Chapter 140

This was what led everyone, including Jibril and Steph, to one conclusion: that this game clearly was overwhelmingly disadvantageous to Sora and Shiro. Even Einzig said doubtfully, “Certainly you could not expect us to hit this, Spieler.” Did he really? But Sora’s and Shiro’s faces twisted into sneers. Bingo. He really does. “I do, actually. I mean—that’s the wrong way to put it. ’Cos—we’re gonna hit it ourselves, too.” With a wicked leer, Sora took the piece in his hand and spelled out, This is where I’m moving. Saying, Come get me. It was suicidal, obviously a bad move. He moved right onto the flashing square and said: “But you guys are also gonna hit it. I promise.” Sora glanced at the speechless faces of the Ex Machinas, Steph, and Jibril. They would be speechless. Since they all knew that was the worst move they possibly could have made. But that was the thing! —That was the soul of this game… And so!! “Looks like you don’t get it, pervbot! But you’re one thing to us!” “…All you’ve…ever been…to us…is stage equipment…!” In echo to their cry, it came to demonstrate the final rule—the effect strike. They’d employed Jibril’s Materialization Shiritori board to implement it. It launched effects—just as the striker imagined them. It used that space-rewriting trick Ex Machina had always pained their asses with. Now their surroundings were being rebuilt the way Sora wanted. Sora and Shiro crowed. “Now—all you Eastern Union idol agencies! Ready to kick and scream?” “…You’ll regret…underestimating…Bl4nk Productions… But you can cry…d00ds.” The Ten Covenants forbade them from harming Holou, other players, or the audience. On the other hand—they could do anything else! In their shiritori game with Jibril, they hadn’t been allowed to use things that didn’t exist. There was no such limit on the effect strike—!! “This show is gonna go down in history!! Ready to scream, Shiro?!” “…Ohhh, yeahhh…!” The Ex Machinas hadn’t even gotten over the shock of Sora banging out that blunder with no hesitation. Now the scenery shocked Jibril and Steph, too—and prompted Sora and Shiro to yell: ““Repeat after we!!”” The throne room had already been rebuilt into a venue. Now Sora and Shiro were rebuilding it again. Light exploded through the stage, the seats, the backstage area—and boom! ““Yack deculturrrrrrrrrre!!!!”” …They weren’t even on Disboard anymore. They were in a place no one knew—not even Sora or Shiro, strictly speaking—somewhere in space. Amidst the unknown wilderness, all the audience and backstage crew looked at was Holou. Standing on the arm of a robot fighter, a giant screen projecting her to the heavens, Holou sang and danced. Accentuating her performance—or maybe overdoing it a little—were the effects. Missiles traced strange and complex patterns as beams and lasers traced the universe. The silver, spiraling paths of the fighters, the rain of curtain fire, it was all so beautiful, but— …… This was obviously a war zone, and it threw everyone except Holou and Sora and Shiro into mute amazement. …Well, it would. Even Sora and Shiro hadn’t seen this except in fiction. For those who didn’t know it at all, the instinctual associations it aroused had much more to do with running away than rocking out. Sora and Shiro, however, sneered with confidence. When the audience saw the writing on the screen, they immediately exploded into a cheer. It read: Don’t worry. It’s harmless. “Howww can they accept it just like thaaat?!” Steph’s shriek at the rebounding Energy Gauge was ignored. “Ha-haaa! O cherished dumbasses! Have we got a divine set list for you!” “…It’s divine…’cos…she’s a god… ” “Galactic idol? Ha!! Small potatoes! She’s headed for super-dimensional territory. Make way!” Sora and Shiro shouted out in glee, not stopping their chess game for so much as an instant. Einzig kept playing smoothly, too, but he and his maids couldn’t hide their shock. Meanwhile, without regard for this— —He’d really played badly just for the sake of a show. Steph and Jibril squeaked at this eerily familiar behavior of Sora. “…Oh…! Could it be—?” “Quite identical…to that time…?!” —The effect strike projected the image of the one who struck it throughout the venue in ambient sensory effects. Yes, the scene, the shock, the vibration, all extended all the way backstage, around the players. So it was just like that time. That time they’d played Materialization Shiritori with Jibril. They’d risked loss on the first move to check what they could do—and their real aim lay beyond. They’d beaten Jibril by trapping her in a hypernova. Thus, they would beat Ex Machina—by trapping them in effects? Or something. They weren’t the only ones this occurred to. “You mean to impede our chess…by blinding us with special effects?” Einzig spoke softly, well up to speed. Steph and Jibril inhaled shortly behind. Emir-Eins paid no mind. “Negative acknowledgment: Effects damaging players prohibited. Therefore, low impact on Ex Machina. Pointless.” —There was the rub: It wasn’t like that time. This was the real world. Which meant that the Ten Covenants prevented injury. The most they could hope to do was distract. And what good would that do against the Ex Machinas? The proof was in their smooth, well-reasoned moves, effectively partitioned from their emotions. “…Then why could it be that the Spieler would choose loss…?” The shock of the Ex Machinas was all at Sora’s bad move. Even if he cared about the concert, why would he set up the rules to assure his own defeat? Sora and Shiro observed their doubt with another crooked sneer. —Wrong. Now you’ve made a big mistake. “Still confused, huh? We’ll say it one more time. To us—” “…All you’ve…ever been…is…stage equipment…” Sora and Shiro leered and made their move. . “…Einzig to all units: What just happened? Report…” Einzig mumbled this deadpan. The other units choked on errors. Sora gave them his most ironic smile yet. “Why I’d choose loss? I made that move ’cos I wanted effects. Loss can kiss my ass.” Sora decided to answer Einzig’s question—silently: What just happened? Sora spelled out, This is where I’m moving. Saying, Come get me. It was suicidal, obviously a bad move. For the effects. It seemed Einzig and the bots were pretty sure they were winning. Sora grinned. Four moves. He and Shiro made four moves, back and forth between each other—and everything changed. And now— “Well, then! A little smug about managing to get me alone into a draw, are we?” The Ex Machinas saw how it was. And couldn’t believe it. Sora and Shiro bathed in the looks of Einzig, Emir-Eins—all the Ex Machinas. But, as if cracking up, as if guilty, as if so very ironic— “With Shiro—I’ve—we’ve managed to beat Lord Tet at chess.” “…Think of how…the god of play…Tet, would feel…to fall behind, you tools.” Holou’s first number reached its end. Right about then… CHECKMATE. WINNER: “ ”. ONE VICTORY. …the chessboard called it. But their victory over Ex Machina, despite making a terrible move, paled before what they’d related. They’d beaten the One True God—the God of Play. The greatest gamer of all. It was a bold claim. It was also a cold, hard fact. “.” The machines knew better than anyone: There was no lie anywhere in their words. Sora and Shiro left Ex Machina’s shock behind. “Time for round two. No time to sit back, Ex Machina!” The intro to Holou’s second song started on the very next beat. The cheers were their signal. Sora and Shiro savagely, boldly, insolently smiled—and spoke. “Get used. That’s really all you’re playing this game for. ” “…Go for it…perfect equipment… Moar effects…moar… ” To kick all the expectations of the Ex Machinas, Jibril, and Steph to the curb. “—Sorry, Ex Machina… There’s no way—you can beat us.” Sora and Shiro, with the start of the second round, calmly got their pieces moving. And so Einzig—no, also Emir-Eins and the whole cluster—was forced to provisionally give this unfathomable suspicion the value of fact. In round two, Einzig barely eked out a victory for Ex Machina. In round three…now the movement was dizzying. All units were screaming, Analysis failed. They could only take it. “Pwnd! Okay, Shiro, now it’s your turn! Pick your effect!” “…Ohhh, yeahhh… Wait ’til…you see, this…Brother… ” Sora and Shiro were placing pieces one after the other, without discussion but with plenty of joy. While even straight-up announcing that they were about to do another effect strike. Yes—another. Sora and his sister had struck one this round already. A fatal blunder—that was what it should have been. The parallel processors had spat out the probability of recovery from that effect strike as zero. And yet, the two of them were still winning. Einzig and the machines evaluated a new hypothesis: regarding the true meaning of the effect strike— “Einzig to all units: Initiating verification. Request supplementary post-blunder computation.” “—Jawohl.” Einzig instructed the cluster to prepare to clean up as he waited for the chance to verify the hypothesis. Regarding the meaning, the will to be inferred from Sora’s words: You’re also gonna hit it. I promise. The chance came right away. —A Technicolor square appeared. Cluster report: The position was fatal. There was a high probability that occupying it would make the round unwinnable. But Einzig moved his piece straight there—and smacked down an effect strike. Because if the hypothesis was correct, it wasn’t just a matter of this round—it could spell defeat in every round. The need for verification was critical, and so Einzig took the risk and imagined his effect. —Bzt. All light and sound vanished from the venue, as if there had been a power failure. It was the effect of stopping effects. Not having light or sound stopped the concert itself. It wasn’t even about the Energy Gauge anymore. For Ex Machina, it was the worst possible move because it would force their loss in this round. On the other hand, it was the best possible move because it would force the end of the concert, and therefore their victory in this game. “Yeah…you got the picture.” Only the light of the board lit Sora’s dark smile. His fiendish voice was followed in a few seconds by another shining square and his sister striking another effect from it. —Force this, suckers. It was as if the soundless black Einzig had brought was itself part of the effect. The lights flashed, Holou’s costume changed, and the music modulated—people cheered. Einzig had thought he was winning by force-quitting the concert and losing by forcing the exploitation of an opening. So much for any of that. Sora grinned. “We really need you to throw down like that so we can ramp it up, you know? ” “.” Sora’s words set a final value to Einzig’s hypothesis: True. Sora and his sister had lost in the second round simply because they’d focused on spamming effect strikes to pump up their Energy Gauge. But then—if they weren’t striking any effects—or were striking, say, just one— “Let’s see who can play the worst. ’Cos perfect play is boring.” “…Who…wants…to win…at tic-tac-toe…?” Predators of overwhelming strength—hard to imagine as Immanities—Sora and Shiro smiled savagely. Their self-assured words made it as clear to the Ex Machinas as to anyone what they were saying. —Beating you is not the issue. Ex Machina had, in fact, lost the first round. If this had just been a one-shot match, that would have been it. —The issue is we want to have fun. Get used. That really was all they’d wanted from Ex Machina. —Get us our effects. Get this show rocking. You do that—and we’ll let you pick some effects, too! “Screw best response; it’s about worst response. Can you keep up, O transcendent machinery?” The smile of Sora, the taunt of a predator letting his prey run, appeared to be an acknowledgment. The hypothesis was confirmed. The meaning of the effect strike was to make the game fun for Sora—by giving Ex Machina a chance. Then—is this to say— he plays us—with a handicap?! At this verification result, which defied all logic, the cluster thought in parallel. Is he so powerful that he can far outstrip Ex Machina, or even the god of play himself? Understanding failed. No—accept it! Credibility not found. No—at least one part is true! Then analyze it. Interpret it. Learn from it, adapt to it—and, at last, transcend it!! Show the nature of the race. Demonstrate its quintessence—! The style of play conforms to that which Sora—that which the Spieler showed us five days ago. Did he let us win? No. Then where lies the discrepancy—? “…What’s this? Looks like you’ve finally noticed that my genius sister exists, you junk heap.” “?!” Sora had apparently noticed Ex Machina’s eyes going to Shiro. “Honestly, it was really starting to get annoying. We’d really like it if you’d rethink your perspective, you know?” “…You think…you can…ignore me…? We’ll…teach you…!” The bile and seething sarcasm made Ex Machina think. —Who…is this girl? No—she is Sora’s sister. His family. Her name is Shiro. We recognized this. We did not ignore it. We simply did not assign it high importance. Why? Obviously, because she is an outsider. To play chess in concert with an outsider—what is that? They are not capable of parallel thought, nor do they have time to coordinate. They are only two discrete units operating independently…which meant nothing…we thought… “…Playing, Brother, alone…or just me…is, one thing…” “But if you think you can beat Blank, we’ve got news for you.” Their categorical statement contained not a shred of logical coherence. But why was it that it resonated so deeply within Ex Machina’s illogical “heart”—? CHECKMATE. WINNER: “ ”. TWO VICTORIES. The chessboard called it as a sound signaled the end of the third song. Leaning back in his chair and holding Shiro, Sora spoke. “You’d better etch this into your buggy heads. Blank doesn’t—” Sora stopped. He and Shiro looked up. “…We did… We did once… We lost… We did…” “I see, so we can’t use that line anymore… I feel depressed now.” “I—I cannot apologize enough, my masters! How I have failed you!” Something had triggered doom-and-gloom mode. The two sunk deep into their chair, which for some reason prompted Jibril to prostrate herself in a panic. But Ex Machina thought on. They still couldn’t make sense of it. Of what Shiro was to be able to make Sora so powerful, or of the mechanism behind it. But—something did catch Einzig’s attention. He gave an instruction to the cluster. “All units: Change top analysis priority from target path to methods of victory other than chess.” If Einzig’s suspicions about Shiro were correct, then it could be extremely difficult to reveal the hand of the two in four rounds and overcome it. But extreme difficulty, even impossibility, anything—they were there to adapt to and overcome it all. Who, after all, would have thought that the Spieler would still be present after six thousand years? “Heh-heh-heh. The Spieler challenges us to overcome him. We accept this challenge laid down by love!” Einzig’s ardent defiance was met by Sora’s and Shiro’s frigid glares. Backstage, there was only silence. Sora and Shiro sat deep in their chair, resting. The Ex Machinas had paused their communication. After the third round of the game, the third song in the concert, came an intermission. Cheers behind her, Holou came back down the stairs. Jibril watched. “…Masters. Surely Holou cannot feel fatigue, nor must time pass for her to change her costume?” Jibril also looked at the Energy Gauge over their heads as it gradually drained. Ah, the intermission. An important time for rest and costume changes in a normal concert. But in this game, their Energy Gauge was active all the while. Why had they bothered with this needless respite? “The audience is gonna get tired! When you’ve got a godly set list, you gotta make them wait, even for no reason. You get it?!” “…You leave, for a while…and get them…worked up…over what’s next… Costumes and all!” Sora and Shiro were straight-faced as they spoke. —Are these two even interested in the game with Ex Machina at all? Sora felt everyone staring at him thus with wonderment, but he shook it off. “So! Steph!! Go work ’em. We’re counting on you!” “…………I’m…sorry?” she squeaked. Sora sternly turned to face her. “D00d, you gotta fill the time! Holou’s come off the stage. Who do you expect to keep ’em entertained now?” “…Steph…have you…forgotten…why you’re…here…?” Steph’s eyes swam from the siblings’ harsh gazes. After apparently digging through her memory, she nodded a few times and answered, “No, of course not.” After all— “How can I forget something you’ve never told me?!” Then she started. “Wait! Why am I here?” Sora and Shiro heaved a long, long sigh. “…Hey, come on, manager babe. The set list. What’s it say after the third song?” “What, I’m a manager?! …Oh, I think you did call me that once— Wait, it just says, Intermission: MC, 5 min! I checked! Where are you saying my name is?!” What a worker Steph was making herself out to be, having checked the list even though Sora had only once implied that she had a position here, and she didn’t even remember. “Damn it! These schmucks don’t have a lick of common sense… Listen up!” The two of most dubious common sense smacked their heads. “…Brother…and I…can’t go out…in public…!” “But if we put Jibril up there, there’s no telling what will happen!” “…And Ex Machina…is out, of the question…” —So. Who with common sense was there left besides Steph? There was only one sensible outcome to this process of elimination, at which Steph looked to the heavens. “You can introduce the band, you can do a comedy skit; we don’t care, just say something entertaining! Just go!” “There is no band! There is no comedy group! What do you mean, entertaining?” Steph struggled to resist, but then she saw the Energy Gauge slowly but surely depleting. She shook her head. “……Oh God! I-it won’t be my fault if it gets worse, all right?!” Steph ran up the stairs desperately. “…Master, is this safe? If the Energy Gauge were to run out…” Jibril asked as she eyed Holou’s replacement skeptically. “It’s fine. She’ll get them pumping somehow… She’s got charm.” But Sora answered her, not an ounce of worry on his face, and they all looked to the stage. “…She doesn’t realize that she has what no one can possibly duplicate—talent.” On the stage, Steph was shaking from her fingers to her toes. Her eyes darted back and forth wildly. But on her face was a smile free of malice that captured the hearts of all. It could be assumed that Steph wouldn’t say anything significant. Clever jokes and witty anecdotes weren’t her forte. Yet, there Steph was, standing in the middle of the stage, looking for the best words she could find to bring out her heart. Or perhaps something other than words. She struggled so hard, she tripped over nothing. Her momentum threw her precipitously off balance, and she sailed toward a piece of equipment that rested on the stage. As straightforward as she was known to be…she smacked her face straight into it. Her face slid over it, she fell, and her skirt flipped up to put her undergarments in plain view. It looked like this: _O/|_ The crowd was highly amused by her ability to pass out in the shape of ASCII art—they roared with laughter. “…Yes…that marvelous…talent…for comic relief…” As soon as Shiro had called out the name of the talent, the Energy Gauge slammed full. All anyone could do was nod at the ineffable force of her argument, while— “…How is this? Doth this constitute the ‘perfect idol’ ye seek?” —having shuffled into her costume, Holou muttered. This was the best she could do; the youthful god around hundreds of millions of years old pouted, clad in a flashy school uniform. “Oh, c’mon! You can barely get Idol Rank A with that! You need to express yourself!” “…Anything below S, is a fail… We want, to win… We can’t feel, your heart!” “Never were ye to feel Holou’s heart! Holou herself hath not succeeded in defining it!!” Cute little Holou argued tearfully with her hard-ass producers. —Then someone mumbled. “……It is will.” It was Einzig, who had been silent up until now, facing across from Sora and Shiro. An unexpected participant in the conversation. Holou frowned, but Einzig continued. “You inquired as to the definition of the ‘heart.’ I shall respond. The ‘heart’—is will.” “…Will… What proof be there that Holou hath will?” “The proof is in your query. The proof is in your search for an answer. You wish…” The machine defined the heart, the will, the wish, life itself, conclusively. “The wish, the will, life. They are indivisible and synonymous. A god with life…must have a wish, must have a will, must have a heart.” A machine born without one, who therefore cherished his more than those born with one. A machine who elucidated its meaning more humanly than a human. Einzig smiled gently. “Therefore,” he continued. “If I share a wish, share a will with the Spieler, it is clear that I am bound to share a life with him!” “Hey, machine! Computers shouldn’t be spouting bullshit. What kind of sophistry is that?!” Oil barons wear turbans. Oil barons are rich. Therefore, all rich people with turbans are oil barons. Einzig’s fallacy was pretty much on that level. “……” Seemed Holou still didn’t get it. But perhaps she felt something. She looked at Einzig, Emir-Eins, and the Ex Machinas collectively, one after another, quizzically. Then the sound said it was time. “…P-please…never make me do this again…” “Sorry, but according to the set list, you’re up two more times. G’luck. ” Steph had spent the five minutes passed out, then twitching. Then grabbing the mic upside down. She didn’t just make the audience laugh, she got laughed half to death. As Steph came back down, Holou went back up and waited in the wing for her fourth song. Sora and Shiro waited for their fourth round. “So! It’s about time, huh? We’ve had our little break, so shall we?” “…It’s time…for…your…effect strike…Brother. ” As Sora and Shiro beamed giddily, Einzig, too, gave a little smile. He spoke what sounded like the conclusion he’d reached after thinking all through the break. “Yes, Spieler, why don’t you go ahead and use us, for a while…” —And then. He was resolute. Audacious. Ready for chess, and for effects. “We are Ex Machina. We will adapt to anything that exists…and surpass it.” —With his conviction that after trials, they would overcome— The fourth song started, and six hands started the fourth round. And so the concert and the game went on to the seventh stage. Now, as the players were trading relentless attacks and counters on the board—they were flying free. Scratch that. Free, yes. But technically not flying. “This is madness!! Excuse me, poseurs, doesn’t this concern you?!” “Heh, of course it concerns us. But such are the rules.” “…Steph…you’re such a…n00b…” Sora and Shiro had their best cool faces on while engaged in what was most correctly termed a free fall, as Steph shrieked. Well, it wasn’t only Sora and Shiro who were so engaged. Steph was, too, as were the audience, and as was, for instance, Jibril, who by the rules of the game could not use magic. From Machu Picchu to the Death Star, to places Sora and Shiro didn’t even recognize. Sora and Shiro and Einzig had traded effect strikes to take everything everywhere. This particular effect strike of Einzig’s had erased the ground, leaving them falling through the endless sky. …So, yeah… Might as well make the most of it. “H-how can you concentrate on a game at a time like thiiiis?!” “Heh. How many times you think we’ve had to go skydiving in this world? We’re so over it.” Same old cool face. They’d always wanted to try a game like this if they could get themselves out of the house. Finally, Sora and Shiro were enjoying extreme chess. What is extreme chess, you ask? It is a form of chess that is played in the air, on a cliff, underwater, on a thrill ride… Anyway, someplace dangerous. That’s it. Doesn’t matter if you win or lose. That’s it, except for one sacred, inviolable rule! Always the cool face! That is all! “I-indeed, my masters are noble… Oh…but something must be said for the audience as well…” “It certainly must!! How—are they excited?! Have they truly been brainwashed to this degree?!” Even Jibril exclaimed, and Steph doubted her sanity, as the Energy Gauge hit its maximum. Just as it indicated, the audience was going crazy, enjoying the free fall as they did Holou’s song and dance routine. But of course they did. Sora smirked inside, while keeping his hands going. Ex Machina didn’t know what would kill the joy of the audience! It could clearly be seen from their advances on Sora as well that they lacked understanding of the human heart! …Well, especially when the conversation was about humans, even Steph couldn’t understand. So—Ex Machina just had to repeat the cycle of trial and error, adjusting based on reactions. This trial of erasing the ground was probably aimed to simultaneously obstruct Sora and Shiro and scare the audience. But Sora had already scared the audience out of their wits with his first effect. Now you could pull the ground out from under them or you could drop the sky on them, and they’d just trust it was all part of the effects. While thus Einzig had released an epic barrage of fail, again his hand went to the shining square. “What have we here? What kind of epic fail are you gonna accomplish with this terrible move?” Sora was trolling him as hard as he could. “Spieler… I have never made light of your prowess. Your power remains ever beyond the realm of my comprehension.” Einzig was smiling back…gently. “I wonder if you might also give our prowess the favor of your respect. As we made clear, our offer was only to let you use us for a while.” Einzig’s smile was enough to send a cold sweat down Sora’s and Shiro’s backs. “—We are Ex Machina. We will adapt to anything in existence.” As he made his statement, Einzig—no, the transcendent parallel computing unit—slammed down the piece. “Without boundary. Without limit—without end. And we shall surpass it.” The world was rebuilt according to their image. Heaven and earth were reborn in the venue. Sora thought: —There’s no problem… Ex Machina has the wrong guy. As long as they didn’t catch on to that mistake, it didn’t matter if their operation speed exceeded expectations. It didn’t matter if it exceeded infinity! Ex Machina could never defeat Sora and Shiro. But Einzig’s increasingly self-assured smile did send a trace of unease through Sora— And that was when—! …Rrrrrripppshhh. “……Urp?” It was the plain old venue again, with the plain old stage, on which Holou’s costume ripped with an unnatural sound that was anything but plain. ………… “Heh. Heh-heh-heh… Have you no words? Of course, O Spieler!” Einzig, presumably taking their silence for amazement, cackled and roared. This was a move that applied all of Ex Machina’s unfathomable power in computing and information processing, estimated to exceed infinity, along with the admittedly biased collection of data Ex Machina had gleaned from Sora’s porn stash. Sora had to hand it to them. “…Yeah, that’s something. Pretty sharp. Not a bad move…” He gave his sincere praise as his hands slid across the chessboard without rest. But as Sora was about to continue, That’s still not enough— “Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!” —a thunderstorm of cheers, along with the glowing Energy Gauge smashing through its max capacity, spoke for him. “H-how can this be? The theory was unassailable— It couldn’t—” The answer of Einzig—no, probably the result of all of Ex Machina operating in parallel—had proven fruitless. All units, even Emir-Eins, wheezed in bewilderment as— “Heh-heh… Heh-huh-huh-huh… Ahhh-ha-ha-haaa! Your astonishment is as clear as day!” Sora gave a laugh befitting an evil overlord. “You damage her wardrobe, and if she keeps dancing, people are gonna see her nude! That’s the end of her life as an idol!” Sora ignored Steph’s cynical look and continued his banter. “So she’s gotta stop dancing. And that stops the show! So much for that Energy Gauge— But.” Sora smiled at Einzig cruelly. “That’s not it. You’re waiting for what lies beyond—what happens when she keeps dancing anyway, amirite?” Sora had seen everything. It rendered Einzig speechless, heaving in consternation. This heated match of wits between Sora and Ex Machina, between human and machine, brought a twinkle to Jibril’s eyes!! Steph’s frigid glare was now in the negative Kelvins!! And Sora ignored them all! “Let’s say Holou, true to her status as an Old Deus, knows no shame! Then if she goes ahead and dances buck naked, in any case, the audience is gonna get creeped out and the Energy Gauge is gonna plunge—that’s what you thought, ain’t it?! A fine attempt. I’ll hand it to you, that’s a nice double bind you were going for, ya perverted pretty-boy BL-bot!” If she stopped dancing, the audience would be dissatisfied, and if she kept dancing, the audience would be turned off. Well, now Ex Machina’s understanding had progressed further than expected. You couldn’t let your guard down with these guys. “But you got a long way to go, you philosophizing contraptions… Could you possibly assume that the producers would not anticipate such happenings?!” At that, Einzig and all the Ex Machinas looked over at the stage. Where Holou’s costume was unnaturally torn and rent…and under it! There was an itty-bitty bikini charged with spite, just barely covering her important parts as she sang and danced… That had to be far more embarrassing than having her clothes ripped. Seeing Holou reach desperately for the shards of her erstwhile costume, struggling to hide her new one as she danced— “…Heh. I’ll give you one thing. Under normal circumstances, Holou might’ve gone ahead and danced naked…” —Sora wrapped it all up by revealing the deep, dark inner workings of his plan. That’s right! “That’s why we planted something even more embarrassing than nudity, something that would even make Holou fluster with unconscious shame! And that is what brings a show energy! Do you understand?!” The machines slouched in silence, but Sora and Shiro nonetheless were sure the Ex Machina heard them.