My Uncle is the Strongest Dark Mage

Chapter 24

Approximately 20 minutes before the incident occurred.

"Ah, brrrrrr. Ah."

Laila had finished setting up the stage and rehearsing, and was loosening up her throat in front of the mirror for the upcoming concert.

"...I'm hungry."

Then, she rubbed her stomach, which was growling in protest, and slumped weakly into a chair.

Each singer had a different style.

The type who needs to eat a full meal before singing so their voice comes out well when their stomach is full.

Conversely, the type who sings better when their stomach is empty.

Among these, Laila could be considered the latter.

More precisely, she was the type who needed to satisfy her hunger with snacks and go on stage in a comfortable state to sing well.

Originally, it was a habit that developed from frequent stomachaches before going on stage due to nervousness since childhood, but it had become a routine that continued even now, when she was somewhat accustomed to the stage.

Perhaps because she was so used to singing on an empty stomach, singing with a full stomach made her voice and pitch sound different from usual, making it feel a bit awkward.

"When is Kyon coming?"

Was it because it had been a while since the national tour concert, and she was excited?

Maybe because she was so nervous, she felt more tired than usual.

Despite having eaten all the snacks her manager always carried around, she was still complaining of hunger.

At this rate, no matter how well she sang on stage, she wouldn't be able to hold up physically.

'I absolutely can't make a mistake.'

Trying to appease her hunger with water until the manager arrived, she held something she had taken out of her bag like a doll with her left hand.

It was a pair of shoes stained with a faint red mark.

This was also one of her routines.

The memory of that day was etched into her mind like a nightmare.

Even now, thinking about it made her legs tremble uncontrollably, enough to make her collapse on the spot.

A mental disorder known as PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder).

She suffered from it seriously enough to require concurrent psychiatric treatment.

The only moment she could calm her mind was when she held these shoes.

It was around that time that she stopped having stomachaches before going on stage.

Could it be said that the trauma from that time was washed away, and at the same time, the tension about the stage melted away?

Wondering if the saying "a blessing in disguise" applied to this situation, she took a deep breath, feeling her heartbeat, which had been speeding up, return to normal.

"Come to think of it, did she say a fan was coming?"

As her mind calmed down, she felt even hungrier.

While tapping on her smartphone, perhaps to urge Kyon, she suddenly recalled an event from a few days ago and chuckled.

She was so shocked when a request suddenly came from the royal family.

As she heard, it was a request from a friend of the princess who was a fan of hers and would be attending the concert, asking if they could meet before it started.

Of course, they said there was no need to feel pressured and it was okay to decline if it wasn't possible, but how could such a thing be decided at one's own discretion?

How the boss stammered and made the request with a trembling voice.

Whether it was said positively that she was kind and good, or negatively that she was delicate and timid, the fact that she received a request from the royal family must have made her heart sink.

'They could have just asked casually.'

It would have been fine to refuse.

The boss was someone who cherished their entertainers more than anyone else.

Although it was unlikely to happen, even if the royal family imposed some disadvantage for refusing this time, the boss would have prioritized her opinion.

Being such a person, Laila didn't want to put the boss in a difficult position if possible.

Compared to what she had received so far, this request was nothing, and she had no intention of complaining about meeting a fan.

"This makes me happy. Waiting for me like this."

At that moment, she heard someone's voice behind her as she looked at her smartphone.

A strange voice.

But it was definitely a voice that remained in her memory.

Her face turned pale before she could even confirm the identity of the person whose voice triggered her trauma.

"If you're talking about a fan, you mean me, right?"

Startled, she jumped up from her seat and turned around.

Then, she saw someone sitting on the windowsill.

Hair that seemed to have been roughly cut at home with scissors, growing irregularly, and a beard that looked like it hadn't been groomed for at least a month.

His eyes were sunken and unfocused, as if he were on drugs, and the dark circles under his eyes further heightened Laila's fear.

"But how did you know I was coming?"

The man who had been sitting on the windowsill stepped into the dressing room.

A man walking towards her, lighting a cigarette.

"Did telepathy work? As expected, we're meant to be, Laila."

Then, he exhaled cigarette smoke with a smirk.

That face, that smile, that action.

There's no way she could forget.

She couldn't forget.

Unlike now, that night was dark.

She clearly remembered that face, cast in the light of a streetlight.

"Why, why are you here...?"

He should have been dead back then, right?

She couldn't have remembered it wrong.

She had definitely seen the police recover his body with her own eyes.

"It feels good to see you so happy. You missed me too, right?"

While Laila trembled in fear, the distance between them had somehow closed considerably.

Only then did she snap back to reality and look at the smartphone in her hand.

The message on the screen read "out of service area."

"Is there no one outside! Help me!"

She immediately rushed to the door and tried to turn the handle, but the entrance wouldn't open.

Signal jamming, entrance blockade, and even soundproofing from the outside.

As Laila frantically tried everything, Freddy, with a cigarette in his mouth, spoke leisurely.

"It's useless. You know my personality."

I don't want our time together to be interrupted by others.

That's why, during our last meeting, I had my subordinates block off the entire area so no one could pass through.

And it's the same this time.

No, this time, I was particularly thorough.

Despite all the preparations last time, our fan meeting was ruined by an intruder.

"I won't let you go this time. My dearest Laila."

"Don't come closer!"

Frightened by Freddy's approach, Laila threw her smartphone and shoes at him indiscriminately.

Using that moment to distract Freddy, she quickly dodged to the side and picked up her bag from the floor.

Then, she aimed the self-defense artifact the boss had always told her to carry since the incident 10 years ago at Freddy.

"Ugh!"

But before she could use it, a sudden gust of wind sent her flying into the wall.

"What's this?"

And as she flew, Freddy chased after her and grabbed her by the collar, lifting her up.

Unlike his earlier smiling face, he now looked angry as he growled.

"Why do you have this! Laila!"

And what Freddy thrust at Laila was a pair of shoes.

They were the direct weapon that had killed him, stained with his blood in the past.

Was it because bad memories from the past resurfaced?

The strength in Freddy's hand, which gripped Laila's collar, increased.

She felt her breath being squeezed out.

She struggled to free herself from his iron grip, but Freddy's hand holding her neck was as unmovable as a rock.

Her face turned pale, as if she might die like this.

Just as her limbs went limp, Freddy let out an "Ah" and released his grip on her neck.

"I see. Why didn't you tell me sooner, Laila? You carried around the item from my last moment because you wanted to remember me."

Self-question and answer.

Freddy, convincing himself with an absurd answer to his own question.

And then, cradling the unconscious Laila in his arms, he rubbed his cheek against her disheveled hair.

"This time, no one will interfere. I won't let them. Come, let's restart our private fan meeting. My Laila."

You're mine.

In the dressing room, which had been messed up by the recent magic, Freddy continued to giggle with eyes filled with obsession and madness toward Laila.

All the while, gently stroking her beloved hair.

* * *

'I was subdued here.'

He infiltrated through the window and was casually walking when he suddenly cast a spell.

Judging by the spell pattern left in midair, it was a basic magic that moves magic power to create wind.

However, because of the caster's skill, it seemed powerful enough to subdue an ordinary person.

From this, it appeared that the opponent had no intention of killing the singer Laila.

'But it seems the attempt to use the artifact failed thanks to that.'

Of course, even if it had been used, whether it would have fully subdued him was questionable.

Scanning the ritual roughly, it seemed to be a fairly decent artifact.

It seemed expensive enough to subdue even a skilled person beyond a beginner, but still, it was inadequate compared to the opponent's level that he had briefly assessed.

'Still, it could have broken the ritual engraved in this room and alerted the outside to the disturbance.'

At least if the artifact had been activated, Laila wouldn't have been kidnapped and we wouldn't be reacting after the fact.

Cain, who had figured out everything that happened in the dressing room just by scanning it briefly, turned his head as if uninterested and adjusted his glasses.

"Check the CCTV! Look for any suspicious person!"

"There's a high chance they escaped through the window! Use the tracking magic tool!"

Currently, the ones moving most urgently were the private bodyguards hired by Laila's agency.

Their client had been kidnapped without their knowledge.

While the client's safety was important, this incident was also related to their reputation.

If something happened to Laila, their stock prices would plummet due to breach of contract, and they would be entangled in various lawsuits.

'The only way to resolve this with a minimal amount of money is now.'

In a capitalist society, their mindset wasn't necessarily bad.

In fact, weren't they moving busily to rescue the missing Laila thanks to that?

"My... my sister... how..."

Rather, the one who was of no help in this situation was not the bodyguard, but the manager.

Was he panicking because Laila had disappeared?

Kyon, who was just stomping his feet, not knowing what to do.

He hadn't even thought of informing the boss of the agency.

If there was such a frustrating subordinate among his own, wouldn't he have smacked them so hard their back of the head would be gone?

'Well, it's fortunate for me.'

He was lucky.

Since Laila had disappeared, the concert wouldn't be able to proceed anyway.

No, even if she returned, the concert was likely to be canceled due to such an incident.

Just as he was about to turn to Arina to suggest leaving the aftermath to them and going home to charge his smartphone, it happened.

"...Damn."

It wasn't just the manager who didn't know what to do in the current situation.

Right next to him, Arina was also constantly looking around, unable to hide her anxiety and unease.

Above all, what caught Cain's eye was that her eyes were brimming with tears.

Those eyes were full of worry for the missing Laila.

"......."

He wanted to just say let's go.

Laila or whatever.

Even if a woman he barely knew died suddenly somewhere, he wouldn't care.

But seeing Arina's face, he couldn't bring himself to say those words.

'Should I contact my subordinates?'

Scratching the back of his head in frustration.

Come to think of it, his smartphone wasn't even charged.

He didn't even remember their phone numbers.

"Oh, look at this."

At that moment, thinking it was troublesome, Cain, who was carefully examining the dressing room for any clues, spotted something.

At the same time, the corners of his mouth twisted into a smirk.

Inside his glasses, Cain's eyes, sunk low, flickered with a purple light.