Chapter 16: Uncle Brandon (6)

Leaving Elaine behind, looking dazed and unable to follow the conversation, I strode forward without hesitation.

The place I arrived at was the faculty office— the same one I had used during both the first and second attempts to gather the teachers for a charge.

“W-wait, Professor? You’re not thinking of gathering a bunch of people to charge in again, are you? Personally, I think that method is…”

“No. This time is different. But it’s similar.”

“…Huh?”

“You’ll understand when you see it. Just watch.”

After entering the faculty office, I spoke to Lydia.

“Ah, Professor Lydia. Could you spare a moment to help me?”

“Oh! Of course! What do you need? I’ll do my best to assist however I can!”

“Haha, it’s nothing that serious. I’m just a new professor who’s just started at the academy, so I wanted to make a good impression by offering a small snack to the other professors as a gesture of goodwill.”

“Huh? Oh, no, there’s no need to go that far…!”

“Heheh. Too late. I already placed an order at the store yesterday.”

“Oh no, you really didn’t have to… You just started, so money must be tight—ah, no, I suppose that’s not the case. But if you’ve already ordered the snacks, what help do you need from me?”

“Well, it’s just that with so many people, even something like bread would be hard to carry alone. Would you mind coming with me to the store to help bring them back?”

“Of course! I’d be happy to help with that.”

Naturally, she didn’t refuse.

Just like during the first attempt when I was targeting Brandon, and again during the second attempt, she always trusted me without question.

She really is a good person.

And then—

“I-I’ll go too! If it’s about carrying things, wouldn’t it be better for me to do it than Professor Lydia?”

“Ah, the P.E. professor. Thank you.”

I smiled faintly as the P.E. professor stepped forward to volunteer.

Truthfully, the one I was really targeting was him.

Over multiple regressions, I’d noticed that the P.E. professor always wanted to impress Lydia.

So if I created a situation where Lydia and I were going out alone, it was only natural he’d follow.

On top of that, I asked a few other professors who looked physically capable for help.

Naturally, no one refused when it was for snacks they’d be eating themselves.

With this, the necessary preparations were mostly complete.

.

.

.

On the way to the snack bar, Elaine marveled at my thorough preparation and asked,

“Mr. Allen. When did you reserve something like that at the snack bar?”

“Obviously, I was lying. When would I have time for that?”

“…What? No, more importantly, can we just go like this? Shouldn’t we warn them about Mr. Brandon first?”

At my words, she stared at me for a moment as if dumbfounded, then quickly changed the subject and asked seriously,

“No. There’s no need. In fact, it’s better this way.”

“That’s what you just realized, right? Explain it to me too!”

“Why do you think they’re called ‘ghost stories’ and not ‘monsters’?”

I shared the insight I had gained through contemplation and what she needed to do.

“Mr. Brandon— no, all ghost stories grow stronger the more people are aware of them.”

[All ghost stories gain power through human recognition. The more people who are aware of a ghost story, the more powerful it becomes.]

As if confirming the validity of my thoughts, a message appeared before my eyes.

Ghost stories are things passed between people. And the more widely known they become, the more vitality they gain.

Eventually, once a ghost story spreads to a certain number of people, it breaks free from its original constraints as a mere tale and transcends into a separate entity beyond its source— like a pupa tearing through its cocoon and emerging as something new.

That was the true identity of the enhanced Mr. Brandon we had witnessed in the past two attempts.

Though she couldn’t hide her surprise at the facts I had uncovered, being a sharp student, she quickly grasped my intent and nodded.

The path to the snack bar was short, so we arrived in no time while talking.

Ding- dong— Ding- dong—

Since it was still early, the snack bar was free of the thick scent of blood or the groans of students.

“Hellooooo… Welcome to Brandon’s Delicious Bakeryyyyy…”

But the sight of Mr. Brandon greeting us at the counter was horrifying, making the atmosphere far from peaceful.

“Mmm. The smell of bread. It’s always nice whenever I visit.”

“Haha. I was just thinking the same thing, Ms. Lydia.”

Yet, the moment we stepped inside, the other teachers, affected by cognitive distortion, remained oblivious to the strangeness and casually looked around the snack bar.

And without hesitation, I walked straight up to Mr. Brandon, acting as if I knew nothing about him.

“Hello. I’m here to pick up the bread I ordered yesterday.”

“I’m sorrrryyy… Customer… Our main branch has changed bakers as of todaaayyy…”

“What? What are you talking about? I never heard about that. Stop joking around and just give me the bread I reserved.”

I deliberately provoked him.

To make Mr. Brandon lash out.

“At our main branchhh… we only make red cookies and white candiesss… How about trying one of theeeese…”

“Are you messing with me right now? I never ordered any red cookies or white candies.”

I deliberately put on an annoyed expression, my nerves on edge.

This was the hardest part.

I had to be ready to leap back at any moment.

“But Brandon’s Delicious Bakery only has red cookies and white candiesss… Please choose one of the twooo…”

“Do you think you can mess with me because I look easy? Do you know who I am? One word from me, and your shop shuts down in an instant. Got it? Just because I’m telling you to wait, you think you can— some lowly baker— what kind of stupid names are ‘red cookies’ anyway—”

“I’ll Kill You!!!”

Now!

The moment Mr. Brandon snapped, I immediately threw myself backward.

Ssskrt!

But even that wasn’t enough— Mr. Brandon’s claws tore through my chest, scraping off a chunk of skin as they passed.

“Gahhk!”

It burns.

It hurts like hell.

But this actually worked out well.

“Kyaaah! Ah, Mr. Allen!”

“What are you doing?! Mr. Allen might have spoken harshly, but this is going too far!”

This much blood should make it feel realistic.

Seeing me drenched in blood from my chest, Lydia immediately rushed to support me, while the gym teacher, on the other hand, restrained Brandon, who was trying to lunge at me.

“That baker seems out of his mind! Mr. Allen was just trying to pick up his reserved bread, but the baker suddenly attacked him like a madman. We need to stop him now!”

Just as we had planned, Elaine delivered her lines with a convincingly frantic and tearful performance.

Soon, the gym teacher began grappling with Brandon, who was struggling violently.

“Hey, you! Calm down! Damn it! Why are you so strong?!”

“Stay still! This guy’s ridiculously strong!”

“I get that you’re angry, but you need to calm down!”

Other teachers soon joined in, trying to subdue Brandon.

The scene was eerily similar to the first strategy I had attempted.

But this time, there were no signs of Brandon powering up.

That was because of Brandon’s perception-hindering ability.

Despite his grotesque appearance, Brandon possessed an ability that made people perceive him as just an ordinary baker.

But that was all his ability did.

It made people mistake him for a normal baker, but it didn’t turn them into puppets forced to obey his will.

The key selling point of the Brandon urban legend was irrational choices and dilemmas.

So, forcibly turning victims into puppets and killing them would hold no meaning within the legend.

The fact that I had been able to casually chat with Brandon before Elaine snapped me out of it was proof of that.

We were exploiting that weakness.

Urban legends grow stronger by feeding on people’s recognition.

So, what if we kept people from recognizing him as an urban legend while they fought him?

Right now, the teachers weren’t fighting the urban legend Brandon.

They were just trying to calm down a baker with anger issues who had snapped at a rude customer.

All that was left was to finish it.

For now, since the perception hindrance was still in effect, there were no signs of Brandon powering up.

But if anyone realized the truth and recognized him for what he really was, all our efforts would be wasted.

Especially since the teachers still saw Brandon as just a normal baker— meaning the chance of them destroying him was effectively zero.

I needed to hurry to the kitchen and finish this myself…

That’s when it happened.

Stab!

“Die!”

Elaine, who had somehow slipped into the kitchen unnoticed, reappeared wielding a kitchen knife and mercilessly stabbed Brandon in the back as he struggled with the teachers.

“…”

“…”

“…”

Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab!

“Guhh…”

With each thrust of her knife, bright red blood splattered, and soon the shop was drenched in a sea of crimson.

The gym teacher, Lydia, and the other teachers who had been trying to restrain Brandon all fell silent, stunned.

The only sound that echoed in the quiet was the wet slicing of Elaine’s knife.

Thud.

Before anyone could stop her, Elaine had butchered Brandon in a surprise attack.

After experiencing a rather barbaric and creative form of a C-section, Brandon collapsed weakly to the floor.

And then, just like the monster that had been the source of the infinite loop urban legend, he slowly began to melt away.

“Phew. One down, right?”

Wiping the sweat from her brow with a bloodstained hand, Elaine flashed a refreshing smile and asked.