GSGW c215
Chapter 215
The Security Team members raised their eyes.
In the dark pantry.
From beneath the shadows, they emerged through their transport device—and their eyes met the sales agent, who had collapsed on the floor and was holding his breath.
“A child—… no.”
The one wearing an animal mask drawn like something by a child, a badger, steadied the agitation rising within him.
Soon, a calm and businesslike voice followed.
“Employee of Sales Team 4.”
“Identity confirmed. We will now begin calculating the service fee.”
The agent swallowed.
Their entire bodies were wrapped in black specialized suits. Their faces were hidden, and they carried all kinds of strange equipment.
Despite how clearly supernatural and specialized they appeared, the agent still felt a moment of relief.
Of course, in the next moment, fear flooded back as he remembered the incomprehensible situation he was in.
“Um… s-so what should I do now…?”
While nervously darting his eyes around, trying to grasp the situation, something caught the agent’s attention.
Another Security Team member had emerged behind them. In his hand was a black transport cage.
A metal cage that looked like it was meant for capturing animals.
…Wait.
“S-so you’re not planning to put me in that and carry me out, are you…?”
“No. Of course not.”
The badger gently stroked the cage.
The agent felt relief for a moment.
“There’s already someone inside.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Don’t think too deeply about it.”
Watching the sales agent—who looked completely out of his mind from trying to process the situation—the badger smiled bitterly to himself.
And then—
“A bit cramped…”
J3, who was holding the cage with one hand, seemed largely uninterested in the situation itself.
Of course, it had been a very long time since he had come out on a “job” wearing something other than a guard uniform.
Though calling it coming out was questionable, considering how cramped the place they were in was.
Meanwhile, the badger displayed an absurd level of kindness for a Security Team member, formally announcing in a professional tone:
“We have confirmed the details of your request. We will now begin the—”
“Who is it?”
“Who's there?”
“…!”
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap.
From the door came a sound like raindrops hitting wood, grinding at the nerves.
It was fingernails.
Ten fingertips scratching against the door.
“There’s someone else.”
“There’s another one.”
The voices whispered as if gasping for breath.
The sound was incredibly close.
Because they were whispering with their heads pressed into the crack of the door.
“Too late.”
“Too late.”
The couple were peering inside.
Inside the door they themselves had locked.
The sales agent froze, feeling as though even the roots of his hair had turned to ice.
But then…
“Do you think they’re human?”
“Who knows…”
The astonishingly calm conversation of the Security Team sounded right beside him.
“Maybe… they used to be.”
J3 instinctively reached up to adjust the cap of his guard uniform, then realized he wasn’t wearing it. Instead, he adjusted his mask.
Something like the faded eyes of a beast glimmered above it.
Then he carefully set the cage he had been carrying down on the pantry floor.
Right beside the sales Agent.
“Hey… think you can wait here for a bit?”
“Y-yes…?”
But that question wasn’t directed at the sales Agent.
“…Are you okay?”
…tap.
The metal bars of the black transport cage rattled softly.
As if the animal inside were responding.
“I’ll… be back soon. So… wait here…”
Tap.
Another response came from inside.
J3 lightly touched the cage, then stood up.
“Hey… if you don’t want to get hurt… stay close to this… over here…”
This time, he was definitely speaking to the sales agent.
“And whatever you do… don’t treat it carelessly.”
“….”
The agent swallowed and nodded. Then he moved closer to the black cage.
Instinctively, he understood that this was some kind of protective measure.
…A strange chill seeped from the cage.
“Then we’ll begin.”
Leaving the agent behind, the two Security Team members stepped up to the pantry door and forced it open.
“…!!”
Their bodies blocked the view outside, but the sound of rain suddenly grew louder. The agent curled up as small as possible. He caught a glimpse of the Security Team members stepping outside…
Then the door closed again, and the rain quieted.
Thud.
……
Riiiip— Riiiip— Rip.
A loud tearing sound began echoing outside.
Without realizing it, the Agent clutched the cage tightly—trying not to imagine what was happening out there.
The coldness from the cage kept his mind from spiraling.
Inside the cage, something like strange smoke seemed to slowly writhe and rise…
After a moment that felt unbearably long—
Thud.
“…!”
The violent noise stopped. The rain had also gone quiet.
The door opened.
And there they were—the two Security Team members—standing calmly, checking their equipment as if nothing had happened.
“Target subdued.”
“…!”
They’re fine.
A faint hope flickered in the agent’s heart, even as his legs nearly gave out.
Then… does that mean we can leave now? He stood and looked out through the doorway.
And finally understood what they meant by “subdued.”
“—!”
He barely managed to swallow his scream.
“P-please… spare us. Please… spare—hgh…”
“Answer… the question first.”
Suddenly—
tears streamed down the couple’s faces.
“……!”
“The child… the child is in the bathroom.”
“She’s a pitiful child. Please help her…”
“You’re trapped here now too. It’s too late… please help…”
“……”
The Security Team member—addressed as “Captain”—watched them silently.
“What’s upstairs?”
“There’s something evil up there. Don’t go. No—just run away from here.”
“You might still be able to escape. Somehow… get outside…”
“Hmm…”
As if thinking it over, the Security Team member slowly raised his hand toward them.
And the next moment—
“…That’s enough.”
Crack.
With a sharp, unmistakable sound, the couple’s necks snapped.
The thin Security Team member had grabbed each of their necks with one hand and twisted them backward with grotesque strength—shattering the bones.
Casually.
……
They… killed them?
“Oh, it seems you’ve already confirmed everything you needed.”
“Mm.”
“Understood. …Caller, everything should be fine now. Just hand over what you’re holding.”
His hands trembled.
Something was wrong.
That wasn’t something a human being could do…
“Caller?”
The agent forced himself to lower his gaze to his hands.
He was holding the sheet torn from the sketchbook.
And on it, new words had appeared.
I’m scared
Really.
Monsters
Suddenly—
the Agent turned his head.
To the place right beside the pantry.
The answer the paper had kindly shown him from the very beginning.
…The place even the dead couple had mentioned.
The bathroom bathtub
The bathroom.
The Agent started running—
“That won’t work.”
“…!!”
Something grabbed his head.
Gasping for air, the agent looked up at the grotesque, massive figure clutching his face and blocking his vision.
A beast’s forepaw–covered in countless claws.
“Stay… still…”
The Agent blinked. The terror of death froze him solid.
I’m going to die.
“Sir, relax your grip. Follow the rules my colleague is explaining. That’s how you become a perfect client.”
The strength drained from his hands. The sheet of sketchbook paper slipped free.
No.
“Shall we read it…?”
“No. If I read it, I’ll get contaminated. Later…”
The Agent rolled his eyes—the only part of his body he could still move. I have to run. I have to escape somewhere. The front door, the living room, upstairs, a window—
'Ah.'
That's right.
The window.
Why hadn’t he thought of that before? If the front door was dangerous, he could just go through the window. He had to escape. Right now.
The agent struggled, trying to crawl toward the window. Every attempt to kick or shove away the beast’s claw with his nails failed. But he couldn’t give up.
“If you go there… you’ll die.”
……
Huh?
“Stay… still…”
“I-I'll die…? W-why…?”
“Hmm. Because you’d be getting… closer to the cause…?”
The cause?
The agent turned his head.
“You should remember. You told us yourself when you made the call.”
What?
“When you reported the situation. You said… this house sometimes felt strange.”
“……”
The agent stopped moving.
Then he remembered something he had shouted desperately into the pager when begging for help.
Something his superior had said before.
“Rain…”
-On rainy days, that house feels a little off.
The agent looked toward the window.
Outside, rain was still falling steadily.
……
“Rainy days… yeah…”
The slow, unmotivated voice crept eerily into his ears.
“If you open a black umbrella inside the house while it’s still wet, something comes in… If you leave wet shoes upside down, ghosts wear them…”
“Captain, really?”
“No…”
The Security Captain looked at the badger with dull, lightless eyes before continuing slowly.
“Most of the time… it’s just rumors…”
“Ah.”
“But sometimes… those rumors… are what create things…”
Darkness.
The agent—who had once worked as a Field Investigation Team Supervisor—understands the unspoken word the captain hadn’t bothered to say.
But the explanation wasn’t finished yet.
“And there’s another story like that…”
“….”
“You know the one. When you’re holding an umbrella on a rainy day… and from beyond it… an unknown whisper starts talking to you… Don’t answer.”
……
“Because it’s not a person.”
The agent met the Security Captain’s eyes.
“Hey… didn’t someone keep talking to you earlier?”
At that moment—
“Supervisor Lee?”
The agent froze.
“Supervisor Lee, are you there?”
A familiar voice from the entrance.
Knock knock knock.
Someone was knocking on the door.
“Supervisor Lee, open the door for a second. What on earth happened here?”
It was—
“Why aren’t you coming out?”
His dead superior’s voice.
Knock knock knock knock.
The body of the superior that had been lying in the entrance hallway—his neck twisted—was gone.
Instead, beyond the sound of rain, someone was knocking on the front door.
With the superior’s voice.
“Open this up. You need to come out too.”
All strength drained from the Agent’s body.
The Security Captain released his grip on the Agent’s head. With a thud, the agent collapsed onto the floor, his face full of confusion.
'Wow…'
Watching him, the badger felt genuine admiration.
He had just realized how knowledgeable the captain was about darkness investigations, hidden behind that lazy tone of voice.
It was the kind of insight someone like that clever rookie from Team D might have developed if they’d spent a few more years in the Field Investigation Team…
…Then again, both of them were already Security Team members now. The thought was pointless. Realizing he had almost entertained an impolite thought, the badger swallowed it down.
Meanwhile, the sounds multiplied several times over.
“Someone’s here! There’s a person here. Are you alright?”
“Oh dear, this old man fell over… could you help me up?”
“Wait… the grandmother who lived here passed away years ago… don’t listen to it! Something’s wrong!”
From upstairs, from the master bedroom, from the side door of the kitchen—voices echoed from everywhere. It was as if everyone who had ever lived in the house had suddenly woken up after the blackout.
They were getting closer.
Along with the rain.
“Where are you?”
“…! Don’t answer the voice coming from upstairs. There’s no one up there right now!”
“Be careful. I think there’s something strange here…”
Footsteps.
And then—
“Ah. The door opened.”
……
“I’m coming in. Where are you?”
Even the dead superior.
“…Hk.”
What is this? What’s the right answer?
Which one of them… is the monster?
The sales agent tried to review everything he had heard, desperately attempting to figure out what was real—but the badger grabbed him.
“Ah!”
“Calm down. It’s oka— Captain?”
In a situation where anyone’s heart should have been racing with terror, the Security Captain calmly bent his knee and leaned his head close to the cage.
He spoke into the bars.
“What do you think…? Does it seem right…?”
Tap.
“Hmm. Then… should I do it…?”
Tap tap.
“…Still.”
Tap tap.
“….”
Touching his mask, the captain reluctantly stepped aside.
One tap meant yes. Two taps meant no.
Watching that agreed-upon signal, the badger smiled bitterly beneath his concealed face.
Some things never changed.
“…Then we’ll open it.”
The badger approached the cage and unlocked it.
Clank.
The metal bars dropped, and the cage door opened.
Smoke spilled across the floor.
And from the hollow darkness inside the cage—a leg stepped out.
“…!”
A black leg wearing a heavy combat boot.
He knew it wore the same uniform as the other Security Team members, but the figure emerging from the cage—walking out through thick black smoke—looked like something horned and unnatural.
A tall man. Far too large to have been stuffed into that cage.
“U-uh… uh…”
The trembling sales agent met yellow eyes.
Recommendation: Do not stare.
▶ Lower your head
▶ Close your eyes
The agent hurriedly lowered his gaze.
Instinct overriding panic.
'Don’t keep looking.'
Cold sweat ran down the back of his neck.
But the letters formed from smoke continued to follow him.
Recommendation: Do not stare.
▶ Lower your head ✔ Correct
▶ Close your eyes
Almost as if praising him.
And then—
the same tearing sounds from earlier erupted all around them.
RIIIIIP!
The sounds of tearing flesh, bursting fluid, crying—
The Security Team was subduing the approaching things.
How are they telling them apart…?
Humans and monsters.
Or…
'Maybe they aren’t distinguishing at all.'
The agent curled in on himself. His heart pounded so hard it felt like it might burst.
Then the smoky letters changed.
As if responding to his thoughts.
Choose the dangerous one.
▶ The couple
▶ The sketchbook paper
You want me to choose?
The Agent reflexively shouted:
“Th-the couple!”
Just look at those things rushing toward them, talking like mad—ghosts or whatever they were. That couple had definitely been ghosts too!
▶ The couple ✔ Correct
I knew it.
Maybe anything that spoke in a human voice was dangerous? Was that the rule?
'The couple were dangerous, so we shouldn’t fear the ones subduing them…'
Maybe that was the message.
It made sense. Regaining a small bit of reason, the Agent remembered what he should do.
'I was panicking… they were trying to calm me down.'
At the very least, these beings were something you could talk to rationally.
If the Security Team had truly come to rescue him, then maybe he should explain more about the other possible presence in the house—the “younger child.”
The one hinted at earlier.
The Agent swallowed and spoke.
“Th-the sketchbook paper…”
At that moment—
▶ The sketchbook paper ✔ Correct
“….”
Huh?
He looked again but nothing changed.
Choose the dangerous one.
▶ The couple ✔ Correct
▶ The sketchbook paper ✔ Correct
So that meant—
“Dangerous…”
Both of them.
“…Why?”
The same thing.
The agent, who had been mulling over the meaning, had his mouth slowly fall open.
“Then what was I supposed to believe? I mean… what was I supposed to trust?”
Nothing.
“….”
On rainy days,
when unfamiliar voices speak to you,
do not respond carelessly.
Ah.
Recommendation: Do not stare — ended
The agent raised his head.
But the black-clad man was already gone.
“….”
Only a thin strand of black smoke remained—continuing the conversation with him.
Like distracting a child before giving an injection. Diverting attention somewhere else.
Preventing sudden panic.
“….”
The tearing sounds had stopped. All around them were bodies fixed in place, like the couple—restrained by the Security Team.
The darkness made it impossible to see clearly, which was a small mercy.
And the smoke.
The Agent watched blankly as the smoke that had been talking to him was drawn away.
It drifted down the hallway toward a place beside the pantry where they had been hiding.
Now the only noise in the house came from there.
The bathroom.
From inside it, terrible screams erupted one after another.
***
I looked at the bathtub in front of me.
Inside it, rainwater echoed and filled the tub.
A clear, deep pool meant to swallow and absorb victims lured in by its whispers.
Text scratched itself across my mind.
==========================
[Rainwater Echo]
A modern adaptation of the superstition that whispers heard on rainy days are the calls of ghosts. An ability attributed to the Church of the Luminous Unknown. Affiliated sect: Mimic Sect.
On rainy days, it targets victims who approach the rainwater pool. It imitates the voices and appearances of previous victims to lure new prey.
It also expands the concept of “speaking” in chilling ways—letters, notes, drawings, and other forms of communication.
Though structured like a dilemma-type urban legend forcing victims to choose whom to believe, in reality every option leads to ruin, mocking the victim.
A twist that exploits the human belief that choosing the correct answer will save them.
==========================
However…
This urban legend was deleted from wiki registration due to the following:
1. Insufficient connection to the affiliated organization (Church of the Luminous Unknown).
2. A similar urban legend already registered under supernatural disaster classifications.
An unregistered urban legend—discarded before it could ever appear on the wiki.
And my job… is to register it with Daydream Inc.
I looked down at the rainwater inside the bathtub.
……
Is it really okay to do that?
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