Backstage in the waiting room.
The heavy soundproof doors managed to block the apocalyptic sonic boom, but they did absolutely nothing against the physical tremors shaking the entire building.
Bronya sat expressionless on the sofa. Hands clamped over her ears, her eyes were locked onto the large screen. You didn't even need to watch the live feed—that deafening wailing pierced straight through the walls.
Still, Bronya preferred to know exactly what was killing her.
And... as expected, she'd been treated to quite the show.
Tearing her gaze away from the screen's romantic, anime-finale-esque conclusion, Bronya slowly turned her head. Her eyes landed on Kiana, and she didn't even bother to hide her disgust. The sheer concentration of disdain was perfectly calculated—just enough for Kiana to instantly catch it. Or rather, Bronya wanted her to see it.
"Hey! Bronya! What the heck is that look for?!"
Right on cue, Kiana hissed like an angry cat. Dropping her hands from her ears, she glared at the smaller girl. You didn't need half a brain to know Bronya was brewing up some premium trash talk!
Bronya tilted her head, looking Kiana up and down with deadpan earnestness. "Bronya is just wondering something.
"Idiot Kiana and Mr. Siegfried are both Kaslanas. You're even blood-related father and daughter. So why does his team's dynamic feel like a beautifully choreographed, heartwarming anime... while Idiot Kiana..."
She paused, her gaze sweeping over Kiana's face before piling on an extra layer of disappointment.
"...is just an idiot?"
Ah, youth. A casual comment from a friend was all it took to strike directly into a young maiden's heart, hitting her right where she was most vulnerable.
Instantly, the young maiden's face flushed crimson. She stammered, entirely overcome with humiliation...
"Are you seriously comparing me to my stupid dad?!!"
Kiana was so tilted that she slipped right back into using the arrogant "Yours Truly" catchphrase she had sworn off ages ago.
Usually, Kiana could accept being compared to others. After all, as the old proverb definitely went: "Out of three people walking, one of them must be a chef." Everyone had their strengths, and it was easy to find people who were better at certain things.
But... her stupid dad?!
Was she kidding?! Was Bronya actually implying that she was worse than that crappy old man?!
She's totally picking a fight!
"Bronya is merely stating facts," the Russian girl replied coolly. She looked up just in time to see Kiana practically steaming from the ears as she rolled up her sleeves.
Oh.
Maybe she'd stepped on a landmine.
"BRO~NYA!"
Without a second of hesitation, Kiana's survival instincts kicked in, opting for immediate, brutal violence!
Urgh! The invincible Bronya went down! Kiana locked her in a simple, direct, and devastatingly effective Lariat chokehold.
As the two devolved into a chaotic wrestling match, Mei watched them with a fond, exasperated smile. Seeing that they were back to their usual antics, she let out a sigh of relief and lowered her hands from her ears.
She shook her head helplessly and was just about to tell them to break it up when her gaze drifted toward the sofa.
In the next second, Mei's eyes widened.
Shu—who had just been enthusiastically declaring that he wanted to see what all the fuss about Shigure Kira's singing was about—was currently slumped on the couch in a state of utter, eternal peace.
His eyes were shut tight, his breathing shallow. He looked like he was taking a serene nap, except...
No, he was completely passed out!
"Shu?!" Mei yelped. She rushed over in a panic, gently shaking his shoulders. "Shu! Are you okay? Shu!"
Mid-tickle-fight, Kiana and Bronya froze. With their hair sticking up in messy cowlicks, they turned in unison to stare at the very-much-dead-looking Shu.
Jostled by Mei's shaking, Shu's eyelids fluttered. He cracked them open to a sliver, his gaze unfocused.
He blinked at Mei's panic-stricken face, then hazily registered Kiana and Bronya nearby, before his eyes found the broadcast screen where the performance seemed to be wrapping up. Slowly, reality booted back into his brain.
"Ugh... Mei? What's wrong?" he croaked, his voice thick with sleep. "Did I... pass out?"
He rubbed his eyes, utterly baffled by his sudden blackout. Seeing his confused expression, the heavy stone in Mei's chest finally dropped.
"You just... completely fainted. Phew, thank goodness you're alright!"
Shu stared blankly for a second before his expression turned gravely serious.
He remembered. He remembered everything!
It was his own hubris. He had shown zero respect for the true Herrscher of Death, foolishly attempting to tank Shigure Kira's sonic shockwave with his bare eardrums. He knew it would be bad, but he genuinely didn't expect to get one-shot before she even finished her first line.
Maybe it was because he hadn't used [Hope] as a shield to fuel a [Wish]?
Regardless, for Shu, Shigure Kira's singing was a far more effective knockout drop than any lullaby.
Shaking his still-buzzing head, Shu took a deep breath to steady his racing heart and turned his attention back to the monitor.
On stage, the production crew had used the blackout to frantically clean up the absolute disaster the Snow Wolf band had left behind. They ruthlessly axed the post-performance judge evaluations, cutting straight to the next contestant.
And the next contestant was...
The stage plunged back into absolute, pitch-black silence.
No announcer. No hype. Even the sound of the audience's breathing seemed to be swallowed by the darkness.
Just as the confused crowd started craning their necks—
BZZZ—CRACK!
A blinding, pure-white spotlight slammed into the center of the stage like a heavenly sword of judgment!
Right in the center of the beam stood Ai-chan. Clad in a crisp black suit and white shirt, she had one hand pressing a black fedora to her head and the other pointing straight to the heavens. It was the most textbook Michael Jackson crotch-grab pose in existence.
"Ta-da—!"
She whipped her head up, flinging the fedora into the crowd. In a flash of light, her outfit instantly transformed back into her classic green-and-white uniform.
"Your absolute favorite, cutest, and most brilliant First Idol—Ai-chan, making a dazzling debut!"
Right on her cue, the stage lights flared to life in perfect synchronization.
Meanwhile, backstage, the head lighting technician stared in absolute horror at his hijacked, completely unresponsive control console. He had a sinking feeling that his career, his livelihood, and probably his family line were all doomed.
Unaware of the backstage panic, Ai-chan tapped her cabbage-like hair buns with a cheeky grin.
"Alright! First things first, we can't just skip the evaluation segment! Since I'm already out here, let me go ahead and judge the Snow Wolf band's performance. Hmm... Ai-chan's verdict is..."
After a moment of exaggerated deliberation, she suddenly whipped a massive placard out from behind her back. Printed across it in giant, bold letters were a few choice words:
"LOUD AND CLEAR! SO MUCH SPIRIT!!"
She tossed the sign aside. "But! Fleeing halfway through just because you were scared of singing off-key? Your purity is lacking! Hinjaku, hinjaku!" Ai-chan waved her hand dismissively before snapping her fingers with a sharp SNAP.
"So—keep your eyes glued to me! This—
"—is what a true next-generation idol performance looks like!"