Gyeong-won's father's body and Bu Choi Jeong-im's body had fused together like conjoined twins, to the point where it was impossible to tell which flesh belonged to whom anymore. Their bodies had become a grotesque mass of tangled meat.
However, judging from the vacant expression on Gyeong-won's father's face, drool hanging from his mouth, it was obvious that Bu Choi Jeong-im now had complete control of the body.
"First participant team, step forward."
Both of their voices came out through the microphone at the same time, blending together into an eerie echo.
"They're here, aren't they? Those stupid kids."
"..."
"Still not coming forward?"
From the mangled body, a hand—no one could tell whose it originally belonged to—slowly rose and pointed toward the audience.
" Is was you, right ,you."
The slimy finger pointed at a male student in the second row, causing him to jump in shock.
Curling up as deeply as possible into his seat, he frantically shook his head and raised both hands.
"N-Not me... Seriously, it's not me...!"
"Then who is it? Get out here."
The creature twisted its body, accompanied by the sound of cracking bones.
"I'm warning you. Don't make me angry. Countdown. Three, two, one—"
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!!"
Suddenly, the principal—who had been trembling in fear the entire time—charged forward carrying a piano bench and swung it straight at the creature's head.
CRASH!
The bench shattered against Bu Choi Jeong-im's skull with a deafening crack.
"Urgh!"
The creature staggered from the blow.
Panting heavily, the principal suddenly assumed the stance of a martial arts master.
"Jo... Jongnampa Six-Harmony Demon God Art! Heavenly Azure Sky Force! Hyaaaaaa!"
Shouting the names of techniques that seemed to come from another universe entirely, he unleashed a barrage of straight punches.
Tak! Tak-tak! Tak!
CRASH! CRASH!
Even at sixty-two years old and nearly retired, he was still a grown man. His heavy punches carried enough force to make an impact.
Each hit made the creature's flesh jolt and ripple violently, even forcing its massive body backward.
Tak! Tak! Tak!
"I never thought I'd get the chance to beat someone up, but if it's a monster like you... Is Perfect timing for my itchy hands, you monster Hyaa! Hyaa! Hyaaaah!"
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
SPLURT! SPLURT! CRACK!
The crudely fused flesh deformed like clay beneath each punch, producing sickening cracking noises. For a moment, the monster genuinely seemed overwhelmed.
Seeing this reaction only excited the principal further.
"Wahahahaha! How does that feel?! This is a punch carrying every ounce of strength in my body!"
"...."
"Your organs must be bursting inside! Accept your punishment quietly, you wretched creature!"
The sixty-two-year-old principal looked genuinely delighted.
But then—
His fist suddenly sank into the creature's flesh.
"...!"
Startled, he tried to pull it back out.
Too late.
The skin around his hand slowly began to merge with the creature's body, getting absorbed into Bu Choi Jeong-im's back.
"Ugh! Let go! Let go of my hand, you monster!"
"Gal! Gal! Gaaaall~!"
The principal desperately waved his free hand around, as if trying to fire energy blasts from his palm.
Nothing happened.
He's insane. Does he think this is a dream or something?
"O-ohhh! AAAAAHHH—!"
Suddenly, a force from inside the flesh began dragging him inward.
What had only swallowed his arm now pulled him all the way to the shoulder.
Unable to resist, the principal ended up hanging from the creature's back like a sack of potatoes.
"O-oi! Let me go! Let me go, you damned freak!"
Ignoring his struggles, But Choi Jungim approached the judges' table where Han Ahri was hiding in terror.
Then—
Using all four of its arms, the creature embraced her.
And suddenly...
It kissed her.
Chuuuuuuuu~
"...!"
"Mmph! Mmph! MMPHHH—!"
Han Ahri's eyes widened in horror.
She struggled desperately, but her body was trapped in the creature's sticky embrace.
Behind them, the principal continued to be absorbed.
In front, Han Ahri kicked and thrashed while being forcibly kissed.
The monster was now absorbing two adults at the same time—one from the front and one from the back.
Then something strange began to happen.
Han Ahri, who had initially resisted weakly, suddenly started trembling violently as if struck by electricity.
At the same time, the principal's screams began changing into something... rather embarrassing.
"Aah! Uugh! Aaah! W-What is this?! What is this?! Aaahuuuh—!"
"Hehehe, does it feel good, you old fart?"
The sixty-two-year-old man let out high-pitched cries that sounded almost feminine as his entire body was consumed.
Likewise, Han Ahri gradually stopped resisting.
Instead...
She almost seemed to be enjoying the fusion.
She even wrapped her arms around the monster as if affectionately hugging it while being drawn deeper inside.
Their lips remained fused together.
Their cheeks stuck together.
The boundary between their bodies slowly disappeared.
Like clay being stretched apart, they continued melting into the creature while releasing strange moans.
Eventually, both the principal and Han Ahri were completely absorbed.
Moments later, their faces reappeared from the creature's flesh.
Their eyes were empty.
Lifeless.
After rearranging its newly acquired limbs into a more comfortable configuration, the creature's final form emerged.
A horrifying humanoid spider made entirely of flesh.
Its sixteen human legs clattered against the floor as it descended from the stage.
"Kyaaaaahhh!!"
"AAAAAAAHHH!!"
At the sight of the grotesque monster,
several parents fainted, and the students scrambled to their feet, rushing toward the music room door.
Bang, bang, bang!
But it remained firmly locked.
"No! Nooo!!"
"O-open the door! Please open it!"
"Is anyone there!? Please open the
door!"
"Ah, aah! D-don't push!"
More than fifty students rushed toward the closed door all at once, shoving and trampling over one another.
Some students caught in the middle
screamed.
"Aaaaah-! Don't step on me! Don't step on me-"
" i'm, I'm being crushed! Just wait! Agh-!"
panic spread throughout the room.
Soon, the sixteen-Iimbed human spider, Teacher Choi Jungim, who had descended from the stage, swept her.gaze leisurely over the chaotic music room.
Spotting our Ghost Story Club standing side by side in the audience seats, she slowly tilted her head.
Then Teacher Choi Jungim laughed maniacally, her voice overlapping with multiple voices, making it hard to understand.
"You little punks, you were pissed off that this Teacher gave you a low score."
"Yeah, you moron."
I stared straight at the monster and answered flatly.
" I F*cking hated it."
"What did you just say, you punks?"
Teacher Choi Jungim smiled evilly and slowly climbed over the front row of the audience seats.
Chaerin and Yeseul, panicking, Scattered to either side.
"You're gonna report me to the school board or something? Heh, what a joke."
"No. I'm going to beat you up myself."
"What a joke. What a joke."
"Sounds funny?"
I quickly pulled a heavy hinge from my pocket, shut my eyes, and swung my arm with all my might, hurling it up toward the audience seats where I guessed Teacher Choi Jungim's face would be.
[Special ability Perfect Student' has
activated.]
'Hit the eyes!"
[21%]
"Whaaaaaaaaah!!"
The heavy iron hinge, thrown at random, embedded itself in the Teacher's eye at full force.
The monster collapsed between the chairs, writhing in pain.
"Aaaaaaarrgh-!"
Then, it suddenly stopped, and Teacher Han Ari's eyes, surfaced on its shoulder, flashed open.
"You all will die here today."
The monster answered in a calm voice, then it contracted its eight legs.
"It's coming! Be careful!"
"Yeah!"
Soon, the monster unfurled its eight legs wide and sprang into a massive leap.
It thudded once against the ceiling and plummeted down toward us.
Crash- bang-bang-bang-!
"Ugh!"
"Argh-!"
Chairs collapsed, dust poured down from the ceiling.
And fortunately, the club members Scattered to both sides in an instant and managed to escape.
A few students in the front and back rows, who had frozen instead of running away, were crushed and injured, but we were unharmed.
"Stay put, right there-"
At the moment when the monster, buried under the chairs, tried to flip itself over using its eight arms, I shouted.
"In Hayoon! The model!"
"....!"
At my shout, Hayoon immediately detached the hinges from the model
she'd been holding, splitting it into a
wooden door and frame.
Jinhee immediately snatched the
separated wooden door and swung it
down with all her might toward the
head of the teacher, who was flipping
Over.
Smack-!
"Kyaaaaah!"
The Principal had slammed down the
piano chair earlier on that side, and
a parent had pulled the scalp, now I
threw in the metal hinge.
All the accumulated damage to Teacher Choi Jungim's head instantly caused one side to crumple in, leaving her disoriented.
"Kyaaah-!"
But then, the Principal and Teacher
Han Ari's eyes on the surface of mass
shot open, boiling over with anger on
her behalf.
"You little, you little p*nk, how dare
you, you disrespectful brat-!"
"F*ck!"
Jinhee deflected the multiple arms
reaching out by swiftly swinging the
wooden door rapidly, her actions
lightning-fast.
Thwack-Crack- Thwack-
Thump!
At the same time, a hand firmly grasped that wooden door, and as Jinhee and the monster engaged in a tug-of-war over a single wooden plank.
Sunah swiftly slashed the hand of the
monster with her boxcutter.
Splat-!
Before it could agonize over its slightly
severed wrist, Hayoon followed suit and slammed the model door frame hard against it, breaking it with a loud crack.
"Kyaaaaah-"
The monster writhed in pain, waving its severed wrist.
I shouted at the other members.
"Boys, come too! Everyone join in and kick! Be careful not to let it touch your skin!"
"Uh, uh!"
"R-Right!"
At my shout, Gyeongwon and Dukhun
also rushed over, stomping on the monster's many toes and crushing them, pinning it down so it couldn't get up.
Then I, too, joined them and started kicking it viciously with my slippers.
"Hey, you piece of shit, you gave us a low score? Huh? You wanted us to lose! You piece of sh*t!"
Smack- smack- smack-
"From the very first time we met, you've been looking down on people the whole time, f*ck! You like it this way? You like it? Living however the hell you want?"
"Argh, stop it, you p*nks-"
With the pent-up frustration of being ignored from the moment we first met, I stomped on the teacher again and again, and she thrashed her limbs, trying to struggle to her feet.
The few students crashed beneath her
soon began to fuse with her, struggling
along with the tangled lump of flesh's
body, which had lost its balance and
was waving its arms this way and that.
Even when she tried to flip over and get up, Teacher Choi Jungim kept staggering, unable to find her balance, only to be met with our blows again and again.
Thwack- thwack- thwack-
"You go and pick a topic that's a complete piece of sh*t! Is that supposed to be high-level? Huh? Is that high-level?"
"Get back, get back!"
Sunah safely slashed the hands reaching for me with her boxcutter, joining me in the attack.
"Someone like you shouldn't be a teacher, you cowardly b*tch! You f*cking despicable piece of sh*t!"
Thwack- thwack- thwack
"Ugh- aargh- aaargh-"
I continued to kick the teacher until my fury had somewhat subsided, but just then, she did the same thing as when she absorbed the Principal earlier and tried to suck my leg into the mass of flesh.
Squelch-!
"Oh, I expected that."
I quickly slipped my foot out. offering only one slipper as bait.
Squelch- squelch-
The slipper was dragged inside its body with a thick, sticky sound.
Thinking of my next strategy, I quickly turned my head and called out to the students watching from afar.
"What are you all doing! Everyone, get over here! If we combine our strength, we can take it down!"
".....!?"
"That door won't open anyway! Stop clinging to false hope and come fight!"
The students gathered in front of the door flinched and looked in our direction.
I reminded them again that they had no choice and persuaded them once more that we had the upper hand in this fight for survival.
The door is not going to open! Fighting is the only option!"
".....!"
"There are fifty of us! It's fifty against one! If we all jump in and gang up on it, we'll win in no time! Just come help quickly!"
"... Ah, I get it!"
"Uh, yealh!"
A few ignorant-looking male students, immediately incited by the hastily spouted speech, rushed towards us, carrying chairs from the judges' seats. It was the second participating team 12th 27th, led by a Class President from another class.
" i-Il help you!"
"Me too!"
"I'll help you too...!"
The students rushed over and joined the club members, bringing their weapons down together.
The club members made space for them, and the students, trembling with fear, swung their weapons at the monster with all their might.
"Ugh, aahhh! Die, you monster!"
"Die!"
"Yaaahhh "
Thud- thud- wham-
As expected, the human survival instinct was strong.
Movies always portray ordinary people trembling in fear when encountering monsters.
In reality, even if driven to the brink by terror, people resisted until the very end.
"Ugh! Aaah!"
Thwack- thwack- thump-
"Ugh Let go of me, Let go...!"
Amidst it all, the monster managed to stretch out an arm and pull one of the male students into its mass, but I hid my presence from the others and incited the rest of the students with even more force.
"Come on, let's do this together! We're
winning!"
".....!".
"Now or never! There's no other way out anyway! Let's defeat it and get out of here!"
"...Y-yeah!"
"Let's, let's go! Let's kill the monster!"
"Ya, aaaaaa!"
Seeing the others attacking without any trouble, the rest finally seemed to gain courage and swarmed toward the monster.
Of course, not everyone joined in.
Some students, whose legs seemed to have given out, remained slumped in front of the closed door, even though it wasn't going to open anyway.
The rest, who had been gauging the situation, also began shakily heading toward the monster, trembling all the while.
Thud- thump- Thud- thump-
"Aaaaah, you're all dead- no matter how many of you there are, oooh-"
"Ughhh- beat it! Beat it!"
"Diiiie! Diie!"
The students were frantically fighting the monster.
I blended in among them, shouting along as if cheering, while secretly pulling the club members away.
"Good job! You're doing great, students of Nakseong High! Let's get Teacher Choi Jungim an early retirement! Alright, Sunah. Enough now. Stop poking and get out of here."
"Uh, yeah!? But we're almost-"
"Jinhee, come out. This way!"
"Huh? What!?"
The club members, who had been fighting so hard, looked puzzled as they were pulled away by me.
Once again, I shouted words of encouragement while pulling the club members and slipping away from the throng of students.
"You're doing great! Nakseong High,fighting! Just a little bit more! Alright, guys. Gather over here. Quietly, without being noticed."
I left the rest of the students to fight in a frenzy while I pulled the club members out and gathered them together on one side.
"Everyone's here, right!? Is anyone hurt?"
"Uh, uh...?"
"I'm okay..."
"Sunah, Gyeongwon, Dukhun, Jinhee,
Hayoon. Okay, everyone's here. Alright,
follow me. We're going to hide in the
storage room."
"What? But-"
"Listen up, I had no intention of defeating it from the beginning. No, we must not."
I led the club members toward the storage room behind the competition room.
Meanwhile, the chaotic sounds of students fighting frantically could still be heard from behind, along with the Screams of the monster.
Thud- Smash- Crash-
"You're all going to die! Ack-"
"Hit it! Hit it!! Ugh, aah"
As our experienced members slipped away, the students quickly began to lose ground in the fight.
Gradually, a few people begin to be absorbed into the being, and the monster steadily swelled in size.
"Jo, Joon..?"
As she chased after me, Sunah urgently asked,
"Why are we running away..? If we fought together, you said we could have won...!"
"That's right. If we fought together, we could have won. But what happens after will be the problem."
"Eeeeeeeeek!"
The monster, having absorbed three,
no, four more students, almost reached the ceiling.
But with over fifty students still swarming around, they continued to fight relying on numerical advantage.
"Keep going! Keep going- Ugh! Urgh-"
Thwack- thwack- thwack-
Before I knew it, the male Class President from another class was naturally leading the fight in my stead, I saw his arm, which was about to swing down a chair, get grabbed by
the monster's arm and instantly fused
together, and looked away.
Taking advantage of the chaotic distraction, we slipped away unnoticed and safely reached the storage room door at the back.
"Let's go inside first. I'll explain everything once we're in."
"..I don't get this."
Jinhee walked past me into the storage room with a sullen face.
"It was just about to get crushed. Look at that. It's getting stronger again."
"I know. But there's something more important than defeating the teacher. Come on, hurry inside."
Like that, Sunah, Gyeongwon, and Dukhun.
Finally, after letting Hayoon in, I myself got inside, and just as I was about to close the door.
"Wait a minute!"
Someone called out to us, and when l looked back, it was the church-girl Yeseul, striding briskly toward us, holding Chaerin's hand.
"Let us in too."
"Quick."
Joo Yeseul spoke with a stern face. She was holding the arm of Chaerin, our Vice Class President, who was trembling and crying.
"Quick. If you don't let us in. I'll scream. I'll tell everyone you're the only ones running away."
I turned around and checked the members' reactions.
"....."
They were all flustered by the sudden
intrusion, but their expressions suggested they couldn't abandon others in this situation.
It seemed like Joo Yeseul hadn't been
Swayed by my instigation and had been watching us the whole time.
'...Well, I guess it doesn't matter.'
After all, I was thinking of dying and coming back anyway.
They wouldn't remember anything that happened here.
"Alright. I'll let you in. But you have to stay quiet."
"Okay, thank you."
Yeseul replied in a firm voice and rushed inside, pulling the Vice Class President with her.
Yeseul usually appeared quiet and gentle, but now she had a determined expression on her face.
In contrast, Chaerin, who usually brimmed with confidence as the Vice Class President, seemed like a crybaby in this situation, with tears welling up and streaming down her face.
Pop-
[Your understanding of the character Lee Chaerin has increased by 10.]
Thud- click.
After taking one final glance at the chaotic brawl between the monster and the students, I locked the door.
And as I turned my head, the quiet storage room with seven students looking at me came into view.
After clearing my throat, I opened my mouth to speak.
"Alright, I'l explain. Our goal is not to defeat the teacher who has turned into that monster."
The members straightened up and focused their attention on me.
"Our goal. It's to survive here until the very end, watch how the Void cultnreacts to this situation, and gather information."