The Villainess VTuber Tears People Apart

“…What? You want to kill Rui?”

Anna blinked her eyes.

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

“So? Is there a problem?”

Laura asked with her signature smile.

A problem? More like it’s nothing but a problem.

Anna sighed.

Hobbies.

All Anna had was her hobbies.

Born into a well-off family, she had more leisure time than others, and because of that, she lacked the drive to achieve anything.

She had no ambition to rise above her current situation.

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

In truth, she lived for the momentary pleasures of life.

It was a shameful life spent in waste, but for Anna, her hobbies were the most important part of her life.

In her search for hobbies, she had discovered a VTuber.

“I… I don’t want to become Rui’s enemy. I’d rather be on her side.”

Whether Hanabane Rui was a charming VTuber, Anna wasn’t sure.

Even so, Anna found herself wanting to see where this person would end up.

She learned the name of Rui’s dog.

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

She learned that Rui’s parents divorced when she was young, and she lived with her grandmother for a time.

She even knew that despite Rui’s appearance, she harbored great ambition and drive.

Unlike herself.

Maybe it was because Rui was different from her that she became such a devoted fan.

Anna knew who she was, knew her family, her relationships, her desires, and her dreams.

Therefore, Rui was no longer a stranger to Anna.

In this world, there are things that can’t be undone once you know them. Perhaps that’s how everyone decides on their favorite.

Anna wanted to support Rui.

“That’s a misconception, Anna.”

A whisper.

“You know it well too, don’t you? That right now, you’re nothing to Hanabane Rui.”

“…….”

Anna fell silent.

The phenomenon of a pseudo-social relationship.

It’s when you feel as though you have a long-standing friendship with a broadcaster you’ve never met.

It’s often grouped together with the experience of pseudo-romantic feelings for a celebrity, commonly referred to as a pseudo-social relationship.

Of course, Anna knew.

She knew that Rui probably didn’t even realize she existed.

“You weren’t satisfied just watching, were you? Isn’t that why you became a VTuber and joined the tournament?”

“…Hmm.”

It was true. She had to admit it.

She probably became a VTuber for a lighter reason than others.

For Anna, her hobby was everything.

Because she was more deeply immersed in it than others… this was the result.

Even though she had pursued it with some conviction, the fact that Laura had found out filled her with shame.

“Th-that’s true, but… I’m not thinking of crossing the line. I just want Rui to succeed… you know how sometimes excessive fandom can become a problem? I’m not like those people.”

“Do you want to become her friend or get her autograph?”

“Yes, just that much! There are lots of people in this industry like that, right? People who become VTubers because they like a particular VTuber…”

“Have you ever thought about becoming someone special?”

– Tap.

At some point, Laura’s finger was pressing against her forehead.

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

“What kind of perverse thing are you saying….”

“I’m sure it’ll feel good.”

The finger that had touched her forehead slid down her nose.

When the hand moved away, she was met with two eyes that seemed like they would suck her in.

…She was disgustingly beautiful.

The core of her was twisted, so why was she so beautiful? It was suffocating.

This must be what a devil in human skin looks like.

“…Okay. I’ll give it a try, just like you said, Teacher.”

Anna found herself nodding unconsciously.

It was as if she had been possessed by a devil.

***

[Shall we move on to the next participation round?]

[Wait a moment. I’ll reset the password.]

– Click, click, click.

Rui, who had covered the broadcast screen, changed the password for the custom room.

Then, after kicking out all the current occupants, she would fill the room with entirely new participants for the custom battle.

“501145.”

“Pardon?”

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

Rui’s model moved in the corner of the broadcast screen. The trajectory of her eyes, the slight movement of her hands, and the faint sound effects.

I had a feeling it was 501145.

[I’ve reset the password. It’s 5011-blank-blank. 5011-blank-blank.]

After hearing that, I immediately entered the password and joined the custom room.

Anna joined a beat later.

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

[Once we have 12 players, we’ll start right away.]

The custom room gradually filled with players.

Rui was on Team A, so naturally, Team A was filled first.

But, as agreed upon earlier, Anna and I quickly moved to Team B.

Rui seemed surprised that the first two people to enter had joined the enemy team, but she didn’t make a big deal out of it.

[…Teacher, can you hear me?]

“I can hear you.”

After moving to Team B, we started up Discord. We set it so that only Anna and I could hear each other in voice chat.

[Teacher, should I play as an Alchemist this time too?]

“Play as whatever you’re most comfortable with this time. Just think about killing Rui with your own hands.”

[But I don’t want to kill her… I’m still practicing with the Alchemist, so I’ll play as a Technomancer.]

“Do that. But, I’ll be playing as the jungler, so you’ll need to be the ADC.”

[Oh, right, Teacher’s main is the jungler.]

Not really.

I just got used to playing the jungler at the start because of duels, but I don’t particularly stick to one position.

I’m confident in any position. In fact, when roles overlap, I’ve even played the main tank a few times.

But this time, I can’t let anyone else take it.

[Everyone’s here, so I’ll press the start button.]

The game began.

As planned, I picked the Dark Knight. And Anna chose the Technomancer.

“I’ll play as the jungler.”

“Yes, please do.”

Surprisingly, the jungler role was easily given up. Maybe because it was a casual custom game, everyone was here to enjoy themselves, not to play seriously.

Or maybe it was because I was in the Diamond rank. Our team, aside from me, was mostly Bronze, Silver, and Gold.

The ban-picks proceeded, and the result was as follows:

Allies: Dark Knight (me), Technomancer (Anna), Heavy Armored Warrior, Martial Artist, Battle Mage, Saint

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

【Game Matched: Closed Underground Waterway Map】

【Please satisfy one of the following victory conditions:

– Defeat the Gate Boss.

– Annihilate the enemy team.】

The smell of sewage wafted up from the tip of my nose.

As soon as I realized that, the damp air clung to my skin.

An indescribable sense of discomfort.

Just standing here made me feel like my health was deteriorating.

But the discomfort only lasted for a moment.

Labyrinthos has a sensory adjustment system. Pain, cold, heat, and other unpleasant sensations are adjusted in-game.

It’s only natural. People play games to have fun, not to feel pain.

That’s why, after a while, it didn’t feel so bad.

“Ignite.”

The Battle Mage whispered softly.

A small flame burst from his hand, slightly lifting the darkness that hung over the underground waterway.

The Battle Mage subtly raised the flame, checking the surroundings.

“There’s a fork in the path. Dark Knight, which way will you go?”

“I’ll take the left.”

“Alright. Then we’ll take the right.”

Quick agreement. Less than a minute into the game, I left the party.

Just before we split up, Anna glanced over at me, but I didn’t react much. There was no benefit in revealing that we were participating as a duo.

I moved forward down the passage.

This round was a bit different from usual. I still had my armor on.

If this were a solo queue, I would have taken the armor off. Mobility was far more valuable than defense. After all, defense is a stat you need when you get hit, but if you don’t get hit, it’s irrelevant.

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

The Dark Knight’s detection ability was lacking, so mobility was the only way to make up for it.

But now, I was playing as a duo with Anna. If Anna activated her ultimate, we could locate the enemy, so I didn’t need to worry about mobility.

So, I completely abandoned mobility and detection-focused attributes and set my build entirely around offense.

This was to maximize my hunting speed.

“This seems like a really good combination.”

I muttered to myself.

Dark Knight as jungler, Technomancer as ADC.

The Technomancer compensated for the Dark Knight’s lack of detection ability, allowing me to focus more on growth. This hasn’t been fully tested yet, but it seems pretty potent.

It’s a shame it can only be used in custom games. It would be nice to use it in ranked games too.

But it can’t be helped. To use the Dark Knight jungler & Technomancer ADC combo, voice chat is essential, which means you have to play as a duo.

Anna’s rank is too different from mine, so we can’t play ranked games together, and I don’t want to go through the trouble of finding a local duo partner.

I’ve rejected all duo offers up until now.

I’m only playing with Anna because we know each other in real life. If she were just an online acquaintance, we wouldn’t have formed a duo like this.

‘In other words, it means my social circle is that narrow.’

It can’t be helped. The Villainous Noblewoman is always a lofty existence.

The nobler one is, the harder it is to socialize with others.

[Tea-Teacher!]

I had cleared about five neutral monster camps when Anna’s voice came through.

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

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

“Under attack?”

[Rui… the Puppeteer is here! Our Heavy Armored Warrior is already dead!]

I see. I nodded.

Hmm.

Seems like we might have messed up a bit.