When Neo hears what the announcer says, a grin creeps onto his face. If this is a black-market auction filled with criminal figures, then there's a good chance someone connected to the Kingpin is here.
With that in mind, he remains seated inside the cage, quietly running his plan over and over in his head to make sure nothing slips his mind.
Meanwhile, George is whispering his own plan to the frightened children still inside the cage.
George: "Listen, I have a hairpin, and I can use it to pick the lock and get everyone out. The problem is, I don't know how long we have before someone notices what I'm doing, so I'll need everyone's help."
After rehearsing his plan multiple times in his head, George finally gets to work. Once a guard walks past the cage, he quickly pulls out the hairpin and starts picking the lock.
He fails twice—his hands trembling slightly—but on the third attempt, click, the lock pops open.
George scans the area to make sure no one is watching. Once he's certain the coast is clear, he carefully pushes open the cage door. The children step out one by one, moving as silently as possible.
Neo blends in among them. Sticking close to George will only make things easier for his own plan.
George wastes no time. He rushes to the other cages, freeing more prisoners. Unfortunately, the mutants wear collars that suppress their abilities, making them almost useless in a fight.
When all the cages are finally open, George gathers everyone and hurriedly explains his escape plan.
The response?
No one likes it.
Most people think it's a terrible idea.
But with no other option, they have no choice but to go along with it.
George's plan is reckless and highly dangerous, but it's their best shot. He splits everyone into groups of up to ten people, forming a total of ten groups.
The idea is simple: scatter and run.
By spreading out, they increase the chances that at least some will escape. If they move as one large group, they'll be easy to track, and the guards will have the advantage in firepower.
With the plan set in motion, the groups separate and run in different directions through the circus.
Five minutes later, the alarms start blaring.
Neo chose to stay in George's group, curious to see how far this guy would actually get.
Not that it really mattered—none of them were going to escape.
They didn't realize it yet, but the entire area was surrounded by guards and security.
Simply put, there was no way out.
Unless George had a hidden Cursed Technique up his sleeve, escape was impossible. But from what Neo had observed, that was highly unlikely.
George and his group sprint south, heading toward an area where he believes they have a better chance of escaping.
Not because of any concrete information—just a gut feeling.
But luck isn't on their side.
As they round a corner, they run straight into a guard.
The man doesn't hesitate.
He raises his gun and immediately opens fire.
No warnings. No questions. Just bullets.
Neo finds this odd, but doesn't dwell on it. He simply starts running with the group, knowing full well that most of them will either be injured or killed.
Realizing this, he subtly uses his ability—sending out tiny, precise slashes to deflect the bullets just enough to keep the group alive.
It requires concentration, though.
And in that brief moment of distraction—
Neo crashes into a crate and tumbles to the ground.
When Neo falls, he is just about to stop pretending and start his massacre, but George notices him and quickly runs over to help him up, shouting:
George: Come on, get up! Hurry, he's coming!
Seeing this, Neo grows curious—he now wants to see what fate has in store for George. So, he quickly gets up and follows him again.
After running for a while, they manage to shake off the guard and end up in a hidden alley behind a pile of crates.
After some time, they start hearing gunfire from all directions, and it becomes clear to everyone that they are in a terrible situation.
George begins to panic slowly as he realizes just how badly he has condemned everyone here.
The more he thinks about it, the more he understands the weight of his mistake, and regret starts consuming him.
He is about to give up and do something reckless when he notices something—if all the guards left their posts, that means the gates are unguarded, leaving a chance for them to escape.
With this idea in mind, George quickly tells the group. They think it's a decent plan, but they are still hesitant.
But as they take a moment to assess their options, they realize they don't really have any other choice. So, despite how the last plan turned out, they quickly agree to go along with George's new idea.
Seeing everyone accept it, George feels relieved and starts moving out of the hiding spot, signaling the group to follow him.
Neo, who had been silently observing everything, finds it increasingly fascinating that no one in the group has complained yet, especially since there are some adults among them.
He was fully expecting to hear something like, "Aren't you too young for this?" or "Shut up, brat! You barely got out of diapers, and you think you can give me orders?"
But Neo believes that everyone is so terrified and desperate that they don't even care who's giving the orders or coming up with the ideas.
The group quickly starts running south again, as George still believes that's the right direction—their key to escape.
Along the way, Neo starts preparing to intervene and begin the slaughter. Why? You might be wondering. The answer is simple—they are running straight into the guards.
Which means they are going to fail this escape attempt, but this time, everyone will die without a chance to fight back.
Or at least, that's what would happen if Neo weren't among them. Still, maybe he'll let someone get hurt just to show George that the world never goes as expected.
After running a bit longer, they finally spot an open gate, followed by a tall fence.
The moment everyone sees it, they break into wide smiles. Some nearly cry out in joy, realizing they're finally about to leave this cursed place.
But just as the first person is about to step through the gate, a gunshot echoes.
A bullet tears through their knee, and they collapse to the ground.
Before Neo can react, another shot follows, hitting the man in the head and killing him instantly.
Neo is caught off guard. He had assumed the captors would avoid killing too many of their "merchandise" since they were planning to sell everyone.
Now, the real problem is that the guards will likely start firing indiscriminately, and there's no way Neo can protect the entire group from multiple shooters.
Then, just as Neo is about to use Fuga to create an opening for the group to escape, the guards suddenly surround them, aiming their weapons at each of them.
A man dressed as a jester, wearing a mask that resembles some kind of octopus, steps forward and begins to speak.
???: "Well, well, look what we have here… ten little cockroaches."
The strange man, completely unfazed by his bizarre appearance, gazes at the group with clear disdain while toying with a golden coin in his hand.
The sight of him alone is enough to make everyone—except Neo—tremble uncontrollably. The weaker ones, particularly the children, collapse to their knees or even wet themselves in sheer terror.
Neo instantly understands the situation. The jester in front of them is a sorcerer.
He's leaking Cursed Energy to intimidate them.
Unfortunately for him, Neo isn't intimidated in the slightest.
Meanwhile, George is trembling slightly, though he doesn't quite understand why. The aura surrounding the jester is terrifying—it feels as if it could tear him apart at any moment.
Noticing George's reaction, the jester seems to grin behind his mask and speaks directly to him, standing at the front of the group.
Jester: "Well, well, what do we have here? A Cursed Energy user? Now that is much more valuable than a normal person."
Hearing that, George's face twists with rage, and he finally snaps, shouting at the jester.
George: "SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU SON OF A BITCH! WE ARE NOT OBJECTS TO BE SOLD!!!"
George's voice erupts with such intensity that it sends powerful sound waves crashing forward.
The sheer force knocks the guards in front of him to the ground, some of them bleeding from their ears and even their eyes.
Both the jester and Neo are caught off guard.
Neither of them expected George to suddenly unleash an innate technique.
The jester is hit directly, suffering unexpected damage from the sonic attack.
Even those standing next to George suffer injuries to their eardrums from the blast.
But, unfortunately, the strain of using his technique is immense.
George collapses to his knees, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
Neo instantly understands—George's technique severely damages his vocal cords.
To Neo, it's almost like the Inumaki Clan's Cursed Speech from Jujutsu Kaisen, but with a different focus.
Instead of suppression and control, George's ability seems designed purely for destruction.
George is barely conscious from the pain, teetering on the edge of unconsciousness.
But worse than the pain is the overwhelming guilt.
He led everyone into this.
And now, he's condemned them all to death.
Just as he's about to break down and apologize, Neo realizes it's time to drop the act.
Before things spiral any further, he needs to end this.
Without hesitation, he begins walking toward the jester, who is still recovering from George's attack.
The remaining guards immediately point their weapons at Neo, stopping him in his tracks.
Seeing this, Neo halts just a few steps away from the jester, watching him patiently as he regains his composure.
It takes only a minute for the jester to stand back up and speak again.
The moment he does, his mask shifts—forming a twisted, irritated expression.
Jester: "What the hell do you think you're doing, you little shit? Get back with your group, or I'll have them turn you into a damn pincushion!"
There's an unmistakable hint of madness in his voice as he barks the order.
The guards immediately follow his command, aiming their weapons at Neo without hesitation.
But before the jester can say another word, Neo speaks first.
Neo: "Have you ever been split in half before?"
The jester hesitates, confused.
Then, suddenly—
His instincts scream at him.
Without thinking, he drops to his knees.
SLASH!
A sharp, piercing sound of something being sliced apart fills the air.
The eerie noise alone sends a shiver down the spines of the escaping prisoners.
Slowly, the jester lifts his head.
His eyes meet a pair of glowing, blood-red irises.
A wide, unnerving smile stretches across Neo's face—a grin so sharp and unnatural it exudes sheer, sadistic delight.
Something feels wrong.
The jester turns to check on the guards—
Only to find them all standing completely still.
But they're not just standing still.
Their bodies have been split in half.
Each one remains upright, their torsos eerily balanced on their legs, as if frozen in a grotesque ritual.
Then, Neo speaks again.
His words send a deep, paralyzing fear through the jester's very core.
Neo: "Welcome to my circus of terror, clown… and you're the first act."
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