Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Showdown
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Ian and Yuna naturally gave the agents fake names. Fortunately, there was no sign of suspicion.
“Were the two of you visiting the theme park directly?”
“Yes, yes. We came together on vacation, and when we suddenly opened our eyes, we were in the theme park.”
Ian answered Kim I-seo’s question and bowed slightly at the waist.
“We were just staying still, trying somehow to survive, and then you all came to find us. Really, really thank you...!”
“No need. You’ve held out well until now.”
Kim I-seo patted the sniffling Ian’s back. Ian’s face beneath the mask hardened coldly.
‘This is bad.’
Moving together with the Management Bureau? It was completely unexpected, but now that things had come to this, he couldn’t back out. Fleeing suddenly would obviously look suspicious. In the worst case, they might subdue him under the pretext of handling a sudden situation.
With things as they were, there was no turning back. He had no choice but to devise a new plan to fit the situation.
“......”
He turned his bowed head slightly to gaze at Yuna. She nodded toward him, prepared at any moment to draw the staff from the guitar case.
Ian understood it as leaving the plan to him. Just in case, he wrote on her forearm to confirm, and she replied affirmatively. He let out a silent groan inwardly.
Entrusting him with the plan could be seen positively as trust, but negatively as pushing responsibility. Ian decided to think of it positively for now.
‘Conversation is impossible anyway. Even if she’d made her own plan, I’ve come up with another one in my head.’
Being overly cautious becomes poison when communication is cut off. It unwittingly inserts discord into what should be a smooth ensemble.
It was far better for him to take full control than for each to harbor unknown plans. Ian thought that as he quickly scanned the agents.
‘Killing them right here...’
Impossible. The judgment was swift.
Killing Management Bureau agents indiscriminately would be suicidal. He couldn’t handle the aftermath, nor did he think it possible.
Morally, he hesitated at murder, but if it were the only option, Ian would do it without qualms. However, the current situation wasn’t simple enough to resolve with mere murder.
So, rule it out. It seemed better to use the current relationship than to turn hostile recklessly.
The roles of protector and protected were inherently toxic, but could sometimes serve as weapons.
There was only one ride left for Ian and Yuna to clear. Actively playing the role of protected in the puppet show, and they could safely clear the remaining one without issue.
‘Use their help to clear one more ride like this, then deliberately lure them to the House of Ghosts to buy time. Use the gap to head straight to the tower. Kill the manager and extract the heart.’
The improvised plan wasn’t perfect. But it wasn’t lacking either. Any rough spots could be handled with quick thinking.
‘Good.’
Having finished his thoughts, Ian slowly unclenched his fingers.
Far off, he sensed the presence of the grimoire tossed into the bushes. The cold touch of the revolver in his pocket was vivid.
He would use every means available. Better to prioritize himself than hesitate and fall.
Ian thought that as he sharpened his gaze coldly.
*
The Management Bureau agents circled the theme park square and its surroundings. They were searching for any possible survivors.
But only countless anomalies registered. Not a single living survivor. Even expanding the detection range yielded the same result.
In the end, Mir let out a sigh and gave orders.
“......We’ll give up the search for now. Let’s ride three attractions first and secure the exit.”
“Yes.”
Following her orders, the group’s destination changed.
They headed to [Buster’s Train].
It was a ride where you boarded a slow-moving mini rollercoaster and shot pursuing zombies and ghosts directly. However, there was the insane condition that you had to procure the shooting tools yourself.
An attraction no ordinary person would dare attempt, but here they had five Management Bureau agents. And even more firearms.
The decision came quickly.
“Let’s do this one. Everyone board.”
“You two sit in the center for easy protection. We’ll cover all other directions.”
Mir stood at the front of the rollercoaster, drawing her sword, while Kim I-seo guided Ian and Yuna to the center seats. The two bowed their heads and took their places.
The remaining agents drew their prepared weapons and hardened their expressions.
From pistols to assault rifles and shotguns. Firearms without any lack in firepower were loaded, exuding their signature cold metal aura.
[Our train is departing! Everyone be careful not to get eaten!]
Clunk, rattle......
With the announcement, the rollercoaster began moving slowly.
Not an extreme ride, so no drops or climbs. It just ran straight on flat ground.
But its speed was incredibly slow. Slow enough that sprinting would be faster.
Anomalies chasing in this state?
It was so absurd only laughter came out.
Ian wouldn’t have chosen this attraction if not with the agents. He had the revolver, but it couldn’t handle the horde.
Conversely, it meant the agents could handle it sufficiently.
Clang!
Shortly after departure, something opened from the rear with a sound, and the ground began vibrating.
“Kraaaah!!”
Turning back, he saw zombies and ghosts of bizarre appearance madly flailing limbs as they charged the rollercoaster.
The agents remained calm despite their grotesque forms, calmly placing fingers on triggers.
“Fire.”
At Mir’s command, they unleashed a barrage.
Rat-tat-tat!!!
Bullets filled with ash powder, silver rounds, lead slugs, and more. A variety of ammo poured toward the oncoming zombies.
Ear-ringing gunfire filled the air. Ian squinted and bowed his head as if scared.
“It’s okay! We’ll protect you!”
He saw Kim I-seo shouting something beside him, but the gunfire drowned it out. She was focused on shooting anyway.
Now would be a good time to communicate with Yuna without being caught. Ian took her bowed hand and quickly wrote.
She flinched at the sudden touch but grew calmer as the message continued.
[After this ends, lead straight to the House of Ghosts. I’ll clear the path, so follow.]
[Okay.]
Hearing Yuna’s confirmation, Ian exhaled deeply.
How much time passed?
The slow train returned to the starting point. Kim I-seo got off first and helped Ian and Yuna.
“This way.”
“Yes, yes.”
Ian covered his ringing ears with both hands and followed her. Yuna awkwardly trailed him.
[Thank you for riding! Enjoy a relaxing and happy theme park visit!]
As everyone disembarked, the announcement rang out. Mir clicked her tongue and turned to the group.
“First attraction cleared. Next...”
“How about, how about the House of Ghosts?”
Yuna interjected. Under Mir’s turning gaze, Yuna flinched as if scared but pressed on.
“The, the conditions aren’t that hard, and the path is really easy. We, we tried to go in but gave up because we were scared, but with you all...”
“Think it’s possible?”
“Yes, yes...... Ah, s-sorry if that was rude. I should’ve just stayed quiet......”
“No. More importantly, the House of Ghosts...... Hmm. It’s right in the center of the shortest route to the exit. Clearing it isn’t a bad idea.”
Mir smiled softly and closed the booklet she’d opened.
“But we’ll decide after checking the entrance ourselves.”
“Yes, yes.”
“Thanks for the valuable input. Let’s move.”
Mir took the lead. The agents followed, and Ian and Yuna exchanged glances before trailing them.
Moments later, the group arrived at the House of Ghosts. They examined its cube-like exterior, pondering silently, then frowned at the oddly rippling outer walls.
“......Why’s the wall like this? Did something fuck around inside?”
“Doesn’t seem like it. If so, the wall would be broken, not rippling like that.”
“Some kind of clue?”
“No idea. We’ll know once we go in.”
As Park Sang-cheol and his teammate talked, Mir finished reading the House of Ghosts rules and nodded.
“Not a difficult one to tackle. With the life detection device, avoiding the killer ghost or anomalies should be easy.”
“We’ll use the Management Bureau map. It’s single-use, but better to be sure.”
Park Ji-ah followed up. She pulled a small parchment from her pocket and looked up at Mir.
“When unfolded, it draws a map of the surroundings centered on the owner for about 30 minutes.”
“Good. As Agent Park Ji-ah says, let’s do it properly.”
Mir tapped the sword at her waist and gathered the group. Having read the rules, they all agreed it was doable and gripped their weapons.
“Entering.”
Soon, they began entering the House of Ghosts interior. Ian and Yuna, once more in the center, stepped forward.
Creak, slam!
The widely open door shut the moment everyone entered. Park Ji-ah unhesitatingly unfolded the parchment in her hand.
Zzzzt, with a crackling sound, a map drew itself on the parchment.
Just as they checked the map.
“......Huh?”
A dumb exclamation escaped her. Sensing something wrong, Mir drew her sword and moved to Park Ji-ah’s side.
“What is it, Agent Park Ji-ah?”
“Oh, it’s not a big deal. Just the path is...... ridiculously simple.”
“......Hmm?”
Mir, who’d braced for the worst, tilted her head and peered at the map. And as Park Ji-ah said, realized the path was extremely simple.
No, not just simple. It was a straight line to the exit. Encountering killer ghosts or anomalies was impossible.
“......”
For part of a gruesome anomaly dismantling humans, the structure was bizarrely crude. Mir paused, staring intently at the map.
“Ah.”
Then she noticed the anomaly.
“The positions of the anomalies on the life detection are right against the walls. The biggest one, looks like the killer ghost, is following us along the wall as we move.”
“......Yeah, like Agent Mir said. Right now, dozens of anomalies are clinging to the walls beyond this corridor.”
“That means one thing.”
Mir continued gravely.
“This House of Ghosts structure wasn’t made naturally. Someone tampered with it arbitrarily.”
“......Who?”
“Probably mages. Looks like they came and went first.”
“......Damn. When the hell......”
Ignoring Park Ji-ah’s mutter, Mir turned to the two who’d walked with them.
“Lee Seo-yeon, Gang Hyeong-tae. Did you see any strange people when you visited the House of Ghosts before—?”
Mir’s voice cut off midway.
It wasn’t external interference. The moment she turned, she saw the man clutching the grimoire.
“Damn!”
Judgment was swift. She swung the sword in her hand rapidly.
But it was already too late.
“Be reborn anew.”
Crunch!!
The moment Ian placed his hand on the wall and chanted, the wall extended sideways, separating the two from the Management Bureau agents.
He carved out an entirely new route.
Making a hole in the wall toward the entrance, not the exit, he burst onto the theme park street and shouted at Yuna.
“Run to the tower. Go!”
“Y-Yeah!”
Yuna clutched the guitar case and ran after him.
Destination: the tower.
Time to extract the manager’s heart.