Chapter 108: The Scream of the Sheep Part 2

Amon’s sword created a silver line, while Heinrich’s bullets left a golden one.

The two clashed, leaving traces of their divine power in the air.

As Cassie anxiously watched their battle—

Boom!

The cathedral Sonia had headed toward exploded.

“Cyber schizos!!!”

Countless madmen appeared not only in the Vatican but throughout Rome.

Even while assisting Heinrich in battle, his super AI was manipulating people’s nervous systems.

“You said it was a downgraded version!”

“It is a downgraded version, and yet it’s this powerful!”

Cassie protested, and Amon shouted back in response.

“At least only the ones who underwent neural procedures went insane!”

The originals were far worse.

They could manipulate people’s actions through cellphone radiation, distort magic circuits to cause mana overload, and even hack genetic codes—actions so incomprehensible they defied common sense.

By comparison, this downgraded version seemed to only hack those who had received cybernetic procedures.

Evidence of this was that only the Fallen Order’s priests and paladins, who were lenient toward cybernetic enhancements, were going mad.

However, the Fallen Order’s numbers were not insignificant.

“Cassie! I’ll take care of Heinrich! You handle the others—ugh!”

Because of this, Amon entrusted the paladins’ support to Cassie.

“Don’t worry about me!”

“…Got it!”

She forced herself to move forward.

After sending Cassie away, Amon refocused on Heinrich.

‘The divine power Heinrich wields… it passes through.’

He had realized it from the moment the bullets pierced straight through without resistance.

Heinrich’s bullets didn’t stop at obstacles; they passed right through them and struck their target directly.

‘It’s similar to Sonia’s ability, but different.’

Sonia ignored recoil, allowing her to push her rate of fire and destructive power to absurd levels.

Because of that, in terms of pure firepower, she was far stronger.

In contrast, Heinrich’s bullets didn’t amplify power or correct accuracy.

Instead, they steadily inflicted constant damage.

This made them especially effective against slow and heavily armored opponents.

‘But he’s easier to counter than Sonia.’

Sonia’s bullets were so fast that if you didn’t predict them in advance, they were nearly impossible to block.

Heinrich’s bullets, however, had an ordinary bullet speed.

‘If Amon concentrated, he could dodge them.’

‘And the fact that he’s using a handgun is a relief.’

For whatever reason—be it due to limitations or some other factor—he was only using a handgun.

Since he wasn’t firing in a scattered spread, his attacks were manageable.

With this, Amon slowly analyzed the cardinal.

Once he finished his assessment, he struck at Heinrich’s opening.

‘Reload time!’

A brief gap occurred as Heinrich reloaded.

Seizing the moment, Amon threw a dagger and closed in from his blind spot.

But—

‘Of course, he knows.’

Heinrich moved first, as if he had anticipated Amon’s actions.

As similar situations repeated multiple times, Amon grew suspicious.

Bang!

A bullet ricocheted, knocking over a flowerpot.

The flowerpot fell onto a fleeing car.

The car swerved and crashed toward Amon, then exploded.

Suspicion turned into certainty.

‘Laplace AI, huh.’

One of the Four Great AIs.

A monstrous system capable of calculating the movement of elements to precisely predict the future.

Unlike demons, whose foresight stemmed from divine power, Laplace’s predictions relied solely on calculations, meaning Amon had no way to counter it.

However, this realization led Amon to another conclusion.

‘The other three aren’t here.’

Heinrich wasn’t receiving support from the other three AIs.

If they had been present, they would have manipulated perception, transcended biological limitations, or even plunged the city into an ice age.

But Heinrich was still just an exceptional human.

Even if it was a downgraded version, controlling all four AIs at once was impossible.

So, he had chosen only one—Laplace.

And Heinrich’s choice was a wise one.

The performance of the other downgraded AIs was unknown, but among the original Four Great AIs, Laplace was undoubtedly the strongest.

It didn’t just predict the future; it determined it, making it virtually unbeatable.

But…

‘It inherited the same weakness.’

For all its apparent omnipotence, that AI had a fatal flaw.

If it had truly been perfect, it would have been sealed away long ago.

‘It’s still passive.’

And this illegal copy of Laplace had inherited its original’s flaw.

The passivity of its predictions.

Foresight could influence others’ choices and guide them toward a certain decision.

But Laplace’s calculations merely followed the opponent’s choices as variables—it could not interfere with them.

A subtle difference, but one with drastic consequences.

Because…

‘That means the choice is mine.’

Amon pulled out a vial of green eye drops from his pocket.

For a moment, the nickname Snail Shit flashed through Amon’s mind.

He bit his lip lightly and administered the eye drops.

Before long, the future unfolded before his eyes.

Not the futures where Cassie saw victory or defeat—

But the future a snail saw—one where, at the very least, he would not lose.

And this ability was nothing short of Laplace’s natural enemy.

‘You can’t wound me anymore.’

If Amon chose a future where he did not lose, then Laplace—who only calculated futures after his choice—could, at best, create a scenario where the fight ended in a draw.

But even in the same outcome, to Amon, it was a future where he at least did not lose.

To Laplace, it was a future where he could only avoid losing.

In other words, the longer the battle dragged on, the greater Amon’s chances of victory became.

And Heinrich was not a machine.

He was human.

At some point, he was bound to make a mistake.

These two facts combined filled Amon’s heart with confidence.

‘What an ironic turn of events.’

The very conspiracy that had declared Cassie’s family heretics had now come back to stab Laplace in the back.

‘Poetic justice.’

With his left eye holding foresight and his right eye showing a snail’s vision, Amon swung his sword.

Heinrich must have sensed something was off—his expression twisted in unease.

“What… Ugh, what did you do?!”

“Seems like you have time to talk?!”

The battle was now completely in Amon’s hands.

In the end, the first wound he had inflicted—on Heinrich’s right wrist—proved decisive.

“Checkmate, Heinrich.”

By taking his right arm entirely, Amon had seized complete control of the fight.

Reversing his grip on the sword, Amon extended an offer.

“I don’t want to kill you.”

It wasn’t out of sentiment.

Right now, the world was unaware of Heinrich’s crimes.

If he died like this, he would become a martyr.

Amon needed him alive for a trial.

And Heinrich understood that better than anyone.

“I feel the same, Amon. But…”

A fierce fire burned in Heinrich’s eyes—

“I must apologize. I never knew… how fulfilling and exhilarating it is to fight for one’s beliefs.”

“That’s not fulfillment. You’re intoxicated by bloodshed.”

“Perhaps. But in my life, which had never held meaning before—now, for the first time—”

His words trailed off as his breath trembled with raw emotion.

“—I have never felt such overwhelming purpose!”

Amon squeezed his eyes shut.

The fire he had mistaken for resolve had already turned to madness.

Heinrich, who had barely been clinging to rationality, was now reaching the final condition of cyber schizo.

“Don’t give up.”

Giving up.

The last stage of cyber Schizo was completed through the patient’s own despair.

“You must not abandon moderation and restraint.”

Amon’s voice cut through Heinrich’s muttering like a blade.

“Fanaticism is just another form of corruption!”

But—

“Brother, no matter how much I think about it… I see no meaning in how one lives. What matters is how one dies.”

Heinrich’s left arm trembled violently as he raised his gun beneath his chin.

“I must make the Goddess Church great again.”

“You mustn’t. You know this isn’t martyrdom or sacrifice. It’s corruption.”

“I know.”

Even within his fanaticism, Heinrich’s gaze toward Amon remained warm, almost affectionate.

And in that moment, Amon realized his mistake.

Heinrich wasn’t doing this to become a martyr.

He had failed—

So now, he wanted Amon to succeed.

He wished for his own death to elevate Amon into a miracle.

Amon clenched his teeth as he realized Heinrich’s intent and desperately tried to stop him.

But—

“My entire existence has been denied. So now, I will prove a new miracle.”

“Don’t do this!!”

“If this is the only way—”

Heinrich’s fingers tensed against the trigger.

“If I can witness a new miracle with my own eyes, then even if I become a monster—”

“Stop…”

“Amen!”

***

Bang!

A single gunshot echoed.

Heinrich’s head snapped back.

But the bullet that should have pierced through—

Didn’t exit the other side.

His head twitched and convulsed in unnatural directions.

Then—

[Did I not ask you? Whether you were worthy to use me?]

His voice became mechanical, distorted.

[My conclusion is made. You were interesting enough.]

His gun gleamed ominously as his eyes flashed red.

Amon recognized this phenomenon instantly.

“Laplace…”

[This poor human made one last request. Whether you are worthy, I do not know— But, Amon, I shall put you to the test.]