Infinite Dendrogram_Volume 2

by Sakon Kaidou

  Releasing a scream that nature surely didn’t intend, Gouz-Maise turned around. Its gaze became fixed on the crying children, all exuding the negative emotion we knew as “fear.”

  “ｇＧｏＯｌｌＬｆｆＦｆＡａＳｓｓＡａａＡａＡａａＡ！！”

  It was hard to tell whether the action was caused by the consensus of all the grudges, or the eating habits one of them had had while it was alive. However, Gouz-Maise’s intentions were clear the moment it began running towards the children. Its right arm was extended towards them, saliva was pooling from its mouth.

  “Damn it!” Before I could even think things through, I’d jumped out through the gate, and aimed my left bracer at the abomination. “Purgatorial Flames — full power!”

  The Miasmaflame Bracer began violently draining my MP and converting it into fire. Though it was less intense than the deadly flame once used by the Great Miasmic Demon, Gardranda, the blaze I launched could easily reduce a hundred standard undead to ash, and it went straight for the arm that Gouz-Maise was extending towards the children.

  “ＹｅＥｇａａＡａｘＸＡｘＳｓＡａａＡｆＦｆａａＡａａＡａ？！”

  The way it screamed and swung its arm around was enough reason to believe that — despite being reduced to an amalgam of corpses — Gouz-Maise still felt pain.

  “Take this! Gahh!!” Making use of the opportunity, I closed in on it and swung Nemesis — blessed with the Silverlight — at its front left leg.

  The undead-killing shine split apart the dead faces of the gang and severely damaged both flesh and bone.

  Though the leg was too thick for my attack to sever it, it was enough to make the abomination lose its balance.

  “Cutting it feels awful!” Nemesis squealed in disgust.

  Gouz-Maise dropped to the ground and made it shake like a demolished building would. As I’d somewhat intended, the monster’s body landed in the direction opposite to the carriages.

  “Hugo!” I shouted. “I’ll divert its attention! Leave this to us and get out of here!”

  “Ray, but you...!”

  I knew what he wanted to say. If the carriages left, I wouldn’t be able to run away from Gouz-Maise. Though I had Silver, I couldn’t ride him, and my legs weren’t fast enough to let me outrun the abomination. My death penalty would be guaranteed, and I’d end up missing the time we’d decided on with Marie.

  However...

  “There’s no other option!” I shouted again. “Hurry up and get the children out of here!”

  I brandished Nemesis, kept her blessed with the Silverlight, closed in on Gouz-Maise’s head — which was near the ground due to it falling over — and swung at its eyes. Though my prime objective was to buy time for Hugo and the children, I still wanted to try my best to survive... and perhaps even win.

  “ＧＥｅｅＨＡａａＡｕＡａｓｓＳａＡｇＧＡａ！！”

  As liquid rot oozed out of its eye sockets, Gouz-Maise began to writhe. Due to its great size, the vibrations caused by that action were like a minor calamity.

  “This thing’s body is unexpectedly fragile,” I commented.

  “It’s a gathering of cadavers, after all. It’s only natural for it to not be particularly tough,” said Nemesis. “However...”

  “...Yeah, I expected it to have such tricks up its sleeve.”

  Once the fire on its arm faded, new rotten flesh popped up from under the carbonized skin. The leg, too, fixed itself while releasing some filthy fluids. The eyes I’d split fell out of their sockets and were replaced by new ones.

  “It has Automatic Restoration,” said Nemesis.

  But undead hit by Silverlight are supposed have wounds that will not heal, I thought. How can it restore itself from that?

  “I believe the grudge power is being used to sustain and mend its large corpus,” said Nemesis.

  And that allows it to come back from such great damage in mere seconds? Is it unkillable or something?

  “Well, it’s already dead,” said Nemesis.

  “Not the time for such jokes!”

  Still on the ground, the UBM swung its left arm at me, which I avoided by jumping backwards.

  The swing seemed rather clumsy — probably due to its eyesight not being back yet — but it was still aimed at my direction.

  Backing away from the carriages, I focused on evading its attacks.

  “What now?” asked Nemesis. “We’ve opened hostilities on the fiend, but we don’t really have anything that would be effective against it.”

  “The regeneration is too fast for most of our attacks to have any meaning,” I said. “If there’s something we can do, it’s...”

  ...the same thing we’d done against Gardranda — a well-charged Vengeance aimed at its weak spot.

  “Though the charging process would be really difficult here,” I muttered. The fiend’s defense was much lower than I’d expected, but the way it was rampaging was more than enough to show just how powerful it was. One or two good hits would kill me.

  “It would’ve been grand to have a full stock of Counter Absorptions, but... oh, there’s that strange feeling again,” said Nemesis.

  “What?” I asked.

  “It’s the same feeling as before,” she said. “It has something to do with my accumulated damage counter and... Oh, it’s gone again. What am I supposed to make of this?”

  “Gouz-Maise might be up to something,” I said. “Be on your guard.”

  “No need to tell me that.”

  As I talked with Nemesis, I looked at the carriages at the edge of my vision. Hugo and Cyco were sitting on separate carriages and were about to drive off.

  I was about to make sure that Gouz-Maise didn’t attack them by cutting its leg again but... the abomination wasn’t moving at all. Instead, it simply used its freshly-healed eyes to stare directly at me.

  “ＧｇｉｉＩＮｎｎＮＮｎＡｓＳａａＡｓＳｓｓａａＳａＡａＡａＳＡｄＤＷｗＤｗＷｄＤａＡＱｑＡｑ！！”

  Acknowledging my form made it feel or remember something that caused it to release a furious roar.

  “...Oh, I see,” I said. A few minutes ago, the grudge of those who had become materials for Gouz-Maise had caused it to go on a rage and vehemently attack Hugo’s Magingear. However, this monster had been created by the Lich himself, whose grudge was in it, as well. Thus, its primary target was...

  “...me, of course!” I yelled.

  Gouz-Maise raised its front legs and reared like a horse. Then, with great speed, it threw its pillar-like front legs towards me and the ground beneath.

  I quickly evaded it, but the attack was powerful enough to pulverize the ground and sink it slightly. Not missing the opportunity, I closed in to attack a leg again, but unlike before, it nimbly kicked me away.

  “GUH!” I blocked it with the broad side of my greatsword, yet I still got blown away about six meters back.

  “...Well, looks like someone got in the mood,” I said.

  Unlike before, when it had simply been rampaging, Gouz-Maise was now moving with the intention to kill me. Apparently, seeing me had caused it to get serious.

  “How troublesome,” I mumbled.

  “However, I now see a glimmer of hope for us,” said Nemesis.

  “What? How?”

  I checked on the carriages at the edge of my vision. They were moving away from here.

  Well, that’s one success, I thought.

  “You know how I told you about my accumulated damage counter?” asked Nemesis.

  “Yeah,” I nodded.

  “The damage we received just now made me understand what was causing it. It was happening because it had already given us a great... no, the greatest amount of damage we’ve ever accumulated against a single creature.”

  “What?” I asked.

  The greatest amount? But we only just started fighting it.

  “Remember Deadly Mixer?” she said. “The skill the Lich used before you killed
him? We absorbed its damage with Counter Absorption, but we ended up not having to use Vengeance. It’s still there.”

  “Wait, that doesn’t make sense,” I said. “The Lich and Gouz-Maise are separate... Oh.”

  I suddenly understood. Lich Maise and Revenant Ox-Horse, Gouz-Maise were different... but not completely separate.

  “The Lich’s grudge is in there, after all,” Nemesis continued. “Thus, the accumulated damage is still valid. However, it seems to come and go at random. Vengeance will probably only be effective when his grudge is the dominant one.”

  One Gouz-Maise body. Tens of grudges controlling it. My chance at defeating it existed only when it was being possessed by the grudge of the Lich.

  “I see how it is,” I nodded. All I had to do now was find the core and hit it with Vengeance is Mine while Maise was the one in charge. Though still challenging, defeating the abomination was no longer a fool’s errand.

  So...

  “It’s possible for us to win against this undead,” said Nemesis.

  “Good enough for me.” I readied myself.

  ...There was only one thing left for me to do.

  It was exactly the same thing I’d done when I’d fought the Demi-Dragon Worm and the Great Miasmic Demon, Gardranda. I simply had to give my all to that possibility.

  “ＧＥｅｒＲｒｒＲｕｕＵＵＡａＡＳｚＤｄＳｓＡａａＡＡａ！！”

  As the fiend bellowed out the sound of its grudge, the faces and mouths covering its body began to whisper, oozing pus and blood as they did so.

  “You won’t escape!”

  “You’re dead!”

  “Join us!”

  “Kill them all!”

  “Destroy!”

  “Eat!”

  “Ravage!”

  Those were the kinds of things they were saying.

  Even after they’d become a giant abomination, these men were thinking the exact same things they had when they were alive. Thus...

  “Revenant Ox-Horse, Gouz-Maise!” Nemesis shouted. “You beasts who have inflicted great suffering upon countless younglings, taken many lives and are still endangering the living...”

  I pointed my greatsword towards it. “We refuse to let you kill anyone ever again!”

  I looked straight up into its eyes, and became one with Nemesis as we both proclaimed:

  “You will fall by our hand!”

  Now, about ten minutes since it had begun, our battle against the Revenant Ox-Horse, Gouz-Maise reached peak intensity. I was searching for its core, while the abomination tried to crush me beneath its feet. The battle would end the moment either of us were successful.

  Both of us had attack potential that surpassed the opponent’s HP. Gouz-Maise’s offensive ability was truly overwhelming. Unlike Maise, it didn’t use undead or cast magic debuff skills, but its physical prowess was incomparable to that of the Lich.

  A single punch or kick could put me on the verge of death. I had only one use of my fatal attack. The conditions weren’t in my favor.

  “Hhah!!”

  To both divert the abomination’s attention and make it lose its balance, I swung Nemesis — blessed with the Silverlight — towards its leg.

  “ＧＤｄＥＳｓａａＡａＡＡＳｓＡａＡａ！！”

  As the thing howled in pain, I jumped backwards.

  A moment after I distanced myself from it, Gouz-Maise swept its leg through the place where I was standing. By that time, the wound had already healed.

  I’d been repeating the same attack for a while now. I probably looked stupid, but through such repetition, people could notice things they didn’t before.

  “I was wondering why this undead thing could heal from wounds left by Silverlight... and I’ve finally figured it out,” I announced.

  I could see small bits of flesh sticking to the area around its injuries. At first glance, they looked like pieces I’d chopped off with my attacks. However, they were actually flesh that had it cut off by itself.

  “It removes the flesh around the injury and then restores itself by multiplying its cells.”

  To undead like Gouz-Maise, wounds from weapons enchanted with Silverlight were unmendable. Thus, the abomination simply killed the cells surrounding the wound, disconnected the wound from itself, and effectively turned the Silverlight injury into normal damage. Since the corpses used in its creation were fresh, the cells were still alive, so making them multiply for healing purposes wasn’t a hard task. That was the reasoning behind the trick.

  The restoration was probably done by using the energy of the same grudge driving it. Also, Gouz-Maise was protecting the living cells from dying. This trick was impossible for Skeletons — since they were nothing but bone — and Zombies — since most of their cells were dead.

  But man, grudge energy sure is versatile, I thought. I can see why the Imperium wanted to utilize it.

  “So the cells are alive...” said Nemesis. “Though that comes with the demerit of pain sensitivity, which is unusual for undead.”

  “Seems like it,” I nodded.

  I’d gained some experience fighting undead during the night I’d spent in the Tomb Labyrinth. Not a single Skeleton or Zombie I’d fought there seemed to care about any damage they’d received. Thus, it was fair to assume that sensitivity to pain was a feature unique to Gouz-Maise.

  “Or perhaps the Lich deliberately left the pain sensitivity in to make any damage caused to it increase its grudge,” mused Nemesis.

  “I see,” I said. “So it could be less of a demerit and more like a proper part of the equatio—”

  Before I could finish my sentence, I had to jump to the side. A moment later, the abomination’s hoof landed right where I’d been standing.

  While evading it, I swung my greatsword and cut into the hoof. The injury that caused was weaker than the previous ones, but if Gouz-Maise wanted to detach it and restore itself, it would surely lose its balance.

  “Purgatorial Flames!” I complemented that wound with a stream of fire from my left Miasmaflame Gauntlet.

  “ＨｈｏｏＯＳｓＳＤｄＡＡＳｓａａＡＡａＡｈｈ！！”

  It staggered and fell over, making the ground shake.

  “GAH!!” I screamed, using the opportunity to get to its side. I changed Nemesis into The Flag Halberd and forced her into the area where the heart should’ve been. The Silverlight burned and melted both the faces on the surface and the rotten flesh under them before reaching the heart behind its ribcage.

  “ＧＥＥＥＥＡＡＡＡＡＡＥＥｅｅＥＥｅｅＡＡａａＡＡａａＥｅｅＥｅＡＡＡＡＡ！！”

  Though the scream the monster released as it writhed violently was of a higher pitch than the previous ones, it didn’t show any signs of becoming weaker.

  Its flesh and skin fixed themselves the moment I pulled Nemesis out. That applied to the heart, as well.

  “Doesn’t seem like the core is in the heart!” I shouted.

  “Then it must be the head!” said Nemesis.

  Reason suggested that cores had to be put in either the heart area, the head area, or in the stomach area, as it had been with Gardranda. Due to other parts of the body being used in combat, no one in their right mind would put such a weak spot in the limbs.

  After all, that would be the equivalent of punching people with your own innards, I thought.

  “Or hitting them with your testicles!” added Nemesis.

  I’m not fond of that example in any way whatsoever.

  “Now, it’s fine if it’s in the head,” I said. “But things would get a bit troublesome if it’s in the stomach.”

  Once you included the horse part, the monster’s stomach was pretty damn large. If the core was in there, searching for and destroying it would be extremely difficult. If it was doable, I wanted to use Vengeance is Mine while directly touching the core.

  “Why?” asked Nemesis. “With the current amount of accumulated damage, it’ll be possible to destroy a
considerably large part of its body.”

  Well, it was true that the hit I’d landed on Gardranda’s head had also destroyed its chest, but...

  “It’s different this time,” I said. “With this self-amputation thing Gouz-Maise has going on, there’s a chance that it could negate the damage from Vengeance.”

  I didn’t know what would happen if I landed Vengeance on the general area of the core and it suddenly detached the part that I’d hit. However, I had a feeling that the spread of the damage wouldn’t go beyond the detached part.

  That assumption was based on my experience as one who’d used Vengeance is Mine many times before. No matter how great the damage I’d give back to my enemies, the skill never seemed to have a noticeable effect on the surroundings. Vengeance merely doubled the damage I received from hostiles and gave it back to them — it didn’t do any physical damage on its own. So, if the abomination could detach the part of the body I hit, there was a chance that the damage — no matter how great — wouldn’t reach the core. I couldn’t risk having my one chance go to waste like that.

  “The best move right now is hitting the undetachable core and then using the skill,” I said. “Now, let’s try the skull!”

  “Understood!” said Nemesis. “First, we have to make it fall to the ground again!”

  Gouz-Maise was already standing tall, and the wounds we’d given it were gone without a trace.

  We’ll get it to the ground, hit its head, see how it reacts and... Huh?

  “Ｇｈｕｏｏｈ...”

  For some reason, it had completely stopped moving. The creature had shifted its gaze away from me and was staring somewhere far into the distance.

  “Master,” Nemesis said.

  “What is it, Nemesis?” I asked.

  “The accumulated damage counter has disappeared.”

  “Wait, you don’t mean that...”

  The moment I understood what she meant by that, Gouz-Maise had already begun moving.

  “ＧＩｉｉｏｏＵｕＪｊｊａａａＡａＡ！！”

  Unlike before, it now completely ignored me and started to run to where Hugo and Cyco had taken the carriages. Nemesis’ words and the abomination’s actions led me to the one reasonable conclusion.