by Sakon Kaidou
“A ha ha ha, truly scary.” Though Franklin’s tone had a hint of actual fear in it, his grin was still wide. “Hey, I’m actually scared here... Mind doing something about her, club?”
At that moment, Marie’s Danger Perception skill flared up, warning her about a great threat. Using her immense agility, she moved at supersonic speeds to distance herself from where she was standing.
She glanced back and saw the space there begin to crumble.
The paving, buildings, and even plants — everything that had shape was shattering, falling apart and being reduced to dust.
“I’ll leave you to my boy here,” said Franklin. “After all, I had him come so he could take care of ‘exceptions’ like yourself.”
Those words were his last before the device in her hands self-destructed. It was probably a function he’d installed in case it slipped into a third party’s hands, but Marie wasn’t in a position to care much about that.
What had once been a part of Gideon’s streets had become akin to a desert, and beyond this scenery, there was a mysterious-looking group of four.
The first of them was a man in a bird-like hat, swinging a conductor’s baton.
The second was a centaur playing a violin.
The third was a cat sìth blowing into a flute.
And the last one was a kobold hitting a drum.
Marie quickly realized that she’d seen such a group before, and after a quick jog through her memory, she remembered that they were the exact same band of street performers she’d seen yesterday.
However, the outside appearance of the centaur, cat sìth, and kobold had become entirely different. Back then, they had been surrounded by a large audience appreciating them for both their performance and lovable appearance. It seemed that had been nothing but sheep’s clothing.
Now, their fur was gone, revealing surfaces of pure steel. It was a group of mechanical performers that not only played, but also were instruments. A lovable band of merry-makers no longer, they’d turned into machines of murder.
Needless to say, their audience was nowhere in sight.
Anything within their vicinity shattered and crumbled, leaving behind nothing but a desert-like expanse.
“And I truly believed that you were just a skilled band of performers,” said Marie. “I guess your presence here means that I can take you for an enemy.”
Her perception skills and experience as a Master told her that the opponent before her was not to be trifled with.
“You guess correctly,” the man replied, not with a voice, but with sound. The creatures’ music itself gained word-like meaning and reached her ears.
“May I have your name?” she asked.
“The club on the board,” he replied. “King of Orchestras, Veldorbell.”
“I see.”
“Club” was the title Franklin had given to one of his confidants here in Gideon. Unlike the traitors, whom Franklin had picked up here in the kingdom, the club was an actual member of the Triangle of Wisdom. And King of Orchestras was a Superior Job, just like Marie’s Death Shadow.
He must be quite strong, she thought, assuming that his Embryo was Legion, like hers. She realized that trying to avoid him and going after Franklin wasn’t an option.
Even if I do somehow get to Franklin, I’d just end up being flanked between him and this fellow, and that’s certainly not something I can handle... Man, he’s such a nuisance.
She heaved a long sigh and brandished her weapon, Arc-en-Ciel. “You’re in the way, so just die already.”
“Why the rush, sweet listener? Take the time to listen to the song. It’s your requiem, after all.”
After Veldorbell raised his baton, the surroundings became overwhelmed by a wild exchange of explosive and crashing sounds.
And so began one of that evening’s intense duels — Death Shadow, Marie Adler VS King of Orchestras, Veldorbell.
Chapter Four: Battle of the Artists
???
This is a story of a certain man.
He was a composer bearing musical talent that placed him among the greatest of his generation. Even those without an ear or mind for music would often see his name on movie credits.
The man dreamed of making an opera. It had been a dream for most of his life — ever since a particular opera had enchanted his young self.
He wished to depict the life of a true hero. The champion would not be based on any existing legend, and his opera would show the hero’s life from start to finish, displaying people’s joy, anger, grief, and raison d’etre in a seamless chain of song and story.
That was extent of his vision.
And yet it couldn’t come true.
His outstanding track record had made it more than obvious that he could not only handle the opera’s musical composition, but the script and production, as well.
And yet it couldn’t come true.
If he had communicated his intention to make an opera, countless sponsors would’ve jumped in to support him.
And yet it couldn’t come true.
A certain person was stopping him from giving shape to the vision he’d always dreamed of, and that person was himself.
Though the vision within him was very much alive, it was so vague and fragile that it always crumbled the moment he tried to make it more concrete.
He’d spent many a day in front of his desk, thoroughly troubled by his inability to create what he so desired. Though he’d composed countless musical masterpieces during his long life, facing his own dream caused him to stagnate.
It took a whole two years of such distress for him to come to know the reason.
I see... I can’t create it because there’s none of it within me.
The story he’d envisioned was failing to take shape because he knew nothing of the battles and struggles of heroes. No matter how hard he’d tried to give shape to his dream, it had always instantly felt fake and vanished. At least, that was the conclusion he’d arrived at.
But then, how do I come to know the battles of heroes?
He himself was far too old to set foot on the battlefield, and it needn’t be said that it would all be meaningless if he died there. Not to mention that the sagas he’d sought simply didn’t exist in the modern world.
Why wasn’t I there during the times when knights thrived? Why couldn’t I witness legends be born?
Upon realizing that such experiences were lost to the world he was part of, the man despaired, compromised his desire, and began to accept the fact that he might have to present his dream work in a half-baked state.
That was when...
“Infinite Dendrogram will provide you with a new world and your very own unique possibility.”
...those words reached his ears.
The words “new world” caught his attention, and he soon found out that it was the promotional line of a certain game.
Though he’d made game music in the past, he’d had next to no experience playing them. However, Infinite Dendrogram had a mysterious attraction to it that seemed to pull him inside. Thus, he’d entered the world where he could come to know experiences much like the ones he’d envisioned.
◇◆
Duel city Gideon, ninth district
Unlike the fourth district, where most of the wares being sold were relatively safe in terms of legality, the ninth district was home to many black markets. Due to that, it was usually about as chaotic as the eighth district — home to pimp and thief guilds — but tonight, it was strangely neat.
That was due to a lack of people and the great reduction in buildings caused by countless explosions and crashes.
At the center of all the destruction, there were two people.
One of them was the Death Shadow, Marie Adler — the PK often referred to as the “Superior Killer.”
The other was the King of Orchestras, Veldorbell, and the three parts of his Embryo — a group that had given the death penalty to many formidable Masters of the kingdom.
&
nbsp; Both he and Marie had Superior Jobs and high-rank Embryos in their sixth form. Excluding the overwhelmingly mighty Superiors, who didn’t even break a hundred in total number, these two were among Infinite Dendrogram’s most powerful.
As one would expect of a battle between such entities, the damage it caused to the surroundings was grave enough to liken it to a natural disaster.
However, anyone observant enough would see that only one of the two was responsible for all the destruction.
The crumbling buildings, plants, and paving were all Veldorbell’s doing, but that certainly didn’t mean that Marie was considerate of her surroundings.
“Tch...” she clicked her tongue as she filled every one of Arc-en-Ciel’s chambers with Red Burst and fired bullet creatures made of pure explosive power at her opponent.
Their damage potential was great enough to instantly kill low-ranks and not be taken lightly by high-ranks. If they landed on Veldorbell, the buildings surrounding him would certainly be blown away.
However, not a single one of them hit. All the bullet creatures shattered and exploded midair a little over a hundred metels away from Veldorbell.
Damn it. No matter how much I shoot, none of my bullets get close, Marie thought in frustration.
The phenomenon was caused by one of Veldorbell’s Embryo abilities. It was an area-of-effect attack that crushed everything within a range of several hundred metels and reduced it to dust — a property which let it double as defense, as well.
The battle so far and the information she’d gathered yesterday were enough for her to be certain of what had caused all this destruction.
It’s sound... she thought. No doubt, Veldorbell’s attacks were all caused by air vibrations.
Then again, the way they shattered physical objects made it painfully obvious that there was more to them than that.
Just like my onmitsu grouping is a branch of the ninja grouping, musician jobs also have branches for songs and instruments and the like, Marie thought. With that in mind, this King of Orchestras fellow is probably in... the conductor grouping.
The conductor grouping contained jobs focused on conducting orchestras, and those with jobs in it were generally equipped with abilities that increased the effects of the party members’ musical skills.
No musician jobs were battle-oriented, and were they to participate in fights, they would either buff their allies or apply debuffs to the enemies. Thus, the conductor grouping could be considered a support job for support jobs.
Of course, that’s something I’ve never encountered in battle before, Marie added silently.
And yet, the power demonstrated by Veldorbell put him among the most destructive forces Marie had ever faced. Even more when she discounted Superiors. Clearly, it wasn’t anything she’d have expected from a “support job for support jobs.”
Seems like his Embryo evolved to have some offensive music skills, she thought. This destruction is the result of him using his skills as King of Orchestras to greatly magnify their power.
She was also confident that he had skills that reduced MP consumption. After all, he’d been channeling this lethal, ultimate skill-like attack since the beginning of the battle, which would be impossible unless he had something that compensated for the cost.
My guess is that, rather than crumbling the objects by matching the resonance frequencies, the sound is causing destruction through a high output of air vibrations... shockwaves, basically. After all, even her bullet creatures were getting destroyed before they could reach Veldorbell.
“It pains me to admit it, but I’m at a compatibility disadvantage here,” she muttered.
Marie was completely correct. Though the bullet creatures from her Arc-en-Ciel had high utility due to their many types, they were all living creatures, and as such received great damage upon entering the vibration field.
That applied to Marie, as well. It rendered her incapable of using her other forte — hiding her presence and performing a close-range sneak attack on her opponent. It was fair to assume that Veldorbell had no intention of disabling the vibration field until he consigned her to a death penalty.
Now, how do I go about this...?
Marie was a veteran player bearing the title of “Superior Killer.” The Masters she’d defeated were far too many to count. Naturally, she wasn’t unfamiliar with situations in which she was at a disadvantage in terms of either power or compatibility. She was the Superior Killer exactly because she’d won against such odds.
Marie pondered. I have Ellie to worry about, so maybe I should just use Daisy or Shirahime?
Just like any sufficiently experienced Master, Marie had an ace up her sleeve — her ultimate skill. Were she to use any of those available to Arc-en-Ciel, she could probably make it through this predicament.
But if I use them here, I’ll have fewer options when fighting Franklin.
Though Arc-en-Ciel’s ultimate skills were powerful, using them came at a great cost. If she used them here, there was no doubt that she wouldn’t be in top form when facing Franklin.
Trying to defeat a Superior while not being at her best was nothing but a fool’s errand. Not to mention that she assumed Franklin had yet to show even a tenth of his total battle potential.
Now that she’d failed to kill him with that surprise attack on the Night Lounge, it was safe to expect an all-out battle next. And when it came to not showing their full potential, she assumed her current opponent, Veldorbell, was the same.
It was obvious that there was more to his Embryo abilities than this vibration field. At the very least, it was mixed with two more attacks.
My passive skill that counters mental debuffs is flaring up... I guess he’s also using some sound-based hypnosis.
The onmitsu grouping had high mental debuff resistance to begin with, and Marie was the grouping’s Superior Job. Not only that, she’d spent some of the afternoon mock-fighting Rook, who’d somehow found out her true identity, and thus had equipped an accessory that increased her resistance to Charm and similar status effects. Due to that, she was able to negate the effects of Veldorbell’s hypnosis, but it was obvious that it was very real and had a greater range than the vibration field.
Then, there’s another... Marie thought as her Danger Perception skill flared up and she let her survival instincts make her jump to the right.
A moment later, something invisible passed through the space where she’d just stood.
The Danger Perception skill flared up yet again, and she quickly dodged while kicking up a piece of rubble, which instantly got split in half. The cross-section was abnormally smooth and sharp.
“Cutting” with sound... she thought. Seems like an ultrasound scalpel to me.
Though it had little to do with surgery, the surgical precision was definitely there. The cut reminded her of the ultrasound attacks used by a certain kaiju from an old movie.
Needless to say, it wasn’t a feat that the laws of physics allowed. However, they weren’t on Earth, but in Infinite Dendrogram — a world where magic was taken for granted.
It’s a magic-leaning musical skill... I’m honestly quite impressed by his Embryo’s rich variety, especially when considering that it’s bound to nothing but sound.
Ultra vibration waves.
Hypnotic sounds.
An ultrasound scalpel.
Marie guessed that each of these skills was used by one of his Legion of three.
Type Legion is generally split into two categories: those that do nothing but grow in number or those that are few, but are each equipped with a different skill. It’s quite clear that Veldorbell is a prime example of the latter.
Distributing abilities generally made them weaker, but Veldorbell used his skills as King of Orchestras to compensate for that and make them even stronger than before.
Experienced as she was, Marie felt pressure that was equivalent to or even greater than the one she’d felt when facing three sixth-form Guardians.
“Wha
t a troublesome enemy,” she muttered.
Being a Superior Job and a Master of a sixth-form Embryo, she knew better than most that people like her already had one foot in the realm of Superiors. That went double for cases where Embryos and jobs had superb synergy.
“Troublesome, indeed... And yet...”
Due to that, she could easily tell that Veldorbell was a formidable foe. However...
“The music itself is just so... enchanting.”
Though the vibration field was a true hell where everything shattered and crumbled, the music reaching the soundscape outside of it was simply magnificent and nothing short of moving.
While gathering data for her manga, Marie — or, rather, Nagisa Ichimiya — had once gone to listen to a famous orchestra’s classical concert. It had been grand enough to leave her astonished, but not even that could hold a candle to Veldorbell’s performance resounding throughout the battlefield.
Marie certainly wasn’t the only one who felt that way. There had already been a few city inhabitants who, despite all the chaos in town, had wandered towards them, enchanted by the melody and searching for its source. Then they had run away when they’d realized that it was caused by a deadly battle.
“I wonder if it only sounds great because of your skills as King of Orchestras,” muttered Marie.
“Who knows?” Veldorbell’s music turned to words as he replied. “At the very least, I wrote the score myself.”
Though the destruction and the heavenly performance had thrown the soundscape around him into chaos, Veldorbell could still hear her speak.
The hundreds of metels between them would have made conversation impossible even if the vibration field hadn’t been there. However, Veldorbell was using some sound-transfer skills to allow a proper exchange between them.
“Yourself...? That’s quite impressive,” said Marie. “However, that makes it even harder for me to understand something... Why are you in a robot production clan? You seem like you’d be more comfortable in an art or battle clan.”
“Don’t assume I don’t take part in their production activities,” replied Veldorbell. “Just a short while ago, I helped them with the composition of the Grand Marshall’s new opening song.”
