Chapter 997: Chapter 25 Volume 3 Videotape_2

Sato’s brother was replying.

“Uh-huh, I think I’ve heard about this rumor too.”

“It caused quite a stir at the time, but in the end, it was dismissed as a filming accident and then it just fizzled out.”

Fujiwara, who was driving, said.

“How come I didn’t know about it?”

Saiko’s eyes widened.

“Because, you weren’t paying attention to this kind of stuff back then, right?”

Sato’s brother said with a smile.

“That’s true.”

Saiko nodded.

The next five minutes of the recording consisted of such mundane conversations, nothing attracted Sato’s attention until a tunnel appeared in front of the camera.

“We’re here!”

Sato’s brother announced, then lifted his wrist, showing his watch.

“It’s midnight, the perfect time for ‘urban legends’, let’s get moving.”

With an excited and anticipatory tone, mixed with a tinge of fear, Sato’s brother spoke.

The car slowly moved on.

The tunnel loomed closer.

Although there were lights inside the tunnel and streetlights on both sides of the road, Sato, watching this scene, felt an inexplicable sense of nervousness.

He couldn’t help tugging at his collar, unbuttoning the top button of his school uniform.

As the car entered the tunnel, Sato couldn’t help but hold his breath.

Then…

Nothing happened.

The car smoothly passed through the tunnel.

“Nothing happened?”

“Another fake one?”

As Saiko spoke on screen, Sato let out a sigh of relief.

He thought the same.

“Urban legends, after all.”

“It’s quite normal.”

“Remember when we went looking for that walking mannequin? We ended up failing and being chased around the athletic field by the school’s security guard.”

Sato’s brother showed a helpless expression.

He then turned the camera, and in the manner of a show host, began to sum things up.

“‘Summer Seminar’ 33rd adventure… a failure.”

While Sato’s brother pronounced their failure and bowed in apology, before he could straighten up, Fujiwara said, “Hey, there’s someone ahead!”

“Where?”

Sato’s brother asked, the camera naturally panning around.

Immediately, Sato saw the woman mentioned by Fujiwara on the screen.

A woman in white clothes, with disheveled hair, walking at the edge of the road.

“That’s a bit scary!”

Saiko, Sakurako’s timid voice could be heard.

Sato’s brother and Fujiwara remained silent, but Sato could clearly hear their breathing quicken.

“Shall we accelerate and drive past her?”

Saiko suggested.

This proposal was agreed upon by everyone.

Buzz!

The roaring sound of the engine, Sato could hear it clearly through the television screen.

The car quickly sped past the woman in white.

Phew!

This exhaled breath echoed inside the car.

Sato’s brother placed the videotape camera on the co-driver’s dashboard.

Suddenly, Sato’s eyes widened.

Because–

A face appeared against the car’s rear window.

Staring straight at the four people inside.

The pupils were filled with bloodshot veins.

The cheeks were pale as snow.

That mouth was slightly open, revealing deep darkness.

At that moment, the filming came to an abrupt halt.

The screen froze on that face.

As if it were stuck to the TV screen itself.

Huff, huff!

Sato was breathing heavily, and it took him a full three seconds before he shakily reached out to turn off the TV.

Was this how his brother and friends died?

Sato thought instinctively.

Then, his gaze shifted to the remaining two videotapes on the table.

What’s in these?

Thinking to himself, Sato’s hand involuntarily picked up the second tape and inserted it into the VCR.

He turned the TV on again–

“Surprise!”

Sato’s brother, Fujiwara, Sakurako, Saiko stood in line in front of the videotape camera, showing surprised faces.

“Did we scare you just now?”

“If being scared was unpleasant for you, we apologize.”

“This is just a standard initiation test.”

“Of course!”

“The fact that you can watch this video tape proves you’ve passed.”

Sato’s elder brother said with a face full of apology.

Fujiwara, Sakurako, and Saiko also bowed together.

Then a woman in white, with disheveled hair, appeared.

She kept bowing too, and it wasn’t until she removed the wig that they realized she was actually Shimura Tetsuya.

The five of them stood side by side and said in unison–

“Welcome to the ‘Summer Seminar’!”

That was where the video tape ended.

Looking at the smiling faces of the five on the screen, Sato was dumbstruck.

It was all just an initiation test?

This kind of initiation test…was really quite frightening.

The elder brother hadn’t said a word about it beforehand.

Was it a secret?

Those who joined must have kept it a secret.

Were those who got eliminated too embarrassed to speak of it?

Was Shimura Tetsuya showing me this tape because one must join the ‘Summer Seminar (Ghost Stories)’ and get recognized before it could be disclosed to me?

Sato thought, reaching for the third video tape.

Shasha shasha.

Unlike the previous footage, this time it was full of static.

After several seconds, the static finally cleared.

A well appeared on the TV screen.

The whole scene was black and white.

Overgrown with withered branches.

Incredibly bizarre.

It had to be said, this shot was many times more powerful than the previous ones.

Sato inwardly marveled.

And then, when a hand stretched out from the dried-up well, that sense of bizarreness reached a climax.

But Sato wasn’t very scared.

After the build-up with the first two tapes, he figured this was an ‘easter egg.’

A twist after being inverted.

It scared you first, then told you it was just for initiation, and now another tape suggests that joining here means being ‘cursed’ or something.

Of course, at the last moment, someone would explain it was a joke.

That’s what Sato thought.

So while he watched a woman climb out of the well bit by bit, although his palms sweated with tension, there was no screaming or fear… until…

The woman came closer.

Closer and closer.

And closer still.

As she almost seemed to press against the screen, Sato couldn’t help but swallow.

But immediately, that swallow choked him.

Because the woman came out!

A hand!

Through the screen!

Just like that, she came out!

This, this, this!

Sato was frozen in place, his eyes wide with terror.

“Ah ah ah ah!”

A scream burst forth uncontrollably.

Outside the door, Shimura Tetsuya heard such a scream.

He locked the activity room door without hesitation.

Then turned around, utterly indifferent.

“The fourth one!”

Muttering to himself as he counted, a vicious smile appeared on Shimura Tetsuya’s face.

Suddenly, a handful of liquid with an irritating odor splashed across his face.

It was pepper spray!

Shimura Tetsuya thought reflexively.

But the stinging pain spread from his eyes, forcing him to the ground, hands over his face.

“Ah ah ah ah!”

Another scream as intense as Sato’s echoed.

Inside the activity room, Sato, who had been screaming, was stunned.

But of course, the main reason was that a tall, muscular silhouette had appeared before him.

In his mind, among the people he knew, even Fujiwara was considered tall and strong, but he seemed like a child compared to this shadowy figure.

Under the dim light of the activity room, Sato could clearly see the corner of an ice hockey mask.

Even just a glimpse of it sent chills down his spine.

It was a fear deeper than seeing the woman trying to crawl out of the tv set.

Afterward, he fell from his chair onto the floor, shivering.

Because the tall, muscular silhouette had actually grabbed the hand that was reaching out of the TV. After a series of swallows, a voice filled with hunger resounded–

“Caught you!”