Walking in the Question and Answer System of Heroic Spirits

[Second Generation: "I cannot say. Though I cannot say, are you willing to entrust your life to me?"]

[Grey: "Teacher, you're such a fool. Please don't say things like that with that guilty look on your face. I've already entrusted my life to you."]

Shiki Jie Li: "Trying to stop the weapons of the Atlas Institute? How audacious."

The Conqueror King: "Hahaha, kid, isn't that right? Now that's what a courageous man looks like."

Kenneth: "Yes, he lived up to the name El-Melloi."

Weber: "Uh, this feels like a crazy decision..."

[Flatter: "I mean, retreating now is ridiculous, because we haven't even finished the game yet! No matter how you look at it, this is supposed to be a hidden boss! We've gone to all that trouble to find it, how can we skip it and not fight it!"]

[Sfen: "I will follow the teacher's instructions. Besides, the teacher said that we would be needed this time. For the party asking for help, it would be a breach of contract not to let us help them to the end."]

The Second Prince said helplessly, "You remember?"

[Kay protested, "Hey, hey, hey, are you all idiots?! I think not only are you all brain-dead, but you've also chugbed down a bunch of giants' worth of strong liquor! They specifically said you could leave, and you've already suffered terribly before, and you're still planning to get yourself into trouble? You're not some country bumpkin who gave her a chance to give up and then drew the Sword of the King. I'm not going to do something as stupid as voluntarily jumping into a boring hell."]

[Grey: "But Sir Kay will come with us, won't he?"]

[Kay: "Why do you think that?"]

[Grey: "Because you are also Ad."]

[Kay: "To be honest, since you're holding the main body of Ad, I can't escape. If you feel bad about me, you could just run away, but you won't, right?"]

[Grey: "Mmm."]

After I nodded, Kai lowered his head in dejection.

Artoria: "Country bumpkin..."

My resentment towards Merlin has increased by one.

Merlin: ???

Lancelot: "..."

Is this really the Kai he remembers, or some white-haired old monster in disguise?

Merlin: Achoo! Achoo...

[Second Generation: "Alright, we'll stop the malfunctioning logic reaction for you."]

[Tsbia frowned and said, "Are you serious?"]

[Second Generation: "Of course. Basically, didn't you also calculate this answer?"]

[Tsbia: "Of course I considered that. Although the probability is low, it was one of your options, because the statistics of your actions so far suggest such an answer. That's why I risked violating the contract by contacting you, but I still don't understand. Why would that option even exist?"]

"With your intelligence, you should understand that it's unreasonable. You should also be well aware of the dangers of a rational response. You wouldn't come up with a reason like wanting to save Wells, would you? Or is it because there's another way? Even if such a thing really existed, would a monarch risk his life for a vague and illogical option that's like layering hypotheses on top of hypotheses?"

"It's not just you; it also involves the lives of students and boarding students. I remember that given your personality, you would even prevent students from participating in your battles, wouldn't you?"

[Second Generation: "As I said before, I'm not a detective. I don't believe that after eliminating the illogical, the truth will remain, because I'm a magician. Besides, I've long been tired of results led by so-called best or most suitable answers."]

[Tsbia: "Hahaha! You actually said you didn't want to eliminate the irrationality! Are you an idiot? A moron? A big dumb bird?! I thought you were going to say something, but it's just such a boring and meaningless plot! Even with the magic of immortality, this guy can hardly survive for more than three hundred years. Disregarding the best and most suitable answers, where do you plan to go? In the end, you even have to use such a weak reason, relying on this meager fighting strength to deal with the malfunctioning logic!"]

"Is that so? This logic... makes perfect sense!"

Kai: "What?!?"

[Zsbia: "Yes, that's right. You'll get tired of it. You'll get bored. That's why I gave up that thought and stopped suffering. But you said you wanted to move forward with that thought, right?"]

"I see. How foolish, how boring, how... no, I've decided to just be an observer. It would be rude of me to say anything more. Let's get back to business."

"You can try to stop the reaction of reason, but as El-Melloi II has seen through, I cannot provide assistance according to the contract. Even so, I can at least set the stage. Although it won't bring any advantage to either side, it might make things a bit easier for us."

[Second Generation: "Thank you for your help, I am truly humbled."]

[Tsbia: "Come, the time has come for the final curtain to fall!"]

His fingers traced an arc. A cracking sound rang out, and the Second Prince and his entourage seemed to be surrounded by an invisible ice palace, followed by a dizziness a hundred times more intense than the floating sensation of riding an elevator.

[Tsbia: "Oh, by the way, I'll tell you something. Now that you've decided to participate, I'm telling you that you won't go against the contract."]

"Your estimation is correct. The deaths of El-Melloi II, Grey's mother, and Priestess Fernand are, theoretically, not yet confirmed."

【“???”】

There was no time for shock; the muffled "message" echoed in their minds.

[--Encoding: Phenomenological response, non-regular initiation.]

[--Distortion of fixed value: B.]

【──Removal period: ■■■■■■■■■■■】

[--Unlogos program begins. Initiating target switching.]

[—The entire journey is complete, Clear is finished. Atlas's human reasoning continues with the fifth experiment.]

Rin Tohsaka: "He said the death is not yet confirmed? What does that mean?"

Kenneth: "Hmm...I see!"

Tokiomi Tohsaka: "I understand now. If the rational reaction cannot accept the concept of death, then the two people it keeps calculating are probably not really dead."

Kenneth: "Indeed, we didn't expect that the malfunction would cause such an unexpected situation."

After the magicians of the clock tower disappeared, Tsbia, who remained behind, sighed.

He had to do everything he could to delay the loss of control caused by the malfunction. Although, according to the contract, he couldn't interfere with the rational response itself, altering the surrounding factors and indirectly inducing El-Melloi II and his group were, by a small extent, permissible.

[Of course, the sixth principle of parallel thinking, strictly speaking, risks violating the contract, but it prioritizes the views of the second and third principles within permissible limits. The contradictions between parallel thinking lead to a slight decrease in performance, which can only be accepted.]

As he had been doing for the past six months, Tsbia touched the crystal ball, constantly controlling countless parameters.

In a sense, that technique was far more subtle than the interference he experienced in his fight with Flat. Even an alchemist from the Atlas Institute, in anyone else's place, would likely have had their brain burned out by the immense burden. But if one couldn't achieve this level of skill, becoming a Dead Apostle would be pointless.

[Tsbia: "I see, how foolish, how boring, how lovable..."]

Kenneth: "It's fortunate that this is a Dead Apostle; if it were a human, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to control the malfunction's rational response at all."

Lion's Tribulation: "Has it been like this for half a year already? You must be exhausted."

Dark clouds covered the sky, and stone pillars stood tall on the earth, each bearing a name, like forgotten children casting faint shadows on the black ground.

This is clearly a cemetery.

[Does Tsbia mean he chose the location?]

This is the grave of Grey's mother, the grave of the Skeleton King, and the grave of the Phylogenetic Reaction.

However, compared to her surroundings, Grey is preoccupied with something else entirely.

"Teacher, the deaths of my mother and Priest Fernand are still unconfirmed. What happened?"

[Second Generation: "That was just a hypothesis, and it would be cruel to make you feel disappointed, so I didn't say it there."]

"The Atlas Academy also gave an unexpected gift. It means, as he said, that your mother's death is still not confirmed."

[Grey: "Not yet confirmed?"]

[Second King: "Because the rational response is constantly verifying death, it means the identities of the deceased present are still uncertain. The rational response is probably preserving those villagers in a state of suspended animation. I thought Priest Fernand might have done the same, but I didn't expect it to be confirmed by Tsbia himself."]

[Grey: "So, the deaths of Mother and Priest Fernand are still uncertain."]

[Kay: "I see. Magicians really do always think about strange things. But it's quite interesting."]

Chapter 262 - The Logical Response to Directly Calling for People

[Kay: "So, what are you planning to do? Can you fix that piece of junk called 'theory-law reaction'? No, you can't, can you? Will your student fix it?"]

"Neither, but I have my own way. That's probably why I was able to bring the item out of the second round."

The Second Prince took out a curved short sword from his robes; it was the very same sword that pierced through gold.

"This must also be part of the rational reaction calculation. Regardless of the person, that's why they could bring their belongings here. I will use this ceremonial attire to strip away the spirit and rational reaction of the deceased Skeleton King."

[Grey: "What if it's not fixed?"]

[Second Generation: "At that point, destruction will be the only option."]

[In any case, this is undoubtedly an extremely difficult task. Not to mention saving Grey's mother and Priestess Fernand's lives, it's questionable whether they will even survive.]

Lion Jie Li: "I see, is there such a method?"

Kenneth: "This kid, he wanted to do this as soon as he figured out the answer."

Tokiomi Tohsaka: "In any case, this is an operation that puts lives at stake."

[Sphen: "Teacher, it looks like they're coming."]

In the center of the cemetery, a masked woman appeared.

[Second Generation: "Reaction of Reason and Law..."]

"It feels like I was dreaming..."

The woman removed her mask, revealing a face that was no longer Grey's mother's, but a blurry, Kay-like face. This was most likely her true self.

"I am the spirit of King Arthur, a weapon forged by the Atlas Academy!"

The woman raised her right hand, and darkness gathered in her palm, coalescing into a black holy lance.

[Reasonable Response: "That's right, this gun is also a vanguard gun, and it also embodies the Reasonable Response."]