Idol Gunner [Yuri Villainess LitRPG]

The gun fell out of Kana’s hand and disappeared back into the System. Her eyes stayed glued to where Akiko Hara had been standing just moments ago. In her lower periphery, she could still see Yuko Suzuki’s head being tossed up and down in celebration, but she still hadn’t processed her death well enough to care.

Something had just unfolded in front of her eyes, and she had had nothing to do with it. For some reason, out of nowhere, Akiko had decided to change sides. Why? She had killed one of her best friends to prove her new allegiance. Why? None of it made any sense. Kana could not move until she made it make sense.

Beside her, Nobuko Kimura had also gone silent. So had Marie Iwata and Jina Ohara, who were close by. All four of them watched as the tentacles that had appeared out of the windows of the mansion doubled. Two more erupted out from the roof, and then they quadrupled as more slithered out of some other windows, and even broke through some of the buildings beside them.

Some of the sniping monsters who had been sheltering on those buildings were thrown off, falling to the ground and dying. The monsters screamed at this development and started to run. Yuko’s head fell to the ground and was trampled under their hundreds of feet as they got out of the way of the monstrous tentacles.

Up top, where they had met Akiko, their work began. The girl’s head popped out from between two of them, completely covered below. She took a deep breath and laughed as they raised her in the air and pulled her back. Akiko’s face beamed with a psychopathic joy as she was given a better view of the battlefield below. The three elders of the monsters withdrew into the mansion, leaving them all alone.

“Kana, get back!” Jina’s voice came too late.

Kana looked to the right and saw one of the tentacles heading straight for her. Slimy, fleshy, all black, it tore through the buildings that it had burst through. Squashing the monsters in its way, it sped towards her at a speed her brain could not even comprehend. Before she could even make a decision, her hands instinctively went up without a word, and she crouched to take cover.

Jina intervened. Her axe reached for the approaching tentacle and met it midway. This gave Kana enough time to come to her senses and jump out of the way, but it was not enough for her protector. The axe shattered on contact, breaking into purple cubes and going back into the System before the tentacle hit her square in the stomach.

“Kan-”

She did not even get time to scream for help before she vanished. The tentacle moved away at blinding speed, throwing Jina to the other side of the city. Kana, trembling, stood up and tried to reach out with her hand, but was pulled back by Nobuko. Both of them stepped back. It was the right choice, too. Just touching it could have been disastrous.

“We need to leave,” Nobuko whispered, stabilizing herself and looking back at the rest of the approaching group. Kana pulled herself together in response.

“What the fuck just happened!?” Neptune screamed, still getting closer as she shot a running demon in the head. “Was that…”

She looked at the remains of Yuko’s head and lost her voice. Atlas’ weapon disappeared, and her hand whipped up to her mouth. Covering it, she retched and ran away. Barely missing her, another one of the tentacles smacked down on the ground between the larger group and the smaller.

It slowly pulled back, preparing for another strike, and Nobuko ordered over its dusty slither.

“Shoko, heal the rest and get out with them. Megumi, with me! We’re gonna go and get Ohara from the other side. She got thrown away by those things.”

Once the tentacle disappeared and her group came into view, Marie did the same. “Hanae, Hiromi, take Kana with you. I’ll go with Kim-”

“Keep it to yours-!” Kana started to shout, but a massive shadow on the ground alerted her to an oncoming attack. Grabbing Marie’s hand, she leapt out of the way as another tentacle crashed down into the ground. Both of them tumbled away, unscratched.

Instead of going back like the rest, however, this one moved back and stood up. Resting on its snake-like body, it rose until its pointy end was looking down at them. It stayed there for some time, surveying the group even though it had no eyes. Hanae, terrified, almost fell from the intimidation alone before Atlas helped her stay on her feet.

“Megumi, get here!” Nobuko ordered her teammate once more, and was obliged this time around.

Ishida started to run to them while Shoko stayed behind. Hanae and Hiromi, nodding at Marie in the distance, also stepped back with the rest. The Fluorescent Angels had said nothing about helping them out, but Atlas came with Megumi either way. And with that, a clear divide was formed.

The tentacle shivered in the air, vibrating with a shriek from beyond. It came from the mansion, but its source was unknown. Then, it smacked into the ground around them wildly. There was no pattern nor sense to its attacks; indiscriminately killing fleeing monsters if they got in the way of its unstoppable flurry of whips. Neptune, Hanae, Hiromi and Shoko got under Saturn’s barrier in a heartbeat, protecting themselves as another tentacle quietly slithered up from the left and prepared to attack in the same position.

Getting away from their group were the others. Kana ran first for the other side of the city, followed by Marie, Nobuko, Megumi, and Atlas. They did not have a Vanguard class to keep them safe in the case of heavy attacks, but Kana did not need that anyway.

She took out her portable landmine and used it as she ran. Taking time once in a while to stop and set up bombs on every corner and alley that one of those tentacles could come at them from, she prepared a clear path for them to proceed. At the same time, Nobuko worked with Megumi to clear out any faultily brave monsters who were still trying to attack them from the roofs.

Marie and Atlas did not have much to do, then, other than holding their fire and sheathing their swords. With Nobuko handling the ones ambushing them with a single bullet each, they did not want to interrupt her flow. If they decided to do their own thing and attack the tentacles, they would needlessly attract attention towards themselves. In the end, even though they had decided to come here with them, their own lives were paramount.

“Don’t be reckless, Minami!” Nobuko caught up with them soon, leading a huffing and puffing Megumi. They had gotten closer and closer to where Jina had been thrown, but that did not ensure safety. “It’s the opposite. The more isolated we are, the more likely that we get noticed by that thing. Move slowly and precisely, got it?”

“Let it come, then. I don’t need your cowardly tactics to deal with this bastard.” Kana fumed, increasing her speed out of spite.

Something had flipped in her. She should have been shaking, or scared, or shocked. But her brain had accepted Akiko’s decision faster than anticipated. The moment Jina had been thrown away by that beast, she had automatically decided that this took priority. Kana could not do anything about Akiko right now, but she could save Jina. She had to save Jina.

“That’s what you said when that one with the stick was in the way, didn’t you?” Atlas ran up to her with her sledgehammer in hand. “Stay calm, Minami. We’ll find Ohara, and she’ll be fine. She’s strong enough to take care of herself.”

Kana did not need reminders of her biggest embarrassment. She frowned and clicked her tongue. “Of course she will be fine. I’m not worried about her. I’m just…just trying to get out of here as soon as possible. It would be dumb to leave her behind when we can help her out.”

“Ah.” Atlas still found the courage to smile a little. “So, if you can leave someone behind, you would?”

“Do you even need to ask that? It’s a given. It’s…Jina!”

The girl finally came into view. She was still lying against the final house that she had been thrown into. With blood pouring out of her mouth and her hands twitching over the red dirt of the city’s floor, she sat there with her clothes in tatters. No part of his body looked like it had been damaged much, but there was no doubt that she had been hurt badly.

Jina’s eyes fluttered open as they approached her. She forced one of her hands up and waved, mouthing something inaudible. Kana got to her first and checked her hands and legs. It looked like she could still walk, so she pulled the girl to her feet with some help from Atlas. Once she got there, however, she coughed more blood and her eyes rolled back just a little.

Kana’s hands reached for her back, only to feel blood and torn flesh. She looked to check, and winced at the sight. Jina’s back, which had been pushed through all of those walls, was completely bare. The clothes had been ripped off, leaving her bruised on every inch with blood coating her remaining skin. Even with those injuries, the girl stood up and moved on her own.

“Fine. I’m fine…” She whispered, pulling away from them and taking a breath to calm herself. Then, hunched, she equipped her sword and nodded at Nobuko.

“Take at least one of their shoulders.” The leader of Ruby Passion Jr. suggested. “We can’t have you collapsing mid-way, especially when we get closer. Too many of those things to ensure everyone’s safety.”

In the back, the tentacles had gotten more violent. They ripped apart the buildings, picked monsters up and thwacked them on the ground. Every single one of them operated with what seemed like a separate consciousness. They all attacked different parts of the city to keep the girls there occupied and under pressure.

“Seven,” Marie said. “There’s only seven of them.”

“Huh?” Atlas looked up and counted to confirm.

Kana did the same, focusing on something else. Marie was right about there being only seven tentacles in view, but had missed an important detail. Akiko was nowhere in sight. She had been raised in the air by two of them, but now all seven were attacking them on the ground. One of them was missing, and so was Akiko Hara.

“Fuck! Brac-”

Megumi barely got time to speak before the eighth tentacle made itself known. Shattering the buildings keeping them hidden, it reached all six of the girls at once. Megumi and Nobuko were hit first, though the latter got some time to bring her hands up in front of her face. Yet, they were thrown back into the buildings behind them. Atlas and Jina used their weapons to protect themselves, but were still met with supreme force.

Kana had only one thing in mind, though. She took out her railgun and prepared to fire it. As the tentacle came closer, she heard it fill up in rhythm with the approaching attack. Marie protected her to give some time, unloading a magazine as the pointy tip reached out for them with a curl. The railgun clicked into place, just moments before the flesh smacked Kana across the face, and she fired.

A cloud of dust, smoke, and blood covered the entire scene a moment later. Nobuko, Megumi, Jina and Atlas got a moment to stand back up, though completely battered. Marie was thrown away to the top of a crumbled nearby building due to the sheer force of the blast. Kana, however, slowly found the head of the tentacle wrap around her and pull her up.

The railgun had destroyed a large chunk of the tentacle, but it was healing at rapid speed. Choking her as it got tighter, it squeezed the breath out of Kana as she was pulled up in the air. Her legs thrashed around to no avail, losing all fight by the time the dust settled and she was able to see properly again.

On top of the tentacle, walking as if she were right where she belonged, was Akiko Hara. Not a cloth on her body, she had been decorated in a weird black liquid instead. A slightly translucent, viscous black substance coated parts of her naked body and dripped down on the tentacle below her. That substance, in turn, seemed to heal the monster with help from her System abilities.

With a wicked smile, she walked to Kana and crouched down.

“Thank you, Minami. You’re so amazing, really. You’re so, so, so, so, so beautiful!” She cackled, throwing her head back in sheer joy as she traced patterns on the tentacle’s body with the liquid flowing down her body.

“Akiko!” Nobuko got her attention from the ground, aiming for her once more before shooting. The bullet raced towards Akiko, but was instantly blocked by another tentacle. It appeared from the other side of the city at high speed and took the bullet for her. Then, it sat down on the ground and glared at the girls below.

“Ah, thank you…” Akiko whispered, patting the tentacle that had saved her, healing the wound. Then, she turned back to Kana and touched the one below her. “Don’t kill her, please. I…don’t know how to talk to you, so I hope you understand?”

The tentacle relented. It loosened its grip on Kana, letting her breathe. Still, it kept itself wrapped around tight enough to keep her imprisoned.

“You crazy bitch…” Kana whimpered, gathering up all the blood that had been squeezed out into her mouth, and spitting it out on Akiko’s face. “Don’t take my name. You don’t deserve to even use my name. I’ll fucking kill you. I’ll rip you to piec-”

“On second thought, keep her mouth closed.” Akiko sighed, and the tentacle did as she asked. “Blah, blah, blah. You’re so rude. So…short-sighted. But that’s why I love you, you know? When people are too smart and stuff, they just make the most boring decisions. They just do the smartest, best stuff to do, and it’s just kinda unsatisfying. Not you, though.”

Kana tried to speak up, but the tentacle around her mouth was tight. It did not set her free.

Akiko continued, “You always make the most interesting decisions. You always do the cutest, most wild stuff. It’s insane, isn’t it? You’re so crazy. I love you, Minami. I love you soooo much. Thank you for finally opening my eyes and all that. You’re amazing. Did I tell you that? I think I told you that. You’re the best!”

“Shut the fuck up.” Even through the tentacle, Kana’s voice managed to leak through with its intensity. Her throat hurt, felt like it had been shredded from the inside, but that did not stop her.

“Ahh, so cute. But we’re only just getting started, Minami.” Akiko adjusted Kana’s hair to get it out of her face and stood up. The black liquid had almost completely worn off, and her face was starting to lose some confidence. Her skin was slowly coming into focus, leaving her completely uncovered. “We’re going to have so much fun when I’m done with this. It’s going to be the absolute best! Even better than what you showed me. Aren’t you excited, Minam-!?”

A bullet tore through Akiko’s skull, blasting it into small pieces as skull and flesh flew out. The girl’s body fell on the ground, and Marie’s came into focus. Covered in dust and rubble, she had her assault rifle propped up and pointed straight where Akiko’s head had been.

She stepped over Akiko’s lifeless cadaver and pulled Kana out from the tentacle’s grasp, which had suddenly gotten looser. With help from Marie, she crawled up and took another breath. Being stuck in there had been difficult. It had been almost impossible to breathe, and she had been saying the most absurd stuff.

“That was a bit anticlimactic,” Marie whispered, wiping the fleshy slime off Kana’s face before sighing. She looked down at Nobuko and waved, and got a wave back in return. The girls on the ground were still trying to fight against the single tentacle, but Akiko’s death had caught their attention.

“Sham-!”

A hand reached up and tapped Marie’s shoulder. Kana caught her breath as Akiko rose again. Her brain repaired itself, coming back together with purple cubes as the source. As she repaired herself, she laughed and ruffled Marie’s hair. The entire time, the leader of Nozoki Neko could not speak. She trembled in place, with barely enough strength to gulp and slowly turn back.

Akiko finally stopped laughing and shook her head. “All out of the stuff, too. Oh, well, get her.”

“Kana, down!”

Marie reached out at once and pushed Kana off, letting her fall as the second tentacle rushed up and came for them.

Hurtling down, all she could do was watch as Akiko withdrew. She walked away from the scene, following the tentacle and going back inside the mansion. Behind her, the second tentacle tossed Marie in the air, with her gun falling to the ground before despawning. In the air, she looked at them and yelped for just a moment before the first tentacle wrapped back around and caught her, wrapping around.

Squeezing by its grip, she whimpered and punched it to no result. The second one came too, and wrapped around her vertically, head to toe. Kana fell to the floor, and Atlas helped break her fall. In the air, between the two tentacles, Marie had been completely enveloped on all sides.