Sol silently followed behind them.
His presence greatly reassured the three girls, though it also attracted curious and scrutinizing glances from the staff and contestants backstage.
His striking appearance and detached demeanor felt somewhat out of place in such a hectic environment.
The waiting area was already occupied by several groups preparing to go on stage. Tension and excitement filled the air.
The host's voice echoed from the main stage, accompanied by the distant cheers of the audience reverberating through the massive speakers, further heightening the anticipation.
Hoshizuki Hikari and the others found their designated positions and began taking deep breaths while doing some light stretches to prepare themselves.
Sol stood a short distance behind them, partially hidden in the shadows. His gaze casually swept across the bustling staff members, the surrounding equipment and cables, and the various performers, each carrying different emotions.
Everything appeared normal.
Busy, but orderly.
However, just as the host finished his announcement and the staff in front signaled that it was almost time for Hoshizuki Hikari and the others to go on stage, an unexpected anomaly occurred.
Click. Bang.
A series of alarming electrical crackles erupted overhead.
A massive truss lighting rig suspended directly above Hoshizuki Hikari and the others, which was supposed to slowly rise to create their entrance effect, suddenly malfunctioned.
Several critical connecting screws burst apart without warning.
The heavy metal structure emitted a harsh groan as it tilted violently downward, carrying multiple large spotlights with it.
Its target was the three unsuspecting girls standing below.
"Ah!"
A nearby staff member screamed.
Everything happened in an instant.
Hoshizuki Hikari heard an ominous rush of air above her and instinctively looked up.
All she saw was an enormous shadow and blinding lights descending toward her.
Her mind immediately went blank.
Sora Mirai and Natsukawa Haruka also froze, unable to react in time.
The entire backstage area fell into a stunned silence.
Then, at the critical moment, a figure moved.
It was so fast that nobody could properly perceive it.
Like a fleeting distortion in light itself, Sol disappeared from his original position and appeared between the girls and the falling structure.
He casually raised his right hand.
The motion was simple, as though he were brushing aside a falling leaf.
There was no violent collision.
No deafening crash.
The massive metal rig abruptly stopped before reaching him, as though it had slammed into an invisible, indestructible barrier.
Every ounce of momentum vanished instantly.
Then, as if an invisible giant hand had grasped it, the enormous structure silently hovered in midair.
It remained completely still, openly defying the laws of physics.
Under the stage lights, Sol stood with an indifferent expression.
His arm was not even fully raised.
It was as though he had done something utterly insignificant.
The entire backstage area descended into an eerie silence.
Everyone stood frozen between terror and disbelief.
Their eyes widened, mouths slightly open, as they stared at the impossible scene unfolding before them.
Hoshizuki Hikari, Sora Mirai, and Natsukawa Haruka looked from the suspended structure to the broad back shielding them.
Their hearts pounded violently, and their breathing remained uneven.
"Uh... this..." a staff member stammered, unable to form a complete sentence.
Sol simply glanced up at the hovering truss.
He casually lifted his left index finger and flicked it upward a few times.
Like a precisely controlled machine, the massive structure steadily rose back into position and reconnected with the overhead track.
At the broken connection points, the metal visibly deformed and fused together.
The repairs were crude, but more than sufficient to temporarily support the weight.
Afterward, Sol lowered his hand.
His gaze swept over the stunned crowd before finally settling on the three shaken girls.
"It's alright."
His voice was as composed as ever, yet it carried an inexplicable sense of reassurance.
Only then did the frozen atmosphere begin to move again.
"What... what just happened?"
"Was that some kind of wire stunt? No, that can't be right..."
"Did I just imagine that?"
"This has to be part of the performance, right?"
Whispers erupted everywhere, filled with confusion and disbelief.
Most people instinctively chose to believe it had been an emergency safety mechanism they hadn't properly seen.
Others convinced themselves they had collectively misinterpreted what happened.
The scene had simply been too unreasonable to accept.
The stage director and safety officer finally snapped out of their shock and hurried over, drenched in sweat.
"What's going on?"
As they shouted, they immediately began inspecting the equipment and checking for injuries.
"Miss Hoshizuki, are you alright?"
The manager pushed through the crowd, his face pale and his voice trembling.
"I'm okay."
Hoshizuki Hikari shook her head while trying to steady her racing heart.
Even so, her eyes instinctively drifted toward Sol.
Sora Mirai and Natsukawa Haruka also moved closer to him, still visibly shaken.
"It was an accident! It has to be an equipment malfunction!"
The director shouted as he attempted to regain control of the situation.
"Check every piece of equipment immediately!"
"Medical team, examine them at once!"
Backstage quickly descended into chaos.
Meanwhile, Sol slightly narrowed his eyes.
An accident?
When he had stopped the metal structure, he had clearly sensed that the fracture surfaces of the broken screws were unnaturally smooth.
Someone had tampered with them.
A faint trace of residual cursed energy still lingered around them.
It was cold, deliberate, and meticulously concealed.
Although it dissipated quickly, it could not escape his perception.
This had been a man made trap.
The objective was not to kill anyone directly.
Instead, it was to create a sufficiently dangerous accident that would force him to publicly display extraordinary abilities.
It seemed the rats hiding in the shadows had run out of patience.
Now, they were resorting to methods that technically operated within the rules.
Unfortunately for them, rules were the very thing Sol feared the least.
The rules of this world were not determined by those old fools.
They were determined by him.
"Sol-kun..." Hoshizuki Hikari called softly, her eyes filled with lingering fear and uncertainty.
Sol glanced at her.
"Equipment malfunction. It's already been handled."