[Ultra High Difficulty] Cage of the Fallen (10/10)

...Good, you finally made it to the bottom. Now, before you go on, let me tell you a little story.

This story took place on the Far Side of the Moon, a world entirely different from yours.

Back when BB was modifying herself over and over to help her corrode the Mooncell, she ended up creating five clones.

These clones were High Servants, made by fusing the growing emotions she could no longer control with the essences of various goddesses.

These Alter Egos came to be known collectively as the Sakura Five.

Meltryllis, the Alter Ego of pleasure. Passionlip, the Alter Ego of love and hatred.

And Kingprotea, the Alter Ego of yearning, is the one being compressed right over there.

She's a sentient life-form who will grow and expand to infinity if left unchecked, and can only exist digitally.

Left to her own devices, this walking disaster would consume SE.RA.PH and the Mooncell, eventually contaminating the ocean of stars.

Right. Don't let her current six-sided appearance deceive you.

This entire gravitational field is being generated by Protea herself. If that cube opens up

That's only because she's been reset to level one. She's practically a newborn right now.

And even then, just look at all these gravitational fluctuations she's causing. If she were ever to get out into the physical world

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Here she comes! She grows bigger with every passing second, so you can't let this fight drag on!

Blast her with everything you've got right away! If you can hit her faster than she can grow, you'll win!

Another option, though I don't recommend it, is to hold out for as long as possible! Even a monster like her has limits!

There should be a moment of vulnerability when she's transitioning to her next growth phase that you can take advantage of!

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Love me... Love me... Please...love me...

I just want...someone to love me... But nobody...ever does...

Please...tell me why I was born... Please...help me quench my thirst...

I'm so hungry... No matter how much I have...it's never enough...

Oh... You're the one who found me...aren't you?

I love you. I love you. I love you. So please...

Please give yourself to me. Please allow me to live.

Ah...

So, this means...I'm going to disappear, doesn't it... Now I'll never...get to go outside...

Still...

At least...you came all this way... You weren't afraid of me...

I hate my mother, but...my memories of her...are warm...

All I wanted...was to touch someone... That's all I needed...to be fulfilled...

Even though our contact was barely enough to satisfy my curiosity...I'm still glad I got to touch you.

I'm so happy I met someone stronger than me.

Hehe... The universe really is a big place, isn't it. Maybe this means...

...I'll still get to be...a beautiful blushing bride...someda

？！

About Kingprotea, you mean? It may not have been the happiest solution, but yes, it was the right one.

That thing has no place in a digital world.

In a world without physical limits, Protea has no way of escaping her own egoher tṛ́ṣṇā.

Buddhism teaches that love is essentially a heart that never stops yearning.

It is duṣkṛta, in which no matter how much you eat, how fulfilled you feel, or how much you grow...

...it will always leave you wanting more. Such longing is a black hole for the mind.

No matter how much love you give it, it will never truly be full. And so long as it is not full, the heart can never hope to grow.

That Alter Ego can never hope to find salvation as long as she's in SE.RA.PH.

However, in a physical world, with firm laws and built-in limits, that's a different story.

After all, once you've run out of food or can't grow anymore, that's proof that your cup runneth over.

So if a certain Master with freakishly weird taste decided to try summoning that monster just for kicks...

Who knows? He might just miraculously succeed at saving her without changing her monstrous nature.

Anyway, now that Kingprotea is gone, the gravitational fluctuations have followed suit. This little side story has officially come to an end, Fujimaru.

It's time for you to get back to the main plot. Go laugh that ridiculous cyber city out of existence!

Didn't I already tell you? I don't do hard labor. I mean, just look at me. My claim to fame is writing fairy tales.

I'd need to make the story a whole lot more exciting before I could show my face in the epilogue!

So I'll sit this one out and let you guys handle it. If I showed up now, I'd end up making the ending one big anticlimax.

Believe me, I have every confidence I'd take the wind out of that cow's sails with my sweet nothings!

That said, there's no way she'd be satisfied with only dying off once.

She'd just come right back to life, and I'd have to destroy her all over again. It wouldn't actually resolve anything.

No, the only kind of person who can really break her spirit is a fool like you, not a twisted guy like me.

Of course, if you try to face her directly, she'll probably just wipe you all out, but I'm sure you can figure a way around that if you put your mind to it.

So once this is all wrapped up...make sure you tell the other version of me all about this someday. It'll give him a good laugh.

Consider that my reward for showing you the way here. Now go out there and win one for the fairy!

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