Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
May 18, 2008 - Serena Pov.
The harmonium was truly incredible. I could keep experimenting, and I still had idea after idea to try. The one I really liked was creating Allomantic chromium cubes. The chromium was capable of draining all forms of magic or energy from the target. Therefore, they were extremely useful as grenades, or even for containment.
But now I was experimenting with Feruchemy. Harmonium could easily drain and replicate Feruchemical powers. However, the way most Feruchemical powers worked, they didn't make much sense.
For example, tin, the senses. The Feruchemist had to store his own senses, temporarily reducing them so he could enhance them later. If the harmonium tried to replicate that, it wouldn't work. It couldn't store senses it didn't have, and if it somehow could, it would definitely be useless. What good would it do a metal to duplicate vision it didn't have?
However, there were examples in the novels that demonstrated how they could make that work, such as a harmonium cube attaching itself to a larger object. One example is how Scadrial's spaceships, or parts of them, worked. They used a harmonium cube that was attached to or part of the ship to replicate the feruchemical iron, allowing it to reduce its enormous weight to almost nothing.
And that got me thinking about a lot of ideas. The main one: Leeches. The powers are from harmonium, the same metal itself, and are activated and regulated by the controls I place on the cubes. That means they don't grant the ability to others like the medallions I'm able to create.
Now, if I could force a connection between the harmonium and an enemy, that would have fascinating uses. If the cube becomes a "part" of the person, then any powers they could activate with the harmonium would affect them. Specifically, when it comes to storing attributes, it would be able to drain all of their attributes.
Let's say, a sword, a dagger, or something similar. The harmonium would bond with the enemy and could force it to store all of the enemy's attributes. Physical strength, senses, physical speed, mental speed, breath, fortune, health, and even magic. It could momentarily take everything away.
It would be incredibly useful -
"SERA!!!" The loud bang of the door opening and Enid's scream made me jump. A piece of metal cut my finger slightly; it was only a drop of blood, but it was enough when that drop of blood met the harmonium.
Harmonium didn't mix well with any water-based material. So it wasn't surprising when it violently exploded in my face. I was thrown backward as I felt burns all over my face and chest. I fell several meters backward as the gold in my body began to rapidly heal my wounds.
"OH MY GOSH!! SERA!!" Enid said in panic.
"I'm fine!" I said, sitting up abruptly. Enid was by my side immediately as she began to check me over thoroughly. I just grimaced and wiped the mess away with a swipe of my hand. "Once again, please don't barge in so suddenly while I'm in my lab," I sighed as Enid helped me stand.
"Sorry," Enid said with a pout. I just sighed and dusted myself off.
"Don't worry," I dismissed simply. It hadn't caused any permanent damage. Now that I could have access to as much harmonium as I wanted, I wasn't worried about a few grams exploding. "But be more careful, I may be working with something more dangerous at some point," I said simply. Enid nodded.
"I'm sorry," she repeated. I just sighed and stroked Enid's head. Enid practically melted at the touch.
"So, what did you need to come to my lab all excited and not mentally contact me?" I asked playfully. Enid looked at me shyly.
"So... what were you doing?" Enid asked with an innocent smile. I raised an eyebrow at her.
"Yes, you should know, working with my metals. Then I would begin to study my fire. I discovered that by connecting an Adolla Burst, I developed a third-generation pyrokinetic ability ." I said with a smile as I watched Enid bite her lip and bounce anxiously. "But I suppose your question was more of a courtesy. Tell me, what's going on?" I asked playfully. Enid squealed and pulled out her phone.
"We have to see this right away!" Enid demanded as she shoved the phone in my face. I grabbed the phone and raised an eyebrow at what Enid was showing me.
"K-Pop Demon Hunters?" I asked out loud as the trailer began to play.
…
"Yeah, I can see you're so excited." I said with a smile as I handed the phone back to her once the video finished. I had to admit, it was no surprise that I liked movies with songs, not just musicals, so it caught my attention too. The fact that it was K-pop was the icing on the cake for Enid, for sure. Enid was bouncing with excitement; she almost looked like she was about to burst. "Okay, when will we see it?" I asked simply.
"Now!" Enid said without hesitation. She grabbed me and threw me over her shoulder. She started running without even hesitating. I snorted. I really need to talk to my fiancées about whether this is an acceptable method to take me places. Still, I let Enid lead me to the movie theater, where, to my surprise, everyone else was waiting.
"Finally, Sinclair. Let's get this over with." Bella growled, almost annoyed. I raised an eyebrow at Enid, who was smiling monstrously.
"How did you convince everyone else to come see this?" I asked playfully.
"A month where she doesn't get to choose a movie or series during our shared movie nights," Lucius said, almost with relief. Enid just pouted before smiling broadly.
"It'll be worth it!" Enid said with a huge smile as she grabbed my hand and pulled me along. I just shook my head and went with the lead.
"But what about all the cheesy romance movies on our movie nights?" I asked playfully. Lucius and Bella groaned while Narcissa and Ravel giggled lightly, not bothered by Enid's movie choices. I chuckled while Enid puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.
"They're bad," Enid complained, though she didn't seem bothered in the least. Once we were finally settled in, Enid started playing the movie on the screen. It had really been nice to get a projector and furnish a room for movie nights.
The movie was pretty easy to understand. Demons are eating the souls of humans to feed their ruler, Gwi-ma. A group of women who rose up as demon slayers created a seal that separated the human world from the demons, forming a barrier known as Honmoon.
For generations, that legacy endured with each new trio that emerged. And the way Honmoon was maintained? Their voices and the joy of their fans. A kind of barrier held together by the souls of all their fans.
Finally arriving at the present, the newest trio and the protagonists are a K-pop idol group. And it all turned out to be rather cliché. The demons, unable to defeat the hunters head-on, decided to steal their fans away from them through a male idol group of demons.
There were some slightly romantic undertones between the lead female and the leader of the demon gang. There was a separation between the leads, followed by a lot of drama, singing, and ultimately, a reconciliation.
The story itself was quite cliché, but I loved it. The songs were incredible, catchy, and amazing, but the main thing is that the demon hunters are-
"They're magical girls!" I squealed with joy. My eyes sparkled with excitement. "Magical girls who sing! It's like a dream come true!" I said, almost euphoric.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm with you!" Enid said with a huge smile.
"Wait, magical girls? Like Miracle☆Levia-tan?" Ravel asked in confusion. I nodded quickly.
"Yeah, I can't see it," Bella said tersely.
"They are magical girls! Without a doubt! They have magic weapons! They fight against the forces of evil, in this case, demons, to maintain peace on earth! The power of friendship helps them solve the problem, and the protagonist is able to redeem one of the villains! It's a textbook magical girl movie!" I said happily as I bounced in place.
I quickly pulled out my phone and started browsing the company's internet.
"And now what are you doing?" Narcissa asked amusedly.
"I'm seeing if they sell any of their merchandise and if I can buy it." I said without hesitation.
"Is anything good?" Enid asked as she stuck to my side.
"As long as you don't spend any credits and they don't end up in our room," Bella moaned, massaging her temple.
"Are you planning on recording these songs too?" Ravel asked curiously. Enid gasped audibly.
"We should make a movie! Yeah, you'll be in it! No! Not a movie! Can we write a series about them?! " Enid asked excitedly.
"Acting? I'm not an actress? Besides, who will I do? Rumi? I like Rumi." I said without hesitation as I looked up.
"Jinu." They all said at the same time, including Lucius. I looked indignantly at everyone. The leader of the boy band?!
"Jinu?! Why am I Jinu?! " I asked indignantly. Everyone laughed lightly.
"I mean, you have that dark demon Jinu vibe." Enid said shyly.
"Besides, you have that corrupted form and everything," Bella said amusedly. I blinked and looked at her, confused.
"Corrupt form?" I asked, confused. Bella raised an eyebrow at me.
"The ugliest flower of lust?" Bella asked simply. My eyes widened slightly. Oh… I'd forgotten about that. Bella noticed and gave me a flat look. "I thought you bought the corruption defense for exactly that," she said dryly. I laughed awkwardly.
"Yeah… I forgot." I said timidly. "Even so! I'm not Jinu! Besides, he's a man!" I changed the subject without a hint of embarrassment. Really, I had to remember to test whether I could maintain control over my corrupted Baiser transformation.
"We could change it! It's a minor thing! " Enid said, picking up the topic again. "Changing the backstory isn't complicated! Having a female Jinu cross-dress so she could enter the palace, where only men could prosper at that time, is doable," Enid said excitedly.
"And who would Rumi be?" I asked, massaging my temple. Enid remained silent.
"Why don't we... why don't we offer the role to Lady Leviathan?" Ravel asked timidly. I blinked in confusion.
"Serafall? You want Serafall to be the heroine? " I asked, confused.
"Yeah? I mean, she already has acting experience. Since you said it's a magical girl series, she'll be more than happy to do it," Ravel said simply. I wrinkled my nose.
"Can she sing?" I asked, confused.
"I... I have no idea," Ravel said honestly. "But it's always a good idea to ask? I mean, her voice is attractive. You can help her learn to sing, or always use an audio track over the songs."
Idol series that has a romance with the heroine, a lesbian romance now, and that heroine will be Serafall?" I asked slowly, wondering how I'd gotten to this point.
"Yes!" Enid and Ravel said. Enid had a massive smile while Ravel just shrugged. I massaged the bridge of my nose.
"What if I refuse?" I asked simply. Enid pouted.
"Pleeeaaase!" Enid begged, I grimaced, and looked away.
"Are the songs not enough?" I asked again. "Why this eagerness to throw me into the public eye?" I asked with a grimace. Enid and Ravel looked at each other for a few seconds before looking at me.
""Because we can."" They both said at the same time. I sighed as I listened to Bella's mocking laughter.
"I'll think about it." I sighed tiredly. "I have no idea about being a K-pop idol or acting. I could easily sing the songs, but that's about it. I guess I'll just keep relying on the company's talents."
"Don't play hard to get, you'll enjoy it, you like it," Bella said dryly. I pouted.
"I like singing, but acting is another thing." I replied. Bella snorted amusedly.
"I was saying that you like to please your fiancées, but that too." Bella said mockingly. I blushed slightly. I could hear Lucius and Cissy chuckle lightly. Enid and Ravel cooed at that.
"There's nothing wrong with that," I said, slightly embarrassed. Bella shrugged. I sighed. "Fine, I'll do it, but you guys will be in charge of everything else. I don't plan on being the director or writer or anything else."
"Yay! You'll make an excellent Jinu! We'll have to get more people for both bands!" Enid chirped. "I'll start taking classes with Korosensei!"
"I'll start placing ads for the auditions," Ravel said without hesitation.
"Also! This will be spectacular to promote K-Pop and the culture of Girl Bands and Boy Bands. Korean bands! Currently, the world is in the second generation of K-pop! Kpop is just starting to go international! If we create a series focused on K-pop, we can fast-forward several years and shorten generations!"
"As much as I love some of the second generation bands, I can't wait for the third and fourth generation styles to emerge! That's my jam!" Enid chirped. Everyone looked at her in confusion, apparently, I was the only one who understood what she was talking about. Enid pouted at the realization. "You guys are so old-fashioned!" Enid complained. I just laughed lightly.
"And from what I see, it's your divine duty to push the world into K-pop and social media in 2020." I said playfully. Enid groaned.
"It is! And it's an arduous task I'm willing to suffer," Enid said dramatically before shrieking.
"And about the script?" Lucius asked amusedly. Enid froze.
"Could I ask Korosensei for help writing it?" Enid asked hopefully. I sighed.
"It's not necessary, at least not to write it out completely. Look it up on The Company. There are so many versions of the same universe, it's not funny. I mean, I found the Harry Potter movies played by purple dinosaurs. I must say, those dinosaurs were good actors." I said distractedly before noticing everyone looking at me strangely. I rolled my eyes.
"Don't think about it too much. Let's just find a version that fits. I'm sure in one of the many universes, a whole series was made," I said simply. Enid squealed and came over to me as she started searching on her phone.
"We can watch all of them until we find the right one!" Enid chirped. I smiled slightly. Watching magical girls sing? Yes, please.
"Yeah, no. As… entertaining as that movie was, I'll pass this time." Bella said as she stood up and left the room with a wave of her hand.
"I have a lot of paperwork to finish. Sorry," Lucius said with an apologetic smile before quickly making his escape.
"I'm sorry, dear," Narcissa said with the same apologetic smile before following Lucius. She didn't even have the courtesy to make an excuse. Enid pouted.
"Then it'll just be us," Enid complained. I looked at Ravel.
"Will you stay?" I asked with a smile. Ravel simply nodded.
"Of course. This will be a series where you'll be acting. I'll be your manager; I have to be familiar with the script," Ravel said without hesitation. Enid smiled broadly.
"All right! Let's do this! " Enid chirped. I sighed and shook my head, but started looking for a version that would fit everything.
Author's Notes : Serafall is about to land! Now, I mean, this wasn't how I was going to involve Serafall just yet, but I have to admit, ever since K-Pop Demon Hunter came out, I've been obsessed with them and their songs. I love Golden by Huntrix and Your idol by Saja Boys.
I had to write about it, or I'd literally explode. Or I'd get too distracted reading fics and never write the chapters. So… I had to write about it, for everyone's sake… or something.
Jokes aside. If you haven't seen K-pop Demon Hunter yet, I highly recommend it! And yes! This chapter was a complete advertisement for the movie, and I don't regret it at all!
But hey, I already wrote it and I'll continue with it until the end!
Editor's note: For additional obsessions the author can explore, please list them in the comments section.