Chapter 15 – Master of the Dungeon 【2】

After Mel had calmed down.

I followed the proper procedure to get her out of her clothes, and then had her put on the panties that had my precum on them instead.

Right now, Mel was in nothing but her underwear and knee-high socks.

Changing the subject a bit—Hanako’s underwear was a pure-white bra and pure-white panties.

The design was completely ordinary, without even a hint of sexiness.

Well, that was exactly why I’d been able to wear them, too.

If Hanako’s panties had been see-through lingerie, panties with holes, a thong, a C-string, or a bandage, I might’ve chosen to go naked instead.

When we did that special training the other day, we were too focused on stripping each other, so I didn’t really get a good look at her in just her underwear.

So this was the first time I’d properly admired Mel in her underwear, and somehow it felt erotic in a way nakedness didn’t—along with a certain kind of holiness.

A perfect harmony of eros and sanctity.

When I told her honestly what I thought, the holy angel’s cheeks flushed this time, and she said, “Ah… thank you.”

It was the same compliment, so what had been the problem earlier?

“Alright, shall we get going?”

“Yeah!”

And so, we drank our potions and entered the boss room to challenge the Demon God.

◆　◆　◆

In the center of the boss room was a translucent purple crystal.

At first, it was chained down, but when we approached, the chain vanished, and the crystal flared with a dazzling light.

Before long, both the light and the crystal disappeared, and in the place where the crystal had been, a translucent three-dimensional figure appeared.

That figure kept changing—cylinder to rectangular prism, rectangular prism to cube, cube to sphere, sphere back to cylinder—over and over again.

And at the center of that infinitely morphing solid, there was something.

It looked like a fetus… but it also looked like a brain.

But for a fetus, it had way too many wrinkles all over its body(?)—and it was way too big.

If it was a brain, that wouldn’t explain the eyes staring right at us.

And the decisive difference from a fetus or a brain was the presence of tentacles sprouting all over it like plant buds.

Those tentacles moved in slow, lazy waves, and it was seriously disgusting.

This thing—there was no other word for it but “monster”—was the final boss of this dungeon: the Demon God.

In the original game, when Hanako first saw the Demon God in this form, she couldn’t understand what had happened. Or rather, she couldn’t accept reality.

Because every illusion of the Demon God she’d seen until then had been like a gentle gentleman, and never a monster like this.

The Demon God spoke to the stunned Hanako.

—So you’ve made it this far, you foolish wretch. With this, my seal has been lifted. There is nothing left to hinder me. From this moment, I shall kill the one who created this dungeon, and then I shall destroy the world. And you, who freed me, shall be granted a special privilege: a front-row seat to watch the world’s end.

No kidding.

The Demon God looked like a fetus, and yet he was the “ore-sama” type.

That gap hit me so hard I was honestly stunned.

Hanako was stunned too, but her shock point wasn’t the same as mine.

She wasn’t surprised by the Demon God’s character—she was shocked that she’d been deceived this whole time.

Hanako protested to the Demon God about tricking her, but his response was cold.

—To think you would be this incapable of understanding, even at the very end. You may die now.

Yeah—he definitely said that to Hanako, just like that.

And after that, he activated his skill like this, and the battle began like th—no, wait a second!

We hadn’t even said anything yet, so why the hell are you starting the fight on your own, hey!?

Seriously, what a ridiculous bastard. You’re the one who doesn’t listen.

Well, now that it’s started, there’s no helping it.

I let Mel know the battle had begun, and together, we started moving to survive for thirty seconds.

◆　◆　◆

For the first ten seconds, orbs of light appeared on the ceiling at fixed intervals, and beams poured down from those spheres.

Touch one and it’s instant death, but there’s a small delay between an orb appearing and the light coming down, so it’s not hard to dodge.

One thing was different from what I expected: since the original game was side-scrolling, on-screen they looked like lines—but in reality, they weren’t lines. They were planes.

Rather than “beams,” it would be more accurate to call them walls of light.

Mel and I checked the ceiling orbs and moved into the gaps between them.

Then, right in front of us, a wall of light came crashing down.

Watching a wall skim past you by a hair’s breadth makes you feel like you aren’t alive—even when you are.

But unlike me, Mel was fine.

Probably because she already knew magic like this.

Soon, ten seconds passed, and the second pattern began.

In this pattern, the walls of light move for ten seconds.

For the first five seconds, the direction is toward the left side of the screen—then it switches to the right side.

For us, that meant five seconds forward, then five seconds back.

Between the walls, I held Mel’s hand, and we moved forward while counting together.

And when we counted “five,” I let go, turned my body around, took her hand again, and moved for another five seconds.

The walls move faster than walking, but slower than running.

Still, if you move while paying close attention to the speed, it’s not an impossible pattern to avoid.

The final pattern adds one more thing to everything so far: beams fired from the Demon God himself.

You can avoid those by crawling, and his sprite changes before he fires, so it’s not a problem.

Besides, in the first run, as long as you don’t get careless, anyone can clear it easily.

We crawled, walked, and ran, avoiding the beams and walls of light.

Soon, thirty seconds passed from the start of the final battle, all the walls vanished, and the Demon God began his event dialogue.

Before long, Mel and I each turned to face opposite sides, raising our weapons straight ahead.

Moments later, the Demon God generated a duplicate body, and one appeared in front of each of us.

Before the Demon God could attack, we fired our bullets.

The one in front of Mel was the duplicate, and the one in front of me was the real body.

Because Mel’s bullet hit a little earlier, the Demon God’s health “recovered” as the duplicate vanished—but since his health had been full, it didn’t actually recover.

And then, immediately after that, my bullet hit, and the Demon God canceled his attack and generated a duplicate.

Through this process, his health shifted from 10—(duplicate 10)—(real 8).

After that, we kept firing bullets before the Demon God could attack.

His health changed in order: 8—(duplicate 9)—(real 7)—(real 5)—(duplicate 6)—(real 4)—(real 2)—(duplicate 3)—(real 1)—(duplicate 2)—(real 0), and at last, he began speaking the event dialogue for right before the final fight.

In the second fight, the total bullets we fired came to fourteen.

If you look only at the health changes, it seems like we spent twelve—but that’s simply because when we hit the real body, the duplicate also vanished and there was no recovery.

In reality, Mel and I fired at the same time, so we spent fourteen bullets.

In a game, that amount of consumption should’ve been an “out,” but the bullets one person fired were only seven.

I still have six bullets left, and Mel has seven.

That’s plenty.

We walked right up to the Demon God and waited—still holding our weapons ready—for the third battle to begin.

And the moment his dialogue ended, I fired.

The Demon God, shot by my bullet and now transferred to the ceiling, tried to unleash the second pattern’s barrage in a spray.

This was what I’d been waiting for.

“Mel, I’m counting on you.”

“Okay. Like this, right?”

Just as we’d planned, Mel pushed me down.

Thanks to that, I ended up lying on my back.

And right above me, I could see the Demon God preparing to fire those shapes.

Changing the subject a bit—when Hanako fires bullets, she holds the weapon straight ahead—meaning she lifts her arms up to shoulder height—then fires.

It’s not that Hanako can’t shoot bullets upward.

It’s just that because of her frozen shoulder, she can only raise her arms to shoulder height.

Lying on my back, I held my weapon straight ahead.

Even from this posture, the bullets fire. I’d already tested that.

Which means I can shoot the Demon God on the ceiling.

There’s no cooldown on this weapon. If you mash the key, it fires that many shots.

And to defeat the Demon God in the third battle, you need a total of five bullets.

I fired four shots in rapid succession.

The Demon God was moving slowly, so every single bullet hit.

If he’d moved faster, this wouldn’t have happened—but because he moved slowly, he turned himself into a perfect target.

Even with his life on the line, he was unbelievably laid-back.

Well, I guess it can’t be helped—he’s a program.

By the way, the Demon God teleports when he gets hit by a bullet, but that’s only set to trigger when he’s on the floor.

So this situation—one that was never meant to happen, where he’s on the ceiling—wasn’t configured.

—I-It cannot be…! That I, the great one, would fall to the likes of you…! But even if you defeat me, you cannot escape from here. No one else will come. Alone, in this twisted dungeon, you will despair for eternity, and then you w—ill……

The Demon God left behind a line like some classic villain who loses because he got careless, and then vanished.

Why do final bosses always get careless? If I were the final boss, I’d crush them at full power from the start.

Well, not like I’d ever become a final boss.

Anyway, that’s how the final boss battle ended.

And technically, we’re not alone—we’re two people—but the Demon God only said what he was programmed to say, so pointing that out would be pointless.

When I sat up and looked at Mel, she was staring blankly at the spot where the Demon God had disappeared.

As I approached without making a sound, Mel suddenly murmured.

“Is it… over now?”

“Yeah, it’s over. Good work, Mel. Now I can finally say it.”

“Huh? Say what?”

“You forgot already? I told you earlier, didn’t I? That I’d tell you after we beat the Demon God. About how I’m going to take responsibility.”

“Ah! Right!”

Looks like she really had forgotten.

I hugged Mel—still in her underwear and knee-high socks—while desperately trying to calm down my increasingly insistent penis, and I put on a serious face.

“I’m only going to say this once, so listen carefully, Mel.”

Still in my arms, Mel looked up at me with wide, steady eyes.

Yeah. When you confess, you really do need to look the other person in the eyes.

Alright—let’s confirm the situation.

We’d just beaten the final boss together, so the timing was perfect.

If there was one problem… it was that I was completely naked right now.

During pillow talk, sure—but being naked during a confession is, to put it mildly, not romantic.

If anything, it’s the kind of sight you can’t complain about getting reported for.

So while Mel was still staring blankly at the ceiling, I quietly moved closer, said something vague to distract her, and at the same time—right when she remembered what she’d forgotten—I suddenly embraced her so she wouldn’t look at my body.

Then I said, “Listen carefully,” focusing her attention on my face.

Alright. That should be enough preparation.

Staring into her eyes, I confessed seriously.

“Mel, I like you. When we first met, I fell for you at first sight. I’m going to propose properly later, so… will you go out with me, with marriage as the goal?”

At my confession, Mel’s eyes widened for an instant, then her cheeks gradually turned red.

Soon, tears welled in her eyes, and with a bright, radiant smile, she gave me the answer I’d been hoping for.

“Yeah—happily!”

Mel’s bashful smile was unbelievably beautiful.

I was so captivated that, before I even realized it, I leaned in, bringing my lips closer to hers.

Then Mel gently closed her eyes, rose onto her tiptoes, and asked for the kiss.

I could see the tears in her eyes spilling over.

And just as we closed in to a distance where we could feel each other’s breath—

Suddenly, from somewhere, there was applause, and a woman’s voice echoed throughout the room.

“Ah, a twisted dungeon, lovers who adore one another—how wonderful! Magnificent! Hee-hee-hee… Ori loves romantic situations like this!”

!?

We jerked apart and looked toward where the voice had come from.

There, at some point, stood something in the shape of a woman, wearing a white frilly one-piece dress.

The reason I kept calling it something was simple: the instant I saw it, instinct told me it wasn’t human.

Its eyes weren’t human eyes.

They were pitch-black, like an abyss—no distinction at all between iris and pupil—and at the center, something like a magic circle and something like a programming language rotated as they shone.

Also, it was sitting… but it was sitting in empty space where there was nothing.

What is this, some kind of horror movie?

No—none of that matters right now.

What matters most is that because of that thing, I couldn’t kiss Mel.

It just said it “loves romantic situations,” but that had to be a lie.

If it truly loved romantic situations, it would’ve waited until after the kiss was over before showing up.

How exactly are you planning to take responsibility for this? Planning to get kicked to death by a horse or something?

“My, my. Ori won’t die from something like a horse. —————. And I’m sorry for interrupting your first kiss. ———”

So Mel hadn’t kissed anyone before. Oh man. That makes me way too happy.

That aside—did it just read our minds?

What is it?

And what was that impossible-to-hear pronunciation just now?

“Oh. My translation function wasn’t working. This should make it understandable. Now then, my introduction is overdue. Ori’s designation is Ori. Welcome, E-E3ADJ1091273819273 and E-R2WCR5486425315168.”

I could understand it this time, but it still didn’t make any sense.

Was that mix of letters and numbers supposed to refer to us?

“Hee-hee-hee. You’re flustered! You’re confused! For your sake, I shall provide one more service. Come—ask. Question. Everything you wish to know! But if I suddenly tell you to question me, you won’t know what to ask, will you? Very well. Then Ori will reveal this world’s secret first!”

The existence calling itself “Ori” spoke as if it were an event scene—saying only what it wanted to say—and smiled eerily.

So this is an event?

But I don’t know any event like this.

Just what is this thing…?

The moment that question surfaced—

Suddenly, the world changed.

◆　◆　◆

Before I knew it, I was lying on the floor of a certain room.

“…An unfamiliar domed ceiling.”

As I murmured that and sat up, my movements felt natural again for some reason.

For a moment I thought it was my imagination, but after checking a bit, it wasn’t.

My body was moving naturally again, like before I came to the dungeon.

I could raise my arms. I could lie down.

My strength was different from that of a middle school girl, too.

It was back to the strength of an ordinary high school boy.

But this definitely wasn’t Japan. It wasn’t Earth.

It was still inside the dungeon.

Because even when I stood up, there was no strain at all on my hips or knees.

And yet, I’d never seen a stage like this in the game.

Where the hell is this? Don’t tell me it’s a secret stage.

“Correct. You may consider this the secret stage of this world. In the terms of your world, you might call it ‘Heaven’ or the ‘Realm of the Gods.’”

Huh…?

I heard a voice behind me and turned around—and Ori was there, as if it had been there the whole time.

Also, what does “Realm of the Gods” even mean?

“Have you never found it strange? Never questioned it? For example—why you don’t die even when you die, and why you can feel pain forever. What this place is. Now, I shall reveal that secret.”

The instant Ori finished speaking, the wall in front of me vanished.

Beyond it was a vast open space.

In the center was a huge something, and around it were dozens of machine-like somethings you’d only see in sci-fi movies.

And inside those machine-like somethings were people I swear I’d seen somewhere before, all intact and grimacing.

Yamada was among them, too.

What the hell is that…?

Come to think of it, only two of those machines were empty.

And Mel was nowhere to be seen.

Does that mean Mel and I were inside those machines until now, and clearing the dungeon brought us here?

So the dungeon’s true nature was an illusion those machines showed us… or VR…?

What kind of sci-fi is this?

“Hee-hee-hee. Your inference is slightly off. It misses the mark. You saw those ‘things’ and thought they were machines, yes? However, they have no fixed form. Their shape changes depending on the one who looks upon them. For example, to E-R2WCR5486425315168, those will appear not as machines, but as magic circles.”

“Such a shame,” Ori continued, wearing a face that didn’t look ashamed in the slightest.

“And the object at the center is the existence prepared for the master of this world—put in terms you can understand, the main management system. Now then, allow me to greet you properly once more. Welcome to the N6616GL-th dungeon-world, ‘Rana,’ candidates for the new master of this world! Do you have anything you wish to ask Ori?”