I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

"The duel begins!"

boom!

As if trying to shatter the air, the kick that scraped away the skin brought a powerful reaction force, and before that dull sound could be heard, the eyes of Tenkuji Yu were filled with the light of shooting stars.

The highest-level sword technique for the rapier is "Flash Pierce"!

"Holy crap... how could it be so fast?!"

Caught off guard, her eyes widened in surprise. Before the shock could even fully register, the one-handed sword in Tenkuji Yu's hand traced a crescent-shaped arc.

Pong!

A heavy tearing sound broke through the air's resistance, and azure light shot upwards, violently blasting away the meteor-like attack.

The highest-level sword technique for one-handed swords—"New Star Ascension"!

When attributes are equal, only sword skills with equally strong judgment can block the opponent's attack!

The white skill light shattered into fragments, but the blue on the one-handed sword remained bright. At this moment, the duel had only officially begun for one second!

Gripping the sword hilt tightly, Tenkuji Yu's pupils contracted sharply as he stared at the bearded man at close range, his equally deep and dark eyes burning with endless fighting spirit.

Without hesitation, he twisted his wrist, and a blue arc followed closely as it cleaved down.

brush--

The first combo shattered the opponent's suicidal thrust, and the remaining nine combos were naturally meant to cleanly and neatly slice this guy into pieces the moment he was wide open and stunned!

Before he could even unleash his full power, Yuu Tenkuji saw the burly man with the bushy beard stomp hard on the ground, forcing his massive body to briefly float in the air...

hum-

The bright red skill effects flashed almost continuously.

'Using sword techniques to cancel the sword technique's animation delay, so he knows that move too...'

Silently chanting in his mind, Tenkuji Yu forcibly changed the downward force of his elbow. The azure light suddenly changed, and the golden sword light pierced into his eyes without the slightest weakness.

Then, he met the rapier that was trying to cut open his chest.

"Four Times the Pain" vs. "Reverse Wheel"!

pound--!

boom--!

The sharp, heavy thud pressed down on the air, like firecrackers exploding in front of the two people, and the reaction force sent both figures flying at the same time.

"call……"

With light steps, Tenkuji Yu retreated, sword in hand, appearing completely at ease.

The burly man with the thick beard used movements disproportionate to his massive size to perform three or four one-handed backflips in a row, then stylishly flicked his wrist from a distance.

The duel had only been going on for five seconds when the two who had collided suddenly separated again and looked at each other from a distance.

People with poor dynamic vision may not even be able to see clearly what they did in that instant or what sword technique they used.

"I admit, you are the strongest person I have ever seen in this game."

After a long standoff, Tenkuji Yu suddenly spoke, calmly addressing the bearded man, "Whether it's reaction speed, attack speed, or even combat intelligence, you're far superior to her... If I were a little more careless, you might really have taken the first win."

"..."

The other person didn't speak, but their eyes seemed to have become much kinder, and the corners of their mouth curved up slightly as if they were pleased.

But then, he said in a subtle tone:

"However, I've discovered a problem."

"?"

"Whether it's the awkwardness during exercise, or the habitual movements when taking a step or swinging a sword..."

"!?"

Tenkuji Yu stroked his chin, his suspicious gaze like a solid sword, piercing straight at the bearded man who seemed to be getting more and more nervous and even started biting his lower lip.

...To be honest, it was quite a visual shock to see such a rugged man making such a coy gesture.

Thus, her suspicions turned into certainty, and Tenkuji Yu asked him... or rather, she, with an air of absolute certainty:

"You're actually a woman, aren't you?"

"..."

It seems like I touched a nerve, or maybe I just didn't want to explain.

The burly man with the thick beard gripped his thin sword again, his momentum like a mountain collapsing and trees falling, as he charged towards Tenkuji Yu.

Chapter 161 To Rewrite Her Fate, Kasumigaoka Utaha Begins to Struggle

In reality, within the Virtual Game Research Society.

Kasumigaoka Utaha stood in the far corner of the clubroom, ignoring the surprised looks from the students around her. She rested her left hand on her right elbow and her right hand on her chin, irritably biting her thumbnail.

Although this action is vulgar and unhygienic, it can still be pleasing to the eye when performed by a beautiful girl with long legs and black stockings.

"What to do, what to do, what to do... I can't escape, I can't escape, I can't escape..."

Fear and panic tangled in my mind.

At this moment, Kasumigaoka Utaha suddenly understood Shinji Ikari's feelings before boarding the EVA—although there were still significant differences, it didn't stop her from emphasizing the seriousness of the situation at this moment.

Compared to the crisis she is facing now, what is the destruction of Tokyo-3?

"Tsk!"

With her nails bitten down to the flesh, Kasumigaoka Utaha had no choice but to put down her thumb and bite her lip instead.

She opened the notebook again, repeatedly looking at the contents on the white paper and the images on the screen, her mind racing so fast that she even felt a faint burning sensation.

The battle on stage is heating up, while the notebook is filled with the deep black words, "Your future will fall into the abyss along with it."

The two formed a bottomless vortex, pulling her step by step toward a dark and hopeless future.

Even though she didn't know what she was about to face, it was precisely this unknown that made her heart pound uncontrollably, as if she were blindfolded and wandering aimlessly along a forest path.

"Think quickly, there must be a way before his heart is pierced..."

Her full chest heaved violently as Kasumigaoka Utaha took another deep breath to suppress her chaotic and uneasy emotions. The color began to fade from her beautiful and serene face, but her dignified and poignant appearance only enhanced her charm, making her seem like a female knight in a perilous battlefield, stubbornly refusing to submit to the enemy general.

As thoughts sparked in his mind, the bright and gentle light in his eyes gradually faded.

She lowered her head, as if lost in some strange state, and murmured rapidly and indistinctly:

"I can't gamble on other possibilities, nor can I take any chances. I have to regard the moment when Yuu's heart is pierced in the game as the end of my own life..."

Only in this way can we unleash the full potential of our brains and find the right one among countless choices.

"He seems to have the upper hand in the game right now, with Asuna Yuuki unable to break through his defenses, but this is actually the most dangerous situation..."

If I let my guard down and she finds a weakness, I won't even have the chance to stop her in time or react. I can only watch helplessly as my fate is rewritten and I inexplicably lose my future.

“I’m not an expert on machines, and the battle between those two is not one that ordinary people can intervene in, so intervening from the inside is not ideal. Since we are in the real world, we should do what we can do in the real world and stop those two from continuing to fight.”

How can we make those two people who are having a great fight in a virtual reality game end their battle as quickly as possible, thereby avoiding the possibility of someone having their heart pierced by a sword?

What should I do...?

and many more!

As if a spark had ignited from a wood shaving, a flash of inspiration swept through my mind, completely severing all the other tangled options and leaving only the clearest path, the broad road, stretching endlessly before me!

"Wouldn't this have solved everything?! I've been worrying about this for so long..."

Kasumigaoka Utaha gave a self-deprecating smile, surprised that she hadn't immediately thought of the simplest method; she was indeed blinded by concern.

Without hesitation, she looked around and, relying on her intuition and eyesight, spotted the bespectacled man standing in front of the ring area.

"You must be the president of the Virtual Reality Research Institute, right?"

"You are..." Forced to look away from the spectacular, even arguably the strongest, showdown in history, the bespectacled man pushed up his glasses, his displeasure replaced by surprise and bewilderment the moment he saw the girl behind him.

"Kasumigaoka Utaha-senpai? Why would someone like you be here...?"

"The reason doesn't matter, I want to ask you something!" Kasumigaoka Utaha interrupted him without any politeness. Her anxious tone and gaze, filled with strong will, were like a sharp blade, firmly holding the Virtual Research Club president's neck.

"Does that helmet have built-in safety features? For example, if there's a sudden power outage, will the person still fighting inside be in danger?"

"This..." The president of the Virtual Research Club opened his mouth, but before he could even speak, the black-haired senior opposite him immediately narrowed her eyes. Her cold and murderous expression made it seem as if she would snap his neck at any moment and then move on to ask the next person.

He couldn't help but tremble slightly, suppressing the inexplicable excitement rising within him. He quickly pushed up his glasses and said expressionlessly:

"Reporting to senior, there's absolutely no danger. R-Company's NERvGEAR has already passed a full set of safety tests. We've also personally tested the emergency battery and anti-detachment measures, and they're all working perfectly. In the event of any unexpected situation that could affect the player's game, the virtual entity's activity will be stopped first, and then the player will be forcibly logged out..."

"Got it, so everything's OK, right?" Having heard what she wanted to know, Kasumigaoka Uta finally breathed a sigh of relief and revealed a satisfied smile.

After being captivated by her stunningly cheerful smile for only a few seconds, the president of the Virtual Research Club quickly regained his composure and asked calmly, "Why do you ask that? Are you worried about their safety?"

Seeing that the man was polite and answered her questions quickly and decisively, Kasumigaoka Utaha temporarily suppressed her urge to turn around and reluctantly replied, "Yes, after all, there are..."

Looking towards the arena, she was about to point at Tenkuji Yu and say, "There's someone very important to me, and I don't want him to get hurt," and casually cause him a little trouble as a 'return gift'.

Standing not far away, Yukino Yukinoshita, who was watching the game screen, seemed to notice the strange situation and suddenly turned her gaze over.

A hint of doubt lingered in his clear, bright eyes, but upon seeing her figure... or rather, her physique, that doubt instantly turned into wariness and skepticism, as if he were about to step forward and ask her a question.

'Tsk, I forgot that his little girlfriend is standing by his side...' Kasumigaoka Utaha clicked her tongue in secret and quickly turned her half-raised finger to point to the curtain of the arena area on the left.

“My friend is here. Her name is Yuuki Asuna, I don’t know if you know her.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Kasumigaoka Utaha noticed that Yukinoshita's expression had relaxed slightly, as if she had lowered her guard. She wiped the sweat from her palms with her notebook, feeling a sense of tension as if she were on a spy mission.

After all, if the executive committee member of the cultural season were to discover what she was doing, then it would basically mean the end of everything.

Let alone whether she will be stopped, even being delayed for a second is a risk that Kasumigaoka Utaha cannot afford right now.

"It's alright, thank you for your reply."

"It would be great if I could help you, senior. As a token of my gratitude, would you please have a meal with me?"

Not having clearly heard what the bespectacled man said, Kasumigaoka Utaha politely tossed out a perfunctory thank you, then suppressed her anxiety and calmly walked towards the door, quickly leaving the Virtual Research Society office.

Of course, she wanted to rush over right now, cut Tenkuji Yu's internet cable, stomp on his face, and then loudly read the contents of the notebook to make him understand who had rescued him from the abyss.