Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 11 - Chapter 5

Act Five: The Departure of the Two Kings 
The Skycrown 
In the Border Mountain Belt, there was a mountain where no human was allowed to tread. 
The entire belt was a skydragon hive, but there were only two dragons atop the Skycrown itself, for the other skydragons never ventured near the area. 
Despite being home to only two dragons, for hundreds of years the western tians had made a point of avoiding the area. The Kingdom of Altar even passed a law that made entry into The Skycrown a capital offense. 
The reason for this was clear — the dragons nesting atop this mountain were more frightening than any ordinary monsters. 
One of them was the Skydragon King, Drag-Heaven. He was the strongest of the skydragon kind, having existed since before the time of the pre-ancient civilization: living, dying, and being reborn over and over. No records of this remained in the current era, but he had annihilated countless countries in his time before coming face-to-face with the so-called “incarnations,” dying, then coming back to life in this manner. 
The Skydragon King was a fearsome entity that had surpassed life and death, making him superior to countless other beings, living or dead. 
“...I have recalled something,” he said, perched atop his throne on the mountain, the majesty of his pale, gargantuan frame plain to see. 
Besides him stood two humanoid figures. 
“What did you recall, father?” one of them asked. Though his form was human, he certainly wasn’t of mankind. He was an Anthropomorphized skydragon — and one of the greatest among them, at that. 
His name was Shinedragon King, Drag-Flare, and he was Drag-Heaven’s firstborn, as well as the second strongest after him. He was only in human form because his dragon form would make the throne area a bit crowded. 
“Gloria. I have witnessed it before,” Drag-Heaven said. 
“Are you certain?” 
“Indeed I am. It is the offspring of Deathdragon King and Lightdragon King. They were a couple that existed long before you were born. I murdered them when they tried to leave the mountain belt.” 
“Why...? Oh. I see.” 
“Indeed. As you saw, their child was an abomination, and it seems they tried to let it escape before it was culled. Heheheh. Three heads, golden scales... there is no mistaking it. Apparently, their struggle allowed their offspring to escape, but I never thought I would lay eyes on it again... Oh, I see...” 
Drag-Heaven realized something and paused before continuing. 
“This must be the work of the incarnations. I was wondering why it seems to have powers beyond those of its parents, but if they are involved, then it makes sense. It must have been sealed away until now in exchange for this power. And it is approaching the cities of men instead of The Skycrown... Heheheh... This all must be a result of some sort of contract between it and the incarnations.” 
Drag-Flare silently listened to his father, but didn’t understand all of his words. 
As a creature that had existed since before the time of the pre-ancient civilization, Drag-Heaven knew far more than any dragon, or any other living being for that matter, and he hadn’t passed on most of his knowledge to his children. 
From another point of view, one could say that Drag-Heaven was about the only creature that could still be alive despite his immense knowledge. Most anyone who knew too much was neutralized by the incarnations, but since neither death nor binding had any power over the indestructible Drag-Heaven, he was simply left alone according to a deal they struck. 
“Hmm... but this is quite troublesome,” Drag-Heaven said. “I am bound by my contract with the incarnations, so I cannot leave The Skycrown unless the conditions are fulfilled. I heard Arcal’s dying wish clearly, but unfortunately, I cannot move from my place.” 
“Arcal” was the Lightning Dragon King’s original name. When dragon kings became UBMs, their names would assume the model of “X Dragon King, Drag-Y,” where X and Y referred to their nature, but intelligent dragons would oftentimes call each other by their original names. 
“Father, I will go slay the dragon in your stead,” said Drag-Flare. 
“You will fail,” said Drag-Heaven without a moment of hesitation. “Its field will not kill level 100s such as yourself. However, you have not exceeded the level 100 barrier. Gloria has, and furthermore, it has acquired Arcal’s Resources as a UBM, making it a foe beyond your ability.” 
UBMs were treated differently when they were defeated by other UBMs. Instead of becoming special rewards, like they did with people, they became pure energy that empowered the victor. In game terms, they basically became enormous amounts of EXP. Defeating UBMs greater than yourself also came with an added bonus of increasing your level cap, but that didn’t matter to an SUBM like Gloria. There were also a number of individuals who mimicked the MVP special reward function by taking in the powers of those they defeated, but this too was not relevant in this case. 
What did matter was that Gloria — an SUBM to begin with — had become even stronger by defeating Drag-Volt, an upper-Mythical UBM. 
“Even if I could face it myself, the battle would never end,” added Drag-Heaven. “My offense is incompatible with Gloria’s, and it cannot defeat me, for I am immortal. Even if one of us did eventually best the other, the continent would be a very silent place by then. It would be true foolishness.” 
Imagining the outcome, the Skydragon King chuckled. 
“Or perhaps the incarnations would come out to settle the matter? That could be entertaining in its own right, but escalating things so far would make the end rather anticlimactic... Heheheh... What a shame. Truly.” 
Drag-Flare said nothing in response. To his father, the fate of the continent was nothing more than part of an entertaining board game or a theater performance. 
Or, more accurately, he enjoyed watching the rise and fall of all kinds of life, his own included. No one could comprehend the scale of the thoughts of the most transcendental being on the continent — not even his own son. 
“But I also cannot merely play the spectator. I still have to fulfill Arcal’s dying wish.” 
The Lightning Dragon King had asked his family to defeat Gloria in order to protect the Border Mountain Range they inhabited, as well as the world of men. The Skydragon King loved his third child enough to honor this wish. 
“I cannot leave, and my son cannot best it. That means that I must rely on a third party.” 
“I see.” The second humanoid creature there finally broke his silence. “You wish to give me a request to defeat Gloria, yes?” 
His name was the King of Crime, Sechs Würfel. 
He was a Superior from Altar, and a criminal wanted by not just the Kingdom, but every other country as well. Besides that, he was one of the few who knew The Skydragon King personally. 
The reason behind their acquaintance was simple — it was the fact that entering The Skycrown was a crime so grave it was punishable by death. Sechs’ only goal was to sin and become an evil-doer. In Altar, invading The Skycrown was a crime matched by few others, and that alone was a good enough reason for him to do just that. 
Thus, he went to The Skycrown all on his own and fought Drag-Flare when he came out to defend it. 
The Skydragon King’s firstborn was troubled by the amount of invaders they had these past few years — especially the kind they called “Masters.” He was fed up with the people flooding in hoping to defeat him or his father for their MVP special rewards, and worked hard to defeat them all. 
Sechs, however, was greater than any that had come before. He was already a Superior, and his power matched that of Drag-Flare — a Mythical UBM. 
Because Sechs excelled at defense and Drag-Flare was focused on offense, they were more or less evenly matched, and it seemed as though their battle would go on forever. 
It only ended once Drag-Heaven, who had been simply enjoying their battle, called out, “By the way, why did you come here in the first place?” 
Initially, both The Skydragon King and his son thought that he was here for the same reason as the others — to acquire glory and a Mythical MVP special reward. However, Sechs’ eyes as he fought Drag-Flare were strangely pure. They held no greed, nor any hunger for glory. 
Sechs’ reply to the dragon’s question was simple: “Because invading The Skycrown is a great offense here in the kingdom.” 
“I see,” Drag-Heaven nodded. “That is indeed a sin, but there is no crime in defeating us.” 
“Then I will stop,” Sechs said, assuming a neutral stance. 
The battle ended in a way that left Sechs’ opponent, Drag-Flare, completely speechless. Drag-Heaven, however, laughed out loud and immediately took a liking to Sechs. 
Ever since then, he had regularly invited the criminal to The Skycrown. 
The kingdom didn’t know the circumstances surrounding his visits and assumed Sechs was merely committing that grave crime over and over again, piling sin upon sin. Sechs never turned down the invitations and gladly visited Drag-Heaven. “What a nice place. I’m committing a crime just by coming here,” he’d once mused. 
At first, Drag-Flare wasn’t sure if this was acceptable, but he acquiesced to his father’s will, and soon, he and Sechs even became friends. He might’ve been yearning for a conversation partner besides his father. 
And now, a week after Gloria’s appearance, Drag-Heaven had summoned Sechs again. 
“I promise to reward you if you agree to slay Gloria. I have not yet decided what it shall be, but as The Skydragon King, I assure that it will be worth your while.” 
“It’s been a long time since I received a quest,” said Sechs. 
“...You told me once that even criminal organizations want nothing to do with you.” 
“Sad as it seems, yes.” Just as there were official adventurer’s guilds, there were also organizations that gave out quests for outlaws. However, as a Superior criminal, Sechs was feared even by the outlaw guilds. After finding out about them, Sechs had excitedly made his way to them, only to find out that they had caught wind of his coming and fled the kingdom practically overnight. 
“Also, if the kingdom fell, it would be bad for you as well,” Drag-Heaven continued. 
“What do you mean by that?” 
“If Altar perished, all the sins you had committed against the country would be null and void. That would be troubling for you, no?” 
“...It would,” Sechs said, his expression serious. Most criminals would be glad about that, but to this man, committing crime and being evil was the end goal. Thus, being pardoned was a negative to him. 
“But father, Sechs is my equal. If I am unable to defeat it, would he not fail against it, as well?” 
“Perhaps. However, there is a Gloria that you cannot best, but Sechs can.” 
“Hm...?” Drag-Flare made a confused expression. 
Drag-Heaven had just implied that there was more than one Gloria. 
However, Sechs seemed to understand. “I see,” he said. “So that’s how it is.” 
“Heheh. You understand, then?” 
“Yes. I also saw the video of the Babylonian Battlegroup’s fight and read the papers that accompanied the photos.” 
Drag-Flare didn’t know what his father saw and didn’t read any newspapers from the world of man, but he could tell that there was something they both knew that he did not. His father and friend were both extremely enigmatic, and he was fully aware that he had to ignore certain things about them to hold a proper conversation. 
“Then I will go search for it,” said Sechs. “You can’t see it, can you?” 
“In a way, that tells us exactly where it is,” said Drag-Heaven. 
“Indeed. Anyway, time is short, so I’ll be heading out immediately.” 
“Very well... But before that, I have some encouraging words for you.” 
“Hm?” 
“Gloria was sent by the entities managing this world for the purpose of creating new Superiors. Therefore...” Drag-Heaven cracked a grin before continuing. “...Defeating it before any new Superiors are born might be considered a truly mortal sin — an offense against the heavens themselves.” 
“Ohh... that is indeed motivating.” The relentless sinner broke into a wide smile before leaving The Skycrown. 
 
“Now, what should I reward him with? A daughter’s hand in marriage, perhaps?” 
“Father, none of my sisters are fit to marry. The eldest fell at the hand of King of Kings, Rockfell and was sealed alongside him; the older of my younger sisters now serves the Master known as Catherine Kongou. The youngest is still far too young.” 
“Heheheh. That is true.” After Sechs left, Drag-Heaven and his son engaged in idle chatter. At the same time, the skydragon king eagerly awaited the final act of the battle against Gloria. 
“I must say, the world of man is certainly exciting these days. Things grew a bit dull after the eras of Rockfell and Azurite ended... Events like this are what make life worth living.” 
“Father...” 
“Heheheh. You will come to understand as you grow older.” He spoke with a slightly disinterested look in his eyes. “However, I imagine that even a mere few hundred years won’t be enough for you... or for Arcal.” 
“...Father?” 
Drag-Heaven then got up before saying, “Now, then... I guess I should bring him back.” 
He followed this statement with a wave of incomprehensible words. 
This was not the humanoid language, non-humanoid language, dragon language, or the ancient civilization’s language. He was speaking words from a past long forgotten, before he finished the chant with the perfectly understandable phrase “Heaven’s Resurrection.” 
Suddenly, his body released a massive torrent of energy and a pillar of light. 
The energy gathered before him and assumed a form. It had four limbs, a long neck, a tail, and a pair of giant wings — it was a dragon. 

Clad in lightning running along its scales, it was none other than the Lightning Dragon King, Drag-Volt... the very same who had fallen at Gloria’s hands. 
“Huh?! Arcal?! How?! He’s dead...!” The sight of his revived little brother astounded Drag-Flare. This was far outside the limits of the resurrection timer. Drag-Volt had dissolved into specks of light days ago, and a long distance away from here, too — but now, he had been brought back to life right before his brother’s eyes. It was resurrection from nothing — something that would be impossible even for the greatest Necromancers. 
Only two beings in the entire world were capable of this, and one of them was Drag-Heaven. 
“Oh. I just realized I’d never showed you this before,” he said. “Heheheh. Well, I have not used it for at least a millennium... And it still seems to come at a cost.” 
The resurrection was impressive, but the Lightning Dragon King wasn’t the same as before. His body had shrunk by about two or three times, and the lightning he released seemed far weaker. The most notable change, however, was the fact that the name above his head was no longer “Lightning Dragon King, Drag-Volt,” but “High-End Lightning Dragon” — a kind of pure-dragon. 
“Wh-What? Have I not died...?” The dragon regained consciousness and spoke those words in his confusion. 
“You were lucky, Arcal. If you had been defeated by mankind, your soul and concept would have been transformed into a piece of equipment. I was able to bring you back because only your Resources were gone.” 
“Father...” Arcal said, realizing that his father was the one who had resurrected him. 
“However, you have lost your title of Lightning Dragon King, and the vast Resources supporting you have been taken by Gloria. You are also weakened as a result of your return. You are now merely a skydragon. You will have to train and work diligently to regain your former power.” 
“...I will, father. But... what became of the mad-dragon that killed me?!” 
“It still lives. It destroyed the duchy, erased the ancient fortress, and will soon arrive at the capital.” 
“Gh...!” Arcal’s eyes were full of rage. He couldn’t stomach the idea that Gloria had taken the life of his friend. Power gathered in his newly-revived limbs, but... 
“Do not.” 
...His father stopped him with those few words and a serious gaze. “As you are now, you cannot even stand upon the same stage.” Arcal clenched his teeth. He knew what his father meant better than anyone. He could feel how meager his power was, compared to what it had once been. 
“Father... I...! I curse my weakness...!” Arcal lamented his lack of power. If only he’d been stronger, he might’ve prevented this tragedy. 
“Khahahah. Yes. Lament. Your lamentations will fuel your training. I have lost count of how many times I have been defeated, lamented, died, returned, and grew ever stronger.” 
“Father...” 
“But you will have to entrust the mad-dragon’s... Gloria’s demise to the hands of men.” The Skydragon king looked into the distance... at the three-headed dragon ravaging the kingdom’s lands and the people preparing to fight it. 
“Let us watch the battle that will decide the fate of the kingdom... and the world of man.” 
His smile grew wider... 
“And let us not ignore the skirmish that shall precede the upcoming fight.” ...And he muttered this with excitement. 
 
Royal Capital, Altea, deep inside the royal castle 
While most of the attention in the castle was directed at the negotiations between the kingdom and its begrudgingly welcome guest, a particular girl was sitting on a bed closer to the heart of the castle. 
Her name was Theresia C. Altar. She was the third princess of the kingdom of Altar who, owing to her sickly constitution, lived within a room surrounded by a field of sterilization and healing. Unlike her eldest sister, who’d been chosen by The Primeval Blade itself, or the second oldest, who was almost too energetic and naïve, Theresia spent most of her time in her room. 
Even while the whole castle was buzzing over the deadly Contract Tsukuyo Fuso had presented during the negotiations, she was just sitting in her room. Though, that was also due to the fact that she and the younger of her sisters weren’t required to sign the Contract. 
Theresia absentmindedly stared at a point in the air before shifting her gaze to the door. 
“I haven’t seen you in a while, Mr. Costume,” she said. 
“...Yeah,” replied the man in a raccoon costume. 
“Not a chameleon today?” 
“This one has the Presence Block skill. It’s not as good as the Optical Camouflage from the chameleon suit, but the security isn’t as tight as usual, so I just came wearing this.” 
The man wearing the Ultimate Costume Series, Orphan Roa was none other than one of Altar’s Superiors: King of Destruction, Shu Starling. He stepped closer to her and stopped at a distance where conversation was easy. 
Theresia sniffed the air a few times, catching some sort of scent. 
“I don’t know this smell,” she said. “Did you go really far away?” 
“All the way to Caldina. Fought a magic dumbass who likes playing in the sand too much,” Shu said before putting on a regretful air. “...It took me a whole week to come back here.” 
A week was exactly the amount of days that Gloria had spent terrorizing the kingdom. The moment he heard about the dragon, Shu had immediately prepared to return, but the road was long, and even a Superior like him needed some time to cross the Caldinian desert. 
“I don’t think you should let it bother you,” said Theresia. She wasn’t even consoling him — she merely stated the truth. 
“It’s not like you have to beat Gloria. Masters are free. That’s how it is, right?” 
“...Yeah. But from what I heard from DIN and on the other side, the situation is about as bad as it could be, right?” 
“They say that Altea might be destroyed. The maids were talking about it.” 
“But it didn’t look like the staff had decreased any.” 
“Everyone working here is loyal to a fault. I think they should all just run away, though.” Theresia was young, and her manner of speech reflected that, but the topics she discussed were disconcertingly mature. She wasn’t even elementary school age by Earth standards, so this would normally be a very strange sight. 
However, very few had ever heard her speak this way. Three, to be exact — two people and an animal. The animal was the gigantic hamster she kept as a pet, while the people were Shu and the irredeemable criminal who had once kidnapped her. The kidnapping was actually what had led to Shu’s regular visits, but that was a story for another time. 
“...What would you do if everyone ran away?” 
“Nothing. My condition... I mean, it is stable here inside the barrier around the castle, so I’d just end up waiting for Gloria here.” 
She would wait for a creature with a passive field skill that caused death to all those below level 100. That obviously meant certain death for her, but she didn’t seem to care and simply continued speaking. 
“I would love to take it out with me... Ohh, but Altea would be completely useless at that point. Though, I guess that’s better than letting the damage spread all over the kingdom.” 
“...Where’s your pet? Where’s Dormouse?” 
“Dor isn’t here. He’s probably busy with work. He said something about the deployment being too early. Maybe something didn’t go as planned?” 
In response to her words, Shu began to think to himself, but then she continued. 
“You should probably hurry up and get ready, Mr. Costume. No matter what you choose.” 
Theresia meant that he should hurry up and pick an option, regardless of whether it was fighting, running, or something else. However, she didn’t urge him towards any one option. 
“...Theresia,” Shu said as he removed the head of the raccoon costume and looked directly into her eyes with his own. “Are you really okay with all of this?” 
That wasn’t enough to make her waver, though. 
“Altimia bears the burden of the power she was born with and her responsibilities as the first princess. I’m just here resting, bearing only one burden. It would be unfair if I didn’t try to balance that out.” Theresia then smiled like the child she was. “And I want Elizabeth to live freely, without any responsibility at all. That’s why I’ll use the power laid on my shoulders to protect my dear family.” 
These weren’t words of reassurance, and she wasn’t talking childish nonsense — she was merely prioritizing what was important to her. They were the words of a girl who’d chosen her beloved family over her own life. 
In response, Shu was silent for a good few moments before putting the costume head on again, turning around, and saying, “...I remembered some business I gotta take care of.” 
“Oh? What is it?” 
“A walk.” Just like that, the man in the raccoon costume left Theresia’s room. 
 
After sneaking out of the castle using Presence Block, Shu went out to the capital’s noble district and arrived at a back-alley. The main street was full of evacuees, but the back-alleys were surprisingly empty. 
As he walked down the alley, he suddenly spoke to himself. “She... didn’t once ask me to fight.” 
If Shu fought and emerged victorious, he would prevent Gloria’s arrival at the capital. That would save Altea’s tians, and Theresia wouldn’t have to die. 
Despite that, and despite knowing Shu’s identity as the King of Destruction, she never once asked him to fight. 
The current situation was one of the worst possible scenarios, but still she thought of nothing but her duty and those she wanted to protect. 
It was as though she believed that her entire life’s purpose was that single moment. 
“That kind of thinking... she’s too young for it.” Letting his irritation take over, he punched the brick wall of a nearby abandoned building, collapsing it instantly. Since there was no one around to see it, this didn’t cause any commotion. 
The hand of the special reward costume he was wearing couldn’t take the force and shattered into tiny pieces. Paying it no mind, Shu tried to walk away, but... 
“You seem quite frustrated, Shu.” 
...Someone called out to him from behind. 
“...I’ve felt like I was being watched since I was in Caldina,” Shu said. “I knew it had to be you, Humpty.” 
He turned around and saw a bizarre entity in the middle of the back-alley. 
It was a creature wrapped within an oval, egg-like cocoon. 

She was the control AI no. 2, tasked with managing Embryos. Her name was Humpty Dumpty. 
She had also been in charge of handling Shu’s arrival and character creation, and she was an entity he had met many times since then. 
“Yeah... ‘since I was in Caldina,’” Shu repeated himself. “...You’re not about to tell me that you timed that shitty dragon’s release with me being outta the country, are ya?” 
“I won’t deny that,” Humpty replied. “I mean, unlike the Over Gladiator, High Priestess, or King of Crime, you would actively try to solve the problem, right? I mean, you’re a very good boy at heart.” 
She didn’t seem to feel the least bit guilty about it. In fact, she was smiling. 
“Even if you couldn’t defeat it alone, with a Master of your caliber fighting against it, all of Gloria’s skills would be exposed in no time. That would make it easy for Altar to come up with countermeasures, and impossible for us to gauge the limits of the other Masters... making it harder to create new Superiors.” 
With a full smile on her face, Humpty revealed their goal. “We had hopes for the King of Swords, but they’re gone now. He’s broken. Oh, but he might’ve become a Superior if his Embryo didn’t shatter. Maidens’ ??? is easier to initiate in desperate situ—” 
“I’ll tell you one thing,” Shu cut her off. Humpty was talking about who had the greatest chance of becoming a Superior, but Shu didn’t care one bit about all of that. In fact, if that was what this girl before him hoped to gain from this calamity, he was completely against it. 
“You aren’t gettin’ any new Superiors outta any battle against that shitty dragon.” He dismissed her goal, determined to prevent it. Thus, all that was left... 
“We will destroy Gloria.” 
...Was to make a final declaration as the King of Destruction. 
His words — no, the will behind them — left Humpty speechless. 
Shu turned around and resumed walking, heading towards the Nowest Canyon in the northwest of the capital, where he would find the dragon terrorizing the country. 
With Shu gone, Humpty was left all alone. 
There was not a single person or creature in sight. In fact, it was very strange that no guards arrived after the abandoned building collapsed. The back-alley was only empty because Humpty had some sort of ability that made it so. 
However, that wasn’t important to her now. 
“Heheheh, ahahahahahahah!” she burst out. The girl-like control AI shielded by a thin veil — a transparent shell — was actually laughing out loud. She wasn’t laughing because the Master she’d favored was turning out exactly like she wanted him to be, but because the will he’d displayed was far stronger than she’d ever imagined. 
“Shu, this is why I like you. Back when I was alive, there were no synchronizers... Masters as engaging to watch as you.” 
Thus, Humpty, the Infinite Embryo of the Type Infinite Body, imagined what would happen next and laughed with supreme joy.