Location: Backstage

Time: 4:00 PM, February 16th 2108

Was I nervous?

Haha, what? Of course not. An idol doesn’t get nervous before a show.

This was what I’ve been preparing for. What I’ve been waiting for.

This was the moment Olivia Oldridge was meant for.

I took a moment to look at a screen that was showing the crowd.

A large section downtown had been blocked off in order to set up this outdoor venue. It was hard for me to guess an accurate number, but I bet there were at least a few thousand people.

It’s impressive that Elodie managed to set up a concert that drew this kind of crowd. Especially considering the one making her debut was only announced yesterday. They didn’t really even look like idol fans. Obviously they were mostly men, but it looked like people from every demographic were in the crowd.

Don’t worry, I’m not vain enough to think the power of my name managed to draw in this kind of crowd. I’m sure most of them were just here to check things out. It’s not every day that an event this big happens.

Besides, a foreign princess from the Pacific Empire, the prime minister, and MID director Kalder Kaldsen all threw their support behind the event. The Press couldn’t stop talking about it.

Actually, I get that Elodie was obviously supportive of this, and she probably requested that my uncle say something about it as well, but why would Kalder care about my concert? Shouldn’t he have been more busy dealing with the fact that two of his sisters were dead?

Well, according to Alexis, Karen would be coming back, but he had no way of knowing that.

Either way, it was clear that I was just being used by them for something. The whole setup was preposterous from the start. One day for me to prepare for such a big concert? Clearly they were just using me for something, and assumed I was too self absorbed to realize I was being played for a fool. I was just a piece in their game, but that didn’t really bother me. I’d gladly let them use me as much as they wanted. I was an idol.

And an idol always has a company backing them. It’s not my job to worry about what they’re doing behind the scenes. If anything, I was glad to finally get a job that fit my character.

Besides, I had more important things to focus on.

A staff member asked me if I was ready to go.

Of course I was. Olivia Oldridge has been ready to play this part for years.

No matter what they were using me for, I’d perform my part.

I gave myself a quick look in the standing mirror in front of me.

The colors on my outfit were bright, and there were more ribbons and bows than I cared to count. Honestly, at 18 I thought I was a little too old to be debuting in that kind of lolita fashion, but my body proportions weren’t exaggerated enough to fill out a more erotic style of dress. And based on my personality, there was no way I could pull off a more ‘cool’ style.

That left us with the cute option. I was definitely pulling it off, but I was worried about having to transition out of it. In a couple of years I’d definitely be too old to keep dressing like that.

The only thing that didn’t fit were my headphones. The costume designer tried to give me ear covers that matched the rest of my outfit. I wasn’t going to wear them. There was no chance I’d trust something so important without enough time to make sure they worked properly.

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Another staff member gave me the signal to take the stage.

Alright, let’s go.

With movements I’d been practicing for years I ran out on stage.

I’ll just say it again: I wasn’t nervous.

Not even a little bit.

Olivia Oldridge existed for that moment.

As I took the stage, the audience exploded. I could feel the heat blasting past me as their passionate screaming drowned out all other sounds.

Hmm? That doesn't seem right.

Looking back, that description fits perfectly well with what I was imagining, but the scene before me was too far outside of what should have been possible.

A massive fireball materialized in the center of the audience, easily swallowing at least a hundred people. As they were all silently turned to ash, the heat radiating from the sudden inferno was burning the flesh of anyone around it. Even I could feel the surge of hot air as it swept over the crowd and onto the stage.

Some were screaming in pain, while others had just been taken in by panic. Either way, the crowd of thousands started dispersing in all directions. Unfortunately, the barricades that were blocking off the venue from those without tickets left a majority of the audience trapped.

Most of them probably weren’t aware, but from my vantage point I could see another tragedy occurring. A large arc of people, radiating out from a single point, had been sliced in half. While it certainly didn’t have the initial impact that the firestorm did, the end result was even more horrifying. Rather than die instantly, the victims were left to wail as they died from the trauma.

Why?

Why was this happening?

Why were they doing this?

Who were They? That was the one thing I knew.

Through the chaos it would have been hard to get a clear identification of anyone, but I was more than familiar with the both of them. Well, their augmentations anyway.

Kathrin Kaldsen and Grant Glaif.

They were the ones turning my audience into a war zone.

What were they doing? And before that, why were they even able to walk around freely like that?

I’m not so experienced as to claim that my surprise attack definitely was a killing blow against Kathrin, actually, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if a monster like her managed to survive a killing blow.

But that shouldn’t matter. Elodie said she already had the clean up from the Valentine’s Day stuff finished. Acht and Nuen, with the eventual inclusion of Hana, were sent to kill the three ATC students who were working for Prince Eren.

So what were two of them doing in my audience?

No, questions like that didn’t matter. I’m sure I’m not smart enough to understand the answer anyway. I just needed to focus on what I needed to be doing.

My audience was in danger. Doesn’t that make it crystal clear what I needed to do?

What kind of idol would let her fans suffer like this? I needed to help them.

I scanned over the audience again. Both Kathrin and Grant were moving toward the stage, killing anyone unfortunate enough to pass by them.

At least finding them would be easy enough.

Could I do anything to them though?

Realistically, probably not. Maybe I could distract Grant for a few moments, but in an actual fight, there was no chance I could stop Kathrin. Especially since she must already be on the look out for me to get her with another surprise attack.

Then it’s obvious. I should run. No one would gain anything by me throwing my life away.

But I couldn’t do that.

Olivia Oldridge has never been anything more than a fake.

A fake name, given to a fake child, just so she could have a fake augmentation.

I instinctively reached up and covered my one blue eye.

But there was one thing Olivia Oldridge had, something that no one could take away, not even Oliver.

The character she played.

I would never give that up.

I’m an idol.

No matter what anyone said, that was something that couldn’t be taken away from me.

That meant I had to do whatever I could to protect my audience.

I might still be immature, but it’s impossible to deny that I have a power far beyond anything my fans would be capable of.

If I can’t use it to protect them, what’s the point of having it?

I took a deep breath to help me ground myself while focusing on the nothingness.

Then, I slipped my headphones off my ears.

As someone who can’t handle the sounds of a regular moment, I was expecting to be in agony the moment I took my headphones off, but there was nothing.

Rather than the sounds of suffering that I was hearing a moment before, my uncovered ears were met with an impossible silence.

I tried speaking, but there was no sound. My heartbeat and other internal organs were completely silent as well.

I didn’t panic.

It was a sensation that I was familiar with. I was also completely aware of the person responsible for creating this phenomenon.

I turned around in order to see behind the curtain that led backstage.

Oliver was standing there, with a slightly conflicted look on his face.