Chapter 17, Chapter 17: The Greatest and Most Evil Despair in Human History...

The sudden, silent appearance of such a person in the dark mansion, which should have been empty except for the two of them, was rather unsettling.

Even if that girl's face was so exquisitely beautiful that it seemed inhuman, it was still the same.

The girl standing on the steps had long, flowing white hair and wore a beautiful blue dress. Aside from that, she wore no other adornments. But even without any jewelry or similar accessories, her beauty was striking enough; she looked like a Western girl who had stepped out of an oil painting.

"...Resentment belongs here, yet it doesn't belong here. Can you solve this puzzle?"

In the silence, she slowly began to speak.

But she only uttered sounds, not opened her mouth. From beginning to end, her petal-like lips never parted.

Similarly, even when the glaring light shone directly on her, her light gray eyes remained motionless.

This phenomenon, which defies common sense about human physiology, was enough to make Tsukino and Chiya realize that something was wrong, and he quickly noticed the source of this abnormality.

Upon closer inspection, they noticed a ball joint embedded in the stranger's elbow. Her long skirt concealed her knees, but Tsukino and Chiya guessed that there were likely spherical joint parts there as well.

She is not human, but a doll so exquisitely crafted that she appears to be human at first glance.

In an instant, countless horror works themed around dolls, toys, and puppets flashed through Tsukino and Chiya's minds. They felt no sympathy for the dolls that appeared at this time and place.

What a suspicious doll.

In order to help Tsukino and Chiya, who have developed marks on their bodies, the man who is now the owner of Kujo Mansion and was also a former Inscribed Person did not hide his past experiences. Instead, he told Chiya all the stories that happened when he was an Inscribed Person, hoping that it could serve as a useful reference.

Now, Tsukino and Chiya still remember the experience that man recounted, which included a very noticeable doll. And the things that doll did... make it hard for Chiya not to feel wary when she sees another doll that can move and speak.

Standing beside Tsukino and Chiya, Ohma Kokichi was surprisingly quiet at this moment, seemingly lost in thought.

The doll was still talking.

Her voice was very soft, but in such a quiet environment, as long as there was no sudden loud noise that would drown out the doll's voice, it was enough for Qianye and the other person to hear it clearly.

"I'll be watching over you."

"I will judge... whether you are a good match or not."

After leaving behind these seemingly nonsensical words, the doll's figure abruptly disappeared.

The stairs were empty.

Tsukino and Chiya held the flashlights steadily as they looked at the spot where the doll had been standing—the doll hadn't missed anything.

Anyone with a modicum of sense can figure out the meaning behind the few words the doll just uttered; it's not something that can be understood right now.

Let's focus on what's most important right now.

After the doll disappeared, Tsukino and Chiya's gazes lingered briefly on the spot where the doll had stood for a few seconds before they prepared to step onto the stairs.

But it was at this very moment—

"Whoa!!!"

"??"

In the otherwise quiet environment, Tsukino and Chiya's bodies involuntarily trembled as a scream suddenly exploded in their ears.

The black-haired boy reacted extremely quickly, turning around in the direction of Wang Ma Xiaoji's gaze, who had just shouted from the side. The beam of the flashlight moved with his movements, and then—it illuminated an empty space.

There was nothing there.

Disappeared?

No... it doesn't seem to be like that.

Tsukino and Chiya realized something, but out of caution, they carefully re-examined their surroundings and finally confirmed that nothing had changed. The area around them was exactly the same as before, with nothing added or missing.

In other words...

Just as Tsukino and Chiya were about to voice their questions, the culprit who had caused their earlier actions, now grinning and watching the spectacle, asked in a seemingly helpful tone, "Eh? What are you looking for, Tsukino? Need my help?"

Having been successfully tricked for once, Tsukino and Chiya remained expressionless: "What were you yelling about just now?"

Wang Ma Xiaoji explained with a bright smile, "Well, isn't that a common trope in horror movies? Something that disappears into thin air right in front of you and you can't find it no matter how hard you look, only to suddenly appear behind you unexpectedly!"

"I'm the mastermind of evil, so I'm more suited to being startled by a doll than being scared by one! So I'll strike first, but it seems the doll hasn't appeared yet."

Tsukino and Qianye: "..."

Wang Ma Xiaoji: "Hehe, it's really funny how startled Kozukino looks. It's a bit of a shame that we didn't see any change in Kozukino's expression, but overall it's still quite interesting."

Tsukino and Chiya: "Is this... not even going to act anymore?"

So it was a prank from the beginning?! In a way, it's really impressive. No matter what the environment, it can be used to its fullest potential to carry out a prank at lightning speed. It's like having a genius-level prankster's mind.

Tsukino and Chiya climbed the stairs again. Actually, he wasn't angry about what had just happened, and he knew that Ohma Kokichi should also understand this.

Well...

It's rare to be pranked like this... but it's actually quite funny?

The tension that had been building up when I saw the doll was eased a bit by the little incident that had just happened, and I felt more relaxed.

Wang Ma Xiaoji: "Speaking of which, after the robot vacuum cleaner, is it a doll? Seriously~ Can you come up with some more interesting settings? After all, dolls and robots aren't that novel these days. How about aliens?"

Tsukino and Chiya: "The alien setting isn't new anymore. By the way, why a robot vacuum cleaner?"

Wang Ma Xiaoji: "Ah, right, it's not a robot vacuum cleaner, it's a robot for myasthenia gravis."

Tsukino and Qianye:? ? ?

...I didn't quite understand what he was talking about. But since they had already reached the second floor during their conversation, they decided to check out the study and bedroom first.

*******

After arriving on the second floor, the two of them went to the study first.

After all, this is the place most closely associated with "comics". If you have any books at home, they will undoubtedly be stored in the bookshelves here, and comics are naturally included.

Wang Ma Xiaoji had been to the study once before, so they didn't need to specifically look for which room door led to the study.

As they pushed open the study door and saw what was inside under the flashlight, Tsukino, Chiya, and Ohma Kokichi all paused slightly in unison.

A chill ran down my spine, and an ominous feeling instantly seeped into my bones.

This wasn't a study. What met their eyes wasn't rows of books neatly arranged in bookshelves, but rather—

Hanging in the air, bound to the wall with their necks strangled, piled up haphazardly on the ground...

puppet.

Unlike the doll-like girls they had seen not long ago, these puppets, which seemed to hint at something tragic—like corpses that had been tortured and murdered—were not so exquisite. They had no facial features and were not dressed; they were just simple, rough wooden frames with heads, torsos, and limbs.

There were traces of dried red liquid on the floor, walls, and some of the puppets.

On the nearby wooden shelves and walls hung some props whose purpose seemed rather dubious... If the people in the room weren't puppets but real humans, this place would look like some kind of torture chamber.

However, aside from the scary scenes, there's nothing wrong with it.

Tsukino and Chiya believe that this place was indeed originally a study... Ohma Kokichi probably didn't lie about this place.

The fact that the study suddenly turned into a torture chamber just proves they've come to the right place.

Perhaps there will be some important clues here.

The flashlight beam shone ahead, accompanied by the background sound of Ouma Kokichi saying, "Oh dear, what an unpleasant sight! I don't want to see this room where they buy wholesale dolls!" Tsukino and Chiya were about to walk towards the doll closest to them when they suddenly stopped after sensing something.

Tsukino and Chiya lowered their heads.

A puddle of liquid had appeared on the ground sometime during the night, and his foot happened to step on it. It was red... undoubtedly blood, which had soaked the sole of his shoe.

Besides that, the tip of his shoe seemed to have hit something. The thing was kicked a little further away, rolled forward a few times, and then stopped.

It was a sketching pen.

Tsukino and Chiya bent down, ignoring the unpleasant dampness of the blood on the pen, picked it up, examined it for a few seconds, and then put it directly into their pockets.

Although I don't know why a pen suddenly appeared here, it's normal for strange things to happen in this villa within the scope of the spiritual barrier.

Such a pen is not unrelated to comics; perhaps this seemingly ordinary pen will be used later.

Even if it's useless... it's just carrying a pen, it's not much trouble.

Just as Tsukino and Chiya were picking up their pens, Ohma Kokichi, who had previously expressed his "dissatisfaction," had already run to a place where several wooden idols were piled up like a human pyramid, completely disregarding whether it would disrupt the scene, and directly reached out and rummaged through the pile of puppets.

Surprisingly, he actually managed to dig something out.

After putting away their pens, Tsukino and Chiya walked towards the direction where Ohma Kokichi was. They saw the purple-haired boy take a book out of the pile of puppets.

A comic book whose cover is titled "The Greatest and Most Desperate Event in Human History".

A note from the author:

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Shield: It seems like someone has spoiled the plot!

The dolls that have Death Mark and Death Gnawing are also here! [Facepalm peeking]

I changed the title, and I'm so conflicted! I don't know which one is better, the original or the new one. Anyway, I'll leave it for a few days and see. [cat emoji]