The Puppet Strings of the Freak Show
The magic known as Puppetry. It was the spell Anasis had cast on her targets—connecting threads of mana to control objects like marionettes.
‘Nord, you fucking idiot!’
Why the hell hadn’t I noticed? There had been so many clues! I clutched my head, tearing at my hair in self-reproach.
The bicorn exhaled heavily, as if exhausted from using the magic.
A spell that manipulates objects by linking mana threads resembling strings. It creates pathways similar to a signal connection, making it impossible to sever once established.
【My lord. What manner of magic is this Puppetry?】
【It’s a spell that controls objects. You connect mana paths that look like threads and make them move however you want.】
【And she activated it through enchantment magic to control the girl from a distance without any visible strings?】
The bicorn sounded incredulous.
The thread-like mana used in Puppetry was closer to Wi-Fi. It created ‘pathways’ by establishing a connection, so breaking it was impossible. Therefore, using enchantment magic would allow her to manipulate Erika’s body from afar without producing any physical threads.
【No, that cannot be. A spell powerful enough to steal a person’s will and control their body could not possibly be cast so easily.】
【Puppetry isn’t that powerful. Even if the target doesn’t know how to handle mana, you can’t control them with complete freedom.】
I nodded in agreement with the bicorn. That was precisely why I had deliberately developed a type of golem called a marionette. Instead of installing self-moving mechanisms inside, we wove in magic circles that amplified the spell’s effect.
【But what if it was a child? What if the target was a young child with almost no physical strength, let alone the ability to handle mana—and they were unconscious, fast asleep?】
Then it would be possible.
Rozanna had said that when she woke up, she was already trapped inside the circus troupe.
‘Now that I think about it, that story had contradictions written all over it.’
A thief who could sneak into someone’s house and kidnap a child without waking them? Why would someone that skilled be working as a child abductor? Even the slightest bit of thought made it obvious.
Rozanna and the other children hadn’t been kidnapped by some mysterious master thief. They had been lured by Puppetry cast while they slept, walking to the circus on their own two feet—only to be captured once they arrived.
──Crunch.
I ground my teeth.
What a pathetic fool I was. How could I have missed such an obvious sense of wrongness? Had I been so drunk on the feeling that everything was solving itself neatly?
【That does make sense. But it is broad daylight now. The child you wished to protect may have had a sleep spell cast on her as well.】
The bicorn said. She was right. In the middle of a bright day like this, the guards wouldn’t suspect a child wandering alone.
I clicked my tongue.
‘The more I think about it, the more disgusting it gets.’
Anasis’s actions were so meticulously vile they bordered on paranoid. She could steal the children’s freedom whenever she wanted, yet she still set up a barrier that made escape pointless. Some of the children who did manage to flee were fed to the man-eating tiger as an example. After experiencing something like that in a foreign land where they couldn’t even speak to the citizens, no one would dare think of running away again. It was enough to make children who weren’t even old enough for middle school give up on everything and crawl into those tiny boxes of their own free will.
【While I was watching, Erika never came near this area. Those bastards must have already locked her inside before we even escaped.】
In other words, the moment Anasis realized Lalirula had infiltrated, she had immediately taken countermeasures. The instant she sensed danger, she kidnapped a child to use as a hostage. I had thought her delayed response was because she only had ten or fewer trainers she could actively command. My own complacent judgment made my teeth ache with rage.
The bicorn glanced at me cautiously, as if reading my mood.
【My lord. This cat has also been enchanted with magic. It appears they sent it to locate our position.】
【Fuck. For real?】
Bad news just kept piling up. They had suspected the cat and cast a spell on it before releasing it? Did Anasis know Animal Conversation magic? Or maybe she had simply done it on the off chance it might work. Either way, that bitch’s gamble had paid off. The cat had fainted beside me, and if those bastards pretended to fall for it and sent people to this alley, our location would be exposed.
【What will you do?】
The bicorn asked for my opinion.
I shut my mouth.
Fuck. Fuck! What the hell should I do? What was the best move here?
‘Think. Think, damn it!’
Even if Franc and Lalirula showed up, the enemy had a hostage. Should I try a diversionary tactic to rescue Erika? Bullshit. The mere fact that Lalirula was here would make Anasis guard Erika even more tightly. The more important the hostage was to the other side, the more effective they became.
In that case── there was only one answer.
【──I’ll go alone.】
That was the best option. The only person who could make Anasis doubt the hostage’s value and persuade ‘new collaborators’ from within was me.
【My lord, that idea is far too reckless. They have already suffered one attack. Their vigilance will be at its peak.】
The bicorn’s expression grew serious after hearing my mutter.
【You may be able to hide your presence with runes, but there is a limit to what you can accomplish alone. For now, withdraw from this place and regroup with your companions elsewhere. You can always come up with a new plan.】
【No, that won’t work. Now that they have a hostage, making any plan is pointless.】
I spoke while recalling the anti-terrorist protocols from 21st-century Earth. Special forces dealing with terrorists do not negotiate. While it’s good to prioritize the hostage’s safety, building an operation centered entirely around hostage rescue makes the plan collapse far too easily.
【Those bastards won’t just stay on high alert for now. Since things have gotten this big, they’ll shut down business until they leave the city and stay ready for more attacks.】
──Which meant now was the time.
The chaos from the fire still hadn’t been contained. The guards were still focused on the circus troupe. The circus bastards would be busy trying to hide evidence of their crimes and searching for traces of us. After all, if they found proof that we were the attackers, they could use it to accuse us.
A surprise attack at this exact moment was the optimal solution.
With that thought, I spoke to the bicorn.
【Bicorn. Sorry, but we’ll have to part ways here. Take that cat and get far away. You can deal with the magic cast on it, right?】
【……That much is possible. However, I no longer have the strength left to assist in an assault. Do you truly intend to launch a surprise attack alone?】
【It’s the best option.】
My head, which had only just escaped from the confusion, couldn’t come up with any better plan. If I set Erika’s life aside and calculated purely for efficiency, there might be better ways—but that would be worse than doing nothing at all.
【Very well. I shall not commit the discourtesy of hindering a warrior’s departure.】
The bicorn stood and took the cat in her mouth.
【I will not forget this kindness. We shall meet again without fail. When that time comes, I shall reveal my name along with my repayment for today’s favor.】
【When we meet next, won’t you be in some stable with a ring through your nose?】
【Silence.】
──Huff.
With a snort, the bicorn vanished down the alley.
I watched her(?) leave and let out a sigh. Then I pulled the clown mask I had stolen from the circus over my face.
Fuck, this thing smells like absolute shit.
I carefully aligned the eye and nose holes, carved the runes, and activated them.
──Whiiir!
Mana was sucked in.
‘No robe makes me feel uneasy.’
Maybe it was because I had grown used to Arthur Wayne’s completely assassin-like costume. Without armor or a robe, I felt utterly naked.
Whatever. I could just steal some clothes from inside.
I downed the remaining mana potion in one gulp and leaped over the wall.
The essence of a surprise attack is stealth and speed. Blindly trusting in concealment was for idiots. Last time, while following Franc, I had been caught by the guards.
──Swish, swish, swish!
I slipped inside while avoiding the charred circus tents, constantly scanning my surroundings. Perhaps because I had already killed three of the trainers, there were almost no people on this side.
“Fuck!! This necklace belongs to Donovan!! Then the corpse next to him must be Nicolai?!”
“We’ll identify the bodies later! Once everyone gathers, we’ll know who’s missing! For now, find traces of the bicorn and the hostages!!”
The trainers made a ruckus as they searched through the fire scene. There were no guards inside. Maybe they were blocking the entrance from outside with some excuse, afraid that letting them in would cause problems? Whatever the reason, it was a good sign for me.
I quickly moved between tents, hiding my body. In this way, I raced toward the center of the circus troupe where the barrier had been lifted.
For my hastily made plan to work, I needed additional collaborators. And ‘they’ were definitely here.
I stopped and hid behind a tent, observing my target. Two trainers stood with tense expressions.
‘On guard, just as expected.’
I would subdue them quickly and cause another disturbance.
──Whoosh!
I chanted the spell and activated Burning Hand. It was to prevent blood from splattering on my sword or body.
I poured the power of the Earth Hero into my legs and dashed at ultra-high speed!!
In the blink of an eye, I closed the ten-meter distance and swung both hands at once.
“The red light of Berlin.”
──Splurt!
I severed one man’s neck and shoved a burning hand into the other’s gut.
“Gaaaargh…!!”
The trainer screamed with his mouth wide open as a hand—heated like molten iron and harder than steel—pierced his stomach.
“Hey now. Stay quiet. If you want to avoid stomachaches even in autumn, you need to keep your belly warm.”
“Grrrk…?!”
The trainer tried to use Bubble Beam! But nothing happened!
“W-what the hell are you… What grudge do you have against us…?”
When the dying trainer spoke, I thought for a moment before answering.
“Me?”
“I am the Red Light of Berlin. Berlin-Redlight.”
Today, I was both Light and Right. Red Light. A Right-winger drenched in Red! Truly a name befitting the international performance I was about to put on!
──Slaaash!!
I extended my nails, tore him apart, and entered the tent.
──Swish.
I canceled the magic and pulled out the key from my pocket. The various animals locked in the iron cages focused on the key in my hand. Their freedom rested in my grasp.
These were beasts still in the middle of training or ones that had accumulated stress from abuse. This place was an otherworldly animal farm for those who had lost their freedom!
“Comrades. It is an honor to meet you.”
I slightly lifted my mask to reveal my bare face and spoke.
“The time of revolution has come.”
ON
“Pwooooooooooooo──!!!”
“Grrrrraaaawr──!!!”
“Ook-ook-keeek!! Ooooook──!!!”
“Kyyyyaaaaaaaah──!!”
“Y-you crazy bastards!!! Kill them! Use the magic scrolls—gaaah!!!”
The beasts released from their cages rampaged in every direction, charging exactly where I had asked them to go.
“Hehehe. You reap what you sow.”
My five-minute-long Vector Persuasion had restored the wild nature to beasts that had lost it and become mere pets. Elephants, lions, monkeys, and even bears! Their fangs and claws had been pulled, and their will to fight broken, but their innate ferocity and physical strength had not disappeared!
“Ugyaaaaaaaah!! Ruuuun!!!”
“Guaaaards!!!!! Call the guaaaaards!!!!”
The few remaining trainers forgot about covering up the incident and fled. I blended into the chaos and observed the circus troupe’s movements.
“The animal farm has become the land of revolution from this moment onward!”
The two conditions I had demanded while releasing the animals were simple.
1. Do not touch the victims of the freak show.
2. After killing those bastards, surrender obediently.
The beasts, who had been suppressing their rage, agreed to the terms once I promised to crush the circus ringmaster. When I warned them that rampaging without controlling their anger would get them killed by the guards, they all understood. Their true enemies were the trainers who had tormented them, so it was only natural.
‘Once the guards re-enter, the interior will fall into chaos!’
Even if they could make excuses for the fire, once the beasts started rampaging, they wouldn’t be able to stop the guards from entering. When the guards—the embodiment of public authority—raided the scene of the crime, how would the boss of that criminal organization move? It was painfully obvious.
‘The situation is already one where the intruder has fled with the kidnapped children. In this crisis, the action those bastards will take is──’
──To flee while taking the hostage!
──Tap tap tap─!
While concentrating intensely on the circus troupe’s movements, I spotted him. A man carrying a large bundle on his back and a fainted child in his arms!! It was Roman, the ringmaster of the Cream Sauce Circus!!
I wanted to chase him immediately, but it was impossible.
‘Where’s Anasis?’
That female clown was nowhere to be seen.
──Whoosh!
Roman easily leaped over the wall. It seemed he knew how to handle mana after all. I caught a glimpse of Erika’s limp, unconscious face, but my feet remained planted on the ground.
‘……This is a trap.’
My heightened tension led me to that conclusion. As per my plan, they hadn’t been able to hold a blade to Erika’s throat and threaten me. If the guards saw that sight, it would be completely over for them. This entire chaos had been a diversionary tactic meant solely for this purpose.
‘That’s why the circus ringmaster Roman has left this place.’
If he moved to the back alleys to avoid the guards’ eyes, he could still use Erika as a hostage. If I or Lalirula chased after him, he would use the child as a shield. Then what about Anasis? Where was that bitch right now?
There was no way that wicked woman, who had moved with such meticulous precision, would respond so clumsily in such a critical situation.
‘That guy is bait.’
Most likely, Anasis had ordered the ringmaster to flee, then planned to find and kill me as I chased after him! Was she somewhere around here, holding her breath and waiting for the right moment, just like me?
But if I didn’t chase Roman, there was no telling what kind of schemes that bastard would pull. Connections with the lord? Underworld contacts? Whatever it was, he would mobilize everything to save his own life. After all, if he had no escape route, he wouldn’t have abandoned his base and tried to run.
“Even though I know it’s a trap, I have no choice but to fall for it.”
I muttered.
Anasis’s skill level was unknown. However, I couldn’t just stand here stupidly and let Erika die. In other words, this was a do-or-die gamble that Anasis had thrown at me.
To drive me into a dead end, Anasis had opened a path of life by protecting Erika’s life. If I attacked Roman and rescued Erika, it would be my victory. If I lost Roman or fell to Anasis, it would be my defeat.
In that case── I would break through from the front.
“Because the end of a revolution must be decorated with the blood of the bourgeoisie!!”
──Kiiiiieeeeeeek!!
I let out a battle cry and chased after Roman.