Alain's gaze snapped from Misha back to the encroaching horde.
The first three Devourers lunged directly at them, and Alain's greatsword, he knew, was perfect for dealing with tightly packed foes.
Drawing on the enhanced strength and speed granted by [Clean Up Speed], Alain found his footing, angled the broad blade of the greatsword—
And with a swift "whoosh," like fanning air, he vaporized all three worms into a shower of pixels with a single, fluid strike.
"This kind of power is… strange," Alain muttered, a slight frown creasing his brow. He wasn't entirely comfortable with the weapon's almost effortless lethality.
He remembered the first time he'd faced a flying worm. His immediate, subconscious reaction had been to slam the door shut.
Back then, the worm had collided with a solid thud. Based on the game's supposedly realistic physics engine, its limbs shouldn't have been that fragile.
In his mind, it made sense for Misha to send a Devourer flying or even break its limbs with a swing of her baseball bat. But for them to simply vanish into thin air … it felt off.
Just then, the second wave of rapidly approaching worms reached his immediate vicinity. Alain seized the opportunity to test his earlier theory.
He swung the greatsword in a familiar fly-swatter motion, and as expected, every worm within its reach shattered into digital dust.
If this were a truly realistic physics engine, the worms should have been knocked away, not disintegrated. A conclusion solidified in Alain's mind:
"The greatsword granted by [Clean Up Speed], or perhaps the skill itself, or even the security system, is providing a significant damage bonus against these worms."
A damage bonus specifically for an antivirus system? The implications were obvious.
His gaze flickered towards Misha. She was still wrestling with the door.
"Tch… Alain, it's no good. There's nothing behind this one either!"
Misha's words confirmed what Alain had already suspected. Through the partially open doorway, he could see only an impenetrable darkness.
"We're leaving!" he decided instantly.
Misha quickly rejoined Alain's side. He glanced to his left and right, assessing their options.
To the right, an endless tide of worms surged, the corridor swallowed by their writhing mass, leaving only an ominous black void.
There were probably hundreds of them, maybe more. They definitely couldn't hope to defeat them all on their own. If only they had another fighter…
That left only one option: retreat to the left.
"Go!" Raising his sword once more, Alain cleaved through a group of airborne worms, turning them to nothing, and retook Misha's hand.
As Misha responded, she couldn't help but notice the greatsword's ability to obliterate multiple Devourers with a single swing. A jolt of surprise ran through her, but amidst the chaos of battle, she trusted Alain's lead and ran alongside him.
"My dear," Alain instructed, his voice firm, "help me keep an eye on our surroundings. See if there are any doors that haven't been… touched."
"Okay!" Misha agreed, her gaze darting from side to side.
After their brief and unsuccessful attempt at the first door, a crucial realization had dawned on them: the doors that had been gnawed away by the Devourers had lost their connection to Cappie's room.
This actually made finding a usable door quite simple: as long as it hadn't been gnawed by the worms, it was likely still functional.
As the two hurried down the corridor, the ceiling lights flickered on one by one, bathing their path in a pale, artificial glow.
During this lull in immediate danger, Alain accessed the security system panel and, as usual, navigated to the feedback function.
"Are those Devourers viruses?" he typed.
The system responded almost instantly: Not a virus.
"Hmm?" Alain muttered, waving his hand dismissively as he effortlessly shattered another stray worm that got too close.
"You're telling me, with this ridiculous damage bonus, those things aren't viruses?"
The security system reiterated: Not a virus.
In other words, the damage bonus was definitely there, but the system simply didn't classify the Devourers as viruses.
The virus targets it did recognize, as far as they knew, were limited to: Crazy Mita, Ugly Mita, and Misha, who had been brought into reality as a bug and then returned to the game world.
Did the security system harbor some kind of inexplicable grudge against Mitas? It seemed perfectly willing to label cute girls who didn't remotely resemble viruses as such… but it refused to acknowledge that these disgusting, clearly malicious entities were viruses.
Never mind, he thought, I'll ponder the system's bizarre logic later, after we're out of this mess.
"Misha, how's it looking? Any doors that seem intact?"
"Not yet!" Misha kept her focus on the row of doors to her left, trusting Alain to keep them safe from the relentless worm onslaught.
Within Misha's line of sight, there was always at least one or two worms clinging to the walls or even the doorframes, 蛀食 (boring into) the models, leaving them pitted and uneven. The code was undoubtedly incomplete, rendering the doors unusable.
"How much longer do we have to keep running…" Alain wondered aloud, starting to consider whether a direct confrontation with the worms might be their only option.
He glanced at the sword in his hand, tightened his grip on the Gauntlets of Failure, and then his eyes flicked towards Misha's trusty baseball bat.
Both of them were capable fighters, and even if a dozen or so worms attacked simultaneously, they would likely find a way to handle it.
This was the unspoken trust between him and Misha, a bond forged in countless battles – a power of friendship (albeit a slightly twisted one) and deep connection (sealed with a kiss).
But if they were surrounded… then they would be stretched too thin.
Their chances of survival in that scenario felt like a coin flip at best. The odds were far too low, especially considering that was the best-case scenario, assuming the enemy had no further surprises in store.
"Alain! Look ahead!" Misha's urgent voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Is there a usable door?" he asked, hope flickering within him.
"No! I saw a shadow!"
Alain's eyes narrowed, scanning the distance. Up ahead, directly in their path, were a dozen or so worms, seemingly blocking their way.
But the worms' attention wasn't focused on them. Instead, they were converging on a slender, towering black figure.
With a powerful kick, the figure sent several approaching worms flying. Even so, the Devourers' encirclement around it was steadily tightening.
"Help!" Alain glanced at Misha, who nodded resolutely.
The reinforcements they had been hoping for, someone with a clear ability to fight, were right in front of them.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and anyone willing to take on these worms was undoubtedly an ally. And this particular "friend's" height was already scraping the ceiling of the corridor.
That figure definitely looked like it could handle itself.
In Alain's imagination, perhaps some kind of emergency mechanism within the game world had been activated.
Maybe… the Terminator? Gundam? Kamen Rider? One iconic, powerful figure after another flashed through Alain's mind.
It wasn't until they were close enough for him to clearly see the ally's face that Alain's brow furrowed in confusion.
"You… you guys don't come over here! I won't let you advance!"
The ally's voice wasn't the deep, commanding tone Alain had expected. On the contrary, it was surprisingly gentle, almost timid.
Her tone was laced with fear, yet she moved with surprising agility,deflecting the Devourers' attacks.
And, just as she'd said, behind her, not a single worm had managed to pass, creating a precious safe zone. In other words, every door behind her was potentially usable.
And this friend's figure… As Alain drew closer, his Adam's apple bobbed a couple of times. He had to admit it.
Were her legs… a bit too long?
Her upper body seemed to be in normal proportions. But the length of her legs was at least two meters.
This unusual ally fought the worms by turning her extraordinarily long legs into powerful, whip-like kicks, swinging them with impressive speed and force, either striking the enemies directly or slamming them against the surrounding walls.
Alain's gaze at those legs had definitely shifted. Would they feel different to the touch?
"Misha, we must protect our friendly forces!" Alain declared, his voice suddenly filled with an almost righteous fervor.
"Eh? Why is my dear suddenly so passionate? I don't understand, but I'll do my best!" Misha replied, a hint of confusion in her eyes but a determined glint nonetheless.
The two of them adjusted their course, heading directly towards their unlikely ally, rushing to offer their assistance.
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