Limitless The Strongest Revenant

'Haaa. Calm down, John. Breathe in. Breathe out. Let's think about this for a moment,' I told myself.

I had no time to get angry, afraid, or depressed. My girls would be in danger if I abandoned them to this fucking danger noodle. Things might look bad, but we had a lot of things going for us. I need a way to process all this without getting my feelings all over the place.

'Hmm, I need a sounding board. Good thing I know just the thing. Exa, take command of my body for a while. Record everything Zanele says; I will review it afterwards.'

[I understand, my lord. I will reach out to you for anything that needs your attention.]

'Great, thank you, Exa. [Maestro], get your ass here.'

[Maestro] was one of my Disciplines that was added in {Limitless} version 4. Unlike the other Disciplines, which enhanced my body and senses, [Maestro] focused on my mind. According to Exa, it created an AI-like entity using my extra brainpower.

At my command, I felt the souls in my body shift. Like my bones and organs began rearranging themselves. It didn't feel unpleasant, but somehow, my body felt more sluggish. It was like I had placed a blindfold mask over my eyes.

I no longer saw as far, but I could concentrate on the sound of my own better. The sudden dulling of my body caused me to tense up. But the mental clarity in my mind felt good. As if I had only just awoken from a full 8 hours of sleep, my mind felt sharp, alert, and alive.

[Maestro boot up completed... Please state the combat situation.]

'State the situation, huh?'

Listening to this AI thing somehow lifted a weight off my chest. I felt my body relax in place. This version of my thoughts had no fear, worry, or emotion. It would take a problem and find a solution. Like a calculator. It made my tasks much simpler.

'Okay, first the problem. The problem is that we had a primordial snake coming after me. And if he wakes up it will be game over.'

[Can the snake be terminated?]

'I don't think so. As my past lives were Revenants, if it were possible, they would have done it already.'

[Can the snake be contained or sealed?]

'Hmm.. I think it is sealed at the moment. It will free itself when a condition is fulfilled.'

[What is the condition for its containment?]

'I don't know.'

[Can the snake actually kill us?]

'Yes. In fact, he already has many times. We just came back. But this might be the last time if my memory holds true.'

[Do we have any allies or weapons we can use to help us kill the snake?]

'Allies? I don't think the Revenants count. As for weapons, none at the moment.'

[Do we know where the snake is?]

'We don't.'

As I discussed and laid out the current situation with [Maestro], I began to see the horrible situation I am in. It was like knowing a hitman was after you. But you didn't know when, where, or how he would kill you.

[Is negotiating with the snake an option?]

I grit my teeth at the question. Technically, it was possible. In my dreams, the serpent made plenty of deals to the Warriors. He even intended to revive all the lovers of the warriors who died. Like the devil in the Bible, he even offered a life of bliss in exchange for giving up.

'No. It isn't,' but I couldn't take that route. Deep down I just knew it was not an option.

[What are the conditions for victory?]

'Hmm, what do you mean?'

[As the opponent is immortal, unstoppable, and isn't open to dialogue, our options are limited. Without allies or proper arms, we can only run. We can resist, delay, or distract him.]

'Explain.'

[If the conditions for victory are survival, running is the best option. Sacrificing others to delay or distract the snake is also a worthwhile alternative. Our demise would only begin once there is no longer anyone else we can offer as mortar.]

'…'

I couldn't offer a single rebuttal. If you were weak, that indeed was the only option. If the Sirens and I were the only ones important, we could just order Hellsend to fight while we ran.

[Yet, if the conditions for victory are to stop the snake, it is not possible at the moment. Thus, under the assumption that it will remain sealed, the next best thing is to delay its release as much as possible and prepare for it in the future.]

'I see, that make sense.'

[You stated that the snake is sealed at the moment but will soon be released. What evidence do you have to support this assumption?]

'Umm… The bastard keeps flooding the world with malice. I think the number of demons on Earth is related to it.'

[How? And what connection do demons and malice have?]

As I tried to think of an answer, I ended up scratching the back of my head. It was frustrating in a way. Because [Maestro] operated like a machine; it didn't have preconceptions. Normally, just saying demons fuck up the Earth was enough.

Using Zanele's explanation, I tried to elaborate, 'Hmm… Let's go with malice as being evil. The demons are evil bastards, and their actions cause the world to suffer. The suffering creates the malice.'

[If that's the case with the malice, allowing the demons to rule causes it to grow. As the demons cannot live without causing others to suffer. Am I correct in that assumption?]

'Yes.'

[Is killing the vast majority of humanity allowed?]

'Huh? Why the fuck would you even think about that?'

[The goal is to reduce malice. If demons create malice from the suffering of humans. The answer lies in either terminating the demons or terminating the humans. Doing either will stop the suffering, thus ending the malice at the same time.]

'Ugh… This is why I believe Skynet will really become a thing.'

Like any AI, [Maestro] fashioned a way to achieve victory at any cost. And from an extreme standpoint, it was correct. I often said that I would burn the world for the Sirens, but going through with it was not as easy.

There was no fault in [Maestro's] thinking. Provided I was ready for humanity to perish, that was one way to ensure that not enough malice filled the Earth. As it comes from the intense emotions of humans, without humans, there could be no malice.

'Let's put that plan on the back burner for later. Right now, the humans cannot be sacrificed. Create a plan that solves the problem by doing something about the demons.'

[Changes accepted. Then the condition for victory is not to defeat the snake but to ensure it does not get released. If Malice is the main factor, then reducing the malice available is the next best thing. Fortunately, we have plenty of ways to clear malice, unlike the Africans.]

'What do you recommend for Hellsend to do [Maestro]?'

[With the victory conditions set to containment rather than elimination. My recommendations will consider various industries to achieve the goal. You are already or are in the process of executing most, if not all, of them.]

'Huh? What do you mean by that?'