Unusual Fate Records

Chapter 98, Section 036: Counterattack

Aoyu gently brushed the dust off the hat and put it upside down on his head. Today he came specifically to test the stage effects. The lights and sound were all ready. When classical music was played in the opera house, the scene would surely be filled with breathtaking beauty.

A red curtain occupies the center of the stage, and looking up you can see concentric rings of arched ceilings, meticulously polished marble, which, combined with warm yellow lighting, converge at the very top, like an open eye.

It is full of a sense of scrutiny and solemn beauty.

In the backstage dressing room, the makeup artist pushed out a wardrobe cart. The rolling wheels made a soft, rumbling sound, and the wardrobe full of clothes bumped and jostled. When opened, it looked like a dazzling fashion show.

Aoyagi picked out a garment: a white shirt with a red tie, and a black Western-style jacket with gold lace trim. He examined it carefully for a while, then felt the material before turning to the man beside him and asking:

Do you think this looks good?

Koji, sweat beading on his forehead, said, "Beautiful."

"Don't be so reserved. The stage and performance are meant to bring the audience a sense of relaxation and joy from the inside out." Aoyagi said, unbuttoning the top of his shirt and rubbing the confetti on his chest. The exquisite craftsmanship made people eagerly anticipate the grand performance in two days.

"Mr. Aoyagi, the enemy is currently isolated and helpless. Why not take further steps to gradually encroach upon them, instead of launching a large-scale attack?"

"Do you think we have the upper hand?" Qingliu chuckled, her eyes shifting uncertainly under the lamplight. "That soft-hearted woman has never truly exerted her strength."

Kodera was still worried about his safety. Having chosen sides, only by completely eliminating the other side could he feel at ease. Aoyagi's words made Kodera's heart leap into his throat; he hesitated and said:

"That--"

"Don't worry, no one is invincible. There will always be weaknesses. Let them rehearse a few more times."

Aoyagi ignored him and rolled up her sleeves.

"Then, I'll take my leave now."

"Walk slowly without sending."

Koji was quietly pushed out of the back door of the Iris Grand Theatre. The waiter who opened the door for him was expressionless, or rather, had no eyes.

This sent chills down Koji's spine; in this grand theater, only Aoyagi is a conscious living being.

But that doesn't mean there's no defense here. The puppets this guy created guard all the passages inside and out. Feeling the eerie gaze of these inanimate objects all the way, I couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy.

He betrayed the entire Ranshan Hall; power and honor are insignificant external things compared to life itself.

Fortunately, he had lured the Seven Deadly Sins into his scheme these past few days, while also secretly providing intelligence, which allowed Aoyagi to make his plans more flexible and unpredictable.

It can be considered his pledge of allegiance.

Now, with great difficulty, only two of the Seven Deadly Sins remain. As for the fate of the Society, it's no longer a concern for him. That kind of childish game of calling each other "Big Brother" is utterly meaningless when faced with truly vicious thugs.

I still miss the days when I was a lackey. I could call Hattori over when I had nothing to do, and I'd have a woman on each side of me, and when I was drunk, I'd lean in and smell her hair.

His expression was sinister; he hadn't revealed his true nature to anyone in a long time. Ever since that damned bounty hunter terrified him, he'd become timid and hesitant in everything he did. People called him weak, incompetent, and utterly mediocre, but little did they know that this was his safest form of cover.

As Koji was thinking, suddenly at the bend in the road ahead, the shadows on the ground slowly lengthened.

There were hardly any residents near the Iris Opera House to begin with, and as the struggling shops gradually moved away, only drunkards, gamblers, and other idle vagrants remained, still loitering in the area.

He instinctively lowered his head, not wanting others to see his face.

"Tuk, Tuk, Tuk."

The footsteps were slow and sounded quite steady; it wasn't a drunkard, but a woman's, and it was the sound of high-heeled boots.

A woman? Wait!

In his panic, Koji suddenly looked up.

But then a head of long hair appeared.

Behind the woman's long-sleeved clothes, her fingers gripped the hilt of the short, curved knife tightly. Almost the instant he looked up, a silver light cleaved his face vertically.

Koji was incredulous; blood spurted from his face to his chin, chest to abdomen. He fell straight backward, the hazy crimson staining the crescent moon in the sky.

Koji suddenly remembered that night when he looked up, the assassin wearing a mask that was half crying and half laughing was actually slashing down on him from the moonlight.

When the silver blade pierced the flesh, it felt slightly cool, and blood and flesh splattered out, followed by a burning pain, like a branding iron hissing on the forehead.

He kept spitting out blood. The White Walkers shouldn't have such fragile life force, but his rapidly decreasing body temperature seemed to indicate his imminent death.

Koji turned his head and saw the gleaming tip of a knife next to the high-heeled boots, his own blood slowly dripping down.

Even he himself found it strange at this moment; his first thought was not how he could be exposed.

He spread out his blood-stained palm, the back of his hand pressed against the cement floor, the warm blood already soaking his fingers. Koji murmured to himself:

"So...death...isn't that painful after all..."

After he finished speaking, the middle-aged man's eyes slowly lost their luster.

"That can be considered getting rid of the traitor." Greed, wearing black combat boots, emerged from the darkness on the other side.

"Let's go." Arrogance didn't turn around and walked straight towards the Iris Opera House.

Greed raised its head and looked at the massive building, which resembled a giant beast lying on the concrete road. Inside the beast was its sworn enemy.

Tonight, everything will be decided.

The man's black hard boots stepped into the puddle, splashing water and shattering the muddy moon.

Arrogantly walking along, it suddenly stopped, and Greed, seeing this, immediately became wary.

"You're early."

The loudspeakers in the hallway all started broadcasting in unison.

The originally dimly lit room was suddenly illuminated by a bright light, which gradually lit up the path ahead.

"Come on, I'll be waiting for you in the center of the stage, but you'd better be alive to get here."

The man on the radio said jokingly, and after a rustling sound, there was no further news.

Upon hearing this, Arrogance accelerated his sprint, his short, curved blade flashing coldly across the window every two seconds.

"boom!"

A violent collision sounded as a berserk monster, like a heavily armored tank, smashed through the wall from around the corner.

Arrogantly, he paused, then abruptly stopped, gracefully sidestepping to avoid the opponent's advancing target.

The shattered rocks and billowing dust swept across the sky.

As the smoke cleared, the monster's silhouette was revealed.

It was a fierce-looking Vajra with blackish-gray fur, crimson eyes, and a wide-open mouth revealing sharp canine teeth. It pounded its chest angrily towards the sky, the pounding of its solid muscles making a thumping sound like a drum.

After venting its anger, it rushed over in a few strides, swinging its arm straight down like a heavy hammer.

A ferocious, beastly breath emanated from above the arrogance. The woman neither dodged nor avoided it, but gripped the hilt of her knife tightly, raised and turned her wrist, lowering the blade to an angle where she could slit a throat with a single blow.

Swah——

(End of this chapter)