Flying Graysons

Austria, Kufstein.

Though it had not fallen to World War III, the clouds of war still hung over everyone's heads, wantonly spreading their negative effects.

There were few pedestrians on the streets. Aside from work, people seemed to care only about the Amazons' next target after conquering Britain.

Would they head north, south, or launch a direct attack on nearby Austria?

The terror of war left them unable to breathe.

In the park,

beside the seesaw,

a blond, curly-haired boy holding a huge pineapple-flavored lollipop stared wide-eyed at the man before him.

The man wore a dark green suit, black dress pants, and yellow Oxford shoes.

If there was anything most distinctive about him, it was not the strange smile constantly on his face, but his two differently colored socks.

"Watch closely~"

The man bent down, took the lollipop from the boy's hand, and gave it a light flick.

"Ta-da~"

He made the sound of a surprise egg cracking open, then handed the lollipop back to the boy.

The boy instinctively accepted it and looked down.

"Wow~" Surprise overflowed from his blue eyes.

The lollipop had turned into a toy, made of fuzzy nylon fabric and stuffed with filling that felt like cotton.

"Do you like it?" the man asked.

The boy nodded vigorously, his fondness obvious.

The man smiled as well and reached out to touch the boy's head.

"Kata!"

A woman's voice came from afar.

A lady with curly blond hair hurried forward and, just as the man's hand was about to touch her son's head, yanked her son behind her.

"Mom?" Pressed behind his mother, the boy poked his head out and looked at her strangely.

He did not understand why she was so agitated.

"Sorry, we have a gathering tonight. Goodbye!" The lady spoke to the man with an expression of disgust, then turned and left while dragging her son away.

"Mom, what are you doing? He's a magician! Look, he turned my candy into a stuffed toy!" Kata questioned his mother in confusion. Compared to some gathering, he would rather spend more time with the magical toy magician.

"Kata, have you forgotten what I told you? Don't get involved with people who look strange! I never should have let you go out by yourself!"

"Didn't you say the war had nothing to do with us? And that gentleman isn't strange!"

Kata retorted with a flushed face. Apart from his older cousin who could solve math problems in an instant, the man in the green suit was the person he admired most.

"Look at his smile, and those mismatched socks. How could he possibly be normal?"

"That's a fashion trend!" Kata wanted to argue further, but his mother ignored his explanation outright.

"Today, we agreed that after the gathering, we'd go see acrobatics. Remember?"

The lady decided to divert her son's attention.

"Flying Graysons? One and the others have seen them. I heard Boston Brand is in that circus too!" Kata was indeed distracted by the conversation as easily as by a little trick.

"How could you like that dangerous madman? His movements have no beauty to them, and he always makes people scream. Compared to him, I prefer the Grayson Family. Their coordination is perfect, like robins dancing in the sky. They... all right." The lady noticed her son pouting because his favorite acrobat had been disparaged, and quickly changed her tune. "Actually, Boston Brand is pretty good too. Boys like you always love excitement, and he can always give it to you."

In a voice only she could hear, she muttered, "Watching dangerous acrobatics is still better than staying with a dangerous weirdo."

The man in the green suit remained frozen in place, his hand still extended toward where the boy's head had been.

Several seconds passed before he withdrew it.

"Flying Graysons?"

His expression made it seem as though he had found a new toy.

Beside the towering mountains,

rows of tents spread out one after another, forming a small village encampment.

The locals arrived with curiosity, holding colorful flyers as they searched for performances that interested them.

The town had spent heavily to invite this circus, hoping to disperse the clouds hanging over the residents' heads.

Some came with gloomy expressions, while others left excited.

Thrilling acrobatics performances really could soothe one's mood, even if only temporarily.

A female circus performer in a leotard wiped the sweat from her forehead, lifted the tent flap, and stepped outside.

The mountain wind did not disappoint her. Compared with the stifling tent, the breeze outside was pleasant and refreshing.

The crowd gradually arrived.

Some liked acrobats whose bodies were as flexible as snakes.

Some liked to watch freaks, finding joy in their strange or mutilated bodies. As one of the circus's biggest stars, King Shark was one of them.

More people liked acrobatics. The Flying Grayson Family and Boston Brand were the circus's most famous representatives.

"Sir, which performance are you planning to see?"

She noticed a man in a green suit standing motionless at the entrance, holding a colorful flyer.

He looked as though he was hesitating, and had been hesitating for a long time.

The man looked strangely at the actress, then raised a finger and pointed at the flyer. "When does this performance begin?"

"This is Doctor Fate."

In the corner of the flyer was an inconspicuous photograph.

A man in a leather jacket and jeans, wearing an antique helmet, sat on an old sofa.

There was also a brief introduction.

"Doctor Fate, performing tonight at eight. Choose your fate!"

The actress looked strangely at the man in the dark green suit. "Doctor Fate's performance is down this road, in the little tent at the very end."

"Thank you~" The man smiled and nodded, put away the flyer, and walked toward the small tent.

"How strange!" She shook her head.

Doctor Fate performed some acrobatic stage plays, and his shows had the fewest viewers.

Even when a performance drew over a dozen people, most of them had come only to see the mysterious helmet steeped in history.

Clearly, this man had also been attracted by the helmet. However, the actress believed he would soon come out of the tent regretfully.

She had seen this happen no fewer than thirty times.

"The show's starting, Kuna! Hurry up!"

"Dick, I'm coming!!" the actress shouted back, then hurried several steps and slipped behind the tent.

Flying Graysons, Boston Brand, King Shark, Ragdoll.

Their tent was located at the very center of the circus. Not only was it full inside, but people were still steadily entering from outside, hoping to watch a thrilling and exciting performance.

In contrast,

in a corner,

at an utterly inconspicuous spot,

a tent stood surrounded by what seemed like an invisible wall. No one could approach it.

The man in the dark green suit lifted the tent flap.

There was no one inside, only a helmet placed on the stage.

He walked to the front of the stage and picked up the helmet that had been casually thrown onto the ground.

It was heavy in his hand.

The helmet carried a mysterious aura of its own.

It made people unable to resist becoming immersed in it at first glance.

"You came for the helmet too?" A drunken voice came from behind him. A stubbled man with flaxen hair staggered over while carrying a bottle of liquor.

"Many people come for this helmet?" the man in the green suit asked.

"It's just a strangely shaped helmet, with a history of a few decades at most. It's not an antique at all."

"You should treat this helmet better. Maybe it can bring you something unexpected," the man in the green suit said meaningfully.

"Something unexpected, like an audience?" The man sat down drunkenly and took a swig of liquor. "I really don't understand them. They like watching freaks. They just sit there, motionless, either on stage or in jars. What's the difference between being alive like that and being dead? Even the Flying Grayson Family can make people smile, but making people smile is supposed to be Joker's job."

"I'm different from them!" he roared, emboldened by the alcohol.

A man in a tailcoat rushed in. "You bastard, you got drunk again!"

He dragged the drunken man toward the backstage area and apologized to the man in the green suit. "Sorry, sir, he may not be able to perform for you. The Flying Grayson Family's performance is about to begin. Perhaps you could go there~"

"Wait, you forgot the helmet."