Chapter 42
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: I Wish You Luck
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I wish you luck.
What in the world just happened?
I couldn't believe it.
Not even my own eyes.
Boom.
A terrifying roar echoed.
It was close enough to make my ears ring.
My gaze was still fixed on Dayeon.
“Jin Dayeon.”
“…”
Dayeon didn't answer.
No, she couldn't answer.
Her condition had changed so drastically that I could tell something was wrong just by looking at her.
Parts of Dayeon's upper body had been blown off. I couldn't suppress my horror at the sight.
I rushed over to check on her. But Dayeon pushed me away.
“…Don't come any closer.”
I felt my body lift off the ground. It was as if time was slowing down.
I reached out as I fell backward, but my hand grasped nothing. And then,
Boom.
Dayeon's left arm exploded.
Boom.
Her right leg exploded.
Despite it all, Dayeon remained expressionless. She didn't even scream.
But her condition was beyond critical. Her blood vessels bulged, turning a bright red.
She looked just like I did when I died for the first time in the classroom.
“That one… hurt a little.”
Thud.
Dayeon collapsed helplessly. Blood spurted from her festering wounds like a fountain.
My mind went blank at the sight. I wanted to hold her, but I couldn't.
It was because Dayeon was stopping me. She struggled to lift her arm, gesturing for me to stay away.
“You—”
“Don't come closer. I'll scold you if you do…”
Her face was pale.
Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
Dayeon was dying, helpless. All I could do was watch.
‘Dammit…!’
I was seething inside.
The situation was bad enough, but I was furious with myself for just standing here, unable to do a thing.
Just as my mind was starting to go numb,
Dayeon faintly mumbled, as if she had something to say.
“…The vent.”
“What?”
“Go to the vent.”
I was about to ask what she meant. But I couldn't get the question out.
“I'm tired… I'm going to sleep a little.”
Dayeon whispered in a small voice. At the same time, the light in her eyes slowly faded.
Her eyes lost their vitality, like a candle flickering out. A hollow emptiness filled the space they left behind.
And with that, Dayeon gently closed her eyes. She didn't respond, no matter how loudly I cried out.
She found her rest, her face peaceful, as if she would never wake again.
[A party member has died.]
A message appeared in mid-air, but it barely registered.
My eyes were still on Dayeon. She was already cold and dead.
“This can't be happening.”
I couldn't believe it.
I denied reality.
Just as I was about to run to her, clinging to the faint hope that she had only fainted,
Boom.
Dayeon's head exploded.
It didn't end there.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Her arms, legs, and torso exploded in a chain reaction.
She should have already been dead.
As if playing with a toy, the explosions ravaging Dayeon's body didn't stop.
“Stop it…”
-What was that?
-It's a bit noisy, I can't hear you.
The devil taunted me with a sly laugh. I tried to hold it in, but I couldn't.
Rage boiled up inside me. Unable to contain my fury, I screamed.
“I said stop it, you bastard!!”
Soon, the explosions ceased. Dayeon was gone, without a trace.
Only a lone pool of blood remained where she had been. Even that was scorched by the blasts, leaving nothing but a blackened stain.
I stared blankly at the scene. Then, a mocking consolation echoed in my head.
-What a shame.
It was clearly trying to get under my skin. But I wouldn't fall for it.
As my anger reached its peak, my head strangely cleared. All that remained was the resolve to kill that thing, no matter what.
“Where are you.”
-Why?
-Looking to switch to another girl?
I remained silent. I wouldn't let myself be provoked into an emotional response.
That's exactly what the ghost wanted, after all.
-You're no fun.
-If you really want to see me, come to my room.
-I'll send you to your friend's side.
With those words, the voice echoing in my head fell silent.
The 'my room' the devil mentioned meant ■■'s room in the basement hallway.
So it was telling me to come find it if I wanted a meeting.
Somehow, it felt like the end of this school was finally approaching.
Still, I didn't want to rush to the basement just yet. There was something I had to do first.
“Are you dead?”
“…”
No answer came. I silently trudged over to where Dayeon had been.
“Say something.”
“…”
There was no one else here to begin with. I was just talking to thin air.
I stood blankly over the pool of blood.
Suddenly, I noticed the axe lying on the floor.
It was drenched in blood, stained crimson.
[You have acquired the Axe.]
Can I face the devil with this?
As I toyed with the axe, Dayeon's words came to mind.
-Go to the vent.
The only vent I knew was the one in the science lab. An ominous place where I'd nearly suffocated, choked by intestines.
Why did she tell me to go to the vent?
It seemed like a rather random place, which was puzzling.
“Still, I should probably go check it out.”
They were the last words of none other than Dayeon. I couldn't just ignore them.
Just as I was about to head to the vent, I noticed one of the coffins on the floor.
Unlike the others, which were arranged in a circle, this one was shoved in a corner like trash, so I hadn't seen it before.
I carefully checked the name on it.
[Lee Hyeon]
“…What the, it's me.”
It was my name written on the coffin. I examined the lid closely. There was a sentence with an 'X' drawn through it.
-Test passed. The body will be taken, so the coffin is to be discarded.
So it's saying it'll use my body, so the coffin isn't needed?
The memory of the bad ending vaguely surfaced. The thought of it made my anger flare up again.
I will never forgive it.
With firm resolve, I went down to the secret archives.
“She definitely said the vent.”
Before heading into ■■'s room, I went to the vent as Dayeon had told me.
It was the science lab on the fourth floor. I prayed nothing would happen as I went inside.
Fortunately, the science lab was in a normal state. There were no frog croaks, and the anatomical model that used to wander around on its own was gone.
It looked just like a regular school science lab. I cautiously approached the vent.
The entrance was wide open.
It seemed I just had to go inside.
“It's not going to turn into intestines like last time, right…?”
I nervously squeezed my body inside.
The unpleasant memory from last time made me want to get out quickly. I moved my arms and legs swiftly to propel myself forward.
Last time, I passed out from exhaustion as soon as I got out of the vent.
Because of that, I never found out what kind of room was on the other side.
She said she solved the puzzle on her own.
Which meant it was an unknown place in this school that I had never been to before.
Finally, the end of the vent came into view. I crawled carefully toward the light.
What could possibly be waiting on the other side?
Tense with anticipation, I exited the vent.
The room that had been shrouded in mystery appeared. It was completely different from what I had expected.
“Where is this?”
I gazed around. It wasn't an ordinary classroom like the science lab.
It was structured like a normal room you'd see in a house rather than a school.
What is this place?
I had no idea. Then, a sign hanging on the vent caught my eye.
[My Room]
-Authorized personnel only.
Ah, so this is Jin Dayeon's room.
I knew instantly where I was.
No one but Dayeon would hang a sign with that kind of tone.
Anyway, what's supposed to be in here?
Maybe because it was Dayeon's room, I hesitated a little before investigating.
But hadn't Dayeon herself told me to go to the vent?
Therefore, my actions were perfectly justified.
Besides, if I was going to fight the devil, I couldn't afford to overlook anything.
Leaving my handful of guilt behind, I began to search the room in earnest.
[There are novels on the bookshelf.]
[It's a cute cat doll.]
[It's a tightly shut cabinet.]
A cabinet?
My fingers suddenly froze.
This makes me feel like some kind of thief who's snuck into a girl's room.
“…I probably shouldn't open it.”
I felt like, of all things, I absolutely should not open the cabinet.
I really didn't want to lose my dignity as a human being.
Just as I was about to look away,
-Ding!
[Open the cabinet?]
[Open / Leave it]
An interaction message appeared.
And it was one where I had to make the choice.
“Hold on.”
Normally, interacting with background objects in a Tsukuru game just gives a simple description.
Like the doll or the bookshelf I just checked. But this was different. I had to choose whether to open the cabinet or not.
That meant this cabinet wasn't just a background object. It was a proper part of the game.
Now that it's come to this, I had to open it. There might be an important clue or item inside.
“Mhm, right…”
I nodded repeatedly and placed my hand on the cabinet. I took a deep breath and opened it slightly.
Fortunately, the cabinet didn't contain what I was thinking of.
There was just a single letter tucked inside.
[You have acquired Jin Dayeon's Letter.]
“Phew…”
I let out a sigh of relief. My human dignity was safe.
Anyway, I found a letter in the cabinet. On the outside, it said:
[Pervert.]
…I fell for it.
It was an unavoidable decision, but a sense of guilt pricked my conscience. I endured the sharp pain in my chest and checked the letter.
[Jin Dayeon's Letter]
【Hey, if you're reading this, I'm probably already dead.
Oh right, I was already dead to begin with.
Then I take back what I just said.
I can't find an eraser, so I'll just keep writing.
As I'm writing this, you're lying next to me.
You fell asleep right after coming out of the vent.
Looks like you're having a good dream.
You're talking in your sleep quite aggressively.
Are you dreaming about me, by any chance?
You sly dog.
Anyway, how's the school exploration going?
By now, you've probably figured it out.
The school is under ■■'s complete control.
You probably feel like escaping is impossible.
But it's not in the realm of impossibility.
You see, ■■ loves despair.
The reason it left the possibility of escape open until now is all because of that despair.
It finds it fun to watch the hope of escape instantly plummet into the despair of death, or so it says.
No matter how you look at it, it's definitely a crazy monster. So don't let your guard down.
The exit is just a kind of bait.
The only way to escape this school is to kill ■■.
Use that hope against it.
Aim for a moment when ■■ is off guard.
An opportunity will definitely come.
I wish you luck.
Hyeon.
-Jin Dayeon】
The letter ended there.
In many ways, I could feel what Dayeon was thinking.
As I was about to put the letter back in the cabinet, I found a hidden sentence on the back.
【P.S. – Cut open the doll's stomach. Something good might happen…?】
“The doll?”
I looked around. I found the cat doll sitting right next to the cabinet.
Wondering if there was something inside, I fiddled with the doll. It felt soft and squishy.
No matter how I looked at it, it seemed like an ordinary stuffed doll.
Still, according to Dayeon's letter, something must be hidden inside.
So I'm supposed to cut this thing's stomach open?
I took out the axe Dayeon had been carrying. And I carefully cut open the doll's stomach.
Shunk.
The sharp axe blade sank in.
Soft cotton and yarn spilled out from the doll's stomach like blood.
A brilliant light shone from between the torn seams. It was incomparably more intense than the light emitted by previous items.
I knew it.
There's an item inside the doll.
I shoved my hand deep into the doll's belly. Soon, my fingers grasped something.
I quickly grabbed it and pulled it out of the doll. A glass bottle filled with liquid appeared.
It glittered with a radiance as if it held a jewel. It was on a completely different level from ordinary items.
I had a gut feeling that this glass bottle was the very item I so desperately needed.
[You have acquired Holy Water.]