Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 3 - Chapter 4

Chapter Four: The Clash of the Superiors 
Paladin, Ray Starling 
“Arms, Guardian, Chariot, Castle, Territory. Those are the five base categories in Embryo evolution. Which, do you think, is the most common?” asked Shu. 
It had happened on my first night in Infinite Dendrogram — specifically, at the welcoming party. I’d forgotten most of what we’d talked about after he’d told me about the war, but this part had stuck with me. 
“Arms, I think?” I answered his question, not having much basis for it. 
Nemesis was both a Maiden and an Arms type, while my brother’s Baldr was a gatling gun. I didn’t know any Masters besides myself and him, so my answer was just a guess based entirely on the fact that both our Embryos were Arms. 
“That’s right,” Shu nodded. “Arms is the most common category in Infinite Dendrogram.” 
And my guess ended up being correct. 
“It’s also the most varied one,” he added. 
“What do you mean?” 
“The Arms category covers all sorts of Embryos. It’s not just weaponry like your greatsword or my gun — there are utensils like pots or lamps, and even artificial eyes and limbs that replace parts of the body.” 
“So there’s lots of strangeness in this category, huh?” I asked. 
“Yeah, there certainly is.” He momentarily turned silent, then seemed to remember something. “Still, I don’t think that any Arms is stranger than his.” 
Back then, I’d had no means of knowing what he was referring to.

Gideon’s central arena was shrouded in silence. 
Not a single member of the audience seemed to understand what had happened. 
The only people who did were probably the ones on the stage, Figaro and Xunyu. 
“So this is the result of all of Xunyu’s groundwork,” Shu said. 
No — my brother seemed to understand it, too. 
“First, there was the ‘I won’t move a single step’ declaration,” he said. “It was actually meant only to make it not seem weird that Xunyu wasn’t using the legs.” 
One of those legs was now grasping one of Figaro’s lungs. 
“Then, there was the long-ranged barrage of supersonic attacks. It was meant to make it seem like the declaration was based entirely on confidence, nothing else. Figgy probably knew that it was just a bluff, though.” 
However, he still hadn’t been able to avoid it. 
“The Fu magic attacks were just used to position the Fus needed for the great spell that followed. That ‘Baolei’ elemental was just a momentary distraction. As for the great spell itself...” 
The skill that had used the hundreds of Fus littered all over the stage and created a pillar of fire strong enough to break the barrier. 
“‘Zhenhuo Zhendeng Baolongba,’ was it?” Shu continued. “From its power, it’s pretty clear that it’s among the strongest Master Jiangshi skills — probably the ultimate one. However, Xunyu used it to do nothing more but keep Figaro in place.” 
“What do you mean?” I asked. 
“The spell had both immense power and range. It would’ve damaged Figgy a lot, but he couldn’t escape to safety due to the presence of Xunyu’s arms. The rules prevent them from using accessories that negate instadeath damage, and that’s why he had to use an omni-directional defensive skill.” 
So it would’ve been over for him if he hadn’t used the special reward’s skill, I thought. 
“However, that was exactly what Xunyu wanted him to do,” said Shu. 
“What?” I asked. 
“Most powerful omni-directional defensive skills prevent the users from moving or using any other skills. That leaves them stiff and open to attacks, and Xunyu simply took advantage of that... just like planned.” 
So the jiangshi was waiting for that moment from before the fight even began... I can see where the nickname “Landmine” comes from. 
“But wait,” interjected Marie. “If the special reward’s skill’s effects are like you described, no attacks should’ve reached him, right?” 
I could see her point. After all, it was supposedly a barrier that protected from every direction. 
“Yeah,” Shu replied to Marie. “Attacks from the outside, at least.” 
Apparently, that was enough for Marie to understand everything. 
“So you’ve already figured what that ultimate skill does?” Rook asked my brother. 
“Yeah,” nodded Shu. “You seem to have guessed, too, Rook.” 
“It’s based on circumstantial evidence, though,” Rook said. 
Apparently, I was the only player here who was still lost about this. 
“Brother Bear, might you tell us what kind of attack could’ve given Figaro such a grave injury?” asked Nemesis, clearly as confused as I was. 
“It’s pretty simple when you observe,” said Shu. “Look. Figgy lost an organ and is hurt enough to spit blood, but there’s not a single scratch on his skin.” 
Though covered in blood that had escaped his mouth, Figaro’s equipment was completely intact, too. 
An attack that gouged out a lung would normally leave a hole in both apparel and the flesh. 
“Also, an ultimate skill is the culmination of an Embryo’s main trait,” he added. “You can figure it out from here, right?” 
“Oh, I see!” I cried. 
Ultimate skills were the greatest show of an Embryo’s dominant characteristic. It was safe to call them the crystallization of an Embryo’s and its Master’s power. Due to that, they were extremely varied, causing them to include oddities such as tornadoes of darkness and tsunamis of gold. 
With that in mind, I had to figure out what the culmination of Xunyu’s Embryo would be, an Embryo that had speed and range as its main traits. 
Its velocity had already broken the sound barrier, so it might’ve been safe to assume that the ultimate skill approached or surpassed the speed of light. However, superluminal velocity was an insurmountable barrier for anything that had the least bit amount of mass, so there was a limit to how great the speed could grow. But if such limits meant nothing for the Embryo, the culmination of speed and range would be something that was found in science fiction. 
“Warping,” said Shu. 
That was the only answer — a superluminal, super long-distance, ultradimensional movement ability. 
“Xunyu warped the right leg directly into Figaro’s body and tore out the lung,” he explained. 
Figaro’s equipment had prevented all outside influence from every direction. However, it had been able to do nothing against Xunyu’s ultimate skill. It was like a scenario in which a piece of paper had two points on it — A and B. Even if there was a circular barrier around A that prevented B from getting to it, one could simply bend the paper to make B touch A directly. Walls and barriers meant absolutely nothing. 
“If that’s how it is, wouldn’t it have been more effective to place a Fu in the body and blow it up?” asked Rook. “Also, instead of taking just one, couldn’t Xunyu have torn all the organs apart?” 
You have some freaky ideas, man, I thought. 
“The skill probably has limits that prevent such things,” said Shu. “Maybe it can only warp the Superior Embryo itself? Or perhaps the time during which it’s connected to the other side is very severe?” 
“I see,” nodded Rook. 
One of the duelists on stage, Figaro, finally began to talk. 
“A forced teleportation attack that goes straight into the body, eh? A true ultimate skill if I ever saw one.” The words leaving his bloody mouth made it obvious that he, too, understood the nature of Xunyu’s attack. 
“I’ve been waitiNg for you to stop in plAce,” said the jiangshi. “Though, hOnestly, it would’ve been better if you’d just leT my insult go to your hEad and chosen not to move. I’ve actUally fought some iDiots who lost like that! GheaHahAhah!” Xunyu’s laugh echoed throughout the silent arena. 
“It’s normally a super long-distance skill, isn’t it?” asked Figaro. “You sure went through a lot of trouble to make it viable in a duel.” 
“Well, tHat’s just how I rOll.” Just as Shu had said, Xunyu had been waiting for the right moment to use the ultimate skill. 
However, I was pretty certain that the jiangshi had intended to kill Figaro with every move that’d come before it. The supersonic nail attacks, Fu magic, Baolei, Baolongba — each and every single one of those would’ve instantly killed most lesser creatures. 
The ultimate skill was but a trump card Xunyu kept for anyone who was capable of withstanding it all. And its effects were obvious. Figaro — though still alive — was greatly hurt. 
“Can he heal that injury?” asked Nemesis. 
“This isn’t just an external wound or a broken bone — he lost an entire organ,” answered Marie. “That lowers a person’s maximum HP, limits their movements, and continuously damages them... Not even magic would have an easy time healing that.” 
“I know that duels don’t allow them, but would an Elixir work?” I asked. 
“Elixirs don’t do much about injury-based status effects. To fix organ loss quickly, you would need a healing skill from a Superior Job. However, if normal healing is your only option, fixing it would take a long while. You might as well get the death penalty. Mind you, they’re fighting in the barrier, so that won’t be necessary.” 
From Marie’s words, it was safe to assume that Figaro wouldn’t be healed for the duration of the battle. 
“Wait. Why are they still not moving?” asked Rook, bringing that fact to my attention. 
Figaro’s lack of movement was likely caused by the injury, but I didn’t see a reason for Xunyu to become immobile, as well. 
“Is it a side-effect of the skill?” asked Nemesis. 
“No,” answered Shu. “Xunyu’s just being cautious.” 
“But why?” I asked. 
Figaro is completely cornered and... Oh, I see, I thought. 
“Xunyu’s being careful about the thing that Figaro has never yet shown in any of his many matches — his Superior Embryo,” said Marie. “He’s yet to use it in this duel, too.” 
Hearing those words, I nodded. Figaro still hadn’t used his Embryo, and if he did, he’d probably have a chance at victory. 
“But Figaro is using his Embryo,” said Shu. 
“Huh?” Nemesis, Marie, and I simultaneously expressed our confusion. 
“He is? Since when?” I asked. 
“Ever since the duel started,” Shu answered. “Hell, he probably used it in all his other matches, too. Guy’s not one to hold back all that much.” 
That was probably a fact that no one in the audience was aware of. Figaro’s Superior Embryo’s name and details were a complete mystery to everyone. And yet, he was always using it. 
“So, is he wearing it?” I asked. 
“That can’t be,” said Marie. “I’m constantly checking him with Identification, and I can assure you that everything he’s wearing and wielding is an item.” 
That made sense. Identification skills had no effect on Embryos, after all. If there was something that couldn’t be Identified, it would obviously be that, but Marie had said that there was no such item on him. Thus, it was safe to conclude that his Embryo wasn’t a piece of equipment. But in that case... 
“Then what is his Embry—” 
Before I could finish my question, the audience became astir. 
I hastily looked to the stage and noticed that something strange was happening with Figaro. 
He was still on his knees, but his apparel was changing. 
First, his coat was engulfed in light and vanished. Next was his light armor and the shirt underneath. Then disappeared the ten rings on all his fingers and even the hat that stayed on his head even as he fought at supersonic speed. 
All that was left were the leg armor reminiscent of a hakama, his greaves, and the swords in each of his hands. 
For a second, I thought that Xunyu was responsible for this, but the jiangshi seemed as puzzled as everyone else. 
Wait a second, isn’t that the same light that covered him when he changed in his waiting room? I asked myself. 
“Instant Wear,” said Marie. “It’s a skill that does exactly what it says — allows instant switching of armor.” 
I remembered the skill I had, but hadn’t used yet: Instant Equip. It allowed the user to instantly equip weaponry from the inventory, and I could only assume that Instant Wear worked the same way. 
“But...” I said. 
Figaro had used it to simply take the items off, instead of switching them for something else. Switching to better equipment would’ve made sense, but as things were, it looked like he’d only made it worse for himself. 
As just about everyone in the arena became confused, Figaro stood up. With his upper clothing gone, his toned chest was completely exposed. His skin and pectoral muscles did little to hide the fact that he’d lost his lung. The area had become unnaturally dark due to all the internal bleeding. 
“Was it tHat hard to bReathe?” Xunyu asked — not mockingly, but with genuine curiosity. 
Instead of responding, however, Figaro merely grinned. 
“GuesS this duel’s over, tHen,” Xunyu muttered before launching the supersonic arms again. 
However, again, Figaro deflected it with one of the swords in his hands. 
It was just like the start of a battle before Xunyu had used his ultimate skill. Yet again, Figaro was on the defensive. 
“Hm...?” I murmured. 
The sight made me puzzled. After all, it barely made any sense. The result of Xunyu’s attacks simply couldn’t be the same. 
Figaro had lost a lung. 
Sure enough, his movements were a bit duller, causing him to get a few scratches here and there. 
But in what world did it make sense for a person who’d lost a lung to just become a bit slower? It needn’t be said that it was a fatal injury. Though Masters were superhuman and could survive through it, it should’ve taken a huge toll on his mobility. 
Thus, I could only question why the injury had such a light effect on Figaro. 
“ShgHh!” Xunyu attacked with both arms at once while increasing their speed, causing them to become a blur, even with the barrier acting at its maximum. 
“??!” Figaro released an inhuman sound as I noticed that his expression changed. 
He was now making the same berserker-like expression I’d seen him make in the crystal. 
“Physical Berserk,” said Marie. “That skill gives an immense bonus to physical stats while rendering the body uncontrollable and preventing the use of any other active skills. Is this really a good situation to use it?” 
“He nullifies the uncontrollability with another passive skill,” answered Shu. “The mad expression and the bloodlust might make you think otherwise, but he controls himself just fine. Also, he simply chose to focus on increasing his stats rather than using some tricks.” 
Indeed, Figaro was even faster than before. 
“Not a baD face you’re mAking, Figaro!” shouted Xunyu while launching those golden arms behind the Over Gladiator. 
Figaro momentarily looked behind him, then dodged one of the arms and charged at the other one. He didn’t deflect it this time — he actually hit it head-on. 
As a result, both Figaro’s sword and one of the Superior Embryo’s golden nails shattered into many pieces. 
As Xunyu became overcome with shock, Figaro used Instant Equip to take out another sword. What followed was another clash, and the result was the same as before. 
No — this time, both of Xunyu’s arms lost a metallic nail each. 
“WhaT did you dO?” 
I couldn’t help but relate to Xunyu’s confusion. It was very clear that the question wasn’t directed at the results of the Physical Berserk skill. 
What puzzled the jiangshi and me was the fact that, despite being weakened by the loss of a lung, Figaro had been able to damage Xunyu’s Superior Embryo, which he’d only been able to dodge and deflect before. 
I didn’t know how strong the skill was, but I couldn’t believe that a single power-up skill could turn the tides like this. Also, even before using the skill, he hadn’t really seemed to be behaving like he was severely injured. Which was made even stranger by the fact that he’d been weakened due to removing most of his equipment. 
Was he really weakened, though? I thought. “Hmm.” 
Does he have a skill that strengthens him when he unequips his items? No, he would’ve done it at the start, then. Still, it should be something that relates to the act of equipping stuff and... 
“Is something wrong, Ray?” asked Nemesis. 
“Hey, Nemesis,” I said. “Remind me how many equipment slots there are in Infinite Dendrogram.” 
“Equipment slots? Well, there’s headwear, upper and lower armor, innerwear... no, it doesn’t count. Then there’s the cloak, armwear, boots, five accessories, and weapons for each hand... That makes 13. No, special equipment like Silver makes it 14.” 
“What about Figaro?” I asked. 
“Our slit-eyed friend has skills that give him more slots. He had accessories on every finger and can clearly equip six weapons at once. There might be more, but I’d assume it’s somewhere around 25.” 

At this moment, however, he only had his lower armor, greaves, and a weapon in each hand, making for a total of 4. 
“Bro,” I said. 
“Do you address me bearing questions?” he replied. 
“What are the effects of the hakama and the greaves Figaro’s wearing?” 
“The hakama is called ‘War Might Cloth (lower),’ and it gives a bonus to STR, AGI, and DEX, while the greaves are a special reward called ‘Unbound Sabatons, Unchain’ and they give a large bonus to AGI and a resistance to movement limitations.” 
Equipment that strengthened him. A reduced amount of equipment. Increased fighting ability. An Embryo he’d been using from the start. 
And the thing Shu and Figaro had been talking about in the hallway. When all of that was considered... 
“...Oh, so that’s how it is,” I muttered. If I was wrong about this, him taking off his clothes would’ve been completely meaningless. 
“Bro.” 
“I’m listening.” 
I voiced my guess. “Figaro’s Embryo’s trait is ‘strengthening equipment worn inversely proportional to the number of items equipped,’ right?” 
My words made everyone except Shu look at me in surprise. 
“Why do you think that?” he asked. 
“Normally, you’re stronger the more items you have equipped, so if someone becomes stronger after taking them off, I can only assume that it’s a skill like that.” 
That said, the fact that he hadn’t taken them off right at start was proof that it wasn’t just a skill that made him stronger the less he wore. I assumed it was a skill that split a 100% total bonus among all the items he had equipped. When using 25 items, that bonus would be 4% on each, while equipping just 4 items would make it 25%. 
He’d taken off the unnecessary equipment to make his power more focused. 
“Is that all the proof you have?” asked Shu. 
“No, there’s more,” I said. “Figaro goes through the Tomb Labyrinth solo, but that’s not exactly doable, is it?” 
“You’re saying you don’t think it’s pawssible for anyone with Superior Embryos?” my brother asked. 
“If it were, other Superiors would do it, too. But Figaro is the only one who’s famed for being a solo explorer. That has to be because he has something others don’t.” 
“Which is?” 
“Utility and countermeasures.” 
“Hoh.” 
The equipment Figaro usually had on him was probably a utility-focused combination that strengthened his body, increased defense, gave resistances to status effects, and helped him with healing. However, no matter how strong Figaro was, such equipment made him nothing more but a jack of all trades, yet master of none. 
It might work fine against normal monsters, but it was clear that it would be difficult for him to fight bosses that way. That went doubly for UBMs, like the ones I’d beaten, which often had highly specific, unique abilities. 
When fighting Gardranda and Gouz-Maise, I’d miraculously emerged victorious because I’d had powers that fit the situation. Though I’d gotten into those fights by chance, I’d been equipped with the right countermeasures. 
That was the keyword here — countermeasures. 
This was merely an assumption, but I believed that Figaro fought and beat his enemies by adjusting and improving his equipment based on his opponent. For example, when facing an ice monster that was weak against fire, he’d use only a fire-based weapon and equipment that increased his frost resistance. 
That was exactly what he had done to that player killer in Sauda Mountain Pass. He’d reduced the number of chains he used to strengthen the “resistance to movement limitations” effect on his greaves, allowing him to break free of the binding and emerge victorious. 
And now, he’d concluded that defense and resistance to debuffs were useless against Xunyu, leading him to focus exclusively on equipment that increased his speed and damage. 
He fought in full gear to safely see what kind of enemy he was dealing with, then switched to wearing only the equipment he really needed. That was Figaro’s battle style. 
“You’re half right,” said Shu. 
So there’s more to this, huh? I thought. 
“Just so you know, when he’s fully geared, all his equipment’s starting numbers are multiplied by two.” 
“Multiplied by... BY TWO?!” 
That meant that now, when he was wearing less than a fifth of his total equipment, that number ought to surpassed ten. Clearly, that was more than enough to cover for the loss of a lung. 
Wait... ‘starting numbers?’ I thought. 
“...Bro.” 
“What?” 
“You said I was half right because...?” 
“You know how you were talking about the total bonus?” Shu said and then went silent for a moment before continuing. “It increases in proportion to battle time.” 
Cheers echoed throughout the arena. Figaro’s slash had broken another one of Xunyu’s metallic nails. This time, however, his sword didn’t break. 
“He becAme even stRonger!” panicked Xunyu. 
If we were to assume that the equipment strengthening increased by 1% every second, the difference that would cause when in full gear would be negligible. But, as Figaro was demonstrating, the same couldn’t be said for when he was using only a few items. 
Figaro grew stronger with every passing second and with each exchange of blows. He had already surpassed Xunyu’s supersonic speed and dealt enough damage to break Superior Embryos. 
The constant growth in his power became all the more obvious now that I knew how it worked. 
Strengthening proportional to battle time. 
Strengthening inversely proportional to the number of equipped items. 
Those two were the main traits of Figaro’s Superior Embryo. 
They were qualities that could only shine in a long battle. Thus, now that the battle had gone on for quite some time, Figaro was in top shape even after having lost one of his lungs. 
A man who grew endlessly stronger the more he fought — Figaro the Endless Chain. 
“That’s nuts,” was all I could really say about it. 
Nemesis, sitting next to me as she’d read my mind, nodded in agreement. 
So that nickname wasn’t actually referring to the chains, huh? I thought. 
From the fact that it also covered the true nature of Figaro’s Superior Embryo, I could only assume that Shu, who’d known the truth about it, was the one who’d thought of the nickname and made it popular. 
“Still...” I murmured. 
There was something I found strange. Even though I’d had hints from my brother, I’d been able to figure out the nature of Figaro’s Superior Embryo just by watching him fight once. And yet, all this time, it’d been considered to be a great mystery. 
It didn’t take too much thought to figure out why. Figaro — being exclusively a solo player — did all his explorations by himself. He was alone in his boss battles, and most of them happened in the Tomb Labyrinth. Obviously, no one ever saw him fight after removing his equipment. 
As for duels... Well, the large audiences had never noticed his abilities because each and every single one of his opponents so far simply hadn’t been strong enough to force him into focusing his gear. 
Perhaps he had powered up by removing one or a few of his accessories, but he’d never had to take off so much of his equipment that the spectators would’ve found it weird. Today was the first time that had ever happened in a duel. Figaro had had to go all out because his opponent was the strongest he’d ever faced in a duel. 
Xunyu was truly strong. 
“Hah! You surE are somethiNg, Figaro!” shouted the jiangshi as his left arm was completely severed. 
If that wasn’t a show of just how strong Figaro had become, nothing was. Even with a critical injury, he surpassed Xunyu at just about every front. 
The tables had turned. 
Figaro evaded the nails with little effort as the jiangshi’s legs distanced the body from him. Xunyu attacked even while backing away, but none of it seemed to work. 
Though both were fighting at supersonic speeds, there was now a clear difference in velocity between them. 
And, of course, that difference only kept growing. 
“Damn, I mesSed up!” said Xunyu. “I shouLd’ve aimed for thE head, even if the riSk of you dodgiNg would’ve been biGger!” 
Though cornered, Xunyu showed no signs of using the ultimate skill again. It probably had a cooldown or a limited number of uses. 
Xunyu was strong and had certainly had a chance at victory. However, that chance had disappeared the moment the jiangshi had failed to grab hold of Figaro’s heart. 
“??” Figaro voiced another inhuman sound as I noticed that he now held only one weapon instead of two. 
It would probably be categorized as a broadsword. But it was definitely not just a sword. 
It was hard for me to say what made it so different from the other weapons he’d used. Its presence was simply unmatched. I felt as though merely looking at it for too long would reduce me to nothing. 
“That sword... Figaro’s going for the finishing blow!” said Shu. 
“You know what that weapon is?” asked Marie. 
“You can’t Identify it?” 
“I can’t. Using Identification doesn’t even give me its name.” 
I understand not being able to Identify stats, but not even seeing the name? I thought. 
“The Zenith Dragon’s Brilliant Fang, Gloria ?.” 
“Ah?! So that’s...?!” Marie became shocked, and yet I didn’t know why. 
The intimidating air about it made it obvious that it was a special reward. However... 
“It’s on a completely different level,” said Nemesis, and I couldn’t help but nod. 
It was above any and all equipment I’d seen so far. I wouldn’t have been surprised if it was a greater weapon than Xunyu’s Superior Embryo. 
“That’s a cooL toy you hAve, Figaro! GheAhahaHahahahhah!” 
And yet, the jiangshi was still laughing. Despite it all — despite being the very target of that menacing blade, Xunyu was still laughing. 
The two duelists were no longer fighting, allowing the laugh to freely echo throughout the arena, which had turned silent with anticipation. And once the echoes subsided... 
“Then I’m goNna use tHis!” Reaching into a sleeve, Xunyu took out a dagger and gripped it with the right prosthetic arm. 
A second later, a menacing air came from the jiangshi. Specifically, from the dragon fang-like dagger. 
“Yinglong’s Fang, Suling Yi. It’s just like youRs — a Superior Item. I got it wheN we dealt with the SUBM thAt attacked our Huang He.” 
SUBMs and Superior Items. 
When I’d checked the help window, I’d learned that was the highest tier of special rewards. The two duelists were owners of Superior Jobs and Superior Embryos. And now, they wielded Superior weaponry, as well. 
“Still, it’s nOt like I can surpaSs you when you’re so bUffed,” Xunyu said. 
Of course, Xunyu was aware. It was something that I’d been able to figure out. There was no way that an experienced Superior facing Figaro couldn’t realize the nature of his Embryo. 
“Don’t worrY, though. My Yinglong’s Fang deals moRe damage the more MP and SP I giVe it,” Xunyu said while baring the fang at Figaro. “I’ll give mY all to this one attack. Next time’s goNna be the laSt.” 
That declaration was followed by more silence, which created a thick air of tension. 
Figaro’s Superior Embryo was sending more and more power into Gloria ?. 
Xunyu the Master Jiangshi, a Superior Job with immense MP and SP, was giving it all to Yinglong’s Fang. 
The air became so tense that it felt as though the very space around them would crack. 
Nemesis, Shu, Marie, Rook, Babi, I, and just about everyone else in the audience looked at the menacing duelists while holding our breaths in anticipation. 
Now that the tension had reached its apex, I was so immersed in the scene that I didn’t even notice that I’d pushed off the glass that was on the table. Right before it shattered, I heard the high-pitched sound caused by it touching the stony floor echo within our box. 
At that moment, the Over Gladiator charged, while the Master Jiangshi launched his right arm. 
Both their speeds surpassed and went far above supersonic. Even though they were slowed down by the barrier running at full capacity, I still couldn’t see what had happened. All that entered my vision were the results. 
Figaro’s left arm and Xunyu’s right arm — still holding Yinglong’s Fang — had been severed from their bodies and were now airborne. 
Still holding Gloria ? in his right, Figaro dashed to Xunyu’s side, to which the jiangshi responded by instantly launching the left arm, the one with a hand that had lost its metallic nails, towards the Over Gladiator. 
At that particular moment, Xunyu was faster than the opponent and quickly forced the golden nail into Figaro’s chest. 
“Got ya nOw!” 
Before I’d realized it, one of the very same golden nails that had been broken and dropped to the stage was affixed to the hand once again. 
Xunyu’s claim about giving it all to Yinglong’s Fang had been merely but a setup for this surprise attack. 
The jiangshi had predicted that Figaro would focus on speed in exchange for defense and took advantage of that. 
Xunyu the Yinglong was both the Landmine and Divine Speed. 
And still, the Over Gladiator came out ahead. 
I could see shock on Xunyu’s partially concealed expression. It was caused by the fact that the golden nail hadn’t pierced through Figaro’s body. 
The golden nails were supposed to break through the skin, tear the pectoral muscle, rip the heart, shatter the ribcage, and come out on the other side. However, something had stopped it right after it tore the pectoral muscle. 
It was an object capable of withstanding an attack from a Superior Embryo. 
It was... 
“...a heart,” I muttered. 
An Embryo that no one could see, despite Figaro always using it. 
An object that Xunyu had failed to grab with the ultimate skill and couldn’t pierce with this surprise attack. 
They were the same thing. 
A heart-shaped Superior Embryo. 
“Thank you,” said Figaro. “You were a wonderful opponent.” 
He’d taken off the Physical Berserk and sent his praises to his fellow duelist... 
“Fang of Gloria!” 
...and then split Xunyu in two from the top of the head. 
“GHH!” the jiangshi groaned, and then struggled to try to do something. 
“OVERDRIVE!” 
Figaro swung Gloria ? back upwards while making it release a pillar-shaped burst of light that greatly surpassed Baolongba in terms of heat. 
The light was blinding enough to cause a whiteout. Though we couldn’t see anything, it was easy to tell that it was silently evaporating everything within the barrier. And once the light faded, all that was left was Figaro, while Xunyu had vanished without a trace. 
I heard a belated announcement of Figaro’s victory. 
Once the audience realized what happened, the arena was engulfed in applause. 
Nemesis and I and everyone else in our box were cheering, as well. 
The Clash of the Superiors — a duel that would be sung for a long time to come — had ended with Figaro’s victory.