I Became A Ghost In A Horror Game

[Code K-5, alias Corrosion Sea King's activity has been detected in Troyes.

Anomaly detected.

Refraction rate rapidly rising from 60%.

D-type apocalypse scenario rapidly rising from 15%.

All lab directors are to act immediately within their authority before orders are issued.]

The alarm sounded, and the directors of each sector were exchanging opinions in the augmented reality room.

At times, shouts were exchanged, creating an atmosphere more akin to a quarrel than a meeting.

"We've installed energy bombs underground along the Sea King's predicted path as planned. The residents in this area have already been ordered to evacuate due to the earthquake warning."

"On our end, we're minimizing damage by replacing it with a doll-type curse ritual

However, the first time, its size was smaller than a village, and they managed to suppress it by finding an effective weapon and blowing it up along with the surrounding area.

But even though its physical form was relatively small back then, it treated the land and obstacles as if they were the sea, swimming through them, rendering their firepower useless. In its wake, environmental changes occurred, and sea creature-like monsters were born, causing secondary damage.

This time, the size of its physical form and the expected scale of damage are incomparable, and they're not even sure if they can stop it.

If the Institution fails to stop it, it will be no different from total destruction.

They've made their preparations, but...

Every time a Ruler appears, they find themselves cornered, and that reality hasn't changed.

"Dammit, didn't we say that relying solely on Alice was too unstable? That thing is still attempting to create a physical form. Why didn't they try a more stable method?"

During the meeting, a man with a book tucked under his arm angrily spoke up. The other lab directors calmly responded.

"Why are you making such a fuss? This was bound to happen eventually. And what more preparations could we have made? We've already prepared a way to destroy that physical form."

"The bomb is bound to explode, but is it really necessary to provoke it?"

Seeing the man's inability to accept the situation, the lab directors shook their heads in unison.

A reproach lingered in their throats, as if to say that his youth made him unable to control his anger.

In a situation where the deed is already done, what good is there in accepting it?

Those who could only watch urged Carol to explain.

"Carol, say something."

At the request of the older-looking lab director, Carol paused for a moment before speaking.

"What good would delaying have done?"

"...What did you say?"

"Delaying wouldn't have changed anything, so everyone agreed, didn't they? I was part of the opposition, but I went along with the majority and pushed for approval from the higher-ups. I knew there was no other way, so I stayed quiet. I don't understand why you're so upset and speaking like this."

The moment the majority agreed and the higher-ups gave their approval, they should have been prepared for things to unfold this way.

Carol's tone implied as much, emphasizing that this process was necessary.

"If we truly want to deal with a ruler-class entity, sending Alice is the right move. That much is certain."

The criteria for classifying ruler-class entities are relatively simple.

They are single entities capable of triggering an apocalypse scenario,

and there are no means to counter them outside of our control.

Or, even if countermeasures exist, they only buy time.

The Sea King falls into the latter category.

Even if they destroy its physical form, its true self resides in the mental realm, where it can create a stronger physical form and return.

It even comes with a bonus feature of adapting to the attacks they've used before.

In the beginning, they managed to deal with it somehow, but eventually, it will return with a form they can't fully counter.

It's fortunate that the frequency of attacks has decreased so far, perhaps because there was another purpose, but if there had been a few more attacks, the size would have been even larger than it is now.

"Buying time only makes things more dangerous. It's better to provoke it now and attempt to deal with it, even if it means risking greater damage."

Then why send Alice?

Because Alice is a Tale Devil.

You might ask, isn't it enough to pour firepower into it?

But the reason it's classified as a Ruler is precisely because firepower alone can't destroy it.

There are types that are completely immune to firepower, types that nullify it using their characteristics, types that absorb firepower, and types that grow stronger and resurrect even after being hit.

They come with absurd abilities plastered all over them, causing nothing but frustration.

Conceptual attacks using the characteristics of managed anomalous entities?

This doesn't even need a lengthy explanation, they simply deflect anomalies.

Like how terrifying stories in a horror novel can't harm the person reading it outside the book.

Carol kept the analogy to herself and didn't voice it.

Then she continued.

"The Tale Devil is Mephistopheles' hidden card, capable of fighting them on equal footing. If you have a more appropriate countermeasure, speak up."

"..."

From the moment they heard that two Rulers were together with Alice and didn't tell her to return quietly, but instead let her handle things on her own, they hoped that Alice, as a Tale Devil, would eliminate the Rulers.

The man who heard Carol's words still seemed unsatisfied, but it was clear why he reacted that way despite understanding everything.

Perhaps everyone felt the same way.

They just didn't voice it.

"We've thrown our best move. It's just not our power."

Carol's final words shook even the hearts of those who had been quietly listening.

Not our power.

The Institution has achieved the best results by using the power of anomalous monsters, not their own.

Those monsters were tools, and the Institution's ability to wield them was important. So, they even came to regard the anomalous monsters as their own power.

But ruler-class entities are opponents that ignore even the tools they've wielded.

For those who wanted to believe that the success of past operations was due to their own power and planning, this was a jarring statement.

Isn't it futile?

Relying on something that isn't human power.

Depending on forces beyond their control is like leaving things to chance.

And they're not even relying on angels, but devils.

Those who know the secrets of anomalies all know this.

That they have no choice but to rely on them in the future.

Even with memory-erasing devices, the humans in the Institution suffer from a sense of powerlessness because of this question.

[Then what is the meaning of our existence?]

No one asked, and no one answered.

They just watched.

...

POV Switch - Alice

Little Red Riding Hood had been in denial about the Corrosive Sea King activity.

She seemed quite flustered, but there was nothing she could do about what had already happened.

"There were no signs!"

"Actually, there were. We just didn't know if they were related."

The act of destroying the statue that Ha-rim had seen.

And when we combined the clues from the drawings on the blackboard, it seemed that, circumstantially, they had chosen to overturn the board to keep me in check.

Especially when the statue was destroyed, the natural landscape was affected like the moon, so it was easy to deduce that, whether they worked together or by coincidence, they had laid the groundwork to break the barrier and remove Little Red Riding Hood.

When the statue was brought up, Little Red Riding Hood expressed doubt.

"A statue...? That can't be. I don't remember making anything like a statue in my barrier..."

"Your barrier also projects you. If the ranch we saw in the forest is also a product of your psyche, then those statues might be the manifestation of your subconscious maintaining your barrier."

It felt like a stretch, but...

The event had already occurred, and this was the only way to think about it.

The fact that structures she had never created existed in the first place didn't make sense, which made it even more plausible.

"And you said your seizures got worse after encountering the two Rulers, right?"

"..."

Little Red Riding Hood had mentioned having symptoms before, but the fact that they worsened after meeting the Rulers was clearly a point of suspicion.

"Can you say for sure that they didn't lay the groundwork to remove you?"

"...I can't."

She finally seemed convinced, but at the same time, she showed an expression of self-loathing.

As if she should have noticed it sooner.

I told her that there was something we needed to do first.

"Regardless of the reason, things have already happened, and if we don't act quickly, it'll be a disaster. Of course, I'll help too. It's partly my responsibility."

I could feel an enormous number of monsters crossing into the forest's territory.

This number was on the level of an entire city's population coming out to fight.

"It's war."

Since they weren't tanks or beings in military uniforms, Peter Pan wouldn't show up.

Hmm, the fact that they started acting after I arrived, and the relatively easy handling of the upper-class monsters, might have made them feel threatened.

Honestly, it seems like we provoked them.

But Little Red Riding Hood denied my words.

"You don't have any responsibility. Evil is clear... For now, all you have to do is tear it apart...!"

I could sense anger emanating from Little Red Riding Hood.

A red aura surrounded her, scattering threats.

Maria was worried that she might go berserk again.

I reassured Maria by telling her that even if she goes berserk, she will quickly tear those fishmen apart and come back.

Little Red Riding Hood kicked off the building and jumped out the window.

'Fast!'

Is that her top speed?

Even more so than when she was a beast.

Just a touch from her would make most enemies explode.

I put Maria and the children on the Monkey Dream Train and followed her.

This was so they could escape into the dream world if things went south.

Little Red Riding Hood began cutting down the fishmen and invisible monsters crossing into the forest's territory.

When facing invisible enemies, her eyes glowed yellow, suggesting she had some special power.

"The priority is the Sea King. That guy causes enormous damage."

"Got it. Do you know any weaknesses?"

"Not so much a weakness, but... Something we learned while fighting. The Sea King's true body isn't in the physical realm but in the mental realm."

I had felt that his form was similar to an illusion, and it turned out I was right, it wasn't his true body.

But.

"We haven't even seen his physical form... How do we infiltrate the mental realm?"

We need to find the physical form to locate his mind.

Because the mind resides in the body.

There might be other methods, but nothing concrete comes to mind.

Maria, as if answering my question, pointed her finger toward the fishmen's city.

"The physical form... Is being created now. This time, they're using the entire city."

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