Chapter 178 – Ghost Story (2)

A cloudy noon, unusually gray for autumn.

Abel, resting her chin lazily on one hand, looked up at the sky.

With such a gloomy atmosphere, her mind inevitably drifted to the great incident from a few days ago—the tragedy of Joaquin. A disaster for the academy… but ironically, the day Kang Geom-Ma was made a hero.

Lost in thought, Abel let herself slump onto the desk. She tilted her neck slightly and looked out the window. Her pupils, golden as pure gold, reflected a gray, somber landscape. Perhaps that color mirrored her own mood.

“Haa…”

She sighed deeply. She was steeped in melancholy, another consequence of the tragedy of Joaquin.

Since that day, Abel hadn’t stopped thinking. Especially about the rumors surrounding Kang Geom-Ma… and Saki. That they were a couple. Many students who witnessed the scene took it as fact.

And yet, having lived with Kang Geom-Ma for a month, Abel found it odd.

That same Kang Geom-Ma, who showed up to a date in his academy tracksuit, in a relationship? It was as absurd as watching a cow eat meat.

And still, her chest hurt. She couldn’t confirm or deny their relationship. That was the problem.

Saki had jumped in without hesitation. She, on the other hand, hadn’t.

Abel felt deeply disappointed in herself. In the undead dungeon, Kang Geom-Ma had saved her father. But she had been paralyzed by fear, watching the bloody battle without being able to move.

That memory was what tormented her most. She had gone several nights without sleep, consumed by guilt.

At that moment, a shadow appeared in front of Abel, still collapsed on the desk. Just sensing the presence, she knew who it was—Rachel.

“Abel~ are you asleep~?”

“……”

For some reason, she was very quiet today. Abel shut her eyes tight and pretended to sleep.

Rachel looked at the white strand in Abel’s hair. Then muttered to herself, her voice a bit dim:

“Well, if she’s asleep, there’s nothing to do… just when I found out that Speedweapon is going out tonight with Kang Geom-Ma…”

At that instant, Abel shot up.

“Tell me everything.”

***

Since long ago, every school has had its ghost stories.

Things like statues that read books and move at night, or a woman crying in the third stall of the boys’ bathroom.

Ghost stories always spread by word of mouth, without proof or real witnesses. Up to elementary school, maybe, they still gave you chills. But once you hit middle school, most students stop taking them seriously.

And in high school? Except for a few occult fanatics, no one really pays attention.

At that age, you start focusing more on reality.

The older you get, the more skeptical you become of things like ghosts.

Because you realize that the scariest things aren’t spirits. They’re people.

Ghost stories, with no evidence or real witnesses, are nothing but empty rumors. They always were—and I still believe that.

‘Although…’

Lying in bed, I thought about Speedweapon’s expression. He was completely pale, as if his soul had escaped him.

Maybe if that had been all, I wouldn’t have been so affected.

Speedweapon had always been a coward. Even though he acted tough, deep down he had the most fragile heart of us all.

But this time, what made me feel really uneasy was Ryozo and Chloe’s reaction when Speedweapon mentioned that he might be trapped in a ghost story.

Both of them turned serious. Very serious. And they started speaking with somber faces.

I was completely confused. I’m seventeen years old. In three months, I’ll be eighteen.

Okay, let’s say ghosts exist. In a world where magical beasts and demons are real, why couldn’t ghosts be too?

But what confused me the most was our status—we’re students at Joaquin Academy. Future heroes with the duty to fight demons.

And now we’re getting scared over ghosts?

I didn’t know what kind of face to make.

I also didn’t understand how the conversation ended with all of us agreeing to go to the Aaron Pavilion tonight.

I looked at the wall clock. It was almost six in the evening. Thirty minutes left until meeting the others. If I didn’t hurry, I’d just make it.

“Courage training at our age?”

I let out a bitter laugh and got out of bed. I still didn’t get why they were taking it so seriously.

Even if you saw a ghost, wasn’t it enough to wash your feet and go to sleep?

But Speedweapon didn’t see it that way. He was convinced we had to go to that place and “exorcise the spirit.” That in this world, that’s how it had to be done.

‘…I guess coming from different backgrounds, there are things I won’t understand.’

Even so, I told them I’d go with them to the building. Everyone was happy. Especially Speedweapon, who had been pale, lit up like he’d come back to life.

Not long ago, I helped him with the elections, but I never gave him anything in return. Going with him to a haunted place was the least I could do.

Once I was ready to leave, I stood in front of my desk. Several sashimi knives were scattered all over it.

“It’s not a dungeon, it’s just a haunted house… do I really need these?”

The doubt didn’t last long. I grabbed a couple of knives and left the room.

“Kang Geom-Ma! Here! Over here!”

When I arrived at the Aaron Pavilion, Speedweapon greeted me. Ryozo and Chloe were already there too.

I pulled out my phone and checked the time: 6:15 p.m.

‘And I even rushed… they were already here.’

I approached the building entrance where the others were waiting. And then I saw it.

A stone building so deteriorated it looked ready to collapse. And that’s not a metaphor.

It really looked like it was about to fall apart. Hard to believe it was still used last year.

They say it’s one of the original buildings, used since 700 years ago when the academy was founded. The passage of time showed in every corner.

I muttered without thinking:

“If a ghost doesn’t come out of there, that’d be more surprising.”

Since it was autumn, the sun was already starting to set early. Blue shadows covered the building, and the air was icy.

Everything about that place screamed “haunted house.”

‘And Speedweapon practiced here? As scared as he is?’

I frowned for a moment and joined the others.

Once gathered, we checked our gear. Radios, headlamps—everything necessary. Even though a phone would’ve been enough, everyone brought separate equipment. Seemed like they wanted to set the mood.

Just a few hours ago, Speedweapon was on the verge of tears from fear, and now he was excited…

“Looks like we’re ready, shall we go in?”

Speedweapon smiled brightly. We all nodded.

Creak—

The sound of the door opening was as eerie as the building itself.

And so, we entered that cursed place.

***

…Fifteen minutes later, several people began gathering in front of Aaron Pavilion. Saki, Speedweapon, and Chloe were there.

The minute hand landed exactly on thirty. A large question mark hovered over Saki’s face as she checked her wristwatch.

“It’s time—why hasn’t Kang Geom-Ma arrived?”

“Exactly. Has the president ever been late? He’s always on time. Sometimes he’s even early.”

“Wait, I’ll call him.”

Beep— beep—

[The person you are calling is currently out of the service area…]

Speedweapon looked at Saki.

“Where is he?”

“…He’s out of range, the call won’t go through.”

“Out of range? But that’s weird. The entire Joaquin Academy is equipped with cutting-edge facilities. There’s no dead zones, and the Wi-Fi is excellent.”

“……”

Saki turned her head toward the building. Despite how old it was, it had been so well maintained that its centuries of history barely showed.

As Chloe said, with some internal repairs, it could easily be usable again. However, there was a strange atmosphere about it that couldn’t be described. Saki frowned.

At that moment—

Footsteps echoed in the distance. Two pairs.

Saki fixed her gaze in that direction. The next instant, her expression turned confused.

“Abel and Rachel…?”

Her eyes widened as she saw the two approaching. Speedweapon, beside her, explained with an awkward look:

“Ah, that… I called them. It’s just… with only four of us, it felt too few. This place is supposed to be haunted! At least six people feels safer, right?”

Saki gave him a pitying look.

Abel and Rachel reached the building’s entrance. Abel looked around nervously, like a meerkat.

Saki glanced at her coldly and murmured,

“Kang Geom-Ma isn’t here.”

“Ah…”

For a moment, a flash of disappointment passed through Abel’s eyes. Then she quickly shook her head.

“I… I only came because Rachel dragged me.”

Abel insisted. Saki responded with a disdainful chuckle.

Rachel laughed loudly and chimed in,

“Since when do you two get along so well? You looked like enemies in class. I guess distance brings people together, nya-ha!”

***

The inside of the building was pitch black. Total darkness. Even though the sun was still faintly shining outside, inside you couldn’t see a single step ahead.

Good thing the club members brought flashlights. With just phone lights, we wouldn’t have been able to move forward at all.

Creak, creak.

Each step on the rotting wooden floor made the building groan. Ironically, those sounds were what let me know I was moving forward.

‘How can they walk so easily in this darkness?’

I followed behind the others, silently watching their backs.

They moved guided only by the light of their headlamps, without saying a word.

…But how? Even Chloe and Saki walked like they knew the place well.

Not even with the help of [Blessing of the Sword] and [Blessing of Transfer] could I get my bearings clearly. It felt like being trapped in a windowless cell. The air was suffocating, as if the entire building was swallowing me.

Something else felt off. Since we entered, no one had spoken. Even with nerves, the silence was excessive.

I asked Speedweapon, who was in the lead.

“How much farther?”

He lit up a staircase ahead with his flashlight.

“After those stairs, just a few more steps.”

He replied without turning. His tone was flat, dry. No trace of the scaredy-cat he’d been earlier.

“Really? That was fast. I hope we wrap this up and head back soon.”

“Yeah. This place is super scary, we should leave quickly.”

Saki and Chloe chimed in, and I barely smiled with my eyes. Neither of them looked at me as they spoke.

Creak.

I stopped dead in my tracks. Everyone else did too.

Then Speedweapon asked.

“What’s wrong, Kang Geom-Ma? Something the matter?”

“Hah.”

I let out a dry laugh. How didn’t I notice sooner?

“Speedweapon, you’ve been calling me Kang Geom-Ma this whole time. Since when do you do that? You always call me ‘president.’”

“……”

“Not just you. Ryozo, Chloe—who are you all, really?”

A heavy silence filled the hallway. The flashlights flickered intermittently.

“If there’s one thing I hate, it’s being deceived.”

“……”

Clink.

I drew my sashimi knife. In the darkness, the blade rang coldly as it left the sheath.

“If you don’t want me to slice you up, turn your heads toward me. Right now.”

Everyone turned their necks at the same time. Crack— The sound of bones snapping. Their bodies still faced forward, but their heads twisted 180 degrees to look at me.

Faces drenched in blood. The corners of their mouths ripped all the way to their ears.

Their faces contorted even more. Their upper and lower teeth were connected by strands of sticky blood.

That grotesque and bizarre sight shook me to my core. Then, with those twisted smiles, they all spoke in unison.

“““Am I pretty?”””