Ch.80 Event Stream "Brutality! Buster Ball!" ⑦

"...They don't need me afterall." Hojouin Shizuku muttered as she watched Arisu being blown away and charred. She had intended to participa

"...They don't need me afterall."

Hojouin Shizuku muttered as she watched Arisu being blown away and charred.

She had intended to participate as a deterrent to Arisu, but it seems that even Arisu's malice has no effect on that strong-willed group.

She let out a sigh that seemed both relieved and unsatisfied.

She once again wondered if she had gotten into a dangerous place, and ran to the bench.

The team Shizuku belongs to is "Millionaire in One Go".

Arisu's fine play - or rather, garbage play - shook the referee's spirit of Buster Ball, and as a result, they managed to gain a five-point lead before the start of the game.

Millionaire will attack first.

One by one, the team members return to the bench, carrying the rocket launchers they had fired when the start of the match was announced.

『Each side has finished their first attack, but it looks like the match is even.』

Alpheria said this while looking at the electronic display board in the center.

Above the scoreboard were the faces and names of each player, each with their own HP bar.

『As you can see, when that HP bar reaches 0, the person is declared defeated, and the attacker team receives one point. Not only that, the defeated player cannot take part in either offense or defense in the next round.』

『When you're on offense, your turn just skips, but when you're on defense, the position itself becomes open, so you want to avoid being defeated.』

(Is this sport crappy after all?)

Shizuku was skeptical. Rightfully so.

"Great job, you guys!"

Captain Yuuna encourages the members who have returned to the bench.

"Sports are serious competition. Anyone who wants to get along with others and have fun should leave this place right now! What I want is a pure battle...a match that I can be proud of and fight fair and square!!"

Saying this, she handed a small bottle to Arisu.

"So, Arisu, I have a job for you. Mix the liquid in this bottle into the opposing team's drink."

"Yuuna-senpai, what is this?"

In response to Arisu's question, Yuuna calmly replied.

"It's poison, obviously."

(Is this senpai crappy after all?)

Shizuku was skeptical. Rightfully so.

"Where did the serious fighting and fair play go?!"

"Huh? I think you should just seriously poison them and then be proud of it."

"That's ridiculous! Where did you get something like this in the first place?!"

"It was just sitting on the bench shelf though."

Everyone's gaze turned to the shelf beside the bench.

There were a variety of murder weapons lined up, including firearms, blunt objects, knives, and syringes.

Some of them were dripping with a dark red liquid. There was a warning label saying "This is tomato," but that was definitely not it.

While everyone was saying "wow," Yuuna continued.

"For now, go kill Ellis and Chariot. I'll buy you some time until it's your turn, so you can log out and burn down their house. I give you permission."

"But the law doesn't allow it!?"

"Which is more important, your senpai or the law?"

"Oh my goodness! What is wrong with this person!?"

"Are you crazy?!" Arisu cried, clutching her head.

It seems she has been exposed, but is it a good thing or a bad thing that no one paid any attention to her because of the speech she gave earlier?

『Each players are taking their position and the game finally begins. The player on the mound is Ellis Magister.』

『It's a good choice. Pitchers can throw bombs instead of balls, so someone with a no sense of ethics is the perfect fit.』

"Now wait a damn second!"

Having been declared unethical, Ellis immediately took the unethical step of throwing a bomb, but

『So slow.』

Kaguya took out her naginata and hit it back with the flat of the blade.

"Huh? Gyaa-?!"

BOOM! She exploded on the mound.

『Player Ellis immediately launched a preemptive attack on the commentator, but was defeated. Her HP has already dropped by a third. Well, there's no way she'll hit Kaguya-senpai.』

HP was being reduced on its own here and there.

Despite the chaos, the leadoff batter steps up to bat.

『First up to bat is Yukino Suisen-senpai. Will she be able to utilize the skills she's honed through playing VPS and fighting games?』 (TL note : VPS = Virtual Person Shooting, I guess?)

The silver-haired, animal-eared girl readied a nail bat dripping with dark red liquid.

Using it from the very beginning???

"Y-You're in pretty good spirits, kohai. Do you think you can hit this Great Demon God Magister's magic ball?"

Ellis said while pointing the ball.

"It doesn't matter what kind of ball it is."

"Well said! Then take it! This is my winning shot!"

She throws the first pitch with all her might.

"Boom!" The fastball roared, and Suisen swung her spiked bat back at her.

"Hit~~! Nano!"

She threw the nail bat with all her might at Ellis.

"That's dangerous!"

Ellis manages to avoid it at the last moment.

『Oh, Player Yukino! To suddenly come up with a plan to murder the pitcher! "It doesn't matter what kind of ball it is. That's right - as long as I can kill you." That's what she was saying when she threw it, right, Kaguya-senpai?』

『That's the classic approach. The pitcher is the only position that can be replaced even if they are declared defeated, so it's great to be able to give the ace a rest.』

『This really is a crazy sport.』

"Too bad. I missed."

Saying that, Suisen takes her bat into her hands again.

"You're just talking big, kohai! I'll be the last one to kill you -- as if, DIE RIGHT NOOW!"

Without any hesitation, Ellis aimed for Suisen and threw with all her might.

However, Suisen seemed to see the opportunity and hit the ball flying towards her as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

『She hit it! The ball flew over the shortstop and into left-center field! The cannonballs rained down without a moment's hesitation on the outfielders chasing the ball.』

An outfielder chases after the ball to catch it.

The offensive team's bench opened fire to block their path.

"Fire! Shoot! The enemy isn't human! Think of those people over there as V-haters! See, you can hear it, right!? They're mocking us, saying, 'They're just a bunch of ugly people inside anyway!'"

"There's no way I'd say that! Besides, Vtubers shouldn't say anything about what's inside!"

Arisu responds to Yuuna's cry with reason,

"Huh!? Attacking from the bench? Have you no shame or reputation, you scum!"

"They're just a bunch of ugly people inside anyway! How ugly!!"

Ellis and Chariot declared as they fought back.

There's no problem with the rules, but it can't be helped since he's speaking from his spinal cord.

"No, why are they actually saying it!?! Compliance!!" (TL : she said compliance in English)

In response to the offense's interference, the defense's players other than those chasing the ball will join in the fight.

The Buster Ball was created as a result of a petty concern that players waiting on the bench might be bored.

"That's amazing. In front of that evil trio, even the sewer water looks like clean water."

Shizuku muttered, her cheeks twitching.

She joined to keep an eye on Arisu, but when it came down to it, she was surprised to find that she was the one behaving the most sensibly.

"Se-sewer water...?"

Ouka, sitting in the empty seat, asked timidly.

"I'm talking about my colleague. She's a woman who can casually write bad things about her collaborator on message boards, even though they just finished doing a collaborative live stream together."

"She's a sewer water...!"

"Eek," Ouka said, looking at Arisu.

However, Ouka tilted her head slightly, as if that assessment didn't overlap with the image of her hesitantly pulling the trigger, saying, "Isn't this sport really strange? It's strange, isn't it?"

"...Well, both are just aspects of her, so let's just go with the flow. But that doesn't change the fact that she's sewer water."

"I, I see..."

"…………"

"…………"

"…………"

"…………"

((This is awkward...!))

The two of them are socially awkward, so it's impossible for them to keep a conversation going.

But! Ouka thought, getting motivated.

After all, Ouka is her senior, and it was none other than Ouka who invited her to participate in this large-scale collaboration.

So it's her responsibility to take the lead.

"Mui!" She said, gathering her energy and glancing at Alpheria.

"Mui!" She said, gathering her energy and glancing at Alpheria. "Hurry up and talk."

Ouka probably just wanted someone to understand her mental state and encourage her, even if it was just with a smile.

However, the Alpheria in question is absorbed in the live commentary.

『Player Yukino kicks off first base and moves to second! However, at second base, her genmate Kusunoki Momiji is being swung around by a chainsaw. How will she react?! Whoops! Player Kusunoki! Her own chainsaw hit her directly! She killed herself! Like a spear-class hero, she has committed suicide! This beautiful act of suicide exploded! Even player Natsukawa on the shorstop screamed, "What are you doing?!"』

Something amazing had happened to her genmates, providing more than enough material to talk about, but Ouka was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't even notice.

(It's okay. Thanks to Alpheria, I've grown a lot... a fair bit... a little bit... and my ability to talk has improved a lot. I've also collaborated a lot more with my peers... This battle is won by Futaba Ouka!)

She opened her eyes wide and acted normally--!!

"It's nice weather..."

"Well, this is a VR space..."

"…………"

"…………"

"......fuguu."

Ouka was exhausted.

Stillー

(Just talking to them is the first step.)

The aforementioned Alpheria, who was secretly concerned, is now watching her with a warm gaze and a faint smile.

However, she didn't seem to notice that Kaguya's eyes, who was standing next to her, had become slightly moist.

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