I Became A Ghost In A Horror Game-Chapter 45: Horror and Amusement

It felt as if something had just entered my body... but it must have been my imagination.

After dealing with Mary, I examined the white telephone that had fallen to the ground.

In the game, bosses never drop items.

And even if you try to use them, there’s no reaction.

It’s a mysterious item.

Could it be a key item?

Sometimes, there are such items.

Items that can neither be used nor combined.

They interact only with predetermined objects—like how a door key responds exclusively to one specific door—or are activated by collecting items that share the same gimmick within the game.

A key item dropped by a boss... that’s incredibly suspicious.

Could it be that all key items come from bosses?

Do all bosses, like Piero and Spider Lady, have wishes that, if granted, yield key items, in some cliché twist?

If this item comes from bosses, then...

Could I have one too?

“...”

“Ella? What’s with that expression? You look unwell.”

Eun-jung was watching me with a worried look. I forced a smile and pretended to be fine.

“I should be the strongest among us, so there’s no need to worry...”

“Ella? Ella!”

My vision wavered.

The tension in my body loosened, and my strength drained away in an instant.

Have I overexerted myself? I feel like I’ve used so much strength before that my body went hazy.

“Put me back...in the mirror...”

With the little strength I had left, I managed to speak to the kids. The last thing I remember was them hurriedly bringing the mirror to me.

......

When I opened my eyes, I was inside a full-length mirror.

As I cautiously stuck my head out of the mirror, someone bopped it with a book. Ouch.

“If you don’t take care of your body, you’ll die in no time, you know?”

It was Maria.

True to her nature as a nun, she worried about someone else’s body. A nun who worries about demons... it sounds novel, but it’s actually a rather common trope.

“I’m fine as long as I’m not dead.”

Since I wasn’t yet completely free from the mirror, moving outside drained my energy.

Having spent all my strength fighting Mary, I simply couldn’t muster the energy to move outside the mirror.

In other words, my body needs to rest inside the mirror to recover its strength.

“Not cherishing your own body is also considered a sin.”

No matter how much she said it, it didn’t really hit home.

After all, it wasn’t even my own body to begin with. As I stopped concentrating on the situation, Maria added another remark.

“The kids were very worried.”

“...”

“Pfft.”

When Maria laughed, covering her mouth, I felt uneasy.

As a loner prone to paranoid thoughts—believing that others’ laughter is at my expense—I reflexively snapped,

“What’s so funny?”

“You didn’t budge at all until you mentioned the kids, then you suddenly wore a look of contrition. How could you not laugh?”

Did I really do that?

Stung by the truth, I surrendered before I could feel any more shame.

“Ha... I get it, so could you please stop giving me that warm look?”

“You’re such a cute kid.”

“Stop it already!”

Clang.

James, having heard the conversation with Maria, opened the door and entered.

“So you’re alive.”

“What I meant to say is: Maria, James, you both succeeded? Honestly, it was a pretty unreasonable request.”

I hadn’t been able to explain the strategies for dealing with the monsters remaining in the park.

I’d only given a few precautionary hints, so it was as if they had recklessly confronted the monsters without any proper plan.

I cautiously asked James,

“...How many of them died?”

Since there were traps that would claim lives if one didn’t know, there must have been some casualties. However, James’s answer was unexpected.

“No one died.”

Oh. I never expected that not a single person had died.

I began to think that James might be even more impressive than I had anticipated.

Overjoyed by the good news, I complimented him.

“You’re really competent!”

“If that’s the case... perhaps you received some help.”

“Huh?”

“The item you received. It’s in liquid form, yet it exerts a powerful effect on plants. With it, you aimed for that gigantic sunflower with an eye at the center of the park.”

James continued his explanation.

They had been trying to target the gigantic sunflower—the weak spot of Mary and the focal point of the stage—but the onslaught of monsters was so overwhelming that they couldn’t use the item, and progress was gradually pushed back.

Since installing the relic would have been easy if they were willing to sacrifice a member, they were about to execute the plan when, out of nowhere, a stage curtain appeared before their eyes, and in the blink of an eye, they reached the spot where the relic could be installed.

They installed the relic as planned, and the weak monsters around the relic were purified just as they were.

It is said that the weakened sunflower was easily dealt with using the item I provided.

“...A curtain, huh.”

You saw all of Piero’s minions, didn’t you?

“You seem to have an inkling.”

“Remember that Piero jerk we met last time?”

“Of course.”

“Perhaps he was involved.”

That guy saw all of it, yet why didn’t he help when Mary was being targeted?

Not that he completely refrained from helping—it’s ambiguous.

Was he trying to confirm something?

“I think we should go meet him. This time, let’s all go together. If we go to meet him like we did with Mary and end up getting ambushed, we’d need to respond together. Also, on the way, I’ll explain everything I know about Piero.”

He’s so elusive that, having already taken down Mary, he can only be in the place one would expect him to be.

That means we have to head to his stage, the amusement park.

I wasn’t too keen on going because there are so many monsters along the way, but anyway.

“If he becomes an enemy, is there any chance we can win?”

“Hmm...”

I thought that if I had honed my skills in handling mirror legends a bit more, maybe I could get everyone to escape safely.

However, the image of actually winning never really formed.

The way the game showcased the destruction of the school’s barrier and even shook the building itself was truly impressive. Still.

“I don’t think we can win through conventional means, but I believe there’s a possibility of victory.”

“I see.”

James seemed to be puzzled by my attitude.

“...?”

“Could it be that your judgment is based on your growth as a demon?”

“What?”

“When measured with the demon gauge, you were only about one-quarter demon. But now, you’re half. You’ve taken one step forward as a demon.”

“...”

“It isn’t unheard of for one demon to drain the power of another. The hunger for power is instinctual, so it seems you subconsciously absorbed some of it...”

Is this some hidden game setting? I initially thought it was just a chunk of text from a trope-obsessed developer that wouldn’t affect the flow of the game, but hearing it repeatedly makes me feel incredibly uneasy.

If you gained power from Mary, then does that mean the other bosses are about one-quarter demon too?

What on earth is the developer trying to imply here?

“This is getting really unsettling.”

“Agreed.”

“I think it’ll be alright. Probably.”

“Are you planning to just gloss over it like that?”

No matter how much I rack my brain, some things remain unknown.

I decided, more or less, that we’d go meet Piero together, install the relic at his stage, and I tried to slip away with the kids to avoid Maria’s nagging.

“Oh, by the way. Something like this came from Mary. Do you have any idea what it might be?”

I showed Maria the white telephone that had dropped from Mary.

It gave off a sharp, sacred vibe—something I figured Maria, being a nun, would know well.

“This is...”

Maria’s expression turned serious.

“It appears to have the same properties as the relic we obtained.”

-----

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“You did better than expected. And the seed was well absorbed by the soul, too.”

He muttered things like the seed, having been sown into a pure human soul, didn’t provoke any rejection when it attached to another soul.

“What do you mean, Meph?”

A woman dressed as a researcher asked Meph. But he simply smiled and changed the subject.

“Ah. It’s nothing. Amy, by the way, have those symptoms we discussed during our last consultation improved?”

“They’ve improved to an unbelievable degree. All of the worries and ominous thoughts I once had have been washed away. Meph, you were right. They say ‘time’ is the best medicine, and it truly seems so.”

Amy looked at Meph with a bright smile. In her eyes, Meph appeared to be a universal problem solver.

“Ha ha ha. I’d be delighted if it were thanks to my consultation, but lately everyone’s been saying that worries, ominous thoughts, and fears have simply vanished. Isn’t it thanks to the collective effort of everyone in the institution that the world has become a better place to live?”

“Oh, please, don’t be so modest. Look at the time already! I have to be off now!”

Amy hurried off somewhere, evidently with an appointment. However, perhaps due to her haste, a loud sound of her colliding with something echoed.

“...Oh dear, oh dear... Have you even lost the fear of bumping into something?”

“I’m not laughing at you. It must be that the world I created is functioning just fine.”

“I agree—truly, the concept of ‘monsters’ was a brilliant idea.”

Meph sat down in his chair, crossing his legs.

Tapping the desk with his fingers—a clear sign he was bored—he suddenly felt something snag on his finger with a soft ‘tuk’ sound. It was a collection of ghost stories.

“Oh, right. I suppose I should read a ghost story collection then.”

Meph chuckled softly as he read the collection.

“Why are they so absurd and funny? Truly, ghost stories and jokes differ by just a hair’s breadth. After all, the horror genre was ultimately created for human amusement, isn’t it only natural?”

Fear, as long as it doesn’t lead to death, is indeed one of life’s most stimulating spices.

People may feel trepidation and tension when reading horror novels, yet in the end, they are unharmed. Haunted houses and roller coasters only evoke fleeting fear, never endangering one’s life.

Of course, horror games follow the same principle.

“If you don’t die, a terrifying experience can become the most exhilarating adventure. Beyond games or novels, if you can experience it firsthand, struggle for your life, and ultimately survive—where else can you find such a tumultuous adventure?”

“Isn’t that so?”

Meph sought agreement—from his friend in a world brimming with amusement and jokes.

-----

The kids greeted me as soon as they saw me. Among them, Eun-jung came running like a speeding train, and I opened my arms wide to welcome her.

“Ella, you made it!”

Eun-jung buried her head in my chest and wiggled around.

I’ve grown accustomed to her playful antics by now, so I playfully pressed her head down so she couldn’t breathe.

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“Eubububub...?!”

In a tiny voice, she mumbled, “That’s not mommy.”

Who’s mommy? She’s your friend, you know.

“Is it okay to bury your head in someone else’s chest or not?”

“...Oooong~!”

“Wait, wait—a little vibration?! Ahahahaha!”

I quickly let go of Eun-jung and tumbled to the floor.

It seemed she intended to get even somehow, climbing onto my still-motionless back from the lingering ticklish sensation.

“Hey, hey, hey! Don’t put your hands in my armpits! That’s murder!”

“Let’s speak frankly. What is it you want?”

At my question, Eun-jung unexpectedly wiped away her beaming smile and adopted a serious expression.

I couldn’t help but tense up, fearful of what kind of dreadful request she might make.

“Don’t ever leave me behind while you all run away.”

Huh?

“...Why are you saying that all of a sudden?”

I racked my brain, wondering if I’d done something to upset her.

As if to resolve my confusion, Kyung-min reached out his hand to help me up.

I took his hand and stood, and Eun-jung climbed off my back to stand beside Ha-rim.

“What is it you want to say?”

“What I’m about to say is what we all agree on.”

What on earth could be so important?

“Even if it puts us in danger, please don’t run away leaving only Ella behind.”

“...”

“We’re in the same club. Even if danger strikes and we have to run, I want us to run and overcome it together. No matter how frightening or difficult it gets.”

So that was the talk these little ones had been having—believing that kindness, in measured doses, is beneficial.

“You fool! It wasn’t exactly for your sake, you know? It was a thoroughly calculated, strategic retreat. I only took on a little risk because I thought you might end up dying in vain.”

“Ella, you’re not being honest.”

Caught, huh. I finally realized that I’m the type who can’t hide my feelings.

Not liking the fact that my thoughts were so transparent, I snapped back curtly.

“Even though you understand what I mean, it’s mischievous of you to add your two cents.”

“...Don’t dilly-dally. Promise me.”

I took a deep breath—it was time for a lecture.

“Sometimes, there are things far more important than being stubborn. Your lives right now are worth many times more than that stubbornness. Don’t assume you’ll always be lucky like this. Did you really think your demand was to lock the emergency exit door for fleeing only in times of peril?”

“Yeah! I got it!”

Well, if that were the case, I’d have failed to persuade you right out of the gate.

“Did you really understand? I mean, you could die, you know! How can you be so optimistic? Eun-jung, aren’t you scared? Just because we’re together doesn’t mean we’re invincible! It’s possible for all of us to die together!”

“I’m scared.”

“See? That’s what I thought.”

Finally, a satisfactory answer.

“But I believe that Ella will make things less frightening.”

“You’re not making sense at all. Do you even know what danger is? I’m talking about situations that spiral out of control. Don’t you understand, kiddo?”

“We’re basically children...”

I’m about to lose my mind.

How is it that these relentlessly positive little fools have grown so confident after managing to overcome terrifying beings time and again?

After experiencing fear yet always surviving, they fall into the delusion that they can live through anything!

It’s a fanciful idea even a child would dream up!

“Fear—it’s true. At first, it was really overwhelming. I’d shrink and freeze up for a moment. But with Ella by ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) my side, I felt that no matter how scary or dangerous it got, we could pull through. And once we did, it felt amazing!”

“That’s why we’re happy to be with Ella! No matter how dangerous the situation, we’ll overcome it together!”

In what kind of ‘strange’ world is that even possible?

Reality, of course, shatters that illusion.

But I kind of want to create such a world.

I want those relentlessly optimistic kids to survive every crisis and, through adventure, beat this game.

I want to turn that odd delusion—that no matter what fear comes their way, they can overcome it—into reality.

I want to see children who ultimately conquer their fears and treat them as just another form of amusement.

Can I do it?

...I suppose the outcome will answer that question.

Regardless of what I say, it never really reaches them. So, brushing a stray lock of hair from their faces that sparkled with hope, I said,

“Ha... alright, fine.”

Ha-rim grinned broadly.

“Especially, Ha-rim, I promised to show you a real adventure.”

Of course, adventures aren’t without risk.

But just this once, be a little foolish—I won’t hold it against you.

“Promise!”

We interlocked our pinkies and vowed it.

—Aside—

“Hey, what’s that lying over there?”

“That’s a monster we defeated while waiting for Ella. Ha-rim took care of it in a flash.”

The defeated monster was known as the ‘Collision Creature.’

Everyone has memories of getting bumped into something and being startled.

It was a creature personifying that subconscious fear of accidentally hurting ourselves by colliding with something.

“Even though it’s a weak little thing, it’s pretty impressive.”

Even if its danger level is low, figuring out how to defeat it must have been tricky—but Ha-rim is amazing.

And kudos to the developer for creating so many of these creatures, too.