《Labyrinth Oburo Underground Fifth Floor Final Boss Room》
『As a result, the administrator has moved from Mr. Jirai to Mr. White King.』
――Have you lost……?
『The new administrator, please set up the rebuild within 60 minutes. If not set, it will be rebuilt with default settings. The rebuilt map cannot be changed, but the monster and trap settings can be edited at any time.』
“Yoitaro-san, please come in here quickly!”
Tempu beckons at the entrance of the basement stairs.
“Everyone evacuate–”
「Yes, master」
“Yes, Papa”
“Gyoi.”
Everyone dashes to the entrance of the underground stairs.
Bang bang bang, bang bang bang.
The shooting of the red penguins attacks mercilessly.
It was about ten meters to the entrance, but more than a dozen red penguins entered the boss room and turned into a storm of bullets.
All jumped into the opening in the floor and ran down the stairs.
— bang.
When the last tempu came in, the entrance was closed.
There are no traces of the entrance left on the floor anymore.
Halfway up the stairs, everyone takes a breather.
“Fu~, is everyone okay?”
“Yes, Papa”
“We are fine”
“I don’t have any problems either.”
All of them had a data damage rate of over 40%.
“Mr. Amakaze, can’t the red penguins come in here?”
“You can’t see the entrance, but it’s connected to the boss room, so if you search the floor thoroughly, you’ll eventually find it. Even if you can’t unlock it, you can destroy it.”
“It’s just a matter of time…”
“It depends on Ajiro, so I can’t say anything. Twenty-four hours… it may be shorter. For now, let’s get down to the bottom.”
When I got off the stairs, there was a park-like facility there.
There were various playground equipment such as slides, horizontal bars, swings, and sandboxes, as well as a large tent, under which sweets and games were lined up.
“here……”
“Yes, it’s the Lost Child’s playground. The door in the back is the entrance to Heaven’s World.”
Tenkau pointed to the farthest door.
“That’s it! Then Mami has to go in there too!”
“Mami should come with Papa, can Papa come with us?”
Mami acted like a daddy.
“I’m sorry, I already locked it because I needed it to separate it from Oblo. So I can’t enter unless I destroy it…”
“Eh, why? Then Mami, no, Hikari-chan…”
“…Hikari-chan is…not here anymore.”
Tempu hesitates and averts his eyes.
What are you talking about, this guy…
“Eh, no? What do you mean?”
“Hikari-chan… uh… didn’t make it in time.”
“Didn’t you make it in time? What is it?”
“At the hospital I transferred from Astrohuman Medical Center, I was only able to connect to Adam for one hour once a week.”
“Eh, that’s all? So you were in a world all alone for six days…”
“… yes… I visited the hospital twice to encourage her… I promised to make a new Adam and take her there…”
「……」
“But I can’t promise when… at least, if you can endure for another month…”
“Can you endure it?”
Why is it in the past tense…
“But I think it’s been too long for her.”
“Well it would be so”
“Yes, it must have been a lonely world where even one day could last forever.”
“That’s… Hikari-chan is saying it as if she’s not alive anymore…”
“… Hikari-chan.”
“……yes”
“It happened more than a month ago…”
“Eh, what now?”
“Hikari-chan has given up on living…”
“Huh? Did you give up on living? Hikari-chan is dead!”
“The doctor said that he lost hope, and his life activities began to decline and weaken…”
“-Wait a minute. Then why is Mami here?”
“That child is just an AI. It’s an AI generated from the log left by Adam and the memory of Hikari’s mother.”
“… Mami is an AI secretary, not Hikari-chan?”
“It’s an AI with Hikari’s memory and mentality, so it’s not an avatar controlled by humans.”
“Then Mami lied…”
“No, the AI itself thinks it’s Hikari-chan.”
“- Papa, Mami is Hikari. Hikari is Mami.”
At that time, I couldn’t hear Mami’s voice.
“Eh–why did you do that!”
“It’s for Hikari-chan’s mother, Akemi-san…”
“For Hikari’s mother?”
“I was in an accident with Hikari and was unconscious for a long time, but miraculously regained consciousness about a month ago. Ironically, it was the day after Hikari died.”
“The day after he died…”
“For Akemi-san, I created an AI that recreates Hikari-chan.”
“Is it for your mother…”
“The funds for this Heaven’s World come from the compensation for the traffic accident that Akemi received.”
“To get funding…”
“No, it wasn’t just for that reason. After Akemi-san regained consciousness, she was informed that Hikari-chan had passed away, and she couldn’t accept it and became mentally unstable. It’s an AI that I’ve put all my effort into recreating, at least to atone for my sins that I couldn’t save…”
“Oh, that’s… what the hell… I couldn’t have saved Hikari-chan from the beginning…”
Suddenly I couldn’t stand, staggered to the side of the wall, and sat there as if I had lost my back.
“Master!”
‘Papa, Mami is Hikari, so it’s okay, papa, papa, Mami is alive. I’m here.”
“Your Majesty…”
Hikari-chan must have been in despair.
Every day I just wait for the time to pass on the bed where I can’t move.
No, every hour, no, every minute, maybe every second.
From the world where you could freely play with everyone in Adam, suddenly returned to reality – hell.
Just imagining what it would be like to be myself is terrifying… how desperate I must have been…
Moreover, I was still a child in the lower grades… I wonder if there is anything more painful in the world…
Shit…….
I see… so everything I’ve done was in vain…
Losing Misaki… and Himemi…
“I’m sorry… Yotaro-san… I wasn’t lying.”
「……」
I wanted to save the Lost Children, I didn’t want any more children like Hikari to give up on life. That’s all I wanted. ……”
“For you, an AI secretary may be a natural sacrifice for a lost child. But for me, it’s like family.”
No, I know in my head that most people in the world should put their children first…
Even so, he was an important and irreplaceable existence to me.
“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry. I apologize from the bottom of my heart for getting involved in my selfishness.”
“…not yet”
“Eve, what’s going on with Heaven’s World’s detachment?”
“Preparations have already been completed. However, if we cut it off now, there is a high possibility that the location will be detected. It is necessary to remove the White King, who has become the Oblo manager, from the boss room.”
“What are the possible means now?”
“There is only player elimination in Oburo. On a different matter, I just detected evidence that the program MEBAE was introduced.”
“-Is that so! Minami did it for me…can you confirm the target AI?”
Tempu’s face suddenly brightened and his eyes widened.
“I don’t understand that.”
“…I see. But there may be a small amount of hope. Eve, can’t you buy more time by strengthening this door?”
“Even if it’s doubled, it doesn’t make much sense.”
“Eve, is there any way to protect Yotaro-san and the others… how about giving them stealth?”
“It is possible to grant stealth, but only within Playland. However, it may only be able to block the cloned Eve penguin’s recognition for a few minutes.”
“I see… but it’s better than nothing. Eve, give me stealth.”
“Yes master. I will grant it immediately.”
“Yotaro-san, if they invade, use stealth to escape.”
「……」
I didn’t feel like replying.
“Eve, I’m almost at my limit. I’ve set Yotaro-san to manage Eve on behalf of you――”
“Yes, Master, I have assigned the delegated management rights to Yoitarou-san.”
— Bang!
「Eh…….」
Tempu suddenly fell.
I don’t know why.
I couldn’t bring myself to think.
It doesn’t matter anymore, it doesn’t matter, it really doesn’t matter anymore…
I couldn’t save anything, so I have nothing left.
“Papa…”
My heart was so frozen that I couldn’t even feel the warmth of Mami and Kaede hugging each other.
《Second Research Building of Oblo Development Company》
Jackie-san and Ludo-san arrived on the second floor by elevator.
“Sorry for the delay. I brought you a new weapon.”
Jackie showed me two things that looked like hand grenades.
“Is this a hand grenade?”
“It seems so.”
“Wow, this is amazing. If you open the door and throw it in, it’s booming.”
Mr. Liamun got excited.
“That’s right. For the time being, I’ll check if there are any enemies inside.”
“Let’s do it quickly!”
It seems that Mr. Liamun can’t help but want to use it as soon as possible.
“Um, Mr. Trishimeji, please return to the villa and support Mr. Benga.”
“Understood Shimeji”
Mr. Torishimeji went back down in the elevator.
“Then, I’ll go down the stairs and see what’s going on on the second floor. Captain Riamun, Mushroom-san, and Ludo-san will order this one. Ludo-san knows how to use this guy.”
“Raja, Jackie-tan”
Jackie handed Ludo a hand grenade and hurried down the stairs.
“Then, I’ll open the door, Ludo-tan, can you throw it in?”
“Understood, please leave it to me.”
“Then let’s go, three, two, one, ah.”
“Wow! wow wow wow――”
Rudo hurriedly pulled out the grenade pin and pushed it back.
“Please don’t stop halfway through! ――You were about to pull out the pin!”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Tehepero. I didn’t unlock it.”
Liamun-san put the fist of his right hand on his head, tilted his head, and stuck out his tongue.
Then press the release button on the panel next to the door that can only be seen with the AR glasses.
“Then it’s time for the real thing, three, two… ah.”
When Liamun-san stopped counting halfway through, Ludo-san suddenly bent his knees.
“By the way, I won’t say zero…”
“Is it a control! Are you doing Showa Conte?”
“mash……”
Mushroom-san gave a wry smile.
“I’m sorry, I met Rudotan for the first time in a long time, so I was excited to play.”
“Please don’t play in this situation…”
“Please don’t play in this situation…”
Gacha–Bang!
I turned the doorknob that I could only see with AR glasses and opened the door.
“Wow, it’s opened this time-”
Rudo-san hesitated to pull out the pin for a moment, so he was delayed for about a second.
–Pachin!
Pin, pin, pin!
Before I could throw it in, I was shot from inside the office.
Mr. Rudo throws a hand grenade into the office with only the tip of his wrist sticking out.
Catan!
Roll and roll–.
“-Grenade!”
There was a yelling and a thumping sound in the office.
– Dokkan!
“Everyone rush in!”
At Liamun-san’s command, everyone rushed in.
Click-clack-clack.
Click-clack-clack.
Click-clack-clack.
For the time being, everyone shoots without deciding who to shoot.
“After all, the sound of gunfire is too lonely…”
Mr. Liamun muttered.
There were three rows of four office desks.
I checked under the desk, but no one was there.
“That, Mash with no one…”
“This grenade can penetrate real objects. So even if you’re lying down in the shadow of a desk, you’ll still take damage.”
Mr. Rudo explained.
“Rudo-tan, what is that? It’s a cheat that ignores obstacles.”
Mr. Liamun said with a happy face.
“This is not an item for FPS games, so it’s fine. Mr. Riyo made it for this time.”
“Nice, Riyou-tan. If you use this, you can easily win.”
“Is this PC connected to that fake Eve, Mash?”
“Well, it’s faster to try, isn’t it?”
Liamun-san turned on a single desktop PC.
I booted up, but of course it asked me for a password.
However, it also has a workaround.
I insert the USB that Benga-san kept in advance.
Something was installed automatically.
— Jeep.
“This is the second edition, Riamun. Can you hear Ben-tan? 』
— Jeep.
『This is Headquarters, Benga. Sensitivity is good, but Captain Riamun, please don’t omit that part.』
— Jeep.
『Yes? “Then Benga-tan.” The third floor office is under control. I just plugged the USB into my desktop』
— Jeep.
『Yes. I have also confirmed this here. This terminal seems to be connected to fake Eve. I just sent you a virus.』
— Jeep.
“Eh, I wonder if it’s that easy…”
— Jeep.
Mr. Liamun tilts his head.
Of course Benga-san doesn’t see that.
『Yes. That’s the purpose, so it’s okay.』
— Jeep.
『Is that so. So, Benga-tan, what should we do from here? “Maybe the fourth floor…』
— Jeep.
『Wait a minute. If the terminal here is connected to Fake Eve, you don’t have to go to the 4th floor. You must be very confident. On the contrary, it becomes a gap to take advantage of.』
— Jeep.
“Well then, well then, let’s wait for a while.”
— Jeep.
“Yes. I don’t think it will take that long.”
《Second floor of Oburo development company’s second research building》
“I’m going to throw a grenade, so be careful not to hit the AR glass, Commander Oven. It also penetrates shields.”
From outside the office door on the second floor, Mr. Riyou called out to Captain Oven.
“Eh, it’s penetrating–. That’s amazing. Understood.”
Commander Oven replies from inside.
Enemy players in the office might hear it, but they don’t care because the result doesn’t change.
“Let’s go, three, two, one”
–Pachin!
Mr. Riyou pulls out the grenade pin and throws it in.
I threw it as far back as possible so as not to hit Commander Oven near the entrance.
Even if it hits, if it does not hit the AR glasses, it will only be invisible for about 3 minutes.
pin!
“Wow”
Mr. Riyo was surprised when he was shot accurately when he put out his arm.
Catan!
Roll and roll–.
– Dokkan!
“Rush!”
With Jackie in the lead, Monet and Mako rush in.
Mr. Riyo was out of action for three minutes, and since he could not see the enemy, he waited in the hall.
Captain Oven stood up and checked the enemy player.
Click-clack-clack.
I fired three times at one player who seemed to be taking damage, and the dead display appeared.
–pin!
“Wow, seriously!”
Jackie got shot by AR glasses.
AR glasses will no longer work in this place.
–pin!
“Gee… I ate it.”
Mako, who entered last, is also shot by AR glasses.
clatter clatter.
“Yay! Monet did it――”
Monet killed an enemy player who shot Mako.
It seems that he was damaged by a grenade, and the dead display is displayed at the first shot.
–pin!
–pin!
The two enemy players who were dodging grenades by clinging to the left and right corners of the room were still alive.
Monet was shot from the left and right corners of the room, but luckily he avoided them by quickly crouching down.
Click-clack-clack.
Captain Oven shoots the enemy player in the right corner and displays a dead display.
“Hey!”
–pin!
However, he was shot in the shoulder by an enemy player in the left corner.
AR function will stop for 3 minutes and avoid under the desk.
“Damn”
There were supposed to be five players, but one of them seemed to have been hit by a grenade, so there was only one left.
However, Jackie-san and Mako-san were also shot by the AR glasses and were out of force.
Commander Oven’s AR function is disabled, so Monet is the only one in the office who can recognize enemies.
“Monet, don’t overdo it until I recover.”
Captain Oven whispered to Monet.
“Understood Monet… Seriously, Monet at a time like this…”
Monet checked his smartphone and said.
「What’s wrong?」
“Husband Monet, Baby Monet seems to have a fever”
“I’m worried about that, I have to clean up quickly and go home.”
“I’m sorry Monet—”
— Jeep.
『Captain Oven, I’m Ryo. Please tell me when you recover. I’ve recovered, so I’ll rush in and make a diversion.』
Mr. Riyou, who was outside the room, contacted me with a headset.
— Jeep.
『Roger that. But, Mr. Riyou, there is also a hand called a hand grenade.』
Commander Oven suggested.
— Jeep.
『Also, we only have one, so let’s save it.』
— Jeep.
『Ah, I see. Then please recover.』
— Jeep.
“I got it”
《After a few minutes》
— Jeep.
“It’s open. Ryo, I’m back. It’s always okay’
— Jeep.
『I understand, Ryo. I will rush in at the count of three.』
— Jeep.
“I understand the oven”
— Jeep.
“Start counting, three, two, one”
“Yah!”
Mr. Riyou rushes in with a roar.
Charged at an enemy player hiding behind a desk in the left corner.
Behind him, Monet crouches forward, as if using Riyo as a shield.
Captain Oven crouches and dashes to the opposite wall of the room, then moves left along the wall.
— Ping, Ping!
Mr. Riyo covered the AR glasses with half of his body, but was hit in the chest and head.
The AR glasses function stops and hides in the shadow of the desk so as not to be shot further.
Click-clack-clack.
Monet shoots at the enemy who shot Riyou from behind.
The first shot hit the leg, but it wasn’t a headshot, so it didn’t reach the dead mark.
A bullet that hits your leg isn’t fatal, but you probably won’t be able to dash.
Click-clack-clack.
Captain Oven circles around the opposite wall and fires from the side of the now defenseless enemy player.
“Alright!”
Two shots hit, and the last enemy player became dead and disappeared.
— Jeep.
『This is Team 1, Oven. Suppress the enemy on the second floor. I booted into the desktop and inserted the USB.”
— Jeep.
『This is Headquarters, Benga. I also confirmed it here.』
— Jeep.
『This is Squad 2, Riamun. Hey, I just deleted it because it was recognized as a virus on the screen. It came out, and after a while it came out success. what does this mean? 』
— Jeep.
『This is Headquarters, Benga. Captain Liamun, you’ve accomplished your goal. Please withdraw.』
— Jeep.
『Eh, why why? “If a virus is found out and deleted, there’s no point, right?” “Didn’t you physically destroy the system on the top floor?” 』
— Jeep.
『This is Team 1, Oven. A similar display appeared here.』
— Jeep.
『This is Headquarters, Benga. I’ve achieved my goal, so I’m done. I will explain when I return.』
— Jeep.
“Eh, is that so…”
Liamun looks unconvinced.
— Jeep.
“Really……”
Captain Oven doesn’t seem convinced either.
— Jeep.
“I will talk about the details after I return, so please withdraw both teams.”
— Jeep.
“First team, I understand the oven. I will withdraw.』
— Jeep.
“Hmm, I don’t really understand, but it can’t be helped.”
Mr. Liamun took out another USB from his pocket while saying so.
There was still a place to plug in the USB on the front of the PC, but I looked into the back panel and plugged it into the USB slot that was there.
It’s just a comfort, but I thought it would be hard to find.
“Eh, Captain Riamun, what are you doing, Mash?”
Looking at it, Mr. Mushroom wondered and visited.
“Yeah, this is the one I received from Monet.”
Oh, the one that Tenpou-san’s man gave me. If you get a chance, you can put it in the fake Eve’s terminal.
As I was listening to the two of them, Monet-san also approached me.
“Yeah, that.”
“But, Monet, you’re glad I put it on your own…”
“Shhh, it’s a secret”
Mr. Liamn mischievously put his index finger to his lips.
“Monet…”
Monet smiled wryly.
“mash……”
Mr. Mushroom made a face as if to say that it was always the case.
— Jeep.
『I’m Benga, Captain Riamun, are you okay? 』
— Jeep.
“Ah, no problem, I’ll withdraw.”
— Jeep.
(Written by Jiraiya / Edited by Achille)