The Villainess VTuber Rips People Apart-Chapter 161: Unchanging love

"Ugh... This is a bit horrifying, isn’t it?"

Barubara gulped from the side.

The floor was covered in chunks of flesh.

The walls were drenched in blood to the point that it was impossible to estimate how many people had died.

Even the ceiling had splatters of blood all over it.

In the midst of it all, one body slumped against the wall.

Both arms and legs had been neatly severed, and a large hole pierced through the abdomen.

Blood was dripping from the mouth, and the lifeless eyes stared blankly into the void.

A familiar face.

Mashina’s corpse.

"The Behemoth team must’ve come down first."

"Then doesn’t that mean Cerberus is here too? I heard they’re allied."

Barubara and Mero were talking while looking down at Mashina’s body.

Both of them glanced at me.

Not just Barubara and Mero.

Son Narin, Choi Gaho, and even Sora were all looking at me.

They all seemed to be asking, "What do we do now?"

"Are we going to revive her?"

In the end, Sora asked, representing the party.

Behemoth, the rival team.

But the competition wasn’t as fierce as it seemed. Everyone respected each other and played in a relaxed, enjoyable atmosphere.

So, there was no harm in letting her live.

It could even help with image management, showing the winner’s composure.

Of course, if I revived Mashina and we ended up losing, we’d get a lot of criticism from the viewers, but that wasn’t likely to happen.

If it were anyone else, they might’ve chosen to revive Mashina.

"I’ll revive her if necessary, but I won’t do it right now."

"Why?"

"Because of the skill’s usage limit."

I answered.

Before coming here, I had spent some extra gold to level up the skill.

So, if I can use it up to seven times a day, I can revive anyone without restriction.

Seven times.

It wasn’t exactly a lot.

"We need to be careful with how we use it."

Ideally, I’d like to prioritize using it on our allies.

Of course, there was also the option to revive Mashina to get some information.

What happened in this basement?

Updated from freewёbnoνel.com.

Why was Mashina killed?

What killed Mashina?

If I revived her, I could get those answers.

But...

"Mashina was found near the entrance of the basement."

That meant Mashina must’ve been killed as soon as she entered the basement.

It’s simple logic, but the second person to die usually has more information than the first.

The second person saw how the first died, and obviously knows how they themselves died as well.

Following the same logic, the third person knows even more than the second.

"And that’s why if we’re going to revive anyone, it should be someone who died later."

"You make a good point..."

Sora nodded in agreement.

The party was now organized as follows:

'Recovery' Aurora

'Exploration' Ayano Kouji Sora

'Survival' Kaga Mero

'Exploration' Son Narin

'Collection' Gaho

'Protection' Barubara Rian

I had contacted Louis, but unfortunately, I got a reply saying he was out.

He said he would join later, but whether he’d actually come was uncertain.

Similarly, Kirin said they were busy preparing for a broadcast, so they couldn’t come at the moment.

If there was a labor shortage, they’d come regardless, but I wasn’t going to force them to come. I probably wouldn’t call them in unless absolutely necessary.

So, the current party consisted of 6 members.

"Let’s split into three groups."

Naturally, Laura took the lead.

No one objected. Laura was the most experienced in Dungeon Seeker.

The basement was uncomfortable to explore in one group, so splitting into two teams, as Laura suggested, definitely seemed like the best choice.

So, the first group was Narin - Laura - Gaho.

The second group was Sora - Mero - Barubara.

"Ugh... I’m going to be separated from Sora...?"

Narin felt a bit disappointed.

Getting closer to Sora had been one of Narin’s goals.

Not that there was a specific reason.

It was just that recently, they had gone to karaoke together, and Narin remembered the recording they did there.

Narin was curious how her own voice sounded, too.

But she didn’t want to ask for the recording file just in case it gave off the wrong impression.

For now, Narin decided to talk to Sora more to raise her favorability.

Once they got closer, she could casually ask about the recording.

But for now, Narin reluctantly moved forward.

"...Is this a prison?"

Narin muttered absentmindedly.

The basement of the mansion was like a prison.

A dark, oppressive underground space, with faintly visible iron bars.

The smell of decay.

The stench of rotting flesh and blood filled the air, with entrails scattered around.

"It’s quite nostalgic. I only saw this place in 2D before."

Choi Gaho, who had been following behind, muttered.

"Didn’t zombies or something like that roam around here? Their health bars were huge, do you remember?"

"Of course, I remember. But it’s more accurate to call them 'cursed ones' rather than zombies."

"Ah, right."

They were talking about the first series of Labyrinthos.

"Zombies? Cursed ones?"

"Yeah. The Duke conducted immortality experiments here."

Laura answered for Narin, who was tilting her head in confusion.

Duke Iris.

He was born as the third son and, by all rights, should never have risen to head the family.

But, he was the most greedy of all the men in the noble Iris family.

By assassinating the eldest and second sons, he seized both power and wealth.

But, as the saying goes, a human's greed never ends.

Once he became the head of the family, his desires grew even further.

What he wanted next was immortality.

He captured commoners and orphans to conduct inhumane experiments.

He tampered with the family’s forbidden "taboo" and, ultimately, he tried to make the entire family his sacrificial offering to achieve immortality.

"If things had gone as planned, I would have been sacrificed too."

Laura thought to herself.

Even the third wife’s son was offered up as a sacrifice. He was that heartless.

To him, children were mere tools to elevate the family name and his own authority.

Knowing his cruel nature and secret plans, Laura was able to survive.

"...Wait a moment. I think there’s something ahead."

Son Narin, who had been walking ahead, stopped in her tracks.

As an 'Explorer' class, Narin had enhanced all of her sensory abilities, including sight and hearing.

Despite the darkness, she could spot a silhouette ahead.

'Could that be the monster that killed Mashina...?'

Narin hid herself, feeling a bit tense.

Laura and Choi Gaho followed suit and hid as well.

After waiting a bit, the monster slowly passed by.

A parasitic spider.

'...Huh?'

Narin blinked, surprised.

It wasn’t a mistake.

A woman, covered in leeches and spider-like webbing, walked by.

Anyone who played Dungeon Seeker would know what this was.

Laura ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) had found an unusual farming method that led to a large gold gain, which had recently been nerfed by the Dungeon Seeker developers.

This was a monster known to participants of the Fantasy League.

"But... isn't that a monster from the Witch’s Nest?"

"Yes."

"Then why is it here?"

"Well, it’s obvious."

Laura looked at her as if the answer was obvious.

"It means the witch came here."

After that, Narin saw a few other familiar monsters.

The "innocent girl" made by soaking a poison potion, the chimera that was half human and half monster, and the living doll, a doll with a human soul embedded inside.

‘All of these are monsters I saw in the Witch’s Nest...’

But that wasn’t all.

There were also zombies carrying tumor-like masses, and monsters dressed in maid and butler outfits.

They were likely cursed beings, sacrificed for the Witch’s immortality experiments.

This dungeon housed both "Witch’s experiments" and "cursed beings."

And that’s why there were so many monsters.

Too many.

"There’s nothing we can do about it."

Given the nature of the underground prison, the map structure was very simple.

This meant there was little cover, and little space to hide.

Sometimes, iron-barred doors were open, but what good would hiding there do? You’d be spotted as soon as anyone passed by.

As they went further in, the monster density increased, and it was impossible to turn back. Monsters filled both directions.

"This is when Mashina will have to step in."

In the end, Laura had no choice but to use her trump card.

【System: <Resurrection> usage count reduced from 7 → 6】

Laura used the 'Resurrection' skill. On Mashina.

She had brought Mashina’s wrist just in case.

The method was simple.

She cast 'Resurrection' on Mashina’s wrist, and as soon as it activated, she tossed her into the monsters.

Mashina revived.

The taunting tank Mashina was complete.

"Hey, what the... why am I here?! Ahh?! Aaaagh!!"

Monsters started beating Mashina as she revived.

"Why am I surrounded by monsters right after being revived?! Hey! Aurora!! I saw you go by! Where are you going! Aaaah! Uuugh! Aurora...! Auroraaaaa!!!"

Seeing Laura sneak away, Mashina cried out desperately.

How much must Laura mean to her for Mashina to scream like that?

It was pure love, absolutely pure.

May that love never change, even in the next life.

Mashina’s tragic sacrifice and unwavering love.

The power of love was great, and where she fled, there was paradise.

"There’s a secret passage here!"

It was Narin, the 'Explorer' class, who discovered it.

Beyond the secret passage was a safe zone.

And there, they found Anna.

"I’m not leaving here...! I’ll live here forever!"

Cowering in a corner, Anna was shaking, hugging her knees.

She looked just like Takeshi from Akaoni.