Chapter 484: Marry Acheron - 484

The detailed scene didn't last long before the view shifted, jumping ahead quite a bit in time. After all, the Scholars' Strife had stretched across a long period, so the Simulated Universe could only pick out a few key moments to observe.

The second of those moments was when the scholars fought over control of the Scepter System left behind by Emperor Rubert II.

The meeting itself wasn't worth watching. The scholars kept using lofty ideals as excuses to force everyone into accepting a deal that gave the four major schools control over the system. Herta could barely hide her contempt.

But in the middle of the meeting, Sylvia caught a glimpse of a candy-colored skirt beneath someone's white academic robe. What struck her as even stranger was that she couldn't make out the woman's face.

"Polka Kakamond!"

Sylvia lowered her head to alert Herta and pointed toward the figure in the distance. The hall was full of shouting and arguments, so Herta didn't hear her at first. But when she followed Sylvia's finger, the woman, who'd been chatting with someone, turned around.

A faint smile of surprise appeared on her blurred face. Her eyes met Sylvia's, but before either of them could react, she vanished into the packed crowd.

Herta didn't chase her. There wasn't any point.

If that'd been the real Polka Kakamond, drawn here by news of their investigation, she'd have attacked them on the spot. She wouldn't have turned and walked away after making eye contact with them.

"That was probably just a simulation."

"So Polka Kakamond was already planning something back when they were dividing up the Emperor's legacy?" Sylvia spread her hands, showing no interest in the power struggle on the stage.

Herta shook her head. "You can't look at it that way. Polka killed Emperor Rubert II, so the Scepter System he left behind should've been on her hit list too. We won't get anywhere by making wild guesses."

Still, they'd spotted Polka at one of the historical moments the Simulated Universe had chosen to highlight. If she'd played a major role in the Scholars' Strife, then her goal might not be that hard to figure out.

"So Polka's the one who brought down the Scepter System? That makes sense, but would she really go out of her way to cover up this part of history just for that?"

Sylvia watched the ugly display of the powerful bullying the weak on the stage. It was like watching ants crawl over a dead genius, tearing away at whatever scraps he'd left behind.

"Maybe she just wanted to stop me from getting my hands on the Scepter System."

Herta raised her chin with pride. What she lacked was knowledge of the Scepter System's structure and logic. If she could study a real Scepter, she was confident she could upgrade the Simulated Universe's computing framework into a complete Scepter System.

As far as Herta was concerned, that was most likely what Polka Kakamond wanted to prevent. When you combined one genius's mind with another genius's computing power, the result was far greater than the sum of its parts.

But a moment later, Herta's expression soured.

"I doubt we'll get many chances to examine the Scepter System after this. We're just assistants right now, after all."

Their assigned roles were those of academic assistants. It wasn't that they'd lost all their powers, but using those powers to change established history would introduce errors into the simulation.

Those errors would then spread, making the results so distorted that Herta couldn't trust the data she collected.

That was the last thing she wanted. They had to keep their actions within the limits of what the simulation could tolerate.

"Look on the bright side. If you figure out how the Scepter System crashed, maybe you can reverse-engineer a way to fix it in the real world."

Herta gave Sylvia a helpless look. Her eyes seemed to ask how anyone could say something so thoughtless.

"...Forget it. I'll just pretend you're trying to cheer me up. Anyway, let's keep watching."

The scene soon shifted its focus back to Pativia.

The Scepter System had been divided, with the four major schools claiming most of the Scepters in line with the agreement they'd reached at the meeting. Whatever scraps remained were distributed among everyone else. Scholars had to submit applications, which the four major schools would then review.

As for how they decided whether a research topic was worth pursuing, the whole process had become a black box.

Fortunately, Pativia managed to secure one ten-thousandth of a Scepter's computing power. Unfortunately, just as she tried to use it to study that solitary wave, several schools seized her allocation by force, claiming they were acting for the greater good.

That was enough to shatter the fragile balance.

Countless ordinary scholars finally realized that all the talk of "sharing" had been nothing more than a cover. Even the four major schools that'd divided the Scepters among themselves dropped their masks and began fighting in the open.

The Scholars' Strife had begun at last.

Herta let out a sigh, as if she'd seen it coming all along.

"Ugh, of course. And what's worse is that Polka's made me so used to this feeling that I'm barely even surprised anymore!"

She stamped her foot in anger.

Sylvia could understand her frustration. Madam Herta had saved The Blue from planet-destroying disasters more than a dozen times, and every single one had been an unexpected crisis that somehow got in the way of her pursuit of knowledge.

That was how she'd earned her title as a savior in the first place.

And clearly, Polka Kakamond had been behind it all.

Sylvia was still thinking about that when Herta turned toward her with a sharp look.

"By the way, why hasn't your absurd luck kicked in?"

"You're asking me? It's not like I can control my luck whenever I want."

Sylvia spread her hands. She didn't understand the Scepter System herself, and to put it plainly, even if this whole project worked out, there wasn't much in it for her.

Naturally, that made it hard for her luck to kick in.

As they talked, the scenes kept changing. Sylvia even got to watch the scholars gather the Scepters into one place and link them together.

But the silent Scepters gave no response to their hopes. They remained as still as ever.

And yet, Sylvia heard something coming from them.

A faint whisper.

They were grieving.

Sylvia couldn't quite understand it. Scepters were essentially supposed to be neurons, and a single neuron shouldn't have the capacity to develop emotions.

Yet that sorrow was real.

"Herta, can you feel it? The whispers coming from these inorganic things?"

Herta gave her a puzzled look. Clearly, she hadn't heard anything.

"I can feel it. The Scepters are grieving. What, am I supposed to become Emperor Rubert III or something?"

"That's not a funny joke."

Herta rolled her eyes.

"Tell me, Herta. Is Emperor Rubert II really dead?"

"What do you mean?"

"If someone's brain is just dormant and can be woken up at any time, can you really call that person dead?"

Sylvia pointed toward the motionless Scepters, then lowered her gaze to Herta and asked the question with a serious expression.

Herta fell silent.

If the Scepters were neurons, the cells left behind by the Emperor, then wouldn't connecting them all together be the same as reactivating his consciousness?

In theory, if the central unit were replaced, the new unit should become the dominant consciousness. But that assumed the neurons were nothing more than ordinary neurons.

What if the whispers Sylvia heard were real?

What if Emperor Rubert II's consciousness had been divided and stored within those Scepters? Or what if the Scepters themselves formed a collective consciousness that was the Emperor?

Then whoever inherited every Scepter and sat upon the throne would have their own consciousness wiped out in an instant.

And the Emperor's will would awaken once more.

How interesting.

Herta smiled instead.

If she recreated the Scepter System inside the Simulated Universe, would the Emperor come back to life?

Now that was a good question.

Unfortunately, it'd be hard to prove either way.

As if the Simulated Universe had heard Sylvia's question, the scene shifted again.

After Pativia's research was destroyed by force, the gathered Scepters became tools for those in power to satisfy their desires.

Some scholars believed that the short lifespans and weak bodies of organic life were holding back scientific progress.

That idea wasn't wrong. Even Madam Herta had developed technology to reverse her own aging, making herself something close to a long-life species.

But the scholars had been consumed by greed.

They dreamed of combining the strengths of organic and mechanical life, even ignoring the threat that the Emperor might one day return. Somehow, these mediocre minds believed they could control the creation of a genius.

Sylvia looked at the human-shaped life-form standing outside the cultivation chamber.

This time, she'd become a synthetic life-form herself.

A creation that combined organic flesh with mechanical life.

It was the answer the School of Evolutionary Perfection had obtained from the Scepters.

"They... asked the Scepters a question, then tried to use the answer to control the Scepters themselves? Where the hell did they get that kind of confidence?"

Sylvia had seen the School of Evolutionary Perfection's grand claims, and she couldn't make sense of them.

The sheer arrogance was hard to believe. These scholars marveled at the genius behind the Scepters while blindly assuming they could master them, even though they couldn't begin to understand how the system worked.

"Hah. They're nothing but useless fools."

Herta was floating in a cultivation chamber beside Sylvia's, but that didn't stop her from voicing her contempt. She didn't bother hiding how little she thought of those people.

It was like a student copying someone else's homework, getting a perfect score once, and deciding that meant they could get into the best university in the country.

That was exactly how full of themselves these scholars had become.

And sure enough, the life-forms they'd created were infected by the Anti-Organic Equation with almost no trouble at all.

Sylvia felt a wave of [Mad Thoughts] invade her mind. Her powerful mental resistance kept the force from interfering with her consciousness, but she decided to play along to keep the story moving.

She smashed through the glass and killed the organic life-form standing in front of her.

As a supposedly perfect creation, Sylvia could feel just how strong this body was. It had immense physical strength and a sharp, agile mind, yet it wasn't bound by the same rigid devotion to logic as ordinary mechanical life.

She smashed the cultivation chamber beside her, sending the weakened Herta tumbling to the floor.

Herta's body was still incomplete.

"Herta, here's our chance. The Anti-Organic Equation is driving me toward the Scepters, and this time, we're not talking about a measly ten-thousandth of one."

Excitement appeared on Herta's pale face.

"Get me over there! Before Polka Kakamond comes to kill you!"

"Yeah, yeah. I know."

Sylvia scooped Herta into her arms in a princess carry and raced toward the Scepter System.

Sylvia had been the only one to resist the Anti-Organic Equation's influence while keeping her sense of self. Earlier, Herta hadn't even had time to react before Sylvia charged out and killed the raving scholar with a single punch.

That turn of events had caught Herta off guard. But her surprise soon gave way to excitement.

This was their greatest opportunity yet.

She didn't have much time before Polka killed Sylvia.

"Faster! Faster! Faster!"

Herta lay in Sylvia's arms as if being carried were the most natural thing in the world, urging her on without a hint of shame.

"Stop rushing me! This body can't teleport!"

Sylvia complained as she ran, carrying Herta all the way beneath the Scepter System. The two of them connected to the Scepters together.

And Sylvia heard their voices.

Countless Scepters answered her arrival. Across distances spanning thousands of light-years, the Scepters let out a roar.

At the same time, Herta's excited screams rang in her ears.

"I see it! I see it!! So this is the Emperor's Scepter! Oh my god, this is incredible..."

While Herta lost herself in studying the Scepter System, a woman appeared before them.

She wore the same white academic robe as before, with a candy-colored dress peeking out from beneath it.

The Scepters immediately warned Sylvia.

Don't fight this woman.

Show goodwill. Pretend to cooperate. Do whatever it takes to survive.

That was the answer the Scepter System's calculations had produced.

"Why are there two individuals affected at the same time?"

A puzzled look crossed the faceless woman's features.

The Scepter System didn't need two people to activate it. One infected individual would've been enough.

That was why Polka had been waiting here all along. What she hadn't expected was for two people to show up instead of one.

The Scepters began issuing frantic warnings.

But Sylvia smiled.

She glanced at Herta, who was still engrossed in her research. After all, the Scepter System was a genius's masterpiece, and even Herta needed time to understand it.

Sylvia didn't know how long this body could hold out.

She couldn't unleash her Emanator-level power, either. Doing so would send the simulation down a chaotic, unpredictable path, making it impossible to see what had really happened.

All she had was this perfect body and her own fighting skills.

She wondered how many exchanges she could survive against Polka Kakamond.

Keeping her eyes fixed on Polka, Sylvia tore a sturdy alloy rod from the corridor's structure and gripped it with both hands.

She stepped in front of Herta and pointed the makeshift staff straight at Polka Kakamond.

"Polka Kakamond, Genius Society Member #4, the woman who killed the Emperor. Show me what you've got."

Sylvia and Herta were both destined to die here. There was no changing that outcome.

But if Sylvia could buy even a few more seconds before they were killed, Herta might be able to learn that much more.

Clang!

Without saying a word, Polka thrust her scalpel forward.

Her overwhelming physical strength tore through space as the blade shot straight toward Sylvia's head.

But Sylvia wasn't helpless.

She'd only just obtained a powerful sword technique that relied on pure skill rather than supernatural power.

And now that she couldn't use the power of the Paths, that technique would be the key to everything.

"Secret Technique—Tsubame Gaeshi!"

Slash!

In an instant, Sylvia unleashed three strikes at once. The blades cut through space, each carrying deadly intent.

One strike targeted the wrist holding Polka's scalpel, while the other two sealed off her escape routes.

Polka's expression shifted.

She hadn't expected a move like that.

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