I Became the Leader of the Monster Circus Troupe

Chapter 191: Demon in the Bottle – 30

Maya tried reflexively to exert her telekinetic force.

However, her magic didn’t even flinch.

It was because Papiflax’s resistance hadn’t been overcome yet.

Unable to use magic, she wasn’t exaggerating if she said she was the weakest person in this ballroom.

Her body collapsed into Arno’s arms without resistance.

At the same time, a thudding sound erupted behind her.

Maya turned around.

It was a sticky, reddish liquid, similar to blood.

It seemed to have poured from the ceiling, judging by its elongated shape.

As if it was living creature.

“Wh-what is this, wh-what, this, th-this… ugh!”

The viscous liquid constricted her throat and sealed her nose and mouth.

The more she struggled, the tighter it squeezed her body.

If Arno hadn’t pulled Maya away, she would have been ensnared too.

Screams erupted from all sides.

“What is that?”

“What should we do? Professor is going to die…!”

“Someone, please do something!”

The red slime was now forcing its way into her mouth, nose, and ears.

Pyrene’s eyes rolled back, and her body trembled.

“Back off.”

Arno pushed Maya aside and approached Pyrene.

Images of scissors and kitchen knives floated around him.

He was capable of imposing physical force on illusions.

Although he could exert force without materializing scissors and knives, the clearer the image, the more powerful the effect.

He intended to use this against the slime monster.

Maya looked up at the ceiling.

The slime was still elongated, resembling a tail.

At the end of the slime, something sheep-shaped was hanging and swaying.

The red slime extended from there downward.

It seemed like it had just poured out from there.

But suddenly, the thing hanging from the ceiling dropped down.

“Duck!”

At Maya’s shout, Arno checked above and quickly tried to move backward.

The slime monster extended its tentacles toward him.

It still restrained Pyrene while grabbing Arno’s ankle with what was left.

A large shadow covered him.

With a loud crash and bang, dust and debris filled the air.

The impact transmitted to Maya.

“Ugh.”

Her body staggered backward and fell.

The stage in the ballroom was higher than a person’s height.

It was a height where someone who didn’t know how to land could break a body part.

But fortunately, she wasn’t injured at all.

Someone rushed over and caught her from behind.

“Are you okay?”

It was Karen.

She looked at her friend in her arms, panting heavily.

Karen had hurried from the opposite side of the ballroom after seeing something strange happening.

Karen awkwardly smiled at Maya, who looked at her expressionlessly.

“Thank goodness…”

“Step away.”

Maya pushed her away.

Karen obediently stepped back.

She must feel uncomfortable being held by someone like her.

As the dust settled, the scene on the stage became clear.

The wooden floor had completely collapsed.

Arno’s figure was nowhere to be seen.

There was no chance to escape.

He seemed to have been crushed to death.

Each time the monster wriggled, the stage creaked.

What had fallen looked as heavy as a boulder.

The slime quivered, and it moved accordingly.

Maya thought that the thing she perceived as a sheep was a combination of snail shells and crab shells.

The red mucus seemed to have poured out from its holes.

The mucus wriggled and twisted its body.

A monster snail.

There was nothing wrong in calling it that.

Professor Pyrene was completely engulfed by it, and Arno died.

People screamed in terror.

“What’s happening?”

“What is that monster here?”

“Someone call the police!”

Then, amidst the chaos, a loud scream burst out.

“Inspira isn’t activating!”

It was one of the active acrobats invited by a freshman.

He jumped around, looking puzzled at his legs.

It was the action of bending and extending his knees to enhance his jumping ability several times, which was not working.

Voices of support followed from all around.

Everyone was busy examining if something was wrong with their bodies.

Maya recalled her knowledge of magic learned at the academy.

There are two cases where a mage cannot use their magical abilities.

When they are pierced by the light stakes used by the priests of the Orthodox Church.

And the other one is…

Gurgle. Gurgle.

The mucus monster began to expel air bubbles from its body, changing its shape.

Antennae emerged, and segmented legs typical of arthropods grew and touched the ground.

A tail emerged from behind the snail shell, and at its end, something large began to form.

Click, click, click.

Hard shells protruded from the snail it was carrying, covering the surface of the mucus.

It seemed as if it was putting on Armor.

It was a creature of mixed forms like scorpions, snails, spiders, and the like.

Maya recalled the picture from the magic textbook.

Mages are conceptual beings, but when they reveal themselves in the mortal world, they take on observable forms by humans.

She remembered one of those mages.

People still shouted that Inspira wasn’t working around her.

Attempts to leave the banquet hall were made, but the doors didn’t budge as if blocked by some invisible force.

The same with the windows.

The glass turned pitch black, and no outside view was visible.

The entire space around that monster was cut off from the outside world.

“Maya, let’s get back. It’s dangerous…”

Karen grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back.

The monster now had almost fully formed its body.

Even its tail now had a hard exoskeleton.

At its end, large pincers clicked.

“Why can’t we leave!”

“Why isn’t Inspira working?”

The meaning of the two conditions was clear.

They had entered the domain of another Demon, not Kirku.

Maya looked at the giant snail squeaking and rising on stage.

There was only one being capable of causing such a phenomenon.

Avatar.

It meant the manifestation of one of the Demons in this world through their Apostles.

The area around the Avatar would automatically summon that Demon’s domain, and within it, the abilities of other demon mages couldn’t be exerted.

Only one, the apostle of that Demon, could use the ability.

Maya didn’t know why such an Avatar had appeared in this place.

Then, hundreds of voices murmured simultaneously.

“A lot of you have gathered. Followers of that jester-loving clown.”

Bubbles bubbled in the air, and it seemed like thousands of voices whispered simultaneously.

People covered their ears.

This was a phenomenon that occurred in the “Garden of Whispers,” the domain of the one of the most powerful Demons, Cinepecus, the Demon of rumours, fame, gossip and enjoyer of murmurs of unproductive emotional, blind and irrational nature.

Corals of various colours appeared and disappeared around the banquet hall in translucent forms.

The Avatar of the great Demon and Mage Cinepecus had descended upon the banquet hall of Lekachep.

***

Wonderstein and Reyna were on the rooftop of the banquet hall building.

There were only two of them there.

So Reyna could tease him as much as she wanted.

She snuggled her face into his chest and whined.

“It’s too much. Really, it’s too much. How could this happen?”

Her childish whining was astonishing to those who knew her usual self.

Wasn’t she usually like a queen, cold and arrogant, exuding an air of dignity that seemed unshakeable?

But in front of Wonderstein, she behaved like a child.

He patted her back as she nestled against him.

Below was still bustling.

The squealing sound pierced their ears.

After selecting the party king and queen, it was free time.

Everyone seemed to be having a great time.

Wonderstein checked his status window.

If anything happened, a quest notification would appear.

***

Clara felt like she was going to faint.

She had realized what it was since the mucus began dripping from the ceiling.

It was the original owner of the body and name she was occupying.

‘Wasn’t she supposed to be trapped in a glass jar? No, if that Demon directly brought her here, it’s possible.’

The magic she had devised was a kind of identity fraud.

It was deceiving the world into recognizing her as ‘Clara’ and the real Clara as ‘the demon in the jar.’

She never thought the Demon would choose her instead of herself.

She thought it would be more beneficial for him to keep her as the Apostle.

The question was answered when she saw the enormous size of the mucus and its ability to change shape.

She had been using the debulroots collected by Pyrene all along.

With the addition of the ‘Fragment of Tril,’ she was easily captivated by the desire to ‘show off’ to the Demon.

She licked.

She should have been sealed completely…

She was too excited after leaving the jar.

The monster, now completely formed as an Avatar, looked around the banquet hall, swinging dozens of tentacles, then soon spotted her.

“There you are. Cunning thief. You dare to call yourself his Apostle… and steal my body and name!”

Two voices were mixed.

The former was the Avatar, and the latter was the original Clara’s personality.

Of course, people didn’t know whom she was cursing.

Since each tentacle had eyes attached, it was impossible to tell exactly what she was looking at.

Moreover, it was difficult to understand what she was saying precisely due to the whispers coming from all directions.

Even their own voices bubbled out as if shouting underwater.

Everyone was terrified and fled to the edge of the banquet hall, but only one person was running toward the stage.

It was Hopps, the leader of the Papal Circus.

“Karen! What are you doing! Step back!”

He shouted with all his might, but his voice did not reach his younger sister.

His words also turned into foam as soon as they left his mouth.

Karen stood still.

Maya next to her was the same.

Air bubbles burst around the two of them, emitting whispers.

The sound coming from there froze them.

Hopps looked at the monster.

There was no exoskeleton from its chin to the abdomen.

The red mucus was still wriggling.

And inside it was a woman trapped.

“Pyrene…!”

Hopps looked dumbfounded at his sister and her friend.

They were safe for now, for some reason.

What mattered was saving Pyrene.

When Hopps reached the stage, air bubbles surrounded him.

It was the same phenomenon happening around Karen and Maya.

“Do you think this woman is worth saving? Let me tell you something you don’t know.”

The Avatar mocked, emitting laughter that seemed mocking.

Piercing gossips, rumours, and misunderstandings about the opponent’s vulnerable spots, it expelled the contents.

It was Pyrene’s voice.

“Hopps senpai! Will you accompany me as a partner for the freshman welcome party?”

“Of course, because I like you.”

It was a story from 20 years ago.

The first love story that would forever be remembered in Hopps’ heart.

But soon another voice was heard.

“Ahk, aah! Yes, professor, hah! More, more, please!”

“I love you. I only have you, Professor.”

“Like a person? There is none. You are enough, Professor.”

And then the story of when the first love broke.

“Hopps senpai, I’m sorry. I invited you as a partner at the freshman welcome party just to repay you for being kind. I’m sorry, but I never thought of you as a man.”

A conversation with another time and person.

“Don’t try to pass it off like that. Let’s forget each other? You despicable human. I will expose everything. One of the famous Five will play with and throw away the student!”

“If you don’t want it then let me be your disciple!”

Distrust and disgust spread in Hopps’ eyes.

It was what the Demon, Cinepecus, liked the most.

Puff.

The sound of a low squeak came from the shell on the back of the deity.

Papiflux swallowed the entire banquet hall.

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Chapter 190: Demon in the Bottle – 29

Chapter 192: Demon in the Bottle – 31