No one's POV

She flew from the northern end of the human realm to the farthest east. Eastavarieth was the most enigmatic of the four empires, and it was the first time Alice the Integrity Knight had ever visited it—as it was for

Amayori, who was born in the west.

A rushing river as blue as lapis rushed between strange, jutting rock formations. When the occasional town or village appeared on its banks, it was built not of the familiar stone as in the north, but mostly of wood.

Nearly all the people who looked up to the sky and pointed at her had black hair. Alice recalled that Vice Commander Fanatio, whom she'd never quite seen eye to eye with, was from this region.

Directly in front, Zora leaned back against her and stared mutely into the sky as she held the reins. His hair was black, too, so perhaps he was from this area—and maybe an encounter with the people below would even cause him to open up again. But sadly, she had to reach their destination as quickly as possible.

They'd been traveling for three days, setting up camp away from civilization and eating fish Amayori caught nearby and the dried fruit she'd brought along for the trip.

On the afternoon of the second day of the eleventh month, they reached the End Mountains, which looked no different from those in the far north, and a ravine that looked as though the gods themselves had split the range vertically in two.

Alice:...We can see it now, Zora.

Alice murmured, brushing the neck of her dragon, who had carried the load over their long journey. Now that most magical beasts had all but vanished from the world, dragons were the creatures with the highest natural life values, but even then, carrying two humans and three Divine Objects had to be a great burden. It seemed to have exhausted all the energy it had stored up from eating fish to its heart's content for half a year.

She whipped the reins, promising that she'd give her mount its favorite boiled mutton when they reached the camp. Amayori called back and beat its wings powerfully, showing no signs of fatigue.

The ravine looked like just a narrow crack from far away, but as they grew closer, its scale soon became apparent. By her eye, the span of the ravine was nearly a hundred mels. It was certainly wide enough for an army of orcs and ogres to march in standing abreast.

In the grassland surrounding the entrance to the ravine running straight through the rocky mountains, there was a massive camp made up of countless white tents. Smoke from campfires rose here and there, while soldiers engaged in training exercises. Even from the sky, she could see the glint of swinging swords and hear their shouts.

Morale wasn't as bad as she'd feared, but the total number of soldiers was still abysmally low. By a rough estimate, there couldn't be as many as three thousand in the camp. Meanwhile, the Dark Territory's invading army was at least fifty thousand. "Soldier" and "guard" were callings given to only a small fraction of the populace here, but beyond the mountains, everyone who was capable of fighting became a soldier.

It was impossible to imagine that Alice's presence alone was going to change anything. What kind of defensive strategy was Commander Bercouli envisioning...? As she considered this, Alice urged her dragon past the camp and toward the ravine, which was sinking into darkness.

Alice: I'm sorry, Amayori. Just a bit farther.

She said, and the dragon purred in response, just as the peaks passed in front of the dying light of Solus. As soon as they entered the ravine, her body was hit by a shiver-inducing cold. The stone walls on either side were so smooth and sheer that they could have been carved only by the gods. She couldn't find a single blade of grass, much less a living creature, below.

After a few minutes' flight at slow speed, the trailing mists gave way at last to a gargantuan structure.

Alice: Is this...the Eastern Gate...?

The towering gray gate was a good three hundred mels from bottom to top. It was shorter than the five-hundred-mel Central Cathedral but every bit as imposing in person.

Most stunning of all was that the two doors of the gate were carved from single slabs of rock, with no parts or fittings. It seemed that such a thing was impossible not just with human hands but even with sacred arts' ability to harness natural materials. Administrator's greatest creation was the Everlasting Walls that divided Centoria into four sections, but they were a series of walls, each one being far smaller than this great gate.

The gate had been placed here by the gods from the moment the world began. In order to separate the human realm from the land of darkness—and to lead them to this terrible tragedy some three hundred years later.

Alice: Stop, Amayori.

She commanded the dragon, staring up at the gate from a close distance. At about two hundred mels up, there was something written across the gray rock of the vast double doors in sacred script. She tried sounding it out.

Alice: De...stroy...at...the last...stage...

Alice read from one of the middle lines, but she did not know what the words meant.

Just as she considered this, a terrible sound of destruction filled the air, startling Alice and Amayori. She rubbed the dragon's neck to calm it down and saw that along the gate, where it had been perfectly smooth before, there was now a narrow crack like a static bolt of black lightning through its surface.

The fissure grew to a length of a few dozen mels before it stopped. A number of pieces of rock peeled off and disappeared into the depths of the ravine. She looked up and examined the massive gate once more. Then she noticed the web of small cracks and fissures over almost the entire surface of the flat rock.
Alice swung the reins and brought her flying mount as close as possible to the gate.

She reached out, hesitant, and traced the mark of Stacia in the air, then struck the surface of the rock. The purple-colored window that appeared listed the maximum and present life values of the Eastern Gate.

The number on the left was the largest of any that she had ever seen—and they were many—at over three million. But the value on the right was just 2,985, less than a thousandth of the total. Even as she stared at it in shock, the number dropped by one.

Sweat on her palms, Alice measured the time until it went down again. From there, she calculated how much time they had until it was totally depleted.

Alice:...Oh no...

She couldn't believe the answer she arrived at.

Alice: Five days... We only have five days left...?

The gate that had firmly separated the two worlds for over three centuries would crumble to the ground in just five days' time. Was it even possible?

She thought of Selka's radiant smile, the craggy features of Old Man Garitta's face, and the troubled look of her father, Gasfut. It was just days ago that she had driven back the attacking goblins and blocked the cave with ice. She believed this would leave Rulid at peace for the time being.

But if the gate crumbled in five days, and the defending force was unable to stop the invading army of darkness, those bloodthirsty monsters would tear through this land like a flood. Its waves would reach those distant northern lands, too, and swallow the village of Rulid.

Alice: I have to do...something...

She mumbled to herself, pulling on the reins without realizing what she was doing. Amayori turned away from the crumbling gate and slowly flapped its wings, gaining altitude. When they reached the top portion of the gate, at three hundred mels, she had the dragon hover again.

Beyond the gate there were ravines splitting the mountains, just as there were on this side. But beyond that were not blue sky and green grassland, but bloodred sky and Dark Territory soil that looked more like charred ash.

Alice made to look away from the hideous sight until something caught her eye. From what little she could see of the black earth, there were tiny, flickering flames.

She had Amayori gain altitude so she could look closely. It wasn't just one light. They were clustered irregularly, not spread evenly, and extended as far as she could see.

They were campfires.

It was a camp. The lead forces of the dark army were waiting in great number, just beyond their reach. Waiting for the moment that the gate fell, and they had a path into the human lands.

Alice: Five...days...

She mumbled again, voice hoarse. Then she turned the dragon around. If she kept staring at the sea of campfires, she was going to be consumed with fear and rush among them to fight on her own.

She knew that against simple goblin and orc foot soldiers, she could easily dispatch a hundred or two of them and return safely. But if they had ogre archers or a contingent of dark mages, it would not be nearly so simple.

Even an Integrity Knight with the might of a thousand was still just one person. She would not remain unharmed by ranged attacks from the rear, where sword techniques and sacred arts would not reach, and a sufficient number of small injuries would still eventually prove to be fatal. That was what Commander Bercouli had feared for so many years: the greatest weakness of the Integrity Knights and thus of humanity's protection itself.

Administrator, who had demanded that their power be concentrated into an elite group of individuals, was now dead, and the weapons and armor gathering dust in the cathedral had already been distributed to the impromptu defensive army. But the time they had remaining was far too short. If only they had ten thousand and a full year to prepare...

Alice sighed, cutting off that fruitless line of thought, and ordered Amayori into a descent.

(Timeskip)

The guardian force's camp had a large empty space left in the center. Based on the extra-large tents adjacent to it, this was clearly where the dragons were meant to land and take flight.

Amayori circled around as they descended, and before the beast's claws had even brushed the green, it was stretching its neck toward the tents and gurgling with excitement.

An emotional response came right away—that would be Takiguri, Amayori's brother. Once the dragon came to a stop, Alice picked up Zora, hopped down to the grass, and removed the heavy bags from the dragon's legs. Amayori promptly plodded toward the tent and began rubbing against the neck of the other dragon, who popped its head out from under the thick fabric.

Alice found herself smiling at the sight, then heard footsteps approaching from the other direction and hastily made her expression neutral. She straightened out the hem of her simple skirt and pulled her wind-bedraggled hair behind her head.

But before she even turned around, a familiar man's voice rang out across the landing area.

Eldrie: Lady Alice, my mentor! I always believed in you!

Sliding across the grass into her view was the Integrity Knight with whom she'd just shared a drink ten days ago, Eldrie Synthesis Thirty-One. Despite being in a camp, his wavy lilac hair and shining armor were both utterly spotless.

Alice:...You seem well.

Alice noted drily, which did not dissuade Eldrie from his state of bliss—but he froze in the act of saying something. He had noticed the black-haired youth Alice was supporting with her left arm. One cheek tensed, and he drew his head back in a show of disbelief.

Eldrie: You...brought him here? Why?

Eldrie groan. Alice arched her back to the best of her ability.

Alice: Of course I did. I swore an oath to protect him.

Eldrie: B-but...when the battle comes, we Integrity Knights must stand at the front line at all times. What will you do with him while you are exchanging blows with the enemy? You cannot bear him on your back, surely.

Alice: If necessary, I will.

Alice drew her foot back, trying to keep Zora's gaunt, limp body away from Eldrie's skeptical gaze. But other soldiers at rest and lower Integrity Knights were gathering in small groups around the landing area, glancing inquisitively at the way Alice and Zora stood together.

As a swell of murmurs rose around them, Eldrie issued a sharp rebuttal.

Eldrie: You mustn't, Mentor! If you'll permit my forwardness, heading into battle with so much extra weight will not only reduce your ability to fight, it will surely expose you to greater danger! In the coming battle, you will have to...

He paused, then gestured to the other soldiers in the area with a shining silver gauntlet.

Eldrie: You have a duty to lead them into combat! How can you choose not to make use of every last bit of your strength?!

He was right. But she couldn't just admit that it was so. Alice ground her teeth together, trying to find the right words to explain how both fighting for the realm and protecting Zora were equally important to her.

But at the same time, her disciple's impassioned argument startled her. Compared to their time in Central Cathedral, when Alice was teaching him to use the sword, he was clearly different now. At the time, Eldrie had practically worshipped Alice, and he'd never once talked back or argued with anything she told him.

The people of this world were given a secret seal in the right eye from the mysterious "God from beyond" that made them unable to disobey any order from the law or a higher being. As far as Alice knew, she and Eugeo, the late owner of the Blue Rose Sword, were the only ones to successfully break that hold. Even Administrator and Cardinal, who were practically gods themselves, had been unable to defy the seal.

Eldrie must still be under its influence. But though he didn't clearly disobey anything she said, he was no longer blindly obedient as he once was. He was thinking for himself and offering his own opinion.

And it was most likely Zora—and Eugeo—who had brought about this change in him.

The two swordsmen, proud despite being the world's greatest rebels, had found a way to shake Eldrie's soul in a powerful way through their momentary encounter.

Now that she considered it, her sister, Selka, back in Rulid also complained constantly about the stubbornness of the old-fashioned village rules and the ideas of the influential members of town. There were also the two female students who'd approached when Alice had taken Zora and Eugeo from North Centoria Imperial Swordcraft Academy. Young girls like them would never dare to hail an Integrity Knight.

Of course, Alice herself was part of that list.

Until she fought Zora and fell partway down the exterior of the cathedral, she had never held the slightest doubt about the structure of the world, the church's power, or the infallible holiness of its pontifex.

But when she was forced to accept a truce and work with him to climb the walls and escape their peril, Zora continually shook Alice with his words, his sword, and his blue eyes—until she was finally able to break through the seal in her eye...

Zora was like a hammer swung down to smash a world full of false harmony. With the power hidden in his soul, he made the world tremble and quake, and he had finally succeeded in smashing the huge old rusted nail at the center of it all named the Axiom Church. The price he paid was the lives of his friend Eugeo and the wise sage Cardinal—and even his own heart and mind...

Alice clutched the thin body she was supporting with her left arm. She stared directly back into Eldrie's eyes. She wanted to tell him. To say, You're only who you are now because you fought him. But he would not understand, of course. To the knighthood, Zora was still an unforgivable traitor and heretic.

Alice just stood there in silence. Eldrie had a face like he was suffering some kind of dull pain. He was about to say something further when the gathering crowd suddenly parted, as though a giant invisible fist pushed them apart. What emerged from its midst was a voice that was so nostalgic it nearly brought tears to Alice's eyes but also set her on a painful, nervous edge.

???: Don't get so worked up, Eldrie.

The young knight promptly straightened up. Alice looked away from him and turned to face the speaker. He wore a loose, eastern-style outfit that opened in front. A wide sash tied around his midsection at a low point. On his left hip was a simple longsword that had been thrust carelessly into his belt. And on both of his feet were odd wooden shoes.

Compared to the knights and soldiers around him, he was dressed very lightly. But the pressure that emanated from his perfectly chiseled body was thicker and heavier than any armor. The man rubbed at his short-cropped hair, a faded blue color that matched his clothes, and smirked.

Bercouli: Yo, little lady. I'm relieved to see you look better than I expected. Have your cheeks filled in a little bit?

Alice:...It has been too long, Uncle.

Alice said, doing her best to fight back tears. She saluted the world's oldest and most powerful swordsman— commander of the Integrity Knights, Bercouli Synthesis One.

In the six years she'd lived as an Integrity Knight, this was the one person whom Alice had opened her heart to, revered as a mentor, and considered a father figure. And he was also the only person—aside from Zora—whom she was certain she could never beat in a sword battle.

She couldn't let him see her cry now.

If Bercouli said that she couldn't leave Zora here, she would have to obey him. Of course, in her present state, Alice was not forced to obey his commands. But if she defied him in front of this crowd, it would threaten the order of the knighthood and the guardian army. With the final battle approaching in just five days, she couldn't afford even the tiniest scratch on Bercouli's ability to lead.

Bercouli gazed upon her—his all-seeing eyes full of understanding and a smile of simple kindness on his lips as he approached. He looked her straight in the eyes, then gave her a forceful nod.

Eldrie: Comman—

Eldrie was about to say something, but the commander silenced him with a look, then faced Zora where he hung in Alice's arms. His lips pursed. There were pale fires glowing in his piercing eyes. Bercouli sucked in a long, slow breath. Alice could sense the air around them getting colder.

Alice:...Uncle...

She whispered, barely audible. Bercouli was focusing his sword spirit. He was going to utilize an Incarnation technique taught only to Integrity Knights... something that surpassed even Incarnate Arms. The ability to move objects with the power of the heart—this was an Incarnate Sword.

He would infuse his blade with the power of concentrated will and unleash it. At times, that invisible blade could even deflect the actual blades of the enemy. The commander's Time-Splitting Sword, with its Perfect Weapon Control ability to cut into the future, was possible only because of the overwhelming power of his will.

Alice(mind): Is he going to kill Zora?

If he was literally planning to cut this problem in half, she could not allow it. She would have to draw her sword to protect Zora, if need be. Overwhelmed by the extreme power in Commander Bercouli's sword, the nearby soldiers, Eldrie, and even the dragons at the tent fell silent. With the air so heavy that breathing felt difficult, Alice worked her hardest to move the fingers of her right hand.

But before she could touch the hilt of her sword, Bercouli's lips moved, and she heard a voice that was more mental than spoken.

Bercouli: It's all right, young lady.

Alice:...?!

Alice held her breath. Then, without budging a muscle, Bercouli's eyes unleashed a fearsome flash of light. In the same moment, Zora body jerked and twitched in her arms. There was a sharp ting! and a silver flash in the air between Bercouli and Zora.

Alice(mind): What was that?!

Alice wondered, gasping with shock. But Bercouli was already wearing a broad smile. It was as though that display of ferocity had never happened.

Alice: U-Uncle...?

She stammered. But the commander merely rubbed his chin with his fingers like they had just finished a practice exercise.

Bercouli: Did you see that, young lady?

Alice: Yes. It was only for an instant, but I definitely saw the flash of a sword.

Bercouli: I launched an Incarnate Sword, or rather a dagger at that young man. If it had it, it would've sliced some skin off his cheek.

Alice: If it had...hit? Which means...

Bercouli: That's right—he stopped it. With his own willpower.

She couldn't help but crane her neck to glance at Zora, whom she was still cradling. But her hopes were dashed at once. The only thing in his half-open black
eyes was empty darkness. There was no expression on his face.

Alice(mind): But I felt his body twitch. I felt it.

She brushed his hair with her free hand and looked back to Bercouli. The commander just shook his head.

Bercouli: It doesn't look like the young man's mind is here. But he isn't dead. Listen. The boy wasn't protesting himself, but protecting you, little one. So he'll be back one day. That's what I think. Probably when you need him the most.

Alice had to work twice as hard as before to keep the tears from blurring her vision.

Alice(mind): Yes. He will come back. Zora is... Well, he's the greatest swordsman in the world. With his two swords, he defeated that half-godly being. Come back... not for me. For the sake of all the people who live in this world...

Then she couldn't take it anymore, and she clutched Zora tight in her arms. Over her back, the commander's understanding voice explained.

Bercouli: And that's why, Eldrie. Don't get hung up on the little things. We can look after one young fellow, easy.

Eldrie: B-but...

With admirable spirit, the newest of the Integrity Knights spoke his mind openly to the oldest.

Eldrie: I can see how even the slightest bit of increased strength might help. But in this situation...even if he returns to normal, I cannot see how a student with a sword will make any difference...

Bercouli: Are you kidding?

Bercouli asked. While his smile was warm, it also had the edge of a blade itself.

Bercouli: Have you forgotten? That boy's partner bested me in a fight. He beat Bercouli Synthesis One, commander of the Integrity Knights.

The air around them went abruptly silent.

Bercouli: That boy by the name of Eugeo was powerful... Unbelievably so. I even used the Perfect Control arts of the Time-Splitting Sword—and I still lost. Just the way that you lost and Deusolbert lost and Fanatio lost.

At last, Eldrie seemed to have lost his tongue. Of course he had—there couldn't be a swordsman who could defeat Bercouli in a one-on-one duel, not among the knighthood or in the Dark Territory beyond the gate. It was what everyone in the Axiom Church believed.

But in that sense, wasn't this a very dangerous thing to admit?

Commander Bercouli had put together this rushed, impromptu defensive army on the strength of his reputation as the greatest warrior alive. But by telling everyone about Eugeo, a swordsman who had defeated him—and claiming that Zora was Eugeo's equal in skill... Alice was just regaining the strength to look at him again when Bercouli's head snapped up toward the sky.

Alice: U-Uncle...?

She prompted. His reply changed the subject in the most unexpected of ways.

Bercouli: Very far away, I sensed a swell in the spirit of someone's blade before it disappeared a moment later...Someone I know has just died...

(Timeskip)

Alice looked around the tent that had been assigned to her, and she sighed. The simple bed was neatly turned down, and the sheepskin leather on the floor was brand-new. Even the air inside smelled of sunflowers. That was all well and good, but it was clear at a glance that this tent had not been hastily arranged for her after her arrival. Commander Bercouli had prepared for her presence and ordered an extra knight's tent in advance.

Perhaps she should have taken it as a sign of trust, but knowing what the commander was like, it was hard not to feel like he could read her mind and actions like a book.

No—that couldn't be entirely true. Even the commander hadn't seemed to guess in advance that Alice would be bringing Zora along. There was only one bed in the tent.

Zora: Aahh... Aah...
She brushed Zora's back, leading him over to the bed to sit down. Instantly, the young man was moaning, trying to reach out with his left hand.

Alice: All right. Wait a moment, okay?

She hurried back to the pack she'd set down by the entrance and pulled out two swords, one black and one white. Then she went back and laid them across his lap. Zora put his arm around the swords and became quiet.

Alice sat next to him and thought as she removed her boots.

She'd told Eldrie that if necessary, she would fight with Zora strapped to her back, but if it actually came to that, it would be difficult to do. Zora alone was scrawny enough, but the weight of both the Night-Sky Blade and the Blue Rose Sword would limit her mobility in battle.

She could leave him on Amayori's saddle, but there were dark knights on the other side who hunted dragons, so air battles were likely. She wanted to keep her mount's burden as low as possible.

Sadly, the most realistic option at the moment was to leave Zora in the care of someone back in the supply train during the battle. The problem was whether she could find someone trustworthy enough in time.

The Integrity Knights that she knew were, of course, all going to be in the midst of the fighting, and she didn't know a single soldier among the common people. She also wasn't in the state of mind to ask Eldrie to point her to a suitable person.

Alice: Zora...

Alice stared at him right in the face and brought her hands up to cup his cheeks. She was not going to treat him like a burden. If he could just get his old self back, he would be the best possible protector of the realm that anyone could ask for. She had brought him here to the brink of the battle because she thought there might be a chance it would be the spark that healed his mind.

Commander Bercouli claimed that Zora had deflected the Incarnate Sword he'd hurled. Even in his current state, he had tried to protect Alice, supposedly. Should she believe that?

When they first met at Swordcraft Academy, they were apprehender and criminal. When they met again on the eightieth floor of the cathedral, they were executioner and rebel. Even in the moment they traded their final words on the top floor, the most favorable view one could take of them said they were potential enemies in the midst of a truce.

Alice(mind): If he hasn't had his mind ever since that battle, how is it that he tried to protect me from Uncle's sword technique? Tell me...what do you think of me?

Her question bounced right off Zora's lightless eyes and back to her.

Alice(mind): What do I think of Zora?

If there was any single word she'd felt about Zora in the cathedral, it would probably be detestable. Before and since, no one else had ever called Alice Synthesis Thirty an idiot so many times.

But the way Zora had looked in the final battle, as he'd bravely stood up to the all-powerful Administrator...

The sight of the swordsman—black and white cloak flapping in the buffeting wind, a sword in each hand—had made Alice's heart tremble. It was a powerful image, one that pierced her chest with sadness.

She still felt it in her chest, a bittersweet throbbing.

But she was afraid to learn the reason for that and thus kept her heart shut tight.

Alice(mind): I mean, I am only a creation. A puppet created to fight, occupying the body of Alice Zuberg. I am not allowed the luxury of possessing any emotions aside from the will to battle. But what if...? What if my voice isn't reaching you because I'm holding myself back? If I unleashed the Incarnation of all my being, would you respond in kind?

Alice sucked in as much air as her lungs could bear and held it. Zora's cheeks were cold in her hands. No—it was her palms that were hot. She drew his cheeks closer and stared into those black eyes right in front of her. Dark as midnight. But somewhere in the distance, she felt she could make out tiny, blinking stars. She stared at those stars, getting closer, closer...

At the abrupt tinkle of a small bell, Alice leaped back into a standing position. She looked around the tent in a panic, but no one else was there. Finally, she realized that it was the bell on a string attached to the entrance flap of the tent.

There was a visitor. Alice cleared her throat, straightened her hair, and crossed the tent. It was probably just Eldrie coming to complain again. She wasn't going to kick out Zora, no matter what he said, and she was going to let him know that.

Alice stuck her head through the thin inside flap of the doubled entrance curtain, then pushed aside the heavy fur exterior to the outside. Her half-opened lips froze in place.

Standing before her was not an Integrity Knight or even an ordinary soldier. She couldn't help but stare.

Tiese: Um...

The little visitor said, voice timid, holding up a covered pot with both hands.

Tiese: W-We've brought your supper, Miss Knight.

Alice:...Oh, I see.

Alice glanced at the sky. Somehow the red of the sunset was already retreating toward the western horizon.

Alice: Thank you...for bringing it to me. I appreciate it.

She took the pot and gave the visitor a proper examination from head to toe. She was still just a girl, maybe fifteen or sixteen years old. Her hair was a brilliant red color and hung to just below the shoulder. Her large eyes were a similar reddish-brown color, which, combined with the pale color of her skin and thin bridge of her nose, indicated she was from the northern empire.

The girl wore light armor, suggesting she was part of the defensive army, at least, but the gray jacket and skirt underneath it looked more like some
school uniform.

Alice(mind): A poor child, here on the battlefield.

Alice thought at first—but then she blinked in surprise. She recognized the girl's face. But while she'd been stationed at Central Cathedral, Alice had almost never had any contact with ordinary people. Just then, a second girl bashfully popped out from behind the back of the first.

Ronie: Um...w-we brought bread and something to drink.

This girl had dark-brown hair that was nearly black and deep-blue eyes. Her voice was barely audible. Alice accepted the basket she offered, trying to hold back a smile.

Alice: You don't have to be afraid. I won't bite.

But just then, Alice's memory jogged itself. She recognized that nervous voice. These were the girls who—

Alice: Pardon me...are you two...from North Centoria Imperial Swordcraft Academy...?

For just a moment, the nervous faces of the two girls relaxed, but then the duo hastily straightened up and snapped into a salute.

Tiese: Y-yes, Miss! I...I am Primary Trainee Tiese Schtrinen of the Human Guardian Army, Supply Corps!

Ronie: P-Primary Trainee Ronie Arabel, of the same!

Alice returned the salute out of habit and realized that her hunch was correct. They were the ones who had rushed up when she was taking Zora and Eugeo away from the school and requested permission to say their good- byes.

Just because the guardian army was shorthanded didn't mean they were about to conscript students. These two must have enlisted of their own accord and traveled from the familiar city out to this dangerous place of battle.

Alice(mind): The girls were still so young. Why would they do this...?

Alice stared at the two, pot in her right hand and basket in her left. The brown-haired girl named Ronie slipped behind the red-haired girl named Tiese's back to hide again. Tiese hunched up a bit smaller herself, but soon, she decided to go for broke and opened her mouth to speak.

Tiese: I...uh...I'm well aware that...this is, uh...a most inappropriate and impertinent matter to inquire about...

Alice had to stifle a groan at her awkwardly grandiose vocabulary. Instead, she put on as understanding a smile as she could and interrupted.

Alice: Listen, you don't have to try to be so formal. Here in this camp, I'm just one more warrior to help protect the realm. Call me Alice, Tiese... and Ronie.

Tiese looked stunned by this, as did Ronie when she poked her head out from behind her companion again.

Alice:...Wh-what's the matter?

Tiese: O-Oh, it's nothing. It's just that you seem so different from when we met at the Academy.

Alice: Oh...did I?

Alice asked. She couldn't tell for herself, but perhaps the six months she'd spent in Rulid had changed her somehow. The commander had said some kind of nonsense about her cheeks filling out, after all.

On further reflection, perhaps there were some times that she was a little too excited about Selka's cooking and overate a bit...but surely it wasn't enough to change her appearance...

Cautious not to let her doubt show, Alice had to favor them with a friendly smile.

Alice: So...is there something you want?

Tiese: Oh...uh, y-yes.

Tiese said, a bit less nervous than before, perhaps. She bit her lip briefly.

Tiese: Um, Miss Kni—er, Miss Alice, we heard that when you arrived on your dragon... you were with a young man with black hair...

Ronie: And we were wondering if it was someone we know...

Alice: Oh...I see. Yes, of course.

Alice nodded, understanding their reason for being here at last.

Alice: You two were good friends with Zora at school, then...

The moment the words were out of her mouth, the two girls' faces lit up. Ronie's blue eyes even started brimming with tears.

Ronie: It...it really was Zora-senpai...

She whispered. Tiese took her hand and said, voice full of hope,

Tiese: Then...is Eugeo-senpai also...?!

Alice sucked in a sharp breath at the mention of that name.

They didn't know. They didn't know about the fierce battle half a year ago at the cathedral—or the outcome of it. They couldn't have known. Everything surrounding the pontifex's death had been kept a secret from all but the Integrity Knights.

Alice's stunned silence left the two girls confused. She looked into Tiese's and Ronie's eyes, back and forth, then closed her own.

She could not hide the truth from them.

They had a right to know everything. In fact, they had probably come all this way and joined the guardian army just for the hope of seeing Kirito and Eugeo again... She steeled herself and opened her mouth.

Alice: This might be...too harsh for you to bear. But I have faith that if you learned from Zora and Eugeo, you will be able to endure it.

She took a step back, lifted up the pelt flap, and beckoned the girls into the tent.

Counter to Alice's faint hopes, Zora did not display any reaction whatsoever to the sight of Tiese and Ronie. She stood at the tent's wall, hiding her disappointment, and watched the tragic sight play out.

Ronie knelt in front of Zora, who sat mutely on the bed, and held his left hand in both of hers, allowing the tears to fall freely down her cheeks. But even more painful was Tiese, who slumped onto the leather mat on the floor, staring at the Blue Rose Sword. Her face was as white as paper, and she hadn't moved the tiniest bit since Alice had told her the news of Eugeo's death. She just gazed at the broken sword in silence.

Alice herself had barely had the chance to exchange any words with the young man named Eugeo. They had been together only while she took him from the school to the prison, when she fought him and Zora on the eightieth floor, and when they fought on the same side against Administrator.

She had boundless respect for him, not only for winning against Commander Bercouli but also for turning his own body into a sword to destroy the Sword Golem and cut off the pontifex's arm. But most of what she knew about Eugeo came from what Selka told her from memory.

According to her, Eugeo was a quiet but thoughtful boy, who was often dragged out on adventures by his childhood friend Alice Zuberg. Given his personality, it was no wonder he made such a good partner to Zora.

Zora and Eugeo must have caused all sorts of trouble at the academy. Tiese and Ronie would have found them fascinating, and the boys would have influenced the girls in a huge way. Just as they had done to Alice.

Alice(mind): So please, understand and accept your sadness. Zora and Eugeo fought, hurt, and lost heart and life to protect things they cared very deeply about.

Alice silently willed as she watched the two. The people of the four empires, when faced with a mental shock like overwhelming terror or grief, had a tendency to falter and grow mentally ill. The recent attack on Rulid Village had left several villagers bedridden, even though they had no physical injuries.

Tiese must have loved Eugeo.

To lose a loved one at that young age must be a terrible shock, one hard to withstand. Alice watched as Tiese's hand twitched and began to creep toward the Blue Rose Sword bit by bit.

Alice felt her hackles rise. The Blue Rose Sword, though broken in half, was still a Divine Object of the highest caliber. Tiese couldn't possibly use it, but such deep grief and desperation could bring forth unexpected power at times. She couldn't predict what might happen.

Tiese's awkward, outstretched fingers finally made contact with the pale- blue weapon. She touched not the edge of the blade itself, but the smooth, polished flat.

And just then, the broken sword began to glow, faintly but surely, overcoming the dim-red light of the sunset through the skylight of the tent. At the same moment, Tiese's body twitched. Ronie sensed something and turned to look at her friend. In the tense silence, clear drops formed on Tiese's eyelashes and silently fell to the floor.

Tiese:...I just...

She whispered through pale lips...

Tiese:...heard...Eugeo-senpai's voice... saying... "Don't cry... I'll always...be...here..."

The tears continued to fall, one after the other after the other, until Tiese hunched over the sword at last and began to sob violently, like a young child. Ronie had her face pressed into Zora's knees, bawling.

Alice felt her own eyes growing hot at the painful but pure display before her, and a part of her wondered whether this was something that had really happened. She hadn't heard Eugeo's voice, but the sword had indeed glowed for a brief moment. So she couldn't claim that whatever Tiese had heard had been in her imagination.

Could the Blue Rose Sword have something like Eugeo's soul still within it...?

When Alice activated Perfect Weapon Control, she felt a sensation like her mind becoming one with the Osmanthus Blade. And in Eugeo's case, he'd actually fused his own body with the Blue Rose Sword—during which he'd suffered a fatal injury.

So perhaps it was possible that, in the remaining shard of the sword, some of its owner's will still lingered. But Tiese had said that Eugeo had called out to her. So what if it was not just a soulless echo in the sword, but a real will —even Incarnation?

Was it an illusion brought about by her love? Or...?

It was so frustrating. Zora would probably be able to get to the bottom of the phenomenon. He'd fallen into this world from the outside—from the mysterious place where the gods dwelled.

On the surface of her thoughts, above the swirling fray, one term rose to the top like a bubble and burst into being.

Alice(mind): World's End Altar.

At that place with the unfamiliar name, there would likely be a door to the outside of the world.

If she could reach it, would all the mysteries be thawed in an instant? Could she bring back Zora missing soul? But the altar was outside the Eastern Gate and far to the south, they said. It was a distant place, even in the Dark Territory ruled by the tribes of darkness.

If she was going to go there, she'd need to break through the army outside the gate, rather than defend against its invasion. And even if she succeeded, she'd have to abandon the defensive mission and head south. As an Integrity Knight with phenomenal power, Alice had a duty to protect the human realm.

What if she gave herself up to draw the enemy's attention and headed for the altar, pulling them away from the gate with her? On the other hand, the Dark Territory had been dreaming of invading for hundreds of years. There couldn't be anything more tempting to them than to rush inside...

No, if she was going to travel to that altar at the end of the world, she would need to utterly destroy the forces of darkness first.

Alice shut her eyes when she arrived at the conclusion. Obliteration was an admirable goal, but at present, they would have difficulty just pushing back the first line of enemy troops. Yet, it had to be done if she was going to protect Tiese and Ronie—and Zora.

She exhaled, thought for several moments, then approached the crying girls.

(Timeskip)

The last rays of Solus had vanished to the west long ago, but the sliver of sky over the Dark Territory visible beyond the Eastern Gate was still stubbornly, eerily bloodred.

In the center of the grassy clearing the Human Guardian Army used for dragons to take off and land during the day, there was a pure-white enclosure that seemed designed to draw the eye away from that baleful red color. Just before the fence, under the proud flag of the Axiom Church, a group of about thirty Integrity Knights and army captains had their heads together, faces solemn.

Alice came to a stop, startled to notice that the knights and soldiers were not separated into distinct groups. A knight wearing shining silver armor and a military captain with less attractive but still effective steel plate stood drinking from the same pitcher of siral water, deep in discussion. From what she could hear from listening in, they had completely dispensed with any formalities that would have bogged down the conversation.

Bercouli: Pretty good for a hastily assembled force, don't you think, little lady?

Said a deep voice at her side, drawing her attention. Commander Bercouli, hands thrust into the waist of his eastern-style clothing, shook his head to stop her from saluting.

Bercouli: I decided that all that tedious saluting and protocol was a waste of time for this army. Fortunately, the Taboo Index doesn't have an entry that says 'Normal folks must ensure that a knight is properly mollified before they speak to them.'

Alice: I...see. That is all well and good, but aside from that.

Alice prompted, looking back to the military discussion.

Alice: where are the other Integrity Knights? From what I can see, there are only ten or so of them here.

Bercouli: Sadly, that's about all of them.

Alice: Wh-what?!

Alice yelped, then covered her mouth with her hand. She looked up at the commander, aghast.

Alice: You...can't be serious. There should be thirty-one members of the knighthood, including me.

It was easy to remember, because the latest knight was Eldrie, who was designated Synthesis Thirty-One. Bercouli sighed in acknowledgment and lowered his voice to explain.

Bercouli: I'm sure you know that Prime Senator Chudelkin performed 'tune-ups' on any knight who was about to suffer from memory issues. When he died, there were seven knights undergoing retuning in the senate. None of them has awakened as of yet.

Alice:...!

Her eyes bulged. Bercouli looked away from her uncomfortably. He continued.

Bercouli: Only Chudelkin and the pontifex knew how to perform the art of retuning. Now that they are dead, we can't bring those seven back without working to decipher the command, and we don't have the time we need for that. There was just one knight who was in simple cryosleep there, not undergoing retuning, and we managed to get them awake, but...

She sensed the awkwardness in his tone, so she asked.

Alie: And who was that?

Bercouli:...Sheyta the Silent.

Alice:...!

It was a name Alice knew from a number of stories, but she'd never actually met the knight in person. She held her breath, however, because they were terrible stories, indeed. Bercouli just cleared his throat to suggest they could talk about that later and continued discussing numbers.

Bercouli: Ultimately...there are twenty-four Integrity Knights awake at the moment. Four of them are managing things back at the cathedral in Centoria, and another four are patrolling the End Mountains for safety. That leaves us with sixteen. That's the maximum we can have at this crucial line of defense. That includes you and me, of course.

Alice: Sixteen...

She murmured, biting her lip not to include the word only. And once she studied the lineup that was present, she realized that the majority of the fourteen here were lower knights without divine weapons— and thus without Perfect Weapon Control arts. They were still stout warriors who could kill a few hundred goblins in a battle, but they did not have the kind of overwhelming power that could alter the course of battle in an instant.

Bercouli filled in the silence by changing the subject.

Bercouli: By the way, about the question of what to do with the young man...I could have the rear guard take—

Alice: No...it will be fine...

She said, responding to his awkward offer with a smile.

Alice: There are volunteers who were his pages at the training academy... Once the battle starts, I will leave his care to them.

Bercouli: Aaah, that's good to hear. So...did the fellow show any response when meeting someone from his past?

Her smile vanished. She shook her head. Bercouli exhaled and grunted in acknowledgment.

Bercouli: I see. Just between you and me... I can't help but get the feeling that he's the very person who will determine the course of the coming war...

Alice was stunned to hear that.

Bercouli: Even if he had help from his partner and you, defeating the Prime Senator and Pontifex is an incredible feat. I'm not sure if I'd be a match for the sheer intensity of his willpower.

Alice:...I didn't think it was so remarkable...

She had no intention whatsoever of doubting Zora's strength at this point, but Commander Bercouli's Incarnation was an ability he'd spent over two centuries honing. And Zora was just a student, not yet a full adult. If anything, Incarnation should be the one category in which he was absolutely unable to match the commander, regardless of his technique and stamina. But Bercouli was certain in his assessment.

Bercouli: When I struck him with my Incarnate Sword, and he struck back, I could feel it. That boy's got just as much experience with true battle as I do, if not more.

Alice: True battle...? What do you mean...?

Bercouli: Just what it sounds like. The trading of life.

Now, this she could not believe. The people of the human lands were protected—or perhaps imprisoned—by the Taboo Index and Basic Imperial Laws. Duels with wooden swords were common, but it was typical for one to go from birth to death by old age without ever once experiencing a true battle to the death with naked steel.

The only exception was for the Integrity Knights, who did fight against goblins and dark knights attempting to breach the End Mountains. But these events happened only once or twice over the course of a long campaign, and the Integrity Knight was inevitably far superior to the other side, so it was hard to call that a real battle of life and death.

Bercouli: The Taboo Index prohibits any battle to the death. So where did that boy gain that kind of experience?

In that sense, the one person with the most bountiful battle experience would be Bercouli himself, who had been fighting the monsters of darkness since the knighthood was at its smallest. Apparently, soon after he had been made an Integrity Knight, he even lost to a dark knight at the time—hard as it was to believe now—and had to flee for his life.

And somehow, Zora had more experience with fighting for his life than Bercouli?

If that was even possible, then it was not experience that came from this world.

His real home was in the "outside world." But that was also the place where the gods who truly created the Underworld lived. True battle? Who would he have fought for his life...?

Alice wasn't sure how to process all this information. Ultimately, she had to make a decision for herself: She would tell Bercouli everything. About the existence of the outside world—and the World's End Altar that led to it.

Alice: Uncle...

She said hesitantly, choosing her words carefully...

Alice: The truth is... during the battle against the pontifex...

But she didn't get any further because a sharp voice interrupted over Bercouli's shoulder.

Fanatio: It's time, Commander.

She started and looked toward the owner of the voice. It was an Integrity Knight, dressed in beautiful light-purple full armor that shone even in the twilight, with a silver rapier on her left hip. The moment she saw the full-face helmet adorned with wings like a bird of prey, Alice's instinctual emotion was...

Alice: Ugh.

It was probably the one person in the world whom Alice got along with least: the vice commander and second of all Integrity Knights, Fanatio Synthesis Two.

Alice: Lady Fanatio.

On instinct, Alice made the knight's salute of a right fist across the breast and a left hand on the sword hilt, doing her best not to let her emotions show on her face. Fanatio made the same gesture, her armor clanking. But while Alice stood up straight, feet slightly apart, Fanatio placed her weight on her right foot and dropped her left shoulder in an affected way.

This is the exact sort of thing that drives me mad about her, Alice secretly grumbled, lowering her arm. Perhaps she thought that her imposing helmet and tone of voice hid it, but to a member of the same sex, it was clear that Fanatio couldn't help but exhibit a flowery femininity. Having been taken to the cathedral at a young age, Alice had never successfully learned such a skill.

On the fiftieth floor of Central Cathedral, Vice Commander Fanatio fought Zora and Eugeo and suffered nearly fatal wounds when Zora's Perfect Weapon Control hit her directly. But despite the great effort it took him to win, Zora used healing arts on Fanatio and then used some mysterious ability to teleport her away from the place, according to one of the lower knights who'd been present.

It did sound like something Zora would do, but she couldn't help but be unnerved by it.

For one thing, Fanatio seemed to be utterly devoted to Commander Bercouli, and yet, she had four attendant knights who were clearly smitten with her. Didn't she pity the ones who admired her so much but would never be able to even touch her? She could at least show them her face, rather than hiding it at all times with that helmet.

So it was to Alice's great surprise, during Alice's secret griping about the helmet, that Fanatio actually reached up and clasped the sides of it with her hands. She clicked the fasteners to undo them and easily lifted off the light- purple piece of armor. In the firelight, her smooth black hair shone like spun silk.

The only times Alice had ever seen Fanatio's face at the cathedral were when they encountered each other in the great bath by coincidence. As far as Alice could remember, this was the first time she'd ever seen the vice commander remove her helmet out in the open.

Compared to before, her beautiful looks seemed somewhat softer, and upon closer examination, Alice understood why. Her plump lips were actually colored in, albeit subtly.

Alice(mind): The woman who tried so hard to hide that she was a woman was... wearing makeup?

Fanatio took the occasion to flash the stunned Alice a warm smile.

Fanatio: It's a joy to see you again, Alice. I'm ever so glad to see you well.

Alice:...

Alice(mind): A joy? Ever so glad? She sound so feminine.

That added another three seconds to Alice's stunned silence before she recovered enough to return the greeting.

Alice: I...it's been a while, Vice Commander.

Fanatio: Please, call me Fanatio. By the way, Alice, I couldn't help but overhear... Did you bring that black-haired boy here with you?

The question was framed innocently, but it replaced Alice's surprise with caution instead. It was Zora and Cardinal who'd healed Fanatio's injuries, but she might not be aware of that. It was possible that she still harbored hatred for the boy who'd bested her in combat.

Alice: I...I did.

Alice replied. The vice commander deepened her bewitching smile and nodded.

Fanatio: I see. Then could I see him briefly after the war council?

Alice:...Why do you ask, Fanatio?

Fanatio: Don't give me that look. I'm not going to attack him at this point.

Fanatio said, her smile turning faintly sour. She shrugged.

Fanatio: I just want to thank him. I understand that he helped heal me when I was mortally wounded.

Alice:...So you knew. But I don't think you need to thank Zora. I've heard that it was actually a person named Cardinal, the previous pontifex, who saved your life. And sadly...she passed away in the battle half a year ago.

Alice explained, feeling her hackles lower a bit. Fanatio gazed into the sky.

Fanatio: Yes...I faintly recall it. I'd never felt such warm and powerful healing before that. But it was Zora who sent me to her...and there is one other thing I wish to thank him for.

Alice: Other thing...?

Fanatio: Yes. For fighting and defeating me.

Alice(mind):...Maybe she does mean to attack him?

Alice wondered again, backing up half a step. But Fanatio only shook her head, her expression earnest.

Fanatio: It is my honest wish. For all the many years I have lived as an Integrity Knight, he was the only man who ever truly fought his hardest against me after learning that I was a woman.

Alice: Huh...? What do you...mean by...?

Fanatio: In the past, I did not have this helmet. I fought with my face exposed, as you do. But one day, I came to understand that the male knights who fought me in mock battles, and even the dark knights I faced in true combat, had just the tiniest falter in their actions. To be pitied in combat for my sex is more humiliating than any defeat in the dust.

But surely that was an unavoidable thing. Very few men could completely ignore the potent allure of Fanatio's looks. It wasn't until she set up in the cabin outside Rulid that Alice learned that almost no women received a calling that involved taking up the sword. The only exceptions were the daughters of noble or landowning families. Ordinary women were prevented from choosing any life for themselves other than as wives, homemakers, and mothers.

If it was this old-fashioned custom that bound men's hearts just as the Taboo Index did, it was an ironic thing indeed. The assumption that women were meant to be protected by men caused their abilities to weaken in the presence of her radiant beauty. If the knights in the Dark Territory had wives and children of their own, they would be no exception. At least the goblins and orcs, who had completely different appearances, were exempt from this belief.

But Alice, a fellow female knight, had never noticed or cared if male knights showed her favor or weakness. She had confidence that whether her opponent went easy or tried his best, she would be the victor, regardless.

Perhaps your anger is simply proof that you cannot move past your status as a woman, Alice thought right as Fanatio said something to the same effect.

Fanatio: I used this helmet to hide my face and learned consecutive sword craft techniques to keep foes away from close range. But that was because I myself was too obsessed with my gender. Not only did that boy recognize it immediately, he attacked me with all of his ability. I used every battle technique and art that I knew in the fight, and I lost. When I came to, thanks to Cardinal, that petty obsession of mine was simply gone... The entire time, the whole point was that I should be strong enough that no opponent would dare to go easy on me. Is it really so strange that I would want to thank the boy who showed me this simple truth and made sure I lived to understand it?

At the end of that impassioned speech, Fanatio put on a little smirk and grinned.

Fanatio: And I must admit... I'm a bit chagrined that he never sensed any femininity from my bare face. I was thinking that I might try a few things to see if he wakes up from his fugue.

Alice: Wha—?

Alice(mind): What kind of nonsense...?

If that actually worked on Zora, everything she'd done would feel so empty and pointless. And when it came to Zora, she couldn't completely rule out that possibility. Alice did not bother to hide the stern furrow in her brow.

Alice: I appreciate your sentiment, but he is currently resting in the tent. Do not worry; I will relate your feelings to him later.

Fanatio: Oh my...

Said the vice commander, her eyelid twitching.

Fanatio: I need your permission to visit him? When you sought an audience with the commander at the cathedral while he was on duty, I don't recall ever trying to stop you for personal reasons.

Alice: That is because your permission is unnecessary for me to meet with him. And really, now that I think about it, if you wanted a man to beat you senseless, you always could have asked Uncle to do it.

Fanatio: Oh, there's no reason for that. He's the strongest swordsman in the world, so of course he goes easy on everyone. He even showed mercy to the dark general.

Alice: Oh, did he? When we trained together, Uncle always worked himself into a heavy sweat out of true exertion.

Fanatio:...Is that true, my lord?!

Alice: Uncle, if you didn't always pamper her...

Both of the women turned to the side—but the commander was not there. Where Bercouli had stood just minutes before, there was now merely a pile of dried grass.

Bercouli: Hey! It's time to Star the war council.

(Timeskip)

When the conference began at six o'clock, it was under rather tense circumstances, owing to the frosty air between the master of ceremonies, Vice Commander Fanatio Synthesis Two, and the newly arrived Alice Synthesis Thirty. Alice completed a brief introduction and plopped into one of the chairs in the front row.

Eldrie:...Lady Alice.

Eldrie hesitantly reached over with a glass of siral water, which she snatched from his hands. She drained the cold sweet-and-sour liquid in one go. After a long, deep breath, she managed to shift to a different mental state.

Alice(mind): Now that I get a good look...

There really were too few higher Integrity Knights with Divine Object weapons. The ones she knew and recognized were Commander Bercouli with his Time-Splitting Sword, Fanatio with her Heaven-Piercing Blade, Eldrie with the Frostscale Whip, and Deusolbert with the Conflagration Bow.

There were also Sheyta Synthesis Twelve, known also as Sheyta the Silent, and a very young boy knight named Renly Synthesis Twenty-Seven, both of whom had divine weapons, but she had hardly ever met them before and didn't know what they were capable of. At any rate, including Alice and her Osmanthus Blade, that was seven higher Integrity Knights in total.

The other nine, including the Four Whirling Blades who served under Fanatio, were lower knights without Divine Objects. And that included the infamous problem children, the apprentice girls whom even Bercouli had trouble managing—Linel Synthesis Twenty-Eight and Fizel Synthesis Twenty-Nine. They were seated obediently at the end of the row, but who knew whether they would behave and join the battle when it arrived.

That made sixteen in total, which was the grand sum of Integrity Knight power that they could actually apply to the ultimate line of defense.

Meanwhile, about thirty officers from the Human Guardian Army were also seated in attendance. Their morale didn't seem poor, but even at a glance, the difference in power between them and the knights was clear. Even one of the lower knights could take on all thirty of them in a consecutive match and win with ease...

Fanatio: We've considered all potential strategies over the last four months.

Fanatio said all of a sudden, pulling Alice back to the purpose of the meeting.

Fanatio: And the first conclusion is that with our current status, it will be very difficult to push back an all-out attack from the enemy, and if we are surrounded, we will not stand a chance of winning.

Using the long, slim scabbard of the Heaven-Piercing Blade as a pointer, Fanatio tapped a point on the strategic map set up at the back of the conference area.

Fanatio: As you can see, for ten kilors in all directions on this side of the End Mountains, it is nothing but grassland and rocks. If we get pushed back this far, their tens of thousands will surround us and defeat us. Therefore, we will have to maintain the fight in the narrow ravine to the Eastern Gate—a hundred mels wide and a thousand mels long. We'll set up a long, deep formation here to absorb the enemy's rush and grind them down. That will be the basic thrust of our strategy. Does anyone have any thoughts about this so far?

Eldrie was the first to raise his hand. He got to his feet, lilac-purple hair waving, and kept his usual flowery formality to a minimum.

Eldrie: If the enemy were only made up of infantry like goblins and orcs, fifty or a hundred thousand would be no matter. But they know that as well. They have units of ogres with powerful war bows and even more dangerous dark mages. How will we counteract the long-range attacks that will come from the rear of the infantry?

Fanatio: It is a dangerous gamble, I will admit...

Fanatio said, pausing and looking to Alice. She straightened up and waited for the rest of the answer.

Fanatio: But the sunlight does not reach the floor of that ravine, even in midday, and there is not a blade of grass on the ground. In other words, the sacred power there is weak. If we can consume all of it before the battle, the enemy should be unable to utilize their powerful attack arts.

This bold idea brought a murmur to the knights and military officers.

Fanatio: Naturally, the same will apply to us. But we only have a hundred capable of sacred arts in the first place. If it comes to a battle of arts thrown back and forth, the enemy side is bound to consume far more sacred power than we are.

That did make sense in its own way. But there were two problems with Fanatio's plan. Eldrie was too stunned to speak, so Deusolbert, the archer, requested permission instead. The senior knight in his bronze-colored armor asked.

Deusolbert: I believe you are correct. But sacred arts are not only used to attack. If the sacred power dries up, will it not be impossible to heal the wounded, too?

Fanatio: Which is why it is a gamble. We brought all the high-quality reagents and healing herbs from the cathedral's treasure repository here to this camp. If we reserve our sacred arts just for healing and use the herbs for extra support, the reagents should last us two...even three days.

This statement caused even louder gasps than the first one. The treasure room of Central Cathedral was known for having such tight security, there were fairy tales about it. Treasure was brought in—but this might be the first instance in history of anything being removed. Even the imposing knight's stern face was slack with shock. Deusolbert sat down heavily with a grunt, and Alice took her turn to stand.

Alice: There is one other problem, Lady Fanatio.

She said, putting aside their earlier argument to offer feedback.

Alice: While the blessings of Lunaria, Solus and Terraria might be weak, the ravine is not perfect darkness, nor is it separated from the earth. I believe that a vast amount of sacred power has been stored in that place over the course of many years. What kind of person can use up all that power in the brief time we have before the coming battle?

Now it was Fanatio's turn to be at a loss. The ravine through the mountain range was indeed more constrained than the grassland behind the camp, but it was still a hundred mels wide and a thousand long. It would take hundreds of people using high-level arts at once to completely sap all the sacred power in that vast space, and as Fanatio had just said, the guardian army did not have that many.

Perhaps a smaller group could achieve the same effect by casting some mega-scale art with cataclysmic effects, but no one was known to have that kind of power aside from the late Administrator and Cardinal. But the vice commander stared at Alice with light-brown eyes and shook her head.

Fanatio: I can tell you. We have just one person capable of that.

Alice:...Just One...?

Alice asked, looking at the faces around her. But the name Fanatio said next was the last one she expected to hear.

Fanatio: It is you, Alice Synthesis Thirty.

Alice: What...?!

Fanatio: You might not realize it, but your present power surpasses the Integrity Knight's bounds. At this moment, you should be capable...of wielding true godly power that splits the heavens and earth.

(Timeskip)

Alice: Well...I leave Zora in your hands, then.

Alice said, looking at the young girls in turn. The primary trainees—really, they were full-fledged warriors by now— Tiese Schtrinen and Ronie Arabel, straightened up and bobbed their heads.

Tiese: Yes, Miss Alice, we will take good care of him.

Ronie: You have our word that Zora-senpai will be safe with us.

Then Tiese took the left handle of his new wheelchair, and Ronie the right. The thin chair gleamed silver; Alice had used arts to change the shape of a leftover suit of armor from the supply tent. It was lighter and also tougher than the wooden wheelchair she'd used in Rulid.

But there was nothing that could be done about the weight of the two swords Zora clutched in his lap. She was worried the girls might not be able to push the chair, but they worked in unison and did an admirable job of rolling it right up to her.

Now they wouldn't be left behind if they were given an immediate order to retreat. If they had to flee from the ravine, it would only be because the guardian army had been surrounded and crushed already.

Deep down, she wanted them to take Zora and run to the west at the first sign of danger in the battle. But all that would do was delay their inevitable fate for a few months—or weeks, perhaps.

If the guardian army lost, the four knights guarding the End Mountains would withdraw from their posts, helping residents of the regional towns and villages evacuate and setting up the castle walls of Centoria as the final line of defense. But this would be a meager resistance, indeed. The invaders would trample all over them, and the beautiful city and chalk-white Central Cathedral would be burned to the ground. Within the prison walls of the End Mountains, there would be no real escape...

Alice crouched so she could look at Zora at eye level. For the five days they'd been in the camp, Alice had spoken to him when she had time, held his hand, and hugged him. But she'd never been able to get anything resembling a reaction.

Alice: Zora... I guess this might end up being our final farewell.

She said, barely managing a smile for the black-haired boy.

Alice: Uncle said he had a feeling you would determine the course of this battle. I agree with him. You practically created this defensive army.

If it hadn't been for Zora and Eugeo, in fact, it would be Administrator and the Integrity Knights set up behind the Eastern Gate right now—along with an army of those horrific Sword Golems.

Against two or three thousand golems and their tremendous fighting power, the fifty-thousand-strong Dark Territory army might as well be nothing. But the golems were also synonymous with the collapse of the human realm. They would be built out of thousands and thousands of residents. Zora and Eugeo had sacrificed a heart and a life to prevent that tragedy.

But if Bercouli's Human Guardian Army was defeated, a great tragedy would happen anyway, just in a different form.

Alice:...I'll try my hardest. I'm going to use up every last drop of the life you worked so hard to save. So...if I fall in battle, and I call for you with my last bit of strength, will you stand up and draw your sword for me? If you just come back to us, it wouldn't matter how many thousands the enemy has. You'll work another miracle...and protect everyone. I mean...

Alice(whisper): You defeated the pontifex. You're the strongest swordsman alive.

She whispered. She reached out and squeezed Zora's scrawny body. After an embrace that could have been a second long or several minutes, Alice let go and stood up. Suddenly, she noticed that Ronie's gaze was concentrated on her, and in her blue eyes was a tapestry of emotions. Alice blinked, taken aback by this reaction, but she soon understood.

Alice: Ronie, you...you love Zora.

She said, smiling. The girl covered her mouth with her hands, face going red from cheeks to ears. She looked away in embarrassment.

Ronie: N-no, I...

Ronie stammered.

Ronie: I couldn't...I'm not worthy of...I'm just a primary trainee and a page...

Alice: Worthiness has nothing to do with it. You're the heir of a noble family, aren't you? I was born in a tiny rural village, and I don't even know where Zora came from...

But suddenly, Ronie cut her off, shaking her head wildly.

Ronie: No! It's not that! I...I'm...

She lost her voice there, large droplets welling in her eyes. Tiese held out a comforting hand to support her friend. Her red eyes were wet, too. Tiese spoke in a quavering voice.

Tiese: Miss Alice...are you aware of the taboo...that Zora-senpai and Eugeo-senpai broke?

Alice: Er...yes. I heard there was a quarrel at school...and they killed another student.

Half a year ago, when Alice was a blissfully ignorant soldier of the Axiom Church, she was quite surprised to receive the arrest orders from the senate. She could still remember that now. There was no instance in the entire church record of such a serious taboo being broken before—a student in the city killing another student? She motioned for Tiese to continue.

Tiese: Then...do you also know how it was that they came to commit that crime...?

Alice: No, I didn't know that part.

Alice said, shaking her head. But then a shouting voice replayed inside her mind. It was just after she and Zora had been thrown out onto the cathedral walls, and she'd claimed that she did not need the help of a criminal.

Zora: Just because the Taboo Index doesn't outlaw it, should higher nobles be allowed to torment and defile completely innocent girls like Ronie and Tiese...? So you think such act is righteous?! Do you think that's fair...?!

Alice(mind): That's right. I heard him say their names back then.

The higher nobles he mentioned must have been the students Zora and Eugeo attacked. And "defile"...? Her voice trembling, Tiese explained to the wide-eyed Alice what that meant.

Tiese:...Elite Disciples Raios Antinous and Humbert Zizek repeatedly gave our friend Primary Trainee Frenica Cesky humiliating orders to obey. We protested to both disciples, but in our anger, we used words that were inappropriate for our station. Because of that, they executed noble judicial authority according to imperial law...

Tiese choked up there, finding it painful to recall. Ronie was already sobbing faintly. Alice wanted to tell them it was okay and they didn't need to explain any further, but the redheaded girl shook off her weakness and continued.

Tiese: They were going to inflict...an unbearable punishment upon us, when Zora and Eugeo used their swords to save us. If we had been just a bit smarter, it would not have come to that. They wouldn't have fought the church to fix the law, and no one would have died. We...we committed a crime with irreversible consequences. So...we don't have the right to express any love to them...

Once she had finally admitted everything they'd been bearing, Tiese's eyes flooded with tears. The young girls hugged each other tight, sobbing with a regret far too terrible for their age.

Alice clenched her jaws and looked up at the skylight cut into the tent. She believed she understood the corruption and rot that was rampant in the higher nobles of the four empires. Gluttony, miserliness, and licentiousness.

But the former Alice the Integrity Knight had felt that knowing more would defile herself in turn, and she'd avoided learning of the deeds of the nobles. Whatever they did, she did not need to know—as long as no taboos were broached. She was the protector of the law, summoned from the celestial realm. As far as she believed.

That silence itself was a sin. It did not violate the Taboo Index, which Zora hated so much, but that just made her crime more grievous. These two girls were many times braver than the one who looked the other way.

Alice inhaled a deep breath and said firmly.

Alice: No, you're wrong. You do not bear any sin.

Ronie instantly looked up. She usually seemed to be hiding in Tiese's shadow, so it was rare to see her look so intent and plaintive.

Ronie: You would not understand, Miss Alice...You are a proud Integrity Knight! But they treated our bodies like their playthings, and now our dignity has been stained with sin!

Alice: The body is nothing more than a vessel for the heart.

Alice replied, striking her chest with a clenched fist.

Alice: The heart...the soul is the one thing that truly exists. And the only one who can determine the nature of the soul is the self.

She closed her eyes and turned her mind's focus inward. When Rulid was attacked about two weeks ago, Alice used the power of her heart—her power of Incarnation—to regain her lost eye. She herself had experienced that a strong, dedicated wish could bring about change in the body without the use of sacred arts.

But that alone was not enough now. She needed to change not her body, but the clothes around her, with Incarnate power. She should be able to do it. Zora had shown it to her before. When he faced Administrator with two swords, he was suddenly wearing a strange, foreign cloak of black and white leather that he hadn't been wearing moments before.

She had to go back. She had to be the old Alice, before she woke up in that unfamiliar white tower, fighting the unease and loneliness of lacking her memory and deciding to encase her heart in ice to protect herself from the pain.

Alice(mind): I'm just like you, Ronie and Tiese. I was born a human, I made many mistakes, and I'm here now because I bore a terrible crime. If the death at Zora's and Eugeo's hands was your fault, as you claim...then if I hadn't forgotten my taboos as a young child and touched the soil of the Dark Territory, they would never have had to go to the city in the first place. Yes, that was my crime. Even if I have no memory of it, Alice Zuberg was not some unfamiliar stranger—she was me. My time in Rulid taught me that much.

Even with her eyes closed, she could sense that a warm white light was enveloping her body. Alice's eyes slowly opened. Her face had been downcast, so the first thing she saw was the skirt she was wearing. But it was not the pure white of the Axiom Church—it was a blue as clear as the autumn sky.

Over the skirt was a simple cloth apron. Her golden armor and gauntlets were gone. She brushed her head, and her fingers touched a large ribbon. It seemed like her hair was a bit shorter, too. Then she looked up and into the stunned faces of Ronie and Tiese.

Alice:...There, you see? Your body and appearance are entirely dependent on your heart.

This transformation was temporary, of course. The moment her concentration lapsed, she would return to her original knight form. But the girls would understand. They would realize Alice's and Zora's and Eugeo's true feelings.

Alice: Nobody can defile your heart. I should have grown up to look like this in the little rural village where I was born. But when I was ten, they took me to Centoria in chains, erased my memory with sacred arts, and turned me into an Integrity Knight. There were times that I cursed my fate...

It was an enormous secret, something she had told only Commander Bercouli and no one else. She believed that these girls were able to bear her secret, too.

Alice: But Zora taught me that there were things I could and should do. So I'm not lost anymore. I've decided to accept being myself and keep moving forward.

Alice lifted her hands and squeezed Ronie's and Tiese's together.

Alice: I know that you, too, have your own path in life—one that is wide and long and very straight.

A number of droplets fell on her hands. The tears ran down the girls' cheeks and fell, sparkling with a beautiful rainbow prism that had not been there before.

(Timeskip)

She gave Zora one last hug in the wheelchair, then left him with Ronie and Tiese and exited the tent. As though he'd been lying in wait, Eldrie suddenly bounded forward, bursting with compliments.

Eldrie: What a wondrous sight...like the concentrated blessing of Solus herself...You truly are my mentor, Lady Alice...

Alice: Don't worry—I'll be covered in dirt and dust again in an hour.

Alice said, glancing down at her clothes. The previous transformative effect was long gone; it was just her golden breastplate and white skirt, shining in the sun. She looked up at the western sky, thinking that if she came back from this alive, she'd add a piece of blue cloth somewhere to the outfit.

Solus was already on its descent. Lunaria was on the rise. There was another three hours before it vanished over the horizon—and the moment that the Eastern Gate's life would dwindle to nothing. The three-hundred-year countdown would be over at last.

She had done all she could.

Alice took part in the guardian army's training exercises for five days, and she had to admit that for half a year of work, the soldiers' ability was admirable. To her shock, all the soldiers were using consecutive sword techniques that did not exist in the traditional styles of combat.

Apparently, Vice Commander Fanatio had taught them all the secrets of her techniques she'd spent years upon years honing. The longest they could manage was only three strikes, but they would be a valuable tool against the free-swinging machetes of the goblins and orcs.

Of course, if any dark knights with their own combination attacks showed up, the soldiers might be outclassed. If you added the dark pugilists with their own speedy combos, only an Integrity Knight could match up.

The most important thing was not to be overwhelmed by the rush of demi- humans who were sure to be first when the gate fell. Next, they had to find a way to minimize the damage from the ranged attacks of the ogre archers and dark mages.

The success or failure of this strategy now rested solely on Alice's shoulders.

Her eyes traveled down to ground level again, where she could see several trails of smoke from the supply corps in the rear cooking up the final meal. Ronie and Tiese would be taking Zora back there very soon.

She had to protect them. She had to.

Eldrie: Lady Alice, it's about time.

Eldrie prompted her. She acknowledged him and pulled back her leg to turn the other way.

Alice: Eldrie?

But then she stopped and fixed her lone disciple with a firm gaze.

Eldrie:...Wh-what is it?

The young man asked, a bit nervous. Alice let her pursed lips relax just a bit.

Alice: You've served me well, Eldrie.

Eldrie: Oh...wh-what?!

The knight yelped when she put her right hand over his left.

Alice: It has been a great help to me to have you by my side. You sought out my instruction—a newer knight with little to show for herself—rather than a veteran man like Deusolbert. Was it out of concern for my mental well- being?

Eldrie: Wh-why, no! I would never do such an inappropriate thing—I swear it! I was drawn out of pure respect and admiration for the way you fought...!

Eldrie protested, shaking his head. She squeezed his hand harder, then let go and smiled.

Alice: It was because of your support that I was able to walk my rocky path to this day. Thank you, Eldrie.

The young knight's eyes were huge—stunned. Suddenly, large tears welled in them.

Eldrie:...Lady Alice...why...do you speak in the past tense?

He asked, his voice hoarse.

Eldrie: Why do you make it sound as though your path ends here and now? I...I have not learned nearly enough. Not of the sword, nor of the sacred arts. I am nowhere near your level. You must be around to train me and guide me to be better...!

But just when his outstretched, trembling hand was about to touch her, Alice suddenly snapped.

Alice: Integrity Knight Eldrie Synthesis Thirty-One!

Eldrie: Y-yes, ma'am!

His hand froze, and he snapped to attention.

Alice: As your mentor, I give you my final order: Survive. Survive and witness the coming of peace, then take back your true life and loved one.

Even now, the memory fragments belonging to the other Integrity Knights and their loved ones, transformed into swords, still remained on the top floor of Central Cathedral. There must be a way to return those things to their rightful places and forms.

Eldrie stood stock-still, shedding tears. Alice gave him a forceful nod and spun around on her heel. Her golden hair and white skirt cut through the chilly autumn air.

Just before her was the great ravine, sinking into darkness, and the Eastern Gate within it.

She was about to begin the command for a sacred art so unbelievably grand in scale that she had never experienced it before. It would be designed to use every last drop of sacred power in the ravine and deliver a painful blow to the enemy.

If she got a single word incorrect—or even just let her concentration lapse —the accumulated sacred power would misfire and likely wipe her from existence.
But she felt no fear anymore. The last five days had been fulfilling ones as an Integrity Knight, spent around Bercouli, Fanatio, and Eldrie. And as Alice from Rulid, she had been able to share half a year with her sister, Selka.

And most of all, by meeting Eugeo and Zora, crossing blades with them, and coming into contact with their hearts, she had learned human emotions— sadness, anger, and even love.

What more could she ask for?

Her armor sliding and rattling, Alice proceeded forward, step by step, through the army waiting for the arrival of battle.

(Timeskip)

The last rays of Solus dyed the great gate that separated two worlds the color of blood. That massive structure built by gods, the Eastern Gate, which had for three hundred years separated the human world and the dark world, was about to fall.

As the five thousand members of the Human Guardian Army and the fifty thousand of the invading forces watched in silence. The first Defensive were,

Deusolbert Synthesis 7 at the left side.

Fanatio Synthesis 2 and the 4 Whirling Blades directly in the middle.

Eldrie Synthesis 31 on the right.

The Middle Defensive line was none other than Sheyta Synthesis 12 along with Fizel Synthesis 29 and Linel Synthesis 28 and the Right side. And on the Left side, we had Renly Synthesis 27.

And finally on the last defensive line. They had the knights commander Bercouli Synthesis 1.

Deep on the night sky where the Lunaria moon shines, was one single Dragon fly in the air. It was Amayori. Alice's dragon. On the name itself, Alice was riding ontop of Amayori in order to observe the whole battlefield.

On the side of the 50.000 army of the Dark Territory. All the Dark forces were also waiting with bated breath. In the air lies a huge floating ship where Vassago were waiting with anticipated look.

And The Dark Emperor Vecta, also known as Gabriel sat there with bored expression.

And finally, stationed at the farthest back of the Human Empire army, lies Zora who were sitting in the middle of Ronie and Tiese. He donned his combat gear. The same gear that he had used when he and Eugeo took on the Axiom Church, while gripping the Night Sky Blade and Blue Rose Sword.

The moment the very last drop of the seemingly endless life span of the gate was spent. In its final moment, the structure let out a bellow like the death throes of some gargantuan beast.The rumble that ensued rippled from Centoria in the west to the imperial city of Obsidia in the east, causing all the residents of the Underworld to look to the sky for the reason for that booming thunder.

A few seconds later, a single fissure ran down the center of the three-hundred-mel gate. Brilliant light poured from the inside, burning the eyes of the soldiers stationed on either side of it.

The fissure spread and branched as it reached every corner of the great gate, and as it went, the light followed like a shining net. On either side of the gate appeared enormous, burning sacred letters.

But out of the entire battlefield, only two people understood the meaning of the words Final Load Test.

The letters hung there, burning, until the flames ran out. At that moment, there was a flash of light that shone all the way to the heavens, and the top of the Eastern Gate began to crumble.

The War of Underworld has begun