Ch.71071 – Walking into Hell 3

# 071 – Walking into Hell # 3

Woong, woong-.

The woman swaying widely from side to side kept time with her mouth.

“Tick-tock, tick-tock.”

It was an extremely strange and bizarre sight.

Even for me, who had encountered many ghosts, it made no sense at all.

Why on earth?

Why on earth was she doing something like that?

The Rhythm Ghost.

That’s the name I gave to the ghost in this music room.

Fortunately, the Rhythm Ghost merely hung in mid-air, swaying side to side while making ticking sounds.

But I thought it would be dangerous to let my guard down.

Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-.

Soon, an extremely busy and chilling presence passed by the music room.

Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-.

The presence disappeared after about 10 seconds.

I was finally able to gather my wits.

The identity of that large presence that passed through the corridor.

It was…

“It was dancing…”

The Dancing Ghost.

A ghost that stomped its feet violently while chaotically waving its arms in all directions.

I couldn’t understand why it would behave that way.

“Tick-tock… tick-tock… tick-tock… tick… tock…”

That’s when it happened.

The sound of the ghost keeping time with its mouth gradually diminished.

Wondering what was happening, I noticed that the amplitude and interval of the pendulum-like swinging from side to side had significantly decreased compared to before.

If this continues, the swinging will stop.

And… whether it was just a feeling or a warning from what might be called instinct or intuition, I felt that if that swinging stopped, something very bad would happen to me.

“Fuck.”

I cursed, pretending to be tough to gather courage, and left the music room.

I need to get out of here!

“…paper crane…”

Where the hell is the paper crane!

While I had been hiding in the music room, I desperately looked around for the paper crane that might have flown somewhere.

But I couldn’t see it.

“You paper crane bastard! Did you go too fast?!”

I thought the paper crane’s speed was slow.

I didn’t expect it to disappear so quickly while I was hiding in the music room.

Boom-!

Just then, a large, dull sound came from the music room I had just left.

It sounded similar to ‘something of human weight that had been hanging high up falling to the floor.’

I don’t know why I made such a specific guess.

I didn’t want to know either… but what mattered was that the music room door had opened.

Creak-.

Soon, someone’s head poked out from the music room.

Just the head.

The face, with its head slightly tilted to the left, peeking out, met my eyes.

It was the Rhythm Ghost.

“Hello?”

The ghost with bloodshot eyes spoke to me.

Can we communicate…? I suddenly thought of Gu Hyena. After we could talk, Gu Hyena became a little less scary.

Like that, if this was a ghost I could talk to… maybe it would be a little less frightening-.

“Hello?”

The Rhythm Ghost greeted me again.

How should I… here…

“H-hello?”

Hiss-.

The Rhythm Ghost smiled at my response.

Soon, the ghost’s face came closer as if approaching me.

The neck, which must have been at least a meter long, looked so horrifying that I felt dizzy.

“Hello? Hello? Hello? Hello? Hello?”

“F-fuck this.”

Thinking it could communicate was a mistake!

I could tell that this wasn’t conversation but sounds made to lure in prey, so I turned my head and chose to run.

“Fuuuuck!”

Run!

Run with all your might!

And the Rhythm Ghost followed behind me.

“Hello? Hello? Hahahahahahaha! Hahahahahahahahaha!”

What’s so happy and funny about this!

When I glanced back, the crazed ghost was charging at me with its mouth wide open, looking so harmful and vicious that I thought I might have a heart attack.

Still, running blindly to avoid the ghost helped.

I spotted the flying paper crane!

Spinning around-.

The paper crane was spinning in circles in front of a certain place.

It said “Principal’s Office.”

Hoping the principal’s office would be open, I entered through the door and locked it.

Soon I heard knocking on the principal’s office door.

“Hey! Come out! Teacher isn’t scary at all. Hey. Come out here. Come out here. Teacher will put her tongue in your ear and suck your brain. Not scary at all. Not painful at all.”

The Rhythm Ghost was calling me from outside.

I shouted back at the Rhythm Ghost.

“Fuck off, you bitch!”

“Heeheeheehee! Heeheeheeheeheehee! I memorized your voice! Your voice! Memorized it!”

I wanted to cover my ears.

That’s when I noticed a divine statue in the principal’s office.

It was in the form of a saint hanging on a cross.

However, its neck was missing, just like the statues on other floors.

A talisman attached to the statue.

When I acquired it, I felt much better, and whether it was adrenaline, endorphins, or insulin, I felt confidence surging through my body.

“Come in, you bitches! Come in! You fucking worthless bitches! Come in!”

If I tear this, I can escape.

With that thought, I became as furious as a hero wielding a holy sword.

And I got angry.

Why do I have to go through this?

Why on earth!

“You fucking bitches! Pests causing trouble even after death! Selfish ghost bastards!”

After shouting to my heart’s content, I felt a bit refreshed.

And whether my cursing was effective or there was another reason, the noise of the Rhythm Ghost outside the principal’s office was no longer heard.

It was quiet.

So quiet it was rather frightening.

Let’s escape quickly.

With that thought, just as I was about to tear the talisman, I saw a lamp.

A desk lamp on the table.

Click-.

When I pressed the button, the lamp lit up, brightening the interior of the principal’s office a bit.

I soon made eye contact with a portrait hanging in the principal’s office.

It said “Self-Portrait.”

It was identical to Cheon Daegon’s painting I had seen at the mansion.

“Ugh. Creepy.”

I moved my hand to take down the picture and place it face down on the floor.

When I picked up the frame and put it on the floor, I noticed there was a small safe-like object behind the frame.

It was a safe that opened by pressing numbers, like a door lock.

“This is suspicious as hell.”

Next to the safe, there was writing that looked like someone had written with a highlighter.

“□4□1”

Could this be the password?

It looked like a 4-digit number, but the first and third digits were erased, making it difficult to read.

I could make out that the second and last digits were 4 and 1.

Does this mean I have to try each combination?

How many possibilities would there be…

It would have been nice if Jeongseok were here.

Anyway.

Having the talisman gave me some leeway, so I took a quick look around the principal’s office.

I was curious if there was anything else to farm.

Maybe there’s a hint for the safe’s password.

I don’t know what’s in the safe, but could there be something good?

Then my eyes caught a piece of paper that had fallen on the floor.

Flutter.

“The ticking ghost kept chasing us, and during that escape, Aquaman and Sailor Moon disappeared. I tried to establish a base in this principal’s office with the Queen of Hearts.”

“Creating a base failed. Unlike the first floor, the effect of talismans on this second floor was minimal. No place on this second floor is safe. This place is hell.”

“The Queen of Hearts’ condition got worse. She said the frame in the principal’s office seemed to be staring at her. What is she talking about? There’s no frame in the principal’s office?”

The story on the paper ended there.

There were many concerning points, but the most troubling was the story about the frame.

No frame in the principal’s office?

Then what did I see?

I examined the frame I had dropped on the floor.

My face was reflected in it.

This wasn’t a frame… it was a mirror!

“Aack, fuck!”

I was so startled that I tore the talisman.

In times like this, emergency escape is the way to go!

# # #

“Congratulations! You have safely returned from the Nightmare Corridor!”

“Beginning settlement for 2 survivors, 1 deceased.”

“Ghost encounters: 4 times + 40 P”

“Escaped personnel: 2 people + 200 P”

“Deceased personnel: 1 person + 10 P”

“Item acquisition: Old note (common) + 10 P”

“Nightmare Corridor progress: 35% + 150 P”

“Total: 410 P”

“1 deceased person acquires a quirk.”

“Kwon Suho ◀ Select to check”

“Kwon Suho: ‘Vegetarianism’ – People stand on blood and meat. However, someone can no longer accept that.”

I opened the refrigerator to get some water.

“Aack! You scared me!”

Hissssss-.

The reason I almost wet myself was because two cockroaches as big as my thumb were crawling around the living room.

They were really huge black ones.

Rustle. Rustle rustle rustle.

Rustle rustle.

“Aaaah!”

Two cockroaches at dawn!

This was a disaster and hell!

It was so unfair!

Why am I the only one suffering like this!

“Yeongwon. Son. What’s all this commotion about in the morning?”

Creak-.

Mom opened the door and came out.

6 AM.

Mom frowned at the mess in the living room.

“Hey! What are you doing at dawn! Why is the living room such a mess? All the dishes are broken too.”

“No. I didn’t do it.”

The living room was a mess as if burglars had broken in.

Checking my phone, I learned that there had been a magnitude 6 or higher earthquake in the Gaeryong City area.

Well, strange things happen.

With that thought, I washed up, ate breakfast, and set out for school.

On the way to school.

Unfamiliar sights were visible everywhere, with cracks in the asphalt and tilted utility poles.

Could it be damage from the earthquake that reportedly occurred last night?

Students walking around the streets were all talking about the earthquake.

“It shook so much yesterday.”

“I woke up because my apartment was swaying and haven’t slept since.”

“My whole family woke up and hid under the dining table—”

The earthquake seemed stronger than I thought.

Everyone woke up from their sleep?

I didn’t know because I was in the Nightmare Corridor.

As I was walking, someone called out to me.

“Ah! Yeongwon!”

“…Sojin.”

It was our class president, Jeong Sojin.

“Yeongwon. Yesterday’s earthquake was really something, right? They say it was the largest in Korea since the 20th century?”

“Yeah. I guess so.”

“They say Gaeryong City was the epicenter. Apparently, Gaeryong City shook like a boat floating on water.”

My condition was already bad because of the nightmare and cockroaches, and talking with Jeong Sojin first thing in the morning was torture.

Jeong Sojin continued to chatter.

“I think this earthquake might be due to the water veins said to exist beneath Gaeryong City. Did you know? They say there’s a huge river flowing under Gaeryong City. They say it wasn’t originally suitable for building a city?”

Jeong Sojin is also talking about water veins.

What’s with this sudden interest?

Maybe she became interested in ghosts, urban legends, and occult stories after surviving the corridor.

I arrived at the classroom while listening to Jeong Sojin’s story.

The classroom was also in disarray with overturned desks and chairs.

“Guys! There’s a crack in the playground!”

“Wow!”

“There are cracks in the corridors too!”

The new school building was damaged by the earthquake everywhere.

While the kids were making a fuss, I looked at the old school building visible through the window.

While the school was in chaos from the earthquake, only the old school building remained unchanged, existing like an eyesore.

Tap!

Just then, someone put their hand on my shoulder.

“Hey.”

“Mom, you scared me!”

I was so startled.

When I turned around, Teacher Hong Miri was frowning at me.

She approached silently and scared me again!

“Teacher Hong Miri. What’s the matter?”

“What happened to you last night?”

“……”

I could tell that Hong Miri was trying to test me.

She’s asking if I remember what happened in the corridor.

“Yesterday’s earthquake was really scary, right? I almost wet myself thinking North Korea had launched a missile.”

I talked about the earthquake, pretending not to know anything.

Hong Miri stared at me with narrow eyes and then left without a word.

I thought she seemed suspicious of me.

This is going to be annoying from now on.

Given the situation, I needed to take some action with Teacher Hong Miri within this week.

I did have a plan in mind.