[Entering the [Undead Circus Ring]...]

  Space seemed to collapse in around Yuno and Noah before sending them tumbling down into an abyss similar to the one that had swallowed them up when the integration first happened. It then very unceremoniously spit them out into the middle of a circus ring.

  “What is this place?” Yuno glanced around warily.

  “Welcome, welcome!” a voice called out over a microphone as if right on cue to answer Yuno’s question, “to the Undead Circus!”

  Cheers and applause went off from the audience who were all sitting in the stands.

  “This is the circus where anything can happen! You name it! Death, blood, cannibalism, fights, all the gory things you could ever want!”

  The audience went wild again, loudly hollering and clapping with too much enthusiasm for all of the gruesome things that the announcer had just mentioned.

  “Ah, but before we start, I’d like to welcome our two special guests! These are two new bloods of the multiverse, fresh meat, having been just integrated! Who’s ready to see how long the initiates last this time?!”

  The mass let out another earsplitting roar, this time it was so loud that Noah could feel it shake the ground.

  “Excellent, let’s get right into it then!”

  A song started to play, singing,

  “Welcome to the Undead Circus, the place where nightmares come to life!

  Will you live to see another day or fall onto the knife?

  We’ll laugh, we’ll cry, we’ll bleed, we’ll die!

  The show is about to start and they’re waiting for you in the front row.

  The audience is watching so give them a show!

  What are you waiting for?

  Come on, let’s go!

  Dim the lights!

  Lift up the curtains!

  Tonight’s the night of all nights!

  This shall be the first act!

  “But first before we start, I’d like to give a special thanks to our sponsors!”

  Hands with no body appeared throughout the air, applauding. The stumps where the arms would’ve connected were caked with dried blood making for a wonderfully grotesque scene.

  Definitely not for people with weak stomachs. Noah wondered to himself, what kinds of people enjoy shows like this? Horror movie fans? Sadists?

  A large, holographic screen was projected into the center of the stage. A long list of various names appeared, the announcer listing each one out one by one.

  “Oh and obviously we have to give an extra special thank-you to the head of the Undead Circus!” the screen flickered to change into big, bolded, and bleeding letters that said, “thank you, head!”

  Noah sighed, “I’m just going to set this whole place on fire.”

  “What?” Yuno shook his head, “you can’t do that yet! The announcer isn’t done with his villain monologue!”

  The announcer rambled on as Noah and Yuno argued, “And don’t forget to get tickets to other shows run by our parent company, Undead Corporations! There’s also–”

  Noah glanced over at the screen and then back at Yuno, “Villain monologues are boring, with this one being particularly irksome.”

  “Well, the divine beings on the channel want to listen. And they’ve hinted at donations.”

  [The [Lucky Cat] winks]

  [The [Stalking Wolf] murmurs about how the [Lucky Cat] is ridiculously rich off of gambling and casinos]

  “Well anyways, the point is,” Noah paused for effect. Generally theatrics weren’t really his thing, but there wasn’t any harm in doing them occasionally, “where’s the fun in that? People who are unpredictable make for better entertainment rather than someone who will do anything for some cash.”

  Snap.

  The whole stage went up in blackened red and purple flames, waves of heat spilling out into the circus tent. The audience all scrambled out of their seats, rushing for the exits while undead performers that had been hidden in various corners were now all exposed. The whole thing was pandemonium.

  “Holy two hells,” Yuno cursed, clearly stunned, “I didn’t think you were actually going to set the whole place on fire.”

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  Noah hummed to himself, feeling particularly pleased with his work. There really was something so satisfying about watching annoying people get burned to a crisp. Now he understood why this kind of show appealed to some people. Although the scent of burnt flesh isn’t particularly pleasant, he frowned, that’s something I’ll just have to live with.

  [The [One Who is Chaos Incarnate] is pleased by your actions and watches this scene with mad eyes]

  [The [Bewitching Snake] shakes the [One Who is Chaos Incarnate] and tries to put some sense of order into him]

  [The [One Who is Chaos Incarnate] mischievously plants a tender kiss on the [Bewitching Snake]’s forehead]

  [The [Bewitching Snake]’s face is flushed red and is now mumbling about how the [One Who is Chaos Incarnate] doesn’t play fair…]

  Yuno glared at Noah, “You ruined the villainous monologue.”

  “That was less of a villainous monologue and more of a tedious ad break,” Noah retorted, “besides, the announcer didn’t make for a very good villain.”

  “You’re the one who’s looking like a villain right now with the burning tent and the laidback posture,” Yuno muttered under his breath, “you really play the part of the psychotic protagonist well.”

  [The [One Who Killed Death] makes a ‘HA’ sound and points at the [Lucky Cat], telling her to cough up payment because he won the bet]

  [The [Lucky Cat] begrudgingly hands over 5000 [Coins]]

  [The [Monarch of Slimes] asks what the two of them were betting on]

  [The [One Who Killed Death] says that they were betting on when Yuno would finally slip up and confirm that Noah was the protagonist]

  [The [One Who Killed Death] has donated 200 [Coins] to the initiates: Yuno and Noah, as their share in helping him win the bet]

  [The [Bewitching Snake] hurriedly explains that [Coins] are the common currency of multiverse, Obelane, and that you’ll see a lot of uses for them after the [Tutorial]]

  [The [Spirit Queen] grins and says that’s why you should be trying to curry favour with them now so that you can get even MORE donations after the tutorial ends]

  Noah waved the [System Window] away, instead deciding to very pointedly ignore the message.

  [The [Spirit Queen] stares at you, aghast]

  [The [Tyrant of Fallen Angels] is furious at you for ignoring the love of his life!]

  [The [Bleeding Phoenix] rolls her eyes at the [Tyrant of Fallen Angels] and tells her little brother that he should chill out]

  [The [Tyrant of Fallen Angels] retorts and asks if the [Bleeding Phoenix] would say the same thing if it was her girlfriend, the [Tamer Hero], in the same position that his girlfriend is in now?]

  [The [Bleeding Phoenix] refuses to answer that question]

  “Noah, please stop offending the divine beings who could kill us with a snap of their fingers,” Yuno groaned, running a hand through his black hair as he did so.

  [The [Spirit Queen] agrees with Yuno’s words]

  [The [Saint of Freedom] says that they can’t actually kill you two with a snap of their fingers because you’re in the [Tutorial]–]

  [The [Monarch of Slimes] covers the [Saint of Freedom]’s mouth and says to shush]

  “See? It’s fine,” the corners of Noah’s mouth lightly perked up, curling into a subtle smirk.

  “Okay, you win,” Yuno sighed, “let’s go find the announcer. According to my [Skill], he’s supposed to be the final boss we’re supposed to defeat.”

  “W-wait!” The announcer’s voice stammered out over the crackling and half-broken speakers in the burned down tent, “please! Spare me! I have a minimum amount of time I need to make before I get defeated! I’ll get fired from my job if I don’t make the time, just please wait for five more minutes!”

  Noah nearly scoffed, “You tried to murder us, and now you’re telling us to spare you?”

  “I’m under a sponsorship contract with Undead Corporations! I had no choice! Do you think I want to be out here on the first floor of this [Tutorial], cut off from the rest of Obelane, dealing with new initiates? No! I’m a new worker and got assigned to do the one job that everyone else hates because I pissed off one of the seniors on my first day by spilling pomegranate juice on them.”

  [The [Silent Tiger] feels sympathetic towards the announcer and thinks that you should wait for three more minutes]

  [The [Swift Fox] thinks that this is stupid and that you should just kill the announcer]

  Yuno stepped out into the middle of the stage and held up two fingers, “Okay listen, we’re going to give you two options. Either you can get out here and we’ll give you a quick death–”

  Noah interjected, “Or you can hide and I’ll torch this whole place again and you can slowly burn to death by being roasted in the fire. I’ll keep it at a nice and low temperature so that it lasts longer and you’ll meet your time requirement.”

  “–or that,” Yuno nodded, crossing his arms, “so what will it be?”

  “Is there a third option…?” The announcer sounded defeated, as if they already knew the answer.

  “Nope!” Yuno beamed, “I said there are two options so you can pick one. If you don’t pick one in the next 20 seconds, then Noah can pick for you, and I have a feeling that I know exactly what he’s going to pick.”

  “Fine. Just kill me. I’ll come out, but please don’t burn the whole place down more than it already had. I don’t want to get a larger earful about the costs to repair this place from management than I already am,” a small, rabbit shaped glowing ball of light popped into existence at the center of the circus.

  [Minor Specter (F) - lvl 15]

  “So you do want to do it or should I?” Yuno held his hand out. A thin, but razor-sharp lance of ice started to form in the air.

  “You do it. I already got plenty of experience from burning this place down,” Noah glanced over at the notifications he hadn’t bothered to read earlier.

  [You have slain [Overworked Lerajenan Demon Employee (F)- lvl 10] x5 - experience has been earned. Bonus experience for defeating an enemy above your level.]

  [You have slain…]

  [You have more unread messages]

  He didn’t bother to read the rest of the notifications. Yuno seemed like he was done cleaning up so it was time to go anyway. “Next floor?”

  “Next floor.”

  [You completed [Undead Circus Ring (First Floor of the [Tower of the Divine)]!]

  [Loading…]

  [Would you like to enter: [The Demon Daycare]?]

  [Y/N]

  Noah didn’t hesitate to select yes.

  Space folded around them again, just as it had done before, the world becoming nothing more than a swirling mix of psychedelic colors and then they were somewhere new.

  “Yuno, we should–” Noah stopped mid-sentence. He stared at Yuno, stunned.

  Yuno looked exactly as he had when he and Noah were about ten years old. Perpetually messy hair, same pools of molten gold for eyes that he’d always had, and skin pale enough to make him look like a very beautiful corpse.

  [The [Spirit Queen] thinks that Yuno and Noah looked adorable as children]

  [The [Oracle] is nodding in agreement]

  [The [Weeping Dragon] is reminiscing about old memories]

  [The [Saint of Freedom] is laughing about [Redacted]]

  “Hey kids! Welcome to the daycare!” a woman with pink hair and horns that delicately protruded from her forehead hovered in the air above Noah and Yuno.

  [Kalian Demoness (F) - lvl 18]

  “Now…” the woman smiled, “we should have some fun together!”