"There's no need to kill the substitute ghost; there's a person who can survive... Only you and I know this," Grace looked at the rain, her tone gentle, but it gave Anna a headache.
"I've concealed it for you until now because there's no room for more trust crises. You didn't want to hide it from me at all; you just wanted me to help you, didn't you?"
"...I want to survive. I thought you could understand," Anna pleaded.
"Being alive isn't an excuse to deprive others of their lives. If I had known earlier, I definitely would have stopped you," Grace turned and stared into Anna's eyes.
"But it's because of my risky move that I have this possibility of survival! I'm gambling on the five-day ghost transformation rule! And surviving is the reward for winning my bet—"
"You survived because of Joseph's pen," Grace interrupted Anna.
"You... knew?"
"I didn't want to say it because it's nonsense to others. The body you found in the basement was Victor Ravencourt's, wasn't it?"
Anna took two steps back.
"I guessed all of it, and it seems I guessed right," Grace shook her head. "Then the situation of the three ghosts has been roughly figured out. The invisible ghost is Alin, or any important ghost servant; the mirror ghost is Walter Ravencourt and the substitute ghost is a complex formed by Mensal swallowing the souls of Victor Ravencourt and many innocent people."
"I only found out about this later," Anna calmly stated.
"Of course, these are all intelligence we didn't have access to at the time. But you found clues from the diary and determined the rules of becoming a ghost five days before Shi Song died the next day... Is that right?"
"Really not." Anna chuckled. "Sister Grace, this may be the only place where I'm ahead of you. The five-day rule is what I guessed."
"Guessed?"
"Ah... I thought about this problem when I saw the killing rules on the first day... How can I design it so that everyone can die?"
Grace frowned.
"Nine places, either evenly divided in the last three days, or divided 30% and 60% in the last two days, I can find a way to let the ghost kill everyone. I chose the latter, after all, it seems more reasonable. After all, I'm used to considering the worst possibility."
"I see, so this is..."
"That's why I want to kill someone before the ghost."
Anna's tone changed.
"If it was a person instead of a ghost, would there be no ghost? This is only a 50-50 possibility, but since there's a 50% chance, why not try it? After all, it can't get worse, right?"
"...You're not a happy person," Grace sighed.
Anna was stunned for a moment, not knowing why Grace brought up this matter, but immediately said, "No, what I said that day was true. There's no need for me to lie about that kind of thing..."
"I didn't say you were lying, Anna." Grace waved her hand, motioning for her to speak. "Your way of thinking, your calmness toward the dead, and your current indifferent attitude toward things like killing, all show that you weren't as happy as you remembered. Maybe you didn't lie, but you also said that your memory has many gaps..."
"I..."
"Ah, I've been a little confused for a long time. But the environment isn't the only factor that determines a person, Anna. You should at least find out who you are first."
Anna was silent.
"In any case, the person you killed is already dead. I have no right to ask you to pay with his life, but I don't think people should die in vain."
"...I had no choice. It was a split-second decision," Anna felt all the strength drain from her body. "He's a traitor. I must stop the 'ghost' from killing people. Now that such a good opportunity has appeared..."
"Traitor? What happened that night? You got the sleeping pills when you went to get the medicine, right? What happened next?"
Anna pressed her head and chuckled, "I was indeed dizzy that night. The only idea was to take the initiative when the ghost attacked and find out the ghost's details. So I put some sleeping pills in the food... But I still feel that I did something wrong. After everyone fell asleep, I hesitated. After leaving the chair, I just squatted in the dark, unable to make a decision."
"Oh?"
"But that person wasn't asleep... that upstart. Even the people who were changing shifts fell asleep without noticing, but he secretly took out his phone and started taking pictures of the people whose faces could be seen clearly around the candle. That's when the flame turned blue."
At that time, Anna's mind was groggy, and she just subconsciously felt that something was wrong. When she approached the upstart from behind secretly, she happened to see that the phone was in camera mode, and the sleeping person in the firelight made movements in the camera that were not in reality.
Then, as if repeating the action countless times, Anna quickly reached out and grasped the camera of the phone, and with the other hand, she grasped the long-prepared utility knife, pressed it against the upstart's neck, and slashed it hard.
The killing conditions were destroyed, and the mirror ghost couldn't kill people, but Anna had no way to judge the ghost's killing method from this little thing at the time. She thought the ghost was in the phone, so she secretly destroyed the upstart's phone and ran back to her seat. She was still wearing a bloody shirt, and it wasn't noticeable even if she put on a new one. However, she had to cover it with Grace's suit, so the fresh blood naturally got on it. Only Grace, who changed clothes later, knew about it.
"As a result, the mirror ghost came to my room and squatted there the next morning. Sister Grace, I killed you," Anna finished telling the story in one breath, regret on her face.
It was easy to talk to others, but when facing Grace... she didn't know how to tell her about this.
"Then, save one person."
Grace said after a moment of silence.
Anna was stunned for a moment.
"In addition to yourself, save another person. Not only keep yourself alive, but also try to help others survive," There was no resentment on Grace's face, but a smile instead.
"Can you forgive me?"
"No matter the reason, taking someone else's life is still wrong. This is true for you, and it's the same for you to judge Amir. Right and wrong are your own judgments. So it's not that I forgive you, but whether you are willing to forgive yourself."
"Uh..."
"Should they die? Yes, because it will cause more casualties, but this judgment is only made by you and me based on our own interests, and my death is just an accident. Anna, since you think it's a mistake, go and make up for it—"
Halfway through her words, Grace's face suddenly changed, and her body slowly knelt on the ground.
Anna rushed over in a panic and supported Grace.
Both of them knew that the time for the blood of the divine bird was about to expire.
"Why so soon? This... It's less than an hour..."
"Resurrection... It was originally a very luxurious thing... I can actually experience it once, it's really amazing..." Grace turned her head and looked at the rainy scene outside the window.
It may be fake, but it is the last natural scene she can see.
"If, this game is to continue..." Grace raised her hand with difficulty and fell on Anna's head, but she was already unable to move.
"Continue?" Anna paused slightly.
"...Forget what I said first. Try to live, and stick to your original idea, Anna."
At this point, Grace's voice had become smaller and smaller. Anna leaned close to Grace's mouth to hear the last few words she said.
"We may even come from different worlds, so I'm really lucky to know you."
Her arms fell down.
Just as Victor Ravencourt finally concluded in his diary:
[ The resurrection, like a mirror flower and water moon, finally left a happy dream, and after waking up from the dream, what remained in the heart was just the fact that the deceased was gone. ]
Aftermath the people in the hall saw that only Anna returned, and most of them guessed what had happened.
"Is it all over?" Ling Yan asked.
Anna walked down slowly and nodded. Grace's body was left on the balcony. If she liked the scenery outside, it would be the most suitable place.
"I have a message for everyone."
Anna pulled out the chair at the main seat of the long table, sat down, crossed her hands, and placed them on the table.
At this time, Wyatt and Beom Seok had also returned to the hall. In addition to the doctor, nine people gathered.
"We now have a quota for survival, but we can do more," Anna slowly took out the items from her body one by one and arranged them on the table.
The face of nothing, the message in the bottle, the ritual dagger, and Joseph's pen.
After her action, the others also took out their own items:
Beom Seok's summoning catalog and Clearwell Pill.
The wooden sword in Noah's hand.
The red quicksand in Kran's hand.
The painful memory in Ling Yan's hand.
-
In addition, they also had the past camera on the second floor, the prayer golden statue brand that had been branded on their bodies but had not been used many times so far, and the corrupted hand that had not played a big role.
"We are not completely powerless, especially now," Anna swiped the letter in the bottle aside. "First, we need to verify whether the substitute ghost is really a doctor, and then find an opportunity to kill him with the ritual dagger. The black environment is not conducive to the mirror ghost committing crimes. Collective actions require carrying combat-capable items. Except for the user of the wooden sword, everyone takes Clearwell Pill."
"Uncle Wyatt's red quicksand is not suitable for use in a wide space. We'll choose the corridor on the first floor and create a barrier there. The purpose is to force the ghosts to take a detour when chasing, rather than to protect ourselves. Because the amount of quicksand is limited, please ask Uncle Noah and Wyatt to carefully study where to draw it."
Noah and Wyatt nodded.
"Nothingness can avoid ghosts, but it will be discovered if it's too close. We need someone to pay attention to the movements of ghosts at all times and find a way to notify everyone..."
"The two of us," The couple's voice was hoarse, and the woman next to him also nodded.
"The memory of pain should be given to Sister Ling Yan. Use it when necessary to slightly stop the ghost's pursuit."
Ling Yan said no problem.
"Finally, Beom Seok, if we can survive the first four hours tomorrow, you immediately use the spirit summoning catalog, and we will go upstairs to find the spell and give it to you."
Beom Seok was stunned, and then slapped the table: "No problem!"
"Finally... it is also our trump card," Anna raised Joseph's pen.