Welcome back everyone.

Here we go. This starts the Central Cathedral arc of the story. I'm not going to say anymore on the matter cause, since you knew Alicization was part of the story, you knew this was where we would go at some point.

I want to thank everyone for reading/reviewing/faving/following this story. I'm really glad many of you enjoy this.

Disclaimer: Reki Kawhara is the owner/author of SAO. I own nothing aside from the idea.

Now then,

LINK START!

Chapter 29:

Conflagration Introduction

Once Alice's eyes adjusted after leaving Cardinal's library, she and her friends found themselves in the church's armory on the 3rd floor. Rows of armaments sorted between armor, weapons, and uniforms were arranged inside. All these items were high Priority, much like her Osmanthus Blade or Kirito's Night Sky Blade. She knew this had been here, but she never wondered for what purpose. Now knowing more about Quinella and her desire for control, she knew this was just hoarding resources the people could use, especially with the imminent invasion from the Dark Territory. Just like the Integrity Knights.

But she steered away from that train of thought. Right now, all that mattered to them was ascending the Central Cathedral and getting to the Pontifex. She tapped the Blue Rose Sword on her right side, taking solace in the piece of Eugeo beside her. She would save him, wrest him from the Pontifex's clutches, and drive her sword into her black heart to end this nightmare. With this in mind, she looked up at her friends.

"Once we step out of the armory, expect a lot of resistance to us ascending the cathedral," Asuna warned Kirito and Alice. "Quinella won't be making it easy for us to reach her."

"Maybe not, but that isn't going to stop us," Kirito replied with conviction. "We're going to push through. And not just for Underworld and Alfheim's sake, but for Eugeo and the other Integrity Knights."

"I expect we'll run into Eldrie again along the way, not to mention that Eiji person," Alice reminded. "But if the three of us work together, we can prevail."

With the plan agreed, the three opened the doors to the armory and entered the main stairwell. But what they didn't expect to find on the other side was a hallway and stairs with nobody in sight. Not a priest or knight or anyone was awaiting them in the stairwell. This bothered Alice, as she didn't think Quinella was that confident in stopping them. Or was she? When they met her in Aincrad, she did seem to consider herself superior. Her manner of speech made her out to be someone who thought most everyone was dirt beneath her heel. Did she really think so lowly of the three of them? Or was there something else to this absence?

Kirito and Asuna looked to be trying to figure out the strange lack of opposition themselves. Both had their hands on their swords like she did, ready for a fight the minute they entered. But it made them wonder what they were missing.

"You don't think Quinella might be having the Knights waiting for us at the top, do you?" Kirito guessed.

"It would make sense if she was trying to protect herself," Asuna deduced. "But I can't see her being all that concerned about the three of us. Having all the Integrity Knights waiting for us would be overkill."

"Standing here trying to figure out her plan will get us nowhere," Alice told them. "Let's proceed with caution and expect attacks as we go." She began leading the way to the stairwell to begin their ascent.

But just then, Kirito yanked her back before three arrows embedded themselves in the floor where she stood. The three looked up to finally find some opposition, one they remembered when this whole ordeal began. Crimson armor rimmed with gold, bow in hand and arrows notched, it was none other than Deusolbert Synthesis Seven. The very same man that took Alice and Asuna away from Rulid village years ago.

Seeing him again, Alice couldn't help the brief recollection of that day when she was a child being bound and carried away on his dragon, smiling sadly to her two friends that were left behind. But she shook it off as Kirito and Asuna stood beside her.

Gazing up at him, Alice spoke, "Here we stand once again Deusolbert. Hard to fathom we looked up at the same face so many years ago."

Deusolbert didn't do anything, his only response was, "I recall no such meeting, Number Thirty. Perhaps you have mistaken me for another."

Alice and her friends were a little perturbed by his answer, so she inquired, "How have you forgotten our first meeting? It was pivotal for what has occurred now. Your actions are what started all of this."

"You have been misled by the heretics," Deusolbert replied, voice level and unchanging. "I only know you from your time in the church. A pity to see you throw away your faith like this."

Thinking on the matter, Alice realized what was going on. It was just like with Asuna. His memories had been altered by Administrator. The difference here was that the memories of the day Deusolbert took them from Rulid were gone. Whether that was for better or worse, she couldn't decide. But regardless, she wouldn't let this deter her.

Tightening his grip, Deusolbert warned, "I have been ordered to capture you traitors and bring you before the Pontifex. I would like not to kill you if I can help it."

Stepping forward, Alice warned, "Do not think so highly of yourself. Your only chance of defeating us is to kill us. Which we will not allow. We have too much at stake to fall here."

"So it would seem," Deusolbet said in lamentation.

But before he could let loose more arrows, Kirito shouted, "Burst!" And light elements in his hands flashed before them, nearly blinding the master archer. Alice was proud he was advancing in his use of the Sacred Arts, but it would have to wait for another time. She and Asuna rushed forward. They would only have precious seconds before the Integrity Knight recovered enough to try firing on them again.

With great cries, the girls struck hard at Deusolbert. Alice recalled he used a sword before, but now he seemed to have foregone it in lieu of his bow. A reckless choice that would spell disaster for him. Their swords were blocked by his bow, which rang out from the contact. Before they could back away, he had notched another arrow and aimed it at Asuna. Fearing for her friend, Alice darted into the arrow's path. Luckily, her armor took the blow, having it burrow just shy of her forearm. Even so, Alice could feel the point just about nicking the skin underneath.

Kirito rushed up from behind the girls but had to roll out of the way when the Integrity Knight fired three consecutive arrows his way. With the three too close to him, Deusolbert swung his bow to bat them back. They staggered down a couple steps, but it was enough to give him time. But they were in shock when Deusolbert drew his entire quizer, at least thirty arrows, and notched them all along the bowstring.

That's impossible! Alice thought in shock. No way can he fire all of them at once like that.

But apparently he could. As Kirito called out, "Get out of the way! Back and to the left!" Then Deusolbert let his arrows fly. The force from them all snapped his bowstring, but they all came out in a radial pattern. Alice tried using her sword to block some coming towards her. One glanced the blade, another nailed her in a chink by her hips, and a third bounced off her breastplate.

Alice collapsed to the floor as the other arrows flew over them. She quickly used Sacred Arts to heal her wound after removing the arrow. Looking over her friends, she saw Asuna had a graze on her left shoulder and three more on her legs. A more serious wound had found itself in her right shoulder, but she was addressing it with Sacred Arts as well. As for Kirito, Alice was amazed he got through as he did. There were a couple holes in his coat, but there was an arrow in his left boot. Since no blood was seeping from it nor was Kirito wincing in pain, she could only surmise it barely missed his toes.

Had Deusolbert not been blinded at the start, it was likely he might not have missed as he did. They truly were fortunate in that case. Not to mention he had no chance of using his bow against them with the string snapped.

"That was rather foolish of you to attempt such a desperate move," Alice spoke in a harsh tone. "Now you have left yourself defenseless Deusolbert."

But the Integrity Knight seemed unaffected by the loss. This gave Alice pause. Even as her friends stood back up, she wondered why he wasn't more aggrieved by what just happened. It was almost as if losing his bow had been part of his plan.

Then, a command came out that chilled her to the bone. "Enhance Armament." And Deusolbert's bow became engulfed in flames. The heat from such an art made Alice bring her arm up to shield her from the intense heat. She could see that the fire spread from the bow to Deusolbert himself, engulfing him as if he was also composed of fire.

"A Divine Object?!" Alice exclaimed, disbelieving in what she was seeing.

Voice cold as steel, Deusolbert informed, "It has been two years since I last bathed in the fire of my Conflagration Bow. While I had anticipated needing to unleash my power on you Number Thirty, I did not expect the same from the dark ones beside you."

Scowling, Asuna shot back, "Don't you dare decide who we are. You Knights are not divine beings like you claim. We never came from heaven. All of us here, every Integrity Knight, are human. Every last one of us. You, Eldrie, Bercouli, all of you are human."

"That is where you are wrong, traitor," he returned apathetically. "We all were summoned from heaven. You included. The boy there is a being of darkness. He even cloaks himself in their dark power. That same darkness has twisted your minds. My flames shall purify his darkness and free you both from his clutches." Drawing an arrow of flame, he declared, "I was ordered to take you alive. But first I shall free you by purging the dark one."

As he prepared to fire, Kirito told the girls, "Asuna, Alice, I'm gonna try to block his shot. Based on that power, I don't think he can fire consecutively. Once I do, you two need to take him out."

They nodded, awaiting his call for their counterattack. Alice was of a similar mind in that Deusolbert might not be able to fire more than one of those fire arrows in this state. But if he could, their plan would quickly fall apart. But Kirito had been through a lot more than she and Asuna combined. So she had to put her faith in him right now.

She saw Kirito's left hand glow with faint light-blue light, a clear indication of the frost elements. She held her sword up in preparation for the attack. After Deusolbert drew to the full length he could, Kirito cried out, "Form Element, Shield Shape! Discharge!" Thrusting out his left hand, he generated five shields of ice, one after another, filling the space between him and Deusolbert.

"Laughable. Pierce him!" the knight bellowed. He let loose the arrow, which flew with such power it hardly seemed like an arrow. As it did, Alice and Asuna took off. They saw the first three shields shatter with ease. The fourth seemed to warp before breaking apart from the power, and the fifth barely held it back. Alice kept going, but then she saw the arrow change shape as it began to break through, becoming something like a bird with a large beak and wings. As it neared him, Kirito used the Spinning Shield to block the attack. Now was their chance.

But even as they ascended and drew their weapons back to strike, they both saw as the bird dissipated from the barrier, before small explosions engulfed Kirito. Asuna faltered, her strike redirected as she changed direction. But Alice kept going, bringing her sword in to strike at Deusolbert now that he was defenseless. He seemed taken aback by her rushing him, but he seemed to get over it rather quickly as he drew his fist to strike at her. She didn't know what might happen with him coming at her, and she didn't care. She wasn't striking with just her own strength; she was pouring what drove her to doing this. From defying the Axiom Church, to taking down Administrator, to stripping this world of this baseless ideology. Her oath fueled her strike, her vow empowered her. If she could see herself, she would see the figure of her beloved moving in tandem with her, bringing his sword from the other side to strike at the Knight that ruined their futures and destroyed their childhood.

With a great cry, Alice's blade met Deusolbert's fist. Just before it did, it glowed with the blue light of the skill Vertical. Their blows met, straining against one another to overcome the opposition. Alice could still feel the intense heat from the Conflagration Bow licking at her and her Osmanthus Blade. It was mighty indeed, something Alice had to concede. But it didn't matter how strong her foe was. She was not going to bend, she would not succumb to this man who caused her to leave behind the life she knew, forced her to accept a life she had no desire to live. Her memory of that day in Aincrad, when she was asked to pledge her life to another, gave her strength to persist.

You never gave up on me Eugeo, she thought as she strained against her foe. Not once. Even when you never knew what became of me, you stayed strong and fought to find me. And even after that, you still did everything for my sake. Even sacrificing your freedom so I might still be here. Now it's my turn!

With a great cry, Alice grabbed the Blue Rose Sword. She could feel the bitter cold the sword possessed, responding to her call. She drew the sword and cut across, striking Deusolbert and cutting through his armor and causing him to falter. With her Osmanthus Blade, she made one final slash upward, which also knocked his helmet off. The Integrity Knight staggered back from the two blows before collapsing against the wall, his bow falling to his side with its flames extinguishing.

Relaxing her stance, Alice looked at the Blue Rose Sword and thanked Eugeo for his help before returning it to its sheathe. She then looked back to see Kirito and Asuna coming up to her, the former having a couple scorch marks on his cheeks but looking relatively well. She was grateful her friends made it through, and that their first battle ended in a great victory.

But as she heard their foe groan, Alice's face went back to the steely look she had in their bout. She looked down at the man, now unmasked, sitting against the wall. His skin was darker than hers, most likely a trait of someone from the Southern Province, and he had crimson hair of a similar color to his armor. In all the time she had known him, Alice had never seen Deusolbert without his helmet. In a way, the reveal seemed to humanize him.

"Number Thirty," he spoke as Asuna and Kirito came up beside her, "what was that technique you used?"

Keeping her voice level, Alice replied, "It was a skill of the Aincrad style: Vertical. But I merely used its most basic form."

Glancing at Kirito, he asked, "And you… What was that skill?"

"Spinning Shield," Kirito answered. "A skill Alice has also used against a monster called the Gleam Eyes."

Sighing, Deusolbert informed, "I had been from one end of the human world to the other, and even seen what lies beyond. But I have never encountered such a style as the ones you employed. While Number Thirty's is still rough, yours is more refined boy. I could tell from your control against my Perfect Weapon Control art."

Grunting, he then relayed, "A group of Integrity Knights awaits you on the fiftieth floor, in the Grand Hall of Ghostly Light. They have the orders to finish you should you get past me. So when you meet them in combat, they will not hesitate to end your lives."

Puzzled, Kirito asked, "Why are you telling us this?"

"I have failed in my duty as an Integrity Knight," Deusolbert told the boy. "I will be stripped of my armor and weapon, and will be subjected to an eternal freeze. Before I do, I would prefer you end my life yourselves, so I may not suffer an ignominious fate."

Alice could see where Deusolbert was coming from. Having served as an Integrity Knight, even in name only, she knew their reputation was everything to the order. They never failed at any task they were given, never failed to deliver whatever request Quinella gave them. In this case, failing to stop three supposed heretics was definitely a fall from grace.

Still, Alice knelt before the man and assured, "Deusolbert, you won't be dealt such a hand. Not if we have anything to say about it. You see, we haven't come to overthrow the Axiom Church. Rather, we have come to free Underworld from someone who has corrupted the very ideas held in this hallowed place. Their corruption has seeped into the world, affecting innocent lives. Not least of which were mine and Asuna's. You were a victim of that as well. You do not remember, but you brought two little girls barely older than 11 from a far-off village to the north for a slight infraction. They stand before you now, and offer forgiveness for what you were forced to do.

"Not to mention that I seek something the Pontifex took from me," she added, removing her left gauntlet to display Eugeo's ring.

When Deusolbert saw it, he gasped and uttered out, "You have made a pact before the goddesses." Then he mentioned, "I cannot recall clearly, but I recall a single memory of someone. I wore a ring much like you do now, along with someone else who felt important. Who they are, I cannot recall. I cannot even envision their face or what they were called. Only a vague sense of sentiment and devotion to them."

Stepping forward, Asuna urged, "Don't force it back Deusolbert. The memory will return to you in time, just as mine did. Let it return naturally. I know, with how you regard that memory, that it was important to you."

Smiling weakly, he responded, "Perhaps you are right, Number Thirty-Three."

Looking at him with a softer expression, Alice said, "We are not numbers, Deusolbert. My name is Alice Zuberg." Looking to her friend, she added, "And this is Asuna Yuuki." Deusolbert repeated their names softly before his head drooped and he conked out. Alice did a quick check, seeing his Life was a little below half but not going any lower. Still, she couldn't leave him like this.

"I'm going to heal the worst of his wounds, to ensure he does not perish here," she relayed to her friends. "You two go on ahead and meet the next group of Integrity Knights waiting to meet us."

"Are you sure Alice?" Asuna questioned. "Shouldn't we all go together?"

Alice shook her head, and assured, "I will catch up when I have finished here. But I must also recover so I may be of assistance in the next bout."

Kirito looked down at the man as Alice healed him, commenting, "He's just been another pawn for Quinella's game. What do you want to bet Sheyta, Renly, and Bercouli were as well when they were sent to Aincrad?"

"They might have been," Asuna figured. "Bercouli did say he was to bring Kayaba to justice. I bet she was putting Integrity Knights in slowly so by the time they got to the 100th floor they would have a whole army to fight the Commander with."

"It seems you and Eugeo figuring out Heathcliff's identity usurped her original plan," Alice pitched, sealing the wounds in Deusolbert. "Otherwise, we might have aided her in bringing down Aincrad's ruler alongside Uncle and the others." Then she urged again, "Now go ahead. I will follow in time."

Not given much room to argue, the two told Alice to catch up quickly before taking the stairs up. And she continued her work on Deusolbert.

Once she finished tending to Deusolbert, Alice rose to her feet. Now she had to continue and find her friends up ahead. No doubt they were close to the Hall of Ghostly Light. While she did not venture to the higher levels of the cathedral for fear of Quinella and her intentions at the time, this was one of the floors she went to with Bercouli. Before he had been sent away, he was the only safety Alice knew during her stay here. But she knew now that he might not even regard her the same way he did, especially if Quinella had modified his memory like she did to Asuna and Deusolbert. She knew she would have to face the man that acted as a father to her, but she also was unsure if she had the strength to fight him. Bercouli was a powerful swordsman that none of the Integrity Knights could contend with. But she resolved to face him when the time came.

However, as she went up the stairs, she started to hear her friends talking to a couple people. They sounded like little girls, maybe sisters-in-training like she had been. She was puzzled as to why they would be here, until she remembered two Integrity Knights that were inducted into the order rather young.

As she rushed up, she heard them introduce themselves. "I am Linel Synthesis Twenty-Eight." "And I'm Fizel Synthesis Twenty-Nine." She then heard the sickening sound of metal piercing flesh, and hurried up to rescue her friends.

She was just about to turn around on the landing between the 29th and 30th floors when she stopped to avoid being spotted. On the ground were her friends, both looking shocked. They were still alive, Alice remembered that the weapons these Integrity Knights used didn't really kill anyone. Especially not people like Kirito and Asuna. The only catch was they paralyzed the users for an extended amount of time unless someone had the antidote. She needed to approach these two carefully if her friends and her were going to advance further up the tower.

As the two subtle Integrity Knights sheathed their daggers, the short, straw haired Fizel commented, "Wow. I expected the boy to be easy pickings, but I didn't expect Number Thirty-Three to not know who we were."

"Well, we never really saw most of the other knights," Linel, the one with light-brown hair tied in two pigtails, mentioned to her partner. "And Number Thirty-Three was sent to Aincrad not too long after she entered the order."

"Yeah, I guess you make a point," Fizel mumbled. The two then grabbed both fighters by their legs and began dragging them up the stairs. Alice had to grimace at the way they handled Asuna, especially with that skirt being lifted. What would be worse was the fact the two were having their heads banging on the steps as they were taken up. But if she charged them now, Fizel and Linel would tag team her and take her down. No matter how skilled someone was, fighting those two slippery miscreants was foolish.

"Hey, where is Number Thirty?" Linel asked her partner.

"I don't really know. But who cares?" Fizel replied. "I'll bet she's crying up a lake because she lost her betrothed to Administrator. She was always so pathetic, even before she betrayed the church."

"Yeah, I wonder why Administrator didn't make her the proper Integrity Knight and get rid of all those emotions she has," Linel pondered aloud. "Will she even be a challenge when she comes?"

"I could care less, as long as we get these two to the Vice Commander," Fizel told her proudly. "That'll show them."

As Alice listened to them, she was infuriated with how they regarded her. They thought she was weak because of her emotions? That because she was heart-broken to lose Eugeo that she couldn't fight them? It didn't matter that they were Integrity Knights before her. They clearly knew nothing of the struggle and hardship she and her friends had to endure for nine years.

As they passed the 42nd floor, Fizel addressed their captives, "You probably are wondering how we became Integrity Knights? Well, it was because we were part of something that Administrator was looking into. That was resurrecting the dead. We were just two of many children brought before the Pontifex, and we were given only one mission. To kill each other."

"In truth, we were raised here in the cathedral," Linel picked up. "We were made for this task given to the monks and nuns here. At five, we were brought before the Pontifex to kill each other. But it hurt so much when we started."

"You kept messing up when trying to kill me," Fizel argued.

But Linel retorted, "Well, you kept jumping all over the place." Returning to the original topic, she resumed, "Anyways, Administrator wanted to restore Life that was totally lost. So anytime our Life ran out, she would use a resurrection art to bring us back. But not everyone did. Some that were chopped into pieces or blown up looked weird."

"So we worked to find the quickest and cleanest ways to kill each other," Fizel picked up. "We tried everything from lopping each other's heads off to stabbing each other in the heart. In the end, Administrator gave up after seeing the resurrection art fail with the other kids. Only Nel and I remained. We were eight then."

"The senators said we had to choose our new Calling," Linel began to wrap up. "We decided we wanted to be Integrity Knights. They were so upset, but the Pontifex gave us the chance to prove ourselves against the Integrity Knights already there. Who were they again Zel?"

"I thought you were supposed to remember Nel," Fizel scolded. But they let it go, and the straw-haired one concluded, "We lopped those cocky bastard's heads off, and became Integrity Knights. But we've been stuck in here, learning all the laws and stuff. But once we kill you before the other Knights, we'll get Divine Objects and dragons of our own."

As Alice listened to this story, her hatred at Quinella for her inhumanity reached new heights. These two children were bred purely for killing and to experiment with a Sacred Art that meddled with someone's Life as egregiously as that. She hadn't thought that Quinella could sink any lower. How wrong she was. But it steeled her resolve to see this through and dethrone the tyrant once and for all.

Up at the 50th floor, the two Integrity Knights opened the doors and dragged Kirito and Asuna into the Great Hall of Ghostly Light. At the other end Alice saw five Knights, four with similar looking armor of white with purple talberds, with the fifth being recognizable as the Vice Commander, Fanatio Synthesis Two. A purple cape draped over pale purple armor in a style much like her own, and a helmet with horns like Deusolbert wore. Held before the knight was a thin sword barely wider than Lambent Light. The Heaven-Piercing Blade, Alice recalled. She knew that, under that visor, was a woman knight who would go toe-to-toe with anyone that dared to threaten the peace of the Human Empire. And she was the next obstacle after Fizel and Linel.

At their entrance, Fanatio chided, "Why do you apprentice children barge onto the battlefield of honorable knights?"

Seeming miffed at the accusation, Fizel retorted, "It's that honor and dignity that made those knights at the entrance lose the intruders and the third get beaten. Now we have the intruders, so you don't need to worry about the knight's reputation being damaged."

"We'll chop their heads off and present them to the Pontifex. Make sure you give a good word for us," Linel advised.

The two turned around, facing the supposed sinners looking up at them. Alice knew this was her time to act. She summoned light elements to her fingers and charged. Before the knights could register, she cried out, "Burst!" And just like with Deusolbert, the flash of light blinded only the Integrity Knights and the Four Whirling Blades. Alice then retrieved the daggers from the blinded Fizel and Linel and cut them, injecting the toxin into their systems, and paralyzing the apprentices.

While they voiced their shock at Alice suddenly appearing and taking them out, Alice dug through their uniforms and found the antidote. Small bottles with an orange liquid inside. Two in each of the apprentice's pockets. Making sure it was the antidote, she administered them to Kirito and Asuna. It would take a few minutes, but hopefully she would be allowed to let it work so the three of them could fight Fanatio properly.

While her back faced the Vice Commander, she spoke loudly, "I request that you allow my friends to recover so we might fight properly as swordsmen against you and your disciples. We wish to retain integrity despite our entrance. Do you find this acceptable, Fanatio?"

Having recovered faster than the other knights, Fanatio replied, "Very well. So long as my blade is not readied for battle, you shall have your allotted time. But recall, Number Thirty, that my Heaven-Piercing Blade knows no mercy to whoever faces it."

"I have not forgotten, Vice Commander," Alice responded. Looking down at the two girls that lay before her, she addressed, "You were fools to assume I would not join my friends in ascending the Central Cathedral. If you knew so much about my affection for my betrothed, you would know I would not sit idly by while he suffers under the Pontifex's rule. You let your arrogance and vanity in your skills overtake you. If I had been a proper Integrity Knight like you, perhaps I too would have overestimated myself. My faith, my skill, my control. I might have thought nothing could stand opposed.

"But that is why my friends and I have something you do not. We know we lack something of ourselves. We acknowledge weakness. The Integrity Knights are not allowed this comfort, thus allowing their pride to get the better of them without proper combat. Uncle, Deusolbert, Sheyta, and even Renly all have experience outside these halls. They know truths you will never find here. And they were not blinded by their abilities to think themselves the pinnacle of the order. For in truth, pride comes before destruction."

With her words given, Alice chucked the daggers into the ground beside Fizel and Linel. She then turned around and brought the Osmanthus Blade before her, holding it point down in its sheath much like Fanatio and her disciples were doing. As she waited for Kirito and Asuna to recover, she contemplated how they might confront this particular challenge. The Four Whirling Blades were a force to be reckoned with, as they were all chosen by the Vice Commander herself. Even so, there was a way to tackle them and get to Fanatio. She would confront the four with her own power alongside Kirito. The two of them would have power to hold off the disciples. This would punch a hole for Asuna to charge the second in command so she could overwhelm Fanatio with her immense speed. Fanatio was an agile fighter, and powerful as well, but Asuna had the swiftest form of any swordswoman Alice knew.

One thing that did worry her was the rumored Perfect Weapon Control of Fanatio's Divine Object. Supposedly, Quinella had forced it from a thousand mirrors meant to redirect light to one spot and become a deadly weapon. But the mirrors became too cumbersome to use, thus she converted them into that very sword. The Heaven-Piercing Blade would be a challenge for all three of them. If, at any point, Fanatio were to use it, it was unlikely they would escape the fight unscathed. She worried one of them would be egregiously wounded to the point that they couldn't go on.

After a few minutes of waiting, Kirito and Asuna had finally recovered. As they drew their swords alongside Alice, Fanatio and the Four Whirling Blades twirled their swords as they drew them in unison. Alice held her blade before her, ready to fight the second in command of the Integrity Knights.