Chapter 61: The Show Begins

On the journey from Alnima to this place, Tierra had asked me to do two things. The first was to persuade the elven elders. The second was to lend my strength to whatever a certain person named “Kizuna” was trying to accomplish.

Of course, Tierra herself was now bedridden.

While everyone was exchanging words and arguing their respective positions, she had suddenly collapsed. Her companions, in particular, had been deeply shocked and worried about her... but apparently, she was genuinely just sleeping.

Most likely, the damage her soul and mind had accumulated in Alnima had become too much, forcing her body to shut down her consciousness so that she could heal.

“Um, Lord Winter...”

“I’m nothing more than a spirit wannabe now. If you’re not used to it, you don’t have to address me so formally. Besides, spirits aren’t such grand beings that they deserve that kind of reverence.”

“Then... Mr. Winter. Please take care of Tierra for us.”

“Of course. You can rest assured. Even if most of my power has been taken from me, I’m still a spirit, however small. I’ll protect her and make absolutely certain she comes through this safely.”

Kizuna, Pahal, and Lies had all been terribly worried about the unconscious Tierra, but my words and those of the elven physician seemed to have reassured them enough to accept the situation.

And so, they entrusted Tierra to us and went off to fight the mechanical soldiers alongside the elven warriors.

The “mission” she had spoken of in Alnima must have something to do with what this young man, Kizuna, was about to do. If that was the case, then she would never want to become a burden herself and hold him back.

“Spirit, our healing spells don’t seem to be having any effect.”

“...Well, that’s to be expected. This is fundamentally different from an ordinary injury or illness.”

“It is our own lack of ability. We sincerely apologize...”

“No. Healing a soul is practically a miracle. It’s only natural that you can’t do it. You have nothing to blame yourself for. ...Hmm. For now, I’d like you to prepare some herbs or something that can help calm her mind. That’s about all we can do at the moment.”

“Y-yes! Understood!”

Indeed.

This wasn’t something ordinary medicine or magic could fix. There were countless spells for healing physical wounds, but spells capable of healing the soul were exceedingly rare and extraordinary. There were healers among the elves who could use healing magic, but none of them could treat Tierra in her current state.

At this point, our only option was to leave her to recover naturally.

...That said, even while asleep, Tierra continued casting healing magic on herself. And, astonishingly, her magic seemed to possess the rare ability to heal even the soul. At this rate, she would likely wake up before too long.

However...

Along with my relief, a question inevitably arose.

...Just who, exactly, was she?

Even in Chaos, where countless worlds converged, this kind of power was rarely seen.

Certainly, the raw strength of her magic was nothing special. There were plenty of healers more powerful than her. And if we were talking about swordsmen or warriors, there would be countless individuals who surpassed her.

And yet, she possessed an inexhaustible power to heal that continued even after her own consciousness had been cut off. In all my long existence as a spirit, I had never seen anything like it.

She was certainly not an inherently evil being like the Wicked King and his followers, the kind of pure evil that would be judged as “evil” regardless of differences in worlds, eras, cultures, or values.

Of that, I was certain.

However—

“Hey, go fetch some of the women. She won’t recover properly in such a crude set of battle clothes. Get her changed right away—”

“—Don’t. Leave her as she is, elf.”

Even so, I chose to trust her.

A woman who carried so many secrets.

A woman who had brought me out into the world.

Both were the same person, and I had decided to believe in her.

“But...”

“She’ll be fine. Just leave it to me.”

I somehow managed to get the reluctant elven physician to back down.

If her black clothes were removed, her true identity would surely be exposed for all to see. Even I didn’t know the truth about who she really was.

I had to prevent that at all costs. Whatever secrets she was trying to conceal, I would protect them no matter what.

“...Honestly. I know she can’t help it, but look at her, sleeping so peacefully and defenselessly.”

I murmured as I gazed at her exceptionally beautiful face.

Her green hair was like the trees of the Great Forest, a soothing shade that put the hearts of those who saw it at ease.

Long eyelashes and skin as white as porcelain.

Without thinking, I reached out toward her cheek—

“Well, well! I see, I see! What a dangerous shot that was. It seems I have no choice but to make an appearance myself.”

—and he appeared.

“Circus is the finest of all shows. It excites men, makes women’s hearts flutter, and fills children’s eyes with wonder. Entertainment that surpasses every amusement found in every world. And therefore, therefore—”

Even as an arrow that had flown in from somewhere pierced deeply into his chest,

the man emerged from empty space.

Without spilling so much as a drop of blood or uttering even the slightest groan of pain, he wore a fixed smile and declared:

“—Bloodshed in a circus is strictly forbidden!”

“My, my! Such superhuman archery! A skill level approaching the very pinnacle of all Chaos... Hmm, hmm! I see, I see!”

The bizarrely dressed man had suddenly appeared before me.

Without paying the slightest attention to the arrow piercing the center of his chest, he stood on one foot atop a large sphere that had materialized out of empty space.

Then, after rummaging around in his clothes, he took out seven small balls.

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet... The man tossed the seven colorful balls into the air one after another.

The balls traveled from his right hand to his left, then returned to his right, repeating the cycle. Before long, the colorful balls formed a neat, evenly spaced arc, tracing a circular path through the air.

...But immediately after completing five circuits, the red ball shot noticeably higher than the others, and the rest followed.

Eventually, gravity took hold, and the balls came raining down onto the man's head, striking his crown one after another.

With each impact, he made an exaggerated, ridiculous movement, while the balls bounced away and scattered around him.

For an instant, I thought he had failed. Then I realized something: the balls were falling in a perfect circle around the man.

With a light, graceful movement, he jumped down from the large sphere and prodded the balls with a black rod that had appeared from nowhere.

The balls began swelling bigger and bigger and bigger, until—

A moment later, all eight spheres—the large one and the seven colored ones—burst simultaneously. A torrent of colorful confetti and curling ribbons erupted from each one, swirling wildly through the air.

Amid that raging rainbow of colors, the man stood at the center and bowed with great ceremony.

Then, after slowly raising his head, he spread his arms wide and began to speak in a grand, resonant voice.

“Come one, come all! Thank you ever so much for your patience! Once again, the greatest dreamlike spectacle awaits you! The Chaos Circus is about to begin its special performance! Race, gender, the conventions of the world—what do any of those matter?! Adults and children, men and women, gather around and feast your eyes! The banquet of chaos begins here and now! I promise you a precious moment so wondrous that you’ll regret even the blink of an eye!”

His voice had a singsong quality, as though he were singing or calling out to an endless audience.

“And, if I may be so bold, the one presiding over today’s performance is none other than I, the ringmaster, King Circus!”

The man introduced himself as “King Circus.”

A clown who was also a king. A king who was also a clown. That was who he was: the clown of chaos and contradiction.

“But, but, I am merely the clown! The leading role in today’s performance belongs to someone else! Yes, yes, the wait is finally over! Please welcome our star!”

Next—

The man pointed somewhere with the black cane in his hand.

And there stood—

“The strongest archer among the elves! A solitary warrior who has abandoned everything to devote himself to a journey of duty, seeking to reclaim the sacred treasure stolen by an unknown hand! Walt Wanu Waudu!!”

“...You’ve been pierced straight through the chest, yet you’re acting as though nothing happened. What the hell are you?”

Keeping a magical arrow nocked on his bow and his aim fixed firmly on the target, the man introduced as “Walt” glared at King Circus.

“Today, dear guests, we bring you a timeless heroic tale! A story that exists in every world! The fantastical tale of a sleeping princess and her knight!”

Circus ignored Walt’s question—or rather, he incorporated those words into the dialogue of his stage performance and continued creating his own “show.”

“And opposing him! The evil fiend who seeks the princess! An immortal monster who fears not even the deadliest of arrows!”

“...The evil fiend who seeks the princess?”

“Yes, yes! Exactly, exactly! My goal is to take the sleeping princess, Miss Tierra As, away with me! Will our gallant knight be able to protect the sleeping princess?!”

Finally, Circus paused before making his declaration with an extravagant flourish.

“Come one, come all! At long last, at long last! Let the show begin!”

I had encountered more than a few nonhuman life-forms on my journey to find the sacred treasure: mechanical soldiers from Machine City, and marionettes from the Puppet World. But this bastard was unlike any of them.

His sounds were unmistakably human. Yet having an arrow driven deep into his heart without shedding a single drop of blood, all while remaining perfectly composed, was beyond anything normal.

Damn it. The same goes for his head. Even shooting him straight through the crown had made no difference.

...Still, this was the world of Chaos, where countless worlds converged. There was no way I could confidently declare that immortal beings didn't exist.

And if that was the case—

“Well, well, well! A quick and correct decision! If you can’t kill your opponent, why not render him incapable of acting instead?!”

I kicked him away, then immediately fired four arrows in rapid succession at lightning speed.

They pierced his arms and legs, pinning all four limbs to a great tree.

This should do it, no matter how immortal he was—

“Yes, yes! It’s the human disassembly show! Everyone, give him a round of applause!”

...So it wasn't going to be that easy.

To my astonishment, “Circus” disassembled his own body and escaped his restraints.

Both arms and both legs detached at the joints—

“...What?!”

What the hell was going on? His detached limbs... had disappeared?

They faded away as though melting, vanishing as if they had never existed in the first place. The limbs that had separated from Circus disappeared completely, and the four arrows clattered to the ground.

And then—

“What the hell is going on...?!”

The limbs that should have disappeared were somehow all back where they belonged.

He was whole again. Completely unharmed.

The arrow I had initially shot into him had also vanished at some point. Naturally, not a single wound remained on his arms, legs, chest, or head. Even his bizarre clothes were flawless, without a single hole or frayed thread.

This wasn't a matter of his limbs growing back or anything of the sort.

No, this was... reappearing.

The limbs that had vanished suddenly materialized in their original positions.

“I told you, didn't I, Sir Knight? I am an immortal monster.”