The Villainess VTuber Tears People Apart

“Someone special….”

Anna mumbled to herself in a voice no one else could hear.

It was just a word made up of only five characters.

Yet it clung to her mind like a leech, disturbing her thoughts.

She didn’t have any desire to become the special someone for her favorite person.

Just watching was enough to make her happy…. Their nationalities were different, too. In the first place, what Anna felt for Rui was closer to admiration.

She figured she liked her because, at her core, she was someone with no motivation, while Rui was someone who worked hard.

After all, it’s human nature to admire what one doesn’t have.

Among otakus, there are many who shy away from getting involved with their favorite characters.

They became otakus because they liked the worldview of their favorite character, but they fear they might shatter that worldview if they get too close.

So, they are content just to watch from a distance.

“The Technomancer’s ultimate skill isn’t ready yet, right?”

It had been some time since the game started when the Battle Mage asked that question.

“No, not… yet.”

“Then let’s have the Heavy Armored Warrior move ahead first, and we’ll follow.”

At the Battle Mage’s order, the Heavy Armored Warrior was the first to step into the passage.

There was a significant difference when playing as a Technomancer compared to a ranged damage dealer. One of the main differences was the growth speed.

When playing as a Technomancer, it was easy to grow quickly while solo hunting neutral mobs. Moreover, the gauge for the ultimate skill filled up faster.

On the other hand, as a ranged damage dealer, everything was halved.

Experience points were distributed among the team when hunting neutral mobs together, and movement speed dropped since you had to stick with the group. This also lowered the encounter rate with neutral mobs.

‘I need to get the ultimate skill ready quickly.’

The allied party members were a Heavy Armored Warrior, Martial Artist, Battle Mage, and Saint. None of the four had any kind of detection skills.

The only detection skill in the party was her ultimate skill as a Technomancer. In other words, the party naturally had a high dependence on the Technomancer’s ultimate skill.

While Anna was feeling increasingly anxious without realizing it, the Heavy Armored Warrior, who had entered first, shouted.

“Ambush…! Ambush! Enemy Puppeteer ambush!”

At the Heavy Armored Warrior’s voice, the rest of the party quickly followed suit.

A long passage.

Darkness shrouded the area, with only the sound of water flowing through the sewers echoing loudly.

To light up the darkness, the Battle Mage raised a flame.

Then they saw it—the Heavy Armored Warrior was fighting.

A large mannequin puppet.

A blade protruded from its waist, spinning and scraping against the Heavy Armored Warrior’s armor.

From a little distance away from that mannequin puppet, a pair of lifeless eyes stared at them.

A girl. A cute girl with twin-tail hairstyle.

However, joints of a puppet could be seen on her face and on the exposed parts of her skin.

The Puppeteer.

A girl with the setting that, in her pursuit of strength, she had replaced parts of her body with those of a puppet.

And this was Hanabane Rui’s main character.

“……!”

The sudden appearance of Rui caused the party members to momentarily freeze.

Looking around calmly, they saw that there was no one else but the Puppeteer.

In other words, the Puppeteer was a ‘lone wolf’ separated from the main group.

This wasn’t particularly surprising, as the Puppeteer was often used as a lone wolf.

The allied party members exchanged glances, and the Battle Mage and Martial Artist charged forward.

‘…It’s hard to get a clear shot.’

Anna aimed her gun, but she couldn’t get a lock.

The underground sewer map was mostly composed of passages. The passages weren’t exactly wide. They were just about wide enough for six allied party members to walk side by side.

Up ahead, the Heavy Armored Warrior and the mannequin puppet were fighting, and now the Battle Mage and Martial Artist had joined in.

As a result, the Puppeteer’s figure became subtly obscured.

It was due to the lack of understanding among the allied party members.

The lack of understanding of the sewer map, the Technomancer, and team play.

“──.”

The Puppeteer charged.

In response, the mannequin puppet, which had been struggling with the Heavy Armored Warrior, slightly retreated.

This caused the Heavy Armored Warrior to lose balance, even if only slightly.

The Puppeteer took advantage of the opening and made a subtle hand gesture.

“Whoaah?!”

The Heavy Armored Warrior fell.

.

The Puppeteer’s skill that binds a single target with strings.

At some point, the Puppeteer had entangled the Heavy Armored Warrior in strings and pulled them tight.

The Puppeteer then rushed forward, ramming into the Heavy Armored Warrior.

The fully toppled Heavy Armored Warrior fell towards the side of the passage──the sewer.

-Splash!

With a splash, the Heavy Armored Warrior sank into the water.

***

Hanabane Rui was a rare, highly educated VTuber in the VTuber industry.

Although she operated under the guise of being a middle school student, in reality, she had long since graduated from university.

Despite having attended a prestigious university that everyone knew of, she was working as a VTuber.

God had given her brains, but unfortunately, He hadn’t bestowed her with social skills.

That’s why Rui considered her intellect to be her greatest weapon.

-Thud!

She controlled the mannequin puppet, causing it to clash with the Martial Artist.

The Puppeteer was a character who fought alongside her puppets.

The combat style was akin to having ‘one mind but two bodies.’

When controlling the puppet, her consciousness would inhabit the puppet’s body, and when controlling her main body, her consciousness would return to it.

This gameplay required continuously switching between bodies in real time, a playstyle that drove players to the brink of madness.

Because of this, the Puppeteer boasted extreme difficulty within Labyrinthos. Due to its challenging controls, it wasn’t popular, and only professional gamers typically used the character.

Even Rui took quite some time to get accustomed to the Puppeteer.

However, thanks to her quick thinking, she managed to hone this playstyle as her own.

Just like now.

-Zoom!

The Battle Mage charged in from the side.

Rui quickly finished her calculations. She dodged the attack while activating .

She pulled her hand, moving the Battle Mage, who was bound by , right beside her.

-Bang!

The sound of a gunshot echoed from afar, and the Battle Mage’s shoulder was pierced.

It was Anna’s attack.

But Rui knew the Technomancer was targeting her, so she deliberately used the Battle Mage as a shield.

‘Handling two isn’t difficult.’

The advantage of the Puppeteer was that she could be ‘one person with two bodies.’

If she could effectively utilize ‘body switching,’ the Puppeteer was a character capable of doing the work of two players alone.

Thus, dealing with both the Martial Artist and the Battle Mage simultaneously posed no real problem.

The enemy Dark Knight seemed to be elsewhere, likely playing as a lone wolf.

The enemy Saint was merely a support character. She wouldn’t have any significant influence on this battlefield.

The enemy Heavy Armored Warrior, who fell into the water, would soon die from lack of oxygen.

So, the only real problem was the Technomancer, but fortunately, the map was advantageous.

By taking advantage of the narrow underground passage map, Rui could deliberately induce an allied team kill.

“Ugh….”

The opposing Technomancer made a frustrated expression.

Seeing that expression, Rui was certain. She’s intimidated, Rui thought.

A Technomancer who was psychologically intimidated wouldn’t be able to shoot accurately anymore. The next step was to stall for time against the Battle Mage and Martial Artist.

Yes, just stalling for time would be enough.

By stalling, Rui would gain an advantage.

“KraaaaAAAAA!!!!”

The roar of a beast echoed loudly, and blood splattered.

It all happened in an instant.

A huge wolf, which had emerged from behind Rui, tore into the Battle Mage’s neck.

“Gah, urgh….”

The Battle Mage struggled to escape, but the next figure that appeared beside her was the Dual Swordsman.

A cross-shaped wound was carved into the Battle Mage’s chest, causing more blood to spray.

【Your Dual Swordsman has defeated the enemy Battle Mage.】

The Battle Mage’s death.

The enemy Martial Artist gasped and stepped back.

In contrast, on Rui’s side, the Dual Swordsman and the Beast Tamer, who had been riding the giant wolf, advanced a step forward.

In addition, the Cavalry, Enchanter, and Bard had taken their positions.

Thanks to Rui stalling for time, her team’s main force had arrived.

‘We’ve won.’

The opponents had three people. And on her side, there were six.

Overcoming this numerical disadvantage was impossible.

Rui activated a skill to finish things off.

***

【Your Heavy Armored Warrior has died due to a gimmick.】

【The enemy Dual Swordsman has defeated your Battle Mage.】

Skimming through the sequence of messages, I stepped forward.

The Battle Mage’s body lay lifeless on the ground, and the Heavy Armored Warrior had disappeared, possibly having fallen into the sewer.

On the other side, the enemy Cavalry, Beast Tamer, and Dual Swordsman were charging, and our Martial Artist was holding them off alone, even using an invincibility skill.

“Teacher!”

As I appeared, Anna cried out.

Her eyes didn’t look very bright.

There was hope in them, as if she were looking at a savior, but given the dire situation, despair overshadowed that hope.

“Yes, it’s come to this.”

I nodded.

Two of our allies were already dead. And now that the enemy’s main force had arrived, I quickly understood what I needed to do.

I immediately used .

Right behind the Martial Artist.

“Huh? Wait, what is this?!”

The shocked cry of the Martial Artist came from beyond the wall.

After confirming the wall was properly erected, I turned my steps.

“Teacher?! What are you doing…?”

“What do you mean?”

Despite watching it unfold, she didn’t understand.

But since I possessed a heart as vast as the mountains and seas, I decided to explain kindly.

“If we keep fighting, we’ll lose, so we’re retreating for now.”

“But why did you set up the wall like that? Now the Martial Artist can’t get through! Did you put the wall in the wrong place…?”

As if I could make such a mistake.

I am the perfect Villainous Noblewoman. There’s no room for error.

It’s just that,

“If we sacrifice the Martial Artist, we can buy more time. Now, let’s get out of here quickly.”

“That’s trolling!!”

Anna shouted.