Idol Gunner [Yuri Villainess LitRPG]

-WARNING-

The following track is classified as a Category S Danger by the Coalition

Danger Type - Propaganda

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The day Manta Nak came back to life, she did not have anyone to talk to. Sitting up in the morgue that she had been thrown into, it took her an hour to come back to her senses. It took her even longer, as she started to remove all the cloth wrapping her body, to tell herself that the meeting with the Goddess had been a hallucination.

How could it have been real, after all? How could it have possibly been true when she was such an insignificant creature?

But she had died. And she had been revived. If not by the Goddess, then who?

“Must’ve been a bad diagnosis.” She spoke as if to convince herself, taking the last bit of medical fabric off her body and putting her feet on the ground.

As the cold dirt touched her feet, she felt her entire body stiffen. As if it had forgotten how movement worked. She grabbed the nearest wall to stop herself from falling, but then slipped on the piles of cloth that she had left on the ground. The resulting sound alerted the nurses to come in and get her out of the room.

When they tried to get her relatives to come in, nobody did. Everyone was dead. Everyone had been murdered in the purge of their bloodline that night. The only one who came to pick her up was a boy her age. A childhood friend who had been with her every step of the way, no matter what path she picked.

Sitting on the bench, waiting in the moments before he arrived, had been painful. Despite knowing that someone close to her was going to be here soon, Manta’s brain kept telling her it was a lie. It kept telling her that nobody was going to be there for her. And so, when he finally reached the door, and she looked at him, her life truly returned.

“Neon!”

By the time she could process the pain piercing through every inch of her body, she had already thrown her arms around him, barely able to breathe. Neon Terra gave her a head pat and smiled, hugging her back.

“Stubborn even in death, aren’t you?” He laughed.

The walk back was peaceful. Being a community hospital that was not under any particular region’s control, the place Manta had been treated had been far from the region’s entrance.

“None of the hospitals on the inside wanted to take you all.” Neon explained as they made their way back, “Too much of a hassle to have to deal with the fallout.”

“Hmm. You’re telling me I’ll be in trouble the moment I walk back in?”

“Could be. Could not be. Who knows. The governor managed to get everyone to calm down, so I don’t think it’s instant death. But if the ones responsible see you, then you never know.”

“Well, then, I’m not going back.”

“Why?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Might have something to do with the fact that I don’t wanna fucking die. What do you think, Neon!?”

He stopped, puffing, “That’s not what I meant. Sorry. I mean…you can’t not go back. It’s your house. It’s your neighborhood. You didn’t do anything wrong, Manta. It was your father, and someone else’s father. Why should you live in fear because of that?”

“I…it’s not that simple, Neon. It doesn’t matter what you think things should be like. My family’s dead. Everyone I know is dead. We’re fucked. They…they killed children, Neon. No matter what I do, I’m not getting away.”

“And that means you’re just gonna let them get away with it?”

Neon didn’t snap very often. Manta was not used to it. But she had experienced it before. Instinctively, she looked at the ground and tried to consider what he was saying. He didn’t get angry unless he was right.

“No.” She ended up replying. As she did, the conversation with the Goddess troubled her once more. If what she had said meant anything true, then did Manta even have the luxury of worrying about a single bloodline feud? She shook her head, brushing it all off in an instant, “But I’m not heading in blind. I have no interest in being stabbed the second I put a foot into Region Y.”

“Oh, no, yeah. That…I get.” He started walking again, smiling, “I’ve handled that already. If you’re fine with it, then the governor will help you get some work. Probably in the military. I’m joining too, so maybe consider it. Being there will keep you safe from any attacks.”

“Wonderful. I’m in. You’re so thoughtful, Neon. How does that solve the problem with me not being able to walk in the front gate, though?”

“I got that covered, too. Don’t worry.”

“I am worrying. How?”

“We…uh…haven’t really met in a month or so, have we?”

“Yeah, and I don’t care to catch up. You’re horrible at changing the topic. What’s your dumb plan?”

“It’s not dumb. It’s a good plan. Basically foolproof. No worries there.”

“And that’s why you’re hesitating to share it?”

“No! That’s not-”

“Oh my god, just end it. What do you need me to do?” She stopped and stared.

“Nothing. You don’t need to do anything. Literally just follow my lead and walk in. Not through the front gate, so you’ll be fine. My girlfriend will handle all that.”

And there lay the embarrassment. Manta cracked a smile.

“Hmm…girlfriend?”

“Uh, yeah. She’s cool. Name’s…”

_____________

“Angel…”

Manta’s legs hurt. She had run, and run, and run without stopping. Her head hurt. Every inch of her body cried out in pain. Her legs were ready to shatter into a million pieces as they finally gave in.

In the distance, the girl standing at the side gate came into view. Her silhouette, just as striking and imposing as it had been the first time Manta saw her. Back then, it had made her question how someone this confident could have fallen for Neon Terra, of all people. Now, all she found in her heart was a warm hope.

Broken, tired, and impatient to deliver the information she had gained on her scouting run, Manta saw Angel Olk’s figure and knew she was safe. She was home.

By the time she limped her way to the gate, Neon’s girlfriend had already caught her and was carrying her in.

“Manta? What happened?”

“I…Governor…”

She felt her eyelids grow heavier. Her body started to groan. Her energy ran out once that familiar, calm voice reached her. In Angel Olk’s arms, she collapsed.

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When she came back, Manta was in a position she had become bored with. Snapping out of her unconscious spell on a rough bed, she stretched her arms and looked around. Angel Olk, humming a tune, was sitting at her desk and doing some work on her notes. Being the accountant of her family business, which was to maintain the trade route side gate, she did that a lot.

“Angel?”

“Oh. Hey! Feeling better?”

“Yeah. Thanks. Hey, uh, I need to go. You got something to snack on before that?”

“Uh, yeah.” She immediately stood up and headed out to the kitchen. From there came her voice, “Where are you going, though? You just got back and fell down. What happened?”

Handing over a bowl of what was clearly some leftover breakfast, Angel sat down beside her, looking with piercing eyes.

“I need to tell the Governor something. It’s important.” She spoke in between the gaps she took as she ate, “It’s urgent, so I cannot wait. Thank you so much for the help.”

“That’s nothing. Is it something bad? The message.”

“A…little. Not too bad. Nothing to worry about.”

Even as she smiled and tried to cover up her worries, Manta could feel her true feelings slipping through. She saw her own discomfort reflected in Angel’s eyes and cursed herself for not even being able to lie properly. But that feeling only stayed for so long. It took no time for it to be swallowed up by the silhouette her mind had made up for those invaders.

As if Netsolnia was not a cruel enough place on its own. These monsters had decided to attack it and make things worse. She had no idea how they were supposed to fight back, or if that was even possible. She wasn’t sure if she was even meant to be the one to stop them. Perhaps the Goddess had made a mistake.

Manta coughed. The food, stuck in her throat, started to almost scrape and burn. Angel put a hand on her back, rubbing it for comfort. That was right. She had gone too far with that. The Goddess could never be wrong. If Manta were to fail, that would be her own failure. It wouldn’t make her a victim, but a traitor. Nothing but a worthless fool who wasn’t able to live up to what was expected of her.

“Neon?” Manta asked, keeping the bowl down for a second.

“He’s at work.” Angel answered, “Been worried sick ever since he found out they sent you on a scout run. Those are always annoying, according to him.”

In response, all Manta could do was laugh, “Of course they are. His smooth brain can’t keep quiet for even two minutes, so what do you expect? His breathing would probably alert the enem…ow!”

A searing pain in her chest stopped her from speaking. The bowl clattered out of her hand, spilling the food on the ground. The embarrassment made her face shrink, but she did not let it show. Primarily, because the sharp, piercing sensation in her body commanded all of her attention.

“What happened?” Angel held her, trying her best to calm the girl down.

“Just…ow! It hurts.”

“You were running, weren’t you? That’s probably it. Too much and your organs will start giving up. You didn’t sleep for very long, so I don’t think it has healed enough.”

“Yeah, well, do you have some coolant?”

“Coolant?”

“Any will do. Do you have it?”

“Uh…I guess. I’ll have to check. Why?”

Manta pushed her away as gently as she could, towards the kitchen, “Get some. Please. I need to get to the Governor, no matter what. This can’t wait.”

“Manta, no!” She came back still, grabbing her shoulders, “You can’t meet him today, anyway. There’s a high-level envoy from Region F here on some business. That’s all the office is dedicating its time to today. Even my father couldn’t submit his documents.”

Envoy from Region F?

Manta stood up, holding on to Angel for support as her legs and chest refused to. She couldn’t stop now. Especially now. The reason behind this visit was as clear as it could be. To her, at least, it was. If the off-worlders were killing everyone in the armies of those at the top, they would obviously look for the lower regions for fodder.

For not even a second, could she believe that that was an envoy. No. It was a death sentence that they would willingly ask the Governor to sign. It was a way for them to keep sending Netsolnians to the destructive interdimensional war they had found themselves in, while they tried to figure out an actual way to stop it.

“Manta, you can’t walk. Tomorrow will do!”

“No!” Manta snapped. The figure of the Goddess, relying on her, came to mind. She would be a fool not to try to fight back. It was her duty. She pulled Angel along, “Today. We need to tell him today. Right now.”

“We…?”

“If I can’t walk, then you’re taking me. Come on.”

“Manta, you can’t be serious. I need to man the gate.”

She pulled her further, until they were out of the bedroom and moving towards the exit. Even as she coughed and her body begged her to stop, she forced herself to keep going, “I am very serious. Close the gates. We need to leave.”