“Russia has officially declared its surrender. General Vasily Gerasimov, current Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and acting president since the Moscow catastrophe, has…”
Beep.
“Eastern European countries, particularly Ukraine and Belarus, which suffered severe damage from yesterday’s catastrophe in Moscow, are mobilizing all available forces along their borders…”
Beep.
“We now bring you an update on the current disaster. Over the past eleven days, the world has seen an average of more than four Monster Waves and around fifty Mutated Gate incidents every day.”
“That’s truly horrifying news. Amy, what about the magical power distribution?”
“I’m afraid I have bad news, Steve. Today’s magical power distribution rose by 2.8 points.”
“What?”
“Yes. A full 2.8 points. If you’re having trouble judging what that means, take a close look at this graphic.”
“Here, it says the daily increase was 5.0 points. What’s the problem, you ask? This graph shows how magical power distribution changed at the beginning of the Great Cataclysm.”
“In other words, we’ve caught up to more than half of the magical power levels from the Great Cataclysm. In the Middle East, where Monster Waves and Mutated Gate incidents have been occurring in particularly high numbers, it’s no exaggeration to say that a second Great Cataclysm has begun.”
“And on top of that, the situation around Moscow is already… I’m sure you all know. There’s only one thing I can say.”
“May God be with you.”
Beep.
“Breaking news. Morgoth has accepted Russia’s surrender. As of 16:30 South Standard Time, the Russian Federation will disarm completely and, like the twenty-odd countries that surrendered before it, retain its current system of government.”
“Meanwhile, a large number of Hunter groups opposed to the decision have reportedly engaged monsters in battles throughout Russia…”
Beep.
“…I agree with part of what you’re saying. Our situation is extremely difficult right now.”
“Should we take that to mean humanity ought to surrender?”
“Not at all. I’m simply speaking on the basis of statistical evidence.”
“But according to what you said earlier, Doctor, humanity has no chance of defeating Morgoth, does it?”
“I’m beginning to wonder if your ears are attached to your anus. As I’ve told you several times, the chance is exactly 5.2 percent.”
“That’s an embarrassingly low probability. I’m sure our viewers are thinking the same thing.”
“I won’t deny the odds are low. But understand this: compared with when the Great Cataclysm first began, that figure is dramatically higher.”
“I know. According to that excellent paper that even won you a Nobel Prize, the figure was 0.2 percent.”
“Congratulations. Unlike your ears, your eyes seem to be in the right place.”
“Thank you. But I can’t overlook the fact that the 0.2 percent in your paper applied only to the period before Sky appeared.”
“True. But even Sky—”
“—had less than a 20 percent chance of winning right up until the final battle with the Demon King Asmodeus. Yes, I know. But unlike then, humanity has another option now, doesn’t it?”
“You!”
“It’s a reality too appalling to say aloud, but we can’t ignore it forever. Before it’s too late, we need to face the problem in front of us. Don’t you agree?”
“……”
“Thirty years ago, we had no choice. We could only resist with everything we had. But Morgoth is offering peace, and the countries that surrendered to him have kept their governments and are calming their people.”
“……Morgoth is a monster. A fucking monster. Do you really not understand what that cunning bastard wants?”
“I know exactly what people want. Peace. A chance to protect the lives of the people they love.”
“Bullshit. Listen, young man, cut the nonsense. You’re nothing but a despicable coward. You’re hypnotizing yourself into thinking you speak for all of humanity while arguing that we should offer up a living sacrifice. And not just anyone—two heroes who’ve done more for us than anyone else.”
“Sky and Jin are heroes who’ll be remembered throughout human history. I’m grateful for their sacrifices, too.”
“If that’s true, then shut your damn mouth and go home right now. Hug your family, one by one. Then go to your study and take out the pistol you’ve hidden there. No need to bother writing a will. Everyone watching this broadcast, myself included, knows why you need to die.”
“My, how rude. I’m simply saying I expect those two to choose a noble sacrifice of their own accord, as great heroes would, for the sake of billions of people—”
“Fine. Then I have no choice.”
“What?”
“Go to hell, you son of a bitch.”
Bang! Bang-bang!
“Aaah!”
“Fuck! Healer! Get a healer in here, now!”
“Doctor, calm down and put the gun down! This is a warn—”
BEEEEEP!
“We apologize for the unfortunate incident during our live broadcast. We will do everything we can to resolve the situation—”
Beep.
At last, silence settled over the room. The Skeleton King stared without a word at the holographic TV, now giving off only a dim glow. Then he spoke.
“Humans.”
His voice was thick with unconcealed disgust. Chuck Hagel, who had been staring at the whiskey bottle on the table, answered him.
“As a human, I have to say, that’s a weird thing to listen to.”
“Why don’t you try arguing against it, then?”
“I’m not going to. He wasn’t wrong. Especially that last guy. He deserved to get shot.”
The Skeleton King nodded.
Even he thought the old doctor, the foremost scholar on the Great Cataclysm and magical power, had handled the situation admirably.
The man looked to be in his nineties and, far from being Awakened, seemed to need a shot of stimulants just to move. But America’s venerable martial art of gun-fu had no age limit.
“Do you think he survived?”
“He wasn’t hit in the head, so probably.”
“Pity.”
“I agree completely. But it’s better for that guy to stay alive. If he died there, it could actually hurt public opinion.”
“……Fair enough.”
In the silence that followed, the Skeleton King replayed the scenes he’d seen on TV.
Anxiety and fear boiling over everywhere.
The magical power distribution soaring toward the levels of the Great Cataclysm—and the nonsense now being broadcast openly across the world.
Things were happening everywhere that the Skeleton King simply couldn’t understand.
“You human, steeped in alcohol and tobacco. May I ask you something?”
“I quit drinking and smoking a few hours ago, but go ahead.”
“What is the essence of humanity?”
“That’s a difficult question. Philosophy isn’t really my field.”
“I already know you’re not particularly intelligent, so don’t worry.”
“……Fine.”
Chuck Hagel glared at the Skeleton King, then shrugged.
“All of it.”
“All of it?”
“Yeah. Everything you’ve seen and felt while you’ve been with us. That’s what I think, anyway.”
“Humans are stupid enough to make me want to crack open their skulls and examine their brains, and so greedy and cowardly it’s hard to believe. That’s their essence?”
“I wish I could deny it, but that’s part of it, too. It isn’t all you’ve seen, though, is it?”
Of course it wasn’t.
If all the Skeleton King had ever seen were those ugly sides of humanity, he never would have lived among them in human form.
He liked humans.
He’d always felt different from ordinary monsters. Ever since he’d met a human in the dark forest inside a Gate, he’d stayed with them.
But…
“Even so, this… This shouldn’t be possible.”
“Listen, my bony friend. There’s no such thing as impossible.”
Chuck Hagel ran his fingers over the whiskey bottle, still unopened after several hours, as if testing the limits of his own patience. Then he added:
“Things that should never happen are happening anyway.”
“Then…”
“Right. More people will start agreeing with that damn ‘noble sacrifice’ the guy who just got shot was talking about. Humanity’s running out of time, but it has a choice.”
“Even if humans have an evil side, they’d offer up the heroes who risked their lives fighting for them?”
“Offer them up? What are you talking about?”
“……?”
“I said ‘sacrifice.’ That’s what they really want. To look away without getting their hands dirty or taking the blame. To leave the people they’d sacrifice with no choice but to decide for themselves.”
“……!”
“The biggest problem is that Jin is exactly the kind of person who’d do it.”
For a moment, the Skeleton King bit down on his lip without realizing it.
Chuck was right.
That was the kind of human Jin Taekyung was.
He was always scolding and teasing the Skeleton King, but he carried a heavier burden than anyone else in the world.
And that made the Skeleton King more anxious than ever.
If the world wanted him dead, Jin Taekyung was exactly the sort of person who would sacrifice himself.
“That’s ridiculous. Even if that treacherous human… even if Jin Taekyung sacrificed himself alongside Sky, how could we be sure Morgoth would keep his promise?”
“Humans see what they want to see and believe what they want to believe. Morgoth knows that all too well.”
It was true.
As the news had just reported, Morgoth had kept his promise.
He’d left the governments of the twenty-odd countries that had declared their surrender in place, Russia among them, and completely stopped his monsters from killing people.
And that had given people hope.
Hope that Morgoth was different from the Demon King Asmodeus.
Hope that, even if they could no longer enjoy the freedom they’d had before, countless lives could be saved.
“But the chance that Morgoth will kill those two and break his promise…”
“Is overwhelmingly high. There’s no question about it. At least, we know that with absolute certainty. But do you think people, half-crazed with fear, are going to think that way?”
Chuck Hagel continued, his voice growing rougher.
“By the time those bastards realize their mistake, it’ll be too late. The only Hunter who can fight Morgoth right now will be inside that bastard’s stomach.”
As Chuck’s voice rang with pent-up anger, a thought suddenly flashed through the Skeleton King’s mind.
Comments
Comments need a network connection.