Chapter 25 (2/2): ○○○○ Monster (7)

…

Wait a minute?

Something feels off, doesn’t it?

While sharing my grievances with Elaine, I suddenly stopped speaking, sensing an incongruity in my own words.

…Maybe.

Maybe I’ve been buttoning things wrong all along.

If that’s true, then the entire premise of the incident I’ve been considering would be flipped on its head.

And I might be able to figure out the true nature of this horror story.

Because, in truth, all the pieces of the puzzle are already here.

It settles.

My thoughts are calm.

It feels just like with Uncle Brandon.

That realization that the answer, which had seemed vague and distant, was already in the palm of my hand.

“Mr. Allen? Why do you suddenly look so serious…?”

“Shh. I’m thinking.”

“Again?”

I silenced Elaine’s chattering and closed my eyes.

And then I reasoned.

Yes. Maybe all the necessary information had already been gathered.

I just hadn’t realized it until now.

Why hadn’t I realized it?

Because the first button had been fastened wrong from the start.

Let’s create an error log— grading the test papers of the choices I’ve made across two playthroughs.

First, the first error log.

The very attempt to subdue Mucia was a mistake from the beginning.

The structure of this horror story isn’t meant to be resolved by overpowering the attacker.

Because even if you subdue the assailant, what follows is just another wave— bigger and more overwhelming.

Stop a delinquent, and a criminal comes. 

Stop the criminal, and a terrorist appears. 

And if you even stop them, an alien lifeform follows.

That’s the rule of this horror story.

From that perspective, whether I tried to secure Mucia before or after the academy was attacked makes little difference.

The first horror story I faced, the endless loop, and the second one, Uncle Brandon— both were ultimately resolved through force, so I assumed this one would be the same. 

That was my mistake.

In truth, I’d just been lucky enough to encounter horror stories that could be resolved physically. 

Maybe physical solutions were never the best answer to begin with— just a second-rate alternative.

That was the first correct answer.

Second mistake log.

What could be the original urban legend that inspired this horror story?

According to Elaine, she had never heard of any urban legend about terrorists attacking the academy.

Naturally, by the same logic, she also didn’t know of any urban legend about aliens attacking the academy.

Why doesn’t she know?

It’s not really my place to say, since I don’t know anything about Hypnia’s urban legends either, but if it were that distinctive of a legend, it wouldn’t be easy to remain unaware of it.

Yet, not only me, but even Elaine has no memory of ever hearing about it.

The answer is simple.

Such an urban legend never existed in the first place.

Let’s think again.

The infinite loop urban legend where the first day of the academy repeats endlessly.

Was that an urban legend with an original source?

No.

The infinite loop legend wasn’t an urban legend created through word-of-mouth transmission between people.

It was born from just one person.

Just one person’s intense wish, corrupted and twisted by something incomprehensible called the “grotesque,” transforming into an extremely personal urban legend.

It was fundamentally different from Uncle Brandon’s case.

Correct answer.

From the very beginning, urban legends existed in two categories.

One is the kind passed down orally among an unspecified number of people, gaining vitality and existing as a complete urban legend from the start.

The other is a wish born from the strong desire of a specific person, distorted by the grotesque and transformed into an urban legend.

Having experienced the infinite loop urban legend, I should have realized this sooner. 

But after being entangled with Uncle Brandon’s urban legend, I formed preconceptions based on incomplete experience.

Since there was no original legend to begin with, no matter how hard I searched for it, an answer was never going to appear.

In that sense, I had been buttoning the first button wrong all along.

Finally, the third mistake log.

Is the essence of this urban legend really about the academy being attacked?

I kept focusing on the keyword “attack” while trapped in the situation of the academy being assaulted, but could this also be my mistaken preconception?

If this urban legend manifested from someone’s wish, then this situation must also stem from someone’s desire. 

But would that person truly have wished for the academy to be attacked?

Such a person might exist, but isn’t there another way to look at it?

Let’s shift the perspective.

The academy is attacked.

The attackers are defeated.

The next attackers assault the academy.

I take down the intruder once again.

…By reversing my perspective.

That’s right. 

By reversing my perspective, the meaning of this ghost story flips 180 degrees.

The true nature of this ghost story isn’t about attacking the academy— it’s about taking down the attacker.

No, to be precise, it’s about saving the academy from an attack.

Saving the academy from terrorists, criminals, and delinquents who assault it.

If that’s the case, isn’t it an all-too-common trope?

The kind of fantasy anyone who’s ever been a student might have indulged in at least once— saving the school from terrorists who attack it.

That childish, embarrassing fantasy is the true identity of this ghost story.

That was the final answer.

…And when I recalled the memories from the previous two loops, the person who would harbor such a wish was already determined.

So then, the conclusion is…

Having finished organizing my notes, I quietly opened my eyes.

“From the very beginning, I was barking up the wrong tree in too many places. Because of that, I made way too many pointless mistakes.”

“Does that mean you’ve figured out the true nature of this ghost story?! What kind of ghost story is it?”

“Heh. Even if I told you, you wouldn’t get it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? I may not go around bragging about it, but for your information, secretly collecting ghost stories is actually a little hobby of mine, you know?”

Elaine seemed to take my words as belittling her and retorted with clear dissatisfaction.

“Calm down first. I didn’t mean it in a way that looks down on you. I genuinely meant that this is a ghost story you wouldn’t know about. I’ll share my reasoning with you.”

I explained to Elaine the true nature of the ghost story as I had deduced it.

“…Admittedly, the idea that the ghost story might not have an original source is shocking, but if you think about it that way, both the nature of this ghost story and your reasoning fit together perfectly.”

Though she seemed deeply surprised by my explanation, she quickly understood and accepted it.

“So, figuring out the ghost story’s identity is good and all, but the important thing is the solution, right? Do you have a way to deal with this ghost story?”

“Of course. It just so happens I’ve been thinking of a similar plan, so you could say it worked out well.”

“So you still haven’t reached a solution yet… Huh?”

“I said there’s a way to handle it. I have the cleanest method to resolve this situation.”

No— in fact, the ghost story was already as good as resolved.

The crucial part of this ghost story was uncovering its true nature. 

Once that was revealed, the solution was laughably simple.

And so, I told her the solution I had come up with.

Strangely, upon hearing my plan, Elaine seemed oddly displeased and reacted as if deeply offended.

.

.

.

“…With this, we will conclude the first lecture of the introductory course on Gifts.”

The third first lecture had ended.

It sounded strange, but that was the reality.

How many more times would I have to repeat this regression to the second day…?

Sigh…

I let out a sigh and tidied up the lecture materials, glancing at Elaine.

She, too, was finishing up her lecture, but unlike usual, she seemed visibly displeased, refusing to even meet my eyes.

Looks like getting Elaine’s help will be difficult.

…Well, what I’m about to do next is something I can handle alone anyway.

I waited as the students filed out one by one, then approached the girl still lingering in the classroom.

“Miss Rone. Do you have a moment to talk?”

“Ah, Professor Allen? Wh-what is it?”

Rone Justia.

Come to think of it, in every academy attack incident, she was always there— just as much as Mucia.

Whenever the academy was attacked, she stepped forward to repel the assault and always emerged victorious.

As if the attacks were staged solely to elevate her.

And in truth, that’s exactly what they were— performances meant for her.

Rone claimed she acted out of justice, but that was nothing more than a facade to embellish herself.

A model student like her wouldn’t be so easy to read otherwise.

Her true desire was to seize every opportunity to showcase her abilities in an environment where her physical enhancement Gift could shine.

Whether during lectures or when hunting down Scar together, she subtly fixated on standing out. 

I should have realized it sooner.

That was her true wish.

The longing to be more than just another face in the crowd— Student A among the countless students of the academy.

The desire to be someone special, recognized and admired by others.

A hope for the new life at the academy, mixed with the fear and anxiety of being overshadowed in an institution that gathered the brightest talents from across the Hippnea continent.

Anyone placed in such an environment would naturally yearn for a stage meant solely for them— a chance to prove they weren’t lacking, even among the world’s elite.

A hero complex. 

A craving for recognition.

If I were to name this urban legend… yeah, it’d be something like the Recognition-Seeking Monster.

That’s why targeting puppets like Mucia was meaningless in dispelling this legend.

The real key wasn’t the expendable Mac Guffin swept up in the legend— it was Rone Justia herself.

“Do you have a moment?”

“…What is this about?”

As I spoke to her, I glanced at the translucent window hovering before my eyes.

[Rone Justia]

[Classification: Human / Female / Student]

[Gift: ???]

[Traits: Having just enrolled in the academy, she is brimming with excitement for her new life here. However, behind her ever-confident demeanor lies a fear—that she might simply fade into the background in an institution that gathers the continent’s finest talents.]

At the same time, another window overlapped with hers, appearing before me.

[Name: Recognition- Seeking Monster]

[Classification: Urban Legend]

[Gift: ── ]

[Traits: An urban legend born from Rone Justia’s desires. A distorted manifestation of her wish to be acknowledged and become someone special. It warps and overwrites reality to ensure she stands out and gains recognition.]