Chapter 111

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 111

Chapter Title: Kidnapping (2)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[Save─]

I was in the middle of checking my gear when I saw the text message and thought to myself.

What the hell does this mean?

I pondered it for a moment, but just as I was about to give up and call her...

The third scenario's choice selection popped up for me.

I was so caught off guard by its sudden appearance that I didn't even have time to panic.

Such a choice window appeared right in front of my eyes.

Takuya's face twisted in shock at the sudden emergence of the selection window.

And who could blame him? There was absolutely no reason for this to show up right now.

His surprise didn't last long, though.

Sensing that something was seriously wrong, Takuya began carefully reading through the third choice selection.

And soon enough, he was shocked—no, horrified.

"What the fuck?!"

The curse slipped out of my mouth in Korean without thinking.

The game referred to as Runaway Mii-chan was one I knew all too well.

No, I had no choice but to know it intimately.

That's why Takuya felt like he'd been struck by lightning in that instant.

'No way... You're only remembering this now?! This crucial detail?!'

How could I have forgotten that game of all things?!

Cursing his terrible memory, Takuya racked his brain for a solution.

For starters, it was clear Momiji had been kidnapped.

So it probably wasn't at home.

'Then where the hell is she?'

No matter how hard Takuya squeezed his brain, he couldn't come up with an answer.

As he paced frantically for a moment, he suddenly remembered something in his sub-space pouch.

'That's right! The Villain Tracker!'

The Villain Tracker, to be exact.

Takuya quickly activated the tracker, and soon the villain's location appeared.

Confirming the watch was working properly, he immediately called Miyuki.

"Miyuki! Start the car right now! I'm heading over! Hurry—it's urgent!"

After barking that one-sided order at Miyuki, I shoved my outer jacket and the gear I'd been prepping into my sub-space pouch, rushed down the stairs, and started putting on my sneakers.

"Oh my, Takuya, where are you off to?"

"Ayaka Mom, I might be super late tonight... or not come home at all."

"Hey! Takuya, what the hell is that supposed to mean all of a sudden?!"

"No time. I'll explain later."

Brushing off Ayaka Mom and Yuka Mom like that, I bolted out the door.

My scenario choice was confirmed at the same time.

I don't talk about it much, but Ero Villain is a circle with a ridiculously long history.

Well, technically, if you include the period when it was disbanded once, that's what made it so.

The reason it was disbanded? Simple.

Ero Villain had gone through an almost complete disbandment midway through.

And considering that happened in the very early 2000s, you'd wonder how a circle called Ero Villain still existed by the 2050s when I was active.

The truth is—and I haven't mentioned this before—Ero Villain had one game that was completely erased from records.

More precisely, it was the game from the first-generation Ero Villain.

What do I mean by first-generation?

Ero Villain was a circle divided into three generations among the members.

The people didn't change much; it was just that the leader directing and creating the games shifted.

First gen: Totoyuki Okumura. Second gen: Sayuki Kojirou. Third gen: Hinami Rei.

Among them, Totoyuki Okumura, the first-gen leader, was the one who founded Ero Villain... and essentially destroyed it.

At first glance, that might make him sound like an incompetent circle leader, but in reality, he was the one who elevated Ero Villain to named-game status and was the top contributor to raising its profile.

But even someone like that dragged himself and the entire Ero Villain down to rock bottom in one fell swoop.

Or more accurately, because of one particular game.

That game's name was Runaway Mii-chan, a deceptively simple title.

Its story went like this.

One day, a kid nicknamed Mii-chan, suffering from bullying and parental neglect, gets kidnapped and imprisoned by some perverted lolicon.

Mii-chan realizes the ropes binding her are loose, snaps them, escapes the room, navigates a treacherous mountain, and reaches a nearby police box for rescue. That's the game.

Runaway Mii-chan was heavily influenced by the famous Blue Oni game of its time, so it was a RPG Maker title blending puzzles and mazes.

Get caught, and it's game over with a bad end scene.

At launch, the puzzles and escape thrill earned it great reviews.

But over time, that evaluation flipped completely.

Because of the game's true ending.

The normal playthrough ending was a happy one, technically.

Mii-chan escapes safely, leaves her neglectful parents, lives with her loving grandparents, grows up fine, and goes to high school.

Sounds rewarding, right?

But then came the shocking twist.

Some pervert of a user experimented endlessly in the game and stumbled upon the true ending.

And that true ending left not just buyers but even outsiders speechless.

The kidnapper tracks Mii-chan down again, kills her grandparents, recaptures and imprisons her—and that's not all.

On the final black screen:

[Mii-chan thus became one of his eternally preserved 'collection,' her head severed.]

A deranged texture message like that.

People expecting a happy ending were devastated, and the news spread like wildfire online.

When it came out that this shocking ending was inspired by a real past incident, society turned its eyes on it, and amid massive backlash, Ero Villain had no choice but to shut down.

The leader who tanked a thriving circle faced huge criticism and was effectively banned from the industry forever.

The members scattered, worked elsewhere for nearly 20 years, then answered second-gen ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠leader Sayuki Kojirou's call and reformed as second-gen Ero Villain. That's the infamous 20-year hiatus.

They didn't start with the Ero Villain name again—it was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠what people called them, so they just went with it eventually.

Anyway, the reason I'm bringing this up now...

"Um, is this the mountain, Master?"

"Yeah, that's it."

Is because Miyuki, who was driving at my request, had nearly reached the destination I'd described.

"Then I'll park at the entrance and wait."

"Got it. Thanks."

With a quick thanks to Miyuki, I took off running up the mountain.

The terrain was brutal.

People think there are no countries with as many mountains as Korea, but Japan has plenty too.

If anything, when it comes to rugged mountains, Japan has more.

Wouldn't it be weird for a volcanically active place to lack mountains?

Anyway, the mountain I was climbing was notoriously treacherous.

I felt like I was cliff climbing rather than hiking.

But my hands never stopped.

It wasn't just because ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the scenario Takuya had chosen.

Lying about that would be dishonest—the scenario was part of it.

But my desire to save Momiji was genuine.

Momiji was a pitiful kid.

The so-called father I'd met was a pachinko addict and thug. The mother looked at Momiji with outright hatred every time.

Momiji was a child starved of love.

Wasn't what happened in Runaway Mii-chan too cruel for a kid like that?

At the very least, Momiji didn't deserve such a horrific ordeal.

'I'm living this well, and a sweet kid like Momiji has to go through that? No way!'

That's why Takuya pushed forward with everything he had, following the watch's directions.

I had to get there even one second sooner—before Momiji suffered anything suspicious.

But damn it, it seemed like God wasn't on my side.

"Fuck."

I spat out a curse at the creature before my eyes.

And for good reason.

What stood there was...

—GRRRRAAAHHH!!

A real threat wandering in search of food after failing to prepare for hibernation.