“What did you say!?” Hearing Ye Chui’s words, Debbie looked over with a shocked expression.
Just as Ye Chui thought his guess was plausible, Debbie followed up with, “What does schizophrenic mean?”
“…”
So Ye Chui explained the meaning of schizophrenia. After hearing his explanation, Debbie furrowed her brow in thought for a moment, then shook her head. “It’s not impossible, but I can sense the Horror Clown’s existence. I could summon him, but it’s beyond my current abilities… Still, everything happening in Clown Town must be connected to my Clown Spirit somehow.”
Green interjected, “Miss Debbie, how exactly are the different forms of a heroic spirit formed? The Joyful Clown doesn’t seem to have much intelligence, while Baby Jiji and Adult Jiji seem to share the same consciousness.” Green was particularly curious about this, always reminding himself of it when he was with Valkyrie Jiji…
“The forms of a heroic spirit are shaped by the summoner’s influence. The Clown Spirit is a bit special; his five forms came about because his previous hosts lacked sufficient power,” Debbie explained.
Some heroic spirits develop multiple forms due to their own nature, like Jiji. Summoning her consumes Debbie’s magic, but as a Valkyrie, essentially a divine security guard, the amount of magic required is immense. Debbie can’t fully sustain her existence.
Thus, Valkyrie Jiji has two forms: Baby and Adult. As Debbie’s power grows, Jiji might even evolve new forms. The Clown Spirit’s situation is even more complex.
The Clown Spirit’s five forms correspond to the five stages of the clown’s life, the original being Debbie’s ancestor, Sako Anduin.
He was a remarkable figure. When he left Clown Town, he was just a clown performer in his late teens, with no training in swordsmanship or magic. At first, he was joyful and simple, hoping his tricks would bring smiles to many. But the harshness of reality struck him repeatedly, and his performances turned from joyful to sorrowful.
Yet, in his sorrow, he didn’t perish. Instead, he erupted, giving rise to the Angry Clown. He gradually mastered power, growing stronger step by step.
In his forties, he gained the ability to absorb magic, becoming the Mad Clown. During this period, he founded the Anduin family, an achievement deemed epic, making the Mad Clown an epic-level heroic spirit.
Establishing a family, especially one with influence, was challenging, but protecting and sustaining its prosperity was even harder. As a new noble family, especially one rooted in clown performances, the Anduin family faced countless threats. Other royals and nobles undoubtedly shunned this peculiar family.
To secure the family’s place in the capital, Sako Anduin tapped into his potential again, reaching the peak of his power in his fifties.
Three hundred years ago, in the Star Empire, Sako Anduin stood at the pinnacle of both power and authority.
At this point, Debbie vividly recounted anecdotes about her family. Three hundred years ago, the Star Empire faced an invasion from the southern Rock Empire, whose people were fierce warriors. They once reached the outskirts of the capital.
At this critical moment of life and death, who turned the tide? It was him, the ancestor of the Anduin family!
(Debbie’s tone while narrating…)
Alone, he charged into the enemy ranks, defeating three great swordmasters of the Rock Empire and severely wounding their commander, forcing their army to retreat. The Rock Empire suffered greatly, its strength weakened, and it never dared invade the Star Empire again. The Anduin family rose to prominence thereafter.
Sako Anduin’s exploits were legendary, and the heroic spirit he became after death was ranked as a legendary spirit.
However, in the three hundred years since Sako’s death, three Anduin descendants had formed contracts with the Clown Spirit, but none could harness its full power. The Clown Spirit gradually split into five forms.
A heroic spirit’s forms are shaped by the summoner. For example, Jiji’s two forms didn’t originally exist but emerged due to Debbie’s influence. If Jiji’s contract with Debbie ended and she bonded with another summoner, those two forms would persist.
As for the legendary Clown Spirit, only a summoner of exceptional skill could fully summon it. Weaker summoners, relying on the Anduin bloodline, could only call forth parts of its power, like Debbie summoning a weakened, miniature Valkyrie Jiji. The Clown Spirit’s previous hosts could only summon fragments of the clown, splitting it into five forms.
As for why the other forms of the Clown Spirit seemed to lack consciousness, it’s because the Horror Clown is the core. The Joyful, Sorrowful, Angry, and Mad forms merely draw on the Horror Clown’s power. Only summoning the Horror Clown form can fully manifest the Clown Spirit’s consciousness.
Since Sako Anduin became a heroic spirit, no one has successfully summoned him. The Horror Clown is the true embodiment of Sako Anduin.
Even Debbie can only vaguely sense the Horror Clown’s capabilities and its terrifying power, unable to summon it. Controlling the Mad Clown is already challenging enough for her.
“So that’s how it works…” Ye Chui, after hearing Debbie’s explanation, frowned in thought but couldn’t quite piece it together.
There’s no doubt that Clown Town’s clown zombies are linked to Debbie’s ancestor. The Anduin family’s Clown Spirit is currently contracted to Debbie, so no one else should be able to summon it. But… could someone summon a portion of the Clown Spirit’s power?
The Joyful Clown, Angry Clown, and others lack much consciousness, while the Horror Clown should possess Sako Anduin’s full consciousness. If the clown zombies were fully possessed by the Horror Clown, they should exhibit Sako’s consciousness. Yet, the townspeople displayed a zombie-like lack of awareness, suggesting they were only borrowing Sako’s power, not embodying his core.
“President, look at this clown…” Green’s surprised voice suddenly rang in Ye Chui’s ear. His tone was full of astonishment as he pointed at the clown zombie they had captured, still in the center of the room.
Ye Chui looked over, his expression shifting slightly.
The clown zombie had changed…
…
Meanwhile, high in the mountains near Clown Town.
Clown Town was built against the mountain, riddled with mine shafts. In one of these shafts, flashes of light flickered.
The light came from a brazier.
Beside the brazier stood a tall girl in a deep red robe, her face covered by a somewhat comical yet terrifying clown mask. The mask was worn, its white paint peeling, turning what should have been a joyful mask into something eerie. Wearing it, the girl danced a mysterious dance by the brazier.
Her shadow, cast by the brazier’s light onto the stone walls, flickered like a host of dancing demons.
Through the mask’s eye holes, a pair of striking green eyes was visible. This tall girl was the clown girl who had appeared in Ganglu City earlier!
Clearly, Clown Town’s clown zombies were deeply connected to her.
She soon stopped, slightly breathless, and walked to the cave entrance, which overlooked the entire town. Removing her mask, she revealed a cold, beautiful face.
“Sako Anduin’s mask. With this mask and my summoner talent, I can summon a portion of Sako Anduin’s power. Unfortunately, I can’t fully contract with Sako Anduin. If I could obtain the complete Sako Anduin and summon the Horror Clown, I’d have the power to resist an entire nation’s invasion…”
She murmured coldly, her eyes fixed on a certain part of the town where shadowy figures moved. It was the mayor’s house, surrounded by over a hundred clown zombies trapping Ye Chui’s group.
A cold smile crept onto the clown girl’s lips.
“You’re indeed powerful, but you have a glaring weakness… one no one pays attention to.”
“You’re good people.”
“Good people won’t kill innocent, controlled residents. Good people won’t abandon these innocent residents to die. So, you’ll only end up being killed by them.”
Her eyes glinted with cold light.
But then, she sensed something amiss.
“Hm?”
…
Inside the house surrounded by clown zombies, Ye Chui was shocked to notice the change in the captured clown zombie: it had stopped struggling.
Its previously vacant eyes now showed a spark of life, fixed on… the Joyful Clown, who had been summoned by Debbie and left to perform endlessly in the corner!
It seemed captivated by the Joyful Clown’s performance?
Debbie, Reisha, and the others quickly noticed this too, and an idea struck them. “Could it be…”
“Could the Joyful Clown’s performance be suppressing the clown zombies?” Ye Chui said in disbelief.
Watching the Joyful Clown’s performance could calm the clown zombies!?
What kind of logic was this?
