She was one of the two great beauties of Private Toyosaki Academy, praised as a "High Mountain Flower." She had refined features, long black hair cascading down her back, a white headband, delicate skin, and the air of a Literature Girl.
Even so, it could not change the fact that she was a flop author.
After releasing its second volume, her light novel, "Youth Love Travelogue," had once again been abruptly canceled!
Her editor, Machiko Ako, had said that her novel lacked the authentic feeling of romance...
Painful!
Ultimate invincible cosmic big-bang pain!
Another light novel she had painstakingly conceived and meticulously crafted had died before it could be born.
Just how could she write a good romance novel?
Did she really have to experience a sweet romance herself?
Utaha scratched her head in frustration. She did not mind dating someone, exactly.
But the boys at school were all beasts with hormones for brains. None of them gave her the sense of security needed to entrust herself to them. She was still a girl who dreamed of being a princess, hoping to wait for the knight who belonged to her.
As for casually finding some boy to date? No way, absolutely not!
She should check Twitter first.
Utaha Kasumigaoka sighed, casually pulled out her phone from her bag, and turned it on.
Then, the moment she entered Twitter, her brows furrowed tightly.
Subway Elder Looking at Phone.jpg.
What the hell was this?
Since when did Twitter have ads, especially such vulgar ones?
I'll delete it!
...Why couldn't she delete it?
Utaha Kasumigaoka was somewhat bewildered.
But the ad was ruining her mood, so she chose to watch videos on Japan's danmaku site, NICONICO.
Yet to her surprise, even NICONICO had the same ad.
I'll switch again!
The girl narrowed her eyes. She refused to believe that every website had this rogue ad.
Ten minutes later...
Utaha Kasumigaoka sprawled across her classroom chair like Ge You, like a salted fish that had lost its dreams, beginning to question her life.
She understood now.
Some incredibly skilled hacker had hacked websites around the world just to plant a rogue ad.
This had already reached the number one spot on the country's trending list.
Come on, man, you went through all that trouble just for this?
If you weren't going to hack the Pentagon in the Akkameli Nation, what a waste of talent!
Utaha complained helplessly.
The websites still worked normally, but that thing in the lower-right corner was really an eyesore.
She was suffering terribly, as though ten thousand ants were crawling all over her body. She hoped every country would quickly resolve this hacking incident. Otherwise, even opening Fumino River Bunko would mean seeing that rogue ad. It was unbearable.
But because of that, Utaha became somewhat curious about the hacker's purpose.
Should she click into the rogue ad and see?
Utaha Kasumigaoka fell into thought.
There were no private photos on her phone, nor was it some particularly expensive electronic device. Even if it got ruined, it would not matter much.
In an instant, curiosity overwhelmed reason, and the beautiful black-haired girl with straight hair clicked the yellow ad.
First, an entry page called "Observer Net" popped up.
Then an ivory-white background appeared, with a single video hanging lonely on the website.
"..."
Utaha Kasumigaoka fell silent.
Buddy, couldn't you make your website a little more substantial?
But she still clicked the video.
"Fate/stay night... Holy Grail War?!"
The girl unconsciously read out the video's title, surprise filling her beautiful eyes.
With her extensive knowledge, she instantly translated the title.
The video was very short, only two minutes long. She first checked the description and quickly understood what kind of story it told.
In Fuyuki City, a group of extraordinary people fought over the Holy Grail, which could grant any wish, summoning dead ancient heroes to battle for them. Observer Net had specifically noted that this was a story that took place in a Parallel World.
"The Parallel World hypothesis... interesting."
Utaha Kasumigaoka raised her brows, her beautiful eyes gleaming with fascination.
The format of the story was also novel, comparable to the Steel Land she had watched yesterday.
Then, she put on her pink earphones and hit play!
"Boom, boom, boom—"
In an instant, the opening of an incomparably soul-stirring, fiery BGM erupted, madly stimulating her nerve endings. Exquisitely realistic visuals appeared, immersive enough to draw people in, like a black hole sucking in one's very soul.
In that brief instant, Utaha Kasumigaoka lost her bearings, staring blankly at the screen with wide eyes.
Accompanied by a girl's melodious singing, countless dazzling scenes appeared.
Atop towering skyscrapers, two ancient heroes clashed fiercely beneath the moonlit night.
"Bellerophon—!!"
The Beauty Snake roared, blood staining her pale neck. A phantasmal species that could not possibly exist in this era—the "Pegasus"—appeared, charging toward the ground like a white comet as the air around it compressed and exploded into rolling shockwaves.
Under the moonlight, sharp sword radiance flashed like an arc, severing the boundary between heaven and earth.
"Secret Sword: Swallow Return!"
—The ultimate blade was finally completed; sword light flashed across the moon of the Void before vanishing.
Blood spilled from the corner of the Blue-Clad Swordsman's lips as he unleashed a strike approaching the Five True Magics.
"Excalibur—!!"
The noble King of Knights shouted furiously, the ahoge atop her head swaying as the sword of light in her hand transformed into a golden torrent and blasted toward the heavens.
"Gae Bolg!!"
The hero of Celtic Mythology roared and threw forth the Magic Spear that would surely hit and surely kill!
"Damn it, you actually made this king get serious against trash like you!!"
The Golden-Haired Man flew into a furious rage. Golden ripples formed one after another across the heavens, and countless gleaming blades, swords, axes, halberds, and spears rained down like a storm, determined to execute the insolent wretch who had defied a king.
Utaha Kasumigaoka was immersed in the realistic visuals, completely unaware of time passing.
The progress bar quickly passed the halfway mark, but when the final featured character appeared, the girl suddenly widened her beautiful eyes in astonishment.
As an outstanding student of Private Toyosaki Academy, she had been an exchange student at many schools.
That person... that familiar girl... she had seen her at Sobu High School!
"Shimo Yukino..."
She murmured to herself, finding it hard to believe.
The breathtaking images continued, already reaching their climax!
The ruined Middle East, a city shrouded in the soot-stained smell of smoke that had not been washed away for ages.
Under the terrible devastation of war, the remains of several collapsed buildings could be seen everywhere. The refugees stared blankly and numbly ahead, while a dog with patchy fur lay sickly on the ground. The atmosphere was suffocatingly oppressive.
A woman wearing a plain-colored headscarf and red clothing silently gazed ahead.
As though voicing the image firmly rooted in her heart, a hoarse female voice emerged.
"I know, too, that valuing others more than yourself is hypocrisy."
The camera slowly shifted, revealing the Traveler in a refugee camp.
She sat beside white tents, a sorrowful smile blooming on her beautiful face. Dirty children smiled innocently as they gathered around the Traveler, happily eating the food she pulled from her heavy travel bag.
The atmosphere was oppressive yet full of hope, like flowers blooming before dawn.
The plain-colored headscarf wrapped around her hair, making it impossible to see the complicated emotions in her eyes.
"Even so... even so..."
The camera slowly zoomed in on her face. Beneath weathered white hair, eyes as sincere and steadfast as flames were revealed, full of humanity as a dazzlingly beautiful light of ideals blossomed within them.
"A wish for others to become happy should be something beautiful."
The scene shifted again, seemingly returning to a time in the past.
That face became younger. She stood resolutely at the edge of the Graveyard of Swords, blood flowing from her eye sockets and beads of sweat sliding down her face.
Even covered in wounds, she had not lost that stubborn trace of determination.
One who embraced justice would never fear the thorns ahead!
The woman standing before her gritted her teeth in anger, seemingly unable to understand why someone could be so foolish.
Mixed with the girl's memories, that dream passed down from beneath the full moon made her unyielding faith burn.
"Rumble—!!"
Two enormous swords descended like heavenly punishment, whipping up terrifying wind pressure in their wake.
The girl's hair stood on end, blue arcs of electricity flashing in her palms. With a crisp clang, she materialized two ancient Noble Phantasms, instantly knocking away the two great swords that had tried to pierce her body.
Then, with an unyielding gaze, she charged forward with twin blades in hand, her ideals erupting alongside a hoarse roar!
"This dream is absolutely not wrong!!!"
Countless great swords streaked through the air toward the girl, seeming ready to tear apart space itself!
The air trembled, the heavens split open, and the black-and-white twin blades deflected every threat. Amid deafening explosive crashes, the earth was gouged into deep trenches, splashing massive clumps of mud across several meters.
Within the mist, the girl was like a rampaging hawk, her legs moving with lightning speed as she surpassed everything!
The White-Haired Woman's cold face shifted slightly, as though she found it difficult to accept.
But no matter what, under the girl's active assault, the distance between them grew ever closer.
Twenty meters...
Ten meters...
Before you continue