Julian Blackwell stared dumbstruck at her for a few seconds—as if trying to process what he saw—before taking several steps away from the edge of his private box seat.
At this distance, Aubrey couldn't hear him speak, but she did see his lips form the words 'You're supposed to be dead.'
"What can I say... I guess I'm hard to kill," Aubrey continued her song. Her fingers plucked the strings of her instrument furiously—a sharp contrast to the melancholic melody that flowed out of her mouth. Her voice rose and fell with the rhythms of the orchestra. Each phrase articulated with perfect clarity and emotion.
"I bet you think you're so clever..." she sang with spiteful relish. "Did you really think you'd gotten rid of me that easily? Well, you were wrong!" The last words came out almost as a snarl.
Aubrey shot Julian a smirk as she delivered another line: "I will never die."
Her fingers flew over the frets of Hellion's Cry—her movements becoming increasingly frenzied as she played out the final verses of the song. It seemed like the guitar itself was channeling Aubrey's rage—the sound resonating with an intensity that made the air vibrate around them.
Julian backed up against the wall behind him—his face pale and drawn in fear.
Aubrey raised her hand as she belted out the last chorus of her song, drawing out the notes with her vocal fry while gesturing to Julian dramatically—pointing an accusatory finger straight at him while staring deep into his eyes.
"Black heart... black soul... black death! I will find you all! You can't escape me! None of you can!" Aubrey's voice thundered through the auditorium.
And when she hit the final chord, it exploded out from her in one deafening crescendo, accompanied by the orchestra's instruments sounding together in unison—their collective music resounding throughout the hall like a thunderclap.
[You’ve acquired a moderate amount of experience.]
Aubrey held her final note for several seconds—her eyes still fixed on Julian's—as if daring him to defy her.
The stage lights flickered overhead as silence settled upon everyone present once more. No applause. No cheers or shouts of approval. Just quiet astonishment at what they had just witnessed.
Julian Blackwell stared down at Aubrey with wide eyes—his expression frozen in shock and horror. His gaze darted around wildly—scanning the auditorium—but not focusing on anything specific. He looked almost like he might faint any moment.
Then, he pointed a trembling finger at her and bellowed with a shaky voice: "G-g-guards! Kill her! U-unhallowed! K-kill her before she kills us all! Don't let her get away!"
The crowd started murmuring to each other—exchanging glances among themselves—appearing uncertain at first, but soon becoming increasingly agitated and restless.
Meanwhile, the security guards around the perimeter of the theatre reacted immediately to Blackwell's orders—drawing their weapons as they advanced toward Aubrey.
Tsk. Too many people around.
[Ability: Moon-Inducing Cantata activated! Duration: 240 seconds; Cooldown: 480 seconds]
While inflicting terror was beyond the scope of her ability—instilling dread and panic would have to do.
Aubrey aimed her hands skyward as she sang out loud once again—letting her voice carry throughout the auditorium and surround the entire building. Two voices resonated at once—like the time during the cemetery—one coming from her throat and another—her Unhallowed voice—emanating from inside her ribcage.
The auditorium began to quake under the influence of her power. Cracks formed along the walls and ceiling—the wooden floorboards splintered apart.
The crowd erupted in a panic. Chaos ensued as they ran screaming and pushing each other aside towards the exits—the sound of their frenzied cries filling the hall. Some tripped over themselves and fell down while others trampled each other in their haste to flee.
Meanwhile, the guards that approached her brandished their batons and truncheons. They glanced warily at one another as they cautiously circled around her—a couple even paused and hesitated as they felt the full weight of her cantata settling upon them.
Aubrey grinned mischievously at the menacing security detail surrounding her. She flipped Hellion's Cry over and gripped its neck tightly. It's blade gleamed wickedly in the light from the stage lights overhead.
"Oh... hello there," Aubrey taunted in a singsong voice. "What do we have here? Care for a better look at me, boys?"
And with those words she burst into action.
Before any of them could react, she dashed forward—slashing through the closest guard with a vicious swing of her guitar-axe, decapitating him with one swipe. He collapsed to the ground in a pool of blood and gore. His head rolled away across the floor—sending sprays of crimson liquid everywhere—while his body lay twitching on the ground.
She lunged at the next closest man—a blond-haired thug wearing a dark suit—and swung again at him, slicing open his throat as he raised his arm to block her attack. Blood sprayed out in an arc from the wound as he clutched at his severed neck desperately, trying to keep the spurting fluid within.
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Aubrey danced between her enemies, weaving a deadly ballet of blades and bodies. Each strike sent showers of blood spraying out, coating her face and clothes in red.
[Ability: Dissonant Chord activated! Duration: 18 seconds; Cooldown: 30 seconds]
Two more men charged toward her—both wielding batons. But before they could get close enough to hit her, one of them turned on the other with glazed eyes and smashed his club into the side of his companion's skull. The other toppled sideways onto the floor—his head caved in and leaking brain matter—dead instantly from the blow.
Aubrey giggled excitedly at the scene as she ducked under an incoming truncheon strike and then counterattacked by severing the arm holding it. The attacker screamed in agony as he fell to his knees clutching what remained of his limb.
[Skill: Sonorious Counterpoint activated! Cooldown: 10 seconds]
Meanwhile, several other guards continued to circle around her warily—watching carefully as she moved back and forth among them while keeping her attention focused on whichever one got too close. Her gaze flickered briefly over each of them in turn before moving onto the next one—almost as if she was deciding which one she'd kill first.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Julian Blackwell finally found the nerve to leave his box seat and made a desperate attempt to flee from the theatre. He pushed past the security guards who had gathered at the doorway to protect him and hurried towards the exit with two other men following close behind.
One of these guards fired his gun at Aubrey when she glanced in their direction—hitting her squarely in the chest. Her body jerked violently from the impact—causing her to stumble for a second before steadying herself again.
Another guard took advantage of her temporary lapse in focus and charged at her with a raised baton.
[Skill: Genesis of the Illusive Mirage activated! Duration: 12 seconds; Cooldown: 20 seconds]
With a single thought, she created a copy of herself right beside the man running toward her. The image wavered for a moment before becoming solid again.
The man's eyes widened as he stared at the vision standing before him. He drew back from the apparition—dropping his baton in surprise.
Her decoy grinned at him—its red eyes gleaming—as it slowly walked closer until it stood directly in front of him.
The other guards watching nearby stared at the sight with confusion written across their faces. Their attention momentarily distracted from the real Aubrey.
She seized the opportunity to attack the nearest guard by rushing up behind him and burying her axe's blade deep into his back—sinking it halfway up its length before pulling it free again. Blood gushed out from his wound as he collapsed onto the ground dead.
While this happened, the illusory version of Aubrey vanished into thin air in a wink of light. This prompted all the remaining security guards surrounding her to rush toward her frantically.
Aubrey let out another peal of laughter as she evaded their frenzied attacks by dashing around the stage—leaping over fallen bodies and severed limbs while simultaneously dodging the flying truncheons and bullets that zipped past her head.
[Ability: Dance of the Marionette activated! Duration: 15 seconds; Cooldown: 45 seconds]
She belted out a commanding note as she gestured with one hand toward the two men closest to her. As though hypnotized by her words, they spun around in circles to face each other and began swinging their weapons wildly at one another, mimicking her movements exactly.
While she swung her axe in the air, the two men clubbed one other until they both fell to the floor battered and beaten.
Aubrey darted among the last few attackers remaining nearby—slashing through them as easily as if they were made of paper. One after another dropped to the ground in pieces until only the last guard who had been shooting at her from the distance remained.
He fired off several more shots before he ran out of ammo—the bullets whistling past her ears harmlessly.
[Hellion's Cry ability 'Thraunquill' activated]
She flipped Hellion's Cry over once more and strummed it quickly with her thumb—launching a barrage of ethereal blades toward the final guard. The conjured notes slashed across his body, leaving bloody gashes everywhere. He fell onto his backside—his body riddled with wounds.
Aubrey dashed up to him as he lay dying. She planted her boot on his chest and gripped her axe's hilt with both hands before slamming it down between his eyes in one swift motion. It sank into his skull with a sickening crunch.
Blood sprayed out from under her foot as she wrenched it free again. She gave a satisfied nod before turning away from the man's corpse and walking towards the exit without another glance back.
She knew where Julian's car would be—right outside the theatre waiting for him. And she wanted to make sure he didn't have time to get away before she caught up with him again.
----------------------------------------
With Hellion's Cry resting comfortably over her shoulder and blood dripping down its blade and along the fretboard—and still clad in Lucille's dress stained in red—Aubrey exited the music hall through the main entranceway onto a broad street lit by gas lamps.
The night breeze felt refreshing against her skin after all that fighting inside. It blew across her face as she inhaled deeply, savoring its crispness. A full moon loomed overhead amidst the blackness above, casting everything beneath in its silvery glow.
Several security guards waited for her at the end of the street near a parked car resembling a Model T with a hardtop and a bit more gears and pipes decorating the body. They stood watch over Julian while he climbed into the vehicle's passenger seat. One of them hurried to take his place in the driver's side while the others climbed into the rear compartment behind him.
They revved their engines loudly as they started pulling away from the curb—tires screeching against cobblestone pavement.
Aubrey sprinted toward them, her long legs carried her across the distance swiftly. She shoved through the last two men who blocked her path—forcing them aside as she leaped towards the moving vehicle.
Her guitar-axe struck the rear windshield with a resounding crash—shattering it completely—before lodging itself deep into the metal frame below. She swung her leg around and used her boot to kick at the glass shards that remained stuck in place—freeing her weapon in the process. Then she swung herself up onto the roof of the car, hanging precariously as it sped down the street.
One of the men sitting in the back turned around to shoot at her through the window hole, missing several times before managing to hit her arm. Her body jerked back slightly from the impact but she quickly recovered. She flipped over onto her stomach and crawled forward until she reached the edge overhanging above the driver's seat where she hung upside down directly above him.
"Hello there," Aubrey said cheerfully, bearing her fangs at him in a grin. "Going my way?"
The driver swerved erratically, causing the car to skid across the road, failing to shake Aubrey off as she held on tightly with one hand.
Aubrey glimpsed Julian cowering on the far side of the passenger's seat. His hands covered his face in fear; his eyes shut tightly while he mumbled something repeatedly under his breath. He looked utterly pathetic and helpless now. Nothing like the confident nobleman she had seen earlier in the theatre.
She laughed at this sight before looking back down at the driver once again and asking, "Any chance you might let me borrow your ride? I'm kinda in a hurry to kill someone."