Chapter 3: The End Mountains
The next morning, the sun began to rise over Rulid Village as the bell tolled with Yuuki yawning as she sat up, noticing how close Shiki was with Korai as the two of them slept peacefully. The most likely scenario for this would be that Shiki must've had a nightmare. Seeing the father comfort his child made her so happy as she smiled, regretting that they had to wake up as she clapped her hands.
"Okay, everyone. Up you go."
Naturally, Shiki and Korai moaned as they didn't want to wake up.
"Mommy... can't I sleep?"
"Yeah. Just give us five more minutes."
"But it's 5:30. My family had this old saying. 'If you're early, you're on time. If you're on time, you're late. And if you're late, don't bother showing up.'"
Remembering what Korai was told of their promptness from before while they lived together, he found it hard to argue with her, or most likely impossible due to his drowsiness.
"Alright. C'mon, Shiki. Let's wake up your brother and get downstairs."
"Aw..."
Meanwhile, in Kirito's room, Suguha and Sachi were each sleeping with Karai and Saki in their arms as Ayame and Kito perked through the door with Selka standing over them before she gently tapped Suguha in the shoulder before she spoke.
"Wake up. Now."
With that, Suguha fluttered her eyes open after trying her best to stir from her sleep and sat up as she helped Kirito and Sachi do the same with her own arm shaking them.
"Well, guys? C'mon. We gotta be ready."
With that, Sachi and Kirito woke up drowsily before Selka spoke to them as Karai and Saki took their turn to wake up, feeling their parents' bodies moving them up.
"It's 5:30. Even though you're lost children of Vecta and guests, you're still expected to get up on time."
As Selka looked at them, still expecting them to get up off the bed, Suguha felt as though she might as well be doing that to herself as she recalled how she always tried to wake up Kirito.
"So, that's what it feels like to be forced to wake up. Looks like I owe you an apology, Kazuto."
"Nah, it's alright."
At that moment, a small blue gelatinous creature of sorts peeked its head our from a bag and squeaked as it rubbed its head before stuffing itself back in the satchel, making Sachi look at the bag before Kirito and Suguha looked at her while Saki and Karai yawned.
"Huh? What's up?"
"You okay, Sachi?"
"Yeah. I just thought I heard something..."
At that moment, Kito and Ayame went back to their parents' bedrooms and spoke to Rika about what she'd call "the good stuff". Although she knew they were all sharing Kirito, she still felt she needed to be in the uptake. Unfortunately, she was told that nothing had been going on.
"Really? Nothing so far?"
Ayame felt differently as she spoke to her.
"Well, we saw a cute, little, blue slime creature in the bag for a while, but it stuffed itself back in."
Hearing this in the conversation, Keiko looked at them in surprise.
"A slime creature? Really?"
However, this didn't surprise Rika in the least as she smiled.
"I knew it, that little scamp. Couldn't stand to be apart from me, or Sachi, for that matter."
As Rika smiled to herself about that, Keiko and Ayame became surprised while Kito giggled.
Later on, in the forest, Rika was getting Sachi's bag out on the grassy floor, making the latter confused as she spoke.
"Uh, what are you doing with my bag?"
"Well, I'm gonna introduce the kiddies to their own family pet."
As Rika said this, she earned Sachi's surprised look on her face before she dug her hand into the bag and lured out the blue creature as it hopped into her hand before she lifted it out and showed them to Kito and Ayame, making them smile while Sachi, Karai, and Keiko became surprised, the first of the three most of all.
"Ta-da! Isn't it just so cute?"
As the creature squeaked, the anxious Ayame held her hand out to it before it noticed and backed up a bit, confusing them before Rika understood what the problem was.
"Huh? What's wrong?"
"Oh, right. I forgot to tell ya. He's kinda shy, so you'll have to find some way to make him feel comfortable with you, at least from what I understand."
As Rika explained, the blue creature looked to Karai and Sachi and squeaked excitedly before it hopped on Sachi's chest, making her blush before it trailed up to her shoulder and nestled against her neck as it cooed before Sachi giggled at the nature of the creature. While she did so, Rika, Ayame, Kito, and Keiko blinked their eyes, confused at its sudden interest in Sachi before Rika conceded, disappointing Kito.
"Alright. I guess Sachi's the winner."
"Aw!"
Meanwhile, Yuuki, Korai, Kirito, Asuna, Suguha, and Shino, along with their children, were watching Eugeo chop away at the tree with a mighty swing as he spoke.
"Forty... five!"
As Eugeo hit the axe against the tree, Yuuki noticed a little bunny with foxlike ears as it eyed her curiously before it scurried away. As it did, Yuuki laid back down in the ground as she moaned.
"I'm starting to think Rika might be right about this being boring. At this rate, it'll take ten times the 300 years just to cut it down..."
At that moment, Eugeo spoke up to Yuuki, making her surprised as she sat up straight.
"What was that?"
"Uh, nothing!"
"We're all done with the morning's quota. It's time for lunch."
As the group got some bread to eat, the blue creature on Sachi's shoulder became interested as it leaped into it and began to nibble away at it. Given how the blue slime creature vacated in Sachi's bag all day and night until today, Sachi felt this to be understandable.
"Oh, you must've been starving. Sorry."
As the blue slime creature nibbled at the bread, Kirito, Yuuki, Eugeo and the others became surprised as the woodcutter spoke up to Sachi.
"Whoa! You guys found a slime gerbil already?"
"Huh? Is that what that is?"
"Yep. They're so hard to find, though. They don't particularly like humans too much. You must be lucky."
"Yeah. Still, I feel bad. This bread's a little harder than it should be."
As Kirito took a bite, his face reacted and spoke up.
"A little?!"
As Kirito chewed on the bread nonetheless, Eugeo spoke up to the group.
"You know what I wish? I wish you guys could've tasted the pies Alice always made. The crust was so flaky, and there was so much filling. Having it with some fresh milk was the best. There's nothing in the world that tasted better than that."
As the slime gerbil continued to nibble into Sachi's loaf of bread, she spoke to Eugeo about her calling.
"Is that because she's a baker?"
"No, not even. Back in those days, she was studying the Sacred Arts at the Church. She was the greatest prodigy this Village ever had. She could cast all kinds of spells by the time she was ten!"
This made Yuuki surprised as she piped up.
"No way! She did all that at ten?"
"Yep, that's right."
"So cool!"
As Yuuki giggled at the thought of this, Korai spoke up to Eugeo about a certain residence of theirs that helped others wake up in the morning.
"Now that I think about it, what's up with Selka?"
"She's Alice's little sister. After Alice was sent to Centoria, Selka moved to the Church to become a Nun and study the Sacred Arts."
"Wow. I can't imagine how she must've felt when Alice was taken in as Integrity Knight the way she was. And what about the other children? The ones that aren't ours?"
"They lost their parents to the plague that hit the village 3 years ago. The Church is the only place that had room for them."
As they heard this, Suguha felt sorry for them as she spoke up.
"Oh, no. That's awful."
"Tell me about it. It's like we're cursed. All these strange things have been happening lately. Like people being attacked and kidnapped down the main road. The villagers say Goblins are the ones doing it."
At the mention of it, the slime gerbil stopped in its tracks from eating, making a panicked squeak before Korai spoke up.
"There are Goblins here?"
"I have a feeling all that talk's just rumors. If it were true, an Integrity Knight should've come by now to put a stop to them. They'd have been here in a flash. Like when Alice was close to stepping in the Dark Territory and then that Integrity Knight caught her and helped us get back home."
As Korai heard this, he recalled another memory in the past prior to his dive in the Underworld.
Kikuoka was speaking with Korai, Yuuki, Kirito, Asuna, and the others as he was showing them the other Soul Translators with one of them in use with a man in silver hair occupying it as Yuuna stepped in the room to use it with a smile as she laid down.
"As you know, Project Alicization was our top priority. And it was fortunate that Eiji managed to dive when he did. He was able to stop her from breaking a law in the Taboo Index. After that, she got promoted and moved to Centoria, where the castle resided. So, that means you'll have to find some way to get there as quickly as you can. No doubt the Sorcerer's gonna have the same idea."
As Korai took this into heart, Eugeo continued speaking to them.
"That was nothing compared to Goblins."
"Didn't think so."
"Either way, there have been a lot of deaths over the past two or three years. More than usual."
Hearing about this, Rika tried to apply logic to the solution for that.
"Well, can't you revive them with some Sacred Art spell or something?"
"Well... I don't know about that. But I remember Alice saying there was a high-level Sacred Art that could stop a life from decreasing."
"For real?! Well, why don't you use it then?"
"Alice said she found a passage about that spell in one of the old books at the Church. But the problem is, only one of the High Priests at the Axiom Church can use it."
As those two words echoed in Asuna's mind, she became interested as she and the others knew about that from Kikuoka.
"Axiom Church?"
"It's in Centoria. They wrote the Taboo Index."
"Well, do you have to be a High Priest to use that spell?"
"Yeah. It's not for regular folk like us. The Arts get their strength from the sacred power that Solus and Terraria saturate the air and land with. The more elaborate the art, the more sacred power it takes. It would take more power than this forest has, and no one from here to Zakkaria can wield it."
This made Yuuki more intrigued as she never heard about Terraria and Solus before.
"So, who exactly are Terraria and Solus?"
"They're actually the goddesses of the Earth and Sky. They're the reason Centoria exists the way it does. But the main god in charge of it... was Stacia. The texts say that she created Centoria and its people."
"Wow. For real?"
"Yeah. And to be able to communicate with them, they use a crystal to link those in the Axiom Church to them. Really, it's because of that communication we're living life the way we do."
Hearing about the communication, Yuuki began to think about the recent odd goings-on here in Rulid Village before she spoke up.
"Eugeo... do you think maybe that the crystal might be telling the Integrity Knights that something worse than the Goblins might be taking them? Maybe they're trying to contain them first."
"Honestly, I suspected as much about the rumors, but I didn't think about the crystal telling them that."
As Yuuki pondered this, Kirito had a different Sacred Art in mind as he spoke up.
"I wonder if there's a Sacred Art that could help us cut this tree down."
Hearing his query, Eugeo made a lighthearted, joyful laugh before he replied.
"That would make things easier."
As the group looked at the axe on the tree, Yuuki was curious about the other variety of weapons as she spoke to Eugeo.
"Hey, uh, Euge. Is it cool if I call you that?"
"Sure. I guess."
"Okay. Well, do you have anything tougher than that axe in your village?"
"No, I'm afraid not. The only thing stronger than the Dragon Bone Axe would be an Integrity Knight—"
As Eugeo said this, he stopped himself, remembering something that could help as he spoke up.
"On second thought, maybe there is. Wait here for me. I'll be back in a bit."
As Sachi grew curious with the slime gerbil peeking out of the bread where it ate away, she spoke inquisitively.
"Huh? What for?"
Later, Sachi's question was answered as Eugeo was carrying a sword-shaped package on his back as Korai took into account the weight of the package and went over to him and helped him carry it, experiencing the heavy weight for himself.
"Whoa, okay! Easy there, buddy. You doing alright?"
"Yeah. Just be careful. If it falls on your foot, it'll leave more than a scratch."
"Noted."
As Korai took the heavy package from Eugeo, he planted it firmly in the ground before he unzipped it, revealing a blue sword in a scabbard with a blue rose as its hilt. Surprised to see it, Asuna spoke to Eugeo.
"Whoa. What is that?"
"It's a Blue Rose Sword from a fairytale."
"Huh? What fairytale?"
"It goes like this. 300 years ago, Bercouli the Swordsman went to the End Mountains. He entered the lair of the White Dragon, our protector, and found that sword. It's just a silly story. That is, it was, until some kids decided to find out if it was true."
Taking interest in the story, Shiki spoke to Eugeo as she studied the sword in fascination.
"And who were those kids?"
"I mentioned it yesterday. Remember? About how Alice and I went to the End Mountains? I found that sword in the Dragon's lair. I couldn't even lift it by myself back then."
"Whoa..."
Kirito, on the other hand, felt it didn't make sense that the Dragon would just let them go.
"Well, what did the Dragon have to say about you guys breaking into its home?"
"Oh, there was nothing left of it except some bones. We took the wrong tunnel afterwards and Alice was extremely close to crossing into the Dark Territory. She tried to cross it because she saw someone reaching his hand out to her, and she wanted to save him. The next day after that, that same Integrity Knight offered her a chance to become an Integrity Knight at Centoria. She took it, but she was given a chance to say goodbye to us. I dunno... Maybe it's because they're trying to find some peaceful way to settle things with those in the Dark Territory?"
As awestruck as the group was about what's been going down, Eugeo realized he was getting off topic before he got back to it.
"I'm sorry. Back to the sword. I left it there that day and never forgot it. So, two summers ago I went back. Every day of rest, I'd go drag it. It took 3 months to get it back here."
This made Korai surprised for a while before remembering how heavy it must've been for Eugeo.
"Seriously? Three whole months? Sorry for asking that, but what's the big deal about that sword?"
"I guess, I was hoping one day I'd had the strength to swing it. I'm still not strong enough to. Do you think you are?"
"Only one way to find out."
With that, Korai took the Blue Rose Sword and tried to lift it from its scabbard slightly before he prepared a pose and staggered a bit from the weight, making Yuuki, Akihiko, Shiki, and the others back up in surprise before Eugeo spoke to him.
"Looks like it's too heavy for you too."
"Shut up."
As Korai looked in the reflection, he began to notice a great difference from it compared to other swords as he spoke.
"What exactly is that thing made out of? It's not steel, is it?"
"No, I don't think so. And it's not silver, or a Dragon Bone either. I think it might be a Divine Object."
This made the slime gerbil squeak as it popped out of the bread it vacated in and onto Sachi's shoulder before she spoke.
"What's a Divine Object?"
"It's something that was either made with the help of the gods or was created by them. We call things like that Divine Objects."
"Hmm. I guess it makes sense."
Wanting the tree to be cut down more than anything, Rika wanted to get it over with.
"Hey, Euge! Can you just cut it down already?"
As Korai smiled at her behavior, he had an idea as he spoke up.
"Actually, can you check how much life that Demon Tree has now?"
Eugeo began to suspect what it was for as he spoke up.
"Don't tell me, let me guess. You're going to try striking it with the sword."
"Yep, that's right. Does the Taboo Index say anything against that?"
"No, it doesn't."
At that moment, Eugeo checked up on the tree's durability, seeing that it was at 232,315 over 320,826 as he replied.
"Right now, it's at 232,315."
"Okay. Get it memorized, and everyone, back up."
With that, everyone heeded his advice before Korai held it behind him and charged it with a light crimson effect before he charged at the tree while shouting as he managed to stick it into the tree before being knocked back by the light effect and fell on his rump before Akihiko went to him and spoke.
"Daddy! Are you okay?"
At the very least, it made his hands twitch as Korai replied to his son.
"Y-Yeah. Never better."
As the slime gerbil took notice and hopped over to him, Eugeo spoke to him as though he should've expected it.
"I told you before. That tree is tough."
At that moment, the slime gerbil began coating itself in his hands, surprising Korai as he felt a sticky sensation on them.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
Suddenly, the slime gerbil began to glow a green light, making the group surprised before it eased the tension of his hands with Sachi holding her mouth over her hands before the slime gerbil's glow ceased and reformed into its cute state before it looked at Korai's confused state.
"What did you... just do?"
As the slime gerbil hopped off of his hands and onto the grass while heading back to Sachi's shoulder, Eugeo spoke about what it did, seeing as his hands weren't trembling anymore.
"I guess it must've healed your hands. There's a lot we don't know about these little guys."
However, what became more interesting than that was the fact that the sword managed to stick into the tree.
"No way... you actually cut into it. And deep, too."
As the group took notice of that, while Yuriko looked at it in wonder, Korai spoke to Eugeo.
"Well, see how much it's life is at now."
As Eugeo did just that, the results were actually upsetting as he spoke on its remaining durability.
"232,314."
"What?! It only went down by one point?!"
"Your hit landed in the wrong spot. I bet it would've decreased it's life a lot more if you got it in the center of the cut instead of the bark."
Hearing this, Korai grew a bit embarrassed as he spoke.
"Oh, yeah. Guess I should've watched where I was aiming."
"Looks like your intuition was right, though. The sword is more effective than the axe. Even so, we'd have to master using it before we get any results."
As they heard about it, Asuna had an idea as she spoke up.
"Well, maybe you can try hitting its center of the cut, Eugeo."
"I can barely hold the sword, let alone swing it."
At that moment, Kirito piped up as he sat up.
"It's all about technique, and I can help you with that."
"Hmmm... Okay, I'll give it a shot."
With that, Eugeo grabbed onto the sword and tried to pull it out before he was met with much difficulty before pulling it out and feeling the weight of it overcoming him again.
"So heavy..."
Despite this, Kirito continued to provide coaching for Eugeo.
"First thing, find your balance. And when you swing, swing with your body. With swords, it's more about momentum, not just arm strength."
"Mm-hmm."
As Eugeo stepped back, he held it at the ready for a moment before he swung the blade at the tree, managing to cut into it, only to topple back before the sword landed in the grass as Sachi, Yuuki, Kirito, Asuna, and Korai went over to him as she spoke in worry.
"Hey! Are you okay, Eugeo?"
"Yeah. But, to tell you the truth, I think I lost some life on that one."
As Kirito lifted him up, he gave him a smile as he spoke.
"Oh, well. It was a good try."
As Kirito said this to Eugeo, Korai couldn't help but feel that something was up with the sword, and if not that, then it must be them. After all, in SAO, ALO, and GGO, you'd have to be at a certain level to master any weapon. Perhaps that same logic applied here, too. At that moment, Yuuki spoke up about Sachi's pet.
"So, does it have a name or what?"
"Uh, I don't know. I only just found out it was living in my satchel for a whole day."
"Hmm... how about 'Gummy?"
"Gummy?"
As Yuuki nodded, Korai became interested and turned to her.
"Now what gave you that idea?"
"I came up with that name 'cause it's like gummy candy. It's good, right?"
Taking in account its textures, Sachi felt it made sense as Korai replied.
"Oh, yeah!"
"I guess it fits. I like it."
"I like it, too."
As Gummy squeaked, Yuuki smiled as she replied.
"Told ya."
Later, Kirito and the others were back at the Church as he, Sachi, and Karai were sharing a bath while Gummy sat on a windowsill above them as she spoke to him.
"You know, it feels really soothing. Especially when it's with you."
As Kirito smiled at that, he held her close as they watched Karai play in the water by swimming in it while holding her breath as he had some thoughts.
"At this rate, we'll never get to Centoria. We need Eugeo's help, but he won't bail on his calling. If it wasn't for that Taboo Index, he could do whatever he wants. He said the Axiom Church came up with it. I wonder what the deal is with them."
Remembering what Kikuoka spoke about the Soul Archetypes, Sachi spoke positioned herself over him and sat just in front of him as she spoke to Kirito about the possible odds in their predicament.
"I honestly don't know, Kirito. But I do know that they wouldn't let him break a rule. And yet... in Alice's case, she tried to go there by her own choice. So, the bigger question is... what kind of fluctlight is Alice?"
At that moment, Karai popped up from the water and onto her mother's back as she and Kirito got splashed while Gummy avoided the water on the windowsill to prevent from getting wet as it squeaked before she giggled.
"I gotcha, Mommy!"
"Yeah, Karai. You sure did."
At that moment, Gummy jumped from the windowsill to Sachi's shoulder as it squeaked before she thought of its own fluctlight as she held her hand to it before it ran up onto it and looked at her while licking its paws.
"And for that matter, what about this? Is it a soul archetype, too?"
As it squeaked, Kirito, who found himself with another ambush from Karai as she zipped in between them to look at Gummy with fascination, spoke up to her as she petted it.
"Well, maybe its own fluctlight was part of the simulation to begin with. R.A.T.H. did get the idea from VRMMO worlds."
"So, I get it. Even the fluctlight of the creatures in VRMMOs can be copied, too."
"Sorta. But can we even call those fluctlights?"
Hearing this from Kirito, Sachi began to get upset as she snapped back at him.
"What are you talking about, Kirito? Of course, they are! That's like saying Yui doesn't have a soul!"
"Hey, c'mon, Sachi! Don't bring Yui into this like that."
Realizing her overstep in boundaries, Sachi felt embarrassed as she spoke.
"Sorry, Kirito. It's just... everything here is an artificial fluctlight. And they never asked to be used like that. I just wish Kikuoka would stop treating them like objects."
"I get that. And I know that fluctlights come from people, but from monsters and NPC's? It just doesn't seem like it'd work out like that."
As Sachi looked at the purring Gummy, she had an idea about how it could work as she looked up to him.
"Well, think about it this way. If Gummy behaved like an NPC, would it have gone anywhere near us?"
As Kirito tried to say his answer, he began to realize that he had no answer for it as he got stumped, much to Sachi's expectations as she went on.
"That's because anything that's copied over here can be just as easily influenced as the Soul Archetypes, just like Yui. Or did you forget that with your memories?"
As Sachi made a small laugh, Kirito took offense to it as he responded sarcastically.
"Ha ha ha. Very funny."
Taking in every word of what she said, Sachi looked towards Gummy who stared back at her with a longing squeak before she spoke.
"What are you thinking little one? What do you feel?"
As an answer to her question, Selka knocked on the door and spoke up to Sachi.
"Hello? Is someone in there?"
To answer, Sachi spoke up.
"Uh, yes. Me, Kirito, and Karai are bathing together. But we're almost done."
This made Selka embarrassed before she spoke.
"Oh, um, no! You guys can take your time. I was just checking. Sorry to bother you. Good night."
"No, it's okay, Selka, really. Good night."
With that, Selka smiled before walking to her bedroom just as Rika cleared her throat behind her, catching her attention as she noticed her and Keiko before she spoke.
"Actually, Selka. We've just got a couple a questions for ya. Do you think you can answer them?"
Later, Rika, Keiko, Korai, and Yuuki, were with Selka as she sat on her bed.
"So, what was it you guys wanted to ask me?"
At that moment, Yuuki scooched closer to Selka before she spoke.
"Well, uh... it's about your older sister."
This made Selka flinch a bit before she explained.
"We heard she was taken in to be an Integrity Knight from Eugeo. And that her name was Alice."
"He did, did he? What else did he tell you, besides her name was Alice?"
"Well, he told us she studied the Sacred Arts here at the Church. And that ten years later, an Integrity Knight brought her in to be one herself, right on the spot. I really think he misses her."
This gave Selka food for thought as she spoke.
"I didn't know. I thought he forgot about her..."
This made Korai confused as he and Keiko spoke up.
"Well, why would he?"
"He practically worked his butt off to fulfill his calling so he could be with her."
This made her smile a bit before she spoke again.
"That explains a lot about him, though. She's the reason Eugeo's working so hard, and why he's so sad."
As those words left Selka's mouth, Rika found disbelief in the other reason.
"Are you kidding? I mean, sure, he likes to work hard to be with her, no matter how pointless it is, but him being sad?"
"You had to have noticed it, how quiet and gloomy he is."
Remembering that particular description, Rika saw where she would think that.
"Oh, yeah. I thought he looked nostalgic."
"When my sister was here, every time I saw him, he had a smile on his face. I don't remember seeing him without one back then. But not anymore. He spends his days of rest alone, and the only time I see him is when he goes to the forest."
This made Rika perk up a smirk as she spoke.
"Oh, I see. You really like him, don't you?"
As expected, this made Selka blush and panic as she spoke against that.
"I didn't say that! Oh my gosh!"
"Yeah, sure."
As Keiko bumped her in the arm, she spoke next to Selka.
"Well, what's the big deal, then?"
"Everyone compares me to Alice. No one says it, but I know. When my parents see me, I remind them of her. And I can't stand it anymore. That's probably why Eugeo avoids me. When he sees me, he thinks of her, and I can tell it makes him sad."
As Rika looked at her, she found it difficult to see any resemblance.
"Well, I don't know. I mean, it's not doing it for me."
Strangely, Selka took comfort in that as she smiled at her for a moment before her sadness returned.
"That's nice to hear, Rika, but... but there's nothing I can do. It's not my fault she's gone...!"
As Selka said these words, her tears went onto her nightgown, instantly absorbed into it before she wiped her tears as the group that talked with her felt sorry for her.
"I'm sorry. I'm acting like a baby."
Korai, however, didn't quite feel like that. In fact, none of them did. Although, he was the only one among them who truly understood as he spoke up.
"Well, I don't see it that way. If you need to cry, it's okay. Better to let it out than hold it in."
As Korai said that, Selka gave him a smile as she wiped her face again.
"Yes, you're right. In fact, I feel much better already. Crying in front of others is not something I do."
"I can imagine why. But I can also see where you're coming from. My father did terrible things to so many innocent people. And even after he's gone, they blamed every terrible thing he did on me. But... I never did any of what he did."
Hearing that context, Selka looked at him in confusion as she spoke.
"Hold on. Is your memory back?"
"Yeah; just bits and pieces, though. I don't remember everything yet, but I hope I do. At least the pleasant ones... Anyway, I didn't want to go through living a life being blamed for everything my father did; I wanted to end it, one way or the other. But Yuuki... she saw me for who I really was and she stayed by me all this time."
"Yep, that's right."
"The point is, it doesn't matter what anyone thinks; you're not your sister any more than I'm my father. You can only live your life, not someone else's. Does that make sense?"
Hearing Korai's words of comfort, Selka smiled at him before she spoke.
"Yes, you're right."
Just then, they heard a bell rolling in the Church before she spoke.
"I should get going."
As Selka stood up and walked to the door, she turned to the group before she spoke.
"Say... did Eugeo happen to tell you why the Integrity Knight took my sister in?"
This made Rika confused as she then remembered what he said and spoke up.
"Oh, yeah. He said it was because she wanted to help someone who was in trouble in the Dark Territory. They went all the way to the End Mountains to do that, though."
This made Selka interested as she held her hand to her face.
"I see... the End Mountains, huh?"
Seeing the look on her face, Yuuki spoke up to her.
"Y'know, if you're interested, we can go look there tomorrow. Maybe we'll find the Integrity Knight there, even your sister!"
Hearing Yuuki's proposal, Selka became surprised as widened her eyes before Korai spoke up.
"Are you sure that's a good idea, Yuuki?"
"It'll be okay. What Sister Azalea doesn't know won't hurt her. And besides, we need a guide to get there. So, whaddaya say? You in?"
Hearing such an offer being made, Selka felt as though she could finally be free of being viewed as her older sister as she smiled before she spoke.
"Yeah. I'm in."
The next morning, Yuuki, Korai, Rika, Selka, and Keiko were headed to the End Mountains to find Alice and the Integrity Knight that took her in. Prior to that, the parents spoke with their children about it and told them to tell the others about where they're headed so they could meet up whenever they can. At least, that's what Akihiko and Shiki were told to do. But for Kito and Ayame's case, they're told to keep it quiet in case they were able to help Eugeo fulfill his calling faster. But in any case, Rika simply refused to sit through boredom again. Fortunately, they didn't have to hike nearly as long as they had to watch Eugeo cut down the tree. About an hour and a half since they started, they got to the End Mountains and saw a giant cave with a river heading into it as Rika spoke to Selka.
"Wow. Are you sure this is the End Mountains that Alice walked in with Eugeo?"
"Positive. But we're gonna need some light."
With that, Selka took up a small weed from the ground before she held her fingers up to it and spoke.
"System call. Generate: Luminous element. Adhere."
At that moment, the white tip of the weed began to glow yellow, astounding the group as Keiko spoke up.
"Whoa. What did you just do?"
"Well, I just did a magic spell. Did you forget how Sacred Arts work?"
"Uh... yeah. Maybe."
With that, Selka smiled at her before she led the way deep in the cave as the group followed. As they traversed deep in the chasm, though, they couldn't help but feel the cold temperature beginning to settle in their skins as Yuuki began to shiver before Korai and the others followed.
"Brrr... is it just me, or is it getting chilly in here?"
"I think you might be right, Yuuki. It's getting colder the deeper we go. Alice and Eugeo must've felt that way when they got here."
As they spoke, Selka began to feel the chills herself and shivered before she spoke.
"W-W-We'll j-j-just have... t-to keep m-m-moving. Our bodies should create enough warmth for us to get to the cave."
As they continued onwards into the cave, Selka's theory was proven to be correct as the cold air didn't seem to bother them anymore. And when they finally arrived at the cave, it wasn't difficult for them to take notice of the number of blue crystals and skeletal remains of the dragon as Selka inquired of it to Korai.
"What is that?"
"I think you should be asking what it was. Eugeo told us he and Alice found nothing but bones."
At that moment, though, Selka took notice of the gleaming crystals beside it as she spoke of them to Yuuki.
"And those crystals..."
"You think they're the same ones that the Axiom Church uses to communicate with the gods?"
"I don't know. It's my first time seeing any crystal."
As Selka drew near the crystals, Korai thought he heard something shift in place and looked around as Yuuki looked to him.
"Is something wrong, Korai?"
"I don't know... You guys keep an ear out. I'm getting the feeling that we're not alone."
As they kept this in mind with the group nodding, Selka and Rika examined the crystals that glowed in the dark before noticing one that was loose as the former spoke up.
"That's odd. One of them is out of place."
"Well, let's pull it out."
Hearing of this, Selka grew worried as she spoke.
"For real? But—"
"But nothing. What's pulling out one little crystal gonna do?"
Korai immediately knew the answer as he saw a talk, dark figure rising up from the shadows on the other side of the crystal wall as he shouted.
"Selka, Rika! Get down now!"
As they heard Korai's warning, they heard a snarl from above and saw a gigantic, vicious creature preparing to strike before Rika reached by grabbing Selka's waist and jumping off of the crystal wall as its claw barely snatched them with Selka yelping in fear as she and Rika were caught by Korai before he set them down and the group widened their eyes in terror as the full view of the creature was revealed. Its face was brutally contorted to have sharp razors for eyebrows and had no visible eyes with an elongated, pointy nose and sharp teeth, towering at nearly 10 feet with a large set of wings, a tail, and horns on its head. And the creature was walking towards them as Keiko cringed while Korai spoke.
"What the heck is that thing?!"
In response, the creature spoke in a distorted voice as its black saliva dropped from its mouth.
Thieves cannot escape the hand of justice! The crystal is mine... never shall I loose my grip!
Hearing the words from the creature, Selka, Yuuki, Keiko, Rika, and Korai became perplexed as the younger sister spoke up before him.
"So, you're the guardian of the crystal, then?"
"Don't think so. If it was, Eugeo would've told us about that."
The crystal, the light, the power... all of it... MINE!
With that, it began to extend a long blade from its wrist, preparing to dissect the group, only to be stopped by another blade as it glowed violet, being held by the very person they sought after: the Integrity Knight as he was known as by Selka. But the others knew who he was as he sported short grey hair and fierce eyes of steeled determination as he pushed the creature back, but he didn't do it alone. For he was joined by two girls in his party: one who had brown hair and hazel eyes, a flute, and a sword as well as another who Eugeo had worked on his calling for ten years to find. Selka seemed to recognize her as she spoke up to her.
"Is that...?"
At that moment, Kirito, Sachi, Shino, Asuna, Suguha, Eugeo, and Gummy entered the cave to see a surprising sight. But it surprised none more than Eugeo as he noticed the person he worked very hard to meet with.
"Alice...?"
As Korai noticed the group's arrival, Alice, the songstress, and the Integrity Knight looked to them before Alice spoke up.
"You guys just let us handle this. We'll protect you."