Chapter 149: This Moment, Like Stars in the Night

Time passed in the blink of an eye, and the day of the performance arrived as scheduled. In the specially cleared venue, the staff and soldiers of "Fire Moth" came here together, either accompanying their comrades or bringing their relatives... Please rest assured that everyone who comes has a "ticket." Although it is free of charge, the number of people is still limited.

After all, the seats are limited. As for those who don't have "tickets," they can still come, but they have to stand. Although most people don't mind this.

Behind the scenes...

"Do you want to rest for a while longer, Eden? After all, it's only evening now, so we still have some time, right?"

"Of course not. Rather, I'm about to go on stage again... This makes me quite excited. I'm afraid that even if I want to rest, I won't be able to calm down."

Eden turned around and responded to Nozomi truthfully, but Nozomi's gaze was now elsewhere, or rather... on the wine glass in Eden's hand.

"You should drink less, okay? Even after becoming a fusion warrior, drinking probably won't cause any harm to your body, but... it's still better to drink in moderation, okay?"

"Yeah, I know... This is your 'concert,' I don't want to miss it because of drunkenness."

Eden drank the remaining wine in the glass and said with a slightly red face.

"It's just that I'm a little obsessed with this feeling of being tipsy, and it reminds me of the time when I was still on the stage... Of course, it can also help me do some... more daring things."

He put the wine glass down, moved forward, put her arms on Nozomi's shoulders, and pressed the weight of her body lightly on him. The breath with a slight aroma of wine hit his face, and then in turn passed to his nose... The two of them were suddenly pulled close to an extremely close distance.

"You can't pretend anymore if you tell me, okay?"

"It's not necessary in front of you, is it?"

Eden blinked, and without waiting for Nozomi's response, she kissed him directly on the lips, leaving a hint of the taste of alcohol in his mouth.

"Um... Eden jumped the gun."

A slight sound like that of falling cherry blossoms came from behind Nozomi, and he could also feel a pair of hands gently grabbing Nozomi's shoulders and leading him away from the "restraints" of Eden. Then... as if in a fit of anger, Sakura pressed her weight on Nozomi's back. Her cherry-like pink hair and wave-like white hair intertwined and drooped gently, mixed with a hint of Sakura's light floral scent.

"Ah, I'm really sorry~"

Eden smiled softly, her eyes unconsciously falling on the pair of slender pink animal ears on Sakura's head that were constantly trembling because of her happy mood.

"Sakura is becoming more and more bold and honest."

"Hmm—"

A slight blush appeared on Sakura's face, and the pair of slender animal ears on her head swayed twice, and finally slowly drooped down a little, expressing shyness, and then quickly bounced up and trembled with pleasure.

"It's okay to be bold sometimes. Isn't that what you taught me?"

As she spoke, Sakura deliberately kissed Nozomi on the side of his face. However, before Sakura could turn her face straight again, Nozomi tilted his head and left a light kiss on the corner of her mouth, which immediately made Sakura unconscious. Only the pair of slender crimson animal ears were left trembling with joy.

"Okay, now it's time to adjust your mindset. Also... if you continue like this, you'll be discovered... someone's already here, okay?"

Nozomi said with a smile, and Sakura left Nozomi after hesitating for a while... There will be a performance later, and she can't mess it up because of momentary shame.

"Oh, by the way, Sakura, Rin is here already, right?"

"Well, I came here after I sent her to her seat... and she asked me to thank you for arranging a seat so close to her."

"It's my concert after all, so it's okay to use some of my power to satisfy my selfish desires, right?"

Nozomi smiled with satisfaction. Although the blowing wind had already told him the information, he still wanted to ask... After all, this would make it more realistic.

"Okay, next, let's go see how the others are doing."

Nozomi took the initiative to walk out, and Eden and Sakura looked at each other, smiled, and followed him.

......

"Hey, Kalpas, you're here so early? But your song is going to be performed at the end as a closing song, right? It doesn't have to be so early, or…"

"Shut up."

Kalpas subconsciously raised his voice, but immediately slowed down his voice, trying to maintain a calm tone as much as possible while tugging at his collar, obviously not used to this restrictive dress.

"But Kalpas' clothes are pretty nice~ So handsome~"

"Isn't that right? I spent a long time helping Kalpas choose this outfit. It took me a lot of thought to get him to agree to change into this outfit. Come on, thank me, Elysia?"

Elysia jumped out from the side with light steps, leaned forward slightly, blinked at Nozomi, and said.

"Thank you, Elysia~"

"Hmm~ At this point, shouldn't Nozomi come up with a more... sincere [thank you gift]?"

"Then... I'll let you touch my hair? It's very soft, just like water, and feels very comfortable. I'm quite confident in this aspect, ok?"

"Well... Nozomi pretending to be confused... that's really too much."

Elysia struggled to move her eyes away from Nozomi's hair, then puffed up her face slightly, looking unhappy.

"Nozomi didn't even invite me this time, that's too much... Is there nothing I can do to help?"

Elysia hinted as much as she could... Ever since she knew that Nozomi was a similar yet different kind of person to her, Elysia had always wanted to help him, but Nozomi seemed to be very resistant to her help.

'Really, Nozomi obviously loves [humanity] just as much as I do, and both want to do something for [humanity]... If that's the case, we should work together and help each other~ Why... is he so resistant to my intervention?'

Elysia didn't understand.

"Because there's no need, Elysia... This time, you don't need to do anything, you just need to enjoy it."

Nozomi shook his head slightly and spoke softly, then changed the subject.

"Oh yeah, where's Pardofelis?"

"Pardofelis has gone to the kitchen."

"...Hmm? is she going to steal some dried fish?"

"Haha~ No, it's just that Pardofelis wanted to take advantage of your performance to discuss with the chefs and set up a small stall to provide everyone with some food and drinks, such as popcorn. Then she will go around the audience with those snacks and sell them."

"Well... should I say it's worthy of Pardofelis?"

"Oh, by the way, Kevin might be late because he had an emergency mission, but he's on his way back at full speed and will catch up."

"Well, I'm sure he won't be late."

"Aponia has also gone to the 'Deepest Place' with your arrangement~ It's about time, that's great~ This way everyone there can also see your 'concert'~?"

"That couldn't be better~"

"Others are also accompanying their friends. After all, there is still some time before their performance. They can accompany their relatives and friends to enjoy your song before making preparations... It's just that Kalpas is pitiful. He has no friends, so he can only come here early~"

"You! You are so nagging, Elysia."

Kalpas was about to yell subconsciously, but after thinking it over carefully, he held it back.

"Actually, you can go find Imer, right? Kalpas, or just chat with the other warriors. Everyone will be happy to share the happiness with you."

"Huh... happiness? I don't need that kind of thing... and this kind of comfortable and noisy place will only make me feel bored. And... the time is almost up, why don't you guys get out of here?"

"Okay~ Thank you for reminding us~"

"Okay~ don't worry, I'll be here to take care of Kalpas~?"

"Get out of here! Elysia!"

"Ha ha..."

......

The afterglow of the setting sun shines, and now is the time for the show to begin.

Clap their hands gently, and the golden light flows with the sunset as if coming from the sky.

A melodious and highly recognizable singing voice quietly sounded along the golden color flowing like a stream. It was Eden's singing, and along with her, there was a gentle harmony. That was Nozomi's voice.

As the opening song, it must be gorgeous and catch everyone's attention, so that no matter who is watching on site, watching through the broadcast elsewhere, or even listening on the radio, can keep their attention on his and her song.

However, if you are still busy with life, if you are still worried about tomorrow, if you are still fighting for the future of mankind, and therefore cannot witness or listen to this song, then it doesn't matter.

Nozomi mobilized all of his previous "connections" and the "favors" left by those who had helped them in the past in exchange for the broadcasting and rebroadcasting rights to almost all existing cities in humanity... and the soldiers who are still fighting on the front lines don't have to worry, the blowing "wind" will bring the song to them.

From then on, his songs were spread everywhere, and from then on, he owed nothing to anyone.

The singing voice floats, causing the golden light to flow quietly, outlining the shape of the notes, and embellishing the surroundings bit by bit. The dance steps turn lightly, causing the blowing wind to be dyed with color unconsciously, and causing the water that emerges from nowhere to gather into streams, outlining a magnificent scenery in the air.

It was an autumn scene, a beautiful maple forest. The glow of the setting sun set off the dim scenery, and one could even faintly hear the rustling sound of stepping on the fallen leaves.

...Wait, "water"?

......

"Dr. Mei..."

"Don't talk, just pay attention to his wavelength."

Inside the base, Mei said expressionlessly while watching the "concert" broadcast through the instrument.

"I see, but... has Nozomi developed some new ability? He can even draw. I was wondering, how can he set up a stage without any lights or dancers? It seems he can do it by himself."

"...I guess so."

"That's amazing…"

"Um."

Mei just responded casually, her eyes fixed on Nozomi in the picture without moving away.

Three colors, wind is cyan, which can be considered green, water is blue, and... what is red? Is it fire? These are the most basic three primary colors, and then the wind and water are used to depict the scenery in the air, and then different combinations of the three primary colors are used to add color... It seems that you are indeed enough to support the entire "concert" by yourself. Now it feels like watching a movie.

But... three colors, three different things, so does it mean that... the [past] that Nozomi mentioned has happened [twice], and now it is the [third time]?

But then there comes another question... If a [color] corresponds to a [thing], then... what is gold? Does it have any other meaning? Or does it represent something more special?

Mei frowned, and continued to follow her thoughts, glancing at the monitoring equipment on the side from time to time.

'...Also, Nozomi hasn't told me yet that he needs help from Mobius and me... Does he have other plans?'

Mei turned her gaze back to Nozomi's figure on the screen.

'Nozomi... I hope what you said is true, and the final impact and the final result will be good.'

......

The song with Eden has ended. As the singing stopped and the music faded away, the scenery that Nozomi had painted with wind and water slowly faded away. Even the sunset had completely disappeared, leaving only a little remaining light coming from the sky, giving the earth the last afterglow.

The music ended, but the golden glow like a stream of water had not dissipated, and the golden notes were still floating.

Eden bowed gracefully, then left slowly with a smile and expectation, leaving Nozomi alone on the stage, and then...

He stepped lightly and danced lightly. The flowing water and the breeze gathered around him along with the golden light, covering him with a brand new performance costume. The breeze blew and flowed, outlining a pair of slender animal ears on his head, and this time... they were white, which matched his white hair like waves.

When red, green, and blue are intertwined, isn't that white?

With laughter and joy, he stretched out his hand and invited Sakura, who was on the stage beside him. He gently held her slender hand and danced with her.

The singing voice floats in the air and the water flows, depicting a new scenery bit by bit. In the last bit of light in the day and in the cold wind at night, the pale pink petals fall quietly.

That is the scenery when the cherry blossoms fall.

......

"Wow~ Look, look! That's my sister! You know?! That's my sister!!"

"I know, I know, Rin... Everyone here knows your sister... Even if you know that you want to show off, you don't have to keep talking about it like that, right?"

"But...that's my sister!!! She's so great! So pretty!"

"…Oh, forget it, whatever you want. I can't stand you guys at all."

......

After the dance ended, the scene of falling cherry blossoms gradually faded away. Sakura's gaze stayed on Nozomi. She smiled, and the pair of slender crimson animal ears on her head trembled twice with joy.

She saluted with him, then left quietly... Next, it was Nozomi's own stage.

Night is approaching, light dark clouds cover the sky, blocking the brilliance of the stars, but the bright moon is still shining.

There weren't many lights around the stage, and even if there were, they were all turned off at this moment.

If you ask why... it is naturally because Nozomi is here. He is enough to illuminate the surroundings.

The golden glow is still there, the golden notes are still there, and the soft glow it emits is enough to illuminate the surroundings, and after night falls, this light shines even brighter.

Song after song, the music flows and the notes float, and occasionally, under Nozomi's cheerful singing, there will be an interesting interaction with the audience.

Sometimes, the musical notes would surround Klein, shining brightly on her, causing her to feel embarrassed... In the end, it was Mobius who came to her rescue. Her pupils, which were no different from those of a snake, scanned the surroundings, and the others awkwardly looked away... But they would occasionally glance at her secretly and chuckle.

Sometimes, the notes would stay quietly on Imer's head, looking like an NPC in the game with a mission to be accepted, which was quite interesting. The notes would also gently jump to the beat, or sway with the melody, which looked very fun... and this also caused Imer to be teased by his companions for a long time.

Sometimes, the notes would gather together and wrap Rin into a "little golden man", or even merge into a "ball" in the end, looking like a "chibi dumpling", which made people feel funny... and when these notes dispersed, you could see a pair of slender pink animal ears appeared on Rin's head, exactly the same as Sakura beside her. Now, they looked more like sisters... When Rin learned this, she was happy for a long time, and happily pulled Sakura to take pictures together.

However, this pair of ears quietly faded and disappeared after a few songs, which made Rin feel a little regretful.

And… and…

In short, there were several interesting experiences that made everyone present laugh, and the interesting experiences also left a vivid mark in everyone's memory.

Finally, the "concert" came to an end, and it was time to take a "curtain call".

Those who knew what the last song was, such as Griseo and Elysia, also took out their own equipment and prepared to record the performance of their relatives and friends.

Behind the scenes...

"Hurry, hurry... Hey Kevin, aren't you going to change your clothes?"

"What then..."

"Oh, sorry, I forgot you just got here... Never mind, it doesn't matter if you don't change. This combat uniform is pretty handsome... Well, it's not dirty or messy or anything. Okay! Just go on stage like this!"

"...um."

"...Dystopia, am I... okay?"

"Oh, don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine! Or do you not like the clothes I picked for you?"

"No..."

"That's all! Come on, come on, get on stage, and stand in position. It's time!"

"......"

"What a surprise, Kalpas is so quiet... Are you faking it?"

"I heard that!!"

"Oh, it seems to be true."

"You kid?!"

......

Amid the quiet noise, everyone walked onto the stage one after another and stood in their seats. When they saw Nozomi coming, they quickly stopped playing around and adjusted their manners and breath.

"Okay, everyone, don't be so serious. This is a cheerful song, isn't it?"

Nozomi said this and deliberately winked at Kevin who was standing in the corner. Then, without waiting for everyone's response, he gently lifted the curtain.

The golden light flowed, the gentle wind pulled the curtain open to both sides, and the last [Curtain Call] song had begun.

When they saw the group of fusion warriors behind him, many of them exclaimed. After all, they didn't know that he would lead them in performing the last song, but what followed was laughter and cheers.

This is so interesting! Isn't it? Especially when Kevin, Su, and Kalpas were on the stage, the crowd's voices became louder, and occasionally a few female screams could be heard.

"It seems that everyone's popularity is much higher than mine hahaha"

Nozomi first made a joke, then took brisk steps and stood in the middle.

Tick-tock——

Slowly, a drizzle began to fall from the sky, but at this moment everyone was enveloped by enthusiasm and joy. The drizzle that fell in the cold night not only failed to dampen everyone's interest, but made everyone even more excited.

......

"Dr. Mei..."

"You don't have to tell me, I saw it."

Mei looked at the data detected on the instrument and murmured softly.

"Is it...enough to cover all areas where humans still exist? It's almost covering half of the planet's surface..."

"And...it was raining..."

"Nozomi...at this moment, is your strength still increasing? Or...are you showing your original strength?"

　......

　　The golden notes floated on the wind to the blue sea, fell gently, tapped the water twice, and then quietly dispersed.

　　[Blood relatives... sing...]

　　Skadi, who was floating quietly under the sea, heard the singing coming from afar, and the flowing water brought it the image of Nozomi singing with his companions.

　　[It sounds good...]

　　Skadi chirped softly, her voice seemed so weak that it seemed like it would dissolve into the seawater at any time.

　　[Blood relative...waiting...Skadi...blood relative...beside me]

　　Skadi closed her eyes quietly under the lively singing.

　　[Blood relatives...protection...]

　　Immediately, her breath rapidly weakened, and her huge body "died" silently.

　　And inside her body, the energy that maintained her huge size began to gather, transform, and deform. With the help of the flowing seawater, it gradually took on the shape of... a human.

　　She, Skadi, will be "reborn".

(TL: eyyy waifu skadi~)

　　......

　　The golden light is still flowing and the light singing is still going on.

　　"The world's smallest violin, Really needs an audience~"

　　"So if I do not find somebody soon~"

　　But... as the drizzle stopped, Nozomi's singing and music also stopped at this moment, and the others were too embarrassed to continue without permission, and just waited for Nozomi's instructions.

　　And what about Nozomi?

　　He was standing in front of Kevin at the moment, carrying the golden light like a stream and the golden notes that were dancing happily. He stopped in front of Kevin, leaning forward slightly, and blinked his eyes like stars in the night sky, as if he was waiting for something, as if he was expecting something.

　　"......"

　　Kevin looked a little confused.

　　He actually didn't quite understand why Nozomi insisted on inviting him. After all, given his situation, he couldn't touch any musical instrument. Although he had practiced singing according to the music score, he seemed a little idle after going on stage... After all, everyone's singing was mixed together, so it didn't matter whether he sang or not.

　　From the moment he came to power, he seemed to have really done as Nozomi had said, becoming an "air conditioner" standing here, existing simply for the purpose of cooling.

　　But at this moment, Nozomi stopped in front of him, waiting for him... No, it should be that everyone was looking at him, looking at him with expectant eyes.

　　"...Kevin, come on and sing? Don't be shy, everyone is waiting for you~"

　　Nozomi's gentle voice sounded, with a hint of encouragement.

　　"......"

　　Kevin looked at Nozomi in front of him, watching him ignore the coldness around him and try to get as close to him as possible, so even the breath he exhaled was filled with a little white mist, and then when he got closer to him, the mist condensed into ice chips and quietly fell to the ground.

　　Kevin looked around. Everyone was laughing, their eyes full of anticipation, but he...still maintained that cold look, with no movement at all.

　　'This... is a bit too much' Kevin couldn't help but think so.

　　So, he gently, little by little, raised the corners of his mouth into a faint curve.

　　"I'll blow up into smithereens, And spew my tiny symphony~"

　　Because he was the only one singing this time, Kevin's voice was somewhat awkwardly stiff, but he continued to sing. The rhythm and lyrics were correct. It was obvious that he had put a lot of effort into practicing.

　　"Like finishing this melody~"

　　"This feels like a necessity, So this could be the death of me~"

　　As the music and drum beats gradually increased, the singing tempo also began to speed up slowly, and everyone joined in the singing. At this time, the song had reached its final stage, and everyone could hear it. Therefore, at the end of this [Curtain Call Song], everyone fully expressed and even vented their emotions, and many people even jumped up and down to the increasingly faster beats.

　　The singing of the crowd became louder and louder as if it wanted to shatter the glass around them and transmit the singing to the stars in the sky, becoming more and more uplifting.

　　The notes in the air dance and fly freely, and the flowing light becomes more and more turbulent.

　　"I know I'm not there mentally, but you could be the remedy~"

　　"So let me play my violin for you~"

　　The music and singing suddenly stopped.

　　This song has ended.

　　"Wuhu!!!"

　　After a brief silence, cheers resounded through the sky. The people on the stage breathed a sigh of relief, feeling fortunate that their performance had gone well. They no longer cared about etiquette and hugged each other to celebrate.

　　"Yeah!!!"

　　Even Nozomi was breathing lightly and cheering, like a new singer, cheering without caring about his image. He hugged Kevin in front of him and half hung on him.

　　"It worked! Kevin!"

　　He smiled happily and said so.

　　...Hmm? Wait a minute?

　　Hug...Kevin?

　　"Nozomi, you?!"

　　"Shh... don't talk... or I'll be exposed..."

　　Nozomi spoke slowly and softly while panting and smiling, and at the same time signaled with his eyes to the others on the stage not to show anything unusual.

　　"And... look~ Kevin, now you can hug other people, right? Even Mei can... Don't be so nervous, be happy~"

　　"But..."

　　"Okay~ It's time to [end curtain call]..."

　　Nozomi smiled, and together with Kevin and the others, he bowed to everyone. A gentle breeze blew, and the curtain slowly fell.

　　At this point, Nozomi's "concert" came to a perfect end.