I Became A Ghost In A Horror Game

"Hmm..."

"What's wrong, Alice?"

As I absentmindedly made a subtle expression while looking at the city, Kyeong-min asked me what was going on.

The reason was obvious.

"I came here to stop Little Red Riding Hood, but with the James incident and the fact that there are two Rulers, it feels like things are getting out of hand."

Who would've thought there'd be two Rulers?

And they're both quite powerful enemies. I could go and beat up the Cosmic Bird right now, but!

From what I've heard, it seems like it's been tormenting the Institution for a long time...

Why did James get caught up in such a big mess!

...Well, it's not like he wanted to get involved.

But since James is part of the Institution, maybe it's natural for him to be deployed?

"That's true. But I think a little complexity is good."

"Why?"

I was about to tell Kyeong-min that if he slipped up with his words, I'd let him know that saying it's good for people to turn into wolves and for there to be two enemy Rulers would instantly make him trash.

"Because we can help Alice when she's in trouble?"

"Oh my. Really? Ufufu..."

I laughed, touched by the unexpected words.

Eun-jeong pointed her finger at me and shouted.

"Kyeong-min is comfortable with you!"

"Eun-jeong, don't force it."

While giving Eun-jeong a light flick on her forehead, Kyeong-min shared his opinion with me.

"Let's take things step by step. We chased away the devil Little Red Riding Hood, but I think we should prioritize finding James first, then her, and then clean up the monsters. It's better to tackle small tasks one at a time." 𝐑α𐌽ǑβÊŜ

"It feels much better now that you've organized it. Thanks."

"Don't expect any rewards for praising me."

Kyeong-min scratched his cheek, looking embarrassed.

I pointed to the pocket of his pants and said.

"You have chocolate in your pocket."

"?"

I created a mirror next to his pocket and took out the chocolate.

I popped it into my mouth.

The chillingly sweet sensation tingled at the back of my head.

I never get tired of this. Ah, this makes life worth living.

Ignoring Kyeong-min's bewildered look, I stretched as much as I could.

"O~kay! Energy fully charged. Let's go find James first, as you said. Let's see, the remote mirror attached to James..."

I planned to use the remote mirror attached to James to jump to his location.

But contrary to my expectations, the mirror was broken.

This meant I couldn't reach James through the mirror.

Unable to hide my disappointment, I told the kids.

"The mirror broke while I wasn't looking."

"What? You didn't notice until now?"

No, this is unfair.

Just because there's CCTV doesn't mean I'm constantly monitoring it.

It's not like I'm on duty.

Besides, the farther away it is, the duller the sensation becomes, so I usually don't notice if it breaks.

As subtle glances gathered on me, my mouth immediately started making excuses as if a defense mechanism had kicked in.

"You guys forgot about the mirror too, didn't you!"

"How would we know if Alice's mirror broke!"

"Hmph, reflect on yourself!"

...Well, it is my fault.

I puffed out my chest and spoke confidently.

"I'll make up for it. Hmm, any good ideas?"

"Hmph, you say you'll make up for it but immediately ask for others' opinions? How shameless!"

"Noisy!"

As I growled like a wolf.

Ha-rim approached me and said she had an idea.

As expected, only Ha-rim would do that.

I feel like giving her a praise sticker.

Ha-rim paused for a moment, then shared her thoughts.

"If the fish are imitating humans, they might have imitated systems too."

"Systems... Like security?"

"Yes. Since we've been running over monsters, those long, fast creatures like the cutlassfish have been chasing us. They must be like the police."

I nodded, listening to Ha-rim's words, encouraging her to continue.

Then she pointed at the moon, which had already risen and darkened.

"James turned into a Moon Wolf, right? If Moon Wolves show their ferocity only to monsters, it's natural for them to come to this city full of monsters. But, out of all the wolves, did only James come here?"

Kyeong-min, who was listening to Ha-rim, seemed to realize something and added.

"That's right. If other wolves with the same goal caused chaos in the city, those cutlassfish would move."

Finally, Suho continued.

"If we chase them instead, there's a high chance we'll find James at the end... Right?"

"Eh, what's this? Why is everyone so smart? I feel left out."

Eun-jeong pouted.

I carefully asked, conscious of her feeling left out.

"Are you upset?"

"Maybe it's good that my brain is comfortable."

"Hmm, I see..."

It was an unnecessary worry.

Still, I gave her a pat on the head and approached Kyeong-min, who was holding binoculars.

"Looks like you found something."

"Over there, running- no, swimming- a group of cutlassfish. Let's chase them!"

I immediately summoned a monster we could ride and gave each kid a monster they liked.

When Suho asked if we could use the lion and unicorn he raised at school, I explained that carelessly bringing them out in enemy territory could escalate things.

They're also not suitable as mounts until they unleash their power, and if they did, the city would be half-destroyed, so it's not the right situation to bring them out.

"Here."

The place we arrived at was filled with the blood of fish monsters.

It must have been a fierce battle, as claw marks were everywhere on the buildings, and the minced flesh of monsters squirmed like in a blender.

"Urgh. This is a bit much..."

"It smells disgusting..."

Even the brave kids were repulsed by this gruesome scene.

Good.

Anyway, as we followed the claw marks deeper inside, we found chopped-up cutlassfish monsters and a bipedal wolf with white fur stained red standing there.

"Must be a Moon Wolf. Doesn't seem like James."

Though it was close to rags, it was wearing clothes.

Its attire was very different from James, and more importantly, its aura was distinct.

If James had a neat and sharp aura, this one was scattered and more ferocious.

"That outfit... Looks like a military uniform."

"Now that you mention it, it does. I've seen similar uniforms at the Institution."

Since the Institution's agents were dispatched, some of them must have turned into Moon Wolves.

After a brief observation, we watched the Moon Wolf's movements.

Fish monsters trying to stop the wolf, and the wolf easily slaughtering them.

I was impressed by its strength.

"A normal person wielding such power against monsters would be quite an advantage, right?"

If only they could return to being human... As the cutlassfish, who seemed to act as police, all fell, the monsters watching from behind began performing a ritual using the blood pooling on the ground.

I wondered what they were trying to do.

Bubbles rose from the pool of blood, which then turned black as if connected to somewhere.

Splash-!

The black water rippled, and a giant fishmen's hand grabbed the wolf.

Like snatching prey, it was too fast to react.

We could only watch, holding our breath, as the wolf was dragged into the water.

"The owner of that hand seems pretty strong."

Must be the one who caught The Brocken Spectre.

Still, it's not an opponent we can't handle.

"We lost it. What now?"

The kids looked despondent. I offered a solution so they wouldn't be too disappointed.

"What now? We'll open the heads of the ones left here."

I pointed at the remaining fish monsters.

As we sneaked closer to the fish, they seemed to sense something was off and tried to flee immediately.