I Became A Ghost In A Horror Game-Chapter 78: Knots, Ruin, and Mistakes (Warning: Despair)

“Haa...”

Ariel, the demon of The Little Mermaid, let out a small sigh.

It was because she looked utterly pitiful, her body turned into a hedgehog with sacred arrows lodged all over her.

She had to shine.

She had to be beautiful.

If even her appearance did not radiate, Mephistopheles wouldn’t spare her a single glance.

...How miserable.

Even though she had been in a fairly dangerous situation, the fact that he hadn’t contacted her even once meant that the idea of him coming to see her ‘personally’ was beyond imagination.

Ariel frowned and lifted her head.

Before her, standing amidst a pile of corpses belonging to the priests of the cathedral, were agents of the Organization, locking eyes with her.

Surely they weren’t thinking of capturing her.

Killing her would be troublesome, and besides, she was already in shambles.

...It doesn’t seem like they ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) have any hostile intent.

Chiiiiiik...

“Ugh...”

The high priest had been stronger than expected.

Even after death, the lingering holy power made pulling out the arrows a struggle.

Or perhaps it was simply that the tools had been exceptionally well-crafted.

After spitting out the blood pooling in her mouth, Ariel waved a hand at the Organization’s agents.

A bare minimum gesture of courtesy for fighting together.

Since they didn’t seem to have any intent to fight her, she figured she could just leave.

A small water droplet formed, a portal leading back to her dwelling.

“...Huh? Those kids...”

That was when she saw them—children who had once been with Alice—suddenly dashing away.

Ariel didn’t like Alice.

But that was that, and this was this.

In exchange for Alice joining the Fairy Tail Tea Party, Ariel had promised to at least protect the children.

That was the whole reason she had come in the first place. She hadn’t expected those cathedral bastards to suddenly barge in.

Because of that, she had been dragged into a fight that wasn’t even worth her time.

“Hmph. I did more than enough. If I knew I’d end up this injured, I wouldn’t have come in the first place.”

But despite her words, Ariel cast a spell over the fleeing children.

A spell that consumed a significant portion of her power.

A Healing Bubble.

A trump card meant to sustain breath even in the Sea of Death.

A safeguard against dying.

“...Haa... That’s the least I’ll do. I don’t care anymore.”

Ariel slumped her shoulders in exhaustion and returned to her dwelling.

-----

I glared at the Machine God, battered and broken.

Its body, once imposing, was now marred with cracks and scorch marks, a completely different sight from its original state.

It looked like nothing more than scrap metal.

One arm had been severed, making it quite literally junk.

But just as it had suffered, so had I.

Pinocchio had collapsed, and all the anomalies had retreated into the mirror.

I had no choice but to grab a sword myself and stab the bastard.

“Haa... Haa...”

[You look exhausted.]

The Machine God had the audacity to speak to me.

That false sense of composure in its voice pissed me off.

“Shut up, you damn pile of scrap. You only have one arm left. Don’t act all high and mighty.”

[High and mighty? Anyone can see that both sides have suffered severe losses.]

“Ha!”

I scoffed, but it wasn’t entirely wrong.

I had lost my comrades and was left standing with nothing but a sword.

Meanwhile, though it was damaged, the Machine God still had its massive body, making the difference in power obvious.

...I thought I was getting stronger, but stronger enemies just keep showing up.

[Do not despair, little demon. You are the first to ever push me this far. When I first met Pinocchio, I was somewhat surprised, but he was never a threat to my existence.]

“...”

I was so dumbfounded I couldn’t even respond.

Was that supposed to be encouragement?

[Humans, demons, and those monstrous beings that defy logic... Among them, you are special.

However, this is as far as you go.

The moment you failed to destroy my stage, you had already lost.]

“Don’t start spewing nonsense. I haven’t lost yet. What, are you trying to play the role of some ‘insurmountable wall’ now?”

[You do not believe me. That is unfortunate.]

Carol’s warning echoed in my mind.

She had told me not to be swayed.

This bastard was trying to throw me off with its deceitful tricks.

I could still move. I could still swing my sword.

If I could just recover a little, I could summon more anomalies.

As I refused to waver, the Machine God suddenly displayed four strands of thread before me.

[Do you see these four threads?

I can manipulate the threads of fate.

To control a large number of humans, I need a stage.

But controlling four children? That is trivial.

And yet, I made it seem as if I could not do it without a grand play.]

“...!”

I immediately understood what it was trying to say.

My grip on the sword trembled.

[I have altered their fates to lead them to ruin.]

“The children are protected! They’re just buying time. If I take you down before then...!”

As I spoke, the Machine God slowly shook its massive head.

The motion caused an unnatural creaking sound, something that hadn’t been there before.

[...You assumed that the Organization and your allies could stop this. How unfortunate.]

“...?”

[Control and entanglement are different things.]

...Entanglement?

[Did you believe there were no other threats?

Have you forgotten how entangled fates caused humans to kill each other in the factory?]

The Machine God was saying that even without an orchestrated play, fates could still twist and tangle into chaos.

Perhaps... it had been using that ability all along.

A deep unease swept through me as a realization struck.

Maerson and his team.

They had turned on each other and self-destructed when I wasn’t around.

The cathedral and the Organization.

And even beyond them, there could be other factions I wasn’t aware of.

Could they truly avoid deliberate conflict?

If they ended up like Maerson’s team, fighting among themselves and exposing an opening...

If the children got caught up in it...?

[Not just machines—everything is tangled together, leading your children to a horrifying fate.

Do you still not understand?

Their end will be the worst possible outcome!

All the threads will tangle, culminating in an inevitable conclusion!

Even without a stage, your children will meet deaths more tragic than any play, movie, or novel!

This is fate!

Humans cannot resist their destinies!

Oh, but you...

You could stop this.

That is your power. That is your very nature.

And yet—

You are not there with them.]

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

I could no longer hold back and lunged at the Machine God.

As if it had been waiting for this moment, the Machine God instantly regenerated its severed arm and grabbed me.

A crushing grip, strong enough to pulverize a tank, squeezed my body.

“Urgh...!”

[Ah! Do you still believe in those children?

Of course, you will say that you do.

How pathetic.]

“Shut up!”

[You foolish little demon.

No matter what you did alongside those children while gaining your power, no matter what emotions you shared or bonds you built—

That stage has already changed far too much.

The children will die because of you.

Can your children deal a wound to a giant larger than a building?

Can they move fast enough to evade my attacks?

Or at the very least—are they strong enough to withstand your own attacks?]

“Shut up! Shut up! I said shut up!!!”

Fueled by rage, my physical strength surged, and I struggled against its grip.

But the Machine God paid no mind and continued speaking.

[Everything has changed far too much!

There is no going back!

You must have agonized over this endlessly! You must have struggled constantly!

You must have wanted to adventure with them like before!

But because of you, they will meet a horrible fate!

How tragic! Do you still wish to leave me behind and rush to save them?

Too late. Far too late!]

“Kyaaah!!”

The Machine God hurled me to the ground.

The height was considerable—I shot through the air like a cannonball and crashed down with a thunderous impact.

Not yet... not yet.

[You’re still getting up.]

“Take it back... take it back... Say that everything you said was a lie!”

I screamed.

Like a child.

Like a child sobbing, begging an adult to untangle a knotted thread.

[How unfortunate, little demon.

One of your children’s lives is already unstable.

They will die soon. This, at least, is the truth.]

“Lies! You're lying!”

I covered my ears, refusing to hear more.

And then—

“...It’s not a lie, Alice. This world is full of truths we wish were lies.”

Pinocchio.

I had thought he was down for good, yet there he stood, unfazed.

“...You were definitely down.”

“Ah, yes. That too was a lie.”

I couldn’t understand what he was saying.

Why was he standing now?

Why had he lied?

It was as if he had been waiting for me to be exhausted.

Seeing the confusion on my face, Pinocchio didn’t bother explaining.

Instead, he held up an object—something like a scale.

“?!”

And the moment it activated, something intangible began to press down on me.

“The only reason you could break the stage was because you are special, Alice.

The only way to break a Dominator’s authority is with something of equal or greater power.

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

But that’s why I was disappointed.

You haven’t been using that power at all.”

“What are you talking about...?”

“You should have been more suspicious of others.

You’ve spent your whole life being manipulated.

Ah, but I suppose that no longer matters, does it?”

Pinocchio activated the scale once more.

Suddenly, the Machine God’s body groaned and creaked as if something were pressing it down.

The same thing was happening to me.

With its balance shattered, the Machine God’s body was compressing in on itself.

[That tool...]

“Yes. Just as you see, it’s a tool.

A blacksmith creating tools is only natural, isn’t it?”

Proudly, Pinocchio raised his tool high.

“The ultimate tool.

We are always lacking something—that’s why we bypass, divide, cut, and merge.

But in the end, one thing remains unchanged.

‘Equivalent or greater energy.’

Simply put—equivalent exchange.”

Equivalent exchange...?

[This is... checkmate, Pinocchio.

But how amusing.

Whatever you plan to do with my power... in the end, it will be domination.

Ah... everything is entangled in chaos.

This is why fate is so entertaining.]

Crack! Creak!

The Machine God’s body collapsed, leaving only its core.

And then, even that was compressed.

The once colossal entity, larger than buildings, was reduced to a single gear that clattered to the ground.

Pinocchio picked it up and placed it inside himself.

The moment he did, an overwhelming energy radiated from his body.

It was the exact same energy as the Machine God’s.

Almost as if...

The Machine God had been reborn.

For a split second, I could almost hear it laughing.

“Thank you, Alice. This is all thanks to you. And now... I hope you survive.”

Without looking back, Pinocchio left.

“Ugh... W-wait! At least tell me if the kids are safe... just once—”

But I never got to finish my sentence.

Because my body was disintegrating.

I screamed.

I tried to create a mirror to escape, but even that was instantly absorbed by the scale’s energy.

This was the price of turning a Dominator into a component.

And the price was far beyond my comprehension.

The pain devoured my mind, and before my eyes—I saw my own death.

This wasn’t the ending I had wanted.

If this was the fate waiting for me, I should have just died behind the curtain.

That was when—

A voice.

A voice I longed for. A voice I knew.

And in that instant, the force breaking me apart vanished completely.

I forced my trembling body upright and lifted my head—

And what I saw made my eyes go wide.

“...What are you doing?”

“Huh?”

Mephistopheles.

And... my senior.

“Ah... how disappointing, Alice.

I put in so much effort to create you, and you can’t even fulfill your role?”

“S-senior...? You’re my senior...?”

But he only frowned.

He didn’t answer.

My hands trembled in frustration.

“The Story’s Demons were created to fight the Dominators.

More precisely—to suppress and defeat beings that humans could never overcome.

You...

You were meant to accomplish something special.

And yet, you struggled against just the first Dominator.

I’m disappointed.”

“...”

...Why?

Why did he suddenly appear now, just to say this?

I never wanted to end up like this.

I had suffered so much because of the demon standing before me.

And yet—

...With just those two words, “I’m disappointed,” my heart ached so deeply that I couldn’t say a word.

“I paid the price.

Because of you, I’ve exhausted every bit of the ‘Oz’ power I had left.

That wasn’t part of the damn plan, and now everything ahead is thrown into chaos.”

“...”

“Next time, you better do it right, Alice.

I won’t help you again.”

And with that, my senior vanished once more.

I couldn’t stop him, couldn’t even reach out to hold him back.

Pinocchio, the Organization’s agents, the Machine God, my senior, the cathedral—everyone had left.

And I was left standing alone, in a void of emptiness.

I looked up at the sky.

Heavy storm clouds filled it.

I staggered to my feet.

Every thread had tangled into chaos, and my mind was so overwhelmed that I wasn’t even sane anymore.

“...Ahaha... What the hell am I?”

Betrayed.

Disappointing others.

Throwing people into danger.

Left alone, completely ruined, and trembling... I let out a hollow laugh.

Yet even as I laughed, I stumbled forward.

“I, I...”

Where was I even going?

But the answer came easily.

“...Huh? Huh? Huh?”

I had found the children.

Dragging my shattered body and fading mind, I had been searching for a shred of hope.

And yet, once again, that hope cracked.

“Al... Alice... You’re here... after all...”

Ha-rim lay on the ground, looking at me with a weak smile.

...Alice was not looking at Shin Ha-rim’s face.

Her eyes were fixed only on the countless wounds carved into her body—on the fatal injury in her abdomen that made it a miracle she was even alive.

Alice’s expression collapsed into despair.

“Aaaah....”

And then she screamed.

“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!”

Because of me, she had been dragged into this.

Because of me, she might die.

“It’s Alice! Ha-rim is here too!”

The children ran toward us.

Even now, Alice did not look at their faces.

She only saw their wounds.

Terrible injuries, every one of them.

Alice’s mind fractured.

A dark aura began spreading from her body.

The children flinched in fear.

Alice started muttering.

“Forget it. Forget everything. Just forget it all.”

“Alice! Get a hold of yourself!”

The children shouted. But Alice... did not hear them.

Her eyes burned with something dangerous.

“I was too careless. Too foolish. And... too selfish.

The truth is...

If I really, truly wanted to stay out of this, I could have erased my presence completely.

Back when I disposed of that insignificant anomaly...

I thought it would be fine if I didn’t erase their memories.

I pretended I had no choice. I used coincidence as an excuse.

And now?

I’ve dragged all of you into this.

Ha-rim is dying.”

“Wait, I don’t understand what you’re saying.

But I’ll say this—

Ha-rim got hurt because she lured the monster away for us.

It wasn’t because of you—”

“Oh... Heh... You’re all the same.

You’d adventure together.

You’d throw yourselves into danger.

Yeah, that’s right.

If we had never come together in the first place, none of this would have happened!”

Alice clawed at her hair like a madwoman.

Tears streamed down her face as she summoned all her remaining strength to create a mirror.

“...Alice.”

“Don’t come near me.

I’m about to do something horrible.”

Alice commanded the anomalies.

Pinocchio:

"If they stay near you, they’ll die too easily.

It would be better for both you and them this way."

Machine God:

*"Foolish little demon.

No matter what emotions you shared or bonds you built,

the stage has already changed too much."*

Gray Fox Priest:

*"Come now, Alice. Just nod your head.

You must think of the children.

Your power is too great. Your enemies are too strong.

They must live peacefully within God’s protection."*

“Erase Alice’s memory. Erase the entire Mystery Exploration Club from existence.

From now on, I’ll only keep you all safe.

You don’t need to adventure anymore.

You don’t need to run from horrors anymore.

You don’t need to get hurt anymore.”

Alice smiled.

But her smile was twisted.

The Entity of Oblivion hesitated for the first time.

It had never hesitated to grant Alice’s requests before.

Anomalies:

"No, no, Alice. If you do this, you’ll lose everything."

“Please... just do it.”

Alice pleaded—and the Entity of Oblivion erased everything.

And then—

Something went terribly wrong.

The mirror shattered.

The Entity of Oblivion vanished.

All of Alice’s power drained away.

Alice staggered.

“...What is that?”

Alice looked up.

A colossal, crimson spear was hurtling toward her.

-----

“When the Little Mermaid interfered, I thought the plan would fail.

But... it’s progressing perfectly after all.

Or perhaps, we too were simply caught in the Machine God’s web of fate?”

Losing High Priest Kinus was unfortunate.

But the mission had succeeded, so it didn’t matter.

“Gray Fox... then, that means—?”

“Yes.

She has denied human potential.

She has trapped them within a cage.

And now...

She has lost all of her power.

Now is the time to eliminate her.”

Gray Fox gave the order.

“...Fire the Crimson Holy Lance.”

-----

A colossal, crimson spear pierced through the storm clouds like a bolt of lightning.

It was absolute judgment.

Entangled in knots of fate that could never be undone,

Alice had no way to escape.

She had assumed she was unaffected by the Machine God’s power—

But maybe this was its true influence all along.

There was no time for regrets.

Alice could only stare, broken, as the holy spear came hurtling down.