The Haunted House (4)

"Here goes nothing. The game begins!"

Leon and the baby exchanged a glance, and a familiar message passed between them through their eye contact. Leon extended his hand, and the baby swiftly grasped it, now mounted on Leon's back.

Knowing the baby wouldn't match his speed, he executed this maneuver quickly, aware that the statues might start moving and obscure their vision with once-invisible dust particles.

*ding*

[WARNING: You sense sinister luck!]

'What?!' Leon abruptly halted in his tracks, unintentionally releasing the baby's grip.

[DO NOT PROCEED FURTHER!]

Leon complied but felt a bit hopeless as he observed other statues charging vigorously towards the doors. However, he couldn't discern what lay ahead due to the swirling clouds of dust and smoke.

Just as Leon contemplated taking another step, lifting his foot, a wild axe emerged out of nowhere, narrowly missing his foot by a second.

"Gotcha!"

It was the clown, realizing it had missed Leon, it put on a sad face and said, "Oh, no 'gotcha' it seems."

Then it quickly changed its expression, as if swapping a mask, "Why are you standing still? Move! I didn't say 'statue' yet, he he he."

The clown's voice echoed in Leon's ears as it raised its arm once again, the axe aimed at Leon.

[TO YOUR RIGHT!]

He instinctively dodged the attack, even though he was initially confused when he saw the clown aiming for his left. It turned out the clown had intended to confuse him so that he'd move in the wrong direction and then avoid the blow on the actual right side.

"Did you see that? What the fuck!" Leon exclaimed to the baby.

Just then, he realized amidst the chaos that the baby wasn't on his back anymore. When he turned forcefully to evade the clown's attack, he saw that the baby had lost its grip on his shoulder.

"Well, not my mistake, not my problem," Leon shrugged, turning to leave.

*ding*

[Save your master or face the consequences!]

'Oh well.'

Leon looked around; the clown was now going mad, completely destroying the statues. He needed to act quickly before it closed in on him.

"Baby—uhh, Elias!" Leon shouted in all directions. Then it dawned on him to look closely at the ground, which was nearly impossible due to the cloud of dust and smoke.

"Darn it," he gritted his teeth. The clown could close in on him anytime now if it chose him as the 'lucky' target to smash.

"Oh, my psyche, lead me to my master," he sank down, crouched on the ground, abandoning logical methods of search.

Just then, he felt someone calling his name and caressing his hand. He looked up and, to his delight, saw the baby.

"Leon, my man," the baby lay flat on the ground as if attempting to crawl.

"Oh, thank goodness," he swiftly grabbed Elias, sprinting toward what he believed was the direction of the doors.

"Leon."

"Shhh, no time for jokes, mate. That crackhead could catch up with us anytime!"

"AND STATUE! Hehe," the clown appeared in front of them once again. Leon stumbled backward but quickly regained his composure, standing ready to run, holding the baby at his side.

He soon realized that all the other statues were down, and the dust and smoke were settling. The scene ahead of them was now becoming visible.

All was still, but suddenly everything reverted to its silent state. Leon heard a dripping sound, reminiscent of his time in the hospital, but he brushed aside those thoughts and focused his senses on the noise.

Leon looked down to see the baby staring at him stiffly, eyes brimming with tears. He then noticed its hand clutching something that was covered in blood.

'What the fuck is that?' Leon mouthed.

'My foot.'

'Sorry?'

Leon's mind raced back to the moments before, just before he had narrowly missed the clown's attack. The clown had torn off the baby's foot, which was why its grip had weakened.

Oddly enough, Leon felt a pang of sympathy for what had happened.

*clank*

*clank*

The clown's actions reminded him of his current dire situation. It had transitioned from destroying statues to wielding a huge sword in both of its hands.

'Hey, you didn't tell me about these weapons, shit,' Leon cursed inwardly.

But things were about to get worse.

"Now it's the perfect position for me, and I say RELEASE!"

The freaky clown stood right in front of them, blocking their path. As Leon hesitated to move forward, the clown lunged at them, twirling its swords menacingly.

'Oh no,' Leon's entire body trembled with fear. He saw the baby pass out and held it close, his hands now gripping his moon sword.

*ding*

[Pass right through the clown; your Double-edged moon sword will clear your way!]

"Well, shit."

Leon tightened his grip on his moon sword, drawing it from his suit. Its enchanting glow blinded the clown. Following the instruction, he shut his eyes tightly, then sprinted forward. Before he knew it, he had passed the clown, leaving it looking bewildered.

With a quick glance, Leon reached one of the doors.

'Shit, it's locked.'

The time he had bought from the clown had run out.

Leon didn't stop to wait for a potential beheading. He sprinted for the next door, narrowly avoiding another blow.

The door swung open, and he quickly shut it behind him. However, the clown's attack managed to pierce through the door, tearing into Leon's shoulder. He slumped down, grunting in pain. Beside him lay the moon sword and Elias, who had passed out, his foot clutched in his hand.