Becoming the Serial Killer
I can handle the Murder Hotel Escape Guide. Rozaria possesses pure wish several times stronger than anyone else. And because of that, her ominous imaginings amplify the ghost story. The key here wasn't amplifying the ghost story itself, but the ominous imaginings part. If I could guide her thoughts, I could indirectly manipulate the ghost story itself.
Heh. Using her gift to design the hotel itself? It felt like I'd ascended to godhood. With this unexpected weapon in hand, I led the students confidently up to the third floor.
The fact that the ghost story was still strengthening posed a massive risk, but if I could reap returns proportional to that risk, it wasn't a bad deal. All that remained was the final staircase. If I could exhaust every trap on the third floor of this murder hotel, we'd truly resolve the ghost story.
...That's what I used to think.
...
...
Midway through the third floor. There were plenty of enhanced murder traps here too, but now that I'd figured out how to use Rozaria's gift, we bypassed them without much trouble. As we neared the end of our tour through the hotel, hope began to bloom on the group's faces.
"...We're almost there. There were some unexpected variables, but it looks like we'll pull through somehow."
"Phew. If we'd stuck to the original plan of pairs, this ghost story wouldn't have been so tough."
Elaine and Rone had let their guards down too, exchanging light words of encouragement in the relaxed atmosphere.
"Hey, don't drop your guard until the very end..."
"But we've come this far—it's basically solved already, right?"
"Hold on, Rone, don't jinx it like that. Saying stuff like that is just asking for something to happen."
And as if Rone's words were some kind of signal...
"Huh? Everyone, wait. Isn't that mirror kinda weird?"
Rozaria, who'd been glancing around, pointed at the large mirror in the central hallway and called us over.
"Speak of the devil... What's so off about it?"
If it was a mirror trap, maybe arrows shooting from behind it? I kept the group away from standing directly in front of it and approached Rozaria.
"No, it might be my imagination, but I swear I just saw a human silhouette in that mirror."
"A human silhouette? Not some mechanical gimmick?"
But Rozaria's answer was nothing like what I'd expected. Wait—human? Not a trap? Don't tell me...
"Yeah. I'm sure I wasn't seeing things. It was definitely a person's shadow."
"...But there's no one here except us, right?"
I asked Rozaria in a trembling voice, just to confirm. Unfortunately, what she'd seen hadn't changed.
"Yes. That's why it was definitely... not a reflection in the mirror, but inside the mirror..."
Crash!!
In that instant, the mirror shattered. A massive one big enough for an adult man to pass through easily. And from beyond the mirror, something lunged out.
A pure white mask. A worn, stained coat. A filthy, oversized machete. The stench of blood and death.
The hotel's owner—the serial killer.
Damn it! I knew it. The space behind the mirror wasn't a wall; it connected to the hotel's secret areas. The killer had been watching us from there and finally couldn't hold back anymore.
"Kyaaah!! My guess was right!! The one inside the mirror was the serial killer who created this murder hotel!!"
"What!?"
"The hotel might've gone bankrupt, but the killer never left. He's been hiding in a secret space behind the mansion all this time!!"
At least, that's what Rozaria imagined. And imagination became reality. What was once just an abandoned hotel where a killer had once lived transformed in an instant into a deadly lair still harboring its monster. The danger level skyrocketed hundreds of times over.
"Grroooaaarrr!!"
The moment the killer burst through the shattered mirror, he swung his ancient machete—caked in congealed blood and fat. Even though it had just been generated.
"I'll handle him—everyone, run!!"
Rone bravely stepped forward against the killer's assault. Though small in stature, her gift granted her physical prowess that transcended her size. She could subdue an ordinary thug without breaking a sweat. Charging ahead, she grabbed the killer's wrist as he swung the machete and tried to hurl him.
But the killer was no third-rate punk. True to every slasher in fiction, his physical abilities far surpassed a normal human's.
With a flick of his wrist, Rone—who'd been gripping it—was flung away effortlessly.
"Kyaaah!!"
"Don't think of him as human! He's just wearing a human shape—he's a monster!!"
I threw myself forward and barely caught Rone before she slammed into the floor. Luckily, her small frame made it easy to catch.
"Y-Yes...!"
She didn't seem badly hurt; startled, she scrambled out of my arms. Meanwhile, the killer closed in with heavy steps, narrowing the distance.
"Damn! Even Rone can't buy us time...!"
No matter that her gift wasn't at full power—the gap in strength was too vast. Enemy buffs on our side were hitting way too hard!
"Everyone, run!! Put some distance between us first, then we'll figure out a plan!"
I immediately led the students away from the killer. Fortunately, he followed the slasher cliché to a T—not sprinting after us, but walking steadily. But our escape didn't last long.
No matter how much ground we put between us, the killer would materialize out of nowhere, blocking our path. From inside closets, behind bathroom doors, even trash cans in the rooms.
By now, even I could figure out his trick. Places that had to exist in a murder hotel. Secret passages for the killer to move unseen by guests, or basements for disposing of bodies.
Of course, no matter if it was his own hotel, he couldn't just kill openly in public areas. So the everyday spaces open to outsiders were separate from the killer's private murder zones, unknown to the world.
The only reason we hadn't been caught and killed yet was purely the ghost story's logic. Maximizing terror by toying with victims first—that amplified the ghost story's horror. That was it. That was why we were still alive.
I'd misjudged. Once the killer appeared, this ghost story was beyond normal resolution.
And the end came.
After endlessly backtracking through the mansion's halls, we were cornered in a dead end. The same spot where, when we'd first climbed to the second floor, the walls had shifted and blocked the stairs down.
The killer, having herded us into the corner, dragged his machete slowly, savoring our despair as he approached at a leisurely pace.
"T-Teacher Allen... I-I guess I'll have to fight the killer again...!"
"I'll help too. Rone and I will be the bait—you escape and rewind...!"
Rone and Elaine stepped forward, trying to send me off last. Damn it! What a pathetic sight. A teacher protected by his students? No way!
Instead, I pushed in front of Elaine and Rone and shouted.
"No! I'll be the bait! If he follows slasher tropes, he'll target an adult man like me over schoolgirls first! Besides, even with your gift, Rone, a normal human can't..."
Ah. Something clicked.
"...Whether I solve this or not, you run. And if I fail, rewind immediately."
"Did you find a way?"
"Teacher...?"
"Kuh... kuahaha!"
"Teacher Allen! What's wrong all of a sudden!?"
"Teacher's acting strange!!"
I could feel Elaine and Rone's genuine panic at my sudden outburst. But I ignored it. No—I hammed it up even more, acting utterly insane to make them panic harder.
The more real their fear and confusion, the more authentic it would be.
"Kyahaha!!"
"Eek!? Teacher Allen's clearly lost it from fear!!"
"Lost it from fear? No way! I'm just thrilled beyond words!"
Over-the-top. I swept back my hair, forcing my lips into a grin.
Please let this work.
I turned to the girls—locking eyes with Rozaria especially—and spat out the "setting" I'd just improvised.
"I was right to come to Everlight Academy!! Who'd have thought the rumors of a serial killer hiding in this mansion were true! Now I can finally see who's the ultimate killer—right here, today!"
"The... ultimate killer? You don't mean Teacher Allen's a killer too!?"
"That's right. You have no idea how hard it's been playing the nice teacher all this time? I nearly died wanting to kill you all!!"
"N-No way... Teacher Allen couldn't be a killer..."
"Kyahaha!! You think it was coincidence we ended up bunking here? Who do you think came up with this childish courage test?"
"N-No way...!!"
"I planned it all! I suggested the sleepover to Teacher Lydia! I egged you on for the courage test! Why? To lure out Everlight's killer, of course!"
All lies, of course. The sleepover and test were all Lydia's idea. But who was here to prove otherwise?
"No way! Teacher Allen... Teacher Allen a killer?! I don't believe it!"
Even Rozaria couldn't easily swallow that the man who'd led them was a killer in disguise. But this time, she wasn't convinced.
"I knew it! No wonder you knew so much about this murder mansion!! Because you're a killer too!!"
"Y-Yeah!! I felt something off too!!"
"Eek!"
Fortunately, Elaine caught on quick and backed me up, with Rone joining a beat later once she got it. Aurora's terrified face sold it perfectly.
"How... How could Teacher Allen... I trusted you!! I thought you were a good person!!"
As Rozaria cried out in betrayal, I felt an inexplicable power settle into my body. The sensation of becoming part of the ghost story. The killer's strength and mindset fusing with mine.
Success!
"Come on! It's finally slaughter time!"
Plunged into madness, I drew the sharp razor from my pocket—somehow there all along. A normal human can't beat a horror movie slasher.
So become something that can. The ultimate ghost story counter: become the ghost story itself.