The Orchestra's Intricate Harmony
The orchestra was like one intricate machine. The sounds of countless instruments—whose very names most ordinary people didn't even know—served as components, assembled according to the blueprint known as the score to create a single, sophisticated work of art. The only thing that determined the level of perfection this work would achieve was the conductor's skill alone. And in Vivaldi's Grand Concert Hall, the ultimate harmony created by the greatest conductor was currently unfolding.
World! Cry out!
The name of a new era!
With nothing but music, it proudly introduced itself, and even after every performance had ended, it left every single person in the audience unable to escape the lingering resonance. The Lenny Orchestra delivered a performance so shocking that its name would be deeply etched into people's minds. A classical piece that transcended the limits of classical music. A feast of unrestrained imagination that freely wielded microtones impossible to present in ordinary classical concerts. Everyone present found the emotions they felt in that moment impossible to fully express in words. The only thing they could do was applaud, praising the conductor as he bowed on stage.
"......"
In the middle of the audience where the standing ovation continued, Kain existed in a different world from the others who were moved by the Lenny Orchestra's music. From the start of the performance until this very moment of pouring applause and praise, he had spent three hours in total silence, hearing nothing at all. Unable to overcome his boredom, he let out a yawn.
With his chin still propped on his hand, Kain turned only his head to look beside him. Seeing Arina clapping with a bright smile just like everyone else, he let out a soft chuckle.
She must have enjoyed it.
It wasn't an easy thing for a child to like classical music. Unlike popular songs, classical music generally carried the prejudice of being boring and subdued. Not entirely unfounded, but the fact that most pieces lacked lyrics was one of the reasons that reinforced that bias.
Although Arina was more mature than most children her age, he had still wondered whether she could truly find enjoyment in a nearly three-hour classical concert. He'd held that concern, but fortunately it seemed to have been unfounded. Her expression made it clear to anyone watching that she had given her all to enjoying the performance.
That just proves how exceptional that orchestra is.
An ensemble capable of entertaining even a child. That alone was more than enough to explain how they had earned the right to perform in Vivaldi's Grand Concert Hall.
"Haaaam. What, is it already over?"
On the other hand, Tugwi—who like Kain had spent three hours in silence—opened his closed eyes at the presence he sensed around him. It looked as if he'd taken a nap. He stretched and let out a long yawn. It was far too casual and foolish behavior to display in front of an opponent who could threaten his life, but Kain had no intention of pointing it out. No matter how relaxed he appeared, the moment Kain made even the slightest movement, Tugwi would instantly notice and shift into combat readiness.
Martial artists were different from other disciplines that manifested phenomena through mana. They trained their own bodies directly using mana. They were the ones who challenged the limits of the world with nothing but a human body. That was why the range of their senses far surpassed that of other ability users.
And Tugwi was undeniably the strongest martial artist on the continent. Even for Kain, slipping past his senses was impossible. The entire city was already within his sensory domain.
"Looks like things over there are finished too."
As if to prove it, Tugwi was perfectly aware of the real-time situation at Ariaadna Square, far from their current location. He knew that Eun Ma-hyun and Kindness's plan had failed and the conflict had ended in victory for the underworld. Yet despite knowing every detail, Tugwi's face showed not the slightest trace of regret or disappointment. As he'd said from the beginning, he hadn't held particularly high expectations for this plan of Eun Ma-hyun's.
"Aren't you going?"
Kain had already confirmed through the eyes of the corpses littering the square streets that the fight was over. He looked at Tugwi with a curt expression.
"You'll really let me leave quietly?"
Tugwi answered with a short laugh. He already knew. The moment he turned his back and disappeared, Kain would send his summons chasing after him. He was the Death King Dark Heaven, the very pinnacle of pettiness with the strongest lingering grudges in the world.
He might forget a favor, but he never forgets even the smallest grudge.
With such an absurd life motto, there was no chance Kain would simply let Tugwi—who had come here and disturbed his peace—walk away.
"Then are we going to fight or something?"
The Death King's eyes rippled with purple as he stared at Tugwi. Those eyes were clearly gazing at Tugwi Jeok-cheong's death.
"......"
A martial artist's senses surpassed those of any other ability user. That was why Tugwi could feel it—what the Death King was looking at. Simply meeting his gaze brought the sensation of death rushing right before his eyes. He possessed more than enough power to kill him.
That's exactly why I want to fight him.
The thrill of facing death—a feeling he'd thought he would never experience again after becoming too strong. Kain had given him that thrill with nothing more than eye contact.
But not today.
He deliberately calmed his racing heart. It wasn't yet time to fight him. After all, fruit tasted best when picked at the peak of ripeness.
"So calm yourself as well, Death King."
Tugwi lightly stomped his foot. At the same time, the 'King of Blood' that Kain had summoned beneath the Vivaldi Grand Concert Hall—ready to slaughter every human present except Arina if necessary—split into thousands of pieces and exploded in self-destruction.
"Tsk. Penetration force, is it?"
As expected, launching a surprise attack while avoiding this guy's senses was impossible. Kain frowned and clicked his tongue at the divine technique that had targeted only the King of Blood without harming anything else in the area.
There was no problem continuing the assault, but with the advantage of surprise now lost, there was no need to waste effort on pointless attacks.
"I'll create a separate opportunity for you to take today's revenge. Then we can kill and be killed to our hearts' content."
"The only one dying will be you."
"We'll see about that."
"No, there's no need to see. In this world, there's nothing I can't kill once I've decided to do so."
He spoke such arrogant, haughty words with complete nonchalance, as if they were the most obvious truth. To him, they were simply facts. And he was the strongest dark mage with the power to turn that stubborn belief only he held into reality.
"......"
Tugwi let out a soft chuckle, once again confirming exactly why the Death King was called the Death King.
"I'll look forward to it, Death King."
With those final words, Tugwi vanished cleanly from before Kain's eyes. The presence disappeared in an instant. Even Kain—who could usually detect Jealousy's stealth—found Tugwi's martial arts to be on another level entirely.
Swaaak.
At the same time, the simple sub-dimension Kain had installed split apart in several places. The phenomenon couldn't keep up with Tugwi's movements.
Has he already left the city?
With the simple sub-dimension's disappearance, the silence vanished. The gradually fading sound of the audience's applause filled the empty space. Kain quickly spread the King of Blood through the city's underground to scan all of Vivaldi, but Tugwi was nowhere to be found.
Feeling irritated by that fact, Kain let out a deep sigh.
"Yeah, look forward to it as much as you want."
No matter how much you anticipate it, I'll more than exceed your expectations.
Thinking that, Kain rose from his seat, gazing at the now-empty stage and the audience beginning to file out.
"Uh, ah?!"
At Arina's sudden cry beside him, he turned his head with a sour expression. She had taken out her smartphone as if to check the time. Then, upon seeing something, her eyes shook violently as she looked up at him and shouted.
"Uncle! The news! Look at the news!"
He roughly guessed what had shocked her. She had probably seen an emergency article about the terror attack at Ariaadna Square. Kain already knew the incident was over, but the internet news would still be frantically spreading reports about the severity of the situation.
The murmur spread. Starting with Arina, people began checking the news on their smartphones one by one and buzzing with conversation. The people who had been temporarily cut off from the outside world inside Vivaldi Grand Concert Hall realized what had happened at Ariaadna Square in an instant.
The parade is off the table now.
It was unfortunate for the little brat who had been most excited about the parade upon arriving in this city, but at least one annoying task had been removed. Unlike the people around him who worried about the terror attack, Kain felt pure joy at the parade's cancellation.
As everyone had expected, the summer parade scheduled to take place in Vivaldi was canceled due to the Ariaadna Square terror incident. In its place, a joint funeral service was held to mourn the victims. Julia Evergreen of the Special Investigation Unit's Violent Crime Team 1—who was known for taking the lead in resolving the case—bowed her head before the platform displaying photographs of the victims, her body covered in wounds.
"It was a terrible thing."
Arina watched the scene on her smartphone screen and shook her head in sorrow. To think something like that had happened while they were enjoying the Lenny Orchestra's performance.
"Indeed."
Meanwhile, Kain—who knew every single detail—casually played along as if he knew nothing.
I thought she'd be disappointed about missing the parade.
Fortunately, it seemed her pity for the victims currently outweighed her disappointment about the parade. Completely unaware of how strange it was that he considered this a good thing, Kain nodded from the seat beside her.
Leaning back against the seat of the magic train heading back to the capital, he secretly showed a satisfied smile where Arina couldn't see.
This is what they call a blessing in disguise.
The current atmosphere inside Vivaldi was extremely gloomy because of the Ariaadna Square terror incident. It was impossible to happily tour around in such conditions. That was why Kain had been able to board the train to the capital with Arina the very next day after the incident.
It wasn't just Kain and Arina. Because of the ominous atmosphere in Vivaldi, many tourists had decided to leave early. Without Pride's help, securing train tickets might have been quite difficult.
Now I can finally get some rest.
When he was younger, he'd spent his days constantly fighting one opponent and killing another, but as he grew older, wandering around all day had become quite exhausting. The moment he got home, he resolved to lie down on the sofa and not move a single step.
Then, realizing he hadn't checked the most important thing, he opened his closed eyes and turned toward Arina, who was still checking real-time news updates from the adjacent seat.
"Hey, kid."
"Yes?"
"Did you enjoy the trip?"
The question came out curtly. At her uncle's words, Arina paused in thought for a moment.
"Yes."
She nodded. The emotion she'd felt when first entering Vivaldi. The beautiful illuminations she had seen outside the hotel with her uncle. The street busking performance by superstar Layla Ruby. And the fantastic performance by the Lenny Orchestra.
Although hearing news of a major incident at the end had left a bitter aftertaste, and she had left the city without getting to see the parade.
Every experience she'd had in Vivaldi remained as happy memories in her mind.
"It was fun. Really fun."
"Then that's good."
"What about you, Uncle?"
The magic train began moving toward the capital. Kain glanced at the scenery of Vivaldi passing by the window, then closed his eyes once more.
"Well, it wasn't bad."
With those words, his breathing became steady and even, as if he had fallen asleep. Click.
And that scene was captured as a single photograph on Arina's smartphone, marking the final memory of their trip.
I hope I can go on another trip like this with Uncle someday.
Embracing that pleasant anticipation in her heart, drowsiness finally caught up with her now that the trip had ended. At some point, she too began to nod off, just like Kain.
As the train shook, Arina's head came to rest against Kain's arm. The two of them fell into a deep sleep that lasted until they arrived at the capital.