Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 15 - Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven: A Life of Fire

Royal Castle, Fourth Floor

“...Now this is truly troublesome.”

It was the moment after Feuer Lazburn had activated Supernova. Upon hearing that it was possible that the explosion underground could blow away the entire capital, Dormouse prepared to take Theresia away from the site of the blast.

Infection Citadel could absorb the great amounts of Supernova’s heat and protect Theresia, but if she was found unscathed within a crater left by an explosion that obliterated the city, it would become far too difficult for them to operate in the future.

If Dormouse went there to stop the explosion from even happening, the same questions would arise.

That meant that Duchess’s suggestion — running away from the explosion — was the most reasonable one, and he intended to follow it.

“Wait, Dormouse. No need to evacuate. Stay where you are.”

However, he was stopped by another colleague addressing him.

It was Humpty Dumpty — the one in charge of Embryos. While Duchess used message windows, Humpty talked directly to Dormouse’s mind.

“What is your business, Dumpty? What do you mean there is no need to evacuate?”

“The signature of the Embryo within the tian who is trying to blow himself up has vanished. Now — at least in theory — he is nothing but a tian.”

“What does that matter?”

“Don’t you understand? A tian’s attack would work on The Evil, wouldn’t it?”

“Ah...! Humpty, you...!”

Dormouse instantly understood what Humpty intended. The Evil would no longer recognize Feuer Lazburn as a foreign entity, so she was suggesting that they should just let his explosion take Theresia.

Saying nothing, Dormouse thought of the girl sitting silently on his back.

If The Evil died, it would take quite a while for a new The Evil to achieve completion.

The time span depended greatly on the previous The Evil’s level of completion upon death, but it was certain that if Theresia died now...the next The Evil would not arrive before their plans were complete.

The Evil and The Demise — the greatest problems the control AIs had. Letting Feuer’s explosion blow them away was nothing but a good thing for them.

“Humpty, that is...”

However, Dormouse hesitated to follow her advice.

“Oh? What’s the delay?”

“...If I continue observing her as I am, the likelihood of her becoming complete as The Evil is low. In fact, by letting her get caught in the explosion, we might activate her safety measures and suffer unforeseen consequences...”

Dormouse argued against Humpty’s idea, but his words came off as mere excuses.

“I see. Unforeseen consequences or total erasure...which do you think is more likely?”

“I...”

“Dormouse... You’re just being sentimental, aren’t you?”

Dormouse was unable to say that he wasn’t.

In fact, she was completely right. It was his job to protect The Evil, Theresia, but he hadn’t exactly remained emotionally detached from his job.

In fact, his relationship with Theresia was no longer just about the role to him.

“The Evil of this era is like your Master, so you’re just making up emotion-based reasons for protecting her. It’s not rational.”

Dormouse was shocked by the truth of those words. When he was but an Embryo, his Master had been a sickly little girl — a frail child who would surely die without help.

Perhaps his power to protect, as well as his plague-like true power, came about because he had been born from her.

He and his power had grown for the purpose of protection, eventually making him a Superior Embryo; then, they had allowed him to pass the final test and become an Infinite Embryo.

And the girl that was his Master, having grown into a woman by then, was there to watch him reach that point. Relieved that he could now live without a Master, she had then gone on to pass away.

It would be a lie to claim that Dormouse didn’t see his late Master in Theresia — a sickly girl who needed his protection.

“But all of that is meaningless, Dormouse. Regardless of whether The Evil lives or dies, when the project is over, Infinite Dendrogram will—”

“I understand! I just...!”

“You seem to be quite troubled. I suppose that is an expression of your feelings for your Master?”

As she spoke, Humpty’s words seemed cold.

“Sorry, but I just can’t relate.”

Perhaps Cheshire, Rabbit, or some other control AIs would’ve been moved by Dormouse’s words. However, he knew well that that could never happen with Humpty.

He knew that she could never have any strong emotion towards her Master...and that very quality was why she was in charge of Embryos.

“A philosophical zombie like you would never understand...”

“Oh? But Dormouse, insulting me like that seems like you’re expressing a wish to die.” Humpty wasn’t even present, but her words carried true murderous intent.

Dormouse knew well that Humpty was one of the few who could break through his absolute physical and chemical defense. Once called the Incarnation of Death, she was a being that no Infinite Embryo could defeat by themselves.

In spite of the threat, Dormouse refused to back down. He was preparing to say something back when...

[Stop...right there.]

...Duchess stopped them.

[You can no longer...run away in time...regardless. So, Dormouse...stay there...and decide...whether to protect or not...when the time comes...]

“...Very well.” Dormouse nodded.

Humpty had already cut the comms line.

“Your Highness! Your Highness Theresia!” Shortly after that, a voice calling for Theresia rang out through the fourth floor. It belonged to Liliana, who’d been looking for the princess all this time. She was accompanied by the K&R Masters, who’d rushed here after seeing the explosion at the castle.

They quickly found Theresia and Dormouse and rushed over to them.

“Your Highness... I am so glad you are well...!”

“I’m glad you’re okay too...” Finding Theresia filled the search party with relief.

However, Dormouse realized that this made it nearly impossible for them to leave the capital.

“Let us head to the underground shelter, then. Your sister and the others are already there...”

Going there would be really bad, Dormouse thought. Liliana had yet to be informed that the underground shelter was perhaps the least safe place in the entire castle.

As Dormouse wondered how to convey that information...

“Huh?”

...a message window suddenly appeared before them.

No, this wasn’t a semitransparent, board-like message window, and it certainly hadn’t been summoned by Duchess.

It was actually a hologram created using illusion magic, and it said, “Refrain from approaching the area. I am currently below, dealing with explosive material. Stay away from the underground shelter and the walls.”

Behind the hologram, there was a wall that seemed to be made using ocean magic. Circular in shape, it covered a part of the fourth floor, and if the inside was empty, it could be described as a cylinder.

It was likely that it continued all the way down to the first floor, if not lower.

The barrier felt like the border of a construction site, or perhaps something that was aimed towards the sky.

“Who could have created this... Oh?” Confused, Liliana continued reading the message, and she quickly saw the text saying “Arch Sage, Integra.”

“Integra?! When did she come back?!” Seeing the name of an old friend surprised Liliana, but Dormouse didn’t know much about her. All he knew was that she was the Arch Sage’s disciple as well as apparently the creator of the barrier around the castle.

What mattered here was that she was doing something about King of Blaze’s explosion.

He didn’t know if she would be successful or if the city would be blown away in spite of her efforts. But if she wasn’t able to...if the explosion actually happened...not even Dormouse himself knew if he would decide to protect Theresia or not.

Even the processing power of an Infinite Embryo wasn’t enough for him to fully understand his own heart and mind.

◇◆◇

Royal Castle, Underground Shelter

Upon hearing the girl introduce herself as the Arch Sage, the star that was the core of the heat seemed to tremble slightly.

It was strange, considering that his eyes, ears, body, and even his brain must’ve been completely obliterated by now.

“I am the Arch Sage you’ve been waiting for, Feuer Lazburn. If you wanted a duel against my teacher, I’m here to inherit that too. Oh, and even if you no longer need it, let me tell you that I’m not one to let go of what I’ve rightfully inherited.”

As though his soul was still present somehow, the Supernova that was the remains of King of Blaze was reacting to her words — the words of the Arch Sage.

“Let’s continue where we left off, shall we? This time, instead of doing what my teacher did, I will win against you in the most effective and relentless way I can think of. This was my teacher’s response, and it will be our final offering to you.”

Integra — the new Arch Sage — cracked a confident grin.

There was little time left until the Supernova detonated.

The only thing they could do was rely on Canglong’s Dragon King Aura and Integra’s magic.

As the Arch Sage, Integra could cast a wide array of spells belonging to the greater elements of atmos, earth, and ocean, as well as spells outside of that framework. She’d used teleportation to suddenly appear in this shelter, and she could even use the grand dark magic composite spell of Imaginary Meteo that her teacher had perfected.

However, that was the limit of her power. Armed with only a normal tian’s magic, she would have to face heat even greater than that of Gloria’s Overdrive. It was reckless to even attempt something like this.

It was likely that she couldn’t withstand King of Blaze’s onslaught even if she cast her strongest defensive spells or barriers specialized against heat.

That was just how intensely hot the Supernova was.

And it was why they needed a bit of trickery.

“Now, young Canglong. Sorry, but can you keep your Dragon King Aura running at full capacity for about two more minutes? Definitely no more than that.”

In response, the Draconic Emperor nodded.

The Arch Sage of Altar. Canglong had heard of such a person, and he had heard them called the strongest caster of the west. The Arch Sage had been described as an old man, but since she spoke of inheritance, it was easy to guess that this woman was simply the new holder of the title.

Canglong found it strange that she’d suddenly appeared at such a time, but more than that, he appreciated the reinforcement.

And if she had a means of overcoming this predicament, his only real choice was to do as she asked.

“Well, it will all end in two minutes, anyway. That’s about when the capital will be blown away.”

“Huh?!” The shock from her words was such that Canglong almost weakened his Dragon King Aura.

“Well, I’m not saying that that’s how long we’ll last or that the spell’s peak is coming in two minutes... Two minutes is just about how long it’ll take for the walls to melt and the underground water to pour in.”

Canglong already knew that this underground shelter was designed for long-term stays and thus included a water supply. That meant that this place was linked to an underground water main.

And if the water so much as touched Feuer as he was now, there would be a violent steam explosion that would flip the city upside down.

“Honestly, it’s already pretty bad with the heat that’s being conducted alone. We need to hurry and do something...by which I mean removing his heat from here.”

Those words reminded Canglong of the moment Integra had appeared.

She’d probably achieved this by short-distance teleportation, which in this world was some of the rarest magic, usable only by a select few.

He guessed that she intended to take Feuer out of here using the same means, but...

“Oh, and by ‘removing,’ I don’t mean teleportation. I can’t do that. The spell only works on me, and it can’t cover a great distance. And even if I could use it on other people, I’d burn up the moment I touched that thing. That’s why the method I’m thinking of is simpler...and more basic,” she said as he raised a hand up. “Though, it required some difficult preparation. Oh, and forgive me if it seems like I’m talking too much,” she added as she winked with the eye that didn’t have a monocle over it. “After all, all I’ve said so far was a Chant for this spell... High-End Heat Resist wall, ultra-multilayered expansion.”

The moment she said that, nothing happened in their immediate vicinity — but up above at the castle, reaching up to the fourth floor, holograms appeared with a message on them, as well as something circular...or cylindrical.

It was a tube-like barrier spell that reached from the first floor all the way to its top and beyond.

The caster could freely choose the words used in a Chant, but Integra had used such a long spiel as a Chant that no one could guess that it was, and the enhancement from it was now used on this barrier spell.

A magic barrier of the ocean element, meant specifically to shut out heat, covering a long distance and composed of hundreds of layers, immediately activated.

The barrier felt like the edge of a construction site, or perhaps a chimney that was aimed towards the sky.

This was Integra’s simple and basic counter against Supernova.

“Now, young Canglong, are you familiar with the principles behind the composition of fire spells like Crimson Sphere?”

“Huh...?”

“Thanks to the Archetype System, they can be used as job skills, so if you have the level, you can cast them without even knowing how they work. However, they can be broken down into three components,” she Chanted as if giving him a lecture. “The transformation of magic into heat energy, the control to prevent unnecessary spread, and direction, which grants the attack a vector. You can use job skills without considering these things, but like King of Blaze before us did, if you understand the structure, you can construct your own spells. What he did was disregard everything but the transformation of magic into heat energy.”

Canglong listened, saying nothing.

“Whether you can create original spells depends on whether you have the intelligence and talent to look past the simplification used by jobs and delve into the actual workings of the magic itself. Oh, and even though Draconic Emperor isn’t a caster job, I remem...read that the one from two generations before yours excelled at this technique.”

Casually mentioning the Draconic Emperor who had surpassed all others, she pushed up her monocle...

“And if I wasn’t able to do all of that...I wouldn’t even have inherited this job.”

...and activated her own modified Crimson Sphere.

“Well, that was another long-winded speech, but this is about all I can do.” She had crafted this spell while removing one of the three factors making the sphere the fireball it was supposed to be.

It was control. Controlling the extent of a spell required more magic than the actual magic-heat transformation, so if she focused on the transformation alone while facing someone who had greater magic than her, not even someone of her caliber would be able to insert the control factor.

However, the situation was different with direction. Supernova was a magic-heat transformation spell without regard for control of any kind.

In other words, it was nothing but a release of heat without direction.

That was why Integra wove a spell that was effectively the opposite of Supernova — a spell that gave the heat direction.

She was warding off Feuer’s final attack by influencing it from the outside and giving its heat a specific vector.

And the only direction...is up, she thought. They were underground. Focusing it in any other direction would cause the ground around it to melt, increasing casualties on the surface.

And in the worst case scenario, the heat would make contact with the underground water main and completely destroy the whole city.

That was why she could only release the heat upwards — towards the distant sky.

It was something like adding a chimney to an active furnace.

And I’ve already prepared the chimney. She’d set up the insulation barrier to make sure that the castle wasn’t incinerated as Supernova’s heat traveled up.

If it was directed upwards without this barrier, it would no doubt burn the castle down. However, now that the insulation barrier was complete, the heat would travel up without causing much harm...at least, according to her calculations.

“Young Canglong, focus your Dragon King Aura upwards. And when I give the sign, increase your output. Can I count on you for that?”

“...Yes!”

Following Integra’s order, Canglong modified his Dragon King Aura. At the same time, Integra activated the heat-vector spell.

Now...let’s see how this goes. With the Dragon King Aura that had once contained it now gone and its direction set, the heat of Supernova began to flow upwards. The searing heat melted the reinforced walls of the shelter, reached the surface, and passed through the insulation barrier to flow towards the sky while piercing through every floor of the castle.

The heat made the clouds in Altea’s sky begin to evaporate.

It was a cataclysmic sight, but it was done with the precision of a laboratory experiment. Its scale was actually a bit subdued, given the context.

Success...so far. The heat was following the path set out for it, and the chimney-like insulation barrier seemed to be holding.

The temperature increase inside the shelter also began to slow down, and so far they seemed to have spared the walls leading to the underground water main.

According to my calculations, this should be good enough, Integra thought. However, it was still uncertain if this would be enough to contain the true explosion...if all that heat would actually escape to the sky.

Could the insulation barrier bear the heat that would accompany that blast? And would they be able to protect themselves from the inferno raging at the heart of the explosion?

Even if most of the heat escaped to the sky, it would still be the most powerful where the two of them stood, next to Feuer.

If the insulation barrier Integra had created and Canglong’s Dragon King Aura weren’t enough, the capital would be leveled by the steam explosion that would result when the heat touched the water main. The chimney wouldn’t help with that.

Approximately twenty percent of the total heat will not escape through the chimney. Twenty percent of a temperature that can destroy the capital... Considering the water main, this might not be good. Will we be able to block the real explosion? If not, then all I inherited from my teacher and those before him would be lost. All because of me.

Integra had remained calm while talking with Canglong, but on the inside, she was worried. A cold sweat, caused by tension and terror, joined with the sweat running down her face from the intense heat.

“Ngh...!” However, Integra slapped her own cheek, banishing her worry.

Though she was afraid, she wouldn’t admit it. She knew that fear was something she could not afford to have.

She was certain that the magic she’d been taught wasn’t weak enough to lose to some last-ditch spell woven and cast at the cost of a mere single life.

Thus, she focused and waited for the right moment.

When the explosion came, she would add her own insulation barrier.

Beyond the Dragon King Aura, she saw the Supernova — the remains of King of Blaze, Feuer Lazburn. It was still growing and would reach its full extent in less than a minute.

That moment would be like a fork in the road for both her and her predecessors — and before it split, she looked back at the past. Specifically, she remembered the time the previous Arch Sage had dueled King of Blaze, taking his specialized spell and showing just how much difference there was between them.

Perhaps if the Arch Sage hadn’t used fire magic back then, it wouldn’t have come to this.

However, Integra knew the two reasons why her teacher did what he’d done.

First, he wanted to show the power and presence of the Arch Sage. Masters had begun to increase in number since that fateful duel. An all-rounded caster crushing a specialized caster at his own forte — this had shown his unmatched power to the world, which resulted in certain developments later.

Second, he wanted to make King of Blaze, Feuer Lazburn, better himself. By showing what lay beyond the magic Feuer wielded, the Arch Sage had urged him to seek it.

If that had broken him, the Arch Sage would have deemed Feuer useless.

However, everything had turned out exactly as the Arch Sage had intended, but in some ways completely different than he imagined.

Feuer Lazburn hadn’t been broken, and he had indeed renewed his vigor for training to become stronger.

However, in the course of this, he’d also become an Idea — a being that could completely destroy the Arch Sage’s plans.

The Arch Sage could not have anticipated something like this.

And that’s why I need to fix my teacher’s mistake. King of Blaze had been inspired by the last Arch Sage, and as a result had become an obstacle. As the inheritor of all of this, Integra was resolved to settle things once and for all.

Finally, the time came.

The star-like orb of fire pulsated, signifying that it was reaching its limit.

“Dragon King Aura! Full power! Now!”

“OOAAGHH!” In response to Integra’s order, Canglong created an intense aura that used even his own life force as fuel. At the same time, Integra activated the greatest insulation magic she’d ever prepared.

“Hundred-fold insulation barrier...activate!” Flat barriers, twenty in number for each direction, surrounded Feuer like a box.

The barriers hid away the star inside, and the Dragon King Aura enveloped it.

Then came the fateful moment...and the space was filled with a light so intense it seemed like it might swallow up the whole world.

◆◆◆

Fire

How many people have learned the meaning of their life only at the very final moments of it?

It was perhaps impossible to know the exact number. No one could truly know what someone else was thinking right as their spark was snuffed out.

Why were they born? For what purpose had they lived? And did they leave this life with a feeling of satisfaction?

Only the person in question could come to know the meaning behind their birth...or they vanished without ever learning it at all.

Feuer Lazburn’s life was a flame — a life dedicated solely to fire.

He’d sacrificed his time, way of life, morals, and even his body to that flame.

His life was lit by fire and had been consumed by it.

And ultimately, he’d transformed his very body into flame itself.

He understood that he’d given everything he had to create the strongest fire of all — to prove that his kind of magic was the strongest.

However...the meaning was still lost to him.

His life had been dedicated to fire, but for what purpose?

He recalled that his reason for trying to defeat the Arch Sage was to prove that fire magic reigned supreme. He’d taken on his family’s goal and trained from a young age to prove the power of fire.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t find a reason for delivering that proof.

He lived to prove he was strongest, but what would that proof accomplish? While he dedicated himself to pursuing that proof, he couldn’t think of any reason for it.

Feuer Lazburn was like a fire himself.

A spark caught and burned, shone for a moment, and then was reduced to ash.

His life had been one of light and heat, and it left behind nothing of consequence.

And if he wasn’t even able to prove that he was the strongest, it would all be even more meaningless.

He wouldn’t even leave a corpse, and his entire life would be...

“I’m...alive. Well...that was some intense magic...”

As the mind Feuer Lazburn had used to comprehend meaning gradually slipped away, he suddenly perceived a voice praising him.

With his eyes, ears, and flesh lost, Feuer still somehow felt the voice of a woman.

It was his first time hearing it, for when she’d first spoken, his ears were already gone.

The voice belonged to Integra...who had survived his flame.

She was still standing in the shelter.

Their surroundings had completely changed. The walls between them and the water main that supplied the castle had melted away, creating a small river on the floor.

It was evaporating as it touched the heated walls and floor of the shelter, but the reaction wasn’t intense enough to cause a steam explosion. The walls had only superficially melted away, and the source of the heat — Supernova — was already dissipating.

Now, the water main was slowly cooling all it passed by.

Beside Integra, who was standing near the center of the shelter, there was Canglong, lying down on the wet floor, but still breathing.

The destruction of the capital had been prevented, and the ones responsible for this feat were still alive.

There was now a hole piercing everything from the shelter to the top of the castle, but the castle itself was still intact.

That meant that Feuer Lazburn’s final spell had been prevented from demonstrating its immense destructive power to the entire world.

“The hundred-fold insulation barrier, the Dragon King Aura of the strongest Draconic Emperor so far, and this fire damage-cutting accessory made by my teacher himself...and I’m still coming out of it like this.” Integra was in an awful state. Her entire body was covered in burns; some parts of her had serious injury-based status effects. Her heat resistant clothes were now nothing but burnt rags.

“My eyes and ears aren’t working either. The barrier only stopped heat, so light and sound still passed through. My eyes were burned away even though they were closed, and my ear drums were ruptured too. Honestly, I’m talking here, but I don’t even know if anyone can hear me. Or maybe I died and I’m just a spirit now. No — my entire body hurts really bad, so I’ve got to be alive.”

Perhaps Integra was speaking in spite of her heavy wounds because she wanted to convince herself that she wasn’t actually dead. That was just how much of a close call this was.

“You might’ve already burned up completely, but let me tell you just one thing, Feuer Lazburn.” Integra continued to address the man before her, who now had no proper shape or shadow.

Would she berate him for harming her so severely, or would she mock him for being a fool?

What she actually said...

“I am the Arch Sage and the inheritor of two thousand years’ worth of knowledge.”

...was neither of those things.

“As such, I assure you that your fire magic is by far the strongest in this entire era. No one alive has mastered the flame like you.”

She actually praised his power.

And these words of hers actually reached his lingering soul.

“Your magic won’t be forgotten. We remember all spells, and we will never forget yours.”

Hearing that about the magic he’d woven, Feuer Lazburn found that his life had, indeed, held some kind of purpose...and was satisfied with it.

I see... In that case...there was meaning to it all...

A moment after that, the soul vanished as though it had no grudges or regrets.

The man who’d lived a life of fire...burned away.