They entered the Wax Museum again. On the surface, it seemed little different from when they had left. The few differences amounted to various public facilities having been knocked over in a chaotic mess.
"After we left, other people came here. Then they clashed with their own wax figures..."
Himeko easily arrived at that conclusion, but there was something she did not understand.
"According to Himechi Cat's description, the wax figures should be about as strong as the people entering the Wax Museum. Why were the later arrivals chased into such a sorry state?"
"Let me!"
Taco confidently stepped forward and ordered his Smart Glasses to analyze the situation.
"String Bean, tell me what happened here!"
[All right! I'll look up exactly what happened here right away... Wow, what a mess! I suggest you immediately call the Housekeeping Company and request two cleaners. The Housekeeping Company's number is...]
"I asked what happened here, not what I should do!"
[Sorry, sorry, I misunderstood you. Let me see... Wow! That's a human wax figure made by a renowned master. Its work is so lifelike it looks as though it could come alive! But why has it been damaged? I suggest calling the police immediately and having the culprit severely punished!]
"Did it run out of tokens? Why has it started spouting nonsense?"
Taco regretfully stepped aside, but Himeko focused.
"Listen carefully. There's a sound."
"Hm?"
Taco pricked up his ears. A moment later, they heard a piercing roar from the second floor.
"Motherfucker-"
"Second floor. Follow me."
Without hesitation, Himeko hurried upstairs, spear in hand. The stairs were not hard to find, and having taken them once before, she knew the way.
As soon as they reached the upper floor, they heard a rapid succession of footsteps. They could tell just from the sound that an intense chase was underway.
"Fuck! Why did they come so fast this time? How the hell were you keeping watch?"
Duncan cursed at Inukai, who was likewise running for his life beside him. Inukai wished he could stick his tongue out to cool off.
"Bakayaro! How should I know they were so cunning? And doesn't your skill have a twenty-four-hour cooldown? Why doesn't your wax figure's?"
Inukai cursed right back, and Duncan had no way to argue.
Even setting aside the fact that he had held something back and lied about his skill's cooldown, even if he had not lied, who could handle twelve hours turning into twelve seconds for the other guy?
More terrifyingly, the wax figure already had a 500% boost. When it activated Adrenaline Surge again, the bonuses multiplied rather than added together.
With his skill active, the wax Duncan had a full 2,500% stat boost.
"Impossible! We went back and forth several times, and it only used its skill the first time. If it had been just twelve seconds all along, it couldn't have wasted several chances to catch me. Something must have changed during that time and made him stronger!"
The two ran desperately onward and came face-to-face with Himeko, who had come upon hearing the commotion.
"It's you!"
Duncan had seen Himeko beating up monsters, so he naturally recognized her. Then his gaze fell on Himechi Cat, who had arrived with her.
One fleeting glimpse.
He ran even faster, showing no intention of asking for help.
When Inukai saw Himeko, he immediately realized she was the Crimson Beast whom his side's three motherless-fucker commentators had provoked for no reason. He had intended to stop and cling to her for help, only to see Duncan dart even farther away with strides beyond human limits.
Though he did not understand why, after a moment's consideration, he ran after him, completely ignoring Himeko.
Like arrows loosed from a bow, the two raced downstairs without looking back.
"Watch where you're going! You nearly crashed into me!"
Taco cursed at the two men who had already run far away, while Himeko frowned and looked in the direction they had come from.
"We guessed right. Something is chasing them."
Another Duncan and Inukai appeared deep in the corridor.
They were running madly too, their faces twisted, as though they wanted to tear everything before them to pieces.
[Duncan?, Level Three Danger. An Adrenaline² Superman who underwent another surge after Adrenaline Surge. He really could kill a cow with one punch.] [Inukai?, Level One Danger. A wax figure formed from the inner reflection of the Neon contestant. It likewise possesses all of Inukai's abilities.] [Targets detected to be in a frenzied state, suspected to be under a harmful influence from somewhere within the Wax Museum.]
Just as Himeko could sense the threat from the Wax Museum, the sprinting wax Duncan and wax Inukai could clearly sense the dangerous aura emanating from her.
Both stopped in their tracks. A little fox with nine tails following right behind them rammed its forehead straight into the wax Inukai's backside.
[Nine-Tailed Fox?, Level Two Danger. A 1:1 replica of the Neon contestant's Guardian Deity. Speaking of which, why does this thing have a wax figure too?]
The two men and one fox faced Himeko from a dozen or so paces away.
Realizing something was wrong, Taco activated Harden and stood stiffly beside the stairs.
"Move."
The wax Duncan broke the silence. That strange, sticky, dripping-wet Pistol appeared in his hand.
"My gun is very fast."
He aimed the muzzle at Himeko. Unhurriedly, she likewise leveled her spear tip at him.
"So you can actually talk? I thought Himechi Cat was the only one here I could communicate with."
"Before you turned me into this, I was called Himeko too."
Himeko ignored Himechi Cat's complaint and continued blocking the wax figures' path.
The already tense atmosphere instantly became a standoff.
Taco eyed the spear in Himeko's hand doubtfully.
"A spear against a pistol? Can Himeko really do it?"
Hearing this, Himechi Cat signaled that he could put his heart all the way down in his backside.
"Look, their gun is so short, and Himeko's spear is so long. In a place like this, a long weapon is guaranteed to beat a short one. That's Himeko's first victory."
"Himeko has one victory, and the wax figures have zero. Which is greater, one or zero? That goes without saying. So that's Himeko's second victory."
"Himeko has two victories, and the wax figures have zero. Straight to three-zero. A total landslide!"
Taco nodded repeatedly as he listened. "That's true."
[Is this guy a fucking idiot?]
[But I really think Himechi Cat makes a lot of sense.]
[I want a Himechi Cat. Anyone know where I can get one?]
[Why isn't Himeko using her chainsaw?]
[Maybe this spear looks cooler? But how can a cold weapon beat a firearm? Did she get cocky because things were too easy before?]
[Does a chainsaw count as a firearm?]
On the second floor of the Wax Museum, seeing that he could not force Himeko back, the wax Duncan pulled the trigger without hesitation, wanting to show her the power of technology.
With a sharp crack, a Specialized Bullet whistled out.
At the same time, a yellow energy cannon blast flew toward Duncan from the tip of Himeko's spear.
Before you continue