落とし穴１５２堀：夏の怪談リバイバル 女神という名の災難と救い (Part2)
However, it was safe to assume that by the time we had captured the Axeman, the situation had already deviated from the horror story Luna had envisioned. That explained why we hadn't found any means of escape.
"Well, if we don't find anything after searching the banquet hall, let's head to the room where that woman in the red dress vanished. That should align with Luna's desires."
"I have a bad feeling about that, though."
"Let's worry about that after we search the banquet hall. We might just find a back door."
As we were discussing this and heading toward the banquet hall...
"Eeeek!?"
A scream echoed from the direction of the guest rooms. It was unmistakably Hifi. And the screaming was getting closer, fast.
"What is she doing now?"
"Is she going to be okay, screaming like that?"
"If there’s something out there, it’s definitely going to come running," I muttered, staring down the corridor. Hifi came sprinting toward us, sobbing...
"Gah!?"
And right behind her, nearly ten people, their eyes vacant like zombies, were in hot pursuit. The only saving grace was that they weren't running. They looked anything but friendly.
My first instinct was to leave Hifi to her fate...
"Yuki!! Help meeee!! I picked up something that looked like a key and they just suddenly appeared!!"
"That’s definitely the key to our escape!!"
Nice, or maybe not. You’re incredible, you know that? Luna must have panicked and thrown them in because the situation was getting too unpredictable. I couldn't abandon Hifi now.
"Taiki! Taizo-san!" I shouted, hoisting my axe.
"Leave it to me. Fortunately, there are plenty of things here that can serve as weapons!" Taiki said, grabbing a chair.
"Well, I suppose Hifi-san would be angry if we left her behind," Taizo-san added, lifting a table with ease.
Both of them had made up their minds. It seemed this kind of chaotic development was just a natural occurrence for me. No matter how cautiously I tried to act, it always ended up like this. Well, I suppose I should be grateful that at least one of the four of us was a woman, adding a touch of grace to the situation?
"Save meeee!!"
No, I couldn't possibly call a useless goddess who came running toward us with snot streaming down her face "graceful."
"Taiki, Taizo-san! Formation F3!"
"Understood!!"
It was worth playing those night games after all. Using the shorthand, Taiki and Taizo-san immediately understood the formation and took their positions.
"Hifi, get behind me!"
As I said that, Hifi slid behind me without a moment's hesitation.
"Ooooaaaahhh...!!"
The zombie-like horde closed in.
"Let's go!!"
"Yeah!!"
At this point, running and hiding was no longer an option. If that was the case, we’d just have to smash our way through! There wasn't a shred of horror left; it had devolved into a panic-fest, or perhaps it had taken a step off the cliff into pure slapstick.
Thinking this, I swung my axe at the zombies closing in, kicked them away, and threw desks and tables left and right alongside Taiki and Taizo-san, engaging in a wild, brawling rampage.
And then... I couldn't tell if it had been an instant or a long time, but before I knew it...
"Huff... huff... whew."
I stood there, using my axe as a cane to catch my breath.
"Phew... man, that was intense."
"Yeah, that was a good workout for the first time in a while."
Taiki and Taizo-san were safe. We were all a bit battered, but there were no fatal injuries. Luna must have been holding back to some extent. It seemed she wasn't actually trying to kill us. Thanks to that, we were able to get by just by shattering the zombies' leg bones and knocking them down. Well, I did crush a few heads in the process, but for that kind of undead, that should be fine.
...They’d probably revive after a certain amount of time, so we’d better tie them up securely.
"You guys talk like you just finished a refreshing exercise, but you’re seriously abnormal. Those things Luna-sama prepared weren't your average ghosts. And yet..."
"Shut it. Just because the opponent is strong doesn't mean I'm going to let them win. Anyway, the key."
"Ah, right. But, this is..."
What she handed over was...
"Damn, that useless goddess."
It was the key to the room we were staying in. Seriously? That’s the punchline? Hifi always managed to demonstrate her power to bring about a "good" result through her troublesome final actions. And Yuki and his group were out there causing a ruckus like a certain legendary yakuza.
This isn't horror anymore!