I’ve read a lot of ghost stories.
In fact, I’ve read every single ghost story uploaded to the <Dark Exploration Records>.
Some were hard to get through, but reading them became part of my daily routine at work, so I’ve read them multiple times.
In the process, I picked up a few bits of obscure knowledge…
Here’s an example.
“Peach branches are commonly known to ward off spirits.”
“So?”
“And plums are a favorite fruit of the changgwi. That’s probably why both of these materials were required.”
“…Ah.”
“Lure the changgwi to the shrine, and while it’s there, the person conducting the ritual uses the peach incense to escape.”
I looked up.
“But then, isn’t it odd that someone here seemed uncomfortable with the peach incense and overly drawn to the plum?”
“……”
Among seven people, only one kept staying close to the security sergeant at the back of the group, as if wanting to keep as far away from the peach incense as possible.
“Go Seonha-ssi.”
I looked directly at her.
“Are you sure you’re speaking of your own will?”
“…What are you implying?”
It’s possible that…
The real Go Seonha may have failed the ritual in the shrine long before she ever met us…
“Isn’t it actually the changgwi that’s speaking to us through you right now, Go Seonha-ssi?”
The group froze.
“You figured it out.”
Go Seonha’s mouth stretched into a grotesque grin.
But it’s too late! Too late!
Her arms began to elongate, reaching out toward me with a strange fluidity, trying to grab and pull me closer…
‘ACK!’
I rolled to the ground, dodging her outstretched arms.
Behind me, the screams of Section Chief Lee and the children echoed in terror.
“Ahhhh!!”
“G-Ghost!”
Instinctively, I pulled a knife from my front pocket. This isn’t a full changgwi—it’s a person possessed by one, which means I might be able to subdue her…
But I realized something.
‘I can’t get close enough to use it!’
With a short-range weapon like this, I’d have to get right up to a possessed person’s face! I already feel like I’m about to faint!
But my brain, running on adrenaline, instantly found the right person for the job.
“Sergeant!”
I tossed the weapon toward the figure standing behind me.
“Please subdue her!”
Whoosh.
The Bloodsucking Knife cut through the air.
“…Ah.”
The security sergeant caught the knife and, after a brief glance, immediately lunged at the changgwi-possessed person.
Hihihi!!
Go Seonha’s face and arms twisted into a bizarre, hideous form, sprouting the distorted features of countless men, women, and children—arms, faces, strands of hair, and eyes pointing in all directions.
Please, please, help me!
“Eeeek!”
“Get back and close your eyes!”
Section Chief Lee scrambled backward with the children, huddling on the mountain path.
Can you hear me? Somebody, help me!
At that moment, the security sergeant’s appearance started to distort too.
A monstrous form.
His once-slender upper body swelled to an enormous size, his mouth extending into a snout with a tongue that lashed out, brutally snapping the changgwi’s long arms.
Aaaaagh!
No… it was an illusion. The security sergeant looked just like a regular human.
But then again, he seemed like some monstrous creature…
‘Wow, this is insane.’
I managed to shift my focus.
The reason the Security Team was so adept at handling the Darkness.
And the reason they weren’t part of the field investigation team.
It was becoming clear right in front of me.
========================
[Security Team]
: One of the three teams under the Security Division of Daydream Inc., a major department featured in the <Dark Exploration Records>.
This team is comprised of employees who have been so heavily tainted by certain anomalies that they are no longer classified as human.
Employment is for life, and resignation is impossible.
========================
Did you know?
If you’re no longer classified as human, even if you clear a ghost story, the Dream Essence Collector won’t be filled.
There’s no investigative value in it.
That’s why people who have practically merged with ghost stories, becoming almost monstrous themselves, were assigned to the Security Team.
Especially… those affected by particularly violent or territorial ghost stories…
It hurts! It hurts!!
…They’re assigned to the Security Team to handle significant issues with company-managed Darkness.
‘…And if he’s the sergeant of that team, he’s no different.’
In short, he’s an employee specialized in confronting the monsters within these ghost stories.
Gaaaaahh!
The changgwi’s many arms were torn apart by the sergeant’s jaws, claws, and teeth, stretching from his maw like a monstrous, serpentine tongue.
Drooling saliva and blood dripped from the mouth that had transformed into a wolf-like snout lined with countless fangs. The illusion flickered in and out of my vision.
‘…Wolf?’
For a brief moment, I saw the illusion of countless teeth in his elongated jaw, dripping with saliva and blood, before it vanished.
A wave of dizziness and nausea washed over me, and I quickly averted my gaze to the ground.
‘This feels like a nightmare.’
I began to understand why the Security Team always evacuated people when they subdued ghost stories in the <Dark Exploration Records>.
Despite the risks, things were progressing smoothly.
“Keep your eyes closed!”
I urged the others as I kept my gaze down, bracing myself.
Then, in the next moment—
– Oh, Mr. Roe Deer, it seems that peculiar guest you brought won!
It was over.
When I looked up, the changgwi lay on the ground, the Bloodsucking Knife embedded in its right hand.
Standing over it was the distorted, monstrous form of the security sergeant, gripping its head tightly.