Chapter 031 - Eerie Night Fair 03

  The ones standing at the front bore the brunt of it.

  Blood—hot, thick—splattered across No. 137’s face. She stiffened, breath hitching as she slowly raised a trembling hand, fingertips grazing the warm, sticky streaks on her cheek.

  She didn’t scream. She didn’t even flinch.

  Even as the severed bear’s head tumbled toward her, its gaping mouth bristling with jagged teeth, she stood rooted to the spot—staring. Frozen.

  A split second before it could clamp down on her, I grabbed her arm and yanked her backward. The bear’s head hit the ground with a sickening thud, rolling to a stop at our feet.

  Its glassy black eyes oozed fresh blood, streaks of red trickling from the corners like grotesque tears.

  Then it grinned.

  The smile was wide. Too wide. Stretched across its plush face like something stitched on by cruel hands.

  And then—

  It spoke.

  A shrill, high-pitched voice, both playful and sinister, laced with a singsong rhythm, like a broken toy trapped in an endless loop.

  "Dear, dear, dearing!"

  "Happy, happy, so happy!"

  The words sent a chill crawling down my spine.

  Beside me, No. 25 let out a sharp breath, her fingers twitching into a fist. “Happy?” she snarled, voice dripping with fury. “You think this is funny, you goddamn freakshow?!”

  Without hesitation, she grabbed the nearest object—a pastel pink brick, the kind used to build fairy-tale castles—still tethered to a limp balloon string.

  And then she swung.

  A sickening crack.

  The impact sent the bear’s head lurching to the side before it stilled, the gaping wound at its neck gushing something unnatural. Tufts of blood-soaked stuffing erupted from the severed edge, caught in the air like grotesque snowflakes.

  For a moment, silence.

  Then—

  The mouth moved again.

  The voice was different now. Lower. Rougher. Crawling beneath my skin like nails against raw bone.

  "Kill, kill, killing!"

  The word echoed, rippling outward, each repetition growing sharper, more jagged—like it was burrowing into my mind.

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  The air around us shifted. The floating crimson stuffing shimmered—warped—then fell in a slow, unnatural descent, no longer fabric, no longer mere cotton.

  Instead, cards.

  Dark gold, with jagged blood-red borders.

  One landed at my feet.

  Then another.

  And then—

  That voice.

  The mechanical, soulless voice that had dictated our fate since the beginning. But this time, it carried an unsettling cheerfulness, like a child’s toy preloaded with a dozen scripted phrases.

  "A total of 116 contestants remain in the second round. Six have forfeited. The remaining 110 players are now present. Proceeding to Round Three."

  A pause.

  "Welcome to Fairy Tale Land. Please pick up your admission ticket."

  A few people hesitated. Others crouched, fingers curling around the dark golden cards, their edges glinting under the neon lights.

  The voice chimed again, bright and unyielding:

  "Please collect your tickets. Failure to do so within 30 seconds will be considered forfeiture of the game."

  A handful of players hesitated for only a breath longer before caving—grimacing as they reached down and picked up their tickets.

  I stared at mine.

  The card was thick. Stiff. A plasticky texture beneath my fingertips.

  In the upper left corner sat my photo, next to a bold, white-stamped 32.

  Below that—a sprawling amusement park map, cluttered with winding paths and towering rides. Each attraction had a small black circle beside it, waiting to be punched—a record of completion.

  The voice, unbothered by the blood, the bodies, the eerie stillness, continued in its chipper cadence:

  "You have six hours to complete at least three amusement park attractions. Any contestant who fails to do so before dawn will be disqualified."

  The words had barely settled before—

  BOOM.

  A sudden, ear-shattering explosion ripped through the air.

  The bear’s discarded body—motionless just moments ago—detonated.

  From the plush carcass, fireworks shot up, streaking through the sky in dazzling bursts of color. Bright. Brilliant. A cruel mockery of celebration.

  The light flared—burned—then faded, shifting into something else.

  A countdown timer.

  It loomed above us, glowing in ominous red against the dark, endless night.

  05:59:59

  The game had begun.