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[I must take her body to survive.]
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Though it was just a simple line of text, Kasumigaoka Utaha could feel the madness behind it, the kind of madness that would make someone do anything—sacrifice everything—to keep living.
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[This shouldn't be a problem, right?]
[We're "friends," after all.]
[She would surely be willing to offer her body.]
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"Offer her body?" Utaha's hands froze as she processed the words, her mind piecing together all the information she had gathered.
"I see now. Could it be the body-swapping magic they mentioned earlier?" she thought.
The witch hid her true identity, became friends with the protagonist, and on this crucial day, when she was about to die, lured the protagonist here to take their body?!
But no, that didn't make sense.
Utaha shook her head.
She clearly remembered that the note said magic involving two people was difficult to cast because it required the other person's wholehearted cooperation.
To make the magic work, you needed the other person's trust!
Even if the protagonist were a bit of an innocent fool, there's no way they'd let the witch use magic on them, right?
"This doesn't add up... something's off."
After thinking for a moment, Utaha shook her head again, deciding not to delve deeper. She clicked to continue the story.
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[...Because we're "friends."]
[That's why you're still here to play with me today...]
[Right, Viola?]
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As the last line of text slowly appeared, the screen flashed, and the once dimly lit scene was now engulfed in darkness.
"Bang."
A loud crashing sound rang in her ears.
Then, a purple-haired figure appeared, its upper body missing, eyes hollow, with no doubt left—it was the "Witch."
The "Witch" crawled slowly toward Viola, and subtitles appeared.
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[Half-Body Girl: ...Mm... Eh... Oh...]
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After this subtitle appeared, a save prompt popped up.
The story was clearly nearing its end, but Utaha didn't immediately save.
Confusion clouded her mind.
"Strange. This is really strange!"
Even if the "Witch" were dying, she shouldn't look like this!
The pitiful image she presented seemed more like a victim than a villain.
"Did I overlook something?"
Utaha sighed, realizing that no matter how much she thought about it, there wouldn't be a clear answer.
She saved the game and prepared for the final chase.
It wasn't much of a chase, really—more like a one-sided pursuit where the outcome was inevitable.
After a few failed attempts, Utaha finally managed to escape the house.
'Is this really the end?' she wondered, guiding her character back to the starting point.
The location where the player first woke up now had an additional letter for some unknown reason.
'Is there is a new information?' she thought, her eyes lighting up, and she immediately chose to read it.
It was the first half of the letter.
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[Viola: I shouldn't have yelled at you yesterday. I'm sorry.]
[A long, long time ago, there was a legend. It was said that a witch lived in that forest and would take away lost children.]
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[Your friend, her house is near the woods, so I was really worried about you.]
[Is your friend's name Ellen? Let's go to her place.]
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The letter ended abruptly there.
"So, the original version should have been something like, 'It's fine to visit her, just don't wander too far into the woods. Come home early. - Dad,' right?"
It sounded like an ordinary letter, nothing special.
Utaha sighed in disappointment.
"No new information."
She already knew everything written here, having reached the game's conclusion.
Without wasting time, she continued guiding the character down.
Next was the rose, which had been cursed, and using the items gathered from the house, she destroyed it before continuing onward.
After that, the final unskippable ending animation began.
The scene froze briefly, and a man appeared, holding a shotgun with a white towel draped over his shoulder.
After a simple animation, the subtitles appeared.
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[Viola's Father: Viola?! Are you alright? Are you hurt?]
[Viola's Father: Ha, thank goodness.]
———————————————————————
The background music brightened, almost as if celebrating the happy ending approaching.
The dim colors also shifted to bright hues.
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[Viola's Father: It's so late, I came into the woods to look for you.]
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"Such irony," Utaha muttered with a sigh.
The witch's parents had abandoned her, causing a series of tragic events.
Yet Viola's father, even knowing that a witch lived in the forest, cared more about his daughter's safety than his own.
Even though the dangers of the forest were unknown, Viola's safety became the priority, making everything else irrelevant.
Utaha clicked the mouse, and the story continued.
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[Viola's Father: You're safe now. Let's go home and get out of the rain.]
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With that, the man tried to lead his daughter out of the woods.
But just after a few steps, the cheerful music stopped, and the bright colors dimmed again.
They turned around.
The "Witch," dragging her broken body, leaving a trail of blood behind, slowly crawled toward them.
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[Half-Body Girl: ...Yeah... Going...]
[Half-Body Girl: ...Ugh... Ugh... I... Ah...]
———————————————————————
As the witch closed in, the father instinctively stepped in front of Viola.
———————————————————————
[Viola's Father: Viola, stay back!]
———————————————————————
Gunshots rang out.
The "Witch," already a broken doll of sorts, collapsed into a pool of blood.
In the rainy night, a breeze swept through as the "Witch" turned to ashes, scattering across the sky.
The man and girl walked out of the forest together.
The music played, and the credits rolled.
Utaha sat in thought, the subtitles continuing to scroll.
When [END?] flashed on the screen, the image flickered, returning to the title screen.
"This ending... Is it really the true ending?" Utaha sighed again.
———————————————————————
[END?]
———————————————————————
The game didn't just hint at the falseness of the ending—it shoved it in her face.
So...
'What did I miss?' she thought.
And what about the vague words the witch had spoken?
Just pondering those wouldn't provide an answer.
But if she connected all the pieces of information...
Utaha frowned, using her incredible memory to replay the story in her mind.
"Wait, the story mentioned a demon."
It was the demon that turned "Ellen" into the "Witch."
But who was this demon? Did it appear in the story?
Utaha froze, a look of disbelief in her eyes.
She glanced at the paper she had been using to review the plot, her face slowly turning pale.
"Could this... be the true ending?"
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[TL NOTE]
I'm back!! 🎉
Daily uploads will resume as usual—except on Sundays!
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