Silence lasted only a second.
Ryan stood motionless before Justin and Jack.
The thousands of faces covering his suit continued laughing in a sickening rhythm.
The twins' black eyes never left him.
Then the Entity spoke.
The same ancient voice emerged from both mouths at once.
—You've learned more than I expected.
Ryan inclined his head slightly.
—Thank you.
It has been a rather productive night.
The Entity ignored the remark.
Instead, an overwhelming pressure flooded the warehouse.
The purple energy surged once more... and kept growing.
The walls cracked.
The pillars trembled.
The ground shook beneath their feet.
Ryan watched the phenomenon carefully.
—Interesting...
Justin and Jack clenched their fists.
Their muscles swelled.
Purple veins bulged beneath their skin.
Their breathing grew heavy.
Ryan understood immediately.
The Entity was sending them even more power.
The twins' wounds began to heal slowly.
Broken bones cracked back into place.
The blood stopped flowing.
Justin smiled.
That smile was no longer entirely his own.
Jack raised his head.
The two of them spoke in perfect unison.
—We're not...
—Finished yet.
BOOM.
A massive eruption of purple energy shattered the roof.
Chunks of concrete rained down.
Ryan did not step back.
He did not raise a barrier.
He simply smiled.
—That's exactly what I was hoping for.
Justin vanished.
Ryan vanished as well.
They collided in midair.
The shockwave ripped the remaining windows from the building.
Justin unleashed a relentless barrage of punches.
Ryan answered every single one.
Punch.
Block.
Hook.
Knee.
Elbow.
Kick.
Each impact thundered through the warehouse.
Jack descended from above.
Ryan spun and drove a kick into his chest.
CRACK.
Jack was sent flying.
Justin seized the opening and struck the Clown across the face.
Ryan's head snapped sideways.
Blood.
Ryan smiled.
He grabbed Justin's arm and hurled him into the ground.
Concrete exploded.
Jack appeared behind him.
Ryan opened a spatial portal.
Jack's punch passed through it...
...and emerged from another portal, crashing directly into Justin.
The twins staggered back in surprise.
Ryan closed the portal.
—Thank you for the loan.
He raised one hand.
Dozens of magic circles appeared throughout the warehouse.
Illusions began to materialize.
One.
Five.
Ten.
Fifty.
A hundred.
Two hundred...
Soon, the warehouse was filled with Clowns once again.
But this time...
It was different.
Each illusion carried a torch of black fire.
Others had their arms wrapped in black-and-blue lightning.
Justin stared at the army.
—Again...
Ryan slowly shook his head.
—No.
—This time, they're actually participating.
The illusions raised their hands.
Thousands of streams of black fire streaked through the air.
Jack raised a barrier.
The flames slammed into it.
The shield trembled violently.
Before either twin could recover...
Thousands of bolts of lightning descended simultaneously.
CRACK.
BOOM.
Electricity detonated against the purple barrier.
Justin felt his legs sink into the ground.
Jack growled.
The barrier was beginning to fracture.
Ryan disappeared and reappeared directly before Jack.
A punch.
Jack blocked it.
—Too slow, —Ryan said.
Knee.
Elbow.
Spinning kick.
Jack was launched backward.
Justin charged with a roar.
Ryan drew two rune-engraved daggers from his Storage Space.
The battle became a blur.
Every clash showered sparks.
Every slash met purple energy.
Every strike forced Justin backward.
Ryan vanished.
Reappeared behind him.
A slash.
Blood.
Justin roared and spun around...
But Ryan was already gone.
Jack rushed to intervene.
Three illusory Clowns surrounded him.
Fire.
Lightning.
A cloud of black smoke.
Jack burst through the flames...
...and Ryan emerged from within the smoke.
A magic-enhanced punch drove into Jack's abdomen.
Jack coughed up blood.
Ryan gave him no chance to recover.
Kick.
Another kick.
An elbow.
Jack crashed into a pillar, bringing part of the structure down.
Justin attacked once more.
Five illusions blocked his path.
He tore through them...
Each one exploded.
Fire.
Lightning.
Darkness.
Smoke swallowed the warehouse.
Ryan walked slowly through the haze.
His voice echoed from every direction.
—The performance is nearing its end.
The Entity remained silent.
Ryan continued forward.
The illusions never stopped attacking.
Flames.
Lightning.
Explosions.
For the first time...
The twins were being overwhelmed.
When the Entity finally spoke again...
Its voice had changed.
It sounded weaker.
As though every word required tremendous effort.
Ryan noticed immediately.
—You're getting tired.
Several long seconds passed.
At last, the Entity answered.
—Yes...
The purple energy began to fade.
—We will meet again.
—When I am ready.
—Until then...
—Enjoy this final exchange of words, Clown.
Justin's and Jack's black eyes slowly returned to their natural color.
The ancient voice faded away.
—Until next time.
The supernatural pressure vanished completely.
Ryan remained motionless for a few seconds.
Then he slowly applauded.
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
—Until next time.
—I will be waiting.
The Entity's presence disappeared.
Justin breathed heavily.
Jack dropped to one knee.
Both slowly raised their heads.
No ancient voice remained.
Only the two of them.
Ryan looked at them and smiled.
—Now...
—We can finish this without interruptions.
Justin spat blood.
Even so, he smiled.
—We don't need Him to fight for us.
Jack stood back up.
—We are enough.
Ryan burst into laughter.
Thousands of voices laughed with him.
—I certainly hope so.
He raised one hand.
More magic circles opened across the air.
This time, there weren't hundreds.
There were thousands.
The warehouse became covered in glowing magical symbols.
The illusory Clowns returned.
One after another...
Dozens...
Hundreds...
Thousands.
Each held black fire in one hand.
Crackling lightning danced in the other.
Every single one turned toward the twins.
Every single one smiled.
Ryan spread his arms.
His voice—formed from thousands of overlapping voices—filled the warehouse.
—Ladies and gentlemen...
—The guest of honor has just left the performance.
He bowed theatrically.
—Which means the stage now belongs solely to the actors.
Justin and Jack assumed fighting stances.
Ryan stepped forward.
Thousands of Clowns mirrored the exact same movement.
Black flames illuminated the ruins.
Lightning arced between the illusions like a living storm.
Ryan extended a finger toward the twins.
—Attack.
The command fell like the final curtain of a play.
Thousands of Clowns charged as one.
Black fire flooded the warehouse.
Lightning rained down from every direction.
And amid that storm of magic and destruction...
Ryan vanished once more.
The real battle...
Was only just beginning.