Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 8 - Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: Power and Will 
About a certain weapon 
Prism Persons. 
That was the name given to humanoid automata with superhuman abilities. 
They were one of the pinnacles of technology — so advanced that even the pre-ancient civilization thought they greatly surpassed the norms of their science. 
Many considered them to be the perfect fusion of magic engineering and magic biology, the apex of both form and function. 
They possessed humanoid frames of great beauty, intelligence to communicate with mankind, and they behaved like the most disciplined of people. 
Their battle prowess, too, was simply phenomenal. They matched Superior Jobs, and sometimes even surpassed them. A Prism Person known as “Diamond Slayer” was said to have defeated the Over Gladiator of their era without suffering a hint of damage. 
Prism Persons, much like Prism Steeds, were considered to be some of the greatest things the supreme artisan Flagman had created. 
Thus, it was only natural for people to consider mass-producing them. 
But of course, doing so meant removing a large number of the functions available to the originals. After all, mass-produced Prism Steeds had to drop their special functions and lose their highly-expensive reactors, making them use the riders’ magic instead. 
The Prism Persons were no different. Installing reactors in all of them was impractical, so they had to use other sources of magic. However, unlike Prism Steeds, which were designed to be mounts, Prism Persons were meant to be autonomous weapons. Turning them into mounts powered by the riders’ magic would go against their primary design concept. 
Besides discarding the reactors, the mass-produced units also didn’t inherit the humanoid, superhuman beauty of the originals, nor did they receive their unique powers. 
As a result, the blueprints depicted machines that used the people riding them as their source of magic, were humanoid in design — albeit rough and mechanical — and made up for their lack of special abilities with external weaponry. 
In a way, they were much like the Magingears that would come to be used in the Dryfe Imperium two millennia later. 
This made them completely unlike the original Prism Persons. 
Even Flagman himself was dissatisfied with the blueprints he’d drawn, and the Prism Person mass-production project was halted before a single unit was produced. 
That was the reason why, in the future, Dryfe’s technology salvaging operations would only result in tank and exoskeleton Magingears. Humanoid mechs would only be invented by Masters. 
Still, the invasion of the incarnations forced the ancient people to restart the project. Their fight for humanity’s survival needed all the firepower they could get. 
They had newer, more powerful weaponry, such as the Prism Dragons, but they were severely lacking in numbers. 
Their infantry divisions were annihilated by the inexhaustible Incarnation of Beasts, pressing them into developing a force that, unlike the mass-produced Prism Steeds, could fight on its own. 
Thus, they resumed the Prism Person mass-production project and began developing the first units. 
Flagman rushed back to their blueprints and quickly began building the “Prism Soldier” auto-production plant. 
However, he quickly hit a wall. 
According to the blueprints, the mass-produced Prism People had to be controlled by trained Pilots. 
However, they had already lost too many soldiers to the incarnations, so they didn’t have enough people qualified to become Prism Soldier magic sources. 
This lack of personnel was something that not even a genius like Flagman could solve, so his solution came from another angle — a single thought, both simple and reasonable. 
It doesn’t have to be people, does it? 
The only reason why Prism Soldiers needed people was their lack of a reactor. They needed Pilots to provide them with magic, and that was all there was to it. 
In other words, as long as they had magic, even non-humanoids — monsters — were viable sources. 
If they were to capture them and give them no means of control, wild beasts and the like could be used as batteries that powered the machines while their programming did all the fighting. 
This realization was a light of hope for Flagman. 
But then he ran into another problem. 
Specifically, it was the matter of how the program would differentiate between sources of magic and the enemy. 
He had the option of leaving a few commanding officers or engineers to control it as they deemed appropriate, but it was likely that they would eventually die in the incarnations’ onslaught. For this system to operate smoothly, they had to make it completely automatic. 
Ideally, Flagman wanted to make it so that, as long as at least one plant was active, it would automatically mass-produce Prism Soldiers that would continuously fight the incarnations. 
However, mass-produced units weren’t capable of processing instructions that were too complex. 
Thus, Flagman solved this by using two simple settings. 
First, he recorded all the humanoid races living on the continent in his era and made it so the machines saw them as neither hostiles nor magic sources. 
The other setting made it so the machines would annihilate anything with a threat ranking of C or above, and use anything D or below as energy sources. 
“With this, we’ll have soldiers who automatically power themselves while fighting the incarnations and dangerous monsters. They will be mankind’s hope for all eternity,” Flagman muttered to himself as he finished the auto-production plant. 
But he also knew that, were he to activate it right away, the incarnations would surely discover it and destroy it. That was why he made it go into sleep mode and set the plant to produce Prism Soldiers slowly and in secrecy. Then, when certain conditions were met, it’d send its soldiers out to capture more sources and fight the incarnations. 
Thus, just like the other ruins, the Prism Soldier plant was left behind to become the hope of future mankind. 
Now, the reason why this plant eventually became an error was a major flaw in Flagman’s genius design. 
Specifically, it was all in the machines’ targeting setting. 
The ruins had been left behind two millennia ago, and the list of humanoid races was as old as they were. 
Naturally, that was more than enough time for tians to start to differ from the list, especially with how heavily the incarnations had altered the environment. For one thing, the amount of atmospheric magic had never been the same since. 
Just as people in colder climates gradually evolved to have more body hair, so did tians slightly change to better fit their environment. There was nothing strange about this. 
Alas, it just so happened that the primitive program of the Prism Soldiers couldn’t understand those minute changes — if a species was even slightly off the humanoid list they were provided with, it was not human. 
A true Prism Person would’ve had the intelligence to see the nature of these changes, but the mass-produced Prism Soldiers were too lacking in intelligence. 
And so, though built to protect humanity, they now saw them as nothing but hostiles or energy sources. 
 
Prism Rider, Ray Starling 
The moment I told Azurite that the machines saw people as nothing but fuel, she turned pale and eyed the metallic remains. 
She had come to these ruins hoping to find something that could save the kingdom from its dire state, only to find a factory of murder machines that used people as sources of energy. She had every reason to be shocked. 
“If that is true, then this place and the Gouz-Maise Gang are much alike,” commented Nemesis, and I could see exactly what she meant. 
To these things, all lifeforms — monster and tian alike — were just a source of energy. That was why they wandered about, gathering creatures they could use as fuel for their brethren. 
If I hadn’t come on time yesterday, Shirley might’ve suffered the same fate. 
Just imagining that made a cold chill go down my spine. 
Then again... for all I knew, some people might’ve already been turned into fuel. 
“I’m gonna be sick,” I muttered. 
To these machines, people were but tools, and their lives were nothing but fuel. Nemesis was right — they were like Maise, the Lich from the Gouz-Maise Gang. 
He, too, had only seen children as materials or money. That was the main reason why this realization disgusted me so much. It was all a bit too reminiscent of those memories I loathed so much. 
I sighed and unconsciously looked down at my feet. 
“Ah!” I gasped as I saw something with a close link to what I had just been thinking of: the Grudge-Soaked Greaves, Gouz-Maise. 
The Gouz-Maise Gang had once been an existence that all of Gideon feared, and even after dying, it had continued to be a major threat as the Revenant Ox-Horse. 
These things on my feet were what it had become, and, according to Gardranda — a fellow special reward — they had no will of their own now. They, too, reminded me of that awful time back in the basement. 
“But...” 
But without these Grudge-Soaked Greaves, I couldn’t have won Franklin’s Game. 
As bad as Gouz-Maise originally had been, it had gone on to become an item that, combined with the pre-ancient civilization’s Silver, could defeat the RSK. Its existence had once been nothing but vile, but there had been a future that it alone could open up. 
“Just like the Gouz-Maise Gang, huh...?” I murmured. 
The power on these greaves was the same as that Revenant Ox-Horse’s, but what it did was the complete opposite. 
Perhaps the same could eventually be said about these ruins? 
“Azurite,” I spoke up. 
“Ray.” She turned to me, looking somewhat meek. 
“Can I give an opinion about this place?” 
“...Please do.” 
“I think we should stop the factory and break all the machines that are still moving.” 
“That... seems to be the only thing we can do here...” 
These ruins were far too dangerous. As long as the factory here was active, it would only become more of a threat the more time went by. And that, of course, meant that more and more people would be captured to be used as fuel. 
Not to mention that this place worked fast, too. The fact that the monsters inside were alive meant that the machines had started going outside only recently — most likely after the landscape change leading to the discovery of these ruins. 
The machines were using some paths to the surface to go outside and start collecting more sources. And the factory had produced this many machines in such a short time. If we left it active, their numbers would grow even larger, perhaps resulting in an all-out invasion of the surface. 
We had to stop the production as soon as possible. And then... 
“And then you can try to find out how you can put the technology here to good use,” I said. 
“...Eh?” Azurite voiced her surprise. “We’ll use this technology here?” 
“Well, yeah. I mean, you’re investigating this place from that angle, right?” 
“Yes... But the power in these ruins is dangerous and fearsome, no?” 
“I know that much. That’s why I’m saying that we’ll destroy all the active machines and stop the factory, even if we have to break it.” 
That much was set in stone. I couldn’t ignore the man-eating machines here. The aftertaste in my mouth would be way too bad. 
“But there’s nothing stopping you from searching for ways to use this tech for the kingdom... for the good of the people... right?” I asked. 
It was doubtful that the whole “monsters wearing them” thing was an option, and getting tians to use them was just plain wrong, so this would definitely call for some rethinking. 
Nevertheless, this place was a treasure trove of pre-ancient civilization tech — a thing that the ancestors of the current tians had left as a hope for the people of the future. There was no way that this place didn’t have anything that could be used for good. 
Or perhaps that’s just what I want to believe, I thought. 
“But that is far too dangerous,” said Azurite. “We don’t know if we can use the technology properly.” 
I knew full well what she was trying to say. 
In fact, a large part of me agreed with her. 
This place was seriously dangerous, and perhaps it was best to just blow it all up until there was nothing left. 
However... 
“Yeah, you can never be sure if you can use any power correctly... but no matter what the power is, trying to use it correctly is never a mistake.” 
“...!” Azurite gasped. 
The machines these ruins were making were just sickening, but that didn’t mean that this sickening technology couldn’t become a key to a better future. We had Gouz-Maise as a great example of that. 
“By itself, power isn’t good or evil,” I said. “I’ve come to realize that those things only apply to the will of those who wield it. That’s why we’ll destroy the system — the will — that’s running this operation fueled by life, and then the kingdom’s will can take the power and decide how to use it.” 
“Power... and will...” She repeated the keywords. 
“Basically, it’s all about whether those who use the power are wrong... no, wait... it’s all about what they want to do.” 
She silently looked at me and Nemesis. Then she looked at her own sword, just as she had last night. “The same goes for you, I assume?” 
I felt like that “you” included more than just me and Nemesis. 
She was probably talking about all Masters and their powers, their Embryos. Masters with wills belonging to Dryfe had used these powers to ravage the kingdom, but there were also Masters who’d used powers of a similar nature to stop them. 
Yeah, I guess we’re the same in that regard. 
“I understand,” Azurite said at last as she turned around and walked towards the hallway. “Let us return to the surface. I must talk to the countess... while considering your opinion, of course.” 
“Yeah!” 
We left the room, got on Silver the same way we had to come here, and headed back to the surface. 
“Ray,” Azurite muttered from behind me. “Thank you for giving me hope. Both this time... and back then.” 
I didn’t really know what she meant by “back then,” but her tone was definitely lighter than before. 
 
Once outside, we went straight to the adventurers’ guild. 
We did that so that we could tell them about those constructs, and create two quests — one for the destruction of the machines wandering the surrounding area, and one to get someone to keep watch over those ruins. 
Apparently, Azurite held the right to start quests in the name of the kingdom, and because of that, those quests could be put up as “urgent.” 
She had a private talk with the top of the Quartierlatin guild, and before long, the quests were available to be picked up. 
The wandering machine destruction quest was aimed at Masters. It had no people limit and the reward was great, so the Masters in the guild quickly jumped on it. 
The guild’s own, experienced tians were tasked with keeping watch over the ruins. 
“One by one, those machines aren’t much for a battle-focused Master with a high-rank job,” I muttered. “And when the machines that gather the fuel are gone, the production of new ones should stop, too. This buys us some time.” 
Looks like I won’t have to worry about the machines kidnapping people for the time being, I thought. 
Azurite also set up a quest to search the ruins for a path leading to the factory. 
The room we’d arrived at was a dead-end, and we hadn’t run into any more machines on the way back. Therefore, the factory was probably on a route other than the one we’d taken, or it could only be accessed from another entrance. 
To stop the factory, we first had to know where it was. 
“I guess all we can do is wait for someone to find it, huh?” I said. 
“Indeed,” nodded Azurite. “If someone finds the factory tonight, we can send people there to stop it tomorrow morning. We must talk with the countess about this, so let us head there after that happens.” 
“All right.” 
Azurite looked far better than she had back in the ruins, which was probably thanks to the fact that she’d created a countermeasure to all that was happening in the ruins, and now felt hopeful about the technology there. 
After leaving the adventurers’ guild, we went back to the countess’s mansion. 
This time, I could join the conversation right from the start, and we started out by telling her about the machines in the ruins and how dangerous they were. 
“I see,” the countess said in response. “What a coincidence. Just today, I was told of odd mechanical constructs wandering the surrounding area. I believe they were the same as the ones you saw in the ruins.” 
“That means that the unit you said you destroyed yesterday was not the only one to leave the ruins,” said Azurite as she faced me. 
“Or maybe the few units that were already functional secured enough creatures to activate more units,” I said. “If that’s true, their numbers will just keep increasing until... hold on.” 
“Ray?” 
As I spoke, I was hit with a realization. 
Their numbers were growing because they were securing more fuel. 
Their fuel was living creatures. They couldn’t move unless they got MP from a life form. 
Which meant that... 
“Hey,” I spoke up. “At first, they didn’t have a single creature they could use as fuel, right? So... how was the first unit able to function?” 
“Wh—!” Azurite gasped. 
It shouldn’t have been able to. However, the reality was that it had. The first unit had been functional, their numbers had increased, and their numbers were still growing. 
Did they happen to capture some animal that accidentally wandered into the ruins? Or... 
“Maybe there’s a unit that can move on its own?” I pondered. 
Like... a unit with a reactor, just like Silver. 
“A commander unit, of sorts?” asked Azurite. “Would you assume it exists?” 
I was silent, thinking about it. I would. 
It wouldn’t be surprising if that horde of machines was led by a non-mass-produced leader unit. Which would make stopping the factory far more difficult. 
That idea made the mood turn sour. 
Munch munch! Crunch crunch! 
But Nemesis was just chomping on cookies as if it were none of her business. 
“Nemesis...” I muttered disapprovingly. 
“H-Hey! We were in the ruins for most of the day, so we didn’t have any lunch!” she argued. 
Well, that’s true. 
“But wait, we had a light meal at the tea party before we went in, right?” 
“Exactly! A light meal! That’s not enough for me!” 
Man, she always found the strangest times to become the embodiment of appetite. 
Also, I couldn’t help but feel that it was starting to happen more often. 
“Hee hee,” the countess giggled, clearly amused by our exchange. 
Azurite was smiling wryly, too. 
“Sorry about my glutton,” I said. 
“‘Glutton’ sounds rude! I am a lady! Call me a ‘gourmand’!” 
Ladies. Never. Eat. That much. Ever. 
“Oh, no need to apologize,” said the countess. “Surely she only wanted to lighten the mood.” 
I sincerely doubt that. 
“Y-Yes! That’s exactly it!” 
Come on, now. 
“I baked those myself,” the countess told her. “How did you like them?” 
“They were delicious!” Nemesis smiled wide. 
The countess’s own cookies, eh? Had she perhaps baked them for the orphans she’d invited today? 
“I’ll try one, then... wait, there are none left.” 
The plate that had been full of cookies at the start of our conversation was completely empty now. There weren’t any crumbs, either. It was as if the cookies had never been there to begin with. 
Nemesis... 
She looked away and whistled like she had nothing to do with this. 
You’re the only suspect, you know? 
“We still have some left,” said the countess. “Would you like to take them with you?” 
“Certainly!” Nemesis instantly replied. 
...Leave some for me this time. 
 
The visit had come with an unexpected comedy skit, but we’d told the countess all we needed to. Thus, I was told to go rest at the inn, while the countess and Azurite thought about countermeasures in more detail. 
Just like Azurite’s private talk with the head of the guild, it was probably something that an outsider like me couldn’t hear. 
Anyway, Nemesis and I went back to the inn. The place was significantly more empty than yesterday, most likely because a lot of people had gone outside to do the urgent quest. Even the dinnertime cafeteria was relatively free of people. 
However, in the lobby next to the cafeteria, there were two notable people who hadn’t left to do the quest. 
One of them was Tom. 
From what I could tell, after leaving the ruins, he and Grimalkin had gone to wash away their fatigue in the hot springs before going to eat dinner. 
Now, he was relaxing in the massage chair, saying, “Ahhh, this massage chair is basic, but it takes away some of the tiredness from all the hard work I dooo...” 
The other person was Veldorbell, the musician I’d met at the countess’s mansion. He, too, was relaxing in the lobby alongside his Embryos. 
I asked why he was here, to which he replied that the countess had recommended this place to him. 
Incidentally, Tom’s Grimalkin and Veldorbell’s Wind were glaring at each other, completely still, which probably had something to do with the fact that they were both cats. 
“Hm?” Shirley made a confused sound. She came to the lobby alongside Lefty and the hostess, bringing tea and snacks. “So many guests are refusing dinner. Did something happen?” 
“Dangerous monsters are leaking out of the ruins,” I answered. “There’s an urgent quest to destroy them, so many are too busy with that.” 
“You mean... monsters like the one that attacked me?” 
“Yeah, the same kind.” 
“That’s kinda scary,” she said, no doubt remembering the events of yesterday. 
“No need to worry, young lady,” Lefty said calmingly. “The Masters are sure to make short work of them.” 
“I’ve gotta say, it’s good that there’s a quest for them nooow,” Tom said, still enjoying the massage chair. “I mean, there are so many of theeem.” 
I had no idea how to feel about hearing that from the one who’d taken care of all those machines and traps in that room and the path leading to it all by himself. He was the reason why we’d been able to reach that place and figure out the true nature of the ruins, so, in a way, Tom was today’s MVP. 
“So, lots of people took that quest, huh?” said Shirley as she looked around, noting how empty the inn was. 
“Yes,” I nodded. “The reward is good, and since the machines don’t disappear when they die, many Masters think they can make some serious money selling them. The kingdom’s started buying them, too, so... Hm?” 
My words reminded me of a question I’d considered back at the ruins. 
Nemesis and I had wondered about Tom’s reason for going to the ruins. After all, he hadn’t even collected the machines he’d destroyed. 
He’d come here to prepare himself for his duel with Kashimiya and to make some money, according to what he’d said yesterday. Despite that, he’d left behind the machines he destroyed... the fruits of his fighting. Not to mention that he hadn’t even explored that room. 
I’m still kinda curious about that. 
“Hrmm, machine monsters, you say?” asked Veldorbell. “Were they humanoid, perhaps?” 
“Yes,” I said. 
“Then perhaps they are the same as the one I defeated on my way to Quartierlatin,” he said as he reached into his inventory and took out the remains of a machine — the head of the firearm model. 
“Yes, this is it,” I nodded before raising an eyebrow. “You defeated it?” 
Isn’t he a musician? As in, a non-battle job? 
“Oh, I have my ways. After all, if I couldn’t fight, traveling would be out of the question.” 
Good point, I thought. 
“That’s the King of Orchestras for youuu,” said Tom. 
King of Orchestras? 
“Hrmm, did you use Reveal?” asked Veldorbell. “I certainly didn’t feel it.” 
“Well, I’m The Lynx, after allll.” 
“Oh, so you are the one they call ‘Monster Cat Mansion.’ Allow me to introduce myself, I am Veldorbell, and I’m the King of Orchestras, the Superior Job from the conductor grouping.” 
“I’m Tom Cat, and I’m The Lynx, the cat-specialized Superior Job. I hope we get alooong.” 
Sorry, but “cat-specialized Superior Job” tells me nothing, I thought. His battle style wasn’t all that cat-like, was it? 
“Mm-hm, so we have two Superior Jobs here,” said Nemesis. “How reassuring.” 
“Reassuring? What do you mean by that?” asked Veldorbell. 
I replied, saying, “Those ruins are producing those dangerous machines as we speak. We need to destroy the ones still active and stop the factory inside. Once we find the route towards it, we’ll charge to it as early as tomorrow morning.” 
“I seeee,” said Tom. “So you need people for that, huh? Well, I don’t mind joining. Don’t have anything better to do, anywaaay.” 
“Hrmm, I am intrigued by this adventure, as well,” said Veldorbell. “But tomorrow is no good for me.” 
“You have plans?” 
“The children from today’s tea party begged me to come to their orphanage to play again. They said there is a girl who couldn’t come because of an illness. I was told that she truly loves music and would be overjoyed to hear my compositions,” he said with a smile. “Since they value my Embryo’s playing so highly, I see no reason not to answer their calls for an encore.” 
“That’s true,” I said. “You should do just that.” 
Having a Superior Job like him around would’ve been a huge help, but that promise had to come first. 

As we talked about this and that, the hostess, who was giving out tea for the guests in the lobby, joined the conversation, saying, “To think that those ruins are creating such monsters... I hope we don’t have another Edelvalsa on our hands.” 
“Edelvalsa?” I raised an eyebrow. I didn’t know that word. It sounded like a noun, but for what? 
“It was a monster that appeared about thirty years ago. It was one of those U...something monsters that were very strong. I was still a little girl back then, so I don’t remember it well, but it was called, umm... N... Nay...” 
“Nameless Army, Edelvalsa,” Tom helped her out as he blew on his tea to cool it down. 
“You know about it?” I asked. 
“Yeah. It was a UBM that appeared at the kingdom-imperium border about thirty years ago. Its rank was Mythical, which means that it was the worst kind of monster you could run into... Ouch. Hothothot.” 
A Mythical UBM that had appeared thirty years ago... 
These days, it wasn’t rare for Superiors to beat Mythicals. My very own brother had his Kim-un-Kamuy that proved he’d done just that. However, Superiors hadn’t existed thirty years ago. In fact, not a single Master had been around back then. Marie had suggested that there might’ve been some beta testers that long ago, but if so, they had definitely been few. 
A Mythical UBM appearing in a world which held only tians was nothing but a calamity. 
“Edelvalsa was a colony-type UBM,” Tom continued. “It could use plants, ore — pretty much anything — to create humanoid monsters that would fight for iiiit. The UBM would just continue growing in number until you beat the main bodyyy. I imagine it was a pain to deal with.” 
“You sure know a lot about this,” I said. 
It was a UBM from thirty years ago, yet he spoke of it like he’d actually seen it himself. 
“Mm-hm. I know someone who knows a lot about UBMs.” 
Well, B3 has access to Miss Aberration’s database, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Tom also had a friend with obscure knowledge. 
“Yes, that sounds about correct,” said the hostess. “Edelvalsa appeared right when the countess’s husband and child were heading to the imperium...” 
“Eh?” I gasped. 
“My knowledge of this is limited to the official announcements and what I read in the paper, but...” 
The hostess began telling us about the incident. 
It had happened about thirty years ago. 
The kingdom’s Quartierlatin County and the imperium’s Barbaros County were at the border between their countries, and their relationship couldn’t have been better. 
In fact, back then, Altar and Dryfe were allied, just like Altar and Legendaria. The three western countries were at peace. 
Because of this, both countries often sent envoys to the other. 
The captain of one particular mission was the husband of Countess Quartierlatin, who was an Altarian diplomat. 
One of his official duties was to bring his one-year-old son with him. There was an agreement to bring the Quartierlatin and Barbaros families even closer through marriage, so this was done for an early introduction of the groom. 
Some would’ve questioned bringing a baby on such a long trek, but the path connecting the two countries was lacking in powerful monsters, so safety wasn’t a big issue. 
In addition, they had the best guard an Altarian could ask for. 
His name was Aslan Faldreed, and his job was Sacred Blazer. 
He was one of the kingdom’s four Superior Jobs at the time, with the other three being the Arch Sage, the Celestial Knight, and the Hierophant (aka High Priestess, but owned by a male). 
Originally a vagrant, Aslan’s ability, nobility, and loyalty had led to him becoming an important retainer of the king. The fact that he was being sent to protect this mission spoke volumes about how greatly the kingdom valued their relationship with the imperium. 
Additionally, Aslan himself volunteered to do this, since the next head of the Barbaros family, The Ram, Ronaldo Barbaros, was his close friend and rival. After arriving at the destination, he planned to have a duel against his friend in one of Barbaros’s sparring facilities. 
Thus, this was a good journey for everyone involved, and all was looking bright... until they arrived at the buffer zone and were attacked by a Mythical UBM. 
It wasn’t known why the UBM appeared there at that particular moment, or whether it was a coincidence or someone’s intention. 
Regardless, the Nameless Army, Edelvalsa, attacked the kingdom’s mission. 
Aslan rushed to the front to protect everyone and downed over a thousand of the doll legion. However, Edelvalsa had several thousands more where that came from. 
They were desperately outnumbered. The dolls swarmed over them like a crushing wave. They broke through Aslan’s line of defense, and the mission suffered greater damage with every passing moment. 
Aslan tried to make his way to the main body, but the army was simply too much for him alone. Right when he began to think that it was only a matter of time before they were overwhelmed, a certain someone from the imperium came to their aid. 
It was The Ram, Ronaldo Barbaros. 
Upon hearing that his friend and the mission he was defending were in danger, he had rushed to their aid, all by himself. 
And so, the two Superior Jobs faced the imposing Mythical UBM. 
“...And?” I asked. “What happened then?” 
“By the time Barbaros County soldiers arrived, everything was over,” said the hostess. “Edelvalsa was defeated, but both Aslan and Ronaldo were dead. And, according to Dryfe’s investigation reports, everyone in the mission was gone.” 
So it was a draw, huh? 
During the tea party, the countess had told me about her husband dying and her son going missing, but I never would’ve thought that a Mythical UBM was involved in that. 
“Hmm?” Veldorbell tilted his head. “Did you say that Edelvalsa used dolls?” 
“Yeeep,” said Tom. “It was a UBM that created dolls and used them to fiiight.” 
“I see. That’s almost like... but it’s been thirty years... it’s impossible.” 
“What’s impossible?” I asked. 
He made a wry grin and replied, “In Dryfe, there is a tian who uses a special reward to create dolls and wield them in battle. I found it curious how similar the powers seem. But the man is still quite young, so it’s simply impossible that he became the MVP in a Mythical UBM fight a whole thirty years ago. He must’ve gotten it from another UBM.” 
“Ohh, well, there are UBMs with similar powers,” said Tom. “Special rewards that make monsters and items aren’t that rarrrre.” 
And with that as the conclusion, we stopped talking about the subject. 
...However, for some reason, I couldn’t help but feel that I was overlooking something really important. 
 
After the hostess finished telling us about Edelvalsa, everyone in the lobby retired to their rooms. 
Everyone besides me, anyway. I stayed behind and examined the lobby’s bookcase for more info about the incident, but honestly, I had no luck. 
“That is not the sort of reading you keep in a lobby,” said Nemesis. “You might have better luck in the local library.” 
“Good point.” 
Libraries were probably closed at this time of day, and I’d be busy with the ruins tomorrow, so I probably couldn’t dedicate any time to look this up. Reluctantly, I returned the book in my hand back into the case. 
“Hm?” I raised an eyebrow as another book caught my eye. “The Legend of the Sacred King?” 
It was clearly a children’s picture book. The reason why it stood out for me was the word “Sacred” in the title — it reminded me of the Sacred Blazer from the hostess’s story. 
I took it in hand. The cover displayed a cutesy, distorted character holding a blue sword... which reminded me Azurite’s. 
“What’s this?” I muttered. 
“Hm?” Nemesis looked at the book. “I’m fairly certain that is the most popular picture book in the country. As far as I know, it’s based on a true story. I saw it in Gideon, once.” 
“...Huh? You did?” 
“Yes, when I was out eating by myself.” 
...Oh yeah, yesterday wasn’t the only time she’s gone on an eating spree, I thought. 
Anyway, her words intrigued me. 
I could still remember how shocked Liliana had been when I hadn’t recognized Elizabeth. Maybe I could prevent similar incidents from happening by finding out more things that were common knowledge here in Altar. 
I opened the picture book and began reading it. 
It went as follows... 
 
Hundreds of years ago, the plains in the west of the continent were home to many countries. 
They were almost always at war, and it wasn’t rare for nations to collapse or for new ones to appear. 
One day, a fearsome creature called simply “The Evil” appeared in those lands. 
The Evil had thousands of minions it used to ravage the warring countries. 
They tried to fight back, but no nation could match it, let alone defeat it. 
That was when a certain king rose up to face it. 
He was the young ruler of a small, newly-built kingdom. 
The Evil had already destroyed many larger, more powerful countries, and normally, the young king wouldn’t have stood a chance. 
However, the young king wasn’t normal. 
He was but a mere shepherd until he happened to dig up a certain sword. 
The blade was like no other. It was a sacred weapon with the mysterious power to cut through anything. 
Upon taking it, the young shepherd gained a special job and supreme power to go with it. 
He soon quit the shepherd’s life to become an adventurer. 
Wandering the land, he helped countless people and sometimes even became a war hero. 
Eventually, he was surrounded by a party of comrades. More and more people flocked to him, and he soon became a king. 
Indeed, the king of the small, young country was none other than the strongest hero of all — the Sacred King. 
And so, he and his comrades challenged The Evil. 
They had to face hordes of minions and harsh trials, but he prevailed, and eventually, The Evil was struck down. 
Countless people extolled him, and the Sacred King, still worn out and crying, accepted their praise. 
The kings of the many warring countries even asked him to become their king, and he didn’t hesitate to agree. 
He then erected his royal capital over the land where he defeated The Evil, and named his new, powerful country after the blade that has been with him on all of his adventures. 
Thus began the history of the Kingdom of “Altar.” 
 
The book had a surprisingly hefty number of pages, and going through them took me longer than I would have expected. 
The lobby was silent. The only sounds were those of the turning pages and of Nemesis eating the tea snacks. 
She was eating silently, most likely to not disturb my reading. I appreciated her consideration, but... couldn’t she just not eat anything? 
Anyway, I more or less understood what the book was about. It read like a fantasy work or a myth, but I felt there was more to it. 
Shu had told me that Infinite Dendrogram had an actual history. 
It had either been set up that way, or it had been woven using time acceleration way above the 3x we had right now. Personally, I felt that the latter was a lot more likely. 
Take the hostess’s story, for example. Listening to her, I could just sense that she had been alive back then. 
The history of Infinite Dendrogram simply had to have been woven by tians — no two ways about it. 
The same surely applied to the story in the picture book. 
There had once been a Sacred King — a Superior Job, surely — wandering the land as an adventurer until fighting and defeating The Evil — another SJ. This had directly led to the creation of the country I belonged to, the Kingdom of Altar. 
It was the nation’s origin story, and it made sense for it to be Altar’s most well-known. But... there was one thing I didn’t quite understand. 
“...Why was he crying?” 
After defeating The Evil, Sacred King had begun to shed tears. 
Some might interpret that he was crying out of relief or accomplishment, but I felt that wasn’t quite right. I wasn’t really sure why, though. 
Once I was done pondering the story, I left the lobby and began walking around the inn, just like yesterday. 
My brain was becoming a huge mess, thanks to all the events and the info I’d gathered these past few days, so I needed a light change of pace. 
I was by myself. It was girls’ hour at the baths, so Nemesis was off to take a dip in the hot spring. 
It felt like I was taking advantage of the fact she wasn’t here, but I was walking around while eating my portion of the countess’s cookies. They had a gentle taste. I liked them, though in a completely different way than I enjoyed Shu’s stuff. 
As I walked around, I eventually chanced upon Dr. Mario, sitting on a wooden bench and looking down at Quartierlatin. 
“Hm?” I murmured. 
It was already pretty dark outside, so I couldn’t see his expression well enough to read it. 
“Ohh, young Ray,” he said, noticing me. “Buonasera! How you say, uh... good evening!” 
“Good evening, Dr. Mario.” 
“They, uh... the cookies! They seem molto delizioso,” he said as he looked at the snacks I was eating. 
“Want some?” I asked and extended the bag to him. 
“Ooh, grazie,” he said as he took one and bit into it. “What a gentle taste. Were these made by the hostess or young Shirley?” 
“Uh, no, these are the countess’s cookies. She gave me some when we stopped by to talk about the ruins.” 
I was saying nothing but the truth. 
However, for some reason, it made Dr. Mario gasp and lose his words. 
It didn’t seem like mere surprise, either. There were some feelings there that I couldn’t quite understand. 
He muttered something I didn’t hear well. “Th... So this is how they taste...” 

 

“Dr. Mario?” I spoke up. 
“Ah...! Che sorpresa! Oh my, what a surprise! These-a are-a made by the countess herself!? I thought my heart would stop!” 
I could understand how he felt, but I did found his reaction a bit... excessive. 
“I must say, everyone is really busy tonight,” he went on, changing the subject. “Not many are coming to have their things appraised, so I was just walking around and enjoying the scenery. Che bella...” 
“Well, there’s been some new info about the ruins,” I said. 
“Oh, I’ve heard. It turned out to be a dangerous place, hasn’t it? Molto pericoloso.” 
I don’t mean to sound like Azurite, but man, he’s really up to date. 
“Oh, right,” I said, then reached into my inventory and took out the photos of the painting. “While exploring the ruins today, we found a painting with some writing we couldn’t read. Can you read the text on this?” 
“Hmm. Un minuto. Give me a moment,” he said as he took out a lantern from his inventory and lit up our surroundings. 
Yeah, you can’t really read in this darkness. 
“Let’s see here... Hmm...” 
Dr. Mario took off his glasses, illuminated the text, and began reading it. Once again, I couldn’t help but feel that his eye color was much like the countess’s. 
“You can read without your glasses?” I asked. 
“Ah, si,” he replied. “In fact, they-a get in the way whenever I try to read something too close.” 
So they’re not for nearsightedness, huh? 
“I’ve read it. Here’s what it says,” he said, then began reading the text aloud. “‘The day the Incarnation of Beasts devastated our four infantry divisions is still fresh in my mind. It overwhelmed the horizon, and we matched it in neither quantity nor quality. Are we finally lost? Nay — it is not over yet. There is still hope. Here, within this facility, we will complete the... mass-production of the Prism Soldiers, and one day defeat the countless Incarnations of Beasts. With that oath in my heart, I chose to depict our defeat.’” 
His voice was fluent, and there was no sign of his usual speech quirks. 
“That is what the painting says,” he concluded. “It is a sort of monument.” 
“One depicting their defeat, huh?” I muttered. 
Ieyasu Tokugawa had left a picture of himself to commemorate his defeat against Shingen Takeda in the Battle of Mikatagahara, so this wasn’t all that odd. 
What was odd, however... 
“‘Countless Incarnations of Beasts’...?” I muttered. 
“Oh? Anything wrong with that?” 
“Well, I just felt that the number has grown a bit since my friend told me about them,” I said, as I remembered Hugo’s words from the Gouz-Maise Gang’s hideout. “He said that the pre-ancient civilization was so scientifically advanced that the people became arrogant and incurred the wrath of some god and his thirteen servants, who then went on to destroy them all.” 
Then, yesterday, B3 had told me that the ancient civilization had disappeared at about the same time, so I was pretty lost about the history of it all. 
“Oh, that’s just the mainstream interpretation,” said Dr. Mario. “It involves elements from the religions that came afterwards. That’s what a lot of the post-collapse texts say about these events.” 
“Religions?” 
“Yes. Uh, si. Speaking of which, do you know what the kingdom’s religion is about?” 
“About healing people using Priest powers. It’s built around the job, right?” 
“Yes. It’s assumed that there were god-worshiping religions prior to the collapse, but now, it’s believed that they either don’t exist or are exclusively gods of retribution. Besides that, there’s also the ‘The One’ series of jobs.” 
I could understand the idea that gods didn’t exist and the thing about “The One” jobs, but... 
“Gods of retribution?” I asked. 
“Si, si! Like you mentioned, many believe that the destruction of the pre-ancient civilization was divine punishment — that-a it was a tale of retribution.” 
I was silent. 
Hugo had mentioned that countries besides Dryfe and Granvaloa purposely avoided technology to avoid incurring the gods’ divine wrath again. Mind you, the kingdom was also dabbling in it to get out of their dire situation. 
Anyway, gods of retribution, huh...? I pondered that. Nemesis is based on one, isn’t she? 
“But again, that-a is the religious take on it,” Dr. Mario continued. “Reading historical documents written during the collapse itself gives you a, how you say... different perspective. Have you heard that both the pre-ancient and the ancient civilization collapsed at the same time?” 
“I did,” I nodded. 
“According to the documents from that time, the two civilizations in question developed on different continents.” 
Different... continents? 
“There’s another continent?” I asked him. 
“There was another continent, rather. It somehow sunk, leaving only a solo flying ship... and that’s what we call the ‘ancient civilization.’ The texts often mention an ‘Extra-Continental Vessel,’ you see.” 
“‘Extra-Continental Vessel’...” I murmured. A continent had vanished, and all that had remained of it was a single ship... 
“They arrived at this continent, but the prosperous civilization that was already here didn’t accept them. In fact, the countries at the east of the continent began attacking the vessel for its technology, which sparked a war between it and the entire continent. Countries in the west — the Zweier Imperium and the like — must have been truly bothered by this.” 
So it was an unfortunate clash between civilizations from across the sea, huh? That kinda stuff happened all the time back on Earth. 
“Of course, the ancient civilization retaliated,” Dr. Mario continued. “Their numbers were low, but they had these powerful creatures called ‘Incarnations.’” 
“How powerful, exactly?” 
“Absurdly. If the texts are true, they were as strong as — if not stronger than — Gloria. Si, I mean that Gloria.” 
He was obviously talking about the SUBM, Tri-Zenith Dragon, Gloria. It was the strongest monster the kingdom had ever faced. Beating it had required the combined powers of Shu, Figaro, Miss Aberration, and her Lunar Society. Shu had been the only one left standing when it was all over, which said everything you needed to know about the thing’s fearsomeness. 
“The Incarnations are said to have been like UBMs or Embryos in that they wielded various unique powers,” he said. 
Then he went on to describe those unique powers. 
One could blot out the Sun with the weapons it pulled out of empty space. 
Another was a beast that could multiply and bury the horizon in itself. 
Another could consume countless boats along with the very sea they were in. 
Another was an orb-like entity that could use thousands of unknown powers. 
The ancient civilization’s ship had contained these beings with extraordinary powers. The Incarnation of Beasts depicted in the portrait was one of them. The Incarnations numbered thirteen... fourteen if you included their so-called “god,” the Extra-Continental Vessel. 
It seemed like a meager number, yet it had been enough to crush the entire continent. 
“The pre-ancient civilization stood no chance. It collapsed in no time,” Dr. Mario continued. “And that’s the reason why we have no details about what happened to the ancient civilization. It seems to have just... disappeared after the clash. Both of them were gone, and that’s it.” 
Thus, he ended his history lesson. 
It gave me a lot to think about, answered a few of my questions... and gave me a bunch of new ones, like, “If the ancient civilization was so powerful, why didn’t they contact the pre-ancient civilization earlier?” 
With all the power of the Extra-Continental Vessel and the Incarnations, crossing the sea should’ve been child’s play. 
“A keen observation,” Dr. Mario said. “Many scholars argue this, as well. The fact that there was only one vessel leads many to assume they had some obscure, yet powerful, reasons for that — perhaps religious, perhaps geopolitical. We can’t know for sure unless we discover some ancient civilization ruins or something, but all their civilization had was a ship, so all we ever find are pre-ancient ones. Still, I do hear that Granvaloa is exploring the sea floor for the continent that sunk.” 
“Do you think they’ll find it?” I asked. 
“Who knows? There should be traces of it somewhere, if you ask me. After all, if it didn’t exist, where else could they have come from?” 
Well, I can’t argue with that, I thought. But wait, he said the pre-ancient civilization’s ship was flying, right? Then... couldn’t it have come from outer space...? 
...Nah, there’s no way. 
Thinking of this reminded me of Franklin’s words from the Pandemonium: 
“Anyone who thinks this is just a game is either retarded or a child who believes everything he’s told.” 
“I have no idea what all of this actually is. I’d assume it’s the human experimentation phase for the creation of a nation... no, world-wide virtual reality, but...” 
Even if this world was aligned with his words, the devs couldn’t have made this world extend all the way out to far space. There was just no point in having done that. 
He’d also said something else back then... What was it, again...? 
“I have a question for you, as well,” Dr. Mario said. “May I?” 
“Sure. What do you want to know?” 
“Do you know anything about the Prism Soldiers mentioned here?” 
“We saw some machine-armor constructs both in and out the ruins. They’re set to capture monsters and tians and use them as fuel. Pretty sure it’s those things.” 
“Hmm... Autonomous weapons that use creatures as pseudo MP tanks, eh?” he pondered, looking disturbed. 
“Hm?” Is it just me, has he been acting a little different for most of this conversation? 
“They-a sound a lot like Dryfe’s Magingears,” he spoke again, his demeanor back to normal. “Well-a, those-a don’t have autopilot systems, but still.” 
“Yeah. The system is dangerous, though. We’ll destroy all the running units and stop the factory as early as tomorrow morning.” 
“Si, si! I’ve heard the guild is working on it. How unfortunate. Che sfortuna. At least everyone’s gained-a something from this,” he beamed. 
Dr. Mario still had his glasses off. The lantern was lighting up his face, giving me a good look of the tired look in his blue eyes. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the color in one eye was slightly different, but not enough to stray from “blue.” 
My gaze made him curious. “Qualcosa non va? What’s the matter?” 
“Do you have Altarian noble blood?” I went ahead and asked him. 
“Why would you assume that?” 
“Countess Quartierlatin has eye color that’s much like yours. She said it runs in her family.” 
She was also heterochromic — her right eye was blue, while left was green. 
Azurite had said she also had Quartierlatin blood. Her eyes were much like the countess’s right, and the same could be said about Dr. Mario. 
“I understand,” he nodded. “Si, it’s true — I have Altarian noble blood. And I’ve been told-a that some of it is Quartierlatin. Though my generation has already lost the, ah... how you say? Status.” 
“So... you have Altarian nobility in your ancestry, but the family split, and your branch isn’t noble anymore?” 
“Si.” 
That explained his visit to the countess’s mansion today. He must’ve been curious about his ancestors’ home. The words he’d said as he left also made more sense now. 
...Still, something didn’t feel right. 
His reaction to the cookie was still on my mind, too. 
“I’m quite sure I’d find being a noble to be uncomfortable, in any case,” he said. “I very much prefer field work like this — it takes away the weariness from desk work.” 
“Desk work?” 
“Yes. By that, I mean the nonstop glaring at draft budgets, applications... things like that. I’m far better suited to act on my own... I find that being important is tiring.” 
“Is that so?” 
“It is.” 
The way he put it made it likely he was a professor or a director in some academy somewhere. And again, I couldn’t help but notice his speech slip. 
That reminded me that he hadn’t told me where he was from. 
I had a rough idea, though, so I just went ahead and asked. 
“You’re from Dryfe, aren’t you?”