4

When the sun dawned on the twenty-second day of the fifth month, they had the first instance of rough weather that spring.

Large drops lashed the windows, hurled by the occasional gust of wind. Eugeo paused from his sword polishing to consider the gray sky—which was already losing Solus’s light, despite it being only the end of class.

The layers of dark clouds writhed like some living creature, blasts of purple lightning sneaking through the gaps here and there. Back in Rulid, spring storms were a bane on the villagers, as they would flatten or uproot the fragile young stalks. When Alice had learned the sacred art of weather forecasting, it practically set off a festival celebration. Sadly, they had only two years to make use of that gift before…

It wasn’t until he started learning sacred arts at the academy that Eugeo truly understood the immensity of Alice’s talent for them. Spells that made use of the laws of nature like weather and geography were some of the most notable higher arts, whose chants could extend over a hundred lines, and Eugeo couldn’t even predict if the next day’s weather would be sunny or cloudy. Alice had been able to predict the coming of a storm a week ahead of time; by now, she had to be able to manipulate the weather itself. Perhaps this angry storm was a manifestation of her own irritation that Eugeo still hadn’t come to get her…

“Ahhh!”

He pushed out that frustration with a groan and resumed polishing the cloudy silver of his blade with the oiled rag. He’d never missed his weekly upkeep of the Blue Rose Sword, but since he’d gained admittance into the academy, these were essentially the only times that he pulled it from its sheath. Everyday practice was with a wooden sword, and for the test matches, each student was given an identical sword to ensure fairness. Compared to the divine object in his hands now, those school blades were much lighter and seemed like they might fly out of the handle if he swung hard enough, but he understood that he couldn’t go waving around this tremendous blade in case it destroyed someone’s iron sword with a single blow.

The only thing I can imagine freely clashing against with this sword is something similar to that, Eugeo thought as he looked up at the black longsword being polished by his partner on the other couch.

The Gigas Cedar had loomed over the south of Rulid for three centuries, and when it fell at last, they broke off its top branch and lugged the lead-heavy thing with them all the way to Centoria—Kirito often joked that they should just plant it on the side of the road. They took it to Sadore, a metalworker and old friend of Garitta’s, and it took an entire year for him to fashion it into this sword.

Sadore, who was practically the dictionary definition of eccentric, grumbled that the blade had ruined three blackbrick grindstones that were supposed to last a decade, but he didn’t charge them, as it was a once-in-a-lifetime piece of work for him.

The finished sword shone with such a deep, rich light that it was impossible to believe it was made out of a tree branch. Kirito had used it in his duel with Volo Levantein two and a half months ago to achieve a draw, but he hadn’t taken it out of its sheath since then except to polish it.

Eugeo was starting to think that they’d never have an actual use for these particular swords during their stay at the school. They couldn’t be used in official matches, and it was hard to imagine any other students challenging them to a duel using personal weapons.

So if he wanted to fight with the Blue Rose Sword, he needed to be chosen as school representative and earn entry into the Imperial Battle Tournament. That was the whole idea of being here, of course, but he wasn’t entirely sure that he could master this heavy sword within a single match—and on such a huge stage, to boot.

Rather than a student, he’d be facing some veteran of the Imperial Knights or a famous sword-bearing line, with an equally impressive blade of his or her own. Fighting with real blades meant that a blow in the wrong spot could put him in the hospital for a month or two.

As a matter of fact, both Volo Levantein and Sortiliena, the last year’s school representatives, had fallen to the knighthood’s representative. Liena’s whip had been sliced and knocked from her hands, but Volo’s left shoulder had been crushed and broken. Normal sacred healing arts were enough to seal the skin and prevent the dropping of his life, but it couldn’t repair the bone—he was probably still undergoing treatment.

According to the newspaper that was pasted on the bulletin board once a week, that representative of the Imperial Knights was from one of the most elite imperial noble families of all: the first-rank Woolsburg line. He won not only the Battle Tournament but the Four-Empire Unification Tournament in April and was invited to the holy garden of the Axiom Church to be honored.

Perhaps it was no surprise that Liena and Volo would lose to such an opponent—but Eugeo had to win, no matter whom he faced. At next year’s Unification Tournament, he had to emerge triumphant, like this year’s Norlangarth representative, and pass through the gate of Central Cathedral. There was no other choice.

I’ll need your help. Please lend it to me, he prayed to his sword as he polished the tip. Meanwhile, Kirito was sliding his blade through the folded rag. Eugeo stared at that pitch-black sword, shining in the lamplight, and said, “Hey, Kirito.”

“What?”

“Have you come up with a name for your sword yet?”

It was the fourth time he’d asked since the sword was finished, and the answer Kirito gave him was again the same: “Erm…nope…”

“Just name the damn thing already. You can’t keep calling the poor sword ‘the black one’ forever.”

“Hmm…well, at the place I used to live, the swords’ names kind of came with them…um, I think,” Kirito mumbled vaguely. Eugeo was going to tear into him again when Kirito’s hand shot up all of a sudden.

“Wh-what?”

“Hang on. Was that the four-thirty bell?”

“Uh…”

Eugeo paused and listened. Through the howling of the wind, he could hear the faint sound of bells ringing.

“You’re right. That late already? I didn’t even hear the four o’clock chime,” Eugeo muttered, looking out of the darkened window.

But Kirito’s expression was hard. “Ronie and Tiese are late.”

Eugeo’s breath caught in his throat. Tiese and Ronie hadn’t shown up later than four o’clock to clean their rooms once. Eugeo shrugged, trying to fight back the creeping sense of worry.

“Well, the storm’s pretty bad. Maybe they’re just waiting until the rain stops. It’s not like there’s a rule about when they have to start…”

“Do you think rain would keep them away…?” Kirito asked, looking at his hands in thought. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this. I’m going down to the primary trainee dorm. You wait here, just in case I miss them by accident.”

He slid his black sword into its sheath, placed it on the table, and got up. There was a light rain jacket nearby that he fastened with his left hand while opening the window with his right.

Eugeo screwed up his face against the burst of wind and rain and said, “Um, Kirito, shouldn’t you go out the d…”

But his partner had already leaped from the windowsill to a nearby branch and slid down out of sight, leaving only the sound of rustling leaves. Eugeo sighed, exasperated, and shut the window behind him.

With the sounds of the storm at bay, suddenly the burning of the lamp on the wall seemed much louder. Eugeo returned to the couch, picked up his sword, and sheathed it, disquiet steadily building in his chest.

Higher sacred arts could tell you the location of a person, but they required a lot of spatial power and thus a catalyst. And on the school grounds, any arts that targeted another person were forbidden, even if benign. All Eugeo could do was sit on the couch and wait for something to happen.

After several long minutes of nothing, there was a small knock on the door.

Eugeo exhaled a huge breath. See? Of course you’ll miss them if you jump out the window, he thought, getting off the couch and crossing the room to the door.

“Thank goodness, I was wor—”

The words caught in his throat. It wasn’t the familiar red and dark-brown hair he was expecting but a light brown tousled by the wind.

A strange girl was standing in the hallway, neither Ronie nor Tiese. Her short hair and gray primary uniform were wet from the rain, and her dripping cheeks were pale. Her large, doe-like eyes were full of impatience and panic, and her lips were trembling.

In a quavering voice, she said, “Um…are you Elite Disciple Eugeo…?”

“Uh…y-yes. Who are you…?”

“I…I’m Frenica Cesky. I-I’m sorry for visiting you without making arrangements first. B-but…I just don’t know what to do…”

“Oh…you’re Frenica?”

He gave the short girl another examination. She had a delicate body that seemed ill-suited to swordplay and tiny hands that looked more like they were meant to weave crowns of flowers. His rage at Humbert rose anew.

But before he could say anything else, Frenica clutched her hands to her chest and pleaded, “Um…Disciple Eugeo, I’m so grateful to you for what you’ve done about Humbert Zizek and me. I’ll spare you the details of what’s happened to me, as I’m sure you already know. But…tonight, he ordered me to perform some tasks that are…d-difficult to explain here…”

Her face was deathly pale and tense, and Eugeo could sense that the shame of those words had to be burning her alive on the inside.

“I…I admitted to Tiese and Ronie that if I had to keep following those instructions, I…I’d rather quit the academy. Instead, they rushed off to plead to him in person…”

“What?” he rasped. He felt his fingers gripping the white leather scabbard going cold.

“But I just kept waiting, and they never came back, and I…I just don’t know what to—”

“When did they leave?”

“Um, I think it was right after the three-thirty bell.”

That was over an hour ago. Eugeo held his breath, looking across the hallway toward the far door. The girls had been here, on the third floor of the disciples’ dorm, this whole time. That was far too much time for an argument or petition.

He turned back to the storm-beaten window, but Kirito was not about to return through it. It would take at least fifteen minutes to visit the primary trainee dorm and come back in this weather. There was no time to wait around.

“All right,” he said to Frenica quickly. “I’ll go check it out. You wait here in this room. And…if Kirito shows up, tell him to come to Humbert’s room, will you?”

She nodded uncertainly, and Eugeo left the room. After a few steps down the parquet hallway, he realized he was still holding the Blue Rose Sword, but he didn’t want to turn around to put it back. He let it hang in his left hand and walked east down the curving hallway. With each step, the mass of anxiety in his chest grew.

The reason the girls had gone to argue their case directly was clear. Eugeo and Kirito’s first argument had not been successful, and Tiese had admitted her wish to him the night before—she wanted the strength to say the right thing, and now she had a chance to test that resolve.

But perhaps…that was…

“Was that the intent from the very start…? Not us but the girls…?” he muttered under his breath as he ran.

Between trainees and disciples of the same rank, you could speak freely without problems. But a primary trainee and an elite disciple was a different matter. They’d have to choose their words very carefully to avoid breaking the school rule on politeness. If they crossed the line, the disciple could choose to enforce disciplinary punishment in the place of a faculty member. Kirito had learned this lesson the hard way with Volo Levantein.

Eugeo consulted his memory of the school rules.

When an elite disciple hands down disciplinary punishment, one of the following three types of commands is allowed. 1) Cleaning the school grounds (see area limits). 2) Training with a wooden sword (see regimen). 3) A duel with the disciple (see rules). In all cases, higher law takes priority.

“Higher law” meant Basic Imperial Law and the Taboo Index, of course. In other words, the taboo against reducing the life of another without reason still held priority over the disciplinary punishment. If Humbert commanded Tiese and Ronie to accept a duel and insisted it be first-blow rather than stop-short, he would not be allowed to physically harm them if they did not accept. So there shouldn’t be too much to fear about Humbert’s punishment.

But the worry and dread that stabbed at his heart would not abate.

At the east end of the circular third-floor hallway, the door was closed. Eugeo didn’t even wait to gather his breath. He slammed his fist against it.

After a few seconds, Humbert’s muffled voice answered. “Well, well, you’re late to arrive, Elite Disciple Eugeo. Please, do come in and grace us with your presence!”

It was as if he’d been waiting for Eugeo to come, a realization that only quickened his pulse. He yanked the door open.

The fancy lamps they’d installed were dimmed, making the shared common room much darker than the last time he’d been here. There was some thick eastern incense burning, hazing the air in the room. Eugeo grimaced at the smell, looking around.

At the couches in the center, wearing the same thin robes as yesterday, were Raios and Humbert. Raios sat with his back to Eugeo, legs up on the table again, glass in his left hand. The contents were dark red, probably wine. Alcohol was allowed in the disciples’ dorm, with certain restrictions, but drinking on a normal day was frowned upon.

Across from him, Humbert was clearly intoxicated already. There was a slack smile on his reddened face as he leered, “Don’t just stand there. Come here and sit, Eugeo. We just opened a fifty-year vintage from the western empire. Common folks rarely get a chance to sample such fine drink!”

So Humbert wasn’t just offering him a seat but a drink as well. Eugeo silently looked around the room, feeling even stranger. Gloomy though the room was, he could see no one else was there.

Had Ronie and Tiese already left? Had they even been here? If they’d come and gone, why didn’t they at least stop at Kirito and Eugeo’s room on the other end of the hall? Questions raced through Eugeo’s brain, but the girls’ absence did at least remove some tension from his shoulders.

“No, I don’t drink alcohol. More importantly, Disciple Zizek,” he said, moving forward and choosing his words carefully, “did you perhaps have a visit today from my page, Tiese Schtrinen, or Disciple Kirito’s page, Ronie Arabel?”

It was not Humbert who answered him but Raios Antinous. He looked over his shoulder, still holding up the glass, eyes narrowed.

“…Disciple Eugeo, you look pale to me. Why not take a glass to revive your spirits?”

“No, thank you. Will you answer my question?”

“Hah, what a shame. I’m only thinking of you—as a friend.”

Eugeo could sense the slick sweat in the palm of his hand as it gripped the sword sheath. Raios gazed at him like he was a snack to go with his drink, took a tiny sip, and set the cup down on the table.

“Ahh. So…those were your pages, were they?” he said easily, licking the moisture from his lips. “They are bold trainees, to pay an unannounced visit to the first and second seats who stand above all other students in this academy. Small wonder they’re yours. But you ought to be careful—sometimes boldness can spill into rudeness and disrespect. Don’t you agree, Disciple Eugeo? Oops…pardon me. I suppose I’m wasting my time lecturing you on the courtesy of the nobility. Ha-ha, ha-ha-ha…”

So Tiese and Ronie had come here.

Eugeo could barely resist the urge to grab the collar of Raios’s robe. His voice was low and tense. “I will hear your lecture on another occasion. Where are Tiese and Ronie now?”

This time it was Humbert who languidly poured more wine and said, “Eugeo…was the burden too much for you to bear? How is a mere lumberjack from the most distant lands supposed to instruct a noble girl, even one of the lowest rank? Ha-ha-ha…you couldn’t. You didn’t know enough to teach them not to hurl disrespectful accusations at a fourth-rank noble like me. Distasteful as I found it, I had no choice but to fulfill my grand duty. It is the role of the upper nobles to correct the lower.”

“Humbert, what did you…?!”

Eugeo stopped short when the man held out his free hand, drained the glass, and got to his feet. Raios stood next and took a few steps farther toward the back of the room. Standing together, the nobles looked like brothers, wearing wicked grins as they shared a glance.

“Well, Raios…shall we have Eugeo indulge in the finest pleasure of the evening?”

“Indeed, Humbert. We’re missing one other audience member, but I’m tired of waiting. I’m sure he’ll catch up soon.”

“Pleasure…? Tired of waiting…?” Eugeo repeated, numb. Humbert jutted out his long jaw, mocking him. The two disciples turned, robes fluttering, and headed to the bedrooms on the west side of the room. Eugeo walked unsteadily after them.

Behind the door Humbert opened, the darkness was absolute, choked with the smoke of incense. Raios walked through first, followed by his partner.

Eugeo stopped when he saw the lavender smoke wisping along the floor. The trail felt like the smoldering of true evil, a thing that should not exist at the academy—should not exist in this vast empire. It was even worse than the smoke of the campfire lit by those wicked goblins in the far northern cave years ago.

His reflexes wanted him to turn away, but something in the smell caught his attention, something clean. A note like the familiar scent of solbe leaves.

The smell from Tiese’s uniform.

“…Tiese…Ronie!”

He raced forward into the bedroom just as the lamp came on.

The first thing he saw was a large canopy bed with two girls lying on it. No, laid upon it. Both were tied up with bright-red ropes on top of their gray primary trainee uniforms. Their eyes, red and brown, were staring absently into space, their minds apparently dulled by the thick incense fumes.

“Wha…? Wh-why…?”

Eugeo rushed toward the bed to at least untie the ropes first. Then Raios cried, “Not so fast!” and thrust out a palm into his face. Eugeo glanced over at the man and rasped, “Wh-what do you think you’re doing, Raios?! Why are our pages being treated like—?”

“This is a necessary measure, Eugeo.”

“Necessary…measure…?”

“Indeed. Primary Trainee Schtrinen and Primary Trainee Arabel visited this bedroom without a prior arrangement and displayed brazen disrespect for us.”

“What kind…of disrespect?” Eugeo repeated.

Humbert leaned away from the wall, leering. “You should have heard the things they said. You wouldn’t believe your ears. Those lesser nobles dared to accuse me of mistreating my page, without reason, to fulfill my own desires—me! When I, as second seat of this fine academy, am merely and rightfully guiding Frenica! Even a generous, understanding man such as I could not overlook this slight.”

“And that’s not all, Eugeo. They also claimed that, as I share a common room with Humbert, I am complicit in the actions they accuse him of committing. And when I said I did not understand…Can you believe it? That sixth-rank noble girl asked me, a third rank myself, if I had no pride as a nobleman! My goodness, what a question.”

Humbert and Raios shared a look and chuckled. It was clear now that they’d orchestrated the situation to produce this exact result. Humbert knew that Frenica was close to Tiese and Ronie and intentionally disgraced and humiliated her—until the other girls came directly to argue on her behalf.

The girls would have minced their words at first, of course. But Raios and Humbert were too slippery, too coaxing to keep them on safe footing. Eventually, they would have said something that could be taken as rude and protocol breaking.

…However.

“But Raios, even if this is all true…tying them up and locking them in your room is clearly beyond the bounds of the disciplinary punishment powers we possess!” Eugeo snapped, just barely holding his thunderous emotions in check.

The girls were tied up over their uniforms and didn’t seem to be wounded. But the only punishment allowed for acts of rudeness were cleaning, training, and duels. Abduction with restraints did not match any of those options. Raios and Humbert had to be breaking school rules—

“Disciplinary punishment?” Raios murmured, leaning closer to Eugeo. “When did I say that I was making use of that childish, limited power?”

“Wh-what do you mean? The school rules are quite strict in how they define the allowed types of punishment for trainee breach of protocol…”

“That’s where you’ve made your mistake. Have you forgotten this part of the school rules? ‘In all cases, higher law takes priority.’”

Raios’s expression swiftly changed. His red lips curled upward at the ends, turning sadistic to a degree Eugeo had never seen before.

“Higher law means the Taboo Index and Basic Imperial Law. That means I cannot directly damage their life. Those ropes are made of fine eastern silk, very stretchy…They will not harm what they hold, no matter how tightly they are tied.”

“B-but…there’s no way you can tie up a student for punishment, no matter how fine the ropes are…”

“Don’t you get it yet, Disciple Eugeo? If higher law takes precedence, that means it’s not disciplinary punishment I’m inflicting on this sixth-rank girl for talking back to a third-rank nobleman…it’s my judicial authority as a noble!”

Judicial authority.

Eugeo instantly recalled his conversation with Tiese in the forest the other day. Only fourth-rank and higher nobles had the right to wield judicial authority, and the ranks below that were subject to its powers…

Raios waited, clearly savoring the dumbfounded expression on Eugeo’s face. After a few moments, he spread his arms theatrically and declared, “Judicial authority is the greatest of noble privileges! It only applies to fifth- and sixth-rank noble families and the common people who live on our private estates, but the contents of the punishment are up to us! We must follow the Taboo Index, of course, but as long as it is not a taboo, we can do anything!”

Eugeo recovered from his shock at last. “B-but Raios! Just because you can choose your punishment doesn’t make it right to tie up teenage girls like this! It’s too cruel…”

“Ha-ha…ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!” Humbert cackled. He doubled over, yellow sleeves flying. “Ha-ha-ha! This is too rich, Raios! Disciple Eugeo thinks that our judicial review is merely to tie them up with ropes!”

“Heh-heh. Can you blame him, Humbert? He’s fresh down to the big city from his home up in the hills, and the disciple he served was just as common as he is! But I think after today, Eugeo will finally understand just what sort of power we nobles wield!” Raios said, and turned away.

He strode up to the bed where Tiese and Ronie lay and knelt atop the mattress. The frame creaked, and Tiese blinked blearily.

Then her red eyes bolted open and took account of Raios as he descended upon her. Her frail voice filled the room. “No…no…!”

She twisted, trying to escape, but could do nothing with her limbs bound. Raios extended a pale, clammy hand to trace her cheek. Next to them, Humbert climbed up as well, running his hands along Ronie’s legs. She awakened, too, took stock of the situation, and gaped silently.

At last, from barely three mels away, Eugeo understood the nature of this judicial “decision.”

Raios and Humbert were going to defile Tiese and Ronie with their own bodies. They were going to forcefully perform the act that Stacia granted only to a husband and wife—or so Eugeo believed—as a means of noble authority.

In the instant of understanding, Eugeo screamed, “Stop!!”

He took a step toward the bed, and Raios bolted upright, his eyes gleaming.

“Stay back, commoner!!” he commanded, pointing at Eugeo with one hand while his other fondled Tiese’s face. “This is the just and absolute right of nobility, as ordained by Basic Imperial Law and the Taboo Index! Interference with our judicial authority is a crime in itself! One more step, and you will be a criminal in violation of the law!”

“That’s…”

That’s not my problem! Get away from Tiese and Ronie! he wanted to shout. He wanted to leap onto Raios as he screamed it.

But suddenly his legs came to a stop, as definitely as if they’d been nailed into the ground. The halt in momentum was so sudden, he fell to his knees. His legs wouldn’t cooperate, wouldn’t help him stand up again.

Inside his head, the phrase criminal in violation of the law repeated over and over. Eugeo didn’t care about the law. He didn’t care about anything other than helping Tiese and Ronie, but he was subject to the whim of a voice that was not his.

The Axiom Church was absolute. The Taboo Index was absolute. Disobedience was forbidden. It was forbidden to all.

“Hrgh…gah…!!”

He gritted his teeth, gasped, and raised his right leg. It felt as though his familiar leather boot—and the foot inside—was as heavy as lead.

Raios watched this display of will and hissed, “That’s right. Stay there and watch like a good boy.”

“Rgh…rrrgh…”

He ignored the taunt, desperately moving that foot back to the ground, but he could do no more. Even now, Raios’s filthy hands were reaching for Tiese and Ronie on the bed.

“…Eugeo,” came a fragile voice. He moved his eyes, the only part of his body he could control.

With Raios moving to mount her, Tiese had her face turned to look at Eugeo. Those apple-red cheeks were pale with terror, but her eyes shone with a meaningful willpower.

“Don’t move, Eugeo. I’ll be…fine. I’ve earned…this punishment,” she said, her voice halting. Then she nodded and rolled her face upward again. She glared at Raios in defiance, then shut her eyes. Ronie had her face buried in Tiese’s shoulder but was no longer shrieking.

Raios seemed a bit surprised, taken aback at the strength of their will. Then he grinned venomously. “Very impressive resolve for a sixth-rank noble girl. It’ll be interesting to see how long they can last, eh, Humbert?”

“Let’s see which will break down into tears first, Raios!”

There was no nobility or pride in their actions now. Their faces were full of vulgar excitement and lust.

He’d seen that look before. Through dulled wits focused on moving his stonelike legs, Eugeo tried to remember. Yes—it was the expression the goblins wore back in that cave. They were the spitting image of the denizens of darkness who attacked Kirito and him with their scimitars.

Raios and Humbert reached to touch the girls’ faces at the same time, running their fingers down foreheads and cheeks, savoring the fear and humiliation. They deftly avoided touching the girls’ lips, as physical contact there—before the kiss that sealed a marriage—was forbidden. But if that was forbidden, how could the law allow this kind of assault on an unmarried woman? What purpose could there be in such a law?

Throb.

A sharp pain jolted deep inside his right eye. The odd, familiar pain from whenever he questioned the law or the Church.

Ordinarily, Eugeo would instinctually stop thinking when he felt it. But this time, this one time, as he crumpled to the floor, Eugeo’s mind kept racing.

All the laws and taboos existed to ensure that every resident of the human realm could live in peace and happiness; it had to be so. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not harm. Thou shalt not disobey the Axiom Church. The obedience of the masses was how the world stayed at peace.

But then, why did the many laws only “forbid”? Why create hundreds of pages of rules forbidding this and that, when you could simply write, “All human beings shall respect their fellows, treat them with courtesy, and act with good faith and benevolence”? One simple sentence in the Taboo Index, and these men would never have laid this trap to torture Tiese and Ronie.

Because it was impossible. Even with the absolute authority of the Church, it was impossible for all people to act solely out of goodness. Because…because…

Because all people embody both good and evil.

The Taboo Index was merely suppressing a facet of human evil. That was how Raios and Humbert could easily slip through the loopholes of the law—in fact, to use the law to their advantage—to prey upon the innocent like this. And Eugeo had no ability or right to stop them. At the moment, the law allowed them to do this and forbade Eugeo from preventing it.

The nobles had completely forgotten about him by now, their eyes gleaming with lust and power as they surveyed their helpless victims. They undid the front of their robes, growing closer to performing the final act.

Tiese’s and Ronie’s faces quaked in even greater terror and revulsion as they sensed the men approaching. They shook their heads back and forth in futile resistance, but even that action only added fuel to the predators’ enjoyment.

At last, Ronie gave in and begged, “N-no…no…no…!”

Hearing her friend whimper broke down Tiese’s last bit of bravery. Tears spilled onto her cheeks as she wailed, “Please…help…help, Eugeo! Eugeoooo!”

Tiese and Ronie had summoned all their courage to step up for the sake of their friend Frenica—and the law blessed this hideous treatment of them.

Raios and Humbert had plotted and schemed to ensnare the girls so that they could humiliate them and steal their chastity—and the law did nothing to stop them.

Was it an act of goodness to uphold this law?

“I…”

With every last ounce of will, Eugeo lifted his leaden body off the ground, stretching his arm across his side to pull the hilt of the Blue Rose Sword. The pain in his right eye had transcended into a lump of burning fire, turning his vision red. He ignored it and squeezed.

Once he drew the sharp steel sword and turned it on the two men, Eugeo would lose everything he’d gained at this school—his fifth-seat position, his enrollment, his dream of being school representative and appearing in the Imperial Battle Tournament.

But if he stood here and watched as they committed these acts, he would lose something even more precious—his pride as a swordsman…and his human heart.

In the woods the other day, Kirito had said there were things that had to be done, even if they were against the law. Things more important than the law, than the Index, than the Axiom Church.

It all made sense now.

He knew why Alice had touched the dirt of the land of darkness all those years ago. She had gone to help the dark knight whose chest the Integrity Knight had pierced. She did that to protect what was precious inside her.

Now it was Eugeo’s time. He couldn’t put what that precious thing was into words—in fact, most of the people in the world might even think of his action as evil.

“But…I have to!” he screamed, the words inaudible. He tried to pull the sword from its sheath.

Ka-ching.

But it was as though both sword and sheath, and perhaps even his arm itself, had turned to ice. His right arm simply stopped moving. A tremendous jolt of agony shot from his right eye, back to the center of his head. Sparks burst through his bright-red vision. His mind took flight.

…What…is this?

……Actually……it’s like back then.

Eight years ago. In the clearing out in front of the church in Rulid. When he tried to stop the Integrity Knight from taking Alice away.

Unable to move, unable to speak, sword a few measly milices loose.

His legs felt rooted deep into the ground, impossible to move even the tiniest bit.

Raios and Humbert sensed something happening and turned to see him humiliatingly frozen in place, hand on his sword. They leered at him, then slowly, theatrically, lowered their waists toward their wailing victims, watching his reaction.

An odd phenomenon then happened between them.

In the center of his right-eye vision, now dyed a pale red, was a shining circle of sacred letters in the color of blood, rotating to the right. It said, SYSTEM ALERT: CODE 871, but he had no idea what it meant.

But Eugeo could sense that this was some kind of seal. A magical seal placed deep in his eye that prevented him from moving, now and eight years ago, forcing him to comply with the law. This was why he had only been able to stand and watch as Alice was taken away.

“Urgh…hrg…aaah…!”

He desperately clung to his consciousness, trying to prevent it from leaving him altogether as he concentrated on the crimson seal. And on the other side of that vision, the sight of Raios and Humbert, preparing to pierce the bodies of those girls with their own.

It was unforgiveable. Absolutely unforgiveable. He turned that hatred into the strength to move his arm. The blade slid along the sheath. As it did, the sacred letters grew larger and rotated faster.

“N-nooooo! Eugeoooo!!” Tiese screamed.

“Rrraaaahhhh!!” Eugeo roared.

A silver light exploded in his right eye, and the eyeball burst from the inside with a squelching sensation.

Even the loss of half his sight did not register to Eugeo as he yanked on the hilt of the sword. The blade was glowing bright blue, even before it came out all the way—the Aincrad-style secret technique Horizontal.

Raios caught its lightning flash out of the corner of his eye and dipped down just in time. The sword caught his hair as it dropped, slicing the fibers free.

But behind him, Humbert was too slow to react. He halted just before he entered Ronie, swayed left, and then gaped at what he saw.

“Aah…”

A brief shriek was cut short as he raised his left arm in reaction—and the Blue Rose Sword caught it directly on the elbow.

There was no physical feedback. But the blade cut straight through Humbert’s left arm, the loose half spinning through the air until it landed on the fine carpet.

No one moved or made a sound. Eugeo paused at the finish of his swing, feeling the pain in his nonexistent right eye.

After an eternity, the raised stump of Humbert’s arm sprayed a gush of blood. Most of it landed on the shining sheets, dyeing them red, but some of the liquid landed on Eugeo’s left side, spotting his dark-blue uniform.

“Ah…aaah…aaaaaah!!”

The guttural shriek burst out of Humbert’s throat. His eyes bulged, staring at the blood spurting out of his severed elbow.

“My…my arm…my arm! Blood…all the blood…! My life…my life is draining away!!”

At last he had the presence of mind to squeeze the stump with his remaining hand, but that did not stop the blood. The liquid continued gushing onto the sheet, seeping over toward Raios next to him.

“R-Raios! Sacred arts! No…the normal kind won’t work in time! Life…Share your life with me!!” he pleaded, reaching out with his bloodied hand. Raios ducked away from it and got off the bed. Tiese and Ronie were unable to process what had happened and lay on the sheets, expressions blank.

“Raios, give me liiiife!” Humbert wailed, but Raios merely looked at him in surprise and cold impassivity.

“Stop squealing, Humbert. You’re not going to lose your life over a single arm…or so the readings suggest. Tie up the wound with that rope to stop the bleeding.”

“B-but…”

“More importantly, did you see that, Humbert?”

Humbert was trying to wind the two ropes holding the girls’ legs together around his arm now, expression desperate, but Raios turned away to look at Eugeo, who was kneeling at the end of his swing. The nobleman’s tongue flicked out and wet his lips.

“That country bumpkin there cut off your arm. It’s tremendous, fantastic…I’ve never seen someone break taboos this way. I was hoping for an act of rudeness at best…and I got a violation of the Taboo Index itself!! Truly fabulous!!”

Raios spun around, his open robe swaying, and walked to the wall on the other side of the bed. He pulled down a large longsword in a red leather scabbard. “Ordinarily, only lower nobles and residents of our holdings are the targets of judicial authority…but certainly that limitation doesn’t apply to a taboo-breaking criminal!”

He looked even more excited now than he had when he was about to attack Tiese. Raios drew his sword. It gleamed like a mirror as he held it up with his right hand.

Outside the window, an especially loud blast of thunder sounded. Purple light caught the blade and glinted in Eugeo’s left eye. It was clear that Raios Antinous intended to render Eugeo’s judgment with that sword—to kill him. But Eugeo couldn’t move. Even after violating the Taboo Index, with his right eye blown out by that mysterious seal, he was too shocked to hold up his sword, or even move, after the stunning impact of his attack on Humbert.

“Hah…heh-heh-heh! It’s too bad, Disciple Eugeo. I really was looking forward to facing you at next month’s testing match. Who could have seen that our parting would come in this manner?” Raios said, his voice lilting with mad joy. He stepped forward. Then again.

Through his blurred left eye, Eugeo saw the sword rise high.

He had to move; he had to avoid his almost certain death. But on the other hand, another voice told him it didn’t matter anymore. The dream of being an Integrity Knight and seeing Alice again was dead. His sword had tasted human blood, and he was a criminal. But at least he saved Tiese and Ronie. Neither Raios nor Humbert would try to hurt them anymore. So at least his terrible crime had achieved one meager good.

“Heh, heh-heh…even I have never cut off a man’s head with my sword before. I doubt even Father or Uncle has done it. This will make me stronger…far stronger than even that cocky Levantein heir.”

Again, Raios’s sword and face glowed, followed by another burst of thunder. On the floor, Humbert was cradling his lost arm, but he looked up, briefly forgetting his pain, while, trapped on the bed, Tiese was trying to say something.

Eugeo smiled back at the primary trainee who had worked so hard at being his page for the past month, then hung his head.

“Disciple Eugeo—no, Eugeo the Guilty!! I, Raios Antinous, third-rank noble son, hereby sentence thee to judicial authority!! Give up all of your life to the gods…and do penance for your sin!!” Raios announced. His blade roared.

Gwiiing! A metallic crash. Eugeo waited, but no sword landed on his neck. He raised his head—and saw.

Right in midair, Raios’s sword had met another…a pitch-black blade that held it in place. The sleeve around the arm hanging over his head was also black. The intruder’s hair, slick with rain—black.

“Kiri…to…” Eugeo mumbled. He’d gone all the way to the primary trainees’ dorm to look for the girls, and yet he was here. His partner mouthed the word Sorry. Then he stared forward at his opponent.

“Remove your sword, Raios. I won’t let you hurt Eugeo.”

Raios sneered hatefully as he recognized his foe, but the smile eventually came back. “At last you arrive, Disciple Kirito. But sadly, you are too late! That bumpkin there is no longer even a citizen of the empire, much less a student here. He is guilty of breaking the Taboo Index! I, Raios Antinous, third-rank noble and first-seat elite disciple, have the authority to pass judgment on his crime! So stand back and watch as this criminal’s head falls from his shoulders…just as your flowers fell!!”

In contrast to Raios’s long and haughty speech, Kirito’s response was far shorter and heavier.

“I don’t care about your taboos and noble rights.”

His eyes gleamed as they stared at Raios. He didn’t bother to wipe away the water dripping from his bangs. “Eugeo is my friend. And you are scum, lower than the goblins of the land of darkness.”

Shock appeared first on Raios’s face, followed by hatred, then a savage joy. “My goodness…What a shock! So both of you hayseeds were agreeable enough to commit treasonous crimes together! Now I can eliminate the both of you. What a glorious day…Truly, Stacia smiles upon me!!”

He pulled back his sword and held it high again. This time, he clutched the handle with both hands and turned sideways, long robes rustling. When he crouched, the blade glowed a blackened red color: the High-Norkia secret technique, Mountain-Splitting Wave.

Without realizing it, Eugeo tried to get to his feet as soon as he saw the stance.

During his duel with Volo Levantein a few months ago, Kirito had bested that same attack with the four-part Aincrad skill Vertical Square. But Raios’s attack seemed to swirl with a wicked, twisted energy that he’d not seen before. It wouldn’t have the skill that Volo’s technique did, but Raios’s burgeoning noble pride was feeding it a terrible strength of its own.

Sensing that even Kirito couldn’t handle this alone, Eugeo desperately tried to get up, but he could not will any power into his legs.

Suddenly, he felt his partner’s hand push on his shoulder. “It’s all right,” Kirito murmured, moving Eugeo against the wall. Once back in place, he gripped his sword with both hands, like Raios did.

This action stunned Eugeo, even through his quickly fading wits. Like the Zakkarite style, Aincrad style was almost entirely one-handed—and none of the secret arts were two-handed. Besides, both Kirito’s sword and the Blue Rose Sword didn’t have the handle length for two…

“……!!”

Suddenly, understanding struck, and Eugeo gasped.

The handle of Kirito’s black sword grew, emitting little tinging noises. In fact, it wasn’t just the handle—the blade itself was expanding in both width and length. Not as big as Raios’s massive sword but a good five or six cens longer than Eugeo’s.

Kirito held his enlarged black sword above the waist on his right side. It buzzed, vibrating the air, and glowed a jade-green color. That wasn’t Aincrad style. It was the Serlut style’s Ring Vortex—a move he’d seen at the testing matches last year.

“Kah! Ka-ha-ha…So in your desperation, you turn to mimicking the work of others?! My greatest technique will shatter your measly attempt!!”

“Come on, Raios! You’ve earned enough debt; now it’s time to pay up!!”

Both swords roared with power, lighting the small bedroom in red and green.

Humbert, huddling on the floor in the back; Tiese and Ronie, now sitting up on the bed and clutching each other; and Eugeo, kneeling along the wall—all silently watched the two swordsmen.

It was a fight between elite disciples—a showdown they would have seen at next month’s testing match, if not for today’s events. The next bolt of lightning was the signal to start.

“Kyeaaaaa!!” Raios screamed, and brought his sword down.

“Seyaa!!” Kirito belted, slicing upward on a diagonal.

Red and green trails of light clashed in midair, rumbling the floorboards and blowing all the glass windows outward. As he stared at the intersection of the black and silver blades, Eugeo understood why Kirito hadn’t used the Aincrad style.

The speedy but light single-handed attacks would not be enough to stop a double-handed High-Norkia technique. It would require leaping away at the moment of impact to disperse the shock, then chaining together more swings after that, but that wasn’t possible without the space of the training hall. Maybe in the common room next door, but Kirito had no choice but to fight here to protect Eugeo. That was why he chose to use the Serlut two-handed Ring Vortex.

“K-Kirito!!” Eugeo gasped, his throat parched, right as Kirito fell to his left knee. The black sword was being pushed backward, creaking with the pressure. Raios’s eyebrows and the corners of his mouth had risen as high as they could, and he screeched with triumph.

“How’s that…? How do you like that?! You miserable, inferior peasants!! Why would you ever think you could get the better of Raios Antinous?! You might be able to bring dead flowers to life with some occult arts, but your parlor tricks will not affect my sword!!”

The glow infusing Raios’s blade shifted from red to filthy black, spreading from the weapon up his arms and around his body, his robes and golden hair rippling. Kirito’s position was pushed back near to his original stance, the green color on his sword flickering weakly.

“Kiri—” Eugeo started to say, then stopped.

Ring Vortex, overpowered by Mountain-Splitting Wave—he’d seen this exact sight before.

Yes, from this March, at the final match of the previous elite disciples’ testing tournament. Volo’s powerful sword had pushed Sortiliena down to one knee, just like Kirito was now…and then…

“Hraaahh!!”

Kirito roared again. The brilliant jade color flashed through his black sword once more, brightening the room. It was a combination of two single-use attacks. That was how Liena had defeated Volo in the end.

Normally, all secret techniques came to a halt if their form was broken. The only extension to their power came if the sword was pushed back along the same trajectory it initially followed. Liena saw it happen during Kirito and Volo’s duel, then mastered it in just half a month—a dual use of the Serlut style’s Ring Vortex.

Kirito had been Liena’s page, but since she graduated right after the final testing match, he couldn’t have had time to learn this right from her. He had made her technique his own, just from seeing it performed.

This was the proper way of a disciple and page.

This was the true nature of the sword.

Tears welled in Eugeo’s left eye. They were tears of admiration for this incredible feat and tears of longing that he could have learned more in his short time. Through his blurred eye, he saw Kirito’s second Ring Vortex snap Raios’s sword in half…

And then it severed the first seat’s hands, well above the wrist.

When Raios toppled onto the carpet, landing on his behind, he stared dumbfounded at his nearby broken sword half and the hilt piece, still clutched in his two loose hands. Eventually, his eyes traveled back to his own arms. They extended from his red sleeves, severed clean before the elbow. Jets of blood erupted from the sheer cross-sections, spilling more red on his chest and belly to match the color of his robe.

“A…aah…aaaaaaaaahhh!!” Raios screamed, his eyes bulging as far as they could go. “My…my arms!! My arrrrms!! The blood…the blood!!”

Just minutes ago, Raios had coldly told Humbert to stop whining and staunch the bleeding himself—apparently he was not made of sterner stuff himself. His eyes swiveled here and there until he at last spotted Humbert huddled a short distance away, and he tottered over on his knees.

“Humbeeeert!! Blood!! Stop my bleeding!! Take off your rope and tie my arms!!”

While Humbert typically acted like he was Raios’s servant at these moments, he was unable to acquiesce in this instance. He cradled his own left arm, tied around several times with that special red rope, and shook his head in rapid motions. “N-no! If I t-take this off, my life will drop!!”

“What?! Humbert! You dare defy my orders…”

He stopped abruptly.

The two ropes used to tie up Tiese and Ronie were both tied around Humbert’s stump. To stop the bleeding in Raios’s arms, he’d need both. But without any treatment to stop his bleeding, removing the ropes from Humbert’s arm would make the blood flow again, decreasing his life. And that—the intentional or unjustified lessening of another’s life—was a grave breach of the Taboo Index.

“But…my blood…Humbert, you…Taboo…But…my life…” Raios babbled in a panicked falsetto. He looked back and forth frantically from his own gushing blood to the ropes tied around Humbert’s wound.

As the heir to a third-rank noble family, Raios Antinous was placed in a hard spot, forced to choose between his own life and the Taboo Index. An amalgamation of his own swollen self-importance, he naturally valued his own life above anything else. But at the same time, he could not disobey the absolute authority of the Taboo Index. That would make him no better than Eugeo, whom he’d attempted to execute.

“Aaaah! Taboo…Life…Blood…Tabooooo…!” he wailed.

Kirito approached him, then stopped two mels short and reached out for Tiese and Ronie on the bed. He touched their shoulders to reassure them, nodded, then started to untie the rope that bound Ronie’s top. Eugeo assumed he would use it to stop Raios’s bleeding, but the knot was very tight. All the while, the first seat’s howling and thrashing grew more frantic.

“Bluh…Tab…Lie…Ta…Live…Tab…” he grunted, back arched, barely forming words anymore. Kirito untied the rope at last and took a step toward the flailing man.

“Life, tagboo, live, daboo, dab, da, da, da-da-da-da—”

Raios’s voice was turning abnormal. It sounded less human than animal, perhaps, or like the repetition of some broken tool.

“Da-da-da, dah, dah, dih, dil, dil-dil-dil, dildildildildi”

The sound cut off.

Raios Antinous toppled straight backward. The blood was still flowing from his severed arms, meaning that he still had some essence of life left, but Eugeo sensed that Raios was no longer alive.

Likewise, Kirito, Tiese, and Ronie—who had been untying the other girl’s ropes—were all frozen in shock. It was Humbert who first approached Raios to examine his strained rictus of a face.

“Aiiiie!” he screamed in terror. “R-R-Raios is…d-d-dead! K…k…killed…killed!! M-murder…Mo…mo…monster!!”

He crawled away from Kirito, then got to his feet, knees quaking, and rushed out into the common room. After that he exited to the hallway, as his footsteps and shrieks faded toward the stairs.

Eugeo had no idea what would happen next or what they should do. So many things had happened in such short succession that even his exploded eyeball seemed trivial. For now, he returned the Blue Rose Sword to its sheath and somehow managed to stand.

He met Kirito’s eyes, nodded without a word, then plodded toward Tiese on the bed.

Then his feet stopped. Eugeo was a criminal now, guilty of cutting off Humbert’s arm in violation of the Taboo Index. To that sixteen-year-old girl, he might be just as bad as Raios…perhaps even more detestable.

He slumped his head, unable to look up at her, and started to back away.

A small body slammed itself into his chest.

Red hair pressed hard against his uniform, and he heard an anguished voice cry, “I’m sorry…I’m sorry, Eugeo…I-it’s all my fault—”

He shook his head, cutting off Tiese. “No, it’s not your fault. I was…I didn’t think it through. None of this is your fault.”

“B-but…but…”

“It’s okay. You and Ronie are safe, and that’s what matters. I’m the one who should apologize…I’m sorry for putting you through this terror,” he said, and patted the maple-red hair. Tiese began to bawl in earnest, and next to them, Ronie was weeping into Kirito’s shirt in the same way. Eugeo’s partner looked over her head at him and nodded.

Eugeo was going to nod back, but at that very moment, Kirito winced, as if someone had pulled on his hair. He looked left and right, then up at the ceiling.

When his eyes bulged, Eugeo followed their direction—and then he saw it.

On the ceiling of the bedroom, near the northeast corner, floated what looked like a purple board. It was similar to a Stacia Window but much larger, and round. On the inside, someone was watching the room…no, watching them. He couldn’t tell if they were male or female, young or old. The skin was pale and white, and the eyes were like glass marbles.

…Where have I…?

……I’ve seen that face before. Long ago.

In that instant of recognition, the white face opened a mouth like a bottomless pit. Instantly, Kirito hissed into his ear, “Don’t let the girls hear it!”

Eugeo promptly folded his arms around the sobbing Tiese’s head. Kirito did the same to Ronie.

“Singular Unit Detected. Tracing ID,” spoke the person on the other side of the purple window in a bizarre voice. It sounded like sacred arts chanting, but he didn’t recognize any of the vocabulary from class. After a few seconds, the face said, “Coordinates Fixed. Report Complete.”

And with that, the window vanished entirely. It was a freakish experience, but Eugeo’s mind was too exhausted to feel shock or fear at this point. He exhaled and decided to leave the interpretation up to Kirito.

Outside the windows, the storm was receding, so the only sound in the room was Ronie’s and Tiese’s sobbing. Eugeo hugged his page tight and looked down at the floor.

There lay the corpse of Raios Antinous, frozen with his back in an extreme arch, thrusting his mangled arms outward. Kirito had cut off those arms, but Eugeo had done the same to Humbert, so they were both in the same boat. His mind replayed the sound of Humbert’s voice:

Murderer. Monster.

Those words had appeared in his grandma’s old stories, the ones she’d told Eugeo and his brothers to frighten them when they were little. The inhuman creatures in the land of darkness had no laws or taboos to keep, and they would murder even within their species, she said. Eugeo learned that fact for himself in that icy cave two years ago.

That’s right…I’m just like those goblins now. I let my rage control me, and I struck down Humbert Zizek…a fellow student at my own school.

So shouldn’t I at least judge and punish myself, to prove that I am not like those goblins in at least one tiny way? If I am a monster, do I really have the right to seek comfort in Tiese’s warmth…?

He clenched his left eye shut and gritted his teeth—and that was when Kirito reached over and clamped his hand on Eugeo’s shoulder.

“You’re human, Eugeo. Just like me…You make mistakes, you try to find the meaning in them, and you keep struggling…like a human does.”

The words prompted a sudden flood of warm liquid from Eugeo’s left eye. He was afraid it had started bleeding like the one on the right, but when he carefully lifted the eyelid, he saw that the light of the lamp on the wall was glimmering and gleaming, broken into flickering pieces.

It wasn’t blood he was looking through but tears. They fell down his cheek and landed in succession on Tiese’s hair. After a few moments, she looked up at him. The hazy red of her eyes reminded him of leaves in the fall, laden with the droplets of morning dew.

His trainee page—at least for now—smiled the faintest of smiles, pulled a white cloth out of her pocket, and pressed it softly to his cheek. As the tears fell one after the other, Tiese silently continued to wipe them dry.