Sword Art Online - Volume 12 - Chapter 8.3

Part 3
What lay beyond the grand doors was a chamber roughly as spacious as the stairwell on the southern side of the large corriders through which Eugeo and Kirito had ascended. It was rectangular in shape as well, with the deep blue northern sky visible through the long and narrow windows lined up along the opposing wall.
However, an essential element couldn't be seen on the floor set with chequered black and white tiles—the grand staircase that should lead towards the fifty-first floor.
No matter how many times they scanned the spacious chamber, no ladders, or even a single strand of rope could be found. There was only a single strange, circular cavity in the middle of the sleek and smooth floor, and not a single path meant to proceed upwards entered Eugeo's vision.
"Th... There are no stairs."
Muttering in surprise as he stepped into the dim hall behind Kirito, Eugeo felt a stream of cold air on his neck and hunched his shoulders. It seemed his partner noticed it as well, as the pair concurrently looked straight up.
"...Wha..."
"What the heck..."
And the pair jointly became speechless.
There was no ceiling. A space, no, shaft the same shape as the chamber extended beyond what their sight could perceive. They couldn't even estimate how much higher it continued, sunk in a cerulean darkness.
After they returned their eyes from the distant height, they realized this chasm might not be an entirely vacant space. Doors, smaller than the one behind the pair, were embedded in the surface of the wall at the corresponding heights for each level from the fifty-first floor onwards, each with an elongated terrace extending close to the middle of the chasm.
In other words, they could break into the floors above if they could reach those terraces—that certainly was the case.
Eugeo extended his right hand and casually tried to jump up without thinking.
"...No way that would have reached..."
He murmured with a sigh. Even the closest terrace was, naturally enough, set higher than the ceiling in the «Grand Cloister of Spiritual Light» behind them and thus, over twenty mel even through liberal estimations.
Kirito, who looked up in the same manner at the side, asked in a feeble voice.
"Look... I'm just confirming here, but there aren't any sacred arts to fly, right?"
"Nope."
A merciless, instantaneous reply.
"I mean, flying in the air's a privilege reserved solely for integrity knights, isn't it? And those guys don't even fly through arts; they ride their flying dragons..."
"So... how exactly do the humans here go back and forth between the fifty-first floor and onwards?"
"Who knows..."
The pair tilted their heads in sync. It would be preferable to avoid it, but there might be no other way but to return to the grand cloister and ask for the method to head up from the collapsed underlings of Fanatio—it happened the moment they were thinking that.
"Hey, something's coming."
Kirito whispered in a nervous voice.
"Eh?"
He looked up at the chasm again as instructed.
He certainly saw something approaching. As though brushing past the ends of the protruding terraces that appeared as lines, a black shadow was gently descending towards them.
As he leapt away to the back with Kirito and positioned his hand on his sword grip, Eugeo firmly stared at the approaching shadow.
It was in the shape of a perfect circle. Perhaps with a diameter of two mel or so? It seemed like a metallic disk with how its edge could be seen glinting eerily each time it caught the blue light shining in from the slender windows. However, why could such a thing gracefully descend in a space without supports or anything of that sort?
Eugeo's ears discerned a queer noise going, "whoosh", when the disk passed by the terrace two floors above at a constant speed. His neck noticed a cold breeze each time.
Eugeo neither ran, nor drew his sword; he simply stood still, dumbfounded, and gazed at how the disk grazed the terrace overhead and descended before the pair. When the hovering disk closed in until only a mel away, a small hole opened at the center of its underside and he noticed the air blasting out from there was the cause of the mysterious noise and wind.
However, how could a metal disk float with merely wind power—he questioned as the whooshing noise steadily grew and the metallic disk's rate of descent rapidly fell, finally coming to a stop as it neatly wedged into the circular cavity, bored into the stone floor, with only a bump and a slight quiver.
The top surface of the disk was polished smooth like a mirror. Detailed craftsmanship went into the silver handrails installed on the circular edge. A glass pipe measuring roughly one mel in length and fifty cen in thickness stood straight up in the center—a single young girl silently stood there with both her two hands on the top of the pipe, rounded in a dome shape.
"......!?"
Eugeo retreated another step as he put strength into his right hand supported by his sword's grip. He heightened his guard, thinking this might be a new integrity knight.
But he immediately noticed the girl wasn't equipped with even a single dagger on her waist or back. Her garment, a plain, black long skirt, appeared ill-fitting for combat as well. The only embellishment to speak of was the modest, see-through hem knitted onto the white apron that hung from her chest to below her knees, which meant she worn no other accessories on herself.
Her light brown hair, slightly grayed, was cut straight at her eyebrows and shoulders, with hardly any distinguishing features on her pale facial complexion. It was well-ordered but without even a shred of emotion. Eugeo felt her approximate age was a little younger, but he didn't have any confidence that it truly was.
Who exactly is this girl; Eugeo tried to look at the girl's eyes, but he couldn't even discern their color as they were hidden by her lowered eyelashes. The girl, who made no attempt at all to look at the pair's faces even after the disk stopped, took her hands off the strange glass pipe and placed them together at the front of her apron, then bowed her head further and let out her voice for the first time.
"Thank you for your patience. Which floor are you heading for, dear sirs?"
A voice that possessed the minimum level of vocal intonation and revealed no sort of emotion at all. Eugeo didn't hear even a fragment of anything resembling animosity, so he gently took his hand off his sword. The girl's words repeated once more in his mind.
"Which floor... wait... Then, you're willing to bring us to the floors above?"
When he asked half in belief, half in doubt, the girl brought down her head that had returned to its original position once again.
"Certainly. May I know your desired floor?"
"Well... even if you say that..."
Having thought that everyone who would appear before them in the cathedral would be an enemy, Eugeo faltered, not knowing what to say immediately. Kirito, standing at his side, then spoke in a carefree tone; Eugeo didn't know what exactly was going on in that head either.
"Erm, we're the wanted ones who invaded the cathedral... wouldn't there be a problem with us riding on that ele, no, disk?"
The girl then slightly tilted her head, but instantly returned it to its original position and answered.
"My sole task is the operation of this elevating disk. I have not received orders on anything else that doesn’t pertain to that."
"I see. Then allow me to take you up on your offer."
Kirito began briskly walking in the direction of the disk while speaking those easygoing words, so Eugeo called out in a panicked voice.
"H-Hey, you sure it's fine?"
"Well, it doesn't look like there's anything other way to get up."
"That's... true, but still..."
Eugeo was amazed how he could ride such a strange object with barely any caution immediately after going through all of that with the two adolescent integrity knights, but it was true that neither of them had the slightest idea about how to move the disk. Reassuring himself by thinking how they could jump onto some terrace even if it was a trap, he followed behind his partner.
After the pair boarded the disk through the break in the luxurious railings, Kirito peered at the glass pipe with a curious look as he informed the girl.
"Erm, then please bring us to the highest floor we can go."
"Very well. Then we shall now proceed to the eightieth floor, «Cloudtop Garden». Kindly stay within the boundaries of the handrails."
A response came back in no time at all and with yet another bow, the girl placed her two hands atop the pipe. She took in a breath of air—
"System call. Generate aerial element."
The sudden art ritual chant flustered Eugeo, interpreting it as an attack, but that didn’t appear to be the case. After all, the aerial elements that appeared, gleaming green, were inside the transparent pipe. But he got another shock upon seeing their numbers. There were a whole ten of them—she must be a rather high ranking art user to generate this many elements in one go.
The girl pointed out her right thumb, index, and middle fingers among the ten slender fingers she had on the glass pipe and softly muttered.
"Burst element."
Three of the aerial elements shot out with a green flash in that moment, causing a growl to well up from below. The metallic disk ridden by three humans instantly began to ascend as though pulled along by an invisible hand.
"So that's it! So that's how it works, huh."
Eugeo finally understood the basis behind how the disk rose and fell with Kirito's apparently delighted voice. Aerial elements were released within the glass pipe running through the disk, which allowed the weight of three humans and the disk itself to be lifted up by discharging the resultant explosive gust downwards.
It was a simple mechanism now that he understood it, but the disk's movement was smooth to the point of nearly not feeling anything. Aside from the pressure he somewhat felt at the start of the ascent, it slid through the air with hardly any jolting.
The fiftieth floor promptly disappeared into the distance below and Eugeo was once again made aware that this small disk could rise to the cathedral's eightieth floor, that is, a height high enough to touch the clouds. Wiping his sweaty palms on his trousers, he tightly gripped onto the railings.
Kirito by his side, however, had a calm expression on as though he had ridden something similar in the past, admiring the setup as he oohed and aahed, though his interest soon shifted from the disk to the human operating it and asked upon looking at the girl.
"How long have you been doing this job?"
The girl responded with a very slightly puzzled voice, her face still hidden.
"This will be the hundred and seventh year since this sacred task has been bestowed upon me."
"A hun..."
Forgetting even about the void below his feet, Eugeo widened his eyes. He haltingly questioned in Kirito's place.
"A-A hundred and seven years... you've been operating this disk that whole time!?"
"I haven't been operating it... the whole time. I do receive a meal break in the afternoon and of course, I am allowed to rest at night."
"E-Erm... that's not really what I..."
—No.
That was how it was. This girl must also have had her Life frozen like the integrity knights, and live atop this single metal disk for what could be said to be an eternity.
Eugeo believed that fate was far more cruel, more forsaken, and more bleak than even that of the integrity knights, who devoted their unlimited time to battle.
The metallic disk slowly but steadily ascended. The girl concealed all emotion below her lowered eyelashes, creating aerial elements anew whenever they were spent, and releasing them yet again. Eugeo wondered how many times had she repeated that verse, "burst", muttered with each cycle, but of course, it was easily beyond his imagination.
"You... what's your name?"
Kirito suddenly asked.
The girl inclined her head for the longest time so far, before replying in a murmur.
"My name... I cannot remember it. All of the dear sirs and madams have referred to me as «Elevating Operator». Elevating Operator... that is my name."
It seemed even Kirito had no response for this. Eugeo, who had inadvertently counted the passing terraces and was now over twenty, felt an urge to fill the silence pressing behind him and opened his mouth.
"...Hey... hey, we're here to defeat the important people of the Axiom Church. Those who charged you with this sacred task."
"I see."
That was all the girl replied with. But Eugeo continued with his words, probably without any particular goal in mind.
"If... the church cease to exist and you get freed from this sacred task, what will you do...?"
"...Freed...?"
After repeating that in an unsteady tone, the girl named Elevating Operator kept up her silence as they passed by another five terraces.
Having taken a look up, Eugeo realized a gray ceiling had appeared in their way unawares. That must be the base of the cathedral's eightieth floor. They were finally about to step foot into the true core of the Axiom Church.
"I... know nothing of the world aside from this elevating disk."
The girl suddenly spoke in faltering words.
"As such... I am unable to decide upon a new sacred task even at your insistence... however, if you meant it in the sense of something I wish to do..."
Her face that had been lowered this entire time raised and the girl gazed at the long and narrow windows on the wall at the right—at the clear northern skies that lay beyond them.
"...I would like to fly freely on this elevating disk... in those skies..."
The girl's eyes he finally saw now were a deep, deep indigo blue, much like the blue skies at the height of summer.
The instant the final aerial element twinkled out of existence, the disk reached the thirtieth terrace and gently came to a stop.
The elevating operator girl took her hands off the glass pipe, placed them together before her apron, and took a deep bow.
"Thank you for your patience, we have arrived at the eightieth floor, «Cloudtop Garden»."
"...Thanks."
Both Eugeo and Kirito lowered their heads and walked onto the terrace from the disk.
The girl lifted her head no more, and after another mild bow, she entrusted the disk's descent to the weakening aerial element. The gushing sound, like a cold wintry wind, immediately faded off into the distance and its form vanished into the depths of the blue darkness; that small steel world, confined for all of eternity.
Eugeo took a deep breath without realizing it.
"...I thought my last sacred task was the worst in the world when it came to being endless, but..."
After he murmured that, Kirito raised his eyebrows and glanced at him.
"So it had been enough of a blessing that I could retire after growing old and becoming unable to swing that axe; when I compare it to that girl's sacred task, it's just..."
"Cardinal said that freezing a person's Life from reducing naturally through art rituals is no protection against the soul's aging. That it would slowly encroach on one's memories and that person would eventually break."
Kirito, who replied in a depressed tone, swung his body with force, as though trying to sever that line of thought, and turned his back on the deep shaft.
"What the Axiom Church is doing is wrong. That's why we're here to defeat Administrator. But that's not the end to everything, Eugeo. The real challenges lie beyond that..."
"Eh...? Don't we just have to leave the rest to Cardinal-san from earlier if we defeat Administrator?"
Kirito moved his lips when Eugeo asked, as though he was about to say something, but an uncertainty unlike his usual decisive self appeared in his black eyes and he ended up averting his face.
"Kirito...?"
"...No, let's talk more about that after we recover Alice. This isn't any time to be thinking about unnecessary stuff."
"That's... true, but still."
Kirito began to walk across the terrace at a brisk pace, as though escaping from the look emanating from Eugeo as he tilted his head. Eugeo chased after him with an inexplicable emotion, but a feeling of tension welling from the depths of his body swept away his flimsy doubts in the blink of an eye after the huge doors towering at the end of the short terrace entered their view.
Seeing how five integrity knights had gathered on the fiftieth floor, the person coordinating the countermeasures against intruders—likely the Chief Elder person Fanatio had mentioned had intended to stop the two of them there by all means. The fact that they had actually repelled the knights' fierce assault and achieved victory somehow must have been close to a miracle.
Them breaking through that defensive line and climbing up this close to the highest floor was sure to have that Chief Elder finally sending out those with high battle potential without reserve. The «Knight Commander» along with all of the remaining integrity knights, as well as the high ranking sacred art users, those priests and ascetics, might be lying in wait beyond this door, for example—such a thing was relatively possible.
But as long as there is no other path, we can do nothing but break through any barrier standing before us from the front.
We can do it. With both Kirito and me here.
Eugeo firmly exchanged looks with his partner, standing at his side, and they nodded together. Reaching out with their hands simultaneously, they placed their palms on the left and right doors respectively and energetically pushed them.
The stone doors began slowly opening to the left and right with a leaden noise.
"......!"
His five senses absorbed the colors spreading out before his eyes, the babble of water, and a fragrant scent at that moment, causing a brief dizziness.
There was no mistake that they were inside the tower. The same white marble as the floors below could be seen at the far end.
However, the spacious floor wasn't covered in stone like how it had been thus far. Instead, a thick, cushy lawn was thriving there. Sacred flowers of various colors, apparently the source of the scent, were in full bloom here and there on the lawn.
What astonished him further was a small, pure stream flowing a short distance away, its water surface glittering with light. A slender brick path stretched out from the door the pair stood at, cutting through the lawn, and continued on after a wooden bridge spanning over the small stream.
A small hill appeared to be beyond the stream. The path snaked up over the inclining ground with an abundance of blooming flowers. Having followed the path with his sight, Eugeo noticed a single tree growing at the crown of the hill.
It wasn't that large as a tree. He could spot dark-green leaves and small, orange flowers in the shape of a cross on the thin branches. Solus's light, streaming in from the window on the wall near the ceiling far above, precisely cast onto the tree and its countless flowers sparkled as if they were made of gold.
Its glassy, thin trunk also bathed in the sunlight and shone—and at its base, too, was a remarkably dazzling golden splendor—
"Ah......"
Eugeo was unaware of the quiet sound that escaped from his own mouth.
Each and every thought he had came to a standstill the instant he saw that girl sitting against the tree trunk with her eyelids closed.
As if she was a phantasm brought about by the sunlight beautifully streaming through the tree, all of the girl's form was bathed in golden light. The magnificent armor covering her upper body and arms was white with golden embellishments, her long skirt was pure white as well, with golden thread embroidered onto the fabric, and even her polished, white leather boots reflected an unblemished brilliance received from the sunlight streaming in.
However, what sparkled brightest was her plentiful, sinuous, long hair. The straight hair, that was like molten gold, drew a perfect arc as it flowed to her waist from her petite head, producing a cascade of sublime light.
A radiance he saw practically everyday, a long time ago in the past. He knew neither its value nor its transience, pulling on that hair in jest and tying twigs into it.
That golden brilliance, a representation of friendship, aspiration, and a nebulous affection, had transformed within just a single day, gaining no connotations but that of Eugeo's weakness, ugliness, and cowardice. And that glimmer he should have never been able to see again was now within his reach once more.
"Ah... Ali... ce..."
Without even noticing the hoarse voice spilling out from his own mouth, Eugeo tottered forward.
He raggedly followed the brick path. Neither the refreshing scent of the sacred flowers nor the soothing sound of the water registered in Eugeo's awareness any longer. Only the heat from his sweaty hand tightly clenched onto his coat breast and the dagger that seemed to pulse within the fabric secured Eugeo to this world.
Crossing the bridge spanning over the small stream, drawing near the slope. Already less than twenty mel to go until the crown of the hill.
When he looked up, he could clearly see the girl's face slightly turned downwards. No emotion at all showed on her white, practically translucent skin. She merely remained silent with her eyes shut, her mind seemingly drifting among the sunlight's warmth and the flowers' scent.
—Is she asleep?
If I get closer like this and just stab the dagger a little into those fingers interlocked above her lap... would that be the end to everything?
It was when that thought flashed into Eugeo's mind.
Alice's right hand rose without a sound and Eugeo's heart pounded as his feet stopped.
Her charming lips moved and a nostalgic voice reached his ears.
"Allow me a little more time. It has been a while since we had such good weather, so I would like to let this child bask in the sunlight further."
Her eyelids, framed by her golden eyelashes, gently lifted up.
The pair of eyes colored blue, matchless in the world, gazed straight into Eugeo’s.
Eugeo saw a vision of Alice's gaze softening, a smile forming on her lips.
However, the blue in her lucid eyes was not the gentle color of the sky it once was. It was the color of ice that had remained frozen for ten thousand years, unmelting regardless of how much sunlight it bathed in. Impaled by a gaze that regarded the intruders coldly, Eugeo could not move his legs.
As expected, a fight was unavoidable.
Even if she had lost her memories, he would have to draw his sword towards that girl, who was no doubt Alice Schuberg from Rulid. To return her to how she was. No matter how difficult he might find the battle to accept.
His body had felt Integrity Knight Alice Synthesis Thirty's true strength two days ago, when his cheek had been struck by her scabbard. Eugeo might have been taken unaware by that single hit, but he hadn’t even been able to follow it with his eyes. It would prove to be next to impossible to suppress a swordsman of such skill without suffering heavy injuries, wouldn't it?
She was no opponent to go easy on.
—Still, could I actually sever even a single strand of that golden hair?
Seeing as I can't even take another step forward, let alone draw my sword.
Kirito spoke from behind Eugeo, standing still from the sudden conflict, his words clear despite being somewhat hoarse.
"You aren't fighting here, Eugeo. Think only about properly stabbing Cardinal's dagger into Alice. I'll stop her attacks for you even at the cost of my own life."
"Bu... but."
"There's no other way, the situation will get worse the more we drag out the battle. I'll take Alice's first attack on instead of dodging and restrain her like that, so use that dagger right away. Got it?"
"......"
He firmly bit his lips. Ultimately, he had made Kirito the one who bled in both the battle against Deusolbert and the battle against Fanatio. Despite how this reckless plan of challenging the Axiom Church had originally stemmed from nothing more than Eugeo's personal agenda.
"...Sorry."
When he muttered with shame, Kirito replied in a tone a little closer to his usual.
"You don't have to apologize; I'll have you pay it all back several times over soon enough. ...Still, putting that aside..."
"...? What's the matter?"
"No... from what I can see, she doesn't look like she's armed. Besides... who was she talking about when she said, 'this child'...?"
Guided, he focused his eyes on Alice, still sitting atop the hill. Her eyelids were once again closed and slightly downcast; he looked at her waist, the golden scabbard that had been suspended there when they had first encountered her at the Sword Mastery Academy certainly wasn't there now.
"Maybe she leaves her sword behind when she's resting or something like that... That would be a great help, though."
Muttering in a tone that showed his lack of belief in such a thing, Kirito brushed against his black sword's grip with his left hand.
"It's not nice towards Alice, but it's not like we can go along with her until she's done basking in the sun. Whether she has a sword or not, challenging her now should prevent her from chanting the full control art at least. Honestly, it's the best we could hope for if we can settle this without her using that."
"I guess you're right... my full control art doesn't use up that much of my sword's Life, so I believe I can still use it another two times today, though..."
"That'll be helpful. That said, one more time's the limit on my side. And there should still be that Knight Commander guy after Alice. Well... let's go."
Kirito took a step forward with a small nod.
His mind made up, Eugeo followed behind.
Leaving the brick path snaking around the hill, they headed straight for the peak. Their footsteps on the lawn resonated.
Alice softly stood when the pair had climbed halfway up the hill. Her glacial eyes that revealed not even a single shred of emotion stared down at the pair beyond her languorous eyelids.
As though her glance had cast some sort of art ritual, his two feet grew heavy in that instant. Despite how it was obvious that no sword belt could be seen on Alice, Eugeo felt his feet refuse to approach the girl any further. Was fear carved into his body after just a single blow to his cheek? But even if that was so, Kirito's gait also seemed to have lost its strength as well, as he walked in front, didn't it?
"...At long last, you've made your way this far, haven't you."
Alice's clear voice shook the air once again.
"I judged that having Eldrie alone on alert in the rose garden would be sufficient to cope with the both of you even on the off chance that you could escape from the underground jail. However, you have eliminated him and moreover, cut down Deusolbert-dono and even Fanatio-dono who possessed sacred instruments, stepping onto the grounds of this «Cloudtop Garden»."
Her arched eyebrows formed into a faint scowl. The voice from her cherry blossom lips had a hushed sorrowful ring to it.
"What exactly is it that bestowed such power onto the two of you? Why exactly would you come to impact the tranquility of the Human World so? Why do you not understand that each integrity knight injured would be a considerable setback towards the preparations against the forces of darkness?"

—It's for you, that's all there is to it.
Eugeo cried out in his heart. But he knew it would mean nothing to Integrity Knight Alice standing before his eyes even if he voiced it out. Firmly clenching his teeth, Eugeo merely put his all into moving his feet forward.
"As I thought—it appears I shall have to ask with my sword. Very well... if that is what the two of you wish."
Her words like a sigh, Alice placed her right hand on the tree trunk by her side as a support.
But she not holding onto a sword—
Eugeo thought that at nearly the same time Kirito blurted out a "no way".
Light flashed out in the next instant and the smallish tree growing on the hill's peak disintegrated.
"——!?"
Somewhat belatedly, a fragrance, rich in sweetness and vitality, lavishly drifted by, then vanished without a trace.
Before they knew it, Alice's right hand held onto a familiar long sword with its slender form. Not only the scabbard, but everything from the guard to the pommel were made from a dazzling gold. A cross-shaped flower design decorated the guard.
Eugeo couldn't immediately understand what had occurred.
The tree had vanished, and the sword had appeared. In other words, that tree had transformed into the sword? But Alice hadn't articulated any art rituals. Even if this was simply an illusionary art or some super high ranking sacred art for transmutation, it was impossible to carry it out without reciting the ritual's verses.
No. If that tree had changed its appearance based purely on Alice's mental image—that would, essentially mean—
Having arrived at a conclusion a moment quicker, Kirito let out a deep moan.
"Crap, this isn't good... could that sword already be in its full control state?"
Scowling down at the pair who stood upright, Alice raised the sword horizontally with both hands.
Jyaa! The blade, unsheathed with a screech, had a bright golden yellow aura distinctly more intense than even the scabbard, radiantly glistening as it reflected Solus's light.
Kirito launched a savage assault a moment after. It was unclear what kind of power Alice's sword wielded, but he judged it likely that it would be best to bring it into a close-range fight before the control art was activated. Fiercely tearing up the green grass, he climbed eighty percent of the hill in a mere ten steps.
While gripping onto the chain at his chest, Eugeo frantically chased after his partner as well. Kirito seemed to have no intention of drawing his sword. It appeared he intended to stop Alice's first attack with his body as he had said. Even if that sealed her movement, it would hardly last for long. Thus, Eugeo definitely had to fulfill his role of stabbing her with the dagger without letting the chance escape.
Alice's expression didn't change one bit even while looking at the approaching black-clothed swordsman. With a motion that appeared carefree, she lightly brandished the sword in her right hand.
Kirito had yet to enter slashing range. It was therefore likely to be a far-range offensive art like Deusolbert's or Fanatio's. If that was the case, even if the initial attack stops Kirito's advance, Eugeo should still be able to get within range to stab her with the dagger by using that interval.
Settling his thoughts in an instant, Eugeo changed his approach to a different angle from Kirito's and kept running.
Alice's right hand softly swung forward.
The golden blade—vanished.
"!?"
To be accurate, it didn't vanish. It would be more accurate to say that it dispersed. The sword split into hundreds or thousands of flakes and assailed Kirito as a golden tempest.
"Guah!!"
Engulfed in an immeasurable shimmer, Kirito was knocked down, rendered immobile, with a groan.
Making full use of the opportunity contrived by his partner, Eugeo clenched his teeth and ran forward.
However, the golden wind that attacked Kirito didn't just stop there. It caused a noise like a chilly gale and turned to the left in midair, sweeping at Eugeo from the side.
He could hardly stay on his feet after such an impact. As though he was sent flying by a giant's palm, Eugeo collapsed onto the right as well.
Each flake, measuring less than a cen long, was of an absurd weight. Thrown onto the lawn, Eugeo experienced a burning pain over his entire left arm that had shielded his face the instant the golden zephyr assailed him and desperately held down his desire to scream and writhe.
The countless golden flakes, that had stopped the pair's assault so easily, drew an arc as they whirled and returned to Alice's side. However, they didn't turn back into the form of a sword but stayed drifting around the knight.
On closer examination, all of the small flakes were crosses formed by even smaller diamond shapes joined together. They were the same as the design on the guard—which meant they were the same shape as the flowers of that tree growing on the hill.
"—Are you mocking me? How could you even run towards me without drawing your sword?"
Alice rebuked them quietly without expressing even a speck of emotion as always.
"The attack earlier was meant to serve as a warning. However, the next will wipe out all of your Life. Show me all you have got; for the sake of all the knights the two of you have defeated thus far as well."
She went—easy?
Despite that absurd power...?
Within Eugeo's sight as he shivered from the depths of his heart, the innumerous golden flowers made a loud "jyakii" noise in tandem. When he looked harder, he saw the tips of the four petals, which have been smooth and rounded thus far, now tapered into a point sharper than a slender sword's tip. He wouldn't get away with just collapsing like earlier if he was struck by such a thing. His skin would be torn apart and it would probably even slice through his bones.
A profound dread transmuted itself into cold water and forced its way into Eugeo, numbing his limbs.
Even if there was only one of those golden flowers by itself, his Life would swiftly decrease if it cut through his vitals. And yet the flakes glistening around Alice now, like a magnificent shower of blossoms, numbered over two or three hundred. It would be impossible to deflect them all with a sword and even with that said, it was also next to impossible to dodge that storm of flowers capable of high-speed and unrestrained movement in the air. In other words, Alice's full control art was unbelievably complete and also almighty—
Yes, it was unbelievable.
The armament full control art with sacred instruments was certainly a powerful skill, but still, there were limits. This art's true nature is converting the «memories» possessed by the origins of the weapons, that is, whether it was hot, cold, hard, fast, and such, into an offensive ability and it couldn't help but deteriorate in other aspects, the more it specialized in one particular area.
Like Deputy Knight Commander Fanatio's full control art was repelled by a small mirror that Kirito created, as a result of specializing too much in piercing a single point with a concentrated light ray.
It was unknown what sort of existence that small tree once was that seemed to be the origin of Alice's sacred instrument, but if the power within it was divided so small, into such great numbers—that is, if it pursued only accuracy, each petal ought to have lost much more of their might. No matter how Eugeo thought about it, having one flake that wasn't even a cen long possess the clout of a giant's fist, as he had experienced with his own body, defied that theory.
If it could accomplish such a phenomenon, that slender tree that bloomed with orange flowers must have been given an ultra-high priority, surpassing even the origin of Kirito's sword, the «demonic tree», Gigas Cedar...
Kirito who had collapsed in front, to the left, seemed to have also thought of the same matter as Eugeo in an instant, as his raised side profile was pale with shock and fear.
However, he, who knew not the meaning of giving up, glanced at Eugeo with those eyes that retained their glint and moved his lips silently.
«Chant». —Get started on it.
Indeed, it was no longer possible to break through that storm of petals from the front. Hence, there was no choice but to shackle its master with the Blue Rose Sword's full control art. Alice had flourished the sword which had only the grip remaining in tune with the petals' movements earlier. In other words, that would mean the flower cloud wasn't manipulated entirely by its master's will.
Still unseemly knocked down, Eugeo gently brushed his left hand against the Blue Rose Sword's grip and began chanting the full control art at a volume that was practically inaudible. There was nothing more that could be done if Alice noticed and attacked, but Kirito should do something about that.
As he predicted, Kirito got up in an exaggerated motion, as Eugeo started the chant, and shouted in a tense voice.
"I wish to apologize for my disrespectful conduct towards the honorable integrity knight! I, Swordsman-in-training Kirito, would like to formally request anew, for a duel using ordinary swords with Integrity Knight Alice!"
After hitting his chest with his right fist and taking a bow, he held onto the sword at the left of his waist by its grip. The jet-black blade drew out with a loud and shrill "jyari" and was raised up high as though it was trying to split the golden light covering the knight into two.
Alice gazed hard at the black-clothed swordsman with those blue eyes that felt as though they could see through everything and replied after a single blink.
"—Very well, I shall test how deeply embedded your wicked hearts lie through swordsmanship."
She gently swung the grip in her right hand. And with that, the countless golden flowers swirling around whirled towards Alice's hand with the sound of flowing waves, leaving few gaps as they aligned themselves in front of the grasped handle. A metallic "jyakin" rang out and the flakes combined, returning to its form as a golden long sword.
Facing Alice, who positioned the sword in a middle stance with graceful motions and began to advance like that, was Kirito, who prepared his sword in a lower stance; he then called out to her once again.
"One of us will inevitably fall after an exchange of swords, so I implore you to tell me one thing beforehand. I believe that tree atop the hill earlier was your sacred instrument's form in bygone times, but why does such a small tree possess such power?"
It was obviously a question for buying time, but Kirito truly wanted to know the mystery behind the golden sword's full control art, probably. Of course, Eugeo was highly intrigued as well. He strained his ears while continuing the chant.
Alice came to a standstill after taking three steps forward. She kept her silence for a while, and then moved her lips in slight motions.
"There is no purpose in telling the two of you with your imminent deaths, but... I suppose it could serve as a diversion on your way to the Celestial World. My sacred instrument is named, «Fragrant Olive Sword». As its name implies, it was once a fragrant olive tree with no irregular aspects to it at all."
The fragrant olive was a small-sized tree that produces small orange-colored flowers in the autumn. It rarely grew naturally in the vicinity near Rulid, but now that she mentioned it, he had seen it countless times in the capital. It couldn't be said to be of a rare variety, like the Gigas Cedar of which only one existed in the world.
"Yes, it was merely a small tree as you've said. Except it was the only one to have lasted that long. —This place the Central Cathedral is built on now was the «Starting Land» bestowed upon the humans by the Goddess of Creation Stacia in the long-passed ancient times. A beautiful spring surged forth from the heart of that small village and a single fragrant olive grew on its bank... or so the first chapter says in the records of creation. That very tree was the original form of my sword. I hope you understand; this Fragrant Olive Sword is the oldest existence among all things of nature in the Human World."
"Wh... what did you..."
In comparison to the astonished Kirito, Alice continued constructing her words together without emotion.
"This sword is the reincarnated form of a tree given life by the goddess. Its attribute is «eternal immortality». Even one of those fluttering petals could split a rock it touched or break the ground... as you have tasted with your own body earlier. Do you understand what exactly you've been pointing your blade at?"
"...Yeah, I definitely get it now."
Kirito spoke with his persistently formal speech cast off.
"I see, it's the first immortal object set down by the goddess... so that's it, huh. Geez, the things coming at us are getting more and more ridiculous... even so, it's not like I can continue being all awestruck."
Kirito slowly swung the black sword, probably much inferior to the Fragrant Olive Sword even if they possess the same type of origin, into an upper stance and cried out.
"Now then, Integrity Knight Alice... let's start our match again!"
The air shook as the black-clothed swordsman kicked off the ground. He charged forward at Alice, standing on top of the hill, at a velocity that made it hard to believe he was moving uphill.
Regardless of how ridiculous Alice's sword was, Kirito must be thinking that he could gain the advantage if he brings out a consecutive hit skill in close-range combat. Fanatio could deal with the high-speed consecutive attacks in the earlier battle because she had learnt them through her personal circumstances; she should be an exception among the integrity knights.
As Kirito and Eugeo predicted, Alice obediently raised her sword overhead against Kirito's downwards slash. She wouldn't be able to guard her middle when the downwards slash connects to a middle one with her speed.
The sword Kirito swung down turned into a bolt of black lightning and collided with the Fragrant Olive Sword, throwing off bluish-white sparks.
However, it did not immediately continue into that theoretical second hit.
After all, compared to how Alice's sword had barely moved, Kirito, the one on the offensive, was heavily repelled backwards like he had hit a large rock with a twig, destroying his stance.
"Uoah..."
Turning towards Kirito who had lost his balance on the slanted surface and staggered for two, three steps, Alice approached with footwork as smooth as a flowing stream.
Even the fingers on her outstretched left hand were pointing out. Her body was extended wide, her golden sword raised straight behind. It was a traditional style that couldn't be said to be fit for actual combat unlike the Aincrad style, but her appearance when coupled with her flowing golden hair and fluttering skirt was sublime like a framed painting.
"Eeeh!"
The sword drew a semi-circle as it launched an attack alongside that shrill and clear scream. The speed was frightening. But those movements were far too exaggerated.
Having recovered his stance, Kirito had enough time spare to place his sword at his left.
Gakaan! The two swords collided with a loud noise.
The one to spin like a top while getting blown away this time was once again Kirito. Thrusting his hand onto the grass, he narrowly avoided falling down while sliding down to the base of the hill.
At this stage, Eugeo, too, understood what was occurring before his eyes at last.
The weight behind their individual hits were on completely different levels.
Kirito had the black sword, possessing a priority that could be considered high among most sacred instrument, and the consecutive hit skills of the Aincrad style, that drove away numerous integrity knights, but the Fragrant Olive Sword that Alice carried was probably hiding a weight several times that of the black sword within itself. It was a difficult enough task to stop its attack, let alone repel it, when it was swung at such a speed.
No, that wouldn't be the end of it. As had been made clear by the initial conflict, Kirito was the one to get repulsed even when on the offensive. This wouldn't be much of a fight.
Kirito seemed to have realized that fact and quickly stood up, though he did take several more steps down with terrified expression. Alice chased behind as though she was gliding.
The ensuing battle could be said to be Kirito's first battle in these two years that had developed so one-sidedly.
Alice delivered slash after slash with the grace of a dancer. Kirito tried his best to take them on but got unsightly blown away each time. He would have chances at a counterattack if he could dodge purely by shifting his body, but Alice's sword was dreadfully quick with superb aim despite its hefty size, making it extremely hard to evade them cleanly.
Finished with the art ritual chant even while trembling with fear, Eugeo chased after the pair who continued to move about. With things having proceeded this far, he had no choice but to activate the armament full control art while Kirito somehow took on the attacks.
After merely five exchanges of offense and defense which took next to no time, Kirito had already been driven to the western wall. Behind him was solid marble with all routes of escape cut off.
Pointing her sword at the enemy, now stuck in a predicament, Alice spoke with a refreshing expression.
"I see. —You are the second to have endured my attacks this long. It seems you have climbed this tower with a fair level of resolve and faith. However... it is not at all enough to sway the church. As I thought, I cannot allow the two of you to upset the order of the Human World."
The golden knight's refined standing posture showed no opening. She could probably instantly deal with Eugeo activating the art ritual, even if it was behind her.
Kirito—say something. A short moment's fine, make her let her guard down.
Eugeo prayed with all he had as he ran, but his partner merely leaned his back against the marble wall, his two eyes glittering, and made no further attempt to speak even a single word.
"Well then—prepare yourself."
The Fragrant Olive Sword readily traced an arc as it pointed at the sky, wielded vertically.
A fleeting silence.
Tearing through the air, the golden light rushed on.
His two eyes opened to their limits, Kirito moved his right hand so fast it became a blur.
A shrill, metallic noise. A streak of sparks.
He didn't take it on, but let it flow past. The swords made contact at the lowest possible angle and Alice's absurdly heavy attack was averted by the slightest margin.
What the Fragrant Olive Sword pierced through with a dull impact was—a cen left of Kirito's head, the smooth marble wall. The black hair severed scattered into the air and vanished.
Kirito immediately leapt at Alice. He pinned down the knight's right hand with his left and entwined her left arm with his right. She hadn't quivered even once until now, but Alice's cheeks still twitched at that all the same.
—Now.
"Enhance armament!!"
Eugeo thrust the Blue Rose Sword into the lawn at his feet with that scream.
His surroundings froze white in just an instant. A wave of frost spread forth with impetuous strength, swallowing Kirito and Alice roughly ten mel away.
Countless ice tendrils immediately reached out from the pair's feet all at once. All of them became clear, blue shackles as they coiled and twined about the connected pair's figures. Kirito's black clothes and Alice's white armor were discernibly being hidden away by a thick layer of ice.
Kirito—Alice, forgive me!
Crying out in his heart, Eugeo continued creating the ice tendrils. It was doubtful any amount of shackles would suffice with Integrity Knight Alice as the target.
The tendrils that twined over them one after another with stiff noises soon changed into a single thick icicle.
The transparent pillar with its multiple layers, resembling crystal ore, quietly glittered with both swordsmen trapped within it. All that stuck outside was Alice's right hand and the Fragrant Olive Sword held in it, pierced into the wall. Alice's expression, showing slight surprise, and Kirito's expression, resolved for death, remained still within the blue ice.
Everything would end by stabbing the dagger into that arm.
Eugeo separated his hand from the Blue Rose Sword and stood up. Letting go of the sword would release the full control art, but the thick icicle should take tens of minutes to melt naturally. Firmly gripping the dagger in his pocket with his right hand, he took one, two steps forward—
He took the third step as golden light exploded.
"Ah......"
Alice's sword, stabbed into the wall, split into countless flower petals in the frightened Eugeo's vision.
Zaa... That grim chord resonated as the golden storm of flowers engulfed the icicle.
Eugeo could do nothing but watch in a daze as the small, cross blades swirled like a tornado, quickly shaving the ice away. Eugeo's Life would likely be extinguished if he dove straight into that vortex, before taking even a single step forward.
Shaving the ice away, the storm of flowers soared up in the air after only a thin layer remained.
The icicle crumbled with a short-lived noise immediately after.
Hurling Kirito, still holding on, towards Eugeo with her left hand, Alice spoke with a tone that remained indifferent while shaking off the ice flakes clinging onto her hair.
"—Did the two of you not request for a contest of skill with the sword? It served as fair bit of amusement, but... it was apparent that mere ice had no chance of restraining my flowers. Your turn will come next, so do behave yourself and wait."
When she lightly stretched her right hand out, the flower petals drifting above instantly gathered and returned to its original sword—
"Enhance armament!!"
Kirito was the one who screamed.
No one knew when he had finished chanting the full control art, but strands of darkness streaked out from the black sword held in his two hands.
His aim was not Alice herself—
It was the Fragrant Olive Sword right before it could combine together.
"Eh...!"
Alice let out a shocked voice for the first time.
The torrent of darkness scattered the countless flower petals and threw them out of control.
Guaaah! A thundering roar split his ears as the tempest, a blend of pitch-black and gold, violently blew. They interweaved, swirled together, and slammed into the marble wall behind Alice.
"Eugeo——!!"
Kirito's scream.
Right. This was, definitely, the last chance.
Eugeo pulled the dagger from his bosom and kicked off the ground.
Just eight mel to Alice.
Seven mel.
Six mel.
Then. Something beyond everyone's expectations occurred.
The abnormally powerful torrent brought forth by fusing the full control arts from both sacred instruments struck the Central Cathedral's wall and a myriad of cracks spread out over its entire length.
?
Along with a roar that seemed to shake even the Celestial World, the massive marble—those white walls, that were thought to be unbreakable like the «immortal walls», collapsed.
Blocks of stone were thrown outside and the hole created rapidly widened before his eyes.
Eugeo stared at the blue skies and the white sea of clouds peeking in from beyond, flabbergasted.
A sudden, violent gust knocked into Eugeo from the back and he was forced onto the grass. The air within the tower was being sucked out through the hole in the wall. The pair right next to the hole could do naught to resist that deluge of air.
The sight of the black-clothed swordsman and the golden knight entangled with each other being hurled out of the tower burnt itself into Eugeo's eyes.
"Uwaaaaah!!"
While screaming, Eugeo crept towards the hole in the wall.
What can I do—make a rope with sacred arts—no, I'll use ice from the Blue Rose Sword to save those—
He wasn't given the time to put those thoughts into action.
The stones making up the marble wall that should have fallen outside gathered together as though time had been rewound and started to rejoin together across the entire length of the wall.
Clung, clung, those dull noises rang out each time the hole contracted—
"Aaaaaah!!"
And snugly closed up before Eugeo's eyes, a scream escaping from him while he rushed over as quickly as he could, as though nothing had actually happened.
He feverishly hammered with his fists. Twice; thrice.
Even after his skin broke and his blood sprayed out, the renewed wall remained unblemished, not showing a single sign of damage.
"Kirito——!! Alice———!!"
The white and glassy marble cruelly dismissed Eugeo's screams.
(to be continued)


Afterword
Thank you very much for reading Sword Art Online 12, 'Alicization Rising'. The Alicization arc has progressed along 'Beginning', 'Running', and 'Turning', getting to the fourth volume before I knew it and the end should be getting within sight, but... it feels like Kirito-san and Eugeo-san have been going up the whole time, doesn't it... Well, you see, the Central Cathedral is a hundred-story building like Aincrad, so it must be horrible to climb up, definitely. They should reach the highest floor in the next volume, so I would be glad if you could accompany them as they climb the stairs for a little longer!
Of course, the 'Rising' subtitle was appended with the connotation of 'ascending', but when talking about stairs, it seems the right term would be go up, rather than rise. Please don't get it wrong if it comes out in your sacred tongue, or rather, English tests. go up the stairs means to 'go up the stairs'!
The 1st volume was published in April 2009, so the 12th volume's release date in April 2013, would mean the SAO series has been going on for four whole years. In the story, if we take the beginning to be when SAO started its service in November 2022, then as the Alicization Arc is in June 2026, roughly three years and seven months have passed, haven't they. (Kirito did spend another two years in the Underworld, though...)
I am of the mind that Kirito, as well as Asuna and the rest, have gone through various experiences both in the real world and the virtual world throughout that time span and developed further, but on the other hand, I draw a complete blank when I think about how I, the author, have changed. Are both my own self and my living conditions due to Administrator-sama?! They have stayed so utterly constant that I am conversely surprised. Behold, not even the notebook PC I have used for writing has changed! (the paint on the keyboard has been worn out from the abuse, though)
I wonder if this essentially means that I find all sorts of change scary and troublesome. In actual fact, the bother of adapting to a different environment overpowered my desire to switch to a new PC and the course I ride on my bicycle each week has stayed the same down to those turns I take... But I feel that my mind's idea output will be reduced if I don't come into contact with new worlds every now and then, so I hope to make this year, a year of various changes. First will be to get a brand-new notebook PC... I want to do that, but pasting on the protective film is such a bother......
To the editors-in-charge who have taken care of me for so long, Miki-san and Tsuchiya-san, and the one who has drawn the illustrations with such spirit each time even throughout that relentless schedule, abec-san, and also all of the readers who have accompanied me on the SAO series thus far, I hope for your support in the fifth year as well!
A Certain Day in February, 2013     Kawahara Reki




References and Translation Notes
1 Previously translated as "Taboo Breaking Index".
2 "absolutely loyal" – She didn’t actually say that phrase anywhere here, but she did in the web novel, so this is probably an editing error on the LN version.
3 "connections between people" – Human is "??" in Japanese, with "?" being "person" and "?" being "relationship".
4 Armor Names – Literally “Thousand Thunder Armor” or “Rumbling Mountain Kacchu”. Kacchu is a set of traditional Japanese armor. Like those the samurai wear, with the silly helmets.
5 "bow broken, arrows spent" – This is a saying in Japan that means, “It’s all over”. The original sentence was “This is truly what it meant to have one’s bow broken and arrows spent”, a literal allusion to the saying.
6 "I’m" – She first uses "atashi", then changes it to "watashi". "atashi" is considered a more childish way to refer to oneself.