The Red Hand

Interlude 7 – The Circus.

*WHOOSH!*

Fire poured out of the door, completely engulfing Eris for a brief moment until she closed it.

"So I take it that we're not supposed to go down that way." Zephiria burst out laughing. This had been only the latest trap they'd stumbled into and she'd been enjoying watching Eris get blasted by a variety of funny effects.

"I've never been more grateful to have fire immunity than right now..." Eris grumbled as she picked up her glaive.

"When Akagi said this place was dangerous, she wasn't joking," Ayame said. The three of them were in a room with dozens of doors, and they were attempting to figure out which one led to the next floor. So far they'd checked ten, and each had some kind of trap.

"Yeah, and this is only the fourth floor." Eris opened the next door, which caused a boxing glove to rocket out and punch her in the face, knocking her to the floor. "REALLY?!?" She got up and smashed the mechanism with her glaive. "I swear, Akagi just built this place to fuck with us!"

"Yeah. I wouldn't doubt it." Zephiria was still holding in laughter. "But you can't deny that it's been great training so far. The chest in this room had amazing stuff for level four, and the monsters have been a good challenge." She'd been enjoying herself so far.

"Hence why I'm just annoyed and not angry." Eris said while closing the door. "Pain in the ass or not, she wasn't lying when she said-" She paused as the next door she opened led down a flight of stairs.

"Hmmmmm." Eris tapped her foot on the top stair. "It seems safe."

"The last staircase had swinging blades and an acid pit, so maybe this one is also a trap?" Ayame threw a rock down, which tumbled into the darkness.

Zephiria's eyes glowed as she checked the passage for magical traps. "I don't see anything. Looks safe, Eris you check it out!" She pushed her in.

"If I die, I'm haunting your ass!" Eris growled as she started down the stairs. It was unlikely she would actually die from most mundane traps. As a barbarian, she had incredibly high vitality and constitution, which mean she was extremely tough. Combine that with her passive resistance and it would take an extraordinary amount of force to kill her. Plus, Akagi may have put in place safety measures just in case, though she wasn't going to tell anyone if that was the case.

Eris continued down until she hit the bottom of the stairwell, which contained a large set of double doors, indicating the entrance to the next floor.

{Unless Akagi wants to be such a prick that she'd make an entire fake fucking floor door, this should be it.} Eris called back up for the others to join her, which they did slowly and carefully.

"Alright, let's see what's behind this door." Eris used her glaive to poke at the door before pushing it open.

{I swear if I see another crying child monster...} (Eris)

Beyond the door was a massive forest that sprawled in every direction. The door itself came from the massive rock formation which seemed to mark the boundary of this floor, though Zephiria commented that this place was likely as big as Kyoto.

{How the hell does she do it? Making all this for fun, its gotta be one hell of an effort...} (Eris)

"This should be the boss floor. At least that's my theory based on Akagi's words from earlier." Ayame drew both her blades, one in each hand. She was unique as a barbarian, choosing to dual-wield instead of wielding a heavy weapon. "So what's it going to be? Giant Zombies? Nightmarish hell creatures from the aybss?" She chuckled.

"Maybe the boss will be one of Akagi's people?" Eris replied.

"I hope not..." Ayame gave a wry smile.

"I'm detecting a significant power signature about a mile that way, and I don't think we have to worry about it being one of her followers. I doubt she'd use them in such a fashion." Zephiria pointed in a direction. "I'm assuming that energy is the boss, as there is nothing else within my range."

{Its not weak, whatever it is.} (Zephiria)

"Alright, I guess its time to see what crazy creature Akagi placed as the mid-boss." Eris laughed. She was fired up and was fully enjoying herself.

{This place has been amazing. Ever since we got back, I've been itching for something like this!} (Eris)

Moving in formation, Eris, Ayame, and Zephiria slowly moved toward what they suspected was the boss. The forest was eerily quiet, with no sounds other than the crunching of leaves and twigs beneath their feet.

{Is there really nothing else out there? It seems like a waste to create such a large space and put nothing in it.} Zephiria kept her senses open, expecting an ambush.

"Keep sharp. We've got no idea what kind of tricks this boss has up its sleeve, and knowing who made it, I doubt it will be conventional." Ayame commented. "We'll do this by the book and try and get a read on it like we did back in the day."

Eris nodded, and the three girls walked quietly until they came to a clearing in the forest. At the center of which was an interesting sight.

"Is.... is that a fucking bear?" Eris stumbled.

"Why is it wearing a clown costume?" Ayame was similarly surprised.

"Is that a fucking unicycle?!?" Zephiria exclaimed.

{I... do I even want to know WHY there is a clown bear riding a unicycle as a mid boss?!?} (Eris)

Indeed, Akagi, with Alice's help, created a special boss for this floor. His name was Bonko the Clown Bear, and he was the star performer of the circus. Though technically he wasn't her own design since something similar existed in an FWO dungeon that she and Hishya cleared back in the day.

"Do we really have to fight this..." Ayame groaned.

"I don't think we can skip the clown bear..." Zephiria sighed.

"I mean, this is right up Akagi's alley. Her sense of humor is completely fucked..." Eris shook her head. "Come on, let's go fight the clown." She motioned for them to follow, which they did reluctantly.

As they got closer, Bonko rose from his resting position, got on top of his unicycle, and began to ride it. It seemed that his main weapon would be a sickle in his offhand while he drove around on the vehicle.

{This guy is massive!} Ayame thought to herself. Bonko was easily as tall as a five-story building, even when not on top of his unicycle, which only made him taller.

Once they got close enough, Entry of the Gladiators started playing as a massive circus tent rose up around them, covering the entire clearing.

"Well, I suppose that makes sense. It's a clown, after all." Zephiria sighed.

*VROOM!* *VROOM!* *VROOM!* *VROOM!*

Suddenly what sounded like a motorcycle engine could be heard as several dozen smaller bears on bikes appeared out of nowhere. They were each dressed as clowns and began to drive on ramps and start doing tricks in the background such as driving through fire hoops. It was a literal circus act, and the sound of a cheering and clapping audience could be heard faintly over the music.

"I guess this really is the circus." Ayame readied herself for battle. "Be careful, I've got no fucking clue what this guy's going to do, and that worries me."

{Why do I have the feeling that he's going to smack us with that unicycle...} (Ayame)

As she said this, Bonko let out a massive honk from the horn on his bike as he steamed forward, sickle at the ready and eyes filled with a need for speed... and death...

"Here he comes!" Eris called out as both she and Ayame activated their rage. Zephiria cast a few spells to restrain the bear with various chains and vines, but they failed.

{Of course...} (Zephiria)

Eris leaped forward, clashing with Bonko, bringing the bear to a halt with her glaive as he brought down his sickle. The two locked together in a contest of strength, and Bonko was no slouch.

{Jesus, this guy is strong!} Eris pushed Bonko back slightly, only to have the bear spin his cycle around and smack her with the wheel.

"Ack!" Eris cried out as she was launched, crashing into the stands.

"Oh damn, she went flying." Ayame laughed. "Are you ok?"

"Just fucking fantastic! I got out hit by a bear on a unicycle, and now I'm below some wooden bleachers. I couldn't be better." Eris's voice could be heard coming from the small hole she made when she crashed.

As she said this, the sound of a laugh track played.

{I swear to god, if Akagi is livestreaming our fight...} (Eris)

"Well, good." Ayame turned towards Bonko. "You're a tough boy, aren't ya!" Her eyes lit up with excitement. "Let's see just how well you handle this!" She crashed both blades into the ground sending a blast toward Bonko who leaped into the air and over the attack.

{HE JUMPED?!?} (Ayame)

"Nice try buddy, but that left you vulnerable!" Zephiria lifted up her grimoire and sent a massive electrical blast, which struck Bonko head-on, causing the bear to growl in pain. "Nice!"

Not taking kindly to being attacked at range, Bonko threw his sickle towards Zephiria. It was on a chain so it could be directed and withdrawn easily.

{EEP!} Zephiria dove out of the way, barely missing being squished by the massive weapon. {THAT NEARLY KILLED ME!!!} 

"Ayame, get in there now! I don't want to see Zep get turned into paste!" Eris rockted past her wife and started whaling on the bear while he was defenseless, with Ayame following up.

The two began inflicting massive damage on the bear until he retracted his weapon and began fending them off again. Things then devolved into a pattern. Zephiria would attack at range, which caused Bonko to throw his weapon, and the two barbarians would inflict massive damage to him. After a dozen minutes passed, it was clear that Bonko had taken significant damage, as his outfit was torn, and there was blood everywhere.

"O-Ok..." Eris was starting to get winded. "This guy... he is very tough." She laughed as she dodged a strike.

{Why won't you die, clown-bear?} (Eris)

"Yeah... he... he's got way more HP than I thought." Ayame was similarly tired, but was enjoying herself.

"Come on! We've got a good system going! Don't quit on me!" Zephiria said as she shot another series blast at the bear, which inflicted huge damage.

{I'd prefer not to have to dip deeper into my powers just yet.} (Zephiria)

"ARGGH!" Bonko let out a deep growl as the music turned much darker and more sinister. The other bears which had been, until now, doing tricks off to the side, all stopped and gathered up in one area before revving their engines.

"I guess this is phase two." Zephiria sighed. She sent a blast forward, killing one of the bears. This caused the rest to pull out metal baseball bats as they drove towards her, their faces morphing from the cute bears they had been into something far more terrifying. Their faces turned black, their eyes bludged out and turned red and they had razor-sharp teeth which protruded out of their lips.

"GYAHAHAHAHAHA!" The bears let out a psychotic clown laugh that sent chills down the girls' spines.

"Great!" Eris cried out as she smashed one of the smaller minions with her glaive. "Just what we needed!"

"Don't blame me!" Zephiria said as she exploded a few of the clown bears. "They were going to come at us regardless! I figured attacking them would be for the best!"

"I might honestly hate fucking clowns now!" Ayame leaped forward, slicing several bears in half.

The circus continued as the bears drove around in circles around the girls, all while laughing. Occasionally they'd dive in and clash with one of them and swing their baseball bat. They weren't particularly tough, however, they were numerous and fast, which made fighting them a pain.

"Get your ass in gear, Zephiria!" Eris called out to their mage, who made several dozen grimoires appear in the air next to her as she fired blasts at the bears. "I know you've got way more magic than those tiny blasts! So start pulling out the big guns or I'm going to stick my glaive where the sun don't shine!"

{Why the hell is she holding back?!?} (Eris)

"Alright, but if you get hit, don't blame me!" Zephiria began chanting as a large black tome appeared, from which dozens of blots of black power shot forward, killing all the minions.

{Oh hey, it worked... but... oh fuck...} That attack had exhausted the mage, and she began to cough up blood from internal damage from casting. She wouldn't likely be able to do much more this fight.

{What kind of magic was that? It almost felt like.} Before Eris could finish her thought, Bonko got off his unicycle and picked it up. He let out a massive roar and charged at them, holding it up by the handlebar.

"Is he gonna start attacking with that thing?!?" Ayame panicked at the thought of dealing with such a massive blunt weapon.

{I KNEW IT!} (Ayame)

"Oh fuck!" Eris cried out as the massive unicycle crashed down on her.

"Ergh!" She managed to block it with her glaive, but the sheer size and weight of the attack meant she took huge damage. Being a barbarian stopped her from feeling the pain inflicted upon her, but that didn't mean she ignored all physical strain.

"Eris!" Ayame cried out as she rushed forward. "Get off her you stupid bear!" She charged energy into her blades as she jumped on Bonko, before running around the massive bear and digging her blade into him at every possible chance.

Zephiria was barely able to stand after that last attack but channeled as much magical power into buffing Ayame as possible.

{My everything hurts..} (Zephiria)

"ARRRGH!" Bonko fell back in pain, allowing Eris to get free. She was bloodied and bruised by was still able to fight.

"Are you alright?" Ayame asked as she landed next to her.

"Yeah, I'm a bit banged up. But I'll be fine." Eris laughed as she spit out some blood. "But we need to end this now!" She looked over to the exhausted Zephiria.

{I've got an idea about why she got so strong, but I'll save the interrogation for later} (Eris)

"Let's channel everything we've got into one final rush." Eris said. "He looks pretty bad. If we just nail him at the same time, that should bring the clown down!" Her pun made Ayame laugh.

"Let's crush the clown!" (Ayame)

"I just hope he dies before me..." Zephiria was pale and looked like she was moments from passing out.

The two rushed forward, evading the sickle and unicycle attacks by Bonko, who was frantically trying to smash them. Zephiria used what little strength she had to cast her most powerful buff spells on the two of them as they leaped into the air and rammed their weapons down onto Bonko's head.

Eri's glaive became wrapped in a raging fire, while Ayame's dual blades glowed blue with Zephiria's power.

"DIE YOU STUPID CLOWN!" (Eris x Ayame)

"ARGGHH!" Bonko took the attack head-on and fell backward onto the floor as the two women leaped away, landing on the ground, exhausted. A few moments went by as they waited to see if he was defeated until the music stopped and the circus tent melted away.

"Oh, fuck thank god!" Eris collapsed on the floor, as did Zephiria and Ayame.

"We killed the clown bear!" Ayame cheered.

"I feel like death..." Zephiria coughed up more blood as she fell to the ground.

"You look like it too." Eris laughed.

As the three of them lay on the floor, Bonko's body dissipated, and in its place was a small clown-themed chest.

"I guess that's our reward..." Ayame sighed as she stood up.

"Y-yeah." Eris's body felt like hell, but she wanted her prize.

"I need help..." Zephiria was too weak to stand on her own and required some help from the two girls, who had her lean on their shoulders.

Opening the chest revealed several interesting items, all of which the girls recognized as highly valuable loot.

{Akagi wasn't kidding, the prizes are soooo worth the pain.} Eris's lips curved into a smile as the three girls checked out their new items.

"Ahh, look at this tome!" Zephiria hugged the book while laying on the ground. "So many magical secrets!" She started giggling like Hishya when she found a pillow she needed.

"Oh yeah, so Zeffy." Eris talked while slipping on her new gauntlets. "You wanna explain why that power earlier was eerily similar to our resident Demon's?" She noticed something off about that book and attack from earlier.

"Oh yeah." Zephiria began to laugh nervously. "So... I might have made a contract with Akagi."

"A contract?!?" (Eris x Ayame)

"Yeah... kinda like those warlock pacts! Neat huh! I got a tiny bit of her power and knowledge, and all it cost was my eternal servitude!" She performed a tee-hee pero while she lay on the ground.

The two barbarians just looked at her and shook their heads.

{That's... that's not exactly surprising...} (Eris x Ayame)