Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 19 - Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: A Battle He Can Lose

About ZZZ

Overlord Acedia, ZZZ had no real-life memories of the dreams he’d seen while asleep.

When he was little, he’d gotten into an accident which damaged his brain in a way that prevented him from falling asleep naturally no matter how long he closed his eyes or how unbearably fatigued he was. He could only achieve sleep when his brain was forcefully shut down using medication so strong it didn’t even allow for dreams. If he had been born earlier and thus had lacked access to these treatments, he may have even languished and died shortly after the accident.

It was inevitable that a person like him would develop a desire to sleep and dream. This was one of the three core needs as a living being, after all, and it was not satisfied for him.

It was no surprise, then, that he would try out dive-type VRMMOs just so he could sleep in them.

However, many of those games outright denied him entry to their worlds. And it wasn’t just those that functioned like a dream—games that sent signals to the five senses also didn’t work properly with his damaged brain.

He’d almost given up on VRMMOs entirely, but took a chance one final time on Infinite Dendrogram. It could be said that he was drawn to it, just like many other players before and after him.

Ultimately, he was able to log into Dendro without any issue, and upon receiving a healthy avatar, he’d become able to sleep whenever he was within this world.

Thus, his greatest desire was fulfilled.

But that was exactly what caused a certain conflict.

Before hatching, Embryos analyzed their Masters’ personalities and desires before assuming forms that were, to varying degrees, based on those things. In ZZZ’s case, there was no doubt that both of these were related to sleep. However, he’d acquired everything he’d wanted the moment he first appeared in Infinite Dendrogram.

Thus, his Embryo developed powers based on him in a different way.

Perhaps if he specifically desired peaceful sleep, his Embryo wouldn’t have turned out the way it did, instead developing abilities that made his sleep more comfortable.

However, ZZZ only wished for sleep itself. He was beyond caring whether it was peaceful or not—he’d only wished to fulfill the physiological need he’d always lacked as a living being. This lack of necessity and motivation to develop powers had produced an effect on his Embryo.

This phenomenon was uncommon, but not unheard of.

A particular singer who’d begun Infinite Dendrogram was troubled by things such as the gap between languages, her feelings not being understood properly, and her songs not reaching and resonating with the hearts of others.

However, Infinite Dendrogram featured flawless language translation.

That alone had solved her problems, and as a result, her Eden, instead of being born as an Embryo that closed the gap between words, became one that just closed gaps in general and let all things be conveyed—an Embryo that deleted resistances.

Dreamland was no different.

It wasn’t merely an Embryo that put people to sleep. It had the power to protect its owner while he was sleeping. It had the power to keep people sleeping. It had the power to prevent reality from influencing a sleeping mind. It had the power to pull anyone it put to sleep into dreams separated from reality.

These were the abilities it had developed as the land of dreams.

Just like Eden, it may have diverged from what its Master intended, but he did not care. He was asleep and he was dreaming. That was enough for him, even if the dream was only an extension of this world’s reality.

He never held on to any memories of his actual dreams, but the knowledge that he was dreaming—that was enough for him to be at peace.

His core desire wasn’t to rest or laze about, but to just sleep at all.

It didn’t matter if that sleep wasn’t restful. And it didn’t matter if someone was caught up in the dream and was exposed to a nightmare.

Thus, the name of his ultimate: “Nightmare Kingdom—Dreamland.”

◇◆◇

Whimsical Dreality, Dreamland, Interior

How much time had passed since Ray and Cardinal A had begun fighting?

Nightmare Kingdom—Dreamland was a skill that lasted half an hour, so it couldn’t have been that long, but this battle certainly wasn’t short either.

Despite that, Ray was holding his ground.

Cardinal A completely outclassed him in terms of stats. Ray was standing against something above even the Legendary Gigaknights he’d once fought, stripped of one of his MVP rewards and all of his armor.

Switching to Sorcerer had also made all his Paladin skills except for healing magic unusable, yet he kept on fighting. This was made possible by all his experience in fighting opponents who were clearly above him.

However, he was reaching the limits of that skill as well.

In spite of this being a dream, his breathing had become ragged as he got more and more out of breath. The fatigue was weighing him down, and he’d used up all his Counter Absorptions. He had no healing items here, so he had to cast healing magic—but his limited MP was about to run dry, as well.

Right now, Ray was focusing on evasion as he wielded the twin blades of Nemesis’s fourth form to take advantage of their compact size and ease of handling.

Despite that, he was now covered in wounds and his own blood.

“G h e...” Meanwhile, Cardinal A—the Thrall made of Mythical metal—showed no signs of fatigue. Its performance hadn’t dropped one bit since the moment Ray’s Shining Despair had made a hole in its left arm. The counterattacks Ray launched did nothing but leave a few scratches on its metallic surface.

The gap between them was plain to see. No matter how well Ray could fight against opponents that outclassed him, he had clearly reached the limits of that skill.

Normally, Ray and Nemesis could have turned even a situation as dire as this in their favor. However, the specific circumstances didn’t allow that.

This Dreamland was a special place in which Nemesis’s counter-skills like Vengeance is Mine had no effect on Cardinal A. Ray was missing the very option that would allow him to win. There was no path that led to victory, yet defeat was unavoidable.

This was a battle that whittled away the heart.

There was something else that Nemesis had noticed, but chose not to mention. It pertained to Ray’s movements as he held her.

Ray was doing an amazing job surviving against this powerful foe. He didn’t break before the overwhelming difference in power and continued to fight and resist no matter how many gut-wrenching close calls he suffered.

Right now, Ray was standing his ground while giving one hundred percent.

But that was the thing—it was just one hundred percent and not more than that.

In many of his previous battles against overwhelming foes, Ray had exceeded his limits. If he’d done the same here, he might have taken less damage and inflicted more.

However, it was clear that he was in no state to do that.

One reason for that was that his senses were different because he was currently inside a dream—but there was another, far more important reason.

Nemesis had realized what this was. After all, this factor had been present even in the two Tournament battles they’d participated in that very day.

The thing those duels and this battle had in common was...

This is a battle he can afford to lose, Nemesis thought. Just as his defeat in The Tournaments did nothing but prevent him from proceeding, defeat at the hands of this Thrall would not mean much.

As a Master, Ray would simply be given the death penalty. This was not a grand tragedy where mortal tian lives were at stake—not one of the many deadly struggles he’d experienced starting with the battle against that Demi-Dragon Worm.

Thus, Ray wasn’t able to channel his true power. He couldn’t surpass his limits.

I see. Nemesis looked back at the past.

The majority of his many defeats happened in situations that weren’t tragedies, just like this one. The battle against Marie, the countless duels, the first encounter with Tsukuyo...and today’s Tournament.

He’d only lost battles he could lose.

Looking back, the Anniversary was no different. In his first battle against Jubei Kaga, Ray wasn’t going all out. As someone who wished to face him in true mortal combat, she’d been disappointed in that and said...

“It did not draw out everything good about Ray Starling. Why? What am I lacking?”

Then, during their second battle, she’d threatened that if Ray lost, she would PK Alto over and over again. The battle thus had his friend’s Dendro future at stake, allowing Ray to channel his real strength and come out victorious.

Ray was a person who could only exhibit his true power when faced with terrible consequences for losing that could not be undone. Jubei must’ve understood this as well.

I suppose there’s no getting around that central fact, Nemesis thought. Ray was a person who got himself hurt to protect others. That was his nature. He’d surpassed his limits by suffering damage himself so he could keep someone else safe. However, it always came at the cost of saddling him with heartache and physical wounds, and as someone who deeply cared about Ray, Nemesis did not enjoy seeing this in the slightest.

Still, he was fully willing to give so much, and Nemesis knew well that if Ray had let those tragedies come to pass, it would hurt him even more deeply.

That was why, when faced with these dire situations, Nemesis had always supported him and chosen to fight alongside him.

But that was exactly why she now wondered...

Is there any reason to keep fighting a battle he can afford to lose? she thought. This was a situation in which a single direct hit would kill him. Ray himself did barely any damage to his opponent, and there was no telling how long the battle would last. Was there any point in Ray continuing to exert his heart and body here?

Nemesis was even beginning to believe the absurd notion that losing may have actually been the best course of action.

That was when...

“Hey...”

...as though someone had read Nemesis’s mind...

“Wouldn’t it be better if you lost?”

Ray heard these words from somewhere behind him.

◇◆

A short while ago, Gerbera was watching Ray and Cardinal A’s battle. Other than that single beam attack which had damaged the left arm, it was completely one-sided.

There was no way Ray could win this. Even Gerbera could tell that it was turning into a war of attrition that Ray would ultimately lose.

What should I do? If he loses, I’m gonna be next, right...? she thought.

Gerbera was even more powerless against this monster than Ray. She didn’t have any of her weapons or even Alhazred here. All she could do was run, but she could tell that she wouldn’t get far.

I guess it dropped from up high thanks to a movement skill... If this whole space is an Embryo, then it’s gotta have a skill that lets it move around the stuff inside it. And, well, dreams let you go anywhere, don’t they?

Gerbera’s concern was not unfounded—Dreamland did indeed have a skill that let ZZZ control the positions of anything within it.

That was why she hadn’t tried running away. If she did and ended up too far away from Ray, it was likely that she would be deemed as easier prey. Cardinal A would probably then be moved next to her.

He’s trying his best, but it looks like he’ll lose at any moment. I don’t care if he loses, but if I lose, then it’s back to the gaol for me. No, really, what am I supposed to...?

Gerbera was at a loss when...

“Gerbera.”

“EEEEK?!”

...someone spoke from right next to her ear, causing her to jump and let out a strange noise. She turned to the source of the voice and saw a winged slime floating and flapping its wings.

“...Leader?” Upon recognizing his voice—and realizing that there simply weren’t any other slimes as strange as this—she spoke to it in a quiet voice so that Ray and Nemesis wouldn’t overhear.

“Yes. I finally found you,” responded Sechs—or a part of him anyway.

After getting confirmation it was him, Gerbera let out a sigh of relief. “I-I’m saved...”

“I see you had a hard time.”

“Oh, you wouldn’t believe it! I don’t have Alhazred, he touched my chest, I’ve got no gear, I could’ve died at any moment, he touched my chest... It was awful!”

Gerbera unrolled everything that’d happened since she came to the dream. Most of it was just complaining, but...

“No Alhazred? Oh, that must be because...”

...Sechs actually gave an explanation for one of the things she’d mentioned.

Dreamland was supposed to take in anything that had a mind—including Embryos. Why, then, was Alhazred not here? Sechs instantly realized the reason why and explained it to Gerbera, who understood it as well.

“Oh, I see... That doesn’t change the fact that I can’t do anything, though.”

“That is true. It will not be a problem, however. I now know where you are, so my main body is making its way to you. It will be here soon.”

Those words filled Gerbera with even more relief than before. Sechs’s entire body was a Superior Embryo that could transform into many other Embryos, no doubt giving him many means of destroying Mythical metal.

It might even be said that allowing Sechs into this dream could ultimately turn out to be the fatal mistake that would lead to Overlord Acedia’s defeat.

“Hurry up and come over here,” Gerbera said to Sechs, glancing over at Ray. He was still fighting Cardinal A. “I dunno how long he’ll hold it off...”

“Actually, it will be bad for us if he keeps fighting for much longer,” Sechs said.

“Huh?”

“I cannot defeat a Mythical metal Thrall without him realizing who I am. I do not know how much Shu told him about me, but it is possible that he will recognize me by my combat style.”

Ray had already seen Sechs use a sword-like Embryo that had possessed the Rumbling Treework skill. That Embryo was useless against Cardinal A, and the moment Sechs used any other, Ray would realize that he was a unique fighter who could wield multiple Embryos—which could only be King of Crime, Sechs Würfel.

Thus, Sechs could not fight Cardinal A before Ray received the death penalty.

“Then just wait until he loses and get over here then,” said Gerbera.

“Waiting is no good either. We cannot be certain how long April can protect our bodies. Your death would be a great loss to us, and if the Contract deems me deserving, Candy’s death could lead to mine.”

That meant that it was best if Ray received the death penalty before Sechs made it here and defeated Cardinal A.

“He’s holding out pretty well, though...” Ray was enduring despite the odds being stacked against him. There was no telling how many more minutes he could keep going.

With that thought in Gerbera’s mind ...

“That is why you should stab him in the back.”

...Sechs made a suggestion as though it was nothing.

“Whoa whoa whoa, you know I can’t do that right now. I don’t have a bowgun or even a knife.”

“I did not mean with weapons, but with words,” Sechs said before whispering something into her ear.

Upon hearing what Sechs had to say, Gerbera nodded in understanding before calling out to Ray.

“Hey...wouldn’t it be better if you lost?”

◇

Ray said nothing in response—he didn’t even turn around.

He couldn’t even turn around.

He was dedicating his entire body and soul to evading each and every one of Cardinal A’s fatal attacks.

“Wh-What are you talking about...?!” That was why Nemesis replied in his stead. The perplexity in her voice must have been not only due to Gerbera’s words, but also because they matched her own thoughts.

“I mean, it’s bad for you if this drags on, isn’t it?” Gerbera said. “Your gear and the horse are still outside, right? So...the longer you keep this up, the bigger the chances that your gear’s gonna get broken.”

“That’s...” Gerbera was merely repeating what she’d heard from Sechs, but she herself did believe that this was the right idea. No one within the dream knew the situation outside. April had toughness that surpassed Mythical metal, so she was likely unharmed, but there was no telling what state everything else was in. It was entirely possible that Ray could be met with a miserable scenario in which Cardinal A defeated him despite his efforts, only for Ray’s needless extension of the fight to have resulted in the destruction of his equipment and trusty steed.

According to Gerbera, Ray had nothing to gain and everything to lose in this fight, and Nemesis was on the verge of siding with her.

If he lost here, he would lose nothing but some random drops. The chances of him sacrificing his equipment or Silver in that scenario were significantly lower than if he kept on fighting—and the risk of losing something irreplaceable only grew as he persisted.

“That’s why you’d be better off if you just took the death penalty.” There was a hint of worry in Gerbera’s voice as she said that. He may have been her sworn enemy’s friend, as well as someone who’d inflicted lots of mental damage upon her since they’d met in this dream, but at the same time, she wouldn’t be alive right now if it weren’t for Ray valiantly keeping the Thrall busy.

That was why, while a part of her just wanted him to hurry up and get killed, she was also giving him this warning out of kindness.

“Ray...” There was no response from him. Nemesis was unable to find the right words to say, so she’d only called his name.

That was because Gerbera’s words had actually convinced her.

This was a situation in which Ray could lose Silver, who was like another partner to him, and the possibility of him actually winning was absurdly low. Not even Nemesis could help him.

That was why even she began to believe that giving up was the correct course of action here.

That was when Ray...

“Nemesis.”

...evaded an attack and called his partner’s name...

“Why did we come here?”

...before posing a question.

“We...”

“Our last death was against Behemot. Even though we all cooperated, we couldn’t carry the momentum until the end. Without Fuso, everything might’ve been over then and there.”

While Nemesis didn’t know what to say, Ray continued talking.

“Since then, we’ve tried to become stronger—and we did. But today, Lei-Lei completely crushed us. We couldn’t do anything against her. And that’s why we came here—to improve ourselves even a tiny bit.”

“That is true.” They’d traveled to this zone to gain more power. They’d come to the border because today’s defeat had made them realize that they were lacking in strength. Their involvement in the clash between Sechs’s group and ZZZ may have been random, but there was an overall motive to their presence here.

“This fight against ZZZ just sorta happened. We may have just gotten caught up in something by accident. Losing here may not mean losing anything of value. And fighting may lead to Silver getting damaged or even destroyed.”

Ray agreed with everything Gerbera had said. He himself had already known all that. He was fully aware that losing was better than winning this time.

“Even so...I won’t choose defeat.”

Despite all that, he continued to fight.

“Ray...”

“I have no idea how we can win this. Our odds of winning are slim. Probably far, far less than one percent.”

Ray steadfastly declared that he would continue to struggle in spite of everything.

“This isn’t a battle I gotta win at all costs...but we’ll soon encounter more like that. They’re not even that far away. The fights we’ll have to win are right around the corner.”

Ray was speaking about the impending war against Dryfe—the war to end the conflict with the imperium he’d been involved in since his first day in Infinite Dendrogram. It was inevitable, and he fully grasped the fact that the decisive war was close at hand.

“That’s why I won’t choose defeat.”

With a bloodied face and a strong will in his eyes, he continued to speak.

“If I looked at the pros and cons of each fight and began accepting ‘reasonable’ defeats in fights that I ‘could’ lose, I might start looking for reasons to lose the upcoming battles.”

Ray knew that when a spirit broke just once, it would forever be covered in cracks that made it easy to break over and over again.

That was why he never chose to break on his own.

He’d lost many battles he could afford to lose.

However, he had never once chosen defeat. He’d merely done all he could and been defeated in spite of that.

“As long as the moment of defeat hasn’t come, I won’t stop trying to seize the possibility of victory.”

And this time too, he exerted his freedom and chose to resist until the very end.

“Ray... Ah...!” That was when Nemesis noticed something.

Even while Ray was talking, Cardinal A had continued attacking him. Like the machine that it was, it continued wielding its full power against its opponent.

Despite that, it didn’t interrupt Ray’s words, and none of its attacks landed.

It was as though death was closing in on him from all sides, yet he was evading it all by a hair’s breadth.

“This is...” Nemesis knew this state of his better than anyone else. She’d seen it in the many deadly struggles he’d endured. It was the strength beyond his limits—the power to forge on through the most dangerous circumstances.

It was on the verge of manifesting even in this battle that he could afford to lose.

“And we won’t just fight...we’ll win.”

Even greater power surged through his eyes and each of his limbs.

“I’ll surpass who I was... We will surpass who we were...and win!”

He evaded Cardinal A’s right arm-blade and slashed it with his twin swords. It only made a scratch, but Ray was not deterred and continued fighting.

He evaded, attacked, evaded, attacked... The damage he dealt seemed insignificant, but this did not drive him to despair. He simply kept on taking these small steps toward victory. He wouldn’t give up no matter how many millions of steps he had left.

“I don’t care if we’re up against an Overlord or Mythical metal...!” As he slashed at the Thrall, he let out a war cry. “We...we will grow stronger!” It was the roar of his heart—Ray’s will at its purest.

Upon hearing his declaration, Gerbera slightly jumped and put her hand on her chest. As someone who’d once wished to be the strongest, she was affected by his words.

She’d wished to be the strongest, but when confronted with reality, she broke, gave in, and had begun to act as though she was the weakest of all just to avoid any more such heartbreak.

The reason she was morose all the time was because she knew that if she let herself be in high spirits once more, it would hurt even more when she was brought down again.

But even someone like her could not fail to be affected by what Ray said.

Upon hearing Ray’s declaration, Sechs smiled. What he’d heard through his fragment made the main body—the head—grin in a way different than usual.

Just like Sechs’s dear friend Shu, Ray had turned out to be a person who didn’t compromise himself. If Ray had given up at Sechs’s suggestion, Sechs wouldn’t have spared a second thought for him.

But because Ray remained unbroken...he’d caught Sechs’s interest as well.

Upon hearing Ray’s declaration, Nemesis smiled as tears ran down her face. This wasn’t visible in her weapon form, but she was berating herself for her awful misunderstanding.

She regretted that she had failed to understand this fundamental thing without hearing Ray say it himself.

She reflected upon it, reframed herself, and mentally drew herself up. There was no longer any hesitation in her, and there was no time to look back.

Nemesis once again had a grasp of Ray’s desire and will.

That meant that there was only one thing left to do.

His words were “We will grow stronger.”

Indeed—it hadn’t been “I,” but “we.” If Ray would reach for victory while surpassing limits he didn’t even know were there, then Nemesis also had to become stronger.

Thus, she sought more power, a higher evolution—and a new version of herself.

The XP and Resources that had accumulated deep within her, the combined will of her and her Master, were about to initiate ■■L—the special evolution system left only in Maidens and Apostles—when...

“...Do you seek power?”

...upon hearing Ray’s declaration, an axe posed that question.