Chapter 12: Attack of the Mannequins!
Miura Yumiko walked along the road to school, her steps quick, almost like she was running.
Although no one was chasing her, her expression held a hint of worry and panic.
She kept glancing back at the empty street behind her.
The usually bustling road was now devoid of a single living soul.
The presence of people seemed to have been sliced away from the street.
But the voice calling her name kept echoing in her ears, getting closer and more frequent.
Remembering the strange events that had happened at her house before, she became vigilant.
She quickened her pace, wanting to get off this street as fast as possible.
Just then, a sudden, clear gust of wind blew over.
Miura Yumiko instinctively shielded her eyes with her arm, trying to block the dust.
The wind whipped her skirt around, outlining the beautiful shape of her legs.
Soon, the alert Miura Yumiko sensed something was wrong.
Why was this wind mixed with the smell of damp earth and rotten wood?
She was on a concrete paved road!
How could a sunlit street have this kind of smell?!
Miura Yumiko thought it was her imagination.
But the smell clinging to her nose and mouth, like foul mud being stir-fried in a pot, was undeniably real.
Peeking through the gap in her arm, she slowly opened her eyes a little wider.
And then she froze.
What met her eyes wasn't the usual ordinary street.
The tall surrounding walls were gone too.
Instead, there stood an ancient castle beneath a sky full of dark clouds.
The sky, which had been clear and sunny just moments ago, was now completely overcast.
The surrounding earth, mixed with decaying plants, gave off a putrid stench.
"Miura Yumiko."
That strange voice sounded again, calling her name.
The bizarre change of scenery, the real smell perceived by her senses, the deep whisper drilling into her ears.
Her face turned pale and weak.
Miura Yumiko used the last ounce of her strength to tell herself: everything before her was just a terrifying illusion born of fear.
But the sense of reality processed by her mind pinned her reason and struggle to the ground, grinding them relentlessly, telling her that all of this was absurdly, ridiculously... real.
And so, Miura Yumiko numbly pushed open the castle gate.
As if she had been here many times before, she wandered familiarly through the ancient castle, heading steadily upwards...
A crackling fireplace, animal head trophies hanging high on the walls...
She walked down a corridor lined with countless rooms...
As if hypnotized, she didn't know how long she walked, until the sound of a cat's meow reached her ears.
"Meow."
Her dazed mind struggled and broke free from the confusion.
"Fake! This is fake!"
Like a sudden enlightenment, her mind saw through everything before her.
She returned from that ancient castle back to reality.
"Ah!" Miura Yumiko screamed in terror, her eyes wide, staring at everything before her in the real world.
Before her stood rows upon rows of mannequins.
Black and white mannequins scattered haphazardly, their bodies covered in scorched black marks.
Although they were faceless mannequins, Miura Yumiko could still feel the presence of living beings from these inanimate objects.
Their featureless heads seemed to stare at her through the plastic faces, filled with malicious intent.
Miura Yumiko trembled uncontrollably, her legs frozen as if under a spell, unable to move.
Click— Clack!
The mannequins moved.
Manipulating their stiff limbs, they approached Miura Yumiko like beasts.
Even from a distance, Miura Yumiko could smell the scent of burning plastic coming from them.
As the mannequins continued to move, their solid plastic limbs seemed to come alive, gaining joints and manipulating their bodies with eerie flexibility.
Faster and faster...
"Help... Stay away," Miura Yumiko's voice choked with tears.
She pushed herself against the nearby wall, gathering her remaining courage, and lifted her leaden legs to flee in panic.
It proved that once the initial shock wore off, fear couldn't completely restrain human action.
Miura Yumiko's pace quickened.
As someone who exercised regularly, her speed increased rapidly, far outpacing the pursuing mannequins.
Feeling slightly relieved, the panicked girl saw the stairs just ahead...
But as she ran, she suddenly felt something hook around her ankle.
Her body, restricted by her ankle, uncontrollably pitched forward.
Her knees slammed hard onto the filthy ground, and she couldn't help but cry out in pain.
"Ah! It hurts."
Miura Yumiko clutched her injured leg, looking at the familiar blonde-haired doll that had appeared at her feet.
She couldn't remember when she got this doll, but she vaguely recalled it belonged to her.
Yet now, it had appeared here and tripped her.
Could it be that the soft whispers in the night before were its doing?
"No," Miura Yumiko watched the slowly approaching mannequins, her eyes growing wetter.
She pushed herself backward with her hands, inching towards the stairs behind her.
"Help—!"
...
Following the marker from the [Event Card], he slowly reached the destination.
Although he might be late today, he couldn't worry about that now.
Looking at the commercial building abandoned for years, Luke walked straight in.
The moment his foot stepped inside the building.
"Ouch ouch ouch—!" Luke jumped up in pain.
He felt a burning sensation in his abdomen.
Luke quickly lifted his shirt.
The talisman he once wore there had now turned into paper ash, which he brushed off onto the floor.
His specially made clothes hadn't caught fire from the burning talisman.
This talisman, which he used to warn him of nearby evil spirits, had now burned completely.
Looks like this challenge was supernatural-related.
It had been a long time since this talisman had been ignited.
Seems like things were going to be troublesome today.
The next second.
The peach wood sword appeared instantly in his hand.
Luke gripped the weapon tightly, focused his spiritual senses, and climbed the stairs, following the direction the malice emanated from.
"Help—!"
The cry for help sounded strangely familiar.
Luke quickened his pace.
With light steps, he ascended the stairs easily, covering a floor in just two or three bounds.
Soon, he saw a fallen blonde girl, and a mannequin with its arm outstretched?
No time to react.
He charged forward immediately.
Against evil spirits possessing objects like this, the peach wood sword wasn't very effective.
Retracting the peach wood sword, he pulled out the Book of Strength.
"F=ma!"
He threw a punch with all his might, striking the mannequin.
Like being hit by a car, the mannequin's chest caved in, and it flew backward.
The evil spirit possessing it was directly knocked out, and the mannequin returned to its normal, unremarkable state.
The sound of the impactful blow faded.
Miura Yumiko, through tear-blurred eyes, saw Luke standing beside her, holding a book in his left hand, and his right hand clenched into a fist.
"You, you..."
"Hmm?" Luke turned his head.
Oh, it was a familiar face.
"Oh, it's Miura-san. I thought the voice and figure looked familiar. Don't worry, I took care of that thing."
Having survived such a terrifying encounter, Miura Yumiko was speechless now.
She could only shake her head frantically, numbly pointing towards the other side.
"Hmm?" Luke followed her pointing finger curiously, turning his head.
And then he saw a whole group of similar mannequins.
"..."
"..."
Oh, so it wasn't just one.
Luke and Miura Yumiko stared wide-eyed at each other.
He then spoke, "Do you think if I apologize, they'll let me off?"
...
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