Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 6 - Chapter 2

Chapter Two: The Maidens’ Tea Party 
Death Shadow, Marie Adler 
Ray had been kidnapped by The Lunar Society, the clan led by the infamous High Priestess. 
“Why does he attract the attention of such troublesome individuals?” I mumbled. 
First Franklin, now Tsukuyo Fuso... Just what did the guy do to deserve this? I added silently. 
“Excuse me, but weren’t you the first ‘troublesome individual’ he encountered?” asked Rook. 
“Oh hush, Rook. You might have a point, but now’s not the time for that.” 
This was a serious event that might even go beyond the confines of Infinite Dendrogram. 
The two of us were clearly not enough to handle this. We needed more manpower, and there was no better opponent for Tsukuyo than another one of the kingdom’s Big Three, Ray’s very own brother bear... the King of Destruction, Shu Starling. I wasn’t sure about in real life, but surely he could counter most of her nonsense here in Dendro. 
“What about you, Marie?” asked Babi, the curiosity in her tone all too evident. “Can’t you do it?” 
“...Well, if we’re talking about just killing Tsukuyo Fuso, then I probably can,” I said. 
I wasn’t called “The Superior Killer” for no reason. If I delivered a good surprise attack while she was off-guard, I might be able to quickly dig through the High Priestess’s HP and PK her. However, as things were... 
“It’s impossible,” I sighed. 
“But whyyy?” Babi asked. 
“Because... she has the King of Assassins with her.” 
King of Assassins was the Superior Job of the assassin grouping, and it currently belonged to Eishiro Tsukikage — the functional second-in-command at The Lunar Society. 
It was much like my Death Shadow in nature. The only real differences were that mine was eastern, while his was western, and that Death Shadow was focused primarily on hiding the user’s presence, while the King of Assassins specialized in, as the name might suggest, assassination. 
And because of that, just like I was as good at seeing through Conceal as I was at Concealing myself, he was as good at preventing assassinations as he was at assassinating. 
As long as she had him at her side, the High Priestess would be an impossible target for me. Any and all of my surprise attacks would be countered. 
“In fact, we can’t even be sure if giving her the death penalty would be enough,” I added. After all, we were faced with a cult that had a solid presence both here and in reality. And if that wasn’t troublesome — nothing was. 
Still, that furball could, at the very least, save Ray from his predicament here in Dendro, and... 
“Ah,” Rook exclaimed, pointing. “Look, Marie! Ray’s brother is right over there!” 
I turned to where he was pointing, and saw... 
“The bear’s popcorn! Gosh, oh boy!
Eating them is so much joy!
Your taste buds these will destroy!” 
The bear was standing at a popcorn cart and attracting customers with a song sung in the most needlessly beautiful voice. 
What is this manbear-thing even doing? I thought, exasperated. 
“Mister Shu!” Rook called as we approached him. 
“Oh, hey there, Rook, Babi, Superior Killer,” the bear greeted us. “Something wrong? You look beary out of it. Oh yeah, Superior Killer, I—” 
“Don’t call me ‘Supe... whatever and so forth’ in public!” I shouted. “And just what are you doing here?” 
Why was the top of the kingdom’s kill rankings selling popcorn? Had he gotten a part-time job as some business’s mascot or something? 
“A furmer I know retired and went off to Caldina, so I went and bought all the corn he had left,” the furball answered. 
Well, Altar was politically unstable and kept bleeding people daily... 
No, wait, but why had he bought them? 
“I’m selling popcorn to get money fur Baldr’s ammo,” he continued. “The KoD’s seal of approval actually makes it beary popular.” 
“You could go hunting instead,” I commented. “Thought about that, Mr. Kill Ranking Number One?” He’d definitely earn more money that way. 
“Well,” he scratched his cheek as he responded. “I have reasons that keep me from going too far from here. Anyway, what’s your deal? You were looking for me, weren’t you?” 
“Well, Ray was kidnapped by The Lunar Society, and...” 
Once Rook explained the situation, the surrounding air instantly shifted. 
“Reeaaally, now?” said the bear who was the King of Destruction. He was spitting words so laced with bloodlust that one needed no skills to sense it. Though it wasn’t directed at us, it still made a chill go down my spine. 
The people around us were shaking, as well, thoroughly unaware as to why. 
“That damn cultist fox bitch...” he continued with not a hint of the usual humor in his tone, even swearing in the process. Clearly, he was most displeased about the kidnapping. 
...Wait, had he been like this back when I’d given Ray the death penalty? 
...Th-That’s just terrifying, I thought as another chill went down my spine. 
“The guy has college tomorrow, damn it...” the angry bear sighed. “Man, how am I supposed to go about this?” 
“You’re actually thinking this through?” I raised an eyebrow. 
That was thoroughly unexpected. Knowing this bear, I’d expected him to go straight to the capital and raid The Lunar Society’s headquarters the moment he’d heard that Ray was in a pinch. 
“Strange,” I said, speaking my thoughts. “I expected you to rush to them and punch her lights out the moment we told you.” 
I mean, you scorched the entire Noz Forest when I PK’d Ray, I thought. 
“Believe me, I’d love to do that, but I can’t really move from here right now,” the bear said, once again telling us that he couldn’t leave the city. 
Was something happening here in Gideon? Surely he didn’t mean that he was too busy with his popcorn business to leave, right? 
...Then again, I couldn’t really put it past this ursine barrel of laughs. 
“I see,” I sighed, giving up on his help. “But if you can’t act... saving Ray will become much harder. Well, if worst comes to worst, he can escape by just using suicide.” As a precaution against harassment and cyber bullying, Dendro had the “suicide” feature. It allowed players to give themselves the death penalty by simply willing it, letting them escape situations where they, for some reason, couldn’t log out the normal way. 
It came with the risk of dropping precious items, but the most valuable gear in Ray’s possession — the two special rewards — couldn’t be transferred in any way, including via dropping upon death. 
Also, most of the money he’d acquired from Gouz-Maise, Clash of the Superiors, and Franklin’s Game had been entrusted to the relevant public institutions. 
The only thing to fear was the possibility of his dropping Silver, but considering the number of items he had on him, that was highly unlikely. Ray’s daily gacha rolls had given him quite a stuffed inventory. 
All in all, a death penalty wouldn’t be too bad for him. In fact, once he came back from it, he would get his arm back and be fully healed — a huge plus, no doubt. 
However... 
“Well, sure he can use suicide,” said the bear man. “But knowing him, he won’t want to.” 
Yeah, that, I thought. 
I mean, the guy had chosen to spend a month of Dendro time without an arm instead of fixing it with a death penalty. 
“Still, if we don’t do anything about this, his college life could be in danger...” I said. 
We were dealing with The Lunar Society here. That bunch of literal lunatics would have no qualms about keeping him from logging out for 24 hours and beyond. 
...Oh dear, that might even cause Ray’s real body to be in danger. 
“The timing just couldn’t be worse,” growled the bear. “Leaving Gideon and letting the nuclear duo do what they want isn’t an option, so... damn.” 
Nuclear duo...? 
“Who do you mea—?” 
“Should I go, then?” asked someone at my side, cutting my question short. 
I turned and saw none other than the most famous person in Gideon. 
“Over Gladiator, Figaro...” I muttered his job and name. 
It was another one of the Big Three and, without a doubt, one of the strongest Masters in the kingdom. 
...For some reason, he was actually eating the popcorn sold by the bear. 
“I’m about to... raid the Tomb Labyrinth again, anyway,” he said while munching down the popcorn. “I can also pay a visit... to The Lunar Society.” 
He then cracked a smile while looking at us with those slit-like eyes of his. 
It was no doubt a pretty expression, but alas, his popcorn-eating completely ruined it. 
“You’ll help him?” asked the bear man. 
“Of course.” Figaro nodded. “Ray worked really hard while I was unable to move back during Franklin’s Game. I’d like to return the favor.” 
“Thanks,” said the bear. 
So we now had the one and only Figaro on our side. 
...This will work, I thought in relief. In fact, the Over Gladiator would be even better than KoD in this situation. With the High Priestess being holed up in her HQ at the capital, the bear would have had to hold back so that he wouldn’t destroy the city, but Figaro had no such limitations. Not to mention that his limitless buffing was a good counter to her debuffs. No matter how heated things got, he could save Ray without much trouble. 
“You probably know this, but...” the bear began. 
“Yeah,” Figaro cut his words short. “If she and I fight, I’ll make sure to end it before she uses her ultimate skill. Otherwise, I’ll lose.” 
...Eh? I thought in surprise. 
“Thankfully, it’s still daytime,” he added. “If I hurry, I should be able to settle it before sundown.” 
“...Take care, my dude.” 
“Yeah. All right, I’m off,” he said before running away from us at supersonic speeds. Even I found it hard to follow his shape. He’d probably switched to AGI-focused gear. 
With how fast he’s going, it won’t be long until he’s at the capital, I reflected. 
“Marie,” Rook spoke up. “What do we do now?” 
“Well...” I muttered, and began to ponder. At our top speed, it would take us several hours to arrive at Altea. But if all went well, we might be able to meet up with Ray right after he was rescued by Figaro. 
“Maybe we should go right now...?” I said. 
“I don’t think there’s a need fur that,” the bear commented. 
“Why?” 
“No matter how quickly Figaro does his thing and saves Ray from the lunatic cultists, Ray would need to log out immediately. Going there now would beary much be a waste of time.” 
Well, he wasn’t wrong, but I didn’t feel too good about entrusting it all to Figaro alone. 
“Also, Superior K... Marie,” he continued as he reached into his inventory and took out a letter. “I have this for you.” 
The “To Marie” written on the envelope in cutesy handwriting made it easy to tell who was the sender. 
“Is this from Ellie?” I asked to confirm. 
“Fur sure,” the bear nodded. “She and Liliana came to me while I was selling popcorn yesterday and handed this over to me.” 
Well, our party had been out on a quest for the whole of yesterday, so they’d probably figured that giving the letter to the bear, our party member’s brother, was a good way to get it to me. 
They’d actually entrusted a letter to this furball... Well, as far as Superiors went, he was definitely a good person, so it wasn’t the worst idea. He certainly wasn’t reasonable by any stretch of the imagination, though. 
“They told me it was fur a quest,” the bear added. 
“A quest for me? From Ellie?” 
Now, what could it be? I pondered. 
“Yeah, so I’d say you should focus on that. Also, Rook.” 
“Yes?” Rook replied. 
“Lend me your ear fur a sec.” 
“Hm...? All right.” 
The bear walked up to Rook, brought his mouth to his ear, and whispered something. In all honesty, it felt kinda like I was watching a bear about to eat a person. 
“I see,” nodded Rook. “Very well, then.” 
“All right. Come to me within the next few Dendro days. Whenever Ray’s offline and you have nothing going on will do just fine.” 
The two seemed to have made some sort of arrangement. 
“Just what are you two planning?” I asked. 
“Well, in a word... ‘training,’” the bear answered. 
Training? The furball is gonna train Rook? I raised an eyebrow. 
“That’s the simplest way to put it, anyway,” the bear added. “I mean, Ray’s been in lots of mock battles, but you can’t really say the same for Rook, can you?” 
True enough. Rook had been primarily an observer, rather than a participant. 
Wait, no, that wasn’t the crux here. What I had to ask was... 
“...What does this ‘training’ involve?” 
“Death...ly difficulty, but it’s beary much worth doing, yes.” 
H-He just straight up said “death” and then added some words that don’t make it the least bit better. 
“...Isn’t a Superior like you a bit too much for a newbie like him?” I asked. 
“The world is an unbearably harsh place,” the furball sighed. “It even has veteran players who stalk forests and go around massacring newbies on their first day of Dendro.” 
...Sincerest apologies, I thought and looked away. I have no say in this matter. 
“I don’t mind it,” Rook spoke up. “Also, if he went out of his way to bring it up, then this training is probably very important.” 
“It is.” The bear nodded. “I guarantee it.” 
Rook seemed to be very accepting of the idea. 
Are you sure? You’re training with the bear, you know? 
“Anyway, with that pawsitively settled, again, come find me whenever you have free time.” 
“Yes, of course,” Rook said. 
The bear then left us, dragging his popcorn cart behind him. It kinda felt like he was avoiding us, but instead of investigating it, we just went our own way. 
I then opened and read Ellie’s letter, parted ways with Rook, and went to her place. 
Sure, I was still concerned about Ray, but I decided to entrust him to Figaro. 
I could only hope that the situation would be resolved without Ray having to choose the death penalty. 
 
Duel city Gideon, alley 
Once Shu pulled his popcorn cart into an empty alleyway, someone behind him began talking to him. 
“Do you plan to train the newbie and make him capable of doing something against us... or him?” 
It was a lone woman. She had the appearance of an average adventurer, but the porcupine-like animal in her arms made her more than notable. 
As for her expression... it was clearly mocking. 
“We heard your exchange back there,” she continued. “So neither Figaro, the prime primate around these parts, nor your lucky, puny Superior-killing little brother is here, eh? Such a shame we don’t have any orders from the imperator. As things are, we wouldn’t have to kick away any annoying trash gathering around us.” 
Those words clearly mocked the weak and frail, but they weren’t enough to arouse Shu’s anger. 
“‘Kicking away trash’?” he said. “What are you, some sort of slovenly OL?” 
“‘OL’? What does that mean?” 
“...Oh, I see. That expression isn’t beary popular in your cultural sphere. Well, can’t say I blame you. I mean, it’s a neologism that was created in a Japanese magazine.” 
“But what does it mea—? Well, no matter. I must say, though, you certainly like making assumptions. That little encounter made it clearer than all the days since the incident have.” 
“Mh...” the bear muttered. 
“You’re here to keep an eye on us, aren’t you? That’s why you’re staying in the city instead of going out and hunting. Am I right?” 
“Well, if worst comes to worst, I’m just about the only one who can stop you.” Shu’s reply was very casual, definitely not meant to bring out any sort of emotion, but it was enough to make the woman knit her brow. 
“You’re gravely wrong about one thing,” she said in a menacing tone, and looked at him with a beast-like glint in her eye. “You are not enough to stop the Queen of Beasts... and the King of Beasts.” 
The murderous aura about her was enough to instantly kill the faint of heart. Even hardened warriors would shiver when facing it. 
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” 
But the King of Destruction remained firm. Like a boulder standing solid in the wildest storm — or perhaps like a willow letting the mighty winds pass it by — Shu was unfazed by her threats. 
“Care to try?” she said, pushing the tension further and creating an air much like the one that formed between Figaro and Xunyu during the Clash of the Superiors. 
This one was very different in nature, though. While Figaro and Xunyu’s battle had been one of precision and technique, this one would be a face-off of sheer power. 
Indeed, while the Clash had been a duel between two of the greatest warriors, this would be the collision of two natural disasters — a sign of a volcanic eruption and a tornado coming at the same time, devastating everything in its wake. 
The situation was critical. It felt as though Gideon could be wiped off the face of the world the very next moment. 
“I’m beary much against that!” 
But all such feelings scattered like mist when Shu spoke in his usual, comical tone, not even neglecting to throw in a pun. 
“Going at it now would be bad fur all of us. Your infiltration would become meaningless, while I’m short on money fur ammo. Man, that unbearable lab coat lunatic’s mess was such a hit to my wallet that I can’t make up fur it, no matter how much popcorn I sell.” 
“You little...” 
Shu’s seemingly-mocking — yet completely true — words made the woman scowl even more. Anger overwhelmed her. She began reforming the menacing aura Shu’d scattered and prepared to charge him. 
“lol” The porcupine-like animal in the woman’s arms released a sound that seemed somewhat joyous. 
Because of that alone, the woman’s rage vanished like it had never been there, and her expression softened up. 
“If you’re having fun, Behemot... then I won’t mind it,” she said. 
“Well, fun things are beary good things,” Shu commented. 
There were no traces of the tense air from just a moment ago. The alley was now tranquil. 
With their exchange seemingly done, Shu grabbed his popcorn cart and started walking away. 
As he did so, the woman spoke to him again, as though she just remembered something she was curious about. 
“By the way, may I ask you something?” 
“Bearily, yes.” 
“What about your life on the other side? You’re always online whenever we’re here, aren’t you?” 
“You’re in no position to talk.” 
“XD” 
With those words as their last, the no-lifers that had clocked over 200 hours of play time over the last ten days turned their backs to each other and walked away. 
Hidden under the everyday scenery of Gideon, the two’s clash had been postponed to a later date. 
 
The Lunar Society headquarters 
“...How pathetic,” Nemesis muttered. 
She was at The Lunar Society’s headquarters, in the same room that Ray had awoken in. Having passed out after the staggering loss against Tsukuyo Fuso, he had once again been brought to lie here. 
The room had no grates, no guards — nothing in the way of security. And that only served to make Nemesis more conscious of just how powerless the enemy thought them to be. 
“Truly... I’m beyond pitiful,” she muttered again as she gently stroked Ray’s hair. 

Her evaluation of herself came from her very heart. After all, the defeat at the hands of Tsukuyo had been hers alone. She was simply too weak of an Embryo for Ray to stand a chance. No amount of strategy, willpower, or compatibility could ever make up for the great gap between Nemesis and Tsukuyo’s Embryo, and this truth weighed heavily upon her. 
“Ray... You’ve become so strong over the last month...” 
Through victories against UBMs or by luck alone, he’d acquired a formidable set of equipment. 
Through numerous battles, he’d raised his Paladin level and gained stats befitting the high-rank job. 
But most of all, through all the sparring against many veteran players, he’d gained battle experience that would make most newbies like him pale in comparison. 
All in all, he was staggeringly more powerful than he had been a month ago. 
“And then there’s me... Painfully stagnant,” Nemesis murmured. 
Ever since undergoing her first evolution in the battle against Gardranda, Nemesis hadn’t experienced any power progression as an Embryo, and that was the very reason why she was admonishing herself. 
The Embryos of the many Masters they’d faced in the mock battles were no doubt strong, and even Babi — who had once been on the same tier as Nemesis — was now two forms ahead of her. Nemesis felt as if she alone wasn’t making any progress whatsoever. 
She knew that, were she to reveal these worries to Ray, he would instantly deny it and say, without a hint of falsehood, that Nemesis was growing. 
However, as she was now, Nemesis sought power that was more tangible... more direct. Power that she could use to never again let Ray suffer the pain of defeat. 
“I want to evolve...” she said through the most sincere sobs as tears formed in her eyes. 
She cried, wishing for new powers she could use to uplift Ray... the Master she’d dedicated her heart to. 
“Evolution is not something you become impatient over,” someone suddenly said as they opened the sliding door and let themselves in. 
“Ah?!” Nemesis gasped as she transformed both her arms into swords and stood to protect Ray. “Who are you?!” 
The person who’d entered the room looked strange, to say the least. She was wearing a raiment characteristic of tennyo from Japanese myth, and had long hair that radiated moonlight. However, Nemesis found the very presence of her being far more curious than any visual details. 
“‘Who are you,’ you ask?” the entity replied. “Should we present you with the name ‘Kaguya’? Or maybe we should introduce ourselves as Tsukuyo’s Embryo? Or perhaps we should simply say that we are your senior?” 
That made it all too clear. 
This Maiden is...! Nemesis thought in shock. This was the very same Superior Embryo that she had been so utterly defeated by. 
Remembering her loss made her tense. Nemesis mustered her willpower and stood before Kaguya to protect Ray. 
“Eheheheh. You look like a mother cat protecting her kitten,” the Superior Maiden giggled with a gentle smile on her face. “Don’t worry, neither we nor Tsukuyo have any intention of touching your Master while he sleeps.” 
“As if I can believe that!” Nemesis shouted, thoroughly mad at Kaguya for having the gall to say that. The Lunar Society had kidnapped Ray while he was asleep, after all. “You’re that freakish woman’s Embryo! What do you want?!” 
“Eheheh. No need to be so antagonistic. We merely wanted to have a talk with a fellow Maiden.” 
“I have nothing to say to you!” 
“Now, now, calm down,” Kaguya said as she reached into her inventory, took out two floor cushions, placed them on the floor, and sat down on one of them. “Care to use it?” she said, referring to the other. 
Nemesis felt as if she was mocking her and was about to refuse on reflex, but then she thought of Ray, reconsidered, and hesitantly sat down on the cushion. 
Kaguya then took out a teapot, some tea leaves, a magic flask full of hot water, and prepared some tea. 
“...Again, why are you even here?” Nemesis asked. 
“We just said that we want to talk,” Kaguya replied. “Oh, by the way, these are high-quality tea leaves donated to us by an adherent. They’re from Tenchi. Do try it,” she offered the tea to Nemesis. 
“It’s not poison, is it?” she asked cautiously. 
“Heavens, no. Unlike a certain fake chinagirl and the snake, we don’t poison drinks.” 
Fake chinagirl and the snake? Nemesis raised an eyebrow, but instead of inquiring about it, she chose to believe her words and hesitantly sipped the tea. 
“...It’s good,” she said after one taste. Nemesis had no cause to lie about this, so she didn’t. To her mind, the tea had a gentle flavor that warmed and relaxed the whole body to the core. 
“It truly is.” Kaguya nodded as she sipped on her own tea, clearly satisfied. “Oh, would you like some tea cakes with that?” 
“...Yes.” 
What followed was a short silence. The only sounds in the room were those of Nemesis eating the tea cakes and Kaguya sipping her tea. 
Eventually, the Superior Embryo spoke up again. 
“It has been so long since we enjoyed tea with another Maiden.” 
“Mh...” Nemesis silently thought of how to respond to that, but Kaguya spoke up before she did. 
“Due to its nature, The Lunar Society has more Maidens than other clans. However, not every Master who thinks this is not merely a game gets a Maiden Embryo, so the numbers are still quite low.” 
“Mhm...” Nemesis nodded as she realized that, indeed, she didn’t sense many of her kind in the surroundings. 
Masters who hatched Maiden Embryos had a tendency to consider Infinite Dendrogram to be more than just a game, but things didn’t correlate when it was the other way around. Such a mental state only made it possible for Maiden Embryos to be born, rather than making it 100% certain. 
“Also, strangely enough, Maidens’ Masters oftentimes leave us,” Kaguya added. 
“They do?” 
“We even had some such Masters among those whose Maidens were born at about the same time as yours truly. Officially, they’re still part of the clan, but they live their lives away from here. Do you know why?” 
“...I haven’t the slightest idea.” 
Neither Nemesis nor Ray could understand the mind of someone who had become a part of a cult and distanced themselves from it, despite not quitting. 
However, Kaguya’s answer made it somewhat easy to imagine. “Because they made families with tians,” she said. “If a Master truly sees this world and the other side as equal, it’s not unlikely for them to fall in love with tians.” 
“...True,” Nemesis said, nodding. 
Entities one didn’t consider to be mere game characters were, indeed, valid targets for romance. In fact, there could also be Masters who saw tians as romanceable despite still seeing them as NPCs. 
“The number of such people is growing, both in and out of this clan, and among both Masters with and without Maiden Embryos. Almost five years have passed since Infinite Dendrogram began, after all.” 
“Hm?” Nemesis raised an eyebrow, feeling as though the subject of the conversation was changing, or that everything up until now had been nothing but an introduction. 
“Our name is ‘Kaguya,’” the Superior Embryo continued. “It’s the name of a heroine from a tale from Tsukuyo’s country.” 
“I know The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter from Ray’s memories. It’s common knowledge where he comes from.” 
“Oh, so your Master is from the same country as Tsukuyo.” Kaguya formed a smile, which quickly turned faint. “The Kaguya from that story was an entity not of their Earth. She quickly grew to be stunningly beautiful, and eventually returned to the Moon. While she was on Earth, many men fell in love with her and sought reciprocation, but she responded by giving them nigh impossible tasks, and in the end, she went far away from everything she’d ever known there.” 
She’s presenting Kaguya as some sort of foreign contamination, Nemesis thought. 
“You’re not making your name sound very favorable,” she commented. 
“Indeed.” Kaguya smiled for a moment before looking at Nemesis with her most serious expression yet. “‘Kaguya’ might be our name, but we feel that, to Masters, all Maidens, Embryos, and tians alike are akin to Kaguya... or perhaps it’s the Masters who are the Kaguya in this situation?” 
Depending on one’s perspective, that was either a vague comparison or a solid truth without a hint of dramatization. 
“...What are you implying?” asked Nemesis. 
“You love your Master, don’t you?” 
“NHUH?!” Nemesis exclaimed. The question caught her completely off-guard and was shocking enough to make her rise up from her cushion. 
“A budding affection. A feeling of attraction. Isn’t that the innocent emotion we call ‘love’?” 
“D-D-Don’t be absurd! That’s not... I’m not... W-Well, I won’t deny I find him likeable, but that’s only...” Nemesis tried to deny it, but her inability to do so made her all flustered. 
“But no matter how much we love them, we and our Masters will eventually have to part ways,” Kaguya said. 
Those words made Nemesis’s expression completely freeze solid. “What kind of—” 
She tried to say “What kind of nonsense is that?” but Kaguya cut her off and continued enforcing her point. 
“Surely you have considered this. Their reality is on the other side. They are nothing but guests here. They don’t die in this world because their very lives here are evanescent.” 
That was nothing but the truth. Masters were called “players” for a reason. To them, the world of Infinite Dendrogram was a game. Even if they recognized it as a world inhabited by intelligent beings, they were still merely visitors. And though Maidens’ Masters didn’t see this world as a game and could make it a part of their lives, they could never make it the core of their beings. 
“And so, when the end comes, they will return to the other side, while we will stay here,” Kaguya said, emphasizing that the Masters’ actual ending was different from the ending of them coming here. “The end might come in the form of their death on the other side. Or perhaps they will merely lose their will to be here. Or maybe the thing that binds them to this world will disappear.” 
Indeed, there were many ways in which it could end. It could happen at any time, too. And that was exactly why... 
“When that happens, as you are now, you will be left with nothing but despair.” 
This was true. With her love for him still in her heart, Nemesis would be rendered incapable of meeting him ever again. And being an Embryo, she wouldn’t be able to interact with the world or anyone else unless her Master was here, meaning that she would be left with nothing but the memories of the days she’d spent with him... and an ending with no continuation. 
Nemesis had tried to avoid thinking about this harsh truth, but Kaguya had made her all too painfully aware of it. 
“Why did you tell this to me?” Nemesis wrung out those words and looked at the Superior Embryo with a hint of grudge in her gaze. 
Nemesis knew full well that her anger was misplaced. This harsh truth was something she should’ve faced by herself a long time ago. 
Upon seeing the sorry state the young Embryo was in, Kaguya gently caressed her head. “Eheheheh.” 
“Nh?! What are you doing?!” Nemesis exclaimed, taken aback by the abrupt move. 
Paying no heed to her reaction, Kaguya softened her expression and gave Nemesis a smile. “Forgive us for that. We came here to talk about something more Maiden-like, but your teary plea for power to help your Master made us want to warn you.” 
“Well... much obliged.” 
“Oh, but leaving you with just a warning is quite sad, so let us give you some advice to help you fight the despair when the end comes,” Kaguya said as she extended her finger and lightly poked Nemesis’s chest. “If possible... you should confess your feelings as soon as you get the chance. The earlier they bloom, the more memories you will make for you to treasure.” 
Thus the experienced Maiden bestowed the young Maiden with the most straightforward and sincere love advice. 
“...I will keep that in mind,” said Nemesis. “But whether or not I will act on it is another matter.” 
Still, Kaguya’s words made her cheeks slightly rosy, and her expression was now soft, housing little of the gloom from just a moment ago. 
Upon seeing that, the Superior Embryo formed a satisfied, gentle smile. 
“Then we will take our leave now,” she said. “When your Master awakes, Tsukuyo will likely approach him again.” 
“I really wish she wouldn’t,” Nemesis sighed. 
While Nemesis had absolutely no love for Tsukuyo Fuso, she no longer felt the same about the woman’s Embryo. Kaguya’s eyes as she looked at her were much like those of a worried senior or an elder sister, which made her feel slightly peaceful. 
“Oh, another thing,” Kaguya spoke up again. “Here is some Maiden-like advice for you... If you get another chance to use ???, you should cancel it until you’re at least a high-rank. Otherwise, your evolution to high-rank might be postponed by a whole year or so.” 
“I’ll keep that in mind, too... but what is that, anyway?” 
Nemesis could tell what Kaguya was referring to, but she couldn’t even hear it as spoken word. 
It — ??? — was the thing that had activated in the middle of the battle against Gardranda, forced Nemesis to evolve, and provided her with Like a Flag Flying the Reversal — the most optimal skill for the situation. 
She still didn’t know what it actually was, but she could tell that it was the reason why she was evolving so slowly. 
“It’s what causes Maidens... no... what causes Embryos to be what they are,” Kaguya said. “It’s a meaningless function that has already been lost... but it still exists in Maidens and Apostles.” 
“Apostles?” Nemesis raised an eyebrow. She had never heard of such a category before. 
Kaguya ran her mind through her memories and spoke. “While we are the products of a sense of danger, Apostles are the products of a sense of duty. The function remains solely in Embryos that can only be owned by those whose will isn’t vague.” 
“...I don’t understand.” 
Kaguya had spoken nothing but the simple truth, but Nemesis had been unable to comprehend it. Or, more like, she just didn’t have the right foundation to be able to understand it. 
“You will come to understand it eventually,” said Kaguya. “Perhaps when you are on the same stage as we are... Oh, my.” Her gentle, considerate smile vanished. She put on a stern expression and looked at an uncertain direction. 
“What is it?” asked Nemesis. 
“We have a guest.” 
A moment later, the roof of the room they were in was torn off by chains. 
 
Paladin, Ray Starling 
When you fell asleep in Infinite Dendrogram, your consciousness fell asleep with your body, just like it did in reality. 
However, when you were forcefully made unconscious, things were a bit different. The body would be under the effects of the Fainting debuff, while the consciousness would still be awake in a space away from the body, where only the mind existed. 
“Here again, huh?” I sighed. The first time I’d entered this state had been during the battle against Gouz-Maise. Back then, I’d been flung into a world that replayed my memories, and I’d encountered its creator — the dark red silhouette. 
A month of Dendro time had passed since then. During this interval, I’d Fainted a few times while exploring the Tomb Labyrinth or doing other things, and I’d found myself standing in a pitch black space, just like now. 
Unlike the first time, there was neither the memory world, nor the dark red silhouette. 
All there was was a sign saying “Coming Soon...” 
“...Seriously, just what is ‘coming soon’?” I demanded. 
The sign had probably been placed there by the dark red silhouette, the Miasmaflame Bracers, Gardranda. 
Just like how it was with any other mental status effects, Fainting was fully applied to the body, but the player protection function prevented it from actually affecting the Master’s mind. Because of that, when we Fainted, instead of actually losing consciousness, we were just forced to wait in this empty space until the effect wore off. 
Apparently, Gardranda had learned to take advantage of this. Just like she’d recreated my memories here, she had now placed this sign. 
“Well, if I can’t meet her this time, either... I guess all I can really do is wait...” 
I’d wanted to confirm a few things with her, but alas. Still, at the very least, I could spend this waiting time thinking things through. 
I closed my eyes and remembered the battle — if you could call it that — I’d just been in. 
Compatibility... isn’t enough to win against someone with absolute power. 
Those were the last words Tsukuyo Fuso had told me before I Fainted. 
This hadn’t been my first time facing a Superior. I’d had a few accidental encounters with them, sparred against them, and, of course, fought Franklin. 
I compared those experiences with my “fight” against Tsukuyo Fuso. 
It was completely unlike the time I’d faced Franklin, who’d prepared a weapon specifically against me. 
This time, I’d won in terms of compatibility, but I’d been completely overwhelmed by the immense difference in our powers, and totally crushed because of it. 
Not only did Tsukuyo Fuso have ill will towards me... she was also insanely strong. And for some reason, she wanted to drag me into her clan. 
It was clear that she’d still keep me here when I awoke. To log out, I either had to use the suicide function or fight them while trying to find a way to escape the headquarters. 
With that in mind... 
“Looks like I have no choice.” 
...I readied myself to fight that freakish creature. 
Even if my chance of victory was minuscule — far below 1% — I would still struggle to seize the possibility. That was how I rolled. 
“Still... there are some problems,” I muttered. “That aberration... is scary as hell.” 
Even now, I was still afraid of Tsukuyo Fuso. I was losing to her not just in terms of actual power, but on the mental front, as well. I’d actually found her far more scary than anything else I’d encountered in this world so far. 
That might’ve been strange, considering I’d faced a Demi-Dragon Worm while being a level 0 without an Embryo, and later fought two awe-inspiring monstrosities, Gardranda and Gouz-Maise. 
As scary as I found her, though, I couldn’t really tell why I felt that way. This fear should’ve been completely new to me, but for some reason, it felt somewhat familiar. 
Whatever the case, acknowledging that something was scary ought to make it a bit less scary than before. 
“All right, I have the mindset... Now I just need to find a way to win this.” 
Tsukuyo Fuso could cast an AOE debuff that would make short work of my basic bodily functions, and neither Hellish Miasma nor Reversal had any effect on her. Thus, I had to use something else. However... 
I didn’t have enough MP stored to use the Wind Hoof bomb... not to mention that I couldn’t really use it in town, either. 
I didn’t have my left hand, so I couldn’t use Purgatorial Flames. 
I probably couldn’t build up enough damage for a good Vengeance, either. 
Besides that, all I really had was Purifying Silverlight... but no matter how much of an aberration she was on the inside, her job was completely sacred, so it wouldn’t help at all. I’d heard that the priest grouping had passive skills that lowered all holy damage coming their way. 
I could ignore all that and try to take her head-on... but either because of her level, or because of some other jobs she had in her build, she had higher stats than me. 
From the kick that’d reaped my consciousness, I could also tell that she was a skilled fighter. In fact, she could probably rival the contestants in the Un-kra tournament that Shu had taken part in. She was probably doing some sort of martial arts in real life. 
“But man, the direness of my condition makes me wonder... How the hell did she actually corner me more than Franklin did when he was actually aiming to do it?” 
I could almost picture Franklin retorting with “Don’t get the wrong idea, noob! I’d have won if I’d set all my forces on you!” 
That aside, this encounter made me painfully aware that, even if I was able to surpass Superiors on some highly specific fronts, they were still so much more powerful than me, it was stupid. 
With opponents like Tsukuyo Fuso and all the powerful foes waiting for me in the upcoming war, I definitely had to become stronger. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to seize the possibilities. 
“The best way to become stronger would be... an evolution.” 
Evolutions were the primary feature of all Embryos everywhere, and also their greatest power-ups. 
What separated Superiors and standard Masters was that their Embryos were in their seventh forms, so if I wanted to catch up to them, an evolution was my best bet. 
However, ever since evolving to her second form in our fight against Gardranda, Nemesis hasn’t evolved once during the entire past month here. 
To compare, despite him having started at the same time as me, Rook’s Babi had already reached the fourth form, making her a high-rank Embryo. 
According to Marie, a month should be more than enough time for an Embryo to reach the third form. 
...Well, I was fully aware why Nemesis was evolving so slowly. 
It had been there in the system window that had popped up when she was evolving to her second form. 
I recalled the window saying that it would provide us with the optimal evolution for the situation in exchange for slowing down the next evolution. 
I was completely fine with that. 
If we hadn’t gotten The Flag Halberd and its Reversal back then, we wouldn’t have won against Gardranda and Gouz-Maise... and if I hadn’t gotten the Grudge-Soaked Greaves, I couldn’t have won Franklin’s Game, either. Without that evolution, I couldn’t have made it against those odds, so I found it perfectly fair that it had come at the cost of slowing the next evolution. 
The only problem here was... just how long would this lag continue? Surely we wouldn’t be stuck in the second form forever, right? 
“I’d say it’s high time we see a sign that it’s about to happen,” I muttered. 
It wasn’t like I was expecting to get a convenient evolution here and now and completely turn the situation around, but still. 
“I want it to happen... for her sake, too.” 
I was fully aware that Nemesis was troubled by the fact that she wasn’t evolving. She was clearly trying to hide it, so I never actually said anything, but for her own sake, I really wanted to help her evolve. 
As I considered Nemesis’ evolution problem, I began hearing a voice from what felt like far beyond. 
“...! ...!” 
“Hm?” 
“...y! ...e up!” 
“Nemesis?” 
The voice belonged to my Embryo. It was faint, as if it was coming from beyond a thick glass. 
“Ray! Wake up!” 
The moment her voice became loud and clear, the space within my mind vanished, and my consciousness returned to my avatar. 
 
“Nngh...” I murmured. 
“You’re awake!” Nemesis cried. 
Upon waking up, I found myself on the tatami of the same room I’d woken up in last time. Nemesis was right next to me. 
That was all perfectly normal, but she seemed really tense, and the room was in a... rough state, to say the least. 
Two of the room’s walls were completely gone, as if they’d been blown away by an explosion. 
Through the missing walls, I could see other areas of this facility, and honestly, it didn’t look pretty. 
Most of the tiles had slipped off the roof, and I could see the evening sky beyond it. The walls and pillars alike were broken, letting me see even more of the devastation, including the countless furnishings scattered all over. 
It looked as though this place had suffered an immense earthquake or a powerful tornado, but that wasn’t the case here. This devastation was man-made, and I couldn’t be more certain of that. 
Why? Because I could see the two responsible in the midst of all the chaos. 
“Now, now, don’t overdo it, you sickly prince,” Tsukuyo Fuso said mockingly. 
“How about you just take the death penalty and give Ray back?” Figaro snapped. 
The two Superiors were killing one another.