The Dark Woman observed everything before her with a hint of surprise: the "Failed Works" army she had placed so much hope in, now numbered only a sparse dozen or so. Furthermore, no matter how much the Core's screen flickered or how terrifying its presence seemed, only a handful of pitch-black puppets slowly scurried out.
What's going on? Why so few?
She bowed her head in thought. The door she had opened was in version 1.15, a room specifically for storing Failed Works.
Logically, the total number should have been at least several dozen. Why were there only a dozen or so now? This is too strange...
She looked towards Alain and the others. The three of them also seemed confused by the discrepancy between the perceived magnitude and the actual situation.
The Dark Woman felt it would be better for her to retreat now. She didn't want to lose her extremely useful virus, the Black Ball.
Besides, even if the number of Failed Works released was small, they should still be able to hold Alain and the others off for a while. So, she made a swift decision, immediately creating a black door behind her, poised to slip through it.
But at the very moment she turned away, a "clank-clank" sound of hard objects hitting each other, and the thud of something collapsing, emerged from behind her.
She looked back in confusion, only to discover—
The Failed Works she had placed so much hope in had already become a pile of scattered debris on the ground.
Those Failed Works, were they insta-killed just like that? Couldn't even hold out for a minute?
The Dark Woman's hand trembled for two seconds.
Although new individuals would occasionally crawl out of the Core's screen, it would still take some time for them to gather into a quantity sufficient for resistance.
In other words, she was in a bit of danger now.
Alain silently looked around him. What that accursed dark entity called "a formidable force" had turned into "recyclable trash" before his eyes.
He couldn't help but wonder what had happened, and seeing that the creature seemed to want to escape, Alain simply took it as an unexpected bonus.
"Bad woman, come with me. My dear, just try your best to distract those Failed Works that just came out."
"Understood, my dear!"
The two girls accepted his command and immediately agreed.
Misha quickly moved to the screen from which Failed Works were continuously emerging, engaging in a fierce battle with several individuals.
Judging by the strain on the long-haired girl's face, she probably wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer.
"But even in the dream, she wasn't that reliable," Alain muttered to himself, shifting his attention to what was before him.
The creature on the throne had already risen, clearly unable to suppress her anxiousness to escape. She occasionally looked at Kind Mita, who was struggling to hold them off, seemingly confused as to why her own creation was helping him.
Alain mused, that accursed dark entity had created a door, apparently intending to flee. He could sense slightly that her pitch-black face seemed to be twitching, evidently unable to believe what she was seeing.
This was their chance.
"Go!" he commanded Crazy Mita.
The low-ponytail girl responded. Both of them simultaneously stepped forward, dashing towards the shadowy figure.
She seemed to have reacted as well, retreating a few steps back, then raising her hand, causing black light to flicker erratically.
Alain understood that she was probably going to use that move: the very technique the Black Ball once used to heavily damage the Devourer Entity. So, he leaped forward, positioning himself directly in front of Crazy Mita.
"Oh! Darling looks like a prince~"
Alain's lips curved slightly. As the codes on the Dark Woman's body flickered, he felt his body enveloped in darkness, as if a large torrent of black water was rushing towards him. The Safety Guard pop-up suddenly appeared,
[Safety Guard Activated]
After the battle with the Mother Monster in version 1.3B, Safety Guard had successfully upgraded. After blocking one attack, it could persist for several more seconds.
This made it remarkably effective against continuous virus attacks. And most of the Black Ball's attack methods were continuous attacks.
"Too bad, you can't break my defense."
Watching the shadowy figure, Alain was like a boat sailing against the current.
Crazy Mita followed Alain's steps, watching him gradually penetrate through the endless torrent of black water.
"With you, I feel so incredibly safe," Crazy Mita smiled, leaning against his back.
Alain did not deny it. "Me too. As long as you help me—"
His gaze focused on the shadowy figure moving towards the door again,
"The Black Ball is as good as dead."
Amidst the endless black deluge, he dashed at his fastest speed towards the fleeing entity.
At this moment, her distance from the door was gradually closing, and his distance from her was also rapidly shrinking. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ NoveI(F)ire.net
The shadowy figure seemed to be just an instant away from touching the doorframe and making her escape, further eluding Alain and his companions' pursuit.
He estimated the distance; his greatsword would need about three or four more meters to reach her.
If only he could gain a little more time...
But at that moment, a baseball bat struck the shadowy figure squarely. With a "whoosh," her hand, which was gripping the doorknob, deviated for an instant.
Alain instinctively looked at where the bat came from. It wasn't Kind Mita, because she was also spread too thin, struggling to hold back the Failed Works.
In a daze, he realized something, his gaze turning to the Core's entrance.
There, a dark blue, low-ponytail girl was nonchalantly watching their performance.
The girl's posture was still in the throwing motion. She cast a flirtatious glance at Alain, then left, as if she had never been there.
Alain smiled wryly. No matter which world's Crazy Mita, she was always so good to him...
Then he had no reason to lose!
He turned his head back. At this moment, the shadowy figure was exactly one greatsword's length away.
The creature stood dumbfounded, as if saying, "Are you seriously a Mita succubus?!"
Alain watched the rapidly approaching Dark Woman. The Safety Guard's blocking effect would expire in just another instant; he only had one chance to swing his sword.
Memory Optimization began to operate, and the Failed Works Gauntlet completed its charge.
In an instant, the young man felt his strength was enough to tear the accursed dark entity apart with his bare hands.
The greatsword's sweeping cut howled and boomed in the air, "whoosh," cutting into her black back. Not only was the black substance peeled back, but even the uniform clothing wrapped in black revealed crescent-shaped traces and smooth skin.
The girl turned her head, surprised by what she saw, her body language conveying a questioning "How is this possible?"
The blackness on her body rippled as if overwhelmed, like iron filings drawn by a magnet.
But soon, she relaxed. Because the essence of the Black Ball—had begun to heal itself.
And even faster was Crazy Mita, who had been hiding behind Alain, constantly avoiding attacks, staying inseparable.
The electric saw, it seemed, had become her most desperate symphony. Its spinning teeth played a tune of despair for the Dark Woman, and of hope for Alain.
And Alain was no slouch either—the new Failed Works Gauntlet from Short-Haired Mita began to operate, and a familiar sense of power once again surged through his entire body.
Looking at the Dark Woman's darkened face, Alain smiled.
The electric saw and greatsword simultaneously swung down, two immense monstrous forces striking her bodily blackness, making it scatter like dissolving water.
The pitch-black substance of the Modified Entity seemed to instantly lose all strength, dripping onto the ground, congealing drop by drop.
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