Bailonz Street 13-Chapter 245.3

‘Even if this is inside an annihilation-sanctioned Disaster, and that was the outside world.’

This place’s phenomena might still have a way through.

Stay calm. Stay ca—

– Don’t you want to give up too?

Don’t touch the nooses.

‘Damn it.’

I grabbed hold of my own strangely rising hands, stared at the ground to avoid seeing the corpses above, and thought.

So, this place…

– It can be divided into the forest and the subway station.

“……”

Right.

‘The subway structures haven’t changed.’

The information board, the walls. They’re the same.

It’s just that there are too many trees, the fog is thicker, the nooses keep appearing, turning it into a maze-like forest.

Then I know one clear symbol of where fog and trees don’t reach.

Stairs.

‘The platform…!’

I sprinted past the nooses.

Rummaging through my memory, I pieced together the layout of subway fixtures to find the stairs.

Lighted ceiling, mirrors, information boards, escalators, tactile paving, fire hydrants…

And then.

‘Found it.’

I bolted down the stairs.

At that moment.

“Roe.”

My shoulder was seized, and I realized I was standing at the very end of the platform stairs.

Assistant Manager Eun Haje’s face, slick with cold sweat.

And the others had just escaped to the stairs, too, panting hard.

Their hands were holding all kinds of tools and items.

‘So everyone got out using their items…’

What a relief.

I let out a long breath and tried to secretly wipe the cold sweat beading on my forehead… then suddenly realized my hand felt heavier than it should.

There was a corpse in my grip.

“…!!”

Earlier, what I had thought was someone’s shoulder when I flung my hand down… had been a hanged corpse.

‘Fuck.’

And I had probably been staring all this time at the empty noose left behind when that corpse disappeared.

‘Ha…’

The moment I realized it, goosebumps swept across my whole body.

I couldn’t bring myself to throw it, so with trembling hands I managed to lower it to the ground.

On the clean platform floor, the bloated, desiccated bluish corpse thudded down.

The lingering feel of it made the hair on the back of my neck bristle.

“Are you alright?”

Agent Bronze hurried over and scanned me with whatever equipment still worked, quickly checking for any sign of being ‘possessed’. When none showed, he let out a small sigh of relief and stepped back.

“The fog suddenly thickened so we couldn’t see anyone at all. We had to find the stairs back just by following each other’s voices. Meanwhile, our items kept cutting out, gave us a hard time. But…”

When everyone regrouped at the stairs, I hadn’t been there.

“Those guys were just saying we might have to go back out and search for you. Lucky you made it back yourself.”

Thank you…

I was grateful I’d managed to find the stairs and return before it was too late.

“Seeing we all made it back alive, I get now why the company likes to hire experienced people, huh.”

“Haha…”

A weak laugh passed between us.

“At least now we know one thing. Staying too long in that forest makes the fog thicker, and the hanged corpses can lure you, rightt?”

“It seems that way, yes.”

I gave a full account of the empty nooses I’d seen.

Everyone went quiet.

“This is why I hate exploring without a manual. Everything’s a landmine.”

“It’s a bit of a hassle, yess!”

“Hey, you government agents, got any way to deal with this? Feels spooky, like ghosts or vengeful spirits, that sort of classic ghost-story danger.”

“Oh, good guess. In that foggy forest I definitely felt something foul… in technical terms, malevolent. We usually call that sagi, evil energy.”

Agent Choi rubbed his chin.

“But I can’t tell if it’s from the forest itself or just from so many people dying there.”

“Oh, if you could pin it down, could you purify the place?”

The agent and I exchanged a look.

“…In theory, yes.”

Agent Choi wiped sweat and gave a strained grin.

“If we have the right supplies.”

But the truth was…

“Right now Bronze only has… what, three rounds left? Right?”

“…Yes. And they’re all for large spirits, not for an area-wide supernatural phenomenon such as this. Besides,”

Agent Bronze pressed his furrowed brow.

“Either way, we’d need to borrow the power of a cooperating supernatural being tied to the Disaster Management Bureau.”

Exactly.

We’d need the aid of something sacred or powerful, like the Tiger General or the Elder. But here in Sekwang Special City, any equipment or items that draw power from outside sources seem to be rendered useless.

In short, we’re cornered and terrified.

‘Unbelievable…’

And right then another realization hit me.

…Thirst.

‘I’m thirsty.’

The others probably felt the same by now.

But with no water and no food, how long could we really hold out here? 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

‘…Huu.’

Still, I forced myself to feel grateful—grateful that no one had died yet, grateful we had a platform to retreat to.

‘First, we should probably deal with that corpse somehow…’

I was just opening my mouth to say so when—

♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪

“…!!”

I whipped my head around.

Sound was coming from the platform speakers.

I’d never heard the melody before, but I instantly recognized its purpose. It’s…

“…A subway chime?”

The train is approaching.

Whoosh.

If there’d been no platform screen doors, the gust would have slammed into us.

From the far end of the tracks, a train came hurtling in at terrifying speed, its headlights sweeping across the glass and the platform before it thundered past in an instant.

An announcement followed.

Due to the absence of passengers, this train will pass through our station without stopping…

“……”

“……”

The roar faded as the train disappeared into the darkness. We all stared through the screen doors at its vanishing lights…

And then.

“People.”

I met the eyes of the others.

“There were people on that train.”

“……!”

And just like that, a new option appeared.

—Follow the tracks and pursue the train.

Salt Goblin

Latest posts by Salt Goblin (see all)