Chapter 105
Chapter 105
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Densely Packed Pupils
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◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The moment the sun set, the forest changed.
It grew so dark in an instant that you couldn't see an inch ahead, and things that weren't human began prowling through the woods.
—Grrrrraaaahhh!!!
—S-Stop!!! Aaaahhh!!!
—N-Nooo!!
—Fwoosh...!
—Crunch. Snap, crackle.
Screams and death rattles echoed from all corners of the forest. Sounds of flesh being crushed and bones being torn apart rang out everywhere, and death spread rampant through the woods.
The grotesque beings hunting for sacrifices killed humans in the most agonizing ways possible.
Beasts rampaged to devour mountain offerings, ripping into living humans' bellies while they still breathed. Ghosts tormented their captured prey with pain unto death without actually killing them.
And finally, the missing people who had lost their way in this forest and had their lives stolen disguised themselves as living humans to slaughter the forest's intruders.
Endless despair swirled in the air.
At the center of the forest stood a dilapidated shrine. The massive statue of the god placed squarely in its middle trembled with a rattle-rattle-rattle.
That trembling sounded like a woman's sobs or the laughter of a child playing a prank.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ I'd unwittingly taken on a curse.
Hearing the meaning of the words recorded on that cassette tape, I couldn't control my expression—my mood soured terribly. Of course it did; that damned curse had transferred to me.
"Eun-ji unnie, is there anything else?"
"No... It just says we should run away as fast as possible for our own good."
"We'd have to have somewhere to run to... Haah... We're totally screwed."
I was probably the first one who pressed the button and listened to the recording, so the curse latched onto me. Should I have just tossed it without checking?
'Throwing away a recorder that might hold hints for navigating the forest without even listening? That doesn't make any sense.'
Fear the maggots and you can't even gut the fish. You've got to check any clues you've obtained. Even if it's a sentence that curses the reader, you don't know what it says until you open it. Ignorance means you're doomed anyway. If I'd known, I'd have smashed it on sight.
And the cassette tape was the problem—the notebook gave tons of info. Like how to follow the red star to the shrine, for instance.
"Jun-ah, don't worry about it too much. Traps like that are impossible to avoid."
"Yeah... Hee-sun unnie's right. Getting cursed just from listening? That's straight-up evil."
Eun-ji strongly agreed with unnie.
The forest was draining my energy, making me overly sensitive. The girls noticed my darkening expression and hurried to cheer me up. Ha-rin even came over, coquettishly hugging me.
With them worrying this much, I couldn't stay gloomy forever. The curse was already on me. No time to wallow in the misfortune headed my way.
Whatever was coming, I'd just smash through it and keep going. Just like always... Of course, if fighting didn't work, I'd run like hell.
That's when Ha-rin, who'd been fawning over me, asked a question.
"But what's a Dodomeki...?"
"Beats me. The name sounds like a Japanese yokai..."
I had no clue what a Dodomeki was either. No idea what it did, what abilities it had, or its features. Nothing.
Still, the name rang a faint bell. It showed up as fodder mobs in a few Japanese games, so I vaguely remembered it.
'Eun-ji the horror buff... maybe...'
I figured Eun-ji might know something, so I asked.
"Eun-ji, do you know what a Dodomeki is?"
"Dodomeki... I just know it's a female ghost."
"Uh... Huh... A female ghost..."
"I don't know the details. Just some yokai or ghost that scares people?"
In the end, no one in the group knew what the hell a Dodomeki was.
"Anyway... let's not freak out too much. Honestly, with our firepower, we could probably take on whatever comes."
"True that."
We'd killed a Field Boss. No reason a forest ghost should be beyond us. No room for complacency, but no need to cower either.
"Oppa Jun."
"Yeah?"
"We have that Ghost Ward Talisman, right? We're good, aren't we?"
"Oh... right. Yeah, that should repel ghosts."
It was something I'd bought from the merchant. Two weeks of effect, he'd said. Dodomeki or whatever shouldn't be able to approach us with that.
"Yeah. We've got the talisman, so no panicking. Let's keep moving."
"Okay!"
Before we set off again, I drew Yang Ji-sang, just in case—the spirit-sensitive blade from the swamp. Its captive soul had been trembling nonstop since we entered the forest, sensing the unnatural energies around us. If anyone knew something, it'd be this evil spirit handler.
"Hey, you sensing anything..?"
[...What the...]
"What? Spill it."
[A massive... malice... An overwhelmingly powerful spirit even I can't handle... And this... sobbing? Or mocking...? Not sure.]
"Huh... Is it a woman by any chance?"
[No... Not male or female... A colossal aggregate of vengeful spirits... It's gathering the souls of the dead... For a descent. To awaken once more...]
Yang Ji-sang wasn't sensing the Dodomeki—it was something else. The shrine's god statue? More useful than detecting the Dodomeki; it could lead us right to the shrine. I ordered it to keep tracking the energy.
"Can you pinpoint the location?"
[Do we... have to go?]
"Obviously."
[I can detect it... Not precisely... but vaguely.]
Yang Ji-sang replied uncertainly that it could. Now, following the red star and Yang Ji-sang's guidance, we'd reach the shrine.
So we pressed on. At least now we had a bearing. A compass called Yang Ji-sang. Sure, some suicidal bastard's tape had dumped a ghost on me... but chalk it up to stepping in shit.
"That way."
"Got it!"
Yang Ji-sang pointed one direction. With a clear path, our pace quickened naturally.
All of us could pierce the darkness. I had my altered vision, Eun-ji her Peering Gaze, Ha-rin her sixth sense, and Hee-sun unnie the Forest Keeper's Insight. Low-level skills we'd all picked up early on.
Thanks to that, we navigated without light sources. Lighting a fire in pitch black would draw every moth-like monster straight to us. Especially risky for me, with the forest's grudge.
That's when Eun-ji spotted a flickering light far off.
"Look over there."
"That's..."
"A light... A player maybe?"
"Nah. No normal player wandering with a blue glow."
"Yeah... doesn't seem human."
We saw lights here and there, but mostly non-human sources. Hee-sun unnie and Ha-rin felt uneasy too. Yang Ji-sang straight-up warned us not to go near.
No point approaching; nothing good would come of it. We ignored them and headed for the shrine. Along the way, we ran into someone slumped, begging for help.
"Y-You guys...? Help me out!"
A middle-aged man, leg seemingly injured. Dressed like a hiker lost on a trail. Just like those suicidal corpses hanging from the trees.
"Who are you...?"
"I... got stranded here... Please, help me! My leg's hurt bad; I can't get out..."
I immediately swung the Ghost Wailing Sword and lopped off his head.
In a forest like this, anyone casually begging for help after "getting hurt"? Had to kill him. No helpful NPCs here. High chance he was a missing person, judging by the outfit.
"Pathetic."
Since he could talk, I figured it counted as intelligent life and used Human Sacrifice. But no offering sensation. Because the bastard wasn't dead even after decapitation.
"Graaaahhh!!! "
His severed head rolled on the ground, shrieking horrifically.
And from the stump of his neck, plant-like stems sprouted, trying to reconnect.
"Whoa... Disguised as human."
"Not a grotesque, not a beast pup. So this guy's a missing person...?"
"Looks like it..."
I melted the severed head of the missing person with a touch of corruption. As the head dissolved, the wriggling body slumped and died.
"Pathetic."
[Tastes... healthy...]
Not my favorite flavor. "Healthy taste"? Were parasites growing in these missing people's bodies? No blood after decapitation, just plant stems from the stump. Forest roots must've infested him.
"I'll check the corpse."
"Okay..."
Meanwhile, Eun-ji rummaged through the dead man's bag. Maybe a new clue.
Out came expired drinks and rotten chocolate bars. Nothing useful—just old, worn-out junk to toss.
"Oh... paper here."
After frisking the body thoroughly, Ha-rin found a crumpled, ancient sheet.
"Hm... To enter the shrine, need three idols...?"
"Idols?"
"Yeah. Like keys or something?"
The paper detailed the idols. Ha-rin read aloud.
"Wandering the forest, you'll find small shrines. Each has a statue and a wooden box beside it. Take the idol from the box and open the shrine door..."
"Wooden box...? Oppa, kotori bako... that's in a wooden box too..."
"Fuck..."
We'd found the way to the shrine. But to enter, we needed to unlock the door—and find those keys by scouring the forest for shrines. And even if we found one, was it really a key or just another cursed box?
"These psycho devs... Might as well say drop dead."
Vicious. Zero intention of letting us get the god statue easily.
"No choice. Let's grab a slave to open the boxes for us."
From surviving the ruined world, I'd learned most problems solve with slave-hunting. Time to snag one to sacrifice in our place.
That's when it happened.
—Hee hee hee hee...
A woman's laughter echoed. Eerily unsettling.
—Bang!!
"Kyaaah!!"
"T-The talismans!!"
Hee-sun unnie and Ha-rin's talismans exploded in an instant. At the same time, the Ghost Wailing Sword rattled violently.
[Gah!! Eyes...! Eyeballs!!]
Suddenly, someone stood in the midst of our group.
It was a woman with disheveled hair.
The eyeballs densely packed into her arms all turned to stare at me.
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