The girl's singing abruptly stopped.
She stared blankly at the guitar in her hands. For a moment, the entire auditorium fell silent.
A massive wave of embarrassment, helpless confusion, and the panic of having broken the guitar instantly overwhelmed the girl's heart, like a tide.
And the gazes from below the stage made her feel as if her entire body had been pierced by countless sharp blades, every muscle fiber stiff and unable to move.
What made her even more uneasy was that she had betrayed Asakura's trust. He had always gone against all opinions and believed in her no matter how poorly she performed, but she had messed up again after all…
Why do I always mess everything up? I've tried so hard, but in the end, it never goes as I wish.
Indeed, for someone like me to shine on stage and become the center of attention is a huge mistake.
I want to escape from the stage, I want to crawl into the cracks in the floor, I want to hide in a place where no one knows me and start life anew…
A woodlouse like me is more suited to rot in a trash can…
Backstage.
Asakura watched the girl's figure, which had gone from standing tall to becoming hunched again, and immediately guessed that she was overthinking things again.
So he clapped his hands softly.
The next moment, several pillars of fire erupted from the front of the stage, making the entire stage look full of heavy metal rock style.
Everyone showed surprised expressions, and even Gotō Hitori, who was originally immersed in self-pity, was startled.
Amakusa Shino would probably be tearing her hair out later over this completely unplanned scene.
Asakura silently mourned for her for half a second, then seized the opportunity while everyone else's attention was drawn to the fire pillars, and shouted at Gotō Hitori: "Hitori, today you are invincible! Don't be afraid, you are a 'Hero'! Even for my sake, use [Song] on the audience!"
Gotō Hitori raised her head in surprise, looking at Asakura, who was standing hidden by the curtain. He gave her another thumbs-up in the firelight.
And so, a little more determination appeared in the girl's eyes.
She straightened the broken string—doing so was actually useless, but at this moment, Hitori decided to trust Asakura, to believe that she was invincible today.
She whispered softly.
"…Please listen carefully to my [Song]!"
The next moment, the sound of the guitar resonated again, and the pillars of fire in front of her undulated in sync with her melody, looking quite magical like a spectrum analyzer.
Below the stage, someone working in variety shows for a TV station couldn't help but nod in praise at the stage effects, thinking the quality was terrifyingly high. They planned to go to the Student Council after the performance to ask which student was responsible for this special effect, perhaps to establish good relations in advance, preparing for future headhunting.
Subsequently, the girl's singing resonated once more.
[So I am following, no matter in the darkness of how harsh a world]
However, compared to before, it was as if she had become a different person. Although her vocal line had not changed at all, it was filled with a completely different power than before, as if it could create a strong resonance within people's hearts. That kind of shocking power could only be described as even surpassing a voice from heaven.
[You will surely shine, beyond the end of the future, do not destroy your soul because of weakness]
Even though a string was broken, the passionate music had no flaws whatsoever, as if some power had transcended physics and reality, forcibly pulling the performance to a level where it could intertwine with that ethereal and beautiful singing.
Even with professionals present, no one found any of this strange, as if it were all 'only natural': only such a performance could match such a song.
[My Way intertwines ahead, God Bless us now]
Most of the guests present were prominent figures. Regardless of any private improprieties, they generally behaved more conservatively in public settings.
However, amidst the girl's singing, the atmosphere on site had already surpassed the level of enthusiasm; some 'experts' even started acting like star-chasers, cheering in sync with the girl's voice.
"Is this the power of Magic…?"
Yukinoshita Yukino said softly.
She peeked out from behind the curtain, seeing her sister, who always wore a mask in front of others, now clapping and cheering excitedly, bouncing around like a little girl, and couldn't help but sigh.
Asakura glanced at Yukino, noticing her fingers were also subtly trembling with the rhythm.
It seemed she wasn't unaffected, but rather, because she had fallen for it once before, and coupled with Asakura's Magic contained within the 'Scale Flash Pattern' on her hand, she had developed some resistance to Hitori's Magic [Song].
"Actually, the [Scale] on her body has already weakened the power of [Song]."
Asakura shook his head and said, "From being irresistible to ordinary people to only being resisted by those with a certain level of mental fortitude… See, aren't some people still able to maintain their composure?"
"But this scene… won't they misunderstand Miss Gotō later?"
Yukinoshita Yukino asked.
"You're right, how about I just set a fire and burn away everyone's memories here?"
Asakura's eyes flashed with a fierce light, looking like he was about to become an Pyromaniac.
The girl watched his fierce expression with cold indifference, unmoved.
"Alright, actually, there's no need to worry. This level of [Song] won't make people notice anything abnormal… It's just that Hitori will probably receive an endless stream of invitations from entertainment companies for a considerable period of time."
Seeing that he couldn't fool the other party, Asakura could only shrug his shoulders sheepishly.
"Are you going to help her refuse?"
"No, she'll run away first."
"…"
Yukinoshita Yukino looked speechless.
Actually, Asakura also had some things he didn't say.
For example, with Hitori's personality, even if she cheered up, her stage presence wouldn't suddenly undergo a drastic change, going from the slightly nervous student-level performance just now to being very skilled at stage performances.
The reason for this was probably that when Hoshino Ai was exorcised from her body by Hen, she unconsciously left some residue in Hitori's body.
Because it wasn't intentionally left, Asakura didn't notice it at first, until he and Hitori were rehearsing, he discovered a few clues—Gotō Hitori, without even realizing it herself, possessed a part of Hoshino Ai's experience and abilities.
Because it was like impurities or residue, the amount was very small, so small that it provided no help under normal circumstances, and thus had no effect on Hitori's personality.
It was only under special circumstances like today, coupled with the power of Magic [Song], that Gotō Hitori would transform from Guitar Hero into an idol singer.