I Became the Leader of the Monster Circus Troupe

Maya’s first thought upon seeing her body was, “I’ve never seen Karen in a school uniform before.”

The two first met at a clothing store and were together since then.

At that time, Karen didn’t show herself in a school uniform.

She came out of the dressing room alone after changing.

Back then, Maya didn’t know why she acted that way.

But now, her actions made sense to Maya.

It was all thanks to Karen’s confession.

She was uncomfortable revealing her femininity.

It was awkward.

“Karen.”

The words that came out of Maya’s mouth were more of a murmur than calling someone.

Her voice was as emotionless as usual.

“Karen.”

Maya called her name again.

But Karen remained silent as ever.

The light reflected in her half-closed eyes was vacant, and there was barely a hint of breath on her nose and lips.

The warm blood that soaked her body was rapidly cooling down.

Maya could clearly feel it.

That she was dead.

Still, Maya called her name again.

“Karen.”

Repeating her name like that made it seem like she would respond to the call.

She would smile awkwardly, blinking her eyes as usual.

But she didn’t move at all.

Maya’s small, white hands wiped away the blood and pieces of entrails from Karen’s cheek.

She should apologize.

She should say sorry for saying harsh words.

She misunderstood.

She should tell her.

You’re my…

My…

Maya gently brushed Karen’s forehead with her hand.

She closed her eyes for her.

My first friend…

Friend.

It was a strange word.

But there was no falsehood in it.

She really thought of Karen as a friend.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have expressed such anger when she thought Karen had deceived her.

It was because she thought of her as a friend that the sense of betrayal was so great.

Since when was it?

When did she allow herself to care for her?

At first, she was together with her because she thought she was useful.

To Maya, who was just starting to learn circus skills, she was a helpful guide.

Ah.

As Maya reminisced, she let out a small sigh.

She remembered.

It was from then.

When she began to feel interested in Karen.

At the Magic Academy, Maya never needed anyone’s help.

She was superior to other students there.

But not here.

Receiving help from her peers in the space where she always had the upper hand academically was an interesting experience.

She found it enjoyable.

Karen didn’t feel jealous even when Maya learned and improved quickly.

On the contrary, she was pleased as Maya’s skills improved.

She accepted Maya’s emotional detachment and lack of social skills compared to other girls.

Having grown up among rough and tough men, she was not sensitive to such things.

So Maya felt comfortable with her.

She dismissed that friend at once because of a misunderstanding.

That friend even lost her life to save her.

What was even harder to bear was that she couldn’t even express apologies or gratitude to her.

“This fool.”

It was the third time.

Losing the recipient of her affection.

The first time was when she was less than six months old.

Her mother passed away due to a terrorist attack at the competition.

At that time, Maya lost her expression.

The second time was when she was five years old.

Her beloved cat, Wally, died in an accident.

At that time, Maya shut her heart off.

And the third time.

Maya quietly laid Karen’s body on the floor.

“Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. I just pushed a little and it burst! You’re useless at handling corpses! Zero points! Zero points! Ahaha! Zero points! Trash performer! Ahaha!”

The Avatar was so angry that she shouted.

She killed her opponent, trampling them as if squashing a bug.

It was a fitting punishment for the woman who had insulted her.

With a triumphant heart, laughter kept bubbling up within her.

The Avatar now decided to deal with the remaining woman.

“How should I deal with you? Should I tear you apart with my claws, or flatten you with my tail?”

The Avatar spoke roughly, gasping for breath.

It was the exhilarating feeling of overwhelming power that had her excited.

Dozens of eyes focused on Maya.

Her once fair skin and clothes were now stained with red blood.

She stood still, silently staring at Karen’s corpse.

“What’s wrong? Frozen in fear? Say something in response. Huh?”

As the Avatar moved to confront her, Maya suddenly raised her head.

With bloodshot eyes, she glared at the Avatar.

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

Her mouth opened, and a trembling voice filled with rage emerged.

“I can’t forgive you.”

Maya reached out her hand.

At that moment, Karen’s body floated into the air and flew to a corner of the banquet hall.

The Avatar burst into laughter.

“You can’t forgive? What will you do if you can’t… a mere human woman like you?”

The Avatar’s body suddenly shook violently.

Her massive form trembled noticeably.

It was as if an earthquake had occurred.

Was it an earthquake?

Her body, weighing several tons, trembled with the force.

But it wasn’t an earthquake.

Looking around, no other objects were moving or shaking.

The vibrations were happening only in a small part of the banquet hall.

A few meters radius centered around Maya.

Thud.

The marble beneath her feet cracked.

Invisible waves of force spread across the floor, causing it to break apart.

Chunks of debris trembled as if they would crumble into dust at any moment.

Maya’s eyes flashed red.

Her emotions extended beyond mere colors.

Her previously white canvas was now being consumed by black.

But it was different from what had been corroding her heart for the past two weeks.

It wasn’t paint.

The blank canvas was being scorched.

The emotions she held burst forth as flames.

Its essence was anger.

“You killed my friend.”

A storm of energy emanated from her body.

The intensity was so ominous that even the Avatar momentarily recoiled.

The storm had completely vanquished her apathy.

Maya had surpassed the limits she had set for herself.

She could now wield magic beyond her usual boundaries.

But Maya didn’t find any joy in it.

The price she had paid was too high.

Despite the burning fury in her heart, her mind remained cool, analyzing her opponent’s strength and devising strategies to counter it.

For an ordinary mage to face an Avatar alone was impossible.

But she was no ordinary mage, and her opponent was not a complete Avatar either.

It was evident from the real-time decay of her earthbound form.

“Kuh… a mere mage woman!”

The Avatar couldn’t admit to herself that she was afraid.

She twisted her body, lashing out with her massive tail.

Crack.

The marble shattered, sending shards and dust billowing like clouds.

A gaping chasm appeared in the floor.

The Avatar watched eagerly as the dust settled.

She hoped to see Maya’s torn and broken body lying there.

But as the dust cleared, revealing the silhouette of a person standing in the spot, even the Avatar’s tendrils trembled in shock.

Maya stood there, unscathed.

“What… what have you done?”

The Avatar’s tentacles quivered with astonishment.

Maya remained standing, untouched by a single scratch.

“W-What have you done! How… No, wait…”

Examining Maya’s appearance silently, the Avatar realized something was strange.

The dust floating in the air was passing through Maya’s body.

“An illusion? Right. Yes. You were an illusionist… Agh!”

The Avatar suddenly screamed in pain from her legs.

Something sharp had pierced into her leg.

It was unbelievable.

She was currently clad in a sturdy exoskeleton like armor…

The Avatar looked down at the leg where she felt pain.

Blood was oozing out from the joint, flowing steadily.

A gap between the layered exoskeletons.

It was a soft cartilage connecting joint to joint.

Something had pierced through it.

The Avatar could guess what it was.

Dozens of eyes scanned the surroundings.

Hundreds of silver-shining blades were aimed at her.

She recognized what they were.

Props used for magic and acrobatics.

They were the items used in the acrobatics duel earlier.

Those items were piled up in boxes in a corner of the banquet hall.

Maya had summoned them using telekinesis.

But this time, she didn’t use telekinetic spheres.

She aimed to use all her magic power on them.

It was possible to create illusionary blades, but she chose to use real daggers.

It was simple logic.

Throwing existing objects was more efficient than forming mass with magic and then launching it.

She had calculated at what angle and with how much force each dagger should be thrown to follow a certain trajectory.

Her daily practice at school had paid off here.

She surveyed all the gaps in the exoskeleton armor that surrounded her.

There were dozens of them all over her body.

She visualized the points and trajectories where each dagger would be ejected.

The Avatar whimpered in horror as she looked at the blades surrounding her.

She realized what her opponent intended to do.

“It can’t be… Impossible. Impossible…”

The use of magic among magicians performing on stage was mostly for remotely controlling devices or for aerial mobility of performers.

Using magic for ‘throwing’ was unheard of.

It was the first time she had heard of such a thing.

A magician with such ‘magic’, such ‘computational power’, and such ‘skills’ would enter a well-funded corporation as a researcher or technician.

But here she was.

A magician of such genius that she was invited to IMT with a special exemption.

Maya poured all her released magic power into telekinesis.

A thousand daggers were simultaneously shot out.

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Chapter 192: Demon in the Bottle – 31

Chapter 194: Demon in the Bottle – 33