Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Inside the Rose Square in Kasvig…
When Little Crystal suddenly arrived and released the dominance of a top creature, exclamations and shrieks immediately burst out of the crowd. They backed off as if they were being blown by a tide. Their panic and fear were almost concrete.
“Monster!”
“D-Dragon!”
“Screwed… We’re screwed…”
“It’s so terrifying!”
In only one moment, a large room was cleared around the “curtain”. Although they knew that it was happening inside the Rentato Royal Grand Theater, their subconscious reaction of fear came from their natural instincts. No “special effects” worked better than a real-life dragon!
In the cities of Cocus, Salyvaor, Paphos, and Samara, similar cases were happening. Somebody backed off in fear, some were stunned, and some felt that they were dreaming.
Human beings living in the non-remote areas had barely seen any dragons since the heyday of the Magic Empire, but as the eternal supervillain in stories, people’s impression of dragons did not decline with the passage of time. Also, “Human and Nature”, a program on “Arcana Voice”, had introduced the epic creature many times. It was not difficult for Banus and Ali to identify a dragon.
Holding their breath, they found their legs shivering. Despite the long distance, Banus and Ali were still horrified by the dragon on the curtain. They would’ve turned around and fled if they were not too stunned to move.
Suddenly, Ali was back to himself. “She’s in the theater near the dragon!”
What do I do? What do I do?
Right when his fear almost drove him mad, Princess Amansa, the only standing actress on the stage, spoke in recitative that carried the characteristics of singing. “My most precious treasure is my courage and my knightly faith. Nobody can take them away. Vicious dragon, kill me, or be killed by me. There isn’t a third option!”
Huh?
Everybody who did not know what was going on was puzzled. Lady, you are an opera actress, not a real knight! Dragon-slaying is best left to the “professionals”!
Huh, could it be… Finally, Banus and Ali sensed something.
When the princess sang, the “unaffected” orchestra was also playing. The agitating, uneasy, rapid, and poignant melody made everybody share her feeling!
The singer and actress who played the princess “glared” at the dragon before her as her heart pounded. Because they rehearsed before and the dragon intentionally curbed his deterrence, she managed to control her body and her voice and continued her performance.
Also, the subconscious fear resulted in the secretion of her adrenaline and made her feel that she had never performed better. The shivering nobles down there proved that her feeling was true.
The orchestra was not affected by the dragon either. That was why they could continue the performance.
Hearing the princess’ trilling aria, Banus and Ali shivered and recovered from the influence of the dragon.
“They’ve invited a dragon to play the greedy vicious dragon?” Banus felt that his question was inappropriate, but he was too excited to consider calmly right now due to the subconscious fear.
His worries gone, Ali began to observe Little Crystal carefully. After all, the opportunities to see a real dragon were rare. The arrival of Mr. Atom Controller on a dragon during his wedding with the queen had been sung over by the bards, who all claimed that they participated in the gala in order to increase the credibility of their stories.
“Perhaps… it’s an illusion of the sorcerers?” Looking at Little Crystal’s thick neck and half-transparent scales, he asked in great curiosity.
The audience around replied in excitement, “It can’t be an illusion. Her Majesty, Prince Evans, and the other sorcerers in the box are all legendary experts. How can they not see through an illusion? As a result, they would only see the ‘princess’ singing by herself, which would be a disrespect for them. Therefore, it has to be a real dragon…”
He too had been affected by adrenaline and could barely stop after he began talking.
“Fair enough. Oh, a real dragon…”
“The kingdom and the Congress of Magic let a dragon become an opera actor!”
In their amazement, Little Crystal responded to the princess’ challenge. He bent backward and raised his claws, bashing his chest and “roaring” in fury.
“Howl!”
Wow! The audience below the senior rank was intimidated by the “terrifying roars” of the dragon and took a step back again.
“How horrifying!” Banus announced, his fists clenched, but he sounded more thrilled than scared.
“It’s so terrifying…” Jane, Duke James’ daughter, patted her chest as if she had been scared, but her eyes were focused on the stage with unprecedented excitement that was partly mixed with fear.
In all the squares where a live stream was going on, the audience looked more or less the same. They had never known such a kind of opera before. It was so amazing and attractive!
Ali swallowed. “The ‘princess’ is really strong. She’s still standing before the dragon. Look at the people around her…”
“She’s the Valkyrie…” Banus looked at the “curtain” without blinking and fully understood what Valkyrie meant.
Inside the box, Natasha looked at Lucien in confusion. “Why is Little Crystal acting and roaring so funnily? What exactly did you think when you designed the actions?”
Fernando also glared at Lucien. How could he let Little Crystal do that and roar like that? He’s a dragon, not anything else, although the little guy was rather suitable for that…
“I designed quite a few sets of actions and roars. However, Little Crystal picked this one on his own. He believed that it presented his ‘gravitas’ most.” Lucien chuckled.
Natasha raised her eyebrows and scratched her chin. “I seem to have understood something from your laughter. The other few sets were certainly even worse than this one. After comparing them, Little Crystal felt that this was the best.”
Lucien smiled. “The result of choosing is solely dependent on the design of options. Hehe. Isn’t this good? Does it not suit Little Crystal?”
“It suits him very well!” Natasha also chuckled.
On the stage, the final battle was about to break out, and the princess’ knights had recovered from their fear. They gathered around her and were about to charge with her.
The princess began to sing; her face both determined and gentle. A sweet and touching song hit everybody’s mind with the music from the orchestra.
Most people would recall the beautiful things in the past when they were about to do something of critical importance, and when their lives were in danger, what they would recall were definitely the most wonderful pictures that they remembered best. It was obvious that the princess remembered the prince and their sweet and painful love.
As she sang on, most people who had similar experiences or looked forward to loving someone were captivated by the song. Ali looked at the curtain, his eyes hazy, as he pictured the girl in his heart and thought of the chasm between them. For a moment, he felt both sweet and miserable.
After one song was over, it was another piece. It was the chorus of the knights, warm and everlasting. It made the audience understand the meaning of “protection”.
In the end, the princess sang loudly again and broke the warmth. There was a resolution in the breathtaking melody. They were determined to kill the dragon or to be killed by it.
A real dragon was lurking ahead, and the prince and knights fighting for their homeland were right next to them. Hearing the music from the orchestra that melted perfectly with the atmosphere, the audience shared the fury toward the common enemy. They had the sacred feeling to sacrifice for those who loved.
Such a feeling touched themselves and made Ali clench his fists. What was to be scared of if death could not scare them? Even the longest distance could be covered as long as one took the first step!
Wu!
The horn of charge echoed again, and the melody became intense and hasty, which made the nobles and the ordinary people who couldn’t activate their blood powers clutch everything around them. Everybody felt that valiance and determination in a real charge.
Such music was something that they would never regret. The melody of charge echoed in their heart. In every act, they had discovered music that was more classic than the previous ones, but they finally realized that “Charge” was the most central and classical part of the opera!
An intense battle began, and in the horns of charge, one knight fell another, and fewer and fewer people were left by the princess’ side.
Finally, paying one arm as the price, the princess stabbed the dragon in his heart.
Little Dragon held his stomach and writhed on the floor in “pain”, making the stage scrunch.
Clinging to her longsword, the princess looked around, only to discover that all her partners had collapsed and stopped breathing.
The melody changed again—wistful and miserable.
The princess raised her head slightly, and her mouth opened. A song that sounded like it came from the depths of the soul echoed.
“Heroes never die;
“They will only wither in people’s memories.”
Banus shivered and sensed the shiver from his soul to his body. The sad but determined melody hit his soul precisely.
He couldn’t describe the feeling. He only knew that the song astounded him so much that he completely forgot everything around him and was completely devoted to the world that the song built.
…
“Bury my bones, but do not set any monument…
“… For this prosperous city is the best monument for us!”
Tears quietly dropped from the corners of most people’s eyes. The princess plucked her longsword and struggled to walk backward, leaving an unwavering and unbent back.
The curtain slowly fell.
“This is the best opera that I’ve ever heard. Nothing can be more amazing than it!” After a long time, Oliver congratulated Lucien in excitement.
Natasha blinked her eyes. “I think so too. Lucien, thank you for your gift.”
“Right, what’s the name of the last aria?” Oliver asked in haste.
Lucien replied with a smile, “Heroes’ Monument.”
It was not until then that most of the audience was finally really back to themselves. Intense and enthusiastic applause burst out in the Royal Grand Theater, in the squares of the cities large and small in Holm, and in the major cities in the other three countries on this side of the strait and on the north coastline.
Inside a library on the top floor of the Holm Royal Magic Tower, Hathaway was sitting at her desk. Before her was a water screen that displayed the scene inside the Rentato Royal Grand Theater.
Her whistle echoed in the room, but her singing sounded rather poor…
