Author note: Updated
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In the evening garden of Flower Golden Resort, lights bloom.
Fwoosh.
A beam of light shoots into the sky, spectacularly exploding, cascading glittering lights like a waterfall onto the resort building.
Wow!
All around the garden, flowers of various colors blossom in radiant light, dancing gently and blooming sequentially as if choreographed. Even the luminous flowers held aloft by the non-human guests glow, eliciting exclamations of awe.
A sight so breathtaking it borders on the uncanny.
And soon after, the resort building itself begins to bloom with light.
Vines of glowing light climb upward, glittering along windows and terraces, rising to the very top of the building before bursting brilliantly into shimmering, pollen-like specks of radiance.
Letters carve themselves out in midair.
F L O W E R G O L D E N
At last, he has stepped fully into the spotlight.
The owner of this resort.
The yellow mascot walks out to the center of the garden accompanied by numerous mascots, performing choreographed dances. With each of their movements, the lights dance in harmony.
The cheerful theme song of Cheerful Theme Park flows through the air.
-♩♪♬♬~♩♬♬~♩♪♪
At the same time, faint echoes of the same tune, variated and coming from afar, softly reverberate.
Sounds from distant places.
"..."
The team leader of Black-Tortoise Team 3 glances around quickly.
Red zone and blue zone.
The other zones are also holding their own ceremony events.
Blue zone's fireworks display, and… – Kyahhahahaha!
The parade from the Red Zone.
Led by Magic Bunny, the insanely painful, joyful, horrific, and splendid procession had set off from the Magic Castle at the center of the Red Zone, accompanied by loud music, screams, and cheers.
The details were impossible to discern from this distance, but the team leader could roughly gauge the parade's route.
And she sensed it clearly.
Their destination is here.
This was not the case yesterday. They must have changed their route.
As soon as this ceremony ends, that parade will also come to a stop at the red gate before the garden.
And the moment operating hours conclude…
"The entire parade will come flooding in, I guess."
"…!"
"Ah, sorry. Did I surprise you?" Had he made the same guess?
The team leader quietly observes the employee wearing the dolphin mask, who bows apologetically toward her, before nodding in acknowledgment.
She wasn't young enough to openly express hostility toward the suspicious pharmaceutical company, especially after witnessing the strange exchange earlier.
– I W i l l S t a y H e r e
– I don't like it.
– I t ' s O k a y
– It doesn't seem alright at all.
Right before the ceremony began, the yellow mascot had sent all the employees away from the garden, having them gather in front of the resort building.
As if protecting them from something.
Consequently, the staff were observing the illumination show from a considerable distance, nearly as far as the resort building itself.
And yet, seeing her team members staring as if hypnotized, the team leader feels acutely the bizarre nature of this 'Mascot Ceremony'.
And if her eyes were not mistaken…
That dolphin-masked employee had been attempting to help the mascot, who had insisted on protecting his staff until the end.
'...'
Younger agents often conflate the unethical nature of an organization with the individual personalities of its members, but reality was not so simple.
This applied equally to creatures from ghost stories.
And that only made matters more complicated…
'Huu.'
She shook off those thoughts.
There was work to do.
And now was precisely the time to act.
Wowwwww!
Toward the finale of the illumination, as the yellow mascot takes center stage, his horns burst into brilliant golden light, blossoming into flowers.
At that moment, the yellow mascot turns toward them, lifting his front paw and waving theatrically, as if part of the act.
A will conveyed without words.
G o
"…Now!"
At that signal, the employees started running frantically.
Their destination was the gate leading to the Blue Zone.
And moments later…
The ground near the gate began shaking and rising.
The illumination raced toward its climax.
Beneath the feet of the yellow mascot standing in the center of the garden, lights gathered, lifting him gently into the air.
A drumroll.
Ooooh!
From the mascot's horn, beams of light grew, spreading out and swaying like a massive tree, towering above the resort building.
Breathtakingly blooming flowers.
And as the mascot raised his hand perfectly timed with the end of the music…
Aaaaaah!
His name exploded in midair, crystallizing into complete recognition.
Flower Golden.
Master of the Cheerful Theme Park's Yellow Zone.
Everyone knew. It was proclaimed to all.
Congratulations. Now, he was the perfect mascot of this place.
And the yellow mascot was overwhelmed by an extraordinary new sensation.
'…!'
He felt the entirety of the Yellow Zone.
He knew everything happening in his resort, could control all mascots as he wished, and understood every law and ■■ governing Cheerful Theme Park!
Now he was the absolute master and mascot of the zone!
Aaaaah!
An instinctive thrill maximized the splendor of the illumination, culminating in one last magnificent burst of golden flowers, concluding the Mascot Ceremony.
Aaaaaaaaaaah!
However, at that moment, something emerged beyond the red gate.
The Parade of Madness.
The revolting, overwhelming, and splendid march led by Magic Bunny reached its end.
[Great Magic Bunny!]
The red rabbit, the carriage, the giant balloon shaped like a smiling face, and various parade floats stopped before the gate, having concluded their last sacrificial ceremony.
Lights flashed madly as if challenging the illumination, then abruptly went out.
Simultaneously, the waves of brilliant illumination faded into a final silence.
Ending.
Flowing softly now…
-♩♪♬♬~♩♬♬~♩♪♪
…The ending theme.
The gently rearranged version of the theme song began playing.
The park was approaching closing time.
– Attention please. The theme park will close in ten minutes…
The garden became quiet.
Guests who had enjoyed the illumination began dispersing, quickly heading toward the exit gates.
The zone quickly regained its busy tranquility.
It was the final stage of operations.
The yellow mascots tidied up the night garden, courteously guided the remaining guests, and managed the resort facilities.
No movement could be seen beyond the dark red gate.
The yellow mascots lightly celebrated the day's successful event, checking to ensure no guests were left in the lobby.
No movement could be seen beyond the dark red gate.
The serene resort building now stood quietly illuminated, its soft lights gently visible through the lobby windows. Inside, the yellow mascots waved goodbye to the departing guests heading toward the exit gate.
No movement could be seen beyond the dark red gate.
Then the lobby doors closed.
THUD.
– See you next time~
...
...
...
Beyond the dark red gate.
Countless red eyes began popping open.
Magic Bunny's parade horde surged through the gate.
Crunch, crunch—
The sound of guest corpses and living beings used as mats to prevent the carriage from getting stuck in the gate echoed horribly, staining the gate red.
The carriage rolled forward. From an attached music box beneath its wheels, a whimsical melody played. To that melody, creatures wearing Magic Bunny mascot suits stumbled onward toward the resort.
Their mascot suits melted stickily away.
Now, no longer restricted by mascot rules after operating hours, the red mascots discarded their forms to invade another zone.
Having surpassed the regulations and rules that no longer needed upholding after business hours ended—
Aaaaaah!
The red lumps, now walking on two legs, interconnected like blood vessels, morphing into something bizarre that the illusion of the theme park could no longer conceal.
Yet, even so, the parade continued onward.
Along with the sound of the music box, they trampled into the Yellow Zone garden, encircling the resort building in their parade formation. Slowly, they drew closer, tightening their bizarre circle.
Closer and closer.
Pressing in.
Inside the lobby, the yellow mascots watched through the windows, taking defensive stances.
It drew nearer.
3-
2-
1-
Aaaaaaah!
The lobby windows shattered, and the parade poured into the resort building. Utter chaos erupted.
Unfiltered killing intent and destructive urges exploded, and dozens of yellow mascots were captured and slaughtered.
Some yellow mascots attempted resistance or fought back, temporarily overwhelming a few attackers, but only briefly.
Soon, they were casually torn apart like toys, stuffing scattering everywhere as they ceased functioning.
Mascots fell from rooftops, their heads exploded, others were impaled onto freezer doors.
A cruel, horrifying, breathtakingly brutal scene.
Magic Bunny's occupation!
Magic Bunny's immense power!
Crunch, crunch, crunch!
Amidst this carnage, a single yellow mascot frantically fled.
The mascot with ornate horns.
The very mascot who performed today's illumination.
The main body.
Kyaahahahaha!
Magic Bunny's decorative fireworks burst alongside laughter, and sparks struck the fleeing mascot's leg.
Ultimately, the mascot collapsed and crawled desperately as the lead parade carriage chased after it, careening wildly along a narrow path toward the facilities office.
Click!
The yellow mascot entered the office area exclusively for Yellow Zone staff, barely locking the door before the carriage reached it.
BANG!!
The massive carriage decoration tore the door apart and crashed inside.
The colorful carriage with its festive lighting, which had led the parade. The symbolic vehicle of Magic Bunny.
The huge, smiling red face of Magic Bunny on the front split apart.
Crunch, crunch, crunch!
Its decorative eyes burst open, its mouth ruptured, powder sprayed, and finally, from within, something oozed forth.
Aaaaah!
Magic Bunny's true form.
Something digested by the red mascot.
A strange mass that had lost all resemblance to what it was before becoming a mascot spilled forth from the carriage.
Trophies of various body parts were crudely attached as if to replace its own lost limbs.
Countless eyes and ears, arms and legs.
Aaaaah!
Trembling with joy, it approached the yellow mascot.
Slowly, slowly.
Joyful!
Raw hunting. Raw delight! Vengeance and liberation!
The thrill of usurpation!
With its leg damaged and stuffing spilling out, the yellow mascot could no longer flee.
It simply gazed upward at the horrifying, overwhelming figure before opening its mouth.
I d i o t
At that moment.
BOOM!!
The ceiling of the facilities office collapsed with a deafening crash.
The thing emerging from the red mascot's shell lunged to devour the yellow mascot's head regardless, but it wasn't just the ceiling that collapsed.
Crash! Bang-bang-bang!
The resort itself crumbled amidst deafening explosions.
Heavy construction materials plunged down onto the parade creatures hunting the yellow mascot.
AAHHH!
An indiscriminate destruction of another kind.
Yet, the destruction didn't stop there.
Under the weight and gravity, the resort's first floor shattered and caved inward.
Countless Magic Bunny entities were crushed beneath, extinguished alongside yellow mascot corpses.
Crash! Boom-boom-boom!
Even in the facilities office—where the largest Magic Bunny entity had emerged— heavy chunks of concrete and metal pipes smashed violently onto the documents scattered across the desk.
The original document placed on that desk was…
I have decided to demolish the resort today.
Why?
Because I want to. Someone advised me that this resort is overly modest. Clearly, the previous owner's taste wasn't impressive.
It's better to blow it up and build an even nicer one.
Unfortunately, I informed the guests scheduled to stay tonight about refunds and kindly escorted them out through the gate.
During the Mascot Ceremony, I set explosives.
It might be amusing to detonate it tomorrow morning and get some word-of-mouth publicity, but… well, who knows. I might suddenly blow it up tonight.
Either way, it doesn't matter.
Because I'm the master of this Yellow Zone.
And.
Everything else that was in the resort at the time must be demolished together.
In accordance with this intent.
The resort was completely shattered and burning.
Along with everything within it.
"O-Oh my god."
Far away, the employees groaned as they watched the resort building collapse, half-destroyed.
For now, they were safe from closing time.
As soon as the Mascot Ceremony concluded, the yellow mascot had hastily created this third facility underground near the Blue Zone gate.
Of course, rather than a proper service facility, it was closer to an emergency shelter. It was completely empty inside, but this emptiness was advantageous.
Employees could freely enter and exit without any cost or consequence.
Because there were no extra effects, it was ironically safe for humans.
Thus, in this Cheerful Theme Park after closing time, they could remain safe without entering the lodging facility of the resort…
They watched their workplace get smashed and their employer repeatedly slaughtered through a small window near the ceiling.
"Wait a second! Is that mascot trying to commit suicide with them…?"
"H-Hey! It's still there!"
"Fucking hell."
From the rubble of the resort, a red mass surged upward.
Aaaaaah!
The red mass spat out something it had been chewing.
Golden fur.
The yellow mascot's head rolled onto the ground, faintly illuminated by the flames of the burning resort…
"Ah…"
Though its slow movements suggested it had suffered significant damage, it had not completely stopped.
And this alone was enough to give the Yellow Zone employees an ominous feeling.
They had lost.
They would be absorbed into the Red Zone.
But then.
"T-Team leader!"
"Hold on a second, please."
The team leader of Disaster Management Bureau's Black-Tortoise Team 3 stepped out of the shelter's door.
Since the Magic Bunnies had all swarmed into the resort building to tear apart and kill every yellow mascot, they hadn't yet come to this place that lacked any mascot forms.
Thanks to this, the team leader could briefly step outside the shelter to fulfill a 'special order' from their employer.
The yellow mascot's request.
– U s e
– T h a t
How exactly he knew about it or calculated this was entirely beyond comprehension, but since it was a reasonable request…
"Huuu."
She drew the sword from her coat.
A weapon said to embody pure yang energy, repel evil spirits, and dispel wickedness—a sword that cuts through disasters.
The Four-Tiger Sword.
An item exclusively provided to the team leaders of the Disaster Management Bureau's Black-Tortoise teams.
The blade, emerging from its short glass sheath, extended endlessly outward.
One canvas depicted the 28 constellations, the other depicted sword energy.
All of it…
Lifted high.
The heavens bestow essence,
The earth gives aid with spirit.
The sun and moon assume their forms,
Mountains and waters take on their shapes.
And.
Thunder and lightning rage forth.
She swung the sword.
The collapsing resort.
Lightning struck down upon the head of the ensnared wicked being.