Villain Transmigration: Author Transformation

Not until lately, Keith found out that the key to gain Ashtra's good graces was neither about conquering his land nor taming him—only punishment beyond death would be the only answer to that.

It had been done numerous times and bore the same outcome.

A thorough and passionate form of entertainment was the only chance they had.

Thinking about it, what Mystique had planned was no different from jesters and clowns, providing a session of humor; minstrels and dancers for the noble's interests.

Whatever she had in mind, Keith was supportive and did as she requested, despite his thirst for curiosity.

Although, to the majority who was more than willing to take up the challenge, the idea became far-fetched when she was the one leading it. 

It came to fruition—only when Athan came and supported her idea.

Keith got furious, but he had to let it slide, as per Mystique's request while holding him back. Even if the Crown Prince took the credit, she could care less.

Mystique had this idea, and coincidentally so as Athan; with both of them decided to cooperate, their past differences now set aside, and only then they hoped for the best for the result.

Off to a rocky start, but with Athan's lead, all of them worked with their utmost effort.

The idea was ambitious, but with two prominent and influential noblemen supporting her, she did whatever she could to hasten the preparations without compromising the quality of the tribute they had put up to this moment.

After which, the battlefield they were about to enter was rather different.

They knew.

They entered.

All of them were well aware of the consequences.

The tribute, as Keith estimated, was about to last an hour, and they had yet to reach the last quarter of it. 

Clearly so, the blood, sweat, and tears they poured out for every performance continued to wear them down.

While it was within his expectations, he got caught off guard with the sudden smirk Veronica had, and he had a bad feeling about it.

'Was it not—?'

Keith rubbed his eyes, a part of him didn't want to believe what he witnessed a while ago; and now, Veronica had a concern on her face as she almost fumbled on her stance. Her once impeccable streaks of graceful, flowy movements came to a halt.

The sudden formation and their coordination turned out jarring enough to watch. 

"What? The movement changed! This wasn't what they practiced!" Dusk breathed, shaking Dawn's shoulders. 

"Yes, also, now look at her." Dawn leaned forward while pointing at Veronica. "Her Highness is now upfront, further than Lady Marianne."

"Right!"

Right now, Keith became giddy, and even his teeth grinding and heartbeat pounded as loud as the music played.

"Also…" Dusk leaned close to his twin, whispering "Did you catch the change of her demeanor?"

"I did…" 

"Is this intended to be a sabotage—?"

"No! That can't be it!" Athan interrupted and glared at them, flinching the two out of his reaction. If looks could kill, then they'd be minced meat.

For a while, Keith gazed at Mystique, who still held on her own, but she couldn't let go of her concerns on the others as they tried to keep themselves back on track. 

'Almost the end of the tribute but the satisfaction from the 'Frost Wyrm' yet to meet…' 

Thinking about it, had him ground his teeth, and the group of string instruments and flute muffled from his palpitations.

"Something's wrong in here…" Athan mumbled. 

Yet the problem didn't stop there: towards the end of their soulful lyrics, their 'Hymnic Conches' gleamed in golden light, and their amplified voices slowly dried up, having them end up dancing along to the graceful melody.

All of them sucked in a cold breath, a little early on that note would've broken the song completely.

But all hope wasn't lost as Mystique sang for as long as she could, letting out a sweet vibrato in such perfect timing. Her refreshing, sultry voice lingered on the stage despite the loss of her 'Hymnic Conch' as well.

The ladies began to panic, seen from their faces as they glimpsed at one another whenever they could but still kept ongoing.

Meanwhile, Ashtra's eyes beamed with brightness, and it was as though doomsday came. 

Keith almost flinched out of his body, with muscles numbing, while he ended up breaking a sweat. His vision became blurry as he kept gasping for air.

Beasts howled out of terror, wanting to scurry away from the place, causing panic among the onlookers with their magic lights flickering out.

Out of them, Strauvwuark almost lost its balance but got to it quickly.

"Don't look at his eyes!" Nathan howled.

Through a glimpse, he looked around, and he wasn't the only one suffering around, and downwards found that their movements turned sluggish, and scared to even utter a word.

Then, Ashtra's mouth opened with fiery pitch-blue ice that came with it, burbling.

'Is this where it ends?' 

Unexpectedly so, Mystique hollered at Nathan. "Switch it up!"

Nathan's jaw dropped, but when Mystique beamed a lopsided smile, he clicked his tongue. Grabbing his smartphone, he tapped, and the music began to change. 

A drastic one at that.

The large metal box, which could replace the whole orchestra and ensemble in a blink of an eye, boomed cumulative sounds he hadn't heard anywhere else.

From the start, the tempo was rather fast and lively, enough to grab his attention, and follow the beat.

"It's still far from over." She then took a strut, to the front, and then with a snap of her fingers, her outfit changed after them. "The last song—better get ready."

The once slow and tacky moves from their arms became swift and in unison. They twirled around and swayed their hips.

Athan and Sylvester looked at each other, skeptical at first, but was at loss from what they witnessed.

Keith gaped at them as this was the first time he noticed the charade she was going for: and all of them were following her lead, so synchronous and fresh.

Of all the spectators, Nathan was able to keep up the sudden change of momentum.

Mystique took the lead and sang much more than she did earlier, and now it was back to an ancient language. 

With vim and vigor, Ashtra bobbed his head and grinned like there was no tomorrow.

But then, Keith's heart dropped the moment his eyes landed at Mystique.