“Ah…… this, probably……”
Alice said as she looked at it, Kirito nodded to her,
“Yeah. The «Sword of Blue Rose» that Bercouli tried to steal from the bosom of the sleeping white dragon. I wonder why the guy who killed the dragon didn’t take it……”
He bowed while talking, and lifted the grip off the ground with both of his hands, however, even with his utmost strength, he only managed to lift it up a mere ten cens off the floor.
“……Too heavy!”
Kirito separated his hands as he yelled, the long sword dropped to the ice floor again with a heavy sound. A small crack could be seen on the thick ice, the sword seemed to have an unimaginable weight despite its delicate appearance.
“……What do we do with this?”
“Can’t, can’t, even with the two of us together, it’s not possible to bring it back to the village. Even though we deal with that woodcutting axe everyday. ……Besides, there seems to be more treasure under the bones though……”
“……Yeah, but don’t think about taking anything……”
The two nodded at Alice’s serious tone.
Even though taking a small trophy back and boasting to the other boys that they did it without waking the dragon would be a great adventure story, the act of taking treasure from this place was clearly grave robbery. Although the Taboo Index’ regulation about «Thievery» against humans wouldn’t apply to this situation, it didn’t mean they could do anything they wanted as long as it wasn’t prohibited.
Eugeo looked at Kirito and Alice again before nodding.
“Let’s follow our plan, only taking the ice. If it’s just ice, even if the dragon was still alive, it would forgive us, surely.”
After he said that, Eugeo walked closer to the icicles, and kicked a small ice crystal which stretched up from the base of the big icicle like a newly grown bud. Pakin, with a good sound, he picked up the broken lump before holding it out to Alice, who opened the lid of the empty wicker basket and placed the ice inside.
The three concentrated on working to pack the ice fragments into the wicker basket without talking for a while. When the base of the icicle was cleared, they moved to the next column and repeated their actions. In just a few minutes, the big wicker basket was full of crystals which looked like transparent blue jewels.
“Yoi……sho-tto”
Alice exerted her strength to pull up the wicker basket while looking at the group of lights between her arms,
“……So beautiful. Somehow, it’s such a waste to bring these back and let them all melt.”
“Aren’t we bringing these back to prolong our boxed lunch?”
Kirito said matter-of-factly while making a frown, Alice suddenly held out the basket to the black haired boy.
“Eh? I have to carry it all the way back too?”
“Isn’t it obvious? These are too heavy for me anyway.”
Trying to keep them from starting their usual bickering, Eugeo hurriedly said,
“I’ll help, we can take turns to carry it. ——Well, if we don’t go back now, we won’t reach the village before evening. Haven’t we already been in this cave for nearly an hour?”
“Ah…… as I can’t see Solus, I don’t know the exact time. Is there something in the sacred arts that can tell what time it is now?”
“Nope!”
Alice quickly averted her face, a small exit could be seen from one side of the wide lake of ice.
Next, looking around, on the opposite side was another exit.
Then, she drooped her shoulders before speaking,
“——Hey, which way did we come from?”
Eugeo and Kirito immediately pointed to the direction they were very confident of. Of course, they pointed at different exits.
There must be footprints - unfortunately, there was not a single depression on the smooth ice surface; the side where water from the lake flowed to must be the exit - unfortunately, it flowed out of both sides; the direction the skull was looking at was the exit - unfortunately, it didn’t look at either side; after all options were exhausted in vain, finally Alice started to explain something likely to be a pointer.
“Look, isn’t there a frozen puddle that Eugeo stepped on and broke? If we go closer to the exit and see it, that would be the correct one.”
I see, it’s as she said. As if to hide his embarrassment because he couldn’t think of it himself, Eugeo coughed, before nodding.
“Alright, it’s decided, let’s go check on the nearer side.”
“I think that way is correct though……”
While Kirito was still grumbling in reluctance, Eugeo used his left hand to push his back while holding the ear of grass in his right hand high, and stepped into the waterway in front of him.
When the ice columns that reflected the light had disappeared from their surroundings, what had been a reliable sacred light now felt very unreliable. The three increased their pace.
“……Hmm, we don’t know the road back, just like the Berin brothers in the old tale. It’d be great if we had scattered nuts on the way in, as there are no birds to eat them anyway.”
Kirito’s silly talk felt somewhat feigned, So this carefree partner can feel uneasy too huh? Eugeo became slightly amused in contrast.
“What are you talking about? We don’t have nuts in the first place. If you want to utilize what you have learned, how about putting your cloth at each fork we’ll run into?”
“Stop it, I’ll catch a cold like that.”
As Kirito imitated intentional sneezing, Alice slapped his back.
“Stop talking nonsense and look at the ground carefully. If we overlook it, it’ll be troublesome…… or rather……”
As she cut her speech off, she frowned before continuing,
“Hey, we have walked for a while now but still can’t see the broken ice puddle…… So, it’s actually the other path?”
“No, let’s go a bit more…… Ah, listen.”
As Kirito suddenly put his finger to his lips, Eugeo and Alice stopped talking. They listened carefully.
Certainly, there was another sound mixed in with the flow of the groundwater stream. It sounded like a melancholic whistle that raised and lowered in pitch.
“Ah…… the sound of wind?”
Alice murmured. Certainly, Eugeo also realized it was a sound similar to the treetops playing in the wind.
“The exit is nearby! It’s great we picked this path, let’s hurry!”
As he called out in relief, he started jogging to resume advancing.
“Hey, you’ll slip if you run in a place like this.”
But even though she said so, Alice also increased her pace. Following them from behind was Kirito, who made a doubtful expression.
“But…… does summer wind sound like this? Somehow…… it sounds like cold winter wind……”
“The strong valley winds blow like that. Anyway, let’s get out of here quickly.”
The light in Eugeo’s right hand swung violently as he approached the cave exit. My heart has already overflowed with the feeling of quickly going back to the village, to my home. I’m sure my family would be surprised once I show them the fragment of ice I got from Alice.
But, the ice will melt quickly. Maybe it’d be better if I took an old silver coin back there…… As he thought that, he saw a small light in the darkness up ahead.
“The exit!”
He shouted with a smiling face, then frowned. The light became faintly reddish. They had entered the cave just around lunch, the time they spent inside was at most an hour or a little more, it seemed they had been in the underground world longer than they realized. If Solus had already started sinking to the west, and they didn’t hurriedly go back, they wouldn’t reach the village in time for dinner.
Eugeo quickened his pace. The high-pitched sound of the wind echoing into the cave had already dominated the sound of the river.
“Hey Eugeo, stop for a bit! This is
weird, it has just been two hours at most but……”
Alice who ran behind him raised her voice in anxiety. However, Eugeo didn’t stop. I’ve had had enough of this adventure. Right now, I want to be home even a moment sooner——
Turning to the right, turning to the left, and turning to the right again, finally the light fully spread in his vision. The exit was just a few mels ahead. He narrowed his eyes which had been accustomed to the dark while gradually loosening his running pace, before completely stopping.
The cave ended just there.
However, in front of Eugeo’s eyes wasn’t the world he knew.
The whole sky was deep red. But it wasn’t the color of the setting sun. First of all, Solus couldn’t be found anywhere in the sky. Like the juice from the hanging mountain grapes that were too ripe —— or the sheep’s blood which was thrown out, only a dull, depressing red spread across his eyes.
The ground was black. On the other side was the strangely steep mountain range which was dotted in front by strangely shaped rocky mountains, the water surface which could be seen here and there were stained in black with something reminiscent of ash. The skin of twisted dead trees was white like polished bone.
The wind, which blew violently as if to tear everything in pieces, shook the dead treetops, causing long melancholic cries. It was without a doubt, the sound of the wind they had heard inside the cave.
A place like this, a world which was forsook by gods, wasn’t the Human World Eugeo lived in. Then —— what the three were looking at, this scene was——
“Dark…… Territory……”
Kirito’s hoarse voice was immediately carried off by the sound of the wind.
The place where the authority of the Axiom Church couldn’t extend its reach to, the land of the devil tribes serving under the god of darkness Vector, the world which they had thought only existed inside the tales told by the village elders, was just a few steps ahead. As he thought that, the center of Eugeo’s head became freezing cold, he couldn’t do anything but to stand still. As if having touched that information for the first time in his life, the large amount of it flew into a section of his mind which had never been used before, he was no longer able to even handle thoughts of his own.
Inside his head, which was stained in pure white, was a single sentence written at the beginning of the Taboo Index, shining clearly and brightly. The first chapter, third passage, eleventh paragraph which should have been forgotten after talking to Alice the day before. [Not anyone is to go beyond the Mountain range enclosing the edge of the Human World]
“No…… don’t go any further……”
Eugeo recklessly moved his stiff mouth and squeezed the words out. He spread his arms as if to prevent Kirito and Alice, who were behind him, from falling.
At that time. A solid metal striking sound echoed from above, Eugeo’s body trembled in surprise. He looked up at the red sky reflexively.
In the blood red background, he could see something white intertwined with something black.
As they were flying at frightening heights, they were tiny little specks. It seemed their real size would be far beyond humans. While the two flying bodies were intensely switching places, they separated before approaching each other again, the moment they blended together, an intermittent metallic sound echoed.
“The dragon knights……”
Kirito, who was looking up at the sky beside Eugeo, whispered in a husky voice.
It was as his partner said, the two fighting each other had long necks and tails, they were huge flying dragons, each with a pair of triangular wings. The body of the riders could be seen on their backs, armed with swords and shields. The one riding the white dragon was in a white silver armor, on the black dragon was a knight in jet black armor. Their swords were like that too, the beam of dazzling light from the white knight’s sword was stagnated by the miasma released from the black knight’s sword.
As the two dragon knights struck each other with their swords, the sound of thunderous impact reverberated, as large amount of tiny fire particles danced in the air.
“I wonder if the white one is…… the Church’s Integrity Knight……”
To Alice’s mutter, Kirito nodded slightly.
“Right…… The black one is the knight of the darkness’ forces, I guess…… With strength on par to the Integrity Knight’s.”
“It can’t be……”
Eugeo shook his head inadvertently.
“The Integrity Knights are the world’s strongest. He can’t be defeated by the likes of a knight of darkness.”
“I wonder about that. From the look of it, there isn’t much difference in their sword skills. Both can’t penetrate the other’s defense.”
Immediately after Kirito said that. As if hearing his voice, the white knight pulled his dragon’s bridle and gained a large gap. The black dragon flapped its wings violently to shorten the distance.
However, before the distance could be reduced, the white dragon turned its head sharply by bending its neck, along with an action which seemed to be gathering power. Immediately after that, while still swinging its neck, its jaws opened wide. A colorless flame gushed out in a straight line from between its fangs, and wrapped the black dragon knight entirely.
The roar which dominated the sound of the wind struck Eugeo’s ears. The black dragon twisted its body in pain, shaking violently in mid air and descended. Without missing that chance, the Integrity Knight had replaced his sword with a reddish brown great bow and drew it to the limit, before releasing a long arrow.
The arrow drew a faint trace of flame in the mid air, without missing, it pierced through the black knight’s chest.
“Ah……”
Alice raised a small voice which sounded like a shriek.
As the skin of both its wings had been burnt completely, the black dragon lost its ability to fly and wriggled violently in mid air. The black knight separated from its back, and with a trail of blood, started falling straight toward the cave entrance where the three of them stood.
First, the black sword stabbed upright into the gravel mixed ground, producing a dry sound. Next, at a place about ten mels away from the three of them, the knight crashed. Lastly, the black dragon crashed into the considerably far rocky mountain, it moved its long tail while crying in agony, before it stopped moving altoghether.
In front of the three children who were staring wordlessly, the black knight was struggling in pain, trying to raise his upper body. On the dully shining metal armor’s breastplate, the deep hole from the pierce wound could be seen. The knight’s face, which was hidden behind the thick visor, was directed straight at the three.
His slightly trembling right hand stretched out as if asking for help. But immediately after that, a large amount of fresh blood gushed out of the neck of the armor, the knight then collapsed onto the ground. The red liquid spread wide from the body which no longer moved, soaking into the gaps of the black gravel.
“Ah…… ah……”
A thin voice leaked from Alice on Eugeo’s right side. Moving as if she was sucked toward, staggering forward —— to the outside of the cave.
Eugeo didn’t have any reaction. However, Kirito on his left made a low and sharp shout “Nooo!!” Alice heard that voice, her body trembled, trying to stop. But her feet were tangled, her body inclined forward. This time Eugeo also stretched his hand along with Kirito in reflex, trying to grab Alice’s clothes.
However, their fingertips only sliced air.
Alice collapsed on the ground of the cave and leaked a small voice, followed by the trail of her long golden hair.
It’s just falling. Even if I checked the «Window», Life would be reduced by just one or two points. However, the problem wasn’t that. The moment Alice fell, her right hand stretched forward, and went about twenty cens past the strangely clear boundary between the bluish grey cave floor and the ash colored ground ahead. The pure white palm touched the pure black gravel. The Land of
darkness, Dark Territory’s ground.
“Alice―……!”
Kirito and Eugeo unanimously called, they stretched out both hands and grabbed Alice’s body tightly. Normally, doing something like this would get them yelled at until they regretted it, but this time, she just stood firm as if in a trance, and was pulled back into the cave.
Alice, who was held up by Eugeo’s and Kirito’s hands, had her eyes wide opened at the defeated black knight, before long, her gaze dropped to her right hand. The fluffy palm still had sand and small stones stuck to it, every single grain pitch black.
“…………I…… I……”
Alice murmured in a grave tone, as Eugeo mindlessly stretched his hands out to her right hand. He rubbed her palm, wiping out all the grains of sand, and said earnestly,
“I-It’s alright, Alice. You didn’t go out of the cave. Your hand just touched it. That, surely, isn’t forbidden, right? Right, Kirito?!”
Eugeo lifted his face and looked at his partner’s face as if to rely on him. But Kirito wasn’t looking at Eugeo nor Alice. While standing on his knees, his gaze was sharply running through the surroundings.
“W-What’s the matter, Kirito?”
“…………Don’t you feel it, Eugeo? It’s like…… someone…… something……”
He frowned and started looking around again after speaking, however, in the cave there wasn’t even a bug, let alone a human. The only thing that entered his vision was at the place ten mels away, the dead black knight. The figure of the Integrity Knight who had won the battle had already disappeared from the sky.
“It’s just your imagination, rather than that……”
Let’s get Alice to the other side of the cave quickly.
As Eugeo was about to say that, Kirito grabbed his shoulder at full force. While frowning, Eugeo followed his partner’s gaze, immediately after that, his body became intensely rigid.
Near the ceiling of the cave, there was something strange.
A violet circle shook like the surface of water. With a diameter of about fifty cens, vaguely looking out of it, was —— a human face. It was hard to tell if it were male or female, young or old from its plain features. Its skin was pale, its head didn’t have a single strand of hair. Both of its eyes which opened in a perfect circle were also void of emotions. However, Eugeo could instinctively guess. Those eyes weren’t looking at him or Kirito, but at the person who was sitting absentmindedly on the ground, Alice.
Sword Art Online - Volume 9 - Alicization Beginning Page 5
