To be honest, Figxin didn’t have high expectations for the so-called Shadow of Evil. She had heard rumors about it in the Northern Domain.

Of course, she had only heard about it. The Kingdom would periodically send people to entertain the Border Army, accompanied by dance troupes, theater troupes, acrobatic troupes, and the like. But the most common were always minstrels, mainly because they were cheap.

A minstrel from the south had described *Holy Mountain Journey* in the most fantastical terms.

However, the story didn’t resonate much with the soldiers. Aside from unanimously agreeing that the Potion Factory’s management got what was coming to them, everyone still preferred jokes about the corruption of female knights.

In her view, the Shadow of Evil was just plays that people enjoyed for their own amusement in small circles, now stuffed into Magic Crystal Stones.

’But why did Galina look so excited?’

Inside the private box at the Cowboy Theater, Galina had started sobbing the moment they entered. Her handkerchief was so soaked you could wring water from it, and she was almost struggling to breathe.

"Is she having an asthma attack?" Figxin asked worriedly.

"She’s fine," Uffie said calmly. "She’s the Chairman of Mr. Raul’s Continent-wide Support Group. She gets like this whenever she gets a chance to see Mr. Raul in person."

"Mr. Raul is...?" Figxin asked.

’A Continent-wide Support Group? Isn’t that name a bit of an exaggeration? It sounds like some kind of international organization.’

Figxin watched as Galina pulled a banner from her backpack. On it were the words, "All-Star Best Actor, Superb Acting, Perfectly Handsome Raul Mikkelsen."

She hung the banner on the railing of the box. The words even glowed in the dark.

"An actor. The star of *Holy Mountain Journey* and also the star of *Hunting*. He’s probably the best Demon Shadow Actor so far. Granted, there aren’t that many Demon Shadow Actors to begin with, but I also think he’s really good," Uffie explained.

’That’s not so hard to understand.’ Figxin mused. She had seen plenty of noble ladies who, infatuated with a certain stage actor, would wrap their jewelry in handkerchiefs and toss it onto the stage when he appeared.

However, this practice was later collectively banned by the industry.

It wasn’t that the theater troupes didn’t want the jewelry, it was just that there was an incident where someone threw a gold bar onto the stage.

As it happened, the noble lady who threw the gold bar was the daughter of a general and possessed extraordinary strength. And, well, guess what? Her aim wasn’t bad either.

Right in the face!

The poor actor lost consciousness on the spot. Fortunately, he didn’t die.

He was paralyzed.

’May this Raul have better luck.’

"AAAAHH—" Galina let out a heart-wrenching scream. "Mr. Raul, you’ve worked so hard all this time!"

Figxin would rather face the shriek of a night banshee, because at least she could cut that thing down.

The main creative team came on stage one by one for an interview about their creative process.

’It was quite novel. Audiences were sometimes interested in the behind-the-scenes stories of a creation, but there had always been a lack of channels to learn about them.’

Young. That was Figxin’s first impression of this Shadow of Evil creative team.

They all seemed to be around thirty, and the director looked like he was only about twenty.

What was even more surprising was that the one who came on stage to represent the cinematography team was a goblin.

’Twin Tower City... it really is a strange place.’

But when the lead actor, Raul, took the stage, the audience erupted with massive screams, accompanied by jeers and boos. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

She could faintly hear shouted curses directed at his family.

’Why is this happening? Isn’t Raul the best actor right now?’ Figxin wondered, confused.

Uffie explained at the perfect moment, "Mr. Raul was once involved in a scandal about harming a little girl. Although it’s been cleared up, many people still don’t believe it. Even now, people will occasionally throw trash at him on the street."

’A baseless accusation.’ Figxin sneered inwardly. She was all too familiar with this. She’d had so much mud slung at her, she’d lost count. ’Such a "loving and caring" group of brothers and sisters I have.’

And she knew even better that after being slandered like this, clearing your name was almost always meaningless.

’Even if you were eventually exonerated, your life would have already been completely destroyed. What good is justice that comes too late?’

’For him to still dare to stand on stage and directly face everyone’s scrutiny... that takes a lot of courage.’

Figxin was starting to admire this actor.

’But what else could he do?’

’Accept reality, or fight back? But confronting the audience isn’t exactly a rational choice.’

"You’re a Demon who preys on children!" During the audience Q&A, someone who got a hold of the megaphone shouted directly.

"Does that count as a question?" Raul’s tone was still relatively light as he bantered back.

"I’m an actor, and you are all my patrons. I accept all of your judgments. You’re free to think I’m a Demon, but thank you for coming to see the Shadow of Evil anyway."

’He didn’t directly address the issue with the child, instead placing himself in a subservient position.’

’Why? Was he begging for mercy from his attackers?’

Figxin couldn’t understand why he would respond that way.

’Begging for mercy and pretending to be weak is useless against these people. They prey on the weak and fear the strong. Showing weakness will only make them act out more aggressively.’

Just as Figxin thought, as soon as the hecklers heard Raul’s reply, they grew even more agitated. The curses merged into a tidal wave of sound, punctuated by trash being thrown at the stage.

It looked like a conflict was about to break out between the supporters and detractors in the audience.

Seeing things were about to get out of control, the organizers hurried out to smooth things over and moved on to the Shadow of Evil screening.

All the lights went out, and the image was projected onto a screen several stories high. The Zog Group logo appeared, and the venue finally quieted down a little.

’This premiere isn’t going well. It’s obvious many people here came specifically to cause trouble, and they might even be organized.’

Unexpectedly, contrary to its violent-sounding name, *Hunting*, the opening of the Shadow of Evil could be described as placid, even boring.

The screen showed nothing more than ordinary suburban life: a group of people hunting, swimming, and hanging out.

There were none of the world-class visual spectacles the minstrel had boasted about. Everything felt like it was happening right next door.

In the film, Raul appeared under his real name; the character he played was also named Raul.

The first thirty minutes or so were spent recounting the trivial details of his family life.

An unhappy marriage, lies that were immediately seen through by his good friend, a somewhat rebellious son, and volunteering at a Church-run orphanage.

The only commendable thing was his good relationship with the children. He’d walk a lost friend’s young daughter home, which was also very common. Many parents here who didn’t have time to look after their kids would leave them at the orphanage for daycare and pick them up each evening.

You could even hear yawning from the audience.

Raul’s character seemed to overlap with Raul the person, showcasing his boring life.

But Figxin could feel a persistent sense of oppression in the scenes. Her intuition told her there was a time bomb in the plot, ready to go off at any moment.

The scene shifted to the preschool, where the little girl secretly gave Raul a heart-shaped gift and stole a kiss while he was resting.

"Ooh—"

The audience gasped.

Raul quickly told the little girl that what she did was wrong and returned the gift.

’Figxin knew the bomb had arrived. A lecture like that would wound a child’s fragile pride, and when it comes to their pride, every child is a potential powder keg.’

However, the plot once again developed in a way Figxin hadn’t expected.

That evening, the little girl’s parents didn’t come to pick her up, and the director of the orphanage stayed behind to look after her.

Then, the little girl suddenly started talking to herself.

"I don’t like Raul. He’s dumb, he’s ugly, and he has a little stick..."

The little girl in the frame was almost completely shrouded in darkness.

"Oh, all boys have one," the director explained with a smile.

"Yes, but his is different. His is so hard."

"Did something happen?" the director asked, her expression immediately turning serious.

"He gave me this heart," the little girl said, taking out the returned gift. "I don’t want it."

Her tone was flat and calm.

The audience was completely silent.

Figxin understood. Raul was tearing open his own tragic experience and showing it to everyone, raw and unfiltered.