HOT NOVEL UPDATES

Sword Art Online - Volume 17 - Chapter 20.4




Hint: To Play after pausing the player, use this button

Chapter 20.4
Gabriel Miller watched indifferently as the black dragon beat its single wing, landed softly, uttered a soft cry, and expired.
The moment his eyes left it, everything related to the dragon’s existence was completely purged from his thoughts and memories. He surveyed his surroundings without changing his expression.
The crash site was a region with numerous cylindrical stone pillars. The pillar he had landed on the center of the area was about 100 yards 8  tall and 30 yards 9  wide.
Jumping down would be too impulsive. He was still very unfamiliar with the magic in this world, which synthesized and controlled elements, and he could not leave the Radiant Medium Alice currently lying unconscious at his feet.
If he had some strong ropes, anchors, and carabiners, even in the real world, Gabriel could easily rappel down a wall of this height. But there was no need for that now, since the enemy who had somehow brought him down was now rapidly approaching from the north with three dragons. He would simply deal with the enemy, take over a new dragon’s AI, and continue south.
Gabriel lifted his head and gazed straight above. The virtual sun floating in the red sky had reached a suitable height.
There was not much time left before Critter accelerated the time again. Could the American closed beta testers, numbering at least 50,000, wipe out the Human Empire Army before they were forcibly ejected due to the acceleration? With less than 1,000 left, the Human Empire Army could not possibly resist.
As for uncertainties, there were only the Integrity Knights, who were ravaging the Dark Territory army one by one.
But one of them, Alice, had already fallen into his hands, and her approaching pursuer was probably a Knight as well, so there were only one or two of them left in the northern battlefield.
As soon as Gabriel determined that the complications were almost resolved, he finally turned towards Integrity Knight Alice, who lay beside him.
Absolutely — beautiful.
So beautiful that the excitement squirming deep down is just unstoppable.
Gabriel was a bit perplexed: should he remove her armaments before she woke up, and carefully incarcerate her? That would be the logical decision, but an enemy was approaching and it was difficult to find the determination to hastily deal with this stunning girl.
He would wait for the acceleration and take his time. Even for so much as undoing a buckle on her armor, he would do it gracefully, seriously, and symbolically.
“… Sweet dreams for now, Alice… Alicia.”
Whispering gently to her, Gabriel walked to the center of the cylindrical rock to engage the enemy.
Whether it was Gabriel Miller, who was using Super Account 04 «Dark God Vector», or Critter, who had discovered it, neither of them knew one fact: Alice, the strongest knight, had fallen unconscious for several hours from just a dragon’s kick all because of Vector’s own ability.
The four Super Accounts in Underworld were all created for direct operations — miracles — on the world and its inhabitants.
Stacia, who could change the geography.
Solus, who could destroy mobile units.
Terraria, who could recover durabilities.
And Vector, who could control the residents’ Artificial Fluctlights themselves.
Specifically, he could edit the inhabitants’ memories — the vector data within the Fluctlights, and relocate them to faraway places, or create new households.
Since this act was different from the other three gods and tantamount to pillaging the inhabitants, it was difficult for him to become a subject of worship. Hence, Vector not only possessed the highest Priority equipment and Life, he was also under the powerful protection of “the inability to be an Art’s target”. “Vector’s Lost Child”, passed along in fairy tales of Underworld, was created based on previous operations on the residents.
The combination of Dark God Vector’s power and Gabriel Miller’s unique imagination, or Incarnation, achieved a multiplied effect that not even the «Rath» technicians could predict.
He could absorb others’ willpower without need for Arts.
Alice’s Fluctlight was temporarily robbed of its dynamism, and forcibly placed into a state of slumber.
Vector and Gabriel’s combined power had also engulfed Dark General Shasta’s one-hit-kill Incarnation from before.
And now, Shasta’s longtime rival — Integrity Knight Bercouli, had stepped onto the same road.
***
Bercouli saw that the enemy Emperor’s dragon had crash-landed on a tall rock that could not be immediately escaped.
He confidently shrugged off the intense fatigue caused by his ultimate technique.
“Great… Please fly a lil’ bit more, Hoshigami, Amayori, Takiguri!!”
As his voice rang out, the three dragons powerfully flapped their wings and accelerated. As long as the enemy stayed there, even a ten kilol gap would not take too long for a dragon.
In the remaining time before the battle, Bercouli began to silently contemplate. His mind clearly recalled a dream he’d had the previous morning.
—  Have you ever had a premonition of death?
Highest Minister Administrator had asked him in his dream, and to Bercouli, whom she had known for hundreds of years, she remained an inscrutable existence until the very end.
After he was released from Deep Freeze and informed by Alice of the Highest Minister’s death, he felt nothing as intense as shock and merely sighed:  Thanks for your long, hard work . It was Senate Elder Chudelkin’s death that stunned him more.
Because of that, he had never specifically asked Alice about Administrator’s final battle, and her scattered situation. Of course, on one hand he was too busy with the important mission of the defense of the Human Empire suddenly resting on his shoulders, and on the other, he simply did not want to know — the perseverance and desires of that silver-haired, silver-eyed demigod, and just how deep her sins ran.
Administrator had always been listless, inconsistent, and capricious to Bercouli. Although he obeyed her, he certainly did not worship her like Chudelkin had.
But —
He did not hate serving her.
“That’s right… Believe me just on that one, please.”
The oldest knight muttered, and suddenly opened his sharp eyes.
He could already clearly see Alice lying on the ground in her golden armor, and Emperor Vector’s silhouette standing silently in front of her like a shadow.
“Okay… Standby in the air, guys! If I fail, head back north and join the troops!”
Signalling gently to the dragons, Bercouli leapt from Hoshigami’s back.
***
Trailing Sinon, whose flight left a meteor’s path of light, the 700 people of the Human Empire Army desperately advanced south.
They had already slowly lost the earth-shaking crimson legion behind. But neither the Guardians nor the war horses could keep running indefinitely like this.
Asuna stood atop Kirito, Tiese, and Ronye’s carriage, praying as she fixated her gaze southward.
After about twenty minutes of progress, as Sinon had said, the outline of gigantic temple-like ruins emerged above the horizon.
There was no sign of humans, demihumans, or any large beings. Only decaying rock lying silently on the ground.
Spanning the straight road were two flat shrines. They were about 20 meters tall, and more than 300 meters wide. They would be more than enough as barriers to prevent the enemy from surrounding them.
Between the two shrines, the road continued south. It gave one the impression of a  sando 10 , because while it served to connect the shrine walls, there stood some massive, uncanny statues on either side of it.
These were not Oriental-style Buddha statues, nor were they Western-style mythical sculptures. At best, they were square figures slightly similar to those in the ruins of South America. All of them were carved with round eyes and large mouths, and their stubby arms were crossed in front of their chests.
Were these designed by Rath engineers when Underworld was created? Or were they automatically generated by The Seed program?
Or were they — hewn from the rocky mountains by the Dark Territory races who once lived here…?  Like, giant tomb markers dedicated to many of the dead…?
Asuna sighed briskly, banishing these ominous thoughts.
She yelled at Knight Renri, who was leading the troops from his dragon’s back:
“Let’s engage the enemy near the center of the road!”
A reply of “Understood!” came.
Minutes later, the troops charged swiftly along the road between the shrines. Mammoth rectangular statues on both sides silently looked down upon them. The horses’ hooves and soldiers’ boots crunched dryly upon the road, which changed from dirt to cobblestone.
Renri directed them spiritedly, his voice cutting through the icy air:
“All right. Vanguard, part your ranks and stop! Allow the carriage team and the support team to pass through!”
The vanguard instantly split in two, and eight carriages passed through their cavalry, followed by the support team mainly consisting of Ascetics. Upon reaching the very back, they halted. A strong gust of wind blew from the giant doorway far down the road, and Asuna’s hair billowed up.
This was the only moment of silence. The American players pursued them with a rumbling cacophony, rustling grains of sand from the statues.
Asuna leapt from the carriage, and spoke to the girls poking their heads out of the canopy and the woman standing beside them:
“This is the last battle. I’ll leave Kirito-kun to you guys.”
“Yes! Leave him to us, Asuna-sama!”
“We will definitely protect him!”
“— Even if we must put our lives on the line.”
As Tiese, Ronye and Sortiliena held their fists tightly in front of their chests, Asuna did the same and smiled faintly.
“Rest assured. I will absolutely not let the enemy reach this place.”
A part of that was a promise to herself. Asuna gently waved her right hand and spun around with resolve.
Renri was currently in front of the vanguard, deftly preparing the Guardians.
The road was about 20 meters wide. Although it was a little too broad to defend, completely blocking it by putting the troops into a rotation system was not impossible.
The important thing was to control the number of deaths as best they could while carving away at the 10,000 or so enemies, as the Ascetics continued their magic support from behind. Fortunately, there were no signs of any magic users among the crimson soldiers. Although the players likely had no way of picking up Underworld’s complex command system in such a short time, this situation was, honestly, a godsend.
If this situation were to change —
I will kill the entire enemy army myself.
Asuna inhaled deeply and concentrated that thought inside her body, together with her commitment.
Considering Stacia’s vast quantity of Life and the Priority of her equipment, she shouldn’t fall purely because of numerical damage. The problem was whether or not she could withstand that harsh pain. When pain was dealt to her heart, her virtual body would be injured, and even if she tried as hard as she could, she would still fall into a state in which she couldn’t even hold her sword.
Asuna closed her eyes, thinking of the injured Kirito. She imagined the enormity of the pain and sorrow he carried.
By the time she came to the very front of the forces, not a trace of fear was left in her heart.
The titanic confrontation, meant to be the last of its kind in this war, unfolded under the sun at high noon.
About twenty heavily armored American players charged onto the  sando  of the ruins, seeking the realistic blood and screams as promised by the advertisement website.
Yet what awaited them were not pitiful NPCs designed to provide unrated entertainment, but true heroes filled with the determination to save the world and rescue their beloved golden Integrity Knight. Although heavily damaged, their swords still glinted with the glow of irrepressible will, firmly enduring their enemies’ weapons, shattering their enemies’ armor.
A lone silhouette was looking down from high above, upon the crimson-armored players being decisively destroyed.
Tight, leather clothing that minimized reliance on metallic armor, like a rider suit 11 . The gleaming leather was covered with matte silver rivets.
The only weapon was a large dagger resembling a meat cleaver, hanging from the left waist. The face was obscured. The body was wrapped in a black leather raincoat-like poncho, with the hood drooping all the way to the mouth.
The lips, warped into a sneer, were the only visible feature.
It was Vassago Casals.
After diving into Underworld once more and barely avoiding Sinon’s sudden wide ranged laser attack, he had mixed in with the Americans to chase the Human Empire Army.
However, he did not join the early attack, instead smoothly climbing onto the wall of the west shrine, mounting a statue’s head from where he was able to watch the battlefront, and deciding to enjoy the show in a premium seat.
“Kekek, that bitch is just as relentless as before when she’s upset. She sure kills a lot.”
He murmured as his shoulders shook with indescribable excitement.
Exactly as she was in Vassago’s distant memory, the girl in pearly armor with chestnut hair flying in the wind — Asuna «The Flash» let the rapier in her right grip gleam brilliantly.
Back then,  Vassago had been in the same position, watching Asuna’s battles while hiding from afar. He had adamantly vowed to himself:  I will finish you before the world ends.
Together with the swordsman in black, who had fought even more fiercely by her side.
***
When he leapt from the dragon’s back, Bercouli was still nearly two hundred mel above the ground. If he had simply plummeted straight down like that, even he would not have been able to withstand the impact.
But as though he were stepping down an invisible staircase, the Knight Commander rushed down the sky in a helical motion.
With every step he took, he was actually generating a Wind Element underfoot and immediately detonating it, using this kickback to decrease his own momentum. Controlling Elements with both feet was a skill he had stolen decades ago from Senate Elder Chudelkin.
Gripping the hilt of his sword, the eldest knight of this world leapt, and leapt, into Emperor Vector’s blind spot. Vector stood at the summit of the pillar beneath him, which bore semblance to an artificial spire.
— Kill him in one strike.
It was Integrity Knight Bercouli’s first time reanimating such murderous intent as when he had killed the Dark General from the previous two generations – more than a hundred and fifty years ago. In these long years, never once had an enemy appeared who was sufficient at provoking his utterly raw killing intent.
Even in his battle with that Eugeo boy, who had barged into the Central Cathedral alone, Bercouli had fought sincerely, without even a single trace of true murderous intent. But, if he looked at it this way, even against the Dark Generals, his strongest enemies throughout the years, he had never harbored such negative emotions as rage and hatred.
In other words, this was Bercouli’s first time in his prolonged life channeling genuine fury into his blade.
Every fiber of his being was truly furious. Furthermore, it was not just because his opponent had captured Alice.
Coming from the outside world called the Real World, this outsider has forced the Dark Land people onto the battlefield when they could have achieved peace instead, and sent tens of thousands to their deaths in vain. To Bercouli, who had protected this world for over two hundred years, this was an absolutely unforgivable atrocity.
— Emperor Vector, I don’t know what reason you have.
But not everyone from the Real World is a demon like you. I understood that as soon as I saw that lil’ miss named Asuna.
That means, the only thing evil beyond help, is your nature.
If so, I shall bring forth your retribution.
I shall teach you the weight of Dark General Shasta, Integrity Knight Eldrie, and the lives of the countless humans who have perished on this battlefield.
Now learn… from this single strike!!
“Ze… AHH!”
Leaping ten mel into the air with his last step, the Knight Commander swung his sword down at Emperor Vector’s unprotected head in a slash charged with all of his willpower.
The air burned, glowing white. The blade radiated a light blinding beyond measure, causing even the world to lose its original color.
Without question, this was the strongest, most powerful strike among all sword techniques in the history of Underworld. Its priority was placed even above system commands as it overwrote the Main Visualizer’s mnemonic data. In other words, for everything that was placed in the path of this ultimate strike, all status values meant nothing whatsoever.
Even for Super Account 04 — Emperor Vector’s practically unlimited Life value, he would disintegrate if he were hit by this strike.
If he were hit, that is.
Even when faced with the fatal meteorite about to plummet onto his head, Vector’s face was devoid of emotion.
The speed of that strike was so fast that one could only stare motionlessly at it. The attack came in a mere instant; no matter how fast one’s reaction was, they ought to be unable to deal with it in time.
But in that instant, Vector’s body, wrapped in black crystalline armor, silently slid out of the way.
In the only direction to avoid the attack path, sliding just far enough to evade the strike.
Bercouli’s blade could only reach the red mantle flowing in the wind. The instant it came into contact with the sword, the thick fur pelt disintegrated into countless grains of dust.
Zugaaaaang!!  With a thunderous noise, a deep, straight wound was carved into the solid rock. The entire mammoth peak trembled, and pieces of rock tumbled down the edges.
— He evaded that?
Although dumbfounded, Bercouli did not hesitate to move for even an instant. Through long years of battle experience, he had long learned not to stop and think under unexpected circumstances.
He took a final step on air, slid to the Emperor’s flank, and landed. Immediately, he threw out a horizontal slash. Barely half a second had passed since the failure of his fully concentrated strike.
Yet Vector even evaded this second attack.
His body was like black smoke blown away in the wind, effortlessly sliding out of reach without any sort of preparation at all. The sword tip grazed his armor’s surface, and sparks flew into the air.
However.
This time, Bercouli was finally certain of his victory.
His full-power attack from before had missed, but its strength had not dissipated. His beloved sword’s Armament Full Control Art, «Time Piercing Sword, Empty Slash»— an ability to  slash the future , had already been activated. It was an ultimate technique that would leave its power along the path of the slash, killing any who came into contact with the sharp blade; it had been a great torment to Eugeo during their fight back in the Cathedral.
The Emperor’s back was pulled towards the space where there remained an undetectable slash.
The first to go was his silky platinum hair, swirling in all directions.
The crown atop his head shattered with a piercing metallic crack.
Vector raised his hands high into the air, as though begging for mercy.
Bercouli strongly felt that, in the next instant, that body wrapped in black would be severed in two from top to bottom.
Slap .
A clear, dry crack.
The source was — the Emperor’s hands, clapped together above the back of his head.
— He stopped the «Empty Slash» with his bare hands? With his back turned?
Impossible . Although the secret technique of catching a sharp blade with both hands had been passed down the generations of Fist Fighters in the Dark Land, it was an ultimate technique only made possible by their steel fists. More importantly, even the Fist Fighter chief would definitely be unable to stop the power remaining in that space with his bare hands.
These thoughts only persisted for an instant, but afterwards, Bercouli finally stood still.
Therefore, he could only stare blankly at what happened next.
The mirage-like amorphous slash left in the air was absorbed into the Emperor’s hands.
At the same time, the Emperor’s blue eyes were dyed with a seemingly bottomless darkness.
At the deepest point of that darkness, countless lights flashed — those were, stars…?
No.
They were souls. Souls that this man had absorbed and trapped there. Dark General Shasta and his female aide were probably in there as well…
“… You bastard, you can devour other people’s Incarnation?”
At Bercouli’s murmuring, Vector slowly lowered his hands, which had completely absorbed the slash, and spoke calmly.
“ Shin’i? 12  … I see,  mind  and  will .”
That voice was bone-chilling; it seemed devoid of any feeling of a living human. And the source of the voice, those thin lips, warped into a shape that resembled a smile.
“Your mind, is like  old ,  vintage  wine. Thick and rich… With a heavy, long-lasting aftertaste. Although it is not to my liking… it would do well as an appetizer before the  main course .”
The Emperor’s pale hands gripped the hilt of the longsword on his waist.
The thin blade he slowly drew out of the sheath was covered in a violet phosphorescence. Tilting the tip downwards like a weak person, Emperor Vector smiled again.
“Now, let me drink some more of it.”
***
The giant’s rough sword eventually grazed Asuna’s left arm.
Pain assailed her, like white-hot iron wire digging into her flesh.
—  This is nothing!
She thought intensely, as the small pink wound on her wrist silently vanished in the next moment.
And then, with a wispy flash of her right arm, her blade stabbed the man in front of her four times in graceful succession, from his right shoulder to his left ribs. The man’s face distorted as he shouted obscenities, then he keeled over onto the ground.
She had already lost count of how many she had struck down.
At the same time, she was unaware of how much time had passed since the beginning of this battle in the ruins.
She was only certain of the fact that the number of crimson footsoldiers, flooding like an avalanche through the entrance to this road, was still nearly endless.
— Hmph, a drawn out battle like this isn’t much. In Old Aincrad, boss battles that took three to four hours were commonplace.
Asuna boasted in her heart, leapt over the disappearing corpses of her allies, and parried away a new enemy’s brandished axe with her rapier.
The enemy’s balance was shattered by this blow; Asuna struck accurately at his heart as she glanced left and right.
Asuna’s location of battle was dead center of the road; to her right, Integrity Knight Renri was alternatively projecting the two throwing blades in his hands with chilling strength and accuracy, as the bodies ahead of him piled high. He seemed fine for now.
The problem was to her left. Lead by Sortiliena, the captain-class Guardians were stationed there, and yet it was clear that the frontline was being gradually pushed back.
“Left flank, rotate between vanguards faster! Please prioritize Healing Arts on that side as well!”
“Asuna-sama, I can still fight!”
The one who responded was Sortiliena on the very front line, activating a wide-ranged two-handed Sword Skill, «Cyclone». Her long sword rotated rapidly with a light green glow and blew back three enemy soldiers, but Liena knelt down immediately after. Judging by the conversation during last night’s Memory Exposing Competition, swordsmen of the noble class were more accustomed to one-on-one, gentlemanly duels, and long skirmishes with no end in sight were completely unfamiliar.
Although Liena’s sword skills were actually quite fluent and fierce, even to Asuna, who just arrived in this world yesterday, they were simply too  proper .
She used virtually no feints or tripping techniques before her critical skills, and consequently the enemies’ flailing weapons would inflict scratches on her when she became rigid before or after her skills activated. Her armor was already riddled with scars, and trails of blood seeped through her purple Guardian uniform.
“Retreat and heal, Liena-san! Trust your partners!”
At Asuna’s directive, Liena bit her lip and nodded, then retreated, saying “I’ll be right back!” The gap she left in the front line was immediately replaced by the Guardian Commander, but his face was weary.
Other than the exhaustion of the left flank, there was something else that worried Asuna.
The crimson soldiers they were currently battling were not mere humanoid monsters driven by algorithms, but veteran players from America, the birthplace of MMORPGs. They, who had been familiar with player combat since long ago, would eventually realize that their current, simple assaults were ineffective, and begin carrying out more strategic maneuvers.
What would she do in their situation? Asuna whirled her rapier nonstop as she thought.
Typically, she would launch a long range attack from the rear. But there were no wizard-class players among the enemies, and even if there were, they would be unable to familiarize themselves with Underworld’s complex Arts language in such a short time.
Other than magic, there was archery. Fortunately for the Human Empire Army, the other side could not prepare archer accounts. Their last resort was to simply lob the weapons in their hands, but this would give them great pause, because if they threw their weapons away, they would be unable to participate in the battle afterwards.
It seemed that their opponents were out of options to attack them.
Then, just like she envisioned beforehand, they only needed to cut down all ten thousand or so of these enemies.
Almost exactly as Asuna renewed her determination —
The entrance to the road was suddenly obscured by darkness.
The morning sun was blocked out by gigantic shields raised into a neat row and lances standing like flag poles.
— Heavy lancers!
“Pre… Prepare to defend against the assault!! Be careful to avoid the enemy’s lance tips!! Just get close to the enemy and you can knock them down!”
Right as Asuna shouted, with a  CLATTER  of metal on metal, the giant lances were pointed forward in an orderly fashion.
“““ Assaaaaaaaaaault!! ”””
A full row of 20 heavy lancers let out a ferocious bellow, and began charging.
The Guardians were made restless by the pressure from the red tsunami.  I’m begging you all, please calm down , Asuna prayed silently as she gazed at the lancers rushing towards them. The lances, gleaming a vicious black, were fast approaching in a straight line.
Wait until the last instant and —  Cling!
Yellow sparks flew in all directions as her rapier slid across the side of the lance. The sharp tip grazed Asuna’s right cheek, and flew past.
“… Haaah!!”
With a shout, she jabbed her rapier into a slit in the enemy’s armor, and looking up, saw that it had pierced her hulking opponent’s throat. With a raw, vivid impact, blood spurted from the helmet’s visor.
The screams that rang out, however, were not just from the footsoldiers.
Several Guardians defending the left flank, unable to avoid the lances, were skewered.
“Grgh……….!!”
Gritting her teeth, Asuna left her position and ran to the left. With a single stab, «Linear», she pierced through the chest armor of a footsoldier pulling his lance from a dead Guardian’s body. Holding up her blood-soaked sword again, she cut off both hands of the next enemy with a double stab, «Parallel Sting».
She evaded the lance thrust by the third, jeering footsoldier with a vertical leap. Landing on the lance, she ran up, planted her feet on the enemy’s shoulders, ripped off his helmet with her left hand, and buried her rapier in his exposed nape.
The enemy fell without so much as a scream. Stepping onto his back, Asuna shouted:
“Bring the wounded to the back! Heal them with maximum priority!!”
Surveying her surroundings once again, it seemed that, with Knight Renri and the Guardians’ hard struggle, they had somehow repelled the heavy lancers, but six Guardians had suffered direct hits from the lances. Three of them were likely beyond help.
— If our opponents repeat this strategy, the vastly outnumbered Human Empire Army will no longer be able to hold its current position.
Her fears were realized with a new wave of earthshaking tremors. The next 20 heavy lancers charged in from the entrance of the  sando .
Asuna tore her gaze from the incoming swarm of lances and glanced at her designated position in the middle of the front line.
There stood a young, almost childish-looking Guardian trying to control his sword, his knees quivering.
“AH………!!”
Yelling sharply, Asuna ran to the right.
She leapt between the young Guardian standing stock-still and a spear coming from the left. Her rapier wouldn’t make it in time to parry. She could only grip the lancehead with her left hand.
If this was a normal VRMMO world, then Asuna, who had overwhelming reaction speed and physical strength, would be able to successfully block it. But in Underworld, the countless parameters that were ignored in SAO and ALO, existed.
The smooth steel lance slid through her bloody fist —
A blunt impact shook her entire body. Unable to utter a sound, Asuna silently looked down at her side, where an enormous piece of metal had pierced through.
***
Minimal movement maximizing his sword’s efficiency.
To Knight Commander Bercouli, Emperor Vector’s swordsmanship was just that: completely different from any style he had ever seen before.
First, he almost never used his feet. When avoiding an attack, he would merely slide slightly along the ground. Also, even when he was attacking, it didn’t seem like any preparation was made beforehand. The sword he held loosely in his right hand would suddenly come flying from the nearest distance.
In short, predicting his movements was nigh impossible. The veteran Bercouli had not countered any of the Emperor’s five quick and powerful attacks.
But five times was enough.
Due to his vast combat experience, Bercouli, who had roughly grasped Vector’s techniques, began his first counter at the start of the other side’s sixth attack.
“Hsss!”
Releasing as little of his spirit as possible, he launched an overhead slash right before Vector did the same.
Along with a violent metallic clank, bluish-white sparks spurted in all directions.
The two swords crossed in midair. From here it was a contest of strength. The enemy’s sword sank down without even the slightest resistance. Seemingly unable to withstand the pressure, the tall-statured Vector bent his knees.
— This is the critical moment!!
Bercouli infused his beloved sword with refined Incarnation. The battle-worn steel sword’s blade gleamed silver. The Time Piercing Sword, slowly pressing down on Vector’s black longsword, touched the enemy’s shoulder, piercing his armor —
Immediately, Vector’s sword emitted an ominous glow.
An indigo phosphorescence squirmed out like a living organism, coiling around the Time Piercing Sword. At the same time, the explosive silver gleam on the Time Piercing Sword vanished, as if it had withered.
— What, is this?
No…
What, am I… trying to do… in the first place…?
With a sharp crackle, he felt a freezing chill in his left shoulder. Bercouli opened his eyes, jumped back, took a deep breath, and regained the consciousness that had slipped away from him for an instant.
— What the hell was that?
Someone like me, right in the middle of battle… was spacing out?!
Just as he demanded of himself, Bercouli realized that it was not that simple.
It was as though that the forced blankness was corroding his consciousness, rendering him  unable to understand why he was here, or even, who he was.
“Bastard… You directly absorbed my Incarnation through my sword?”

Bercouli groaned huskily.
The response was a silent grin.
Clicking his tongue, he glanced at his left shoulder. It was a graze, yet the wound was deep.
“Hmph… this is all very interesting, isn’t it, Your Imperial Majesty? But being unable to cross swords is pretty troubling.”
Bercouli chuckled. In contrast, Vector erased his smile and murmured.
“… Indeed. Come to think of it, there’s something else I haven’t tried yet.”
After that, he casually extended the sword in his right hand straight ahead, but it was completely out of range. There was no way the blade would reach —
From the tip of the blade suspended in mid-air, a repulsive dark blue light reached out.
… Don’t tell me, from a distance too?!
Just as that thought flashed through Bercouli’s mind, the light touched his chest.
His consciousness faded away like an extinguished candle.
The longsword slowly approached the Knight Commander, sliding straight under his left arm — yet he merely stood there, blankly watching it all.
The sword was casually swung upward.
With a wet, sticky noise, Bercouli’s thick arm was severed from his body.
***
“Ku… u… ughh!!”
Asuna somehow managed to suppress her scream, which was about to leak out, into a low moan. Excruciating pain — or rather, it was more like being exposed to a white-hot blowtorch, continuously scorching her abdomen, crushing her senses beyond her limits.
— This bit of pain is nothing!
It’s just a scratch, it doesn’t matter if it hurts!!
The gleaming black lance that stabbed through her upper left abdomen must have protruded nearly a meter from her back.
Asuna twisted her head around to look behind her. The lance tip only ended up grazing the cheek of the young Guardian standing there. It took all of her willpower to squeeze out a smile to the young boy, who looked palely back at her.
— Compared to the precious life of this child… What do these virtual injuries matter?!
“Ungh… Ah!!”
With a shout, she infused strength into her left hand, gripping the lance that pierced her body.
With a deafening  crack , the metal rod nearly five centimeters in diameter snapped in two in her fist. She then reached behind herself, grabbed the protruding lancehead, and wrenched it out.
Sparks danced before her eyes, and a shocking pain like lightning ran from her fingertips to her toes. Yet Asuna’s hand did not cease, pulling out the lance with an almost violent movement and flinging it to the ground.
A frightening amount of blood gushed from both her mouth and the gaping wound in her abdomen, but her body remained unswervingly upright. Asuna wiped away the blood at the corner of her mouth, and looked up at the enemy with fire in her eyes.
The hulking owner of the lance blinked rapidly inside his helmet, his eyes revealing confusion.
“ Oh ,  gosh .”

After this exclamation, uttered twice, came rapid English.
“… The hell, man… This type of game isn’t fun at all. I’m logging out.”
After hearing that, Asuna accurately pierced the man’s heart with the rapier in her right hand. His enormous frame keeled over, and was engulfed by a disappearing effect.
The agony from her wound had not caused Asuna to cry, yet in this moment her eyes filled with tears.
The pain and hatred enveloping this battlefield now should not have been necessary from the start.
The American players and the Guardians of the Human Empire Army never had a reason to murder each other in cold blood. If the circumstances under which they met had been different, both sides should have become good friends — just like she had.
Virtual worlds… VRMMOs did not exist just for this.
“H… He… Help… Gh!”
A scream in Japanese interrupted Asuna’s thoughts. Turning her eyes, she saw a great lance stabbing toward a Guardian lying immobile on the ground.
“U… AAAAAAAHH!!”
Asuna’s emotions became a roar as she sprang forward.
The rapier in her right hand slashed ahead nonstop and the white glow flowing from its edge enveloped her entire body; her feet left the ground as she flew forward like a blinding comet. The highest level rushing attack for the rapier, «Flashing Penetrator».
The lancer just about to kill the Guardian was flung high into the air, and the enemy behind him suffered the same fate. A third one as well.
After securely pinning the body of a fourth man under the foot of a gigantic statue, her sword skill ended and she turned around, exhaling.
The second assault wave of the heavy lancers had caused more than five deaths in the Human Empire Army. Simultaneously, at the entrance to the road, the third wave of twenty men had already readied their ferocious lances.
Asuna pulled her rapier from a corpse and cried loudly.
“All units, hold this position at all costs! Renri-san, please come to the middle!”
Asuna squeezed out a short smile, comforting the young Knight whose face became rigid upon seeing her bloodsoaked form, and uttered a last sentence.
“— I will rush into the enemy formation alone. I’ll leave any enemies that slip through me to you all.”
“A… Asuna-sama?!”
Asuna raised her left fist towards the panting Renri and the Guardians.
Then, she broke into a run.
***
Bercouli’s center of gravity suddenly wobbled, and it was then he realized that what he was stepping on was his own left arm, rolling on the ground.
What awakened his consciousness was not pain, but that chilling feeling.
“Guh…!”
He leapt backward again, widening the distance between himself and Vector.
The blood pouring from his left shoulder dyed a crimson arc onto the white stone.
— What the hell… is this?
He just pointed his sword at me, and my consciousness was forcibly halted…?
Bercouli lifted two fingers from his right hand’s grip on the Time Piercing Sword to heal his wound, racking his brains as fast as he could. The nonverbal Healing Art quickly stopped the flow of blood with a glimmer of blue light. However, there was not enough Sacred Spacial Energy on these desolate rocky mountains to regenerate his fallen arm.
— How should I fight this enemy?
His Armament Full Control Art «Time Piercing Sword, Empty Slash» was utterly ineffective. The Incarnation left in the air by the slash would be completely absorbed by his opponent.
His absolute last resort was his Release Recollection Art «Unseen Slash». But if he wanted to use that technique, he would have to fulfill two very harsh conditions. First, the opponent could not interrupt his lengthy attacking movements. The second was to be extremely accurate, with the difficulty of the latter surpassing that of the former…
Bercouli flicked away the sweat beading on his forehead with a flourish.
Then, he realized.
— I’m being desperate.
Somehow, I have nothing more to spare.
In other words, now, this is where I die. The next moment will be my death.
“… Heh.”
After correctly realizing his impasse, instead of frowning, Integrity Knight Bercouli Synthesis One grinned.
His eyes slowly moved away from Emperor Vector, who was approaching him ceaselessly, and fell onto the golden knight lying horizontally in a corner slightly away from him — Alice Synthesis Thirty.
— Lil’ Miss.
I still couldn’t give you what you wanted, Lil’ Miss. I couldn’t give you fatherly love. Because, I can’t remember, anything about my own parents either.
But, there’s one thing that I do know.
These so-called parents die protecting their children.
“A bastard like you… would never understand, you monster!!”
Bercouli bellowed and sprang forward.
Without any plan whatsoever, merely injecting everything he had into his beloved sword, the eldest Knight sprinted forward.
***
“Ga… Hah…”
A great mouthful of blood gushed out with her rough breath, and splashed at her feet.
Asuna remained upright, even if she was only propped up by the rapier in her right hand.
After repelling the third and fourth assault waves of heavy lancers, she had been wounded more than ten times all over her body. Her pearly white blouse and skirt were torn to shreds, stained red by the blood of herself and her enemies.
Having taken a direct hit from a lance, which opened a hole in her body, it was astonishing that she could still move. In fact, Asuna’s unfairly enormous HP didn’t allow her strength to drain.
— This body will fall only when my heart fall.
If so, I can stand forever.
Her entire body had lost nearly all sensation. Only burning heat ran through her nerves, distorting her vision.
The enemy’s fifth wave of troops appeared in Asuna’s dim vision, and she pulled her rapier out of the ground.
She was no longer able to perform perfect evasions. She could only stop the enemy’s lance with her body, and counterattack with sword skills.
Asuna’s feather-light rapier felt as heavy as a leaden rod in her grip, but she strained to raise it with both hands, hold it in front of her, and wait for the enemy’s arrival.
“—  Go!! ”
The ground shook, and 20 lancers began charging ahead.
Boom ,  boom ,  boom boom boom boom …
In the slowly accelerating footsteps, a sharp vibration mixed in out of nowhere.
Asuna’s eyes were attracted upward.
From the scarlet sky, a single line streaked down. It was a thin sequence of digital code.
— Enemy… reinforcements…?
“…… Ahh……”
Although just a sliver, the sigh she emitted was mixed with despair.
But —
The color of that line was not the familiar crimson, but a deep blue akin to the night sky before dawn.
Asuna could no longer foresee what the color meant, and could only widen her eyes, awaiting the result.
The line halted around ten meters above the ground; the code began to consolidate and, after a flash of light, became a human silhouette.
Voom.
The air howled suddenly, and the silhouette began to spin so fast that it blurred. Uttering a  vigorous roar like a tornado, it began falling again.
Directly under that silhouette, those 20 heavy lancers had stopped unknowingly and looked dumbly up at the sky.
The azure tornado landed directly in their midst.
Then, suddenly, crimson exploded outwards.
Blood. The soldiers twisted within the tornado were immediately ripped apart, and blood was thrown by the wind in a wide radius.
Finally, in the middle of the radially spread fallen lancers, the tornado began to slow, and eventually regained the shape of a person.
The newcomer’s back was turned to her, with a somewhat slender, tall body. Vibrant, Japanese-style armor shined in the backlight. His left hand gripped a sheath hanging from his waist, and his right hand clenched a terrifyingly long sword, no, a katana, which slashed out horizontally.
Asuna had seen that attack before, in another world.
A Sword Skill.
A heavy, ranged katana attack — «Tsumujiguruma» 13 .
The silhouette slowly stood, rested the longsword on its shoulder, and gradually looked back towards her.
Under a striking bandanna, a stubbled face grinned at her.
“Hey, made you wait, Asuna.”
“K… lein…?”
Asuna could not hear her own hoarse voice until the end.
Suddenly, an ensemble of rumbling resounded throughout the world. Although the sound effects were indistinguishable from when the Americans had appeared, to Asuna, this must be angelic song.
Then, thousands of bright blue strings of code began raining unceasingly from the crimson sky.
***
Cut.
Consciousness blurred.
Pain from his wound jolted him wide awake.
Bercouli had lost count of how many times he had gone through this process.
As though he were intentionally dragging out the fight, Emperor Vector never once inflicted any sort of fatal injury. But Bercouli clearly knew that the blood flowing from his numerous wounds, that is, his total amount of Life, was fast approaching its limit.
But through his immovable willpower honed over two centuries and several decades, he cast away all delusions and expelled all fear, performing but one single action inside his head.
Counting.
Specifically, measuring time.
Bercouli possessed the special ability to confirm time through instinct alone, and now he was relying on this power to record it. Even as his thoughts were disturbed by the Emperor’s sword, he continued to count unconsciously.
— Four hundred and eighty seven.
— Four hundred and eighty eight.
Bercouli read the seconds precisely while repeating his foolish attacks, occasionally sputtering taunts from his mouth.
“… Your swordsmanship… doesn’t seem, up to scratch… Your Imperial Majesty.”
— Four hundred and ninety five.
“You can’t beat me, with these sword skills… with this second rate stuff, no, third rate at most.”
— Four hundred and ninety eight.
“Watch this, I’m not done yet!”
With a shout, he slashed down in front of him.
— Five hundred.
His sword blade touched the indigo halo radiating from the Emperor.
Sucked into Incarnation, his thoughts were interrupted.
When he regained consciousness, he was already down on one knee, blood dripping from a new wound on his left cheek.
— Five hundred and eight.
Almost there. Just endure it a little bit more.
Bercouli stood up with difficulty, and looked towards the Emperor behind him.
A hint of slight disgust appeared on Vector’s usually expressionless face. The reason was that, when he had cut Bercouli’s cheek, a drop of blood had flown out and splashed onto Vector’s pale cheek.
Vector wiped away the stain with his fingertip, and mused.
“… I’ve had enough.”
He took one step forward into the red puddle that Bercouli created.
“Your soul is too heavy. Too thick. It sticks to my tongue. And how boring, you merely think of killing me.”
The Emperor said in a flat voice, and took another step closer.
“Die.”
Raised silently, the black sword emanated a viscous gleam.
Bercouli’s expression did not change, but he secretly clenched his teeth.
— Just a bit more. Thirty seconds left.
“Heh… Don’t, say that. I can, still… enjoy, it.”
The Knight Commander hobbled a few steps towards thin air, and feebly raised the longsword in his right hand.
“Where’d you… go. Where the heck did you go. Oh, there…?”
With empty light in his eyes, the Knight Commander swung his sword.
Clank.  He hit somewhere completely off with his sword tip, and stumbled exaggeratedly.
“Ah… Was it… here…?”
He swung another attack that lacked even a swishing noise. Then, dragging an already disabled foot, Bercouli shambled cluelessly at random.
Since his vision had failed due to enormous blood loss, his thoughts also became hopelessly jumbled — he certainly looked like that.
However, this was the Knight Commander’s once-in-a-lifetime performance.
Those half-closed blue-gray eyes were only tightly fixated on one single thing.
Footprints.
Through nearly ten minutes of pointless attacking, Bercouli had spilled his blood over the entirety of this rocky summit, which was not wide at all. Hence, the two different footprints tracked out over the whole surface by the Emperor’s boots and the Knight Commander’s leather sandals, were clearly carved and highly distinguishable.
In other words, this was the detailed record of the two men’s movements.
Acting demented, Bercouli was searching for the driest, darkest footprint of the Emperor, created when he cut off Bercouli’s left arm ten minutes ago.
After that, Bercouli had immediately, and unconsciously, begun to count the time.
Which means, that was the place where Emperor Vector had stood ten minutes ago. Then, his bloody footprints precisely recorded the direction he advanced in, and where he moved.
— Five hundred and eighty nine.
— Five hundred, and ninety.
“Oh… I’ve found… you…”
Bercouli mumbled feebly, rocking from side to side as he swung the Time Piercing Sword.
This truly was the last strike.
Whether it was sword, or its owner, both of their dwindling Lives had reached their ends.
And Bercouli expended them both to exhaustion, activating the Release Recollection Art of his Divine Instrument, the Time Piercing Sword.
«Time Piercing Sword, Unseen Slash».
The opposite of the «Empty Slash» that could sever the  future , the «Unseen Slash» had the power to sever the  past .
Within Underworld’s Main Visualizer, the recent movements of all human Units were recorded for six hundred seconds, or ten minutes.
The Time Piercing Sword could interfere with this record, causing the system to mistake the Unit’s position ten minutes and one second ago for the Unit’s current position.
As for the result, the blade that could normally cut only nothing, could be transmitted to the body of a person who had existed in this area in the past. Unavoidable, unblockable, true to its name, it was a strike that could betray 14  all other sword techniques and hard work.
It was for this very reason that Bercouli always shunned activating the «Unseen Slash». When battling Eugeo, even though he had lost to the Release Recollection Art of the Blue Rose Sword, he resolved never to use this technique that could easily earn him victory. He knew that Senate Elder Chudelkin would even recognize that as an act of treason against the Axiom Church.
But, with Emperor Vector as his opponent, who rode above inestimable power far exceeding his own, he had no such hesitations.
The instant that Emperor Vector had stepped down from his dragon, Bercouli had taken advantage of the fact that his enemy flew in a straight line at a constant speed to correctly calculate his location ten minutes before. Yet, in the mix of the close quarters melee that ensued, locking onto his location was insurmountably difficult.
Of course, if he could recall where his enemy was during that instant ten minutes ago, he could activate this technique. But while using this method, if his sword technique activation was disturbed by the enemy, it would be very difficult to accurately count to ten minutes after that.
— Just like this instant right now.
“You look like you’re plotting something.”
Emperor Vector approached as though gliding, and Bercouli was forced to quickly avoid the blue-black Incarnation emanating from the longsword. Just like that, «ten minutes and one second ago» were forever lost to him.
— So I’ve missed my chance.
Bercouli once more readied his Time Piercing Sword about to use Release Recollection, cursing in his chest.
He was truly at his wit’s end.
Since the Emperor already realized that he was concealing a plot, he would activate his own ultimate technique again without hesitation. In reality, the gleam of Incarnation on his longsword was already reaching towards Bercouli.
Opposite it, the Knight Commander began to evade with all his might.
Crawl away.
Crawl away, crawl away, and fall shamelessly to the ground. He had known since very long ago that he would welcome death in this haggard state.
Three times. Four times.
Right until after the fifth attack, Bercouli successfully evaded all of them.
But after that, the blue black light finally grazed his body.
His consciousness broke off with a  snap .
When Bercouli opened his eyes again, what he saw was Vector’s longsword, penetrating deeply into his stomach.
With a  whoosh , the blade was jerked out, and the last of the Knight Commander’s Life gushed out in the form of crimson liquid.
As he slowly fell backwards, he saw —
The silhouette of a dragon high above, tearing the air as it dove down at lightning speed.
— Hoshigami.
Hey, didn’t I tell you to standby? Why did you disobey me, you’ve never done that before, have you?
The dragon stretched its maw wide, and bluish-white flames shot straight out in jets.
Faced against that attack with the strength to wipe out a hundred soldiers, Emperor Vector merely stretched out his left hand and caught it.
The translucent black armor on his hand effortlessly deflected the flames in all directions. Flying sparks dazzled in the air.
The sword in the Emperor’s hand shot out that dark blue light once more, traveling up against the white flames and piercing directly into Hoshigami’s forehead. Bercouli’s dragon took the full force of the sword skill that could easily control the Dark Knight Order dragon from before — but he did not stop his movements.
On the contrary, Hoshigami converted his entire Life into white rays that shot from his wings, diving straight towards the Emperor.
A sliver of disgust crossed Vector’s pale face; he raised his sword high and thrust an extremely simple stab toward the gargantuan jaws of the dragon wanting to tear him into pieces. Dark light poured in all directions, absorbing the dragon’s life, tearing its body apart.
Hoshigami gave his Life for merely seven seconds of the Emperor’s hesitation —
Bercouli would definitely not let it be in vain.
The Knight Commander felt the last breath of the beloved dragon who had spent its long life with him from behind and swung his Release Recollection-activated Time Piercing Sword high into the air, which began to leave a blue afterimage.
This method of simply recalling “the enemy’s position ten minutes ago” could only allow one attack attempt every ten minutes.
Yet, the movement record etched into the ground in blood suggested that it was possible to continually pursue the enemy ten minutes before.
Seven seconds after Bercouli stared at the spot where he could not snipe from before, the blood-red footprint indicating the Emperor’s position, he launched his ultimate attack.
There was another characteristic of the «Time Piercing Sword, Unseen Slash».
By directly interfering with the system, the strength of this sword was to “completely erase the Life value of the slashed target”. Therefore, this strike could not be blocked even with Incarnation.
Indeed, Emperor Vector’s power to nullify and absorb all Incarnate attacks could not be activated in that instant.
Therefore, the astronomical Life set for Vector in the system, was first changed to zero.
As a result, the Emperor’s large frame was completely split from his left shoulder to his right waist.
Even as his body was split in two along a gigantic cutting surface, Emperor Vector’s face remained devoid of expression. Those light blue eyes merely looked blankly up at the empty sky, like glass beads.
The instant that his upper body was about to land and hit the ground, around his heart, jet black light burst, creating an immense, silent, explosion without heat.
By the time the explosion had settled, there remained nothing on the ground that could prove the Emperor’s existence.
Seconds later, the Time Piercing Sword that depleted its Life in Bercouli’s right hand crumbled into debris with a weak crackling noise.
***
… It’s so warm.
I really want to stay here for a bit longer.
Awakening from her slumber, Integrity Knight Alice smiled lightly, as though still floating in that comfortable state between dream and awakening.
Swaying sunlight.
Wide knees that allowed her body to lay atop of them.
A rough hand that kindly caressed her hair.
……… Father.
How long had it been since she had lay down like this, on his knees? She had long forgotten this peacefulness… This feeling of being completely protected, having nothing to worry about. The feeling that all was well.
Ahh… But, it’s time to get up.
Then, Integrity Knight Alice lifted her eyelashes.
Appearing before her face was the figure of a middle aged swordsman, his eyes squinting in a smile as he looked down upon her.
On his toned face and chest, many old scars crossed over. And covering those, countless new wounds were present, yet to heal.
“……… Oji-sama?”
Alice murmured in a low voice, her consciousness finally rousing in this instant.
— Right, I was grabbed by Emperor Vector’s dragon. Really, how careless do I have to be, I even charged ahead while completely letting my guard down behind me.
But, as expected of Oji-sama. Even as I fell into the hands of the enemy general, he rescued me. As long as this person is here, I can rest easy.
Smiling again, Alice sat up. As she noticed the wounds of Knight Commander were beyond his face and chest, she held her breath.
His left arm was completely severed from the top of his shoulder. His eastern-styled robe was completely dyed red with blood. And below that wide chest, that horribly deep wound was even more terrifying.
“O… Oji-sama… !! Esteemed Bercouli!!”
Alice screamed and reached out, her fingers touching Knight Commander Bercouli’s cheek.
Then she finally understood, that the oldest, greatest Knight in the world, had finally exhausted his Life.
***
… Aw, don’t cry like that, Lil’ Miss.
This moment would’ve come anyway, it just happened to be now, right?
Integrity Knight Commander Bercouli Synthesis One said warmly, as he looked down upon the golden haired girl bawling over his body. Yet his voice did not reach the ground.
… Lil’ Miss, if it’s you, it’ll definitely be okay. Even by yourself, you can definitely live on.
Because, you’re my only apprentice… my daughter.
The scene below gradually departed from Bercouli’s vision. Casting a last smile toward his beloved golden knight maiden, his eyes turned toward the sky to the far north.
His thoughts flew toward another female knight, who should be under that part of the sky..
He did not know whether they would reach or not, but in this moment, his heart was filled only with the deep emotion for the finally-arriving end of his life, which he had originally thought eternal.
… Well, it’s not a bad way to go down, is it?
“Yes, you should feel blessed that this many people are crying for you.”
As he turned towards the suddenly resonating voice, he saw a girl floating there, stark naked save for her flowing silver hair.
“… Hey, so you really were still alive.”
Bercouli shrugged, and the Highest Minister Administrator blinked her silvery eyes and smiled softly.
“But that can’t be true, can it? Appearing before you now, is only your memory of me. This ‘me’ is merely the memory of Administrator saved in your soul.”
“Hmm, I still don’t really get it… But, if it’s the you inside my memory, it’s good that you can smile like this now.”
Bercouli responded with a grin, and suddenly glanced beside him. Unknowingly, his beloved dragon Hoshigami had wrapped its long neck around his body.
The Knight Commander softly caressed the dragon’s transparent silver neck, leapt onto its back with a  whoop , reached out, and pulled the Highest Minister up before him.
“Do you not hate me?” The Knight Commander’s only master in his long life asked, tilting her head. “Do you not hate me, the one who imprisoned you within the confines of eternal life , and stripped away your memories again and again?”
After some brief thought, Bercouli replied.
“Although it’s true that it was long enough to get bored at, well, it was still an amusing life. Yeah, that’s right.”
“… Really.”
Looking away after Administrator’s short reply, Bercouli took Hoshigami’s reins.
The dragon expanded its transparent wings, and slowly flew into the boundless yonder.
***
Under the distant northern sky —
On the dry ground, the rubble of the former «Great Eastern Gate» was piled up. To the east and west of these enormous ruins, ten thousand Dark Territory reserve soldiers and four thousand main troops of the Human Empire Defense army were in formation, preparing for confrontation, staring at each other.
Since Emperor Vector had vanished without a trace, the Dark Territory army could not begin the attack on their own. The completely clueless Human Empire Army also made no movements, and that long stalemate continued.
Near the ruins of the great gate where only the dry wind was heard, there was the silhouette of a lone female knight. It was the Integrity Knight left in charge of the main troops of the Defense Army, Fanatio Synthesis Two.
She had ordered the Guardians and Ascetics to rest in preparation for the upcoming battle, but she herself was not in the mood to sleep in her tent, so she had walked alone to the rubble that used to be the Great Eastern Gate.
The black night had long passed, and Solus’s light dyed the sky above the Dark Territory in red, and the side of the Human Empire in blue.
More than half a day had passed since the the decoy troops of the Defense Army, led by Knight Commander Bercouli, had departed to the southern Dark Territory from the Great Eastern Gate. Although she knew that their mission would not be achieved that easily, blindly waiting here for them was hard to endure.
Just as Fanatio was about to close her eyes, praying to the three goddesses for, at least, the safe return of the troops —
Her eyes snapped open.
She felt as if the man she loved was speaking into her ear.
— Sorry, Fanatio. Seems that we can’t meet anymore.
— I’ll leave the rest to you. Let that kid, live on happily…
Not long ago, Fanatio had heard the exact same words. It was the last sentence that Knight Commander Bercouli had left with her when they separated here.
Covered in silver gauntlets, her hands gently caressed her abdomen.
The new life bestowed upon her body was something that had happened three months ago. Bercouli, who had gone more than a hundred years without touching Fanatio, probably already predicted it when the taboos were released.
Predicted his own death.
Sensing that the long life of Knight Commander Bercouli had ended under the faraway sky, Fanatio slowly sank to her knees, and buried her face in her hands.
Unable to contain them, she let out sobs.
The reason that Bercouli always estranged himself from Fanatio, or any other female, she had once heard a very long time ago.
The men and women of the Human Empire could only marry under official recognition of an Axiom Church priest, and could only produce the next generation under a contract. Yet Integrity Knights took on the roles of the priests, and did not need all the fanfare that came with marriage. They needed only to vow their love, share a bed, and could have children. 15
Yet this child would age and die sooner than its parents with frozen Lives. Even so, having the Highest Minister give this child the same treatment would be much crueler.
Although, after the Highest Minister passed away, Bercouli finally accepted Fanatio’s feelings. That is, he decided to protect his child, and let him live until the end of his time.
Then —
“… Please rest assured, Esteemed Bercouli. I will properly raise this child. I will make him into a man as strong and proud as you.”
Holding back her sobs, Fanatio uttered her own determination.
— But, now, just for now.
Just for now, allow me to grieve.
Throwing herself onto the ground, Fanatio tightly held a grain of sand that Knight Commander Bercouli had stepped on, sobbing without holding back.



Share This :


COMMENTS

No Comments Yet

Post a new comment

Register or Login