Chapter 7: The Birth of Opera

Ada sat on the bed, still trying to process the impossible.

Takao Ryonosuke was alive — or something close to it.
Yes, he looked like a teenager now.

But those eyes… they were exactly the same.

“If you’re feeling better,” Ren said calmly, “I want you to come with me. Somewhere a bit more private.”

“More private? I mean, we’re alone in a bedroom. How much more intimate can you get?”

“There’s something I need to show you. And it’s best done in a safe place.”

He unsheathed Yukihana slowly.

With a subtle slash, he tore through space — opening a dimensional rift.
A portal appeared before them, as if reality itself had been sliced open.

“Come. Follow me.”

Still groggy from her hangover, Ada staggered to her feet and followed him.

On the other side of the portal was a subterranean chamber, its walls lined with stone and wood.

A massive map covered the far wall.

Marked with red points, connecting lines between cities, crossed-out symbols, and others circled in ink.

“What is this place…?”

“My secret base. Temporary, for now.”

“I’ve spent years here, untangling the web of alliances — between kingdoms, nobles, and shadowy groups…”

“The same ones that were tearing the world apart back when I was Takao.”

“Some names have changed. But the root of the problem… is still there.”

Ada approached the map in silence, eyes scanning point after point — recognizing some with a creeping sense of dread.

“I remember you once said your next mission wouldn’t involve demons.”

“I did say that,” Ren nodded.

“…And this is what you meant?”

“Yes. Kings. Slavers. Corrupt nobles.”

“Killers hiding behind titles.”

“People who wield power as if it were divine right.”

He paused. Took a breath. His expression hardened.

“Because of them, the continent of Esturias is rotting.”

“Children are born only to starve.”

“Noble titles are handed out as punishment.”

“Slavery still thrives — just under a different name.”

“I’m not going to stand here and tell you I’m a saint. I’m not.”

“But I’m also not a hypocrite who’ll turn a blind eye.”

Ada said nothing.

For the first time, she looked at him not as a symbol — but as a man carrying something heavier than any sword.

“That’s a hard path,” she murmured. “Filled with powerful enemies.”

“I know,” Ren said. “But someone has to walk it.”

He picked up two talismans, handing one to her.

“This is a secret I don’t want anyone else knowing.”

“…What is it?”

“Put it on. And follow me.”

He opened another rift.
Together, they stepped through.

They emerged atop a desolate hill.
What lay before them wasn’t a threat.

It was ruin.

The trees were dry.
The ground, cracked.
The cities… collapsed.

And at the center stood a towering, lonely spire.

Umbra, capital of the demons.

Thanks to the talisman, they were invisible to those below.

Ada couldn’t speak.

What she saw wasn’t some dark empire.

It was a walking graveyard.

Poverty. Hunger. Pollution.

Demons crawling through the streets, barely able to stand.

Some with hollow eyes.
Others clutching children, with nothing to give them — not even water.

Ren spoke, his voice resolute.

“The truth we were told… was a lie.”

“The Demon King died fifteen years ago.”

“And there shouldn’t be a successor.”

“Then…?”

“Solmara needed an eternal enemy. And Cegris… accepted it in exchange for gold, land, and silence.”

Ada dropped to her knees. Her hands were shaking.

“Then… everything we fought for… was for nothing?”

Ren looked at her with quiet resolve.

“No. It was necessary… so that now, we know who to cut down first.”

With a smooth motion, Yukihana sliced through space once more.
The dimensional rift opened and brought them back to the base.

The silence in the room was heavier than before.

“Now you understand, Ada…”

“My death wasn’t an accident.”

“They knew I wouldn’t stay quiet after what I saw in Umbra.”

Ada collapsed onto a nearby crate, as if the ground had vanished beneath her feet.

“I can’t believe it…”

“As I promised,” Ren said, opening a chest at the back of the room.

He pulled out a white mask. Smooth. Pristine.

A symbol.

He walked over and held it out to her.

“Will you join me?”

“I need allies I can trust. People willing to work from the shadows.”

“People ready to raise the curtain on what will become… Opera.”

Ada took the mask without hesitation.
Her fingers trembled — but her eyes did not.

“I’ve missed you all these years…”

“I always wanted to carry justice the way you did.”

“Of course I’ll follow you.”

“To the very end.”

“Takao… no. Ren.”

She placed the mask over her face.

Her clothes shifted into a deep navy uniform.
Her hair turned white, tinged with icy blue at the tips.
The air around her grew colder, heavier.

“Welcome, Ada. Or should I say… Prima.”

“Prima?”

“That will be your name within Opera.”
“As long as we stand together, you are my right hand.”
“The Vice Director of Judgment.”

Ren took his own mask and placed it over his face.

His form shifted.
The temperature dropped.
He was no longer a boy.

“And you may call me… Phantom.”

Ada knelt before him without hesitation.

“As I promised back then… and as I promise now…”

“I’ll follow you, Phantom. Wherever this road leads.”

“I’m counting on it,” he said, turning toward a shelf nearby.

He pulled out a sealed golden box and placed it on the table.

“Take this. It’s Opera’s starting fund — ten thousand gold coins.”

Ada’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“That’s… a lot of money.”

“I know.”

“I’m planning to purchase an estate on the outskirts of Urus. It’s been abandoned for years.”

“I think I know the one… it used to belong to Sir William Smart, didn’t it?”

“Correct.”

“The place was abandoned after the ‘accidental’ death of William and his entire family.”

“Funny thing… not long after his death, Smart’s entire armory empire was acquired by Count Dalmaccio Iretlis.”

“I remember Smart ran a booming weapons business… and Dalmaccio was his direct competitor.”

“Good,” Ren said, nodding. “Looks like you’re starting to see where this is going.”

He unfurled a map across the table and pointed at a dark red-marked location.

“There’s a fire dragon here. SSS-class. As of yesterday, the bounty was still posted on the guild board.”

“I can’t take it down... at least, not publicly.”

“You’re serious? I couldn’t beat an SSS-class beast in my wildest dreams!”

“Hah… of course not,” Ren chuckled. “But tell me — did you really think your mask was just to hide your face?”

“I… thought it just disguised my form.”

“That mask carries the power of the Goddess of Death — Shion.”

Ada flinched slightly.

“Shion? You mean the Shion who—”

“Yes. She’s the one who brought me back. And not only that…”

He gestured toward her.

“Draw your sword.”

Ada nodded. As she unsheathed it, her breath caught.

The blade was no longer the same.

Dark — nearly black — with a faint crimson glow.

Its hilt was gold, etched with strange runes that sent shivers down her spine.

“What… is this?”

“It’s called Dark Legion. One of the Seven Death Weapons.”

“But… why me?”

“Because publicly, I’m just a rank E farmer. You have to be the one to take the mission — a noble paladin of rank S.”

“This mission will give you three things…”

“Ten thousand gold coins. “

“The Adamantium SSS Rank"

“And most importantly… the noble title of Dame.”

“That’s too much. I can’t accept all that…”

“Prima.”

“By day, you’ll be Ada Schubert. I’ll be Ren Sinclair. We need that facade.”

“With your noble title, we’ll have the legal means to purchase the mansion.
And from there, we’ll build Opera — within the system.”

“I understand… but how am I supposed to explain slaying a dragon?”

“That’s the easy part.”

Ren walked over to the shelf and pulled out an ancient grimoire — still sealed with active runes.

“This book contains Dragon Slayer — a legendary ability I used in my previous life.”

He removed his mask.
His face returned to that of an ordinary teenager.

Then, he opened one final dimensional rift.

“Come. Together… we’ll set this world straight.”

He extended his hand.

And she took it — without hesitation.