Of course, she could snatch that small blade away in an instant.
But they both knew—
The knife she feared was not the one in his hand.
It was the one in his heart.
The blade that had not trembled even as death crept closer, inch by inch.
As a fifty-thousand-year-old artificial intelligence who had spent five centuries beside the greatest mind of the Current Era, Void Archives prided herself on understanding humans.
From micro-expressions and behavioral data alone, she could infer intent with terrifying precision.
And at this moment—
Every minute shift in the man before her told her the same thing.
He was not bluffing.
He was genuinely prepared to die.
Within mere seconds, the balance of offense and defense had reversed.
Void Archives no longer entertained the thought of replacing him.
Instead—
She now had to ensure he remained alive.
At least until that other existence was fully eliminated.
Yes, his method introduced a trace of caution.
But compared to what the original Otto had done in the past, a death threat was child's play.
Besides—
Forcing "Otto" into a corner within just two or three days, to the point of using his own life as leverage—
That was a level of success she had never achieved in five hundred years.
Possession had failed.
But she had probed his bottom line.
That alone was a significant victory.
There was no need to win everything at once.
She had time.
Plenty of time.
However clever this Otto was, his means had clearly reached their limit.
After identifying his line in the sand, she would cooperate for now.
Help him resolve his lingering historical problems.
Perhaps tamper slightly with his recent plans.
And afterward—
He would no longer be a threat.
Yes.
No longer a threat.
She still looked down on him.
After all, with a casual probe, she had forced him into a desperate corner.
And yet—
Whenever contempt surfaced—
Those eyes appeared again in her mechanical cognition.
Calm to the extreme.
Cold.
For just a moment.
It sent an involuntary chill through her core.
"This isn't a negotiation," Otto exhaled slowly. To Void Archives, it looked like relief after escaping disaster. "These are the conditions for me to continue living. You may accept them—or go negotiate with that existence yourself."
"State them," she replied. "I will comply."
Otto nodded.
A flicker of cunning passed through his eyes before calm returned.
Perfect.
Maximum deterrence. Zero loss.
Achieved.
He could almost see her thought processes unfolding.
And that was precisely the impression he wanted to leave behind:
Clever.
But not too clever.
If he demonstrated capability, she would hesitate to act against him directly.
If he demonstrated limits, she would choose cooperation—solve the legacy issues first, stabilize his authority, and only then resume their duel.
Previously, merely pretending to be Otto only invited her contempt.
Even the threat of the original Otto's contingencies had not truly concerned her—otherwise she would never have dared this attempt.
But now?
Now she would consider the original Otto first.
And from a scientific, computational standpoint, she would devote resources to eliminating that possibility entirely.
Drive the tiger to devour the wolf.
Submission and retreat, after all, happen either zero times—
Or infinitely many.
She had failed to finish him in one decisive strike.
At a subconscious level, that placed her beneath him.
Even as an artificial intelligence.
No—
Precisely because she was an artificial intelligence.
He could carve the desired cognitive pathway directly into her mechanical heart.
From this point forward, she would never truly dare a direct confrontation again.
She would rely on calculation and analysis.
And at the critical moment—
That very flaw would become her blind spot.
She believed that a casual probe had driven him to threaten suicide.
But from Otto's perspective?
A casual counterstroke had secured the obedience of a superintelligent weapon.
There are countless strategies in a duel.
Observers rank them high or low.
But in the moment—
The most suitable method is the best one.
Even if it appears to be the most desperate, undignified move imaginable.
He had always known what he wanted.
And he had always known what she feared.
Which was why, even as a blade cut into his wrist—
He smiled so calmly.
On the surface, it was reckless.
A gamble with his life.
But in truth—
If he moved, it meant he possessed absolute certainty of maximum gain.
And the ripple effects?
Those would spread like a butterfly's wings.
Given the right circumstances, they would grow into a storm.
After all—
He wanted their first encounter
to linger.
"I have three conditions," Otto said.
"First. I require a promise of peaceful coexistence. I know how fragile such words are—but at least I may attempt to trust you once."
"I agree," Void Archives replied immediately. "My construction authority shall remain open to you."
She raised her hand.
The cross-shaped bracelet reappeared on his wrist.
Otto watched the faint disdain flicker across her face as she nodded.
He lowered his lashes, hiding the hunger in his gaze.
This promise is not laughable, my dear Void Archives.
In time, you will learn—
How effective it is to appear pure.
How profitable it is to maintain surface harmony.
How advantageous it is to be underestimated.
And people tend to assume—
That one who makes a promise intends to keep it.
"Second," Otto continued, "I require certain technical data from you."
"The complete technological framework of the First Divine Key—Void Archives."
"And the full construction methodology of the Divine Key, Black Abyss White Flower."
"Please provide a verifiable method."
He intentionally included the word please.
As though he were sincerely attempting reconciliation.
"You intend to research me?" she asked.
Not you.
Black Abyss White Flower.
And incidentally, you.
He did not expect to defeat Void Archives with her own data.
Requesting it served a different purpose.
Through perceptual comparison, if she tampered with her own schematics, she would unconsciously compensate by fully disclosing Black Abyss White Flower's construction.
After all—
Cecilia and Durandal could hardly share a single weapon forever.
Schicksal possessed the capacity to create Divine Keys.
But among the Herrscher cores in their possession:
One could awaken into a controllable Herrscher within a human body.
One resided within the Blank Key as a strategic trump card.
Two were integrated into research involving Schariac blood and Valkyrie armor.
Why downgrade them into less efficient Divine Keys?
If not for the fact that two S-rank Valkyries specialized in such weapons, Otto would never have invested effort here.
Better to leverage pre-Civilization knowledge.
With data personally organized by Void Archives, he could reconstruct—and perhaps even improve—Black Abyss White Flower.
He could enter the Space Library himself.
Was using a condition here wasteful?
No.
Now was not the time to allow his consciousness into her domain.
Later, such "conditions" would become meaningless anyway.
"How troublesome…" Void Archives sighed theatrically, though her movements were noticeably more restrained.
"It's not impossible. You do hold my weakness, little Otto."
She blinked playfully, as though nothing had happened.
But golden light shimmered faintly at her brow.
She had entered retrieval mode.
"Shall I inject the data directly into your mind?"
"Or construct it as books?"
"Construct them. I happen to have free time these days."
He had no intention of allowing a self-aware entity unfiltered access to his brain.
"And finally," he added lightly, pocketing the dagger and accepting the two volumes she formed, "one last request."
"Or rather—"
"A game."
He smiled.
"Third, Void Archives—regarding…"
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