<h4>Chapter 384: 384-The Weeping Clowns</h4>


    <strong>Clementine:</strong>


    A tall figure stepped out from behind a damaged tower. Its body was long and thin, and it walked slowly across the road.


    The head stretched upward like a pole. There were no features on it, only long empty lines where a face should have been.


    Its arms hung low beside its knees, swinging a little with each step.


    It made a strange humming sound, almost like a slow and deep rm of something dangerous.


    The noise vibrated in my ears, and it shook me. I had seen many monsters before, but this one made me feel uneasy.


    I stepped back once, then again. The monster lifted its head slightly, almost like it sensed my movement.


    I did not wait to confirm it, so I turned around and sprinted.


    My boots hit the ground hard as I rushed down the open road with my head low.


    I looked left and right, trying to find a ce to hide.


    That was when I saw arge building ahead with broken letters across the top.


    It looked like a theater, but since the doors were open, I slipped inside.


    All I wanted in that moment was to escape the tall figure.


    As I rushed inside, I closed the door behind me quietly, trying to steady my breathing.


    When I looked out the window, I saw the tall monster walk past the theater.


    It did not look toward the window or the building.


    It continued moving forward with slow steps, making the same rumbling sound that made my stomach twist.


    I could tell that the dark side of the north was truly the dark side.


    There was one monster after another, and the entire area looked like a ghost town filled with spirits, monsters, and damaged things.


    It made me uneasy to think about what other monsters I would face.


    I waited until the figure faded away.


    Once it was gone, I turned around to check the ce I had entered. I was curious.


    The lobby was long and wide, but there was no light here, just like the other ces.


    There were somemps around, but they flickered as if they were barely working.


    After walking for a long time, I finally reached the main hall.


    The doors were open, and inside were rows of seats facing arge stage.


    However, it was the seven or eight figures beside the walls that caught my attention.


    They looked like people dressed as clowns.


    I stepped toward one of them and noticed the painted face, the colored hair, and the white paint.


    Each of them stood in different positions, and when I checked them more carefully, I realized they were just statues.


    For a moment, I had been shocked and scared, but then I felt like pping myself for reacting to mere statues.


    "Okay, so I need to quickly find the castle so that I am there by midnight," I muttered, realizing the darkness had already covered this side of the north.


    It was probably night by now, but I still could not be sure.


    I pulled out the map and turned around to check the directions.


    Suddenly, I felt a movement behind me.


    I turned quickly and noticed that some of the clowns looked like they had moved forward, but I could not be certain.


    I convinced myself I had not paid enough attention earlier, so maybe I did not remember their positions correctly.


    I turned around again, and when I heard the sound once more, I turned back fast.


    This time, their positions had changed for sure. I was not imagining it anymore, so I had to confirm it.


    I moved and gave them my back, and the moment I spun around again, one of the clowns was close to my face, with the others behind it.


    I gasped and stepped back.


    That was when I understood what was happening.


    "They move when I am not looking at them," I whispered, feeling something shift inside me.


    The map in my hand told me that I was headed in the right direction, that if I came out from the other side of the theater, I would be able to find the castle.


    But that thought was interrupted when I understood the truth about the clowns.


    Their grins had vanished. They looked sad now.


    They had different shapes and different styles.


    Their skin looked soft, almost like it was not a statue but a human turned into one.


    I needed to move, and I could not keep staring at them.


    I turned around to leave quickly. However, the moment I did, I looked back again and noticed two of them had jumped forward.


    One grabbed my wrist and pulled hard, its fingers cold and stiff.


    I yanked free and mmed my knife into its face, but the de only sliced through the paint.


    That was when I remembered I had given my back to the others.


    The second one lunged at me, and I ducked, keeping my eyes on them.


    But there were more. I heard footsteps behind me, and when I turned, the ones at my back rushed toward me again.


    Two grabbed me around my waist in a way that stopped me from turning to see them.


    Their fingers dug into my skin.


    Two more hurled toward my arms, and as I stared at the ones who had moved first, I knew I had to stop turning my back on the rest if I wanted to stop them from advancing.


    "Ah, let me go," I screamed, turning around and punching them in the face.


    I heard bones crack, but nothing changed.


    Once they were close enough, it did not matter if I looked at them. They did not stop.


    I realized I had to fight them.


    One tried to bite my face. I shoved it back and bit its arm instead.


    It let out a strange sound, almost like a cry of pain.


    I pushed it again and realized I had turned my back on almost every clown this time, but I had to run.


    I pushed past all of them, grabbed the back door, pulled it open, and rushed through before they reached me.


    As soon as I stepped outside, I mmed the door shut and backed away fast.


    My breathing was rough. Through the windows, I saw them watching me, frozen again, their same smiles back on their faces.


    It seemed like they were restricted to the theater.


    I needed to get out of here soon.


    When I turned around again, I gasped because through the fog I saw a castle standing ahead.