Chapter 42
—
[Ah, there it is! The classic line of a ‘Possessor’!]
[You’re being overwhelmed by helplessness! Excellent, truly excellent!]
[Life was never meant to go your way, after all?]
—
Judging by how excited they sounded, something was definitely going wrong.
A bad feeling crept all the way up to the top of my head.
Even so…
—
[‘Skill: Dagger Arts’ has leveled up.]
[‘Skill: Definition’ is activated.]
—
Still, I had to do it.
“Lee Hoin, paddle with the greatsword!”
If we wanted to get out of here quickly, this was the only way.
Taking advantage of the demons’ hesitation for a moment, I slashed away their tails with my dagger.
At my words, Lee Hoin began rowing forward with the greatsword.
With the increased speed, the demons stopped chasing.
They simply watched.
They didn’t get angry at their kin being killed.
They didn’t pursue.
They just… quietly watched.
New demons kept appearing, and we had to kill some of them… but they died too easily.
And showed no reaction of anger whatsoever.
That made every hair on my body stand on end.
“….”
A feeling that something had gone terribly wrong.
—
[Rage: 18%]
—
The rage kept rising.
That ominous feeling persisted.
And yet, we couldn’t stop.
“Hey, is this really okay?”
“…For now.”
When the rage exceeded 20%, I felt a gaze from somewhere.
—
[Someone is watching you.]
[Someone is staring intently at you.]
[Someone is watching your massacre.]
—
Massacre?
I frowned and turned toward the source of the gaze… but it was too dark to see anything.
The space I was in was too bright.
Like being on a stage with strong lights, you can’t see the audience.
Still…
I knew something was there.
And for now, it wasn’t doing anything.
My grip grew damp.
I tightened my hold on the dagger.
“Lee Hoin, faster.”
We sped up.
Finding items didn’t matter right now.
We just had to get out.
I didn’t even know if we were close to the end, but even after leaving that area, the gaze followed.
Closer.
Closer.
Every time I killed a demon… the presence behind me drew nearer.
Darkness was closing in.
“Hey, something feels–”
Suddenly… the world lit up.
I exhaled and shook off my blade.
Then turned my head.
—
Worship the demons
and revere the King!
O King!
Ah, our eternal first love!
—
The citizens of “6.”
They were praying toward empty space.
—
O eternal Six!
Even the perfect creation of Three, the Clown, loves the King!
All love belongs solely to Him!
—
People with six body parts knelt on the ground, hands clasped.
Among them, demons giggled.
Those demons paid no attention to us.
They only watched the praying citizens.
—
You who passed in June,
and are reborn on the sixth day…
O sole Six!
All creation adores you!
So too must we!
—
Countless voices shouted as one.
Lee Hoin frowned, still paddling.
The situation was eerily peaceful, which made it even more grotesque.
Then… everything shattered in a single act.
A demon slit the throat of one of the worshippers.
The head dangled, still wearing an ecstatic expression.
Eyes wide open.
The citizens of “6” were moved.
They prayed louder.
Now it was no longer peaceful.
Just… mad zealots.
“Fuck…”
Lee Hoin muttered.
I was speechless.
—
Our deaths are yours!
To avoid death is treason!
Our lives are yours!
To avoid life is treason!
Our Six is natural!
To betray Six is treason!
—
Treason.
They kept repeating it.
I thought of the traitor.
The one who said he didn’t know that receiving a blessing was a sin.
—
We do not leave Six!
To leave Six is treason!
We are not specially favored!
To be favored is treason!
Favor belongs only to…
—
Favor?
Before they could finish… every citizen there was slaughtered.
Right as we were about to leave the area.
Clank, clatter.
The tube accelerated again.
A door appeared in the distance.
“Hey, that’s the exit, right?!”
Lee Hoin shouted.
As we approached, the door opened.
—
[Rage: 34%]
—
Rage: 34%.
We have no items.
***
Ah, you’ve arrived!
Did you pay your respects to the demons?
Unlike my cautious expectation… the attraction attendant, a citizen of “6,” noticed nothing.
She simply smiled.
—
It seems the demons really welcomed you!
You look perfectly fine.
Did you perhaps see the Clown inside?
—
Clown?
I suppressed a frown.
“…The Clown?”
She answered easily.
—
The demons love the Clown!
Sometimes he’s inside.
If you didn’t see him, he must be at another attraction today!
He always welcomes adventurers.
With colorful balloons!
If you want to meet him, I recommend the biggest attraction… the “Palace of Pleasure.”
—
Palace of Pleasure.
The moment I heard that, something flashed in my mind.
Sa Jaeheon never entered the Palace of Pleasure.
It was from his 51st run.
He had a bad experience there.
He chose not to dwell on it.
Not because it was particularly important… but because revisiting it might trigger trauma.
Gaining a trauma trait would be troublesome.
Even though he never developed one from past memories, he avoided the risk.
So he always chose other attractions instead.
Like the carousel.
A simple target-shooting ride.
Even the location of its “mystery” was known.
I closed my mouth briefly, then asked again:
“…Where exactly is it?”
She replied kindly:
—
Ah, if you follow the central road… at the very end, there’s a grand palace!
It exists solely for the Clown!
The Clown is always generous; he never refuses any guest!
A true gentleman among gentlemen!
—
A “gentleman among gentlemen.”
That title had never belonged to anyone decent.
“…Really? Anyone?”
She nodded enthusiastically.
—
Yes! Anyone at all!
Once, a demon even destroyed the Clown’s very first gifted item deep inside the Palace… and he forgave it generously!
He loves everyone, and everyone loves him!
He shows no favoritism!
That’s why everyone loves him so passionately!
He is someone you cannot help but offer your heart and love to!
Even the demons devote their hearts to him!
That is how magnanimous he is…
—
Lee Hoin suddenly grabbed my wrist.
The citizen of “6,” who had been speaking like a madwoman… suddenly stopped smiling.
Then asked:
—
Why are you asking about the Clown?
—
The friendliness vanished.
Gazes pierced me, from above, behind, the sides, diagonally… even from the ground.
If I answered wrong… I’d die.
I didn’t need intuition to know that.
I saw Lee Hoin stepping forward slightly.
Slowly…
I smiled.
A social smile.
“Oh, nothing much. I just thought… if I get the chance, I’d like to meet him. He’s the one from the storybook, right?”
She stared at me like a broken doll.
Then, her mechanical smile returned.
At the same time… all the gazes disappeared.
If gazes made sound, it would have been a faint ssssss.
—
[Just who is this ‘Clown’ to provoke such reactions?]
[That reaction is quite unsettling! Still, you handled it well with your silver tongue!]
[Yes, a story that ends abruptly due to a single mistake isn’t very entertaining.]
—
The citizen of “6” spoke again, smiling:
—
Ah, you actually read the storybook!
Yes, that’s him!
—
And that was the end of her explanation.
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I imagine the clown is the “third party” (?) Clown of Revelry. Which is the owner of the park, but.. why being a clown but not the king? Why is the king not a third party too? Or is it the opposite?