Mirror World: Destined Return

A man played a violin as if Niccolo Paganini had possessed him. The violinist’s expression showed that he held absolute confidence in his accurate performance, thanks to his high Health and Dexterity.

This should be—

“Next.” The firm voice of the woman on the red sofa interrupted the man’s thought and performance, dropping him into the pit of despair.

“P-please give me another chance! I promise I will entertain y—A-ahhhhh!” the violinist shouted as he was dragged out of the party hall by two pale vampires.

Next, the sound of an electric guitar filled the party hall.

“Next.”

“Next.”

“Next.”

The woman’s voice expressed more boredom with each failed performance. The participants in line grew stiffer expressions over time.

“Huuu, next,” the woman said.

Gerard, wearing a tailcoat like a pianist coming up to a stage to play, walked toward the red sofa. A tall woman with long, white hair and red eyes was sitting on the couch, skimming Gerard with disinterest.

I’m getting goosebumps... This woman is one of the monsters among monsters... A World Ranker above even Lee Kang-San! Gerard thought.

She was Erzsebet Melos, one of the top three strongest vampires among the Seven Purebloods of Consanguineus. She was the reason he had used an express to reach Lunatic in the fifth zone and waited until the Night of the Full Moon.

“Choose your instrument,” she said uninterestedly.

Gerard looked to one side of the party hall. There was a violin, guitar, lyre, saxophone, piano, and seemingly every other instrument one could think of.

“I choose the pianoforte,” Gerard said.

“Bring it here,” Erzsebet commanded.

As two vampires of the Melos bloodline walked toward the piano, Gerard said, “I have my own.”

He manipulated his D Weapon, Steel Piano Wire, to create 88 piano strings in midair like a barcode. The mix of short and long strings turned into a floating grand piano.

“That must be what they call the Destiny Weapon. Seeing that would probably be more interesting,” Erzsebet said as she gestured with her chin, signaling Gerard to play. She did not seem to have even the slightest of expectations.

Gerard took a deep breath as he placed his hands over the Steel Piano Wire, feeling the cold sensation of the piano strings. This was the first time he would play for someone else to hear, ever since he felt the despair of being unable to become a great pianist.

“The score I will play for you today is the Lacrimosa of Grande Messe des morts, a requiem composed by a fellow Frenchman, Hector Berlioz,” he said.

It was meant to be a grand orchestral score, but he had arranged it with his meager talents.

Please listen, Olga. I arranged this for you, Gerard thought as he closed his eyes and raised his hands.

He struck the piano strings with his fingers as if they were tuning hammers. The introduction of the majestic score from the Steel Piano Wire filled the party hall with melancholy.

“Hm?”

Erzsebet’s eyebrows rose. It was the first time since the start of the party that she had not shouted to stop the performance within five seconds. Gerard’s performance was by no means beautiful. His technique was mediocre, he had no control of his strength, and the arrangement itself was highly unrefined. However, anyone could feel deep despair, sorrow, regret, yearning, and such emotions from the performance.

The performance headed toward its finale. The ends of Gerard’s fingers were tattered from striking the sharp Steel Piano Wire. The red blood flowed along the eighty-eight piano strings, setting the eyes of the Melos bloodline vampires alight as they smelled the blood.

“What a great performance.”

“A performance of blood.”

“I have not heard a requiem in a while.”

“What a passionate dissonance.”

The art-loving Melos bloodline vampires stared favorably at the bloody Gerard, who was playing as if possessed. Gerard panted heavily once the ten-minute performance ended. He had made a large puddle of blood on the floor, and his hands were dyed red with his own blood.

Olga... I want to lay you to rest. And to do that... Gerard trailed off in his thoughts as he opened his eyes.

He saw Erzsebet standing from the sofa and walking to him without caring for her white dress being stained by the puddle of blood.

“A requiem played by an untalented pianist. I have not heard a performance this good in a century. You have moved me, child.” The corners of Erzsebet’s red lips rose. “You wish to take revenge, don’t you?”

“I-I do,” Gerard replied.

“Do you want power?”

“Desperately!”

Erzsebet’s eyes turned redder as she stared at the screaming Gerard and thought, What a cute child!

Watching the weak struggling was her hobby.

“And you will have it,” Erzsebet declared as her fangs lengthened.

Gerard was met with various Akasha Messages moments later.

[Injecting the gene of the race Vampire.]

[You have become the Canis of Erzsebet Melos.]

[Applying Debuff: Blood Obedience.]

[Applying Debuff: Porphyria.]

[Drastically heightening all stat calibers.]

***

The audience seats of the Montpellier Opera House were full, but the stage, which should be filled with actors, was empty. Just then, a beam projector illuminated the empty wall of the stage.

“Ladies and gentlemen! I declare the grand opening of the first Mirror World Film Festival, hosted by Stay Tuned!” the host shouted as cheers roared from the audience seats. “First, let’s introduce the nominations for the Special Award! Murder Lover, Crimson Aspiration, Montpellier’s Back Alley...”

The title and a snippet of each video were projected on the wall one after another. They called it a film festival, but the projected videos were the worst in terms of quality. They were merely an emphasis of humanity’s worst parts. However, the Stay Tuned clansmen and the humans of distorted desires who consumed those videos clapped as they relished in the filthy stimulation.

“Whoooaaa!”

“Ahahaha!”

“Amazing!”

“Next, let’s introduce the nominations for the Jury Prize. Rose Thorns, Rewriting Somaesthetics, E-rank Health Stat Defense Test...”

The first two videos were projected, but as the snippet of the E-rank Health Stat Defense Test video was about to play, the beam projector was split in half, filling the opera house with darkness.

“W-what the hell?!”

“What happened?”

“Is the Union onto us?”

Chilling sounds of steel wires clashing against one another and flesh being severed filled the opera house along with a harmony of screams and acrimony.

“GAAAAAHHH!”

“M-MY ARM!”

“HELP ME!”

“T-turn on the lights!”

The lights that had been off for the projection were turned on. At the center of the stage was a white-haired old man in a tattered tailcoat, biting the host’s neck and sucking his blood.

“Haaaaahhh!” Gerard roared, staring at the audience seats as he was swept by intense thirst.

[Commencing vampiric urge as per the effect of Debuff: Porphyria.]

He exuded blood-freezing bloodlust and inhuman madness from his bright red eyes. His fangs and fingernails were lengthened.

“My name is Gerard D’Armont. A... tuning artisan!” Gerard shouted as enormous caliber and mana surged from him. “I WILL TUNE ALL OF YOU WHO ARE OUT OF TUNE UNTIL YOU CAN MAKE A DECENT SOUND!”

[Activating Unique Skill: Artisan's Tuning - Manuscript Paper.]

Thousands of the Steel Piano Wire strands were emitted like a water fountain. A requiem played by human bodies and screams filled the Montpellier Opera House.

***

Lacrimosa dies illa, (Tearful will be that day,)

Qua resurget ex favilla (when from the ashes shall arise,)

Judicandus homo reus. (the guilty man to be judged.)

Louis-Hector Berlioz, Grande Messe des morts — Lacrimosa

***

There were fewer than ten individuals of superior caliber in human society at the time. Hence, stories of people who had accumulated caliber on par with dragons, demons, and angels were only spread by word of mouth and were rarely witnessed.

A few even claimed they could kill ten thousand people alone. Everyone believed it was complete nonsense, but those rumors were confirmed by those who had barely managed to escape from the Montpellier Opera House that day. It was also the day that a new High Ranker, the White Devil, came to be known to the Mirror World.

[Trait Quest: Collect Ten Thousand Souls, complete.]

[Converting Trait: Thousand-Man Killer to Ten Thousand-Man Killer.]

...

The unending Akasha Messages, the mountain of corpses, and the sea of blood, or even the collapsing building, weren’t enough to draw Gerard’s attention. His focus was solely on the man with green eyes wearing a ski mask. His legs were severed, and he appeared to have gone partially insane.

“Urgh...Gurgh!”

“Erase it. Now!”

Gerard stabbed the Steel Piano Wire into the man like spikes.

“GAAAAAHHH!”

“ERASE IT NOW!!!”

The man in the ski mask screamed, “I-IT WASN’T ME! I WAS JUST THE MAIN ACTOR! I-I WAS HIRED FOR THE ROLE!”

“BULLSHIT! I SAW IT!”

“I-IT’S TRUE! THE CP PERSONALLY PRODUCED THAT VIDEO!”

“THEN BRING HIM TO ME!”

“YOU FUCKING KILLED HIM ALREADY, YOU MONSTER!” the man screamed as he pointed at the mountain of corpses.

“What... did you say?”

He’s dead? Then what about the video? Gerard thought.

Once uploaded to the Network, the information did not disappear even after the uploader’s death.

Then will Olga’s death... forever remain viewable? T-that can’t be!

“AAAAAHHH!” Gerard screamed, slicing the man in the ski mask and everything around him into tiny pieces.

Pillars were sliced, destroying the ceiling. Sunlight beamed from the giant hole in the ceiling.

I... failed.

He had destroyed Clan Stay Tuned and avenged Olga, but failed to take down the horrifying video from the Network.

“I-I’m sorry... Olga,” Gerard stuttered, walking toward the center of the stage in tears as if in a trance. “A-a broken man like myself... couldn’t possibly tune anything!”

All notes were mashed into one and rang inside his head.

It’s over.

Gerard believed this was where his life ended. A tuner who couldn’t tune had no reason to exist. He wanted to stop. He stood before the pillar of light falling from the hole in the ceiling and walked in without hesitation. The sunlight, as golden as Olga’s blonde hair, burned Gerard’s skin.

“AAAAAHHH!”

He was struck with the excruciating pain of every single cell in his body burning to death, but he endured it because he believed this was the only way for him to atone for failing Olga. Just then, someone pushed him.

“What the hell are you doing, Gramps?!”

Gerard fell into a shadowed area where the sun couldn’t reach.

He turned around and mumbled, “Who...”

“Suicide?! I hate those who think so little of their lives the most! You’re spending each day in health! Vivienne would have given anything to have that!” shouted the woman whose blonde hair was shining under the sunlight. “At least try to live for as long as you possibly can!”

Gerard was reminded of what Olga had told him during the mandatory quest.

“You can survive, Gramps! You should live for as long as you possibly can!”

Olga? No... Jurie Martin.

Gerard said in tears, “I... failed... I did... something... stupid—”

“You failed? What are you talking about, Gramps?! You did it!” Jurie shouted as she tapped on her smartphone and showed Gerard the screen.

She had typed E-rank Health Stat Defense Test on the Network search tab at the top of the screen, and there was no result below.

“How... is this...” Gerard mumbled blankly.

“You killed the heavy uploader, Gramps. You killed the bastard who’s been uploading videos nonstop, no matter how many times I deleted them,” Jurie replied.

“You deleted... someone else’s video? Then... are you—”

“That’s right, Gramps. I am the owner of the Network, the Database.” Jurie swept up her blonde hair and smiled bitterly. “I’m sorry, Gramps. I used you.”

Her objective had been to wipe out Clan Stay Tuned, who had been tainting the Network with their uploads. Hence, she had used Gerard D’Armont, who seemed to be willing to do anything for revenge.

“Didn’t I tell you, Gramps? All kind people die quickly. Since I’ve been alive all this time... how much of an evil bitch must I be?” Jurie chuckled and continued, “It just means I’m a Martin, through and through. I won’t say anything even if you resent me for—”

“T-thank you!” Unlike what Jurie had expected, Gerard smashed his head into the ground and bowed to her, his white hair fluttering in the wind. “T-thank you for using me in the right direction! Thank you for tuning me! Thank you, thank you very much! Ahhh, Olga... You can finally rest!”

Jurie bit her lip as she stared at the delighted Gerard and asked, “What are you... gonna do now?”

“What... do you mean?”

“You’ve gotta live, don’t you?! Get up, Gramps!” Jurie shouted, suppressing her guilt.

Olga’s voice echoed inside Gerard’s head.

“What the hell are you doing just lying around, Gramps?! Get up!”

All tones returned to normal. He had been tuned.

Jurie watched Gerard slowly standing up and quietly mumbled, “If you have nothing to do right now... Wanna come with me?” Her own words flustered her. She quickly added, “Y-you don’t have to, if you don’t want to.”

“I shall, Lady Jurie.”

“Really?”

“Yes. A lady of a prestigious noble family needs an attendant,” Gerard replied as he scooped some blood pooled on the ground and drank it, healing his burns. “That aside, are you sure you want to stay with me, my lady? I might lose my mind from porphyria at any moment.”

Jurie smiled brightly and replied, “I’ll hire you as my butler. As for payment, how does information regarding Dark Humans who deserve more than to have all their blood sucked sound? Is that too cheap?”

“It’s plenty,” Gerard replied with a smile.

The final verse of the requiem was playing inside his head.

End of flashback.

***

Huic ergo parce, Deus. (Therefore spare this one, O God.)

Pie Jesu Domine. (Merciful Lord Jesus.)

Dona eis requiem. Amen. (Grant them rest. Amen.)

Louis-Hector Berlioz, Grande Messe des morts — Lacrimosa

***

“Answer me, child. Have you returned to me? If you have, it would fill me with great joy,” said the monster with silver hair and red eyes.

Compelled by Blood Obedience, Gerard bowed and responded, “I apologize, Master. I already have a lady whom I serve.”

Erzsebet smiled coldly at his response and said, “You’ve changed. It appears I can’t hope for that beautiful performance ever again.”

“I apologize, and I have nothing but utmost gratitude for you. Thanks to you, I was able to take revenge.”

“You’ve... become boring.” Erzsebet stared at Gerard with uninterested eyes, her earlier interest nowhere to be found. “If you have not returned to me, then why have you come?”

“That’s—”

“I am the one who has sought you,” Seong-Hwi interjected as he stared at Erzsebet. The Golden Lyre was gone before anyone had realized it.

“You sought me?” Erzsebet asked.

“That’s correct, Erzsebet Melos. Would you like to make a deal with me?” Seong-Hwi’s eyes turned red, reflecting Blood Castle’s red moonlight. “I have information that will save your life.”

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