The train is arriving.
And I don't know how long the talisman I'm holding will last.
All these circumstances point to one thing.
'Hurry!'
Get down to the platform via the stairs immediately.
"This way."
Deputy Lee Seong-hae, who has the best sense of direction, darted out like an animal and began retracing their steps.
I had it mapped out in my head too, and everyone else likely tried to memorize it in the same way, so no one got confused and we just ran after her.
Breathing.
Footsteps.
…And from far away, the vibration of the approaching train.
The path quickly drew closer. Only the sound of breaking through trees and fog echoed in the silence.
And finally, the stairs appea. A clear view without fog. A path to send us somewhere else….
Exit Number ■
Stairs leading up.
...
...
I reflexively looked up. At the various objects piled up madly in front of the lowered shutter. At the dried bloodstains, at all sorts of attempts to block any connection to the outside.
The stairs leading out to Segwang Metropolitan City.
Wait.
Just a moment.
'Why?'
And then it hit me like a blow to the head.
"Etiquette...!"
"...!!"
Segwang Station (Forest of the Dying)
Etiquette
3. Running near the ticket gate leads you to the exit.
We ran as soon as we scanned our tickets at the ticket gate.
Thus, we arrived at the 'exit.'
My heart dropped[1].
'Why did no one remember?'
With this many people, it makes no sense that not a single person noticed this.
And then I realized.
Even now, recalling it in shock...
'It's rapidly evaporating from my mind.'
As if being permeated by fog.
'It's a gimmick.'
The information on the notice board doesn't seem to stay in my mind for long. But there's no time for despair.
'Quickly,'
We have to go back...!
"Bronze-ah. Reorient!"
"Yes."
Wait. I quickly added,
"Agent, do not look in the direction of the exit."
"You don't know what you might see."
"...!Yes."
After confirming that Agent Bronze nodded as he was holding up the colored glass, I urgently checked my items.
...Half of the Exorcism Fragment I was holding was covered in black mold.
The silk thread was rotting.
'...It's gotten faster.'
Coming to the exit by mistake must have had a negative impact.
At this speed, the remaining time we could endure was probably...
only about 5 to 10 minutes.
'Quickly.'
"Found it. The ticket gate...!"
"Okay. Let's not run this time."
We moved our feet. Making sure neither foot left the ground simultaneously, so it wouldn't register as running. Movement began again amidst extreme tension and concentration.
Upon reaching the ticket gate, we immediately retraced our route to the station.
We found the Transit Card Charger.
Most of the evil-warding Pollack was covered in dark purple mold.
We walked back the way we came from the charger.
The silk thread around my ring finger snapped.
The path I walked became increasingly shrouded in dizzying fog...
Drip.
Cold sweat fell onto the amulet.
The amulet was now almost unrecognizable.
More than half of the threads on my fingers had snapped.
'Quickly.'
Not being able to run felt like torture.
The thought that we could run now crossed my mind, but having already triggered the rule once, we couldn't risk it, so we kept walking.
Walking.
And.
And...
Stairs.
The path down to the platform.
"...!!"
People descended the stairs, barely able to breathe.
Clutching the remaining thread connected to the Amulet Dried Pollack, I moved my feet.
And.
And...
We broke out of the fog.
"..."
The moment I stepped onto the platform.
"Haaah..."
"Hoo."
Everyone collapsed.
'We're alive.'
The moment we felt the same gut certainty, the tension released and a deep sense of relief spread through the air.
I looked at the ceiling as I gasped for breath.
Then, as I lowered my head, I saw the single remaining silk thread.
I swallowed.
'We almost died.'
[Oh, that was a thrilling exploration with a twist in the middle, friend!]
Yeah. Whatever a friend who gave me 100 million says is fine.
And finally, a few jokes began to be exchanged among the people.
"When that exit popped up, I thought, welp, we're dead."
"Hahaha!"
"Glad we made it down safely!"
The subtle distance between the individuals from the two antagonistic groups, Daydream and the Disaster Management Bureau, seemed to have lessened.
It seemed a strange sense of camaraderie had formed.
[It's a very classic psychological phenomenon. The mechanism is a bit different, but it can be seen as similar to the suspension bridge effect!]
Yeah.
'Whatever works.'
I felt like we'd be able to handle things without getting angry at each other, even after we got out.
"We should have a get-together after we leave. Didn't the public officials say they liked spicy tripe hotpot? How about it, do you like Korean beef too?"
"Oh man, I'm crazy for it, Ms.Civilian."
"Agent, please..."
"The Old Man probably eats a pound of it too, so why are you acting so modest?"
"...?!"
"Can I come too?"
"Of course."
We all knew we weren't actually going to go out for a team dinner like that, the conversation, but a few rounds of meaningless banter went back and forth, just to ease the tension and gather our spirits.
♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪
"It's coming."
The signal that another train was arriving was picked up again.
'Does it come more often if there are passengers in the station?'
I don't know about the frequency, but if this could get us out of here, that's even better.
Of course, whether this is a means to completely escape the ghost story remains to be seen...
"There were people on the train. I hope it's connected to some other supernatural phenomenon. Right, Grapes-ie?"
"...Of course."
Anything is better than being in the middle of a World-ending Class Darkness...
And also.
"...We should also prepare for the possibility that the people on the train might not be normal."
"Naturally."
In fact, if the passengers on the train appears in a ghost story were, statistically, we couldn't rule out the possibility that they too were contaminated humans.
The train is entering.
I saw the agents switching to anti-personnel gear and Daydream employees organizing their items.
Among them, there are probably items that can't be used here, but are being maintained for appearance.
'I can't say that, being completely broke myself.'
I suppressed a sigh, looking at the evil-warding Pollack swaying in my sweat-drenched hand.
It was already almost ruined.
100 million for five lives isn't bad, but still, thinking of it as disposable...
Thump.
"..."
I watched it hit the floor.
The Persimmon-woodblock, now covered in mold, lay there, crumpled into an unrecognizable shape.
The last silk thread, dangling from my hand, had snapped and fallen.
The amulet was completely…
Ruined.
"..."
"Wait. Noruya, that..."
It's not something that could break just from weight alone.
Because it's an item...
...Which means.
It had been acting as an ward until the moment it snapped.
"..."
Stiffly, I turned my head toward the platform stairs.
...The fog that had spilled out from the lobby was flowing down the passage.
'Ah.'
That's right. The lobby is part of the subway station.
If we've been counted as a passenger at the station.
If our presence is now known to the station.
Then the forest in the lobby knows about us too…
Enough to chase us.
Up to now, the only reason we weren't chased all the way to the platform was that the talisman had been blocking our presence.
But now that it snapped.
"Back–"
The very next moment.
Fog came pouring down the stairs, completely covering the platform.
"...!!"
The platform, shrouded in fog, seem to have widened to an eerie extent, and shadows of trees began to appear.
Trees with hanging corpses on them.
…and nooses without corpses.
-A new body has been discovered in ■■■ Forest, notorious as a suicide hotspot. This body is a set of five unidentified male and female corpses, hanging themselves side-by-side from trees near the subway connection tunnel.
-According to eyewitness accounts, they are presumed to have made an extreme choice after giving up on boarding the subway train. The last conversation they had was...
-Don't you want to give up too?
"Dodge."
I ducked my head. I tried to grab the shoulder of the person next to me, but again, all I grasped was a corpse.
I shook it off, panicked .
"Everyone towards the platform screen doors!"
Fortunately, I can still hear.
And in the fog, a trail of blue flames flickered, and a bell-like sound was heard.
A presence that repelled the fog.
"Over here!"
I rushed towards it.
As I got closer, I saw a silhouette in the fog.
Agent Choi, by the platform screen door!
"-Passengers, please observe etiquette and board safely."
"As soon as the train doors open, we..."
Hook
"...Agent?"
Just now.
Just now, right before my eyes, didn't Agent Choi just get caught by a noose and get hoisted up,and dangle upwards into the tree?
Huh?
What is this...?
Why did it suddenly become like this? This was clearly a ghost story that lured victims, so since we were registered as station users, there was no need to lure us? Did the dam that the amulet was blocking break and pour out? Did we break etiquette? No...
Just now.
He died?
He di–
"Damn it."
…..
...Deputy Manager!
I barely regained my senses and pushed through the fog, searching for a voice. Deputy manager should be, should be somewhere around here...
Hook.
Another figure caught by a noose and yanked upward.
Disappearing into the fog.
-Don't you want to give up too?
I froze.
'...Ah.'
The platform was now completely covered by trees and fog.
Could everything I just saw be a hallucination? An illusion? I mean, there's no way two people would just suddenly die like that, so then...
But other presences...
"Agent Grapes!"
Agent Bronze.
"Agent."
Silhouettes approaching me. Deputy Lee Seong-hae is also visible beside them. Deputy Lee Seong-hae held up the Glow-in-the-dark Star Sticker stuck to the back of her hand, and the light revealed the inside of the fog slightly.
We were almost right next to the platform screen door.
The light from the open train door was faintly visible beyond the fog.
"Get in immedi...!"
This time.
I saw it.
The noose that sprang out of the fog caught Agent Bronze's neck and pulled him upwards.
He was reeled up into the fog.
"...!"
I reflexively grabbed his lower body. At the same time, Deputy Lee Seong-hae grabbed his feet.
But it was pointless.
Because it was around his neck.
With unimaginable pressure, the noose slipped from my grasp and pulled upwards.
Snap. Only the sound of a neck breaking was heard.
"..."
-The platform screen door closes.
I threw myself towards the train. My confused mind couldn't reach a proper conclusion and spun wildly. Escape, is this escape? Is there nothing I can do?
It's already too la–
And this time, I saw it.
Illuminated by the light of the Glow-in-the-dark Star Sticker held up by Deputy Lee Seong-hae as she ran,I saw a rope descending from the fog.
A noose.
It was one of our turns.
'No.'
I shoved Deputy Lee Seong-hae, almost throwing her into the closing train doors.
At the same time.
-Don't you want to give up too?
A noose also caught my neck and yanked. Hook.
Pain.
Pressure.
Suffocation.
.…
Death.
Blackout.
***
Would you like to continue?
***
"Haa–!"
"Agent!"
Ryu Jaegwan opened his eyes. He was gasping for breath, and the crushing pain and constriction he felt at his neck, the shock reverberated, through his chest and body.
He raised a hand to touch his neck, but someone stopped him.
"Calm down. This is Headquarters!"
...Headquarters?
His mind snapped into focus.
A modern space with gold cords and talismans. A bed, the smell of disinfectant and rice...
The Disaster Management Bureau's contamination ward.
"..."
He finally released the strength in his hand. The medical staff looking at him breathed a sigh of relief and spoke.
'A nightmare?'
Is that possible? Did I have a nightmare as a type of supernatural disaster?
Then, where did the nightmare start? What if the place I am now was actually a dre–
"We told you not to use the well as a passage anymore! You insisted on using it... Everyone who used it has been unconscious for two days. You're the first one to wake up, Agent Bronze."
"..."
"Agent Choi definitely didn't tell you to use it..."[2]
"Wait, agh, just a moment."
Ryu Jaegwan asked urgently.
"Did the well actually work?"
"It worked! All of a sudden here at headquarters, a supernatural disaster and Daydream employees, all appeared unconscious together, causing utter chaos."
"..."
"Moreover, it seemed like the unconsciousness was artificial, and we figured you'd all been his by some strange supernatural phenomenon... Agent?"
Agent Bronze grabbed his neck again.
'...My voice isn't coming out well.'
And there's a strange stuffiness, like a lingering auditory hallucination clinging to him...
like a noose.
"Are you alright? We have a detailed examination scheduled, but..."
"Yes."
Although there seemed to be odd pain, body tremors, and peculiar after-effects...
I survived.
'I didn't die.'
That's how I realized it.
The reason they could connect to Segwang Metropolitan City, a space unrecognized and erased from reality.
It was a dream.
Through the well, they had entered Segwang Metropolitan City in their dreams.
And...
"Ah, everyone seems to be regaining consciousness. However... only one Daydream employee remains unconscious."
We left one person behind.
[1] actually supposed to be “chilled” but I thought this might make more sense. lmk if I should change it or not
[2] Another translation said “I’m sure agent Choi was the one who told you to use it” contradicting once again