Fair duel

"Hmm~!"

Tuesday approached the door, trying to open it with all her might.

She braced her feet against the wall and pulled with both hands.

Her body was exhausted and breathless.

Thud!

The small figure fell to the ground, her clothes now covered in dirt and dust.

When her back hit the floor, she saw a dark aura spreading everywhere.

Her danger sense went into overdrive, warning her from all directions.

Tuesday rubbed her neck in discomfort.

The air felt suffocating.

"We're fucked."

The only option left was to explore the interior.

If the corner was this dark, how much darker would it be inside?

She didn't want to find out.

Wednesday was in danger, and it was all her fault.

None of this would have happened if she had kept quiet from the start!

Her small hands frustratingly grabbed her hair, her body curling up more and more.

Blurry spots appeared in her field of vision. The entire world seemed to distort into strange shapes.

"It's okay."

Suddenly, the blurred eyes were replaced by cold, analytical ones.

Her heartbeat started to slow down.

"Can you sing for me?" she said, closing her eyes and breathing deeply.

Tuesday followed her words without thinking about anything else.

'...-♪~' A trembling, childish voice resounded in the dark space.

When the voice wavered and shortened, air filled her lungs again.

She repeated the same behavior in a trance.

All the clouds obstructing her judgment were lifting, little by little.

"Are you okay now?" asked the steady, composed voice.

She was finally at peace, her body light as a feather.

'I'm sorry...' she said, unable to mask the shame in her tone.

What kind of adult panics like this in front of a child?

She was speechless at her irrational behavior.

In this delicate atmosphere, a small spider calmly approached Wednesday's body.

"When did you get here, Homer?" she asked, caressing the tiny spider.

A faint smile grew on her face.

Wednesday got up from the floor slowly. She reached out to the spider.

Homer skillfully climbed onto her hand and then onto her shoulder.

Tap, tap.

The sound of steps echoed in the hallway.

Tuesday didn't try to stop her. She knew very well that they had no other option but to go further.

Flame.

Fire lit in torches on the walls. The dark and suspicious room became clear, revealing several pictures.

Wednesday curiously observed the pictures, as if recording each detail in her mind.

Men and women, all with black hair and clothes.

The eccentric positions, the excessive use of black, and the swords absurdly held in each picture...

They were all Addams.

Every single generation was portrayed there.

Swords, jewels, and pendants were spread around the pictures.

Tap, tap, tap.

Wednesday's steps suddenly stopped.

Her eyes stared at one familiar portrait.

A young woman with a wide smile and devilish eyes holding a strange ancient relic in her hands and bundles of money everywhere.

"Grandma?"

'Wait, really?'

Compared to her grandma, the woman in the portrait was full of life. They seemed like completely different people.

Wednesday approached the portrait and analyzed the objects. Only a peculiar wooden sword was left there.

It was strange that all the portraits had some amount of gold and relics, but the only thing in her grandma's portrait was a simple wooden sword.

Tuesday thought the old woman just decided to spend it all instead of depositing it there.

Wednesday's hands approached the sword with curiosity.

[Weapon detected]

When her finger touched the sword, a strange message appeared in the dark room.

It was an androgynous and emotionless voice.

[Conditions for the Mazurka met.]

[Quantity of challengers: 1]

[Error! Insufficient challengers detected!]

[Conditions for the special trial met.]

[Initializing judgment mode.]

Suddenly, everything became black and her body lost its balance, temporarily falling.

'What?'

Tuesday was astonished by the actions that happened in just a few seconds.

Wednesday calmly analyzed the entire environment.

It was a spacious room with just one door in front of them.

[#1: Fair Duel.]

At the robotic words, Tuesday felt goosebumps everywhere.

A strange wooden mannequin started to form in the air.

A dark aura surrounded the strange mannequin as its parts were created.

It had the same height as Wednesday and seemed to hold the same wooden sword too.

In the large space, a child and a mannequin were staring at each other expressionlessly.

'...Why is it not moving?'

Initially, Tuesday was scared by the mannequin, but they were just staring at each other without doing anything.

It was so anticlimactic.

Wednesday moved one foot, and seconds later, the mannequin did the same.

"Fair duel..." she murmured, contemplative.

Wednesday was starting to understand what this trial wanted from them.

When she moved her hands, the mannequin copied her movements too.

"What is the limit of it?" she asked, curiosity shining from her eyes.

'You... are liking this situation, aren't you?'

"Quiet, I'm thinking." she said, abruptly interrupting Tuesday's words.

She raised her sword and hit her own arm.

The mannequin also raised its sword, but it stopped slightly before touching its arm.

The mannequin's head stared blankly at them.

"It seems to have a little intelligence."

The mannequin approached in small steps.

'H-Hey, this thing is moving now!'

"It can make its own decisions too." said Wednesday, still analyzing the situation coldly.

When the mannequin approached, it used its sword to hit Wednesday's arm.

Wednesday easily avoided its movements and walked back in slow steps.

The mannequin repeated the same actions as a robot.

'It's becoming better at it.'

Each time the mannequin swung the sword, its movements seemed sharper than before.

"We need to resolve this at once."

If they moved more, the mannequin would become better at it. At some point, it would surpass them, repeating perfect moves.

They needed to find the weak point of the mannequin and destroy it.

Wednesday's eyes observed the mannequin's body. Articulations and a dark substance connected the parts.

When the mannequin formed in the air, no nucleus appeared; the dark substance just became wood.

Tak.

The mannequin's sword finally hit Wednesday, and with smooth movements, she protected herself from the blow.

Compared to getting hit by Uncle Fester, the mannequin was like playing with kids.

Her face frowned for the first time. Her thoughts were interrupted by the mannequin.

Wednesday just defended its movements while she avoided them with slightly faster steps.

Tak. Tak. Tak.

Every time the mannequin raised the sword, Wednesday defended with the same movement, avoiding showing anything new to the mannequin.

"Where exactly...?"

Since the mannequin had no nucleus, they just had two choices.

Make the mannequin unable to move by ripping off its limbs or find a weak point and hit the vital parts to see how it would react.

A wooden sword wasn't sharp enough to rip off its limbs, firmly connected by the dense dark substance.

But hitting the mannequin's body didn't seem like a good idea either; the mannequin could become a threat at some point.

Tak. Tak. Tak!

"..."

The mannequin's sword hit Wednesday's arm for the first time. The force applied wasn't strong but still painful.

It was admirable that Wednesday's face remained expressionless as if nothing had happened.

Tuesday's anxiety was rising more and more. Her danger sense, which had been quiet until now, finally started to show caution against the mannequin.

"Ha... There is no time to think."

At her words, Wednesday's eyes focused on the wooden mannequin.

The mannequin moved its sword toward her arm again, but before it could do anything, Wednesday struck its wrist.

Schwin!

The wooden sword of the mannequin fell to the ground.

The mannequin's movements stopped as if it couldn't recognize its own situation.

However, before the mannequin could react, Wednesday's sword skillfully hit the mannequin's head.

Thump!

The mannequin's body rolled in the air and hit the ground.

Wednesday quickly approached and kept hitting the mannequin's head.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

The mannequin's head started to crack, and a viscous, repugnant black liquid leaked through the cracks.

It was working. If they could break the mannequin's head, maybe they could pass the trial!

[#1: Fair Duel.]

The same robotic voice appeared again.

Trick. Trick.

The mannequin's body began to sway erratically.

Swish!

The mannequin's right arm was surrounded by a dark substance, and its arm was widely amplified by it.

Its arm had reached the sword Wednesday had thrown away.

Tap! Tap!! Tap!!!

At the same time, Wednesday diligently hit the mannequin's face without hesitation.

The cracks accumulated, and more liquid started to leak from its body.

Swish!

The long arm returned to its original position, showing a repugnant sight.

'Get out of there!'

Slash!

A wooden sword filled their field of view. Wednesday almost got hit directly in the face by the mannequin.

"Tsk."

A disgusted expression appeared on Wednesday's face.

Trick. Trick.

The mannequin's body slowly stood up from the ground. A dark liquid was leaking from its face in a grotesque sight.

The mannequin again fixed its posture and directed its head toward Wednesday.

"Plan B then." said Wednesday, fixing her posture as the mannequin did.

In the end, they just had one option.

Have a fair duel.