Imperial Capital, Vandelheim
In the heart of the imperium’s capital, there was an immense mechanical structure—Throne of the Imperium, Dryfe Imperstand.
It was a fortress that doubled as Dryfe’s palace, and tripled as their oldest and strongest weapon. All of the imperium’s political activity was centered in it and around it.
It could even be said that if the Imperstand fell, so would Dryfe itself.
In a silent office within the Imperstand, there was a single woman sitting with her eyes closed.
Her name was Claudiah Reinhard Dryfe. Publicly, she was the sister of the imperator as well as Dryfe’s strongest martial artist—The Ram.
In reality, she was the imperator, as well as the imperium’s greatest engineer—King of Machines—and even held the title of Imperator Machina.
She was the bearer of multiple lives as well as her many titles.
There were two special things about her that made her capable of this.
First, it was her own talents as a “High-End.”
Most of those who were called by this term were the rare individuals who stood out among their kind for the natural talents that had manifested in them. High-End Dragons were a major example, although there were cases when the title was given to created monsters like undead.
However, job holders—tians—that were considered High-Ends only came about once every several centuries, and perhaps it was this rarity that made them stand out among their kind far more than the High-Ends of monster species.
Master avatars had an affinity for all jobs, but tian High-Ends often possessed talents so far outside the norm that it dwarfed even that advantage. In addition to that, these High-Ends were gifted with vast amounts of information about the world.
Claudiah was the High-End tian of this era, and that was why she could be both The Ram and King of Machines, bearing Superior Jobs both martial and technological.
Right now, this paragon of unspeakable talent was sitting on a chair in a lightless office, eyes closed as if sleeping, immobile and silent as the dead.
This was a kind of contemplation or meditation—but despite appearances, she wasn’t doing it alone.
Within her, a discussion raged between two people.
“The limit has almost been reached,” one said. “I wonder if Altimia will agree to our suggestion.”
“It will be optimal if she does—for us, and for her.”
The people talking were both Claudiah, but the personality—the program—was different.
This was the second special thing that made her what she was—the ability to shape her personality.
Ever since Claudiah was young, she had possessed the talent to create new personalities that were better suited for specific goals. It wasn’t clear if this ability came from her nature as a High-End or if it was merely a talent she happened to have, but she’d used it to create several personalities.
The first of them was Reinhard. It was the oldest personality, as well as her base. With just a few modifications, this personality had become fit to be both a politician and an engineer. He was a brother for Claudiah, the holder of the job King of Machines, and the imperator who wished to save Dryfe and make it thrive.
The second one was Claudiah herself. Born through modification of her inner self following her meeting with the First Princess of Altar, Altimia, this served as her current main personality.
Claudiah was Dryfe’s strongest martial artist—a combatant of unbelievable skill. She was a sister, the holder of the job The Ram, and Altimia’s friend.
There was a third one, but it could barely even qualify as a full personality. It was a shapeless thing that was more like an aggregate of the information the first two had acquired as a High-End.
This proto-personality provided directives that had to be fulfilled for the sake of the world—one of which was the defeat of The Evil. It was more of a duty than a person, but it was certainly not something Claudiah could ignore.
Claudiah Reinhard Dryfe’s mental activities were a discussion between these three. This was true even when deciding what actions to take against Altar.
Reinhard the imperator. Claudiah the friend. All the information available to both of them as a High-End. They would each gauge their goals, and Reinhard, specialized in strategy, would craft a plan to achieve them.
This was why their operations were primarily focused on ensuring that Dryfe thrived, but the will of the other two was never completely ignored. That meant their actions oftentimes ended up being less optimal than they could be.
If they truly wanted to do what was best as an imperator, they would have either shown Altar less mercy or been more considerate of Altimia. However, as her friend, Claudiah would make some actions slightly more gentle than they had to be, while the information provided by the High-End sometimes pushed for being truly merciless toward the kingdom that most likely harbored The Evil.
This was a conflict that existed because Claudiah was who she was, and cutting off any part of her would make her stop being her.
Without Reinhard, the dying Imperium would be unable to survive—and without Claudiah, she would have no reason to live on as a person. And if she was to ignore the directive provided to her by her instincts, the world would fall apart and end.
That was why they had no choice but to proceed while somehow appeasing all three, no matter what failures it led to.
“If she refuses the War Game I suggested—Tri-Flags—that would mean our only option is a standard War—a nonconsensual, indiscriminate conflict that would last until one side was eradicated,” Reinhard said. “I’m certain she already knows well that that is the worst-case scenario.”
“That’s true.”
The postwar acts of Dryfe-sponsored terrorism in Gideon, Quartierlatin, and Altea, the warlike conflict that had broken out between Caldina and Granvaloa... Altimia must have reached one particular conclusion based on these things. That conclusion could only be that Masters who still had available save points posed an immense danger.
Masters who came back from death in just three days were, in a way, suicide bombers that never truly died. If they were Superiors, sending them to battle every time they came back was akin to dropping a nuclear bomb on the enemy country every three days.
Becoming aware of this reality would make it clear that traditional War was an awful idea. It would be a painful conflict of attrition where both sides would gradually lose everything except their Masters.
The most logical solution to this problem was the War Game that Reinhard had proposed—a winner-takes-all War that involved only their inexhaustible Masters. At the very least, this option would prevent both countries from losing their people or resources. If Altar won, Dryfe could do nothing to resist as the kingdom took whatever they wanted. If Dryfe won, they’d acquire vast food resources and bolster their Master count enough to stand against Caldina and other nations—not to mention that they would gain the opportunity to take action against the most pressing issue of all. They would even be able to make the kingdom accept conditions more taxing than the ones they’d tried to push for during the peace talks.
“If we win under these rules, all of our desires will be fulfilled,” Reinhard said. “The imperium would be out of its predicament, Altimia would still be alive, and we will be able to search Altar for The Evil and do away with it.”
“This would be far easier if it were just the first two.”
Indeed—it was because of The Evil—the reset device left behind by the Infinite Jobs—that Claudiah’s and Reinhard’s goals had become so immensely difficult to accomplish.
Because it automatically grew as it absorbed the Resources of the dead, The Evil would no doubt awaken if ignored. It was like a time bomb whose explosive power constantly grew as its timer ticked down.
That was why Reinhard had decided that it had to be eliminated as soon as possible, even if it meant acting in haste. After all, the info they had as a High-End had already told them that The Evil had been born.
“That is also the main source of the conflict with the previous king. The country born through the destruction of The Evil turned out to be the least aware of the threat that it poses. It’s as if someone purposely tampered with their information,” said Reinhard.
Before the previous War, Reinhard had used a hotline to have a discussion with King Eldor. He’d requested that Altar provide Dryfe with food, while also speaking of The Evil and the GAME OVER that it would awaken.
However, the kingdom was oblivious to most of what Reinhard had said about The Evil. While they knew a great deal about Sacred King and the others who had defeated it, they were so thoroughly unaware of the true power and nature of The Evil that it seemed strange. Their knowledge didn’t go far beyond the vague outline of “a powerful entity with many dependents that claimed the ruins of King of Kings’ capital once he was gone.”
This created a major difference in awareness between Eldor—who knew little—and Reinhard—who had immense knowledge as a High-End.
And when Reinhard had said that he would find The Evil and deal with it, the king had asked, “How far are you willing to go to kill The Evil—this creature of legend?”
Imagining the worst-case scenario, Reinhard had this to say in response: “Worst comes to worst, I would have to kill every inhabitant of at least one city—most likely Altea.”
Needless to say, the king didn’t agree to that, and he likely would not have even if he understood the threat as well as Reinhard did. The proposal was simply that outrageous.
However, Reinhard could not lie about this matter. The two countries had exchanged a covenant that prevented them both from using the hotline to speak falsehoods.
That was why Reinhard had been honest about how far he would go to solve this problem—and it was precisely because it wasn’t a lie that Eldor decided to end the alliance between Dryfe and Altar. Perhaps he thought that Reinhard was a delusional madman driven by the imagined threat of The Evil, but there could have been any number of reasons behind that decision.