welcome to hell

Kikidori sat up in bed, still a little hazy from the monster mash. The candlelight flickered, casting a soft glow over the mess of silk sheets, tangled limbs, and—

Oh. Right.

The used condom.

He stared at it, held loosely between his fingers, a rare moment of post-coital confusion settling in. Two centuries of being married, and yet, this part never got less awkward.

"What the hell do I do with this?" he muttered.

Haruna, still stretched out lazily beside him, snatched it from his hand before he could even think.

Kikidori blinked. "Haruna, what the—"

Haruna grinned, sharp and devious, before disappearing into the shadows.

There was silence. A long, very suspicious silence.

Kikidori sighed. "I don't even wanna know."

Haruna reappeared moments later, fully dressed, adjusting the laces of her black corset like she didn't just vanish to do something deeply questionable.

Kikidori narrowed his eyes. "Seriously. What did you do with it?"

Haruna smirked. "We might never know."

Kikidori ran a hand down his face. "You are an actual menace."

Haruna leaned in, kissing his jaw. "And you love it."

She wasn't wrong.

...Meanwhile, Outside the Mansion…

The night air was crisp, thick with mist that curled around the mansion grounds like ghostly fingers. The trees swayed gently, whispering in the wind, their twisted branches stretching toward the sky.

Kikidori and Haruna stood side by side, fully dressed—Haruna's black lace skirt billowing slightly, Kikidori's leather coat shifting as he adjusted the rings on his fingers.

Coraline sat at their feet, her tiny vampire cat ears twitching, her yellow eyes locked onto the darkness beyond the trees.

Haruna sighed. "So where's this big, terrifying thing you dragged us out here for?"

Coraline flicked her tail. "It was right there."

Kikidori scanned the clearing. The ground was disturbed, patches of dirt upturned, as if something heavy had moved through. The wind shifted, carrying the faintest scent of something rotting.

Then—

A deer stepped out from the trees.

Haruna raised an eyebrow. "...It's just a deer."

Coraline frowned. "No. It's not."

Kikidori's eyes narrowed. Something was off.

The deer stood completely still, its body too rigid, its movements too unnatural. Its eyes—black, endless, wrong—stared directly at them.

Haruna exhaled, relaxing slightly. "It's just standing there."

Then—

The deer stood up.

Not like a normal deer.

Like a goddamn nightmare.

Its back cracked as it stretched upward, limbs twisting, elongating, its ribcage expanding far beyond anything natural. Its mouth, once still and lifeless, split open into a grin—too wide, too sharp, too goddamn human.

A sound—low, distorted, wet—crawled up its throat.

It laughed.

Haruna took a slow step back. "OH MY FUCKING GOD."

Kikidori's eyes darkened. "That's not a deer."

Coraline's fur bristled. "NO SHIT, GENIUS."

The thing, now towering over them, let out a deep, guttural snarl, its exposed ribs expanding with an unnatural breath. Its hands—because those weren't hooves anymore—twitched, long, talon-like fingers flexing as it took a step forward.

Haruna grabbed Kikidori's arm. "THAT IS A WENDIGO."

The Wendigo moved.

Fast.

Too fast.

And it was coming straight for them.

The End of Chapter 11.