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nThe streaming studio on the top floor of Myth Inc. HQ, shortly after Aoko’s stream.

nThere, Asako stood in a daze, internally screaming as she just realized what she had done. Especially after she realized that John had been there pretty much the whole time to check up on her.

n“It’s fine, Asako.” John smiled and patted Asako on the shoulder. “Everyone needs to cut loose every now and then. You… kind of did it in public, but it’s nothing crazy.”

nThat finally jolted Asako out of her shock and she quickly stepped back to do a sharp ninety degree bow. “I’m so sorry!”

nJohn quickly moved to raise Asako back up and said, “Relax. It was great content anyways. A bit extreme, but your fans love you regardless. So calm down. Besides, it’s not like UTube will even think of banning you or anything.” He glanced off to the side and muttered, “Not after they tried to double tax me. Just because I’m technically American doesn’t mean I *am*, the cheap bastards.”

nAsako raised her body but still pursed her lips. “I… really don’t know what came over me. I mean, I was upset, yeah, but-“

n“The feeling of unlimited world destroying power tends to do that to you.” John waved it off and said, “It’s a good thing that it was in VR. Would have had a heck of a time explaining *that* one away. Gas leaks only go so far, you know?” He finished with a smile.

nSeeing that, Asako took a deep breath and smiled back.

n“Still.” John glanced over at the corner of the room and said, “Titor’s been making some pretty crazy stuff again, huh?”

nThere was a futuristic looking pod there, with the door open wide. Inside, there was a perfect mockup of a BMW.

nAfter looking at that, John stared at the floor. Specifically, at the recently installed 5D sensory AR rig that allowed for mid-air suspension via jet fans.

nAsako nodded and said, “Yeah. I was just planning on doing a bit of driving around, but before I knew it…” She glanced at the VR headset and the gloves lying by the VR pod and said, “What the heck are those things? I felt like I was really in the game and… yeah.”

n“They’re the stuff that Titor showed off at the expo.” John frowned and muttered, “And apparently things that I’ll need to remind him to either lock off from X-Rated stuff or purposefully start it to control the content being used. Honestly, something that can send haptic feedback to such a high degree like that, plus the ability to load 3D models…”

nAsako blushed.

nJohn noticed and laughed. “Well.” He patted her shoulder and said, “Whatever the case, good work today. And I hope that helped you destress a bit. I know you haven’t really had a chance to since your dad died, so I hope that was therapeutic.”

nAsako nodded. “It was.” She paused and then said, “…Not sure how I feel about the fact that I liked ripping people apart and the sensation of blood and other stuff clinging to my body though.”

n“Meh. As long as you don’t awaken your Devil Factor in real life or pull a devil trigger, we’re good.”

n“What?”

nJohn laughed. “Don’t worry about it. Now, Alphy said you were planning to take her and Rin out tonight to have some fun, right?”

nAsako nodded. “Yeah. Since I just got my BMW back from the workshop, I wanted to take them out for a bit.”

n“Then what are you waiting for?” John started shoving Asako towards the elevator and said, “Go have fun on your date.”

n“I-It’s not a date!”

n“Right, right. Rin’s third-wheeling, so I guess it’s only half a date.”

n“John!”

n“Hey. You gotta get used to the teasing if you’re going to be my Daughter-in-law.”

nAsako froze, turning a deep red.

nJohn pressed the call button for the elevator and then turned around to look at Asako, frowning. “What? Don’t tell me you’re not planning to take responsibility for what you did to my Alphy?”

n“Th-That…”

n*ding*

nThe elevator doors opened.

nJohn laughed and then walked over to Asako, patting her shoulder. “Relax. I’m just messing with you. But keep being good friends with Alphy, alright? It’s nice to see her happy and expressing herself. And the embarrassing blackmail material is good too.”

n“…You’re a terrible father, John.”

nHe smiled. “Well. Plenty of time to learn how to do it right now that I’m in Japan. Take care, alright?”

nAsako sighed and then walked into the elevator. “Alright. See you, John.”

nWith that, Asako left. Meaning John was the only person left in the studio.

nAnd when he was…

n“What the hell is that guy thinking?”

nThe studio flickered, suddenly shifting. As it did, countless elaborate geometric patterns spread across the walls, floor, and ceiling. Patterns that shone even brighter on the VR pod that Asako had been using.

nJohn frowned and then flicked his hand, erasing them all. “Looks like the Netflix version of Death Note it is- Ah, wait. Didn’t Ama-chan mention something about maybe being pregnant too?” He placed a hand on his chin and muttered, “That’ll probably be enough punishment for him considering she’s basically a more tsun Yue…”

nA sudden ringtone. John’s phone.

nHe blinked and then picked it up. “Hello?”

n“Husband. Do you think you could pick up some more baby formula? We are out and… Um, our child is eating more than I can provide…”

nJohn sighed. “Again? At this rate, Aurora’s going to turn into a puffball… But alright. I’ll go pick some up in a bit.”

n“Thank you, Husband.”

n“Love you, Wifey.”

n“And I love you the most.” A shy confession, followed by a baby’s giggle. “I-It is not funny, Rara!”

n“…Rara?”

n“G-Good bye, Husband!”

nThe call suddenly ended.

nJohn shook his head and slipped his phone back into his pocket. “We really need to figure out a better nickname for Aurora. But… Hm.” He took a look around the room again and paused to think.

nIt was almost time for the evening dance lessons with the Prodigy girls. He could probably make it back in time, but Chi-chan liked showing up stupid early to troll the other girls… Specifically Yuri. And considering all this stuff was laying around, they might trigger something Titor left behind that would cause *another* mess.

n“…It should be fine.” John didn’t see anything else that looked suspicious and Titor was on house arrest with Amadeus already, so he wouldn’t be able to mess with things.

n…Just in case though, John placed down a formation to transport everyone in the streaming studio into a copy of the Myth Inc. HQ in his Heavenly Realm in the event something dangerous or ridiculous popped up.

nBecause knowing the way things were going, that was bound to happen these days.

nNow… Baby formula.

nSeriously though, Aurora was a real foodie, huh? Maybe that explained why Yue suddenly started eating like a mukbang UTuber when she was pregnant…

n—–AI|IA—–

nAbout fifteen minutes after John left, the Prodigy girls arrived in the streaming studio and started changing.

nShu finished first and then looked around the room. After that, she glanced over at Chihiro who was making a beeline to the VR pod. Tugging her t-shirt and then wiping her hands down on her bloomers, Shu said, “I don’t know about this, Chi-chan. Won’t Mister John be mad?”

nChihiro waved her hand and walked over to the VR pod. “Don’t worry about it. We have every right to be here and familiarize ourselves with the equipment.” After arriving, she leaned inside and said, “Whoa. Super hi-tech.”

nYuri tied her hair up with a scrunchy and then frowned. “You say that, but John’s always said to not touch anything without him there, hasn’t he?”

n“Huh.” Chihiro picked up a phone lying in the VR pod and said, “Did Asako senpai forget this?” She paused and then a mischievous smile crossed her face.

nYuri noticed and frowned. “Chi-chan.”

n“Oh live a little, Riri.” Chihiro smiled and said, “Aren’t you curious about if they’re really like that too? A little ‘Yuri’ is good civilization you know?”

nYuri rolled her eyes and said, “First of all, I don’t swing that way or like watching that stuff. Second of all, you’re just being rude. Third of all… Even if Alphy senpai’s all moemoe right now, the first time I met her-“

n“Blahblah, fan before mainstream, whatever.” Chihiro turned on the phone and said, “Now let’s see… Ooh. Not even a lock? Shame on you, Senpai… And lookie here! A notification!”

nSuzume finished changing into a white t-shirt and bloomers as well before frowning at Chihiro. “I do not think that you should-“

nInitiating World Line – Chaos Head Protocol

nChihiro froze. “Uh… D-Did anyone else hear that?”

nYuri’s eyes widened and she glared at Chihiro. “What did you do?!”

n“I didn’t-“

nSirens started blaring. At the same time, the wall monitors lit up and started flashing red alerts.

nCommencing Transfer Protocol. Scanning users…

nError. Synchronization rate unestablished.

nLoading Safe Mode…

n“Chi-chan!” Shu’s eyes were wide as she stared at the crimson alert messages lining the walls. “What’s happening?!”

n“I-I don’t know! I just tapped on the notification and this happened!” Chihiro’s usually calm expression was gone, replaced with wide-eyed panic. “H-Hold on! I can fix this! If I just go to settings and kill the process-“

n“Wait!” Yuri’s eyes widened and she said, “Don’t do anything else! What if-“

n“There we-!”

nA flash of white light.

nShu’s shrill scream. Suzume’s light gasp. Yuri screaming in anger. And a sudden stream of curses spilling from Chihiro’s mouth.

nAfter that, the office was empty.

nAlmost immediately after, a soft chime echoed and John arrived back at the studio. “Sorry I’m late, girls. Had to pick up food for the new baby, but I got you some…”

nHe paused, noticing the empty studio as well as the flashing messages.

n“…snacks.” John groaned and said, “Goddammit, Titor. I said we’re *not* doing the VR death game thing.” He let out a deep sigh and then walked over to the computer. “Good thing I set up the failsafe literally five minutes before I left… Need to remember to do those more often considering how Karma’s been acting as jealous as Yue used to these days…”

nThe wall monitors flickered before revealing the Prodigy girls waking up in an exact replica of the studio.

n…An exact replica with a view of a ruined city outside its window that looked a lot like the one Asako just demolished-

nWait.

nJohn opened the World Line process on the computer and read the log. And then he let out a deep suffering sigh. “Of course. That guy can’t make a new world so he backdoors it into my Heavenly Realm. Of *course* he would do that. And that part’s been quarantined off too with complex magitech applied phlebotinum which means the girls will have to wait a bit until I figure this out…”

nHe sighed again and muttered, “Definitely making Titor watch that Netflix adaptation. Maybe the Airbender live action adaptation too…”

n_________

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