Chapter 79

□【Holy Knight】Ray Stirling

“Wh- What!?”

Luke, I, and the three rookie women accompanying us were running down the main street leading to the west gate of Gideon when a deafening sound of destruction echoed.

It came from the left side of our path... from the direction of Gideon’s Ninth Street.

Music had been playing from that direction since a while ago.

I had been wondering why such music could be heard at a time like this... but the ultimate shock was this explosion.

What on earth is happening on Ninth Street?

“Is Franklin there...?”

Should we head for the main gate or check out what’s happening on Ninth Street?

“Mr. Ray, it doesn’t seem like Franklin is fighting on Ninth Street.”

As soon as I started to hesitate, Luke said this.

I thought Luke must have noticed something, but what does he mean by “it seems”?

“Oh, this isn’t from me... but from her information.”

Luke then directed his gaze to one of the girls—the one among the three following us.

By the way, while I and Luke are riding Silver and Marilyn, respectively, the three of them are riding creatures called 【Landwings】—fluffy feathered ostrich-like monsters. They are apparently the easiest monsters to purchase among those used as mounts.

Then, the girl who was pointed at by Luke held out a circular plate and showed it to us.

On it was a map of the western part of Gideon’s city, with numbers from Ⅰ to Ⅶ scattered around.

“What is this...? Uh..."

I realized I hadn’t even asked her name yet.

“Kasumi... I’m a 【Summoner】... This is... my <Embryo>’s... Taijitu...”

Taijitu... the Taijitu from Fengshen Yanyi, I suppose.

By the way, the other two are named Io, a 【Barbarian Warrior】, and Fujinon, a 【Magician].

“My Taijitu... can show the location of <Masters> within a certain range and the form of their <Embryos>... So, according to the Taijitu, there are two <Masters> on Ninth Street... but... both are in the sixth form... so... I don’t think it’s Franklin...”

She pointed to the Taijitu as she explained. Indeed, both <Masters> on Ninth Street were marked with “Ⅵ”.

But this...

“...It’s an incredibly helpful <Embryo>.”

There’s a “Ⅶ” heading towards the west gate, so it must be Franklin.

Thanks to her, we don’t have to hesitate.

“No... um... I... um... I couldn’t do anything in the battle at the square earlier... so... I’m sorry...”

“Why are you apologizing?”

‘Why are you apologizing?’

I’m really grateful for her help.

“Awa...”

She hid her face and disappeared behind the shadows of the other two women. Her handling of the reins was surprisingly skillful.

“Sorry! Kasumi is just shy! But it was Kasumi who mustered the courage to follow you two! After all, it’s a Begeff of a silver-haired handsome boy and a golden-haired young man!”

As the girl named Io tried to explain, the other one, Fujinon, punched her in the side to stop her.

What? What were you trying to say?

“Our idiot has been rude. No, we followed you because we found your battle in the central square very interesting and wanted to accompany you.”

“A, Yes”

Fujinon had a way of making it sound convincing.

“You three seem to get along very well. Have you known each other for a long time?”

When Luke asked, Fujinon nodded.

“Yes. We’re in the same literature club at our high school.”

I see, they know each other from real life.

That explains the ease in their interactions.

‘Well, from what I’ve seen, the most relaxed interaction was between Ray and Kumane-san.’

That’s because we’ve been brothers for eighteen years.

...Ah, but I can’t talk to my sister as casually as I do with my brother.

That sister... that sister...

‘Ray! What’s wrong!’

Huh!

For a moment, my consciousness almost drifted away...

‘I’ve been thinking about this for a while, but what about your sister? It seems to be in a place where memories can’t be seen, just like with the glasses...’

Don’t ask.

That person is even more unbelievable than my brother.

They’re in different genres.

“Well, in any case, this way we can head to the west gate without hesitation.”

“Yes”

So, we headed for the west gate.

At this speed, we should arrive in about five minutes.

However, I had two questions that I didn’t voice.

Both were about the displays on the Taijitu.

One was the central arena, where many <Masters> are currently trapped.

There, four “Ⅶ”s, indicating <Superior> class, were displayed.

Two of them are probably Mr. Figaro and Shunba.

Or, since Shunba is said to be immobilized after being defeated by Mr. Figaro, he might not be showing up.

But if that’s the case... who are the other two, or three?

And the other question.

It’s about the area around the west gate we’re heading to.

According to the Taijitu, dozens of <Masters> are gathered there.

The range is from “Ⅱ” to “Ⅵ”.

It’s likely that a <Master> with a radar-type <Embryo> like the Taijitu has detected Franklin’s destination and gathered their allies to intercept him at the west gate.

That’s reassuring.

Franklin must be stopped, and it’s clear that our forces are insufficient.

Ah, so it’s really reassuring.

—Except for the concern that the <Masters> around the west gate are not moving at all.

They are as still as a still image.

To be precise, only the <Master> marked “Ⅲ” closest to the gate is moving slightly.

I felt a strange sense of discomfort from that display.

◆

■ Around the West Gate of Duel City Gideon

At the same time as the conclusion of the battle between 【Absolute Shadow】 Marie Adler and 【Music King】 Beldorbel.

Franklin, the main culprit of tonight’s chaos, was heading to the west gate with the second princess, Elizabeth, whom he had kidnapped again.

He is barely flying on the damaged 【Night Lounge】 due to the injuries he sustained during Marie’s attack.

Elizabeth, who had lost consciousness, was lying on his back.

Franklin was looking at the terminal in his hand.

“...Beldorbel has been taken down, huh.”

The club symbol representing 【Music King】 Beldorbel had disappeared from the map on the terminal.

The blue light point near it had also vanished.

However, Franklin couldn’t tell if Beldorbel had been killed in a duel or was hiding using a skill, as he had done when he launched a surprise attack.

“...”

Franklin stared at his left hand.

He clenched and opened it... the movement was extremely slow.

“Paralyzing poison, huh? Even with the use of the 【Universal Healing Elixir】, it’s this powerful...”

The dagger that had slashed his neck was probably a specialized MVP bonus for paralyzing poison, Franklin deduced.

He was correct; the 【Numb Bee Sword Belspan】 was a legendary weapon specialized in delayed paralyzing poison.

“Not that it’s a big problem for me, even if I can’t move a single finger...”

For Franklin, the damage from the <Superior Killer> was limited to the damage to the 【Night Lounge】 and Beldorbel’s departure.

He didn’t think Beldorbel would go down so easily, given his knowledge of his power.

“Should I assume that the <Superior Killer> no longer has the strength to fight me? I don’t think there are any more exceptions at the <Superior Killer> level... but I should estimate one or two more <Superior> class. And...”

There are still exceptions outside the <Superior> class.

The detailed information about the battle in the central square had also reached Franklin over time.

The defeat of the turncoat rookies and the analysis of the information during the move highlighted the performance of two particular rookies.

While their overall strength was still inferior to the higher-level <Masters> remaining in the city, Franklin knew that such individuals couldn’t be underestimated.

Moreover, he knew one of the two.

“Oh, if I had just used a lethal poison instead of just growing dog ears, it would have been more interesting.”

Just yesterday.

If he had been reported online for “being penalized for being poisoned by a weird penguin,” it might have hindered the execution of his plan. So, Franklin had only played around and gathered information.

But it backfired.

If he had taken care of them there... the situation might have been different, Franklin thought.

He even considered that if he had done so, the <Superior Killer> might not have been involved, but he dismissed it as a delusion.

“The incident at the <Old Orchard> and the interference... it’s really annoying... but I don’t care anymore.”

Franklin smiled.

“The data has been collected. The 【RSK】 is already complete. Now, it might be better to crush it directly. I’ll prepare the ‘camera’ as well.”

While he was thinking, the 【Night Lounge】 arrived at the west gate... and crashed.

It was inevitable, given that it had been flying on the brink of death.

The 【Night Lounge】 couldn’t return to Jewel and disintegrated into particles of dust.

“It cost 70 million rils, but it can’t be helped. I’ll make the next one a bit stronger.”

With that, Franklin carried Elizabeth and walked towards the west gate.

The west gate was already in sight, but before it, there was a sign.

Written in the official language of <Infinite Dendrogram> and automatically translated for <Masters>, it read:

—Beyond this point, <Masters> may not pass

“...A Japanese old tale? Or a riddle? I remember something like this. Nostalgic.”

Franklin walked past the sign and looked at the west gate.

In front of the gate, a mecha stood like a gatekeeper of hell.

Or, perhaps it was a real gatekeeper of hell.

The area around the gate, 200 meters in diameter, was a desolate landscape reminiscent of a frozen hell—numerous ice statues stood there.

They looked like humans—indeed, they were humans.

They were <Masters> who had been <Frozen>.

They wore various outfits, but all had emblems on their left hands.

They were the ones who had gathered at the west gate to defeat Franklin.

“Spectacular, spectacular.”

Franklin walked through the frozen hell with interest.

He didn’t freeze like the ice statues around him.

He didn’t even feel the cold, and neither did Elizabeth, who he was carrying.

“Oh, this is Bishmar, the seventh-ranked duelist, isn’t it?”

Franklin kicked an ice statue—of a man frozen in flames, the seventh-ranked duelist of the Alter Kingdom, known as “Rage Flame” Bishmar, a formidable warrior who wielded a sixth-form <Embryo>.

“H