GROAAARRR!
The ground trembled violently. The mercenaries sprang into action.
Before them stood a monstrous creature—part bull, part man—towering and reeking of blood. It held a massive axe dripping with menace.
Erica stepped forward, eyes wide.
Impossible… Memories surged through her mind like a broken dam.
"AARRGGHH!" Erica screamed, clutching her head.
"Erica! Snap out of it! What's happening?!" the old woman shouted, panic in her voice.
"She started acting like this… the moment she saw that Minotaur," said Pyra, voice serious.
"W-What are you saying, Pyra?" the old woman asked, her voice shaking.
"All units, prepare for battle! Merchants, get ready to run! We'll hold the line!" the mercenary captain barked.
"Damn it… why now of all places do we run into a Minotaur…" Pyra muttered under her breath.
One by one, fragments of her past life returned. Why this world felt so familiar… was slowly coming together.
Erica remembered her old life—high school, university, and eventually becoming an office worker. She once had a boyfriend. But he cheated on her with a married coworker.
Erica stared at her phone, hands trembling. Second by second passed, but the tightness in her chest refused to ease.
"So this… is what you've been doing behind my back?"
Her heart boiled. Not just anger—something deeper. Like her body was ready to explode. But her face stayed calm. Too calm.
Stay calm, Erica… Don't give them the satisfaction. She steeled herself.
She saved the video her friend had sent her. Not for revenge—no. For justice.
She sent the evidence directly to the woman's husband. Then, she uploaded it to social media. The public response was swift and brutal. Their image shattered—like a watermelon dropped from the fifth floor.
The woman was divorced and fired from her job.
As for Erica's ex? He was disgracefully terminated for damaging the company's reputation. The persona he had carefully built at work collapsed in an instant.
"Eri, how are you holding up?" asked her colleague Cerlyn gently.
"I'm fine. Really," Erica replied with a soft smile.
Cerlyn crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes playfully. "So… will you be joining the blind date next time?"
"Ugh! No way! I've lost all faith in men!" Erica groaned, full of frustration.
Why would I waste time again… after all that?
Since the breakup, Erica chose to remain alone—no romance, no drama.
Cerlyn nodded, grinning. "So… did you finish the game I gave you?"
"Of course. It was surprisingly fun," Erica replied, her eyes lighting up.
After the breakup, she'd spent more of her free time gaming. Cerlyn, a fan of otome games, always had new recommendations. To Erica's surprise… she started to enjoy them more than expected.
Years passed, but Erica remained loyal to her otome games. Whether it was escapism or just habit, not even she knew for sure.
That day, like always, she opened her favorite game forum. New threads popped up fast—but one title caught her eye.
"Hm… Let's see…"
The game that was trending that day was—Doki Doki Love Fantasy.
Seriously? That name screams garbage…
Erica frowned. How could this be popular?
She scrolled through the comments.
-MILFLovers: This is the first time I've seen two games share a connected timeline! 😱
-Hacker77: A hero story set in an academy, that also serves as the setting for an otome game next week.
-WeedAgent: Whoa, really? Can they even do that!?
-Hacker77: Of course. They're releasing both games a week apart. Massive hype.
-WeedAgent: But… both are visual novels?
-Hacker77: Nope. The hero one's an open world RPG.
-Erichin: I think I'll just stick with the otome series… ❤️
One week later, on release day, Erica took a day off work. She even bribed a doctor friend for a sick note so she could stay home.
"Hehe… finally downloaded."
Erica leaned back, staring at her laptop screen. The game's main menu was up—Doki Doki Love Fantasy. It had the usual sugary aesthetic—soft music, handsome princes, and a cute, average-looking heroine.
"Wow… what a template. And yet, the rating is insanely high," she muttered, clicking "New Game".
Hours passed.
Character after character appeared: the aloof prince, the kind-hearted paladin, the strategist mage, and the battle-crazy mercenary king.
But something felt… off.
Midway through, she was forced to choose just one partner. Standard route lock, she thought.
She chose the aloof prince.
Then came a shocking scene.
The kind-hearted paladin—was murdered.
"Wait… what?!"
The strategist mage disappeared, never to be seen again.
Erica stared at the screen, horrified. "So the characters you don't choose… die?"
She reloaded a save. Picked another love interest. Same result—others died horribly.
No way out. No reverse harem. No happy ending for all.
"This… isn't a normal otome. It's a curse."
She kept playing, hoping to unlock the perfect route—one where everyone could be happy.
"At last… the final route."
Erica stared at her screen, eyes heavy with sleep. The ending theme played. The final love interest smiled beside the heroine. But in the background—ruins, blood, and corpses of the unchosen.
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
Frustrated, Erica threw a pillow toward the screen—careful not to hit her laptop.
"What kind of idiot developer does this?! Why do all the endings SUCK?!"
She stood and began pacing.
"Reverse harem? My ass! This is survival horror in disguise!"
"I spent a whole week on every route and not one gives a true happy ending?!"
She let out a long sigh and sat down, resting her chin on her hand.
"Huff… Maybe… I just expected too much."
She stared at the blinking Thanks for playing, as if the screen itself was mocking her.
Sunlight pierced through the window.
"Oh crap, it's morning?!"
Erica stretched, hair a mess, eyes puffy from sleep deprivation. "Okay… before bed, I'm getting coffee."
She trudged downstairs from her tiny apartment.
But as her foot hit the third step—
"…Eh?"
The world spun.
Her head grew heavy. Her vision blurred. She lost her balance.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Her head struck the floor—dull, sickening sounds.
Darkness swallowed everything.
In her fading consciousness, she heard a voice… a whisper… from the game.
"Welcome, Erichin. The final route… has been unlocked."
Then—nothing.