Epilogue A: The Superiors

Epilogue A: The Superiors

Journalist/Death Shadow, Marie Adler

A few hours had passed since Franklin's annoying little game, and dawn was only a few moments away.

Tonight, I'd fought the King of Orchestras, gathered and broken the devices all over Gideon, protected the city against the Suicide Series, broken through the King of Destruction's bombing to get on Pandemonium, saved Ellie, and handed her unconscious body to what remained of the Royal Guard.

Naturally, I was thoroughly drained, especially since it was the second night in a row I'd been running around doing stuff. Sure, my Superior Job gave me some great stats, but even so, I had my limits.

definitely wasn't the only one who had found this night to be highly taxing. Ray and Rook had gone through a number of harsh battles, as well. In fact, Ray had even lost both of his arms.

Franklin's death penalty made Pandemonium vanish, making Ray fall towards the ground below. Thankfully, he was saved by Nemesis and their Prism Steed, which was named "Silver," apparently.

The girl picked up Ray's right arm, and the Masters on the scene were able to put it back on him using high-rank healing magic. It would take a few days until he would be able to move it as smoothly as before, but it wasn't that big of a problem. However, I couldn't say the same for his left arm.

It had been completely Charred and crumbled to pieces because of it, so retrieving it was impossible at this point. And loss of body parts couldn't be fixed by mere high-rank healing magic.

Now, high-rank Embryo ultimate skills would probably do the

trick, but as far as I was aware, the kingdom didn't have any high-ranks whose ultimates were focused on healing others.

There was one person who'd be able to heal Ray's wound. The High Priestess, Tsukuyo Fuso, a Superior Job from the priest grouping and an owner of a Superior Embryo, could give Ray his arm back in the blink of an eye.

But I couldn't recommend relying on her.

She was the head of a cult, and the prospect of being indebted to her was nothing short of frightening. Worst case scenario, it could even go beyond Infinite Dendrogram.

Considering these circumstances, I'd recommended that he just take the death penalty, since that would have him return completely healed.

However, Ray had shown no intention of doing so, giving me the wild response that, "I still have my right arm, and I found out I can even use my mouth if I have to. I can make this work."

Upon hearing him mention using his mouth, Nemesis had put on a distant look and muttered "Does that count as a kiss...?"

Personally, I thought that biting into the hilt of her greatsword form had been quite unlike kissing.

Anyway, following that exchange, Ray had basically collapsed and logged off, making it obvious just how drained he was, both physically and mentally. No one could fault him for it.

Rook was quite tired, as well, so he'd logged off right after feeding Liz some mithril to restore her volume.

And so, I'd ended up being the only one of our party still online to greet the dawn.

I was extremely sleepy myself, but as both a Journalist and a

manga artist, I just couldn't miss this beautiful opportunity to collect quality material.

mean, it's not every day you get to be on the scene of a settled terrorist incident, I thought.

Anyway, time for a rundown of all that had happened.

Approximately one hour after the last of the Suicide Series was exterminated, Count Gideon declared that the trouble was officially over.

With Ellie saved and Franklin's forces destroyed, he had no reason not to.

Well, there were some player killers that had escaped, but none of them would be stupid enough to do anything at this point, likely because they were afraid of being erased by the King of Destruction or the Super Gladiator.

Speaking of the King of Destruction, Count Gideon had stated that he planned to reward him, Ray, and all the other Masters that had helped take care of the incident. I'd found that surprising, considering he also had to pay for city repairs. It was hard to tell whether he was just that rich or simply a good guy.

Thinking about city repairs made me wonder how much it would cost to fix the area destroyed by me and King of Orchestras and...

Yeah, I probably don't want to know, I thought.

As far as I was aware, the damage there had likely been greater than anywhere else, and I couldn't be more thankful for the fact that they didn't know who was responsible.

Anyway, after Gideon's declaration, the people reacted in two ways.

The knights, guards, and other public officials became busy with damage reports and other post-incident business, while the civilians

and Masters took to revelry.

It was only to be expected. Franklin had ruined their big event and replaced it with a night of dread, so merrymaking was the natural response to seeing the man responsible for that defeated so thoroughly.

Masters aside, I was quite impressed by the quick recovery from the civilians.

I guess duel city folk are befittingly hardy, I thought.

Still, once the sky turned bright, a significant number of carts and dragon carriages were seen leaving Gideon, and I couldn't really fault them for that. After all, even the so-called strongest city in the kingdom, the one farthest away from the imperium, hadn't been safe from such an incident. It was only natural to expect some merchants to be scared into taking their riches and leaving for another country.

They were most likely heading to Caldina, so this incident had actually ended up being beneficial to them. Not exactly an unexpected effect, but still.

Hm? Now that I think about it, this war was really profitable to them, I thought.

Not only was Caldina the primary destination for wealthy refugees, they'd also experienced a boost in trade with Altar. Naturally, the kingdom wasn't exporting any of its food to Dryfe, so Caldina was there to buy it all up.

Altar hadn't been left without its share of goods, either. Caldina had sold them lots of war-like wares, such as magic items from Huang He or weapons from Tenchi.

But enough about them. Really, it was only natural for the "land of merchants" to take advantage of such a situation.

Back to the aftermath of Franklin's game.

He'd intended to display the powerlessness of the kingdom's Masters, to break the country's fighting spirit and to have it merge with Dryfe through "diplomacy" before the war had a chance to restart.

However, thanks to the hard work from the newbies and the Masters that hadn't been caught by the barrier, Plans A and B had completely failed.

The most significant event during this interval had been the broadcasted battle between Ray and Franklin's unique monster, as it had had the exact opposite of the intended effect. Though Franklin had planned to completely crush him and break his spirit, Ray had achieved a miraculous victory which had uplifted the masses.

That battle had been quite popular among us Masters, too, gaining lots of replies and comments on related discussion boards and video sites.

It was the third biggest Infinite Dendrogram-related news story, with the first obviously being the King of Destruction's appearance in the spotlight and his fight against Franklin, and the second being Figaro and Xunyu's Clash of the Superiors.

This incident was sure to get Ray a nickname or two. In fact, people were already exchanging ideas both here and in real-life discussion boards. There was even a meeting going on in the central plaza regarding that.

Normally, such meetings were only held for people who made their debut in the arenas, but this time, they were gathering nickname suggestions for Ray, Rook, and King of Destruction, who was no longer "Unknown."

The proposed nicknames for Ray included, but weren't limited to: "Dark Paladin," because he was a Paladin that certainly didn't look like one; "Prince on the Silver Steed," obviously because he'd been riding Silver; and "The Light and Dark-Wielding Hero Clad in Violet and Crimson," which made me wonder about the mind behind such

a... polarizing name.

Any of those would probably make Ray want to crawl into a hole.

Still, there were some simple, fitting ones that I personally really liked.

Anyway, back to the results of Franklin's plot.

Following the failure of Plan B, Franklin had started Plan C, which had been significantly worse than the other two, clearly designed to show that "resistance will only make it worse." I and a few other Masters had been there to buy some time, but it was clear that we wouldn't have been able to hold for long, and the damage would've been great.

Enter the King of Destruction, who had instantly turned it all around.

The thousands of monsters that had been meant to overrun Gideon had become nothing but punching bags for the King of Destruction to show off his power.

Franklin had intended to show just how powerless the kingdom's Masters were, but had ended up doing the exact opposite. At the very least, it was now clear that the kingdom wouldn't go down without a fight.

But it was hard to say that it'd been a good thing for the country.

This incident not had only displayed the power of the kingdom's Masters, but also confirmed a certain truth that was on the minds of the country's people... and just about everyone else in Infinite Dendrogram.

Basically, a war force with Superiors was on a completely different level than one without.

A Superior was capable of razing an entire city, or perhaps even a

whole country.

Franklin had created monsters that surpassed 50,000 in number, while the King of Destruction had completely annihilated them all. Evidently, they had only been able to have a proper fight because they were both Superiors, while the rest of us were only waiting to be massacred.

It was more obvious than ever that a Superior could only be countered by another Superior.

Of course, there were exceptions, among which was my avatar, Marie Adler.

Marie had a Superior Job, but she wasn't a Superior because she didn't have a Superior Embryo, and the reason why she'd received the nickname "Superior Killer" was because she'd defeated a Superior and sent the criminal to the gaol.

Mind you, that victory had been the result of many factors, such as my abilities, the Superior's abilities, various conditions, and a lot of tactics. All of them had come together, letting me emerge victorious against the King of Plagues, Candy Carnage — a wide-scale suppression type, wide-scale extermination type Master bearing the title of "the greatest tian murderer" and the nickname of "Legions Lost."

...Honestly, I still find it hard to believe I won, I thought.

Back to war matters. The kingdom had been thoroughly devastated in the previous war because there had been no one to counter the imperium's Superiors. In this incident, the kingdom had won because it had the King of Destruction, effectively proving that the outcome of a war was decided by the presence of Superiors or the lack of it. Because of this, the main thing to consider in the next war was the number of Superiors that would participate.

The imperium would obviously have the three that already had accolades from the previous war: the very familiar Giga Professor,

Mr. Franklin, "The Weakest, The Worst"; Hell General, Logan Goddhart, the "Contradictory Equation"; and King of Beasts, the "Physically Strongest."

If nothing changed, they would be the only ones, but we also had to consider that the imperium had won the previous war event and had given great rewards to those who performed well, so it was reasonable to expect more Superiors to switch to Dryfe.

The kingdom, on the other hand, would only have two, at best: Lei-Lei the Prodigal of Feasts, who came online at highly irregular times, and the King of Destruction, whose appearance in the spotlight had made it safe to expect him to participate. Those two could easily drop to one if Lei-Lei wasn't online on the day of the war.

Of course, they weren't the only Superiors in the kingdom.

The kingdom also had the Over Gladiator, Figaro. He was symbol of the duel city and the one who'd just won against Xunyu, a foreign Superior.

Then there was the High Priestess, Tsukuyo Fuso — the leader of the largest clan in the kingdom and the user of the Lunar Divider Field, said to be the most wicked skill one could face in a large-scale battle.

If they were to participate, they would be an invaluable force against the imperium.

However, Figaro was widely known as a pure solo player, so it was clear he had no intention to take part in a battle involving great numbers. Tsukuyo Fuso, too, had refused to participate because the kingdom hadn't accepted her downright unreasonable condition — to make her cult's teachings into the state religion.

The former was tough on his policy, while the latter was a highly demanding Princess Kaguya, making their participation extremely unlikely.

In fact, Tsukuyo might even switch to the imperium if they accepted her condition that the kingdom wouldn't.

Not to mention that Dryfe also had more non-Superior forces, both Masters and tians.

The kingdom wouldn't go down without a fight, but a defeat still seemed completely inevitable.

I wonder what the Superiors themselves think about this, I pondered.

◇◆◇

Duel city Gideon, twelfth district, King of Destruction, Shu Starling

"Man, am I tired," I grumbled. "I need some booze to bear it."

"Good job back there," said Figgy. "Drink all you want. It's on me. Y ou too, Xunyu."

"ThanKs," she replied. "I'm underAge, though, so I'll just haVE some juice."

and two fellow Superiors were sitting around the table, enjoying some drinks. We were in a private room of a high-quality club in Gideon's twelfth district.

Figgy had reserved this place ahead of time. He'd planned to use it right after the Clash, but thanks to a certain shithead in a lab coat, we'd ended up coming here long after his reserved time was up. Thankfully, the store had been kind enough to allow him to use this room after the incident was over.

was kinda impressed by the management's professionalism. Not everyone had the guts to continue working in this situation.

"Honestly, I'm pretty glad we have this place," I voiced my thoughts. "If we were outside, the number of people around us would

be unbearable."

Mind you, I had run riot in a completely different get-up than I was in now, so maybe they wouldn't realize it was me. The Scandinavian berserker-like clothing was easy to move around in, but the costumes I wore always made me feel calm.

"Y eah, that's exactly why I reserved it," said Figgy. "Sure, we could just log out, but a good battle always makes me want to cool off like this."

"I get whAT you mean," Xunyu joined in. "But man, this place has sOme good juice." She emptied her glass and ordered some more.

Well, if that ain't an action befitting her age, I thought. I really don't know how to feel about her being twice as tall as me.

"The face under the talisman and the Voice Changing Fu made me suspicious, but you really are a kid, aren't you?" I asked.

"I'm turning ten this yEAr," she answered. "That's doubLE digits, so I'm now a prOper lady."

"Really, now?" I said.

Her excessively long limbs might've been the result of a desire to travel far and a wish to grow up. Humpty, the control AI for Embryos, could probably give a more detailed analysis, but all she ever did was lead me to trouble or watch me struggle to take care of it.

"What are your plans now, Xunyu?" asked Figgy.

"I still have a jOb to protect the prince, so I'll be stAY ing in the capital," she answered. "Guess I'll also rAid the kingdom's dUNgeons." The items you could get from doing so differed depending on the country you were in, so that was a good idea.

...Speaking of items, I still had to stock up on materials for Baldr's

ammo. It'd cost me roughly 3,300,000,000 lir.

"Oh, but rAiding alone can be prEtty hard, especially whEN going deep into a creAted dungeon," Xunyu added.

Y ou'd have to be Figgy to effectively raid dungeons by yourself. Not to mention that you'd also have to have an Embryo you could chat with just to make it more bearable.

"Coming wiTH?" she asked.

"I'm exclusively solo," Figgy replied.

"And I'm not leaving Gideon fur a while," I said.

"Man, you guY s are cold."

I can't just leave while that walking bomb is still here, I thought.

"If you want, I can introduce you to some duel rankers here," Figgy said, proposing an alternative. "They'll probably want to spar with you, too."

"Then should I set you up with the kill rankers I know?" I joined in. "Oh, but I don't know bear they are."

I wonder what Catherine Kongou's up to, I thought.

"Y eah, thAt'll help a lot." Xunyu nodded. "Wait, uhh... Figaro is the kingdOM's no. 1 duelist, while the beAr is no. 1 in the kill rankings, rigHt?"

"Y es," Figgy nodded.

"Bearily so," I said and did the same.

Oh boy, I know where this is going...

"Then how aboUT the no. 1 in clan raNKin—"

"Avoid her," Figgy and I simultaneously cut her words short.

"...Is she trOUble?" she asked.

In response, we both simply nodded.

We were unfortunate enough to already be acquainted with that shady cultist fox, and I honestly believed that a person was better off not meeting her. Ever.

"I see hOW it is," Xunyu continued. "Looks like every country's top clan owner is bad news."

"Come on, that's a bit of an exaggeration..." I began. "Wait, is it?"

The kingdom's fox... Nope.

The imperium's lab coat shithead... Nope.

Granvaloa's military nerd... Nope.

Legendaria's masked lover of little boys and girls... That one deserved a red card.

didn't know much about Tenchi's, and Xunyu's words implied that Huang He's was no good, either.

Well, damn, there actually wasn't a single decent clan top anywhere.

The owner of Caldina's Sefirot seemed okay, but he was somewhat scary. Like a rabbit living with a pride of lions.

Oh, speaking of Caldina...

"Hey, this is unrelated, but... did anyone in the arena make a move?" I asked.

My question would've been unclear to most, but it was more than enough for the two I was talking to.

"I crushed the cOre of the thing below bEfore it could do anY thing, and it was all ovER," said Xunyu.

"The Physically Strongest didn't do anything," added Figgy. "But Caldina's Magically Strongest got involved, apparently."

Did he just say "apparently"? "Why the uncertainty?"

"The mONster I killed wasn't moVing at all," Xunyu answered. "I later used the skill tO dig through the dirt arOUnd it and... herE."

She put something on the table. It was about the size of a pebble and looked very much like one, too.

took it in hand and grasped it with about a tenth of my strength, but that wasn't enough to break it.

"Hnrgh!" I grunted as I used a third of my STR, approximately 60,000, which finally made it break. "It's dirt made by binding magic he enhanced several times over. Makes sense why the thing couldn't move."

It's like being in a skintight coffin, I thought. I know it well. The guy did it to me once...

"I'm not too smart, so I don't really get it," said Figgy. "Why did they come here, anyway?"

"To watCH our battle, obviousLY ," Xunyu answered. "I don't kNOw why the Physically Strongest didn't heLP the lab coat. They're bOth from Dryfe, aftER all."

"Mh..." I fell silent and pondered.

I'd known about the other Superiors in the audience before Figaro's and Xunyu's match even began. I'd even told Figgy about them.

Their presence here hadn't been strange at all. It was only natural for Superiors to investigate the abilities of other Superiors, since they

were their primary opponents in this world. UBM hunting, special events, war — there were many situations in which Superiors could compete against other Superiors, so knowing their abilities ahead of time was never a bad thing.

So it was only natural for them to come and observe a duel between two Superiors, and honestly, it was strange that we hadn't had anyone from Legendaria here. The country was as much of a neighbor as Dryfe and Caldina.

Figaro and Xunyu had both been fully aware that they were being put under the magnifying glass, and they most likely hadn't used the aces up their sleeves. Figgy hadn't shown his ultimate skill — which not even I knew about — and though Xunyu had used hers, it was clear that she was still hiding something.

That aside...

"This is just a guess," I spoke up. "But I think the Physically Strongest, the King of Beasts, came here with a goal unrelated to Franklin's plot, while the Magically Strongest, The Earth, came here because he knew that Franklin was about to terrorize Gideon."

"...Isn't thAt the other way arouND?" asked Xunyu, and it was a reasonable question.

But...

"The King of Beasts is widely considered to be the strongest being in all the three western countries. If Franklin's terror plot involved her, then it would've also been designed around her," I said.

The fact that Franklin's Game had been so layered and focused so much on using as few of his forces as possible made it obvious that the King of Beasts hadn't been working for him.

"The Earth, on the other hand, intervened with one of Franklin's plans, making it safe to believe that he came here for this reason. Mind you, this is less about him and more about Caldina. They

wouldn't like it if Dryfe merged with Altar, since separated countries are easier to manipulate."

Caldina was surrounded by four land countries and Granvaloa. Having two of them become one would be a huge problem for them, so they'd obviously do something to prevent that.

Though, in the end, they were probably planning to take advantage of the all-out war and take off with all the spoils. It wasn't hard to imagine Caldina invading and conquering weakened countries.

Anyway, the fact that they'd sent The Earth made it clear just how serious they were about this. Honestly, it was entirely possible that he would've done something if I hadn't been on the scene. If that had happened, Jeand Grasslands probably would've had to be renamed "Jeand Desert," "Jeand Wastelands," or "Jeand Swamplands."

Well... not like it was much of a grassland now that I was done with it. My Baldr had blown it sky-high.

"But mAn... The Physically StrONgest and the Magically StronGest, eh?" Xunyu muttered. "Are they reAlly such a big deal? I've never foUght either."

"I've heard that Shu here fought The Earth," said Figgy.

"Oh yeAh, I've heard of those rumORs, too. Which of you wOn?"

That had happened some time before the war... about a year ago in Dendro time.

"We tied, I guess?"

"Y ou 'guEss'? What do yOU mean?"

"Exactly what I said. A tie. No clear winner. Match invalid. We pawsitively had to stop because of a third party."

"...What kind of thiRD party could intervene in thAT battle?"

Right when we'd been about to finish it, Humpty and the environment control AI had come over and told us off.

Honestly, we'd probably deserved it, since our battle had completely destroyed a created dungeon.

Anyway, The Earth, eh...? I thought.

said, "If he came all the way here, he could've at least said hi."

◇◆◇

East of duel city Gideon, Cruella Mountain Belt

The Cruella Mountain Belt was one of the border zones between the Kingdom of Altar and the great desert country of Caldina, and it was one of the trade routes connecting Gideon and the city-states of the commercial union.

Dawn was about to break as several dragon carriages traced the mountainous paths of the belt. Each and every one of them belonged to Caldinian merchants. Since their country was a land of deserts, they had decided to make some distance by leaving early, when the sun wasn't high up and the heat was easier to bear.

A certain man was riding one of the dragon carriages. He looked much like any of the merchants he shared the vehicle with. The only difference was the crest on the back of his left hand — the sign of a Master.

Snacking on a smoked chicken sandwich, he gazed at the mountains and forests that would soon be bathed in the light of dawn.

"This sure is tasty," he muttered.

The smoked food he was eating had been given to him by the spectator sitting next to him during last night's Clash. Once the act of terror had ended, the middle-aged man, who'd been as high spirited

as anyone else, had taken some of the smoked goods from the shop he owned and presented them to him.

The man in the carriage had put the smoked goods between some of his leftover bread and made his way to Caldina while relishing the curious mix of midnight snack and breakfast.

"A smoked chicken sandwich," he said to himself. "I should get our leader to make this sometime."

Remembering the leader of the clan he belonged to, the man realized something and reached into his inventory.

"Umm, the souvenirs are... all here," he said. "I have something for everyone except Moneygold. I don't intend to spend a single lir on him... but he should be satisfied with the video of last night's battle."

He nodded to himself while mumbling things not uncommon for travelers... and mixing it with things no common traveler would understand.

"Magic Activation Acceleration — instant; Magic Multi-Activation

— 28... no, 143; Magic Conceal; Magic Range Extension — 8,000 metels... Bottomless Pit."

◆

In the Cruella Mountain Belt, a certain group was watching the Caldinian merchant carriages. All of them were crest-bearing Masters and members of the PK clan known as "Goblin Street."

"Those look like merchants from Caldina, boss," one of them said. "What do we do?"

No response. The one he talked to, the King of Burglary, Eldridge, closed his eyes in silent thought.

Most of the clan's members had left Caldina and come to do their business as indiscriminate bandits here in the kingdom. The group's

crimes during the blockade incident had been limited to the Masters and tians of the kingdom, so although they were wanted by Altar, they had yet to get on Caldina's list. However, that would surely happen if they attacked these Caldinian merchant carriages and left survivors who could tell the tale.

On the other hand...

It might be time to leave the kingdom for good, he thought.

Before switching to this area, they'd worked near the capital, where every member besides Eldridge, who hadn't been online, had been completely annihilated by Lei-Lei the Prodigal of Feasts.

After coming here, things hadn't gotten any better, as they all — Eldridge included — had been killed by Xunyu the Y inglong. That incident had made some members lose faith in Eldridge, and the clan's numbers had dropped by half.

Given the members lost at the capital and the ones who'd left on their own, the clan's situation wasn't too good. Still, it all might just be a sign that it was time to drop this place and try finding prey somewhere different.

"We'll attack those carriages," he said.

"Really?" his clan member asked.

"Y eah." Eldridge nodded. "And once we're done with them, we're moving to Granvaloa... to the sea. Enough banditry. It's time to try the pirate life."

He turned towards his clan and formed an indominable smile.

"Let's go! Say goodbye to Caldina! We'll make some bank with these and ditch that sandbox for good!"

His words made the members still with him all fired up.

"Y eah!"

"Hell yeah!"

"When this attack is over, I'm becoming a pirate!"

Right after they said those things, a large hole appeared right under their feet.

"Ah?!" Eldridge gasped as he jumped away, avoiding the hole.

His clan members weren't as lucky. They all fell in, were buried alive, and left the world due to death penalty.

"What happened?!" he shouted.

No one could hear him in these empty mountains, but even so, he couldn't hold himself back from voicing his shock.

◆

"One of them avoided it," muttered the man in the carriage. "Let's make it a bit bigger, then... Earth Eater."

◆

Eldridge ran through the mountains.

Something strange was happening.

He was obviously under attack, but he couldn't see his enemies or any signs that they were attacking.

He was even more confused than he had been during his battle — if you could call it that — with Xunyu. Still, he was able to run away using his high stats and powerful intuition.

But he soon noticed something strange.

"It's... far?" he murmured.

The sky seemed distant, as though it had become higher.

The nearby mountains seemed taller, as well.

Eldridge found it strange, as he had yet to go down the belt.

Soon enough, he was surrounded by dirt walls from every direction.

No — that wasn't the case...

"Th-This mountain is sinking into the ground...!" he cried.

Indeed it was. The mountain was going down much like an elevator.

Puzzled and perplexed, Eldridge tried to think of what could be responsible for this.

"I-Is this Caldina's The Ear—?!"

Before he could finish his sentence, the sunken mountain he was on was crunched by the surrounding ground and sand, instantly giving him the death penalty.

◆

"...Oh, I leveled up," muttered the man in the carriage. "Was there someone strong among them?"

An earthy smell rode the wind and reached the carriages, but none of the merchants noticed. Oblivious to the sudden and silent disappearance of a nearby mountain, they simply continued chatting.

"Oh, I'm so glad this trade route is safe to use now," said one of them.

"Truly," another agreed. "I hear some Masters took care of the bandits in the area just the day before yesterday. What a helpful bunch."

They didn't know. While the Gouz-Maise Gang, the most infamous bandit group in the area, had been thoroughly destroyed, there were many more bandits lurking in the mountain belt.

They didn't know. A group of PK bandits had been aiming to attack them for their goods and wealth.

They didn't know. The group and all the other bandits in the surrounding mountains — a number of people surpassing the triple digits — had been buried alive, in the blink of an eye, by just a single person.

They didn't know. They were sharing a carriage with the one they called the "Magically Strongest."

Confirmed the elimination of all threats in the surrounding area, he thought. Setting a two kilometel auto-interception zone.

Fatoum. He was the bearer of that nickname and the owner of the Superior Job "The Earth." He ran his mind through those mechanical-sounding words and activated an automatic interception barrier.

Even so, no one in the carriage noticed.

The immense amount of MP he'd put into Magic Conceal made it impossible to detect. Even the experienced tian guards were thoroughly clueless.

I must admit, my visit to the kingdom lasted far longer than I expected, he thought.

Done with his job, he'd switched his thoughts from battle mode back to normal.

At first, it was just a trip to investigate the UBMs and Ruins in the country while also setting some slow-acting magic, but then the King of Toys suggested I arrange the blockade terror around the royal capital.

Fatoum ran his mind through the incident which involved a culprit still unknown to the people of the kingdom.

To top it off, I then received information about Dryfe's terror plot in Gideon and had to go there to stop it. Dear me, what a long trip this ended up being... I hope she's not too mad.

His visit to the kingdom had taken almost a month longer than expected. That fact made him picture his wife, who was waiting for him back in Caldina.

Well, I have the souvenirs, and I guess I can make it up to her by taking her out on a nice date.

The Magically Strongest, Caldina's most powerful force, was thinking things you'd expect of a busy salaryman.

must admit, the Clash of the Superiors was truly an excellent battle, well worth watching. And thanks to Franklin, I even got to see Shu fight again. It's been far too long since last time. Which made Fatoum remember a certain detail.

"Oh, I completely forgot to greet him," he said. "But that might've been a good thing."

Regardless of the circumstances, he simply couldn't greet his old acquaintance. After all...

"Meeting him would just make me want to fight him. And, well..."

...it's far too early to destroy that city.

No city would stand after a battle between him and Shu.

With that thought on his mind, the Strongest that had sneaked into Altar returned back to Caldina, leaving the kingdom with a few of his tricks.

Epilogue B: The Sisters

Imperial capital outskirts, headquarters of the Triangle of Wisdom, High Pilot, Hugo Lesseps

The Dryfe Imperium's capital, Vandelheim, had two faces.

One was that of a city from 19th century Europe. These days, you could only see such townscapes in the simple, black and white photos from that era. Though it was at the technological forefront here in Infinite Dendrogram, it was nothing but retro to Earthlings living in 2045.

That was one of Vandelheim's two faces, while the other could be demonstrated by the sight before me.

"GHAAH!" one person panicked. "The new amphibious model has sunk into the pool! It ain't going up!"

"Oh, out of MP, eh?" said another. "It uses magic engines for both oxygen generation and the anti-pressure barrier, so that's kinda to be expected."

"Looks like we'll have to use conventional chemistry for the oxygen supply and fight the pressure with better design and materials," a third one joined in. "We can't just try to solve everything with magic. We're dealing with robots here."

"Be serious, people! Help me get Zerbahl Type M out of there!"

"Glubglubglub..." the one in the sunken robot mumbled unintelligibly.

"Oh, it's not exactly airtight, either."

"Looks like there's water inside. A problem with the gaskets or the

frame, I assume?"

"Y OU GUY S!"

"GLUBGLUB, I'M DY ING!"

The one panicking at the side of the ten-meter-deep experiment pool was Zerbahl, an Engineer. The two observing the results as they gathered data and worked on something were Flosch and Roboroman, both Mechanics. I wasn't too sure about the one drowning in the water, but it was probably one of our Pilots, Kuromiki.

"Excuse me," a girl spoke to two of our members. "The custom Marshal II requested by the military seems to be constructed, but how was it supposed to be painted, again?"

"Well, they said something about red, so I think that's the color we should use on the whole thing," said one of them. "Let's give it a horn, too."

"We don't need no horn," said the other. "Our communication devices don't require any antennas. Also, we're only painting the shoulders."

"...Hey now, a base dark green Marshal II with red shoulders is way too basic."

"Well, I could say the same about a purely red Marshal II with a goddamn novelty horn."

"It doesn't matter, you two, just—"

"IT DOES MATTER!" they both shouted simultaneously.

"Eek!"

The girl with the report in her hands was Luphia, a tian working in our general affairs section. The two people pushing their own policies

— tastes, more like — in response to the presented demands were the Painters, MS Geomad and Assault Tripper.

"Oh, yeah. Apparently, our leader went out to do something, lost, and came back," said one person in another group of three.

"Got sauce for that?" asked another.

"MMO Journal Planter."

"Oh, yeah. I've been so busy with my designs and tests that I forgot to check it."

"Same here, aheheheh," the third person laughed in a strange manner.

"How many days behind are you?"

"Five."

"I win. I'm at seven."

"...Is that really a victory, though?"

The three were pulling consistent all-nighters both here and in reality, and yet — though they were doing it with mad-looking grins on their faces — they still had the capacity to construct Magingears. They were High Engineers: Boolantan, Draragun, and Black Company.

They all created what they liked, faced various problems doing so, asserted their ideas, and sometimes went overboard with their work.

"Well... this place is the same as always," I said to myself.

After my death penalty had expired, I'd logged in and found my clan completely unchanged.

was standing in the large, 200,000 square meter facility located in Vandelheim's outskirts. It was the headquarters of the Triangle of

Wisdom and the center of the imperium's cutting-edge technology.

This scene here... this mix of eccentrics, weirdos, and normal people playing with robots was the other face of the imperial capital.

Such sights weren't uncommon in this city, but nothing could match the Triangle of Wisdom in terms of scale.

This was the clan he had created — a place where people could gather, combine their intellects and create what they wished, as they pleased.

"Mh..." I silently looked at the scene and pondered.

Just like the city, people also had multiple faces. If the plot in Gideon was the dark side of his dream, then this was surely the bright side.

"All right, then..." I murmured.

turned away from the everyday scene and walked towards a certain place in the headquarters: the structure's central part.

It was the clan leader's... Mr. Franklin's... my sister's room.

◇◆

"I'm having you leave the clan," she said right as I entered, without as much as a greeting, enjoying the comfort of her chair.

"So you're firing me," I said, not surprised in the least.

was already prepared for this. After all, when she'd activated Plan C — the one she'd hidden from me — I'd gone and betrayed her. If I hadn't deactivated La Porte de l'Enfer's Freezing, her plan would've gone a bit better.

"Veldorbell said that he's leaving the clan, too," she added. "Well, he was a guest, so this isn't unexpected."

Her tone as she fired me and talked about Veldorbell was exactly the same as always — the one she used while roleplaying the mad scientist known as "Mr. Franklin."

"He also left us with a nice parting gift of three soundtracks. A highly methodical guy, that one. It's a shame to lose him, but... well... I can't really argue with it."

"Y ou can't?" I asked.

"Y eah," she nodded. "He only joined this clan to find 'a true hero' or whatever, but taking part in my plan made him miss out on quite a lot. I also think that he wasn't too amused by what I did."

She then closed her eyes, as though remembering something.

"I'm not the most popular person. He wasn't the first to distance himself from me. Right before the war, AR-I-CA, the Ace, left me and went on to become one of Caldina's Superiors. People are turning away from me left and right..."

She formed a wry grin and looked directly at me.

"Y u," she said, changing her tone. She was talking to me as herself now. "Why did you come to help me? Y ou were disgusted with me, weren't you?"

"That's not..."

"Y ou felt betrayed, didn't you?" she cut my words short, not letting me deny it.

"That's..."

If I tried to answer that question with "That's not true," I would definitely be lying. She'd made a promise that she wouldn't hurt tians, but had gone on to design a plot where that promise was broken.

"That's why, before you leave, I want to know," she continued.

"Why did you did you come to help me on the Pandemonium?"

She wanted an answer. But...

"I... I don't know that, either," I muttered.

looked inside me, but couldn't find the answer, no matter what. After all, I'd acted before thinking it through, so no amount of thought could help me know that.

"I just don't know..."

Before I'd realized it, tears were flowing down my face.

They were a belated reaction to the fact that I will now be separated from my sister in this world, too. The words "before you leave" reminded me of this.

I finally understood.

Even if she'd lied to me, betrayed me, and did things I thought were horrible... I still really loved my sister.

Since I couldn't give my own answer and just continued crying, she went and formed her own conclusion. "Y ou couldn't think of what to do, so you acted without thinking and ended up doing what you did."

She stood up from her chair and walked up to me.

"Next time, take the time to form a conclusion that you can hold with you to the bitter end," she said as she took out a handkerchief and wiped my tears away.

"Ah," I silently gasped as I realized that she was doing it with the exact same precision and care as she used to.

"Y u." She looked into my eyes. "Travel and broaden your horizons. That's what I did back on Earth."

"Eh...?"

"Thankfully, the experiences in this world — especially those related to your disposition — don't ever go to waste. There's a lot for you to gain if you leave my side and travel around, so don't bind yourself to me or the clan. Experience Infinite Dendrogram as you please. And if you wish to return once you're done, I'll always be ready to accept you."

"Sis..."

"Oh, also." She reached into her inventory and took something out.

It was a Garage storing a Magingear. "This is both a parting gift... and a birthday present. Y ou're turning fifteen on Tuesday of next week, right?"

"Y ou remember...?" I asked, making her form a wry grin.

"Don't be silly. I could never forget your birthday." Then that grin became a smile.

It was unlike any expressions she'd displayed during the incident in Gideon. If anything, it was like one of the gentle smiles she'd given me long ago... when we still lived together.

"Francesca..." I spoke her real name as the tears she'd just wiped began flowing again.

I finally understood.

That devilish man was right — I'd always avoided looking at her bad side. It surely existed, and it made lots of people suffer, but it wasn't all that she was. Just like now, she could still be very gentle to me, and that was no delusion.

"Thank you, Francesca," I said. "Let's meet again someday."

"Of course, Y u." She nodded. "Until next time."

With that, I left the Triangle of Wisdom.

Once I walked out of the room, Cyco appeared out of my left hand.

"That's a nice expression, Hugo," she said.

"Mhm..."

"Good thing you got to be honest with your sister, right?"

"Cyco..."

Apparently, this sharp-tongued partner of mine had been watching my and my sister's conversation.

"Thanks, Cyc—"

"Still, I know you're girls on the inside and all, but you both look like adult men. And a scene where two adult men talk like women and have a teary farewell is a bit... you know..."

...Cyco, those words completely ruin it, I thought sourly.

◆◆◆

Giga Professor, Mr. Franklin

Still in my own room, I looked at the monitors and watched Y u leave.

She was surrounded by a large number of my clan members. I'd just announced that she was going on a journey, so they were there to see her off.

Though sad about her leaving, they all encouraged her and wished her the best.

Y u had only been in the clan for about a month of real life time, but she was already quite popular among our members. She was gentle to a fault, and as far as I knew, she'd spent a lot of her time helping people out. She even remembered the names of a few hundred clan members, which might've been part of why she was

liked.

And speaking of being liked... a group of girls was bawling. They were the clan's Y u fan club.

Which was fine and all, but... she was a girl on the inside. I was a woman, too, but strangely enough, people rarely noticed.

Were they anything like fans of the Takarazuka Revue?

It wasn't something I could relate to, to be honest.

"It's gonna get pretty lonely here," said one of the clan members surrounding her.

"Y eah... We're losing a skilled test pilot."

"I really wanted him to test the Supersonic Death Revolver Catapult."

Okay, what is that wonderfully-named device, and why don't I know about it?

"Oh no! We're losing a Master who's handsome both inside and out."

"They're much rarer than those who are only handsome on the outside."

"Only the beautiful die young..."

Yu's not dying, though.

"There goes the pilot with a Maiden..."

"They were so picturesque, too... especially for lewds..."

"Oh, speaking of which, I'll send you the new leader x Hugo thing when we're done."

All right, the fanfiction department is next in line to be eaten by my new monsters.

"The leader should've come and seen him off, too."

"Dude, do you even know who you're talking about? Guy's probably watching this through those cameras over there."

"Should we hack and kill the camera network?"

"...We're the ones who'll have to fix it, you know?"

would very much prefer it if they didn't damage their own surveillance system. Still, they were completely right about me watching.

The goodbyes continued for a long while. During her month — three months in Dendro time — in the Triangle of Wisdom, Y u had become a true clan member.

"Hm..." I quietly pondered.

was the one who'd invited her to the clan, or rather, Infinite Dendrogram as a whole. Honestly, I could've invited her much earlier, and it was somewhat strange that I hadn't.

After the imperium had gained superiority over the kingdom, after I'd killed the one who'd given me the death penalty, and after my Triangle of Wisdom had become more prosperous than ever, I'd suddenly had the idea to invite her over.

didn't know whether I'd just had an urge to show her what I'd created, or whether I just hadn't had anything better to do, but that was when I'd become determined to meet her again, after several years of separation.

And soon enough, she and I had met in this world.

In all honesty, I truly hadn't expected her to be like me and use an

avatar of the opposite gender. That had made our rendezvous far more troublesome than expected.

Anyway, though a few years had passed since we'd seen each other, she was still a very good girl. Though she was roleplaying a pompous, theatrical knight/prince-like character, she was still as gentle as ever.

Her Embryo being a Maiden made it clear that she was also considerate of the tians calling this world their home, which was very much like her.

Y u was gentle, indeed.

However, it seemed like she'd misunderstood something.

"Well, it's more like that I made her misunderstand," I said.

She probably believed that I'd made her leave the clan and go on a journey purely for her sake. That was part of the reason, yes, but I'd also done it for myself.

Why? It was very simple.

"With her at my side... I'd be unable to do anything truly gruesome."

Plans C and D had failed. That meant that the next time I designed a plot or worked to extinguish those who'd defeated me, I'd have to do something far more fiendish.

If Y u was at my side, she'd put a mental brake on me.

In hindsight, I could've been far more relentless with my plot in Gideon. Though her presence had given me peace of mind, she'd been in the way of my march to victory.

And now, she was going away.

My dear sister — the person I wanted to appear gentle to, and the embodiment of my conscience — was no longer at my side.

was now free to act without restraint.

wouldn't have to cherry-pick my methods, and I'd be able to fight the ones who'd defeated me with all I had.

"Keep your head clean for me... Ray Starling," I said, as pure vitriol bubbled up my throat.