NOVEL NEXT WORLD Kicking the faces of the dolls blocking my path one by one, I sprinted forward.
Following the screams, my eyes were met with a gruesome sight deep within the facility: countless corpses sprawled across the floor.
‘…So many dead.’
Unintentionally, my brow furrowed at the horrifying scene.
While I had seen much worse throughout my life and encountered unspeakable situations that went beyond understanding, witnessing the bodies of people shredded by monsters appearing in what I had confidently assumed would be my peaceful hometown was a sight that left a heavy feeling in my heart.
‘Those dolls were definitely not normal.’
I recalled the grotesque appearances of the dolls I had just smashed—dolls stretched like they were torn apart, adorned with all sorts of weapons. Their indiscriminate display of murderous intent was certainly akin to living weapons. Yet, instinctively, I was sure that they weren’t made for conventional weaponry purposes.
After all, there was no need to make a weapon with such a tedious design just to kill people.
Unless it was some dimensional golem summon or a mad scientist with bizarre tastes.
At least in my hometown, weapons were designed to be as efficient as possible within the limits of usable technology.
The airborne drones and tanks, let alone firearms, were nowhere to be seen, and these dolls looked remarkably different from the weapons I remembered from home, making me think of them as more like living monsters than mere weapons.
“Ha.”
What a laughable situation it was.
Just when I thought I had finally returned to my hometown, I ended up facing monsters and whatnot.
The hometown I knew must have been devoid of any such unreal beings.
So, what on earth was happening now?
Had the scientists somehow created something strange while I was away, making the world scarier than before?
No, I probably already knew.
In fact, hadn’t I realized this long ago?
I was just avoiding the truth, after all—
‘…No, let’s stop with these pointless thoughts.’
Shaking my head, I cleared the clutter from my mind.
I could think later.
What mattered now was what needed to be done.
Blood splattering, flesh tearing, someone screaming out in pain. The noise, reminiscent of a battlefield, was coming from around the corner of the hallway.
Increasing my speed as I reached the corner, what lay before my eyes was a doll charging ferociously at me and a group of people desperately firing guns at it.
BANG!
Kicking off the ground, I launched into the air.
My target was the doll’s head.
As I reached the ceiling, I turned my body, pressing my feet against it, bent my knees, and fixed my gaze on the doll, pushing my knees straight to dive at it.
CRASH!
With a loud sound, the doll’s body compressed on impact.
A multitude of vibrations traveled from my feet.
With its head stomped, the doll squashed its entire body, scattering its fragments everywhere. By the time my foot was about to touch the ground again, it was so squished that you wouldn’t be able to recognize its original form.
“Get the people out of here. I’ll draw its attention.”
As the dust settled, the faces of the people I was facing became clear.
Those bewildered eyes visible beyond goggles and masks were shocked.
I brushed off the fragments stuck to my body and encouraged them to flee, but they seemed confused by my sudden appearance, showing various reactions until one person pointed their gun at me and started yelling.
“What the hell?! Wait, who are you?!”
With a tense voice and a shaking gun aimed at me, I felt a flicker of anger at being pointed at despite saving them, but I quickly calmed my racing heart.
Of course, I was not saying my feelings were hurt. Unless you were an extreme masochist, no one would prefer being shot by someone they just saved.
I too would much rather hear a simple thank you than be showered with bullets as a token of gratitude.
However, I wasn’t the sort of person to expect rational behavior from someone who had just faced death.
Having gone through similar situations multiple times, I realized that reacting to the actions of others only drained my feelings, so instead, I sighed softly and silently gazed at them.
“AAAAAH!”
From not far away, a scream pierced the air.
In this space, many people struggled with the dolls they faced, their screams redirecting everyone’s gazes back to the unfinished scene of horror.
“Got time to hear my answer?”
I asked the person who had aimed a gun at me, and they turned their attention back again.
Their heavy breaths and trembling hands hinted at the chaotic thoughts swirling in their mind.
Still holding the gun on me, they alternated their gaze between the screaming sounds and me repeatedly.
“Damn it, what the hell is going on here…?!”
Then seemingly resolved, they lowered the gun and bolted towards where their scattered companions were.
With their muttering voice fading away, I also passed them and moved forward.
I left the rescue efforts to them; now all that was left was to smash all the dolls in front of me.
Of course, there were still many dolls left, and I had no way of knowing how far this facility stretched.
But at least, I felt like I had found the root cause of this catastrophe.
Found it.
In my line of sight was a doll with distinctly different features from the others. It appeared pristine, untouched, with a spiral spear sticking out of its chest.
And the numerous dolls surrounding it, as if guarding it, clearly indicated that this was the source of the chaos.
So there was no need to think any longer.
Without hesitation, I launched myself at it and the surrounding dolls.
BANG!
As I kicked off the ground and flew upwards, swarms of dolls charged at me, and I used them as stepping stones, zigzagging through the air.
With crunching sounds, the dolls’ bodies shattered upon contact.
With every push of my knees, each doll collapsed, one after another, as they rushed at me, ignoring the damage done to their own bodies.
After several bounding leaps, the dolls guarding the source were mostly reduced to mere fragments strewn across the ground.
EEEEEK!
In panic, the last remaining doll that was encircling the source started to flee from me.
Oh, trying to escape, are we? I muttered softly.
But honestly, it did feel somewhat relieving to see it trying to run away.
Out of all the countless dolls I had smashed, none ever showed the intention to escape like this.
The fact that it was the only one among countless dolls attempting to flee clearly advertised its role as the culprit behind this chaos.
With a snap, the head of the last surrounding doll shattered.
Now, there was nothing left to shield the fleeing one.
Keeping its form in my sights, I unleashed a strike that would hit with unerring precision.
As my body reached it, a booming crash filled the hallway.
WHOOMP!
With a grand sound, the doll slammed against the wall.
Buried so deep it was practically pulverized, the doll’s form was unrecognizable.
The doll I had kicked squirmed a few times before it finally stopped moving.
CCCRRRRREEEEK!
In front of me, with the bizarre sound of mechanical devices, the very doll I had just kicked stared back at me, perfectly intact.
“…?!”
WHOOSH!
The sound of slicing through the air made my senses waver for a moment.
As if the earlier escape was all an act, it immediately turned to me, gripping my leg tightly.
Then it swung its arms, spinning me like a whirlpool along some cosmic loop, and hurled me straight at the wall.
BAM!
As the wall crumbled, heavy fragments fell on top of me.
THUD, THUD, THUD, as the concrete chunks mercilessly crushed my small frame.*
Underneath this stone grave, I briefly questioned what just happened.
What in the world had just occurred?
I certainly felt the tremors from where I had kicked it. I must have heard the sounds clearly too.
Yet, the one that had smashed into the wall was just a normal-looking doll.
The doll that should have been kicked was unaffected, somehow reversing the situation and launching me instead.
CCCRRREEEEEK!
From beyond the hallway, the doll that had hurled me made that mechanical sound again.
Something about it felt mocking.
Alright then.
You dared to laugh, huh?