The first thing I saw was a red pulsing.

Thump, thump, thump.

Belatedly, I realized I had collided with something.

Splat.

With a short, thick sound, my body fell onto something slimy.

A foul odor.

In the next moment, I realized it was the stench of decaying protein.

Chunks of flesh scattered around me, sticking to my body.

Pulsing red.

Whoosh!

The wind blew.

The high-speed train I had been riding passed by me, leaving behind a roar and gust of wind.

The train disappears in an instant to the far end of the tunnel, where light sparkles...

"..."

Honestly, it was quite dirty and a bit scary, but I didn't fall into pain or serious panic.

It just felt like standing alone at night in front of an apartment's recycling area.

"My goodness, what an unsanitary environment! Are you alright, friend?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

'...The Happy Maker is really working properly.'

It feels like my head is warmly solidifying, opposite to how taking a calming pill makes your heart cool and less tense.

I got up with a fairly calm and stable state of mind.

But in the process, as I brushed off the rotten flesh with my bare hands.

Eat your wickedness

A strange voice echoes in my head.

"..."

So, well. Roughly matching the testimonies of people who were offered as sacrifices with the current situation...

'Is this where I'm supposed to feel pain like my whole body is on fire, and unable to bear it, start tearing off my skin and flesh...'

And then chew and spit it out while walking towards the light at the end of this dirty, damp passageway - that kind of crazy situation.

This passageway itself is a trace of that horror.

Fortunately, I was in a state where all pain was numbed, and I was wearing a silver ring that increased mental resistance, so I didn't feel such crazy impulses.

"Phew."

I stood up completely and shook my body lightly.

It didn't help much. The traces left by the filth and rotten flesh were stark.

As for the source of this flesh... let's try not to think about it...

Thanks to the Happy Maker, I wasn't shaken, but it still felt unpleasant.

Ah, wait.

"Brown, are you okay?"

-Oh, you mean this sound like a repeating radio tape? It's meaningless noise pollution, but not unbearable!

"...What about the burning pain?"

-Haha!

-This body has no skin or flesh! Just cloth and cotton, eyes and nose...

I-I see.

'So the conditions for sacrifice only apply to humans.'

I was relieved that Brown wouldn't lose control and go berserk.

-Anyway, does my friend have any more business in this dirty place?

"...No."

-Then let's get out of here quickly.

That's right.

'To escape, I need to get back on that train.'

I got up and started walking.

To the end of the passageway.

Splat, splat.

Fluid from the filth splashes under my feet, getting into my shoes, and my socks are soaked red.

Cast away your sins

Tear away as much as your sins

Eat your sins

"..."

Perhaps the more sins a person has committed, the stronger the burning pain becomes?

'Then theoretically, a good person would feel minimal pain even if they fell here from the window...'

As this ghost story focuses on the train group becoming more and more desperate and horrific with each loop, such details could only be guessed by experiencing it.

Anyway... the passageway was farther than I thought, and I walked persistently.

'I hope I won't have to use another Happy Maker.'

Cast away your sins

Cast away your sins

Cast away your sins

I keep walking, ignoring the voice.

My feet felt heavier, but the light steadily grew closer.

Trudge, trudge. The intense light coming from the tunnel exit almost obscured my vision and made it hard to see ahead.

'Ah.'

I'm almost there.

Frowning but stepping forward more...

Finally, the moment I'm enveloped in light.

Go to Tamra

'...!'

A small, gentle invitation.

An unusual warmth and sense of liberation, a strange... revelation-like feeling that seems to envelop me, piercing through the top of my head...

-Oops! The recruitment is too aggressive. Just a moment...

The moment it disappears.

My consciousness plummets like a train falling off a steep slope, being sucked somewhere at tremendous speed.

"...!"

* * *

"Huk!"

"Ah! Aaah!"

I opened my eyes.

I was sitting in a car of a comfortable, modern high-speed train.

My body was clean again, and my mind...

'Wow.'

Recalling it brings a nauseating sensation.

My stomach churned.

'I-I couldn't feel this?'

I was buried in flesh that people had torn off while alive, eaten, and vomited, and then I got up and walked through that?

'L-let's stop thinking about it.'

Anyway, the important thing is that I've successfully returned to this point.

'The Happy Maker's effect completely disappeared when I returned to the starting point.'

I quickly regained my senses and first checked the quantity of Happy Makers.

...

11 before use.

It remained the same.

"The consumables you used have returned to an unused state. Strictly speaking, this is natural since we've returned to the point when the train departed!"

Right. It was as expected.

'Good.'

The preparation is complete.

As I raised my head to look forward, Deputy Jin Nasol was looking at me with a composed face.

"How was it?"

"It's a terrible and disgusting place. Without protection, falling there would almost certainly cause mental confusion or contamination symptoms."

"Is that so? Then get up. We need to secure in advance..."

"Hey! Look here! This person is fine!"

"..."

Aack!

Jin Nasol's speech was cut off, and she made an unpleasant expression, but she didn't take immediate action as civilians rushed over.

'Q-quickly.'

I deliberately gave a faint smile to the people who were shocked to see that I was fine.

"Are you okay?! Oh my!!"

"This person, this person volunteered to fall! But... y-you're okay?"

"Yes. I'm fine now. But... what happened after I fell?"

"W-well..."

Skipping the rushed and jumbled words of the people who started speaking urgently, the important parts were like this.

"After you fell, the countdown started again...!"

"Oh, that's right! It was like asking for one more sacrifice, the cooldown started again."

As expected.

"...! I see. Then at that point... did the train crash again?"

"No! It was after that!"

One of the passengers who had rushed over added an explanation.

"It's a bit strange, no one fell from our car, but suddenly a path opened, saying it received the offering..."

"..."

"There was a rumor that someone fell from the front car, but people were all excited and fighting broke out, so I'm not sure of the details..."

"..."

"No! They said we were crazy! They're the ones not understanding the situation!"

"That's right!"

"It's so frustrating, really."

"In games too, you shouldn't let trolls like that go unpunished."

I see.

Slowly, the conflict was escalating.

'It started from this round.'

Round 3:

Factions form by train car and fights break out. They urge each other to choose passengers to sacrifice as offerings. Bloodshed begins.

And...

Deaths occur due to violence inside the cars.

...

For now, I nodded calmly.

"I see. It seems the number of people that need to be sacrificed increases by one each time."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"I mean, it seems the required sacrifices increase sequentially - one person at the first altar, two at the second altar, and so on."

"Ah...!"

Although everyone probably guessed it but couldn't dare say it out loud, there were sighs and fearful groans here and there, but no fierce objections.

They were just afraid.

"What do we do? What should we do? No... why do we have to go through this? Sob..."

"M-maybe we all have to jump out the window for this to end?? Is that it?!"

It was quite a plausible guess, but I gently grabbed that person's shoulder.

"No. Calm down. There must be a way to end this."

"Huk."

"Look at me. I'm fine even though I fell, right? There's a way for everything."

"Ah..."

Riding on the slightly calmed atmosphere, I spoke softly.

"You said the condition of the other person who fell from the window wasn't good, right? If it's alright, could you guide me to them?"

"Ah..., ah, yes!"

"This way!"

As I followed the people guiding me hurriedly, I looked around the seats.

"Ooh. I'll come along too!"

Beyond Supervisor Dolphin who immediately followed me.

Deputy Jin Nasol had her arms crossed as if to say 'let's see how you do it'.

'She's letting it slide.'

Probably the moment she judges it inefficient, she wouldn't hesitate to change the situation and throw out all the interfering people one by one out the window.

'That won't clear it.'

So...

For now, this method was the most efficient and humane thing I could do.

"They're sitting here... but..."

I looked at the person sitting in the seat I was guided to.

A person wearing glasses was staring into space with their mouth agape. The first sacrifice of the second round, who had fallen before me.

"Sir?"

"..."

No answer. They seem completely out of it.

"Wh-what on earth is down there..."

"It was terrible. But..."

I reached out one hand and placed it on my chest.

"I realized something."

"...Pardon?"

Clink.

I naturally lowered that hand into the inside pocket of my suit jacket.

And pinned on a small badge that was originally inside.

Silver Heart.

"Everyone! Don't worry too much."

At the same time, I approached the bespectacled office worker.

"Hic! Hic hic! Hic!"

"It's okay... it's alright."

I approached him and carefully injected the Happy Maker.

'The components will completely disappear when the next loop comes.'

This is better for that person than being in maddening panic and fear.

And since the Happy Maker is as small as a pen, to others it will look like this person calmed down just from my support...

Like magic.

"...Huk!"

The bespectacled person takes a deep breath.

Sense returns to their eyes, and a definite calmness settles in.

"It, it was really terrible... Ah, ah... ha... It's over."

Slowly.

A faint smile spread across their face.

"Thank you... My mind... is at peace..."

And slowly getting up from their seat, they hugged me and the other passengers.

People accepted it in bewilderment and started looking at me with eyes of wonder.

"Y-you brought them back to their senses..."

"How..."

I'm a fraud...

But as if I too was in wonder, I looked at my hands and continued speaking.

"I don't know why only I gained this ability, but now I..."

Taking a deep breath.

"I think I vaguely understand what's happening on this train."

"...!!"

"I-is it true?"

"Yes."

I raised my hand and spoke while folding my fingers.

"Who needs to fall out the window, and how many times it needs to happen for all this to end..."

"G-good gracious."

What am I doing right now?

'I'm pulling a con.'

And this kind of fraud is a staple in apocalyptic situation fiction.

'The so-called cult leader...!'

Someone who incites people and makes them do strange things saying it's the will of god or whatever.

Did it appear in car 6 before? ...Hmm. I think that's right.

Round 5:

Various exclusive groups form in each train car. Among them, a superstitious religion worshipping the loop phenomenon captures passengers from other cars and throws them out the window after killing them in advance according to barbaric ancient sacrificial methods.

Sorry... no, I'm not sorry at all, but

'You won't exist anymore.'

Because I'm going to beat you to it now.

"Good people of car 7. Please listen carefully to what I'm about to say."

I shouted standing in front of the train door.

"We have been chosen for a great test!"

"Oh my goodness!!"

I heard the sound of Brown's standing ovation from my suit's front pocket.

A fraudster with the seal of approval from the ghost story host...

Is now launching.