725 Heroes Monumen (1/2)
Inside the Rose Square in Kasvig…
When Little Crystal suddenly arrived and released the dominance of a top creature, exclamations and shrieks immediately burst out of the crowd. They backed off as if they were being blown by a tide. Their panic and fear were almost concrete.
”Monster!”
”D-Dragon!”
”Screwed… We're screwed…”
”It's so terrifying!”
In only one moment, a large room was cleared around the ”curtain”. Although they knew that it was happening inside the Rentato Royal Grand Theater, their subconscious reaction of fear came from their natural instincts. No ”special effects” worked better than a real-life dragon!
In the cities of Cocus, Salyvaor, Paphos, and Samara, similar cases were happening. Somebody backed off in fear, some were stunned, and some felt that they were dreaming.
Human beings living in the non-remote areas had barely seen any dragons since the heyday of the Magic Empire, but as the eternal supervillain in stories, people's impression of dragons did not decline with the passage of time. Also, ”Human and Nature”, a program on ”Arcana Voice”, had introduced the epic creature many times. It was not difficult for Banus and Ali to identify a dragon.
Holding their breath, they found their legs shivering. Despite the long distance, Banus and Ali were still horrified by the dragon on the curtain. They would've turned around and fled if they were not too stunned to move.
Suddenly, Ali was back to himself. ”She's in the theater near the dragon!”
What do I do? What do I do?
Right when his fear almost drove him mad, Princess Amansa, the only standing actress on the stage, spoke in recitative that carried the characteristics of singing. ”My most precious treasure is my courage and my knightly faith. Nobody can take them away. Vicious dragon, kill me, or be killed by me. There isn't a third option!”
Huh?
Everybody who did not know what was going on was puzzled. Lady, you are an opera actress, not a real knight! Dragon-slaying is best left to the ”professionals”!
Huh, could it be… Finally, Banus and Ali sensed something.
When the princess sang, the ”unaffected” orchestra was also playing. The agitating, uneasy, rapid, and poignant melody made everybody share her feeling!
The singer and actress who played the princess ”glared” at the dragon before her as her heart pounded. Because they rehearsed before and the dragon intentionally curbed his deterrence, she managed to control her body and her voice and continued her performance.
Also, the subconscious fear resulted in the secretion of her adrenaline and made her feel that she had never performed better. The shivering nobles down there proved that her feeling was true.
The orchestra was not affected by the dragon either. That was why they could continue the performance.
Hearing the princess' trilling aria, Banus and Ali shivered and recovered from the influence of the dragon.
”They've invited a dragon to play the greedy vicious dragon?” Banus felt that his question was inappropriate, but he was too excited to consider calmly right now due to the subconscious fear.
His worries gone, Ali began to observe Little Crystal carefully. After all, the opportunities to see a real dragon were rare. The arrival of Mr. Atom Controller on a dragon during his wedding with the queen had been sung over by the bards, who all claimed that they participated in the gala in order to increase the credibility of their stories.
”Perhaps… it's an illusion of the sorcerers?” Looking at Little Crystal's thick neck and half-transparent scales, he asked in great curiosity.
The audience around replied in excitement, ”It can't be an illusion. Her Majesty, Prince Evans, and the other sorcerers in the box are all legendary experts. How can they not see through an illusion? As a result, they would only see the 'princess' singing by herself, which would be a disrespect for them. Therefore, it has to be a real dragon…”
He too had been affected by adrenaline and could barely stop after he began talking.
”Fair enough. Oh, a real dragon…”
”The kingdom and the Congress of Magic let a dragon become an opera actor!”
In their amazement, Little Crystal responded to the princess' challenge. He bent backward and raised his claws, bashing his chest and ”roaring” in fury.
”Howl!”
Wow! The audience below the senior rank was intimidated by the ”terrifying roars” of the dragon and took a step back again.
”How horrifying!” Banus announced, his fists clenched, but he sounded more thrilled than scared.
”It's so terrifying…” Jane, Duke James' daughter, patted her chest as if she had been scared, but her eyes were focused on the stage with unprecedented excitement that was partly mixed with fear.
In all the squares where a live stream was going on, the audience looked more or less the same. They had never known such a kind of opera before. It was so amazing and attractive!
Ali swallowed. ”The 'princess' is really strong. She's still standing before the dragon. Look at the people around her…”
”She's the Valkyrie…” Banus looked at the ”curtain” without blinking and fully understood what Valkyrie meant.
Inside the box, Natasha looked at Lucien in confusion. ”Why is Little Crystal acting and roaring so funnily? What exactly did you think when you designed the actions?”
Fernando also glared at Lucien. How could he let Little Crystal do that and roar like that? He's a dragon, not anything else, although the little guy was rather suitable for that…