The Villainess VTuber Rips People Apart-Chapter 140: There is Not Even 1mg of Sincerity

The taste wasn’t great, but at least it satisfied the hunger.

And then the exploration resumed.

Son Nalim was having quite a hard time.

"My body...! Give me back my body...!"

A mannequin-like doll lunged forward and grabbed Son Nalim. It was a monster known as a 'Living Doll.'

According to the experimental journal acquired a little earlier, the witch had prepared a body that would never age for the purpose of eternal youth. And apparently, that body was the doll itself.

If only a soul could be anchored into the doll, it could remain forever young. Under this theory, the witch had experimented by kidnapping village girls and transferring their souls into the dolls, which is how so many Living Dolls were created in this place.

"Ugh...!"

Son Nalim struggled, but the Living Doll wouldn’t let go.

The Living Doll was a rare monster in this dungeon, known for its low lethality. Even if it was encountered, death wasn’t very likely.

However, all of them were out of their minds, so once caught, they would not release their grip easily. Plus, their loud screeches attracted other monsters to their location, making them even more troublesome. The sound of the Living Doll's voice would draw nearby monsters in.

Indeed, footsteps could be heard from afar.

"Mero, push it away."

Laura, who had been watching from a short distance, spoke curtly.

At her command, Mero stepped forward and shoved the Living Doll away from Son Nalim.

Mero’s class was 《Survival》.

《Survival》 was a class specialized in surviving one-on-one encounters with monsters, equipped with survival abilities such as knockback and stun.

With all her strength, Mero collided with the Living Doll, causing it to fall off of Son Nalim.

Laura then swung her club.

The club struck the Living Doll's head, smashing it to pieces.

"T-thank you...!"

"Now’s not the time to be thankful. Mero."

"Yes! Mero, your loyal toy, is here! Did you call for me, milady!"

"Keep it short, this is an urgent situation. How many knockbacks are left?"

"Two!"

"That’s enough. Lead the way."

Laura gestured with her chin.

Without hesitation, Mero ran toward the direction Laura pointed, with Laura following right behind her—until she didn't.

Somehow, Laura had moved to Nalim’s side and was helping her to her feet.

"Get up, run. Quickly."

"Y-yes..."

Nalim began to run, with Laura guarding the rear.

It was then that Nalim realized something. Her positioning had been all wrong.

As a 《Recovery》 class, Laura was the most vulnerable member of the party and needed to be protected at all costs. She also possessed the <Resurrection> skill, making it absolutely crucial that she never died first.

Thus, it was ideal for Laura to be positioned between Mero and Nalim, not at the back.

"Laura, let’s switch positions...! I’ll handle the rear guard!"

"Ten minutes."

"Pardon?"

"Stay there for just ten minutes."

That’s what Laura said.

Nalim’s concentration was waning.

Laura had noticed.

It was inevitable.

《Explorer》 was a class designed to be at the frontlines, the first to step into dangerous territory. Because of this, Nalim had been exposed to the most danger, and she had to maintain heightened focus and tension more than anyone else.

Son Nalim was a human with excellent concentration, but even so, she was still human. It wasn’t possible to sustain such focus continuously for 24 hours.

So Laura instinctively realized that Nalim needed a refresh.

"...Understood."

Nalim responded.

Nalim hated losing, while Laura enjoyed winning. Though their personalities were somewhat different, their mindsets were quite similar.

Both preferred cold logic over heated emotions, though at times, their rationality could border on madness.

Because of that, Nalim could somewhat read Laura’s thoughts and decided to follow her lead.

A little while later, Mero encountered a monster and used her survival skills.

That was when Nalim and Mero switched places.

Nalim moved to the front while Mero took the rear. Mero guarded the back and protected Laura.

"Over there...! There’s what looks like a secret entrance...!"

And it was Nalim, the 《Explorer》, who spotted the hidden passage.

At first glance, it seemed like a blank wall, but Nalim activated a hidden mechanism and opened the concealed door.

Nalim went in first to ensure no danger was present.

Once she confirmed the area was safe, Laura followed into the passage, and Mero quickly closed the door behind them.

...

Silence.

They held their breath, afraid even the slightest noise might attract monsters. They waited in stillness for a moment.

Nalim used her skills to confirm the area was indeed safe.

Soon, they confirmed there were no monsters following them, and the three of them began to breathe again.

Phew.

"...Could this be the deepest part of the dungeon? There’s nothing here."

Nalim was the first to speak.

The atmosphere here was entirely different from what they had experienced so far.

Up until now, it had felt like a vast, nearly desolate space, akin to a spaceship drifting in space. But this place... it was empty.

The floor beneath their feet felt earthy. It wasn’t paved; it was just plain dirt, with minimal work done to flatten it.

It was a space about the size of a basketball court.

In the center, there was a desk, and the ceiling had some sort of markings on it.

"Wow..., what’s that?"

Mero mumbled while looking at the ceiling.

"That’s a gate."

Following Mero’s gaze, Laura replied.

As expected, there was a gate.

Laura couldn’t be confused—it was a sight she had seen countless times before. The cracks in the ceiling had undoubtedly been the source of many monsters spilling out and causing disaster.

To confront the gate, the One True God had granted strength to the holy knight, the dragon had chosen the dragon knight, and even Aurora, the Duke’s daughter, had to wield a sword.

The magic of the gate had the power to alter both objects and living beings.

This place had once been a secret underground workshop used by the witch, but the gate’s magic had transformed it into a dungeon.

Fortunately, it seemed that the gate was in a dormant state.

Even though the gate was dormant, it still spread magic around it, but at least it wouldn’t spawn monsters right at that moment.

For now, they were safe.

"Look around the area. I’ll check the desk."

With that, Laura moved toward the desk.

On the desk were scattered papers. Glancing through them, they seemed to be related to human experimentation.

There didn’t seem to be anything useful, but Laura thought she could probably get some gold by taking them, so she packed them into her bag.

She tried to open a drawer but found it locked.

Was there a key nearby? Or perhaps it was hidden somewhere else in the dungeon.

Since she didn’t have the luxury of searching everywhere, Laura decided to use brute force and struck the drawer with her club.

After a few hits, the drawer broke open, spilling its contents onto the floor.

【Hitorigoto has donated 1,000 won.】 【A real man ㄷㄷ】

How rude. What makes them think I’m a man?

Anyway.

The contents that spilled out were the witch’s diary.

It seemed like an important clue, so Laura started reading it right away.

[The witch seeks youth, but at least I am not that. I declare that everything I do is for the greater good.]

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[To gain something, there must be a cost. For humanity to advance, sacrifice is inevitable.]

[Forbidden experiments lead to many results.]

[But because they are forbidden, no one else has done them. That’s why I am the one who will do it.]

[Those who read this may remember me as a criminal, but I don’t mind. I hope humanity progresses even more because of me.]

[So take these experiment records. I hope they’ll be used to your benefit.]

Thus, the diary began.

It continued with various details about the experiments conducted in this place.

There was mention of the gate’s appearance, and ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) how the witch had kidnapped village girls, which led to her being chased by a dragon knight.

"Wow.... Is the witch really like this?"

Son Nalim had somehow appeared next to Laura.

In her hand, she was holding something like a scale. It seemed like she had found something.

"What’s that?"

"Oh, this is a dragon’s scale. You know the baby dragon the dragon knight always carries around? It’s from its scale."

Son Nalim said confidently.

She must be sure about this, as no one else in the dungeon knew the dragon knight as well as her.

"It seems clear that the dragon knight came here. Do you think submitting this scale will progress the story?"

"Probably."

"Well, I’m glad we found it. By the way, the witch’s backstory is really something. I heard she’s going to be a playable character."

"Really?"

"Yes. Some of the characters that appeared in Dungeon Seeker are being added as playable. The witch seems confirmed, and I’ve heard rumors that the Holy Knight will also be added."

That’s what I’ve heard.

Dungeon Seeker was developed to enhance the story of Labyrinthos, so it wasn’t strange that characters from the game were being incorporated into the main story.

Of course, the witch wasn’t exactly a character to get attached to.

Laura had spent ten years in that world.

How many times had she fought the witch?

[The witch’s assault and the gate’s encroachment have made it impossible to maintain the current base.]

[We have decided to abandon the current base and relocate to the Iris Duke’s mansion.]

[The next research goal is to determine the cause of the destruction of the Iris Duke’s mansion.]

[We will also confirm the whereabouts of the only survivor, the ‘noble villainess,’ and proceed with her capture.]

【The witch has disappeared, and only the gate remains. It would be best to send the Crusader squad to resolve the gate quickly. I’ve heard the witch is heading to the Iris Duke’s mansion. I’ve also heard that the mansion has been consumed by the gate and has turned into a dungeon. If the witch has made her nest there, it cannot be left unchecked. The ‘priestess’ might also be heading there, so the white crows should investigate the ‘mansion dungeon’ at the Iris Duke’s mansion. – Letter from the Pope】

In Japan, there is a saying, "A picnic is only over when you return home."

If we translate it into our country’s way of thinking, it might be something like "Even on the day of discharge, you’re still a soldier."

It’s not easy to avoid unnecessary trouble on your way home and safely return.

The dungeon exploration ended safely, but leaving the dungeon wasn’t easy either.

There were monsters stationed at every exit, and with the important items obtained from the deepest part of the dungeon, dying was out of the question.

In fact, the pressure was even greater on the way out than it had been on the way in, Nalim thought.

"Fortunately, we made it back safely. Since we’ve finished this episode, shall we wrap up the broadcast?"

It was getting late, and morning was almost here. Soon, it would be time to go to work.

Nalim had been getting sleep warnings for a while, and Mero was looking ready to sleep too.

And it was the same for Laura.

Though Laura could go without sleep for about five days, this story had wrapped up at just the right time.

It seemed best to end the broadcast now.

"Laura, when’s the next one?"

Nalim asked without realizing it when Laura mentioned ending the broadcast.

"Next?"

"Yes. We still haven’t found the dragon knight. I’m really curious about it."

Nalim said it, but there wasn’t a hint of sincerity in her voice.

Actually, she didn’t care that much about the dragon knight, but she was curious about Aurora.

Not that she liked Aurora, of course.

If anything, she was more certain than ever that she wouldn’t like Aurora.

The kind of person who would do anything to avoid losing, and someone who would do anything to win.

They weren’t exactly the same, but they were very close, and sometimes it felt uncomfortable how well she understood Aurora’s thoughts. Was this what "racial hatred" felt like?

But despite everything, it was also true that their minds seemed to align.

When they had matched up in Labyrinthos ranking matches, Nalim had felt it—they meshed well.

‘I wonder if we could show a good team synergy if we were on the same team in the Fantasy League.’

So, in many ways, it was a shame. Soon enough, they would face off as enemies, swords drawn.

At least in this game.

"About going to the Iris Duke’s mansion, unfortunately, it’s not possible right now due to my schedule."

But Aurora had said that.

"Oh, right... Leviathan has a match with Behemoth next week. You must be busy practicing, huh?"

"That’s true, but the Cerberus match just ended. Anna’s punishment is coming soon."

"...Ah."

Now that she thought about it, Anna’s punishment was coming.

The penalty for being the last in the escape room match.

That was,

"You’re talking about Anna and Louis’s one-on-one blind date broadcast, right?"