Backstage of the Starfall Hall, Sonia looked at the cue cards and silently recited her lines for the upcoming performance. But as she thought about it, she couldn’t help but walk towards the back door, only to be quickly stopped by Lois.
“Restroom is not this way!”
“I think I’d rather have a warning!”
“You were determined just now, why are you hesitating now?”
“Because I realized that I’m not as confident as I imagined, I’m scared!”
At this moment, a handsome young man in a dark blue suit approached Sonia and greeted her, “Miss Seway, good evening. Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Mr. Asennu, good evening.” Sonia quickly greeted him, “You came just in time. I want to ask you to stop my roommate, Lois, because she’s stopping me from running away.”
This young man is Asennu Kage, the co-host with Sonia, a second-year student of the Wind Arts Department, known as the “Sword Grass” of the second year. His handsome appearance even led the female students to spontaneously form a fan club for him, unless Felix’s undercover visit to lower his popularity, he would undoubtedly be the enemy of all male students in the school.
“…That won’t do. A gentleman cannot join in the ladies’ game.”
Asennu smiled and said, “Professor Librom asked me to remind you that the party will start in ten minutes. Please handle your personal matters quickly and prepare behind the curtain. This is our first collaboration, if I make any mistakes, please forgive me, Miss Seway. I hope we can become friends after tonight.”
Sonia shook her head, “Don’t worry, I will definitely make a big news that you can’t escape from. I hope you won’t hate me after tonight.”
The other person was stunned for a moment, “Miss Seway, you are really… very humorous. Then I’ll go wait for you first.”
After Asennu left, Sonia pleaded, “Let me go, Lois. I’m really scared. My heart is pounding with nervousness. I’m sure I will cause big trouble!”
“No, you can’t!” Lois shook her head repeatedly, “What about your ambition? Don’t you want to become Daidalos? Are you willing to just be a swordsman in the future?”
“I understand all the big principles, and I know I will regret it if I leave, but I still want to go!”
While the two were entangled, Yingu Lite and Adair came in through the back door. As soon as Adair entered, she exclaimed excitedly, “There’s a star falling in the sky outside, let’s go see!”
Yingu Lite looked at Sonia, who seemed about to cry, and asked, “What’s wrong with her?”
Lois helplessly said, “She’s hesitating and now she wants to escape.”
“It’s really strange. The Sonia I know is a swordsman who dares to challenge Felix and Leonie. Why is she so indecisive?” Yingu Lite thought for a moment and suddenly clapped her hands, “I understand now. Sonia is the impulsive type who performs better the more nervous she is. Now we just need to push her onto the stage.”
As the number one fan who witnessed Sonia’s rise, Yingu Lite’s words were unanimously recognized by everyone, so they pulled Sonia to the preparation area behind the curtain, where Professor Librom, who was in charge of the party, and others were waiting.
Seeing Sonia’s arrival, Professor Librom nodded slightly and turned to the staff, “Prepare to raise the curtain, we can start now.”
At this point, Sonia had no room for retreat.
She took a deep breath, smoothed out the wrinkles on her dress, looked at Asennu, and said, “Try to take the spotlight as much as possible later, don’t have too much interaction with me. Remember this advice, the more I talk, the more likely something will go wrong.”
Asennu heard this request for the first time.
He was also the host of the party last year, and his partner at that time tried every means to steal his spotlight, interrupting and adding lines, competing for attention. Asennu was a little afraid that it would be the same this year, but he didn’t expect to be paired with a freshman.
But his biggest expectation for Sonia was just a little cooperation, so he found it quite strange that Sonia took the initiative to step back. According to reason, every host of the party wanted to become the host of the league, so they tried to show their talents as much as possible during the party to let the professors recognize and recommend them.
Could it be that Sonia just wanted to play as a host? Or maybe she was just accompanying a friend to participate in the selection, but she ended up being chosen herself, so she wasn’t very interested?
Many thoughts flashed through Asennu’s mind, but he nodded slightly on the surface, “I will try to meet your requirements.”
Librom said, “The curtain will be raised in ten seconds. Take your positions, the stage is yours. Remember to turn on the microphone.”
Asennu took the lead and walked onto the stage. Sonia looked at the stage she had longed for and suddenly felt calm.
“Observer, are you there?”
Sonia knew there would be no response, but for some reason, she felt full of courage. Her eyebrows relaxed, her lips curled slightly, and a smile appeared in the corners of her eyes.
Observer, are you also fighting alone?”If I really mess up, you have to compensate me well.”
“Beep beep -“
With the orchestra playing, the lights came on and the curtain lifted.
Facing the gaze of the students from both schools, Sonia was completely in the zone.
“Ladies and gentlemen, good evening. I am the host, Asennu Kechi.”
“I am the host, Sonia Seway.”
…
…
Shattered Lake Prison, Asho’s dormitory.
White-haired hunter Jielade sat on the edge of the bed, holding a book borrowed from the Talent Library. The title of the book was “Introduction to Simulated Lightning Magic (Third Edition)”, which was obviously a textbook that Asho couldn’t get into after entering university.
After reading for a while, Jielade rubbed his eyes and turned to Asho, who was also reading at the bedside.
However, unlike him, Asho was reading a comic book titled “It’s Strange That I Say I Like Married Women”.
It was said to be a popular romance comic in Camon City. Jielade even saw Amy reading this comic in her spare time.
It was said that this comic was about to be adapted into a TV drama, and the actor playing the male lead, Rong En, was also a member of the same institute as Jielade. However, others were popular movie stars loved by everyone, while he was the bloodthirsty hunter that made people fear when they saw an open coffin.
Noticing Jielade’s gaze, Asho raised an eyebrow. “Do you want to read it? I highly recommend this comic. It has a unique portrayal of emotions and human nature, surpassing the limitations of race and era. But it’s best to read it alone in bed, otherwise you might twist like a worm from the sweetness sometimes, and sometimes feel so sad that your stomach hurts.”
“I thought you were just acting for me,” Jielade said. “It’s hard to imagine you reading a romance comic.”
“What kind of image do I have in your eyes then?”
“Probably a madman who is constantly thinking about overturning the Blood Moon. I thought the books you read should be like ‘The Crowd’, ‘How to Trigger a Virtual Realm Storm with Bare Hands’, ‘Criminal Law’, and other books that help with your career prospects.”
“I’ve already said that I lost my memory. I’m not a heresy leader at all.” Asho sighed. “Now I just want to face the sea, enjoy the warm spring, and live the rest of my life peacefully.”
“Interesting,” Jielade smiled. “You don’t seem afraid of me. I thought you wouldn’t dare to come back to the dormitory tonight and would hide in someone else’s room.”
“Why should I be afraid? You won’t do anything to me.”
“It’s not that. It’s only you who are in chains. My authority rules are very clean, and there are no prohibitions.” Jielade reached out to the long sword leaning against the bed. “In other words, as long as I want to, your head will roll at any time.”
“Then I have even less reason to be afraid.” Asho remained calm. “Anyway, you can attack me at any time. The prison is not big, and if you really want to do something to me, I can’t escape at all. Staying in my own dormitory, at least I can die with dignity.”
“And, I don’t believe you will do anything to me. Now I am just a death row inmate chased by the Blood Moon Judgment, living day by day. Killing me will bring you no benefits, and I can’t think of any reason why you must kill me.”
Jielade touched the hilt of the sword and then let go.
“Indeed, this is the right way to deal with scum – killing cannot create value. Instead of killing you cleanly, it’s better to let you rot and decay in this prison, like a clown entertaining the citizens who are disturbed and frightened by you. In the end, you will die in an extremely ugly manner, and your value will be drained to compensate for the sins you have committed.”
“To be honest, I quite approve of this approach.” Asho mocked, “It would be even better if I weren’t a permanent resident here.”
“But you seem relaxed.” Blood flashed in Jielade’s pupils. “This is not the first time I’ve been here – many people who were just caught by me not long ago became mentally unstable, hysterical, repentant, begging for mercy, all sorts of things. But you are so naturally relaxed, it’s the first time I’ve seen it.”
“Could it be that you already have a way to escape from this prison?”
Asho and Jielade locked eyes. “Yes, I do. I’m waiting for you to realize that you’ve caught the wrong person and release me out of conscience.”
Jielade burst into laughter and took out a bottle of wine from his pocket, taking a sip. “I was starting to doubt whether I had caught the wrong person, but hearing you say that, I feel relieved.”
“Ah?”
“I didn’t expect that you really have a way to escape!”
Clang!
In the instant that Jielade swung his sword, Asho wanted to use his Miracle of Beheading on himself and take out the hidden blade from his mouth to fight Jielade to the death. But he resisted this impulse – even if he used the Miracle of Beheading to remove the chip restriction, with his Silver Wing’s strength, even if Jielade tied his hands and feet, he could easily crush him!
The blade kissed Asho’s neck, leaving a shallow bloodstain.Jielade’s nose twitched, the crimson in his pupils deepening.
“…Why would you come to that conclusion?” Asho asked.
“Intuition,” Jielade said indifferently, “And, I think I’ve figured out your escape plan.”
Asho’s heart pounded—Could it be!? They hadn’t even had a chance to act, and they were already exposed?
Was this the power of the captain of the Bloodthirsty Hunters, a three-winged Sorcerer?
Or was there a traitor among them?
“You’re planning to have the Four Pillar God rescue you, aren’t you?”
Asho’s eyes widened, his mouth slightly agape, his face full of disbelief, as if he had just seen someone feigning injury ten meters away from a car.
After a brief silence, he said with difficulty, “I haven’t studied law, but I think the criminal procedure here should be ‘innocent until proven guilty’. Even if you want to frame me, at least give me some evidence so I can die in peace, instead of just convicting me based on your speculation!”
“Captain Jielade, you’re a busy man, do you really need to bother with a small prisoner like me?”
“Because I’m actually here specifically for you, Asho Heath.”
Asho was taken aback.
Jielade said, “Someone told me you were planning to escape. He hoped I could stop you and eliminate you directly… He even used up a big favor just to have me come to Broken Lake.”
“Killing a prisoner is a serious crime. In Camon City, aside from a few people, no one can be exempted from this crime, and I am one of them.”
That shadowy name almost instantly jumped out of Asho’s heart, a chill swept over his body, and the killing intent from the sword made Asho feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
But he still asked, “Who is it?”
“Xilin Dor,” Jielade said in a low voice, “He said, the remnants of the Four Pillar God Heresy must not continue to live in this world.”
“To stop the Four Pillar God, for the glory of the Blood Moon, Asho Heath must die.”