"Hey, hey, hey! Why are there more evil spirits now?" Chika immediately panicked. "Amamiya-kun, what should we do?"
The two scarecrow-like guards moved toward the puppet clown with an eerie, stiff gait. Suddenly, dry straw started spilling out from under their ragged cloaks, spreading rapidly across the floor like tree roots, sweeping toward the group.
"Don't panic when things get tough," Amamiya said calmly, his gaze moving to the others. "This is a time to rely on collective strength. Does anyone here have the ability to handle those two scarecrows?"
"No."
Everyone shook their heads.
"That's an evil spirit! How could an ordinary person deal with something like that?"
One female player, clearly frightened, pointed an accusing finger. "The evil spirits usually don't attack us right away! You must have angered the clown butler!"
"Yeah, exactly!" another player chimed in. "We should've just listened to it. This is all your fault!"
"..."
Under the pressure of fear, their fragile alliance quickly fell apart.
Amamiya barely had time to consider capturing the clown butler, and now everyone's focus had turned to Chika.
"I... I'm sorry..." Chika bit her lower lip, feeling wronged.
Kaguya frowned. She could criticize Chika, but she wasn't about to let others do it.
"Chika-chan didn't do anything wrong!" Takanashi Rikka protested. "Stop blaming her!"
"I've come up with a plan," Amamiya suddenly announced.
"A plan? What is it?" Everyone's eyes were on him now, desperate for a solution.
"It's simple. This has turned into a game of hide-and-seek." Amamiya stretched his limbs, giving Kaguya a quick, knowing glance before grabbing Chika's right hand and dashing off. "I'll run first as a sign of respect!"
"Eh? Hey! Wait—what?"
As Amamiya pulled her along, the pink-haired girl had no choice but to follow him, her legs moving automatically. "Are we really running away now?"
What else?
If you could turn everyone into "Don," they'd quickly find out what it meant to deal with trouble head-on. But the problem was, Amamiya's special skill set—designed for one-on-one combat—was ineffective against multiple enemies. It was like a mid-lane mage: capable of eliminating solo threats in seconds, but if there was more than one enemy, it was time to fold.
Kaguya had understood Amamiya's plan from the brief exchange of looks. Without hesitation, she followed him.
The remaining players stood in stunned silence, then, after a beat, they realized what was happening and bolted, scattering in all directions.
There were only two scarecrow guards, and the castle was huge. As long as they were lucky, the odds of getting caught weren't high.
What started as a survival game for the group had now turned into a free-for-all escape mission.
Amamiya led Chika up to the second floor. When they rounded a corner in the dim corridor, they suddenly came to a halt.
On the eerie, dimly lit floor was a massive insect, about the size of a washbasin. When it noticed them, it reared up and let out a chilling, hissing sound.
"A facehugger?!" Chika shrieked in alarm.
That didn't make sense—facehuggers shouldn't be this big. And they definitely belonged in spaceships, not in medieval castles.
In the poor lighting, Amamiya couldn't make out the details clearly, but the creature... Why did it look suspiciously like a river crab?
"Ugh!"
"What a terrifying bug!"
Other players who had been chased to the second floor by the scarecrows gasped at the sight of the creature. Without a word, they quickly turned and fled in the opposite direction, deeper into the castle.
"Let's head to the third floor," Kaguya suggested, frowning.
The sight of such a large insect made it clear that getting close wasn't an option.
"Upstairs it is," Amamiya agreed, leading the group up to the third floor.
By this point, the players had split into two groups. Rikka, along with a girl with long black hair, followed Amamiya, Kaguya, and Chika, racing to the third floor together.
"Huff… Huff…" Chika panted, clutching her chest. "Are we safe now?"
"Should we find a room to hide in?" Rikka suggested.
"No need," Kaguya said, shaking her head. "The scarecrows are slow. If we stay in the middle of the hallway, we'll have time to react no matter which direction they come from."
"We definitely shouldn't hide in a room," Yukino agreed, her voice steady. "That is… as long as there really are only two scarecrows and a puppet butler in this castle."
Amamiya glanced out a nearby window. The blizzard outside showed no signs of letting up. The sky was still dark and heavy, as if the snow would never stop falling.
Then, suddenly, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed down the hall.
Amamiya turned toward the sound and saw a tall, headless monster emerging from the end of the corridor.
"Hey, is that Ghost Rider?" Chika blurted out.
Amamiya responded, "It looks more like the Headless Horseman to me."
Ghost Rider, after all, was one of the most powerful entities in the Marvel Universe. The Headless Horseman wasn't even in the same league!
As the headless figure advanced toward them, Amamiya pondered aloud, "If it's just this one..."
'Crash.'
Before he could finish, a door on the right side of the corridor suddenly swung open. A woman in a maid's uniform stepped out, her long skirt nearly dragging along the floor—a classic maid's outfit, perfect for a haunted castle.
"There are maids here?" Amamiya asked in surprise.
The maid slowly turned to face them, her dark eyes emotionless.
Now, here's the problem: a ghost maid in a haunted castle seemed perfectly fitting, didn't it?
With two evil spirits appearing at once, Amamiya's usual approach of dealing with evil wouldn't work here. The group slowly began backing away, heading in the opposite direction down the corridor.
"How strange," Chika muttered. "There was nothing here a moment ago, and now all these evil spirits have shown up."
"You just called it desolate earlier," Amamiya replied dryly.
"It's too lively now. I'd rather it stayed quiet," Chika retorted.
"You two really should stop talking..." Kaguya interjected, but before she could finish, she caught a glimpse of a dark shadow flying toward them from the corner of her eye. Her body instinctively tried to react, but it was too late.
At that moment, Amamiya's quick reflexes kicked in. He moved a half step sideways, placing himself between Kaguya and the incoming threat.
'Bang!'
A burst of blood bloomed on Amamiya's shoulder.
Kaguya's eyes widened in shock, her heart gripped by fear.
"Why doesn't it hurt?" Amamiya thought to himself, bewildered.
Over the past few days, thanks to Miko's "energy recharges" while stepping on his back, Amamiya's physical fitness had improved significantly. His body reacted faster than his mind could process.
"We're under attack!" Chika shouted in alarm.
'Whoosh!'
Another object came hurtling toward them from the darkness ahead. Everyone ducked, shielding their heads. The projectile struck the castle wall, bursting into more splatters of red.
Forced by the escalating situation, Amamiya spotted a nearby door and quickly pushed it open. He and Kaguya slipped inside to hide, while Chika and the others darted into a different room.
Once the door was securely shut, Amamiya exhaled in relief, but then he realized his hand was being gripped tightly. He turned to see Kaguya biting her lip, her face tense with concern.
"Hurry, squat down," she urged.
"Huh?" Amamiya blinked, confused.
"Let me check your shoulder."
"It's fine," Amamiya assured her. He touched his shoulder, only to find his hand coated in a sticky red substance. Puzzled, he examined it more closely.
"It looks like... ketchup?"