[Boss Battle] Innocent Mary

Mary's stroll continues.

Mary is in the park. Mary is in the police station. Mary is in the church. Mary is...

Mary had never traveled such a long distance before.

A new and unfamiliar landscape.

Some people might be anxious, but it was rather comfortable for Mary to suppress the questions that filled her head.

[What... Are you thinking, Mary...]

The person talking to her was a poorly made stuffed doll.

Mary picked up this doll while taking a walk.

Actually, the toy approached rather than picked up, but Mary didn't notice it.

Mary liked having a company to talk to. So the absent-minded Mary answered immediately.

"Mary isn't thinking anything."

[Lies. You just don't want to think about it. Mary doesn't like it when her head gets complicated.]

"...Mary doesn't lie. Mary hates lies."

Hit right where it hurts, Mary made a cowardly excuse, then shut her mouth.

Mary is always looking for someone.

Mary's wish is to find that person... And stab them to death.

Just thinking about it made her feel bad again.

[I sell meat. Fresh meat. Kidneys, lungs, and hearts too.]

"Meat...?"

Just then, a sound of a seller appears from the side.

A monster made out of fear of human trafficking. A fat man who sells human flesh and organs was watching Mary.

Of course, he was basically indifferent to another monster, so he quickly turned his eyes away.

"...Meat... It smells..."

But Mary, not intending to ignore it, picked up a phone attached to her hat and dialed a number.

Tiriring...

[...?]

Like a plant, a phone grew out of the monster's body. It made a noise and connected to Mary's phone.

Mary's voice came from the receiver.

"Hi. I'm Mary."

-I'm behind you.

Before the monster could even look back, his throat was pierced with a swish!

Mary brushed off the blood on her knife and walked again expressionless.

[Mary is taking out her anger again.]

"Mary does what she wants. And Mary is not angry. Anger comes from Ella."

[I see... But Mary. You can't deny that your mind is unstable. Now is the time to answer.]

The stuffed doll urged Mary to come to a conclusion.

The answer to her own wish that she had asked the clown man.

Unable to receive a response from him, she never got to hear the answer.

Now it was time for Mary to come up with an answer on her own.

However, she was not fully prepared.

"Last try... I will contact him just once again."

Mary is a child lost in the woods. A child who couldn't find her own way. Such a child is bound to directly depend on others.

Tiriring.

Mary called Pierrot. Will he answer?

Step step.

While Mary focused on the phone, the stuffed doll moved out of her line of sight.

Then, with all its power, it created a black phone.

Beep, beep, beep.

It manipulated the phone.

Click.

[Hello. Ah! Is it Mary?]

The doll mimics Pierrot's voice.

There was a waver in its voice, the pronunciation was muffled, and some interferences, but Mary, who was naïve, did not feel any discomfort.

"Hello Mister Clown..."

[Sorry for not answering the phone in a while. Why did you call?]

"About the question I asked before... I didn't get an answer."

[Ah... That. So that's what it is. The answer is... it can be said as correct.]

"I see. Because what you say is never wrong. I think I can believe it."

[Mary. Don't hesitate. I recommend being honest with yourself and being a little more self-indulgent. No one is deceiving you, so there is no need to complicate things!]

Mr. Clown is the one who most talks to Mary. It brought joy to her.

Children are naturally attracted to a funny person.

The Devil knew it well.

[Oh, but there is one person.]

"...?"

[Ella. That naughty girl! She is hiding the one you're looking for!]

"Is Ella a bad girl? Is she hiding them?"

[Mary. A fight seems inevitable to get what you want. I'm busy, so it's hard to help... Ah! I hope this helps. It's left by my father... This special item will do.]

Click.

The phone call ended immediately after.

Mary found a music box at her feet.

The music box had "M.P" written on it.

Mary picked up the music box and looked for the stuffed doll.

However, it was nowhere to be seen.

"..."

Mary moved her steps back to where she had been.

The atmosphere of this world, which had become softer than before, began to grow heavy again.

POV Switch - Ella

"Mary... Is it the Mary I know? When a phone call comes in, the person who receives it dies..."

"That's right. You know her?"

I thought James would treat urban legends floating around the internet like false stories.

"Because when you work at the institution, you become sensitive to rumors. In the first place, Mary was a case of a containment breach on our side, so I can't forget her."

"Containment... Breach...?!"

Here is the story James told me.

There was a time when containment of an anomaly that was active outside failed.

It remains as an urban legend thanks to the failure to dispel all rumors about it.

"It was a strange creature that parasitized a phone, but it didn't look like a human. Perhaps because the sound it emits is similar to that of a woman's voice, it has become such an image."

I heard something interesting. It's the original Mary... I might be a little curious. Is there a way for me to see it?

"Do you want to see it?"

"Huh? A little bit?"

"If you visit the institution, you can look around to some extent."

"Oh..."

The institution! I wonder what it looks like? Even though I once got involved with an institution before, I'm curious about how it would differ from the one I had in mind.

"As soon as you enter, you will be quarantined in the next room."

Maria said while brewing some coffee for James.

I looked at him.

"I got caught."

"You were joking?!"

When you make a joke, it doesn't sound like one!

"Anyway... I'm going to see Mary alone. Because it's risky in many ways to have the children meet a powerful enemy like her. Can you really protect them while I'm not here?"

"I will never die later than the kids."

I liked the answer and smiled.

Now let's go see Mary.

It was fine the last time we met, so it will be fine this time too.

Mary is in the park. It wasn't far from the school.

Is the air a bit chilly? I felt some chills.

Maybe it's because the environment has changed.

This game gets stronger as time goes by. The atmosphere will change accordingly.

On the 30th, the date when the Devil is born, it is almost like hell. Compared to that, this is nothing.

Come to think of it, the half-devil would ignore the conditions of having to defeat the bosses after 30 days and be born.

Is it possible for the Devil to be born without fulfilling the story of a "bad ending"?

...Now that I think about it, it seems possible.

If they want to bring Ha-rim's deep despair, they'll have to appear in front of her first... Thereafter.

-There have been cases where a low-level demon fulfills the requirements of a story and becomes a new demon for greater power, but this is the first time something like this happened. It's very complicated.

Ah. That's it.

In terms of the game system, it may be possible for the Devil to appear, but in the hidden settings, they need to fulfill the story!

The Devil created by the system is empty inside... They are nothing but powerful puppets.

To obtain the appropriate level and achieve true birth, Ha-rim is needed.

...However, since we don't know how strong this powerful puppet really is, we need to ensure that we don't go beyond 30 days.

While lost in thought, I already arrived in front of the park.

I've seen it before, but it's a very strange environment. What even is this place?

"Mary, are you here?"

...I don't hear an answer.

Shall we go a little further inside? Surely she won't rush at me for invading her territory, right?

I moved on, clearing the vines cluttered with electronic devices.

The wet, damp air was unpleasant.

As I went further, there was a place where the plants were less grown, and there was a relatively neat phone booth and a swing.

Swing. Swing.

Mary was on the swing.

Even though she rode it, her expression didn't change, so it was impossible to tell whether she was having fun or not.

"Mary?"

"Ella came first. Hi."

Swing. Swing.

"Yes. Hi Mary. There is something I want to ask you."

"Before that."

"...?"

"Before that, Mary will ask first."

"..."

The atmosphere was strange. Much colder than last time. I hope it's because of my mood.

"Okay. I'll answer you."

"Hey, Ella... Are you hiding something?"

Badump.

"What are you talking about..."

"Like hiding people..."

How do you know? No, calm down! Maybe she's just randomly asking. Let's put a mask and act natural.

I can't put the kids at risk.

"No."

A chilly voice came out that surprised even me. Mary nodded her head in agreement.

"I see, Ella... Did you lie?"