Chapter 7
But before an answer to my retort could come, Pridel’s body, gripped in the monster’s hand, was lifted high and mercilessly whipped downward like a lash.
Splat!
“Guh…!”
A single scream burst forth, blood erupting from between Pridel’s lips.
He twitched faintly on the floor. Around him, red began to spread slowly.
“…”
The unfamiliar air of the hotel enveloped me.
The metallic tang of blood tickling my nose was a brutal reminder of reality, making all my game-playing seem utterly meaningless.
My entire body stiffened involuntarily.
No matter how gruesome the illustrations were, seeing it in reality was worlds apart.
Human blood, human screams laced with agony, and a broken body.
It was nauseatingly cruel.
I couldn’t tear my eyes from Pridel’s form.
My heart began to race.
It was still early in the game.
He couldn’t die yet…?
As if mocking my thoughts, Pridel’s movements slowed and then ceased entirely.
I felt no sorrow—there was no attachment—but in that fleeting silence, a chill gripped my core, making my hair stand on end.
I didn’t know what words to hurl at the scene.
The monster slowly turned toward us.
Its abyssal eyes, deep and sucking, locked straight onto mine.
“Hic!”
Fuck! Am I crazy?!
In my terror, a hiccup escaped without me realizing. I clamped my mouth shut, but it was unstoppable.
“S-sis…”
“Hic, gulp!”
The hiccups leaked between my palm-pressed lips.
The monster perked its ears and approached us.
I backed away with Holloway, making no sound.
If I just didn’t make noise…
“Eep!”
— Screech?
…
I’m done for. Dead at the start.
One hiccup and I’m off to the afterlife.
As my hands grew icy and my face paled, a window appeared.
Oh! You’ve discovered a weapon to fight the monster!
What?
My eyes lit up, and another window popped.
Pointy Spear
Feature: It’s pointy.
Wow, what an amazing description!
I swung a fist at the system window in irritation.
Tell me where it is!
As if reading my mind, a holographic arrow appeared, pointing under the hallway table.
There, a long spear came into view.
I grabbed it urgently.
Acquired ‘Pointy Spear’!
Find the monster’s weak spot and stab it.
Remaining attempts: 5
…Attempts? What happens if I fail all 5?
But no further explanation came. I stared at the monster intently.
Pridel lay beside it.
The gruesome sight made my body tremble involuntarily, but the fear that I’d end up like him if I couldn’t defeat this thing consumed me.
I swallowed back nausea and tried to assess the monster coldly.
No weak spots were visible.
The area where a heart should be and the solar plexus were hollowed out, the eyes sunken pits.
The philtrum was too narrow a target…
Wait, would human weak spots even work on a monster anyway?!
I gripped the spear tight, shielding Holloway as I retreated.
“Sis, will you be okay?”
“With what? Hic!”
“That spear… What if you miss the monster?”
“Then I might die, I guess.”
“…”
Holloway mercifully said nothing to my deranged response.
I didn’t take my eyes off the monster.
I had no idea where to stab.
No guarantee I’d win a fight, so instead of stabbing, I tried to escape as is.
Holloway, backing up with me, suddenly stopped.
“What are you doing? Keep mov…”
“I can’t, sis.”
“Huh?”
“Be-behind…”
No way…
I turned slowly, despairing at the sight of another monster identical to the first, blocking our rear.
Both paths sealed.
“…”
There’s a final boss right here.
Why was he here?!
My inner scream went unheard, and I realized I’d have to break through one to escape.
I clutched the spear tight.
I aimed at the monster without Pridel, but a howl echoed from that hallway.
I quietly redirected the spear to the one by Pridel.
The other way risked more monsters.
“Holloway, when I hit that monster, run straight ahead. Got it?”
And keep going straight to your home.
I wanted to add that, but I had some tact.
“What about you, sis?”
“I’ll follow right after.”
Saying the opposite of my intent, Holloway nodded reluctantly.
“On three, I’ll run and throw the spear.”
“Yes, sis.”
The distance was far, and I lacked confidence in my aim, so I needed to close the gap.
I swallowed dryly, gripped the spear, and charged.
To aim precisely at its head, I drew my arm back with all my strength.
Crunch.
I stepped on debris from the monster-shattered wall and slipped.
“This is insane…!”
Shocked, I dropped the spear and flopped down hard.
And that spear…
— Screeeech!
Hit dead center on the monster’s leg.
“…Ah, he’s gone.”
I muttered involuntarily, and Holloway, not running, burst into laughter.
Pointing at the writhing monster, a window appeared.
Hit the weak spot! The monster is incapacitated for about 5 minutes.
5 minutes? Plenty!
I sprang up and extended my hand to Holloway.
“Holloway!”
Stop laughing and come here!
Only then did Holloway run over, grabbing my hand, and I dashed past the monster.
It would’ve been great if we’d escaped the monster’s sight like that…
Someone yanked my ankle, and I face-planted into Pridel’s blood pool.
“Sis!”
“Ugh!”
Splat!
The metallic stench hit me hard.
Pridel, the culprit gripping my ankle, had madness in his eyes.
“Guh, I can’t die alone…!”
Still holding my ankle, Pridel dragged me.
For an injured guy, he was strong.
“Si…!”
“Shh!”
There was still a chance.
5 minutes remained, and shaking off a wounded man wasn’t hard.
“Holloway, you run first!”
“B-but!”
No time to hesitate—I snapped him to reality.
“Your legs are short, so you go first! That way you’ll put some distance between you and the monster!”
“…”
Holloway glanced at his legs, then at me.
Twitching his brows in displeasure, he turned and ran.
Holloway’s mood has soured.
Was that the issue now?
“Let go!”
“Ha, ha… Fuck, I asked for help and you didn’t. Hah.”
“Let go!”
As I thrashed, Pridel grinned down at me.
Blood dripping from his lips made the smile grotesquely eerie.
“Why should I?”
“You…”
“Damn it, hah…”
He chewed out curses, breathing raggedly. Then, glaring down, he ground his teeth in rage.
“Even if I die, I’ll take you with me. How dare you refuse to help?”
Stunned, I countered.
“You remember using Holloway as bait first, right?”
“That was unavoidable…!”
“Then same for me!”
“You bitch!”
Infuriated by my retort, he clenched his fist and slapped my cheek hard.
Smack!
The impact rattled my skull, draining my strength.
“Heh heh…!”
Pridel laughed vilely, pleased for some reason.
“You bastard…”
“Keep yapping! Let’s see if you can after the monster gets you!”
Unable to flee from his injuries, his plan was obvious: use me as bait to buy time.
Or truly drag me down with him.
Ignoring the stinging pain on my left cheek, I bit my lip.
I couldn’t die because of one guy like this.
“Can’t you see the monster isn’t moving? Run now and you can live!”
“You think I don’t know that?!”
Pridel twisted his face viciously at me.
“I can’t live with this. Killing you is the only way to vent.”
Muttering through gritted teeth, Pridel staggered but dragged me toward the monster.
‘His eyes are gone already.’
No reasoning with him.
“Fuck, I should’ve followed Sir Werner then… Shoved Moran for nothing…”
So his villainy wasn’t just toward me.
No wonder he reached this floor alone so fast…
I scanned for anything useful, but nothing.
As we neared the monster, a notification appeared.
2 minutes remaining.
Pridel, about to fling me at the monster, suddenly clutched his chest.
“Hah!”
Injured by the monster yet moving fine—I knew it.
He’d hit his limit!
Clutching his chest, Pridel vomited blood between his lips.
“Gack!”
Seizing the stagger, I kicked his ankle with my free foot.
“Argh!”
Losing balance, Pridel tumbled, releasing my ankle from the impact.
In that instant, I bolted up and ran.
A desperate voice clutched at my ankle from behind.
“W-wait…! Don’t leave me…! I-I’m sorry!”
“Shut up! I’m not kind enough to show mercy to someone who tried to kill me.”
With time left, if he wanted to live, he could crawl away.
I knew saving a guy like him wouldn’t earn gratitude.
Above all, he’d truly tried to kill me.
‘Especially full of revenge toward me.’
If he survived, he’d find a way to feed me to a monster.
Ignoring Pridel, I ran straight.
Naturally separating from Holloway would be perfect.
Pretending to head his way but veering elsewhere—but he was faster.
“Sis, over here!”
No, that was my direction.
But time was short, so I grabbed Holloway and fled quickly, entering a room and locking the door.
Better to hide than keep running.
And a few minutes later, the monsters’ howls ceased.
❖ ❖ ❖
Was it because of the favorability?
That was the only suspicious thing.
No matter how many playthroughs, the horror game’s early story never changed.
The only differences were me and Holloway’s favorability.
Could a mere 0.1% rise completely alter the early story?
But if not that, it didn’t make sense.
Originally, monsters appeared because game Evelyn screamed at everything, waking the sleeping ones.
But I hadn’t screamed and acted as quietly as possible.
Yet suddenly, cleaner Holloway decided there were too many people and started “cleaning,” summoning a monster.
Moreover, we all scattered from the very start.
Then, a faint tap on my hand.
“Sis, is your cheek okay?”
“It throbs, but I’ll live.”
It was probably swollen without looking.
Holloway reached for my cheek, but I tilted my head away.
“Touching hurts.”
“Sorry. That man hit you earlier?”
“No.”
Of course, a lie. No need to tell the truth.
“Then what?”
“I fell on my cheek when I tripped.”
Holloway eyed me oddly, and I didn’t avert my gaze.
“Really?”
I nodded, and after staring into space, Holloway curved his lips into a smile.
“I see.”
Why like that? Scary.
Then, somewhere, fingers snapped.
A window appeared.
Pridel Akrotic has died.
Remaining members, including you: 6.
So he died after all.
No pity—he’d tried to kill me first.
Sub Quest Activated!
No rest.
Sub Quest <Friends, Gather Here!>
Objective: Find at least 2 companions. Gathering 3 or more including you will lead to a linked cooperative quest!
Note: Holloway does not count as a ‘companion.’
Time Limit: Until death
Clear Reward: Sword
Failure: No penalty.
The successive windows made my eyes spin.
Cooperative quest?
Did I have to? But the sword reward caught my eye.
I couldn’t wield a sword though…
Did I need to succeed?
Having companions meant villains like Pridel remained, sparking conflict.
Tutorial complete.
The survival horror game <Child’s Secret> begins in earnest.
This was just the start…?
