Chapter 313: – [MiraMe] What do you mean it's a Death Game!?
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n“Ugh. What hit me?” Yuri mumbled and then sat up, clutching her head. She blinked away the fatigue and took a look around.
nIt was still the streaming studio. She could see the VR pod and equipment lying on the ground. The wall monitors were there too, and it looked like nothing had changed.
nExcept…
n“H-Huh?”
nSuzume, Shu, and Chihiro weren’t there. Instead, there were three familiar, but also unfamiliar girls laying on the ground.
nThe first had short-cropped purple hair, wearing a tank top and sweatpants.
nThe second with light brown hair and a white shrine maiden outfit.
nAnd the last was a girl with silky black hair, wearing a plain dress shirt and jeans.
nKuromi, Tsubame, and Rhea.
nBut not like the avatars. As if they were real people-
nWait.
nYuri reached over to grab her hair and then pulled it back.
nA beautiful silver color, shimmering as it fell down. While her clothes were the same, still a basic t-shirt and sweatpants, along with sneakers, judging from how everyone else looked…
n“Mm…?”
nYuri glanced over to see Kuromi… No. It had to be Shu right? She watched as the purple-haired girl slowly sat up and shook her head.
n“What happened?” Shu blinked and looked over at Yuri. Then she gasped and pointed at her. “Ah! Miya! What happened to- Huh?” She paused and then looked confused. “I said Miya, not Miya. Wait, what? Miya! Miya, Miya, Miya… Am I going crazy?” She looked at Yuri and said, “I-I’m not crazy, am I?”
nYuri frowned and said, “I don’t think so Kuromi-” Her eyes widened as well and she clutched her hands to her mouth. After that, she said, “Okay. What the *hell* did Rhea get us into?”
nThere it was again! She meant to say ‘Shu’ and ‘Chi-chan’, but Kuromi and Rhea came out instead. And without skipping a beat, like she always meant to say it.
nShu flinched and said, “N-No way. You’re not her. You’re Miya.” She clutched her head and said, “Did I get sent to another world? Grandfather always said that the origin of our secret arts were from a different realm, but I thought he was joking. Is it time for my tribulation? Is that why I got sent here? IS THAT WHY MY HOUSE BURNED DOWN!?”
nSheer and utter panic.
nYuri quickly waved her hands and said, “C-Calm down! It’s me! I don’t know what’s going on after that white light, but I just woke up like this.”
nShu paused and looked over at Yuri. “…You mean that you’re not Miya?”
n“That’s not-” Yuri wrinkled her nose as she heard different words come out. “…It looks like I can’t deny it, huh? Well, I guess right now I am Miya, but I wasn’t just before waking up.”
nShu took a deep breath, calming down. “Okay. So I’m not crazy. And this isn’t that scary heart demon thing Grandfather was always saying would happen if we ran away from home.”
n“…What?”
nShu laughed and waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it. Just some scary bedtime stories. But then…” She scratched her head and said, “Are we in VR?”
nAt that time, Suzume… Tsubame? The girl in the shrine maiden outfit stirred and took a look around. Seeing Yuri and Shu, she blinked and then tilted her head. “…Did we get reincarnated into another world?”
nYuri felt a headache coming on and said, “Please don’t joke about that. Considering the scary sci-fi technology Titor’s made, it might actually have happened…”
nThough the fact that ‘Tsubame’ said that meant she was probably Suzume.
nShu looked over at Suzume and said, “Quick! What did we have for lunch?”
n“Ah?” Suzume tilted her head and said, “You showed me to a cute cafe and treated me to nice sandwiches.”
nShu nodded. “Okay. So it’s not a fake.”
n“Fake?”
nYuri sighed and said, “Ignore her. She’s just paranoid.”
nShu turned back to Yuri and said, “It’s really scary! We’re in different bodies! What if it’s just a pretender? I saw a movie about this, you know? If we aren’t careful-“
n“Ugh. Would you shut up?” Chihiro winced and slowly sat up, clutching her head. “Why do you have to be so loud, Kuromi?” She froze and quickly blinked. “Kuromi? Why’d I say Kuromi?”
nYuri crossed her arms and said, “Because you got us into a crazy mess by touching Titor’s equipment. Idiot.”
nChihiro laughed and said, “Don’t be silly, Mimi. Mimi?” Her eyes widened and she looked at Yuri, only to flinch. “Mimi?! Watafaq?”
n“Yeah. Think this is still a laughing matter?”
nChihiro flinched and said, “U-Um… Sorry?”
nYuri rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” She looked around and said, “Let’s see if we can contact John or something to get us out of here.”
nChihiro nodded and started walking towards the console controlling the wall monitors.
nBefore she could take a single step, Shu grabbed her.
n“K-Kuromi?!”
n“Nuh-uh. As your Senpai, I’m saying you’ve done enough.”
nSuzume put on a stern face and nodded as well. “That is correct. Let Mimi sort it out.”
n“B-B-But…!” Chihiro looked at Yuri and said, “She doesn’t even know how to work a computer!”
n“Rude.” Yuri rolled her eyes and walked over to the central control computer. “Unlike someone here, I’ve read all the training materials John gave me.”
nChihiro let out a sly smile and said, “Because of your crush?”
n“Because I take my job seriously, Rhea. Honestly. You and your NTR fetish…” Yuri mumbled and turned on the computer.
nRhea broke out of Shu’s hold and puffed out her chest. “I don’t have a NTR fetish. I’m just a deep appreciator of all sorts of culture.”
n“You mean a complete degenerate.”
n“That’s what I said.”
nYuri sighed and then logged into the computer with her username and password. “Sometimes I wake up and ask myself why I even bother with you…”
nThe MIRAIZ logo splashed across the monitor before a video chat popped up, showing John’s face.
nOh hey! You connected it for me. That helps a lot. Thanks Yuri.
nShu looked over and said, “Is that Mister John?”
nYuri nodded. “Looks like it.”
nHold on. It’ll probably be better if all of you can see me.
nJohn reached over to fiddle with something off to the side. And then the computer suddenly shut off.
n“M-Mimi!” Shu looked panicked.
nYuri held up her hands. “I didn’t do anything.”
nChihiro put on a smug look and said, “Yeah. Who’s the one laughing now?”
n“Not Titor, because he’s being forced to watch the worst of Anime adaptations and dubs by his wife.”
n“Eek!”
nChihiro flinched and stumbled onto her butt.
nJohn looked at her. And then he looked up at the other girls. After a brief sweep, he sighed and looked back at Chihiro. “You’re the one who turned it on, aren’t you?”
n“W-Who? Me?” Chihiro let out a nervous laugh. “O-Of course not.”
nJohn frowned and said, “Do you even understand what sort of mess you dragged your friends into for that? Look outside the window.”
n“The window?”
nYuri frowned and walked over to the window. Suzume and Shu did the same.
nOutside…
n“Holy crap.” Shu mumbled and said, “Is this… still Tokyo?”
nA completely ruined city. Flames and smoke still active all around. Buildings, collapsed into nothing more than piles of rubble. Blood and corpses lining the ground.
nSuzume paled and quickly backed away, hyperventilating. “T-That…”
nJohn saw her reaction and groaned. “The game graphics aren’t on, are they? And Titor’s planning to ship World Line out like this? We *definitely* need a chat about quality assurance first…”
nYuri gulped and stepped back from the window.
nIt wouldn’t be the first time seeing dead people. When your grandfather and childhood friend were involved with the yakuza, it was inevitable to see a few.
nBut so many, and with the city like that…
n“Is this how people felt after the Americans bombed us…?” Yuri muttered.
nJohn walked over to pat Suzume’s shoulder and said, “If it makes you feel better, that’s all fake. Those people are just generic models. Realistic, but just sculptures of flesh and blood. …I’ll turn on the cartoon graphics though. It *is* just a bit too much for ordinary high school girls.”
nShu looked back and shuddered. “It’s still terrifying, Mister John.”
n“I know. Which is why I’m assigning you all mental health therapy sessions after we’re done here and going to yell at Titor for a while. But first…”
nChihiro got up and nervously looked out the window. After that, she flinched and said, “U-U-Um, Mister John.”
nJohn turned to look at her and raised an eyebrow. “Now you’re being polite?”
n“S-Sorry. But…” She glanced out the window and then said, “I-If we die in the game, do we die in real life?”
nA tense silence.
n“Well…” John reached up to scratch his hair and said, “It’s complicated?”
nYuri jabbed a finger at John and said, “That’s not what you’re supposed to say! Aren’t you supposed to take care of us?”
nJohn held up his hands. “To be fair, I *did* warn you. But don’t worry. It’s complicated, but you guys won’t die in real life if you die here. Though you *will* die. So I wouldn’t recommend it if you don’t want to feel what it’s like to fade away from the mortal coil.” He paused. “Though I guess it’d be a once in a lifetime opportunity?”
nYuri swung her arm and said, “Stop joking around!”
nJohn turned to look at her, his face serious. “I’m not. This is a
nChihiro crouched on the ground, clutching her head. “I don’t wanna die. I’m still a virgin. I can’t die…!”
nYuri scoffed and said, “For a girl who carries a gun, you scare pretty easily, Rhea.”
n“Shut up!” Chihiro glared at Yuri and said, “Not everyone’s as strong as you!”
nYuri blinked. “Strong?”
nChihiro started rocking back and forth. “I’m gonna die. I’m gonna die. Oh god, I’m gonna die. It’s going to be just like Blade Arts Online. Oh god…”
nShu frowned and looked at John. “What should we do?”
n“Have fun.”
nShu blinked and slowly said, “…I’m sorry? Have fun?”
nJohn nodded and said, “That’s right. Have fun.”
nA ripple spread throughout the room and then health bars popped up over the girls, along with some words.
nYuri frowned and looked up at her own health bar.
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nYuri paused and then gave John a blank stare.
nHe shrugged. “What? I’m not going to let you girls get mentally scarred.” He paused and then said, “But I wasn’t joking about this being a Death Game. You were lucky I was here to catch it.”
nYuri glared at Chihiro.
nSuzume gave Chihiro a disappointed look.
nEven Shu looked upset.
nChihiro flinched and lowered her head.
nJohn waved and said, “Anyway, there should be some fun things to do in the console. Some game modes, easter eggs, events… Those sort of things. Give me about an hour and I’ll get you guys back out… Ah. It’ll probably be nerve-wracking in that wasteland, right? One sec…”
nAnother ripple spread throughout the room. When it did, the scene outside the window flickered and the ruined city turned back to a normal city. Specifically, Tokyo. Just like in reality.
n“There you go. I’ve loaded a version of Tokyo where you girls can have fun and play around with. Now, I’ll be back in about an hour.”
nWith that, John vanished in a puff of golden smoke.
nAt the same time, a timer started ticking down over each girl’s head.
n00:59:59
nShu blinked and then let out a nervous laugh. “Um. We’re… We’re fine, right?”
nYuri crossed her arms and said, “If you trust John. But I guess there’s one way to test it out.”
nShu tilted her head. “What’s that?”
nYuri walked over to Chihiro. “Hey. Kid.”
nChihiro flinched and then stood up, frowning. “I’m not a- Bwaha!?”
nA perfect roundhouse kick. One done at full force to Chihiro’s face that should have sent her reeling.
nInstead, a splash of golden light erupted, bouncing Yuri’s foot back. After that, the
n“Oh good. So we’re actually invincible here.” Yuri smiled.
nChihiro glared and said, “What was that for!?”
n“For getting us into this mess and traumatizing us. And since it looks like this really is just a game…” Before Chihiro could react, Yuri picked Chihiro up and spun her around.
nSuzume gasped. “M-Mimi?!”
n“O-Oi!” Shu called out. “H-Hold on, Miya!”
n“W-What the hell are you-“
nYuri stomped on the ground and then chucked Chihiro at the window.
nThe sound of shattering glass.
nChihiro screaming.
nCar horns blaring as the crowd below gasped.
nAnd then Chihiro’s faint voice from down below. “Y-You asshole!”
nYuri let out a deep breath and then smiled. “*God* I’ve wanted to do that for a while now.”
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