I Became A Ghost In A Horror Game - Chapter 77

“Carol! He’s here!”

I called Carol without hesitation.

She answered the phone right away, as if she had been waiting.

There was panic in her voice.

“Yes, Alice, it’s an emergency. This is an unexpected attack for us too. Now that the standby team has departed, we will first ensure the safety of residents. So Alice, please stop that thing!”

I didn’t feel confident enough to do that, but there was only one thing I could say.

“Okay!”

I tried to hang up the phone.

As long as the residents remain here, the nuclear missiles in the mirror cannot be used.

 

To fight that guy without cheats, I really would have to pay full attention.

I tried to hang up the phone, thinking about the monsters that would be most effective against the Machine God.

“Ah, Alice!”

Then Carol called me.

“What is it?”

“We will also send reinforcements, but this fight will be quite difficult. Especially if you can’t use cheats like last time. If you lose this fight and something unfortunate happens, you must not waver. Make sure you make up your mind before fighting.”

Carol had said something like this before.

Before entering the factory.

Every time Carol said something like this, a huge crisis was waiting…

No, it doesn’t matter, because the crisis is already happening.

“Carol. I don’t think it’s right to think about failure already. Believing in success is a virtue of young adults like me…”

“Stop saying nonsense and remember! Do not waver, ever. This is both a concern and a warning! Do. Not. Waver! Always stay calm. Even in the worst situations, the answer might be close by.”

Nonsense…?!

I didn’t have time to get angry.

Because I couldn’t just watch the Machine God destroy a building.

I hung up the phone, leaving behind Carol’s burdensome worries.

“I got it. Let’s save the ominous talk for later!”

“I’m not finished talking yet.”

I looked at the metal giant coming down from the sky.

It is several times larger than what I saw at the factory.

And the strange devices attached to it were very threatening.

It was a monster more dangerous than the half-devil seen in the horror game, and if it was not defeated now, it would become an unbearable ordeal for humanity.

“This is unexpected. I didn’t think it would be this fast.”

I looked back in surprise.

Pinocchio.

I couldn’t sense him at all.

He walked toward me, making a faint creaking sound from his joints.

“Are you ready, Alice? Then let’s fly.”

Pinocchio climbed onto the wooden cuckoo doll he had created.

Since I, as a devil, couldn’t fly on my own, I followed Pinocchio onto the wooden doll.

As we flew through the sky, we saw the Institution’s personnel bustling about.

“They are people from the Institution. Why don’t they wear military uniforms? Military uniforms would be more familiar to the residents…”

To the confused residents, police and military uniforms would be more familiar, but the Institution’s personnel were wearing slightly peculiar uniforms.

When I was puzzled, Pinocchio gave me some information.

“You mean the digital patterned uniforms? You don’t know the obvious. If they stage a war, an inconvenient being might descend.”

Descend? Who?

I asked him back.

“What?”

“There’s no time to explain, Alice.”

The cuckoo was very fast.

The Machine God, which seemed blurry because it was so far away, was now close enough that his size was almost overwhelming.

It was fighting the Institution’s helicopter.

The helicopter was colorful, making me wonder why it had such cute patterns.

Anyway, the Machine God, who was only exchanging ordinary attacks and defenses even when dozens of helicopters launched an all-out attack, glanced at us and spread his arms.

[The play will begin. A grand play for all to see.]

Then, a small stage appeared behind the it’s head.

When he gestured, theatrical props rose up, and thin strings spread out, barely noticeable as they briefly shimmered in the light.

It then threw one of the Institution’s personnel onto the stage.

“This damn monster!!”

The agent began shooting at the props on the stage as if he was crazy.

The props transformed into a small Machine God, and as the man kept shooting, his words and movements became increasingly exaggerated and simplistic, like a cheap performance, until he finally shouted.

“Unbelievable! Even using a gun with increased firepower, it can’t make even a single blemish, so how can it not be called the strongest? I’m giving up, so you should give up too!”

He shouted that line and committed suicide with exaggerated gestures.

[Your weapons cannot leave a scratch on the solid body of a god.]

A voice rings in my head and the play I just watched is stuck in my mind.

The Machine God’s fate manipulation ability has been activated.

The helicopter’s gunfire and missiles could no longer leave even a scorch mark on it.

“Huu… ! Haa… ! Why is it not hitting?!”

The Machine God chose his second victim.

The captured agent grabbed the bow and arrows that were on the floor and began to resist.

Perhaps was also affected by something, but he was unable to hit even a single arrow on the giant Machine God while looking crazed.

After firing only a few arrows, the agent delivered clumsy lines and then committed suicide.

[Also, your arrows will not reach the body of a god.]

Once again, the final scene etched itself into my brain.

This time, all of the Institution’s long-distance attacks did not reach the Machine God because their orbits were bent.

I realized that numerical superiority could no longer be an absolute victory condition.

So this is the minimum power that can single-handedly destroy humanity.

If the Machine God gets bigger here, there will be no chance of defeating him using physical methods.

But now.

And because I’m not affected by his fate-manipulating ability, I can resist him.

“Let’s begin.”

Pinocchio pointed at the Machine God with his wooden hand.

Then numerous wooden dolls, planks, and even disguised trees hidden in the ground sprang out and merged.

They formed four gigantic dolls, half the size of the Machine God.

The force of the doll’s iron weapons was enough to pierce almost anything.

[It’s been a while, child.]

“It’s not.”

It hasn’t even been a week since he and I saw each other.

[Child, all escape routes from this city have been blocked. But the children entangled in your fate are still here. That means you can no longer use the giant arrow in your mirror. Tell me. What will you do now?]

I told the Machine God, who spoke as if he had won everything, about what he had left out.

“But in using your power to block the escape routes, the monsters attacking the residents are at a level the Institution can handle. So, I will reach a conclusion without using any cheats.”

[Try it.]

I brought up my strength.

Then Pinocchio seemed to have taken it as a signal and gave an order to the giant dolls.

“Charge.”

The wooden giants rushed at the Machine God, and the collision between them was as loud as the sound of lightning.

However, there was not a single scratch made.

He looked at Pinocchio.

[Pinocchio. Even though it is a devil, it has a mechanical body made of iron and wood. It is also the only machine that cannot be controlled. We’ve met before.]

“In that case, you must remember my power too, you tin can.”

[Of course.]

Pinocchio shouted as if making a declaration.

“Our attack shattered that damn pile of scrap metal. It was nothing more than an empty shell as hollow as its head! Whether this is a lie is irrelevant. What I believe is the truth!”

Pinocchio boldly lied.

His long nose shrunk.

Then something amazing happened.

There were scratches on the Machine God’s body.

I thought I knew why Ariel chose Pinocchio as the devil who could defeat the Machine God.

A clash between the power to manipulate fate and the power to manipulate reality.

This conflict makes a close fight possible.

“There’s a scratch.”

“Unfortunately, it’s not perfect. The Institution’s attacks are still missing, after all.”

“Well, whatever, it’s good enough that a path has opened!”

I created a large mirror.

Radio Head popped out from there and glared at the Machine God.

“Alright! It’s time for a rematch!”

The monster jumped out of the mirror with its huge body.

It seems very motivated.

I asked the monster for a favor.

[Alice.]

“Can you broadcast?”

[Crackling- Garbage collection time is now. Until midnight, we accept all garbage. But machines must be specially smashed before collection.]

Radio Head started broadcasting.

Using the fact that this was a city, all the overwhelming amount of garbage was gathered in one place.

It grew in size.

Radio Head, which was now on par with the Machine God at eye level, was emitting electric signals.

“It’s still not enough.”

I created another mirror.

The one I called forth was a creature that awakened the primal fear of beasts before the development of civilization.

A monster from France.

“Go wild.”

[Awooooooo!]

The Beast of Gévaudan howled.

“Then let’s go!”

I got off the back of the cuckoo doll and got on the back of Gévaudan.

Gévaudan was strong enough to tear through metal.

One by one, the wounds began to increase on the Machine God’s body.

But he wasn’t the type who would just watch.

The Machine God took out a speaker from inside his body and played sounds that stimulated my nerves.

Beeeeeep—!

The sound must have been fatal to the Beast of Gévaudan, because he pounded his head repeatedly into a building in agony.

“Damn it!”

The Beast of Gévaudan, who stopped, was hit by the Machine God’s fist, which was bigger than a truck, and flew through a building.

I quickly entered a mirror to avoid being harmed.

Seeing Gévaudan return to the mirror, I bit my lip.

It’s definitely strong.

“Alice! More! We need more! Bring out every card you have!”

Pinocchio shouted.

Even while the Machine God was fighting with the Radio Head monster, he destroyed one of Pinocchio’s dolls and said.

[Foolish. Do you think stacking garbage can break solid iron? You’re merely a tool for entertainment, not even a proper machine. Let me enlighten you.]

“…Tsk!”

Radio Head got pushed.

The Radio Demon is currently a strong monster that can withstand the Machine God, so we must not lose him right now.

Action must be taken before he is harmed.

“Destroy the stage, Alice! The ability to manipulate fate also affects your monsters. Even though I suppressed it with my lies, it still weakens our attacks!”

“Alright!”

I summoned the fear of birds and rode on its back.

Then the Machine God began to take action as expected.

[Hmm…]

“Urgh!”

The Machine God operated the machinery inside the helicopter.

The pilot screamed, but the helicopter was drawn toward the stage and eventually crashed, exploding.

The pilot delivered dramatic lines as he died.

[Your vehicles will lose their functions, and for daring to challenge the heavens, you will face divine retribution. This is akin to the Tower of Babel and Icarus, repeating the same hubris.]

The short play just now also flashed in my brain.

The ability to manipulate fate was activated again.

Words control fate, but they are no different from reality manipulation.

The bird monster lost its ability to fly and began to fall.

The combat planes and helicopters deployed by the Institution crashed and exploded, and the Institution’s momentum was instantly broken.

I grimaced and yelled at the Machine God.

“Don’t think it’s over yet!”

As I fell, I created a small mirror.

What came out of there was a monster that resembled an elephant.

“A yokai that eats iron. Pulgasari. Have you heard of it?”

Pulgasari is a famous Korean monster that has a body like steel and can grow in size by eating iron.

The scary thing about it is that it cannot be killed.

[Hmm!]

As Pulgasari delivered a heavy blow to the mechanical god, its body slightly wavered.

It works.

In terms of physical attacks, Pulgasari far surpassed the Radio Demon.

I smiled slightly.

“As the name suggests, a being who can’t die. It eats iron and grows larger. In that way, it’s quite similar to you.”

I thought the Machine God would be a little agitated.

But it took its time and spoke to me.

[Child, you are lying.]

“… ”

[Something that cannot be killed, that cannot exist.]

“…”

He’s not fooled.

In truth, there was a legend that Pulgasari could only be killed by fire.

A half-immortal creature that could be too easily defeated.

The Machine God opened its mouth wide and spewed forth the heat of molten metal gathered from its core.

When I gestured to Pinocchio, he shouted as if making a declaration.

“His body neither burns nor melts. A completely immortal body! The monster defeated the giant!”

Heat so strong that it could be mistaken for a beam tried to penetrate Pulgasari, but Pinocchio’s lie protected it.

But it melted slightly.

I became irrationally angry.

“Don’t get complacent. Your body is accumulating damage as well.”

[Indeed, child. But if this fight becomes a war of attrition, you will surely lose.]

The Machine God crushed another of Pinocchio’s giant dolls as it continued.

[And all the children will die. They might already be dead. It’s an easy task to assault them without even putting on a play.]

“…!”

“Don’t be swayed, Alice. Focus on the fight. Isn’t the reason you left your friends alone because you have some trust in them?”

“…You’re right. Thank you.”

Though unintended, I could rely on the Institution, Cathedral and the Fairy-tale Tea Party for help.

They should be safe.

I finally calmed down my shaking mind and started creating numerous mirrors.

I proudly declared to the arrogant Machine God.

“The Hyakki Yagyō starts now.”¹

…

POV Switch – 3rd person

 

“What’s happening?!”

Armed people that appeared to be special forces had set up a barricade at the school, and some were coming their way while others were dealing with monsters.

The sight of giant monsters attacking through the windows threw the students and teachers into chaos.

Moreover, Ha-rim’s confusion increased as a short and terrible play flashed through her mind.

“Did you also see it?”

“I did… And for a moment.”

“That’s right! I saw Alice!”

The suspiciously calm club members could not contain their curiosity and held up to the window the telescope that Ha-rim had secretly borrowed (stolen) from the science room to play with the kids.

Ha-rim said in surprise.

“It’s definitely Alice!”

This time, Kyeong-min looked through the telescope.

There, Alice was fighting monsters that were quite different from those fighting the soldiers at the barricade.

“Why is Alice there? Ah?! Alice got hit by the giant’s fist!”

After a sound loud enough to be mistaken for the sound of a bomb exploding, Alice rushes back while riding another monster.

Kyeong-min shouted while breaking into a cold sweat.

“She.. Needs help!”

Although he might be curious about Alice’s identity, the priority was to help Alice, who was being beaten up.

Suho asked.

“How?”

Ha-rim tried to answer the question, but was stopped by soldiers who almost broke down the door when entering.

“Alpha team, secure the first and second floors. Beta team, the third and fourth. Gamma, cover the remaining areas. Civilians! Don’t be alarmed; we were sent by the government! Teachers, please take good care of the children and move them to a safe location!”

“Barricades are holding, but we should move to the gym in case of unexpected breaches. Small spaces are not safe!”

Ha-rim and her group saw the soldiers approaching.

The agent found it strange that the eyes were analyzing him without any sign of fear.

The moment the agent came face to face with Ha-rim, he realized that the face was familiar.

“Those kids… Secure the safety of those kids first! These are children specially ordered by Director Carol.”

“Move these kids first!”

“Soldiers, come here. Don’t worry and follow us, kids.”

“What should we do?”

When Eun-jeong asked, Ha-rim said that they should follow the soldier for now.

“Okay, we’ll follow you!”

The agent was dumbfounded.

They’re making it sound like they have a choice other than to follow along.

If the kids found the soldiers suspicious, would they have tried to run away?

‘They’re calm. Not like normal kids.’

“Ansen! Come, let’s go! Take these kids!”

“Understood!”

The agent led the kids out of the building.

At that moment, a loud noise made them look up to see giants and two devils fighting in the sky.

Though far away, the sight of buildings twisting grotesquely, sudden lightning strikes, rain, massive dolls, monsters, falling debris, animal cries, and a spaceship was utter chaos.

“Oh… Damn, what the hell is that…”

“So this a fight between transcendents? I can’t believe one of them is our ally.”

They almost reached the gym. It was then.

A mechanical monster was running towards them from behind.

The monster was humanoid, about twice the height of an adult, and had heavy iron balls on both arms instead of hands.

“It is different from the monsters we have seen so far. Ansen!”

The gun of the agent named Ansen opened fire.

The other agent practically threw the kids into the gym and closed the door.

“Kids, never come out!”

The agent looked back.

The monster was almost unharmed, with only scratches and marks left behind by Ansen’s bullet.

“Bullets don’t work!”

“Shit! Why is the monster here? Was the barricade on the other side breached?”

The agent radioed the other team.

After several beeps, an urgent voice came from the radio.

“Barricade installation failed! We couldn’t reach the barricade location due to an unexpected attack! Suddenly, Little Mermaid appeared near the school, and the Cathedral attacked the Little Mermaid and the Quick Build team! They are currently in combat! Just now, Little Mermaid was shot down by an arrow made with divine power and simultaneously killed one of the priestess! They are currently in combat!”

“What the hell?!”

…

The children were crammed into the gym as if they were imprisoned, and were very nervous about the monsters and gunfire outside.

Eun-jeong asked first, feeling anxious.

“What should we do?”

Kyeong-min first calmed down Eun-jeong’s anxiety.

“Calm down! Just calm down first.”

“I don’t know what’s going on, but I know this is a dangerous situation. Let’s not judge hastily and wait for the soldiers.”

The children waited for the soldiers outside.

Ha-rim continued speaking while looking at the locked door of the gym.

“Why was Alice fighting the giant?”

“She, Alice, was a ghost after all!”

“But the ghosts I know aren’t the kind of heroes who fight giants?”

“Anyway, I’m worried about Alice. What if she goes like that and dies?”

It was a time when the group were hiding their anxiety and raising questions and thoughts in their heads.

Suho said with a stern expression.

“You know, Ha-rim. I don’t think this is the time to worry about Alice.”

“Huh?”

“…The shooting stopped.”

Boom!!!

A mechanical monster smashed through the door.

The iron balls in both hands were covered in blood, and there were traces of gunfire everywhere.

Ha-rim couldn’t help but furrow her eyebrows at that sight and shout again.

“Everyone scatter!”

The monster rushed forward and the children quickly spread out.

Meanwhile, Suho picked up a solid wooden board and protected his body like a shield.

As the monster was about to go to Eun-jeong, Ha-rim signaled at Suho.

“Suho!”

“Got it!”

Suho blocked the monster’s path.

Ha-rim gave orders to the children.

“Don’t cluster together! Surround it in a circle! And don’t attack recklessly!”

The monster lifted the iron ball and swung it at Suho.

Suho dodged the attack without blocking it with his shield.

Another attack followed.

Suho tried to block the attack with his shield this time, but the stance was awkward, so the iron ball and shield merely grazed each other, making it look like he had dodged.

It was then.

Ha-rim felt strange.

Her eyes became sharp and she quickly shouted.

“Suho, roll!”

The monster lunged, thrusting its iron ball like a spear.

Just like it had smashed through the gym door.

The speed was so fast that the monster disappeared for a moment, surprising for it’s size.

“It’s fast!”

Suho, who barely escaped, was shocked.

“No. It’s slow overall, but only momentary strong attacks seem to be fast. Kyeong-min, help Suho buy some time!”

“Ah, okay! Whatever happens, happens.”

Kyeong-min picked up a broken jump rope and a ball.

Every time Suho found it difficult to respond to an attack, Kyeong-min distracted it by hitting it with the ball, allowing Suho to reposition himself.

“How is Suho managing to block it?!”

When Eun-jeong spoke in amazement at Suho, who was holding up surprisingly well, Ha-rim told her the reason.

“He’s not blocking. He’s mixing in feints. He’s pretending to block but actually dodging.”

A defense method that withstands enemy attacks with a child’s body.

It was unclear why Suho was so adept at this, but it was fortunate he was!

“That monster… It’s not very smart. Even though the shield and iron ball didn’t touch, the monster mistook Suho’s presenting the shield as an attack. So its attack patterns became simpler, making it easier for Suho to dodge. If it had attacked randomly, Suho would have been… Huh?”

Ha-rim seemed to be able to see a puzzle that would solve the urgent situation.

Right, a clue. If she could find a clue, they might be able to overcome this.

Words from a blonde girl echoed in his mind.

ㅡIf I were to compare it, it’s like a riddle.

 

… Alice? Did Alice tell me this?

“Eun-jeong! There should be various things in the warehouse. Bring anything you can find! I’ll support Kyeong-min and Suho while I figure something out.”

“O-Okay!”

Eun-jeong quickly ran to the warehouse, and Ha-rim shouted at the monster with a solemn expression.

“Over here, you monster!”

But the monster didn’t even look at her.

Ha-rim’s eyes became sharper.

She was analyzing the monster’s every action.

While it responds to things like the ball thrown by Kyeong-min or being hit by the jump rope, it doesn’t respond to anything that makes loud noises…

Maybe.

The monster attacks Suho in succession.

Suho cleverly dodged it, but the iron ball and shield grazed once again.

Ha-rim gave an order at that moment.

“Suho, now is the time! Roll!”

“Uwah!”

As expected.

As its appearance suggests, it shows mechanical movements and patterns, but does not respond significantly to sound and relies on sensitivity to shock and vision.

‘Think carefully. Find the mechanism behind its actions.’

 

Suho wasn’t actually blocking with the shield; he was using feints.

The monster visually regarded Suho’s shield as an attack and struck it away…

But when the shield and iron ball grazed, even the small impact made the monster recognize the shield as an actual barrier.

“…He also used a quick lunging and stabbing motion when breaking down the door.”

Does this mean that if your attack is blocked by an obstacle, it will destroy that obstacle?

If you think about it, it is a simple and reasonable pattern.

They may be able to take advantage of this pattern and its dependence on impact and vision.

But to do that, they need time to run away.

“Here! I brought it!”

Eun-jeong returned with a pile of cleaning supplies from the gym’s adjacent pool.

Ha-rim had a good idea to overcome this situation.

“This is it!”

He threw a cleaning detergent at Kyeong-min.

“This…”

“Run around and throw it on the floor!”

Kyeong-min quickly caught on, distracted the monster by throwing the ball, and spread the detergent on the floor while running away.

The monster slipped easily on the detergent, giving them time as Ha-rim called Suho into the warehouse to grab two ladders and a large red curtain.

The children, except Kyeong-min, moved the items through the gym windows, while Suho distracted the monster with a baseball thrown from outside the window.

Despite the wall separating them, the monster measured the distances to the closer Suho and the retreating Kyeong-min and decided to attack Suho.

“Kyeong-min, it’s enough! We’ll handle it now!”

The monster, drawn by the commotion, didn’t think to go through the window but instead broke through the wall to get outside.

There, Ha-rim and Eun-jeong stand on two ladders.

They were holding a curtain behind Suho.

“If it relies only on sight and impact and has a simple thought process, this should work. Suho, get ready!”

“Leave it to me.”

The monster swung the iron ball at Suho.

Suho dodged the attack and deliberately let it brush against the shield.

If you brush against it, it will be recognized as a shield.

And obstacles are broken down.

“Now!”

Suho rolled and the monster rushed forward and attempted a stab attack.

With Suho already out of sight, the monster instead pierced through the red curtain.

-Splash!

Behind the curtain was the swimming pool.

Heavy metal doesn’t float.

The monster, in the deep water of the training pool, seemed to freeze, merely staring at them as if its operations had ceased.

“We did it.”

“That’s crazy! Did we really win?”

The children were happy.

But that too, Ha-rim said for a moment.

“…Alice. I need to find Alice.”

“Are you saying you will go outside?”

Ha-rim solemnly nodded her head.

“…I’ll try to handle it alone. Wait here.”

“What’s the point of you going alone?”

“It’s dangerous!”

Ha-rim decided to take that risk.

Her friends thought Ha-rim’s actions were reckless.

But the funny thing was.

They felt that they too wanted to follow Ha-rim and save Alice.

“Let’s go together.”

“Even though it’s dangerous?”

“Adventure is always dangerous. What do elementary school kids like us know about the world? Doing risky things is a privilege for kids.”

“Pfft… Alright! Let’s go!”

Ha-rim couldn’t help but laugh when the least childlike children spoke like that.

With renewed determination, Ha-rim and the kids sprinted toward the unbarricaded back gate.