by Sakon Kaidou
“Tsk...” Ray said.
“I have no idea what all of this actually is. I’d assume it’s the human experimentation phase for the creation of a national... no, worldwide virtual reality, but that’s way above our current cutting-edge tech, so I don’t think it’s likely. For all I know, those guys who say this is an actual other world or that aliens are messing with us could be right.”
“...Then what do you think of the people living here?” Ray asked slowly.
“AI with minds so sophisticated, they might as well be human. Or perhaps actual people from another world. Or maybe life that conforms to those boundaries. At the very least, I don’t think they’re just 1s and 0s.”
He paused.
“So I want to make this perfectly clear, bucko. If this were our Earth, if my situation, conditions, and powers were the same in real life, I’d still go through with this plan. I would act exactly the same way as I act in here. No matter how many thousands it would kill.” He proclaimed that with absolute certainty. “That’s what you wanted to know, isn’t it, Ray-baby? A Maiden’s Master like you just couldn’t help but wonder why I would design such an evil plot, right?”
“How could you do this?!” Ray asked with a voice wrung out from the very depths of his heart. Those were the words of someone who recognized this world’s lives as real and couldn’t tolerate the tragedy that had nearly befallen them. The words didn’t have a hint of theatrics or falsehood in them; they were all Ray’s mind made vocal.
“Hm...” Franklin silently looked at him, finding the young man somewhat dazzling. He realized that they were alike, but completely different at the same time. With respect to that fact, Franklin chose to respond with the same honesty. “Because I never want to lose again. I’ve had enough of being controlled. I’ll live free, create what I want, and enjoy the world as I please. No one will ever bind me. I’ve decided to crush anyone trying to obstruct my way of life.”
He then fell silent. He didn’t have anything more to say.
Franklin’s words were vague, and he was probably the only one who could ever understand them. Nevertheless, the mad scientist felt that he said all he had to.
“I see how it is.” Ray nodded in understanding.
To avoid defeat, Franklin wouldn’t hesitate to cause tragedies, and that was exactly why he had to be defeated.
His pursuit for his way of life would bring about the most devastating of calamities, which was all the reason needed to stop him at all costs.
“Anyway, that’s the second thing settled,” said Franklin, his tone back to normal. “So what’s the third?”
“It’s th— hgh!” Ray tried to answer, but his words were cut short by Pandemonium starting to shake wildly — not because it had started to move, but it because it was being barraged by an artillery storm.
“What the... KoD is attacking?” asked Franklin, thoroughly confused. “But I still have the princess. Did he finally snap or someth...?” He stopped mid-sentence and became even more puzzled.
He’d shifted his gaze to the princess’s position, and realized that she’d disappeared.
Ray wasn’t the one responsible for this.
Franklin had been observing him this whole time, so he was absolutely certain that Ray hadn’t been the one to take the princess. Someone else sneaked up here, taken Elizabeth, and saved her. Franklin knew exactly which person would be capable of that.
“The Superior Killer...” he said. “So you were a decoy, too.”
While Franklin had been focusing on Ray’s moves and words, the Superior Killer had come up and saved the princess. He couldn’t tell whether they’d planned this out, or whether the Superior Killer had merely taken advantage of Ray’s actions.
Regardless of that, Pandemonium had lost the one thing protecting it from Baldr’s artillery. Countless shots pierced into the factory and exploded, distorting the already-strange creature even further and gradually bringing it to the ground.
“This sure is intense,” Franklin said as he kept himself standing by holding onto the railings installed atop of Pandemonium.
Because Ray was here, none of the attacks were hitting the top, but Franklin was more than aware that the factory would soon collapse.
Even the stat summary said that it had less than a tenth of its total HP left.
“Mh...”
Franklin’s death and Pandemonium’s destruction weren’t outside of the expected outcomes. His defeat would simply trigger Plan D. Or so it should have, but...
“They’ve taken care of it...” Franklin sighed.
A glance at the device he was holding told him that the NDW had lost its life. And Gideon remained the same. That could only mean that the central piece of the final plan, the spade, had been killed before self-destructing. It had vanished without doing any damage to speak of.
“I had a feeling this might happen,” he muttered.
The King of Destruction had been the one to show up here in the grasslands, rather than either of the Superiors from the Clash. That situation had made them into a wild card, which meant that this turn of events was entirely possible.
Normally, the spade’s underground tunneling ability would be impossible to counter, but the ultimate skill Xunyu displayed in the Clash of the Superiors would make it really easy. If Franklin had known about that ability before the Clash, he’d have prepared something else, but thinking of what-ifs was meaningless at this point.
With DGP and NDW, Franklin had now wasted two monsters made with special rewards — ones he could never make again. And with Plan D falling apart, Franklin had lost not only his chance of winning, but his chance of “not losing,” as well. If he was given the death penalty here, he’d officially suffer a crushing defeat.
Perhaps he could make it a bit less overwhelming by escaping, but...
“...It’s too late,” he muttered.
Large as it was, Pandemonium had nearly no means of fighting, and it was on the verge of being completely destroyed.
The Castling monsters he’d positioned all over the Jeand Grasslands had been thoroughly exterminated, too. Franklin’s death penalty was imminent.
After all... Ray was charging straight towards him.
Not even wasting his time getting on Silver, he dashed on his own two feet, showing no hesitation whatsoever about Baldr’s barrage.
I guess he expected these attacks, Franklin thought. Well, they’re brothers, after all. They probably agreed on this or just knew what the other would do without even having to talk it through... I’m kinda jealous. Feeling a little bit sentimental, Franklin breathed a light sigh.
“So the third reason you’re here is to kill me,” he muttered.
Ray gradually closed the distance between them, but Franklin had no means of doing anything about it. He’d already used up all the custom monsters in his arsenal, so there was no one to protect him now.
Very well. I’ll accept this defeat. He gave up and prepared himself for his death penalty. But someday, I’ll...
At that moment, a silhouette arrived at the top of Pandemonium.
“Hgh!” Ray exclaimed in surprise.
“Eh?” Franklin voiced his confusion. The silhouette was a half-broken Magingear. Much of its metallic armor was lost, and it was only complete because of the frozen coating. It was the unit piloted by Hugo and armed with Cocytus.
“Kh...”
If the Magingear had been a person, the damage would surely have killed it.
Some of the damage had been caused by his battle against Rook’s group, but he’d gained most of it after undoing La Porte de l’Enfer and letting the Masters fight the monsters. There was no way he could have remained unscathed while breaking through the veil of fiery destruction created by Baldr’s artillery.
Despite being more damaged than the Magingear he’d used against Gouz the day prior, this Magingear was still able to move.
“AAARRGHHHH!” the pilot roared. It was a voice that the roleplayer acting as a chival
rous knight would never use.
With that, the Magingear stood right before Ray, as though to protect Franklin.
◇◆
Hugo had spent much of the time until and during the plan doing nothing but doubting himself. He’d wondered whether he should participate in the plan, whether he was right in doing what he’d chosen to, and whether he should face Ray, who was a friend from the day before.
While he was doubting himself, he’d been defeated by Rook, heard his words, and seen Franklin begin Plan C, filling him with even more doubts.
While hesitating, he had undone La Porte de l’Enfer’s Frozen debuff that was trapping the Masters near the western gate. He’d done that instantly, without thinking it through.
Hugo had thought that he couldn’t let things continue as they were, but even then, he hadn’t been sure if it had been the right thing to do. That action had helped stop the tragedy before his eyes, but it had been a move against Franklin — the person Hugo so greatly admired.
Then, in the midst of those doubts, Hugo had remembered that Franklin had lied and planned to destroy Gideon, which filled him with even more doubt.
Once Rook and the other Masters had gone out to the Jeand Grasslands and left him alone, the Charm effect had disappeared, and he had hesitated further still.
But then, all of a sudden, Hugo had stopped thinking and doubting himself.
He’d realized that he couldn’t do anything if he’d spent all his time hesitating.
Once all the doubts and self-questioning went away, he’d arrived at a single, ultimate answer for what he had to do.
It was the answer that was always inside Hugo and the girl controlling him, Yuri.
It was...
◇◆
“I’ll protect my sister!”
With those words, the Magingear began moving.
“Even if I have to defeat you!” The frame was on the verge of shattering, and it only held together because of Cocytus. Nevertheless, the icy machine soldier charged towards Ray. Though he had been a friend the day prior, Hugo brought everything he had to his attack.
“Bring it, Hugo,” Ray said, ready to face him.
He didn’t know Hugo and Franklin’s relationship. But as an opponent and as a friend, he wanted to face him properly.
With that, the Paladin and the High Pilot... the two Maiden’s Masters... clashed.
It was their second battle since the one at the western gate, and surely the last one they’d have today. The clash seemed to last no more than a blink of an eye.
“Motor... Slash!” Hugo roared. His Magingear raised its right arm and tried to attack with a swing of the icy cross-sword. “...Hgh! Kh!”
That single motion was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The frost armor in the area broke apart, the whole right arm was dislodged from the torso, and the power of the swing made it fly off into the distance.
It was the same arm that had suffered from Ray’s Vengeance and the Devil-Dragon-Man’s Tri-Horn Grand Dash. The many powerful attacks it’d gone through had brought it to its limit, and the skill just now had gone past it.
“Not yet! Motor Slash!” Hugo roared again as he instantly used the skill with his other arm. The icy blade went right towards Ray, ready to split him.
“I can’t break through the armor like this,” said Ray. “Then I’ll just...!”
He loosened his grip on his black longsword, Nemesis, and threw her up into the air. Then he bent his body to avoid the sharp cross-blade and extended his right arm into its path.
“Gh...!”
The frozen blade cleanly cut it off, dealing great damage to Ray and making him bleed. However, the sharpness of the weapon made it so that the impact didn’t blow him away.
“Hgh...!” Ray exclaimed as he, still bent, moved to the Magingear’s side.
As he did that, Nemesis fell back towards him.
However, with his left arm being charred and his right arm being completely lost, he had no means of holding her hilt.
Or so they thought.
“Hh...!” Ray exclaimed.
“What?!” Hugo shouted.
His surprise wasn’t without reason, for Ray had bitten into Nemesis’ hilt with his teeth.
“Mfh...!” Ray couldn’t say a word, but...
“Very well!” said Nemesis, having read his mind.
Ray moved his head in a way that made the greatsword in his teeth reach into the frozen armor coating the Magingear’s cockpit. It wasn’t enough to break through, but that didn’t matter at all.
“Vengeance... Is Mine!” said Nemesis, activating the skill.
The counterattack doubled the damage Ray had suffered and delivered it into the frozen armor, instantly making it vanish. Without anything to protect him, the black blade dug into Hugo’s chest and pierced his heart.
“Ah...” he breathed his last before becoming particles of light and vanishing out of this world. His Embryo, Cocytus, disappeared soon after, leaving nothing but the remains of the badly damaged Magingear.
“Argh!” Ray roared.
He was done with Hugo, but he still had some unfinished business. Nemesis fell out of his mouth as he charged towards his target — Franklin.
The mad scientist didn’t even run... or perhaps he even forgot to do it upon seeing Hugo vanish.
“Frank...lin...!”
Ray had lost his right arm and even let go of Nemesis, yet he still dashed towards Franklin. After all, he was facing the very reason why he was here, his ultimate goal for coming to this place.
Ray wasn’t here just to save the princess or to present Franklin with his question. In fact, even defeating him was a secondary goal. He was here for something he’d decided he’d do long ago.
I’d like to punch that idiot for sending a kid to a place this dangerous. My fist is going straight into your face. Keep it clean for me, Superior.
Indeed — Ray only wanted to punch him.
“FRANKLIIIIIINN!” Ray forced his charred right fist into Franklin’s left cheek, finally settling the score.
“GHAH?!” Franklin exclaimed.
The power of the impact caused Ray’s fragile arm to begin crumbling. But the moment it hit Franklin’s face, the Miasmaflame Gauntlets released a burst of flame that spread across the mad scientist’s body, quickly turning him into a human torch.
Franklin no longer had a Lifesaving Brooch or any monsters he could use for Life Link. The purgatorial fires made short work of his mediocre HP, and he soon began to vanish.
“Kgh...” Just as he was about to be taken by this world’s rules and disappear, Franklin opened his mouth and spoke. “We’ll win next time.”
And with those words as his last, he became particles of light.
Thus, the Dryfean Superior that had designed and executed this nightmarish plan upon the people of the kingdom vanished at the hands of a single newbie.
With that, the incident was settled.
Or perhaps this outcome had been set in stone long ago, when a certain Superior had tried to use a certain little girl, and a certain newbie had tried to help her.
◇◇◇
Twenty minutes after Franklin’s disappearance, the last of the Suicide Series were downed, ending the battle at Gideon.
Traitors working under Franklin were dead or deserted.
The Suicide Series was thoroughly exterminated.
The club, King of Orchestras, Veldorbell, was dead.
The spade, NDW, was dead.
The heart, High Pilot, Hugo Lesseps, was dead.
The diamond, Giga Professor, Mr. Franklin, was dead.
Thus marked the end of the terrorism at the city of duels.
Franklin’s Game was over.
Epilogue A: The Superiors
Journalist/Death Shadow, Marie Adler
A few hours had passed since Franklin’s annoying little game, and dawn was only a few moments away.
Tonight, I’d fought the King of Orchestras, gathered and broken the
devices all over Gideon, protected the city against the Suicide Series, broken through the King of Destruction’s bombing to get on Pandemonium, saved Ellie, and handed her unconscious body to what remained of the Royal Guard.
Naturally, I was thoroughly drained, especially since it was the second night in a row I’d been running around doing stuff. Sure, my Superior Job gave me some great stats, but even so, I had my limits.
I definitely wasn’t the only one who had found this night to be highly taxing. Ray and Rook had gone through a number of harsh battles, as well. In fact, Ray had even lost both of his arms.
Franklin’s death penalty made Pandemonium vanish, making Ray fall towards the ground below. Thankfully, he was saved by Nemesis and their Prism Steed, which was named “Silver,” apparently.
The girl picked up Ray’s right arm, and the Masters on the scene were able to put it back on him using high-rank healing magic. It would take a few days until he would be able to move it as smoothly as before, but it wasn’t that big of a problem. However, I couldn’t say the same for his left arm.
It had been completely Charred and crumbled to pieces because of it, so retrieving it was impossible at this point. And loss of body parts couldn’t be fixed by mere high-rank healing magic.
Now, high-rank Embryo ultimate skills would probably do the trick, but as far as I was aware, the kingdom didn’t have any high-ranks whose ultimates were focused on healing others.
There was one person who’d be able to heal Ray’s wound. The High Priestess, Tsukuyo Fuso, a Superior Job from the priest grouping and an owner of a Superior Embryo, could give Ray his arm back in the blink of an eye.
But I couldn’t recommend relying on her.
She was the head of a cult, and the prospect of being indebted to her was nothing short of frightening. Worst case scenario, it could even go beyond Infinite Dendrogram.
Considering these circumstances, I’d recommended that he just take the death penalty, since that would have him return completely healed.