"So, shall I begin?"
"Please, go ahead..."
He gently guided Mita to lie sideways on the sofa. Her immaculate limbs were so long that even the lengthy sofa couldn't fully accommodate them. Gleaming white skin pressed softly against the off-white leatherette material.
The delicate form, weary from continuous battles with the Devourers, glistened with translucent droplets of sweat, slightly dampening the red wrapping.
Alain moved to the other end of the sofa and personally unwrapped the "gift" Mita had offered. Through the red material, he could faintly discern the rounded shapes tightly bound within. Five exquisite pieces per item; two items in total, ten pieces.
Alain reached out, admiring one of the fine articles. "Your gift... it's wonderful, truly precious."
"Th... Thank you?"
Mita, leaning against the backrest, wasn't quite sure how to respond. She felt happy, happy that the player liked this gift she considered rather trivial. At the same time, she started humming a tuneless melody.
Alain's attention, however, was entirely focused on appreciating the masterpiece. This artistry was worth etching into his heart, moment by moment. He leaned closer to examine the fine article, becoming an appraiser of treasures.
His gaze swept over the piece, and his hand rested upon the gift, steadying the wrapping as he traced upwards, his eyes missing no detail, not even the slightest breathable point in the material. Seeing him like this, Mita's apprehension about whether he liked this strange gift lessened considerably.
"Should I take it off? Wouldn't that make it easier for you to appreciate?"
"No need!" Alain refused without hesitation.
While they spoke, Appraiser Alain's examination finally reached the absolute boundary. The gift from Mita had an end. Further up lay the [Forbidden Ground]. To enter there was the [Forbidden Ground] where she would endure ten months of hardship, and he, a lifetime of weariness.
Alain sighed.
"Please don't breathe like that... it's warm."
"Sorry."
With that, he continued to study the endpoint of the masterpiece. Observing the slight indentation forming a small ring, Alain's fingers brushed against the absolute boundary, circling it once.
His fingertips touched fabric. His nails sensed warmth.
Overall, Alain was very pleased with the gift she had presented.
Later, looking refreshed and invigorated, Alain emerged from Mita's room.
"Darling, how was it?" Misha teased, closing the door behind him.
"Yours is the best, of course, darling."
Alain's gaze wandered before finally settling on the black orb centered in the gray-white ceiling of the room they were now in.
"Right, Misha, there's something I want to try."
"Want to go back for another squeeze already?"
"...No."
Alain believed he had exercised restraint just moments ago. After all, anyone would be curious about Mita's long legs. As for the "fear" she mentioned, that was simply impossible.
He focused his attention on the task at hand. Alain glanced sideways at the Mosaic Greatsword in his hand, which hadn't yet dissipated. When he had first entered Mita's room and spoken briefly with her, the greatsword had shown faint signs of fading. But now, back near the Black Orb, the blade solidified, likely sensing an impending battle state. The cleanup acceleration hadn't disappeared – that was a huge help.
"Darling, I'm going to do something a bit risky." Alain took the girl's hand. They temporarily left the gray-white room.
Misha glanced at him, seeing the serious look in the young man's eyes. "Okay. Is there anything I can do?"
"Just watch me from the side in a bit. I'll get an attack power bonus," Alain said without thinking as they returned to the Endless Corridor.
"What's the principle behind that? An attack bonus? Is Mita really some kind of fighting game?" Misha asked, perplexed.
The two walked steadily onward, deeper into the corridor. The lights on the ceiling illuminated one by one with their steps, while the lights behind them dimmed.
"No. It's just a natural environmental buff that comes with having you nearby, darling."
Whenever they passed a door, Alain would open it to check inside. Still the Black Orb, no change. Seeing this, Alain would continue onward.
"Is that so..." Misha nodded, accepting his explanation.
They travelled an unknown distance, the identical scenery flowing past their shoulders with the passage of time. Alain himself lost count of how many doors he had opened. He began to doubt his own idea.
"Let's just try three more doors, then give up."
At the very next door, his hand closed on the handle, pulling gently. With a click, a gray-white room entered their vision.
"!"
This time, finally, something was different. The decor was still composed of gray-white tiles, but the furniture inside was intact, undamaged by the worms' chaos. And in the center of the ceiling, instead of a black orb, there was a slowly rotating ceiling fan light.
"Just as I thought..."
Alain's attention wasn't on the peaceful scene but on the wall. That particular wall adjoined the room containing the Black Orb. And stained onto that wall was a black square. Thin strands of black code flowed within the cracks, gradually encroaching upon the undamaged room.
"This is..." Misha frowned, turning to look at Alain. "Darling, did you figure it out?"
"Yes."
The worms—the Devourers—had given him the idea. Their actions seemed solely focused on eating, consuming everything in the corridor. But the Corruptor within the gray-white room? Was it just peacefully staying put, doing nothing? Both were entities Misha, the native resident, had never heard of. Though vastly different in form, there had to be some connection.
That very "connection" was now revealed before Alain's eyes.
Both the Devourers and the Corruptors craved the game's territory. The Devourers chose consumption, targeting the corridor. The Corruptors... they chose the answer before them now: erosion. Their target was the gray-white tiled rooms.
"Misha. If we had followed the original plan, after coming out of the basement, where would we have gone?"
"First, we definitely have to go outside the world," Misha said. "And from the gray-white tiled rooms, we would enter a pure white labyrinth. Only after exiting the labyrinth would we reach the corridor."
"I see..."
Alain closed the door and headed towards the next room. Opening it revealed an ordinary room again, this time without even a trace of erosion.
After arriving in this game world, they hadn't seen any labyrinth; they had gone directly to the corridor. So... where did the labyrinth go?
Alain led Misha back the way they came. Passing two or three doors, he stopped and pulled open the door beside him. Inside, the Black Orb resided.
Was the labyrinth eaten by this thing? Or... was its nest usurped by this new virus?
Based on how the corridor returned to normal after defeating the Devourer earlier, defeating the Corruptor should similarly restore the gray-white room. So, if the Corruptor completely took over a gray-white room, what would it plan to do next? Live peacefully alongside the Mitas?
Alain let out a cold scoff. As if.
When he had tried opening other Mita rooms earlier, he noticed that each door bore dark spots. The positions of the spots varied, spreading like ink stains. Just like... erosion. The Black Orb was also subtly eroding the other Mita rooms. Having observed this, Alain absolutely could not let this thing be.
Right now, he had an idea. He just didn't know if he could pull it off. Alain tried to gauge his remaining stamina. Though exhausted, there was no harm in trying.
"Darling, cheer me on, and open the door for me again." He closed the door, took several steps back, retreating to the center of the corridor.
"Okay, darling! Safety first, go for it!" The girl cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone to cheer him on.
Under her gaze, Alain began his run-up, accelerating rapidly. The greatsword in his hand shone brilliantly, seemingly sensing its master's resolve.
I consider myself a die-hard otaku, Alain thought, I love the Mita game, and I love the Mitas. He looked at Misha, who was holding the door open for him.
Any potential Bad End factor? Just die!
"Charge! Darling!"
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