Chapter 265 — The Clown in the Town (Part 2)
"Sorry for the embarrassment," Donald said with a smile.
"It's just an ordinary painting."
Nearby, Stanley had already slipped into the room and was hiding beside the desk with his head lowered, not daring to approach the painting at all.
"Ordinary…" Gideon's lips twitched.
The woman in the painting looked deeply sinister. When someone stared at her face, it felt as though she were staring back.
Because the figure was distorted, looking at it from different angles even created the illusion that the person in the painting was moving.
No matter how he looked at it, the word ordinary had nothing to do with this painting.
The entire piece radiated a sense of unease and disharmony.
Even in a normal household, such a painting could easily disturb a child's mental well-being—let alone in a world like this one, where supernatural incidents occurred frequently.
In Gideon's eyes, this was practically an invitation letter to evil spirits and demons.
Moreover…
Two faint half-golden rings appeared within his pupils as he carefully examined the edges of the frame.
There were traces of abnormal energy fluctuations lingering around the frame, and the trail extended all the way down to the floor.
Clearly, the boy Stanley had not been lying.
"Mr. Donald," Gideon said, turning his head slightly,
"This painting might contain some clues. Would you mind letting me take it?"
Donald blinked for a moment.
"Of course. I'll make sure to record your assistance this time. Once the commission is finished, I'll submit the report to the Church, and it will be reflected in your annual evaluation."
"Perhaps you might even officially become a member of the clergy."
The Church had its own evaluation system used to assess promotions and rewards for lower-ranking priests.
In truth, it wasn't Donald helping Gideon.
It was Gideon who had become Donald's opportunity.
As expected, the moment the town's religious leader heard this, his eyes lit up.
"May the Lord bless you!"
Donald sounded excited.
"It's just a worthless painting. If it can help you complete your mission, it would be my honor. Please take it."
He immediately walked to the wall and removed the painting.
Gideon nodded.
"I'd like to ask Stanley a few questions. Would you mind giving us some privacy?"
"Of course! Of course!"
Donald nodded repeatedly before turning to his son with a stern tone.
"Whatever you know, you must not hide anything from Father Gideon."
"Yes… Father."
The office door soon closed.
---
Stanley stood awkwardly with his head lowered, occasionally sneaking glances at Judy.
"Hey," Judy asked gently after receiving a signal from Gideon.
"Are you really scared of that painting?"
"Yes… yes…"
With the beautiful girl suddenly standing so close to him, Stanley instinctively gripped the edge of the desk. His heart began racing.
"In that case, why don't you destroy it yourself?" Judy said with a smile, handing him a bottle of holy water.
"W-what?"
"I don't think it's strange that you're afraid of that painting. Father Gideon and I feel the same way. Keeping something like that in a house is terrifying!"
"Exactly," Gideon said while continuing to deal with the residual energy in the room.
He raised a thumbs-up in agreement.
"R-really? I can do that?"
For the first time, Stanley felt a sense of being understood.
"Go ahead," Judy said, placing the bottle in his hands.
"We'll ask you some questions afterward."
Stanley's breathing quickened.
He didn't know what was inside the bottle, but encouraged by Judy's words, he pulled out the cork and poured the liquid over the painting.
Sizzle—
A burning sound filled the room.
Stanley stared in shock.
The liquid from the bottle was melting the painting itself.
Gideon turned to Judy.
"Did you notice anything?"
"Hm…"
Judy narrowed her eyes and examined the scene carefully.
A moment later—
"I see it!" she exclaimed excitedly.
"There's a special energy connected to the painting. The holy power seems to be spreading outward through that connection."
"That means… this purification might have actually injured the creature behind it!"
Gideon nodded approvingly.
"I'm proud of you."
Judy's face lit up with a bright smile, her cheeks turning slightly red.
Standing nearby, Stanley felt a deep sense of envy.
When he studied the Bible at home, the only thing he ever heard from his father was sighs and complaints.
At the same time, he was extremely curious.
Holy water… purification…
The two guests from the Church seemed to be discussing something far more serious than he could understand.
Gideon gazed out the window.
When he had first noticed the abnormal energy surrounding the painting, he had also seen a faint stream of energy floating in the air.
Unlike Judy, thanks to his Missionary ability, he could perceive deeper layers of what was happening.
That stream of energy looked like a passageway—
a channel through which something could travel.
Connecting this with the strange things the town's children had often reported seeing, Gideon guessed that this was exactly how the clown, Pennywise, harvested fear.
The channel extended dozens of meters beyond the church, ending near another sewer outlet.
If that was the case, then just like in the original story, the clown's lair lay beneath the entire town.
After confirming this, Gideon had no intention of heading there immediately.
For one thing, he was still unfamiliar with the underground environment.
For another, since the clown's fear projections could be used to harm its true body, he certainly wasn't going to waste such an opportunity.
After cleaning the dust from the office floor, Gideon asked Stanley about the "Wings of Vengeance."
As expected, the answer matched his prediction.
Apart from occasionally seeing monsters, the boy had never heard of any unfamiliar outsiders entering the town.
At the same time, Stanley mentioned that many of his friends had experienced similar strange encounters.
So the three of them decided that once the rain stopped, they would visit the other children to ask about what they had seen.
---
The Next Day
Early in the morning, Gideon left with the two children.
Not long afterward, three boys rode their bicycles to the church looking for Stanley, and the two groups just barely missed each other.
---
Outside the Derry Public Library
A chubby boy suddenly ran out of the building.
His face was pale, and cold sweat covered his body.
Ben Hanscom trembled as he recalled what he had just seen inside the library.
He came from a single-parent household. After his mother remarried, his stepfather had always treated him harshly.
At school, he was often the target of bullying.
Because of that, studying history and culture had become Ben's way of escaping the outside world. Over time, he began to enjoy those quiet moments of solitude.
Earlier, he had been researching the history of Derry.
But when he turned his head, he suddenly noticed a bright red balloon floating inside the library.
None of the adults nearby seemed to see it.
Out of curiosity, Ben followed the balloon down to the lower level of the building.
There…
He saw a headless person.
The thing suddenly crawled toward him.
Luckily, Ben had run away in time.
"There's definitely something strange in this town…" Ben wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Hey! Where are you going, you fat pig?"
A voice suddenly called from behind him.
Ben turned around.
A boy leaned against the base of a statue outside the library.
He wore a sleeveless shirt, revealing slightly muscular arms. His hair was styled in a rough wolf-tail cut that made him stand out from boys his age.
Ben recognized him immediately—
Henry, the troublemaker of Derry Middle School.
Pretending not to hear him, Ben tried to leave quickly.
But several other boys rushed forward and grabbed him.
---
The Edge of Derry — The Kissing Bridge
Ben was dragged there by the group of troublemakers.
"Hey, look at him. How can someone be this fat?" one boy laughed, pulling Ben's shirt over his head.
The others burst into laughter.
"Let me go!" Ben struggled, his face turning red.
Smack!
A red mark instantly appeared on his face.
Ben shook his head, but before he could react—
Bang! Bang!
Two more punches landed.
His nose throbbed painfully. Something warm ran down his face, and the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth.
"You know why this place is called the Kissing Bridge, you fat bastard?" Henry grabbed Ben by the collar.
"Besides kissing, people also carve their names here!"
Henry pulled out a knife.
With a sharp click, the blade snapped open.
The other boys looked surprised.
"Henry, maybe we should just scare him. Don't—"
"Shut up!" Henry roared.
Then he pressed the knife against Ben's stomach.
---
Suddenly—
Whoosh!
A stone cut through the air and struck Henry squarely on the head.
"F***!"
Henry clutched his head and turned toward the direction the stone had come from.
Three figures stood there.
"Father Gideon… w-we… should run…" Stanley trembled behind Gideon.
"If Henry catches us… we're dead."
"These guys have gone too far!" Judy said angrily.
She had once suffered bullying herself. She knew exactly how it felt—
Loneliness, inferiority, isolation…
As if the entire world had lost its light.
And these boys were even worse.
They had actually pulled out a knife on a classmate.
Gideon said nothing.
He simply stared calmly at them.
Then he tossed another stone.
Crack!
Henry cried out in pain. His hand opened involuntarily, and the knife clattered to the ground.
"You son of a—!"
Henry had ruled Derry for years.
No one had ever dared treat him like this.
Even the adults avoided confronting him because his father was the town sheriff.
And now this priest had the audacity to challenge him.
Henry's chest rose and fell with rage.
"Get them!"
He shouted to the others.
But his companions hesitated.
"Pathetic cowards!"
Henry spat on the ground.
Then, when no one was watching, he quickly grabbed the knife again and rushed toward Gideon.
"I'll kill you!"
Stanley's legs went weak, and he collapsed against the railing.
Judy, however, stayed calm, gripping her cross and watching Henry closely.
But Gideon raised his hand and signaled for her to step back.
Bullies like this only acted tough because they had a little more courage or physical advantage.
They had no real fighting skill.
So when Henry reached him, Gideon simply stepped aside and dodged the knife.
The next moment, Henry felt a sharp pain in his wrist.
"AH!"
Gideon dragged him toward the others.
The boys immediately stepped aside in panic.
"Do you have any other injuries?" Gideon asked Ben.
"N-no, sir."
"These guys may act arrogant, but they only bully people who don't want trouble. Beat them up once, and their cowardly disguises fall apart."
Ben felt confused, but also relieved.
With this man here, he would at least avoid another beating.
But suddenly—
Henry's face was shoved right in front of him.
"Go ahead," Gideon said calmly.
"Punch him. Aim for the cheek. Plenty of meat there."
Ben froze.
He had never experienced something like this before.
Sure, he wanted to punch Henry.
But… wasn't this man an adult?
How could he be encouraging kids to fight?
Ben instinctively looked toward the priest's companions for help.
Judy covered her face.
Gideon! You represent the Church! People are watching! If you're going to beat someone up, at least do it in the woods! she thought helplessly.
Stanley, meanwhile, was utterly stunned.
Father… weren't you supposed to be a devout, polite priest?
My father told me to learn from you!
Isn't this… against church rules?
As a boy raised under strict religious teachings, Stanley felt the foundations of his beliefs beginning to crumble.
Meanwhile, Gideon smiled and patted Ben on the shoulder.
"Your integrity is admirable. The ones mocking you for your body are the real clowns."
"Maybe justice never came for you before."
"But today is different."
Ben's eyes grew moist.
No one had ever spoken up for him before.
"Oh, and you," Gideon added, pointing at Henry's friends.
"You've been bullying people for a long time. Why not take this chance to redeem yourselves?"
He thought for a moment.
"Get on your knees and apologize to this honorable young gentleman."
"Of course, you can run instead."
"But pray I don't catch you."
Then Gideon dragged Henry into the woods.
At first the bullies looked at each other awkwardly.
But soon they heard Henry's screams echoing from the forest.
The sound was so terrifying that some of them began wondering—
Is that priest… actually a murderer?
Suddenly—
Thud!
One of them dropped to his knees.
Soon the others followed, trembling as they apologized to Ben.
"S-sorry… please forgive me…"
"I shouldn't have mocked your weight… I'm an idiot…"
Ben's face turned bright red.
He had never even imagined something like this happening.
Nearby, Stanley stared in disbelief.
Even the infamous Henry gang had been brought to their knees.
The fear the two boys had always felt toward these bullies slowly began to fade.
Judy raised her head and gently patted Stanley.
A few moments later, Gideon walked out of the woods.
His expression was calm, as if nothing unusual had happened.
But Henry looked completely different.
The once-arrogant bully now trembled with his head lowered.
He stepped in front of Ben and spoke humbly.
"I'm… sorry. I apologize for what I did earlier. I'll pay for your medical treatment…"
Everyone stared in shock.
They all wondered what Gideon had done to him.
Judy even ran over and whispered the question.
Gideon shrugged.
"I just taught him a few lessons about life."
Also a little practice about the correct ways to dislocate joints and the limits of bone endurance, he thought quietly.
Consider it preparation for the next stage—Bone cultivation.
---
After the small incident, Ben told Gideon that a large sewer outlet was located near the Kissing Bridge.
Using his ability to sense abnormal energy, Gideon quickly found the place.
At the entrance stood several boys, hesitating as if they were debating whether to enter.
"There you are!"
Stanley ran forward excitedly and waved.
Gideon, however, stared at the sewer entrance with a frown.
The place resembled a river drainage tunnel.
A massive metal pipe, nearly two meters wide, was embedded in the hillside—large enough for several adults to enter side by side.
Inside, it was completely dark.
Occasionally a rotten stench drifted out.
But what truly caught Gideon's attention was the enormous concentration of abnormal energy inside the tunnel.