ATAPOW Chapter 259
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Chapter 259: Operating Instructions
“Crack!” Ji Bai’s longsword plunged straight through the wooden puppet and into the bed frame beneath.
The doll collapsed in on itself like a deflating balloon. Its grotesque face caved inwards, while its childishly-drawn eyes fixed on him, giving it the appearance of a desiccated, bloodless corpse.
“Y-You just went and stabbed the thing… like that?” Bohlmann’s eyes widened in disbelief. His face turned pale as he froze in shock at the brutal simplicity of the knight’s action.
“This is the fastest and most efficient way to distinguish between human and ghost on the spot. Got a problem with that?” The armored man cast a brief, dismissive glance at the old man and his theatrics.
“But… isn’t that a bit too rash?” The utterly terrified innkeeper felt his pale lips trembling as he struggled to get his words out.
“You can’t expect me to reason with a ghost, can you?” Seeing Bohlmann fall silent, Ji Bai withdrew his sword, sending the puppet tumbling across the ground like a ball.
As it rolled, its painted eyes gleamed eerily in the flickering candlelight. Bright crimson liquid flowed out from its gashes, like blood from a wound.
“T-That puppet… it couldn’t have been brought to life, could it?” The elderly man took an involuntary step back, his face ashen. “We should stop while we still can! Before we bring a curse to ourselves!”
“It’s too late to worry about that now.” The knight shrugged.
“What do you mean by that…” The old man followed his gaze and was instantly paralyzed by terror, his hair standing on end.
The withered puppet, which had collapsed on the ground like a lifeless corpse, got back to its feet. As if time itself were rewinding, the crimson liquid that was splattered all over the floor began flowing back into its frame, healing its wounds in an instant.
“I knew it, we’re doomed! Didn’t I warn you? There’s a higher power watching us, observing our every move. Even if you don’t believe in gods and ghosts, you should at least show them some respect!”
“No point regretting it now. All this talk is not going to change anything.” Despite his words, Ji Bai spoke with complete indifference, showing no trace of regret or concern whatsoever.
“Just as I suspected. There’s something off about this.” He slammed the hilt of his sword down into the puppet with all his might, yet it kept springing back up like a roly-poly toy.
[Silver Throne] howled through the air, flashing silver in the pale moonlight as the blade struck true, severing the wooden head and sending it tumbling beneath the bed.But then, something even more unsettling happened.
The headless body jerked to life, scraping and clawing blindly across the floor as its hands groped about for its missing head.
“Crack!” His longsword plunged forcefully into the puppet’s back, pinning the monstrosity firmly to the floor. It could only flail its limbs in vain, like a fish flopping on a deck.
“What sorcery is this…” Bohlmann stammered, his body trembling as he retreated behind the knight and the girl. He could faintly hear a soft, persistent knocking from the door.
“Who’s there?” He pulled it open and recoiled sharply, scrambling back to his companions for safety.
At the sound, Ji Bai turned around.
In the corridor stood a dense army of marionettes, grotesque and varied in both pose and form.
“Thud!” Lin backed away until her back hit the wall, falling to the floor with her legs sprawled awkwardly beneath her. Only the knight had maintained his composure amidst the chaos.
‘Shouldn’t these puppets make some creaking noises when they move?’’
Lost in thought, he swung his blade, splitting the wooden figures at the doorway in half with a single strike.
“Clunk, clunk…” Severed wooden heads and limbs scattered across the room, the relentless rolling sounds sending shivers down his companions’ spines.
Despite having regenerative powers, they made no effort to heal the severed parts, instead reveling in toying with and terrorizing their opponent. Their graffitied faces, twisted into eerie smiles, bouncing and rolling around Ji Bai like balls.
The scraping against the floor seemed to intertwine, transforming into a twisted, unsettling laughter.
“Trying to provoke me, are you?” He raised an eyebrow, putting away [Silver Throne] and sliding [Tranquility] free from its scabbard.
“Whoosh!!” A gust of wind burst through the partly open window, rushing into the room as tendrils of black aura twisted around the pitch-black sword tip.
The rolling heads and limbs inside the room fell silent, as if paralyzed by an unspeakable terror. Ji Bai could hear chilling screams erupting from deep within them. Moments later, their scattered parts began to bump and tumble, frantically reassembling themselves like panicked refugees colliding in their desperate escape.
“This is no time to rest.” Seeing the puppets temporarily frozen in place, Ji Bai extended his hand toward Lin. Yet, her glazed-over eyes and ceaseless murmuring made it clear that she was in no state to respond.
‘Are you kidding me? Shouldn’t she be the one to protect me here, not the other way around?’
With no other choice, he lifted her onto his back.
“Sir, if you don’t wish to die here, follow me!” Ji Bai wielded his black longsword, carving a path through the sea of wooden figures.
But in the heat of the moment, no one noticed a crucial detail: Just before his blade struck, the mass of puppets had stood rigidly in place, completely unresponsive.
The sensation of being watched faded as the dolls fell, which he dismissed as the result of eliminating the threats. Without hesitation, he pressed forward, carrying the vampire on his back, while the elderly man timidly trailed beside him, clutching a lamp.
Under the knight’s lead, the group burst out of the first room and rushed to the second, slamming and locking the door behind them.
Since those wooden constructs could not be killed, he decided it was best to evade them until he could find a way to neutralize the threat.
“Huff, huff… Good heavens, I thought I was done for!” Bohlmann doubled over, gasping for breath.
Although Ji Bai was in a better state, the vampire’s low body temperature made him feel like he was carrying a giant chunk of ice rather than a living, breathing being.
Driven by her survival instinct, Lin was curled up on his back, clinging as if her life depended on it. Her head bowed, she was quivering uncontrollably.
‘Great. So much for her help.’
It would not be easy to shake this ‘deadweight’ off his back now.
The girl seemed no different from an octopus with how she clung to him. She was trembling uncontrollably like a frightened rabbit, refusing to budge no matter what he said.
Giving up on prying off this unwanted passenger, the knight surveyed the room’s interior – It was a mirror image of the first, with a wall in the middle dividing the two spaces.
As the armored man wondered if a puppet might be hiding in some corner, Bohlmann, having just regained his senses, suddenly widened his eyes after scanning the room. His face turned a deep, choking purple, as if he had seen something horrific.
“What’s wrong?” Ji Bai asked in confusion, unable to make sense of the old man’s reaction.
“Sir Knight! Has this lady been on your back since we escaped?”
“Obviously. Who else is here besides us three?”
“N-No…” Bohlmann scrambled backwards until his back was pressed against a wall.
“B-But… I swear I saw three people come in here earlier!”
“You must be seeing things. No matter how you look at it, there’s no way we could have four living souls in the room right now.”
“No, I’m certain! I witnessed it with my eyes just now…”
“Just take a break for now.” The knight said, paying no mind to the old man’s words. He walked over to the door and peered through the peephole, looking for any movement outside.
With the puppets no longer trailing them, the corridor seemed to have fallen silent once more.
“I know what I saw! I’m sure of it!” Bohlmann had grown inexplicably agitated, his gaze fixed on Ji Bai’s back.
“You’re overthinking it.” The man rose to his feet unhurriedly, having moved away from the door to squat beside a peeling section of the wall earlier. Throughout this, his tone and expression remained perfectly composed, without a hint of unease.
“Give me a moment to recover, and I’ll catch whoever’s pulling the strings behind all this.” The last few words of his were delivered with particular venom.
“Let’s get out of here now! Just being here is making my spine tingle. Who knows, your friend might already be back, safe and sound, sleeping in his room!” As if sensing the knight’s resolve to continue, the old man grew even more frantic.
“Fine, do what you want. I-I’m drowsy and need to rest…”
“We can rest once we’ve caught whoever’s behind all this, sir. Besides, how can you possibly sleep at night with all these strange things lying around the house? Instead of treating the symptoms, why don’t I handle this for you and root out the problem tonight?” Ji Bai blocked Bohlmann’s path. Though his face was hidden behind his impassive helmet, the old man could not shake the feeling that an ill-intentioned smile was playing on his lips right now.
‘Great, now the knight’s losing it too! This is complete madness! We’re doomed!’’
“Thud, thud, thud…” Footsteps echoed down the corridor from the third floor, each step louder than the last.
They drew closer and closer, coming to a halt outside the door.
The three of them held their breath inside the room.
After a while, Ji Bai peered through the peephole to check the hallway outside.
It was cloaked in darkness, with nothing in sight.
‘This thing can move in total silence, yet it deliberately lets its footsteps be heard. Could it be doing this on purpose?’
He pushed the thought aside. Beside him, Bohlmann was visibly shaken, clutching the lamp with trembling hands while casting strange glances at him. Meanwhile, the parasite on his back seemed to be out cold, showing no signs of life.
Since none of them could be trusted, he would have to finish this alone.
“Sir, let’s check out the 3rd floor. Maybe whoever’s behind this is hiding in some corner up there… Do I have something on my face?” The knight asked, perplexed as he noticed the old man’s blank stare – not at him, but at the area above his head.
Following the innkeeper’s gaze, he saw a dark figure crouched on the ceiling. Its sunken cheeks were covered in wrinkles, resembling an old, tattered cloth while its tongue darted in and out like a snake.
“God, it’s here!” Before he could react, Bohlmann let out a scream, flinging the door open and bolting out. Ji Bai followed closely behind without hesitation.
“Hey—wait! Sir, you’re going the wrong way…” He started to call out, but when he saw the old man frantically dash upstairs, he swallowed his words and followed.
One after the other, they rushed into a room on the third floor.
“Huff, huff, huff!…” The innkeeper leaned against a large wardrobe, gasping for breath. The knight, arriving moments later, quietly shut the door as if nothing had happened.
“What in heaven’s name were those things? That was too frightening… I’m selling this place as soon as I can!” Bohlmann muttered bitterly, visibly shaken from his ordeal.
“Oh? You’re putting this building for sale?”
“Ah? …Are you interested in buying it, Sir Knight??”
“As long as you’re willing to sell, money is no object… Of course, if you could share the instructions for these ‘toys,’ I’d be most grateful.” Ji Bai slowly closed in on the old man, whose expression was growing stiffer by the minute.