Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 15 - Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Incarnation of Maelstroms

About him...

Morter Cortana was born to a distinguished family in Caldina.

One day, though, his parents both died and he was separated from his sister, quickly bringing his smooth and easy life to a screeching halt.

He was forced to join a gang of thieving street urchins in order to survive, and his life quickly became one of crime. He continued stealing even after he grew up and found legitimate employment, and after he got his Superior Job, he took to making a living by hunting treasure hunters in ruins.

Not even he himself fully understood why he went down this path.

Perhaps, as someone who once had everything but had lost it all, he had some negative emotions towards those who were in the opposite situation — those who started with nothing and gained a great deal.

Regardless, this way of life had led to his defeat at the hands of Rascal and eventually, his transformation into an Idea.

And now, he was facing a creature no one should ever have to face.

In this situation, he couldn’t help but wonder why his life was going so wrong.

◆◆◆

Royal Castle, Fourth Floor

After hearing the final warning, Morter reached the greatest depths of despair. His own cells told him that Theresia wasn’t joking; everything would be over for him if he didn’t turn back.

If it had been possible, he would’ve fled already. The reason he was panicking now was that he found he couldn’t.

Ahh...damn it... Why is this happening...? His life began to flash before his eyes in disjointed moments... The moment he chose to become an Idea, the moment he attacked the sub-leader of I.F., the time period where he made his living assaulting treasure hunters, the time he lived among the criminal street urchins, the time he lost all his worldly possessions and was left alone....

Damn it...! Why is my life so...! He lamented the many bad choices he’d made at all of the most critical moments in his life.

However, this moment was different. Right now, it was like the time it all began to go wrong for him — the very instant when he had lost everything he had.

Here, in this moment, Morter didn’t even have the right to choose.

“I can’t back down...even if I want to...”

“Hm?”

“My body won’t respect my desire.” He spoke the truth — he was being forced to do something against his will. “There’s an Embryo...in my body. If I go against my orders...my body will...damn it!”

While he spoke, his body began to act on its own.

“Damn it! La Crima, you...!” This was accomplished by the piece of La Crima’s Embryo implanted inside of him. What he just revealed was meant to be a secret, and Idea decided that Morter had violated his orders enough to justify taking control of his body.

And, with movements far less precise than his natural ones, the Embryo made Morter’s body charge towards this overwhelming force.

Even a moth flying directly into a flame would have higher chances of survival than him.

“I don’t wanna die...! Not like...not like this...!” Vespertilio screamed as Idea forced him to attack something he could never hope to defeat.

Theresia looked at him with emotionless eyes before suddenly putting her hands together.

A moment later, giant arms sprouted from the floor at an incredible speed and moved in sync with her movements to crush Morter.

“Ghuh...” His body was shattered and immobilized, but he was still alive.

“...Dear me. I’m even stronger than before. My level really is growing.”

The damage done was greater than Theresia expected, and this seemed to trouble her.

The stone arms that grew from the ground were her dependents — the monsters just like the ones Morter had fought earlier.

However, while those had appeared automatically as a response to danger, these were deliberately created by Theresia, making them far faster and more precise.

In fact, they would even be a match for Legendary-tier creatures.

The attack itself turned out to be overkill, but what mattered was that it stopped Morter’s body from moving.

“Dor.” She said only a single word, but Dormouse instantly understood what she wanted and brought her closer to Morter.

Theresia then slowly reached towards him...

“...This must be it.”

...and tore out the piece of Idea from his body.

“Ah...?!” Shock appeared on Morter’s dying face. Theresia had just taken the Idea that had been completely merged with his body right out of him, as easily as plucking a caterpillar from a leaf.

Ignoring him, Theresia then took the starfish-like creature in hand...and crushed it like a piece of fruit.

“Huh...? Ah...”

At that moment, Morter was set free.

However, before he could rejoice, an overwhelming pain assaulted his body.

“Gh... AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH...?!”

“...I took it away. Can you leave now?” Theresia asked casually.

“Theresia. He and that Embryo were linked. Obviously, if you take it out of him, he’s going to fall apart. It’s like opening a huge hole inside his body.”

“Oh. That makes sense. Sorry. I didn’t realize.”

Theresia apologized, but Morter was in no state to even acknowledge it.

“With the Embryo gone, I can finish him off,” said Dormouse. “That will minimize the Resource absorption... Hm...? Is there something on your mind?”

“...So he needs something to bind him together?”

“Indeed.”

“Dor. I have an idea.”

“Hm?”

“Remember the insurance we talked about? It would be difficult with just us, would it not?”

“Well, mostly because my avatar is not humanoid.”

“That is why I believe we need an adult. Shu knows about us, but we cannot rely on him more than necessary.”

“I do think that he would help if asked.”

“...That is the problem. I need to prepare.”

“Prepare...? Do you actually intend to do it?”

“Is it possible?”

“...If you believe it is.”

“Thank you.” On the brink of death, Morter couldn’t hear most of what they were saying.

“Hey, you,” Theresia said as she looked him in the eyes. “If given a choice between dying here and now or giving up your humanity...which would you pick?”

That was a choice much like the one he’d been given back then.

Morter’s response was quick.

◇◆

Once the choice was made, only Theresia and Dormouse were left in the room.

“He has been taken care of. I suppose I should go meet up with Liliana now. She’s looking for me.” Though there was still no emotion on her face, she did give the impression that she’d done away with something troublesome.

She knew that Liliana was looking for her, but if Theresia was with someone during such an emergency, Dependent Transformation could lead to them finding out what she was — or even worse, it might hurt someone. That was why Theresia had run off on her own — if you didn’t count Dormouse, anyway. Liliana was her elder sister’s friend and her friend’s elder sister, so Theresia really didn’t want her to die.

Though she’d been found out by Morter, she was able to silence him.

“Theresia, there is something I must ask,” said Dormouse.

“What is it?”

“Why did you reveal your secret to him?” Even though she’d gone on to silence him, Theresia had told him what she was of her own accord. The important words were filtered, but the information Morter had heard was enough to fully expose her if he brought it back to a person who was actively looking for The Evil.

The many twists and turns of her life so far had led to her beginning to awaken as The Evil, but thanks to Shu and Dormouse, she was still able to live on as the third princess.

However, what she had done just now...was almost destroy the last thing that allowed her to be herself.

She’d told Dormouse not to do or say anything, but when Theresia had begun to explain the situation, he was actually fairly perplexed.

In response to his reasonable question, Theresia said, all without changing her emotionless expression, “Some people can see through lies even without Truth Discernment. That is why it is best to just be honest. And there was a chance that the man would retreat upon gaining the necessary information, which would have been acceptable in its own right.”

“What do you mean?”

“That would have given me the time I needed to run far, far away. I am immune to your colleagues’ abilities, so I can only move by walking. If I am to run, I need the time.”

“Time to run?”

“Tell me, Dor — what is the worst-case scenario for me and for your group?”

“...The activation of the GAME OVER.”

“Exactly. Preventing that is more important than my current lifestyle or even my life itself. Nothing would be worse than me becoming complete and that thing awakening. However, that is not directly linked to whether or not my secret is known.”

“Hm...?”

“Even if someone finds out that I am ■■■ ■■■■ (The Evil), I can simply leave Altar and hide somewhere else. As long as you are with me, we do not need the barrier to slow down ■■■■■■■■ ■■■■■■■■■■ (Resource absorption). And as long as we are not facing Masters or Embryos, you would also deal with any dangers that came along, would you not? Your most important task is to prevent that thing from awakening until your goal is fulfilled.”

Dormouse saw Theresia’s point. With The Evil’s masking function, she would be fully protected from search-oriented job skills, and with information organizations like DIN belonging to the control AIs, they could easily find a good destination to escape to.

“I feel like the idea relies too much on me personally, but...are you certain about this?” Dormouse asked. Could Theresia truly abandon the country and family she’d grown up with?

“I am. I believe it would be better for both sides,” she replied, her expression determined.

Dormouse didn’t really understand whom she meant by “both sides,” but chose not to ask.

“...Well, now I’m glad it did not have to happen,” he said. Theresia was able to silence Morter, so the truth regarding her was safe.

“As am I... Though, it does seem like the time is close.”

“Indeed. Someone is looking for The Evil, so the limit is no doubt drawing near.”

“Here in Altar, the menace of ■■■ ■■■■ (The Evil) is seen as a thing of the distant past, but it seems that it is not so everywhere. Or perhaps we’re simply seeing our first High-End tian in centuries. The extremely talented High-Ends are provided information regarding us and even ■■■ ■■■■■■ (The Demise) by the Archetype System...the job-managing system itself. It would not be unexpected if they were to try to find and kill me.”

“The world is full of those who do things they should not.”

“You were the ones doing just that until the time of my last predecessor, were you not?”

“...I cannot deny that. I am ashamed,” Dormouse said, glancing down. With their makeshift solution of getting The Evils killed whenever they were discovered, the control AIs had only made The Evils grow in strength at a faster rate than normal.

“I am not angry. I feel bad for my predecessors, but it is you and your colleagues I have to thank for being able to live as I am.”

“...It is good to hear that the measures we took are effective. Though, it is regrettable that we did not find you before release.”

“We met after I encountered Shu and Sechs, after all.”

“...Having welcomed the Masters from Earth, we are now one...no, perhaps two steps away from fulfilling our ultimate goal. It would be especially troubling to get a game over now.”

Though it didn’t show on his hamster-like face, Dormouse’s tone made it clear that he was deeply troubled.

A moment later, he seemed to remember something and said, “I can imagine a certain someone saying ‘Online games can be shut down, but they don’t have game overs.’”

“‘A certain someone?’”

“...Oh, never mind.” Dormouse simply ended the brief exchange, and Theresia didn’t push him to keep talking.

“We were lucky this time,” he said instead. “We faced a unique kind of opponent and ended the exchange without much issue.”

If they faced tians, monsters, or mechanical weapons, they could’ve silenced them by simply destroying them, just as Tom had done in the ruins when he’d destroyed Prism Soldiers.

They also had special means of dealing with Masters, as well.

However, a tian-Embryo hybrid was a unique case that had caught them off guard. In light of that, the final outcome was actually fairly positive.

“...Duchess, are there any Masters who saw the fight or heard what was said?” Dormouse addressed those words to someone who wasn’t there.

[No...there weren’t. As far as...I can observe...there are no Masters...who acquired any knowledge...of the happenings...conversations...or phenomena...that happened there... The Embryo fragment also...wasn’t constantly linked...to the main unit.]

The response came to him in the form of a window that suddenly popped up in front of his eyes.

“That is good to hear.” The message had been from control AI no. 7, Duchess, who was responsible for the vision of all Masters as well as information windows. She was the entity tasked with implementing whichever of the three visual styles the Masters chose while also processing the information they saw or heard, as well as assisting the control AIs in managing the situation.

By Dormouse’s request, she was now focused on the Masters in Altea so she could tell him if any of them were close to discovering Theresia’s secret.

If she said that none of them were aware of what happened here, it could only be the truth.

“...If you have such a surveillance network, could you not have used it to prevent this attack from happening in the first place?” Theresia asked.

“We are prevented from limiting the freedom of Masters, and Duchess’s observation network is not that thorough. Most of her processing power is dedicated to producing the visuals, so she cannot gather information from too many people on top of that.”

This begged the question of how much counted as “not too many people” by his standards, but Theresia once again realized that even the godlike observers of Infinite Dendrogram had their limitations.

“Well, you also could not eliminate the person we just dealt with... You seem to have some truly inconvenient restrictions.”

“The control AIs that have the right to attack Embryos and Masters are few. In fact, we have a colleague who must be restricted in this way even if it means restricting us, as well,” Dormouse said, recalling the most short-tempered and aggressive control AI.

Theresia said nothing in response. They had a lot of information, but not all of it, and though they had authority, they had limitations, making their measures less than perfect. In her eyes, this made the control AIs seem less like machines and more like living beings.

[Dormouse...a moment...please.]

Suddenly, Duchess sent a new message.

“What is it?”

[One is coming...towards you... Oh...she’s preparing...to attack.]

“What?”

A moment later, the room they were in was blown away.

◇◆

“...Confirmed. The fusion reaction from ‘Absolute Dominion Over the Sky — Uranus’ has hit something.”

The speaker was the bandaged King of Thieves, Zeta, who stood on the roof above the fourth floor of the castle.

She had confirmed the signatures of three of the four Ideas she’d let loose upon the capital — Regina Apis, Aranea, and Vespertilio — had already been extinguished.

Claudiah’s request for Zeta went as such: “Indiscriminately attack any unusual persons in Altea and discover who has an odd reaction to these attacks. Eliminate them if possible; if not, stop attacking them and observe.”

The target of the request was so vague that she’d entrusted the role to the Ideas.

She’d sent Vespertilio after the most unusual signature; the way that his own signature had vanished had struck Zeta as suspicious, so she stopped her search for Treasurebeast Orbs and chose to investigate instead.

She discovered the room where the fight had occurred, used information provided by Uranus to confirm that Vespertilio’s opponent was still inside...and used her ultimate skill against them.

...Based on the fact that she said “if possible,” she must be almost certain that the target cannot be killed, Zeta thought, reviewing the request. She hadn’t been told what she would be dealing with, but she knew enough to understand that the target was either really strong or had some unique qualities.

There would be a problem if the one I attacked just now was the target and, in spite of her assumption, they actually died just now. If they completely vanished without showing any odd reactions to the attack, I would be unable to confirm if they were truly the target.

She worried that completing the task would be impossible then, but...

“...They’re...alive?”

...unfortunately, the target withstood the immense heat Zeta had created.

The hellish fusion reaction that would kill any animal and evaporate any material hadn’t been enough to kill the target.

However, Zeta couldn’t figure out what kind of creature had survived her blast, for she saw nothing but a jet-black vortex.

◇◆

“A nuclear attack. How nostalgic. I have not felt one of those since the war all those years ago,” Dormouse whispered from within the vortex, which completely drowned out his voice.

His form had completely changed. He was no longer the round, adorable creature with short limbs, but a dreadful beast straight out of a Japanese yokai picture scroll. His entire body was enveloped in a dark force field and he stood in the center of a surging vortex, a storm in which he was the eye.

The vortex had consumed all the heat and electromagnetic waves created by the nuclear fusion reaction.

That wasn’t all — it also quickly drained the surroundings of all warmth, freezing them at an incredible rate. Since it consumed even light coming from the outside, seeing what lay within the vortex was impossible.

It was as though it consumed all and any energy coming towards it.

Perched on Dormouse’s back, Theresia remained silent and expressionless.

Though she was just within a nuclear explosion, her safety mechanism hadn’t activated.

As The Evil, she wouldn’t have suffered any damage from it to begin with, but that wasn’t the reason why her defenses remained inactive — it was because she knew that there was no safer place than Dormouse’s back when he donned his black vortex.

[A message... The kingdom is winning...the battle at the border... It might...end soon... It’s possible...that the castle attackers...will also retreat...]

“That means that we only have to bear this a little while longer. The seventh form’s output should be enough for that. Though I have to suppress my body size, so this feels a bit cramped.”

Dormouse responded to Duchess and cracked a warped grin. He couldn’t have used this against a special case like Morter, but Masters were a different story.

“I cannot attack Masters, but there are no rules against protecting or hiding something from them.”

Thus, Dormouse went on the defensive.

Zeta tried to use her all-powerful Uranus to disperse the unidentified black vortex.

However, her efforts were futile.

He was control AI no. 8, tasked with dealing with hazards and someone who had eliminated countless Irregularities.

Consuming all heat energy, he was the being who stood above all in the art of extermination, as well as an impenetrable defense.

He was Type Infinite Fortress — Infinite Conversion, Schwarzer Tod.

◇◆

The Incarnations that had attacked the pre-ancient civilization two thousand years ago were beings far above what anyone had ever seen — even The Demise they’d brought down before was weak in comparison.

There was the Incarnation of Blasphemy, which created countless puppets that carried the power of their deceased champions.

There was the Incarnation of Scales, which turned creatures into dust and vice versa.

There was the Incarnation of Nature, which could bring forth calamities like plagues, heat waves, droughts, and cold snaps.

There was the Incarnation of Cages, which couldn’t be reached or escaped.

There was the Incarnation of Dreams, which rid various creatures of their reality.

There was the Incarnation of Armaments, which used thousands upon thousands of Legendary weapons as though they were nothing.

There was the Incarnation of Influence, which rendered any and all tactics completely meaningless as though it could see the future.

There was the Incarnation of Seconds, which could instantly slice through anything regardless of speed or toughness.

There was the Incarnation of Beasts, which could multiply to the point that it was capable of covering the entire landscape in itself.

However, there were three Incarnations which were more feared than the others:

The Incarnation of Mortar, which could effortlessly grind entire mountain ranges.

The Incarnation of Evolution, which grew more powerful without limit the more it fought.

The Incarnation of Death, which simply had countless inconceivably powerful abilities at its disposal.

Those were twelve of the thirteen Incarnations besides the Extra-Continental Vessel.

The last one was the Incarnation of Maelstroms — Infinite Conversion, Schwarzer Tod.

It wasn’t the strongest, toughest, or the most destructive among them.

It didn’t have the greatest ability to destroy, nor did it have the greatest potential for use in war.

In terms of sheer battle capacity, it likely did not have a single area where it was not surpassed by another Incarnation.

But despite that, both the pre-ancient civilization and his fellow Incarnations alike believed that despite its relative lack of strength, the Incarnation of Maelstroms was no doubt the most troublesome of them all.

◇◆◇

Zeta was thoroughly troubled by the unexpectedly difficult opponent she had stumbled upon.

...Nothing I do is working, she thought. The room had been melted by Uranus’s ultimate skill, yet the black vortex remained.

She tried firing air-bullets and using any weapons she had, but they all seemed to be negated by the vortex. Upon touching it, everything lost its kinetic energy and latent heat; they would stop, freeze, and fall to the floor as inert objects devoid of energy.

She tried to create a vacuum or poison gas within the vortex, but it was actually cutting off her very ability to control the air.

...This isn’t even a case of bad compatibility. Compatibility meant nothing against an opponent that absorbed all energy and rendered it useless.

I suppose the only exception would be people with skills that can attack whoever’s inside without interacting with the vortex at all. Curiously enough, Xunyu — whom Zeta had just defeated — was one of those people. It would have been difficult even for her, though. The slightest targeting mistake and her prosthetic limbs would touch the vortex, which would instantly consume them.

The vortex is a wall that completely separates the outside and the inside. Not even light or sound can reach through it... That means that they shouldn’t be able to see me either.

Zeta guessed that the vortex remained stationary in the ruined room because whoever was creating it also could not see what was happening outside.

It seems to be a defensive barrier, but it’s abnormally powerful. It seems like the energy-damping ability of the ocean element taken to an extreme, but I have never seen anything that drains energy to this extent.

The fact that it was able to negate the heat from Uranus’s ultimate skill — a nuclear explosion — made it clear that it had enough power to match Superior Embryos.

Also, if it isn’t damping the energy, but absorbing it...it’s possible that they may also be able to repurpose the energy for some kind of attack. Zeta knew that she had to be wary of counter-attacks like the ones Ray Starling had used to defeat her pupil, Logan.

Also, it was clear that whatever this was had defeated Vespertilio Idea, meaning that it was immune to surprise attacks. That meant one couldn’t be too careful.

Thus, for the time being, she chose to stop attacking and see what they would do next.

Besides the one about Morter, Zeta’s assumptions were actually correct. This black vortex was actually Infinite Conversion’s energy absorption ability, Infection Citadel.

Everything that touched it had all of its energy drained from it.

Fire would lose its heat, sound, and light, while anything living would lose its warmth, kinetic energy, and even the electrical impulses running through the nervous system. All energy-based attacks would be nullified, while all living beings who touched it would die. The energy absorbed would be used to maintain the skill and make it grow.

Resistance against it was not only futile — it made it grow stronger. There was nothing one could do against the approaching maelstrom. Like the Black Death, the wielder’s namesake, this vortex was feared by countless beings all over.

However, that wasn’t the full story of this creature. The energy absorption of Infection Citadel was actually related to its ultimate skill, Schwarzer Tod, which was as terrifying as the name suggested.

Dormouse, though, had no intention of using it this time.

To him, this was solely a defensive battle. He didn’t have the right to attack Masters.

“The absorption has weakened. The attacker must have stopped to observe what we will do next.”

While spreading Infection Citadel in every direction, Dormouse was unable to see what was happening outside, but he could still tell if he was being attacked based on the amount of energy he had left.

“Duchess. How is the situation...?”

[...King of Beasts...has stopped fighting... She’s negotiating...with the High Priestess... King of Thieves...the one who’s attacking you...has also stopped...]

Following the message, the window began showing him Zeta’s perspective. He couldn’t see outside the vortex himself, but he had Duchess conveying the situation to him.

Her ability didn’t adhere to any ordinary laws of physics, so it wasn’t blocked by the vortex. On their own, the control AIs had flaws, but their experience had taught them that most of them could be made up for through cooperation.

In fact, under normal circumstances, merely keeping up Infection Citadel would require copious amounts of energy.

It wouldn’t be a problem if there was energy to absorb — but if there wasn’t, he would have to use his own until there was nothing external left. While this wouldn’t matter if he was using his original body, as an Infinite Embryo in his seventh form as he was now, he couldn’t keep it up for long without an outside supply.

However, this flaw was irrelevant now. With most of the castle’s barriers having been deactivated, more Resources were free to flow towards The Evil, but Dormouse was absorbing them and using them as energy for Infection Citadel.

As long as he kept the vortex up, Dormouse was akin to an impenetrable fortress for Theresia.

[However...the kingdom’s...what was it, again...? The Royal Guard knightess...is coming closer... She’s with...K&R Masters...that entered the castle...]

“Liliana is coming?” That’s not good, Dormouse thought.

It was impossible to guess how she would react to this situation. There was the chance that her arrival would accelerate The Evil’s awakening, so he wanted to deal with this situation before that happened.

The attacker is still observing us because their goal is to gather information, so it’s possible that they will not leave until they find out exactly what we are... That would prolong this until Zeta chose to leave, and that was risky for him.

That was why he chose to, as an exception, rely on a fellow control AI.

“Duchess, are you able to use your Invitation to the Second World — Daydream? Even limited use of it would suffice.”

[Yes. I can use it anytime...and on anyone.]

◇◆

Zeta had no means of breaking through the vortex-fortress before her.

...I’m just not good against these kinds of outliers, she thought. Uranus’s control didn’t extend to the inside of the vortex, and phenomena from the outside couldn’t break through it. She considered covering the outside in a vacuum to suffocate whoever was within, but since she couldn’t influence the inside, this could easily be countered by a simple inventory filled with air. Having such inventories was common practice in Granvaloa, and there was no way that someone with an omnidirectional, long-lasting defense ability wouldn’t have prepared something similar.

Perhaps Zeta’s skills as King of Thieves would’ve worked better than her Embryo abilities, but she couldn’t use them without coming close to whoever was inside within the vortex. Merely extending her hand to touch them and take their heart would mean going through the vortex, and that was certain death.

She also had a third ace up her sleeve — the Superior MVP special reward, Moby Dick Left — but there was no viable way to employ it in this situation.

Zeta was well-rounded, but if nothing that she had worked, then that was it.

But if I retreat now, I would not have enough information for the task... I need to at least see their face...!

The moment she thought that, a part of the vortex vanished.

Perhaps from lack of energy, the dark maelstrom was undone, exposing the person within.

“Ah...!” Zeta didn’t miss the opportunity to etch the person’s appearance into her mind.

She also assumed an offensive stance and prepared to take out a camera, but before she could, the seam in the vortex was fixed, once again hiding the person from view.

...Was that a failure on their part or an intentional trap? That much isn’t clear, but I now have enough to report.

There was no doubt that, as requested, she had discovered and confirmed the existence of a “strange person” inside that vortex. Perhaps I can retreat and focus on stealing the orbs again, she thought, when suddenly...

“Zeta. It’s me.”

...she heard her client — Claudiah — call to her through the comms device inside her bandages.

The fact that Claudiah had called her at all definitely indicated something, but since she couldn’t ignore her, Zeta replied with, “Acknowledged. Since you are using this device, I assume that your efforts ended in failure?”

“Yes. We lost. What about you?”

“...Incomplete. As per your request, I have discovered the target and confirmed their identity, but elimination is proving difficult. I thought I’d finished them off, but it doesn’t seem like any of my Embryo attacks are reaching them.”

“Oh, so that really is how it works. I wanted to confirm that as well.”

Hearing that, Zeta realized that Claudiah had made her request while fully aware that Zeta’s attacks would be futile.

“What about your own goal? Were you able to steal them?”

Zeta had to stop herself from saying “I would’ve been well on my way to stealing them right now if you didn’t call me.” Instead, she said, “Rejection. I refuse to answer.”

“I see.” Despite having asked, Claudiah didn’t seem to be terribly interested in the topic.

It was clear to Zeta that Claudiah cared mostly about the black vortex before her.

Though, the information Zeta had on the vortex wasn’t quite what Claudiah had in mind when she’d made the request.

“Directive. Since elimination is impossible and your situation isn’t favorable, I request that you give me a new order.”

“We are moving on to plan C. Make the preparations we discussed and retreat from Altea.”

Zeta had actually forgotten about that particular plan until Claudiah mentioned it. It was only meant to be executed if Dryfe lost at both the negotiations and the battle, so she had pushed it deep into a corner of her mind.

Zeta did remember what it entailed, however, so she readily agreed.

“Commencing. Present the reward using the designated method. That is when I will provide you with information on the target.”

Zeta then cut the comm and faced the vortex again.

Anyhow, I am done with this. I’ll execute plan C while moving underground. Perhaps the ones who have the orbs are taking shelter there.

She had her next job and her own goal. Thinking that she could still accomplish them both, she began to create distance between her and the vortex. Then, she quickly accelerated down the outer wall, following a path leading downwards.

Speaking of underground, that’s where Ignis went. He seems to have done that by melting the bulkheads from the first floor, so maybe I should follow him...?

With that in mind, she proceeded along when suddenly, a chill ran down her spine.

Then, with a strange uneasiness in her heart, she took out a device given to her by La Crima — the one that displayed the status of the four Ideas.

Three of them were inactive, while the fourth one — Ignis Idea — was not only active, but becoming more active.

The body temperature data displayed was far too high even for a wielder of flame magic.

“Question. What is happening?”

Cold sweat soaked through her bandages as she realized that something unexpected was happening again.

◇◆

“...She seems to have retreated.”

[Yes. She left...and went...underground... It doesn’t seem like...she’ll come back...]

Upon hearing Duchess’s words, Dormouse canceled the vortex.

“I have not used Infection Citadel to its fullest for quite a while. That was tiring.”

[...Tiring?]

“Apologies. I am fairly sure I am not nearly as tired as you are.”

The apology was earnest. Duchess was tasked with the arduous duty of managing every Master’s visuals. She had been operating at full capacity every waking hour for over four years now. Dormouse with his single battle couldn’t even begin to compare.

“Dor,” said Theresia. “I am aware that if Liliana finds us in a room that seems to have been a battlefield, explaining that to her would be difficult.”

“We need to move to somewhere less destroyed. Duchess, lead the way so they do not find us before we arrive,” said Dormouse.

However, Duchess didn’t respond.

“Duchess, I truly am sorry for my careless words. Please forgive me.”

Dormouse apologized again...

[Dormouse...take The Evil...and leave Altea...immediately.]

...but in response, he got a warning, spoken with all possible urgency.

“...What happened?”

[...You don’t know? Ohh...you aren’t in the...control room... In that case...I will say it...]

And so, Duchess...

[In a few more minutes...

the castle will be...

blown apart.]

...announced an approaching calamity.