..................."Huh?"Train? Master? Strong?"Master?" the lime-haired woman repeated with rapt reverence as I felt my brain melt at the incredulous proposition offered to me. "Are you okay?""I-I... M-Master?" I stuttered like a blubbering idiot. "I-I'm fine..." Backus was an old man. He'd seen how the Empire had transformed from its small, humble beginnings, to becoming the continent-spanning behemoth that it was today. It was a different time, back then; back when Denominators weren't treated like the scum of the earth."Gramps. Have we seen all the exits yet?""Not yet, little Olivia," the elder addressed the curious girl by his side. "We have one more to go.""Okay..."As the pair continued on their merry stroll throughout the scorching-hot Furnace, the elder coulThe Least Common Denominator Interlude IV: Backus
We should've had enough time."Sis! The guards are closing in!"I gripped my katana with grim determination; its edge still left dull due to my attention being poured on to other projects. I didn't have a rifle on me, but it wouldn't matter in the long run."What do we do now?!" Behind me, a few of my motley band of fellow Denominators shouted out, mostly at me. "Crimson!-""I know, dammit! Stay calm!"It w
"Took you long enough!""C'mon! What do we do?!"I suppressed a nervous chuckle from escaping my lips as I turned to my detractors. I honestly wouldn't blame them. I would've left a long time ago if I could."We're not escaping. Not by a long shot," I began, noting the gasps and cries of some of my fellows. "They've blockaded the only way out of this place. The only thing we can do is fight!""Fight?!" a burly Denominator shouted incredulously. "You're sending us out to die?!" Battle cries rang from both sides of the fight as we waited with bated breath for the Decimals to begin their charge. The blazing, hot fires around the Central Hub visibly distorted the air as whispy mirages of the enemy forebodingly continued their approach."GET READY!" I shouted at my ragtag army from behind the veritable wall of Denominators blocking access to the Central Hub. "THEY'RE COMING!"*THUD! THUD! THUD!*I tensed up as the march grew louder, their footfalls now reverberating through my body as the Decimals now visibly lined up in front of us. We waited... "Did we win?""Already?"I could hear my fellow Dens on the front lines ask themselves the same question I'm currently repeating nonstop on my head. The veritable army of Decimals that I expected to eventually overwhelm us through sheer numbers had retreated...And I didn't know why."Sis?" Beside me, Olivia already looked at me with something resembling pride and accomplishment. "We won, didn't we?"Quite The Least Common Denominator VIII.III Integral Calculus
The Least Common Denominator VIII.IV Integral Calculus
"Move forward!"
"Are you sure that would be wise?"I stared straight at Backus's face as he asked me the exact same question that I did to myself just a few minutes ago. It might not be wise, but it's still an idea that had a ton of merit in terms of possible doability and lack of proper planning needed to execute such a stupid gambit.But hey, a girl can dream of better ideas when I'm dead."I can't see any other way that we would break through that wall without casualties," I explained as we walked and talked through the whole thing. "Olivia and I are the only two people here with actual combat experience. And we might as well