[Codename: Songstress]
[Number: Y-0007]
[Disaster Level: Four]
[First Appearance: July 15, 1982]
[Area of Appearance: Yingzhou Autonomous Region—XX Village]
[Number of Appearances: 7]
[Contained: No]
[Controllable: No]
[Eliminated: No]
[Description: An unsolvable Mystery phenomenon. The entity is a translucent woman floating in midair, similar to a ghost from a strange tale. She emits an ethereal song. Its killing rule is triggered when a certain decibel level is reached. It is extremely dangerous; physical barriers are ineffective, and it cannot be eliminated or contained. It possesses a degree of intelligence, making it one of the extremely rare intelligent Mysteries. During its first appearance, all 1,072 people in XX Village were killed. Each subsequent appearance has also caused heavy casualties.]
[Countermeasures: Like normal Mystery phenomena, this one fears sunlight. Nuclear fusion can eliminate it; aside from that, it has no obvious weaknesses. When confronting it, avoid making any noise as much as possible to prevent triggering its killing rule. Note: As long as the killing mechanism is not triggered, even an intelligent Mystery entity cannot kill by circumventing the rules.]
[Additional Note: This entity is intelligent. When humans deliberately remain silent, it will use various methods to coax them into making noise and trigger its killing rule.]
In an instant, Murata Himeko recalled the information on the Songstress. The pressure hit her all at once, and her throat began to feel dry.
At the same time, Murata Himeko couldn't understand why something like the Songstress had appeared here.
Although the Songstress was an unpredictable Mystery, it was intelligent.
Whenever it appeared and brought death, it specifically targeted small villages and towns. When had it ever attacked a major city like Tokyo?
According to big data analysis, cities with large populations and high levels of civilization and prosperity could effectively suppress the appearance of Mysteries.
So far, not a single Mystery incident had occurred in a major city. It seemed even the esoteric phenomenon known as Mysteries conformed to certain esoteric concepts. For instance, people in the Flame Kingdom believed that a thriving population brought abundant yang energy, making it difficult for yin-tainted things to exist.
Yet the Songstress's appearance shattered this belief, proving that even a megacity like Tokyo, one of the five most densely populated cities in the world, could still be attacked by a Mystery.
Most importantly, the Songstress was an intelligent Mystery!
Even if its intelligence was utterly unlike humanity's, and its thought processes were beyond human understanding, it still possessed the will to think and could weigh the pros and cons.
So why had the Songstress attacked the headquarters of the Supernatural Disaster Countermeasures Office?
Suddenly, Murata Himeko thought of a possibility. Her hair stood on end, and she immediately issued orders to her subordinates.
"Dispatch the Nine-Tailed Fox Squad and Tracer Squad at once to escort the personnel connected to the codename 'Holy Grail War.' All other combat squads that encounter the Songstress are to use every means available to delay it! That Mystery—the Songstress—is very likely after them!"
"The Mysteries can understand humanity's hopes... and they want to destroy those hopes!"
She had made the most correct decision and given the right orders.
Yet it seemed she was still too late. The very next moment, she received a report from her subordinates: the personnel connected to the Holy Grail War under the codename "King Arthur" had encountered the Songstress!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Ugh!"
"Waaah!"
"Hah..."
"Wooo... woo..."
"Don't speak! Don't make a sound! Run... urgh..."
Gunshots, muffled groans, screams, and the Songstress's ethereal melody rang through a corridor.
Artoria had lost the ability to think. She could only stare blankly ahead.
Seven Strategy Room members lay dead there. The female staff member closest to her had also died after giving her final instructions.
They had all died the same way: their entire lower jaws had been torn off, their vocal cords ripped out through the shattered jaws, and all the blood in their bodies had solidified in an instant. It was as if they had been dead for more than ten hours, yet not a drop of blood had splattered.
It was as though an invisible hand had simply and brutally wreaked havoc. They had been utterly incapable of resisting.
The one responsible stood seven meters away: a woman floating in midair, wearing a tattered white robe. Her body was translucent, her skin bluish-white, and her long hair covered most of her face.
The Mystery: Songstress!
The moment she appeared, her ethereal, melodious song filled the corridor.
As soon as she appeared, some of the seven staff members escorting Artoria to safety were telling her to hurry and trying to calm her down.
As a result, two of them immediately triggered the Songstress's killing rule—not making a sound in her presence.
The attack had come so suddenly, and death had struck so quickly, that no one had time to react or even figure out what Mystery had attacked them. Someone shouted for them to hurry, while others angrily called out the names of their fallen companions and tried to fight back.
The killing rule triggered again, and one after another, they began to die.
In truth, the staff members were highly trained professionals and should have performed better.
But the Songstress's melody itself lured people into making sounds. It affected their minds. Unless they were firmly resolved to keep their mouths shut, they would feel an incessant urge to speak when they encountered the Songstress, triggering her killing mechanism.
By the time the last staff member realized it was the Songstress, all she could do was cover Artoria's mouth and give her final instructions.
And then death came.
It arrived without warning, giving humanity no chance to react or resist. It came without reason, bringing death and despair.
Artoria collapsed backward onto the floor, her body trembling uncontrollably. She had never witnessed anything like this and had completely lost the ability to think. All she could do was stare blankly up at the Songstress, whose ethereal song rang through the air.
At the same time, the Songstress tilted her head with strikingly humanlike curiosity, as if studying Artoria.
Though her eyes were hidden, anyone could sense her curiosity—and the overwhelming malice behind it.
Then the Songstress's voice grew louder. The intense melody kept affecting Artoria's mind, filling her with the urge to make a sound, to say something.
It was more than any ordinary person could resist. But the girl made no sound. She clenched her teeth against her lips until they bled, a sign of her resolve.
She didn't want to let the fallen down. She absolutely could not make a sound.
No matter how terrified she was, she had to endure, hold on, and...
"So~ in~ter~est~ing~"
Suddenly, an utterly eerie voice rang out. It sounded like singing, yet rose and fell unevenly, making one's hair stand on end.
The voice came from the Songstress—and this Mystery had actually formed a humanlike smile.
At that instant, seeing this, Artoria's heart was struck by a violent shock. A terrifying mental force surged through her, nearly robbing her of control over her body. Her tightly clenched lips parted against her will.
Her vocal cords vibrated, and a syllable, seemingly forced out of her throat, escaped.
In an instant, the killing rule triggered. An invisible force surged toward Artoria, about to kill her.
It seemed Artoria's death was inevitable.
Unless...
A miracle occurred.
And then...
A miracle happened!
The Invisible Blade flashed. Mana Burst surged, and the air churned as a blue-and-white figure suddenly appeared, striking with an incomparably fierce sword.
The Mystery's power, beyond human reach, was instantly cut apart by the blow. The violent currents of magical energy even struck the Songstress, sending her drifting backward.
The next moment, beneath Artoria's widened, incredulous eyes, a girl who looked exactly like her, yet radiated a heroic spirit, stood before her and looked down.
She stood in just the right spot for the light from the corridor to fall upon her, revealing her completely to Artoria.
Then she spoke in a voice identical to Artoria's, but calm, composed, and commanding. "I ask you: am I your reincarnation?"
"..." Artoria didn't answer.
Was it because everything had happened so suddenly that she didn't know what to do?
No, that wasn't it...
It was just that... the girl before her was so beautiful that she had lost the power of speech.
And so the two of them formed a silent masterpiece of the world: one seated on the floor, gazing up at the other; the other standing beneath the moonlight, looking down at her.
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