LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 69 - What Doesn't Kill Me
“You’ve arrived, Lady Laura.”
The deepest part of the academy.
Cecilia was there.
A dress soaked in blood.
And skin flushed crimson.
A sinister red mist of magic was leaking from Cecilia’s body.
I realized that this was the end for her.
“You devoured it, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
Cecilia nodded.
“In the end, the ‘Monster of the Red Mist’ was merely a trial for me.”
Cecilia’s eyes shone eerily as she spoke.
Where the whites of her eyes should have been, they were stained black, proving that she was no longer human.
“I became stronger by devouring the trial.”
“I can see that.”
“But even with this strength, it all feels so meaningless. It seems the process of overcoming the trial was more enjoyable than the victory itself.”
She laughed self-deprecatingly.
“On the day the kingdom faced destruction, my family and the people sacrificed everything to save me alone. No one hesitated to lay down their lives, and so I survived.”
“…….”
“Even though I survived, my body was already ruined. Exposed to the gate’s magic, this body had little time left. I grew weaker with each passing day. But I had to live. I couldn’t let their sacrifice be in vain.”
Clink.
Cecilia gripped her sword tightly.
The tip of that sword was pointed at me.
“Yes. To me, survival was the trial. The ‘Monster of the Red Mist’ was the reason I had to stay alive. The mere fact that my nemesis existed somewhere in this world kept my heart beating.”
“Cecilia.”
“Perhaps it could have been anything. Like surviving another day just because the cake from the bakery tasted good. Or to see a friend again tomorrow, living for such trivial reasons. If only I had chosen such ordinary trials, life might have been easier. But being human is never that simple, is it?”
“That’s enough, Cecilia.”
“From now on, I am your trial, Lady Laura.”
Boom!
Cecilia slammed her greatsword into the ground.
She drove it deep into the earth, using it as an anchor.
Then she spun, delivering a downward kick.
With the added momentum, her already powerful strike became even stronger. After all, she was from the Kingdom of Allemis, possessing strength far superior to that of ordinary humans.
Moreover, having absorbed the ‘Monster of the Red Mist,’ the ground where I had been standing just moments before shattered.
“Just like how chickens and pigs are born to become food for humans, my life too was meant to be devoured by someone. This is all I have to offer. Eat me, Lady Laura.”
“That’s a roundabout way of asking to be killed. And you’re in no position to be giving me orders, are you?”
“That’s true.”
Her eyes were filled with a destructive urge.
Just as monsters are inherently imprinted with an endless desire to kill humans, Cecilia had become the same.
With a chilling smile, Cecilia spoke.
“Take up your sword, ‘The Noble Villainess’ Laura Iris.
I—Cecilia Blonnie de Allemis, princess of a fallen kingdom and ‘the Last Gladiator’—challenge you to a duel.
For my survival, I will make Laura Iris my trial and take your life. And I will live to see another tomorrow.
If you refuse, then make me your trial, Laura Iris.”
***
===
【Virtual VTuber Gallery】
[Live Commentary] Whoa, what is this..
I thought she would just get completely wrecked.
But she picks Trickster out of nowhere?
[Comments]
– For real, no one saw that coming..
– Has Rinco ever played Trickster?
Nope.
Then why did she pick it..
I guess if she stuck with Gladiator, it would’ve been a clean 3-0 sweep anyway.
Seems like she’s just trying to shift the momentum.
===
[Live Commentary] Does Rinco even know how to play anything else?
Did she really have to pick Trickster?
[Comments]
– Everything else is mediocre at best except Gladiator.
– It’s not that she can’t play other roles, but none of them have that same spark.
– She had a few good picks she was decent at, but it’s been too long since she played them.
– Maybe she’s been secretly practicing Trickster.
– After getting wrecked by MadMask’s Trickster last year, maybe she realized something.
===
“Trickster, huh….”
Laura roughly brushed the blood off her left arm as she glared at Rinco.
She remembered that Rinco had failed to defeat MadMask’s Trickster in last year’s league.
That meant Trickster was likely a traumatic choice for Rinco, so the fact that she picked it herself was quite significant.
“Guess watching that video helped a bit.”
Laura hadn’t encountered Trickster much, but she had watched the match where Rinco faced off against MadMask, so she knew the skill set to some degree.
Trickster, true to its name, was a character that fought in unusual ways.
Though it carried a sword, it didn’t feel like a Swordsman.
It felt more like a character that fought relying entirely on tools, rather than actual swordsmanship.
Mastery of tools was critical to playing this character well.
In that aspect, it was a little similar to Pathfinder. But fundamentally, their playstyles were different.
Pathfinder was a character focused on pioneering paths and providing utility, while Trickster created unexpected situations using hidden blades and trap-setting skills.
As Laura cautiously approached Rinco, she swung her hidden blade.
Whoosh!
The sound of the wind.
Rinco’s hidden blade lashed out like a whip, extending far.
Trickster’s strength lay in its area control.
With the long reach of the hidden blade and the trap-setting skills, it could create ‘advantageous zones.’
However, the Dark Knight also had decent area control.
Crash!
The
Since it wasn’t a projectile but a whip-like strike, the wall or any pillars in the environment became obstacles.
As the wall rose, Rinco’s hidden blade got blocked.
Laura tried to rush Rinco but quickly had to stop in her tracks.
“Hmm.”
Laura swung her sword to cut through the wires.
Trickster had the ability to set up wires and piano strings. If you didn’t recognize them in time, you could trip or get hurt.
“A bit tricky.”
Due to the darkness of the underground, it was hard to see the strings.
Even so, Laura wasn’t caught. She hadn’t initially realized Rinco had picked Trickster, which caused her to stumble at first, but she wouldn’t fall for the same trap twice.
Though Laura avoided Rinco’s traps, they still succeeded in delaying her approach.
“She’s good.”
Rinco smirked bitterly.
In terms of skill, star power, passion, and honor, she was outclassed by Laura.
That title of being EYEAI’s top VTuber? It would soon be passed on in a generational shift, and she would lose that title too. It was obvious that she would soon become an irrelevant relic.
Her subscriber count would be overtaken by Aurora’s within a year or two.
So what?
Many senior VTubers had been surpassed by their juniors.
It would be nice to be remembered as a model senior, but maybe that was just arrogance.
She didn’t expect to be remembered as a good senior. But being remembered as an embarrassing one would be even worse.
More than those petty wishes, it felt like she was being forcibly dragged into this moment.
Because of inertia.
The inertia of being a senior.
Being a senior meant that failing miserably in front of a junior was something that couldn’t be forgiven.
Unconsciously, she had kept up appearances.
It felt like the only thing she had left was the fact that she was a senior to them.
That one fact seemed to be the only thing that made her breathe in this moment.
Rinco exhaled deeply.
She was the one to charge in first.
“…….”
Laura narrowed her eyes as she watched Rinco charge toward her. It must’ve seemed illogical to her.
Trickster was a character that could wield the hidden blade to strike from a distance, attacking unilaterally and dominating the area.
For a Trickster to close the distance on its own was akin to throwing away its strength.
“It’s a meaningless strength anyway.”
Since Laura already knew Trickster’s characteristics, she would perfectly counter any ranged strikes.
If it was a strength she couldn’t utilize, there was no point in holding on to it.
Victory or defeat didn’t matter to her.
Slash!
Rinco swung the hidden blade downward.
MadMask.
There was something Rinco hadn’t told anyone.
She had replayed that day’s events over and over in her mind.
Even though she didn’t show it, she was frustrated.
She had thought countless times about how she could have beaten MadMask’s Trickster.
She had even researched it out of lingering regret.
Rinco had watched countless videos of MadMask’s Trickster.
If she had a time machine, she would’ve wondered how her past self could’ve responded and won.
She couldn’t help but think about it.
Rinco closed her eyes.
When her vision darkened, it felt like she could see the trajectory of MadMask.
She couldn’t play it perfectly, but she could at least imitate it.
Clang!
Laura attempted to deflect the incoming sword.
It was hard to dodge sideways. Laura was still wary of the wires and piano strings, so she judged it too dangerous to move carelessly.
That was Rinco’s intention.
Rinco’s hidden blade coiled around Laura’s sword.
Whoosh!
A brief struggle for dominance.
Before Laura could tighten her grip on the sword, Rinco grabbed her hidden blade with her left hand.
Unconcerned about the blood dripping from her palm, she gripped it with both hands.
In a desperate tug, Laura’s sword slipped from her hand.
“Impressive.”
Even though she had lost her sword, Laura remained calm. She even had the composure to offer praise.
A monster, indeed.
No, a villainous noblewoman.
Come to think of it, Laura always seemed to maintain a composed demeanor. As if a noblewoman should never allow herself to be flustered.
She was a villainous noblewoman to her very core.
Clang!
Rinco threw Laura’s sword into the sewer and moved her hidden blade once again.
Now that Laura had lost her sword, she had no choice but to be even more cautious. She could no longer cut through the wires and piano strings.
This meant her mobility was further restricted, but instead, Laura began moving even faster.
Was she not afraid?
Perhaps, but it didn’t seem reckless. Laura, more than anyone, knew how dangerous this situation was.
It was simply a single-minded obsession with victory.
Having lost her sword, Laura’s chances of winning had dropped significantly. In this situation, she must have thought it was time to gamble.
Now that I think about it, there was one more thing she was losing at.
The strength of the mind—Aurora surpassed her in that as well.
Whoosh!
As Rinco swung her hidden blade again, Laura deflected it with
Then she deployed
Conveniently, there were no wires or piano strings along that trajectory.
Did she see through all that despite the darkness? All I could say was that her instincts were sharp.
However, with both of her skills already used, Laura had no means left.
Rinco swung her hidden blade swiftly once more.
Then,
Slice!
Laura intentionally wrapped the hidden blade around her left arm.
She spun her arm and gripped the blade with her hand.
The blade pierced her skin, embedding itself so deeply that it wouldn’t easily pull out.
“Ha…!”
Rinco was taken aback, but she quickly made a decision. After a brief struggle, she abandoned her hidden blade.
After all, Laura had effectively lost one arm. Her left arm drooped lifelessly, as if she could no longer use it.
Though Rinco’s left palm was injured, she could still use both arms. In terms of sheer combat power, she was twice as strong as Laura.
Moreover, she still had a weapon left.
Rinco tugged at her left hand once more.
Whirring!
The wires and piano strings she had set up all around began closing in. She was pulling in the lines she had prepared in advance.
Laura glanced at the incoming wires, then grabbed her limp left arm.
She clutched the handle of the hidden blade that had been dragged along by her left arm and, using her right hand, managed to seize it.
Gathering the remaining strength, she sliced off her own left arm.
“…Insane.”
She would go that far?
Is victory all that matters to this woman?
Her actions seemed mad, but the result was effective.
Now, the hidden blade was in Laura’s hands.
With a powerful swing, Laura unfurled the blade, swiping away the approaching wires and piano strings.
In the process, Laura’s left arm, which had been wrapped around the blade, was shredded into pieces of meat and fell away.
Laura quickly retracted the blade back into its sword form and pointed it at Rinco.
“So, this is the end.”
Rinco realized it then.
Now that Laura had a weapon, she could no longer win.
However,
“It feels like I can still reach her.”
She might not be able to overcome the wall, but she felt like she could touch it.
Suddenly, she had that feeling.
This was a fight to be devoured.
A senior must always be prepared to be overtaken by their junior.
To become food for the junior, leaving behind even the slightest trace of their heart and will.
Because she wasn’t focused on victory, she could see things more clearly.
Without the obsession over outward appearances,
the way to achieve her goal became much freer.
Rinco wondered if she might be a pathetic and unsightly person.
With that thought, Rinco—allowed Laura’s blade to pierce her shoulder.
“……?”
Laura’s eyes widened in shock.
Seeing that, Rinco chuckled. You didn’t expect this, did you?
It’s a suicide move, completely disregarding victory.
Unfortunately, unlike you, I don’t care about victory.
Clench!
As Laura tried to push the blade deeper into Rinco’s body, Rinco grabbed Laura’s arm tightly.
Rinco gathered all the remaining wires.
Both Rinco and Laura’s bodies were now entangled in the wires, making it impossible for them to part.
“6th Gen! Anna! Rion! Especially Sora! Are you watching this? Your Laura, she’s coming with me on a suicide mission!!!!! You guys can’t do this, can you!!”
With a strange sense of exhilaration, Rinco threw herself into the air.
Sploosh!
Rinco, along with the Laura she had grabbed, fell into the sewer.
To put it nicely, it was mutual destruction.
To put it bluntly.
Well, never mind.