I Became A Ghost In A Horror Game
Chapter 122: Lewis Carroll – The Bellmans Raid

“I don’t think this is a pleasant enough situation to exchange greetings. How do you think I feel after being attacked by a guy who showed up out of nowhere?”If you hit his bell-shaped head, you will probably hear a clear and refreshing sound.

When I glared at him with a tightly clenched fist, the monster tried to soothe me as if he was reading me a storybook.

“Oh dear. That’s unfortunate. Even so, greetings are important, so let me finish my introduction. Ting-ting. Pleased to meet youm, Alice. I’m the master of Snark Hunt who came to meet you, the Bellman. But I hope you, at least, will call me Carroll.”

“So you’re also claiming to be Lewis Carroll.”

“Not just me, everyone is.”

While I was exchanging a few words with him, a monster with bubble hair behind him interjected.

Bubble… they’re so consistent.

“What kind of Alice are you! Alice Liddell? Or a similar Lorina Liddell, Edith Liddell… or perhaps even Lorina Reeve?”

Lorina Liddell, Edith Liddell.

Although not specifically mentioned in the fairytale, I know they are the sisters of Alice Pleasance Liddell, the protagonist of Alice in Wonderland.

I don’t know who Lorina Reeve is, but it’s probably a similar context.

The Bellman, blocking the Bubbleman who was excitedly shouting at me.

He said gently.

“Calm yourself. She is indeed Alice. And hello to you. My apologies for the late greeting. The Lewis Carroll of this world.”

“A female Lewis Carroll… a rare one indeed!”

Carroll frowned, seemingly displeased by the gaze that was sweeping over her body.

Immediately after, Carroll sharply asked if she had any idea about the identity of those who called themselves Snark hunters.

“Did you by any chance come from a different world?”

“That’s right.”

“…!”

The Bellman answered readily.

Carroll muttered quietly after hearing the answer.

Saying she was terribly unlucky.

“If you apply the concept of parallel universes, I imagined something like this might happen, but it’s driving me crazy now that it’s right in front of me.”

Apparently, the probability of them meeting was extremely low.

And calling it another world probably meant a parallel world.

Carroll continued to ask.

“…First, let me ask. Why are you here?”

“Why, of course. Isn’t it obvious that we came to take Alice. We are Lewis Carroll. We are inseparable from Alice.”

“…”

After hearing the Bellman’s words, Carroll just stared at him with a subtle expression, as if lost in thought, or perhaps speechless.

“Take her… to do what? This Alice is not the Alice you’re looking for!”

“To keep the story going. Forever. For an eternal adventure. Just like a fairytale. And she is the Alice we are looking for.”

“What…? That can’t be. You guys!”

Carroll seemed confused by the Bellman’s answer.

Although she had imagined that something like this could happen, their reaction seemed different from what Carroll had expected.

Carroll fell silent. And.

A moment of silence.

The bubble-faced man broke it by interjecting and shouting at me.

“Only Lewis Carroll can be with Alice! So come to me! I will tell you fairytales again while listening to the sound of the river flowing! Come to me! Alice!”

“Crazy…”

From the depths of my heart, disgust and pity emanate from the behavior of a madman in love.

If they came from a parallel world, then what they went through and what they were thinking were already meaningless.

Because there are so many parallel worlds.

Does the value fade just because there are so many?

“We travel through various worlds collecting Alices. In that respect, your Alice is truly cute and strong. I’m going crazy with envy.”

Even the Bellman, who seemed relatively sane, scratched his face with his fingernails and trembled.

I tried to resolve this situation somehow by talking it out.

Of course, I don’t want to forgive them, but letting the monsters rampaging inside the branch’s office go back with words rather than fighting would save more people.

“I understand that you guys are looking for Alice. But I’m different from the Alice you’re born with. If you want to be precise, I’m the devil Alice, not the Alice you’re looking for.”

The reason why they claim to be Lewis Carroll and are looking for Alice is because they are the author of Alice in Wonderland from another world.

Because they are Lewis Carroll.

I’m definitely related to that fairytale, but it’s ambiguous to call me the protagonist of that book.

Just like Carroll, who is with me, is only named Lewis Carroll.

However, the Bellman tilted his head and continued.

“So what if that’s the case? Rather, we are hoping for such an Alice. After all, everyone is fake. Whether it’s Alice in Wonderland, Alice’s Adventures Under Ground, or Alice Through the Looking Glass. Whether she has black hair or blonde hair, it’s all ours. No, it’s all mine!”

“Just fakes…”

Carroll wavered at the Bellman’s words.

I shook Carroll’s shoulder hard to tell her to come to her senses, but Carroll kept immersed in her thoughts.

“So we embark on the Snark Hunt. Set sail on the sea of sorrow and obsession! Find the Boojum(Alice) as proof that we are not human!!!”

The guy who only spouts nonsense.

Yeah. I was a fool to believe that those who kill people at will would understand words.

Now, it doesn’t matter whether these guys are parallel world Lewis Carrolls or whatever.

I’ll return them all to nothing.

“Let’s have adventures together forever, Alice! Come this way too! Let’s wander the world forever!”

It’s a situation where many people clash.

I will summon as many monsters as possible that are relatively easy to summon.

Yes, first of all, it’s the Brocken spectre.

Instead of summoning Bill the Lizard this time, I’m going in a direction that only increases the damage.

The Snark Hunt sailors endlessly leaped out of the ship.

Their forces clash with the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons.

Urban legends were actually inefficient in fighting a war with a large number of people.

That’s usually the nature of urban legends.

Even so, there is a difference in class, so the monsters in the mirror are pushing back the Bellman’s forces.

“Lewis Carroll, join us. Let’s struggle together in this hell! You can’t become Dodgson either! Let’s continue Alice’s story together!”

“Me… the same as those guys? Don’t make me laugh!”

Carroll, enraged by the sailor’s words, took out her pen and drew in the air.

Then, the heads of dozens of sailors flew off.

She was hiding a weapon like that.

James is also responding quite well.

If things continue like this, it might be possible to suppress them.

“Hmm… a pen… quite special.”

Ting-! Ting-!

When the Bellman hit his head, the speed at which the sailors appeared from the ship increased.

Tch, it really seems to be coming out indefinitely.

In that case, if I can just blow away the master of the Snark Hunt.

If I can blow away the Bellman, I might be able to end this fight.

I didn’t kill the sailors blocking me from approaching the Bellman, but trapped them in the mirror.

However, the sailors who entered the mirror were able to get out of the mirror on their own.

Indeed, the characteristic of transcending worlds… does this mean that my mirror is treated as one world?

I guess I’ll have to use a more powerful method!

“From now on, I’m going to summon a special monster. There’s one that’s suitable for the situation.”

Fear is no different from evil from a person’s perspective.

Because it is an emotion that interferes with a peaceful life, but I have the power to deal with such an uneasy emotion and fight another evil.

Let’s summon a monster that can be used as a material from among the monsters that I summoned randomly to deal with the forces.

A bug-shaped monster, a monster about drugs, a monster about coercion, a monster about discrimination.

I combine these four types of monsters as if making dumplings.

It’s hastily made, so it’s not very efficient!

Colorful mushrooms sprouted around James, Carroll, and me.

What I’m summoning now is a monster that smokes a cigarette and sprays poison, leading to death.

The fear of history, of those who died from the poisonous gas called ideology.

“I call such a monster… The [Caterpillar].”

When the Caterpillar appeared, it sprayed equal poison on those in front who were forcing their ideologies and desires.

A mass-killing ability of a different nature from Bill the Lizard.

The history of poisoning the same humans by forcing their desires and ideologies in the past.

It is a gimmick monster that returns that in reverse.

The Snark Hunt sailors groaned from the poison.

Good. A path has opened.

Then Carroll, who was next to me, said.

“Alice. That hole in the wall. Can we blow that ship out there?”

“Huh? But even if we don’t do anything anymore, it seems like the end is close? But if you say so.”

I summoned monsters specifically for blowing things away.

If you focus only on the characteristic of blowing things away, you can blow away the entire ship with quite a powerful force.

But it seems like the summoned Caterpillar alone will be enough.

Aren’t those who are addicted to poison easily pushed back by the monsters?

If I can suppress the Bellman as it is, this situation will end.

“Do you know about Mock Turtle Soup?”

“What?”

Suddenly, he spoke with a gentle tone that didn’t feel any sense of crisis at all.

Is he talking about the Mock Turtle Soup from the Neapolitan ghost story?

If not.

“Mock Turtle Soup dishes. Terrapin Soup. It is said to taste like a mix of lobster and beef. If turtle meat was unavailable, a cow’s head was used to mimic the flavor. But in the end, the cow head could never become a sea turtle, so it cried and cried endlessly. Yes. Our Snark sailors are all fake sea turtles.”

Behind the Bellman, the appearance of a beast that mixed the appearances of a cow and a turtle appeared.

I feel a tingling sensation of murder and sadness.

When it opened its mouth and chewed the air, the Caterpillar was bitten and received major damage.

The Bellman deals with powers of a similar nature to monsters, but different.

It might be dangerous if it drags on for too long.

Because characters like me who summon something have an unknown ability to summon monsters with special abilities.

Did Carroll anticipate this?

That the other side also has considerable strategies.

If so, as Carroll asked, I have to blow that ship out.

“Hey! Bellman. You’re not easy. I’ll follow you as you say.”

“Oh. Really?”

“It’s a lie.”

I launched the prepared attack specialized in pushing at the Bellman’s ship.

The Bellman and his ship flew out without any resistance.

Then, Carroll wrote something in the air with a pen, and a light arose.

I feel a power similar to Pinocchio.

Reality manipulation?

“Defense system activated!”

What Carroll did was reactivate the branch’s defense system that the Bellman had blocked.

The firearms on the outer wall of the branch poured firepower at the ship all at once.

The Snark’s ship was shot down and burst into flames.

And Bellman and Snark Hunting, who disappeared after being burned in vain.

Is it over now?

Ting- Ting-

“…Tch.”

Boom!

With a loud roar, the ship reappeared.

“It didn’t work?”

“No. He definitely died… that’s a different Bellman.”

Another Bellman?

“Pleased to meet you. I am the Bellman, but please call me Lewis Carroll.”

Another bellman appears.

The continued Snark Hunt.

If there is a Bellman, the Snark Hunt continues.

If you defeat the Bellman, a Bellman appears from another world.

“We will appear infinitely. As long as there are other worlds.”

From another world, Lewis Carroll infinitely comes over to hunt Alice.

That is the Snark Hunt…

A chill ran down my spine.

This crazy obsession was more troublesome than the other Rulers, even if their class was lower.

“Just as society continues to force choices on children, you too must choose. Let’s go with us. Then this hunt can end. We will keep coming and stir up your world. You don’t want to kill so many people, do you?”

“…”

“The common thing about Alices is that they’re kind-hearted.”

“Appearing infinitely… since you’ve set your sights on me. Are you saying you’ll chase me forever?”

Tch. I don’t like it.

But if it’s like this, it will only continue to be a war of attrition.

Even if I get caught by them, I won’t get weaker, and it’s not like I won’t have a chance.

Rather, trying to break it from the inside might be a meaningful attempt.

The more time I have to prepare, the more advantageous I will be in the end.

The Bellman approaches me.

The moment he reaches out to take me.

Carroll blocked it.

The Bellman grabbed Carroll by the collar and lifted her up, as if feeling unpleasant.

“Don’t do that! Carroll! Even if I get caught, I’ll come up with a way to get back soon!”

“Good! Alice even gets angry for Lewis Carroll. I’m so so so jealous! Perhaps you are the closest to Dodgson among us.”

“I’m different from you guys.”

Hearing Carroll’s rebellion, the Bellman tilted his head excessively and spoke as if in anger.

“Hmm? What’s different? Isn’t there a desire in your heart to spend the rest of your life with Alice? You must be desperately missing that girl who’s dazzling in our eyes. But we weren’t Dodgson. We could only be damn Lewis Carroll!”

“I’m different!”

“!”

Carroll took out the pen she hid in her pocket and slashed through the air.

The Bellmans didn’t completely connect their memories, so he overlooked Carroll’s pen, and his head flew off.

But even then, a new Bellman would just cross over again.

Ting.

The fallen bell warned that a new Bellman was crossing over.

Should I seal this?

But even if it’s completely burned down, the Bellman appeared.

This meant that sealing it wouldn’t solve the problem.

Carroll muttered to me, who was agonizing, as if she was talking to herself.

“Alice. I think it’s really heartbreaking to know that I, who thought I was special among the fakes, was actually just like them.”

Immediately after, Carroll’s actions broke my expectations.

Carroll lifted the Bellman’s head and put the empty bell on her head.

No way.

“Carroll, you!”

The Bellman’s head stopped shaking and found its place.

The Snark’s sailors all stopped moving.

This was to announce that Carroll had become the new Bellman.

Even if I had been caught by the Bellman, I had the possibility of escaping on my own.

Carroll also knew that my status, who had defeated Rulers, was higher than the Bellman’s.

Even so, Carroll became the Bellman.

Why?

“Ting-ting. As expected, this is what I should do. The way to stop the Snark Hunt. It seems that only one Bellman can exist in this world.”

With that said, Carroll set sail.

Wait, where are you going?

“Carroll?! What are you doing! Come back!”

“Alice. I’m sorry. It may seem sudden and extreme. But this is something I need to do. To prove that I am different from these guys. This process is absolutely necessary for me. Ahaha…hahahahahaha! Wow! This feels amazing! I can hear so many voices! It seems all the Lewis Carrolls have the same thoughts!”

To Carroll, who started laughing as if she had gone crazy after wearing the bell.

I rushed in with the intention of forcibly tearing off that stupid bell, but Carroll just drove the ship away faster.

If I use the mirror to catch her…!

“No way.”

Carroll waved her pen in the air and shattered the mirror.

Is this also reality manipulation?

“I’m different! I waaaaaant….! Alice! No, I don’t want her! Actually I want her! Fake fake fake, all fake!”

Carroll’s expression, spewing out gloom, anger, and contradiction, was so unfamiliar.

Her body seemed to be turning transparent and disappearing somewhere.

Even if I use the mirror, I can’t stop her from disappearing completely.

Damn it, will Carroll also go to another world and start the Snark Hunt?

Why so suddenly!

Carroll, who was almost gone, suddenly said to me very calmly.

“When the end of the book approaches and the gates of hell open, I’ll see you there, Alice. I’ll tell you the rest of my story there. Until then… please wait.”

Leaving those words behind, Carroll disappeared.

After the Snark Hunt ended.

All that remained for us was the question about the end that Carroll was talking about.

It was just the Institution that suffered great damage.

I couldn’t prepare many illustrations for this episode… Pout.

Instead, I will put a lot of illustrations in the next episode.

I wonder what Carroll was thinking when she became Bellman? I don’t know either.

Edit: Thanks @Pat for finding an error.

As always, if you spot any mistakes, feel free to let me know—and I hope you enjoyed the read!

—Chip>