Hey, this is the 71st chapter.
Sorry for the slightly late update. I was busy for Chinese New Year and I also had to prepare going to Australia, since I'll be studying pharmacy over there, so all those preparations held me from actually working on the chapter.
Speaking of which, DAMN this is a messy year. First we had a legend's passing by the name of Kobe Bryant, then we have this mess of the Corona Virus.
Its a bit late, but let us all have a moment of silence for that.
I hope everyone drinks 25 litres of water a day, cuz apparently that seems to be one of the only ways to fight that virus off. XD
Anyways, thank you all for your reviews as always.
To the Guest, currently, I don't plan on having Asuna, Sinon, Leafa or even Hikari enter the Underworld as in canon.
I have other plans for that. In fact, expect the story to be different than canon in several ways.
Let me give you an example, in canon, there were less than a dozen Integrity Knights available for the war. Obviously, we don't have that here, for we have over 30 knights ready and willing.
So, while the outline will follow canon very loosely. And I emphasise on loosely, cuz I'll be changing things a bit as I go.
To Said Saber Fang, or izzit Saint Saber Fang, I don't know if you're the same person or if its just a typo in the name, but I'm assuming you are the same person.
Its fine if you wanna think about it, just tell me who the person you're thinking of and I'll drop em a message about it.
To Saifani Tri, I know I answered you in the PM, but I'll just say it here again.
Alice Zuberg in canon, Alice Synthesis Thirty in canon, and the Alice in my story are all three different people.
Alice Zuberg grew up with only Eugeo. She has next to no memories of Kirito, just like how Eugeo had no memories of Kirito. And of course, she likes Eugeo.
Alice Synthesis Thirty in canon didn't know Eugeo or Kirito since she lost her memories. And she loves Kirito, or rather, started loving him, when she took care of him for half a year.
The Alice in my story, is more a mix of the two Alice's in canon. This Alice grew up with both Kirito and Eugeo. She also retained her memories from her childhood.
So to be precise, this Alice isn't Alice Zuberg in canon nor is she the knight from canon. She is a different person with a similar character background.
And well, I said it in the past few chapters. Alice will be in Kirito's harem. One way or another. XD
Finally, Guest, don't worry, you'll be seeing Naruko, or as I named her in this story, Hikari, and the others quite soon enough.
So yeah, that settles it. Without further ado, here is the newest chapter.
XXX
With Emiya, the man stared at the two sword golems, both of the golems slowly flanking him.
The man smirked, holding the pair of falchions tightly.
In the next instant, the sword golems charged. The one of Emiya's right9 swung its sword arm, and in response, the knight jumped up, before he parried a slash from the second golem.
Not missing a beat, Emiya threw both Kanshou and Bakuya at the golem on his left, before projecting a large black bow, kicking the left golem's arm to push himself back and further up into the air.
As he fell, Emiya quickly traced a twisted oddly shaped sword that didn't look unlike an arrow.
The man let out a breath, as he poured his mana into the projectile, "I am the bone of my sword."
Emiya took aim, his bow and arrow pointed at the golem on his left, and his eyes widened ever so slightly, "CALADBOLG!"
The archer let the arrow loose, its aim true.
The altered version of the rainbow sword struck the center of the sword golem. In the next instant, the projectile exploded as it struck the golem.
Emiya landed on the ground, and soon, the explosion died off, revealing a large crater on the floor, slowly repairing itself. The only sign that the sword golem ever existed was golden dust that lingered in the air.
The knight then raised a copy of Kanshou, redirecting a strike from the remaining sword golem to the ground.
Emiya glanced at the other sword golem he was facing, and he jumped away as the golem tried to smash him with its other sword arm.
The knight clad in red let out a breath, and in an instant, he projected a red spear, "System Call: Enhance Armament."
The spear glowed, and Emiya narrowed his eyes, "Release Recollection. GAE! BOLG!"
The spear unleashed a murderous aura, and in the next instant, Emiya threw it at the sword golem.
The spear sailed through the air like a missile, and just like with the Caladbolg II, the spear exploded upon contact with the golem, instantly obliterating it.
The knight let out a breath, as he dispersed the copy of Cu Chulain's spear, the man then turned, noticing that Gilgamesh was gone, 'Huh, must've went down.'
(linebreak)
Meanwhile earlier, with Artoria, the former king of knights stared at the two sword golems.
The knight let out a breath, drawing her sword, and in the next instant, the two sword golems charged, swinging their sword arms at her.
The knight merely looked at them, before she raised both of her arms.
With her sword in her right hand, Artoria blocked a strike, while with her left free arm, she caught the sword firmly in her grasp.
The blonde looked at the golems, before she pushed the golem's sword arm in her grasp to the ground.
Then, with strong push, Artoria pushed the other golem's arm away with her sword.
As the golems regained their balance, Artoria contemplated if she should use her Full Armament Control Arts. The first phase was pretty much safe to use, but the second phase would most likely blow a very large hole in the tower.
Letting out a breath, Artoria decided it would be less trouble to just straight up destroy the golems without damaging the cathedral.
Filling her sword with mana, Artoria gave a hard swing, unleashing a concentrated burst of mana from her sword directed at one of the sword golems.
The golem didn't have the time to dodge the blow, as the wave of mana engulfed it, disintegrating it within seconds.
Artoria let out a breath as she immediately turned her attention to the remaining golem, staring passively at it.
The golem swiftly charged at the knight, closing the distance between them in an instant, but Artoria didn't appear fazed at all.
As the golem readied itself to strike, Artoria moved.
Charging her body with mana, including her sword, the former king of knights let out a huge burst of mana as she swung the Sword of Promised Victory.
The effects were instant, as the burst of mana blew the golem apart.
Not missing a beat, Artoria focused all her mana into the Excalibur, before she swung it hard horizontally, vaporising the remains of the sword golem.
The knight let out a breath, before she relaxed, sheathing her sword.
The female knight turned, as she noticed Emiya walking to her. In fact, she also noticed they were alone in the room.
Artoria asked, "Gilgamesh went down, didn't he?"
Emiya nodded, "Yep."
The blonde nodded, before she looked at the stairs leading to the 98th floor, "So, should we go up?"
Emiya shrugged, "Eh, no idea..."
Artoria sighed, before she nodded, "Fine, I'll go up, just in case. Follow me if you want."
Emiya shrugged again before he followed the blonde up the stairs.
(linebreak)
Meanwhile, when the fights started, with Kirito, Eugeo, Alice, Bercouli and Fanatio, the five of them were on the 98th floor.
As they reached the floor, Bercouli looked around expectantly, but nothing came.
The first knight raised an eyebrow, "Nothing?"
Alice glanced at him, "What's wrong, Ojii-sama?"
Bercouli glanced around again, before he shook his head, "No, its nothing, let's head up."
Kirito, Eugeo and Fanatio nodded, as they headed for the stairs that would lead them to the 99th floor of the Central Cathedral.
The five quickly reached the 99th floor, and they quickly saw Chudelkin waiting for them at the center of the floor.
The Prime Senator grinned, "Good, you're finally here."
Kirito looked around, before he noticed the rather huge luxurious bed behind the man, and on it was a very familiar silver haired woman, naked, her face blank, and several suspicious white spots over the bed and the woman's body.
The knights, moreso for Bercouli and Fanatio, grew enraged at the sight.
The first knight glared at the pale man, "You son of a bitch."
Chudelkin followed their gazes, before grinned, "Ah yes, she's quite... enjoyable, I suppose."
Alice glared at him, "You won't get away with this."
The prime senate grinned creepily, "I've already done so for years now."
Bercouli took a breath, calming himself down, "And that's why we'll end it here."
Chudelkin chuckled creepily, "Not really, its really just the beginning. Once I take care of you, I'll reset all the knights' memories, and the human empire will be mine."
Eugeo stared at the clown with a hard gaze, drawing his sword, "You won't get the chance."
Chudelkin stared at the five knights amusedly, "Are you sure? When you're not only up against me, but the full might of my dear Quinella?"
The clown snapped his fingers, and in response, the naked avatar of the goddess stood up from the bed, power rolling off of her in waves.
Chudelkin grinned at the wary faces of the five knights, before he exclaimed, "And to top things off!"
The clown flipped, so that he was balancing himself on his head, and he clapped his palms together, "SYSTEM CALL! GENERATE! THERMAL! ELEMENT!"
Chudelkin pushed his hands apart, as five elemental spheres of fire formed on his fingertips, toes, ears, mouth, nose and eyes.
The knights watched in horror, or rather, apprehension, as the prime senator's body erupted in flames, growing into a massive sphere of fire, before the sphere morphed into a rough shape of Chudelkin's body.
Bercouli gritted his teeth, "Dammit."
He glanced at the other knights with him, before he spoke, "Kirito, Eugeo, Alice, I want you to take care of Chudelkin, can you do that? Fanatio and I will take on Lady Quinella's avatar."
The three younger knights nodded. Kirito glared at the flaming giant determinedly, "Yeah, we'll kick his ass."
Alice and Eugeo just nodded in response as they readied themselves.
Fanatio nodded as she stared at the avatar of Quinella warily, "Be careful, got it?"
The three knights nodded, and Alice glanced at her mentor and senior, "Good luck, Ojii-sama, Fanatio."
The two oldest knights nodded, as they faced the avatar of their respected goddess.
(linebreak)
With Kirito, Eugeo, and Alice, the three childhood friends faced the flaming entity, its large eyes staring down at them, its wide mouth grinning creepily.
Chudelkin spoke gleefully, "So, three young knights, let's see what you can do, shall we?"
Alice readied her sword, "Guys, get ready."
Kirito and Eugeo nodded, drawing their swords as the massive flaming giant towered over them.
Chudelkin grinned gleefully as he saw the wary faces of the three knights.
The prime senator raised his feet, and tried to stomp on the three knights, but only to miss as they dove out of the way.
Not missing the chance, Alice charged in, swinging her blade, and landed a huge slash on the giant's ankle.
The girl grimaced as she felt the heat from Chudelkin's flames, quickly backing away as fast as she could.
Alice frowned, still feeling the heat even after she was far away from the flaming giant. The girl tch'd, as the cut she had dealt to Chudelkin's ankle quickly regenerated, though that was to be expected.
Eugeo glanced at the girl, gaining her attention, "Any ideas how we can beat him?"
Alice narrowed her eyes, not looking away from Chudelkin as he smiled creepily at them, "My flowers won't be able to touch him, nor can our Armament Full Control Arts overpower him."
Kirito immediately understood what she meant, furrowing his brows, "Yeah, all of our weapons are based off of plants. Fire isn't really a good match."
The three were cut off from the discussion when Chudelkin jumped up, slamming on to the floor, sending waves of flames at them, forcing them to dodge the flames.
Eugeo cursed as he rolled onto the ground just in time to avoid the flames, before an idea popped into his head.
The blue knight glanced at Alice, "Alice! Chudelkin's main body is inside, right?"
Alice looked at her friend, and nodded, "Yeah, his body should be in the middle, where the heart should be."
Eugeo stared at the giant's chest, "Then, if I use my ice to cool him down, can your flowers force open the flames?"
Alice jumped away to dodge a wave of flames again, something mirrored by both of her friends. The girl considered the idea, before she nodded, "If we do it together, I'd say we can force an opening for approximately 10 seconds."
Eugeo nodded, looking at Kirito, "Kirito, 10 seconds, can you do it?"
The young man looked at his brother and Alice, before he nodded, "Yeah."
Eugeo nodded, as the two blondes gripped their respective swords.
As his childhood friends started to prepare their Armament Full Control Arts, Kirito furrowed his brows, visualising the one weapon he needed to kill Chudelkin.
Chu Cu Lain's prized weapon. The spear Gae Bolg.
But before he could start the process, everything stoppe, and a familiar voice sounded in his mind, "Right now, the Gae Bolg you can project won't be able to fully kill Chudelkin."
Kirito's eyes barely widened as he recognised his own voice, or rather, his previous incarnation's voice.
The young man narrowed his eyes, 'What do you mean?'
Inside their shared soul, Kazuto closed his eyes, "Exactly what I mean. As good as you are, the Gae Bolg you project won't be able to kill Chudelkin in 10 seconds. If you had 3 more seconds, then it'd be a totally different story of course, but that's irrelevant."
Kirito frowned, 'Then what do I do?'
Kazuto smiled, "Simple. We can use something called the Incarnate System. Since it'll be your first time, I'll handle the rest, and you image your attack."
Kirito nodded, 'Got it.'
The knight took a deep breath, and he slid into a stance. The stance for the sword skill, Vorpal Strike, but with one difference. The sword would extend, and it would pierce through Chudelkin's main body.
As Kirito visualized the attack, Kazuto smirked lightly at the image of the attack, 'Yeah, that'll work.'
The god of blades quickly set to work, molding Kirito's mana for the attack, before his eyes widened as he felt a pulse of mana coming from a deeper source within their shared body.
The god chuckled in amusement before he continued to help shape Kirito's mana according to the image they had.
Back to the real world, Kirito felt a pulse of mana through his body, and his sword glowed bright crimson, his eyes glowing yellow at the same time, glaring at the giant form of Chudelkin.
With Alice and Eugeo, the two quickly noticed the increase in mana output from Kirito, and nodded at each other.
Alice raised her sword, while Eugeo flipped his into reverse grip, the tip facing down, and the two yelled in unison, "System Call: ENHANCE ARMAMENT!"
Immediately, the two swords glowed. The Blue Rose Sword maintained the glow, while the Fragrant Olive Sword dispersed into a thousand petals.
Alice let mana flow through her sword, and she yelled, "Release RECOLLECTION!"
The girl thrust her sword forward, forming a huge vortex made of olive flowers.
As for Eugeo, the blonde stabbed his sword onto the ground, "SAKE! AOBARA!"
Immediately, icy throny tendrils bloomed on the ground, snaking their way towards Alice's hurricane of flowers, adding to it their icy attribute.
Chudelkin raised an eyebrow, still grinning creepily at them, "Is that it?"
The flaming giant didn't bother moving, taking the combined attack head on. His eyes widened, however, when he actually felt the attack, and he grunted as the attack slowly, but surely, forced away the flames at his chest.
In his panicked state over the fact that Alice and Eugeo had ripped open a hole in his chest, Chudelkin had totally forgotten about Kirito, and that was what cost him.
With Kirito, the young man was practically radiating mana, his sword shrouded by a murderous red glow that wasn't unlike the spear Kirito had intended to use.
Then, in the next instant, Kirito, roared, and he thrust his sword forward.
The glowing sword extended and it reached Chudelkin's chest in an instant.
Blood stained the floor, as Chudelkin's eyes widened, his mind barely registering the fact that there was a sword in his chest.
But as soon as it came, the extension faded away, leaving Kirito's sword in its original length.
As soon as that happened, the flames that made up the giant form of Chudelkin faded away, leaving the corpse of the clown on the floor, surrounded by his own blood.
Kirito walked to the corpse, as Alice and Eugeo did the same.
Alice scrunched her nose in disgust, "Good riddance."
Kirito nodded, "Yeah, come on, let's go help Bercouli-sensei and Fanatio."
The two nodded, and they turned to where Bercouli, Fanatio and Quinella's avatar were.
But before they could, they heard a loud command, "System Call: Deep Freeze. Integrator Units 001, 002."
The three younger knights' eyes widened in shock, and they turned just in time to see the two oldest knights frozen, the last of their skin on their faces being covered with frost right in front of their eyes.
Alice stared at the two knights, "Ojii-sama, Fanatio-dono..."
(linebreak)
Earlier, as Kirito, Eugeo and Alice went to face Chudelkin, Bercouli and Fanatio stared at the avatar of their goddess.
Fanatio gripped her sword tightly, "Commander."
Bercouli nodded, feeling the weight of the daggers in his pocket, "Yeah, she won't let us get to her so easily. We need an opening."
Fanatio nodded, "But how?"
The first knight frowned, "That's the problem, we're not sure how strong she actually is, Lady Quinella has never actually gone all out before."
Fanatio stared at the avatar, who just stared at them blankly, "Then what do we do?"
Bercouli let out a breath, raising his free hand at the avatar, "We gauge her reaction to our attacks."
The man narrowed his eyes, "System Call. Generate Umbral Element. Lightning Shape. Discharge."
From Bercouli's fingertips, five balls of darkness shot towards Quinella's avatar, taking the form of lightning.
The attack struck the woman straight on, bringing up a cloud of dust, before it quickly cleared, revealing Quinella's avatar to be perfectly fine.
Bercouli tch'd, "I almost went all out, and she's not even winded. As expected of Lady Quinella, even if its just an avatar."
Fanatio frowned, "Then, what do we do? "
Bercouli brought out one of the daggers and handed it to Fanatio, "Here, we'll just have to wing it, so stab her if you see a chance."
Fanatio nodded, grabbing the dagger, before Bercouli spoke again, "Here she comes."
The avatar stared at them passively, before she brought her hand up, "System Call. Generate Umbral Element. Ball Shape. Discharge."
A ball of darkness swirled into existence in Quinella's hand, and she thrust it forward, sending the growing sphere of darkness at the two oldest knight.
Bercouli and Fanatio dashed to a side, avoiding the ball of darkness easily.
Looking at Quinella's avatar, Bercouli gripped his sword, "Fanatio, I'm gonna place slashes all over the place, try to keep her busy."
The second knight nodded, as Bercouli went to work.
Fanatio then turned her focus on the avatar, raising her sword, "System Call. Enhance Armament."
Her sword glowed for a brief moment, before it subsided, but it was obvious her sword was different from before.
The activation of Fanatio's Full Armament Control Art effectively tore Quinella's avatar's attention from Bercouli, who had also managed to subtly activate his own Full Armament Control Art.
The avatar stared at the purple haired woman, before she charged.
Fanatio narrowed her eyes, preparing her sword as the avatar closed in.
Then, right as the avatar reached Fanatio's range, the second knight unleashed the energy stored within her sword.
The avatar's eyes barely widened, as she swiftly stopped, but not in time to dodge the attack, and the beam of light struck her in the face.
Taking the small opening she had created, Fanatio leaped away, firing several more beams of light at the goddess' avatar, bringing up a cloud of dust around the avatar.
The cloud of dust quickly cleared, and as Fanatio expected, the avatar didn't have a hint of damage on her.
The second knight's eyes darted to Bercouli, who was sprinting around the avatar, seemingly swinging his sword wildly and blindly, but anyone who knew him would know otherwise.
The two oldest knight' eyes met, and Bercouli narrowed his eyes, shaking his head ever so slightly as he continued his swings.
Fanatio nodded in understanding, she needed to stall for a bit more time.
The woman let out a breath, and leaped away just in time to dodge a ball of fire from the avatar.
The knight quickly aimed the tip of her sword at the avatar, sending several more blasts of light at Quinella's avatar.
But again, the attacks didn't do much damage.
Fanatio cursed silently, it was foolish to think her sword would be able to hurt the avatar, considering it contained a majority of Quinella's powers.
The avatar herself, meanwhile, just stared at Fanatio blankly, before she sent a blast of ice at the knight.
Fanatio instinctively shot a beam of light from her sword, effectively stopping the attack.
Then, right as Fanatio was about to attack, she saw Bercouli stop running, giving her a nod.
Fanatio turned her attention back to Quinella's avatar, and instead of using her sword, the knight raised her free hand at the avatar, "System Cal. Generate Metallic Element. Form Element. Wall shape. Discharge! "
In response to her chant, a metal wall formed in front of Fanatio, and shot towards the avatar.
The avatar didn't show any reaction, instead, allowing the wall to slam into her, breaking into pieces, doing no damage to her body yet again.
But it served its purpose. Distracting the avatar for one more time.
As Quinella's avatar was once again focused on Fanatio, Bercouli closed in, charging his sword with mana.
Then, he gave a strong and firm swing.
The sword found its target, and the force from the strike sent the avatar skidding to a side.
Bercouli cursed, the strike, as expected, didn't do much damage to the avatar, but it had pushed her away far lesser than he had expected.
Not wanting to let the chance slip away, he yelled, "Fanatio! "
The woman nodded, raising her sword and free arm at the avatar, "System Call. Generate Thermal Element. Form Element : Ball Shape Discharge!"
The female knight sent a beam of light and a horse sized ball of flames at the avatar, gaining her attention.
The avatar quickly crossed her arms, blocking the attack, but was still sent skidding a short distance backwards, right into Bercouli's pre-slashed area.
The first knight grinned, 'Nice! '
Not letting the chance go, the man released all the prepared slashes on the avatar, earning a rather huge explosion due to the simultaneous heat waves slashing at the avatar.
Fanatio glanced at Bercouli again, who nodded and dashed forward, the dagger in his hand.
In the next instant, Bercouli's arm was extended, the dagger in his hands held in reverse grip, stabbed against Quinella's avatar.
The smoke soon dissipated, and Bercouli and Fanatio's eyes widened in shock.
The reason was simple. The dagger didn't touch Quinella's avatar, but instead, it was stabbed into a slab of metal from Fanatio's wall of metal she had used earlier.
The avatar glanced at the dagger with indifference, before looking at Bercouli.
Then, before Bercouli could respond, the avatar swiftly kicked the first knight away, sending him flying skidding across the ground, before Fanatio managed to catch him.
The woman furrowed her brows as she stared at the avatar of their goddess, "So, what now? "
Bercouli grunted as he stood up, "No idea, we'll just have to keep trying."
Fanatio nodded silently, gripping her sword tightly.
But before any of them could react, Quinella's avatar blurred.
In the next instant, Bercouli's dagger was kicked out of his hand, and Fanatio felt a hard kick at her stomach before she was sent flying away.
Landing softly on the ground, the avatar raised her hands at the knights, and started chanting, "System Call. Deep Freeze. Integrator Units 001, 002."
(linebreak, now)
Quinella's avatar stared at the frozen figures of the oldest knights with indifference, before she noticed Kirito, Eugeo and Alice.
Eugeo cursed, "Here she comes."
The avatar raised a finger at the three, and started, "System Call: Generate Umbral Element. Discharge."
Five balls of darkness formed at her fingertips, and shot towards the three young knights, prompting them to dodge the attack.
Eugeo yelled as he rolled to his feet, "What do we do now?!"
Alice eyed the dagger on the floor, stabbed through a slab of metal, "There."
Eugeo and Kirito followed her gaze, and immediately understood.
There was tiny problem, however.
The dagger was behind Quinella's avatar, placing the silver haired woman between them and the dagger.
Kirito let out a breath, "Well, that's a bit of a problem..."
The young man glanced at Alice, and she nodded.
Alice glanced at Eugeo, "Eugeo, we'll keep her busy, you get the dagger."
The young blonde nodded, "Got it."
Alice and Kirito shared a nod, and they dashed forward.
Drawing his sword back, Kirito allowed mana to flow into his sword, "Aincrad Style: Rage Spike!"
Alice stopped, letting Kirito charge right past her, and pointed her Fragrant Olive Sword at the avatar, "ENHANCE ARMAMENT!"
The bronze/golden sword instantly burst into its thousand petals, enshrouding Kirito as he charged forward.
Noticing the young man charging at her, the avatar raised a finger, "System Call. Generate Metallic Element. Form Element: Shield Shape. Discharge."
Immediately, a huge shield made of metal appeared in front of Kirito's path, stopping his sword as the petals continued forward towards Quinella's avatar, keeping the avatar in place, but not doing any actual damage.
The young man tch'd, pulling his sword back and quickly spun around the shield, channelling a different skill through his sword, "Aincrad Style: Horizontal!"
This time, the sword struck the fake goddess, but to Kirito and Alice's shock, the blade only gave the woman a small very shallow bruise, drawing but a speck of blood from her cheek.
The avatar wiped the small wound with her finger, glancing at the blood on it, before looking at Kirito, speaking for the first time throughout the whole fight, "All that for a drop of blood... Is that all you got, Kazuto?"
Kirito's eyes widened, "Wha-"
He was cut off, as the avatar slammed her palm into his chest armor, sending him flying away, almost crashing into Eugeo had the blonde not dove away.
Alice cursed, and commanded her flowers to attack the fake goddess again, but to the avatar, they were only like annoying insects flying around her.
The avatar turned her attention to Alice, and the knight cursed, before she asked, trying to buy time as she saw Eugeo inching towards the dagger behind the fake goddess, "You can talk?"
Quinella's avatar raised an eyebrow, "Hmm? Of course I can. You thought me to be mute?"
Alice nodded, noticing Eugeo slowly reaching the dagger, and Kirito slowly getting up, "You didn't talk, and considering you are a part of Lady Quinella's powers and..."
The girl trailed off, glancing at the white spots on the bed at the side, and the fake goddess huffed, "Ridiculous, and I allowed that pig to do what he wants because it doesn't affect me at all, and it makes it easier to manipulate him."
Alice blinked, furrowing her brows, "Manipulate?"
The avatar smiled slyly, "Ah yes, none of you know. I'm not just a clone of that goddess. Well, I may have started off like that, but you know, when you only have the company of a very corrupted official and information on the world's corruption, you tend to gain awareness of certain things."
Kirito got up, glaring at the avatar, "So all these years, you were aware of what he was doing?"
The avatar glanced at Kirito, "Why yes. I was the one who suggested them after all."
Kirito glared at her coldly, "You bitch..."
The major fragment of Quinella's powers smirked evilly, "It doesn't matter anyways. Besides, you've stalled enough already, right?"
The avatar turned and glanced at Eugeo, who had just picked up the dagger, smiling amusedly.
The blonde cursed, his body tensing up immediately, but the fake goddess paid it no mind.
The avatar turned back to Alice, "Now, how about you all try again, try to entertain me?"
Kirito cursed, readying the image of the Gae Bolg in his mind once again, but just like previously, Kazuto spoke up, and everything froze from Kirito's point of view, "Your Gae Bolg won't work."
Kirito frowned, thinking, 'What do you mean it won't work?'
Kazuto sighed, "The Gae Bolg doesn't possess any anti-divinity traits. Yes, it can definitely harm a god, and Quinella's avatar is no exception. But she won't be held down long enough for Eugeo to do anything."
The young man frowned, "Then what do we do?"
The god closed his eyes, "You need a weapon that possesses an anti-divinity trait. And I have just the weapon that can work, the spear Vasavi Shakti."
Kirito nodded, before he thought, 'I sense a but.'
Kazuto chuckled humourlessly, "Yes, your body cannot handle the amount of power it unleashes. The spear itself is almost on par with Gilgamesh's Ea, even Emiya would have trouble handling the spear at full power. Though, I can regulate the energy entering your body, but you will be immobile for a while after you use it."
The reincarnation of the god frowned, but he nodded, 'I see, it can't be helped, we'll have to do it.'
Kazuto nodded, and he retreated back into their shared soul, "Very well. You should know which spear it is, I'll regulate the flow of energy from within."
Kirito nodded, and time resumed for him, as everything continued to move again.
The young knight slowly moved to Alice, wary of Quinella's avatar, who merely looked at him amusedly.
As soon as he reached her, Kirito spoke softly, "Alice, listen, I have a plan, I may be able to injure her enough, so I want you to try to hold her in place while I get it ready. Can you do it?
Alice glanced at her childhood friend, and a smile graced her face, "Of course."
Kirito nodded, and the blonde girl stepped forward, once again pointing her sword at the fake goddess, commanding her flowers to surround her.
The flowers swarmed around Quinella's avatar, causing the fake goddess to raise an eyebrow, "This again?"
The avatar, again, was only held in place by the flowers, not damaged at all, but that was all Alice needed to do.
With Kirito, the young man sent his brother a glance, and they shared a nod, prompting the blonde to slowly move behind Quinella's avatar, but careful not to move into Kirito's line of fire.
Immediately, Kirito raised his free hand, "Trace. On!"
A huge spear formed in front of him, one that the fake goddess evidently recognised.
The spear also fully drew her attention away from the blonde knight behind her.
The avatar glared at Kirito, "How do you know of that spear?!"
Kirito didn't answer, he was more occupied with holding in the power the spear threatened to unleash, even with Kazuto regulating the energy inside his body.
Then, the young man took a deep breath, "System Call. Enhance Armament."
Instantly, the spear responded, taking on a red glow, before it died down, the power to wield fire, light and thunder coursing through the spear, and by extension, Kirito's body.
For a moment, the young knight winced as all the divine power from the spear flowed into his body. But it quickly subsided, Kazuto doing his work within their shared soul.
Kirito tightened his grip on the spear, and he spoke the second set of words needed to unleash the spear's full might, "Release Recollection."
Quinella's avatar's eyes widened in fear, and she quickly tried to break out of the flowers, but to no avail.
The fake goddess' head snapped over to Alice, to see her gripping the hilt of her sword tightly, doing her best to keep the avatar in place.
The blonde knight let a small smile grace her features again, "You won't get away this time."
The avatar cursed, before she realized she had given Kirito enough time to ready his attack.
The woman turned, only to see Kirito without his armor, the spear glowing brightly, a red ball of energy at the tip of the spear, eager to unleash its wrath upon Kirito's target.
The knight pulled back the spear, and muttered, before yelling at the end, "Burn it all down. VASAVI SHAKTI!"
The knight gave a strong thrust, unleashing a beam of energy that immediately engulfed the fake goddess, punching a huge hole in the cathedral's walls before arching up towards the sky.
After exactly 5 seconds, the beam died down, and the copy of Indra's spear vanished from Kirito's hands, the young knight falling to his knees in exhaustion as his armor reformed on his body.
As for Quinella's avatar, the smoke around her cleared, revealing a horrific sight.
Gone was the beautiful naked woman with perfect skin and the lush silver hair.
Instead, in its place, was a figure with burned flesh, her hair burned to ashes.
Kirito cursed, unable to muster any strength to move even as he fell to his knees.
Alice, seeing the chance, yelled, "Eugeo, now! "
The blonde male knight nodded, not wishing to give up the hard earned opportunity, and he charged forward, the dagger in his hand.
The fake goddess' eyes widened as she realized she had completely forgotten about Eugeo upon seeing Kirito produce the copy of the thunder god's spear.
As quickly as she could, the woman turned, chanting as she did, "System Call. Generate Thermal Element. Form Element: Ball Shape. Discharge!"
Right as she faced Eugeo, Quinella's avatar unleashed the fireball at him, but she was too early, as the distance between them didn't give her a guaranteed shot.
As the fireball shot towards him, Eugeo rolled to a side, before continuing his sprint towards the charred woman.
In a desperate attempt to stop the young blonde knight, Quinella's avatar started to chant, "System Call. Deep Freeze. Integrator Unit-"
The woman couldn't complete the chant, as frosty tendrils covered her mouth, along with her body, holding her in place once again.
Eugeo shot his brother a grateful glance, who tiredly held a copy of the Blue Rose Sword stabbed into the ground.
Then, Eugeo reached the woman, and he gave the fake goddess a hard stab in the gut with the dagger in his hand.
The fake goddess' eyes widened in shock at what just happened, and before she could even say a word, she burst into blue particles, seeping down into the floor, most likely returning to Quinella herself.
Eugeo blinked several times, "Is... Is it over?
Kirito let out a breath, dispersing the copy of the Blue Rose Sword, before falling to the ground in exhaustion, "I sure hope it is.. I'm exhausted."
Alice just smiled at the black knight's response, "I think its over, now we just need to find Lady Cardinal and Lady Quinella."
"No need for that."
The three young knights turned to see Cardinal and a very much younger Quinella walking out from the Great Library's entrance, the door closing behind them.
Quinella smiled, "You've done well, all of you. Thanks to you, I have all of my powers back now."
Eugeo nodded, before he asked, "Ermm, by the way, are the others still frozen?
Cardinal and Quinella both blinked, glancing at each other, before the shorter goddess nodded, clearing her throat, "Y-yes, I'll take care of that."
Raising her staff, the aspect of wisdom slammed it down onto the ground, sending a burst of mana throughout the entire cathedral.
Immediately, the Deep Freeze placed upon the cathedral was undone, and at the same time, Bercouli and Fanatio regained their colour.
The first knight blinked, quickly noticing his three protéges and the two goddesses standing some distance from them, "Lady Quinella? Y-you're back to normal?"
The silver haired woman nodded kindly, "Yes, Bercouli."
The knight chuckled and looked at his students, "I see, so the three of you got it done. Great job!"
Fanatio sighed, "And we messed up and got frozen."
Cardinal smiled softly, "What's done is done. The important thing is that we have retaken Quinella's full strength, and we can start fixing the mistakes and problems Chudelkin made."
Kirito nodded, still lying on the floor, "Yeah, that's good and all, but for now, I wanna take a nap please."
Everyone laughed, and Cardinal commented, "Even after so many years, I see your laziness is still as prominent as ever."
Quinella shook her head, her smile not leaving her face, "I suppose a break wouldn't be too much to ask for."
Eugeo chuckled and hoisted his brother up, "Come on."
After that, they headed for the lower floors, blissfully unaware of the black blotch that formed on the floor after they left.
After making sure the place was clear, the black substance moved to the edge of the window, before jumping off of the cathedral.
(linebreak)
Meanwhile, deep within the Dark Territory, stood one massive castle that was two times the size of the Central Cathedral.
In the castle, at the private living quarters of the owner of the castle, one man opened his eyes for the first time in centuries.
The man had loose blonde hair slicked to the back and cold blue eyes, wearing royal robes that fitted right with the place he was in.
The man stared up at the ceiling, letting out a shallow breath, "I feel you, brother."
(linebreak)
At the same time, as Kirito went to the lower floors with his fellow knights, deep within his soul, Kazuto felt a small tug.
The tug was also felt by the other part of their soul, as the unconscious form of the third part of Kirito's soul glowed briefly, before dying out.
Kazuto looked up, closing his eyes, "Yeah, I feel you, brother."
XXX
DONE! So that's the end of the arc. The next few chapters will clean up the current arc, as well as some time for Alice.
After that, we will be bringing back the Elemental Nations!
So yeah, hope you guys liked this chapter. Review please.
Until next time.