Volume Four: Withering in the Mortal World - The End

This time, Xiao Wu lost her left lung; her left lung, which already lacked a left trachea, was now completely gone.

The Sin Annihilation his subclavian vein.

Adding to all the losses they had already suffered, anyone else would have died by now. Only these two individuals, whose vitality surpasses the limits of human endurance, are still alive.

Only the man looked relaxed.

This was only one-tenth of his power. If he were to get serious, these two self-important rookies would have lost long ago. The only person who could handle him with ease, even with his supposedly superhuman strength, is Yu He, the most ruthless businessman in human history.

"...(Xiao Wu! Are you alright?)"

Although Sin Annihilation couldn't speak, Xiao Wu could still read her thoughts from her eyes.

This child... shouldn't her condition be much more serious since she lost the incredibly vital subclavian vein? Yet she's starting to care about herself...

I'm such a failure...

"It's okay, it's okay... He can play like that, so can we. Next round, you can crack the dice just like him."

"...(Xiao Wu you, Mai?)"

"I..."

Yes, what should I do?

I'm incredibly lucky that I haven't received a heart transfusion yet.

But now that the left lung is gone, the next... likely target is the heart.

Xiao Wu's vitality is incredibly strong, but that's also backed by her terrifying self-healing ability.

Now that lost organs cannot regenerate, how long can she live "without a heart"? No matter how long she can linger on, she will eventually die.

Honestly, I'm really helpless against enemies that can't be dealt with by violence...

But--

"I told you, it's okay. You just need to focus on how to win. I have a plan."

"..."

Sin Annihilation's little head drooped, her bangs obscuring her face.

My chest feels a little cool and a little warm at the same time.

This novel feeling left her bewildered.

I found myself unable to stop.

"What a touching scene! But let's not waste time, let's begin!"

The emptiness in her chest felt like a bottomless black hole swallowing Xiao Wu's consciousness. Her breathing became strange, and the consequences of losing her left lung were gradually becoming apparent. The once light dice cup now felt incredibly heavy, even lifting it was difficult. Was it due to psychological reasons like excessive tension? Or was it a sign that her body couldn't support the weight after losing so many organs? Or perhaps both?

"Start!"

Her hands tossed the dice into the dice cup almost mechanically, shaking them rapidly with a clatter. A strange weariness spread through Xiao Wu's heart and body simultaneously. So tired, so troublesome, so sad—it was like a jumbled mess of flavors, all sorts of seasonings mixed together, becoming a murky, unpleasant experience. What exactly was this feeling? A mixture of emotions, a prickle of thorns on her back, trembling limbs, a muddled mind, yet also a strange sense of enlightenment—

Oh, right.

Is this... a firm conviction that one is going to die?

From any perspective, I've been forced into a dead end, a dead end from which I can't escape.

If he loses again—without a doubt—he will be closer than ever before to what is called death.

In the past, Xiao Wu always regarded herself as an emotionless doll, rejecting all kindness.

If it were her back then, she would probably just think, "Oh well, I'm going to die, but that's alright," and calmly continue on.

But now, I do feel a genuine, heartfelt resistance to death.

Have I become weak?

Or was it simply changed?

Those two new acquaintances, who are probably destined companions.

Although it was just a little, they did show her something new, some reasons to cherish life.

Therefore, she didn't want to die.

It wasn't out of fear of death, but out of a steadfast attachment to life.

If you don't want to die--

"Isn't winning all that matters?"

The man's lips parted slightly, and his deep, whispered voice pierced her heart like a sharp arrow.

Yeah, if you don't want to die, all you have to do is win, right?

He even tried to outmaneuver him by cracking the dice, so the final outcome was uncertain.

--Should we do it this way?

"... no!!!"

That won't work!

Here, there is also an innocent girl who was dragged into this mess because of her.

Although she didn't know how strong her self-healing ability was, Xiao Wu had never seen or heard of anyone with a stronger self-healing ability than herself.

Therefore, if she loses any more organs, regardless of whether it's a man or she wins against the Sin Annihilation, she is very likely to die before Xiao Wu.

At least, there are still people to protect.

At least, there are still people to protect.

So—stop joking!

Thump!!!!

The dice cup was slammed down on the table.

Is it about to open?

Damn it...

As expected, I still get nervous...

"Open!"

For a moment, Xiao Wu didn't even dare to look at the result she had drawn.

Once my wildly beating heart calmed down a little, I lowered my gaze.

"... ah!"

The sum of 5, 5, and 6 is 16.

Three numbers? And quite a lot!?

"Oh dear, Urushihara, it seems you were in a really bad mood just now. You made a mistake."

I made a mistake!

She had intended to roll the dice and get three overlapping ones, just like before! This would have been an utterly ridiculous mistake for Xiao Wu in her normal state, but she made it precisely when she was distracted!

"Damn it— Sin Annihilation!"

Xiao Wu hurriedly looked at the result of the Sin Annihilation, wondering if... if she had a higher score than this girl...

"...(4,5,2,5, sum to 16)"

--Same!?

Even Sin Annihilation showed a surprised expression.

Even though this time the Sin Annihilation, one of the dice was cracked...

And men—

"Ha, I've already broken two dice and I still lost. Looks like the heavens are really on your side, Urushihara."

The sum of 1, 1, 6, 3, 4 is 15.

Beneath the man's dice cup, two dice were broken in half.

Even so, his score was lower than both Xiao Wu and Sin Annihilation!

Xiao Wu was almost speechless.

Luck. Pure luck.

There is no other explanation available.

"Gulp--cough cough cough!"

The man let out a cry of pain for the first time as two large chunks of flesh fell from his chest—two lungs! Including those he had lost before, he was now down to only one of his original four lungs, a significant blow to someone of average health.

"Next... without a doubt, the heart will be lost. We were really unlucky just now."

Let's continue.

Compared to Xiao Wu's relief, Sin Annihilation's situation was rather bad.

With her special abilities, she shouldn't have been afraid of this life-or-death game from the start.

Even so, she cannot reveal the truth, because doing so would carry an extremely high risk of exposing her identity, even though Xiao Wu is an outsider with no connection to the Revolutionary Army or the Vatican.

However, precisely because of this, Xiao Wu, who was unaware of the Sin Annihilation Misaki, was truly risking her life to protect her.

It would be good to give her some advice to improve her win rate.

He was willing to greatly increase his chances of failure, just so that his victory wouldn't hurt her.

This was the first time, truly the first time, that someone had valued and protected me so much.

But the man who risked his life to protect her is now being driven into a desperate situation because of her.

What should I do?

"Come on, Sin Annihilation! Shatter another die!"

The clattering of the dice no longer sounded like a death knell.

That incredible, one-time stroke of luck truly gave Xiao Wu a glimmer of hope.

This time, Xiao Wu tried her best to calm herself down and not make the same dangerous mistake as before. She still wanted to roll three consecutive tiles to increase the chances of winning with the Sin Annihilation!

If this time it works out again—no, if we're lucky, maybe we really can—

However, reality slapped her hard in the face.

"Honestly, three perfectly good dice, and now they've all turned into this mess... But needless to say, I'm definitely going to win."

The man's three dice all cracked, and the numbers all faced upwards.

The sum of 3, 4, 3, 4, 2, 5 is 21.

This is the highest number that can be rolled using three dice.

Xiao Wu three dice stacked together, and the result was 3.

And Sin Annihilation—

The sum of 3, 3, 1, and 6 is 13.

She did not break the second die.

His right lung fell out of his Sin Annihilation.

And Xiao Wu once again narrowly escaped death.

This is probably a remnant of the good luck from earlier.

What was lost was the pericardium.

A thin membrane that surrounds the heart and provides protection.

But that luck was gone forever; next time, she would undoubtedly die from heart failure.

"Hey... I said, what are you doing?!"

Even if the second one were to Sin Annihilation, it wouldn't make any difference in this situation, yet she didn't take any new actions!

Had she, like herself just moments before, given up hope?

Sin Annihilation simply lowered his head, his body trembling slightly.

His already pale skin became even more bloodless.

"Why... did you... give up? At this crucial moment?"

The trembling of Sin Annihilation remains.

She slightly raised her head.

Sadness was evident in her silvery-white eyes.

Although she no longer had a tongue, her slightly parted lips still conveyed her pain.

"(I don't want Xiao Wu to get hurt again.)"

"----!!!!!"

Don't want to get hurt again?

Is that the reason?

Did I unknowingly place too much pressure on her?

In the end, the pain she suffered became the shackles that bound her?

However, if the Sin Annihilation doesn't recover—

"Haha, looks like I won my bet."

Despite his terrible complexion, the man still smiled.

"From the very beginning, I was betting—betting that one of you would feel guilty because of your partner's suffering, and ultimately give up hope of winning due to the immense pressure... It seems I really made the right bet. Well then, without further ado, let's continue."

This time, it's truly the final game.

"Sin Annihilation..."

The man picked up the dice cup, Xiao Wu hesitated for a moment before picking up hers as well.

Sin Annihilation didn't move; her hands were trembling violently, and she stopped several times when she tried to reach for the dice cup.

"The Sin Annihilation is about to begin!"

"...(sob)..."

For the first time, Sin Annihilation felt so helpless.

In the end, will Xiao Wu be hurt whether he competes seriously or takes no action?

But if Xiao Wu loses again this time, she really will lose her heart!

What to do! What to do? What to do!!!

"Tsk tsk, if you don't pick up the dice cup soon, it'll be considered a forfeit! 3--2--1--Start!"

The man threw the dice into the dice cup as usual and began to shake it vigorously.

And Xiao Wu--

"... Ha," he laughed.

"In the end, is it because of my sake? If so... that makes things easier."

Without her noticing, the gloom on her face had completely vanished.

Instead, smiles appeared.

The smile of Enlightened One.

In the end, you can't catch a wolf without risking your cub...

With a loud bang, she slammed the dice cup, still containing the dice, onto the table.

An action similar to abstaining.

For a moment, the man even thought that Xiao Wu had finally gone mad.

But her eyes were bright and piercing.

She made this insane decision while in a state of absolute lucidity.

"To be reborn from the ashes—that's a truly apt saying!"

Boom!!!!

The moment the words left his mouth, a heavy punch, like a pile driver, slammed down.

The dice cup that had witnessed this game was the one Xiao Wu had always used.

The inverted cylindrical object crumbled at the touch of this fist, glittering fragments scattering in the air, mixed with shards of the shattered dice.

Xiao Wu destroyed her own game item.

"You, you..."

"Hey, Fatty."

"You... what exactly...?"

"I... I cheated, didn't I?"

"Ah?"

Xiao Wu gave the astonished man a mocking smile.

"I said, didn't I cheat? As a participant, I even destroyed the game's props. What is this if not cheating?"

"This... strictly speaking, it is indeed cheating... what exactly... wait, could it be that you!?"

At this point, the punishment for the cheaters arrived as scheduled.

"Gurgle--Ooh! Ughh..."

Her upright posture crumbled instantly. The sudden, intense pain caused her back to arch like a shrimp, and her hands involuntarily scratched at her body as if countless insects were crawling inside her! The icy tearing pain and the burning, bursting pain swept over her body at the same time, as if ice cubes and bombs had been stuffed into her body at the same time, causing unbearable pain!

Even with Xiao Wu's strong will, she couldn't help but scream in agony, as if the sound of a water balloon bursting was constantly emanating from her body! All her organs began to rupture on their own! Spleen, lungs, kidneys, liver, heart, stomach, intestines—not a single organ was spared! With her self-healing power ineffective, such a horrific punishment was absolutely fatal!

"!!!! (Xiao Wu!!! What are you doing!?)"

Faced with the utterly shocking Sin Annihilation, Xiao Wu could only grimace, suppressing her pain.

"Alright, now... I'm definitely going to die, right? So, since there's no saving me, you don't need to worry about me anymore. Hurry up, just focus on winning! Now... it's a battle between the two of you! Quick! Right now! Win him!!!"

"--!!!"

Although these words were spoken haltingly, suppressed by pain, they exploded in Sin Annihilation's ears like a thunderclap! In that instant, Sin Annihilation lost all thoughts, forgot everything around him, picked up the dice, threw them into the dice cup, and the only thing still echoing in his heart was Xiao Wu's last three words—"I beat him!"

The two dice cups danced in the air simultaneously, the clatter of the dice never louder! This sound would be the drumbeat of one of their victories, and the death Death Knell of the other!

"--Stop! Start!!!"

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This game of Gwent (just kidding!) is finally over! Here's a 4000-word (I guess that's a long one) post, wiping away sweat.