Ghosts in the Underground Passage
I pointed around in disbelief. Seriously, could they not see any of this?
All these ghosts?
Those translucent heads floating around, each one carrying the distinct traits of their original races?
Just standing still should have been enough to give anyone the creeps.
“You can’t see them? Seriously, none of you see these things? The spirits are flying all over the place!”
Despite my shouting, Beel clicked her tongue and twirled her finger beside her temple like she was mocking a lunatic.
It was the kind of gesture that made me want to punch her on sight, but I held back for now.
Yeah, I’d just pay her back double later.
This pale-green punching bag…!
“Hey, it’s summer and all, but don’t start talking crazy. We might not have any pride left, but our frontal lobes are still intact.”
“No, you absolute moron…”
The curse slipped out on its own. This idiot could spot traps just fine, so why the hell couldn’t she see the ghosts?
Well, if she couldn’t see them, of course she wouldn’t have realized she was blocked.
Even Winz, whom I’d trusted, shook her head.
“I can’t see them either, but I can feel them. There really are… quite a lot here.”
“Come on, why are you two like this? So the ghosts have been stopping me this whole time?”
Beel spread both arms wide, clearly unable to understand.
I nodded.
There was nothing else I could say. The spirits had been using whatever physical force they could muster to block Beel.
At that, Beel’s face suddenly went deathly pale.
“Kyaaah! Aaaagh, shit, kyaaah!”
“Why the hell are you making dinosaur noises all of a sudden?”
“Oh dear, please calm down for a moment!”
Winz and I tried to stop her, but Beel kept patting herself down while shaking her head.
It was like she could feel filthy insects crawling all over her body.
“How the fuck am I supposed to calm down?! Aaaah! You’re saying ghosts have been blocking me this whole time?! Shit, they’ve been groping my chest, feeling up my thighs—aaah, fuck!”
“Hey, that’s not what happened. They were just blocking—”
“Kyaaah, it’s disgusting, filthy! Eugh, shit!”
Beel was throwing a full-blown tantrum.
Because of her, the spirits grew even more agitated.
I quickly grabbed her shoulders to stop her.
What the hell was wrong with her?
“Hey, shut up already. You’re riling the ghosts up!”
“What? You’re gonna tie me up and gangbang me? Kyaaah, filthy as fuck!”
“Your imagination is filthier, you little shit. Keep it up and I’ll hit you again.”
“Yes, ma’am…”
Beel finally quieted down.
She really was a walking headache.
Winz and I both sighed.
The situation had taken a completely unexpected turn. Even I hadn’t seen this coming.
‘The original protagonist just walked right through here. Why are there so many ghosts now? Is this some kind of haunted spot?’
I looked around once more.
It was just an ordinary underground passage.
Just an ordinary hatch.
So why were there ghosts here?
While I was thinking, Winz spoke up.
“My lady, perhaps we could try speaking with these spirits?”
“Good idea, but all I can do is see them.”
At my words, Beel smirked.
“Hah, look at this. Guess I’ll have to step in.”
“What? You can talk to ghosts too? Wow…”
“No?”
“…Then why the hell were you acting up just now?”
Thud, thud!
I immediately drove a liver shot into Beel’s side, then followed up with a knee kick to the other side.
Winz’s ears perked up.
“Um, I can actually communicate with them.”
“Huh? Really?”
This was new. An elf who could talk to ghosts?
Well, if they could commune with spirits, maybe ghosts weren’t that different.
Still, it was unexpected.
I’d never seen Winz talk to ghosts before.
“Yes, but I can only feel them. I can’t actually see them.”
“Ah… that’s a problem.”
We each had half of what we needed.
How were we supposed to share it?
It wasn’t like we could just Wi-Fi hotspot the ability.
Then Winz’s face turned bright red.
She glanced at me nervously and started fidgeting.
Very unlike her.
“What? Winz, what is it?”
“There is one way. If I share my sight with you, my lady…”
“Ooh, there’s magic like that? Great, how do we do it?!”
“It’s not magic, it’s… well. Haah, we have to kiss.”
My smiling face froze solid.
What the hell kind of bullshit was this?
Why was a kiss suddenly involved?
The surrounding ghosts’ faces split into wide, leering grins.
These little shits…
It felt like lightning had struck right on top of my head.
Winz looked flustered.
“Ah, no! I’m not trying to do anything weird, I swear! If we make contact and I use the communion breathing technique—”
“Fine. Let’s do it.”
“Rea—really?”
“Yeah. If it gets us the information.”
Whatever. A kiss was nothing.
It would count as my first kiss, though.
If we went all the way, it would definitely count as a first kiss.
Besides, it was with a beauty like Winz. What was the downside?
Winz approached carefully.
I accepted her calmly.
“Chuu, mmph…♥”
“Mmm, mmph.”
Beel watched us in horror, both hands clamped over her mouth as she shook her head.
We kissed even more passionately.
“Chuuut… mmph, haa…♥”
“Mmm, mmph.”
Without thinking, I placed my hand on Winz’s chest.
I felt her flinch in surprise.
Beel was panting.
“Damn, that’s intense. What the hell is your relationship?!”
We pulled apart in a daze.
Winz kept her eyes closed, head lowered.
‘Winz always jokes around, but she gets shy at times like this. Cute.’
She had this side to her too.
When Winz finally opened her eyes, they glowed with a brilliant silver light that seemed to color everything around her.
“Whoa, Winz, you—?!”
“It’s fine now. I can see them!”
She looked around.
The ghosts had their mouths open in collective shock.
While I scratched my head, Winz’s ears drooped.
She looked uncertain.
I took her hand.
“My lady.”
“It’s okay. You can do this.”
Seeming to gather her courage, she asked,
“Everyone… who are you?”
Answers came at once.
—We’re the people who died here.
—Unjustly.
—Madelin, that bastard!
Madelin probably meant Gustav. Either way, curses filled the air.
More importantly, this was fascinating.
‘Does this mean all my senses are linked with Winz’s? So if Winz gets turned on, then I…’
I shook my head, pushing away the terrifying thought.
Still, the sensation itself was incredible.
Winz wiped the bewilderment from her face and asked again.
“Could it be that Baron Gustav Madelin is involved in something?”
The air around us trembled strangely.
The ghosts’ anger became visibly sharper at the mention of that name.
One of them started jumping in place, screaming like a madman.
Seeing them like this, it hit me that these ghosts had once been people too.
Their reactions were so human.
“What are they saying? What happened? I was right, wasn’t I? Ah, shit, I can’t see anything so I don’t know. They’re just talking among themselves, fuck.”
Ignoring Beel’s complaints, I asked Winz,
“Ask them what exactly happened here.”
“Yes. What happened here?”
At the direct question, one ghost ground its teeth.
—Gustav is a heretic who worships a false god…!
The unexpected answer caught me off guard.
A false god?
“Gustav worships a false god?!”
At my shock, Beel grinned and shouted.
“See? I told you! That bastard got involved with a cult!”
That wasn’t all.
Another ghost spoke up, sounding like it was venting.
—He’s hiding an enormous treasure underground. But he doesn’t even know it’s there!
“So there really is treasure underground.”
Beel immediately smacked my shoulder.
“See?! I was right! I told you! Khyahaha!”
“You, shut up already!”
She was so damn noisy.
After glancing at the sulking Beel, I focused on Winz’s voice.
“How could he not know about the treasure?”
—He built an altar right above the treasure and offerings. One meter above, to be exact.
“An altar? For sacrifices?”
—That’s right. We were sacrificed to Medison that way.
Who was Medison?
Another unfamiliar name.
“Medison? Who’s Medison? Not Gustav?”
Beel answered instead of the ghosts.
“Ah, Medison is Gustav’s father. The previous village head.”
Both Winz and I were shocked.
That meant the practice of sacrificing people on the altar had been going on for a long time.
These crazy bastards.
Beel tilted her head.
“Why?”
“So what you’re saying is… the ghosts here were sacrificed not only by Gustav, but by his father Medison too? No, seriously, how many people did they kill?”
No matter how insane a cult was, this was excessive.
There had to be at least a hundred ghosts here, at a conservative estimate.
Countless spirits were already surrounding us, looking down.
One ghost appeared.
Half its body was missing, making it a horrifying sight.
—Revenge on him!
Other ghosts joined in.
—Revenge on him!
—Revenge on his bloodline!
—Revenge upon this land!
One by one, the ghosts began to raise their voices.
Their collective fury felt like it could shake mountains.
The atmosphere grew heavier and heavier.
Winz and I were overwhelmed.
Only Beel, who understood nothing, kept looking back and forth between us.
“Why? What?”
At this point, there was only one thing left to do.
Just one.