NOVEL NEXT Chapter 101 - Buddhahood
[Agh, missed him… What now?]
On the screen, Sora expressed her bewilderment.
Though Sora aimed her gun, unfortunately, Jungseok had already slipped out through the back door. Observing her actions, it was clear that Sora wasn’t yet fully adept with handling firearms.
Because of that, she couldn’t manage to catch Jungseok, but on screen, Laura’s face showed no sign of concern.
[No need to worry.]
-Whoosh!
Laura shoved Changyoung aside.
Changyoung steadied himself as he was pushed back. His palm, which had been gripping the blade, was bright red.
He aimed his gun at Laura, but it didn’t seem like he had any chance of winning.
Changyoung’s expression showed traces of resignation.
It was inevitable. His only ally had already fled, leaving him alone to face both Laura and Sora.
There was no way he could win in a two-on-one scenario.
[Ha…]
Changyoung let out a sigh.
What was going through his mind? As a mere viewer, it was impossible to tell.
In any case, his thoughts must have been complicated. He had faced defeat at Laura’s hands before in Labyrinthos.
Perhaps he regarded that experience as traumatic. What was certain was that it wasn’t a pleasant memory.
Yet, Choi Changyoung still fought back.
He tried to pull away from Laura and fire the gun.
But Sora was quicker and hit his hand.
“Argh…!”
The rifle flew out from Changyoung’s hand as he was about to pull the trigger.
Laura, who had been ready to charge forward, froze momentarily, seemingly not expecting Sora to intervene against Changyoung.
With Sora’s suppressive fire, Changyoung was completely disarmed.
Laura swiftly drove her blade into his neck.
-Slash!
With her strike reaching his artery, blood spurted forth.
Laura nudged him to the ground, his body twitching briefly before he stopped moving.
He had met his end.
[Our retreat path is already secured by Ainatsu.]
Laura’s curt response seemed to address Sora’s initial question.
And soon after, footsteps echoed to confirm her words.
“Mom, I’m home~.”
The door opened, and Ainatsu entered the room.
Dragging.
Ainatsu was gripping Jungseok’s hair, hauling his body along the floor.
Jungseok’s body was already riddled with bullet holes, and his forehead bore a conspicuous bullet wound, likely from a final blow to his face.
SerenadeKR, annihilated.
Rion, who had watched the archive to the very end, lifted her head with an indescribable feeling.
“So that’s how it ended.”
Rolling around on the floor was an empty vaccine syringe.
Rion’s vision, finally free from infection, had returned to normal.
Whether she should consider it a blessing was unclear.
Because in the corner of her field of view, she saw burning corpses.
“………”
Rion opened her mouth, then closed it.
Four bodies lay in flames.
Elenoa, Mashina, Choi Changyoung, Jungseok. All familiar faces.
She had even collaborated with Mashina back when she was active as VTuber Nekozuka Rion.
Watching familiar faces char in flames gave her a strange feeling. Especially since they were headless.
Why are they being burned?
It was a question Rion couldn’t bring herself to ask.
If the answer was something like, for cremation, that would have been bearable.
But the thought that it might be to cook them for eating terrified her.
“Did… did you kill them all…?”
With a trembling voice, Rion finally managed to ask another question.
Laura beamed with a broad smile.
“All for you.”
“……”
Orion thought.
They say humans live an average of 80 years, but sometimes Rion wondered if she could really live to 80. Honestly, she wasn’t even sure she wanted to live that long.
No one knows how their end will come. With age comes frailty, susceptibility to disease, and eventually, natural death.
That is the normal life of a human.
So, she resolved. Rion would never make enemies.
She would never let herself be killed by anyone.
If someone close to her was killed by someone, Aurora would surely retaliate. Rion realized that.
‘I’d better live a good life.’
Live honestly, avoid being scammed, stay away from gambling, and be careful with everything.
‘…I should tell Sora-senior about this.’
And Ainatsu, and Inagika, and Chel… the list seemed to go on.
Let EYEAI live a long, healthy, peaceful life.
That was her prayer.
***
===
【Virtual VTuber Gallery】
[General] “Sign here, everyone…”
(Meme)
Shiroki Anna, Ayanokouji Sora, Chel Sumeragi, Kisaki Rinco, Tanabe Ainatsu, Mashina, Elenoa!
Sign here to declare Nekozuka Rion as the official lover!
[Comments]
– There are so many people, damn lolololol
– I’m Inagika, but I think Sora is the true lover.
ㄴ I’m Choi Changyoung, but I remember Laura carrying Shina on her back.
– Oh, right… I was actually Laura’s lover!
– But Shina hates Laura, so why is she even there lol
ㄴ Laura’s always been messing with Shina.
ㄴ Even Shina grew attached to Laura.
ㄴ (Author) Aurora “You are my bitch”
ㄴ (Author) Mashina “I’m your bitch”
ㄴ Jeez, how old is that meme lololol
– A-Class debuted just three months ago, and look what’s happened already lololol
===
[General] Currently, the happiest person
【Chel Sumeragi has donated 100,000 KRW.】
【Ascension】
【Chel Sumeragi has donated 100,000 KRW.】
【Kimi to Natsu no Owari Shōrai no Yume】
【Chel Sumeragi has donated 100,000 KRW.】
【Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you】
[Comments]
– Cried once and they’re really serious lololol
– Why does this person donate their whole salary to the lady?
ㄴ Because Laura is Chel’s owner.
ㄴ A slave has to bring everything to their master lololol
– They’ll probably donate the earnings from voice sales too lololol
– When did this person become a member of the Lady’s fan club lol
===
[General] But what’s up with Sora???
(Screenshot from Sora’s perspective)
(Screenshot from Choi Changyoung’s perspective)
The distance between buildings is so damn far, but they still crossed it?
[Comments]
– When you look at it like this, it’s really far away;;
– Been secretly training with Lady again, huh?
ㄴ Not really, though her aim was terrible, lol
– Was Armor trained by special forces too?
– Her aim was off, but her moves were legit good.
===
[General] ??? “Jungseok, you’re so heartless.”
(Laura meme)
From now on, your name will just be “Seok.”
===
[General] ??? “Letting your teammates die like that, Seok, that’s truly disappointing.”
(Rock meme)
Thanks to that, Seok is out.
From now on, your name will be “.”
===
[General] Today, Seok was the ultimate petty jerk.
1. Social Skills
A-Lady: Helps first and then asks for something in return.
Seok: Refuses to help if there’s even a slight risk of loss.
2. Leadership
A-Lady: The whole team followed A-Lady’s lead.
Seok: The commander objected, and even Noa wanted to assist Laura.
3. Character
A-Lady: Took the risk of getting criticized to save teammates by attacking first.
Seok: Fled to save his own skin when the commander was in danger.
[Comments]
– Really lost all respect for him when he abandoned the commander, lol
– He’s called Seok because he has no feelings, lol
– The difference in leadership is huge, comparing them side by side.
===
[General] Let’s have a vote at this point
(Laura meme)
If there’s no leader like Laura in a zombie apocalypse, big thumbs up.
(Jungseok meme)
No, Laura’s a killer who got four people killed just to save her little sister.
If there’s no leader like Jungseok who sacrificed for the team, thumbs down.
[Comments]
– What sacrifice are you talking about, lmao
– At least Laura wouldn’t leave teammates to die.
– Isn’t this a sign of a really well-made game, showing how their values differ?
– Honestly, both had points, but Laura had the skill to pull her ideas off, and Jungseok didn’t.
– Why call someone a murderer in an apocalypse, lol
– Didn’t Laura help with access permissions?
ㄴ She saved Noa and Shina stuck in the department store, didn’t she?
ㄴ Seriously, she did everything for everyone.
ㄴ (Author) True story, lololol
ㄴ Leaving Shina out to dry after saving her was definitely Seok’s fault.
– If Seok didn’t want to give out the vaccine, he should have at least offered to help get one together.
ㄴ So true.
– If you follow Jungseok, you risk getting dumped like the commander, lol
– I’d rather someone as ruthless as Laura over a useless Seok any day, yeah.
– Just her physical ability alone makes following A-Lady worth it, doesn’t it?
ㄴ Even without that, I’d still follow her.
ㄴ I’d pay to follow her, lol
===
[General] Since Laura killed four people to save Rion
(Rion meme)
Doesn’t that mean Rion should give birth to four of Laura’s kids?
[Comments]
– Genius idea?
– Replacing the ones she killed by giving birth to them~
ㄴ It’s hilarious that Laura did the killing, but Rion has to do the birthing, lol
– Let’s name them Noa, Shina, Changyoung, and Stone after the four she lost. T.T
ㄴ Stone… I finally get it, lololol
===
“Hmm.”
As she scrolled through the community posts, Son Narin tilted her head slightly.
Aurora’s popularity keeps growing.
Must be because of that zombie game they played recently.
“Survive No Matter What in an Apocalyptic World… was that it?”
Actually, Son Narin once got an ad offer for that game too. She turned it down because she wanted to focus on Labyrinthos, though.
But now, seeing all this, she wondered if she’d made the right choice. Who would’ve thought Aurora would just decimate her teammates so effortlessly.
It wouldn’t have been much different if she were in their place, probably.
After all, Narin had once teamed up with Aurora for a game, so she had a fair understanding of what kind of person she was.
‘No point dwelling on the past.’
Honestly, it didn’t make her feel much of anything.
Even Narin herself recognized she was a bit of a dry person.
Maybe it’s because it wasn’t her problem, but nothing particularly moved her. She might lack empathy for all she knew.
Thinking this, Narin stirred the whipped cream in her café mocha.
“Sorry, did you wait long?”
A woman sat down across from her.
Dyed hair. Countless piercings in her ears.
But despite that, her voice was soft, and maybe because of her glasses, her face looked reliable.
She had a hip style, but there was a gentle impression about her. She didn’t seem like a dangerous person.
“Oh, you’re here, Rinco-senior!”
Narin smiled brightly.
“It’s been ages! How long has it been? Have you been well?”
“Me? Same old, same old. Mind if we skip the small talk and get to the point?”
Rinco said, getting straight to business.
Last year, Rinco had been on the same team as Narin in the Streamer League. So she knew Narin didn’t particularly care for icebreakers.
“Sure! What did you want to talk about?”
“These days, our Laura’s getting quite popular.”
“That’s true.”
“So, I’d like you to protect her.”
Huh?
Narin blinked in surprise.
But Rinco’s expression was nothing but serious.
***
Meanwhile, Chel was feeling profoundly touched.
“Everyone, I have reached nirvana.”
With an indifferent voice, Chel started the broadcast.
Chel’s background was currently semi-transparent.
It was set to 50% transparency, also known as the state of nirvana.
By the way, the BGM used in the broadcast was “Secret Base” (a version recorded by Chel himself due to copyright and revenue issues).
BGM damn lol
Chel, your body!
Are you… going?
Please don’t go! Kodonbin!
I will remember you!
Thank you for loving me!
“Since I have reached nirvana, today’s broadcast will be like this.”
Chel revealed the broadcast title.
Ta-da!
【Wow】 If you reverse nirvana? Anti-nirvana 【Chel Sumeragi/EYEAI】
-?
-????
-??
-The flow of consciousness is amazing
-What nonsense are you talking about, Chel adopted Chel
-Completely careless of the situation lol
Chel continued to live according to the flow of consciousness as always.
Reverse ascension? Desecration 【Chel Sumeragi/EYEAI】
– ?
– ????
– ??
– The flow of consciousness is off the charts.
– What nonsense are you even spouting, Chelez-lelez?
– Unconsciousness, lololol
Chel was as ever, living life by the flow of her thoughts.