------------------
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
------------------
Chapter 14: New Face (5)
"Hey!"
The necromancer from the White Skull Syndicate shouted as she ascended the stairs.
"Are you messing with me?"
She placed her finger below her ear for the call, pressing it so hard that it turned bright red.
"You never mentioned there was a necromancer!"
A relaxed voice followed from the other end.
–I'm surprised too. Why would a necromancer be there? Is it possible your sister had a grudge?
"Goddammit! I'm coming there right now, so wait!"
The woman snapped and started walking toward the car she had arrived in.
She walked quickly and looked back. Among her many subordinates, only a single Reaper was following her.
‘What the hell is this idiot doing?’
She had retired from being a commander and joined the White Skull Syndicate a year ago.
During that time, she had enjoyed a comfortable life making undead. But one day, she was asked by an organizational leader to deal with a few overconfident Reapers who had gotten out of hand. When she arrived full of confidence, she found a young necromancer.
‘That guy’s no ordinary necromancer…’
She could tell from the regenerative abilities of his subordinates. He wasn't like the usual weak necromancers. He was someone who should be fighting monsters outside the city, not here. So, she had decided to flee.
It didn't matter if she was considered a coward. For a commander who had survived on the battlefield, fear was a necessary trait.
"Hurry up!"
At her shout, the Reaper behind her surged forward. He opened the passenger side door of a sports car with no roof, which was parked in the middle of the street.
As the woman tried to squeeze into the car—
"Stop!"
People appeared from all around. UHPD officers surrounded her car, pointing their guns at her.
"Drop your weapons and put your hands up!"
The voice of Inspector Otis rang out with authority.
The thought of aiming guns at the White Skull Syndicate felt exhilarating, a rush born of bravery that filled his body.
"Hah!"
The woman snorted, holding up her middle finger. Black mist began to rise from the tip of her finger.
"Are you not going to clean up that filthy thing?"
Seeing the dark mana, Inspector Otis and his subordinates were filled with fear.
A necromancer, and on top of that, one from the White Skull Syndicate? She was someone they couldn't afford to confront.
"Shit…"
At that moment, as they were contemplating retreating, Baek Ho appeared from the basement of an old building. With a disgruntled expression, he raised his revolver.
"You're asking for trouble."
He pulled the trigger. A bullet shot out of the barrel, ricocheting off the mechanical arm of the Reaper who was guarding the necromancer.
"Hey! Necromancers shouldn’t be doing this to each other!"
The woman shouted.
She shoved the Reaper who had blocked her way. She sent a signal that she would drive, and the Reaper was to deal with the enemy.
Though the Reaper had lost the will to fight, it followed the command.
Thud!
The Reaper stomped the ground and rushed forward.
He infused mana into his arms. The Necroshell activated, and blades extended from his elbows to his wrists. Crossing his Blade Arms, he charged at Baek Ho.
In the meantime, the woman climbed into the driver's seat. She honked the horn at the UHPD officers who had blocked her car.
She hesitated but didn’t avoid it.
“You insolent bastards!”
The woman stretched out her hand. She was about to use dark mana but stopped. Not only was her dark mana insufficient, but a better idea came to mind. She would simply run them all over with the car.
Kaaang—Kang!
The sharp sound that suddenly rang out made her glance at the side mirror.
Her subordinate was fighting evenly with a Reaper holding an axe. Fortunately, the large one hadn’t climbed up yet.
“I’ll remember you…”
The woman muttered vengefully as she pressed the ignition button.
With the roar of the engine, the eyes of the UHPD officers blocking the car flickered. She shot a look at Inspector Otis, silently begging for mercy.
Fortunately, the car didn’t start. Or rather, it couldn’t.
The woman had never driven before. Her Reaper subordinates always took the wheel for her.
“Shit…”
She tapped the set-top box, searching for the auto-drive button. In a flurry of movement, she pressed it, only to hear a voice telling her to set a route.
“Just go! Go!”
- Switching to auto-drive mode.
The car began to move slowly.
The woman grumbled and stared into the rearview mirror. Through the mirror, she met Baek Ho’s eyes. Perhaps it was because her Reaper was held back? He stood there, helpless, doing nothing.
This was the weakness of a modern-day necromancer. They could command Reapers as if they were their limbs, ruling like kings, but alone, they were no better than a single Reaper.
“Hmph.”
Not confident in dark mana, huh? That’s why you’re not a commander and are stuck in the city, isn’t it?
A smile formed on the woman’s lips as she regained her composure.
She stood up, turned around, and grinned.
She raised her middle fingers at Baek Ho. With her crescent-shaped eyes, she saw Baek Ho stretch his right hand forward.
What? Is he giving me a middle finger too?
She was wrong.
Baek Ho’s palm was facing forward. He curled his fingers, raising his thumb horizontally. The shape formed like a claw, and his lips moved.
Open the Gates.
“…Huh?”
The woman felt a strange sense of familiarity as she watched the black mist gather around Baek Ho’s palm. Where had she seen that before?
In her wavering vision, Baek Ho’s lips moved again.
Descend.
“…Ah!”
Shock filled her face as her pupils shook violently.
That was the Barigyo Arts!
A forbidden, otherworldly dark mana that summoned the monstrous Black Divine Beast.
She remembered seeing it when she was a rookie. It had been used by a high-ranking commander.
“How… How are you doing that?”
Memories of the past flashed through her mind—summoning a giant toad that swept through beasts. A fellow commander had told her that even if she wanted to learn it, it wasn’t something that could be taught.
“Fuck!”
Realizing something was wrong, the woman quickly sat back down. She pressed the gas pedal that was beneath the steering wheel in a hurry. By some stroke of luck, the accelerator kicked in, and the car responded.
- Accelerator manipulation is unavailable in auto-drive mode.
“W-What did you say?!”
At that moment, she regretted the exorbitant price of the sports car.
“Ah!”
The car's built-in defense system came to mind.
She hurriedly slammed the switch mounted above the set-top box.
In an instant, slabs of black metal shot up from both side windows, sealing over the roof.
“Shit!”
This time, it was an outburst of joy.
Wearing a triumphant expression, the woman checked the side mirror.
Baek Ho was moving his outstretched hand, following the path of the car—as if carefully taking aim.
“You bastard! That’s adamantium, you know!”
Through the mirror, she saw Baek Ho frowning.
It was a habitual expression, but she took it as a sign of resignation.
You don’t think you can break through this, do you?
Just when she thought she could make her escape—
Baek Ho’s closed lips parted.
『Small Platter of the Mountain Lord.』
The space beyond the front windshield rippled.
A black void opened up in the air, like ink poured into the sky.
“…Huh?”
As the car cruised right underneath the hole, a thunderous roar erupted from within.
—Krrrrroarrr!
A massive beast’s head suddenly burst out of the void.
Grey fur streaked with black stripes, chilling eyes with amber irises—
A giant black tiger opened its enormous jaws and clamped down on the car’s roof.
Crunch—
That so-called adamantium crumpled like paper.
From inside, the woman’s scream followed—and it was all over in an instant.
The black tiger melted back into the void.
The mangled black metal that used to be the roof crashed heavily onto the ground beside the car.
The interior was drenched in blood.
A headless corpse sat still in a cloud of red mist.
In the next moment, the dark mana contained within the body burst outward, vaporizing the remains.
Only the blood-soaked clothes, now flattened, remained behind.
A sight of a necromancer’s end rarely seen in the city.
And so, the sports car, carrying nothing but its owner's abandoned clothes, continued to roll forward on its own.
“Huh…”
Mujin, his axe hanging limp in one hand, gaped wordlessly.
He could summon more than just one Black Divine Beast…?
Staring wide-eyed at Baek Ho in shock—
Khwack—
Baek Ho suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
As he collapsed to his knees, Mujin rushed over to support him.
“Are you alright, sir?”
“More or less… but Mujin…”
Baek Ho, struggling, raised a trembling finger to point forward.
He spoke with a serious expression.
“That car’s expensive… Go fetch it…”
“…Huh?”
“Run…”
“Oh.”
Mujin’s body moved on its own, like a retainer obeying his necromancer’s command, sprinting after the car.
＊ ＊ ＊
The room was bathed in a faint neon light, with two men sitting inside.
"This bitch must be crazy..."
The man with a skull tattoo on his face muttered while wiping his eyes with his fingers.
"Why? What's the problem?"
Wataru, sitting across from him, asked while chewing a red pill.
"It's about the necromancer under me. I gave her an assignment, and she called, causing a fuss. Damn bitch. No gratitude whatsoever."
"What happened?"
"Of course, it’s the undead procurement you ordered, Wataru-sama."
"I see."
"As you can see, she's working hard to meet the deadline."
"Good."
Wataru pulled another pill from his training pants pocket and chewed it.
Crunch—
A dark blue glow appeared in his eyes for a moment before disappearing.
"By the way, you're a little cocky."
He snapped his fingers.
The man's eye socket burst with a loud pop.
Aarrrrgh!
The door swung open with a bang. Along with the sound of electronic music, a dozen or so members of the White Skull Syndicate burst into the room.
"Boss!"
"Are you okay!"
They drew knives and guns, aiming them at Wataru. Though they were protecting their boss, Wataru didn’t seem pleased with their loyalty.
"Idiots! Put your weapons down, now!"
"It's too late."
Wataru's lips moved.
Procélla.
Dark mist erupted from Wataru's body. It swirled around the room. Just as everything became completely obscured, wind began to blow from nowhere. The manifested dark mana started to spin around Wataru, gradually gaining speed. It turned into a gust of wind, sweeping up the people in the room.
"Ahhh!"
"Ugh!"
Wataru chewed his red pill and looked ahead. The White Skull Syndicate executive was clutching his eyes and trembling.
"No matter how much of a fucking idiot the necromancer is, you don’t just give them orders. How dare you?"
"I-I'm sorry… I must have lost my mind for a moment…"
"If you made a mistake, then you take responsibility. Bring double the amount of undead we ordered."
"T-That’s impossible! If we abduct that many humans…!"
"Just do it."
"The boss won’t allow it…"
Wataru spat the pill he was chewing onto the man’s face and continued speaking.
"Why won’t he allow it? Are we going to go to war with our dear Izanami?"
"......"
The man remained silent. No matter how untouchable the White Skull Syndicate was, even the government was wary of them, they were just a small-time gang compared to the 7 Mega Corporations.
"Do it properly."
"I’ll keep that in mind…"
When Wataru stood up, the black storm stopped. The gang members, now mere rags, collapsed to the floor.
Thud—Thud
Wataru stepped over the broken cyborgs and blood-soaked bodies as he left the room.
< BOOM—! BOOM—! SHAKE IT— SHAKE IT~♬
He was in the VIP room on the second floor of a club run by the White Skull Syndicate.
Downstairs, many people were dancing to the music.
"Hooh..."
Wataru’s gaze was drawn to a woman. A blonde beauty wearing revealing clothes, dancing wildly at the center of the stage.
It was Sophia in disguise.
＊ ＊ ＊
Chiiiick—
The black cigarette burned quickly.
It's dark smoke seeped into the body, leaving behind fine, deadly wounds.
A tool for charging dark mana, invented by the Mega Corporation ‘Yama’.
Baek Ho was burning his life away, along with the black tobacco.
From a distance, Mujin, who had been observing Baek Ho, leaned against the wall and spoke.
"Looking at it, it seems like the life of a necromancer is quite a hard one."
Next to Mujin, Frank was crouched down.
"In order to acquire dark mana, they inflict pain upon themselves, and to maintain it, they hurt themselves again. Now I understand why necromancers are out of their minds."
Reapers, who are controlled by dark mana, also face brain issues, but unlike necromancers, they can recover through memory resets.
"Now that I think about it... Isn't it an ironic world? The life of a reaper, who lives eternally, is in the hands of a necromancer with a short lifespan."
In Mujin's gaze, Baek Ho moved.
He placed his hand on the head of the reaper kneeling in front of him.
It seemed like he was about to execute the captured reaper from the White Skull Syndicate.
"Hmm."
Mujin shifted his gaze.
He looked down at Frank.
His eyes were unfocused.
Saliva dripped from his slightly parted lips.
He looked like someone who had lost all sense of self.
"......"
Did he use too much mana?
It wasn’t so much that he was tired, but more that he looked like a madman.
⋮
Mujin suddenly recalled Sophia’s warning.
Watch Frank closely. He’s showing symptoms of becoming a Mad Eater.
What should I do?
If he’s about to turn into an Eater… kill him on behalf of D.
Is this a request?
Yes.
⋮
Mujin’s bored gaze turned heavy.
The casualness faded, and in a serious voice, he spoke.
"Big guy. Tell me your personal identification code."
He took out a hand axe and aimed it at Frank’s neck.
As the blade lightly touched Frank’s skin, Frank’s focus returned.
His eyes rolled, looking up at Mujin.
"What is it?"
"Your personal identification code. Say it now."
"Cosmos, Snowflake, Beetle, Tango, Chick."
Frank clearly spoke the five words.
These were the identification codes assigned to each reaper.
If significant brain damage occurred, these codes were the first things to be erased from their memory.
Ding—
A notification popped up in front of Mujin’s eyes.
{Code recognition complete}
{Franklin Bernstein of Hades Corporation confirmed.}
"Mmm."
Mujin returned the axe to his waist.
"Sorry about that."
"Frank's not a mad eater yet."
"I thought you'd lost your mind. What were you doing, anyway?"
"I was watching the new music video from I_Vu."
"...Here? In this situation?"
"What’s wrong with this situation?"
"Hah."
Mujin raised a finger and pointed to the side.
"Isn’t your manager here with a reaper? Aren’t you worried?"
"Worried? My friend is strong."
"Friend...?"
A reaper and a necromancer? He's a fool.
Mujin clicked his tongue.
The guy was supposed to be changing faces to go to the I_Vu concert, but it seemed like his brain issues were more serious than expected.
"It’s not because of the concert. But yeah, I am a fool."
"Ah, my bad."
They were both currently under the same necromancer's command.
Clear thoughts flowed into each other.
"Then why were you planning to change your face? You don’t seem all that interested in that side of things."
"That’s..."
Frank hesitated, almost starting to speak but then stopping.
Behind him, Baek Ho was approaching.
Mujin noticed his presence and turned his gaze.
"...Huh?"
Mujin tilted his head.
Behind Baek Ho, a reaper from the White Skull Syndicate was kneeling, bowing his head to the ground.
He then shouted, his forehead pressed to the floor.
"Thank you! I will never forget this favor!"
"Shut up, don’t ever show your face again."
Baek Ho waved his hand dismissively.
He stood in front of Frank and Mujin and motioned for them to follow.
"Let’s go."
"You're letting him live?"
"What’s the point of killing him? Just get the information."
"Then why are you smoking that? Is there a reason you're charging your dark mana?"
"I just felt like it. It's an addiction."
Mujin looked at the reaper, who was sobbing on the ground.
Simply sparing his life couldn’t have led to such emotions.
"Wait… did you not break the vessel, but rather reset it?"
"Yeah."
That meant the reaper who had lost their master was now a free reaper.
It required a significant amount of dark mana to expel all the remaining dark mana in the vessel and refill it anew.
No necromancer would do it unless there was a big benefit.
"Why go through the trouble…?"
"Enough. Let's go. That guy already gave away our location."
Baek Ho began walking ahead.
Frank followed behind, while Mujin stood still, lost in thought, before speaking.
"Baek Ho."
"Huh? How do you know my name...?"
Baek Ho frowned, as though realizing something, and nodded.
"Right. I’ll cancel the subordinate contract later. You know it’s not possible right now."
"Could it be... the person I'm thinking of? Commander Baek’s...?"
"Yeah."
"Wow... it’s such an honor to meet you..."
"Shut up."
Baek Ho took a step closer to Mujin and stared him in the eye.
"If you keep blabbering for no reason, we'll both get tired."
"Of course. I'll watch my mouth."
Mujin pressed his lips with his index and thumb.
‘But why is the next head of the family working as a fixer in the city?’
A curiosity began to grow in Mujin's heart, which had been filled with boredom.
------------------
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
------------------
