Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: One Night's Shopping (8)
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According to Team Leader Shin Na, the anomalies here were supposed to be pretty easy to handle—simple ones.
They lived in the dark but couldn't see through it, reacting even to things like fireworks that weren't human.
She said luring them away wouldn't be hard, and she was right.
Kakak!
The anomalies reacted all at once to the flash and bang of the fireworks.
Kagakak!
The ones guarding the Execution Platform came swarming out. The clamor of dozens of needle-like legs stabbing into the ground echoed loudly.
They scuttled over quickly and reached the first firework, and moments later,
Pfpfpfung! Shwaaaaa!
The second firework I'd set went off. It was farther from the Execution Platform.
Ppak. Ppak. Kakak.
The anomalies swarmed toward it again. They were moving even farther from the Execution Platform. They stabbed at the firework with those legs and started searching the area around it.
But I still had one last firework left.
Pfboom! Boom! Pssshwoong shwaaaaa!
The third and final one exploded the most spectacularly, showering sparks everywhere.
Kakakakak!
The excited anomalies moved even farther from the Execution Platform. Toward the flames.
By then, I was already sneaking toward the Execution Platform.
Was this enough to lure them all away?
Squinting in the dim light, I could still see faint shapes moving on the Execution Platform—stragglers.
But Team Leader Shin Na would handle those.
And sure enough, a slender woman with a long ponytail leaped out in front of the Execution Platform. Team Leader Shin Na.
She,
"Kyaaaaaaaah!"
let out a bloodcurdling scream, thrashing like she was having a fit.
Incredible acting…!
That single scream conveyed everything: 'I've never been here before—what is this place? What are you monsters? What's happening? Why me? Is this a nightmare? Eek, save me!'
"Kyaaaaaaaah!"
Even as she turned and fled, her movements were anything but ordinary.
She looked like the perfect picture of terrified prey—enough to make even me want to chase her.
Kakakak!
Ppak ppak!
As expected. The monsters went berserk, chasing after Team Leader Shin Na.
The ones left on the Execution Platform came tumbling out, leaving it completely empty.
But.
"Ah…"
My blood ran cold.
What the hell was that?
On the dimly visible Execution Platform,
one monster remained.
No. Why?
Why hadn't that one followed?
What the hell? This plan was built on the assumption that Team Leader Shin Na and I would lure all the monsters away… If even one stayed behind… it was a failure. I had to head that way.
…
What now?
The moment my back grew slick with sweat,
Pfweeeeeeng-!
A massive explosion erupted from where Team Leader Shin Na had fled, and a tsunami of thick black smoke poured out, blanketing the area.
An absurdly powerful smoke bomb.
Was that the secret weapon she mentioned earlier?
The already dark space grew even murkier.
These monsters clearly relied on sight to hunt, so they wouldn't find her in that smoke.
And sure enough.
Team Leader Shin Na emerged alone from the black smoke, casually stepping into the faint light.
"Haaaa…"
She deliberately let out an exaggerated sigh of relief, loud enough to hear from far away.
Kagak.
The last monster on the Execution Platform reacted immediately.
As if it realized no other could pursue her.
Kagakak!
It mobilized its dozens of legs and left the Execution Platform. Stabbing the ground repeatedly, it charged toward Team Leader Shin Na at terrifying speed.
Finally.
The final phase of the plan.
"Run, run!"
With a small shout,
the four who'd been hiding jumped up and bolted toward the Execution Platform.
I chased after them, sprinting furiously.
My mouth was parched.
Could we really escape like this?
Was there really an exit up there?
What if there wasn't?
Every possible thought raced through my mind.
In the dim light, I saw the four ahead climb the stairs and vanish onto the Execution Platform.
I reached it dozens of seconds later and climbed the stairs. Glancing back, Team Leader Shin Na seemed to still be evading them fine. The monsters that had chased my fireworks had moved toward her too.
Honestly, I was worried…
But all I could do now was trust her.
I climbed the stairs.
Finally, I stood atop the Execution Platform.
"Ah…"
There was no one there.
The four who had come up ahead were gone.
Instead, there was a spiral staircase leading upward.
Strangely, only the very first step was visible—the rest was swallowed in darkness. An eerie staircase.
And to either side,
"It's really there…"
shelves packed full of souvenirs.
A souvenir shop.
"Looks like the four went up those stairs to escape."
There was a souvenir shop, stairs, no sign of the group—and those stairs were probably the exit.
No.
What choice did I have now? I had to believe it and go.
"Then Team Leader…"
I glanced back once more.
Down in the gloom, under the faint light, Team Leader Shin Na would briefly appear before vanishing into the shadows again. The monsters pursued her with their kakak sounds.
…She was still dodging them well.
In that case,
"I've got… a little time?"
No need to escape right away.
I turned my gaze back to the shelves.
Fate?
There it was, plain as day:
The Wind-up Device.
The one from the exhibit earlier.
It was shrunk to the size of a thumb, but definitely the same.
The wind-up device of the man who believed the whole world ran on clockwork.
My breath quickened slightly.
With that,
I could definitely craft a ghost story.
The thought had barely formed when my hand was already grabbing it.
+++
Of course, it wasn't like I hadn't thought this through.
Was it really okay to buy something from a shady ghost story shop like this?
Did I really need it?
Sure, those thoughts flashed through my mind.
And I whispered to myself.
"For now… let's buy it. Just in case."
Yeah. You never know. I'd promised to work with Team Leader Shin Na, but people change their minds—who knows what might happen.
I needed some means to prepare for the worst. I couldn't just hand my fate over to someone else without any defenses.
Besides, the whole reason I'd gone through this ordeal was to scout ghost story creation conditions here… so I had to buy something.
Yeah. Sticking to the original plan this far made sense.
I'd found the Wind-up Device, and after looking around a bit more, I spotted a hand mirror the size of a palm.
The one from that artwork the woman biking around Jeju Island had been eyeing. The mirror of the woman who believed she was being watched through it—miniaturized.
Good. These two it is.
…But how do I pay?
Looking around, I spotted what looked like a checkout counter behind the stairs.
A counter, a curtain behind it, and pitch-black darkness inside. No way to tell if the shopkeeper was there—just an unnaturally thick gloom.
"…I'd like to buy these."
I placed the two items on the counter.
Moments later,
Srururu…
Something thread-like writhed in the darkness, and copper rings attached to thin threads floated up one after another.
Tok.
Seven rings clinked against the mirror and hung vertically above it,
Tok.
Eleven more clinked against the Wind-up Device and hung vertically above it.
Two rows of copper rings dangling in the deep darkness.
"…"
What now?
Rings… seven. Eleven.
Were these the price?
If so…
Ah.
A sudden realization.
Among the recommended items from the Shadow Office, there were fingers along with the Responding Bear Doll's eye badge.
Rings.
Fingers.
Price.
No way…?
I slipped off my bag and pulled out one of the well-packaged fingers inside. I peeled off the plastic wrap and slid the pale, elongated, still-soft finger onto one of the dangling rings.
Kuwoook.
"!!"
As soon as I put the finger through the ring, it tightened, clamping the finger firmly in place.
This must be it.
I glanced back once, then hurriedly unwrapped more fingers and fitted them onto the rings one by one.
It required a total of eighteen fingers.
I had nineteen.
"…This one, maybe I'll keep it."
In my haste, I grabbed Lee Seol's finger. The one she'd lost—along with her ears—in exchange for gaining sight.
Unlike the others, I knew her face, had talked to her, exchanged contacts… it felt wrong to use it so casually.
I put it back and fitted the rest onto the rings.
Kuwoook.
Once the last one locked in,
Srururu-
the threads rippled again, pulling back the rings, followed by a low grrr rumble from the darkness.
Like it was saying I could go.
"…Thank you."
I swept the Wind-up Device and Mirror into my bag, tense as hell.
Only then did my shoulders finally slump.
Whoa. I actually did it.
I bought something at the Ghost Story Market…
Somehow drained, I staggered out.
I looked toward the darkness. How was Team Leader Shin doing…?
"Hahk! Hahk! Haa… Huh?"
Right on cue, Team Leader Shin climbed the stairs and entered the souvenir shop, panting.
"What? Why didn't you go? Isn't that the exit?"
She glanced at the spiral stairs, then grinned at me. Even in the dim light, her white cheeks, red lips, and white teeth stood out vividly.
"What. No way. Were you waiting for me?"
Hmm.
Yeah. That'll work.
"Yes, Team Leader. Glad you're safe."
"I told you it'd be fine. I'm the pro here."
She flashed a bright smile and poked my side with her elbow.
"Come on, let's get out. That's definitely the exit."
"Yes. Yes."
Kakak. Kakak.
Just then, the sound of anomalies chasing us from behind.
But we'd reach the stairs way before they did.
The moment Team Leader grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward the stairs,
Teobuk-
Not from behind—from straight ahead.
Specifically, from our escape route: the spiral stairs.
A large, long foot. An impossibly long, thin calf,
emerged from the darkness beyond the stairs and stepped onto the ground.
Huh?
Teobuk-
With the next step, a human shape poked out from the stairs. A height so immense I'd have to crane my neck straight up.
Ridiculously long arms. Long torso, long legs.
"Po… po."
What? Why was that thing here?
The grotesquely tall one we'd seen entering this place stepped out from the stairs.
For a moment, I couldn't process it,
"No way. Don't tell me. The red thread. At this timing…?"
Team Leader Shin Na shuddered, as if intuiting something, fumbling in her pocket for something—
Chak.
It thrust out its long arm and grabbed Team Leader Shin Na's head with one hand.
"Guk!"
We'd been too close to it from the start. Close enough it could reach with a single stretch—no time for us to react…
"Kkuk…!"
Team Leader Shin Na, face completely crushed in its grip, couldn't even scream properly as it yanked her into the air.
"Po. Po…"
It flicked its eyes down to me.
Deguruk.
The badge on my chest—its eye rolling at that moment.
"Po…"
It passed me by. Striding with impossible leg length.
Teobuk-
Team Leader Shin Na, dangling in midair, was reeled in like fish on a hook.
"Tea, Team Leade…!"
When I turned to grab her,
I saw it—already two steps ahead—handing Team Leader Shin Na over to the local anomalies,
and
Poobuk!
the local ones, bending their legs slightly in thanks, immediately stabbing their needle-legs into her body.
Shwaaaaa-
Team Leader Shin Na twitched once! and went limp. Her already pale skin turned ghostly translucent. The color drained from her red lips.
Thud.
Drained of color, Team Leader Shin Na was tossed to the floor like a puppet with cut strings.