Gamble Fish 48

Chapter 48

01

Text: Magic lies in those lips. She can use them to lead men's dice astray...
Title: Fight 48: True Judgment Fire

02

Tomu: We'll change the rules so that neither of us can cheat in "True Judgment Fire".
Tomu: Are you brave enough to take me on, Hanasaki Mayo?

Mayo: Heh. You're just using your words to try to drag me into your realm.
Mayo: Did you really think I would go along with that?

Margin: The death match begins!!

03

Abidani: Ha ha ha!! I already told you. I've determined you to be the loser of this match, Shirasagi!!
Abidani: That means the winner of the three dice matches is my Seminar at a score of 2-1!!

Tomu: Abidani. Don't you want a true victory?
Tomu: Don't you want to smell my body burning?

Tomu: There are still some witch dice left, right?
Tomu: Let me see them.

04

Tomu: Under the new rules, it would still be the same basic game.
Tomu: The results of three dice would be divided between the two players to determine the points.

Tomu: If we take out the 6 dice that have already had their centers of gravity shifted...
SFX: Push aside

Tomu: We still have 4 dice...
Tomu: where the center of gravity is still in the very center.

Tomu: To prevent cheating, the 4 dice would be wrapped in this handkerchief...
Tomu: and you must blindly grab the dice you want to use.

05

Mizuhara: I see. Even if you put some kind of mark on the dice, you wouldn't be able to see it.
Natsumi: You couldn't cheat in the choosing of your dice!!

Tomu: First, the leader would choose 2 and then the follower would choose 1.
Tomu: The leader can choose whatever result he wishes.

Mayo: Choose?

Tomu: The leader won't roll the dice, he will directly place them in the bowl.
Tomu: We can both control the result of the rolling of the dice with heat if we want to, so it's the same thing.

Tomu: But the follower still has to throw the die in to roll it like usual.
Tomu: But unlike the previous rules, he has to do so no matter what the other got.

06

Tomu: If 2 of the 3 dice match, it's a valid round.
Tomu: If the leader has 5-5 and the follower has 2, the leader wins.
Tomu: The sum of the doubles, that's 10 points, would be counted from the followers score.

Tomu: If all 3 dice are different, for instance 2-4-1, the round is invalid and the other player is now the leader.

Tomu: Of course, in case of triples, the follower wins as before.
Tomu: And 6-6-6 means the leader immediately loses and the game is over!! Also the same as before.

07

Tomu: The main difference is that the leader doesn't have to have doubles for it to be a valid round.
Tomu: For instance, if the leader has 1-6...

Tomu: and the follower gets 6, the two sixes let the leader win for 12 points.
Tomu: It has a low chance of victory, but it's a reliable strategy.

Yuka: I see. If you start with doubles, there's the danger of your opponent making it triples.
Tomu: And with different values, it's safe but your success is based on your opponents throw.

Crowd: Doesn't this sound even harsher than the old game!?
Crowd: I think that depends on what you're hoping for.
Crowd: No!! What the leader chooses shows how much guts they have!!
SFX: Chatter

08

Abidani: How silly!!! Even if you selfishly change the rules...
Abidani: you haven't changed the fundamental problem!

Abidani: These rules don't prevent the follower from controlling his die with heat!!
Abidani: If the follower can always make it triples, the leader can never choose doubles!!

Abidani: And when the leader chooses the safe route, the follower will always roll something else, making every round invalid!!
Abidani: The game will still be stuck in a stalemate!!

Tomu: Perhaps...
Tomu: So to completely prevent the follower from controlling his die...

09

Tomu: it will be rolled by you.

10

Mizuhara: Y-you're kidding!! You're letting Abidani roll the die!!?
Natsumi: He's the one person in the entire world you absolutely can't trust!
Natsumi: You're putting your luck in the hands of fate...No, in the hands of Avici!
[TN: Avici is the lowest level of hell in Buddhism. Abidani's name literally means "Avici Valley".]

Tomu: But the best way to prevent cheating is to leave the rolling to a third party.
Tomu: And you could say this is a battle between my luck and your luck.

SFX: Smirk...

Abidani: You've got guts, Shirasagi.
Abidani: You're actually going to bet on a battle of "luck" against me!?

11

Mayo: Heh. If you had just gone along with your loss, you would have only lost the money you bet and your pride.
Mayo: Fine!! I want to see this through to the end, too.

Mayo: But only if we raise the number of points lost!!
Mayo: The leader winning with doubles will be 3 times the dice amount and the follower winning with triples will be 5 times the dice amount!!

Crowd: Th-three times and five times!?
Crowd: So 5-5 would be 10 x 3 or 30 points...
Crowd: And 5-5-5 would be 75 points.
Text: Ohhhh!
Crowd: Depending on what they roll, this could be over in a single round!!

12

Mayo: Of course, we'll be starting where we left off. That makes me the leader.
Mayo: And the pot is currently 33 points above your head.
Tomu: Heh. Giving yourself an obvious advantage I see.

Tomu: With that inflation rule, 33 points could be gone in no time.
Tomu: And I need 167 points to turn this around...

Mizuhara: Uuh...It's true that he's sealed off Hanasaki's magic...
Mizuhara: but he's still in a really bad position.
Yuka: And now Abidani has control over his die.
Yuka: He claims to be an impartial observer, but he's the leader of the Abidani Seminar!

13

Abidani: We shall restart the game under the new rules!!
Abidani: The dice used are the last 4 witch dice!!

Abidani: As you can see, I've put them in the handkerchief!!

Abidani: First, Hanasaki will choose her 2!!

Mayo: Shirasagi...
Mayo: Let me reveal one secret to you.
SFX: Reach forward...

14

Mayo: As you have shown, these dice have an alloy in them that fuses at 45 degrees.
SFX: Reach in
Mayo: But these are not trick dice created for this match.
Mayo: They truly were made in 16th century France.

Mayo: It's surprising they had the technology to do it at that time, but the 16th century was the golden age of alchemy.
Mayo: It isn't too surprising that an alchemist in that time discovered a special alloy.

Mayo: Most likely an influential person at the time used these dice for evil. They most likely betrayed a political opponent or business rival with them.
Mayo: They could have had the person executed by showing them to be a witch by demonstrating that that person would always roll 666, the devil's number.

Margin: (* At the time, men were tried as witches too.)

15

Tomu: I see...
Tomu: And it's still a mystery what heat source you're using to control the dice.

SFX: Pull out...

Tomu: Here is the 3rd die.
Abidani: Yes...

Abidani: I will fulfill my duty and roll this die.
Abidani: Okay, Hanasaki!! Line up your 2 dice!!

Crowd: What will Hanasaki choose!?
SFX: Chatter
Crowd: Will she choose the safe route for now!?
Crowd: Or will she start off strong and choose doubles!?

16

Mayo: This is already over.
Mayo: I will win with this round!!!

Mayo: Shirasagi. You must think I have a heat source hidden somewhere in the table.
Mayo: You're confident that I can't manipulate the dice in the handkerchief.
Mayo: But that is a fatal error!!

Mayo: With practice, people can use self-hypnosis to control the flow of blood in their body and alter their body temperature.
Mayo: And I have also taken a poisonous plant that sends your temperature regulating hormones out of control so I can raise any part of my body to almost 50 degrees for a short period of time!!

17

Mayo: The heat source I used to manipulate the dice is my own right hand!!!

18

Mayo: I felt the dice to determine which way they were facing inside the handkerchief...
Mayo: and have already altered the centers of gravity of the 2 dice Shirasagi had to choose from!!

Mayo: No matter which one he chose, he will get 1!!

Abidani: Okay, Hanasaki!! Put your dice in the bowl...
SFX: Push!!

SFX: Put down

19

Mizuhara: 6-6!!?
Yuka: Damn it. She knows she can lose with 6-6-6.
Yuka: She's betting it all on this round!!

Mayo: If you get anything but 6, I get 36 points and win.
Mayo: This ends now, gambler!!

Tomu: We'll see. I can win this if I get 6!!
Tomu: This is the end for the Witch of Shishidou!!

Abidani: Ha ha ha ha ha!! Are you both ready!?

20

Abidani: In the name of Abidani, I bring you the Final Judgment!!!
Text: The flow of the battle has started up again!! The judgment of horrifying luck comes now!!