Tiese's POV

AN: This chapter does contain self-harm at the end.

I awoke with a start, sitting up instantly from wherever I was. I looked around briefly, examining what was around me. "I'm in Eugeo's room..." I thought to myself, looking over to the corner and seeing their two swords nested there. The next thing that hit me was the immense pain in my stomach. I doubled over and let out a shallow cry in intense pain. I looked down and noticed the bleeding had stopped, but there was a black patch wrapped around it with a slight crimson tinge.

"Tiese! You're awake!" I heard footsteps and a voice as my Disciple Eugeo came running from around the corner. "Oh, thank goodness you're alright!" He said, rushing to my aid. The next thing he noticed were the teardrops in my eyes, as he raised his hand to dry them. "Kirito and I attempted to heal your wound the best that we could, but we aren't exactly skilled in the Sacred Arts..."

"N-no... it's fine." I moaned as pain shot through my body. I didn't exactly think it was fine, as I was in what felt like world-ending pain, but I ignored my feelings as I looked back towards Eugeo. "What... what happened to Humbert?" I let out sickly. Eugeo glanced away, a grim look crossing his face.

"Well, as you know, you dealt a dangerous blow to Raios. From there, I proceeded to stab him and allow him to bleed out on the floor... I didn't want to kill him. He refused to accept my assistance." Eugeo grimaced as he recalled the brutal memory of our fight with the nobles.

"The Taboo Index..." I thought, changing the subject briefly. "Did we... did we break it?"

He solemnly nodded, looking towards me with hands clasped. "I don't know what is going to happen to us, but I know that we are prepared for it." He gave me a weak smile, one that I knew carried no true meaning other than to attempt to comfort me. I grabbed Eugeo's hand weakly, and looked into his eyes.

"Please, sit with me..." I pulled him down onto the couch next to my body, looking at his face. There was a newfound patch over where his right eye should be. Noticing this, I raised my hand to my right eye to find a similar patch over my eye.

I grasped onto his arm, allowing the tears to fall freely from my eyes. "Eugeo, I'm scared." I stared at his emerald green eyes, and for the first time for all I had known him, I saw fear. Uncertainty. Emotions I hadn't thought that Eugeo felt.

"We'll be fine... I promise. I'll protect you, Tiese." Eugeo put his hand onto my back, careful to avoid my wounds. "I promise." He looked me into the eyes, and smiled. His warm smiled stopped the leaking of my eyes and allowed me to smile as well.

"I'll protect you too, Eugeo-senpai."

Our moment together was broken by the sound of a knock at the door. I looked at Eugeo, fear striking me in the chest. Was this whoever was here to punish us for breaking the Index?

Eugeo stood up, giving me a slight, but confident nod, and forwarded toward the door. He reached his hand forward, and turned the knob. I braced myself to figure out who was behind the door; and it was Kirito! I was initially relieved, but the look on his face instantly sent anxiety rocking through my heart again.

"Kirito. You're back." Eugeo said, shutting the door behind him. Kirito sighed, and sat down on the couch next to me.

"Yeah. I tried my hardest, but I couldn't change anything..." He looked me in the eyes, closing them in a grimace.

"They are here to collect you."

I gasped, purely unable to contain my shock anymore. "Collect us? What does that mean?" Kirito closed his eyes, turning away.

"I don't know. They wouldn't tell me. All I know is they are here and they want to collect you two." Eugeo nodded, and stood up.

"If they're here, then it's best we go. We don't want to keep them waiting."

I looked towards Eugeo, my heart rising up into my throat. "Who are they?"

"The Integrity Knights."

My heart paused. The Integrity Knights were here to collect us, Eugeo and I... I recalled the night where he told me about the day that they took away Alice. That's the whole reason he was here, after all. Are we going to be executed as well? I couldn't bear... and I was leaving Ronye here. I couldn't leave her behind...

"We have to go, now. Kirito and I will help support you." Eugeo looked at me, a stern look on his face. All I could do was nod, fear choking up and paralyzing my entire body. He lifted me to my feet, and I wrapped my arms around each of their shoulders'. Together, the three of us worked our way down, and to meet the Integrity Knight.

We stopped in the arena, where Eugeo and Kirito had both dueled many times. "Woah!"

I dropped to the floor as Eugeo suddenly stopped supporting me, his face bearing one of shock. I followed his glance over to the far end of the room, where the Integrity Knight herself was standing. She had golden blonde hair, flowing down her back. She had a sword in front of her, the hilt grasped between her two goldenly gloved hands. Her eyes beckoned a blue glow, one that was both stern and soft at the same time. She had gorgeous blue, gold, and white armor, ending in a dress. Eugeo looked across the room at her, his mouth only able to utter one world.

"Alice?"

He reached his hand out, and took a step towards her. The girl stood unmoving and staring at Eugeo, as if questioning his intentions with this. Eugeo took another step forward, reaching out as if to touch her. He reached his hand out forward, almost brushing her face. "Alice... is that you?"

A burst rang out in the room as Alice created a burst of wind magic, throwing Eugeo backwards and knocking him to the ground next to me. "Eugeo!" Kirito yelled, as he walked over to him, evaluating if he was alright. He looked towards me, shooting me a sorry glance, before turning back towards the Integrity Knight. "Who are you, and what is your business here?"

She closed her eyes, and spoke. "Elite Disciple, I am Integrity Knight Alice Synthesis-Thirty. The two that stand behind you are two criminals that have both violated the Taboo Index. As per conduct, they will be brought to the Central Cathedral, where they will be jailed, questioned, and then executed." Her face remained unchanged throughout the speech.

My heart shivered at the thought, processing her words. Executed... Eugeo and I were going to be killed. I broke down on the ground, with no one to hear me. Tears streamed down my face as I realized the sheer hopelessness of the situation that I was involved in. Kirito could do nothing. Eugeo could do nothing. It was helpless.

I looked up to see Alice walk over to me, her stiff hand hovering over me. "System Call. Generate Luminous Element." She held her hand over my chest, allowing herself to heal my wounds. "You should be able to walk on your own now. For your eye... I'll leave it, as a reminder to you of the heinous crime that you have committed." She looked towards Eugeo, and then towards the exit. "Being that I healed you out of my own gratitude, I expect you to willingly come with me."

I was in a state of shock, but quickly nodded and followed her to the exit. Eugeo and I both shook as Alice led us out of the room. "Don't worry. Stay cool." Kirito said, looking at us with a solemn look on his face.

"Stay... cool." Eugeo said, taking one last look at Kirito before Alice shut the door behind us.

Alice led us over to a clearing, where a dragon was resting next to a tree. She grabbed something attached to the dragons back, and walked back to us. I heard the sound of metallic clinking as I looked up and noticed that the Knight was holding chains. She walked towards me first, without a word. "Arms at your side. Legs together." I was silent as the Knight worked, fastening me to the dragon. She did the same to Eugeo sitting next to me, before hopping atop the dragon. "I thank you for your cooperation, criminals." She shook the reins. "Let's go, Amayori."

After a brief flight through the air, we landed within the cathedral. Alice unshackled the majority of our chains, leaving bounds around our wrists. "Come with me." She grabbed me roughly by the arm, and I had no choice but to cooperate.

"Eugeo..." I quietly said, but he shook his head.

"Not now."

Alice took us down multiple steps of stairs, before stopping us at the very bottom. I took a look at my surroundings, evaluating the area in which we were currently stationed.

It was a quiet dungeon, lined with cell doors. Some were typical bar doors, while others were completely covered with metal. There was a slight murky scent down here, one typical of a place of this sort. Alice took us through the hallway, leading us over to the door of was I presumed to be our cell. She opened the door with a key, which quickly disintegrated into flowers, before walking us in. She chained our arms to the wall above two beds, and left us to lay there. "As I said before we left the Centoria Academy, you will be questioned later before facing execution. Prepare yourselves, criminals." She slammed the door shut, and walked away to leave.

Eugeo and I were left in the quiet of the cell, darkness fading in through the small iron-clad window. "Eugeo..." I cried, rolling over on my bed. "I don't want to die." He looked at me, his eyes sad but not lost.

"I know. I don't either." He rolled up, looking at the ceiling. "If there's one thing Kirito has taught me, it's that we can't lose faith."

I paused my crying for a minute to speak up. "Lose faith in what? The Integrity Knights have us..."

"I believe he will save us. He's Kirito, Tiese. He will find a way... he always does." Eugeo smiled solemnly, looking up at the ceiling. "Come on. We shouldn't lose sleep at a crucial time like this."

I rolled over, closing my eyes and drifting off into an all but peaceful sleep. Nightmares of the Integrity Knights, with their massive swords, clouded my sleep. I cried quietly, careful not to let Eugeo notice. I didn't know what to do anymore. I'd gotten myself wrapped up in this...

I curled up into a ball as I thought to myself. "If I'd just... if I'd just not gotten myself involved, Eugeo-senpai wouldn't be facing this! It's all my fault..." I said, holding my hand. "It's all my fault!" I cried, scraping my nails across my arm. "He shouldn't be here! If I wasn't such an idiot, he would be enjoying his continued life as a Disciple at the Academy!" Crimson blood rolled out my self-inflicted wounds, dripping down my arm and onto the bed. "It's my fault!" I screamed, rubbing the chains violently against the cuts I'd formed on my arm. My arm was a hazy mix of red and purple, wet blood and bruises as well as rashes alike covering it. I slammed it against the wall one more time, before passing out from exhaustion. "My... fault..."

I awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of crashing and banging. Adrenaline sent me soaring, ignoring the throbbing feeling in my arm as my glance soared across the room. I rubbed my eyes, unsure of what I saw. But the person I saw standing in the doorway was unmistakable.

"Kirito?!"

The next thing I saw was a whip crashing into his back, and him flying onto the stone ground as the items he was holding in his arms flew across the room; the Blue Rose Sword and his trademark sword, as well as an Academy weapon.