Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 15 - Chapter Ep

Epilogue

Royal Capital, Altea

Riser woke up due to a slight warmth on his cheek.

He blinked to fix his hazy sight. Slowly, his focus returned.

When his vision became clear, he found himself looking down at the capital from high above it, watching an immense amount of heat rise to the air.

He could feel the heat, but it wasn’t great enough to harm him all the way up here.

“That’s...”

“Ah! Riser! You’re awake!” The voice belonged to a fellow member of the Babylonian Battlegroup, Lang. That was when Riser realized that he was being carried on the back of Lang’s hippogriff.

“...What happened since I was out?”

“You beat the leader of the bee-men. That made the other bee-men stop moving, so I flew up into the sky, saw you fall, and went to catch you.”

“And that pillar of fire?”

“I don’t know. It just appeared a bit ago... But the people at the castle seem to be fine.”

“...I see.” Realizing that everything would work out, Riser was relieved.

Shortly after, the hippogriff landed in the fountain plaza where they had first encountered Regina Apis Idea.

After dismounting, Riser looked around and confirmed that little had changed since he took to the sky.

Having seen them land, everyone he’d left behind started to approach him.

“Mr. Riser, I’m glad you’re...o...kay...?” Kasumi said, only to tilt her head in confusion mid-sentence.

Io and Fujinon also seemed puzzled.

“What’s the matter?” Riser asked.

“You are Riser...aren’t you?”

“Yes. Why ask— Hm?”

That was when he realized that something wasn’t right about his head.

Touching his head in several places, he realized what it was.

“Oh, right. I lost my mask.”

The full-face mask that defined him had been broken during the midair fight, so his (or rather, his avatar’s) face was now completely exposed.

It was the sort of face one might see on twentieth century tokusatsu heroes before they transformed. It wasn’t all that special, but the very fact that you could see his face at all shocked everyone present, including Babylonian Battlegroup members.

“So that’s Riser’s face... First time seeing it.”

“That guy had a face...?”

What did you think I was? Riser thought in response.

“Mr. Lang doesn’t seem surprised, though...” noted Kasumi. Lang was the one who picked up the maskless Riser, but he didn’t seem the least bit shaken by the sight.

“Yeah. I actually saw his face when we took a bath together.”

“A bath,” the three girls said in perfect unison.

Oh yeah, that happened, Riser thought. It was back when he and Lang had visited Quartierlatin and went to the large bath at the inn. He wasn’t unreasonable enough to wear a mask in a situation like that.

Actually, Riser only wore a mask as a matter of personal pride. The fact that his face was almost completely unknown was merely a side effect.

“Bathing...together,” said Kasumi.

“Two men, completely nude,” said Fujinon.

“Very nice! Thank you very much!” said Io.

“‘...Nice?’” Riser and Lang tilted their heads in unison. The next moment, Fujinon threw a body blow into Io’s side.

“Ghh...?! Th-That’s not fair...! Yours was pretty bad too...!”

“Yours was too blatant.”

“Nnh...! But your collection is way worse than...”

“That’s a declaration of war.”

“Awhawha... Y-You two...stop it...” The girls’ exchange made Riser smile wryly, and some of the others around them began to laugh.

He looked around and saw both Masters and tians here.

This moment of calm after the storm made Riser once again realize something.

“...I protected them this time.” He repeated the words he’d spoken before he’d lost consciousness, as though to confirm that they were indeed true.

◆◆◆

Royal Castle, Underground Shelter

After Feuer Lazburn’s Supernova was prevented from destroying the castle or the capital, only the sound of running water remained in the underground.

Elizabeth and the Altarians had evacuated, Feuer had vanished, Canglong had fainted, and Integra, though heavily injured, had carried him away, leaving the place empty.

The water from the main was pouring into the shelter through a hole in the wall; through the hole melted into the ceiling by Supernova, sunlight streamed in from several dozen metels above.

Suddenly, a bandaged woman appeared in this previously vacant space.

“Close. This place almost collapsed before the next plan could succeed,” she whispered as she waded through waist-deep water.

Feuer...the Idea La Crima gave him had gone out of control. Because of that, Claudiah’s plan C had almost fallen apart before it could even begin.

Saying nothing, Zeta privately questioned La Crima’s ability.

Besides the mass-produced Apis Ideas, the hybrids she’d deployed here had all been modified while maintaining their personalities. That was good if you wanted to make the best use of the tians’ combat experience, and it was especially important if they were meant to operate independently.

La Crima could also make Ideas without any remnants of past personality, but they couldn’t function without operating towers such as La Crima herself or Regina Apis Idea.

To I.F., which was far harder to fill than most clans, the Ideas were precious firepower. Logan could provide incidental firepower by summoning devils, but overall they lacked the pieces needed to play on this ever-growing board.

However, if these Ideas could go out of control, Zeta felt that they might be more trouble than they were worth. If they often did as Ignis Idea had and decided to destroy themselves using the very magic they’d been granted, ultimately they’d be nothing but a problem.

I will have to file a report to La Crima about this. Even if he’d caused trouble, though, Ignis Idea had only been capable of crafting a spell this powerful exactly because he still had his mind. It seemed like managing the positives and negatives of Idea creation would be a difficult and dangerous task.

To them, however, the fact that the “material” involved was tians was neither a positive nor negative.

“Commencing. Moving over to prepare for plan C.”

Zeta walked through the shelter towards the hole in the wall. As she took out a white whale-like accessory, she looked down at the flowing water.

“...Abundance. This place has a wealth of water and air,” she whispered, touching the water in which her lower body was submerged.

That was what she’d said back when she’d first appeared in Granvaloa.

Her real self couldn’t even imagine having enough water to get this wet.

That was also the reason why she’d picked Granvaloa as her starting country.

“...I’m jealous.” She let her honest feelings show for once. The world of Infinite Dendrogram was full of water and air, and she couldn’t help but be jealous of that — as well as loathe it.

It was the sentiment of the have-not. To some, Infinite Dendrogram was a means of escapism...a shelter from reality...and she knew that better than anyone else.

And exactly because she could escape into this world, she understood that it couldn’t be just a game.

Zeta slowly looked upwards.

The ceiling blocked the view of the sky, but she could still picture it clearly in her mind — both the sky and even what lay beyond it.

“...I imagine that no one here has ever reached for a world beyond what their hands could touch...” She spoke words that reached no other ears.

And suddenly, her vision was lost.

She’d been thrown into a pitch-black darkness, akin to a starless night. She couldn’t even guess which direction was which.

What is this? A darkness where she was blind even with her eyes wide open... Zeta hurriedly tried to use Uranus to create a defensive barrier of compressed air, but before she could, a slight shock ran through her body.

The darkness then vanished, and her vision returned.

She then looked down to see a warped hand sticking out of her chest...and holding her heart.

For a moment, she thought of Xunyu, whom she’d defeated, but it couldn’t be her. This wasn’t a metal prosthetic, but the arm of a living creature.

Before even looking back, she tried to attack behind herself using Uranus’s compressed air bullets, but the owner of the dark hand pulled out his arm and quickly backed away.

Having lost her heart, Zeta almost collapsed, but she used air control to keep herself upright.

The wound was fatal. The attack had taken her by surprise, and her Brooch had already been destroyed by Xunyu.

Before she fell, she gazed at the one who gave her this wound.

“Vesper...tilio...” It was Vespertilio Idea, otherwise known as Morter Cortana, whom she’d thought was dead because the signature of his Idea-fragment had vanished.

The darkness that took her sight had been caused by his Darkness Boundary.

But this just didn’t make sense. The Idea-fragment that was keeping his modified body together was gone.

And yet, Morter’s body was still intact.

No... As a living creature, he was actually more refined now than he was back when the Idea had been connected to him.

He looked like a human that hosted a devil, like something out of a certain famous manga series.

His agility just now, as well as the ability that allowed him to tear out Zeta’s heart without even being noticed...

This was a different Morter than the one she knew.

Saying nothing more, Zeta lost all of her HP and collapsed into the water before beginning to sink.

As her avatar vanished, she thought, I’ll really have to complain to La Crima.

◇◆

He watched as Zeta disappeared in the water.

He even checked that the disappearance wasn’t some optical trick using echolocation.

Then, he spoke without even opening his mouth.

“It’s me. I took care of the previous owner.”

“...I see. I will call you if I have need of you again, so stay in the capital for the time being.”

“...All right.” With that, he cut the telepathic exchange between him and the girl that now owned him.

Morter’s life was now supported by Theresia.

Given the choice to live or die, Morter had once again chosen to live.

It was entirely possible that living on, in this case, would be worse than death.

However, he also couldn’t help but think that he didn’t want his life to end here... After all, he had yet to do anything with it.

He was completely unlike his ex-colleague, King of Blaze. While Ignis had died to find purpose in his life, Morter was still unsatisfied and unfulfilled, so he chose to extend his.

Thus, he took on The Evil’s Dependent Transformation and was once again reborn.

He was now neither man nor monster.

Losing his humanity had made him lose all his jobs — King of Raids included — but he still had enough power to make up for that loss.

He was even stronger as a Dependent than he’d been as an Idea.

However, he didn’t intend to get comfortable with this power or wallow in it.

In his mind, there was only one question.

“I didn’t make the wrong choice again...did I?”

The man who’d abandoned humanity to become an Idea, then abandoned that state to become a Dependent of The Evil herself, vocalized exactly what was on his mind.

◇◇◇

Royal Castle, Medical Office

On the castle’s first floor, there was an infirmary equipped with various medicines.

Since it was built right after an era of war and the struggle against The Evil, this place was well-equipped for long stays during sieges and similar situations.

The attack had destroyed most of the castle’s equipment, but since the only magic used in the medical office was for preserving medicines, it could still function as normal.

In this room was Liliana.

Around her lay several coffins, each one containing a person.

The abundance of coffins made the place seem like a morgue, but they were actually filled with Lesser Elixirs and other liquid medicines, and the people inside were none other than Theodore and the other ten or so Paladins who had fought with him.

They were still alive, but they couldn’t leave the coffins.

This was the result of their fight against Aranea Idea.

They were able to destroy the creature, but the price they paid for that victory was great. They had all touched the poison Aranea released while alive, as well as those he’d spread upon death.

The poisons weren’t temporary, and because they’d absorbed as much of them as they did, their cells had actually begun to mutate. As a result, they were now in a critical state that mere medicine couldn’t fully cure.

Thus, they were now kept in coffins full of Lesser Elixir to slow down the progression of the disease; additionally, they were subjected to sleeping magic so they did not have to suffer through pain. Magic had been used to put them under instead of conventional drugs, in order to avoid any potential reactions with the Lesser Elixir.

Liliana stood in the room, looking at her subordinates...her fellow knights.

Suddenly, someone tapped her on the shoulder.

“Hey, don’t look so gloomy. I mean, you’re gorgeous, so a poignant expression really suits you, but here it just makes it look like you’re about to hold a mass funeral.”

This unfunny joke was spoken by...

“Integra...!”

“It’s been a while. We haven’t seen each other since I left on the journey to broaden my horizons, which was...two years ago?”

“So it was that long already...?”

The speaker was Liliana’s childhood friend — Arch Sage, Integra.

“...Thanks for what you did down there. That was your doing, right? And thanks for taking care of the poison on the first floor too.”

“Yeah. I came back to the capital a short while ago, and I sensed some serious magic downstairs. And when I went there, I found King of Blaze ready to blow. I knew I had to hurry up and do something. The poison was just a bonus.”

After the Royal Guard was overcome by the poison, Integra had gone to them, cleansed the poison, and done what she could to keep them alive. The timing of her arrival made it seem as though she’d been observing the whole thing and had only gone to clean up once it was over, but no one had questioned it.

Integra had also suffered heavy injuries during the Supernova explosion, but she now had no noticeable wounds. She had treated herself using healing magic and a few precious items she possessed.

“Back to your sad face, though. Is it because of these knights sleeping here?” Integra asked.

“...Yes. Once again...I was powerless...”

“Hmm? But I heard that you were looking for the lost princess.”

“I was. But while they fought a deadly battle, I...the current leader of the knights...went through this entire ordeal without facing any danger. That’s why, I—”

“You just prioritized what you had to. It is what it is.” While consoling her friend so casually, Integra thought, Not like she needed to be found, or any protection for that matter.

Integra knew that Theresia was The Evil and that Dormouse was related to the Incarnations.

During the kidnapping where Theresia had encountered Shu and Sechs, the previous Arch Sage had confirmed that all of this was true.

The records clearly show that the Incarnations erased all The Evils so far. And since they can no longer kill them with tians, they’re now trying to delay The Evil’s completion by protecting her. Even a battle-focused Superior Job was nothing to her.

Integra considered this, as though she had actually seen Morter try to attack Theresia.

The only real danger was from King of Blaze’s final attack. If they’d decided that the explosion would be enough to kill her, there’s no telling how they’d act.

The Incarnation accompanying Theresia had neither retreated from the castle nor tried to stop King of Blaze. Integra had actually gone down herself because she’d considered it just that dangerous.

There’s been no activity from their side since then. They didn’t even get in the way when I was preventing the explosion. Does that mean that their goal wasn’t to eliminate The Evil no matter what, but to eliminate it if possible? I can’t tell. I have two thousand years’ worth of records describing their actions, but I still don’t truly understand them... Not that I want to understand this invasive species.

She cut her somewhat dark thoughts short, focusing once again on the conversation with Liliana.

Integra had thought about a lot of things, but her entire thought process hadn’t lasted even a second of actual time. High-speed thinking was a basic technique of all skilled casters.

Not noticing even a fraction of what was going on inside Integra’s head, Liliana vocalized her worries. “I...I can’t ever save anyone by myself... Over and over again, I’m the one being saved.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it. These guys are thankfully still alive. Once Altimia...I mean, Her Majesty is back with that High Priestess who’s supposedly with her, I’m sure she’ll heal them with her magic.”

“That is true... The idea does put me at ease.”

Even as she consoled her friend, Integra’s thoughts were turning dark.

Altimia’s accompanied by Masters, eh...? Unlike the previous king, my teacher didn’t mess with her outlook on this. I guess her conclusion is different despite the king’s influence.

Regardless, Altar was already open to cooperation with Masters, so she had no intention of objecting. Instead, she’d decided to observe the situation between Altar and Dryfe as they both joined forces with Masters.

Perhaps I should get some information from these Masters too? In that case, I should focus on the strongest among them — the ones they call Superiors. Or perhaps the specific one responsible for Altimia’s change of heart...

While considering her next move, Integra searched Liliana’s face.

Integra had been sincere when she tried to cheer Liliana up, but it seemed like the knight’s regret and sadness weren’t so easy to disperse.

She was distressed about the current situation, certainly, but the core of her sadness was a hatred of her own weakness.

This sentiment had been building up inside her for quite some time. She was weaker than the princess she was charged to protect, and she had only barely contributed to solving the many problems facing Altar.

All of that combined was more than enough to justify her gloomy expression.

Integra was good enough friends with Liliana and Altimia to notice all of this. At the same time, though, she felt a bit bad about their intrinsic difference in position.

“If it bothers you that much that you weren’t able to fight, there’s nothing I can do about that — but if it’s your weakness that’s the problem, I may be able to help.”

“Huh?”

That was why, Integra felt she needed to bring this up, as a friend.

“Out of all the things I’ve learned, I think there’s a way to make you stronger. If you can achieve this, you will no doubt become a great deal more powerful than you are now.”

That just happened to be exactly what Liliana wanted in her moment of weakness.

“And that would be...?”

Looking up at her taller friend’s eyes, Integra...

“Wanna try becoming the Celestial Knight?”

...spoke the name of the Superior Job that had belonged to her late father.

◇◇◇

Royal Castle, Guest Room

Canglong woke up to find himself on a canopy bed.

He tried to get up, but there was a slight weight on his left hand.

Glancing at his right one, he realized that he had a human body again.

He then looked at his heavy left hand...

“Zzz... Zzz...”

...and saw Elizabeth, clutching at his hand in her sleep.

A glance at the window made it clear that it was already dark outside. A few hours had passed since the battle underground, and he could only guess that Elizabeth had been holding his hand the entire time.

He scanned the surroundings for any presences and sensed one that belonged to a knight beyond the door.

Canglong and Elizabeth were alone in this room, and it was all because she had asked for this.

He’d lost consciousness during the explosion underground, and the next thing he knew, he was here.

All that was certain to him was that both he and Elizabeth had survived.

Canglong slowly raised himself, reached for her head...and after some hesitation, caressed it.

“Mnh...” She moved a bit, but continued to sleep as peacefully as before.

“A lot has happened. You must be tired...” What had happened underground, the attack itself...many things were still unclear to Canglong.

However, for now, he just wanted to enjoy the fact that they were both still alive.

“Let us talk when you wake up... There are many things I must tell you, as well as things I want to tell you...” he said before caressing her head again.

Some time after Canglong woke up, there was a knock on the door — so silent and subdued that it did not even wake Elizabeth.

“Come in,” said Canglong. The door opened, and he saw the face of a giant rodent.

“Pardon the intrusion.” The giant rodent — Dormouse — entered the room, and Theresia, who was perched on his back, apologized while being careful not to wake her sister.

“Your Highness?” Canglong wondered why she’d come here. Since it was a bit late to pay him a visit, he guessed that she was here for her sister, but then...

“Sorry for leaving the tea party early.”

“Huh? Ohh...”

Theresia’s words instantly reminded Canglong of the tea party they’d held earlier today.

Elizabeth had arranged the party. She’d resolved to leave for Huang He, and she wanted Theresia to meet Canglong before she left. Elizabeth wanted to show her sister the person she would spend her life with and to introduce Canglong to the family that she so treasured.

The two had ended up barely talking during the tea party and had been entirely separated once the assault began.

Now that everything had subsided, they were finally together.

“Dor.” With just that one word, Dormouse placed Theresia on the floor and walked out of the room.

Now it was just Canglong, Theresia, and Elizabeth, who was still sleeping. Between them, there was nothing but a silence that felt both unbearably long and far too short.

Canglong said nothing and merely waited for Theresia to speak.

Theresia briefly exchanged glances with him before looking down at her sister, still clutching Canglong’s left hand.

Then, she caressed Elizabeth’s head like Canglong had done and...

“Protect her for me...”

...said only four words.

Theresia’s real emotions were hard to read, but Canglong was certain that those words came straight from her heart.

She had come all the way here just to say that.

For all that anyone knew, perhaps she’d actually been gathering her resolve and waiting for the chance to say this even back during the tea party.

After all, these words were a goodbye. Her sister would soon leave for a distant land, and with these words Theresia had entrusted her sister to him.

Canglong understood that.

“I will... No matter what.”

And that was why he swore this with his very soul.

No matter from what or from whom...he would protect Elizabeth.

Thus, Canglong and Theresia — Draconic Emperor and The Evil — exchanged a promise.

◆◆◆

The Gaol, Café “Dice”

On that day, Dice ended up not receiving a single customer.

You couldn’t even hear any voices outside.

The gaol was a rowdy place full of commotion, so this was an abnormally peaceful day.

With her head on the table, Gerbera turned the pages of some documents, lost in thought.

She wouldn’t say it out loud, but she felt that her clan leader, Sechs, wasn’t quite himself today.

After talking about the final boss, his peaceful, hard-to-define aura became more like...uh...the pressure of a beast sharpening its claws? Well, I don’t really know how to describe it...

All that she knew was that Sechs was different than usual.

I guess I’m weird for noticing this in the first place. Wait, I guess it’s the other way around. If he seems dangerous enough that even I’m picking it up... That explains why we didn’t get any guests today.

She nodded to herself in understanding before resuming her scan of the documents.

These documents contained data that the other I.F. members sent Sechs in reality. He memorized it all and wrote it down here by hand for Gerbera.

This wouldn’t have been necessary if they could just send an email to Gerbera’s real-world self, as well, but she hadn’t shared her address with the other members. In spite of how she acted in Dendro, Gerbera — or Kikuko — was actually fairly internet-literate.

I mean, I can’t just give my email to people who do Dendro crimes all day...though I guess I’m not in any position to say something like that. Boredom was making her feel even more down than usual, but she continued skimming through the documents nonetheless.

“Hmm... Ignis, Aranea, Vespertilio, and Regina Apis... They sound like real villains.”

She was currently going through the info regarding the assault on Altea and the Ideas that had been used for it.

What they’re doing is pretty awful too... Being here almost makes me forget this fact, but we’re a real group of bad guys, aren’t we?

As Gerbera thought that, the bell on the café’s door rang.

“Welcome! Oh? It’s been quite a while.”

“Helloooo! Everyone’s favorite GOD is heeere!”

A voice that sounded like candy mixed with honey, fruit syrup, and artificial sweetener resounded through the café. It was so sweet it felt like it might melt your teeth away.

The person was wearing a dress styled like a heavily decorated cake with as many frills as possible, as well as small plush toys. It swayed as the figure came to sit at the counter.

“Sechsy and Gerby! It’s been soooo long! Ah, one caramel macchiato, pleeease!” The painfully sweet voice that suited its apparel all too well spoke to Sechs and Gerbera with notable familiarity. Their drink order was just as painfully sweet — Sechs had created this drink based on recipes from real-world coffee shops.

“Egh... Candy.” Gerbera spoke the visitor’s name, her mood dropping even further down. “Like always...you gross me out.”

“Ahhh! Gerby! That’s sooo mean! I’m gonna shake my head at you!”

“I’m not in the mood for this...” Legitimately starting to become nauseous, Gerbera stared at the newcomer.

She’d first met this person in the gaol, and the times they’d interacted were few...but they were more than enough to leave a mark on her memory.

...The makeup’s even better than before. If you ignore the absurd appearance and voice, you can almost feel like you’re looking at a pretty girl... After reluctantly praising the person’s appearance, she quietly added, “...Yet he’s a guy.”

“Tch tch tch! So naive! Lil’ Candy is a god who’s totally above gender!” the person replied, apparently not the least bit offended.

His name was Candy Carnage. By all appearances he was a girl, but as far as Gerbera knew, his avatar and real body were both male.

She also knew things besides his unusual appearance and personality that made him stand out... Knew them too well, actually.

“This is Dendro, where a god can be a god, so I will forgive your little act of disrespect, but if you push it, I might have to destroy yoouu!”

“...I know.” Even Gerbera could tell that despite the joking tone, that was an actual warning.

After all, he was already doing his thing.

He was one of the Superiors locked up in this gaol — the worst and most far-reaching wide-scale extermination-suppression types of all.

He’d destroyed a city-state, massacred over a hundred thousands tians, and killed even The Hero.

The tian genocider. The “Legionkiller.”

King of Plagues, Candy Carnage.

Gerbera knew that she couldn’t win against someone like him.

Perhaps she might have a chance in such close quarters, but if Candy wanted to fight with all his might, he would be a complete calamity.

Our leader and Hannya beat this guy up, though... The Superior Killer too... Dendro really is all about compatibility...and about how broken and insane you are in real life.

Realizing the crushing gap in compatibility and power between them, Gerbera once again laid her head on the table.

“...By the way, the city is pretty quiet, considering you’re outside.”

Gerbera had met Candy once in a created dungeon and twice in town. I died in that dungeon before even seeing him, though. However, the two times she’d met Candy out in town, the locals had been panicking and running around as if he was some kind of natural disaster.

That was why Gerbera found it strange how quiet it’d been the whole day.

“That’s because I killed everyone outside! Some ignoramus laughed at my god-ly clothes! I kinda snapped and did a little cleaning in town!”

“...Well, that explains the silence.” Man, he’s powered up, hasn’t he? He spread his infection so fast that they didn’t even have time to escape, Gerbera thought listlessly.

“Oh, but I made sure to leave the café untouched! Praise me!”

“Ah, sure, sure. Good job. Very nice.”

“Two praises! That’s enough to forgive the disrespect from before!”

...He hadn’t forgiven me before that? I was in some serious danger. Gerbera knew well that Candy was hard to deal with even for a resident of the gaol.

Though feared by many, Sechs was tolerant and gentle in demeanor, so she had no problem with him. Hannya was also fine as long as you didn’t set her off by being lovey-dovey with someone or bad mouthing Figaro.

Fu’uta would destroy you without question if you came close, but he never left his one spot, so he was no trouble either.

However, it was never clear how to deal with Candy. He came into town on a whim, approached her as he wished, and it was never clear what would set him off. Once he was set off, he would always go to extremes.

He’s such a pain. I really don’t wanna deal with him right now... Ignoring him was one of the things that usually displeased him, so Gerbera had no choice but to interact with him.

Maybe I should log out for the day, she wondered right as Sechs presented Candy the caramel macchiato and began to speak to him.

“So, Candy, what brought you here today?”

“Oh yeah! I have some grreeat news!”

“Great news...? Ohh, so you’re done?”

“Slurp slurp... I knew you’d ask!” Candy sipped his drink through a straw and puffed out his chest. “I finally...finally did it! Lil’ Candy has defeated the Disaster Bioweapon!”

“That is good to hear.”

What Candy had just said was simply staggering.

The gaol had a created dungeon, but it also had a special area where a certain UBM was kept.

Called the Disaster Bioweapon, this creature was beyond even Mythical in power, with level well over 100 and the status of an Irregularity. Many Masters here had attempted to defeat it and take its MVP special reward, but all of them had been completely powerless against it.

Candy was one of the Masters that had challenged it, only to be defeated like all the others. However, he had been certain that he would eventually bring it down.

And today, after many attempts, he had finally succeeded.

Here, in the gaol, Candy Carnage had actually destroyed an Irregularity, all by himself.

“My determination was unswerving... I forgot how many times I tried, though!”

“...Oh, I’ll praise you for real this time. That’s actually amazing.”

“Now I can...probably be super proud. But besides that, I can leave the gaol, so...” Candy smiled like a flower over-blooming. “...I can finally get back at that tasteless, black-clad hitwoman...” His face as he said that was, for the first time since he came, one of pure anger.

...He’s seriously mad about getting PK’d. Gerbera herself nursed a grudge — or perhaps an antagonism or even a vengeance — towards Rook, so she felt a tiny bit of sympathy for Candy. “‘Tasteless,’ though? I really don’t think the Superior Killer wants to hear that from you...”

“She wears masculine clothing despite being a woman. That alone makes it clear that our tastes don’t match.” You sure that’s not just a hatred for your own kind? Gerbera thought, but didn’t say out loud.

“This seems like a good time,” said Sechs. “Your business here is done, and Gerbera is improving fast. With that in mind, Candy — about what we discussed...”

“Okaaay! This will delay my revenge, but I’ll join I.F.’s care for a year!”

Upon hearing that, Gerbera made a face that said both “I wasn’t informed of this” and “Are you serious?” but neither Sechs nor Candy noticed.

“Excellent... I would’ve preferred to have Fu’uta join us, as well, but he will likely walk his own path.”

“But...do you really think it’s possible?”

“Yes. Based on Hannya’s attempts, it used to be about seventy-percent doable, but thanks to Gerbera here, we will no doubt be successful.”

“Huh? Huh?”

The incomprehensible conversation continued, leaving Gerbera far behind. Her head was surrounded by question marks — more so than on any other moment today, even.

Paying her no heed, Sechs went on to say the most important part of the conversation.

“It is time for us to break out of this gaol.”

The king of criminals was finally ready to abandon his temporary home.