I feel as though I had been dreaming a long dream.
A pleasant dream that swayed like water at the bottom.

A dream in which my dead family resurrected, erasing all unpleasant things.
From then on, only joy would follow.

I wished to dream that dream forever.

Gazing blankly at the ceiling, Kūna Kanon realized that, before she knew it, she had awakened from the dream.

“…For Yume-chan’s sake, I must experiment.”

Stumbling to her feet, Kūna Kanon began to walk.
To dream again.

But that very step pinned her to reality.

“Big sis.”

She was called, and she turned around.
At the lab’s entrance stood a familiar face.

It was the same face as her adorable little sister’s, yet a different creature.
Still, as the elder, Kūna Kanon smiled.

“…Oh? What’s the matter? Miyume-chan—you must not come here.”

Miyume fixed Kūna Kanon with a piercing, most displeased gaze.

“I came to stop you, sis.”
“Is that so? Then— you must be a failure yourself.”

In a dream world, there is no room for unpleasant things.
No noise, no enemies, no tragedy is needed.

Kūna Kanon’s world ought to be overflowing with happiness.

“It isn’t too late now. I can atone for my sin together with you. So—”
“Eh? What are you saying?”

Kūna Kanon tilted her head.
Miyume’s words made no sense—simply because…

“What sin of mine? Did I do something wrong?”

Could daydreaming about family be a sin?
For Kanon, it was nearly a virtuous act.

Unconditional love for family.
She defined herself as a sister who loved her little sister.

“Even though I did nothing wrong, why must I atone? I don’t understand what you mean, Miyume-chan.”
“…Is that so? As expected—you’re already broken.”
“Oh, I don’t like it. Lately, everyone’s like that. It’s this world that’s broken—the failed world that stole Yume-chan from me. Surely the god who built it must be stupid.”

Shaking her head in exasperation, Kanon walked over to the monitor and began operating the console.
If there were time to waste on such trivial banter, every minute and second should be devoted to reviving my beloved little sister.

“That one failed, but… the body is almost as expected. Yes. Next, from the imprinting of the foundational memories—”

Muttering as she planned a new subject for the Deep Dream Project, something passed right by Kanon.
It was a pure white Divided Death Must Die unlike any she had seen before.

The Divided Death Must Die struck the monitor, causing a small explosion that shattered it.
Seeing the broken monitor, Kanon tilted her head and scratched it absentmindedly.

Then, still sporting a fixed smile, she turned around.

“What does this mean?”
“I told you—I would stop you.”
“I see… Miyume-chan, you’re such an idiot.”

The two faced one another, and a brief silence fell.

“Divided Death Must Die.”

Their voices overlapped.
At that moment, Kūna Kanon’s eyes widened.

Countless white butterflies appeared behind Miyume.
The immaculate death—untainted by any color—unfurled with Miyume at its center.

“Big sis, let’s have a fight. The first and last sibling brawl.”
“You insignificant creation…”

Thus, the battle between geniuses began.

■

At Zilnius Academy, the strongest is undoubtedly the student who holds the title of Doctor.
Unlike S-rank, though they cannot interfere with concepts, their versatility—in sheer volume—surpasses even S-rank.
With sufficient preparation, they can even be defeated.

At the pinnacle among these kings of knowledge,
the genius ranked No. 2 after Zero-One was none other than Kūna Kanon.

Her talent was an acquired one wrought by relentless determination.
Thus, she was greedier and more fearsome than anyone.

That is why anyone who knew her, when asked of “Kūna Kanon’s defeat,” always answered with the same words:

—Unthinkable.

At Zilnius Academy, a genius signifies the strongest.
Student council is trivial.
They even transcend S-rank.

That is Doctor Kūna Kanon.

“Divided Death Must Die!”

A black butterfly soared with disciplined movement.
Its destination: Miyume and the white butterflies behind her.

“Divided Death Must Die.”

More calmly than Kūna Kanon, Miyume issued orders to the Divided Death Must Die behind her.
In her eyes, a magical formula arched in inscription.

The Divided Death Must Die clashed, sparking a small explosion.
Kūna Kanon grimaced as she imagined Miyume beyond the blaze.

“The complete awakening of the Mystic Eye of Logic… troublesome, isn’t it?”

The true value of the Mystic Eye of Logic lies in analysis and reproduction.
Through it, the Deep Dream Project aims to recreate the body of the girl named Yume.
Yes—the Mystic Eye of Logic is solely a magic eye for reproducing a body.

It has never unleashed any function beyond that.

“But I am the one who created you!”

The Divided Death Must Die multiplied.

For magic-users, it absorbs magical power; for others, it overwhelms with sheer volume.
Simply put, surpassing that was nearly impossible.

“No matter how strong you are, you cannot defeat your creator!”

The white butterflies, overwhelmed by numbers, were shot down.
Yet Miyume did not lower her head.

Amidst the swirling butterflies, Miyume dragged her right hand along the floor.

“Simple Summon—Ruruka!”

A white dolphin appeared.
The dolphin nuzzled against Miyume as if showing affection.

“I’m counting on you.”

Miyume rode the dolphin and threaded through the rain of black butterflies.
Seeing this, Kūna Kanon gaped.

“Complete reproduction of Ruruka? You’re fully mastering the Mystic Eye of Logic’s power. That’s not good—irregularities like that are troublesome.”
“If I don’t do this, I can’t beat big sis.”
“But you’re no longer my little sister!”

The Divided Death Must Die under Kūna Kanon’s control multiplied.
Arranged into the shape of a black arm, the Divided Death Must Die—synchronized with Kūna Kanon’s movements—was thrust forward.

Touch it, and it’s over—an arm of death that drains magic and overpowers with numbers.

“It was only that the swords of Sorciera and Konie were off; normally, Divided Death Must Die does not lose! It’s invincible! The Mystic Eye of Logic can’t do a thing about it!”

An arm of Divided Death Must Die grasped the dolphin’s tail.
As the dolphin, losing magic from the touched end, crumbled, Miyume leaped off, tumbling onto the ground.
And then, she touched the floor.

“Simple Summon! Lolon!”

A white crocodile appeared, following the dolphin, and carried Miyume on its back as it swam away.
At a speed unimaginable for its massive form, it steadily increased the distance from the Divided Death Must Die.

“You just keep running. Were you only watching the backs of the weak? No—you must look at me. You must take a cue from someone as strong and clever as I am. And you must always obey… got it!”
“Hey—dodge, Lolon!”

The color of the Divided Death Must Die shifted.
From black to red.
With its speed increasing, the Divided Death Must Die transformed into a bullet aimed at Miyume.

Miyume tilted her upper body, barely letting her fingertips touch the floor.

In that moment, a wall surged up behind her, forming a shield to protect her.
But it only held back the first wave.

As long as Kūna Kanon’s magical power persisted, the ceaseless barrage of Divided Death Must Die could never be completely repelled.

“Ugh!?”

Within about a second, the wall was breached, and the Divided Death Must Die flew toward Miyume.
The white crocodile hurled Miyume from its back and, shielding its master with its body, shattered.

(I took a few hits—yet I can still stand…!)

Thanks to the wall and the crocodile, the number of Divided Death Must Die that struck Miyume directly was minimized.
Even so, an ordinary person would have died as if hit by a bullet, but Miyume was different.
An explorer, she possessed the supreme body created by the genius Kūna Kanon.

“Well, not yet!”

Thus, Miyume stood again.
Clenching her fist, she pounded the floor and steeled herself to face forward.

Before her spread a wall of deep crimson.
Divided Death Must Die filled every gap in the surroundings.
Every form enabled high-speed movement—evasion was impossible.

Kūna Kanon, with the crimson wall behind her, spread her arms.

“I know the Mystic Eye of Logic’s maximum output. In theory, it can even deploy autonomous armaments. But that’s all there is—just that. That’s why I left it alone.”

There was no flaw in this plan.
Kūna Kanon said this with a smile.

“Give up. Let me examine your body calmly, and I’ll keep you as my guinea pig. How about it? If Yume-chan comes back to life, you might even become a pet—if you were alive, that is.”

It was less kindness than a proposal borne of her desire for Miyume’s perfected body.
If this battle continued, Miyume’s body would be injured and die—and that would be such a waste.

That was the true nature of the hand Kūna Kanon had extended.
Her endlessly self-centered, calculating thought—she called it love.

“At least, for once, I want you to obey me. How about it?”

In response, Miyume clenched her fist.
Seeing that, Kūna Kanon sighed deeply in disappointment.

Then, pointing at Miyume, she declared:

“Enough already—break.”

At Kūna Kanon’s command, the Divided Death Must Die was fired.
Before an overwhelming number of Divided Death Must Die bullets—unlike anything before—Miyume only thought silently.

(The Mystic Eye of Logic can reproduce armaments. Its reproduction via analysis has indeed materialized things. But—is that all?)

Even at the limits of the Mystic Eye of Logic, Miyume still looked beyond.
Beyond the impossible limit lay a view—a star shining with extraordinary brilliance on the far side.

“…More, more—exactly as I desire, exactly as I wish.”

In murmured, almost delirious words, Miyume remained unaware.
For they were but a mere fragment of her leaking thoughts.

In the fleeting moment—less than a second before the Divided Death Must Die struck—after billions of thoughts, she reached out and touched it.

“I see—it was something simple after all…”

Miyume grinned.
In the very next moment, she was struck directly by the Divided Death Must Die and swallowed into the deep crimson.

Witnessing this, Kūna Kanon sighed, “Oh dear,” in a tone of regret.

“Foolish to defy me—everyone is just a bunch of idiots.”

Thus, Kūna Kanon said, constructing a chair out of the Divided Death Must Die and sitting down.
She intended to wait here leisurely until she could confirm Miyume’s flesh with her own eyes.

“Quickly retrieve the Mystic Eye, rework the plan, and then… huh?”

Suddenly, she felt heat.
Had the lab’s temperature control malfunctioned amid the battle?
She tilted her head in thought.

Even though summer was coming, this heat was unpleasant.
As Kūna Kanon sought the cause, a voice suddenly rang out.

“—Act1”

From among the Divided Death Must Die, a voice emerged.
Through a gap in the mass of deep crimson Divided Death Must Die, something white flickered.

Something so hot that it warped the surrounding space as it danced.
By the time she realized it was flame, it was too late.

The Divided Death Must Die was burned away, turning to ash.
At the center of a world where white flame and ash swirled stood a lone girl.

From the twin pistols clenched in her hand, white flame burst forth.

“…What did I do?”
“It was simple.”

Miyume raised her face.
In both her eyes shone unfamiliar geometric patterns.

“I borrowed the strongest flame I know. That’s all.”

Miyume stepped forward.
With that alone, the surrounding Divided Death Must Die burned away.

The oncoming Divided Death Must Die was shot down by the convergence barrage Artemis, while the dolphins and crocodiles swimming about scattered the Divided Death Must Die one after another.

The world—a wild, ideal realm dreamed by a child—miraculously existed in this reality.

“Until now, everything about me was fake. But precisely because of that! From here on, I begin the true story of myself!”

Brandishing a gun, Miyume declared aloud.
It was like the cry of a newborn.

“Let’s settle this, big sis!”

In that moment, the very ending of the story was rewritten.