The footsteps heading to the library are fast, frequent, and small.
The group, composed of two in Sekwang Technical High School uniforms and four in the varied uniforms of other high schools, moved with bated breath.
Their expressions were desperate and grave, unbelievable for students.
They moved, avoiding the flailing limbs and breaths of the victims attached to the walls and floor.
And then….
"The floor,"
At Agent Bronze's words, everyone's gaze shifted.
"Look at the floor."
"…!"
The flesh had begun to squirm again.
The group's footsteps quickened even more.
If there was one fortunate thing, it was that they didn't need to go up.
"Here!"
The end of the first floor.
Following me, who had stopped in front of the only wooden sliding door, we opened it.
The place I had visited with Lee Gyeol while returning to Hanbit Library.
[Library]
Drrrk.
With a short sound, the inside was revealed.
It was similar to Hanbit Library in that it was a place filled with books on shelves, but its structure gave it a realistic sense of being inside a school library.
And.
"This bookshelf."
I immediately found a specific bookshelf.
The lone bookshelf next to the window, upon finding the hidden book, would slide back to become a passage leading to another area of Hanbit Library….
"…It's a passage that leads to a supernatural phenomenon where a powerful being exists."
However.
"Wait a minute, this… I don't think it opens on the last day of the month."
"..."
"Transfer student, there's no book."
We couldn't open the bookshelf passage.
On this day, with the 'In the Dark Shadow' ghost story active, the book that could lead to Hanbit Library was simply not on the shelf.
For a moment, my heart went cold, but I immediately collected myself.
'Still, the fact that this school is inside Hanbit Library doesn't change.'
And neither did the fact that a passage to Hanbit Library existed beyond this bookshelf.
"It's fine."
I answered, hastily drawing an inference in my head.
"If the passage doesn't appear now… how about this instead? We hide the talisman in the very spot where the passage is supposed to appear."
"…! You mean hide it in the part that overlaps with the passage? Behind the bookshelf."
"Yes."
"That's good. Grapes has great ideas, as expected. Alright, agents, let's put some muscle into i–"
"Section Chief, I'd like you to move the bookshelf to the side."
"Yes."
And Section Chief Lee Jaheon, without any preparation, immediately lifted the bookshelf and set it aside.
"…Lizard Teacher, still no thoughts of changing jobs?"
"No."
"What a shame."
Though he said it like a joke, the agents' expressions were serious.
Agent Bronze urgently looked at the wall revealed by the moved bookshelf. I saw the same thing. A rectangular space with a metallic sheen, identical to the one Ms. Go Young-eun had hidden me in at Casino Station….
That!
"I think we can put it in the fire hydrant!"
"A fire hydrant… you say?"
"Yes. That would be just righ-"
But I shut my mouth seeing the agents' expressions.
No way.
"To me, it just looks like a white wall."
"..."
"I do not see a fire hydrant."
Damn it.
It seems this, too, is an element not implemented in the game, so it's invisible to those who entered 'In the Dark Shadow' by error.
"It's fine. Just like with the backyard, the person who can see it should do it."
I immediately reached out my hand.
"Give it to me. I'll…."
Where is it?[1]
"..."
Guys, where are you?
I'm back again.
The game is over, so why can't I see you?
We moved without even breathing.
The glass lantern is passed into my hands. I hurriedly clutch it and open the fire hydrant, making a space inside.
"If there's any dust or soot, you must wipe it away."
Dust gets on my hand as I urgently rummage inside the fire hydrant.
I could hear the agents moving behind me, seemingly guarding the outside, but I couldn't even think of turning around.
I'm coming to find youIt's too late
Quickly, quickly.
"Now, wipe everything on your hands with the cleanest surface you can find, the inside of your sleeve. Hurry. Make it clean."
The whisper was so quiet it was almost inaudible. I held my breath and brushed the dust from my hands….
T h e r e y o u a r e?
An ominously twisted sound. It begins to dominate the school once more.
Too late.
Agent Bronze places his scarred hand on the glass lantern, consecrating it.
And then passes it completely to me….
I found youI found youI found youI found youI found youYou can't hide againI'm already insideThe door is already openI found you
....
Here you are
I turned around.
Outside the library door….
....
There was nothing.
"..."
"..."
The ominous feeling, the flesh covering the school that had begun to pulse again, and the groans of people were all still there.
But strangely, the monster isn't there.
'Huh?'
At that moment.
I was tricked It's not here
'…!'
Trickedtrickedtricked
I untied it but you tied it againthat's cheatingnoit's a new ruledon't push melet go of the doorlet golet go
The voice rings out, as if tearing.
The school shakes.
A vibration echoing from above.
Flash.
A faint blue light dimly seeps in from outside the window.
I can only see the brightness scattering as it comes down from above, but I recognize it.
'The torn talisman.The light that once came from the (symbol)Guardian character on the back of the library card, where we had attached the other half.
Let go
Let go
I let go of the doorit's no useI let go of the doorit's no useI'm already insideI am youI am….
Who is Park Honglim?
"Grapes-ie."
"..."
"Team Leader Hong is holding it back."
A hot hand grips my shoulder.
"Do it. Calmly, and quickly."
I nodded.
And after barely wiping the soot from my hand onto my sleeve, I took the consecrated glass lantern and placed it inside the open fire hydrant.
I can do this.
"Hold the talisman, and wait for a moment. Until there's a reaction."
I clenched my hand, suppressing my anxiety.
Now….
[Ah, the climax, my friend.]
.... Braun?
[Now, once the final procedure is complete, this high school will be preserved, hidden once again within the library. It will become a sort of private collection, you see!]
As always, the host's unique intonation is pleasantly distinct.
But….
'Braun… wasn't he unable to follow me here?'
He's been completely silent until now.
Suddenly.
[Mr. Roe Deer, oh, Mr. Roe Deer…. You embarrass this Braun. This isn't the time when I had to rely on a cotton-stuffed body to accompany you on adventures! Much has changed since then.]
[And in such a tense episode, is not the silence of the advisor a necessary element? Haha, you may hold your admiration for the choice of a seasoned host for now. Now….]
[More importantly, my friend.]
A kind voice.
[Is there not something you have missed?]
....
'Something I missed.'
A chill ran down my spine, and I immediately checked the talisman.
It's fine.
Then what is it?
What did I forget?
[A hint! Excellent. It's hint time. Now, shall we recall this Braun's words once more….]
-Now, once the final procedure is complete, this high school will be preserved, hidden once again within the library. It will become a sort of private collection, you see!
"..."
I looked down at my clothes.
A Sekwang Technical High School student.
This Contamination status that, for some reason, won't go away.
'Wait a minute.'
In that case, if the ritual with the talisman is completed like this…. I will be hidden within Hanbit Library.
As a student of this high school.
...!!
"Th—,"
But I stop myself from opening my mouth.
So what am I supposed to do?
If I can't remove the Contamination anyway, I have to go through with this. It's not like I'm going to die.
'If I wait until rescue comes….'
No, even if not, I can look for another way after this is over.
'I can do it.'
It's fine.
It's fine….
And.
"It's lighting up."
I saw the strokes of the talisman finally begin to glow inside the fire hydrant.
The blue light slowly spreads from the center, completing itself.
My heart calms down.
'Good.'
If there's no immediate solution, I won't say anything unnecessary. Instead, I spoke to my classmate.
"With this, the students will be safe. Don't worry."
Lee Gyeol looks at me. "Are you included in 'those students'?"
"…I am."
The classmate, who had been looking back and forth between the talisman and me, shook his head.
"No, you're not."
"…!"
"You're not a real transfer student. Kim Soleum."
My classmate reached out and grabbed the glass lantern inside the fire hydrant.
And.
"You're a student from another school who borrowed my uniform."
Whoosh.
I was abruptly pushed away from the fire hydrant.
With his other hand pushing me away at the same time, the light from the glass lantern in the Sekwang Technical High School student's hand continued to glow along the strokes without breaking.
"Grapes-ie!"
"Wait," I grabbed my companions and looked back at Lee Gyeol.
My classmate speaks nonchalantly.
"I'll consider the uniform returned to me now. It was a lie from the start, after all."
"…!"
He declares.
"You are not a student of this school."
....
I lowered my head.
The Sekwang Technical High School uniform was no longer there. In its place, I saw the familiar uniform of my old school.
'Ah.'
I hurriedly raised my head again. The fire hydrant on the wall was no longer there. It was now invisible to me, who was no longer a student of this school.
And….
"Thanks. For taking me to the infirmary."
Lee Gyeol, who had his hand stuck into an invisible part of the wall, grinned at me while wearing his own uniform.
"…See you again." It flared up like a will-o'-the-wisp bursting.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah…
Blue flames cover and burn everything.
The sound like a twisted game beat disappears, erasing the flesh-covered classrooms and hallways, enveloping the entire school and pulling it into the shadow of the flames.
My entire vision is dyed white.
I opened my eyes.
Light tickles my eyes, and the midday school grounds are reflected in my vision.
And I hear an instrumental piece. Piano.
Chopin's Nocturne.
In time with that sweet, slow piano sound, the view of the first-floor hallway appears.
Students are lying on the floor. Just like the school I visited through Hanbit Library, when it wasn't the last day of the month. But there is a crucial difference.
They were sound asleep.
Daytime.
On a day with the warm early May sun shining, quiet greenery casts shadows from outside the windows, illuminating the hallway. Comfortable spots have been prepared.
Mattresses used for gym class, blankets, gym clothes, keychain dolls, even slippers—all sorts of soft and nice things can be seen in the spots of the students lying in the hallway.
I can see students sleeping, holding hands with friends or wearing comfortable gym clothes. Some are even asleep with earphones in.
A nap time enjoyed by all.
....
The spots that had been empty in between are now filled. Students from other schools were lying there. Those who had been devoured by the flesh covering the school, their limbs flailing, those who had become one with the school, had become a part of the high school. But now they were gently accepted into the gaps between the students.
'Ah.'
My vision moves upward, as if someone is showing me. It goes up the stairs, showing the scenery of students sleeping peacefully, and rises to the very top floor. The 5th floor.
Students are lying in the hallway in front of the auditorium where the teachers' organ parts had been placed. But I recognize them from their appearances and a few belongings.
The metal badges.
They're the agents.
I recognize Gomyeong Agent's face, taking a nap in the sunlight in a spot near the auditorium door.
My vision goes up….
It shows the firmly shut, intact auditorium door.
No one is there. Only a broken glass lantern and a talisman with a tear in the middle hang on the doorknob, glittering in the sunlight. As if it has fulfilled its duty.
- - - - - -
Happy Ending 01
: The School Asleep in the Library
Score Evaluation : (-)
- - - - - -
The credits roll.
- - - - - -
Thank you for playing. The children are once again safely awaiting rescue. Please come find them.
Production : Agent Honghwa, Blue Dragon Team
- - - - - -
The ghost story of the last day of the month's nightmare.
The end of 'In the Dark Shadow'.
[1] red