The clown fears

The clown, born as a pure manifestation of madness and corruption, thoroughly enjoyed every single one of his grotesque shows with delight.

"Bravo! Bravo! A round of applause for this magnificent show... it's the best makeup you could ever wear! Hahaha... Don't stop the music, the climax is barely beginning!"

However, in the midst of his usual delight, he realized with utter bewilderment that one of his primary segments had completely ceased to function.

"...And the grand final trick is...! Wait. A second. What the hell...? No, no, no, this isn't the script... This is no longer part of my play... Who dared to touch my stage?"

That specific segment had been designed to break a young boy, subjecting him to the rigorous training of a transvestite bodybuilder dressed in a tight swimsuit who possessed a fierce sexual predilection for men of all kinds.

"Hello? Mechanism? Move! The show can't go silent!"

Yet when the clown peered in to savor the victim's suffering, all he found was the imposing man standing in the middle of the room, staring blankly into the void without making a single movement.

"Shouldn't there be one more actor there?!"

There was no trace whatsoever of the new actor he had just dragged into his domain.

"What on earth are you doing standing there like a damn fairground mannequin? That's not the script! Where the hell is the brat?! Search for him and drag him back to the stage by his hair right now, you piece of idiot! The show doesn't stop!"

Irritated by the interruption of his performance, he immediately ordered the boy to be brought back to the stage.

"This is the last straw! My best act ruined by a piece of slack meat! Bring that damn boy back to the stage immediately! Nobody ruins my performance and gets away with it to tell the tale!"

As punishment for defying the order of the show, he planned to force him to retain his sanity intact while crudely manipulating his body.

"...Yes... I will find him... And rape..."

However, despite time passing relentlessly, the young man never showed up.

"What's going on here...? I am the owner of this damn circus..."

The clown attempted to track his exact location, but despite supposedly wielding absolute authority over the structure of that space, he failed to detect his presence.

"He's not here... He's nowhere to be found. Impossible! This is my domain, my beautiful creation! Why can't I feel him?"

Instead, he felt as if an invisible and incomprehensible force were directly interfering with his abilities.

"...Wait a minute... why is it so cold? No... It can't be..."

For the very first time since his birth, the entity felt a cold shiver run down his spine...

"This is my world. I built it. Why are my damn hands shaking? What is this cold freezing my chest? I am the one who makes others tremble, not the other way around!"

That which he was experiencing for the very first time... was a basic emotion that every living being had experienced at some point...

"Who's there? Show yourself! This is my stage, you wretch!"

...And the name of that emotion... was the overwhelming fear of an unknown danger lurking in the shadows of his own domain.

"Why can't I see it? This place is supposed to be... it's my environment. There's no one else here... there shouldn't be anyone."

Despite the authority he exerted over his victims, that creature was actually nothing more than a low-ranking curse created for a very specific purpose, completely unrelated to physical combat.

"How strange... my hands are cold. I've never felt cold in here before."

For that reason, his fighting capacity was pitifully low, barely comparable to that of an average human.

"I'd better move to the studio. Yes... it's darker there. You guys, walk over there too. Stay near the entrance. Just... stay standing there."

Because of that, aware of his terrible limitations, he made the decision to barricade himself inside the main studio, surrounding himself with those actors who had been so mentally shattered that they lost all awareness of their own existence, reduced to mere living puppets.

"...If something comes in... I have no way to defend myself... No, wait... Hey, you guys...!"

However, at that point, an idea struck his mind...

"Get over here, idiots! Surround me right now! You are going to be my nice and beautiful human shield."

His intention was to use the puppets under his control as an indivisible human shield.

"If someone comes to play the hero, they're going to have to tear all of you to pieces before they can even touch my clothes. Barricade yourselves and get your claws ready!"

His logic was extremely simple...

"You, big guy, stand in front of everyone! And the rest, close ranks behind him... Hehehe... How smart I am!"

If that mysterious invading entity or intruder turned out to be an exorcist or a pursuer, he planned to use the broken puppets to attack and defend himself simultaneously.

"The wretch who comes is going to get a lovely surprise when they see that their first targets are this bunch of innocent humans! Hahaha, be useful for once!"

Nonetheless, as the minutes and days ticked by, the suffocating sense of dread only grew more intense.

"Why won't the exit open?! Damn it...! Why can't I leave my own domain?!"

Eventually, he realized with horror that all of his attempts to escape or establish contact with the outside world were utterly blocked, while a terrifying presence—akin to the unblinking, pitiless gaze of a giant serpent—slowly consumed his composure as time went by.

(...CRACK)

Until finally...

«I FOUND YOU...»

Suddenly, a spatial rift began to tear open right in the center of his studio.

"!!?!"

Faced with such an impossible phenomenon, only then did the clown stumble backward violently, tripping over his own feet as he pointed at the fracture expanding in midair.

"What is that...?! Who's there?!"

But in response to his words, none of the puppets around him reacted.

"....."

"...."

"......"

Instead, they remained motionless like statues of flesh while the spatial rift tore completely open.

"So you're the bastard..."

Until from the fissure emerged a voluptuous woman with silver hair and deep red eyes with composure.

(Tap... Tap... Tap...)

Under any other circumstance, the clown would have considered her the perfect actress for his sadistic performances, but at that moment, sheer terror paralyzed his muscles.

"..."

The expression on that woman's face conveyed no "human" emotion, save for a hatred so dense and infinite that it chilled the very air in the room.

"H-hiii...?!!"

As a result, the clown tried to raise a hand to command his puppets to attack, but his voice caught in his throat.

"Y-you... you shouldn't be able to be here...?!"

And in panic, the clown backed away, feeling the continuous rise in pressure...

"Shut up."

However, indifferent to his questions, the silver-haired woman took a step forward, completely ignoring the empty shells surrounding her.

"An insignificant worm daring to lay its filthy hands on what belongs to me..."

Instead, her gaze locked with utter disdain onto the trembling creature before her.

«Indeed... It is something unforgivable.»

At the same time, another voice echoed directly into the foundations of the space, forcing the creature to fall to his knees, clutching his head in desperation under the ever-increasing pressure.

"Back off!! My actors, attack! Attack right now!!"

And in a desperate attempt at self-preservation, the clown commanded...

"W-what is happening... Why aren't you moving?!"

However, despite his hysterical shrieks, not a single figure around him moved an inch.

"You are going to pay."

Instead, the only thing that echoed was a cold, fatal sentence.