The Villainess VTuber Rips People Apart-Chapter 123: Such a Tragic Story

"Alright, alright! I give up! Just stop hitting me...!"

The fake Sora, who had been taking the beating, began crying out in a pitiful voice.

Of course, I didn’t stop.

R𝑒ad lat𝒆st chapt𝒆rs at free𝑤ebnovel.com Only.

Exploiting sympathy to create an opening is one of the oldest clichés in the book.

Right now, it might sound like it’s begging for mercy, but this creature isn’t human.

Who knows what schemes it’s plotting? Letting my guard down would be foolish.

I continued my relentless barrage.

"I’ll give you the key! I’m really sorry! Please stop!!!"

-Clink.

A key fell to the floor, and the fake Sora that had been my punching bag vanished.

More precisely, it wriggled free and fled far away.

"Who beats someone the moment they see them?! I just wanted to be friends, really...! Next time, I won’t forgive you!"

Sobbing, the creature, still wearing Sora’s face, wiped away its tears.

With a hurt expression, it leapt out of the nearby window.

When I peeked outside, it was gone.

It escaped.

I hadn’t been able to finish it off.

"Well, it can’t be helped."

Since it was gone, I picked up the key the creature had dropped.

Now the question was, what was this key for?

If I had someone like Sora, Shina, Son Nalim, or Anna around, they could have helped me figure out where to use it.

But unfortunately, I was alone.

Even as a noble lady, I now had to scour the school myself to find the key’s purpose.

What a tragic turn of events.

‘Maybe I should’ve tried to sweet-talk the creature.’

I could’ve been nicer to it. This school was obviously massive, and searching it would take a lot of time.

With no other choice, I briskly walked around the school.

Fortunately, it didn’t take as long as I’d feared.

As soon as I descended to the first floor, I found a door with a keyhole.

I inserted the key I was holding.

[Congratulations.]

[You have successfully escaped.]

"Oh, my lady."

Clap, clap, clap.

The scenery changed, and I heard applause echoing from somewhere.

Before I knew it, I was back in the auditorium—the one where the collaboration had started.

Standing at the podium was Kaiser, the host of this collaboration, clapping for me.

"Congratulations on escaping. You did incredibly well."

"Thank you for the compliment."

I smiled faintly.

Looking around, I saw that it was just me and Kaiser in the room.

The absence of others likely meant that I was the first to escape.

"I’m impressed that you immediately recognized the monster’s true nature. Did you expect from the start that it would appear disguised?"

Kaiser asked.

When we first started the collaboration, his tone had been formal, but now it was much more casual.

This must be his true personality.

The overly formal tone was probably just for the sake of hosting the event.

But now, with no one else around, he seemed to be relaxing intentionally.

"When I got separated from the others, I had a feeling. It’s a cliché in horror movies, isn’t it? Something always shows up the moment you’re isolated."

"Fair point. By the way, why don’t we drop the formalities? I prefer casual talk."

"Oh no, I couldn’t possibly be informal with a 'senpai' like you, a veteran in the VTuber industry. I’m just a rookie."

"...Could you stop calling me 'senpai'? It feels weird hearing that."

Kaiser’s expression suggested he wasn’t sure how to respond.

"We can’t continue the stream until everyone’s here, so why don’t you take a seat and rest for now? You can watch others’ gameplay since I’ll share the screen. The chat feature’s back on too."

At Kaiser’s suggestion, I began spectating.

On the screen was the fake "Aurora," deceiving Sora and Son Nalim.

Although Son Nalim never realized its true identity, Sora managed to figure it out.

"This game isn’t really an escape room at its core. It’s closer to Mafia."

Watching Sora’s broadcast, I made this observation.

To which Kaiser, handling the broadcast, replied:

"Mafia?"

"Oh, in Japan, it’s called 'Werewolf.'"

"Ah, you mean 'jinrou'? Yeah, you’re right. The game is more like Werewolf—or Mafia, if you will. Solving the gimmicks isn’t the point; the key is figuring out who the monster is."

"As I suspected."

I nodded in agreement.

The constant shifts to new spaces every time you passed through a door were part of the design.

There wasn’t even a "progress bar" for the game.

All you had to do was identify the monster hidden among the cooperating players, and you could escape instantly.

"So, you escaped first?"

Eventually, Sora, having revealed the fake Aurora’s identity, managed to escape as well.

She approached cautiously, still on edge after her encounter with the "fake Aurora."

"Calm down. If you still doubt me, feel free to sit far away."

"...So you’re the real Aurora."

Sora sighed in relief.

...?

I’d barely said two words, yet she already seemed reassured.

I hadn’t even bothered to prove my authenticity. It was too much effort.

"So, you’ve been watching my gameplay too?"

"Yes. I caught it while watching your broadcast."

"Who was that thing disguised as you? Was it an actual monster?"

"Apparently, it was AI."

"...What?"

Sora looked at me, incredulous.

"Even I was impressed. It mimicked my mannerisms quite well."

However, it was clear it hadn’t fully read my memories.

It was only imitating the surface-level behavior it had observed.

I guessed the AI had been learning from my actions during the escape room.

Much like advanced chatbot AI, it had become eerily capable of mimicking human speech.

That’s likely how it crafted such a convincing version of me for Sora.

But that was it.

When I called it "Sora-ya," the fake didn’t react—proof it couldn’t access deeper memories.

"...Technology these days is terrifying."

Indeed.

Even after Sora and I escaped, the game continued.

Son Nalim, refusing to give up, eventually managed to escape the party room.

She and the other survivors made it to the school, only to face a new set of gimmicks.

Those who solved the school’s puzzles progressed to yet another map.

They couldn’t escape like we did.

The game wasn’t truly about escape rooms—it was about identifying the monster.

Until the monster was found, there was no way out.

[Mashiina’s the werewolf, right?]

The next to identify the "monster" was Rui.

Her words, "Mashiina’s the werewolf," essentially meant, "Mashiina’s the Mafia."

Different countries call it different things—Mafia in ours, Werewolf in Japan.

Regardless, Rui’s sharp instincts allowed her to escape third.

"Now that everyone’s escaped, let’s announce the results!"

After some time, Kaiser resumed his formal hosting tone.

"As mentioned before, the person who escaped last and the one with the fewest betting chips will face the penalty. Here are the escape rankings:"

[Escape Order]

Shiroki Anna: 18+4+2 = 24Hanabane Rui: 18+4+0 = 22Ayanokouji Sora: 18+0+2 = 20Sonarim: 18+0+2 = 20Masina: 18+0+0 = 18Asahina Hikari: 12+0+4 = 16Kazama Izumi: 6+0+6 = 12Aurora: 0+4+6 = 10】"Shiroki Anna came in last."

"I have no regrets."

Anna wore a serene expression.