5

“…It is a terrible shame,” murmured Miss Azurica, the dorm supervisor. She thought for a moment, then added, “I was certain that you two would be our school representatives at the end of the year.”

“That was my plan, too,” said Kirito, bold as ever. Unable to muster that same courage, Eugeo looked upward, feeling his left eye getting hot.

The May sky was utterly blue and cloudless, washed clean by the storm overnight. Birds crowded the green, budding branches, chirping brightly. It was the perfect day to lie down on the central lawn and take a nap—but they would never sleep at this school again.

Eugeo and Kirito had spent the night behind the heavy gate they had just left: the holding cells in the basement of the Swordcraft Academy faculty building. For hardly ever being used since the very founding of the school, the cell was quite thoroughly clean, and the bed was as nice as those at the primary trainee dorm, but Eugeo didn’t get a wink of sleep.

Kirito, in characteristic form, worked hard through the night trying to heal Eugeo’s ruptured eye with sacred arts, but without a catalyst, the best he could do was seal it up. Restoring its function was too difficult. He still didn’t know why the eye had collapsed like that without an external cause. After a number of experiments, the spatial power dried up, and even Kirito’s stubbornness had to be set aside.

At last the morning broke, and the sun shone through the narrow window. At the ringing of the nine o’clock bells, they were released at last. They figured that some imperial guardsmen had come to take them away, but to their surprise, it was merely Miss Azurica, the supervisor at the primary trainee dorm.

Kirito’s statement caused the twentysomething teacher’s expression to soften. Then she turned to Eugeo. Those silver-blue eyes, which put him in mind of polished metal, always made Eugeo nervous due to their resemblance to Sister Azalia’s back home, but this time he stayed firm and met her gaze.

Azurica started to say something, then shut her mouth. Instead, she pulled an object out of her pocket—a pale-green sphere. It looked like a glass ornament, but it wasn’t. It was a crystal of holy power, harvested from the school’s Four Holy Flowers.

She squeezed the precious catalyst between her fingers and crushed it. The sphere shattered, the tiny pieces sparkling as they fell. She held out that hand to Eugeo’s right eye and began to chant spell words.

“System Call. Generate Luminous Element…”

The chanting was far faster than any they’d heard from their sacred arts teacher. Eugeo and Kirito paused in shock as she smoothly assembled all the requisite words, until a warm light coalesced on Eugeo’s wounded eye.

“Open your eye,” she whispered. Very hesitantly, Eugeo lifted the eyelid that had been sealed for sixteen hours at this point. When he realized that his sight had returned in full capacity, he let out a gasp of surprise and delight. After several turns in place to assure himself that everything was truly normal, Eugeo came to his senses and bowed.

“Th-thank you, Miss Azurica.”

“That’s quite all right. More importantly, Disciple Eugeo and Disciple Kirito…I have something to say to you before you are handed over,” Azurica announced. For a rare moment, she looked hesitant, then placed one hand each on their shoulders. “You are going to be judged for turning your backs on the Taboo Index and harming the life of others. But do not forget—the Taboo Index…the Axiom Church itself was created not by God but by man.”

“Uh…wh-what does that…?” Eugeo started to ask.

Even small children knew that it was Stacia, god of creation, who forged the Earth. It was equally known that the Church that ruled the world was a holy creation as well.

“That is all I can say for now. But…I’m sure you will soon learn the truth of the world for yourselves,” Azurica said. Then she winced and closed just her right eye. Eugeo could sense that she was feeling a sharp pain there.

“Disciple Eugeo…you broke a seal that I could not. That means you’ll go places I could not reach…Trust in your sword and your friend,” she said, then turned to the other boy. “Disciple Kirito. Here at the end, I still do not know just who you are. But I know that when you reach the tower, something will happen. I will be here, praying that you find the light.”

Somehow, Kirito seemed to understand this mysterious statement. He nodded and enfolded Azurica’s hand on his shoulder with both of his own, moving it to his chest. “Thank you, Miss Azurica. I’ll come and see you again sometime. Then I can tell you everything you want to know.”

Then he pulled her dainty fingers up to touch his lips. She blinked several times in surprise, and unless it was Eugeo’s imagination, her cheeks seemed to color just a bit. She smiled faintly.

Kirito made that face like someone was tugging on his hair again, but she didn’t seem to notice. She gently pulled her hand free of his, then removed the other one from Eugeo’s shoulder.

“Let’s go, then. Your escort is here.”

The grounds of the school, usually bustling with students going to and from class, were eerily empty and quiet. Instead, Eugeo spotted something unexpected in front of the training hall. His freshly healed eyes bulged.

It was a huge creature, shining in the light of Solus. Not only was the metal armor on its chest and head gleaming, but so were the silvery-white triangular scales that covered its body. He didn’t need to see the folded wings jutting up like twin towers or the long curved tail to know that it was a dragon. It was the largest and most powerful spiritual creature in the human empire, the mount of the Axiom Church’s almighty Integrity Knights.

The dragon’s rider was nowhere to be seen. Unperturbed by the massive dragon watching them from above, Miss Azurica walked the two boys to the entrance of the training hall and stopped.

She looked at both of them in turn, gave them a firm nod, then spun on her heels. As she strode away, tall boots clicking, both Kirito and Eugeo bowed deeply in her direction. Only when the footsteps were gone did they raise their heads, check on the dragon, and turn to the door.

“So…if there’s a dragon…then does that mean our escort is…an Integrity Knight?” Eugeo whispered with a slight quiver. His partner snorted in his usual fashion and reached for the closed door.

“We’ll find out soon,” he said, pushed it open, and marched inside. Eugeo steeled his courage and followed.

It was gloomy inside, as the windows meant to bring in light were closed. Naturally, there were neither students nor instructors within the training floor and its stands.

On the wall across from the entrance, there was a painting based on the creation myth, that of the three goddesses of light vanquishing Vecta, god of darkness. But in the middle of the large, empty hall, facing toward the painting and away from them, there was a person.

Years ago, Eugeo had seen an Integrity Knight close up—when Alice was taken away. He’d called himself Deusolbert Synthesis Seven and was nearly two mels tall. Whoever this was, they were far smaller. In fact, Eugeo was actually taller.

The blue cape that hung from the shoulder clasps was embroidered with the Axiom Church’s insignia, a combination of cross and circle. But the most striking feature of the figure was the long, flowing golden hair. It reflected a deeper, richer glow than even Raios’s, gleaming like molten gold in any level of light.

The Integrity Knight did not move, so Eugeo and Kirito shared a glance before starting forward. They crossed the training hall in a straight line, coming to a stop five mels before the short figure.

“…Elite Disciple Eugeo of the North Centoria Imperial Swordcraft Academy, at your service,” he said awkwardly.

“Kirito, ditto.”

Normally that would be when Eugeo would think, Don’t be lazy—introduce yourself properly! but not even an inkling of that thought occurred to him now. And not due to nerves. As he gazed at the blue cape and golden hair, swaying gently in the breeze from the open door, a strange sensation started coming over him.

Where have I…?

The combination of blue and gold. It was…strangely…familiar…

Several seconds later, this constricting hesitation turned to full-blown, heart-stopping shock.

“Axiom Church of Centoria, Integrity Knight—Alice Synthesis Thirty.”

The knight did not turn around for the introduction. But there was no way he would mistake that voice. He’d heard it nearly every day in the first ten years after his birth.

And the name. The last part was unfamiliar, but he couldn’t miss the word Alice.

It couldn’t be a coincidence. Eugeo stumbled forward, legs numb, and mumbled, “…Alice…? Is that you…? Are you…Alice…?”

Kirito reached out quickly from his side, but Eugeo slipped past his grasp to approach one step closer. The hair and cape rustled, sending forth a faint, light scent. It was gentle and familiar, like a field of flowers under the sun. It was the smell of his old friend’s blue apron dress.

“Alice!” he called, firmly this time, and reached for her shoulder. She would turn around, greet Eugeo with that fond old smile, mischievous and smug—

A glint of light shattered that hope into dust.

A tremendous force smashed Eugeo’s right cheek, knocking him clean off his feet to land heavily on the training hall floorboards.

“Eugeo!” Kirito cried, helping him up, but Eugeo was so stunned he didn’t even register his friend’s presence.

Somehow, there was a longsword in the knight’s outstretched hand, even as she kept her back to them. But it was still sheathed, not naked. She had removed the sheath from its holder and used the end of it to strike Eugeo’s cheek.

The knight smoothly lowered the sword and said, “Choose your words and actions carefully. I have the right to remove up to seventy percent of your life. The next time you attempt to touch me without permission, I will cut off your hand,” she said, her voice as crisp, clear, and harsh as snowmelt water when she turned around at last.

“…Alice…”

Eugeo couldn’t help mumbling that name one last time.

The Integrity Knight with the golden sword could be nobody else but the grown Alice Zuberg, daughter of Gasfut and sister of Selka, once taken away from Rulid as a child—Eugeo’s childhood friend.

Naturally, she was not dressed the same. On her torso, shoulders, and waist was thin, light armor of finely detailed metal, and below that, the skirt extended practically to her ankles. But there was no mistaking that face.

Long, pristine blond hair. Clear, pale skin. But most of all, the incomparable deep blue of her slightly tapered eyes, a color that he’d never seen in anyone else’s, even in Centoria.

But the look in those eyes was not what he remembered. The vibrant curiosity of her childhood Rulid days was gone, replaced by nothing but cold authority that fixed on Eugeo as he sat on the floor.

Her pink lips moved, producing that beautiful, cruel voice again. “Ahh…I intended to strike you for thirty percent of your life, but I achieved only half that. If you have the agility to disperse that damage, then I can see why you were able to achieve elite disciple status…and the boldness to attempt murder.”

The way she spoke, it was as if she’d read Eugeo’s Stacia Window without touching him, but he couldn’t even begin to guess what that meant.

He just couldn’t accept the words he was hearing. Kind, caring Alice would never say these things. Further, it made no sense that she had no reaction to his name, had struck him on the face without a second thought, and then—most of all—that she was standing there as an Integrity Knight, of all things.

He was going to call out again, to ignore her warning—when Kirito whispered into his ear.

“That knight must be the Alice you’ve been searching for.”

Even in these bizarre circumstances, his partner’s voice was calm and collected, and it brought a measure of rationality to Eugeo’s bewildered mind. He managed to bob his head, to which Kirito whispered again, “Let’s follow her orders for now. As long as we get into Central Cathedral, even as criminals, we should be able to argue our case.”

Get into the cathedral.

It took Kirito’s suggestion to get this point into Eugeo’s head. His dream of going through the two tournaments in triumph and being named Integrity Knight was dead, but violating the Taboo Index had actually brought him here to his goal more than a year ahead of schedule.

Get into Central Cathedral and meet Alice. The order was backward now, but that was everything Eugeo wanted. He didn’t know why she was acting like a totally different person now, but at the very least, he’d achieved half his goal. And once he got into the cathedral, he was sure to find a way to turn Alice back to her old self.

Eugeo’s mind was back under rational self-control, and Alice was putting away her sword. She started walking for the main doors, cape trailing in the breeze.

“Stand and follow.”

Disobedience was not an option. Kirito helped Eugeo up to his feet, and they followed her in silence.

Once out of the hall, Alice headed straight for the waiting dragon and patted its fearsome snout. Then she retrieved some strange tools from the large cargo bag behind the saddle. They looked like three heavy leather straps connected by chains—shackles. Just like the tool used to bind Alice eight years ago.

She brought over the shackles, one in each hand, then commanded Kirito and Eugeo to stand up straight. The order was far quieter than when Raios screamed that he would execute Eugeo, but it had a deep, irresistible quality to it, as though she were speaking God’s own words.

“Elite Disciple Eugeo. Elite Disciple Kirito. You are hereby arrested for violating the Taboo Index and will be brought in for questioning and sentencing.”

She wrapped the restraints around them as they stood at attention. The leather straps went around their arms, chest, and waist, and soon they were completely immobilized. She then returned to her dragon, still holding the chains connected to their backs, and fixed one chain to each of the large armor clasps on the beast’s powerful haunches. Kirito was tied to the dragon’s right leg and Eugeo to the left.

The Integrity Knight named Deusolbert had tied Alice to his dragon’s leg the same way. But it was a day’s flight from Rulid all the way to Centoria. If she was just dangling in thin air the entire time, it was hard to imagine a more terrifying, strenuous experience for an eleven-year-old.

Somehow, Alice was now an Integrity Knight herself, tying Eugeo to her dragon just as she had once been tied. The lack of any hesitation in her actions forced Eugeo to face the truth: Alice the knight was both Alice Zuberg and a different person entirely. Some great and terrible power had changed her.

Like Kirito said, they might be able to learn the secret behind this change if they went to Central Cathedral. But the real question was, could they actually turn Alice back?

And even more pressing—what if the same thing happened to him? What if he forgot everything and turned into someone else? What if he forgot his life in Rulid, the journey to Centoria…even his memories at the academy…?

For a moment, he was plunged into deep fear and panic.

Then a pair of footsteps approached from behind, and both he and Kirito turned to look.

Stumbling forward, uncertain and yet insistent, was a pair of primary trainees in their gray uniforms: Tiese Schtrinen with her long red hair and Ronie Arabel with her brown hair cut short.

The hesitance of their footsteps was actually due to the objects they were carrying. Tiese had a longsword in a white leather sheath, while Ronie carried a similar weapon in black. It was clear at a glance that these were their personal swords, which had been left behind in Raios’s bedroom.

Tiese’s palms were split and bloodied where they held the sheath, and it was no wonder—even Eugeo and Kirito had to steel themselves to lift the swords, they were so heavy.

“Tiese…”

“Ronie!”

The girls responded with faint smiles through the pain. But it also drew the attention of Alice, who left the dragon’s side to examine the girls. Eugeo recalled the stinging pain of the blow on his still-numb cheek, and he shouted, “No, Tiese! Don’t come closer!”

But the trainees did not stop. They crossed the last ten mels of distance, blood dripping on the cobblestones, then fell to their knees in front of Alice.

After a lot of heavy breathing, Tiese was first to look up, face resolute, and said, “L-Lady Knight…we beg of you!”

Ronie followed in a quavering voice. “We ask your permission…to return their swords!”

Alice stared down at the girls until, eventually, she bobbed her head. “Very well. However, weapons cannot be given to the guilty. I will take them. If you wish to speak to them, you will have one minute.”

She took the Blue Rose Sword in her right hand and the black sword in her left and easily lifted them up, apparently not feeling the weight whatsoever, then returned to the dragon and stashed the weapons in the storage bag from which she had pulled the restraints.

Tiese and Ronie clasped their bloodied hands before their chests, relief seeming to numb them to any pain. They unsteadily got to their feet and rushed to their tutors’ sides.

“…Eugeo…”

Tiese leaned close, her red eyes puffy from crying. It took all of Eugeo’s willpower to meet her gaze, rather than look away.

He had cut off Humbert’s arm right in front of them last night. When the same fate befell Raios, he screeched in an unearthly manner before perishing. Tiese and Ronie were physically unharmed by the experience, but the mental shock and trauma had to be great.

To her, Eugeo was no longer a trustworthy mentor, but a criminal who had broken the Taboo Index. He was locked in chains, the only just fate for someone guilty of his sins.

But then—

Fat tears welled up in Tiese’s maple-red eyes and spilled down her cheeks.

“Eugeo…I’m so sorry…This is…all my fault,” she squeaked, clenching her hands. “I’m sorry…If only I hadn’t…been so stupid…”

“No…that’s not true,” Eugeo said, stunned. “You did nothing wrong, Tiese…In fact, what you did for your friend was right. All of this…is my fault. You have nothing to apologize for.”

She stared back into his eyes, so straightforwardly that she seemed to glimpse the very depths of his soul, and put on a brave smile.

“Next time,” the young page said, quavering but resolute, “next time I will save you. I…I’ll work my hardest, become an Integrity Knight, and come save you…so just be patient. Wait for me. I swear…I swear…”

A sob stuck the words in her throat. Eugeo could do nothing but nod.

On the other side of the dragon, Ronie and Kirito finished a similarly short conversation. She put a small package into Kirito’s chained hands and tearfully said, “This is…a lunch for you. If you get hungry, please eat…”

Whatever Kirito said in reply was drowned out by the sound of the dragon’s wings flapping.

“It is time. Step away,” Alice commanded from the saddle. She whipped the reins, and the dragon stood. The chains pulled upward and left Eugeo nearly in the air.

Tiese and Ronie took a few steps backward, tears tumbling from their eyes. The silver wings beat the air, whipping the girls’ hair around.

The dragon took a few rumbling steps to pick up speed. The girls sprinted after them, but soon they stumbled and dropped to all fours. Then the beast’s powerful legs launched off the surface and into the air.

As it ascended in a spiral, Tiese and Ronie grew smaller and smaller. Eventually they disappeared into the gray blur of the cobblestones, and even the entirety of the North Centoria Imperial Swordcraft Academy began to fade.

The dragon, Integrity Knight on its back and criminals hanging from its legs, started a direct flight to the Axiom Church’s towering Central Cathedral at the heart of everything.