Chapter 87 Preparation for the festival [5]
Aoife had a hard time adjusting to what she was seeing.
"...."
At first, she thought that the gap between them wouldn't be at all that big. That maybe, the rumors about the 'godly actor' were a bit of an exaggeration and it was all done for the publicity of the play.
And yet...
'How am I supposed to compete with this? And this is just a script reading...'
Her grip on her script tightened.
She felt a sense of frustration well up deep within her.
Yet again, she...
"This is..."
Aoife wasn't the only one that felt that way. Even the more senior actors felt at a loss for words with his performance. This was especially so for Odette and Darius who remained silent the entire time.
The way they looked at him changed. It went from, 'Can he do it?' to 'Can I keep up?' They could only feel relief at the thought that there weren't many scenes that he was in.
But even so...
They shuddered at what he had just shown them.
".....Ah, this is perfect."
If there was one person that was excited by all of this, it was none other than Olga who resisted the urge to clap.
It felt as if she was standing before Azarias. Right before he let himself fall into his desires and madness.
....It was perfect.
He was perfect.
"...."
"...."
At some point, the entire reading room had turned quiet, all eyes focused on Julien who slowly closed his eyes and returned to his regular expression.
He seamlessly exited his character, and that was when all eyes fell on Olga and understood something.
So that's why she changed the script...
***
'Huuu...'
I took a silent breath and let the emotions wash away from my mind. Getting into that state of mind was rather tough. However, looking around and seeing the silent looks that everyone was giving me, I felt like I had done a decent job.
"...."
"...."
The room was silent with everyone glancing at each other with weird expressions.
It went on for long enough to make me frown.
What happened?
Was it possible that I had messed up somewhere?
".....That was great."
Just as I started to doubt myself, the writer spoke as her voice shattered the silence that gripped the surroundings. I sighed in relief then.
"Brilliant, yeah."
"That was amazing."
"Wow, I got shivers. You were amazing."
Praise started to flow out of the mouths of all actors present. I took them in without much of a change in expression. Gradually, my gaze fell on a distant figure who was staring at her script with a deep frown.
As if sensing my gaze, our eyes met and I raised my brow in a manner that suggested, 'Are you not going to praise me as well?'
Her expression cracked, and her lips twitched.
'Oh, no.'
I was doing it again.
"Everyone, please be quiet."
Clap—!
A clap broke the atmosphere as the writer directed all attention towards herself.
"Let's save the praises for later. We still have a few scenes to go through. At this rate, we won't be able to finish on time."
Only then did the atmosphere finally calm down and the reading continued.
"Act 3. End of the Vision."
The script reading continued in its usual fashion. It had to be said that all people present were fantastic actors. It took everything that I had to stop myself from showing awe and amazement at what I was seeing.
Especially the two main leading actors. Their acting... It was phenomenal. Even better than some of the best actors I had seen back on earth.
'....I wish he'd have seen this with me.'
He would've probably been the first person to jump up from excitement.
My brother Noel.
"Act 7. A colorless world."
Suddenly, an act was called up and all the attention focused on me again.
'Ah, yeah.'
I looked at the script with a blank look. Act 7. That was Azarias's last act. After all that had happened, Joseph, the main character finally takes him down, ending his serial rampaging.
It was supposed to be an easy scene.
But that had completely changed after the rewrite.
'Even now, I...'
".....Julien?"
Hearing my name called up, I looked up. Everyone was staring at me. I could see the anticipation in their gazes as they looked at me. Their expressions... I could read them like an open book.
'What sort of acting is he going to show?' 'I can't wait to see him act this part.'
'I'm getting shivers just thinking about it.'
They felt burdensome.
But it was truly unfortunate. Staring at the script in front of me, I silently sighed and closed it before placing it on the desk.
"I apologize."
I silently stood up under everyone's stunned expressions.
"...I can't do it."
Not yet.
***
In a remote area within the Academy Campus.
"I've found his name."
Alexander stood with a communication orb in his hand. News of Julien's appearance as an extra and the 'godly actor' that had persuaded the writer to change the script had started to spread.
It was only for a brief moment given that the reading had only shortly ended, but finally, the identity of the mysterious 'cadet' had been revealed.
It was for this reason that Alexander had managed to find his identity.
Otherwise, he would've had to spend a lot more time to find the identity. Given how secretive the collective had been about the new script, the identity of the cadet had been kept a secret until now.
Julien Dacre Evenus.
That was the name of the cadet who forced 'Olga' to change the script.
"Thief..."
Silently muttering under his breath, Alexander connected the communication orb.
A familiar voice reached out from it.
—I've received the news.
"Ah, yes... You must've."
Indeed.
"And?"
Alexander listened with bathed breath. Were they going to do something about it? Perhaps kill him? But he was an important figure... Killing him would be a bit of trouble. He could do it if they allowed him.
However...
—We are holding the operation for now.
The answer he received was an unexpected one.
"Uh?"
Scratch.
"That..."
He found himself unable to utter a single word. They just refused to leave his lips.
"I heard wrong?"
Yes, it had to be that. Yes...
Scratch. Scratch.
—We will be the ones to take care of the matter. For now, sit back and wait for me to contact you again.
"Uh, but... Ah!"
The communication ended there.
"No, this..."
And the itching started.
Scratch. Scratch. Scratch—!
It just wouldn't stop. Even as he felt blood drip down from the side of his neck, the itching didn't stop. He continued to scratch, silently biting his lips in the process.
"No, this... It makes no sense. How? What happened? Why?"
Pacing around, Alexander bit onto his nail.
Long gone was his warm appearance. What replaced it was a twisted look filled with madness.
"I can't... I must... I need to perform. I need to. Have to."
Gradually, his steps stopped.
"....Yes, I don't need to care."
In the first place, he had no desire to live. His only goal was to put on the best performance he possibly could. He cared nothing for them.
What made them think they could stop him?
"Stop me. Can't."
He made up his mind then.
"I'll perform."
Whether they liked it or not, he was going to do it.
That much was clear.
Scratch, scraaach...
Finally, the itch stopped and he took a deep breath. Taking out a small bottle, he placed it over his neck as his injuries started to heal at a rapid pace.
Massaging his face, his expression returned to its normal one. Then, nonchalantly looking around, he proceeded to leave the premises.
Only that...
Even as he left, he didn't notice that presence that stood not far from him.
Swoosh—
***
At the same time.
"Huuu. Huuu...!"
Taking deep breaths, I practiced the blue-ranked manual. The mana inside of my body started to expand at a constant pace. It was slower than before, but the progress was still there.
I took deep and silent breaths while focusing on controlling my mana.
Drip. Drip.
Sweat gradually started to pour down from my body as I immersed myself in training. Or at least, for the first ten minutes of it.
A nagging thought persisted at the back of my mind, preventing me from fully immersing myself in the experience.
"....Haaa."
My eyes opened and I took a deep breath.
"I can't focus."
Turning my head, my eyes fell on the script that rested a few meters away from me. The events from before replayed in my mind.
Having left the script reading early, I went back to my dorm and resumed my training.
It was unfortunate, but I had no choice but to leave.
The last part of the script...
I couldn't do it.
Regardless of how many times I tried to envision myself in that scenario, my mind would just blank out.
I was simply... Not able to replicate what the character, Azarias felt during his last moments. It was too much for me.
I thought that in the week that I received the script, I'd be able to think of something, but nothing. My mind was just blank.
The more I tried to immerse myself in the role, the harder it became for me to visualize myself in it.
"How troublesome."
"What is?"
A voice suddenly echoed not far from where I was. Surprised, I turned my head to see Leon sitting on one of my sofas.
As usual, he wore a stoic expression.
"When did you get here?"
"A few minutes ago."
A few minutes ago?
"Couldn't you have knocked?"
"I could've."
"And...?"
"I have a stupid face, so..."
I raised my brow. So he was still hung up about that.
I nodded.
"That's fair."
"....."
"What?"
"....."
Seeing that he was refusing to speak, I took a towel and wiped my forehead. I more or less understood why he was here.
"You've been investigating him, haven't you?"
"...."
"What did you find?"
I sat on the opposite end of the sofa and leaned back. Despite his lack of words, I knew that he had something for me.
I was proven right moments after as he finally opened his mouth to speak.
"He's planning on doing something during the play."
"Figured that much."
"....His target, it seems to be Aoife."
"Oh."
Knew that too.
"You don't seem to be that surprised?"
I looked at him flatly.
"I could more or less tell."
"I see."
Leon nodded before suddenly adding,
"He's not working alone. I wasn't able to hear much, but he was talking to someone with a communication device. I believe there's someone behind him."
"Oh."
Yeah, knew that too.
So far, there was nothing that surprised me. It more or less went the same way that I predicted it would.
Or so I thought.
"There was something odd about the situation. Even though I didn't try to get near him for fear of getting exposed, I did manage to overhear a little bit of their conversation. Something about them taking matters into their own hands."
"....Ah."
Now that was a new piece of information. It took a few moments for me to understand what was going on.
'They're coming for me.'
Why else would they suddenly change their plans?
".....What are you going to do?"
At Leon's question, I pondered for a moment before asking,
"How strong is he? Or... How strong do you think he is?"
Frowning slightly, Leon responded after a few seconds of thought.
"He's about my strength. Tier 3."
"Do you think you'll be able to handle him?"
".....Are you asking me to kill him."
"No, not yet."
As I had said before, killing him now wasn't going to do us any good. Rather, it was probably going to put me in a difficult spot.
"So?"
Envisioning how things would play out, I shared my thoughts.
"During the play. He'll try something. His target will probably be me. His goal is probably to take over my position as Azarias. That's the time when we can act."
I said 'we' because I wasn't confident I'd be able to take care of him by myself. Thankfully, Leon seemed keen on helping on this matter as he quietly nodded his head.
"That sounds reasonable. But what about the ones behind him? I'm sure they'll try something. If that's the case then-"
"You don't need to worry about that."
I cut him off before he could continue.
"I'll take care of them."
Of that I was confident.
Because...
They were coming for me.
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