Surviving as a Crazy Evil Spirit in a Horror Game Chapter 8

Could there really be someone trapped underneath? I used my skill to pull one of the long spears displayed nearby.

 

You used 〈Attack〉 on the 〈Pile of Trash〉.

 

〈Remaining Uses: 9〉 

 

Using the spear, I pushed the tower-like pile of trash aside.

 

‘There’s… nothing here, though?’

 

I scattered all the trash, but all I could see were pieces of armor, weapons, and shields—no person. I tilted my head in confusion…

 

Clang. Creak—

 

A strange sound reached my ears. When I looked over, a shield was slowly stretching itself out, as if coming to life.

 

“Oh my, my back…” 

 

My jaw dropped. A silver shield engraved with the Ravenwood crest was stretching like a person…!

 

“Whoa!”

 

“What are you so surprised about! Don’t tell me it’s your first time seeing a Heater Shield?”

 

The silver shield moved roughly, as if it were angry. A Heater Shield, huh? It seemed to be a type of shield, but I’d never heard of it before. Wait—though, isn’t it kind of funny that I’m surprised? This game has far stranger-looking monsters and ghosts. A talking shield is nothing. Of course, I’d never seen a shield like that in the game before.

 

“Who are you?”

 

“Yeah, so you’re finally thinking of talking? I’m Adolf, the armory caretaker.”

 

“Uh… wait, is it normally the shield’s job to manage the armory?”

 

“Nonsense! Of course a person does that—how could a shield possibly manage it?!” 

 

Adolf shook his head in disbelief. Even though he was just a faceless shield, I could almost tell what expression he was making.

 

“But you’re a shield!”

 

“From the looks of you, you’re not human either. Did it never cross your mind that I might’ve been cursed—turned into this shield?”

 

“Mhm.” 

 

“What a foolish ghost you are.”

 

He kept calling me foolish and stupid since earlier. All the other ghosts and monsters in the manor treated me with a bit of respect—so what was this guy’s problem? 

 

“Ghost? I’m not just a ghost—I’m an evil spirit!”

 

I puffed myself up, just like I did whenever I wanted to give the survivors a good scare.

 

“How about that, huh? Scary, right? I’m the only one who can pull this off!”

 

Now that I think about it… have I actually regressed mentally from pretending to be an evil spirit for so long?

 

“….”

 

But Adolf neither flinched nor showed a hint of fear—he just stood there, completely still.

 

“Yeah. I’m so scared I could fall over.”

 

Swoosh—.

 

“What, what is it?”

 

There was a sharp whistling sound—

 

Shwish! 

 

Countless objects were hurtling through the air. From the distance, I could see dozens of weapons flying straight toward me.

 

“Hiiik!”

 

Spears, one-handed swords, daggers, maces, axes—every kind of weapon imaginable came flying at me and stopped right in front of my face. They had moved so fast that I nearly forgot I was an evil spirit who couldn’t even touch physical objects.

 

“Keheheh. Look at you—so terrified. You’re worse than a mouse cornered by cats, let alone an evil spirit.”

 

Adolf seemed amused, bouncing slightly in place, and my face flushed with embarrassment.

 

“Tsk…” 

 

Clang!

 

Before I knew it, the floating weapons clattered to the floor. Sure, it was embarrassing that I’d flinched—but the way he controlled those weapons so freely… it was honestly impressive.

 

“Adolf. Did you do this?”

 

“Yeah. Ever since I was cursed into this shield, this is what I’ve become. Guess that’s what happens when you spend your whole life obsessed with blades.”

 

Before I knew it, a rapier—one of the many swords—floated into the air, twirling gracefully as if performing a dance in midair.

 

“They don’t move because I command them—they move because they can read my thoughts. What you’re seeing is their way of protecting me.”

 

As Adolf spoke, the other weapons began to spin around me one after another, dancing through the air as if performing a ritual.

 

“That’s ridiculous.”

 

“Who do you think polished and shined these fellows to perfection? They’re just returning the favor. Thanks to me, even these weapons have gained souls of their own.”

 

‘It’s a scam.’

 

The weapons moved freely, reading Adolf’s thoughts. It was an incredibly tempting ability — perfect for protecting survivors, and useful in countless other ways.

 

“Look at this.”

 

Perhaps wanting to boast even more, Adolf spoke again—and suddenly, every weapon in the armory began to float into the air. Scattered suits of armor clanged and fitted together piece by piece, forming a humanoid figure resembling a ghostly knight.

 

Clack, clack.

 

As the armor finished assembling and raised its shield like a living being, the rest of the weapons swooped through the air, circling me in a threatening dance.

 

“This is… practically like commanding an army.”

 

Considering the vast scale of the armory, it wasn’t all that surprising.

 

“Hehe! As expected, isn’t it?”

 

Adolf boasted.

 

“Then why were you buried under a pile of junk?”

 

Judging by the fact that he doesn’t seem to know anything about me, he must’ve been trapped for quite a long time.

 

“I don’t really know how long I’ve been trapped. Still, back in the day, these weapons kept me company, so I wasn’t lonely.”

 

“Trapped?”

 

“Yeah. I was trapped in this armory with no way out. But not long ago, some crazy human buried me under a pile of trash!”

 

“What do you mean, a crazy human?”

 

“This armory is hidden in a secret underground chamber. After I was cursed and turned into a shield, I woke up trapped here, waiting for someone to rescue me. You see, you can’t get out unless someone from the outside opens the door.”

 

“Mhm.” 

 

“I heard some noises and thought I was finally getting out, but instead of people, a bunch of weird piles of junk came flying in and buried me! After that, I was stuck under the trash until you showed up.”

 

You heard something, and then a pile of trash came flying in? Was it a person’s voice you heard?

 

“Then why didn’t your weapons save you?”

 

“If I’m helpless, these guys won’t be able to function. I don’t know why.”

 

“Then… could it be that someone who knew about you attacked you on purpose?”

 

“I don’t know either. I was all set to welcome that human warmly with my weapons, but what I got instead was a heap of garbage! Damn it! Just thinking about that bastard pisses me off all over again.”

 

Adolf stomped on the spot, as if just recalling it was enough to reignite his anger.

 

“You don’t know what it looks like?”

 

“Yeah! All I heard was some weird voice that I couldn’t even tell was male or female, and I couldn’t see a thing!”

 

That’s really strange. If we limit it to the survivors who weren’t trapped—in other words, the playable survivors—there are only four possible candidates.

 

“Lilith. Evan. Havel. Mary.”

 

Ting— ting—.

 

When I turned my head at the strange sound, I saw a small dagger tapping on the doorknob, as if asking to be let out.

 

“Ghost—no, evil spirit—my children want to get out… Will you give me a hand?” 

 

“Hmm.”

 

I could use my skill to open the door, but…

 

“With my bare hands?”

 

“Do you want something?”

 

“Mhm.”

 

What I want… is someone to talk to, for starters.

 

“Tell me.” 

 

“You. For now, be friends with me. That includes your weapons too.”

 

“Friends? That’s a strange condition… anything else?”

 

“Just friendship. You know, talking to each other, helping out when things get tough—that kind of thing.”

 

‘And besides… I want your skills and those weapon friends of yours…!’

 

Besides, it’s not a lie that I’ve been bored with no one to talk to. No one recognizes me, Basilion does nothing but sleep, and if I’m to achieve my goal, the conflict between us will only grow deeper. Neither the ghosts nor the survivors could really be my friends, so at the very least, I need someone to talk to—someone who’ll put my mind at ease.

 

“…It’s not a difficult request, but… are you sure something that simple will be enough for you?”

 

“Mhm. You’re bored, I’m bored—it’s a win-win, right!” 

 

“Well, fine. Let’s do that, then. Once you step outside the armory, you’ll see the key right away. It should be in the quarters where I used to stay.”

 

I passed through the armory door as Adolf instructed. Just as he said, a golden key lay in plain sight.

 

‘That’s it!’

 

I could only physically touch an object once per day. The attack skill was an exception, since it floated things in the air like telekinesis.

 

You used 〈Interact〉 on the 〈Key〉.

 

〈Remaining Uses: 0〉

 

However, this skill couldn’t be used to touch living beings. It could only interact with objects like this key. Using the skill, I grabbed the key and opened the armory door.

 

Click—

 

Adolf and his weapon companions stepped out of the armory.

 

“Ahem. Thank you. It’s been a long time since I’ve breathed in the outside air.”

 

“The outside air? We’re still underground.”

 

“Damn it. I know that, so don’t ruin the mood, evil spirit.”

 

Adolf and I followed a secret passage, one that wasn’t marked on the map, and emerged above ground into the open air. And just like that, Adolf became my friend.

 

*   *   *

 

When morning came, I left Adolf behind as he went back to the armory to sleep, saying he was tired, and for the first time in a while, I went to check on the survivors.

 

‘Old man… even as a shield, you still get sleepy, huh? Not me, though…’

 

The survivors were still gathered in the small hut in the potato fields of the Ravenwood Duchy. 

 

“Snore—.”

 

Havel was snoring as he slept, while Mary curled up, sleeping at a distance from him. Lilith and Evan seemed to be having an important conversation between the two of them. I quietly approached without letting them notice, and, like last time, eavesdropped on their conversation from beneath the ground.

 

“Evan. You might not believe me, but please believe me.” 

 

Lilith spoke gloomily. Since both of them looked serious, I was curious about what they were talking about.

 

“I just can’t understand it. Even if we manage to escape from here, we end up back again.”  

 

Evan replied with a puzzled expression.

 

‘…Wait. What did you say?’