Idol Gunner [Yuri Villainess LitRPG]

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Akiko Hara

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“You. Join us?”

“Yes, sir,” Akiko replied with sincerity. As much sincerity as she could muster while looking at this monster’s ugly face.

A plan had been brewing in her mind from the moment she saw this city. The moment she noticed that they had leaders who ordered the others around, she had found the answer to all of life’s questions. Her existence had been fulfilled by the existence of these creatures. The final piece of a puzzle she had worked on since her childhood.

The one in the middle looked down at her, and then at the two to his sides. They turned around and began to whisper amongst each other. It would take the three of them some time to come to a conclusion. It was to be expected. This was something that they had never dealt with before.

“Are you sure this will work?” Yuko whispered. “You think they’ll understand?”

“Of course they will.” She replied with the same honesty she had given the monsters. “They have suffered more losses than we have, haven’t they?”

“And those…girls outside?” The sniper asked. “Minami seemed confident that they were dead.”

“That’s what she needs to believe, Yuko. Come on, now. You don’t think I would actually kill them, would I?”

“Y-yeah.”

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Human beings are stupid, and they want to remain stupid. They are fools, and they want to be fooled even further.

Akiko understood that fact at a very young age, back when she had realized how much of an idiot she herself was. It was when she watched an actor appear in a film, even though she had already seen him die in another, that she realized how much of a fool she was. The world was trying to deceive her, and they had succeeded.

Her father died and never came back. Her mother died and never came back. When people lost their lives, they did not come back. So, why would an actor? Because he was rich? Because he was famous? It made no sense. Then, when her caretaker at the orphanage told her that it was because the actor had never died in the first place, she realized that they had made a fool of her.

Then why did he act like he died? – She asked a valid question. Instead of an answer, she was met with a laugh and a pat on her head. Her caretaker told her it was just for the story and walked away. She said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. The man had pretended to die because other people wanted him to do it. He had pretended to die…for fun.

To make fun…of her. Because her parents had not come back. When other people actually died, they did not come back. When she came to that conclusion, she knew that she could not watch these films and television shows anymore. Once she knew that they were all just trying to make fun of human emotions, she could not accept them anymore.

There was just one issue with that. Just one small issue.

Akiko Hara was addicted to entertainment media.

So, she knew she had to find her happiness somewhere else. First, she tried reality television. It claimed that it was reality, after all. Surely, it would not lie about that. But lo and behold, she should have already learned the lesson that this industry was full of fakes. Even those shows were not real. They were only meant for fake entertainment. They were meant to make people ‘feel something’. As if they weren’t alive enough to feel these things without them.

That meant reality television was out, and she needed to move on to something else. That something else was, finally, real life itself. When you started to pay attention, real life and human culture were often far, far more interesting than any film. It had everything you could ever ask for, especially when it came to the world of her favourite idols. Because they were not fake.

Or, well, their real lives were not fake. Even if they pretended to be someone else on camera, they had very real lives that were supremely entertaining. Love stories, revenge stories, success stories. Crimes, secrets, drama. The deeper she got, the more she fell in love. The more she read expose pieces, the more she thought that she had found her calling.

This was it. This gave her the rush that fiction once had. It let her revel in the stories of other people, while also knowing that they were real. Akiko Hara was well and truly in love with these people.

Love, love, love, love, love. She loved them so much.

So, why? Why did they suddenly stop? Why did the true scandals get so rare, and why did these girls start taking more precautions to save themselves? As time went on and the culture grew, the idols she had once loved started to disappear and fade out of the public eye. Akiko never found out how her favourite storyline ended. She never found out where her most adored side characters found their peace or love.

It was the worst. The absolute worst. It got even worse when she looked up pieces written by some of her most trusted storytelling journalists, and they claimed that they did not want to destroy someone’s life again. All because some stupid third-rate idol had killed herself after a secret lover was exposed to the public.

How dumb.

Spineless. Every single one of them was a spineless bastard who did not deserve their positions and the respect that came with them. Nobody could give her the entertainment she wished for anymore. Nobody could show her the beautiful world of highs and lows that she had already gotten addicted to.

But that was fine. It was alright, because Akiko had learnt her own lessons at the orphanage. She had learned that if nobody else did something, then you should do it. You should create the world that you want to see. It was a simple enough rule, and a very good idea.

If nobody was going to give her what she wanted, she would snatch it herself. She would burst her way to the top and become the storyteller that this world needed. There must be so many people out there who were starving to see something actually interesting. Thirsting for a story that would truly keep them on their toes.

Akiko Hara would make it. Even if nobody else had the courage, she did. It was with that resolution that she decided to become an idol.

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“We…accept.” The middle monster finally broke away and turned to her. Akiko could swear that she even saw it smile. “But why? Why deal?”

“Ah. I wish to understand you all, sir.” She put on her best acting voice. “I want to see how all of you work, and…help you all. Be one with you all. I am bored with the human beings, sir. Look at your civilization. It is fascinating. It is beautiful. All of you are beautiful. I just want to know more about you all.”

Behind her, Kana Minami screamed something, but Akiko could not bother to look at her. Not only because it would break her eye contact with the royal monster, but also because she could not bear to see that girl. Not right now, and not like this.

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Unfortunately, Akiko Hara lost her path.

She tried and tried to change the world around her, but only kept getting more famous. And the more famous she got, the more stories were written about her. Before she knew it, she had become the product when she should have been the storyteller. After all, she could not have fun watching her own life. She needed to watch others.

To do that, she did her best to affect the people around her. She manipulated her closest friends into believing she loved them. She manipulated the other idols into making music that would make them sound better, but they were all horrible at their jobs. Akiko liked Nozoki Neko, but then they kept headquarters underground and never appeared in front of the press.

It was a huge mess. The worst mess she had ever been in. For a long time, she was convinced that she would never be able to fix it. That her dreams had come to an end. But then she was introduced to Kana Minami.

The crazy girl who used her System weapons out in the open. The unhinged girl who did the most insane things in the Monster Dimension. The girl who ran out to search for her friends after the round had ended. The girl who purposefully stayed in there after that to get more points, even if it cost her one of her teammates’ lives. The girl who proceeded to blow up a drug dealer and then participated in a car chase with the Coalition.

She was…perfect. She was sublime. She was the greatest thing Akiko could have ever asked for.

As Akiko found herself reversing the moment the grenade in that man’s hand went off and blew up, she was forced to confront something bad. The more she enjoyed the scene of him getting blasted to oblivion, the more she accepted the truth. Akiko just loved violence. That was why nothing had changed.

That was why there had been no scandals during her time, and she had made sure that she stayed at the top. She hadn’t been providing the girls with good music advice at all. No, it was the opposite. She had been forcing herself to stay at the top because she wanted to keep the Monster Dimension safe.

Watching that man die over and over, she found enlightenment in the fact that death was the highest form of entertainment. Because there was no going back from that. She had circled back to her childhood. She had reached the very end of her path and found out that the actors were just trying to fake something that did not need to be faked. They could just die for real, and it would be just as fun!

Thanks to Kana Minami, she had finally found her true calling. Then, she found out about the civilizations down here. She found out about the scale of the Monster Dimension and its inhabiting species. She saw Kana kill that man in the resort and found the pleasure of that story to be far more invigorating than she could have expected.

And so, she decided on her final plan. The ultimate form of entertainment. The one which humanity had always circled back to over, and over, and over again. She couldn’t contain herself at the pure ecstasy of getting to pull it off. Nothing could have prepared her for the moment she found out what her brain was suggesting.

Now, she was right there. She had finally reached where she needed to, and victory was almost in sight. These three needed to take her in, and the final plan would begin in earnest.

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“We impressed.” The monster nodded. “But prove. Must prove. Human bad, Netsolnian good.”

“Netsolnian?” Yuko whispered.

“Is that what you’re called?” Akiko asked. “Ah, that’s wonderful. Netsolnians. I guess, by that logic, this world is called Netsol? Netsolnia? Something like that?”

“Netsolnia. Our world.” The right monster nodded with a slight laugh. “Welcome, human. But prove. First, prove.”

“Prove? What do you want me to prove? I’ll…do it. I’ll do whatever you want me to do to prove myself. I really do want to talk to you all, and make friends with you all, and know so, so much more about what you do here.”

The left monster looked incredibly happy about this. “Yes. Good. But first, prove. Human bad, Netsolnian good. You kill human. You join Netsolnian.”

The monster in the middle bent down and placed a sword in her hand. It was similar to the one she had in her inventory, but with a sharper edge. That was probably because it had been made quite recently, compared to the age of her own relic. Gripping the sword, she gulped and waited for an explanation.

“Big group. Kill one human. Accept. Proof get.” The monster in the middle said as he went back to his place. “Agree?”

“No, wait. Of course not.” Yuko shook her head. “We’re here to negotiate peace. We will not be killing anyone. Aki, tell them.”

Akiko could not speak. What a pain in the ass. She needed to kill someone to get this, too. Death, death, death. It was no fun to keep killing people if their deaths were not grand. But all too often, she was forced to make them boring. Even now, it would be so boring if she did it. No big sacrifice, and no massive story payoff.

“Must prove.” The left demon murmured. “If no proof, no deal. You die. All die.”

“I highly doubt you’re capable enough for that.” Yuko slapped back, standing her ground. “B…bring this platform down and let us go. The deal is off the table. Aki, say something!”

“I…” She whispered, but then trailed off, still thinking. Akiko looked at the sword and internally sighed before setting her grip right.

“Must prove.” The right demon chanted.

“Must prove.” The middle demon continued.

With the left demon continuing the formula, it became a proper repetition that started to echo in her ears. It reached inside and beat beside her heart. Proof was necessary. She needed to do something to show her loyalty to their cause. Without it, she could not get in. Without it, she could not get what she had wanted for so many decades.

The key to the ultimate entertainment was a sacrifice, plain and simple. Not even that difficult or heavy of an offering. Just…tedious. She had so many narrative arcs planned, too. She had so many futures of what could happen.

“Stop that!” Yuko shouted, looking down at the monsters as she spawned in her sniper and took aim at the leaders.

“What the fuck are you doing up there!?” Minami shouted from the ground. “Get down, you assholes!”

“Must prove. Must prove. Must prove.” The chant continued.

Akiko held the sword with conviction and made up her mind. That was it, then. It was a fun ride while it lasted.

“Aki, say somet-”

The blade was sharper than she had expected. The cut much cleaner than she had anticipated. The sword sliced through Yuko Suzuki’s neck in an instant, sending her head flying in the air before it landed in the hands of the demons cheering below. Her teammate’s body fell down beside her before tumbling down the platform into the crowd.

With the demons holding her head up like a trophy, they jumped around and welcomed her into their ranks.

Akiko chuckled, handing the sword back to the leaders as they happily took it from her and put it back. The chuckle turned into a laugh as she looked down at the head of Yuko Suzuki being tossed around like a plaything. Even as her eyes moistened, she wasn’t sure why it was. She hadn’t really been particularly attached to her. She hadn’t been attached to anyone, really.

They were all just chess pieces to her. The ones she needed to manipulate to give herself what she wanted. Even if it wasn’t a great ending for Yuko, it was fine enough. It was a narrative necessity.

“Welcome!” The middle demon celebrated with his hands in the air. The other two followed suit.

“Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!” Their chant turned into a greeting, and the sounds of the demons below still managed to drown them out.

It continued. The sounds grew louder and louder, causing Akiko to heave as the weight of her choices dawned on her. She had done it. She had finally done it. She had reached exactly where she wanted to reach, and it was glorious. She could taste it now. She could touch it now. Her own ending was in sight. The beginning of everything was in sight, too.

“Now. Proper welcome.” The middle demon said once they stopped. “Big welcome. Netlsonia greeting for human!”

Akiko kept watching as two massive, tentacle-like living objects appeared from the windows of the mansion below them. Red, hulking, hunting for her, they whooshed up to the platform and waited in front of her face for just a moment. When the royal in the middle clapped and started laughing, they got even closer to Akiko and wrapped themselves around her.