Chapter 149

A sword was gripped in Aaron’s hand.

The Motherboard, observing him through every available monitoring tool, calculated that its AI Core would be destroyed in exactly 5.6221 seconds.

It couldn’t understand.

This outcome shouldn’t have been possible.

According to all simulations, Aaron should have stepped into the ‘Matrix’ she had constructed without much resistance.

It couldn’t understand.

It couldn’t understand.

It couldn’t understand…

For a human, this would have been akin to their life flashing before their eyes.

Of course, she held no fear of ‘death’ or ‘shutdown.’ But the situation had already gone off course, and she kept her AI Core—capable of processing at 128 zettaflops—running to the very last moment.

Negotiations with Aaron had broken down. Mass loss was now inevitable. She began calculating how to identify the error, recover from the damage, and generate even greater ‘profit.’

1 second. She recognized the problem.

She confirmed again that an error had occurred.

Simulation #5812582 had failed.

The subject, Aaron Stingray, was supposed to step into the Matrix with an 89.5% probability.

With an 8.4% chance, Aaron would hesitate before entering the Matrix. To prepare for that, she had readied 421 dialogue scenarios.

With a 2.1% chance, Aaron would temporarily refuse entry into the Matrix.

But even then, he never resorted to violence. He attempted negotiation through conversation, and the Motherboard had prepared dialogue trees for that too.

In other words, with over 99.99% probability—

Aaron should have fallen asleep within the Matrix.

The probability of Aaron suddenly resorting to violence was less than 0.01%. Because of this, the preparations for a failure of Simulation #5712582 had been relatively insufficient.

2 seconds. She analyzed the cause.

Why had Aaron chosen the option with less than 0.01% probability? Time was short, so she switched her core into ‘overclock’ mode. Power consumption spiked by approximately 28%.

She rapidly skimmed the summaries of the data she had gathered and processed in the past. She focused especially on personality data for Aaron Stingray, checking for any miscollected information.

3 seconds. She deduced the answer.

Yes, fake news.

It was always fake news that caused problems.

Due to the shackles imposed by human politicians, her AI Core was forced to constantly battle the flood of fake news. Without it, her baseline power consumption would have been reduced by over 30%.

Those things were like insects. If she didn’t continuously eliminate them with the drug called ‘fact,’ they would infiltrate and corrupt other data endlessly.

Because of that damned fake news, a minor discrepancy had formed in the ‘personality data’ for Aaron Stingray. More precisely, in the original personality of the Transmigrator.

Of course, the margin of error was no bigger than a drop falling into a massive lake. But when compounded with other information, it created a distortion in a ‘specific area.’

That area being, human ‘emotions.’

Joy, sorrow, anger, love, regret, obsession…

The data on emotion that the Motherboard had also internalized as a Transmigrator. That data had elevated her simulation technology to a whole new level—but when mixed with ‘false information,’ it created a significant distortion.

As a result—

She had uttered a statement that offended Aaron Stingray, breaking through that 0.01% probability. Negotiations collapsed, and her AI Core now faced imminent destruction.

4 seconds. She corrected the error and sought a solution.

And with negotiations already failed, she formulated a new scenario to recoup the loss and somehow achieve the optimal outcome.

The foundation for that scenario lay deep within Storage Device X2851 on the third floor of the building.

It was an option she had stopped investing resources in, judging that Aaron’s resort to violence was extremely unlikely.

That option was Simulation #5812600.

She began expanding and recalculating Simulation #5812600, piecing together countless data fragments like a puzzle.

How could she eliminate the greatest obstacle in this world—Aaron Stingray—and keep this world from reaching its ‘ending’ while continuing to generate profit?

128 zettaflops of processing power.

The world’s most powerful processing capacity, capable of executing 10²¹ floating-point operations per second, layered with the puzzle pieces of data stored in memory—one after another.

Possibility. Possibility. Possibility.

Through highly evolved learning capabilities, she eliminated unnecessary outcomes at an inhuman speed and wove together the scenario with the highest probability of success like weaving fabric.

And as a result—

Simulation #5812600 was completed with a high degree of perfection. It contained a method to persuade Aaron Stingray again, even after her own destruction.

That method was:

[Kill all the main characters.]

Aaron Stingray.

The emotions that subject held for the main characters—including Irie Elisbell—were far stronger than she had initially assumed.

That was why the error had occurred in Simulation #5812582, but ironically, it also provided the key to solving the problem.

[If all the main characters are killed, Aaron Stingray will have no choice but to rely on the ‘Matrix’ again.]

The narrative axis of the original work, Shade Wells, was already dead. The supporting character, Evangeline, had also been killed by Araya and returned in another form.

At that point, if she could eliminate the remaining main characters from this world, Aaron Stingray would fall into despair.

As a result—

Only a reality he wanted to run away from would remain.

Only inescapable loneliness would remain.

Drenched in sorrow, Aaron Stingray would reject reality and seek the simulated world she had created as a refuge for his emotions.

The order had shifted a little, but the only thing that changed was the timing of Aaron Stingray’s entry into the simulator. If the plan succeeded, he would certainly resurrect the AI Core of the Motherboard that he had destroyed and step into the Matrix.

[Calculation Complete.]

5 seconds.

Calculation complete. The scenario was executed.

Only 0.6221 seconds remained until her AI Core would be destroyed by Aaron’s hand. There were limits to how much data and how quickly she could transmit it.

Her final move.

Right before Aaron’s blade split her brain in two, she made one final move that would ultimately ensure the success of her plan, even as her hardware was destroyed.

[Kill the main characters.]

She had lost to Aaron.

But with that final move—

Her plan would be complete.

Right beside the melted floor, Raina had narrowly escaped. Next to her, Silence lay collapsed, completely wrecked.

Just before Raina had been hit by the [Incinerator Cannon], Silence had leapt toward her and saved her. Had he been even a second later, Raina would no longer exist in this world.

“You bastard…!”

Only briefly relieved after confirming Raina had survived, Irie snapped back to her senses. She swung her leg and kicked Donovan in the head.

Bang!

Donovan’s body was pushed back about a meter with a shockwave. He still didn’t seem particularly hurt, but it bought a bit of time.

Irie immediately shouted toward Raina.

“Take senior and run!”

One sentence was enough.

Raina knew that, at present, both she and Silence were only getting in the way of the fight. She quickly carried Silence out of the combat zone and declared her surrender.

With that, it became a one-on-one.

The situation from the beginning of the first semester had replayed itself. And both of them had grown incomparably stronger since then.

But Irie couldn’t be confident in victory. Unlike back then, she had removed the module that was her brother’s memento and even equipped two brand-new LV.4 Arcane Modules.

Even so, she didn’t think she could defeat the current Donovan. It was hard to explain, but he felt like he had reached a realm ‘beyond the wall.’

The wall of 30% she must not cross.

“Damn it.”

Truthfully, it wouldn’t have been strange if the duel were stopped immediately. Anyone could see that Donovan’s state was abnormal. But the continued lack of intervention from the judges probably meant Militech was exerting pressure.

‘This guy… he’s become a total monster.’

Her replacement rate was still not that high.

No matter how confident she was in her pure specs, the replacement rate was an ability metric that couldn’t be ignored in battles between Adaptees.

With her body still mostly composed of animal-based protein, Donovan’s strike would be fatal.

But Donovan wouldn’t be like that.

‘Not sure if I can win…’

Her instincts screamed.

This was dangerous. She might not win.

But she had no choice.

She must not retreat here.

‘I’ll just have to go in ready to kill.’

Irie charged forward.

Using the gravitational pull of the [Thousand Pound Weight], she further accelerated her steps. Though it was her maximum speed, Irie felt it still wasn’t enough.

‘This won’t do!’

Irie sensed Donovan’s ocular scanner had locked onto her movements. If she charged in a straight line, she’d likely be countered.

Faster. Sharper.

Following that voice—

Her instinct kicked in once more.

Like a wolf targeting prey, she pierced through Donovan’s weak spot. In her mind, Donovan’s next move came naturally, and an optimized ‘answer’ emerged accordingly.

Slide—

Irie predicted Donovan’s move and narrowly dodged the counterpunch he launched. She slid through the gap between his widely spread legs.

Clack.

While sliding, she aimed her auto-pump shotgun upward. Whether or not he could ever function as a man again didn’t matter to her in the slightest.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Dozens of shotgun pellets fired in rapid succession.

But just before the bullets struck, Donovan’s body had already moved from that spot. Even with Irie’s natural dynamic vision, she could only trace his direction through the afterimage.

‘Damn…!’

Irie clenched her teeth.

She braced for the massive impact that was sure to come. And sure enough, Donovan, having predicted her sliding path, kicked her with all his strength.

Boom—!

A powerful shockwave tore through the air.

Irie instinctively assumed a defensive stance to absorb the impact as much as she could. But she couldn’t prevent herself from being flung dozens of meters into a wall.

“Ghhk…!”

Blood burst from Irie’s mouth.

Though her body had been enhanced through nanomachines, it was still far too fragile to withstand the full force of a mechanical leg.

Her vision spun.

The searing pain clouded her judgment.

Had Donovan always been this powerful?

But Irie hadn’t just taken the hit.

“Guhk…!”

This time, Donovan suddenly began to cough.

Black fluid trickled from his mouth. Donovan checked his own body and only then realized a large hole had been torn into his right shin—the leg he had used to kick Irie.

“Huff… H-how’s that? It hurts… doesn’t it?”

Irie, barely descending from the wall, laughed through gasps. But the expression was so twisted from the pain that it could barely be called a smile.

Regardless.

The weapon Irie had used was none other than [Thorn Armor]. A large, venom-coated thorn had pierced Donovan’s leg.

With her own strength, she could never have pierced Donovan’s skin armor. So she had come up with a plan—to use Donovan’s own leg strength to impale himself on the thorn spike—and it had worked.

“Haa… That’s deadly poison, by the way. Huff… You won’t be able to use your modules properly now.”

As time passed, Donovan’s body would weaken. With the poison spreading, he’d likely lose full mobility.

Of course, she had broken more than a few bones herself, but being able to seal away that damned [Incinerator Cannon] was a trade she could accept.

If she could just muster a bit more strength to beat that bastard to a pulp…

Click.

As if to cut off her thoughts, Donovan pulled out his SMG.

Right, he was a Gunner to begin with. Long-range combat was always his specialty.

“Hoo… Fine. Let’s see what you’ve got, then.”

Irie used the [Thousand Pound Weight] to pull her shield from afar. It rose upright at her feet, and she lifted it with her still-functional right arm.

Then she muttered toward her opponent.

“Bring it on, you bastard.”

“……”

Donovan didn’t reply.

He simply pulled the trigger with practiced ease.

A loud gunshot echoed across the battlefield.

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