Chapter 300: Episode 300

The atmosphere had quickly turned awkward. We had been walking around Carnival Land in absolute silence for twenty minutes.

Yeon, who had been freely weaving between acting and duty while showing off her multifaceted charm, seemed to have completely short-circuited from the earlier kiss.

-Tower Master.

What?

-Can you proudly claim that there was absolutely no ulterior motive behind your actions just now?

I couldn’t even form a thought.

Blood rushed to my face before I even realized it.

No! Even if we’re on a mission, how could anyone suppress their emotions when she’s acting like that? You’d have to be a statue, not a human being!

-I was just saying.

Her laughter rang in my head.

While I was grumbling internally, Yeon suddenly stopped in her tracks.

She looked like she was zeroing in on something.

“Yusin. The high-threat demonkin is moving into an unmonitored location. We have to catch up to him.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s go!”

She grabbed my hand and broke into a sprint. Caught off guard, I scrambled after her.

“Right over there!”

She pointed with her free hand, dropping her voice to a harsh whisper.

“The Middle Eastern man in the white sweatshirt and jeans!”

I expanded my Deva’s Eye. Scanning the people standing in line, I easily spotted the description she had mentioned.

“Okay, I see him.”

“Let’s get in line too. If that demonkin transforms into a monster, everyone here will be massacred!”

Right then, the demonkin in question glanced over his shoulder, his gaze sweeping toward us.

Yeon quickly linked arms with me, pitching her voice into a sweet, coaxing whine.

“Hurry! Come on, hurry! I really want to go in there!”

What in the world… Ahem. I know it’s just acting, but it is pretty cute.

Thanks to her quick thinking, the demonkin withdrew his gaze, assuming we were just another annoying couple, and we slipped into line without an issue.

Wait, what kind of ride is this anyway? Why is it unmonitored?

I belatedly looked up at the massive, looming sign.

Horror Forest

That’s right. It was Carnival Land’s version of a haunted house.

This demonkin bastard’s taste, I swear…

I turned my head and looked at her.

“Are you scared of ghosts by any chance?”

She tilted her head in confusion.

“Why would I be scared of something like that? It’s just people wearing makeup.”

“Ooh, so confident.”

I crossed my arms and chuckled.

“What about you?”

“Of course I’m scared.”

“Why are you saying that so confidently?!”

I held up my hand, showing her my visibly trembling fingertips. She let out a heavy sigh.

“Just endure it for a bit.”

“Can’t I just wait for you at the exit?”

She gripped my forearm tightly with both hands.

“Absolutely not! We have no idea what the demonkin might do in an area outside the Association’s surveillance network!”

“…Are you actually just scared to go in alone?”

“No, I’m not!”

The line moved quickly. The place must have been terrifying, considering the sheer number of people giving up halfway through. About seventy percent of those who went in ended up bailing out the emergency exits.

Meanwhile, that demonkin bastard was laughing and chatting with his friend, excited about who-knows-what.

I wanted to kill him. I wanted to kick him in the face, knock him to the pavement, and stomp him into a pulp. To think he was making me go into a place like this.

“Please stop bouncing your leg,” Yeon scolded from beside me. “It’s distracting.”

“I really need to use the restroom, can I just go quickly…?”

“I already told you no. How can you be so strong, yet so terrified of ghosts?”

“Of course I am!”

I clenched my fists tightly.

“Monsters and demonkins can just be beaten up the moment you see them, but ghosts aren’t like that. There is nothing in this world more terrifying than the unknown!”

“That’s a very elaborate way of saying you’re a coward.”

After a grueling wait, our turn finally arrived. The demonkin went inside, and we were the group right after the next.

The employee at the entrance rattled off the safety guidelines.

“If you wish to give up halfway through, look at the cameras on the ceiling and cross your arms in an X, and our staff will come escort you out. Please do not assault or curse at the actors just because you get scared.”

“Got it.”

We were escorted into the haunted house.

Artificial fog rolled over the floorboards, making the atmosphere absolutely dreadful. It was so thick and eerie I could barely take my first step.

“Let’s hurry.”

She tugged at my hand.

“We have to catch up to the demonkin. Not only is there a risk of an accident, but if his meeting place is inside this facility, we could be facing a worst-case scenario.”

“Right.”

We slowly walked inside, piercing through the fog.

True to the name Horror Forest, there were plenty of real trees and bushes, not just cheap props, looming out of the mist.

The atmosphere was insane.

Even though we were indoors, it genuinely felt like walking through a dense woods on a pitch-black night. The eerie background music combined with the sound of chirping crickets made it all the more terrifying.

-Tower Master.

What is it?

-If you are that scared, couldn’t you just maximize the Deva’s Eye and walk while tracking where the employees are located?

My mouth fell open.

You’re a genius, Ea.

I immediately activated the Deva’s Eye to maximum output. It was a bit ridiculous to use a legendary power on a theme park haunted house, but I couldn’t help being scared.

We crept along a narrow trail.

Through the bushes, roughly ten feet ahead, I could perfectly see an actor dressed as a zombie lying in wait.

So that’s the spot where they crawl out and groan ‘Give me my leg.’

Yeon, seemingly focused only on catching the demonkin, was taking large strides forward while dragging me by the hand.

Going that fast is going to get her a nasty shock…

“Graaaaah!”

The actor launched out of the bushes with a guttural roar.

It was scary even though I knew it was coming, and I stumbled backward. But suddenly, a metallic blur flashed in the dim light. Yeon was pulling her sword out of her spatial pocket.

“Hey!”

I threw my body forward, blocking her path. Stunned by the frantic blur of motion, the actor just stood there with a blank expression, completely oblivious to how close he’d just come to being decapitated. Meanwhile, Yeon was white-knuckling her sheathed sword, her hands visibly trembling.

“Ahaha! Startled you, didn’t it? Come on, let’s keep moving,” I forced a laugh, pulling her along by the hand.

Yeon allowed herself to be dragged along, glaring back at the poor actor with eyes full of lethal vigilance.

Before anything else could escalate, I quickly navigated us out of the zone, then turned back to her.

“I thought you weren’t scared?”

“I’m not.”

“Then why did you pull out your weapon?”

She glanced down at the sword in her hand, then looked back at my face.

“Because we don’t know when or where the demonkin might strike.”

“You weren’t trying to strike the employee with it?”

“No.”

Right on cue, the heavy wooden lid of a nearby well violently flew open, and another actor let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Yeon jumped out of her skin, rearing back to swing her sword. I grabbed her arm with all my might and dragged her away.

“Hah. Hah.”

Having entered a state of extreme fight-or-flight, beads of sweat were forming on her forehead.

“Yeah, no. I’m confiscating that.”

I snatched the sword from her grip.

“H-Hey, you can’t do that! Give it back!”

Looking utterly panicked, she stood on her tiptoes, making a desperate grab for it. I raised the sword completely out of her reach.

“I can’t. You know you almost sent the employees here to the afterlife twice already, right?”

“I didn’t even draw the blade! And I always stop right before impact!”

“It’s still dangerous!”

After a brief scuffle, I finally managed to stow her sword into my own spatial pocket.

A deflated Yeon muttered something about “If I don’t have my sword…” over and over. I completely ignored her.

We hurried on, searching for the demonkin. The next scare was coming from the ceiling.

A trapdoor in the ceiling flew open, and a dummy suspended by a noose dropped down right in front of us.

She gasped in horror.

Yeon squeezed her eyes shut and reflexively lashed out with a vicious roundhouse kick. The dummy’s head was ripped clean off, flying across the corridor and smashing into the wall.

Good lord.

A cold sweat broke out down my neck. If that had been a real person… terrifying.

“Hah. Hah.”

She collapsed to the floor, placing a trembling hand over her chest as she caught her breath.

“That was undeniably a startled reaction just now, wasn’t it?”

“I-It’s because I don’t have my sword!” she stammered, her face turning beet red. “When I have no way to defend myself!”

“Then I’ll go first. Just hold my hand and follow me! And please, I am begging you, do not lay a hand on the employees.”

Ultimately, I took the lead.

All my fear of ghosts had completely vanished by now.

What I feared more than anything else right now was the very real possibility that the ticking time bomb of a woman clinging to my hand might actually beat an innocent college student to death.

“One person in the tree on the right,” I warned her in advance.

The actor popped out, and though Yeon flinched in surprise, she managed to suppress the urge to attack them this time.

“An arm is going to pop out from the ground on the left.”

“A zombie is running at us from behind.”

We quickly and smoothly breezed through the remaining courses.

We steadily picked up the pace. The zombies and ghosts lunged at us with violent shrieks, but when I gave absolutely zero reaction, they just awkwardly retreated back to their spots.

“There it is!”

I could see the glowing exit signs past the final set of double doors.

Please, let this be over! Gripping the walking hazard’s hand, I stepped out into the light.

“Ah…”

“Haaaa.”

As we pushed through the doors, we were greeted by the warm evening air and the vibrant sights of the outside world.

The group ahead of us must have given up, since they were nowhere to be seen, but we immediately spotted the demonkin and his friend roaring with laughter as they strolled down the walkway.

It was over. Nothing had happened.

For entirely different reasons, we both let out massive sighs of relief.

“If I ever go to a haunted house with you again, I’m not human,” I muttered.

“I-It couldn’t be helped! You took my sword away!” she argued, her face flushed red.

I lightly tapped her shoulder with the sheathed tip of her confiscated weapon.

“Whatever. Just take this back.”

“…Okay.”

Stepping fully outside, we found ourselves in a souvenir shop. In a room packed with all sorts of horror merchandise, an employee guided us over to a display screen.

“Photos are four dollars each.”

They were selling candid action shots taken of us midway through the Horror Forest experience.

In the photo, I was walking through the bushes with a stiff, deadpan expression, while Yeon was tightly clutching my shirt collar, visibly terrified and screaming her lungs out.

“Wow, this is a masterpiece!” I laughed.

She groaned, completely covering her face with both palms.

“What was it you said earlier?”

I cleared my throat and mimicked her voice.

“Why would I be scared of something like that? It’s just people wearing makeup.”

“Aaah! Stop teasing me!”

The employee and I burst out laughing at the exact same time. Yeon, her face as red as a tomato, couldn’t even lift her head.

“I definitely have to buy this. Please print me a copy.”

“That will be four dollars.”

When I pulled my card from my wallet and held it out, she lunged forward and snatched it away.

“Why are you buying that?! Let’s just go!”

Watching her squawk at me, I quickly pulled out a different card and pressed it into the employee’s hand.

“Did you want one that badly? Make it two copies, please.”

“Yusin!”

In the end, I bought two copies.

Upon receiving one of the photos from me, she let out a heavy, defeated sigh.

“I feel like… you just got material to tease me with for the rest of my life.”

She quietly stared down at the photo. Was it just my imagination, or did the corners of her lips curl up slightly?

Right then, as if receiving a message through her earpiece, she lifted her head and put on a look of intense concentration.

“The demonkin is on the move. We should get going.”

That Threat Level 2 demonkin was truly an unfathomable individual.

He continued to ride various attractions with his friend, and since we were tailing him, we had to keep an appropriate distance and ride them as well to avoid looking suspicious.

The Hurricane, the Twist, the towering roller coasters, of all the luck, this bastard had to be an absolute adrenaline junkie who only picked the most extreme rides in the park.

My stomach was churning so much I felt dizzy, but surprisingly, Yeon handled them perfectly. Seeing her throw both arms up during the steep drops, it was clear she was genuinely enjoying herself, regardless of the mission.

“Two copies, please.”

In front of the booth selling roller coaster photos, she bought a bizarre picture of me with my mouth hanging wide open in terror.

Handing me a copy with a beaming smile, she seemed absolutely delighted to have successfully gotten her revenge.

“Ah, looks like they’re heading for the swinging pirate ship this time! Hurry up!”

She grabbed my hand and pulled me along.

It was nothing more than a very brief deviation enjoyed during a tailing mission.

Still, she looked genuinely happy.

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