NOVEL NEXT WORLD Huu, Aah, Aaah―――
From the darkness came a faint weeping sound.
A mournful cry, much like that of a child who has lost their parents.
However, this was deep underground.
A sound that should never be heard nor be allowed to echo through.
Aah, Aah, Aaaah―――
The noise also resembled a wailing.
Like someone who had gone mad from pain, cursing the reality from which they could not escape.
It was a scream filled with malice directed at everything in the world.
In most situations where the sound of a child’s cry could be heard, it would evoke feelings of sorrow in most people.
But the cries resonating from this hallway only instilled fear and dread in those who heard it.
Aah, Aaaah, Aaaah―――!
The wailing grew louder.
The sound transformed into something akin to a furious howl.
Drawing closer towards the place of debris――
Then suddenly, with a thud.
As if nothing had happened, the sound ceased.
―――――――――――――
From the darkness of the hallway, a trembling, colorless presence slowly revealed itself.
Something was approaching like a shadow.
It looked like a hazy clump of fur, swaying as if searching the surroundings.
Then it began to edge closer toward the gap in the debris.
―――――――――――――
From the blurry figure, something pale briefly shone through.
It was not just a simple clump of fur.
Wrapped in unkempt, tangled hair, it was undoubtedly the lifeless eyes of a person.
―――――――――――――
A dark, red line hung from the head suspended in the air.
Simultaneously, the eyes on the pale face rolled around, searching the vicinity.
As if it were certain that someone was indeed present in this space.
―――――――――――――
However, no matter how much it searched the surroundings, there were no living beings to be found.
Finally, realizing that there was nothing here, it seemed to attempt to disappear back into the darkness as it had come――
―――――――――――――!
With a clunk,
the fragments trembled slightly, and in an instant, the head darted forward toward that place.
The pale head twisted, starting to inspect the gaps in the fragments.
One, two, and then three.
It seemed to be meticulously checking every crevice nearby.
―――――――――――――
Finally, with only one last crack remaining,
it slowly lowered its head as if to savor a hidden meal――
――Clang!
As a rough smashing sound came from beyond the hallway,
the thing, as if it had forgotten this place existed, moved silently in the direction of the sound.
The surroundings fell silent.
No smaller fragments fell; it was a quiet atmosphere.
And the silence continued for several minutes after ‘it’ had vanished.
“Phew!”
With the sound of someone exhaling from the cracks of the fragments,
the calm was finally shattered.
“W-w-what was that――”
From between the rocks, a silhouette sprang forth. It was Eleanor.
Realizing the ominous cries were drawing nearer to them,
the three decided to hide beneath a massive fragment like a lid after entering the crack they had fallen through.
Of course, it was a space too small for all three to hide, and they almost suffered a great mishap when the fragment above moved just a little.
By chance or luck, they managed to avoid being spotted due to the sound that echoed from the hallway.
“…What, have you never seen an abnormal phenomenon before?”
“I have seen them! But nothing like that! I’ve never seen anything as gruesome in my life!”
When Cooper asked, Eleanor shouted back as if to imply that the weirdness was on his side.
Though she had seen various odd phenomena while patrolling the area,
never had she encountered anything so blatantly nightmarish.
“What in the world is that?! It has such an evil design! It’s as if some twisted individual thought, ‘This will look scary’ and just went with it—”
“Hey, hey. Keep your voice down. It might come back.”
“Eek, Eeeek…!”
As soon as she realized that it still existed on this floor, she gasped and covered her mouth.
Though her voice wasn’t too loud, she was careful enough not to give ‘it’ a chance to find them.
“This crying sound. Could it be that entity?”
“…You think so too? I wasn’t sure since I’ve never seen it in person.”
“I’ve never seen it either. But I know what happens when it appears.”
As if contemplating something, Elijah murmured, and upon hearing this, Cooper began asking him for his thoughts.
For those who had worked at the facility, it was something they couldn’t ignore.
And if what they just witnessed was indeed that, they were undoubtedly in a grave situation.
“Um, could you two not speak in codes? I’d like to understand as well…”
Feeling a poking sensation on his shoulder, Cooper turned his head.
There was Eleanor, her eyes darting restlessly with anxiety.
Since seeing that, she had plunged into a significant state of unease,
and excluding her from their hushed conversation about its identity wasn’t helping her worries.
“Ah, sorry. That’s just one of the many monsters that come out here. This is my first time seeing it in person too, though.”
“Your first time seeing it… But you just definitely said something like you knew what it was.”
Eleanor probed into his words, hinting that she wanted a more detailed explanation.
Even calling it just one of the many monsters felt frustrating, but
the atmosphere of his response seemed like he was trying to lighten the situation while avoiding in-depth details about it.
“…It’s in the manual. I think it was the seventeenth rule: when you hear the sound of a child crying, declare a state of emergency and send an ice cream cone down the elevator.”
After a brief pause, as if finally deciding to fully explain, Cooper disclosed one of the rules from the manual.
The seventeenth rule.
Eleanor remembered seeing that rule during her review of the manual.
If a faint crying sound was heard from below, the rule indicated to declare a state of emergency and send an ice cream cone down the elevator to the lowest floor.
Like other rules, the reasons for that action were not explained.
But she recalled experiencing an unexplainable discomfort and fear when she read that rule.
“When the elevator opens again and the ice cream inside is gone, the situation is resolved. In most cases, that’s how it ends. Honestly, it’s one of the more convenient rules.”
Cooper shrugged.
From what he said, it seemed like a remarkably simple rule.
Just sending an ice cream cone down the elevator seemed straightforward.
Neither needing to shoot anything nor go down directly to the facility’s depths made it a very simple and easy method.
Yet, there remained unanswered curiosities.
If it was just as simple as that…
Why exactly was a state of emergency required?
“If it doesn’t end like that, then what exactly happens…?”
She inquired to know the conclusion that he hadn’t mentioned yet. However, Cooper merely grimaced and offered no response.
After a moment of uncomfortable silence,
Elijah, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, let out a quiet sigh.
“…Right now, it’s probably best not to hear the answer.”
As if to indicate there was no need to probe further.
Effectively rejecting the question, he closed his mouth again.
“…”
Silence fell.
She had intended to overcome the fear surrounding the issue by asking, but
after hearing all their responses, her terror only intensified within her.
All she could do was quietly scream inside, calling for the girl who had just been with them.