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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A woman standing in an alley pulled her away from danger as a fireball came crashing down from behind her. Manta Nak tumbled to the ground as the woman loosened her grip, crashing into the dust headfirst.

She coughed and stood up, still dazed with confusion at the sudden change in environment. Looking to the right, she expected to see the woman who had saved her. Instead, she found nothing but debris and a splatter of blood. The spot that the woman had been standing in just moments ago had been crushed by the very fireball she saved Manta from. With it, she had also lost her life.

Manta felt her stomach churning, and she turned away. Stumbling through the alley, she prepared to step out into the adjoining road on the other side, but was stopped by another crashing rock. She fell back to the ground, crawling out of the way as more dust flew into the air and clouded her vision. That sick feeling rose up, threateningly getting closer to her mouth.

Forcing herself to stand up once more, she supported herself on the dull orange walls to her side. Cautiously making her way back to the opening, Manta checked both ways before running out and to the right. She needed to make her way to Angel’s house with haste, and the only way to do that was to use the main roads. The alleyways twisted far too much for them to be a viable option.

But as she ran, another fireball came flying in from the right to block her path, bursting into flames and blocking the road. She groaned and ran backwards, forced to take a turn that she had ignored before. A slight detour was now her only option. As she entered that street, the screaming got louder.

The smoke and cinders in the air were particularly heavy in here, since it had a massive singular block of stone as a roof above. Trapped inside, the residuals of the flames had nowhere to go. Surrounded and being choked by that gas were the residents of Region Y, who had gathered here to find themselves equally as trapped.

Men held swords for protection, though they were useless against raining stones of death. The women hugged their children, crouching down to keep them safe from the smoke. The few who didn’t have kids to worry about used damp cloths to clear out the air as best as they could. As she ran through them, eyes trained on the other side, people stared at her with a mix of confusion, pity, and disgust.

Region Y was a fairly contained community. Though she did not recognize any of these people, they were bound to recognize her. Word travelled fast in this city, and everyone had probably heard of the once-noble orphan who had become a soldier. They had definitely heard of how she had brought ruin upon their homes. A truth that she could not deny. A crime that she could not justify.

“Get out of here!” A man screamed.

“You’re a curse. A curse! Should have died that night with the rest of your parasitic blood!”

“W-what did she do?” One of the children wrapped his arms around his mother’s legs, sobbing uncontrollably.

“I hope you fall under one of those boulders, you traitorous bitch!”

Manta ignored their comments and kept her pace up. The roof boomed as fireballs landed on it and shattered into pieces. It was holding strong for now. A testament to its sturdy architecture and resilience. Even with the streets and roads outside being constantly assaulted by the giants’ attacks, that roof did not give up. The people in here would be safe as long as they did not move.

Manta reached the end of the street and stepped back out into the open air. The bombardment had taken a break, for some reason. Perhaps they were refueling their ammunition, setting the rocks aflame to prepare for more attacks. Taking advantage of this small break, she increased her pace, coughing and fighting through her mostly settled stomach to make her way to the edge of the city.

A few more turns, a little bit faster, and she quickly covered distance that would otherwise be difficult. All the while, the destruction surrounding her kept getting worse. The closer she got to the outer half of the city, the more blood flowed on the ground. Soldiers who were working alongside the giants had probably stepped in to take care of the escapees. And so, the piles of bodies got even more prevalent.

Yet, Manta powered through. Even with her perseverance starting to give in, and every muscle in her body tensing and pulling to make her stop, she kept running. She kept moving until a massive shadow appeared out of nowhere, covering the ground completely on every side. It was far too large to be one of the fireballs, so she looked up to find its source. What she saw made her panic and run.

One of the giants, about thirty times taller than a regular Netsolnian, had decided to step into the city. She got out of its range and rolled into one of the alleys as the giant’s foot thumped on the ground. Then, its second foot made it in, too, and the beast groaned. Manta looked up in horror while running as fast as she could. The giant grinned and looked at the buildings around it before beginning to stomp on them one by one.

Behind that giant, further in the city where she had come from, more of them started to flood in. They crushed the buildings under their hulking weight, trampling the men, women, and children who were caught in their deliberate act of cruelty. Manta felt the disgust in her rise once more, only to crash into someone standing right behind her. Both of them fell to the ground, one on top of the other.

“What the…” The girl under her muttered before grabbing her hair in surprise. “Manta?”

“Huh?” Manta Nak looked down at her, taking a moment to adjust her vision. “Angel?”

Angel Olk had been helping a man who had gotten stuck under a collapsed roof. He thanked her and ran off into the distance. Manta got up and helped the girl stand, too. Taking deep breaths, both of them took a moment to rest, looking at the man who had just found his freedom.

But as if caught in fate’s ruthless act of inflicting pain, he did not live for long. Another giant made his way inside through the gates, crushing the man under his feet before moving inwards to destroy the rest of the city. And now that most of them were inside, they began to chant war cries declaring the victory of the upper regions over the ‘unfaithful traitors’ that the people of Region Y were.

Their voices deafened everyone under them, echoing through the air and reaching all the way to the far cities of Region T or U. Their cries rumbled through the air of lower Netsolnia and warned everyone else of the consequences of denying an upper region. Manta tried to speak with Angel, but could barely hear her own voice, let alone what the girl was saying.

But even through that complete lack of understanding, she could make out a single word by reading Angel’s lips.

“Neon.”

She wanted to know where her boyfriend was, and rightfully so. Manta leaned in and did her best to explain the situation, though she was no longer sure how that man would be able to make it out of the prison. But still, she decided to believe in him. If there was someone who could pull it off, it was him. Her sentiments were mirrored in Angel, who nodded with confidence at the information.

“The gate is open! Empty!” She shouted, getting as close as possible to Manta’s ear and screaming at the top of her lungs.

In response, Manta pulled her along, running for the gates. Neon would find his way there somehow, so it was their responsibility to keep it clear for him. They did not have any time to waste, then. The city would fall, and there was no saving it. She could do nothing about it, even though her heart panged with guilt over what she had done. Region Y had been destroyed because of her actions.

Reaching an empty street, she rushed out, heaving for breath as the city gate came into view. Angel’s own house had been destroyed by the giants and the soldiers. Two of the latter were still walking around the general area, poking and prodding every little thing that moved in hopes of finding someone to kill. Once the girls came into view, both of them looked up and licked their lips.

“Extra sword?” Angel screamed to ask.

“Nope!” Manta took out the one resting in its scabbard and prepared to fight.

The two soldiers walked forward with a perverted lust in their eyes. One of them licked his sword, swirling his tongue close to the edge. The other cleaned the blood off his sword on his shirt, wiping it on his chest. Keeping their charade up, the two walked closer amidst the ever-louder war cries of the giants.

“One of these types,” Manta whispered. A confused Angel looked at her, asking for a repeat.

Instead of engaging in that, Manta sighed and threw her sword at the enemies. It would not stab them, since that was impossible. The blade just flung through the air and hit the soldier who was cleaning his sword on his thighs. Panicking at the mere idea of a sword flying towards him, the man shrieked and lost control of his blade.

It flew up and sliced his neck, causing blood to spurt out at uncontrolled speeds. As the ground was slowly painted red, the spray flew up and landed on the soldier beside him. That second lost control too, screaming in terror. His own blade slipped down and sliced his tongue, falling to the ground as the man grabbed his neck to help himself.

Manta walked forward and picked up her own sword. Before the man could arm himself again, she cut his neck off. The body fell down, and she put the sword back in its resting place. Angel looked on in the distance, sighing with relief at the quick resolution. Manta turned to her, hoping that Neon was on his way already.

But something was wrong. She looked at the girl and only saw a look of terror on her face. The war chants in the distance deafened her to all other sounds, making it impossible to hear what Angel was screaming. She did not realize what was going on until the shadow above her had come too close.

By the time she could look up and run away to safety, the giant’s feet had already come down and enveloped her entire body.