[177] At the Concert

"That... I thought you'd catch it."

Silvia awkwardly withdrew her hand, looking at the girl opposite her with a mix of amusement and exasperation.

What was going on?

This girl gave off such a sharp, formidable vibe—she must have excellent reflexes. How could she fail to catch a simple piece of paper tossed her way?

Could she actually be a clumsy airhead?

Miss Okita expressionlessly crouched down and picked up the paper.

Damn it.

The listening device couldn't pinpoint the direction of sounds at all. On top of that, Miss Okita wasn't truly his clone but a familiar—she could only act after Roy processed the situation and remotely issued commands. And Silvia's hand speed was ridiculously fast! A single misstep, and now she looked like a fool!

In short, Miss Okita's reaction time was a bit delayed—that was the gist of it.

Well, at least it was Miss Okita who embarrassed herself, not Roy!

By now, Miss Okita had already picked up the paper.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a concert ticket—and a VIP seat at that.

"Couldn't sell your tickets?"

"..."

Silvia had been puzzling over whether this girl was strong or weak, but those words made her choke, her expression darkening slightly for a moment.

Was this kid dense?

She took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to retort, and plastered back on the warm, friendly smile from earlier.

"Of course not!"

"It's just that I had an extra ticket I couldn't give away, and since it's free now, I thought I'd offer it to you. My dream is for everyone in the world to hear my voice. If you've never listened to my songs before, why not give it a try? People can find happiness in music, you know!"

"Of course, the choice is yours. That's all. Well, my concert's about to start—I hope to see you there!"

The girl waved at Miss Okita, then lightly leaped off the rooftop and vanished.

Miss Okita glanced at the ticket in her hand.

"While it's true you mean no harm, giving away tickets like this makes you seem way too nice."

To just hand a ticket to Miss Okita, someone she'd just met, without any conditions.

Besides, if he wanted to listen to music, he didn't need a ticket like this at all.

Maybe that was part of the reason—giving it to him would let him listen from the closest possible distance.

"Pfft. Whatever. I'm using a listening device anyway—it's no different from streaming online. Heck, downloaded tracks might even have better sound quality!"

Miss Okita turned and vaulted away from the place.

Not long after.

The venue opened.

The waiting fans immediately surged in, filling the entire hall with a deafening roar.

Backstage.

A young woman with deep violet hair stood in full glamour, her youthful charm accentuated by a frilly short skirt. A pair of headphones resembling spread wings adorned her ears.

"Alright!"

She rose to her feet, taking deep breaths to steady herself, then strode down the long passageway toward the stage.

As she passed through the corridor, a shadowy figure emerged like a ghost in her wake.

The figure was shrouded in a black cloak, completely covered from head to toe with not an inch of skin exposed. Their stature wasn't tall, resembling that of a thirteen or fourteen-year-old youth, with a slender frame akin to a young girl's.

"An idol standing at the pinnacle of the world... How splendid. You're quite beautiful, and your singing must truly move hearts..."

"But fame can sometimes become a burden, and the greatest fame transforms into the heaviest weight. You'll be the one to promote my debut work. I'm sure you'll soon show a most amusing expression, hehehahaha..."

The low laughter, murky and dark as if emerging from a chaotic swamp, lingered in the dim, lengthy corridor without dissipating.

On the stage.

Amidst earth-shaking cheers, Silvia stepped onto the platform.

Under the multicolored spotlights, the girl's gaze swept across the audience.

The front row was reserved for VIP seats, typically not sold but gifted to corporate executives, high-ranking officials, and ancient nobility—a strategy of the W&W conglomerate she belonged to. Such individuals often had complicated schedules, so occasionally, reserved tickets went unused.

Yet she had just given away one such ticket.

Still, one VIP seat remained empty.

That eccentric, airheaded, clumsy, and somewhat dim-witted girl—oh, who also loved cosplay—was nowhere to be seen.

Failing to win her over left Silvia somewhat resigned but not disappointed; that girl didn't seem the sociable type anyway.

Quickly regaining her composure, she returned to her role as the world's strongest idol.

As a professional singer, she took every concert seriously, giving her all in each performance.

The venue gradually quieted down.

A beautiful melody began to rise.

"We'll break through barriers, crossing boundaries beyond limits, unafraid of wounds, run, run~!"

The opening number was a pop-style song.

Its simple, lively, and powerful rhythm instantly ignited the atmosphere, eliciting frenzied cheers from tens of thousands of spectators.

From all corners of the venue, reporters from global television networks and renowned websites set up cameras, broadcasting the concert live on TV and online streams.

At that moment, countless people worldwide turned on their TVs, tuned into the concert channel, and flooded the official live stream.

Viewership and audience numbers skyrocketed to unprecedented heights in mere moments.

And it was then.

A jarring sound pierced through the venue.

"Argh—!!"

"What are you doing?!"

Such cries were drowned out by the crowd's enthusiasm, quickly suppressed.

But soon after.

"Ahhhh!!"

"Murder! Murder!"

"Stop!"

Screams erupted from all directions across the venue.

Like a whirlpool in the ocean, the outcry spread from every corner, captured by one reporter after another.

Cameras unhesitatingly swiveled toward the source of the chaos.

"It wasn't me! Really, it wasn't me!"

In one section of the stands, a middle-aged spectator screamed in terror while grabbing a glow stick and smashing it against the head of the person next to him.

"I can't control myself! Get away from me!"

What was happening?

Most of the audience looked around in confusion.

The deafening cheers gradually faded, replaced by waves of bewilderment and panic.

Security personnel moved to contain the disturbance, only for several of them to suddenly pull out batons and savagely strike their colleagues' heads, knocking them unconscious with bloodied skulls and rolling eyes. The remaining guards froze momentarily before rushing to restrain them.

The chaos spread rapidly, like ink dispersing in water, engulfing the entire venue.

***

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