Standing against the immaculately carved railing of a balcony, Lord Einhert Vont Tolten looked over the city. A communication crystal was sitting upon the railing next to his hand, brightening and dimming every once in a while as voices rang out from it.
His attire was unlike usual, less decorated and more practical-looking. There was a sword sheathed at his waist, as well as a bow alongside a quiver lying against the side of the balcony near him. His lightning scar across his face had never seemed too prominent…
“Einhert. It isn’t the place of a lord to fight in place of his subjects”
“If true, why did you bother so dearly to teach me martial strength, Father? Also, I remember you telling me that a lord did as he saw fit, did you not?”
“Heheh… What a little brat you have become. I did say that… I just wasn’t expecting you to bother helping them. You withheld information, after all”
“...Father, you always manage to know all about things you should have no clue about–Regardless… I do not want them to dig deeper than they need to. This story is not for people like them to go into. They do not know what I know”
“You mean what you believe. I still haven’t seen any concrete proof, Einhert”
“Is it not obvious? The investigators at the time were overly focused on the case of Harvey’s Diner. They never thought to connect it to other murders! But as you know, the matter of murders in which the perpetrator was strangely immune to magical and other special means of investigation was not a first-time occurrence with Harvey’s Diner. The cases had always led to dead ends because of this, and conflicting leads… That’s without mentioning the mysterious disappearances as well”
“If you actually look into it… There are only two people who have a connection to each and every one of those cases involving a seemingly uncatchable killer”
“You are playing with fire, Einhert… And for what? I know you loved this girl dearly, but it has been more than twenty years now. You have a wife and children now. You’ve learned to love your wife, haven’t you? So why? Why are you unable to let go of her?”
“It isn’t a matter of letting go or holding on, Father. It is about serving some long-overdue justice. Countless people were killed by the same person in this city. In Tolten. In our city!”
“And look at what has happened now, too! The consequences of their action have spawned monsters that have spread, or are actively spreading, further misery! This is simply not acceptable. They must face judgment for their atrocities”
The former lord sighed, stroking his lengthy white beard before stretching his back.
“Very well… If you insist, but I am telling you once more: You are playing with a fire whose depth you cannot even begin to understand. You believe that I was uncaring for these murders under my reign, don’t you? I wasn’t. Not at first, at least. However, when I stared into the bottomless pit of darkness… And felt it staring back… I knew that I was overreaching”
“It wasn’t my place to tackle such a… Creature. You might do better than me, but if you feel it staring back, I implore you to accept defeat and step back”
“Father? What in damnation are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“I told you many times, strong instincts run in the family. You just happened to inherit your mother’s stubbornness, so you don’t notice it as often as you should… However, we have an innate sense for danger and opportunity… When I tried to look too far into the mysterious murders? I felt it. A strong pulse within me. It was telling to drop it–It was telling that what I might end up discovering would cost too much, or maybe even worse”
“I always thought that your talks about instincts were bollocks, Father”
“I noticed! But once more, it is very real! You are stronger than I, so perhaps you do not feel it just yet, but if that clown thing is in any way linked to that… To that entity… Then I can assure you, you will feel something tug within. You will feel like something is clenching down on your spine… That, I can assure you”
Elgernet Vont Tolten, the former lord of this great and prosperous city, had never appeared so serious, and let it be known that he wasn’t the sort to often joke around. He spoke in a grave manner, enough to make Einhert hesitate for a few moments, before the young lord ultimately sighed.
“Very well. If my instincts tell me something, I shall listen”
“I find myself doubtful that you truly will, but oh well… You are the lord now, your old father can’t stop you from doing what you want…”
The old man scratched his face.
“...Just in case, who did you choose as your heir between your twins?”
“I find your lack of trust disturbing, Father… But if you wish to know… My first son has proven himself resistant to the idea of listening to what he was told, and seems more interested in knighthood than lordship, so the next in line is my first daughter–I do hope it isn’t a problem?”
“Not at all”
On this note, after adding a bit more about his vague warnings about darkness and instincts, the former lord left, leaving Einhert by himself as the crystal hummed to life.
Instead of passing on words, it flipped on its side and pointed in a direction. This was the signal indicating that the black and white clown had been spotted, and judging by the strength of the crystal’s shine… The situation had already turned at least somewhat sour.
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“...I don’t know what you are, but the appearance you have chosen for yourself is one that I most despise”
He remembered it vividly. The very first time he had Poppy… Back then, the entertainment automatons were still not yet in service at the establishment, and instead, a person wearing the costume of Glown, The Clown Girl.
Back then, he had found the character to be most jolly and approachable. Yet, the very same costume had then been stained with the blood of several innocents, including the first girl he had ever loved… Poppy’s presence had never truly vanished from his mind, even after all these years since she left this world.
Einhert took hold of the bow and nocked an arrow.
Ever since he learned of what ‘Glown’ had done, he had developed a natural disgust for clowns, and all that was related–For a monster to appear in his city, not only as a clown, but disguised as the very one he hated above all… To do such a thing, one needed to be either reckless or wholly ignorant.
He let go of the arrow, firing it into an arc. The arrows were charged with mana. After travelling through the air like normal for a little while, Einhert activated the spell he had imbued into the arrow, causing it to suddenly accelerate and move into a straight line.
The arrow was swift, but overflowing with a person’s inner mana, Binibelle felt it coming. She reinforced the barrier in front of her instead of casting more mana bullets. The clown’s claws ground against the magical surface. They dealt damage for certain, but not enough that Binibelle could just repair it before the next flurry of attacks.
The halfling could not help but worry, however. Albeit mostly an investigator these days, she had begun like most after the academy, joining some adventurer and mercenary parties to make some money. She had seen her fair share of combat and bloody encounters…
This experience came in handy right now, allowing her to pretty easily tell that the monster was about as inexperienced at fighting as a child was… But she was learning. Frighteningly quickly at that. Her wide, imprecise strikes were turning more refined, more ferocious.
She was also starting to figure out how to properly wield the abundance of negative energy within her. It wouldn’t be long before the clown figured out how to imbue the energy into her claws–Once that happened, keeping her at bay with barriers would become far more mana-consuming.
It was easy to forget, considering how she looked and the brutality of her actions, but the clown had indeed only been born a short while ago. It seemed like killing, devouring, and brutalising were innate to her, but that was about it.
“You may be short, but you have much MEAT on your bones! You will make for a most juicy meal-”
The arrow tore right through the monster’s right arm before blasting through her lower jaw. She was spun around by the sheer force of the arrow, making her lose balance and fall right onto her backside–Interestingly enough, being hit especially hard had caused her to revert to her original form… Implying that this humanoid appearance was truly considered to be her ‘default’ look.
Ink-black blood was spilt in droves, but the clown’s problems were not done.
Jupo was done charging his spell, and although a simplistic spell, it was one that was said to be one of the most lethal variations of the very basics… With the prevalence of mana bullet as the go-to spell in nearly all combat scenarios, it was only natural that specific manners to use it alternatively would arise…
The apprentice formed several dozen mana bullets at once, but instead of firing them one by one, he forced them together in between his palms–The last part was unnecessary, but Jupo was still but a beginner overall. He needed to do some motions to better visualise what he was doing.
This resulted in a seemingly unstable creation, which, when released in a specific direction, created a cone of mana bullets that was pretty much impossible to dodge from up close, and, being dazed by the arrow, the monster was struck head-on.
The clown was riddled with holes across her entire body–Even her face and chest, two areas that would be lethal for pretty much anything else, but the creature seemed oddly amused.
“This hurts… This hurts so goddamn much… But it’s so funny, I can’t stop laughing! Ahahahah!”
She seemed to stumble back, but she instead flung her arm backwards at the empty house, pulling herself inside through one of the glassless windows.
Just then, the reinforcements showed up.
“Where is the monster?”
“Where is it?”
“By the gods, where did all this blood come from?!”
“How could so many elites be killed…”
There was a mix of reactions.
The spot the regular guards had been standing in had been turned into a bloody marsh due to excessive blood loss, which had leaked out as they were squashed, and the elite guards were all lying dead on the ground now, not having been devoured.
“It went inside the house. It was seemingly injured, but I don’t know how much I actually trust that”
Binibelle wouldn’t put it past the clown to have faked being in pain to try and lure them into an enclosed space where she would have the advantage.
“What are we waiting for, then? Let’s burn this place to the ground!”
“This is-”
The halfling couldn’t even finish her sentence as the city lord just showed up out of nowhere. Looking like he was ready to go through a duel to the death.
“This would be a fool’s idea. This house is surrounded and even directly up against old wooden houses. We don’t have any fire or water mages around to control the flames for us. Our mages are elementless. We aren’t going to be burning large swats of the city for this”
“My Lord…”
“It is dangerous, but it is best that we close off any exit and enter this house ourselves. Just in case the monster manages to escape, however. Evacuate nearby citizens”
The lord turned to the halfling and her apprentice.
“Miss Binibelle. Mister Jupo. Can I still count on you for this?”
“Well… As long as you don’t ask my poor mage self to actually enter this place, sure”
The lord nodded and then looked over at the arm, and mangled pieces of the clown left on the ground.
“...My shot seems to have been slightly off. Any chances this arm is going to move on its own? I see you staring at it quite intently”
“Judging by how that thing contorts and controls her own body? That arm can definitely move, but I would like to have a piece of the monster in case we can’t get the whole body. The larger the catalyst, the better I can use some investigative spells to figure out the truth, you see?”
“Mmh… Then we should make sure to properly stock it somewhere it won’t be able to cause trouble…”
Jupo was instead looking intently at the house, deep in thought.
