The Villainess VTuber Rips People Apart-Chapter 178

Na-rim had been good at studying. She liked to put in effort.

She kept pushing herself, and as a result, her grades improved, and she ranked well.

She did well on her college entrance exam too. But she never figured out which university to apply to or what major to choose.

Why did she study?

At first, it seemed like something her parents made her do. They told her that if she worked hard now, it would pay off later, that her options would be broader.

Afterward, it became something she just kept doing out of habit.

Just like Laura said, not giving up was both a reason and a curse.

The sense of accomplishment from pushing through was all she had, and she just clung to the fact that she hadn’t given up.

But there was no real substance.

What did she want to become?

What did she even like?

"Na-rim! Fall back!"

At Shinomiya Yuki’s shout, Na-rim unconsciously moved her legs.

As Na-rim retreated, Laura didn’t react in any significant way.

She just reached for the hammer that Sora had dropped.

"The Sacred Knight, the Martial Artist, the Frost Mage, the Archer, the Saint, and the Dragon Knight."

Laura quietly murmured Gryphon’s team composition.

It was all a counter-pick strategy aimed at the Thief.

The Thief thrived when they could steal items with <Steel>, but the enemy team wasn’t carrying proper weapons overall.

Regardless, Laura charged forward.

An arrow from the Archer came at her, but she dodged it effortlessly.

However, while Laura was in the midst of her evasion, the Martial Artist and the Sacred Knight blocked her path.

'The core of Gryphon’s strategy is the Frost Mage.'

Laura repeated to herself.

The enemy’s tank line consisted of the Martial Artist and the Sacred Knight. The Martial Artist had no real weapon, and the Sacred Knight carried an unnecessarily large and heavy greatsword.

Using <Steel> on them wouldn't be effective. It was hard to break through.

But dodging was possible.

The Thief had been overly focused on <Steel>, but the Martial Artist and Sacred Knight were lacking in crowd control.

The lack of crowd control from those tanks needed to be supplemented by the Frost Mage.

That was the core of Gryphon’s team, and so, naturally, their teammates would be heavily focused on protecting the Frost Mage—this was why Laura threw the hammer upwards.

"Huh?"

Shinomiya Yuki, who was playing the Sacred Knight, widened her eyes. Was she going to throw her weapon?

Yuki didn’t react immediately.

She had expected Laura to either push through the tank line with the hammer or dodge around them, but she didn’t anticipate the movement.

It caught the other members, positioned in the backline, by surprise too.

The reason was simple: the Sacred Knight and the Martial Artist were standing firm as a strong front line, and their large builds blocked the view of the teammates behind them. The backline members didn’t see Laura’s hammer throw.

As a result, the hammer flew in an arc and struck the Saint directly in the head.

"Ah?!"

The hammer hit the Saint’s head with tremendous force.

Insane… how did she even land that?

Yuki was taken aback by the pinpoint accuracy of the throw. She could’ve sworn this woman was dangerous.

Taking advantage of everyone's shock, Laura pressed forward.

Yuki, flustered, immediately swung her sword, knowing their healer had already fallen.

Laura lowered her posture roughly and rolled, moving with swiftness.

The Sacred Knight’s sword—hit the Martial Artist standing right next to him.

[Due to Aurora's movement…! Yuki hit her own teammate!]

[They were too clustered together as a tank line.]

The Sacred Knight and the Martial Artist both realized the same thing as they watched Laura’s performance. They couldn't let Laura get anywhere near the backline. They couldn’t afford to give her space.

But due to their lack of crowd control, they had no choice but to block her with their bodies.

Inevitably, they were too close to one another, and a disaster occurred.

As the two tanks collided, Laura headed toward the backline.

At that moment, the Frost Mage’s staff glowed.

The staff released a beam of cold, freezing anything it touched—<Cold Laser>.

"Sora."

Sora, who had been struck by an arrow, now jumped out.

While Laura drew the attention, Sora was free to act.

Sora, playing the Battle Priest, relied heavily on her weapon for her skills, which only activated when using her staff.

Since Sora had handed her weapon to Laura, she was no longer a threat.

So Gryphon decided to leave Sora alone and focus on stopping Laura.

Even a bare-handed Battle Priest could at least serve as a meat shield.

Sora’s devotion.

True strength.

[So, the real MVP is Sora!]

The commentary booth must have been going crazy.

Watching this, Anna probably thought the same.

In any case, because Sora took the hit from <Cold Laser>, Laura kept her momentum.

Her target was the Frost Mage.

Of course, the Frost Mage had to be protected at all costs, so the Archer tried to interfere with Laura’s progress.

An arrow was shot from the bow.

Laura caught the arrowhead bare-handed.

"No way! How did you catch that?!"

The Archer shouted.

The Thief has a unique passive that prevents damage from sharp weapons. Using that passive, Laura caught the arrow, but that was only theoretical!

However, Laura made the theory a reality.

She really could apply theory to reality—wasn’t she kind of like a scientist?

Having closed the gap, Laura thrust the arrow into the Archer’s neck in a single motion.

After stealing the bow with <Steel>...

She strangled the Frost Mage with the bowstring.

"Ah, ugh, ah…"

Yuki rushed toward the Frost Mage in panic, but it was already too late.

Whether dead or unconscious, the Frost Mage was no longer in fighting condition.

The Saint was down, and now the Archer was dead.

In an instant, all three members of the backline were wiped out.

"You demon! We will defeat you for sure!"

Yuki shouted.

Laura didn’t care and closed the distance between them.

As I had said earlier, the greatsword becomes less effective as the distance between opponents closes.

The Martial Artist stepped in to block Laura's approach.

The Martial Artist was a counter-attack type character.

He was ready to unleash a counter if Laura came too close.

Toward the Martial Artist—Sora rushed in.

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"Laura!"

Somehow, Sora had already retrieved the hammer that Laura had thrown.

Sora collided with the Martial Artist, throwing the hammer to Laura.

As Sora attacked the Martial Artist, the counter-attack naturally hit Sora.

Laura, who had caught the hammer, slammed it into the Martial Artist’s head.

'How many people are they taking down together...!'

It was almost absurd at this point.

With a sigh, Yuki calmly assessed the situation. She couldn’t win against Aurora.

After all, she was the second-best player in Gryphon.

A sudden flash of inspiration hit Yuki.

She threw her greatsword.

"Oh my."

Laura effortlessly caught the flying greatsword.

If it was going to be taken, it didn’t matter when it was taken.

As Laura caught the greatsword, Yuki rushed at her instead.

"I see. This is a checkmate."

Laura shrugged her shoulders.

She was already closing the distance with Yuki, and Yuki didn’t back away. Instead, she tossed the greatsword and advanced.

It was impossible for Laura to swing the greatsword at such a close range.

A swing takes a big motion, so there’s no time to perform it in tight quarters.

Yuki could have dodged, but if she did, she’d get caught by the "other" person.

It was probably the memory of Sora’s sacrifice that inspired Yuki.

"I have no choice."

Thwack!

Laura thrust the greatsword into Yuki's abdomen.

A thrust is a smaller motion compared to a swing, so it was the only option.

Despite the strike, Yuki continued to charge forward, refusing to stop.

As a tank, she didn’t die immediately.

Even as she was dying, Yuki gripped Laura tightly.

Behind Laura, Na-rim embraced her tightly.

"<Reignite>."

Fire ignited on Na-rim’s body, and the flames transferred to Laura as well.

The scorching pain of burning flesh.

Thanks to the sensation adjustment system, it wasn’t as painful as expected.

Laura let go of the greatsword.

If six people were charging at her... well, she had no choice but to die.

"I won, but it doesn’t feel like a victory. The end wasn’t very satisfying."

"......"

"Consider it an honor. Killing me might be your greatest achievement in life."

Laura chuckled.

"It was worth it, Na-rim."

With those words, the flames engulfed everything.

And Na-rim’s world changed.

<Reignite> is a skill that sets your body ablaze, turning you into a living torch. The burn damage is just a side effect.

Na-rim couldn’t know if Laura really died from the burn damage.

All she saw was the cold extinguishing of the flames.

Only the thumping sound of her own heart echoed loudly.

[The enemy has defeated the boss guarding the gate.]

[The enemy wins.]

[Ah! While the Gryphon players were distracted by Aurora, the Leviathan players managed to defeat the boss!]

[Leviathan takes the Gate Capture Mode 3-0!]

The loss message appeared, but Na-rim’s heart remained unmoved.

It seemed she had finally understood.

What she wanted to become, what she liked.

What she had worked for, and what she was born to do.

Vaguely.

After the match ended, a message appeared on Aurora’s channel.

[Son Na-rim has joined the regular membership.]