HOT NOVEL UPDATES

Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 11 - Chapter 6




Hint: To Play after pausing the player, use this button

Act Six: The Lion and the Dragon 
 
“The kingdom’s Superiors are approaching Gloria.” 
“Weeell, it ceeertainly toook them a whiiiile.” 
“I have no intention of stopping her, but if she really does reach the capital, we shall have to rethink our schedules going forward. Though, I imagine that the disappearance of a whole country would act as a powerful dose of smelling salts.” 
“So you don’t care either way, Jabberwock?” 
“Indeed I don’t, No. 3... Queen... whichever you prefer. Though, I would be troubled if we don’t produce a single new Superior.” 
“‘Troubled,’ huh? Hmph. I’d say that whether or not it happens is up to the Superiors. Let’s observe the true power of the ones they favor.” 
“Very well.” 
“Though, no matter how strong they are, Gloria... ‘The Glory SelectE.R.’ cannot be stopped.” 
 
Kingdom of Altar, Nowest Canyon 
The Nowest Canyon to the northwest of the royal capital was a place where few dared to tread. Even those who traveled from the now-destroyed city of Claymill to the capital would detour directly south to reach the Wez Sea Route and follow it eastwards. 
The reason for taking this roundabout path was simple: the Nowest Canyon was a land of giant fissures as wide as one kilometel, as long as several kilometels, and as deep as several hundred metels. 
It was said that this place was unnatural. Many believed that these cracks were the scars of a fierce battle that happened at the sunset of the pre-ancient civilization. Regardless of its origins, though, Nowest Canyon was an unwelcoming landscape rife with creatures of a higher level than the surrounding areas, making it difficult to traverse and even more difficult to build on. That made it a roadless, empty land inhabited only by monsters. 
Of course, there were beings that had no trouble passing through the scarred terrain. 
After destroying Claymill, Gloria headed for the capital directly through the Nowest Canyon. 
The dragon was moving through a fissure large enough to hide its gargantuan frame. Its steps were confident and full of vigor — it had closed its wounds and restored its heart during the day it had dedicated to healing itself. Its wings and tail were still gone, but that didn’t affect its walking speed or the lethality of its Fatal Field, which killed all the creatures around it. 
Gloria had surpassed the limits of the animal kingdom, and neither the land itself nor the other monsters could stop it now. Any creature that could stand up to it would have to have similarly transcended those limits. 
“...It’s here,” he — Over Gladiator, Figaro — said, sensing Gloria’s oppressively majestic approach. “Yeah... It looks really strong.” 
As someone who regularly raided the Tomb Labyrinth solo, Figaro had reached its lower levels many times and encountered a decent number of UBMs there. He’d even come across and defeated several Mythicals, including the most powerful foe he had faced so far — the creature that erratically wandered the dragon area: Extinction Dragon King, Drag-Fin. 
Figaro was no doubt accustomed to powerful UBMs, but the pressure emitted by the SUBM approaching him was in a class of its own. 
Drag-Fin had been a massive creature fully worthy of the title “enemy of all life,” but it paled in comparison to this ominous golden dragon. The videos didn’t do it justice. Now, seeing it with his own eyes, he understood just how immense it was. 
The gap in their power was obvious. Even a berserker like Figaro knew that facing it alone would be sheer stupidity. 
Despite that... 
“Still... I’ll go first. By myself.” 
...He’d resolved to fight on his own. His fatal flaw was one of the reasons for this, but even without that, he would’ve made the same decision. 
Figaro had also sealed away one of his specialties. 
Dance of Anima — one of the skills of his Superior Embryo — improved his equipment the longer the fight dragged on. Because of this, he had the option of engaging in a warm-up battle to power up and close the gap between them before fighting Gloria head-on. 
However, he didn’t want to do that. So, he chose not to. He would fight alone, without any head start. 
After all — to him, this was a duel against Foltesla. 
Figaro and Foltesla had begun dueling and rising up through the rankings at the same time. They’d piled on victories and losses, coming out ahead or falling behind each other like the rivals they truly were. 
They’d become good friends through their dueling. Theirs was the kind of friendship that could only exist between equal, competing rivals, and it was quite unlike what Figaro had with Shu. 
But when Figaro defeated the previous champion, Tom Cat, Foltesla became unable to challenge him in a ranked duel. Only the second-ranked duelist could challenge the duel champion, and Foltesla couldn’t get the position due to his incompatibility with Tom Cat. 
Despite that, Figaro was sure that Foltesla would eventually take his position. 
Many believed that the gap between them had become insurmountable the moment Figaro evolved into a Superior, but Figaro himself didn’t believe that to be the case. 
He continued to view Foltesla as an equal. 
Figaro believed that while he kept his title and improved himself, Foltesla would also experience immense growth. 
His rival would eventually surpass Tom Cat and fight Figaro for the title of champion. Figaro believed that with complete confidence, and the two even swore that they would one day face each other in that battle. 
However, now it was clear that the day of their showdown would never come, for everything that Foltesla held dear to his heart had vanished along with the fortress city. 
Figaro was sure that his rival would never return to this world. Thus, he knew that this would be their final battle. 
“Let’s do it, Foltesla,” he said, as Gloria came into view. 
Despite its powerful presence, Figaro actually didn’t see Gloria as his true foe. To him, it was just a target... a tool in his duel with Foltesla. The dragon was nothing but a means through which he would battle his rival in a time attack. 
“Let’s begin. You were defeated, so you have no time attack record. Your notable acts include taking its wings, tail, heart, and right eye. To win against you, I will go beyond that.” 
Time attacks tracked how well the duelists did against a monster of the same type, and they received a score even if they were defeated. To surpass Foltesla, who went as far as destroying a heart, Figaro had only one possible target. 
“...I’ll take a core,” he declared, deciding that he would aim for the part that gave the most points on monsters that possessed it. 
And Figaro already had his eyes set on a single head out of the three. 
He’d chosen the one-horn. It released the devastating breath of light that had destroyed all those defending Claymill, clearly making it the head with the greatest offensive power. As long as that head existed, Gloria would have the ability to instantly kill anything in the path of its light breath, and every wound dealt to it would potentially be fatal to its attackers. 
Logically speaking, if you wanted to defeat this dragon, the one-horn had to go first. 
However, Figaro’s reasons for targeting the one-horn weren’t strategic. He was looking directly at the head’s right eye. 
There was a deep wound there, along with a scab-like covering of mythical metal — the molten remains of a greatsword. It was all the proof Figaro needed that this was the head Foltesla had fought until the bitter end. 
It was the head the King of Swords had tried to conquer, and the head that had finally defeated him. 
That was the only reason Figaro needed to target it, and the reason he would give everything he had to tear it off. 
“Let’s do this,” the champion said as he brandished a spear in his right hand. 
“FfrRrrRrrrRrRrrRr,” Gloria rumbled, acknowledging its enemy and rearing up on its hind legs. 
“Fight.” Figaro declared the start of the duel. 
“FRHSssSSsSsHeeEAAHhhHH!” The dragon unleashed its breath of light as the champion charged towards it. 
 
Gloria’s breath melted a part of the canyon, causing a cliff to crumble. The sound of it could be heard even outside of the Nowest Canyon. 
“...It’s started,” said the man standing atop a giant battleship — King of Destruction, Shu Starling. 
He had it parked outside the canyon and waited in it, silently. 
“Sure ya shouldn’t help the prince?” There were 34 people gathered around Baldr. They were all members of the kingdom’s top clan, The Lunar Society. All the clan-cult’s level 500s and above had gathered to fight and defeat Gloria. Naturally, the leader and sub-leader — Fuso Tsukuyo and Eishiro Tsukikage — were among them. 
“I’m pawsitive. In fact, I don’t want you getting anywhere near them until his battle ends,” said Shu. 
“But going against it alone is suicide. Solo-only players are so annoying.” 
Shu, Tsukuyo, and Figaro. Albeit for different reasons, the three top rankers of the kingdom had all gathered in a single place. 
Figaro had been the first to arrive, and he’d immediately jumped into a crack in the canyon to face Gloria alone. 
Shu was close behind him. As Figaro’s good friend, he had an idea why the champion would challenge and fight the dragon alone, so he knew it was best not get in his way. 
Tsukuyo and her clan were the last to arrive, and Shu also took it upon himself to keep them from interfering with Figaro’s fight. They had no real reason to listen to him, so at first they had tried to follow Figaro, but Shu struck a deal with them to keep them out. 
“So, trash panda, we can go right after that sickly noble takes out the one-horn, right?” 
“Fur sure.” Indeed — they’d agreed on an order. Thanks to the data gathered by the Babylonian Battlegroup, they had a fairly good grasp of Gloria’s nature. The one-horned head released an evaporating breath, the two-horn spread out a deadly field, and the three-horn increased its stats as its HP went down. 
The one-horn had to go first, as it made Gloria more dangerous the more wounds it received. 
The second one that had to be destroyed was obviously the three-horn, as it increased the dragon’s power as it came closer to death. There was no good reason to leave it until the end and allow Gloria to become as powerful as possible. 
Finally, with the one-horn and three-horn gone, only the two-horn would be left, and that had no effect on those who were max level or above. Without the one-horn and three-horn, the two-horn would be easy pickings, for without the head that enhanced its power, Gloria could only become weaker. 
Also, it was likely that Gloria had a core in each head, and with standard UBMs, the core’s destruction was a major factor in MVP selection. After the recent incident with Twin Moby Dick in Granvaloa, it had become widely known that SUBMs gave out several MVP special rewards. Gloria was presumed to have a core for each head, meaning it may give a special reward for each core. 
That meant that you could become MVP multiple times. This was just a theory based on very few examples in the past, but even the chance of it being true convinced Tsukuyo to aim for the destruction of both the two-horned and three-horned heads. 
However, the one-horn stood in the way of that goal. Its deadly breath of light made fighting it extremely risky, especially for group fighters like The Lunar Society. 
Because of this, Shu and Tsukuyo had agreed that after the one-horn fell, he would let The Lunar Society take both the two-horn and the three-horn. 
If Figaro was defeated after taking out the one-horn, Tsukuyo would go next. 
If Figaro failed, Shu would give his all to finish off the one-horn, then leave the rest to Tsukuyo. 
Thinking that two battle-focused Superiors had a good chance of taking out a single head, she had gladly accepted this deal. 
“But what if Prince Meathead attacks one of the other heads?” Tsukuyo asked. 
“Ain’t happening. He’ll fight the one-horn,” Shu replied. 
As his friend, Shu knew Figaro well; he was fully aware of Figaro’s relationship with Foltesla. Thus, he didn’t doubt his own judgment here one bit. 
“Hell, you should be worried about him taking out all three of the heads.” 
“There’s no waaay. That’d be inhuman.” 
“It would be, fur sure. But...” Shu acknowledged Tsukuyo’s words before continuing. “...You know he’s the kingdom’s strongest, right?” 
His words were brimming with confidence in his friend’s ability. 
 
The battle between Figaro and Gloria began with the dragon instantly releasing its breath of light. 
The monster’s Fatal Field came with the ability to gauge the levels of its targets, which told it that Figaro was the most powerful creature it had encountered thus far. In addition to that, it could feel the immense Resources he carried in the form of MVP special rewards — the remains of other UBMs. 
Gloria had no reason to hold back against a foe like that. 
“OVERDRIVE!” Its single horn glowed red as the head beneath it released the breath that had extinguished the tian elite and the entire city of Claymill. 
The neck danced, and the fatal light moved along with it. 
“I know this,” Figaro said, narrowly evading the lightshow of certain death as he closed in on Gloria at beyond supersonic speed. 
Figaro’s thoughts — no, his battle instinct — told him that, while the breath moved at the speed of light and was thus undodgeable, the head releasing moved far slower than the speed of sound. As long as he watched the creature’s movements and kept running at supersonic speeds, the head would never hit him. He simply had to focus on taking advantage of the slowing of experienced time caused by supersonic movement to avoid the subsonic beam of light moving towards him. 
The slightest touch and it would be all over for him. But by putting that thought out of his mind, he was able to approach Gloria without any hesitation. 
It was a manifestation of the battle sense and instinct that he was born with, but could never use in his real life. 
“I’ll start with this. ■■■■, ■■ ■■■■ — ■■■ ■■■■■■!” 
Figaro muttered something and threw the spear in his hand at Gloria. 
It was a Legendary item with fantastic stats, but it didn’t scare Gloria in the slightest. No matter what skills it had, the dragon knew that something like that would never kill it. 
It wasn’t an incorrect assumption. Dragonhowl Spear, Drag-Song had the ability to destroy matter using shockwaves, but it wasn’t powerful enough to be effective against Gloria. 
The one-horn head was so confident that it almost smiled as the spear approached its long neck... and it took a moment for it to realize that the spear had torn a good half of the flesh away from its neck. 
“Ggha... ah...?” With half of its mass gone, the neck folded forward so far it nearly crashed into the ground. 
But when the one-horn’s third eye noticed Figaro’s approach, it quickly recovered, supported its head, and released its breath on him. 
Figaro evaded the attack before using Instant Wield to equip a new weapon — an Epic throwing ax called “Whirlwind Ax, Fulgore.” 
As he avoided the storms of light, he swung and threw it, just like he’d done with the previous weapon. It spun at immense speeds as it flew towards Gloria’s neck, drawing an elliptical trajectory and gathering wind that soon became a storm. 
This also didn’t seem capable of dealing any significant damage to the dragon, but the one-horn had learned the hard way that appearances could be misleading. 
“FRHhSshhEeeEAAhHhhhHHhh!” The one-horn showered the ax in light, evaporating it and instantly eliminating it from the world. However, before it vanished, it created a disturbance in the air strong enough to shake even Gloria’s massive body. 
It forced the dragon to totter straight towards... 
“Gouging Draconic Spinfang: Drag-Spiral.” 
...Figaro himself, who’d used Gloria’s momentary focus on his ax to close in on the dragon. 
He shoved the lance in his hand into the dragon’s left heel. 
The name of this weapon was “Drilldragon Lance, Drag-Spiral,” and it was an MVP special reward he’d gotten from an Ancient Legendary “Drilldragon King” of the same name. 
“Gouging Draconic Spinfang: Drag-Spiral” was its only skill, and all it did was penetrate matter. The drill-like tip easily pierced Gloria’s tough scales and spun around rapidly, scattering flesh, shattering bone, and rupturing the entire hindlimb. 
“FHRrruuUUuAaaAAaaAArRrgGHHHhhHhH!” The sudden, unexpected loss of an entire limb made Gloria collapse. 
If it was capable of words, the only thing that would’ve gone through its mind would be “Impossible!” 
Knowledge of UBMs and special rewards had been etched into its instincts. Therefore, considering the ranks of the UBMs that had become the rewards, there was no way they could have done this much damage to it, even when used by someone as powerful as this particular wielder. This could only mean that he had some mysterious other ability that was capable of closing the gap. 
Its instincts were exactly correct. 
Figaro had already used an ace up his sleeve that brought him closer to Gloria’s level — an ability that was a double-edged sword. 
As it collapsed, Gloria noticed that the lance that had destroyed its limb had shattered. As an SUBM, Gloria understood what the lance was, and concluded that it was looking at an empty shell. 
The concept, the soul, the Resources that made up every special reward — none of it was there anymore. 
The remains of the lance left no hope for its recovery. 
It was as though the entire special reward had been used up for one single attack. 
“Gh...” Figaro staggered in pain right where he stood. 
“It... It really does hurt.” Gloria hadn’t actually hit him once so far. Despite that, his body was criss-crossed with wounds, as though it had been burned all over. 
Gloria’s breath of light didn’t allow any heat to escape, making this kind of burning impossible; upon closer inspection, one might notice that he had no external wounds at all. 
All these burns had been caused by something within him. It was as though the blood running through his veins had become pure fire. 
This was the price he paid for the ace up his sleeve — lost special rewards and countless burns. 
“The thirty seconds are up. Judging by my max HP... I have two more uses.” 
Figaro had pain set to on, so to him, he really was being burned alive from the inside. 
Even so, he showed no fear. Bearing the injuries, fighting the pain, and losing his weapons, Figaro glared at the one-horn with fighting spirit in his eyes. 
“This is the second one.” He wielded his double-edged sword once more, speaking the name of his life in this world... 
“Burn, My Soul — Cor Leonis!” 
...And the name of the Superior Embryo based on the star known as “the heart of the lion.” 
 
Sometime In the Past 
On a particular day a few weeks after defeating Tom Cat and becoming the duel champion, Figaro woke up in Infinite Dendrogram, as usual, and noticed he had changed. 
The body he woke up with was completely unlike the body he’d gone to sleep with. 

He realized that the difference was in the blood running through his veins. 
His avatar’s heart was his Embryo, Cor Leonis, so any change to his Embryo changed his blood, as well. 
Figaro checked the relevant windows and realized that Cor Leonis had reached its seventh form... that it evolved into a Superior Embryo. 
He also noticed that it gained a third skill — the ultimate one, to be exact. Upon reading its details, Figaro instantly understood why it was the way it was. 
“Considering my personality and what I’ve been through, it makes sense that it’d come out like this.” 
Embryos evolved based on what their Masters were like and their experiences. Thus, even if some of their abilities seemed dangerous to others, the Masters themselves generally found them fitting. 
Figaro’s “Burn, My Soul — Cor Leonis” was in this vein. It was so powerful that his previous self paled in comparison, and it was extremely compatible with duels. He couldn’t ask for a better ace up his sleeve. 
“...I know when I’ll use it in duels, then,” Figaro said, deciding that he would only unleash it when Foltesla became second in the duel rankings and challenged him for the throne. 
He hoped that he could release his full potential — his entire soul — against his good friend and rival. 
He was certain that Foltesla would eventually challenge him, so he never used it in any of his other duels. Even when fighting monsters, he only used it once — during his battle against Drag-Fin. 
Figaro waited for Foltesla, ready to give his all and then some. But the arrival of Gloria meant that their promised duel would never happen. 
Thus... he used it now. 
This was the moment... the duel that would unlock his full potential. 
 
Kingdom of Altar, Nowest Canyon 
“Burn, My Soul — Cor Leonis!” The skill turned his heart searing hot, as though it smouldered like its namesake star in the Leo constellation. It burned his flesh, made his blood boil, and lowered his HP; it scorched his Max HP away as well. Through his torn skin rose a smoke that seemed to be a mix of white steam and blood. 
Figaro always had his pain settings turned on, so he felt the full intensity of the agony, but even that wasn’t enough to stop his power. 
Intent on making every moment of the thirty second effective time count, he swung into action immediately. 
“FNGH!” First, Figaro used Instant Wield to equip a shadow-colored Legendary rapier called “Shadowbind Pin, Bolbara.” He thrust it into the shadow of the dragon, still collapsed to the ground. Then, he used Bolbara’s skill, Anchoring Shadowpin, which applied Bind to the target whose shadow it pierced. 
For a UBM skill, it wasn’t too special — you could even find some like it among skills of certain jobs. 
Standard shadow-based bindings could be easily undone, and even those from special rewards could be overwhelmed and broken by sheer force. 
However, this one actually pinned this immense dragon in place. 
Gloria was actually held fast by an impossibly powerful shadow-based binding — but in exchange, Bolbara shattered. 
This was the ultimate skill of Cor Leonis. 
By burning Figaro’s flesh and blood, it lowered his max HP by 1% every second, and this damage could not be restored until he received a death penalty. Additionally, using the active skills of any items during this time destroyed them beyond repair. In exchange for these two heavy drawbacks, it empowered those skills beyond all limits. 
“Burn, My Soul — Cor Leonis” burned up the life of Figaro and his equipment, making them shine as bright as possible before they fell dark. 
That was the shape of life lived by the sickly youth known as Vincent Myers. 
His entire life, the 28 special rewards he’d acquired, and the very soul challenging the foe before him were all focused into a single instant, going up in flames like a firework. It was a manifestation of the way he lived, and it was so intense that even an SUBM like Gloria couldn’t brush it off. 
“FhuUuRRrraaAAAaAaaAaAAaHhhHhH” Upon realizing that this foe had the power to defeat it, Gloria focused all its power into the one-horn. It tried to release light from its wounds, but Figaro was expecting this, for it was the ability that devastated the Babylonian Battlegroup and many other Masters. 
It was the reason that trying to overwhelm it with numbers or attacking it without careful consideration was a fatal mistake. 
Accounting for this, Figaro had picked his targets carefully, focusing on only certain parts to limit the area its light could cover. 
The first wound had been dealt to the throat of the one-horn that breathed light. Extra light coming from this area changed little. 
The second wound went to one of the hindlegs. Since it had lost its wings, they had become important in supporting its immense weight. 
Both of these were places that made it hard for Gloria to effectively utilize its ability to overwhelm the enemy by turning its own wounds into fountains of killing light. 
Figaro was able to evade the light coming from there almost instinctively. 
Gloria’s abilities were already known, so it couldn’t outwit the very best of Figaro’s instincts. 
At the very least, the breath of light as it was now couldn’t defeat Figaro on its own. 
“??!” 
With Gloria out of moves to make, Figaro moved to put it in check. 
He activated Physical Berserk and equipped a gauntlet on his left and a short spear in his right before charging at the still-bound one-horn head. 
A Bind that lasted several dozen seconds. One-shot attacks, each one potentially fatal. The 23 special rewards Figaro still had left. Combined, that was more than enough to take out the one-horn. In fact, even the other two were in danger. 
At this moment, Gloria acknowledged that the tables had turned — that it was likely that the battle would end in its defeat. 
At that moment, certain shackles within the dragon shattered. 
Gloria did away with one of the limits put on it by the control AIs and unleashed a power that it had kept hidden, even from them. 
“RRrrRrruaAaAaaaAaAggGhHhHhhHHhhhHH!” The one-horn let out a roar beyond any that had come before, and suddenly all the golden scales covering its body began to shine. 
“Ah...!” Figaro instantly took evasive action. 
It wasn’t exactly that he’d sacrificed his perfect moment to land the killing blow in favor of saving himself. It was more that his instincts told him that if he kept going, he was the only one who would die. 
The next moment, Gloria’s shining claw cut through the air just behind him at supersonic speeds. The speed was incomparably faster than it had been earlier. 
This meant that it had broken the speed limits set on it by the control AIs. And more importantly, the shining scales released the same light as its breath, making it menacing beyond measure. 
“So that’s the ace up your sleeve...” Indeed — this was the ultimate weapon of Gloria’s first head. 
Its name was “Zenith Dragon’s Shining Field: Fang of Gloria.” It was unbreakable armor that protected it utterly, as well as a blade that extinguished all. 
“I knew that its breath didn’t work on itself... but I didn’t think it could use it this way.” During the battle at Claymill, Gloria had showered itself in its light many times, but it had never damaged itself in the slightest. 
Most people, Figaro included, assumed that it was because the golden scales covering its body had full resistance to the breath, but that wasn’t entirely correct. 
In fact, Gloria’s scales were the best conductor for its breath of light. It channeled light through them like they were optical fiber. 
“FruUooOooaAAaaAagHHhhHhhH!” This full-body radiance was Gloria’s ultimate offensive and defensive ability. Not even the control AI were aware of it. 
Gloria was wielding a power that made its defeat virtually impossible, and it had broken the limitations placed on it, bringing its stats back up to their previous Mythical-tier. 
Thanks to it spending a day to heal itself, the wounds left by the loss of its wings and tail were also closed over with scales. 
The damage Figaro had inflicted on it was also still releasing its deadly breath. It had even closed all its eyes to reduce the amount of weak points and chased after its enemy using only the senses given to it by the Fatal Field. 
Thus, there was no opening. 
Gloria as it was now was no doubt the strongest it could possibly be. The result was so powerful that even the control AIs would have hesitated to release it if they’d known of this ability. 
Faced with such a creature, Figaro... 
“Its body isn’t touching the ground. It can float a bit even without its wings?” 
...Just calmly analyzed it. 
He avoided the supersonic claws, all the while observing the monster and looking for his chance to conquer it. Even though the already-insurmountable gap between them became even wider, Figaro’s eyes showed no fear, and his heart was nowhere near broken. A normal person would’ve given up already, but he continued to calmly ponder how he could still win this. 
He was certain that he could still defeat this dragon. 
Figaro had seen the reason for his confidence the moment Gloria began to move. 
Until its body began gleaming and it attacked Figaro, Gloria had clearly been Bound. The Anchoring Shadowpin had been undone merely because the dragon became a source of light that banished the shadow binding it. It wasn’t because it had powered up, or because it ignored some special reward’s effect. 
It broke out in a way that still conformed to cause and effect, which was proof that Gloria was still bound by the laws of this world. 
It was an unreasonably powerful monster, but not an unbeatable one. And that was why Figaro knew he could defeat it. 
I... don’t have a special reward that can break through the light and damage it. This would be a lot easier if I had something that could warp through space and attack its inside directly, he thought. 
He had already removed most of his equipment, even the Lifesaving Brooch. It did little against Gloria and the light radiating from it. He’d focused on improving his evasion by channeling the power of his Arms Selector — the skill that made his equipment more powerful the less he had on — to improve the items that passively enhanced his AGI. Additionally, a few minutes of actual — not experienced — time had passed, improving the effect of his Dance of Anima. 
Even though Gloria now moved at supersonic speeds, Figaro was still faster. 
My ultimate skill expired, and I can only use it once more. Looking at how much HP I have left, I’ll get the death penalty before it ends... I guess I should be glad that the light doesn’t heat up its surroundings. 
Gloria’s light could only heat up things it shone directly on. If that hadn’t been the case, Figaro would have already died due to the damage from the residual heat. 
But even if he never once touched the light, the price for his ultimate skill was significant. 
In addition to the 60% of his HP he’d lost due to its direct effects, the injury-type status effects caused by the wounds the skill inflicted were eating away at his remaining life. Normally, he’d wear accessories that healed him and gave him resistance to such debuffs, but he had to focus only on his stats now. 
It was clear that Figaro’s death penalty was only a matter of time, and he didn’t have many chances left. 
I need to take out the one-horn in the next few moves, he thought. That would have been possible in the absence of the Fang of Gloria, but now, its defense was unbreakable. 
There wasn’t a single opening on the dragon, it seemed... 
“Ah...” 
...Until he noticed one. 
It was just a single point, but it was still a crack in the impenetrable, deadly armor of light. 
“Foltesla...” he spoke his friends name before gathering the resolve for one final attack and fixing his eyes on the point. 
“FRuuoooOoAAaaAggGhhhHHhhHH!” Gloria roared, as though sensing Figaro’s determination through its fatal field. Both of them already knew that the next supersonic exchange would be the end of the battle between lion and dragon. 
As the struggle reached its peak... “Let’s go.” ...Figaro equipped a new item — a blue cloak. 
Its name was “Rendshield Cloak, Closer,” and it was the first UBM special reward he’d ever acquired. Its defense was impenetrable, but he hadn’t taken it out to protect himself against the light. 
He had no intention of using it to protect himself at all. 
What he’d chosen for this battle was... 
“Liferend Shield Formation.” 
...Another form of the skill that created an impenetrable space. 
It was an offensive ability that attacked using countless floating barriers as weapons. But instead of using them for offense, Figaro turned them into stepping stones for him to run on top of. 
The next moment, Figaro dashed along the path of blades, speeding straight down it as though that was the only way he would ever reach the head of the monster bathed in light. The speed at which he approached it, defying the laws of gravity, was so great that even Gloria at its most powerful couldn’t follow his movement. 
However, it did know that the enemy was getting closer. 
“...GHHaaaAAaAaAaAAAAggGhHHhhhhhHHH!” Its response was quick — at supersonic speeds, it focused the one-horn’s power to strengthen the light its body emitted to its utmost maximum, becoming a luminous storm that evaporated the shield-blades it touched. 
“FRUuuSsssSsSHheEeEEEAAAAaaaAarRrRgGggGHHHH!” If Gloria’s thoughts were human, they might have looked like this: He runs, but has no destination. My body has no weak points, and no one can break through my defense, so if I continue destroying his path, he will eventually lose his way down and fall to my breath. 
This conclusion was not a wrong one. Gloria knew its own powers and already had a grasp of what the enemy could do. 
From its perspective, there was no flaw in this assessment. There was simply no opening for the enemy to take advantage of. 
Figaro had no chance of emerging victorious here. 
However, that was only true if Gloria and Figaro were the only ones fighting. 
“Now,” Figaro said as he leaped towards Gloria’s shining form like a moth seeking a flame. 
His evaporation was unavoidable. 
The battle’s end approached... and Figaro landed on the one-horn’s head. 
“...?” Gloria couldn’t understand. 
It simply couldn’t comprehend why this was happening. After all, all three of its heads had their eyes closed, so it couldn’t see or understand that there was in fact a single opening in the Fang of Gloria — a part of the head that wasn’t covered in the conducting scales. 
The place where Figaro was standing had no scales to release the light. 
It was a place where the one-horn’s right eye used to be. 
The part that Foltesla had given his all to attack, and the part where his melted Hihi’irokane greatsword had landed. 
Even Gloria’s breath wasn’t enough to evaporate the Mythical metal — it had only melted it. The metal had already cooled, hardened, and closed the wound, forming a scab that made it impossible for the scales to regenerate. 
Hot as it was, Gloria’s light didn’t let heat leak out. Because of this, it couldn’t melt the scab, for its light couldn’t touch it. 
Indeed — the proof that Foltesla had been fighting to protect what was dear to him until the bitter end was the one opening in this armor of deadly light. 
If it was truly one against one, Gloria would have won the day — but it was never like that from the start. This was a duel between Figaro and Foltesla. 
“Burn, My Soul — Cor Leonis!” For the third and final time, Figaro activated his ultimate skill. 
He followed it with Instant Wield, which he used to equip the Ancient Legendary gauntlet called “Seismic Fist, Bull-Lament” on his left hand, and the Mythical short spear as dark as the void called “Extinction Dragon Spear, Drag-Fin” in his right. 
Figaro had equipped the strongest weapons he had. 
“FHR—” Gloria tried to throw him off, but it was already too late. 
“Lament Crash!” Figaro let out a cry as he pulverized the Mythical metal below him and the head along with it using the hyper-vibrating fist. 
The Mythical metal shattered, and the head and most of the upper jaw were blown away. 
Despite that, the one-horn was still alive, and its entire body was still clad in light. 
“Tears of the End: Drag-Fin.” 
Figaro wasted no time, didn’t hold back, and didn’t hesitate to sacrifice his Mythical weapon. 

The Extinction Dragon Spear went straight into the one-horn’s forcefully-opened throat, infecting all of the one-horn’s cells. 
The concept of Drag-Fin’s power was forcefully initiating apoptosis — the self-destruction of cells. In exchange for the spear’s obliteration, the power of this skill was amplified such that it spread faster than you could blink. 
“GHH.” The three-horn was quick to act. 
It went and tore off the one-horned head before the infection spread any further. 
All things considered, it was too late to save that head, anyway. 
It crumbled, turned into light, and vanished, not leaving a single word or sound behind. 
 
This was the conclusion to the battle with the one-horned head. Gloria had lost one of its heads, as well as its greatest weapons — Overdrive and Fang of Gloria. 
However, Figaro was fading fast because of his own ability, too. 
The one-horn and Figaro had effectively defeated each other. 
“Foltesla...” he muttered. This was also the conclusion to their duel. However... 
“...Which one of us won?” 
Figaro was the one who’d defeated the one-horn. However, Foltesla had given him the necessary data, as well as his final chance at victory. That meant that this time attack was invalid. 
“I can’t say that I won this on my own...” 
And... 
“Let’s... Let’s have another duel.” ...Figaro was certain that this wasn’t their promised fight, after all. 
“One day... when you return to this world... let’s have a real duel.” As he hoped for the day to come sooner than later, Figaro’s body dissolved into particles of light. 
The ultimate skill had burned off all of his HP. All that was left was for him to vanish, and as he did, he looked out of the canyon — at the person who was watching over his duel. 
“This is it for me. I leave the rest to you, Shu.” 
Entrusting the battle to his other good friend, the Over Gladiator, Figaro, took his leave from the battle against the Tri-Zenith Dragon, Gloria. 
 





COMMENTS

No Comments Yet

Post a new comment

Register or Login