Chapter 296 ·Rampage and Song

Rampage and Song

"Candice! Candice! Candice!"

Watching the frenzied fans below waving placards, the host gulped in fear.

"Everyone's enthusiasm is truly high, but I'm sorry, as we haven't been able to contact Miss Candice, she won't be performing at the opera house today."

As soon as these words were spoken, the audience erupted.

"What? We came specifically to see Miss Candice, and you're telling us she's not here?"

"Do you believe we'll tear down this sorry opera house of yours?"

Chaos ensued. Seeing this, the host quickly switched tactics.

"But! But!"

Hearing the word "but", everyone perked up, and the host hurriedly continued.

"But the song 'Life Will Change' performed by Miss Candice will be played again at the opera house today, and it will be personally performed by Master Molly."

"Master Molly!"

"That doesn't sound so bad either."

The moment Molly's name was mentioned, the restlessness in the crowd subsided a little. The host breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief.

Thank goodness...

"So what are you still standing up there for? Get down, we want to hear Miss Candice's song!"

"Get down!"

Hearing the audience's shouts, the host hurriedly smiled and withdrew, and then Molly, in a long red dress, stepped onto the stage. Today, her chosen instrument was...

The violin!

As Molly took her place, the cheers surged once more, but then, suddenly, Dogsius' warning came through.

"Master, it's that same mental power that tried to attack you before—it's nearby!"

"What?!"

Hearing Dogsius' warning, Serea turned to look, but amidst the sea of people, there was no way to pinpoint the person.

While Serea searched as best she could, in a shadowy corner, someone pulled out a black sun insignia.

"It should be about time."

Just as he muttered to himself, an adventurer in the crowd lowered his head, eyes reddened, as illusions began to appear in his mind. The crowd around him transformed into swaying ghosts; fear and helplessness took over, his sights fully clouded by the visions.

Bang!

In the midst of the crowded jostling, someone carelessly bumped into him.

"What are you shoving for? Get lost!"

The man shouted angrily, but this outburst caused the red-eyed adventurer to lose the last of his sanity.

"Ah!!!"

It was a beast-like roar. He swung his fist, knocking the man to the ground.

"What's happening?"

Those around were stunned, but seeing the blood veins filling the adventurer's eyes, they sensed that something was terribly wrong...

"Aaahh!"

The same scene unfolded in other parts of the hall—one, two, three...

Many people went berserk and started attacking those around them. Through Dogsius' Appraise, it became clear that these people were all blinded by illusions.

Illusions, illusions...

It's the Divine Medicine!

Prolonged use of that Divine Medicine led to addiction, damaged the spirit, and produced hallucinations!

But one thing was especially concerning: those controlled by illusions were also being enchanted by another mental power—the same kind the two deathsworn had used in the previous attack!

The Supreme Church... Black Sun Preacher...

At this moment, these two names began to overlap in Serea's mind: The Supreme Church was merely the façade used by the Black Sun Preacher for concealment!

Now that the crowd in the opera house was rioting, Serea sensed that the night would not be peaceful. She hurried to inform Lola, telling her to prepare at once.

On stage, molly saw the chaos in the audience and kept calling out.

"Stop! What are you all doing? Don't fight anymore!"

But her pleas were utterly ineffective—even worse, several demented individuals attempted to rush the stage and attack Molly. At the critical moment, several clear-minded adventurers jumped to the stage.

"Protect Miss Molly!"

The madmen were pushed off the stage, but with more and more people succumbing to the Divine Medicine's effects, the number of berserkers continued to grow, and the scene spiraled out of control.

Meanwhile, ackley and the others, startled by the chaos, rushed up on stage.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Captain, what do we do? These people all seem to have gone mad!"

Facing the rampaging crowd, molly was also frightened and took a step back, noticing the violin placed on a chair.

"Hm?"

She glanced at her beloved instrument and then at the audio-recording Crystal in her hand...

On the other side, Serea was inquiring:

"Dogsius, this can't be the only place—do you have any way to stop these rioters?"

"There is. As long as I cast mental magic to remove the illusions and mental power from their minds, they'll be fine."

"Can you do that on a large scale?"

"I can do it one by one, but for so many people..."

Ding ding ding~ ding~

A familiar rhythm resounded, and Serea instinctively looked toward the stage: It was Molly!

What she played on the violin was "Life Will Change"!

Seeing Molly start to play, even Ackley, who was about to escape, froze.

"Master Molly, what are you doing? Run!"

"She's right! Miss Molly, hurry and run, we'll hold them off... Wait, why aren't they moving?"

As the music played, the rampaging people actually began to calm down.

"Miss Molly, your music can actually control them!"

Ackley was in utter disbelief, but those crazed individuals dropped to their knees one after another, dazed, as if remembering what they'd just done—but remained dazed.

Why would I attack someone else?

"It's diva magic!"

Dogsius exclaimed, as if he'd suddenly realized something.

"Diva magic?"

"Yes. Most diva magics are essentially a form of 'mental magic,' as music can stir a person's emotions, and diva magic brings that to its peak."

"So in that case..."

Looking at Molly on stage, she was coordinating her performance with the music in the audio-recording Crystal.

With the berserk crowd subdued, a Supreme Church member hiding in the dark was stunned.

"What the hell is happening?"

The chaos quieted, and normal people began moving away from those collapsed ex-berserkers—no one knew if they'd rise up again.

"It's Miss Molly! Her performance saved them!"

The crowd realized what had happened and looked toward Molly, automatically gathering in front of the stage as if to protect her.

With the performance nearly complete, tension filled the hall—no one had recovered from earlier. Just as someone suggested they restrain the berserkers, the hidden man finally couldn't take it.

"Heh, mere parlor tricks."

He stealthily produced a black sun insignia, and an even more powerful mental force surged out from it.

"Master, that force is even stronger now!"

"Ah ah ah!"

The crowd, just now calmed, rose again. But this time, instead of acting like wild beasts, they were controlled by that mental power to charge at Molly as one.

"Hold them off! Protect Miss Molly!"

Apparently aware of Molly's effect on them and out of a desire to protect her, a few sane people fled the opera house, but most chose to stay and guard the stage.

Witnessing this, molly played even more desperately. However...

"Ugh—ahh!"

Even some 'normal' people, not yet affected by the medicine, were drawn out by the mental power, which awakened the Divine Medicine's dormant properties. More and more ordinary people started joining the berserkers.

"What exactly is going on?"

Panic swept through the crowd, and thankfully, most had not brought weapons, or blood would have flowed like a river. But now, with the berserkers multiplying, could they really hold them off with bare hands?

"Everything is already destined. My god's faith will soon rule these stubborn mortals!"

The Supreme Church member was ecstatic, and the tremendous mental power overwhelmed Molly's music. Except for those who had never taken the Divine Medicine, everyone else fell into a berserk state.

At this point, molly's performance ended, while the berserk crowd was about to rush the stage.

"Miss Molly, just go! These people have gone mad!"

Ackley was still advising at her side, while the other staff had already hidden backstage.

But then, seeing the adventurers who stood up for her...

With the defenses failing, molly gripped her bow tightly.

"As expected, compared to being a diva, I'm still so useless."

Molly was blaming herself. Hidden behind that self-blame seemed to be a sad past—clearly, she could have become an enviable diva, yet in the end...

Dun dun dun~ dong~ dun dun dun~ dong~

Suddenly, music started up—Molly felt as if something touched her hand.

Turning, she saw a girl standing next to her, with an "octopus hair clip"—no, an actual octopus perched atop her head. The girl reached out and activated the audio-recording Crystal in Molly's palm, making the original backing track sound.

"You're..."

"Your performance just now was great. I really liked it."

Nora flashed a radiant smile. For some reason, molly's heart skipped at the compliment. But...

In the end, her music magic was still too weak. If only that person were here...

No one noticed that during the interlude, someone had already reached the stage.

"Whatever the case, let's settle the chaos here first."

Thinking this, Serea took a deep breath, put on her Silver mask, and entered Deep Sea Mermaid form.

Although she hadn't disguised herself using Pelam, Serea's hair in her Deep Sea Mermaid form was also black, so with the mask, her identity wouldn't be exposed. Meanwhile, Pelam had an even more important task.

"Everyone, get out of the way!!!"

The berserkers surged, molly retreated in terror, and even the adventurers began falling back, ready to dodge. Just then, the prelude music hit its final note.

Dun dun~ dong~

It's not a game~

I'm not a robot and I'm challenging you~

As the line rang out, the howling of the berserkers gradually ceased, and their wild motions slowly stopped as well.

"What is this?!"

I'm never better~

I'm here to face it~

I'm here to see it through~

The chorus soared. The adventurers looked back—"Candice" stood right behind them, the diva's soul-piercing voice making everyone feel a comfort like never before.

Under the spell of the song, the berserkers again lost all strength.

"Candice! It's Miss Candice!"

"Miss Candice has arrived!"

The adventurers all wore excited expressions and then, with renewed determination, formed a guard around Candice.

Seeing his mental magic fail, the Supreme Church member was dumbfounded.

"Impossible! How could my god's faith be overshadowed by a mere song?!"

He furiously raised his black sun insignia, unleashing a mental power like surging waves. The people who'd calmed down under Candice's song now began showing signs of stirring once more.

But as the lyrics to "Life Will Change" went:

Tryin' to stop us shows~

Might as well go try'n stop time~

(Translation: If you try to stop our show, you might as well try stopping time!!!)

From the moment the song was sung, the outcome was decided. Moreover...

As the Supreme Church cultist kept pumping out more mental power, Dogsius instantly locked onto him.

Suddenly, someone patted the cultist on the shoulder.

"Get lost! Can't you see I'm busy here?!"

Annoyed, the cultist swatted the hand away, but then his shoulder was patted again.

"Don't you get human language? You—"

Turning, he saw two towering men in cloaks standing behind him.

Feeling the threat, the cultist tried to say something...

"You..."

Bang!

Little Black threw a punch, sending the cultist flying and smashing his head into the prop wall.

"Queen said leave him alive."

"He's still alive. That just broke all his bones—it won't kill him, and he can't suicide, either."

With that, Little Black yanked the half-dead man out of the wall as easily as picking up a chick, and carried him away.

After the Supreme Church cultist was taken away, his mental power vanished too, and those who'd been berserk fully recovered under the power of song. Their memories of the chaos were hazy, but some subconscious part of them insisted that everything they'd done just now, they had done of their own free will, with no orders from anyone else.

This was an exceptionally cunning form of mental control. With a combination of drugs and mental magic, people could be completely controlled, and neither the Supreme Church nor the Black Sun Preacher would ever show their hand.

But this time, they'd picked the wrong people to mess with!

As the song finished, everyone returned to normal—but only about a thousand people remained inside the opera house; most had fled.

Ignoring the Faith Crystal she'd just obtained, Serea was troubled by a question: With so much chaos here, why hadn't the fox tribe guard appeared?

Suddenly, a strong sense of unease welled up in her heart.

And just then, the sounds of smashing and roars drifted in from outside.

(To be continued...)