Whitehead and Hathaway slashed at Hero’s two clones, who were too slow to react. Both of them were perfect clones of the real Yuujin—too perfect, as it turns out, as they were arrested by the same emotional disturbance. Without the slightest delay between them, the clones both activated their Skills. From the infinite possibilities available to a Play Actor, the effects matched Yuujin’s preference—their spears glowed red with electrical current, with the aim of incinerating the enemies they fought. Unfortunately for them, they realized too late that this was not the optimal choice.
Their overconfidence in their own fighting ability was their undoing. They could have used more powerful Skills that covered a wider area, but had unconsciously decided to hold back. This opening was exploited. Dodging past the two clones, Dill Steel-Link had already arrived right in front of the real Hero.
Dill raised a battle cry. He had no words left, or even any time to spare for the role of Aegisthus. He was already too close to Hero for the Reincarnator to utilize most of his Skills. The only technique Hero had available to him was to send an electrical current through his spear, and in this close-quarters battle, taking the time to concentrate on activating a large-scale Skill would result in a swift beheading.
Striking the electrified spear with his shield, Dill knocked it aside. This brief contact allowed the current to run through the shield and up Dill’s arm, searing him mercilessly, but he gritted his teeth and endured the pain. He had no particular plan to prevail in this fight—he simply brought all the willpower he had to bear.
Dill took a step forward and thrust out his spear, and Hero retreated to avoid the strike, creating some distance between them. If Hero withdrew for now and managed to widen the gap between them, he would gain the advantage of his Skill once again. From a vast array of options, he would use the safest, most certain combination of Skills, and achieve total victory.
But Hero could not. Dill continued to endure every hardship, never giving Hero a moment in which to retreat.
The thrusts from Dill’s spear came closer. Each time Hero retreated, Dill stepped closer—one step, two steps, three. With his spear at the ready, he continued to pursue Hero.
Defeat. The word rose up in Hero’s mind as he recalled the earlier battle within Ex Machina Amputation. No. Impossible. It can’t be. This time, I know every card in my enemy’s hand. Fear drove Hero to a decision. He gathered flames at the soles of his feet, then ignited jets there to propel his retreat, even casting away his spear to make himself lighter.
Hero shot straight backward. But Dill came after him. Clutching his spear, his feet pounding against ground, Dill’s advance was foolishly direct. This gung ho approach, hardly befitting Dill’s years of experience, gave Hero a sense of déjà vu.
“This...is Orestes’s technique?! Dill Steel-Link! You mean to tell me that you’re imitating someone created as an imitation of you?!”
Dill gave Hero his answer. Determining that this would be his final step, he dropped his stance and thrust his right hand forward with his spear, declaring, “My name is Dill Steel-Link. Son of Orestes.” With this shockingly ordinary strike, the spear stabbed clear through Yuujin’s chest. Yuujin, who had obtained the body of the hero Prodotis and commanded a panoply of Skills—who stood at the very apex of all Reincarnators—was run through.
“The moment a child is born, duty toward that child makes a man into a father and a woman into a mother. Even as the parents bring forth a child, the child in turn brings forth their parents. In this endless cycle, life is truly reincarnated. This is the secret hidden within our mortal lives.”
“You know, I don’t share any of Yuujin’s beliefs. I am a completely transparent person.” As Shiden took a step forward, red lightning emerged from his toes and crawled along the ground like a snake to attack Sid. Phosphors burst at Sid’s feet, neutralizing the attack from Shiden’s Skill, but Shiden generated another serpent of red energy with every step he took, each one grinding away at Sid’s guard.
“When my creator designed me, that’s what he desired.” Shiden snapped his fingers. Beyond the sky covered in black feathers, there was a sound like the gurgling of a giant’s throat—that was the omen.
Part of the carpet of black feathers spanning the heavens glowed white hot, and a moment later it was pierced by a descending pillar of light. Each time Shiden activated his Skill, it struck at the speed of light, impossible to evade—but the area it covered was constrained. Using his observations of their battle up to this point, along with the Skill of clairvoyance that he had stolen from Hero, Sid was able to predict and dodge Shiden’s attacks. He drew closer to Shiden, then swung his naked blade, wreathed in phosphors.
Sid’s attack struck Shiden’s barrier, and he was sent flying backward with a green flash of light, his body singed black. Shiden approached Sid calmly as he struggled to stand back up.
“My Skill is powerful, isn’t it? It’s a gift. I’ve never worked hard to hone it. In fact, I’m not even allowed to work hard. People expect me to be a high performance product immediately,” whispered Shiden, as he stood next to Sid. His barrier of green light was currently inactive, as he had disabled its automatic function. “Well, see how much you can do. I still haven’t performed to the extent of my specifications. See if you can draw even more from my Skill.”
“I don’t need...your permission!” Sid leaped to his feet and unleashed his skilled swordplay instead. In addition, using his phosphorescent psychokinesis he drew a shield to his free hand, grasped it, and thrust it forward to strike Shiden.
Shiden snapped the fingers of both of his hands. Light pierced through the ceiling of feathers above their heads—the sign of another impending lightning strike.
“I am hope itself. Given a Skill, even an empty piece of garbage like me can become stronger than anyone!” the Reincarnator cried. Sid leaped away. The lightning engulfed Shiden himself...and then he reemerged, glowing gold with overwhelming electrical charge. The Reincarnator grinned—and then he vanished and reappeared behind Sid. Already struck by Shiden’s fists moving at four times the speed of light, Sid went flying.
“I am the flagship product of the new line offered by Panopticon! This battle will be broadcast, and a lot of viewers will want to buy me. This program was brought to you by Panopticon Security Complex!” Shiden burst out laughing. Seven colors of electricity crackled around him, reacting to his heightened emotions.
Sid repressed the shaking in his knees and rose to his feet as phosphors slowly reconstructed his charred flesh. Shiden had already landed countless attacks that ought to have been fatal, but still Sid stood back up. As long as his will was not broken, Rei’s phosphors would continue to answer his call.
“...Oh? You don’t have to get up. If that last attack had killed you, that would have been a perfect ending.” Shiden still smiled, but irritation was starting to creep into his voice.
At that moment, a cheer resounded like a roaring wave, prompting Shiden to turn his head ninety degrees to the side, his expression still vacant.
The ceiling of black feathers overhead, which had been left tattered by repeated strikes of lightning, had started to fall apart. The citizens of Vulcan, who had so feared the gaze of the red eyes embedded in the feathers covering the sky, finally regained their vigor at the sight of this. And then their eyes were drawn to the sight of Yuujin, Hero of the Reincarnators, meeting his ultimate defeat.
Dill cried out his own name in triumph, rallying the crowd. The people found their courage once more, thundering into the plaza like an avalanche and engulfing the Reincarnators of the Project.
With a smile still plastered on his face, Shiden tilted his head to one side.
“Reincarnators, you lose!” Sid yelled. “Aegisthus will kill you next! But first, I, Orestes will—”
“Ah, whatever. Let’s go with plan B.”
“Yes, sir.” A man in a black suit, Summoner, suddenly appeared, despite the fact that a moment ago he had been exchanging blows with Halberd on the other side of the plaza. Underneath the Grim Reaper of the Project’s smashed helmet, his unkempt comb-over fluttered in the wind. With an incongruous air of dignity he moved his arms, first bringing his hands together, then parting them slowly like ripples expanding in a body of water. Sid, who had launched an attack toward Summoner to interrupt him, was himself held back by Shiden’s barrier of green light. Dill, who rushed to support Sid, thrust his spear into the barrier, but he was too late. Summoner had finished opening a teleportation gate that was as large as he was capable of creating, excavating a yawning black hole in the night sky. Its size was beyond reckoning, but it certainly didn’t appear any smaller than the ceiling of black feathers.
Following Dill, Nue came sliding through the air, then looked up at the colossal gate and growled. Something was starting to emerge from inside it. At first, it looked like a spherical mass suspended from several tubes. Then it started to move, emitting a sound of cyclical vibration as it seemingly communicated with whatever still lay unseen at the other end of the tubes.
“Allow me to introduce your god.”