In a dire situation where blood-teared mascots without any pupils stared at me, I was faced with the request: “Hey, things have come to this. Go ahead and kill someone first.”
Lies flowed effortlessly from my lips.
“It’s a trap?”
“Yes, think about it.”
Avoiding the crazed mascots looming around the window, I tried to maintain an expression of “I’ve just had a brilliant idea.”
“It’s this darkness that made us form a team. But, would it really be okay to recklessly kill a teammate?”
Actually, yes, it would be fine.
“This darkness strangles us if we’re even slightly separated. But what would happen if you kill someone?”
We can just carry the corpse around.
But in that process… My cowardly heart might just give up, and I’d end up vomiting, earning the reputation of ‘this guy’s a liability.’ which would very well put me in the perfect spot to die…
“…No matter how I think about it, I feel like there’d be an enormous penalty.”
“Hm.”
The eyes under the butterfly mask narrowed.
“There could be a penalty for not killing, too, right?”
“On the other hand, we could all die if we do kill someone.”
“…”
“If both are possible, isn’t it more reasonable to choose the path that preserves our numbers?”
The deputy seemed slightly shaken.
I swallowed nervously and added,
“Of course, the final decision lies with you, deputy...”
“Yeah! If you kill me, you’ll die too, huh? You crazy bastard! You don’t want to die either. So stop….”
Whack.
I decisively struck the back of the researcher’s neck.
He passed out.
‘I’ve set up the perfect stage filled with lies, so why are you so eager to die?’
‘No wonder he’s been wasting time gambling at the office with no sense of self!’
Apparently freed from whatever restriction bound him, the new hire from Team Y released the researcher’s limbs, with his face pale with fear.
Having seen everything, the superior from Team A spoke slowly.
I waited anxiously.
“You.”
“…”
“Make sure you don’t regret this.”
I survived.
“Yes, of course.”
The superior didn’t reciprocate. It seemed my evaluation had taken a considerable hit.
But that wasn’t the issue right now.
What mattered was that I had managed to get through this moment.
[Die…]
The narration, which had been repeatedly urging “Die,” gradually faded as we stopped attacking each other.
Flicker.
When the train’s lights blinked again—
“They’re… gone!”
The mascots surrounding the windows had disappeared.
All that remained were bloodstains.
“…”
But it wasn’t just the mascots that had vanished.
“They’re gone.”
The mascot conductor.
The cheerful theme park music.
The upbeat departure announcement.
“…”
Creak.
Manually pushing the train out ourselves, we found the interior eerily devoid of sound and light.
“…Feels like we stepped on a landmine.”
“…”
That… was true.
I recalled one of the exploration records.
-------------------------------
Cheerful Theme Park Guidebook (Applicable to Exploration Record #64 and earlier)
4. Each zone in the theme park is given a color according to a theme! The place you first wake up is your team’s zone!
Respect the zones. The zones are very important. Look at the colors. Don’t annoy the mascots. The mascots are everything in the zone.
-------------------------------
This rule wasn’t just for show…
If you offend the mascot in a colored zone, you’ll lose your status as a “guest” in that zone.
You might end up in a deadly game of tag.
But stepping on this landmine is at least better than triggering a nuke.
‘Mascot demands scale up like an escalator.’
At first, they usually ask for simple things.
Like eat something, hold something, give a warm hug.
“But asking us to commit murder right off the bat?”
At this rate, by the time we reach the next attraction, being alive would be a worse fate.
For example, being asked to “Make a balloon using your bladder”—I’d read about such madness in the exploration records before.
By that point, the mascot’s influence grows so strong you can’t even refuse.
‘It’s better to die.’
This is a world where fates worse than death are common.
Even now, there’s still a way out.
I swallowed hard.
‘Run.’
If I leave the red rabbit’s zone and enter another mascot’s territory, they can’t aggro us anymore.
To do that… let’s see.
‘There it is!’
I finally spotted something on the dimly lit exit path.
“There’s something over there.”
“Huh?”
The whole reason I boarded this attraction was for this.
A theme park map!
[Fantasyland Color Map]
At the end of the attraction, there’s a map showing the zones of each mascot.
I hurried toward it, muttering as I went.
“A map. This could be useful to us.”
“H-How so?”
At first glance, it looked like nothing more than decoration.
Since the attraction introduces fantasyland, it makes sense to visually represent it.
But the information it contained would be invaluable.
“Do you remember the plot of this attraction?”
“Uh, well, something about the theme park mascots fighting over land….”
“Exactly.”
I nodded.
“This map likely shows the zones of the other mascots.”
“…!”
It would reveal the shortest route to another colored zone.
“You think running away from the monster is a good idea? Carrying that guy?”
The senior from Team A pointed toward the unconscious researcher I was carrying.
Fearing she might suggest killing him, I replied immediately,
“I’ll wake up the researcher and have him walk properly once we’ve checked the map.”
“Hmph.”
Please, no murder show here….
Seeing some sort of hope, the rookie from Team Y looked slightly relieved.
I probably looked the same.
‘Please be close.’
I took a deep breath and quickly approached the map to confirm—
“…”
“…”
“It’s… not there.”
What?
I checked the map again.
But the image didn’t change.
[Fantasyland Color Map]
The entire theme park layout that was depicted,
All of it.
Red.
[Magic Bunny Zone] [Magic Bunny Zone] [Magic Bunny Zone] [Magic Bunny Zone] [Magic Bunny Zone]
Every label bore the face of Magic Bunny.
“Ah.”
[Magic Bunny’s fantasyland]
There was nowhere left to run.
“…”
“…”
“I-Isn’t this strange? Sol-eum, there were definitely other mascots earlier….”
“They’ve all been driven out.”
“…!”
The narration from the attraction played automatically in my mind.
“Push them into pits, drown them in water, shove them off the cliffs!”
In that case...
“The yellow and blue mascots must’ve been killed. That red mascot has taken over this place, entirely.”
“…”
“Then… what about those who chose the other pieces?”
“Who knows.”
The superior from Team A shrugged.
“All missing, I guess?”
“…!”
“…!”
“Is that really important right now? What’s important is…”
The eyes beneath the butterfly mask grew sinister once more.
“I think you made the wrong choice.”
“…”
“Don’t worry. It’s not like you’ll be the first to die.”
The meaning was clear.
Someone else will die first.
“It’s already too late.”
“…”
…Reflexively, I turned to the researcher who was slumped over my shoulder like a sack of luggage, unconscious.
Boring.
“…!!”
“Wh-What…?”
B o r i n g.
The sound echoed in my head.
B o r i n g.
Haven’t I heard this somewhere before?
Oh, it’s from that talk show. The Tuesday Talk Show. That revamped program with the Purgatory Choir, that dead pig head’s screaming—wait, what was its mascot, again? Wait it the Magic Bunny?
“Ugh.”
I clutched my ears.
B o r i n g.
I glanced down.
The admission ticket on my wrist was vibrating.
[(Cheerful) Fantasyland Admission Ticket ■□□]
[(Cheerful) Fantasyland Admission Ticket ■□□]
The sound… it was coming from here.
N o t f u n.
Screeeeech.
The ticket began to tear from the vibrations.
-------------------------------
1 - Keep your admission wristband clean!
If lost or damaged, you are no longer a guest. And if you’re not a guest? Then you’re an intruder. A thief! A criminal! You will face dreadful punishment. Or…
Do you want to become an employee?
-------------------------------
No way.
I desperately tried to think of a solution.
But there was nothing.
Absolutely no escape. Nowhere to run! To preserve my dignity, I’d be better off taking my own life before it’s too late….
– Kim Sol-eum.
Even hallucinations now, huh?
– Kim Sol-eum. Can you hear me?
‘…’
It wasn’t a hallucination!
I jerked my head up.
There was nothing visible in the air, but the voice in my ear was too clear to be a trick of the mind.
Its owner was….
“…Team Leader?”
– Yes.
It was Lizard Manager Lee Jaheon.
A strange sense of déjà vu washed over me. The situation had flipped, but still!
“How are you contacting me?!”
– I’m using Supervisor Park Minseong’s custom equipment.
B o r i n g.
The voices overlapped, muffling the Magic Bunny’s words. I realized only then that I was on the verge of hyperventilating.
But that wasn’t the point….
– Roe, are you okay? You’re still alive, right?
– We’re fine, by the way! We just finished three attractions!
Team D was all together. How was that possible?
“But… weren’t the three of you on different teams?”
I remembered it clearly.
‘Team Leader Lee was on the blue team, and the others were on the yellow team!’
– Roe, that’s not the point right now….
“It is important! You were on different teams, yet you woke up in the same area of the theme park?”
A brief silence.
– No.
Team Leader Lee’s calm voice responded.
– I found the other two and then moved along.
A dozen questions flooded my mind, but the most urgent was this.
“…Where did you find them?”
– On the outskirts of the blue zone.
“…So you’re currently in the blue mascot’s territory?”
N o t f u n
– Yes.
A chill ran down my spine.
“The map doesn’t show it. Could you at least tell me where the blue zone is?”
– I don’t know.
Damn it.
“You don’t need to know the exact coordinates. Any nearby attractions or cardinal directions would do.”
– Understood.
A brief pause.
– The west—
Click.
The connection was cut off.
“Team Leader?”
No answer.
It was likely that the time limit on the special equipment had expired.
But more importantly….
“Th-The… west?”
The new recruit from Team Y, who had been straining to listen alongside me, turned pale.
The superior from Team A had a similar expression.
The reason was simple.
‘We’re already in the west.’
That’s right.
The Fantasy Train was located near the far western edge of the fantasyland map.
Surrounded by rugged forests to the east, the west side was lined with smooth walls.
And right next to those walls was this attraction.
There was no place in fantasyland more west than here!
B o r i n g.
“Looks like we were dropped into different theme parks. Maybe something like a timeline where the blue mascot won. It’s always like that with the darkness, right?”
Different places?
Like entirely separate parallel dimensions?
N o t f u n
“No.”
That couldn’t be it.
“This darkness is derived from a board game. There’s no way it would use different boards for the same game.”
“Hey. Shut up.”
The Team A senior replied coldly.
“Blabber all you want, but if it doesn’t match reality, don’t bother thinking it over.”
No, this wasn’t speculation. It was inductive reasoning.
I wanted to explain that there were countless examples to prove it, but I knew they wouldn’t believe me. What we needed now was… the correct answer.
Where exactly was the “west”?
‘Think. Quickly.’
There had to be an answer.
I looked at the Fantasyland color map again. All zones were still painted red.
Ferris wheel, carousel, roller coaster, columbus, magic palace. Each ride bore the grinning red face of the Magic Bunny.
Every single attraction… wait a minute.
“…!”
B o r i n g.
Hold on.
I scanned the map again.
And then I realized.
“…I found it!”
“What?”
“A different color zone.”
It was this way.
I moved with certainty. Whether driven by my confidence or a glimmer of hope, the team followed me.
N o t f u n
We had to hurry before the mascot noticed us. There was no time to waste—every second counted as we dashed out of the attraction.
I g n o r i n g m e ?
It was too late.
