Chapter 268 — The Clown in the Town (Part 5)
Smack—!
A sharp, crisp sound echoed through the bathroom.
With Gideon's current physical strength, even when holding back, it was far more than an ordinary person could endure.
Almost immediately after the first slap, Beverly's father groaned and forced his eyes open.
"Y-you… who are you? Why am I tied up?!"
Gideon didn't answer.
He simply grabbed the man's head and turned it to the side.
"Can you see it?" he asked, pointing toward the clown by the wall—and the blood splattered all around.
"…What?"
Confusion filled the man's eyes.
Then he noticed Gideon's priest attire—and the girl beside him, who looked even more beautiful than his own daughter.
His tone immediately shifted, lowering into something greasy and suggestive.
"Hey… calm down, Father. You're here for Beverly, right?" he forced a smile.
"I don't mind at all. Just let me go—I can give you the bed. It's big enough for two girls…"
Judy's brows knitted tightly.
Beverly's eyes widened in disbelief.
Bang!
Before the man could finish—
Gideon's fist smashed into his face.
This time, he didn't hold back as much.
Blood burst from the man's nose and mouth.
His nose bent crookedly, and several teeth flew loose.
"Ugh… l-listen…" the man groaned, his vision blurred.
"As a father, you use your own daughter as a bargaining chip.
As a man, you prey on a child."
Gideon let out a cold snort.
"And garbage like you has been allowed to live in this town all this time?"
"Y-you're… a priest… using vio—violence…" the man struggled to speak.
Bang!
Another blow landed.
"Which eye of yours saw me committing violence?" Gideon said flatly.
"This is clearly a responsible priest delivering proper moral education."
Meanwhile, Judy gently took Beverly's hand and leaned close to whisper:
"We saw what he did outside earlier. Don't worry… we won't let him hurt you anymore."
Beverly's body trembled.
This was the first time she had ever felt care from someone her own age.
Her nose stung as tears welled up.
"…Mm!"
She tightened her grip on Judy's hand.
On the other side—
After "persuading" Beverly's father, golden patterns once again surfaced in Gideon's eyes.
Earlier, they had followed the abnormal energy from the Kissing Bridge all the way to Beverly's apartment.
The moment that energy entered the building, Gideon had immediately set up precautions.
During that process, he noticed something strange—
Every adult near the apartment had their eyes covered by a faint veil of light.
It resembled the abnormal energy… but was far stronger.
Yet the children with him showed no such condition.
At the same time, the barrier around Gideon's body had activated on its own, blocking some kind of invasive force.
Realizing something was wrong, he quickly led the children away from the apartment and used his Holy Eyes to examine the surroundings.
Soon, he discovered—
The source of that power also came from the apartment.
And the closer one got to the center, the stronger it became.
Along the way, Gideon had even found a few "volunteers" to test it…
With the help of those "volunteers," Gideon discovered that the light veil could partially block human perception.
Those affected could still see most ordinary things—
But anything formed from spiritual (particle) energy was completely invisible to them.
In other words—
These adults couldn't see what Pennywise was doing to the children.
Perhaps this was the real reason the creature had survived for so long.
And at this moment, Beverly's father was also under that influence.
Without hesitation, Gideon infused holy power into the man's eyes.
As the forces collided, the particles forming the veil quickly dispersed into the air.
"W-what?!"
The man finally saw the horrifying scene in the bathroom.
"Y-you… who are you people? Whose blood is this? Did you kill someone?!"
Gideon ignored him, focusing instead on the drifting light particles.
"The sewer… huh."
He followed the direction they floated.
Originally, Gideon thought this power came from the clown—and that purifying it would weaken the creature further.
At that moment—
The clown, slumped against the wall, suddenly raised its head.
It opened its mouth wide, revealing the three glowing spheres deep in its throat.
Gideon's eyes narrowed.
In an instant, he grabbed both girls and retreated to the sacred statue by the door.
"N-no—!"
Beverly's father suddenly lost control of his body.
In the blink of an eye, he was dragged toward the clown.
Crunch!
The clown's jaws clamped down on the man's forehead.
Gideon covered Beverly's eyes with Judy's hand—
Then threw out a bottle of twenty-year holy water.
Hiss—!
The bottle shattered against the clown's head, instantly melting half its skull, leaving only the lower portion exposed.
The three glowing spheres in its throat were now fully visible.
The clown paused—
But then the spheres began spinning rapidly, gathering surrounding light particles.
In the next moment—
It resumed moving.
With a sickening chewing sound, the man's entire forehead was torn away.
At the same time, the sacred nails embedded in the clown's body began to slowly loosen under some unknown force.
Gideon didn't remain idle.
He activated the formations outside the apartment while using multiple methods to disrupt the creature.
Holy artifacts and formations did have an effect—
But every time holy power approached the clown's body, it was neutralized by the energy emitted from the three spheres.
At the same time, Gideon noticed something critical—
This defense consumed a huge amount of energy.
Just blocking a single use of thirty-year holy water had already drained more than half of the gathered light particles.
Just as Gideon prepared to exhaust it through sustained attacks—
The clown suddenly stood up.
It stared at him for a long moment—
Then abruptly jumped onto the sink.
To their astonishment, it shoved one hand into the drain.
The drain was barely the size of a coin—
Yet the clown forced its hand in, as if its body were made of rubber.
Then—
Its arm.
Its shoulder.
Its chest.
Its legs…
Like some grotesque contortion act, Pennywise squeezed its entire body into the pipe.
Soon, only its head remained above the sink.
"Hehe… damn priest… we'll meet again…"
With that, its head slipped into the drain—
Leaving behind only its shrill laughter echoing from within.
Gideon didn't relax his guard.
Golden patterns glowed in his eyes as he scanned the bathroom.
"Beverly's father is dead… and the veil over his eyes has disappeared…"
"So that was it—it was retrieving energy."
He narrowed his eyes, understanding the creature's intention.
"Those three spheres could even block high-grade holy water… that must be power from another dimension."
"But the amount is limited…"
From their clash, it was clear—
The clown couldn't use that power endlessly.
Otherwise, the entire state of Maine would have already become its feeding ground.
Based on his past encounters with other forces of evil, Gideon speculated—
The entity behind Pennywise was likely also attempting to invade the human world.
---
"G-Gideon…"
Judy tugged at his sleeve, pointing at the corpse on the floor.
She had faced many spirits and demons—
But this was the first time she had seen a living person have their head bitten off.
Her stomach churned.
Beside her, Beverly stood frozen.
Looking at her dead father—
She didn't know whether to feel relief or grief.
"What do we do now? Will we get arrested?" Judy asked nervously.
"…Should we run?"
Gideon shook his head.
Then calmly took out his phone—
And dialed 911.
A few seconds later, a woman's voice answered:
"911, what's your emergency?"
"Hello," Gideon said evenly.
"There is a male corpse in the bathroom where I am. Besides me, there are two children who witnessed it, and five more outside."
Less than ten minutes later—
Police sirens blared outside the apartment.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Derry Police Department! Open the door!"
Gideon signaled Judy to open it, while he raised his hands calmly.
Beverly, still dazed, copied his actions.
Moments later, hurried footsteps filled the hallway.
Flashlights shone onto Gideon's back.
"Sir, raise your hands—slowly turn around—don't move!"
"Hey kid! Come over here!"
At least eight officers filled the corridor.
Two aimed guns at Gideon.
Another pulled Beverly away.
The rest secured the area.
Even though bullets at this range posed no threat to him—
Gideon cooperated completely.
After confirming he was unarmed, two officers restrained him.
"Chief," Gideon said calmly,
"before questioning me, I suggest you take a look inside."
"…Of course," replied a middle-aged officer—clearly the leader.
He radioed briefly, then stepped into the bathroom.
"Oh my God… this is horrible!"
He quickly came back out, frowning.
"What happened in there? Is there some kind of animal in town?"
Several other officers went in—
And came out just as quickly, equally shaken.
Instead of answering directly, Gideon said:
"What happened here is connected to the recent child disappearances in this town."
Chief Rell narrowed his eyes immediately.
This case was their top priority.
All officers had been recalled.
The entire department was under immense pressure.
And now—
This young man was claiming to have answers.
"You're saying… those children were taken by some kind of beast?" Rell asked.
"Well… it's complicated," Gideon said carefully.
"But here's the conclusion—
There is a major threat in this town.
And it's the thing responsible for those children's deaths."
He paused.
"Oh, right—one more thing."
"I'm the one who made the emergency call. You can verify that."
"I'm unarmed—your officer on the left who just frisked me… quite thoroughly… can confirm that."
"…Neil," the chief said dryly, glancing sideways.
The officer immediately looked away awkwardly.
"I also had the girl open the door myself," Gideon continued.
"If I were a criminal, that would make no sense."
"And both girls here—as well as the five boys outside—can testify to my innocence."
"So now, Chief…"
"May I demonstrate the threat to you directly?"
Rell thought for a moment.
The young man was calm, logical—
Convincing.
"…Alright," he said finally.
"That's exactly what I want."
He signaled his men.
They released Gideon.
"Thank you," Gideon adjusted his clothes.
"My name is Gideon Black. I'm a priest."
"You can verify my credentials at the Dei Church in Philadelphia."
He had said all that to lower their guard quickly—
So they could focus on what truly mattered.
"Now," Gideon stepped aside,
"please describe the bathroom objectively."
Rell frowned, but complied.
"There's a male body with half the head bitten off… heavy blood loss…"
The other officers confirmed similar observations.
Then Gideon pointed at the walls and ceiling.
"Now, close your eyes for five seconds."
"When you open them—look where I'm pointing."
"You can take turns if you're worried I'll attack."
The officers were stunned.
This was the first time they'd seen such a… cooperative suspect.
Judy stood in the corner, watching seriously.
Beverly peeked from behind her.
Rell closed his eyes first.
When he opened them—
He froze.
Disbelief filled his face as his hand instinctively moved toward his gun.
The other officers reacted the same way.
"This… how is this possible?!"
"Is this some kind of paint?!"
"Unfortunately," Gideon shrugged,
"it's not paint."
"You can test it later—you'll likely find the missing children's DNA in it."
Silence filled the room.
After a moment, Rell stepped forward, his expression serious.
"Son… tell us everything you know."
"You don't need to prove anything further," he added.
"I can tell—you're not a threat."
Gideon raised an eyebrow.
A capable chief, he thought.
"This involves… supernatural forces," he began.
He explained the situation—
Keeping it within what they could reasonably accept.
The officers were visibly shaken.
"This is… unbelievable…" Rell muttered.
Yet—
It explained too many inconsistencies.
After a long breath, Rell gave orders:
"Ivan—take samples back to the lab."
"Frank, Dave—secure the drainage near Kissing Bridge."
The officers immediately moved.
He also signaled another officer—
Who stepped outside to verify Gideon's identity with Philadelphia.
Only then did Rell turn back.
"Father," he said, now respectful,
"What should we do next?"