What Cannot Kill Me

"You've arrived, Lady Laura."

Deep within the academy, Cecilia was waiting. Her dress was soaked in blood. Her skin burned a deep, feverish red. From her body seeped a chilling crimson mist of magical power, and I immediately recognized it as the mark of the monster she had consumed.

"So you devoured it."

"Yes."

Cecilia gave a small nod.

"In the end, the Red Mist Monster was nothing more than a trial for me."

The light in Cecilia's eyes as she spoke was utterly terrifying. The whites of her eyes had turned completely black, proof that she was no longer human.

"By consuming the trial, I have grown stronger."

"So it would seem."

"Yet no matter how strong I become, it all feels so hollow. Strangely enough, overcoming the trial itself wasn't nearly as enjoyable as the process of struggling through it."

She laughed at herself in bitter self-mockery.

"On the day destruction came to the kingdom, my family and my people all fought to save me alone. They didn't hesitate to sacrifice themselves, and so I survived."

"……."

"I survived, even though my body was already broken beyond repair. This vessel, leaking gate energy, didn't have much time left. Each day I grew weaker. Still, I had to live. I couldn't let their sacrifice become meaningless, could I?"

—*Clack.*

Cecilia adjusted her grip on her greatsword. Its tip was pointed directly at me.

"That's right. For me, a trial was synonymous with survival. The Red Mist Monster was my reason to keep living. The mere fact that my mortal enemy existed somewhere in this world was the only thing that made my heart beat."

"Cecilia."

"Perhaps anything would have sufficed. The cake from the shop was delicious, so let's survive until tomorrow. I want to see my friend again, so let's survive until tomorrow… If only I could have made such ordinary, commonplace reasons my trials. But being human is never that simple, is it?"

"That's enough, Cecilia."

"From now on, I will be your trial, Lady Laura."

—*BOOM!*

Cecilia slammed her greatsword into the ground, using it as an axis. She spun gracefully and delivered a crushing downward kick. The rotational force alone would have made it devastating, but she was a human of the Allenmis Kingdom—blessed with far greater physical strength than ordinary people. On top of that, she had absorbed the Red Mist Monster. The floor where I had been standing a moment ago shattered completely.

"Just as chickens and pigs are born to become food for humans, my life exists only to be devoured by someone. This is all I can offer. So please, devour me, Lady Laura."

"You certainly have a roundabout way of asking to be killed. And you're hardly in a position to be giving me orders, are you?"

"I suppose not."

Her eyes were filled ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with pure destructive impulse. Just as every monster is engraved with endless murderous intent toward humans, Cecilia had become the same.

Smiling with a chilling, bitter grin, Cecilia declared,

"Draw your sword, 'The Noble Villainess' Laura Iris. I—Princess of a ruined kingdom and 'The Last Gladiator' Cecilia Blonnie de Allenmis—challenge you to a duel. For the sake of my survival, I will take Laura Iris as my trial and claim her life. And then I will live to see tomorrow. If you dislike that outcome, then make me your trial instead, Laura Iris."

Trickster, huh…

Lora casually shook the blood off her left arm and glared at Rinko. She knew that Rinko had failed to defeat MadMask's Trickster in last year's league. That meant Trickster was practically a trauma for her. The fact that she had chosen it herself was deeply significant.

Looking up that footage back then turned out to be pretty helpful.

She hadn't faced Trickster many times, but because she had watched the video of Rinko's match against MadMask, she at least knew the skill set.

Trickster was a character that fought in a truly unique way, just as the name suggested. Even though it carried a sword, it didn't feel like a proper swordsman. It was the kind of character that fought purely by relying on tools rather than learned swordsmanship.

That made mastery of those tools incredibly important. In terms of tool usage, it was somewhat similar to Pathfinder. But fundamentally, their playstyles were completely different. While Pathfinder was a character that pioneered paths and provided utility support, Trickster was a character that created variables through its whip-sword and trap-installation skills.

As Lora cautiously closed the distance, Rinko swung her blade.

—*Whoosh!*

The sound of cutting wind. The whip-sword Rinko swung stretched out long like a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠whip and came flying toward her. Trickster's greatest strength was area control. It excelled at forming an advantageous zone using the whip-sword's long reach and installation skills.

However, the Dark Knight's area control was nothing to scoff at either.

—*Rumble!*

The Wailing Wall surged upward, blocking the path of the whip-sword. Because it was a swinging attack rather than a projectile, walls and pillars acted as obstacles. The wall rose and completely halted the whip-sword Rinko had swung.

Lora tried to charge at Rinko, but she was forced to stop in her tracks.

"Hmm."

Lora swung her sword and sliced through the wire. Trickster had the ability to install wires and piano wires. If you didn't detect them properly, you could trip or get injured.

This is a bit troublesome.

The darkness of the underground waterway made the lines hard to see. Still, Lora wasn't caught by them. She had been hit once at the very beginning because she hadn't realized Rinko had picked Trickster, but she wasn't about to fall for the same thing twice.

While Lora avoided falling into the traps Rinko had laid, Rinko had still ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠succeeded in delaying her entry.

She's good, as expected.

Rinko gave a bitter smile. In skill, star quality, passion, and fame, she fell short of Lora in every way. The title of EYEAI's flagship VTuber? It would probably be taken from her soon in the generational shift. Her future as a has-been was crystal clear. Her subscriber count would be overtaken by Aurora within a year or two as well.

So what?

There had been many senior VTubers overtaken by their juniors before. It would be nice to be a role model of a senior, but that might just be arrogance. She didn't even hope to be remembered as a good senior. Still, it was better than being remembered as an embarrassing one.

Rather than such luxurious wishes, she felt more like she was being forcibly held in this position. It was because of inertia. The inertia of the title "senior." The creature known as a senior couldn't afford to look pathetic and collapse in front of their juniors. So she unconsciously kept up appearances.

It felt like the only thing left was the single fact that she was her senior. It seemed like she was only breathing in this moment for that one reason. The single fact that she had debuted before her was forcibly propping up her broken will.

Exhaling sharply, Rinko charged first.

"……."

Watching Rinko rush in, Lora narrowed her eyes. By her common sense, this was incomprehensible. Trickster was a character that could unilaterally strike from a distance using its whip-sword and excelled at area control through wide-ranging attacks. For such a character to willingly close the distance was no different from abandoning its strengths.

It's a meaningless strength anyway.

Since Lora already knew Trickster's characteristics, she would perfectly counter any long-range attacks. If it was a strength she couldn't utilize, there was no point clinging to it. Victory or defeat didn't matter.

—*Clatter!*

Rinko swung her whip-sword downward. MadMask. There was one thing she had never told anyone else. That she had imagined that day's events countless times. She never showed it, but she had been furious. She had thought over and over about how she could defeat MadMask's Trickster. She had even researched it out of lingering attachment. She had watched every video of MadMask's Trickster she could find. If there had been a time machine, how would she have responded and won back then? She couldn't help but imagine it.

Rinko closed her eyes. When she painted her vision black, it felt like she could see MadMask's trajectories. She wouldn't be able to play it perfectly, but she could at least imitate it.

—*Clack!*

Lora tried to knock away the incoming blade. Dodging to the side would be difficult. Since Lora was still wary of the wire and piano lines, she had judged that she shouldn't move recklessly. That was exactly what Rinko had been aiming for.

Rinko's whip-sword wrapped around Lora's sword.

—*Whirl!*

A brief struggle for dominance. Before Lora could grip her sword tightly, Rinko grabbed the blade of her whip-sword with her left hand. Ignoring the blood flowing from her palm, she poured strength into both hands. With a pull that didn't hesitate to injure herself, Lora's sword slipped from her grasp.

"Not bad at all."

Even after losing her sword, Lora remained composed. She even seemed to have the leisure to admire the move.

A monster. No, a villainess. Come to think of it, Lora always only showed a relaxed demeanor. As if a noble lady should never be flustered.

She was a villainess down to her very bones.

—*Clatter!*

Rinko threw the sword she had stolen from Lora into the sewer water and moved her whip-sword again. Having lost her weapon, Lora had no choice but to become even more cautious. She could no longer cut the wires and piano lines. Her mobility should have been restricted, yet Lora began charging forward even faster.

Was she not afraid? Perhaps. But it didn't feel like recklessness. No one would understand the danger better than Lora herself. It was pure obsession ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠toward victory. Having lost her sword, Lora's win rate had dropped. In this situation, she must have decided she needed to take a gamble.

Come to think of it, there was one more thing she was losing in. Mental fortitude. Aurora far surpassed her there as well.

—*Whoosh!*

When Rinko swung her blade again, Lora deflected it with Soul-Binding Chains. Then she installed Wailing Wall at an angle and closed the distance in a single moment. It was a trajectory where neither wire nor piano line had been installed. Even in the darkness, had she seen through it? All Lora could say was that her senses were incredible.

But now that she had used both skills, Aurora had no more options left.

Rinko swung her whip-sword rapidly once more. Then—

—*Slash!*

Lora deliberately let the whip-sword wrap around her left arm. She even spun her arm around and grabbed the blade tightly with her hand. The blade pierced her skin and embedded itself so deeply it wouldn't come out easily.

"Ha…!"

Rinko was dumbfounded, but her judgment was quick. After a brief struggle, she abandoned the whip-sword entirely. In any case, Lora had effectively lost an arm. It hung limply, as if she couldn't put any strength into it. While Rinko had a wound on her left palm, she could still use both arms. In pure combat power, she was easily twice as strong. She even still had her weapon.

Rinko pulled with her left hand once more.

—*Shhhk!*

The wire and piano lines she had installed everywhere began closing in. She was dragging the pre-installed lines toward them. Lora glanced at the approaching lines and yanked her limp left arm. She somehow managed to grab the handle of the whip-sword that had been pulled along with her left arm using her right hand. Then she gathered the remaining blades and sliced off her own left arm.

"…Crazy."

She'd go that far? Did this woman really have nothing but victory in her head? It was an act that even felt like madness, but the result was good. A whip-sword was now in Lora's hand.

Lora swung the whip-sword powerfully, unfurling its blades. She forcefully repelled the incoming wires and piano lines. In the process, her severed left arm, which had been stuck to the blade, flew off in chunks of meat.

Lora neatly gathered the blades, returning the weapon to sword form, and pointed it at Rinko.

So this is it.

Rinko realized the truth. Now that Lora had a weapon in her hands, she could no longer win.

But—

For some reason, it feels like I can reach her.

She probably couldn't cross the wall, but it felt like she could at least touch it. The feeling suddenly came over her. This was a fight that existed solely to be devoured. A senior must always be prepared to be overtaken by their junior. To become the junior's nourishment and leave behind even a speck of heart and will.

Because she placed no meaning on victory, she could see it. If she didn't obsess over appearances, the way to achieve her goal could be much freer. Perhaps she was a vulgar and tacky human after all, Rinko thought.

And so Rinko—took the blade Lora thrust forward directly on her shoulder.

"……?"

Lora's eyes widened in shock. Seeing that, Rinko let out a giggle.

You didn't expect this, did you? Because this was nothing but suicide, abandoning victory. Unfortunately, unlike you, I'm not obsessed with winning.

—*Squeeze!*

While pressing the embedded blade even deeper, Rinko grabbed Lora's arm tightly. She gathered every remaining wire line. The wires wrapped around both Rinko and Lora's bodies, binding them together so they could not separate.

"6th Generation! Anna! Rion! Especially you, Sora—are you watching!!! Your precious Lora is going to commit double suicide with me right now!!!!! You guys can't do something like this!!"

In an oddly exhilarated mood, Rinko threw herself forward.

—*Splash!*

Rinko and Lora, who was pulled into her embrace, fell into the sewer water. If one were to put it nicely, it was a mutual destruction. If one were to put it badly… Well, never mind.