“Let’s split up! That way, if even one of us escapes—”
“Ms. Goral!”
“Yes?”
“You’re safe.”
“……?!”
“Didn’t you recently pay the fee? There should still be time left until the next cycle.”
“Ah!!”
Since Go Yeongeun had recently had her ear taken, she likely still had ‘time left’ in her usage cycle!
Hope flickered in Go Yeongeun’s eyes.
“Then I’ll go and try to distract—”
Screeeeeeech—
“……”
“……”
It had entered.
The usher machine.
Drrrrrrk.
Under the bronze candlelight, I saw the machine clearly for the first time.
It was mercilessly sharp and intricate.
Its form resembled a spider, with metal parts added as though the steel had been grafted onto flesh. Its head and thorax were oddly connected, with an abdomen and lower body beneath.
Yet its vaguely humanoid, bipedal shape evoked a sense of uncanny dread, as if it was toying with the boundaries of intelligence and form.
Its jagged, needle-like legs moved erratically, with joints bending at bizarre angles.
From its head, eight gas lamps shone yellow light, piercing through the pale shadows.
“……”
Go Yeongeun, who had been moving forward, froze in place.
It seemed as if the trauma from losing her ear had surged back into her mind.
Understandable.
Screeech—
The machine passed right by her.
‘I knew it.’
Which meant the machine was chasing…
Me and Baek Saheon.
Screeeeech.
I deliberated for the briefest moment.
If the machine’s attention shifted to Baek Saheon, I could quickly erase my presence and escape.
It would be difficult while the machine focused solely on me, but with two targets, Braun’s ability might still work.
– Oh, shall I use it now?
I made my decision.
“No.”
Instead, I shoved Baek Saheon aside.
“……!”
“Run.”
Baek Saheon already had only one eye left.
He knew that meant the machine might take more than just his remaining eye this time.
‘Who knows what kind of reckless actions he might resort to?’
Even if it took his ear as a substitute, the rejection of someone who had already lost one eye would likely be far more extreme.
I couldn’t predict the lengths he might go to.
It was better to let him run.
“I said run.”
Baek Saheon hesitated for a moment.
But as the machine moved toward me, he backed away cautiously before breaking into a full sprint toward the door and disappearing through it.
At the same time, Go Yeongeun, understanding my glance, tightly shut her eyes and darted toward the door as well.
“……”
Now then.
– Do you have any questions for the usher, Mr. Roe Deer?
I lifted my head.
The machine stood before me, its gaslamp light illuminating the grotesque form that resembled a hybrid of a spider and a woman, as if someone had attempted to mosaic the two together.
Its appearance was grotesque and sent chills through me.
The usher machine, its eight legs and needle-like arms extending outward, began to twitch one of its limbs toward me.
I bowed politely.
“Good day. I’ve just arrived here.”
I knew it wouldn’t respond.
Sure enough, the machine emitted an unintelligible noise and bent one of its massive needle limbs.
– It says that 1 hour and 54 minutes have passed since you entered, and additional charges have been calculated.
I took a deep breath.
“Just a moment. Before I pay the fee, may I ask a question?”
– Of course, it says!
“Do you take reservations for a guest room at the front desk? …If you agree with my question, please nod your head once. If you disagree, shake your head from side to side.”
……
A nod.
“Thank you for the guidance. Then…”
I stifled a sigh and asked what I had been leading up to.
The critical question for escaping.
‘These machines only remember information about their assigned zones, so they wouldn’t know where the exit is.’
Even if I asked where the front desk was, it likely wouldn’t have an answer.
But, if I rephrased the question to pertain specifically to its own zone, it might respond.
Like this.
“After completing their visit and returning home, do guests on this first basement floor proceed to a lower floor?”
……
“Or did they go to an upper floor?”
A nod.
“They’re ushered to an upper floor, I see. Thank you.”
That’s it.
By asking each usher machine the right questions about its own floor, I could eventually narrow down the location of the exit…
…assuming I didn’t lose my eyes, mouth, or limbs before then.
‘If it’s above the first basement floor… that means it’s in the ground-level floors.’
Just knowing that was a significant breakthrough. The ground level included seven floors, so the exit must be among them.
‘This is a good lead.’
But the sense of relief was short-lived, like a candle burning out.
Now, the unavoidable moment had arrived.
Screeeech.
—It says it will now collect the fee.
Payment collection.
“……”
If I think about this rationally, it’s not a huge problem.
‘They’ll plug a rental item into the empty eye sockets, so I’ll still have vision until we escape this Darkness.’
Besides, I know this world well. I’m already familiar with several methods for restoring lost body parts, and I’m confident I can use them more easily than others…
That’s precisely why I’m standing here.
‘It’s a situation I’ve calculated and come to terms with.’
The problem is… this overwhelming revulsion!
Who could accept this so calmly and indifferently?
Having both eyes plucked out raw by a monster!
Especially in a room surrounded by the displayed eyes of others who were taken!
Cold sweat dripped down my chin.
‘Even so, I have to go through with this.’
I gritted my teeth.
It wouldn’t be completely detrimental to have my eyes removed.
‘If I can’t endure under these conditions, I might as well give up on surviving here entirely.’
Honestly, there would never be better conditions than now to test whether I, with my cowardly heart, could endure the horrors of this ghost story.
Learning to withstand recoverable losses would help build my resilience.
Yet, my clenched hands trembled.
‘Shit…’
Ziiing.
A massive needle, sharp and metallic, like the leg of a spider, moved toward my face.
I held my breath.
Whoosh—
The needle was raised, ready to pierce my eye…
Ziiiiiiiing.
“……”
I rolled my eyes to the side.
In the darkness, a massive, spider-like form was approaching from the distance…
Ziiiiiing, screeeeech.
Another usher machine.
“……”
What’s this?
‘Aren’t the machines supposed to have a programmed route?’
Shouldn’t it be impossible for their paths to overlap?
Sure enough, the machine that was about to extract my eye seemed to malfunction for a moment. Then, as if recalibrating its route, it moved away from me.
It was as though it adjusted its trajectory on its own.
Screeeeeech…
“……”
I couldn’t even exhale in relief.
The new machine would just extract my eyes instead.
I simply held my breath and stared at the newly arrived machine.
It lifted its spider-like appendages high, stopping right in front of me.
Then suddenly…
“Huu.”
……?!
“You okay, Roe?”
The spider-like form crumbled away, revealing a human wearing a badger mask.
“…Supervisor!”
It was Supervisor Park Minseong, his face drenched in cold sweat, grinning slightly.
“Phew… That was close!”