GDCG c286

Previous chapter

Next chapter

 

Chapter 286

[Ding-dong-daeng-dong]

I opened my eyes.

“Where is this?”

“Excuse me, what is going on…?”

Familiar murmuring.

People who had suddenly been dragged into a ghost story were talking in confusion and tension.

A classroom in the dead of night with the lights off. And…

“Gahhk! You scared me!”

“Is that a doll?”

A student of Segwang Technical High School sat motionlessly in one corner of the classroom.

The tragedy that would soon unfold.

"......."

Complicated emotions surged through me, but I could not let myself drown in them.

I looked down at my hands.

Thankfully, they were human hands. My own hands, dressed in the familiar old high school uniform.

‘As expected.’

Since Segwang Technical High School was also located inside the Special City, I had expected to manifest in human form here as well.

After several grueling days of trying to force the sleepless body of 130666 to be judged as “asleep,” trying to make myself lose consciousness—

I had finally succeeded.

Succeeded in waking up inside this nightmare of a school.

“Uh…?”

But there was no time to waste.

I immediately opened the front door and ran out into the hallway.

“Let’s go.”

At the same moment, two agents who had burst out from other classrooms after regaining consciousness met my eyes.

Second floor.

We had all appeared on the same level.

‘Good.’

That would make this faster.

“Excuse me! Do you know something about—”

Ignoring the others calling out to us, we ran.

Agent Choi looked like he was practically gritting his teeth as he forced himself not to react.

—Agent, when entering, you’re supposed to write your name behind the school photo…

—I’ll handle that myself.

And true to his word, Agent Choi was here.

Wearing a dark blue high school uniform, his neck and hands were clean without a single scar, enough to create a strange sense of dissonance.

But what we had to do was clear.

—We need to move as much as possible before the students can act, before the game begins.

We sprinted toward the stairs.

We had to move before the employees of Daydream Inc. and the other agents who had entered at random locations.

‘To the third floor.’

And when we had climbed about halfway up the stairs—

[Students, for heating and safety purposes, the automatic curtains will now close and the lights will turn on.]

The lights began to come on.

Whoosh.

Right before darkness rushed in, Agent Bronze pulled a flashlight from his chest pocket and fastened it to his forearm with a cable tie. Agent Choi performed a similar motion while staring toward the third floor.

But neither of them turned on their flashlights.

Because—

Thump.

I was about to release contamination by pressing the tattoo over my heart.

"...!"

In an instant, the identity of Segwang Technical High School flooded into me and swallowed me whole.

A student wearing an old uniform.

A transfer student from Class 1-5 who had borrowed a uniform from Lee Gyeol.

At the same time, the agents beside me—

₩ud3ec₩ub3c4₩uc57c₩u002c₩u0020₩ub4e4₩ub9ac₩uc9c0₩u003f

Their forms could no longer be recognized.

Now, in their place, stood grotesque monsters spitting glitches—things unpleasant and wrong, things that deserved to be erased. Nothing but melting pixel errors remained. Horrible things that emitted ear-splitting, unnatural sounds.

Intruders.

I had to destroy them immediately. I reached out toward those slow, dreadful things…

And barely—

Managed to hold them gently instead of attacking.

—You must not shine the flashlight on me.

I clenched my teeth.

As promised, I grabbed hold of the “errors that moved as if nearly frozen in place” and ran like mad toward the third floor.

Then—

Blink.

The lights flickered back on, and the errors saw me.

And just like that, I became unable to move.

By the time I could move again, I realized the errors were carrying me.

We had already passed halfway down the third-floor hallway.

‘It worked.’

This was it.

—There’s a way to move quickly without stopping.

A method that ignored the restrictions of the lighting.

‘The student and the errors just have to cooperate.’

When I stopped moving, the agents carried me.

When the agents froze, I moved them.

That way, we could move without being attacked.

—The problem is that whether it’s the people who entered or the students in the school, the moment we get noticed, we’ll immediately become suspicious…

—Grapes. It’ll be fine.

—Pardon?

—From what I heard, that place is already complete chaos. Carrying around one person like you won’t stand out that much.

—…!

—Anyone would think that much was acceptable. …At least until too many civilians started dying.

He was right.

And for the same reason, in the early stages there were simply too many intruders who looked like “errors” from the students’ perspective, scattering their attention.

‘So we have to hurry.’

Before we drew attention.

Dragging the two of them with me, I headed toward the infirmary.

…While deliberately ignoring the dull bursting sounds and shadows of students destroying “errors” inside the rows of classrooms lining the hallway.

And then—

Creak.

I opened the infirmary door. Then closed it again.

"......."

Lee Gyeol was gone.

The bed in the infirmary where we had previously moved that classmate now sat empty, its sheets wrinkled as if someone had only just gotten up.

And there was a single note left behind.

A scrap of paper? Teacher?

As if he himself could not understand the meaning of the note written in his own handwriting.

'.......'

From this point onward, I had to do this properly.

After taking a deep breath, I quickly pulled out some A4 paper from the infirmary and placed it on the floor before beginning to write.

—We’ve arrived. We checked the window too. We can see the backyard.

—Once you’re ready, let’s head down together.

But then the next flicker came almost immediately.

—Grapes.

At the reply that returned, I sucked in a breath.

—We can’t see anything outside the window.

From the errors’ point of view, there was only pitch-black darkness beyond the infirmary window.

‘Is it because that area wasn’t implemented as a place to visit during the game?’

I didn’t know. But one thing was certain—

‘……It’s okay.’

Wasn’t this exactly why I had prepared contamination in the first place?

‘I can do it alone.’

The talisman was already complete. I only needed to place it in the correct location.

—Please keep watch.

Leaving those words behind, I slipped a hand into Agent Choi’s arms while he still had his head raised and retrieved the talisman.

‘I was going to steal it anyway.’

I hadn’t expected it to happen this naturally.

Quickly opening the window, I climbed down beneath it. Ironically, movement was easier here since the errors could not approach.

The backyard.

The flower bed I had visited only days ago with the wolf team leader looked bizarrely lush and green compared to how dry and dead it had been before.

Like spring or summer.

‘Hoo…’

Without even pausing to breathe, I dug through the dirt in the backyard and uncovered the glass lantern. But then—

'...!'

A faint light was leaking from the bottom of the shattered glass lantern.

‘The talisman’s already activated.’

But the flickering glow looked dangerously unstable, as though it could go out at any second.

A balance barely being maintained.

I instinctively knew. 

‘This is almost over.’ 

A feeling that today would be the talisman’s last burst of strength.

And whatever would happen afterward… I did not even want to imagine it. Especially if the current state of the school was only because the talisman still retained some of its power.

‘Thank goodness we weren’t too late.’

Relief pressed against my chest like pain amid the tension.

Rather than digging it completely out of the soil, I carefully separated only the bottom portion and checked the torn talisman. Its split shape remained the same. But…

Blue flames were burning along every stroke of the pattern.

Heating the bottom of the glass lantern, climbing upward through the lantern itself, spreading into the soil.

The power of dokkaebi fire.

'......'

Stay calm.

With extremely careful hands, I took out the new talisman. And then—

‘Hup.’

At the same moment I slid the new talisman into the bottom of the lantern, I gently removed the torn talisman.

Blue light burst forth from the new talisman.

"...!"

The power of the dokkaebi fire sparkled as though it would drive away every evil thing in this place, as though it would conceal the place that needed protection and hide it within itself.

‘Good.’

I swallowed hard. And then…

Pik.

The talisman’s flame went out.

"......."

Wait.

‘No….’

Buried within the dark mound of dirt in the backyard, the shattered glass and the talisman simply lay there like trash.

…A cold chill ran down my spine.

‘Why?’

No.

Frantically, I shoved the torn talisman back beneath the lantern’s base, but there was no reaction at all.

As though its purpose had already ended.

—If you place the talisman back in its original position, it will activate properly.

Agent Bronze had definitely assured me of that.

‘Then why isn’t it working?’

Like a madman, I dug through the dirt pile even further.

Then, after desperately examining the talisman again at the lantern’s base—

Goosebumps erupted across my skin.

‘…The glass lantern!’

Scratches.

The shattered glass lantern had decorative carvings that rose upward from the bottom like crafted engravings. But it was already covered in irreparable scratches and cracks. And…

If you looked closely enough while holding the torn talisman against it, you could see it.

Parts of the cracked traces connected perfectly with the strokes of the talisman.

‘The deliberate scratches were mixed in.’

Even the scratches carved into the glass lantern had been part of the talisman.

The writing on the paper had been extended onto the lantern itself, forming a larger pattern. That was why the torn talisman had still functioned despite only half remaining.

But over time—or perhaps because someone tampered with it—the glass lantern had also broken, barely maintaining its fragile state…

And now, at this moment,

Its power had finally run out completely.

The barrier the agents had desperately created to protect Segwang Technical High School from something—

Had just vanished.

"......."

It unraveled.

A sound came from behind me.

Hide-and-seek is over the game is over

They infiltrated they infiltrated the school eat them block them behind behind behind dangerous it’s vanishing don’t die please don’t sacrifice not sacrifice they infiltrated they infiltrated screaming oh how sad eating from over there the things from the darkness are pouring in the impure things devoured

I hurriedly climbed the windowsill.

My hands were slick with sweat.

Faster faster now it can’t be blocked by games anymore the game is ending it’s coming fast it’s coming fast faster faster faster faster faster

Barely managing to plant my feet on the infirmary windowsill, I slid back inside. With trembling hands, I slammed the window shut and immediately tried to release the contamination. I had to undo it and talk to the agents—

…….

Why won’t it release?

Wait.

Why won’t it release? Why can’t I escape? Why am I still like this? Huh? Trying to run away? Looking for someone? Who is it?

Found you

Wai—

“Agent Grapes!”

“...!"

Before I knew it, I was standing face-to-face with the moving agents.

Reflexively, I looked down at my hands, but I was still wearing Segwang Technical High School’s uniform. Then why could I see the agents normally? How were we facing each other? How were we communicating— No, no!

More importantly—

“The space right now—”

“The glass lantern!”

I grabbed the other person by the shoulders immediately.

“We have to recover the glass lantern! The lantern itself was part of the talisman! They carved grooves into it and continued the strokes there!”

“...!"

“Can we retrieve the glass lantern right now? Among the agents who entered, the one carrying the lantern was—”

“There is!”

Agent Choi grabbed my shoulders.

“There is. Calm down. Let’s go find them immediately. They woke up in the same classroom as me. It hasn’t been long yet, so they should still be there.”

“Who…?”

“Agent Haegum.”

Who is Haegum?

I froze.

[Dingdongdaengdong · The graduation ceremony has begun. Teachers are now departing from the auditorium to issue penalty points to students who did not attend.]

We burst out of the infirmary.

We sprinted through the blood-soaked hallways like madmen. Down the stairs.

And as we ran, I saw it.

‘It’s coming down.’

The masses of flesh that had covered the fifth floor writhed and spread downward from the upper stairwell with terrifying speed. But the talisman’s form was nowhere to be seen.

Did our running even mean anything anymore? It already felt too late, like something irreversible had—

‘Shut up!’

Grinding my teeth, I kept running.

Soon, we rushed down to the second floor and followed Agent Choi into a classroom. The classroom where Agent Choi had awakened was—

“Huh? U-Uwaah?!”

“AAAAAAAH!!”

Students and civilians who had finally begun recognizing each other screamed, cried, and panicked, turning the room into utter chaos.

And then—

“Agent!”

“Mr. Choi! The situation’s strange, so call all the agents first and establish a safe zone!”

A cheerful-looking high schooler with tightly tied-back hair.

Despite the blood splattered across her face, she immediately began issuing orders. And within that youthful face, I recognized familiar features.

‘…Agent Haegum!’

And among the people receiving Agent Haegum’s instructions was someone completely unexpected.

“And make sure the company people don’t do anything stupid if possible!”

The black-haired boy in a neat blazer uniform…was wearing a lizard mask.

“That is not possible.”

“…Section Chief!!”

“Yes.”

Why was Section Chief Lizard here? No, it wasn’t strange statistically since the Daydream Inc. Field Exploration Team would all attempt entry, but still—

“Mr. Roe Deer.”

Wait, if he calls me that in this situation—

“Why are you wearing Segwang Technical High School’s uniform?”

…….

Wait.

Wait…

Right.

I was a student. But then—

‘We’re communicating normally.’

That meant… These “intruders” were no longer being perceived as errors. They were being recognized as though they had officially entered the school. 

…….

A horrifying realization brushed past me…

‘Originally, the teachers couldn’t perceive the errors.’

But now—they would be able to see them.

The days when all we had to do was avoid catching the teachers’ attention because we gathered too many name tags and stood out—were over.

‘Anyone can be attacked and killed now….’

And I had already seen what happened when outsiders who infiltrated the school were killed by the “teachers.”

Namely—

‘Deletion…!’

Frantically, I turned toward the others.

“Run away.”

“Agent Grapes.”

“No, it’d honestly be better to die now! If you’re killed by a teacher here, you’ll be deleted from reality! It doesn’t end with death—your very existence disappears—”

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!

…….

Thud.

THUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUD.

"......."

Old-fashioned 8-bit game music began settling into my ears in a gloomy, steep minor key.

But it was unnaturally fast, mixed with something resembling human giggling.

It was getting closer.

“It’s here.”

As if by instinct, the students opened lockers to hide inside or crawled beneath desks.

The agents ignored my warning entirely, pulling out their equipment and preparing to confront something while securing their lines of sight.

I joined their gaze toward the hallway first.

…And then I saw it.

The bizarre thing descending the stairs.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!

‘Teacher.’

The hell I had already witnessed once stood there.

A monster made by stuffing together the forms and belongings of countless teachers that had once lain across the fifth floor, creating enormous limbs and a giant head, with screaming faces protruding from all over its body.

But this time there was an even more horrifying difference.

The center of its body had split open. And from within, a strange light leaked out.

“….!”

Inside the grotesque shape, where giant ribs spread apart as if exposing its organs, sat the upper body of a human with long hair hanging downward. 

‘The thing hanging in front of the guidance office.’

A crushed and ruined upper torso.

Embedded within the flesh at the center of that body was a tangled scrap of paper. Half of a library checkout slip. The other half of the torn talisman.

Its waist had been severed away in a chunk, and half of its head was missing. 

I could even see the tattered jumper it wore. 

And the words written on it. 

Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau

That face…

“…Team Leader?”

I turned toward Black Tortoise Team 1.

The two agents’ faces had frozen solid with a shock I had never seen before.

And then—

“Hong unnie.”

Agent Haegum.

"......."

—The supernatural disaster our team leader entered last was supposedly some bizarre labyrinthine place… Anyway, almost her entire upper body was blown away.

I realized—

What they had recognized.

—Our team leader passed the dokkaebi trial and possessed her own personalized dokkaebi fire lantern.

—Currently, from her head down through most of her upper body… more than half has already been replaced by dokkaebi fire.

The leader of Black Tortoise Team 1.

Agent Park Hongrim, the Elder.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!

Park Hongrim’s upper body twisted its head toward us.

 

Previous chapter

Next chapter