It turned out that Natasha had come to Washington to attend a medical alliance meeting. After the meeting, feeling bored, she invited Javier to go to the opera with her, hoping to give him a taste of high society life. This gave Javier a headache.
He couldn't enjoy it at all; to him, it was nothing more than a lullaby.
However, upon seeing the murderous glare in Natasha's eyes, Javier swallowed nervously, smiled, and nodded, which made Natasha smile as well.
Watching Natasha pick out a dress, Javier chuckled and put on a suit. He didn't understand why people had to dress so formally just to attend an opera. He'd never seen anyone dress like that to watch a movie. It would be perfect if he could bring popcorn.
As Javier fantasized, Natasha had already approached him. She was wearing a purple evening gown and looked stunning. Javier gave her a thumbs-up.
Natasha was clearly pleased with Javier's compliment and hugged him. Soon, the two of them left the hotel, got into the company car, and headed toward the opera house.
The car soon stopped in front of the opera house. After getting out, they walked inside, stepping onto the red carpet. At that moment, a luxury car pulled up, and both of them looked back.
A young man stepped out, smiling. He stood by the car, waiting for someone inside to exit. Then, a beautiful blonde woman stepped out elegantly, wearing black high heels and a black evening dress.
The young man rushed over to her and stood by her side with a grin.
The blonde woman glanced at him and held his arm without any expression. The two began walking toward Javier and Natasha.
"Is she pretty?" Javier nodded absentmindedly—and then felt a sharp pain in his side.
That's when he realized Natasha was still right beside him. "No, I didn't see anything, my dear. You're the most beautiful and dazzling one here." Natasha huffed, and the two continued walking inside.
Having escaped danger, Javier began chatting and laughing with Natasha again. After entering the opera house, they were shown to a private box on the second floor.
Once inside, they took their seats. Javier noticed the seats below were nearly full. Everyone was wearing formal suits and looked like members of high society.
Javier also spotted the blonde woman again. Shortly after, she and her companion found seats and sat down. The young man kept trying to win her over with flattery.
Soon, the opera began on stage. Javier glanced at Natasha, who was watching with focused attention. He grew so bored that he started to feel sleepy. He thought that if he ever suffered from insomnia in the future, watching opera would surely help him fall asleep.
Natasha looked at Javier and reached out to nudge him. "What's wrong? Is the performance over?" Javier asked.
Natasha rolled her eyes. "How can you fall asleep during such a good opera?"
"What a mess... is this supposed to be Romeo and Juliet? Honestly, this is the first time I've seen anything like it. And the costumes aren't exactly impressive." Hearing Javier's words, Natasha shot him another murderous glare.
Javier continued speaking with a grin, oblivious to the burning rage in her eyes.
Just then, on stage, the actress began to sing—and suddenly, the other actors burst into flames, consumed in an instant.
The audience thought it was part of some new experimental opera, but Javier was the only one narrowing his eyes at the stage in concern. "Oh come on, can't we even enjoy an opera in peace anymore? Something's not right here, Natasha." Hearing this, Natasha grew serious as well.
This was the second time their private date had been interrupted. Furious, Natasha stood up, reached under her dress, and drew a pistol strapped to her thigh—leaving Javier stunned. He hadn't expected Natasha to bring a gun to the opera.
Chaos erupted below, and fire began to spread through the audience. In no time, the entire lower level turned into a living hell. People rushed for the exits, and many were burned to death in the chaos.
Soon, aside from the charred corpses, the only ones left were Javier and Natasha on the upper level, the blonde woman and the young man below, and the culprit—the actress on stage.
Like Natasha, the blonde woman pulled a pistol from her thigh and aimed it at the actress. The young man beside her was trembling and so terrified he wet himself.
"Is it a thing now for girls to hide guns on their thighs?" Javier asked, bewildered. Natasha looked at him speechlessly. Even in the middle of this, Javier still managed to crack jokes.
"Don't move. Hands up. I'm a Washington police officer!" shouted the blonde woman from below.
It turned out the blonde was actually a police officer—which explained why she was armed.
At that moment, the woman on stage began to float, hovering in the air. Dressed in red, she looked like a literal ghost.
Seeing that the actress was ignoring her, the blonde officer shoved the terrified young man aside and rushed toward the stage.
"Natasha, you should get out of here first," Javier said firmly.
Javier's body had already surpassed normal human limits, but he still couldn't fly. This woman could, and that intrigued him.
Natasha nodded and quickly left the private box. Javier leapt down and landed at the back of the stage in an instant.
At that moment, the blonde officer was still confronting the actress. The latter ignored her and continued to sing into the air. The officer fired immediately.
The bullet hit the performer, making her stop singing. Just when Javier thought a big fight was about to break out, the actress floated off the stage and disappeared into the backstage area.
The blonde officer was about to pursue, but Javier stepped onto the stage and said:
"Wait a minute. It's too dangerous to go alone—I'm coming with you." The blonde officer looked at him and frowned.
But after seeing the gun in Javier's hand, she nodded. The two of them rushed backstage together. Along the way, Javier also learned the name of the stunning woman: Aya Brea.
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[Author's Note: Aya Brea is the protagonist and heroine of the Parasite Eve video game series, including Parasite Eve, Parasite Eve II, and The 3rd Birthday, where she acts as the false protagonist.]
(End of Chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."