Hokori’s family finally tracked the beast’s den. Their airship had parked midair. With weapons and skills at the ready, they rode the flying carpets. Even Yukino expressed stern eyes.

Hours ago, Dominus’ traveling circus settled not in a small town. Instead, the land of orcs and rangers: Meán Domhain. Somehow, the sylph performers felt right at home. The architecture gave them nostalgia when they first contacted humanity. However, they barely spotted any elderly folk.

The leprechaun driver chuckled. “The humans here live three times longer, folks. Outsiders once made their city a phishing site. Luckily, the law wasn’t blind.”

He walked toward a peddler and bought one of their famed smoking pipes. He had more to tell. The younger sylphs sat down and listened intently.

The orcs could live for two millennia. They had no means to reproduce beyond coming out of mud lakes. Artificial birth outside the city had no results. It only worked near the sulfuric stench of Mt. Grim.

“Orcs and rangers became siblings-in-arms before Pantaiyanilam appeared on a map.” He finished his smoke and chuckled. “Curiously, everyone here speaks the earthly tongue of Irish. And that gives me a million smiles.”

The leprechaun told everyone to prepare for their next act. Five minutes in, the humans and orcs alike stood curious at the small tent with a ‘circus’ sign. Children of both held hands together and ran with joy inside.

Today’s first event was the cat-sìths. In Meán Domhain’s history books, they went extinct eighty decades ago; for that, they all sat in awe. They saw them transform from their black cat form and bow in front. Even as humanlike, they still had another pair of ears and a tail.

Like the other Fae performers, they dueled with cold iron swords. Unlike the four main fairies, they had lesser resistance. They wore gloves to compensate, yet their palms still burned and melted as it went on. No matter what, they put on the best show possible. Their unbelievable mobility was more than enough.

The crowd cheered thunderously. “Níos tapúla!” said an orc father. “Níos tapúla, daoibh go léir!”

“De réir na Déithe! A leithéid de áilleacht!”, “Tuilleadh! Tuilleadh!”, “Srac a gcuid inní amach!”

They became the loudest during the conclusion. As one wished, a cat-sìth had entrails spill out, but they healed quickly. The children turned away, and some cried.

Ringmaster Dominus bowed with his hat off in front of them. “Go raibh maith agat!” He stood up. “Unfortunately, that’s the extent of my knowledge with your tongue. And I’m afraid we have nothing else for you tonight. We must take our leave.

“But not to worry! If I can crawl out of my debts, I shall return to your beautiful home again!” He waved with his hat goodbye.

The crowd had no complaints. In fact, they had smiles and excitement. “Come back soon, Mr. Ficta!” one said with a heavy accent. Said smiles did not fade outside the small tent.

The circus tent turned into a Pegasus carriage again in the sky. Dominus called performers and staff to the ring. He gave a brief speech about the honor he felt working with them for years.

Runic portals formed above them. Pouches filled with three thousand Geld each fell on their hands. The performers reacted with confusion and some fear. The staff showed toothy smiles and giddiness.

He clasped his hands. “Treat yourselves to your heart’s content. I originally wanted to massacre all of you on the spot. But I’m no monster. However, these guys are.”

He snapped his fingers. An army of grotesque demonic monsters materialized before them. Their sizes ranged from cars to cruise liners.

Dominus walked back and forth, twirling his cane. “These things came from the pits of Hellsalem: a land that exists only in fiction. As I said, imagination has no limits.

“But know this!” he pointed with his cane. “A storm will come one day. And once it does, so does a new age! I hope you’re all strong enough to fight it.” He bowed one last time to them.

Runes formed beneath their feet. As they stood confused, they got transported back into their old homes. With the weight gone, Dominus sighed and smiled. The four men he created stood from behind.

“Remember, guys,” he turned around. “These beasts are your friends right now, not enemies.” He walked closer to one of them, who sweated bullets. “Your sister’s fine, L*o. I didn’t summon her into my world. Libra still has her in good hands.”

The squinting boy sweated more. “O-Oh… Okay.” He chuckled nervously.

“Ease up, will ya,” Z**p slapped his head. “Those two sure are prepared to a T.” He looked at his comrades from afar. One put a cross on his fist, and the other had ice form beneath his feet.

In the isolation chamber, Hokori freed the cell members. He transported them via blood runes, and they gave their endless thanks.

He turned to the wingless Titania. She agreed to an agonizing method that his comrade invented. He sat from behind and held her clipped wings tightly. “Remember, I’ll remove the roots entirely. And it’s gonna suck. Ready?”

She put a piece of wood in her mouth and nodded. On the count of three, Hokori pulled one with ease. Red splattered all over the cell. She grunted for a while with tears and panted.

Titania demanded he does it again for the remaining three. All she wanted now was her daughter’s sake. After the last one got pulled, her skin turned pale. She fell into his arms, exhausted.

Luckily, he fully healed her in a pinch. As he placed his hand on her chest, blood vessels spread over her. Before long, she felt four appendages on her back. Her new wings had full mobility. The brief shooting pain was no more.

The smiles waterworks had no end. “I owe you my life, Hokori.” She hugged him with closed eyes. She stood and lent a fistbump. “Now… let’s kill that bastard.” Her smile now showed extreme confidence.

He chuckled and complied. “You read my mind, ma’am. My fam will be here soon.”

In the sky, Hokori’s family surrounded the Pegasus carriage quietly. Kakunō tapped the driver’s head. The horses got startled in place, but Yukino put them to sleep via runes. Now, they hovered in midair.

Haruto led the group into the much larger circus inside. Not a suffering performer on sight. In fact, it was eerily empty—all the more reason not to keep one’s guard down.

For the first time, Yukino did not huddle behind her mother. Her eyes narrowed with courage.

Minutes later, they arrived at the ring—still quiet. However, it did not last long. From behind, massive monsters with pink skin charged at them. Their wide mouths gaped open and showed humanlike teeth.

Haruto and Tokino began the first attack. They sliced and stabbed each with ease; their elegant dance never lost its touch. The latter stabbed one through the eyes. However, it somehow knew her location and grabbed her. The next thing it knew, its head rolled on the ground.

“Are you alright, Tokino?” He lent a hand. “It seems they’re sentient. We have to—” Once again, his lips did not expect another bold move. His cheeks reddened.

She giggled. “Nothing to worry about, honey. We’re invincible together!” She cast runes on her nape. Now, Haruto’s had one as well. “Let us dance to our heart’s content. I’ll aid your next move.”

After hearing her internally, he smiled with determination. “Yeah. Let’s do this.” They prepared their stance against the monsters.

The sibling trio decided to split up into different areas. Yukino held her own for the first time. Every punch and kick she threw hit harder than it should. Many of the creatures even had their heads blown off. Murky yellow blood oozed out.

Kakunō pulled out his sleek black gauntlet and chuckled with excitement. He stood his ground and blasted an endless wave of white energy. It atomized his foes by the dozen. Then, he went on with the melee. Every time the gauntlet hit, it dispelled a spherical wave. Many of the monsters got hurled into the distance.

Everywhere he went, the ground fissured. For a teenager, he could demolish spectator seats even without the gauntlet. He decided to be more daring. He grabbed one by its fleshy antenna and flailed it against the others. Unexpectedly, they ran in fear comically. In fact, they all acted oddly human. Kakunō did not care. He smiled as his bloodlust rose.

After his fun, he stretched and yawned. “Oh, man… And here I thought these guys would be stronger—” A massive red cross flew in front of him at lightning speed. He blocked with one hand, but the attack dragged his feet meters away. Sand and debris flew everywhere in the circus ring. With the same hand, he crushed it to pieces.

A tall man from afar corrected his glasses. “Impressive. Usually, they’d die on the spot.” He scratched the back of his head. “Still, sorry if I overdid it.”

He walked closer and chuckled. “No need for such things, old man.” He pulled out a halberd via runes. “It’s funny, though. I sense no magic in you. Yet, you’re not like my brother.”

“Magic?” He raised both eyebrows. “I see. I’m now in another crazy world.” He clenched a fist in front; it had a cross-shaped knuckleduster. “Nevertheless, I’m Kl**s V** Re*nh*rz. Nice to meet you.”

“Kakunō Kanadzuchi.” He grinned. “You better not regret our fight, old man.”

In another area, a standstill took place. Kenkō’s opponent was the cleverest so far. His blood had shot her at different angles. She healed herself from her frostbite.

On the other hand, the gray suit man endured the darts thrown at him. Each gave him painful lesions that had no end.

She panted and grinned faintly. “Damn… Your kicks pack a lot of punch. Funny how that goes.”

He grunted and slowly stood up. “And to your fists as well.” Alongside lesions, he had deep surgical cuts. “I wish I could use the thing you call ‘runes.’ Now if you’ll excuse me.” He fell on his back, unconscious.

Kenkō chuckled. “Yeah… Me, too….” The same happened to her. She did not know the gray suit man became white dust in the air.

In his private room, Dominus smiled over his imagination’s accomplishment. He raised a glass. “Cheers to anime and manga for OP characters.” He skimmed through some books. “Now, time to make my waifu real.”

Back with Haruto and Tokino, the latter effortlessly defeated a white-suited pervert. At first, his red strings had them literally on the ropes. However, he ogled her nonstop—even asked for a date. It did not help that he stood sloshed beyond belief.

“Gotta say,” Haruto stored his broadswords via runes. “…the guy had top-notch sword skills. Not bad at all.”

She giggled. “Come on, honey. No one’s as good as you.” She wrapped her arms around him. “Remember. You’re my K*r**o every day.”

He flustered more than before. Once again, he passionately denied the comparison.

She let go and smiled at him. “Oh, my Haruto. You’re always so cute when you—”

Haruto became startled by what he saw before him. Her eyes appeared bright blue with endless shifting gears. He never knew such a thing to exist in Parallaxis. His wife stood and stared for a few seconds. Then, she fell to her knees. He stopped her fall.

“W-What happened…?” Her eyes remained faint.

“I don’t know.” He helped her stand and looked around. Moments later, a boy came out of the shadows. Even if he was, he never let his guard down.

Unexpectedly, the boy raised his arms. “I mean no harm.” He lowered them. “I was curious about your futures. Lemme just say you have wonderful lives going for you. Your daughter’s eyes remind me of M*ch*ll*’s.”

Tokino gasped. She walked closer with narrowed eyes. However, he assured her that he did nothing to Yukino.

“I’m really no harm to you two. And I can’t fight on my own since you beat Z**p.” He pointed from afar, and he walked past them.

Far away, Hokori and Titania culled the demonic creatures by the dozen. When fists and kicks did not pulverize them, razor winds filleted them to ribbons. They stood curious that the monsters turned into white dust as they perished.

He cracked his knuckles. “You know, ma’am? I feel bad for killin’ ‘em. Their eyes showed mercy.”

She flew down from a trapeze plank. “We don’t have the luxury for such things, Hokori. I knew war even before you were born on Earth.” She walked behind and sighed with her eyes closed. Her daughter was safe behind runic barriers in her bedroom.

He chuckled. “Thank God for that, then. I wouldn’t have my pride if I lived through that—”

They stopped in their tracks. Hokori stood surprised to see brother Kakunō lying on the floor, defeated. He had a cross-shaped hole on his torso. From afar, a goateed man slowly stood up and panted. Like his hair, red soaked up his attire.

Titania prepared another gale force in the air. However, Hokori held her shoulder and walked in front. He chuckled again with a wide toothy grin. He found the perfect toy to play with for a while.

“Damn… K**us is drippier in person than in the show. I would’ve wanted to fight the King of Despair. But this guy ain’t bad.”