10. Once I Escape, None of You Are Getting Away With This
Want to hear my thoughts after barely escaping the basement?
This place is heaven.
Not only did I have to run while carrying Holloway—
I climbed the stairs two at a time.
My thighs and basically every other part of my body were throbbing as though they were about to explode.
It felt as though someone had mistaken me for a drum and started pounding enthusiastically.
I was gagging because breathing itself had become difficult.
Holloway stroked my back.
I swallowed.
Then collapsed flat onto the floor.
Holloway sat beside me and began counting strands of my hair.
There’s some superstition that you die if someone counts every strand.
I slowly stole my hair back from his hands.
“Can those spirits kill you?”
“No.”
No?
“Then why did you run? They can’t kill you anyway.”
“They can kill big sis.”
“Ah……. Then why did you change into a child?”
I almost died carrying you while running.
Don’t people say humans display superhuman strength when survival is on the line?
Fortunately, I really had displayed some supernatural strength and managed to carry him.
Otherwise I would’ve collapsed ages ago.
“You said you wanted to protect me. I graciously gave you the opportunity.”
[Your ability to feel disbelief is currently being deleted in real time.]
It truly is.
[Every intruder has been killed by someone’s attack.]
That ‘someone’ was obviously a demon.
There was no information left for me to gather anyway.
Death-row prisoners wouldn’t know the current situation of noble families.
So I didn’t particularly care whether they lived or died.
Worse—
if they carelessly started talking about missing noble houses, that could create major trouble.
Anyone could tell they meant us.
I still didn’t know which noble houses had participated with the Emperor.
But I increasingly felt that us entering this place wasn’t a coincidence.
One or more of our families could be involved.
All of them could be.
None of them could be.
Or perhaps all three were wrong and it truly was coincidence.
I desperately wanted the last possibility.
My family’s ancestor participated in something like that?
I was fully confident I could dig up their grave and insult the corpse personally.
I was also willing to apologize to the demons and the victims……
Living without knowing and knowing but deliberately ignoring it were completely different.
Especially when this many victims existed.
Turning away wouldn’t be enough.
Anyway—
nothing was confirmed yet.
Until I uncovered everything, I absolutely had to remain silent in front of Holloway.
“Move, big sis.”
He forcibly pulled me upright.
I wanted to rest longer.
My body still hadn’t fully recovered.
When I staggered and couldn’t stand properly, Holloway asked curiously,
“You’re particularly weak toward children, aren’t you? Even though it’s only appearance. If someone hurts me while I look like this, you react especially strongly.”
Isn’t that obvious?
Now he naturally nestled against my waist.
I didn’t push him away.
“Adults are supposed to protect children.”
That was how I had been raised too.
“I was a child once too. Adults protected me, so I’m just carrying that forward.”
There was no particular reason.
Situations differed, but if someone was a child, I generally wanted to protect them.
And most importantly—
there was one extremely decisive reason.
“They’re cute. Children are cute even when they’re doing absolutely nothing.”
Children are adorable just for breathing.
“Am I cute?”
“Children are.”
“I’m a child.”
This shameless bastard……
Still—
of all the children I’d ever seen, he was definitely one of the cutest.
I didn’t bother denying it.
But I didn’t want to agree obediently either.
So I stayed silent—
gave one rapid nod—
then pretended nothing had happened.
Holloway watched and giggled.
“You look stupid.”
Want to fight?
***
Flinch!
“It’s only a doll.”
“I’m reacting because that doll is moving.”
I kept as much distance as possible from the rattling doll.
It didn’t help.
Apparently something had happened while I was underground.
The second-floor corridor now had dolls lined up in a neat row.
Animal dolls.
Human dolls.
All kinds.
Every one was filthy and blackened with grime.
Some had stuffing bursting out.
Several were stained with blood.
And every single one held the exact same knife.
If they were toy knives, I might’ve found them adorable.
I tried avoiding them as much as possible.
Apparently they realized I was conscious of them.
Every time I walked nearby, they desperately tried performing by violently shaking their bodies.
Rattle-rattle-rattle!
I hunched my shoulders and tried not to look.
Dolls are cutest when they stay still.
Do you know that?
The moment you move, you’re no longer a doll.
Especially if you move somewhere like this.
That becomes horror.
And if you’re holding knives too?
Big sis’s heart collapses tragically.
Please don’t use dolls to create horror.
Leave them as symbols of children’s happiness and joy.
“Were these toys Holloway played with? Could you tell them to please return to their dollhouse?”
Eventually I stopped completely and buried my face in my hands.
Holloway said one thing.
“Go back.”
“…….”
They aren’t moving.
His face remained perfectly relaxed even though they had completely ignored him.
“Were you joking?”
“I sincerely told them to go back.”
“Then why aren’t they listening?”
“Because of big sis.”
“Me……?”
What enormous crime did I commit this time?
Telling me not to stop walking, Holloway pulled me forward by my index finger.
“Ever since big sis arrived, everything has been a mess.”
“This hotel?”
“……Yes.”
What was that pause?
Is there some other kind of mess?
This was exactly when the system should’ve helped.
But ever since Holloway blocked access to his emotions, it no longer showed his thoughts properly.
Strangely enough, knowing what was inside his head had actually made me feel safer.
At least then I knew what to avoid.
Now I had to be careful while knowing nothing.
“What exactly is messed up?”
“Hmm……”
He exhaled thoughtfully.
Before he could answer—
the dolls suddenly began shaking violently in front of and behind us.
Then they sprang upright.
I instinctively stepped backward.
The dolls beside Holloway also rose and lunged at him.
Not me.
Holloway.
“Holloway!”
I released his hand and tried protecting him.
He didn’t move.
Instead—
he swept one hand through the air.
“……?”
―……?
The dolls and I exchanged confused looks in midair.
To explain—
the dolls that had boldly leapt toward him were all frozen in midair.
What kind of awkward eye contact is this?
―K-Kurang?
What sound is that?
Grarang?
Krarang?
While I pointlessly tried copying the doll’s noise, a weak gust brushed across my forehead.
Then—
BANG!
―Kurung!
Your scream is weird.
No.
That isn’t the issue.
The dolls that had charged Holloway were now embedded in the wall, twitching.
“…….”
“They’re attacking fearlessly like this.”
“Why……?”
“Who knows. This has never happened before, so even I’m not sure. Space keeps distorting too. Like when big sis suddenly gets transported. The flow of demonic energy is definitely strange.”
Holloway no longer bothered hiding how overwhelming his power was in front of me.
He didn’t explain himself after slamming adorable knife-wielding dolls into the wall with one gesture.
The dolls twitched.
Then suddenly vomited blood.
Slide.
Slither.
The embedded dolls slid down the wall.
Their burst stuffing turned red.
One by one, they stood.
The sight was so horrifying that I grabbed Holloway’s hand and hurried down the corridor.
The entire floor seemed to be like this.
I intended to go upstairs.
The faster I walked—
the faster the dolls followed.
Pikku.
Pikku-pikku-pikku!
Don’t chase me while making such cute noises!
My walk turned into a run.
While running beside me, Holloway asked with genuine curiosity,
“Why don’t you ask me to deal with them?”
“You?”
“Yes.”
“Why would I……?”
Demons had no obligation to protect humans.
And after seeing Holloway’s past—
I didn’t particularly want to force him to protect me.
I knew I wasn’t really in a position to demand that anyway.
From the moment I realized this was a horror game, I had never intended to rely on demon assistance.
Whenever I asked Holloway to do something, it was usually closer to joking.
I never truly expected him to do it.
“…….”
Strangely, Holloway went silent.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“No. Not really.”
Pikku-pikku-pikku.
Dolls these days are amazing……
Who knew there were dolls that made footsteps too?
“Are you slow because your legs are short?”
“Did you just criticize my leg length?”
I turned toward him in disbelief.
In the blink of an eye—
he had returned to his true form.
His signature long hair swept through the air.
Then he effortlessly lifted me.
“Huh?”
“Your legs are short.”
“Is this revenge?”
He didn’t answer.
Only the corner of his mouth lifted faintly.
Holloway lightly kicked against the floor.
In an instant—
we escaped the second floor and reached the third.
Everything happened so quickly I barely understood it.
Then he gently lowered me.
His large hand lightly wrapped around mine.
“Turn back into a child.”
“Saying that makes me not want to.”
“Then don’t.”
“Okay.”
That wasn’t supposed to happen.
For some reason—
I couldn’t stop thinking about our joined hands.
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