The first attack had succeeded, leaving two more to go... I didn't think it would come at us with the same pattern as before, but as I wondered what would happen next... frames with portrait-like images began surfacing across all the mirrors.
"Kaito-senpai, what is this...?"
"Yeah. These are probably the portraits from the entrance... Ah, but there are two empty frames over there... I guess the idea is that they want to trap us in those?"
"Eek..."
Those were the slightly eerie portraits we had seen at the entrance... Considering the audio recording from the first room, if the forty-three victims plus the person who left the recording made forty-four who fell to the Mirror Monster... then there were two empty frames with no pictures drawn on them. Those two were undoubtedly a thematic metaphor indicating that if we were defeated by the Mirror Monster, we would become the forty-fifth and forty-sixth victims.
Checking the lantern, I saw that it was fully charged with light and looked ready to use again. However, just as I was wondering what it would do this time... I saw one of the framed paintings open its mouth and laugh.
"AHAHAHA!"
I immediately aimed the laser pointer's light at it, but the moment I did, the painting returned to normal... and this time, laughter echoed from a completely different frame.
"So it's a moving pattern..."
"Does it move when you shine the red light on it...? Ah, it's over there next!"
"Ngh... So it really does move instantly... Based on how things went on the way here, there should be an opening to attack, but... Ah, could it be...? Hina-chan, I'll keep forcing the Mirror Monster to move from one to the next, so if you spot which painting it enters on your side, let me know."
"Y-Yes, understood!"
Thinking of this like a boss fight in a game, there had to be an opportunity for us to strike... And the Mirror Monster instantly jumped to another painting whenever the red light was aimed at it. If I had to guess, its movement was probably random.
My theory was that if the Mirror Monster stayed inside the same painting for a certain amount of time, we would take a hit and fail. To prevent that, I just needed to repeatedly aim the red light at whatever painting the Mirror Monster entered to keep it on the run... And as it darted around randomly, eventually...
"Ngh?!"
Just as I thought—once it moved into an empty frame, the Mirror Monster's full figure was left completely exposed instead of disguised as a portrait. Looking startled, the monster began checking its own hands and body, freezing in place.
Seizing that opening, I aimed the lantern and fired the laser of light...
"AAAAAAAH?!"
A second shriek echoed... With this, we had cleared the second phase. Now only one hit remained, but what would come next...? Just as that thought crossed my mind, a heavy mechanical clunk rang out... and rising above the mirrors encircling us, countless new mirrors appeared one after another.
"Huh? Whaaaat?! There are so many more mirrors now?!"
"...It's the final phase, so I guess it's pulling out all the stops..."
They formed a dome of mirrors, completely surrounding our entire field of view in a seamless sphere of glass. As expected, there were simply too many, making the prospect of finding it seem daunting.
On top of that, unlike before, there were no anomalies reflected in the mirrors, nor was there any laughter to be heard...
"Hina-chan, I think for this one, we're supposed to spot the Mirror Monster closing in from somewhere."
"I-I see, so they're returning to the most basic format for the very end."
Right. Though the scale was far larger, the final phase was the same as our journey through the maze up to this point: finding the anomaly appearing in one of the mirrors and attacking it.
"S-Since it's the finale, I thought it would be really mean and tricky, but it's actually quite simple."
"...Mean..."
While carefully scanning the domed mirrors, a sudden sense of dissonance struck me at the words Hina-chan had murmured. The Mirror Monster was supposed to be a cunning monster. In fact, it had launched ambushes using various tricks up to this point.
Would it really keep things simple for the finale? Rather, what if forming this dome and inevitably drawing our gaze upward was its actual aim...?
"Ngh! There it is!"
Following that intuition, I lowered my gaze and saw that the pedestal where I had initially placed the lantern had turned into a mirror, with the Mirror Monster creeping in right there.
Quickly aiming the lantern, I unleashed the light...
"GYAAAAAAAH?!"
An exceptionally loud scream echoed through the room, and black mist billowed out from the pedestal... only to dissolve upon contact with the lantern's light.
At the same time, the mirrors forming the dome returned to their original arrangement, and immediately after, the mirrors blocking our way vanished, revealing a path forward.
"...D-Did we do it?"
"Y-Yeah, I think we cleared it."
"~~~?! Senpai!!"
"Whoa! Hina-chan?!"
Overcome with emotion at having safely defeated the Mirror Monster, Hina-chan leaped into my arms with pure joy. Taken completely by surprise as she clung tightly to me, I watched as she looked up with a beaming smile.
"We did it! It's a total victory!"
"It sure is. All things considered, I'm glad we managed to clear it with no damage."
"Yes! It's all thanks to you, Kaito-senpai... Ah... Awa-wawa, I-I'm so sorry?!"
Hina-chan had been high-spirited and celebrating, but upon realizing she was hugging me head-on, her face flushed crimson as she flusteredly pulled away.
"I-I just acted on impulse... I-I'm sorry."
"Ah, no, I understand how you felt, so don't worry about it."
"Uuugh... Th-This is so embarrassing."
Given how much Hina-chan struggled with scary things, there was no doubt she had tried her absolute best. It was only natural that the relief and sense of accomplishment from being freed from the fear and tension had caused her emotions to boil over.
Still, her bashful, fidgeting figure was undeniably adorable, leaving me with a strange flutter in my chest and creating an indescribably shy atmosphere between us.
"W-Well, let's pull ourselves together and head for the exit..."
"Y-Ye-Ye-Yes! If we go through there, we've cleared it, right!"
The newly revealed path was bathed in light, unmistakably looking like the goal, so walking out through there would definitely mark the end of the attraction.
As we started toward the exit, a thought suddenly crossed my mind. That conversation we were having before entering this room, which had been cut short by the Mirror Monster's laughter... What should I do? The mood was a bit awkward right now, and I felt like we might end up overly self-conscious... but she had mentioned that it was something she longed for, and if I missed this timing, I probably wouldn't get another chance...
"Ah, um, Hina-chan."
"Yes?"
"Well, the exit is right there, and I don't think the Mirror Monster will show up anymore, but... um, even if it's just for a short distance, do you want to try what you mentioned earlier about wrapping my arm around your shoulders?"
"Whah?! Ah, u-um, well, augh... I-I... would like to... try it. Um, because I've always longed for it..."
Hina-chan was visibly flustered by my suggestion, her face bright red as she panicked... but in a small, strained voice, she whispered her assent.
"In, in that case, excuse me for a moment."
"H-Hahi..."
We were both clearly feeling awkward and nervous, but I reached my arm around Hina-chan's shoulders and gently drew her close. The feel of her petite, remarkably delicate frame, and her warmth as she lightly leaned against me... Perhaps because the atmosphere had made us so conscious of each other, my heart began pounding noticeably fast.
Hina-chan's face was beet red, but she didn't seem to dislike it in the slightest... and the emotion flowing through my Sympathy Magic felt full of pure happiness.
Sensing a sweet, heart-throbbing mood in the air, I walked toward the light-filled path with my arm wrapped around Hina-chan's shoulders.
Mirror Monster: "...See, this is where interrupting them back then really pays off. Even though it got cut short and fell through, Kaito heard all about how Hina longed for that kind of scenario, which made him want to grant her wish no matter what. And so, look at that—instead of Kaito just going along with Hina's request from earlier, Kaito took the initiative to propose wrapping his arm around her, leaving them both hyper-conscious and heart-pounding... This is the kind of lovey-dovey development that lays the groundwork for what's to come, y'know?"
Serious-senpai: "Gwaaaah... Just go home already, seriously... You're way too much of a nuisance..."