NOVPUBI was walking through a dark space.
There were no monsters or objects here, sent to this place because of the Elevator Creature.
The Mirror Travel ability wouldn't activate. It felt as if I had been completely isolated from the world.
If I didn’t return to the mirror before my materialization time ran out, my body might disappear.
In the game, the Elevator Creature transported players to strange places, but this particular space didn’t exist.
However, more important than this was the fact that the children were in danger.
Especially Jangsanbeom—to exorcise it, a physical method was necessary. Typically, monsters like it and Slender Man were designed to be ones you had to run away from.
Growing anxious, I started running.
There was nothing else I could do but run through the endless darkness.
At that moment, my foot stepped on something.
So, objects could exist in this space?
I picked it up.
...A curtain?
A stage curtain, the kind used to signal the start of a performance. But why was it here?
And it wasn’t just an ordinary curtain. It was an item—a special one that only certain ghosts in the game could use but couldn’t be obtained by players.
The ghost that used this item was [The Clown].
Another boss-level ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) ghost.
The Chapter 1 boss was Ella.
The Chapter 2 boss was Mary.
The Chapter 3 boss was Madam Spider.
The final boss of Chapter 4 was The Clown.
Why was its item here?
As I searched the curtain, I found a note tucked inside.
This was another thing that didn’t exist in the game.
[Whoever is reading this, who are you? Is it you, Arachne? Or Mary? Or perhaps... could it be Ella?
Well, it doesn’t matter who you are. Since you’re trapped here, it seems you’ve made a mistake.
But don’t worry! I’ve prepared an escape tool for you!
Use this curtain to get out. If you’re too late, there’s nothing you can do.
Damn it. That half-baked demon—how dare they! I should have been more careful! I can hear their voice in my head.
That’s all I’ll say. I’m still being pursued.
P.S. Mary, the answer to your last question is ‘No.’
And Arachne, stop messing around before you lose something precious.
If a third party finds this, please pass this note along to them.]
That was the end of the note.
I didn’t know what exactly was happening in this game anymore, but one thing was certain: this was no longer the game I knew.
Still, there was no time to think.
I quickly poured supernatural energy into the curtain, and it shuddered as if it had come to life, covering my vision.
The curtain parted, revealing... a classroom.
I stepped forward and returned to the real world.
The moment I was back, I began traveling through mirrors.
The kids—I needed to find the kids. They weren’t in the clubroom. Where were they?
BOOM!
A loud crash echoed from below.
Most likely, it was coming from the classroom where the purifying salt had been spread. n𝚘𝚟𝚙u𝚋.co𝚖
I immediately traveled through the mirror.
As soon as I arrived, I saw—
The Slit-Mouthed Woman, holding a pair of scissors.
Floating objects, moving eerily.
The Elevator.
And... Soo-ho, Kyung-min, and Eun-jung, covered in wounds.
They were barely holding out, using Soo-ho’s shield to stay standing.
Rage boiled inside me.
I felt it surge from deep within me.
Bursting out from the mirror, I roared like flames:
"NONE OF YOU ARE GETTING OUT OF HERE IN ONE PIECE!!!!"
The classroom trembled.
Dust fell from the ceiling, and the floor creaked under the pressure.
The Slit-Mouthed Woman lunged at me, raising her scissors.
I kicked her away.
BANG!
With a dull, heavy impact, she crashed into a row of desks, momentarily knocked unconscious.
Without hesitation, I charged toward the Elevator Creature.
It tried to shut its doors, attempting to escape.
I threw my knife, jamming the doors open, and then kicked the elevator walls, shattering them completely.
The forced floor-transition event only triggered before moving floors.
With its doors destroyed, the Elevator Creature was rendered helpless. It was completely annihilated.
The floating objects rushed at me next.
I didn’t dodge them.
Instead, I used telekinesis to bind them together, suppressing their resistance as much as possible.
If it couldn’t create a "phenomenon", then it was as good as gone.
Ghosts like this relied on their powers—without them, they were nothing.
The Poltergeist lost control, its form fading into mist, and vanished.
"I’M BEAUTIFUUUUUL!!!"
The Slit-Mouthed Woman tried to rise, shrieking.
I grabbed her by the head before she could get up.
And then, fueled by my fury, I smashed her head into the ground.
"YOU PATHETIC, INSIGNIFICANT TRASH! JUST DIE! DIE ALREADY!!!"
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Blood splattered with every impact.
Her skull caved in completely.
I threw aside her lifeless body and took a deep breath.
The ghosts dissipated into smoke and were absorbed into me.
"...Hahhh..."
Only now did my mind start to clear.
I lifted my gaze to check on the others.
There stood Soo-ho and Kyung-min, looking deeply unsettled.
"Ah..."
I had gone too far.
Especially with how brutally I had killed the Slit-Mouthed Woman.
If I became scarier than the monsters, this was the result. It was obvious.
So why did it hurt?
At that moment, someone suddenly hugged me.
It was Eun-jung.
"That was so scary, Ella!"
The lingering anger inside me subsided.
I hesitated for a moment, then gently patted her back.
Of all the club members, Eun-jung was the most fearful. She tended to cling to others for support.
The fact that she chose to rely on me made my chest feel warm.
Only after the tense atmosphere eased did Soo-ho and Kyung-min approach me.
"Ella, thanks for saving us. But Ha-rim is still in danger!"
That’s right—Ha-rim was nowhere to be seen.
"She lured Jangsanbeom away on her own! We need to help her!"
Immediately, I gently pushed Eun-jung away, telling her I’d be back soon.
Ha-rim.
She was the main protagonist—she wouldn’t go down easily.
But she had to be safe.
Knock. Knock. Knock...
I heard a knocking sound.
I had told the others to knock on the mirror if they needed to call me.
That meant—
Ha-rim was sending the signal.
Thank God.
She was still alive.
-----
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
I was searching for the children after defeating Jangsanbeom when I saw something flicker past the bathroom mirror.
"Ella, is that you?"
I stepped closer to the mirror.
The reflection began to change.
It looked just like when two mirrors face each other, creating an endless reflection—an infinite number of me staring back.
Among them, the fourth "me" stepped forward, crossing the mirror and drawing closer.
This was another famous mirror ghost story.
I had let my guard down, assuming Ella was the only Mirror Ghost around.
"Ugh..."
I couldn’t move.
Was this also an ability of this ghost?
Without Eun-jung’s Sacred Chime, I was completely powerless against a ghost of this type...!
[Survival]
A light shone from my necklace.
My body began resisting the ghost’s power, slowly regaining movement.
But not enough to escape.
In that case...
Knock. Knock. Knock.
I tapped on the mirror.
The same method we used to call Ella.
It was almost meaningless, considering she hadn’t appeared so far.
But it was still worth trying.
A slim chance was always better than a guaranteed failure.
If she wasn’t in trouble herself—if she wasn’t the one being attacked—then...
I prayed she would come.
Just before the ghost completely crossed the mirror, someone grabbed its head from behind.
"So it was you. You’re the one who dragged the ghosts into my domain."
It was Ella!
She looked furious.
The Mirror Ghost thrashed violently, exuding an ominous aura.
For a moment, Ella’s form wavered.
"You... are you trying to start a territorial fight with me?"
A terrifying energy burst from Ella.
Far stronger—far more overwhelming—than the Mirror Ghost’s.
Now, it was the Mirror Ghost’s turn to waver.
Two mirror-bound ghosts—their territories clashing.
When their domains overlapped, they began rejecting each other’s existence.
"Know your place, weakling!"
The Mirror Ghost screamed.
Its form faded, turning into mist—and was absorbed by Ella.
My ghost is stronger than yours!
"...Ha-rim, you’re safe."
"Ella!"
I was genuinely relieved.
Having someone to rely on brought such peace of mind.
It was even more apparent after being separated for so long.
"What about Jangsanbeom?"
"I took care of it!"
Ella looked slightly surprised before smiling.
She looked beautiful.
"Not bad."
"It should still be over there."
Ella stepped out of the mirror and looked out the window.
Below, Jangsanbeom still twitched faintly, not quite dead yet.
"What about the others?"
"They should be safe. I think we’ve taken down all the ghosts. Go gather them."
I followed Ella’s instructions, rounding up the club members.
Though we had been apart for only a short time, the reunion felt so emotional it nearly brought tears.
After hugging each of them, I returned with Ella to where Jangsanbeom lay.
Ella scowled, then asked:
"Now talk. Who sent you here? Don’t pretend you don’t understand. I know you can speak. And I also know that none of you are capable of commanding ghosts."
[...]
"Talk."
[...]
"TALK!!!"
Her voice boomed, shaking the air.
Even I flinched.
Jangsanbeom opened its mouth.
And... it was smiling.
Like a child eager to tattle.
This thing—took orders from someone?
I didn’t know if ghosts had hierarchies, but Jangsanbeom wasn’t the submissive type.
It didn’t make sense.
Something felt off.
[...Kill me...]
Then, its mouth opened again.
It was mimicking someone’s voice.
But the tone—it was artificial.
Like a badly generated machine voice.
There was no mistaking it for a real person.
[...Go to the school... cause havoc... kill the children...]
[...But... that child...]
—ZZZZZT—
Before it could finish, Jangsanbeom’s head was severed.
Blood sprayed out, forcing us to stumble back.
But then—
The blood pooled together, forming a shape.
A reverse pentagram.
And at its center—
A half-formed goat’s head with horns.
No matter how much I wanted to deny it, I knew exactly what this symbol meant.
A demon.
-----
We returned to the classroom.
Ella told us to get some sleep, but honestly, there was no way I could sleep after all that.
Even if I was mentally exhausted, we had just been attacked in our sleep.
That was when Eun-jung grabbed Ella’s arm and pleaded.
"Ella... Can we sleep together?"
Ella looked startled, but...
She didn’t refuse.
"I don’t have much time left before I dematerialize..."
"Then... just until I fall asleep?"
"...Fine."
Eun-jung was completely clinging to Ella now.
Well, it made sense.
Ella was strong—effortlessly taking down ghosts.
Even I...
Even I had probably wanted to rely on her for a long time now.
Now that I thought about it—
Every time we slept, Ella was always somewhere else.
Was she giving us space, worried we’d be uncomfortable?
If so...
If so, then from the very start—
...No, that was too much of a stretch.
She had just gotten close to us.
That’s all.
We gathered blankets from other classrooms.
Then, we laid down around Ella, surrounding her.
Eun-jung held onto Ella’s skirt as she fell asleep.
It was probably just a sleeping habit.
But seeing Ella indulge her felt... strangely comforting.
How many chances in life do you get to cling to a ghost like this?
I hesitated, then lightly took Ella’s hand.
She flinched but didn’t pull away.
Her red eyes gazed at me—
Soft. Warm. Beautiful.
Like my mother’s eyes.
And with that warmth, I drifted into sleep.
