Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 11 - Chapter 9.1

Interlude: The Past Becomes the Present Becomes the Future 
Remnants of Nowest Canyon 
[SUBM, Tri-Zenith Dragon, Gloria, has been defeated.] 
[Selecting MVPs...] 
[Figaro, Tsukuyo Fuso, Shu Starling...] 
The message rang out immediately when Shu defeated Gloria, but those who actually heard it were few, for it was exclusive to those MVP candidates and their party members. 
Figaro and Tsukuyo were already gone. Shu, meanwhile... 
“...” He had Fainted and was now falling from the sky. 
There was nothing surprising about him being unconscious. In fact, it was incredible that he had stayed awake for as long as he had. Fighting against a dragon with such absurd stats was draining both physically and mentally. Furthermore, he’d been badly damaged while running through the space-destruction near the end of the battle. 
He might have had the will to stay awake, but his body was inflicted with Unconscious due to Blood Loss and other injuries. 
The moment Gloria vanished, Shu’s body began to fall through the air. 
Injured as he was and unable to make a proper landing, he was in danger of actually dying upon hitting the ground. 
However, that did not occur. 
A moment before impact, Shu’s body began to slow and landed softly on the ground, as if it was a bed. 
The person — no, being — responsible for this silently looked down on Shu. This entity had the appearance of a woman covered by a thin, egg-like shell. 
It was none other than control AI no. 2, Humpty Dumpty. 
She examined Shu’s face with an expression that was impossible to read. 
“This makes us even after purposely leaving you out earlier.” 
She was referring to the fact that they’d specifically chosen to deploy Gloria while Shu was away from the kingdom. Shu himself had pointed this out, and Humpty did feel that it was a little unfair. Thus, she had chosen to make things even by saving Shu from a death penalty. She knew that she would be the only one aware of this gesture, but that didn’t bother her much. 
“...Oh?” she said, noticing something nearby. “You came, too, Dormouse?” 
A giant hamster was lumbering towards her with its eyes closed. This was Dor, the third princess’ — Theresia’s — pet. Though, his status as Theresia’s pet was more like a disguise than anything else. 
He was actually control AI no. 8. 
“Theresia ordered me to,” Dor replied to Humpty in a deep voice you’d never expect from a creature who looked like he did. “If Shu is alive and unable to move, I’m to bring him to the castle before anyone else finds him.” 
“That has nothing to do with what you’re in charge of, does it?” 
“Hey now — as avatars, Alice and just about everyone else more or less does whatever they want. I’m merely enjoying the simple life of a pet, myself. It’s a kind of freedom. Though, I don’t think I like what Rabbit does.” 
“What can you do? He has an awful personality. You might as well think of him as no different than that ill-natured Jabberwock or that unsociable Bandersnatch.” 
“Hahahah. You’re one to talk, you big meanie. I’ve always thought that you were like a little girl who bullies the boy she lik—” 
“I will crush you,” Humpty cut Dor off, glaring at him. 
“Sorry, sorry. Please spare me,” the hamster apologized with a wry grin on his face. 
“...All right,” Humpty calmed down. “So I can leave him to you?” 
“Mhm. You can. I’m actually used to carrying people around.” 
“It really does look like you’re enjoying your life as a pet.” Humpty appreciated this. The kingdom and its Masters should’ve realized that the battle was over, so they would soon be heading here to investigate. Humpty had been wondering what to do with Shu when that happened, so this was actually a great help to her. 
“Do what you have to, then,” she said. 
“Mhm,” Dor nodded before putting Shu on his back and running off. 
After watching him disappear in the distance, Humpty vanished. 
With that, the shattered canyon was left absolutely vacant — to the immense confusion of those who came to investigate. 
 
For a brief while, the question of who, exactly, had defeated Gloria dominated people’s minds, but all that ended once Figaro and Tsukuyo returned from their death penalties with special rewards bearing the dragon’s name. 
They testified that the King of Destruction had been on the battlefield, as well, making it well known that Gloria had been slain by Altar’s three Superiors. 
Since then, as the three top ranking players and the ones who’d conquered the three heads of Gloria, they became known as “Altar’s Big Three.” 
 
Kingdom of Altar, underground cave 
[SUBM, Tri-Zenith Dragon, Gloria, has been defeated.] 
[Selecting MVPs...] 
[Figaro, Tsukuyo Fuso, Shu Starling, Sechs Würfel have been selected as MVPs.] 
[Sechs Würfel is presented with “Organ of Rebirth, Gloria ?.” 
“...Oh, it looks like Shu also won,” Sechs spoke, his voice echoing throughout the cave. He had just finished his fight against the four-horn, which was now completely gone from this place. 
However, Sechs wasn’t anywhere in sight, either. 
He could be heard, but his preferred shape was nowhere to be seen, nor was any of his slime. 
“Even I was in extreme danger of dying, yet Shu was able to defeat the third head with all its amazing stats. I would expect no less of you, Shu.” 
A gigantic, black humanoid figure stood in the underground cavern. 
The entity seemed entirely made of some dark metal and, as though just now realizing that the battle was over, it began to shrink until it once again took on the appearance of a plain young man — Sechs. 
“So, Skydragon King... I completed the task,” he said. 
“Kheheheh. Well done, Sechs,” said Drag-Heaven. “I will prepare your reward. Is there anything you want? If it is the head of a dragon king that you wish, I can find one for you among those serving me.” 
“No. I’ll leave the decision up to you. There’s nothing I really want right now.” 
“I see. Then I shall think of something myself.” 
“Oh, and this has nothing to do with the reward, but may I ask you something?” 
“What is it?” 
“Did Shu get the death penalty after defeating Gloria?” 
“No. He survived. However, he seems to have Fainted.” 
“I see. Thank you.” 
“Oh, I should be the one thanking you. It was quite a spectacle to behold.” 
“I can imagine.” 
“Looking forward to your reward.” Thus, The Skydragon King cut off their conversation through the undead scale. 
Left alone, Sechs considered what he just learned. 
“Perhaps Shu doesn’t know that I helped defeat Gloria. And if he stays Unconscious long enough for the message log to vanish... Oh, speaking of which, what kind of reward did I get?” 
Sechs finally decided to take a look at his Gloria ?. It was an egg-shaped accessory, and its effect... 
“Hm? But... What am I supposed to do with this?” 
...Was something that left Sechs perplexed, which was quite a rare occurrence. 
“What it does is wonderful, yes, but it doesn’t mean much to me... I’ll have to discuss it with Rascal.” 
Puzzled by the treasure’s effect, Sechs decided he ought to talk it over with a fellow wanted Superior: The Weapon, Rascal the Bloodonyx. Known as the “Ruin-Killer,” Rascal had a wealth of knowledge about many kinds of items and could likely think of a way to use this special reward. 
“Time to flee the scene,” Sechs said, returning Gloria ? to his inventory and transforming back into a slime. He then entered a crack in the cave and made his way to the surface. 
Nothing was left in this cavern underneath the Kingdom of Altar. Few would ever know that Gloria had a backup, or that the new menace had been consigned to the darkness by an even greater menace. 
It would take more than a year for the world to learn that this battle even happened. Around that time, the world would also finally learn just how terrible Sechs Würfel’s reward truly was. 
 
Gideon the City of Duels, Central Arena 
The location was on the Central Arena — a building that looked much like the Colosseum in Rome. 
Few people could even access this place. Figaro, having returned from his death penalty, was lying there and looking up at the sky. There were a few clouds above, and he followed them with his eyes as though searching for something. 
“Yo, Figaro. You’re here agaaiin?” 
Just like he did on that day some time ago, Tom Cat called out to him. With his Embryo, Grimalkin, sitting on his head, Tom crouched down and looked into Figaro’s eyes. 
“What’s wrong?” Tom asked. “It looks like something’s troubling you again.” 
“Shulka came by,” Figaro replied. 
“Shulka... Oh, the guy from the Babylonian Battlegroup.” 
“He said he’s giving up being the sub-leader and going on a journey.” Shulka, the sub-leader of the Babylonian Battlegroup, had come to Gideon to thank Figaro for defeating Gloria and say his goodbyes. 
According to him, the Babylonian Battlegroup would cease their activities. With the leader — Foltesla — having retired, and Claymill — their hometown — in ruins, the clan was having a hard time carrying on as normal. 
“He said he wouldn’t be a good leader, and that it was hard for him to even stay in the Babylonian Battlegroup. That’s why he left the sub-leader’s seat up to the other members, so they could at least keep the clan alive.” 
Shulka himself had decided to leave the kingdom and go visit the other countries. He’d told Figaro that he simply had too many memories here. It was up to the other members to make sure the clan continued to exist, and the main man behind that was Masked Riser — a fellow ranker. 
Riser insisted that he would only be holding down the fort and waiting for Foltesla and Shulka’s return, all the while protecting Gideon the way he couldn’t protect Claymill. 
Upon hearing all that, Figaro asked Shulka, “If Foltesla returns someday, will you come back, too?” 
To which Figaro had replied, “I hope that happens.” 
“Oh, so thaat’s the reason...” Tom said. “I was wondering why a bunch of other rankers from the Babylonian Battlegroup were gone... It’s gonna be lonelyy.” 
“Yeah.” They looked at the ranking board in front of the arena and thought about the ones who were now gone. Because he hadn’t officially withdrawn, Foltesla’s name was still there, but it would soon disappear from the rankings as he kept failing to appear and forfeited all his duels. 
“But I’ll stay. Always,” Figaro spoke what he’d decided. “I’ll remain champion until the day Foltesla returns.” 
“Yeah. I think that’s what you should do, too.” 
The champion and the second in the ranks didn’t say anything more. Under the flowing, amorphous clouds, Figaro looked at the names on the ranking and resolved to wait. 
 
Tomb Labyrinth 
“I thought leveling would be easier, but it’s unexpectedly haaaard.” 
High Priestess... no... the mere Priest, Tsukuyo Fuso was leveling alongside her secretary, Eishiro. 
They’d chosen the Tomb Labyrinth because regaining the sheer number of levels — over a thousand — that Tsukuyo had lost required killing so many monsters that it would affect the ecosystem. Tsukuyo’s Kaguya and Eishiro’s Erlkönig were a combo that made the hunt easy, but doing it outside could potentially lead to several extinctions. 
That problem didn’t exist inside created dungeons like the Tomb Labyrinth, since there was no ecosystem and the monsters simply respawned. 
There were, however, other problems. 
“And using Kaguya’s skills takes so much of my MP and SP. I can’t keep them uuup.” 
Tsukuyo’s level was low, and so were her stats. 
As an Embryo, Kaguya was both a Maiden and a Type Invasion World from the Territory series. Unlike Guardians and the like, Kaguya used Tsukuyo’s MP and SP for skills. Of course, being a Maiden, Kaguya also had her own stats, but her low MP only allowed her to use skills briefly — as she had demonstrated in the final battle against the two-horn. 
And with Tsukuyo’s current stats, she could barely use any of her Superior Embryo’s skills right now. 
If she could use her Lunar Divider Field and have Tsukikage finish them off, she would receive huge amounts of XP from her contributions to the battle, but even that was difficult right now. 
“At this rate, it might take me more than a year to level back up,” Tsukuyo sighed. 
She didn’t regret using the skill, but she wasn’t prepared for the rehabilitation to be this long. “If only this could also be used on monsters...” she said, taking out a wand decorated with an eye. 
It was the Superior special reward from the two-horn: Fatal Eye, Gloria ?. 
“It only works on humanoids level 100 and below... That’s super weak compared to Gloria’s head... But at least it completely protects me from attacks outside the field.” It was worth noting that if the wand worked on monsters, she could use it in conjunction with Faint Light to instakill even UBMs. “What a hard nerf,” she complained. 
It was also possible that, due to the power limits of the special reward, its Resources went into recreating the defense effect first, and the instakill effect with whatever was left. 
“Ah. But with this, I’m really safe now. You’re unbeatable at mid-range, so no one gets close when you’re protecting me; between Kaguya’s night and Erlkönig’s shadows, my defense is now perfect.” 
“Indeed,” Eishiro agreed. “You are safe as long as no one faster than me closes in on you and uses something like... I don’t know, maybe a breath of light that banishes all night and shadow, or something like that.” 
“That example is disturbingly specific...” Chatting about this and that, the two continued Tsukuyo’s rehabilitative grinding for quite a while. 
Side note: a little over a year later, Tsukuyo Fuso would be defeated by Figaro in the exact same manner Eishiro described. 
 
The outskirts of the imperial capital, Triangle of Wisdom headquarters 
“Yeah, you can’t read its stats at all. I really hate that all the scout monsters I sent out died within one kilometel of it. And even if you ignore that...” 
In the headquarters of Dryfe Imperium’s largest clan — Triangle of Wisdom — the leader, Giga Professor, Mr. Franklin, was watching recordings and pondering. 
The recordings were of the battle against Gloria at Claymill. 
“I had some scout monsters accompany the armored battalion to figure out how powerful the kingdom was, and I did get some data out of it, but it’s, well...” Most of the recordings were cut off after a wave of white light. The monsters, just like the battalion, were evaporated by Gloria’s Overdrive. 
The other recordings were those taken by the Babylonian Battlegroup and presented to DIN to ensure their spread and assist anyone trying to defeat Gloria. 
“Hmm... Well, there’s still a few things I managed to deduce from those recordings.” Tapping his notes and desk with the pen in his hand, Franklin continued talking to himself as if to properly arrange his analysis. 
“That thing doesn’t have high base stats. I think even His Excellency’s unbuffed Zero Exceed has higher everything, except HP. What makes it such a problem is all the powerful skills it has, one of which does increase its stats.” 
Writing something down, he continued to consider the dragon. 
“Looking at how much the abilities vary and how great their output is, I’m guessing it has several sources of power as a UBM. I haven’t seen one like it myself, but there’s records of such a UBM appearing in The Era of the Peerless Three, so it shouldn’t be impossible.” 
Six hundred years ago in Infinite Dendrogram time was The Era of the Peerless Three, when King of Kings, Draconic Emperor, and The Lynx battled for dominance. Records spoke of an absurdly powerful UBM with various abilities appearing in this era, and Franklin believed it to be the same kind of creature as Gloria. 
“Could... Could I do something similar? Maybe not something quite that insane, but as I add more and more parts... I could give it as much as possible... In that case, I should give up on using a pure animal base and instead make a hybrid with machine attachments and the like right from the start... Yeah, that sounds good. Let’s go with this plan. For that, I’m going to need...” 
Muttering to himself, Franklin left a memo on his note. 
Suddenly... 
“Heya Fran, whacha doin’? Rubby-rub!.” 
“Hyahn?!” 
...Someone called out to him and began fondling his chest, making him yelp. 
Of course, Franklin’s avatar was male, so there wasn’t much to fondle. 
“AR-I-CA...” Franklin wrung out each syllable as he glared at the person responsible. 
It was a woman with heterochromia... specifically, one artificial eye... Ace, AR-I-CA. She was a member of The Triangle of Wisdom and a good friend of Franklin. 
“I did knock, y’know?” she said. “You didn’t reply and just kept muttering to yourself, so I just up and did that!” 
“You don’t just just ‘up and do’ that! Ugh...” Now that he was alone with a close friend, Franklin’s tone changed. He was talking more like his player, Francesca. 
“So, whuzzat? Somethin’ to do with the unit for the singing engine ya made?” 
“It’s something different. The unit will be done in about a month.” 
“Oh, okay. I guess I’ll save it for after I see it.” 
“Hm?” Franklin tilted his head. He didn’t understand what AR-I-CA meant by that. 
“So, what idea’re ya writing down now?” she asked. 
Leaving his own question aside, he just answered, “That over there is a recording of the SUBM that attacked the kingdom. I was wondering if I could use it as a reference for my own monsters.” 
“Oh yeah. Your Embryo feels like it comes from a different game.” 
“...I can’t deny that. And yeah, I might have to use Pandemonium for this. But...” 
“But what?” 
“It probably doesn’t have enough output yet. I can’t get the abilities I want while it’s still in its sixth form.” 
At this point in time, Franklin’s Embryo was still just a high-rank. A non-Superior Embryo was unlikely to create a monster that would meet his standards. 
“Then why not just make it once you’re a Superior?” 
“You say it like that’s easy... But yeah, I suppose I don’t have a choice.” 
“For now, just put it on your list of monsters you’ll make someday and think of a name for it.” 
“A name, huh? It would involve machines... Add a powerful-sounding word to that... Yeah, and also...” Franklin spent a few moments thinking before saying, “How about... ‘Mechanical God Dylan?’” It was a mix of term for its main trait, a word for the extent of its power, and the name of a pet Francesca had once had. 
“That’s cool! By the way, Fran — you’re from France, aren’t you? Why do you always make English names?” 
“...Because you said that you don’t understand them at all when I make them French.” 
“Ahahah? I did?” AR-I-CA laughed awkwardly as Franklin stared at her. His eyes were annoyed, but his mouth was curled into a smile. 
This all happened half a year before the war between Altar and Dryfe, and a little while before AR-I-CA left Franklin’s side. 
 
Royal Capital, Altea, noble district 
An old residence stood in Altea’s noble district. 
An ordinary passerby would only see a building that could be perhaps centuries old, but those skilled in magic would notice that it was covered by layer upon layer of spells that prevented any intrusion. 

It was the residence of perhaps the kingdom’s most distinguished person, the Arch Sage. 
At the moment, the place was completely sealed. The windows were shut tight and covered by thick curtains. Once the matter of Gloria was solved, the Arch Sage vowed that he would mourn his lost apprentices and locked himself in his residence. He’d stopped visiting the castle, but those who knew the circumstances figured that even the Archsage had to rest sometimes and thought little of it. 
However, right now the Arch Sage was neither mourning nor resting. In fact, he was probably working harder than he had in a long while. 
“Tri-Zenith Dragon, Gloria... It was a terrifying creature, but to the incarnations, it was nothing but another pawn. Those monsters...” 
In the basement of his manor, the Arch Sage muttered this to himself before resuming his work. 
One might think that, as a powerful caster, he was working on something magical, but that assumption would be wrong. He was actually working on machines — something that was more typical of the neighboring country’s engineers. Even though he was doing something that didn’t suit the image of “Arch Sage” whatsoever, he did it with a proficiency that rivaled even the greatest masters of the craft. 
“There’s also the few Superiors who slew the dragon,” he spoke to himself again. “Superiors and incarnations... not even a fully complete No. 1 could win if it had to fight them all.” 
He input some data into a device, which went through the process of sending it off somewhere. 
“...But thanks to this incident, I discovered that, even though the incarnations observe the Superiors, they don’t control them.” Masters were free to do what they wanted, and not even the incarnations — control AIs — that the Arch Sage viewed as his enemies could restrain them. 
“Things would be different if I could get a Superior on my side,” he muttered. “I wonder if there are any skilled Superiors who are hostile to the incarnations...” 
After thinking on it for a moment, the Arch Sage chuckled wryly. 
“...Heh. As if things would ever be that convenient.” 
Resigned, he resumed his work. The device he was working on displayed the code “Anti-Incarnation Superweapon, Argus Magna.” 
“No matter. I will achieve my goal... Fulfill my dying wish.” 
His words were wrung out through his teeth, carried with the heat of boiling blood. 
“We... The Arch Sage... We, the Flagman, will surely... destroy the incarnations and those who side with them.” The man who’d built the prosperous pre-ancient civilization, destroyed by the incarnations two millennia ago, voiced his resolve once more. 
 
Gaol 
News of Gloria’s defeat became a hot topic even in the gaol. 
Though they were stuck in their cells, many were curious about what was going on outside. It was especially hard to miss these news due to the fact that the local celebrity, King of Berserk, Hannya, was walking around all smiles and broadcasting the involvement of her beloved Figaro to all who heard. 
“But man, that’s huge. I wonder what kinda rewards The Big Three got.” 
“Aw, man... I was from the kingdom, too. If I was still outside, I could’ve become an MVP...” 
“...You’re barely over level 200. You couldn’t have done shit.” 
The gaol’s Masters chatted as they watched a recording of the battle against Gloria. It was something like watching a fire on a far-off island, and they were treating it as a kind of festive occasion. 
The mood was upbeat, but then... 
“Help! Help...!” 
...A Master ran down the main road, shouting. 
Those around him understood the problem the moment they saw him. 
They couldn’t see his right arm. 
Infinite Dendrogram players could choose between realistic, CG, and anime graphics; all three options always worked perfectly in all circumstances. 
However, the man’s right arm looked like sequenced ones and zeroes mixed with static. It wasn’t limited to his arm, either. The noise was spreading further, breaking up his avatar as it did. 
Upon seeing that, the other Masters instantly understood what happened. 
“Help! What the hell’s this?! My avatar and stats are a mess! Even my name looks wrong!” the man panicked 
“You’re new here, right?” an onlooker asked. “Didn’t anyone tell ya not to go to that dungeon when ya first came here?” 
“I-I thought they were hiding some juicy XP fodder...” 
“You dumbass. ‘Don’t enter that dungeon,’ ‘don’t talk shit about Figaro,’ and ‘don’t flirt in public’ are actual warnings ya gotta listen to!” 
“H-How was I supposed to...?! C-Can anyone do something about this?” the man cried, displaying his deteriorating right arm. 
The one he was talking to shook his head, “Give up. You get hit by his skill, you’re basically done for. Hell, you should go try and get the death penalty before it’s too late.” 
“Eh? What do you—?” A moment later, someone behind the man cut off his head, killing him instantly. The Master responsible didn’t do it just for enjoyment. In fact, he felt like he had helped or even saved his target. 
“...Did I make it in time?” 
“It’ll be fine. The area isn’t glitching yet, so it probably wasn’t bad enough to leave any after-effects. The newcomer’s level and Embryo’s form must’ve been pretty high.” 
“Last time, we managed ’cause Hannya crushed the whole block along with the guy, but that can be pretty hard without her around.” 
“If we don’t get more Superiors like Hannya, who are reasonable at least most of the time, we might be unable to hold them back.” 
“...Fu’uta, huh? How can a Master like that even exist...?” 
The gathered Masters frowned bitterly and looked outside the residential area... in the direction of a certain dungeon. 
Or, to be more precise, to the direction of a Master who was simply a walking disaster. 
 
Currently, there were two Superiors in the gaol. 
One was King of Berserk, Hannya. As long as you adhered to certain taboos, she was a reasonable person, and most of the gaol’s inhabitants liked her a lot. 
The other Superior was always in a certain dungeon. 
At the moment, two people were standing next to each other. 
One was a young boy, approximately ten years of age. He was wearing ragged starting equipment and sitting on the cave floor with his head resting on his knees. 
The other person, standing next to the boy, was a man wearing a hood and a completely featureless mask, lacking even eye holes. He was standing there as though protecting the boy, not saying a single word. 
“Another player arrived...” The boy silently muttered while remembering what just happened. “He was smiling, enjoying himself as he walked...” As he thought of that, he bit his lip so hard he drew blood. 
“What the hell is so fun to him...?!” Unable to hold himself back, the boy punched a wall. 
His frail arm did nothing besides shake off some dust. 
But then, the wall changed. Ones and zeroes danced across it and static spread through the stone; finally, it transformed into a monster that was essentially nothing more than a wall with eyes and a mouth. 
It was a strange monster, though. Its graphics were quite crude, didn’t really fit in with the appearance of Infinite Dendrogram’s creatures. Perhaps it was a strange thing to think about something within this world, but it looked like a monster out of a game. 
“I’ll break this game, no matter what...” Not minding the fact that his attack had turned the wall into a monster, the boy continued spitting out his curses. 
“I’ll destroy this world if it’s the last thing I do...” With all the hatred he could muster, he spoke to the empty space... to the very world itself. 
“No matter what...” There was murderous intent in his eyes. 
He glared at the world with the kind of hatred one might normally reserve for the man who murdered one’s parents. 
He was Fu’uta, the Astray Glitch. 
At the edge of the gaol, the level 0 Superior without a single job, continued to sharpen his fangs. His Apostle Embryo — The Encroaching Demise, Apocalypse — stood by his side. 
 
Control AI no. 4’s workspace, vault no. 4 
Jabberwock wordlessly walked through a hallway of a strange material. 
This was vault no. 4 — the UBM storage vault managed by control AI no. 4, Jabberwock. 
Just recently, he’d watched the demise of Gloria — which was perhaps his greatest masterpiece. The original had achieved the highest recorded stats, while its vessel for rebirth had almost opened up entirely new horizons. And yet, they had both been defeated by Superiors. 
At that moment, the control AIs felt nothing but relief. 
Queen did give Jabberwock a considerate look, but he didn’t seem to pay attention to it. He’d released Gloria with the goal of creating more Superiors, and the fact that it had been defeated before it could do that even once meant several things to him. First, that the current Superiors were more powerful than he had expected, and second, that he had effectively wasted his trump card, and what was more, he’d lost his teaching material. 
Considering the various drawbacks, Jabberwock continued to walk through the vault. 
On each side of the hallway, there were several giant objects that looked much like battleship docks. They were labeled in various ways, but with one key similarity. 
Tetra-Beast of Creation, Suling. 
Penta-Phased Destroyer, Horobimaru. 
Hexa-Portal Unsealed, Gate of Six. 
Seven-Star Command, Elemental Order. 
They were the SUBMs that would eventually descend upon the continent and cause immense destruction. 
Jabberwock, however, didn’t stop in front of any of them. He only kept moving forward until he came to a particularly well-sealed... coffin. 
“Gloria lost.” Jabberwock’s words made the coffin slightly shake. 
Suddenly, a part of it — the window through which one might see the deceased’s face — opened up to reveal a giant eye looking down at Jabberwock. 
“What a shame,” Jabberwock continued. “If the timing was right, this all would’ve ended with Gloria.” 
In response to those words, the eye frantically darted to and fro. It was hard to tell what that meant. It could be interpreted as an expression of surprise, sadness, anger, or maybe nothing at all. 
“The kingdom’s... no... Planet Earth’s Masters are truly exceptional. I guess I shouldn’t have expected any less of them. Limited progress on the plan notwithstanding, I’m actually somewhat enjoying this.” 
The word “enjoying” made the eye glare at Jabberwock in clear protest. 
“Don’t be upset. This also means that there’s still a window of opportunity to strive for even greater heights. Be glad... my other half.” 
Calling the thing inside the coffin a part of him, Jabberwock smiled. 
“For now, just wait. Eventually, there will be a chance to become stronger than even before the reset. Your time isn’t far off. It won’t be more than ten years, I’m sure — which is nothing compared to how long you’ve already waited.” 
Jabberwock closed his eyes, as if to remember something. 
He might’ve been looking back at the staggering amount of years that had led to this. 
“...” 
“In the worst case scenario, we can undergo an enhancement using the data of another Infinite. Though, our enhancement is mostly orthogonal to the overall plan — the crux of the matter is something else. It’s okay. This was a painful failure, but not a real setback. We will gather them all, no matter what.” 
Jabberwock opened his eyes. 
“I’ll get back to work, then. You keep sleeping for now... Evolution.” 
He then turned around and walked away from the coffin. The creature within... Evolution... saw him leave, then closed its eye. 
The coffin’s window followed suit, and the entity inside went back to sleep. 
Infinite Progression, Evolution. 
This was Jabberwock’s other half, and the original UBM. 
And at least for now, it silently slumbered... 
 
Royal Capital, Altea, deep inside the castle 
“I’m... here?” Shu opened his eyes to see a familiar ceiling. 
It was the room of the third princess — the place he’d visited just before fighting Gloria. 
He quickly understood that he was lying on the bed. 
After Fainting, he wasn’t able to discern what was happening, because while Unconscious, Masters had their minds locked into an empty space and couldn’t even log out. If he absolutely had to return to reality, he would’ve been forced to use the Suicide system. However, since Shu hadn’t died or received a message that would make it necessary for him to log out, he simply waited it out. 
Though, the fact that he found himself in the third princess’ room puzzled even him. 
He looked around and saw the little owner of this room using Dormouse as a makeshift bed. The hamster had natural fur all over, and his body was as warm as a hot water bottle, making him a truly pleasant surface to lay on. 
Dor himself was awake, though, and he was looking right at Shu. 
“Hm?” Shu suddenly felt strange and looked down to find out why. 
While he’d been unconscious, someone put an animal costume on him. It was the bear costume sold at the capital — the same one he’d bought right after starting Infinite Dendrogram. 
Shu didn’t know whether they’d prepared it ahead of time or if Dor acquired it while carrying him back to the castle, but he was wearing it right now. 
This reminds me that, for a bunch of reasons, I was also in a bear costume back when I first met Theresia, Shu thought. 
As he pondered whether that might’ve been the very reason they’d put this particular outfit on him, Dor shook Theresia awake. 
Shu and the girl stared at each other for a good few moments before he broke the silence. “I won.” 
“I know,” she replied. What a simple exchange. 
“The castle is so loud and lively right now,” Theresia continued. “Father and Altimia must be really busy.” 
“I see.” With that, Shu understood why there were no other people in the room. 
“Did you get Dor to look fur me and bring me all the way back here?” 
“Yeah.” Theresia understood that Shu would go to face Gloria the moment he walked out of her room, so when Dor returned, she asked him to bring Shu back after his victory so that his identity was not revealed. “Thanks to you, we’re not over yet — not me, and not what I’m harboring... Though, I’m not sure if that’s a good thing.” 
“...Did you want to be over?” 
“Who knows?” Theresia tilted her head in curiosity, as if she herself didn’t know the answer to that question. 
“But... well...” She remembered something and strung a sentence together. “Up until a few moments ago, Altimia was protecting us.” The eldest sister, Altimia, was with Theresia and Elizabeth, protecting them both. 
Though, perhaps she was merely preparing to help her sisters escape in case the capital was in imminent danger. Altimia herself was strong, but she was powerless against Gloria’s Fatal Field. Gloria was channeling it passively, so even The Primeval Sword could only split it open for a single moment. Even if Altimia did intend to let her sisters escape, Theresia couldn’t leave this castle. 
That was why she was wondering what her sister was planning to do when push came to shove. 
Had Altimia been considering ways to let Theresia escape, or had she intended to stay by her side and fight with her blade until the bitter end? 
Given that Altimia had entrusted Elizabeth to her childhood friend, Liliana, it might’ve been the latter. 
“And when she found out that Altea was safe, Altimia actually hugged me.” When it had become clear that the menace of Gloria was no more, the first princess embraced Theresia, wept , and said, “I’m so glad you’re safe now.” 
As for what Theresia felt within her sister’s warmth... 
“I did think that it was nice that I wasn’t over.” 
“All’s well, then.” 
Then we really did seize the opportunity, Shu thought. 
He was certain that he couldn’t have reached this point on his own, even if he had given it his all. 
Foltesla and his Babylonian Battlegroup had exposed Gloria’s powers, Figaro had defeated the all-destroying one-horned head, and Tsukuyo Fuso had finally destroyed the annihilating two-horned head. 
All of this was why Shu had been able to emerge victorious in the final battle. If even one element had been missing, he would never have won. 
For all he knew, there might have also been those who played a part in achieving this outcome in ways he couldn’t see. 
This moment was only possible because everyone had given their all to seize this opportunity. They had all contributed to this moment, where this girl was able to say she was glad it didn’t have to be over. 
“You’re thirsty, right?” Theresia asked. “I’ll make some tea. The castle’s water is very good.” 
With small hands, but plenty of skill, the girl began handling the tea set. 
“Fur sure it is,” said Shu. “Yeah, I’ll have some.” 
Shu got out of bed, sat in a chair and waited for Theresia to finish. 
Dor also lumbered into a chair and waited for the tea. 
While waiting, these two... the Superior and the control AI began to talk. 
“Dormouse. The kingdom won’t be getting any more SUBMs, right?” Shu asked. 
“If the general rule still applies, yes,” the hamster replied. “But thanks to this incident, I discovered that Jabberwock is truly ruthless. If he thinks it’s necessary, he might do something excessive.” 
“Can’t you control your colleagues?” 
“Hm... We’re programmed in a way that makes us unable to say much about what the others are doing with their areas of influence. We can give advice or argue, but in the end, they themselves have the final say. Though it’s a little different when we have some overlap between us. Cheshire is a good example. He’s in charge of miscellaneous jobs, so he’s involved in a great many areas.” 
“You sound like you’re all arranged like a government office.” 
“That’s more or less how it was originally. Though, even aside from that, the kingdom has a lot of problems piling up. The issues Gloria caused will greatly affect the fate of Altar. There are a lot of incidents on the horizon. And that’s just with the actions of tians and Masters... Without us doing anything at all.” 
“...That so?” That meant that there would be events... tragedies, rather, that could potentially decide the fate of the kingdom. Shu pondered what he would do then and considered his little brother, who would join him in Infinite Dendrogram in a year here... or four months in reality. 
“I wonder what he would do.” Shu got lost in thought... 
Knowing how he is, I’m sure he won’t be able to ignore all the suffering. 
That’s why, if I told him all that I know, I would basically be like making him run a mile after piling a heavy weight on his shoulders, and one that he can’t put down. 
That’s why, when he comes here, I won’t tell him anything that I’m privy to. 
I’ll let him start out free and choose what to feel, think, and do all by himself. 
I’m sure that that’s the only way he can find the possibility he’s supposed to seize. 
 
“Oh my. It’s like a page out of a picture book.” Theresia returned with a pot of black tea to a fairytale-like scene, where a bear and a giant hamster sat politely at a table, waiting to be served. 
It made her giggle. 
“Ohh, I’m pawsitively parched. Theresia, give me teaaa,” Shu playfully requested. 
“Just a second,” she kept giggling as she filled his cup. 
“Thank you very much.” Even if what had just happened was an event that would change everything for the kingdom and the continent, this moment was nothing if not peaceful. 
Thus, Shu decided to sit back, smile, and enjoy a nice cup of tea. 
Episode Gloria: End