Just as PD shattered a sea of monsters with a single 'Excalibur,' sending shockwaves through the entire gaming circle with FGO's hardcore mechanics and god-tier art...
Another entirely different storm was quietly brewing among the story-focused players.
In the livestream of 'Belle,' a well-known beauty streamer in the ACG section of Shark Platform.
Unlike a whale like PD, who shouted and screamed while pursuing overwhelming combat power, Belle was a typical 'immersion-seeker.'
She progressed through games extremely slowly, reading every single word of NPC dialogue without skipping a beat.
At this moment, Belle had already been struggling through [Burning Fuyuki City] for a full three hours.
Although she was a klutz when it came to combat, barely scraping by by borrowing a friend's 'Cu Chulainn,' her heart had long since been captured by the vivid and distinct characters in the game.
In the VR perspective, Belle was following behind two young girls, walking down a ruined street covered in ash.
Walking in front was Director Olga Marie, with her silver hair and red eyes, arms crossed as she incessantly complained about the surroundings.
Walking beside her was the pink-haired underclassman, Mash, holding a heavy cross shield and remaining constantly vigilant of the surrounding dangers.
"Even though this Director has a bit of a sharp tongue and an arrogant personality, she's actually a soft-hearted tsundere."
Belle watched Olga Marie, who was calling her a 'useless Master' while subconsciously shielding her whenever a monster appeared, an 'auntie smile' spreading across her face.
"Brothers, I declare that besides my wife Mash, the Director is also my favorite!"
"Once I finish this prologue, I'm definitely taking the Director back to Chaldea for coffee!"
Belle spoke with absolute certainty to the viewers in her livestream.
The bullet chat was also full of cheer:
"True, a tsundere white-haired young lady—this character design really hits the spot!"
"The writing in this game is incredible; every character is fleshed out. It's ten thousand times better than those standing NPCs that only exist to give out quests!"
"Happy ending guaranteed! Hurry to the center point and shut down the Singularity!"
In the inherent perception of Blue Star players, game plots were nothing more than the classic trope of 'the protagonist's party fights monsters to level up, eventually defeats the demon king, saves the world, and everyone celebrates together.'
No one realized that what they were facing was a cruel abyss named 'Type-Moon.'
The story continued to advance.
After defeating the monsters guarding the Greater Grail in Fuyuki City, Belle, Mash, and the Director finally arrived at the deepest part of the Great Underground Cavern.
"Look! Someone's ahead!"
Belle shouted in surprise.
In front of the cavern stood a man wearing a green suit and a top hat.
It was none other than Professor Lev Lainur, who had been in charge of the Sheba observation system before the explosion at Chaldea!
"Lev! Great, you're still alive!"
Seeing a familiar face, Olga Marie's tense nerves instantly relaxed.
Her eyes reddened, and like a wronged girl who had finally found her pillar of support, she ran quickly toward Lev.
"Lev, how is Chaldea? Take us back quickly!"
Belle also breathed a sigh of relief: "So there was backup. It looks like this prologue story is about to end happily. This Uncle Lev seems pretty reliable."
However, the Lev on the VR screen did not reach out to embrace the Director as she ran over.
He slowly turned around, and on that originally gentle face, there was now a smile so eerie and distorted it made one's skin crawl.
"Go back? Go back where, Olga Marie?"
Lev's voice became incredibly cold and arrogant. He looked down at the Director who had run up to him as if he were looking at a pathetic insect.
"Lev... you, what are you saying?"
Olga Marie froze and stopped in her tracks.
"The explosion at Chaldea—those were bombs I set with my own hands!"
Lev spread his arms and began to laugh maniacally:
"Filthy creatures like humans have no value in continuing to exist! And you, Olga Marie, your mission has ended."
Boom!
It was as if a bolt of lightning had exploded in the minds of Belle and the millions of viewers in the livestream.
"Holy crap? An inside job?!"
"This NPC is a villain?! Damn, he blew up his own base right at the start?"
"This plot twist is a bit sudden!"
Belle was also stunned, but she was still comforting herself and the audience:
"It's fine, it's fine, it's for the plot. Villains make it fun. We have protagonist armor; we'll definitely defeat him and save the Director!"
But the plot that followed completely shattered the psychological defenses of all the players from this other world.
Lev looked at the incredulous Olga Marie, his lips curling into a cruel arc:
"Do you think that as long as you complete the mission, you can return to your body in Chaldea?"
"How pathetic. Olga Marie, don't you understand yet?"
"The moment the Central Command Room at Chaldea exploded, your body had already turned completely into chunks of meat and ash!"