Epilogue C: Ray the Unbreakable

Epilogue C: Ray the Unbreakable

Duel city Gideon, first district, Paladin, Liliana Grandria

Bells were tolling.

Three mornings had dawned upon Gideon since that nightmarish night. Clear, yet sorrowful bells were echoing throughout the city, as all the churches in Gideon were sounding out a requiem.

It was a sound for the second day of the three day-long combined funeral happening here in the knight offices in the first district, mourning the knights and guards that had laid down their lives during the incident.

Our Royal Guard had lost 18, Gideon's knights had lost 15, and the guards had lost 28, making for a total of 61.

"...Sixty-one," I silently voiced the number.

The only saving grace was that the lives lost here had been relatively few compared to the crushing defeat and loss of life we'd suffered during the war. And most of all, by some miracle, the incident hadn't killed a single civilian. Though, sad as it was, I couldn't say that it was the result of the sacrifice of the deceased.

Not saying a word, I looked at the mourners.

A young boy standing before a coffin was calling out for his father.

A woman was on her knees, sobbing uncontrollably.

An old man looked at the flower altar, completely still, as though in shock.

Clearly, they were family of the knights and guards who'd never

made it back.

could tell because they were exactly the same as Milia and I had been when we'd attended the combined funeral for those lost in the war... including our father.

"...Hhaah," I breathed a sad sigh. As ones with a duty to protect the kingdom, knights and soldiers were all ready for death.

However, I doubted that any of them thought they'd die on that night.

Death could come suddenly and without warning.

Gideon's knights and guards had been killed by either the monsters that had attacked the streets, or by the lawless Masters the other Masters referred to as "player killers," while my subordinates had died in the battle against Franklin. Some had been crushed by that tentacle monster, while others had been consumed by the overwhelmingly powerful dragon clad in the red aura.

All of us had been powerless against them.

But Ray and his brother — the King of Destruction, Shu Starling — and many other Masters had avenged those that were lost. They'd saved my subordinates and the kingdom's second princess, too, while also sending the tian-killing "player killers" to the gaol.

Thanks to their efforts, many of the deceased had been recompensed, and those that had died that night hadn't died in vain.

I was silent.

Both the one who'd started the incident and the ones who'd ended it were Masters.

They had only been able to stop Franklin because they were like him.

"Even so, Masters... those chosen by Embryos... aren't special," I whispered.

They were as human as the rest of us.

They simply had a means of escaping death and were blessed with immense powers.

Though they were quick to gain power, their powers weren't their identities.

That was why we had Masters who crushed others, such as the Hell General or Franklin, as well as those who stopped them, such as Ray and the King of Destruction. That was how it was among us tians, as well.

There was a vast difference in power between tians and Masters, but they were just as human as us.

That power difference was exactly why only Masters were capable of stopping a rampaging Master. That was what had happened that night... and what hadn't happened in the war half a year ago.

"Protecting the kingdom requires their aid... Lady Altimia," I muttered and pictured the person I served, the first princess and the acting ruler of the country, Altimia A. Altar.

Sadly, it was doubtful that Her Highness Altimia intended to borrow the powers of the Masters.

She didn't consider them to be as human as us.

"Still..."

watched the flower altar and noticed that the left hands of those placing flowers there were varied.

Those with and without crests alike were mourning the deceased and adding bouquets to the altar.

One was gently patting a crying child's head, while another comforted a different child with a light embrace.

Another one supported a woman who was about to fall due to the staggering despair.

Another took the hand of an old man who stood still in shock, and helped him place his flowers on the altar.

"They really are just like us... Lady Altimia," I whispered.

Speaking of Masters, I wonder what he's doing, I thought.

Y esterday, he'd come here to present his flowers the moment the combined funeral was opened.

He'd just lost his left arm, so I could only hope that he wasn't doing anything reckless. With what he'd done during the trouble with Milia, the Gouz-Maise Gang, and Franklin's Game, it was clear that he wouldn't hesitate to do absurd things for the sake of others.

"But that quality might just be a part of his kindly nature," I said to myself and pondered about similar nothings when suddenly, Lord Lindos ran up to me with a panicked expression.

"Lady Grandria! We have trouble!" he exclaimed.

"Oh? What's the matter?"

"Her Highness Elizabeth, she..."

"She has no official business today, yes? Today is a free day for her."

She'd spent all of yesterday attending the combined funeral, and had spent all her days prior to the Clash dedicated to the relevant preparations. Because of that and due to her kidnapping by Franklin, she'd been given a day off today so that she could have a proper rest.

"Did Her Highness say anything?" I asked. "If she wishes to leave, simply have a number of Royal Guard accompany her, and—"

"She left a note and escaped the Count's residence! Again!"

"...Augh." I voiced a strange sound as I turned dizzy.

◇◇◇

Duel city Gideon, sixth district's arena, Paladin, Ray Starling

When using Nemesis in her greatsword or halberd forms, I never felt a hint of her weight. Both of those forms could be classified as ultra-heavy weaponry, but I could swing them with ease thanks to that trait.

was always thankful for it, but never was my gratitude as great as it was now that I'd lost my left arm.

tried swinging the greatsword, then had her switch to the halberd and did the same.

Though I couldn't spin the flag halberd due to risk of dropping her,

could still thrust, slash, and cleave without much trouble. "Looks like I can get by without my left arm," I said.

"Indeed," Nemesis agreed. "The lack of an arm is nothing to us."

Well, I wouldn't go that far. Losing an arm was a pretty big deal. However, she was right that it wasn't much of a problem when

fighting with her as my weapon.

A very clear problem, however, was Gardranda.

Without my left arm, I couldn't equip the left bracer, meaning that

couldn't use Purgatorial Flames, which was one of my main skills. When punching Franklin, I seemed to have discovered a new way to use it, too, but now it looked like that would have to wait.

I'd thought that losing my left arm would render me incapable of storing Nemesis, but there was no problem at that front. The crest had simply moved to the upper left arm — the part that was still there.

Clearly, losing an arm wasn't enough to lose the sign that I was a Master.

"Still, holding you with one arm will make it pretty hard to fight while riding Silver," I said.

I mean, I can't really hold Silver's reins with my teeth.

"Mhm," Nemesis agreed. "But I believe it's a good thing here."

"Because... why?"

"We're about to battle her again, and I want us to face her like last time — with just the two of us."

"Oh my, aren't you enthusiastic," the "her" she was referring to, Marie, said jokingly.

Just like during our encounter in Noz Forest, she was shrouded in the same black mist and held her gun-like Embryo, Arc-en-Ciel, in her right hand. She and I were in this arena to have the rematch duel we'd promised to have when fighting Franklin's monster army.

We were facing one another in a block shielded by an impermeable barrier.

Besides us, the barrier contained a few spectators — Rook, Babi, Shu, Figaro, and one more person.

On an unrelated note, Rook had already known that Marie was the Superior Killer. Hell, Shu had known it, as well.

In hindsight, Shu... the King of Destruction... had tried to kill the Superior Killer even if it took burning down the entire Noz Forest, so him knowing her identity wasn't all that surprising.

Speaking of that incident, apparently he'd done it to avenge me.

had lots of things to say about that, including but not limited to, "Dude, what the hell," "No one asked for this," and "Y ou scorched a goddamn forest," but I chose to tell him off later.

After all, we were accompanied by someone far more troublesome than Shu.

"Marie, do your very best!"

For reasons unknown, the princess that we'd all worked so hard to save was among the spectators.

"...Might I finally know why you're here, princess?" I asked.

"Hm? Very well," she said.

Apparently, she had awoken right before my battle at the top of Pandemonium. Because of this, she clearly recalled how I'd faced Franklin and how Marie had rescued her.

Wanting to thank us, she'd snuck out the count's residence again and walked around searching for us.

During her search, she'd found Shu and Figaro, both of whom were in suits that really stood out from the crowd. Thinking that she could find me by following my brother, she'd done exactly that and eventually came here.

Apparently, she had the whole day off, but that wasn't the problem here...

"Liliana!" I shouted, unable to hold it in. "Y ou really need to do something about your security!"

"That's more or less how I feel. 'What? Again?' and all that," said Marie. "Still, rather than poor security, I'm starting to think that it's Ellie who's just really good at sneaking out. It's the second time she'd done this, after all."

"The princess might have a talent for it," added Rook. "She might make a good thief."

A princess who's a thief...? What?

"Anyway," said Marie. "Ellie's watching, so victory's as good as mine! Don't expect any consideration or mercy!"

"Well, I wouldn't have it any other way, but..."

This is nothing like the revenge match I'd imagined, I thought.

After Marie had given me my first death penalty, I'd pictured a desperate rematch between two enemies. But now, right as we were about to fight, we were surrounded by a peaceful air of friendship.

"...And that's fine, really," I said.

"Indeed," Nemesis agreed.

Though Marie had once killed us, she was now nothing but a friend, and that was in no way a bad thing.

"Still, I want my rematch," I continued.

"Heh heh," Marie chuckled. "Such vigor and drive... But do you really think you can win?"

Well, that's the question...

"Let's see... you're way above me in both level and stats," I said.

Her total level was over the cap for low and high-rank jobs, while her AGI was at least several dozens of times greater than mine.

"My technique is just incomparable to yours."

She'd been fighting in Infinite Dendrogram for far longer than me.

Her experience was on a whole different plane.

"And I'm here without my left arm — quite a handicap. It's pretty clear that I have nearly no chance of winning."

This battle would've been hard even if I was in top shape, so this definitely didn't help my chances.

"Still... I won't say that I can't win."

No matter how severe the situation, I would never quit without even trying.

"If there's a possibility I want, I'll never give up reaching for it."

That was what my brother had taught me.

"That's what seizing the possibility is all about."

My words made Shu laugh out loud and give me a thumbs-up.

"And that's why I'm in it to win it," I concluded my speech.

"And also why you're Ray the 'Unbreakable.'"

"Unbre... Huh?" What?

"Oh? Y ou're unaware?" she said. "That's your nickname."

"I have a nickname?"

"Indeed you do. 'The King of Destruction's little brother, the one

who didn't break before a Superior.'"

"Well, that sure is something..."

What an awkward nickname to have, I thought.

"There's also 'Dark Paladin,' 'Prince on the Silver Steed,' and 'The Light and Dark-Wielding Hero Clad in Violet and Crimson.' Any preferences?"

"Unbreakable, please."

It's not even a damn choice with those other options.

"I'm quite fond 'Prince,' though," Nemesis commented.

"...No, thank you."

Anyway, "Unbreakable," eh...? I actually kinda like it.

"Okay then," said Marie. "Here I go, Unbreakable!"

"Y eah! Bring it on, Superior Killer!"

We prepared for battle.

Marie instantly pulled Arc-en-Ciel's trigger, making it fire bullets as numerous as they were during the first time she'd killed me. It was a repeat of that day.

Time for a quest, then, I thought.

My target was the strongest PK, the Superior Killer.

My destination was beyond the familiar veil of bullets.

And my goal... was victory.

"Let the quest..."

"...begin!" Nemesis finished for me.

kicked the ground beneath me and dashed forward. To be continued in the next episode...

Midword

Cat: "Greetings, dear readers, I'm the Cat you all know well by now, Cheshiiire."

Xun: "I'm Xun, for XunY u."

Bear: "And I'm the one and only Bear... the King of Destruction, Shu Starling!"

Cat: "We knew, and so did the sharper readers. Maybe even since volume 1."

Bear: "Y ou're cold! I've been prebearing for this for five volumes!"

Cat: "That aside, this concludes the Franklin arc and ends the first part of Infinite Dendrogram as a whole."

Bear: "What a good finale."

Cat: "Hey! The part is done, but the product is still going on! Don't jinx it!"

Xun: "But the lAst scene was somEwhat like the last chApter of a manga. Honestly, it woUld work pretty well if it just endED here."

Cat: "Stop! Nothing's ending! We're still going on!"

Bear: "Anyway, jokes aside, the beary presence of a midword means that there's something more, right?"

Cat: "Y es. There will now be two everyday life stories set after the Franklin arc."

Bear/Xun: "..."

Cat: "Y ou two look like you want to say something."

Bear: "Who puts everyday life stories after final scenes like the one we just had?"

Xun: "...Wouldn't tHE volume leave a bettEr impression if it ended hEre?"

Cat: "Silence. Anyway, the latter of the two stories is completely new."

Bear: "...Did the author need to fill some pages?"

Cat: "He tried to write something new into the main story, but he couldn't think of anything besides expanding on The Earth and the DOA worm."

Xun: "Hey, don't cAll it DOA. I had to be realLY careful with the bomb whEN killing that thiNg."

Bear: "He could've expanded on me and my ursine greatness."

Cat: "Y ou're saying you want more scenes?! I want some, too, you know?! I didn't show up in volumes 4, 5, and won't show up in the story that comes next, either! When's my turn?!"

Xun: This has been bOthering me for a while... Why is Cheshire so nAive when it comes to appEArance in the story?

Bear: "Anyway, enough of the sad cat without any scenes. Please enjoy the stories that come next. Thank you beary much."

Cat: "Give me a turn!"