Chapter 87

* * *

“Are we heading to the next room now?”

It seemed this room had originally been meant to trigger my trauma.

But thanks to Usher, things went off track, and maybe because my fear had eased afterward—nothing happened even after Usher made his vow.

The door slid open on its own.

Usher, the “helper” of this room, couldn’t leave it.

I gave him a sidelong glance, my expression a little tired.

“Talk the way you usually do.”

“Excuse me? I couldn’t possibly, not to the chosen child.”

“Cringe.”

“…”

After a pause, Usher smiled faintly.

“In that case…”

He trailed after me all the way to the door.

“I wanted to see how you’d escape, but I guess I won’t get to. That’s a shame.”

Yeah, well, I have zero intention of showing you.

“If you ever need me, just call. Little lady—no, candidate?”

Usher tapped his neck.

“I even added an auto-summon function. All you have to do is call, and poof—Usher appears!”

Oh wow… yeah, I am never using that.

Why would I call you over my daddy, you fanatic?

Just as I was about to step out, Usher called after me.

“Little lady. Or should I say, Lady Nemesia?”

When I turned, he was standing reverently with his hands clasped in prayer.

…Ironically, that posture was no different from the Order’s holy knights or priests, which made my skin crawl.

“I look forward to the day you bring about the world’s destruction, and I’ll gladly do everything I can to help you.”

‘Still creepy right to the end.’

The moment I opened my eyes in the next room, I rubbed my arms, trying to get rid of the goosebumps.

Now, what am I even supposed to tell Daddy?

‘I was taking the test, met a fanatic, and somehow… he decided to be my doormat?’

…Yeah, that’s not going to fly.

I honestly don’t know how this even happened.

In the game, this guy was one of the hardest to recruit as an ally by any normal means.

Even after countless attempts, I’d only ever succeeded maybe three times.

And that’s thousands of tries.

By probability, it was basically a miracle—especially since all three times had been in the late game.

So no matter how I looked at it, this situation didn’t make sense.

‘Is this good luck or bad luck?’

Then I looked up…

Yeah. Definitely bad luck.

Because—

“Get him! Catch him now!”

“Drive him this way!”

“Should we kill him?”

When I’d first opened my eyes in this room, thick smoke had kept me from seeing anything.

But when it cleared, the sight that greeted me was none other than—

The kids I’d been separated from.

The other pope candidates, encircling one person with the intent to kill.

“We’re gonna kill you!”

And the one standing at the center…

Face twisted in rage, eyes bloodshot…

…was Emmet.

‘Oh, this is a mess.’

I was momentarily taken aback.

* * *

‘Tricky.’

That was my first thought.

When you enter Project: Shadow Host, one random kid from your group gets chosen, and you’re shown their trauma.

Naturally, the difficulty varies—and the more notable the character, the harder it gets.

And Emmet… ranked high on the difficulty scale.

‘Would’ve been easier if it was Flora.’

Right then—thud-thud-thud—someone ran up to me.

It was Flora.

“You’re here!”

Her face was beaded with sweat as she spoke urgently.

“This is our second room!”

She explained that the other rooms had gone fine thanks to Emmet.

“But when we came in here, some ‘quiz’ started, and when we failed it, this dartboard-like thing started spinning…! And then that kid’s shadow just shot up out of nowhere…!!”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to explain more.”

I took her trembling hand.

Her fingers were shaking hard.

‘She’s weak against attacking her own allies.’

Even if that ally had turned into an enemy.

“When you first woke up, did you hear a voice? That was the ‘host’ arriving here.”

Flora’s face went even paler.

“Then what about th-that kid? I can’t… bash in the head of someone on our side!”

…Even now, she’s tough in her own way. I squeezed her hand reassuringly.

“If Emmet gets completely taken over, we lose…”

And we’d end up with the worst possible outcome.

“Don’t worry. There is a way.”

Her expression eased slightly, though she tilted her head.

“That’s strange… seeing your smile makes me feel… familiar somehow.”

“Mm, that’s a good thing.”

As we wandered through this place, our memories would gradually return.

‘The problem is, the longer it takes, the stronger the host gets.’

I glanced over my shoulder. Among the kids surrounding Emmet, those with advantageous combat skills already had weapons in hand.

Like the sword Gidehme was holding, or the shield in Mel’s grip.

“My Thread of Sanctity isn’t… isn’t working!”

“Focus! You’re too rattled to use it right!”

Some were even holding tools from training sessions.

“D-do we really kill him…?”

At the shaky question, Gidehme scowled.

“Then what, we all die instead? Can’t you see him? Damn it, this is annoying!”

Sure enough, the shadow writhing under Emmet’s feet was no joke.

‘Still… I don’t think I’m too late.’

Then—

“All of you, get away! I said disappear!!”

The Emmet who had been just trembling until now suddenly shouted.

Fwoosh!

At the same time, shadow poured out from beneath him, and black liquid began gushing from the cracks in the walls!

Splash!

“W-what is that? Gross…!”

“Water…?”

Then—

“I’ll shine a light on it!”

One kid, holding the Lamp of Manifest—a tool that reveals a monster’s true form—brought it toward the liquid.

Fwooosh!

The black fluid covering the walls solidified into mirrors.

“A… mirror?”

In an instant, the entire room became a giant mirror.

Oddly, only Emmet’s reflection appeared in them. And since they were mirrors, there were now countless Emmets all around.

The countless reflections glanced about in different directions…

— Ehehehehe!

…and then their mouths split wide open.

The wrongness of it froze the kids in place.

‘This is bad… No, not yet.’

While everyone else stood rigid, I calmly scanned the mirrors—dozens, hundreds of Emmets.

And then I found it.

The one Emmet sitting slumped on the ground.

‘West!’

At the same time, I noticed the black liquid spreading across the floor.

If it covered everything, we’d be done for.

“Flora!”

“Y-yes?”

“I’m gonna run this way now.”

I pointed west.

“You run in the opposite direction! Solve the quiz there, and the Guardian will appear!”

Flora looked confused for a second, but nodded quickly.

She grabbed the hand of a nearby kid.

“I’ll go with her! She was the smartest earlier!”

“Uh, umm…?”

The kid Flora had grabbed was a girl with jet-black hair and bangs so long I wondered if she could see.

I could see her shrink back at Flora’s sudden touch.

“Alright, got it. Oh, and Flora!”

I shouted just as she was about to run off.

“If it’s a shape puzzle and you have to guess, always pick the triangle!”