Chapter 23: Chapter 22

“W-What? You want to kill Rui?”

Anna blinked in surprise.

“No, I-I don’t want to… I really like Rui a lot.”

“So? Is there a problem with that?”

Laura asked with her signature smile.

A problem? Isn’t that the only thing there is?

Anna sighed.

Hobbies.

Anna only had her hobbies.

She was born into a wealthy family, which gave her more leisure than others, and thus, she lacked the motivation to achieve anything.

She had no ambition to rise higher than she was now.

She didn’t even have the desire to become a better person.

Her life was driven solely by momentary pleasures.

It was an embarrassingly wasteful life, but because of that, hobbies were the most important aspect of her life.

In her search for something to fill that void, she found a particular VTuber.

“…I don’t want to be Rui’s enemy. If anything, I want to be on her side.”

Anna wasn’t entirely sure what made Hanabane Rui such an appealing VTuber.

Even so, Anna wanted to see where this person’s journey would lead.

She learned the names of Rui’s dogs.

She heard about how Rui was bullied during her school days.

She knew that Rui’s parents had divorced, and she had lived with her grandmother when she was young.

Anna also knew that, despite Rui’s appearance, she harbored great ambition and desire within her.

Unlike Anna herself.

Maybe that was why she became such a dedicated fan.

She knew who Rui was, knew about her family, her relationships, her desires, and her dreams.

Because of this, Rui was no longer just a stranger to Anna.

There are things in this world that, once you know, you can’t turn back from. Maybe that’s how everyone chooses their favorite person to support.

Anna wanted to cheer for Rui.@@novelbin@@

“That’s a delusion, Anna.”

A whisper.

“You already know, don’t you? That to Hanabane Rui, you’re nothing.”

“…”

Anna fell silent.

Parasocial relationships—the phenomenon where one feels like they know a distant public figure as if they were a close friend. It’s a term often used to describe the feeling of being romantically involved with a celebrity, even when the relationship is entirely one-sided.

Of course, Anna knew. She was well aware that Rui probably didn’t even know she existed.

“You weren’t satisfied with just watching, right? That’s why you became a VTuber and joined the tournament.”

“…Hmm.”

It was true. She couldn’t deny it.

She probably became a VTuber for much shallower reasons than others.

For Anna, hobbies were everything.

So, as she became more engrossed in her hobbies than most people… this was the result.

It was something she had pursued with some conviction, but now that Laura knew, embarrassment washed over her.

“T-That’s true, but… I never planned to cross any lines. I just want what’s best for Rui… You know how sometimes fans’ extreme behavior ends up causing problems? I’m not like those people.”

“Have you ever wanted to be special to her? To become her friend or get her autograph?”

“Yeah, just that much…! There are a lot of people in this industry who become VTubers because they like a particular VTuber.”

“Have you ever wanted to be someone special?”

Tap.

Before Anna could realize it, Laura’s finger was pressing against her forehead.

“Kill Rui with your own hands. That way, you can become someone special to her.”

“W-What a twisted thing to say…”

“I’m sure it’ll feel good.”

Laura’s finger, which had been pressing against Anna’s forehead, slowly slid down her nose.

When the hand was finally withdrawn, Anna found herself staring into Laura’s captivating eyes.

…She was disgustingly beautiful.

Despite being such a twisted person on the inside, why was she so pretty? It was enough to take one’s breath away.

This must be what it’s like to meet a demon in human form.

“…Alright. I’ll do it, just like you said.”

Anna nodded without even realizing it.

She felt as if she were under the spell of a demon.

[Let’s start the next viewer participation match right away.]

[Hold on a moment. I’ll change the password.]

-Click, click, click.

Rui covered the broadcast screen as she changed the password for the custom room.

Then, after kicking out all the current participants, she would be able to have a fresh match with new players.

“501145.”

“Huh?”

“It’s 501145. Enter it ahead of time.”

Watching Rui’s model move in the corner of the screen, I noticed the subtle movements of her eyes, the slight motions of her hand, and the faint sound effects.

I figured the password was likely 501145.

[I’ve set the new password. 5011XX. 5011XX.]

As soon as I heard that, I quickly entered the password and joined the custom room.

Anna joined a moment later.

[Wow, two people have already joined? That was fast.]

[We’ll start as soon as we fill up all 12 slots.]

The custom room continued to fill up.

Since Rui was on Team A, naturally, Team A filled up first.

However, as planned, Anna and I moved to Team B early on.

Rui seemed curious that the first two people to join had switched to the opposing team, but she didn’t comment on it.

[Uh, Sensei? Can you hear me?]

“I can hear you.”

After moving to Team B, we started a private voice chat on Discord, set so only the two of us could hear each other.

[Sensei, should I play the Alchemist again this time?]

“This time, pick whichever character you’re most comfortable with. Think about killing Rui with your own hands.”

[But I don’t want to kill her… Since I’m still practicing with the Alchemist, I’ll play as the Arcane Engineer this time.]

“That’s fine. But I’ll be playing the Renegade, so you’ll have to take the ADC role.”

[Oh, right, I forgot the Renegade is your main, Sensei.]

It’s not exactly my main.

I was just used to dueling, so I started with the Renegade, but it’s not like I’m committed to a specific role.

I’m confident in any role. I’ve even played as the main tank when my role overlapped with others.

But this time, I couldn’t afford to hand over the Renegade to anyone else.

[Okay, the slots are full, so I’m starting the match.]

And so, the game began.

As planned, I picked the Dark Knight, and Anna picked the Arcane Engineer.

“I’ll take the Renegade role.”

“Alright, go ahead.”

Surprisingly, the Renegade role was easy to secure. Maybe because it was a viewer participation match, not ranked. Everyone seemed to be in a more relaxed, casual mode.

It could also be because I had a Diamond rank. The rest of the team was made up of Bronze, Silver, and Gold players, except for me.

So, the ban-pick phase proceeded, and here were the results:

Allies: Dark Knight (me), Arcane Engineer (Anna), Heavy Armor Warrior, Martial Artist, Battle Mage, Saint

Enemies: Puppeteer (Rui), Cavalry, Dual Swordsman, Beast Tamer, Enchanter, Bard

【The game has been matched: Closed Underground Waterway Map】

**【Please satisfy one of the following victory conditions:

Defeat the gate boss.

Eliminate the opposing team.】**

The stench of the sewers hit me first.

Realizing this, the damp air clung to my skin.

An indescribable sense of discomfort. Just standing in this place made me feel like my health was deteriorating.

But the discomfort was only momentary.

Labyrinth has a sensory adjustment system. Any unpleasant sensations like pain, cold, or heat are mitigated in-game.

It’s only natural. People play games for enjoyment, not to experience suffering.

So, after a while, the feeling wasn’t so bad.

“Ignite.”

Our Battle Mage muttered softly.

A small flame flickered in their hand, dispelling a bit of the darkness that filled the underground waterway.

The Battle Mage raised the flame slightly, scanning the surroundings.

“There are two paths. What will you do, Dark Knight?”

“I’ll take the left path.”

“Alright. Then the rest of us will head to the right.”

A quick agreement. Less than a minute into the game, I split off from the party.

Anna glanced at me before we separated, but I didn’t react much. There was no benefit in revealing that we were duo-queuing.

I advanced down the corridor.

This game was a bit different from usual. I was still wearing my armor.

If this were a solo queue match, I would’ve taken the armor off. Mobility is far more valuable than defense. After all, defense is only needed when you get hit, and the best way to avoid getting hit is not to get hit at all.

‘But in this game, mobility isn’t as necessary.’

The Dark Knight typically has poor detection abilities, so I usually had to make up for it with mobility.

But now, I’m duo-queuing with Anna. If she uses her ultimate, she can reveal the enemy’s position, so I didn’t need to prioritize mobility.

So, I focused all my stats on attack power, sacrificing mobility and detection.

This was to increase my farming speed.

“This might be a really good combo.”

I muttered to myself.

A Dark Knight going solo and an Arcane Engineer as ADC.

The Arcane Engineer compensates for the Dark Knight’s lack of detection, allowing me to focus more on farming. This setup seemed promising, though it hadn’t been fully tested yet.

It’s a shame this strategy can only be used in viewer participation matches. It would’ve been nice to use it in ranked games too.

But it can’t be helped. To use this Dark Knight solo and Arcane Engineer ADC combo, voice chat is essential, meaning you have to duo-queue.

I can’t duo-queue with Anna in ranked because of the rank difference, and I don’t want to go through the trouble of finding a local duo partner.

Besides, I’ve always refused duo-queue offers before.

I’m only duo-queuing with Anna because we know each other in real life. If she were just an online acquaintance, I wouldn’t be duoing with her like this.

‘In other words, it just shows how limited my social circle is.’

But there’s nothing I can do about that. A villainess is always a lofty existence.

The nobler you are, the harder it is to get along with others.

[S-Sensei!]

After farming about five neutral monster camps,

I heard Anna’s voice.

“Have you filled your ultimate gauge? If you have, use it once.”

[I haven’t filled it yet! But more importantly, the main team is under attack!]

“Under attack?”

[Rui… The Puppeteer is here! Our Heavy Armor Warrior is already dead!]

I see. I nodded.

Hmm.

Looks like we might be in a bit of trouble.