"So you're saying the reason our strategy failed and a thousand dark mages perished was because the enemy absorbed and depleted the spatial dark power before us, is that right?"

"Yes! That's correct, Your Majesty. I wasn't informed that, even with the Pontifex gone, the enemy still had a mage of that caliber."

Gabriel scratches his chin. Someone on the enemy's side is very strong. Could it be Rath had dove someone in the Underworld to counter him? He was told two STLs were in use hours ago, according to the logs, so maybe whoever they are is responsible. Maybe they aren't. "Is there no way to replenish that dark power?"

"Unfortunately, sir," Dee Eye Ell explains, "in order to replenish enough spatial power to annihilate the enemy, we'd need ample amounts of rich land and sunlight, but both are absent from the battlefield."

"I see. But from what I see, there's no grass or trees in this land, and the sun seems to have already set. What power source were you going to use to attempt to cast this large-scale spell?"

"Well, the blood spilled by both the demi-humans and enemy soldiers, and their expired lives became dark power and filled the air."

"Hmm." Gabriel gets up and looks out to the distance. "Blood and life, huh? Dee Eye Ell. Would 3,000 be sufficient?"

She rises and looks at Gabriel. "What?" She follows his gaze to the nearby unit of orcs, and smiles in satisfaction. "That would be enough, Your Majesty."

Alice

"Priestess of Light?"

Alice nods as she addresses Bercouli and Fanatio back at the army's camp. "Yes. I don't recall ever seeing such a name in any of the history books, but there's no doubt that it's what the enemy commander desires."

Bercouli swallows the bread in his mouth and grunts. "Commander…the Dark God Vecta, huh?"

"I find it hard to believe. A god has been resurrected."

"Not out of the realm, but in this situation… Little one, let's assume that Dark God Vecta has descended to the Dark Territory, that he's seeking the Priestess of Light, and that priestess is you. The question is, how will that affect the current battle situation?"

"You need not assume anything, Commander Bercouli." Entering the tent is Jaymes, the caped warrior's face set in an uncharacteristic scowl. "If what Alice says is true, then this is exactly what I feared would happen."

Fanatio narrows her eyes. "So that means Vecta is like you?"

"Mhm. I told all of you my reason for coming here was the safety of Kirito, but...only known to Cardinal, there's another reason I am here. To make it simple, let's just say my world is fighting over you, Alice. I'll explain it later in detail, but for now, we must deal with Vecta."

Alice nods to Jaymes and faces the Knight Commander. "Uncle, I shall breach the enemy lines alone, and head for the edge of the Dark Territory. If it's the Priestess of Light the enemy commander seeks, then he'll definitely pursue me with a considerable force. Once enough distance has split them, please counterattack and annihilate the remaining enemy forces. I'll head south." She catches Jaymes' shocked face. Yes, she overheard Kirito's conversation with the outside world about this "World's End Altar" that's south of the Eastern Gate.

Bercouli looks to the red knight. "Any objections?"

Jaymes crosses his arms. "There's no guarantee Vecta will follow, but if he does… It will help us here. I approve of it."

"Fine, then. But you're taking a third of our troops with you."

"But… I can't have you spare a third of your men!"

"The enemy still has more than 30,000 troops left. I don't think that many would come after you if you're the sole decoy. Only if a big enough number fled together would it work to split them up."

"You do have a point, but…"

"Also, I have one more condition." Bercouli chews on a piece of meat and smirks at the young pair. "I'll be joining the raid unit."

Jaymes

"Our goal as the raid unit is to split the enemy forces and destroy the individuals. After we've passed through the Eastern Gate, the guard unit, the monk unit, and the Supply Corps are to head south immediately. If there's favorable terrain, deploy the troops and get into position. Until then, we four elite knights will act as a diversion."

I stand with Eldrie, Medina, and Fanatio as we watch the raid unit advance. I would go with them, but since Ronie and Tiese are with the Supply Corps, I have my way there if it is necessary. In the meantime… "Fanatio, let's do our best."

The beautiful lady nods and turns to the soldiers. "We're going to defend this location with our lives! Everyone, to your positions!" As she walks off away, I linger behind and look to our fading allies. I begin to realize that, of all the knights I know to be present, only Eydis was not at the strategy meeting. From what I heard, she went to take care of a detour platoon earlier. I wonder if she's okay, but I know her strength. I won't worry for her...yet.

"Jaymes." I look down to Medina, the redhead woman staring back with her eyebrow raised. "Something the matter?"

"No, just thinking about something... Medina, let's do our part as good as we always have."

"You sure you want to be back here? They can use you up there."

"Alice, Renly, Sheyta, and Bercouli can handle it. Fanatio, her Whirling Blades, Eldrie, Deusolbert, and myself are needed here. But if I have to go, my apprentices will say something. Besides, I think you will hate me if I go running off back to the Dark Territory."

Lady Orthinanos nods. "Yeah, I will. Now let's get moving."

I smile. "Yeah, let's…" I barely take a step before I feel a tingle down my back. I turn back towards the Dark Territory, the sensation of something dark and sinister dank in the air. As much as I'd like to investigate, I have my duties here for now… and then I see a dragon take off towards the ravine, along with a purple-haired man. "Eldrie…"

Alice

"This sound...is it group chanting of a formal art? Impossible! There's not enough sacred power left in this area to cast a large-scale formal art!"

"Those bastards! What have they done?" The four knights find out quickly enough as a dark ball of spatial power greets them into the Dark Territory. As soon as the dark forces pot them, the contents of the ball are unleashed upon them in the form of deathworms, lecherous creatures that not even swords or armor can fight out. "Get close and lure them this way… Pull up!"

As the knights rise into the sky, Alice watches as the ball splits in two, the greater part still traveling down the ravine while the lesser goes after them. The other part will hit the raid unit… Alice swoops down to give chase, but she's not going fast enough. No matter how much she wills Amayori, the dragon wouldn't make it. Maybe her petals could do something… Wait a minute, a glimmer appears over the raid unit… "Eldrie?" Eldrie soars forward at high speed, and Alice fears for what he's going to do. "No! Eldrie!"

Eldrie

"Divine serpent of ancient times! If you claim to be king of the snakes, then let's see you devour that horde of mere worms completely! Haa!" Eldrie directs his dragon up, making a slight glance at the approaching Alice before he focuses on his attack. "Release Recollection!" The Frost Scale Whip glows as Eldrie takes the skies.

He turns around to see both groups of deathworms join in their advance on Eldrie. "This way! You vile insects!" Eldrie releases his whip, allowing the memories of the two-headed snake it was formed from to ravage the insects. However, the worms are tenacious in chasing Eldrie down, and eventually, they catch up.

Eldrie feels his life drain, but he doesn't give death the grip on him it wants. Something...someone pushes him forward, to keep going until he can't no more. "Not yet! I can't fall just yet!" He feels the worms crawl and eat through his body, but Eldrie holds on until he can't no longer. "Lady Alice…"

Alice

The explosion in the sky scares Alice, and she puts Amayori to flight. "Eldrie!" She spots him as the flaming projectile heading to earth, most of his body consumed by the worms or the fire. "Eldrie!" She reaches out and grabs the knight's hand, and along with Amayori's still living brother, returns to the ground.

"Eldrie! Your eyes...open your eyes! I won't allow it! You're not going to leave me like this!"

"Mentor...are you safe?" Alice gasps as Eldrie opens his eyes and faces her.

Alice nods and hugs him as the tears start rolling. "Yes. Yes, I am safe, thanks to you! Didn't I tell you that I needed you?"

"Lady Alice, there are more...far more people who need you. I was such a selfish person...to think I could keep you all to myself."

"I'll give you whatever you wish for! So come back! You are my disciple, aren't you?"

"I already have more than enough."

Alice feels Eldrie go limp and raises herself off him. "Eldrie? Eldrie!"

"Don't cry," Eldrie whispers as he wipes one set of Alice's tears with his right hand, then his body begins to glow and become sacred power. "Mo...ther."

"Eldrie." And now, Alice understands what it is to lose someone you love. She understands why, after grief, comes rage. She understands Kirito's fury after losing Eugeo. She understands Eydis and Jaymes' rage against Medina in Wesdarath. She understands Medina's against Hersyrian after he revealed her family's dark history. She understands Jaymes' after Quinella struck down Medina. What else could one feel at this moment but anger?

As the dragons mourn the death of Eldrie, Alice takes his Frost Scale Whip in hand. "After all the havoc you've wreaked...don't think you're not going to pay! Amayori. Takiguri. Charge at full speed." The dragons take flight towards the Dark Territory's forces. As they fly over, Alice finds the culprits to be the dark mages, those who weren't burned to crisp in the earlier attack. And they have the audacity to retreat? "You're not getting away! Fire!" Amayori and Takiguri scorch the dark mages, leaving the fire to burn them to hell. For those who think they can escape the fire, Alice has a surprise for them. "Enhance Armament!" Alice's petals raze the ground before they return to her blade.

Eydis, a few moments earlier

The other knights gasp as the darkness around them fades. "Th-That move…"

"You see, my sword has memories from when it was sunk at the bottom of a dark lake for years. So if you touch its memories...you'll be trapped in the dark and lose the light."

"Those moves… Are you an...In...Inte..."

"Oh, you finally noticed? That's right, I'm Eydis Synthesis Ten. If only Shasta and Lipia were still alive. Then you'd have known that from the start."

"I...misjudged you."

Eydis smiles. "Yeah, most people get confused the first time they see this move. Well, makes sense. The darkness just keeps growing, regardless of your own will. If I use the move in a big battle like this, my allies will, unfortunately, feel the effects too, So usually I just use it for a quick strike before it gets out of… Oh, wait, you can't hear me." Eydis sighs, disappointed by her wasted breath on the dead. "Mrrg… Too bad. Lipia was far more powerful. Well, I should consider your weakness a boon. This still took longer than it should have. It's gotten quite dark now. But war never sleeps. Maybe I should slip into the Dark Territory for a little spying?"

Eydis sheathes her sword and sits down on Kirimai. "Kirimai, I know you're tired, but can you fly some more? You'll get a treat later. Okay! Off to the enemy lines we… Eek? Wh-What's going on?" Eydis sees two streaks of blue light from the sky that results in the creation of an orange horizon. "Was that dragonfire? And from two sources? Looks like trouble. I'll have to postpone my spy mission for later. Let's go, Kirimai! Your brothers and sisters need you!"

From afar, Alice takes in the sight of her destruction. "My name is Alice! Integrity Knight Alice Synthesis Thirty! Proxy of the three gods who protect the Human Empire, the Priestess of Light! All those who stand before me, brace for my holy authority to vanquish every last one of you!"

"Oh...Alice… Alicia."