11. Wonderland (46)
11. Wonderland (46)
The nine acrobats left the Judicial Theater under the escort of Oberon and Chen Hawk.
A Midsummer Night's Circus had tamed a great phantom beast to serve as a mount, and thanks to that, they were able to ride it over the skies above the square and pass through the Arch Gate. The demons were too preoccupied with battle to notice anything flying overhead.
They landed on a hill at the outskirts of Wonderland, a spot much like the one where they had first arrived. Each of them clutched the ticket they had been issued and waited for the barrier to dissolve.
The method for leaving Wonderland was simple. You bought an Exit Ticket from the Ticketer, made your way to the outskirts, and tore it. That was all. Afterward, the place you had departed from would gradually materialize around you, and the space would naturally shift.
Lord Fantastic gathered the group and gave them strict instructions on how to conduct themselves once they returned.
"You haven't forgotten the oath you swore to the Apostles, have you? No matter what else you tell your comrades on the surface, you must never speak of the Sleeping Chaos."
He emphasized the point, his gaze lingering especially on Ella, Maya, and Clara.
Ella and Maya were unhappy about keeping something they couldn't even tell Wonderstein, but they had already made their promise and had no choice but to nod.
Clara feigned reluctant agreement, a smile curling inside her.
Fools. Master is sitting right on top of your heads.
She was the only one among them who knew the Scarecrow's true identity. She believed everything that had brought them here was part of Wonderstein's design.
That was why she hadn't worried at all when he'd said earlier that he was going down to put Kirkeus to sleep. The others thought he was lying to reassure them, but she alone believed he truly could endure Kirkeus's psychic assault without flinching.
Of course, if Clara had actually laid eyes on Kirkeus, such confidence would have been difficult to maintain. She was the only one in their party who hadn't seen Kirkeus with her own eyes. When the first opportunity came, she had been unconscious in the hall.
Her eagerness to handle the Sleep Sand today was also driven by a desire to descend into the pit and seize a chance to observe the Chaos. Otherwise, why would she have helped that slave-driver Oberon, pretty as he was?
She had no memory of what happened after she lost the duel. Wonderstein had asked Oberon to erase her recollection, fearing she might attempt suicide out of shame.
She now believed she'd spent her time doing odd jobs at the inn. Humming to herself, she thought about how she would have to ask Master about his purpose for coming to Wonderland and what he planned to do once they were back.
They sat on the hill, passing the time by watching the battle unfolding below. The followers of the Demon God were indeed formidable within their own domain. The ferociously violent Zakanuba were being pushed back by the Guard Corps, retreating step by step beyond Cadsun.
Ella, worried about Oz, stared unblinkingly toward the Judicial Theater, her foot twitching with restlessness.
"That worried? You seem to have gotten pretty attached to that old man."
"I spent a whole week with him, you know."
Ella deflected Karen's remark, but she knew her own feelings better than that.
At that moment, Chen Hawk spotted a blue flash in the sky above Wonderland and sprang to his feet.
"The barrier has been lifted."
The group rose. Following Lord Fantastic's signal, they tore their Exit Tickets one by one. A vision of the hall where they'd prepared the performance of <The Five Acrobats> materialized and swallowed their forms. Everyone returned to the surface — except Ella, who couldn't bring herself to tear her ticket and kept looking back toward Cadsun.
"You're not going?"
Ella shook her head at Oberon's question.
"Not until I see him......"
He let out a sigh, a disapproving look settling on his face.
"Let me be honest."
"......."
"He's not coming."
Ella glared at him, but Oberon pressed on, undeterred.
"What I managed is possible only for someone like me. An ordinary human soul can scarcely withstand the curse of the Sleeping Chaos. Frankly, I thought even sprinkling the sand would be too much for him. Though it seems he somehow pulled it off."
A heavy boom shook Cadsun's Arch Gate.
The demons were being driven back more rapidly.
"It looks like all the Apostles who were in the Abyss have emerged!"
Chen Hawk cried out, exhilarated.
But this wasn't purely good news. The tide of retreating demons was now surging close to the hill where they stood. They even caught a glimpse of a Reaper.
Oberon conjured a wall of illusions around them as a precaution. Shattered chunks of Zakanuba hurtled through the air and slammed into the ground nearby.
"At this rate, we could get caught up in that. Are you truly determined to stay?"
"......He'll survive. He promised."
Oberon pressed a hand to his forehead and shook his head.
"Fine. Since the lady went with him, the odds of that are perhaps not low. But surely you can guess he won't be in any condition to come running straight here?"
"W-well, that's......"
As Ella stammered, searching for a rebuttal, Oberon raised a hand to stop her.
"In about half a year, we'll be coming up to the surface to enjoy the forest revelry. You heard, yes? The two of them agreed to assist us for a few days in exchange for Clara's liberation. Oz and Rumi are meant to accompany us to the surface and fulfill their duties there. I'll invite you as well. What do you say?"
Ella's head snapped up.
"R-really?"
"I stake my name on it."
At his affirmation, she finally relented.
She knew, rationally, that the odds of Oz appearing here now were slim. But the fear that if she left, she might never see him again — that had frozen her in place.
He'd boasted that he would remember her, but how could she be certain of that when even renowned impresarios like Chen Hawk had forgotten her?
But a few months from now — that was different.
By then, he'd be in good health, and they could talk under far more relaxed circumstances than today.
"P-please! You promised, okay? You have to invite me, promise?"
Only after wringing several more confirmations from Oberon did she finally ready the Exit Ticket in her hand to tear it. Just before leaving, she turned back to him as if struck by a sudden thought.
"Wait, but how will you know where I am?"
Oberon, unable to simply say you'll naturally be at Wonderstein's side, fumbled for an answer.
"......That Oz fellow seemed to know."
"Ah."
A soft exclamation escaped Ella's lips. Her brown eyes took on a knowing gleam, as if confirming something.
"If you're satisfied, then go. Half a year from now, then......"
"Farewell, young acrobat."
Ella waved to them both and tore the Exit Ticket. The landscape of the place she had departed from enveloped her like mist, rendered in translucent monochrome.
The question she'd wanted to ask Oz was nothing complicated.
-Was it because you wanted to sightsee in Wonderland, mister "living person"?
The guards hadn't managed to find her until just before she took the stage for the Duet Song Festival. So how had some anonymous clown with no Inspira managed to track her down?
-Kin are connected by their souls. Even after death, you can still sense the other.
She'd overheard that snippet of conversation between Reina and Hawk in passing.
In that moment, her mind went back to the exchange she'd witnessed between Chen Hawk and Oz when they first met.
-Is this child the family you mentioned?
Hawk had said he'd come across Oz prowling the outskirts, searching for a family member's soul.
The date matched the day he had sought her out. The location matched the area near their entry point.
There were other clues, too.
Trivial on their own, but gathered together, they painted an unmistakable picture.
Acting as though he'd known her all along. Hearing her friends call her "Ella" instead of "Elphi" multiple times and never once commenting on it. Promising to claim a living person's acrobatics as payment without ever pressing for it. And the way he'd been so devoted to her, to a degree that felt almost excessive.
-Even if I forget my own name, I will never, ever forget Miss Elphi's! Not in thirty years, not in forty!
When she'd heard that, there was a question she'd wanted to ask in return.
And perhaps, the answer was already in front of her.
She looked back at Wonderland as it faded around her and murmured to herself.
Hey, mister. You're safe, right?
When I see you next, I really want to ask.
Who you are.
Her form vanished entirely.
Oberon collapsed to the ground, exhausted. The moment his duty to Rumi was fulfilled, all the tension drained from his body. He, too, had been barely holding on with an injured body.
Chen Hawk looked down at him and smiled faintly.
"Wouldn't it be best for Director Oberon to go and rest? I believe I can manage things here alone."
"......You would do that? Then I shall take my leave. Until next......"
Oberon, about to promise a reunion, remembered that Hawk was scheduled to enter rebirth today and fell silent. With a dip of his head toward Hawk, who waved dismissively that it was fine, he departed.
Not long after, the two guides arrived at the spot.
The Scarecrow was being carried atop a carpet Rumi had summoned. His severed limbs were bound with bandages. He could neither stand nor walk in this state.
"Squad Leader Mae is by himself. The rest have all gone, it seems."
"That's a relief."
Rumi sighed as she looked at him, weighed down by his grim expression. Even after escaping that state of panic, he was still consumed by worry. It was unlike him — the man who laughed easily in the face of any danger. Getting too close to Kirkeus must have left him mentally fragile, no doubt about it.
Acting tough like a fool.
She tried her best to lift his spirits.
"Your limbs will be fine! A week or two and they'll mend. Those bastards said they cut clean through, so that should be right. Though your soul's been damaged, so walking will be hard for a while...... best to use a wheelchair for now, yes?"
He could feel her concern threaded through her words.
He gave her a wan smile and nodded.
"Thank you, Miss Rumi."
At the uncharacteristic seriousness in his voice, Rumi flushed red.
"H-hmph! What would you have done without me, honestly? Idiot."
The Scarecrow watched her back as she darted ahead, mentally collating the intelligence he had gathered below.
A monster circus is dozens of times more effective than an ordinary performance.
The questions that had nagged at him — why a grim structure like the Judicial Theater stood at the heart of Wonderland, why punishments were meted out in ways that felt so much like spiritual murder — were now resolved.
He didn't think Wonderstein had formed the Monster Circus for the world's benefit.
If that were the case, attacking the Circus Grand Prix and massacring people offstage made no sense.
Wonderstein's goal was to see the Circus Grand Prix succeed so that the Eye of Kirkeus could turn fully red. The Monster Circus was likely nothing more than a contingency, a trump card prepared in case the jewel couldn't be completed otherwise.
The original game never showed the preliminary rounds. But from what the monster troupe members who appeared as stage bosses had said, it was obvious he'd run a primal monster circus.
As he organized his thoughts, they were nearly at the top of the hill.
Then, Chen Hawk — who had been watching them climb from above — suddenly sprinted toward them.
"Mr. Hawk?"
He shouted.
"Get out of the way!"
A violent gust of wind erupted.
Dirt and shards of rock exploded into the air with a deafening crash.
Had Rumi pulled the carpet back even a fraction of a second later, the Scarecrow would have been swept up and shattered.
Still unable to move his limbs, he looked up at the one who had attacked him.
"Where's Cappi?"
The fat Reaper — the one who had detonated the Voodoo Madosa — bared its teeth and snarled down at him.
