Han's teeth were blown out, they hit the floor and rolled by inertia. Han himself fell off Ki's back.
"Han!"
"Aaaaahh!"
[God, am I still conscious?! Why couldn't I just pass out and die in an unconscious state? Damn witch, because of her, I'm already used to being knocked out of my head...]
The doll interrupted Han's thoughts. With a monstrous creak, the mannequin shook the ground with a new blow. Han managed to roll over. His bloody mouth twisted in a panicked grimace. The guy forgot about the pain, because a faceless mannequin filled his mind.
Ki was lying nearby with broken legs. Han didn't even notice how his friend's legs were destroyed.
The dummy straightened up and froze, studying Han with an emotionless, empty, bloodthirsty gaze.
Han would have shivered, but his heart was barely beating. Mangaka couldn't even shake. Stupor. Fear. Salty taste in the mouth with hints of pain…
The dummy stood motionless. [What... what is he waiting for? He didn't kill us? Can… Maybe he is subject to that red witch? Or is this idol just having fun?]
"What is happening? Han woke up from a painful shock."
The doll rushed at his voice.
A cold heat pulsed in Han's skull. [Did he think he had finished us off? Is this an echo location? A rumor?] Mangaka's brain was working in a hurry, looking for a solution to the problem. [Does it react to movement or sound? Like a bat or an anakar? Can I distract him?!!]
The guy took off his shoe and threw it.
[Ki, be quiet!]
The shoes clattered next to Ki. The dummy hit the same place. [Damn it! I was lucky that I wasn't as loud as my shoes when rolling.] Han turned slightly pale.
Ki looked at the frozen mannequin and the flattened shoe. [The monster doesn't attack. Does it not see me, does it think that it has defeated me? It looks like anakar. Wow, we got lucky with the monster. However, how to defeat him?] Ki turned slowly to look at Han. The poor guy lost his teeth, but was not in a near-death state.
Then Ki took advantage of the moment and studied the enemy. [A rather old doll with creaking wooden hinges. It is unlikely that she has blood and a sense of pain. Without a head, this monster can survive, I think. Necromancers from Ugonia are capable of this. Of course, we are not in Despair, but it is worth considering that decapitation is a bad idea.]
Ki looked at Han again and slowly raised his finger in a certain direction. Mangaka reached for his shoe.
[I hope your plan, whatever it is, will work, Ki Bai.]
The shoe flew and clattered. The mannequin furiously attacked him, so carelessly opening the cultivator's rear.
Ki jumped up on his hands and swooped down on the dummy. Tearing the muscles, dispersing the blood, the cultivator broke the doll's first joint, the second, the thread, the palm entered the fourth and stuck for half.
[Orbits' Urine!]
The mannequin's hands crashed. The leg with the surviving joint kicked the cultivator in the stomach, almost squeezing the intestines through the throat.
"Aaaa!" Without feelings, Ki hit the wall of dolls.
- - ->
- - ->
- - ->
Noise. Screeching. The dolls moved in columns, the maze is changing. Myriad corridors were born and died. A Pale Girl in the arms of a White Being was rapidly climbing the walls of mannequins.
A huge steel fist was falling on them. The wall cracked. The details of the dolls: hinges and limbs-flew up.
The essence and the girl rolled down into the bottomless tunnel. They managed to catch on the hands and feet of the dolls. Splinters are falling from the sky. The walls of the maze have changed. The two walls closed, almost crushing the girl with the White Essence. Both managed to get out from under the blow in time and survive.
The abyss was noisy. From her throat rose the hand of the ebb of steel, bringing death and doom.
"Lan, shedeh!" The girl took out a mushroom with cockroach legs from the eyed book and threw he. The mushroom with cockroach legs landed on the iron and crawled to the joints of the giant hand.
A white flash. The shoulder joint was covered with burning porcini mushrooms, but this could not stop the mannequin.
The pale little miss was running away with the White Entity.
The latter grinned and hissed at the unkillable hand. The walls of the maze were shaking. Dolls fall on the heads of the girl and the entity. The entity tried to cover the girl, one of the limbs of the wooden doll hit Miss on the cheek.
A gray bruise spread over the pale face.
And the steel hand was ready to smear the girl on the wall.
But suddenly the huge hand tilted sideways. Under the onslaught of the mycelium, the burning mushrooms of the puppet's elbow joint burst with a bang.
The maze quieted down. The puppets closed the gap with their bodies. Their heads were covered with boards. The places of the broken ones were filled with dolls that came out of the interior of the maze.
Soon, all the destruction disappeared like a raid of a nightmare.
The pale girl sat there, breathing hoarsely. The entity sat down next to it, so that it was back to back. Feeling the confused breath of the White Being behind her back, the girl smiled. "Yaro limi ku."
The White Being chuckled.
<- - -
<- - -
<- - -
The cultivator was barely breathing. Han's face was covered with a slimy layer of fear and sweat. He was left alone with the dummy.
The dummy rose to a functioning limb. From the outside, he looked like a helpless invalid, but this invalid almost knocked the guts out of Ki.
[How... how can I defeat him?!]
Two mannequin hands were lying on the floor. Han calculated the time, prepared his tired body for the last jerk. Mangaka took off his kimono as slowly as possible, fearing to provoke the mannequin, which was apparently put on him while he was sleeping.
[Let's play baseball, creepy mannequin?.. Go ahead!]
Han got up slowly and began to walk quietly and unhurriedly. One centimeter in sixty seconds. Mangaka was heading towards the broken arms of the mannequin.
[He shouldn't notice me, what?]
The mannequin noticed Han's movements, because no matter how hard the guy tried, he was scared and could not completely control the pace of walking.
A faceless doll jumped up to the mangaka.
"Come on! Let's see who's who!"
Han waved the kimono, slapped the clothes on the floor and stomped loudly. The dummy took the kimono for an opponent and hit it, tearing it.
Han continued to wave and whip the remnants of the torn kimono and run. The guy ran to the doll's broken arms.
The dummy jumped from behind.
"No, you have no time, wooden utyrok!" With one blow, mangaka broke the last leg joint.
The mannequin fell down as if shot. He was kicking, unable to get up.
"Aaaaahh!" Mangaka pounded and pounded until the dummy froze forever.
Han spat a piece of rotten wood out of his mouth. A small black insect was watching him from the gaps between the dolls, but the guy did not notice.
"My mom was a great batter. Ha-ha-ha... Ha... Ki, how are you there? Damn, and what should I do now I don't even have a first aid kit, and Ki has broken legs and ribs."
Gentle but cold fingers were laid on Han's shoulder. And a familiar female voice whispered in my ear. Goosebumps ran along Han's spine. He screamed, swinging the broken arm.
The lady in red moved away, with the ease of a crimson-dawn breeze.
"It's your fault that Ki Bai is in such a state! I'm sure that mannequin is your handiwork, you despicable witch.
The lady shook out the red hood and smiled at Han, then looked at Ki Bai.
"Oh, kui treegh watareh to?" Bihah yohkah!" The woman feigned shock.
"Damn witch!"
[Can I harm her? If she was driving one dummy, how about five, twenty... a hundred? And these snakes, too. She hasn't killed me yet just because... is she getting high from bullying me? Or is there another reason?]
Han threw away the mannequin's broken arm and looked at Ki bitterly.
A small black insect flew over Han and the lady, buzzing merrily, it descended on the bully's glove. The big man put it under his black hat and clapped at Han, smiling broadly.
"Shtormeh, Akh Kipa! Ha-ha-ha! Bihah shtormeh dahgah!"
The bully went to the guy, smoke curling behind the man's back, taking on a living shape.
Hana backed away in fear.
[Will he kill me?]