In the luxurious hall of the Goddess' Lair, the priciest brothel in the Red Fox district, two men faced off against each other. One was a showman, and the other a swordsman.
Noticing the amount of people, the showman coughed to clear his throat then began to sing, “Mi, mi, miii,” to get his voice ready. Making sure to project his voice, the showman gestured dramatically, his arm swinging wide before pointing at the swordsman, and declared, “So, you’re a swordsman? Do you think you can stack up to a wrestler like me?” However, to his dismay, everyone was still in shock from his sudden landing from floors above and hadn't yet regained their bearings.
In response to his challenge, the swordsman stepped forward with his blade at the ready, but the showman spoke again, interrupting him, “Ahem. I said, so, you’re a swordsman? Do you think you can stack up to a wrestler like me?” The swordsman couldn’t stop confusion from setting in, not understanding why his opponent was repeating himself.
People around them began to pay attention to them, granting the showman the audience he craved.
A voice yelled, “Mister Van! Champ! Don’t fight!”
The speaker caught the showman's attention, and as he scanned the crowd, he spotted Dwindle standing among a group of dwarves, flanked by two masked women in gowns. "My manager," the showman exclaimed, relieved. "Come over here, quickly. I need to talk to you."
Dwindle blinked with confusion before going forward, but he was stopped when a brilliant silver light sliced through the air and struck the showman with great force. The showman reacted quickly, using Mana Hardening to reinforce his forearms and broke the attack into pieces. Dwindle watched in amazement as the shards of light scattered around them.
“You’re not up yet,” the showman seethed, glowering at the swordsman, Van. “I have to regroup with my manager.”
“I don’t care, cheater,” Van responded. “I’m due a rematch.”
“Have you spoken to my manager?”
Van remained silent, contemplating. Despite helping Dwindle search for Red a few days ago, he had received no guarantee of a rematch. He absentmindedly placed a hand against his chin as he pondered the situation.
Upon returning home from his search for Red, Van had hoped to eat and rest like usual, but his older brother had become irrational and put him in a cage. His brother accused Van of betraying him and damaging his business, superficial reasons as far as Van was concerned. Van had tried to explain that he was only attempting to uphold the honor of their family's sword style, but his brother refused to listen.
Now that he was free, Van couldn't help but feel frustrated at not being able to fight Red. However, upon reflection, he realized that he wasn't owed anything after all, especially when considering the two masked women who had freed him earlier had mentioned they were on the same side as Red. He may have no right to an immediate rematch after such a favor was granted to him.
He coughed awkwardly and nodded, responding to the showman, “I see. I haven’t considered you might have a schedule to keep.” Van then turned to Dwindle and said, “When you have time, sir manager. I would like to schedule a rematch with Red.”
One of the two masked women, Rose, couldn’t help murmuring, “Why does it seem Red only knows crazy people?” She turned to ask for Joker’s take on the situation but the Blind Witch had disappeared.
“I’m glad to see you, champ,” Dwindle expressed to the showman.
“Manager,” the showman began to suggest. “I’m going to rematch the swordsman now. What do you think?”
Dwindle sputtered, “Why would you go and do that? We need to get moving!”
The showman’s eyebrows turned upward, expressing regret. “But there is a good sized crowd here, manager. It would be a waste not to make the best of this opportunity.”
“Red, are you alright? It feels like you’re someone else…”
“I’m the showman,” the showman smiled in a chipper fashion with all his teeth.
“Oh, no. You're one of those people in Red's head,” Dwindle groaned, slapping a small hand against his forehead. “But we don't have time for this. We have to find Poly! She wasn't at the eastern gate storerooms, and she wasn't here either. Whatever it takes, we have to locate her.”
The showman sighed, “I guess you’re right.” He gave one last look at the crowd watching him. They might go on with their lives and never get to experience the showman’s wrestling. What a travesty! But alas, he was Red and Red was him. That meant the showman also cared for Poly, someone he too considered a friend.
Rose walked up to them and urged, “Let us leave this place. We have attracted too much attention.”
“Hey, you lot!” A voice shouted. They turned to see a man in black with a white diamond emblem on his chest. “What have you done? Were you the ones who destroyed our stage?”
Another man dressed similarly yelled from another side of the hall, “Aren’t those the dwarves that we locked up? How are they out already?”
Dwindle’s oldest cousin, Glick, rushed to Dwindle and insisted, “Let us disappear, cousin. There’s no telling what they’d do to us since we intruded on them twice now.” Dwindle’s other cousins appeared behind him, each in agreement of becoming sparse quickly.
“Hold on for a moment,” the showman denied. “We have to wait for one of my fans.”
“No, champ,” Dwindle argued, his voice tinged with urgency. “We have to go!” But before he could say more, a group of men dressed in black appeared and surrounded them, their expressions grim and their hands resting on weapons at their sides.
“You lot stay right there!” one of the men demanded, his voice firm and commanding. “We’ll have the city guard sort you out.”
Dwindle looked around, trying to find an escape route, but the men had them cornered.
“You all are gangsters,” Glick spat. “I wouldn’t respect the guard that protects your kind.”
“I concur,” a dreamy voice agreed.
Rose nearly jumped seeing Joker had reappeared next to her. “How do you keep showing up beside me?” Rose asked in disbelief. Joker could only shrug with a smile. Rose withdrew inwardly when she saw Joker’s face. “You have blood on you again.”
Joker wiped her face and replied with a dead tone, “Would you look at that. There’s more blood.” Her blind eyes stopped wandering and locked onto Rose, sending shivers down Rose’s spine. “I guess we can rule you out as being blind, can’t we? Since you are oh so observant.”
“What have you done?” Rose asked, feeling apprehension. Joker however remained silent.
A woman with a toned and robust frame walked down the stairs, dragging an unconscious body with flat hair behind her. Brudo had been taken out in celebration of Red's victory. The showman noticed her and called out, "Ah, there she is! Come over here, I've been waiting for you."
The woman, Nasset, flushed but recovered and bound toward their group with the grace of a gazelle, dropping the man she’d been dragging. “You seem different,” Nasset commented, staring at the showman.
With a confident flex, the showman declared, "My fan, you've arrived just in time for the saga: The Showman Saves Poly." He leaned forward to point towards Dwindle who stood below. "Co-starring my trusty manager, Dwindle!" The showman gave a wink to Dwindle, who looked utterly perplexed.
"What's a 'fan'?" Nasset asked, her face scrunched up in confusion.
The showman let out a laugh. "It's someone who's important to me," he explained.
Nasset blushed, but quickly regained her composure. "I told you not to say things you don't mean, Red," she said softly, not wanting to be toyed with.
Rose and Dwindle exchanged bewildered glances at the conversation being had. Before they could fully comprehend what was happening, the showman sprang forward with a burst of radiant gold light, swiftly taking down a part of the group of men who had been surrounding them and opening up a path to escape.
Van kept up with him, swinging his sword and sending men up in the air with force. “I expect a meeting soon, sir manager,” Van said to Dwindle.
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Dwindle pulled out his crossbow and began firing, while the other dwarves used their gadgets and machines to clear the path ahead. Rose joined in the fight, and Nasset glowed blue, shooting beams of light from her hands. Rose watched in amazement as each beam accurately hit the targets that Nasset had chosen, hitting them squarely in the head.
“You’re rather good,” Rose complimented then imbued herself with mana and charged forward like a boulder, smashing anyone in her path. Nasset couldn't help but feel impressed by the sheer energy radiating off Rose, and for a moment, she felt inferior to the Loderan. It was surprising for her to feel that way towards someone of the same age when back in her village, she had been the most talented in her generation.
As Rose continued to knock men aside like ragdolls, she caught sight of Joker walking calmly alongside them, not engaging in the fight. Perplexed, Rose asked, "Miss Joker, why aren't you lending a hand?"
“I’m blind!” Joker exclaimed, pointing at her white eyes with a silly expression twisting her face.
“There’s no need to insult my intelligence. You are hiding things. If you don’t wish to speak on it, then we shall not speak.”
“Mind your own business, princess.”
They both then scoffed simultaneously and turned away from each other.
As their group neared the exit, their path was obstructed by armed men in shining white armor with immaculately curled beards—a sight familiar to the city's inhabitants. The Soalde guards, arranged in two rows, advanced into the area and forced the people to move back. Between the rows, a more elaborately armored guard, donning a white sash, marched down the lane.
“I am Guard Captain Galder Lorsen,” he announced before he began to glow with imbued mana. “What seems to be the problem?”
Lying injured on the floor, one of the men working at the Goddess Lair shouted, “Guard Captain! Stop those people with the dwarves. They’ve assaulted us!”
Just then, a group of White Viper Scale members dragged out several individuals whose bodies were riddled with ice spikes, a hush fell over the onlookers. One of the members said solemnly, “Someone has killed our people,” he announced gravely, his dark eyes shooting a cold look at the showman and his group. “I believe our unruly guests should be questioned about this,” he continued, his voice laced with accusation.
The Guard Captain's face turned white as he surveyed the gruesome scene before him. He had been expecting a routine shakedown on those who dared to disturb the White Scale Vipers' business, but now it seemed he had a full-blown murder investigation on his hands. The Captain couldn't shake the feeling of dread that crept up his spine, wondering what he had gotten himself involved in. The Big Boss of the White Scale Vipers had promised him no problems if he helped their gang out. At first, it was easy and he hardly had to lift a finger, doing mostly paperwork. Now, he felt as if his world would change.
Rose glanced at one of the corpses and recognized the man's hairstyle: slicked back with two bangs hanging down. She turned to Joker with a mixture of shock and anger, and asked, "Miss Joker, what have you done?"
Joker chuckled, drawing the attention of her companions. "I apologize," she addressed them, "but I have unfinished business here that I should have taken care of a long time ago." As she spoke, a powerful aura emanated from her, causing the air around her to shimmer with magic. Suddenly, a complex array of sage symbols materialized in the air, glowing with an eerie blue light that bathed the onlookers.
Joker's voice lowered to a venomous whisper. "I despise them," she hissed. "The filth of this city that always manages to slip away due to the filth in power, like our dear Guard Captain here." The atmosphere in the hall became icy, causing visible breaths in the air as if it were winter. People hugged themselves tightly, trying to ward off the sudden chill.
As the guards and gang members gazed upon the sage symbols filling the air, a feeling of unease began to take hold. Sage symbols were of course well known, especially with mages around, but they’ve never seen so many appear at once, and certainly never without a guiding hand to draw them. They exchanged nervous glances, their hands instinctively reaching for their weapons as they prepared for the worst.
But nothing could have prepared them for what happened next. With a sudden and alarming intensity, the symbols came to life, their lines glowing with pulsating energy. And then, before anyone could react, ice spikes erupted from the symbols, sharp and deadly as a winter storm.
The spikes shot out in all directions, hurtling towards the guards and gang members with alarming speed. Those who were too slow or too unlucky were impaled on the icy projectiles, their screams filling the air. The survivors scrambled for cover, their hearts pounding in their chests as they tried to avoid the deadly onslaught.
As the last of the ice spikes faded away, the air was filled with a stunned silence. The patrons, guards, and gang members looked around at each other, their faces etched with fear and disbelief. They had never seen such power produced by sage symbols before, and they knew that they were facing a mage unlike any they had ever encountered.
“Joker!” Rose screamed. “You’re killing everyone!”
“Princess,” Joker replied, “What would you do if someone killed Lilia? Wasn’t she your friend? Would you be able to hold back?”
“The White Scale Vipers killed your friend?” a dwarf cousin of Dwindle asked.
Joker's head shook in response. “No,” she answered, her voice firm.”But they are a part of what took her. I'll make sure to seek retribution from all those who carry the label of 'gang'.”
Marian Harboe, the Queen of Hearts, was Joker's closest friend and a sister to her in all but blood. Marian's trusting nature led her to believe in the goodness of people, regardless of their circumstances or background. Unfortunately, this trust proved to be her undoing when a gang lured her into a trap, hired by the enemies of the Royal Suit. They mercilessly slaughtered her like an animal, leaving behind a body so badly brutalized that it couldn't be shown at her funeral.
Joker had overwhelming grief and anger. There were rumors that she gave up her sight to gain the power of “Mana All-Sense,” but that wasn’t true. Joker had always possessed the ability. What had truly happened was that she blinded herself with her own mana when she found her best friend’s mangled body and couldn’t stand the sight of it.
Under a table, one of the guards pointed at joker and said to his leader who was not too far from him, “Captain, didn’t the murders recently involve ice magic?” There had been reported murders around the Red Fox and Gold Boar districts where men and women affiliated with a gang had been brutally killed by ice magic.
Captain Galder felt a gulp of anxiety rise in his throat. He knew he should apprehend the mage, but he was all too aware of her identity. She was a member of the esteemed Royal Suit and possessed the greatest power in the room. He was no match for her and the mere thought of a confrontation left him trembling with fear.
The showman looked to the people around them as they wailed in sorrow and pain.
“You all should leave,” Joker advised to the showman and their group. “I will be killing everyone here and I don’t want you to be caught up in the storm I will create.” Above, the sage symbols multiplied as well as the ice that began to rain down once again.
Rose scowled at Joker, her expression a mix of anger and disgust, but like the Guard Captain, she knew of Joker’s true unstoppable strength. Without any other recourse, she turned to the others and barked out a command, "We're leaving, now!" Without hesitation, she started running towards the exit, her body imbued with mana that helped her barrel through obstacles and dodge the torrent of ice spikes. Dwindle and his cousins followed her lead, their machines and inventions acting as shields against the deadly magic.
Nasset's mana burst to life, the tattoo on her face glowing brightly as she expertly sidestepped the falling ice while sprinting towards the exit. Meanwhile, Van transformed into a blur of motion, his sword slicing through anything that dared to come near him. The group made their escape, determined to get as far away from Joker and her destructive powers as possible.
As the chaos ensued, the showman found himself in the midst of it, swatting the deadly ice spikes that seemed to appear out of nowhere. He couldn't help but feel a pang of regret as he saw the patrons of the Goddess Lair falling all around him, their blood staining the floor. The once lively hall was now filled with horrific screams and cries for mercy. It saddened the showman to think that some of these people could have been his fans, had they only come to watch him wrestle. As he continued to make his way out, he couldn't help but wonder if even in this tense moment, there still could be a chance for these people to become fans of his.
Deciding to take action, the showman abruptly halted and pivoted to face Joker. His companions had already fled through the exit, but Dwindle's attention was drawn back to the showman as he hurled his glowing golden body towards the rampaging mage.
“Red, come back!” Dwindle cried out in fear.
The Blind Witch’s attention was diverted from her sage symbols as a body shrouded in golden light fell upon her, forcing her to conjure a sheet of ice to block him. The rain of ice spikes finally died down and the hall fell silent. The surviving patrons turned their gaze to the towering figure standing resolute against Joker.
“Blind killer,” the showman shouted, his voice rumbling, pointing at Joker. “Your antics have gone long enough, oh yea. Can’t you see you’re making these good people,” he gestured wide with his arms at everyone, “fearful and upset? Red Rumble hates when the people get hurt, yes I do. Stop yourself or you might find yourself in a rumble with Red Rumble!”
Joker frowned, “Red, I have nothing against you, but you can’t stop me with your power. I’m a ranked Expert Hunter.” She had to wait for the showman’s answer since he was busy checking if the crowd was paying attention.
“I’ve seen a lot of candy asses, from jabronis to suckas, across this great nation of Loderan,” proclaimed the showman, facing Joker but his eyes were trained on those he could see behind her. “And I’ve got to say, you are the sorriest piece of crap Red Rumble has ever come across, that’s right. Red Rumble feels bad for you.”
Joker’s blind face had stilled. She couldn’t understand what was happening. She responded, her voice laced with irritation, “If you’re going to fight me, there’s no need to insult me—”
“Red Rumble says shut your mouth!” the showman snapped, cutting her off. He took a moment to measure his audience and their interest level.
“Is that young man going to save us?” a person in the crowd asked.
Someone in a masquerade mask uttered, “I think so…”
One of the guards murmured, “What’s going on? I thought they were on the same side.”
Van then appeared in a flash beside the showman. He unsheathed his blade and said, “I would like to show my sword techniques. I was in that cage too long.”
Joker's gaze turned sharp as she sized up the newcomer. While dealing with Red alone would have been a breeze, the addition of a swordsman who appeared to be quick on his feet meant she had to tread cautiously. A mage’s weakness was their speed.
“I’ll be back with my armor!” Rose announced, imbuing mana to race away into the night toward her carriage.
Dwindle was about to move forward, but Glick stopped him. "You can't feel mana like I can," Glick warned. "We'll only be in the way if we try to help." Glick sensed the overwhelming mana surrounding the Blind Witch, which was both blinding and awe-inspiring. Additionally, she had the rare ability to conjure sage symbols without the need to draw them. This skill could catch anyone off guard, especially untrained dwarves. It wouldn't be wise for them to join in.
Dwindle’s cousins who could imbue mana nodded their heads seriously in agreement with Glick. Dwindle had no choice but to stay at a safe distance. Nasset had chosen to stay back as well, waiting to watch Red in action once more. She had begun to see why her father had commanded her to come here for Red’s bloodline.
The showman and Van circled around Joker, approaching from opposite sides, their eyes locked onto her.