[AT MONDY'S SIDE]
Mondy began entering the building, right in the middle between the two buildings that Aswa and Arca had entered earlier.
Slowly, he tried to open the door, which turned out to be unlocked. The two-story building looked dark, quiet, and full of dust—like an abandoned warehouse filled with old items.
Mondy stepped carefully, trying not to make a sound.
Clunk
His foot hit something—a bottle of liquor.
"This… booze? Why is there alcohol in a school?" he murmured.
Suddenly, footsteps were heard. Mondy quickly hid behind a wall. A man wearing a hat and holding a bottle of liquor walked towards him. Mondy held his breath, trying not to move at all.
With dramatic flair, the man finally passed Mondy without noticing him. Mondy almost sighed in relief, but—
"Sshh—"
Right in front of him, someone was standing. Their faces nearly touched. Mondy froze. His heart raced wildly, sweat dripping down.
The man looked closely, rubbed his chin, then raised his head and walked away.
"Oh, it's just a statue," he said, then staggered off—also carrying the liquor.
"Huff…" Mondy exhaled in relief.
"Are they all drunk? What happened at this school? Where are the teachers?" he wondered.
He went deeper inside. The further in, the more Mondy realized something illogical—objects that should be public facilities, like trash cans, garden chairs, and even street lamps, were inside this building.
They seemed to be collecting these as their treasures.
Suddenly, his eyes caught a silver object resembling a stick. He picked it up.
Soon, Mondy arrived at a room with a light on. He peeked through the door crack—it was empty.
But as he was about to enter…
BANG!
He bumped into someone. And when he realized it, many people were encircling him.
"You're an intruder, huh?"
"Where are the guards?"
"You're disturbing my drinking…"
"Let's burn him, okay?"
"Hahaha! That's a great idea!"
They all wore the same kind of hat. Mondy looked panicked. He knew, these were not just troublemaking kids—these were drunken criminals, fearless of the law.
One of them landed a punch.
WHOOSH!
Mondy dodged. The punch hit his comrade instead.
SMACK!
"Haha! You're dead!"
Mondy realized—they had lost their reason. In the chaos, he grabbed the hat of the fallen man.
The man got up.
"Ouch… why did you hit me, bastard?"
"An intruder!"
"Intruder what?! I'm wearing a hat too, idiot!"
"Too much talking, just hit him!"
"Aaaaah!!!"
A brawl broke out. They were beating the man because they thought he wasn't wearing a hat.
Mondy took advantage of the chaos to slip into an empty room.
"Drunk people are really easy to fool…"
He saw a window leading outside, to the field, and heard distant shouts. Mondy tried to open it—but it was blocked by a wooden board nailed shut.
It wouldn't open by hand.
He looked around. Outside the room, the commotion was still going on. But…
Something was strange.
Among the crowd, Mondy felt someone was watching him. He tried to ignore it.
However, his hair stood on end.
He turned around.
And this time, he was sure. Someone was really staring at him. A figure different from the others, slowly approaching.
Mondy panicked. He tried to break the wooden board with his hands—but failed.
Not giving up, he tried again.
Then he looked at the silver stick in his hand.
The person was getting closer.
"Come on… break… break…"
—TO BE CONTINUED—