Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 7 - Chapter 6

Chapter Six: The Shield of Miracles 
Torne Village, Windmill 
It was difficult to tell just how long Louie had been holed up in the windmill. Perhaps the minute hand on the clock hadn’t finished a single rotation yet. However, Louie felt like he’d been in there for many hours now. 
All he saw were stony walls and floor, and all he heard was the laughter from above. 
Whether it was a coincidence or a side effect of Monochrome’s influence upon the environment, no wind was blowing upon the village. So, naturally, the boy couldn’t even hear spinning from the windmill he was in. 
“...?” Louie became confused as the laughter from above suddenly stopped. The monster’s malicious laughter could no longer be heard. 
Louie wondered what had happened to it. 
It could’ve been defeated, or it might’ve flown off to a different area. 
Regardless, with the laughter gone, Louie was now sitting in absolute silence. 
The one thing he could almost hear was his own heartbeat. 
“This reminds me of that time...” he murmured, recalling the morning when Shijima disappeared. 
 
On that day, Louie happened to wake up before sunrise. 
It was the first time he’d ever awakened before the cries of the village’s roosters. 
Too early for anyone to be awake, yet too late for nocturnal birds and bugs to make their sounds, this time of the day had a kind of silence to it that made it feel like the whole world was asleep. 
The were two beds in the house’s children’s room. One was occupied by Louie and the other by Juno, who was still sleeping soundly, wholly unaware that he’d woken up. 
Outside the window, he saw Gringham asleep, spreading his large body upon the ground. 
There was nothing strange about that scenery, but a short distance further, on a slightly taller hill near the house, there was a person he knew very well — Shijima. 
He was standing still, all alone, as he observed the panorama of Torne before dawn. 
Louie was somewhat concerned, so he walked out of the house, making sure not to wake up Juno or his mother. 
When he opened the door, Gringham woke up and silently raised his head as if to ask, “What’s wrong?” 
Louie gestured to him to not mind him and keep sleeping, then walked up to the tall hill Shijima was standing on. 
Once there, he called out to him, “What’s the matter, Dad?” 
“Oh, Louie,” Shijima said, slightly surprised. “You’re up early. Good morning.” 
“Good morning,” Louie replied. “Why are you up so early?” 
“...It’s nothing. I just felt like looking at the village.” 
“Mh?” Louie tilted his head in confusion. 
“I’ve been living here for more than two years, but I’ve never had the chance to take a good, long look at it. So I felt like burning it into my memory while enjoying the gentle wind here.” Shijima looked down at Torne, which was still shrouded in darkness. 
All Louie could see was the village’s outlines, so he said, “But you can’t see anything. Shouldn’t you wait for morning?” 
“Ha ha,” Shijima laughed. “Don’t you worry. I see well in the dark. Once, I even had to ride Gringham through a forest at night. It was the time I fought a UBM that’d wandered into Noz Forest.” 
“That happened?” Louie asked. 
“Yes, it did. I was with many other Masters back then, but the enemy was very tough. He looked like a normal goblin, but he was faster and stronger than Gringham. And if you lost sight of it, it could attack you after transforming into something else, like a wolf or a bat. It was a very hard battle for all of us, but we were able to surround it and give a chance for Tsukikage — a person I know — to finish it off.” 
“Wow!” Louie exclaimed. Although brief, Shijima’s story was enough to move and intrigue a child like him. “Hey! Do you have any more stories like that?” 
“Ha ha. Of course I do,” Shijima laughed. “Now, which one to tell next...? Here’s a good one. It happened after I married Farica, but my friends called me over to help defeat the Tri-Zenith Dragon!” 
“EEH?!” 
Thus, Shijima and Louie talked. 
The man spoke of his memories, while the boy listened with wonder, surprise, and a gleam in his eyes. The conversation fully befitted a father and son, and it lasted until the sun began to rise. 
“...Oh. It’s the sunrise,” said Shijima. He’d just finished speaking one of his tales, and now he merely watched the sun rise from the eastern sky, looking both dazzled... and regretful. 
“Dad? What’s wrong?” Louie asked, worried about his father. 
Shijima looked into Louie’s face, seemed to think of something, and tried weaving the words. “Louie. I...” he said, but then fell silent again. 
“Dad?” 
“Louie... Juno, Gringham, and I have to go somewhere for a while.” 
“Will you fight another UBM?” the boy asked, still thinking of the tales he’d just heard. 
Shijima shook his head, “No, but... it’s an even bigger adventure.” 
“Really?! Then do your best!” At this moment, Louie felt nothing but admiration for his father. 
The fact that Shijima was going on an adventure gave the boy relief. After all, being a Master, his dad was immortal, so he would come back home, no matter what. 
He’d even died a few times in the stories he’d just told, yet he was still standing before the boy, alive and well. There was no reason for Louie to worry. 
But... 
“Yes... I’ll do my best,” Shijima said with a weak smile on his face. 
The man’s expression, combined with the sight of Juno riding Gringham up the hill, made Louie feel like something was off. 
“Grooaoh,” Gringham added. 
There was nothing strange about the situation itself. It was only natural for Shijima to head out on adventures along with his trusty mount and Embryo. 
Yet, for some reason, watching them prepare made Louie feel uneasy. 
Spurred by the feeling, he held Shijima by his sleeve, looked up at his face and said, “You’ll come back, right?!” 
The boy didn’t know why he was acting with such urgency. The worry coming over him was just so strong. 
When asked, Shijima looked like his expression was about to crumble, but then, he formed a smile and patted Louie on the head. Then, with a voice as though he was doing his best to not to sound teary, he said, “Of course. I’ll surely... I’ll surely come back here. I’ll return to you and Farica... no matter what.” 
Louie could tell that his voice was dense with emotion. 
“Okay... All right,” he said as he let go of his sleeve. 
He saw the man off with the words, “Later, Dad.” 
“I’m off.” 
The words weren’t rare or special in any way. 
They were what people commonly said when a family member was going out somewhere. 
However, they left an impression on Louie, as they were the last words the two had ever exchanged. 
 
Being in this silent windmill reminded Louie of that time before dawn. 
No light was leaking inside, and no sounds could be heard. 
But Louie hadn’t feel nearly as helpless then as he did now, which was surely because he didn’t have his family with him this time. 
As Louie thought about things like that... 
“Someonnne! Anyonnne! I’m here to helllp!” a voice came from the outside. “Heeey! Anyonnne! Are you heeere? Come out if you aaare!” 
It was a loud voice calling out for survivors in the vicinity. 
“It’s all fine nowww! The monster is gonne! Run while you caaan!” 
Hearing that relieved Louie, as it made him certain that the laugh had stopped because the monster in the sky was gone. 
“I’m saved... Oh right, if it’s gone, I have to go find Mom!” the boy cried. As glad as he was that he was saved, he found it more important to go to his mother and show her that he was okay. “I’m sure they kept her safe...” 
Louie was certain that his mother was unharmed. After all, she was with Ray, Nemesis, and B3. Those three had accepted his search request when no one else had. Not to mention that they’d taken care of all the trouble they’d encountered on the way to Torne. To Louie, they were heroes who almost matched Shijima. 
“Heeey! Someonnne! Are you therrre? Say something if you aaare!” 
“Ah, yes! I’m right here!” Louie replied to the voice and left the windmill. 
The boy had failed to realize that, despite the laughter stopping, the sky was still dark. 
“Eh?” The boy went outside and voiced his perplexity. He’d expected to see the person searching for those in hiding, but he saw no one. 
There were no people, the sky was black, and... 
“Someonnne! ? ?? ? n N ??! ? ?? ? N n ??...!” the voice calling for the people became distorted and dense with a familiar malevolence. “? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?... ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?!” 
It soon became the evil cackle from before. 
Void of the Black Sky, Monochrome’s laughter ignored distance and differences in speed as it reached the most far-off of creatures. That was all it did — it could neither deal damage, nor protect the monster. 
However, it could be used for more than just ridiculing those below. 
300 years ago, Monochrome had developed the skill to lure out the people in hiding, just so that it could burn them. 
“Ah...” Louie uttered as he looked up at the sky and saw a beam coming from beyond the clouds go straight towards him. 
A moment later, he felt an impact, a sudden heat, and smelled the reek of burning flesh and blood. 
 
Paladin, Ray Starling 
“Louie! Where are you?! I’m here for you!” I shouted as I ran around Torne in search of the boy. 
All I got as a response was the crackling sound, coming from the burning buildings all around me. For some reason, a moment ago, Monochrome’s annoying laughter had stopped. 
No matter how much I called, I couldn’t hear anyone. 
“Shit!” I cursed. “I could cover so much more ground if Silver were all right.” 
Sol Crisis’s ambush had deactivated my trusty steed, and he was still in that state. I was doing my best to run with my own two feet, but with my level and AGI, I definitely wasn’t very effective. 

“That thing’s about to be able to attack again, damn it!” I swore. 
Monochrome was almost back at the altitude from which it could fire its beams. 
There was basically no time anymore. Every second counted. I had to find Louie as soon as possible. 
“Ray!” Nemesis appeared out of my crest. She’d been inside because she’d been focusing on analyzing the third form’s skill, and the fact that was out now could only mean one thing. 
“Nemesis! You’re done analyzing?!” I asked. 
“Indeed I am! I’ve finished it!” 
We’d gambled on the skill being something that could deal with Monochrome, and now, the results were in. 
As we still ran around and searched for Louie, Nemesis gave her report. 
“I will start with the conclusion,” she said. “The third form’s skill gives us a chance to win against Monochrome.” 
“...For real?!” 
“Yes. But be ready for yet another gamble. What the skill does is...” 
Nemesis went on to give me the details of the third form’s skill. 
Sure enough, it was capable of reaching Monochrome, but Nemesis was very right that it’d be a gamble. It would be a battle that would test my and Monochrome’s limits. 
“It might reach it, or it might not,” said Nemesis. “It all depends on how long we can—” Her words were cut short by a flash in the sky. 
A phenomenon like that could only mean one thing. 
I’d become all too familiar with it and stupidly sick of it back during our rise to the sky. 
It was a sign that Monochrome was attacking, meaning that the surface was finally within range. 
“Ray!” Nemesis cried as she became the shield and tried to protect me. 
But the beams didn’t head towards me — they were directed at a stone-built windmill about a kilometer away from us. 
“No way!” I’d shouted. The sight made a chill go down my spine, and I didn’t hesitate to rush towards the building, pleading for Louie to not be the one there. 
 
Torne Village, Windmill 
Louie couldn’t understand what had happened to him. 
A voice had lured him outside, the sky had flashed, he’d felt an impact, a sudden heat, and then smelled charred flesh. 
The change was so sudden and bewildering that he still couldn’t grasp the state he was in. 
All he knew so far was that he was lying on the ground. 
He couldn’t open his eyes because of the soot in them, but he felt the cold surface on his back, and a heat caressing his cheeks. 
Louie had never been burned before, so his hazy mind could only assume that this was how it actually felt. 
But... he thought as he realized he felt not just heat, but warmth, as well. 
Louie was lying on the ground, and the warm thing was covering him. 
It had a familiar, nostalgic texture and smell. 
What was this, again...? 
He worked his hazy mind, trying his best to remember, and it didn’t take long for him to reach a conclusion. 
“Groaoh...” 
“Ah!” The thing covering him made a single sound, which was more than enough for Louie to realize what it was. 
The haziness over his mind suddenly cleared, and he quickly rubbed his eyes to get the soot out of them, then open them and look at the thing. 
“Gringham...” he uttered the name of a family member that was supposed to be gone. 
The lion-like monster covered Louie, using his own body to protect the boy’s life from Monochrome’s beams. They were raining down on him in large numbers, yet Gringham shielded Louie without voicing any pain. 
The only reason Louie had survived despite being targeted by the UBM was because his dear family was here to protect him. 
It was an event many would think impossible. 
Sure, one of the game’s laws made it so that the monsters stored in a Master’s Jewel would be released if the Master wasn’t online for half a Dendro year, but who could’ve imagined it happening here and now? 
Then there was the fact that a released — freed — monster had returned to where it used to live with its Master instead of going back to the wild like they normally did. 
Lastly, the idea that an untamed creature would risk its life to protect a person was simply absurd. 
All of those seemed like things that could never occur. 
And yet, they had actually happened and aligned to save Louie’s life. 
The only word fit to describe this event was “miracle,” and the only word fit to explain it was a “bond.” 
Shijima had disappeared from Infinite Dendrogram half a year ago, taking his Embryo and mount, Juno and Gringham, along with him. However, their disappearance hadn’t been nearly enough to sever the familial bonds between these two. 
“Grin...gham...” the boy shed tears as he called out the name of his family member. His face was a mess, and he cried like he’d found a priceless treasure he thought was lost. 
“Grooaoh...” Gringham responded with a mild roar. 
The beams from above were burning his back and causing him great pain, but he wanted to be the same Gringham Louie had always known, so he acted like it was nothing. 
Two members of a family, once separated, were now reunited. 
“? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?!” 
Alas, despite Gringham saving Louie, the situation hadn’t improved. 
Monochrome laughed again, as though ridiculing the large “torch” that wasn’t avoiding any attacks and was just letting itself get burned. 
If the laughter could become words, they would be, “I want both the big and small torches to burn and show me their despair.” 
“Grrrrr...” the Aries Leo growled. 
He didn’t have any way of dealing with the monster trying to take Louie’s life. Though strong, Gringham was but a land creature. 
His claws and fangs were meant to be used on the ground, and they could never reach the skies. Being an animal prevented him from ever defeating Monochrome. 
All he could do in this situation was to use his elephantine frame to cover Louie and protect him using his HP. 
Again — Gringham couldn’t win against the UBM, and that wouldn’t change even if his owner, Shijima, was here. 
They had no cards to play here. Gringham would eventually die and become particles of light, and then the beams would burn Louie. 
They could only wait for their deaths, and only a miracle could save them now. 
Thus, despite already having wrought a miracle, Gringham pled for more. 
Ah, please... You can use my life if you have to... I beg you... Anyone... Give me a miracle that could protect my little family... 
As if picking away at his plea, Monochrome fired another beam at Gringham’s back. The energy used in it was greater than in the previous ones, which immensely increased its penetrating power. 
It was enough to pierce through Gringham’s large frame and burn Louie. 
“GROOAAAOHH...!” he roared as he felt the energy from above and sensed that the incoming attack was incomparable to the ones before. 
He braced himself in the hopes that the beam would stop with just him, but it was thoroughly meaningless. 
A shield of flesh simply wasn’t enough to stop this particular beam. Both Gringham and Louie would die. 
However, right before it hit... 
“Lend me your back for a sec.” 
...a certain man said those words and jumped up on Gringham. 
He then held the black shield in his hands towards the sky and stopped the devastating beam. 

 

Unable to penetrate the shield, it scattered and rained on the surrounding buildings, either setting them aflame or downright melting them. 
However, the heat from the beam increased the temperature of the shield the man was holding, leaving him scorched. 
Though burned by both heat conduction and radiation, he continued holding the shield up to protect both Gringham and Louie. 
Eventually, the beam stopped. 
After protecting their lives, there was an interval in which Monochrome didn’t fire anything, likely because it was charging another powerful beam. 
The man used this opportunity to talk. “Do you hear me, Monochrome?!” 
The UBM’s laughter was still reaching his ears, but the man didn’t know if his voice reached Monochrome. 
“Your eyes look down on us all, but do they even see?” he continued regardless, presenting the monster with a question that came from his heart... and a declaration just as passionate. “There’s nothing here for you to break.” 
Perhaps he was talking about the exact place he was in, the burning village, the miracle wrought by a certain family, or all of them at the same time. 
“I won’t let you take another life.” 
The pleasant time at Torne had ended with the advent of the tragedy above. It had brought pain to many and was endangering Louie’s and Gringham’s lives at this very moment. 
The man claimed that he would put an end to that — that nothing would be lost now. 
This man, Ray Starling, took a deep breath and gave his whole heart into the words he said next. 
“Come, monster! This is the shield of miracles!” 
They were the same words Louie had mentioned when talking about Shijima. 
When Louie and Farica had been attacked by an inescapable despair, the man had spoken them before braving the horde of monsters in order to save the mother and child. 
He had no doubt been a miracle worker, and Ray thought it seemed right to start his battle against Monochrome by borrowing those words. 
Just like Shijima before him, he was determined to destroy the sky-nesting despair before it could take Louie’s life. 
That declaration was the trigger that started the final fight between Ray Starling the Unbreakable and Monochrome, the Void of the Black Sky.