Sword Art Online - Volume 12 - Chapter 7.2

Part 2
As Cardinal judged, Eugeo had just closed a massive book placed on his lap as he sat in the middle of the stairs when we returned to the history books corridor.
I called out to him while walking closer, his eyes wandering about in a daze as if he hadn't yet woken up from the historical reports spanning hundreds of years.
"That took a while. Sorry about making you wait all alone."
Eugeo's back suddenly trembled at that and he distinctively blinked multiple times for some reason, then finally looked at me.
"Ah... aah, Kirito. How long has it been...?"
"Eh? Erm..."
I looked around in a fluster, but there wasn't a single window around, let alone a clock. Cardinal softly cleared her throat and answered in my place.
"It has been roughly two hours, the sun is completely up in the sky now. —How was it, the long history of the Human World?"
"Hmm... how should I say this...?"
When asked, Eugeo endlessly chewed on his lips as though searching for the words, then muttered in an indecisive tone.
"...Did everything written in this book actually happen? It's like... reading a series of well-written fairy tales... You see, most of the episodes go like, some kind of problem occured at so-and-so place, then integrity knights arrive and solve the problem, and ever since then, a new such-and-such clause was added to the Taboo Index... it was filled with such stories."
"There's no helping it, those are historical facts, after all. A net with water poured and spilling through, and its gaps stitched up one after another; that's the sort of organization the Axiom Church is."
Cardinal practically spat those words out, making Eugeo widen his eyes. That was only natural; it was probably the first time he met a person who gave such straight criticism of the church, not to mention she was a girl in her tender years—though of course, that was only what she appeared on the outside.
"Er... erm, may I ask who are...?"
"Aah, she's called Cardinal. Err... she was banished by the existing highest minister, Administrator, and was once a highest minister herself as well."
After I gave that summarized introduction, Eugeo gulped, making an odd noise from the back of his throat as he drew away.
"No, there's no need to be scared. It seems like she's willing to help us out even though we're going to fight those integrity knights."
"Hel... help us out...?"
"Yeah. This person's goal is to defeat Administrator and get reinstated as the highest minister, you see. So... well, we decided to form an alliance."
There was definitely no lies in that tremendously simplified explanation, but I really couldn't bring myself to approach that conclusion where erasure awaits all of the Underworld inhabitants upon Cardinal regaining her authorities. I would probably have to discuss it with Eugeo someday, but still, I didn’t have the foggiest idea how I could broach the subject.
As though clad in obedience, my partner stared at Cardinal without a single tinge of distrust in his eyes and gave a nervous smile.
"Is that so... that would be a great help, really. If she was once the highest minister, then would she know if Alice... the integrity knight, Alice Synthesis Thirty, was the same person as Alice Schuberg of Rulid? ...If she does... how about a method to return Alice to how she once was too...?"
Cardinal lowered her eyelashes just a little at the question Eugeo asked in a faltering speech.
"I apologize, but... the information I can get a hold of from this place is extremely limited. Basically, I would not know any more than the affairs my not-too-abundant numbers of familiars observe. I might still know if it was an incident within the cathedral or the central part of Centoria but one from as far as the remote regions would simply be... I am aware of the birth of an integrity knight named Alice, but I am utterly ignorant of her origins at this current point in time..."
Eugeo's shoulders slightly slumped upon hearing thus far but he sharply took in a breath of air with the words that followed.
"—However, I can teach you the method to revoke the sacred art to give birth to, no, produce an integrity knight, the «Synthesis Ritual»."
Cardinal looked at Eugeo and me in turn, then spoke in a stately tone.
"You simply have to remove the «Piety Module» inserted into their souls."
"Pahy... moju...?"
I added some side information for Eugeo, repeating the unfamiliar words from English, no, the Sacred Tongue with difficulty.
"Module, er, carries the meaning of 'component' in the Sacred Tongue. Look, you saw it when we fought with Integrity Knight Eldrie in the rose garden, right? When that guy turned strange halfway through and all..."
"Aah... the thing that looked like a purple crystal rod coming out from his forehead..."
"Indeed, that's exactly it."
Carrying the staff in her right hand, Cardinal drew a horizontal line in midair with its end, then moved it as though to cut the line near its middle.
"The Piety Module is inserted in a way that would obstruct the links between memories. Through that, it seals away the history of the one who would become an integrity knight, simultaneously forcing an absolute loyalty towards the Axiom Church and highest minister. —However, the stability of a coercive and complex art like this is not high. If the important memories around the module are roused through external stimulation, the art will start to unravel as the both of you have witnessed."
"In other words... to dispel the art, we'll just have to jolt the integrity knight's past memories, that's how it works?"
I asked with high hopes, but Cardinal didn't nod.
"No... that is not enough by itself. There is one more thing, another something you will require."
"Wh-What is that?"
Eugeo was the one to lean forward this time.
"What originally existed where the module was inserted. In other words, the memory fragment most valued by the integrity knight. Ordinarily, recollections of the one they most loved would be there. Do you remember what words that integrity knight you fought reacted to the most?"
Eugeo answered before I could dig through my memories.
"Yes. It was the name of his mother. The crystal looked like it would fall out with just a little more when he heard that."
"Then that was likely it. The memories extracted from Eldrie were related to his mother, that is where the module was embedded. You see, although none of the integrity knights' past memories serve any importance to Administrator in the first place, memory and ability are deeply connected. If all of their memories were to be erased, their strength as a knight... they would lose even their secret swordsmanship moves and sacred arts techniques. Hence, she refrained from obstructing the flow of their memories. I deleted the majority of my memories to prolong my life, but I lost much of the knowledge and ability attained in that period of time as well..."
Taking a short breath, Cardinal added on.
"...I'll say this again, that all of the integrity knights have had their most important memory fragments stolen by Administrator. Unless you retrieve those, the flow of their memories will not return to how they were originally, even if you remove the piety module. In the worst case scenario, their very memories might get severely damaged."
"Memory fragments... Th-Then... what if Administrator breaks what she drew out from the knights...?"
I nervously asked and Cardinal slowly shook her head with a complicated expression.
"No... I doubt that. Administrator is a meticulous woman, it's unlikely for her to break anything even the least bit useful. There ought to be no mistake that she would first keep it safe in her own room... on the top floor of the Central Cathedral..."
The top floor of the cathedral—a part of my memories pricked awake the moment I heard those words, but it vanished before I could grab hold of it. Feeling a queer irritation, I mumbled.
"So that means... we'll need the stolen memory fragments to return the integrity knights to how they were, but we'll have to break through the knights' guard and reach the top floor, where Administrator is, to get our hands on those, huh..."
"Don't get any naive ideas of gaining victory over the integrity knights without killing."
Cardinal spoke while giving me a fleeting glare.
"All I may do for you both is to provide equipment equivalent to that of the integrity knights. The rest depends on the both of you putting in all you have into fighting."
"Eh... you aren't coming along with us?"
Having expected that we would definitely have a reassuring support at our backs with an infinite stock of healing magic, I replied without thinking. But Cardinal curtly shook her head.
"If I were to leave the Great Library Room, Administrator would immediately sense that and the situation would likely develop into an all-out war against all of the integrity knights within the cathedral and that woman herself. If the two of you have the confidence to fight and defeat ten integrity knights concurrently however, I wouldn't mind; so?"
There was nothing more Eugeo and I could do but shake our heads left and right at her cruel way of asking.
"—However, Administrator has not discarded her plan for capturing both of you and making you two into integrity knights just yet. If you two were to go by yourselves, she should send only a small number of knights and try to capture both of you alive. There is no other method aside from breaking through those knights one after another and running up the cathedral."
"Mgh..."
True, we should split the enemies up even if it meant using ourselves as decoy if we're up against opponents with superior numbers. But even if that worked out, the other side were integrity knights, the strongest in the world. We had a hard fight against Eldrie alone, so I couldn't help but think about giving up if two were to come at us.
While I sank into silence, Eugeo spoke on my behalf with a somewhat dismal light in his eyes.
"—Understood. I'll fight if we need to, and if there's no choice but to kill... I won't avoid that either. I did break out from prison with that resolution from the start... However, if Alice were to appear...? I will not fight with Alice, I came all the way here to take her back, after all."
"Fm... that's true. Eugeo, I sympathize with your goal as well. —Very well, if Integrity Knight Alice stands in your way, you would do well to use this."
Cardinal said, and took out what appeared to be two extremely small daggers from her black robe.
They had a simple form, as though someone had simply sharpened the longer protrusion of a cross to a point. Their only embellishment was a thin chain that passed through a hole in the pommel. Cardinal handed both Eugeo and I one of the daggers each that gleamed a deep brown. I accepted it, pinching the exceedingly thin handle between my fingertips, and almost dropped it due to its unexpected weight. Its entire length didn't even reach twenty centimeters, but the resistance I felt was not much different from that of the practice swords in the Sword Mastery Academy.
"What is this...? Some secret weapon that kills in a single hit or something?"
Putting my finger through the chain, I gazed at the dagger dangling before my face as I asked, and Cardinal curtly shook her head.
"The dagger itself has practically no offensive ability, as its appearance suggests. However, an inseverable path will be connected between myself, in the Great Library Room, and the one stabbed by it. In other words, the various sacred arts I can use will affect the target. After all, that originally was a part of myself. —Eugeo, dodge Integrity Knight Alice's attacks and stab that into her body somewhere, the position is of no concern. It would barely reduce any Life. In that instant, I will lead Alice into a deep sleep with my arts... until the two of you can retrieve the girl's memories and ready the preparations for the Synthesis removal."
"Deep... sleep..."
It appeared Eugeo was divided between whether or not to believe in it as he stared hard at the brown dagger on his palm. He definitely still felt reluctance at hurting Alice, even with a weapon even more flimsy than a paper knife.
I gently pat my partner's back and spoke.
"Eugeo, let's trust this person. If you think about it, we would have to make Alice faint or something like that if we were to cross swords with her and we definitely won't be able to avoid getting hurt pretty bad, with the same going for her. In comparison, getting pricked with a dagger like this would just be like getting stung by a large marsh horsefly."
"...That bug doesn't sting humans, though."
Perhaps his mood had recovered, as Eugeo corrected my thoughtless words like we were in the academy, then turned back to Cardinal.
"Understood. Allow me to make use of this if I am unable to persuade Alice, then."
Grasping the dagger tightly within his palm, he bowed deeply as though to convince himself. I breathed a sigh of relief as well, looking at the cross-shaped dagger dangling from my right hand.
"...Cardinal, you said that this dagger was a part of you earlier, didn't you? What did you mean by that?"
Cardinal shrugged her shoulders lightly at my inquiry.
"Even if Administrator and I are able to generate each and every object, it's not like we're producing them from nothing."
"Hah...?"
"The world has limited resources. You should understand that from how the farmland could not be cultivated around the Gigas Cedar that the two of you chopped down, shouldn't you? In the same manner, if I were to create an object possessing a certain priority, I would have to sacrifice an existence equal to that. When I previously had the chance to battle Administrator, she created a sword, and me, a staff—but in that instant, every single one of the valuable treasures within that room vanished, hehe."
Cardinal tapped the staff in her right hand onto the stone floor and failed to suppress a somewhat happy chuckle escaping from her.
"—However, as you can see, the Great Library Room is a sealed space. Even if I try to create a high priority weapon, there are no objects for an equivalent exchange. The immeasurable amount of books could, well, be said to be valuable, but that applies solely to their content, so... I thought of using this staff as well, but it is necessary in the battle against Administrator, which clearly narrows what could be used as compensation to one, nothing but my own body. This body of mine is certainly valuable; it belongs to the one with the highest authority in the world, after all."
"Bo..."
"Body...?"
Eugeo and I instinctively examined Cardinal's slender body from head to toe. I immediately noticed how rude it was and averted my eyes, but I did confirm that the girl had all four limbs at the current moment. After swallowing my words countless times, I timidly opened my mouth.
"...Th-That is... to say that you cut off part of that body, converted it to an object, then regenerated that part...?"
"Dolt, nothing would have been sacrificed in that case. This is it."
After turning her head to face the side, Cardinal twirled and flicked the extremely short bundles of chestnut-colored, curly hair tied at both sides of her slender nape.
"Ah, aah... I see, so it was your hair..."
"The compensation for one dagger was one of these, grown for two hundred years. I could have shown it off before it was cut if the two of you had come earlier."
She said so jokingly, but the fleeting shade of sadness that surfaced in her eyes proved that Cardinal still remained a girl, even if a part of her had been used as a base material.
But that fragment of sentimentality instantly disappeared into the depths of her sage-like attitude.
"—With those reasons stated, each of those daggers may appear small in stature but they possess a sharpness and endurance capable of piercing an integrity knight's armor. Furthermore, they are able to connect a path through the space of nothingness surrounding the Great Library Room as they are still a part of my body in a certain sense. ...I originally created them to deal with Administrator. Kirito, I'll have you stab yours into her body after dodging those mighty attacks of hers. One was meant as a spare, but oh well, you will simply have to succeed on the first try."
"Ugh... a heavy responsibility, huh..."
I finally noticed after taking another look at the dagger swaying under my right hand. That the deep-brown gleam matched the color of the curly hair peeking out from the edge of Cardinal's hat.
Eugeo seemed to have understood the value of the dagger given to him, despite being stumped at the explanation jumbled with Sacred Tongue words, and nervously opened his mouth.
"Er-Erm... is it really alright? Letting me use one of these daggers for Alice, even though there are only two...?"
"I do not mind. And at any rate..."
Cardinal held in the words that followed and looked at me, her eyes seemingly to see through to my inner thoughts perfectly.
Yes, at any rate, Cardinal's assistance in removing Alice's brainwashing was required for the fluct lights of ten people, including Eugeo and Alice, to escape to the real world. It was probably better to recover Alice before explaining that situation to Eugeo. Even Eugeo might agree to escape this world, accompanied by a person precious to him. No, I would have to make him accept it, no matter what means I would have to resort to.
Feeling ashamed for already unwittingly taking Cardinal's world annihilation plan as a given, I tightly squeezed the thin chain. Yes... there might be no other path aside from the Underworld vanishing. But even so, I wish to include Cardinal herself within that ten. Even if I do end up deceiving her in the process.
In a bid to escape from those omniscient eyes of Cardinal, I turned away, loosened my shirt collar, and dangled the dagger there after putting my head through the chain. After making Eugeo do the same, I asked something that caught my attention a little during Cardinal's earlier explanation.
"Now that I think about it... if something's needed as compensation to create an object, then what about those? That heap of food and drinks you brought forth when we came here."
Cardinal lightly shrugged her shoulders up and down, and replied with a smile.
"Now, there's no need to fret over that. I merely made two or three trifling books on law disappear."
Still gripping onto the chain on his neck with both hands, a weird 'mgh' noise came from the depths of Eugeo's throat, being the history lover that he was.
"Nn? What is it, you want more? You're a growing child, I see."
Eugeo shook both his head and hands at the same time to stop Cardinal, about to raise and swing her staff.
"N-No, I'm full already! Ra-Rather than that, please continue the story!!"
"There's really no need to restrain yourself."
When Cardinal said so, smiling so much that it made me think that she was fully aware all along, she lowered the staff, coughed once, and changed her tone.
"—The sequence changed, but those two daggers are our true trump cards as I have explained earlier. Eugeo's would be for Alice and Kirito's for Administrator; prioritize stabbing your dagger into your respective targets over all else. Resort to anything if you believe it will raise the possibility of success, be it surprise attacks or playing dead. After all, my belief is that the one and only thing you two excel above the integrity knights in, is how you are more accustomed to being devious... no, to the tactics of actual battles."
Before a somewhat upset-looking Eugeo could get a word in, I chimed in with a "I totally agree".
"I wish we could just struggle all the way to the end with sheer trickery, but... unfortunately, the other side has the home advantage. We'll have to be prepared for a frontal assault. That brings me to my point, Cardinal. I take it that what you said earlier, that 'provide equipment equivalent to those of the integrity knights' bit, essentially meant that you'll be pulling out heaps of weapons or armor of the sacred instrument class?"
This might be a tense situation, but the soul carved into me as a member of the clearing group was acutely receptive to the smell of a «strongest weapon obtaining event». As I anticipated Cardinal's words, my hearting beating fast, the sage made an exasperated face for the umpteemth time today and voiced out a blunt remark for the umpteemth time today.
"Imbecile, what has been entering those ears of yours? Look here, the creation of a high ranking object requires..."
"—I see... the compensation of an object with equivalent class was needed... wasn't it..."
"Don't give me that face, like a child whose snack fell to the ground! You're making me start doubting my decision of choosing you both. In the first place, you ought to be well aware that a weapon is not something that can be freely controlled the instant you are granted it. No matter how powerful a weapon I give you, you can't hope to prevail against those of the integrity knights, whose beloved pieces of equipment they have treated as their own flesh and blood, and passionately used for decades."
I recalled Eldrie's whip that could freely slither through the air, practically like a silver snake, and couldn't help but nod. It was true, even in my SAO days, that it was taboo to immediately toss a rare weapon into actual combat just because you had found one.
When I became depressed, feeling not like a kid who had dropped a snack but one who had knocked over an entire christmas cake, Cardinal continued ahead with a blend between disgust and pity on her face.
"In the first place, you and Eugeo already have swords the two of you have cared for and are powerful enough without me needing to produce one, don't you?"
"Eeh!"
Eugeo reacted this time by springing up.
"Will you recover them for us!? My Blue Rose Sword and... Kirito's black one!?"
"There's no helping it. Those two swords are irrefutably true sacred instruments. The first, a weapon of which only four exist in the world, solely for the dragon knights' use; the second, containing the essence of a demonic tree that continued to absorb resources from a vast area over several hundred years... immediately creating weapons on the same class as those would prove a difficult task for even Administrator and me. Furthermore, the both of you have already gotten used to those two blades enough."
"Oh come on... if you could do that, then say so earlier."
I breathed a sigh of relief, leaning back onto a bookshelf at my side. I had half-abandoned the wish of regaining those cherished swords seized from us before we were thrown into the underground jail, but I absolutely couldn't complain if we were to regain them.
"But... even if you talk about recovering them, it would be impossible to teleport them straight here, wouldn't it?"
"Indeed, it seems you finally understand."
Agreeing with my words, Cardinal crossed her arms with a complex expression.
"I dare say those swords are stored in the equipment vault on the third floor of the cathedral. It is a mere thirty mel... thirty meters or so away from the nearest backdoor, but as you've seen earlier, doors connecting into the tower cannot be opened a second time. The bugs released by Administrator to search for me would immediately swarm there, you see... Hence, I have no choice but to have the two of you exit from that door and recover those from the equipment vault, then ascend the tower on each of your own two legs. Fortunately, there is a large staircase in front of the equipment vault."
"Hmm... starting from the third floor, huh... By the way, which floor is Administrator's room on?"
"Central Cathedral grows taller year after year, you see... it should be close to a hundred floors at the present moment..."
"Hyaa..."
I unintentionally choked off my throat. The gigantic white stone tower built at the heart of Centoria certainly was so high that its peak couldn't be seen regardless of which part of the city you were—but I didn't think it actually had more stories than the real world's skyscrapers. We wouldn't be brought into a battle on each and every floor, would we; I unconsciously voiced out a complaint while feeling somewhat dejected.
"Ermm, can't we start on the fiftieth floor or something instead...?"
"It depends on your point of view, Kirito."
The one who interjected with a bitter smile was Eugeo, ten times more optimistic than me.
"The enemies coming at us would probably be split up accordingly with the length of the distance."
"Ah, uh, well, that might be true, but..."
Shifting my back hesitantly, I sat down in the passage before dryly clearing my throat.
"...Well, I did go up the open-air stairs at the old Tokyo Tower..."
"Hah?"
"No, it's nothing. —I guess our operational plans are decided for now, then. First, we'll recover our swords from the equipment vault. And with them, we defeat the integrity knights that appear as we climb the tower. If we encounter Alice during that, we make her fall asleep with the dagger and send her to the Great Library Room. If we reach the hundredth floor, we stab Administrator with the dagger as well and get our hands on Alice's memory fragment."
I finally prepared for the worst and Cardinal's calm words rained down on me.
"Regrettably, there is one more thing we will need to do."
"Eh... wh-what?"
"Your swords are certainly powerful, but you will not defeat the integrity knights through them alone. That is because they possess a dreadful technique to amplify the ability of their weapons by several times."
"Ah... could that be the «armament full control art»...?"
Cardinal curtly nodded at Eugeo's hoarse voice.
"Weapons of the sacred instrument class strongly inherit properties from the object that served as its nucleus. Eldrie's «Frost Scale Whip» the two of you fought against was the lord of the largest lake in the eastern empire, a two-headed white snake, which Administrator captured alive and converted into a weapon. However, it retained parameters, the agility of a snake, the sharpness of its scales, and the accuracy of its aim, even after it became a mute whip. The full control art releases all of those so-called «memories of the weapon», realizing a more potent offensive power than was originally impossible."
"Uhn, so that means his whip becoming a snake wasn't an illusory art or anything like that, huh..."
I groaned as I stroked where I had gotten hit by Eldrie's whip on my chest with my fingertips. While praying that white snake thing didn't have a delayed poison, I lent my ears to Cardinal's explanation that continued still.
"Every single one of the integrity knights have mastered the full control art for the weapon granted to them by Administrator. That includes training in high speed chanting to ensure that they do not get caught during the long art ritual. I suppose there really would be no time for chanting practice, but gaining victory would be most uncertain if the two of you don't learn the full control art for your respective swords at the very least."
"No... but my black sword was just a huge tree, not an animal, you know...? Would it even have any memories to release?"
"It would. Those daggers I passed over earlier are the same, they are capable of opening a channel towards me the moment an attack hits, through a process identical to the full control art, only because they retain the memory, or property in other words, of being my hair. It goes without saying that the previous existence of your sword, the Gigas Cedar, qualifies and the origin of Eugeo's Blue Rose Sword, from an eternal block of ice, is no exception."
"It... it was ice and nothing more?"

Eugeo, too, opened his mouth in a daze at this. That was only natural, even if I had to list the properties of ice, I can't think up of much more than «very cold». I cocked my head in confusion, but still, as it was the word of one of the two gods in the world, I could only accept it.
"Well... if you're teaching us the art ritual, it'll probably work as the full control art for our swords too. I'll be real grateful for getting a special move, what kind is it?"
But the reply was beyond my expectations once again.
"Don't behave like a spoiled brat! I will describe the art ritual, but you will be the one to decide what sort of technique it becomes yourself!"
"Eh... eeh!? Why!?"
"It is insufficient to simply chant the art ritual to «release the memories», the essence of the armament full control art. The owner must strongly picture the released form of that beloved weapon... you must recall. Rather than the perfect control art itself, the process of recollection could be said to be a more influential power. After all, the power of imaging... that is, «incarnation», is the founding principle behind the world..."
Even I couldn't understand over half of the words Cardinal rapidly spoke. Especially the word, 'incarnation', which I couldn't decide was from the Sacred Tongue or Common Tongue and tried to ask for its meaning but felt a prickling sensation from a corner of my memories before I could.
That was... yes, a little more than two months ago. When I sank into depression while holding on to those torn and scattered zephyria flower buds at the flower beds in the novice trainee dormitory's at the Sword Mastery Academy, someone... no, it wasn't just someone. Cardinal's familiar, Charlotte the small black spider, called out to me. 'Each and every art ritual is nothing more than an incarnation, that is, a tool to guide and arrange your mental images', she said.
I visualized an image based on her words. For the life energy released from the blooming four great sacred flowers in the surrounding flowerbeds to flow into the severed seedlings left in the planters. Despite not chanting a single word of any art ritual, a green light filled the air and engulfed the seedlings... and with that, the zephyrias revived.
Yes, that must truly be the «process of recollection» Cardinal spoke of. I would agree if that was the case, I doubt it would be possible to express the entirety of such a phenomenon within an art ritual.
Perhaps having read my inner thoughts, Cardinal nodded once with a serious expression, then turned her eyes to Eugeo, still perplexed, and spoke.
"Follow me. Rest for a bit, and we will put the art ritual together later."

After leaving the history book corridor and descending several levels, we returned to the circular room on the first floor of the Great Library Room that I was first brought to.
The many manjuu and sandwiches still remained on the plate on the center table with steam rising from them despite it being over two hours since then. It appeared that not only was an art used on them to recover the Lives of the ones who ate it, but also one to forever prevent them from becoming cold.
It was only natural for my appetite to reignite upon seeing that, but I found it hard to reach out for them now that I knew the food had previously been books from the bookshelves. Staring up at Eugeo and I, standing still with conflicting thoughts within ourselves, Cardinal coldly spoke.
"They would pose a hindrance to recollection, so I'll have them disappear if you aren't eating."
"Wa-Wait, please put them somewhere we can't see for now. We'll keep them for later when we go off."
The sage lightly shook her head and brought the staff in her right hand up at my stubborn words. A single knock on the table's edge and the large plate sank into the tabletop along with the variety of manjuu.
In their place, three chairs with backs rose from the floor and Cardinal waved her hand, signaling for us to sit. Sitting down as requested to, I stared at the now-clean-and-tidy table with nothing on it.
It wasn't like I was trying to summon back the manjuu with that; I was trying to visualize the form of that beloved sword currently not in my possession—temporarily named the «black one». However, I was unable to replicate it perfectly, down to its finer details, partially due to the fact that I had hardly had many chances to actually become acquainted with it.
Trying the same thing as myself and apparently feeling the same distress, Eugeo spoke with a troubled expression as he sat by my side.
"...Cardinal-san, is it really possible? Visualizing the sword's released form without actually having it around is simply..."
However, Cardinal gave an unexpected answer as she sat on the opposite side.
"It's actually easier without it around. If it was actually laid before your eyes, your mental image would freeze there. You need neither your hands nor eyeballs to feel, approach, and release the swords' hidden memories. It'll suffice, seeing it in your mind's eye."
"Mind's... eye, huh..."
Muttering, I recalled when the zephyria seedlings revived once more. If my recollections proved right, I had neither touched nor stared at the four great sacred flowers that shared their lives with the zephyrias on the verge of death back then. I just believed and gave my thoughts an image. For the life force to overflow, gather, and stream in.
It seemed Eugeo reached his own understanding too, as he was giving several small nods. The black robed sage gazed at us, faintly smiled, then solemnly announced.
"Excellent. Now, firmly visualize your beloved sword lying atop the table first. Don't stop until I give the cue."
"...Got it."
"I will do what I can."
Eugeo and I answered softly, then straightened ourselves atop the chairs and lowered our sight to the tabletop.
I gave up in roughly five seconds earlier but now, continued to stare at it this time determinedly. There was no need to hurry. I'll start by clearing my mind.
«Black one». Now that I think about it, it was rather pitiful, being called by such a half-baked nickname, no, temporary name even now.
It was on the seventh day of the third month when its base material, a branch cut off from the top of the huge tree, Gigas Cedar, had been polished into the shape of a sword through a whole year with the handiwork of the craftsman in the capital, Sadore. Today was the twenty-fourth day of the fifth month, so it hadn't accompanied me for even three months. Excluding maintenance and practice, I had only drawn it from its scabbard once against the head swordsman-in-training of the previous year, Uolo Levanteinn, in a match and once against the head swordsman-in-training this year, Raios Antinous, in—a real battle. That was all.
However, during both of those times, the black sword had helped me out by exhibiting a power that could have only been the will of the sword. Despite the fact that I was the one who had chopped down its previous form, the Gigas Cedar. Our acquaintance might truly be shallow, but the sense of unity and resolve whenever I gripped its handle and unleashed a sword skill were definitely not inferior in any way to the swords I had cherished in the past.
Despite that, the reason why I hesitated to name the black sword was because I felt its contrast with the weapon Eugeo held, the «Blue Rose Sword», might have perhaps been far too intense when lined up side-by-side...
White and black. Flower and tree. Two swords with both similar and opposite parts.
There was no basis to it, but I have always been bound by a single premonition ever since I had set off on the journey from Rulid Village two years earlier. That the Blue Rose Sword and the black sword might possibly be fated to exchange blows someday.
My mind tells that shouldn't happen. Because the owners of the swords, Eugeo and I, don't have a single reason to fight among ourselves. But on the other hand, my heart tells me that doesn't apply to the swords themselves. After all, the Blue Rose Sword personally sliced the Gigas Cedar's trunk, toppling it to the ground...
I continued to visualize the black sword's form on the tabletop even as reminiscence and anxiety, rather than emptiness, filled my mind. A simple pommel in the form of a truncated cone. A grip wrapped in black leather. A guard in the shape of a forceful curve. It was hard to believe the hefty blade tinged with a deep translucency, like a black crystal, had originated from a tree. Light shone onto it accumulated within, making the edge and point that were as sharp as a razor, gleam beautifully...
Each part of the illusional sword had their shapes trembling fuzzily at first, but stabilized accordingly as my other thoughts faded away. Soon, it possessed toughness, weight, even warmth, and began releasing a dense aura atop the table.
With my eyes dedicated solely to the glossy blade, I heard a voice from somewhere.
"Deeper. Dive deeper. Until you touch the memories hidden within the sword, the essence of its existence."
The blackness of the sword stretched out without a sound. Masking the table and floor, the surrounding bookshelves and lamps, it engulfed the world in darkness. Before I knew it, only the sword and I remained in this lightless, infinite space. The black sword silently rose, turning its pommel downwards and its point upwards, and ceased motion. My form flickered and dissolved, my consciousness sucked into the sword.
When I regained awareness, I was transformed into a single cedar tree, rooted in the chilly earth.
A thick forest surrounds me. But for some reason, there isn't a single tree growing around me. I stand still forlornly in the exact middle of this wide, empty circle. I try calling out to the moss and ferns covering the soil at my feet, but there is no reply.
......Solitude.
Desolation, the feeling of loneliness, fills me. Wanting to caress the branches of other trees with my own, I eagerly move them each time the wind blows, but unfortunately, they do not reach.
They may reach if I stretch them further. With that thought, I absorb the earth's energy from my roots and the sun's energy from my leaves with all I have. Instantly, my trunk expands in thickness and my branches grow in length. My leaves, like pointed needles, approach the glossy, light-green leaves of the konara oak growing closest.
However, aah, what misfortune. The leaves of the konara oak wither light-brown immediately before I touch them, all falling to the ground in a whirl. Even its branches and trunk lose their moisture and rot, drained, and it collapses from its roots before long. It isn't just the konara. The other trees that were standing around the empty land wither and perish one after another, crumbling away. The moss immediately masks their remains.
I grieve for a while in the middle of the empty land that has expanded again, then absorb energy from the ground and sun once more. My trunk creaks as it swells out, my branches creak as they stretch out in all directions. I turn to the top of a nearby machilus next, desperately reaching out with my leaves.
But yet again, the other party's leaves wither and its trunk rots, having lost its life, and falls before I make contact. Along with the tree beside it. And the one beside that. The trees crumble away one after another and the empty land expands again.
The neighboring trees ended up withering due to me absorbing energy from the earth and the sun in my bid to extend my branches. Even while understanding that, I do not give up making contact with the other trees. How many times had this repeated? Before I knew it, I became several tens of times bigger than the trees of the forest and the cleared land had expanded to several tens of times its original area. And the same goes for the depth of my solitude.
No matter how far my branches stretch out, the day my pointed leaves touch the other trees' leaves will never come. I could not turn back any longer by the time I had realized that. My leaves and branches, protruding high above the forest, continue to monopolize a huge amount of sunlight regardless of my will and my roots, laid out across the ground, continue to absorb a massive amount of energy from the earth. The cold, vacant land expands day by day and the trees continue to fall, one after another...
"Good, that's enough."
All of a sudden, I heard that voice and was released from the cedar tree.
With just a single blink, the surrounding scenery returned to the Great Library Room where I was previously. Endless bookshelves illuminated by lamps of orange light. Polished stone flooring. A round table—and atop it, two swords. They were my «black one» and Eugeo's «Blue Rose Sword». They seemed exactly like the real ones, but that was impossible. Both of our beloved swords should have been confiscated from us when we were taken to the cathedral.
When I gazed at the white and black swords in a daze, a small hand reached out from the opposite side of the table and first held the black sword by its grip. The sword abruptly quivered in that instant and vanished without a sound.
Next, the hand touched the Blue Rose Sword by the side. That one disappeared in an instant as well, as though it was sucked into that palm.
"......Yes. I have certainly received the «memories of the weapon» both of you guided."
Raising my head at the voice that seemed satisfied, my eyes met those of the black robed girl sitting on the opposite side—the sage, Cardinal. Then, I finally realized that I seemed to have fallen into some kind of trance. When I looked to the side, Eugeo's green eyes were aimlessly wandering about again, but his body suddenly trembled and he blinked several times.
"...Huh... I was on the summit of the highest mountain of the mountain range at the edge..."
I instinctively called out to my partner, still murmuring some vague words, with a wry smile.
"So you went somewhere like that?"
"Yeah. It was an extremely cold and really lonely place..."
"Come now, it is not the time to relax yet."
Scolded while on the verge of entering chit-chat mode, I straightened up my posture in a fluster. When I secretly took a peek at the other side of the table, the young sage's eyelids were closed beyond those lenses. Her eyebrows were slightly lowered, indicating that she was thinking about something, but eventually, she lightly nodded and spoke.
"Fm... Rather than coming up with a technique, it seems better to prioritize with the simplicity of the art ritual. Now, Kirito, let's first start with your sword."
She lightly knocked on the table with the fingertips on her left hand and a sheet of parchment silently appeared on the surface. She touched the blank parchment with her right palm this time, gently brushing against it from top to bottom.
With just that, an art ritual that extended over ten lines distinctively surfaced upon it. Spinning the parchment around, she slid it in front of me. Repeating those actions once again, she moved the second sheet in front of Eugeo.
My partner and I exchanged glances, then simultaneously fixed our eyes upon the parchment before us.
The characters, written down in blue-black ink and a neat script, were entirely in the Sacred Tongue, which would mean letters, without a single character from the Common Tongue, which would mean Japanese. It followed the orthodox format for sacred art rituals, with the line number on the left and the text on the right. I skimmed through the text, that started with [system call] on the first line and ended with [enhance armament] on the tenth, as I counted the number of words and it really did go over twenty-five words.
True, it was essentially shorter than the full control art for the «Frost Scale Whip» Integrity Knight Eldrie used, but memorizing all of this was considerably difficult.
"Er-ermm... is taking this with me..."
"It goes without saying you can't. You should know that even those chicks in the academy, the trainees, aren't allowed to look at their textbooks during actual practice."
After rejecting me with an exasperated face, Cardinal continued.
"Firstly, if you take an object related to this library room out and it falls into the enemy's hands, there is the possibility of cracking through the space isolation."
"Th-Then those daggers we got earlier..."
"Those are linked to my own self, so it will not pose a problem. Come now, stop complaining and get to memorizing it. Eugeo has already gotten started."
I looked to the side in shock and as expected of him, Eugeo was exhibiting his honor student power, staring hard at the parchment as though he was consuming it and moving his lips in small motions. After I turned my eyes back to my own text, resigned, Cardinal mercilessly added more instructions.
"The time limit is thirty minutes, be sure to memorize it before then."
"N-No way, it's not like this is an academy examination... how about just a little more..."
That lightning struck yet again the moment I started to criticize, on the verge of giving up.
"Imbecile! Look here, the two of you were thrown into the underground jail and got your swords confiscated yesterday at about eleven in the morning. And ownership rights get reset if twenty-four hours pass from then, so you'll end up losing your opportunity to use this full control art."
"Ah... th-that's right. By the way, what time is it right now...?"
"Seven o'clock had already passed by long ago. There would be nearly no time left if we assume the time you will take to recover your sword would be two hours."
"......Un-Understood."
This time, I steeled my resolve and started scrutinizing the lines of the commands seriously.
Luckily, the sacred arts of the Underworld were written in the familiar language of English unlike the magic of Alfheim Online. The syntax was close to that of programming languages as well, so it was possible for me to remember it while understanding its meaning.
The art ritual written down by Cardinal ?declares a reference to the embedded data within the object (i.e. the memory of the weapon) saved within the main memory; ?selects only the required parts and modifies them; ?assigns them to the sword, as it currently is, to amplify its offensive ability; it seems to be composed from those three processes. As a technique, it was close to the «image buffer overwriting experiment» I carried out on the zephyria flowers during my novice trainee days, but the art ritual was full of vocabulary not in the academy textbooks, so it would probably be impossible to write it down without knowing all of the commands like Cardinal.
I kept a part of my head thinking about a related topic even as I engraved the ten line art ritual into my mind.
The Rath researchers who created the Underworld called the data system that documented all of the objects in this world «mnemonic visual». It was already an event from over two years ago for me, but I roughly explained its structure to Asuna and Sinon at Agil's store in Okachimachi, Taitoku-ku. My understanding had grown though observation and experiments since I had gotten thrown into this world.
The many existences in the Underworld were not polygon models like currently existing VRMMOs. The memories of stones and trees, dogs and cats, tools and buildings, and such were read in, equalized, and stored into the main storage, the «Main Visualizer», from the consciousness of the people who connect to—no, live in the world. And when the need arises, those memories are drawn out and passed on to the ones who dived in. After all, making the zephyrias bloom in the north empire, where they weren't supposed to, was through temporarily overwriting the equalized buffer data of «unable to bloom» to an image of «can be made to bloom».
Each and every object in this world is saved as memories.
If that was the case, it would be possible to do the opposite and modify a memory into an object as well, wouldn't it? That would make that scene I once saw, incomprehensible, otherwise.
Two years and two months ago, after gaining consciousness in the forest south of Rulid, I arrived at the bank of the Ruhr river that flowed through the forest. There, I had caught sight of a scene that felt far too vivid. The back view of a boy with flaxen hair, a girl with long, blonde hair, and a boy with short, black hair walking in the setting sun.
That image vanished in mere seconds, but that was definitely not an illusion. I can still vividly replay it, even now, when I close my eyes: the sunset dyed red, the swaying light on the girl's hair, the sound of footsteps upon the short grass. Back then, I must have summoned those three children from my own memories. The flaxen-haired boy was definitely Eugeo. The blonde-haired girl was Alice. And the black-haired boy was—...
"It has been thirty minutes. How is it going?"
I interrupted the thought unfolding at a corner of my consciousness at Cardinal's voice.
Turning the parchment on the tabletop over, I tried to call to mind the art ritual from its very beginning. I smoothly recalled all the way to the final word despite not concentrating very hard and answered, relieved.
"It's probably flawless."
"That's a pretty self-contradictory answer. What about you, Eugeo?"
"Er... erm, it's probably flaw.... fine."
"Very well."
After nodding with a face like she was suppressing a cynical smile, Cardinal added on.
"I'll say this first, but you must not use the full control art recklessly, regardless of how powerful it may be. The swords will lose quite a bit of their Lives with even a single use. Naturally, losing because you were too stingy to use it is an even bigger no-no. Use it when you judge that the time truly requires it. Be sure to properly place it back into its scabbard to allow it to recover its Life afterward."
"That... that sounds difficult..."
I murmured with a sigh, then flipped the parchment on the tabletop back face-up. I scanned through the art ritual again to double-check and noticed something.
"...Huh? This art ritual ends with the sentence, «enhance armament», right?"
"What about it, you have something to say?"
"N-No, that's not what I'm getting at. If I'm not wrong, the full control art Integrity Knight Eldrie used when we fought him had another art ritual following it... Erm, re, re-re..."
Eugeo sent a lifeboat out from the side as I hemmed and hawed.
"Release recollection... was that it? When he chanted that, the whip became a real snake. That was really surprising, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, that's it. Cardinal, our full control arts don't need that?"
"Fm..."
The sage dressed in black answered my doubts even while making a face that seemed like she was going to say something bothersome again.
"Look here, the armament full control art has two stages. Those are «strengthening» and «releasing». Strengthening refers to partially awakening the weapon's memories and manifesting a new offensive ability. And releasing refers to... as the term suggests, it awakens all of the weapon's memories, releasing its rampaging power."
"Rampaging power, huh... I see. So Eldrie's «Frost Scale Whip» can extend its range and split when strengthened, and when released it transforms into a snake, attacking enemies automatically, huh..."
Confirming my words with a single blink, Cardinal bluntly spoke.
"That is indeed the case. However, I'll say this first, the two of you are still far from being able to use the release art."
"Why... why is that?"
The sage turned to Eugeo, blinking his eyes in surprise, then continued in a stern tone.
"I said it was a rampaging power, did I not? The offensive ability brought about by releasing its memories are certainly not within the realm of control for a swordsman who has just recently learnt the art ritual. All the more so if it is a sacred instrument of a high priority... it would drag not just the enemies but yourself in as well, and if you use it shoddily, it may even cost you your life."
"Un-Understood."
Eugeo ended up obediently nodding, demonstrating his honor student aptitude from our academy times, so I couldn't help but to incline my own head up and down. It appeared Cardinal sensed my discontentment, however, as she added on with a sigh.
"A time when the two of you are able to use the release art will eventually come... perhaps, or maybe it won't. The swords will teach you everything. Well, only if you succeed in taking them back, that is."
"Heeh..."
Cardinal appeared annoyed at my reply and sharply stabbed the staff in her right hand onto the floor.
The two sheets of parchment in front of Eugeo and I rolled up from their ends and shrank tight—by the time that thought came to me, they had already turned into long and narrow baked pastries.
"You must be hungry after using your head, eat."
"Eh...? We won't forget the art ritual we memorized if we eat it or something like that...?"
"How could something so palatable possibly happen?"
"O-Oh, okay."
After exchanging looks with Eugeo, we picked up the baked pastries. I figured it was one of those simple pastries I bought and ate at Centoria's central marketplace, baked from wheat flour with sugar sprinkled on, but it was baked from pie dough and coated with white chocolate, a pastry that truly felt real-world-ish. When I took a bite out of it, its crispy texture and rich sweetness flooded my mouth, my tears almost flowing from the excessive nostalgia.
Eugeo and I finished it in a trance, as though we were competing with each other, and took a deep breath before lifting our heads and meeting Cardinal's eyes which were watching over us with a gentle gaze.
The young sage slowly nodded and spoke.
"Now... it's about time for us to say our farewells."
There was a heavy weight within those short words; I instantly shook my head.
"When we achieve our goals, you'll be able to get out of here, right? Calling it a farewell is just exaggerating..."
"Fm, I suppose that's true. If everything goes as planned, that is..."
"......"
True, if we were defeated by the integrity knights in the midst of battle on the way to the top floor of the cathedral, Cardinal would once again be subjected to a test of her patience in this Great Library Room. The load experimental phase would probably arrive before she found another collaborator and the Human World would sink into seas of blood and flames.
But for one who implied such a tragic end, Cardinal's smile was soothingly clear and a sensation that gripped my chest tight assailed me. The sage gave me, firmly chewing on my lips, a nearly imperceptible nod and softly turned away.
"Come, there is no time. Follow me... I will dispatch you from the door closest to the equipment vault on the third floor of the cathedral."

The passage from the central hall of the Great Library Room's first floor to the entrance room, connected to countless backdoors, was sorely far too short.
I did nothing but stare at Cardinal's small back as she walked right in front of me, with Eugeo mouthing the art ritual for the full control art at my side.
I wanted to talk to her more. And I wanted to know more about what she felt and thought in that period of time that exceeded two hundred years. I couldn't but desire to do so; that emotion filled even my throat, however Cardinal's pace was resolute, not forgiving even the slightest hesitation, and I could do nothing other than walk in silence.
Having guided us to the familiar, large room with many passages lined up on its three walls, Cardinal proceeded towards a single passage, stretching out from the right wall, in the same manner. She walked for another ten meters or so and right before reaching a single simple door at the end, built into the wall, she finally stood still and turned around towards us.
The smile on those lips, colored like cherry blossoms, was as gentle as it always was. Her mouth, that seemed to even display a sort of satisfaction, moved and a clear voice streamed out.
"Eugeo... and you, Kirito. The fate of the world is entrusted to the two of you as of now. Whether it gets covered in hell fire... or sinks into absolute nothingness, or perhaps..."
Looking straight into my eyes, she voiced out the continuation.
"—You discover a third path. I have already imparted all I can, given all I could. You simply have to head down the path you believe in."
"...Thank you very much, Cardinal-san. We will definitely reach the top of the cathedral... and return Alice to what she was."
Eugeo unequivocally spoke in a voice infused with determination.
I figured I ought to say something as well, but couldn't find the words. Instead, I took a single deep bow.
After a nod, Cardinal wiped her smile off and held onto the doorknob with her left hand extended.
"Now then... go!"
The doorknob turned and the door was thrown wide open in the next instant. Resisting the dry, cold wind that immediately blew in vigorously, Eugeo and I leapt out at once.
After walking for five, six steps like that, another small noise came from behind. When I looked over my shoulder, there was only a glossy marble wall coldly obstructing the way; the door connected to the Great Library Room had vanished without leaving behind the slightest trace.