Bit of a short one, but hopefully better than last chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 29

Poison in my Veins

"I'd hoped the Pontifex had kept him locked up." Alice muttered under her breath. She gripped her golden blade tight, her jaw clenched in worry.

I shrugged, finally reaching the final step. I reached under my pauldron and unclipped my cape, letting it fall to the ground. "It was Chudelkin who sent me. I doubt she would've sent me down here." I brushed some loose strands of hair out of my face. "I'm glad he did though." I looked at Kirito who had relaxed a little.

"You remember everything?" Kirito glanced towards Alice.

"He's not a normal knight." Alice began to explain. "Our memories are blocked off, but he hasn't had that. I've heard the Pontifex talk about something called the Real World when discussing him, which I suppose is the reason why he has his memories."

Kirito's eyes met mine. "It is you."

"You know about your memories?" I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yes. Kirito has explained the situation to me." Alice said calmly. "And I am fully prepared to fight the Axiom Church. Including you."

I smiled. "As much as I would love to let you pass, I can't." The Administrator's promise to save Kimiko rang through my mind. If I did let them pass, it would likely be void. "What would you even do if I let you upstairs?"

This time, Kirito spoke. "Administrator is preventing the Human Empire from being able to defend itself from the Dark Territory." I could tell that was the basest of excuses, that there was so much more to his reasoning. "We need to convince her to train soldiers to help protect the people here."

"We need to protect the people here."

I grimaced as the voice echoed in my head. "And what do you plan to do if you can't convince her?" I got silence in response, but the answer was clear. "Kirito, I'm sure what you're doing is right from your point of view." I reached behind me and pulled my sword from the sheath. "But I can't let my friend suffer anymore. I need the Administrator."

"We have someone who can help your friend." Kirito said quickly, a little panicked. "Her name is Cardinal, and-"

"Unfortunately, I've grown tired of 'can's and 'maybe's." I was finally on a path that could save Kimiko, and I wasn't going to let that go.

Kirito looked a little regretful as he got into a stance. "I'm sorry, but I have someone I need to save."

I looked at both of them, ready to fight. And I didn't even get to ask Kirito who I was… I let out a little sigh before getting into my own stance.

"System Call… Enhance Armament."

Kill… Kill… Kill…

"Strange…the memory of this sword is unique…"

I was tempted to open my eyes, but I kept them shut, knowing if I did open them, I wouldn't find out what was unique about the Night Shadow Blade.

Administrator examined the sword. "It seems to contain more than just the Core Memory. Like…another memory entirely." I heard her place the sword down. "I wondered why he could use Incarnate Arms so easily… Now I understand." She let out a small laugh. "The sword is his from another world."

The sounds of Stacia Windows opening filled the room. The temptation of opening my eyes only got more and more extreme.

"So…Infinity, what exactly are you?"

The memory trapped inside the Night Shadow Blade poured into my mind. All I could feel was an insatiable urge to kill. This…it should've scared me, feeling this desire. But it felt…strangely familiar. As if I've felt it before.

Kill…

"What is that?" Alice yelled in surprise.

Kill…

I opened my eyes and saw the purple glow around my sword. An aura of darkness seemed to be embracing me. I took a deep breath before locking eyes with Kirito and Alice.

"Go on…kill me…"

The soft voice commanded from the memory. I sucked in a breath and charged forwards.

Alice jumped in front of Kirito, readying her sword in defence. I brought my sword back over my shoulder and swung it straight at Alice's sword. The two blades screeched as sparks flew from them. I dragged my blade along hers to meet the crossguard, the edge of my sword barely an inch from her neck.

I sensed another sword coming at me from behind. I let Alice push my sword away, using the momentum from the push to spin and block Kirito's strike. To ensure Alice couldn't interfere, I kicked behind me, my boot colliding with her stomach and sending her flying backwards.

I crouched down and pushed upwards with all my might, throwing Kirito's sword up. Something that made me curious was the dull sound of wood as our blades slid across each other instead of the screams of metal. In my moment's distraction, I failed to see him muttering a Sacred Art. "Discharge!" Kirito aimed five elements right at my face. A bright flash blinded me. He had used Luminous Elements at point blank range. I stumbled back, my eyes squeezed shut against the brightness. By the time my vision returned, Kirito had disappeared.

I turned around to see Alice standing, ready to fight. "So he's left you to fight."

"Unfortunately, we don't have time to waste." Alice said simply.

Something made me hesitate. "I don't know if I can stop myself from killing you…"

"It's not like I'll let you so easily." Alice raised her arm above her head, her golden blade glowing bright. "Release Recollection!"

Her blade split into a thousand golden petals. She aimed the handle straight at me, sending a storm of razor-sharp petals at me. I raised my sword in defence, but the sheer amount meant I would never be able to block them, even if I had a tower shield. I felt the skin on my face bleed, and my armour beginning to crack as the petals dug in. The petals were trying to throw me off my feet, but I dug my heels in, refusing to budge.

I could see Alice's eyes widen in shock as I stayed on my feet. I gripped my sword tight, bringing it back and slashing against the force. The petals dissipated, returning to Alice. I panted as she looked on in surprise.

I grabbed my cracked chestplate and ripped it off, the other pieces of armour falling off. I was left in the clothing underneath. It wouldn't offer much protection, but one more attack like that, and the armour could shatter and the shrapnel could dig into my body, causing more damage.

Kill…

"Nice trick…" I dashed forward, slashing at Alice. She was immediately on the defensive. I didn't care where I slashed at, keeping up an assault of swings aimed at her.

I could feel this…influence growing. Whatever this memory that was trapped inside the blade…it was beginning to terrify me. But not because of how dark the memory was…but because the more I felt this emotion, the more it told me…

This was my memory. This desire to kill…this was my own.

Even though I wanted to stop, this desire was beginning to take over. I kept up this assault of a thousand cuts, only one needing to connect.

Please…run…

I wanted to beg for Alice to run. To follow Kirito, wherever he went. To save her. But every screech of metal against metal only seemed to lessen this need. I wanted…revenge… But for what? Alice had never done anything to me.

Then I realised. It was the memory. It was bleeding into this fight. Whoever I was fighting against back then, that was who I wanted revenge against. This little dose of reality was all I needed.

Our swords locked together. I gritted my teeth as I pushed against her. "Run…now…"

"I won't run from a-"

"NOW!" I almost screamed at her.

KILL! The voice screamed back at me.

The Night Shadow Blade touched her cheek, and my body reacted on its own, pulling the sword away from her. Our lock was broken, and I took a step back.

Alice reached up to touch the cut on her cheek. Her hand came away expecting blood, replaced by a purple liquid. Her sapphire eyes looked up at me in horror before fluttering closed. All sense of feeling must've left her body, as she collapsed to the ground in front of me.

I looked at the Night Shadow Blade in my hand. The purple glow had disappeared, and the memory was no longer consuming my mind. I threw the blade to the side and rushed over to Alice. "Alice! Wake up!" The cut on her cheek had caused her skin to become inflamed and dark. My hands were shaking as I touched her forehead. Even through the fabric of my gauntlets, I could feel her skin was ice cold. I opened her Stacia Window, seeing her Life decreasing. It wasn't quickly, but even at this rate, I couldn't see her lasting half an hour like this.

I gripped my arms, trying to stop the shaking. I began to suck in breath rather quickly. My fingers began to dig into my skin, and I could feel it threatening to split open. Part of me wanted that…as punishment for this sin I've committed…

You can still save her…

I looked back at the Stacia Window. It was decreasing. I only had half an hour. But that was half an hour to save her. I grabbed her fallen sword and lifted her up. Her armour added a large amount of weight to her, but I didn't care.

I'm not killing anyone else.

I looked at the Night Shadow Blade that sat on the floor. A small voice in my ear whispered that I should take it. Instead, I tore my eyes away from it and started heading upstairs, towards the only person who I knew had a chance to stop this poison from spreading. I never wanted to touch that sword again, to never relive that memory again.

Yikes...I can imagine the hate for Light right now. I guess this is where I find out if people really do like Light or not. A ticking clock has begun on Alice's life. Now can he save her?

To answer a few questions I know will come up, yes, Kirito went downstairs for the Blue Rose Sword. I might write a mini-series about other events that were changed that would cover that and Kirito's fight with Eugeo Synthesis 33 (as Light is Synthesis 32), as well as some of the events that will happen in the future.

As for Light's Memory Release, there are two parts. One is the main thing you experienced in the story, which was the memory locked deep within it. The other is from the component the sword is made from; the Obsidian Nightshade flower. Nightshade is a highly poisonous flower. Hence the poison. It'll be explored and explained in depth later, but I don't want to cause any confusion now.

Reviews:

blackbutterfly1313: Thank you again sweetheart. I still think there was a problem with the pacing, and a few others seem to think so too... But don't hide, or I'll hug you.

kazukimirato: Thanks a lot :) I hope this chapter was better despite the length

Anyway, I hope you all don't hate Light too much. I'll see you in the next chapter. As always, Stay Cool.