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[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 15: New Face (6)
Baek Ho descended the stairs with the UHPD officers.
The basement of an otherwise ordinary commercial megabuilding.
A sign read: [Food Storage] — with a large warning underneath: AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.
CRACK—
Three officers tore off the lock with a power drill.
Inspector Otis raised his pistol and entered first.
A dozen officers followed close behind.
But in no time, every one of them came running back out, holding their noses.
Ughh—BLECH!
Some couldn’t hold back their nausea.
They clung to the walls and retched violently.
Even Inspector Otis, who’d gone in first, was the last to escape, unable to withstand the horror inside.
From the wide-open doorway, soft music trickled out—someone had left it playing:
< Close your eyes— and run away~♬
Baek Ho and his team stepped inside.
Under dim, bluish neon lights, various tools and chemicals lay scattered across the floor—the kind you'd see in a lab.
And in the center of the large room, bodies—stripped of ownership—were stacked skewer-like, layer upon layer, like grotesque kebabs.
“Fucking psychos.”
Despite the horrific scene, none of the three were visibly shaken.
They’d seen worse—both in academy and on the battlefield.
“How many people do you think that is? Cleaning this up’s gonna be hell.”
“We’ll need to call in a mage. No other way to deal with this.”
Baek Ho pulled out a purification mask and strapped it over his mouth and nose. He scanned the area.
The mountain of corpses gave off no light—no signs of lingering soul or spirit.
Only the bodies lined up against the far wall, like mannequins, emitted a faint dark-blue glow.
Freshly-made undead.
Still in a coma-like state, unmoving.
< I’m okay— I don’t resent you~♬
“…Sir Necromancer.”
Inspector Otis gulped hard as he stepped back into the warehouse.
Even he—a man who prided himself on having seen it all—had never witnessed a scene this horrific.
No wonder.
Up until now, he had never dealt directly with any of the five major gangs that controlled the underworld.
“There’s not a single damn rat left... Looks like they all ran.”
“I told you, didn’t I? There’s definitely a traitor inside UHPD.”
“Yeah...(sigh)... But the bigger problem is... this isn’t the only place, right?”
“Supposedly, yeah.”
“What are they doing, trying to build an undead army or something...?”
“Looks like the White Skull Syndicate is planning to make a move into the open."
“N-No way...”
“Anyway, I’m just here to find the person I need. The rest is your problem.”
“Understood...”
Otis called in for backup.
[This is Inspector Otis, Violent Crimes Unit 5. We’re currently on scene—]
A mass abduction of civilians, turned into undead.
Normally, it should've triggered an immediate uproar, but the higher-ups remained silent.
There probably wouldn’t even be a single news report.
No official response would follow, either.
“You’re lucky, at least.”
“Sir... I’m not sure what you mean...”
“You’re going to get credit for this.”
“Ah... yes... Thank you. It’s all thanks to you, sir.”
On paper, it would appear Otis had mobilized based on Baek Ho’s report.
Meaning Baek Ho himself was the one who directly pointed his blade at the White Skull Syndicate.
Even for a necromancer, standing against them was suicidal.
The fact he never backed down earned Otis’s genuine respect.
< I’ll live on— forever in your memory~♬
< So cold—
BANG!
Baek Ho pulled the trigger, shattering the speaker.
The soft music cut off, and a heavy silence settled over the warehouse.
Baek Ho approached the mountain of corpses.
He looked over the hollowed-out shells and imagined their futures.
Would they be given a proper funeral and laid to rest? Or would they be reprocessed into undead and sent off to some battlefield? Maybe they’d be forced into construction sites or food factories instead. Whatever the case—In UnderHeaven, undead were an extremely valuable resource.
“......”
Baek Ho suddenly recalled something an old professor had once said at the Academy.
Now that humanity has lost the war, only necromancers are allowed the dignity of death. Only we have the right to be free from death.
Before long, UHPD officers began identifying the victims.
Thanks to mechanical implants embedded in the bodies, they quickly managed to contact their families.
That’s when the real problems began.
“We... we’re not authorized to handle that, ma’am...”
“No, as I said, we cannot perform any undead procedures on our side...”
“We’re not offering compensation either, ma’am.”
“No, ma’am, we are ‘not’ purchasing your husband’s body.”
“Military undead conscription isn’t under our jurisdiction. I’ll give you a different number to call...”
Amidst the chaotic mess of officers trying to calm furious, grieving families, Baek Ho and his team moved on.
Resting on Frank’s shoulder, was a comatose undead.
＊ ＊ ＊
In front of a mega-building occupied by manufacturing companies.
At a long-abandoned construction site.
Where drug dealers and vagrants roamed freely.
A man’s quiet sobs could be heard.
"Please… I'm begging you…"
The man clutched his lover tightly.
She showed no sign of movement—a comatose undead.
Like a corpse.
Or a human sunk into an impossibly deep sleep.
"Sir, please… I beg for your mercy…"
"It’s impossible."
Baek Ho’s voice was flat and emotionless.
Mujin was about to step forward and offer an explanation, but Baek Ho stopped him with a raised hand.
Gazing down at the man kneeling before him, Baek Ho continued.
"You must not wake her up."
"Why…?
There are undead everywhere these days... why is it only my wife who can't be saved?"
"The White Skull Syndicate botched the process. It’s a failed procedure. To be exact—the Life Vessel is the issue. Not only did they use unrefined soulstones, but they also forced dark mana from multiple necromancers into her body. On top of that, they tampered with her neural network... In short, if you wake her up, she’ll turn into a Mad Eater. No doubt about it."
"No… no, that’s not true…"
The man shook his head, refusing to believe him.
Whether it was because he didn’t understand, or because of the old saying, ‘Never trust a necromancer’, it didn’t matter.
He kept rejecting reality.
"W-Wait, just a second—"
The man hurriedly stripped off his company jacket.
From the inner pocket, he pulled out a thick envelope stuffed with cash.
"I have money… I'll get even more… please, I beg you, save my wife…!"
Baek Ho stayed silent.
Part of him wanted to just tell the man—
Give up. Use that money to arrange a proper funeral.
Coldly say his piece and walk away.
But he couldn’t. Because he knew exactly what the man would do if left alone.
He’d spend everything he had chasing after rogue necromancers and black-market tech surgeons.
He’d end up signing some shady contract at an underground "undead clinic" without even reading it.
And then, he'd lose all his money—and his wife’s body would be reduced to a test subject for "advancing dark magic research."
"Goddamn it…"
Baek Ho pressed his fingers against his temple, dragging both hands back through his hair.
"You know what a Mad Eater is, don’t you?"
"I… kind of…"
"The soul tied to the Vessel dies. What’s left is just the body—a monster driven by bloodlust and hunger."
"......"
"At least right now, her soul is still intact. Wouldn't it be better to let her go in peace?"
"But…"
"Are you really okay with your wife becoming a mindless, raging zombie?"
"If it means I can see her again… if there’s even the slightest chance… I’d do anything…"
He’s lost all rational thought.
Or maybe he just didn’t trust a word Baek Ho said.
Frowning, Baek Ho was about to say something when Frank came walking up.
"Let’s go. I’m hungry."
"Bring her to the car."
"Who, the woman? Why?"
"Because I’ve got energy to spare."
Baek Ho, a black cigarette dangling from his lips, trudged toward the parked car.
Screw it. Let’s just try. Maybe—just maybe—
He could be wrong. Maybe a miracle, beyond magic or science, could happen.
Inside the car, the backseat and trunk had been set up as a makeshift operating table.
They laid the comatose wife down, and Baek Ho positioned himself near her head.
This wasn’t why he bought the car, but ironically, it fit the job perfectly.
“Hoo…”
A long sigh slipped from Baek Ho's mouth, sending thick, black smoke flooding the inside of the car.
He took another deep drag from the cigarette, then looked down at the neatly laid-out undead woman.
Her expression was peaceful—so peaceful, he almost didn't want to wake her at all.
“Replacing the Vessel is impossible. If I even try to extract it, her brain will burst. Instead, I'll purge all the impure dark mana inside and infuse it with my own.”
“I-Is that really… possible…?”
The man’s voice trembled with doubt.
Now that Baek Ho had agreed to attempt it, the hope he’d kept bottled up started to spill over—along with darker thoughts.
Maybe he should take her to a bigger hospital?
Maybe he could find a more famous necromancer?
If he sold the house, maybe he couldn’t afford one of the Seven Great Clans, but surely he could afford one of their employees?
“Hah.”
Baek Ho let out a hollow laugh, catching the man’s doubt immediately. But Mujin wasn't the type to overlook it.
He cut in sharply before Baek Ho could even open his mouth.
“Do you even know who this is, showing that kind of attitude?”
“Huh…?”
“You think it's even ‘possible’ to fix a failed procedure like this?"
“Mujin.”
At Baek Ho's quiet call, Mujin immediately lowered his head and stepped back.
After learning Baek Ho's true identity, Mujin had been a lot more careful around him.
“Sir…”
The man bowed his head low.
For a moment, consumed by worry for his wife, he had forgotten the fear a necromancer should inspire.
“I-I didn’t mean to question you…”
“Forget it. I’m starting. Step back.”
Baek Ho placed his hand over the woman’s forehead.
He focused on the corrupted dark mana sealed within the Vessel.
Slowly, carefully, he began to push it out and fill the void with his own energy.
Tssss—
The Vessel’s durability was worse than he’d expected.
It was like pouring boiling water into a bowl made of ice.
If he wasn’t careful, her brain would melt along with the Vessel.
Baek Ho poured every ounce of his concentration into stabilizing it.
He meticulously adjusted the flow and temperature of his mana to prevent the Vessel from collapsing.
A black mist began rising from the woman’s forehead.
The tainted dark mana seeped out, escaping through her pores.
“Holy shit...”
Mujin could only shake his head in disbelief.
He had seen dark mana extraction before, even experienced it himself.
Normally, the dark mana was expelled through large openings like the mouth or nose—it was faster and easier for the necromancer that way.
But it was hell on the patient.
The pain was excruciating, and permanent side effects weren’t uncommon.
Many "ripperdocs" even specialized in replacing damaged eye parts after such procedures.
[Ripperdoc — Slang for Underground Surgeons]
But Baek Ho was expelling it through her pores.
Since pores were naturally designed to release things from the body, it caused far less pain and almost no side effects.
Of course, it consumed twice the caster’s stamina—and if your skill wasn’t top-tier, you couldn’t even attempt it.
‘As expected of a true Baek…’
Baek Ho’s face was dripping with sweat.
Meanwhile, the woman’s face turned black, stained by the impurities oozing out of her pores.
It wasn’t until Baek Ho burned through two more cigarettes that he finally opened his eyes.
Under the intense stares of the three men, he spoke, voice low and exhausted.
“For now… it’s a success.”
“Ah… Ahhh!”
The husband collapsed, clutching the back of the car, tears pouring down his face.
“Thank you… thank you so much….”
But Baek Ho’s expression remained grim.
“Ten days. Maybe a week.”
“…What?”
“That’s how long she has left — assuming she doesn’t suffer a brain shock.”
“I… I don’t understand…”
“The vessel’s dark mana will leak out quickly. And there’s no way to refill it.”
There was no method to mend a broken vessel without replacing it. None at all.
“Ah… ahh…”
Don’t mourn it. The fact that she even bought this much time with that piece-of-junk vessel was already a miracle.
Baek Ho swallowed down the words he wanted to say.
“Make good use of the time you have left. Don’t waste it flailing around trying to ‘fix’ her. Spend that time making at least one more good memory.”
Baek Ho climbed out of the trunk.
Dragging his body, heavy as lead, he walked a short distance and slumped onto a discarded tire.
Yeah… I did everything I could...
Right then, the wife began to wake up.
“Ugh… honey…?”
“Y-Yeah! It’s me! I’m right here!”
Her husband wrapped her tightly in his arms.
She was completely disoriented, not understanding what was happening.
Before long, she clutched her head, groaning in pain—but thanks to Baek Ho’s prior measures, the shock to her mind was minimized.
Truthfully, he had wanted to completely erase her recent memories, but without a specialty in mental magic, it was impossible.
“Honey… why are you crying…?”
“It’s nothing… it’s nothing at all…”
Frank and Mujin quietly moved away from the couple, giving them space.
They walked over to stand by Baek Ho.
“Sir.”
“…What?”
“Seriously, that was incredible. You’re a damn miracle worker.”
“At this point, you should just quit being a fixer and get a job at the Legion Hospital. I’ll be your nurse.”
“Both of you, shut up…”
The abandoned construction site was silent and empty.
Because of the location, barely any cars passed by—it felt like the perfect place to rest for a moment.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, a car with loud music blaring drove past the construction site.
It stopped at a red light nearby, and a soft, sorrowful voice drifted out.
< Close your eyes— and run away~♬
It was a song currently trending thanks to a commercial, sung by the leader of I_Vu, a popular group.
Under normal circumstances, Frank would have joined in with a hype comment—but not this time.
He couldn’t.
It was the same damn song that had been endlessly playing at the White Skull Syndicate’s warehouse earlier.
“Tch…”
The power of music—The association pulled the warehouse scene right back into Baek Ho’s mind.
The same went for Mujin and Frank. Their mood soured immediately.
“My precious I_Vu… tainted by that filth… This is blasphemy…”
< I’m okay— I don’t resent you~♬
And then.
“Gyaaaah!”
It wasn’t just Baek Ho’s team that had been inside the warehouse that day.
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[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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