Chapter 120: Are you ready, another me?

[Final Confrontation: Elivagar Broadcasting Station I Am Here Now]

“Alright, everyone! It’s time for the moment you’ve all been waiting for—the introduction of a brand-new hero. Please enjoy the video.”

At the words of Kino Kazuki, the development director of Final Confrontation, the blue screen on the monitor faded to black.

[Aka-kat, Akakakakat!]

As the pitch-black screen brightened, an eerie, distinctive laughter echoed.

“Despair! And herald the end of the world!”

On the screen appeared a girl with crimson hair, redder than blood.

Her gray eyes glinted with malice as she flashed a cruel smile. Holding up a reddish-brown staff toward the sky, she shouted:

“The flames that consume all things—are born from my blood! The force that shatters providence—emerges from my world!”

A streak of red light shot up from her staff, piercing the sky. With a deafening crack, the heavens split open, and the girl’s crimson hair and black cloak billowed violently.

Then, from beyond the clouds, a scarlet streak of light descended.

“World—be painted red!”

As the crimson flash struck the ground with tremendous force, the earth shattered, and molten lava erupted, swallowing everything in its path.

[Aka-kat! Akakakakat!]

The girl let out a crazed laugh as she watched the destruction unfold.

With that, the video ended, and the screen transitioned to an illustration of the same girl floating in midair, casually using her staff as a makeshift seat.

“And there you have it! Our newest event-exclusive 4-star hero, Akabane Yukari!”

-Is this for real?!
-OOOOOOOOHHHHH!!!

The live chat exploded with excitement.

Not every reaction was positive, of course, but the overwhelming majority of messages were filled with enthusiasm.

Of course, most of the comments were from Iztomo fans and Familiar users, but the reason for such intense excitement lay in the unique nature of Final Confrontation itself.

Final Confrontation, a long-running game approaching its 8th anniversary.

Yet, in over seven years, it had only ever collaborated with five other franchises—all of which belonged to the same parent company and shared the same overarching universe as Final Confrontation.

But now, for the very first time, Final Confrontation was crossing over with an external IP.

That alone was enough to send the game’s player base into a frenzy of anticipation.

Most gamers don’t stick to just one game—they play multiple titles and often dream of seeing their favorites cross over.

Final Confrontation players were no different, but after eight years of waiting with zero external collaborations, they had all but given up hope.

Now, however, this collaboration with StarsFlow signaled a new beginning.

“And next, we have another hero to introduce. Please look forward to it!”

At Kazuki’s cue, the screen shifted once again.

This time, instead of jumping straight into a battle showcase, the video opened with the silhouette of a figure standing against a seaside backdrop.

As the camera panned, details of the figure became clearer—a slightly tilted baker’s cap and a cardigan wrapped snugly around the waist.

Then, as text appeared on the screen, the full-body image of the new hero was revealed, along with their name.

Immediately after, the screen turned pure white, and what appeared next was Izumi, smiling brightly.

[“Alright, full deployment as always! A girl’s heart knows no limits, right?”]

In Izumi’s hand was a long umbrella.
She gave it a light shake up and down before taking a stance, just like a kendo practitioner.

[“Alright, here I go! It was something like this, right?”]

Then, she dashed forward, slashing the enemy with her umbrella before inexplicably assuming a sheathing stance.

[“Hehe, how was that? Pretty cool, right? If you fall for me, that might be a little troublesome~”]

As soon as Izumi said that, the enemy standing behind her exploded with a massive blast, and raindrops began to fall from the sky.

[“Huh?! W-What…? What just happened? How did I do that…?”]

Izumi turned around in shock, and at that moment, the video ended.

Just like with Yukari earlier, an illustration appeared on the screen.

She was standing while using her umbrella as a prop, flashing a bright smile while making a V-sign near her eye with her fingers.

– Mei-chan is here!
– So cute!!!
– The ultimate move animation looks more like a 4-star level.

The chat was flooded with various reactions.

Some people were gushing about how adorable she was, others were pointing out that her ultimate move animation seemed weaker than Yukari’s despite being a 5-star character, and some were even saying they wanted to adopt her as their daughter.

However, the most common reaction was, “This isn’t the Izumi I know at all.”
To Izutomo fans, the sight of Izumi speaking fluently and acting so energetic was completely unfamiliar.

But Kazuki couldn’t possibly read all the comments and continued the broadcast without concern.

“Yes. Introducing the event’s 5-star hero, Kaino Izumi.”
“Wow. It’s finally here—Destined Showdown’s very first external collaboration!”

At Kazuki’s words, the female voice actress sitting beside him, Kasumi Ryoko, clapped her hands and responded.

“I know, right? It’s finally happening, haha.”

“Destined Showdown is known for never having collaborations. I bet a lot of Masters were completely shocked when they saw this.”

“Absolutely. Even we were surprised when the collaboration was first confirmed. I’m sure the Masters were even more shocked than we were.”

“And on top of that, it’s with a VTuber that’s been a hot topic lately. This is going to be amazing~.”

“Yes. I really hope all the Masters enjoy it.”

After that, Kazuki introduced the in-game event schedule, revealed a TV commercial, and chatted with Ryoko about various topics before wrapping up the broadcast with a thank-you message.

“See you all next time~.”
“Take care, everyone.”

And with that, the broadcast introducing Destined Showdown’s first-ever external collaboration event came to an end.

[Destined Showdown Minor Gallery]

The online community was abuzz with excitement.

[Title: Are they both out?]
[Author: Anonymous]

They’re both here.

[Upvotes: 56 / Downvotes: 0]

Earth’s Last Master: Yes.
└ Earth’s Last Master: Hurry up and bring the ultimate move and skills.

Anonymous: What the f*ck…
TtushiTtushi: They really kidnapped her, huh.

[Title: New Character Illustrations]
[Author: Anonymous]

Oh.

[Upvotes: 40 / Downvotes: 0]

Earth’s Last Master: For once, they’re not half-naked.
└ Anonymous: Probably because she’s an actual active VTuber, so they kept it clean lol.

No More Rate-Up Failures: Looks like both illustrations were drawn by Izumi herself.
└ Phoenix: Yeah, seems like it. I heard she’s a ridiculously famous illustrator.

[Title: Izumi’s Ultimate Move Changes at 3rd Awakening]
[Author: Anonymous]

Kinda expected it since the first one looked awful.

[Upvotes: 62 / Downvotes: 0]

Qmfasd: Whoa, that’s actually sick.
└ Anonymous: Her voice completely changes too.
└ HerculesNoona: Apparently, that’s her real voice?
└ Qmfasd: Didn’t ask, don’t care.

Anonymous: Everyone saw this coming.

[Virtual OnTuber Minor Gallery]

[Title: So how’s the performance of Izumi and Yukari in Destined Showdown?]
[Author: GiraffeDrawing]

Thinking of trying it out since they collabed.

[Upvotes: 5 / Downvotes: 2]

Anonymous: Yukari << A 4-star but a high-tier damage dealer.
└ Anonymous: Izumi << A 5-star but useless as both a support and a DPS.
└ Anonymous: But she’s insanely good as a figure display.
└ Anonymous: Basically, it’s the perfect performance for Izumi lol.
└ Anonymous: To put it simply, she’s ‘pretty trash.’
└ Mei-chanLove: Stop slandering my Mei-chan, you b*stard.

Maker: This game’s meta doesn’t even matter that much.
└ Maker: Just try it if you’re curious.

Boss: Performance aside, Izumi’s 3rd Awakening ultimate move looks insane.
└ Boss: Like, actually mind-blowing.
└ Opposite of Incarnation is Reception: Agreed.

[【Destined Showdown】Wait for me, my other self!]

“Hmm. I-I’m sure everyone already knows, but… Akabane-san and I have been added as heroes in Destined Showdown.”

[Unbelievable. How am I a 4-star while Izumi is a 5-star? Clearly, I should be the 5-star here.]

“T-That’s something you should take up with the company, not me….”

Of course, I also thought I should have been the 5-star.
I mean, I’m literally the Water Incarnation, right? A mere witch ranking higher than me is just ridiculous, Akabane-san.

—Did you draw all the illustrations yourself, Mei-chan?

“Ah, y-yeah. A-At first, they wanted to ask Toka-mama and Yuri-mama, but in the end, I ended up doing it….”

So that’s why I hadn’t been able to do any drawing streams lately.
I could have if I really wanted to, but the company was worried it’d leak something, so they told me not to.

“But even though I drew them, the designs were all a-actually reviewed by mama, so…”

Both of them had sent me tons of reference materials, saying they wanted to dress us in all sorts of outfits.
Choosing just one was a grueling task.

—Before the 3rd Awakening, Mei-chan felt totally out of character. Thoughts?

“W-What are you talking about…? It suited me perfectly. I’m the ultimate cheerful, life-of-the-party, pretty JK, obviously.”

…To be honest, when I first heard about the concept, I thought it was doomed.

[“Alright, full deployment! A girl’s heart knows no limits!”]
[“Okay, here I go! It was something like this, right?”]
[“Hehe, how was that? Pretty cool, right? If you fall for me, that might be a little troublesome~”]

I couldn’t imagine myself saying any of those lines.
I had so many outtakes during recording.

In the end, they had to stitch together multiple takes to make it sound right.
I-I should probably never mention that, huh?

—3rd Awakening makes you look so much cooler. Love it.

At least the 3rd Awakening lines were better.
I didn’t have to force myself to act overly cheerful, so I could just speak normally.
I still stuttered a bit, but thanks to editing, they managed to fix most of it.

[“Alright, I think it’s time we move on to today’s main event… You ready, Izumi? The loser grants the winner a wish.”]

“This time, I-I’m definitely going to win, Akabane-san….”

That was the real reason I started today’s stream.
And why I teamed up with Akabane-san.

A gacha showdown.

The rules were the same as last time: whoever pulled the character first won.
If we got them at the same time, we’d keep rolling until someone pulled another.
The target? Kaino Izumi.

Of course, I was going to max limit break her anyway, so it didn’t really matter.
But still, I absolutely had to win this time.
I got crushed last time during the Hercules rate-up, but not today.

This time, I’ll win for sure!

You ready, my other self?!