Back in the airship, Hokori’s family prepared for battle. Haruto stored his broadswords inside runes for the first time. Tokino followed suit; she was happy finally seeing him use such an art.

Kakunō tested some buttons of his sleek black gauntlet. Luckily, it was still pristine. Kenkō did not bring her syringe gun this time. She had brought multicolored darts—easier to whip out.

“Please don’t play with them, Yukichi.” She patted her head. “They could explode any time.”

Yukino apologized with a hug. For her, she tested her runic skills. She could cast them instantly as ever due to her luck-based magic. She even formed arrays that covered the ship’s room in under a second. Her mother smiled and clapped.

They only had one piece of information about ringmaster Dominus Ficta. Every time he got caught, armies would appear out of nowhere. Reports detailed they uncannily looked similar to earthly media.

Kakunō chuckled in the cockpit. “Well, that’s quite the surprise. Now I think these three may be his creation.” He pointed to the Minagawas.

Haruto sighed with rolling eyes. “Yeah, yeah… Never heard that before.”

His wife giggled from afar. “Is there any shame in that?” She wrapped her arms around him. “I can be your A**na for a day. After all…” she neared his ear, “…you’re my K*r**o every day.”

His cheeks reddened. He doubled down on how different he was and noted appearance did not matter. “And I may dual-wield, but we have completely different styles.”

Tokino’s eyes squinted. “Honey… are you denying my love again?” She looked away with crossed arms. “Perhaps I should cancel our anniversary.” She pouted with her eyes closed.

His cheeks became redder. He sweated bullets and walked closer. “T-That’s not what I meant. I didn’t like the comparison, that’s all. How’d you feel if—” Before he knew it, Tokino made the first move. It was all according to plan.

She smirked faintly with droopy eyes. “You’re right, honey. I can’t be your As**a at all. Because I’m not meek in any way.”

She tapped his forehead. The teasing continued for three minutes. However, Haruto had the last laugh by tickling her sides.

“Okay…! Okay. I’m sorry!” She laughed another minute.

Their daughter giggled from afar. Kenkō sighed and smiled. On the other hand, Kakunō ended their moment with a loud throat clearing. It also caught the others’ attention. The airship stopped. He stored his gauntlet and got off the cockpit chair. “It’s showtime, people.” He walked past them and prepared flying carpets.

They looked at the cockpit’s screen and saw the Pegasus carriage in the sky. Luckily, their ride got parked thirty kilometers away.

In the freakshow circus, no event occurred. The performers found it odd. Usually, they would stay in a town after a day or two of break time.

The staff had to deal with the 105th uproar in the deformed human section. It was a lot harder than what newbie workers thought. Despite their grotesque look, they knew basic magic skills. Their strength and speed spiked.

A young man got pounced on in front. He struggled from getting bitten. As it went on, drool covered his whole face. Another staff stepped in and cast runic lightning bolts at the deformed human. They stopped moving.

“Keep your guard up, son.” He lent him a hand. “They may be monstrosities. But they’re not stupid.”

The young man nodded with sweat all over him. The older one accompanied him to another area where resistance became harder to control. It took an hour for them to end their rampage.

Two staff members carried an unconscious “freak” to the isolation chamber. A room only the most uppity got thrown in. It was all made of anti-magic alloy and painted white. One opened a cell via a secret combination. On the count of three, they threw the “freak” inside.

“By the Gods,” he complained. “I hate it when I touch their dry, greasy wrinkles.”

“Look on the bright side, man. We get paid 2K weekly.” The sliding doors locked behind them.

In the chamber, wingless Titania had a room next to the shapeshifted Hokori. She never got bored. Fairy dust entertained her enough. They formed into flying whales in front. Next, they became sylphs like herself, who danced in the air.

She cracked some smiles time after time. However, the dust showed a male fairy. It was nothing new, but it came from her memories. She canceled the dust. She covered her face with her arms and knees. Suddenly, she heard a slurred voice from behind.

“Are you crying?” Hokori remained almost indecipherable. “Mother told me it was always okay. I can’t count how many times I did it.”

She sniffled and wiped her eyes. “Leave me alone… I’m sorry if I’m being mean. But I hate such things. I don’t want my Flora to see me like this. I— Urgh!”

Out of nowhere, she felt a shooting pain in her back. Her wings tried to regrow again, but they burned and melted. She got off the wall and fell to her knees. She grunted for one agonizing hour. It did not take long for red vomit to burn her throat.

She lay on her side full of sweat and panted. “Oh, fuck….” She grunted with clenched teeth, holding her shoulder. “By the Gods. It’s not stopping.” It took five minutes for the pain to go away. She sat by the wall again beside Hokori and apologized.

His drool came out more as he opened his deformed mouth. “I believe you should say sorry more, Titania. You’re denying yourself. Mother always hated liars.”

“I’m not lying!” Her eyes narrowed with a hint of sorrow. “I didn’t ask for any of this, like how you didn’t choose to be ‘ugly.’ My kingdom betrayed me. My Flora needed food and water. I despised seeing her thin arms!” She let out her frustration after twelve years in the circus. She expressed it for forty minutes.

Hokori’s misaligned eyes lowered. He heard harrowing tales of literal backstabbing, side-switching, and failed petitions. The world she wanted was beyond reach. The land of the Fae remained soaked in red.

“And you know what!? My Oberon deserved what he got. Fighting a bullshit war against the salamanders. Fuck him to hell and back!” She sniffled and dried her eyes again. “My heart didn’t change, damn it. I shouted the most that night before he left.

“And the strongest warrior we had wasn’t even a sylph. A fiery-eyed slave from the human realm. That’s how pathetic we were.” She sighed longingly. “I revered him till his death. He was better than any Fae I knew.” Tears did not get dried that time.

The isolation chamber fell even more silent. To think it was even possible. The other cell members felt their hearts rend beyond belief. A scarred veteran vampire looked at his torn photo. From afar, a cat-sìth curled into a fetal position.

Hokori’s eyes lowered further. He leaned on his wall closer, despite his abnormal bone growth. “Do you know why I hate liars, Titania?” He looked at the ceiling. “I was the biggest of all. I lied to friends and family. I thought I could save all on a dime—like a hero of old.

“But you know what? Liars can still be good. Maybe not heroes, but ones who know right and wrong. And I was wrong to lie. I yearned to see their smiles again. So beautiful.

“Liars don’t deserve the sun. Yet, when I see it, I feel complete. I count my blessings. It never failed—because I saw the smiles of new faces. That is what I yearn for now. A life of warmth. A death of comfort. As I still breathe, I never needed the sun.

“I’m happy… Therefore, I know.” Hokori tried his best to smile with his elongated mouth and crooked teeth. For a moment, he forgot he still had a disguise.

The cell members sobbed like there was no tomorrow. Their hearts could not bear the pain of being deformed but loved, yet taken all away. It made their misery look petty before him. Titania cracked another moment of joy wider than before. This time, she did not mind the waterworks. It was not of sorrow but serenity. Her heart finally calmed down.

She still smiled and took some deep breaths. “You’re wrong, Hokori. You never lied before, but you did now.” She held her chest with closed eyes. “My perfect Fae beauty is but a mask. I’m too ugly for you to know fully. Everything in this circus is. You should escape without us. We—”

She did not expect the moment to be interrupted. Cell members gasped and backed away in fear. Confused, she turned around and expressed the same.

Hokori’s body slowly morphed into something much taller than his hunched stature before. The runes on his tattered brown robe dispelled. Now, it looked utterly different.

Titania was the most confused. She saw the sacred heart and sword-wielding skeletons of his maroon shirt’s back. Her mind got boggled that even his jeans had embroidery of desert roses. It was 100% alien to her. Made worse with the Spanish words she could never hope to understand.

Hokori stretched and yawned. “Sorry, ma’am. I’m still a horrible liar to the bone.” He turned and looked down with a smile. “But whaddya say? Wanna tear down this hellhole to pieces?”

Because of his lensless shades, she saw bright yellow pupils. She gasped and covered her mouth with both. Tears welled up.

“By the Gods….”

In his private room, Dominus watched an entire series for reference. He failed to hold his excitement; his imagination peaked. He found a great team against the upcoming battle.

He stood up and closed his eyes. Strengthening his belief in their existence improved his magic. As he opened, they stood before him—all finely dressed in different colored tuxedos except two.

He chuckled. “You four are a long way from Hellsalem. But you’ll serve me handsomely.” He showed them photos. “Take these guys out. A storm’s coming.” He closed the door behind him.

Out of the four men, the white-suited one expressed disgust. He put his hands in his pockets. “Who does that bastard think he is?” He turned to one of them. “Hey, Kl**s! I say we leave this joint.”

The red-bearded man corrected his glasses. “You may be right. But I’m quite curious about this world. Somehow, it feels just as crazy.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Huuuuuuh…! Since when did ya get so interested in that crap? Why not weed out some granny’s garden, you damn gor—”

“That’s enough, Z**p,” said a gray-suited man. “I have no clue why we’re here. But if we do our job, we may come back home.” He looked from afar. “L*o’s worrying about his sister already.”

As he declared his resolve, the floor beneath his feet froze.