Chapter 240
"I'll do whatever it takes to win. If we don't get caught doing anything, we won't be guilty of anything." Someone aguishly said through their clenched teeth.
"What I don't like about it is that everyone is getting scared." Said someone confidently in an on-stage interview,
"Even if we don't win first place, there's a way for us to proceed." Someone else said with a smile as he burned the rule book.
"I'm begging you, please do your best today! I already took you all for some expensive yakiniku!"
Said someone half-crying, holding his wallet, which was somewhat lighter than last night's.
"I was expecting a fistfight between the evil spirits of rivers and mountains, but I didn't expect it to turn out to be the extermination of oni. I'll do it, though, since I received some kibidango..." {this is Momotaro reference} someone sighed while he replied to the message he just received.
"I've come this far, and it's time to let it all out. Let's go borrow a legend's chest." Someone said with a cool look on her face and long hair tied up in one bun.
"It's fun to cooperate with them, but it's even more fun to betray them. I'd love to see their face contorted in frustration on camera." Someone said while licking the picture in their hand.
"Nowadays, gamers have pretty face... I'd feel more comfortable with a bunch of ugly men." someone said, glancing around with scurrying eyes and slumped shoulders.
"It's time to show him what we've been working so hard for!" Someone said with a powerful flame in their eyes and a burning spirit in their heart.
"This whole thing is so hot and ...... uncool, even though it's eSports." Someone said with an exaggerated white coat and a fed-up look on his face.
"It is outrageous to fight on the premise of defeat. We, the [Friendship is Eternal Squad], must be the ones to lead them to their doom." Someone said, acting with a firmness that was almost too much and becoming a part of the character.
"Now, watch yourself. After I'm done, it's your turn." Someone said if they was provoking the one carrying the title of the worst of the worst.
The final was underway.
Twelve teams, each with their own agenda, will clash with each other.
☆
The man was lost in his thoughts just before the final match, as his teammates logged in one by one.
His name is Photon, the ace of the team [Toshu Kashun].
At the very least, he is a well-known man, to the point where no one who has watched Zero Wars VR domestic competition scene is unfamiliar with his name.
As an individual, he is undoubtedly one of the best in the country. Even if he is not as good as Suupaa, he is certainly one of the top five.
However, he was also a player who had suffered the most defeats to Suupaa in ranked matches.
(Only a few people will know what's to expect since more than half of the participants in this final had never fought against Suupaa directly.)
Suupaa, who reigned at the top of the rating-based ranked matches, was an entity that required a certain level of skill just to challenge her to a fight.
Because of the rules that allow 96 players to compete in a single match, the top players cannot meet each other deliberately. And depending on the time of day, only players with a rank of 30.000 or higher have a chance to meet Suupaa in those matches.
And the higher your rank is, the more easily you will be matched with Suupaa.
As someone who had kept his ranking in the top 100 on average during Suupaa's rampage, Photon had played so many matches against her.
He had one conviction in his mind.
(I have no way to beat that thing in a team fight.)
First, the common silent agreement in this match was that Suupaa must be stopped somehow.
All 48 people from 12 teams, including HEROES, have exactly the same idea.
Stopping does not necessarily mean killing; in essence, they need to prevent Suupaa from getting kill count.
Three games. No, if no one can't stop her, two or even one games will be enough to decide the outcome of the championship. That's how impactful the presence of Suupaa is.
Suupaa is strong. So unreasonably strong. It is hard to believe they are fighting with avatars with a same status.
The precision of movement. Accuracy of shooting. The scope of her field of vision. The quickness of judgment. Above all, it has an absolute search-and-find ability that allows absolutely no preemptive attack from all directions.
Equipped with all of these, the player named Suupaa has come to be called the worst of the worst.
So far, anyone who does a little research on Suupaa will know what Photon talking about. Even if we don't know the details of what Suupaa thinks when she plays, everyone knows that she has crazy strength, and there is really nothing more you need to know.
There is no weakness, be it far, near, or medium range. It was that simple.
Therefore, what they should know was how Suupaa has been losing.
Suupaa's winning percentage is not 100%. Even she has been defeated many times during her many matches.
There is no method to defeat her in a one-on-one duel. Or, at the very least, there's no record about it.
There is only one video of Suupaa's defeat in the two-on-one match, but this too was a miracle that was made possible by the silent cooperation of a player who happened to be ranked 2nd and 4th at the time in a ranked match.
And as long as the world's best players are not here, it is impossible to recreate that scene.
At least three players are required. But, realistically, at least five players would have to attack her at the same time.
In other words, it is necessary to create a situation in which at least four members of one team can simultaneously hit Suupaa when she is alone.
Naturally, Suupaa must be isolated to accomplish this; to do so, you must either destroy the rest of the HEROES or entice Suupaa to act alone.
Above all, the basic premise is to figure out which of the 44 enemies scattered across the field is Suupaa.
(It's impossible. Even if we adopted the [teaming] proposal that Till had made behind the scenes, the only thing we could do was only [not using Ritu]. And if even one person other than Suupaa is using [Ritu], we have no way of knowing which one Suupaa is. At that point, we might as well declare we got checkmated since we wasted time for someone else.)
A few hours ago, the leader of the team [Gin'iro Tentoumushi]{silver ladybug}, Tillett, sent Photon a top-secret proposal via direct message.
It was a proposal not to use the character that Suupaa use at the first game, it was clear that her purpose was to isolate Suupaa.
Photon's only thought on the matter was, [That's a foolish move, you idiot].
Tillett, being an amateur, doesn't carry as much weight as the pros. However, she is not stupid, so it is not that she does not understand that even the slightest leak of this fraudulent proposal would ruin her career as a player.
Photon knows that she still painfully sends this teaming proposal to him, even though she might get ruined in the process.
And he can fully understand why she would dare to do so.
Even if the whole proposal success was clinging to the hope that all teams agreed to it, he could understand that they must have racked their brains to a certain extent.
That's how much Suupaa's existence has become a symbol of trauma and despair to them.
But there was another reason why Photon thought Tillett was an idiot.
(You've taken Suupaa too lightly, someone of Suupaa caliber would have predicted this kind of dirty tactic from the very beginning.)
Yes.
Suupaa would not have made such a devastating record if she was [only] a skilled player.
Even cheaters are said to be no match for her because she understands the malice and hostility directed at herself and has crushed every enemy she has faced.
Photon has no way of knowing why Suupaa, who has never participated in any competitions before, has joined Butler this time.
But Photon believes that she knows better than anyone else the way people look at her when she participates in tournaments.
(I'm grateful that all eyes are on her.)
Although their presence has been blurred by the arrival of HEROES, [Toshu Kashun] is a strong team.
The overall performance stats of this team is higher than that of HEROES and that counting Suupaa in the mix. This is mainly because the beginners Rinne, Touka, and Nana have a lower average, but even so, they are a strong team that could be considered the top candidate for the winner at the previous stage.
(I mean, in a way we are helped by Suupaa.)
Thanks to Suupaa's absolute pressure, many eyes were averted from the real powerhouse, [Toshu Kashun].
It was definitely a lucky break for them.
After all, the matter of whether or not you are the first team to be targeted will greatly expand the range of tactics you can take.
Specifically, it would be easier to take advantage of the one who schemes. If their eyes are focused on someone else, it means that there will have more unprotected blind spots.
(To tell you the truth, I think it's pathetic... but I'm a hired hand, and my track record is more important than anything else.)
[Toshu Kashun] are not amateur players. It doesn't mean that defeat is unacceptable, but if you don't have a good track record, your reputation will decline.
If other teams can contain Suupaa, that's much appreciated.
Since the tournament uses a point system, if they could get enough points, they could take first place even if they don't survive to the end of the match.
(We will definitely win.)
With determination, he logged on to the battlefield.
And the finals began about 5 minutes later.
☆
As an experienced player, Photon was privately bitter about Tillett, the mastermind behind the teaming.
He, too, had made some miscalculations from the start.
Two fatal mistakes in particular.
First, the Suupaa he knew was also not the latest version of her, not considering her growth during the time she had hardly been seen for a while after her 12 consecutive months as No. 1 in the open rank.
And second, he failed to realize that some bad players participate in the [festivities] of BATTLER with interest to only stirring up trouble.
This reality will throw not only Photon but the entire tournament into chaos.
Immediately after the match began, a situation that should have been impossible happened.
There are two [Ritu].