Part 2
The spiral staircase felt rather long when we descended, but it took mere minutes before we could sense the exit's presence when we keenly raced our way up. The putrid stench gradually disappeared from the air, while the damp, moist walls and the stone under our feet were replaced by glossy marble without our notice.
We could soon see a faint light in our path, and when it turned into the rectangular exit, Eugeo and I found no further need for caution and rushed forth, skipping over the steps, two at a time. Both of us sucked in the fresh air as though satisfying our cravings, the moment we reached aboveground at last.
"......Whew..."
When our breaths finally settled down, we took another look at our surroundings. The skies which were still pitch-black granted us vision even without artificial lighting, through their indistinct starlight.
The Axiom Church that ruled over the Human World existed within a vast square plot of ground in the center of Central Centoria. From what I had seen around the place through the opportunity of dangling off the flying dragon yesterday morning, the main gate was in the east (I suppose that was probably due to Solus rising from that direction), with a wide road that extended to the actual church.
And that church was veritably the lofty white tower, the «Central Cathedral». Its cross-sectional view would reveal that it, too, was a square, while its upright walls were smoothly polished to a mirror-like finish, with the upper portion always within the clouds, making it impossible to see its peak unobstructed.
I believed that there would be someone managing this world at the highest part of the cathedral, as well as a system console for communication with the outside—or in other words, with Rath. If I could reach that far, I could return to the real world after these two years and two months I personally experienced...
Reflecting on those strong emotions, I slowly turned around and faced the opening to the underground jail I had just escaped from.
The doorless rectangular hole was opening its mouth in slight surprise, towards the pure white surface of the wall. Shifting my sight to the smoothly polished marble wall, I first gazed right, then left, and lastly, up, but factoring the dense shroud of night fog in as well, I wasn't able to see to the end of any direction.
No, even if it wasn't for the fog, I shouldn't have been able to see the top of the wall. After all, the glossy marble a mere meter away was undeniably the outer wall of our final destination, the Central Cathedral.
Probably having thought of the same thing, Eugeo took several steps forward with me, and then raising our left hands, we gently touched the white wall. Rubbing left and right, affirming its sheer hard and cold sensation.
"...It's too late saying this after having came this far, but... I can't quite believe it. We're touching that cathedral. The tower with walls that people are denied from, no matter how distinguished they may be, as nobles... no, even if they were the emperors of the four empires, they wouldn't be able to do anything but look at it."
"Well, we're not integrity knights as planned, but escaped prisoners, though."
Eugeo gave a light, strained laugh at my spiritless response, but immediately spoke with a stern face.
"But looking back at it, this might have been the right choice instead. After all, if we became integrity knights, we might, just like Alice..."
"The possibility of our memories being controlled, huh. That's certainly true... however, if all of the integrity knights were that way, who exactly would they believe themselves to be...?"
When I muttered so, Eugeo removed his hand from the marble and tilted his head. I smacked the left hand, that I lowered as well, onto my waist, attempting to explain my vague question.
"That is to say, well, even if the memories of the knights were sealed away... who are my parents; where was I born; they should have knowledge of such things, right? After all, that's the fundamental basics of being a human and all. That's exactly why I think it'd be difficult to fabricate that knowledge."
"I see... knights are just a flight away from anywhere in the Human World with their flying dragons. Even if the true memories about their birth were sealed, with false memories planted in, it would be easily revealed as a lie if they actually pay a visit to their birthplace..."
Suddenly, Eugeo sharply took in a breath of air and stared in my direction with his eyes open wide, which made me blink my eyes multiple times in confusion. After exchanging stares with my frozen partner for several seconds, I finally thought of the reason for his strange response.
"I see... you thought that we might find out a method to restore my memories at this tower, huh."
"Ah... n-no, I..."
Eugeo's face distorted into wrinkles and he soon turned it steeply downwards, so I took a step forward and forcefully tussled my partner's flaxen hair with my left hand.
"You're a worrywart as always. I said it, didn't I; whether my memories return or not, I'll accompany you until the end of your journey."
Eugeo brought his face up with that, slightly red now, and said "Don't treat me like a child" in a child-like manner. But without even attempting to escape from my hand, he continued in a soft voice.
"......It's not like I doubt that. You did say it countless times after all, Kirito. But... when I think about how our journey's coming to a close, I just..."
Upon hearing that stifled whisper, strong feelings thoroughly filled up even my chest, and I raised up Eugeo's face with my hand still placed on his head.
The majesty of the Central Cathedral, towering up high right beside us, truly deserved to be called the core of the world. It would not be easy to climb up to the highest floor of this tower even if there aren't any obstacles in the way, but on the flip side, that was all that's left. No matter how many thousand flights of stairs there might be, our journey would come to an end once we climb our way through all of them, over a year ahead of schedule.
However, that was definitely not a farewell for all of eternity. I would log out to the real world for the time being, but I will return without fail. To meet with Eugeo, Liena-senpai, Ronye, Tiezé and the many other people.
"If it's going to end, we might as well end it on a happ... no, good note. You will get Alice's memories back and return to Rulid together. ...But will you have no choice but to choose a sacred task once again? It would be better to think about it starting from now, the next will likely be the last for the rest of your life, after all."
Eugeo finally lifted his head at my nonchalant words and showed his usual smile, as though to express the thought "my, my".
"It's too early for that no matter how you look at it. But, well, I'm already sick of woodcutting one way or another."
"Haha, that's right."
It was when I took my hand off Eugeo's head and strongly pat his right shoulder that the bell of time telling, far above us at the cathedral, rang out in an exceptionally beautiful and dignified timbre. It was the 4 A.M. melody. Another hour until dawn—
"...Looks like we should get going soon."
"Yeah. Let's."
As if to confirm our mutual decision, we lightly knocked our left fists against each other. The force used, the timing, and even the firmness of our fists were exactly the same. To insist that there was no need for any further words, both of us checked out the surroundings once again.
I knew nothing but that our current location was the back (in other words, the west) of the Central Cathedral. Naturally, we were obstructed by the marble outer wall in the east.
Our present goal was to infiltrate the cathedral, so things would be easy if there were an entrance to the first floor nearby, but there wasn't a single window even at rather great heights on this western side, with its slippery finish making it look impossible to climb.
In that case, the next plan would, of course, be to move towards the north or south along the outer wall. However, after a mere five meters or so down either direction, a metal fence was connected perpendicularly to the wall. It seemed of a height that could be climbed over if we tried hard enough, but there was one problem. I had already confirmed the fact that there were similar fences stretching out over and over again beyond that fence, yesterday.
The bronze fence, vines densely twining around it, appeared sturdier than the bars of the underground jail, judging from its shine. There was no end to these fences stretching around this area on the west of this cathedral. In other words, this place was both a garden and a maze at the same time. Probably for the sake of troubling prisoners from fleeing, in the one-in-a-million chance they escape aboveground from the underground jail.
The east, south, and north were obstructed by the wall and fences, but there was a single gate in the west. A single, short, straight passage stretched out from there, a small plaza still within the maze at its end. It was where the flying dragon we dangled off landed yesterday morning.
I tried to commit a route for escape to memory right before we touched down, but memorization in that short period of time was totally impossible due to the complexity of the maze's structure. However, it appeared that there was no other alternative.
"...Let's break through that maze and get out towards the north or south of the cathedral."
When I said so, Eugeo nodded as well.
"I'm expecting great things from your intuition, Kirito."
"Leave it to me, I've always been good with labyrinths since long ago."
My partner made a contemplative expression when I replied with those words without thinking, so I started walking before he had a chance to ask.
Reaching the west gate after a mere few steps, we first checked the priority of the bronze gate. The priority stated on the window was 35; as expected, it wasn't made from some normal kind of bronze. It might be possible to destroy it after countless strikes with the chain wrapped around my right hand, but it seemed like that would take more time than climbing it, not to mention how it felt like that would cause the imperial guards (or perhaps integrity knights) to gather here in a flurry.
It happened when I was about to resume walking, resigning myself to challenge the maze as per my initial plan. Eugeo spoke as though he squeezed the words through his throat.
"Wh-What is it!? Did something happen to the fence!?"
"I-It's not the fence... th-these leaves..."
With his eyes wide open, Eugeo whispered while pointing at the completely ordinary leaves of the vines densely coiled around the bronze fence.
"It's my first time seeing them, but there's no mistaking it. These are... «roses», Kirito."
"Roses... Oh... wait, eh, seriously!? All of those growing in this maze, the whole lot of them!?"
I gave a half-hearted response at first, but the roses of this Underworld were not merely pretty flowers. They ranked higher than the «four great sacred flowers» bearing fruits that stored sacred power of high purity: anemones, marigolds, dahlias, and cattleyas. Cultivation of these was prohibited for even nobles and those from the imperial family, let alone commoners, and the few wild ones that grew sparsely in the hills and fields were said to fetch an outrageous price in Centoria's marketplace when found.
There were thousands, no, even tens of thousands of that ludicrously rare plant in this maze alone... The instant that came to mind, I was driven by the urge to pull out and bring along every single one of them, but unfortunately, this world did not have a convenient function known as the item storage.
In contrast to me giving life to my exceedingly realistic conflicts, Eugeo's reaction was calm indeed. Pushing apart the leaves with thorny edges with his fingertips, speaking while peeking inside.
"It doesn't look like the flowers bloomed yet, but the buds are swelling out. With this many around, there should be quite an amount of sacred power released into the air."
Now that he mentioned it, the air within the maze certainly was sweet and pure, with my body feeling as though it was purified with each breath taken. When I took in a greedy, deep breath, Eugeo continued, seemingly annoyed.
"That's not what I'm talking about; we might be able to use fairly high ranking sacred arts right now."
"...Even if you say that, we aren't hurt right now..."
"But we're still lacking something important, aren't we? Our..."
"Ah, aah, that's right... our swords!"
I finally understood what Eugeo was getting at and quietly snapped my fingers.
The class 38 iron chain wrapped around my right arm might be a heartening weapon too, but Eugeo was not versed in the usage of the whip, and quicker repossession of the «Blue Rose Sword» and the «black one» would be far more reassuring. Or rather, recovery of the swords was at the highest order of importance.
The two swords were still somewhere else, carried away by Integrity Knight Alice, but we could get an estimate on their whereabouts through the use of sacred arts at least. I put up my right hand, and then took in a deep breath of air.
"System call!"
I shouted out the words, considered as the opening line for sacred arts by Eugeo and as an activation command for the system manipulation authority by me, in a subdued voice. The five digits on my right hand were covered in a faint violet light, signaling the booted up manipulation authority entering its standby state. Stretching my index finger straight, loosely grasping the remaining four, I started the next command.
"Generate umbra element."
Upon chanting so while imaging a black matte gem, a miniscule sphere of jet-black encircling a bluish-purple phosphorescence appeared at the end of my rigid finger. It was one of the eight «elements» existing in this world, the «umbra element». The degree of difficulty for this art was a little higher, but those boring sacred arts lectures and tests finally served their purpose after coming this far.
The umbra element was the opposite of the «luminous element» Dormitory Supervisor Azurika created to treat Eugeo's right eye yesterday morning, tinged with a negative attribute. It was a dangerous item that would scrape off the entire surrounding space in one go if discharged as it was, but by utilizing its suction property, it could be used in this manner as well.
"Adhere possession. Object ID, WLSS102382. Discharge."
Finishing the chant for the art, the umbra element that floated at my fingertip started to move as though it was sucked in by something. It soared up towards the east as it swayed about, using up all of its energy and vanishing right before it made contact with the cathedral's wall. However, a faint bluish-purple trace remained in the air for a duration of several seconds.
I quickly shifted my sight and stared intensely at where the line drawn by the umbra element led to. Having done the same, Eugeo spoke with slight disappointment.
"Looks like the swords really are inside the cathedral. I was hoping they were stored away somewhere like an outdoor storage shed, though..."
"Still, they don't seem too high up, even if they're inside. The second floor... no, it might be around the third floor? I'm glad they weren't carried to a higher floor than that."
"You're right... I guess. Then, let's make our first objective to sneak into the cathedral from somewhere aside from the main entrance and take back our swords from the third floor."
Although I was secretly worried if it was fine to think of Eugeo, calmly voicing out phrases like 'sneak in' or 'take back' that were used solely by me back at the academy, as dependable, I nodded.
Even if we knew the whereabouts of the swords, our need to clear the maze of roses did not change. I wondered whether there was a sacred art that could show us the route towards the exit, but unfortunately, a command that convenient did not exist—probably.
Upon passing through the bronze gate once again, Eugeo and I first set off towards the plaza in front. It would have been a beautiful sight if the roses coiling about the fences to the left and right were in bloom and the day broke, but the current darkness was our only ally. We killed our footsteps and advanced in a half run under the starlight.
The next gate immediately showed itself. The plaza that served as the flying dragon's landing zone was ahead. I do recall having seen that bench and small fountain, but I couldn't be sure if there was a map of the entire rose garden. No, it's a plaza, so it's definitely there; let it be there.
The moment I was about to pass through another gate slightly smaller than the first while praying thus, a familiar, weak, prickling pain ran through the roots of my bangs. At roughly the same time, Eugeo pulled on my coat from behind.
"Wh-What is it?"
"...Someone's there."
"Wha..."
I immediately prepared myself and focused my eyes in front.
The plaza was in the shape of a rectangle, longer towards the east and west, with the gate we were in at its eastern end. A bronze statue of the god, Terraria, stood on the fountain constructed in the middle, and around it were four benches made from the same bronze as the fences, separated at uniform distances.
And as Eugeo said, there was a person's form on the bench to our right—the northern side.
Although the face couldn't be seen with that long hair in loose waves hiding it, the somewhat thin stature was covered in polished silver armor, with a partially curved long sword on the left of the waist. And from the ends of those two shoulders hung a mantle of a deep shade. I could clearly see that crest with a cross going through a circle embroidered upon the mantle, even from this angle.
Eugeo and I distinctly swallowed our breaths, and then whispered as though we were squeezing the words out.
"In... integrity knight...!"
There was no mistake. Judging from that physique, that hairstyle, and the color of that equipment as well, it wasn't Alice, but I could easily believe that integrity knight was roughly as strong as her. I didn't have a sword either... no, even if I had one, I doubted I could achieve victory unhurt.
Should I escape into the maze from the gates to the north or south right this instant? Or perhaps I should retreat straight behind; I was momentarily at a loss. However, before I could decide on a course of action, a male voice with a refreshing ring to it flowed through the plaza.
"There is no need to stand at such a place; enter, and come forth, prisoners."
The glimmer held aloft in his right hand was, surprisingly enough, a wine glass. Upon looking at it, there was a bottle left on the bench as well.
Having felt the awfully provocative vibes in the knight's tone and gestures, my bad habit kicked in, and I ended up responding rather than escaping.
"Oh now, how about treating us to some of that wine too?"
Without an immediate reply, the integrity knight slowly turned this way, then presented the wine glass for a short moment for us to see.
"Regrettably, I would have to say that this would not suit the mouths of children... and not to mention, criminals, like the two of you. Made in the west empire, it is a hundred and fifty years old. I suppose I could spare you a whiff of its fragrance, however."
That face that smiled pleasantly while the glass swirled was stunningly beautiful, even under the starlight.
An exquisite balance produced by that high nose bridge and those eyebrows with a rugged charm to them, along with a crisp gleam from that pair of long-slitted eyes.
When Eugeo and I were unconsciously awed into silence, the knight uncrossed his legs and nimbly stood up, causing some noise with his armor. He was rather tall—probably a head taller than us both. His deep purple mantle and pale purple hair both swayed in the night wind.
Having emptied the wine in one gulp, the knight then spoke several unexpected words.
"As expected of Alice-sama, my master; such keen insight. Able to foresee even this one-in-a-million situation of the prisoners escaping."
?
"A... Alice-sama? M-My master...?"
I repeated in a daze.
The integrity knight gave a serene nod and continued his pompous words.
"To be honest, I never thought it conceivable myself, despite her orders to spend a night here in anticipation of your escape. I planned to admire the rosebuds with a bottle of wine as an accompaniment for this all-night vigil, but to think you would actually appear. —Those, wrapped around your arms, are chains made from spirit-iron forged from the volcanos of the south empire. I do not know how you've cut them, but I believe there is no further room for doubt that you were imprisoned for high treason."
The knight set the wine glass onto the bench while keeping his smile on. Combing up his long hair with his now-emptied right hand, he heightened the emphasis on his words by a mere bit.
"Certainly, I will have you return to the underground jail straight away, but I do believe a slightly severe punishment is in order before that. Of course, the both of you are prepared?"
That thin smile remained there, but an overwhelming hostility flowed out from the lean silhouette of his tall frame, and I restrained myself from backing off a step with all my might. Returning the strength into my stomach, I somehow managed to reply in an ordinary tone.
"If you're saying that, there's no way you believe that we would take that punishment without a fight, right?"
"Hahaha, what liveliness. I heard you were merely chicks, yet to graduate from the academy, but what a sight you've shown me. In light of that bravado, allow me to state my name before I reduce your Lives to a drop. —I am Integrity Knight Eldrie Synthesis Thirty-one. I may be inexperienced, «summoned» a mere one month ago with no territories under my supervision, but I beg your forgiveness on that matter."
A light breath escaped Eugeo the moment he heard the knight's long-winded speech, but I didn't shift my focus towards my partner's reaction. After all, that speech articulated in that seemingly provocative, beautiful voice contained several crucial points of information.
Firstly, the fact that there was a convention in the names of integrity knights was made clear. Considering how the full name of Integrity Knight Alice was Alice Synthesis Thirty as well, the initial «Alice» or «Eldrie» would be their personal names. The following «Synthesis» would be a name they have in common. Next, the last name was not a name, but a number. It was in English, so Eugeo wouldn't understand, but Alice was likely the thirtieth integrity knight. And Eldrie here was the thirty-first—
Furthermore, he said 'summoned a mere one month ago'. The implications of the word, summon, were unclear, but if Eldrie was the latest human to be appointed as a knight, that would mean there was a total of merely thirty-one integrity knights. Not to mention how those numerous knights were away from the cathedral to guard the various areas of the Human World, so there might only be ten knights or so left in the tower, even on the more side.
But those calculations would turn out to be counting your chickens before whatever it was happened, if we weren't able to break through this novice knight in front of our eyes.
I turned towards Eugeo, standing diagonally left behind me, and whispered.
"Let's fight. I'll face off against him first, so wait for my signal, Eugeo."
"Y-Yeah. But... Kirito, I..."
"I said it, didn't I, that we can't hesitate any more. Without defeating that guy, there's no way we could get up the cathedral."
"No, I'm not hesitating, I just, his name... —No, let's leave this for later. Understood, but don't overdo it, Kirito."
Eugeo's reaction made me wonder if the plan got through to him, but we couldn't take our own sweet time to discuss. It felt like the unidentified guardian spirit atop my hair breathed a sigh as always, but there would be enough time to escape even after ascertaining the enemy's true ability, probably.
Taking two steps forward and passing through the gate to the plaza, I unwrapped the iron chain from my right hand and gently gripped it. Having seen that, the knight lightly moved his eyebrows.
"I see, although I was wondering what you would do without even a sword, I suppose you intend to make that chain a weapon. In that case, it appears that I would be able to look forward to a battle slightly more befitting of the word, perhaps?"
That voice and that expression were still full of composure even now. Cursing for it to be covered in cold sweat soon enough, I slowly shortened our distance.
This chain had the handicap of not being able to activate secret moves—swords skills, but it could strike from a distance much farther than a sword. If I were to accumulate low damage attacks through hit and run without stopping my feet, there should be a chance of victory.
That was my scheme, but it was smashed into small fragments in the next moment. Knight Eldrie moved his right hand not towards the sword on the left of his waist, but towards his back hidden by that mantle as he continued speaking.
"Well then, I will use not a sword, but this instead."
Quickly drawing out his right hand, the object grasped tightly within it seemed to have been stored at the back of his sword belt; a second weapon—tinged in a pure silver radiance, a slender whip.
I was astonished as the whip loosened itself from Eldrie's right hand before my sight and coiled up above the stone pavement like a snake. Contrasting my unrefined chain, it was gorgeously made from interwoven silver threads. But upon closer examination, sharp thorns sprouted along it in spirals as though it was the stem of a rose, giving off a dangerous gleam as it bore the light of the stars. Getting struck with such a thing wouldn't result in a mere tear in skin.
In addition, the total length of the whip appeared to be four meters at the very least. My chain was 1.2 meter, a difference in reach of over three times. Something like hit and run tactics would not be possible with this.
When I stood still while perspiring cold sweat, Eldrie appeared to have seen through my thoughts as he sharply swung his right hand. The whip winded as though it was alive, striking the stone pavement with a snap.
"Now then... in respect for your resolution in disregarding the Axiom Church and Taboo Index, and even breaking out from the jail, allow me to serve as your opponent with all of my might from the very beginning."
Without even giving me the time to react, Eldrie held his left hand over the whip in his right, and then loudly cried out in a frigid, tense voice.
"System call!"
I could not discern most of the extremely complex ceremony for that art after that.
Like magic in the nostalgic «Alfheim Online», high speed chants—in other words, rapidly speaking out commands continuously—were possible for sacred arts of the Underworld. However, as the speed of the chanting increased, so did the probability of making a mistake in the ceremony.
Within the extents of my knowledge, the person second-most capable in high speed chants was Sortiliena-senpai, while the best was Azurika-sensei. However, Eldrie's chanting was faster than even sensei's. Speaking out a long command not less than thirty words in merely seven or eight seconds, he finished off with a phrase unfamiliar to my ears.
"——Enhance armament!"
Enhance was... to strengthen? Armament was, erm...
However, I wasn't given the time to flip through the English-Japanese dictionary within my brain. That was as Eldrie casually held aloft his right hand, then swung it down in my direction without a pause.
The distance between us was approximately fifteen meters. Even if that guy's whip was long, it should not reach. However.
Eldrie's whip streaked a silver trace in the air and stretched its length to several times of what it was, as though it was made from an elastic material. Even through my shock, I instinctively lifted the chain above my head with both hands. Immediately following that, a violent impact assailed me, raining down large amounts of bluish-white sparks.
"Kuh...!"
If I were to take this while standing still like this, the chain would be sliced apart. Intuitively knowing that, I bent my knees and warded off the whip by twisting my body towards the right. Jangle! When that intense scraping noise rang out and the whip left the chain, striking the stone pavement, it carved a deep groove there before returning back to the knight's hand.
While feeling cold sweat gush out from my entire body, I let out a deep groan upon seeing the chain.
"Geh..."
It just shaved away an entire portion of this class 38 object, a chain made from that spirit-iron thingy, and nearly sliced through one of its links, didn't it?
Facing the frozen me, the integrity knight offered a faint smile as he spoke.
"My... I thought to slice off one of your ears, but it appears you staved off the attack from my sacred tool, «Frost Scale Whip», despite seeing it for the first time. Perhaps this calls for an apology on making light of you for being a mere student."
Even if I wanted to say something in reply to those words overflowing with tranquility, my mouth stiffened up and couldn't move.
A formidable opponent. And exceedingly so. The one that unconsciously made light of the other was me.
Integrity Knight Eldrie Synthesis Thirty-one was a type of enemy I'd never ever had as an opponent before; I understood that now, though belatedly.
The virtual world, Underworld, was an experimental field for Rath at most and strictly speaking, in this battle, my life—not that of Kirito as a swordsman, but of Kirigaya Kazuto as a high school student, was not on the line. Even if my neck was blown away by Eldrie's whip and my Life turned to zero, my actual flesh and blood should not suffer a single injury.
As such, it could not be considered to compare to the death game, SAO, on the fear of battle. The fear when facing off gigantic floor bosses, monsters, or perhaps red players descended into madness; a sensation like a bottomless hole opened up under your feet, walking on a tight rope, was one that I will probably never get the chance to experience again, neither do I have the desire to do so.
However, even if that were to be called a death game, the majority of the players of that world were net gamers without any connection to actual swordsmanship, me included. Those people used the numerical stats and motion assist granted by the system, as well as the meager reaction speed trained over merely one, two years of time as the set of cards in their playing hand for mortal combat.
But Eldrie was different. He accumulated sword practice and arts study over tens of years in this world, training himself to the utmost limits. He was a true swordsman, physically and mentally. Different from both the players of SAO and the monsters operated by the system; if I had to put it into words, he was like the true embodiment of a «rune knight» that appeared in fantasy fiction books.
Possessing skill and sacred arts far more refined than the goblin soldiers at the mountain range at the edge and exuding more willpower than even the head elite swordsmen-in-training, Raios Antinous and Uolo Levanteinn, Eldrie likely surpassed me in each and every aspect of the current me. If I were to continue fighting with a single chain as my weapon, I would unfortunately have a hundred percent chance of losing.
If I were to state a feasible method to struggle out of this situation, it would be...
——That you are not alone.
It felt like someone spoke on my behalf, but I turned to my partner behind as though I was guided there and softly whispered.
"Eugeo. The only point for a chance of victory is the fact that we have two people. I'll stop his whip somehow, so you'll be the one to deal the blow."
However, I couldn't quite hear a reply. When I shifted my sight over my shoulders in doubt, Eugeo's face showed a shade of admiration rather than fear. His mouth finally began moving, but the words he uttered were dyed in nothing but praise.
"...Did you see that art just now, Kirito? Amazing... I've only read it in the ancient books in the library, but there's no mistaking it. That's the «armament full control art»... a super high ranking sacred art to link with the true essence of the weapon through an art ceremony, making its offensive power representative of a miracle from God. That's only to be expected of an integrity knight, huh!"
"Like we're in any situation to appreciate that. ...If that can extend the reach, couldn't that full control thing be used on our chains as well?"
"Impossible, impossible! It is designated as a secret art of the highest grade in the church, after all. Besides, it seems only weapons of sacred tool grade can be targeted by that art."
"Then let's forget about that. We have to do something with the weapons we have on hand. Look, when I manage to hold back that whip somehow, you'll end it. Even if you're not used to using the chain, you can probably swing it straight down at least."
I double-confirmed with Eugeo who finally showed a tense expression.
"Prepare yourself. We'll defeat the strongest force of the church, the integrity knight."
"...I know. I said it, didn't I, that I won't hesitate anymore."
Nodding, Eugeo held the tip of the chain wrapped around his right hand as well and slowly loosened it.
The moment we exchanged glances, the integrity knight showed his usual refreshing smile as he gently rattled the silver whip.
"Are you done with your discussion, prisoners? Now then, how about sparing me a little enjoyment?"
"...Should you really be that laidback as an integrity knight?"
"Naturally, all who oppose the Axiom Church deserve a stern and potent divine punishment... that is the will of the Holiness that is the highest minister. However, I, too, am a knight with pride and it pains me to lash at the unresisting weak. Therefore, I shall hope that the both of you could display some dignity by landing even a single graze upon my armor at the very least."
"...Rather than a graze on your armor, we'll blast off half of your Life and wipe that broad grin off your face."
Concealing the unease spreading through my heart, I boasted. The name, «highest minister», mentioned by Eldrie bothered me, but this was no situation to be pondering over other affairs. Swinging the chain in my right hand once, I quickly thrust my left hand towards Eldrie.
"System call! Generate thermal element!"
Imaging a deep crimson ruby as I shouted the command, flaming points of light sprang to life on my thumb, index finger and middle finger, one on each of them. It was the «thermal element» that served as the source for flame-type offensive arts. I was about to continue and deploy the art ceremony, but Eldrie calmly raised his left hand as well, fifteen meters ahead.
"System call. Generate cryogenic element."
A total of five blue «cryogenic elements» to counter my art were created on all of his fingertips. It was a sudden loss in terms of numbers, but I ignored that and bridged the ceremony.
"Form element, arrow shape!"
Three flame arrows were completed as I pulled my left hand back while chanting, stretching the points of light long and narrow. A shape focused on flight speed and piercing ability. I chanted the final line as fast as I could to deny the enemy time to react.
"Fly straight! Discharge!"
Creating a swirl of flames, the three arrows were aimed at Eldrie and released.
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