According to Little Mita, the loop Alain was currently in was the final one.
The girl's version permissions had already been mostly usurped.
If she were killed by the monster one more time, she would die completely, with no chance of revival.
In other words, if they were to save Little Mita, then now... was the last chance, and the only chance.
"How does that monster usually bully you?"
Holding the girl in his arms, Alain watched as the black holes ahead grew more rampant, almost covering the majority of the tender pink corridor.
Occasionally, they would emit hissing sounds.
"It will... swallow me, then destroy me bit by bit."
Little Mita clutched Alain's sleeve; when talking about this topic, the fear in her eyes was obvious.
Seeing this, Alain, on the contrary, breathed a sigh of relief.
Since she would be afraid, afraid of pain, it meant she hadn't completely lost hope.
"Don't worry, I'm here. Saving Mitas, I'm pretty good at that."
He said something a bit off-topic to ease the tense atmosphere.
"I'm a professional."
Little Mita glanced at the greatsword he held, thoughtfully, "I… I believe you."
She also hugged Alain tightly, absorbing the warmth that brought a sense of security, "Because you are my knight."
But in Alain's blind spot, her face was covered in gloom.
Through Alain's shoulder, she gazed at the version's entrance.
Her small hand tightened its grip on the corner of his clothes.
Her eyes were contemplating something.
Alain's gaze shifted to the side; the "19" on the counter became ethereal, and even the surroundings of the room were scattered with clumps of garbled code.
The next instant after blinking, the number on the counter changed.
"19" disappeared, replaced by "20."
The 20th loop of the final cycle had arrived.
"You are also my only player."
Little Mita's warm and soft whisper in the gradually darkening corridor was like a ray of light.
The black holes also eroded the entire corridor as if it had entered a dark night.
Alain felt as if he had returned to the previous loop where he couldn't see his fingers in front of his face.
And in the faint light filtering in from the window, something seemed to be swaying at the first corner.
Its black shadow was like a mass of baring fangs and brandishing claws, its shadow filling the entire corridor.
He temporarily released his embrace of the girl and took a few steps forward.
"Precisely because you are my player, and I am your Mita..."
But at this moment, the warm voice of the girl behind him instantly turned chillingly cold, as if she had once again returned to being that girl overwhelmed by despair.
"That's why I can't let you get hurt."
A crisp "crack" sounded in Alain's ear, as if some shackle had been released.
He looked back; it was the door at the entrance of the loop, opened.
The corridor, filled with gentle sunlight, was decorated with tender pink wallpaper; everything looked vibrant.
It formed the starkest contrast with the absolute darkness he was in.
And the girl standing in the center of the light smiled at him happily.
Her smile was a happiness inconsistent with her chilling voice.
"This is my last permission. All I can do is open a door for you."
Little Mita's hollow and dark eyes deeply reflected the brilliance of natural light.
Alain was slightly stunned.
When he blinked again, the figure of the girl before him had vanished without a trace.
Following that, a sudden pushing force came from behind him, causing Alain to stumble forward a few steps, just happening to fall into the peaceful loop.
"Go adjust the grandfather clock, don't come to this version anymore."
His surroundings were no longer filled with darkness, but with bright sunlight and warm, pale white particles.
Alain, hearing this, understood what Little Mita wanted to do and turned to rush back.
But the loop door, which should have been open, was about to close at this moment.
At the very end of the door, he saw the girl wave at him with a look of someone facing death.
Just like when Alain first met her.
"The ending of the story cannot be avoided. It spirals upwards, difficult to turn back."
And behind Little Mita was the endless darkness and the baring-fanged, brandishing-clawed black shadow from when he first encountered the monster.
"Everything is already destined."
She turned her body stiffly, like a puppet, and walked forward uncontrollably.
And her gaze remained on Alain.
A line of tears fell from the corner of her eye.
"It was already... a dead end."
Alain instantly understood why the other party had previously always emphasized things like "unavoidable."
This was because, in the story, that is, at the end of the loop, Little Mita's ending was already fixed, difficult to control by human intervention.
No matter what, she would always walk towards the monster.
Because her "ending" was destined destruction.
"I definitely won't...!"
His distance from the door was also constantly shrinking.
But the door closed a step ahead.
Alain's charging face slammed into the door.
Disregarding the sharp pain, he immediately tried to open the door.
But the doorknob was as heavy as a mountain, difficult to pull.
Clicking his tongue, he raised his greatsword and, with all his might, slashed at the door.
The tough greatsword left one slash mark after another on the door, yet it was never able to break it.
Just as the other party had said... the corridor's structure was difficult to destroy.
Not being a virus, the damage bonus from Cleanup Acceleration was useless.
Alain didn't lose heart and quickly walked to the entrance of this loop.
The loop number written on it was "19."
Based on the current situation, Little Mita's permissions should be limited to opening doors.
Otherwise, the other party would definitely have sent him to an earlier loop, or even out of 1.3B.
"But now... is there any other way?"
Alain racked his brains.
Breaking the door... probably couldn't be done. The doors here were very difficult to destroy.
If he used the Gauntlet of Failure, there was a certain possibility.
After all, the bad woman's power level, in his mind, was still very high.
But if he used it... then, when he fought the monster, he would have to rely on his base stats to hack at it.
That's not right. He smiled.
Anyway, he came here to save Little Mita.
Alain didn't consider himself the type to be overly cautious.
In that case... the Gauntlet of Failure, if he used it, he used it. It wasn't a big deal.
Let his future self bear the consequences.
Thinking this, Alain walked forward without any hesitation.
Life or death, let his future self decide.
And as he walked through the middle of the 19th loop, he saw the cabinet in the middle of the corridor.
Alain's steps stopped, his expression gradually becoming dull.
His gaze swept around, a total of three clocks: grandfather clock, alarm clock, and wall clock.
The three, respectively, corresponded to Alain, Millie, and... Little Mita.
Greetings! ✨ Walnut here!
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