Chapter 13. The world is shaken, the astonishment of Kasumigaoka Utaha!
Undercurrents surged.
In the blink of an eye, countless websites were simultaneously attacked by a mysterious hacker.
Names like Amazon.com, Google, Blogger, YouTube, Wikipedia, Facebook, Apple… all fell, shaking who knows how many powerful figures around the world.
Countless mobile apps didn't escape either, all plunging into a swamp of rogue advertising.
No matter which website you accessed, a pornographic ad was stuck in the bottom right corner.
It looked like there was an "X" in the top right corner of the ad, but clicking it didn't close it—instead, it redirected to a mysterious website.
In just a short time, wails of grief echoed across the globe, rage erupting everywhere.
But that didn't stop some curious minds from wondering what was actually inside that website.
...
In the classroom, Kasumigaoka Utaha gently ran her fingers through her hair, deep in thought over the plot of her light novel.
She was one of the two great beauties of Toyogasaki Private Academy, famously known as "The Distant Flower," possessing a graceful appearance, long black hair cascading like a waterfall, wearing a white headband, with smooth skin full of literary maiden vibes.
However, none of that changed the truth—she was a failed author.
Her light novel, The Metronome in Love, after publishing its second volume, was tragically axed!
Her editor, Machida Sonoko, gave the reason: "Your story doesn't have the feeling of real romance…"
Painful!
Utterly, cosmically, explosively painful!
The light novel she had poured all her thoughts into, polished and refined with care, once again died prematurely in the shell.
So what on earth does it take to write a good romance novel?
Do you really have to go through a sweet love story yourself?
Utaha clutched her head in frustration. She didn't oppose romance or anything like that.
But the boys in school were all hormone-driven animals—none gave her the sense of security to entrust herself. After all, she was still a girl carrying the dream of being a princess, longing for the knight that belonged only to her.
As for something like randomly falling in love with some guy?
No way—absolutely not!
Well, for now, let's check Twitter.
Kasumigaoka Utaha sighed and casually pulled her phone out of her pocket.
But the moment she opened Twitter, her eyebrows immediately furrowed.
What the hell is this?
Since when did Twitter have ads—and such vulgar ones at that?
I'll delete it!
…Why won't it delete?
Kasumigaoka Utaha was momentarily dumbfounded.
But this ad was such a mood-killer, she decided to switch over to Japan's NICONICO video site for a bit of distraction.
Yet what caught her completely off guard was—even NICONICO had that ad.
I'll switch again!
The girl narrowed her eyes, unwilling to believe that every website was infected with this ad.
Ten minutes later…
Kasumigaoka Utaha slumped down in her classroom seat like a hopeless "dried fish," beginning to question life itself.
Now she understood clearly.
A super hacker had hacked into every website in the world—just to stuff in a porn ad.
The incident had even shot to #1 on the domestic hot search.
Hey buddy, you went through all that trouble just to do this?
You didn't go hack the Pentagon of the U.S., what a waste of talent!
Utaha sighed helplessly in frustration.
Although those websites were still usable, that thing in the bottom right corner of the screen was just too much of an eyesore.
She felt like she was sitting on hot coals, like thousands of ants were crawling all over her body, just praying that countries around the world would quickly deal with this hacker breach—otherwise, if even Fujikawa Bunko started showing this ad, she really wouldn't be able to take it anymore.
But precisely because of that, Utaha began to develop a bit of curiosity about the hacker's intention.
How about… clicking on that ad?
If it really was porn, would she gain some new knowledge?
Kasumigaoka Utaha fell into deep thought.
Her phone didn't contain any private photos, and it wasn't some expensive electronic device either—so even if it got damaged, it wouldn't really matter.
And so, curiosity overtook reason — this beautiful long-haired black-haired girl clicked on the yellow-colored ad.
First, a page named Observer Network popped up.
Then, a minimalist interface with an ivory-white tone appeared, with only a single video posted on the site.
"..."
Kasumigaoka Utaha immediately fell silent.
Bruh, couldn't you at least make the website a little richer in content?
Still, she clicked on the video.
"Fate/staynight… Holy Grail War?!"
The girl unconsciously read the title out loud, her beautiful eyes lighting up in surprise.
With her English skills, she quickly grasped the meaning of the title.
The video was very short—only two minutes. She immediately tapped on the description to skim through the content, instantly understanding what the video was about.
In Fuyuki City, a group of supernatural beings summoned ancient heroes from the past to fight for them in a battle over the Holy Grail, an artifact capable of granting any wish. Observer Network even added a note saying this was a story taking place in a parallel world.
"A parallel world theory, huh… interesting."
Kasumigaoka Utaha raised an eyebrow, her eyes flashing with light.
The storytelling format was also very novel, comparable to Land of Steel, which she had just watched yesterday.
Next, she put on her pink headphones—and hit play!
"Dong dong dong——."
In an instant, the passionate background music blared out, shaking her very soul, crazily stimulating every nerve. The visuals were so exquisitely realistic they drew her in completely, as if a black hole had sucked her soul straight into the screen.
In that moment, Kasumigaoka Utaha lost all sense of direction. Her beautiful eyes widened as she blankly stared at the screen.
As the girl's singing voice echoed, countless dazzling scenes flashed by one after another.
...
Atop the towering buildings, two ancient heroes clashed fiercely under the moonlight.
"Noble Phantasm – Bellerophon——!!"
The serpent-like beauty screamed, her snow-white neck stained with blood. "Pegasus" — a Phantasmal Species that could not exist within the flow of time — appeared, like a white comet crashing down to the earth, the surrounding air exploding under pressure, forming violent shockwaves.
...
Under the moonlight, a slash of sword light as sharp as lightning tore through the boundary between heaven and earth.
"Hiken: Tsubame Gaeshi!"
―――The final miraculous sword technique, a slash that flickered in the midst of the illusory moon before vanishing.
The elegant blue-robed swordsman bled at the corner of his mouth, unleashing a move nearly equal to the Five True Magic.
...
"Excalibur, Sword of Promised Victory——!!"
The noble King of Knights shouted, the ahoge on her head lightly trembling. The Light Sword in her hand transformed into a golden torrent bursting into the sky.
...
"Gáe Bolg!"
The hero from Celtic mythology roared in fury, hurling the Demon Spear—impossible to dodge, impossible to block!
...
"Mongrel, do I truly need to get serious against the likes of you?!!"
The blonde man was enraged to the extreme. In the sky, ripples of golden waves spread out, from which countless radiant weapons—swords, blades, axes, spears—rained down like a storm, determined to annihilate anyone who dared defy the majesty of the king.
...
Kasumigaoka Utaha was completely immersed in these lifelike scenes, entirely unaware of the passage of time.
The progress bar was already past halfway, but when the final character appeared, the girl suddenly widened her beautiful eyes, full of shock.
As an outstanding student of Toyogasaki Private Academy, she had visited many other schools through exchange programs.
That person… that familiar girl… she had seen her before at Sobu High School!
"Yukinoshita Yukino…"
She murmured in disbelief.
The emotionally stirring visuals were still continuing—already reaching their absolute climax!