The Pain of an Inferior: A Blistering Love Comedy That Begins After a Broken Heart - Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – Apocalypse 3

“Why…? Is there no one here…?”

Shifu Yunika, a red haired girl who styled it in twintails, had found herself in the foggy city in a daze.

She woke up in the middle of a wide, four-lane road. Streetlights stood in regular rows, glowing dimly in the distance, shrouded in fog.

The sun had completely set, and in combination with the presence of fog, it was so dark that she could not see anything without the streetlights.

The cold, eerie air caressed her, making her shiver. It was an unpleasant atmosphere that made her feel suffocated.

It had only been a short time since the start of the game, but she already felt uneasy.

Yunika was told that if she entered the game with a group, two people would be randomly selected from the registered group and get paired at the beginning of the game.

*Did they perhaps left me all alone?*

Most of the women in the group that Yunika was in were interested in the leader of the group, Kureha Shun.

Yunika was not interested in Shun. But still, she was explicitly regarded as a rival for Shun’s affection regardless of her feelings.

It seemed possible that Yunika was left alone in the hopes that she would wander around the city, dazed and frightened, by one of her so called “rivals”.

Assuming that was the case, she had to ask herself who would be bold enough to do such a thing.

She didn’t thought for a moment that any of the boys left Yunika behind. All of them came with Shun for the girls. Even if she were not their type, she was confident that they would not leave her alone, who was so beautiful that no other woman could compete.

Yunika tilted her head to the side and thought about the personalities of the girls who had also participated in the game with her.

Kamizato Reika had been reluctant and frightened to play Apocalypse until the very end. She would have been too scared to act alone.

Unikumo Mika, if she was not scared, was a very cheerful and nice girl with no hidden motives.

Claudia Shinku was a strange girl who speaks in a characteristic way and was full of confidence in everything. It was possible. However, she wanted to think otherwise, since Yunika and Shinku had been friends since primary school. It would be too sad if Shinku prioritized love over friendship. It was definitely not her.

Rize Himari was a girl with a somewhat scruffy personality. She was good-natured and outspoken. She seemed to be out of line with everyone in the group. Yunika thought that she had some potential.

Shirogane Tsuyuri was always quiet and did not show much emotion. It was hard to know what she was thinking. She was definitely the most likely one.

And finally Uta Miyako. She was a graceful girl who was kind to everyone. But if Yunika was honest, she couldn’t guess what she was actually thinking inside. She was the favorite of Kureha Shun, and the girl whom Shinku often considered as her rival. Although she was an enemy of Shinku, she was often kind to Yunika, so she couldn’t dislike her.

All the girls were suspicious, but she was not sure which was right the one. She couldn’t really accuse them because she doesn’t have evidence.

Suddenly, an eerie roar that shook the air brought Yunika back to her senses, making her embrace her own body reflexively.

It was not the time to be looking for the culprit, she thought.

The current circumstances was that she had to walk around alone in the world of Apocalypse, which was said to be the most terrifying horror game in history.

Shinku or Mika, or Miyako, or anyone, could be near where she’s at.

Even a man, like Kureha Shun, Fudo Akito, Kashiwagi Rui, or any of the other men who came to the party with her.

Worst case scenario, a stray player will do.

Maybe she would get hit on. It’s creepy for men to be so obvious about their ulterior motives, but with the harassment report feature, the best they could do inside the game was to ask for real-world contact information. It’s better than being alone.

“People, I have to find someone…”

Yunika walked along the streetlights.

At the same time, an electronic sound rang out from her pocket, making her jump in surprise.

“What’s this?”

It was a mobile terminal she did not recognize.

The screen displayed “Phonebook,” so she tapped on it quickly.

The screen displayed Yunika’s contacts, but nothing else. Apparently, she could only make a call if she managed to meet another player in person and exchange contact information with them.

“Ugh… Shinku, Miyako… Help me…”

She walked steadily with heavy steps, carefully as if she were crossing a suspension bridge that was about to break.

After walking for a while, Yunika noticed a sound akin to that of an air escaping from it’s confinement. Yunika turned her attention towards the source of the sound.

On a gas station that was dimly illuminated by streetlights, there was a shadow visible.

It was the shadow of an animal, like a dog. It was moving its head close to the ground, as if it was searching for a scent.

But it did not have ears, which a dog should naturally have. There was no tail either.

Alarm bells rang inside Yunika’s head, but she had failed to take action. She couldn’t take her eyes off the animal in front of her, watching its every move.

It walked toward Yunika, its footsteps sounding of those who were walking barefoot on a school corridor.

Little by little, its fog-covered body was revealed under the streetlight. The animal-like creature slowly raised its head from the ground.

“Eeekk…”

Yunika lets out a shrilled scream and backed away.

Its body was made of slimy, rubbery flesh. The top of its face had about six eyes, arranged awkwardly in a row.

The mouth, which could only be described as 70% of the face, was large. It had no tongue, and its upper and lower jaws were lined with sharp fangs in an irregular pattern.

When the creature spotted Yunika, it closed in quickly. Strange as it may seem, it was as fast as a real dog.

“Nooo!”

She reflexively tried to run away, but her legs got tangled and almost fell down. She managed to hold on, but the creature was already right in front of her.

A sharp pain shoots up her left leg. The monster had bitten Yunika’s leg. It moved it’s whole body in a wide motion, trying to tear off her flesh.

Blood pours out from her wounded spot. According to VR regulations, the blood was visualized as a red square of fine polygons, calming Yunika down.

Yunika realized once again that she was inside the virtual world, making her regain some of her composure.

Though she could not hold her ground, she kicked the flank of the monster with the tiptoe of her right foot with all the strength she had.

Her kick shouldn’t had been that powerful, but the creature fell down with a small moan. After a big jerk, it moved it’s arms and legs in order to get up. Of course, it was not dead.

Meanwhile, Yunika tried to run away as fast as she could.

Her left leg throbbed with pain, but there was no opportunity for her to rest.

She couldn’t hear any sound of pursuit behind her. She tried to check if it’s following her, but to her surprise, the creature was already close to her. She was startled to the point that she couldn’t let out her voice.

The creature leapt at Yunika with great force, pushing her down with all its weight.

“No! No!”

Yunika gritted as she was bitten on the neck. The pain was imprinted through her brain, almost knocking her out of her consciousness.

She tried to desperately resist, but the pain and fear took over her body, making it hard for her to move.

“Help me, help me!”

Yunika cried out in tears. She was losing it to the point that she didn’t notice the sound of footsteps coming her way.

“Ei!”

With a light shout, the monster dog that had been clinging on Yunika’s back was blown away.

Ise Ria kicked the monster dog to the side with her foot.

Obi Haruka leapt out from behind Ria. He swung the steel pipe in his hand at the monster’s head with all his might.

Haruka striked the monster once again with the pipe, and another one for good measure. With a third strike, the monster had finally went silent. It doesn’t look to be twitching anymore.

“It’s already so difficult from the beginning, isn’t it?~”

Ria’s voice was cheerful.

Haruka placed the bloody pipe next to the monster and walked over to Yunika.

“Can you stand up, Shifu-san?”

Yunika’s vision blurred with tears, but she caught sight of Haruka holding out his hand.

Relieved, Yunika remained on the ground for a while, sobbing.

Disclaimer:

I’m currently fixing my mistakes for the names of some characters. I haven’t updated the entire novel yet so as a placeholder I’ve listed the names below to avoid confusion.

Old – New

Shiono Yunika – Shifu Yunika

Kamisato Reika – Kamizato Reika

Riho Hibiki – Rize Himari