grew heavier… louder… more suffocating.
The sound alone felt like it was crushing their minds.
"Aahh…!"
"Aahh…!"
"AAHH…!!"
Knights collapsed to the ground.
Their veins bulged violently across their foreheads.
Their eyes widened unnaturally, almost popping out.
Their screams echoed everywhere.
Medusa's condition wasn't much better.
But he forced himself to endure.
"No… no… no…"
"If this continues… none of us will survive…"
Suddenly—
The sound stopped.
The cracking stopped.
Silence swallowed everything.
The battlefield froze again.
The knights, who were on the verge of losing control, suddenly felt relief—
As if a massive weight had been lifted off their minds.
Medusa forced himself to stand.
His body trembled, but he pushed forward.
"I have to… finish this… now…!"
Before he could move—
BOOM—!!
The cocoon burst open from the inside.
A long, black arm tore through it.
It was covered in thick, coarse hair.
Fragments of the cocoon scattered everywhere.
Moments later—
A second arm ripped out.
With a powerful roar—
The creature shattered the entire cocoon.
"UHHHHAAAHHH—!!"
"CRACK—!!"
"CRASH—!!"
The cocoon exploded into pieces.
Standing there…
Was a monster.
It looked like a massive wolf-like beast.
Its back was hunched downward.
Its body—once torn apart—was now completely regenerated.
It looked… reborn.
Stronger.
More terrifying.
The remaining monsters across the battlefield suddenly regained awareness.
Their bodies began swelling… growing larger.
The knights who were about to finish them froze in place.
"What… is happening to them…?"
The monsters turned their blood-red eyes toward the knights.
Saliva dripped from their mouths.
Before the knights could react—
Slash.
Their heads separated from their bodies instantly.
Not far from there—
A clown was running through the streets.
With him were several small children and elderly people—
People who had been denied space in the bunkers.
The monster's gaze shifted toward them.
The clown noticed—
And immediately started running faster.
"W-what… hurry…! Run…!! Get out of here…!!"
He pushed them forward.
Behind them—
The monster followed.
"AHHH…!"
"AHHH…!"
They reached a bunker gate.
The clown slammed his fists against it.
"Open the gate!! Hurry!! Open it!!"
No response.
No movement.
No one came.
Without wasting time—
He turned and ran again.
He led them to another place—
An underground shelter.
A small one.
"Here…! This is good…! Hurry, get inside…!!"
The children and elderly rushed in.
Their eyes were filled with tears—
But none of them cried out loud.
The clown struggled to open the rusted gate.
"Uhhh…!"
"Uhhh…!"
It barely moved.
With one final push—
It opened.
He quickly sent everyone inside.
But then—
He realized something.
There was no space left.
"…There's no room…"
"I… can't push anyone out…"
He looked at them.
Then spoke softly—
"Lock the gate from inside…"
"I'll go somewhere else…"
"There's another bunker for me…"
The children started crying.
"No… please… stay with us…!"
He looked at them—
Then slowly nodded.
And turned away.
The gate closed behind him.
The sound of children crying echoed from inside.
The clown walked away—
Tears falling from his eyes.
Then—
The monster appeared in front of him.
He froze for a second—
Then ran.
But it was useless.
The monster leapt onto him.
Its jaws opened—
And—
Blood sprayed into the air.
In his final moments…
Memories flooded his mind.
A lonely life on the streets.
No food.
No home.
Surviving on scraps thrown away by others.
Until one day—
Someone spoke to him.
"What are you doing here…?"
"Come with me…"
"I'll give you work…"
He hesitated.
But hunger forced him to follow.
That man gave him clothes.
A place.
A family.
Many children like him lived there.
No one knew the man's real name.
They all called him—
Great Uncle.
He took them to shows.
Taught them magic tricks.
"Tell me… what will come out of this?"
"Pigeon…!!" the children shouted.
He lifted the cloth—
"Correct answer!"
White pigeons filled the sky.
Feathers drifted down gently.
The clown smiled faintly.
That was the first time.
He became a clown in those shows.
At first, it was hard.
But Great Uncle taught him everything.
One day, he showed him a costume.
"This… was my first costume…"
"Now it's yours."
"But remember…"
"Once you wear it…"
"Never cry."
"Always make others smile."
Everything was going well.
Until that day.
Great Uncle left the city for a big show.
He never came back.
Killed by monsters before reaching there.
They didn't even know…
Until the knights came.
Everyone cried.
But he didn't.
"Why… can't I cry…?"
Even now—he didn't know the answer.
Rain fell the entire day during the funeral.
As if the sky itself was mourning.
Slowly… everyone left.
He was alone again.
That night—
He opened the closet.
Looked at the clown costume.
And smiled.
"Great Uncle… I'll fulfill your dream…"
From that day—
He lived for others.
Helping poor children.
Making them smile.
Even when he had nothing.
Even when he couldn't help enough.
Regret always remained.
Then one day—
He finally got a chance.
A big opportunity.
He thought everything would change.
But the moment he stepped out—
The city was already in chaos.
"I couldn't do anything…"
"Not a good son…"
"Not a good helper…"
The monster tore into his flesh.
Blood spread everywhere.
But his face—
Had no pain.
Only regret.
His eyes slowly closed.
And in front of him—
He saw Great Uncle's silhouette.
The clown smiled.
And closed his eyes forever.