Chapter 7

The street was brightly lit, with neon signs flashing and shops lining both sides, making it look like a very prosperous district.

Was this the place I came to yesterday?

It should be, but I can't remember clearly. At that time, all my attention was on that restaurant, and I was so hungry that I followed the aroma in a daze until I reached the entrance... That's basically how it happened. As for the other details of the street, I really didn't pay much attention.

Recalling this, Gu Mo scratched his cheek, looking around on both sides as he walked forward.

It must be here, and it shouldn't be too far. I just need to look for it. With this thought, he wandered back and forth on the street for a while, but his frown grew deeper and deeper.

That's not right, where's the restaurant? It was clearly here yesterday, so why isn't it here today?

This commercial street isn't lacking in restaurants, but none of them were the distinctive one he remembered. He looked carefully from one end of the street to the other, but he didn't see even a familiar word...

In the end, Gu Mo began to doubt his life. He stood in place, raising his fist to his chin, deep in thought.

What's wrong? He couldn't figure it out. It seemed like a simple matter, but suddenly it felt complicated. Although he didn't remember the exact location, that shouldn't be the reason.

After all, even if you include the other side of the alley and the residential area, it's just a tiny place, maybe a bit bigger than Vatican City. You might have to zoom in to the maximum on the food delivery app's map to find the name... So, there's no reason why he shouldn't be able to find the restaurant the next day.

No matter how dazed he was at the time, logically, it should be somewhere in this area!

He looked around and continued walking. He didn't believe that the restaurant from yesterday was just a product of his imagination. He was more inclined to think that he might have misjudged the distance or that it was a bit further ahead.

Hmm, it's not impossible...

After all, he was dazed when he came and didn't pay attention when he left, not knowing when he returned to the snack street.

—The process in between was indeed a bit hazy...

While rationalizing this, Gu Mo continued his search.

He walked for a long time, the shops on both sides gradually becoming sparse. He looked left and right, then changed direction and walked that way... It's easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury to frugality. After the impact of yesterday's delicious food, he found it hard to accept ordinary food now.

Besides, it was really good and cheap. For the same price range, why not choose the best?

With this thought, he made a thorough search, but in the end, he found nothing, as expected.

"Damn!"

This script is clearly wrong. Gu Mo stopped his futile steps, his brows furrowed. He seriously suspected that he might have been looking in the wrong direction from the start, or that he should have followed his intuition and looked from the other direction.

This thought was hard to evaluate. After all, he had chosen the other direction because there was no road, and he had walked all the way to here...

"By the way... Where am I?"

He realized he was lost. After wandering around, he didn't find his destination and ended up getting lost himself. The city in front of him now seemed strangely unfamiliar... He had never been to this area before, so he had no impression of it.

Where did I come from? Where am I going?

Why does it seem like none of the directions are the way I came, yet they all seem like the way I came?

Gu Mo looked around the unfamiliar environment, feeling lost, but he wasn't too worried. He took out his phone and started searching. After all, with today's technology, you generally just need a phone when you go out.

"Emmmmm..."

He swiped a few times on his phone. Since he usually didn't use map navigation much, and his phone had many apps with various icons, he couldn't find the right app for a moment... Just as he was thinking about downloading a new one, his thumb suddenly stopped on the screen.

What was the name of the navigation app I downloaded before?

Has it been updated?

Looking at the simple icon labeled "Map (M)," Gu Mo felt something was off. He was silent for a moment, then quietly opened the app.

The map quickly displayed. He swiped a few times to confirm his location and the fact that he didn't recognize the surrounding area. He then searched for the restaurant's name, but found nothing...

It wasn't on the food delivery app either. Is it that low-key?

But I probably missed it today. Even if I could find it, I've wasted so much time that they might have closed already.

Sighing, Gu Mo searched for his home's location, looked at the route back, and couldn't help but frown. He had walked so far without realizing it. It would take almost half an hour just to walk back.

But there was nothing he could do about it. He chose the best route, activated the navigation, turned a few times to calibrate his direction, and started walking again.

Returning home with a full sense of frustration...

A terrible day.

...

About ten minutes later.

"It seems to be getting more remote..."

Gu Mo walked on a long slope, muttering to himself. He looked at his phone's map navigation, then looked around. The winding, wide slope extended like a snake, and under the soft streetlights, the granite wall on the right side looked solid and heavy. The forest outside the slope was silent in the night.

The greenery was quite good, and he didn't know such a place existed here.

But at this moment, it had a very eerie atmosphere, especially since he was the only one walking on the road.

He didn't know if it was an illusion, but Gu Mo felt the air around him gradually getting colder, not just physically but also psychologically.

Narrowing his eyes, he looked at the buildings standing at the end of the winding slope, then glanced at the heavy granite wall beside him. There was a copper plaque embedded in it, which seemed to be a road sign, indicating what was ahead.

— "Miyagi Prefecture Sazegawa Third High School."

Huh? I thought it was a park or a scenic spot, but it's a school?

And I've never heard of this school.

Gu Mo carefully searched his memory, confirming he had no impression of it. The name also seemed out of place. After all, names like "XX City Middle School," "XX No. 1 High School," and "XX No. 2 High School" were more familiar and comforting to him.

This "Miyagi Prefecture Sazegawa Third High School" seemed out of place, like a completely different style of something.

What is Miyagi? What is Sazegawa?

A suburban area? Or a brand name from a company?

A series of questions arose in his mind. He checked his route again. This was indeed the shortest distance, basically a straight line, but it required passing through this school campus as a shortcut... Well, since the map shows it, it must be right.

He put his mind at ease and continued walking.

The cold feeling in the air didn't go away, and there was a subtle pressure from all around, as if something was lurking in the dim light of the streetlights and the shadows of the night... Gu Mo didn't like this feeling, but he wasn't a child anymore and knew it was just his imagination.

However.

A few minutes later, when he was very close to the main buildings of the school and passing by the school gate, he suddenly felt the ground beneath his feet vibrate, the source coming from the school.

Gu Mo turned his head to look at the school, noticing that the entire teaching building was pitch black. What was that just now?

Is there some major construction or maintenance going on at this high school? But it's so late, there's no reason for construction to be happening at night.

...

"Can talismans be removed so easily?"

"No... Ordinary humans without magical power can't do that! Generally speaking, that's the case!"

Under the night sky, two high school students were running on the long, winding slope. The one in front was dressed in black and was already breathing heavily, while the one behind seemed fine and even had the energy to ask a question he didn't understand.

"Turn right, take the shortcut!" The boy behind looked at the road ahead, estimating how long it would take to reach the school. Being more familiar with the terrain, he made a decisive choice.

The black-clad high school student in front had no objections and quickly followed.

"The content is too powerful, and the seal is old and fragile, like a piece of paper..."

"But when you mention 'curses,' I still find it hard to imagine..."

Both had excellent stamina, quickly approaching their destination while exchanging information and opinions.

...

On the other side.

"It's all fake, it's all fake..."

Gu Mo muttered to himself, forcing himself to stay calm in the face of what was happening.

In front of him, the solid ground seemed to melt, turning into a liquid-like state. In his eyes, the world became increasingly distorted, absurd, and ridiculous. The road looked like a river of black mist, and the ground became an ocean of purplish-black whirlpools...

In this nightmare-like "sea," there were several strange "things" swimming, indistinct but with clear "IDs" and "health bars" that emphasized their presence.

"???(100%)"

"???(100%)"

"???(100%)"

And behind the health bars, there was mostly a skull icon, the red color adding an ominous touch.

In this chaotic hallucination, they were the embodiment of nightmares, like floating in a deep, suffocating, dark sea, with huge shadows passing beneath the surface...

Well, given the sudden and unexpected change, with the entire world being completely overturned, Gu Mo's reaction was relatively calm. He didn't turn pale or tremble, and while he wasn't completely unperturbed, he was close.

He just watched.

"There's nothing to be afraid of anymore..."

After all, he knew it was all fake, a result of his mental issues causing delusions. So, what was there to be afraid of? Besides, he had made up his mind to return to the normal world, no matter what, and not to give in easily...

Boom!!

A strong pressure brought a tangible wind, and a huge shadow, like a whale, leaped out of the "water," surrounded by black mist, its body as large as a small mountain, its appearance grotesque and deformed, like something from a nightmare.

Then, as if it were a signal, other huge shadows also burst out of the ground!

Huge, exposed eyeballs...

Black tentacles flailing wildly...

Dense insect segments...

Even human body parts and limbs, all kinds of biological tissues, were stitched together on a bloated, putrid body, creating a truly nauseating image.

And the flesh was torn and bloody—

Especially the slimy green and black fluids, constantly oozing and forming threads at the torn edges, mixed with unknown tissue fragments and yellow, green mush, rolling in the open, flower-like mouths—

Finally, accompanied by the black mist, they spewed out like fountains.

Maybe it was a psychological effect, but a faint, illusory stench seemed to hit him...

"Damn it!!"

Gu Mo, who had been calm just a moment ago, now turned pale and ran.

He could endure false fear, but he couldn't tolerate such real disgust—fighting was one thing, but what was this about a broom dipped in shit?