[Ara's Point of View]

...

Luto, murdering the other 'me' in front of my very eyes. It seemed as if to him, that was no feat to achieve. It was just... normal. Why did such a monster exist to begin with? It was terrifying. He wasn't corrupted or anything, like Aren, or Helputt. All of this, it was entertainment for him, wasn't it? Simply thinking about these thoughts, they were depressing.

"This is wrong... all of it." I quietly mumbled, staying by Eve's side within the Atomic Shield.

She nodded. "Eve is unsure of how to deal with this."

"I guess we'll just have to believe in the others. I have faith in them." I smiled. "Thank you for staying with me, even though you could be out there helping with the fight..."

The Nasod was silent afterwards, as we observed the battle.

...

No matter how many slashes, kicks, punches, and swings the team could perform, Luto dodged them all, with maybe the rare occasion that he'd willingly take a hit, however small. Was this all just a warm-up for him?

"Hahaha! You guys have to try harder if you want to defeat me!" he chuckled, followed by a cough.

Add clenched his teeth. "Damn it!"

"The key..." Eve was making clever notes as she watched, I presumed.

Amelia was soon blasted back by a beam that Luto shot from his key-rod-object, all the way into the barrier with Eve and I.

"Amelia!" I cried. "H-Hey, a-are you okay? You can stay with me and Eve..."

She stood up fiercely. "No. No, no, no, and no."

"AME!" Ace soon yelled, a tad bit late.

"You're late, Ace. I'm fine-- aye! Agh, no, really, I'm fine. Now shut up and keep fighting." Amelia soon rejoined the gang.

...

Hours, hours, and hours of battling passed. Things weren't progressing very well, and it was a surprise that Luto hadn't struck us yet. The Atomic Shield was still active, Eve was really using most of her energy just to keep it up, to be protected from the projectiles. It would've been even more problematic, according to her, if there were more people inside, since it'd require more mana to project.

"Luto: Approximately 80% of his health remains. Add: 40%. Chung: 50%. Amelia: 15%. Ace: 20%. The situation is dire, the group must proceed with caution..." Eve analyzed.

There was something glimmering in the air. I squinted my eyes at it, but I couldn't exactly tell what it was. I kept a close eye on it as it descended from the skies.

Falling, falling, and falling, until it hit the sturdy floor. There were more of them flying down, but not many. Four shimmering items, but what on Earth could they be?

When I was able to get a closer look, they were illuminating, purplish objects with a blue pattern engraved onto them. Six-sided cubes with a mysterious aura radiating throughout them.

It appeared that everybody had noticed their existence, including Luto. The quarrel had completely ceased in that moment of time.

"No..." Even the retired manager was in shock. "IMPOSSIBLE!" he shouted.

They fell onto the ground. One in front of me, one in front of Eve, and two more with Add and Chung.

The preeminent six-sided cubes.

Dice.

A message soon circulated throughout the room, a soft, gentle, high-pitched voice, coming from the dice.

Wielding the abilities to transcend time and space.

I felt helpless. But was I, really? We had no idea what these cubes did, and what they were capable of, until I reached down to pick one up.

...

---[CHAPTER 24 - DICE : END]---