บท 113: Ruining the enemy's career
(Caleb Diamond POV)
A few injuries weren't gonna stop me from putting on a show! Thanks to my dad's connections and my deep pockets, I healed up in just two days a few weeks back. Now, I'm ready to rock like nothing ever happened.
And man, those tickets flew off the shelves in days! That's star power for you!
Decked out in my favorite suit, makeup on point, I headed backstage, ready to bring the house down.
I was all set to hear the crowd chanting, "Caleb! Caleb!" like always, but...
It was dead quiet.
"Hey, what gives? Why's it so quiet out there?" I asked one of the production guys.
The imp demon looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. "Um..."
I shooed him away with a sigh, and he scampered off like his tail was on fire.
"No worries," I told myself. "I'm sure they're just holding their breath, waiting for me to blow their minds!"
***
(3rd Person POV)
The band kicked off, but Caleb was nowhere to be seen. The handful of fans and journalists in the seats squirmed uncomfortably.
June, a demoness and devoted Caleb fan, exchanged confused glances with her friends Bucky, Hill, and Rain.
"What the hell's going on?" Rain whispered. "Why's it so empty?"
Bucky nodded, doing a quick headcount. "Including us, there's maybe only a dozen people here..."
Hill's voice held a hint of doubt. "Didn't the news say Caleb's tickets sold out?"
As they puzzled over the situation, Caleb finally made his grand entrance.
"I'm here, everyone!" He threw his arms wide, ready to embrace the adoring crowd - only to have his excitement evaporate as he took in the sea of empty seats.
The silence was deafening. Caleb's confident grin faltered, replaced by a look of utter disbelief. This wasn't the packed house he'd been expecting. Far from it.
Besides the band playing their music, the theatre was awfully quiet.
Caleb's welcoming arms froze mid-motion, his smile twitching uncontrollably as the awkwardness set in.
"..."
The silence between the few audience members and Caleb was palpable. Even the band felt it, their faces clearly asking, 'Should we really continue this concert?'
"Cough." In the back rows, a feline demon named Johnny - an actor planted by Arthur - let out a cough that echoed through the nearly empty theater. In a normal Caleb concert, it would've been lost in the crowd's noise. Here, it felt loud and insulting.
Johnny shouted, his voice filling the space, "What? Are you not gonna start your concert!?"
Caleb visibly flinched, humiliation written across his face.
"Don't waste my money on tickets! Go and perform!" Johnny yelled at the top of his lungs.
Caleb twitched even more, his composure crumbling.
The audience, including the journalists, didn't approve of Johnny embarrassing Caleb, but they had to admit he had a point. The show had to go on.
Caleb cleared his throat, his voice a mix of anger, humiliation, and awkwardness. "I- I apologize," he stammered, trembling slightly, "I should start the concert now!"
"That's what I'm talking about!" Johnny clapped loudly. "Now start it!"
Veins popped on Caleb's forehead, but he managed to grit out, "Okay."
The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife as Caleb prepared to start his performance in front of the sparsest crowd he'd ever faced.
Caleb started his performance, snapping his fingers and tapping his foot on the stage floor. "She... She is my personal succubus sweetheart ~" he sang into the microphone.
Gripping the mic stand, he continued, snapping his fingers again, "She..." He paused for effect, "She can only be my personal— succubus sweetheart maid ~"
Despite the anger and humiliation burning inside him, Caleb pushed on with his performance.
Ten minutes in, the journalists were already drafting articles about Caleb performing to an empty theater, highlighting the lack of attendance.
Suddenly, an unexpected turn of events caught everyone's attention. The feline demon, Johnny, dramatically collapsed in the middle of Caleb's performance.
Caleb stopped singing abruptly as staff rushed to Johnny's aid.
"I... I am gravely injured!" Johnny declared, his voice weak but carrying across the empty theater.
A confused journalist stammered, "Ho-how are you injured? You've just been sitting there!"
Johnny gasped theatrically, "I... My ear drums, my body... have been gravely injured by Caleb's singing! I couldn't take it anymore! Take me to the hospital!"
The journalists' eyes lit up at Johnny's outrageous claim. They furiously scribbled notes, sensing a juicy story in the making.
Strangely enough, Johnny did appear to be seriously hurt. His body was covered in bruises, particularly around his ears.
While the journalists couldn't fathom how Johnny had sustained injuries from merely listening to Caleb's performance, they knew this bizarre turn of events was headline gold.
The already surreal concert had just taken an even more unexpected twist, leaving everyone, especially Caleb, stunned and bewildered.
The concert came to an abrupt halt due to Johnny's injury. Pressure Records, Caleb's label, quickly promised to refund all ticket purchases.
Backstage, Caleb's frustration boiled over. He hurled the mic at the mirror, shattering it. "Damn it!"
Staring at the broken glass, realization dawned on him. "Something's not right..." He paused, his eyes narrowing. "Someone must be behind this shit!"
***
The next day, shocking headlines splashed across the front pages of daily newspapers, captivating readers at newsstands everywhere.
"Horn Superstar Caleb Diamond's Concert: Empty Seats and Injured Fan!"
Similar headlines screamed from other major dailies.
Curious onlookers gathered, murmuring as they read.
An elf turned to his friend, "First Caleb gets assaulted, then he's accused of beating up rising stars, and now this? His name's getting more controversial by the day."
His friend nodded, "Getting injured at a concert? And Caleb performing to an empty house? How's that even possible?"
As confusion spread, a demon who'd attended the concert spoke up, "I was there. The place was really empty!"
"Did someone actually get hurt from Caleb's performance?" someone asked incredulously.
The demon nodded, "Yeah, though I can't explain how Caleb's singing injured him, but he definitely got hurt."
"How's that possible?"
The demon sighed, "I don't know... Maybe Caleb used some magic in his singing that affected that feline demon?"
A curious dwarf chimed in, "Why would Caleb do that?"
The demon elaborated, "Actually, that injured guy had humiliated Caleb when he froze up at the start. He shouted at Caleb to perform, but then got hurt during the show. Maybe Caleb was angry and lashed out magically."
"Caleb can do magic in his performances?" The crowd's unease grew. "That's terrifying."
Word spread like wildfire. The few concert attendees shared their experiences with friends and family, and within hours, thousands were talking about Caleb's supposed ability to use magic in his performances to attack those he disliked.
The rumors gained traction rapidly, further legitimized by newspapers quoting these speculations.
What the public didn't know was that Johnny, the supposedly "injured" feline demon, was actually an actor hired by Arthur and his team. Johnny had used an expensive scroll spell to inflict injuries on himself, all part of a calculated plan to ruin Caleb's career.
While Caleb's team scrambled to investigate the empty concert and Johnny's incident, the damage was already done. Public opinion had shifted, with many now viewing Caleb as a cruel and dangerous individual.
Meanwhile, Arthur received refunds from Pressure Records for the tickets he'd bulk-purchased. Though he didn't recoup all his expenses, Arthur considered the thousands of dollars well spent. To him, it was a small price to pay for potentially derailing Caleb's career.
As the rumors continued to swirl and Caleb's reputation took hit after hit, Arthur sat back, satisfied with the unfolding chaos he had orchestrated. The plan had worked even better than he'd hoped, turning a superstar into a subject of fear and controversy overnight.
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