Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 5 - Chapter 3

Chapter Three: And His Name is... 
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In this game of his, Franklin had made a total of three grave mistakes. 
Of course, those were just the mistakes from my perspective. A third party might see more or fewer than me. 
These were the mistakes, one by one. 
His first mistake was separating his plot to destroy Gideon and kidnap the princess into Plan A, B, etc. and going through them one after the other. 
Considering the fact that he wanted to break the country’s spirit by starting worse and worse plans the more the kingdom struggled, that might’ve been the right course of action, but in terms of the force he released, this design was highly ineffective. When unleashing your battle potential, you should always release everything all at once. 
He should’ve released the monsters in the city and unleashed the 50,000 from Pandemonium right after using the barrier and starting the PK massacre. That way, the kingdom would have had next to no way of fighting back. The princess would have been kidnapped, and Gideon would have been severely damaged. 
Since he’d chosen to do them all one by one, the plans had all been taken care of in that order, bringing us to our current situation. 
What? “The result will be the same if his 50,000 monsters succeed,” you say? Well, true, the results would be the same if they succeeded. I’m fully aware of that. 
His second mistake was mixing revenge against him into his plan. 
You’re wondering why that was a mistake? Surely you’ve noticed that adding the whole thing with the RSK into the plan extended the time until monster release, right? So that must be what I mean. 
Ohh, no no, you’ve got it all wrong. The revenge itself wasn’t a mistake. 
The mistake was doing the revenge along with the plan, effectively putting something on the line into his battle. 
You look like you don’t understand. 
Normally, that RSK thing would’ve beaten Ray. But by creating a condition where he would lose something if he lost, Franklin had made Ray significantly more powerful. And if that wasn’t a mistake, I don’t know what is. 
In fact, even Ray’s air bomb had only been possible to use because the city was thick with grudge that he could transform into MP. 
If Franklin had aimed for Ray alone, he could’ve crushed him like a bug, don’t you think? That was how the Superior Killer got him, after all. But Ray was really strong in cases like this, and that was why the RSK had lost. 
It’s not like we get many cases when people’s lives are at stake on the other side, after all. 
As for the third mistake... Ah, screw it. 
Saying it is embarrassing. 
Hey, even I can feel shame. 
What? “A person who can feel shame would never walk around like that?” Oh, shut up. The reason why I have to walk around like that is because you messed with my character creation and... 
Hm? “Just say the third mistake already?” All right, all right. 
Franklin’s third and greatest mistake was... 
 
Jeand Grasslands 
In Infinite Dendrogram, people had a tendency to use the terms “Demi-Dragon-tier” or “Pure-Dragon-tier” to denote a creature’s fighting ability. 
A Demi-Dragon-tier creature was equivalent to a party of six low-rank battle jobs or a single high-rank job, while a Pure-Dragon-tier creature was equivalent to a party of six high-rank jobs. That meant that a Pure-Dragon was about six times stronger than a Demi-Dragon. 
One had to keep in mind that the power of the owner of a high-rank job greatly varied depending on how well-leveled their six low-rank jobs and two high-rank jobs were. Thanks to their Embryo bonuses and unique abilities, many high-rank Masters were able to defeat Pure-Dragons all by themselves. Still, it was a decent way to indicate a creature’s strength. 
Every single one of the 5,000 Suicide Series monsters released by Franklin were Demi-Dragon-tier, which made them equal to 5,000 high-rank jobs. 
The ones fighting them were merely twenty-one Masters with low or high-rank jobs. 
Even considering the sole Superior Job among them, their number was still only twenty-two. 
By trying to add their Embryos into the equation, you could assume that they were all Pure-Dragon-tier, but even then, the difference in battle potential would be about 5,000 vs 132. 
Naturally, those odds were ridiculous. 
Despite that, however, even after three minutes had passed, not a single Master had died. 
“...Well, they’re sure holding out well,” Franklin muttered, clearly unamused. Even the one who’d unleashed the monsters hadn’t expected this. 
This result was due to all the Embryos there. 
The Masters alone numbered twenty-two, and even if Franklin disregarded the Embryos he’d known about, there were still twenty Embryos. Some greatly enhanced their allies, some created walls, while some were just really good at keeping armies at bay. 
Embryos were extremely vibrant in terms of variation, and by using their powers wisely, they were able to hold their own against the 5,000-strong monster army. 
Of course, Franklin’s monsters had great variety, as well. However, the Suicide Series had been programmed to do nothing but charge forward and kill until they themselves died. Though varied, they didn’t have the mental capacity to be able to cooperate and make the best of their variety. 
Due to that, despite having an overwhelming numerical advantage, they didn’t seem to be able to break through the twenty-two Masters. 
“...Well, then,” Franklin muttered. 
In all honesty, having his monsters held back like this wasn’t a problem for him. Pandemonium was already releasing the next batch of monsters. According to his calculations, even if these Masters bought enough time for the Masters from the central arena to gather, the city would still end up severely damaged. 
The twenty-two Masters holding back the monsters were already doing it with lots of desperation. Though none of them had died yet, they had only taken care of a small percentage of the 5,000 monsters. And the Masters had used up lots of their MP and SP, making it more than obvious that they would soon be rendered unable to struggle and get overwhelmed. 
Then there was the fact that Franklin had ten times that number of monsters, not to mention that he was protected by the likes of DGP and KOS, both monsters matching Superior Jobs in power. 
Franklin recalled that the Masters in the central arena amounted to around 1,000, which was a number that he could certainly handle. 
When it came to battle ability, Franklin was among the weakest Superiors. In a fair, 1v1 battle, he could even be defeated by a low-rank job. 
However, he excelled at strategy. 
After the war with the kingdom half a year ago by Infinite Dendrogram’s time standards, he’d spent enough time and resources to gather enough monsters to handle 1,000 Masters with little trouble. 
“...Well well, then,” Franklin murmured. 
The only real problem left was those two Superiors: Over Gladiator, Figaro and Master Jiangshi, Xunyu. By intervening in their Clash and sealing them using the barrier’s stopping function, Franklin had most likely made enemies out of them. If they intervened, Franklin would almost certainly be given the death penalty. 
Figaro was exclusively a solo player, so there was a chance he wouldn’t get involved. Xunyu, on the other hand, could very possibly use her ultimate skill to claw his heart out at any given moment. 
However, Franklin didn’t care about that. 
Even if he were to die, the 10,000-strong monsters released so far would still attack Gideon, not to mention the fact that he had another ace up his sleeve. 
While Franklin was the diamond, King of Orchestras was the club, and Hugo was the heart, the spade was a certain something placed underneath the arena that was patiently waiting to be activated. 
That was exactly what would happen if Franklin were to get the death penalty. It was part of Plan D — the final plan he’d hinted at when talking to Elizabeth. 
Still, Franklin assumed that it would all end before he would have to go through with it. Franklin’s monsters would soon overwhelm Gideon and completely ravage it. This group of people was nothing but a speed bump against his army. 
If Gideon fell while being actively protected by Masters, the kingdom would finally break, and his goal would be achieved. 
“...Well well well well, then,” Franklin murmured. 
Franklin was going to win regardless of whether he chose to do anything more or not. 
“All right, they piss me off. Let’s kill them.” 
And that was exactly why he made his move. 
Franklin looked at DGP, the dinosaur that was scattering the Royal Guard around Pandemonium. He’d used a Legendary UBM’s special reward in its creation. That gave it enough power to match such UBMs, and due to that, it was his strongest monster currently on the scene, not counting the spade. 
When Ray had charged towards the Suicide Series, Franklin had assumed that it wouldn’t need to be used. But now, he ordered it to massacre all the Masters that’d gathered. 
“DGP, be a darling and trample those eyesores.” 
“VRGHAAAAAAHHHH!” It released an earth-shaking roar as it charged with ground-shattering power in its steps. It was heading straight towards the front lines of the battle between the 5,000 monsters and twenty-two Masters, and it got there in only a few moments. 
First, the twenty-two Masters became twenty. 
DGP, clad in a red aura, went straight for the two high-rank jobs right at the front, quickly crushing and turning them into dust. In addition, an Embryo that took damage in their stead reached its limit and shattered. 
Then the twenty became nineteen. 
The red aura canceled a spell from a high-rank magic job. 
DGP responded by swinging its tail and splitting the person in half, instantly making them vanish. 
Then the nineteen became sixteen. 
Three Masters simultaneously attacked it using their ultimate skills, but before they could have an effect, DGP chomped them all with a speed so great it left afterimages. 
In but a moment, the twenty-two that had held against 5,000 had become sixteen because of a single creature. 
“Tch!” Marie — the only Superior Job on the scene — clicked her tongue as she shot piercing bullets into DGP’s head. 
Upon entering the red aura, the bullets lost their power and speed before being deflected by the monster’s shell. 
“This is the defensive and offensive ‘Dragon King Aura!’” she realized. “This one must’ve been made using material from a Dragon King!” 
Marie was completely right. 

“Dragon Kings” were a type of UBM. They were basically Pure-Dragons with great enough power to be titled kings of their sub-species. Their Dragon King Aura could weaken all attacks coming their way, and since they were unique for every generation, all of them were recognized as UBMs. 
Franklin had defeated a number of Dragon Kings, and DGP had been made using the special reward from one called “Fangdragon King, Drag-Phalanx.” Due to that, its power easily surpassed that of Pure-Dragons. It could easily have fought on par with the UBM used as its base, and it even had the Dragon King Aura symbolic of their kind. 
“VGHAAAAAHHHHH!” 
“Khh...!” Marie cried. 
When in top shape, Superior Jobs such as Marie had only about a 50% chance of winning against Legendaries. However, using her ultimate skill against Veldorbell had rendered her incapable of using bursting and homing bullets, lowering her chances even further. 
I could try to send “Ulbetia the Piercing Murder” at a vital spot where the aura is thin, but even then, it’s questionable if that would be enough, she thought. 
Even though doing that would cost her the Green Piercing and Silver Flash bullets, Marie believed that it wouldn’t do the job on this creature. 
Entities above Pure-Dragon-tier had great HP, and it was rare for them to die due to just a single ultimate skill from a Superior Job. Combined with the fact that DGP had powers matching that of the Fangdragon King that had been used in its creation, it was highly unlikely that Arc-en-Ciel would be enough to defeat it. 
But then again, they were in no position to battle it for long. The more DGP ravaged the front lines and the longer Marie stalled, the more monsters would enter the city. 
Marie readied herself and loaded Arc-en-Ciel with a special bullet meant for ultimate skills. 
“Phantasmal Raing—” 
Before she could go through with it, the DGP made its move. 
Just like before, it moved at a speed great enough to leave afterimages and charged towards a Master a short distance away — in this case, Ray. 
“Ray!” both Marie and Rook shouted as DGP quickly closed in on him. 
In a sense, this turn of events was only obvious. Franklin wanted to crush Ray more than anyone else on the scene, so there was nothing surprising about DGP following its owner’s will. 
“Wait— kh!” Marie tried to go after it, but she was then surrounded by a number of AGI-focused Suicide Series. 
“Mh...” 
Ray silently watched as DGP stormed towards him, and it was hard to tell whether it was because his mind was still hazy or because he knew exactly what he had to do. 
He sighed. 
“Ray...?” Nemesis spoke as he brandished her. 
Ray was already aware that he had no means of escape. He wasn’t riding Silver, and even if he was, he still wouldn’t have the speed to avoid the upcoming attack. 
Thus, he knew that he was about to experience his second death in Infinite Dendrogram. 
However, he intended to do something before leaving the scene. Specifically, he wanted to land a counterattack at the same moment he was damaged. 
Even if the attack instantly killed him, he thought he could hit it with a single Vengeance before dying, which could maybe help turn the situation around. 
As such thoughts went through his mind, Nemesis read them and prepared for what was to come. 
“Very well,” she said. 
She would do all in her power to activate the skill at the right moment. 
As the two readied themselves, DGP arrived at just a few metels away from him. It opened its maw, determined to erase the enemy of its creator. 
“Bring it!” Ray shouted. 
Everyone was watching that moment. 
Marie watched it. 
Rook watched it. 
Kasumi, Io, and Fujinon watched it. 
The ten surviving Masters watched it. 
Liliana watched it. 
Sir Lindos watched it. 
The Royal Guard watched it. 
The people of Gideon watched it. 
The people of the capital watched it. 
Figaro and Xunyu, now free from the barrier, watched it. 
Franklin watched it. 
Ray faced the deathly jaws opening before him, fully prepared to do what he needed to do before he died. 
Nemesis, too, faced the enemy, ready to fulfill her Master’s wish, even if it would cost him his life. 
Everyone watched it... and yet no one saw it. 
No one saw the moment that man appeared before Ray. 
“Save your desperate counters fur a cooler sceeene, goofus!” the man called. 
“Eh?” Ray muttered a voice of confusion, and he certainly wasn’t alone in that regard. 
As if some frames were skipped, the man appeared as though he had always been there. 
He was clad in furs, which definitely made him look odd. The upper part of his head was covered by the pelt of a bear, which extended to his back and flowed like a cape. He was tall, and though he had no upper clothing, his exposed muscles looked much like pure steel. Black pants reminiscent of a hakama covered his legs, and their texture seemed to be the same as that of the fur on his head. 
For reasons unknown, his right leg was raised towards the sky. 
From the fact that he had no trouble keeping the pose up, it was safe to assume that he’d had his share of physical training. 
“Bro, this is the kind of stuff you pull when you know you’ll survive and kill the enemy,” he said with his leg still raised to the sky. “Doing this only to damage them and die regardless of whether you succeed is just... beary lacking. All right, all right, I’ll drop the puns for now.” 
The man’s appearance and words were strange enough, but there was something even more weird about the sight. 
The dinosaur was gone. 
DGP, the monster that had been about to consume Ray, had completely disappeared the moment the man in the furs had shown up. 
“...Nooo wayyy,” muttered Marie. 
She, along with a few other Masters, had noticed what was happening here. They were all looking towards the sky — towards DGP, hurtling off several hundred metels in the air. Those with good eyesight could see that its head was completely shattered and that it was slowly turning into particles of light. 
From the dinosaur’s sorry state and the man’s right leg — still raised in a kicking position — the onlookers assumed two things. 
The man had just kicked a monster weighing at least ten tons up into the sky, and he had destroyed the beast in just a single kick, ignoring the Dragon King Aura and its immense HP. 
“Hmm, that lizard had some decent weight,” the man said. 
“...Ah.” 
Upon seeing the manner in which the man lowered his leg and looking at the lower, unhidden part of his face, Ray realized that it was someone he knew very well. 
“Well, you went and overdid it, as usual, but you’re still alive, so it’s all good.” Upon saying that, the man gently patted Ray on the head. “Kept you waiting, huh?” 
“...So you came,” Ray said. 
“Hey, I told you I would, didn’t I?” After taking his hand away, the man in the furs reached into the bag at his side, his inventory, and took something out. It was a ring called “Voice Amplification Ring” — a name that said it all. “Uhh... Test, test. You hearing this, Franklin?” 
“...Uh, Yeah, I am...” Franklin said. 
“All right, that’s good. I’ll just make a little proclamation, then.” 
“...A proclamation?” 
“You made a really big mistake in this game of yours,” said the pelt-clad man before pausing for a second. “You messed with my little brother.” 
Though only a few could understand what he was talking about, everyone on the scene and even those just watching the broadcast could feel the intensity of the fighting spirit in those words. 
“So yeah... Franklin. Here’s how it’s gonna go,” the man said. “I — The King of Destruction — am gonna obliterate every single one of your precious monsters.” 
Shu Starling made his will known. 
Thus began the night’s final battle. 
The wielder of the imperium’s most numerous force — Mr. Franklin. 
The wielder of the kingdom’s most powerful force — Shu Starling. 
Quantity vs quality. 
Giga Professor vs. King of Destruction. 
Superior vs. Superior. 
In a great act of irony, that evening’s main event had been replaced by something fundamentally identical. 
The Clash of the Superiors.