The Villainess VTuber Tears People Apart

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[Virtual V-Tuber Gallery]

[Live Thread] What are Sora’s recent records?

(Record Image 1)

(Record Image 2)

Hasn’t Sora been grinding Labyrinthos a lot these days?

[Comments]

– Is that Sora’s Labyrinthos ID?

ㄴ Yeah.

– She’s been at it daily, haha!
– Thought she wasn’t visiting Laura’s place as often. Was it for tournament prep? LOL.

– Other people joke about this, but she’s genuinely getting serious…

ㄴ Huh?

ㄴ Our Chel’s just as real, okay?

ㄴ Didn’t know she moved in with Shina?

ㄴ You think Ainatsu’s just for fun?

ㄴ This is gonna be insane, LOL.

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VTubers have various ways to grow their subscriber counts.

Some do it through singing or ASMR content, while others focus on popular games or even showcase their skills in game tournaments to attract viewers.

However, Ayanokouji Sora believed there was no such thing as a “surefire way to increase subscribers.”

Playing a trending game wouldn’t necessarily guarantee more subscribers. On the contrary, a sudden shift in content could alienate loyal fans who liked her existing style.

Achieving a strong performance in a tournament could also come down to luck. Singing or ASMR required catching the algorithm’s favor or word-of-mouth for traction.

In this sense, collaboration was the most effective and reliable approach.

If a smaller VTuber with only 10,000 subscribers collaborated several times with a top VTuber with a million subscribers, their own subscriber count would soar. Even a grade-schooler could foresee this outcome.

But there were countless VTubers with less than 10,000 subscribers who likely wanted to grow, too. They weren’t remaining as small creators by choice; surely, they’d like to collaborate with larger VTubers if possible.

The problem was that a VTuber with a million subscribers had no reason to mingle with smaller creators.

What would big-name VTubers gain by associating with minor ones?

Hence, collaborations were usually between creators of similar levels.

To partner with top-tier VTubers, one had to be either another top-tier VTuber or a well-known face from a mid-sized agency.

Ayanokouji Sora was…thinking along these lines.

“Alright…Anna, I’ll see if I can set up a collaboration with Rui for you.”

Sora had been teasing Anna, who seemed constantly envious, but she decided to give her a break.

After all, Anna was a senior by one generation, having debuted earlier, yet she was significantly younger than Sora. Considering this, it wasn’t hard to understand Anna’s immaturity.

A tinge of sympathy arose as Sora recognized the feeling.

“Oh? Really?”

At Sora’s words, Anna’s eyes lit up.

“After all, with us being in the same league, there’ll be plenty of collaboration chances. I’ll have a word with Rui about it.”

“…I love you, Sora-chan.”

“Not a fan of people who add ‘-chan’ to my name.”

Anna’s sudden confession left Sora indifferent—Anna’s style was far from appealing to her.

Still, Sora worried that Anna’s easy-going nature might get her into trouble someday with a wrong crowd.

“Congratulations on making it to the Fantasy League.”

Perhaps feeling the conversation had settled, Laura spoke up suddenly.

“Oh, um…thanks.”

“Never expected us to be on the same team.”

Laura smiled slightly. Yet, it was challenging to read her emotions.

It seemed she was happy, but Laura often wore that same smile.

Beneath her arrogant appearance, Laura was not the emotional type; she was good at keeping her thoughts hidden, like a true noblewoman.

As such, Sora had no way of knowing what she truly thought.

Did Laura feel surprised that Sora applied for the Fantasy League?

Was she happy they were on the same team? Or did she feel differently?

“What kind of practice have you been doing?”

Laura’s sudden question caught Sora off guard, making her flinch slightly.

“You noticed…?”

“Actually, I’ve been noticing for a while now.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Anna tilted her head, not understanding the conversation between Sora and Laura. Ainatsu seemed equally puzzled.

Ignoring their reactions, Sora replied,

“…I practiced using the ropes and some other stuff.”

Sora spoke somewhat bashfully.

When she had raided the SerenadeKR base previously, Sora had performed acrobatics using ropes to navigate between buildings.

It wasn’t something she’d mastered overnight. She’d practiced a lot.

She’d been contemplating ways to secure a spot in the Fantasy League.

While she’d been dedicated to playing Labyrinthos, she doubted it would be enough on its own. After all, each tier only accepted one player.

Rather than improving her rank recklessly, Sora believed she needed a reason for “Ayanokouji Sora to be the one” chosen in Tier 6.

So, she sang, took on an Aseosal sponsorship, and practiced various skills.

‘It’s a relief the manager noticed all my efforts….’

She hadn’t intentionally highlighted her efforts during her broadcasts. After all, she hadn’t thought she’d get selected in the draft.

Truthfully, Sora couldn’t understand why she’d been chosen for the Fantasy League. She was baffled by it…why had she been picked?

“Sora-chan, I didn’t realize you’d prepared so much…oh? But why did you apply for the tournament?”

Noticing the flow of the conversation, Anna blinked in surprise.

“Sora-chan doesn’t really need to compete, right? I mean, joining the Fantasy League is great, of course, but it’s almost like…well, it’s as shocking as Michael Jackson joining a gaming tournament.”

“…Comparing me to Michael Jackson feels a bit excessive.”

Sora understood the sentiment, though.

Still, how should she respond to this?

As she pondered, Laura spoke up.

“She wants to hold an AoiS solo live.”

……What?

“Huh, Laura-chan, you wanted to do a solo live?”

“Also, can you please stop with that nickname? From what I know, solo lives are the pinnacle for VTubers.”

“True. Every VTuber dreams of achieving one.”

Anna nodded in agreement.

‘…Actually, I’d never thought about it that way. Not that I’m denying it’s an ultimate goal.’

Of course, the idea of a solo live had crossed Sora’s mind.

But joining the Fantasy League just for a live performance seemed strange.

It felt a bit like this: winning a gaming tournament, gaining popularity from it, and then using that fame to run for parliament…a connection that isn’t entirely off, but where the purpose veers in an unexpected direction.

Sora’s reason for entering the Fantasy League was simpler.

She wanted to play alongside Laura.

‘…That’s really all there is to it.’

It was a simple reason, yet hard to put into words.

Perhaps because, while simple, it wasn’t a lighthearted reason.

In truth, Sora herself didn’t want to dismiss it lightly.

The Fantasy League would involve interaction with various international VTubers, and she worried about how Laura would handle it with her proud personality.

There was also a lingering desire from the early days of Sora’s career, to increase her subscriber count.

However, her reasons for wanting more subscribers had shifted somewhat.

Laura was on track to soon reach 300,000 subscribers.

The mere fact of joining the Fantasy League would cause her subscriber count to soar in real time.

Laura’s influence would grow even more.

At this rate, she would eventually surpass Rinco, EYEAI’s top VTuber.

She might not reach a million subscribers, but without a doubt, Laura was bound to become EYEAI’s biggest star.

Currently, Sora’s subscriber count sat at 60,000.

The only reason she could still interact closely with Laura was because they were generation-mates.

Sometimes Sora wondered, what if they were with different companies?

She probably wouldn’t even have the chance to start a conversation.

Top-tier VTubers were like dragons. And while a dragon might associate with the head of a snake, it would never stay close to the tail.

If Laura became a 1-million-subscriber star, could Sora, with her mere 60,000, still stand by her side?

That doubt was part of why she had entered the tournament.

“If you achieve something noteworthy in this tournament, wouldn’t it be possible for our entire generation to do a solo live?”

Laura continued with her thought.

Was she purposefully sparing Sora the need to explain her reason for entering? Or perhaps she didn’t feel the need to ask at all?

Did she already understand Sora’s motivation?

Sora couldn’t tell.

***

There have only been two times since my return to Earth when I’ve been genuinely shocked. And now, it felt like today was about to be the third.

‘I never expected Sora to apply.’

Has she been busy preparing for the tournament recently? Seems like she’s been keeping her efforts low-key, even managing to keep it hidden from me.

Sure, anyone could find out easily by checking her records, but Sora’s content has never been related to Labyrinthos before. Who would’ve thought she was playing it off-camera? Not even her viewers anticipated this.

‘Well, it’s not a bad thing.’

Looking over the Leviathan team members, I recognized Rui’s name, but the others were entirely unfamiliar.

Of course, I felt confident I could do well with any team. But it was nice to know at least one familiar face.

‘I wonder if there’ll be a reason to go to Japan.’

After last year’s streamer league, Rinco held a celebration with her team, which led to a trip to Japan. I wondered if I’d do the same.

In that sense, Sora being on the team would be convenient. Though I wondered if she’d consider getting a driver’s license—could be useful if she learned to drive.

‘Guess there’s no point in speculating about the future now.’

Whether Sora got her license, celebrated, or traveled to Japan…all uncertain future events.

After all, humans live in the present.

-Ding-

A message notification.

I glanced at my phone.

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[SNS: Direct Message]

【花羽るい♡インクパッレット @Hanabane_Rui】

[Hello, this is Hanabane Rui from Ink Palette.

I’ve set up a Discord server for the Leviathan team.

This might be sudden, but would you like to do a collaboration as a sort of team introduction?]

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Thirty minutes had passed since the draft and my post-draft reaction stream, and after sending Anna home.

And then, that message arrived.

“Impressive initiative.”