A Song of Shattered Plaster
Wreeeeeeeeeng!
The speakers across every single section of the department store began to wail violently in unison.
To human ears, it was nothing more than a dull ringing, a faint, barely perceptible electronic hum.
But to the mannequins, it was a deathly dirge.
The mannequins surrounding me, Otaku, and the construction workers in thick layers froze all at once.
"Huh...?"
Foreman Kim muttered blankly, still holding his steel pipe.
And then.
Crackle. Crack. Craaaack.
Fissures began to spiderweb across the face of the male mannequin standing at the very front of the line.
The cracks spread in an instant—down the neck, across the chest, and out to the limbs.
"Kieeeek! Arghhh!"
Screams erupted from their mouths simultaneously.
And then.
Pop! Bam! Pop!
The mannequins' heads began to detonate.
White powder erupted like geysers.
With that as the signal...
Thud-thud-thud! Crack! Crumble!
Like falling dominoes, the mannequins packing the lobby began to explode in a chain reaction. Arms snapped off, legs shattered, and torsos collapsed like sandcastles.
An untimely blizzard of heavy snow began to fall in the first-floor lobby of the department store.
It was a white dust cloud created by hundreds of plaster statues shattering all at once.
The pungent smell of plaster dust stung our noses, and our vision turned completely white in a bizarre, surreal spectacle.
Even as I coughed, I couldn't tear my eyes away from this overwhelming feast of destruction.
"W-we did it..."
Otaku muttered, his legs giving out as he slumped to the floor.
"Hyung! We did it! My weapon worked!"
"Good lord..."
The construction workers stared in disbelief at the monsters crumbling into dust before their eyes.
Amidst the white cloud of dust, I let out a sigh of relief.
Whew...
I shouted toward the workers, "Is everyone okay?"
"Y-yeah... We survived thanks to you boys. I don't know what kind of sorcery this is, but..."
Foreman Kim was about to continue with a dazed expression when—
Thud... Thump!
A heavy vibration shook the floor.
...?
Everyone's gaze snapped toward the source of the tremor.
The central hall of the luxury goods section.
Rumble.
"No way..."
An ominous premonition shivered down my spine.
The premonition became reality.
Damn it...
Parting the white plaster dust, a massive silhouette emerged.
It possessed bizarrely long, elegant limbs that transcended any golden ratio. Its body was draped in the department store's most expensive wedding dress, the hem dragging along the floor, and a tiara sat atop its head.
The queen of this place.
The very first mannequin.
It was the Queen I had written into my scenario.
"What... what do we do about that... haha?"
Otaku began to tremble like a leaf.
"Calm down. We have to stay calm."
I scrutinized its body.
Its skin wasn't white plaster; it had a smooth, glossy texture, like porcelain or marble.
Damn it, I forgot...
The origin of this urban legend. The very first mannequin, crafted with the utmost care by the department store's founder.
It was made of a special material—fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) mixed with stone powder—making it as heavy and hard as steel.
The frequency Otaku designed was specifically calibrated to destroy the molecular structure of plaster. While it must have dealt some damage to this thing, it was obviously not fatal.
Looking closely, there were indeed fine cracks on its face and limbs.
But the creature seemed to have converted that pain into pure rage.
"Kieeeeeeeeeek!!!!"
The Queen opened its mouth. Its jaw unhinged in a grotesque, unnatural angle.
A screech loud enough to tear eardrums pierced through the high-frequency hum of the speakers. The sheer acoustic pressure of the scream blew away the surrounding mannequin debris.
"Ugh!"
We covered our ears and crouched down.
Its eyes locked onto me.
It was targeting me, specifically.
The culprit who had brought down her kingdom. The intruder who had turned her children to dust.
The Queen hitched up her wedding dress and began to sprint.
Kigigigigiriririri.
The mannequin charged like a runaway train.
It lunged toward me with a stride and speed impossible for any human.
"Get out of the way!!"
I screamed, throwing myself to the side.
Crash!
Its arm swept through the space where I had just been standing. The marble floor split wide open. The sheer force was enough to pulverize bones with a mere graze, causing me to squeeze my eyes shut instinctively.
I gripped my expandable baton, but against a monster like this, it was nothing more than a toothpick.
Otaku cried out, "Hyung! The frequency isn't working! She's completely unfazed!"
"I know! So just run for now!"
Shouting back, I ran in the opposite direction of Otaku and the workers. I had to draw the aggro.
"Hey! You cheap plastic knockoff! Over here!"
I taunted, striking a steel pillar with my baton to lure it.
Kigigigiririri.
As expected, the Queen pursued me.
She's fast.
At this rate, I'll get caught. If she catches me, it's over.
Just then.
"Hey! Kid!"
A gruff voice echoed from somewhere.
I looked back; it was Foreman Kim.
"We just need to tie up its legs, right?"
"What... what are you planning to do?"
"Just watch."
Before he even finished speaking, Foreman Kim dashed toward the construction materials scattered nearby. In his hands was a thick rope used for hauling supplies.
"Mr. Park! Choi! Trip that bitch!"
At Foreman Kim's command, the terrified look in the workers' eyes vanished. These were men who had spent their entire lives on rough construction sites. Monsters were scary, but they were the type who couldn't stand by and watch a comrade get hurt.
"Yes, sir!"
Mr. Park and Choi grabbed the other end of the rope and ran in the opposite direction.
They pulled the rope taut right in the path of the oncoming Queen.
"Now! Pull!"
Snap!
The rope whipped taut in the air.
I kept running frantically to maintain the aggro, and the Queen, too focused on chasing me to look down, caught her ankles on the rope.
Crash!
The massive body lost its balance and pitched forward. With a deafening racket, it slid across the floor.
"We got the bastard! Hold her down! Don't let her get up!"
Foreman Kim roared as he charged. He threw his body over her shoulders. The other workers rushed in with wooden planks and steel pipes, pinning and crushing her limbs.
"Kieeeek! Ke-ke-ke-gek! Kererereck!"
The Queen thrashed violently.
With a single swing of her arm, Choi was sent flying.
"Aaargh!"
The mannequin Queen possessed monstrous strength.
"Ugh! Do something, quick! We can't hold her for long!"
Foreman Kim screamed, locking his arms around her neck.
Gasping for breath, I looked at Otaku.
"Otaku!"
"Y-yes?!"
"Can you crank up the output on your gear?"
"What? It's already at maximum! If I push it any further, the speaker might explode!"
"I don't care if it explodes! Overload it!"
I pointed at the thrashing Queen's head.
"The PA system won't cut it! Go over there and shove it directly into her ear!"
"I... I get it, but..."
Otaku swallowed hard.
Go right up to that monster? Carrying the speaker?
"Ah, screw it! Seriously... if I die, make sure I get worker's comp!"
Otaku screamed, having made up his mind.
He snatched up the equipment from the information desk, slung it over his shoulder, and frantically adjusted the settings on his laptop.
And then.
"Out of the way! Move!"
Clutching the speaker to his chest, he charged at the Queen.
"U-understood!"
"Right!"
Taking advantage of the workers pinning her down, Otaku darted like an arrow straight to the Queen's head.
Then, he practically shoved the output cone of the modified speaker right into the Queen's gaping mouth.
"Go sing in hell, you crazy bitch!"
And with that, he slammed the trigger.
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!
Otaku's speaker vibrated so intensely it sounded like it would tear itself apart.
"Kiyaaaaak... Ka-ah... Gurgle..."
The Queen's screams began to subside. Her face started to shudder violently.
The rigid, reinforced plastic skin rippled like water.
Crackle. Crack. Craaaack.
Its eyeballs bulged. And then—
Pop!
Next, its nose collapsed, and its mouth tore open.
Crack! Boom!
Finally, the Queen's head shattered like a ripe watermelon. Shards erupted in every direction.
Instead of white powder, sharp, jagged fragments rained down over Otaku's face and body.
The headless torso of the Queen thrashed a few more times before going completely limp, its movements ceasing entirely.
Whirrrr... Fizzle. Pop.
Unable to withstand the overload, Otaku's speaker let out a small pop as black smoke billowed from it.
Pant... pant... pant...
Only the sound of ragged breathing remained in the now-silent department store lobby.
I stumbled over and helped Otaku up from where he sat.
"Hey, you actually looked pretty cool just now."
"...Did you... actually consider... the worker's comp?"
Otaku joked, tearing up as he threw his arms around me.
The exhausted construction workers were also sprawled out star-shaped on the floor, staring up at the ceiling.
Foreman Kim chuckled, fumbling around for a cigarette.
"Of all the things... wrestling a mannequin. What a life..."
Just then, the smartphone in my pocket vibrated.
[Seventh Task Completed]
[Reward: Stage Curtain has been activated.]
A brilliant light burst from the smartphone screen.
Ugh!
The light spread between us like a shimmering haze.
"Huh? What the—?" the workers cried out in surprise as the shattered mannequin fragments dissolved into particles of light and vanished.
It happened in an instant.
Everything that had been smashed and broken, starting from the basement, was returning to its original state.
Shattered display windows pieced themselves back together, and torn clothes mended.
And then.
"Huh? Why are we lying on the floor?"
The eyes of Foreman Kim, who was sprawled on the ground, grew hazy.
"Oof, my head... Did I doze off after having our late-night snack?"
Mr. Park and Choi muttered the same.
It seemed the hellish landscape of tonight had been completely erased from their memories.
In its place, an incredibly mundane, ordinary memory of dozing off during a grueling night shift seemed to have filled the void.
Even when they looked at us, they showed no sign of remembering who we were or what we had just done together.
I smiled and spoke up.
"Foremen... you all worked hard tonight."
They tilted their heads in confusion.
"For... what?"
The power of the Stage Curtain.
The moment the incident was resolved and the world was tidied up as if nothing had happened, another message appeared on my smartphone.
[Hidden Condition Met: ]
[An additional reward is being issued.]