Surviving in a School of Ghost Stories
Chapter 121

After finishing his conversation with Melody, Joshua entered the opera house.

He smiled faintly as he recalled the conversation with her from earlier.

A ghost, huh? There’s no such thing. It seemed that Melody still believed in ghosts at her age.

He thought that she was surprisingly pure, considering how students these days usually think, and surveyed the area.

‘Why is it so empty here?’

The lobby of the opera house had been bustling, but the interior of the theater was unusually quiet.

Both the first and second-floor VIP seats were sparsely occupied with just one or two people in each seat. They were all staring at the stage where the curtain was about to rise.

Even the Pope’s seat, which should have been occupied first, was empty.

Joshua tilted his head and sat in one of the vacant seats.

What was strange was that even though there seemed to be many guests yet to arrive, the opera had already started.

‘Tsk. Everyone’s so late.’

Thinking this, Joshua checked the time.

He raised an eyebrow. The opera was supposed to be at 4 PM, but his watch read 9 PM.

‘Must be broken.’

He gave up on checking the time and decided to focus on the performance instead.

On the stage, a familiar-looking male student sat at the piano with the orchestra members.

‘That’s the student from the café. The Ramsport family, I think.’

The Ramsport family was an emerging noble family known for running a large trading company in the Kingdom of Brendan. They were also the name of the port through which one must pass to enter Gloria Island.

Much like Queensbury, they had amassed tremendous wealth by riding the wave of industrial progress.

‘He’s a piano major, huh? Guess it’s true.’

The second son of the Ramsport family was a piano major. According to the dean, he was so gifted that he didn’t need formal training related to the family business, so he played piano as a hobby instead.

He had been described as unusual, but seeing him in person, it was clear that he was far from someone who could simply be labeled as “unusual.”

Joshua had also heard that the eldest son of the Ramsport family harbored feelings of inferiority towards the second son. Seeing him in person, it was easy to understand why.

‘This is what they call a genius.’

At that moment, Leonard, the second son of the Ramsport family, who had been sitting at the piano, suddenly looked up.

Their eyes met, and just as Joshua was about to think something of it, Leonard abruptly stood up.

‘What’s he doing?’

Joshua was puzzled, but soon Leonard was made to sit down again by the conductor.

Then the actors of the opera appeared on stage.

The orchestra began playing, and Leonard soon started pressing the piano keys, joining in the performance.

However, he kept glancing in Joshua’s direction. The look on his face was not a pleasant one.

Joshua, puzzled, glanced around. Then, it suddenly hit him that all the people sitting in the second-floor VIP seats were staring directly at him.

He lowered the opera glasses and looked around with a puzzled expression. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed like they were looking at him.

‘Why aren’t they watching the stage? Why are they looking at me?’

Unable to understand, he checked the stage again, then looked down at the first floor.

The audience on the first floor was also all turned towards him, staring.

Only the orchestra members and actors continued the performance without paying attention to the audience.

Joshua, who thought this was truly strange, tilted his head in confusion and tried to focus on the performance again.

However, as he felt the burning gazes, he turned his head once more to find that the second-floor audience had moved much closer to him.

What the hell.

It had only been a brief moment, but somehow, they had moved that much closer. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, then checked the time again.

‘Why is no one coming?’

The performance continued. The actress playing the role of Sister Gloria was passionately singing and acting on stage.

Run away,

Run away,

They are coming.

Run away,

Run away,

They will devour you,

Gloria...

Joshua tilted his head. He was certain the lead actress was performing a solo, but the voice of a woman was not the only one he heard.

There was no one else visible on stage other than the lead actress, no matter how much he looked.

‘Are they singing from behind the stage?’

But that wasn’t important right now. When he looked back, the audience on the second floor was even closer than before.

A shiver ran down his spine.

‘I have to get out of here.’

Finally, Joshua stood up from his seat and tried to leave through the VIP section door.

Clunk, clunk...

But the door was tightly locked and wouldn’t open.

“Damn it, what’s going on? Open the door!”

As he knocked on the door, he suddenly felt the surrounding silence.

The music had stopped.

The shadows around him, holding the door handle, seemed to stretch, and he froze in place.

A cold sensation brushed against his back. He slowly turned his head.

When Joshua looked back, he took a sharp breath. The audience on the second floor had surrounded him!

Dozens of pale, bloodless faces with eyes completely silver, without any white in them, were staring at him.

Then, they opened their mouths simultaneously. Their ❀ ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) jaws unhinged, and their lips split, blood dripping down.

These grotesque mouths were saying something to Joshua.

Arirugle.

Yager malgohi meogajab.

Cheomangdo.

Cheomangdo.

Eoitgo oidele ge.

Cheomangdo.

Cheomangdo.

At that moment, the song from the stage echoed back, distorted.

Joshua’s face turned pale.

He couldn’t believe what was happening to him.

Damn it! What the hell is this?

The door was locked, and he was surrounded by these things. The only escape was to jump down to the first-floor seats.

Joshua’s blurry vision stayed on the second-floor railing.

If he fell from that railing, he would die.

But even knowing that, he felt an impulse to jump.

His trembling legs moved slowly.

Arirugle.

Yager malgohi meogajab.

Cheomangdo.

Cheomangdo.

The beings surrounding him continued to chant the words.

It almost felt like they were urging him on.

His trembling legs took another step forward.

“No.”

He pressed his legs down to resist, but as the distorted song repeated, the force pushing him grew stronger.

Damn it, damn it!

He bit his teeth and cursed.

He had never been in such a helpless situation in his life.

Overwhelmed by fear, he struggled to hold onto his fading consciousness and clung tightly to the armrest of a nearby chair.

But it was useless. The force pulling him was getting stronger and stronger.

Joshua clenched his eyes shut and opened them again. Sweat pooled in his palm, and his grip on the armrest slipped.

“Damn it! No!”

The railing was right in front of him. Just two more steps, and he would fall under it.

Yager malgohi meogajab.

Cheomangdo.

The voice kept coming. Joshua’s steps grew faster. Two steps, one step, and then...

He grabbed the railing with his hand. His body tilted towards the first floor.

For a brief moment, all the thoughts that had been tumbling in his mind became still.

Ah.

So this is how I die.

So futilely.

As the thought filled his mind, his body tilted completely.

Thud.

Someone grabbed his arm. With their other hand, they yanked on his clothes and pulled him up quickly.

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