Carnival

Yan stared at the salivating creatures, completely unfazed. She focused on Alpha and ignored the others.

"I can't understand why you named your group 'The Carnival'. Babies would cry if they saw you."

Alpha made a grating noise from his throat, like a knife on a wetstone. He laughed at her.

"Our mother gave us these names. She gave us these pretty little bodies, too. Anyway, how is your father? Still chained up? Not to pry or anything, kekeke..."

"How did you-" She cut herself off, unwilling to speak further.

Alpha clicked in disappointment as the Messenger didn't react the way he wanted.

"Enough small talk. Where is the cloth for the Prescript?" Yan's voice was respectfully tinged with irritation.

Alpha's straightjacket wriggled around as a long bolt of dark blue silk was pushed into Yan's arms from a small opening in his jacket. Light bounced and refracted off its surface, making it look like a fading mirage. Yan pulled it into her grasp.

The fabric was warm, slightly damp, and smelled like something decomposing. It pulsated lightly, still somewhat alive.

"Why did you specify we use Sweepers as ingredients? There is no difference either way, but my colleagues got quite the stomachache from them."

"The Prescripts specifically ordered so. There is no other reason." Yan tucked the cloth into her cloak, turning away from them for a moment.

Beta shuddered as he towered over Yan, dripping mucus from its stomach.

"Can we eat Messenger?" Beta's centipede appendages creaked as they tried to grasp her face.

"Will be tasty? Would produce good silk." Gamma and Beta were clearly unhinged compared to Alpha, though he wasn't much better either.

"Be quiet, both of you. I will be the one to speak from now on. Messenger, is there another Prescript for us?"

As they discussed the details, Asher quietly pulled out his phone, searching for 'The Carnival' in the Hana app.

They were an Urban Plague, specializing in making 'fabric' that could be used as armor due to its durable, organic nature. Supposedly, it was even stronger than steel plating and could be tailored into clothes for soft, bulletproof garments.

Reading below, it turned out that even Fixers made deals with these creatures. The silk they made was so flexible and lightweight that it was 'a shame to eliminate them'.

Thus, there was no bounty on their heads. Their threat tab was merely a decoration; their crimes were all padded with fluff, making them seem less dangerous than they were.

Just like the Index and Thumb, the Hana Association could benefit greatly from the services and influence of the Carnival.

*Ding!*

Suddenly, he received a notification from Line.

He covered his mouth subconsciously as Alpha craned his neck toward the darkness above.

"Messenger? Did you hear something just now?"

"I-It's nothing. Is there anything else you want to talk about?" Her voice became flustered.

Asher peeked at his phone, turning the brightness down as he did.

It was an urgent message from Yan.

"What the hell are you doing here!"

Yan was holding her phone tightly, trying hard to make her face passive like before. She had noticed an extra presence above as she entered, but couldn't confirm who it was until she was directly below him.

Just as he was about to reply, the metal doors that the Carnival used burst open, followed by dozens of footsteps.

"Ara, you again~?" It was Sayako, this time followed by over twenty Kurokumo clansmen.

"So you have a deal with the Carnival too." Yan grabbed her phone conspicuously, pretending to lazily flip through it. She flicked her gaze to the ceiling, locking eyes with Asher for a brief moment.

Sayako walked toward Alpha, surrounded by her comrades.

They leaned back subconsciously as Beta's stomach salivated over them.

They leaned even further back as Gamma's body pulsated, closing and opening at the sight of the feast in front of it.

As one of the clansmen approached, it split open entirely, leaning toward the man to eat him.

It only stopped at Alpha's glare, which made it slink back sheepishly.

"Do you have the 'Nuovo Fabric' requested by the Thumb?" Sayako gripped the hilt of her sword, clearly nervous.

The mysterious being nodded his head, the eyeholes on his mask curving upward in a smile.

Asher and Yan did not listen to Alpha and Sayako's conversation. They were thoroughly engrossed in their phones.

"Don't worry Yan, it doesn't look like they've noticed me. I can hide here for a while."

"Are you kidding? The Carnival is on a completely different level than Sayako. They aren't a clan, those three alone have the power of the Urban Plague!"

"C'mon, I'm pretty sure they haven't noticed me. I'll just stay here until it's all over."

He locked eyes with Yan below again. She narrowed her eyes at him, but snapped back to attention as Alpha handed Sayako another bolt of cloth, this time thicker and royal purple in color. She handed him a briefcase filled with cash in return, and they shook hands.

Sayako shivered at the feeling of Alpha's gloved hands. They were lifeless and stiff, like a dead body. But the force behind his grip nearly crushed her.

Yan turned back to her phone, sending Asher one last text.

"Alright, if you say so... Don't make a peep!"

She turned it off as Alpha's gaze wandered over, curious about who she was texting above her. Like Yan predicted, the Carnival was already aware of his presence. From Yan's flustered expression, Alpha could guess that he was someone important to her. Hunger exuded from under his mask, masterfully hidden from the onlookers.

Sayako stuffed the silk in a backpack, handing it to one of her companions to carry. As they turned to leave, one of them pointed at Yan, whispering in an audible voice.

"Dame, isn't this the perfect time to eliminate a Messenger? With your strength as a Capo candidate and our help, you could easily kill her."

Sayako shook her head.

"I don't think she's a simple Messenger, Gin. She met the Carnival alone, she must be confident in her skills. Even I would not enter such a lair completely by my own... But this is a valuable opportunity nonetheless." Sayako's hand drifted toward the hilt of her sword, and the Carnival stood by the side in neutral curiosity.

Beta's stomach leaked digestive acid in anticipation. The floor sizzled amidst the silent standoff.

"...If you say so. All I do is deliver words from above." When faced with Sayako yet again, Yan didn't even reach for her weapon. If fact, she didn't seem like she had one, not even under her cloak.

"The Index is the same as always. Let's go. Our priority is to preserve our Clan's strength; killing her might produce casualties." She shook his head, amused, and turned to leave. Her men did the same, yet a few of them glanced back at Yan with ill-concealed contempt.

They shuffled away, and Asher couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. More than twenty people, even Yan probably couldn't handle that many at once. And who knew if the Carnival would take advantage of the weakened victor. He felt that Alpha was definitely the type to do so.

Only the faintest stench of malice could be felt beneath Alpha's porcelain mask.

Yan bowed again, signaling the end of the meeting.

"Thank you for your time. Let us leave." She stressed the word 'us'. She didn't want the Carnival to stay in the warehouse, for Asher's sake.

Alpha hummed noncommittally.

"Turn around now~ We will leave. Don't. Worry."

Yan couldn't glance up to confirm with Asher; the Carnival stared at her with strange intensity. She could only hesitantly walk away.

Asher clenched his fists. Alpha's words... He didn't know why, but they sounded ominous to him.

'No!' His knuckles turned white as Gamma and Beta didn't move an inch toward the door. Instead, Alpha mimicked the echoes of footsteps from within his mask, fooling Yan.

'This... They know, they definitely know!' He watched in terror as Yan closed the doors, leaving him with them.

He held his breath quietly, not even willing to blink. He lied flat on the beams above, hoping it would conceal his body from them.

A disgusting, wet snapping noise came from below, but he didn't dare to look.

Asher breathed as quietly as he could, closing his eyes to blink for the first time.

"There is a very delicious smell in this room..." Alpha's neck snapped upward in a sickening crack.

Asher could feel the thing's gaze even through the beams. It was the gaze of a predator to its prey.

...

Yan closed the doors behind her, quietly relieved that the Carnival left Asher alone.

The twins greeted her with a synchronized nod, taking the fabric from Yan to carry themselves. They did not see the girl that they let into the building, but that was of no importance to them. Perhaps the Messenger used her as a sacrifice, they thought.

"How was the meeting, Miss Haruko?" The girl with the silver blindfold took the silk, hiding it within her own clothes.

"...It was alright. Let's stay here for a bit." Yan pulled her hands over her eyes as the twins tilted their heads in unison.

"You have been ordered to leave. Proxy Esther has made it clear; he will meet with the Blood Red Night at this warehouse in an hour's pass. The Star may already lurk the shadows. It is too dangerous to stay."

"...You talk like you care about me." Yan had no reason to refuse them, at least none that she could explain. She reluctantly took the lead, walking out of the industrial complex.

Soon, the three of them stood along the main streets, next to HamHamPangPang where Yan was secretly planning to meet Asher at.

She fished out her phone as a notification buzzed in her pocket.

The twins froze as Yan's eyes flew open in shock. They had never seen the Messenger open her eyes before.

But her reaction also worried them. Messengers were higher order beings, never to show emotion. Did something happen?

"Come with me! No time to explain!" The sisters let out a belated cry as Yan swiftly scooped them up in her arms, sprinting back towards the warehouse.

Her eyes were open, but she couldn't see anything because they were blurred with tears.

"Messenger? Are you crying?"

The twin's words fell on deaf ears.

'I-I shouldn't have left him there! I should have never left without him!'

Because on her phone was a single message.

It was from Asher.

"Help" was all that it said.