Chapter 341: First Failure
"Hide!"
Jang Chae-yeon grabbed my arm and pulled, and at the same time, I also grabbed her and pulled her down as I crouched.
- Swoosh... Swoooosh...
The sound of something being dragged from above.
- Thump, thump, thump, thump...
Simultaneously, the mannequin began to move, rhythmically tapping an empty cutting board with a knife.
Where should we hide?
There was no time to even think.
- Swoooosh... Thud... Swoooosh... Thud...
Footsteps were coming from above.
"This way."
I pulled Jang Chae-yeon under the desk and held our breath.
- Thump, thump, thump, thump...
- Swoooosh... Thud...
In the eerie silence, something heavy descended.
"...Ugh."
And as it came down into the living room with a groan,
<...>
<...>
No one spoke a word.
Crouched under the low table, desperately hiding, I tried to see what was making the sound.
Giant legs, and long, dangling hands.
It was something with a body structure more akin to a giant than a human.
I tried to look up to see the monster, but this was the limit from under this desk.
<...>
<...>
The children were still silent.
Perhaps it didn't like that.
Its legs moved slowly, stamping on the floor, and its pot-lid-like hand grabbed a child's head.
<Kyaaahk!>
The child screamed, but it paid no heed. Holding the child's head, it turned and started walking towards us.
Jang Chae-yeon and I covered each other's mouths, holding our breath, as it approached the mannequin, still holding the head.
- Thump, thump, thump, thump...!
We heard the sound of it slowly placing something onto the mannequin, which was still pointlessly chopping the board.
- Thump... thump...
The sound of the knife hitting the board gradually stopped.
"Ah. Ah..."
Instead, a sound like a moan echoed, and then...
- Crunch... Swoooosh... Crunch... Swoooosh...
The heavy footsteps passed our table and went out the door.
"..."
"..."
After a moment, Jang Chae-yeon started to move out from under the table.
I quickly grabbed her.
She looked at me, puzzled.
But I shook my head, still holding her, and just mouthed the words, 'Wait.'
Fortunately, Jang Chae-yeon seemed to understand my intention and stayed put, sitting quietly and waiting.
How much time passed?
- Creeeak...
With the sound of the door closing, we heard something walking away with heavy, crunching steps outside.
"...It's gone."
"...Was it waiting there until just now?"
"It must have sensed something was off."
It had closed the door properly when it came in. What did it sense?
At the very least, the entity on this floor is suspicious enough of our presence to do that.
It's better to be cautious.
I slowly crawled out from under the desk and looked around the living room.
One of the children's heads was gone.
Conversely, on the headless torso of the mannequin...
"...Ugh..."
The child's head, heavily bruised, was wobbling unsteadily.
I thought I could somewhat understand how Aestheticism came to be.
But at least that thing didn't seem hostile towards us; it was just spinning around, muttering incomprehensibly.
"...Let's go upstairs."
Now that the owner is gone, it's our chance to look for something.
I slowly walked up the stairs, and Jang Chae-yeon followed behind me.
- Creek... Creeeak...
As we started climbing the stairs.
<Ahaha! Ahahaha!>
The children started laughing again.
This laughter felt different from before, more like a sneer.
"..."
<Ahahaha!>
It put me in a strangely bad mood.
*
When we reached the top of the stairs, we saw a rotten hallway and an open door.
An indescribable smell was coming from inside the room.
If Yu Daon were here, she'd be able to smell it better. A bit of a shame.
"Don't think about other people."
"It's natural to miss them sometimes."
I don't know how she read my expression, but I answered her calmly and entered the room.
Everything felt oversized.
It was the kind of feeling you get when you look around an adult's room as a child.
"The chairs are high."
"Indeed."
"The bed is big."
"Indeed."
"Big enough for two to lie down."
"I'm sure there are beds meant for two people."
I answered as if it were nothing and looked around the room.
It was an unremarkable room.
Oversized furniture, and an easel with a palette for painting.
"..."
There was a single painting on the easel. Jang Chae-yeon and I looked at it together.
It was a painting of a person.
Just an ordinary painting of a woman, nothing special.
"..."
No semi-transparent window appeared, and the painting wasn't alive or moving.
It was literally just a painting.
As I stared intently at it, Jang Chae-yeon narrowed her eyes and muttered.
"I feel like I've seen this somewhere before."
No, it wasn't Jang Chae-yeon.
It was the Observer.
"You're out now?"
"Wouldn't I be more helpful at a time like this?"
"Aren't you still Chae-yeon, though?"
"How cold."
She replied as if not hurt at all and looked at the painting on the easel.
"Hmm. I remember where I've seen it."
"Where?"
"That's one of the faces I saw when I was fighting Aestheticism."
One of the faces you saw while fighting?
"Wait a minute. You never mentioned that."
"You never asked."
Is she joking with me now?
I stared at her intently, and she waved her hand and smiled.
"Just kidding. But seriously, I can't tell you everything. It would take forever to say, 'She looks like this in this painting, and this is a memory I got from fighting.'"
"..."
"If you don't like that, live with me for about ten years instead."
"Is there nothing else important besides that?"
"You're really cold."
She answered with a laugh in her voice and then stared intently at the painting.
"There was one thing I felt when I was fighting Aestheticism."
"Yes."
"It was, um, strange."
"Strange? Not 'strong'?"
"Yep."
She nodded at my question.
"Of course, she was strong too, but there are plenty of strong things in the world."
"..."
I looked at her, urging her to continue, and she slowly opened her mouth.
"It felt like punching air?"
"Hmm."
"No matter how much I destroyed, it felt like I couldn't destroy the fundamental core of it."
That sounds similar to what the Branch Chief told me.
Does that literally mean the main body is somewhere else?
"And, the energy I felt closest to that core is this one."
"You should have said that first."
I pulled out my gun and aimed it at the painting.
"Wait."
Then, in a voice that had become much more emotionless than before, Jang Chae-yeon grabbed my shoulder.
"I'll do it."
Right. It's probably easier for Jang Chae-yeon to tear it than for me to make a sound.
I lowered my gun, and Jang Chae-yeon slowly raised her hand.
- Crunch!
With the sound of the canvas tearing, something flowed out from beneath it.
"Huh?"
As I made a sound of surprise, the moment Jang Chae-yeon pushed me back...
<Ahaha! Ahahaha!>
<Wahahaha!>
The children's laughter from downstairs began to grow loud enough to reach us, piercing through the floor.
And the door opened, and something started walking towards us with a ferocious gait.
It was a giant man.
Wearing an old fur coat, with hands that hung down to his knees.
I didn't know whether to call it a man or a monster.
Jang Chae-yeon stepped in front of me as if to protect me.
"Careful—"
Before she could even finish shouting, it swung its giant hand, and Jang Chae-yeon's head exploded, blood gushing out.
The next thing I saw was the giant hand immediately lunging towards me as well.
It touched my neck.
A sound of something bursting, and pain surged.
At the same time, I felt a sensation of tumbling down somewhere.
"...Gahk!"
I opened my eyes.
My neck hurt.
"Cough! Hack!"
When I coughed, blood came out.
Jang Chae-yeon and I had tumbled out of our chairs and were lying on the floor in an undignified heap.
It had just torn out my throat...
Her head had exploded.
And, staring at us, was the man in the tailcoat.
"Two attempts remaining."
He held up two fingers.
"...Did we just die?"
"..."
As if she didn't hear me, Jang Chae-yeon was feeling her head all over.
I also felt the pain of my neck being torn out, but Jang Chae-yeon's head had exploded, so she must be in even greater pain.
I looked up at the man in the tailcoat, and he pointed elsewhere with his finger.
- Thud!
- Thud!
A tremendous sound echoed.
That must mean the Branch Chief and Aestheticism were still fighting.
Jang Chae-yeon was still blankly holding her head, and I felt a pain like my throat was torn apart.
"Chae-yeon, you should rest."
After a moment's thought, I took off my coat and put it in her hand.
I'd like to take her with me, but...
There was no time.
The Branch Chief was also buying time for us, even with his body battered and bruised.
"If I attempt it and fail, does that leave one attempt?"
"Yes."
It nodded in response to my question.
"Understood."
There was no time to hesitate.
Suppressing my hoarse voice, I answered and sat down on the chair.
Dizziness washed over me again, and a cool breeze tickled me.
What went wrong?
Where did I make a mistake?
<Ahaha! Ahahaha!>
The children's laughter echoed again, and the pleasant breeze brushed past my head.
Let's think.
What did I do wrong?
I strode purposefully back towards the house.
This time, I will succeed.