ALL NOVEL Chapter 107
It Seems I Must Go to Work Even After Falling into a Horror Story Chapter 107
…Unnamed Radiant Church.
If the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau is trying to eliminate horrors, and the Daydream Corporation is looking to exploit them,
‘The Unnamed Radiant Church is the horror itself.’
These folks worship horror and believe that the very foundation of this world is horror.
Thus, they think that if they discover and cultivate it well, and become meaningful beings in this world, they will be chosen by the ‘Name’ for eternal life. They are zealots.
‘It’s completely end-times cultish.’
Honestly speaking, among the three factions appearing in [Dark Exploration Records], this is the one I feel the most distant from.
‘Not my… taste.’
Of course, I’ve read the wiki entries about that cult.
So, the wiki page is safe and sound thanks to the ‘Memorial Grip Talk’, but the problem is that I haven’t been able to read the wiki for days.
‘So that’s why I didn’t catch on immediately.’
But now that it’s specified, I can properly grasp the current situation.
A bizarre recurring phenomenon occurred during the night cleaning of the Isolation Room. What on earth about this nightmare-like situation was caused by the Unnamed Radiant Church?
I took a deep breath.
This is…
‘Doppelganger horror.’
A supernatural being that usurps someone’s life.
One of the horror stories that exploded in popularity when the Unnamed Radiant Church was first registered on the wiki.
To be precise, it was one of their ranks.
That crazy cult matches horror phenomena based on affiliation and rank!
And that name is…
———————
Dark Exploration Records / Horror
[Story Thief]
: The power of the Unnamed Radiant Church appearing in [Dark Exploration Records]. Rank 4 affiliated with the [Mimicry Cult].
A representative horror phenomenon of the Mimicry Cult that seeks to imitate others and steal their stories for its own narrative nourishment.
Those caught up in this phenomenon lose the potential of their stories, and over time, can even lose their very selves.
———————
To put it wiki-style, this was a horror story derived from the fear of an unknown entity replacing me or those around me.
‘The clearest sign is… bizarre acts done in the form of close relatives.’
It appears imitating various acquaintances like the target’s partner, friends, or those with a sense of guilt, luring them into a false sense of security, and then staging supernatural horrors.
The goal is this.
To induce a powerful psychological state in the target that “I wish this situation would pass.” Gain implicit agreement and consent, then usurp the person’s narrative.
And I, caught up in this, had “lost” the narratives of the 29th and 30th.
The Story Thief robs the target of the potential to choose or act otherwise.
As a result, the target feels as though “time has slipped by meaninglessly” for all that was stolen.
Thanks to this, I went through two days “without anything notable to recall,” and then woke up around the same time the next day.
‘Thanks to the silver ring, did I only lose a day and that’s it?’
If I hadn’t been careful, I might have been swept away like this.
When I start to lose track of what’s what and doubt what’s real, I could easily get dragged into the situation.
‘That’s how life gets drained away.’
It’s lucky that my mind remained intact and I didn’t reach that point….
– Ah, how interesting. Hoo, this time I caught up faster.
‘Brown!’
I heard an exaggerated breath being taken from a small stuffed toy followed by a cheerful voice.
– You dished out a day’s worth of stories,
– I take it that imitating Doe’s acquaintances was part of it?
‘Exactly.’
At first, they imitated Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je, then Chief Park Min-seong, and successfully stole my soul away.
The identities they had previously been exposed as go unused, cycling through to keep stealing my narrative…
– Oh. In that case, I’m curious who Doe will meet on the 31st.
– At this moment on the third day, I wonder whom they’ve managed to imitate… It’ll be revealed soon!
“……”
I looked around.
There was no sign of Chief Park Min-seong. Unsurprisingly, Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je’s presence was… also absent.
The Rental Warehouse was just me.
‘…The lockdown was lifted at the end of the second day.’
In that case, hasn’t it already left?
But generally, ‘Story Thieves’ tend to obsessively work to fully usurp the lives of the marked individuals if given the chance.
‘They likely didn’t suspect I would catch on to their identity.’
Then.
Someone who can casually appear in this location and ease my tension while being a familiar acquaintance to me…
Blaring beeping.
[In just… 10 minutes… I’ll be heading out.]
“……”
Listening to the voice from the walkie-talkie, my shoulders tensed.
A moment later.
[Beeeeeep!]
[The lockdown is lifted. The shutter is opening….]
I stood up and looked ahead.
The door was opening.
The protective shutter for the Security Team Rental Warehouse was being lifted, and the light that was red shifted back to green.
And beyond the rising shutter…
“Glad to see you’re safe. What a relief…”
Security Team Leader J3, with the same exhausted eyes as always, but with a slight sense of relief, looked at me.
“Are the other staff… Ah, are they inside that door? Are you okay?”
“……”
“Hello…?”
I turned my back on Security Team Leader J3.
“Eh…?”
And I stood facing the wall.
To be honest.
‘When a horror incorporates a religious element, exorcism usually follows.’
There’s a procedure to handle transcendent beings. It’s like a two-way mirror.
No matter how insane the Unnamed Radiant Church may be, they aren’t an exception in this regard.
‘There’s a way to exorcise the Story Thief too.’
I recalled the rules I received on the first day of work.
Name? Anyway, it’s some kid who mumbles weird stuff while claiming to teach you how to be happy; a little cursing at them should silence it.
If you don’t want to curse, simply telling it to scram would suffice.
It’s a peculiar thing.
Though the second chapter was corrupted, the hint was accurate.
Because.
“Get lost.”
The way to drive this off is to ‘detect the identity beforehand and completely reject it’.
Does it need implicit consent and agreement to rob my time?
If I withhold that, it’s over.
So…
“Hey, what’s the deal…?”
“Get lost.”
I declared again while turning my back on the other party.
…….
kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk
Seriously? For real?
You let me have it twice?
“Get lost.”
“Doe, what the heck happened to your language? No matter what, that’s no way to talk to your superior….”
“Get lost.”
“Whoa? E-eh, Doe? That’s a bit harsh! We need to finish cleaning. I just wanted to help you out a bit.”
“Get lost.”
“I don’t want to… Well, I’ll just stay here… Honestly… I didn’t say anything bad about you….”
“Get lost.”
“……”
kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk
What a waste…
The voice twisted behind me.
Rejecting the grace bestowed upon our wretched lives, which have no influence on the world’s foundation. What a pity.
If you pass over your pathetic story, we could fill that story with the Name‘s brilliant grace. What a waste that the Name might notice me.
“Get lost.”
What a waste…
I gritted my teeth.
“Get lost.”
The strange whispering behind me quieted down.
And…
It became silent.
“……”
It seems that whatever that was has given up on targeting me.
‘Hoo….’
I almost let myself flop down as the tension eased, but I held back. Instead, I kept racking my brain.
As I could still hear no footsteps, the moment they shift to another place, I’ll bolt and report to the Security Team. That’s the plan…
Blaring beeping.
“……!”
The walkie-talkie in my pocket rings.
I hear a familiar voice…
[I’ve arrived… um.]
“Arrived… um.”
But then, I heard vocal sounds nearby too.
“……”
I slowly turned my head to the entrance of the Rental Warehouse.
Outside, Security Team Leader J3 was looking this way with a blank expression.
‘Is that really him?’
No, it has to be him for sure!
I hurriedly opened my mouth to explain the situation…
“…! J3.”
…But then, I heard a voice from behind me.
It sounded bewildered.
I turned my head further back to see.
The horror of the Unnamed Radiant Church was now wearing a scarlet cleaning uniform.
“What in the world is happening?”
A black-haired man in his late twenties, with a shocked expression, alternately looking at me and Security Team Leader J3.
Kim Sol-eum.
Perfectly imitating my current appearance, he spoke in a bewildered tone while looking at me.
“What’s… how is it possible for such a horror to embroil you during cleaning?”
He’s imitating me.
‘Damn it…!’
Chills ran down my spine.
I urgently looked at Security Team Leader J3 and calmly spoke.
“J3, that’s a follower of the Unnamed Radiant Church.”
“W-what do you mean? J3, do you know what’s going on? It seems dark here….”
“J3! Don’t respond. You need to listen and judge. The moment you answer, you’ll get swept into the situation.”
“……”
“Any thoughts you want to verify, just talk to the wall… no, it’s better just to yell for everyone to get lost. That’s the safest option.”
Security Team Leader J3 stared at me with an unreadable expression.
And next to me, I heard the faint voice of ‘Kim Sol-eum’ trembling.
“I… I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
What?
“Think about it, J3. I just came in to clean for three days. I realized this situation is dark thanks to something beside me… something.”
“…!”
“It’s actually more natural for me not to know what’s in the Security Team Isolation Room. J3, think logically. Doesn’t this make sense?”
– Oh, quite convincing indeed.
It really is, damn it…!
“And… I’m really relieved you came. I’m sorry to put you in this kind of situation…”
“……”
‘It speaks damn well.’
Cult-like. I gritted my teeth.
True, when I first showed up in the guise of Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je, I was almost fooled.
‘Then… how did Chief Park Min-seong realize that this wasn’t Eun Ha-je?’
I desperately tried to recall that moment.
What did they notice?
‘There didn’t seem to be any logical flaws back then….’
What could it be?
An incongruity that only someone who knows me well would catch?
The nuances felt in conversation?
‘Or….’
In the midst of desperately considering and mulling over, a smooth calm voice came from beside me.
“Uh, J3. Please don’t feel guilty; just act as you judge. I’ll accept whatever happens.”
….
Ah.
‘Got it.’
So that was it.
I pressed at my temples and spoke.
“J3, look at the purpose behind the words. Who is trying to keep the conversation friendly and immerse you in the situation?”
When Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je…
Was excessively friendly given the situation.
In a scenario where you’ve just escaped from confinement, that cannot be the case.
‘Besides, if it were the real Assistant Manager, they would likely hide and find a way out rather than reveal themselves to talk with me.’
Since they would have helpful items and would just need to wait for the lockdown to lift.
There’s no way they’d risk it, deciding to engage in conversation so immediately.
An oddly inappropriate reaction for the situation.
So…
“In this strange and dangerous circumstance, who’s going out of their way to make unnecessary social statements? …Who has ulterior motives?”
I calmly stated.
“You don’t have to believe me entirely. Just yell for it to get lost and look the other way; it’s a horror that will disappear. Or you could call for other Security Team members….”
“Um.”
Security Team Leader J3 stood up.
And then.
“It’s this one.”
A giant wolf-like monster’s black claw fell above my head like a guillotine.
‘Damn it…!’
In the briefest moment before closing my eyes.
Puh-wak.
My head flew off.
It was the Mimicry one next to me.
“…!!”
Splash.
The twisted, giant shadow-like claw made a squelching sound as it crushed the corpse and then rushed past me, leaving an immense pressure…
Returning to Security Team Leader J3’s arm.
“Are you okay…?”
I looked down at my scarlet cleaning uniform now drenched in the Mimicry’s blood and collapsed to the ground.
“……!”
“Yes. Thank you.”
I survived.