Chapter 48 The Alley (8) "Go in... or not?" Fat...
"In...in or not?" The fat man's voice trembled noticeably. He shrank back and subconsciously glanced back at the wooden door with the gold coin, fearing that the strange little boy or something worse might appear.
The skinny man stared at the entrance to the passage, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. He was still tightly gripping the oddly shaped block in his hand: "If we don't go in, are we going to stay here forever?"
He gritted his teeth, as if trying to convince himself and also to encourage his companion: "That guy gave us directions, even though it's weird, but at least it gave us a direction, which is better than being trapped in this room."
"Should we take those children with us?" The girl with glasses looked worriedly at Ishishita Taro, who was still unconscious in the corner, and another child. Taking two children into this unknown and dangerous place would undoubtedly be a huge burden and risk.
Just then, a faint, ethereal bell sound came from the depths of the dark passage.
Ring... Ring...
The ringing grew clearer with each ring, as if urging them on, and then a gentle, weary voice sounded in their minds.
“Follow the bell…take them with you, it’s the only way to survive.”
"...Time...is running out."
"Damn it (birds singing and flowers blooming)! I'll give it my all!" The fat man stomped his foot, his fat face twitched, and his eyes gradually became firm, as if he had made up his mind.
The fat man walked to the corner of the room and carried the rather sturdy Ishishita Taro on his back: "Fatty, I may not have much else, but I'm strong enough to carry this kid!"
Seeing this, the skinny man no longer hesitated, so he helped the other child up, half-carrying and half-embracing him on his shoulder, while the girl with glasses quickly stepped forward to help pull him along, successfully stabilizing the other child.
"I'll go ahead and scout ahead." The skinny guy took a deep breath. "Fatty, you stay in the middle. Glasses girl, you bring up the rear. Watch out for any movement behind you."
After the division of labor was clear, the skinny guy was the first to step into the downward-extending passage, followed closely by the fat guy carrying the child on his back, and the girl with glasses entered last. The moment she fully stepped into the passage, the square wall panel behind her silently slid back into place, sealing it perfectly, as if it had never been opened.
The last glimmer of dim light was completely cut off, plunging the passage into pitch-black darkness.
"Turn on the flashlight!" the skinny man said.
The girl with glasses turned on her flashlight, and a beam of light shone in the darkness, but it could only illuminate a few steps at her feet and the moss-covered stone wall next to her.
The bell rang ahead, and they had no choice but to grit their teeth and continue down the seemingly endless steps, down, down, and down again.
Footsteps and panting echoed in the narrow passage. Whether it was their imagination or not, they could hear faint, eerie whispers that tormented their already tense nerves.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, the passage ahead seemed to widen. The steps ended, leading to a deeper corridor. The walls on both sides of the corridor were no longer stone walls, but had turned into some kind of translucent, glass-like substance.
Through this layer of material, they could see some blurry, distorted, and constantly changing images.
It's like someone else's negative memories.
But those memories were exaggerated and grotesque. For example, a child would listen to his parents arguing in fear behind a door, and the shadows of his parents would seep in from behind the door and turn into a tall, dark monster that would devour the child.
Some of the children were eating at the table, tears streaming down their faces. The adults around them were all tall, black shadows. They grinned and made shrill, indistinct sounds. The children's voices grew softer and softer... until their faces were buried in their bowls and their heads melted into an unidentified black liquid.
In other cases, at amusement parks, children see three people: two adults holding hands with a child in the middle. The three laugh and move further and further away from the child, who runs and tries to reach them but can never catch up.
These fragmented, sorrowful, and repressive childhood scenes flow like a movie along the corridors, some even horrific and bloody, appearing like mental pollution from a distance.
"What... what kind of place is this?" The girl with glasses asked, her voice trembling. The images had triggered some unpleasant memories, making her face turn pale.
"Don't look at those things!" the skinny man shouted, but his own eyes were also drawn to the images, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
The fat man kept his head down, muttering to himself, not daring to look to either side, and just silently followed the one in front of him, suffering in silence.
Just then, a voice that was all too familiar to the skinny man and made his teeth ache came from the front of the corridor.
"Crunch."
The three of them tensed up and immediately shone their flashlights forward.
Not far ahead in the corridor, the rocking horse, its paint peeling off and only a single glass bead eye remaining, was swaying back and forth on its own.
The horse's head was facing them, and the glass bead reflected the flashlight beam, making it look unusually eerie.
Beside the wooden horse, several short, faceless figures seemed to be standing indistinctly.
"It's...it's them again!" The fat man's voice was trembling with tears, and he instinctively took a step back.
"Calm down!" The skinny man appeared calm, but his heart was pounding. "They don't seem to be moving?"
Indeed, the faceless children simply stood quietly beside the rocking horse. Although they had no faces, they could feel the gaze of those things watching them, but they did not attack them as before.
The rocking horse swayed back and forth, emitting a regular, piercing noise.
Suddenly, the rocking horse started shaking faster, and the glass bead seemed to come alive, staring intently at Ishishita Taro, who was being carried on the fat man's back.
At the same time, Ishishita Taro began to convulse violently on the fat man's back, uttering incoherent, tearful cries: "Daddy, no!...I'm sorry...Daddy..."
His sleep-talking seemed to be a signal.
Suddenly, the blurry images on both sides of the corridor became clear, and all the images focused on one scene.
A drunk man returned home, smashed everything in the house, and angrily roared, cried, and confessed into the air... The man's face was indistinct, but the negative emotions in his voice made everyone present feel uncomfortable.
"Yes, he's Ishishita Taro's father?" the girl with glasses guessed.
"His emotions seem to be affecting this place!" the skinny man shouted, his face grim.
As the fear and sorrow revealed in Ishishita Taro's delirious ramblings intensified, the corridor began to tremble slightly, the images on both sides became more distorted and grotesque, and the figures of the faceless children began to stir restlessly, as if they might pounce at any moment.
"No, I have to calm him down!" The fat man felt the child on his back struggling more and more, making it difficult for him to carry him.
At this critical moment, the mysterious bell rang again, this time exceptionally clear, as if right next to their ears.
jingle--
The sound of the ringing bell instantly dispelled the suffocating negative emotions, and the three of them felt as if their souls had been cleansed. At the same time, the voice was gently urging them on.
"Run forward! Turn your head! Go through the rocking horse!"
"It's just ahead! Only by facing it can this all end!"
The three of them knew there was no time to hesitate. The skinny man gritted his teeth and roared, "Run!"
He charged ahead towards the wooden horse and the faceless children, followed closely by the fat man carrying the struggling Ishishita Taro on his back, and the girl with glasses also followed behind with her eyes closed and her courage mustered.
As they rushed toward the wooden horse, the faceless children actually made way for them!
But their gaze remained fixed on them.
The three of them had no time to spare and desperately crossed the area, heading deeper into the corridor.
...
The real world, the entrance to Echo Lane.
The members of the Armed Detective Agency had arrived. Night had completely fallen, and the alley entrance was cordoned off by the police, but there were still many onlookers and media reporters in the distance.
Kenichi Ishishita stood at the alley entrance, his body trembling slightly from tension and the cold.
Kunikida Doppo stood beside the other man and said in a deep voice, "Mr. Ishishita, remember Dazai's words, concentrate, and think about your son."
Dazai Osamu stood slightly ahead, his iris-colored eyes scrutinizing the ordinary alleyway.
Edogawa Ranpo's bright green eyes snapped open. He adjusted his glasses and said gravely, "The structure inside is extremely unstable, Mr. Ishishita. Your emotions are the key, and they could also become the core that detonates all of this. Please be very careful."
Fukuzawa Yukichi placed his hand on the hilt of his sword: "Let's begin."
Yosano Akiko, on the other hand, had prepared medical equipment and stood guard at the rear.
Kenichi Ishishita took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and the image of his son, Taro Ishishita, with his innocent and bright smile appeared in his mind. However, this image was then replaced by the image of himself returning home drunk, ignoring his son, and even yelling at him.
Overwhelmed by intense guilt and remorse, he could no longer contain himself and roared with all his might toward the dark alleyway entrance.
"Taro! Daddy's here!"
"I'm sorry! Dad was wrong. Dad shouldn't have drunk alcohol—! And shouldn't have yelled at you!"
"Come back, Taro! Daddy will treat you well from now on! Please come back—!"
Kenichi Ishishita's voice echoed in the night sky, even drowning out the noise of the crowd in the distance.
Almost the instant his voice fell.
Deep within Echo Alley, colorful, distorted shadows surged forth, instantly engulfing the alleyway and spreading towards its entrance.
A powerful, targeted suction force firmly locked onto Kenichi Ishishita.
"Now! Go in!" Edogawa Ranpo shouted!
Kunikida Doppo pulled Ishishita Kenichi aside to shield him, while Nakajima Atsushi and Izumi Kyoka guarded their sides. Without hesitation, the group rushed into the eerie shadows.
The next moment, they found themselves standing in a strange corridor, the very place where the fat man and his two companions had just passed.
And they appeared right near that swaying rocking horse.
Beside the wooden horse, the figures of the faceless children coalesced once more, all staring at the new intruder, especially Kenichi Ishishita, who was being supported by Kunikida Doppo.
Kenichi Ishishita saw the images on both sides of the corridor. Those scenes, those ugly memories that he had deliberately forgotten and buried deep in his heart, were now laid bare before his eyes.
"It was me...it really was me." His legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to his knees, tears welling up in his eyes: "It's all my fault, I'm the one who ruined Taro, I'm the one who ruined everyone..."
His breakdown seemed to inject even more energy into this already restless space.
The entire corridor shook violently, the images on both sides flickered wildly, and the faceless children emitted sharp and resentful voices.
"Mr. Ishishita! Cheer up!" Kunikida Doppo supported him forcefully and said loudly, "Now is not the time for you to blame yourself. Taro is still waiting for you!"
Dazai Osamu looked into the depths of the corridor, where something seemed to have been completely activated by Ishishita Kenichi, emanating a terrifying aura that sent chills down one's spine.
"Ranpo-san!" Dazai Osamu turned around and exclaimed in surprise.
Edogawa Ranpo stared intently into the depths of the corridor, his tone more serious than ever before: "It's been fully activated, it's awakening! Quick! Move forward! Quick!"
Without delay, the group rushed into the depths of the corridor.
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