Entertainment: Starting as a Succubus, Taking Hollywood by Storm

Chapter 26: A Wager Fulfilled

The applause thundered through the hall.

Martin spoke up.

"This piece was inspired by my reading of The Legend of King Arthur, and I've titled it—" he paused.

He had intended to use the original title, Divine Symphony, but thought better of it. Why should I give credit to the gods for their own anthem when I'm bringing it to a new world?

So, he continued, "—Battle Hymn."

The title fit well, as the piece was originally composed to celebrate the gods' victory over the demons under the leadership of the Supreme God.

"Battle Hymn? What an appropriate name!"

"I felt chills all over—I could almost feel myself on the battlefield, clashing with enemies!"

"I never imagined music could move me to tears."

"Damn, this piece is incredible. There's an undeniable power within this music."

"There were no lyrics, yet it felt like I was hearing the voice of heaven. If this kid releases an album, I'll be the first to buy it."

The crowd buzzed with admiration.

Martin's gaze, however, shifted to the back of the hall, where he spotted Grant Brook attempting to sneak out.

If not for the "Reckless" voice in his head urging him to stay, he would have fled long ago.

Am I losing my mind? Brook wondered, feeling his sanity slip. Why is this happening to me? Is it because I betrayed Diana?

Lost in his thoughts, he barely registered that Martin had called his name from the stage.

"Mr. Grant Brook, please fulfill your end of the wager."

Brook jolted, his sweat-drenched head snapping up as he tried to bolt from the room, desperate to escape this terrifying place.

But his legs wouldn't move.

"Devil! Devil! You must be a devil!" he shouted hysterically.

The crowd stepped back, eyeing him with disdain. His erratic behavior and lack of integrity were clear to everyone.

Martin repeated calmly, "Mr. Grant Brook, please honor your bet."

This final call seemed to sever the last threads of Brook's "Rational" self.

His bloated, greasy face trembled, and he sank to his knees, unable to resist. Then—

"Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!"

Grant Brook began barking madly like a dog, scurrying on all fours toward the exit.

Within moments, he vanished from sight, leaving the crowd in stunned silence.

A small smile tugged at the corner of Martin's lips.

Vengeance, for a demon, is best served immediately.

He stepped down from the stage and approached Diana, bowing gracefully.

"My apologies, Lady Diana, for disrupting your charity event."

"No need to apologize, Martin. In fact, I should be thanking you. You helped me see someone's true nature," Diana replied with warmth, then added with a smile, "And please, call me 'sister.'"

"Oh no," Harry muttered, eyes wide with dread. "If Mom wants him to call her sister, does that mean we really have to call him Uncle Martin?"

"Just be quiet, Harry. We made a bet, and we lost," William said, resigned.

He wasn't just accepting defeat because of the wager but also because of Martin's Battle Hymn.

Despite his outward poise, William had a wild streak, as shown by his later passion for high-speed motorcycling. This recklessness even led the Queen to forbid him from riding motorcycles, fearing for his safety.

Martin's Battle Hymn had struck a chord with William, its fierce, grand energy capturing his spirit. He was awed that a single voice could conjure such a powerful, almost symphonic sound.

And if Martin was capable of creating music like that, even at his age, then he was undoubtedly worthy of respect.

After a series of congratulations and brief conversations, Martin prepared to take his leave with Diana.

As they moved toward the exit, a middle-aged man with long hair approached. He pulled out a business card and handed it to Martin.

"Mr. Martin, my studio would be honored to produce an album with you. If you're interested, let's find a time to discuss."

Martin glanced at the card and saw the name: Max Martin.

Sounds familiar…

Searching his memories, he realized he had indeed heard of this man.

Max Martin, born February 26, 1971, in Stockholm, Sweden, was a renowned music producer and songwriter. In 1995, he had started working with the Backstreet Boys, producing hits like "Quit Playing Games," "As Long As You Love Me," and "Everybody." His future career would only soar higher.

By 1998, he'd be producing Britney Spears's debut single, "...Baby One More Time," followed by "Oops!... I Did It Again," "Stronger," and more.

Between 1999 and 2001, he'd win ASCAP's Songwriter of the Year three times. In the 2000s, he would produce major hits for artists like Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, and Lady Gaga.

These memories came from another Martin, a music fan back in China who had kept a mental list of producers for his favorite artists.

A golden producer! the daemonic Martin concluded.

But in this timeline, Max was only starting out. Apart from his success with the Backstreet Boys, he was still relatively unknown.

Still, he clearly has an eye for talent if he's spotted me, Martin thought. Maybe this could be a worthwhile partnership.

"I'll give it some thought, Mr. Martin."

"I look forward to hearing from you," Max said, his eyes bright with ambition. This kid could be the next step in his own rise to fame.

After bidding farewell to Max, Martin and Aunt Nancy prepared to leave the hall.

But just as they reached the door, William and Harry came running up.

William's face remained cool and stoic.

He held his chin high, refusing to look directly at Martin, and muttered, "We lost the bet. So from now on, you are Uncle Martin to both me and Harry."

Harry echoed, "Yes, Uncle Martin!"

Nancy looked between the three boys, bemused. "What's going on here?"

"Oh, it's nothing serious," Martin chuckled.

"It's serious to us," William replied solemnly.

"Yeah, it's serious," Harry echoed, practically a parrot at this point.

[•———•———•———•]

𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮. 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼:

• 𝙅𝙘𝟭𝟮𝟬𝟮

• 𝘼𝙝𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙟𝙖𝙝

• 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗯 𝗠𝗼𝗲𝗲

𝗔𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸:

• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝙂𝙚𝙩 𝟭𝟴𝟱+ 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.

• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁-𝗢𝘂𝘁: 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩!

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝘁, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀!

👉 𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙬: 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣.𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

💬 𝘼𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝘼𝙫𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚: 𝙈𝙮 𝘼𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙩! 𝙐𝙣𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 $30—𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 10% 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩! 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙙𝙚: 𝗚𝗢𝗗𝗢𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥.

𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙂𝙋𝙏 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙮 𝘼𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙩, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙀𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣-𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙮, 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙣𝙪𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙡. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙨, 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!

👉𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗽: 𝙋𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣.𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧/𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙥