Chapter 83
"Hehehe! Hehehehe!"
The long-necked Rhythm Ghost chased after me with thundering steps. I was so scared that I couldn't think of anything but running away.
"I'll suck your brain! Brain! I'll suck your brain! By sticking my tongue in your ear!"
The terrible words kept coming, making me want to cover my ears.
Where on earth should I run to?
As I was running, I saw stairs.
They were stairs going down. In a situation where I didn't know where to run, maybe I should try going down to the first floor.
I thought so and hurriedly went down the stairs to the first floor. I almost tripped and twisted my ankle on the way, but somehow I managed to grit my teeth and endure.
"Ow!"
But it really hurt.
The good thing was that as soon as I came down to the first floor, the ominous laughter of the Rhythm Ghost that had been coming from behind completely disappeared.
Did it give up chasing me because I ran so well? Or can't second-floor ghosts come down to the first floor?
Both were plausible guesses.
"Hah..."
I leaned against the corridor wall and caught my breath. I couldn't believe I was in this dark nightmare corridor.
I went to sleep without starting a matching today. Why am I here?
It was a real nightmare.
"...This is a pattern that hasn't happened before."
I couldn't immediately understand why the corridor was pulling me in on its own.
Several hypotheses came to mind, but the most convincing one was that this variable might have occurred because I opened the second floor of the corridor.
Just like ghosts started coming to find me after I opened the first floor, the corridor started pulling me in after I opened the second floor.
I had vaguely expected that there would be some change or unexpected variable when I opened the second floor.
Could this be it?
"That makes sense."
Whatever it was, there was only one thing I had to do. Escape this place.
For now, it would be best to head to the basement. There's an escape talisman in the basement.
They said that the altar only appears on the first floor after acquiring the escape talisman from the basement.
It means we always have to start by conquering the basement. The problem was that I had no items at all.
Unlike the corridor matching from the status window where I could choose my items and perfectly plan my party members before entering, this matching started completely empty-handed.
If there's anything fortunate, it's that I can't sense any ghosts on the first floor?
"...I can't hear the bell sound either."
After I gave the toy jewel ring, the Bell Ghost's body had disappeared like light. Did the Shaman Ghost attain enlightenment then?
If so, it meant I could move around the first floor relatively freely. Even without a map, if I had enough time, I could find the broadcasting room that leads to the basement.
As I was wandering around the first floor looking for the broadcasting room, I encountered an unfamiliar presence in the distance. It was a man holding a small candle.
"Hey. Aren't you Ha Young-won?"
It was Kwon Suho. The delinquent of Gaeryong with a sturdy build like a martial arts fighter.
When I saw him, my head filled with questions.
"...What on earth is going on?"
Why is Kwon Suho here?
As I wondered, Kwon Suho looked around and shook his head.
"You too? You opened your eyes and found yourself here? That's what happened to me. You, being the Chairman's special scholarship student, you've heard about this, right? This seems to be the boundary between light and shadow."
"The boundary between light and shadow?"
"You don't know? It's the path to the spiritual world. You could call it hell or heaven. My father said that after the earthquake a while ago, the water veins twisted and created a gap in the boundary."
What's he talking about?
I don't understand, but it seems Kwon Suho thinks we arrived at this place because of the recent major earthquake.
Is this one of the variables from opening the second floor? Does it mean we have to play the Nightmare Corridor through random matching today?
I thought there might be other people besides Kwon Suho.
"Hyung. Have you seen anyone else?"
"Don't know. Anyway, it's more pleasant than I heard. My father told me there would be lots of terrible ghosts guarding the boundary of hell, but I can't see even a single mouse."
That's because I went through all sorts of trouble to make the first-floor ghosts attain enlightenment, recruit them, or kidnap them.
I did all the hard work, but Kwon Suho is reaping the benefits.
Suddenly, I got curious about something. I decided to ask, pretending I didn't know anything.
"By the way, what does your father do, hyung? Isn't he just a chaebol chairman? How was he able to give you advice about boundaries and water veins?"
"My father? He was originally a male shaman. I heard he was a disciple of some famous female shaman."
A chaebol from a male shaman background. Kwon Oh-sung, the chairman of Osung Group, was becoming more and more suspicious.
So what should I do now? Should I take Kwon Suho to the basement and acquire the talisman? Or should I separate from Kwon Suho and acquire the talisman alone? If I separate from Kwon Suho, how can we operate separately?
It seemed Kwon Suho was full of thoughts about staying with me.
Well, this situation must be unfamiliar to him. Even though he spoke bravely, he must be scared in reality.
I suddenly remembered that Gu Hyena said she wouldn't trust me until I brought Kwon Suho before her.
If Gu Hyena is in the basement like before, there's a high chance Kwon Suho and Gu Hyena will encounter each other.
As I was thinking about this while wandering around, I saw the broadcasting room.
"Hyung. I need to go into the broadcasting room and search for things. There might be something useful."
It's not a lie. When we entered the broadcasting room like that, there was a hole.
"A hole leading to the basement. Suspicious, isn't it?"
"Yeah, really suspicious."
"I'll go first. Hyung, you wait here."
"Hey. I'm coming too. You bastard, why are you trying to leave me behind? You’re acting suspicious?"
***
Kwon Suho kept following me.
As we walked for a while,
Thud-
Just as I was feeling uncomfortable with water up to my ankles, a headless Buddha statue appeared in front of me. And sitting on the cross-legged Buddha statue was a girl.
She was wearing a school uniform and had extremely long hair spreading in all directions.
It's Gu Hyena, Gu Hyena who evolved into a complete high school girl ghost.
She seemed to be sleeping with her eyes closed.
Do ghosts sleep too?
As I was thinking this, Kwon Suho said,
"Hey. Can only I see that? That's Gu Hyena, right? Gu Hyena from Yeongji High, Class 1-E. The girl who went missing and whose body was found recently. It's Gu Hyena, right? Shit, that's a ghost, isn't it? Shit, can only I see it?!"
Kwon Suho seemed to be seeing a ghost for the first time. He was making quite a fuss.
I could understand his feelings to some extent.
I was scared too, honestly.
Even though I thought Gu Hyena might be half on my side, it's still scary. What if she forgets about what happened before and attacks me too...?
As I was thinking this, Kwon Suho said,
"...Damn. Everything my father told me was true."
"...What did your father tell you?"
"About killing people to make them into some kind of ghost. He said they make women into ghosts to use their blood to prevent the overflow of water veins. Kim Hae-il really killed Gu Hyena and made her into a ghost, didn't he?"
Using women's blood to prevent the overflow of water veins? This was the first time I'd heard this.
Could it be related to why mainly female students went missing in Gaeryong City?
I was very curious, but Kwon Suho didn't seem to know the details either. After all, Kwon Suho seems to be seeing ghosts for the first time today.
"...Could that talisman be it?"
Kwon Suho seemed to have noticed the talisman attached to the altar.
Does he know something about the escape talisman? I pretended not to know anything and asked,
"What's that talisman?"
"What's with you? You're the Chairman's special scholarship student, but you don't know anything?"
"I only became a scholarship student a few days ago."
"That's the altar that suppresses the water veins. From what I heard, these altars and talismans were prepared by the Cheon family ancestors and tutelary shamans who have managed this land since ancient times. If we remove it..."
"If we remove it...?"
"We'll be able to enter a deeper place. In other words, the upstream of the water vein."
I see, so the altars and talismans all had meanings. My knowledge increased as Kwon Suho seemed to know quite a lot of stories.
Kwon Suho soon stretched out his foot as if he had gathered courage.
"Hey. That talisman is mine, so don't covet it. If I burn it and drink it with water or chew and swallow it, it'll probably cure the meat allergy I suddenly developed."
Eating the escape talisman cures quirks? This is another claim I'm hearing for the first time.
"Does that make sense?"
"Fuck, in this situation, what's there to question about making sense or not? Does this situation make sense in the first place? From what I heard, the talisman attached to the altar is supposed to be really amazing."
He had a point. In this abnormal situation, abnormal things were rather normal.
A talisman amazing enough to help people escape from nightmares might cure quirks if eaten. But does that mean you can't escape then?
"Hyung, there's a ghost there, is it really okay? To be honest, I think it's dangerous."
I felt creeped out looking at Gu Hyena sitting quietly like a doll. But Kwon Suho was bold and reckless.
"Hey. Don't you see? We've been making all this noise, but she's just sitting there. It's clear she can't move because of that talisman. If we get that talisman, even ghosts won't be able to do anything to us."
Kwon Suho continued speaking as if he was certain about something.
"My dad was a shaman before becoming a chaebol, so I know well. That blood flows in me too. I can tell at a glance. That talisman is sealing the ghost. I can sense it. I can sense it. My instincts have never been wrong in my life. I'm right."
"No, hyung. I don't think that talisman has that kind of effect. Isn't Gu Hyena not moving simply because we're not stepping on her sprawled-out hair? And hyung, there's actually something I haven't told you. It would be better if you just gave me that talisman and escaped from here..."
"What? Ah... you bastard. I get it. You've been acting suspiciously like you're hiding something, and now you're showing your true colors!"
"What?"
Kwon Suho's eyes gleamed fiercely.
They were bloodshot and filled with killing intent, just like when he was shouting about killing me and Kim Yoo-jung at her house earlier.
"You, you're trying to eat the talisman and run away while I'm off guard! You bastard! Do you think I'm an idiot? As if I'd fall for such an act! That's mine! I don't care if you're the Chairman's scholarship student! Once I get my hands on the Clock of Eternity, everyone will be groveling before me anyway!"
"Whoa! Hyung! Hyung! Hey! Kwon Suho! Stop!"
Kwon Suho rushed out before I could stop him. In the end, Kwon Suho reached near the altar and stepped on Gu Hyena's hair.
Swish-
Gu Hyena's eyes opened. Her eyes, cracked like glass windows, were always terrifying and disgusting to see.
"Hehehehehehehehe!"
Gu Hyena laughed creepily, her mouth corners stretching so wide it seemed like her mouth might tear.
Soon, Gu Hyena's hair tied up Kwon Suho's arms and legs, and her hand grabbed his neck.
"Aaaaargh! What the fuck is this! Aaaagh! Aaaaaaaaargh!"
Kwon Suho screamed like a girl. To be honest, I probably would have done the same.
Suddenly, a sticky, snail-like tension crept up my back.
Kwon Suho has the 《Vegetarianism》 quirk, right? If Kwon Suho dies here by Gu Hyena's hand, two quirks will overlap, and he'll die in reality too.
Kwon Suho is trash, but does he deserve to die? Since Kwon Suho played a big part in Gu Hyena's death, maybe it's fair in the concept of a life for a life.
Even so, I couldn't help but feel confused. I'm just a high school student after all!
That's why I had subtly suggested to Kwon Suho that he should give up on that talisman, but Kwon Suho thought I was trying to trick him and rushed in instead.
"Why did you kill me! Why! Why! Why did you kill me! Why! You die too! You die too!"
Gu Hyena acted convincingly as a high school girl ghost. No, it might not be acting.
Kwon Suho struggled like a butterfly caught in a spider web and cried out almost in agony.
"I... I didn't know you'd die! I didn't know you'd die either! They said they needed a virgin's blood! I thought we'd just hurt you and scare you! I didn't know you'd die!"
"Why! Why on earth! Whywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhy!"
Crack, crunch-!
The high school girl's grudge, tangled like hair, broke Kwon Suho's arm and leg bones and bent his joints in unnatural directions.
"Aaaaargh! Help me! Help me! Aaaaargh! You stole my wallet! You... you fucking bitch! Aaaaargh! Aaaaaaaaargh!"
Kwon Suho was almost howling. But that didn't last long.
As if he had never been screaming just moments ago, Kwon Suho's mouth became eerily quiet.
He was dead.
I... felt dizzy at the sight.
"You bastard. You think it's over just because you say you didn't know I'd die?"
Gu Hyena cursed frightfully. Then her eyes turned to me, and she grinned creepily.
"You're Ha Young-won, right? You really kept your promise and brought Kwon Suho before me. I feel like my long-held grudge is completely washed away. I feel so refreshed that I might be able to attain enlightenment. Hehehe."
Enlightenment, huh.
I couldn't tell her that the blood spurting from Kwon Suho's body had soaked her, making her look more like a vicious evil spirit than someone attaining enlightenment. Of course, I couldn't say such things.
Swish.
Gu Hyena took something out of her school uniform pocket. It was a wallet smaller than my palm.
"This is Kwon Suho's wallet. I was planning to return it, but he killed me before I had the chance. What a bastard. He could have just asked for it back. The wallet. Killing someone over a mere wallet!"
Thud-
The wallet was placed on Kwon Suho's corpse. I cautiously moved my hand towards it.
Inside the wallet, instead of money or cards, there was a photo. It was a photo of high school student Kwon Suho smiling brightly while holding a dog.
It seemed to be a relatively recent photo. A Shiba Inu?
There was also a girl about my age in the photo, and her face looked familiar.
...Who was it?
"Hey! You're Ha Young-won, right!"
Someone called me from behind. When I turned around, it was Jung-seok.
"If today was the day our party was supposed to do the matching, shouldn't you have told us? Do you know how scared I was when I suddenly woke up here?"
Jung-seok was horrified to see Gu Hyena and Kwon Suho's corpse.
"Oh, shit. Oh shit...! Oh..."