The Villainess VTuber Tears People Apart

“You couldn’t kill me, so in the end, this is just another trial.”

That was Cecilia’s favorite saying.

“What doesn’t kill me only makes me stronger. So, you could say I’m even stronger than before.”

“If that’s how you feel, then I’m glad.”

Cecilia, frail and sickly, was probably the student most familiar with death among the academy’s students. Perhaps that expression of hers was her unique way of reassuring others.

I took another sip of the tea I had set down earlier, replaying her words in my mind.

“So, to summarize: a gate suddenly opened at the academy, and most people failed to escape. You, however, were receiving treatment on the outskirts of the academy and thus managed to avoid getting caught up in it.”

“That’s correct. You summarize it well, Lady Laura.”

“And now, you’re asking me to resolve this gate situation.”

“Yes.”

“And what about the Paladin?”

I asked.

The Paladin.

The protagonist of the Labyrinthos series, a figure who follows the will of the gods and leads the world to salvation.

“Why didn’t you seek the Paladin’s help and instead came to me?”

“I don’t know where the Paladin is. And any further delay would make things spiral out of control.”

“So, you came to me for now. But tell me, haven’t you ever thought that the Paladin is just too good-natured?”

He is, after all, the quintessential protagonist. A person who cannot tolerate injustice and upholds righteousness.

And I, as the villainous noblewoman, stand in a position where I constantly pressure the Paladin and his companions.

In other words, I am the complete opposite of the Paladin.

“Of course, I’m not asking for your help for free, Lady Laura. Whatever you desire, you may demand it.”

“Anything?”

“Yes, anything.”

“Can you pay the price?”

“With Lady Laura’s brilliant mind, I believe you’ve already calculated everything. If you save the academy, the prestige of the Iris Ducal Family will surely rise even higher.”

She’s right.

The kind-hearted Paladin helps people without expecting anything in return, but I can’t do that.

The Paladin, being a commoner and a devout follower, can afford such actions. But I am the heir to a ducal family.

Every decision I make affects my family, our estate, and potentially even this country.

In noble society, failing to generate profit leads to being looked down upon.

So I briefly considered it, and I concluded that there was enough profit to be made from this.

Besides, it had been a while since I last wielded a sword, and I was itching for a fight.

“Very well. If that’s your will, I’ll lend you my hand. Consider it an honor to be under the protection of Laura Iris.”

“Of course, it is an honor. Thank you, Lady Laura.”

“But let me ask you one thing. Why are you so determined to save the academy?”

Cecilia wasn’t an Imperial student. She was a foreigner from another country.

So whatever happened within the Empire had no direct connection to her.

Negotiating with me, the daughter of a duke, to save the people—it was something I found hard to understand.

“True, explaining it might be quite difficult, but there’s a suitable word to make Lady Laura understand: Revenge.”

“Revenge?”

“Yes.”

Cecilia spoke.

“I’ve come to you for the sake of my revenge, Lady Laura.”

***

VR My Room.

Kisaki Rinco stepped into the space.

The My Room was designed quite impressively. It was massive and grand, resembling an arena.

The agency likely hadn’t created this themselves. Nor had they outsourced it just for a one-time event. Most likely, they bought an asset and applied it here.

Anyone looking at this would think this room was meant for fighting.

But it was just a venue for a pre-interview.

“Moooom!”

Aurora walked in from the opposite side, and as soon as Ainatsu saw her, she darted out. She rushed straight into Aurora’s waist, hugging her tightly.

Wasn’t this their first time meeting face-to-face…?

Even in a VR space, is it normal to hug someone the moment you meet them…?

“Finally, I’ve met you! Mooom!”

“Back off.”

“No! Not until you pat my head! Pet me! Pet meee!!”

“This is troublesome.”

Laura placed a hand on her cheek and glanced over, signaling with her eyes. The look clearly said, ‘Get her off me’.

With a sigh, Veronica stepped forward, and Rinco helped peel Ainatsu off.

“Mooom! I don’t wanna leave you! I want to live with Mom Laura foreverrr!”

“Ugh, such nonsense. Cut it out.”

“You’re old enough, what are you doing? Are you drunk again?”

“No, I’m sober.”

Sober Ainatsu returned to her seat in the commentary booth. She had just wanted to act out for a moment.

Ahem.

Clearing her throat a few times, Ainatsu composed herself and took hold of the microphone.

“Alright, we’ve gathered two players to mark the grand finale of today’s tournament. Let’s begin with a brief interview from each of them.”

She said it all perfectly.

Quite the contrast.

To think she could speak so normally—it made me wonder what that childish outburst earlier was all about. Maybe she had short-term memory loss or something.

I should suggest she get a dementia test after the tournament. Considering how much she drinks, it’s not far-fetched to think she could develop alcohol-induced dementia.

‘I should propose a penalty and do a betting stream with Ainatsu later.’

If Ainatsu lost, the penalty would be a health check-up. Nothing would terrify Ainatsu more than that.

“First up, Kisaki Rinco. Could you say a few words?”

Ainatsu handed over the microphone.

At the end of Rinco’s gaze stood Aurora.

This was the moment they faced each other. It was a signal to start some trash talk.

‘Honestly, I don’t enjoy belittling others.’

Boasting wasn’t something Rinco particularly liked. She’d always thought of herself as someone insignificant.

She just happened to debut as part of the first generation and had gained some popularity. But she felt she was in a position beyond her capability.

On top of that, using harsh words recklessly could often lead to controversy. So she was usually careful with her speech, which made her feel more at ease.

“Isn’t it obvious? The face of EYEAI’s Labyrinthos VTubers is none other than me.”

Rinco spoke.

Still, Rinco knew that being overly humble in moments like this wasn’t good. After all, she was a VTuber in her fourth year.

For entertainment’s sake, you sometimes had to play up the role and even act a bit rough.

With a smile on her face, Rinco continued.

“Last year, only six Korean streamers participated in the Streamer League. And I was one of them. I’m practically the face of Labyrinthos in Korea. But a rookie who just debuted dares to stand on equal footing? Guess I’ll have to stomp her down.”

Heh.

Rinco laughed purposefully, smugly, as she handed the microphone back.

“Thank you for the interview, Kisaki Rinco. Next up, we’ll hear from Mom Laura—”

“Speak properly.”

“Let’s hear from Aurora. Aurora, could you say a few words?”

Aurora took the microphone from Ainatsu.

Swoosh.

Rinco and Aurora’s eyes met.

Rinco nodded. It was her way of saying, ‘Go ahead and say whatever you want’.

There was no fun in holding back because of the senior-junior relationship. A little malice in her words would get the viewers excited.

Aurora, receiving Rinco’s gaze, nodded as if she understood.

And then—

“Isn’t Romance of the Three Kingdoms a martial arts story?”

…What?

“Before coming here, I read Rinco-senior’s profile. It said your hobby is reading wuxia web novels. I wanted to get closer to Rinco-senior, so I read Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and it was really fun. It has both martial arts and brotherhood.”

“……………….”

I’m going to kill her.

I swear, I’m going to kill her.

Rinco, who had been burnt out and feeling low, suddenly felt her rage reignite at that moment.

***

Of course, I knew Laura was just joking.

But it still stung.

I couldn’t help but feel furious.

I could usually tolerate most things, but not this. Honestly, hearing those words almost made me feel like I was losing my mind.

‘Calm down… Calm down…’

I had to stay calm so I could crush her thoroughly.

Thinking that, Rinco continued to hunt neutral mobs.

***

【Arcade Mode: Tower of Magic Map】

【The Tower of Magic has multiple secret passages. Use them wisely to reach unexpected locations.

Defeat the opposing player or defeat the boss first to win.】

Rinco and Laura’s event match wasn’t set in Duel Mode.

Instead, it was a one-on-one match in Arcade Mode.

The fact that one-on-one matches could also take place in Arcade Mode was quite impressive.

It was similar to the established Duel Mode but with more complexity.

Because of that, it introduced new dynamics that didn’t exist in the original Duel Mode.

To be honest, Rinco didn’t fully understand it. Rinco thought it would have been fine to just play in Duel Mode as usual.

But as mentioned earlier, the main sponsor for this tournament was Deadraus, who wanted to promote Arcade Mode.

Thus, even one-on-one matches had to be in Arcade Mode.

‘This round isn’t much different from Duel Mode.’

There were just more secret passages. Since the victory conditions hadn’t changed, there wasn’t much to worry about.

Because of that, Rinco really wanted to win this round. Aurora seemed to have been studying various maps in Arcade Mode for some time.

“There you are.”

Tap

Tap

Footsteps echoed as the wall tore open.

Not physically torn, but through some kind of magic. She must have found a secret passage and reached here in one go.

Rinco wanted to hunt a few more neutral mobs to level up, but looking at her opponent, that didn’t seem possible.

“A Berserker, huh.”

“Yes. And you’re a Gladiator, Rinco-senior.”

That was obvious. The Gladiator was the class she was most familiar with.

Rinco gripped her sword firmly and met Aurora’s gaze.

“Let’s begin.”

With just those words, Rinco charged straight at Aurora.

A downward slash from above.

Instead of a straight line, Rinco deliberately swung at an angle. She knew that if she swung in a straight line, the opponent would dodge to the side.

After forcing Aurora into a backstep, Rinco activated her tumbling skill.

Whoosh!

Her vision flipped, and a powerful sense of weightlessness flooded her body.

Having used the Gladiator class so much, Rinco knew its weaknesses all too well. Just as a Hunter is vulnerable when jumping, the Gladiator is most vulnerable right after a tumble.

That’s when you lose sight of your opponent. Beginners often lose track of their enemy during this moment.

Last time, Chel made the same mistake when she played a Gladiator against Laura, but Rinco wasn’t like that.

Even while her vision was flipping and she couldn’t see, Rinco instinctively sensed Aurora’s position.

‘She’s aiming for the sword.’

One of the key strategies against a Gladiator.

Since the Gladiator’s sword was fixed in place, the idea was to aim for it to throw off their balance.

But Rinco had seen it before.

Whoosh!

Rinco relied solely on her arm strength to stabilize her balance and performed a windmill motion.

Instead of slashing down, she twirled both legs, spinning like a fan.

Her acrobatic movements alone prevented Laura from approaching. If you were hit by a Gladiator’s swinging legs, your bones would be crushed.

Seeing that Laura couldn’t get close, Rinco threw herself to the ground.

She landed safely, her sword lifting from the ground in a single motion.

Rinco spun gracefully.

The Gladiator’s greatsword was far from light.

To swing it, one had to either make large motions or rely on momentum.

Using the momentum from throwing herself earlier, she made one large downward slash.

Boom!

Aurora deflected the sword.

“What…?”

“The Gladiator’s greatsword is huge. It’s designed to withstand the Gladiator’s weight.”

Which meant it wasn’t impossible to strike at its side with a fist.

Aurora’s punch landed, and Rinco’s sword was pushed back with great force.

Aurora then charged forward.

“This round will be mine.”