Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 13 - Chapter 3

Chapter Three: The Fearsome Clan 
Altea, The Royal Capital, The Royal Castle 
There was only one week left until the peace talks, and Altimia was hard at work in her office preparing for it. She had to make sure the country could survive any eventuality... including her own death. 
She could envision three scenarios in which she might die. 
One — the peace talks could turn out to be a trap. 
Two — the peace talks could be genuine, but go very badly, and a battle would break out right then and there. 
Three — a third party might target the talks and interfere. 
In scenarios one and two, the war between Dryfe and Altar would resume. 
However, it was difficult to predict what would happen in the third scenario. The optimal solution would have to be found by those left behind. 
Elizabeth was too young to make such decisions, so Altimia decided to entrust this duty to her confidant, Marquis Findle, and her trusted friend, Liliana. She made sure to specify that she wanted them to act as Elizabeth and Theresia’s guardians in the event of her untimely death. 
“Integra didn’t make it in time...” Integra — Altimia’s close friend and the Arch Sage’s heir. 
Her letter had said that she would be returning, but gave no timeframe. So far, there were no reports of her return to the capital, and the peace talks were just around the corner. By now, Altimia was working with the assumption that Integra would not make it and had prepared for the event without taking her presence into consideration. 
As she continued her work, there was a knock on the door. 
It turned out to be the royal guard tasked to keep watch outside of the gate. He reported that Ray Starling had arrived, and she told him to let Ray into the office. 
Ray had shown up in the capital yesterday, and Altimia had asked him to visit her when he got the chance. As a college student, he returned to his other world — “logged out” — quite often, so she was surprised that he agreed to come the very next day. 
“Welcome, Ray and Nemesis. It’s been quite a while,” she said, as they both entered. 
“Yeah. It has been, hasn’t it?” Ray replied. 
“Last we saw each other was during the Hannya incident,” added Nemesis. 
“Indeed. I had lots to do in preparation for the peace talks, so I returned to the capital right away.” 
“How’s that going, anyway?” 
“Quite well. Everything is more or less settled. At any rate, there are two reasons why I called you here. The first is Silver.” 
“Silver?” Ray tilted his head. He hadn’t expected to hear his Prism Steed’s name. 
“Apparently, a copy of an original Prism Steed’s design is necessary for the repair operations in Quartierlatin. Second Model Prism Steeds are too simplified to be of use.” 
“I see,” said Nemesis. “So some corners were cut, it would seem — that makes sense for mass-produced units.” 
“Indeed,” Azurite nodded. “That is why the repair operations require structural data from an original Prism Steed. Mr. Blue Screen is at the workshop here in the capital right now. Could you meet with him later?” 
“Sure,” said Ray. “So, what’s the other thing you wanted to talk about?” 
“...I have a personal question for you.” 
“You do?” Ray wondered what it could possibly be, but Azurite came right out and said it. 
“You created a clan, didn’t you?” 
“Oh, that. You heard about it already?” 
“Yes. It’s quite the talk of the town...” 
Altimia fell silent, and her cheeks flushed a bit. 
The reason for that was the public statement Ray had supposedly made. Altimia hadn’t heard it personally, but just imagining it was enough to make Altimia turn red. 
“Azurite? What’s wrong?” Ray asked. 
“...Nothing,” she replied. “More importantly, what members have you gathered?” 
“There’s me, Shu, the rest of my party, and Lei-Lei. We also invited some other Masters we know, and three of them agreed to join. That makes nine in total so far.” 
As far as clans went, it wasn’t particularly large. However, two of the members were Superiors, and two more were famous player killers, so it was already an extremely noteworthy group. 
The other three who’d joined were the three girls Ray’s party occasionally quested with — Kasumi, Fujinon, and Io. Rook had invited Kasumi. Her response was, “Wow... A clan that has Rook, Ray, and even Teacher... That’s incredible...!” and she instantly agreed. 
The other two hadn’t hesitated to join, either. 
...Kasumi actually fainted when she met the other members, but that was a minor detail. 
That was B3’s fault. Unfortunately, she happened to be in Barbaroy mode when Kasumi showed up. 
Ray also reached out to duel rankers he often sparred with, but so far, none of them had agreed to join. He’d avoided inviting Riser, though, since he’d been entrusted with the Babylonian Battlegroup — Bishmal, though, outright refused, saying, “I ain’t in a clan, but I’m gonna stand by my buddy Riser!” 
Juliet, Chelsea, and Max had all said they’d think about it. 
Chelsea was still in a state of shock from her previous clan disbanding, so she couldn’t decide whether or not to enter a new clan at this point; Juliet was so worried about her friend that she also decided not to join yet. 
Max, on the other hand, was hesitant because Ray’s clan members were a bit... much. 
Chelsea and Juliet said they would give their answers once Chelsea had calmed down a bit, but they still hadn’t decided whether they’d join Ray’s clan or create a new one themselves. 
“...Your brother makes perfect sense, but I did not expect to hear Lei-Lei’s name there.” Altimia said. 
“I was surprised too,” Ray replied. “Also, Shu said that Figaro and Hannya will probably join, but they’re not in officially yet because they haven’t returned.” 
That meant that Ray’s clan would most likely have four Superiors. Altimia didn’t know whether to be shocked or exasperated by that. 
“Until recently, I could have never imagined that the kingdom’s Superiors would gather under a single flag like this... I suppose we have you to thank for all of this” 
“You’re the real reason, actually. I decided to make a clan because of you.” 
He said those words as if they were nothing, but they made Altimia’s heart beat faster. 
“...You always manage to say something that surprises me.” 
“Really?” 
“Be careful, Azurite,” said Nemesis. “He might have a tendency to psych himself up and make impassioned speeches when the chips are down, but he can also drop some truly heart-stopping lines even in normal conversations.” 
“Indeed he can.” 
“...Is that what you guys really think of me?” The two looked away from him and fell silent, but that was an answer by itself. 
Their attitude actually made Ray feel a little self-conscious, so he lowered the Storm Visage down over his face to disguise his expression. It was impossible to tell whether that was his way of saying that he would pick his words more carefully from now on, or a show of his embarrassment at realizing he put his foot in his mouth more often than he’d thought. 
“At any rate, setting aside the matter of your mouth...” Azurite began, “we still need to talk about your clan. I want to know about more than just its roster.” 
“And that would be?” Ray asked, his voice muffled. 
“...Could you please remove that mask?” 
“All right. So, what do you wanna know?” 
Altimia presented Ray with a document. It was a copy of the current, post-update clan rankings. 
“Your clan’s name, for one” she said. “The rankings have changed quite drastically, and I cannot tell which one is yours.” 
“Oh yeah, the rankings are totally different from top to bottom now,” Ray said. 
There were several reasons for this upheaval. First, the dissolution of clans like Golden Pirates and Mad Castle had left gaps in the rankings. Second, many clans had been actively recruiting new members and gathering mercenaries in case a war broke out, which had given them enough points to enter the rankings for the first time. 
The third reason was the AETL Union’s recent split, and subsequent loss of members. The clan was a lot smaller now after Liliana’s fanclub had left — and the driving force behind that had largely been Ray’s attempt to join. Liliana was Elizabeth’s protector, and the fact that the clan’s sub-leader had refused Ray entry ended up making the second princess’ fanclub upset. “Ray Starling is connected to Liliana, which means we’d practically be one step away from Elizabeth herself! What the hell were you thinking, you dumbass?!” they’d cried. 
“Shut up! You brainlets can’t possibly understand our feelings!” Liliana’s fanclub argued back. 
Altimia’s fanclub had tried to calm the situation down, while Theresia’s fanclub was content to act like it was none of their business. 
All this conflict ultimately led to Liliana’s fanclub leaving AETL Union and creating a new clan, called Liliana FC. The fact that this splinter clan made it in the rankings all by itself made it clear that AETL Union was a force to be reckoned with. 
That also meant AETL Union was now actually just AET Union... even though the names of country-affiliated clans couldn’t be changed, so it would officially remain “AETL Union.” 
That wasn’t the only disaster they’d met with, though. 
Through DIN, they’d also learned about Elizabeth’s wedding and found out that she would be moving to Huang He, which had had an absolutely devastating impact on Elizabeth’s fanclub. Some were so shocked that they barely managed to log on, some almost went crazy and got the death penalty from a mysterious sunglasses-wearing PK, and some said “Huang He, huh? That’s a bit far, but...” and began preparing to leave Altar. All in all, it was not good. 
They’d lost some members because of all this, and had dropped in the rankings. 

The only silver lining for them was the fact that they weren’t aware of Ray and Altimia’s relationship. If Altimia hadn’t worn a mask while they were operating together, the clan might’ve been completely torn apart. 
As a result, AETL Union had dropped to 8th in the rankings, compared to Liliana FC at 27th — which was quite bad, considering their previous power. 
Now, most would’ve expected the clan in the 3rd place — K&R — to take the Union’s spot, but that wasn’t what happened. That was all due to a new clan that hadn’t been seen on the list before. 
“A great many new clans have made it onto the rankings, but I am particularly concerned about the one in second place,” said Altimia. 
“Huh? Second?” 
“I have never even heard of this clan before, yet it’s right behind those Lunar Society people. They must be a very serious threat.” 
“Umm, Azurite...” Nemesis hesitantly spoke up. “That would be...” 
“Their name is disturbingly sinister,” Azurite continued. Not saying a word, Ray and Nemesis looked at the list on the table... then they both glanced away. 
“Could they be one of those fearsome ‘PK clans,’ as you Masters call them...?” Altimia asked, and neither of them knew how to answer. 
“Uhh... well, in a way, it is, I guess?” said Ray. 
“...‘PK clan’ is certainly apt. Obviously those other two fit the description, but I imagine that Brother Bear and the Chinese snake have killed many, as well.” 
“I see, Brother Bear and Chinese sn—... what did you just say?” Altimia couldn’t help but ask. 
After all, “Brother Bear” was how Nemesis referred to Shu, the King of Destruction. 
That could only mean that... 
“...Azurite,” Ray looked into her eyes and finally spoke up. A cold sweat stood out on his face. “The clan in second place... is our clan.” 
“...Huh?” The answer almost made Altimia’s heart stop. 
She once again looked at the list, focusing on the second rank. 
Listed there was indeed the clan that Ray had made in order to protect Altar and fight alongside Altimia. It was also an extremely powerful clan that currently had two Superiors, would soon have four, and perhaps might gather even more in the future. It was a very special clan, both for Altimia and the entire kingdom. 
She hadn’t even considered that this second-place clan might’ve been Ray’s. After all, she didn’t think that a clan with so few members could possibly make it that high, even if it had Superiors. 
More importantly, she hadn’t imagined that they would give it such a sinister name. 
“...Why that name?” 
“...Stuff happened.” Ray slowly opened his mouth and began telling the story. 
 
A Week Ago, Death Soldier, Ray Starling. 
It was the fateful day on which I finally founded a clan. 
We were going through the clan creation process at the adventurer’s guild counter. We didn’t have to set a HQ or anything like that yet, so we had no trouble filling out the form... but then came the most troublesome part — actually naming it. 
The clan name conveyed its reputation. That made it extremely important, and an important decision is always difficult. 
The founding members were all extremely unique people, so there wasn’t a lot of overlap in the kind of names we liked. 
Even if we could find a name all of us actually agreed on, the well-informed among us would find out that they were already being used by, for example, a ranking Granvaloan clan or a bandit gang that used to operate in Caldina or something like that. 
We talked about it for more than an hour, right until the adventurer’s guild was about to close. 
“I have an idea,” B3 said as she adjusted her glasses, the light glinting off them as she did so. “It’s the method I used to generate my clan name, and it’s a fairly popular one in general, too.” 
She reached into her inventory, took out a piece of paper, and split it into twelve equal parts. 
“The founding members of the clan — the six of us, in this case — each write down a word or phrase on two cards. One card is for the first half of the name, while the other’s for the second half. They’re then put into two separate boxes. Do we have any handy...?” 
“Should I make a couple of the paper boxes I use fur my popcorn?” asked Shu. 
“Please do.” Shu reached into his pocket-type inventory and took out some flat paper boxes, along with some tape. As he began folding them into actual boxes, B3 continued. 
“The clan’s leader will then pull a card from each box. Then, they’d combine the two cards they’ve drawn, a first half and a last half, and the result is the clan’s name.” 
“That’s simple, but I’m intrigued,” said Rook. “I also think it works out well that the leader is the one pulling the cards.” 
The rest of the group nodded. 
“Yes,” said B3. “It’s an easy, fun way to make a clan name. Lots of famous clans have used it, including my own Mad Castle and, to my knowledge, Goblin Street.” 
...So you can make some pretty cool names you’d never have come up with otherwise like this, huh? I thought. 
Shu quickly finished making the boxes and everyone began secretly writing down their contributions. Personally... I decided to pick positive words. Thus, I put “Life” for my first half, and “Guard” for the second. 
“Life Guard” sounded like the pretty mundane profession, but the chances of me pulling both of my own cards was low, and on their own, the words could potentially combine well with a lot of different things. 
Eventually, we all finished writing and put the cards in the correct boxes. Nemesis then shook the box for the first half, while Babi did the same for the other one, mixing up the cards inside. Only members could write the words, so we left the Embryos in charge of the shuffling. 
Finally, the preparation was done. 
“I’ll start.” Everyone focused on me as I pulled out a card from the box for the first half. 
Tense, I looked at what was written on it. 
“...Eh?” The word on it was... Death — the opposite of what I’d written on my first card. 
The extremely ominous word made me fall completely silent. No one else said anything, either. They were all just staring at the second box. 
Honestly, I felt like this was already a failure, but I pulled out the second card regardless. 
On it, there was the word “Period.” 
I put the words together, creating “Death Period.” 
“What kinda combination is this?!” I exclaimed. 
Both words just mean some kind of ending! This clan ended before it even began! It’s way worse than any PK clan name! I thought. 
“...Amazing how you pulled something so... intense... on your first try,” said Nemesis. 
“Hey, this is a bit...” This was supposed to be a clan that would protect the kingdom during the upcoming war. With a name like that, you’d think we were Altar’s worst nightmare. I wasn’t sure about all this... 
“...I like it.” 
...B3? I thought. 
“This clan name is awesome! I mean, I’m the one who put ‘Death’ in there, but I never would’ve imagined we’d get a combo like that!” 
Hold on a second, Death Shadow, Marie Adler. 
“Ohh, now that just rocks! I love names like that!” 
Lei-Lei, why are you so excited? 
“As fur as I know, there’s no famous clan with that name.” 
Well, that’s important, but... 
“I’m the one who put in ‘Period,’” said Rook. “If you interpret it as ‘a full stop on unnecessary death,’ it really seems to suit your clan, don’t you think?” 
He wore a smile that showed he honestly believed every word he was saying. 
“Well, if you read it like that, then, I guess...” 
“...From that point of view, your ‘Life’ suggestion would have been catastrophic,” said Nemesis. Life Period — a full stop on life,’ Now that was a PK clan name if I ever saw one. 
“I guess this is a case of the negative of a negative being a positive,” I said. 
“Ha ha ha! It suits this bunch beary well,” said Shu, and everyone nodded in agreement. 
Anyway, all the members seemed to like the name. 
...I still found it a bit unsettling, but I could deal with it if I looked at it the same way Rook did. 
“All right,” I said. “The name of our clan will be... Death Period.” 
And so, it was decided. 
...But it really does sound kinda sinister, huh?