[ding–dong–dang–dong]
I opened my eyes.
“Where is this?”
“Hey, what the....”
That familiar murmur.
People suddenly sucked into a ghost story, talking in confusion and tension.
A classroom in the dead of night with the lights off. And—
“Ahhh! You scared me!”
“Is that a doll?”
A student from Segwang Industrial High School sat motionless at one desk.
The tragedy that was about to unfold.
“......”
A rush of tangled emotions threatened to pull me under, but I couldn’t afford to drown in them.
I looked down at my hands.
Thankfully, what I saw were human hands. Hands wearing the same old high school uniform I used to know.
As expected.
Segwang Industrial High was inside the Special City, after all. I’d figured I would manifest in human form here.
It had taken days of grueling attempts—forcing my body, No. 130666, to lose consciousness so that it could finally be recognized as “asleep.”
But in the end, I’d succeeded.
I’d woken up inside this nightmare of a school.
“Huh?”
There was no time to waste.
I threw open the front door and ran into the hallway.
“Let’s move.”
At the same moment, two other agents burst from nearby classrooms. We locked eyes.
Second floor.
We were all on the same level.
Good.
That would make things faster.
“Hey! Do you know what’s—”
We ignored the panicked voices and ran.
Agent Choi looked like he was clenching his teeth to keep from reacting.
—Agent, when you enter, you have to write your name behind the school photo...
—I’ll handle it.
And now Agent Choi really was here.
His neck and hands, exposed by the navy school uniform, were perfectly smooth—so clean it was almost uncanny.
But the mission was clear.
—We have to move before the students can act, before the game begins.
We charged up the stairs.
We had to move faster than any Baekilmong employees or other agents who might have entered at random.
Third floor.
We were halfway up when—
[Students, for heating and safety, the curtains will now close and the lights will be turned on.]
The lights came on.
Whoosh—
Just before darkness swallowed us, Agent Cheongdong pulled a flashlight from his jacket and fixed it to his arm with a cable tie. Agent Choi mirrored the motion, watching the third floor.
But neither of them turned their lights on.
Because—
Thump.
I was about to press the tattoo over my heart and release the contamination myself.
“...!”
In an instant, the essence of Segwang Industrial High surged through me, drowning me completely.
A student in the old school uniform.
The transfer student from Class 1-5 who’d borrowed Lee Gyeol’s clothes.
And the agents beside me—
₩ud3ec₩ub3c4₩uc57c₩u002c₩u0020₩ub4e4₩ub9ac₩uc9c0₩u003f
—were gone.
In their place were glitches—sickening, flickering monsters that shouldn’t exist. Melting pixels, jagged noise that tore at the ears.
Intruders.
They had to be erased. I reached out toward those slow, grotesque things—
Barely—
Stopped myself. Gripped them gently instead.
—Don’t shine your flashlight on me.
I ground my teeth.
Keeping my promise, I clutched the almost-motionless “glitches” and ran like mad up the stairs to the third floor.
And then—
Flick.
The lights blinked again, and the glitches turned their gaze on me.
My body froze.
When I could move again, I was already being carried by the glitches, halfway down the third-floor hall.
Good.
That was it.
—There’s a way to move quickly without stopping.
You just had to move during the lights, unhindered.
The student and the glitches can cooperate.
When I stopped, the agents would move.
When they stopped, I would move them.
That way, we could advance without being attacked.
—The problem is, whether it’s staff or students, if anyone spots us, we’ll be suspected immediately...
—Podo. It’s fine.
—What?
—From what I hear, it’s chaos in there. One extra figure tagging along with us won’t stand out that much.
—...!
—It’ll be fine, as long as civilians don’t start dying en masse.
He was right.
At the start, there were so many “intruders” appearing as glitches to the students that their attention was scattered anyway.
So we have to move fast.
Before anyone noticed.
I dragged the two with me toward the infirmary.
Ignoring the heavy thuds and shadows inside each classroom along the hall as students destroyed the “glitches.”
And then—
Click.
I opened the infirmary door—then closed it again.
“......”
Lee Gyeol wasn’t there.
The bed where his classmate had been laid earlier was empty, the sheets crumpled as if someone had just gotten up.
A single note remained.
A scrap of paper? Teacher?
It looked like a reminder he’d scrawled on his own hand, but I couldn’t make sense of it.
“......”
Time to do this properly.
I took a deep breath, grabbed an A4 sheet from the infirmary cabinet, set it on the floor, and started to write.
—Arrived. Checked the window. I can see the rear garden.
—When you’re ready, let’s go down together.
But just as the next flicker came—
—Podo.
I drew in a sharp breath at the reply.
—There’s nothing outside the window.
Through the glitch’s eyes, the infirmary window showed nothing but blackness.
Maybe it’s because the area wasn’t rendered for gameplay?
I didn’t know. What mattered was—
It’s fine.
That’s what the contamination was for.
I can do it alone.
The talisman was already complete. I just had to place it in the right spot.
—Keep watch for me.
Leaving that message behind, I slipped my hand into the still-upright Agent Choi’s jacket and took out the talisman.
I was planning to steal it anyway.
I hadn’t expected it to happen this naturally.
I quickly opened the window and climbed down. The glitches couldn’t reach this area, which made moving easier.
The rear garden.
Just days ago, when I’d come here with the Wolf Leader, the flower bed had been dry and dead. Now it was unnaturally lush—like spring or summer.
Haa.
I didn’t breathe as I dug into the soil, searching for the glass lantern. And—
...!
A faint glow shone from the bottom of the shattered lantern.
The talisman’s still active?
But the flickering light looked unstable, ready to die out any second.
A precarious balance.
I could feel it.
It’s almost over.
That charm had spent its power.
And whatever had happened because of it... I didn’t want to imagine. If the school’s current state was due to the charm barely holding, then—
Good thing I wasn’t too late.
Relief pressed on my chest like pain.
I didn’t dig it out completely—just separated the bottom to inspect the torn talisman. Its shape was still split, but...
Each stroke of the pattern was glowing blue.
The base of the glass lantern heated, the light climbing its walls and spreading through the soil.
The power of the Will-o’-the-wisp.
“......”
Stay calm.
I carefully took out the new talisman. Then—
Hup.
I slid it under the lantern’s base and gently pulled out the torn one.
A blue light flared from the new talisman.
“...!”
The power of the Will-o’-the-wisp, shining as if to drive out every impure thing, to hide and shelter the place it must protect.
Good.
I swallowed hard. And then—
Flick.
The light went out.
“......”
Wait.
No...
The glass and talisman buried in the dark soil of the garden now lay there like discarded trash.
A chill ran down my spine.
Why?
No.
I frantically shoved the torn talisman back under the lantern’s base, but nothing happened.
Its power was gone.
—Once the talisman is returned to its original position, it should activate properly.
Agent Cheongdong had been certain.
Then why isn’t it working?
I clawed deeper into the soil.
Checked every inch of the lantern’s base—and froze.
Goosebumps swept up my arms.
...The glass lantern!
Scratches.
The broken lantern had delicate patterns etched from the bottom up—but it was cracked, chipped, webbed with fractures.
When I held the torn talisman against it and looked closely, I saw it.
Some of those cracks lined up with the talisman’s strokes.
The damage was part of it.
Even the lantern’s scratches had been part of the talisman.
The inscription had extended beyond the paper, drawn onto the glass itself—so even half a charm could retain power.
But as time passed—or someone meddled—the glass broke further, hanging on by a thread until—
At this very moment—
All its power was gone.
The barrier that had protected Segwang Industrial High from whatever was out there—
The shield those agents had fought to create—
Had just vanished.
“......”
“It’s undone.”
A sound from behind.
Hide-and-seek-is-overthe-game-is-over
They-came-inthe-school-they-came-inthe-school-it-eats-it-blocks-behind-behind-behind-danger-gone-dead-no-don’t-no-I’m-not-a-sacrifice-they-came-in-they-came-inscreams-oh-how-sad-it-eats-it-eats-something-comes-from-the-darkness-surging-closer-the-tainted-thing-devours—
I scrambled up onto the window frame.
My palms were slick with sweat.
Fasterfasterthe-game-can’t-stop-it-anymorethe-game-is-overit’s-coming-fast-fast-fast-fast-fast—
I barely managed to plant a foot on the infirmary window ledge and slide inside. With trembling hands, I slammed the window shut and tried to release the contamination. I had to dispel it and talk to the agents—
......
Why isn’t it releasing?
Wait.
Why won’t it release? Why can’t I run? Why am I still here? Huh? Trying to escape? Looking for someone? Who?
Found you.
Slee—
“Agent Podo!”
“...!”
Before I knew it, the agents were standing before me, moving again.
I reflexively looked down, but the Segwang Industrial High uniform was still on my body. Then how were the agents visible? How were we facing each other? How could we communicate—no, no!
More importantly—
“The space—”
“The glass lantern!”
I grabbed the other’s shoulder at once.
“We have to retrieve the glass lantern. The lantern itself was part of the talisman! The strokes extended into its grooves!”
“...!”
“Can we reach it now? Among the agents who entered, did anyone still have a lantern—”
“I know!”
Agent Choi seized my shoulder.
“I know. Calm down. We’ll find it right now. They woke up in the same classroom as me. It hasn’t been long—they should still be there.”
“Who—”
“Agent Haegeum.”
“Who is Haegeum?”
I froze.
[ding–dong–dang–dong. The graduation ceremony has begun. Any students not in attendance will receive penalty points. Teachers are now departing from the auditorium.]
We burst out of the infirmary.
Running through the blood-stained corridor, sprinting like mad. Down the stairs.
And I saw it.
They’re coming down.
The masses of flesh that had blanketed the fifth floor were sliding downward from the upper landings, rippling like a living tide. But there was no trace of the talisman’s mark.
Was there even a point to our movement now? Something about this—
Shut up.
I clenched my teeth and ran.
We finally reached the second floor, followed Agent Choi into a classroom. The same one where he’d first regained consciousness.
“Huh? H-hey—?”
“Ahhh!!”
Students and civilians had begun to recognize one another—screaming, crying, attacking, panic exploding into a mess of chaos and horror.
And then—
“Agent!”
“Choi! Something’s wrong—gather all agents, form a protective zone first!”
A high-schooler with a bright face and hair tied back tight.
Her cheeks spattered with blood, barking crisp orders before hesitation could set in. That young face—I knew it.
Agent Haegeum...!
But one of the people she addressed was someone I hadn’t expected.
“And make sure the company people don’t try anything stupid!”
The boy in a spotless blazer-style uniform—a black-haired student wearing a lizard mask.
“That’s impossible.”
“...Section Chief!!”
“Yes.”
The Lizard Section Chief. Here? No—considering all Baekilmong field teams were trying to break in, the odds weren’t impossible, but still—
“Roe Deer.”
Wait—calling me that here—!
“Why are you wearing a Segwang Industrial High School uniform?”
......
Hold on.
Wait... right.
I’m a student. But—
We’re communicating normally.
That means even these “intruders” are now recognized by the system as legitimate presences inside the school, not as errors.
......
A cold realization swept through me.
The teachers originally couldn’t perceive the errors.
Now they could.
The time when all you had to do was avoid drawing attention by collecting too many name tags was over.
Anyone can be attacked and killed now...
And I’d seen what happens when an outsider is killed by a “teacher.” The moment it happens—
Deleted.
I spun toward the others.
“Run!”
“Agent Podo.”
“No, it’s better to die here right now! If a teacher kills you in this place, you’re erased from reality. It’s not just death—you stop existing—”
AaaaaaaaAAAAAAAHHHHHH—
......
Thud.
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
“......”
Classic 8-bit game music began to seep into my ears—ominous, minor, descending—and unnervingly fast, mixed with bursts of childish giggling.
It was getting closer.
“It’s here.”
As if guided by instinct, the students opened lockers or crawled under desks to hide.
The agents ignored my warning, drawing their equipment, preparing for confrontation, securing their lines of sight.
I joined them at the window—
And saw it.
The thing descending the stairs.
AaaaaaaaAAAAAAAHHHHHH—
The Teacher.
The hell I’d already witnessed once before.
A massive body patched together from the forms and belongings of every teacher who’d lain on the fifth floor—arms, heads, faces screaming, all fused into one writhing mass.
But this time, there was a far more horrifying difference.
Its body had split open down the middle, and from within poured an unnatural light.
“...!”
The huge ribs were forced apart like a cage cracking open, revealing a human upper body draped in long, dark hair.
The one that hung in front of the auditorium doors.
That crushed, collapsing torso.
And at its center—a piece of paper glued to the flesh. Half of a library book loan card. The torn half of the talisman.
The waist hacked away, the head half-missing.
The tattered jumper still clinging to that body bore the name—
Supernatural Disaster Response Agency
That face...
“...Team Leader?”
I turned to look at Black Tortoise Team One.
The two agents’ faces had gone rigid, stunned beyond words.
And—
“Hong-unni.”
Agent Haegeum’s voice trembled.
“......”
—Our team leader’s last mission was this bizarre, maze-like supernatural disaster. She lost almost her entire upper body there.
I understood, at last, what they were recognizing.
—The team leader passed the goblin’s trial and carried her own custom Will-o’-the-wisp lantern.
—Currently, her head and upper body are more than half replaced by Will-o’-the-wisp fire.
Team Leader of Black Tortoise Team One.
The elder—Agent Park Hongrim.
AaaaaaaaAAAAAAAHHHHHH—
Agent Park Hongrim’s upper body twisted its head toward us.