11. Wonderland (19)
11. Wonderland (19)
As I made my way toward Wonderland's central district, I struck up one conversation after another with the patrol officers, hoping to pick up any scrap of useful information. I chose my words carefully, mindful not to invite unnecessary suspicion.
I soon realized that caution had been largely unnecessary.
"Ah, that? From what I've heard..."
"Wait, hold on. I know more about this..."
Bored out of their minds on patrol, they seemed positively delighted by my questions. They practically tripped over each other volunteering information I hadn't even asked for.
Thanks to their enthusiasm, I pieced together a thorough picture of the current situation in Wonderland.
Living humans wandering into a Demon God's domain turned out to be an occasional occurrence. Near-death experiences, astral projection, magical mishaps—the causes varied. But whenever they arrived, the residents of Wonderland would assign them a guide, show them around as tourists, and send them back to the world above.
The Voodoo Cult, however, were neither aimless castaways nor curious travelers exploring the unknown.
They had entered Wonderland two days before our arrival and immediately launched a campaign of destruction across the city.
Given what I knew from the original story, their actions were easy enough to deduce. This place was, after all, the ultimate objective of the enemy faction in TT3.
The problem was that, because of those bastards, the rest of us were being mistaken for Voodoo Cult operatives.
"What became of the Voodoo Cult intruders?" I asked.
"They're being interrogated in the basement of Guard Corps headquarters. We've got specialists in hypnosis, so they'll extract the information soon enough. Their objective, the identity of their leader—all of it."
Their leader, huh.
I let out an awkward laugh and averted my gaze. The conviction that I must not, under any circumstances, let the name Wonderstein slip was solidifying into an iron rule.
I wanted to press for more details about my companions' whereabouts, but unfortunately, the patrol officers seemed far more invested in the upcoming festival than in anything so tedious as intruders.
"Hey, take a look at the new lyrics I wrote, will you? I'm entering the singing competition!"
"The moment my shift ends, I have to get back to practicing the drums."
"I'm going to modify my Persona before the festival. My fingers are blades right now, so I keep snapping my guitar strings!"
"Wait, weren't you rehearsing for the comedy competition?"
For guards who had recently repelled invaders, their attitude was absurdly carefree.
But I couldn't really fault them for a lack of urgency.
Roughly half of them said they had been in Wonderland so long they no longer remembered their original names or their lives on the surface. For someone who had lost themselves, what meaning could any sense of importance or priority still hold?
They simply passed each day cheerfully, waiting to fade away.
After a long walk, we finally reached our destination.
Buildings in every imaginable color were stacked in chaotic, towering layers stretching hundreds of stories high, soaring kilometers into the air. A colossal circus tent, large enough to contain several mountains with room to spare, filled my field of vision.
That was Cadsun—the citadel of Wonderland.
In the tongue of the Abyss, the name meant "House of Dreams."
The sky around Cadsun was, as I had seen earlier, an endless cascade of bursting fireworks. Amid that sea of flame, kites shaped like dragons swam through the air, lanterns tied to their bodies.
I caught glimpses of people riding tamed creatures through the sky. The animals were in Persona states as well, making it nearly impossible to guess what creatures they had been in life.
Except for one. A single Persona, unmistakably an elephant, was instantly recognizable. The sight of it flapping its enormous ears as it soared through the sky was truly a spectacle.
The entrance to Cadsun was an Arch Gate hundreds of meters tall.
As we drew closer, more and more Personas appeared. A riot of gaudy masks and costumes merged with music and singing, making me feel as though I had stumbled into the very heart of a Halloween festival.
"An unusual number of visitors today."
"Coming through. We're with the Guard Corps!"
The patrol officers pushed their way through the crowd. I hurried after them, careful not to lose them.
But the residents weren't the only ones thronging this place.
"Now, now, Fairy Kindergarten children! Follow your teacher closely!"
"Kyaa! Look at this!"
"An elephant!"
"Its ears are huge! Kyak, kyak!"
A flock of fairies flew overhead, chattering incessantly as they scattered illusions wildly through the air. The phantasms they conjured drifted like hazy smoke, then tumbled together, wrestling and frolicking in midair.
"Visitors from the Hunting Grounds of the Full Moon, this way! I'm the acrobat assigned as your guide today!"
A Persona stood bellowing, holding a panel that read: Welcome to Wonderland! Followers of Miletus, this way! A group of beastfolk spotted the sign and began moving in that direction.
Among the domains of the Abyss, Kirkeus's realm was one of the most freely accessible.
The fairies of Jormungandr, denizens of other Demon Gods' domains, even lesser demons—all of them visited Wonderland to enjoy the shows.
"Stop having Marketmon battles in the middle of the street!"
I turned my head at a guard's shout and saw two acrobats squaring off, each egging on a pair of dog-sized fiends. A sharp-toothed, catlike creature and a tough-hided, crocodilian one circled each other, fangs bared.
The patrol officer guiding me clicked his tongue at the sight.
"The Apostle Council needs to ban Marketmons. Those pet demons just mean more work for us."
"Not a chance. Some of the Apostles themselves keep them. The rumor is they're going to relax the import risk level from Grade 5 down to Grade 4."
"That'll turn public order into a circus. The 'Taming' lobby's getting louder, it seems."
I burst out laughing at the sight of seized demons being hauled away in nets while their owners clung to the guards, wailing in protest.
Everything was utterly delightful—the packs of gnomes griping in unison, the somberly dressed followers of other Demon Gods shuffling awkwardly through the lively atmosphere, and the hulking demon holding a balloon in one hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Wonderland.
This place was genuinely wonderful.
*Main Quest - Prequel
: The prequel must connect to the main series.
Completion Condition
: Survive until the start of Tril Trillo 1
Success Reward
: Return to reality
Failure Penalty
: Death in reality
Until now, I had assumed that death meant game over. So my first priority, no matter what, was to survive—by any means necessary.
But if a place like this was waiting on the other side, the calculus changed.
Given this... wouldn't dying be all right?
*Main Quest - Circus Grand Prix
: The Sky City Hippodrome is calling Wonderstein.
Completion Condition
: Advance to the Circus Grand Prix Finals.
Success Reward
: All acquired Devolut and BioMancer abilities can be carried into reality.
Failure Penalty
: None.
If I completed the "Prequel" quest but failed the "Circus Grand Prix" quest, I would simply return to my old life—holed up in that cramped room, going nowhere.
If that was the alternative, I'd rather bash my head against a rock and die before the return to reality ever triggered. At least that way I'd get to keep these shoddy little stick limbs. Here, I could spend a hundred years—at minimum—living joyfully in this place until my soul lost its sense of self and dissolved back into pure energy.
But I quickly dismissed that line of thought as hasty.
It was all conjecture. I had no certainty about anything.
"We're here."
The patrol officer's voice snapped me out of my musings. I looked around.
We had arrived at the entrance to Cadsun.
The patrol officers said their goodbyes with clear reluctance.
"We're not allowed inside Cadsun while on patrol duty."
"If fate brings us together again, let's meet."
"I hope you find your departed family."
The de facto leader among them, the butterfly-masked Persona, even gave me the address of his personal building.
He lived in the upper tiers. For acrobats who had delivered a magnificent performance in life, a building modeled on that performance took shape in Cadsun. The countless structures that composed Cadsun had all been formed that way.
"I've been here so long I can't remember my own name. My residence will disappear soon, too. Come visit in a few days, if time allows. Before I depart, I've decided to invite the people I've formed bonds with to show them a few of my signature techniques one last time."
"Thank you. If I'm able, I'll be sure to come."
I highly doubted I'd still be here a few days from now, but I nodded anyway—a small token of gratitude for his kindness.
We were just about to shake hands and part ways when a group of patrol officers approached from the Cadsun entrance. One of them, wearing a horse-head mask, waved at the butterfly mask.
"Hey!"
"Oh? What brings you here?"
They greeted each other warmly, clearly old acquaintances.
"Fancy meeting you here. It's been a while."
"I thought your service term was nearly up?"
"Today was supposed to be the last day. It got extended."
At the horse mask's words, the butterfly mask tilted his head.
"Why's that?"
"Well, we caught an intruder... and then lost her in the middle of it."
I had been about to slip away, but my feet stopped dead at that remark.
An intruder?
"You mean one of those who came in a few days ago?"
"Yeah. We had one of the young ones in custody."
A young one. Who could that be?
The six faces that had shared the stage of The Five Acrobats flashed through my mind.
"Ha! That's prize money, right there. How'd you manage to lose them?"
At the butterfly mask's question, the horse mask scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"She said she'd show us a new technique she'd invented, so we untied her. Then she asked us to turn around for a moment. So we turned around, and when we looked back... she was gone."
It was the most absurd excuse I'd ever heard.
Yet the others listened and nodded as if it made perfect sense.
"That would indeed be a hard temptation to resist."
"A technique from a living person..."
"Hmm, yeah, no one could resist that."
Residents of Wonderland, through and through.
I gauged the moment, then cautiously inserted myself into the conversation.
"So... could I hear more about the person who escaped?"
"Hm? Who are you?"
The horse mask blinked at me.
The butterfly mask laughed, gesturing at my stick-thin arm.
"This is Lord Oz, a lower-tier resident. He was wandering the outskirts looking to recover his family's spirits when he ran into us. He's been away from Cadsun for a few days, so he's keen for news."
"Heh, is that so? Then I suppose I'll have to regale you with my exploits."
The horse mask launched into a vivid, full-body reenactment—sweeping gestures, mimed footwork, even vocal impersonations—starting from how he'd first picked up the intruder's trail and culminating in the dramatic capture.
"And then you lost her," I said.
"Ack! The story was finished before that part. Don't ruin the beautiful conclusion. Damn it, extended service! I need to be getting ready for the festival..."
The butterfly mask cut off his impending tirade of grumbling.
"So why did you come to the Cadsun entrance?"
"Ah, that. We chased her, of course, but she slipped right into the procession heading into Cadsun. Once someone vanishes into the city, you might as well give up, right? We're bound by orders, sure, but the citizens? A living person, and an acrobat at that? They'd welcome her with open arms."
"True."
"I'd do the same."
The guards all looked at each other and nodded. Even the horse-head who'd started the story seemed to agree.
"The fugitive will be desperate to hide inside the city, no question. So we'll catch her before she gets in."
The guards resolved to join forces and set up checkpoint inspections at Cadsun's entrance.
I pulled away from them and studied the crowd streaming into the city.
From the story, I now knew which of the young ones had escaped.
I had to find her before the guards spotted her.