Chapter 117
Chapter 117
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: Ghost House - 5
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This is fake.
The fear that this anomalous phenomenon injected into me.
This is fake.
It's just a simple mental attack, so if I keep my mind straight, it won't be visible.
This is fake.
Yoo Euisul is the strongest awakener. There's no way she'd die that easily.
This is fake.
However.
But.
This anomalous phenomenon's mental attack...
Affects reality too.
Affects reality too.
Affects reality too.
Affects reality too.
Affects reality too.
My third fear was Yoo Euisul's death.
Apparently, Yoo Euisul meant more to me than I thought.
A fear even I didn't know about.
I, who received grace from Reflecting Myriad Stars and became a Fervent Devotee, possess mental fortitude far superior to any human's.
...Or so I thought.
"Ugh... mmph... uwheeeek!"
This isn't about whether my mental strength is strong or weak.
This is fake.
Even though I clearly recognized it as nothing more than the anomalous phenomenon's mental attack...
Witnessing Yoo Euisul's death right in front of my eyes was...
Harder to endure than I could have imagined.
Now I could somewhat understand why Ahn Soohee had said she would erase today's memories from me.
This was the first time I'd seen a human corpse, and such a gruesome one with only the head left.
And the owner of that head was Yoo Euisul, my one and only conversation partner.
It was impossible not to feel nauseous.
...But it's okay.
I can endure it.
Whether Reflecting Myriad Stars bestowed some grace upon me or not, I didn't collapse right away like Ahn Soohee.
Instead, I started getting angry at this anomalous phenomenon for showing me such an absurd sight.
You think Yoo Euisul is a pushover?
She's the strongest awakener.
A monster impervious to mental attacks, and you're saying her head would be left behind just like that, pathetically?
That woman's got nine lives longer than mine.
So that head from before was fake Yoo Euisul.
With my resolve hardened, I finally regained my composure.
I staggered forward.
Turning back now wouldn't erase that horrific scene anyway.
Forward.
Only forward is the way to survive.
However.
The anomalous phenomenon's mental attack didn't end there.
Soon, Yoo Euisul's figure began appearing in my vision again.
"Jia."
Unlike before, this time she appeared unharmed and spoke to me.
Her voice was so warm it melted my heart.
This is fake too. A lie.
Yoo Euisul's voice isn't this warm.
And she doesn't call me 'Jia' so intimately.
The way she addresses me is always 'hey', or 'Lee Jia', or 'you rude bitch'.
This too...
Is fake.
However.
The terror of 'Yoo Euisul's death' had paralyzed my reason.
Yoo Euisul entered this mass of flesh before me, so meeting her suddenly wouldn't be strange at all.
Yeah. So that head from before was fake Yoo Euisul, and the one in front of me now is the real Yoo Euisul.
I answered Yoo Euisul... no, Euisul unnie.
"E-Euisul unnie...?"
Splat. Splat.
My response became her death knell.
Two daggers flew from somewhere and embedded in both of her eyes.
With that, the 'fake Yoo Euisul' in front of me met her end.
"..."
I know.
This is fake too.
But the fact that this anomalous phenomenon affects reality was confusing me.
What if the death of this fake Yoo Euisul in front of me somehow affects the real Yoo Euisul? That anxiety overwhelmed me.
Enough.
I'm not going to fall for this anomalous phenomenon's mental attacks so easily anymore.
I squeezed my eyes shut and started running flat out.
To avoid playing into the anomalous phenomenon's tricks any longer.
Splat.
Running with my eyes closed made it hard to keep my balance, so I fell.
And I fell from the 'penalty for mocking the fake' too.
Even so, I kept running with my eyes closed.
But.
Closing my eyes didn't block the anomalous phenomenon's mental attack.
This was an illusion without physical form, a mental assault striking directly at my mind.
The fake Yoo Euisul's deaths kept continuing.
"Jia."
Crack!
She stabbed a knife into her own throat and died.
"Jia."
Bang!
Her head pierced by a bullet, she died.
"Jia."
A soccer-ball-sized hole in her abdomen, gushing blood, she died.
Died.
Died.
Died.
And died again.
Ah.
This won't do.
Yeah, this isn't working.
I dropped to my knees right there.
No matter how fake it was, watching Yoo Euisul die in such creatively gruesome ways...
Felt like my sanity was crumbling in real time.
Solving the anomalous phenomenon would come after I'd already gone mad.
It's my fault.
My fault for ignoring Reflecting Myriad Stars' warning and entering this ghost house.
Without realizing it, I knelt in place, clasped my hands, and began worshiping Reflecting Myriad Stars.
I'm sorry.
I'm truly sorry, Reflecting Myriad Stars.
It wasn't a conscious thought of 'I should worship Reflecting Myriad Stars'.
It was a reflexive action.
After finishing the brief worship, I opened my eyes again.
And once more, fake Yoo Euisul approached me.
"Jia."
She uttered those warm words and died horribly.
The words that came from my mouth upon witnessing yet another fake Yoo Euisul's death were...
"Ugh."
Ugh.
I'm gonna puke.
This dogshit is impossible to watch.
It felt like watching a gore slasher movie unfold right in front of me.
Everyone knows gore slasher movies are fake, right?
Just like that, since I clearly knew the Yoo Euisul in front of me was fake, my mind didn't crumble or anything...
Eh?
Eh?
Yeah.
Unlike before, seeing the fake Yoo Euisul's death didn't make me feel like I was going insane.
If anything, I felt stupid for thinking such a fake slasher act would drive me mad.
This...
Seems like...
Reflecting Myriad Stars bestowed grace upon me again.
Damn it, you again?
God of Knowledge, God of Normalization, Great Myriad Stars!
Yeah, I was overthinking it.
A single snap of worship was enough to endure this fear from the start.
Gaining confidence, I steadied my trembling legs, stood up, and strode forward.
Fake Yoo Euisul kept appearing endlessly.
And kept dying right in front of my eyes.
But so what.
You're fake.
Don't shake my mental state when you're not even real.
After walking for dozens of minutes while enjoying this vivid slasher film...
This time, the fake Yoo Euisul that appeared was different.
For one, she looked shocked upon seeing me.
And next, blatantly angry.
Then the fake Yoo Euisul strode toward me.
Her expression was utterly foul.
Uh oh oh.
This fake Yoo Euisul has a slightly different attack pattern?
Her face somehow looks even more pissed.
As I pondered what to do...
The fake Yoo Euisul, now right in front of me...
Flick.
Suddenly flicked my forehead.
"Ow!"
I screamed.
It didn't hurt at all, really.
Of course not. My body is tough enough that not even a drop of blood comes out from a knife stab.
It was just an automatic reflexive scream from the sensation of 'being hit'.
The fake Yoo Euisul spoke in a voice full of murderous intent.
"Why the hell are you here?"
"What?"
"Why are you here! I told you not to come in!"
"Fuck off, fake bitch! If you're gonna die, die already!"
"...Has this rude fanatic bitch lost her mind?"
"Eh? Uh, wha-what?"
Just now.
Clearly.
She called me a rude fanatic bitch.
That means this Yoo Euisul...
Isn't fake.
She's real...
Flick. Whack. Thud.
"Ow! Ack, urk!"
Splat.
"Guhk..."
Three forehead flicks in a row, plus the penalty for mocking the fake.
It was a beautiful combo, like a painting.
...She's real.
Not fake.
This is the real Yoo Euisul.
"What the hell, ignoring me completely? I told you it's dangerous, so stay out and wait like a good girl how many times..."
"Hic."
Sniffle.
"Wh-what's with you all of a sudden!"
Hearing the real Yoo Euisul—not the fake—grumble in that rude tone made tears flow without me realizing.
I thought I was okay.
I thought Reflecting Myriad Stars' grace had normalized me, but no.
I'd just been pretending to be okay for a bit.
I suddenly hugged Yoo Euisul and sobbed for several minutes.
Yoo Euisul seemed extremely flustered, but whatever.
Feeling the real Yoo Euisul's body heat, I inwardly sighed in relief over and over.
...
...
...
"So, why were you bawling, and why did you come in here?"
"Well... it's kind of hard to explain."
"Explain while I'm asking nicely."
Yoo Euisul looked angry.
Of course.
She'd told me not to come in and wait several times, so she had every right to be pissed.
I told her my honest feelings.
I came in because I was worried.
But as soon as I did, I regretted it big time.
I had to watch you die right in front of me dozens of times.
"I'm gonna get trauma. Head left all alone and dying, eyes stabbed and dying, self-harm and croaking, and then..."
"Just get your memories erased like that auntie."
"Ah, I don't want to go that far. It's like... 'shouldn't have watched that movie' level? At first I felt like I was going insane, but after worshiping, it got better."
"That's it? Worship isn't some cure-all."
"It kinda is."
"..."
Yoo Euisul seemed torn between whether to yell at me or not.
A moment later.
Yoo Euisul sighed and spoke.
"I don't like how it happened, but in the end, you coming in here was the right call, so I'll let it slide. Now, let's go forward."
"T-together, right? You're still mad?"
"Whether I'm pissed or not is separate. I can't approach this any closer. So."
She.
Pointed at me and said.
"You handle it on your own."