Chapter 150: You Can’t Leave Without Watching Three Shows, but Staying…

Although the room was filled with applause, the Maiden and several Bandits were shocked by what they had just witnessed…

A person who seemed to have already died had, right before their eyes… mutated into a crow?!

“Caw, caw, caw…”

At this moment, the woman who had mutated into a crow showed no intention of attacking anyone.

She merely shook the feathers on her body, turned clumsily in place, and circled once.

After seemingly adapting to her surroundings, her black eyes—which were even larger than a human head—slowly turned toward Reliel.

This sudden stare… made Miss Younger Sister instantly feel a surge of danger.

She instinctively… gripped the Sword Hilt at her waist.

But the Crow Woman showed no sign of taking any further action. For some reason, she even lowered her head toward Reliel in front of her.

Then, backing away and turning, she walked up onto the Stage… and, under the guidance of the smiling Host, slipped into the Backstage Curtain.

As for the Male Actor, it seemed that the moment the stage lights faded, he too disappeared into the darkness.

Rustle…

The applause on stage lingered, but at this moment, Holly—still in a daze—noticed something.

On the seats across the Aisle, several people were scratching at their own faces.

It was as if their faces were unbearably itchy…

“Well then~ Thanks to our two dancers for their performance. Next, please enjoy our next act~ Also a big star of our Circus! The Bamboo Clown!”

With the Host’s announcement, the stage lights became brighter than before.

But Holly did not, like the others, look toward the newly appeared clown.

If she had seen that clown, she would have exclaimed in surprise…

Because… that clown from that night—it was him!

Holly was now focusing all her attention on the… or rather, those few Audience members who were ceaselessly scratching their faces.

Gradually… she noticed that the shadows on these people’s faces seemed much darker than those of others!

Or rather… they seemed darker in tone than everyone else.

This was odd. She quickly nudged Reliel, who was still pondering what had just happened, and hurriedly shared her discovery.

Darker? Reliel turned her head…

Sure enough, she saw several people scratching relentlessly at their faces.

And… in less than ten seconds, those sitting beside them also started scratching their faces.

It was as if this itching was contagious.

But beyond that…

With her sharper gaze, Reliel gradually discovered that these people’s faces weren’t just dark.

Instead… a layer of black, downy fluff was growing on their faces!

These tufts of fluff were growing at an alarming rate, becoming visible to the naked eye!

And the more she looked… the more it resembled the feathers that had sprouted on the Crow Woman just moments ago.

Even the usually calm and composed Reliel was a little shocked by this discovery.

And it wasn’t just her—Holly’s warning had also been overheard by several Bandits up front.

They, too, looked at those people scratching their faces, quickly connecting the dots.

The face scratching was because hair was growing on their faces…

“This… this thing… could it be some sort of Epidemic?!”

A Bandit asked in a trembling voice.

But no one answered him.

Because what everyone feared most now… was an answer.

These Bandits remained seated here… because Reliel and the other Maidens had not moved.

And the reason Reliel did not move… was because of the hint she had seen outside just now.

They had to watch at least three performances.

If they tried to force their way out before the three performances were over… Reliel truly had no idea what would happen.

But if they followed the hint and watched all three shows…

They would definitely catch this… Epidemic that made black hair grow on their faces!

What… choice should they make?

Instinctively, Reliel glanced around, trying to spot Ileya among the crowd!

At that moment, she herself didn’t even realize it… but as the second most capable person in the Mercenary Company after Father, the first thing she thought to do in the face of trouble… was to look for Ileya.

Scratch, scratch, scratch…

More and more people were scratching at their faces, and they even saw someone scratch and scratch… until he literally tore off a piece of his own facial skin.

Plop…

That chunk of flesh fell to the floor, and beneath the blood-red flesh where the skin had come away… countless writhing black tufts of fluff could be seen!

This stuff wasn’t even growing under the skin, but from even deeper within…

“Uh… uahhh!! Out of the way… let me out!”

At last, one Bandit could no longer bear the terror!

His face was streaked with snot and tears; without caring for anyone else, he stepped right onto the back of a seat and bolted for the exit!

“Hey!”

Black Wolf and Holly both wanted to stop him, but his survival instinct was too strong… he sprang up and rushed straight for the door!

“Graaah——!!”

Before anyone could pull him back… a giant crow suddenly lunged out from the shadows!

No… with that size, it couldn’t be called a crow!

It had to be some kind of crow-like monster, or perhaps… just now… a mutated monster that had once been human!

The monster’s gaping beak opened wide! But inside, it looked nothing like the smooth beak of an ordinary bird… instead, it was filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth!

“Ah——!!!”

Everything happened so fast! And the Bandit, in leaping toward the exit, practically threw himself right into the monster’s maw!

He dove straight into the crow’s mouth!

A grisly crunch echoed—the Bandit was bitten in two.

Thud… half his body fell to the floor, blood trickling down the steps.

Yet everyone nearby—except for Reliel and the Bandit gang—acted as if they hadn’t seen a thing.

That massive crow which had sprung from the shadows used its toothed beak to scoop up the remains and gulped it down in one bite.

Then its form gradually faded… until it disappeared completely.

At last, everyone understood.

That thing had been inside the tent all along.

It had merely hidden itself… making it invisible to the naked eye.

“What do we do? What should we do…”

The other Bandits, staring at their companion’s tragic end, went pale and muttered to themselves.

And the answer was… there was nothing they could do.

Among everyone present… even the strongest, Reliel, stood no chance against that monster…

As for fighting together… perhaps if the Mercenary Company were here and could coordinate well, but this bunch of Bandits and a half-trained Holy Sword Bearer… there was no hope at all.

Besides…

There might not be just one such monster.

Step, step, step…

Just as Reliel was deep in thought, the skinny clown with a triangular, pointed face was already stepping down from the Stage.

Slowly, he walked up to the group.

He kept tossing a ball in his hand, his pair of dead-fish, pallid eyes staring unblinkingly at Reliel sitting among the seats…

“Re… Reliel sis… is he looking at you?”

Holly held back the urge to draw the Holy Sword, and in a tense, hushed voice… reminded her.