Chapter 492. Inuyasha Viewing, Opening (Part 1)
Ayanokouji's journey through the transmigration had come to a close.
But even as history turned a brand-new page, many people continued to flip back to the previous chapters, offering sharp critiques and discussing the events with great relish.
After all, the world of the Healer Hero hadn't exactly provided anyone with moving moments or blood-pumping excitement, nor had it taught much in the way of wisdom, strategy, or social etiquette...
The "Greatest Masterpiece's" approach of relentless killing and conquering was, quite frankly, too violent and frenzied for a normal person to emulate.
While everyone had to admit that the "Masterpiece's" conquest of the world was technically impressive, his maneuvers were so extreme and eccentric that they were impossible to replicate. It was a sweep that only Kiyotaka Ayanokouji could pull off.
However, while ninety-nine percent of the population marveled at the Masterpiece's power, there were those who struck a contrary note—for instance, the well-known anime blogger "TAKI-kun."
Back when the first viewing aired, this blogger had gone full-throttle on the internet, venting his fury at Hachiman Hikigaya: "Indecisive, a pretentious waste, zero EQ—I could do better myself!"
"If it were me, I wouldn't just have Emilia and the others; even Ram, Echidna, and Pandora would be charmed by me, purely based on my years of romantic experience in Galgames!"
"Pandora is so cute! Ahhh, Pandora, Pandora, my Witch of Vainglory Pandora, so beautiful, so petite, so flawless. She just made a tiny mistake, and Hikigaya killed her! Arghhh!!"
He seemed to harbor a deep, envious hatred toward Hachiman Hikigaya, loathing the man for not choosing "all of them."
And once Ayanokouji's arc ended, he was back at it, shouting: "What was wrong with the First Princess, Flare? Her personality clearly marks her as a textbook Tsundere."
"Do you even understand the concept of 'Tsun first, Dere later'? If she were kept alive, her subsequent bashful behavior would definitely be much more interesting than Kureha or Eve Reese!"
"So what if she kept the 'Masterpiece' imprisoned for three months? You didn't die! Why be so petty as to kill a genuine Tsundere? Argh, I'm going to kill you, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji!!"
He was utterly fixated on the death of the "2D Tsundere Beauty," Flare.
In general, however, his rating for Ayanokouji was much higher than his rating for Hikigaya. Because Ayanokouji "collected" everyone and left no one behind, "TAKI-kun" was quite satisfied... and this blogger was, of course, the online persona of Tomoya Aki.
After posting these two sharp critiques, Tomoya Aki's follower count didn't drop; instead, it surged as a crowd of trolls arrived to watch the show. Whenever he posted a new article criticizing Hikigaya or Ayanokouji, people would laugh and jeer:
"TAKI-kun, you're bragging about yourself again today? Why don't you post a picture so we can see your 'Tyrannosaurus'?"
"Strategy and looks are hard to judge, but a 'Tyrannosaurus' is clear at a glance. If you don't have one, how can you claim you could 'satisfy' someone like Second Princess Norn into submission like the Masterpiece did?"
"It's not that we don't believe you, we just want to broaden our horizons~"
Behind the screen, Tomoya Aki would look down at his own "loach," his face turning red with rage. He would then pound the keyboard, typing things like "A Tyrannosaurus isn't shown easily" and "Only 2D beauties like Flare are worthy of seeing it."
This drew thunderous laughter across the web.
Shortly after, someone knocked on his door, forced their way in, threw a sack over his head, and beat Tomoya Aki until he was foaming at the mouth, sending him straight to the emergency room.
Hikigaya Hachiman and Kiyotaka Ayanokouji didn't care about such self-important clowns, but their fans weren't nearly as magnanimous. As Tomoya Aki drifted in and out of consciousness, he saw the Hachiman fans and Ayanokouji fans shaking hands and making peace over their shared hatred of him, making him tremble with rage.
How could two lucky wastes have such high-quality fans? Is there no justice in this world?
"I'm a famous blogger with 500,000 followers! Where are TAKI-kun's fans? Why is no one helping!?"
Clutching this confusion, he fainted... when he woke up again, he was staring at a 200,000 yen medical bill.
In reality, he was lucky to be alive. If those fans hadn't beaten him, and if he had continued his nonsense, the authorities were already preparing to throw the brat into jail for fabricating facts and making inflammatory statements.
The incident of Tomoya Aki being assaulted continued to spread, eventually reaching the ears of students at the elite Shuchiin Academy, where it became a topic of gossip.
On this day, in the Student Council room of Shuchiin's Senior High division:
President Miyuki Shirogane, Vice President Kaguya Shinomiya, Secretary Chika Fujiwara, Treasurer Yu Ishigami, and Disciplinary Committee member Miko Iino were all gathered.
After Yu Ishigami led the conversation by mocking the delusional blogger TAKI-kun, a brief silence fell over the room.
Miyuki Shirogane, with his fierce-looking eyes, stole a glance at the smiling Kaguya Shinomiya... He thought back to the words his sister, Kei Shirogane, had said to him.
Maybe he really should take the initiative. Well, there was no rush yet, because perhaps Kaguya was also on the verge of making a move. For now, he just had to stay steady, play it cool, and set a trap for her.
The victory in this "Love is War" battle of wits would surely be his!
BZZZT—
The instant Miyuki Shirogane was about to start a conversation, a familiar sensation appeared. Everyone knew what this was: the omen for the third alternate world, the third future broadcast.
"Is it coming?"
Everyone across Earth, Emilia's world, and Keyaru's world stopped their work. They stood ready—some curious, some excited, some expectant.
Hikigaya Hachiman had no other wish than for the next protagonist not to be as crazy as Ayanokouji, nor as tragic. As for Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, he possessed the pure mindset of a bystander, watching to see how things would unfold.
"It's me! It's me, it's me, it's me—Arghhh! Why is it not me again?! Bastard!!"
In the hospital, the shouting Tomoya Aki had veins popping on his forehead as he slammed his phone onto the floor, smashing it into pieces.
Meanwhile, at Shuchiin, far from the hospital:
Shirogane Kei, a Middle School student on her way to the High School building to find her brother at the Student Council, stopped in her tracks. She was dazed at first, her face completely blank, but after a few seconds, it finally clicked. Her eyes widened, and she let out the loudest scream of her life:
"Eh? EH——EH!!??"
The light screen in the sky, the camera lens, and the focus were all glaringly centered right on her brother's Student Council room.
In the next second, the entire Shuchiin Academy erupted into an uproar!
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