Bonus: Machine God and Alice.


    ------------------------------------


    Pinhiounched an attack on the Institution.


    Currently, Pinhio''s puppets and the Institution''s Branch 0-5 are locked in a fierce battle, and Pinhio has managed to take advantage of the chaos to get inside.


    Naturally, there werebat operatives who attempted to stop Pinhio, but he subdued every single one of them and continued forward.


    They used a variety of weapons, primarily guns.


    "A gun. A fine tool."


    But to Pinhio, their guns were already inferior, merely tools that couldn''t harm him.


    After quickly grasping the gun''s mechanics, he subdued them with his wooden puppets."Yourbat skills are quite refined. Consider your lives spared as a reward for putting on a good show. After all, I am a businessman too."


    Pinhio leisurely roamed the hallways.


    It seemed like subduing this ce would be easy with so many wooden puppets.


    After all, this is only a branch.


    The Institution''s main forces were busy outside, barely holding off Pinhio''s puppets desperately, and struggling to contain the isted entities that were never supposed to be released, turning the ce into a disaster zone.


    Even getting in and out of the Institution is easy, thanks to the sheer number of puppets that have been piled up in quarantine, unaware that they were traps.


    Unless the entire base was blown up, his n couldn''t go wrong.


    Of course, he had already made it impossible for them to detonate it with his <em>lies</em>, so it wasn''t a concern.


    But then, something happened that made things a bit challenging for Pinhio.


    "...Hmm. Looks like they even employ anomalies as staff here."


    A creature appeared from around the corner.


    A gori with abnormallyrge feet, roaring as it showcased a body as massive as its feet.


    It crushed a wooden puppet with one swift kick.


    This wasn''t a puppet that could break so easily.


    "Ah... It''s a containment entity. Looks like it escaped nearby. Perfect. My purpose ultimately lies among you, after all. Would you be so kind as to guide me to the other anomalies?"


    Instead of answering, the creature pounced at Pinhio.


    The puppets blocked its path.


    Since the corridor was narrow, he couldn''t bring in arger puppet, and they were slightly pushed back.


    "...I guess words don''t work."


    As the formation broke, a de puppet moved forward, but Pinhio stopped it with amand.


    He wanted to observe the creature''s abilities more closely.


    Pinhio addressed the rampaging creature out of nowhere.


    <strong>"You can''t attack me. After all... You''re very tired and worn out."</strong>


    Then, the creature''s body slumped.


    Its strength drained, and its eyes grew heavy.


    As he said, a wave of fatigue washed over it, pressing down.


    "Am I right? It''s an undeniable <strong>truth</strong>."


    Pinhio approached the now incapacitated creature.


    He observed it but found no exceptional abilities aside from its physical strength.


    Pinhio shook his head.


    "It has no other powers besides its developed physical abilities."


    Since it was a hindrance, he shifted his hand into a saw to sever its neck, raising it high.


    "...!"


    Pinhio suddenly distanced himself from the creature.


    Thanks to bing a devil, his instincts were sharper.


    Just now, he felt a slight sense of danger.


    All at once, fries started sprouting from the heads of nearby puppets.


    Like parasites, they wriggled through the puppets'' bodies, rendering them useless.


    "Is the hamburger à carte or abo?"


    A woman, wearing a uniform from a well-known hamburger brand, asked with a friendly smile.


    Pinhio quickly realized she wasn''t human.


    His puppets attacked her.


    The woman picked up a kiosk that had mysteriously appeared, using her monstrous strength to smack down the puppets.


    "These peculiar anomalies are utterly unpredictable."


    She used the kiosk as a shield and made fries grow from the puppets'' heads, making it inefficient to break through without a strategy.


    He could crush her with sheer numbers if he wanted.


    But it seemed faster to step in and take her down himself.


    Pinhio took a step forward.


    Then, his foot copsed as if it were severed.


    "What is this?"


    In that instant, his right arm crumbled.


    Upon closer inspection, he realized his shadow was copsing before his body.


    And there was a shadow of an unfamiliar being as well.


    "Creatures living in shadows, shadow monsters?"


    How strange.


    From the shadows came the sound of childrenughing.


    It sounded like they were ying a prank.


    Pinhio quickly regenerated his damaged parts.


    "I am a craftsman. With a bit of <em>lying</em>, I can make tools to chase shadows."


    Pinhio''s hand was empty.


    But as he made a motion that looks like he''s cutting with scissors.


    Snip! The shadow was cut away.


    At the same time, there was a metallic tter, as if invisible scissors were breaking apart.


    "Well, its durability iscking. Needs an upgrade."


    One creature was down.


    Now, who''s next?


    As Pinhio turned his head, he saw more anomalies breaking through the puppet army and reaching his position.


    They even multipliedpared to before.


    He could somewhat understand the Institution''s headache in managing these things.


    "Kyaaaaah!"


    "Hamburger! Hamburger! Hamburger!"


    "Excuse me, may I take out your intestines?"


    "You''re infected, my friend. Let me heal you."


    Each creature, eager to unt its odd characteristics, shouted strange lines and lunged at Pinhio.


    Pinhio murmured as he faced them.


    "Like Boltzmann brains, aren''t they? Why do you ignore the rules? Why do you keep endlessly spawning?"


    Their disregard for the rules made it hard to deduce their abilities.


    A priest would use holy arts.


    Ann ordinary person would wield weapons.


    A magician would cast spells, but these beings wielded only bizarre, inexplicable powers.


    Growing irritated with their persistence, Pinhio spoke to the increasingly numerous anomalies.


    "Why do you exist? If you were beings from myths or folklore, that''d be one thing. But without any stories or legends, you just pop up one day to trouble humans. You''re ultimately nothing more than that. Meaningless, fearful beings who will only repeat their cycle of birth and death in a ce where there is nothing.""


    Pinhio muttered indifferently.


    <strong>"That''s why you never existed in the first ce."</strong>


    The beings blocking Pinhio''s path disappeared.


    As if they were never there.


    The silence returned.


    Pinhio spoke, satisfied.


    "It''s finally quiet."


    p. p. p.


    "Well done."


    A sweet voice, like that of a young girl, echoed from behind.


    A girl with golden hair and blue eyes.


    It was Alice.


    "Meaningless, fearful beings... Well, you could say that such things have their own kind of purpose, don''t you think? Or maybe not."


    "Alice."


    "Yes, the naive demon who got betrayed by you... Go on, make an excuse if you''ve got one."


    Alice looked like she was barely holding back her anger.


    Though her mouth was smiling, her eyes were anything but, making it obvious even to a psychopath what emotion was in them.


    Pinhio responded with a single word.


    It was something Alice didn''t expect.


    "Congrattions."


    "What?"


    Alice, taken aback, questioned him, and Pinhio continued smoothly.


    "I said congrattions for surviving. Surprised? I never held a grudge against you. If you wantpensation for that incident, I''ll provide it earnestly."


    "Hahaha... You''re really capable of saying that."


    "It was simply a strategy to take down the Machine God. I don''t bear any ill will. Let''s not be too harsh."


    Alice sighed, realizing how utterly unself-aware Pinhio was. Trying to reason with him felt like talking to a brick wall.


    Alice gave up talking about this topic.


    "By the way, what was that just now? Those creaturespletely vanished as if they never existed. Scary."


    Alice pointedly asked about the phenomenon where the monsters had disappeared in an instant.


    Pinhio responded with an uncharacteristically witty response.


    "Hmm. I don''t know what you mean. They weren''t there in the first ce, were they?"


    An obvious lie.


    Alice quickly caught on.


    "Oh, so it''s a lie. Stronger than what you''ve shown before... You must''ve used the Machine God''s cog, didn''t you?"


    Was the Machine God''s power a good match for Pinhio?


    Or was this what he was aiming for in the first ce?


    As Alice stared at him, Pinhio nodded.


    "Correct. My lies can affect reality, but their power was never particrly strong. A lie was just something akin to a spoken charm. If I said someone was strong, they might feel stronger; if I said it was raining, a few drops might fall. But you can''t make something seem like it never existed."


    Now he''s saying he can.


    Alice''s expression grew weary.


    "A cheat code, huh. So, why attack the Institution?"


    "Why else? Anomalous entities have all sorts of unique powers. Among them, there must be some with abilities to alter reality. I''ll find them to make my own power even stronger."


    There were countless kinds of anomalies.


    So it was easy to assume that the Institution would have at least one or two entities with powerful reality-manipting abilities.


    Like a genie in amp that grants wishes.


    Still, Pinhio didn''t enter the institution with such a wild guess.


    He had created a device.


    It was a machine designed to answer questions, though all of Pinhio''s special tools came with ws.


    They had the durability of a cookie or a one-in-ten sess rate.


    In this machine''s case, it was supposed to answer his questions, but its responses were excessively vague and abstract, making it nearly impossible to decipher.


    Pinhio tried enhancing it with <em>lies</em>, but simr reality-altering entities seemed to repel the effect, yielding unsatisfactory results.


    The few words he managed to obtain barely qualified as information, just a list of obscure terms.


    Oz.


    Devil.


    Institution.


    Fan of The Ending.¹


    Ruler.


    These terms were clues to powerful forces that could reshape the world however they pleased.


    Pinhio hade to the Institution seeking them to achieve his goal.


    "Oh? Well, I won''t get in your way."


    "Thanks."


    "But, tell me... What will you do with the power to alter reality? Sorry for all the questions, but it''s kind of important to me."


    Pinhio saw no reason not to answer.


    If anything, he wondered if Alice might even share his vision.


    "I don''t mind telling you. Alice, you came from a horror game, didn''t you? I''m sure you''ve had plenty of experiences being chased by terrifying beings."


    "Yes."


    "For humans, that''s a truly miserable fate. To be forever condemned to run and hide... It''s truly pitiful."


    "...Right?"


    Alice thought his words were slightly off, but she nodded.


    "So I made a decision. I''ll give them weapons. Weapons that are incredibly powerful. Not just mechanical arms or the like, but something that would let them overpower even monsters. I''ll modify their bodies, granting them powers that surpass any weapon. Well, they may stray a bit from humanity in the process."


    Alice went quiet for a moment before asking,


    "...And their consent?"


    "Who cares about that? Sometimes, there are things more important than consent. Do stage directors ask the actors on stage for their opinions before crafting a performance?"


    Typically, they make decisions on their own, shaping the performance how they see fit.


    After all, they hold the authority, the right to decide.


    The moment he finished speaking, a de grazed Pinhio''s cheek.


    Mirrors floated ominously around them.


    As a dark energy surged from Alice, Pinhio took a step back.


    "So that''s it... You just want control. You''re no different from the Machine God."


    Pinhio couldn''t understand which part of his statement had angered her.


    If it came to an unavoidable fight, he would simply face it.


    "Though I don''t understand, a great endeavor usually requires such trials."


    Alice stomped on the metal floor, bending it under her weight.


    Then, like a bullet, she dashed along the wall, charging straight at Pinhio.


    Pinhio reflexively reached out to counter, but Alice grabbed his arm and mmed him into the ground.


    Thud!


    "Hmm. Quite rough for a little girl."


    Not that she was a girl, probably.


    Alice retrieved something from inside one of her mirrors.


    It looked like some type of seed, somewhat simr to a nt seed.


    "Locked and loaded."


    She threw the seed at Pinhio, embedding it directly into his armor.


    The dent in his armor quickly healed over, holding the seed in ce.


    "What... Did you do?"


    "Hmm~ well, I thought I''d nt a nt-type monster in you, but I guess your body''s no longer wood?"


    "Seems that way."


    Indeed, his body now had a scent and texture closer to metal than wood.


    A likely side effect of using the Machine God''s cogs.


    Pinhio was perplexed as to why he hadn''t noticed his transformation earlier, but now wasn''t the time to ponder it.


    Pinhio sent out an army of puppets.


    Alice smashed one of them, feeling its texture.


    "Pure metal, huh. Then he can eat it as much as he likes."


    Alice pulled out a monster from her mirror.


    Even Pinhio recognized this one.


    A Pulgasari.


    The metal-eating monster.


    "The very monster that gave the Machine God trouble."


    Realizing he had to handle the Pulgasari himself as it began devouring his puppets, Pinhio prepared to take action.


    The more it eats, the bigger it gets.


    But it''s weak to heat.


    Pinhio quickly improvised and created a high-heat weapon.


    Then, it happened.


    "Hm?"


    <strong>[Excuse me, random check here! Beep beep beep beep-! Oh, what''s this? This weapon is too dangerous. I''ll be confiscating it.]</strong>


    A man dressed like a security guard from an airport suddenly appeared and waved a detector over Pinhio''s body.


    A creature supposedly derived from the fear of being disarmed.


    Without even moving his hand, the creature snatches Pinhio''s weapon and runs away.


    Pinhio felt a sense of absurdity.


    "What''s the difference between the monsters you use and these strange anomalies?"


    "Who knows? Honestly, maybe not much."


    While Alice shrugged, Pinhio gathered his puppets together to form a massive fist.


    In this narrow, straight corridor, one well-aimed punch would be unavoidable.


    If she couldn''t dodge, she''d have to counter it.


    Judging that, Alice pulled a cookiebeled <em>Eat Me</em> from her pocket, took a bite, and inted her fist in response.


    -Bang!


    The impact pushed them both back, forcing a brief separation before they prepared for their next moves.


    Slice!


    This time, Pinhio struck first.


    With the sword he''d just created, he thrust at Alice, the de extending to sever her arm.


    "Gah?!"


    Alice hid in the mirror.


    Despite having the upper hand in the attack, it''s hard to find Alice in the many mirrors, and even if he does, there''s no way to strike her once she''s inside the mirror.


    In the end, he''d have to resort to his <em>lies</em> again.


    It was a power that consumed a lot of energy, so it was best to subdue her without it... But he had no choice.


    <strong>"...Alice suddenly emerged from the mirror and surrendered."</strong>


    "?!"


    Alice is thrown out of the mirror, looking bewildered.


    But she didn''t surrender.


    The lie doesn''t fully work because they are both transcendent.


    Pinhio drew his sword and charged.


    He raised it with the intent to strike her down.


    Just then, Alice pulled out a phone and made a call.


    A phone call in this situation?


    No, this was an attack.


    Realizing this, Pinhio braced himself.


    "Hello? It''s me, Alice. I''m right behind you."


    "...!"


    Alice appeared behind him and struck the back of his head.


    Pinhio staggered under the dull impact.


    "You''ve gotten stronger."


    "Do you still have time to talk?"


    Alice retrieved yet another anomaly from her mirror.


    It looked like a girl holding a phone.


    "Mary, make the call."


    Ring ring ring ring!


    Like vines growing, phones started sprouting all over Pinhio''s body, ringing incessantly.


    Pinhio ignored them and charged straight at Alice.


    "Cheshire!"


    Meow~


    A cat''s meow sounded.


    Whatever Alice had done, she vanished from sight, bing invisible.


    Ring ring ring ring-!


    The ringing phones were incredibly distracting, and Alice''s chaoticbat style was maddening to deal with.


    Pinhio severed the phones and hastily crafted sses that would allow him to see invisible things.


    Most <em>improvised</em> things don''tst very long, but it''s inevitable.


    The moment he put them on, the sses shattered.


    But in that brief instant, he saw Alice.


    "There you are!"


    ng-!


    Pinhio thrust his sword, forcing Alice to block it, revealing herself.


    "Are we done with cheap tricks?"


    "No."


    Ring ring ring ring ring—!


    Despite supposedly severing the phones, more of them began growing on different parts of his body.


    And soon enough.


    Boom!


    It exploded.


    Pinhio''s body tilted as he was severely damaged.


    Alice took advantage of the opening and kicked him, sending him flying into the wall like a cannonball.


    "If you don''t answer the calls, they explode. How annoying. It''s so varied and annoying that it''s almost worthless to get data."


    Pinhio, bruised and covered in dust, muttered.


    "So what?"


    Even as he mumbled, more anomalies emerged from Alice''s mirrors.


    Every one of them was a pesky creature with its own gimmick.


    All the puppets nearby had already been devoured by the Pulgasari.


    Without summoning the puppets fighting outside, the battle was as good as lost.


    Concluding his thoughts, Pinhio nced at Alice, who had already regenerated her arm.


    "...I didn''t want to do this, but I have no choice. This is a warning, Alice. If you don''t back down now, I will erase you. Even if I can''t use this power frequently, I can certainly use it to remove you."


    Pinhio''s reality-altering abilities had limits.


    It was ultimately an energy-consuming ability.


    Losing his ability to alter reality in the Institution would drastically increase the risk of failure.


    "Being erased as if you never existed in the first ce... That''s terrifying. It''s the ending I personally fear the most. Never... I don''t want to see that end."


    Alice''s reaction is quite the opposite of how she was in battle.


    As if persuasion would work.


    "Then."


    "But... Fear that can''t take my life is only joy after all. Come on. It''s your turn. I never thought I''d borrow your power. Honestly, the conditions were ridiculous. I didn''t think I''d ever use it."


    Alice was speaking to something.


    Behind her, a single mirror rose into view.


    It was different from the other mirrors.


    This one was blood-red and ominous.


    "...What is that?"


    "This is the most primal fear, existing even before darkness and death. Among the monsters I control, it''s the strongest, yet a bizarre being that never reveals itself in my presence."


    Pinhio felt his nerves tightening.


    He felt like something big was about to happen.


    "Is the world we see truly reality? Works of fiction, mirages in the desert, reflections in mirrors, illusions. Everything is meaningless. We may just be fragments, drifting apart without purpose, like a dream without meaning. Doesn''t that frighten you? The thought that we might all be so utterly insignificant? That''s why humanity subconsciously fears this the most.""


    Pinhio gathered his power.


    His instincts tells him.


    He has to erase her now.


    Drawing upon a force even greater than what he used to erase the anomalies around him.


    "...Am I dreaming of the butterfly or is the butterfly dreaming of me? Ignoring my worries, he sleeps leisurely... What a mischievous guy. A monster that I must never wake up... <strong>I call you, Red King</strong>."²