Chapter 209: Passionlip
After Ethan threw Tohsaka Rin's final key into BB's slot machine, he once again pulled the lever down.
Moments later, BB's slot machine started spinning once more!
"Then this will be the final time, let's get ready to start, 1, 2… BB Machine! Start——————!!!"
Accompanied by dazzling lights and intense, suspenseful background music, the chibi BB on screen swayed rhythmically.
On the screen, the symbols rapidly changed at high speed, and soon, the first symbol appeared.
"7"!!!
Nice, a jackpot symbol right from the start.
Next up was the second one...
Ethan kept his eyes glued to the screen.
Apple, orange, cherry... then another symbol dropped.
Another "7"!!!
That means just one more to go!!!
Amid the tense stares of everyone watching, the third symbol slowly began to drop.
The "7" spun halfway, continued sliding down, and then… slid past?!
The same scenario again?!
"What a shame, Senpai was just a tiny bit away from succeeding..."
Even as chibi BB said that, her face remained brightly smiling.
The viewers in the livestream also witnessed this scene up close on their screens.
["Thought it was a BOSS dungeon stream, turns out it's a slot machine stream, and in the end it's a gambling stream..."]
["To clearly show us the dangers of gambling, the host really sacrificed too much, I'm crying!"]
["Holy shit, are we really watching someone gambling in a livestream right now?"]
["This story's based on a real event, right?"]
["Safety app reminder: This livestream contains a massive amount of hazardous content!!!"]
["This is the end for a gambling addict~~~"]
["It's over... lost everything... hahaha just like my life... hahaha..."]
["Umm, bro above, you okay?"]
["hahaha... I'm fine... Yasashi-chan... I'm really fine... hahaha."]
[".....Umm... Just... don't do anything stupid, alright?"]
...
Just as the final "7" was about to slide past, Ethan clenched his fist and punched the machine!
OUCH!!!
It felt like he had just punched a steel wall.
That sudden impact caused BB's slot machine to shake backward slightly.
Looking again — the last "7" symbol that had just passed tilted back in reverse, and finally stopped?!
As all three "7" symbols aligned, the slot machine instantly played a continuous victory fanfare.
"It worked?!"
Tohsaka Rin, who had almost lost hope, immediately sat upright.
"Senpai! You did it!!!"
Mash also turned to him, overjoyed.
"Hmph hmph, that's all there is to it."
Ethan finally gave a confident smile.
"Senpai, you actually dared to use that trick!!"
BB — who had been smiling happily this whole time — suddenly pouted angrily.
"Senpai, you cheater! Such a cheater!!!"
"That's not called cheating, since you never said we couldn't use external force."
He had thought the images on the screen were just simulated animations, but they could actually be influenced?!
"This is called: Fate is in my own hands!"
Ethan spoke with utmost seriousness and charisma.
"Ugh… To think Senpai pulled a fast one, it seems that while humanity may be full of hopeless cases, there are still rare exceptions like Senpai."
Though BB was clearly unwilling, she could only sigh.
"Fine then, since you trusts BB-chan so much, BB-chan will make an exception and open the backdoor for you, Fraud-senpai."
Chibi BB swung the tiny teacher's pointer she held.
However, the stone door ahead remained tightly shut, showing no signs of opening.
"Hey, don't tell me you're going to go back on your word?"
Seeing that the entrance to the Labyrinth remained unmoving, Ethan looked at BB with suspicion.
"Senpai and everyone, as the grand prize reward, how could things end so simply?"
Suddenly, a beam of light descended from above, and then a device that looked like an elevator came down.
"An elevator???"
So the Labyrinth even has elevators?
"This device will take everyone into the Labyrinth, BB-chan absolutely isn't lying this time~~~"
When the elevator came down and its doors slowly opened, Ethan stepped in without hesitation.
If BB truly wanted to harm them, she wouldn't need to set up such a complicated show.
"Senpai, please wait for me!"
Mash immediately chased after him.
"Fou fou~~~"
Fou quickly jumped onto Mash's shoulder.
"Mama, we want to go too!"
Little Jack darted into the elevator, hiding behind Ethan's back.
"Oh! This looks super fun!!!"
"The upper floor of the Labyrinth, huh? I did look up at it once from the outer area before. Never thought there would come a day I'd actually step inside."
The gentleman with the British flair also stepped into the elevator.
"Such a boring creation of humankind."
Draco, who had been silent all this time, had kept her eyes on BB's movements. To her, BB — the one who had stolen her Holy Grail — had firmly taken the top spot on her "most wanted to kill" list.
"Just wait, one day I'll make her suffer pain a thousand times worse!!!"
Dripping with killing intent, Draco also entered the elevator.
"W-wait a moment~~~"
Tamamo no Mae dragged her exhausted body after them.
She had a few light injuries on her — earlier, while taking care of Little Jack, the little girl had stabbed her a few times. Luckily, Jack was just playing and had avoided any vital spots.
"…She really is a hyper child. I didn't think taking care of kids would be this exhausting."
Once Tamamo no Mae also stepped into the elevator, only Tohsaka Rin and Elizabeth were left at the scene.
"What now, Rin?"
Elizabeth began waiting for Tohsaka Rin's input.
"Damn it, I don't even have the key anymore, and I can't go back to the academy dorm either."
She stomped her small black leather boots hard on the floor.
"Isn't the only choice to go up?"
"Actually, I don't think it's that bad. I get to experience being treated like a VIP at least once. After all, I am a famous idol. Maybe I should hold a performance right inside the elevator — make them bow before my voice, what do you think?"
Elizabeth's eyes sparkled with excitement. It seemed she couldn't wait to raise her voice in this elevator.
"Let's not do that, I'm afraid the elevator won't survive your 'magnificent voice'..."
Tohsaka Rin reluctantly walked over.
"Even if this elevator leads straight to hell, we've no choice but to grit our teeth and ride it!"
As Tohsaka Rin and Elizabeth also stepped into the elevator, its doors slowly closed.
"So then, are you all ready! The special program prepared by BB-chan is about to begin, get ready... Start!!!"
The moment BB gave the command, the elevator instantly began accelerating.
Soaring up to the upper floor of the Labyrinth!!!
Watching the elevator vanish from sight, BB showed a gleeful smile.
"Characters resurrected from hell must naturally step into the next hell immediately. After all, that is the true level of difficulty for humankind. Should I call it Hard Mood… no, maybe Very Hard Mood???"
...
Inside the elevator, Ethan suddenly felt the sensation of weightlessness throughout his entire body intensify — the elevator's speed was increasing?!
His heartbeat raced, the dizziness and ear pressure became more and more intense.
"Senpai? Senpai!!!"
Mash's panicked voice rang by his ear, and just as Ethan felt he could no longer endure, the elevator's speed began to slow.
Moments later, the elevator came to a complete stop.
"Ding——————!!!"
The elevator doors opened, and Ethan staggered out with Mash supporting him.
"This is..."
In his hazy vision, a vast, deep blue ocean appeared before Ethan's eyes.
Or rather, it resembled an ocean.
Floating in the sky were creatures that looked like schools of fish — or more accurately, digital beings.
One could even see massive coral reefs turned into towering walls.
"Is this the Digital Ocean?"
After exiting the elevator, Ethan's discomfort began to ease considerably.
"Thank you, Mash."
"Senpai, are you feeling better?"
Mash's worried gaze was fixed on Ethan.
"Umu, much better."
It seemed that this level of weightlessness wasn't much of an issue for Servants.
"Looks like everyone has safely set foot inside the Labyrinth."
Suddenly, the communicator bracelet on Ethan's wrist emitted a sound.
Then Doctor Romani's slightly surprised voice came through.
"Hold on, we're retrieving environmental data from your side... scanning complete... Uwaa, you're actually underwater?! How are you breathing? Ethan, is your respiration okay???"
"Doctor Romani, this place is just a digital ocean."
Facing Doctor Romani's panic, Ethan immediately reminded him.
"I see, so it's the Digital Ocean. Although the transmitted documents mentioned it quite a bit, actually witnessing this scene firsthand… I can't help but admire MoonCell's computing power."
"But you mustn't let your guard down because of that. According to current data, you're inside a SE.RA.PH. layer. Even if equipped with a Mystic Code, prolonged exposure here will still cause disintegration."
Leonardo da Vinci's voice came from the communicator, reminding Ethan.
Only then did Ethan realize the issue.
No wonder he had felt the surrounding air was humid and sticky on his skin all this time.
He wiped his arm and found that his skin had already begun to peel lightly.
SE.RA.PH. transforms everything into Spiritrons.
Tohsaka Rin and the others were originally digital constructs composed of Spiritron particles, so they were unaffected.
But Ethan was entirely different.
It looked like they needed to start conquering the Labyrinth as soon as possible, or else he would dissolve into a digital ghost.
But looking at it from another angle… if he just wore a skin, wouldn't he be able to debut right away?
Chaldea's Vtuber — officially launching???
"No way… How could it be this place?!"
Suddenly, Tohsaka Rin's voice rang out in astonishment.
"Tohsaka?"
Ethan looked in the direction of the voice, puzzled.
"What's wrong, is something off? Don't tell me this isn't inside the Labyrinth???"
Ethan immediately thought of BB's malicious pranks — it was entirely possible that she had teleported them to a completely unrelated area.
"No, this is definitely inside the Labyrinth… but clearly, the first and second floors only had above-ground landscapes. Only starting from the third floor does it turn into this ocean scene!"
"You're saying this is the third floor?!"
Ethan was slightly surprised.
BB actually sent them straight to the third floor?!
Why would she do that???
"Watch out, there's a massive energy signature appearing to your right!!!"
Suddenly, Doctor Romani's warning came from the communicator.
"The enemy is rapidly approaching you. Comparing with existing data, we can confirm with high certainty — it's a Servant! Class is… Alter Ego!!!"
Before anyone could react, a girl with massive golden claws appeared from the right, behind a coral pillar.
"Ah, ah…"
She let out a flustered sound and slowly turned her head toward them.
She had long purple hair and a pink ribbon.
Her gigantic claws — twice the size of her own body — were terrifying just to look at.
Even more terrifying — her body was covered in restraint devices, and even her face was obscured, with only her mouth visible.
"It's too dark… but I have to endure it… I don't want to disappoint Mother again… I absolutely won't let anyone escape…"
Even with her eyes covered, she slowly stepped toward them.
"I'm sorry… I really am… but I don't want to make Mother angry…"
"What the hell! Why'd we run into that thing?!"
Tohsaka Rin stomped in anger.
"The 'Guard' of the third floor!!!"
It had only been speculation until now, but the moment he saw the massive claws and huge breasts, Ethan immediately confirmed the enemy's identity.
Alter Ego M.
Alter Ego of love and hatred.
A High Servant created by BB from fragments of goddesses.
She suffered from cognitive disorder and had a personality prone to abuse.
For some reason, she was currently covered in restraint devices and had suddenly appeared before Ethan's group like this.
It was like stepping out of the "starter village" only to run straight into the final boss.
"Senpai, let me fight!!!"
Mash instantly raised her shield in front of her, warily watching the advancing "Guard."
"Mash, prepare to retreat!"
Ethan didn't hesitate, immediately ordering a retreat.
"Why, Senpai?"
Mash looked slightly confused.
"If I remember correctly, we're in the Digital Ocean right now — all of your powers are severely weakened."
"——————?!"
Mash looked at her arm in shock — her body did feel more fatigued than usual.
"That's a wise decision. But we might not be able to retreat so easily."
Tohsaka Rin tensely scanned the surroundings for an exit.
"That girl will continue attacking anyone in her line of sight, and anyone who tries to block her attacks will—"
Before she could finish, Elizabeth, standing beside her, used her spear as a microphone and unleashed a sonic wave at the girl.
"La la laaaaaaaaa—!!!"
The powerful soundwave tore through the air!
In the next instant, the girl's massive claw swung forward directly!
The soundwave was instantly compressed into a small cube and vanished.
"I'm sorry… I know it's going to hurt… please don't bully me anymore…!!!"
"Enemy is Alter Ego — attack has begun!!!"