episode_0083

Before I knew it, a cool chill began to creep into the library, as if winter had arrived.

The warmth I felt when I was with my senior suddenly disappeared, and the chill that penetrated through my thin clothes was enough to slow my movements.

Even though I couldn’t see Katin yet, my heart was already filled with fear.

It was scary when I saw the kid, but if it was the hideousness that came from its appearance, Katen was also scared by recognizing its existence.

Still, I had to move. Because my senior trusted me and asked for my help… I’m sure I’ll be able to overcome it, like always.

Coincidentally, the Little Mermaid was looking for the little boy’s book and even caught a glimpse of it… The problem is that it’s in the 800s, so it’s in the opposite location from the counter I’m currently in.

I hid myself behind the counter and carefully examined the surroundings. I need to check Katin’s location and move while avoiding him as much as possible.

Katen was standing still in front of the entrance to the library, so she could easily confirm its location.

The overall attire was similar to my senior, but there was a crucial difference.

‘…I have no neck.’

Above the neck, where the face should be, there was nothing. The cross section cannot be confirmed from this angle, but at least it appears that it was not cut or broken, as no blood was flowing.

Katen’s body was very similar to my senior, so I felt less scared than I thought. What I was imagining was a strange, hideous woman looking for me… but it might be okay since she doesn’t have a face.

Because headless ghosts aren’t scary anymore.

I sighed deeply, lowered my body, and left the counter. I don’t know if I could hear because I don’t have ears, but I was careful not to make any noise as much as possible, as written in the rules.

Katen stood still in front of the entrance, doing nothing the entire time I was moving. Did my senior do something for me, or was it always like this…

I don’t know why, but I’ll be thankful if it doesn’t move. Let’s go to bookshelf number 800 like this and find the Little Mermaid…!

Mulkyung.

While I was walking safely, I felt like I stepped on something. I checked the floor and there wasn’t anything worth stepping on…

I turned my body slightly to check the floor and ended up sitting down.

‘Why… why… is there snow in a place like this…’

The red eyes I saw in the notebook were staring straight at me. Fortunately, I refrained from screaming because I saw it once, but the scene that followed made me suffer even more.

Tears began to flow from the red eyes and wet the floor. The transparent tears became redder as time passed, and before I knew it, they had turned into bloody tears that were even redder than snow.

While I was staring at the scene blankly, I noticed another strange thing. At the edge of my vision, on the bookshelf next to where I sat down, a foreign object caught my eye.

The identity of the foreign object was a human ear. Although it had a pretty shape, the sight of it being in a place it shouldn’t be was very unnatural, emphasizing the feeling of fear.

While I was idly thinking about how to respond to the unexpected incident, I felt the touch of a foreign substance even with my hand on the floor.

I really didn’t want to check because I expected a traffic jam, but my eyes naturally went towards my hand.

‘Red eyes again…’

As expected, the foreign object was a red eye. The pair of eyes stared at me at the same time, sending a chilling feeling through my entire body.

Although my heart was pounding with fear, there was no direct harm to my eyes or ears. That’s why I had to move – but that thought occurred to me without thinking.

Katin is always watching you.

Katin is always listening to you.

Isn’t the current situation too much in line with the rulebook? If you think about it that way – naturally, the owner of the eye is Katin, who is standing at the entrance…

Katin is always by your side.

By the time I thought of this rule and quickly checked the entrance, Katin had already disappeared.

On the contrary, my heart was pounding like crazy because I couldn’t see him. The reason Katin disappeared now is because it was obvious she was coming to look for me.

When I gave up walking quietly and got up to run, something grabbed my leg.

“Ah…ah…”

A hand rose from the floor of the library and grabbed my leg. Although it was a thin and beautiful woman’s hand, the grip strength was so strong that it went beyond imagination, causing pain to surge through the leg that was being held.

The hand was forcibly pulling my leg back, trying to make me fall. I tried to resist by putting as much strength into my legs as I could, but I was no match for him and ended up rolling around on the floor.

I saw someone approaching me as I collapsed miserably. Even without thinking about it – that someone was definitely Katin.

Hello, what book are you looking for?

While I was squinting at the pain that would immediately follow, I heard something unexpected. Even though she clearly had no face, Katin was talking to me.

“…I’m looking for the Little Mermaid…”

The Little Mermaid is a book I really like. Now, come this way…

Katin, who kindly helped me up, held my hand and began leading me to the place where the bookshelf number 800 was located.

The sane and kind behavior, which was completely different from what I expected, actually added to the confusion. Are you doing this to catch me off guard?

…Or is Katein really faithful to her role as a librarian? I’m just trying to find a book without doing anything wrong…

When I thought about it that way, I actually felt at ease. I thought it would be difficult to find a book and go outside, but it might be easier than I thought.

Well, Andersen’s The Little Mermaid is here. Are you looking for another book?

“One Little Mermaid is fine… Thank you!”

I accepted the mermaid that Katin handed me and smiled as brightly as I could. Hehe… I think I got through this nightmare with the greatest ease.

Are you going to rent it? Then, please come to the counter.

After speaking, Katin disappeared in an instant. As I was happily carrying the book and heading to the counter, I felt like the cover of The Little Mermaid was shining.

No, it wasn’t a feeling, the cover was definitely shining. When I picked up the book and checked it, I felt the Little Mermaid drawn in a fairy tale style looking at me with a sad face.

Feeling unexplained anxiety, I turned the page.

Run away.

There were only three words written in red in the book. After that, no matter how many pages I turned, they were blank, so the eerie warning hit me even harder.

The Little Mermaid… Meriel came to mind, and I couldn’t ignore the warning. Does telling me to run away mean to grab a book and go straight outside?

But Katin was kinder than I thought and didn’t seem to have any problems… Ugh, let’s trust the Little Mermaid anyway.

When I made that decision – the surrounding scenery began to change in an instant.

The space that had been filled with countless books gradually became filled with a strong bloody smell, and the chill that had once made me feel the cold of winter had reached the point where I was freezing to the bone.

As I looked around briefly, numerous corpses that had not been seen before came into view.

Women, men, or deformed beings… The corpses, horribly strewn about, regardless of gender, had one thing in common.

The skin on his face was torn off, showing bright red muscles.

As I took a step back, holding the book dearly in response to the sudden change in the situation, I collided with something soft.

Why are you doing this?

I swallowed dry saliva at the strangely distorted voice. I slowly turned around and checked – the senior’s face came into view.

No, he looked too deformed to be a senior. Only black holes were visible where the eyes would have been, and the ears were torn off and bleeding profusely.

The only thing that was still intact was the thick pink lips, smiling softly.

“K…Katein…”

I quietly shouted my name and got out of his arms. I wanted to quickly run out to the entrance with the book, but my body couldn’t move as if something was holding me back.

When Katin waved his hand, a blood-covered book flew out from somewhere. The book began to open of its own accord, and the fully opened book revealed a pair of red eyes.

The open book climbed onto Katin’s face and began to bleed thick blood. After a while, the book fell away and the eyes returned to Katin’s face.

The eyes, filled with emptiness and beauty, looked at me and began to smile with joy.

Ah… Finally, you have finally come to me, Catherine.

“I…I’m not Catherine…”

I tried to put up a little resistance with my mouth, which was the only thing that could move, but Katin seemed to be out of earshot and was approaching me with a wide smile.

Katen finally hugged me tightly, buried her face in my shoulder, and slowly began to shake.

For a long time… I’ve been looking for you for a long time… Now, I won’t miss you. I won’t let you go again.

Katin’s voice whispering to me was so similar to my senior’s that I doubted whether they were actually the same person. Is this also a joke from my senior…?

A senior would never pull a prank like this, but it was a situation that made me want to believe it was a prank.