Chapter 54 The Fruit Farmer Clown of the Circus 04 Liberating the Dream Circus
Time slipped away in the oppressive wait.
The heavy metal door was pushed open once again, and this time it was not a single trainer who entered, but a group of six burly men led by the class leader.
They all looked solemn, with a strong sense of tension.
Even the troupe leader's face had lost its usual tyranny, leaving only a gloomy expression that mixed with awe and greed.
"Bring them out!" the troupe leader commanded in a hoarse voice, his gaze sweeping over Ayana and Hisoka's cages before finally settling on the three new children.
The cage doors were opened one by one.
The trainers roughly dragged everyone out.
Ayana and Hisoka's hands were re-bound with rough ropes, and the other three children were so frightened that they could barely walk and had to be half-dragged and half-pulled by their trainers.
Hisoka cooperated and allowed them to tie him up, even observing with great interest how the ropes were knotted, his golden vertical pupils flashing excitedly in the dim light.
Ayana lowered her eyes, as if she had resigned herself to her fate.
They were escorted by their trainers out of the laboratory where they had been imprisoned for many days and once again entered that deep and winding passageway.
But this time, the direction was different from when they came.
The passage is even older; the walls no longer bear the marks of human excavation but rather resemble naturally formed caves, only smoothed out.
The strange smell of blood and sulfur in the air grew stronger and stronger, almost nauseating.
A low, eerie chanting sound faintly came from ahead, like countless tiny insects wriggling in one's ear.
The light gradually changed, no longer the warm light of the wall lamp or the cool light of the crystal, but an ominous dark red glow.
Finally, they emerged from the passage, and a bright and open space appeared before them.
This is a huge underground cavern, much larger than the previous laboratory and stone chamber.
The cave's dome hangs high, and the outlines of stalactites can be vaguely seen.
In the center of the cave was a huge magic circle painted with dark red pigment.
The lines of the magic circle twisted and coiled, forming incomprehensible symbols and patterns. In the center was a sunken pool that seemed to be filled with a viscous liquid.
Countless burning torches were stuck into the rock walls around the cave, and the flickering flames illuminated the entire space in a blood red color, casting countless ghostly shadows.
The mysterious figure in black robes stood at the very center of the magic circle, facing the eerie pool.
He spread his arms, his face hidden in the shadows beneath his hood.
The hoarse yet penetrating chanting voice came from his mouth and echoed throughout the cave.
Around the magic circle, more than a dozen figures were already kneeling.
Those figures were the disobedient or talentless children in the circus. They were forced to kneel there, their bodies trembling violently with fear, yet they could not utter a sound, as if an invisible force was choking them.
Lizzie's petite figure was also among them.
Ayana's heart clenched painfully.
"Bring him here!" The class leader bowed respectfully to the mysterious figure in the center of the magic circle, then turned and shouted at the trainers.
Ayana and her group were forcibly pushed and shoved to the edge of the magic circle.
The mysterious man's chanting grew louder and louder. He suddenly raised his hands, and the viscous, dark red liquid in the pool seemed to be stirred by an invisible hand, beginning to churn and bubble violently.
"The time has come!" The mysterious man's hoarse voice boomed through the cave. "With the new moon as our guide, and offering up a pure soul, please open the gate to the source!"
He turned sharply, staring at Ayana and Hisoka, and said, "Bring them up!"
A fanaticism flashed in the leader's eyes. He stepped forward and, together with two trainers, roughly grabbed Ayana and Hisoka, dragging them toward the churning pool of blood in the center of the magic circle.
Right now.
Ayana and Hisoka's eyes met for a fleeting moment in mid-air.
[Special ability [Powerful Amplification] is now activated.]
A torrent of scorching power swept over Ayana's entire body once again.
The girl's hands, which had been tied behind her back, suddenly tightened, and the sturdy rope snapped under her sudden burst of strength.
This sudden turn of events caught the class leader and the two trainers off guard, leaving them momentarily speechless.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ayana lunged forward like a cheetah, using the momentum to slam her shoulder into the chest of the trainer on her left.
"Bang!"
A dull thud resounded.
The trainer had no idea that the seemingly frail girl possessed such immense strength. Completely unprepared, before he even realized what was happening, he heard a sickening cracking sound coming from his own sternum.
Immediately afterwards, she was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing into the cave wall and sliding softly down.
Meanwhile, Hisoka also began to take action.
He didn't even break free of the ropes; his bound wrists twisted at an incredible angle, and several playing cards were somehow caught between his fingers.
"Hehe~ The game begins~"
He let out a pleasant chuckle and suddenly flicked his wrist.
Several playing cards flew out quickly, accurately hitting the trainer's eyes, throat, and the wrist of the leader who was holding Hisoka's arm.
"Ahhh! My eyes!"
The trainer on the right let out a shrill scream, covered his face with his hands, and rolled on the ground.
The troupe leader reacted extremely quickly, abruptly withdrawing his hand, but the playing card still managed to cut a deep, bone-revealing gash on his wrist.
The intense pain caused him to groan, and he instinctively released Hisoka.
The two who had broken free of their restraints stood back to back, facing the furious and shocked class leader, the remaining four trainers, and the mysterious figure in the center of the magic circle.
"Kill them! Kill them now!" The troupe leader roared, clutching his wrist as if possessed.
Four trainers roared and pounced on the two men, their short sticks and fists whistling through the air.
“The two on the left are mine~” Hisoka licked his lips, his golden vertical pupils burning with a fanatical fighting spirit.
He took the initiative to meet them, his figure weaving through the shadows of the sticks.
Hisoka somehow managed to easily control the direction in which the playing cards were shot.
The playing cards appear and disappear unpredictably, and every time they are played, they inevitably leave a trail of blood.
His fighting style is unpredictable and cruel, as if he is simply toying with his prey.
Ayana then faced off against the two on her right.
She doesn't have Hisoka's flashy techniques, but with the help of [Powerful Boost], Ayana's physical abilities have reached their peak.
She dodged the attacks back and forth, looking for an opportunity to throw a punch.
A trainer swung a short stick at her, but instead of retreating, Ayana advanced, leaping up and lightly stepping on the sweeping stick with both feet. Using the momentum, she somersaulted in the air and landed on the trainer's shoulder.
Before the other person could react, she suddenly clamped her legs tightly around his neck.
With a "crack," the trainer's eyeballs bulged out, and he collapsed without uttering a sound.
The other trainer was so terrified by his companion's miserable state that he paused in his movements.
Ayana quickly seized the opportunity, slashing out with a chop to the man's carotid artery.
The trainer didn't even utter a sound before fainting.
Meanwhile, Hisoka's battle was also nearing its end.
He continued to play with his toys, leaving the two trainers covered in wounds of varying depths, their clothes stained with blood.
Finally, Hisoka seemed to have gotten tired of playing. He pinched two playing cards between his fingers and threw them at the two men, slicing their throats open with pinpoint accuracy.
The battle ended in an instant.
Several trainers were either killed or injured, and all of them lost their ability to fight.
Inside the cave, only the troupe leader, still shaken, and the mysterious figure in the center of the magic circle remained.
"Useless!" The troupe leader cursed, both shocked and furious, as he looked at his men lying on the ground.
He suddenly drew a concealed dagger from his waist, growled like a wild beast, and charged toward Ayana.
However, just as the troupe leader took two steps forward, a red figure blocked his way like a ghost.
Hisoka wore a cruel yet gleeful smile, toying with a blood-stained playing card between his fingers, his golden vertical pupils like those of a venomous snake eyeing its prey.
"Uncle~ your opponent now is me~" He tilted his head, his voice thick and dangerous, "Don't disturb the kitten cleaning up the small fry~"
The troupe leader felt a chill run down his spine from the inhuman gaze he was being stared at, and his legs went weak. But at that moment, he was already ready to go.
He roared and plunged the dagger straight into Hisoka's heart.
Hisoka chuckled, his figure blurred as he easily dodged, and engaged the leader in a fierce battle.
His movements were unpredictable and bizarre, as if he were completely immersed in the pleasure of fighting and inflicting pain.
Ayana also got a chance to catch her breath.
She quickly calmed her breathing, her gaze fixed on the mysterious figure in the center of the magic circle.
The mysterious man remained motionless, simply standing there quietly, his eyes still fixed on the pool.
Ayana pushed off with her feet and charged toward the mysterious figure in the center of the magic circle.
"Foolish!" The mysterious man spread his arms, his voice hoarse yet filled with a self-hypnotic fervor. "Those who obstruct the descent of the gods will surely be annihilated."
Ayana was right.
This mysterious person is a follower of a cult.
She instantly rushed in front of the mysterious man, threw several punches in one breath, and couldn't help but ask a question.
"Where is your God?!"
"Look around here, you're the only one putting on this act! Your so-called rituals and sacrifices are nothing but fabrications to satisfy your twisted fantasies!"
"Yet you have taken the lives of so many children for your own fantasies!"
Ayana's fist slammed into the mysterious man's chest.
The mysterious man staggered backward, crashing into the edge of the blood pool. His hood finally slipped down, revealing a face that was pale from prolonged lack of sunlight.
He was in excruciating pain in his chest, barely able to breathe, and clutched his chest as he spoke.
No...impossible.
The mysterious man looked around unfocusedly: "God will surely answer me. I've even drunk the blood of the sacrifice, how could God abandon me?"
He muttered to himself, his eyes revealing a last glimmer of hope as he stared at the pool, hoping that the god he had imagined would give him a response.
However, nothing happened; the blood pool remained completely still.
Ayana stood before him, saying each word slowly and deliberately, "Did you see anything? Nothing at all. You killed so many innocent children for something that didn't even exist. Weren't those children's lives lives too?"
"You should pay the price for this."
The mysterious man's intense fanaticism, like a flame that had burned out, gradually dimmed.
He suddenly chuckled softly, the laughter growing louder and louder, filled with madness and self-mockery, before finally turning into sobs.
"Haha...hahaha..."
"What...what did I...do..."
The mysterious man lost all will to resist, stood up straight, fell backward, and plunged into the filthy pool of blood with a "plop".
He didn't struggle; he just stared blankly into the air, letting the viscous liquid engulf him.
The suffocating frenzy within the cave dissipated completely with the death of the mysterious man.
The red light of the magic circle disappeared completely, and the blood pool stopped churning.
The source of fear has disappeared.
The children gradually recovered from their stiffness and began to hug each other and cry.
Meanwhile, Hisoka on the other side also seemed to have grown tired of playing around.
He threw out his card again, ending the troupe leader's life.
Hisoka walked to Ayana's side, looking at the mysterious figure who was no longer moving in the pool of blood, a hint of boredom flashing in his golden vertical pupils.
"Tsk~ I thought I'd see something interesting~" He curled his lip, "Turns out it's just a crazy old man lost in his fantasies, how boring~"
Hisoka tilted his head, his tone as flippant as ever, and asked, "So, what do you plan to do next? Are you going to take these crying brats away and become their savior?"
Ayana shook her head, her gaze sweeping over the terrified yet hopeful eyes of Lizzie and the other children, and said firmly, "No, we want to go back."
"Go back?" Hisoka raised an eyebrow, seemingly finding the answer rather uninteresting. "Go back to that boring, empty circus? There's nothing fun waiting for us there~"
“It’s not about going back to perform,” Ayana corrected. “It’s about going back to end all of this. Even though the ringmaster and this madman are dead, the circus is still there, and so are the unsuspecting children and some trainers who weren’t involved. We need to completely liberate that place and set everyone free.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the system notification sounded again.
[New mission unlocked: Liberate the Dream Circus and ensure all children are free.]
[Task Reward: 500 points.]
This mission aligned perfectly with Ayana's own thoughts, further solidifying her resolve.
"Alright, alright~" Hisoka shrugged, as if making a reluctant decision. "Anyway, I haven't found anywhere more interesting to go yet, so I'll go back with you and turn that lair upside down~ Hopefully, the remaining toys will last a little longer and not be too disappointing~"
Seeing that he agreed, Ayana looked at the children and said gently, "Don't be afraid, the bad guys have all been defeated. We'll take you away from here now and back to the circus, and then you can all leave this place."
The children looked at each other and nodded.
Ayana took one last look at the pool of blood and the corpses lying on the ground before turning and walking back through the passage she had come from.
Hisoka hummed a tune and leisurely followed her.
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