Liebe also acquired strong defense with his transformation into a monster. So much so, that a beam could not pierce him.
However, even if the beam did not work, Qualia could not get flustered. He sensed the damage the beam caused, and simply used it as feedback.
Rather than being swallowed by fear of the vengeful apparition, he carried on his duty as a guardian knight.
His priority was making sure no more ‘tasty’ was lost.
“Analyzing situation. Registering Quiet Ghost’s toughness. Estimating that six shots are necessary to pierce the dark matter, that is assumed to be the core.”
He followed his optimized solution, and pulled the trigger of the photon weapon six times.
The six streaks of light rushed towards Quiet Ghost like a meteor shower. And although it should be unseen, unheard, and impossible to feel, Qualia’s aim was on the mark.
Quiet Ghost fully activated Stealth, and ran around in three dimensions to instinctively try to escape the beams.
But even that trajectory was within Qualia’s expectations.
Even Quiet Ghost, hatred turned into a monster, had the beast person Liebe at its core. And since Qualia was already done learning Liebe, the calculations for the optimal solutions were already done.
And so, all he had to do was use the optimal solution based on Liebe. He just had to work out the points that changed since he turned into Quiet Ghost, and calculate the optimal solution again.
And it was already done.
“No prediction revisions.”
As a result, the six beams were not off even by one millimeter, and all landed in the same place. All of them pierced Quiet Ghost’s core.
Quiet Ghost was extinguished.
“…Ina, Ina, Ina, before I forget, I…”
And then, it regenerated.
The dark matter manifested again, and was forming into Quiet Ghost.
“It can still recover…”
“You already knew that, didn’t you? Steel yourself. If you don’t want to die.”
Said Kernel to the knight showing signs of weakness.
They might have had to defeat it a thousand times.
It might have recovered even after a hundred million times.
Once you added the fear of Stealth to the guillotine, and the despair of the unending ghost, it was natural that the hearts of the humans standing before it began to falter.
But Qualia continued to learn the peculiarities of this ghost.
And he had already learned that destroying it with beams would only be a temporary solution.
He never considered eliminating it with the photon weapon. His optimized solution began now.
“Conjecture. Quiet Ghost’s properties are close to a magic stone’s. In that case…”
Quiet Ghost disappeared from everyone’s sights once again.
The knights held their swords ready, even as their faces twitched in fear of decapitation.
Meanwhile, Qualia predicted where it would appear next, and ran.
“Calculating next position. Estimated to be above Ina’s head.”
Qualia’s eyes were on Ina, who was sitting on the ground and still composing her breathing.
She was not moving, and desperately fought the fear welling up inside her, when the thing that reminded her of her brother’s death manifested above her head.
The guillotine’s blades were threatening Ina’s head.
“Ina, Ina, is, dead.”
No one perceived it, not even Qualia. All he understood was that his predictions told him Ina was the next one to be targeted.
That was enough.
If he could read Quiet Ghost’s trajectory, he could also work out who would be beheaded. So…
It was also possible for Qualia to push Ina out of the way, and land underneath Quiet Ghost.
“Mister… Qualia?”
After being flung away, Ina finally understood that she was being targeted. That her brother almost killed her. That Qualia stood beneath the guillotine in her place.
Meaning, Qualia would be beheaded.
The worst tragedy would repeat itself.
“No, ah…”
Before she could wail after realizing it, Qualia, who had also learned Ina’s heart, preemptively spoke to her.
“Request understanding. Qualia will not die.”
He soothed Ina’s heart, like he did before the duel with Arrows in the Sandbox domain.
Ina was hyperventilating, because she was made to relive the trauma of her brother’s death via the decapitation of the knights. Even an artificial intelligence that did not know the concept of trauma could learn that from spending time with her.
And because he understood why she cried, Qualia made that promise again.
He thought back to her wish for him to maintain his vital activities, and right after, the guillotine’s blade dropped, heading for his neck.
“…”
Everyone was silent.
The guillotine’s blade dropped to the end, and everyone present could easily imagine it taking a head with it, even if they did not see it.
And suffice to say, Ina, who was close, was frozen in place.
All she could do was hold her breath, as her beloved master’s head was separated from his body.
But blood never reached her face, no matter how long she waited.
In this timeless world, Qualia’s head never fell.
No one saw him die.
“No prediction revisions.”
Qualia’s voice echoed from the other side of the guillotine. And it was a response that confirmed his continued existence.
Just before the cruel blade dropped, Qualia jumped over the guillotine, and into Quiet Ghost.
He accessed the interior of Liebe.
“He’s inside… The ghost? That kid?”
Qualia used the blade as footing, and jumped into the pulsating dark matter that filled his vision.
The main body of the hatred known as Liebe. The thing that would regenerate if shot with a photon weapon.
“Conjecture, again. Quiet Ghost’s properties are close to a magic stone’s. In that case, it is assumed that it can be hacked.”
Ina cried on the other side of the guillotine.
One reason was the relief she felt over Qualia being safe. The other was grief over the twisted shape that her brother had become.
All that could stop her tears was that optimized solution.
All that could release Liebe from that distorted figure was that optimized solution.
Qualia reached into the dark matter, and attempted to do what he did with the magic dolls’ magic stones.
“Qualia will begin to hack Liebe.”
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