The Frenzied Dance of Carnage

The battlefield of the mad dance was turning into a horrific sea of blood. Consumed solely by rage, they thrust spears and swords at each other, hurled spells, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and even slaughtered their own allies if they got in the way. The clash between Magus Civitas and the Holy Kingdom. At its center, the intense song of two figures echoed fiercely, forcing enemies and allies alike to kill without mercy to its rhythm.

Waaaaaaaaah!!!~~~ Kill! Kill! Kill!~ Kill the mages!~ Kill the Holy Kingdom bastards!~

Dancing to the tune of frenzy like it was a ballroom. The Crusaders and mage legions, drenched in madness, fought like wild animals. Reason no longer existed for them. Only endless slaughter until our performance ended.

The power I gained from contracting with the demon of art, Amdusias. It let me control targets through music, paintings, dances, or sculptures I created. Strong enough to dominate plants, but the catch? It only worked through artistic actions or creations.

Worse, if the contractor wasn't an artist, the power weakened if their songs, dances, art, or sculptures sucked. A fatal flaw. Powerful, sure, but with clear limits.

Normally, I couldn't pull off this level. In my past life, "singing and dancing" meant butchering karaoke or flailing at company dinners in front of the boss.

But during the contract, Amdusias crammed every ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bit of her musical talent, rhythm sense, and knowledge into my head. Now I had centuries of an artist's experience and technique.

'Oooooh!!~~♪ Great master of mine!~♪ From now on, teach this body true art with that talent!~♪ A radical artistry pours from master's memories!!~~♪'

'You got it! Time to show you real 21st-century music! Rip through my head, take it all! And shiver!~'

...Looking back, that cringey dialogue I spouted in the heat of the moment makes me wanna crawl into a hole.

The contract's price? Dragged to her hell palace after death for eternal dancing, singing, and art. But she waived it for exposure to 21st-century art and culture. Basically free.

"Heavy metal? Nah! This is death metal!!-- Satsugai satsugai desu yooo!!~~♪"

Blasting that ultimate Detroit banger right here on this field. The essence of death metal manga! We're turning the battlefield into a cauldron of frenzy, and both sides will dance to our tune till they drop!

Clang! Clang! Whoosh! "Aaaargh!" Kill! Kill!

"B-Brothers! C-Calm down! This is the work of vile demons..."

Shnick! Clang!

"Urk! Brother! S-Stop! We must regain our senses!"

"Don't get in my way, Brother Abel! Heretics are right in front of us! If you interfere, I'll deem you a fallen enemy and judge you as God's proxy!~"

Abel dashed across the field, trying to restrain the madness-stricken Crusaders—his comrades through thick and thin. But the holy knight swinging his blade at Abel had lost all reason.

"Brother Abel! You're wrong! Everyone below squad leader rank has lost their minds!"

"Nngh... R-R retreat! At this rate, our brothers and sisters will slaughter each other! Regrettable, but we must fall back now!"

"Yes sir! Retreat! Retreat! Signal the retreat!!~~"

Bwoooooong!!~~ Waaaaaaaaah!!~~

"The charge trumpet sounds!"

"Kill them all! This is the holy will of our Lord!!~~"

"Slaughter every last heretic!!~~"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Why... it's the [Retreat Signal]..."

"Demon contractors... To wield such horrific power... Urk! The archbishop warned us endlessly, but I never imagined this might...!"

"Brother Abel!"

"Brothers and sisters who still have your wits! Listen! We... stay and fight to the end!"

!!!

"Retreating might save us, but only about a hundred out of eight thousand brothers and sisters would survive. To save everyone... we kill every enemy here and fulfill their goal!"

"Ugh... Brother Abel..."

"To protect our brothers and sisters! Today, embrace martyrdom and fight to the last!"

"... Everyone, take up arms! God's grace be with us-!"

Waaaaaaaaah!!!---

He couldn't abandon comrades he'd shared years with. They weren't just comrades—they were family, brothers and sisters who'd fought back-to-back against heretics, lives entrusted.

Couldn't abandon family. Then fight to the bitter end, grant them victory! Stop this mad dance.

The few sane Crusaders gripped their weapons, resolved to martyrdom, and charged the field.

Whoosh! Shing!

"[Fire Arrow]"

"Hahaha!~ [Thunder Spear]"

Kaboom!

"Aaaaaaaah!!--"

"You bastards! Who do you think you're casting at?!"

"Hehehehehe!~ I'll kill you all! Behold the greatness of my magic!-"

"I'm the Red Tower's top prodigy! Magus Civitas's finest tower! Submit to the true magic of the Red Tower!"

"Red Tower dares claim top tower over our Blue?! [Shock Wave]"

Rumble!

"How can this be! Why is this happening?!"

Ostis couldn't process the cauldron of madness before him. His mage legion turning spells on each other. Magus Civitas's proud tower elites—chosen among the elite—acting like beasts, blasting allies while bragging who was best.

More allies dead than enemies. Even he, driven mad by losing his face a decade ago, found this horror unbearable to witness.

Finally within reach of vengeance. But that enemy and his demon companion ruined everything.

Waaaaaaaaah!~

"Sweep away the lowly scum!-"

"Kill God's mongrels!-"

"Erase the Holy Kingdom trash!-"

"Lord Ostis! Wrong! They've all lost their minds! Retreat now—it's dangerous!"

...

"Please, decide!"

"Grit! My nemesis is right there—flee again?! Impossible! Absolutely not!!--"

"Lord Ostis!"

"Shut up! My enemy is here! You want our proud mages to die in vain?! Retreating now—what of Magus Civitas's honor?!"

...

"Fight! Nobles! We are the chosen! Great mages! Annihilate the rabble, God's slaves, and that damned demon!!---"

Seized by revenge, Ostis advanced step by step, slaying allies and foes alike who blocked him. Toward the duo at the center, playing the frenzied tune.

The rulers of this battlefield. North Face Family boss. Toward Actor.

"Of course! Keep honing it!"

"Found you at laaaast!! Dantaaliiiiaaan!!!~~"

"Hm?"

As our frenzied performance ended, the field was piled with corpse-hills. Few stood on two legs. Even the sane ones, exhausted, leaned on swords, spears, or staves just to stay upright.

From their midst emerged a figure in white robes and steel mask, stepping toward us.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Kuhhuhu... Finally found you... my nemesis... Dantalian who stole my face! Caught you here at last!-"

"Face? Mage... Ah!~ The guy I ripped the face off ten years ago? Name was... Ah! Ostis? White Tower Lord, right? Long time no see."

"Grit! You... dare steal my face... and our noble mages!"

"Noble? Ha! Noble? You fuckers turning people into monsters—noble? Insane bastards spouting 'noble'?"

Grit!

"Oh yeah, there was that secret lab and mage hideout in the North Continent, kidnapping innocents for experiments. Yeah... that was you. White Tower Lord. Mad mage. Mr. Ostis?"

"Shut up! Their sacrifice was noble for our pursuit of truth! They glorified magic history by offering their lives..."

Bang!- "[Shield]"

Ting!

...

"Glory? Who the fuck decides it's glory? Spare me the bullshit that they wanted human experiments. I can drill a hole in that mask with this gun."

Zuiiing!~♪ Ziiing!~ Zuiiiiing!~♪

"Now I see—the bitch beside you is a demon! Kuhuhu... Doesn't matter! I prepared for you too!"

"Hm?"

Ostis pulled a [purple-glowing crystal] from his robes, laughing sinisterly.

Amdusias, watching leisurely, stared at the purple crystal in shock.

What the hell was that crystal for him to grin so confidently—and shock even Amdusias?