Chapter 87: Concert Debut

Chapter 87: Concert Debut

August 30th, 2089

I stood in the darkness off-stage as I braced myself to go on. The arena is packed to capacity with 6,000 people who are already cheering as the dimming lights indicate it is showtime. With my heightened senses I am painfully aware that my fan club, which has expanded beyond the 4 founders, is occupying most of the first few rows. Reiji, his girlfriend Akemi, Kiyoshi, Aito, and Koji are all ecstatically watching the stage, waiting for the show to start. My hair is up in its usual high ponytail style, and I even allowed the makeup artist to touch up my face. I have on a pair of white tight-fitting jeans along with a sky-blue blouse that matches my eyes perfectly.

My heart is pounding and I can feel the metaphorical butterflies in my stomach. Even though I have technically performed in the eyes of millions of people on Japans Rising Idol, there is something about seeing so many people live and in person that gives it a whole different atmosphere. The producer nods to me and starts a silent countdown to my arrival on stage. He did it just like we had done many times before during rehearsal and the similarity helped soothe my anxiety. Lets knock em dead with the performance.

At the signal, I took one last calming deep breath and walked out onto the stage as the crowd roared in anticipation. Many different cameras tracked me as I moved, a stark reminder that there are even more people watching at home. Unlike with nearly every other artist, Top Talent chose to not release most of the songs on my album (apart from a few teasers) until after my concert. In other words, no one has any idea what exactly theyll be hearing. It is a rather bold strategy to build up hype and it is completely reliant on the fact that I garnered so much public attention during my time on Japans Rising Idol. My album will be released at the end of my concert, so a good performance is vital.

I reached the microphone at the center stage and the lights all focused on me as my back-up dancers and the band filed out onto the stage in the shadows behind me. Alright, its time to begin. I kept up my usual poker face as I spoke Hello everyone, I am Rin Yamamoto and I am delighted that everyone could attend. I paused to allow for the enthusiastic cheering at my words to die out a bit before continuing So now lets have some fun. Are you ready? I gave a mischievous smirk, which I had practiced beforehand in the mirror at home, to psyche up the crowd. The band started playing and I started my performance as I lost myself in the roar of the people.

The flashing lights, the sound of my own voice, the sweat and exertion of dancing, so many things blurred together as the concert went on. I lost myself as I focused on doing the best I could, and I only regained my self-awareness as I concluded the finale. The audience had cheered themselves hoarse by this point, but nevertheless they responded to the end with their loudest cries of appreciation yet. The applause rang out and I couldnt help but give a truly heartfelt smile as I waved to the crowd in acknowledgement. Thank you everyone for a wonderful evening! I just have one thing to ask: did you all have fun? Everyone in the stadium bellowed out a resounding YES!, prompting yet another smile from me.

The concert is finally over, but before I could walk off the stage someone else walked onto it. The man clapped lightly as he spoke into a mic of his own Such a marvelous performance I was planning to cut in earlier, but I was entranced. It was one hell of a show. He wore jeans and a black tank-top with a red leather jacket over it that had black accents. The jacket matched his crimson hair and eyes, but that wasnt what was most shocking about him. It was the fact that he reeked of freshly spilled blood, a scent that I am far too familiar with. Updated from novelb(i)n.c(o)m

The noise from the crowd vanished as they saw his face on the giant projector screens that showed the stage. An ominous silence overtook the 6,000 people. The normal looking face split into an eerie smile as the figure continued speaking to the audience who were all deathly aware of who he was But it cant truly be a hell of a show without a little Pandemonium. Dante, the Demon Lord of Pandemonium, continued smiling after his awful pun as if he were waiting for something. That something became apparent when the silence broke as cries of terror and panic rang out from the audience.

I saw the cameras and the stage lights all be taken offline, plunging the stadium into darkness and I heard gunshots and explosions as the terrorists attacked. My eyesight was unaffected, so I decided to make this asshole pay for ruining this concert. Ill then deal with the lackeys. I lunged forward at full speed, causing the stage to splinter beneath me, and struck out with a fist that would knock this terrorists head clean off his shoulders. BOOM! The concussive force of my blow sounded like a small-scale explosion had occurred, but contrary to my expectations, there was not a headless corpse collapsing on the stage while blood spurted out. Instead, there was a wickedly grinning man holding my fist in his hand and radiating magic.

Dantes POV

I peeked over the counter and saw a non-descript salaryman with an assault rifle looming over the unmoving mother and her 6-year-old child. His back was facing the concession stand where we were hiding. I looked at Aito, who was pale as a ghost, Kiyoshi, who was sweating, and Koji, who was twitching nervously. I too was terrified, but all four of us came to the same conclusion after a rapid series of nonverbal cues and hand motions. They had lost friends amongst the fan club members and I had lost my lover, but we wont watch another person die who we could have helped. Otaku bravery at its finest, where our belief in reincarnation stymies our fears of dying.

We creeped over the counter, and right as the terrorist raised his weapon we jumped. Aito and I tackled the man, while Koji ran to the mother and child. His weapon was flung from his grasp due to the impact and we started desperately punching him while the child continued crying. Kiyoshi grabbed the gun off from the ground, but had no chance of a clear shot. As Aito pinned the mans arms I grabbed a nearby chunk of concrete and slammed it down onto the terrorists neck. There was a cracking sound and the man went limp with his head at an unnatural angle. I just killed someone.

The horror over my actions flooded into me and I leaned over and vomited. Aito looked queasy as well, but he collected himself enough to ask Koji. Is the mom still alive? Koji nodded There are two bullet holes in her left leg, I think she hit her head falling and was knocked unconscious. Lets move the two back into the concession stand and continue hiding. Okay! But before we could do anything else, the man who I thought to be dead let loose an inhuman growl and I was sent sailing into the wall, followed shortly after by my friends.

Fucking humans, you could have lived had you continued scurrying in the dark like the worthless rats your kind are. The supposedly dead terrorist stood up despite his fatal wound and glared at us. Now you are going to *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* Kiyoshi had pulled the trigger on the assault rifle and fired. However, a wall of smoke appeared in front of the terrorist, stopping the bullets in their tracks.

The terrorist waved his hand and a bolt of lightning shot out and struck Kiyoshi, causing him to seize and drop the gun. Kiyoshi! Aito cried out as I continued to look at the terrorist in shock. Dont worry, scum. I made sure not to kill him with that. Its no fun killing with magic after all. I prefer being up close and personal. A black miasma started leaking out from the terrorist, who then fell to the ground with blank eyes like the corpse it should have been.

The miasma solidified into a grotesque creature. It had a head like a vertical cylinder with numerous eyes covering it all over. Instead of a neck there was a gaping maw with far too many molar like teeth. The body was that of an obese orangutan, with very long arms ending in three talon-like fingers, squat legs and folds of fat covered with matted burnt orange fur. Who would have thought that the members of Pandemonium were quite literally demons. Magic also seems to in fact exist. Somehow that detail doesnt seem as wonderful as I thought it would be. The creature than spoke in a voice that sounded like a little girl. AlLlow mE TO inTROduce myself, mY name is Ori aNd iT iS Now yOUR TiME To DiE!!!

One of its long arms reached out to my throat as Aito fainted in terror and joined Kiyoshi in unconsciousness. SEAL OF THE ENLIGHTENED SHADOW EMPEROR! Koji threw a black talisman at the demon, apparently even the threat of death is not enough to knock him out of his chunnibyou delusions. Contrary to my expectations, the demon shrieked out in pain as the talisman touched it. Why the hell did that work? As far as I know from all the games I played, demons are only vulnerable to items with a holy attribute like a talisman from a Shinto Shrine. Koji tossed several more talismans at the demon, and it was getting pushed back.

wHO ArE YOU? The demon cried out in rage. I am the legendary Abyssal Vortex Champion! Fear my mastery of the corrosive dark! Koji then threw yet another black talisman, eliciting yet another cry of pain. The demon was completely enraged, but before it could retaliate something happened. The very air grew heavy, and I felt despair and hopelessness press down on me. I cant breathe. Make it stop. Please make it stop! As if it were a signal, the demon turned to leave and hissed angrily ThE DEmoN LoRD shalL kNow oF YOu! He launched a fireball at a paralyzed Koji before fleeing, not even waiting to see the outcome. I felt a surge of energy within me, allowing me to shake off paralyzing pressure and to lunge forward to push Koji out of the way.

We cant afford to lose him. I dont know if it is simply because of the talismans or if Koji might have some sort of magic, but he is our best chance of surviving this demonic onslaught. Even if that means that I might die instead. I hope Minato doesnt get too mad at me. He may be socially and emotionally stunted, but when he cares he does it with all his heart. Hopefully Hikari can also move on. Its a relief that neither of them came to the concert today. Ah, looks like Ill be with Akemi soon. I hope she doesnt scold me too much for failing to survive.

BOOOM!! The fireball exploded, yet I didnt have any sensation of heat or pain. I opened my eyes and saw a golden barrier of light shining all around me and the others. The plain looking wristband I had received from Minato ages ago was glowing with a strange script I had never seen before. I could feel my injuries fading away and even the feelings of despair, grief, and terror plaguing my mind were treated by the soothing light. The light then started getting brighter and brighter, blinding me without causing any discomfort.

When I regained my vision, I realized that we were all in the parking lot outside of the stadium. The others, except for Koji, were still unconscious although they no longer had any injuries. Were we just teleported to safety? I took out my holophone and saw that it was working once more. I immediately called the police. I know they wont believe me about the demons, so lets just let them know about the terrorist attack instead.