As a result of Jack weakening his attack, both Velvet and I ended up unhurt, and Blade, who had broken through his restraints with pure spirit, managed to take Jack down—but that's all just hindsight. To Blade and the others, my actions probably looked like I didn't care about my own life.
Velvet, perhaps unable to watch Blade and the others lecture me endlessly, uncharacteristically came to my aid.
"Now, now, all's well that ends well. Since it finished safely like this, isn't that enough? It's only natural for comrades to help each other while fighting, right?"
I think she's right, and since I was the one who saved Velvet, I have no objections, but... somehow, she's annoying.
"Oh? Were you expecting a thank you? Well then... how about this?"
With that, Velvet lifted her skirt. I did a double-take at this sudden, nonsensical action. I had no idea why she was doing it.
"You were watching me the whole time I was fighting, weren't you? Are you that curious?"
I-I-I wasn't watching the whole time. However, she was wearing a short skirt and moving around violently, so it's true that I saw various things. She was wearing black leggings underneath rather than underwear, but that's still not something you just show off. In fact, she was so defenseless that I was careful not to look.
...In other words, it would be a lie to say I wasn't curious at all. The gender of Six's body is female, but my true self is the Ant King, a male. And this insect understood instinctively that it could reproduce across species boundaries. That is to say, even with a human, if it's a woman, then, well... that's how it is.
I can't judge for myself whether this is a normal emotional function for a human or just a universal emotion a male feels toward a female. Even if I think so, the premise is that I am not human. I cannot say for certain that it isn't a manifestation of a lowly urge based on insect instinct.
That's why I'm bad at controlling these kinds of emotions. I admit I have a tendency to avoid them excessively. When I'm looking at the internet on my phone and see a lewd ad, I'm at the level where I immediately hit the back button.
However, showing an excessive reaction here would be bad. One look at Velvet's face as she flutters her skirt tells me everything. That's the face of someone enjoying herself. If I make a fool of myself here, she'll definitely make a scandal out of it later, stirring up trouble and causing a firestorm.
I never thought I'd have to fray my nerves over something like this. As I was trying to maintain my composure, Noah jumped in.
"What are you doing, Velvet? Please don't show such vulgar things to my Mama. Honestly, you'll stain Mama's pure heart."
"I'm going to kill you."
"Ah, aah... It's cold...! M-my body is... freezing...!"
Thanks to Noah, I was saved. Velvet was chilling Noah with enough intensity to turn him into a block of ice, but before I could say anything, Blade stepped in to stop her.
"Stop wasting your aura like that, ssle. The battle will continue. You must have exhausted quite a bit in the last fight, ssle. How much aura do you have left, ssle?"
"...Well, I should be fine for about one more battle."
Knowing Velvet, she wouldn't exaggerate her remaining strength. She likely can fight one more time without issue, but it's also true that she's exhausted. It was a fierce battle even a layman could recognize. Aura is finite; once consumed, it won't recover without sufficient rest.
"It would have been much easier if a certain someone hadn't been captured."
"Ugh...! I have no excuses, ssle."
This time, the burden was concentrated on Velvet as she ended up fighting alone. From now on, we should act with more awareness of team cooperation. We checked the names on the electric scoreboard.
Jack's display had disappeared, and excluding the people here and Pomerni, the only players remaining were Tsukuteku and Answer Bat. I wonder if we'll have to fight them too.
For now, we finished treating the unconscious Jack. As we were discussing what to do next, the speakers in the venue began to crackle with noise. We thought the management was going to make another announcement using Pomerni.
"Ah— test, test. Sensitivity good, today is a clear day!"
However, the voice that came through wasn't Pomerni's. I felt a vague sense of familiarity with that feminine voice. I'm sure this is...
"Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone☆ Magical☆Milky has arrived, pyon☆☆☆"
Projected on the giant screen was the virtual iTuber, Magical☆Milky. To be precise, her avatar. We had been out of contact with her shortly after the game began. I thought communication had been cut off because of the radio interference affecting the entire ship, which made it impossible to connect to the internet.
In fact, checking my phone showed the interference was still ongoing. How was she streaming video to the screen in the first place? The ship's system should be under the control of the game's management. Was Milky someone from the management side?
"Sorry for dropping out suddenly, pyon☆ You were all worried, right! But it's okay☆ Mil-pyon has been working behind the scenes to smash this nonsensical shitty game for everyone, pyon☆"
Saying this, Milky pulled out a staff with a ghastly design. The staff, adorned with the statue of the evil god 'Ilumin' at its head, was emitting a purple miasma. This was the magic staff favored by Milky, who is an assassin from the Land of Magic; the souls of the many victims she has killed so far are sealed within it (according to the lore).
"Mil-pyon's magic will set you all free, pyon☆ Now, here goes the usual, pyon☆ Everyone, comment along with me, pyon☆ Ready... set! Sweet Mirumiru Lovely Kiss★★★"
There it was: Milky's ultimate magic, Sweet Mirumiru Lovely Kiss. It was the ultimate spell with a naming sense that even long-time fans called 'honestly gross,' and due to her blatant attempts to farm comments from viewers, she would get completely ignored, creating a 'comment vacuum' during live streams—which has now become a tradition, earning her the nickname 'Listener Killer.'
All of us iTubers in the venue, as well as the general public watching the battle from the spectator seats, remained deathly silent, with not a single person reacting. Rather than following the live stream tradition, I think they simply didn't know how to respond.
However, that silence would soon be broken. What rang out was a roar that sounded like the earth was splitting. My vision was violently shaken by a vibration so intense I couldn't stay standing. It wasn't an earthquake. We were inside an airship.
As if the direction of gravity were shifting, the floor slowly began to tilt.
A short time earlier. There was a man running through the intricate corridors of the ship.
"Dammit! What's going on? This wasn't in the plan!"
The man ran, his tattered coat fluttering. The coat, which had various metal parts of all sizes sewn onto it, made a noisy clattering sound. Parts spilled from his pockets and rolled across the floor, but he continued running without concern.
It was the builder iTuber, Tsukuteku. He was currently being pursued by enemies. For someone like him, who had survived and gained strength in the dog-eat-dog world of Meteor City, he was usually the one hunting prey, not being hunted. That's how strong his opponents were.
There were two of them. However, he could tell they were quite skilled. They were using a wide-range En, and the absurdity of applying In to that En to erase their presence made him doubt his own eyes. If it weren't for his handmade "crafts," they would have approached him before he even noticed.
Tsukuteku immediately judged his chances of winning were slim and fled. He tried to lose the enemies by making full use of the traps he had set in various parts of the ship 'since three days ago,' but they only served as slight delays. He assumed they were being evaded or handled via En.
At this rate, he would soon be caught. He hadn't heard from the client that users of this level were mixed into the game. This was a completely unforeseen situation.
Tsukuteku was a person hired by the mastermind of this game. He had infiltrated with a straight face as a player to control the flow of the game from the inside. He was the catalyst to fire up the players who weren't showing any motivation.
The client who hired Tsukuteku, who hailed from Meteor City, was the Mafia. They were part of the 'Ten Old Men' who controlled the world's Mafia and were his regular customers. In other words, this game was planned and executed with the Mafia as the mastermind.
The main instruction from the client was 'liven up the game,' and besides that, only a few points of caution were conveyed. The instructions were devoid of any specifics, but he had no complaints.
He wasn't playing the aggressive role reluctantly. He thought it would be interesting to use the other iTubers as toys and had actively accepted the role with the intention of stirring things up. He had no complaints since he was getting paid just for doing whatever he wanted.
He had heard that the purpose of this game was clinical trials and a demonstration of a new drug. The spectators were being used as test subjects for that purpose.
However, there were some suspicious points. While the experiment was likely one of the reasons, was that really all? Taking over an entire ship to turn it into an experimental ground was madness. Was there a need to go through all this trouble and expense to set up a game?
Despite his doubts, Tsukuteku relied on his relationship with the Mafia. This was because he was certain the Mafia would never harm people from Meteor City. The two did not have an equal relationship. On the surface, they acted that way to save face, but in reality, Meteor City held the upper hand.
To the Mafia, personnel from Meteor City were indispensable, and they guaranteed maximum treatment to maintain that relationship. Furthermore, as a craftsman well-versed in Nen, Tsukuteku had made great contributions to the Mafia and was not in a position to be discarded no matter the circumstances.
That was exactly why he couldn't accept the current situation. Too many unplanned events were piling up. While the fact that most of the iTubers were Nen users was one thing, he could feel in his bones that the duo currently pursuing him was on a different level of strength.
Since there was no way to escape the En's detection, he had no choice but to fight back. He didn't intend to lose, but no matter how much he blustered, the fact remained that his chances of winning were slim. At the very least, it was impossible to face two enemies alone.
He needed to find an ally. He had already decided on a candidate. Another assassin under the influence of the Mafia was participating in this game, just like Tsukuteku. He was trying to call them over using a wireless terminal that was functional even during radio interference.
However, there was no response. The connection seemed to be established, but there was no reply from the radio.
"He's seriously useless at a time like this! Where the hell is that bat wandering off to...!"
As Tsukuteku spat out curses, Answer Bat ran alongside him, nodding as if in agreement.
"Whoa!?"
A man wearing a black tailcoat and a top hat, with his cloak billowing, was suddenly running beside Tsukuteku. The magic iTuber, Answer Bat. His expression was hidden behind a white mask, making it impossible to read.
This man was the other Mafia assassin.
"You! What were you doing not answering my calls? More importantly, where the hell did you pop out from!?"
Bat remained silent in the face of Tsukuteku's yelling. He responded playfully by making peace signs with both hands.
The fact that he hadn't noticed his presence until he was this close meant he had likely been lying in wait for Tsukuteku using Zetsu. Since he would have noticed even a hint of bloodlust, there was probably no ill intent.
He couldn't help but feel that the reason he hadn't responded to the radio was simply because he was committed to his silent character. He felt it wasn't impossible.
Tsukuteku projected bloodlust while a vein popped on his forehead, but Bat brushed it off as if it were nothing. He looked like a cheap magician, but he was actually one of the Shadow Beasts, an assassination unit personally employed by the Ten Old Men. His skills were the real deal.
"...Whatever. Now it's two against two. Time for a counterattack."
From Tsukuteku's perspective, he was an ally with many uncertainties, but he couldn't afford to be picky. The enemies showed no signs of stopping. They must have noticed Bat's presence through En as well. If they were approaching despite knowing that, then he would just have to welcome them.
But at that moment, they were forced to stop for an entirely different reason. A massive shock struck the ship. The airship, which had been sailing so peacefully that they had forgotten they were in the sky, suddenly began to shake as if tossed by rough waves.
"Huh?"
And then came the sensation of floating. The ship carrying them began its descent toward the sea.
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaat!?"