Chapter: 362
“Want to retire?! Just like that?!”
The man shouted in shock, as if struck by lightning.
His adoptive daughter Auria, the most popular performer at the moment, expressed her wish to retire after her next performance.
“If you’re tired, how about taking a break instead? You’re too talented to retire already!”
Of course, the man earnestly tried to dissuade Auria.
It wasn’t just about the profit Auria brought to the troupe; it was because he was a fan of hers. As someone who loved art, he couldn’t bear to see such a shining star leave the stage at such a young age.
“You once told me, Father, that when you find something you truly love, your soul will tremble with joy. I’ve found it. Something that makes my soul tremble.”
However, Auria’s resolve seemed firm despite his objections. The man understood that Auria had already moved on from the stage, despite her words.
“…Well, if that’s truly how you feel, then I can’t stop you.”
In the end, the man decided to respect Auria’s decision, even if it brought him to tears. He was both a fan wishing for her to continue and a father who loved his daughter more than anything.
“…But Auria, I’ll make sure your final performance attracts as many people as possible. I want to leave a lasting memory of the star you were. Is that okay?”
“Sure, that sounds great!”
And so, Auria’s retirement performance was decided.
“What the heck… Auria is retiring?!”
“No way!! This can’t happen!!”
The news of Auria’s retirement threw the city into chaos.
Even the atmosphere, previously filled with tension from a string of murders, was completely overshadowed.
In this city, whether they were wealthy, artists, or vagrants, everyone admired Auria, the diva.
People believed that missing her final performance would be a regret they would carry forever, causing the area in front of the theater to be overwhelmed with fans before ticket sales even began.
People were clamoring so much that many said they’d sell their houses just to get tickets.
But with demand soaring, the leader of the Golden Troupe decided to take exceptional measures.
“I’ll hold the performance in the Central Square! Since it’s my daughter’s last show, entry will be free! Everyone who wants to see her, come on over!”
He decided to reserve the entire Central Square for the performance.
And, of course, there would be no charge for admission.
The reaction from the public was explosive, and the city’s citizens, more cooperative than ever, banded together to prepare a stage in the Central Square for Auria.
On the day of Auria’s retirement performance, an immense crowd gathered at the Central Square.
The square was packed, barely leaving a spot to stand, with people climbing onto the rooftops of nearby buildings just to watch the show.
The noise from the crowd was also deafening, but then…
“Wow, I’m amazed at how many of you showed up.”
At that moment, when her voice rang out, the noisy square fell eerily silent.
“I truly didn’t expect this many. I’m really happy.”
Auria looked at the gathered crowd with a bright smile.
“Thanks to all of you, it feels like this will be the best ‘end’ ever.”
Those who had never seen such a genuine smile from Auria felt mesmerized, listening intently. The realization that their beloved star was delighted because of them was exhilarating in itself.
And Auria addressed the crowd,
“Shall we start the performance soon? Oh, but before we begin, I have something to confess. About the recent murders occurring in the city…”
She smiled toward the bait laid out enticingly before her.
“I did them.”
In an instant, darkness enveloped the square.
“…Huh?”
“…Kyaaahhh!!!”
The slaughter began.
“What the hell is that monster?!”
“Ahh?! People are dying!”
“Run away!! It’s a witch, a witch!!!”
Bat-like monsters suddenly appeared, beginning to kill people.
The crowd fell into a panic, pushing and trampling each other in their desperate attempts to escape.
“What are you doing?! If you don’t move, we’re all gonna die…!!”
“The front, it’s blocked! There’s some strange wall… Aaaah!!”
But they could not escape.
The square had been perfectly sealed off by a barrier Auria had created.
“Please…! No, noooo!!!”
“Aaaaaaaaaah!!”
Amidst the screams of rats trapped in a cage,
“♬~”
Auria sang.
An opera filled with joy and ecstasy, draped in the tragedy surging through the space.
The song continued until the screams faded away, and when her final performance was over, Auria smiled at the last remaining survivor in the square.
“So, did you enjoy the performance? Father.”
At those words, the man kneeling amidst the corpses slowly looked around.
But no matter where he turned, all he saw were piles of bodies.
With tears in his eyes, he asked Auria, the daughter he had loved more than anyone else,
“Why, Auria. Why…?”
In response to his question, Auria simply smiled brightly.
But the father recognized that look.
He understood that Auria was genuinely happy.
And that realization plunged him into true despair.
What monster had he raised with all the love he had given?
“…I never meant to take you. I never meant to.”
The man muttered in lament, kneeling down and smashing his head against the ground in sorrow.
He repeatedly apologized for the lives lost to his daughter.
With the death of a man who had raised a monster as his daughter, the city of artists met its complete ‘end.’
Ah, they say parents willingly give everything for their children.
If that were true, then he, who gathered people for her and even sacrificed himself to provide a perfect ‘end,’ truly…
“You were the best parent.”
Auria embraced her deceased father, tears of joy streaming down her face.
*
The ‘end’ of a city.
It was truly like a brain-melting stimulation for Auria.
Just savoring that pleasure felt like it could bring her joy for years or even decades.
“…But if the city is like this, wouldn’t it be even more thrilling if it were something greater?”
But endless greed made her desire more.
“Not just the end of a city, but perhaps the end of an entire race…”
Thus, the floating island in the sky, home to the Celestials and Jo In Clan, met its demise at Auria’s hands.
Of course, exterminating an entire race was no easy task.
Several strong individuals among the Jo In Clan and Celestials were powerful enough to contend with the demonic beasts Auria commanded.
Though it’s uncertain what would have happened if they had directly confronted her, Auria wasn’t particularly good at or fond of engaging directly in battles.
So, Auria took her time, scheming to create discord between the celestial beings and the Jo In Clan, who had previously been friendly.
And when their internal strife weakened their forces, she attacked.
It was a comedy when the two races, realizing Auria had been behind their infighting, joined forces to try to crash the floating island, seeking mutual destruction.
It was utterly ineffective against Auria, who could move freely through space.
While the conclusion may have been slightly anticlimactic, Auria learned valuable lessons from her battles with the two races.
The lesson was that it was better to live without revealing one’s identity whenever possible.
If she gained notoriety, people would come looking for her in a hunt for her and it would only complicate her schemes.
Additionally, given her personality as someone who considered herself a playwright, she preferred to operate from the shadows, manipulating characters rather than stepping into the limelight herself.
And so, Auria began to spread false information about herself, claiming she had died alongside the Jo In Clan and Celestials.
She feigned death while secretly relishing her ‘end.’
But then, something unfortunate happened to her.
The appearance of the Witch of Gluttony in the world.
Her arrival, indiscriminately consuming every living being, was a considerable setback for Auria.
Countless races that she had hoped to enjoy over a long period were suddenly wiped out in a short time.
It felt as if someone had forcibly stuffed multiple pieces of candy into her mouth at once, instead of allowing her to savor them one by one.
Fortunately, the Witch of Gluttony was sealed away.
Leaving only one final piece of candy— the Human City.
Thus began a life of restricted indulgence, half by choice, half by necessity.
Auria pondered for hundreds of years on how to savor the last remaining piece of candy and how to ensure the story ended as tragically as possible.
The conclusion she arrived at was to bring about the ‘end’ through the barrier’s power that had allowed humans to survive thus far, due to the Witch of Gluttony.
Thus, Auria gradually began to plot to topple the Human City.
She unleashed the Witch of Lust’s demonic beasts to throw the city into chaos.
She sent the so-called Witch of Arrogance, Freede, to create a hole in the barrier.
During this time, she even managed to free the Witch of Gluttony from her seal.
However, contrary to her expectations, the Human City did not fall easily.
The Witch of Gluttony, freed from her seal, was re-sealed by the Jealous Witch, who had been hiding her identity.
Seizing the opportunity, Auria defeated the Witch of Lust, Lily, and even managed to overpower the Sloth Witch, Beatrice.
With the relics she obtained, she finally managed to vanquish the freed Witch of Gluttony.
Although it was an outcome that completely exceeded Auria’s expectations,
“Aha! This actually turned out great!”
Auria felt only delight, not disgust at all.
Both the Witch of Sloth and the Witch of Gluttony, two irregularities with immense power who she couldn’t control fully, had been destroyed by humans.
Auria had harbored feelings of discontent toward both of them for quite some time.
Thus, after the Human City was annihilated, she had initially planned to command the two to battle each other until their deaths, as compensation for the contract they had made.
However, the results surpassed her original plan, where a single one dying would be considered fortunate.
Now she could finally achieve what she had truly desired.
“I had it prepared just in case, but it turns out I can use it now.”
Auria smiled, pulling out an orb that had turned black from her ability, from her pocket dimension.
This object was originally the energy source of the floating island, known as the Celestial Jewel, a sacred object created by the Celestials and Jo In Clan.
Through extensive research, Auria discovered how to modify the relic to amplify miasma as well.
The sacred object, the Tears of the Ocean, that she had given to Lily was modified in such a way.
Thus, holding out the modified relic—which could now be called a demonic object—Auria pulled out two black stones from her pocket space.
Those were the hearts of the Witch of Lust, Lily, and the Witch of Sloth, Beatrice, which she acquired the day before.
As the source of the power of witches and the structure that produces miasma, these hearts kept emanating miasma even after their owners perished.
With a significant expression, Auria pushed the two hearts deep into the Celestial Jewel.
And the already miasma-infused Celestial Jewel began to absorb the distinct miasmas emitted by the two hearts, amplifying them simultaneously.
The heightened miasma enlarged around the Celestial Jewel, eventually taking on a spherical form.
This sphere, glowing ominously in black, resembled a black sun.
From a single type of miasma, demonic beasts would arise.
But if the different miasmas mingled, they manifested a destructive force that no living creature could withstand.
What would happen if that fell to the ground and spread?
In that case, the space filled with that energy would become a place where no living creature could survive.
Now that both the Witch of Sloth and the Witch of Gluttony were gone, no creature would be safe.
“Finally, the time has come. Let’s go.”
Auria smiled at the black sun.
And she declared her long-held goal that she had often spoken of.
“I shall conquer the world.”
To conquer the world means to possess the world.
Auria sought the ‘end’ of the world.
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