My Measurement: The Villain Desires a Satisfying Payback

As Cipher revealed his future plans to the twins, their first thought was simple.

'We'll do whatever we can to help.'

A pure, straightforward desire, it was the same stance they took whenever any kind of trouble arose.

'Ciphy' was in trouble, and for the first time, he had come out and explicitly asked for their assistance.

For Sana and Sona, their response was a given.

If there was something, anything at all they could do to relieve even a strand of his tension, the one whom they had countless things to be grateful for, then the girls would do so in a heartbeat.

Just like a pair of honest daughters fulfilling their duty of filial piety towards the one who had raised them, or perhaps with hearts even fuller than that, the twins each wanted to do what they could with their abilities.

After all, if they couldn't even do that much, then for what purpose did he rescue them?

From the very beginning, they were only brought here for one thing.

Sana and Sona, both as individuals and as a collective, had one purpose from the very beginning.

To be useful.

It was a simple task, but such difficult simplicity only made it a more arduous task.

Still, the twins knew their responsibilities.

They were more acutely aware of what role they played than anyone else, and so they knew precisely that this was their time.

However, somewhere along the line, something clicked.

As Cipher continued to explain his plan to unveil the secrets of the world, exposing the truth of the Forbidden Knowledge that lay sinisterly beneath in the process, the twins quickly realised.

What Cipher wanted.

To reveal everything and to bear the brunt of the consequences for doing so.

It was something that bore inconceivable risk.

In fact, he had even admitted it himself.

"They claimed that doing so would result in me wanting to destroy the world."

"I don't know if it's true or not, but I don't care anymore."

"Even if it results in me dying, it doesn't matter."

If things were to continue as fate intended, then Cipher's death was more than just a likely outcome; it was an almost certain, foregone conclusion. Even if not directly, it was a result that the twins had considered to be absolute.

Whether they liked it or not; whether they believed it or not.

They had no choice but to trust that such an outcome would occur. Because, in the end, if the world was destroyed, everyone else would die alongside it.

And, naturally, that end included Cipher, too.

"So long as I figure out the truth behind everything, I couldn't care less if I died."

It was an inexplicable sentence for the twins to hear, especially when the words came straight from his mouth.

They only listened to him in silence as they had always done.

The fact that he himself did not care to prevent it.

And if the person himself did not care to prevent his death, then the likelihood of him actually meeting such a fate was bound to skyrocket.

But, there was a fact that Cipher had gravely overlooked.

"If it means my curiosity is ultimately sated, I'm fine with death."

""...""

Just because he was fine with it, didn't mean everyone was.

Of course, there would be people who would be opposed to his demise.

The most prominent examples of such people were, naturally, Sana and Sona.

Standing by and watching their sole cherished person march towards his own doom... They could never do something like that.

And, most importantly, they knew.

That Cipher, himself, was not the type of person to meekly accept death as it came.

It didn't matter if it was something foretold by fate or not.

The twins didn't know if it was a result of his obstinacy, or if it was because he simply was not a weak person, but either way, they had no doubts.

Surrendering to death?

He was never such a person.

Perhaps that is why his recent and current state was brimming with incongruity; the twins couldn't shake the feeling that something was up to cause such a wild shift in his character, and although they had no clue how, they felt a push to get to the bottom of it and resolve the issue.

In the first place, it was something they needed to do if they wanted to help him.

To save him.

Just as he had saved them.

In the end, the twins knew what it was they had to do.

Whether it was conviction derived from blind faith in his abilities or a mere instinctual feeling that came as a result of simply knowing him well, the twins understood intuitively that Cipher was more than capable of destroying the world if he really wanted to.

Physically eliminating everything and everyone would, of course, be an extremely difficult task, but it was by no means impossible if you considered various weapons of mass destruction like, for example, atomic bombs.

Even without such dangerous things, there were many ways one could go about 'ending the world'. Furthermore, if 'ending humanity' was synonymous with 'ending the world', then suddenly, there would be even more methods available.

Emotionally, mentally, and even economically―it only took one thing to be thoroughly messed with and humanity could be ruined in a number of ways; it didn't all have to be the direct physical death of the human population, either.

There were plenty of alternative ways to go about it, but of course, the twins had no way of knowing what the truth behind 'the destruction of the world' actually meant, and so there was no way to adequately prepare for it.

If it was taken to be meant literally, Sana and Sona both knew there was no way they could feasibly prevent the world from being physically destroyed by something like thousands of nuclear missiles being detonated simultaneously.

Something of that scale was far too grand for them to handle alone, after all.

So, there was only one thing they could do.

"Ciphy, don't worry."

"We'll protect you."

Protection.

In other words, they would ensure that the destruction of the world never came to pass.

It should have been an obvious solution, right?

Of course, things couldn't be solved so simply, but the way the twins thought about it made it appear as such.

If the end of the world was what results in Cipher's death, then the end of the world is all they have to prevent; not necessarily by stopping countless nukes, per se, but by protecting the one who would cause a situation whereupon countless nukes would have to be launched.

If they could protect him and redirect his attention elsewhere, there would be no need for him to destroy the world, and thus, he would not die.

Since the twins saw the world in a relatively simple manner, they could think of the problem simply.

And, indeed, when phrased like that, it made the reality seem like not such a big deal.

Although,

How could they go about it?

Successfully preventing the end of the world was not something one could do merely by claiming they would do it, after all, even if it seemed like so at a glance.

Nevertheless, the twins had to give it their best shot.

Otherwise, Cipher would undoubtedly meet his end.

So, they had no choice but to prevent it.

In the end, what the twins knew for certain were the two key points in Cipher's explanation.

One:

'If Ciphy discovers the truth, he will want to end the world.'

And two:

'If Ciphy wants to end the world, he will end the world.'

They didn't have the ability to stop the end of the world itself. The key fact was, that in order to prevent the end of the world, the two girls would somehow need to stop Cipher from wanting to end the world.

What was the easiest way to do that?

The answer was something anyone could arrive at after even a little bit of thinking.

'...Stop Ciphy from discovering the truth.'

The twins came to such a natural conclusion.

Was it the best way?

Was it the only way?

Details like that; didn't matter.

"You'll protect me, huh?"

The reality is that it is protection―just a different kind, and not the type that was expected.

"Then, do your best, girls."

Sana and Sona both knew what the consequences of their choice might be.

Cipher―he would probably resent them once he finds out.

Resentment, treachery, disgust.

The kinds of negative emotions and feelings he might harbour towards the twins as a result of this decision were predictable. Considering his personality, as well as what he had personally told them in the past, what his reaction would be, was plain as day.

The girls knew he would most likely hate them and never want to see them again.

They knew they would probably regret this choice.

They knew they would probably want to kill themselves after everything was over.

They wouldn't be able to bear the guilt of betraying the one person they couldn't live without, after all.

It wasn't impossible that he might kill the two himself, even, in which case they wouldn't be in a position to complain.

In fact, for the twins' sanity, that might very well be the best possible outcome.

If he were to leave them alive but abandon them, for instance, it would be even worse.

If such a thing were to happen at this point, their hearts, already rendered fragile and on the verge of shattering, wouldn't be able to take it.

""...""

Nevertheless.

At the end of the day, the twins could do nothing but grit their teeth and bear the repercussions as they stabbed Cipher's back with their own hands.

They would prevent the destruction of the world by his hands.

They would prevent him from uncovering the truth in order to save his life.

It might not be what he wants; it might be going directly against his wishes.

Without a doubt, it was a move absolutely fit to call betrayal.

But, the twins vowed to succeed regardless.

Because, even if he resented the both of them to the bottom of his heart afterwards.

They couldn't afford to lose him now.