Chapter 303: O-Rank Sealing Record – 『GM』
Chapter 303: O-Rank Sealing Record – 『GM』
Even knowing our attacks are meaningless.
We do not stop.
The word 'surrender' was forgotten long ago in the depths of time.
No matter how desperate the situation, we find hope and press forward.
If it is hard to land a hit, we unleash more attacks.
If the attacks are meaningless, we resort to restraint.
"Get that bastard!"
"I'm trying!"
"I'm already doing it!"
Melee specialists like Thunder God and Misha lunged forward relentlessly.
"Restraint Check: -53, Modifier: 951. D20: 3. Failure."
"Accuracy Check: -853, Modifier: 1527. D20: 18. Failure."
Only the sound of rolling dice multiplied.
The tide of battle did not turn.
We had identified the nature of the ability.
One among us had played TRPGs before.
They informed us that while it was incredibly distorted, it followed a basic framework.
If the dice roll exceeds the Check Value, it is a success.
Because there was a vast difference in power between that fragile-looking nautilus and us, the Check Value was a negative number—meaning we should succeed regardless of the roll.
However, those bizarre modifiers interfered.
Though they varied for each of us, while the Check Values were in the negative hundreds, the modifiers were at least 900 or higher.
Even if the value needed to pass was -853 or higher, as long as The Modifier was 1527, it led to the absurd conclusion that one would need to roll a 674 or higher on a 20-sided die to succeed.
In all our time fighting and witnessing countless abstruse abilities, we had never seen anything this forced.
It wasn't that Reality Manipulation or causality manipulation didn't exist, but they usually came with heavy penalties or conditions.
Yet, the dice thrown by that entity showed no such limitations.
Still, we pressed on because we could not stop.
And because, occasionally, we heard it.
"D20: 20. Success."
Because the word 'Success' still existed.
Everyone squeezed out every last drop of strength and continued to charge.
The Enemy did nothing.
It simply stood there, rolling dice over and over.
Occasionally it spoke to us, but no one answered.
Nevertheless, my comrades fell.
One by one.
Not by The Enemy’s attack.
But by being submerged in white light.
* * *
How much time had passed?
It was a long battle.
Numerous lacerations marked the nautilus monster's body, and several fingers were missing from its left hand—the one not holding the dice.
Yet, The Enemy did not fall.
And we were on the brink of defeat.
Few remained with the strength to move properly.
Everyone sensed the impending loss, but no one stopped their body.
"Would you like to continue?"
They brushed aside the temptation that they could survive if they quit now.
Without betraying anyone.
They burned through their very lives.
But we were not beings destined to always win.
Exhausted, we collapsed and crumbled.
"Would you like to continue?"
The voice came again.
Everyone wailed.
Because they sensed defeat.
Because they realized we could not win.
Even as they continued to deny it, they understood that this was the conclusion they would reach.
A few began to cry.
Those who had never shown tears in any situation.
Succumbing to despair and absurdity.
Since I cannot shed tears, I simply watched them, sinking into sorrow alongside them without weeping.
And I saw the flow of it.
Since recording is my—our—mission and my—our—power.
I saw the tears hit the floor.
One drop, then another.
They were mere tears, but...
Bubble. Bubble.
The tears began to spread.
Like an overflowing ocean.
In that inorganic white space.
Transparent and empty, yet mixed with a slight foreign substance.
Compared to the meaningless white, a vast amount of water asserted its existence in blue.
Rising from the overflowing water, it took the form of a woman.
The one who once tried to submerge the land.
The first user of Otherworld Erosion.
The Spirit Queen, Borealis.
Everyone gaped at the intrusion of one whose status as ally or enemy was unknown.
"Intrusion Check: -23, Modifier: 999. D20: 1. Failure."
Even that, the dice rejected.
Everyone believed this was just one more layer added to the mountain of despair.
"...."
Borealis gazed at the nautilus without vanishing.
Then, slowly and elegantly, she approached the monster.
"Approach Check: -325, Modifier: 999. D20: 3. Failure."
The die hit the water-soaked floor, rolling with a light clicking sound.
The infinite failures echoed through the white space.
The Spirit Queen did not stop. She simply stepped across the blue carpet created for her and advanced toward the monster.
"Approach Check: -927, Modifier: 5633. D20: 1. Failure."
She stood face-to-face with the monster and reached out her hand.
"Restraint Check: -566, Modifier: 1349. D20: 9. Failure."
"It is useless. I have seen beings like you before."
Borealis—no, Ariadne.
She did what none of us could: she restrained it.
"Restraint Check: -943, Modifier: 2342. D20: 1. Failure."
The monster's voice, the sound of dice drilling into the ears.
Terrible failures rang out.
But the restraint did not break.
"A tailor-made weapon, artificially created to end the world. I also know your weakness."
Crack. Snap.
As the water surged, the sound of something breaking echoed.
"Restraint Check: -1337, Modifier: 2448. D20: 3. Failure."
"Try as many times as you like. I am one who does not belong to this world. Your power, which restricts its targets to those belonging to a single world in order to wield immense strength, is helpless against an opponent like me. Agent of the invaders."
"Restraint Check: -3958, Modifier: 2953. D20: 8. Success."
An extreme restraint that even surpassed The Modifier.
Dice poured down frantically, but now, there was no way for it to escape.
"I once shared a contract with your kind. I do not regret that choice."
At the monster's end, Ariadne continued to whisper.
"Though I became a toy because of that choice, and my fate was in the hands of those above you—no, those who created you, those high-ranking ones who treat living lives like playthings... I was able to protect those precious to me."
"Dice dice dice dice success success success success suc—"
The monster's voice gradually faded.
As it was swallowed into a giant sphere of water.
And Ariadne, who had maintained a human form, also lost her shape and began to assimilate with the sphere.
As she began to break down...
"Addie!"
A man lunged forward, his voice filled with a tenderness one wouldn't expect from his appearance.
To those words, she replied.
"Ah, Mikhail... it has been... a long time. Seeing how much you've changed."
In her voice, which had held only malice for The Enemy, a hint of joy now dwelled.
"...."
Misha—Mikhail—could not say a word.
Perhaps he did not know what to say.
"You're as blunt as ever. You could have said at least one thing."
She gave a short laugh with her crumbling face and continued.
"Still, it's not bad. My dream came true through an unexpected overlap of miracles."
"...What dream?"
"I wanted to see you all again. Especially one person I missed dearly. Don't ask who. Even I have feelings of embarrassment."
Her voice began to disintegrate.
Now, her words sounded like little more than the popping of bubbles.
Yet, everyone present understood clearly what she had said.
Now, not even her face remained.
Becoming nothing more than a puddle of water.
She began to sink into the rising flood.
"Then... everyone... farewell..."
A final goodbye.
In response, he let out a cry.
"—."
I will not record what he said.
This is a secret between the two of them.
Just because we were there to witness it doesn't mean we have the right to spread the fragments we hold.
Thus, everything ended, but...
There was still something unfinished.
"I propose a trade."
From the shrinking puddle, a hand holding dice rose.
Accompanied by a voice that seemed to come from nowhere.
Everyone screamed and wailed.
Asking if it still wasn't over.
After swallowing so many people.
Asking if it still wasn't over.
But those cries did not reach The Enemy.
"Current Sealing Success Value: 0. Modifier: 0. Minimum Value Guaranteed Success Rule. If the dice are rolled, success is guaranteed. To that, I propose a trade adding a Modifier of 2. Through this, if a 1 is rolled, the sealing fails."
Bit by bit, the arm was being swallowed, but no one answered.
There were no words to give to such an entity.
However, someone finally spoke.
"...What are you trying to trade?"
"The restoration of all damage I have inflicted upon the world and the erasure of the incident. Furthermore, you may designate the scope of the erasure at a later date. If you wish, even turning back time is possible."
A heavy breath circulated among the survivors.
It was what everyone desired.
The number of victims from this incident was already immeasurable.
The only figure that could even be grasped was the death toll from the first broadcast.
The number of victims created through Mutants and the number of personnel lost for the operation were beyond statistical calculation.
So, everyone agonized.
Over whether they should accept this.
While everyone was lost in thought.
The hand holding the dice spoke.
"However, those whose existence and records were erased by touching the light are excluded. That is beyond my authority."
In direct contrast to a moment ago, silence fell.
Those sacrificed to the Pillar of Light itself. Though their numbers were negligibly small compared to all the victims of this incident...
A commotion broke out.
The probability of rolling a 1 on a 20-sided die is 5%.
It's a high probability if you look at it that way, but if the lives of so many could return...
Wasn't it worth the gamble?
"But is it okay for us to decide this?"
Those present were a small group who could not represent all of humanity.
Were we truly allowed to make this decision?
Such opinions circulated.
"Just throw him in! It's a sacrifice to protect the world anyway! Either way, the kids who vanished aren't coming back! Ignore the contract or whatever and just do it!"
There were those who agreed with that sentiment.
But.
"Please decide within 30 seconds."
With that single sentence.
Opinions were gathered quickly.
The method passed down from old: majority rule.
The numbers that came from it, I shall not reveal either.
And so, we rolled the dice.
The 20-sided die held in The Enemy’s hand.
A being that was not human.
I grabbed it and threw it into the air.
Tick. Tumble-tumble.
A clear sound.
Uttering the sound of fate that would decide everything.
It yielded its result.
"The number is... 1. Failure."
Sealing, failed.
Everyone doubted their eyes.
They resented their past selves.
They vented their rage, wishing they could turn back time.
In that moment when everything fell apart.
Snap.
A rupturing sound silenced the commotion.
It came from the die that everyone's gaze was fixed upon.
Everyone realized it was the sound of a crack forming in the die that had given the value.
The crack in the die gradually grew larger.
Crack.
With the sound of shattering, the die split into two pieces and rolled across the floor again.
Silence hung heavy.
How, then, would this be judged?
While everyone was speechless.
"Result modified. 21. Success. A gaze has reached us. It is your victory."
The monster uttered its final words as it was submerged in the water again.
The values shown by the broken die were...
20 and 1.
Was there a rule that they had to be added together?
No one could know.
What remained behind.
Was simply the relief that this hell was over.
And that this event would not remain as despair for the people.
"Then, I shall see you in the next session."
And so.
Even the monster's final curse.
Was submerged and vanished within everyone's relief.
But perhaps they were entitled to that much luxury.
* * *
"Are you sleeping?"
I opened my eyes at the voice.
"I do not sleep. I am merely looking back at the past."
"That's a very archaic way to describe sleeping, Yellow King."
To the man with the large gun who replied to me like that.
I directed a few of my consciousnesses toward him and answered.
"Since our fundamental natures are different, our movements differ. Just as your consciousness flickering is different from sleep, Meteor."
"I still don't know what you're talking about, so I'll just move on. So, what were you looking at?"
"The combat records of the O-Rank Mutant, GM. There was something to check."
"...Why bother with that hell?"
"Because in the near future, he will come. To ask me a question."
"Who?"
Because the one I must call Meteor asked us a question.
I answered him.
"Crimson★Hammer. No, Black Marauder. Or... Lee Ha-ram? Hmm. It will be one of them."
"What are you talking about?"
"There is no need for you to understand. You simply do what you must."
By relaying those words to him.
I closed my eyes once more.