Volume Six: What She Lost, What I Gained - The Players of the Circus (Part One)

"""""""""Nighteluveitie!! Nighteluveitie!! Nighteluveitie!!!!!""""""""

"Meng Li is so cute!" "Wives, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"" i'm getting married! i'm getting married! i'm getting married!"

""""""""""...(stare)""""""""""

"(Stared back)"

Heavy metal enthusiasts dressed in wild, rebellious, and unconventional styles, and idol otaku clad in Aji armor, unleashing their full otaku energy.

Meeting on a narrow path would be a disaster.

Then--

"Nighteluveitie, may you live forever!!!" "All"

Hail

Lord Moon!!! "Kill these otaku!!!!" "Sacrifice them to hell!!!" "Use their skulls as bowls!!!!"

"Meng Li- chan is the cutest in the world!!!" "Marry me! Marry me! Marry me!!!" "Purify these lunatics with your holy, healing smile and absolute territory!!!" "Make them disappear forever!!!!"

(... Waaah)

Caught in the cacophony of opposing voices, I felt incredibly uncomfortable from head to toe. I could only manage a forced smile and give them a metallic salute, but even this tiny gesture elicited a deafening roar of cheers and screams. It was truly...

Lead singer Haoyue, walking at the front, seemed quite at ease, maintaining a "cool, mischievous, and slightly crazy smile" on her face—oh dear, that expression was incredibly charming. Behind her, Xiao Wu wore a cold yet slightly helpless expression, merely glancing at the fans' shouts before ignoring them, which only made the group more excited.

But that idiot...

"Hello everyone!!! I'm Ying-chan, the genius keyboardist and idol of Nighteluveitie! Have my friends missed me?!"

"Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh!!!!!!!"

Not only Metal Party, but even idol fans instinctively cheered for her. Is it because she's more approachable? I think she'd have a better future if she switched to being a mainstream idol.

As for me and Sin Annihilation...

(Is the Sick Spider still not better? Hurry up and get in position!)

[Don't worry, I'll urge them for you...]

(Is it done?)

She said she was observing the crowd.

(Isn't there a single suspicious person?)

She said you're annoying and told me to be patient.

(How can I possibly have the patience...)

The game began the moment we arrived at the venue.

Every enthusiastic audience member present could be Extra Weapon we've yet to see, and we might unknowingly fall into the clutches of one of their abilities.

(At times like this, we can only rely on you, you Sick Spider!)

With the help of the pieces of flesh of the Sin Annihilation that were inserted into their ears beforehand, the companions could communicate with each other remotely. The drawback was that they had to go through the Sin Annihilation as a relay station, so the diligent Sin Annihilation sister became a human telephone operator.

[She's telling you to hurry up!]

{Ugh, this is so annoying! Don't rush me!}

[It may be impolite to say this, but I personally hope you can be more efficient.]

Don't make it sound so easy! Do you think voiceprint matching doesn't take time?

The backstage area was divided into many small rooms for the singers to rest and prepare. The Sick Spider, who had entered beforehand, stayed in the room with a sign that read "Nighteluveitie" hanging outside the door. Naturally, she tried her best to avoid appearing in front of others.

Countless fine silver threads were released from her hand, each one thinner than an ant's antenna and lighter than drifting willow catkins. They silently slipped out from the crack in the door, spreading along the floor and walls to the foyer, right next to Ye and the others.

The fans shouting and yelling below were completely unaware that countless thin silver threads were currently weaving between the legs of countless people, vibrating slightly, comparing the air vibrations caused by each person's speech with the sounds of the Extra Weapon she had recorded within the silver threads.

{Ugh, this is so troublesome, so incredibly troublesome!}

Please be patient and take your time.

{I know you don't need to tell me! But... but...}

There isn't one at all!

Fans have gone through almost everything, but not a single voice matches, not even a high degree of similarity.

{Indeed not, but...}

[It might not just be those fans.]

{ha?}

[Ye just said you might fall into a blind spot, so I'm specifically reminding you—it wouldn't be surprising if the Extra Weapon were disguised in other ways.]

{That talkative guy... I actually already suspected it! I just hadn't checked yet!}

To my shame, when Sick Spider was still a member of the organization, she always thought that the Extra Weapon were a bunch of idiots who played dirty tricks. She only learned about Chi Ying's abilities by chance from Stone Strike. If she had known more about the Extra Weapon before, she wouldn't be so worried now.

{Search... search... hmm?}

Got it!

The voiceprint matches perfectly!

The location is...

{... Eh?}

Centered on Ye, at 30° east of north, eight meters away?

{Wow, it's so close! It's just a few steps in front of you, that girl idol group!}

[Attention everyone, the Sick Spider has sent word that at least one of the Extra Weapon is in that group ahead!]

(Holy crap!?)

This is how it happened?

As for the previous group...

I looked ahead—and there stood that ultra-orthodox, classic girl idol group, worshipped like gods by countless disgusting otaku! Every single girl was cute and beautiful, waving to the otaku with bright smiles... Was one of them the Extra Weapon?

But who is it? I maintained a minimal smile on the surface, but my mind was in turmoil. Calm down, put aside all emotions that would hinder my rational judgment, and carefully observe their every move!

Sin Annihilation must have relayed the message to the others as well. Hao Yue's expression and actions showed no abnormality, but she was already exuding a rather terrifying aura. She was probably planning to wipe out that group of girls all at once. Actually, I had also considered this option, but killing innocent civilians is ultimately not a good thing, so I only used it as a last resort.

Xiao Wu clearly sensed Haoyue's murderous intent. She glanced at Haoyue with a warning look, but she had already secretly clenched her fists, probably wary of a possible surprise attack from somewhere.

As for that idiot--

"Oh ho ho ho ho ho~~~~~ I love you all too! What? Autographs? Oh well, there's nothing I can do about it! Well then, won't those who didn't get their autographs at the beginning have a handshake event for die-hard fans? Support me even more~~~~!"

"..."

(What happened Sin Annihilation that guy?)

[I didn't tell her, who knows what stupid thing she might do]

(... I understand)

Let's ignore this clueless idiot for now. Anyway, she's incredibly lucky; sometimes fools have all the luck. Besides, we've made a fortune since our debut. If my calculations are correct, the restrictions will be lifted soon enough to use Blood Flame, and that will be a huge leap in my combat power.

As for now--

"Thank you everyone for Meng Li! I'll definitely do my best to spread love and energy to everyone today!"

As the red carpet came to a close, the prettiest and cutest girl, surrounded by teenage idols, blew a kiss to her fans, immediately eliciting cheers.

"Although I missed a lot of events recently for some reasons, please don't worry! Meng Li- chan will always be everyone's Meng Li- chan! She will never--"

Sudden,

She shifted her gaze from the fans to us.

"--It definitely won't fade and disappear slowly on some container ship somewhere, okay?"

It lasted only a few seconds, but it was enough to convey that dark malice.

Unsuspecting fans probably thought it was some kind of silly joke; what a bunch of disgusting idiots.

She turned her head to us with a slight smile, then darted back into the group of other idols.

"Hey, Meng Li- chan, what you just said sounded a bit..."

"Oh, it's just a little joke~"

The girls closest to her looked at her with some unease and expressed their doubts, but she fooled them with her cute smile.

Watching the group of people walk into the largest lounge, my slightly stunned mind finally started working again.

It came too suddenly, yet too naturally.

World-class idol Su Mengli —a member of the Extra Weapon —has actually exposed herself to us like this.

"..." "..."

"..." "..."

"..."

... so many ellipses.

In the not-so-spacious lounge, we sat in silence, except for one goofy guy who was excitedly applying powder to his face.

"... So, what should we do?"

I broke the silence, and Haoyue shrugged.

"Even if Xiao Ye asks me this, I don't know how to answer. At first, I thought they would attack from the shadows like Yu Xun did last time, since they all have strange abilities."

"I didn't expect Su Mengli to expose herself from the very beginning... Tch!"

"And it seems that her idol teammates don't know her real identity."

"So here's the question," Sin Annihilation interrupted, "Why would she do that? What good would it do her to expose herself so blatantly?"

"There are generally a few possibilities..."

Haoyue extended three fingers.

"First, she's blindly confident in her abilities, like a fool, believing she won't lose even if she faces us head-on."

"That can be ruled out. The Extra Weapon are all bizarre, but the perpetrator is definitely not stupid," I said.

"Secondly, she used a feint; by deliberately exposing herself, she drew our attention to herself, causing us to overlook threats from other directions, allowing the other Extra Weapon to take advantage of the situation."

"That's quite possible; even the most meticulous plans can have oversights."

"Third, she lured the enemy in deep; she used herself as bait to lead us into a trap."

"This is probably the most troublesome situation. It's very likely related to her abilities, and we've always been at a disadvantage in terms of intelligence in this area."

"So if you ask me, we should use a big move and take her down before she can act. You can't play by the rules when dealing with some enemies, and the limitations on our strength have been greatly reduced now."

"Stop talking nonsense," Xiao Wu frowned. "There are too many civilians here. If we let you run rampant, it wouldn't be surprising if tens of thousands died."

"Ha, as expected of your silly, naughty girl, huh? People who value other people's lives (except Xiao Ye's ) more than their own never end well. Your gentleness will get you killed."

"Stop spouting your fallacies and heresies..."

Well... anyway, every time they discuss tactics, it always ends up turning into a fight between the two of them.

I shook my head helplessly and began to think of a way to deal with Su Mengli.

Although I don't really care, if I accidentally kill Su Mengli's innocent idol teammates, Xiao Wu will definitely get angry.

How do I kill her? By shooting her from a distance?

That's one way. I can use the White Night, which is better suited for long-range shooting, to aim from a distance, and if I time it right...

--ah?

I... used a gun?

Shoot someone with that white pistol?

What am I thinking? I'm not Xiao Wu.

Not... Xiao Wu?

Then who am I? I...

Ah... right.

I am Ye.

Really, how could I forget?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finally, the first climax has arrived! Let the war begin!