Hey guys, here is the 69th chapter. Finally we're here, can't believe we reached so far.

So, just to clear things up, Artoria here is more of a mix of both Saber and Lancer versions, leaning more to the Saber version. She can use her spear, but will focus more on her sword.

Another thing, given that the specifics of the Central Cathedral are not known, more specifically the 51st to 79th floors, apart from the fact that the elevator is on the 50th floor to the 80th floor, I've decided that the 51st to 79th floors will mostly be the Integrity Knights' living quarters.

To Crazy9087, yes, I know. I read the LNs but in chinese, so forgive me if the spelling of the names are different. But, Deusolbert, Scheta/Sheyta, Renly/Renri are all here.

Saifani Tri, I did consider them, but I know too little about them to effectively flesh them out here. I could improvise though, but we'll see.

Chrisplayz, I did have time for the previous chapter, and the ideas were coming out very nicely, so I finished it earlier than expected. As for Gilgamesh, he's actually one of my fav characters in the Fate series, when he was in Fate/Zero and FGO ofc.

DaManWOFear, thank you, I wanted to change things up a bit. And yes, I just couldn't resist bringing in the 'Saber knockoff' thing haha. As stated above, the Artoria here will be more of a mix of Lancer and Saber Artoria. She can use both her weapons, but Excalibur will still be her primary weapon.

As for Edith, sadly I have not played the mobile game too much to understand her character. I might bring her in later, with the pretense that she was in the Dark Territory as a scout, but I don't know yet.

For Quinella and Chudelkin, well, she is not evil here because there is balance in powers, with the four gods. And yes, Chudelkin is pretty much the villain here, and as in canon, Chudelkin is also the upholder of the Taboo Index here, but with more twisted intentions.

For Kirito, well, just read on haha.

To Guest questioner, thanks, and yes, there will be more action for the Heroic Spirits in the later fight oriented chapters.

To NeonGamer973, sadly, I don't believe I will have Artoria and Emiya as a couple, because their history in this story is different than the original FATE series.

And no, Kayaba's place as an active role in this story is just about finished. He won't be an Integrity Knight, or a former one. He was just a former student of Bercouli, nothing more, nothing less.

To Saint Saber Fang, I don't think I will, he was on my list, but I figured he was just too common, probably because he is very well known to me. But his skills certainly do fit the Integrity Knights, well, pre-Quincy war anyway.

So yeah, that clears the reviews up. Thank you for your reviews.

Here is the new chapter.

XXX

Kirito stared in shock at his own face, who just grinned at him.

Kirito said, barely recovered from his shock, "Y-you're... me?"

The knight grinned, "Yep. Well, more specifically, I am your incarnation as Kazuto, god of swords."

Kirito's eyes widened again, "How are you here? Wait, where are we?"

Kazuto grinned, before he gestured to the whole area, "This."

He looked back at his newer self, "Is our inner world."

Kazuto lowered his arms, pausing to let his younger self digest the information, before he continued, "You see, as Quinella and Cardinal have already told you, I separated us into two parts, soul and body."

Kazuto then pointed to himself and Kirito, "You and I, are parts of one soul."

Kirito furrowed his brows, "Wait, so, that means we are not complete?"

Kazuto grinned, "Bingo."

The god of swords then sighed, "Unfortunately, that also means we cannot become one yet. That's why our body didn't merge with us."

Kirito nodded, "So, to do that, we'd need all of our parts?"

Kazuto nodded, "Fortunately, we are only missing one part, the third part of our soul."

He then sighed, "But unfortunately, that part is not ready to manifest itself yet."

Kirito frowned, "Then, what do we do?"

Kazuto shook his head, "Nothing."

The younger version of the god blinked, "What?"

Kazuto chuckled, turning to look at the forests, "It is not time yet. The time will come, just not now."

Kirito nodded, "I see..."

Then, Kirito asked, "By the way, I want to ask you-"

Kazuto cut him off, "About the visions of the four girls you keep seeing?"

Kirito nodded, and his older self shook his head, "Unfortunately, it's not my place to tell you."

Kazuto looked up at the sky, "But this much I can tell you. Those four girls are very important to the third part of our soul."

Kirito blinked, before he smiled nodding, "I see. Then I guess I won't pry further."

Kazuto chuckled, "You'll know anyway, when we become one again."

Kirito nodded.

Kazuto then spoke, "By the way, I see you'll be meeting with Gilgamesh and Emiya to see how good you can project weapons."

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, why?"

Kazuto grinned, "Nothing, it's just that I taught Emiya how to do it. He had a very huge affinity for bladed weapons, so I taught him to project them."

The god chuckled, "And then he took it to a whole new level, creating a Reality Marble containing infinite swords."

Kirito asked, "A Reality Marble?"

Kazuto nodded, before he realized what Kirito was asking, "Ah, they don't teach you that these days, right?"

Kirito nodded, before Kazuto explained, "A Reality Marble is sort of a man-made world. It's basically the act of temporarily placing a different world upon our reality."

Kirito blinked, "You can do that?"

Kazuto chuckled, "With the right commands, anything is possible."

He let out a breath, "Anyways, I'm not sure if you can do it, but I recreated that Reality Marble, and our third self, could do it as well."

Kirito's eyes widened, "Really?"

Kazuto smiled, "Yep. Well, he won't appear any time soon, so don't worry too much about that. He'll come out when he needs to."

Kirito nodded, before Kazuto continued, "Anyways, back to your training with them. Tell them they don't need to show you all of their weapons, we already have them engraved within our souls."

Kazuto nodded to himself, before he spoke, "Instead, tell Emiya to teach you how to draw on which weapon you want. Also, tell Gilgamesh to teach you how to dance."

Kirito blinked, before he nodded slowly, not liking the mischievous smile his older self was giving him.

The young man nodded, before Kazuto chuckled, "Alright, I suppose that's all for now."

He glanced at his younger self and flicked a wrist, "Get some rest, you'll need it."

Kirito was about to ask what he was talking about, but before he could, everything turned black, and he knew no more.

As Kirito vanished from the mindscape, Kazuto chuckled, looking up at the sky, "Still young, weaker than either of us, but, that's not necessarily a bad thing, right?"

Kazuto looked to a side, where an unconscious young man with the exact same face faded into view, laid on the grass.

Kazuto chuckled again, before he closed his eyes and laid on the grass as well.

(linebreak)

Several hours later, Kirito, Eugeo and Alice headed for the dining area for dinner.

As they walked into the dining area, Alice smiled, "This is the dining area, thanks to Lady Quinella, Emiya and the sacred art users, we can get just about any kind of food here."

Kirito and Eugeo both nodded, before a they heard a voice calling out to them, "Hey Alice, over here!"

The three turned to see eight knights sitting at a large table, three of which were female knights with blonde hair.

One of them, Mordred, if Kirito remembered correctly, grinned at them, "Over here!"

Alice smiled and nodded, before she glanced at her two best friends, "Let's go."

Kirito and Eugeo nodded, following her to the table, as one of the blonde knights smiled at them, "So, these are the Commander's students. Ummu, not bad."

Eugeo glanced at Alice, and before he could ask her, the girl closed her eyes with an unreadable expression, "No, they are not my long lost sisters."

Mordred chuckled, "More like cousins."

One of the male knights, one with

ruffled black hair with burgundy tips, combed back to expose his forehead that had a red mark, smiled, "It'd be better if you left it at that. Even we don't know how exactly they're related."

Kirito and Eugeo just smiled, nodding forcefully as the third blonde girl, this one with long hair tied into a braid, not unlike Alice, smiled, "It's finally nice to meet you, my name is Jeanne Synthesis Fourteen."

Kirito and Eugeo nodded in response, the former said, "I'm-"

One of the male knights, this one with spiky blue hair smirked and cut him off, "Kirito and Eugeo, right? We know, Alice talks about you all the time. And it's hard not to know the Commander's two students, especially when one of them defeated Eldrie of all people."

Kirito and Eugeo both blinked, before chuckling sheepishly, more so for Kirito than Eugeo.

The man smirked, "Name's Cu Chulain Synthesis Fifteen, look forward to working with ya."

Kirito and Eugeo nodded, as the young man with ruffled black hair spoke, "I'm Tanjiro. Tanjiro Synthesis Twenty."

Tanjiro then pointed to the girl sitting beside him, "This is Tsuyuri Synthesis Nineteen."

The girl smiled at them, silent for a moment, before she took out a coin and flipped it before she caught it.

Tsuyuri looked at the coin before she nodded, looking at Kirito and Eugeo, "Nice to meet you."

Kirito and Eugeo nodded awkwardly, the latter saying, "Nice to meet you too, I guess."

Mordred chuckled, "Don't mind that, she just doesn't speak much."

Kirito and Eugeo both nodded, before the last blonde female knights spoke, "I am Nero Synthesis Thirteen, the rose that blooms on the battlefield!"

Nero ended her self introduction with a flashy pose, rose petals somehow falling around her.

Kirito and Eugeo both nodded awkwardly at the introduction again, before Cu Chulain chuckled, "A roudy bunch right?"

Kirito and Eugeo both didn't know how to respond, before one of the male knights spoke, "Sadly, its how they are."

He looked at Kirito and Eugeo, "I'm Giyuu Synthesis Seventeen, pleased to make your acquaintance."

The two brothers nodded at that, before Cu Chulain nudged the only blonde male at the table, "Oi brat, introduce yourself."

The blonde rubbed the place where Cu Chulain nudged him and nodded, looking at Kirito and Eugeo shyly, "Zenitsu Synthesis Twenty One."

Mordred grinned, before she spoke, "And you know me, Mordred Synthesis Eight."

Alice smiled and spoke, "Well, I think we should go get some food first."

The eight of them nodded in understanding, before Alice lead the two young men to the counters where the food were.

Soon, the three came back to the table, Kirito and Eugeo barely recovering from the shock upon seeing the selection of food available.

Upon seeing their faces, Mordred grinned at Alice, "Surprised by the food?"

Alice smiled and shook her head in exasperation, "I doubt anywhere else would be able to match this place."

Nero grinned and nodded, "Ummu, thanks to Emiya, this is the only dining place befitting of a rose like me."

Tanjiro chuckled, "Well, I don't blame them..."

Tsuyuri just stayed silent, smiling like usual, while Zenitsu averted his gaze from the two newcomers.

Jeanne nodded, "Well, like Alice, they did hail from a village near the mountains, it wouldn't be a surprise to not have seen such a place."

Cu Chulainn smirked, "Heh, wait till they actually taste it."

Kirito blinked, "What are you guys talking about?"

The lancer smirked, "Nothing you should worry about."

Kirito just nodded, before he glanced at Eugeo, who shrugged, and they both took a bite from the food they had gotten.

One bite.

It blew them away, quite literally.

Kirito's eyes widened. He had never ever, in his whole life, consumed anything that could compare to what he had now.

Everything was cooked to perfection. From that one bite, he knew, the heat used to cook it was just right, and the food was cooked with just the perfect amount of time.

Kirito opened his mouth, and took another bite from his plate, savouring the taste of the food, before he did it again.

And before he knew it, Kirito's eyes widened as he realized his plate was empty.

The man blinked, before he looked up to see several amused faces looking at him.

Kirito turned, and saw Eugeo was the same as he was.

Alice giggled, "It's nice, isn't it?"

Eugeo opened his mouth to answer, but he closed it, before he nodded, pretty much speechless.

Cu Chulainn laughed, "See, I swear, no one! And I mean no one! Can beat Emiya when it comes to cooking."

Eugeo blinked, "E-emiya cooked these?"

Giyuu chuckled, a rare show of emotion, "Kinda, he cooks everyday, but sometimes the regular cooks take over when he needs to attend to his duties. They are good, but not as good as he is."

Kirito and Eugeo both nodded dumbly, before Kirito asked, "So... Can we have seconds?"

Cu Chulainn's smirk, along with Mordred's grin and Alice's smile was all the answer they needed.

After that, Kirito and Eugeo stuffed their faces with food, something Cu Chulainn, Tanjiro and Giyuu also did.

And after they finished dinner, all of them had pretty much nothing to do, as Alice and the other eight knights didn't have any orders and were free to do as they wished, while Kirito and Eugeo had only just arrived and weren't even officially registered as Integrity Knights.

As the three childhood friends walked, Alice smiled, "I still can't believe it, that the day the three of us would be back together has finally come."

Kirito and Eugeo smiled, the latter nodded, "Yeah."

Kirito chuckled, "Though I was really surprised, that you are an Integrity Knight."

Eugeo nodded in agreement, and Alice giggled to that as she grinned, "I'm awesome like that."

Kirito chuckled, "Yeah sure."

Alice pouted at the young man, "What is that supposed to mean?"

Kirito just chuckled again, before he shook his head, "Nothing."

Alice sighed, before she asked, "So, how is my family? I never really got the chance to go back to our village."

Eugeo smiled, "Your parents are doing fine, they're managing the village quite well."

Alice smiled, "I see. And Selka?"

Kirito chuckled, "She's following in your footsteps. Last I heard, she's learning the sacred arts at the church."

The blonde girl nodded, "I see."

Alice then glanced at a clock on the wall nearby, "Well, it's getting late soon, and you have a long day tomorrow. I suppose its time we get to bed."

Kirito and Eugeo nodded, and the latter smiled, "I suppose so, I'll see you guys tomorrow then."

Alice and Kirito both nodded, before the three headed for their respective rooms.

(linebreak)

The next day, Kirito, Emiya and Gilgamesh were in the training hall, with Alice, Artoria, Mordred, Jeanne and Eugeo at a side watching.

Emiya nodded, as Kirito told them what Kazuto told him, "Hmm, I see, that makes it better."

Gilgamesh had a very amused smirk on his face as he remembered what the god of blades meant by teaching the young man how to dance, "Very much, this will be fun."

Emiya ignored the older knight, not wishing to go through the ordeal again, as he focused on the young man in front of him, "Alright, I'll project a sword of my choosing, and I want you to do the same. Alright?"

Kirito nodded, "Got it."

The tanned skin man smirked, and he held out his hand, "Trace. On."

In a glow of blue, a pair of falchions, one black and one white, appeared in his hands.

Upon seeing the blades, Kirito instantly knew what the swords were.

Kanshou and Bakuya. The married blades.

As Emiya looked at him expectedly, Kirito nodded, remembering the feeling when he had created the copy of Alice's blade.

The familiar words came out from his lips, as mana flowed through his arms, "Trace. On."

Although a slightly slower speed, the exact same swords appeared in Kirito's hands, to Emiya's satisfaction.

And for the next half hour, they repeated the process, but with different swords of different classes.

From the simplest sword, to the most powerful Divine Class Objects Emiya knew of.

After dismissing the last sword, Emiya nodded in satisfaction, "Good, that's enough, all you need is to practice, and you'll be able to trace the swords as fast as I can. And knowing your... heritage, you can go faster."

Kirito nodded, "Got it."

Emiya just nodded, and Gilgamesh stepped forward, "Finally my turn eh?"

Emiya nodded and stepped to a side, joining Alice, Artoria, Eugeo, Jeanne and Mordred.

Alice, Eugeo and Artoria both nodded to the tanned skinned man, while Jeanne regarded him neutrally, and Mordred smirked at him.

Emiya sat down, an amused and expecting smirk on his face, "Well, the next part should be fun at least, for us."

Eugeo blinked curiously, "Why?"

Alice shared the same look, something Jeanne and Mordred also had.

Artoria however knew what Emiya was talking about, and she had an amused glint in her eyes, before she spoke, "Gilgamesh is about to teach Kirito how to dance, something Lord Kazuto did to him, who in turn did the same to Emiya."

The man in red chuckled humourlessly, "It is something I will never want to experience again."

Mordred raised an eyebrow, "Just dancing?"

Jeanne nodded, "I fail to see how learning to dance is a horrible experience."

Eugeo looked at Kirito and Gilgamesh, before he asked, "You're not talking about the dances people normally do, are you?"

Emiya grinned, "Nope, you'll understand later, they're starting. And Jeanne, get ready."

Jeanne raised an eyebrow but kept silent, as Alice sighed, "I have a bad feeling about this."

The others just focused their attention back to the training area.

With Gilgamesh and Kirito, the blonde knight looked at Kirito, "Alright, before we start, I want to make some things clear."

Kirito raised an eyebrow, "Okay?"

Gilgamesh nodded, before his eyes hardened, "First, the current you does not have my respect, I may respect the past you, but the two of you are two different people, got that?"

Kirito nodded as Gilgamesh continued, "So, if you want my respect, then you're gonna have to earn it."

Kirito nodded, and maybe it was because of the memories of his past self burried within him, but for some reason, he felt more determined to earn Gilgamesh's respect.

The blonde smirked, "Alright, let's get started."

The knight raised his right hand, and with a yellow flash, Kirito felt a sting on his left cheek.

The young man blinked, touching his face, before he looked at his fingers to see blood.

Kirito then looked at Gilgamesh, and his eyes widened.

Around the blonde man, floating in midair, were a dozen blades, protruding from yellow/golden portals or sorts.

Gilgamesh's smirk widened, "This is my weapon, the Gate of Babylon."

The man stared at Kirito straight in the eye, "Try to survive for the next hour, now dodge."

Without another word, a sword shot towards at Kirito. It was only by pure instinct that the young man jumped back, as the sword struck the ground.

Then, right as Kirito landed, he was forced to jump up again to dodge an axe to the ground, before leaped to a side to dodge a spear aimed for his chest.

Kirito opened his mouth, intending to yell and ask what the blonde knight was doing, but before he could, Gilgamesh shot out another sword from his never-ending treasury.

(meanwhile)

At the sides, Emiya shuddered subconsciously as he saw Gilgamesh sending the blades at the god reincarnate.

Alice, Mordred and Jeanne were pretty much speechless at what Gilgamesh was doing, in fact, the fact that the prideful knight had an amused smirk on his face was enough to render them speechless.

As for Eugeo, he stared on, not really knowing what to say, "Ermm, he's gonna fine, right?"

Artoria just sighed in exasperation, "He'll be fine, as long as Gilgamesh doesn't go overboard."

The blonde nodded dumbly as they watched Kirito jump and leaped around to dodge the bladed projectiles.

(An hour later)

After an hour of dodging weapons of all kinds, mostly bladed, Gilgamesh let up, "Alright, that's enough for today."

By now, Kirito was panting, more than a few cuts on his body, with parts of clothes cut here and there.

The man fell to the ground with a heavy breath, "Thank the gods."

Mordred grinned as she and the others walked over, "You're a god yourself, aren't ya?"

Kirito glanced over at them, "Don't feel like one."

Artoria shook her head in exasperation and brought out her sheathed sword, before she pressed the scabbard onto Kirito's arm.

In an instant, Kirito blinked as he felt his fatigue seemingly vanish.

The young man blinked at the fourth knight in surprise who put away her sheathed sword, "What was that?"

The one that answered the question wasn't Artoria, but Emiya, "A Divine Class Object, the sheath of the holy sword Excalibur, Avalon."

Artoria nodded, "It can pretty much heal anything, but you'll still need some rest for the mind."

Kirito nodded, before Gilgamesh turned and headed to leave the area, "Go get some rest, we still have a meeting later."

Kirito nodded, something shared by the other present knights, including Eugeo, as after the meeting in the previous day, Bercouli had informed most of the knights of their current situation and Kirito's identity.

Then, as the other knights left to do whatever they needed to do, Bercouli's voice reached Kirito's ears, "So, Gilgamesh taught you to dance, huh?"

Kirito, Eugeo and Alice all turned to see Bercouli looking at them, amusement evident in his eyes.

Alice blinked, "Ojii-sama?"

The knight grinned as he walked to them, "Yo."

Eugeo asked, "Bercouli-sensei, is there anything you needed?"

The first knight chuckled, "Well, I think its time we got you suited up, no?"

Kirito and Eugeo both grinned, sharing a glance, and that was all the answer the old knight needed.

(Short linebreak)

After a short walk, the four of them were at the armory.

As Bercouli lead the two into the armory, the man spoke, "Go get yourself fitted with the armor there, we keep plenty of spares with all sizes so it shouldn't be a problem."

Kirito and Eugeo both nodded, and with some help from Alice, the two of them were soon clad in armor that matched their respective swords.

Kirito's armor was pitch black, with gold and silver lining, while Eugeo wore a full light blue armor with silver lining.

As the two young men adjusted their armor, Bercouli chuckled, "Now that's more like it, it fits more than I thought it would."

Alice nodded in agreement, but before they could continue, a voice reached their ears, "Well, well, what do we have here?"

The four of them turned to the entrance, where the voice was coming from.

And standing there, was a very short and fat man. Upon laying his eyes on the figure, Kirito knew he didn't like the person at all.

The man wore something akin to a clown's suit, with an altered version of a scholar's hat. His skin was pure white, as if he had put on a large amount of make up but had failed horribly.

Bercouli greeted, his face betraying none of the emotions he was feeling, "Prime Senator Chudelkin, what brings you to here?"

The short man strode into the armory, before he stopped in front of Kirito and Eugeo, "Who are these?"

Kirito and Eugeo opened their mouths, but Alice spoke up before they could speak, "They are new Integrity Knights, we just brought them a short while ago."

Chudelkin eyed the two men cautiously, before he nodded, "I see."

He then turned at Bercouli, "They wouldn't happen to be the two criminals, Kirito and Eugeo, that killed a noble, right?"

Bercouli chuckled, "Well, they have potential, so I thought it'd be a waste if they were punished just like that."

Chudelkin nodded, before decided the topic wasn't worth his time, "Hmm, well whatever, just make sure they don't violate any more of the Index."

The man strode out of the armory, not before giving a glance at Kirito and Eugeo, grinning gleefully, "Do work hard, it'd be bad if you didn't live up to Bercouli's expectations after all."

Chudelkin then left without another word, leaving the four in the armory.

As soon as the Prime Senator left, Bercouli frowned, "Disgusting as ever."

Eugeo asked, "So, he's the one we have to take down?"

Alice nodded, "Yes, the sooner the better."

Kirito nodded, "Agreed, I only met him, and I don't like him already."

Bercouli chuckled, "That's another thing we agree on."

The three younger knights nodded, before Bercouli spoke again after looking over Kirito and Eugeo, "Alright, that should be everything for your equipment. We'll get you two your dragons tomorrow, okay?"

Kirito and Eugeo both nodded before Bercouli spoke again, "Remember, we have a meeting at the library at midnight, alright?"

The three nodded, as Bercouli headed for the door, "Well, I'mma head for the baths, see y'all later."

The man walked out of the armory, leaving the three alone.

Alice then headed for the door, "Well then, I'll see you two later at dinner, alright?"

Kirito and Eugeo both nodded, as the blonde girl left the armory.

The brothers looked at each other, and Eugeo asked, "So, what now?"

Kirito shrugged, "I'll probably go take a nap or something."

Eugeo chuckled, shaking his heads, "You and your lazy ass."

The black haired man grinned shamelessly, "Hey, a warrior needs his rest before a battle."

Eugeo sighed, but the smile didn't leave his face, "Sure sure... You go sleep, I guess I'll explore the place a bit."

Kirito just grinned as they left the armory, him headed for his room, while Eugeo walked in the other direction to explore the place.

(Linebreak)

Meanwhile, as Alice was walking to her room, she spotted her student, and the thirtieth knight greeted, "Eldrie."

The purple haired man blinked and he visibly brightened up. It was pretty obvious he had been looking for her.

The man smiled, "Lady Alice, I've been looking for you."

Alice raised an eyebrow, a small smile tugging her lips, "What do you need?"

Eldrie smiled, "Its been a while, do you want to enjoy some wine with me at the garden later?"

The blonde girl smiled at her protégé apologetically, "Oh, sorry, but I'm having dinner with Kirito and Eugeo later, you're welcome to join us of course."

Eldrie froze for a brief second, before he quickly smiled, "Ah, never mind, enjoy yourselves then."

Alice blinked before she nodded, "Oh, sure."

Eldrie nodded, "Well, I suppose I should get going then."

The blonde nodded, as her student turned to leave the floor for his own room, before she herself headed for her room.

With Eldrie, as he walked away, the man frowned as he felt a very uncomfortable feeling grow in his chest.

Soon, the man found himself staring out of a window, overlooking Centoria.

Then, a voice pulled the man out of his thoughts, "You seem troubled, Eldrie."

The purple haired man turned his head to see a tall man with long unruly grey hair, wearing silver armor.

Eldrie let out a breath as he greeted, "Siegfried."

The famed dragon slayer walked to stand beside the younger knight, "So, care to share what's on your mind?"

Eldrie frowned, but he kept silent.

After a short moment of silence, Siegfried spoke, "It is sometimes better to talk to someone about your problems, and it is very clear that you have some."

He glanced at Eldrie, before he turned, "It's fine if you don't want to talk, of course, but be careful not to let it affect your health."

Eldrie closed his eyes, before he sighed, "I... I am confused."

Siegfried stopped, before he turned back to face the window, "How so?"

The younger knight paused, organising his thoughts, unsure how to put them in words.

Siegfried seemed to notice this, and he guessed, "Is it about your defeat at Bercouli's student?"

Eldrie shook his head, "No, not exactly."

Siegfried raised an eyebrow, "Not exactly? Then it has something to do with him?"

The purple haired knight nodded, before he took a breath, "I... Ever since they, Kirito and Eugeo, appeared, Lady Alice has been fixated on them. For the past two days, I have only seen Lady Alice alone once, and we even missed our daily sparring matches!"

Siegfried stayed silent, allowing Eldrie to continue, "I don't know if its because of Kirito being the reincarnation of Lord Kazuto... But, for Lady Alice to suddenly feel attached to them, I feel... uncomfortable about this."

Siegfried considered Eldrie's words, before he nodded, "I see. From what you've told me, I believe this doesn't have anything to do with Kirito being Lord Kazuto's reincarnation."

Eldrie glanced at Siegfried, curious by what his senior knight meant.

The dragon slayer continued, "You don't have any problems with Kirito defeating you, yes?"

Eldrie nodded, and Siegfried continued, "Your main reason for feeling uncomfortable is because Alice has been spending time with her childhood friends more than you in the past two days."

Eldrie nodded again, and Siegfried spoke, "Then, the answer is simple. You are jealous."

The purple haired man stared at his senior in disbelief, "Jealous?! Me?!"

Siegfried nodded, "Yes, I will not pretend I understand Alice's relationship with Kirito and Eugeo, but from what I have heard from Mordred, the three of them grew up in the same village."

The dragon slayer looked at Eldrie in the eye, "As for you, ever since you entered our ranks, you have been by her side, or rather, she has been by yours."

A small smile appeared on Siegfried's face, teasing by nature, "I would say Alice suddenly having two childhood friends appear would earn your jealousy."

Eldrie opened his mouth to protest, but no words came out.

Siegfried chuckled, patting Eldrie on his shoulder, "Give it some time, Alice just wants to catch up with her friends, things will return to normal, possibly even better after we take down Chudelkin."

Eldrie nodded silently, before he continued watching the streets.

The dragon slayer chuckled again, before he turned, "Well, I don't really have that much experience with stuff like this, but if you want someone to talk to, I'm always here."

Eldrie stayed silent as the man left. He had a lot to think about.

After a short while, at a corner behind the walls, a very short and round man walked away, giggling disgustingly to himself.

(linebreak)

Meanwhile, with Eugeo, the young man wandered the cathedral, until he eventually reached the 50th floor.

The blonde soon came across a young girl standing by a cylindrical contraption that extended up to the ceiling, and he realized he had seen it as he walked down the floors.

Eugeo greeted, "Hi."

The girl stared at him blankly before she noticed his armor and smiled softly, "Hello, I've never seen you here before, are you a new Integrity Knight?"

Eugeo nodded, "I suppose."

He then reached out his hand, "Ah, my name is Eugeo, what's yours?"

The girl glanced at his hand, before she smiled and shook it, "Nice to meet you, Eugeo."

She let go of his hand, before she spoke, "As for my name, I suppose you can call me Lisa."

Eugeo smiled, nodding, before he looked up at the large object behind Lisa, "So, what is this?"

Lisa followed his gaze, and she smiled softly and turned back to Eugeo, "This is the elevator, by using the aerial elements, I can bring anyone to any floor between the 50th and the 80th floors."

Eugeo oh'd, "So, that's your job here?"

Lisa nodded, "Pretty much, yes."

The blonde looked at the elevator again, before he asked, a smile forming on his face, "Can I try?"

Lisa recognised the glint in his eyes, not unlike a child who found a new toy, and the girl smiled softly, "Of course."

Lisa then went and stood on the platform, as Eugeo followed suit.

The young girl then said, "Please stay on the platform and don't jump, okay?"

Eugeo nodded, standing behind the device, as Lisa started, "System Call: Generate Aerial Element. Burst Element."

Then, as soon as the chant finished, the device was filled with green energy, and Eugeo yelped slightly as the platform suddenly rose from the ground.

The blonde marvelled as they rose from floor to floor, "Woah."

Lisa merely smiled softly as she willed the elevator to rise, before she asked, "So, which floor do you want to go to?"

Eugeo blinked, "Eh?"

Lisa glanced at him, "I can send you to any floor between the 50th and 80th floor."

The blonde nodded, before he spoke, "Then, would it be fine if you bring me to the 60th floor?"

Lisa nodded, knowing that it was where some of the rooms for the Integrity Knights were, "Got it."

The girl then folded her ring finger and pinky finger, willing the wind elements to bring them to the 60th floor.

Soon, they reached the floor, and Lisa turned her head to Eugeo, "We're here."

The blonde nodded, getting off the elevator, "Thanks, it was fun."

Lisa smiled softly and nodded, "It is my job."

Eugeo smiled, "I'll come find you next time, alright?"

The girl just smiled and nodded, "I look forward to it."

Without another word, Lisa descended to the lower levels, leaving Eugeo alone.

Then, a voice caught Eugeo's attention, "A pleasant young girl, isn't she?"

Eugeo turned, and he was met with a man with pale blonde hair, wearing a set of silver armor lined with light blue.

The young blonde blinked, if he didn't knew better, he would have sworn he was looking an older and more mature version of himself.

The man had a small smile on his face, "It's nice to meet you, Eugeo, I am Gawain Synthesis Six."

Eugeo snapped out of his thoughts and nodded, "Y-yeah, nice to meet you."

Gawain chuckled, "Though, don't let Lisa's young appearance fool you, she's at least as old as the commander."

Eugeo blinked, he blinked again, "Wait, what?"

The older knight nodded, "Lisa has been here ever since the cathedral was built, operating the elevator for her entire life."

Eugeo oh'd, not really knowing what to say.

Gawain chuckled, "Don't let it bother you too much, you'll most probably be here with us for the next eternity after all."

Eugeo nodded, realizing the fact that he would officially become an Integrity Knight, hence become immortal.

The older blonde then turned, "Well, I suppose I won't impose on you any further, I'll see you later."

Seeing as there was nothing else, Eugeo headed back to his room.

(linebreak)

Later, at midnight, Bercouli, Fanatio, Gilgamesh, Artoria, Alice, Kirito and Eugeo were in the Great Library.

Quinella and Cardinal both sat at the table, while the others stood at attention.

The two goddesses regarded Kirito for a moment, before Cardinal spoke, "Okay, let's start."

But before she could continue, Bercouli spoke up, "Excuse me, Lady Cardinal, Lady Quinella, but before that, can you officially appoint Kirito and Eugeo as Integrity Knights?"

Quinella smiled and nodded, "Of course."

The old form of the goddess looked at Kirito and Eugeo and motioned them to come forward.

The two brothers stood in front of her, and Quinella held up her palm at Kirito and Eugeo's foreheads.

After a short moment, Kirito and Eugeo both glowed for a moment, before the glow died down.

Quinella nodded in satisfaction and stood back, "Its done."

Kirito and Eugeo both nodded, "Thank you."

Cardinal grinned, "Well, it used to require direct access to the soul and body, making it a very long process, but now all Quinella needs is a moment."

The knights all nodded, before Cardinal spoke again, "Alright, with that out of the way, let's start."

The knights all stood at attention, and Cardinal started, "First, I believe it's better to tell you how Chudelkin took away Quinella's powers."

The knights nodded, and Quinella started, "The previous method of appointing Integrity Knights, we call it 'synthesising'. It involved direct access to the soul and body. It usually requires consent from both sides, but if you utilise the Deep Freeze, it can cause the target to be frozen, and therefore vulnerable."

The old form of the goddess sighed, "Chudelkin utilised that, and he managed to take control over my soul through my avatar."

The knights all visibly grew enraged at that point, and Quinella continued, "As soon as I realised it, I managed to cut off myself from my avatar, but by then, Chudelkin had already taken control over my avatar, and also stripped me of almost all my powers."

Bercouli frowned, "Bastard..."

He then looked at the weakened form of Quinella, "So, how do we retake your powers?"

This time, Cardinal answered, "By using this."

The small form of the goddess held up a dagger, "This is actually a modified copy of the Rule Breaker from Gilgamesh's armory."

The older knights all immediately understood what she meant.

Artoria noticed the confused looks on Kirito, Eugeo and Alice's faces, and she explained, "The Rule Breaker, it is a dagger from Gilgamesh's armory, and it can nullify all sacred arts known to man."

The three younger knights all nodded in understanding, and Kirito asked, "So, we can use that and nullify the spell?"

Cardinal nodded, "Basically yes, but since the original only nullifies the arts casted, I had to modify a copy of it so that the energy in the avatar would return to Quinella."

Gilgamesh smirked, "Then that's easy, all we need is to just stab the dagger onto Lady Quinella's avatar, and everything will be fine."

Quinella nodded, "Basically yes, but better to be safe than sorry. We should expect Chudelkin to have something ready."

The knights all nodded, before Cardinal spoke, "In fact, as far as I know, Chudelkin does have a sacred art that transform his body into a massive flaming entity."

Kirito frowned, "So how do we deal with that?"

Bercouli chuckled, "Simple. We don't let him do it."

Kirito blinked several times, "Wait what?"

Alice looked at her friend, "We have no idea what that sacred art entails, apart from that it turns him into a huge fire entity, so the best way to stop it is to prevent it from happening at all."

Kirito oh'd and nodded, "Makes sense."

Cardinal smiled, "Well, it's not much, but basically that's all we have right now."

Eugeo nodded, "So we go find Chudelkin and Lady Quinella's avatar, stab the avatar with the dagger, and we win."

Quinella nodded, "Yes, but there is no need to rush. Time is on our side."

The older knights nodded in agreement, before Cardinal spoke, "I suppose that should be it for now."

The aspect of wisdom stood up, "We'll see you all tomorrow to further discuss the matter, and after that, we'll take down Chudelkin."

XXX

DONE. So this is more of a build up for the next chapter, which will be confronting Chudelkin.

After that, will be Vector's appearance, and we'll soon be seeing the Elemental Nations again.

So yeah, that's all for this chapter. Review please. I'll see y'all next time.