I Became A Ghost In A Horror Game-Chapter 34: Scrap Monster

“So soft~”

“Eun-jung, please just go to sleep.”

“Ahahaha!”

...In the end, I gave up and allowed her to go that far.

I hadn’t been paying attention, but moments like this—when someone else made me aware of my body—always left me feeling complicated.

Also... it tickled.

“So soft~”

Stop it!

-----

We were currently on the move, placing one of the six relics in its designated location.

Once all six were placed, the ritual would activate, allowing for a powerful “correction.”

With a time limit hanging over our heads, hesitation was not an option.

Thanks to the cooperation between me and the kids, the plan was progressing smoothly.

The placement locations lined up suspiciously well with boss stages from the game.

It was clear these relics were related to the mysterious machines I had seen in the game’s boss arenas.

Devices that allowed the kids to defeat bosses.

In the game, the operatives sent by the organization had successfully installed these devices in every boss area—except for Ella’s.

Since Ella was defeatable by the kids themselves, they didn’t bother installing one there.

However, due to their bad luck, the operatives encountered bosses before installation was complete.

While they managed to activate the devices, they were ultimately wiped out from sheer exhaustion.

If they had tackled the areas in a different order, they might have barely completed their mission.

Then again, considering how dangerous the roaming monsters were, they probably wouldn’t have survived either way.

“Ah, be careful near that sewer. The ‘sewer alligator’ is a famous urban legend.”

“Got it. Prepare to fire.”

At James’ command, his team aimed their guns at the sewer opening.

“Fire.”

Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

A storm of bullets tore through the darkness.

A massive, mutated alligator screeched and lunged forward—

But before it could even reach us, it was blown apart by the gunfire.

I had to admit, their firepower was impressive.

It made my job a lot easier.

This was practically easy mode!

“You seem to be in a good mood.”

“Did it show?”

Of course, I was in a good mood!

We had already placed one relic, since the first location was nearby.

Ella’s boss stage was even easier—we just used the mansion’s mirrors to position the relic instantly.

Once we finished installing this one, we’d have placed three relics already!

The remaining three were in boss stages, so they wouldn’t be easy.

But at this pace...

“Everyone’s going to make it home safely.”

“That’s a good thing.”

James’ voice—normally so flat—softened slightly as I smiled.

Then, he pulled out a strange-looking device from his coat.

I had seen him pull all sorts of odd objects out of that coat before.

Some of them were far too large to realistically fit inside.

How did that thing even work?

“What’s that?”

“A device to check if the relics are properly placed. It can also activate them remotely.”

On the screen, there were two circles and four triangles.

The circles meant relics had been successfully installed.

The triangles marked the remaining locations.

“Isn’t it risky just leaving the relics unattended? What if something attacks and breaks them?”

“Once activated, relics become immune to the influence of malicious or anomalous entities.”

“Weaker creatures are completely erased upon contact.”

“Even a high-tier demon would need a long time to destroy one.”

“I see. So if we place them fast enough, there’s no chance of them being destroyed?”

“Correct.”

“Relics can’t be owned by malevolent beings, and they’re also physically indestructible.”

“However, if they’re placed incorrectly, they won’t activate properly. So they’re useless as a direct weapon.”

“That makes sense.”

In the game, I had seen broken machines in some areas.

Those were probably relics that had been improperly placed, leaving them vulnerable to destruction over time.

Or perhaps the demons knew that breaking just one would prevent the ritual from activating.

“Wait.”

I suddenly stopped walking.

We had reached a four-way intersection.

I knew what this meant.

This was the spawning ground for the ‘Pursuing Quartet’.

Four monsters, each representing a different kind of fear:

The Fear of Being Chased by a Stranger

The Fear of Being Overwhelmed by Work

The Fear of the Dark

The Fear of Time Running Out

These monsters looked like bizarre works of art, and they relentlessly pursued the player.

The moment we stepped into the intersection, they would appear.

Normally, I would have avoided this place altogether.

But now, I had powerful allies.

It was worth fighting them for faster progress.

“Four creatures will appear here. The method to defeat them is simple.”

When playing alone, dealing with them was a nightmare.

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But here?

We could divide roles.

Individually, they weren’t that strong.

The Fear of Strangers—a monster that couldn’t be defeated in the game.

However, with physical weapons now effective, it was no longer a threat.

James’ unit would take it down with firepower.

The Fear of the Dark—a creature that could be banished by strong light.

Maria’s holy cross would be the perfect counter.

The Fear of Being Overwhelmed by Work—a monster that inflicted mental pressure and curses.

The kids specialized in handling curses, so Eun-jung’s paper talismans would deal with it.

The Fear of Time Running Out—this one was mine.

It moved erratically and resisted bullets, meaning I was the best suited to take it down.

“Everyone, take your positions!”

We spread out, facing each of the four directions.

The atmosphere shifted violently.

A dark figure with glowing eyes rushed toward James’ unit.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“Open fire!”

The muzzles of the guns erupted in flames.

The creature flinched but had no way to resist.

How does it feel to have adults interfering in a game meant for kids?!

I felt satisfied watching it get torn apart.

Now, let’s see how Maria’s doing.

She held her cross aloft, releasing a brilliant light.

The formless darkness monster immediately turned away, retreating from Maria instead of advancing toward her.

Her light wasn’t just ordinary—it had a different kind of power.

Good.

Next up—the kids.

[Work... I must work...!]

“Kyung-min, restrain it! It’s trying to curse us!”

“Shake the bell.”

“Its weak point is that planner, right? Hand it over!”

[...]

Huh.

Since the monster looked like a corporate worker, it almost seemed like the kids were shaking down an adult for money.

I decided to leave them to it—they were handling it well enough.

Crash!

Oof.

Soo-ho’s shield always sounded painful when it hit something.

“...That aside.”

Why hasn’t the Time Monster appeared yet?

They were supposed to spawn simultaneously.

It had already been over a minute.

I stopped waiting and walked toward the still-struggling Work Monster.

“You. Where’s the fourth one?”

[...Captured...]

“...?”

Splurt!

The Work Monster’s head burst open.

I had seen this before.

Our true enemy. The great demon.

It tried to say "captured", but before it could finish, something silenced it.

This wasn’t a coincidence.

Honestly, it was strange that we hadn’t been interrupted earlier.

We weren’t safe just because we stayed still.

No, the enemy had finally made their move.

“You look concerned.”

“That demon I mentioned... I think it’s finally attacking.”

“...Then let’s prepare for an ambush. What’s nearby?”

“There’s an art museum.”

“But unless we enter, its effects won’t activate.”

“So it’ll probably try to lure us inside.”

Just in case, I spread out the map and pointed out everything in the area.

Explaining every single countermeasure would take too long, so I left out the less important details.

“Are we retreating?”

Maria’s question made it clear—she was worried about the kids.

But retreat wasn’t an option.

Hiding from danger would only make things worse.

“We break through.”

“...Understood.”

We rushed toward our target location.

As long as we avoided the art museum, we could handle whatever was waiting for us.

Even last time, there had been a lot of enemies, but most were weak creatures.

Now that we had firepower, ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) the weak ones wouldn’t be a threat.

But then...

Why did I feel so uneasy?

“Hah!”

Just as I was lost in thought, Ha-rim threw a rock at a mailbox.

It wasn’t just a prank—her expression was serious.

“What’s wrong, Ha-rim?”

“Eun-jung said she had a bad feeling, so I wanted to check the surroundings.”

“...Did you think something was disguising itself as an object?”

“Yeah!”

Creatures that camouflage as objects.

Their numbers were increasing rapidly.

At this point, they had surpassed even the frog monsters as the most common type.

We had seen countless of them while scavenging for supplies.

Whenever we spotted them, they rarely attacked outright.

Instead, they used their hidden insect-like legs to scuttle away.

They were the weakest of the weak.

Maybe that’s why I hadn’t thought about them.

But why hadn’t we encountered any of them during this mission?

The sense of unease grew stronger.

Crackle—

“...I don’t like this.”

Crackle— Crackle—

[Attention. Heavy rainfall is expected. Residents, please remain calm.]

A voice echoed from a low-quality speaker, genderless and robotic.

Shhhhhh

The rain started to pour.

[Breaking news. Due to flood risks, the military will be deployed for relief efforts. Residents, please comply.]

In an instant—

All of James’ team, except for him and Maria, disappeared.

“What—?!”

“An attack. But it’s not a curse, so they’re probably still alive!”

But where was it coming from?!

This was definitely the "Radio Monster"’s ability.

It couldn’t activate unless we were inside its range.

But this scale of an attack... was impossible!

If we had been in its range, then it had to be nearby—

But we couldn’t see anything.

“Ella!”

Eun-jung pointed to the sky.

No... just below it.

Through the rain-heavy mist, a massive shadow became visible.

And it was getting clearer.

“...What the hell.”

I was wrong.

The art museum wasn’t the real danger.

I had never seen this kind of monster in the game.