Part 137: The Viral Attackers behave villainously

Her opponent is 4ºC, of course. He faces Faris on the other side of the Circuit Mat.

"How do you fight as a two-man tag team?"



Meaning the partner is completely a support role, huh.

"Well, don't worry. Since it's Faris, she can instantly beat the daylights outta these trolls."



The referee gathers Faris and the Viral twosome for the coin toss to decide the first turn.

"And now, for the RaiNet Access Battlers Grand Championship Finals..."

For one moment, the noisy assembly hall is wrapped in silence... Everyone holds their breath in anticipation...





The shout to commence the game. Cheers shake the floor immediately following.

First up is Faris. The huge monitor hanging from the ceiling displays the Circuit Mat - the thing that looks like a chessboard. All of the cards glitter and sparkle. The monitor is oriented so that you can see what is written on the card, but you can't decipher the contents of the cards from the image on the monitor.

According to Daru's explanation, the most important thing for RaiNet Access Battlers is psychological tactics, like reading your opponent's hand. You have 4 Link Cards and 4 Virus Cards, for a total of 8 cards in your hand. The victory conditions are complex, but in short, you win if you get 4 Link Cards or if your opponent takes 4 Virus Cards. As soon as the game starts, you try to see through what sort of card your opponent uses. Then, you read the placement of their cards, and shift the game to your advantage. So, whether you attack or defend, you need to be cautious about how you use each card in your hand, meaning the purpose of Duel Partners is to make it hard for the opponent to read your thoughts.

Each time a Link Card or Virus Card gets opened, and each time a card passes the area called the Server, the assembly hall is nearly swept up in a tsunami. Thinking about it this way, I understand how amazing Faris must be to become champion despite fighting alone.

The audience watches, holding their breath at attention. I don't really know this game, but if I had to say, then it looks like the Viral guys are attacking.

"What sort of strategy does Faris use...?"

"Faris is a slow starter, I guess. She spends the first half stressing the importance of reading her opponent's cards, so she's pretty careful. Instead, she suddenly reverses things at endgame. Looks like she's using that strategy now, too, huh?"



The Virals oppose, undaunted. They mutually restrain each other with the Line Boost equipment card. The first one to move was, unexpectedly, Faris. She snatched the unprepared Virals' card using the Line Boost equipment card.

"Now, what's it gonna be..."

She won't knkow if the card she snatched was a Link Card or a Virus Card unless she opens it.

The card Faris snatched is...

"Uggeh!"

"What happened?"



"It's unusual for Faris to attack from the beginning. Maybe she changed her strategy for the finals to be cautious enough for the Virals."



"Your cowardly pussy shivering is clearly reflected on my fallen angel eyes. You made it look like you changed your strategy, but that was a fake. My elegant evil heart whispers so. I've done my research on you, pussy. You don't attack at the beginning. You think cautiously. You can't shock my mind when I already understand all that. Just now, that isolated card you attacked with is no doubt a Virus Card. You're thinking it would be lucky if I took it. Right?"

"..."

"This black nobleman felt a red alarm awakening wild instinct. So you suddenly changed strategies, tempting our blackness, huh? But it's too late. Such tricks without a fragment of elegance won't stain our blackness, because the Viral Attackers are Black Justice. The usurpers of RaiNet. The rebellion against this fickle sanctuary."

"At any rate, he really talks, huh..."

And completely unintelligibly at that.

"Virals shaddup..."



"But putting that sort of pressure on your opponent is also pretty important in RaiNet. How much does your opponent shake? You can use that to read the placement of their cards."

"...This is an unexpectedly bloodthirsty game, isn't it?"

"Actually, RaiNet is more popular with adults than kids. Even the anime is designed for kids, but the story's going down a pretty hard route. And Kirari-chan is super erotic."

Like I'd know, you pervert.

No more than three minutes have passed since the start of the duel, and Faris is already grimacing. She's shaking her body left and right as if she doesn't like something.

"Ah, a laser beam!"

"Eh? What?"

"Look near Faris's eye! A read beam is...!"

It was done in such short intervals that it would be hard for a bystander to notice.



"...Seriously?"

Daru stares, but he quickly tilts his head.

"No good, I can't tell. But if what Okarin saw is true, then someone from the audience is interfering! I won't forgive those Virals!"

"Why won't the referee stop them?!"

"They might be timing it so that the referee doesn't see..."

It's such a huge hall. I can't fully grasp how far apart the viral underlings are spread, or where they're aiming from. This is why Faris asked me to get her sunglasses before I time leaped...

Faris, put on your sunglasses...!

I try calling to her in my heart, but it's not like it'll reach her up on stage. I grind my teeth and get up.

"Hey, Okarin, where are you going?!"

"I'll search for those Viral underlings. I'll put a stop to their interference...!"

"Can you even find them with this many people?"



The game keeps advancing moment by moment. Faris takes the card she used for her first attack, and instead of turning it to the enemy line, returns it to her own to fortify her defense. The Virals start attacking her in waves. They equip a card with Line Boost - allowing it to move twice as normal - move it twice, and then unequip it. Then they equip Line Boost to another card and move that. Using that method, they aim to attack in waves with several cards. To some extent, it feels like a sacrifice. And of course, the cards the Virals attack with are a mix of Link Cards and Virus Cards. Faris also has to take her opponent's cards to endure their wave of attacks, but if they're Virus Cards, that puts her at more and more of a disadvantage.

It doesn't seem like Faris can calm down against 4ºC's gratuitous unpleasant smiling. The laser attacks really must be getting to her. And then, in desperation, she makes a move from her hand. Bewildered voices spread through the hall.

"Hey hey hey."



"Who would've thought the champion would make such an amateur move?"

Amateur move...? I was wandering about the audience searching for the Viral underlings, but got worried too, so I look up at the monitor. The Virals' position is at the Server entrance. One of Faris's pieces has invaded there, but I guess the Viral side used a Viral Checker to see if that card was a Virus Card or not.

Both Link Cards and Virus Cards can go through the enemy's Server. Properly speaking, cards that get into the Server aren't required to be opened, meaning your opponent can hide what got into the Server. But for some reason, Faris broke into the server with a card revealed to be a Virus. She can't trick her opponent like that.

And Faris has already taken a total of 3 Virus Cards. If she gets one more Virus Card, she'll lose, so the Virus Card in question can't break through, either. Certainly a mysterious move... was the laser beam interference breaking her concentration after all?

"Let this elegant evil storyteller, 4ºC, make a jet black proclamation. Pussy, in just a few minutes, I will demote you to former champion. Fffhahahahaha!"

And, as if summoned by 4ºC's laugh, one part of the audience also raises a vulgar laugh.



I take an educated guess, and hurry through the audience to where they are. Booing flies out of the audience. They really do hate the Virals.

But Faris doesn't object to 4ºC's provocation. She just bites her lip and closes her eyes. She should've put on the sunglasses... She's going to lose because of her cute-only policy.

Or possibly... maybe it's not possible to change the result that Faris loses. Maybe it will converge to the same result due to Attractor Field Theory.

The hall stirs again. The Virals have snatched Faris's Link Card. Now they have two of them. I can feel it in my skin.



At that moment, I finally find men wearing black clothing similar to 4ºC in the audience. One is secretly holding something in his hand, pointing it to the stage. The laser beam was that guy's...!

I quickly grab his wrist.



"That's enough. I won't let you interfere with Faris!"

"Why you...!"

"Don't move! If you move, I'll shoot."



I remembered this bluff worked with Moeka in a previous world line, so I brought it just in case. The underling stopped moving at a loss for breath, probably because he didn't expect to be held at gunpoint. Using that opening, I snatch the laser pointer out of his hand. Right as I snatch it, I disappear into the crowd. The underling tries to shower me with insults, but he is surrounded by people and gives up.

Alright, I snatched the laser. Now Faris can focus on the game!



4ºC has snatched another one of Faris's Link Cards. That's the third one. The Virals have reached uno.

"Too weak, pussy. You're so bad because you flirted with the system. You should leave that vomit-inducing getup for a mirror. All of your fans are just otaku neckbeards who wanna do you. Are you really happy to be supported by those sorts of people?"

Faris doesn't respond. She hasn't said a word since the match started. There's no more interference, so Faris should show us a reversal now...

With feelings like prayer, I watch Faris's face. And when I do, Faris turns her face away again as if running from something.

"What...?!"



Don't tell me more underlings have lasers?!

"Champion, there's no life in your eyes. No matter what you say about reading your opponent's mind, that's nothing but an elegant evil cowardly cheap trick, isn't it?"

What? Is that so?

"Basically, you ain't human. You're an ugly angel, 'cause you peek into the heart of any poor sap who wants to talk to you. Be careful, everyone, don't get close! If you do, this pussy will grab your every secret! And she'll blackmail you with those secrets. 'Hand over your money'? Or 'Throw your RaiNet match'? What's your demand?!"

The spectators start to murmur. If Faris had that sort of ability, then she really would be good at RaiNet. For an instant, my pretentious bullshit trait starts billowing up, but I force it down. Faris has a special ability--

It's hard to believe, but if she really did have it, then that would explain why she hated the laser beam attacks that much. It would also explain why her moves this match aren't clear.

"Faris!"

"...ctory"

"Ah? What did you say?"



Change Directory is a special type of card called a Terminal Card. Usable only once per game, it lets you exchange the places of two of your own pieces. Of course, you can also choose to pretend to exchange them. And at the same time, the Virus Card exposed via Virus Checker becomes flipped once again. I see! With this, she can replace that Virus Card that was just about to enter her opponent's Server!

Just as expected, Faris exchanges that virus card and the card that 4ºC has chased around with his fortified card. Or she pretends to exchange them. Now nobody knows which card is the Link Card and the Virus Card except for Faris. A pretty interesting ploy.

But...



"You trying to pull our heartstrings, huh? What a boring move. Was that your huge reversal plan? I am the Black Peacock. Captor of every woman, the RaiNetter Realm's elegant evil new generation. My cool black brain can easily see through that. That was your complete mistake, Champion."

After one turn, 4ºC will snatch Faris's piece that could break through his Server, using his own adjoining piece, without any hesitation.

"Hmf, my total Virus Card count is still just 2. Even if I take one more Virus Card, it won't clip these jet black wings of mine. But if I take one more Link Card, then it's the End of Grand Cross for you. And then, that card you're using to fortify your position... will become the opening, the card which I will attack using the Line Boost equipment. I said it before, but it's not possible that our scaredy-cat would let an isolated Link Card just wander. Basically, Champion, with my elegant evil skills of deduction, you exchanged the location of your Link Card! Heh! So, without having to check, these black peacock's sexual eyes can already see my elegant victory, and the contents of your crazy card! You exchanged the Virus and the Link. Meaning, if we just take both, victory belongs to us black noblemen."

Is that... true? If the card 4ºC takes now is a Link Card, then he wins. Even if it's a Virus Card, he still has one more before it would decide the game.