Chapter 82

The stage of a broken heart (2)

"There are intruders aiming for the stage!"

Fran cried out urgently as he appeared on the other side of Nebo. Geheim Ginger, his head bowed in the middle of the stage, raised his head in response to the voice. For a moment, time seemed to have stopped, his charm going out. Kleio, unable to turn on Separation in time, and Arthur and Fran, firmly determined, stopped moving as if they were caught. Geheim looked around as if he didn't know what had happened. His hat rolled over the floor, his wonderful silk stage costume now a mess. What was revealed under his mask that had vanished at some point was the face of a young man both incredibly ugly and terribly beautiful. His burned face was growing smooth like a piece of ivory.

'The blood is causing his distorted skin to regenerate?!'

His face, covered in blood, we're beginning to regain its beauty, but his red eyes were grotesque, and two fangs flashed like a beast between blood-stained lips.

'It was easy for him to find victims with his opera performances, but is his body collapsing faster as a result...?'

Blood-red ether fluttered around him, looking exactly like Fran's painting. Arthur, Kleio, Fran, and Nebo all saw it now. This was the killer of the opera theater case. Suddenly, Fran fired one of his loaded bullets.

Bang!

Kleio remembered that Fran's revolver was a five-shot type, which meant that was his last shot. The silver bullet headed straight toward Geheim's thigh. But, though it should've been unavoidable, the actor turned away from the bullet unnaturally. Instead of the actor's flesh, the bullet tore through the velvet auditorium and stuck into a backrest.

The actor remained still as if he felt no threat.

Shing-

Arthur stretched out his sword, and finally, Geheim's unfocused, bloody eyes set on the blazing golden sword. Arthur's ether level had reached 5, his range of motion going eighty-meters, so with his reinforcement, he could cross the distance in an instant. If such a confrontation took place in such a small space, any non-ether sensitive people wouldn't be safe. Kleio hastened Nebo, who was still enchanted.

"Nebo, get the singer out of here! That's your job!"

At Kleio's order, the boy with the soprano slung over his shoulder sprinted toward the emergency exit. With [Leap], Kleio jumped to the stage with magic and pulled Fran back, unfolding [Defense] magic around them. The message of Promise crumbled as he looked beyond his ethereal vault, unable to determine Geheim's level.

"Fran, the intruders."

Fran reloaded his revolver with a practiced hand.

"At the end of act three, four masked guys crawled out of the stage equipment box! I hit all four in the legs or shoulders, but I turned to the stage after. I didn't think I could deal with them all alone. They will arrive soon."

All four shots had hit? Kleio was stunned.

'What can't this kid do?'

He had more important things to focus on, however.

"Did you use the silver bullets?"

"Yes. Normal bullets couldn't have penetrated their ether [Reinforcement]."

Fran had a lot of questions for Kleio as well, but the situation didn't permit them. Kleio nodded, raising his Perception to pursue the intruders Fran had noticed. It was something an average ether user couldn't do, but he was able to detect that terrible red ether from a distance.

"They're injured, but they're still moving so fast."

"They can't feel the pain of the wound. The silver bullets dug into their flesh, but their speed didn't decrease at all."

Fran's low ether wasn't enough to finish off the red-eyed invaders, even with the gun.

"Is Arthur their goal?"

"No, they were mumbling about a singer."

Still, Kleio couldn't be relieved. There was no guarantee they wouldn't attack Arthur if they saw him. The bloody smell of the assassins began to fill the stage as Kleio looked behind him, but there was nothing to be seen. They were gradually approaching the scene where Arthur confronted Geheim.

'They're either brainwashed, or they can't feel pain.'

Geheim remained motionless, focused only on Arthur's sword.

"Arthur! How do I deal with the red-eyes?"

"Pierce their heart with ether. That's the most obvious move."

"Ah."

"Even if you cut their legs off, they'll still crawl at you. They're pretty fast, so be careful!"

If so, what magic could be used? Kleio looked above him, the complicated stage devices and lights hanging above. If [Achilles's Spear] misfired, it could cause those devices to fall down and hurt Arthur. [Emperor Angel's Fire] would burn down the stage, and the maximum range of Kleio's own circle was 20m, which meant the assassins would get too close.

'I'd have to drop the shield to use it, but Fran's [Defense] magic is practically useless at the second level.'

Besides, if Geheim or the assassins cut him down, the magic would stop. He couldn't be killed that way. Cold sweat formed on Fran's forehead as he poised with his revolver, following Kleio's eyes behind the stage.

'I have to deal with it somehow.'

It was dangerous to leave it to Arthur. Fran might be able to fire some supporting shots, but neither he nor Kleio had the capability to fight head-on. It didn't seem easy to hope for the help of the others arriving in time, as Isiel, Cel, and the twins were guarding outside. As Kleio went through his Memory, he finally came up with a formula. It was the attack magic that consumed mana stone gold he read in the journal.

'[Throw][Acceleration][Tracking]. All I need is those three, so I can keep my [Defense] up. It forms an arrow out of the mana stone gold, which will work fine here.'

He looked down at the two well-crafted golden cufflinks he wore.

'There was no mantra, and to make a bow that could fly around the circle, I would need a bow-sized amount of gold... What could I make with this?'

To deal with the assassins without letting his shield down, he needed an arrow. At that moment, Geheim, who had been standing still as he measured Arthur, shouted a scream that sounded like it came from hell.

Kiiiiiiiiiiiii!

An unbelievable, creepy scream was wrenched from his throat. The next instant, Geheim tried to bite Arthur's neck. Arthur, who moved back to avoid Geheim, cut a path with his sword upward from the stage.

Shaaaaa-

Blood spurted from Geheim's shoulder, but he turned his body and swung his sharp, long nails. As Arthur pulled back, the four assassins appeared out of the backstage passage.

[5 level ◼‧§ ∞≤]

At the same moment, Promise displayed that same distorted message above their heads.

'Level 5? They sent some strong guys. No!'

Each assassin pulled out a red sword of a brighter color than Geheim's ether. It was the exact same as what he saw in the summer. But even though Arthur's skills had improved from that time, it was reckless to face several of them at the same time. With Geheim in front and the assassins behind him, Arthur cut around himself in a half-circle with his flaming sword.

Before Arthur could take another breath, the battle began. Two of them ran to Geheim, and the other two approached Arthur. Geheim growled and scratched at his face with his fingernails, blood beginning to flow from his red eyes. Kleio began to remove the cuffs from his sleeves. If he had known this would happen, he would've gladly spent whatever he could for more of this gold.

'Even if I were only 5th level, my circle range would be wide enough. Damn it.'

Kleio put the cuff in his palm and weaved the small but elaborate [Throw][Acceleration][Track] magic formula over it. Fran's eyes went wide in surprise as he continued to shoot at the masked men.

'Magic double load!'

Unaware of his eyes, Kleio focused on the cufflinks as his mantra rang out.

"[Bring my blazing gold bow, my seeking arrows! Stop the adversary!]"

The amount of ether consumption for double loading was three times the usual amount. At once, the feeling of collapse as the ether escaped him struck Kleio, a sensation he still couldn't get used to. Despite the great mantra and the ether used, the bow that floated above his hand was as small as a toy soldier. Two golden arrows, thinner than chopsticks, began to fly away from it with a pulsing sound. The arrows sped toward the edge of the circle.

Fssss...

The moment they left the shield, the gold crumbled and vanished. However, thin beams remained that struck the hearts of the intruders.

Thud.

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

'Done!'

With Kleio's help, Arthur finished off the remaining two assassins, stabbing the man attacking Geheim from behind. As his heart halted, he pulled out Beg's sword to avoid the last guy's attack coming from above. At the same time, Arthur lowered himself and cut through his legs at the speed of lightning. The assassin shouted grotesquely as he collapsed, Arthur's sword finding its way through his rib cage a beat later. Arthur was bloodied, but it was hard to tell whose blood it was.

Kisii.

When Geheim saw the blood, he fell to the floor as if he couldn't control himself and put his mouth to the blood leaking from the assassins' bodies.

Slurp...

When his face was stained with blood, it began to mend once more in a terrible vision. Kleio might've thrown up had it not been for Separation supporting his calm.

Shu-

Kleio's [Defense] magic shut off as Arthur grabbed the singer's neck to try and raise him from the blood. The singer struggled to drink more, but Arthur's ether infused arm began to overpower the bloodied singer.

Kyahahahah!

Dark red ether exploded from Geheim's body, tearing at his own clothing. The muscles in Arthur's forearm bulged as he held the singer down, even his [Reinforced] body struggling against the force.

"Stay still! There's a lot we have to hear about! Lei, is there anything magical to bring back someone's mind?"

Fran was the one to answer instead.

"This man is raving in pain. I'll try it!"

Fran quickly opened his circle. It was small and light, looking more like a fading gas lamp than anything. His magic lit them up.

"[Fire, defeat the cold darkness!]"

Geheim's reaction was strange. Although his pain must've eased, he struggled with bloody tears as if he were frightened by Fran's pale ether. Arthur pinned him to the floor to stop his struggling. Several long seconds passed.

"Fire... Hate... I'm scared... It hurts..."

Geheim's red eyes began to regain some clarity.

1) 「And did those feet in ancient time」, William Blake.