Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Closing Ceremony
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Fortunately, Jang Chaeyeon didn't seem all that opposed to my plan after hearing it. If I had to read her somewhat淡 expression, it was closer to throwing both hands up in welcome.
Jang Chaeyeon hugged me from behind and asked,
"...This okay?"
"It's fine."
There was still a child toddling along behind me.
It was a hopeless dilemma.
A monster you couldn't run from, and a monster you had to run with. How the hell was an ordinary person supposed to get out of this?
No, maybe they couldn't at all.
I recalled the countless skulls I'd seen in the nest.
So many people had flowed into this place. How many had met their end here?
"You sure about this?"
"Don't scream."
At my words, Jang Chaeyeon peeked out from behind me while still hugging me.
"You're worried about me?"
"I'm naturally worried we'll both get caught."
"..."
Jang Chaeyeon shot me a sulky look before grabbing me again.
"You know I can't keep doing this forever."
"I know."
I was well aware of the details of Jang Chaeyeon's ability and its time limit. I'd fought her directly, after all.
"It's not restricted because it's gotten harder or anything, right?"
"A little."
"How much?"
"I can normally lift about the weight of a compact car, but right now, probably half that."
"Then it shouldn't be a problem."
Fortunately, my body weight was lighter than half a compact car.
She slowly shook her head.
"Alright. Then let's get going."
The plan was simple. Jang Chaeyeon would cling to my back like a human rocket and we'd fly off.
Like ice skating in the air, she'd push me forward with force once, then we'd come down, and repeat. All very quietly.
Perfect.
I patted the arms Jang Chaeyeon had wrapped around my waist.
"!"
Overwhelming gravity slammed into my back.
This wasn't flying. This was being launched.
I leaped a huge distance like in a long jump, and just before kissing the floor headfirst, Jang Chaeyeon somehow managed to set me down quietly.
"...Not working well."
"Yeah."
I turned to look at the child.
It was toddling after us from far away.
"But this should do it. Shall we keep jumping like this?"
"I'll hold on tight."
Wasn't that supposed to be my line?
True to her declaration, Jang Chaeyeon gripped my waist even harder.
Child's strength, even so.
Soon, we were flying down the school hallway again.
It felt like I was a human wearing Jang Chaeyeon as a jetpack, soaring through the sky.
The scenery of old, rundown classrooms kept flashing by, and when I looked back, the child had vanished from sight.
Too easy.
How many jumps had it been? Before I knew it, Jang Chaeyeon and I stood before the massive gym doors.
Fortunately, the doors were half-open, and inside, Yoo Daon and Song Arin were murmuring, discussing something.
"So, like—"
"No, but—"
What were they discussing with such serious faces?
I opened the door and went in. At the sound, Song Arin whipped around and reached out.
A slight headache hit, but I waved her off and put a finger to my lips, signaling quiet.
"...No trouble, huh."
Song Arin let out a big sigh of relief upon seeing me and approached.
"Shh. Quiet."
"...Why."
After calling over the grumpy Song Arin and the beaming Yoo Daon who was waving happily, I began explaining about Arachne.
"...No noise, right."
"But don't we have to sing a song?"
"..."
At Yoo Daon's words, we all exchanged awkward glances.
Could we just sing quietly?
If we got caught, it'd be a huge problem.
The more we thought about this escape method, the more it felt like cruel false hope.
Contradictory objects, and at the end, sing a song while burning hair?
"Song Arin, give me the escape method again."
At my words, Song Arin pulled out the escape method and handed it over.
[Escape Method]
First, gather its hair.
Head to the gym and burn its hair.
If the child follows along the way, shake it off somehow.
Physical shocks don't work properly.
After burning the hair, open all the classroom doors and sing the hide-and-seek song.
If not everyone gathers, the rest will wander this place forever.
The more I understood this school, the more malicious these sentences seemed.
"You're worried it's fake?"
"No need to worry about that."
The more I read this and learned about this place, the more I realized this escape method was close to the truth.
It was too malicious.
If it had been ridiculously easy, maybe not. But this escape method felt steeped in the creator's cunning malice.
Making people think, "This seems doable," tempting them to try, then leading them to death.
It was so understandable it made me feel sick.
[Critical: 1]
Something flickered in front of my eyes and vanished.
Too fast to see.
"...Let's just do it."
Like last time, I borrowed a lighter from Yoo Daon, took the hair from my pocket, and lit it.
Black smoke billowed up with a foul smell.
Soon the hair burned completely black and was gone. As soon as I confirmed it, I looked at the others.
"Now, let's open the classroom doors."
"What about the hide-and-seek song?"
"We can sing after opening them all."
The last line bothered me a bit, so in the end, all four of us decided to go around opening doors together.
We walked the silent hallway by moonlight, quietly opening locked doors.
The corridor was eerily quiet—not even footsteps echoed.
From the first floor to the third, we circled everywhere without a single incident.
After opening the last classroom door, I turned to the three others.
"Shall we sing here?"
"...Just in case, back to the gym?"
Song Arin looked uneasy. I could understand—I'd been chased by that thing the most, along with her.
In the end, we had no choice but to toddle back to the gym barefoot.
"By the way, why are you all wearing those clothes?"
It was a thought that hit me while looking at the three.
Their outfits had no uniformity at all.
"...I wore this a lot as a kid."
"Me too."
Come to think of it, I seemed to have worn something like this a lot as a kid too.
I looked at Yoo Daon after hearing Song Arin and Jang Chaeyeon.
"...Haha..."
Yoo Daon let out a dry laugh and clutched her shoulder, as if covering her patient gown.
"I was sickly as a kid."
"You're not gonna die."
"..."
Yoo Daon clamped her mouth shut and looked away at Song Arin's sharp jab.
"...Alright, this far."
A horrific thought flashed through my mind, but I pushed it aside and hurried on.
*
Did time pass here too? The moonlight seemed stronger than before.
It had been dim earlier, but now it felt like clear moonlight shining down from the sky.
We gathered around the remnants of the charred hair and looked at each other.
"Then we'll sing, but if something comes, Song Arin and Chaeyeon handle it."
"How long do we sing?"
"Until we get out?"
The hide-and-seek song only had one verse anyway.
After a brief additional discussion, the four of us started singing in unison.
-Hide away tight, or your hair they'll sight...
-Hide away tight, or your hair they'll sight...
Under the blindingly bright moonlight, four people sang with nerves on edge.
-Da da da da da!
Even singing this softly, it came. So the song really wasn't some monster-summoning trigger.
We kept singing and gave eye signals to Jang Chaeyeon and Song Arin. Both turned toward the gym doors.
-Bang!
"Yummy!!"
With a loud crash, Arachne burst in, and as if waiting, Jang Chaeyeon reached out and shoved it back outside.
Song Arin twisted its nerves as it tried to get up, flipping it again.
Smooth teamwork, like flowing water.
-Hide away tight, or your hair they'll sight...!
Arachne rose again, swung its hair, got twisted by invisible force and slammed into an innocent wall, then tripped over its own legs.
Damn, when the hell would this end?
Along with Yoo Daon, who was singing with eyes squeezed shut, I sang louder, praying it'd end soon.
But there was no sign of escape,
"Push... it...!"
Jang Chaeyeon gritted her teeth and yelled, shoving Arachne, but it charged at us undeterred.
"...Huh!"
Yoo Daon, who had been singing hard, opened her eyes wide.
"What's wrong!"
"It's back!"
"What!"
"Regeneration!"
She urgently looked at me as she said it.
Back?
I quickly glanced at its head.
The translucent window I'd been waiting for appeared above its head.
[Name: Arachne]
[Age: Manufactured 20 years ago]
[Trait: Speed]
[Talent: Cannibalism]
[Background: This school was clearly a place for people to reflect on their past and find everyone's happiness. Until this thing was made.]
[Weakness: Sadly, its thought process is still remarkably human-like.]
[Critical: 1]
I gripped my gun tightly.
We won.
I shifted my gaze downward.
"Daon! Keep singing!"
At my words, Yoo Daon resumed singing, and I quickly raised my gun at Arachne.
Its thinking is human-like. What an easy weakness.
"Chaeyeon!"
At my call, Jang Chaeyeon shoved it again, and I looked at the sweating Song Arin.
"Song Arin. Make it think it can't see."
"...Jeez."
With that, Song Arin looked at it again, and soon it began looking around in horrified panic.
People always panic when they lose what they have. Especially if they were once ordinary humans.
I raised the gun with both hands.
[Critical: 1 -> 0]
Red light glowed on its torso.
I pulled the trigger, lost in thought.
What the hell was Critical anyway? It was my ability, but I still didn't know much.
At first, I thought it marked vital spots. But it wasn't that simple.
An ability to hit something more fundamental. But not necessarily lethal...
As I pondered, the bullet sank into its torso like it was sucked in.
-Aaaaaah!
It screamed and collapsed.
-Hide away tight! Or your hair they'll sight!
Yoo Daon matched it, now screaming rather than singing,
And with a flash, the four of us were suddenly back in the duty room.
"..."
I looked down at the floor.
Familiar height.
I looked around, and saw the other three staring at each other in dazed expressions.
"...Ha."
"...Hngh..."
"Gonna die."
"..."
As if on cue, all four of us flopped onto the beds.
"Let's rest a bit."
Rubbing my aching temple, I collapsed onto the bed.
With the three chattering as background noise, I sank into thought.
What sin had I committed in a past life to encounter containment objects this often all of a sudden?
More than that.
I thought of Yoo Daon in her patient gown.
What the hell was she hiding?
I resolved. Once we're back, I need to meet that sunglasses guy.
At least after the job's done, nothing major should happen.
*
...
On the returning bus, a gaunt man blocked the aisle, staring at me before speaking.
"Hello."
My gaze naturally went to the top of his head.
[Name: Kim Wanwoo]
[Age: 28]
[Trait: Regression]
[Talent: -]
[Background: 358th Round]
[Weakness: You've already been warned.]
A chill ran down my spine.