Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 22 - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Star of Death

Past, Earth, Somewhere in Germany

Albert’s “mother” was known to be a highly capable engineer. She specialized in artificial intelligence—specifically, the technologies surrounding the so-called “control AIs.”

Her technological genius had once led a criminal organization to kidnap her, intending to use her knowledge to develop new weapons, but she and Albert had both been rescued by someone described as “a female agent with a first name containing a number and a last name referencing a type of bird.” Ever since then, they had led an ordinary life in Germany.

Albert’s “mother” put long hours into her research but still made time to play games with him.

But as they were living this peaceful life, a particular game rose to prominence.

Infinite Dendrogram—a true dive-based VRMMO claiming to offer unmatched realism.

Albert had taken notice of it himself, but his “mother” was even more interested in it than he was.

“There’s clearly something bizarre about the technology they’re using,” she said. “But when I asked the higher-ups if we should look into it, they said they didn’t have the funds. Maybe Germany’s involved in this too?”

As Albert listened to her in silence, he couldn’t help but wonder if their country really was part of some conspiracy, or if her bosses had just refused because investigating a video game wasn’t part of her job description.

“There’s been some strange rumors about it too. You know the US-based company Technorock? The massive game developer? They actually tried investigating Infinite Dendrogram at one point, but they never dug up enough concrete info to even analyze. They couldn’t even find any servers.”

Albert found that very curious. What MMORPG had servers that couldn’t even be located?

“Apparently, even their communication system itself is unconventional technology... It’s not the usual electronic stuff. That’s why even Technorock couldn’t analyze or track it.”

This surprised Albert even more. How could this company have access to technology like that, but sell it so cheaply that even children could buy it?

“The team from Technorock could log in just fine, but they couldn’t bring in their analysis equipment. That’s why they decided to do something a bit forceful.”

Still, Albert listened intently.

“No one’s sure who exactly developed Dendro, but there are multiple companies scattered across the world that handle its sales and hardware production. In the US, it’s a pretty small company called simply ‘ID Supplier,’ so Technorock set their sights on them.”

The phrasing “set their sights on” made Albert expect they’d done something drastic...

“They hacked the company using Overture—their company data control AI.”

...and it turned out he was correct. A large company had hacked a rival firm.

Control AIs were supercomputers with processing power so immense they could manage all the data necessary to run a country or megacorporation. Hacking a smaller company that didn’t have one would be child’s play for them.

However, no matter how easy it was, it was definitely a crime.

“Was it the blueprints? The server location? I don’t really know what they were after...” Albert’s “mother” continued.

It was an under-the-table, underhanded, unfair approach.

But hearing all this brought a question to Albert’s mind. This was most definitely a peek at the dark side of Technorock—something that they simply couldn’t allow to come to light.

How did his “mother” know all this, then?

“And this is what happened next,” she said as she lightly waved her hand to turn on the TV, which happened to be showing the news.

“Technorock, a massive US-based game developer, is currently in a state of collapse.” Albert watched in shock as the news announcer revealed the details.

Recently, there had been trouble in their network which resulted in a leak of classified files stored on their servers. These files had contained not just the details of their latest hardware, but also evidence of the many cybercrimes they’d committed against rival companies.

This had resulted in the management being arrested and had flung the company into chaos from top to bottom. Their stock prices had plummeted, and today the business had finally fallen apart.

“And while the heart of the trouble was Technorock’s control AI, Overture, the classified file leak was followed by an explosion of uncertain origin that—” That was where Albert’s “mother” turned off the TV.

“So there you have it.” Based on what she’d said thus far, Albert assumed that this must have been the result of a counterattack by ID Supplier—or more specifically, by Infinite Dendrogram.

But how could they have done something like this?

“Well, all this means is that the people behind Infinite Dendrogram have a control AI that can counter-hack and even break current gen corporate control AIs. Maybe it can even take on the cutting-edge stuff used by government agencies... Did the higher-ups not give me permission because they knew that? Or perhaps... Perhaps Infinite Dendrogram has something fundamentally different from the control AIs that we know?”

Her voice dropped to a whisper, and Albert couldn’t hear that last part.

However, he had some thoughts about her idea that even the most cutting-edge control AI couldn’t measure up. It made him wonder whether there existed something beyond that... Or something of a different kind altogether.

“Oh. I’m not letting you hack them, okay?”

It was as though she read his mind.

Albert had suspected she would say something like that. However, he couldn’t have anticipated what she followed it up with.

“I just want you to play the game normally.”

“...Huh?”

◇◆

Past, Infinite Dendrogram

A week had passed since his “mother” had told Albert about Infinite Dendrogram.

Now, he was inside the game.

Since he was somewhat differently shaped than the average user, connecting him had required some hardware modifications, but he’d been able to make it in.

He was now in a place that looked much like a lab. Ahead, he saw a man with a strange silhouette doing some sort of work. Although he had several inhuman features, he was humanoid in overall shape and wore glasses that gave him an air of intelligence.

“Hm?” The spectacled man noticed Albert, looked at him for a moment, then pensively laid a hand on his mouth and looked up at the ceiling.

“I’m surprised... Truly, I am.”

Those words seemed to come straight from the heart.

“How much time has passed since No. 0 compensated them with those key technologies? They actually created an information entity capable of logging in, and that’s even compatible with Embryos? I understand that they were provided some knowledge, but this... Even our own technology is partially... Wait. According to No. 10, the current publicly available technology is quite far behind this. Is it all due to this entity’s creator, then? Is it the work of someone extraordinary?”

Voicing his astonishment at the sight of Albert, the man seemed to be gathering his thoughts.

“First the outsider welcomed by No. 3, now this... The environment there is quite different from that in our homeland... Hm?” The spectacled man then seemed to regain his composure and looked at Albert again. “Apologies. This unexpected phenomenon had me a little shaken.”

The word “unexpected” made Albert a bit concerned. While he himself didn’t have a strong desire to play, his “mother” had asked him to provide reports about it.

“Oh. No need to worry. You logged in, which means you have a person’s... Well, the same qualifications as any other person. Let us proceed with the avatar creation.”

A few windows then popped up in front of Albert, allowing him to set his appearance.

He could hardly envision an avatar like himself, so he simply based it on a character from an old movie his “mother” had often watched.

Thus, he created a muscular man, received the necessary items, and had his Embryo implanted in his left hand.

But the moment he received his avatar, his entire body began telling him that something was really wrong.

An awful sense of discomfort consumed him.

“It will be difficult for you at first,” the man said. “But you are a rare entity indeed, so I personally hope that you will continue in spite of that. Though, being a Master, that decision is entirely up to you.”

The spectacled man—control AI No. 4, Jabberwock—spoke as if he knew what Albert was feeling.

“Regardless, welcome to Infinite Dendrogram. We truly appreciate your arrival.”

Following those words, Albert was flung into the air and plummeted toward the country he’d chosen as his starting point—Caldina.

◇◆

Thus, like many other players, Albert landed near Caldina’s largest city...

But he was overwhelmed by shock as the sensation from earlier not only did not go away, but actually got worse.

His sense of smell taking in the air, the tastes in his mouth, even the feeling of the wind caressing his skin—all this impossible information distorted his world.

The people behind Infinite Dendrogram claimed that it was profoundly realistic, but Albert’s problem was far more fundamental than that.

Many users suffered immense discomfort while playing NEXT WORLD, but none of them had felt anything close to what Albert was currently experiencing.

The five senses themselves—the fatal error that we call a human body—had rendered him unable to even move.

Albert Schwartzkaiser was an anomalous electronic life-form, and to him, the very flesh and blood avatar he’d received was a source of errors that tortured his senses.

In real life, he was a mechanical computer that simply contained the information that made up his mind. With his avatar granting him sensations he simply couldn’t have, Albert was overcome by a sense of discomfort that rendered him unable to even stand, and he collapsed on the sandy ground.

Assaulted by these unknown senses and unable to even activate the log-out process, Albert spent several hours like that.

However, the pain eventually vanished.

This was because his Embryo hatched, replacing his entire body with one that was fully mechanical.

The errors subsided as soon as that occurred.

Albert once again only had vision, hearing, and a degree of pressure sensitivity—senses he already knew well.

Thanks to the Embryo that had become his body, he was able to adapt to this world and overcome his suffering.

Having thus gained the ability to move, he proceeded to practice it. After about a week of such training, he could move as well as any other person and began operating like any other Master.

He engaged in the extermination of harmful monsters, tested himself in duels—he did much of what anyone might expect a Master to do.

Throughout all this, his body—Septentrion—evolved into a Superior Embryo. This caught the eye of Caldina’s president, and he was invited to join Sefirot. Since then, he’d followed her orders and continued to hunt UBMs, as well as battle wanted Masters.

The final and greatest exception to such work was his participation in The Tournaments.

◇◆◇

Gideon, City of Duels, Central Arena

Figaro was now wielding the strongest sword from his expansive arsenal.

Albert was clad in the most fearsome armor from his massive collection.

The two clashed, but Albert had the upper hand.

Though wielding Gloria α, Figaro couldn’t use its Overdrive without getting close to Albert. If he used this powerful skill from a distance, he would have to fire horizontally—but with the barrier being right behind Albert, it was possible that it would break it and harm the audience.

Indeed—Albert wasn’t the only one who had to worry about his MVP rewards causing damage to the spectators. That was exactly why Figaro had defeated Xunyu by firing the weapon vertically at point-blank range.

He would have to do the same thing with Albert, but getting close to him meant being in range of his fists. Even if Figaro used Overdrive first, the briefest pause during the firing would allow Albert to reach him.

And Albert could come back at least one more time. If he committed to a desperate retaliation, that would be the end of the battle right there.

Of course, even without its Overdrive, Gloria α was an awfully powerful blade that could be empowered with the heat of light.

Figaro might have been able to evade Albert’s attacks and simply cut him apart—though that wouldn’t change the fact that just a single hit would be enough to kill him.

A single impact—no, a single scratch—would be fatal.

To make matters worse, Figaro didn’t know the extent of Albert’s resistances. He’d already been brought near death by both fire and physical damage, granting him resistance to both. Light and slashing damage were both adjacent to those types, so Figaro’s chances of a successful attack depended on how broad Albert’s damage resistance actually was.

Regardless, each of them had fangs aimed at each other’s throat.

All that really mattered now was how well they wielded them.

While Figaro silently tried to chart his path to victory, Albert took to action immediately.

This was an obvious move. Albert still had a life left, so if they clashed as they were now, he would most certainly emerge victorious. If anything, giving Figaro any time to find a way out of this predicament would be an awful idea.

“O o o r g h...” With attack power that exceeded even King of Destruction’s capabilities, and with the defenses to match, the armor let out a devilish groan as Albert charged ahead—an all-consuming, devastating sprint, each step of which left cracks and craters in the remnants of the arena.

He wasn’t even using any other MVP rewards.

Was that simply because nothing he had surpassed Exademon in pure attack power? Or was there some other reason for it?

For a moment, it looked as though Albert was going to charge directly at Figaro, but then Albert kicked a stray rock.

It shattered under the immense force, but the kinetic energy from the impact sent its shards flying ahead at supersonic speeds.

As though they were fired from a shotgun, they flew toward Figaro, leaving him nowhere to run.

Though his eyes widened, Figaro didn’t even try to dodge.

Instead, he imbued Gloria α’s blade with searing light and swung it, precisely cutting down and destroying all the rock shrapnel flying toward him. As unavoidable and deadly as it seemed, Figaro was able to defend himself against this dangerous attack.

However, this was well within Albert’s expectations. In the brief time Figaro focused on defense, he closed the distance between them.

Just a few more steps until the armor’s fists could reach his opponent.

If Figaro met the punch with his blade, both their bodies would shatter—and only Albert would be left standing.

That was what the entire audience expected, and when their eyes focused on Albert’s raised fist, not even a tenth of them noticed how Figaro’s appearance had changed.

“That’s...!” What the more observant spectators saw was a new piece of equipment Figaro had put on using Instant Wear.

Actually, it wasn’t quite accurate to call it “new.” After all, it was one of the items that defined his appearance.

It was his blue coat—“Rendshield Cloak, Closer.” Left behind by the first UBM he’d ever defeated, it had been with him longer than any other item in his vast arsenal.

One of its skills...

“Rendshield.”

...briefly but completely shut off any attacks coming from the outside.

The barrier that went up was immediately struck by a blow so powerful it surpassed even King of Destruction.

The impact shook the very air as the shock wave spread throughout the entire venue.

However, the barrier didn’t even shake. Despite the incredible power it had just been subjected to, it remained completely unaffected.

A split second after the impact, Figaro deliberately dropped the barrier...

“Fang of Gloria: Overdrive.”

...and, just as he’d done against Xunyu, Figaro swung the sword upward to deliver the Overdrive to his enemy.

He’d retaliated against Albert’s attack with his ultimate firepower, and everything was executed with flowing perfection. He’d negated the damage at the moment the punch had landed, canceled his defense right after the clash, and gone in for his slash without leaving any openings to take advantage of.

It was a technique much like Ray’s Impact Counter but possessed of even greater finesse.

Shock overcame Albert. He couldn’t even react. Though his attack and defense were greatly increased, Figaro still had higher AGI, and the counterattack had been executed too brilliantly. He didn’t have time to back away, launch another attack in response, or deal with the Overdrive in any way.

Though they both were entirely capable of killing each other in theory, in practice Figaro was simply on another level.

And so, unable to do anything about it, Albert was pierced by burning light.

It shot through the first layers of arena barriers, then the ones added by Integra, creating a pillar of light reaching toward the sky.

Any parts of Exademon that were caught in its wake evaporated, along with any of Albert’s body that was inside.

It was as though his fire resistance was powerless before this scorching light—as though the difference in how the heat was delivered was paramount.

Whatever the reason, Albert’s HP instantly fell to 1...

“η: Alkaid.”

...and he finally used the seventh—Septentrion’s final heal and buff skill.

“The Seven Stars—Septentrion.”

But this time, it was followed by another skill declaration.

Figaro’s eyes widened as he heard Albert’s voice—and because he heard it, he instantly flew into action.

Figaro had let Albert use this final regeneration on purpose, hoping to use his speed advantage to finish Albert off immediately after.

Albert’s body was now restored, and though clad in half-destroyed armor and empowered by a resistance to light-based heat, he couldn’t stop a slash from Gloria α’s naked blade.

Tsukuyo had called him “fragile,” and he could do nothing to resist the attack aimed straight for his throat.

Shortly after being restored—before he could even move—Albert was decapitated.

Thus, King of Termination was defeated. Everyone was certain that Figaro had emerged victorious.

But then, he was attacked from six directions.

Figaro’s eyes widened. A bursting net of flames, a cannonball, a shock wave, a frigid blizzard, a dark mist, a fixed damage projectile...

The moment Figaro thought he had defeated Albert, six kinds of attacks rained down on him.

Even Figaro couldn’t respond to all of them in time, and he was soon consumed by this storm of destruction.

◇◆

“Huh?!”

Sandalphon—the Superior Embryo tasked with security—was watching the duel as well. This was only natural, as the man his Master loved was one of the combatants. Thus, as he made sure the venue was safe, he watched the duel alongside Hannya.

And of course, right when he thought Figaro had won, the battle was flipped upside down.

“What is this...?” There was perhaps no better reaction than that. It felt as though it wasn’t just the battle that had been overturned, but the very rules of the engagement itself. The scene before him was simply that shocking.

There were now six Alberts standing on the stage.

Albert had already used his final revival and had his head severed from his body, but there were now six of him.

This reminded the audience of a certain high-ranking duelist—Tom Cat, the ex-champion who dominated the battlefield using an ultimate skill that let him multiply and revive without limit.

However, what Albert had done wasn’t quite the same.

The Seven Stars—Septentrion. That was the ult of Albert’s Superior Embryo, Seven Star Turnover, Septentrion.

It could only be used after seven revivals, and its effect was to present the results of his learning and overcoming all at once.

The six doubles of Albert who were still standing and the one who had been decapitated were based on the skills he’d gained, starting with α: Dubhe and ending with η: Alkaid.

The fire-resistant Albert Dubhe.

The Petrification-resistant Albert Merak.

The physical-impact-resistant Albert Phecda.

The frost-resistant Albert Megrez.

The dark-resistant Albert Alioth.

The fixed damage-resistant Albert Mizar.

The light-resistant Albert Alkaid.

Turned over to reveal seven stars—seven bodies that had different resistances and means of attack.

This also gave Albert extra attack power. By having each version of himself wield weapons with penalties that were canceled out by his resistances, he became an even greater force of destruction. He didn’t seem to have anything that took advantage of Petrification specifically, but every other weapon the duplicates wielded was much like the ones that Albert had used before—high-power MVP rewards that disregarded the wielder’s safety.

Even Figaro would have a hard time if exposed to such fearsome attacks from basically every direction.

“Lady Hannya...! Umm, Master Figaro is...”

While Figaro’s fiancée stared intently at the stage, silently clasping her hands together as if in prayer, Sandalphon gave her a sympathetic, almost panicked look.

“Calm down, Sandalphon.”

However, the one to respond to him first was the person standing on the other side of Hannya.

It was another Superior tasked with security—Shu Starling.

“That’s the kinda move Sechs would make, and it caught me by surprise, that’s for sure... But Figgy hasn’t lost this yet.” As though to prove Shu right, the dust from the destruction began to clear.

Behind the curtain, Figaro was still standing. Though wounded all over and leaning heavily on Gloria α for support, he was still upright.

The outcome of this duel was yet undecided.

However, his situation was dire. Figaro was seriously hurt, and defeating the remaining six Alberts would be a challenge even for him.

“That just leaves five.” But Shu’s count of Albert’s duplicates didn’t match the number visible on the stage.

A moment later, one of them—the one with fixed damage resistance, Albert Mizar—swayed where he stood and collapsed backward.

Without even changing his pose, he shattered into pieces and became nothing more than a pile of rocks.

“What...?”

“Figgy’s counterattack,” said Shu. “When the six attacks came in, he fired that gun toward one of ’em.”

Why had Figaro thought that Marbledrop would have any effect when Albert already had resistance to Petrification?

It was because he’d realized Albert’s resistances had been scattered the moment he felt his blade sink into the seventh duplicate’s neck.

Albert was supposed to have resistance to physical impacts, but Figaro had not felt any when slashing him. Combined with the fact that he’d instantly been targeted by six separate attacks, Figaro’s instincts had worked faster than his mind to conclude that Albert had split himself into seven forms, each bearing a different resistance and mode of attack.

And so, with two Alberts having projectile attacks, Figaro spotted them both and retaliated against them with Marbledrop’s bullets that passed through all inorganic material.

One of the Alberts he’d shot was the Petrification-resistant Albert Merak, so the attack was negated, but the other was Albert Mizar, who was only resistant to fixed damage.

It was this decisive action and reaction that allowed Figaro to survive.

Albert stared at him in silence. He’d realized that Figaro was still alive when he noticed that the barrier was still up. But after having timed his attack so perfectly and still suffering a loss to Figaro’s retaliation, Albert decided to refrain from attacking further and assumed a more cautious approach.

This was the opposite of what he’d done earlier, but it was the correct decision now. The situation had shifted, and the barrage had left Figaro with multiple injury- and curse-based status effects. The Bleeding and Burning debuffs were steadily lowering his HP, while the Magic Drain and Soul Drain curses sapped his MP and SP.

The many items that Figaro could use to resist such effects only worked if he’d put them on ahead of time. With duels forbidding the use of recovery items, there were very few ways to remove a debuff that had already been applied.

Time was on Albert’s side now, and he outnumbered Figaro five to one. Even if Figaro retaliated and destroyed one Albert, the remaining four would overwhelm him.

And that was exactly why Albert took the safe approach. Figaro might have managed to survive Albert’s first barrage, but he had no means of turning this around. The countdown to his defeat had already begun.

The scales of victory were tipping in Albert’s favor.

“Umm...” At that moment, just as the entire venue fell silent at the realization that their champion was going to fall, Sandalphon spoke up.

His Master, Hannya, still had her eyes fixed on Figaro with hands clasped as if in prayer.

“What?” Shu asked.

“Can he still win? Does he have anything to turn this around?”

Shu fell silent for a moment at Sandalphon’s question. He knew that the Over Gladiator’s job ult was useless for someone who had no other SJs, and he knew that Figaro wouldn’t use Cor Leonis’s ult here either. With how severe Figaro’s injuries were, using it would only kill him.

“Will he... Will he lose...?”

Did all that mean that Figaro would be defeated?

“I dunno what he’ll do about this... But there’s no way he’s losin’.”

And yet, Shu still denied that possibility.

“But how...?”

Shu was really confident, but that wasn’t a question for him to answer.

“Because...he’s him.”

Finally, Hannya broke her silence with an explanation.

It wasn’t a reason that would make sense to anyone else. However, Figaro’s friend, sitting by her side, thought she was completely right.

“Vincent will win this.”

Hannya spoke with certainty as she declared that her beloved would emerge victorious.

◇◆

A question appeared in Albert’s mind as he faced Figaro in this five-on-one battle.

Time was on his side, but as it flowed by, he couldn’t help but wonder why Figaro wasn’t doing anything.

The Over Gladiator must’ve been aware of the debuffs draining his HP, MP, and SP. Death drew closer every moment, and more and more of his skills became unusable.

Why, then, was Figaro maintaining this deadlock?

Albert had a guess, of course.

He knew that Figaro’s equipment enhancement became more efficient as more time passed.

However, Figaro was barely going to last even a few more minutes. Just how great of an improvement could he expect in this short amount of time? And even if he was greatly empowered, what would be the point of it if he couldn’t even use his skills?

Because of this, inaction had to be the wrong decision. Figaro had to defeat Albert while he still had the power to do so.

Figaro must’ve understood this—and yet he wasn’t doing anything. Albert couldn’t help but wonder why.

“...Phew.” Breathing raggedly, Figaro seemed to be observing the Alberts surrounding him.

Was he preparing to respond in case they took action? Or was he searching for a path to victory?

The champion slowly looked around as if trying to sense something.

I can’t see it. I can’t feel it. It really doesn’t seem like there’s anything there. But...

Figaro was lost in thought. Defeat was drawing closer by the second, and he was searching for a way to repel it.

I couldn’t see the moment he split into seven. I didn’t even realize he was doing that. I didn’t look away from the seventh for even a moment...but next thing I knew, I was surrounded.

Figaro was thinking as hard as he could. He replayed the flow of events that had led to this situation in his mind and let intuition do its job.

He firmly believed that that was where he would find his chance at victory.

Right. The very first attack. He was turning the flamethrowers.

When using Firelyx, Albert had turned the fires to target Figaro, licking the entire stage with its tongues of flame. Figaro had managed to evade them, but it was still an area attack that was blasted in every direction indiscriminately.

I didn’t see anything strange about the shape of the fire. There was nothing in its way. That means...

Figaro finally reached an answer.

“I see how it is.”

His sudden words caused a stir in the five remaining Alberts...

“I finally see the last part of your trick.”

...and the word “trick” caused a murmur to ripple through the audience.

If this was about Albert’s healing and buff skill, then its workings had been clear for a while now.

If it was about him splitting into seven parts, then that was an ult—hardly a “trick.”

What was Figaro referring to, then?

“Anyway... It’s time to end this.”

And then, the Over Gladiator took action.

The time that had passed, though, had ravaged Figaro’s body. He could no longer use his devastating Overdrive.

Instead, the move he chose to make was...

“Liferend Shield Formation.”

...another skill from Rendshield Cloak, Closer.

It was the ultimate move of the UBM it came from, and it created countless shield blades that both protected its wielder and sliced anything that came too close.

However, using it in this situation seemed like an awful idea. While it wasn’t as costly as Overdrive, using this rendered Figaro unable to use any other skills. It also wasn’t enough to block the Albert duplicates’ immensely powerful attacks, nor did it have enough offensive power to destroy them.

No matter how it was used, the skill would not be enough. It didn’t make sense.

“HIII-YAH!” Figaro swung his arm, sending the countless blades flying like a winter hailstorm.

They ricocheted within the arena, dealing damage to the five Alberts.

But just as he and everyone else expected, the firepower just wasn’t enough.

Though frail as far as SJs went, Albert was still a combat-focused Superior Job. The blades did little if Albert just assumed a defensive stance, and each duplicate had high enough HP that most of this damage was irrelevant.

Most importantly, the attacks simply weren’t concentrated enough. Split between the five Alberts, the blades simply weren’t able to deal enough damage to end this.

In fact, despite all the Alberts being on the ground, some of the blades had been launched into the air.

The audience tilted their heads in confusion, the hardened fighters watched in disbelief...and Albert changed his expression for the first time.

Figaro’s seemingly meaningless area attack made all five Alberts open their eyes wide.

They prepared to shift from defense to attack in order to stop Figaro’s blades...when a light thud could be heard amid the chaos. One of the airborne blades had struck something.

“Oh. Guess I was right.” And with that, Figaro instantly leaped into the sky.

This was something he’d done in his fight against Gloria.

Using the shield-blades as platforms, he rushed upward.

◇◆

There were a few things that Figaro had found strange in this duel against Albert.

The first was his second heal and buff.

Despite having been Petrified and shattered, Albert was able to declare the β: Merak skill and revive.

That had made Figaro wonder how he’d been able to speak the skill’s name despite being turned to stone.

Next were Albert’s fourth and fifth comebacks. Figaro had most certainly delivered fatal damage to Albert while Rear Soldier’s Last Stand was still on cooldown.

Despite that, Albert still survived with 1 HP and bounced back from it.

Figaro had been pondering how he was able to accomplish that when the job skill that supposedly made it possible was inactive.

And finally, it had been the ultimate that split Albert into seven.

Figaro had defeated Tom Cat, and he knew about King of Crime. Because of this, he was aware that duplicates created by such skills usually split off from their source.

However, that hadn’t been the case for Albert.

Figaro had been entirely focused on the Albert that had possessed all the resistances to his attacks—but before he knew it, Figaro had been surrounded.

This untelegraphed split was the third thing Figaro found strange.

Only one thing could adequately explain these three phenomena.

Albert’s main body had to be elsewhere.

Everything would make sense if he had a separate body with only 1 HP.

If his main body was elsewhere, he could declare skills despite Petrification.

If his main body was elsewhere, he would have 1 HP left even when he couldn’t use his job skill.

If his main body was elsewhere, Figaro’s focus on the opponent in front of him would have caused him to miss the split.

But if there really was such a main body, then where would it be?

It was Albert’s own actions that had provided a hint.

While he used Firelyx to spread flames in every direction, covering the entire stage, it didn’t seem like anything had been caught in them. That could only mean one thing—the main body had to be somewhere the flames hadn’t reached. The only option was up in the air.

Figaro had used the Liferend Shield Formation to confirm this.

And now, having pinpointed its location, he used the blade shields as platforms to reach it.

◇◆

Albert—in other words, his main body—looked down at Figaro in silence.

The Over Gladiator’s intuition had been right.

g: Alcor. It was a barely visible star close to the Big Dipper—Septentrion. Its name had roots in the Arabic “al-khawāri,” meaning “faint one,” and some cultures claimed that anyone who could no longer see the star was fated to die.

It was the skill that pointed to Albert’s nature as a mechanical being, as well as the brain—the core—that existed outside his human-shaped body, Septentrion.

Being a machine enabled him to split his brain and his body. About the size of a golf ball, this metallic object floating about was where Albert’s mind resided.

He had used all five accessory slots to both cloak himself visually and obfuscate his skills, and he’d used damage reduction to keep him safe from weak attacks like the blade shield strike.

Indeed—this was the truth behind Albert’s near death and healing buff combination.

The job was a decoy. While Albert did have Rear Soldier, it was merely a bluff to lead his enemies to a false conclusion.

In reality, Albert would have survived death even without Last Stand. The secret behind his survivability wasn’t that skill, but the way his own body worked.

This was the trick Albert used to become the powerful Superior that he was.

But now, the trick was exposed.

And Figaro, the one who’d seen through it, was now charging toward him, Gloria α in hand.

The Over Gladiator shouldn’t have been able to see his main body at all, but there was no hesitation in his dash.

The moment one of the shield blades touched the core, multiple other blades swarmed to surround and cage it. Albert had nowhere to run.

The five bodies looking up at them all fired everything they had at Figaro.

This was an extremely close game. Would Figaro reach and split the core in time? Or would Albert’s attacks finally bring him down?

Only one Superior could win this, and every single second counted.

But Albert soon realized that he was going to emerge victorious. Figaro was injured, so the speed of his ascent couldn’t outrun the attacks from Albert’s bodies down below.

Though the champion had made the first move, the gap was closing fast. Albert’s attacks would hit Figaro before he reached the core.

And Figaro didn’t have any means of attack besides Gloria α. He no longer had the MP or SP to use any other MVP reward skills.

Albert’s victory was set in stone.

He calculated this future in the blink of an eye—but then he noticed something odd.

During this brief moment, something had changed about Figaro again—the weapon in his hand was different.

It wasn’t Gloria α, or some MVP reward, but a long chain wrapped around his right hand.

A Crimson Dead Keeper—one of his most favored weapons, known for its immense reach. It could most certainly land a hit on the core before Albert’s attacks touched him.

Albert knew that it wouldn’t matter much if it did, though. Unlike the seven duplicates, the main body had all of its previous resistances. An attack from the Crimson Dead Keeper couldn’t even take away its 1 HP.

With Figaro’s final move rendered meaningless, Albert’s victory would be completely certain.

And yet, it wasn’t.

The moment the chain reached, Albert noticed...

Gloria α was tied to its tip.

Shock overcame King of Termination. An unorthodox use of weaponry—combining two items that were never meant to be combined.

The gladiator grouping granted multiple weapon slots for each hand.

This was Figaro’s strongest weapon, combined with his most-used weapon.

Perhaps because of that, despite the bizarre arrangement, there was no flaw in the trajectory of the slash.

It was a brilliant move that rendered irrelevant the distance, the time, and the inherent weakness of his chains.

Albert was in awe. When had Figaro gotten the idea to do this?

When he realized that Albert’s attacks would reach him first?

Or maybe when he dashed into the sky?

Or perhaps the moment he used Liferend Shield Formation?

Regardless, Albert hadn’t seen this coming and could do nothing against it.

Though swung on the end of a chain, Gloria α carried more than enough power for this task.

Albert’s core had no resistance to slashing attacks, and this blow would no doubt take away its 1 HP.

Figaro had used his own prowess to flip the scales of victory in his favor.

How? Because he was him, of course.

“Good game. You are the winner.” With a mechanical voice praising his opponent in English, Albert’s core was split in two, and all five of his remaining duplicates on the stage vanished.

◇◆

Tournament: Final Day. 

Reward: Mythical “Night Sky General, O’oimimaru.” 

Core traits: Unknown (Space alteration?) 

Winner: Over Gladiator, Figaro.