I paused my thoughts for a couple of seconds, attempting to recognize him.
"Ladies and gentlen, allow to introduce my—uh, I an... The Curator for the first round: Fulltal, The Divine Slayer!"
She kissed him on the cheek—though I ignored the reaction that followed.
Didn’t I just say he seed familiar? No. Definitely way beyond that.
If mory serves it correctly, there was once a gar with the exact sa na.
Known across the Valve Scream platform for his razor-sharp critiques in ga reviews section, especially when it ca to ga chanics and monetization.
His insights were brutal, but his skills? Unquestionably top-tier.
That was insane, despite claiming he only got to play once a week. I’d heard him recount stories in Virtual Heroes open lobbies—balancing a soul-crushing day job, then rushing ho to dive into the ga world just to escape, away from reality.
But if I rember it well, that was eight months ago.
He vanished off the grid ever since a certain ga studio... no many of them cancelled him on Tweeter for exposing their shady backend operations with their released gas. Ironically, that only cented his title—The Divine Slayer—as a legend.
And now... out of all places, he’s here. Right here in this filthy twisted ga.
Every player froze, like they’d just heard a long-dead franchise was getting a remake. The legend had returned to the stage—and with it, all the weight of his mythos.
"Okay, I’m sure most of you already know who he is! And of course, his incredible contributions will always be rembe—"
SMACK!
"OWWW~ That actually hurt, you know!" the mischievous little demon whined, rubbing her head where Fulltal had just flicked it.
But instead of speaking, a reply appeared on the screen in cold, blinking text. It was accompanied by the soft beep-beep-beep of soone typing on an old phone.
[I TOLD YOU—CUT THE DRAMATICS. I’M JUST SO GUY. AND STOP SAYING IT AS IF I ALREADY DIED. NOT FUNNY.]
"Yes yes, my darling... You disappeared, so we all thought you were dead. Let’s just say you resurrected—like a god you are, The Divine Slayer."
Akuma clung onto Fulltal like a cat wrapping itself around a warm laptop. I squinted. Was he seriously ssaging her from the screen?
[UH, ARE YOU PLAYERS SURPRISED? SORRY GUYS. I GET A BIT ANXIOUS WHEN TALKING OUT LOUD LOL XD]
"Hey, what the heck? ssaging them instead of ? Priorities, babe."
Emojis. ’LOL.’ That damn XD face.
Was he always this weird? But then again, maybe he always had been.
Oddly enough, the look suited him—a sleek, dark mafia-style suit that matched his cold digital presence. Fulltal didn’t just wear mystery like a mask. He was the mask.
The flirty banter? It didn’t feel random. Sothing told this was all scripted—or maybe just second nature to them. The chemistry between Akuma and Fulltal was teasing, mischievous, and strangely... magnetic.
Or maybe I was daydreaming of what ant to be impossible again.
Who knows.
"Aww, co on. You better apologize, say sorry to . You hit my head—what if I forget on how to be cute in front of you?" Akuma pouted.
Fulltal didn’t respond with words. Just a gentle pat on her head.
"Kya~ now I’m double in love with you!" she squealed, kissing his mask right where his mouth would’ve been.
This was getting out of hand—like, terminal-level of cringe. But maybe that was the point. A parody of a romantic ani, scripted to be ridiculous. Velvet, one of the other players, stared at the ground like her soul had left the server. Her lips moved in silent prayer, though I had a sneaking suspicion she was just cursing under her breath.
Oh, and speaking of which... we were past the deadline for Round One.
But then—
All of a sudden, right on cue, a notification popped up:
[ROUND ONE WILL BEGIN SHORTLY. PLEASE BE PATIENT.]
...Spoke too soon, didn’t ya?
So, what now? A delay?
Maybe. But wne thing was certain: the round hadn’t started yet.
anwhile, Akuma was still busy being clingy, all wholeso and flirtatious—whether she was AI or not, her neediness for love was unmatched.
Questions kept buzzing in my head. None of this made sense.
This ga—if you could even call it that—was built on absurdity.
"Okay, okay! Sorry to keep everyone waiting! I just got a little nervous, hehehe~"
[DON’T DO THAT AGAIN. I ALMOST BACKED OUT. BESIDES, I’M SUPPOSED TO EXPLAIN THE RULES AND THE THE FOR ROUND ONE.]
"All right all right! I’m sorry, okay? But... aren’t you going to explain your role as curator, too?"
[THAT’S YOUR JOB. I ONLY DESIGNED THE RULES AND THE FOR THIS ROUND.]
"Fine, fine! Then I will explain your important role, thank you very much."
[AND PLEASE—STOP SAYING ’HIS CONTRIBUTIONS.’ IT MAKES SOUND DEAD.]
"Okay, okay, just zip it for a sec—I need to finish this, shake my head."
Fulltal nodded quietly and ran his fingers through Akuma’s hair. She leaned into it like a cat basking in sunlight.
"Right, where were we? Oh—yes. This man here is the one managing the entire ga from behind the scenes. Cybersecurity. Operational stability. System integrity. All of it? It’s his doings."
[AND THAT’S ONLY BECAUSE YOU KEEP BREAKING STUFF.]
"Yes, I know, I break everything. You don’t have to remind , sweetheart. Now hush."
Another silent nod from Fulltal.
"Anyway! If you were wondering where he’s been all this ti—it’s here. He’s been here, working in the shadows. Securing the servers, fixing bugs, preparing this entire ga for you. And as many of you probably know, Fulltal is a legendary curator: sharp, honest, no-nonsense. Honestly, that’s why I fell for him~!"
[STOP GETTING EMOTIONAL. I PICKED YOU BECAUSE YOU’RE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN TOLERATE . :)]
"OH, shut the fuck up! And stop using that creepy smile emoji! Are you trying to sound smug, huh?!"
The two of them bickered like they were the only ones in the room.
Annoying? Definitely. But kind of funny, too.
Like watching a romcom unfold in real-ti—over-the-top flirting, sarcastic one-liners, questionable boundaries. The rest of the players just stood there, caught in a strange limbo. So looked amused. Others... deeply, spiritually and viscerally confused.
And then, finally—
"Well, I guess that wraps up my part. Now I’ll hand it over to my one and only, Fulltal. Take it away, darling. Explain the ga chanics and rules for Round One."
She tried to sound serious for once, though sohow... I liked this version of her better.
[THANK YOU, AKUMA. NOW, WITHOUT FURTHER DELAY—LET EXPLAIN THE RULES FOR ROUND ONE.]
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