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pαndα---noνɐ1,сoМ

The musicians took their seats in the expansive hall, the yellow lights shining off their faces like kisses of the sun, drowning them in splendor and glamor one could only see in such luxuries places. The sounds of them tuning their instruments filled the room while the conductor of the orchestra talked with Elric at the side.

Having gained some semblance of calm, the old conductor was now sane enough to doubt Elric\'s sanity.

"So you should go dudududu, and then pampamapamapam!" 

Elric smacked the air drums and banged piano keys on the air cymbals.

"Bring in a soft melody after that, all nanana naaaa!" He tooted the air trumpets and then even played the air violins. With every passing second, the shape of the conductor\'s face changed over and over.

Elric\'s melody had such a great effect that the thoughts in the conductors head were never stagnant.

\'Should I be doing this\'

To,

\'Should I have become a conductor.\'

To.

\'Should I have let my wife go?\'

To!

\'Should I have not cheated in ninth grade?\'

TO!

\'Should I have been born at all!?\'

Truly touching.

If music was the voice of the soul, then Elric was communicating to it with his mouth alone. 

"Haa, do you get it?"

"Yes, I am a waste of breathing space."

"Eh? That was your takeaway? Wait, I\'ll tell you it again—"

"AAAH!"

***

Claude and the rest were outside the hall, their gazes spreading over the blocks where the warehouses stood. The sun was fast setting and time was of the essence. 

Warnings of the danger increasing exponentially during the moon\'s reign had reached them well from the Lord of Shadows.

"Is this really going to work?" Quinton asked as he finished laying the last of the planks they had broken off.

Below it gouging into the ground was a large pitfall, much like the ones they had laid on every other street that led the way to the hall.

"It will, you have an archmage enchanting it alright?"

"A useless archmage." 

Erika flinched at Claude\'s words that cut deep. She coughed and ignored the boy before kneeling against the ground and chanting a spell.

Her mana surged and seeped into the ground as stalactites formed at the bottom of the pit. A long, grueling process that took well over 15 minutes to finish.

"You\'re really useless aren\'t you?" Claude asked.

"Useless? I\'ll have you know that it\'s only because my skill levels have not increased. No one with intermediate magic skills can use spells like these so fast and rapidly!"

"Excuses."

"It\'s not! I have the greatest magic control you\'ll ever see you bastard!"

Claude was familiar with that term.

If Elric was at 200s then an archmage should be well into the 500s.

"How much is it?"

Erika poked her nose out and gazed upward, her ego stroked grandly already.

"It\'s 75—"

"Pfft!"

"What!?"

Puzo, Jamie and Quinton screamed in surprise while Claude broke into a laughing fit.

"Mana control nearing hundreds?"

"I\'ve heard it\'s extremely difficult to increase. At this rate she\'ll reach the chantless spell realm. It\'s phenomenal for her age."

"Hah! As expected of my lady! Hear that Claude. Bet you\'ve never seen something that high huh? Mana control at that!"

Erika was not as happy as Puzo though, since the other three\'s reaction was far too mild.

Quinton and Jamie lowered their heads while Claude continued laughing.

"Hah, I thought you were just hiding your strength, but you\'re actually useless."

"W-what… is it because you\'re inexperienced. Tell him, Mr. Quinton and Jamie."

"That…"

"Uh… sir Elric…"

"Elric?" Erika asked. "How much is his? 75? With a three in mana?"

"Hahaha! Don\'t even ask useless mage. You\'ll give up on magic."

"No way is it in the 80s! Hey, Kone. How much is it?"

"That is…"

"T-two hundreds…"

Color drained from Erika\'s face.

"HAHAHA!" Claude\'s grating laughter only made things worse. "It\'s 204!"

"Impossible! No way! No way does anyone have that patience, not in two years!" Erika screamed out loud. "Not that guy! He has a toddler\'s head on his shoulders, a literal toddler! I peeked into the orchestra hall before this and the conductor looked like he would rather become a zombie than listen to him for another second. Fuck! All of them looked like that!"

"SEETHE YOU PEASANT!"

"It\'s impossible! No way! I don\'t buy it!"

"Didn\'t you see it yourself? That was nothing, that kid can multiple four digits numbers in the blink of an eye! Now cope."

"FUCK!" Erika pounded the ground in rage.

The other three could only watch as Erika slammed the ground and Claude laughed out like a demon planning a murder of some sort. It made them seem strangely alike.

"I guess it\'s the age," Quinton said.

"Kids these days?" Jamie asked.

"Kids these days." Puzo, who had seen all the heroes of the other world up to their hijinks, affirmed.

A friendship was deepened that night.

"Let\'s just go back to setting the traps."

Get back they did.

***

Nets and pitfalls farther out, barricades and spikes closer up. Elric and Erika had both watched their fair share of zombie films on were on the same note when it came to defending a place from a horde, were it a prison, a city, or even the whitehouse, their plethora of knowledge would manage it all.

They had also split off and brought around most of the people who could fight from the hotel, the ones who couldn\'t were suggested to come over and listen to the music, but they didn\'t want to take the risk of loose ends and bringing around injuries.

"Everyone is at their posts, the sun\'s gone and the twilight will end in a few minutes too."

At Quinton\'s report, Claude sighed. In front of him were the musicians of the orchestra while Puzo and Jamie were going to issue the orders for the fighters, along with a promising man named Suk.

"The time is here," Claude said and stood up. "Hey, Elric, Erika! Get here."

The other two who were talking away at the seats came running over at his call. He wasn\'t sure what Elric would have to do with Erika, but Claude\'s trust in him ran deeper than the blood that touched every corner of his being. 

"Is it time?"

"Yeah, the three of us will go out and look for the vampire."

"Claude, I\'ll say it again," Elric muttered. "The vampire\'s mine."

"Of course, I can\'t fight it anyway. It\'s too strong."

Erika thought that would be more reason for Elric\'s claims to be not \'of course\' but didn\'t say it out loud.

Soon, the last bit of light that peered in from the outside faded away and only the spotlights of the hall remained alit.

Elric sighed and stood up.

"Quamie, please get to it."

"Still? It\'s Quinton—"

"Dude no time."

"Ok, whatever. Sorry. On it."

He then walked over to the orchestra and placed a hand on the Conductor\'s shoulder. All the members of the orchestra trembled slightly as he approached them like the devil would approach gullible and broken men and women.

It almost made Claude and Erika feel sorry for them, but they had to bear with it for now.

"Mr. Conductor, it\'s time. I hope you have practiced well."

"Y-yes… you won\'t be let down, sir."

"I hope so, I would hate having to explain everything to you again. Especially the guitar and the drum parts."

How was the conductor to tell this asshole that there were no guitars or drums in normal orchestras! How?

Wiping his tears, for his life, for the time he cheated in his exams in ninth grade, for the wife he let go and for the career he chose. For the night that placed all the responsibility on him, he raised his hands.

The instrumentalists took in a deep breath.

Time of reckoning was here.

For the dead.

For the lost.

For the macabre.

They were off to play a symphony.

A symphony in the city of blessings.

A symphony on the night of the goddess of yield.

For abundance and happiness, for life.

"Please stand back, my dear patron. Today, the Soleda Philharmonic Orchestra presents to you, the first and the most personal movement that you\'ll hear."

Elric smiled.

"We present,"

His hand began the beat.

"The Chocolate Drive."

All the instruments began at once. The bass hit loud and the violin swung, the sounds of the trumpets and the piano merged together in a cacophony of loud notes as the sound spread through the entire city. An intro like none other.

Coming in hard and strong.

This was the beginning of the song.

The beginning of Soleda\'s counter attack.

"THEY\'RE COMING!!!"

"ZOMBIESS!"

The instruments enhanced the brave screamss of  the fighters and the cheers of the brave. Just as well as it resounded into the ears of the dead and attackers.

A music like none othe marked the beginning.

The beginning of the end.