mongrel

You got mud on your face! (You got your face all dirty!)

You big disgrace! (What a disgrace!)

Kicking your can all over the place!" (Kicking that can all over the place!)

The deep, soaring singing instantly replaced the stomping, carrying a stirring power that shot through the whole venue like an electric current!

Chen Tian swung a heavy punch toward the audience and shouted:

"Singing!!" (Sing out loud!!)

The deafening stomping and clapping instantly transformed into a crashing wave of sound:

"We will, we will rock you!" (We will rock you!)

The fans sang along fervently as one, their voices gathering into a torrent that filled the entire space, broke free of the venue, and surged into the clouds.

Rin felt like a tiny boat adrift in a raging storm, utterly swallowed by the immense power of all those voices.

A faint numbness tingled at her fingertips, and even her heartbeat seemed to be gripped by the voices of the crowd singing as one.

For a brief moment, she even forgot why she had come.

"We will, we will rock you!"

The fifth chorus struck every inch of the venue like a solid wall. Its echoes reverberated through the steel framework, as if they might tear the roof off.

Chen Tian suddenly gripped the upright microphone stand!

Like an invisible conductor's baton coming down, the deafening chorus was abruptly cut off, and the sound of stomping and clapping filled the venue once more!

Tens of thousands of eyes were fixed on the figure at center stage who controlled everything, their fervor beyond reason.

He drew a deep breath, his chest rising and falling. His low, hoarse voice, full of strength and the weight of a story, exploded again like a concentrated thunderclap. Every word pounded against the audience's eardrums:

"Buddy, you're a young man, hard man" (Buddy! You're a young man! A tough guy!)

"Shouting in the street, gonna take on the world someday" (Shouting in the street, you'll take on the world someday!)

"You got blood on your face!" (You've got blood on your face!)

"You big disgrace!" (What a disgrace!)

"Waving your banner all over the place!" (Waving your banner everywhere!)

The rhythm tightened sharply, and the drumbeat pounded like a call to war!

Chen Tian suddenly raised his arm, fingers spread as he pointed toward the boiling crowd, as if ordering an army of thousands to charge!

"We will, we will rock you! Singing it NOW!!!"

That roar of "NOW" was the spark that lit the fuse!

More ferocious, more unified, and more forceful than ever, the torrent of sound surged once more from tens of thousands of roaring mouths, as though the entire planet were shaking along with it:

"We will, we will rock you!" (We will rock you!)

The terrifying Resonance gripped and squeezed Rin's heart.

She could clearly feel the countless voices all around her—before her, behind her, to either side—roaring and venting their emotions. That savage, unleashed collective fervor crashed against the seawall of her reason like a towering tsunami.

At first, her lips merely moved unconsciously, following the melody and rhythm.

"...we will..."

Her voice was as faint as a sigh, swallowed at once by the deafening roar. Even she could barely hear it.

"...rock you..."

Her voice grew a little louder, tinged with a tentative rasp, like an undercurrent beginning to stir beneath the ice. Her cheeks felt hotter, and the numbness spread from her fingertips.

"We will...!"

Her voice rose higher of its own accord. She no longer hesitated. A power she hardly recognized as her own surged clearly from her throat, joining the roars of the fans in front of and behind her.

The fervor burning inside her was sweeping away the calm restraint she prided herself on.

When Chen Tian's wildly rousing "Singing it NOW!" rang out again like a command, and the energy building throughout the venue neared its final peak, Rin's chest heaved as adrenaline rushed to her head.

Almost instinctively, she forgot who she was, forgot her reserve, forgot why she had come. She poured every emotion into one final scream, and her clear, piercing voice burst out before she even realized it:

"ROCK YOU!!!"

The reserve she'd shown until then was ignited by the fervor of the moment. Like a blade breaking the water's surface, her scream briefly, sharply pierced the thick, surging tide of male voices before her, ringing clearly through the VIP section!

Chen Tian was facing the microphone, ready to unleash one last explosive note, when his eyes swept through the dazzling stage lights and gaps in the leaping, feverish crowd—and landed on the red-clad girl in the front row of the VIP section!

In the dim light, Rin's flushed cheeks, her slightly parted lips as though her shout still lingered there, and her usually composed eyes, now blazing with fire instead of frost—

Every one of these subtle changes was clearly caught by Chen Tian's extraordinary stage awareness.

His already wild, unrestrained grin spread into an even more brazen, more reckless smile!

"ROCK YOU!!!"

His final, full-throated roar struck like a boulder thrown into a lake, setting off an even more violent echo—only for Chen Tian to choke it off with a sudden, sweeping gesture the very next instant!

The shouts of tens of thousands stopped dead. Only heavy breathing and the aftershocks of pounding hearts hummed through the air.

Chen Tian's chest rose and fell slightly, sweat rolling along his sharply defined jawline.

His bold, arrogant grin had not disappeared, but now it held a sense of deep, unrestrained satisfaction, like a king who had just conquered an untamable beast.

He surveyed the venue once more, his gaze passing over every blazing section.

His eyes were no longer sharp as knives. Instead, he seemed to be admiring the flames he had kindled with his own hands, still burning fiercely.

The powerful lights above the stage began to shift subtly.

The brilliant, daylight-white spotlights softened, taking on a hazy, warm gold, like molten sunset.

Soft blue and purple light spilled down from the edge of the stage and the domed ceiling, weaving into a dreamlike ocean that washed away the earlier frenzy and thunder.

Amid the shifting lights, Chen Tian raised a hand, ran his fingers through his unruly silver-white spikes, and vigorously, casually mussed them.

His hair, which had stood straight up in sharp, defiant spikes, instantly became tousled and fluffy, with a few strands falling gently over his full forehead.

That simple gesture seemed to strip away the wild armor Nero had been wearing.

He bent slightly and settled the blue-black electric guitar across his back again. He no longer looked like a soldier charging into battle, but more like a traveler about to share a story.

When he lifted his head and looked toward the audience again, his gaze had completely changed.

The piercing intensity that had seemed to bore straight through people was gone. In its place was a calm gentleness, as if he had wiped away his makeup and revealed his true colors—the colors of Chen Tian, the brother-in-law from Marin's family.

His long fingers lightly brushed the strings.

The explosive notes were gone. In their place came clear, unhurried arpeggios, tinged with faint sadness, like a stream babbling in the moonlight. They instantly soothed the hearts that had been pounding moments before.

Chen Tian leaned toward the upright microphone. When he began to sing, his voice was no longer a tearing scream, but a low, gentle rasp, rich and magnetic, like a whisper in the listener's ear:

"I'm trying to keep my head high..." (I'm trying to hold my head high...)

"That light can no longer be seen..."

"It's nobody's fault..."

"I can't go on losing everything..."

"It feels like something is missing..."

"Neither crying nor laughing can fill that emptiness..."

"Been slowly losing my grip on my life..." (I was slowly losing control of my life...)

"But now I'm moving forward somehow..." (But now I'm moving forward... even if my steps are unsteady...)

His voice flowed through everyone's hearts like a clear spring.

The first half of the song carried the relief that came after introspection, confusion, and struggle.

It was no longer a flame stirring up emotions, but a breeze soothing the soul.

The crowd's feverish mood miraculously settled, giving way to a profound quiet. Tens of thousands of glow sticks no longer waved wildly; they swayed gently to the unhurried rhythm, forming a tender sea of stars.

The blazing fire that We Will Rock You had kindled in Rin's chest was quietly extinguished by the clear, gentle melody.

Her boiling blood cooled, her breathing steadied, and the heat faded from her cheeks.

The fervent shouting from before felt like a distant dream, leaving her a little dazed and even somewhat embarrassed. Had she really been swept up in such collective madness? The heat of her Magic Crest had subsided as well, and her heart had returned to the familiar rhythm governed by reason.

But as the song reached its climax again, Chen Tian's voice rose with resilient strength:

"You're making me stronger!" (You're making me stronger!)

"My freedom, held back!"

"Now bursts forth!"

"This voice keeps echoing, asking again and again—"

"Who I am!" (Who am I!)

This time, the chorus of tens of thousands was no longer a ferocious roar, but a gentle yet unwavering stream.

The sound flowed softly above the venue, gathering into an ocean of Resonance.

This heartfelt Resonance quietly seeped through Rin's defenses.

Her shoulders relaxed as her gaze followed the figure onstage, singing softly with the wildness stripped away.

His expression was calm and gentle, blending with the warm, considerate image of the brother-in-law from Marin's family.

A strange feeling stirred in Rin's heart—an understanding that surprised even her.

As she watched the brilliant light he shone beneath the eyes of tens of thousands, her gaze softened without her realizing it.

Maybe... this is what makes him so charming, Rin thought.

Then, without warning, an even more absurd and unfamiliar thought sprang into her mind: Just what did my sister Marin do to deserve a man like him? How did she manage to win his heart?

The thought was sudden and sharp, carrying a pang of jealousy that even she found unsettling.

Rin abruptly cut off her thoughts. Her fingers clenched unconsciously, nearly tearing her stockings.

P.S. The three songs are Vergil's theme, Bury the Light, which many readers have been asking when he would sing. I decided to write it in today. The second is We Will Rock You by the legendary rock band Queen. The third is Who I Am by the singer Milet.

Mongrel

Just as Rin was still trying to put a stop to her wandering thoughts, Kitagawa's voice suddenly broke into her ears.

"Rin-chan, you're here~"

Rin jumped and abruptly came back to herself.

Kitagawa's voice shattered all those jumbled thoughts.

She hurriedly lifted a hand and quickly smoothed a few strands of hair by her ear that had come loose while she sang along, trying to recover some of the poise befitting the Tohsaka Family heiress.

"Ah, Marin-chan." Her eyes focused on Marin's enlarged, excited, rosy-cheeked smile.

Marin didn't give Rin any time to compose herself. Grinning, she opened her arms and hugged her like a happy little bird.

"Wasn't Tian Jun's concert super—exciting? Your heart felt like it was about to leap out of your chest, right?"

She brought her face close to Rin's still-warm cheek and lowered her voice, sounding a little smug. "I'm telling you, the first time I saw him take the stage at that little venue in high school, I was completely smitten!"

Rin stiffened a little in her embrace. Before she could say anything, Marin's enthusiasm swept her along, and she found herself half-pulled, half-led toward the side of the stage.

"The moment he stepped onto the stage, he couldn't hide his natural charm." Marin chattered away as they walked, speaking at lightning speed, her eyes shining as if she had gone back to her high school days.

"You know, the second he started playing the electric guitar, all the girls in the audience went wild! Me included!"

She led Rin around the busy staff and through the entrance to the backstage passage.

"The competition was fierce! So many upperclassmen and underclassmen had their eyes on him!" Marin waved her finger in triumph. "But I won! I was the one who got him! Hehe!"

The passageway was dimly lit.

Rin followed as Marin tugged her along, listening to her blissful tale of how she had become a fan.

She watched Marin's excited profile, her gaze complicated.