After Xiangzi died, I inherited her harem.

"It's been so long, hasn't it started yet?"

Chihaya Aine sat in her seat, occasionally taking out a piece of candy to feed the somewhat uninterested Kaname, and glancing at the time on her phone every now and then.

Some time had passed since the lights went out, and the performance that was expected had not started. Instead, the staff brought out various fluorescent props and placed them in the performance hall to replace the lights that had been turned off.

Is it trying to create some special atmosphere?

Looking at the performance hall, which was decorated in a rather strange way, Chihaya Aine had some doubts in her mind.

Half an hour may feel both short and long to the Ave Mujica members who are eager to familiarize themselves with the new script, but for the audience in the performance hall, the passage of this time is not as noticeable as the band members imagine.

The venue was already quite large, so it would take some time to find a seat, not to mention chatting with the other attendees.

However, as time went on, the guests gradually began to feel that something was wrong.

Even if it's just preparation to create atmosphere before the show starts, the lights being off for far too long is ridiculous.

Anxiety began to spread throughout the performance hall, and various speculations gradually became noisy.

Until a beam of dark red light illuminated the stage, the performance hall gradually fell silent.

The deep sound of the piano filled the room; it was not melodious or gentle, but rather had a powerful, resonant quality.

A green-haired girl wearing a black mask emerged from behind a curtain, stepping on a beam of dark red light, carrying a pink guitar.

A deep chant came from the girl's mouth, like a priest's prayer in a church.

"Each awakening is a rebirth, and never awakening again is... eternal death."

Metis held his guitar, watching the glow sticks waving and dancing below the stage, his golden eyes devoid of joy or sorrow.

The girl looked like a puppet being pulled by threads, mechanically moving her throat and tongue to make sounds that were captivating.

"I would weave for you..."

Metis recited his lines word by word, looking at the audience who had fallen silent because of his performance, but there was no trace of the joy of dominating the entire venue in his eyes.

As agreed, after the performance in the small theater, she had to return to that cramped space and stay with the newly born monster.

Her will is only allowed to manifest when she needs to contact Yuu Toyokawa.

【Xiao Mu, it's your turn.】

Reluctantly calling out in his heart, Metis relaxed his hands that were holding the guitar, and his gaze gradually shifted from the wide stage back to the small room.

Looking at his empty hands and the vast stage that could only be seen through a television screen, Metis felt a little lost.

This is my first time leaving this place, and I never imagined I'd only be able to stay for such a short time.

Metis stared at the television screen, watching the viewers freely waving glow sticks, a hint of envy flashing in his eyes.

Feeling down? Want something to eat?

A gentle voice rang in Metis's ear, and a light green-wrapped mint appeared in front of him.

【Okay... huh?】

When you're in a bad mood, you'd love to have candy, and Metis was about to agree when he suddenly realized a blind spot he had subconsciously overlooked.

Xiao Mu has already gone out to play the guitar, so who is talking to her now, and where did this candy come from?

Like a rusty gear, it slowly turned its head, and a green-haired figure, exactly like itself, stood behind the sofa with a hypocritical expression on its face, as if wearing a mask.

"ah--"

A piercing scream interrupted the original dialogue. Metis, clutching her guitar, was deathly pale, and the fear of death was vividly displayed on her face.

The monster wasn't imprisoned by Xiao Mu; she returned, returned from that darkness that was no different from death!

Can't she just die?

"No, no... don't eat me, I don't want to die!"

What's going on here? That's not how the lines are written.

Yawata Kairin frowned deeply as she watched Metis suddenly scream and ramble incoherently.

Standing in the shadows of the stage, it wasn't just Metis who came on stage; all the members of Ave Mujica actually took the stage at the same time as Metis.

However, thanks to the lighting technician's special lighting effects, everyone's attention was focused on the spotlight, and they subconsciously ignored the writhing shadows on the stage.

"what happened?"

Hatsune Miku, who was standing closest to Hachiman Kairin while holding her guitar, asked quietly, but fortunately Metis's scream drowned out the little whisper.

After noticing that Hachiman Kairin also looked bewildered, he turned his question to Toyokawa Shoko, who was standing to the side.

"Xiao Xiang, what do we do now?"

Shoko Toyokawa, already seated at the keyboard and ready to begin playing, had her brows furrowed.

The guitarist's completely unplanned behavior left her feeling somewhat at a loss.

She had imagined many unexpected situations, but she never thought that her usually reliable second half would fail her.

But it's clear that the concert can no longer continue in this state; forcing a performance would only completely ruin things.

At that point, Ave Mujica will be ruined.

"There's no other way now, we have to..."

[Cannot be stopped.]

Just as Shoko Toyokawa was about to abruptly end the concert, Yuu Toyokawa's voice came through the headphones of everyone at Ave Mujica.

[Continue playing, adapt to the situation. I will be in charge of the opening act; begin playing as soon as the lights come on.]

In the backstage command room, Toyokawa Yuu was completely bewildered as she watched Wakaba Mutsu suddenly lose control on stage.

What's going on? I didn't put that much pressure on him. At most, I just wanted to force Metis out, so why does he look like he's about to die?

Is Ruoye Mu already planning to launch the Personality Battle Royale 2.0?

But no matter what, a suspension is impossible. Even for the sake of Ave Mujica's development, this concert, which has already suffered an accident once, cannot be interrupted a second time.

He had promised Toyokawa Shoko that he would get the band on the Budokan stage within a month, so naturally he couldn't give up the chance to fight back.

Rather than focusing on so-called stop-loss, he always values ​​the potential gains hidden within a crisis.

[Doloris, Mortis's condition doesn't guarantee she'll play correctly. As a fellow guitarist, I need you to fill in the gaps in her playing.]

"I try my best......"

Hatsune nodded somewhat reluctantly. It was not uncommon for other members to fill in for a band member when one of the musicians was not performing well.

But such extensive patching is even more difficult than one person playing two pieces of sheet music.

Xiangzi had finally revised the script, and the concert finally had a chance to get back on track, so why did this unexpected incident have to happen?

Is my life really destined to be so full of misfortune?

[Xiangzi, you'll be in charge of guiding the rhythm of the others and coordinating everyone's performance with Mortis's.]

"I can do it."

She nodded slightly. In music, Toyokawa Shoko never thought she could lose, especially now that it was a four-against-one situation.

Metis, oblivious to the thoughts of others, continues his struggle at this very moment.

Under the scarlet spotlight, the green-haired girl seemed to be shrouded in a layer of blood mist, clutching the guitar tightly in her arms as if it were her only hope for survival, while something unseen was fighting her for it.

And indeed, that was the case. Within the consciousness space, the newly born "Wakaba Mutsu" had already grabbed the guitar's lower body and was struggling to pull it out of Metis's hands.

[Xiao Mu, come help me!]

Metis, whose mind was no different from that of a child, was almost brought to tears by being so close to a monster that could return from the dead.

Even so, she still remembered that this guitar was the most important thing to Xiao Mu, so even though she was almost crying from fright, she still held on tightly and refused to let go.

This is my stuff...

Ruo Ye Mu also knew that he couldn't just let Yu Mu take the guitar away; it was his most important possession, the anchor of his personality.

It is also... the key to controlling the machine [Wakaba Mutsumi].

No, I don't want to die, I want to live!

"No, I don't want to die, I want to live!"

A voice rang out simultaneously in reality and in spirit. "Wakaba Mutsu" suddenly strummed the guitar in his hand. The act of making a sound without any skill caused the instrument to emit a sharp wail.

Now is the time, get ready!

Yuu Toyokawa's voice rang in the headphones of everyone at Ave Mujica almost simultaneously. Even a technically proficient commercial band couldn't help but feel a little nervous in the face of this situation.

The next moment, the lights in the performance hall came on, and the Ave Mujica members, who had already taken the stage in the dark and were ready with their instruments, appeared under the lights. Five dark red beams of light highlighted the slender figures of the puppets.

The instruments began to play, and the engines of the galactic warship roared. Even with obvious noises mixed in, the ship, with no way back, had no choice but to grit its teeth and sail towards the other side.

“Ave Mujica…”

“Ave Mujica…”

The unique way of making an entrance completely ignited the guests' long-suppressed enthusiasm, and any slight impatience that had been secretly growing but had not yet been revealed was completely thrown to the winds.

Although the green-haired guitarist acted a bit strange, perhaps this is part of the Ave Mujica worldview.

At least a significant number of the guests were indeed impressed by the guitarist's incredibly realistic acting skills.

However, Mortis, whose mind was already in a three-way battle, didn't care about any of that.

Metis gripped the headstock tightly, while Ruoye Mu held the neck with one hand and pushed Yu Mu outwards with the other.

Yu Mu, however, clung tightly to the resonance box, refusing to let go no matter what.

The three "Wakaba Mutsumi" reached a consensus almost simultaneously: if the other side took the guitar, they might die.

Three consciousnesses were randomly pressing the strings of a guitar, and [Wakaba Mutsumi]'s body was being fought over by the three parties in turn. The performance in reality could only be described as a disaster.

Such obvious scrambling is noticeable even to music lovers.

To outsiders, Mortis seemed to have completely immersed himself in his own world.

A moment later, he used his fingers to pinch out off-key vibrato on the guitar, producing a series of basic mistakes that even beginners wouldn't make.

A moment later, his technique was superb and impeccable, perfectly matching the rhythm of the other musicians.

But no matter what, Mortis always displayed exaggerated body language, and even with the mask on, the guests could still feel his fear of death (Mortis).

"Is this Ave Mujica's style?"

A music critic sitting in the front row of the audience watched Mortis, who was showing off his skills rather than acting crazy, and muttered to himself.

Yes, it's a display of skill.

In his eyes, this playing style, which was sometimes out of tune and sometimes impeccable, was not deliberately messing around, but a complete display of skill.

This means that the guitarist, whose young age was evident even with a mask on, had reached an awe-inspiring level of technical skill, able to switch effortlessly between two levels of playing style without any difficulty.

If he hadn't had some inside information that the members of Ave Mujica had some kind of background, he would have even suspected that the band had given the young girls on stage some kind of drug.

However, he quickly dismissed this speculation.

After all, it wasn't just Mortis; the entire Ave Mujica band was showing off their skills.

Mortis's unrestrained and spontaneous performance was so captivating that the other members of the band were completely in sync. The rhythm might have been slightly off, but it subtly revealed an almost contemptuous arrogance.

Especially the keyboardist, he could tell that lead singer and guitarist Doloris was just the outward appearance, while Oblivionis was the core of the band.

When Mortis sang off-key, she was responsible for bringing the music to a close, like a gear meshing the rhythms of the others with Mortis's.

When Mortis is impeccable, she will lead the whole band back to the right rhythm, and the wild style even has a sense of orderly harmony.

If Mortis was the rebel who stirred up chaos, then Oblivionis was the tyrant who suppressed order; no matter how arrogant the guitarist was, he couldn't make a ripple under her rule.

This band, which hasn't been around for long, is really... pretty arrogant.

The other guests, while not as insightful as this commentator, were at least people who could appreciate the atmosphere of the concert.

Mortis's unrestrained performance, combined with Ave Mujica's rousing yet largely error-free melody, had become a new kind of entertainment in their eyes.

The glow sticks rose and fell like waves; at least tonight, the guests were truly immersed in the world of Ave Mujica.

However, while the guests in the audience were so excited, the other performers on stage were in a terrible state.

Rather, it would be more accurate to say that the Ave Mujica group, who appeared to be showing off their skills to the guests and challenging the pinnacle of music with an almost arrogant attitude, were actually on the verge of exploding.

This performance put them on the brink of death, with the possibility of falling at any moment.