Chapter 58

She was far from being a perfect being.

And yet, precisely because she was awkward and pitiable, she was all the more beautiful.

When Venus heard that her younger sibling Saturn was in danger, she thought to herself:

“If Tsukuyo dies, it’s not like mom will only focus on me, right?”

Anyway, it was her own fault for jumping into danger like a fool.

Why should I be the one to save her?

That one thought marked the end of the scene, causing quite a stir in the community.

“Is Venus going dark and becoming the enemy?”

Fortunately, those worries were delightful betrayals.

In the next scene, Venus arrived to rescue Saturn, pouring all the soul energy she had gathered to fulfill her own wish into the fight.

Otaku Feature: Weakness to one-time use limited ultimate techniques. Weakness to awakening sequences driven by sheer resolve.

For real, as if scattering flowers in full bloom.

The burning passion with which Venus fought moved everyone—it made them fall in love with her.

Even though she resented her younger sibling and disliked her mother…

Still, she fought so that they could be happy. Her dedication moved people.

They empathized with her, felt sorry for her, and marveled at her greatness, unable to suppress their tears.

The truth was, I also resented my younger sibling and disliked my mother.

I thought, if only I could love them like Venus does.

Because hating each other is simply too sad.

What changes by hating a sibling who just hurt and a mother who was merely clumsy?

What I truly needed wasn’t to hate someone but to love someone.

Don’t tell me I’m overinvesting in an anime series.

anime is life to an otaku!

Impressing a character is more common than you might think when it comes to adopting a life attitude.

Venus was too cool, too beautiful, too pitiable—and somehow everything all at once!

I wanted to emulate her, to admire her.

That heart as vast as the universe.

Not talking about chest size here, though it is quite large.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t a happy ending.

Venus sacrifices her life to save Saturn in the final moments of battle, transforming into “V/enus”.

The story of Magical Girls Chronicle continues, but there’s no more “turn” for V/enus.

She’s dead.

There was no resurrection.

That might be the reason I’ve been “haunted” by Venus for 10 years.

Because I never got to see her have a happy ending.

Because it was too sad.

Because it was pitiful.

Because it hit deep in the heart.

Because her memory wouldn’t fade.

When I first saw her ending, I couldn’t stop thinking about Venus for over two weeks.

“Venus, I love you!”

[Are you into this kind of character?]

[It’s respect, not a preference, please]

[What?! Was your approach to women about seducing them?]

<lesbian, lesbian...>

[Just fan love, you know?]

[Weren’t women loving women without calling it lesbian?]

[Men loving each other, though, would get beaten up]

[My chest aches watching some otaku obsess over anime characters]

“Owakon? Oh, there’s a new movie coming out this year!”

Japan in January, Korea in February.

Oh! The Magical Girls Chronicle is still alive!

This year’s theatrical release is a hit!

A true story of tears—everyone cried!

“Can’t wait! Magical Fight is broadcasting today!”

[What a testimony!]

[Why does someone keep provoking?]

[AAAAH Magical Fight, stop!!!]

[Teama must take first place! Teama must take first place! Teama must take first place! Teama must take first place!]

[No way, I’m not giving up either, HAHA!]

[Damn anime production companies]

[Of course the hardcore fans who know can’t let go! Venus, the greatest, is coming!]

[Should I join the stream now?]

“I’m going! Venus! Daikamanai!”

[What are you saying?]

[You’re drooling]

[The real fan is crazy! HAHAHA]

[Ah, if she was happy, then it’s all worth it]

‘That woman also cried watching Venus fight. Is there something in Venus’ character design that resonates with women’s sensitivity?’

Victory thought as he watched Sol, who continuously praised Venus. He remembered the woman he saw at the theater.

She was more beautiful than any anime character on the screen.

Her tears flowed naturally and deeply, leaving a lasting impression.

Could it be that the woman from that day and the Sol praising Venus now were the same person?

Victory had no way of knowing.

If that were the case, he’d have a severe case of delusion.

Of course, this time it turned out to be true.

‘Indeed, it was fun.’

The theatrical release of Magical Girls Chronicle was on Monday.

Today was Wednesday, and since Ascend’s regular day off was Monday, Victory went to the theater on the release day.

Sol had a break Monday and Tuesday.

Victory asked her if she’d seen the movie yet.

He mentioned he went on Monday, and Sol replied she’d go on Tuesday.

He didn’t suggest going together earlier because it would have seemed like a date proposal.

Because of the boundaries she had drawn early on, he couldn’t suggest such a thing.

‘Even though we couldn’t go together, it’s a little disappointing.’

He wasn’t romantically attracted to her.

Victory liked Sol solely because she was the only person with equal gaming skills.

Because they shared memories.

That’s how Victory thought.

‘After seeing the movie, it’s getting harder to resist.’

The reason Victory hadn’t played Magical Fight with Sol despite her persistent invitations wasn’t just because he was busy; there was another reason.

Even if the gap between the hole-in-the-wall store and the department store was insurmountable, showing that he enjoyed a similar game to Teamfight Arena could set a bad precedent since he represented the game professionally.

It was only natural that Sol would eventually transition to Teamfight Arena.

This side had more players and thus more talented players, allowing for better matches.

But listening to Sol’s praise under the influence of the movie’s excitement stirred something inside him.

The desire to control the characters from Magical Girls Chronicle and fight!

Nostalgia had surely been reignited as well. No one would know if he did it with an alt account.

And so Victory began joining the game lobby.

The game started.

Just three minutes in, Sol realized that an extraordinary player had joined the game.

—”What?! Is there an elite player in my stream? What’s he doing?”

[This guy seems new to complimenting others]

[What the hell is going on?]

[Sol) The graphics are terrible, so it’s hard to recognize anything]

[Definitely a subpar version of Teama]

—”Shut up.”

There were only two things Sol couldn’t stand: criticizing Venus and trashing Magical Girls Chronicle or Magical Fight.

—”Ah, it’s heating up! I haven’t been so excited in a while!”

[What’s getting heated?]

[Is he a kettle?]

[There’s even someone stuck in this trash game!]

[Excitement? Hahahaha]

[Stay classy, stay classy]

[Is she doing this on purpose? HAHAHA]

[Turn on the notepad]

At that moment, a cam feed suddenly appeared on Sol’s broadcast screen.

[Whaaaaat HAHAHA]

[Big one’s here]

[Oh wow, hands so pretty]

[Handcam! Handcam! Handcam!]

[Why is it suddenly on?]

[Did she drop her phone by accident?]

Why did she turn it on?

Because she was extremely stimulated.

Showing off her cool side.

Excited to get into a proper Magical Fight for once.

Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-dack!

A keyboard being hit more than three times per second.

The pre-activated handcam proved she wasn’t just mashing buttons randomly.

[Is this person playing piano?]

[Is this on 5x speed?]

[Seriously, how does she not get confused pressing keys like that?]

[She’s really not randomly pressing??]

[Why is this person playing a rhythm game alone?]

[Rotating the screen doesn’t matter now]

[The existence of a magical humanoid specialized in Magical Fight is academic doctrine]

[Not for Teama?]

[Let’s say it’s for gameplay]

In a flash, Sol eliminated three enemies. As she moved to finish the rest off…

Pluto suddenly killed Venus.

Victory had killed Sol.

Her fingers involuntarily bent.

[Trembling fingers are so cute]

[Loving Sol!]

[Joke]

—”Hey! You’re Victory, aren’t you!”

The moment of recognition.

[Claiming you killed yourself as Victory HAHA]

[That’s ugly, sir]

[Is it Victory though?]

“Wow, it really is Victory.”

“How did they figure it out?”

“Recognizing rivals like this, crazy!”

Victory heard the voice not through his headset but from the real world.

It was Selen and Ju-an, who always teased him. They approached where Victory was playing.

Today, many of Ascend’s teammates were around.

Sol had already become a Challenger in Teamfight Arena.

The first female Challenger, the Challenger with the lowest number of matches, the Challenger with the highest win rate—all kinds of achievements surrounded her.

The Ascend members naturally became curious about her broadcast.

As mentioned before, Sol’s broadcast time from 4 PM to 8 PM coincidentally overlapped with the team’s free time and dinner hour from 4 PM to 7 PM.

While bored, the team members checked out Sol’s broadcast, just in case, to see what Victory was doing.

“Bro! Wishing is smiling ear to ear!”

“How did you keep this fun a secret?”

In response to his teammates’ teasing, Victory said:

“Not at all, it’s just the situation is too funny. How did they figure me out?”

“On the chat, it says ‘mysterious Magical Fight master.’”

“Mysterious Magical Fight master, Victory.”

“Isn’t this Teama retiring?”

“Retiring? No way.”

It was a joke, though.

Victory had already signed a contract with Ascend until 2024.

But it did indicate how much he was enjoying himself.

After Sol’s broadcast ended that day, a message from Biscode came to Victory.

Legender – [Hey, is that you?]

Legender – [You, you, you]

Victory – [Hmm, maybe]

Legender – [Hmm, maybe? It’s you!]

Legender – [You know what it is, you’re the right one]

Legender – [Honestly, wasn’t it fun?]

Legender – [Was it fun? Was it fun? Was it fun? Was it fun? Was it fun?]

Victory – [Hmm, maybe]

Legender – [Let’s do it together sometimes]

Legender – [You’re not at the level where you can’t play a single match]

Victory – [Hmm, maybe]

Legender – [Ah, I want to punch something]

Who would actually feel pain from her small fists?

Isn’t she just adorable?

I still don’t understand.

This tiny-hand girl acknowledging her as a rival.

It’s weird, isn’t it?

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