Chapter 231
Chapter 231
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 231. The Red Ribbon
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"..."
"..."
Eirin and Park Ye-eun were peering beyond the door.
"How long has it been since they went in?"
"Exactly one hour as of now."
Park Ye-eun checked her watch in response to Eirin's question, and Eirin let out a low sigh.
One hour.
It was time for the follow-up team to arrive.
If the room's layout changed within that hour and led them somewhere else, that would be fine. But if the follow-up team ended up here too, things would get really messy.
It wouldn't be unsolvable, of course, but it would be a huge hassle.
Stretching the interval longer might put the follow-up team in danger, though.
"Ye-eun."
"Yes, unnie."
"Do as I said."
Eirin grabbed Park Ye-eun's shoulder and began explaining.
"Got it."
Park Ye-eun nodded after hearing Eirin's instructions and slowly rummaged through her bag.
*
How long have I been here?
"Does your shoulder feel heavy?"
"..."
"I mean, can you bear the expectations of so many people—surpassing your own future to shoulder others' futures as well?"
I turned my eyes away from the confessional priest spouting ever more incomprehensible nonsense and began scanning the surroundings.
The foul smell was growing stronger.
Like rotting meju, maybe.
-Rustle!
The moment that thought crossed my mind, the manual began to unfold.
[Office Manual]
[Church Exploration Internal Guide - Response Team Hwang Yuhun Latest Revised Edition]
[4-A. Left Staircase]
3. If you smell rotting corpses while still in the confessional and haven't left yet, you must exit immediately.
4. Stand up quietly without making a sound. Then tap the opposite wall and say, "Father, it's time for Mass."
Was this smell rotting corpses?
I might not have time to track its source, even if I was curious.
I slowly rose from my seat to tap the wall.
-Knock knock.
Someone knocked on the opposite wall.
My body froze at the clear knocking sound, and a sharp, metallic voice cried out from the other side.
"Who dares interrupt this sacred confession—"
"What is bound in heaven is bound on earth, and what is loosed on earth is loosed in heaven."
It was Park Ye-eun's voice.
-Crash!
The sound of a chair toppling over came from the other side, followed by something charging out.
-Thud!
The entire confessional shook as something massive slammed into the door.
-Creak!
At the same moment, the door on my side flew open, and Park Ye-eun grabbed my wrist.
"Oppa, this way!"
"Uh, uh..."
I hurriedly followed her out, spotting Eirin jamming an iron rod into the opposite door.
"Even if it gets stuck, what can you do?"
"What happened?"
"You smelled it, right?"
"Rotting corpses?"
"Yep."
Eirin tsked as she fully wedged the iron rod into the door.
"Can't stay near that thing too long. So we used a workaround through Ye-eun."
"...What's that?"
Eirin grunted as she installed the iron rod on the door, the pounding growing even more furious.
"Detachable lock device from the research team."
"..."
"It's designed to lock from the outside. No way to open it from inside, no matter what."
-Bang!
"...Within reason."
Wood chips flew from the door with a splintering crack, and Eirin added as if to clarify.
"Anyway, let's go."
"...Is this okay?"
"Honestly, no issue for us."
"For us?"
"It's the ones coming after us who'll have problems."
Eirin glanced back with a worried expression.
"Not sure if they can even beat something like that."
"..."
If it came to fighting, maybe they'd be better off?
The HR team members fought surprisingly well.
A bit of a contradiction, but not wrong.
As I thought that, Eirin looked at me.
"The confessional priest didn't say anything weird to you, did it?"
It had said plenty.
But since I stayed silent, Eirin nodded.
"I wasn't gonna ask anyway. It always says creepy, unsettling stuff."
Eirin said it casually, like it was routine.
Come to think of it, she said she'd been here a lot.
"How many times have you been here, Eirin?"
"Seventeen."
Eirin shrugged at my question.
"How many explorations has this place had?"
"Sixteen."
"..."
I stared at Eirin.
[Name: Eirin]
[Age: 21]
[Specialty: None]
[Talent: None]
[Background: From the moment she lost her family in the church until this very instant standing here, she has never once lost hope.]
[Weakness: Hope is the driving force that moves people, but it can also be the one chance that drags them into the abyss.]
She was a survivor here. And an explorer too.
That must be why she acted so naturally.
"Anyway, sorry for the people behind us, but no choice."
"Is it okay to be this irresponsible?"
"Better if things go wrong here than later. We can just signal them to turn back."
Eirin pulled a red ribbon from her pocket and dropped it on the floor.
"What's that?"
"Containment Team marker. They'll know what it means."
With that, she glanced at the door.
-Bang! Bang!
Horrific noises continued from the door, and Eirin looked at me and Park Ye-eun.
"Let's go."
"Right."
We ignored the pounding door and pressed deeper inside.
We walked the dark corridor.
"I always wonder—why are places like this always so dark?"
"Builds the atmosphere."
"Ugh."
I answered Park Ye-eun's question, and Eirin sighed deeply.
"It's to turn people into prey."
"What do you mean?"
"Fear strips away normal judgment."
Eirin pointed at the wall.
"Basically, auto-hunting."
"Auto-hunting?"
"Yeah. People blinded by fear charge into danger like moths to a flame, losing proper judgment."
"..."
"Studying prey is every predator's job, after all."
Made sense.
As I nodded, Eirin pointed ahead.
"Next is here."
Stained glass shone beautifully.
Even though it had been raining and the sky dark when we entered, the stained glass glowed as if bathed in sunlight.
-Rustle!
At the same moment, the manual unfolded.
[Office Manual]
[Church Exploration Internal Guide - Response Team Hwang Yuhun Latest Revised Edition]
[5. Sanctuary]
1. The sanctuary is made of massive stained glass.
2. Check if anyone is holding worship inside the sanctuary.
I looked up into the sanctuary.
Three people were worshiping.
Two in hoods. And one old man.
I read the manual again.
3. If there's an old man, approach with gold and say, "Elder, the exit is to the right."
4. If the old man goes right, don't stop him. If he goes left, tell him again, "The left path is the way of Satan, the right path is the way to heaven."
5. If the old man still heads left, use your firearm to take him down by any means. Only the incense bearer may do this—no one else can intervene.
I turned to Eirin, and she nodded.
Guess that meant I should go.
I slowly approached the old man and spoke.
"Elder, the exit is to the right."
The old man turned to look at me, and I involuntarily sucked in a breath.
Empty sockets gaped where his eyes should have been.
He slowly rose from his seat.
He stepped toward the left.
Of course, nothing ever goes smoothly.
"The left path is the way of Satan, the right path is the way to heaven."
The old man paused at my words.
Then stepped left again.
-Click!
Eirin smoothly drew her rifle from her back.
*
An hour later, Yoo Daon turned to look at the other two.
"Shall we go?"
"It's been an hour?"
"Yes."
"..."
"..."
"..."
The three exchanged awkward glances, and Jang Chaeyeon stepped to the front.
"...I'll go."
"..."
"..."
The other two said nothing.
-Creak...
The door opened, and the three entered.
The left staircase wasn't cordoned off.
Tsk, Song Arin glanced at the manual and clicked her tongue.
"Figures our luck would suck right to the end."
"Let's just go."
Jang Chaeyeon responded to her mutter and climbed the stairs.
As Song Arin and Yoo Daon followed, watching Jang Chaeyeon's swaying white hair.
"...!"
Jang Chaeyeon's body froze.
"Chaeyeon?"
"What is it?"
Yoo Daon and Song Arin muttered curiously from behind.
"..."
Jang Chaeyeon slowly bent down and picked something up.
A bright red ribbon.
"Red ribbon?"
"...No way."
Yoo Daon tilted her head, while Song Arin widened her eyes in disbelief.
"...Is this real?"
"...Real."
Song Arin and Jang Chaeyeon stared at the ribbon.
Jang Chaeyeon's hand trembled as she held it, and Song Arin's face went pale.
"W-We have to go."
"Right now."
The two rushed up the stairs.
"Wh-What is it...?"
Yoo Daon looked at them worriedly.
"..."
"...Black hair."
Jang Chaeyeon stopped, and Song Arin stared at Yoo Daon with a stiff expression.
"Yes."
"Don't freak out. Listen."
"..."
Song Arin placed a hand on her chest and exhaled.
"It means an irreversible accident happened ahead. Turn back."
The words barely left her mouth before Yoo Daon bolted forward like a gale.
Irreversible accident? Turn back?
A whirlwind of emotions swirled in her mind.
And those words brought her worst fear to life.
"Jaeheon!"
The three climbed the stairs.
They came face-to-face with something bleeding from its mouth in the dark corridor.
It was chewing something, with crunching sounds.
Human-like, but it resembled a fairy-tale hag.
-Crunch... crunch...
-Spit...!
A bone fragment fell from its mouth.
"Poor—"
It opened its mouth.
Jang Chaeyeon reached out, snapping its neck, while Song Arin extended both hands, wrapping around its legs.
In that gap, Yoo Daon crossed like a beast and mounted the fallen monster.
-Crack!
Yoo Daon shoved her arm into its throat.
-Gurgle...!
It bit her hand, and an unnatural amount of blood poured from her arm, accompanied by a gruesome sound from within.
But her expression unchanged, she stared down at the hag impassively.
"Spit it out."
She spoke in a flat tone.
"Now."