I Became A Ghost In A Horror Game-Chapter 79: Neverland

The worst had finally happened.

Carol turned away from the screen, unwilling to see Alice completely broken.

She had always wanted Alice to smile.

Watching as the Crimson Holy Lance descended, Carol pulled out an anomaly shaped like a red button.

P-702

Nickname: War Reenactment.

The moment it was activated, humanity’s greatest mistakes would be replicated.

But ironically, today it would be used to give Alice a chance to undo her mistake.

"—I didn’t expect you to be the ones bringing this to me."

Behind Carol stood a nun in religious robes and a demon with a red hood.

"We’re simply repaying a debt. Thanks to Alice, I was able to reconcile with this child."

Maria. A nun affiliated with the cathedral.

It was completely unexpected that she would notice their plan and reach out to this side.

And the one standing beside her? Even more surprising.

"Red Hood. What brings you here?"

"..."

Casually escaping confinement and stealing P-702 from the cathedral—

It was a strange alliance, but there was no time to question it.

"You’re not going to explain? Well, that’s fine. Then—"

"...I have a question."

"?"

Carol tilted her head as Red Hood spoke in a small, hesitant voice.

"First, a test. Carol... Are you really using this for Alice? There’s no malice behind it?"

"...A test? Fine.

I truly cherish Alice.

And I am using this for her sake.

I care about her. I love her. That is the truth.

Believe me."

Carol spoke with deep sincerity.

Red Hood’s brown eyes glowed yellow—detecting truth from falsehood.

A moment later, she nodded.

"It’s the truth."

"At times like this, it’s nice not to be falsely accused. Well then."

Carol shattered the protective glass over the button and clenched her fist.

"Summoning this demon is truly disturbing!

But to stop a Holy Lance that never ceases to pursue its target, that can never be blocked—

There is no other way!"

Demons were drawn to specific situations.

Just like how Alice had been unknowingly drawn to Maerson after her exile—

There were circumstances that could summon certain demons.

Carol slammed the button.

And at that moment—

Around Alice, soldiers clad in digital-patterned uniforms materialized, along with war machines of all kinds.

Blood. Screams.

Though it was merely a holographic illusion, it perfectly replicated the horrors of war.

And because it did—

It was perfect for summoning him.

A demon, beyond words. Beyond logic.

A force of nature.

"A lesser evil is better than the worst evil."

Carol declared—

"Now! I summon Peter Pan!"

Acrid dust filled the air.

Explosions shook the world, deafening and overwhelming.

And yet—

The screams of people were still clear.

In the middle of the battlefield—

He appeared.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Glittering dust rained from the sky, covering the children and Alice.

Darkness overtook their vision.

They were now—

"Welcome to Neverland."

Boom—!

The Crimson Holy Lance, now without a target, buried itself into the ground.

-----

Shin Ha-rim opened her eyes.

Warm sunlight touched her skin.

Outside the window, the sky was clear and cloudless.

Even the sun, which had eyes, smiled brightly and greeted her.

It was an undeniably perfect day.

"Hey. You're awake?"

Soo-ho had come to greet her in the morning.

From the open door, the smell of delicious food drifted in.

Oh no, time had already passed so much.

I apologized to Soo-ho and went to help prepare breakfast.

Soo-ho said it wasn’t necessary, but... out of all of us, I was the best cook.

If I didn’t step in, well...

Things would get ugly.

Especially with Eun-jung.

She should never be allowed near the stove.

I shook the still-sleeping Kyung-min awake and pulled Eun-jung’s cheek to stop her from whining.

With the two of them finally at the table, I sat down as well.

Once Soo-ho sat down, we waited for the last person.

Creak...

The door opened, and a man walked in.

"HAHAHA! You little rascals! Have you been doing well?"

"Uncle Peter! You’re back?"

He was Peter.

The one who had taken us in and looked after us when we fell into this place.

We had been at school, and then...

How did we end up here?

If Uncle Peter hadn’t been there, it would have been bad.

The ones who fell with me were Kyung-min, Soo-ho, and Eun-jung.

We were friends, but aside from being classmates, we didn’t have much in common.

Uncle Peter bit into the special sandwich I made for him.

He laughed, saying it tasted great.

"Hey, Uncle Peter."

As he was about to drink his soup, I decided to ask.

"Oh? Ha-rim! What is it?"

"That job you mentioned... What happened with it?"

We owed Uncle Peter a lot.

We helped around the house, but it was hard to ignore that we were burdens when it came to food.

"HAHAHA! You’re too serious!

Kids like you don’t need to worry about hard work!"

"But I don’t like freeloading."

Instead of answering, Uncle Peter ruffled my hair.

His hands were rough with scars.

"You already help with house chores... You’re really mature, more than the others."

"Thanks for the compliment."

At my words, Uncle Peter made a strange expression.

"...That wasn’t really meant as a compliment! HAHAHA!"

"?"

Sometimes, Uncle Peter was hard to understand.

After breakfast, I went to my room and started reading.

Uncle Peter peeked in and smiled, watching me.

"Oh-ho! Reading a book, huh?

Can’t disturb a good story! Guess I’ll head back to my study!"

He announced loudly, on purpose, then pranced away.

"..."

The moment he was gone, I shut my book and pulled out my secret notebook from under the bed.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

This notebook contains my diary entries and my questions about this place, written whenever I had the time.

‘There’s too much that doesn’t make sense. The fact that we ended up here is one thing, but this world itself is just... strange.’

The sun was smiling. Literally.

The flowers talked to us, laughing cheerfully.

A soft background melody constantly played, soothing the mind.

And the tea that Uncle Peter sometimes brewed— it helped us sleep better.

The weather was always clear, and the residents were all healthy (even though they smoked and drank a lot...).

Even the asphalt roads were soft—no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't scrape your knee.

...It was all too perfect.

I wasn’t the only one who noticed these oddities.

My classmates felt it too, a lingering unease.

But this place was so comfortable that no one was really trying to leave.

“...Is this really okay?”

Life here was good.

A bit boring, but never lonely.

We lived like a family, having fun together.

Even this nagging unease was slowly fading, becoming something I didn’t even notice anymore.

“...Still, something feels... missing. And for some reason, it feels like this has happened ‘before.’”

...Wait. Before?

Why did I say that?

I had no idea.

Anyway, I should talk to the others once Uncle Peter leaves the house.

He doesn’t seem like a bad person, but sometimes... his presence feels strange.

With that helmet he always wears, his face is covered in shadows, making it impossible to read his expression.

He goes out sometimes, but... I have no idea what he does.

I jotted down my thoughts in my notebook.

Scratch.

“Ah.”

I messed up my writing.

I reached into my skirt pocket to grab an eraser—

But instead, I pulled out a red rose necklace.

“Oh, right. This thing...”

I looked down at the five red necklaces in my hand.

I remember making two of them myself.

But I don’t remember why.

Or who I was supposed to give them to.

With Uncle Peter, there were exactly five of us.

“Hmm...”

The mystery deepened.

I closed my notebook.

There was one place perfect for solving this.

Uncle Peter’s study.

...Why his study?

Because it must be full of secrets!

There might be information about this place, about us.

I knew it was wrong.

I knew it was dangerous.

But some things were worth the risk.

I left my room and sat in the living room, reading a book.

I was waiting.

Waiting for Uncle Peter to leave the house.

The others must have been bored too, because soon they wandered in, standing around me.

“Want to play chess?” Kyung-min asked.

“Mmm... I think I’ve played too much lately.”

I mumbled an excuse.

Kyung-min smirked, clearly not fooled.

“And besides, you’ve never lost to us, Ha-rim.”

“Ahaha...”

I had been trying not to say it was boring.

Because that would make me sound like a jerk.

I just laughed it off awkwardly.

We kept chatting casually.

And honestly...

It felt warm.

I wondered if this place was better than my empty house back home.

...If I thought of Uncle Peter as my dad, then at least I’d have one parent.

That thought was strangely satisfying.

...Maybe I didn’t need to go back.

From what I vaguely remembered, before coming here...

I had been covered in wounds.

I could still remember the pain.

Even though the injuries were gone, the pain had been terrible.

Updat𝓮d fr𝙤m ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com.

I had been running somewhere, even while barely holding on.

“I’m heading out for a bit~! Don’t get the wrong idea, I’m not going out to drink~”

“Okay! See you later!”

“Ah, and don’t do anything ‘dangerous’~!

By the way, sneaking into my study would count as dangerous.

If you do, I might just take you to a very scary theater~”

“Oh? There’s a theater like that? I’d like to see it.”

Uncle Peter looked annoyed for a second.

But then he grinned and said that if I really wanted, he could take me sometime.

Creak... Click.

The door closed.

I was not a good kid.

Because the moment he left, I was already looking at his study.

I was too curious to pretend to be good.

What could possibly be in there?

I turned to my friends.

“Hey... want to check out the study?”

If I went alone, they’d catch me right away in this tiny house.

Better to convince them first.

But to my surprise, Eun-jung, Soo-ho, and Kyung-min looked indifferent.

I hesitated, confused.

Then Kyung-min spoke.

“Uncle Peter might get mad. Why risk it?”

“Huh?”

I was stunned.

I didn’t even know how to explain my curiosity.

Because it was too basic, too instinctive.

There was no logical reason—I just wanted to know.

“Well... aren’t you curious?”

“Eh... Yeah, but if he gets mad, it’ll be scary.”

Eun-jung answered hesitantly.

That fear—the fear of making someone kind get angry—

It was something deeply ingrained in us.

Logically, we had no reason to be scared... but still.

“If you really want something, sometimes you have to take risks.”

“Haha... That sounds like a wise quote.

Or something a villain would say.”

Kyung-min looked at me strangely.

A bit unnerved.

But—he was thinking about it.

He must have been bored of playing chess all the time.

“...Alright. If you really want to, I won’t snitch.

Let’s open it.”

"Wow!"

As Kyung-min and I approached the door, Soo-ho stepped in front of us, blocking the way.

He spoke firmly.

"We have no idea what’s inside. It could be dangerous, so I’ll go first. I’m the biggest, after all."

With the majority now agreeing to open the door, Eun-jung fidgeted nervously.

"A-Are we really doing this?"

"Eun-jung, what about you?"

She was clearly scared of Uncle Peter’s anger.

Sweating, Eun-jung hesitated before finally making up her mind.

"If you guys are going... then... I-I’ll go too!"

"Wow! We’re really on the same page! Haha... we’re like a real team! Alright, let’s do this!"

I grabbed the doorknob.

I was curious.

It might be dangerous, and Uncle Peter’s anger might be terrifying.

But I was still going to open it.

Truthfully... it wasn’t just about curiosity.

For some reason...

I had this strange feeling.

Like someone was waiting beyond this door.

Like every time I faced fear, I would eventually meet someone—

And I wanted to meet them.

Creak.

Peter Pan walked through the town.

His boots stepped onto the soft asphalt road.

There were no biting insects, no stray animals, no loose pebbles that might trip a person.

Just the perfect streets.

The air was thick with the scent of alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes—healthy ones, of course.

The villagers laughed and greeted him warmly.

He waved back and stopped in front of a theater.

Taking out a key, he unlocked the door.

Inside—

An empty stage.

An empty audience.

Peter ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) Pan stepped onto the stage and pulled back the curtain.

"Have you been waiting, Alice?"

Behind the curtain, Alice was drinking tea.

Her exhausted eyes barely blinked as she set down the cup—

Like a corpse, too drained to move.

"...Peter Pan."

"AHAHAHA! So, you’re finally willing to talk?

What a great day! Come on, drink up!

Let’s soak ourselves in booze and drown out all the bad memories!"

Alice frowned at his loud laughter.

"That’s not what you came to talk about."

"...AHAHAHA! True enough.

So, what do you think of my offer?"

He grinned.

"Oh? Did you forget? Don’t worry—I’ll tell you again.

I need you, Alice.

More precisely—your power.

Even though you’ve lost it for now,

You still have the right—the potential.

Alice remained silent.

"This world is unstable.

We can’t hold too many people, so most of them have to be sent outside Neverland.

But! With your power, we could make it whole.

And in return...

I’ll give your kids eternal peace.

"So, what do you say?"

Peter Pan spoke excitedly, swirling the liquor in his hand.

His gaze burned with anticipation, but Alice only smiled weakly.

"Heh... You know, I’ve been backstabbed too many times to trust so easily...

Unless I’m really sure, I won’t take the deal.

Hehe... Men in military uniforms aren’t known for keeping their promises."

A rejection.

And a joke that didn’t amuse him.

Peter Pan’s patience was thin.

"You don’t seem to understand your position."

Suddenly, he grabbed Alice by the throat and lifted her into the air.

"Kgh...!"

She was as light as a doll.

His grip tightened, strangling her breath.

Her face twisted in pain, her body struggling—she wouldn’t last long.

"If I wanted, I could take it by force right now.

If you act up, it’ll be boring.

Remember—I’m only giving you time because I love peace."

"...Just... let me be sure first...

That they truly want to stay inside the fence...

Let me be sure of that..."

Peter Pan burst into laughter.

"AHAHAHA!

Says the one who erased their memories!

Unbelievable.

How much more foolish can you get?

I thought we were on the same page—and now you hesitate?"

Alice looked at him desperately.

Peter Pan scowled and threw her to the ground.

"Cough—! Cough...!"

"Tch. Don’t think I’ll wait forever.

I’m not pitying you."

Alice stayed silent.

Peter Pan narrowed his eyes.

"You want proof?

Fine, I’ll show you.

Humans always succumb to fear.

In the end, they always choose a comfortable cage."