A large chunk of the city’s entire guard force surrounded a single, hollow house. Accompanied by the lord’s own elite guard as well as a sizable number of adventurers and mercenaries–From the looks of things, whoever or whatever had chosen to hide inside was in deep trouble, with basically no chances of escaping…

  However, the many people outside were evidently fearful. Having seen for themselves what became of guards and elites who had already gone against the creature, many could tell that they were not capable of standing up to the monster cornered inside the house.

  Tolten was a prospering city–Economically, that is… It was not known to be a den for powerful warriors or great mages. Most of the local ‘fighters’ were painfully average, or even subpar.

  Normally, though, the guards and others would just use numbers to their advantage to deal with any problem, but aware that a sizable number of guards had perished before they got here… It was hard for them not to be concerned about their safety.

  Unfortunately for those with thoughts of enacting cowardice and running away–The city lord was right here. If they were caught trying to slip away… The consequences would be dire. They were likely to be judged like deserters, which was basically just another way to die.

  Einhert Vont Tolten looked around at the grim faces of the hired hands and his own subordinates.

  It was normal for them to be scared. People had died, and the fear of death was simply written in eternal ink within the body of all that lives… However, the level of fear they were experiencing was abnormal. He could feel it. Something was constantly trying to slither its way inside his body.

  It was something akin to negative energy, but different nonetheless–Speaking of negative energy, it was thick in the air at the moment. A prolonged stay in the area would certainly induce energy poisoning, especially considering how… Aggressive the energy was.

  “This thing is more than just a roaming monster. This feels like an aura-ability, and the range is rather concerning… If this clown is allowed to grow too much, she might just become a threat that even the crown would pay for someone to get rid of”

  The city lord did not speak with utter certainty. After all, there was no guarantee that the black and white clown actually had the capabilities to grow to a high level. In fact, he couldn’t shake the idea that she wasn’t getting stronger, but merely discovering the abilities she had had from the moment of her birth.

  Einhert looked away from the house and focused on the disembodied arm on the ground. Binibelle was currently drawing a circle in the dirt around it using a small blade-like manifestation made out of mana. He had to admit, the halfling was a woman of many talents…

  Although related practices, most mages were merely energy manipulators–Mana manipulators for the most part–And did not actually delve deeply, or at all, in alternative ways of power, or even magical crafts.

  Binibelle’s motions were clear and precise, however. This was a specific circle she knew by heart, and its effect was obvious. It was a sealing circle. The arm was made unable to move.

  “Mmh… I was expecting it to fight back, but I guess that our colourless friend might be busy with something else inside the house”

  It made no doubt that the monster was actively preparing the terrain to welcome any and all who would dare to set foot inside. She knew that her enemies couldn’t just act rashly and destroy everything without risking collateral damage–Or perhaps, she just thought that collateral damage was worth it.

  This was an entity born from negative energy, and an old, inanimate suit combined into one, after all… It would not be surprising if she were willing to get hurt if it meant that innocents would be caught in the crossfire. The resulting negative emotions might just be something she desired…

  “Miss Binibelle… I know you want this arm for your investigation, but would you use a finger as a medium so that we may know what the clown is up to in there?”

  “Since the arm is most likely still alive, its value as a catalyst is pretty damned high, so a finger is no problem… Could you sever it for me, though? If it were to suddenly lash out, I think you have the means to not be hurt as much as I”

  The city lord shrugged, unsheathing his sword to swiftly sever the arm’s thumb, making sure that digit wasn’t allowed to roll out of the sealing circle. In the meantime, Binibelle had brought a small vial of ink, which she had–For some reason–Pulled out from the ‘space’ between her chest.

  Einhert raised an eyebrow at the unconventional method of stockage, but didn’t say anything as the mage drew another sealing circle in both of her palms before picking the thumb up, squeezing it in between both of her hands as she channelled a spell…

  The halfing’s expression quickly changed.

  “Is everything alright, Miss Binibelle?”

  “...This finger is more densely packed with negative energy than I thought… More than this, actually, it isn’t just overflowing with negative energy. The energy itself is stored in a dense manner… If this were to unravel into its natural form, it would create a pulse strong enough to send us all flying”

  “Is it getting in the way of your spellcasting?”

  “It definitely is–But it’s weird. It isn’t resisting me or my mana. It’s trying to steer my spell into another direction… I think that’s like a muscle memory, the clown isn’t doing anything in particular. I feel like… I feel that I should see where it takes me”

  “Miss Binibelle, this might be dangerous to-”

  “Mmh…”

  The halfling grew nearly perfectly still and utterly silent.

  Jupo looked at the scene before addressing the city lord.

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  “Lord Einhert. My master looks like this when she is deeply focused… And her instincts are reliable, so do not worry for her”

  “I see… Do you perhaps know any spells that could help us, young man?”

  Jupo found it a bit weird to be called ‘young man’ by someone who didn’t look any older than he did. The lord should be middle-aged, but as was with most nobles, Lord Einhert Vont Tolten retained his youthful appearance and would keep it for a long while.

  “My apologies, but although I can use a wide array of spells, I can’t be called a proper mage just yet… I could try to generate images of the clown, but I need a long time and a lot of mana to do it properly”

  “No worries about this. You have a bright future if you can employ many different kinds of spells. Most just keep to a single category their whole lives because they can’t manage any other”

  The two discussed quietly. The house was surrounded, but no movements from the clown were to be seen just yet. Everything was still, and nerves were put under pressure as abnormal fear plagued the hearts of many. The fright of the unknown things happening within the empty habitation left many trembling in anticipation…

  In the meantime, Binibelle had found her way into… Something. She didn’t quite know how to describe. She often experienced images, sounds, and the like, as well as memories of the past, but this felt different. The negative energy had guided her mana into a certain pattern, into the shape of a spell she had never cast before.

  This was definitely not the clown’s doing, nor was this a normal reaction to the negative energy. Something else was happening. This felt like when that strange item had played a ‘video’ as Leton Nebulo had called it.

  It seemed like a spontaneous occurrence. Was it truly so? Or did it have something to do with the strange individual who had seemingly attempted to communicate through the video before being shut down? Binibelle did not know, but she wanted to.

  Curiosity was going to kill the cat eventually anyway, so one should just be as curious as they wanted.

  The halfling turned out to be correct. Her vision soon became filled with the same grey haze, lines of random colours, and other distortions. Until the image stabilised, and a rather nice melody started to play alongside the apparitions of what seemed to be a logo.

  She didn’t need to read what it said, as a voice did it for her.

  Welcome to Glown’s Wonderland!

  Glown again… This character was deeply tied to everything, it seemed. Which was a bizarre fate for a jolly character meant to bring joy, to become inseparable from blood and despair, to the point that a monster literally made from negativity would take her appearance…

  The image turned to blue, and a much less welcoming voice spoke.

  You are viewing images from an:

  A.R.DL

  Be cautious of what you see. Be cautious of what you believe. This is not your reality. The reality you will view may bear similarities to yours. It does not mean anything.

  Exert caution.

  The grave voice went away, and so did the blue image. Leaving place to something unrelated to anything shown previously. It looked like Binibelle was watching from the eyes of something or someone hidden behind a crowded shelf, watching two people.

  One was drowned in darkness, leaving no identifiable feature. This person was sitting on a crate while the other person was kneeling on the ground before the shadowy person, laying their head against the unknown individual’s thighs while their hair was being slowly stroked.

  The scene was definitely weird, considering that the environment looked like a storage room, and the low lighting made everything seem disturbing, despite the interaction appearing quite sweet in itself.

  However, what mattered was that the kneeling person was very easy to identify. It was the black and white clown–Only that she looked different. Her attire was more ample, more detailed, and overall, rather than a clown, she resembled a jester more.

  In fact, the hat with bells was lying on the side of the crate, having been removed to allow the other person to pet her hair.

  The clown looked so…Vulnerable like this. Looking like a small animal huddling against its mother for warmth. It was hard to imagine the murderous lunatic in this manner, but Binibelle had been told that she was looking at something that was not the reality she knew.

  Without explanation or reason, the image turned black. The halfling had no idea what the significance of what she had seen meant, or if it was even meant to mean anything in the first place.

  The scene changed, and Binibelle found herself looking at a crowded place. Looking around, she soon realised where she was as she saw someone…

  She had memorised their faces, so she immediately recognised the small, blue demon girl. Gigi was just hopping around… Heading for a table where she sat next to another recognisable face, Annie.

  The demon girl seemed noticeably younger, but they seemed to get along just fine nonetheless.

  After a while, all five of the victims were gathered together–The halfling did not remember any mention that they had been familiar, or even friends with one another… They had all been common presences at Harvey’s Diner, so it wasn’t far-fetched to think that they knew each other, but still. Nothing had ever evoked the idea that they were good friends to the point of gathering together like this…

  “Must be another quirk of this reality stuff… What even is the point of showing me this?”

  She wondered if showing her another reality was a way for… Something to show things it would be barred from otherwise. Did the killer’s protection against investigation not work in this context? If so, could these visions be trusted as at least being close matches to her own reality?

  The mage’s mind churned. The clues were few, and the way they were presented seemed almost intentionally confusing.

  …She focused as someone approached the table of the girls.

  “Youhoo! Girly girls~ All here today as well? At this rate, you’ll know this place better than the employees!”

  It was Glown, or rather, whoever was wearing the costume at the moment.

  The scene seemed to take place before the entertainment automatons were introduced, so…

  “This has to be Mara Nebulo, right?”

  Binibelle had read a bit about this woman who had mysteriously vanished more than twenty years ago, and… She had to admit, Mara was quite the impressive actress. The way she was described normally, and the character she was playing right now, were like completely different people.

  The fact that the costume made her look and sound completely different certainly did not help.

  It definitely helped Binibelle visualise how anyone could have been wearing this costume on the day of the tragedy, even without the expert acting, the looks and voice would be more than enough to convince young minds that it was the same Glown they knew…

  Binibelle wasn’t certain how much of what she was seeing could be transposed to the ‘true’ reality, but from what she was looking at, Glown–Aka, Mara–Was quite close to the girls in particular.

  If this were the case in Binibelle’s reality, then… Imagining that the costume wearer had never changed only made things more disturbing. If it were the case… Then, how long had this atrocity been planned for exactly? And if not planned… Why target them?

  “Well… I have no idea who the killer is right now, anyway…”

  The scene shifted once more.

  Things took a much more sinister turn.