At that name, silence instantly filled the teachers' office,and the teacher expressions suddenly hardened.
Hayoon was still listening intently, as if trying to catch on something, and I also focused for a moment to see if I could hear anything, but I didn't detect anything in particular.
All that filled the building was the booming laughter of Teacher Choi Jungim and a strange thumping sound.
But the teachers of the Void cult followed Hayoon's lead, tilting their ears and slowly focusing on something, before soon flinching with a quiet, 'Ah', as if realizing what it was.
"T-that's right.."
"Oh, oh... as expected..."
The teachers began to murmur, as if
relieved.
But their relief was short-lived; as if realizing this was no cause to be overjoyed. their expressions hardened again and they began to tremble.
"T-Teacher. Wh-what should we do.."
"W-Well..."
The teachers looked at each other, trembling with fear, as if they didn't know what to do.
And so, a strange tension hung in the air at the moment, as if the teachers' office alone existed in a different world.
One of the Void cult teachers, trembling uncontrollably, suddenly collapsed to his knees and began reciting a sutra.
"The Void.. The solitude of emptiness....
"Taesang, Taesang, the divine one of heaven, earth, and humanity... feel the
resonance, hear our prayers.... In a low voice, he trembled and muttered a strange sutra.
Soon, the other teachers also began
trembling as if they were terribly afraid, then one after another dropped to their knees with a thud and clasped their hands tightly together.
And then, their voices trembling thinly, almost as if groaning, they began to chant the sutra here and there.
"Ta... Taesang, Taesang, In Taesang... Heaven, Earth, Humanity, Taesang...."
"The Void, the emptiness, the nothingness....."
"The elements of nature, the harmony of nature, hear our prayers...."
The quiet teachers' office was filled with the soft murmur of teachers kneeling one after another, chanting that strange sutra.
The Vice Principal standing in front of me was trembling all over like an aspen leaf, then finally sank down with a thud, clasping her hands tightly together as she sweated profusely.
"Heavenly Jade Emperor, The Sun, The
Moon, and The Stars, Heaven, Earth,
Humanity, Taesang... on this day of
completion, resonate and connect...."
"May you descend here, so that nothing is cast down or suppressed... for eternity, protect this land... The Void, the emptiness, the nothingness....."
Voices trembling earnestly.
Their earnest murmurs filled with fear, as if meeting some absolute being.
Expressions filled with revere, expectant yet fearful.
"The Void... The solitude of emptiness..."
"Heaven, Earth, Humanity, Taesang...feel the resonance, hear our prayers....."
In the midst of it all, Gyeongwon, Dukhun, and Jinhee stood there baffled, trying to Sneak a peak from behind me but Hayoon immediately aimed her gun and shot them a sharp glare, and they stopped moving.
"Ta, Taesang, the judge of fortune and
misfortune..."
Bang!
The sound of a ceiling collapsing somewhere, and laughter engulfing the building.
"Hehehe..."
But the teachers clasped their hands together even more earnestly, squeezing their eyes shut, and even sweating profusely, completely absorbed in their murmring.
"We, we offer this sincerity with the sovereign's grace....."
In front, Hayoon was still aiming the gun at me, as if waiting for something.
And I, who had been listening intently all along, gradually began to realize what sound they were hearing that made them act this way.
Buzz---
"..is this...."
A high-frequency sound...?
Hayoon's shotgun had gone off four times in a row right by my ear from the clubroom down to here, so my ears were still a bit numb, that's why I hadn't noticed it until now.
But as I slowly focused and listened carefully, I could hear a high-frequency sound ringing out steadily even amid the chaos of the building collapsing.
And that sound was gradually growing louder.
"....."
I turned to look at the club members, and my eyes met Jinhee's, who had already been digging her own ear.
It seemed they could hear it too.
'What is this.'
This high-frequency sound.
Was this the sound of Taesang coming.....?
Just as I was concentrating, listening intently, Suddenly the teachers' office shook violently, and objects toppled over.
Thump- Thud!
"Ugh, uugh..."
"Oh my.."
The teachers stunmbled briefly, thrown off balance by the building's shaking, but as soon as they steadied themselves again, they immediately resumed focusing intently on chanting the sutra.
Soon, something slowly began to ripple
and cover the window overlooking the playground, blocking the evening sunlight that had been streaming into the teachers' office.
"Hehehe..."
A bizarre mass of flesh, made up of all kinds of human forms, was covering the outer wall of the building from the outside.
At the same time, something began to ripple and swell from the hallway, pushing against the door with a low creak as if it were about to break through.
"The, the Void, the emptiness, the
nothingness....."
"Feel the resonance, hear our prayers...."
"Hey, what the hell are you talking about-"
Crrraaack-!
The door to the teachers' office was thrown open, sending fragments flying, and through the gap, a massive face, reaching all the way to the ceiling, peered into the room.
Soon, Teacher Choi Jungim's enormous face giggled as she looked at us.
"Hey, kids... the door came loose...Come and install a magnetic hinge..."
"The, the Void, the emptiness, the nothingness....."
"Feel the resonance, hear our prayers..."
"Oh, you poor b*stards~ Still waiting for that swindler, hehehe...."
The monster smashed through the rest of the door with a crash, thrusting its massive face into view from the hallway.
And from the window side, tangled human forms completely covered the outer wall, blocking all view of the outside.
The lights flickered and dust poured down.
It was Teacher Choi Jungim's final form after absorbing hundreds of people to engulf the entire building.
"Feel, feel our utmost sincerity, fee-feeeel...! The great, great sage In Taesaaang..."
"The, the Void, the emptiness, the nothingness....! Answer our earnest prayer...."
Clang-! Clang-!
The windows shattered from both inside and out, flesh pulsing and surging inward, and the teachers cried out even louder, chanting the name of their cult leader.
"Save all sentient beings of a thousand, ten thousand worlds!! A mind without emptiness awaits eternal punishment-ah, aaaaah-!"
"Hehehe....."
From the halway, Teacher Choi Jungim peered into the teachers' office and extended the collective mass of students outward like an arm.
And then, she casually picked up one of the praying teachers and stuffed him into her mouth.
Crunch- Crunch- Crunch-
A gigantic smirk erupted from her face.
"Wow, so delicious. You fake-ass old bestards taste good...."
Blood and flesh dripped from the grotesque, swollen lips of the massive face.
"The, the great sage of Heaven and Earth, In Taesaaang.....! Empty empty Void void- aaaagh! Aaaaaaagh!"
"Hehehe...."
Soon, another massive arm, woven from human bodies, reached in, picked up the representative of the third-year and dragged him away.
As he Was dragged away, the representative of third-year stopped reciting the sutra and struggled, buried under the uniformed students.
"The, the great sage of Heaven and Earth, In Tae... ugh... uuugh...."
"Teacher, feels good, right?"
"Become one with us. Come on, let yourself go."
"Ugh... uuugh..!' Emptiness emptiness
emptiness emptiness... Th-the, great
sage of Heaven and Earth...."
The representative teacher writhed among the students, a strange expression twisting across his face.
The students giggled even more at the sight, dozens of hands tickling every part of the representative teacher's body.
"Even now? Still chanting the sutra?"
"Fee-fee-fee-feeeel- uh-ha, uh-ha ha...!Pff, pff hahahaha-"
"Still? Huh? Even now?"
"Ah, aaaaaagh-!! Ah, aaagh, khe haa, ke haaat- puhahahaha..."
"Ahahaha.."
"Kyaaaah...."
And so the representative teacher, captured by his own students, was tickled all over.
Unaware that his body was slowly being submerged deeper, he only flinched and sweated, trying to evade the tickling hands reaching in.
"Like this? Huh? Like this?"
"Uh, uh-ha, uh-ha, uhaaaaaaagh-"
"Like this? Hmmn?"
Just as the moment when his body was completely submerged and only his face remained, showing an anguished expression.
The representative teacher let out a sharp gasp, trembled violently, then suddenly shouted.
"Choi, Teacher Choi Jungiiim-!! You are my master nooow~!!"
"Hahaha, you crazy b*stard... Bark louder."
"Aaaagh- Taesang is a fraud, a lump of sh*t- Teacher Choi Jungim, you alone are my savioooor~!! Ugh, ughoooh-"
The representative teacher, face streaked with tears and an expression of ecstasy, howled his confession of faith.
Beside him, the students giggled and patted the teacher's head.
"Good job, Teacher. Now we can serve Teacher Choi Jungim together."
"Come on, say it. To your fellow
teachers, too."
"Huh, huuuuh-! You al better get over
here too-!"
The representative teacher, embraced by the students, let out a final death cry as his skin began to melt away.
"This... is paradise... so... hmm...."
And so the representative teacher was sucked into the flesh and vanished.Now, Teacher Choi Jungim, having completely overtaken the windows, gradually broke through the doors, closing in from all sides.
Thud- CRASH- Runble-
"Now.. Come to me..... "
"Huhuhu... Void void void...."
"This is how you become one within me and serve me..."
"Huhu... uhuuuh... kkeuheuk, heuk..."
The teachers of the Void cult and the Vice Principal trembled violently, their hands shaking as if on the verge of wailing.
The club members flinched and stepped back, and Hayoon glared at me with her gun raised.
Then, suddenly.
Beeeeeeeeeeep—
".....!"
"Ugh, ugh....".
"Aah...."
The high-frequency sound, steadily
growing, suddenly amplified beeeeeeep- piercing straight through the ears.
For a moment, the space itself seemed to warp, and all of us, shaken by a vertigo that rattled our minds,staggered and lost our balance.
Thud- thud!
"Ugh, ugh.."
Even the Void cult teachers,mid-prayer, flailed and collapsed to the floor.
The club members, too, clutched their foreheads and braced themselves against the walls or desks as if feeling dizzy.
Even in the midst of all this, Hayoon remained steady with her gun pointed, but perhaps feeling dizzy, she clenched One eye shut.
After that brief moment when the strange ringing and dizziness shook my head, I quickly steadied myself and stood up again.
"P-Prez.."
"What, what was that just now...!?"
The club members seemed to sense it too, as they clutched their foreheads and looked at me.
The teachers were also staggering and had fallen over, but they smiled with joy, as if what they'd been waiting for had finally arrived.
"Oh, he's here..."
"He has come...! Ahh..."
The teachers stretched out both arms as if in praise.
Their faces were a mess, laughing and crying at once.
I shook my head once to shake off the
dizziness, and at the same time, I felt that something had changed.
"....The monster!'
The creature that had been closing in on the teachers' office as if to swallow us whole just moments ago.
All of a sudden, it had gone quiet.
".....!"
I quickly turned my head to check the enormous face of Teacher Choi Jungim,
which had been peering through the
doorway just moments ago.
She had stopped pushing her way in through, and her expression suddenly
became blank.
"..."
Her face froze in that expression, remaining still.
As I kept my guard and watched, the nearby masses of flesh slowly began to melt away.
Slid- Drip-
"..... !"
"Oh my, my god."
Even the tightly fused bodies of the students slowly stretched and dripped down to the ground.
The representative teacher, who had just been absorbed moments ago, was suddenly spat back out with a thud, his skin completely stripped off.
The members flinched and stepped back as the melting skin was thrown close, but the skin just lay there limp and didn't move any further.
".....?"
And Teacher Choi Jungim's face slowly began to change.
The corners of her mouth gradually drooped, and her eyes hollowed out.
...No, no way!
Only then did I realize.
Looking closely, it wasn't that her flesh was melting away or her expression was changing.
The sagging, almost melting skin, and the drooping corners of her mouth and eyes.
Wrinkles forming more and more across her face.
This was... she was 'aging'.
"Oh my god.."
"What, what is this?"
Gyeongwon, Dukhun, and Jinhee were
horrified.
The teachers from the Void cult, on the other hand, were weeping with joy.
"Thank you, thank you..."
"....."
"Thank you..."
And just like that, Teacher Choi Jungim, frozen at the doorway, had suddenly aged and crumpled.
She wasn't the only one, the faces of the students visible here and there among the absorbed bodies were the same.
The faces of the students, who even after being absorbed, had still radiated the vitality of teenagers, but gradually their faces changed as well. Their lips drooped, their eyes sank, and even their hair began to turn pure white.
At the same time, age spots and wrinkles spread across their skin.
Finally, Teacher Choi Jungim seemed to come to her senses and began to twitch slowly.
"Ahh.. Aehh.. "
Pulsseureok-
Her blank expression faded as her massive face began to sway unsteadily.
In an instant, Teacher Choi Jungim had taken on the appearance of an old Woman.
"Ee... Eee-euh-euh.."
She tried to force out a sound, but only a faint, wind-like rasp escaped, like air leaking from a hollow toothless mouth.
"Eeu... Eeueuh...."
"Eeueueuoong....."
"Eum, euoong...."
Swish-
The monster, having aged past decay, slumped down with its face completely withered away.
The flesh that had clung to the outer wall and covered the windows also slid down at the same time with a long, wet schlick-.
Splat- Thud-
After watching for a moment, the situation became clear.
Teacher Choi Jungim had been completely subdued.
Transformed into the form of an elderly woman with dementia, repeating meaningless mutterings.
I stared nervously into the air, but fortunately no message appeared Indicating the ghost story had been eradicated.
"...What is this. What's going on?"
As I panicked, trying to make sense of the situation in confusion, suddenly a familiar melody rang out from somewhere.
[....♪♪....♪...♪ ...]
Huh. This is...?
An eerie tune that somehow felt familiar.
It was an ominous melody, like the sound of a music box from the movie Call Me.
[....♪♪...♪...♪ ....]
Amid the defeaning silence, with flesh hanging loose all around, the Vice Principal slowly rose, listening closely.
Then she looked around and asked.
"..Whose is it? Whose..."
Everyone's eyes scanned the room, searching for the source of the ringtone, before settling on a teacher.
Only then did that teacher frantically fumble with their clothes and reach into his pocket.
Ring ring
[♪..♪....♪..♪ ....]
The teacher pulled out his phone from his pocket.
That eerie, ominous melody was ringing out from it.
It seemed it wasn't his original ringtone, because the person who had pulled it out wore a blank expression.
Amidst everyone's frozen silence,Hayoon's cold voice snapped them out of it.
"Answer it. Hurry."
"...Y-Yes, miss."
The Vice Principal trembled for a moment as if in fear, then quickly strode over to the teacher and snatched the phone away.
Ring-ring -ring
Trembling like that, the Vice Principal looked at the phone, then pressed the call button with shaking hands.
Click-
Then she quickly placed it on the desk and looked back at us with fearful eyes,but Hayoon didn't return her gaze, still aiming at me with a cold expression.
Soon, a familiar, old man's voice came
through the phone.
"Ahhh.."