Allen looked at Marlowe and Hugo, recalling their past at school, a complex mood building.
Both boys had become possessed by demons during their training in the secret realm.
Ultimately, they became monsters, losing their human form and most of their humanity.
Marlowe and Hugo's experiences weren't unique.
On the contrary, Sonia, who had maintained her human form and humanity to this day, was a rare exception!
Sonia, having been diagnosed with demonic blood in the circus and possessing exceptional talent, was sent to the secret realm for intensive training.
She had endured immense hardship and suffering since childhood, and her will was far stronger than that of an ordinary person. During her training in the secret realm, she had resisted the temptations of the ancestral spirits.
So far, Sonia hadn't fully fallen into demonic possession, but she had suffered aftereffects.
Her personality was extreme, her behavior was erratic, and she appeared to be mad.
Allen had personally experienced all these peculiarities.
Not long ago, Sonia emerged from the secret realm and became a new member of the Amazing Circus.
She was responsible for controlling Marlowe and Hugo, who had already transformed into monsters.
Thus, Sonia became the circus's beast tamer.
"How do you control these two monsters, which have lost most of their humanity?" Allen asked Sonia.
"'Illusion Worm Eggs,' a tiny parasite developed by the cult's leaders," Sonia whispered.
"It's injected into the body through a syringe. It circulates through the bloodstream, reaching the brain and heart, where it inhabits these two areas."
"Everyone in the cult, including the circus, must obey orders from their superiors."
"Otherwise, the eggs in the body will break out of their cocoons and devour the heart and brain, with unimaginable consequences."
"I used this method to control Marlowe and Hugo. Similarly, Captain Ethan used this method to coerce us into helping him abduct children!"
After listening to her story, Alan said calmly:
"Sonia, if you can provide me with some samples of phantom worm eggs for research, perhaps I can help you break free from their control."
In fact, Alan could use his own blood right now to try to eliminate the parasite eggs in Sonia's body.
But he didn't want to reveal the secret of his blood, not even to Sonia.
"No problem!" Sonia agreed readily. "Brother Allen! I'll go back to the mushroom garden and try to get some phantom insect eggs. I'll give them to you next time we meet!"
"Is the mushroom garden the secret realm of time used by the Human-Demon Cult to train magicians?" Allen asked her.
Sonia nodded, turned around, and pointed.
"See that huge mushroom circle in the back?"
"Enter the mushroom circle, and you'll be teleported to the mushroom garden."
"When we're not performing outside, our circus practices in that secret realm."
"Brother Allen! If you'll do me a favor, I'll find a way to get you into the mushroom garden to practice together, okay?"
Sonia asked excitedly, her eyes brimming with anticipation.
"First, tell me how I can help you?" Allen asked cautiously.
"It's easy. Help me take out three people!"
"Which three?"
"Captain Ethan, the puppeteer, and the strongman."
"Aren't these three your companions in the circus?" Allen asked in surprise. "Why do you want to kill them?"
"Because they're stronger than me, they're obstacles to my advancement." Sonia made no secret of her ambition.
Alan shook his head slightly. "Sonia, you're too ambitious. If you don't curb it, something bad will happen sooner or later."
Sonia smiled wistfully in response.
"Brother Allen, you don't understand. The world I live in is filled with brutal power struggles. Those without ambition don't deserve to live!"
"The Amazing Circus is a subsidiary of the Human Demon Cult, an organization that worships the devil."
"In the devil's world, even if everyone knows you're a murderer, as long as you haven't been caught, you'll go unpunished, and others will even admire your perfect criminal art!"
"Using all means to climb the ladder while carefully cleaning up your mess—this is the devil's way of survival!"
"Striving for power and making a name for yourself is a test for me, Brother Allen, can you understand?"
Frankly, Allen didn't quite understand, but he could respect it.
To show her sincerity, Sonia took the initiative to tell Allen that the six kidnapped children were hidden in a nearby cave.
She even thoughtfully pointed out the cave's location.
Alan expressed his gratitude for this. But whether to cooperate or not would require some time to consider.
"I need to return the kidnapped children to Griffin Island first. I'll give you an answer within a month. How's that?"
"At most a month. I can wait!"
Sonia reached out and shook hands with him.
"Brother Allen, don't forget our agreement."
"Don't go yet." Allen raised his hand to stop her. "Lend me your whip."
Sonia was stunned for a moment.
Without further questions, he readily untied the whip and handed it to him.
Alan released his "Iron Skin and Bones," picked up the whip, and took a deep breath.
Suddenly, he swung the whip and lashed himself twice!
Crack!
Crack!
Two conspicuous bloodstains appeared on his back and arms.
Sonia stared at him silently, her eyes becoming somewhat strange. "If I were to hunt you down alone, and you didn't have any obvious injuries, I'd inevitably raise suspicion when I returned."
"Oh, that's a shame... What a pity."
Sonia shrugged angrily, seeming quite disappointed!
...
The battle in the forest was over.
The circus firmly held the entrance to the secret realm.
The strongman and the puppeteer were slightly injured.
The magician and the snake charmer were more seriously injured, but they also escaped unscathed.
Only the snake charmer's giant python servant, "Piebald," died at the hands of Uncle Ryan while protecting his mistress.
The Griffin family suffered even more severe casualties.
Felin's two cousins, Neil and Laurie, were killed.
Ryan, Felin, Julie, Charlie, and Parker were also injured to varying degrees.
At least their efforts weren't in vain. They successfully rescued the six kidnapped children and uncovered the secret of the "Mushroom Garden."
Alan edited the information provided by Sonia, claiming it was a confession he'd extracted from her after defeating the Joker.
He simply stated that the Amazing Circus sent the kidnapped children to a secret time realm codenamed "Mushroom Garden" to be trained as assassins.
No other details were revealed.
Even this bit of information was shocking enough!
Ryan and the others believed that the situation had reached a point beyond their control.
They retreated back to Griffin Island.
Flynn's father sent a griffin messenger to the Warlock Academy's higher-ups for support.
Five days later, a reply arrived.
The academy's airship had departed.
It was expected to arrive at Griffin Island in four days. There was also some bad news for Allen.
The investigation team sent by the academy consisted of ten sorcerers and twenty high-level apprentices. They were tasked with hunting down the Amazing Circus and, incidentally, taking over the secret realm.
The Griffin family was required to provide the investigation team with all necessary assistance.
The investigation team consisted of six first-level sorcerers, including those in the early and late stages.
The three second-level sorcerers were all from the Natural Sciences branch.
They were all familiar to Allen.
One of the early-stage second-level sorcerers was Angela, a black-hearted loli.
Two of the late-stage second-level sorcerers were a man and a woman.
The man was named Pat, and he had previously attempted to blackmail Allen's winery.
The woman was named Olivia, a prodigy in the Natural Sciences department.
Allen had made a deal with her, and some unpleasant experiences had occurred.
Allen could already see the clues from this lineup.
After asking Uncle Ryan, he found out.
The leader of the investigation team was none other than Hubert, the natural science instructor.
His cultivation had reached the late third stage!
Learning that Hubert was in charge, Allen couldn't help but recall past grudges and immediately became alert!
Alan felt his situation was dangerous!
If Hubert knew he was here, would he kill him and then put the blame on the Amazing Circus?
Given Hubert's character... he'd definitely do something like that!
Right now, Allen wasn't in a position to confront Hubert head-on.
The safest course of action was to flee before Hubert reached Griffin Island.
However...
He had discovered the mushroom garden, but someone like Hubert had taken advantage of it. The more he thought about it, the more angry he became!
What's more, Hubert had previously attempted to poison him.
Alan hadn't forgotten this old score!
Repaying evil with kindness wasn't his style.
If someone offends me, I'll repay them double—that was his motto!
Back at the academy, he hadn't had the chance to take revenge on Hubert.
Now that Hubert was leading his team to the mushroom garden, they were bound to clash with the Human-Demon Cult.
Thinking of Sonia's offer of cooperation, Alan realized his opportunity had arrived!