Step_On_Me_Daddy_69:

  KICK THIS TRASH!! NO ONE TOUCHES MY WAIFU!! /VooduAngry

  

  Lurk_Daddy_UWU: What is the clown doing? We paid for the

  show, not for incel drama.

  

  Sugar_Daddy_Goth: 500 Bits

  Donation: VoodUwU, ignore

  this cockroach, show us your stockings again.

  Little_Step_Bro:

  REPORT!! BAN!! /VooduCry

  Loli_Hunter_9000: /VooduPat /VooduPat Don't cry my little queen, we are here.

  

  Panty_Sniper_XXX: Anyone got the clip of the panties at

  12:45?

  Vincent felt his

  Psyché waver. The malaise was physical.

  [Psyché : 52% →

  48%]

  That is their

  world. A septic tank of frustrated desire and murky fetishism. And

  she is its queen.

  VoodUwU did not answer

  right away. She remained there, smile intact, but her red eyes stared

  at Vincent with an icy intensity.

  — My,

  as you say, is what works. It is what gives me 847,000 subscribers.

  It is what makes people love me. Kawaii VoodUwU is my brand. It is

  what people want to see.

  — People want to see

  a brat acting like a whore? Vincent retorted, voice sharp as glass.

  Because that is exactly what you are doing. You are not just growing

  leeches in your jar, you are growing perverts.

  [Psyché : 52% →

  50%]

  Emet, sitting on his

  rock, intervened in a drawling voice:

  — To be honest, a

  kid baiting old men with a skirt that is too short is pretty cringe.

  But hey, not my problem.

  Nova, arms crossed,

  added in a measured voice:

  — I recruited her

  knowing her... style. But I am not going to lie, VoodUwU. The poses,

  the moaning, the... questionable stuff... If you could tone them

  down, it would be better. For everyone.

  Melo, to everyone's

  surprise, took VoodUwU's side.

  — Wait. She is just

  doing her job. Her stream is her livelihood. If this is what works

  for her, why should we judge?

  Vincent turned toward

  Mélo, incredulous.

  — Melo. Seriously?

  You do not see the problem?

  — I see a player who found a niche and

  is exploiting it, Melo answered calmly. It is no different from you

  exploiting the heart-eating mechanic to level up.

  — It is VERY

  different, Mélo. I eat monsters. She puts herself on display for

  those fucking pedoph—

  — Enough.

  VoodUwU's voice cut

  Vincent off short. It was no longer high-pitched, no longer kawaii.

  Just cold. Sharp.

  — You have a problem

  with my skin, Zero-kun? You have a problem with how I play? Then

  let's make a bet.

  Vincent stared at her.

  — What kind of bet?

  — A duel. You

  against me. If you win, I change my skin. I will take a Young Adult

  thing, whatever you want. No more , no more ~.

  Finished. But if I win, you change your skin too. In the sense that

  you force yourself to reach Transformation 5/10. Quickly.

  Vincent felt something

  freeze in his gut. Transformation 5/10. The point of no return. The

  Agent had said it: beyond 5/10, the changes become permanent even

  outside of transformation.

  [Psyché : 50% →

  48%]

  Melo placed a hand on

  his shoulder.

  — Vincent, this is

  not a good idea. If you lose—

  — I will not lose, Vincent cut him

  off.

  He looked VoodUwU

  straight in the eye.

  — Deal. Let's do

  this now.

  The Twitch chat went

  wild.

  

YESSS DUEL!!

  VOODUWU CRUSH HIM!!

  SHOW HIM WHO'S BOSS!!

  UWU POWER ?

  VoodUwU smiled — and

  this time, it was not her kawaii smile. It was something cold,

  calculating, dangerous.

  — My pleasure,

  Zero-kun.

  They took their places

  at opposite ends of the arena.

  

[Duel: EchoZero vs

  VoodUwU!_Kawa?]

  

[EchoZero]

  HP:

  850 / 850

  HP Stock: 487

  Psyché: 48%

  

[VoodUwU!_Kawa?]

  HP: 1847 / 1847

  Mana: 0 / 0

  Hematic Pressure: 0%

  Psyché:

  79%

  VoodUwU had nearly

  double his HP. But Vincent had his HP Stock — nearly 500 points in

  reserve. And he had something else. Emet's breathing technique.

  Control. Patience. He inhaled. Hold. Exhale. Hold.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  

[Controlled Breathing:

  Activated]

  [Psyché: 48%] (stable)

  Nova raised her hand.

  — Rules: first to

  15% HP loses. No killing. No intervention. Are you ready?

  Vincent activated

  [Regeneration Stimulation] preventively.

  

[HP Stock: 487 →

  Draining] [Regeneration: +10 HP/sec]

  VoodUwU crossed her

  hands in front of her, kawaii smile intact.

  — Ready, Zero-kun ~

  ?

  Nova dropped her hand.

  — GO.

  Vincent did not charge

  immediately. Not like with Emet. Not like an idiot. Think. Breathe.

  Control. VoodUwU raised her staff.

  

[Hirudic Swarm —

  Offensive Deployment]

  Fifteen leeches

  erupted, flying toward him like living projectiles. Vincent dodged —

  not by running, but by sliding, saving every movement, every

  expenditure of energy. Three leeches hit him anyway.

  

[Effect: Hirudic

  DoT ×3]

  [-12 HP/sec]

  But his regeneration

  compensated.

  

[+20 HP/sec]

  [Net:

  +8 HP/sec]

  I'm holding. I'm

  managing. He inhaled. Hold. Exhale. Hold.

  

[Psyché: 48%]

  (stable thanks to Controlled Breathing)

  Then he moved. Not a

  [Savage Rush] or a blind charge, but a controlled, calculated

  sprint, aiming for VoodUwU's flank.

  [Targeted Fracture]

  His claws found

  VoodUwU's left arm, shredding virtual flesh.

  

[Critical]

  [-280

  HP]

  [VoodUwU: 1847 → 1567 HP]

  VoodUwU pivoted, staff

  spinning, but Vincent was already gone — rolled to the side,

  repositioned, breathing. Inhale. Hold. Exhale. Hold. The Twitch chat

  was screaming.

  

HE'S FAST!!

  VOODUWU WATCH OUT!!

  DON'T LET HIM GET CLOSE!!

  VoodUwU raised both

  hands.

  

[Blood Conversion]

  [VoodUwU: 1567 → 1220 HP]

  [-347 HP sacrificed]

  [Mana: 0

  → 395]

  Then she launched:

  [Continuous Drain]

  A massive red tether

  wrapped around Vincent, sucking his life away.

  

[EchoZero: 850 →

  838 HP]

  [Effect: Drain — 8 HP/sec]

  But Vincent did not

  panic. He inhaled. Hold. Exhale. Hold. Stay calm. Manage the Psyché.

  Economize. He activated [Devastating Bite], aiming not at VoodUwU but

  at the red tether itself. His jaws — that gaping void opening in

  his mask, the three holes merging into a deformed maw — closed over

  the mana link. And he bit down.

  

[Organic Matter

  Consumed: Mana Link]

  [Continuous Drain: Interrupted]

  [+40 HP]

  VoodUwU blinked,

  surprised.

  — You... you ate my

  spell?

  Vincent did not

  answer. He charged. This time, he used a [Savage Rush] — but short,

  brutal, unexpected. A three-meter burst of speed, claws extended.

  [Multiple Wounds]

  He struck three times

  in a single second. Flank. Shoulder. Thigh.

  

[-120, -135, -110

  HP]

  [VoodUwU: 1220 → 855 HP]

  And then, something

  strange happened. The black veins under Vincent's translucent skin —

  those dark lines snaking from his heart — moved. They undulated,

  pulsed, spread along his arms, his hands, down to his claws. And his

  claws changed. They turned black. Then red. Black-red, glowing with a

  strange aura, as if blood and shadow were mixing.

  

[Mutation detected:

  Hirudic Absorption in progress]

  VoodUwU raised her

  staff, desperate.

  [Hirudic

  Saturation]

  Forty leeches erupted

  — a swarming mass. Vincent opened his maw. And he inhaled. The

  leeches were sucked into the void of his mask, disappearing into the

  darkness behind the three holes.

  [Organic Matter

  Consumed: Hirudic Swarm ×40] [+160 HP] [Trait Absorption:

  Processing...]

  

[NEW TECHNIQUE

  UNLOCKED]

  

[Draining Wounds]

  [Effect: Claw attacks inflict DoT (15/sec, 10 sec)]

  [Secondary

  effect: Vincent recovers 50% of DoT damage as HP]

  [Tertiary effect:

  +1% Psyché per 100 HP drained]

  Vincent's claws glowed

  with an intense black-red light. He struck. Once. Twice. Three times.

  Each blow left a gaping wound that bled — not normal blood, but

  something dark, living, pulsing and draining.

  

[-120 immediate HP]

  [DoT applied: 15/sec for 10 sec]

  [-135 immediate HP]

  [DoT

  applied: 15/sec for 10 sec]

  [-110 immediate HP]

  [DoT applied:

  15/sec for 10 sec]

  The DoTs stacked.

  

[-45 HP/sec total]

  And Vincent recovered

  half.

  

[+22 HP/sec]

  But that wasn't all.

  [Psyché: 48% →

  49%]

  What? My Psyché...

  it's going up? He struck again.

  [Psyché: 49% →

  50%]

  Fuck. The draining

  wounds. They don't just pump life. They pump Psyché. VoodUwU fell to

  her knees, HP collapsing.

  [VoodUwU: 855 →

  520 → 280 → 120 HP]

  The Twitch chat was in

  total panic.

  

NO NO NO!!

  VOODUWU FIGHT BACK!!

  HE'S CHEATING!!

  THIS IS BULLSHIT!!

  VoodUwU looked up at

  Vincent. For the first time, the kawaii mask fell away completely.

  Her red eyes were cold. Calculating. Respectful.

  — You... you got me,

  Zero-kun.

  

[VoodUwU: 120 HP]

  [15% reached]

  

[VICTORY: EchoZero]

  [Psyché: 50% →

  52%] (final gain from drain)

  The stifling silence that

  followed was broken only by the hum of the camera-drone, which seemed

  unsure of which angle to adopt. Vincent loomed over VoodUwU, his

  waxen hand still twitching with black spasms. The Twitch chat had

  become a battlefield of deleted messages and emotes.

  VoodUwU let out a sigh

  — a genuine sound of exhaustion, devoid of artifice — and logged

  out. Ten minutes passed before she reappeared.

  The child skin was

  gone.

  In its place stood a tall young woman in her early twenties

  with a sharp gaze. She wore a dark gothic dress, elegant yet

  aggressively profiled for Twitch: the neckline and the cut of the

  hips were calculated so her future viewers would not regret their

  subscriptions.

  Vincent looked her up

  and down. Beneath his mask, he felt that familiar and detestable

  heat, that mixture of envy and resentment that gnawed at him IRL.

  — Listen, he rasped.

  I don’t want to stop you from working. That wasn’t the point.

  He took a step toward

  her, his three black holes fixed on her new form. A sickly boldness

  crept into his tone.

  — And you know what?

  Since you have an adult skin now, go nuts with the choreos and the

  little moans if you want. I won't say no anymore. I’ll get to enjoy

  the view for free, live and in person.

  He tilted his head,

  the dirty white mask gleaming faintly.

  — How much do you

  charge for a 360, right here, right now?

  VoodUwU stared at him.

  Her expression oscillated between incredulous laughter and total

  disgust. She looked at him as one looks at a system error.

  — Truly all the

  same, aren't you... she spat with dry contempt. I almost thought you

  were just a little different.

  Vincent let out a

  short, brittle laugh. He thought of his smelly room at his

  mother's place, the dirty dishes piling up, the hours spent scrolling

  through profiles of girls who would never look at him.

  — No, I’m not

  different from any other guy like me, he spat, the bitterness seeping

  through. I struggle with girls these days, so yeah, I do what I can.

  I take what I can get.

  Emet, who had risen

  from his rock, approached with a nonchalant stride. He clapped a

  heavy hand on Vincent’s shoulder, his smirk sharper than a scalpel.

  — Man... I get why

  you struggle with women, given that performance. You’re about as

  subtle as a collision bug.

  Vincent tried to shrug

  off the hand, but Emet had already shifted his attention to VoodUwU,

  who didn't give him a single look. VoodUwU adjusted the collar of her

  new dress, her eyes already scanning her HUD to check the damage to

  her subscriber count.

  — We’ll talk about

  rates later, Zero-kun, she said coldly. Right now, I’m going to go

  fix the mess you made of my stats.

  She turned on her

  heel, her dress perfectly molding to her curves as she walked toward

  the dungeon entrance. Vincent stood there, suddenly feeling very

  stupid, the adrenaline of the fight collapsing like a failed soufflé.

  That’s when Melo

  approached. He gave him a look he meant to be encouraging, almost

  conspiratorial.

  — Don’t worry,

  Vincent... the healer whispered with an awkward smile. I’m sure

  she’s not showing it, but you made a little impression on her

  that’ll bear fruit... later.

  Vincent froze. Melo’s

  remark — sincere and clumsy — was the final blow. It was the pity

  of the only guy still kind enough not to see how pathetic the

  situation truly was.

  — Shut up, Melo,

  Vincent replied, devoid of any strength.

  

[Relationship with

  VoodUwU: Toxic Transactional]

  [Psyché: 52% → 48%] (The momentary

  high of victory is replaced by the familiar sting of IRL

  frustration.)

  Nova watched the scene

  in silence, arms crossed, brow furrowed. She shook her head slowly,

  then followed VoodUwU toward the dungeon entrance. She walked beside

  her for a few seconds in silence, her small black braids swaying with

  her steps. Then, in a voice she tried to keep detached:

  — Hey... You’ll

  have to give me some tips, one day.

  VoodUwU glanced at

  her, an eyebrow raised. Her kawaii mask was completely gone. All that

  remained was a tired, calculating young woman.

  — Tips for what? The

  business... or Zero-kun the loser?

  Nova froze. She didn’t

  answer. She couldn't. VoodUwU stopped and turned toward her. Her gaze

  swept over Nova — the slim, fine silhouette, the leather armor

  hugging her frame, the pretty face framed by braids, the thick

  eyebrows that gave her that serious, intense look.

  She gave a short, dry

  laugh. Not mean. Just... realistic.

  — Sorry. Not him.

  Nova blinked, caught

  off guard by the brutal honesty. VoodUwU ran a hand through her

  pearlescent hair, her eyes drifting back toward the arena where

  Vincent still stood alone.

  — All the others,

  they just wanted the kid. Him? He wanted me to stop. It’s stupid,

  but... no one had ever asked me to stop before.

  She paused, her jaw

  tightening.

  — 847,000

  subscribers. Thousands of , Do a

  little hop, Not a single . Not .

  VoodUwU turned back to

  Nova, and there was nothing vulnerable left in her eyes. Just cold

  lucidity.

  — He has zero game.

  He’s struggling like a thirty-year-old who failed his life and

  probably still lives with his mom. But he looked at me like a person,

  not like content. So yeah, even if it’s pathetic... I’m not

  letting go.

  She resumed her walk

  toward the dungeon, leaving Nova standing there. Nova looked down at

  her leather-gloved hands. Her fists clenched.

  Since the very

  beginning, he has never looked at me. Not once. Her? He saw her once.

  One goddamn time.

  She took a deep breath

  — a perfectly mastered stress management technique — and followed

  VoodUwU into the shadows of the dungeon. The mask stayed in place. As

  always.

  Emet laughed softly —

  not out of malice, but with the cruel lucidity of one who has seen it

  all.

  — Welcome to the

  club, boss, he whispered, walking away in turn.

  Vincent remained alone

  in the center of the arena, his black veins pulsing beneath his

  translucent skin.

  I did what was

  right. I really did what was right. So why does it feel like I’ve

  lost everything?