Chapter 217: Karmic Wind Divine Flash Slash
They had finally reached a critical juncture in this twisted circus. Haruto, ever the pragmatist who abhorred unnecessary complications, decided a tactical retreat was the best course of action. Without a second thought, he pivoted on his heel, gesturing for Kaguya and Youmu to follow him on a wide detour to the left.
The survival rules governing this eerie, blood-red merry-go-round were absolute. It didn't matter if you were a Tourist, a Blue-clothed Staff Member, or a Red Staff Member—the restrictions were identical across the board. There was no room for doubt. Both the rusted carousel and the creepy Little Girl riding it were lethal anomalies to all three factions.
Had they stumbled upon this attraction yesterday, Haruto would have undoubtedly ordered Youmu to whack it a few times with her sword. Just a little percussive maintenance to see if he could stuff the entire cursed ride into a Gap and drag it back to Gensokyo as a souvenir. But right now, avoiding trouble took priority. It was still up in the air whether their original, highly questionable plan would even proceed smoothly.
As they walked away, the discordant, off-key tinkling of the nursery rhyme gradually faded into the fog.
Yet, before they could even take a dozen steps, that same terrifying melody echoed from directly ahead. The sickly red glow of the merry-go-round pierced through the gloom, blocking their path once more.
Haruto blinked. Were they seriously being haunted by an amusement park ride?
Refusing to be outmaneuvered by a piece of carnival equipment, Haruto abruptly changed directions. He tried veering right, doubling back, and even walking in a zigzag pattern. But no matter which way he turned, that faint, bloody luminescence and the intermittent, glitchy nursery rhyme materialized right in front of them.
If this spatial loop continued, the merry-go-round and its ghostly passenger would perpetually block their path. Worse, they would definitely be unable to reach the Kiosk to buy snacks.
Actually, considering the shifting nature of this horror instance, the Kiosk itself was likely gone by now, making it impossible to buy snacks the normal way.
Haruto rubbed his chin, a shameless glint flashing in his eyes. Would buying from each other count? The instance rules never explicitly stated that transactions had to be made at an official vendor.
Never one to hesitate when a loophole presented itself, Haruto sprang into action. He had already scavenged a small mountain of instant noodles and drinks from the Kiosk earlier. Plucking a cold bottle of grape juice from his inventory, he shoved it into Kaguya's hands. Before the bewildered princess could even react, Haruto slapped a stack of ghost coins into her palm and snatched the juice right back, instantly completing a purchase transaction.
Smug with his own genius, he confidently changed directions once more. The red light immediately flickered in front of them. The loophole was a bust. He stubbornly waited ten minutes and tried again, only to be greeted by the exact same creepy melody.
"Should we just go over and take a look?" Kaguya asked, sighing as she pocketed the ghost coins.
"I think that's a good idea."
Since they couldn't shake the persistent haunting, the duo finally decided to confront the anomaly head-on. Perhaps the merry-go-round and the Little Girl held some vital clues to breaking the loop.
Naturally, Haruto and Kaguya immediately ducked behind Youmu, using the half-phantom swordswoman as a meat shield while they cautiously approached step by step. The chipped, decaying wooden horses continued their slow, agonizing rotation to the tune of the echoing nursery rhyme.
They only halted when they reached the edge of the ride's platform.
There, among the grotesque decorations, they spotted an acquaintance... no, someone who could only be considered half an acquaintance at this point. It was none other than Mao Yifan.
Or rather, Mao Yifan's severed head.
It was currently crudely stitched onto the wooden neck of one of the carousel horses, while the other poles featured the rotting heads of various animals.
Haruto's expression shifted into a look of dry amusement. He had been wondering why he hadn't seen the man among the surviving Red Staff Members earlier. It turned out the poor bastard had run afoul of the merry-go-round's rules and met a grisly end.
Although Haruto had fully intended to deal with the annoying player himself, he certainly hadn't expected the guy to exit the stage so abruptly.
"Can you cut her down?" Haruto asked, nudging Youmu's shoulder.
The silver-haired swordswoman narrowed her emerald eyes, analyzing the target. "This thing... it doesn't possess a physical body, nor does it register as a standard spirit. But I can certainly give it a try."
"Wait, hold on. I have an idea." Haruto's eyes suddenly lit up with mischievous inspiration. "Youmu, stand by. Wait for my command before you act."
Reaching into a spatial Gap, he pulled out a blood-stained Red Staff Member's jacket and casually slipped it on over his clothes. Next, he produced a crinkling bag of snacks. Grabbing the wrist of a highly reluctant Kaguya, he marched straight toward the Little Girl sitting on the edge of the ride.
The survival rule forbidding the feeding of the attractions was strictly directed at Tourists and Blue Staff Members. Therefore, the ultimate loophole to break this deadlock was obvious: become a Red Staff Member first, and then hand the snacks to the Little Girl.
Putting his theory into practice, Haruto wound up his pitch. Under Kaguya's utterly horrified gaze, he hurled the heavy can of grape juice like a baseball.
Thwack!
The metal can struck the top of the Little Girl's head with pinpoint accuracy, bouncing off with a hollow thud.
Kaguya's jaw dropped. "What the hell are you doing?!"
"Feeding her snacks as a Red Staff Member," Haruto replied, his tone implying this was the most natural thing in the world. "This is likely the hidden solution to the rule. Kids usually like snacks."
"I think... she might not appreciate the delivery method very much," Kaguya stammered. Before she even finished her sentence, the immortal princess had already scurried behind Haruto's back, using him as a shield.
Haruto finally sensed the distinct shift in the atmosphere.
At some point, the glitchy nursery rhyme had completely stopped. Total silence blanketed the carousel.
When he turned his gaze back to the ride, he found the Little Girl's head twisted a full one hundred and eighty degrees on her neck. A pair of pure, dead-white eyes stared hollowly into his soul.
Haruto swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing.
Just as Haruto reached back to yank Kaguya in front of him for protection—a true display of his shameless chivalry—the Little Girl launched herself from the wooden horse with a shrill, ear-piercing shriek.
Bang—!
Before her claws could reach him, the eerie ghost was brutally swatted out of the air by a heavy parasol. She flew backward like a broken ragdoll, crashing heavily into the open ground a dozen yards away.
"Phew..."
Haruto was about to wipe a nonexistent drop of sweat from his brow when he saw the entity on the ground begin to twitch. With her joints bent backward at grotesque, impossible angles, the Little Girl slowly pushed herself up. Her spine cracked and popped, straightening segment by segment like a demonic marionette.
Haruto and Kaguya didn't hesitate for a microsecond. Abandoning all dignity, the two charged forward. Haruto swung his parasol like a baseball bat, while Kaguya wielded the legendary Hourai Branch like a street thug's lead pipe.
"Die! Die! Die!" they shouted in mock terror, desperately smashing their weapons down on the twitching ghost with overwhelming, bone-crushing force.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
If not now, then when? Any normal person would press the advantage and beat the enemy into the dirt before it had a chance to get up again.
Standing a few paces away, Youmu watched the brutal, one-sided beatdown in silence. She quietly let her hand slip away from the hilt of her sword, realizing she wasn't needed.
Dust plumed into the air as the relentless assault continued. Only after they had literally smashed a deep crater into the solid ground, reducing the Little Girl into a few wisps of dissipating red smoke, did Haruto and Kaguya finally stop. They leaned on their respective weapons, breathing a synchronized, dramatic sigh of relief.
Honestly, they would both rather face the Circus Troupe Leader again than deal with this kind of mindless ghostly anomaly. The Troupe Leader, despite his terrifying penchant for killing and eating people, at least possessed basic reasoning skills and could be talked to. This little brat, however, existed purely to generate a cheap horror atmosphere, pouncing right at your face without a single word of dialogue.
Haruto immediately spun around and grabbed Youmu by the shoulders, his tone dripping with exaggerated accusation. "Youmu, you've changed! You didn't even make a move just now! You almost scared me to death!"
The half-phantom blinked, looking utterly wronged. "Didn't you explicitly tell me... to wait for your command before acting?" she replied weakly.
Haruto choked on his words. Unable to form a logical counterargument, he resorted to pinching her soft, tender cheeks with both hands, stretching them outward to vent his petty dissatisfaction.
Releasing the squirming swordswoman, he turned his gaze back to the cursed ride. "What a waste," he sighed regretfully. "If only my Gap was large enough, I could directly take this merry-go-round back to Gensokyo."
Kaguya's mouth twitched violently at his words. She was absolutely certain that if Haruto actually dragged a haunted, blood-soaked carnival ride and a murderous ghost back to their home, Yakumo Yukari would string them both up by their ankles and give them a severe thrashing.
"Stop daydreaming about it, let's go quickly," Kaguya urged.
"Alright."
The two had just turned to leave when they both froze in unison.
The merry-go-round was still standing in its original place. And there, sitting perfectly upright on the wooden horse, was the Little Girl. She was completely unharmed, her head attached properly, and she was flashing them a wide, sinister smile.
"Again?!" Haruto yelled, taking a large step backward. He pointed an accusatory finger straight at the mocking ghost. "Go! Youmu!!"
Finally receiving her explicit command, Youmu struck out with her sword without hesitation.
In the next fraction of a second, the entire merry-go-round—along with the Little Girl—was cleanly sliced into two.
Just as Haruto stepped forward, a smug grin forming on his face as he prepared to offer praise, the bisected halves of the ride and the ghost blurred, rapidly restoring themselves in a wash of red light.
Haruto silently moonwalked back to Kaguya's side. "Does she need your help, Kaguya?"
"I can do it alone," Youmu stated firmly, rejecting the offer. Her pride as a swordswoman was on the line now.
She smoothly transferred the long Roukanken to her left hand and drew the shorter Hakurouken from her waist with her right. Lowering her center of gravity, she leaned forward, sliding her left foot a half-step ahead. She brought the twin blades together, crossing them into a tilted cross formation at her right side.
Instantly, the atmosphere around her shifted abruptly. The air grew heavy, and a sharp, dangerous glint flashed through her emerald green eyes.
"Karmic Wind Divine Flash Slash!"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
An explosion of silver-white sword light erupted from her position, soaring into the murky sky before crashing down like a continuous, torrential rain of blades. The blinding storm of slashes completely enveloped the entire merry-go-round and the shrieking Little Girl.
The cursed attraction shattered inch by inch under the relentless barrage. The Little Girl collapsed into a bloody mist again and again, desperately trying to condense and regenerate, only to be ruthlessly sliced apart by a fresh wave of sword light the very microsecond she took shape.
Finally—
Click.
Sheathing her twin swords, Youmu let out a slow, measured breath.
The massive merry-go-round had completely dissipated into the fog. In its place, resting quietly on the scarred earth, was a harmless, palm-sized merry-go-round toy, complete with a tiny doll in a red dress sitting on top.
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