Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 14 - Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen: Soaring and Indomitable 

Altar-Dryfe border 

The peace talks had gone awry, sparking a conflict between the kingdom and the imperium, and the people who had a solid grasp of all the simultaneous battles currently occurring were few and far between. 

Those who were currently fighting had no attention to spare on the others, so the only ones who could observe them all were the spectators — Giga Professor, Mr. Franklin and King of Light, F. 

Having been defeated by Ray, they now observed him from afar. 

Their vision spanned the entire area around the assembly hall, so they saw the conclusion to the battle between the princesses, as well as the struggle against Behemot that had ended earlier. 

Thus, they could understand the significance of both battles. 

Although Altimia had defeated Claudiah, it had no bearing on whether she was ultimately victorious — even if Claudiah was defeated, it would mean nothing as long as The Physical Apex waiting for them on the surface wasn’t also overcome. 

Because of this, the Altarian Masters’ fight would decide the true outcome of the battle in the sky... and it was already known that Ray Starling had fallen. 

That had been confirmed the moment Silver vanished... or perhaps the very moment he had resolved to face The Physical Apex herself. Weaklings like him had no business fighting the strongest Masters that existed, let alone defeating them, so this outcome was only to be expected. 

Even if challenging an apex meant that his death penalty was assured, though, it didn’t mean that his resolve would ever be broken, or even bent. 

After all, the conclusion to this conflict relied on more than just Behemot defeating Ray Starling. 

Most people would only learn the true significance of this battle and its outcome in the not-so-distant future, but for now, it was only known to those select few who’d witnessed Ray’s battle. 

Let us now rewind time to see what transpired... 

Altar-Dryfe border, assembly hall 

Ray’s left hand, transformed into Monochrome’s cannon, fired its Shining Despair at Behemot’s forehead from point-blank range. 

In terms of pure firepower, this was likely one of the strongest attacks that anyone present possessed. Their entire strategy revolved around this very attack, and Rook had even sacrificed himself to see it delivered. 

“ND.” Behemot spoke using her usual internet slang — this meant “no damage,” and Behemot’s current state clearly showed that she was correct — the attack had been blocked by something made of a metal reminiscent of both gold and silver. 

“Wh-What...?!” 

This metal appeared out of nowhere and seemingly replaced Behemot, but Ray’s Reveal told him that she still stood before him. 

The metal mass concealing Behemot’s form had the head of a beast on the top, as well as wings and forelegs several times larger than her hind legs. At first glance, she now looked like a massive, top-heavy beast. 

Behemot’s transformation was reminiscent of equipment switching achieved via Instant Wear or the transformation caused by items like Kim-un-Kamuy. 

Speculation as to the barrier’s nature coursed through the minds of everyone who witnessed it, but one thing was obvious: Shining Despair had failed to pierce the metal. 

The laser had struck the metal head, and despite the insane heat condensed into that single point, the beam hadn’t so much as changed the metal’s color. It was as though the barrier was completely immune to any changes in temperature. 

This is actual immunity! And not just to light like Monochrome, but heat as well! Ray thought, remembering what B3 had told him about resistances. 

He was right. The Superior special reward named “Sky Supremacy, Greatest Top” did indeed give Behemot immunity to heat—but there was more to it than that. 

All special rewards reflected the UBM they dropped from; the reward Behemot had received from Greatest One featured its absolute immunity to changes in temperature. 

Even in the depths of an active volcano or the freezing cold of the most desolate glacier, the comfortable warmth of the Greatest Top she was wearing would not change one bit. 

“Gh!” Ray realized that Behemot did indeed know every card in their hand. That was why she switched to gear that could withstand his deadly Shining Despair. He was still channeling the laser, but it wasn’t inflicting even a single point of damage. 

Still basking in the deadly light, Behemot moved to leave B3’s gravity field. 

“No way,” someone muttered as they witnessed her actions. Behemot floated upwards using the wings she had grown using her special reward, seemingly ignoring the effect of the 5,000 times increased gravity. This was actually another effect she had inherited from Greatest One — the skill called “Nullgravity Wings,” which allowed her to forcefully reduce the surrounding gravity to zero, effectively letting her levitate. 

No matter how powerful the pull of gravity was, these wings would never let her succumb to it. 

Shining Despair and Heaven’s Weight. 

By mere chance, Greatest Top had completely negated the combination that was supposed to annihilate Behemot. 

But chance or not... the situation was now completely changed. 

“Prez! Switch to AGI!” B3 shouted to Tsukuyo, realizing that gravity no longer held any meaning. 

Nullgravity Wings, though potent, didn’t allow for particularly speedy flight — Behemot wasn’t even close to Mach 1. 

However, the moment she escaped the gravity field, she could switch to moving with her own feet again—and her immense AGI, now undivided by Faint Light, would let her instantly slaughter everyone around her. 

“I already did!” Tsukuyo shouted, fully aware of the danger. 

At the same time, Marie and Eishiro prepared to attack Behemot. 

Ray remained motionless, because Shining Despair was still firing, while B3 had to maintain her gravity field to buy more time. 

The outcome of this battle would now be decided either after they regrouped once Behemot landed, or by Marie and Tsukikage’s attacks before that. 

That was what Ray’s party thought, at least... but Behemot had different plans. 

Still floating, she turned, and a portion of the metal head opened up towards Ray and B3, revealing and firing its maser cannon. 

The cannon released a deadly wave that vaporized everything at the molecular level by vibrating the individual molecules until their structure broke down. 

It sliced through the air, not even releasing any light as it destroyed even the water molecules in its path, the scenery refracting around the wave as it sped towards Ray and B3. 

B3 gasped as the warped space made her realize what kind of attack this was—and that, now armorless, she couldn’t withstand it. 

In fact, even Magnum Colossus would be meaningless in the face of an attack like this. 

I... won’t survive this, B3 thought with certainty. 

And thus, discarding her own chances of survival, she shoved Ray away with her left shoulder right before the maser beam hit. 

Because of their difference in stats, pushing him was easy.. 

And the very next moment, the maser struck home. 

“Ah—” 

B3’s body began to sizzle and break down as though being microwaved. Though she didn’t feel pain, she acutely felt the sensation of her body boiling as her HP dropped to zero in a mere heartbeat. 

Her Brooch was quickly shattered... and she received the death penalty. 

“B3...!” Ray cried out. He was still alive thanks to her, but he wasn’t exactly unscathed. 

B3 had pushed him aside, but not enough for him to fully escape the maser beam. 

His right arm had caught in it, and the vibration wave had literally melted his flesh. Next to where B3’s body had vanished, he could see the steaming bones of his right hand — along with the Miasmaflame Bracer he’d been wearing. 

“Gh...! Not yet!” 

Monochrome had changed shape back into its usual coat form. 

Shining Despair was no longer an effective option. 

He had lost his trump card and a tactically important item. 

Even so... just as he said, the battle wasn’t over yet, and Behemot fully agreed. 

“R2,” she declared the start of round two. With B3 dead, the gravity field was gone, so she landed on all fours again before instantly charging straight at Ray. 

“Ah!” he gasped before using his AGI — still boosted by Chaser From the Mirror — to back away from her. 

Losing his right arm made it harder for him to balance himself, but for better or worse, he’d lived without an arm for nearly a month, so he had enough experience to compensate for the loss. 

Since their speed was the same, Behemot could have caught up to him just like she’d caught up to Rook — but unlike Ray, she wasn’t accustomed to her current form. 

She had kept Greatest Top a secret ever since acquiring it. 

With Franklin possibly having eyes everywhere in the form of surveillance monsters all across the imperium, Behemot almost never had the opportunity to actually use the special reward, so she didn’t have the experience needed to fight at high speeds while equipped with it. 

On top of that, Greatest Top’s form made her forelegs larger than her back ones, which would have made it difficult to move even if she was used to it. 

Ray vaguely understood this as well — during their strategy crafting, B3 had never once mentioned this form, which could only mean that she had no data about it. 

Also, she’s not flying anymore...! he thought. Running is faster, so I guess that’s the obvious thing to do. Her flying was more like floating, and it probably wasn’t even close to sonic. 

Behemot’s “flying” was mere levitation. Compared to running at supersonic speeds, it was so slow it was almost boring. 

If she was able to fly as fast as she ran, the battle would have already been over. 

But even taking all that into consideration... 

This piece of gear is way too powerful... It’s past even Mythical level, so... is it a Superior special reward...? From the first...? 

Without Identification, Ray couldn’t even see its name, but based on its power alone, he correctly assumed that it was an MVP special reward from the very first SUBM. 

But it’s too powerful even for a Superior reward! Fire immunity, gravity immunity, the heat ray, that defense...! It’s way better than what Figaro and the others got...! 

Gloria ? — a sword with a powerful light beam. 

Gloria ? — a wand that instakilled certain targets. 

Suling Yi — a dagger that possessed potent enhancement powers. 

When compared to the three Superior rewards Ray knew about, Greatest Top clearly had too many abilities. 

It was overpowered even when you considered that it took up multiple equipment slots. 

It has to have some drawback. One serious enough to balance out the power it gives...! 

Ray was right to assume that, for Greatest Top most certainly had a fatal flaw. 

I guess I’ll start by getting rid of Ray... then chase the other two out of the shadows, Behemot thought. 

She was actually in a hurry. 

Thinking through the process that would lead her to victory, the porcupine said to herself, I have 4 minutes and 10 seconds left. 

That was the time limit for Greatest Top, which could only be worn for five minutes. 

The skill to equip it cost no MP or SP, but in exchange, it would be canceled the moment its duration ended. 

And to make matters worse, it had a cooldown of 500 in-Dendro hours. 

That was another reason why she had always refrained from using it. Greatest Top essentially ensured her victory in whatever battle she was currently fighting, but if this flaw became widely known, it would be used against her in every battle that followed. 

That was why Behemot intended to end this within 4 minutes and 10 seconds, even if that meant taking seemingly reckless actions that might put her in danger. 

“...Levia,” Behemot spoke in her mind. 

“Behemot!” Leviathan replied. 

The distance between them was too great for Master-Embryo telepathy, but that was not a problem. They communicated using the ultimate job skill of the King of Beasts. It was called “Beastheart, As One” and it allowed a direct exchange of will between all monsters under Beastheart Possession’s effect. 

It was fairly tame for the ultimate job skill of something like King of Beasts, the Physical Apex, but that was the jaguarman grouping for you — a grouping focused on cooperation with their monsters... their true partners. 

“You’re—!” 

“I had to use Greatest Top. They’re strong, and I’m having fun.” 

Leviathan was worried about her Master, but Behemot’s response wasn’t just a lie to calm her down. She’d been cornered... but that was a rarity these days, so she genuinely enjoyed it. 

“Behemot...” 

“I can’t just sit back and enjoy this, though. I’ll beat them all before Greatest Top’s time runs out. Hang in there until then. Once I’m done, I’ll come to you... and we’ll beat Shu with our ult.” 

“...Understood.” The conversation ended, and they focused on their individual battles, uncertain how things would end. 

Altar-Dryfe Border, mountains... or rather, a wasteland 

How long had it been since their battle began? 

Shu and Leviathan had been fighting longer than Behemot and Ray’s group. The many clashes between these beasts of metal and flesh had leveled mountains, turning the area into a wasteland of dirt and rubble. 

...She’s still standing, Shu thought, making a bitter face. It would normally be hidden by his costume, but here in the cockpit, it was fully exposed. 

Leviathan’s vigor was the reason behind Shu’s bitterness. 

Both Shu and Leviathan knew full well that if this battle continued in this manner, Shu would emerge victorious. With Shu’s stats, technique, and armaments, the chances of him losing to the kaiju were low. 

However, there was a discrepancy in their predictions which showed that ultimately, Leviathan’s estimate had been more accurate 

Specifically, it was about the time until Leviathan would be defeated. 

Based on Shu’s assumptions, Leviathan should have already fallen by now — but she was still in relatively good health and even still had about half of her vast total HP. 

There were three reasons why Shu had miscalculated. 

First was the fact that he hadn’t gotten a single chance to finish her off. Both of them were prioritizing offense, but Leviathan always backed away whenever it counted — in other words, just when Shu would prepare to do a finishing move. 

The moment he prepared to use his final skill, the moment he tried to make an opening for a decisive strike using his armaments, or when he was about to mix some limb-destroying techniques into his normal attacks... During every pivotal moment, Leviathan would always make distance between her and Baldr. 

She was able to do this partially due to her greater AGI, but also because of her beastly instincts. 

Leviathan was a Guardian with almost no actual skills, but as a beast, she had a natural sense for danger. His experience and perception was more than matched by Leviathan’s instinct, preventing him from delivering the deciding blow. 

...What a pain, he thought. 

The second reason was Leviathan’s equipment. 

Normally, she only equipped conceal-focused accessories and human gear, and only while camouflaged as human. However, there was gear that could be equipped by tamed creatures and Guardians. Legendaria was a notable source for such items, but Leviathan was far too large to wear anything they produced — and besides, no equipment would be able to withstand being worn by her. 

But there was one exception... 

“...I didn’t know you had a special reward that gives you regeneration.” 

...The existence of an MVP special reward adjusted not for Behemot, but Leviathan herself. 

The accessory was clinging to her immense frame, constantly restoring her HP. 

“I wouldn’t wear it if I wasn’t fighting you. We’re too strong to easily hide everything in our hand, but we’ll still conceal anything we can.” 

“Makes sense.” It was an obvious strategy for the pair to use, and because of this hidden piece of equipment, over half of the damage Shu had dealt had been restored by now. 

I guess it periodically restores a portion of her HP, Shu thought. Even if it’s like 0.1% per second, her total HP is so high that ends up being like 20,000 per second... Also, I guess drinking that potion back in Gideon was basically a bluff, huh? 

He had to attack her at least once every ten seconds to actually make a significant dent in her health. 

Honestly, it was impressive that he’d even been able to take away half of her 20,000,000+ HP. 

It’d be fine if this was just a matter of giving this fight a little more time, but... 

Wild instincts and a special reward. If these two things were the only problems, Shu could still win. 

However, that was where the third problem came in. 

“...You sure got passive,” Shu commented. Leviathan said nothing in response. About when her HP dropped to 40%, Leviathan became significantly less aggressive. 

No... in fact, she had clearly switched focus on prolonging this battle. 

She attacked less and instead threw everything into defense, evasion, and healing. 

...I guess I underestimated how clever she is, Shu thought. Leviathan had known from the start that she would lose against him, yet she still succumbed to her instinct for strife and fought with all she could... at least at the start. 

Despite being beastlike and driven by instinct, Leviathan always put Behemot above all. 

Nothing was more important to her than Behemot’s orders and helping Behemot win. 

Because of this, her top priority was to simply survive until Behemot’s victory was assured — and her desire to enjoy the fight vanished by the time her HP had dropped to 40%. 

She had also just communicated with her Master using Beastheart, As One, and this had made her even more cautious. 

This is bad, Shu thought. Even with Baldr’s ult, Shu had less AGI and END than Leviathan, so even he would have a hard time winning a prolonged battle against her. 

At the very least, it was impossible to defeat her within these few precious minutes that she had bet everything on. 

...What should I do? Shu had the option to ignore Leviathan and return to the assembly hall, but that was where he would find the King of Beasts, who was fighting her hardest for victory. 

Their ult is probably like Rook’s Union Jack... a fusion skill. That wasn’t a rare kind of ult for Guardians. In fact, it was fairly common. 

If the fusion skill just added their base stats together, it wouldn’t be too different from Beastheart Possession; but if it was a skill that doubled the stats or added them together as they were pre-fusion, it would create a beast unlike any other and give hell to anyone who dared to face it. 

It was only natural to expect an ult to be that potent — and with Leviathan being focused on stats, it was ludicrous to not consider this possibility. 

After all, even the hyper-versatile Baldr had an ult that greatly boosted stats based on Shu’s STR. 

I drew Leviathan away from Behemot exactly because we expected their ult to be too much for us, but if she just keeps on stalling and Ray’s party loses... Behemot will just chase us down and they’ll still end up using the skill... 

Shu was now faced with a choice. 

He could fight a creature even stronger than Behemot, here or back at the assembly hall... 

...Should I use ?? 

...Or he could use everything he had to defeat Leviathan here and now, or to beat the result of her fusion with her Master, consequences be damned. 

Shu silently pondered this. 

If he used his ultimate weapon... the power that had brought down the King of Crime... he would definitely win against Leviathan alone. 

Even if she merged with King of Beasts, he would still have about a 50% chance. 

But if I do that and it turns out that Dryfe has something else waiting for us, Altar will stand no chance. If he used the power he was thinking of, Shu would have no more cards to play. In fact, he’d been holding back on using it because doing so would leave the others vulnerable. 

I guess the worst thing is that this battle’s being watched, Shu thought as he directed some of his sensors to the sky above. 

They picked up the heat signature of a drone hidden by optical camouflage. 

Looks like that King of Light guy that Ray beat up is watching this. That’s not really a problem, though. He probably won’t get involved, and Baldr and I are a bad matchup for him anyway. The real problem is... 

Shu moved the sensors again, focusing them on a monster that was similar to an eye with wings looking down on this battlefield. This creature was somewhat familiar to him... one of the so-called “Broadcast Eyes.” 

The lab coat lunatic’s recon monster... Honestly, I expected to see it here eventually. Shu was almost totally sure that Franklin had been the one to record Ray and Logan’s battle in Quartierlatin, and there was next to no chance that someone like him wouldn’t send his eyes to watch these peace talks for data on Shu, Behemot, and the rest of them. 

Now, is it just his monsters... or is he hanging around somewhere himself, too? If Franklin was also present, the situation would become even worse. If Shu gave everything he had to defeat Leviathan or Behemot, the others would be left to face Franklin’s monster army without him, and while completely fatigued on top of it all. 

Without Shu’s firepower, the Giga Professor’s horde was a terrible menace to them, and there was no guarantee that he wouldn’t send everything in right after Shu used the ace up his sleeve. 

That was why he hadn’t used it yet. 

And now, with an amount of hesitation that was quite rare for him, he was very seriously considering it. 

Time passed, and once he was forced to make a choice... 

“Baldr, Gloria ?, activa—” 

...He had almost resolved to use his ultimate weapon, but... 

“I’m leaving this to you.” 

“You can count on me.” 

...He suddenly remembered the words he’d exchanged with his brother right before he left. 

“Would you like to initialize the Fatal Engine, Gloria ??” Baldr asked. 

“...No. I would not.” And so, Shu stopped himself from using his ultimate weapon... the Superior special reward. 

“...Hahahah...” He laughed as though something was very funny before rethinking the situation. 

Let’s look at this the other way around, he thought, an option he had ignored so far immediately springing to mind. They’re not the ones keeping Behemot in check... I’m the one keeping Leviathan in check. And they will go on to defeat Behemot. 

Once that happened, Leviathan would vanish... and Shu would still have the power to fight. 

Even if Franklin attacked right after Behemot’s defeat, he would have no trouble facing him. 

Altar had a path to victory, even in this hellish situation. Beyond that unlikely possibility lay the optimal outcome. 

“Yeah. That’s the best possible ending for all of this...” he said to himself, considering the situation from another angle. “All right then...” 

Shu now focused his heart, mind, and body on the battle before him. 

“...You seem rather calm,” Leviathan said. 

“Don’t have a reason not to be. My li’l bro and his gang are gonna beat Behemot. All that matters here is that I don’t let ya get in his way.” 

“...You really believe they can do that?” Leviathan asked, her voice filled with rage, as she charged at Shu. 

“I can’t bear to hear you dismiss my lil’ bro!” Shu shouted with confidence and honesty as he shoved Baldr’s metallic fist into Leviathan’s stomach. 

“Gh...! Your eventual despair will be payment enough for enduring your foolishness.” 

“Say what ya want! If he can’t do it, I’ll just have to try beary hard in his stead! That’s what big bros are for!” 

Thus, the battle between Shu and Leviathan continued. 

It was a battle that wouldn’t end until the struggle at the assembly hall was settled. Both sides were merely buying time. 

Shu trusted that Ray would win, while Leviathan believed that Behemot would come out on top. 

The actual outcome was soon to be revealed...