-Unbelievable! A moment of difficult choice has arrived, friend.
Braun's upbeat voice rang in my ears.
-Now, Mr. Roe Deer has only 10 Pass Tickets, but there are 45 poor candidates who will fall into the terrible Altar of Rotten Flesh and suffer.
-By what criteria will you choose the 45 sacrifices, and by what criteria will you select the 10 dramatic exempt ones from among them?
-A trial? A vote? An evaluation? A lottery? Oh, whichever it is, it seems truly tragic….
Braun’s voice rose with excitement.
-But isn't that heart-pounding tension and pressure, and the immersion and sighs of relief, happiness, and despair, the very essence of a show?
-It's the ultimate moment. Ah! Just in time, a panelist is opening their mouth!
At that moment.
“It doesn’t matter, does it?”
Assistant Manager Jin Nasol spoke up.
“Assistant Manager?”
“I don’t see what difference it makes whether there are ten painkillers or one. Just grab 45 people and tell them to jump. That’ll do it.”
Her tone was one of utter incomprehension.
Assistant Manager Jin Nasol turned to look at me.
And….
“That’s why you went to all the trouble of setting the mood, isn’t it?”
Click.
The Assistant Manager slightly opened the door to Carriage 1.
“…! Assistant Manager….”
“Look.”
…Through the gap in the door, I saw the passengers in Carriage 2 waving or greeting us with worried faces.
An atmosphere created by hundreds of friendly people, enough for everything to proceed smoothly without any friction.
“It worked out well. I thought you were doing something useless, but now I see it’ll make the job less tiring.”
“…….”
“Anyway, the humans left on the train won’t be able to grasp the situation, right? They’ll only find out after they fall.”
…It was the truth.
In fact, I could have just grabbed anyone right now and said, ‘In this round, 45 people have been qualified, and you are included. Now, just jump out one by one.’
Then, the unsuspecting people would simply fall out of the window without even receiving painkillers….
Into a time of torture without warning.
“No, since it might not end at number 9, just tell everyone to keep jumping until the altar stops appearing.”
“…….”
“Now, if we go and throw them….”
“No can dooo.”
“…!”
The answer came from someone else.
Supervisor Dolphin.
Another member of the Elite Squad replied while looking up at Assistant Manager Jin Nasol.
“…What?”
“I said no can dooo.”
“Is that so?”
Jin Nasol’s temple twitched, but she gave the capable one more chance.
“Then what do you suggest?”
And Supervisor Dolphin made a choice that was extremely typical of her.
“We can just pick out the meanest people and throw them, right?”
“Are you crazy? Why would we do something so bothersome?”
At that moment.
Offer a sacrifice, you who wish to reach Tamra.
“It’s time.”
Assistant Manager Jin Nasol strode toward the door of Carriage 1.
Supervisor Dolphin’s eyes flashed. And as she raised her hand…… wait, wait a minute!
“Hold on!”
I stepped in front of the Assistant Manager.
“What.”
…It was a precipice.
‘Careful, be careful.’
I swallowed and said.
“What Supervisor Dolphin said… makes sense. I don’t think we should just tell them to jump blindly.”
“…….”
“I mean, there’s a valid reason why we should do it that way!”
“A reason.”
“Yes.”
I took a deep breath.
Calmly.
Reflecting the story of the prose I already knew onto the clues I possessed….
So that it didn’t sound awkward.
“Assistant Manager, when you went out below the window, you heard a voice from the altar filled with rotten flesh. Something like ‘Discard your sins’….”
Discard your sins.
Tear away as much as your sins.
That strange and massive resonance that echoed in my head was certainly not blocked even by the ‘Happy Maker’.
And if it weren’t for the Happy Maker, I would have been tearing at my skin and flesh from the Burning Pain as if my whole body were being scorched upon hearing that voice.
“So.”
“If it’s such a powerful message, it’s clearly deeply related to this phenomenon. So… I think ‘sin’ is the keyword in this Darkness.”
“…….”
“I mean the keyword needed to clear it.”
Assistant Manager Jin Nasol stopped in her tracks.
“Keep talking.”
“Yes.”
I swallowed hard.
“Wasn’t it strange in the first place? Why the person offered as a sacrifice wakes up on the train again every time. If they were offered as a sacrifice, they shouldn't come back.”
“Instead, they lose their minds.”
“Yes. But that’s… because they go mad from the pain of ‘tearing away as much as their sins’ as they were told.”
I distinguished between the two things that had been vaguely lumped together during the 14 rounds.
“In that case, isn't the sacrifice not the human itself… but the ‘flesh’ that the human directly offers as much as their sin?”
“…!”
Had I not said so before?
That a pseudo religion ran rampant, and people in all sorts of carriages killed each other, held insane rituals, and threw corpses out the windows.
If we were to count only the number of people who died and fell out the window like that, we should have easily passed even the 9th altar.
Yet, the reason this ghost story hadn't ended despite looping hundreds of times.
That was.
“The person is not the sacrifice. They just offer their sins as a sacrifice at the altar.”
“…….”
“And the person returns.”
The person who has completed the offering walks out of the altar every time and goes back to the starting point of the train.
And so the loop starts again.
Even if they are half-insane from the pain of ‘tearing out their sins,’ the person themselves returns.
“Leaving their sins behind by tearing them off as flesh and discarding them in the passage.”
Eating, vomiting, and spilling….
“I think that is indeed the sacrifice.”
That pain.
The terrible Burning Pain and the ringing in the head as much as the sin.
…Looking at the rotten pieces of flesh that filled the passage at that point, it can be understood from a slightly different perspective.
That they weren't just grotesque traces, but sacrifices that had been steadily offered and accumulated at the altar.
“So I think the most certain way is for someone with sins to fall into the altar to offer their sins. …That is all.”
“…….”
“…….”
Clap, clap, clap.
From behind, Supervisor Dolphin gave a small round of applause, but the Assistant Manager didn’t budge.
“Of course, my assumption could be wrong. But wouldn’t it be rational to take the safe path in case it’s right?”
I spoke earnestly, meeting Assistant Manager Jin Nasol’s eyes.
“So, for a safe clear, I ask of you. I will persuade the passengers….”
“You.”
The Assistant Manager’s mouth opened.
“You’re good at lying, too.”
“……!!”
“Well, I guess it’s better than being bad at talking.”
“Assis….”
“This is the third time.”
Thump.
I was grabbed by the collar and lifted into the air.
“The Precursor!”
“Aaaah!”
“I’ve been lenient, and there’s no end to it. We have to enter the Darkness even after we get down to Mokpo, and you keep wasting energy here?”
From Carriage 2 across the connection, passengers came running, screaming. However, Assistant Manager Jin Nasol didn’t bat an eye as she closed and locked the door to Carriage 1 in front of them.
Click.
“Listen to me while being grateful that I’m spending time on this kind of thing.”
Assistant Manager Jin Nasol brought her face close.
“The flesh that a person tears off and offers is the sacrifice? Hey. But those guys you threw in after sticking them with painkillers came out fine without offering any flesh.”
“…!!”
“According to your words, they didn't give a sacrifice, but they still moved on to the next altar just fine and everything proceeded well, didn't it?”
That was….
“You lied even though you knew, didn’t you?”
…….
“I’ve been caught.”
-Oh my goodness!
It was true.
I had tried to scam the Assistant Manager.
‘I didn't expect to be caught immediately, though.’
I grinned while breaking into a cold sweat.
But most of what I said was actually true.
‘Except for one thing.’
The conclusion.
“As I thought.”
The pressure on my neck grew stronger.
“We can just throw anyone into the altar, right?”
“Gasp, that’s right.”
I admitted it readily.
“Actually, it probably doesn't matter how much sin you offer. …Even if you don't offer any at all. The act of a human… preparing an offering and coming to the altar itself is what's important, I suppose.”
Moreover.
“Anyway… it seems that on this Train Bound for Tamra, all humans, hurkh, are considered to have sins.”
Hadn't I seen it?
‘Even that virtuous Silver Heart Possessor tore at his body at the altar.’
According to the judgment of this insane ghost story…… there is no human without sin.
Everyone is a sinner, and there is only a difference in degree….
So if the goal is to clear it, there’s no reason to specifically look for and choose bad people.
“Finally, we’re communicating.”
Assistant Manager Jin Nasol let go of her hand.
I barely managed to balance myself on the floor and gasped for air.
“Good. Now don’t say anything useless and just cooperate quickly. Efficiently.”
“…….”
I grinned with effort.
“That’s strange.”
“What?”
“Assistant Manager, you’ve made an inefficient choice just now.”
Thud, thud!
I looked back at the passengers pounding on the door, Supervisor Dolphin, and Baek Saheon.
“If you want to do it your way, you’ll have to fight three employees.”
“…!!”
“And since the passengers just saw you grabbing me by the collar, they will fiercely reject and respond to whatever you do.”
“…….”
Now that the board was set like this, the ‘most efficient movement’ that Assistant Manager Jin Nasol herself thought of would face immense backlash.
Because the passengers wouldn't cooperate at all!
And since the situation had turned out this way, Supervisor Dolphin would definitely join forces with me to suppress Assistant Manager Jin Nasol in reverse.
“Of course, you could suppress them all since you’re the Assistant Manager… but that would be very bothersome. Right?”
“Ah! That’s a good point, Supervisor.”
Supervisor Dolphin approached with a smile.
“That’s right. Why do something so bothersome! If you just sleep, the three of us will take care of it ourselves.”
Behind her, Baek Saheon had a look that said ‘Me?’, but instead of taking the Assistant Manager’s side, he quietly rolled his eyes and kept his mouth shut.
If they were in the same Elite Squad, he would side with the one with more people based on the odds of winning.
So….
“Assistant Manager. Could you just turn a blind eye to this bothersome work just once?”
“…….”
“It’s not really company work, it’s just a situation we happened to get caught up in. I want to use a way that’s a bit more comfortable and safe. It’ll just take a little more time.”
Please!
‘Assistant Manager Jin Nasol is a rational person.’
She was someone who would think it was stupid to throw a fit just because she felt bad and take a bothersome detour.
I had no choice but to bet on that.
‘But… still, since she’s a person, she could act out of spite because she’s in a bad mood.’
Especially as an Elite Squad superior, she would have a strong aversion to this situation where two supervisor-level employees were rebelling…….
I swallowed hard.
“This isn’t work, like you said, Assistant Manager.”
“…….”
“…….”
After a silence.
Assistant Manager Jin Nasol moved her heels. And….
She sat down in an empty seat in Carriage 1.
“…Thank you.”
No answer came back. Assistant Manager Jin Nasol just closed her eyes with an expressionless face.
She was clearly suppressing her anger.
In fact, it was a crazy thing to do, clashing with a superior during a business trip!
‘Phew….’
I’m sorry, Assistant Manager….
But my guess was that once everything was over, even Assistant Manager Jin Nasol would see an efficient result that she could accept.
For now, I let it go because I couldn't explain it rationally.
Now, I had to move.
“…Let’s do this quickly.”
We will soon enter the first altar.
Supervisor Dolphin must have had a similar thought, as she tried to unlock the door first.
“Yes, yes. Now, let’s go out and pick 45 bad people!”
Um.
“Um, Supervisor. About that.”
“…?”
“Can we do it in a slightly different way?”
“Oh?”
Slide.
I opened the door to Carriage 1.
“Ah! It’s open… gasp!”
“W-what is this place?”
The passengers, who had been pounding on the door and probably debating whether to break it or not, looked brightened and then were horrified. They were flustered by the gruesome appearance inside Carriage 1.
But they looked relieved once they saw me.
…It must be because the person they thought was the answer sheet for this train was okay.
I bowed my head.
“Everyone. Thank you for waiting.”
“A-are you okay, Precursor?”
“Earlier, that, that person….”
“Of course I’m okay.”
I looked back at Assistant Manager Jin Nasol and gave a deliberate, bitter smile.
“It’s because I… found out a shocking fact, and she helped me snap out of it.”
“…A shocking fact?”
Phew.
“Everyone. I have something to tell you.”
Taking a deep breath, I looked at the hundreds of people watching me.
“This time, for those who can go out the window… there is no limit.”
“Oooooh!”
“And this is the last time.”
“…….”
“Pardon?”
“What does that….”
“It’s exactly as I said.”
I spoke slowly.
“This will be the final test.”
The passengers began to buzz, asking what that meant. Some even asked if everyone was supposed to go out through the windows.
“Originally, it’s correct that everyone should leave through the windows slowly. …But there has been a change.”
The passengers held their breath and listened to me.
“It’s because you have all qualified.”
“Th-then...!”
I nodded.
“Yes. Anyone can go out through the window and pass the test.”
“Oh my god!”
“Then I’ll….”
I spoke to the people who were about to raise their hands and step forward immediately.
“However, this time, it will be unconditionally painful.”
“…!!”
Bluntly and honestly.
“When you fall, you will walk while feeling Burning Pain. It might hurt so much that you’ll want to tear your own flesh off. You must fight the pain and the voices ringing in your head as you walk toward the light, step by step….”
The passengers fell silent.
Frozen, they began to eye each other and whisper.
Then, someone from the back shouted.
“This isn’t what was promised!”
“Right! You said you’d protect us….”
I nodded.
“Of course. If you don’t wish to participate, you don’t have to.”
“Uh… wh-what?”
“However, there is one thing I can promise for sure.”
The truth is.
According to the Disaster Management Bureau’s Side Document regarding the past Train Bound for Iksan, where this ghost story ended safely….
When this ghost story ends, the passengers wake up startled, as if from a nightmare, regaining consciousness at the starting point of the Train.
They go on living their lives in reality as if nothing had happened, thinking, ‘I must have had a nightmare.’
The events that took place on the Train Bound for Tamra would fade over the course of half a day, like forgetting a bad dream, and eventually be forgotten entirely.
But….
Several changes were observed in those who testified to having jumped out the window voluntarily.
I remember that passage.
One passenger, who habitually abused his subordinates verbally, apologized immediately after getting off this Train and never did it again.
A passenger who habitually jaywalked fixed the habit because they ‘somehow felt ashamed of themselves,’ and another passenger actually started the cleaning volunteer work at a youth center they had only thought about.
Even a con artist passenger involved in planning insurance fraud gave up on the scheme and handed over information to the police.
Overall improvements in morality, self-esteem, and pride were witnessed.
Yes.
As long as it wasn’t hundreds of terrible loops repeating, but rather ending safely as before, the terrible pain in this ghost story would end as a short nightmare and be forgotten.
But the good things remain.
‘…That’s why, when this ghost story happened on the Train Bound for Iksan, the Disaster Management Bureau called it a phenomenon rather than a Disaster and only created a Side Document….’
So, to speak a bit hyperbolically.
“Those of you who go out the window this time will be proud of yourselves when you finally exit the tunnel.”
I continued.
“Instead of looking back on what you did yesterday with regret, you will become someone who steps forward in that moment, and you will meet a better version of yourself without shame.”
A small voice popped out from the crowd.
“……Excuse me, is that all?”
I locked eyes with the passenger and nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
“…….”
“But that much, I can guarantee.”
The passengers fell silent again.
“Then I’ll ask again. …Is there anyone who wishes to endure the pain and go out through the window?”
…….
“Me.”
I turned my head.
Supervisor Dolphin was holding up her hand.
And then.
“I’ll get off too.”
One by one, they raised their hands.
“Me.”
“Me too…!”
A strange sense of elation, transcending fear, filled all their faces.
Crowd Psychology.
It’s a double-edged sword.
But the group’s solidarity and influence, built over 14 rounds, were revealing their outline in an infinitely pious form this time.
Being inspired by the courage of those close by.
In an instant, nearly half of the people on the Train voluntarily raised their hands.
……The ending I had tried to see for 14 rounds, even by becoming a leader of a Pseudo religion, was now before my eyes.
“…Everyone.”
Entering the first Altar
“Thank you. I will go out with you.”
In the way the Silver Heart Possessor wanted.
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