Chapter 52
New Case 2: The Circus Doll
Thud!
“Ugh.”
As the containment door opened, Marie’s body collapsed onto the floor.
Her appearance was a wreck as she returned to the desolate corridor. Her once silky hair was matted and clumped with se-en, and her previously flawless skin was now blotched with bruises and handprints.
“Huff, huff…”
Puddles of se-en formed on the corridor floor, all of it seeping from Marie’s front and rear. Her belly, swollen like a balloon, finally deflated, allowing her to muster enough strength to prop herself up with her trembling arms.
Cement pieces, glued to her b******s by the se-en, clung stubbornly. As she brushed them off, she noticed something cold and metallic.
“Ha, haha.”
It was the iron door.
The wooden door had reverted to the containment door she recognized from reality. Marie traced the surface with her fingertips. It was cold. She hadn’t expected to feel such relief from something so frigid.
Resting her forehead against the cool door, she sighed deeply.
‘Think.’
She repeated the word like a mantra. She couldn’t afford to stop thinking. To survive, she needed to continuously assess her situation.
‘Keep thinking.’
Initially, she had been pulled into the Iron Horse Knight’s nightmare. Gradually, she gained some influence, and eventually, she nearly seized control. If she had stayed a bit longer, escaping the dream might not have been impossible.
Not allowed.
The nightmare had suddenly intervened, blocking her. Marie recalled the enormous, cloudy eye that had torn through the sky. It had been colossal, and for a moment, its power had been enough to subdue both her and the Iron Horse Knight.
But Marie couldn’t afford to be overwhelmed by the surreal sight.
The pupil.
In that vast pupil, she glimpsed reality.
Flashing screens.
The faint image of a fallen control room staff member’s arm.
And a gentle smile.
What are you looking at?
John Doe.
He had spoken to the owner of the eye. Marie could even hear his voice.
Realizing this, an enemy had ripped her from the Iron Horse Knight’s dream and thrown her out, bringing her to her current state. She had missed her chance to wake up, but it didn’t matter.
The enemy had felt threatened.
This meant that the enemy’s power was not absolute. There was evidence to support this. Marie’s ability to change the Iron Horse Knight’s dream was proof. Now, she needed to figure out how she could interfere in the Iron Horse Knight’s dream.
There had to be a trigger.
A deep connection with the monster…
“…”
She had one. When the Iron Horse Knight wavered, the enemy had pushed her into a deeper nightmare, but she managed to gain more influence. Reflecting on this, she had a suspicion.
‘It can’t be that.’
Marie tried to dismiss the thought.
Could defeating the enemy be because of… s-x?
Bang.
But no matter how she looked at it, that seemed to be the case. Marie banged her head against the iron door.
‘Dear God.’
She sought God in her dreams, even though she wasn’t particularly religious.
* * *
Unfortunately, Marie didn’t have the luxury of time. She could now smell the dust, the old metal, and even the faint grassy scent from the moss. She had a strong feeling that if her senses became any more vivid, she wouldn’t be able to distinguish between dream and reality.
Ironically, it was these vivid sensations that confirmed she was in a dream.
The dried se-en on her skin.
Marie brushed it off with a laugh. If this were reality, J would have already appeared to clean it up, shaking its tentacles in jealous irritation. She found some solace in her messy state.
If the Iron Hose Knight hadn’t filled her with his se-en, if J hadn’t been so endearingly jealous all the time…
Marie might have already mistaken this for reality and collapsed in despair.
‘I miss them.’
She missed her monsters dearly.
She wanted to hug and kiss them.
She had to go back. She couldn’t just sit here.
Marie staggered to her feet, grabbing the iron door and shaking it.
Thud!
The containment door didn’t budge. It seemed that the nightmare had blocked it. After pacing in front of it a few times, Marie turned away. Lingering on something that wouldn’t work was pointless. She passed through the empty shattered mirror room and stopped in front of the marionette troupe’s room.
♩♭
Approaching the circus tent, she heard faint music. Just as she was about to pull back the tent flap,
Why are you the only one okay?
The stripes on the tent twisted, forming a crude, crayon-like eye. Dull blue. It was the Nightmare.
Why?
It stared at her curiously, as if unable to comprehend her. But Marie had no time to waste. She needed to save her monster.
“Get out of my way.”
As she gripped the tent, black smoke billowed out. Coughing, Marie refused to let go. The nightmare, annoyed, narrowed its eye.
I’ve changed the rules a bit. So…
Soon, the eye distorted and vanished with the smoke. Simultaneously, the circus tent flap she held opened wide.
You, fall into hell, too.
Marie, leaving behind the clear malice, stepped into the Troupe Leader’s nightmare.
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