Sword Art Online - Volume 16 - Chapter 18.3

Chapter 18.3
At the back of the Dark Territory’s second army, stationed roughly five hundred mel from the valley where the fierce battles continued.
A tall woman in a revealing outfit stood on the second floor of a four-wheeled carriage, luxurious enough even if inferior to Emperor Vector’s earth dragon war vehicle, with her arms folded. She was one of the Ten Lords of the land of darkness, head of the Dark Arts Users’ Guild, Dee Ai El.
The black-clothed messenger arts user waiting at her side looked up at her master as she reported in a low voice.
“Sigrosig-dono, Shibori-dono, and Kosogi-dono have all been lost in the battle.”
Dee’s lips curved in that instant and she spat out.
“Ugh, how useless… I suppose that’s as far as those stupid demi-humans could go.”
She took a glance at the necklace dangling on her captivating breasts. With twelve precious stones set on the silver circle, it was a treasured divine instrument that told the time through their fluctuating hues. The six o’clock stone lit orange and the seven o’clock stone was still dark. In other words, only a mere twenty minutes or so had passed since the battle began at six in the evening.
“Have those integrity knights’ positions been uncovered?”
She asked, making no effort to hide her irritation, and the messenger arts user chanted a short art and listened to the art users lurking on the battlefield before replying.
“We have visual sight on three at the frontmost lines. We have found two in the rear, but confirming their positions will still require time.”
“Still five? Or perhaps their numbers are simply few…? Still, we must be sure to slaughter those five…”
Dee muttered to herself with a ruthless expression, far from the coquettish behavior she put up before the emperor, and gave an order after slight thought.
“Fine, release the minions. Make the commands…”
Squinting, she judged the distance to the collapsed Great Gate and the war front beyond it before continuing.
“…«fly seven hundred mel», «descend onto ground», and «unrestrained annihilation».”
“I believe the demi-human forces at the frontmost line will be swallowed up with that distance?”
“That’s of no issue.”
She decided in an apathetic manner.
The female messenger arts user, too, showed no emotion and nodded with an “understood” before asking again.
“How many shall we send? We currently have a total of eight hundred incubated and all available here.”
“Hmm, let’s see…”
Dee took several more moments as she pondered.
She felt minions, requiring many resources and much time in their production, to be far more important than those goblins in terms of fighting strength. Though she wanted to exercise prudence wherever possible, the emperor would certainly be displeased if Dee’s proposal to [annihilate the enemy’s main force through a concentrated volley of arts from behind] were to fail.
“…All eight hundred.”
A cruel smile made its way onto those lips that issued that order.
D. hid an ambition. To achieve victory in this battle and obtain that «radiant medium» person, and thus, to succeed the position of emperor from Dark God Vector who had returned to the earthly realm for absolute rule over the entire Underworld.
Upon taking the throne, she could create thousands, tens of thousands of minions if she so wished. Her greatest obstacle, the Dark General Shasta, had already died and the only ones with power remaining were the merchants, interested only in money, and the pugilists, interested only in battle. The realization of her ambition could be said to be imminent.
She would succeed in subjugating the entire world, a feat unaccomplished by even that half-god, half-human Highest Minister Administrator, and get her hands on that art for eternal Life said to be concealed at the stronghold of the Axiom Church.
Perpetual youth and immortality. Everlasting beauty.
Sweet shudders crept their way up D.’s back. Her scarlet tongue dabbed at her lips painted blue.
It was about then when the orders from the messenger arts user dispersed through the Dark Arts Users’ Guild at the front lines and those pitch-black golems, manifestations of darkness given wings, flew off as one.
As the light from the torches shone upon her glossy skin, the eight hundred minions rose and flew straight through the gorge as commanded.

* * *

—They’re here.
A wide grin carved itself on Knight Commander Bercouli’s lips that have been pursed like some sculpture since the battle began.
He sensed many aviating soldiers intruding the range of the armament full control art he maintained in the skies right before the Great Gate.
Those were not flying dragons with dark knights astride. They appeared to be those minions, cold as mud and devoid of soul.
However, it was too soon to invoke it. He would pull the minions released by the enemy in until they were all swallowed within his «slashing space».
Bercouli’s keen senses had already perceived the tough battles Fanatio and Deusolbert went through, as well as how Renri awakened even if he had fled temporarily.
With the three generals of the invading army’s vanguard defeated, there was no worry they would lose their hold on the battle line. Next, if only the seventh high ranking knight on stand-by in the sky were to render the enemy’s long range arts futile by exhausting every last bit of the space sacred energy, the unhurt second unit of the Defense Army would be capable of intercepting the enemy’s main force, the Order of the Dark Knights and the Pugilists’ Guild.
Bercouli had predicted his true role to arrive after that.
It was not to fight, one-to-one, against his arch rival of many years, Dark General Shasta.
Bercouli had already sensed Shasta’s absence from the enemy’s main force. The immense spirit he felt vanishing far in the east days ago—that must have been that master swordsman’s final moment.
As the most senior integrity knight, having lived through practically countless years and months, Bercouli no longer grieved and mourned for those bound by Life. Still, the death of Shasta, the one he hoped capable of reconciling the land of darkness and Human Empire without bloodshed, filled him with chagrin and nothing else.
With things as they were, he would simply have to cut down the one who ended Shasta’s life, the owner of this presence that felt like a frigid emptiness—that unknown enemy supreme commander likely leading the Dark Territory army—by his own hands to avenge his death.
Or perhaps his own life would end there, Bercouli thought.
Still, he no longer felt even a fragment of attachment towards life.
He would simply die when the time came.
Bercouli had thought that incarnation released by that lower ranking knight under Fanatio on the verge of death to be admirable, and felt slight envy from it too.
But naturally, this was no time for such.
The slashing area had, at last, devoured every single one of the swarm of minions tearing through the dark skies above as they advanced.
Bercouli’s two eyes flashed open and gently swung up his cherished sword, the «Time Piercing Sword», that was thrust in the ground.
“——Cut!!”
He slashed the empty air with its naked blade with that brief shout.
At that, endless dazzling white rays of light joined together as they traced out a three-dimensional grid in the sky beyond.
Following a grand, bizarre cacophony of death cries, darkness rained upon the heads of the enemy demi-human forces like a waterfall. The weak poison in the minions’ blood spurred on the confusion among the forces that had lost their generals.

* * *
Ominous premonitions seized D. right as she heard a faintly startled ring in the messenger arts user’s voice which had persisted in its utter lack of emotion thus far. Only to be realized a second later.
“Lamentably, Your Excellency… it appears the eight hundred minions have been all annihilated before they landed.”
“Wha……”
She lost her words.
The shattering noise following that was a shriek from the expensive crystal cup struck against the carriage’s flooring.
“How could it be?! I had never heard of any force capable of arts on this scale among the enemy!”
In the first place, it would be near impossible to massacre eight hundred minions with only arts. As they were largely produced with clay, they held high resistance against thermal and cryogenic arts. A slash from a sharp blade would be most effective, but the infantry units’ swords could never reach the minions in the air.
“…The enemy has yet to release their flying dragons?”
D. asked, somehow bringing her rage under control. The messenger arts user confirmed with her head still lowered.
“Yes. We have yet to confirm even a single flying dragon at the current moment.”
“In that case… it’s that? The trump card belonging to those integrity knights… the «armament full control art». Still… to think it’s capable of…”
Saying no more, she grinded her bared canine teeth together.
Like Dark General Shasta, D., too, had attempted to collect information regarding the secret arts concealed by the integrity knights. However, it was near impossible to witness some precedent on such a scale.
She could explain it with nothing more than the synergy between the divine instrument and the knight’s own strength.
“That said, using their weapons in such a way should consume much of their Life. Continuous usage shouldn’t be…”
It was when D. muttered so as her thoughts whirled about at full speed.
Having listened to a report from the frontlines, the messenger arts user’s head shot up and she conveyed it with a voice that had regained some of its strength.
“Your Excellency, the tracing of the two integrity knights in the rear has been completed. In total, we have the five targets within sight.”
“…Good.”
Nodding, she gave it more thought.
The most uncertain element was whether to send in the second main force of the army, the Order of the Dark Knights and the Pugilists’ Guild in order to further debilitate the enemy’s armament full control art. Another choice would be to invoke their trump card, the Dark Arts Users’ Guild now and to settle the war in one blow.
It was in D.’s original character to be wary, to carefully work out a plan and to eliminate any obstacle before putting it into action.
However, the unexpected loss of her eight hundred treasured minions in an instant drove her into an unconscious uneasiness.
Filling up a new crystal cup with a dark purple wine, D. spoke to herself.
—I am calm. This is the time for the first grasp at glory.
Raising the cup that she had drank down all at once, D.I.L. loudly ordered.
“Move out all of the ogres’ archer forces and the Dark Arts Users’ Guild! Enter the gorge and begin reciting the «Wide-area Incineration Arrows» art!!”

* * *

Kurururu…
The voice produced from her throat was shrill and sounded somehow forlorn. The flying dragon, «Amayori», encouraged her master.
Integrity Knight Alice forced a mild smile onto her lips and whispered.
“I am fine, there is no need to worry.”
However, she was, in actual fact, not fine in the least. Her vision strangely distorted, her breath rough, and her limbs icy cold. It would not be odd for her to fall unconscious in the next moment.
The compressed, enormous art, possibly exploding at any moment, that she had continuously chanted for immediately after the battle began was not what exhausted Alice so.
It was what served as the source of sacred energy that art consumed: the countless deaths.
Knights. Guards. Ascetics. The dread, grief, and despair from the instant before they disappeared tormented Alice without pause.
Once, Alice would have paid no notice to the lives and deaths of the Human Empire’s common folk, let alone those from the Dark Territory.
She had lived in Rulid for half a year, understanding the preciousness of the villagers’ modest yet earnest lives, and recognized them as something worthy of protection, but that was no cause for thinking the same of those living in the Dark Empire.
In reality, Alice had annihilated the gang of goblins and orcs who assaulted Rulid a mere ten days ago without the slightest hesitation.
The dark forces were heartless invaders, an enemy to be destroyed without mercy.
She accepted that without doubt until she assumed this duty Bercouli assigned her to.
However.
How could it be—?
The sacred energy born from the Life of both armies’ fallen soldiers in the battlefield below were of the exact same nature be it from a human of the Human Empire or a demi-human. They were all warm, pristine, and without any means at all to distinguish their former selves.
Pondering on the reasons for that threw Alice into great turmoil. What if, what if the Human Empire’s inhabitants and the land of darkness’s monsters effectively possessed the same soul, differing only in whether they were born on this side of the mountain range or that?
Why, exactly, were they fighting against us?
“……Kirito. If only you were around…”
You might have found some other way; she stifled those words without verbalizing them. She had to focus on the art now.
In the war council before battle began, Alice expressed her doubts to Deputy Knight Commander Fanatio. On who could be the one capable of using an art enormous enough to exhaust the vast gorge of its space sacred energy.
Fanatio looked straight towards Alice at that and answered.
—That would be you, Alice Synthesis Thirty.
—You may not have noticed, but your current strength exceeds that of integrity knights. You should be capable of it as you are now. The true power of the gods, to split the skies and tear the earth asunder.
She thought she expected too much of herself then. Still, at the same time, she felt that she had to accomplish this role even if it meant her life in exchange. That it was her responsibility as the one who pointed a sword at the highest minister and so drastically altered the Axiom Church’s ruling structure.
Alice thought no further and focused solely on gathering the sacred energy released in the gorge and converting that into the art.
However, Alice felt tight in her heart and she could do nothing about it as screams incessantly echoed through the gorge.
Die. Dying. Fathers; brothers; sisters; and children.
…Hurry.
Alice murmured into her heart.
She wished for «that time» to arrive even a second earlier. The time to end this tragedy by giving birth to deaths far outnumbering the current horrendous count—

* * *

The jumbled forces of mountain goblins, plains goblins, and giants demi-humans making up the first unit of the invaders were a step before going on a stampede.
The three chiefs had all died in battle. In other words, the knights leading the enemy army were stronger than anyone among the demi-human forces. «The strong shall rule»—that was the one and only law engraved onto the souls of the Dark Territory’s inhabitants.
If this battle belonged only to the demi-humans, the soldiers would have all surrendered as soon as their commander was defeated.
What narrowly prevented that situation was the presence of the god of darkness, Emperor Vector, who had descended into the Dark Territory. The emperor was stronger than anyone among the Ten Lords and it was still unknown if the knights of the Human Empire were stronger.
Hence, the demi-humans could only follow their initial order and continue with the momentum, earnestly swinging their blades against the Human Empire Defense Army.
Utilizing the minutes gained from their desperate combat, the Dark Territory army’s trump card, their long-range military force: the ogres’ archer forces and D.’s Dark Arts Users’ Guild advanced to a position barely before the crumbled Great Gate.
The plan was to have the three thousand strong ogre unit ready their massive crossbows in front and the dark arts users, also three thousand strong, chant their offensive arts behind. The one assuming overall command was not the ogre chief, Fulgrr, but an adept arts user close to D.
That arts user listened to the commands coming in from the rear and nodded once before shouting.
“Ogre unit, ready your crossbow! Arts unit, begin chanting for the «Wide-area Incineration Arrows» ceremony!! Spotters, begin chanting the marking art for the enemy integrity knights’ coordinates!!”
The wide-area incineration arrows referred to a large-scale annihilation art designed by D.I.L. for the sake of this plan. Converting all of the space darkness energy filling the battlefield into thermal elements, they would then achieve firing it at long distances by affixing them onto the ogres’ arrows. As it consumed no darkness energy through transformation phrases like «bird shape» or «arrow shape», the output should far exceed their expectations.
It was the mightiest offensive art in history, absent from the «age of blood and iron» and possible now only because the races fought together under Emperor Vector.
In addition, D. had prepared a careful plan to make use of arts users excelling in aerial elemental arts as spotters, creating «wind paths» for concentrated fire on the enemy army’s main force, the integrity knights. If all of the incineration arrows impacted upon a single point, it should result in an attack of extreme priority that not even that Highest Minister Administrator could guard against perfectly.
That was the exact situation that the Sage Cardinal once feared, the «strength of many overwhelming the strength of one».

* * *

Amayori let out yet another low growl.
However, this time was one to warn, with a sharp roar mixed in.
Alice mustered her will, taking back her consciousness that had begun to fade, and stared hard towards the twilight far in front.
—They are here!!
Fresh troops approached at a controlled, steady pace from beyond the demi-human forces still brawling with the Defense Army. She could see no metallic glint. They were likely the long ranged attack unit—the Dark Territory’s Dark Arts Users’ Guild.
They were the ones Knight Commander Bercouli was most vigilant towards, those who held sufficient destructive power to sweep away the Human Empire Defense Army in one strike.
However, the same could be said of Knight Alice.
Alice had been chanting for a large-scale art. It was conceptualized after hearing of Deputy Commander Fanatio’s battle against Kirito, what might be called a «reflected light amplification» art.
With the mass of space sacred energy, sourced from the countless lives lost to the fighting, as a base, Alice first changed the shape of crystal elements and created a gigantic glass ball measuring three mel across.
Next, she created a thick metal film with metallic elements and shielded the entire glass ball.
The product was a «sealed mirror». Placing that onto the fitting gap between Amayori’s wings on her back, she pushed both hands onto its smooth, curved surface, and sealed in luminous elements generated from the constantly produced space sacred energy.
Element preservation.
That was a basic yet ultimate technique that many high ranking art users racked their minds over since ancient times.
Without constantly fixing one’s mind onto them, generated elements like thermal, cryogenic, and aerial elements would drift about the area on their own volition and eventually vanish, scattering as hot or cold air. Simultaneously, there was an upper limit to the number of elements maintained, fixed to the terminals the arts user possessed: the number of fingers on their two hands.
Chief Elder Chudelkin used his unique physique to stand upside-down with his head alone and made the toes on his two feet into terminals as well to maintain twenty elements. Furthermore, Highest Minister Administrator turned her silver hair into terminals through some technique, allowing her to concurrently handle over a hundred elements.
That said, Alice could emulate neither of those techniques. To begin with, ten or even a hundred would not suffice for this situation. The enemy dark arts users numbered three thousand—even if they each maintained five elements on average, their total would actually exceed fifteen thousand.
Hence, Alice explored means to maintain the produced elements without the need to focus on them. What first came to mind was to set them into some vessel.
That said, the standard elements for offensive arts, thermal and cryogenic, would instantly disappear upon coming into contact with some material, heating it up or cooling it down.
However, an idea came to Alice when she heard about how Kirito had reflected the light from Fanatio’s divine instrument, the «Heaven Piercing Sword», with a mirror created from just thermal and crystal elements in the fight on the cathedral’s fiftieth floor.

If light did no more than rebound upon touching a mirror—she would only have to produce a fully sealed mirror.
And if she were to generate luminous elements within it.
It could, theoretically, maintain an infinite number of luminous elements until the mirror’s Life expired.

* * *

The crossbow, drawn to their limits, by the brawny ogre archers creaked as they were pointed towards the dim sky.
In order to ignite the innumerous arrowheads, gleaming dully, the three thousand dark arts users held their hands up high as they recited the opening phrase as one.
“““ System call!! “”””
The incantation consisting only of female voices could be called only a chorus of death. Intoxicated by the immense power it was to be, the arts users sang the next phrase.
“““ Generate thermal element!! “””
Faint red particles flickered as they lit up on their lithe fingers—
Yet it was but an instant before they turned dull, extinguishing after letting out a modest puff of smoke.
The adept arts user commanding the unit could not immediately understand what had happened and recited the incantations once more. But the result remained the same.
Surprise overcame her while bewildered voices from her subordinates reached her ears.
“We cannot create the thermal elements!”
“We cannot initiate the «Wide-area Incineration Arrows» ceremony at this rate!”
She scanned the surroundings in pursuit of the cause of the phenomenon and her close aide nearby timidly opened her mouth to speak.
“C-Commander… shouldn’t it be due to a lack of space darkness energy…?”
“H-How could that possibly be?!!”
The commander shouted out in shock. She pointed at the frontlines in the distance with the left hand on which she wore numerous rings.
“Do you not hear those screams!? Don’t you see those humans and demi-humans dying?! Just where do you think all of their lives could have vanished off to?!!”
No one had an answer to that question. The ogre archers, too, grew irritated with the command to fire delay and could simply continue to keep their crossbows drawn.

* * *

The time had arrived.
Alice shut her eyes for a moment and prayed.
She would personally shoulder the sin of robbing many of their lives for the sake of one.
The silver sphere with a diameter of three mel on Amayori’s sturdy back had its pressure raised to its maximum. Pulling away the two hands in contact with it, she drew her sword from the left of her waist.
“—Bloom, flowers! Enhance armament! ”
Her sonorous shout divided the blade of her divine instrument, the «Fragrant Olive Sword», in countless small orbs. Maneuvering the golden yellow swarm, she instructed the knight dragon.
“Amayori, lower your head!”
Following her orders, the flying dragon inclined forward. The silver sphere quietly rolled and tumbled off the dragon’s head into the air after one revolution. Carefully catching it with the small orbs, she adjusted it until a certain point on the silver sphere was directed diagonally downwards.
Alignment… set.
Drawing in a breath, she whispered.
“ …Burst element. ”
An incantation far too short and plain for an art holding such terrifying power.
The silver, reflective sphere was made with one spot thinner on purpose.
Focusing the immense light and heat from the countless exploding luminous elements onto that one point, the silver film and glass liquefied into a crimson red—
Letting them loose into the world outside with a shrill explosion.
Fanatio stood in a daze, looking up towards «that» from the ground, while she thought about how it must hold a might thousands of times stronger than the light ray produced by the Heaven Piercing Sword’s armament full control art.
The guards and knights aside from her were simply awed by what they believed was Solus’s might.
The pure white pillar measuring five mel wide fell upon the earth from the skies with extreme speed and stabbed in between the demi-human forces. It then made its way farther into the gorge as though nudged gently—
A roaring symphony of several thousand bells rang out as the waves of heat and light grew to encompass the entire width of the gorge. It became a towering pillar of fire immediately after, practically touching the mountain range at the edge, and dyed the night skies red.
* * *

D. chuckled upon seeing the absurd explosions almost close enough for her hands to reach, in belief that it was the result of her own strategy.
However, the heat wave surging forwards at her four-wheeled carriage from the gorge wiped that smile off.
The burnt, charred wind brought her tidings. The screams of the demi-human units and the dark arts users D. personally raised as they perished.
The messenger arts user reported hoarsely as D. stood in silence.
“…Due to the unknown deficiency of space darkness energy, we were unable to set off the «Wide-area Incineration Arrows» ceremony… immediately after, the unidentified large-scale attack launched by the enemy forces appears to have wiped out ninety percent of the demi-human units, seventy percent of the ogre archers, and also… over thirty percent of the dark arts users units…”
“Unknown deficiency…?”
D.’s frame trembled, boiling over with anger at last, as she exclaimed.
“We clearly know why! It’s that ridiculous art that sucked up every last drop of space darkness energy in the gorge!! Still… I can’t believe it, an art on such a scale is impossible for me… the deceased highest minister must be the only one capable of it!! So tell me, who was the one behind it!?”
Despite her rant, naturally enough, there were no answers to be had.
How could she find a way out of this situation—or rather, how should she report this to Emperor Vector?

The one boasting the greatest intellect among all in the Dark Empire, D.I.L., could do no more than breathe raggedly.

* * *

Assailed by the recoil from firing that exceptionally great art and the tragedies born from it, Alice returned the Fragrant Olive Sword to its scabbard immediately before collapsing onto Amayori’s back.
The flying dragon gently accepted its master before tracing slow spirals as it descended onto the frontmost lines of the Human Defense Army.
The first one to rush in was Deputy Knight Commander Fanatio. Reaching out both arms, she caught Alice who slipped off her dragon.
“…That art and display of incarnation was magnificent, Alice.”
Somehow raising her eyelids at that truly touched voice, Alice saw the gorge with its surface still burning red as well as the shadows of the enemy survivors fleeing in a frenzy. She could hardly find any corpses. They must have been disintegrated by the initial ray of light or blown apart without a trace by the following explosions.
She could not bring herself to feel any pride over the far too ruthless destruction.
Still, cheers surged in like a tidal waves from the surrounding guards straight away. They eventually streamed together and turned into cries of triumph as they continued.
While listening to the cheers for the Order of the Integrity Knights and the Axiom Church, Alice finally let out a choked breath and lifted her body which was supported by Fanatio. The deputy knight commander showed a tired smile and gave a deep nod.
“The enemy has retreated. You have led us to victory.”
Responding to those words with a smile as well, Alice stiffened her expression and spoke.
“Fanatio-dono, the war has yet to end. Please prevent the fresh sacred energy from the earlier art from being reused by the enemy and spend them on healing arts.”
“That’s true… they still do have their main forces, the Order of the Dark Knights and the Pugilists’ Guild at the peak of their health.”
The black-haired beauty nodded and raised her voice with a trace of fatigue that even she could not hide.
“Good, all who can move, retreat to the second unit and bring the wounded along! If you’re from the ascetics unit or even a guard with knowledge of healing arts, treat the wounded with all you have until the space energy runs out! Do not take your eyes off the enemy forces’ movements!”
Her concise orders resounded and the guards swiftly got started. The starting phrase for sacred arts could be repeatedly heard from behind.
“I will report to His Excellency, the knight commander. Can I entrust this place under you?”
Alice nodded and Fanatio showed another smile before leaving, half running. As people left, Alice was left alone at the frontmost lines with Amayori.
Having sent off the deputy knight commander, Alice took several steps and scratched the underside of her cherished dragon’s chin while she gently whispered.
“You have done a great job, too, Amayori. It must have been tiring staying still in that one place. Be sure to eat up after you return to your bedding.”
The flying dragon purred happily, flitted up as it beat its wings, and glided towards its peers all the way in the rear.
Now then, time to go to the wounded’s aid. Alice took a step with that in mind.
“……Master.”
The low voice belonged to Knight Eldrie.
What Alice saw when she turned about to commend her only disciple was the youth’s grim figure despite his usual unrestrained and slick self.
The sword in his right hand and the whip in his left hand were dyed red and black with the copious blood coating them. That was not all. His silver armor and once-glossy light purple curly hair were in a terrible state, too, from the blood of his victims. Just how did the battle go to reduce him to such a condition?
“Eh… Eldrie! Are you unharmed!?”
She asked with her breath held and the knight slowly concurred with a somewhat empty expression.
“…Yes, I have not suffered any heavy injuries. Still… I should have just thrown this life away in battle…”
“What are you saying? You have a mission to lead the guards until this war ends…”
“I did not complete that mission.”
The young integrity knight muttered in a cracked voice.

Alice could not have known, but after the smokescreen tactic made Eldrie let the mountain goblins through the defensive line, it took several whole minutes of futile effort at clearing it without arts before he finally could lead the guards to chase after the goblins assaulting the rear.
That said, by then, the chief of the mountain goblins, Kosogi, was already defeated by Integrity Knight Renri, mostly branded as a failure of a knight.
Deprived even of a chance to regain his honor, Eldrie lost his cool and massacred every last one of the fleeing goblins—before looking up at the godlike art launched by his master, Alice, from above.
“I have betrayed… your expectations, Alice-sama…”
Returning the Frost Scale Whip to his waist, Eldrie grabbed his own face with his left hand.
“How can I… this foolish… pathetic… disgraceful… person be a knight…?!”
And how could he [protect his master]?
The power of that art, comparable to natural disasters. They were too far apart. In every sense.
She never did need him. His master, that prodigious knight, never needed some halfwit like himself. He had nothing he excelled it, be it swordsmanship, arts proficiency, or the full control art; and his foolishness in having a bunch of goblins outwit him was in full display.
To even think he could obtain his master’s heart… her love with such a sorry sight; such a thought would be an insult.
“I… have no right to name myself as your disciple, Alice-sama!”
Eldrie screamed in agony.

“You… you have done well!”
Alice somehow got that out her mouth despite her bewilderment.
Just what had happened to Eldrie? Though there was moderate confusion at the frontlines, had he not kept the casualties caused by the enemy low?
“You are necessary to me, the Defense Army, and the people of the Human Empire too. Why do you insult yourself so?”
Despite asking in a tone as gentle as she could muster, the depression in Eldrie’s eyes remained. The blotches of split blood on his cheeks quivered as the knight mumbled at a muffled volume.
“Necessary… Do you mean, for my power? Or do……”
He could not finish his words.
An abrupt, bizarre growl shook the air and both Alice and Eldrie simultaneously turned to look.
“Fgrrrr…”
A damp, throaty noise reminiscent of a menacing wolf. Alice opened her eyes widely and focused them on the darkness farther into the gorge.
Spots throughout the valley were still illuminated by the smoldering flames and a humongous shadow weakly stood up there.
It was no human. Its legs bent at a peculiar angle; its back was strangely slender; its brawny upper body leaned forward. The head atop of them all was, simply put, that of a wolf. It had to be a demi-human from the Dark Territory, one from the ogre race.
Though Alice swiftly stretched her right hand towards her precious sword’s grip, she immediately noticed the foe was unarmed. And that was putting it lightly as the left half of its figure was terribly charred with thin smoke rising from it. It must have suffered those heavy burns from the white-hot light ray. Still, why had it not retreated like its surviving comrades?
She confirmed the situation in the area: the guards were still all back at the rear, leaving Alice and Eldrie alone. Alice questioned in a sharp tone while keeping vigilant against the ogre’s actions.
“…You must not have much Life remaining. Why are you standing there unarmed?”
The demi-human replied that with an anguished growl.
“…Grr… I am the ogre chief, Fulgrr……”
The manner in which he stated his name made his long tongue hang out while panting exhaustedly.
Alice put strength into the hand holding onto the grip. If he was the ogre chief, that made him one of the Ten Lords in the Dark Empire, a general for the enemy forces. In that case, did he really come for an attack with the last of his strength?
However, the ogre continued with surprisingly words.
“Saw, you. That, light art… launched by, you. That power, that figure…. you, «radiant medium». Grr… you, bring… war, end. Ogre, return, grasslands…”
What—was it saying?
Radiant medium? The war would end…?
Alice gleaned no meaning from it at all; still, her intuition told her the information she received was important. She had to question more. Just who was this radiant medium? And where was he to bring it?
However, the ogre halted there.
“Damn you… you have no right to speak, you beast!!”
Eldrie was the one who screamed. Raising the bloody sword in his right hand up high, he tried to cut straight down at the ogre chief.
That blade never did swing down, however.
Alice who practically teleported forward had Eldrie’s sword grasped between the fingers on her right hand and stopped the slash with all her strength.
“Ma… Master, why!?”
Though her disciple let those words escape, going limp onto his knees, she had no time to reply. Alice let go of the sword before slowly approaching the standing, still ogre.
A closer look showed that the demi-human’s wounds were not just heavy but fatal. He was charred black from his left arm to his chest and his left eyeball had turned a muddled white. Though she judged him to be in a befuddled state, she still took caution as she continued her questioning.
“—Indeed, I am the radiant medium. Now, where will you take me? Who is the one asking for me?”
“…rrrr…”
The ogre’s intact eye shone with a dull light. His saliva, mixed with blood, trickled down his long tongue.
“…Emperor… Vector said. Want only, radiant medium. Any wish, granted for, one who caught medium. Ogres… return grasslands… Raise horses… birds… live……”
—«Emperor Vector».
The name of the god of darkness passed down even in the Human Empire’s legends. Had such a being descended onto the Dark Territory? Had that god started the war in order to obtain this «radiant medium»?
Alice made a note of the information received in her mind as she turned a look of pity on the demi-human before her eyes.
The raw stench of craving the goblins emitted was nearly absent from this warrior with the head of a wolf. He was simply made to participate in the war and to draw his bow as ordered—only to have most of his race perish without firing a single shot.
“…Do you bear no grudge towards me? I am the one who had massacred your people.”
Alice could not help but ask despite lacking any reason to do so.
The ogre’s reply was plain.
“The strong need to… shoulder that strength. I, too… shoulder the chief’s role. So… catch, you, bring… to……!”
Grrrooohhh!!
A brutal roar suddenly bellowed from the ogre’s mouth.
His muscular right arm reached out for Alice faster than the eyes could follow.
Clink.
That brief ring came from the Fragrant Olive Sword’s scabbard. Having drawn her sword several times quicker than the ogre, Alice cut once before returning it to its scabbard.
The demi-human’s huge frame came to an immediate stop.
And that body slowly sank onto the earth as Alice took a step back. A straight scar showed on its brawny chest from which the last of its Life streamed away as fleeting light.
Alice held her right hand towards the proud wolf-headed warrior’s corpse. From the flitting sacred energy released, she generated numerous aerial elements.
“May your soul, at least, reach the grasslands…”
Alice waved her right hand and the green light soared towards the eastern skies as a whirlwind.