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Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 14 - Chapter 11




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Chapter Eleven: The Black Mirror 

Altar-Dryfe border, assembly hall 

The instant Behemot made her move, three Altarian Masters — Eishiro, Marie, and Rook — also flew into action. 

Just in terms of pure status, the strongest Altarian here was actually Rook. 

This was because Babi’s merging skill, Union Jack, allowed Rook to combine with her and a select monster under his command — in this case, Liz. Babi was a high-rank Embryo who’d used her Drain Learning to gather lots of stat-boosting skills from the monsters they’d defeated, while Liz was a slime that excelled in both speed and toughness. Obviously, merging these two together would have fearsome results. 

Despite being only a high-rank, Rook in this form had the stats and the skill repertoire of a Superior Job. 

The way it worked was almost like an off-shoot of the Guardian-Jaguarman Theory. 

Thanks to the buffs put up by The Lunar Society, his AGI was now a match for Behemot’s. 

Despite this, the moment he saw Behemot move, Rook realized something that made him break out in a cold sweat. 

Ohh... This is not good, Rook thought. 

He knew that he would be her first target. 

The extraordinary perception Rook boasted both in-game and in reality didn’t work as well when faced with a non-humanoid like Behemot — but since that tiny body hosted a human mind, he could follow some of her thought processes by observing her actions. One thing he knew for certain was that she would try to defeat him first. 

Most would have expected Behemot to go after the debuffer who was the only Superior here — Tsukuyo. Both Eishiro and Marie seemed deeply surprised to see Behemot charge straight at Rook, but he himself knew exactly why he was targeted. 

It wasn’t because of his stats. Though his were higher than those of the other Altarians here, Behemot wasn’t the type to pick her targets based on such meager stat differences. 

She was aiming for Rook first because she knew exactly what he was. 

I suppose this was to be expected. If she really did eliminate The Lunar Society just to get rid of all uncertain variables, it only makes sense that she would target me for the exact same reason. 

The skills Babylon had acquired through Drain Learning were numerous — easily surpassing the number of skills possessed by standard job builds. When fusing with her, Rook had access to all these skills, which would mesh well with his currently-insane stats. That made him an uncertain variable, and it was only natural that Behemot would see him as a threat. 

However, the fact that he’d gotten Behemot’s attention wasn’t what really bothered Rook — it was something far worse. 

The fact that she’s targeting me means that King of Beasts knows what we’ve got up our sleeves... She even knows about mere high-ranks like me. How much does she really know, then? Does she know all about our abilities and tactics? 

Moving as fast as Behemot, Rook retreated from her, occasionally winging his path. 

He used this time to think. 

Our strategy is based around King of Beasts attacking Ray and him surviving that attack. If she’s only aware of our strategies that have already been exposed, she will likely stick to attacking... But if she knows about his skill... we might have to find some means to get Ray’s damage counter up. 

Rook observed their opponent and tried to deduce how much she knew about them based on her actions. He accelerated his thoughts and continued his examination, while the distance between him and Behemot was swiftly closing. 

...Wait. From what I can tell, King of Beasts doesn’t just want a simple victory here. She certainly wants to win, but unlike Franklin, she’s not the type to go for victory at any cost. If that was the case, she would have attacked while we were still talking to Princess Claudiah, or included us in the rampage against The Lunar Society, or targeted Tsukuyo Fuso instead of me. She doesn’t want to just win... she also wants to enjoy this. 

As his thoughts kept speeding along, the distance between Rook and Behemot kept closing. 

They were more or less equal in speed — or rather, Rook was slightly faster. The reason King of Beasts was catching up was because her movements were just better. 

Part of her objective here is to win only after fighting with all her might. She wants to put herself into a situation where she can bring her full strength to bear while also letting her opponents go all-out. That must be the primary reason she’s not targeting Tsukuyo Fuso. In that case, what I ought to do here is... 

Although Rook had trained for this, he hadn’t had much field experience with the high-speed movement of Metal-Devil-Man. He still hadn’t quite gotten the hang of actually controlling this human-devil-slime chimera body of his. 

King of Beasts, on the other hand, had been in Infinite Dendrogram for nearly five years. 

The reason the distance between them was growing smaller was that immense gap in their respective experience controlling bodies that were totally unlike their real life ones. 

This was particularly obvious in the timing with which Rook changed his direction. 

...From my perspective, I have only three seconds left until she catches up. The moment when the distance closed... when the beast’s claws would dig into Rook’s flesh... was swiftly approaching. 

And then, Behemot was right next to him. 

“Hm...?!” she exclaimed, noticing that something wasn’t right. Rook had suddenly crossed his hands in front of his chest... 

“Flash Eye.” 

...And the artificial eyes created on his arms released an intense burst of light. 

“Hh...!” The dazzling flash stopped Behemot in her tracks for a moment. 

This was a skill that Babylon had acquired with Drain Learning from a monster called “Floating Spark Eye.” 

The skill released a powerful flash of light from the user’s eyes, dazzling the targets and inflicting the Blind debuff. Rook had used Liz’s ability to create a number of artificial eyes on his arms before using the skill through them. Being a Mithril Arms Slime, Liz could change her shape — and he could now do the same thanks to Union Jack. 

All this time, he’d been running away from Behemot in a winding pattern in order to get himself into a position where Flash Eye wouldn’t affect any of his allies. 

A brief dazzle. The first condition is cleared. This chance will not last, however. 

Rook knew full well that, to someone like King of Beasts, this would just be a momentary distraction. She didn’t even get the Blind status effect. The obvious conclusion was that at least one of the many MVP rewards she was wearing let her easily resist it. 

Regardless, the intense light still briefly blocked out her line of sight. King of Beasts might’ve had something that helped her see in total darkness, but she wasn’t equipped to handle an abundance of light, since that would be a hindrance in more circumstances than not. 

Despite being unable to see, Behemot wasn’t panicking one bit. 

She couldn’t properly gauge the distance between her and Rook, but sound and presence alone was enough for her to know that he was somewhere ahead of her. 

Thus, she decided to use a skill that didn’t care about a slight difference in distance. 

Behemot swung her right hand. The arc of her swing created a claw-shaped shockwave that barreled straight forward. 

The skill was called “Winged Ripper.” It was a Claw Boxer active skill, and it created a shockwave with a range of a few dozen metels and had the same power as the user’s regular attacks. 

She’d used this skill in order to keep Rook in check. 

However... it was exactly what he had been waiting for. 

[Now!] 

Rook shouted through his Telepathy Cuffs, while at the same time moving his slime tentacle with his Metal-Devil-Man body. He’d grown the tentacle at the same time he’d used Flash Eye, and now he yanked it back towards him, dragging along the thing it’d wrapped around in the process. 

The thing in question... or rather, the person... was none other than Ray. 

Rook had drawn his friend closer so he could use him as a shield. He’d been running away from Behemot while carefully positioning himself precisely so that he could bring Ray towards him like this. 

Though this seemed like the heartless actions of a person who would sacrifice his friend to save his own skin, it was actually a necessary step towards victory. 

“Counter Absorption!” 

After all... the damage counter was the source of Ray and Nemesis’ power. They had to be attacked by Behemot in order to use the damage taken as a Resource to power their own skills. 

They had agreed ahead of time that Ray would use Counter Absorption the moment Rook signaled to him using Telepathy Cuffs. 

And now, that barrier of light took the full brunt of the shockwave, adding the damage to Nemesis’ counter. 

The dazzling burst from earlier was nothing but a step towards luring Behemot into attacking Ray — it would’ve been much more difficult to direct her attacks to the proper target when she could see everything that was happening. 

“Gh...!” After Ray had just barely survived the attack, Rook used his tentacle to fling him out of range. 

That was all he could do here... for Behemot had already launched her follow-up attack. 

Although she couldn’t see, she’d realized that her attack had been blocked. That wasn’t a problem for her, though. If one of her attacks failed, she only had charge and attack again. 

The only problem for her now was deciding who to prioritize — Ray, who’d absorbed her immense damage, or Rook, her original target. 

As she considered that question, Rook suddenly raised his voice. “Ray... Prepare that skill! Use it to match her stats!” 

He actually exposed one of his friend’s trump cards, revealing information about Ray’s skills that Behemot likely didn’t know. 

This seemed like another betrayal, but again — it was not. 

Rook merely did what he thought was optimal based on his assumptions regarding Behemot’s personality. 

His words drew her focus towards Ray... not out of caution, but more out of curiosity. Rook had noted this. He had deduced that since Behemot wanted not only to win, but to also go all-out and actually enjoy this battle, she would allow Ray to use a skill that made him stronger. That was why he’d emphasized that it wasn’t a sure-kill attack, but a buff, leading her to make a decision that was ultimately beneficial to them. 

If it was a skill like Tsukuyo’s Ulfaria Eltram, which could instantly kill her, Behemot would have certainly attacked Ray to avoid defeat. Rook, however, had deduced that King of Beasts’ desire to enjoy herself outweighed her desire to win at any cost, and that she would want to see what happened when Ray used his skill. 

With Truth Discernment, it was even possible to tell that Rook wasn’t bluffing about the skill’s effects. 

Rook saw clearly that Behemot was doing exactly what he expected her to do — her interest turned towards Ray and away from taking Rook down. He was also relieved to see that Ray would actually be able to use his skill... but then, Rook noticed that Behemot had gotten close enough to attack him. 

“Hhaah...” he sighed, having expected this exact outcome. 

Rook knew that he’d end up getting the death penalty the moment he realized that Behemot had investigated all of them and had decided he was an uncertain variable. Since he was currently a slime-man, he could withstand most physical attacks, but he wasn’t optimistic enough to believe that he would survive here. 

This is King of Beasts... the top of the Dryfean kill rankings. She must have at least as many MVP special rewards as Shu, and based on her equipment, she doesn’t have any limitations as absurd as his costume-only restriction. I think it’s fair to assume that she has one — or more likely a few items that let her break through resistances. 

Rook’s assumption was correct. The semi-transparent claws Behemot had equipped were a Mythical MVP reward called “Twin-Moon Carvers, Crescent Glissando.” 

It was an ethereal pair of weapons that allowed the selection of damage type. 

One of its skills, Blood Moonrise, turned physical damage into direct HP damage. This damage was affected by the target’s defense, but it ignored physical resistance skills, so even the fearsome Metal-Devil-Man couldn’t stand up to it. 

On top of this, Behemot was using the Claw Boxer’s ultimate job skill, Tiger Scratch. This allowed her to follow up every single attack she made with two additional strikes that inherited the nature, element, and power of the first one. 

Not even a slime with a Brooch could survive three powerful blows that ignored resistances and were powered by Behemot’s immense stats. 

Checkmate, I suppose... But I think I did everything I could. I helped Ray put some damage on his counter and gave him a chance to use that skill of his. All in all, I think I put up a good fight against her. 

Calm and collected, he pondered the situation while staring straight at Behemot. 

Then, he canceled his Union Jack so that he wouldn’t lose Liz to the coming onslaught. 

His stats dropped, and so did his speed. He could no longer even see Behemot’s movements. 

The next thing he knew, he’d been completely pulverized. 

He didn’t even have time to notice if his Brooch had activated or not. 

Rook’s resurrection period was shorter than the blink of an eye, but it was enough for one last thought: This is the first time I’ve gotten the death penalty, isn’t it...? I suppose that is a bit frustra— 

And with that, he dissolved into motes of light and vanished, leaving only five Altarian Masters. 

 

“one.” After taking care of Rook, Behemot didn’t stop even for a moment, because she’d noticed that Eishiro and Marie were nowhere in sight. 

She realized that, during the Flash Eye, the former sunk into his shadow, while the latter must have used the Art of Vanishing. She also understood that they hadn’t attacked her while Rook was still alive because they didn’t want to interrupt Rook’s plan to help Ray fill his damage counter and activate his skill. Now that Rook was gone, it was clear that the two would take the opportunity to strike, so Behemot kept moving to avoid any ambushes. 

She was prioritizing evasion over offense, not targeting anyone she could currently see. After all, Behemot wanted to see this skill Ray supposedly had, and she’d long since decided that Tsukuyo would be her final target. 

The last opponent in Behemot’s field of view — Barbaroy — was an END build, and if she used Dragonscale Wards or sacrificed shields for Fatal Defender, it would be difficult to get rid of her quickly. 

Even Tiger Scratch might not have been enough to take Barbaroy out, and if it wasn’t, Behemot worried that might leave her open to counter attacks. 

Barbaroy herself was assuming a defensive stance, which made it likely that was precisely her plan. 

From Behemot’s point of view, there were no viable targets in sight, but although Eishiro had no trouble hiding in the shadows, Marie’s Art of Vanishing burned through her SP very quickly. Because of that, she’d likely reappear soon, so Behemot kept running, biding her time until that moment. 

That was when Ray, who was behind her in experienced time, made his next move. 

“...Rook!” he cried as he watched his friend’s body dissolve into light. He understood that Rook had sacrificed himself solely to give Ray the chance to use his skill. 

Ray’s teeth clenched in rage. He knew exactly what he had to do now. 

Rook had shown them the possibility of victory, and it was time for Ray and Nemesis to bring this new strategy to bear against the Physical Apex. 

Thus, he turned to his companion. 

“Let’s do it, Nemesis... Fourth Form!” 

“Certainly!” In response to his words, Nemesis canceled her greatsword form, melting into specks of darkness that floated to a point behind Ray and assumed a new shape. 

“Form Shift... Black Mirror!” 

And with that, Nemesis transformed into a round mirror with a frame shaped like a single wing. 

Behemot, still wary of attacks from Eishiro or Marie, also witnessed this transformation. 

Nemesis, now a mirror, was floating behind Ray. The surface of the mirror was like deep, black water, with no reflection at all... 

“Designating target!” Nemesis declared. “Damage counter set! Designating stat... AGI!” 

...But as Nemesis spoke those words, the mirror’s surface began to undulate, and when the ripples subsided, it reflected none other than Behemot herself. 

While Nemesis finished her preparations, Ray was taking action as well. He turned the Monochrome he was wearing into the cannon that would fire Shining Despair and equipped it on his left arm. 

Once both were done, they shouted in unison, “Chaser from the Mirror!” 

It was a declaration of the skill they’d developed upon evolving to high-rank... the skill meant to combat opponents far more powerful than they. 

 

A certain day in April, Death Soldier, Ray Starling 

“I’ve evolved to my fourth form.” 

“...I see.” Just like when she’d evolved to her third form, Nemesis simply told me about it shortly after I woke up at the inn. 

This didn’t come as a surprise, though — primarily because she’d had no appetite last night, just like right before she’d evolved to her third form. 

Apparently, during her normal evolutions, Nemesis would lose her appetite, then evolve while sleeping. It wasn’t a very flashy way to evolve, but as far as I knew all Embryos evolved differently, so... it was what it was. Her evolution from first to second form was the exception rather than the rule. 

Though, I was told that her evolution to high-rank was a little more exciting... and I missed it because I was asleep. 

“Anyway... Congratulations!” I said. 

“Much appreciated! You can now count me among the high-ranks!” There was a time when Nemesis was really troubled by how slowly she’d evolved, so she looked pretty happy about it now. 

“So, what changes did you get?” I asked. Well, one thing I could see for myself was that her clothing was different. 

It seemed like something you could call “an upgrade” — her apparel was a bit more extravagant than before... Her body didn’t seem to have changed, though. 

“Well, first off, I feel like Counter Absorption is stronger now,” Nemesis said. “I believe the damage limit now is 400,000.” 

Now that was a useful power-up. It was rare to face anyone who could break the previous limit of 300,000, but our battle against Monochrome was proof that it could happen, so I could definitely appreciate this change. 

“The conditions for Payback seem to be easier to achieve, as well. Now any damage can be used to charge it — not just the damage accumulated in Black Shield form.” 

“Oh, now that’s really good.” That would make it possible to fight using the less tricky forms before switching over to use Payback. “Those are some good improvements already. Is there anything more?” 

“Yes, I have not yet told you of the main change,” she said before raising four of her fingers. “It gave me one more form... a fourth one.” 

So her evolutions continued to prioritize variety, huh? 

That reminded me of Io. She also had an Arms-type with several forms, but unlike Nemesis, its high-rank evolution had only improved the forms it already possessed. Just like signs and times of evolution, those kinds of changes were different for each individual Embryo. 

“So, what is it like?” I asked. 

“Like this,” she answered, transforming into a weapon right before my eyes. 

Scratch that... it wasn’t a weapon, but a dark mirror with a frame shaped like wings. 

“...That’s not exactly what I was expecting,” I said. 

“Well, my third form’s windmill was already pushing the definition of ‘weapon.’” 

“And now it’s completely broken free of that definition, huh?” 

“No. This is also a weapon. The wing-like frame can be removed.” 

After saying that, the frame separated from the mirror and passed into my hands. Though slender and with a unique curved shape, the frame served as dual swords when detached. 

“This form does not allow Counter Absorption, but it can use Vengeance, albeit a slightly different version.” 

“Different how?” 

“The accumulated damage is split between each blade. That means you can deliver Vengeance twice.” 

“Ohh?” I really appreciated this one. There were situations where it would come in handy, such as battles against enemies with Brooches. It seemed to me that Black Blade was the way to go for giant monsters, while these dual blades were better against human opponents. 

This had way better utility than the third form. Maybe that was just how high-rank forms worked? 

“Hold it,” said Nemesis. “The blades are merely a bonus. If this form was only about striking twice, the mirror would serve no purpose.” 

“Ah. Oh yeah.” She had a point. 

“This mirror has a skill, as well... One that synergizes quite well with Vengeance from the twin blades.” 

So, while the third form was split into two forms — ?, which allowed Counter Absorption, and ?, which allowed Payback — this one allowed the use of Vengeance and the new skill simultaneously, huh? 

...This really was an “evolution,” wasn’t it? It built upon the principles of the previous form. 

“And what’s the mirror’s effect?” I asked. 

“Well, what it does is...” 

Nemesis began describing what, exactly, she was now capable of... 

 

Altar-Dryfe border, assembly hall 

The moment after Ray activated his skill, Behemot lost sight of him. 

He hadn’t exactly vanished, however — he’d simply left her line of sight. 

...Did he speed up? she wondered before turning her head to catch sight of him again, moving so fast she actually had to focus just to keep track of him. 

Ray was moving with unbelievable speed, especially considering that before using the skill, he wasn’t even close to supersonic in spite of all his buffs. 

In fact... 

He’s about as fast as... No... He’s exactly as fast as me, Behemot thought, as she used Reveal on Ray and saw that his AGI matched hers. The skill was called... “Chaser from the Mirror,” right? I see... 

Based on Nemesis’ unique traits as an Embryo, Behemot could guess what kind of skill this was — and what it cost. 

It matches one of his stats to that of the last opponent who dealt damage to him. He probably has to expend the damage counter to do it. 

She’d reached this conclusion based on Ray’s current stats, Rook’s statement, and the fact that Rook had made sure Ray got hit even if it meant using him as a shield. 

That wasn’t the entirety of her conjecture, though. 

Does it take an amount of damage from the counter equal to the stat’s value every second after activation...? No, that’d be way too expensive. It’s probably every minute, then, and the amount depleted is likely equal to the amount that was added to his stat. I know for sure that it can’t be a fixed number, MP, or SP, at least. It’d be too cheap. 

Based on her experience, Behemot could surmise the nature of Nemesis’ fourth form’s skill. 

Most frightening of all... she was completely right. 

 

Chaser from the Mirror. 

This was a skill activated by selecting a stat of an opponent who had contributed to the damage counter, and it set Ray’s corresponding stat to the same value as that of his opponent’s. There were a few other things of note about it: 

1. At the time of activation and every minute after that, it would subtract an amount equal to the opponent’s selected stat from the damage counter. 

2. If the damage accumulated on the counter dropped below the necessary amount, the skill would be automatically canceled. 


3. If the target’s stats changed while the skill was active, Ray’s own stats would change, as well. 

4. The stat affected by this skill couldn’t be increased by any other effects or skills. 

 

Chaser from the Mirror was the power Nemesis had acquired by evolving to high-rank. 

She and Ray had fought many battles against opponents who were simply stronger than them both, and as a result she developed a skill that enhanced Ray’s stats... or more precisely, a skill that let him face foes who were far above him. 

One of the reasons Ray had taken the Scout job was so he could use Reveal to see which stats were best for Chaser. The job also gives Killing Intent Perception, Behemot thought. It helps prevent him from being taken out before he can use his skill. 

Naturally, this skill had far less utility and cost far more than it would have if Nemesis was an Embryo specializing in copying abilities or pure stat increases. As well, it could only target one stat at a time. 

That didn’t matter to Ray, however. After all... he already had the power to defeat his opponents. The only problem was catching up to them, and this skill addressed just that. 

...I see. So he increased his speed so he could land a crit on me with Shining Despair. 

Shining Despair was a concentrated laser cannon that would certainly kill almost anything in its path. It could burn through just about any creature’s flesh. The only problem was that Ray couldn’t possibly have actually hit with it at his base speed — but he’d solved that issue by using Chaser and acquiring AGI to match Behemot’s. 

Ohh, I see. So Holmes sacrificed himself to let Ray build up the damage counter and gave me all that info so I’d let him activate the skill... Not bad. 

Behemot was actually aware of what Rook was doing and had willingly played along, but now that she’d seen Ray’s ability, she was half-delighted and half-sweating. As he was now, The Unbreakable was certainly capable of taking her life, and that made her slightly restless. 

You can counter this by waiting until his damage counter drops below the minimum needed to maintain the skill... or by taking out Fuso to cancel the AGI division. The cost to maintain the buff will become six times higher than it is now and force him to cancel it immediately... Those would both be pretty boring, though. 

Countering the skill in that way wouldn’t be any different from just not engaging her opponent’s strategy at all. Behemot wanted to enjoy this battle, and doing that would be the opposite of fun. 

Thus... 

I’ll fight him head-on. Behemot turned mid-sprint and faced Ray as he tried to fix his sights on her. Then, she dashed towards him, intending to pulverize his body with Tiger Scratch. She’d decided not to even give him a chance to fire. 

However, Ray also flew into action. 

“Hellish Miasma!” The moment those words left his lips, the right Miasmaflame Bracer — the one that hadn’t been covered by Monochrome’s cannon — spewed out an intense blast of deep purple miasma. 

The triply-debilitating gas quickly permeated the entire hall. 

...Debuffs that spread like this won’t do anything to me in my current state, Behemot thought. He probably knows that, so he’s probably just trying to limit my vision, like that Flash Eye from before. 

Ray, his face covered by Storm Visage, had dropped down to the ground, hiding his body and the mirror behind him in the purple mist. 

At the edge of Behemot’s vision, she saw Tsukuyo drinking an elixir. The tian officials seemed to have been already evacuated, too, which made her realize that the use of the gas had been planned in advance. 

He’s wearing dark clothes, so it’s easy for him to hide inside the similarly-colored miasma. But I should be able to figure out where he is if I just watch how it flows... Oh wait. They accounted for that too. 

Behemot was about to watch for Ray’s movements in the miasma and attack him that way, but then she realized the mist was hiding more than just Ray. 

I now can’t see Tsukikage’s shadows, either. While I’m on that, Adler’s Art of Vanishing lets her pass through objects, so I couldn’t see her in the gas even if I tried. 

Thanks to Ray’s miasma shielding them from sight, Tsukikage and Marie now had a much better chance of landing a surprise attack on her. 

They’re so perfectly in sync. I think they actually assumed this formation the moment Holmes used Flash Eye... And they did all of this just to defeat me. 

Behemot realized that everyone present had thoroughly prepared for this moment. They had developed several strategies specifically to take down an Apex, created new powers, and they had all moved as one to corner her. 

They had been preparing for this battle since the moment they’d found out that the almighty King of Beasts would be attending the peace talks as a bodyguard on the Dryfean side. 

That was why they were here fighting her. They weren’t merely buying time until Shu defeated Leviathan — they were all struggling to overcome an Apex. 

That was certainly true for the members of Death Period, at least. 

“...fun.” And that was her honest opinion on the situation. 

She could barely remember the last time any Masters had faced her with the intention of actually beating her. 

Logan often tooted his own horn, but he was constantly avoiding Behemot anyway. 

Franklin seemed to be developing a countermeasure against her, but he was so careful that he’d be unlikely to attack her until it was complete. 

No one ever challenged her. No one even dared to claim they could defeat her. 

She’d actually fought a Superior during the Dryfean civil war, but he was only stalling, so it wasn’t much of a fight. 

Because of all that, this moment was incredibly exciting for her. 

It had been more than a year since her gamer side had been this enthralled. 

...Yeah, I really wanna win this before Ray’s boost runs out. Her opponents were facing her with all their might, and it made Behemot so happy that she wanted to respond in kind. 

But if I go for Ray, Tsukikage and Adler would take the chance to ambush me... Levia’s the one who specializes in messy AoE attacks, so I can’t do anything like that right now. 

If Leviathan was here, she could end this by just leveling the whole hall, and all their speed and stealth wouldn’t save them. 

Behemot was stronger than Leviathan, but the differences in their frames made one better at some things than the other. Together they were nearly flawless, and that was exactly why they had been separated. 

...No time to worry about that. I’ll just finish Ray off, then deal with the other two if they ambush me. That should be doable. 

Having decided that, Behemot charged towards Ray. 

She had already located him by watching the movement of the miasma. After closing the distance in a blink of an eye, she prepared to strike him down just as he was putting his hands on the floor beneath him. 

That was when she sensed two entities approaching from two different angles behind her. 

Ray and those two presences now surrounded her on all sides. 

I see. So Adler stopped using Art of Vanishing at some point and hid in the shadows with Tsukikage. I was wondering why she wasn’t attacking me before her SP ran out. This explains that. 

Behemot was well aware that Eishiro and Marie would launch a counter-attack the moment she attacked Ray. The two of them would use the opening to score a critical hit on her. 

The chances that she’d survive the hits were high, but she didn’t want to bet on that 20% or so chance that they’d deal serious damage. 

Thus, Behemot called off her attack and instead tried to dive behind Ray, using her small frame to her advantage. With him in the way, landing a critical hit on her would become much more difficult. 

I’ll take Ray out with Tiger Scratch, then go for Tsukikage and Marie, in that order. That’ll sort everything out. 

With that in mind, Behemot prepared to finally go on the offensive... but then she saw hands peeking out from beneath Ray. 

...Huh? For a moment, her mind went blank. 

This was impossible, after all. She’d accounted for every single being present. She could clearly see all the still-surviving Altarian Masters. Ray was right in front of her, Eishiro and Marie had emerged from the shadows behind her, and Tsukuyo and Barbaroy were visibly standing some distance away. 

She glanced around for just a moment... and that was all it took to understand what was really happening. 

...Ah. Next to the wall, there stood a giant set of armor, assuming a defensive position. 

This armor was the defining feature of Barbaroy Bad Burn — Gunhammer Plate, Magnum Colossus. 

However, when Behemot targeted that suit of armor with Reveal... she got absolutely nothing. 

That could only mean one thing: Magnum Colossus was completely empty. 

...They outplayed me! When Rook had used Flash Eye to blind Behemot, Barbaroy had discarded her armor and hidden herself somewhere. 

And it was obvious where: the shadows.

“Heaven’s Weight!” Barbaroy... or rather, B3 wasn’t a match for her in AGI, but she’d managed to emerge from her hiding place and hit Behemot with her skill thanks to the element of surprise. 

Alas, gravity multiplied a measly 500 times meant little to the King of Beasts affected by Beastheart Possession. She might as well have just dropped a blanket on Behemot’s back. 

However... 

...What’s with this weight? It turned out the added weight was actually enough to make her feel discomfort. 

Wait, is this...? Behemot had an idea of what could be happening here... and what B3 was doing. 

At the edge of her vision, she saw Tsukuyo, smiling broadly, and Behemot noticed another thing she hadn’t anticipated. 

Atlas’ gravity field is stronger than I heard it was. With Beastheart Possession, Behemot’s STR was over 220,000. An avatar’s base STR — the STR of an average adult male from Earth — was about 10. That meant that she had the strength of over 20,000 men. 

Therefore, 500 times greater gravity shouldn’t have meant much to her. 

And the Binding debuff that came with it would’ve stood no chance against her immense STR, not to mention the resistance from Bourdrim. 

In spite of that, Behemot was actually having trouble moving. 

At first, she’d thought that Tsukuyo must have switched the target of her Faint Light to STR, and based on how she felt right then, she suspected that was indeed the case. However, even having her STR divided by 6 shouldn’t have been as limiting as this. That could only mean that this gravity field was different than the one Behemot was familiar with. 

That was when she noticed that B3 was extending her hands towards Behemot and clenching her teeth. 

To her knowledge, Heaven’s Weight required neither a hand motion like that nor such immense focus. 

This wasn’t the regular Heaven’s Weight skill B3 had always used before. 

This was a new power she’d developed — by means other than evolution. 

The person responsible for this — Tsukuyo Fuso — smiled as she remembered a certain exchange. 

 

April, 2025, Tokyo University 

“Hey, B — you ever thought about how weird Territories are?” It was a perfectly ordinary day in the CID clubroom when Tsukuyo posed that question to Kozue. 

“Where’s that coming from?” 

“Well, just hear me out. You know how most Embryos have a physical body, and their powers are tied to that body?” Tsukuyo continued her question. 

Arms, Guardian, Chariot, Castle, and Territory — the five main categories of Embryos. Like Tsukuyo said, they generally had solid forms that were invested with various powers. 

However... 

“The Territory grouping is different from all the rest. It’s just a formless space.” 

Territory type Embryos were composed solely of their skills and their resulting areas of effect. 

The affected areas might physically change in appearance, but as long as the Embryo wasn’t any other category, Territories had no such thing as a “body.” 

And even with hybrid Embryos, you had cases like Maidens and Apostles. Kaguya’s body completely vanished when using her Territory powers, so she was scarcely different from a pure Territory. 

“Doncha think you’re missin’ out?” Tsukuyo asked. 

“No, I don’t. Not having a body makes Territories hard to break. There are exceptions, like the Right of Destruction, but by default, Territories can’t be damaged like other Embryos and become unusable as a result,” Kozue said. 

This reminded Kozue of her and Ray’s recent encounter with Rosa on the way to Torne. Once Gashadokuro’s body — her spear — was destroyed, Rosa was unable to use her Embryo skill despite still being perfectly capable of fighting herself. 

Kozue’s... B3’s Atlas was basically nothing but the power it wielded, so she would basically never end up in a situation like that. 

“True, true,” Tsukuyo nodded before saying, “What if I told you that Territories have another advantage?” 

“...I’m all ears.” 

“Nheheh. Log in to Dendro, then, and I’ll show you. I’ll be waiting at my base.” 

Tsukuyo then casually hopped into bed, lay down, equipped the Infinite Dendrogram hardware, and logged in. 

Kozue was slightly perplexed by how eager Tsukuyo was to get started, but she knew she had no choice but to join her. 

She went to lock the clubroom’s door, then put on another piece of hardware before lying down on the sofa. 

 

The two met up in The Lunar Society’s headquarters. 

Thanks to a recent attack by a certain mild-mannered meathead, the place was currently under repair and renovation. 

They had even bought more of the surrounding land to expand the place, making changes that ranged from eye-catching to utterly staggering. As a result, Tsukuyo was dangerously low on funds, which had led to her causing the Hannya incident and ultimately becoming indebted to Azurite. 

But that was irrelevant now. Tsukuyo was standing on the stage at the auditorium, while B3 was sitting in the audience. Aside from the two of them, there was only Kaguya, standing next to Tsukuyo with a faint smile on her face. 

“You’re familiar with Kaguya’s Lunar Divider Field, right?” 

“Yes.” 

“Here, let me show you from the base form of the ‘night.’” When Tsukuyo said that, Kaguya transformed into her Territory form: the Lunar Divider Field. 

It looked as though Kaguya had completely vanished, but actually, this shapeless space was her. 

“Now comes the important part. First is the ‘swallow.’” Following those words, the ‘night’ vanished, and in its place there was a bluish-black mass that resembled both a swallow in flight and a crescent moon. 

“And then there’s the Sunsleep Ink Shroud.” Then, Tsukuyo was wearing a blue-black coat that looked just like her ‘night,’ but compressed into a thin cloak. 

Tsukuyo had used both the swallow and the shroud in her fight against Figaro. 

She was flying the swallow and wearing the shroud at the same time. 

“And here’s the ‘night’ again.” Her surroundings were once again veiled in darkness, but Tsukuyo was still clad in her Sunsleep Ink Shroud. “And those are my skills. Did you notice anything?” 

“...Don’t you also have the ultimate skill and Faint Light?” 

“Ohh. Yeah. I do have those, but the ult is kind of a bit special, while Faint Light requires all of Kaguya’s processing power and can’t be used along other skills, so that doesn’t factor in here. Hmm... Maybe I should make it a little more clear.” 

Still wearing the shroud, Tsukuyo spread the ‘night’ again. 

After that, she canceled the “night” to create the “swallow,” then instead created something that looked much like Eishiro’s shadow tentacles... although upon second inspection, it was closer to a “branch.” 

That was when B3 realized something. 

“The combos... You can’t use the ‘night,’ the ‘swallow,’ and the ‘branch’ together, is that it? But you can use any of them with the shroud.” 

“Exactly. Now, why do you think that is?” 

“...Based on what you said, it’s not just that they’re incompatible, is it?” 

“Yeah. Why don’t I just tell you the answer?” she said as she canceled her skills. “The ‘night,’ the ‘swallow,’ and the ‘branch’ are all the same.” 

“The same?” 

“They’re all the same skill: Lunar Divider Field. They’re not new skills, they’re just different forms of the same thing. That’s why I can’t use the ‘night’ alongside the two compressed forms. I can use them with Sunsleep Ink Shroud because it’s a different skill.” 

“Compressed forms...” B3 took in those words and thought about them deeply. 

“It’s simple,” said Tsukuyo. “Pure Territories have no physical body— they’re just a space where their power is active. That means that you can change their shape, just like how I compressed Kaguya’s ‘night’ into a ‘swallow’ or ‘branch.’ And the best thing is — the more compressed it is, the stronger it becomes.” 

All of these seemingly different forms were just the same Lunar Divider Field effect. The ‘swallow’ and ‘branch’ were just the ‘night’ reshaped to focus their effect and make it more difficult to resist. 

Territories had no physical body... but that meant that there was a degree of freedom to the form they could take. 

“I only realized this myself after getting the Sunsleep Ink Shroud. I was like... ‘Ah. If this skill gets stronger because the area it affects is condensed, wouldn’t Lunar Divider Field also grow stronger if I compress it?’” she said as she spread out her hands and pushed them closer together. “It did take a lot of practice, though. Also, I talked to Kage and some others about it, and apparently there’s Territory skills that aren’t that well suited for form changing like this. Powers that stick to the surroundings, for example, like Type Rule. But I think your Weight ability would be just right for it.” 

Atlas’ Heaven’s Weight spread around B3 in a sphere, but if it was possible to concentrate it in a single direction, it seemed likely that its effect would indeed become stronger. 

“Why are you telling me this now?” By joining CID, B3 had gained the right to access The Lunar Society’s database, but there was nothing in there about what Tsukuyo had just told her. 

This was in fact a hidden technique that Tsukuyo had constructed herself. Why, then, would she tell B3 about it now? 

“Because you’re fun to watch lately.” 

“Fun?” 

“Yeah. You were always the kind of girl who cares about others, but you’re really going the extra mile for Ray, aren’t you? It moved me so much that I wanted to give you a helping hand.” 

B3 said nothing in response. 

“Also, you and your clan are now crafting a strategy against KoB, aren’t ya? Having an extra card to play won’t hurt. If you start now, maybe you’ll even learn how to do it in time.” 

 

Altar-Dryfe border, assembly hall 

After that, B3 used the limited time left until the peace talks to acquire this secret Territory technique that Tsukuyo had taught her. 

She started by transforming her usual sphere into a semi-sphere, then halving it again, and again, and again... until finally the field was a tenth of its original size. 

This feat required extreme concentration, and the fact that B3 had to clench her teeth so hard to maintain it spoke volumes. It also came with its own physical dangers. The force exerted by this kind of control made the bones of her hands creak and blood vessels burst. 

Even so, she was successfully compressing her gravity field. 

The skill that once covered 360 degrees all around her was now limited to just the 22.5 degrees directly in front of her. It covered only 1/16th of the original, and in spite of the output lost in the compression process... this field was more potent than any Behemot had encountered before. 

The gravity produced in that small area was 5,000 times greater than the norm. 

“Gh...!” To Behemot, a field of 500 times greater gravity was merely like having a blanket thrown over her, so even when that number became 5,000, it was only really like increasing that to ten blankets. 

The gravity would instantly kill any normal person, but it didn’t even cause Behemot any pain. 

However, it is important to remember that anyone would be slowed down with ten blankets thrown over them. 

On top of that, Tsukuyo was also dividing Behemot’s STR by 6, meaning that she was now an entity with 3,600 times more STR than the average person fighting against 5,000 times greater gravity. 

Here and now, for the first time, King of Beasts the Physical Apex collapsed to the ground. 

This stillness was the chance at victory that B3... and Ray’s entire group had been waiting for. 

Ray turned to face Behemot, immobilized behind him. 

“Shining...” 

He leveled the cannon on his left arm towards her, and Monochrome began to shine a dazzling white. 

Behemot’s AGI had returned to its original value, but thanks to Chaser, Ray’s AGI matched hers. Shining Despair would soon crack open her skull, killing her with all its various injury-based status effects. 

Still, Behemot said nothing. Faced with the death penalty, she had nothing in her heart but honest praise. 

They had acted as one to completely corner her. Just like Rook, they had never once given up on their collective victory even when faced with overwhelming violence. 

Behemot found them profoundly dazzling, for it was a kind of strength she could never have. 

After all, she was a person who’d chosen an animal avatar because it would let her get away with never properly talking to anyone. 

I don’t hate this side of myself, though. And yet, regardless of how she felt about it, this power that was so far beyond her had managed to reach her anyway. 

That fact gave her nothing but joy. 

She was beyond delighted to have faced opponents she could give her all against... enemies who could finally give her a good fight. 

...I’m sorry. 

That was exactly why she felt regret and silently apologized to them. 

After all, it would soon be over. 

...I’m sorry, Claudiah. Behemot also apologized to her friend fighting up in the sky. She’d have to break that promise she’d made to her. 

Behemot was unable to escape the super-gravity, and the Shining Despair would soon be released. It wouldn’t be long until the powerful and piercing concentrated laser would penetrate her head. 

It was over. 

Both Behemot’s “fun time” and her “battle for victory” would now end. From now on, there would be only a “one-sided massacre” and “assured victory.” 

“DESPAIR!” Right before Ray’s left hand unleashed the light that would bring down the Apex... 

“Transformation... Soaring and Indomitable: Greatest Top!” 

...The accessory hanging over Behemot’s neck shimmered and released a golden shine. 





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