The atmosphere inside the auditorium quieted as the host stepped up on stage, microphone in hand, his voice crackling with excitement.
"Next up, we've got the band that's been turning heads like a hurricane lately—formed under direct orders from the principal himself! Give it up for… Advent!"
The crowd stirred, a wave of murmurs and buzzing whispers rising in an instant.
Then the host added, his tone sly:
"A band made up of what you could call… the most troublesome students in the school."
The room rippled with reactions. Laughter. Raised eyebrows. Skeptical stares.
"Those are the delinquents?"
"Seriously? They're going up against Justice and H3RO?"
But Advent didn't flinch. Not one of them even blinked. Heads high, eyes locked forward, they marched up to the stage like warriors heading into battle. Praise or mockery, admiration or doubt—it didn't matter. They had one job tonight: to burn.
From the audience, Elizabeth and the members of Justice leaned forward. They'd rocked the stage earlier, sure—but something about Advent's approach had them curious.
Meanwhile, Kobo and the rest of H3RO looked tense—not dismissive, but eager. Anxious. Hungry to witness something unexpected.
Up in the VIP section, four alumni lounged—until one of them exploded out of her seat.
"EH?! Nerissa's in that band?! Since when?! What the hell is this school's system doing?! How does a diva end up labeled as a problem student?! I swear I hate this school sometimes!" Marine screeched, her voice bouncing off the walls.
Risu chuckled, eyes glinting.
"Funny hearing that from you, Marine-senpai. Weren't you the biggest troublemaker in school once upon a time?"
Marine turned scarlet.
"That was different! I was... playfully rebellious! Not a delinquent!"
Moona just smiled, shaking her head. And finally, Suisei—who had been silent the entire time—spoke in a sharp, dead-serious voice:
"Could you shut up for five seconds, Marine? I want to hear this."
"Haaah?! You're mad because I'm doubting them, huh? Don't tell me you're curious about Nerissa too?!"
Suisei sighed deeply, ignoring her.
Moona stepped in with quiet weight in her voice.
"Marine. Nerissa's trying to prove something right now. Not as a diva… but as a vocalist."
That shut her up.
"Only a band vocalist can understand what she's feeling up there. We, as soloists, know the pressure of a stage. But this—this is different. She's not here to lead the music. She's here to become one with it."
For once, Marine didn't argue. Her gaze shifted to the stage, where Advent was prepping their instruments.
Nerissa stood front and center, facing the crowd.
Hundreds of eyes. Watching. Judging. Waiting.
Moona. Suisei. Marine. Risu. The legends. All of them watching her.
"Okay," she thought, breath steadying. "Time to show them… I'm not just a Diva. I'm the lead vocalist of Advent."
She gripped the mic.
And then—
A-D-V-E-N-T
ROCK ON.
---
The hall froze.
The silence was thick, electric, alive.
Five figures stood on stage, motionless… then—
"DUUUMMM!!!"
Mococo's drumstick shattered the silence.
"DOOM. DOOM. DOOM."
Shiori's bass thundered like an earthquake.
Bijou's guitar screeched into the room like a war machine waking up from hibernation.
Everyone in the crowd stiffened. Jaws dropped.
This wasn't a performance.
This was a warning.
And then—
Nerissa inhaled.
Her eyes gleamed. Her lips parted. The rest of the world vanished.
Bijou's guitar screamed a distorted overture.
And then—
"Datte boku wa hoshi dakara… Stellar Stellar!!!"
The line hit like lightning.
A ferocious, high, soul-piercing wail ripped through the auditorium.
"WOOOOAAAAHHHH!!!"
The crowd erupted.
People leapt from their seats. This wasn't just any cover of Stellar Stellar—it was an explosion, a reimagining, a rebirth.
Moona's eyes widened, her lips parted in disbelief.
"…That voice…" she whispered.
A small smirk crept across her face.
In the crowd, Elizabeth clutched her chest.
"What… what the hell is that range?!"
Kobo's hands tightened.
Zeta's jaw dropped.
Kaela smirked.
Kobo stared at Bijou's hands flying over her fretboard.
"She's… a monster."
Beside them, Gigi was biting her lip.
"Those techniques… they're not even human."
And then—
Lui from Scarlet Nova leaned forward, eyes narrowing.
"Fuwawa's keyboard… it's not backing them up…"
"…It's guiding the storm."
As Mococo's drumming picked up speed, the whole room vibrated.
Then the refrain hit.
Nerissa's voice soared, wrapped in fire and thunder.
In the audience, Suisei clenched her fists.
"They… they made my song into something new. Something unrecognizable and brilliant."
Marine's hands flew over her mouth.
"This isn't a school performance…"
"…This is a world concert."
---
And then—
Bijou stepped forward.
Her guitar in hand, eyes blazing.
SOLO TIME.
"ZIIIIIIIIINNGGG!!!"
One piercing note tore through the hall like a meteor.
"WHAT THE—?!" Kobo jumped to her feet.
Distortion. Speed. Precision. Insanity.
Gigi gasped.
Kaela laughed.
"You see that, Bo? That's my gaming partner."
Bijou kept going. Hands dancing, whirling. She twisted her body, slammed the distortion pedal—
Even Risu muttered, stunned:
"That cute little gamer girl just became a stage beast."
The sound of her guitar howled like a dragon mid-flight.
"NGAAAAHHHH!!"
Marine bounced up and down in the VIP booth, shrieking with joy.
"BIJOUUUUUU!!!"
Suisei bit her finger, eyes wild.
"…This isn't real. This shouldn't be possible."
Bijou ended her solo with a brutal flourish.
The crowd had no time to breathe before—
Shiori stepped forward.
Bass raised high.
"DUUUUMM!!!"
"DUG-DUG-DUG-DUG-DUG!!!"
Bass slaps that cracked the air.
The audience screamed, hands in the air.
Moona and Suisei were now on their feet, cheering like kids.
Elizabeth was clutching her blazer.
"THIS ISN'T STUDENT LEVEL—THIS IS ARENA ROYALE!!"
And then—
Fuwawa, grinning, danced across the keyboard.
Her notes blanketed the music like an aurora.
---
Final chorus.
Nerissa closed her eyes.
When she opened them again—
She unleashed.
"STEEEEELLAAAAARRRRR STELLLAAAAARRR!!!"
The sky fell.
The earth shook.
The room dissolved into rapture.
She finished the song with the same vocal cadence Suisei had once used.
Silence followed.
Not a whisper.
Not a breath.
And then—
"OOOOOOOHHHHHH!!!!"
THE AUDITORIUM EXPLODED.
Applause like a tidal wave.
Marine shrieked.
Moona lifted her hands to the air.
Suisei stared at Nerissa, eyes fierce and full of respect.
"…You win, Nerissa."
Nerissa exhaled, chest rising and falling. She looked out.
Faces.
Shock. Awe. Reverence.
She turned to see Bijou. Shiori. Fuwawa. Mococo.
Breathless. Shining.
And they all knew.
They didn't just perform tonight.
They made history.