Baek Saheon, for once, doubted the vision in his one remaining eye.

"Am I dreaming?"

No, he was dreaming—caught in a ghost story’s nightmare. But...

No!!

Just moments ago, he had been nothing but irritated.

"I came here because they said there was a strong brainwashing item in the faculty office…."

But seeing all these different people gathered here, it was obvious this information wasn’t as exclusive as he’d hoped. He’d been quietly fuming about it ever since.

"…Wait until I get back to the office tomorrow."

He’d already decided to add the person who tipped him off about this "high-level information" to his personal blacklist. Gritting his teeth, he let that slide for now.

Still, he felt confident.

In fact, he thought the current standoff between the two factions would work to his advantage.

"If I just stir things up a bit, it'll turn into chaos, right?"

Whether he spread rumors or summoned a monster to create havoc, he figured he could snatch the item and make his escape. He’d done it before, using the idiots around him as bait in critical moments to climb his way up.

He could even put up with the bull-headed colleague in the buffalo mask sniffling and holding back tears—so long as they were useful.

But then…

"What the hell is that guy doing?"

Baek Saheon stared blankly ahead, his confidence shaken.

Standing casually among the Disaster Management Bureau agents was an all-too-familiar face in a black uniform. He stood there like he belonged, wearing the same steel badge and holding one of their strange toy-like pistols.

…Kim Soleum!

"Agent Grape."

Grape? Agent Grape??

What on earth was going on?

Baek Saheon had seen him in the classroom earlier, and he definitely hadn’t been carrying any of this gear. No, this didn’t make sense—

"Why the hell is a Dreamscape Inc. employee standing over there like he’s one of them?!"

"Looks like everyone’s securing the item. Could it be what we were looking for?"

"It’s possible."

Kim Soleum spoke naturally, in the kind of bureaucratic tone that perfectly fit the Disaster Management Bureau.

Meanwhile, murmurs rippled through the other Dreamscape employees.

"Those people aren’t ordinary agents."

"Could he be someone high-ranking? Seems like he was called in."

“……”

Beside him, Jang Heoun gawked, glancing between Baek Saheon and Kim Soleum. As the only person present who could recognize Kim Soleum’s bare face, even through his mask, Jang Heoun’s shock was painfully evident.

Then Jang Heoun, seemingly deciding to expose Kim Soleum, opened his mouth.

‘Yes! Do it!’

Say it for me!

"Uh, uh…"

"Would you mind stepping back for now?"

"What?"

But the person he was trying to expose was none other than Kim Soleum.

Agent Grape. Cutting Jang Heoun off mid-sentence, Kim Soleum turned to the crowd with an air of sincerity, his voice calm and persuasive.

"In situations like these, where supernatural disasters are involved, having a dangerous item in one’s possession could lead to unimaginable consequences. You’ve all seen it before—something that looks beneficial here might end up leading to disaster."

His voice carried an undeniable weight of conviction.

"And right now, there are monsters prowling just outside."

"……."

Kim Soleum’s earnest eyes scanned the group.

"Please, for the sake of saving more lives, I ask for your cooperation."

…You? Earnest?

Baek Saheon felt chills running down his spine.

But Jang Heoun, inexplicably dazed, blinked slowly before murmuring, "In that case… we could step back this time…."

This crazy idiot!

"What?! Rookie, are you out of your mind?"

"Shut your mouth."

The shouts from his colleagues snapped the Dreamscape employees out of their trance. Baek Saheon didn’t realize it, but the influence of his mental defense equipment—sufficient to partially resist Kim Soleum’s manipulation—had made this possible.

Still, the situation looked bad. The Disaster Management Bureau agents whispered amongst themselves.

"Corporate culture must be awful over there."

"True. That agent, though, speaks really well."

"……."

He’s even being acknowledged by the agents…!

"Who the hell is he, pretending to be an agent…."

Wait. Hold on.

A bolt of realization struck Baek Saheon like lightning.

"Could he have been… a Disaster Management Bureau agent from the start?"

Looking closer, one of the civil servants standing next to Kim Soleum was someone he recognized—he’d met that lunatic back at the haunted mountain villa! The masks issued by Dreamscape Inc. had perception-distorting properties, which might have prevented the agents from recognizing him, but still...

"…Was it all planned?"

Had Kim Soleum been a spy from the Bureau all along?

Baek Saheon’s spine tingled.

But at the same time, he saw a new opportunity.

"If I expose him…."

Their eyes met.

Kim Soleum smirked and patted his chest confidently. Then he mouthed a single word:

"Debt."

"…!"

Debt. The note he’d left on the emergency flashlight.

"You crazy bastard, that’s the debt you owe me…!"

Was he implying that if Baek Saheon wanted his debt repaid, he’d better shut up and cooperate?

How the hell does a debtor threaten their creditor?!

No. Screw that!

Baek Saheon ground his teeth. Right now, his team was outnumbered.

"If this goes on, the field employees will just give up the item and walk away."

That would ruin everything—no chaos, no opportunity to act.

"Then…."

After a brief hesitation, Baek Saheon made his decision.

He needed that item.

Desperately.

He felt the familiar cylindrical pressure of his custom equipment beneath his shoe. It was a precision weapon—purchased at great cost and modified for one purpose only: chaos.

Owner: Baek Saheon
Equipment: Three-color pen-like device. Pressing the pen tip causes an explosion akin to fireworks.
Manufacturer: Qterw-E-99.

Feeling its reassuring weight, Baek Saheon turned casually toward Jang Heoun.

"Hey."

"Yeah?"

"Don’t you hear something weird outside…."

Without finishing his sentence, he suddenly fired at Kim Soleum.

“…there?"

He aimed for the head.

Die.

He needed an instant kill. That way, even if they woke up from this nightmare, no one could trace it back to him.

"He’s wearing a name tag anyway. Someone else will take the blame."

He smirked faintly. In this company, everyone’s morals were equally trash, so it wouldn’t matter.

The pen’s tip flew silently toward Kim Soleum’s head, set to pierce through…

…but it didn’t.

Kim Soleum tilted his head slightly, effortlessly dodging the projectile.

"…?!"

Kim Soleum glanced at Baek Saheon, his expression calm.

‘Do you know how many times I’ve read the wiki on your custom equipment?’

He already knew the loading mechanism.

‘Tap the back of your left heel twice.’

Since they’d become roommates, Kim Soleum had been preparing for this. His reaction time was a testament to that foresight.

He hadn’t expected much from Baek Saheon to begin with, so he wasn’t even angry.

But…

‘I can’t let you win.’

Kim Soleum smiled brightly at Baek Saheon.

‘I know you shot it.’

And that smile meant: You’re screwed now.

"……."

Baek Saheon’s blood ran cold.

Panic, born from sheer terror, surged through him.

But, at the very least, his ultimate goal had succeeded: the chaos he wanted had finally erupted.

"Ugh!"

"...!"

The pen tip struck the locker behind Kim Soleum, exploding with a burst of light, sound, and smoke.

In an instant, the faculty office was engulfed in chaos—flashes of light, deafening noise, and thick, obscuring smoke.

"Who’s there?!"

No matter how low anyone kept their voice, it was useless now. This level of commotion was enough to draw the "students," even if it meant breaking a few objects along the way. Which meant...

They’d be swarming here soon.

"...!!"

"Flashlights!"

Everyone instinctively crouched low and pressed against the walls. In a place like this nightmarish school, the reduced visibility caused by the smoke was the worst possible condition.

‘Who the hell did this?’

For a brief moment, survival instincts overrode any thoughts of identifying the culprit.

‘In this mess…!’

Might as well grab what I came for!

Baek Saheon lunged toward the table.

The Fountain Pen of Second-Year ■■■.

He snatched the item and stuffed it into his pocket.

Then, blending in seamlessly, he joined the other Dreamscape employees and bolted out of the faculty office with them.

The agents, who had been meticulously maintaining a perimeter to keep all angles of sight covered, only realized what had happened after the smoke began to clear.

Both the fountain pen and the Dreamscape employees were gone.

"...! Damn it!"

"Dreamscape Inc. bastards…!"

The Disaster Management Bureau agents had been left holding the bag.

Perfect.

Kim Soleum, who had been watching Baek Saheon closely, caught the whole thing. But the situation was too urgent for him to call it out now.

[There has been a fatal incident on the third-floor hallway.]

[The deceased student is Kim Sora, second year.]

The Dreamscape employees had shot one of the students while escaping down the hallway.

"...Ha."

And then, the power went out.

***

Five seconds of blackout.

Flashlights danced wildly.

Screams.

A corpse.

"This is insane."

With so many people and grotesque creatures around, it was like being trapped in a B-grade splatter horror movie. The suffocating silence from earlier had given way to a completely different kind of terror.

"Ahhhh!"

"Over there, by the window!"

"Blood! Blood!"

"Requesting backu—urgh!"

Amid the bone-chilling chaos unfolding all around me, I somehow managed to spot the students attempting to enter the faculty office through the mist and freeze them in place.

It felt like I was playing some twisted defense game.

Or maybe I was just a character in a survival horror game, backed into a corner.

"Go!"

The only upside was that the agents were aggressively holding their positions, keeping most of the attention off me. But even that wouldn’t last forever.

Blink.

The moment I reflexively blinked to clear the blood splattered on my eye—

A student’s claw-like hand froze mid-swipe, hovering just above my head.

"...!!"

I scrambled back in an instant.

…That was close. My skull had almost been punctured.

My hair stood on end.

“Damn…”

My heart felt like it was about to leap out of my chest.

This is a trap.

A nightmare bog that I couldn’t escape from.

One flashlight isn’t enough to cover this many angles.

From what I knew, there were always slight variations between scenarios, but there were typically at least twenty students per floor.

And if a student dies and the announcement plays?

[There has been a fatal incident in the second-floor faculty office.]

They’ll come again.

With another five-second blackout for mourning.

It never ends.

Chances were high that we’d all die here and the exploration would end. So...

Might as well escape while I still can.

Gritting my teeth, I made my decision.

I’d find others on a different floor and regroup.

The mist was starting to clear, and the blackout had just ended…

Blink.

Now!

I slid across the gore-stained floor of the faculty office, dodging blood, guts, and violence, and darted out through the already open door.

At that moment—

“Agent Grape!”

“…!”

In the clearing mist, I saw the bronze-ranked agent standing ahead, holding a masked Dreamscape employee in a standoff.

That mask…

“Ugh.”

“Quiet.”

It was the buffalo mask. Team Y’s cleanup crew.

Jang Heoun?!

So he didn’t make it out with the others…!

“Use this to restrain him!”

The agent tossed me a handcuff-like item.

Clearly, he thought I’d come to assist him. He expected me to cuff Jang Heoun.

But I’d already decided to cut ties with everyone here—

“R-Run, Deer!”

“…!”

Damn it.

Jang Heoun called out my mask name in panic before clamping a hand over his mouth, realizing his mistake.

“...Deer?”

“Uh, no, that’s not….”

The agent’s expression said it all.

Busted.

Damn it. In that case…!

I swiftly caught the handcuff-like item the agent had tossed me.

And slapped it onto him instead.

“...?!”

The cuffs expanded, locking his mouth and arms in place, and a silver chain shot out, connecting him to me.

“Buffalo, let’s run.”

“H-Huh?!”

Dragging both Jang Heoun and the agent behind me, I bolted out of the faculty office.

"Ahhhh!"

[Mourning period has ended. We offer our condolences to the deceased.]

We fled the carnage in the faculty office, sprinting up the stairs like madmen.

A few entities tried to follow us, but the renewed chaos back in the office drew them back in.

“Keep an eye on what’s above.”

“Got it!”

Jang Heoun responded quickly, watching the upper levels as we climbed.

Whew.

I glanced back from the staircase landing to see that the students had disappeared rather than following us. Wiping the sweat off my brow would’ve been nice, but instead, I turned my head and locked eyes with the person restrained at the other end of the chain.

The Disaster Management Bureau agent—Bronze—was glaring at me like he wanted to kill me.

“……”

At this point, there was no helping it.

Time to bluff my way through!

I quickly concocted the most systematic sob story of my life, faster than I’d ever thought possible.