Chapter 33: Anomaly Catching Anomaly

How to Kill What Doesn't Die (7)

After the doll that burst through the wall and lunged at us.

It, looking like something straight out of a low-budget horror movie, raised its sharp arm attached to its shoulder, attempting to strike Sophia.

Just before that arm fell on her.

My body, moving reflexively, had already kicked it far away.

――Crack!

The sound of a hard object rupturing.

The doll, kicked by me, flew towards the far end of the hallway without resistance,

and soon reached the end of the hallway, crashing into the wall with a violent shattering sound.

―――Kuuuuuung!

A vibration that shook the entire hallway.

The doll twitched a few times as if a machine with a limited lifespan had malfunctioned, then completely stopped moving.

I, still frozen in the posture of kicking the doll, with my foot extended forward, was calmly assessing the situation I was in.

'Well, this is a problem.'

Great. I'm completely screwed.

I don't know what that thing is, but thanks to it, my plan to feign normalcy through a pitiful-girl-whatever act has completely fallen apart.

Of course, I don't regret saving Sophia.

Even though her actions have felt a bit burdensome lately, she was still someone who treated me with affection.

Besides, whether I'm close to someone or not, I'm not so callous as to just stand by and watch someone die in front of me.

That's something sociopaths or lunatics would do.

And unfortunately, I'm a perfectly sane human being.

'So, what the hell is that thing…'

I stared at the unidentified dummy doll embedded in the wall.

A doll that looked as if someone had torn off human limbs piece by piece and then pieced them together in a bizarre way.

If I were to evaluate it solely on its appearance, I might think it was a prop from a slasher movie with a disturbing worldview.

But the power to smash through thick walls and the cruel behavior of trying to kill people without hesitation.

And the reactions that Arthur and Sophia showed, told me that this situation was not a simple movie shoot or a Halloween surprise party.

"A, are you alive…?"

Sophia's voice, filled with fear, came from behind.

And I, reacting to her voice, turned around slightly.

There, she was just looking at me with an expression that was hard to describe, filled with questions.

"…"

Well, yeah, I guess so.

What she sees right now is just a tiny girl kicking a monster several times her size and sending it flying.

And if that's an undeniable fact, then I can understand her reaction even more.

So, what should I do from now on?

Should I confess that I'm a human who tore through dimensions and returned to my home?

Or should I continue to shamelessly pretend to be a girl who has lost her memory, as I have been doing so far?

"Sophia."

To be honest, I don't really know.

I don't even know what this situation is in the first place, and my brain isn't sharp enough to come up with clear answers to such ambiguous situations right away.

All I know right now is that some monster attacked this place, and the two of them were running away.

In that situation, the best choice I can make is to knock down the monster in front of me first.

"Run."

After saying that briefly, I slowly started walking towards the place where the doll was embedded in the wall.

I thought it had been neutralized by the earlier impact, but the fact that it had started twitching little by little from just now seemed ominous.

Above all, the numerous sounds coming from the other side of the hallway told me that this doll wasn't the only one.

"1, 19…?"

Her voice came from behind.

Is she worried about me?

Despite my saying to run, she called out to me as I walked away silently.

"You… could talk?!"

Truly devoted to her own curiosity.

But she asked me a question that was really inappropriate for this situation.

"…"

Well, that….

I don't really know what to say if you suddenly ask me something like that.

Is that really something you should be so curious about in this situation?

You almost died just a moment ago. Just run away to that safe house or whatever it is first, and ask me that later.

An unexpected question.

To answer that question, I stopped walking for a few seconds and tried to think of a suitable excuse.

"…Learned it."

I told her what I thought was the most appropriate thing I could think of right now.

Then, while pretending to be as normal as possible, I started walking forward again.

――Squeak, squeak

The doll starts moving again with the sound of creaking machinery.

Cracks spread like spiderwebs along the wall with a cracking sound.

The doll shook its body frantically, as if it were going to burst, trying to get out of the wall it was embedded in.

Soon, it tore the wall apart, scattering debris, and stomped its feet as if it were about to rush towards us right away.

'It's sturdier than I thought.'

I praised its durability with a sense of pure admiration.

Although I kicked it reflexively, I didn't even try to control my strength while considering its circumstances.

I thought it wouldn't be strange if most things were smashed on the spot.

Should I do an experiment to see how long it can last?

―――Squeak, squeak!!

Is it angry?

The sound coming from the doll is just the sound of machinery meshing together, but it somehow felt much more agitated than before.

Soon, the doll started a fierce charge, destroying the hallway and trampling everything in its path.

―Thump, thump, thump, thump!

The sound of heavy feet powerfully kicking off the floor.

The doll, rushing towards me without regard for the situation, like an angry bull charging towards a red flag.

Reminded of a bullfight, I stood in front of it, blocking its path for a moment.

Just before the doll touched me, I dodged its charge with minimal movement, like a skilled bullfighter.

Then, I kicked its leg with all my might.

―――Crack!

Fragments scatter.

Unlike before, when it was just cracked, the doll's leg is now completely shattered.

There was no way for it to maintain its balance any longer, having lost its leg in an instant.

Unable to stop its body from tilting forward due to the speed it was running at, it slammed its head into the ground with tremendous force.

――Crunch!

At the same time as stepping on the doll's head, I hear the sound of it being crushed to pieces.

I probably didn't need to do a final check, but I couldn't just stand by and watch this huge body slide towards the two people behind me at a tremendous speed.

The moment the doll fell, I stepped on its head with all my might, fixing it to the ground so that it could no longer move.

"…"

The doll's body twitches convulsively.

But that was its last movement, and it soon drooped down as if a string had been cut.

After confirming that its movement had completely stopped, I pulled my foot off the ground, away from it.

"…Aren't you going?"

When I finished dealing with the doll and looked behind me, I saw Sophia still standing there.

To be honest, it's troublesome for her to keep doing that, so I asked her, urging her slightly.

Only then did she realize that she was still in a dangerous situation, and she started tapping Arthur's cheek, who had hit his head against the wall and fainted from the shock, trying to wake him up.

"Arthur, Arthur! Are you alive?!"

"…Ugh, uh? What, Seonbae… What just――"

Fortunately, he only suffered a minor impact, and he soon began to open his eyes.

He looked around with sleepy eyes, seemingly not yet aware of the situation.

"W, whoaaaaat?!"

After seeing the shattered doll lying under me.

He remembered everything that had happened just before he lost consciousness, and he moved his body to desperately get away from it, startled.

"Calm down. It's all over. Look, it's completely broken."

"…Y, yeah."

Sophia pointed to the horribly broken doll and reassured him.

Arthur barely calmed down and continued to take deep breaths.

But soon, his terrified gaze turned into a questioning one, and he shifted his eyes towards me.

"…How?"

What do you mean, how? I just kicked it hard.

Of course, the answer he wants to hear from me isn't that simple.

Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time left for me to answer his question.

Perhaps realizing from the sound of numerous footsteps echoing from down the hallway that there was no time for leisurely Q&A, the two of them abandoned their fleeting questions and curiosities and began running in the opposite direction of the hallway to survive.

"Hurry, before it's too late."

The two of them started running towards the opposite end of the hallway where the footsteps were coming from.

Their faces revealed that they wanted to ask me so much, but as I said before, they didn't have the luxury to ask, let alone receive answers.

I feared that their running might slow down, so I reminded them once again of the urgency of the situation to prevent them from stopping.

---Thump, thump, thump---

The sound of numerous heavy footsteps approaching, and the sound of two light footsteps receding.

Sophia looked back at me with lingering attachment from time to time, but fortunately, Arthur grabbed her arm and tried to keep her from slowing down.

I raised my hand lightly to reassure her, waving until they disappeared down the hallway.

After the two of them disappeared.

Not long after, countless figures emerged from the opposite direction of the hallway.

---Creak, creak, creak---

---Creak, creak, creak, creak---

---Creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak---

Dozens of dolls, looking exactly like the one from before.

They all bore traces of being broken, shattered, and smashed, as if they had just come from a fierce battle.

As if that wasn't enough, they had arrived here in search of new victims.

—Crack

I grabbed the back of my neck with one hand and turned my head, and a light sound of bones interlocking rang out.

Sadly, I still had no idea what was going on here.

Suddenly, a loud siren went off, Sophia came to pick me up, and a strange doll attacked us, so I just kicked it away.

I had no idea what that doll was, or why it was so desperate to kill someone.

But… sometimes, there are things that can be solved just by smashing them.

For example, when you have to smash all the killer dolls filling the facility.

Or when you want to punish the person who ruined your plans and vent your anger.

Fortunately, those were things I was quite good at.

The swarm of dolls, having found their prey, began to rush towards me, tangling with each other.

The sight of them filling the hallway with all sorts of bizarre noises was like a tsunami engulfing this place.

I didn't even think about avoiding that tsunami rushing towards me down the hallway.

I ran towards them, throwing myself into the wave without hesitation.

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