The Drama Began as Expected

Drama. What an ancient, unfamiliar word.

As a noble, Herod had indeed held the slightest interest in this lost form of entertainment from an ancient age of prosperity.

Legend had it that, when people could eat meals made with meat and vegetables every day,

they would gather in their leisure time within magnificent halls adorned with countless marble carvings, watching clever actors perform stories from ancient legends.

He would have liked drama.

But definitely not with a blade at his throat.

"You have no room to refuse."

Perhaps noticing his resistance, Fulgrim placed her hand back on her sword hilt and spoke indifferently.

In an instant, Herod felt something cool on his face.

Instinctively, he tremblingly touched his cheek.

Blood.

In that instant, she had drawn her sword, precisely sliced open his skin, and sheathed it again.

He had not even been able to see his opponent move.

Force.

The purest, most primitive display of power and threat.

Herod could not help swallowing.

"Fine. I'll go."

"Boss, Fulgrim's such a nice person! Not only did she not cause us trouble, she's even treating us to a drama!"

"Drama! I've never seen one in my life—"

"Shut up, you noisy idiot!"

Following behind Fulgrim, Herod cursed his brainless attendant under his breath.

After he had been forced to agree to her demand, Fulgrim had casually walked along the streets of the Upper Fortress.

"Fulgrim, where exactly are you taking us?"

"As far as I know, Karax Fortress has no theater."

Even if it once had one, it had been demolished and destroyed countless years ago.

"Fulgrim?"

She merely walked ahead in silence, offering no answer to Herod's questions.

Until her footsteps came to a stop at the center of the broadest plaza in the Upper Fortress.

There were quite a few people in the plaza.

In the distance, members of many other noble families could even be seen waiting there as well.

"We're not going anywhere."

"The whole of Karax will be our theater."

As her words fell, the electric lights that had illuminated the Upper Fortress for countless years abruptly went out.

Silence enveloped everything.

"Shut down the lighting systems. Open Ventilation Panel 29-13."

Received.

Sound Array system adjustment complete. Outputting according to instructions.

All existing factory projection equipment connected.

Projection output in progress.

Standing in the main control chamber within the fortress, Kasgar fiercely rubbed his temples as he adjusted countless controls for the fortress's systems.

At present, his combat ability was not much greater than that of an ordinary person.

If he went down to organize the uprising with Fulgrim, he might instead hold her back.

Therefore, after entering Karax through the secret passage, they had split up as planned. He would operate the fortress's mechanical systems to assist Fulgrim in building momentum.

He had previously suggested that Fulgrim use a simpler and faster method to suppress the fortress.

But she had flatly refused.

"No. It shouldn't be that simple."

"This is not merely a battle to reclaim the fortress. It is also the beginning of our magnificent conquest of this planet and this universe."

"Only the most splendid, magnificent opening worthy of a heroic epic can match it."

"And in the future, every scholar, historian, playwright, or simple audience member who reads this history will be captivated by it, drawn to it."

It was an answer very much in her style.

But it was far less pleasant for Kasgar.

According to Fulgrim's plan, she intended to use a drama to awaken the ideals and dreams in the hearts of everyone in Karax.

And Kasgar had been elevated to the position of backstage manager for the drama.

Though he was no mechanical expert, after a month of studying under Fulgrim, he could at least operate machinery according to instructions.

Battle C-1 was about to begin.

Darkness.

Everything had returned to darkness.

"What's going on?"

"Did the power system fail?"

"Run! If we don't, are we waiting for that woman to chop off our heads?"

Beneath the dim plaza, the many nobles gathered there erupted into unrest.

But in the next instant, their hope of escape immediately turned into despair.

Boom!

Heavy isolation walls dropped down, sealing every passage around the plaza.

"Damn it, what trick is she playing???"

"If she isn't killing us, is it so she can humiliate the nobles even more!"

Herod furiously pounded the isolation wall.

Though it did not move in the slightest.

At that moment, it was not only the Upper Fortress that had fallen into darkness.

The lower factories of Karax were likewise shrouded in darkness.

"Damn it, why did the power go out!"

"It's over. There's no way we can meet the quota now."

"Why did it have to happen now?"

As the factory descended into uproar, a projection screen slowly lowered where almost no one noticed it.

"Brothers and sisters, come look! What is this?"

As those words fell, just like before a film began, the entire factory fell silent for a moment, with only a few whispers still echoing through the hollow darkness.

What was this?

A huge tapestry hanging in the sky?

Wait, colors appeared on the tapestry!

Amid several gasps, it lit up. It came alive!

Everything appeared with perfect clarity!

Colors!

Colors spreading across the tapestry as though they belonged to the real world!

A beam of light suddenly appeared upon the previously pitch-black tapestry, accompanied by a graceful silhouette.

"It's Sister Fulgrim!!!"

"This is something Sister Fulgrim taught us! It's called a screen!"

A child's voice, full of pride, came from among the workers.

After Herod took power, child labor had returned to Karax.

But perhaps only these children whose childhoods had been touched by color could recognize the shape of ideals and dreams.

"Fulgrim? Didn't she murder the Sherlock Patriarch to become a noble, planning to seize power and control all of Karax—"

"You're talking nonsense! Sister Fulgrim is a good person!"

Before the man could finish, the child immediately retorted angrily.

"Child, forget that idiot for now. Tell us quickly, what is Fulgrim doing?"

Why had she suddenly left all of them, and why had she returned now?

"I-I don't know."

The child hesitated for a moment.

"But before Sister Fulgrim left, she promised us she would perform a drama for us."

"In a drama, we can hear the most beautiful, most interesting stories."

Tap, tap.

Her footsteps were slow and clear.

Beneath the only beam of light in the entire venue, Fulgrim slowly walked toward the stage.

At some point, she had removed her noble's robe and changed into the plain clothes commonly worn by workers.

Facing the nobles before her and the countless workers waiting behind the screens, she slowly began to speak.

"Brothers and sisters, the story I tell here is not a heroic epic. Like the origin of all things, it began in the past."

Her voice rang out as crisp as a lark's song, accompanied by a melody she had composed with her own hands.

"In those days, the sky was still clear, and endless stars glittered in the night. Merchant ships traveling to and from Chemos flowed like streams, like pearls adorning a silver platter."

Countless goods and riches had flowed into their hands then. Chemos had once been such a paradise.

Yet her rising and falling tone remained incomparably gentle. Her splendid yet concise words drew in even Herod, the uneasy enemy standing there.

"In those days, the people jointly elected several administrators. Under their oaths and promises, Chemos would remain prosperous forever."

"But—"

Fulgrim's tone shifted. Infectious sorrow cast a veil of mist over everyone's hearts.

"The universe was so cruel. Before people could even enjoy it, raging storms suddenly filled the entire sky."

"If they looked up again, the brilliant river of stars was gone. The sky of today held only surging yellow sand and endless emptiness."

But the people of Chemos had not surrendered then.

"The administrators and workers ate and lived together. Everyone stood united and faced the hardships together."

"'No matter what difficulties the future brings, we will overcome them hand in hand!'"