Those Who Bind the Possibilities

by Sakon Kaidou

  They were the monster-releasing devices Franklin had placed all over the city.

  After fighting the King of Orchestras, Veldorbell, Marie had run around the city collecting them. Being the crux of the plan, these devices had had to be hidden until it was time. Because of that, in addition to their long-distance monster-releasing function, Franklin had also equipped them with a high-quality Conceal ability. That was the reason why they had been able to remain in the city for a few days without anyone noticing. However...

  “Sadly for him, I happen to be as good at finding as I am at hiding,” she said.

  Being a Death Shadow — a Superior Job from the onmitsu grouping — Marie excelled at Conceal. She could not only masterfully hide herself, but discover those in hiding as well.

  Marie’s Conceal Perception skill was maxed out. It was what had allowed her to see through the Conceal on Night Lounge, the monster Franklin had used to escape.

  During her search, however, she’d noticed the many Concealed monster-releasing devices littered across the city. Thus, after her fight, she’d taken it upon herself to gather and break as many of them as possible.

  In the end, she’d taken care of 403 devices — more than 80% of the total.

  Considering that a number had already released themselves ahead of time, it was hard to imagine that there were many left.

  This result certainly wasn’t all thanks to her. The Paladins’ battle against the RSK had bought her time to minimize the harm.

  This also marked a turning point in the situation: the Masters high-rank or above were now capable of leaving the arena. The only thing that had been holding them back was the potential of releasing monsters upon attacking the barrier. With that gone, they were now free to break it and retaliate against Franklin.

  His plan had completely collapsed.

  ◇◆◇

  However, some veterans were more than aware of just how abnormal Superiors could get.

  They knew just how tenacious and meticulous Franklin was.

  Thus, they were absolutely certain of one thing:

  It’s not over yet.

  ◇◆◇

  Duel city Gideon, not far from the western gate

  “...Oh, so that’s what’s happening here. Hahah. Now ain’t that funny. You all just keep ruining my plans. How... disheartening.”

  As he listened to Franklin, Hugo became painfully aware that the plan had failed.

  “...So it’s over,” he muttered to himself.

  Hugo was currently sitting on the ground, virtually unable to move. Rook and the others had bound him when he’d become Charmed. The debuff had canceled Cyco’s merging with the Magingear, and she was now at his side, Charmed and unable to do anything. As long as she was in that state, Hugo had no hope of breaking out of this situation.

  Looking away from the broadcast, he examined the situation around him.

  He was no longer in the area right before the western gate.

  Rook and the three girls with him had all moved to a place where they could see Franklin’s broadcast, and they’d taken Hugo with them. By Rook’s decision, he hadn’t been given the death penalty yet.

  “Ray defeated that monster,” said Rook. “The devices, too, were taken care of by... someone.”

  Though he didn’t say so, Rook was completely certain that the culprit was Marie. Hugo, on the other hand, was completely unaware of her existence, so all he took from this was the reality of the plot’s failure.

  “It appears so,” Hugo said. “Heh, Plans A and B have both failed... The plot is as good as over.”

  I guess this will mean an all-out war between the kingdom and the imperium, he thought sadly.

  “So I failed to prevent the calamity and ended up simply supporting the tragedy,” he muttered in self-derision. “If I’d known it would go down like this, I would’ve had ‘him’ reconsider, and... What?”

  Hugo noticed that Rook was looking between him and Franklin’s projection with a puzzled expression on his face.

  “You just mentioned ‘Plans A and B,’” Rook said. “Can I have their details? They’ve already failed, right?”

  “...Very well.” After a moment of hesitation, Hugo began his explanation, which sounded somewhat like a sinner’s confession. “For Plan A, we sealed the Masters that came to see The Clash of the Superiors in the central arena and kidnapped the princess. Then we threatened to release the monsters to force them to stay put inside. The low-level Masters that could leave the barrier and those that weren’t inside from the start were then handled by player killers, meaning me and Veldorbell... he’s a master with a Superior Job in our clan. Our leader was then meant to escape from Gideon with the princess, which would make the kingdom’s tians lose faith in the kingdom’s Masters. And that was pretty much the whole plan.”

  “...Not exactly thorough, if you ask me,” said Rook.

  “Indeed.”

  “The part about keeping the Masters in by making it so that damage to the barrier releases monsters is a huge flaw. After all, as proven by us, low-levels can pass freely.”

  “That was part of the plan,” Hugo said. “Apparently, it was necessary that we fight the kingdom’s Masters and defeat them in a one-sided battle. Low-levels are the most suitable for this purpose.”

  It wouldn’t be enough for everything to end when the Masters were sealed and rendered incapable of doing anything. To break the kingdom’s spirit, it would have been necessary for the imperium’s forces to gain a flawless victory against the kingdom’s Masters. Thus, it had been optimal for them to be as weak as possible, and that limitation on the barrier had been perfect for this. In the end, however, Plan A had completely failed because of anomalies such as Ray and Rook.

  “The way you handled the Masters that weren’t inside the barrier was very sloppy, too,” said Rook. “The plan would’ve completely failed if a Superior with no interest in the fight had just hung around town, right?”

  “The possibility was there, yes,” replied Hugo. “But as you’re aware, that didn’t actually happen. Not to mention that we had Cyco — the bane of many Masters here — and the King of Orchestras, Veldorbell.”

  Franklin had displayed a lot of cunning by positioning Veldorbell in Gideon days before the plan had begun. He’d had him act as nothing but a Master street performing in the central plaza, and soon enough, most of the people in town had become familiar with him and his band. Even the fact that he had his Legion Embryo out all the time had been taken for granted.

  When the plan began tonight, many of the kingdom’s Masters hadn’t recognized him as an enemy, giving him a perfect opportunity for surprise attacks.

  Though his stats were significantly lower than those of battle jobs, the bonuses from his Superior Job skills greatly empowered the attacks of his Bremen. And since they all moved at sonic speed, only AGI-focused Superior Jobs could ever hope to evade them.

  The Masters he’d defeated had been far more numerous than those Frozen by Hugo, and most of them had been reduced to dust before even getting the chance to realize what had happened to them.

  If the Superior Killer hadn’t been an AGI-based Superior Job with the Danger Perception skill, there was a high chance that she would’ve died from his first attack.

  “So,” said Rook, “I assume Plan B was what you had in store in case the Masters in the barrier turned impatient and just broke out, or if someone made it through the obstacles and got to Franklin — which is what’s happened now.”

  “Yes.” Hugo nodded. “Plan B was basically the release of all the monsters regardless of the remaining time. The ensuing chaos have would allowed our leader to escape with the princess. This was also what would’ve happened if ‘he’ had been caught off guard and been given the death penalty.”

  Franklin’s claim that it all would’ve ended if he died was nothing but a lie. It would’ve actually acted as the trigger to release the monsters, which was a testament to his meticulousness and troublesome nature.
/>
  “Regardless of what transpired...” Hugo said before cutting his words short. He couldn’t bring himself to add that “...the leader had no scenario in which he didn’t release the monsters.”

  However, Rook was practically able to read minds, so he could infer Hugo’s words even if he stayed silent.

  “If he wanted to break the country’s spirit, he could’ve done something far more effective than merely kidnapping the princess,” Rook commented.

  “You’re probably right,” said Hugo. “However, ‘he’ promised me that he designed the monsters to only attack Masters. He wanted to limit tian casualties, too.”

  “...Oh, I see how it is,” Rook responded with a short sigh.

  “What do you mean?” Hugo asked, thoroughly puzzled.

  “I’ve been wondering about this, but you saying ‘he wanted to limit tian casualties’ makes it all clear.”

  “Makes what clear?” Hugo couldn’t understand what Rook was wondering about and what kind of answer he’d found.

  In fact, Hugo was actually the only one who couldn’t make sense of this. Basically...

  “I now understand why you’re so blind when it comes to Franklin. You actually believe that he’d never massacre tians, don’t you?”

  ...it was a question regarding Hugo’s perception.

  Before, during, and even after the plan, Hugo had continued to believe in Franklin, and that was exactly what Rook was curious about.

  “You... y-you think I’m blind?” asked Hugo.

  “Yes,” answered Rook. “You probably don’t think that, but to my eyes, that man’s a person who can easily start a massacre.”

  “He’d never. He’s like me! He also understands that tians aren’t just NPCs, but entities close to living beings... no, actual living beings! He’d never do something that vile!”

  “So what if he does understand that? Does that get in the way of him starting a massacre?” Rook demanded.

  Being told that Franklin was the type of person to commit such atrocities wasn’t something Hugo could stomach. “He’d never do that! I... I’ve known him for a long time! Don’t act like you understand him better than me!”

  His anger made apparent, Hugo shouted at Rook, who replied with a cold gaze and his own words.

  “That’s true. I only know Franklin through word of mouth and this incident. I’ve never even talked to him directly. Even so, I can assert that my assumption is correct.”

  “Why?!”

  “It’s because I don’t know him. By simply lining up what he’s done so far, it’s pretty easy to predict that he’s prepared something even more sinister. Anyone would assume that much. You’re probably the only one who doesn’t.”

  “Gh...!” Hugo gasped in response.

  Rook’s conclusion was based in nothing but reality.

  Franklin had participated in the war. He had killed many soldiers by feeding them to his monsters, and had even killed the king of this country that way. And tonight, he’d kidnapped the princess and tried to destroy the city in order to make the kingdom’s Masters look bad. It was only natural to assume that a person like that would do something even more atrocious, and Hugo was alone in not thinking so.

  “You say you’ve ‘known him for a long time,’ huh?” Rook continued. “I’m sure you have. It’s why you don’t see him as he is right now. You’re observing him through a filter, much like the mother of a criminal. ‘My boy would never do such a thing,’ and all that.”

  “Gh...!” If he wasn’t bound, Hugo would’ve most likely tried to punch him. Unable to do so, however, he simply continued sitting as Rook stared at him with the coldest eyes.

  That was when Babi talked to Rook through telepathy. “You’re very harsh on him, Rook.”

  That was a very natural comment to make. After all, the boy known as Rook was generally very courteous and could get along with just about everyone, so it was the first time Babi had ever seen him be so cold and judgmental towards someone.

  “I’m only this candid with those I can’t bear to watch,” he thought in response.

  To Rook, Hugo was the opposite of Ray, the person he wanted to observe as thoroughly as possible. His standards regarding this were extremely vague. However, the fact remained that watching Hugo filled him with a strong desire to make sure he didn’t continue as he was, so he pointed out his mistakes in a really harsh manner.

  “You know what, since you believe in Franklin so much... let me give you a simple prediction,” Rook said.

  “A prediction?”

  “Franklin is about to say something vile,” Rook said with certainty in his voice as he looked at the broadcast.

  A moment later, Franklin — who’d seemingly been despairing over Plan B’s failure — suddenly raised his head. On his face, there was a full smile.

  “Oh man, this is annoying. I can’t believe both Plan A and B have failed... The big and scary meatheads are probably gonna leave the arena soon, so... I guess I’ll have to start on Plan C.”

  “...Huh?” Hugo voiced his puzzlement. That was about the only thing he could do upon hearing Franklin’s words.

  All the Masters who’d participated in Franklin’s plot were just as confused as him. After all, none of them had been told about the existence of a “Plan C.”

  The only one who had known its contents was Franklin.

  “Plan C for ‘Crisis...’ Total annihilation of Gideon by 56,826 monsters.”

  And its contents were, as Rook had predicted, absolutely vile.

  Chapter Two: Those Who Bind the Possibilities

  Jeand Grasslands

  Franklin’s words made the surrounding air freeze.

  Nemesis, Liliana, Sir Lindos, and the other Royal Guard members failed to fully understand what Franklin had just said.

  “F-Five... eh?”

  “Wasn’t it 500...?”

  “56,826 monsters? Hmph. Isn’t that a bit too large a number to work as a bluff?” Nemesis asked, the worry in her voice all too apparent. She knew exactly what he was saying, but it was clear that she simply couldn’t believe that he was capable of that. “You planned to release just 500 into the city. Do you really expect us to believe you can increase that number a hundredfold?”

  Nemesis wanted to think he was lying, and most of those in and outside the city likely shared her sentiment.

  In response, Franklin simply nodded and widened his smile. “It’s just that I couldn’t make more than 500 monsters with the useless ‘attacks only Masters and buildings’ trait. They cost me quite a lot, though.”

  In other words, he had been able to prepare far more monsters that targeted all creatures, and that number was above 50,000. The 500 monsters in the devices in Gideon had only been made out of consideration for one of his own: Hugo.

  “But now that plan A and B are bust, I can’t allow myself to care about appearances,” he continued.

  That word made Nemesis realize something. “Plan...!”

  It was clear what she meant.

  Plans A, B, and C — the more Franklin failed, the longer the kingdom held against his schemes, the more intense and destructive the plans became.

  Franklin had intended to end it with plans A and B. As he always said, he’d had no intention of losing. However, he had devised plans just in case he was defeated, and he’d done it all for a single purpose.

  “Oh man, what a shaaame,” Franklin mocked. “It never would’ve come to this if you’d all just given up.”

  All to break the country’s spirit.

  All to make its people painfully aware that their fruitless struggle would only increase the casualties.

  That was why he’d gone out of his way to create other plans in case his earlier ones failed.

  “Find Franklin! Put the wretch to death before he can summon the monsters from his Jewel!” Sir Lindos roared, causing the Royal Guard to begin desperately searching.

  Defeating Franklin before he summoned his monsters would mark the end of the cr
isis. The fact that the two monsters from before had appeared right next to them must have made Liliana assume that Franklin was nearby.

  However...

  “Heh heh heh. ‘From his Jewel’? Come on now, if I got them on the board by Calling each one separately, morning would come before I could even get to 10,000.” Franklin formed an indomitable smile and snapped his fingers. “Optic Camouflage — cancel.”

  A moment later, the world was shaved off, much like the scales on a fish. An area of the nightly darkness crumbled, revealing whatever was hiding there.

  It was an object so large that it could make people forget the fact that it was ever hidden. Its silhouette was reminiscent of a mix of a box, a dragon, and a spider. Countless smokestacks were extending out of a cube that had sides reaching a length of a kilometel.

  The inorganic cube was fixed with a large, elaborate head of a dragon. It also had eight arachnid legs extending to its sides. It was abnormal in terms of both size and design.

  Everyone besides Franklin was immediately puzzled as to why they’d failed to notice an existence this unnatural. Franklin stood at the top of the abnormal structure and introduced it.

  “First time seeing this? Well, you’d better remember it, since this is my Superior Embryo. Type Plant Fortress — Magic Beast Factory, Pandemonium.”

  “Superior Embryo” was a term used in reference to the Embryos that had evolved to the seventh form, the apex of Embryos.

  Gideon’s inhabitants were highly familiar with the term thanks to their champion Figaro, the Over Gladiator. However, before the overwhelming abnormality of Franklin’s Pandemonium, that familiarity did little to help their state of mind. It was simply far too unlike the Superior Embryos Figaro and Xunyu had used in their match.

  “This bad boy wasn’t evolved during the war, but yeah, this is my Superior Embryo,” Franklin said gleefully. “His unique abilities are monster production, as I’m sure you’re all aware, and monster transportation.”

  With that, the large, mystical fortress opened its mouth. Within it, there were countless dim lights. They were eyes — the sinister gazes of the numerous monsters about to be unleashed.