Etranger

Soon, a bright light started spreading out from both their bodies. The light slowly diverged into various colors, dazzling the surroundings. A blue and yellow aurora above their heads rose up to the ceiling, bobbing up and down. Before they knew it, a subtle iridescent veil of light wrapped around the two of them like a cylinder. Just like that, the stage was set up just for a particular person. 

San and Biyeon turned around and faced Rain. Their eyes met again. With her palms facing up, Biyeon raised them slightly. Rain looked as though she was in a rush to stand up. 

“This performance is just for you. Are you ready?” said San respectfully.

His voice rang throughout the hall in a natural manner, as though he was using a microphone. Rain slowly stood up. A ray of light emitted from each of their bodies, illuminating Rain. The overlapping light made Rain’s face glow, allowing her face to come into full view. Her body was thin, but it looked very dignified. She was as dignified as the empress. Everyone’s attention was focused on Rain’s face. She was so radiant and holy-like!

“Thank you,” said Rain. 

There was so much she wanted to say, but she knew them well enough. The two people, who were floating in the air, placed their hands on their chest and bowed respectfully. Rain bowed back as well. Perhaps, this was the best way for them to express their respect for one another. 

Stunned silence ensued. The third empress looked down as she leaned against the railing on the third floor. She had a vicious look on her face. Something strange was happening at her own banquet. The way those young people played was spectacular, but more than that, her self-esteem was severely wounded. 

However, it was such a shocking and fantastic sight that made her jaw tremble, to the point where she was mesmerized. She also had a hunch that that performance was something had never seen before in her entire life. Nonetheless, the anticipation was astoundingly appalling to her. The empress looked at her surroundings thoroughly. Regardless of their allegiance, every single person was silent. Their mouths were open, and they looked as though they were hypnotized. It was an honest reaction.

Something started bubbling up in her chest. She felt as though she was being robbed. She was full of envy and horrendous jealousy. Also, she was even more taken aback by the fact that they were permitted to do something like that, after she had cleared everything away. She was in a situation where she could not say anything about it, thus intensifying her level of anger. 

The man stomped his foot in mid-air. 

Thump-

The sound echoed through 10 meters of air before reaching the floor. White dust could be seen rising from the floor, into the light rays. 

Biyeon lifted her hands. Yellow light emerged from the tip of her slender fingers like flower buds. Colorful steam billowed along her fingers that were spread out. Whenever she moved her fingers, the percussive sounds from the ceiling would respond cheerfully. And so, their very own simple performance started. There were no flashy melodies. They did not use any instruments either. However, those simple sounds were rather amazing. If the sounds were combined, repeated, and harmonized, the epic drama it would produce was beyond one’s imagination. The great Bach did it, and so did the genius Mozart, not forgetting the master of drums, John Bonham. 

The two people moved in the air. The skills and techniques that Awakened Warriors equipped unfolded one after another. At first, they did simple vertical, horizontal movements, rotations, and accelerated motions. Their gestures were beautiful and elegant - it was something only those who had gained freedom from the constraints of the space could enjoy. 

At times, they were like birds, and at times, they were like fish. The two of them slowly wandered around in the air, looking like fish that were playing in a huge aquarium. The pale lights emanating from their bodies blended with one another in the dark, leaving behind a trail of beautiful lights. People held their breath. 

After a while, the atmosphere started to change. The flexible motions suddenly changed into angular motions. Instantaneous acceleration, instantaneous pauses, discontinuous sharp turns… Their movements grew faster and became more flashy. Finally, they suddenly disappeared before teleporting to another area. The audience was caught by surprise and burst into exclamations, especially those who knew the true meaning behind the technique they had just performed - the Awakened Warriors. They tried to cover 

their mouths in a bid to stop their gasps from being heard. 

The two people each took out a rod. Anybody could tell that the rods were improvised. They were very shabby-looking cleaning equipment used by the maids. And so, was it funny? No one was laughing, though. Biyeon lifted the rod up in the air with both hands. San was hanging down. Light gradually crept out of both their rods. Soon, they started to shine frostily like a sharp steel blade. 

Biyeon made the first move. With the movement of her wrist, the rod drew a magnificent line in the air. Both of them had repeated that movement thousands of times. San rose vertically and made contact with it in a concise manner. 

Clink- Clank-

The collision of heaven and earth. The two rods collided. The unexpected thundering sound produced by the wooden rods rumbled and reverberated throughout the space. 

At the same time, a white light flashed and burst out. It was so bright that they had to close their eyes. Soon after, a feast of explosive sword dance began. Han Young was rubbing his eyes. Han Kyo, who was standing next to him, was wiping the sweat that was constantly dripping from his forehead. The elite warriors who had performed the sword dance for the Sa-Myung clan were losing their minds. Their legs were shaking too. The princesses and nobles sat there, swallowing their saliva. The empress was crying. A spectacular sight was unfolding right before their eyes, one which was too much for the hearts of the weak to bear. It was glaring, despite the darkness that enveloped the space. 

This space…was flooded with the determination and insanity of those who had conquered everything. It was surging with a wild spirit and majestic vigor. When the rods collided and resonated with one another, the exploding light and trajectories they made created a dense line, devouring the space. Within a closed indoor space, storm-like whirlwinds headed straight for the audience without hesitation, with a deafening sound that resonated with one another. 

All kinds of dust and trash flew around; clothes and hair flapped violently too. If this was intentional, it would probably be a proper demonstration of power. The dancing stopped. The dazzling harmony of lights disappeared and darkness returned once more. People wiped their sweat and started gasping hard for breath. Nonetheless, their eyes were still following the two people. 

They slowly descended and stood on the floor. A softer light was subtly surrounding the both of them right now. Were they exhausted? Was it over?

However, the banquet hall was still quiet. The performance was not over. It was hard for people to believe that the same people who gave the majestic and mighty performance earlier on were doing what they were doing at this moment. Right now, it seemed as though they decided to have fun their own way. 

The man and woman started to dance in harmony. They were just like ‘young people,’ regardless of what others said. Additionally, it was very free and open, without any fancy moves. Rain smiled brightly. It was a sight she had seen so many times before during their adventure. Tipsiness kicked it once again. The clueless audience was still being ignored. 

Their dance was not polished. In fact, it looked more like drunk people swaying to and fro. However, the result was different. The audience felt that the questions they had earlier pertaining to the initial sounds they heard in the dark had been answered. Even though they still could not comprehend it… 

Biyeon opened up her palms and stretched out her arms, with one hand facing up and the other facing down. Her fingers moved dynamically, as if she was playing the piano. In response, sounds were heard coming from the ceiling and floor. It was as though the entire hall had become an instrument. 

This time, she took a light step and spread out both her hands to the side. The metal candlesticks on the right resounded clearly, like a celesta; tapping sounds were heard coming from the furniture on the left. San tapped the floor rhythmically with his feet, matching Biyeon’s rhythm. The sound of drums that echoed from all the walls earlier reverberated majestically once again. 

Each gesture and step they took made a different sound. The intensity of the sounds was impeccable, as they oscillated rhythmically. The rhythm had a strange power that evoked excitement. There were some hidden secrets behind the sound of their ensemble. Although they had never learned to play professionally, they had been testing the spectrum of waves across vast areas, while awakening. They knew the emotions that the different sounds evoked, and they also knew that the low frequency of 7Hz was the natural frequency of a human being. Those skills that they had cultivated were ‘the art of communication’, as well as ‘the art of exploration’, ‘the art of hypnosis and hallucination’, and ‘the art of resonance’. Through those techniques, they were able to constantly expand and refine sound-related techniques. 

Right now, what were they demonstrating? There were two different reactions. The ordinary people were clearly impressed by their feat. However, the other people were experiencing a living hell. They were known as ‘Awakened Warriors’, a group of people who smelled like chocolates. They were able to sense another sound that was in an entirely different dimension. It was a special sound wave that can only be detected by the Awakened. 

“The scary one… Is this a warning?”

Ryuin’s chief commander, Hanwha, swallowed his saliva. He did not enjoy their final performance. He wiped his mouth with force. It smelled bloody. Blood dripped from his pale lips. 

In the other secret room, ‘they’ were curled up with their ears covered. They were gasping for air after being struck defenselessly by some fatal resonant frequency that had suddenly appeared. 

“Just like this… It feels as though I’m going to die! Those bastards… Do something about them!” cried a man who was clutching his chest. 

“Isn’t this a warning? Telling us that they can kill us whenever they want!” 

“Am I supposed to believe this too? ‘Resonance Manipulation Technique’?!” muttered Han Young as he took a deep breath. 

The teachers from the Han-Sung Clan remained silent, as they stroked their numb chest. Beyond the discomfort that they felt was fear. 

Resonance Manipulation Technique!

It was a legendary annihilation technique that was used when it was difficult to find the enemy in an enclosed space as such. It located the user’s opponents by looking for their natural frequency and oscillating within their bodies, before resonating and destroying them. The people who had mastered this technique were able to make their own sound waves and emit them. Their keen senses were also able to detect reflective waves. Through these reflective waves, properties can be analyzed in detail. 

After finding the opponent’s natural frequency, the body oscillates a new frequency and shoots it back in all directions. This will cause the opponent’s body to shake violently, resulting in instantaneous resonance. Their body would then go into a rampage and be in a state where it would be unable to defend itself. If the frequency was within the audible range, there might be the sound of thunder. If it was not within the audible range, there would be no sound and the body would tremble. What if the wavelength carried the energy of the Awakened Warriors? The body would then be disintegrated! In other words, a massacre. 

That was what both of them had demonstrated. The hearts of the weak would throb, but the hearts of the strong would burst. Han Young had a wry smile on his face.

“This must be a clear warning to arrogant people. But the question is…”

Han Young looked around the hall calmly, examining the facial expressions of the important figures. 

“Why now!  I wonder if he had ever displayed such an extreme skill…and what is he aiming for this time?” 

Han Young knew how different those people were from ordinary folks. Furthermore, he had also experienced the magic-like results of their erratic actions. Han Young had a hunch - what they were doing now was a thoroughly planned operation. It was a large-scale operation that targeted all the royal families and nobles.

His eyes widened. The two people’s clumsy dance had stopped. The upbeat melody stopped playing too. It was the end of the performance. 

Thump-

The man stomped his foot without hesitation. The woman lifted her hands. With a solemn and weighty sound, everything on the floor started rising upwards. The things that were thrown away by the nobles, such as food, paper, and fabric…all kinds of trash were floating in the air at the same time.

Amidst the chaos, two brilliant rays of light divided the entire space. People saw the horrifying vision of the gigantic banquet hall falling apart. The trash crumbled like dust and floated in the air. Lightning flashed across the white dust and the last two sentences were engraved in the space. 

- Justice will flow like a river. - The trash will be taken out soon!