ALL NOVEL Chapter 227: Wonderland – 30
“Hah, hah, it hurts. Please help… Master… Hic.”
“Hey, I told you to stop whining, didn’t I? Hey, hey.”
As the fairy pulled the reins, Clara stood before the three people.
They hadn’t moved from their spots across the street until she arrived. The sight before them was shocking enough to keep them frozen in place.
Clara’s mouth was muzzled with leather, and she drooled through it.
“Ugh… I… don’t want to…”
“She’s our four-legged performer from a circus! Haha, a bit noisy but obedient!”
Ella understood one word he said, even in her still bewildered state.
“A circus? Did you say circus?”
“Yes, indeed. We cover accommodation, dining, performances, and events! We even provide job placements!”
The fairy flicked Clara’s buttocks. Clara burst into tears.
Ella felt dizzy.
Among the sights she’d seen here, this was the most surreal.
“Wait a moment…”
As Ella tried to question the situation, Lumie blocked her path.
“Shall we ride along?”
She said, then mounted the saddle on Clara’s back.
Impressed by her naturalness, Ella whispered to her.
“Lumie, she’s my companion…”
“I know what you mean, but wait. There’s a way to deal with them.”
Lumie reassured her calmly.
Though she seemed to address Ella, her gaze was fixed on Oz.
Startled, Oz tried to calm his excitement, barely controlling the urge to beat the fat fairies giggling before him.
Though the practitioners might be displeased, they were his members now.
The Scarecrow suppressed the urge to strike the giggling fairies and whispered:
“Do you know who they are?”
“I have a guess. We’ll know for sure when we reach the inn. But there’s something even stranger.”
“What is it?”
“She’s incorporeal.”
“What?”
“Her physical form is absent.”
Oz examined Clara closely.
Her white school uniform reflected her persona. The costumes of others reflected their personas from the stage, but Clara’s body remained unchanged, displaying the difference between those with and without physical forms.
“Is she a ghost?”
“Something like that. This form itself is her persona. It means the ‘Human Clara’ is a mask she wears.”
He recalled a scene from a movie he once saw, where aliens wore human skins to blend in.
Surely Clara couldn’t be…?
But he shook his head. It was an absurd thought.
There was a more plausible explanation.
“Clara has a condition where her soul and body are out of sync.”
“Such a condition exists?”
“Yes. It’s incurable, even for me.”
“Ah, her soul is unstable? That might explain… thats why the hypnosis affected her so strongly?”
Clara’s mental state was grave.
Despite locking eyes with Ella several times, she didn’t recognize her, just repeatedly expressing distress.
Soon they arrived at the inn run by fairies.
The sign at the entrance read:
“As expected.”
Lumie sighed softly.
Of all the things to get involved in.
“Circus? Are these guys part of a circus too?”
“Haven’t you heard? It’s a circus troupe made up of fairies.”
Then Ella exclaimed as if something dawned on her.
“I’ve heard that name before. My master once warned me about it. He said if you hear music or children’s laughter in the woods or fields at night, never approach. It’s said that there’s a fairy circus going on, and the children playing there are taken away by the fairies to their realm.”
It sounded like a folklore or a fairy tale.
Lumie explained it more matter-of-factly:
“There are fairies and demons residing in the domain of the Masin, right? The Midsummer Night Circus is a circus troupe based in Wonderland. Of course, they’re not followers of Kirku, merely guests. They often travel the surface to perform.”
“And they kidnap children too?”
“They don’t do such things. This incident must be… a misunderstanding. Anyway, leave it to me. I have a connection with the Midsummer Night’s Ringmaster. I’ll definitely retrieve your friend.”
They entered the inn.
“Welcome! Welcome to the Midsummer Night Circus!”
They were greeted by a young human girl. Her voice was familiar to all three of them.
Ruelle bowed with a yellow chick doll costume.
“Ru, Ruelle?”
“Guests, no, s-sister?”
Ella couldn’t hold back and rushed forward.
“What happened?”
“T-That’s… “
Ruelle looked around, terrified.
Nearby fairies whispered as they looked at the two.
Unable to find a place to look, Ruelle spotted Clara lying on all fours at the entrance of the inn. Seeing her pitiful state, she forgot the store rule to always smile and burst into tears.
“That’s… Sister Clara…”
Ruelle explained what had happened until now, trembling.
***
The two people who had escaped from the security guard’s pursuit entered the card shuffle together.
Unlike Ruelle, who didn’t know anything, Clara had detailed knowledge about Wonderland.
Persona, Boundaryser, Ticketer, Theater, and so on.
She easily explained each of them to Ruelle.
“Wow, impressive, sis! Except for Persona, all of this is new to me.”
“Heh, just trust and follow me here.”
At that moment, Ruelle’s hair suddenly shot up and took on the shape of an animal’s mouth.
“Was your usual foolish appearance a disguise?”
“Foolish? I know much better about the world than you do! You’re just a newcomer.”
“Your behavior is more like that of a child.”
“What? You little brat!”
Clara grabbed Ruelle’s hair and engaged in a rough scuffle. Meanwhile, the owner of the hair was left alone.
Watching Clara and Samson arguing, Ruelle laughed.
Though they didn’t exactly know what had happened between them, one night, they secretly joined forces and quickly became friends.
Ruelle was pleased that Clara accepted Samson as a friend, even though her father considered him an evil spirit.
Given that she belonged to a circus with many frightening members, her boldness was understandable.
“Someday, I should tell Ella too.”
Though Ella and Reyna treated her well, there was still some discomfort due to the age difference between them.
Maya was aloof and hard to approach, while Karen seemed to enjoy teasing others like boys of the same age.
In contrast, Clara, despite being the oldest among the five sisters, had a childlike innocence when interacting with peers. Over the past week, the three of them had exchanged playful banter while rolling around under the blanket.
Despite her innocent appearance, Clara was knowledgeable and clever. It was she who devised a plan to use the Tag feature of Ticketer to locate other colleagues.
“To rent the theater, you need to participate in a competition and win some prizes.”
“Should I perform a magic show?”
“No, let the little ones stay quiet. I, as the eldest, should take care of it!”
Clara never forgot the master’s request to take care of the kids.
It was also better for her to take the lead in case of any unexpected situations on stage.
She chose a comedy stage among them.
Since she wasn’t confident in singing or other talents, she opted for “Duel.”
Perhaps she felt more suited for wrestling than being funny.
“Duel” was a type of two-person play derived from the quarrels of young fairies.
“The White Dragon is stronger!”
“No, the Black Dragon is stronger!”
Such childish arguments usually led to a competition to prove who was stronger.
However, the illusions were just that—illusions. Regardless of how the fight ended, it didn’t matter who was actually stronger. It was the power of belief that determined the outcome. The belief that shattered each other’s fantasies determined the victory.
In other words, the two participants in the contest had to present something stronger than what their opponent suggested to break their belief.
The fairy and Clara stood facing each other.
When the fairy raised his hand, a cheer erupted from one side. It was mainly his members who made the noise.
“Leader, teach that rude girl a lesson!”
“How dare she challenge our leader in a duel!”
Clara also raised her hand, flashing a smile.
“Wow, is that the Lekachep uniform? A true acrobat!”
“Arrogant fairy, I’ll show you what I’m made of!”
Most of the cheers for her came from Personas. It seemed like their pride was hurt seeing the fairies defeating everyone.
Before the duel began, this psychological battle was crucial.
Although the magician responsible for the illusions claimed to be neutral, there was still a chance that such confidence and momentum could influence the illusions.
The one who initiated the attack was the champion fairy.
“Well then, let’s begin. I’ll summon a giant frog. These creatures love to feast on fairies.”
Today, the magician responsible for the illusion was a fairy. She flinched for a moment but successfully conjured a giant frog.
The frog’s tongue wriggled above the fairy’s blue-skinned body.
“Heheh, scared the neutral magician, huh? Good start. Now, I’ll summon a cobra. It will devour that frog in no time.”
This time, a snake appeared above Clara’s head. It promptly swallowed the frog fantasy.
“A hedgehog. The cobra’s fangs and venom won’t affect it.”
A hedgehog appeared and bit the snake, breaking its body into pieces.
“A fierce jaguar.”
The jaguar’s illusion tore the hedgehog apart with its claws.
The two continued summoning stronger entities to counter each other.
Sometimes, anomalies occurred, like a bee with potent venom against a fierce tiger, or a swamp where it was difficult for heavy elephants to tread.
But they promptly countered each other’s suggestions with different concepts.
The audience murmured in amazement.
“Wow, the leader and she have already exchanged over fifty rounds.”
“They’re countering each other instantly, as if they have an encyclopedia in their heads.”
“Do you think it’s okay? Will the leader lose?”
Even the fairies and acrobats watching were impressed by Clara’s skills.
Though they cheered her on, that fairy had defeated renowned challengers time and again.
“Lekachep might excel in technique but seems weak in improvisation.”
“Remarkable wit.”
“It’s sad she died at such a young age though.”
As time passed, the duel escalated into a societal scale.
“I am the Emperor who unified the continent. Everyone obeys my commands.”
“I am the voice of the revolution. I will overthrow any absolute ruler.”
The Emperor’s illusion, seated on a golden throne, was dragged down by the masses in tatters led by the revolutionary’s illusion.
The fairy’s expression tensed slightly.
She had expected to face assassins if she presented the Emperor.
Then, she would easily subdue the assassins with the Emperor’s guards.
But a revolution?
“To reveal such a concept outright… Certainly, appearances can be deceiving.”
The fairy thought it was time to make her move.
Continuing with knowledge alone might lead to her defeat.
“I am Kirku, the God of Festivals and Performances, the Jester of Revelry. I enjoy laughter in the face of any misfortune.”
“I am the God of Light. I will subjugate all jesters.”
Clara smiled.
‘Was he in too much haste? Suddenly bringing the Jester.’
She enjoyed listening to the debates of scholars worldwide. If it escalated to cosmic levels, she possessed even greater knowledge.
It was almost as if she had already won.
However, what came from the fairy’s mouth was a concept entirely unexpected.
“I am the Dormant Chaos. When I awaken, I shall devour gods and the jester alike.”
“What? Where’s that coming from?”
Faced with knowledge she didn’t know, Clara instinctively objected.
She regretted it as soon as the words left her mouth.
That was a word one should never utter in a duel.
No matter how nonsensical the opponent’s idea seemed, one had to counter it with an idea that broke it down, not just deny it like a tantrum.
“Uh, wait, let me think, hold on…”
Clara quickly searched her mind.
But the concept of ‘Dormant Chaos’ was entirely new to her.
She couldn’t imagine anything to counter it.
A supernova? A black hole? Multiple dimensional collisions?
While Clara hesitated and lost confidence, the Dormant Chaos, consuming the God of Light, became clearer.
“The illusion is complete. I’ve won. Isn’t that right, Judge?”
“Wa-wait, I-I…”
Clara stumbled back.
This couldn’t be happening.
It’s absurd.
I’m supposed to win, but…
The fairy had no intention of letting her go.
As he straightened his back, wings unfurled from his shoulders.
One side bore the wings of a fairy, like a dragonfly’s, while the other side resembled a sprite’s, like a butterfly’s.
“That was an entertaining bout. Your name’s Clara, right? For the next year, you shall serve Oberon, the director of the ‘Midsummer Night’s Circus’.”
“Eek.”
As Clara’s eyes lost focus, her mouth fell open, drool trickling down.
An illusion of a leash materialized in the air, wrapping around her neck.
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Chapter 226: Wonderland – 29