Chapter 12: Sacrifice


"Burst Element."

Light. I couldn't see anything but light from any of the different familiar feeds I switched through, and it was so bright that I could barely keep my eyes open. Both Ronie and Tiese cried out in surprise as the inside of the supply tent lit up.

Finally, I managed to find a familiar's view that wasn't totally blinded by the light of Alice's Sacred Art. As the metallic orb that Alice had created as a prison for the luminous elements burst open, the light scattered - and was caught by the petals surrounding it.

Reflected like that, the light bounced around, but in the end there was only one direction for all of the energy to go, and that was the single direction that the flower was pointing. A massive pillar of light thundered down from above, still bright even from the Dark Territory where my butterfly sat on D.I.L.'s collar.

Light, compressed and amplified over and over again, and then focused in a single point... and then launched from a platform in the air...

The gigantic laser slammed into the ground and swept forward, raking across the ground. Even though the forces of the Dark Territory were knocked away, that was just from the force of the laser's impact - for a heartbeat after Alice dragged it forward, the stone on the ground didn't do anything.

And then the entire canyon erupted into fire so massive that the top of the explosion reached over the top of the canyon's walls.

I switched back to the familiar on Alice's shoulder once the light started to peter out, and gasped at what I saw as the fire started to burn out. The ground itself was so hot that the stone melted and started bubbling as the ground turned to magma, practically. A channel had been carved into the ground where the laser had dug deep, and fires burned everywhere else.

Alice held her sword in the air, her face illuminated by the carnage she'd wrought, and then slowly bowed her head.

"I'm sorry, Alice," I said.

"...No. This was my choice."

I'm still sorry anyway... because you look so sad.

...

Alice needs some time alone, I think. She's older than I was when I made the decision she just did, but there's never a good age for that, is there...? If she needs anything, she can always call out and I'll answer. For now, though, let's continue spying on the enemy.

The laser itself had ended, but the fires started by it continued to burn. The mages that died and the ones that were dying collapsed on the ground in a massive funeral pyre, and I winced at the sight. A kill really should be swift and painless. I knew they were trying to kill us all, but still. It wasn't something I wanted to watch.

D.I.L had rushed to the front of her platform the second Alice's flower bloomed in the sky. Even as far away as she was, it wasn't possible to miss something like that. The expression on her face as she stared at her decimated ranks... It could only be that peculiar expression someone makes when their entire world is torn to shreds beneath them and there's nothing left for them to do but rage. I wasn't sure what would break first - the bit of wood railing she was clutching, or her carefully-painted blue nails. The burning and smoke-choked air swept over her body, far too warm and carrying the screams towards my familiar.

"For some reason, there was a lack of spatial power, and we couldn't conjure our incineration projectiles. And then the enemy launched a large-scale attack. 90% of the demi-human unit, 70% of the ogre archer unit, and over 30% of the dark mage unit were destroyed."

"For some reason? Are you dense?!"

D.I.L turned slowly as her subordinate listed off the total losses her force had incurred. Her rage-filled expression morphed to something nearing despair as she asked the incredulous question in response. She turned back to the massive flame still burning in the ravine and continued.

"Someone used a massive formal art and drained all the spatial power in the ravine! But.. how can that be?! I can't even conjure a spell of that scale. Who do they have that, powerful?!"

Despite her angry rant, naturally, nobody had answers for her. Or, well, I had answers. But it would be strange for me to interfere in an enemy's confusion. And so, all the dark mage could do was breathe raggedly.

...

Movement in the corner of my eyes caught my attention and I glanced back over to the feed showing Alice's dragon, just as Alice clutched her sword and slid the blade back into its scabbard. Then, the girl slumped forward against her dragon's neck.

Amayori spiraled downwards slowly, and Miss Cardinal floated down to follow her. They approached the cheering soldiers waiting below, and Amayori landed among them. Alice's eyes were closed from the exertion of chanting and maintaining so many spells. I couldn't blame her when she slid from her dragon's saddle almost limply.

"Welcome back. You did well."

I smiled in relief. I had been a little worried when Alice's foot caught in the saddle, but Lady Fanatio had been there just in time to catch the golden knight in her arms. "The enemy has retreated," she continued with a tired but genuine smile. "You guided us to victory."

Alice opened her eyelids and looked up at her, and slowly mirrored the smile. "No, Fanatio. This battle is far from being over. More sacred power has collected in the ravine. We must consume it with healing arts before the enemy can absorb it." Her voice was faint and exhausted, and it looked like she was struggling to stay awake. But still, she pushed herself to her feet. "Time is short. We have yet to face their dark knights and pugilists."

"True." The dark-haired woman nodded, and turned to the army. "All who are able, take the wounded and fall back! Priests, focus on healing until all the spatial power has been depleted!"

"I will assist as well," Miss Cardinal said calmly, and waved her staff in the air. Golden particles started floating towards the staff and got swallowed up by the gnarled wood.

"And keep watch for enemy movement!" Fanatio shouted to the retreating troops. Then, she turned back to Alice - who had stepped away to stare at the ravine, where fires could still be seen burning down near the enemy's lines. "I will go and give my report to the Commander. Will you be all right here?"

Alice nodded, but before Fanatio could leave she cleared her throat. "Where is Kirito? ...And Eugeo?"

"Those boys went back to eat dinner," Fanatio replied. "Don't forget to eat something yourself, Alice." Then, she turned and followed her troops.

The golden knight approached her poor, tired dragon and reached up to scratch her chin. "I could not have succeeded without you, Amayori," Alice said while applying the much-earned scritchies to Amayori. The dragon closed her eyes and trilled happily. "Eat your fill and get some rest. You've earned it."

The dragon flapped her wings and launched to the skies, obeying Alice's orders.

"You did well yourself, Alice," I said. "I know... I know it hurts. But it's okay to feel sad, you know?"

"Thank you, Ritsu."

"Milady."

Alice turned. Eldrie had approached her. My eyes widened. He was covered in blood! None of it looked like it was his own, though. His armor was practically scratchless. Still, his blade and his whip were covered in the mountain goblins' dark blood. "E-Eldrie!" Alice gasped. "You've been injured?!"

"No. Nothing major, at least. But if I'm being honest, I would have preferred to perish."

"Don't say things like that," Alice snapped. "You're supposed to lead the guards until the battle is over. They look up to you!"

"And yet as a leader, I have failed," Eldrie whispered. "Not only did the goblins breach my ranks, their commander was felled by Sir Renly. How humiliating... I betrayed your teachings, and your expectations of me." He gritted his teeth and bent his head. "I do not have the right to call myself your disciple!"

Alice stepped forward. "Of course you do! I know you did all you could. Can you not see how much everyone needs you? The troops under your command, the citizens... I too, as a matter of fact. Why are you being so harsh on yourself?"

"Because if I were there alone, my failure would be compounded many times over. But because of a traitor - no. Because of a swordsman, a knight I considered a traitor, we were saved, even a little."

Eldrie shook his head after biting those words out. I frowned. I knew he still held a grudge against Kirito, but I thought that was because he had stolen Alice away, or something like that! He was still mad at Eugeo, too?

"What do they need me for? For my strength? Or..."

"Grrrrr..."

A low growl interrupted Eldrie's musing, and both knights whirled. A tall, broad-shouldered shape approached through the smoke and I flew my bird a little bit further out. As the figure drew closer, I could make out more details - first, the general body shape. With triangular ears and a huge upper body, this could only be one of the ogres. It had survived the laser.

Then, when it fully emerged from the smoke, still growling, I could see the white scar that crossed over its left eye. It was an old wound, but had left quite an impressive scar. It hadn't robbed it of its sight, though -

I sucked in a quiet breath when I saw the left side of the ogre's body. It hadn't survived Alice's Sacred Art unscathed. The entire left side of its face, and the left side of its body, were charred black. Fortunately, the bird's feed didn't transmit smell. Equally fortunately, Ronie and Tiese weren't looking and I quickly swept the bird to the other side.

"Stop right there," Alice said. The ogre stopped. "What business do you have here, unarmed? Your Life is almost at its end."

"I'm the chief of the ogres, Furgr."

"Keep up your guard. He is one of their Council of Ten," Alice whispered.

"I saw. That light art... it was you who unleashed it. That power, that appearance... it's you, the Priestess of Light. If I take you back with me, this war will end. The ogres can return to the plains."

Alice didn't move her hand from her sword. "Priestess of Light? This war will end? Who told you this? Speak up!"

"Milady! This fiend is obviously stalling!"

Eldrie flourished his blood-stained sword with that shout and charged forward. Was he... trying to prove something?! Furgr opened his jaw with a snarl, but didn't move from his spot.

"Haaa!"

Eldrie shouted and lunged for Furgr - but halted. Alice had grabbed his arm and stopped him. "B-But Milady! He lies!"

Alice didn't answer his question. Instead, she approached Furgr. "As you say. I am the Priestess of Light. Now then, before I go anywhere with you, I wish to know where I will be taken."

"Alice, I hope you know what you're doing," I murmured.

"Trust me," she whispered back, then raised her voice. "Who is it that seeks me?"

"Emperor Vecta."

Wait... Vecta?! Like, the evil god that steals bad kids away, and takes their memories? The one that Rythin and I claimed had stolen us when we first arrived here to explain why we had no idea where we were?

"The emperor only wants the Priestess of Light. He'll grant any wish to the one who captures and delivers the priestess. The ogres will return to the plains. We can go home. Raise horses, hunt birds, and live."

Oh... They were conscripts in this war. They can't disobey their emperor, but none of them truly wanted to be here, did they?

"Surely you must despise me," Alice said. "Do you not wish to avenge your people? I killed them."

Furgr didn't blink, but his yellow eyes bored into Alice. "The strong carry a burden as heavy as they are strong. I also shoulder the burden of chief. It is my burden to protect my kind. That's why I'm going to capture you, and take you with me! Graaaaarrr!"

His eyes bulged and he reared back to roar. One of his leg wounds spurted blood, and he lunged in the air. Even as damaged as he was, his clawed hand would still be enough to smash through Alice's armor. Despite the danger, though, Alice smoothly drew her sword and swung the blade in a single gleaming stroke.

She sheathed it with a flourish as behind her, a massive slash opened up on Furgr's waist and the ogre chief fell over with a wet thud. His blood pooled around him, and his body started to release the spatial power that was contained in every living creature. Alice knelt by his limp body and stretched her hand out; the golden particles gathered in a loose ball, held gently in her palm.

"May your soul return home. Back to the plains."

The golden energy was converted to a quartet of aerial elements, and Alice released them. They floated up into the sky as green ribbons, and the golden particles trailed it as the sacred art disappeared.

"Emperor... Vecta..." Alice murmured.

But why would he want Alice in particular? Hmmm... Furgr had mentioned something about a Priestess of Light before he attacked; Alice had agreed that she was the one they wanted, but what was the Priestess of Light?

"Alice?"

"What is it, Ritsu?"

"What's the Priestess of Light?"

"...I was hoping you knew, actually."

I sighed. Of course... "I'll ask Miss Cardinal while you come back to camp. Bercouli will want to hear about this."

"Understood," Alice said.

...

"Miss Cardinal? Do you have a minute?"

Fortunately for me, the little librarian didn't have any patients in front of her. Instead, she was reading a book, and looked up when I spoke through one of my familiars. "Do you need something, Ritsu? Another injury?"

I shook my head. "No, nothing like that. Just... one of the chiefs attacked Alice several seconds ago. Before she cut him down, though, he mentioned something called the Priestess of Light. Neither of us had heard about it before, so I thought it was maybe something else."

Cardinal tilted her head. "The Priestess of Light? I don't believe I've heard of it before. At the very least, it hasn't been present in any of the records or logs that I've seen."

"Huh..." I played with one of my twintails, running my fingers through it over and over again. "So, the Priestess of Light... isn't real?"

"Umu. That would be my conclusion."

...Ehhhhhh?! But that didn't make sense either! Why would Emperor Vecta tell them something made up, just to get the armies of the Dark Territory to obey him? He was their emperor, and their entire society was structured around obeying the strongest! He could have just ordered them to kill the Human Empire, and they would have gladly obeyed.

So, did that mean he wanted Alice specifically, for some reason? But... She wasn't anything special - I-I mean, she was amazing and really talented and I'm glad she's my friend! But aside from that, she was, well, she was just another girl. The only -

I gasped quietly as something occurred to me. It was one of those moments that I had very rarely experienced before when a subconscious thought suddenly clicked into place. It was just a sudden, blinding ray of illumination that explained everything perfectly.

The only other people that had mentioned how Alice was special were Mr. Kikuoka and the people from the real world! They said Alice's Fluctlight was a special existence, and that's why they wanted to rescue her before the invaders on the ship tried to get at her. If Emperor Vecta was after Alice for some reason that didn't make sense in this world, then maybe it made sense in a different one.

Which meant that Vecta had to be one of the invaders! Here to steal Alice for their... own nefarious purposes! I didn't actually know why they wanted her, but they were the bad guys.

"Heeeeey!"

Ronie perked up as a boy called out. "That's Kirito!" she exclaimed, and threw the flaps to the tent open.

"Yo," Kirito said, and waved with his free hand. "I'm glad everyone's safe. Seeing the other tent worried us, a little."

Eugeo smiled. "Tiese, you're not hurt. That's a relief."

"Sir Renly protected us. And Miss Ritsu saved us as well."

Eugeo bowed his head to me after Tiese explained. "Thank you too, Miss Ritsu!"

I giggled. "Don't worry about it. Is that food in your hand for us?"

Eugeo and Kirito were both carrying presents. Kirito had a basket of bread in one hand, and Eugeo was carrying a covered pot. Wisps of steam floated out from the lid from time to time, so it must still be very warm.

"Oh, good! I was getting hungry," Ronie said. "Let's all sit down and eat!"

"...Sorry," I said. "But I need to take Kirito for a minute."

"R-Really...? But shouldn't you eat?"

"This is really important, sorry, Ronie. We have to go talk to Miss Cardinal and Sir Bercouli."

"Oh..."

I could have sworn that Ronie's little pigtails drooped when I delivered the bad news. She wouldn't get to eat dinner with her mentor, sadly. Tiese rubbed her back. "Don't worry, Ronie. The food will still be tasty, so eat with me and Eugeo."

Ronie sighed. "Okay, Tiese..."

"Is something wrong?" Eugeo asked, and tilted his head. "Ronie?"

"N-No, it's nothing, really!"

Ronie exclaimed that and waved her hands wildly. Well, if she said it was nothing, then I'll believe her. Eugeo scratched his cheek, clearly a little confused, until Tiese grabbed his hand and tugged him over to sit down. "We'll be back as soon as the meetings are over," I said. "But get some rest, Ronie, Tiese. You two did a wonderful job today, and I know you must be tired."

I waved goodbye to the girls and then walked out of the tent. Kirito, his mouth stuffed with bread, followed me, the rest of the loaf clutched in his hands.

"Sho..." He swallowed the bite of food. "What's so important?"


"I think I might have figured out -"

I cut my words off as something flashed in the corner of my eye. The single familiar feed that I had left open had been moving for a bit, and the motion had suddenly ceased. That was the familiar that I'd hidden on D.I.L, so what was going on?

When I took a closer look, my eyes widened.

"Hmph. So, the reason your strategy failed and a thousand dark mages died was because the enemy absorbed all the spatial dark power before you could. Did I understand that correctly?"

D.I.L. kneeled on her ship, staring at the wooden deck with wide, terrified eyes. Sweat beaded in little droplets on her face. The voice that was speaking was the same one that I'd heard at the beginning of the battle. It could only belong to the enemy commander.

"Ritsu?" Kirito asked. "What's wrong?"

"Shh! I think I've found the enemy commander!"

"Wait, seriously?"

I nodded, and gestured for him to stay quiet. I needed to listen carefully to this conversation...

"Yes!" D.I.L. gasped.

Then, she looked up. She was kneeling in front of a throne, and the person sitting on that throne could only be the commander of the army. In other words, Emperor Vecta himself. He exuded an aura of power, practically demanding unconditional obedience to his orders. Even as disinterested in D.I.L's groveling as he seemed, I could tell that this man was dangerous.

Still... His appearance - blond hair, blue eyes, and fair skin - only reinforced my theory. Every other human in the Dark Territory had been dark-skinned, like D.I.L. and her mages. Vecta, on the other hand, looked like a regular American.

"Y-Your Majesty... I-I swear we had no idea someone who could cast such an art. Only the pontifex, and she is dead!"

"Is there some other way to replenish that power?"

"Yes, using spatial resources such as rich land and sunlight. But, to generate enough power to destroy the enemy we would need ample amounts and... unfortunately, there is little here."

"Obviously."

I gestured to Kirito. "Do you recognize him?"

He stared at Vecta's appearance as the emperor stared off into the distance, probably to examine the battle lines. "No," Kirito said. "Should I?"

"I think... he might be one of the invaders from the real world."

Kirito looked at me, but before he could reply Vecta continued to speak.

"In fact, I see no grass or trees at all. And the sun set a while ago. So tell me, what were you going to use as a power source for your attack spell?"

"Well, each life has power. And during the assault, as warriors from both sides died, their... expired lives filled the air with spatial power."

"Ah." D.I.L flinched violently and pressed her forehead to the floor in front of her when Vecta moved. But, Vecta merely stood up and walked forward. "Blood and life... D.I.L. Would three thousand be sufficient?"

"What?"

D.I.L lifted her head, clearly confused by what he was talking about. But, then she gasped in shock. A chill ran down my spine as I saw Vecta stare at his own troops - a group of tents and torches - with uncaring, passionless eyes. He wasn't... he couldn't be...!

*th-thump*

No. I shouldn't let myself become so blinded by his awful decision.

My shoulders relaxed as I opened my mouth to start chanting. "System call. Execute user macro."

This was the perfect situation for someone like myself, wasn't it? For an assassin, nothing was better than seeing the back of your target.

"Y-Your Majesty, watch -"

"Fire!"

*Cracklang!*

I stared at the feed of the familiar, and felt my shoulders droop.

My gun had appeared properly, but... it was slow. Because of the lack of spatial power available to me, the macro had taken just a little bit too long to create the gun and detonate. D.I.L had been able to see the gun and shout a warning, but even despite that my bullet should have pierced through the side of Vecta's head.

But, instead of seeing the emperor topple over, assassinated, his hand was clutching the round bullet that had been aimed at his head. It was like his hand had just suddenly been in the position to block without crossing the space between. How had...!

"We have a little spy, I see," Vecta mused. Then, his hand flashed out and I flinched backwards. The bullet had rapidly filled my vision as it flew towards my poor familiar. There was no chance it survived.

As my butterfly split apart, I could hear one last bit of conversation between the emperor and the dark mage chancellor. "Yes, Your Majesty. That would be enough," D.I.L said. The expression on her face was somewhere between religious and X-rated.

...She's gross.

Then, the feed went black and I swiped it away to let the spatial power trapped in it dissipate. "So much for that," I grumbled.

"It was a good shot, though," Kirito said, and grinned at me. "A few seconds faster and you would have had it."

A half second faster, or a half meter closer, and I would have been able to put the bullet through his skull before he could raise his hand to catch it. But, there was no sense in dwelling on the failure. I had to lift my head and keep moving.

"Let's go talk to Bercouli and Fanatio, Kirito. We have information for them."

...

"Priestess of Light?"

Bercouli and Fanatio were sitting in the commander's tent, with a map of the battlefield hanging on the wooden support beams behind them. The two leaders were taking the chance to snatch a meal - Bercouli had a bowl of stew in front of him and a loaf of black bread in his hand, while Fanatio's bowl was already empty and she was pouring herself a mug of... something to drink. I think it was beer or ale.

Alice and Kirito stood on either side of me, across from Bercouli. Miss Cardinal and Charlotte stood off to the side, since I'd contacted them and asked them to meet us there before I gave my report.

"Yes, sir," I replied. "According to Miss Cardinal, the name itself has not appeared in any of her books, but Emperor Vecta is very determined to capture that person. However... I have reason to believe that the Priestess of Light doesn't actually exist. Or, to be more specific, the title itself is made up."

"Made up?"

I nodded. "That is correct, Lady Fanatio," I said. Then, I carefully drew the entrance to the tent closed tighter. "Alice, could you make sure that we aren't overheard by anyone? This is sensitive information."

The blonde girl nodded and chanted quietly. After a second, my ears popped as a rush of wind filled the room. "It's up," Alice said, her voice strangely muffled thanks to a lack of echoes from the tent. It was swallowed by the wind. "But Ritsu, you can't mean -"

"I do," I said. The girl frowned, clearly torn, but eventually nodded at me. "Thank you."

Bercouli took a bite of his bread. "So, what's this all about, kid?"

I took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "I have reason to believe that the enemy commander, the Dark God Vecta, is a human from the real world."

"The real - Ritsu, have you gone mad?"

"She's telling the truth, Lady Fanatio."

"Alice...!"

I shook my head. "I'm sorry, but it will be difficult to explain in a satisfactory manner right now. Miss Cardinal, can you back me up?"

The two Integrity Knights looked to the librarian, who nodded. "She speaks the truth," Miss Cardinal said. "This world is not what it seems."

Bercouli ran his fingers through his hair. "It sounds like a lot to take in. The real world, huh? But, if the pontifex says so, then I'll give ya the benefit of the doubt, kid. Besides, the little girl over there isn't the type to lie, y'know?"

"Thank you, Uncle," Alice said with a smile. "Ritsu, what did you discover?"

"The details of how I came to this conclusion don't matter very much," I said. "But I'm fairly certain that the enemy commander is a member of the raid team that attacked Mr. Kikuoka. The ones that are attempting to steal Alice."

Kirito cupped his chin. "The mercenaries, you mean? But I thought their accounts would have been limited..."

"Only the ones inside the Human Empire," I said. "I believe that's what Mr. Higa said. But... he didn't say anything about accounts in the Dark Territory."

"Crap," Kirito muttered. "A blind spot, huh?"

"Can't say I'm really following exactly what you're talking about," Bercouli said, "but for now let's say Vecta's back and running things in the Dark Territory. If what the ogre's said is true, and Vecta's looking for this Priestess of Light, and he thinks you're it, little one, how's that gonna affect how the war goes from here?"

I gestured at Alice. "The general goal of the Dark Territory's army is to invade and claim the land of the Human Empire for their own. But, Vecta's goal is to capture Alice. Knowing this... We can use Alice as bait, so to speak."

"You want me to breach the enemy lines, and head to the edge of the Dark Territory, right?"

"Correct. Because the emperor wants you, he will likely pursue you with a large chunk of their forces. Once they've been split, the main army will be able to collapse on them and destroy the enemy."

It was a traditional tactic. One I'd aptly named Elusive Tentacle. It had been a tie between that, and Distracting Octopus. Heheheh.

"Head to the edge... You mean, go south, right?"

Kirito's question was accurate. South gave us the most room to escape, and... the World End's Altar was at the southern end of the world. That would be the best way to solve the problem of Alice - if, like Mr. Kikuoka said, we could extract her first, then the invaders would have no goal. Emperor Vecta would probably leave, at that point; leaving the enemy without a commander.

Like that, they would be easily crushed.

"The World's End Altar..."

Alice frowned. I couldn't blame her. The entire reason she had stayed in the first place was because she didn't want to leave the army without her. But, since Vecta was from the real world...

"Very well," Alice said. "If Uncle allows it, that will work."

"...All right. But I'm sending a third of our troops along with you."

I blinked. Bercouli had just given us his approval for the plan, all while casually tearing pieces off of a loaf of bread and picking up utensils to eat some of his stew. Kirito looked a little bit off-balance, too.

"Uncle, you can't spare that many just for my escort!" Alice protested.

"The enemy has more than thirty thousand left," Bercouli replied, his voice muffled a little bit by the mouthful of stew he swallowed after that sentence. "They're not all gonna chase you, 'specially if you're the only one running around. If the plan is to get them to split their ranks, we've gotta give them a big enough reason to."

"You have a point..."

"I've got one more condition for ya."

I tilted my head. "What's that, sir?"

Bercouli wiped at his bowl with a hunk of bread to mop up the sauce, and then pointed it at us. "The only way you're doing this is if I come along." Then, he took a bite of the bread and grinned at me. "Now, back to that real world you mentioned earlier, kid."

"Hm?"

I suddenly felt like Bercouli had pinned me in place with his sharp gaze. "If I had to guess... You, and Kirito over there are from that same place. Am I right?"

I nodded. The exact details didn't really matter, right?

"Thought so. So, I bet you're gonna be going too, right?"

"Yeah," Kirito said. "Besides, Alice's important to me. I wasn't about to let her face that kind of danger alone."

"Wha- I'm a knight! I've trained for things like this!"

Kirito folded his arms. "So? I'm still going to help out, no matter what you say."

"Ugh, you're impossible..."

Alice couldn't quite fool me, though. She had her hands on her hips while she argued with the black-haired boy, but I could see the smile on her lips. She really was happy that he called her important!

"Tell me... Rythin." Bercouli didn't blink. "He's from that place too, isn't he?"

"...Yes," I admitted.

Would it change anything?

Bercouli studied me, then nodded. "Better get ready to leave, then," he said. "Unless there's anything else?"

I blinked. "Oh, um... No, there's nothing - wait! There is something. Right. I'm so sorry, I can't believe I almost forgot."

"Ritsu," Fanatio said. "Calm down, and tell us."

"Yes, I'm sorry." I took a deep breath. "My familiar had infiltrated the Dark Territory to spy on the enemy. While my assassination attempt against Vecta failed, I was able to learn their plans. They're going to sacrifice three thousand of their own troops to power a large-scale formal art, and unleash it. I don't know what this art entails, but with the amount of spatial resources they'll be devoting to it..."

Fanatio nodded. "It will be devastating, if they can unleash it. Lady Pontifex, is there any way you can interrupt it?"

"No. Without being able to interrupt their chanting or using up all of the spatial power first, I'm unable to do anything about it." Miss Cardinal looked like she'd bitten a lemon.

Bercouli nodded. "Well, if there's nothing we can do about it... Thanks for letting us know, kid. We'll keep an eye out."

That was a dismissal if I'd ever heard one, so I bowed politely and turned to leave. Alice and Kirito, still bickering about... Honestly, I'd lost track by this point, and when I listened to a small section of their conversation...

"And who would always bring lunch? That's right, me. So clearly, I'm the more responsible one."

"I told you, I don't even remember that. Stop bringing up the past already..."

...Well, it wasn't exactly enlightening.


Once the army started moving under Bercouli's orders, the raiding group was formed quickly. From where I was sitting inside one of the supply wagons, I could see plenty of soldiers standing around and talking to each other, trading handshakes and hugs. It must be hard to finally get a chance to relax after the battle, only to be told that they had to go on a long march.

"Mmm..."

I turned and patted Rythin's leg. "Don't worry," I said. "We'll be on our way soon. And, thank you so much for lending me your dagger. I didn't need to use it, thankfully, but it was very sweet of you."

Rythin didn't react, but his grip on his dagger relaxed a little bit. I smiled at him.

"U-Um, excuse me...!"

The door to the wagon opened and a young voice called out. Ronie stepped up into the wagon after a second; Tiese came in and closed the door behind her. They looked around and then eventually took a seat on one of the boxes in the wagon. Everything was strapped down tightly, so even though the supplies behind me were stacked to the top of the fabric-covered 'roof' I didn't worry about the boxes toppling down to crush us. A few other boxes on the sides were the perfect height to act as seats, like the one Ronie and Tiese were sitting on.

Bercouli, Alice, Eugeo, Renly, and Sheyta were our Integrity Knight escorts; though, really, Kirito was on the level of an Integrity Knight. Miss Cardinal was coming with us, too, which made me feel better.

Fanatio and her Oscillation Blades, Eldrie, Deusolbert, and the two apprentice Integrity Knights were staying behind. Apparently, Fizel and Linel threw a tantrum about being told to stay behind, but since they weren't officially Integrity Knights they couldn't demand to come along.

My familiar was sitting on Amayori's neck, and Alice was sitting in the saddle. "Where's Kirito sitting?" I asked casually through the butterfly.

Of course, I only asked the question because I could see Alice had her cheeks puffed out in irritation. "He's sitting with Eugeo and Lady Cardinal," she said. Why would that - "And Charlotte." Oooooh. I see.

"Well it's not like he could sit with you, right? He'd have to wrap his arms around your waist and cling really tightly, and then you'd probably be able to hear his heartbeat against your back. And that would make it really hard to fight, wouldn't it?"

"N-No it w-"

"Right. Move out!"

Alice's sputtered protest (adorable!) was cut off when Bercouli turned in his saddle and called out an order to the raid group. The Integrity Knights took off on their dragons to the cheers of the soldiers that were left behind. Red was... somewhere? I honestly wasn't sure where Rythin's dragon went.

"Eldrie," Alice murmured from her position on dragon back. I glanced over to see her looking back, down to where the other Integrity Knights were standing together at the front of the army. Everyone was saying goodbye, and I had a horrible feeling some of them wouldn't meet again... But it couldn't be helped.

The goal was, of course, to split up the enemy forces and crush the weaker groups. So, as soon as the soldiers passed through the Eastern Gate, we would head south in search of a good position to make our stand. 'Our', in this case, would be the guard unit, the monk unit and the rest of the Supply Corps that came with us. Until we found a position, however, the Integrity Knights would be acting as a diversion.

Bercouli and Fanatio had agreed to Alice's plan, even knowing what dangers it would bring the elite knights. It made sense that they'd both have regrets and concerns... but as I watched, Fanatio turned around and shouted orders to the watching soldiers. Whatever they were, the soldiers obeyed rapidly and turned to leave our wagons to travel down the ravine. Eldrie stayed, though, and watched until I couldn't see him any more.

"Ronie, Tiese, you were students at one of the sword schools, right? What was that like?"

My question was a little random, but there really wasn't anything to do except chat. I kept one eye on the familiar feed that sat with Alice, but other than that... we were just waiting to go through the ravine.

"Huh? Oh, you mean the Sword Mastery Academy. Well, it was a lot of fun, even though I haven't really graduated. My regular duties as a student were to attend classes to learn law, Sacred Arts, and history, but since I was one of the valets I got special private lessons from Kirito!"

"Valet?"

Ronie nodded. "Mm hm! I was one of the top twelve students in my year, so I got to be a valet. And Kirito was an elite trainee so he picked me for his valet. Tiese was Eugeo's valet, by the way."

I giggled. "That's really impressive! You two must be very skilled."

"W-Well... Kirito really taught me a lot, and I'm glad to be his disciple! Because Kirito knows so much, and his attacks are so fast that nobody even comes close! He's normally such a straightforward, laid-back person but when the fighting starts, he gets really fired up..."

"Ronie...?" Tiese asked, a weak smile on her face.

"Ahh, I have to admire him... Because he fights so hard and when he swings his sword you can feel the work he's poured into his blade! I'm not quite sure what that means, but he told me I needed to find something to put into my sword, so he must be-"

"Ronie!" Tiese interrupted.

The other girl blinked and looked at Tiese. "Is something wrong?"

"N-No, nothing... Both of our mentors are very impressive!"

"Even though he never showed up on time when I reported that I was done cleaning his room for the day..." Ronie sighed.

"Was that one of the jobs you had as his valet?"

"Mm hm! We had to clean their room every few days, since the elite trainees had special dorms."

"That sounds like a lot of work. Did you train every day?"

Ronie shook her head. "No. In fact, we were forbidden to train on our rest days! We got those once a week and were allowed to leave the academy grounds."

"That's nice. What did you do on..."

I trailed off and peered closer at the familiar feed. Alice was passing through the narrowest part of the ravine on her dragon and there wasn't anything nearby, but there was an ominous purple glow far off in the distance. It wasn't the sun, that wouldn't make... The dark mages' ritual! Wisps of purple particles filled the air, like a corrupted version of the golden lights from before, and my familiar could hear the sound of chanting.

It was too far out to really make out the words, but the meaning was unmistakable. "This sound... It's the sacred art Ritsu warned us about!" Alice exclaimed. "Those bastards... So they went ahead and did it anyway!"

I looked behind me, but there was no good way to get to the front of the wagon. "Tiese, where are Kirito and Miss Cardinal?"

"They're not in this wagon," she said. "But they should be a few wagons ahead of us. Why, what's wrong?"

I didn't have time to answer her, and just shouted, "Stay in the wagon." I didn't hear the girls' replies because I had already jumped out of the wagon and running forward. I had to get to Miss Cardinal in time. If I didn't, then the four Integrity Knights flying out there were going to...

A sound echoed through my familiar's ears, like the sound of a snake hissing had been passed through a bass blasting way too loud. In the distance, I could see something approaching - and they were approaching quickly! In just seconds, vibrations were practically rumbling through the air.

The soldiers around me weren't able to see it right away, but something still washed over them. It was like a wave of absolute, pressing darkness crushed down on me and threatened to freeze me in my tracks.

But... this kind of pressure wasn't going to stop me. I wasn't going to let myself be swept away by this current! I gritted my teeth and pushed forward. Another supply wagon was right in front of me, and Kirito hopped down as I approached.

"Whatever's going on, it's not good."

"Kirito, it's that Sacred Art! They unleashed it! Can Miss Cardinal do anything?"

The librarian had already emerged from the back of the wagon and was floating into the sky. She held her staff in front of her, and narrowed her eyes. "A large-scale umbral element formal art," Cardinal declared.

My training from her had been focused towards developing my guns, but she had taken the time to explain the concept of how to counter Sacred Arts. There were many different qualities to each art - element, power, range, speed, direction, so on and so forth.

If I wanted to defend against a Sacred Art like this, I'd need to either redirect it or directly counter one or more of the attributes. The countermeasures would be different, and part of a highly-skilled user would be instantly choosing the correct approach.

Using a thermal element to melt a cryogenic element, throwing out a decoy to distract targeting, or simply dodging out of the way in the case of an art that went straight. The correct option had to be selected like rock-paper-scissors in an instant. In this case, since it was an umbral element, I'd need to use a luminous element.

In this case, though, that just wasn't possible. Alice's massive formal art had been able to absorb all of the spatial power in this ravine; even if it were possible for me to generate the needed elements, luminous elements were notoriously inefficient when it came to conversion. Against a formal art the size we were going up against... I just didn't have enough time.

"We're counting on you, Miss Cardinal!"

"Extremely high priority... It's a ranged hex that will directly reduce the target's Life," Miss Cardinal said as she lifted her staff.

...She's got this. I believe in her.

...

"We're gonna lure them away!" Bercouli shouted.

I watched, my heart pounding, as the Integrity Knights unflinchingly flew towards the dark power. This close, I could see that what had looked to be a simple orb of umbral elements was actually made up of a disgusting swarm of worms flying through the air. They looked like lampreys with insect wings.

"...Pull up!"

Bercouli's order came at the last instant, and all of the Integrity Knights hauled on the reins. The well-trained dragons responded instantly, pulling up at nearly a ninety degree angle. This close, the targeting of the art would definitely follow them.

As the dragons soared into the sky, I peeked behind them to see that the mass of worms streaked forward to meet them.

But, it wasn't everything. The Sacred Art had split in two, and only half had split off to target the dragons. The other half was still coming right for us!

Cardinal raised her staff. "System call!"

As she chanted, a Sacred Art formed in front of her. The staff in her hands could absorb spatial power and store it for later; that was the only way she could cast an art in this situation. But, it was limited in the amount of power it could store, so I could only hope her shield would be able to stop the worms.

A glowing circle traced itself in the air in front of her, and Miss Cardinal swung her staff. Lasers erupted from the circle, scattering outwards before they lanced forward towards the mass of worms. The bright light pierced through the worms and ripped through many of them -

But even Miss Cardinal's incredibly high System Control Authority couldn't override the priority of this formal art fueled by three thousand deaths, and despite carving off half of the worms coming towards us she wasn't able to stop the dark art.

Above us, Alice swooped down on Amayori, her sword drawn. "No, little one!" Bercouli shouted at her. "Your sword won't work!"

A shadow passed overhead, and I looked up to see a dragon flying - directly towards the approaching umbral art. "Eldrie!?" Kirito gasped.

The speed of his dragon kicked up a gust of wind around us, and I had to grab my twintails to stop them from getting blown around.

"No! Eldrie!" Alice screamed.

There was no stopping him, though. Eldrie shouted something drowned out by the wind, and pulled on his dragon's reins. I couldn't hear what he had shouted, but it was equally impossible to misunderstand the sacred art code circle that appeared around his dragon as it flew in a spiral upwards.

He'd unleashed his Armament Full Control Art. I could only hope it was enough to save him as the dark red and purple sacred art chased him skyward. As Eldrie flew higher, though, my heart sank into my throat. The second group of worms that had been chasing the other Integrity Knights pulled away and merged with the first, tripling the size of the mass trailing Eldrie. Would his Divine Object be able to stop this many?

*Graaaaraaaargh!*

I jumped as an incredible roar shook my body. Kirito flinched and stared up; his lips moved, but the roar still rang in my ears and I couldn't quite make out what he'd said. As another shadow passed overhead, though, I think I knew what he was saying.

"That's Rythin's dragon!"

The crimson scales that gave Red her name were colored dark by the black light the worms gave off as she swooped forward. Her mouth opened, and a bright light gathered there in small pinpricks -

*Zuwaaaaa!*

A bright beam blasted forward as Red unleashed her breath attack. It was more like a column of white light than the blue-white flames that Amayori could breathe. This was the first time I'd seen Red attack, and it really was amazing...!

The beam of light carved through the mass of swarming worms that were homing in on Eldrie, and wherever it touched one of the umbral element constructs, that construct was destroyed and returned to the black particles that scattered in the air.

"But I thought... they were all thermal elements?"

"That brat took down a tiger that could release a cloud of darkness. It was thanks to his dragon - that red one has more luminous elements in its breath than thermal."

Bercouli and the other Knights had landed, and he'd answered my question even though I hadn't meant to ask it out loud. He ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head.

"Coulda cut it a little less close, brat."

The beam of light ended and Red wheeled away. But she'd done more than enough - the massive cloud of dark worms had been thinned out incredibly. It was still chasing after Eldrie, however, who'd taken advantage of the single vulnerable point of the art - its homing property. The formal art had to have been designed to target anything with a large amount of life in front of it, and Eldrie had the highest total.

Eldrie was just a blur in the distance; I could barely keep track of him from this far away. I could still see a streak of white light as his whip stretched out and split into hundreds of white snakes stretching out towards the approaching formal art.

It twisted and turned; the dark art chased after the source of the glowing white light, and the end of the light plunged into the dark art. Eldrie's dragon spiraled higher and higher, and while the snakes of his whip chewed through the worms that made up the dark mages' attack the worms were so numerous that they jerked to the side. Even as the worms slid around the snakes and climbed closer to Eldrie, the shining snakes coiled on themselves to consume the worms.

The snakes were just too slow, though, and even though they ate an incredible amount of the worms I could still see that the umbral elements were catching up. The darkness swarmed and drowned out the light, and even though the snakes turned and started eating the worms I knew it had finally reached Eldrie's arm.

As high in the sky as they were, I couldn't really see more than the gleaming light of his armor or hear anything, but I could still imagine the pained scream ripped from his throat as the worms started to devour him. My heart pounded in my throat, and Kirito clenched his fist.

"C'mon, Eldrie... Don't die on me... Alice is gonna be pissed if you do, man...!"

"Please, Miss Cardinal -"

"There's nothing I can do, now."

Miss Cardinal cut off my plea before I actually make it with a solemn shake of her head. Beside her, Charlotte placed a gentle hand on Kirito's shoulder and gently took his fist in hers. Kirito was tense, but when the spider-turned-human whispered something, he slowly relaxed.

The night sky was silent and empty for what felt like forever...

...And then a dark shape started spiraling downwards in a wide circle. Eldrie's dragon circled slowly, but on top of his back I could see a glittering light.

"Eldrie... Eldrie!" Alice exclaimed. She slid down off of Amayori's back and ran forward to meet Takiguri as the dragon finally managed to land. She jumped up onto his back and clutched Eldrie, holding him in her arms.

I gasped in horror at the sight of Eldrie. His face was deathly pale except for dark scars lining the left side of his cheek, climbing up his neck. His eyes were closed and his body was limp, but that wasn't the worst part. His left arm... It was gone, and blood slowly oozed out and soaked through Alice's dress. His whip was draped across his saddle.

"Eldrie! Please... open your eyes! Don't die... You can't leave me! Not like this, do you hear?!"

"You're safe... Milady."

Oh! He's awake! Eldrie's voice croaked out his words softly, but at least he was speaking!

"Yes. Yes, I am, thanks to you! Didn't I tell you that I needed you?" Alice bent over his body and sobbed. Tears stained Eldrie's cheeks. "Ritsu, get Lady Cardinal! He - Eldrie can be -"

"Let me see him," Miss Cardinal said from right behind me. She lifted her staff, and a green glow surrounded Eldrie's left side. The blood staining Alice's skirt disappeared as smooth skin replaced the ruined shreds of his shoulder - but that was it. His arm didn't reappear. "...I'm sorry, but this is as much as I can heal him. My collection stored resources have been entirely depleted."

"It is... more than I deserve," Eldrie said. "Lady Alice, there are more... far more people who need you. I... I have behaved so selfishly... I thought I could, have you all to myself."

"Thank you... Thank you, Eldrie. Thank you for coming back."

Alice hugged him tightly, and tears poured down her cheeks. She knew as well as I did that if Miss Cardinal couldn't heal him now... With a wound that severe, there was no way he could fight during this war. It would take powerful Sacred Arts to heal a severed limb.

Eldrie carefully reached up with his right hand and wiped at her tears, brushing them away. "Don't cry... Lady Alice... Takiguri, obey... her as you would, me..."

His head lolled to the side after he breathed the quiet requests, and for a second I had a terrible thought that he'd died despite Miss Cardinal's healing art - but when Alice gently slid from his back, I realized he was just asleep. "...Lady Cardinal, I don't want to ask, but..."

The librarian nodded. "Charlotte and I will watch over him." Charlotte took Eldrie's limp body from Alice, and the dark-skinned woman didn't seem to notice his weight at all.

"Thank you, Lady Cardinal," Alice said.

Miss Cardinal nodded again and walked back to the wagon. She had a brief conversation with Bercouli that I couldn't hear from where I was, but the commander shrugged after a little bit and gestured towards the other forces. Miss Cardinal and Charlotte climbed back into the supply wagon, and I watched it drive off.

...I guess Kirito will be riding with us, now!

"Eldrie."

Alice whispered his name, and I turned back to her. Her hand tightened around her sword's handle. Her gauntlet tightened so much that the metal creaked in protest.

"I swear to you... they shall pay for what they've done!" Her sword flashed out as she leapt into Amayori's saddle. "Amayori. Takiguri. Charge the enemy."

"Alice, wait!"

My cry was too late. Alice's dragon had already launched herself forward and was flying down the ravine. I whirled and ran back to the Integrity Knights that had been watching in silent horror.

"Kid, what's going on?" Bercouli demanded.

"Alice, she's..."

Instead of finishing my thought, I pulled up the familiar view and expanded it so that everyone could see.

Alice had already made it to the end of the ravine and flown over the assembled Dark Territory forces. The appearance of two dragons sent the dark mages into a panicked retreat immediately, but Alice didn't hesitate. "Burn them. BURN THEM ALL!"

Both Amayori and Takiguri answered her order. Blue fire lanced down from their mouths and carved bloody swathes through the ranks. Takiguri, as if delivering Eldrie's vengeance from the grave, swept his beam up across the palanquin that D.I.L was standing on. The boat exploded and D.I.L was blasted to the ground.

"That mage," I said. "She's the leader of the mages."

"Thank you, Ritsu. Now... Enhance Armament."

Alice raised her sword as Amayori flapped her wings to hover over the ocean of fire. The golden Sacred Art circles ran up the blade and it burst into golden petals once more. Without any of the hesitation or regret that she'd shone earlier, Alice swung her sword at the ground.

The olive petals crashed down on the mages even as Amayori and Takiguri continued to rain beams of fire. The petals scoured across the ground, raking towards where D.I.L was huddled on the ground, and I couldn't deny feeling a certain dark satisfaction as the rain of bladed petals crashed over the woman and her two dark mage attendants.

Good riddance.

Alice pulled Amayori up once her sword reformed, and flew high in the sky. Once she was in the air high enough to be visible to the remainders of the dark territory, she lifted her gleaming sword.

"I am Alice! Integrity Knight! Alice Synthesis Thirty! I am the proxy of the three goddesses who protect this realm. I am the Priestess of Light! And whoever dares defy me... shall know the fury of my power!"

I closed my eyes and let out a quiet breath, then turned to Kirito. "Make sure to spend time with her when she gets back," I ordered him.

"Yeah. I wouldn't leave her alone even if I was ordered to."

"Good."

There's no way she should be alone after that.


Congratulations to Eldrie, who managed to survive thanks to the addition of an extra dragon!

This was semi-foreshadowed before, with the way Red's breath was able to blow through most of the white tiger's defenses. The gap Rythin made with his weak luminous element wasn't THAT big, you know. But I understand if you missed it.

Other than that, I decided to pare back the cast a little bit. They'll be helping out a little bit later, but since events are going to add a few more characters in a little bit, I wanted to eliminate a few of the support characters from the Underworld. Sorry to any Fanatio or Deusolbert fans! Or, to anyone who really liked Fizel or Linel.

Many thanks to everyone that favorited, followed, or left a review.