looked down at her.
“You’re hungry, right? It’s already—”
“No… this…”
The girl held up her stuffed dog.
One of its ears had been scorched by a cigarette ash.
“Oh no… Let me clean that for you.”
Her mother took the doll and went toward the bathroom—until her daughter grabbed her sleeve again.
“When’s Daddy coming home…?”
“......”
Something welled up inside her.
A choking wave of sadness and everything else she had buried rose to the base of her throat.
“He’ll… be home soon…”
“He promised. He said… he’d get me a new doll for my birthday…”
Her mother’s lips trembled.
She knew her husband wouldn’t be home in time for their daughter’s birthday. Maybe not ever.
“Daddy will… definitely come back by then…”
“Really?”
No.
She swallowed the word.
She couldn’t meet her daughter’s shining eyes with the truth.
Even one more day of hope was better than none.
“…You remember the handsome guy from earlier?”
The girl nodded.
“He’s a Necromancer. You know Necromancers, right?”
“Yeah. I read about them in storybooks.”
“Right… that Necromancer said he’d bring Daddy home. So let’s wait for him… okay?”
She stroked her daughter’s head.
Every children’s book painted Necromancers as heroes, so she figured it’d be comforting.
But then her daughter said—
“I don’t like him.”
“…What?”
“Necromancers are bad.”
“M-May… you shouldn’t say that…”
“Daddy said so. He said they’re scary, and we should stay away from them. If you look at them, they’ll come to take you.”
Her mother’s throat bobbed.
Now that she thought about it, she’d said things like that too.
Especially about Necromancers—the warfront commanders of the dead.
She’d told her daughter never to even look at one.
“That’s not… I mean…”
She regretted saying those things.
Just as the last bit of hope was beginning to slip—
Knock— Knock—
Someone knocked at the door.
Before she could even ask who it was, the door suddenly burst open.
She hadn’t locked it!
She lunged toward it, but didn’t reach the handle in time—the door flung wide open.
Her hand went to her chest in panic.
“N-Necromancer… sir….”
Baek Ho was standing outside the front door.
“Sorry. It was slightly open.”
“I was too out of it to notice… but why did you come back…?”
“I have something to give you.”
Baek Ho stepped inside.
He passed the mother and stopped in front of the daughter.
To the girl, who looked up at him cautiously, he handed over a square box.
“Your dad said to give you this.”
“…My dad did?”
The girl accepted the box with her small hands.
When she opened the lid, inside was a snow-white puppy plush.
“Wow!”
A radiant smile bloomed across the girl’s face—like sunlight after a long drought.
“Is this really for me? Really? For real?”
It was the doll she had longed for but could only gaze at with envious eyes.
It was Undeadog.
“He said you get your birthday present a little early.”
“Yay!”
Baek Ho placed his hand on the girl’s head and gave a faint smile.
It was stiff and awkward, but sincere.
“And he told me to pass along a message too—‘There are Necromancers in the world you can trust.’”
Baek Ho had unintentionally overheard the mother and daughter’s conversation from outside the door.
“Like… me, for example?”
The girl nodded enthusiastically.
“I’ll bring your dad back, so wait for me.”
“Okay!”
Baek Ho turned to the mother next.
He walked up to her as she hesitated.
“N-Necromancer sir, my daughter didn’t mean anything by what she said earlier, she didn’t know—”
He stepped in closer.
To the flustered mother, he spoke in a low, quiet voice.
“Don’t let anyone find out.”
“…Sorry?”
The mother shifted her gaze to look at Baek Ho.
But Baek Ho wasn’t looking at her.
He was staring—at the girl, clutching the Undeadog tight.
More precisely, he was staring at the faint blue light radiating from her chest.
“Protect your daughter.”
“......”
“The Awakened Academy is a worse hell than here.”
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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