Heyo heyo!

Man, I thought I would never get this chapter up and running. Hit a couple roadblocks making it, but finally pushed through and just wrote like a maniac. Now we reach the conclusion to the Central Cathedral arc of the story. The questions is: how will it pan out?

As a note, keep an eye out for a few Easter Eggs among what's written. Both this and a previous chapter made references to SAO material that eagle-eyed readers might pick up on. Especially those following the gameverse. Hope you spot the one in here.

Disclaimer: Reki Kawahara is the owner/author of SAO and its content. I own nothing aside from this idea.

Now then,

LINK START!

Chapter 35:

Faithfulness

At first, Alice merely felt warmth enter her body as she came around. But as she opened her eyes, she first noticed the immense pain from the wound the Sword Golem inflicted on her was slowly ebbing away. Then her eyes registered the stern expression of Cardinal, her staff tracing where she had been slashed and motes of light seeping into her body and armor, restoring them both. When finished, Cardinal walked over to what Alice surmised was her friends that had confronted the monstrosity Quinella had created.

When she looked at Eugeo, he was in tears. Among the four of them, he had been the most emotionally vulnerable. She recalled that was part of why he had been so timid at first, not helped by how his brothers always seemed to shun him in their shadows. She didn't question why her beloved was crying over her now. She had felt her Life slip out of her after receiving that fatal blow.

That was when she started registering some things, like Cardinal's presence. How had she come to the top floor? Wasn't she remaining in the library to hide from Quinella? What was going on with Yui, who was still being restored? As Eugeo helped her to sit up, question upon question piled up in her mind.

But those fell to the wayside when she looked over to Cardinal. After tending to Asuna and Kirito, she bent down to the dot that had been Charlotte. Picking up the slain companion of theirs, she muttered, "You stubborn fool. I had released you from this duty, permitting you to live however you pleased."

She wasn't sure if Cardinal deduced why, but Alice had an idea why Charlotte risked so much for them. She had been with Kirito since he and Eugeo left Rulid to rescue them. That had been over three years ago now. She had been with them in Aincrad when they fought the Dungeon Masters, traversed the skies of Alfheim with the fairy folk, and even ascended the Central Cathedral with them. Charlotte no longer saw staying with them as a duty. Alice believed Charlotte wanted to protect her friends, people she cared about. A feeling she herself could empathize with.

Stowing the dead spider in her cloak, Cardinal spoke with increasing firmness, "You four should know it is not impossible for even creatures to develop feelings of loyalty and love. You four exude it among yourselves, drawing in everything from complete strangers to wild monsters. Even that wolf you spared was touched by your hearts. Which is more than I can say for you, Quinella."

Grinning with a hand to her chin, the tyrant responded, "I was beginning to wonder when you would resurface. I saw how you rescued three of them in the gardens, knowing you would send them back to finish me off once you had your pets molded as you required."

"Don't mistaken me for you," Cardinal shot back. "I don't need to remake a person's mind to give them a purpose to strive for. Nor would I dare attempt it."

"So presumptuous of you," Quinella teased. "Are you saying you didn't do something similar to the little tramp you sent into Aincrad? She was your agent."

Giving a huff, Cardinal retorted, "How quickly one forgets their own deeds on the matter. You had a similar art sleeping in Alice since you converted her friend. You just chose to use it after Kayaba lost because you were done observing with your biggest rival out of the way."

"My my, calling him by his name. What poor manners," Quinella cooed. "Dear little Lyserith—"

"My name is Cardinal!" the little girl shouted back. "Who I was died when you did what you did."

Rather than be startled by the outburst, Quinella laughed at the statement. And she replied, "Indeed, you are his daughter. Even if the 'you' before is gone, you have seen that some parts remain. A matter even I haven't overcome."

Catching on, Alice questioned, "Wait, are you saying Cardinal can still have that identity as Kayaba's child?"

"Absolutely," Quinella answered. "No matter what augmentations are done to someone, who they were at the beginning still exists. It might be buried, perhaps suppressed, maybe even asleep. But they are still there. It was one component I regret not amending with you and the vessel, Number Thirty."

Before she went on, she snapped her fingers, which was followed by a tremor that caused all but the two more prominent figures to falter to their knees. "While Kayaba was troublesome, he did help me to learn an art that would prove useful," Quinella explained. "But there won't be 100 floors to clear for this one. Unlike that coward, I'll give you the chance to free yourselves. If you can succeed that is." To emphasize her point, the Sword Golem stood tall and proud in front of her. None of the group needed to deduce what she meant.

But Cardinal seemed unperturbed, replying, "You seem to have it in your mind that trapping us like mice in a cage will do us in. These four you have so zealously pursued have been trained to face creatures far more imposing than even this machination. You have underestimated them for too long."

"I have underestimated their will, that much I can admit," Quinella returned, unaffected by the facts presented to her. "But I have learned one weakness they share that has always been their undoing. What has allowed me to convert at least two of them, however temporarily, into my unwavering servants."

"Don't think too highly of yourself," Cardinal pointed out. "They were never unwavering. Even if they served you while converted, it is as stated: who they were underneath your modifications were never removed, allowing them to accept the truth their friends reminded them of."

"A minor technicality, but I was fortunate enough to have what I needed from them as I do all my servants," the Pontifex informed. Then she pointed to the ceiling and directed, "If you need more proof, you might just find what moves my precious Sword Golem."

The group all looked to the mosaic in the ceiling. It depicted the sky and the three goddesses, possibly describing the creation of Underworld. Alice didn't catch on to what Quinella was pointing to, and it seemed irrelevant to her.

But then Eugeo gripped her shoulder and uttered, "Guys, those things that look like crystals in the ceiling. They aren't crystals."

Cardinal let out a gasp, exclaiming, "You didn't! You stored their memories?"

Hearing this, Alice looked closer. When she saw the crystals once more, she saw what horror lay inside. She found one that had a woman, and a man bearing a wedding band on his finger. Remembering what she did, that had to have been Deusolbert's most cherished memory. Another had someone like a mother over the person the memory came from. Another had a girl lying in a bed, with the figure the memory belonged to stroking their hair, their hand appearing feminine.

Seeing their horror, Quinella elaborated, "Indeed. All the most precious memories, the wills of my Integrity Knights, lie above us to control the Sword Golem. And they will be the first to create this masterpiece."

"Say what?!" Kirito cried out in disbelief.

"I will strive to do the same to more. Perhaps half the whole population of Underworld," Quinella proposed. "Then, with such an army, and the power of the three goddesses, not only will the Dark Territory be subdued, but every land and every people will bend to my will."

Gritting her teeth, Cardinal muttered darkly, "You truly are a monster."

Giggling, the Pontifex returned, "Oh don't be so quick to judge, little one. I merely am doing what humans always do: innovate."

"This isn't innovation, it's depravity!" Cardinal scolded. "All those memory fragments, even if they are the tools needed to drive those swords, are nothing more than vessels with simple thoughts."

Kirito then spoke up, "Hold up, let me get something straight. When you convert someone into an Integrity Knight, you take a memory from them and store it in those crystals. And it's those memories that drive the Sword Golem. But if that's true, and the command you uttered signified the people associated with those memories, why did you skip some numbers? Wouldn't you have Asuna's and Eugeo's up there too?"

Thinking on it now, Alice realized Kirito had a point. Her friend's memories should have been snatched up too, used to drive that behemoth like the others. But Quinella called out numbers 1-29 and skipped 30 for 31. Why though?

Frowning, the woman replied, "That was unfortunate. But while I had stowed away the memories of your friends after converting you, Thirty-Three and Eugeo's memories were returned by means I cannot fathom. Though I imagine that little oath had a part in it."

"Not so, Quinella," Cardinal cut in, sounding proud for some reason. "Their oath had nothing to do with their memories returning to them. The truth was, for your conversion to work like with the others, meant removing the very people connected to the memories from their lives. But with these four, that was impossible. So you ended up failing before you even tried."

"That still leaves one question," Asuna chimed in. "What drives those memories? If it's of someone beloved, how does that give your Sword Golem will?"

Her face splitting into a wicked smile, Quinella told them, "Desire. Desire to touch. Desire to squeeze. To hold. These drive the swords' very will. They sense their beloved is nearby, but anything standing in their way are viewed as an enemy. Maddened by this separation, it drives them to kill. To kill and kill until finally, what they desire is theirs. The wonderful power desire brings."

Disgusted, Alice cried out, "You're wrong." Voice low at first but growing, she went on, "Desire? Don't even associate what those memories feel with that ugly word. They are not seeking someone out of a base need, they aren't going after something with primal urges. They are not beasts, but men and women who yearn for something greater. It is what I, and Asuna, and Kirito, and Eugeo, and our friends all possess." Softly, she concluded, "It's love. Real, genuine love. Pure as crystal, and just as beautiful."

Staring defiantly, Alice concluded, "And you are tarnishing that love for your selfish pursuit for power. I will not allow this to carry on."

Humming, the ruler informed, "Perhaps, but you have one handicap. That little girl you think will save you cannot murder. And while this sword is metal, what composes it is what drives it. In a way, these swords are human with the memories driving it."

Kirito scoffed at the idea, but Cardinal spoke in a subdued voice, "It's true. Those swords are essentially human beings with those memories tied to them. And as much as I had practiced and recited for this moment, I am incapable of murdering anyone. All my preparations, all my efforts and planning, it was all in vain."

"That can't be true!" Asuna protested.

But Quinella quickly countered, "Oh but it is. They think, feel, and dream just like any human would. They do things beings like myself or Oberon had discarded aside from one or two traits. Even Kayaba is just like us in exchange for immortality."

"Humans laugh, grieve, and love. Behaviors and actions people like us cannot do," Cardinal elaborated. Then, casting aside her scepter, she then uttered, "Which is why I accept defeat."

"Cardinal, no!" Kirito cried out.

Ignoring him, the girl added, "However, I have one condition before surrendering my life to you. That you will indeed spare these four youths. You will not harm them or take away any of their Life. Do so, and I will give in willingly."

The four cried out to Cardinal, wanting to dissuade her from her decision. Alice pleaded alongside Eugeo, but everything fell on deaf ears and they knew it. No matter how much they cried, begged, or shouted, this little girl would not change what was to happen.

Contemplating, Quinella inquired, "And what do I stand to gain from this agreement? Even if I spare their lives, they doubtless will try to come after me again."

"Simple. You can cast an art that targets them, preventing them from reaching you wherever you would be," Cardinal suggested. "You could even evacuate them to Aincrad or Alfheim, if you needed them gone from Underworld itself." Even as she said that, she looked back at them with a gentle look, like someone offering one last glance before going to the executioner's block. It tore at Alice's heart, but it no doubt hurt her friends just as much.

Seeing merit, the Pontifex replied, "I suppose I can before I mold them into my perfect vessels. I swear on the goddess Stacia—"

"Not to the goddesses!" Cardinal interjected. "Swear on something far more valuable: your soul. I won't accept an oath to something that hasn't even been in this world since its inception."

Seeming miffed, Quinella corrected in exasperation, "Very well. I swear on my very immortal soul that I will prevent these four from reaching me and sending them to a place far away without harming them or taking away their Life. That much I will acquiesce to… for now."

With the matter settled, Cardinal gave one last glimpse to the four. Alice stayed rooted, wanting to honor her last wish. But even so, the urge to rush in and shield this little girl was overpowering her a bit. This little one, no matter how old she was, had never had a full life. She had been a tool, created from the child of someone who suffered through the centuries. In some ways, she was sagely. But in others, she was still a child. Just like Alice had been when she was taken. And that look, one of acceptance and comfort, reminded her of the one she gave the boys when she left their lives for eight years.

Drawing in motes of light, Quinella summoned a silver rapier with a beautifully carved guard that looked too delicate to be a proper weapon. But the aura it gave off indicated it had power. Pointing it at Cardinal, energy gathered until a bolt danced across the space and struck the little girl. It was quick, but the damage was extensive. Cardinal's robes were scorched, her hat askew, the curls in her hair undone.

Staggering to stay on her feet, Cardinal taunted, "That's all you have? I'm disappointed. You can fire all those arts you want, you won't—" But she was cut off when another bolt shot out of the rapier, bigger than the last. Her hat dissolved into light in an instant, and Cardinal jerked and twitched as she suffered.

"I don't want this to end quite yet," Quinella spoke in her demented pleasure. "I don't want a boring end. I have been waiting two hundred years for this… moment." A third blast crashed down on Cardinal, drawing out a cry of pain from her that seemed to split the very air itself.

As a couple more blasts cracked down on the girl, Asuna collapsed to her knees as tears poured out from her. Kirito's teeth were grit so tight it was a miracle they didn't break from the pressure. Eugeo stood aghast, frozen in shock and fear as he saw this girl brutally tortured. But Alice, she merely flinched and curled within herself as she heard Cardinal's screams and saw the pain she was forced to suffer through.

After the last blast, Cardinal was collapsed onto the ground. Her right leg was missing, the stump steaming from the lightning. The little girl had no strength to rise, her face turned to see the four people that held the hope of the whole world. Alice begged and pleaded that the goddesses intervened. Even if they used Asuna, the vessel of Stacia, she just wanted someone to save this child.

"And now," Quinella spoke as she prepared the final blow, "good-bye, Lyserith. Good-bye, daughter of Kayaba!" She raised her rapier one more time and delivered the killing blow.

But then, in the split second before the art was launched, someone descended over Cardinal and blocked the art. The smoke cleared to reveal someone in blood-red armor, with a full-person shield with a cross insignia on the front. Ash grey hair in a thin ponytail peeked out from behind, as did the elderly face of the man who defended the girl.

"I will not allow it, Quinella," Heathcliff proclaimed. "As her father, I shall not allow you to claim her life."

"Commander!" Asuna exclaimed. "How are you here? Why are you here?"

Rising to his feet, Heathcliff replied, "Questions for another time." Then he bent down and gently picked up Cardinal in his free hand, cradling her like an infant. "Forgive me Lyserith, for making you bear this burden," he muttered to her, his face full of deep sorrow.

Looking up at him, the girl replied, "Y-Y-You? Why?"

"Is it truly so shocking for a father to defend his daughter?" he returned somberly. That seemed to make Cardinal look away in annoyance.

"Well well well, look who finally decided to leave his precious castle to come down and visit," Quinella spoke in a cold voice. "I would have thought you would stay your hand, having your little puppets confront me."

Chuckling, Heathcliff returned, "How quickly you try to relate my actions to your own. Unlike you, I have no need to remake a person to have their loyalty. No doubt you have heard what Asuna called me just now. That was her own doing, something you were never able to understand."

"Ah yes, your free will," the tyrant ruler acknowledged. "Such a troublesome little thing."

"Only for one such as yourself who demands total obedience," replied her rival. Heathcliff then went over to the four and set Cardinal in Kirito's arms. "I ask you not as the man you fought and defeated, but as a father," he addressed the four. "Look after her for me. She is too precious for me to see have further harm inflicted upon her."

Without waiting for a response, he turned and faced the Sword Golem. That was when Cardinal called out, "You are planning to throw your life away, aren't you? Why?"

Stopping to draw his sword, Heathcliff's only response was, "To atone." And once in a ready stance, he charged forward.

As if sensing his attack, the Sword Golem swung its arms at him with speed and a heavy hand. But Heathcliff easily ducked under the swipe. He pulled up his shield to block a blow from one of the legs, then parried the other leg coming on his right. He backed away before it could get another blow in, swinging left to bat away the thing's arm. He skirted around to the back, going to stab at where the purple crystal lay. But this just had his sword be pinned by the swords making up the ribs. He blocked one of the rear legs coming up to strike, but he failed to perceive the golem twisting its left arm to strike down on him. The blow piercing his leg, causing him to fall as his sword was released.

His movement hampered, Heathcliff had to block what strikes descended upon him with his shield. But even his impregnable defense was only going to last so long. He tried staggering the machination by swinging his shield out at the next strike, wanting to stagger his foe. Despite bearing success at it, the Sword Golem retaliated and nailed a slash on his shoulder. Thus, Heathcliff was forced to hunker down.

The four and Cardinal watched on, unable to take their eyes off the man that had come to their aid. Seeing him suffer against such a foe seemed unreal. This was the man they fought alongside back in Aincrad, with monsters far more menacing and terrible than this being of swords. This was the man Kirito struggled against before ultimately prevailing in their duel on the 75th floor. And yet here he was, meeting his match by a creation of Quinella's rather than the woman herself.

As this went on, Alice heard Eugeo request, "Cardinal, I want you to use me." Hearing that, she rounded on him, startled by his words.

Her friends turned to the youth, even as Cardinal looked on with curious expression. "Use you how?" she inquired.

"I know a sacred art that will give you complete control over me," Eugeo told him. "I want you to use that art to turn me into something to strike down Administrator."

This proposal drew concern from his friends, and Alice especially. An art that would turn him into something else? She didn't know what that would entail, but a growing sense of panic seemed to set in her heart at the prospect.

In response, Cardinal warned, "If I do use such an art, there is a chance you may not return to what you were. Will you still go through with it?"

Resolute, Eugeo nodded, replying, "This is what I was meant to do."

"No Eugeo!" Kirito protested. "We'll find another way. You can't sacrifice yourself like this."

Looking to his friend, the boy assured, "It's alright Kirito. It will be alright."

But it wouldn't be alright for Alice. If he was turned into something else, everything Alice had fought for all this time would have been for naught. Eugeo had been her drive, her motivation to ascend the Central Cathedral and dethrone Quinella. To lose him to an art like this would destroy her.

"But what about Alice?" Asuna reprimanded, having sensed her friend's horror. "Are you just going to leave her like this? She fought everything she once believed in for you. You can't just throw that all away."

"I betrayed her when I turned my blade on all of you," Eugeo reasoned, sounding more and more defeated. "This is my atonement."

"We don't give a damn about any of that crap!" Kirito argued. "I'm not letting you break our oath!"

But Eugeo paid him no heed, resting a hand on Cardinals in preparation for the art. That caused Alice to snap out of her stupor. She shot her left hand out and gripped Eugeo's tightly. This action startled her beloved out of whatever mindset he had been in.

With tears in her eyes, she told him, "If you are set on doing this, then I will also surrender myself. Cardinal can use me to aid you."

"Alice—" Eugeo began to argue.

But she stopped him by stating, "We swore our lives together before the goddesses. That when the time was right, we would complete our pledge and be united in matrimony. I at least wish to see that come to pass. As long as I am with you, I do not care what happens to me. I will be an instrument to see this tyrant fall."

That seemed to eradicate any resistance Eugeo had been preparing to build up in fighting her on the matter. So he relented and said, "Then I will share this art with you, so we both can defeat her." Then he leaned in and whispered the command. Now in agreement, the two clasped Cardinal's hand between their own, even as Cardinal set her on the ground and backed away.

"System Call…" they chanted in unison. Then together, they called,

"Remove Core Protection."

And trails of light traveled up their bodies as the mysterious art began to work through them. Cardinal seemed to concentrate on what she was doing, her gaze unflinching as she did what needed to be done with them. Kirito and Asuna just watched, both worried about their friends and this plan they were enacting.

While this occurred, Quinella looked over after seeing the light grow. Seeing the art, her eyes went wide in shock. "No," she growled. Raising her blade, she cried, "I won't let you meddle, Lyserith!"

Seeing the Pontifex charge at her friends, Asuna leaped up and brought Lambent Light up to parry the charge, halting her in the air. "I won't let you hurt them anymore," she murmured as she held back the cruel ruler of Underworld. "Now you will face me!" She swung out to force Quinella back, before going for several stabs and swipes. Quinella easily blocked them, before backing away as her Sword Golem descended on Asuna.

But then Kirito came to her side and helped parry the golem's sword stroke, keeping it away from her. "Don't forget about me Quinella," he warned. "You still have us to contend with." He ducked under another swing before swinging at a joint to stop its next attack. Asuna then darted around him and struck the Sword Golem at a few points to temporarily disable it and then went after Quinella. The Pontifex rained bolts of energy on her that Asuna dodged with ease as she rushed, before needing to block another rain of thrusts before retreating and calling her Sword Golem over to her. When it went at the two youths once more, Heathcliff charged over and blocked the attacks with his massive shield. It received some marks from this, but still held strong.

As they fought, Eugeo and Alice were surrounded by light as the art worked through them. Their clothes seem to disappear in a flurry of lights while they came closer together. Just as their bodies met, light erupted between them that engulfed the entire room. Within this light, the Blue Rose Sword and Osmanthus Blade floated within and merged with their masters.

When the light faded, Kirito, Asuna, Heathcliff, and even Quinella looked over to see something astounding. Floating in the air was a single sword, as long and wide as Eugeo and Alice were, with a stark white blade and golden, cross-shaped guard and hilt. It had a beautiful slight curve ending at a fiercely sharp point. There seemed to be a ridge along its face for something to fit within, but was empty despite this.

Seeming exhausted, Cardinal gave a final command, "Release Recollection!" With that command, the sword rang out. It floated on its own power, rising higher. And unlike the Sword Golem, Kirito knew this one wasn't driven by some twisted desire. It was driven by his friends unfailing will and love.

Seeming enraged, Quinella snapped, "Copy me all you want Lyserith, but that flimsy sword will fall to my masterpiece!"

The Sword Golem began to move once again, scuttling to meet with this new creation. The floating sword leveled itself to the machination's chest where the purple crystal resided, and zoomed over faster than they could perceive. It was batted away at first, but it swung back around and struck at the Sword Golem with ferocity.

As these swords danced, Cardinal murmured, "Beautiful." She didn't get to say more as she passed out from enacting the art. The others rushed to her side, but Heathcliff bent down to cradle the girl in his arms.

Looking up, he warned, "Kirito, Asuna, they will not survive if this battle unfolds as it is. If you are to have any hope of fulfilling your oath, you must be ready to act. Do not hesitate."

"Commander, what do you mean?" Asuna asked worriedly. But Kirito looked up, watching the sword made up of his friends fending off the Sword Golem as it worked to strike at its heart. Until, at last, it surged forward just as the ribs tried to trap it. All was silent for the longest of moments. No one dared breathe as they waited to see what happened next.

Then, purple light spilled out of the center bit by bit. A cracking sound could be heard as more rays of light seeped out. Until finally, with a great discordant scream, the Sword Golem came apart. This machine of death that they could not overcome, fell at last to Eugeo and Alice's combined power.

But even after its fall, the floating sword adjusted itself to fly towards a new target. And Kirito saw it was pointed right at Quinella. Time seemed to freeze around him as he recalled Heathcliff's warning. He felt himself unable to move for a bit, fear overtaking him. He saw the sword strike the tyrant, severing her right arm. But it would be split in twain, the pieces transforming back into his friends, who would be cut in half. They'd reach for each other one last time, before they were encased in ice just before their fingers would touch.

How he saw this, he did not know. Maybe it was his fear that imagined this happening. But it suddenly spurred Kirito on. Just as wings of light appeared along the sword, he reached out for his friends.

Eugeo, Alice, he called in his thoughts, don't go. We have to go home together! We were going to live with each other, the four of us, even if it wasn't in Rulid. Don't go! Desperately, Kirito reached as far as he could, rushing forward with all his might.

And just as the wings flapped to send it sailing towards Quinella, his left hand grasped the great handle of the sword. And like petals on the breeze, the massive sword seemed to disintegrate until Kirito was holding what appeared to be the Blue Rose Sword. But something was different about this sword.

For one, only the blade was the pale blue of Eugeo's weapon. While the cross-guard had the rose and vines, the coloration was golden like Alice's Osmanthus Blade. The pommel was even of the same style as her sword. Kirito flipped it over, and saw the flat on the other side was golden while the guard was pale blue. And he sensed its name in this form: the Blue Osmanthus Sword.

Looking at it, Kirito muttered, "Eugeo, Alice, you've been forced to bear a heavy burden all this time. But not anymore." Swinging it to his side, he added, "It's my turn to take up the mantle."

Seeming a bit ticked off, Quinella pointed her rapier at him and demanded, "Foolish boy. Bow before me, and I will let you live."

Chuckling, Kirito told her, "You really don't get anything through that thick head of yours, do you? You haven't heard my friends and I this whole time. Why should we, children from a village on the outskirts of the Human Empire, bow to someone who disrupted our lives for her own selfish ambition? Why should we, swordsmen and women who have fought such foes that would make normal men flee in terror, surrender to someone whose power was easily matched by another like her?

"We will never surrender to you, Quinella," Kirito added, pointing his Night Sky Blade at her. "All of us desire the same thing. We will see to your end, then return to our lives that we have made for ourselves."

Giggling, Quinella returned, "What lives? You might think you four are so mighty with those swords in your hands, but otherwise you are nothing. Criminals, heretics, murderers. The world will see you as nothing more than a stain in the world."

Smirking, Kirito told her, "We don't care. Whether the world accepts us or not hardly matters anymore. What matters more is what we decide. And that's taking you down."

"Poor fools," Quinella said in some mock pity. "Let me relieve you of your mortal chains, and send you to the goddesses that you believe favor you." With that said, the two met in a clash of blades.

Looking on from the side, Asuna felt a tug in her heart. She knew Kirito was strong, but even he would not be able to match all of Quinella's supposed skill. Unlike Oberon, she actually had power. Her movements as they fought were graceful and swift. Even with his impressive reaction speed, she was still making contact a few times on his person. His coat would only protect him for so long. She had to do something, this she knew.

"It's not complete," she heard Heathcliff mutter aloud. "The boy cannot use what power the others gave him as he is. If nothing is done, he will fall."

Continuing to watch the bout, Asuna asked him, "What needs to be done?"

To which he answered, "The oath must be fulfilled. But not everyone is present to enact it."

At first, Asuna didn't know what Heathcliff was referring to. Until she remembered there had only been one oath among the four of them since they were children. And so far, if she assumed right, only Kirito, Eugeo, and Alice were among those fighting Quinella right now. But even if she joined in, could her power really lend itself to giving Kirito victory? Or would she just get in the way?

"Asuna, there is a way to complete the oath," Heathcliff informed, drawing her attention. "It is with the same art Eugeo and Alice surrendered themselves to in order to defeat the Sword Golem."

"You mean turning me into a sword," Asuna surmised.

But Heathcliff clarified, "Not in this case. Instead, the art would fuse you with a sword already in play." The two looked back, fixated on the Night Sky Blade. Kirito's sword, forged from the Gigas Cedar.

There was nothing else Asuna needed to hear. So she asked, "What is the command?"

"The warning is the same for you," Heathcliff warned. "If you do this, you may not return."

This time, Asuna shook her head and stated, "If our oath will be fulfilled here, it is because all four of us are together. I must do this, so we may see the end of our story." Resolute, she ordered, "What is the command?"

Heathcliff smiled softly, remarking, "You four are truly beyond even my expectations." He then helped her learn the art before holding his hand out to begin the configuration.

Eyes closed, Asuna whispered, "System Call. Remove Core Protection." Light radiated from her so much that Heathcliff had to close his eyes to avoid being blinded. Kirito and Quinella stopped in their duel, shielding their eyes from the blazing light. Though no one could see it, Asuna's body lifted into the air and dissolved until her form was only light itself. That light then darted away and merged with the Night Sky Blade, causing it to glow with light as well.

When it finally settled, everyone saw that Asuna had disappeared. A glow caused Kirito to look at his sword and saw that it too had changed. It was now adorned with the ring guard from Asuna's Lambent Light, including the gem, and the blade was half white and half black. The Night Light Blade.

Bringing the sword to his forehead, he uttered softly, "Thank you Asuna. I promise to win this fight and get you all back." He then felt her presence in front of him, as if she were resting her forehead against his. Then he also felt Alice and Eugeo on either side of him, sharing this moment together. And Kirito knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they would fight with him.

Resolute, he swung his sword to the side as his eyes met Quinella's. The Pontifex chuckled, saying, "You children have enacted the forbidden art. And for what? I will simply break those swords in twain, then I will remold you all."

"You had your chance Quinella," Kirito murmured loud enough to be heard. "Now, we end this." The two met, and the duel resumed.

As Kirito swung the Blue Osmanthus Sword, he felt someone else guiding his stroke as he met with Quinella's rapier. The tyrant was stunned as she saw Kirito's irises change from black to light-blue, even as she felt her sword vibrate from the precise place it was hit. She grunted as she enacted a sword skill. His Night Light Blade moved with an unseen force, even as his eyes became amber. Both swords shone with the same light before a rapid clattering of the blades resounded with each attack.

Stunned, Quinella inquired, "How can you know the rapier skill Crucifixion? You aren't even wielding a rapier." Looking at his eyes, she then realized, "Ah, I see. Perhaps I need to stop thinking you only use simple tricks."

No longer bothered by Kirito's strange movements, Quinella's rapier changed to a broadsword and glowed blue for the skill Vertical Arc. Kirito's eyes returned to normal as he went for the Horizontal Square skill. Two strikes from his skill helped cancel a single strike from Quinella's attack, thus they ended in a draw.

Quinella then set her sword at her side, changing it to a curved blade like what Klein wielded. Kirito's eyes turned blue as he held up three fingers holding the Blue Osmanthus Sword. Under his breath, he uttered the chant for the sacred art just as Quinella made her move with a quick-strike skill. Just before contact, he called out with two voices, "Burst!" And gusts of wind blew from his hand, halting Quinella. She barely got her sword up to block Kirito's retaliation, then skittered away while gritting her teeth in anger.

"You countered my Zekku," she growled. Then she peered at him before sneering and saying, "I am beginning to understand now. That oath. Perhaps I was wrong to underestimate it. And those swords. Neither of them are metal. How clever Kayaba. The only blades that can pierce my barrier. But we shall see how long you last with those minds merged together."

The battle resumed with fervor. Each time Quinella employed a strategy, Kirito's eyes would change to counter. Amber would employ blistering speed to counter her rapier skills, light-blue made precise strikes that she knew lowered her sword's own Life value, deep blue would use Sacred Arts and follow-up strikes to upset her coordination, and black struck back with fury.

On and on this went, until Quinella suffered blows at last. Most were superficial, merely cutting her dress. But they were making contact, this could not be denied. Deciding to forego her garments, she shrugged them off to reveal herself. Her hair settled in a way to cover some spots, but nothing else shielded her body from Kirito's eyes. But neither bothered with this detail as they dueled.

The Pontifex moved far more elegantly now that she had disrobed, dodging more fluidly in battle. Unfortunately, it did not give her any edge against Kirito. His constantly changing styles kept interfering with her efforts to win. No matter what she tried or how she changed up her attacks, the other minds seemed to react and shift to give this boy the edge to counter and respond.

Eventually, the two panted after a lengthy skirmish. Quinella was enraged at this outcome, but also seemed pleased with it. Almost like what had been happening brought her some strange sense of joy. This child, or rather children, defied all her expectations. In all her searching and seizing, she realized these four were indeed more unique than she had first believed. She had been foolish not to go after them sooner, but that would hardly matter soon enough.

"Your skill certainly surprises me," she spoke. "Were you one of mine, you would be able to destroy anything I wished gone. You could single-handedly decimate the entire Dark Territory." Kirito didn't reply, merely gazing back at her with harsh, black eyes. Giggling, Quinella continued, "Now it is time for this all to come to an end. I will have what I want."

Both warriors raised their blades in their right hands, ready to thrust at their opponent. Then they surged forth and stabbed towards the other's heart. The tips met in the middle, radiating power from the blow. Then, Quinella's blade began to crack before shattering like glass. As she recoiled, Kirito's eyes turned blue once again as he thrust his other sword. Despite recoiling, Quinella tried striking at him with her hair somehow, but it was being blown away as the sword charged. Until, at last, it sunk into her blackened heart. The Blue Osmanthus Blade sunk into the guard and through Quinella's body.

"At last," Kirito uttered, his voice sounding like four at once, "my vow is complete." As Quinella gasped, he yanked it out and swiped to wipe the blood off. "You are finished, Quinella," he finished in his multitude of voices.

But rather than fall back and die, Quinella just began to laugh. Softly at first, curled inward. After a bit, she let out a crazy laugh, her back arched and a manic look on her face. This seemed to puzzle Kirito, who looked on in concern.

"What fools you are," she proclaimed, sounding manic. "Kill me? You have only released me. Now I can claim the power I have sought all these centuries. The power of the divine!" She began to rise in the air, her manic look still plastered on her face. "I must thank you children, for giving me this chance," she told them. "I will reward you, right after I kill you with this power. Until then, farewell." Slowly she rose, her laugh echoing in the hall.

Just then, they heard, "Your Eminence!" And flinging himself up to her, Chudelkin clung to her body. His person stained with his blood, his eyes burnt out, he latched onto Quinella as she rose even as she tried to fight him off.

"Away from me! Begone, you cretin!" she demanded.

"At last, I have you," Chudelkin spoke. "I have you now." And his body began to turn into flame. The fire consumed both him and Quinella, and he seemed to be merging with her. She cried out for him to release her, to get off her, but Chudelkin was too far gone to listen. The ball of fire that was them began to falter before it shot out of a window and into the skies of Underworld.

Once they were gone, exhaustion and fatigue befell Kirito. And he fell back, his swords clattering beside him, while his world became black once again.