Surviving in a School of Ghost Stories-Chapter 103

Erika Lynn Queensbury couldn’t make sense of the situation at all.

As Melody lit the lantern of the Gloria nun and walked into the House of the Dead with her eyes unfocused, as if in a trance, she suddenly began walking inside.

"Melody? Where are you going? Melody!"

Raven, Eastern, Leonard, and Erika, all flustered, followed Melody, opening the front door and stepping into the House of the Dead.

However,

There was no one inside the mansion. The mist that had filled the air was gone, and everything looked clean.

"What’s going on? The mist is gone?"

"What was that mist anyway?"

The villagers who managed the House of the Dead gathered to inspect the interior and tilted their heads in confusion.

Erika and the others stood there, unable to say anything, staring blankly at the empty first-floor lobby of the mansion.

Then,

"Wait, where’s Eastern gone?"

Raven, Leonard, and Erika looked around in a panic, scanning the area.

Eastern ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) had definitely been with them, but he was nowhere to be found.

They searched the mansion thoroughly. But there was no sign of Melody or Eastern.

They had all been moving together, yet as soon as they entered the mansion, some disappeared while others remained unharmed. There seemed to be no clear reason why they had gotten caught up in the ghost story.

"Damn it! What the hell is going on?"

Raven stomped his foot anxiously and shouted.

The villagers who managed the House of the Dead didn’t believe the claim that Melody and Eastern had disappeared once they entered the mansion.

Eventually, Raven, alone, wandered around the house, lost and searching for them repeatedly.

Leonard, watching Raven in silence, came to a conclusion.

"It seems like this is something we can’t handle on our own. We should report it to the police and call the teacher."

Erika agreed with Leonard’s response.

"Yes. Since the House of the Dead was under the student council’s jurisdiction, let’s ask Father Cesario for help."

"Why? What’s going on? Instead of Father Cesario, talk to me."

Just then, it was none other than Father Miella who spoke to them.

Erika looked at him with a slightly startled expression.

Father Miella didn’t believe in ghost stories or spirits. He thought Father Cesario and the Student Council President were spreading baseless claims that were ruining the school’s atmosphere.

"Well..."

The flustered group stammered as they explained that Melody and Eastern had gone missing inside the House of the Dead.

Father Miella nodded seriously, then spoke.

"There are no such things as ghosts. Everyone stay calm and move properly. First, let’s report it to the police, and I’ll search inside the mansion."

Father Miella rolled up his sleeves dramatically and opened the mansion’s front door. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

"Wait, please. Teacher, don’t go..."

Before they could stop him, Father Miella entered through the door and disappeared, just like Melody and Eastern.

The beings lying there, how many were human, and how many were evil spirits?

I gripped the lantern tightly in my hand, tense. At least Kkamang was with me, which gave me some relief.

Kkamang, whether it knew it or not, stayed quiet, understanding the situation where it shouldn’t make a sound.

I briefly set the creature down, then shone the lantern around as I stood in front of the first cot.

The white cloth was so large it covered the whole body and even reached the floor under the bed. So, it was impossible to tell whether it was a person or not just by looking at it.

I shut my eyes tightly, then opened them again.

Clutching the cloth tightly in my hand, I pulled it away.

As soon as I lifted the cloth, I saw the glaring red eyes staring at me.

Seeing a body that was charred as if burned by fire, I had to suppress the scream that almost escaped my lips and nearly swallowed the holy water.

Gulp. Gulp.

The figure on the cot showed signs of trying to get up. Quickly, I splashed holy water on its face, then took out a cross and pressed it to its forehead.

Screech—

Kwak!!

The creature let out a sound that could have come from a beast as its body crumbled.

Whi-

At that moment, the wind suddenly blew, and the lantern’s flame went out.

There were no windows, and the candle inside the lantern was enclosed in glass. How could it have gone out?

In the dark room, I rummaged through my pockets looking for matches.

Tap- Tap-

I lit the match and then transferred the flame to the lantern.

As I turned to look at the remaining four cots, I saw them. Four pairs of bright red eyes, staring at me from a seated position.

Thud, thud.

The four cots suddenly began to move wildly.

‘They weren’t all human.’

That was strange. Were all the remaining dead here?

Then, were there no hidden spirits in the next section?

I hurriedly splashed holy water on them and pressed crosses to their foreheads, making them disappear. Then, I spat holy water on the faces of the remaining evil spirits.

One by one, I pressed the crosses to their foreheads as they struggled, then took a breath.

‘This is bad. Half of my holy water is already gone.’

I hadn’t needed to use so much holy water; it was meant to be used in small amounts, but I’d overused it in my panic.

Drip.

Blood leaked from my nose, and the cross tattoo on my forearm began to fade.

I wiped my nose with a handkerchief and then picked up the doll I had set on the floor before moving to the next section.

I was dizzy, but I had to endure it.

The rules for the House of the Dead stated that staff would be waiting in the fourth section to replenish the holy water, but there were no staff here.

I quickly moved to the fourth section. As expected, there were no staff, and there was no holy water to replenish.

‘I’ve destroyed all seven of the dead, so does that mean no more evil spirits will appear?’

The fourth section appeared to be a science laboratory. Fortunately, there was nothing there, so I climbed up to the second floor.

The stairs were dark. The second floor was also dark.

‘At least I have Gloria nun’s lantern.’

When I arrived on the second floor, I saw the first room.

‘I’ve found all seven dead, so there shouldn’t be any more.’

The hide-and-seek was over. Now I just needed to finish searching the last section and meet the survivors at the exit.

I didn’t know if the survivor would be Noah-senpai or another victim.

I took a deep breath and opened the first door. Inside, I saw people who were wrapped in cloth, hanging upside down.

Wait, are they human? They looked like human shapes, but they didn’t seem like humans.

Huh?

And among them, two dead were hanging, staring at me. They were watching me as if following every little movement.

The still, chilling gaze from those eyes made my whole body break out in goosebumps.

‘Why... are they still here?’

I had destroyed all seven dead.

With confusion, I quickly destroyed the two spirits and moved to the next section.

The second section appeared to be the opera theater’s dressing room.

There were many props in the dressing room. There were cabinets, hangers, and mannequins everywhere.

I destroyed one evil spirit pretending to be a mannequin and then destroyed two others hiding in the cabinets.

After that, I left the second section.

Meow!

On my way back to the first section, I stopped for a moment.

I suddenly snapped out of my trance, hearing Kkamang’s meow.

‘Wait, why is the last section 1st? Shouldn’t the last one be the 7th section?’

I had clearly entered a hallway labeled as the entrance.

The sign I saw at the entrance had sections numbered from 1st to 7th, but now I realized...

Oh...?

Thinking back, I realized that I had come from the 7th section, going backward in reverse order from the beginning. The sign indicating the sections had been displayed backward all along.

Now that I thought about it, it was odd. It was strangely unsettling, and I hadn’t noticed it, as if I were under some kind of spell.

Creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak...

Giggle, giggle, giggle, giggle, giggle, giggle...

Chilling sounds echoed from everywhere.

It was as if the laughter was mocking me for only now realizing the truth.