The subway train emerged outside.
It ran on the maintenance tracks, passed through a narrow ascending path leading to the high-speed railway… and broke out onto the surface.
Sunlight poured in from outside the window.
But instead of warmth, a freezing tension and silence descended upon the engineer's compartment.
Right now,
we had come out into the middle of an Extinction-class Disaster.
-Oh my god!
-Wha-wha-wha-what? Wha-what?!
A commotion began to stir behind the engineer's compartment as well. The people on this Train Shelter had also noticed the anomaly.
Of course, they would. If sunlight was pouring in from outside the door, it would leak in no matter how much newspaper you used to cover it.
I staggered to my feet.
The front window of the engineer's seat.
"..."
I could see the blue sky.
But as I lowered my gaze… it was strange.
'Ah.'
I could see the tracks.
But all the surrounding scenery that should have been there besides the tracks was distorted into a grotesque shape, as if a burnt-out film was being played.
I felt sick to my stomach. Wasn't it just grotesque? But strangely, as if I had seen something that shouldn't be there, an unbearable anxiety made my heart pound and an eerie tension surged.
And, and….
Next to the tracks, I could see the blue sky.
"…Huh?"
Even though it was the floor of the train, I could see the sky.
'What is this…?'
What on earth was the structure of the outside world?
I reflexively looked back at the distorted surrounding scenery I had just seen, trying to grasp the situation.
What is that… wha-
whawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawhawha…
Something pushed me.
"Do not stare."
"…!"
I reflexively lifted my head. My body had been pushed down below the cockpit by Section Chief Lee Jaheon, away from the window.
When I raised my head, all I could see was the blue sky and sunlight.
Only the bright sunlight appeared in its undistorted, original form.
"Do not look outside."
Section Chief Lee Jaheon's vertical pupils looked at me.
"Leave it unseen."
"…Yes."
I nodded, gasping for breath.
Geeeeeeeeeeeee!
I could hear the sound of the train running on the dense tracks.
I focused on the sound of it running over something rusty. So that the afterimage I just saw would be erased.
When I turned my head, the people crowded in the engineer's compartment were averting their eyes from the windows, looking like they were about to break into a cold sweat, much like me.
I barely managed to open my mouth.
"…The train tracks seem to be floating in mid-air."
"Why, why, is the train in the sky…."
"…Perhaps."
I swallowed.
"I think the terrain of Segwang Metropolitan City, where the tracks used to be, may have already 'disappeared'."
"..."
Ms. Go Young-eun's face turned pale.
I also tried to remain calm.
'What I can do?'
First, first… I need to properly check the environment.
"Noruya. This… it seems like a hardcore difficulty Darkness, like 'you die if you look out the window'."
"..."
"It seems safer in here than I thought. The train isn't suddenly melting down or anything yet."
Was this the Agents' arrangement?
But by what means was this train running so normally in the middle of this Extinction-class Disaster, just by 'not looking outside'… Ah.
"I think this train is still being judged as belonging to the Subway ghost story."
"...!!"
A subway train running on the tracks.
'In the end, its essence hasn't changed.'
It was already connected to a separate ghost story called the subway. Thus, it seemed to be separated by a layer from the Extinction-class Disaster that dominated Segwang Metropolitan City.
Much like the subway stations where survivors existed because it was relatively safe.
"Naturally, it seems that we, who are inside this train, are also judged to still be inside the Subway ghost story…."
The Agents must have racked their brains to come up with this loophole.
Ms. Go Young-eun nodded with a horrified look on her face.
"If that's the case, the reason we can't see outside the window clearly might be because of that. The outside and inside of the train are different Darknesses, so we can't see well."
"That's a good guess. In any case, now that we've started running, we can only hope to arrive safely."
I gathered with Assistant Manager Eun Haje at the cockpit's monitor.
Remaining Distance: ■■■■■■■■□□
Remaining Fuel: ■■■■■■■■■□
The bars, which were decreasing in real-time, didn't have a proper numerical display, but they were incredibly intuitive.
"It looks like we've already come about 20%. At this speed, it really seems like we'll get out of Segwang Metropolitan City."
But if that happens, those two people....
....
But as if accepting what had already been decided, the two of them didn't say a word to the others.
As if they didn't want to cause a commotion when there was no other way.
"What do you think, Mr. Public Servant?"
Assistant Manager Eun Haje's and the others' gazes turned to Agent Bronze.
"…I cannot be certain, so I will find out."
Agent Bronze said without taking his eyes off the continuously burning black Talisman he was silently staring at.
"I will continue to observe the Talisman. It may be dangerous, so please, everyone, leave the engineer's compartment and wait."
"…Hmm. Alright."
Assistant Manager Eun Haje scanned Agent Bronze with a peculiar expression, but soon patted Ms. Go Young-eun's shoulder and started to move.
"I should go look for your aunt. Hey, I need to check on how the people are doing."
"Ah… Ah! Yes."
Ms. Go Young-eun came to her senses and immediately left the engineer's compartment with clear eyes.
And the moment even Section Chief Lee Jaheon went out the door.
I was about to leave… but stopped in my tracks.
"Agent."
Agent Bronze continued to stare at the Talisman.
"Right now, the remaining fuel is being displayed even though we haven't put any in… and the train is running, isn't it?"
"..."
"How do you think that's possible?"
"I will find out starting now."
"Then I'll state my guess."
I looked at the Talisman.
Unlike at Segwang High, the strokes were ominously boiling and burning black.
"Earlier. I read the text on the sign that appeared after the tracks changed…."
Safety First During Maintenance
Workers Must Be in Pairs of 2
A pair of 2 is mandatory.
"Perhaps, just like that, this engineer's compartment also required two Agents. So the moment two Agents stood in the cockpit, close to the Talisman, the Talisman took effect."
Why would that be?
"Perhaps it was so that if one person died, the other could continue the role."
What kind of role would that be?
"..."
"Agent."
I said in a trembling voice.
"Could it be… that this train is using the Agent in the engineer's compartment as fuel?"
The last resort, prepared for the case where they searched and searched but couldn't find any will-o'-the-wisps.
But a method that became unusable when only the last person, the expendable agent, was left.
"Agent… you looked at the Talisman and guessed that far, didn't you?"
The Agent wasn't surprised at all.
He simply replied.
"I do not know."
"...!"
"But the way the strokes are burning like this usually has a negative effect on the caster."
"Then you should get out quick…."
"Agent Grapes."
Agent Bronze suddenly reached out his hand and, with a calm movement, found a notebook from beside the cockpit.
And as he copied the strokes of the Talisman into the notebook, he spoke.
"If the train stops on these tracks, everyone dies."
"…!"
"And if one of the Agents must remain in this car… it is only natural that it be the one who is already dead."
"There might be another way. If we look for it now…."
"Agent Grapes. Taking care of the people who can live is the way for more people to get out alive."
What is he talking about?
"Then both of us can just stay in the engineer's compart…."
"No. You must live for certain."
Agent Bronze said while checking the pattern of the strokes he is copying.
"Agent Grapes, you must go out and deliver this replication level to the Management Bureau."
"..."
"Only then… will my work have meaning."
For the first time, Agent Bronze raised his head and looked at me.
There was a faint smile on his face.
"This is a more rewarding end than I expected. At least it is not a meaningless death."
No.
The Disaster Management Bureau didn't seal off Segwang Metropolitan City in the way you think!
Someone in the higher-ups who planned this might not be happy about these civilians getting out, and then it really might become a meaningless death….
The words rose to the tip of my tongue, but the situational judgment that I shouldn't say them stopped me.
What meaning would it have in this situation to say that they might be sent back to prevent them from getting out if they're caught after escaping, since they performed a Human Sacrifice on all the train's civilians?
'This is driving me crazy.'
"Please leave. Quickly."
"N-…"
"Everyone! We have been chosen!"
…!
I turned my head.
I could see the members of the Religion devoted to a rabbit doll marching into Car 1.
And I could see the one standing at the very front, walking triumphantly while holding the complete form of the Rabbit Doll.
The Chief Conductor.
"Look! No, the fact that this train has come out running under the sunlight is all~ because I, uh, received permission from the Plush Body? Huh? It's proof that I've been blessed, is what I'm saying!"
A danger signal blared.
'What the hell is that bastard doing?'
"We are escaping!"
"Really?"
"Oh my god!"
The people's cheers and questions, their anxious and expectant voices, rose and echoed through the car.
I saw a look of having finished some calculation and a vile excitement flicker in the eyes of the Chief Conductor, whose gaze met mine, and then he pointed a finger at me.
"The person who was originally supposed to serve this Rabbit Doll! Threw it aside like that and was just holed up over there resting!"
This son of a bitch.
I realized what he was up to.
'He knows I found a way to escape.'
And since he was escaping anyway, he was trying to wage a war of public opinion to solidify his own position.
For instance, to pave the way for killing me and silencing me the moment we escape.
'This…'
"But even a person like that has been blessed thanks to this train. The Rabbit Doll! Huh? This one has saved us. That's…."
"Excuse me!"
At that moment, a person pushed through the crowd.
Ms. Go Young-eun.
She had pushed aside the protests of her aunt, the station employee, and stepped forward.
"Are you the President?"
"You, you there? Young-eun, where did you learn to talk like that, huh? Acting all brazen…."
"No, I'm just asking if you're the President."
Instead of turning bright red and backing down like when she had talked with the Chief Conductor in the front car before, Ms. Go Young-eun replied calmly.
"I guess you're not. Seeing as you're getting so angry."
"What?"
"Usually, people get angry when they have something to hide."
Ms. Go Young-eun said, looking around at the people.
I saw beads of cold sweat on her forehead.
"In the first place, if you're not the President, why are you taking the lead and even holding the doll? From what I heard, this person here is the President."
And Go Youngeun pointed out the university student I had chosen from the crowd.
"No, I'm telling you I was chosen by this… Plush Body! I'm getting all these people to escape from here!"
"Is that so?"
Then Ms. Go Young-eun crossed her arms and said.
"Then it seems like the Rabbit Doll should be bringing down divine punishment on me for contradicting you right now, but nothing's happening."
"It's not that kind of being!"
"Then what kind of being is it?"
The Chief Conductor was at a loss for words.
"The truth is, you don't know, do you? You're just… saying it like you did it because people were talking about the Plush Body, aren't you?"
"You little brat!"
"You're being very violent. The Plush Body doesn't look like a violent being at all."
"…!"
The moment the Chief Conductor faltered at Ms. Go Young-eun's words.
"Chief Conductor."
The university student, the 'President of the Religion devoted to a rabbit doll,' quickly stepped forward.
"You keep doing things that are displeasing in the eyes of the Plush Body."
"N-no!"
"It seems that while the Rabbit Doll has opened a new path for all of us, you were once again using it for your own selfish desires."
The university student clicked his tongue.
"Someone who has never even met the Plush Body in a dream couldn't possibly move the train all of a sudden."
And after looking at the Chief Conductor with pity, he whipped his head around and said.
"This is an opportunity given to all of us by the Plush Body!"
"That's right!"
"According to the station employee, the Plush Body told us last night not to look out the window. We must meditate and try to sleep until this train arrives at the place where the Rabbit Doll has guided us!"
And leaving the Chief Conductor behind, the people began to pour out of Car 1. It was clear they were going to gather in the center and actually meditate.
The station employee and Ms. Go Young-eun followed behind them.
The Chief Conductor, who had been watching this unfold in a daze, his face turning red and blue, started to follow as if to grab Ms. Go Young-eun by the hair.
"You…,"
Thwack.
I punched the Chief Conductor.
And then I just tossed him in front of the engineer's compartment.
'Crazy bastard.'
The Chief Conductor lay sprawled in a corner, unconscious.
I safely followed the crowd and let out a sigh of relief as I watched Ms. Go Young-eun, who was saying something to calm the people down again.
'…I'm so grateful.'
And she was truly amazing.
'I need to think of a way, too.'
I was the only one who properly knew that if those two people went out there, they might become corpses.
'I have to find a way.'
I pulled back the hand I had extended to drag the Chief Conductor away, and kept thinking….
....
My tattoo on my wrist.
'…Inventory!'
Wait a minute.
"Assistant Manager!"
"Huh?"
I ran to Assistant Manager Eun Haje, who had been watching the situation without following the crowd.
"Assistant Manager, in the Hungry Hangman Darkness…."
"Yeah. Everything I bought after that was pretty much a bonus. Thanks…."
"No!!"
I ended up shouting, almost beratingly.
Assistant Manager Eun Haje also raised her eyebrows as if surprised.
"I'm talking about the way I got Chief Badger out!"
"...!"
"I'm going to try using that on you two."
Let's put them in the tattoo!
Put them both in the tattoo and… wait, if I put them in the tattoo and I go out, will it still be judged as 'having gone out'?
No, couldn't I just come back to Segwang Metropolitan City, open it, and take them out? My tattoo is another ghost story, so, no, then it would be checked as 'outside' like the Braun Talk Show….
'No!'
Since there's a Pop-up store in the Segwang Subway, it might be judged a little differently…!
"I don't know what will happen, but we can at least give it a try, can't we?"
"..."
Assistant Manager Eun Haje, who was meeting my eyes, chuckled.
"Hey. Yeah. If we can live, we should try everything."
"…!"
"Let's do it."
"Yes."
I was about to grab Assistant Manager Eun Haje right away and shove her into my wrist, but I was stopped for a moment.
The Assistant Manager gestured with her eyes toward Agent Bronze in the engineer's compartment.
"You gonna put that guy in too?"
"..."
I nodded.
"Aim for him when he's off guard after his work is done."
"…! Thank you."
"You got it."
I put Assistant Manager Eun Haje into the tattoo right on the spot.
The feeling was strange, and I had an odd sensation that I might be making the wrong decision, but I endured it.
'I can do it.'
I can do it. The space inside… I can just cram it in. That'll work! I took out almost everything I had packed in the tattoo. Mostly food and bulky items.
And I returned to the engineer's compartment.
"Please leave."
"..."
I deliberately did as he said.
Instead of paying attention to the commotion outside, Agent Bronze sat quietly in his seat, steadfastly copying the pattern of the Talisman.
As if that was the calling given to him.
Remaining Distance: ■■■■□□□□□□
Remaining Fuel: ■■■■■■□□□□
The distance and fuel decrease.
The strokes are completed.
I watched the scene anxiously.
Hurry, hurry….
"…It is done."
Done.
Agent Bronze lifted his head, saw me outside the engineer's seat, and nodded with a smile.
I smiled back.
"Take this."
I saw Agent Bronze holding out the paper to me, and with a smile still on my face, I reached out my hand….
And grabbed him by the arm and pulled.
"…!"
I enter the engineer's seat and push my opponent.
The moment the bewildered Agent Bronze lost his balance and staggered, I shoved Agent Bronze into the tattoo as well.
It was almost like a physical fight. But perhaps because he didn't expect a preemptive strike, I succeeded in getting Agent Bronze's arm into the tattoo first, and was able to stuff the rest of him in.
My grip tingled, and I think I probably scratched Agent Bronze's arm or shoulder quite a bit….
'But I did it.'
"Heok."
I collapsed.
I leaned against the side door of the engineer's seat and exhaled. My head felt like it was on fire from the tension, but anyway, I had done the best I could….
'It's okay.'
First, just… let's think about what to do once this Train gets out of here safely. Once I escape, there will be a way.
Remaining distance : ■■■□□□□□□□
Remaining fuel : ■■■■■□□□□□
'We're almost there already.'
And the fuel was fine. As long as I was here, it seemed like I would arrive before I died, one way or another.
'In the first place, the idea that it consumes an Agent is just a guess.'
It'll be fine. I let out a sigh, leaned back again, and lowered my guard a little….
Click.
"..."
A small sound echoed in the Engineer's compartment.
I reflexively lifted my head.
In the Cockpit.
Someone was pressing a button.
The Chief Conductor.
"Euhit!"
The moment I met his eyes, drooling and grinning at me with a bizarre sense of satisfaction.
The space behind my back vanished.
The side door of the engineer's seat opened, and my body fell into the cold air outside.
I tried to scream, but before I could, I reached out, trying to grab the edge of the open Train door, but my hand only cut through the empty air.
My body, thrown backward, began to fall… upside down.
"…!!"
My inverted head's gaze showed a wide-open view of the city. whaauaghthatisasinglebeingit'sdifferentwhawhatisthatwhyisonlyone??huh?
A giant spherical massofpeople?
The end has come!
There is a paradise!
We have failed!
Bigger than the traffic lights bigger than the roadside trees bigger than the houses bigger than the office buildings bigger than the skyscrapers it is huge in the blue sky that giant thing rolls in its round form crushing and grasping androlling over Segwang Metropolitan City hundreds of thousands ofeyestens of thousands ofmouths
heaven?
A giant mass in the beautiful view of the sunlit metropolitan city?a perfecthymn?a music boxsound?
The giant spherical intelligent being of thousands, hundreds, tens of thousands, millions opens its mouth
The end has come!
There is a paradise!
We have failed!
It's getting closer
mymymybodyisgettingcloser my head, falling upside down toward the city
The end has come!
There is a paradise!
We have failed!
My head is plunging.
The end has come!
There is a paradise!
We have failed!
The Train in the sky departs far away, where the tracks continue, piercing the sky, a disappearing dot heading out of the city
something falls from the Train door as if coming straight down toward me white scales glitter
Paradise!
My vision disappears.
Failure!
Into someone's mouth, shattering into pieces, my spine breaking, falling somewhere down here
ughaaagheuugh
being chewed
crunch
....
Fade to black.
Death.
*** Death confirmed. End. Restart? ***
"Heok."
I raised my head.
Pain, a strange pain, pa...
…huh?
'What kind of pain is this?'
I don't know.
I blinked and sat up.
I was sitting on a chair in the department store's first-floor lobby; it seemed I had dozed off while waiting for something.
What… was I waiting for?
'I don't know.'
But it's not that important.
Let's just go home for now.
I have no idea what I was thinking, coming to a department store first thing in the morning.
Was it because of the Pop-up store?
"Hoo." I put my Smartphone in my pocket and stood up from my seat.
Just then, something fell out of my front pocket with a thud.
'…A doll?'
There's a Rabbit Doll.
Did I buy this?
'Hmm.'
Rummaging through my pocket, besides the Smartphone, a silver button-like coin also comes out.
'…Merchandise?'
Did I buy something like this too?
'I'm not sure.'
Shrugging, I put the coin back.
Well, I must have gotten it from somewhere.
I tucked the doll back into my arms for now and headed for the department store lobby doors.
Out of Segwang Metropolitan City's Hanbit Department Store.