#4 Polka Kakamond.
What kind of personality would the strictest mother of geniuses have?
From the moment she treated this genius who upheld the "Omniscient Domain" as a hypothetical enemy, Kiyono Inori had already begun studying her through the data stored inside the Emperor's Scepter.
#66 had once conducted a systematic collection of information on #4.
But the results were laughably sparse. After all, this was a mysterious genius who had erased every photo and record of herself from the entire universe.
What were her achievements?
What books did she write?
What inventions did she leave behind?
None of it survived.
All people knew was this: she was the Sword of Damocles hanging above every genius's head. Each time she appeared, another genius would vanish without a sound.
Even factions unrelated to the Path of Erudition regarded witnessing #4 as a deeply terrifying experience. To put it simply, her reputation was about the same as a real-world ghost story.
Still, by leveraging the informational advantage of a transmigrator and cross-referencing it with the Emperor's Scepter, Kiyono Inori managed to sketch out a psychological profile of the Fourth Seat.
An elite consciousness and obsessive need for control far beyond normal people.
The arrogance unique to geniuses.
Extreme caution.
Most of the time, she was flamboyant and high-profile. But the moment the Omniscient Domain was involved, #4 became meticulous to an almost frightening degree. When she assassinated Emperor #66 II, her movements were as precise as clockwork, every step landing on the optimal point for herself.
"It's already over… Fourth Seat."
Life was hard. The girl's owner sighed.
To be honest, most of her preparations had been escape plans meant for dealing with the Lord of Silence.
If #4's transmission had progressed even a little further, or if #4 had obtained her information ahead of time, then escaping back to the home world would likely have required sacrificing the Emperor's Scepter itself.
But right now, the absolute advantage was hers.
The moment she sensed that #4 was transmitting, she used Emperor #66 II's technology to interrupt the process. Then, using the Descender End trait, she kept injecting variables until the incomplete Omniscient Domain collapsed under its own instability.
For at least two to three system hours, which translated to only a few seconds externally, she stood completely undefeated.
"Don't you find it strange?" the girl said with a smug smile. "I could easily erase fifty percent of your existence right now, yet here I am chatting with you like nothing's wrong."
Silence.
#4, the Lord of Silence, remained wordless. It was impossible to tell whether that planet-heavy silence came from confusion or suppressed rage.
"The reason is simple. I have an interesting project."
Kiyono Inori smiled brightly. "If I could get help from the Fourth Seat of the Genius Society, the famed Polka Kakamond herself, the project would progress much faster, wouldn't it?"
The skill of the Pioneer of the Stars had already given Inori a formidable talent in research. She could identify flawed experimental directions before testing even began. That ability once earned high praise from Dr. Mobius of the Previous Era.
But while that power was excellent for an assistant, it was inconvenient for a project lead.
Or rather, it was not fast enough.
To identify the flaws in a plan, one first needed a theoretically viable plan to begin with. That demanded an immense knowledge base.
And changing the logic of the Cocoon of Finality was something the pink piggy had only achieved by pushing Pure Will to its absolute limit and ultimately sacrificing herself.
That was not a feat a girl owner could reach through effort alone.
Even with the plan for the Grand Chaos Equation, repeated calculations by the Scepter showed that it was not stagnating so much as charging straight back toward square one.
The more she tested it, the more unworkable it felt.
The theory was sound. But the variance was enormous. If she accidentally cranked Honkai Impact 3rd's difficulty into Honkai Impact 2nd levels, she would rather just do nothing at all.
So she needed help.
#4's knowledge and the convenience of the Omniscient Domain. If she could bring her onboard, even with the inconvenience of cross-world communication, the success rate would skyrocket.
After all.
Nous, the Aeon of Erudition, possessed two divine attributes that constantly wrestled with each other: the desire to seek knowledge, and the obligation to know everything.
If the geniuses of the Genius Society embodied the divinity of seeking knowledge, then #4, the Lord of Silence, embodied the divinity of omniscience itself.
The clashes between geniuses were, in essence, Nous's thought experiments.
In recent years, omniscience outweighed curiosity. That was why #4 remained undefeated.
But if one day curiosity surpassed omniscience, perhaps that would be the day #4 finally suffered true defeat.
In any case, being attacked by #4 was unpleasant.
But changing the fate of the pink piggy mattered more to Inori than getting revenge on the Lord of Silence.
However.
"I refuse."
#4 stopped Inori's not-so-honest hand as it tried to lift her facial cognition filter. "I am certain my hypothesis is the only correct one. That will never change."
Kiyono Inori blinked. Completely expected.
"But I acknowledge your victory," #4 continued. "With your talent and calculation, you will inevitably rise in this universe. Rest easy. As long as you do not touch the boundary of the Circle of Knowledge, I will permit you to stir small ripples within my Omniscient Domain."
She looked up at the sky, as if already entering a defeat-screen animation, wanting one last look at this Scepter world that even the original Emperor #66 II would fail to recognize.
"You're really just throwing away fifty percent of your Omniscient Domain?"
"It is merely starting over. One or two months to repair it. After that, I will nail every genius who attempts to step beyond the Circle of Knowledge to the wall. You included."
Her tone was casual. Her confidence absolute.
If her full self and complete Omniscient Domain had arrived, this cat-like girl would not have stood a chance. Of that, #4 was certain.
She expected anger.
Instead, the girl said, "Correction. I'm not a Genius Society member. Fourth Seat, can you even find my number on the club roster?"
"That is irrelevant. #27, #66, #85. Once the fog surrounding you lifts, I suspect Nous would gladly spare you a glance."
Inori leaned in close to the helpless #4.
"Stop making Nous's attention sound like choosing a new streaming channel! And even if I were a genius, I wouldn't need your help at all!"
Halfway through, she froze. "Wait. Joining the Society wouldn't make me even more restricted by the Omniscient Domain, would it?!"
"What a shame. You noticed."
"What is wrong with Nous?! I really need to join some five-character god's plan just to elbow them in the face!"
She puffed her cheeks in frustration.
#4 paused for half a second.
This girl knew far too much about the Genius Society. Far more than Emperor #66's corrupted data could explain.
If she truly understood their world.
"Explain in detail."
After many years, the genius who upheld the Omniscient Domain felt a deep interest in new knowledge, or rather, new information.
"Depending on its value, and as long as it does not cross the Circle of Knowledge, I will consider providing necessary assistance."
Before that, Inori smiled sweetly. "Can I see the face under your filter? Why hide it? I'm so curious."
The fish bit.
The girl owner's expression brightened.
"Everyone who has seen my true face is dead," #4 said calmly.
"…All right, never mind. I'm not curious anymore."
Inori sighed. "For reasons I cannot say, the information I can give you is extremely limited, and likely useless to you. Are you sure you want to make this trade?"
"Yes. As long as it does not affect the Circle of Knowledge."
"Zandar One Kuwabara. The First Seat of the Genius Society. You killed him long ago. Nous was his creation. Back then, he was exploring how to destroy Nous. He used you, and the causality of the Omniscient Domain, to kill himself completely. But he didn't truly die, did he?"
Revealing everything about Amphorus was impossible.
Letting #4 know would likely end with Lygus and Irontomb both being reduced to scrap, or Lygus forcing the Destruction Emanator Irontomb to hatch prematurely.
No matter who won, Amphorus' Golden Lineage would be doomed.
Only Stelle could resolve that scenario.
Inori was merely using Lygus as bait.
"Oh? You know where he is?" #4 asked with interest.
"The five-character god is planning to calculate a new knowledge singularity to erase Nous entirely. But that is not something the current Lord of Silence should know. You understand how dangerous an unplanned butterfly can be."
Inori mimicked the riddling tone of Elysian Realm.
"Heh."
#4 laughed beneath the filter. "Few are qualified to deceive me. You are one of them."
"What deception?!"
Inori tried to play dumb, a tactic that worked wonders on Sumimi and the cats.
#4 was unmoved.
"I accept your invitation. In exchange for the life of the five-character god, I will assist your project and prevent you from inadvertently stepping beyond the Circle of Knowledge."
Though the Omniscient Domain was damaged, #4 could still tell truth from lies.
The girl hid something.
But that did not matter.
Zandar One Kuwabara's fragment was planning to destroy Nous. That alone was enough.
Yet knowing this truth itself risked ending the universe prematurely.
"Do not know what you should not know."
Polka Kakamond's scalpel pinned the butterfly once more. This time, the butterfly was herself.
Before Inori's eyes, the Lord of Silence split into two.
One knew the forbidden truth. A shadow.
One did not. A physical body.
"This is my fragment. Hand your tasks to her. I will handle them in my spare time. I implanted self-suggestion."
"Farewell, little one. Watch over her for me."
She added a supervision module, straightened her candy-colored robes, and turned back.
"Open the Scepter's firewall. Otherwise, I'll break out the hard way."
Project: Modify the Logic of the Cocoon of Finality.
Team member plus one.
Next.
Tell Herta that Polka Kakamond is here, and she will come without fail.
Have Herta drag Ruan Mei along.
Use Emperor #66's database to rope in Screwllum.
Stephen Lloyd would probably be fascinated by the facial cognition filter. A blessing for social anxiety.
Polka Kakamond.
Screwllum.
Ruan Mei.
Herta.
Stephen Lloyd.
Any faction would think twice seeing that lineup.
Enough geniuses for a five-on-five match. Not fair, not competitive, not a game.
Then Inori froze.
When you thought about it.
Gathering this many geniuses just to study how a silly pink piggy elbowed human emotions back into Herrschers, and whether there was a substitute method.
Her mood cracked.
No way. Surely not.
If none of these geniuses found an alternative.
Would that mean the silly pink piggy was actually the smartest one?!
…
T/N: Author used "某五字神明" ("Five-character god"), which is a CN Joke apparently.
…
v