Click-clack.
The sound of heels echoed—an odd match for the nun’s habit—as the saint entered. Without hesitation, she sat on the sofa as if it were her designated spot. It was the seat reserved for guests.
Watching her settle in so casually, Eight discreetly activated the ergency summoning protocol on his wristwatch.
“Oh, you shouldn’t do that.”
The mont the saint spoke, Eight felt sothing grip him, freezing him in place. Though invisible and intangible, he could sense an unseen force enveloping him.
Telekinesis? Eight wondered. He had never heard of the saint possessing such an ability, let alone one capable of interfering with radio signals. This was likely sothing far beyond ordinary telekinesis...
“...What is this? More importantly, how did you get in here?”
“It’s not polite to speak so informally. Aren’t you an intellectual? Let’s be civil with each other.”
“And yet here you are, sneaking into my lab...”
“And you, sneaking into my chapel?”
“Let’s call it even?”
As the saint nodded in agreent, Eight forced himself to calm down. He wasn’t alone here, and the longer he stalled, the more advantageous the situation beca for him. After all, this was the headquarters of an evil organization. If other executives happened to stumble in and notice her, he wouldn’t even need to summon them—they’d deal with her imdiately.
And if enough executives gathered, they could subdue the saint and figure out her motives afterward.
“...Alright, Ms. Saint—or should I say, Ms. Lizebel.”
“Oh my, when did you learn my na? I don’t even know yours.”
“It’s Eight. But how did you find without even knowing my na?”
Eight posed the question that had been bothering him the most. How had she detected his presence, and how had she managed to reach this place undetected?
Lizebel smiled brightly in response.
“By bus?”
“This isn’t the ti for jokes.”
“Hmm... but I’m not joking. What’s the best way to explain it? I guess you could say I got lucky?”
The saint tilted her head, seemingly lost in thought, before exclaiming as if a light bulb had gone off.
“Let’s say there’s a lottery that absolutely no one can win.”
“...Excuse ? What does that have to do with—”
“Just hear out. Imagine a lottery so improbable that even if humanity spent its entire existence buying tickets, no one would ever win. But does that an it’s truly unwinnable?”
“It’s not. Soone would win eventually.”
No matter how astronomically low the odds, probability always dictated that it would happen soday. If a monkey typed randomly on a keyboard for eternity, it would eventually write Shakespeare’s plays.
“Well, that’s exactly how I got here!”
“That... makes no sense. Are you saying you succeeded because it was theoretically possible? That sounds like—”
“Like what?”
“...Like you can manipulate those odds.”
“Exactly. I can.”
The saint nonchalantly revealed her ability, showing no hint of fear or concern. And why would she? Eight had seen firsthand what soone with such power could accomplish.
This was the sa power that had allowed her to beco the ruler of an entire city without directly influencing the world herself. What if soone with fewer restraints wielded such power? The possibilities were terrifying.
Yet Eight remained skeptical.
Manipulating probabilities?
That didn’t add up. After their confrontation with the divine spirits, Evilus Corporation and the city had put asures in place to block any artificial probability manipulation, even against beings with transcendent abilities.
All of that should still be in effect.
Moreover, the unseen force restraining him was perplexing. Was this just a matter of her manipulating the odds of his muscles seizing and his watch malfunctioning at the sa ti?
There was no way the saint’s abilities surpassed those of a divine spirit. Eight beca certain that her power wasn’t rely probability manipulation.
“...So, why would soone so impressive co all the way here?”
“I was curious about the people trying to kill .”
“Excuse ? Kill you? What are you talking about...”
“You and your colleague sneaked into my chapel to assassinate , didn’t you?”
“That? We just cut the line because we didn’t want to wait.”
The saint blinked in confusion, staring at Eight. Eight stared back, his expression as blank as hers.
After a mont of awkward silence, the saint spoke hesitantly.
“...Really?”
“...Yes.”
The lab fell into a heavy quiet. Eight only felt the unseen force release him when the saint broke the silence with an apology.
“I’m so sorry for the misunderstanding! I’ll co back properly next ti! Officially!”
Bowing repeatedly, the saint apologized as she carefully exited the lab. Watching her leave, Eight debated whether to call for the full assembly of the organization but ultimately let her go.
After all, her ability made it clear she couldn’t be stopped even if they tried. Indeed, the saint left the lab and the building without encountering any resistance.
“She’s gone~.”
“Yes. It seems so.”
After her departure, Six, who had been standing guard beside Eight, finally spoke. It was surprising she hadn’t leaped at the saint, given her earlier talk about killing her.
Yet, instead of showing any regret or aggression, Six looked entirely nonchalant as she watched the bus carrying the saint disappear into the distance.
“You were talking about killing her?”
“Hmm... It felt like sothing was stopping when I thought about it~.”
“You too?”
“Wait, you an you as well?”
“Yes. For , it felt like invisible hands holding back.”
As the two shared their experiences, Eight began analyzing the saint’s abilities. Seeing what cannot be seen, touching what cannot be touched, and accomplishing what should be impossible...
The first possibility that ca to mind was a reversal of concepts, the kind of ability you’d only find in a comic book. Sothing that allowed her to make what she couldn’t do possible.
But the idea didn’t fully explain her actions. It accounted for her abilities but not for her influence—the vast congregation of followers she had amassed.
The followers didn’t change overnight. They witnessed miracles, inspiring their belief in the saint and her faith.
This wasn’t sothing achievable through concept reversal alone. If she could brainwash millions of people, there was no reason she wouldn’t have done so on an even grander scale.
The fact that she hadn’t taken over humanity proved her limits. Yet she clearly wasn’t disinterested in leadership, given her active role in the church.
What could it be? An ability that manipulates probabilities and wields powers like telekinesis...
After pondering for a long ti, Eight sighed.
It was complicated, but not impossible.
Especially if her power stemd from a being that could observe this world from above...
“Honestly! Why didn’t You warn about this!”
Pouting, the saint puffed her cheeks in protest. It was her way of expressing frustration to the deity she served. But her god rely wagged its tail in response, offering no explanation.
Even after years of observing her god, the saint couldn’t decipher its gestures. Understandably so—it had never displayed such a reaction before.
Unbeknownst to the saint, the tail’s wag signified the deity’s unique ability: to view this world’s past, present, and future simultaneously. It was this power that had enabled her to infiltrate the Evilus headquarters undetected.
“Hmm? Don’t go back there again? Why not?”
“...Just because? No, I want a proper explanation—”
“Are you sulking? Fine, I won’t go again!”
But in the future it foresaw,
Eight no longer existed.
That fact chilled it to its core.
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