3.
The sound of drums rang out in a dark space.
Dung-
No, it wasn't drums. Dung. Instead, it sounded like the sound of footsteps, but it also couldn't be the sound of footsteps since no one was moving their feet. The actors, who had already been spread out on the stage — one armed, one eyed, and one eared — turned their heads towards the direction of the sound at the same time.
Towards me.
I crawled onto the stage with flames dancing all over my body.
-Wagar….
Flame Emperor.
The actors' shoulders shook.
-Kar….
-Ke.
-Karkasa….
They were trembling in fear. The sound of their trembling was transmitted through the floor, and the actors began to whisper among themselves like snakes hiding in the shade.
-Swi.
-Rak.
-Gur.
It wasn't the language of the current era. It was from a long time ago, when they used to pick up acorns below ancient trees. The actors whispered liltingly, their words indistinguishable. Swi. Rak. Gur. Swi. Rak. Gur.
-....
The audience was beginning to be unsettled by the whispering.
The language of their ancestors from ancient times was not something that these hobgoblins could understand.
But they didn't need to understand.
The audience held their breath. These green skinned beasts could feel gloominess and anxiety in the sounds that came from the actors' vocal cords.
-Swi.
-Rak.
-Gur.
The actors hovered around me in fear. Swi. With every step I took, my aura resonated to make music. Rak. When my steps slowed, the music also slowed. Gur. And when I grew closer to them the music gradually intensified.
-Wagar.
My flames spread across the dark flames.
[That's right.]
I crawled on all fours like a beautiful savage.
[I am the Flame Emperor.]
Grrr, low growls rose up from my throat.
The actors who were surrounding me stopped and trembled.
[I am this world's fire.]
Aura became my voice.
And beast-like growls continuously poured out of my mouth.
[I am a distinguished person.]
The stage began to shake, and the air around the audience shook with it.
My bloody aura.
A strange melody and rhythm filled the air. Swi-Rak-Gur. The strange music resounded. Swi-Rak-Gur. Like I was ridiculing the world and insulting everyone in it. Those sitting in the front row shrank back.
[Envy me. Be jealous of me. Worship me.]
The only sounds that came out of my mouth could at best be described as hisses. Because words were unnecessary. I did not speak with words, I spoke with aura.
[This world is just firewood to help me burn brighter.]
Swi.
[I crave your envy. I want you to recognize my brilliance. Fire cannot burn alone. Here you, trivial beings, will have the honor of being the firewood that burns endlessly around me.]
Rak.
[I laugh at my own success. But I laugh even louder at those who don't succeed. I scoff at your attention. But I scoff even more at those who don't pay attention.]
Gur.
[I'm a humble person.]
[I look at everything with indifferent eyes. I look at life with a calm expression. Even my own success is nothing before my eyes. But since I'm more successful than everyone else, I will constantly remind you of my success.]
[Indifferent eyes.]
[Calm expression.]
[And so, your success isn't success. And without success, your hard work and suffering are meaningless. From your greatest suffering to your paltriest success, everything becomes insignificant before me.]
I stepped forward.
My flames burned.
Surprised, the actors scattered. They ran away.
-Wagar!
A smile spread across my lips.
[You all act like people.]
[However, there is only one person in this world.]
[And that one person, is 'Me'.]
The fire grew more intense.
It swept off the stage and engulfed the audience as well.
-Hik
A whimper came from the audience.
Some of them instinctively used their aura to fend off my flames.
I laughed harder — the music intensified.
[Only I am a person.]
My flames wrapped around the audience's auras.
And gently brushed against their throats.
-..., urk....
One of the audience members sitting in the front row twitched. It was the warrior who was said to be ranked 21st in the council. He sat with wide eyes, his forehead covered in cold sweat.
The theater had become hell.
[When I introduce my success, I say 'It was nothing'.]
[So who are you who can't achieve anything?]
[Something that isn't even 'nothing'.]
[Something worse than dust.]
The Flame Emperor's laugh.
The Flame Emperor's arm movements.
The Flame Emperor's smile as he looked around the stage.
The Actor whom my eyes met, Arika, flinched.
[I love animals who reveal their necks.]
He ran away.
With a scream, the one eyed Arika ran away.
[Those who innocently believed in someone. And showed that innocence.]
[Those that are soft enough to swallow in one bite!]
Flames sprouted in front of the escaping Arika.
He turned and ran in a different direction.
But he was once again blocked by a wall of flames.
I was driving my prey.
-Spare me!
Arika's mouth opened and closed.
It seemed like he wanted to speak, but all that came out was a squeak.
Just like I could make sound with aura, I could also block sound.
I snatched Arika's scream as it left his lips and crushed it.
[Why are you running away?]
-Spare me! Please….
[Don't run. I'm your father.]
Arika screamed until he lost his voice.
-Please! Spare me, don't kill me…. Please don't kill me…!
However, his voice never reached the audience.
From the audience's perspective, it seemed that Arika was opening and closing his mouth rapidly while struggling.
-....
The audience watched the silent death throes with bated breaths.
[Child.]
I walked up to Arika.
[I won't hurt you.]
Arika was trapped in a curtain of flames.
By moving the walls closer, I restricted his range of movement.
Now, Arika could only sit like a child trapped in a small room.
-Don't kill me….
[It's fine.]
-Please….
The one eyed child shed tears.
-Help me, mom….
Then.
I opened my mouth and bit Arika's neck.
My teeth didn't sink into his skin.
Instead, my aura tore through his flesh.
-Aaaaaaahhh!!
Arika screamed.
He howled in pain.
I didn't block the sound anymore, so the scream he let out tore through the theater.
-Aahh! Aaaahh!!
The audience, who had only been watching the struggle in silence, shuddered at the sudden scream. It felt like a murder scene that could no longer be called 'acting' was appearing before their eyes.
-What…
-Th-, that….
Some of them gulped. Some wept. Some in the back row actually got so afraid that they ran out of the theater. However, the majority of the audience remained in their seats, staring at the stage that was engulfed in flames.
[I am the fire of this world.]
The hunt didn't end there.
In the middle of a hell.
I became a bloodthirsty beast that began to search for my next prey.
Seeing this, Yumar and Sakum screamed and ran away.
-Save me!
The music flowed.
-Chasing me! A monster is chasing me!
It wasn't my fault.
If someone had to be blamed, then it would be the world that allowed me to be born. It was the world that made me this way.
People only flowed according to the curves of the world.
I was bound to live as I was made, so how was it my fault?
[Let's dance!]
Swi, rak, gur.
[The whole world is my stage!]
Swi, rak, gur.
[Don't blame me. I'm just like you guys. I'm just a being born into this world like you are.]
[It's just that I'm stronger than you.]
[It is the law of nature for the weak to be eaten by the strong, so you shouldn't blame me, blame the world.]
Brilliant flames.
I ran wild.
Spitting fire as I pleased and biting as I pleased.
-Aaaaaak!
The one armed Yumar fell. Then the one eared Sakum.
It was fine. They were just animals.
For humans, animals were just meat, so this wasn't murder, it was a slaughter.
Dung!
The sound of the drums grew louder.
Dung!
The bloody flames engulfed the theater.
Even after the three actors fell, my rampage showed no signs of stopping. Swi! Rak! Gur! The audience trembled. They were terrified as they watched my aura dancing on the stage.
-Up...!
One of the younger audience members fainted. His head fell onto the shoulder of the person beside him with foam coming out of his mouth, but the person beside him was frozen stiff and couldn't even help him.
Dung!
Just as the music reached its peak…
The theater door was slammed open and a group of people stormed in.
-Stop everything! We are the Security Force under the Fire River Council! (TL: expected this…)
Experienced and well trained hobgoblins surrounded the audience.
-Everyone, stop! Stop everything!
-We were dispatched after receiving a report of mass murder and arson taking place here! If anyone ignores our orders and moves, they will be arrested without hesitation! And that is just the start.
The tension in the air was so thick that it could be cut with a knife.
It was only at that moment that the audience, who had been holding their breaths for a while, managed to exhale.
-Huff
-Huff… c-, cough…!
Audience members all over the theater collapsed in their seats.
They slid back as if the pressure on their chests had been relieved.
"Mm."
Immersion broken, I couldn't help but look at the security force with my eyebrows furrowed. I don't know how serious the report was, but the members of the security force were looking warily in all directions.
-Rescue first!
-Where's the arsonist!?
-There are people collapsed on the stage!
The hobgoblins rushed towards the actors. When they saw the three of them laying on the stage, they mistook them as 'dead'.
Of course, there were no deaths during the performance.
-No…. Wait a minute.
-W-, don't need help. We're fine!
One after the other, the actors got up and waved their hands.
-Where are your injuries? Are you hurt? Is your head okay?
-Uh, I don't have any! I'm perfectly fine!
-We were told that a mass murder was taking place here. Where is the culprit? Are you being held hostage?
-What…
Arika tilted his head with a puzzled expression.
-Mass murder? Hostages? Nothing like that happened.
The one armed Yumar shouted.
-We were acting! You crazy bastards!
The members of the security force froze.
-…acting?
-Right! It was a performance! We are a theater company! The Dog Sound Theater Company! This is a theater, we were in the middle of a play!
-....
By the way, I had been apprehended by the officers who thought I was the culprit. I could have easily broken free of their grasp, but I was so dumbfounded that I just let them do what they wanted.
The leader of the group turned to me slowly.
-We were also told that there was a fire….
I nodded.
Fwoosh.
Aura rose up from my fingertip.
"It's my aura. I made it look like fire."
-...they said a beast was biting and killing people.
"I was playing the role of a dog bastard, and my seniors were playing the roles of prey. Naturally, I had to knock them down during the play."
In other words.
"It seems like someone reported it because we were so immersed in our act."
-....
At this point, even the members of the security force knew something was wrong. Compared to their vigilant and stern expressions when they first entered, the members of the security force looked embarrassed.
An uproar also erupted in the audience.
-What's going on.
-Who reported it…?
Their reaction quickly intensified.
-What about the performance?
-It isn't going to end like this is it?
-What happened?!
-It's those damned security force bastards!
-They always show up to make trouble every day!
Mumble mumble.
The complaints began pouring in from all directions, and the expression of the leader of the security force rapidly deteriorated.
With a smile, I walked up to him.
"What should we do? I think that today's performance has been ruined."
-Uhh….
"I'm sorry, everyone! Due to an unfortunate incident, we will have to end today's performance here! According to the Security Force, our Dog Sound Theater Company was told to [Stop Everything]! Please leave in an orderly manner under the guidance of the security company. Oh, by the way…."
I smiled brightly at the leader.
"Will you be responsible for the performance refunds?"
-....
The audience erupted once more.
That day, the theater industry in the city exploded.
Because of [a play that felt so real it got reported].