My songs can affect multiple individuals at once, but the more I try to target, the weaker its effects. If I aim for four mid 1st stages at once, it will have close to 0 effect. Fortunately, I can designate targets at will. The only issue is that striking my shield is a necessary condition to play the song. If I just bring it out here, they'll immediately restrain me. Looking at the poor girl on the floor, an idea strikes me. I turn in Moonlight's direction and speak.

"How do I know that demonstration wasn't a lie? I'd like to test her strength myself before proceeding with the transaction. I have an ability suited to that end."

"Hm, that should not be a problem. Undo the restraints on her arms gentlemen."

They must think that even if I had something planned, there is no escape from this place. They untie her hands. I summon my shield, inciting the two guards to place their hands on their sharpsongs. The young girl is now in front of my shield, and I instruct her to strike it with all the strength she can muster. She hesitates, but one look from Moonlight and she does as she is told. With her strike, my shield's special feature is activated, disrupting the pure flow in the two guards standing by the entrance of the room.

'Song of idleness'

I do not use the song of somnolence due to the time it needs to take action. Plus, they would notice before it produces any real effect.

Affected by my [melody], the two guards are momentarily stunned, unable to respond to my next actions. Using this chance, I lunge at moonlight and his assistant. In a battle of [enlightened], the ideal course of action is to incapacitate the enemy before they have the chance to use any type of ability. Using both my fists, I strike both of their solar plexuses. Taken by surprise, they are unable to respond appropriately. They are left gasping for air, unable to even scream for help. Without wasting a second, I knock them both out, If I were to kill them, they would spare no resources to find me, and it would become a real hassle. When the bodies of Moonlight and his assistant have hit the floor, the two guards are finally free from the stun. They charge in my direction with their sharpsongs now fully drawn. They are pushed by a sense of urgency and nervousness; they clearly did not expect this to happen. Capitalizing on their haste, I hit the shield myself and the song of imbalance plays, the guards lose their footing and meet the floor with their faces. To them, it probably looks like I have more than one ability. Before they have a chance to stand up, I am upon them, and I smash their heads into the floor repeatedly until they lose consciousness. I succeed with the guard on the left, but the one on the right covers his body in flames, forcing me to retract my arm. He takes a radio out of his pocket and sounds the alarm.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

'well, sh*t'

A flood of guards rushes through the entrance immediately. I can see some of them already playing their [melodies]. A wide variety of abilities are being manifested into existence, and I'm sure I'm already being targeted by some of those. I cannot win, the only option I have left is to escape. Without wasting a moment, I make my shield as big as it can be, grab the little girl, and hide behind it in a corner of the room. This should buy me a couple of seconds. The situation isn't completely hopeless yet, if I can leave the room, I can blend into the crowd and escape. Because I am still wearing my mask, once I am far enough from the establishment, they won't be able to track me. The whole thing will probably fall back on Leon since he was my guarantor, sucks to be him.

The guards are battering my shield with abilities, sharpsongs, warchords, and melo-strings. I am lucky that none of them possess a blastpipe. I only have maybe 30 more seconds before my shield is broken. The only option I have left is to break through the wall before me. I punch it but it seems to be made of some sort of reinforced material. An alloy that can resist the strength of an [enlightened] must have cost a fortune, this business must be extremely lucrative. can break it, but with my lack of purely offensive abilities, I will not be able to get through this wall before my shield breaks. That's when the girl in front of me stands up, winds back her arm and punches right through it. I am appalled by her display of strength. It is evident that the demonstration earlier was not a full display of her strength.

'... Wow ... Isn't that comparable to Sylvia!?'

I am a bit confused by her desire to help me though, to her, I must just be another evil man who wants to take advantage of her abilities. Unfortunately, there is no time to ponder on these matters. As I exit the collection room, I am spotted by a few guards on standby and other attendees of the auction. I grab the girl and sprint towards the main room of the Lunar Groove Lounge. They won't be able to openly attack me there. Strangely I am not yet being pursued by the guards from inside the collection room. It must that with the noise caused by their assault and the visual cover from my shield, they have not yet realized that I am no longer there. Nevertheless, I must make haste, it won't be long until they begin giving chase.

As I walk through the crowd with the girl, I intentionally bump into several people, hoping to start arguments between them and create discord in the lounge. This, added to the already existing agitation caused by the noise coming from the collection room, causes true chaos. It is now even harder to locate me. Using the opportunity I created for myself, I reach one of the back exits of the Lounge, located during my initial investigation. There, one guard is surveilling the exit, he is at the early 1st stage. No problem for me. I use the song of idleness and swiftly knock him out. I finally exit the Lounge with the little girl, but it is not yet over. Those working for the Lounge are not stupid, they will soon realize that we have left and launch a district wide search for us.

Once outside, I remove the mask given to me by the Lounge staff and put on one of my other skin masks, to ensure that I am not recognized. The real issue is the girl, she is still wearing a very visible chain collar around her neck. To remedy this, I give her my coat, it appears much too large for her, but at least her collar is no longer visible.

Even at this hour of the night, people are walking the streets, drunkards, young couples, and even criminals prance about. I need to look as inconspicuous as possible and head back to the motel where I can think of a plan of action. I hold her hand, and pretend she is my sister while traversing the streets of the Golden Gate District. My heart is beating rapidly, I do not know when the Lounge will catch up with me.

'Just what have I gotten myself into...'