Chapter 159
Sojin's glasses literally flashed with light.
"There's something written on the iron plate."
What could be written on this smooth coffin lid?
To my eyes, only our ominous reflections were visible, but Sojin's eyes moved as if she could really see something.
"What does it say?"
I asked, slightly frightened.
The darkness of the old school building, with no lights on, felt like it was clinging to my body. I felt the urge to say something, anything, to shake off the chills.
"Can't you see it, Young-won? I'll suck your brain. Teacher will suck your brain clean."
Just then, an unpleasant sound came from the corridor beyond the science lab. The commotion in the science lab must have alerted the rhythm ghost to our location.
"G-ghost!"
Sua was terrified.
The one fortunate thing was that there was only one dog-sized hole entrance to this science lab.
"Guys! Let's block the entrance!"
To prevent the rhythm ghost from entering through the hole, I frantically piled mirror shards, junk, and boxes at the entrance.
Even in this situation, Sojin was still staring at the iron mirror, her glasses gleaming.
"There are two languages written on this coffin. One looks squiggly like Arabic, so I can't make it out. The other is in Latin."
"That must be it! That's it!"
Jungseok slapped his forehead. He urged Sojin.
"Can you read it? There must be something helpful written there! Doesn't the Dominican Republic use Latin too? Sojin, try reading what's written!"
"Um, well... It's in such an old language... It's not just written plainly, but in a kind of archaic? Solemn? That kind of language."
"What are the actual words? Hey, Jung Sojin. Are you lying just to get attention even in this situation? If you're trying to fool us, you're really going to get it."
Yang Juhee clenched her fist and waved it in front of Sojin. She seemed suspicious of Sojin claiming to see writing on the iron mirror where we couldn't see anything.
Sojin flared up.
"I'm telling you, something is really written here! Don't believe me if you don't want to!"
Could Sojin's words be true? Or was Yang Juhee right?
In most situations where Sojin and Juhee fought, I wanted to take Juhee's side. But Sojin had a special ability.
『Name. Jung Sojin Lv.4
Trait. 《Mind's Eye》
Disposition. Cunning
Quirk. None
Possession. Class President's Glasses
A popular and outgoing girl who serves as the class president of Class D. While her ability to respond in crisis situations is poor, her versatility might make up for it. Difficult to handle due to the difference between her outward appearance and inner nature.』
『《Mind's Eye》. A higher-level trait of 《Attentiveness》. Increases the probability of discovering the bizarre and taboo. Can see hidden bizarre things. Easily detects lies.』
Sojin had a high probability of discovering the bizarre and taboo. Maybe she really was seeing something we couldn't.
"I believe Sojin."
"...Really?"
"Tch, you're just playing around."
Sojin's eyes behind her glasses shone as if moved. I said to her.
"Can you try to figure out what it says?"
"It'll take some time."
"I'll help too."
While Sojin and Jung-seok were working on it, we completely sealed off the science lab. Soon, we heard laughter from beyond the corridor.
“Really? Young-won. Come out here. You shouldn't be in there. There's an even more terrifying beast in there. Young-won. Come out quickly. It's dangerous, okay?”
The rhythm ghost's voice sounded as gentle and affectionate as a mother nursing her sick child. It was clearly a ploy to lure me out of the science lab.
"Fuck off!"
I raised my middle finger towards the wall. Putting on a brave front like this seemed to give me a little courage.
Did my provocation work? The corridor beyond suddenly fell silent.
"...Is it gone?"
Sua trembled. I poked her side.
"Eek! What?"
"You shouldn't say things like that. From now on, in our pirate crew, we're banning words like 'Did we get rid of it?', 'Is it gone?', 'Is it over?' They bring bad luck."
Honestly, I was also secretly hoping the rhythm ghost had gone far away.
But from my experience with various ghosts, there was a high chance it was just quietly hiding, holding its breath.
That's just how it is. The evil spirits on this second floor are obsessed with messing with humans.
In the end, we were essentially trapped in this science lab.
As we were tense, Jung-seok and Sojin were talking. Jung-seok had taken out a marker and was writing on his palm.
"This is what's written in Latin on the iron coffin, she says."
[In the beginning, there was a great scream.
Those who wish to set foot in my territory. My voice will be sweet, my eyes gentle like a dove's, but my fingertips are like vipers. This is where the roaring lion roams the Valley of Hinnom.
Brave one, if you wish to call me, draw a circle and light a fire. Complete what Abraham could not finish.]
"What does this mean?"
It was good that they translated the Latin to Korean. But just because it was in Korean didn't mean we could understand it all.
It sounded like something straight out of an old Bible, which only added to our confusion. Jungseok said.
"Whatever it is, this is the most we can figure out as a hint. The easiest part to understand is the Valley of Hinnom. In ancient Israeli, that's Gehenna, meaning hell."
Hell. Does this mean the world inside this iron mirror is hell?
There's only one roaring lion that would lurk in hell.
"There's really a demon in here."
The fear and darkness, cruel truths and malice that have tormented humans since ancient times existed beyond this iron mirror, not as metaphors but as real entities.
***
"Let's go in."
While Jung-seok was wracking his brains for knowledge and wisdom, Yang Juhee stood up as if gathering courage. As we were all stunned by this surprising decision, Juhee said.
"We won't figure anything out just by staying here. We need to go inside and see for ourselves what's in there to really understand."
That made sense too.
"Alright, we'll go in five minutes from now."
Five minutes. Had five minutes ever felt so short yet so long?
The five-minute intervals we usually take for granted suddenly became precious.
"It's been five minutes."
Already? What did we even do in those five minutes?
Yang Juhee reached out her hand towards the iron mirror. As her hand touched it, a faint ripple appeared on the surface. It looked like dipping a hand into a calm lake.
Whoosh—
Juhee finally stepped through the iron mirror. At this point, there was no other choice.
"Let's go together!"
Swish!
I mustered up the courage to follow Juhee. Honestly, it would have been impossible without my 《Strong Heart》 trait.
As I entered the iron mirror, I felt a floating sensation, as if my internal organs were suspended. Then an intense heat hit me. It felt like stepping into a scorching sauna.
It was dark, humid, and stifling. Thanks to my 《Owl Eyes》, it wasn't too difficult to survey the surroundings.
"...An operating room?"
The space I entered looked just like an old operating room.
A UFO-shaped light swayed creakily on the ceiling, and in the center was something that looked like a bed. Beside it, unknown machines were making beeping noises.
It was a much more rational atmosphere than the 'hell' with flowing lava I had imagined, which was somewhat reassuring but also more frightening in a way.
Flick—
Yang Juhee, who had entered the operating room first, lit her lighter, brightening the surroundings a bit. Soon, Jungseok, Kwon Sua, and Jung Sojin followed.
"Th-this is hell..."
Sua was dripping something from her chin, whether sweat or tears was unclear.
Everyone was struggling in the operating room, where it was so hot that even breathing was difficult. An operating room in the abyss where a devil lurks.
We were all too tense to speak. You could say we were overwhelmed by this space.
At times like this, I need to take the lead.
"Guys, look around. There might be something."
Unknown machines and an operating table. Blood-stained tools.
As we all blinked at these unfamiliar sights, Jungseok looked at his palm and said.
"'Brave one, if you wish to call me, draw a circle and light a fire. Complete what Abraham could not finish.' Maybe we need to do this to summon it. Drawing a circle..."
Jungseok raised his marker. He used it to draw a circular shape near the operating table.
It was a small circle, just big enough to fit the five of us tightly. The operating room itself was cramped, so this was about as big as we could make it.
Then, Sojin spoke.
"There's a switch here. A light switch. Could 'lighting a fire' mean this?"
Sojin's observation skills were impressive even in this situation.
Click—
When she flipped the switch on the wall, the UFO-shaped surgical light lit up. It was an intensely bright light.
Ah, how light can make people feel at ease. But as light brightens, darkness deepens relatively.
Except for the area near the operating table where we drew the circle, the surroundings seemed to sink into an even deeper darkness. Overwhelmed by this mysterious atmosphere, Sua stuttered.
"Draw a circle and turn on the light... What does it mean to 'complete what Abraham couldn't finish'? Who's Abraham? What are we supposed to do?"
"Abraham is considered the father of faith in Judeo-based religions. Jews, Muslims, and Christians all consider him their forefather."
Jung-seok started to say something but closed his mouth.
The intense heat seemed to make it difficult for his tongue to move. He must also be tired from all the thinking.
It seemed right for me to continue the explanation, having conserved my energy until now.
"Abraham heard God's call and left his homeland to go to a land flowing with milk and honey, becoming the father of a nation. But he had no children until he was very old."
Abraham was extremely old, and his beloved wife Sarah was also very old. Sarah, in particular, was already past menopause and couldn't bear children.
They had given up on having children. It was impossible.
But by God's miracle, Abraham and Sarah had a child. The child's name was Isaac.
"They must have loved this son born in their old age so much. A child that shouldn't have been born was born. But then God told Abraham to kill the child and offer him as a burnt offering. Abraham obeyed without question."
Just as Abraham was about to kill his son Isaac, an angel called out.
— Abraham, stop what you're doing.
— There's a sacrifice prepared over there to offer instead of your son.
Abraham offered the ram that God and the angel had prepared instead of his son Isaac, and that's how the story of this sacrifice ended. Abraham proved his faith to the point of being willing to sacrifice even the son he had so desperately wanted.
And so, he became the father of faith.
"There are many other stories about Abraham, but when it comes to 'what Abraham couldn't finish,' I can't think of anything other than stopping short of sacrificing Isaac."
"That means..."
Sua fell silent, overcome with fear.
We looked at the operating table shining under the UFO light and the surgical tools nearby.
The meaning of this place was clear.
"...It seems like one of us has to die."