The scene took away the breath of the audience.

From Aoife's realistic portrait of a young and helpless female in a panic to the man who stood a few feet away from her.

[Haaa... Haaa... No, p-lease...]

Aoife's voice sounded crisp and smooth. The subtle trembles in her tone, added to the subtle shaking of her body created an extremely realistic portrayal.

Her acting was so immersive that the audience found themselves sitting upright.

But while her acting was phenomenal, the man who stood before her was the true centerpiece of the play.

Standing a few meters away from her, he gave off an oppressive feeling.

Within the gray world, he alone sucked the eyes of all present.

[.....]

By just standing there, it felt as though the entire room was gripped under his hands, slowly squeezing down at their throats.

Tok--

The quiet sound of his footsteps shattered the silence that overtook the theater as some of the audience flinched.

True was also for Aoife who stepped back, her back pressing against the wall behind her.

[W-what are you doing....!?]

Portraying helplessness, Aoife's eyes shook.

[.....]

Yet, again, there was no reply.

The only thing that the audience could see was the madness in his gaze.

Tok--

With each step that he took, the more tense the surroundings became.

Tok--

For some reason...

Tok--

With each step that he took...

Tok--

The audience felt their hearts speed up alongside it.

[.....]

He eventually stopped before Aoife who seemed to have lost her words. Fear had completely overtaken her.

That was when Julien, no, Azarias finally opened his mouth to speak.

[.....The foundation of all masterpieces is a great start.]

Just like in the tryouts, his words flowed smoothly from his mouth, delivered with an even and calm tone.

Yet, beneath the calmness lurked a hint of madness, subtly veiled but discernible in the slight tremor that accompanied certain words.

It sent chills down the spines of the audience.

Aoife too felt the same way as she looked up at Azarias, feeling all hints of Julien disappearing from him. She truly was... standing before a psychopath.

'Ah, this...'

The fact that she found it so hard to speak was perfect proof of this.

He was simply...

Overwhelming.

[All artists crave to create their own masterpieces. I'm no different.]

His face changed subtly as he looked around.

He seemed to be talking to someone. Emily? The audience?

[I want to make a masterpiece. A piece that will be synonymous with my name.]

...Or himself?

Lowering his head, he stared at his hands.

They were trembling. In the silence that took over after his last words, he raised his head to stare at Aoife who suddenly lost her breath.

How could...

[....And so, the first brushstroke of this masterpiece shall be none other than your life itself.]

For the first time since the start, his expression morphed completely.

His chest started to heave up rapidly, while the trembling of his hands became more pronounced.

From where they were seated, the audience could tell exactly what he was feeling.

"Excitement."

Delilah muttered unknowingly.

Before she knew it, she too had become absorbed with the play. Usually, these types of things bored her. Who would've thought?

'It's interesting...'

Not only the acting but the storyline. Even now she didn't understand the reasoning for why Azarias acted the way that he did.

It was indeed clear that he was a psychopath, but even psychopaths had certain goals and motivations.

She was sure that Azarais had his own reasoning for his actions.

But what exactly was his motivation?

Pleasure?

[Akh...! Akh!]

The expected death scene came soon enough.

With both hands gripping Aoife's throat, he squeezed down at her. Many of the audience members turned away from the sight that was before them.

There wasn't much noise, but the sight spoke volumes to what was happening.

[Ukh... Hel-p!]

The struggle continued as Aoife swayed her hands and scratched Julien's arms. Even then, her struggle was futile.

[Kh! Akh!!]

Gradually, her movements slowed down, and her face turned purple.

The sight was heartbreaking. Especially when one saw the utter sense of helplessness her face had.

Until...

She limped over.

[.....]

Azarias remained still, his hands still gripping at her throat without saying a word.

Finally, he let go of her.

Thud.

And she slumped to the ground.

[Haaa.... Haa....]

The sound of his rough breathing echoed throughout as he stood in silence, his head lowered to stare at the lifeless body.

It became clear to the audience that his breathing wasn't rough because he was tired, but because of something else...

Madness.

A clear-cut madness that was on the very urge to consume him.

And then...

Clank. Clank. Clank.

The rushed sounds of footsteps echoed. All of a sudden, several figures appeared on the other end of the alley.

Four, five?

Wearing armor, they appeared to be knights.

At the exact moment they appeared, Julien's head turned and he came face to face with them. No, he was smiling...? The corners of his lips gently pulled up, twitching slightly as he eventually let out a soft chuckle.

[So, you're here.]

It was a laugh that contained both mockery and disdain. At that, the audience tilted their heads to question.

'He was expecting them?'

'....What's going on? Why does it seem like he is already aware of the fact that they were coming?'

All of a sudden, Azarias's gaze turned hollow as the madness that was threatening to spill out started to really spill out from him.

It was a sight that chilled the ears of the audience.

Immediately, one of the knights lunged at him, swinging their sword down.

Clank--!

The loud metallic sound echoed throughout as the blade came into contact with the hard ground.

'What's going on?'

The audience was stunned by the loud sound of the sword. For a brief moment, they thought that he had swung for real.

But in reality, the knight had truly swung for real.

'.....They're starting.'

The only one who wasn't stunned was Julien who stared at the approaching knights with an indifferent gaze. Facing them, he could tell that there was something wrong with their gaze. It lacked any substance, seeming rather detached.

'They've come for her.'

It was obvious that their target was Aoife who was slumped on the ground behind.

Shiiing!

Unveiling a dagger he kept hidden, Julien faced the knights.

As he did, a genuine smile spread across his lips. It wasn't a fake smile. But one that came from deep within him.

[Ha-]

He pointed the dagger forward and whispered his lines.

[....A supplementary piece to my masterpiece.]

Thin, almost imperceptible threads sneaked out of his forearm, moving down on the ground and moving towards the knights.

With their senses numbed due to whatever state they were in, Julien was able to get the threads to circle around their ankles and arms.

The process took no longer than a couple of seconds and in no time, the knights rushed towards him.

[Hahaha!]

A laugh escaped Julien's lips as he took a step back and avoided an incoming slash.

Swoosh!

He ducked and avoided the next.

His movements were fluid, almost seamless as he evaded all the attacks with a certain grace.

Staring at the scene, some of the members of the audience gripped tightly against the armrest of their chair. The choreography was spectacular, with the slashes narrowly avoiding him each time.

If only they knew that everything was currently being orchestrated by Julien.

Pulling the threads at just the right moment, he was able to slightly alter the course of the attacks at the right moments, orchestrating everything as he saw fit.

Such a scene was only caught by a few individuals in the audience as they frowned.

Swoosh!

Dodging another attack, Julien's lips trembled as he came face to face with one of the knights. He swung his dagger, and...

Puchi!

Blood sprayed out.

Suddenly, a burst of red broke through the gray monotony, creating a stark contrast that teased the eyes of the audience.

Staring at it, Azarias's lips trembled even more. A strange wave of excitement was coursing down his mind. More... He wanted more. The madness that engulfed him started to consume him as his face twisted.

Puchi! Puchi!

[More....!]

Red splashed across the gray world.

In his madness, Azarias seemed to have lost himself as he continued to stab and slash. His expression twisted into one of inexplicable pleasure, reminiscent of a child gleefully playing with a new toy.

Slash. Slash. Slash!

"This..."

Unable to take the scene, some of the audience members covered their mouths and whispers started to follow.

"He's not actually killing them, right?"

"It can't be..."

"But why does it feel so real?"

The audience wasn't the only one that thought this was real. The writers and organizers were seemingly lost in the performance.

"This... Are you sure they're acting?"

"That."

Olga looked at the stage in a trance. Although she felt that something was wrong with the scene, she couldn't take her eyes away from Azarias.

He was...

"Perfect."

The scene was...

"Perfect."

Everything was...

"Perfect."

There were no other words she could use to describe what she was seeing. To perfectly encapsulate the madness, as well as the ecstasy that he felt from his actions... It was just perfect.

The only ones who knew that something was wrong were the more powerful individuals who frowned at the sight.

"Is this some sort of new method of acting?"

They could tell at a glance that the slashes were real.

Delilah too could tell as she closely examined Julien. He appeared to be lost in his madness as he continued to manipulate the knights with his threads.

It wasn't the first time that she had seen them, but seeing how he had used them to cleverly manipulate the knights to move as he wished, Delilah was impressed.

What an interesting power...

"....It should be fine."

The only reason why nobody reacted was because none of his slashes appeared lethal. Rather, they were all superficial.

[Hahaha!]

With each slash, he delved deeper into madness, losing himself further. The once-gray world gradually transformed, tainted by spreading red.

It was an uncomfortable sight.

Especially when...

Thud. Thud. Thud.

[Haa...]

It became hard to tell whether he was acting or not.

Standing still at the center of the alley, his head gradually lowered and the world froze.

The entire time... Another person was present.

It was none other than Joseph who had seen the entire scene from where he stood. Julien's presence had been so overwhelming that almost everyone had forgotten about him.

[.....]

An unsettling, almost suffocating silence ensued shortly after.

With his gaze directed toward Azarias, the detective's hoarse voice broke the silence that gripped the frozen world.

[...It was you.]

Cli Cla

The lights turned off shortly after.

It lasted for a few seconds before they turned back on.

When the lights returned, the scenery had changed. No longer was the world gray, and Azarias was long gone.

Joseph was now back in the flower shop.

The vision had ended.

Standing in the middle of the flower shop, he remained silent for a few seconds.

[Haa.]

As he took a deep breath, his body trembled. It was clear to the audience that he had been affected by what he had seen.

They similarly understood where he was coming from.

What they had just seen...

It was hard for anyone to swallow.

But it wasn't over yet. Now that he had found the culprit, he had to go.

[....I have to go.]

Although he said that, he didn't move.

It became clear to everyone that his body was refusing to move. Fear had taken over his mind.

[I need to go.]

Only when he repeated the same words over and over again did he finally exit the flower store, and trace his steps back to the familiar house.

The moment he reached the door, he was surprised to see it already open.

[Elbert.]

He called out for his assistant but got no response back.

Taking another deep breath, he stepped into the house. He needed to act calm. Azarias didn't know that he knew he was the culprit.

Or so he thought...

[Ah...]

Entering the house, Joseph's steps stopped as his body froze.

It wasn't just him. The entire audience froze too as they stared at the man who stood by the center, a figure lying motionlessly beneath him.

Casually rolling up his sleeves, Julien looked directly at Joseph, no, the audience, and smiled.

[....You're finally here.]

The final act had begun.