Chapter 164: Fateful Imitation—Be Faithful to Evil

Lucas Garcia. The gamer whose countermeasures we drafted under the codename "Skirt Chaser" during planning—in a word, he's the "intellectual type." Put another way, he's the same type as Katzo: someone who "gets stronger the more he researches." For this particular match, he's one of the comparatively weaker members of Star Rain. Though "weaker" only means compared to a level 99, he's level 97—the fundamental premise that he's strong doesn't change. That said, he's an analytical fiend who, in ordinary tournaments, is said to either lose by a hair or win by a landslide, and there are even rumors that he doesn't just pick up girls on the road—he's charmed female paparazzi.

Towa: "Y'know, it's that kind of thing. He seems like he'd suit a bad ending in a dating sim."

Rakuro: "Nah, more like the handsome guy who dies mid-way through a zombie apocalypse."

Towa: "Ah, I can see that."

On the giant display screen above, Megumi and the skirt-cha—Lucas are selecting their characters. In GH:C, a festival game, cross-over battles between characters from different works are one of the main attractions. But this time, Nitro Squad is doing things a little differently.

Announcer: "Lucas has selected 'Dr. Sandalphon'!"

Commentator: "That's been his main since the previous title. Even though the system has changed significantly, choosing a character he knows inside out is a solid choice given his playstyle."

Towa: "And that's one win for me. Post-match feast is sushi, then? Hmm~?"

Rakuro: "…We don't know that yet."

He looks like nothing more than a worn-out middle-aged man in a tattered lab coat and sandals, holding a cell phone. But apparently, he's still a hero. A doctor who fights monsters created by evil mad scientists using a cell-phone-type psychic amplification device… I think? Anyway, the secret "Guess Which Character the Non-Sylvia Muscleheads Will Use" game being played between me and Towa is off to a bad start. Come on, monochrome musclehead—I want barbecue, not sushi!!

Announcer: "Oh! Natsume has chosen Yugdraia! It's a hero-villain showdown from the same series!!"

Commentator: "In the previous game, Yugdraia had a favorable 6:4 matchup against Sandalphon, if I recall? Whether she can maintain that advantage in this title will be one to watch."

The idol commentator who lost to Saint-chan acts as if this matchup is a happy coincidence, but of course it didn't happen by chance. This is the operational policy of Nitro Squad with Cosplayers: "Source-Accurate Roleplay." We predicted which character each opponent would pick based on Star Rain's past match records, then prepared counters using that character's rival. It's a way to leverage the "playfulness" unique to an exhibition match, making it more dynamic, more dramatic, and drawing out the time.

Towa: "Sunra—I mean, No Face-kun—you still haven't touched the energy drink?"

Rakuro: "Personal theory, but I think an energy drink hits hardest about thirty minutes after you drink it."

Towa: "Ever heard of the placebo effect?"

Rakuro: "That's the thing where the sound gets lower when an F1 car goes past at high speed…"

Towa: "Yeah, that's the Doppler effect."

What the hell is she getting at? Whatever. The important thing right now is watching Megumi's struggle.

To be blunt, Megumi is… well, bluntly, she's a slightly inferior version of Katzo. And that also means she's a slightly inferior version of Lucas. She's normally strong but normally weak, if you will—she can perform the job she's assigned, but she's not great at overturning a simple difference in ability. That sort of feeling. Incidentally, Towa's assessment of Megumi is even harsher. What's with "even if you imitate a carnivore, your soul is a herbivore, so you'll just get eaten"? That's not an evaluation of a human being.

I know an amateur talking about active pro gamers sounds ridiculous, but since I've won three out of five matches against them, I figure an amateur's got at least the right to speak. That said, these assessments only apply when fighting head-on. Combine them with the schemes of that peerless scumbag, Strategist Towa, and even a scarecrow could be dressed up as a hero.

Rakuro: "Listen, Megumi: don't forget the fundamentals of roleplay etiquette…"

Towa: "Yes, the most fundamental rule of roleplay, the absolute ironclad Rule Number One…"

It's nothing special. Just cast aside your shame.

The golden opportunity was a thorny path accompanied by demons and devils. That was Megumi Natsume's honest assessment of her current situation. She should probably add that the road is doused in gasoline and about to catch fire.

Why do I have to do something that amounts to disrespecting a regular member of Star Rain…?

Originally, she was here—having even canceled a family trip—to answer Kei's request. Last night, her parents in Guam called, completely ignoring the time difference, but that in itself was fine. Her role, so to speak, was merely the opening act to set up the showdown between that dangerous woman… Sylvia Goldberg and Kei. She'd accepted that, albeit somewhat reluctantly. But how on earth did it come to this: having to challenge a top-tier American pro gaming team alongside a charismatic model and a mysterious gas mask? It's not that she's complaining about standing shoulder to shoulder with two amateurs—even from Megumi's perspective, those two seem considerably skilled. She wants to complain at whoever created this situation where she's attempting a reckless, absurd plan with people who provoke each other as naturally as breathing, destroy buildings, and move in bizarre ways. Her calm side points out that she's essentially complaining about Kei. But her un-calm side, perhaps infected by their "heat" or perhaps pushed by the hastily crammed character image of Yugdraia, reached the conclusion that "it's mostly fate's fault."

Megumi: "I won't lose to fate…!"

Yugdraia is a counter-type fighter centered on trap-setting techniques, giving her an advantageous matchup against close-range types like Dr. Sandalphon. But given who she's up against, she has to proceed with caution… or at least, that's what she might have thought until a few days ago.

Megumi: "Ah, damn it, I'll do it!!"

Actions befitting Yugdraia, actions that'll hype up the crowd. If that's the case, what she should do isn't prepare an intercept. The gaze of the woman implanted with plant factors by an evil mad scientist is directed at… the hospital.

Rakuro: "My, my. As expected of Lord No Name. You didn't hesitate to instruct her to 'take hostages and stall for time.'"

Towa: "You could say the same about yourself, Mastermind, who suggested 'wouldn't a hospital make it feel more evil?'"

In Galaxia Heroes Chaos, morality is something you should toss into the gutter. The more villainous, the more heroic—Yugdraia, among them, is a so-called "screw-loose" type of villain. In a sense, she's easy for beginners to use, and in another sense, only experts can truly handle her. Even among villains, it's precisely because they don't end as mere enemies that they have unique charm. Those who fell into evil for tragic reasons, those who walk the path of evil yet hold unwavering convictions, those who simply rampage as they please… just as heroes have justice, villains have unshakable principles of action. Among them, Yugdraia's principle is exceedingly simple: an egocentric mindset devoid of morality, never hesitating to take any action as long as it makes her happy.

Towa: "This game's really well made, isn't it… Villains seem advantageous, but as the match goes on, heroes gain the upper hand."

Rakuro: "That's the worst for us, considering we want to drag things out deliberately."

Towa: "Even so, there are ways around it, Pumpkin-kun. That's what the prep work was for… right?"

Rakuro: "…I pity Megumi, with both her face and name exposed."

Towa: "But I admire Natsume-chan for standing in that arena anyway."

Me and Towa are fine. No matter how ugly the play we broadcast worldwide, the backlash will be directed at "No Face" and "No Name." But Megumi, with her real name and bare face already public, is about to commit heinous acts. Even if it's just game roleplay, that courage deserves pity and admiration.

Towa: "And to think the man himself is off in the bathroom while we're working this hard…"

Rakuro: "Shouldn't we give that bastard a good throttling after this?"

Towa: "Not shime-saba, but shime-katsuo?"

Rakuro & Towa: "Ahahaha."

As we later found out, the sight of a pumpkin mercenary and a fallen-kingdom knight chatting cheerfully while watching the atrocities suddenly unfolding on screen was apparently deeply unnerving. Hey, it made us look strong, didn't it? Yeah.