<488 - The Final Show>
‘No way! There’s no need to step in before my identity is revealed!’
Anyway, the performance is being carried out by the competent person from the Blood Band embedded in the violin.
All I have to do is inject the moment of doom into the rebellious executive with my bonding magic to tame them in fear and command them to perform the desired magic.
Such a task can be done secretly in the shadows.
“?”
But familiar guests among the crowd started appearing.
A kind bald monk, a Beastfolk archer sporting a headband and impressive, toned thighs, a slender girl dressed in a white dress and straw hat…
‘Myung So? Professor Minerva? Surely not the Bronze Professor infected by the DLC content Children’s Virus?!’
DLC content allows a player to purchase and add events that make them go gaga among the randomly occurring weekly events by the Dragon Principal!
The Children’s Day event, which lets people see the childhood appearances of main characters and professors, birthed a new strategy for many.
Some professors who are forcibly transformed into children and weakened lose their grip on previously guarded areas of the Academy, creating holes in the security, or favorability guards suddenly advance their relationships with characters they usually had solid standings with.
– Hahahat! Is this what rejuvenation feels like? Recovering the strength from my prime is simply amazing!
– The joy of being freed from the prison of illness is truly the best. I can’t just let such a brilliant virus disappear.
…On the other hand, great chaos breaks out due to the power-up of old professors classified as veterans.
To progress normally in the game, incredible battles await as one must either stall against or defeat the rejuvenated older professors.
But seriously, if that children’s virus DLC activated, it wouldn’t just single out the Bronze Professor turning into a child—why did only the professor become a girl?
“What are you so deep in thought about?”
“Huh!”
The childlike Bronze Professor abruptly stepped forward with crossed arms, her face inches away.
The sweet scent of hyacinth wafted from the youthful Bronze Professor tickled my nose.
“Oh, it’s nothing!”
“Hey. You’re involved in the fire show, right?”
“D-Do? I don’t know… I don’t understand such difficult words…”
“Hiding behind the tent for officials, spying on the tourists doesn’t make you an official? Then are you a thief?”
Gulp. That’s a trick question!
I’m not a thief!
If I answer like that, the working thief, Bronze Professor will remember it clearly, and after returning to the Academy, when classes start, she’ll show her underlying motive, asking Oknodie, “Did everything go well with your outing?”
Conversely, this could be an opportunity.
If I reverse my negative behavior, I might gain extra points as bonus behavior with the professor!
“Actually, I’m a rogue!”
Curiosity sparkled in the childlike Bronze Professor’s eyes.
“What were you here to steal?”
“To steal the confidence of strong tourists!”
That was the right answer.
A look of delight spread across the Bronze Professor’s youthful face.
“Impressive! Want to play a bit?”
“No, the show is about to start… I also have something to do…”
“I could help with that job.”
She seemed intent on barging in, so I responded that I understood it was controllable.
Her mind might have shrunk as her body did, as she happily followed me behind the stage.
Rosgini’s fire show.
The quality of the final fire show rose with only the strongest audience!
*
The strong ones, akin to an all-star lineup, weren’t affected by dreary ice water splashes or gust magic.
‘Are we going to lose the Masugaki Princess’s prize today?’
Rosgini felt uneasy despite it not being her money.
She lured the audience with a prize of 10,000 gold coins, and she actually delivered those 10,000 gold coins as a prize.
A significant difference existed between these two.
In the world of debt, there’s conditional and unconditional debt.
The size of the debt that needs to be repaid had grown as big as 10,000 gold coins.
– Pffft! Hah! Did the crappy magician think they wouldn’t have to repay their debts? They had to be prepared to commit assassinations without leaving a corpse by secretly igniting a silence.
Suddenly, someone nonchalantly made remarks and even suggested an assassination request; one couldn’t refuse due to the pressure of 10,000 gold coins looming over them.
[Domain Expansion]
[Domain Expansion]
[Domain Expansion]
Nearly all the strong refused the fire show’s methods.
They firmly established their own domains inside the venue, allowing no external interference.
No means could threaten the lantern.
A bloody but surefire operation.
Rosgini realized that the fate of the Masugaki Princess’s 10,000 gold coins now rested on Oknodie’s shoulders.
“Having firm confidence in oneself greatly aids in taming desires. But with strong will comes strong trials.”
Please, Oknodie!
Protect the Masugaki Princess’s prize with a violin punch!
In response to Rosgini’s fervent prayer, the violin began its godly performance.
Thwack.
Every time the music played, paper planes flew into Rosgini’s table, landing as reminders of what performance was being played.
━━━
Safety Unlock
「Sincere」Performance Begins
━━━
Sincere? What is she planning…?
Flustered, Rosgini glanced at the hidden spot where Oknodie was concealed behind the blackout curtain, but it didn’t require a question.
Music is understood through the body.
The moment the melody hit her ears, she knew.
A chill crept in;
This was truly dangerous.
A person cannot withstand this sort of thing.
[The Defeat Song of Vulkahn]
[God has Forsaken You]
The torrential notes pierced through the firm barriers of the domain and began to erode freely.
Rosgini realized.
Had such a performance been conducted at the Academy, not a single first-year would have been able to resist.
‘Oknodie. Have you been hiding this level of performance all this time…?’
The expressions of all the strong turned grave.
Rosgini’s expression mirrored their seriousness.
This was not a performance imbued with malice.
It was not targeting anyone.
Only fragments of power and will carried towards the goal could be felt.
With just that
Her eyes desperately wanted to shut tightly.
If she couldn’t endure it, she might as well close her eyes.
Otherwise, she’d be kneeling or wanting to run away from this place right now.
“The domain built for desire is not solely yours. There are formidable competitors looming, aiming to invade others’ domains.”
The strength poured into the thighs of the Beastfolk maid.
The gentle monk’s face twisted.
The ears of the familiar Cat Beastfolk customer perked up.
A dark magic noble’s hand grasped their wand tightly.
As mana and will flowed into their spheres, the colors of the domains visibly shifted, but all domains began to waver simultaneously.
This place was not a battleground; it was a fire show.
One could neither kill nor repress through brute force; a contest thoroughly forced into defense was mandated here.
[Powerlessness]
[Despair]
[Restricted Vision]
It was not a contest of power.
Instead, the sound of erosion that shakes the opponent’s will.
Even the strong found themselves kneeling in rows before the cloaked guests.
Thwack. Thwack.
Despite witnessing the fire orbs shatter their lamps, they could not prevent their eliminations.
In a state of extreme powerlessness, merely watching the whole spectacle was their only limitation.
‘I’ve heard from my mentor; one can only manifest the emotions they understand through music.’
Rosgini was terrified.
How deep must Oknodie’s profound appeal and sorrow be, allowing for such power?
As if someone who had repeatedly witnessed the end of the world, how could she manage such overwhelming despair?
Thwack.
A paper airplane flew in.
━━━
Faster.
━━━
Thwack.
Another paper airplane flew in.
━━━
Even deeper.
━━━
Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.
Constantly, persistently, as if seeking an end.
The gloomy thoughts surged like waves.
[The Defeat Song of Vulkahn]
[God has Forsaken You]
When several strong beings’ domains began to shake and their controls weakened, piercing sharply through the erosion of the lamps led to their destruction.
Holding onto the fire orbs was near impossible amid the onslaught of the song, even to protect oneself from it.
A territory carelessly spread wide enough couldn’t shield them.
Thus, they had to shrink even further.
In the reduced domain, the regulars clutching the lanterns held on, yet the newly arrogant and careless ones faced defeat.
“Merely the performer of a fire show manages their exclusive domain? What in the world is happening?”
“There is a genius in the Red Magic Tower of this caliber…? I feel a fear that would disrupt even my humble practice,”
Rosgini saw sighs emerge from the foreboding faces of Professor Minerva and Myung So, both unrecognized academy professors.
“I’ve seen countless strong ones while working in the guild, yet I never expected to see talents as intimidating as those of the warriors…”
“Moreover, they didn’t even touch an instrument. To display this level of skill while hiding their identity solely by resolute will; truly, an extraordinary genius.”
Even executives from the Destroyer’s Thief Guild stared agape, struggling to fathom their surroundings.
‘Crazy. We never received news of such strong individuals in the Red Magic Tower. That box cat must have had a reason to be compelled by the show thrice.’
Even Orde Taco, who hadn’t been eliminated yet, felt immense pressure from the unknown master handling the instrument right before her.
With a knowing glance, Box Cat indicated affirmative while looking lively, although they were uncertain if this creature was the original spark igniting their curiosity.
The moment was astonishing beyond them all.
The person most shocked among them was none other than the previous hero, the Destroyer.
‘There are levels to domain expansion.’
The step of grounding one’s domain in the world.
The level of expanding from one’s proximity to assert one’s domain.
Once that expansion range hits limits, the domain begins to condense densely, producing utilities like offense or defense in an instant.
‘While we have no high-ranking seniors to teach us, it’s not as if we lack knowledge of the curriculum. Even fourth-year students have had merely introductory experiences with domain expansion. The strength commonly recognized is where one leads a prominent force in a region, suitable for being enshrined as royal court mage.’
At bare minimum, this would rate to a level 5 hierarchy.
But at the junction where the created domain infiltrates with song, the performance artist of the fire show broke past that limitation.
It’s specialization.
The ability to infiltrate and destabilize the domain control of others reached the pinnacle of specialized domains.
Among the most famed organizations for operating instruments, only top-tier performers among the notorious Blood Band would be capable of such feats.
To boot, the expansion of the opponent’s domain advanced even further.
‘The speed of infiltration cannot be executed in a sane state. An erosion pace this swift is only viable with the resolve to gamble one’s life.’
No one would stake their life on just a fire show.
Even with this many opposing territories, aspiring to surpass it fully is madness.
It would be difficult to orchestrate even a shift in a single person’s thoughts, let alone dull the stubborn insistence of a being marking their will onto the world.
– I will achieve it.
– Your claims are unimportant.
– No matter what, today, the domain I showcase here must belong solely to me!
Across the battleground where life and death intertwined, the awakened knight’s domain seized the entire realm, much like victory in the fire show unfolded toward overwhelming territory.
To whoever sought to overcome that, victory could not be attained without sacrifice.
They must either enhance the output of their domain, risking months spent on recovery brandishing, or be supported by sacrifices, whether from rare items or allies.
‘Clearly, this is a loss.’
The Destroyer witnessed.
The warrior, the Cat Beastfolk, and the dark mage noble all reached the same conclusion: extinguishing the lantern’s flame would dictate an evident loss in the battlefield up ahead.
The strong whose lights went out witnessed an exodus, their territories collapsing as they visibly lost grip and crept away.
‘Yet, fools there may be. Though aware of the losses, they continue pushing forward.’
That mysterious performer revealing their identity, along with a man clad in white with a hood, were all insane enough, like the Destroyer.
‘Let me be a little more sincere.’
At that moment the Destroyer’s eyes filled with dark energy, every melody vanished from his mind.
[Domain Expansion]
[Specialization - Eye of the Oblique Angle]
[Form 2 - Searing Gaze of the Boundary]
Jonnas Wahyhiemhai.
Unyieldingly tough, the butler did not permit the entry of sound waves, suppressing their ingress with abortive resistance.
Not a step, but a glance.
Where my gaze reaches.
In this domain, the flow of mana resisting my will cannot be condoned.
And that was the command of the will behind that Destroyer.
Proclaiming to deny any kind of trespass.
Not even the medium meant to convey sound could evade being slammed into the ground.
Immutable severance.
Utterly individual, such a supremely selfish yet incredibly brutal will of the Destroyer uncovered something startling.
‘You shouldn’t have come here.’
Oknodie’s butler, the person of the Foundation, Jonnas Wahyhiemhai walked as if that were the case.
– Unless I overthrow them all, that nightmare shall return!!
A man’s desperate howl shattered all thoughts, invading his domain with stark, fervent resolve.
Yet the real threat was nothing merely desperate cries.
Click.
A small shadow of a child stealthily emerged from the floor, unsecuring the lantern’s lock.
Thud.
[Domain Expansion]
[Specialization - Eye of the Oblique Angle]
[Form 3 - Grasping Gaze of the Bag]
The darkness flooding the Destroyer’s eyes covered the will of both.
The shrieking man’s will fell silent.
The shadow’s hand that reached to extinguish the lamp was caught.
At that moment, everything embodied by this will was read by him.
[Mind Interpretation]
Trying to resist, where are they attempting to flee? The trapped shadow had no escape left.
‘Slowly, let’s see through you. What’s the identity of the secret performer behind the fire show, who lurked with stealthy intent for a shot at me?’
The interpretation took less than three seconds.
However, the subsequent shock echoed long after the time passed.
“Havi…?!”
Inside this shadow, Havi’s will intertwined.
