Chapter 51 – Prelude Rupture

There were a total of two quests related to Seraphine.

No sooner had he thought of it than the quest messages that had appeared before came to mind.

-Upon completing the main chain quest ‘Seraphine Arpeggia’, ‘All Stats +1’ will be given as a reward.

-Upon completing the main sub-quest ‘Sonata of World Demise’, ‘All Stats +1’ will be given as a reward.

‘Two to all stats is not bad.’

Merely catching Seraphine was not enough.

If he failed to stop her performance, he could not resolve the sub-quest.

Rashid, who was heading to the Choral Dome, encountered two vampires waiting for him in front of the stairway.

They were Commander Kain and Deputy Commander Akard.

“You’ve arrived? I was waiting.”

Both had come to attend the concert in formal attire.

At first, Rashid had tried to prevent the two from coming here.

However, if the concert itself fell through or if by any chance nothing happened, that would also be a problem.

This was an inevitable choice.

Of course, since he had warned them in advance about the danger, the two wouldn’t be caught off guard.

The commander spoke first.

“I didn’t know he would harbor such thoughts. I am still half-believing and half-doubting. No matter how much of a political enemy he is, to think he would try to clean up the majority, including me, in that manner.”

“Once the concert begins, if you just unfold the silent barrier properly as I instructed, there won’t be any big problems. Do not, under any circumstances, listen to her performance. No matter who the opponent is, they cannot overcome her play.”

Akard expressed concern.

“If those words are true, it sounds like an extremely dangerous performance. Must we really attend this?”

“Since the concert will only open and something will happen if we do, there was no other way. Even if it is uncomfortable, please help me out, you two.”

A faint, cold smirk hung on the commander’s mouth.

“If it drives him into a corner, there is no reason I cannot help. You already told us the way to overcome it, so what is there to worry about? Although it will indeed be painful to sit still in a state of hearing nothing while attending a concert, I can endure that much.”

“Since it is not a simple concert, there will definitely be things to enjoy. Even if your ears are not entertained, your eyes can be.”

“Hearing that makes me look forward to it already. Just what kind of performance is it that makes people turn out like that?”

“You will see if you watch. Ah, and during Part 1, the reactions around you might be quite interesting. But simply ignore them. You must never open your ears.”

“Understood.”

The commander signaled the deputy commander, and the two headed toward the Choral Dome along the stairs.

Remaining behind, Rashid surveyed the bustling surroundings and thought.

‘I shouldn’t be left out either. Since I must be included in his targets as well.’

This orchestra concert, where the violin was the main instrument, was a symphony consisting of a total of four parts.

Among them, Part 1, Prelude Rupture, was a performance that was art itself.

It was excellence itself, to the extent that it was not a lie to call it the only sacred sound under heaven.

However, that was a sweet bait.

It was a cunning scheme to drag them into the hell that would begin in Part 2.

‘I should go in, wait quietly, and then move at the climax of Part 2.’

* * *

As the lights dimmed softly, the buzzing hall quickly quieted down.

First, the concertmaster came out onto the stage, gave a brief greeting to the audience, and the orchestra quickly finished tuning to the oboe’s A note.

Vane was watching the stage with some interest, and soon Lucian approached his side.

Lucian bent down and whispered.

“Your Excellency, everyone, including the commander, is inside this Choral Dome. I think we can proceed.”

The Director of Palace Affairs laughed silently.

It was true that this concert was being pushed forward by Seraphine, but he also had to have something clear to gain.

Fortunately, there was no such worrisome occurrence as the main target being absent from this concert.

Vane, without taking his eyes off the stage, nodded lightly.

It was approval.

“Then I will proceed as planned.”

Lucian quietly withdrew.

The one who was silently glaring at the two from the side was none other than Aria.

Her complexion was infinitely cast down.

Neither disappointment, anger, nor any other emotion remained there.

Only an expressionless face, as if she had severed all ties with him, remained.

‘I understand my brother’s will well. Then I shall repay him accordingly.’

She looked at the stage where the concert would begin with a dry gaze.

Nothing was heard in her ears now.

It was only peace within silence.

A moment later.

The violinist who would be the main protagonist of this Choral Dome tonight appeared on the stage.

Seraphine Arpeggia.

Everyone’s gaze focused on her, and applause spread elegantly.

She bowed to greet the audience, then briefly locked eyes with the conductor to check their breathing.

Stage was set.

As the conductor organized the stage, the entire hall became as silent as if it had held its breath.

Simultaneously with the raising of the baton, Seraphine’s bow touched the strings, and the other performers also quietly caught their breath.

The Sonata of World Demise.

That performance began.

A grand first note that dared to be compared to heaven split the space, and it spread majestically across the capital through the Sacred Sound Resonator installed in the upper part of the Choral Dome.

‘It has begun.’

Rashid was thinking of other things while watching her performance.

‘I hope the investigators who entered the mission won’t be greatly shaken after hearing this music. Since the music itself will be spectacular.’

Unlike his concern,

Carl and the clerics under his command broke into various scenes all at once and entered a fierce battle with those guarding the Sacred Sound Resonator and the resonators.

Swords clashed, bullets flew wildly, and screams and blood splattered in all directions.

Part 1, Prelude Rupture—as the name suggested, the crack in the world was starting slowly yet violently in various places, including the Choral Dome.

Rashid looked down indifferently at his wristwatch stamped with the Blood Cross logo, thinking of those who would be active elsewhere at this moment.

‘After all, the most important thing must be the Sacred Sound Resonator installed up here.’

Even if they only blocked the Sacred Sound Resonator, the resonators responding to it would lose their meaning.

Thus, Rashid could not help but naturally worry about Carl.

‘The fact that clerics are evaluated lower than knights is also mostly due to restrictions. If only there were no restrictions, some clerics’ skills could be on par with or superior to knights.’

Carl Setier.

His track record was not bad either, and he was a cleric who served as the leader of a group.

‘Since the restriction was also released, his power will probably be around that of a regular knight. Whether he is a useful guy will be determined this time.’

Moreover, there was another reason for trying to keep Carl as an attendant.

‘To receive the reliable support of the clerics like now, a cleric attendant would be better than a knight. Since there is a tight bond among fellow investigators that people don’t know well.’

Of course, there was a possibility that Carl might fail, but since the resonator side could be firmly suppressed even if they didn’t block the Sacred Sound Resonator, Rashid did not seem to worry much.

‘That’s why it was important to strike the count first.’

Seraphine was currently in a state where she had lost the reliable backing of the count.

It was not that her influence in the family had completely vanished, but still, it was not comparable to the count’s.

At any rate, the count, who was the head of the family, was the only one who could normally command the soldiers or knights in his family.

‘If the count were alive, we would have had to charge at the resonator side with absolute determination. Because the knights and private soldiers sent by the count would have been guarding them in heaps. And the count himself would have directly guarded the Sacred Sound Resonator here.’

In Rashid’s chest, the terminal vibrated loudly.

Confirming the message that popped up on the terminal, the corners of Rashid’s mouth curved wide.

‘It seems they succeeded on the Sacred Sound Resonator side. Then I won’t have to worry about the resonators either.’

It seemed he would occupy the vacant attendant position after all.

‘It wouldn’t be bad if he just cultivates his magical aptitude more than now.’

The expressions of the audience exposed to Part 1, Prelude Rupture, were quickly filled with ecstasy and emotion.

One middle-aged follower, with eyes half-closed, swallowed admiration with slightly trembling lips, and a certain woman, slightly tightening her hand placed on her chest, wore a gaze as if chewing over each and every note.

The entire hall seemed to be sucked toward a single violinist.

‘Boring. Just when is it going to end?’

Rashid, who was not particularly moved, scanned the entire hall.

Most were completely infatuated with Seraphine’s performance, but those who were not were also occasionally visible.

‘Those who feel bored must be the ones who are prepared.’

They were either the Director of Palace Affairs’ people or those he had tipped off in advance.

‘That woman is staring at me resentfully.’

By chance, Rashid

was able to lock eyes with a woman looking back at him.

It was Aria.

She looked exactly toward him, and seemed to say something with her low, cast-down eyes.

Rashid, laughing lightly, soon shook his head.

It was an order to sit still and not act up.

She turned her gaze forward as if nothing had happened, and Rashid scanned the entire hall once more.

Bzzzz~

Rashid felt the signal from the terminal and checked it.

‘Is the resonator side also completely cleaned up? Then the only one left now is Seraphine.’

Before long, Seraphine’s bow stopped.

Part 1 had ended.

A brief silence descended within the hall.

Someone exhaled a long breath as if still trying to hold onto the lingering imagery, while others could not move, keeping their eyes fixed on the stage as if the performance had not ended yet.

“Your Excellency, the performance just now was truly an ecstasy. I only marvel once more at Your Excellency’s discernment in preparing such a place.”

“For the concert prepared by Your Excellency to bring such a great impression… Your Excellency’s merit in arranging this sacred moment will be remembered for a long time.”

Several figures sitting next to the Director of Palace Affairs spared no high praise, but the Director of Palace Affairs showed no response.

“Your Excellency?”

He remained unresponsive as if he had become deaf, and only reacted to their excessive gazes by lightly smiling.

Then, the relieved people continued their high praise, but the Director of Palace Affairs’ response was somehow lukewarm and cold.

Although the majority of the audience could not hide their regret like this, those who were watching in boredom could not help but cheer inwardly.

Naturally, Rashid was included among them.

‘Is it slowly starting?’

The conductor lowered his hand, and the audience held their breath, waiting for the next.

After catching her breath briefly, Seraphine set down the bow used in Part 1 and picked up a rapier.

As she picked up the rapier, murmurs arose from here and there.

Since she held a rapier instead of a normal bow, it was a natural reaction.

At this moment, Seraphine scanned the entire hall as if ridiculing it, and by chance, locked eyes with a man.

‘There you were.’

It was Rashid.

As if playing with him,

she tore the corners of her mouth cruelly and laid the rapier down on the strings of the violin.

Then she spoke with her eyes.

‘Watch. What kind of pain the people here will feel from now on. Those terrible memories from back then will absolutely not be kept by me alone.’

She was someone who could dominate the listener’s emotions, senses, nerves—everything—through her performance.

And those words meant she could transmit the same terrible and hellish moments she had experienced in the past to the audience.

Part 2, the Quidon of Collapse, began.