Editor 82

The Stage of Enactment (2)

“There’s an intruder! They’re targeting the stage!”

Fran, appearing from the opposite side of Nebo, shouted urgently.

As if responding to his voice, Gehaim Zinger, who had been bowing his head in the middle of the stage, looked up.

For a moment, it felt as if time had stopped.

It was a horribly inappropriate moment of “Fascination.”

Not only Cleio, who couldn’t activate “Separation,” but even the strong-willed Arthur and Fran stopped moving as if entranced.

Gehaim, looking up, stood there with his mouth open in blank bewilderment, as if he didn’t know what was happening.

His feathered hat was rolling on the floor. The splendid stage costume clutching the silk drape was a mess.

What was revealed beneath the mask that had disappeared somewhere was the face of a young man, hideously ugly and at the same time terribly beautiful.

The face, covered in burns, was turning smooth as ivory in an instant.

‘The distorted skin is regenerating from the bloodstained parts?!’

Though his face regained its beauty through the blood splattered on it, his eyes were so red they looked grotesque, and two fangs glistened like a beast between his blood-smeared lips.

‘Was it because it’s easy to find victims on both sides of the performance, or did his body deteriorate faster due to increased activity during the performance…?’

On his shoulder, adorned with decorative epaulets for the stage, crimson aether swirled like blood. It was just as it had appeared in Fran’s drawing.

Arthur, Cleio, Fran, and Nebo all saw it. Now the culprit of the opera house murder was clear.

Suddenly, Fran fired a properly loaded bullet.

Bang―!

Cleio remembered that Fran’s revolver was a five-shot model.

Just as the silver bullet imbued with aether was about to pierce Gehaim’s thigh.

Swoosh―

Even though it was a distance that couldn’t possibly be dodged, the actor twisted his body, evading the bullet as naturally as breathing.

Thwack―!

The bullet tore through the velvet seats and lodged in the backrest.

Gehaim, as if he felt no threat at all, still stood in the middle of the stage.

Shiiing―

Arthur, having drawn his sword, unleashed a blade of energy.

At last, Gehaim’s unfocused, bloodshot eyes fixed on the golden glow of the sword.

Arthur’s aether level was 5, and with reinforcement, his range of motion instantly reached a radius of 80 meters.

In such a confined space, non-aether sensitives would not survive if a confrontation broke out.

Cleio hurried the dazed Nebo.

“Nebo, take the singer and get out! That’s your job!”

Cleio’s command was resolute. The boy carrying the soprano ran toward the opposite emergency exit as if kicked in the back.

Using magic, Cleio jumped onto the stage, grabbed the back of Fran’s unprotected neck, and pulled him in, then deployed a magic formula.

Beyond the aether veil, the messages of “Promise” tangled chaotically. Gehaim’s aether level was impossible to gauge.

“Fran, explain about the intruders.”

Reloading the revolver at a speed invisible to the eye, Fran fired off words like a machine gun.

“Near the end of Act 3, four masked guys crawled out from inside the stage equipment boxes! I shot all four in the leg or shoulder, but they ignored me and headed for the stage. I judged it was too much to face them alone and took the rigging passage to get here ahead of them. They’ll arrive soon.”

That meant all four shots had hit. Inappropriately for the situation, Cleio was shocked.

‘Is there anything this kid can’t do?’

But she quickly composed herself and checked the important thing.

“Did you use silver bullets?”

“I did, but still. If they were regular bullets, they wouldn’t have penetrated those guys’ aether .”

Fran also had many things to ask Cleio, but given the situation, he held his tongue.

Nodding, Cleio heightened “Perception” to the maximum and traced the intruders Fran had reported.

It was something ordinary aether users couldn’t do, but this vicious red aether could be sensed even from afar.

“I can sense four presences right now. They’re so fast, it’s hard to believe they’re injured.”

“They can’t feel the pain from their wounds. Even with silver bullets embedded in their flesh, their speed doesn’t decrease.”

Apparently, the red-eyed intruders couldn’t be stopped by methods Fran was familiar with.

His low aether level also meant there was little aether to in the bullets.

“Are they after Arthur?”

“No, they kept muttering they were looking for the ‘singer.’”

Still, Cleio couldn’t be reassured.

There was no guarantee the red-eyes wouldn’t attack if they encountered Arthur.

Before she could see the assassins, the smell of blood reached the stage backdrop.

Cleio glared at the empty space behind her.

They were rapidly approaching the stage, where Arthur and Gehaim were facing off.

‘Just as Fran said. The red-eyes either have no sensation or have been brainwashed.’

Gehaim was still fixated only on Arthur’s sword aura, motionless.

Taking the opportunity, Cleio asked Arthur,

“Arthur! How do we deal with the red-eyes?”

“Pierce their hearts with aether. That’s the surest way.”

“What if I don’t?”

“Even if you cut off both legs, they’ll crawl after you. They’re fast, so be careful!”

Then what magic could she use?

Cleio suddenly looked up. Stage equipment and lights hung overhead in a complicated mess.

If she used wrong and random equipment dropped from the ceiling, Arthur could get hurt.

would burn the whole stage, and for any magic, she’d have to drop the shield and draw Gehaim or the assassins into the circle.

Cleio’s maximum circle range was only 20 meters.

‘At that distance, I’d get my throat slit in no time. Even if Fran can use magic, at level 2 it’s useless.’

Moreover, if the crazed Gehaim or one of the assassins cut Cleio down, the magic would end.

She couldn’t die such a pointless death.

Fran, ready to fire his revolver and watching the entrance behind the stage with Cleio, had cold sweat on his temple.

‘I have to do something.’

Arthur facing five alone was too dangerous.

Fran might be able to provide covering fire, but neither he nor Cleio could fight those guys head-on. The shield had to stay up.

Since the intruders hadn’t broken in yet, it seemed help from Ishiel, Chel, and the twins guarding the outside couldn’t be expected right away.

Cleio, spinning through “Memory” at breakneck speed, finally recalled one spell.

An offensive spell from the 1793 journal that required massive amounts of gold magic stone.

‘If I just use the three formulas—, , —I can dual-cast and still maintain the . Gold magic stone’s attribute is arrows. It’s a compatible magic.’

She reflexively looked down at her sleeve.

Two pairs of finely crafted gold magic stone cufflinks shone with value.

‘There was no incantation, and to make a bow that could shoot outside the circle, I’d need a bow-sized chunk of gold magic stone… What can I make with just these?’

If she wanted to fight the assassins without dropping the shield, she had to make arrows, darts, anything.

At that moment, Gehaim, who had been gauging Arthur’s strength, let out a hellish scream.

Kweeeeeeeek!

It was a chilling scream, unbelievable from a human throat.

In an instant, Gehaim lunged at Arthur, trying to bite his neck.

Arthur, bending nimbly at the waist, dodged Gehaim and slashed his sword upward at the singer at the edge of the stage.

Flaaash―

Even as blood spurted from his shoulder, Gehaim twisted his body and swung his now-razor-sharp claws.

As Arthur retreated, four assassins burst out of the backstage passage.

Tatata―

[5 Le?? § ∞≤]

At the same time, “Promise” also displayed a distorted message above the intruders’ heads. Cleio, recognizing part of the message, was horrified.

‘Level 5? They sent strong ones. No!’

The assassins drew crimson sword auras. They were lighter in color than Gehaim’s aether, just like what she saw in summer.

Even if Arthur’s skills had improved since summer, it was reckless to face multiple opponents of the same level!

Shhh!

With Gehaim in front, assassins behind, Arthur swept his burning sword aura in a semicircle around him.

The red-eyed ones seemed to step back for a moment, then, before Arthur could catch his breath, the melee began.

Two in black rushed at Gehaim, the other two at Arthur.

Gehaim, raving mad, clawed at everything around him. Blood began to flow from his red eyes.

Cleio pulled the cufflinks from her sleeves.

Thinking she’d have to pay Dione back for them made her insides twist, but now was not the time to worry about money.

‘If I were level 5, my circle would be bigger and I’d have more options. Damn it.’

Cleio placed the gold cufflinks on her palm, then wove small but precise , , magic formulas over them.

Meanwhile, Fran, who was firing at any masked figures who broke from the pack, looked up in surprise.

‘Dual-casting a magic formula!’

Seemingly unaware of even his gaze, Cleio stared at the cufflinks on her hand with immense concentration.

At last, the incantation rang out.

“2)”

Dual-casting consumed three times the usual aether.

The sudden drain of aether hit Cleio hard. No matter how many times she experienced it, it was never something she got used to.

Despite the grand incantation and high aether consumption, the bow that appeared over Cleio’s hand was as tiny as a toy soldier’s.

Determined not to collapse today, Cleio barely managed to control her aether consumption.

Ting―

The two golden arrows, thinner than chopsticks, nocked on the string, began to fly with a feeble sound.

Cleio, not relaxing her vigilance, watched their trajectory.

At first, the arrows wobbled out of the circle, but as they reached the edge, they gained momentum.

Fsssh…

The moment they left the shield, the gold magic stone disintegrated and vanished.

Shhhhhh―

But the thin streaks of light remained and pierced the intruders’ hearts.

Thud.

Thump.

The two assassins attacking Arthur fell to the floor without even a dying scream.

‘It worked!’

With Cleio’s support, Arthur finished off the remaining two assassins.

He stabbed the one fighting Gehaim from behind.

As that one’s heart stopped, he pulled out Beg’s sword and dodged the last one’s overhead strike aimed at his head.

Lowering his body completely, Arthur cut both knees of his opponent at once. It was lightning fast.

The assassin, already battered and bloodied, let out a strange sound, red light scattering from his eyes.

Arthur’s sword split the last one’s chest.

At last, even the rattling sound stopped.

Arthur was covered in blood as well. It was impossible to tell if it was his own or his enemies’.

Kiiiiiiii!

Seeing blood, Gehaim lost all control, dropped to the floor, and buried his face in the blood leaking from the assassins’ corpses.

Squelch squelch squelch squelch squelch.

The ruined face would return when covered in blood, only to become red and distorted again and again.

It was a horrific scene.

Normally, Cleio might have retched, but the excitement of battle and the effect of “Separation” sustained her composure.

Shuuuu―

Cleio’s magic faded.

Arthur, sheathing his sword aura, grabbed the singer by the nape and tried to pull him up from the pool of blood.

He struggled wildly, trying to drink even a drop more.

Arthur injected aether into his arm to subdue the blood-soaked singer.

Kyaaaaaaaa!

Crimson-black aether exploded from Gehaim’s body.

Unable to withstand the aether overload, the decorations remaining on the singer’s costume hummed.

Arthur’s forearms, gripping the singer’s arms from behind, bulged with veins. Even a swordsman with aether had trouble holding on.

“Hold still, you bastard! There’s a lot you need to answer for! Ray! Is there any magic to bring him to his senses?”

Fran, who had already rushed to Arthur’s side and was examining Gehaim with blazing eyes, answered instead.

“He’s rampaging because of the pain. We need to use magic! I’ll do it!”

Fran instantly opened a circle.

It was small and faint, more like a dying gas lamp than gold, but a circle was a circle.

The formula shone on the three of them.

“”

Kreeeek!

Gehaim’s reaction was strange.

Though the pain should have been lessened, he seemed frightened by Fran’s faint aether, shedding bloody tears and thrashing. Arthur had to pin Gehaim to the floor to subdue him.

How many seconds passed?

“Krrr… Fire… hate… scared. It hurts….”

A faint intelligence began to return to Gehaim’s red eyes.

2) “And did those feet in ancient time,” William Blake.