ebonymovies Chapter 161 : Possibility - 2
Chapter 161 : Possibility - 2
I remembered.50,000 Points.
It could only be regarded as something that had never been intended for sale in the first place.
‘How am I supposed to save up that much?’
It made my head spin.
At that moment, Armelia asked Magireta,
“How many more Game Cohorts remain in the Human Era?”
“As if I'd tell you... is what I'd like to say, but I guess that much is fine. This Cohort is the last one.”
“…! T-Then at least stop making this the final Cohort. That is my wish.”
Magireta shook her head.
“Wrong. I can't grant that wish either. I've already prepared a place in Hell for you ‘former’ humans. Ever since this Cohort began.”
“……”
“Now all that's left is to produce an MVP from among you humans and seat them there. Assuming an MVP appears, of course.”
“Magireta! Do you even know what we've been struggling through all these Quests for until now...!”
“How should I know? Come on, hurry up and make another wish. We don't have much time.”
The expressions on everyone's faces darkened.
Then Mason took a deep breath and spoke.
“What should we do?”
Karin answered,
“I don't want to be dragged into Hell. I don't want to become one of those Monsters.”
“I feel the same.”
“...Then let's ask to be reincarnated as the next intelligent species. Didn't they say I used to be some kind of elf before becoming human? That wish should be within the range of what can be granted.”
The world was doomed anyway.
Magireta had already decided that this Cohort would be humanity's last.
There was absolutely no way to stop it.
If that was the case, Karin's proposal might have been the most rational one.
Aina spoke,
“I'm in favor. Let's meet again in the next world.”
One after another, everyone voiced their opinions.
At first there was some disagreement, but in the end they all agreed with Karin.
Humanity's extinction had already been decided, and the Wish Ticket couldn't stop it...
At the very least, they concluded they should avoid becoming Monsters.
Mason spoke.
“I use the Wish Ticket. Don't drag us to Hell. Just like Helena wished for Karin, reincarnate our souls as the next intelligent species.”
“No.”
“…What?”
“No, rather than not wanting to, I can't.”
Karin immediately exploded.
“Why not?! You've already done it once! I'm living proof of it!”
“Because Drod Kuhalim will be arriving here shortly.”
“Drod? Who's that?”
That was when it happened.
Swish.
As if he had been standing there from the very beginning, someone emerged from the corner.
A dignified man with brown hair and a lion-like beard.
Could that guy really be Drod?
“Lady Magireta.”
“Mm. You're here?”
“Thank you for keeping your promise.”
“Thank you for keeping yours as well. Have you still not changed your mind?”
“Yes. Of course not.”
“What a shame. Well, I suppose it couldn't be helped.”
Magireta slowly shook her head.
Startled, Mason shouted,
“Who is that man? Explain!”
“Let's see... When was it that you dealt with Edgar again? Ah, during the Intermediary Trade Quest.”
“……”
“The Judge back then, B, was Drod's daughter. So Drod came to hold a grudge against all of you. That's when he made me a request.”
Mason took a deep breath and asked,
“A request?”
“He asked that if Mason's group was still alive after all the Games had ended, I hand all of you over to him.”
“…! W-What? You actually agreed to such a request?”
“I wasn't exactly thrilled about it either.”
Magireta shrugged.
“But unlike Odline or Helena, Drod was an MVP who showed me sufficient respect.”
“……”
“Drod could have annihilated all of you at any time. Right after the Intermediary Trade Quest ended. The only reason he didn't was because he didn't want to ruin my Game. I considered that his own way of showing consideration.”
She continued leisurely,
“If someone shows me that much consideration, shouldn't I preserve at least a little of my dignity in return?”
“That's ridiculous.”
“Well, that's actually only a minor reason. The real, fundamental reason is... Well, as you already know, I fundamentally can't interfere with what an MVP chooses to do.”
I swallowed hard.
Mason swallowed as well.
Magireta let out a regretful sigh.
“I only wish little brother had realized it sooner.”
“What do you mean...?”
“You could have dealt with the MVP at any time, so long as you simply realized it. Though... I suppose there's no point saying that now.”
There she went again.
Ever since the Odline incident, Magireta had been expecting something from me.
—Make it possible for me to kill that bastard.
She had said something like that.
‘Just what am I supposed to realize...? Ah, wait. Don't tell me!’
A flash of inspiration ran through my mind.
Could this be what I was supposed to realize?
At that moment, Mason asked,
“What exactly does Drod intend to do? What does it mean to hand us over to him?”
This time, Drod answered directly.
“I don't have any gloomy hobbies like torture. Besides, Beat's anger has already faded to a considerable degree.”
“……”
“You're simply going to be annihilated here.”
Drod slowly extended his hand.
The next instant—
Thud.
Before anyone could counterattack or even dodge, something suddenly pierced deep into Mason's and the others' hearts.
They were fingernails.
Drod's fingernails had lengthened in an instant and driven themselves into all of our chests.
“Cough...”
“If you're pierced by my nails, simply dying isn't the end. Your body and soul will both be completely annihilated.”
“……”
“You won't be dragged to Hell, nor will you revive as Monsters. You'll simply disappear. In a way, that's probably the better outcome. If anything, this is mercy.”
I couldn't see souls.
So I had no idea what soul annihilation actually looked like.
But I could at least witness the annihilation of the body with my own eyes.
Crrr...
Their bodies began crumbling away.
Like sandcastles collapsing, they were annihilated from the legs upward as they fell.
Magireta spoke,
“Sorry. I'm only saying this now, but whatever wish you made would've been meaningless from the very beginning. Ever since Drod requested custody of all of you long ago.”
“Then what did we even come this far for...?”
“I don't particularly like what this guy is doing either. That's why I feel especially sorry for little brother.”
Tears streamed down Mason's face.
The others were the same.
The light faded from their eyes.
Their souls must have already been disappearing.
Before I realized it, the lower halves of their bodies had vanished completely.
Mason turned toward everyone.
“I'm truly sorry.”
“No. This isn't your fault.”
“Sniff... I don't want to be separated from all of you! Big Brother, Old Man, do something!”
“So this is how it ends. How fleeting.”
“Aina... I'm sorry...”
“So in the end, I'll never see the light. This will be my eternal farewell to my beloved.”
“I can't die. I refuse to die like this!”
Unable to bear watching their miserable state any longer, I turned my head away.
That was when Mason pulled something from his clothes.
A notebook and a pen.
By then, everyone else had already disappeared without leaving a single trace.
Naturally, even their sobbing had vanished.
With great difficulty, Mason continued writing in his diary.
Watching him, Drod tilted his head.
“What's he doing, Lady Magireta?”
“...He's writing in his diary. It's little brother's hobby.”
“Lady Magireta? What's wrong? You don't look well.”
“Yeah... I'm feeling a little down. I never imagined I'd feel this way.”
She let out a quiet sigh.
“It feels different from simply eliminating someone or taking them to Hell after they die. Your nails bring true annihilation.”
“……”
“I'll never be able to meet little brother again.”
Clatter.
At that moment, Mason dropped his pen.
The next instant, he too vanished completely.
[The contents of the diary written by that Mason are the very scene that the present Mason has been observing.]
‘I see.’
[Master Mason ran out of strength while writing the diary and dropped his pen. Therefore... the scene you can observe also ends here.]
The moment the Diary Book finished speaking—
Whoosh.
My vision suddenly changed, and everything disappeared.
When I came to my senses, I was back inside Berseum's house.
I took a deep breath to calm myself.
This Future Diary had taught me many things.
Before the final Quest, every one of my companions—including me—must drink an Awakening Pill.
I, no, all of us possess the key to killing an MVP. We have to realize what that key is.
Drod Kuhalim will ask Magireta to hand over Mason's companions after all the Games are over. In fact, he may have already done so.
I focused on the first point.
‘This is bad.’
[What's wrong?]
‘Awakening the others is possible. If I wanted to, I already have enough Points to buy Awakening Pills for them right now.’
But not mine.
50,000 Points... Seriously.
[Please don't lose heart. They say that even a mouse hole eventually sees sunlight.]
‘That's a rather unpleasant attempt at encouragement.’
[Is it?]
I let out a sigh.
Then I focused on the third point.
‘Magireta didn't reject Drod's request.’
Well, to be precise, she couldn't reject it.
Calling it a request sounded nice, but because of the Hidden Rule preventing her from interfering with an MVP, it was effectively a demand from Magireta's perspective.
Still, she didn't seem to harbor much ill will toward Drod.
‘Looks like Drod is quite good at conducting himself as an MVP. Unlike Helena or Odline.’
[That seems to be the case. More importantly, please take a look at this.]
The Diary Book flipped open.
Here we go again.
At that moment, Armelia asked,
“Mason. What's wrong?”
“……”
“Are you feeling hot? Should I open the window?”
I shook my head.
“I saw the future.”
Berseum replied indifferently,
“Well, I figured you did.”
“Couldn't you at least react a little more enthusiastically?”
“At this point? Anyway, what kind of future was it?”
“Even if we become the final victors, we'll still end up being annihilated.”
“…What?”
Calmly, I explained everything I had witnessed.
Since I hadn't merely read compressed text but had actually become immersed in the scene itself as an observer, I was able to relay the events with remarkable vividness.
Sienne tilted her head.
“Your explanation is much more vivid than usual this time.”
“Ma'am, is that really what's important right now?”
“M-Ma'am...”
“I never imagined B's father would be the Second MVP. Let alone someone with Nails of Annihilation.”
Aina clutched her head.
Benjamin spoke,
“If I'd known that, I would've treated B a bit more kindly.”
“We had no other choice at the time.”
“Mm. That's true.”
“Rather than regretting the past, let's come up with countermeasures.”
Armelia asked,
“What kind of countermeasures?”
“At least now we know the Second MVP's name, I can gather information about him. Unlike when we struggled over Odline.”
“That's true.”
“And...”
I took out the Listening Device, the first-place reward from the previous Quest.
My own Transmitter had already been attached to B some time ago.
Karin tilted her head.
“Wasn't that Transmitter attached to Odline?”
“To be precise, it was attached to B's body after Odline had taken possession of it.”
“Isn't that the same thing?”
“No. Drod seems to care deeply for his daughter. If I were Drod, I'd have forced Odline out of B's stomach no matter what it took.”
Everyone nodded in understanding.
Sienne continued my thought,
“If she vomited out the maggot, B would've returned to normal...”
“And Drod would've taken care of his daughter. Drod should be right beside B.”
“He might even tell his daughter how he plans to deal with you from now on, Mr. Mason.”
I nodded.
Then I put the Receiver into my ear and began fiddling with it.