“That won’t be enough to———me. You’re simply not strong enough.”

“Huh?”

Murder Pierrot spoke so softly that I could hardly hear what was being said!

“You have to———no one can stand up to you. Otherwise, you’ll be destroyed by other———. You shouldn’t be struggling against someone like me.”

What was this clown going on about?

“I’ve fought enough to earn my pay. Truthfully———fight———th. Eventually——ssshhsssaa . . .”

Was it just me or was I hearing static again? I kept hearing crackling and hissing noises when this clown was talking to us.

“You have to work harder, or you’ll die.”

I heard Murder Pierrot clearly that time. And then, after waving to me, there was a small explosion and Murder Pierrot disappeared, leaving behind a cloud of smoke.

So . . . a ninja? It was pretty much exactly how you would expect a ninja to disappear. At the same time, the thread that had been strewn out all over the arena disappeared, too, along with the puppets that Filo had been fighting.

“What the hell was that?!”

Not only did I have no idea who she had been, but the way she talked made it sound like she had been testing us. And then she just up and disappeared.

“Murder Pierrot has vanished! We have a winner! Rock Valley’s Party and Nadiaaaaaaa!”

What started out as just a few spectators clapping here and there quickly turned into a roar of cheers and applause. I guess they didn’t actually care which side won in the end.

“We did it, little Rock.”

“We won!”

“Filo wiiiins!”

“You mean Humming!”

I scolded Filo and all she had to say was “whoops!” Jeez . . . It was just in one ear and out the other with that bird!

“But . . . what was that? That Murder Pierrot freak . . . When did she even switch places in the first place?”

“When the cocoon was formed, I’m guessing. Something about it just didn’t feel right, you know?”

“But she hid it super-duper good, right! Soooo, it wasn’t magic, then?”

I had a feeling Sadeena and Filo were right. As far as I could tell, continuing the fight shouldn’t have been a problem, but it was as if our opponent had achieved what she came for and just left. And that was after telling us we needed to get stronger . . .

I wasn’t sure if Murder Pierrot was supposed to be our enemy or an ally. But no . . . Ally wasn’t right. This was just a hunch, but there was something eerie about it all. It felt similar to when I first encountered Glass. I’d have to ask about that weird weapon next time we met.

But right now, we had to prioritize Raphtalia’s fellow villagers. We waved as if to announce our victory and then quickly headed back to the contestants’ waiting room.

Chapter Nineteen: Big Shots of the Underground

Chapter Nineteen: Big Shots of the Underground