Fear.
Terror.
A feeling once familiar to me is surfacing at the words of the twin Happy Ending Cultists.
Though I can no longer feel it, because I know what that feeling is, my mood sinks as if cooling endlessly at the shocking realization….
'Lord Name is afraid.'
And so they are doing that to appease the Wiki Authors?
The Happy Ending Cult itself?
[Oh dear, but merely appeasing them is the work of amateurs! A true entertainer must have their own vision!]
But that makes it feel even more desperate.
The desperation of being forced to do something you don't want to do.
Especially the more horrific the task.
Crushed by an uncertain and malicious divine being, a struggle to escape that malice oneself.
'Who… should I blame for this?'
If this world setting became this way in the first place because the Wiki Authors wrote it that way, no, but if you think about it that way, the Ghost Story Creators just wrote stories.
Who on earth thinks the ghost stories they wrote are real?
How should I accept and act in this situation?
Splash, splash.
Even amidst this, the sound of human bodies falling into the alcoholic liquid does not cease.
The initiates of the Happy Ending Cult, corrupted by ghost stories, lining up and jumping into the alcohol.
A mad sight.
"Now, let's make some alcohol!"
The one playing the role of the twin Noona had, by now, put away their desperate demeanor and was once again shouting cheerfully.
"What fun things will we do with this alcohol? Aren't you excited? Right?"
It felt like my breath was caught in my throat….
"No."
…!
"Wow. A cult is being a cult."
I turned my head.
Assistant Manager Eun Haje was there with a bored expression.
'Assistant Manager?'
"It's the epitome of a cult, deceiving laypeople to exploit them to the bone while saying different things themselves."
Assistant Manager Eun Haje took a step forward.
"And relying on others for your own standards of judgment, too."
....
"Noruya. There's no grave without a reason."
The reporter who had succeeded in their revenge looked at the cultists who had revealed their terror.
"I can understand feeling pity for them, thinking they are also victims brainwashed by a cult, but…"
Assistant Manager Eun Haje pointed.
This underground bunker, a place where dozens have died and people are still dying behind us.
"We must not forget the situation."
I realized.
Assistant Manager Eun Haje doesn't know the implied meaning of the twins' words, the details I noticed. She doesn't know about the Happy Ending Cult and Lord Name's relationship, or about the Wiki.
But because she isn't bogged down by details, there are things she points out more clearly.
The essence.
"They are killing people right now for their own pleasure."
And I knew people who would never make such a choice in a similar environment.
....
My head cleared a little.
But….
'Was there a need to provoke them so openly….'
I turned back to the twins.
The smiling heads turned back to Assistant Manager Eun Haje, who was in the form of a Grandmother.
Creak.
"You're not Grandmother, are you?"
....
Damn it.
"I knew it, but I'll let you taste the alcohol first! Let's see the Happy Ending after knowing Lord Name."
"It's all blown, and you're still pushing that. Ah, Noruya. There's no need for that."
I immediately stood between the twins and Eun Haje, but Assistant Manager Eun Haje shook her head.
"We've stalled for enough time."
Crack.
The sound of cracking.
And….
CRASH!
Water poured out with an explosion from a cheap plastic white body, not thick pottery.
The vat used to brew alcohol shattered.
'…!'
The human bodies and parasites inside spilled onto the floor, some of them.
As the people still remaining threw themselves into the air, I quickly caught them with mist, sweeping them roughly downwards, and simultaneously confirmed Assistant Manager Eun Haje's safety.
Assistant Manager Eun Haje quickly winked at me, as if intending to escape amidst the chaos….
"Wow. It explodes well."
Hoh Yuwon walked out.
In his hand was an empty potion bottle.
'Explosion D-rank.'
…Daydream Potion.
The director of Daydream Inc. smiled faintly.
"Even for the sake of fun, leaving suspicious individuals in such an important place… your judgment is quite regrettable. Isn't that why such things happen? Seo-yu, Seo-bin."
The twin executives stared blankly at the scene.
A half-shattered alcohol vat and someone afflicted with the Nine-tailed Fox Sickness.
"Ah, please don't misunderstand. It wasn't me who did this, it was the Grandmother here… I just picked up this empty bottle."
"Ha."
"Anyway… judging by your actions, you seem to feel fear towards the unknown. Then,"
Joy appeared in Hoh Yuwon's eyes as he looked at the twins.
The joy of one who has figured it out.
"Your identities are still human, aren't they?"
The Forbidden Condition was met.
The Plague approached.
"Can you make a promise with me?"
And the twins, who had been staring blankly….
Smiled broadly.
"You know, shall we just make this entire space into an alcohol vat?"
"That would be good."
What?
"You gather the initiates. I'll tell Lord Name about it to the Dragon and the Fox here! Let's brew the Dragon and the Fox into alcohol too."
"Okay."
[You've chosen a frontal assault. Oh, a bloody and terrifying pandemonium will now unfold….]
[If there are initiates who run away, it could become a quite interesting horror story! Alcohol, a cult, and the Fox Plague!]
Hoh Yuwon, who intends to use the executives as puppets to extract information by imposing prohibitions, and the executives of the Happy Ending Cult, who intend to brew us into alcohol.
The problem is that I've been caught in the middle.
Hoh Yuwon has naturally included me in his scheme.
"Then I'll start with the Dragon!"
Lee Seoyu's head fell.
Drawing a long red trajectory, it rolled on the alcohol-soaked floor, and a space of peculiar red fabric flickered around it, projecting….
'Damn it.'
And the fallout from this madness could hit anyone.
Even Assistant Manager Eun Haje.
'No.'
Then.
…I ended up grabbing the rolling head first.
"Huh? Huh?"
As the head smiled widely and tried to swallow me, I covered it with mist first.
And read….
Lee Seoyu
Real name is Lee Yun-seon. A 5th-rank Divine Power user belonging to the Happy Ending Cult, one of the Death Directors.
Using this Divine Power, she has reorganized her name and individuality to appear suitable for the Happy Ending Cult, and the underlying emotion is fear.
One who fled from ■■■■■. She joined the Nameless Brilliant Cult through the teachings of the Right Number Praise Sect, but felt madness and fear towards those teachings and swallowed the scriptures of the Happy Ending Cult.
There are a total of seven corrupted ghost stories, and among them, the one she can skillfully use is ■■■■■■■■■■, which carves up the body.
Endure. 'Not to erase, but if it puts a burden on the opponent.' Endure. Endure. 'I've done it to Hoh Yuwon too.' Endure. 'Bear it.' But then. What was bearing it? Why did I have to bear it? What does it feel like to question, what is feeling, and why am I doing this? I need to go back to the isolation room. "What is this, what, uh, familiar, uh, what ■■■■■■■■■." The voice faded, leaving a final word like a dying scream. "Lord Name?" .... I released the mist. The head rolled on the floor. Lee Seoyu's body, separated from the head, collapsed over there, and my brain was also crushed. A dull, hard mind unable to function…. [Oh dear. Let's shake our heads, Mr. Deer.] Head? .... Jingle sound. Jingle, sound. It restores me. Clink. I took a deep breath and came to my senses. 'Thank you.' [You're welcome, friend!] Hoh Yuwon clapped beside me. "Wow. You're really fast!" .... I ignored Hoh Yuwon and looked at Assistant Manager. "Let's go." Yes. I've scouted the exit. We just need to go. "Now." Assistant Manager Eun Haje, who was already standing near the exit, moved quickly. We slipped out from behind the coffin. Pushing the strong alcohol, which had begun to flood the corridor, with our feet, all the way to the end. Hoh Yuwon's footsteps, now running alongside me, could be heard. That was expected, but…. "They're following." The twin younger brother. The one who had been standing there, blinking as if unable to comprehend the situation, was walking towards us, leaving his Noona behind. Ripples were drawn on the surface of the liquid pooled in the corridor. .... 'Subdue them.' It's no use. I've used it once anyway, just one more time. 'And if I report it to the Disaster Management Bureau….' The initiates will also be handled. It would be an informational gain for the Bureau in many ways. With that decision, I turned my body. Of course, the other side wouldn't be easy either. 'It seemed to be related to killer ghost stories.' …I thought I heard panting sounds from somewhere. The twin younger brother had almost reached the center of the corridor. He was passing by a black box that processed corpses, and with his steps, a corpse drowned in alcohol was pushed and hit the box. At that moment. Thump. The alcohol-soaked box opened on its own. A number was displayed on the top. Three ... Wait a minute. [Oh, is something special happening, Mr. Deer?] "How far are you going… huh?" The one playing the role of the twin younger brother, stepping on the box, turned around. He disappeared. As if it were a lie. "...." Soon. From the open space of the black box, from the black void where nothing could be seen, two hands emerged. The palms were placed on the floor, facing upwards. .... Ah. Escape. I picked up Assistant Manager Eun Haje and started running towards the exit. "Noruya!?" I know what that box is. That's…. 'It's not from the Happy Ending Cult.' A product from much earlier. A ghost story from the time when the Nameless Brilliant Cult's early ghost stories were listed on the Wiki, a story that often appeared at the top with overwhelming recommendations. Jeongwon Chanyangsa's ghost story. Seeker in the Box. No. Thousands of early members of the Nameless Brilliant Cult sought to contemplate the true meaning of this world, and among them, a few devout individuals chose long and arduous meditation and asceticism as their method. To suppress their madness, they sealed themselves within bells, attempting to maintain a clear mind solely through the intense pain from striking the bells, without drugs or hallucinogens. Several years passed. Only one of the dozens of bells contained a surviving member, but that person finally declared they understood some of Lord Name's will. The meaning is as follows. I ran. Towards the exit I had found. Lord Name desires pain. The brief comfort, peace, and joy given to the components of this world are merely arrangements for greater shock and fear. Even this realization is madness and pain, so it is indeed an accurate answer. However, the pursuit of knowledge does not stop. Disciples who follow that realization pursued their own understanding by sealing themselves in various artifacts, and soon understood in pain. Lord Name places greater meaning on individual, special, and unique pain than on simple, large-scale pain organized by numbers and tables. It should be agonizingly tragic, slow, and detailed. Thus, they too decided to praise Lord Name's will by exhibiting long periods of suffering. That is. Jeongwon Chanyangsa. They believe that detailed records of a few selected characters experiencing extreme fear and prolonged suffering, rather than stories with numerous casualties, can please Lord Name. They praise the fixed number. A ghost story with a set number of characters, suitable for turning pain into a story. A ghost story that inflicts terrible pain on the characters. Especially, that, no, that author…. Seeker in the Box. A Divine Power user of the Nameless Brilliant Cult appearing in the Darkness Exploration Record. Their rank is 6th-rank within the Right Number Praise Sect. According to the laws of Jeongwon Chanyangsa, they cut off their own legs and, through asceticism and meditation within a box, attained Divine Power and became a creature within a box that secretes digestive fluids. They are Jeongwon Chanyangsa who focus on the most primal pain. After swallowing the number of sacrifices allocated to the box, once the box is closed, it will never open until the sacrifice dies. The sacrifices who come into contact with the digestive fluids inside the box are connected to Jeongwon Chanyangsa and become ascetics. The ascetics disappear through a long, slow process of being digested alive inside the sealed box, and Jeongwon Chanyangsa recites their pain in refined language into their minds. The longer, slower, and more detailed the process, the more doctrinally correct it is. Ascetics cannot die until they are completely digested and disappear. The average digestion period is 27 years. Upon completion of the exhibition, they enter a rest period consuming large amounts of fabric. And when the rest period ends. When a new sacrifice enters the box, the Seeker finishes their meditation. The Seeker in the Box will extend their hands, recruit the appropriate number of people, and then exhibit their pain. These hands cannot be refused. So do not approach the hands. Your asceticism will begin. "...." We stopped walking. By now. The box is next to the bunker's exit. Jeongwon Chanyangsa, extending both hands outwards in a posture of appeal. Two Announcing the fixed number. '....' Request: A method to move without passing through the exit from this spot. "I know a few tools that can help you escape immediately from the darkness… but I don't have them now." Damn it. Then there is only one option. Request: Fall. I released the mist. …It was fortunate that I didn't feel intense fear. Because I wasn't afraid of losing my reason, I could act immediately. 'I have to.' To cause as much confusion as possible to Jeongwon Chanyangsa, to open the exit…. Knock knock. .... "Excuse me?" A sound came from the exit door. A somewhat familiar voice. And. "Oh, here it is." BANG. The exit door opened from the outside. As the ground air, instead of alcohol, flooded the passage, the person standing beyond revealed themselves. "Ah. Finally found you, employee!" …Assistant Manager Lee Seong-hae? 'How on earth did she find this place?' "Nice to meet you. And here, there are some people who really wanted to meet you, employee…." Assistant Manager Lee Seong-hae stepped back. …I realized the presence of the individuals standing behind her. "Look, agents!" Disaster Management Bureau agents. Team Hyumoo 1.