Hazuki Tsubasa

Kataribanashi-hen (語咄し編 Storytelling Chapter) is a compilation of winning fan stories for the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni series from the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Contest (ひぐらしのなく頃に大賞). Notably, the eight artists involved with the 10 main arcs of the manga all illustrated for at least one of the stories included in the novel volumes, while Karin Suzuragi and Jiro Suzuki even illustrated the cover arts for the manga volumes and Yutori Houjyou and Mimori each did the manga adaptation of a story. Among the other artists, Kei Natsumi, Soichiro, and Akai Higasa would later be involved with other works from 07th Expansion including Umineko no Naku Koro ni and Rose Guns Days. Some stories were adapted into a manga series named Kataribanashi-hen Comic Anthology EX (語咄し編 コミックアンソロジーEX Kataribanashi-hen Komikkuansorojī EX).

It was three months ago when Souka suffered a seizure… The name of the illness is the "I-Type Vibeil Outbreak." To summarize the illness, it basically multiplies the antibodies inside of her body by enormous amounts, causing the antibodies to attack her own body, which will eventually lead to her death. There is no cure for this illness, but there is one treatment. That is to deliver her antibodies to another patient, Cildy, by biting into her body to transfer the antibodies. Cildy also carries an illness called the "Louge Golge Syndrome" which is the complete opposite of Souka's I-Type Vibeil Outbreak and Cildy carries no antibodies, which will cause her to become vulnerable to diseases. The two need each other to survive, but they notice as time passes that Cildy is becoming weaker and weaker. At the same time, Souka hints at a secret that Cildy carries with her. That secret veils all the facts about their diseases…

It was in the year 2800 of the Midgard calendar. Back then, there was a Overlord who once reigned supreme and had reached the very brink of subduing the world. Her name was Lufasu Mafaalu, a great woman dreaded as the Black-Winged Overlord. She was too strong, too fast, and too beautiful. However, she was defeated by Heroes who opposed her ferocity, and her ambition was brought to an end. Or so went the story of our protagonist’s in-game character, whose body he now possesses for some reason in a world 200 years after Lufasu’s downfall. Follow our protagonist as he becomes unnecessarily feared by his surroundings and unnecessarily worshiped by his former subordinates as he―or now she―cheerfully travels around this fantasy world.

The year is 2022. Mankind has finally perfected virtual reality. And within the VRMMORPG (Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) Sword Art Online, there was a player called Kirito. While he was enjoying the world of SAO, he and the other 10,000 logged-in players all received a frightening message from the Game Master—that the only way to escape from that world was to clear the game, and that a game-over within the game would mean their death in the real world. That was the frightening true story behind this game. Kirito was one of the first players to accept this “truth”, and began his solo play, refusing to form a party, as he threw himself into the never ending battles that lay before him…