Jester began walking away with a twisted psycho smile stretched across his face. It appeared as though it existed for only one purpose.
And that purpose was to erase the conflict inside him caused by that mysterious scene.
Yes, Jester could feel some of his emotions rebelling within him.
Some carried sorrow, hate, and hollowness for that unburned tarot card.
And since his true nature refused to indulge in those emotions, his psychotic brain chose only to destroy them and create a new fantasy so that his actions would not make him emotionally unstable.
That was why he was neither happy nor sad now. He only felt bored because his brain had started erasing every feeling he experienced after killing both of his parents.
That was also why he felt guilty for delaying their departure plan, because he had been doing many terrible things that excited him greatly.
And that was probably why the number of dogs in the area had decreased significantly.
But now, after Velmoro convinced him to begin the plan, he felt sad about burning his favorite place.
One of the things Jester enjoyed doing there was selling dog meat while pretending it was monster meat. Those dogs survived by eating their own filth and devouring each other, all because he kept them alive for another day.
After wandering for thirty minutes, Jester asked a question that interrupted their walk.
"When will the others wake up, Volmo?"
"That depends on your efficiency, Jester."
"Oh, then let them rot there."
"I am too lazy for that."
"But what about our promise about Clownism?"
Jester jumped excitedly as he remembered that promise, then murmured in a satisfied tone,
"It's going to be so much fun seeing them again."
Velmoro gave him a sideways glance as if he was about to motivate him.
"Also, if you really want to enjoy things more, little J, you'll need to awaken your blessing."
"What's that?"
"Your blessing," Velmoro said with a grin. "Something that will give you power and make the fun even crazier."
"Oh, I hope it's something cool."
"Do you still have the knife with you, Jester?"
"Yeah. It's with me."
"Good. You will need it a lot since we are about to go to the church."
Jester tilted his head.
"Why? Is there fun waiting for us there?"
Velmoro did not answer. He simply turned and continued walking while his shadowy body passed through everything around him.
The only reason Velmoro had managed to kill that tarot was because she had broken a rule within the Clown Realm.
Other than that, Velmoro could not use his body like a real physical body.
Jester and Velmoro increased their pace as they trudged through the fog drenched and muddy streets.
The air of the city pierced their lungs. It was thick with rot and smoke, making every breath feel heavy and disgusting.
But that was simply how life was in Viremoor City.
You had to adapt to everything if you wanted to survive.
Thud!
Crack!
The sound of consecutive blows stopped their steps.
Jester turned toward the noise as his curiosity got the better of him.
Ahead stood a family of three: a father, a mother, and a little girl around twelve years old, the same age as Jester.
"Why did you cheat on me?!"
The voice belonged to a man who was roaring at a woman.
"You didn't care about food. You left us with nothing. This city has no jobs. I had to protect myself and my child."
He slammed his fists into both the woman and the girl. Their faces were swollen, their eyes puffy, and blood dripped from their split lips.
Velmoro remained silent.
Jester grinned happily as one of his favorite forms of entertainment appeared before him to erase his boredom. In his mind, it felt like God had personally sent him a free show.
"Let's watch. They seem too happy. It wouldn't hurt to let them share some of that happiness with me, especially since I'm experienced at solving family problems."
"Yeah," Velmoro chuckled as a memory surfaced in his mind. "You were the reason behind thirty divorce cases in the village."
"Hahahaha! Man, I only sped up the family separation process."
"What the hell are you laughing at, you bastard?!" the man shouted, interrupting Jester's conversation with Velmoro.
Jester slowly turned toward him, his smile stretching unnaturally wide while his eyes gleamed like cracked porcelain.
"Oh… my little victim," he whispered. "I just remembered a very good joke. Want to hear it, bro?"
"What are you talking about, kid?"
"Go play somewhere else. You shouldn't interfere in family matters."
"You are right, old man," Jester said as a devilish smile spread across his face. "I shouldn't put another green hat on you since you already wear a crown."
"HAAAAAAAAHAHAHA!"
Jester burst into laughter as tears streamed down his face, though he quickly wiped them away before looking back at the man.
"You think that's funny, kid?!"
"Nah, old man. You're right. It's not funny. There's nothing funny about seeing a homeless drunk beating his wife and child while I don't even have popcorn."
"Oh wait, I may have left the popcorn in your house too, since it already became a public bathroom."
"Haaaaa... haaaaa..."
The man's face twisted in rage as veins bulged across his temples.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
The man lunged at him.
Jester dodged instantly, his knife already in his hand.
With one slash, three of the man's fingers hit the ground as blood sprayed from the wounds. Another slash tore across his neck, sending him collapsing onto the muddy street.
"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
The woman screamed as she threw herself in front of her husband desperately, trying to shield him from the knife.
Jester did not even blink at her desperate act.
But suddenly, a creative idea appeared in his mind.
He turned toward the woman as though making a deal.
"Remove your clothes, stand naked in front of me, and turn your back toward me. If you do that, I'll let your husband survive... oh, sorry, I mean your ex husband, since you'll become a widow in six minutes."
"Don't do it, Liza. Just let me die."
The woman slowly removed her clothes and turned her back toward Jester, waiting for him to do whatever he wanted.
But suddenly, Jester grabbed her by the hair and spoke gently.
"Cheap products."
"My dear beloved public bathroom, I am an innocent man. I do not like using second hand products... oh, I mean multi handed products."
"You are already expired."
Thud!
"LIZAAAAAA!"
Liza's neck was cut nearly in half as she collapsed beside her husband. Tears of pain streamed down both of their faces.
"Aww... don't cry. You'll ruin the floor."
"You should save your energy to say something romantic before I turn both of you into fertilizer for soil and rat food."
Jester stepped back a few paces and formed finger guns with both hands, creating a perfect frame to admire his masterpiece.
"Hmmm... that's a six out of ten."
"There's something missing."
"Oh, I found it."
Jester tossed his knife toward the little girl.
Then he looked at her.
"You can save one of them."
"Choose wisely."
The little girl picked up the knife.
With hollow eyes, she walked toward her parents and killed her mother first, then her father.
It was obvious her mother had been using her daughter as a source of money by offering her to older men.
As Jester started approaching her, the little girl stabbed herself.
She no longer had any reason to live.
Everything she had was already destroyed.
Jester used his knife to carve three smiling faces onto the corpses before stepping back once again to admire the image.
The scene looked like a broken family portrait. It resembled a little girl embracing the severed heads of her parents while a knife pierced through her bleeding heart.
The carved smiling faces looked like the signature of a mad artist proudly marking his masterpiece.
A masterpiece painted between love and hate.
"That's an eight out of ten."
"I would like to call it 'Family Bonding,'" he muttered while staring at the scene with admiration.
"Da Vinci isn't dead. It's just that I am still alive and painting."
"Nah, that's not good."
"Da Vinci retired because he knew I was about to be born, so he avoided being humiliated by me."
"Who is Da Vinci?" Velmoro asked curiously.
"I don't know who he is," Jester replied.
"I just thought the name sounded cool, so I used it."
"Do you know, Velmoro...
Humans always have two eyes.
One that sees the truth.
And another that chooses to look away.
Do you know why the other one looked away?
Because it saw me.
Jester.
The absolute truth of their miserable lives."
As Velmoro listened to Jester's words, a sudden sense of fear slowly crept into him as Jester began revealing fragments of his true self.
Do you know why Velmoro never spoke while Jester was in that state?
Because during those moments, even Velmoro could no longer see Jester as a friend.
Anyone who tried to interrupt Jester while he entered his flow state would instantly be treated as an enemy.
That was why even Velmoro didn't dare interfere.
Jester calmly pulled out a small tube he carried with him and collected the blood of all three victims.
Then he left with Velmoro as the two of them vanished into the foggy streets.