Chapter 84

□ West Gate Area

The time rewinds slightly.

At the West Gate of Duel City Gideon.

This is the entrance and exit connecting Duel City Gideon to the Field Map <Jand Prairie>, and one of the four exits that penetrate the anti-air barrier covering the entire city.

Dozens of ice statues of <Masters> line the West Gate, where the battle between [Pimp] Luke Holmes and [High Pilot] Hugo Reseps is taking place.

However, the battle at the West Gate was not limited to that.

"Mist! The wall summon is broken!"

"Reconstruction... in 55 seconds..."

These were the three girls who accompanied Ray and Luke. Mist, Io, and Fujinon, three rookie <Masters>, were engaged in battle.

Their opponents were—monsters resembling carnivorous dinosaurs.

‘VAGUUAAAAAAAAAA!!’

It was named [PBS], baring its fangs and charging at Io, who was serving as the front-line fighter.

"Tyranno, Saurus...?"

"Rather, it looks more like an Allosaurus."

"This isn't the time to talk! This thing is definitely dangerous! It's definitely stronger than a sub-dragon class! Fujinon, do something!"

"Understood. I'll stop it... Almagest."

Fujinon, positioned behind Io, readied her staff—<Embryo> Almagest, which had a rotating sphere at its tip.

"Mad Clamp, and Star Reflection, triple deployment."

Immediately after her declaration, a magic circle appeared at Fujinon's feet.

Three more magic circles, like satellites, orbited around the central one.

"Activate."

With her words, one of the satellite magic circles exploded.

Instantly, the cobblestones and earth beneath [PBS] moved like slime, grabbing its legs.

[PBS], still charging, tore through the restraint but lost its balance and fell hard.

"Activate, activate, activate."

The remaining two satellite magic circles and the one at her feet also exploded.

The ground around where [PBS] had fallen turned to slime in three places, restraining its body.

Fujinon's <Embryo>, Almagest.

A TYPE: Arms staff adorned with a sphere resembling a star.

Its ability is to copy and paste the magic used by the user.

It can copy up to three spells used by the user as satellite magic circles and release them at any time.

The downside is that the user cannot move while the satellite magic circles are active.

This can be seen as a fitting drawback for an <Embryo> named after the Almagest, a symbol of the geocentric theory.

The <Mad Clamp> used by Fujinon is a low-level earth attribute binding spell, but when used in multiple layers, it can stop the movement of a sub-dragon class enhanced monster like [PBS] for a few seconds.

Taking advantage of this opening,

"Io!"

"Got it! I'll shatter it! Goring, Mode [Fracture]!!"

Io, wielding a massive battle axe with a handle over five meters long and a blade weighing several tons, charged forward.

"Here I go!!"

Io brought down the super-heavy axe with all her might on [PBS]'s spinal cord.

Like a medieval executioner or a mythological monster, the axe's blade tore through the carnivorous dinosaur's neck, shattered its vertebrae, and crushed its throat, destroying the cobblestones on the ground in a wide area.

Even a modified monster could not survive with its head severed, and it quickly disintegrated, leaving behind drop items.

"Alright! And...!"

"Io-chan, behind you...!"

"Understood!! Mode [Crush]!!"

Io turned her gaze to the sky behind her, where a pteranodon-like monster was flying in the darkness.

Simultaneously, Io's weapon—<Embryo> Goring—transformed.

The handle shortened to one-fifth its length, and a chain about twenty meters long extended from the tip, ending in a spiked iron ball much larger than Io herself.

Io's <Embryo>, Goring.

A TYPE: Arms super-heavy weapon that can transform into multiple forms.

It can change into various super-heavy and super-hard weapons, such as the single-bladed axe Mode [Fracture] and the massive iron ball Mode [Crush].

Like Ray's Nemesis, the user does not feel the weight of the weapon, and it is specialized for pure offensive power.

The downside is that, despite the lack of weight, the large size of the weapon makes it slow and reduces its accuracy.

Io swung the transformed Goring at the approaching pteranodon-like monster.

The pteranodon tried to evade but was suddenly grabbed from behind by something.

‘BOBOBOBOBO...’

It was a giant balloon-like creature resembling a marshmallow man.

In <Infinite Dendrogram>, it is known as a [Balloon Golem], a summoned monster.

"Hold it... Balrun."

Mist is a [Summoner].

[Summoners] use their magic power to form and control monsters in battle.

[Balloon Golem] is one of Mist's summoned monsters, possessing [Physical Attack Resistance] and [Floating Ability], serving as a defensive wall.

It was not unusual for her to summon it, but what was unusual was that Balrun suddenly appeared behind the pteranodon.

This was due to Mist's Taijiku's power.

Mist's <Embryo>, Taijiku.

A radar-type TYPE: Arms that can locate the position of <Masters>.

The downside is that it has no direct combat ability.

However, Taijiku has another inherent ability besides its radar function.

It can teleport summoned monsters or familiars within its capacity to any point on the map.

The MP consumption increases with distance, but within 50 meters, it is negligible.

The pteranodon, restrained by Balrun, could not move.

Then—

"Hiyyyyyyyyyaaaaa!!"

Io's flail struck the pteranodon, shattering its entire skeletal structure and crushing its flesh.

The damage was fatal, and the pteranodon disintegrated, leaving behind drop items like [PBS].

"That's the fifth one!"

"Great... job..."

Mist and Fujinon focused on stopping and restraining, while Io, with her high-level offensive power, delivered critical hits.

This combination allowed the three of them to defeat five sub-dragon class monsters that had gathered at the West Gate.

Considering that a sub-dragon class monster is equivalent to the combat power of a party of six low-level players, this was quite an achievement.

While the combat power required to defeat a sub-dragon class monster is not necessarily six low-level players due to the abilities of <Embryos>, their success was still significant.

This was because each of them knew each other's strengths and weaknesses, and they complemented each other's shortcomings while leveraging their strengths.

Among the rookies who had set out from the Central Arena, excluding exceptions like Ray and Luke, they were the most powerful in terms of overall combat power.

Otherwise, they would not have been able to defeat the continuously gathering sub-dragon class modified monsters.

"Phew, finally a break!"

"No... not yet... Luke-kun... is still fighting... we need to support him..."

Indeed, they were supposed to provide support as soon as Luke and Hugo's battle began.

However, the first monster appeared at the West Gate, and they had to deal with it, leading to the current situation.

"That's right! What's happening!?"

"From what I can see, they seem to be standing still and talking. I can't hear what they're saying from here."

"Alright! I'll use my Mode [Explosion]..."

Io was about to transform Goring into its third form, but Mist and Fujinon stopped her.

"No... not now..."

"You're right. Attacking now would be a bad move. Let's observe for a bit. Mist, are there any other <Masters> nearby?"

"No... not yet. Ray-san outside is... still fine. ...Franklin is... also here."

"I see."

"Alright! I'll pick up the drop items while we have a moment! Sub-dragon class means a lot of loot!"

Io ran to pick up the items scattered around.

"Io-chan... be careful... another one might come..."

"The loot will be divided based on the market sale value. Oh, if any armor comes out of the boss chest that I can equip, I'd like it! As a [Barbarian], I don't have many options for equipment!"

"She's not listening..."

Io was engrossed in picking up items, and Mist watched her with teary eyes.

Meanwhile, Fujinon had a question.

"Drop items...? Wait, why... are there drop items? Tamed monsters don't drop items, right?"

This was a valid question about something that should not happen.

In <Infinite Dendrogram>, tamed monsters, which are under human control, do not drop items when defeated.

"Moreover, they are usually set to revert to jewels before taking fatal damage. Even if that setting was intentionally disabled, it still doesn't make sense for items to drop..."

It was clear that these monsters were created and controlled by Franklin.

That was why they were trying to eliminate the kingdom's <Masters>.

"Could it be that these are not tamed monsters, but... imprinted at the creation stage... If that's the case, what Franklin did... If he did that, then..."

As Fujinon's speculation began to take shape,

――――――■■!!

A sound like the air being torn apart echoed.

Mist, Io, and Fujinon turned at the sound.

It was a thunderous noise emanating from the ice hell... the <Gate of Hell>.

The <Majingear> had activated, and its blade was brought down with full force on Luke.

After the sound, there was no sign of the silver-haired boy... Luke... anywhere in the hell.

Not only Luke, but also the <Embryo> Babi and the familiar Marilyn were gone.

Luke's defeat had caused the <Embryo> and familiar to disappear.

The three of them realized this and then noticed something.

"Who is it?"

Mist's question echoed in the silent world.

The three shadows of Luke and his companions were gone.

In their place—someone unknown stood there.

◇◇◇

‘What... is happening?’

Among those present, Hugo was the most puzzled.

Enraged by Luke's words, he had swung his blade.

But the blade aimed at Luke was being blocked.

Someone in front of him was holding a long weapon in their right hand, blocking the blade of the <Majingear> with inhuman strength.

Someone in front of him—someone who was not Luke.

With demonic wings on their back.

Dragon scales on their body.

Horns on their head.

A silver trident made of dragon horns in their right hand.

It was the face of a handsome young man, as if the silver-haired boy had aged a few years... an unknown handsome man.

‘Who are you!?’

When Hugo questioned, the man smiled faintly and answered.

"The Union Jack—'Dragon Demon'"

‘!’

The handsome man—'Dragon Demon'—announced his name and kicked the <Majingear> away.

The <Majingear>, which should weigh over ten tons, was lifted off the ground and sent flying several meters back.

‘Ku...!’

Hugo tried to regain his footing from the shock and physical impact.

At the same time, the 'Dragon Demon's' left hand, which had entered the <Majingear>'s cockpit, touched the chest armor.

"Little Flame"

A fire attribute magic spell was fired at point-blank range, melting the ice armor on the chest and transmitting the shock to the inside of the <Majingear>.

‘This is... the magic skill used by that <Embryo>!’

However, the power of the 'Dragon Demon's' <Little Flame> was several levels higher than Babi's.

"Trihorn Upper"

The 'Dragon Demon' closed the distance again and raised the trident in his hand.

Hugo recognized this technique.

It was similar to what Marilyn had used against the <Majingear>, though with a trident instead of horns.

Hugo tried to block it with his right blade, but the impact was too much, and the blade broke halfway.

‘This is...!’

Immediately, Hugo activated the [Smoke Discharger] mounted on his waist.

A smoke screen that impaired visibility was deployed, slightly slowing the 'Dragon Demon's' movements.

‘Motor Slash!!’

Hugo unleashed a powerful strike with his remaining left blade, but the 'Dragon Demon' seemed to anticipate it and jumped back to avoid it.

The movement was familiar to Hugo, who had seen it multiple times in this battle.

‘I see... that's it, then.’

Convinced by the 'Dragon Demon's' movements, Hugo spoke.

‘You are... him. And now, you are fused with the <Embryo> and the monster. That must be the effect of the last skill you used, right?’

Hugo's words were met with a smile from the 'Dragon Demon'—Luke.

There was no need to say "correct" just because the skill details were guessed correctly.

However, it was indeed the correct answer.

This was the skill <Embryo> Babylon acquired in its third form, <Union Jack>.

A fusion skill of the <Master>, <Embryo>, and familiar.

Inspired by Ray's influence and the idea of "overlaying power to fight together," it was a form that was similar yet different from theirs.

<Union Jack> combined the stats and all the skills of the three into a single demon.

In other words, it possessed the stats of a dragon, the skills of a demon, and the wisdom of a human.

Thus, it was called "Dragon Demon."

It was Luke's trump card in his current state.

‘A skill of that magnitude... can it be activated without any preparation?’

Hugo's question was correct.

Fusion and combination skills like <Union Jack> do exist.

However, they all require some charging time before fusion or a period for the combination to take effect.

This is a drawback of fusion and combination skills.

But...

"Skill preparation? I've been doing it all along."

Luke answered Hugo's question with words, not a smile.

He sensed that Hugo's thoughts in the <Majingear> cockpit were unconsciously recalling the past and took advantage of the moment to close in and attack again.

‘!’

"Better... visibility now."

Exchanging blows, Luke aimed the spear at the joint of the leg.

The leg, already reinforced with high strength and ice armor, did not break immediately.

However, the ice armor was gradually shattered by the increased strength from the <Union Jack> fusion, surpassing even Marilyn's.

"Now, when did I start preparing? Think about it."

With a gentle tone, the 'Dragon Demon' Luke continued his relentless attack.

The correct answer was that Babi had started charging <Union Jack> when Luke said "checkmate."

By the time Babi said "it's over," the charging was complete.

It was a prearranged signal between the two.

Additionally, why did Luke, who was gradually freezing and running out of time, spend so long explaining his deductions to Hugo?

It was to confirm the facts and buy time to activate <Union Jack>.

During the simulated battle with Marie, the preparation was completed during the interval between battles.

In a real battle, the concern was how to create that time, but this time Luke had used a bit of strategy and rhetoric to create it.

"Now, you must realize... the <Gate of Hell> has no effect on me."

As Luke said, the left arm of the 'Dragon Demon' was already free from the ice's binding.

There was not even a hint of freezing.

"My current race is not 'Human,' and it's not a race I have a kill count for. Therefore, the <Gate of Hell> has no effect."

The fusion of "Dragon" and "Demon" had changed Luke's race to "Chimera."

Luke had never defeated a "Chimera," so the ice hell of the <Gate of Hell> was just a background to him.

By changing his race, Luke had escaped the judgment of the <Gate of Hell>.

"From now on... it's just a test of strength, Hugo Reseps."

‘The <Gate of Hell> is meaningless, and your power can reach me alone. Therefore, a test of strength... very well. I will accept, Luke Holmes.’

Luke retreated to gain distance.

It was not to escape.

It was to get the necessary running start for the most powerful attack skill he currently possessed, Marilyn's charge attack, enhanced by the fusion and Babi's passive skills.

On the other side, Hugo and Cocytus, along with the <Majingear>, took their stances.

The skill they were about to activate was not the <Motor Slash> or a gun attack.

It was the only direct attack skill among Cocytus' innate skills.

It consumed a lot of MP and was avoided to maintain the barrier for a long time.

However, at this point, maintaining the barrier was secondary to preventing the enemy from reaching Franklin alive.

Hugo was now certain that the opponent in front of him was too dangerous and must not be allowed to reach Ray's aid.

(He is too dangerous. It's not about strength. I can't let someone who sees through people like that meet "that person." I