Chapter 29
Ian and Yuna naturally gave the agents their aliases. Fortunately, they didn't seem suspicious.
“Did the two of you come to the theme park yourselves?”
“Yes, yes. We came together on vacation, and when I opened my eyes, I was suddenly at the theme park.”
Ian answered Kim Iseo's question with a slight bow.
“I was just trying to survive somehow by doing nothing, and then you all came to find us. I’m really, really grateful……!”
“No. You've held out well until now.”
Kim Iseo gently patted Ian on the back as he sniffled. Ian's face beneath the mask turned cold.
‘This is bad.’
Moving together with the Bureau? He hadn't expected that at all, but now that things had come to this, he couldn't back out. If he suddenly ran, they'd definitely look at him strangely. Worst case, they might even subdue him under the guise of handling an emergency.
Once it had come to this, there was no turning back. He had no choice but to devise a new plan to fit the situation.
“…….”
He subtly turned his bowed head to look at Yuna. She was prepared to pull out the staff tucked inside her guitar case at any moment, and nodded at Ian.
Ian took that to mean she was leaving the plan to him. Just to be safe, he wrote on his forearm and asked if that was right, and got a yes in reply. He let out a low groan inwardly.
Leaving the plan to him was, on the bright side, trust; on the dark side, it was passing off responsibility. Ian decided to think of it positively for now.
‘In any case, conversation is impossible in this state. Even if I let her make the plan, I’d still have come up with another one in my own head.’
An overly cautious nature becomes a liability when communication breaks down, because it can accidentally throw a discordant note into an ensemble that should be playing smoothly.
Rather than each person harboring a plan the others knew nothing about, it was true that it would be much better for him to take full control. Thinking that, Ian slowly looked over the agents.
‘Killing them here and now would be…….’
Impossible. He made the judgment quickly.
Killing Bureau agents recklessly would be a self-defeating move. He couldn't handle the fallout, and he didn't think it was even possible.
Admittedly, murder was something he also disliked on moral grounds, but if it were the only means, Ian would do it without hesitation. However, the present situation wasn't simple enough to be settled by murder alone.
So that was out. Rather than openly antagonizing them, it seemed better to use their current relationship.
The roles of guardian and ward were basically poison, but sometimes they could be used as a weapon.
For now, there was only one ride Ian and Yuna had to clear. If they played the role of protected wards convincingly, safely clearing the remaining one shouldn't be a problem.
‘Use their help to clear one more ride, then deliberately lure them into the haunted house and stall for time. In the meantime, head straight for the tower. Kill the manager, then rip out the heart.’
It wasn't perfect, since it had been improvised on the spot. But it wasn't lacking either. The rough spots could probably be handled with improvisation.
‘Good.’
Having finished his thoughts, Ian slowly loosened his fingers.
Far away, he could sense the presence of the grimoire he'd thrown into the bushes. The cold weight of the revolver stowed against his chest was clear.
Use every means available. Rather than hesitating and getting taken down, it was much better to put himself first.
Thinking that, Ian sharpened his gaze coldly.
*
The Bureau agents made a full circuit around the theme park plaza, searching for any possible survivors.
But all they found were countless aberrations. Not a single living survivor remained. Even when they widened the device's search range, the result was the same.
In the end, Mir let out a sigh and gave an order.
“……Let's give up the search for now. First, let's ride three attractions and secure an escape route.”
“Yes.”
Following her order, the group's destination changed.
The place they went to was [Buster's Train].
It was an attraction where you rode a small, slowly moving roller coaster and personally shot the zombies and ghosts that chased after you. The catch was that you had to obtain the items needed for shooting on your own, which was insane.
It was an attraction ordinary people wouldn't even dream of trying, but there were five Bureau agents here. And they had even more firearms than that.
Thanks to that, the decision was made quickly.
“Let's do this. Everyone, get on board.”
“Please sit in the center so you're easier to protect. We'll cover the rest from all directions.”
Mir stood at the front of the roller coaster and drew her sword, while Kim Iseo guided Ian and Yuna to the center seats. The two of them bowed their heads and sat down.
The remaining agents took out the weapons they'd each brought and hardened their expressions.
From pistols to assault rifles and shotguns. Firearms with no shortage of firepower were loaded, showing off the cold atmosphere unique to metal.
“[Our train is departing! Please be careful not to get eaten!]”
Clack, rattle…….
Along with the announcement, the roller coaster slowly began to move forward.
Since it wasn't an extreme ride, there were no drops or climbs. It was structured to just keep racing along flat ground.
But the speed was extremely slow. It was so sluggish that even sprinting at full tilt would have been faster.
And aberrations were chasing them in this state.
It was so absurd that all he could do was laugh.
Ian wouldn't have bothered with this attraction if he hadn't been with the Bureau agents. He did have a revolver, but that alone couldn't stop the oncoming swarm.
By the same token, that meant the Bureau agents were more than capable of holding them off.
Clank!
Not long after the roller coaster set off, they suddenly heard something opening from behind, and the ground began to tremble.
“Kraaaagh!!”
Turning his head, he saw bizarre-looking zombies and ghosts wildly flailing their limbs as they charged toward the roller coaster.
Despite their grotesque appearances, the Bureau agents showed no reaction and calmly placed their fingers on the triggers.
“Fire.”
And the moment Mir gave the order to fire, they unleashed a torrent of bullets.
Ratatatat!!!
Ash-filled rounds, silver bullets, lead bullets, and more. A colorful assortment of ammunition for all kinds of uses poured toward the advancing zombies.
Gunfire loud enough to make his ears ring filled the air. Ian winced and lowered his head as if frightened.
“It's okay! We'll protect you!”
He could see Kim Iseo babbling next to him, but he couldn't really hear it over the gunfire. In the first place, she was too focused on shooting to concentrate on the conversation.
It seemed like they could communicate with Yuna now without being discovered. Ian immediately took the hand of Yuna, who was also keeping her head down like him, and quickly wrote the words.
Startled by the sudden touch, Yuna flinched, but as the sentence continued, she gradually calmed down.
“[Once this is over, lead them straight to the haunted house. Then I'll clear the way, so follow me.]”
“[Yeah.]”
After hearing Yuna's firm answer, Ian let out a long breath.
How much time had passed?
The slowly running train returned to the starting point. Kim Iseo got off first and looked after Ian and Yuna.
“Come this way.”
“Y-yes.”
Ian followed her, covering his muffled ears with both hands. Yuna awkwardly followed suit.
“[Thank you for using us! Enjoy a comfortable and happy theme park visit!]”
Once everyone got off the roller coaster, the announcement rang out. Mir clicked her tongue and looked around at them all.
“We cleared the first ride. Our next destination is…….”
“H-how about the haunted house?”
Yuna took up her words. Even as she flinched fearfully under Mir's gaze turning toward her, she kept going.
“T-the conditions aren't that hard, and the route is really simple. W-we were going to go in, but we got scared and gave up, but if you all are with us…….”
“Do you think it'll work?”
“Y-yes…… A-ah, I'm sorry if that was rude. I should have just stayed quiet…….”
“Not at all. More importantly, the haunted house…… Hmm. It's in the middle of the shortest route to the exit. Solving it doesn't seem like a bad idea.”
Mir softly smiled and folded the booklet she had been holding open.
“However, as for going in, we'll decide after taking a look first.”
“Y-yes.”
“Thank you for your valuable opinion. Then let's get moving.”
Mir led the way. The Bureau agents followed her, and after exchanging glances, Ian and Yuna moved after them.
A little later, the group arrived in front of the haunted house. They quietly sorted through their thoughts while looking at its cube-like exterior, then frowned after checking the strangely wave-like outer wall.
“……Why is the wall like this? Did someone inside do something crazy or what?”
“I don't think so. If that were the case, the wall should be broken, not rippling like that.”
“Could it be some kind of clue?”
“No idea. I think we'll have to go inside to know for sure.”
While Park Sangcheol and his teammate were talking, Mir, after reading all the haunted house rules, nodded and said,
“It's not a difficult place to clear. With the life-sign tracker, avoiding the murderers or aberrations should be easy as well.”
“We'll use the Bureau-issued interior map. It's disposable, but better to be safe.”
Park Jia took up the thread of her words. She took a small parchment from inside her clothes and looked up at Mir.
“When unfolded, it draws a map of the surrounding area centered on its owner for about 30 minutes.”
“Good. Let's make sure we do it right, as Agent Park Jia said.”
Mir tapped the sword at her waist with her fingers and gathered the group. After reading the haunted house rules, they all said it seemed manageable and gripped their weapons tightly.
“We’re entering.”
Soon they began making their way into the haunted house. Ian and Yuna once again moved along, sandwiched in the center of the group.
Screech, bang!
The haunted house door, which had been wide open, shut the moment everyone had come inside. Park Jia unfolded the parchment in her hand without hesitation.
With a crackling sound, a map was drawn on the parchment.
The instant she checked the map.
“……Huh?”
A stupid little exclamation slipped from her mouth. Sensing that something was off, Mir drew her sword and moved beside Park Jia.
“What is it, Agent Park Jia?”
“Ah, it isn't a big deal. It's just that the path is a bit…… too simple, to a serious degree.”
“……Hm?”
Mir, who had been assuming the worst, tilted her head and looked at the map. And as Park Jia had said, the route really was quite simple.
No, this wasn't merely simple. It was so ridiculously straightforward that you could just keep going straight and reach the exit. Encountering a murderer or aberration was impossible.
“…….”
The structure was absurdly simple, oddly so for part of a paranormal phenomenon that cruelly dismembered human beings. Mir paused and stared intently at the map.
“Ah.”
And then she realized the strange part.
“The locations of the aberrations marked on the life-sign detector are all pressed exactly against the wall. The largest one, which seems to be the murderer, is following along the wall as we move.”
“……Ah, just as Agent Mir said. There are more than several dozen aberrations clinging to the other side of this corridor wall.”
“This can only mean one thing.”
Mir continued in a grave tone.
“This haunted house's structure wasn't naturally formed like this. Someone modified it at will.”
“……Who did it?”
“Probably mages. It looks like they came here before us and left.”
“……Hah. When on earth…….”
Mir ignored Park Jia's muttering for the moment and turned to the man and woman who had come along with them.
“Ms. Lee Seoyeon, and Mr. Kang Hyungtae. When you previously visited the haunted house, did you happen to spot any strange peoㅡ”
Mir's voice cut off in the middle.
There was no outside interference. The sight that met her eyes the moment she turned her head was the man holding the grimoire.
“Damn it!”
Her judgment was swift. She immediately swung the sword in her hand.
But it was already too late.
“Be reborn.”
Grrrk!!
The moment Ian placed his hand on the wall and chanted, the wall stretched sideways, separating the space between him, Yuna, and the Bureau agents.
He carved out yet another route altogether.
Having made a hole in the wall on the entrance side rather than the exit, he burst out onto the theme park street and shouted to Yuna.
“We’re running to the tower. Move!”
“Y-yeah!”
Yuna hugged the guitar case to her chest and ran after him.
Their destination was the tower.
It was time to rip out the manager's heart.