Chapter 7
Chapter 7
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 007
Chapter Title: Physical Exorcism
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The two team members I'd mistaken for bus drivers got killed off together, side by side.
That's how it started. We'd barely made it past the hospital entrance on the first floor, and already two people were dead. Watching a person get torn apart like a sack of skin right before my eyes, all I could muster was a hollow laugh. It wasn't horror or sadness—just pure, ridiculous absurdity.
At this rate, who knows how many of us will make it to the rooftop. Hell, will anyone survive besides me?
Our remaining party was down to just three. Needless to say, the situation wasn't great.
First up was me: your average liberal arts grad who'd been prepping for the civil service exam until I got dragged into this mess by an anomaly.
Next to me was the middle-aged guy who'd screamed "special forces" from the moment we met—Jo Tae-sik. His sturdy build and crisp, no-nonsense movements made it clear he wasn't lying about his background.
Last was Park Kyung-min, the hiker who'd eaten way too much fear. Aside from shivering in this summer heat, nothing particularly stood out about him.
We crept along the deathly silent hallway toward the central staircase. Every footstep echoing off the worn corridors set my nerves on edge. In the dark, even the tiniest noise amplifies the terror...
In this atmosphere where something could lunge out at any second, I muttered to myself.
'Damn it, I should've just kept studying for that grade-9 civil service exam.'
At least there, you don't risk your life on some "practical evaluation." Your future might hinge on a written test score, but your head doesn't literally fly off.
But the water was spilled. No turning back now.
Since we're this far in, I have to pass and convert to full-time. Stable job, steady monthly paycheck hitting the bank, retirement pension. For an orphan with nothing to my name, that's all I wanted. I'd endure this monster den a hundred times over for that dream.
Breathing carefully, we finally reached the central staircase. No one complained or looked back. We just exchanged silent glances that said, "Let's go." Everyone knew chatter wouldn't help in a spot like this.
With each step up, the dank, humid air clung to my skin. Thick dust, mold, and unidentifiable stains covered the wallpaper, wafting a nauseating stench. Every breath felt like it was polluting my lungs deep down.
It happened just as we set foot on the stairs heading from the second floor to the third.
Somewhere, a beautiful song drifted in.
No, beautiful didn't cut it. Could a human voice really be this pure and crystalline? It was like an angel whispering right in my ear, a soothing lullaby that could melt even a frozen soul. My taut nerves felt like they were melting away at the sound.
Right. That wasn't just a beautiful lullaby—it was a siren's call, luring people in. My mental database concluded as much.
Beautiful singing in a haunted house like this? Total cliché.
Every horror movie and game beats it to death. Falling for it would be an intelligence fail.
Luckily, recalling the manual's guidelines let me resist the lullaby's temptation.
The problem was the hiker next to me.
"Haa..."
A sound somewhere between a laugh and a groan leaked from his mouth. A quick glance showed Park Kyung-min with half-lidded eyes, grinning like an idiot. His face was completely gone.
With a dazed, entranced look, he slowly reached for the doorknob leading to the third floor.
Me and Mr. Jo didn't hesitate at the sight.
Smack!
A dull smack shattered the silence, echoing down the hall. Our palms struck the hiker's cheeks almost simultaneously—Mr. Jo on the right, me on the left. Perfect teamwork.
"Ack!"
The hiker clutched his swelling red cheeks and finally snapped out of it.
He blinked at us in confusion for a moment, then grasped the situation and bowed his head.
"...Th-thank you."
He looked pitiful with both cheeks puffed up like balloons, but no helping it. Going through that door would've ended way worse than a busted face.
Without a word, we headed back toward the fifth floor.
And just like that, we reached the fifth floor.
Pediatrics ward. True to the name, the hallway walls were painted with colorful animal murals kids would love. Of course, now the paint was peeling, mold creeping in, turning it grotesque.
And there, shambling down the hall: child-shaped "people." They passed us with vacant stares—eerie things that seemed alive but not quite.
We hugged the walls as tight as we could, minimizing noise, and checked the ward map near the entrance.
The map showed the central nursery at the far end of the hall, deepest in.
I pulled up my phone's notepad and typed, "Move quietly along the walls," showing it to them. They nodded silently.
We tiptoed like cats, dead silent. The child-shaped "people" patrolling the hall mercifully ignored us.
Just like that, we made it to the central nursery unscathed.
Thankfully, no one inside. Per the manual, the core sample was in the innermost incubator. I approached carefully.
Peering in, I couldn't hold back a scoff.
Inside was a small, heart-like thing wriggling faintly, glowing with a sickly phosphorescence.
'Fuck, not even a glow-in-the-dark dinosaur—a glow-in-the-dark heart.'
This is what we came all this way for?
Grabbing it would alert every entity in the ward to our position, starting a chase.
I pulled out my phone again.
"Grab sample and bolt straight to stairs."
Confirming their nods, I took a deep breath, opened the incubator, and snatched the slimy, warm, disgusting core sample, shoving it in my pocket.
And right then—
"""Baby thiefhhh!!"""
A horrific shriek exploded from the hall outside. Unbelievable as kids' voices—ear-splitting screams.
At once, the patients and nurses shambling the halls had their jaws ripped to their chests, charging us. Joints twisting unnaturally, some crawling, some on all fours, lunging in grotesque poses.
Thankfully, since we hadn't broken guidelines, they weren't that fast. Full sprint could shake them.
"Run!"
With Mr. Jo's shout, we bolted madly for the central stairs. Heart pounding like it might burst—but getting caught would make it burst for real. We ran for our lives.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The second we slammed and locked the stairwell door, pounding like they’d break it down echoed. No time to waste. I signaled the two: head to basement level 2.
We bounded down two stairs at a time. Hit basement 2 in no time.
The B2 mission was simple: dodge the "Patrol Entity" roaming the halls and shut off the emergency generator.
I pressed my ear and nose to the door crack. No disinfectant smell or dragging metal from the manual. Good.
Cracking the door, we slipped in. Unlike the fifth floor, no map here—halls twisted like a maze, hard to find the generator room.
After wandering minutes—
There: sign for "Emergency Generator Room" at hall's end. But faint disinfectant and dragging metal started from ahead.
Scraaaape— Scraaaape—
A massive shadow rounded the corner. Security uniform, over two meters—humanoid monster. That had to be the Patrol Entity.
Logically, bolt upstairs per manual. But failing to kill the generator meant mission fail. All this for nothing.
No way.
I yelled urgently to the two.
"You two, get in there and kill the generator now!"
"What?! What about you?"
Mr. Jo gasped back. I met his eyes straight.
"I'll buy time somehow—just shut it down! No time!"
After a hesitant beat at my resolve, he grabbed the hiker's arm and dashed into the generator room.
Meantime, I whipped out my pistol without pause and fired at the charging Patrol Entity.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bullets thudded into it, but it just staggered—no real damage.
Emptied the mag, still up. I tossed the useless gun and drew the Four Tiger Sword from my belt—the dead Taoist's heirloom. Please work.
Of course, I knew zero swordplay. Didn't matter. Swing hard, it'll do.
I gathered every muscle and vertically slashed down at the lunging Patrol Entity.
Crack!
Chilling skull-split sound. Sickening feel like cutting soft butter. Its body cleaved perfectly in half. Blood and mystery fluids sprayed everywhere.
I looked down at the bisected corpse. But the halves were still twitching.
"...Gross."
Frowning, I hacked again—horizontal, diagonal, merciless mincing. Until it stopped completely. Six chunks later, motion ceased.
Creeeak—
That's when the hiker and Mr. Jo emerged from the generator room and spotted me.
They gawked, alternating between my gore-soaked self and the mangled monster chunks.
"...Y-you... what the hell..."
The hiker went sheet-white, dry-heaving wordlessly.
I shook the bloody sword casually and replied flatly.
"Seemed like it needed thorough handling."