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Photodisintegration – Light Collapse Part 2

A weapon that required Okeanos’ authorization and Asia’s direct control was never going to be a practical tool for warfare. Using it within any planetary influence zone was strictly forbidden—attempting to do so would only trigger doom for the user, Okeanos would do everything in his hands to erase them from existence.

Even the Astraea, with all its advanced systems, required substantial infrastructure to generate and control hydrogen-7 and antihydrogen. This was not a weapon meant for reckless deployment.

「The effect duration, calculated from the Schwarzschild radius, is just under four hours. After that, Hawking radiation will cause it to evaporate. There may be an explosion as well.」

Asia’s Aimer exhaled deeply.

She had executed calculations and adjustments within a zeptosecond—a time frame smaller than 10^-21 seconds. The operation demanded unprecedented precision, putting a tremendous strain on Aimer’s body.

「A black hole forms through gravitational collapse due to an enormous mass. If we were to replicate it in a three-dimensional space using Earth’s technology, it would require at minimum around 10¹⁹ GeV (giga-electron volts) of energy. Not to mention, a circular particle accelerator spanning a thousand light-years in length. However, in higher-dimensional physics, the required energy and acceleration distance change significantly. For the medium, you used an A-Carbuncle, right?」

「If we successfully created a one-centimeter black hole, its lifespan would exceed the age of the universe. I assumed that the Stones’ space fleet wouldn’t be a threat, but considering the possibility of encountering large-scale Murder swarms or massive Teras Mythology Weapons, I prepared it anyway. If it wasn’t needed, we could simply retrieve the A-Carbuncle and discard the device as a dummy.」

「Creating one is already incredibly difficult—there’s no way to trigger an accidental detonation.」

Kinukawa could not contain his excitement. A monumental astrophysical experiment had just unfolded before his very eyes. As a scientist, he needed to understand every single aspect of it.

「Using high-speed rotation of the wheel section to extend the beamline distance… That means its Panjandrum-like design was indeed necessary.」

「The choice was between making it a gigantic cylindrical structure or a spinning wheel. That’s when the disguise plan was proposed.」

「Black holes have been successfully generated on Earth using Big Bang simulations. However, they existed only at the quantum level, observable for mere fractions of a second. That’s why they were designated as micro black holes. The only reason production was approved here was thanks to the pioneering research of 21st-century scientists.」

The super AIs followed a strict rule—they could only supply technology that the Transferees could comprehend, anything they could not comprehend was forbidden from being manufactured.

Paradoxically, this meant that as long as a foundational experiment had succeeded—or was deemed successful—approval for its use would be granted.

「I thought it was odd that three Asia cores and three Hora-class AI were involved in what was supposedly just a dummy…」

Kinukawa seemed slightly frustrated that he hadn’t seen through its true nature earlier.

「I owe you, Asia. Thank you. You created something truly incredible.」

Libya said, expressing her gratitude toward Asia’s Aimer.

「This is cute compared to those Mythology Weapons you created. I never actually thought we’d have to use it. A creation that demands its creator’s life… We’ll need to be wary of the Teras in every possible sense.」

Asia had played a direct role in the creation of the ‘Fool’. Even she admitted that there had been no other choice.

「You are right. Even my life is nothing more than a mere upgrade module to them. It seems they are only interested in becoming super AI.」

Libya had been the one to bring the Mythology Weapons into existence—and the weight of that responsibility pressed heavily on her.

「Vritra boasted about having absorbed over a hundred demigods. We believe many of the original owners of the bodies that the Stones’ demigods use were Development Engineers. Even if Vritra’s base was an Eteocles-class battleship, there’s no way it could have increased its combat capabilities that drastically just by assimilating ordinary humans.」

「What do you mean, Astraea?」

Kou immediately pressed for clarification.

「This is a hypothesis. The reason Vritra gained such an immense power boost is likely because among the absorbed demigods, there were individuals with high-level Development Engineer privileges. They may have unlocked technological restrictions from within.」

「So, no matter how many ordinary humans it absorbed, it wouldn’t have been enough to bypass those restrictions?」

Libya nodded, agreeing with the analysis.

「Most Development Engineers are Transferees, though there are exceptions. But if it assimilated a hundred demigods, there’s a high probability that at least a few of them were B-rank Development Engineers.」

「By utilizing the bodies of demigods, it may have individually unlocked functions, processed multiple operations in parallel, and gradually evolved to that level. It was fortunate we were able to neutralize it here.」

「Seriously.」

Kou muttered. That thing was unquestionably among the strongest threats they had ever faced.

「You, Kinukawa, and Matt should all be aware—your personal risk level has increased significantly.」

「I get it, Astraea. If any of us get captured, the Teras will only grow stronger. That’s something we absolutely must prevent.」

「We’ll need to be more cautious than ever before.」

「And it’s not just Kou—Libya as well. The idea of Development Engineers being used as enhancement material for the Teras is something I don’t even want to imagine.」

Asia’s Aimer murmured softly. Even she hadn’t expected something like this to happen.

「The possibility of a Teras invasion on Planet Asia has likely increased.」

「That risk has indeed escalated.」

「We need to rescue Libya’s core and find a way to regain control. If we hadn’t dealt with Vritra here, we could have seen a repeat of the Stones invasion.」

「That is correct.」

Astraea affirmed Kou’s concerns.

「I’ll make sure to warn all the Development Engineers about the danger.」

「Thanks for everything, Asia. Your control over the situation really saved us.」

It seemed that Asia was preparing to leave Aimer’s body. Kou took a moment to properly express his gratitude to her.

「Against an enemy like that, we had to usetThe ‘Fool’—there was no other way. Make sure to thank Aimer and Master too, got it?」

「I know, I know. Once we’re back at the Fortress Area, I guess it’s time for another shopping trip with you, Asia.」

「You’re not bribing me with that… But I am looking forward to it.」

Asia gave a small smile.

「The black hole seems to have evaporated. I’ll be heading back now.」

On the display, a small explosion appeared—a final sign that the black hole had fully dissipated.

Aimer’s eyes returned to normal.

「Thank you, Aimer… Master.」

「We’re both fine.」

Aimer said trying to reassure Kou, though it was clear she was exhausted.

「Aki, Nyanta take care of Aimer, please. Take her somewhere she can rest.」

「Got it, nya!」

「I’ll check in later.」

「Don’t push yourself too hard, Kou.」

「I know.」

In truth, Kou wanted to carry Aimer himself, but he still had unfinished business. The battle had only just ended.

Astraea’s voice echoed throughout the ship.

「Disengaging combat status. The battle with the Teras has ended. Reducing speed from maximum combat velocity to standard cruising speed. All ships, begin immediate full-system inspections.」

The signal for battle’s end resounded, and across the fleet, the Familia crew members hurried to conduct system checks.

AN:

Even if 1 attocentimeter sounds too small is still absurdly powerful, even a 1-micrometer black hole would have a lifespan exceeding the age of the universe.

The black spot appears because it absorbs all light.

If a 1-attometer black hole persisted for over four hours, the damage would be catastrophic.

And as for how exactly things get swallowed up by it…

Well, there’s no way to simulate that properly. LOL.

TN:

This chapter was extremely difficult to translate due to all the science involved, I did my best to be as accurate as possible, but certain things were hard to grasp, so there might be some mistakes. If you find any mistake please report it to me so I can fix it.

By the way, I don’t know where the author got his math, but a 1-attometer-sized black hole would endure for 18.5 days before dispersing due to Hawking radiation, it would never disperse in 4 hours.