~Chapter 90~
“What kind of place is this?”
I looked down at my hand and asked Damien.
“My power erased that thing, so it really was a curse…”
“I think so too.”
But aside from confirming that the thing we fought was a curse, we still had no clue what this space really was.
“Maybe the rumors about people disappearing were true.”
“Or maybe it’s the opposite.”
After wiping the ice cream off me, Damien took my hand and led me.
“Perhaps the curse fed on the fear created by those rumors, and that’s how it grew this large.”
It was possible.
After all, the “New Groom Curse” that drifted into our mansion before had been the same case.
“Let’s look around more first.”
The festival space looked the same as before we entered the haunted house—except now there wasn’t a single person around.
But strangely, some things had changed.
The booth that used to say “Haines’ Hat Shop” now read:
[Haines’ Hat Shop Haunted House]
And the little perfume store “Lillia’s Scent” had changed to:
[Lillia’s Scent Haunted House]
“Could it be… that every shop turned into a haunted house?”
“Seems that way. They’re all changed now.”
“Hmm.”
I put my hand on my lips, thinking.
“It’s nice that the whole festival is like one giant haunted house… but…”
The problem was, since curses were involved, we couldn’t confirm how safe it actually was.
“Let’s try returning to the real world.”
“Right. Since we came here through that haunted house, let’s search it again first.”
So we entered the same haunted house once more.
This time, unlike the first, we carefully examined everything, hoping to find a clue back.
But nothing seemed strange. Nothing had changed…
Except for one thing.
“Damien.”
I pointed at the bloody words glowing on the floor.
[Did you step into this place?]
[Oh dear.]
[There is no way out.]
“There are flies.”
The first time we entered, there were no flies.
Now, bugs buzzed all around.
“That’s… real blood.”
Damien bent on one knee and studied the writing closely.
“Ruby, you’re right. Someone may have really been sacrificed here.”
It didn’t look good.
We didn’t know how many people had gone missing, or how big this strange space really was.
“Let’s keep looking around.”
For a moment, I hoped that leaving through the exit would take us back to the real world.
But once we stepped outside, it was still the same—an empty festival street.
‘So, we can’t find an exit through this haunted house…?’
We decided to search other places for a way out.
“Hmm, Damien. How about that one?”
I pointed to a shop sign: “Madam Ernheart’s Illusion Boutique Haunted House.”
Damien nodded, and we immediately opened the door.
“Excuse us.”
No one was inside here either.
No clerks, no customers.
That was probably why the shop felt darker than outside, even though sunlight was shining.
‘Something feels off.’
And strangely, above the counter, rows of mannequin legs were on display—stockings and socks on them.
Because daylight came through, I could tell they were mannequins, but at night… they would look like real people sitting there.
“Creepy.”
Damien followed me toward the counter.
Then—
Clack, clack, clack—
The mannequin legs perched on the beam above the counter all began moving at once, rattling.
Legs without torsos shook and clattered together—it was eerie.
‘Normal people would’ve had a heart attack.’
I was actually impressed.
They managed to create fear without blood or jump scares—just everyday props.
When we didn’t react, the legs stopped moving, as if satisfied, and returned to stillness.
Thump, thump.
Turning around, I saw torsos of mannequins bouncing toward us.
Some were dressed in dresses, others were bare.
Headless, legless torsos crowded behind us, bending forward as if to demand our attention.
When we still didn’t look scared, they retreated, then bent forward again, trying harder to frighten us.
Some even jumped, making loud thud, thud sounds.
But since we truly weren’t scared, the mannequins sagged and slowly returned to their places.
“Uh, wait!”
I suddenly felt bad for them and called out.
“Can you show us again?”
The mannequins’ shoulders lifted.
If they had heads, their eyes probably would’ve sparkled.
“Damien.”
I tugged lightly on his sleeve and whispered. He nodded in understanding.
So we both turned toward the entrance.
When we glanced back inside, the mannequins were already back in place, as if nothing happened.
“Oh, what kind of shop is this? Must’ve been a clothing store.”
“Indeed.”
Though his voice was stiff and his face expressionless, Damien tried to match my tone.
At the counter, I leaned closer toward the mannequin legs.
Immediately, they rattled loudly.
Clack, clack, clack!
“Kyaaaah!”
I screamed, covering my mouth.
I poked Damien, who was standing there blankly, and he finally started acting surprised.
“Wow. I. Am. Truly. Surprised.”
That was about the best he could do.
I grabbed him and stepped back, pretending to be frightened—then thunk, a mannequin tapped my shoulder.
Thump, thump, thump!
“Kyaaaaah!”
I screamed again as torsos lunged at me.
Finally, the mannequins seemed happy, jumping more energetically.
“…That should be enough, right?”
I rolled my eyes slightly toward Damien, whispering so the mannequins wouldn’t notice.
“Yes. They must be satisfied now.”
He looked down at the bouncing mannequins and spoke.
“Unlike the ice cream curse, these ones don’t seem murderous. They just want to scare people.”
I felt the same.
That’s why we didn’t destroy them—instead, we played along.
‘Maybe we can even get information from them.’
I walked up to the mannequins.
“Hey, everyone.”
They creaked as they turned to me.
“Thanks for the amazing show. That was the best haunted house of my life.”
Thump, thump, thump, thump!
The mannequins bounced wildly in joy.
Thump, thump—crash!
One slipped and fell flat.
Damien sighed but helped the poor thing back up.
Then it bounced away to the display stand—and smashed the glass with its torso.
Another mannequin pulled out a necklace from the broken case.
A beautiful silver necklace set with amethyst.
“Oh? Is this for me?”
I asked, and the mannequins bobbed up and down furiously.
“Hmm, thank you, but… I want something else. Could you give me that instead?”
The mannequins tilted, confused.
They couldn’t guess what I wanted if not the jewelry.
“We want to ask you something.”
I spoke toward the bouncing mannequins.
“Is there a way to leave this place?”
The mannequins froze.
They looked troubled, like they didn’t know how to answer.
Then—splat.
A streak of blood spread across the floor.
“Damien!!”
I panicked, but realized Damien had calmly cut his own palm, letting the blood drip down.
“Hey, leg. Use this to write.”
One black mannequin leg swooped down, dipped its foot in Damien’s blood, and wrote:
[No]
Damien frowned deeply.
Seeing his terrifying gaze, the mannequin leg quickly added:
[We want to leave too]
[But something is keeping us trapped]
“Who’s keeping you here?”
The mannequin leg trembled violently, struggling as it wrote out its answer.
