Similar Social Relations (3)

【Virtual YouTuber Gallery】

-[Back in elementary school, I jumped rope every recess.]

-[It wasn't that I liked jumping rope. I just floated around the edges of the class.]

-[Being in the classroom was hard, so I pretended to practice jumping rope.]

Anna became a fan of Rui for a trivial reason. Those three sentences were the start of everything.

A VTuber with four hundred thousand subscribers, Hanabane Rui. She was actually an outcast. You could tell just by listening to what she said. She carried flaws in her humanity and lacked social skills in certain areas. That was probably why Anna came to like her. She wasn't perfect, but as someone who tried hard, she would surely find happiness someday. Anna became a viewer of Rui's because she was curious what form that ending would take.

-Thud

-Thud

Footsteps. Anna quietly swallowed her breath. Peeking out from behind a pillar, she saw the enemies' figures in the distance.

'She really followed just like Teacher said…'

When Lora abandoned the martial artist, Anna had wondered what kind of person she was, but seeing everything unfold exactly as predicted made her realize Lora really was someone good at games.

Most of the sewer map consisted of one-way passages. The place where Anna was hiding now was one of the exceptions. It was the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠widest area in the sewer map, where all the wastewater converged. That was why she had offered up the martial artist as a sacrifice. A Magic Engineer was at a disadvantage in narrow maps, so she had needed time to reach this wide chamber.

'Still, the disadvantage remains…'

On the enemy side, the cavalry, dual-wielder, and beast tamer stepped forward. Meanwhile, Rui, playing enchanter, bard, and puppeteer, was subtly retreating. She was definitely wary of Anna. They knew a Magic Engineer held the advantage in an open space.

-Clack

-Clack

Relaxed footsteps echoed loudly through the wide chamber. What appeared was jet-black armor. And a sword with a crimson blade. A dark knight. Lora stood alone before the enemies.

-Flash!

The moment Lora revealed herself, the enemies moved. The cavalry charged first, using superior mobility to rush her. They tried to plant a crowd-control skill into Lora, but a wall erupted from beneath their feet.

-Kugagaga!!

The cavalry was sent flying after slamming into Wailing Wall. Seizing the opening, the beast tamer riding a giant wolf charged from the opposite side. But Lora smiled and dodged the fangs to the side. At the end of that dodge stood the dual-wielder, already swinging their swords as if they had anticipated it.

-Ting!

Lora knocked one blade aside, lowered her stance, and slipped beneath the wolf's legs. The wolf instantly became cover, preventing the dual-wielder from continuing their attack.

'…She's incredibly good at fighting.'

Even three against one, she never fell behind. If anything, it looked like Lora was the one applying pressure. Realizing this wouldn't work, the enemies activated skills and intensified their assault. The enchanter enchanted the dual-wielder's swords, and the bard's performance further boosted the party's mobility. On top of that, Rui, who had only been watching, finally brought out her puppets.

Cavalry, beast tamer, dual-wielder, and now a puppet—four opponents. With ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠buffs layered on, even Lora began to take hits little by little.

"Are you a monster…?"

The dual-wielder fighting Lora muttered. Lora's armor had wounds here and there, but none were serious. She had deliberately taken only weak attacks. If anything, the dual-wielder who had traded blows with Lora multiple times looked to be bleeding more heavily.

"You only killed a few neutral mobs……and you're tanking this?"

Everyone was stunned. But Lora only smiled silently.

-"Fortunately, the opponents don't have a very strong crowd-control composition. So if it's just you, you should be able to hold out to some extent."

-"One or two……maybe even three, I could probably take down alone."

Anna recalled what Lora had said earlier.

-"But I can't take ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠them all down by myself."

-"They're not idiots either. Especially since a dark knight excels at muddying fights with wide-area debuffs but lacks finishing power."

-"So the ending will be yours to make."

[Begin, Anna.]

Lora spoke through the voice chat. The moment her eyes flashed red, the surroundings instantly darkened. The dark knight's ultimate, Devouring Darkness. Its effect was as follows: it cloaked the area around the dark knight in darkness for a set duration. All targets touching the darkness, including the dark knight, entered a dark vision state and took damage over time. However, the dark knight took no damage and all healing effects were amplified during the ultimate's duration.

'…The value of that ultimate really is absurd.'

She couldn't see her hands or feet. Truly nothing was visible. It was the ultimate muddy-fight skill. No wonder it was called the "dark" knight.

"…Unboxing."

Anna activated her ultimate. Ten seconds. Anna touched the domain of gods.

-"When I use my ultimate, they'll all be wary of you."

-"So don't shoot."

Anna moved stealthily. The enemies already knew the dark knight's ultimate could be countered by the Magic Engineer's ultimate. In this darkness-covered battlefield, only Anna, who had activated Unboxing, was free. That was why the enemies were already prepared for supporting fire. But Anna instead entered the battlefield directly. Forward movement. Not something a marksman should do. Precisely because of that, no one could predict Anna's actions. So the enchanter never imagined the Magic Engineer would approach.

-Bang!

A short gunshot rang out. A point-blank headshot. The enchanter never realized what had happened until the moment of death. After all, hadn't they retreated with Rui to stay wary of the Magic Engineer? They could never have expected the Magic Engineer to close the distance and shoot them dead.

'…From here on, it's unknown.'

Ten seconds passed and Unboxing's duration ended. Darkness returned to her vision and Anna could no longer see anything. The unknown had always been fear to humans. That was why knowing brought relief. Or sometimes regret.

-Click

With slightly trembling hands, Anna aimed her gun. She pointed the barrel in what she thought was the right direction, but she couldn't be certain what lay at the end. Rui might be waiting there. Or perhaps the bard who had been with Rui. Or maybe nothing at all. Knowing might not be good. Knowing might only bring regret. But what could she do? She had already learned far too much.

-Ratatatat!!

Anna emptied her magazine. By the time she finished, the dark knight's ultimate duration had likely ended as well. The darkness lifted and the horrific scene before her eyes gradually revealed itself.

"Cough…"

The puppeteer—Rui—had taken a gunshot to the stomach. Beside the coughing Rui lay the bard, bound by Bind. Rui had probably noticed the ambush and tried to respond with Bind. But perhaps unable to pinpoint Anna's location, she had cast it in the wrong place. This was the result.

Anna knew about Rui, but Rui knew nothing about Anna. That was only natural. Viewers knew VTubers very well. But VTubers rarely knew their viewers.

"I've… been your fan for a long time."

Anna pressed the gun barrel against Rui's forehead. She had wanted to know your happiness. She had wanted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to know your ending. But while I know you, it seems you don't know me. That I must remain only a watching existence. That my form will never appear in the ending you complete. Perhaps that had always hurt. That might be why she had tried so hard to meet you.

"I respect you very much. …So please die."

-Bang!

Anna pulled the trigger. If the unknown was fear and knowing was relief, then being known was surely joy. Hanabane Rui collapsed as a corpse. Those eyes that had looked at her in surprise. Looking down at those eyes that now reflected her own image, laughter somehow spilled out.