That wasn't Miranda.
But extending tendrils from the fungal mother—Megamycete—that's currently under the control of what remained of Miranda's consciousness within.
Kiriya burned his way through, cleansing it from the fungus, but also setting almost everything inside the place ablaze.
Whether or not that would affect the future, Kiriya didn't really care right now. He's already messing too far to go back.
Without asking them, he pulled Mei and Mia. Holding their waists and both of them in his arms before dashing out of Miranda's laboratory.
As they exited, they were greeted by more fungi. The fungus behind was growing larger and almost reached the final stage, like in the ending of Resident Evil: Village. The part where Ethan sacrifices himself. It's clearly under Miranda's control.
Kiriya cleared the entire path, dodging every fungus and enemy that blocked their way.
A giant mutant carrying a spiked mace stood in their way, at the place where Kiriya fought Miranda with before.
He was the true gatekeeper after Miranda's departure.
But with Kiriya's magic—he disappeared in an explosion of light.
"We made it out!" Kiriya shouted as they were blasted out of the cave by his magic.
Kiriya looked up; the Mutamycete was becoming increasingly uncontrollable. Once again, without saying anything, Kiriya grabbed them and took off flying—wrapping them all in a Wind Barrier and shooting far away from the massive fungal growth radius.
"Mei! Take care of her!" Kiriya shouted once again, for the umpteenth time not caring to hear the two women's opinions.
He threw them downward, and left a spell to slow their fall.
Kiriya turned back and shot toward Ethan, Kanae, and Yahiko.
With the help of Yahiko's ninjutsu, they managed to escape the center of the fungal spread.
"One… two… just two left," Kiriya muttered, searching for the container holding Rosemary Winters.
Ethan had just finished clearing Castle Dimitrescu. He already had the container from Moreau. Only Beneviento and Heisenberg remained.
While Ethan and the others focused on finding a way out, Kiriya shifted his attention elsewhere.
—Heisenberg's factory.
At full speed, Kiriya shot forward. Blasting through the air beyond the speed of sound.
"… I'll just go straight in!" Kiriya created compressed magic, producing an explosion equivalent to a battleship's cannon.
Seconds later, a fusion of metal and flesh formed into a monster with two saw-blade arms appears from the ruins. The entire structure of the factory. That was Karl Heisenberg evolving into the strongest state with his power.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU—!?" The deep, booming voice of the hybrid monster rang out, shocked to see Kiriya floating in the air like a beast.
"I don't have time for a second phase!" Kiriya blew the man apart pitifully yet with precision, ensuring Rose's flask remained untouched under the ruins.
Due to excess use of magic, Kiriya was forced to land atop the ruins of the factory roof, exhausted. From the top, the factory has a giant hole in the middle with all the irons and metals from Heisenberg's transformation before.
The place is looking like it could fall anytime.
"Still… out of breath at a time like this…." Kiriya muttered.
His breathing wasn't too heavy. But it was more than enough to show that he could only do a few more giant explosions without spending all of his reserve or going berserk and becoming a devil.
"Should've dealt with The Doll first!" Kiriya grumbled as he jumped down from the roof, heading to a lower level before propelling himself with a wind spell to land precisely on the second floor from the bottom.
The location of Rosemary Winters' flask.
And apparently, Kanae's Nichirin blade as well.
'… Maybe because this Heisenberg guy had never seen this sword before so he took interest in it. But I didn't expect him to take interest in metal too… I thought he just used it as a weapon.'
Kiriya picked up the Nichirin and Rosemary Winters' container. The Nichirin's edge was dulled, worn, and slightly bent. Poor sword.
"… Still, Kanae should be satisfied to have her beloved weapon back," Kiriya muttered.
Kiriya put both items into his Item Storage and exited the place, returning to Heisenberg's factory roof.
This time, he wouldn't fly but propel forward like a cannonball.
With a running start, Kiriya leaped in a long jump but this time, his legs were aided by immense pressure that launched him far forward—across the entire village to its opposite edge where the house within the fog resides.
His clothes and hair didn't flutter because of the Wind Barrier spell.
He activated another spell to slow his descent and landed safely atop Beneviento's house roof.
The fog didn't touch his body—he wasn't affected thanks to the spell he kept active to filter the air. It wasn't a regular fog after all.
"This time, I'll cast fists!"
Magic enhanced Kiriya's entire physical strength—only his physical strength—allowing him to break through the roof and a floor below, dropping him to the lower level.
Until he stopped right in front of the lady of the house.
Easily, Kiriya finished off the lady and her doll without letting them to words by implode them into a ball of flesh, obtaining what he needed.
"Now… time to return to them."
Kiriya sighed and grinned, in relief and satisfaction. Speedrunning thing's clearly has its own fun.
'I have to get out now or I'll waste a lot of magic because of this damn fog.'
He jumped back through the hole he'd made earlier, back onto the roof to look around.
But the place was too filled with spore fog.
So in the end, he gave up on thinking and just balling it.
Kiriya leaped, propelling himself again, this time more upward, granting him more time and a better position to locate his groupmates. He deactivated the Wind Barrier spell to conserve his magic. His clothes and hair fluttered wildly now, whipping in the strong wind, unlike before.
"They're over there."
Kirya, once again pushes himself toward them with a spell.
He landed smoothly before the three of them.
"Kiriya-san!"
"I've finished it," Kiriya smiled, showing Ethan the remaining two of Rose's flasks.
"That's—!"
Kiriya left Ethan baffled before turning toward Kanae. He pulled the katana from his Item Storage and handed it to Kanae.
"This should be yours, right?"
Kanae was startled.
"My sword! Yes, thank you, Kiriya-san." She opened her hands and received the sword.
"I found it by accident. Didn't really expect it to be there," Kiriya replied casually. He turned to all of them and calculated the magic he could still use.
He could use Dash—the spell he had been using all along—one more time before he need to push himself to the limit of his control. Fortunately, this dash could still as strong as before.
The Time Dilation feature from the Training Field was obviously turned off since they were all outside.
Kiriya turned toward the orange-haired boy.
"Yahiko, I'll get us all out of here fast, but in exchange, I'll be exhausted. I need someone to cover me."
Yahiko nodded firmly. "You can count on me!"
Kiriya smiled. "Good. Now, Yahiko, get on my back."
Yahiko jumped and climbed onto Kiriya's back in a piggyback.
"Hold on tight, don't ever let go even if you end up choking me."
The boy followed Kiriya's words literally, tightening his grip, like trying to choke him with his super strength. But it was necessary. Kiriya is still in effect of his enchantment spell so it's not a problem for him.
With Kanae and Ethan, he held both their arms and leapt.
—They all screamed immediately.
With one push, Kiriya soared into the air.
And with another dash spell, he shot forward at high speed, not as strong this time, since he was using it for their Wind Barrier.
For the last bit, he used it to slow them down, adding friction to their descent so all four of them could land safely.
The three pulled themselves free from Kiriya.
"That was insane!! We should do that again sometime!" Yahiko exclaimed with a wide grin, clearly enjoying the thrill
"That was… amazing!" Kanae shouted.
"Couldn't you at least warn this old man first…?" Ethan collapsed onto the ground, his heart pounding as if it would burst, feeling like he was about to meet Eveline once again—though this time for a different reason.
"Ethan…!?"
"Mia? Mia…?!"
Seeing the couple reunite made Kiriya relieved. He decided to sit for a while, conserving his strength and magic for the last battle.
Kiriya's eyes moved from them to the Mutamycete floating in the air. Its massive form had a fetal shape in the center and wings on its sides.
"Black God."
The name immediately surfaced in his mind upon seeing the thing.
'The Megamycete is still here, but I can't stop it now?'
Kiriya grit his teeth hard. The Source of Blank had the same method of energy recovery as other power systems. Like stamina, it could regenerate, be drained dry, and have its quantity increased.
In Kiriya's exhausted state, the best option was to let it recover. A single day would be enough for him to use magic freely again, though not at full power. If he keeps pushing his magic, there's a possibility that he'll turn into a devil.
The four flasks holding Rose's fragments were laid out side by side. Kiriya wasn't worried, but the baby's parents and the two other chat group members were.
The parents were truly devastated to see their daughter mutilated and crystallized inside containers.
'The mission indicator hasn't marked completion. Does that mean we have to save Ethan's daughter and defeat Miranda completely, or just one of the two?'
Kiriya sat leaning against a tree, relaxing the tension in the body and mind for a moment, even though the enemy still loomed before them and the situation demanded caution. His mind was tangled with all the mess he started. 'Compared to the pressure of preparing for university entrance exams, this is nothing. Though… both have different kinds and paths of complexity.'
'If my guess is right, then killing Miranda will complete the mission, not saving Ethan's daughter. Because what matters is the safety and survival of the group members from their fate, not their family.'
But that was just a guess.