The Villainess VTuber Tears People Apart

A collapsed wall. Debris scattered across the floor.

The safe house, with its exposed rebar, lay completely open. It looked like a bomb had hit it.

I stepped into the ruined safe house. Well, it could no longer be called a safe house, just a regular house now.

Several zombies had infiltrated through the broken walls. I moved forward, casually dispatching them along the way.

For now, I wedged an armored cash transport truck into the gap in the wall and instructed Sora and Ainatsu to stand guard.

But unless that wall was fully repaired, it would be difficult to use this place as a base. And in this ruined world, there wouldn’t be any construction workers available to fix it.

‘We’ll gather weapons and supplies and move somewhere else.’

Thankfully, we had set up bases in various locations, so relocating wouldn’t be a major issue.

But other problems remained.

“Rion.”

I called out to Rion.

On the top floor of the safe house.

There was Rion, with her hands and feet bound.

“Unnie…?”

She looked in my direction with unfocused eyes, as if she could barely see.

Our eyes, of course, didn’t meet. Her skin looked a bit reddish, too.

The most noticeable thing was the bite mark on her shoulder.

***

It was easy to summarize the situation. Rion had been attacked by a zombie while I was away.

‘…I got too excited.’

Rion felt a hint of regret.

Thanks to Laura granting her access privileges, the “Great Ducal Family” had come into a large sum of cash.

Using this cash, Rion was able to purchase weapons from the NPC arms dealer, reducing her reliance on Laura.

Since Laura seemed busy, she thought they could prepare things on their own.

With that ambitious mindset, she ventured outdoors, only to encounter a Stage 4 infected zombie—the start of everything.

“I understand the gist of it. In short, the problem was the commotion outside the safe house, right?”

This must be what it felt like for someone with 0.1 vision to take off their glasses.

Rion’s vision was blurry and indistinct.

She could vaguely make out Laura sitting in a chair, but there was no way to discern her face.

“A zombie with enough strength to break down a building and an intense fixation—it’s like that character in Biotic Hazard, isn’t it?”

“That character?”

“Oh, I guess Sora wouldn’t know. There’s this character who wears a fedora.”

“…”

This girl was chatting leisurely, despite Rion turning into a zombie bit by bit.

Perhaps it couldn’t be helped. After all, what was happening wasn’t real—it was just a game.

No matter how realistic it felt, it wasn’t reality.

So, there might be no need to be serious or sad about it.

“Anyway, if you attract attention outside the building in the future, make sure to come inside only after dealing with the zombies. Let’s make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

“…Got it.”

“Now, let’s think about our next steps.”

Laura’s silhouette moved slightly.

Rion couldn’t see her clearly enough to be certain, but it seemed that Laura had crossed her legs and folded her arms.

“You can kill me, Unnie.”

Wondering if her presence was a burden, Rion said it that way on purpose.

“You could just kill me before I turn, and then resurrect me later with clone tech.”

Rion thought, perhaps, this could be a good opportunity.

This wasn’t really the kind of stream she wanted to do.

She’d been playing Aseosal for three days, but she just couldn’t get used to those zombies. She’d rather deal with ghosts. Zombies were truly revolting.

And more than that, she didn’t particularly enjoy streaming itself.

Right now, she could hardly be considered a VTuber.

She was just filling a headcount.

She was helping as Laura’s manager to make the broadcast successful, nothing more, nothing less.

So, it felt like an appropriate time to step away.

Even if one person disappeared, it wouldn’t lead to Laura’s failure.

Laura was the kind of person who handled everything by herself; there seemed to be no need for Rion to stay.

“Stay quiet for a moment, Rion.”

Yet, unusually, Laura spoke with strength.

Rion swallowed hard at the tone she hadn’t expected.

Laura’s expression… was still out of sight.

“Sora, how long has it been since Rion was infected?”

“About two hours…?”

“Put a gag on her just in case. Aggression begins around the five-hour mark, so keep an eye on her until then.”

“Understood….”

“Ainatsu, you’ll drive. Put Rion in the back seat.”

“Got it. Where are we heading?”

“We need to meet with the SerenadeKR people.”

With that, Laura loaded Rion into the car and returned to the SerenadeKR base.

However,

“We’re sorry. We have no more vaccines.”

That was their response.

***

“We only had one vaccine from the start.”

“I see.”

Laura nodded at Jungseok’s words.

Noa, observing Laura’s calm side profile from a slight distance, felt uneasy.

…This was uncomfortable.

Who could have foreseen things would turn out like this…?

“What about trying a health center or hospital? Since there’s still some time left before she fully turns, there’s a chance we might find something.”

With a serious look, Jungseok suggested this.

This was the SerenadeKR base. Noa hadn’t expected to see Aurora twice in one day.

Not only Noa but other SerenadeKR members were equally unprepared for it.

And the news of Rion’s infection had come as quite a shock to them.

“Thank you for the advice. I appreciate your concern.”

“No problem. We all need to help each other.”

“That’s good to hear. But you’re certain there’s no more vaccine here?”

“Yes, the one used on Shina was the only vaccine we had.”

“Can’t be helped, then.”

Laura sighed slightly.

Noa found it unusual. Though she hadn’t watched Aurora’s streams much, she couldn’t recall many moments when she sighed.

She always tried to maintain a composed, noble demeanor, befitting a lady of high standing.

This unfamiliar side left Noa a little flustered.

“Aurora, what will you do now?”

“I’ll discuss things with my team outside.”

“Understood. If you need assistance, just ask.”

Then Aurora turned around.

As Aurora left, both Jungseok and Choi Changyoung let out sighs of relief.

Everyone had seemed unusually tense since Aurora arrived. She had a certain charisma, or rather, an intimidating presence.

It made them tense without even realizing it.

“I, I’ll see her out.”

Noa hurried after Laura.

Though guiding her out wasn’t necessary,

Noa felt a strange sense of guilt.

“I’m sorry….”

“Oh my, why are you apologizing?”

“You came to help us, but we couldn’t be of much help….”

The apology slipped out naturally.

Hearing this, Laura’s expression remained composed.

“I see.”

Her reaction was calm.

Whether she was accepting the apology or not was unclear.

That vague response only deepened Noa’s guilt.

“Isn’t there anything I can help you with?”

“You want to help me?”

“Yes… I don’t feel right just taking help without giving anything in return….”

Noa replied, slightly hesitating.

“If you’re planning to search a health center or hospital, should I go with you? I may not be as strong as you in a fight, but…”

Changyoung, Shina, and Jungseok… they’d probably come too.

One way or another, Noa wanted to help Laura.

She felt guilty and, more than that, wanted to grow closer to Laura.

Noa had debuted two months earlier than Laura but was still a rookie VTuber.

It had only been five months since her debut. Though she had managed to interact with seniors quite a bit, it was her first time mingling with VTubers from other companies.

Noa had no particular objection to expanding her social network.

Especially with people she admired. Laura, who had displayed exceptional skills so far, was incredibly attractive and had become Noa’s top choice to get close to.

“I appreciate the sentiment. Actually, there is something you could help me with—could I ask you for it?”

“Yes! Absolutely! What can I help you with?”

“Come closer for a moment.”

“Huh? Sure?”

Come closer? Noa had expected Laura to suggest looking for the vaccine together.

Puzzled, Noa stepped closer to Laura.

And then,

—Shk!

A sharp pain spread from her chest.

By the time she noticed, Laura’s survival knife had pierced her heart precisely.

“W-Why…?”

“I’m sorry. But Rion is more important to me.”

Laura pushed the knife in deeper.

Ensuring Noa’s death.

“The vaccine—you do have one more, right?”

Laura whispered into Noa’s ear.

She had personally witnessed Shina being escorted back to base and vaccinated.

Laura remembered perfectly well seeing Changyoung retrieve the vaccine from the drawer. There had been two doses.

Yet Jungseok had claimed there was only one from the beginning.

The intent was clear. They didn’t plan on giving up the precious vaccine so easily.

‘They must’ve decided we weren’t worth that kind of loyalty.’

SerenadeKR had given Laura access to their safe house, and in return, Laura had saved Shina.

Jungseok probably thought the deal was settled there.

Perhaps it wasn’t an incorrect judgment. People were bound to have different perspectives.

But Jungseok hadn’t deceived Laura, and she knew SerenadeKR still had a vaccine in reserve.

Searching a health center or hospital might turn up another vaccine, but that was uncertain.

Rather than relying on an uncertain outcome, choosing the most assured method seemed the smartest approach.

“There’s a saying. In a zombie apocalypse, the most dangerous thing isn’t the zombies but the humans. That’s the kind of game this is.”

A game where PK was intentionally allowed.

To create a more realistic zombie apocalypse experience.

“So don’t hold it against me.”

Whip!

Laura pulled the knife from Noa’s chest.

Noa’s corpse crumpled to the floor.

Sora and Ainatsu, who had been hiding nearby, approached.

“What now?”

“We’re going to attack SerenadeKR.”

Laura replied to Sora’s question.

VTubers could face off in tournaments.

They could do friendly matches, or even internal skirmishes.

In sandbox games, they often divided teams and held battle streams.

War.

No need to put it any other way. To VTubers and their audience, war was simply another form of content.

And the content had only just begun.