Chapter 1: E Between D And F - New Face (5)

“Hey!”

A Necromancer of White Bone Society shouted while climbing the stairs.

“Are you messing with me!”

She put her index finger beneath her ear for a call, pressing so hard it had turned red.

“There was no mention of a Necromancer!”

A relaxed voice from the other end followed.

-I’m really surprised too. Why did a Necromancer go there? Did you maybe have a grudge with him*?*

“You bastard! I’m coming over there now, so just wait!”

The woman snapped and headed toward the car she had arrived in.

She walked as if fleeing and glanced back.

Of all her many subordinates, only one Reaper was following her.

‘What the hell is that guy doing?’

It had been a year since she retired as a commander and joined White Bone Society.

During that time she enjoyed luxury by creating Undead.

Then a gang executive gave her one task.

They asked her to deal with several overstepping Reapers.

Confident, she came and found a young Necromancer instead.

‘He’s not ordinary…’

You could tell by the familiar’s regenerative ability.

He wasn’t a toothless Necromancer like her.

He was the kind who should be rolling with demonic being outside the city.

So she ran.

Being a coward didn’t matter.

For a commander who survived the front lines, fear was an essential virtue.

“Hurry!”

The Reaper trailing behind her surged ahead at her shout.

He opened the passenger door of a convertible sports car parked in the middle of the street.

Just as the woman was about to cram herself in.

“Stop!”

People appeared from all around.

Underheaven Police Department officers trained their guns and surrounded her car.

“Drop your weapons and put your hands up right now!”

Lieutenant Otis’s voice gained strength.

He was pointing a gun at White Bone Society!

A thrill born of courage filled her whole body.

“Ha!”

The woman snorted and raised her middle finger.

Black mist began to creep around her fingertips.

“Aren’t you going to get rid of that filthy thing?”

Lieutenant Otis and his men swallowed their fear when they saw black magic power.

Not only White Bone Society member but a Necromancer too?

She was someone not to be messed with.

“Damn…”

Just as she thought it was best to withdraw.

Baek Ho* walked up from the basement of an old building.*

He raised a revolver with a displeased expression.

“What a mess.”

He pulled the trigger.

A bullet fired from the muzzle.

It ricocheted off the mechanical prosthetic arm of the Reaper standing in front of the Necromancer.

“Hey! Necromancers don’t do this to each other!”

The woman shouted.

She shoved the Reaper who had blocked her.

She sent a will that she’d drive and ordered the Reaper to stop that guy.

The Reaper lost morale but obeyed because it was an order.

Ta-at—

The Reaper pushed off the ground and ran forward.

He infused both arms with magic power.

The Necroshell activated and blades sprang out from elbow to wrist.

Crossing his Blade Arms, he lunged at Baek Ho.

In that moment the woman sat in the driver’s seat.

She honked at the UHPD officers blocking the car.

They hesitated but did not move aside.

“Arrogant bastards!”

The woman thrust her hand forward.

She stopped as she was about to use black magic.

Not only did she lack black magic power, but a better idea occurred to her.

She decided to shove them all with the car.

Kaang—khang!

At the sudden sharp noise she checked the side mirror.

Her familiar was fighting on equal terms with a Reaper wielding an axe.

Luckily the big guy hadn’t climbed up yet.

“You all are on my list…”

She swore revenge and pressed the ignition.

With a roaring engine, the UHPD officers’ pupils trembled.

She gave Lieutenant Otis a pleading look to save her.

Fortunately, the car did not start.

No, it couldn’t.

Because the woman had never driven it.

The familiar Reapers always acted as drivers for her.

“Fuck…”

She tapped the set-top box.

She looked for the autopilot button.

Hurriedly pressing it, a voice instructed her to set a route.

“Just go! Go!”

-Switching to drive mode.

The car slowly started moving.

The woman puffed and looked at the rearview mirror.

Through the mirror she met Baek Ho’s gaze.

Was he stuck dealing with a Reaper?

He stood there unable to do anything.

This was the weakness of ordinary modern Necromancers.

They lord it over others with Reapers as limbs, but alone they are worse than a single Reaper.

“Huh.”

Not confident in black magic, huh?

Is that why he couldn’t be a commander and stayed in the city?

A smile returned to the woman’s lips as she regained composure.

She stood up and turned around.

Grinning broadly, she raised both middle fingers at Baek Ho.

In her crescent-shaped eyes, she saw Baek Ho extend his right hand forward.

Why? You flipping me off too?

Her expectation was wrong.

Baek Ho*’s palm faced forward.*

He bent the fingertips and held his thumb horizontally.

Forming a claw shape, he moved his lips.

Open Point.

“…Huh?“

The woman felt an odd familiarity watching the black mist gather around Baek Ho’s palm.

Where had she seen that before…

In her wavering gaze, Baek Ho’s lips moved again.

Invocation.

“…Ah!“

A look of horror washed over the woman’s face.

Her pupils trembled violently.

That’s a Bari Sect spell!

A bizarre otherworldly black magic that summons a black divine beast.

She had seen a high-ranking commander use it during her rookie days.

“How… how does he do that!”

Memories from the past flashed through her mind.

She recalled a scene of summoning a giant toad to sweep away demonic being.

A fellow commander had told her.

That it couldn’t be learned even if one wanted to.

“Shit!”

Sensing something was wrong, the woman sat back down.

She stomped on whatever was under the steering wheel to get away immediately.

Luckily the accelerator engaged and the car responded with a voice.

-Accelerator manipulation is not possible while in autopilot.

“W-what are you saying!”

At the moment she regretted the enormous price of the sports car.

“Ah!”

She remembered the car’s built-in defense system.

She hurriedly slammed the switch on the set-top box.

In an instant black metal lumps rose from both windows and covered the roof.

“Fuck!”

This time an outcry of joy.

The woman looked at the side mirror with a triumphant face.

Baek Ho* moved his outstretched hand along the car’s path.*

As if aiming.

“You bastard! This is adamantium!”

Baek Ho*, seen in the mirror, had a frown.*

It was a habitual expression, but the woman accepted it as a given.

You can’t break through this, can you?

Just as she thought she could escape this way.

Baek Ho*’s previously closed mouth opened.*

『Sangun’s Small Plate.』

The space beyond the windshield rippled.

A black hole formed as if ink had been poured into the air.

“…Huh?“

As the car leisurely passed beneath the hole, a thunderous roar erupted from within.

-Khrooaaaar!

A beast’s head suddenly emerged from the hole.

Gray fur with black stripes, a chilling gaze and amber irises.

A huge black tiger opened its jaws wide and bit through the car’s roof.

Grind—

The supposedly hard adamantium crumpled like folded paper.

The woman’s scream followed from inside, and it lasted an instant.

The black tiger melted back into the hole.

The black metal mass that had been the roof fell heavily beside the car.

The car interior was full of blood.

A headless corpse sat quietly in a red mist.

Then the black magic power within the body released in an instant, evaporating the flesh.

Blood-soaked clothes collapsed flat.

The end of a Necromancer seldom seen in the city.

Thus the sports car drove off alone, carrying only its owner’s burned clothes.

“Huh…”

Mujin hung his axe and gaped.

He hadn’t summoned just one black divine beast…?

He looked at Baek Ho with startled eyes.

Kuh-luk—

Baek Ho* spat a mouthful of blood.*

As he collapsed to his knees, Mujin quickly ran over to support him.

“Are you okay?”

“So-so… More importantly, Mujin…”

Baek Ho* weakly raised a finger and pointed ahead.*

He continued with a serious expression.

“That car is expensive… bring it quickly…”

“…Yes?“

“Run…”

“Ah.”

Mujin’s body moved on its own.

Becoming a familiar obeying the Necromancer’s command, he dashed forward.

---

Two men sat in a room bathed in soft neon light.

“Is that bitch crazy…?”

A man with a skull tattoo on his face mumbled as he wiped his eye with his finger.

“Why, what’s the problem?”

Wataru, sitting opposite, asked while chewing a red pill.

“It’s the Necromancer under me. I gave an order and she called and yelled. That bitch. Ungrateful.”

“What was the task?”

“Obviously, it was the Undead supply you ordered, Wataru.”

“I see.”

“As you can see, we’re working hard to meet the quota in time.”

“Good.”

Wataru took another pill from his tracksuit pocket and chewed it.

Crunch*— a bluish glare flashed in his eyes and vanished.*

“But you’re kind of cocky.”

He snapped his index finger and thumb.

The man’s artificial eye part popped with a bang.

“Gah!”

At the man’s scream, the door flew open.

About ten White Bone Society members burst in to electronic music.

“Branch chief!”

“Are you alright!”

They drew knives and guns and aimed at Wataru.

They meant to protect their boss, but the man himself wasn’t pleased by the loyalty.

“You lunatics! Put your weapons down at once!”

“It’s already too late.”

Wataru moved his lips.

“procélla.*”*

Black mist emitted from Wataru’s body.

It enveloped the room.

As nothing could be seen an instant later, a wind blew from somewhere.

The materialized black magic began to rotate around Wataru.

Increasingly fast.

It turned into a whirlwind and swallowed people.

“Aaaah!”

“Gah!”

Wataru chewed the red pill and watched ahead.

A White Bone Society executive clutched his eyes and trembled.

“Even a shitty Necromancer shouldn’t be given orders. Who do you think you are?”

“S-sorry… I must’ve gone mad for a moment…”

“If you messed up, take responsibility. Prepare double the amount we ordered.”

“Th-that’s impossible! If we kidnap that many humans…”

“Just do it.”

“The boss won’t accept it…”

Wataru spat the chewed pill into the man’s face and continued.

“If he won’t accept it, what then? You planning to go to war with Izanami?”

“…“

The man’s mouth remained shut.

Even though White Bone Society was a gang the government dared not touch.

They were just a neighborhood thug group in front of the seven mega corporations.

“Do better.”

“I’ll keep that in mind…”

When Wataru stood up, the pitch-black storm ceased.

Gang members in tatters collapsed to the floor.

Crunch—

Wataru stepped over broken prosthetics and bloodied flesh and left the room.

<BOOM-! BOOM-! SHAKE IT- SHAKE IT-♬

He was in the second-floor VIP room of a club operated by White Bone Society.

Many people danced downstairs to the music.

“Ohh…”

Wataru’s admiring gaze settled on a woman.

A blonde beauty in revealing clothes danced flamboyantly at the center of the stage.

It was Sophia in disguise.

---

Sssst—

A black cigarette burned down quickly.

The dark smoke seeped into the body, leaving tiny, fatal wounds.

A black magic power charging device invented by the mega corporation Yeomra.

Baek Ho* was burning his lifespan away with black tobacco.*

Mujin, watching Baek Ho from a distance, leaned against the wall and spoke.

“If you look closely, the life of a Necromancer is really tough.”

Frank was crouched beside Mujin.

“They self-harm to gain black magic power, and self-harm again to maintain it. I understand why Necromancers go mad.”

Reapers ruled by black magic power also suffer brain issues, but unlike Necromancers they can recover via memory reset.

“Come to think of it… isn’t it ironic? The immortal Reaper’s lifeline is in the hands of a short-lived Necromancer.”

Baek Ho* moved in Mujin’s line of sight.*

He placed his hand over the head of a Reaper kneeling in front of him.

He seemed about to execute the captured White Bone Society Reaper.

“Hmm.”

Mujin shifted his gaze.

He looked down at Frank beside him.

His eyes were unfocused.

Drool dripped from the parted gap of his lips.

Almost like someone utterly out of it.

“…“

Had he used too much magic?

More like a madman than just tired…

Mujin suddenly recalled Sophia’s warning.

‘Watch Frank closely. He’s showing early signs of becoming a Mad eater.’

‘What should I do?’

‘If he’s about to become an Eater… kill him in D’s stead.’

‘Is that an order?’

‘Yes.’

Mujin’s idle gaze turned heavy.

In a serious voice free of annoyance, he spoke.

“Big guy. Tell me your personal ID codes.”

He pulled out his hand axe and aimed it at Frank’s neck.

When the blade grazed his skin, Frank’s focus returned.

He rolled his eyes and looked up at Mujin.

“What is it?”

“Personal ID codes. Say them quickly.”

“Cosmos, Snowflake, Beetle, Tango, Chick.”

Frank clearly recited the five words.

Each Reaper is given recognition codes that are designed to be the first memories erased if brain problems progress.

Ding—

A Smartbone notification popped up before Mujin’s eyes.

“Hmm.”

Mujin sheathed the axe at his waist again.

“Sorry about that.”

“Frank isn’t a crazy zombie yet.”

“I thought you had lost consciousness. What the hell were you* doing?”*

“Watching I_Vu’s new song music video.”

“…Here? In this situation?“

“What situation are you talking about?”

“Huh.”

Mujin raised a finger and pointed to the side.

“Isn’t your handler with some Reaper? Aren’t you uneasy?”

“Should I be uneasy? My friend is strong.”

“Friend…?”

A Reaper and a Necromancer?

And the successor of Yeomra?

He’s truly an idiot.

Mujin clicked his tongue inwardly.

He said he was changing faces to go to an I_Vu concert, and his brain problems really seemed severe.

“It’s not because of the concert. But yes, I’m an idiot.”

“Ah, sorry.”

They were both currently bound under the same Necromancer.

Clear thoughts flowed into the other person.

“Then why change faces? You don’t seem particularly interested in that direction.”

“That’s…”

Frank hesitated mid-sentence.

Baek Ho* was approaching beside him.*

Mujin noticed him and turned his gaze.

“…Huh?“

Mujin tilted his head.

Behind Baek Ho, a White Bone Society Reaper lay flat on the ground.

He soon buried his head in the ground and shouted.

“Thank you! I will never forget this favor!”

“Cut the crap. Don’t show your face again.”

Baek Ho* waved his hand as if annoyed.*

He stood before Frank and Mujin and gestured with his chin.

“Let’s go.”

“Are you going to spare him?”

“Why kill him? We just need the information.”

“Then why smoke the black tobacco? Was there a reason to charge black magic power?”

“I just felt like it. I’m addicted.”

Mujin looked at the Reaper wailing on the floor.

Simply being spared wouldn’t cause such emotion.

“Could it be… you didn’t break the vessel but reset it?”

“Yeah.”

That meant he freed a familiar who had lost their handler into a free Reaper.

It requires substantial black magic power to flush out the power remaining in a vessel and refill it anew.

Most Necromancers wouldn’t do it without significant gain.

“Why go through the trouble…”

“Enough. Hurry up. That guy already spilled all the locations.”

Baek Ho* led the way.*

Frank followed, and Mujin stood dazed and spoke.

“Baek Ho-nim.“

“What, how do you know my name…?”

He frowned then nodded as if realizing something.

“Right. I’ll sever the familiar contract right after. You know it can’t be done immediately, right?”

“Could it be… the person I’m thinking of? Commander Baek’s…?”

“Yes.”

“Wow… it’s truly an honor to meet you…”

“Cut it out.”

Baek Ho* stepped closer to Mujin and met his eyes.*

“If you babble for no reason, we’ll both just get tired.”

“Of course, I’ll mind my tongue.”

Mujin pinched his own lips between his index finger and thumb.

‘But why is the next commander doing Fixer work in the city?’

A curiosity grew in Mujin’s previously bored heart.