"Die!!!!!!!" Ren lunged his spear at the figure in front of him, but the woman dodged with a smirk. Taking advantage of her momentary imbalance, he kicked her, sending her crashing to the ground. Without hesitation, Ren pounced on her, raising his spear to strike down immediately.
Grab! But the woman refused to surrender. She caught the tip of his spear and mockingly said,
"So scary~ Are you that angry?"
"I'm going to kill you!!!" Ren, now even more enraged, pushed the blade of his spear closer to her throat. His strength was slightly greater, and the blade slowly edged toward her...
But just before he could finish her off, his arms were suddenly locked from behind—by another woman wearing a bear mask who had appeared out of nowhere.
This woman didn't attack him, but simply grabbed and restrained his arms. Her strength was immense, making it impossible for Ren to break free.
The woman on the ground continued to taunt him.
"Why are you so mad~? Oh… could the corpses of those girls be your lovers? Tsk, tsk… That's not good—playing the field like that~"
"Shut up!!!" Ren summoned a stone pillar to strike her. She immediately let go and summoned a shield shaped like a croissant out of thin air to block it. Even so, the impact sent her flying and crashing into the wall.
Ren didn't care whether that woman was the real one or a fake. All he could think about was killing the woman pinned beneath him.
"Oh dear… If that's all you've got, then you won't be able to avenge your girlfriend." The woman under him showed no fear, only more smugness. Her words pushed Ren even further over the edge. He grabbed her throat with both hands and squeezed tightly.
"Die, you ****!" Ren snarled as he choked her, intending to snap her neck. But he couldn't—she was still resisting, gripping his wrists tightly enough to hinder his strength.
Driven by rage, Ren released one hand and drew a short knife Lappland had once given him, intending to finish her with a stab to the head.
But before he could strike, his weapon was knocked away and his arms restrained again—from behind.
Turning back, Ren found yet another woman in a bear mask, standing right behind him in close proximity.
"Oh dear~ You've been caught… What now? If you don't act fast, big sister might get killed~"
"I will... kill you!!!!" Despite his exhaustion, Ren summoned another stone pillar—though it lacked the power of his earlier ones.
Before the pillar could land, the first bear-masked woman, previously thrown against the wall, rushed in and blocked it with her shield, protecting the other woman who was holding him.
Then, the woman restraining him suddenly slammed him to the ground and pulled out a massive red sword from nowhere. She stabbed it into the ground beside Ren's face.
Upon seeing the sword, the madness in Ren's eyes began to subside... and his mind started to clear.
Wait... that sword---
Even though the woman continued to taunt him, Ren began to notice something was wrong—terribly wrong. The scene in front of him started to distort...
"Ren! You're back to your senses, right?!"
It was Texas's voice. She was now the one pinning him to the ground, calling out to him.
"Miss... Texas?" Ren looked at her as if waking from a nightmare, then slowly glanced around. The scene before him was the inside of a ruined building, devastated by battle.
Nearby, he saw Exusiai slumped against the wall, both her hands bloody and mangled, as if slashed by sharp blades. Yet she smiled and waved at him.
Croissant stood nearby, leaning on her shield with a tired expression, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. Still, she managed a faint smile.
"Hey newbie… you don't hold back, do ya?"
Was this… all my doing? Ren began to feel a crushing guilt.
Suddenly, memories began flooding back—like a video playing in reverse. It was excruciating.
Earlier, Ren had been walking down a hallway with Texas when he suddenly heard a song and stopped in his tracks.
Texas turned to him, puzzled.
"What is it, Ren?"
He didn't answer. Noticing his strange behavior, Texas reached out to steady him against the wall to check on him. But at the entrance of the hall, a bear-costumed figure appeared. Texas quickly let go of Ren to prepare for battle.
But before she could act, the bear figure was shot down from behind. Exusiai and Croissant emerged from a side passage, waving cheerfully.
"Knew it! Texas and Ren! I had a feeling that shadowy bastard couldn't take you two on!" Exusiai cheered as she jogged over.
Texas raised her hand to stop her.
"Wait! Stop right there, Exusiai. Why are you two over there… how did you get out of the hall? Explain."
Still wary, Texas reached for her sword. She suspected they might be imposters sent by the Crimson Theater.
Croissant, who had worked with Texas many times before, recognized her caution and quickly waved her hands in panic.
"W-Wait! We've got a good reason! The blood wall at the hall entrance just vanished! At first, we didn't move, but then there was a boom below! And the shadow things that kept popping up just disappeared! We figured you guys might've beaten the big one. But before we could decide to go down, a bunch of bear suits stormed in! We had to run! Exusiai's outta ammo, and my weapon broke! That was a limited-edition hammer from Rim Billiton, made just for me! I'm seriously in the red now! So please, Texas, believe us!"
Croissant showed her now-useless hammer with a face on the verge of tears.
"We lured most of the bears away! These two must've stayed to guard! We came back 'cause we were worried about you two! And now you don't believe us? That's too much, Texas!" Exusiai pouted, stomping her foot like a sulking child.
Seeing their behavior, Texas began to believe they were the real ones. Still, she needed to ask a few more questions to be sure.
Just as she was about to speak, she heard a whisper—Ren's voice.
"Miss... Texas..."
"Ren? What is it?" Texas noticed his strange behavior and reached out to shake him.
Suddenly, Ren's Lupo ears and tail reappeared. His face twisted with madness.
"You... DIE!!!!!!!!!" he screamed, charging at Exusiai with a spear conjured in hand.
"Eh?!" Exusiai yelped, narrowly dodging the spear tip.
But Ren kicked her down and pinned her, preventing her escape.
Without anyone expecting it, Ren raised his spear to stab her throat—but Exusiai, faster than him, managed to catch the blade with her bloody hands.
Despite the pain, she screamed at him in desperation.
"Ren! What are you doing?! We're on the same side!!"
But Ren was lost to madness, screaming again and again that he would kill her.
Exusiai glanced at her fallen gun. She hesitated—but didn't reach for it.
"Ren, that's enough! You're going to kill Exusiai!!"
Croissant, regaining her footing, ran in to stop him. But a stone pillar appeared and slammed into her. Though she raised her shield in time, it still knocked her against the wall, coughing up blood.
Texas, realizing Ren was under some kind of spell, rushed in to restrain his arms and disarm him just before he could stab Exusiai.
"Ren! Snap out of it! You're being controlled!!" Texas shouted, striking the back of his neck—but her hand hit a brown energy shield, preventing damage.
Ren screamed at her and summoned another stone pillar to attack.
"Yaaah!!" Thankfully, Croissant charged in and shattered the pillar just in time, saving Texas.
"I'm sorry, Ren…" Texas whispered.
With no other choice, she slammed him into the floor and struck the back of his neck with her sword hilt. The energy shield shattered.
Then, instead of finishing him, she plunged her sword into the ground beside his face and screamed:
"WAKE UP!!!"
Ren stared at the sword—and clarity returned.
"All of this... all of this is my fault... It's always my fault… AAHHH!!!!!" Ren screamed as his memories returned. But instead of gaining control, he spiraled deeper into madness—like bugs crawling through his nervous system.
He shrieked in agony, hallucinations flooding his vision.
"Ren…" Texas, seeing he was still under the spell, gritted her teeth—and finally, she struck the base of his neck, knocking him out.
Ren collapsed. Texas held him tightly, then gently laid him down.
And at that moment, a raspy female voice echoed…
"Ah... you really ruin all the fun. That child's scent of suffering was so sweet, too..."
"…"
The group, including Texas, turned toward the voice, only to see a woman in a black dress wearing a bear mask walking out from the hall where Exusiai had been earlier, holding an umbrella.
Behind her trailed a puppet-like entity with four arms waving a violin around. In her actual hands, one carried a tattered umbrella slung over her shoulder, while the other held a small black box glowing faintly red—like some mysterious magical device.
A seductive smile spread beneath the cracking mask on her face. She then spoke in a raspy voice, which sounded odd coming from someone with her appearance.
"Ah~ What a shame. I couldn't secure a single one… and I thought I already had control over the strongest of them."
"You… what did you do to him?" Texas asked coldly.
The woman merely chuckled softly.
"Nothing much, really. I just planted a seed of pain in him… but it seems that child had some rather intense mental instability, which made it easier to trigger, like this~"
"Ah… but what a pity. I probably can't use the same method as before anymore. So, I guess there's no helping it… just kill them all."
The small box in her hand suddenly opened, and a faint melody began to play.
It resembled a lullaby, but it was played so slowly that it sounded more terrifying than soothing.
Texas and the others didn't feel any particular effects from the music. But for Ren, who was unconscious...
"R-Ren! What are you doing?!" Croissant screamed, shocked to see the boy—who should have been unconscious—suddenly grab a spear off the floor and prepare to stab it into his own neck.
Luckily, Exusiai noticed just in time and managed to kick the spear out of his hand.
But it wasn't over yet. The boy reached for a nearby dagger, intending to stab his neck again. Exusiai leapt to grab his arm, ending up on top of him, struggling with all her strength to wrestle the blade from his grip.
"Damn it… Croissant! I can't hold him! Help me!!" Exusiai shouted with difficulty. Her hands were now soaked in blood, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could restrain him.
Croissant, hearing Exusiai's plea, quickly ran over and grabbed the boy's other arm.
"Damn it!! How are you so strong this time?!"
But this time was different. For some reason, the boy's strength was overwhelming, and Croissant couldn't pry the blade from his hand.
"Ren… snap out of it! If you wake up now, I'll give you a 90% discount coupon!!" Croissant screamed desperately.
But Ren's eyes were lifeless, like those of a corpse. He was like a puppet under someone's control, unable to respond to anything no matter how loudly they called his name.
'I have to kill her!' Without hesitation, Texas lunged at the masked woman with her greatsword.
If she could kill her, the magical influence would vanish.
But just as Texas got close, the left wall suddenly collapsed—and from it emerged a huge humanoid crocodile, muscles rippling, throwing a punch straight at her.
BANG!! "Ugh—" Texas took the full force of the blow to her midsection, sending her sliding across the floor until she slammed into a wall.
Even so, she managed to get back on her feet and looked up to face the muscular crocodile in front of her, who had a musical instrument slung across its back.
'This one… isn't the same traitor we saw in the vision.'
The masked woman opened a pocket watch, lightly tapped its face with her fingertip in a specific direction, then closed it and tucked it away with a regretful sigh.
"Apologies, but it seems my performance time is drawing near," she said as she turned to leave. But before walking away, she issued a short command to the giant crocodile:
"Crush them all. Leave nothing but mush. Except for that boy… the Ringmaster wants his body intact."
"…"
The crocodile didn't respond verbally. It simply charged at Texas upon receiving the order.
Even though she had been caught off guard earlier, Texas was still capable of fighting. She gripped her greatsword tightly and dashed forward to counterattack.
…
Meanwhile, with Ren—
"…This place… it can't be real." When Ren came to, he found himself standing in front of a white house that felt both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.
The clean, sunlit fence stood in stark contrast to the rusted one he remembered from his memories.
The mailbox, once crammed with newspapers, was now completely empty.
As he stepped past the gate, he felt the ground shift beneath him slightly—there was a small crack in the marble caused by a minor installation accident. His foot stumbled, just like it always did the first time he stepped on it.
Instead of being surprised, he felt an odd sense of comfort and familiarity, as if he had returned to a place he knew well.
The door in front of him was made entirely of tinted black glass, allowing him to faintly see figures moving inside.
As he stood there in a daze…
He noticed a small figure running toward him from inside.
Creaaak! The door swung open, revealing a cute brown-haired girl who looked at him with excitement.
"Big brother Ren! You're back!!"
"…" Ren's eyes trembled violently at the sight of her face.
"Nagi—"
'No… this isn't real…' Ren choked back his words.
He knew this wasn't the real world. He didn't belong here.
Ren tried to turn and run away, but just as he stepped past the gate, he heard two familiar voices behind him.
"Ren… you're back, son?"
"What took you so long? Why didn't you message us when you arrived?"
'No… don't turn around… don't look back.' Ren knew that if he saw their faces, he would never be able to hold himself together again.
"Oh come on, dear. He just got back from a long journey. Don't scold him like that. Ren, come here, honey. I made all your favorite foods."
"Hamburgers! Fried chicken! French fries!"
"Sigh… it's because you keep spoiling them like this that they love eating junk food so much."
'No… this is just a dream. None of it is real!!' Ren clutched his ears tightly. He didn't want to hear any of it. Even though his heart longed to turn around and face those people...
And then suddenly—
"So what if it's fake? They still make you happy, don't they…"
A voice from in front made Ren look up.
Standing at the gate was a boy in a familiar hospital gown—his own face staring back at him, smiling a smile that even Ren found unnatural.
"You—" Before Ren could ask anything, the other boy spoke.
"Unlike your real family, who abandoned you simply because you weren't wanted…"
"This family took you in and loved you as their own. They brought you happiness and comfort. Doesn't that make them more important than the real one that left you? Even if they are fake…"
"Am I right, Ren?"
"You… you're the one who created this dream!" Ren shouted angrily. He didn't know who this person was, but if he looked like him, then he might be the one responsible for this world—forcing Ren to see the family he had lost all over again.
"Aren't you happy? Meeting them again… that was your deepest wish, wasn't it?"
"…Yes. But not like this! This world is just a dream! It's a lie!! So stop it and let me out!!"
The hospital-gowned boy murmured…
"Dreams… reality… what's the difference to someone like you?"
"Ahh!!" Ren suddenly clutched his head in pain, overwhelmed by the traumatic memories of his ten years bedridden.
Images of him cursing fate, praying to and hating the gods, repeating the cycle over and over for what he never received—his mind was flooded with a storm of unending hatred.
And yet the boy kept speaking.
"It hurts, doesn't it? It's agony, isn't it? That's the cruelty of the real world."
"As long as you're happy, you call it a dream. As long as you're suffering, you call it reality. So what's the point of drawing the line? You'd rather be happy in a dream than endure pain in your cruel real world, wouldn't you?"
"Living happily with the family you love… isn't that what you've always wished for?"
"And now I've given it to you. You can live here, happily, for the rest of your days."
"…"
"…Who are you?"
The boy with his face smiled—and then spoke in a voice that was no longer human.
"I go by many names… 'The Faceless Fool,' 'The Moonlit Madman,' 'The Primal Nightmare.' But you may call me—"
"'The Ringmaster of the Bloody Troupe' will do."
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