Dorothea slowly opened her eyes.
All the usual gentleness, worry, and even lingering tension had faded from those newly opened eyes-leaving only an almost inhuman, icebound calm.
"Dorothea?" Vanessa called tentatively, a hint of worry in her voice.
Dorothea's gaze focused on Vanessa's face, precisely catching the shifts in her microexpressions.
"Vanessa," Dorothea began, her voice still her own, but level and clear,
without the slightest inflection, as though she were reading an experimental report. "I have completed my first sacrifice."
She paused for half a second, seemingly searching for the most precise words.
"My cognitive abilities-appear to have undergone significant logical optimization."
"I feel-"
She tilted her head slightly.
"Very-clearheaded."
Vanessa looked at the girl before her, who seemed like a completely different person. Her gaze was as cold as a scalpel, and the logic of her speech was disturbingly rigorous-a chill crawled up Vanessa's spine.
She instinctively took half a step back, her right hand quietly reaching for the Nail-Headed Club leaning against the wall.
"Um-" Vanessa's voice was a little dry. "Don't-you feel like you've become a little abnormal?"
Dorothea calmly watched Vanessa's hand reach for the weapon, a long string of assessments instantly surfacing in her mind:
Enemy: Vanessa. Weapon: Nail-Headed Club.
Predicted swing trajectory: diagonally upward from the left.
Evasion routes: 3. Optimal route: move 1.2 meters to the right.
Counterattack options: 7.
Running a deduction based on both parties' physical attributes and combat experience-
Conclusion: unable to contend.
Based on this assessment, activate hidden contingency.
Dorothea stared straight at Vanessa, then dropped to her knees with a thump and raised both hands.
"I surrender."
Vanessa: "..."
It took Dorothea some time to leave that state, and once she realized what had happened, she felt terrible.
"So-the supernatural ability you acquired-" Vanessa struggled to hold