HGNSP 110

chapter 110

 Margaret and Emily (5)

The review went off without a hitch.

Although the hand that had already been cut by a blade had started stinging a little after being pressed firmly against the paper, it was still fine.

Maybe it would have been different in Korea, but after having his arm scratched by demons in this place, he had become much less of a complainer about pain.

After checking the review—which was not merely positive but almost disgustingly flattering—the manager smiled with satisfaction, gently stroked the guestbook, and cheerfully waved.

“Take care!”

“Please come visit us again!”

‘Like hell I’m ever coming back, you fucking bastard.’

Would you come back if you were me?

After silently cursing him one more time, I exhaled and moved on, keeping a careful watch on my surroundings.

It was only after putting a considerable distance between ourselves and the theater that I could properly examine the area around us.

‘No signs that we were followed…’

But I couldn’t afford to let my guard down completely.

It would have been extremely fortunate if no one had actually come after us, but obviously, there was no way things would be that simple.

Holding my breath, I pressed my ear against the floor and checked our position, estimating the distance.

‘Taking the in-game image and the current situation into account… it should appear after about five more steps from here.’

I stopped where I was and spent quite some time choosing my words.

Emily blinked at me in confusion, but I had no time to worry about that.

Honestly, countless thoughts were running through my head, but not a single one of them could be called a solution.

However…

‘We’re only five steps away from confirming the truth.’

There were very few problems in this world that could be solved by keeping your mouth shut, and this was one of them. Staying quiet wasn’t going to magically make the problem disappear.

“Ha…”

I let out a short breath, rubbed my forehead, and continued thinking. But even then, the words still wouldn’t come out.

Emily, sensing that something was seriously wrong, took half a step toward me.

“…David.”

The moment she spoke, I said,

“Emily, listen to me, and don’t get angry.”

“…Why would I get angry?”

“Promise me you won’t get angry or do anything reckless.”

At those words, Emily’s body stiffened.

It was the reaction of someone who had already guessed what was coming next.

Her expression became colder than I had ever seen it before. But soon, perhaps realizing that whatever was coming wasn’t my fault, she sighed and nodded.

“Fine. There’s no reason for me to be angry at you.”

“There’s… something like the demon that comes next.”

“…What?”

“You know the Reaper we saw before… the one wearing clothes from another country, or the one that strangled you today. The kind that tries to hurt you if you don’t follow its rules. Something like that is going to appear.”

“But why does that matter?”

My mouth had gone completely dry.

I knew I had to tell her, but I still had no idea how to say it.

Honestly, this was the kind of story that no silver-tongued speaker in the world could possibly make sound good.

But I had to do it.

I hugged Teacher Fe tightly inside my arms once, then glanced at the matchlock rifle hanging from Emily’s back before finally speaking.

“Wh-when she dances… if you look at her…”

“…Huh?”

“And… if you don’t look at her, she comes after you.”

“So? There are plenty of dancers here…”

“She wasn’t one of the people onstage. She was hiding and followed us… Haah, anyway… h-her appearance overlaps with someone you know.”

“……!”

“She’ll appear after we walk just a little farther. Right away.”

Emily’s eyes widened, and her fingertips began trembling slightly.

Her green eyes stared at me as though they could burn me to death, and the hand gripping the matchlock rifle tightened.

She had understood perfectly what I was saying.

Her reaction was even more intense than Peritas’s had been.

It couldn’t be helped.

‘Your… your daughter apparently became a ghost, and… it looks like your sister became a ghost and is about to beat the crap out of us…’

Those were both statements that crossed the line a little.

The latter, if this had been modern times, would probably have been grounds for a lawsuit for defaming the dead.

‘But what am I supposed to do when it’s actually true…!’

Still, splitting up here wouldn’t solve anything, so I hugged Teacher Fe and quickly added,

“I-I hope it isn’t her either! But… but her features and appearance overlap with hers. She likes dancing, she’s blonde… blue eyes, and, uh… she’s wearing a red dress that’s kind of similar to your clothes!”

“…A dress?”

“Y-yeah…!”

At least, that’s how she had been dressed in the game.

Since it had been pixel art, I couldn’t tell the finer details, but I could at least remember the colors.

That particular mob, monster, gh—ah, damn it, whatever—was the reason I’d died about fifteen times and seen the game-over screen about fifteen times, thanks to Margaret.

I rolled my eyes around nervously, watching Emily’s reaction.

Emily stood frozen in place like a stone statue.

She looked as though she had forgotten how to express anything at all. For a moment, her face seemed completely blank, as if every piece of information in her mind had been wiped away.

I swallowed dryly again and again as I waited for her response.

Then I noticed a piece of red cloth clutched in one of Emily’s hands.

At the same time, I squeezed my eyes shut.

‘…Ah. It really does seem to be her. …If that’s a keepsake.’

Margaret was, just like Chloe…

The sound of my rapidly beating heart was unbearable. A strange queasiness surrounded us.

It felt as though something sticky and slimy had filled my stomach.

It was nauseating.

And unpleasant.

The worst part was that even if I vomited it all out, the situation wouldn’t improve.

‘Of all times, it had to happen right now…’

And so, for quite some time, while I stood there dizzy and confused—

“How was the stage?”

A voice rang out.

This time, both Emily and I froze.

Our entire bodies felt frozen stiff, and moving was difficult. It was as though our blood had stopped flowing, leaving everything cold and rigid. Even the air brushing against our skin felt prickly.

I slowly turned my stiff neck and thought,

‘W-we didn’t move… Did she come because she heard us? When did she get here?’

But there was no one to answer.

Standing before us was a woman with an unnaturally pale face.

Despite the fact that she had clearly been dead for a very long time, her skin remained smooth. Her dry, golden hair contrasted sharply with it.

And she was wearing a red dress—

“with one side torn.”

The woman raised herself with awkward movements, like a doll being pulled up by strings.

Her feet touched the floor, producing a steady, rhythmic sound.

Her head, which had been slightly tilted, slowly—

very slowly—

lifted.

Then—

Click.

Her gaze locked onto us.

Immediately afterward, her mouth stretched unnaturally wide, and her voice rang out.

“I wanted to go up there, too.”

And then there was the person who was David’s original objective, and unlike him, a “real paladin.”

A person who genuinely believed in and followed God, living according to His teachings despite having the worldly inclination to love social advancement.

The illegitimate son of the Palsen family, Diven Palsen, was…

Thud!

Crack—

“Ghk…”

Crawling across the floor, covered in blood.

Because he had been deprived of proper rest and food for so long, various parts of his body were screaming in agony.

Tiny tremors.

Pain.

Screams bearing those names.

And that wasn’t even the only problem.

Both his arms and legs were already a complete mess, trembling uncontrollably.

His fingernails, scraped against the stone floor, had been half torn off. His knees, which had repeatedly pushed against the floor, had long since been worn raw.

The strength remaining in his body was so pitifully little that even lifting a spoon was difficult.

But—

Thud.

Scrape…

Diven continued trying.

Forward.

Forward.

Farther forward.

He repeatedly moved his hands toward a place where the “thing” behind him couldn’t reach him.

Even though there was no guarantee that he would survive if he made it there.

Even though he vaguely understood that he would probably die of exhaustion before he could escape…

He simply crawled on instinct.

“Huff… huff…”

He desperately tried to catch his breath and barely managed to clear his vision, which was obscured by blood and dust.

All he could still see were the cold stone floor, the bloodstains left upon it, melted blades, and empty bottles of holy water.

But…

There was something new.

A shadow.

A horrifying darkness he had never encountered before—not beneath the midday sun, nor inside a pitch-black cave at midnight.

It was blocking his path.

Diven realized it.

‘R-running away normally… isn’t going to work.’

No matter how long he crawled, to that thing it probably looked like a snail sprinting at full speed.

Otherwise, there was no way it could have caught up with him so quickly.

At the same time, Diven realized something else.

‘It’s… playing with me. It definitely is.’

The reason he was still alive wasn’t because he had been good at dodging or escaping.

He was alive simply because the entity behind him hadn’t finished playing with him yet.

A hollow feeling filled his heart.

He felt as though life was ultimately meaningless.

He even began to question everything.

But this time was definitely different from before.

He couldn’t summon the same reckless bravado he had displayed in front of the Reaper.

He was simply afraid.

And that was strange.

Diven was a paladin.

For the sake of God, he could face even death without hesitation.

For the sake of advancing his career, he could enter a bizarre place like this with his senior.

He could even raise his sword against a “Fallen One” and kill them.

Diven was, in every sense, an unstoppable man.

There were few things in this world stronger than someone who was willing to throw away even his own life to accomplish his goals.

But—

‘…My whole body is trembling.’

The being behind him was the exception.

Facing it felt so terrifying that he would rather gouge out his own eyes.

Rather than confront it, he’d rather sew his mouth shut.

Rather than fight it, he’d rather hang himself.

But Diven was a paladin.

He could not surrender to fear.

Especially not fear of a demon.

He offered another prayer, one he had already prayed roughly six times.

Thud.

Scrrrape—

Using his sword for support, Diven forced himself upright and abruptly turned his battered body around.

Every part of his mangled body screamed in agony, but he somehow endured it.

Then, breathing heavily, he looked up at the figure standing before him and spat out through clenched teeth—

“W-what…”

What the hell did you make a contract with?

You fucking lunatic.