Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

"Yes, Daralrio did it."

Daralio was the somewhat timid man they had met before who was with Christobelle.

"Did he do all of this?"

Looking at the musical instruments and sophisticated machinery around him, Hugh exclaimed with genuine admiration.

“Dalario…? What kind of existence is he to you, Christobelle?”

"..."

Christobelle fell silent again.

But this silence was brief. The violinist girl spoke without hesitation:

"A gentle person."

She, who was always expressionless, seemed to have a faint smile on her face for a moment, which puzzled Hugh.

buzz~

Suddenly, the gears around the elevator started turning, and the elevator began to slowly rise.

"It's almost time... See you later."

"what?"

Hugh was puzzled as he watched Christobelle rise higher and higher.

Isaac took out his pocket watch and glanced at the time.

"It seems the opening ceremony of the concert hall is about to begin, and the audience should have finished entering by now."

According to the newspaper's description of the concert hall, the venue has about a thousand seats. Based on the number of people queuing outside, it is estimated that a lot of people will have to stand to listen to the concert.

"So, why did we come here?"

"I followed Mr. Daralrio here, and the purpose was... right, the Book of Illusions!" Hugh suddenly remembered the purpose of his trip.

-

At the same time, a series of hurried footsteps approached.

A disheveled man in work clothes stumbled down the stairs and accidentally fell in front of Isaac and the others.

Before he could get up, his eyes widened as he saw the elevator that had already ascended to the platform.

"...How could this happen...Did we miss it?"

"Mr. Daralrio?"

"Huh? What are you all doing here?"

Daralio exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the person in front of him, but then got up and shouted anxiously.

"Quick! Stop Christobelle!!"

"what?"

"I've been tricked! We absolutely cannot let the performance continue, or the capital will be..."

boom!

A gunshot rang out in the underground space, interrupting what Daralrio was about to say.

He was shot in the shoulder, which caused him to fall to the ground.

"Well……"

"You talk too much."

A menacing sound rang out, followed by a series of rapid noises, and one of the tightly closed doors in the basement was violently flung open.

The man who slowly walked into the basement was an obese middle-aged man. He looked every bit the shrewd and capable businessman, and he exuded a strong sense of intimidation.

The guard standing beside him was a tall, handsome man dressed in black.

The man in black held a black stick in his left hand, the same type he had used to beat Hugh. Then, with his right hand, he aimed a small automatic gun at the fallen Daralio.

Upon seeing this, Hugh immediately put his hand in his pocket and reached for his pistol.

He possessed the illusionary book given to him by Isaac, which allowed him to sense auras, and thus he sensed the presence of someone in the basement.

But both he and Isaac treated them as staff members here.

"Your willful behavior is really bothersome, Daralrio."

One of the men, who had the air of a businessman, spoke in an unusually gentle tone.

“Mr. Kentrick…”

Daralio called out the man's name in a trembling voice, the gunshot wound in his shoulder making his voice weaker.

"What happened?" Isaac asked.

"Excuse me, gentlemen."

The man named Kentley bowed to Isaac and the others, appearing somewhat gentlemanly.

“I am an investor in Darrealo.”

Although he acted very politely, his men still pointed guns at the crowd.

"Can I ask what that means?"

“I just wanted to put Miss Christobelle at ease so she could play her ‘Padini Fantasy’,” Kentley laughed.

"'Phantom Song'? I knew it..."

"We absolutely cannot let her play!!" Daralio shouted. "Padini's Fantasy is highly addictive; once you hear it once, you'll want to keep listening. In the long run, you'll be completely at someone's mercy! Especially this 'Utopia'!"

“I see. So the fans of Christobelle gathered in front of the venue are, in other words, addicts to the fantasy music. No wonder I felt the atmosphere was a bit strange,” Hugh said, frowning.

Kentley did not deny it at all, and there was not a trace of remorse on his face.

"Indeed, anyone who has ever heard a Partini Fantasy once will never forget the feeling and will always want to hear that piece again. The more you hear it, the more addictive it becomes, and soon you will obey any command in order to hear the Fantasy."

With that, he waved his hand, and his men surrounded Isaac, Hugh, and Fran.

"The money to build this huge concert hall came from these guys who are delirious after listening to music."

Chapter 1041: The Fallen Heaven

"Did you have Christophe Bell play Padini's violin sonata just to manipulate the audience?"

"This is just one step."

Kentley wore a confident smile.

“Until now, only a limited number of people could hear it, but that will be different in the future. Anyone who comes to this venue can listen to and enjoy the wonderful symphony. There is nothing more delightful for those who want to engage with art.”

"It seems they plan to gather a large number of residents of the capital and turn them into slaves who obey orders, right?" Hugh clenched his hands.

“That kind of thing can’t be allowed! Please stop, Manager Kentley! Our agreement was that she would play the fantasy until the concert hall was finished. Using Christobelle to force someone to obey is different from what we agreed on.”

Daralio's tone was pleading, and Kentley chuckled unhappily through his nose.

"What nonsense are you spouting now, Daralrio Hayward? After all, you started this whole thing, didn't you? How much money do you think we've invested so far? Who do you think paid for the enormous cost of this illusionary music machine you built?"

"..."

Seeing the stalemate between the group, Isaac asked, "The machine you're talking about, you don't mean the one in the basement, do you? You mean Christobell."

"exactly."

Kentley looked at Isaac with amusement and said smugly.

"This thing is just a machine. Like the piece of junk lying there, it's just a mechanical doll made to play musical instruments. Sigh, it still cost a lot of money for such a complicated structure to play difficult scores like fantasy music."

"no……"

Daralio crawled on the ground with difficulty, the wound on his shoulder dragging blood across the floor.

He grabbed Kentley's trouser leg and said with difficulty:

"She... Christobelle is not your tool. She has her own will. Please stop doing things that will cause her pain. If you intend to use Christobelle's performances to make people suffer, I will release her design drawings..."

"That's a real shame."

Kentley's smile vanished, and he drew his pistol, aiming it at Darrellio on the ground.

Just as he was about to pull the trigger, Isaac suddenly stepped forward and grabbed his wrist.

"Ok?"

"Do you know who I am?" Isaac asked with a smile.

“Ah, of course, I know both you and Lord Diswald,” Kentley said with a smile. “He is the grandson of Viscount Diswald and the guardian of the Dantalian bookshelf key, while you are Lord Isaac, known as the ‘Alchemist of the Early Century’.”

"Our names are spreading pretty fast in your circles."

Isaac laughed, but his eyes immediately turned cold.

"Since you know my name, why did you come here to die?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the shadow beneath his feet suddenly lengthened, entangling Kentley's men around him like tentacles.

One of the shadows even transformed into a sharp blade pressed against Kentley's neck.

Kentley broke out in a cold sweat at the bizarre scene before him, but still maintained a calm smile.

"I apologize for my previous rudeness, but Alchemist, we don't seem to have any conflict of interest. And I have no hostility whatsoever. You see, I've been hiding in the shadows for a long time, but I haven't fired a shot..."

"You didn't shoot me because you wanted Hugh and me to be controlled by the illusion, right?"

"..."

"I don't know the power of the illusion yet, and I might really be controlled, but before that, I can take your head off."

"...As expected of an alchemist, but unfortunately," Kentley chuckled, "the inauguration ceremony is almost over."

At the same time, the gears that filled the basement began to turn, and the wooden puppets around the room began to play musical instruments.

The melodious sound of a violin rose from the top, its dreamlike elegance permeating the minds of every listener.

"As expected, I won again, alchemist. Become mine..."

Swish!