The bone chair suddenly collapsed with a loud crack, scattering pieces all over the floor. Natsuki and the others were caught off guard and tumbled to the ground.
"Ow," Chika groaned.
"My butt hurts," Rikka mumbled.
Yukino was still on top of Natsuki's legs. When the chair gave way, he instinctively hugged her tightly.
At that moment, as the villain emerged from behind Spider-Girl, the entire room began to shake.
"Dear guests, please exit other guests' rooms immediately," the puppet Billy suddenly announced, breaking its long silence.
It was clear that Spider-Girl wouldn't simply die after being exposed. She was about to go berserk. In gaming terms, the battle phase was about to begin.
Natsuki quickly got to his feet, still holding Yukino in his arms. He reached out to help up Chika:
"We need to get out of here, now!"
Amidst the chaos, Natsuki ran outside with the girls. After a few steps, he felt Yukino grow heavier in his arms. Looking down, he saw she had transformed back into her human form with long black hair.
"Seriously? That transformation lasted less than a minute. Even Ultraman can hold his form longer than that!" Natsuki thought to himself.
Yukino seemed a bit dizzy from the sudden change. She instinctively wrapped her arms around Natsuki's neck for support.
There was no time to set her down. Natsuki kept running towards the exit, carrying her. Thankfully, his recent shuttlecock practice had improved his stamina a bit, so he managed to keep moving despite the added weight.
When Yukino fully came to her senses, she squirmed slightly. Realizing the situation, she quickly calmed down and tried to steady herself to avoid hindering Natsuki's escape.
After what felt like an eternity, they finally made it out of the room.
"We made it," Chika panted, clutching her chest. "I thought I was going to burst back there!"
Natsuki resisted the urge to make a snarky comment about her choice of words.
He suddenly felt a piercing gaze boring into him. Kaguya stood there with her arms crossed, looking decidedly unamused.
"Natsuki," she said coolly, "how long do you plan on holding her like that?"
With a start, Natsuki realized he was still carrying Yukino in his arms.
"Sorry about that," he said sheepishly, gently setting her down on her feet.
"I should be the one apologizing," Yukino said calmly, taking a couple steps back to stand beside Rikka. She gracefully tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry for causing you trouble."
"No way," Rikka objected. "It's thanks to you that we managed to escape just now."
"I just happened to be sitting next to Chika," Yukino said, shaking her head. Her eyes briefly met Natsuki's before quickly looking away.
"Yukino?" Rikka asked curiously. "Why are you blushing?"
Yukino turned her face away. "I'm not."
"You totally are."
"..."
Natsuki had a pretty good idea why Yukino was blushing. In the rush to escape, his hand had... well, ended up in an awkward position. He could still feel that smooth touch on his palm.
"Natsuki seems reluctant to leave," Kaguya said with a smirk, folding her arms across her chest. Her tone was dripping with sarcasm.
Chika chimed in, "That Spider-Girl must be from Goosebumps. I read those books as a kid, but I can't remember the details. Anyway, she's probably furious now that we've exposed her." She wiped her forehead dramatically. "That was terrifying. I almost broke a sweat!"
"Yeah," Rikka nodded, peering at the puppet in Natsuki's hand. "This butler doll looks like it's from Goosebumps too. Same with the headless knight and that creepy maid we saw earlier. They all seem so familiar."
"I've read Goosebumps as well," Yukino added, her tone cool and detached despite her beauty. "Could these characters actually be from the books?"
Chika shook her head. "How could book characters show up in a game?"
"The fireplace," Kaguya said coldly.
Chika's eyes widened in realization. "You mean... the books we burned earlier?"
Rikka bit her lip, looking guilty. "If I'd known this would happen, I would've stopped everyone from burning those books."
"We don't know that for sure," Natsuki said calmly. "The closet thing is just a theory. Besides, we were freezing at the time. No one could resist the urge to start a fire to keep warm."
He thought to himself, "When people are desperate, they'll do anything... except math." He remembered an old saying about "drinking poison to quench thirst." Even knowing it would kill them, people would still choose to drink poison if they were thirsty enough.
It was the same with burning the books. Natsuki's body heat alone wasn't enough for everyone. Pushed to their limits by the cold, someone was bound to burn the books eventually.
"Wait a minute." Natsuki suddenly frowned, his gaze fixed intently on the pink-haired girl. He had just realized something that had slipped past him earlier.
"Natsuki-san, what's wrong?" Chika blinked, her expression puzzled.
"Did you just say you were sweating?" Natsuki asked seriously.
"I think I did…" Chika tilted her head, trying to recall. "It was really intense just now. The chair was getting tighter, and I almost couldn't breathe. I was so scared I broke out in a cold sweat."
Natsuki took a deep breath and then asked, "Are you cold now?"
"Huh?"
Chika looked startled by the question. She hesitated before answering, "I guess… I'm not cold anymore?"
Rikka raised her hand, chiming in, "I don't think I'm cold anymore either."
Yukino frowned slightly, lost in thought.
Kaguya, in her usual calm manner, remarked, "Indeed, it seems to have gotten less cold since we left the hall."
"There's something off here," Chika said, adopting a detective-like pose with her right hand under her chin, mimicking Conan. "We've been away from the fireplace for a while now. We should be freezing by now… There's definitely something wrong."
"…"
Natsuki silently turned his gaze toward the window. Outside, the sky remained shrouded in fog and darkness. A vicious snowstorm continued to rage, severely limiting visibility. It seemed as if the blizzard would never end, destined to last until the world's demise.
"Dear guests, time is running out," Puppet Billy spoke in a tone full of ominous implication. "Please make your way to the dinner as soon as possible. If you miss it, you will undoubtedly regret it."
Natsuki glanced at the puppet butler in his hand, and a prompt flashed before his eyes:
[You frowned, realizing the importance of the dinner, and decided to attend.]
Without hesitation, Natsuki said, "We should attend the dinner."
"A wise choice," Puppet Billy responded in an appreciative tone. "The dinner will be held behind the lobby on the first floor. Please proceed, guests."
"Let's go together," Chika suggested, stepping closer to Natsuki.
She trusted Natsuki deeply, and naturally, they would face whatever was ahead together. Kaguya followed suit, her trust in Natsuki unwavering. Even Yukino, though silent, opted to stick with the group.
"…"
The group made their way downstairs. As they reached the second floor, they suddenly encountered a girl running frantically, her face pale and her breathing ragged. Upon seeing Natsuki and the others, she rushed over and grabbed Natsuki's wrist tightly, as if clutching a lifeline.
"Someone died," she gasped, her voice trembling with fear.
The tension in the air thickened as the group gathered around the lifeless body of the boy. Chika, still shaken by the eerie smile frozen on his face, instinctively took another step back. Her usual cheerfulness was replaced by a palpable sense of dread.
Natsuki, crouched beside the boy, performed a quick check, his expression grim. "No breathing... No heartbeat," he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. "And his body temperature... It's very cold."
The reality of the situation settled over them like a heavy blanket. The boy, Izumi, was gone.
"How could this happen?" Rikka's voice trembled, her ahoge drooping as if mirroring her emotions. "We were just all together a little while ago…"
"There's something really wrong with this place," Yukino said, her tone icy and composed, though a hint of unease flickered in her eyes. "We need to stay on guard. Whatever did this could still be nearby."
Natsuki stood up, his mind racing to piece together what could have caused this sudden death. There were no visible wounds, no signs of a struggle. Just that unsettling smile…
"We can't stay here," Kaguya said, her voice firm. "We need to get to the dinner, like the butler said. It's the only lead we have."
Chika nodded, though her eyes were still fixed on Izumi's body. "Maybe someone there can help… or at least tell us what's going on."
With a heavy heart, Natsuki led the group away from the scene, glancing back one last time at Izumi. His thoughts lingered on the boy's strange expression. Whatever had happened to him, it was quick and silent. The kind of death that didn't give you a chance to fight back.
They continued down the corridor, each step filled with the uneasy anticipation of what might come next. As they approached the dining hall, the faint sound of clinking dishes and muffled voices drifted through the heavy wooden doors, contrasting sharply with the eerie silence that had followed them thus far.
Natsuki pushed the doors open cautiously, the others close behind. The dining hall was grand, its long table adorned with gleaming silverware and fine china. But there was something off about the atmosphere, something that sent a shiver down Natsuki's spine.
At the head of the table, a tall figure sat, their face obscured by shadow. The figure slowly turned to face them, and the room fell silent, save for the faint crackling of the fire in the hearth.
"Welcome, guests," the figure intoned in a voice that was both soothing and menacing. "I've been expecting you."
The group exchanged uneasy glances, knowing that whatever awaited them at this dinner was far more sinister than they could have imagined.