Chapter 266 — The Clown in the Town (Part 3)
"Stanley! Where did you go? I thought you got dragged off for circumcision and couldn't even get out of bed!" a boy with glasses shouted.
"D-don't talk nonsense, Richie! I had an important mission!" Stanley straightened his back, then secretly glanced at Judy.
Judy lowered her head slightly, a faint smile tugging at her lips—by the time she looked up again, her expression was calm.
At that moment, the boy with glasses finally noticed the unfamiliar girl and froze.
The other two boys beside him also became awkward.
"Uh… hi. Are you new here? I… I'm Richie."
"My name is B-B-Bill."
"I… I'm Eddie."
The three introduced themselves one after another.
"Hello, I'm Judy."
She brushed her hair aside and smiled.
Thump… thump…
The three boys' hearts instantly began to race.
"I'm not a student here. I came with…"
Judy turned her head, only to realize Gideon was nowhere in sight. After looking around, she spotted him crouching near the slope by the drainage outlet.
"I came with my br—… friend!"
She pointed toward Gideon. She had almost said "brother," but changed her words at the last second.
"We're here to investigate the disappearances in this town."
The words "missing persons case" made Bill's expression darken.
A few months ago, his younger brother had also disappeared.
The police concluded that he had fallen into the sewer and declared him dead. Even their father had given up searching.
But Bill never did.
He continued searching for any trace of his brother.
And the reason…
Was because he believed he was responsible.
That day, it had been raining heavily, but his brother still wanted to go out and play with a paper boat.
He had asked Bill to fold one for him.
If Bill hadn't made that boat…
Maybe his brother wouldn't have…
Bill took a deep breath and looked at Judy.
"D-do you… f-find anything?"
"Um… we'll have to ask Gideon!"
Judy opened her mouth, almost revealing more—but remembering Gideon's usual warnings, she held back from mentioning anything about exorcism.
So the group walked together toward the figure crouching near the roots of a tree.
When Gideon turned around, he met the gaze of the children.
"You want to go into the drainage tunnel to look for someone?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Y-yes," Bill said. Though he stuttered, his eyes were firm.
"A-according to the sewer structure of the town… if someone falls in, th-they'll likely be carried here."
Gideon nodded thoughtfully.
"A reasonable deduction."
Bill's eyes lit up.
He had told this to his friends—and even to his father—many times.
But no one had ever believed him.
However—
Gideon's next words quickly dampened his spirits.
"And you're planning to just walk in like that?"
"This is a drainage outlet by the riverbed. What if the water level rises after you go in?"
"Do you have a map of the sewer system? What if you get lost?"
"Food? Water? Light sources? If you get trapped, how will you survive?"
"And what if there are toxic gases inside?"
After that series of questions, Bill and the others finally realized just how reckless their plan had been.
They were left speechless.
Nearby, Judy quietly covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.
I already know all these 'safety measures'! she thought proudly.
Gideon was indeed trying to discourage them.
He knew how deeply Bill had been affected by his brother's disappearance.
But bluntly telling him to stop would only have the opposite effect.
Of course—
Under normal circumstances, Gideon would only offer a warning once.
After that, whether they lived or died…
had nothing to do with him.
At that moment, the abnormal energy within the drainage tunnel was extremely active.
If these kids went inside now, it would be no different from walking to their deaths—and they might even end up strengthening the clown.
Earlier, when Gideon came down from the slope, he had already set up several formations nearby to guard against any sudden surge of power.
Based on both the original story and what he had observed on-site, this was undoubtedly one of the entrances to the clown's lair.
Seeing that the children had fallen silent, Gideon ignored them and beckoned to Judy.
The two quickly moved to a wooded area opposite the entrance and each took out a monocular.
"What do you see?" Gideon asked.
"Hmm… there's a lot of debris near the entrance—mostly clothing. The missing people might really be inside…"
"The energy in the tunnel might affect the body. If we go in from here, we'll need to test how quickly holy artifacts are consumed…"
Several of the boys followed them over.
Hearing their discussion—full of complex, unfamiliar terms—they couldn't understand much, but it all sounded impressively profound.
Especially Judy.
Her calm, professional demeanor left a deep impression on the boys.
"…That energy seems to extend outward too, but I… can't see it clearly." Judy pouted slightly, frustrated.
"You'll be able to once your eyes are further purified," Gideon said with a faint smile.
"For now, you're doing very well."
"Thank you!" Judy's cheeks flushed slightly.
The boys stared, stunned.
They had never been treated like this before.
"So… should we go in now and test it?" Judy asked.
Just then—
A voice suddenly echoed from within the drainage tunnel.
Gideon's expression darkened.
"Help me… kind Father… please save us…"
"Beautiful lady… can you help me…"
Judy's face turned serious, her hand instinctively tightening around the cross.
The boys behind them heard it too.
"Bill? Is that you out there…?"
Bill's heart jolted.
His breathing quickened.
"George?!"
"Hey Ben! Want to go on an adventure with me? Let's write about it together in your high school yearbook…"
Ben narrowed his eyes, puzzled.
"That sounds like Beverly…"
She was his classmate—and the first girl who had ever spoken to him.
It was as if each of them heard the voice they longed for most.
Seeing this, Gideon activated the formation.
A flash of holy light swept through the area—
And the voices vanished, leaving only the sound of flowing water.
"George?!"
Bill, overwhelmed with emotion, jumped to his feet and was about to rush forward.
Before he could move—
"Before you go in," Gideon said calmly,
"don't you want to say goodbye to your friends?"
"What?" Bill turned, confused.
"The voices coming from inside are clearly abnormal—just like the strange things you've encountered before."
Golden patterns appeared in Gideon's eyes as he observed them carefully.
"If you're determined to throw your life away, at least say your farewells first."
"That way, when you die, you won't have any regrets."
Bill froze.
"Bill… I heard my mom's voice," Eddie said nervously.
"She said I ran off to some dirty place again… but I didn't hear George."
Ben hesitated, then spoke up.
"I heard Beverly's voice."
"Me too… I didn't hear George."
With his friends confirming it, Bill finally calmed down.
"Then… what should we do?" he asked, dejected.
"Call the police," Gideon replied.
The voices just now were clearly bait set by the clown.
But more importantly, they were meant to cover something else.
Gideon looked toward a corner of the entrance.
There, a thin stream of spiritual energy extended beneath the water, leading toward the center of town.
At that moment, a chaotic energy flow was moving through it.
It seemed that while dealing with them, the clown had already chosen a new target.
Gideon speculated—
Perhaps their earlier encounter had made Pennywise wary.
That might explain why it hadn't acted rashly until now.
But after Gideon discovered the drainage entrance and set up his formations, the creature suddenly resorted to such crude manipulation.
Did that mean Pennywise was actually afraid of him?
Or perhaps…
The power behind it—the Deadlights—was still insufficient to contend with holy artifacts?
Regardless of the answer, Gideon had no intention of entering the sewer now.
Instead, he reinforced the formation, sealing off the energy fluctuations at the entrance.
In doing so, he effectively cut off one of Pennywise's hunting points.
He intended to pressure the creature step by step—forcing it to make the next move.
After confirming everything was in place, Gideon looked in the direction the energy had moved.
"Now… let's go see who it chose this time."
---
Derry — Residential District
A teenage girl walked along the roadside.
She had blue eyes and long brown hair that shone softly in the sunlight—radiating youthful beauty.
Yet as pedestrians passed her, they wrinkled their noses and kept their distance.
The girl lowered her head, wiping stains from her dress with a tissue.
"Guess I'll need a new dress again… but maybe going home like this is better…" Beverly sighed.
Earlier, she had been smoking in the school bathroom when Greta, the school's queen bee, showed up with her followers.
Their words were full of insults—
Calling her friendless, accusing her of sleeping with boys, calling her a slut…
But Beverly knew the truth.
Greta was just jealous.
Still, the thought left her feeling hollow.
"Is… liking to dress up really wrong…?"
After cleaning her bag, she carefully opened it.
"Good… it didn't get dirty."
Inside was a pack of sanitary pads—something she had saved up to buy.
She had grown up without a mother, living with her father.
He gave her very little money—barely enough, let alone for things only girls needed.
So she often skipped meals to save money.
As for the cigarettes…
She had taken them from adult men.
Long ago, she had noticed the way those men looked at her.
It made her uncomfortable.
So she took their cigarettes in retaliation.
Later, out of curiosity, she tried smoking.
At first, it tasted awful.
She couldn't understand why anyone liked it.
But gradually…
She began to understand.
Whenever she was bullied at school, or felt alone—
Or even at home—
Cigarettes helped her temporarily forget everything.
Thinking of this, she lit another one.
"…I hope he's not home."
---
Soon, Beverly arrived at her house.
She took a deep breath and quietly opened the door.
After setting down her bag, she took out the sanitary pads and hurried down the hallway.
As she approached the living room, her heartbeat quickened.
He's not home… he's not home…
She peeked inside.
The TV was on, but no one was on the couch.
She sighed in relief and quickly headed toward the bathroom.
Just as she reached the door—
A figure suddenly appeared in front of her.
"Hi… Dad."
Her heart skipped a beat.
"Hi, sweetheart."
A man with short hair blocked the light in the hallway, half his face hidden in shadow.
The visible half revealed his gaze—fixed intently on Beverly.
"What's that in your hand?" he asked.
Beverly glanced at him, then lowered her head.
"Just… something."
"What kind of something?"
The man snatched it from her hands.
After reading the label, he smiled.
He stared at her for a moment, then gently placed a hand on her neck.
Beverly trembled—but didn't dare move.
His other hand grabbed the back of her head.
A strong smell of alcohol filled her nose.
She felt his breath on her scalp.
Just as she struggled to speak—
He suddenly coughed.
"Why are you so filthy?!" he snapped.
"Go wash yourself!"
Frowning, he pushed her toward the bathroom.
---
Standing in front of the mirror, Beverly's hands trembled.
Her eyes were red.
Despite the strange smell in her hair, it was still beautiful.
But she felt no joy.
Maybe this hair was the reason she was bullied…
The reason her father…
Her thoughts trailed off.
She picked up a pair of scissors.
Snip… snip…
Soon, strands of hair filled the sink.
Water carried them into the drain.
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
She sank into the bathtub and pulled out a postcard.
She had found it inside a book—she didn't know who wrote it.
But when she read it—
She froze.
"Your hair is like a flame in winter—so beautiful, it warms my heart…"
It was clearly from someone who liked her.
No one had ever written something like this to her before.
At school, boys only looked at her body—not her as a person.
She pressed the card to her chest, imagining who had written it.
"…Maybe I shouldn't have cut my hair…"
"Yes."
A voice suddenly answered.
Beverly's body trembled.
She quickly hid the postcard behind her.
She looked toward the door.
No one was there.
"We're here."
The voice came again.
She turned toward the sink.
The sound was coming from the drain.
"Beverly… help us…"
"We miss you…"
"We're floating down here…"
She stared into the drain.
It was pitch black.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"Veronica… Betty Ripson…"
Beverly frowned.
She recognized those names.
They were all missing children.
After a moment, she went to the living room and brought back a measuring tape.
She lowered it into the drain—
But even at full length, it didn't reach the bottom.
As she pulled it back out—
A clump of blood-stained hair came with it.
Beverly frowned.
But the next moment—
The hair moved.
A black strand extended outward—
Like a tentacle—
And wrapped tightly around her wrist.