Prologue I: July 372 HE Part 2

The only times Azalia and her apprentice, Alice, used the sacred arts was when a villager became sick or injured in a way that

herbs could not heal. So the sight of this stalk of grass glowing in

the darkness came as some surprise to him.

He asked, "Uh, Alice…are you allowed to do that? You won't

get punished, or…"

"Hah. If I was going to get punished for something like this, I'd

have been struck by lightning ten times before now."

"…"

Before he could ask what she meant by that, she thrust the

glowing stalk of grass toward Eugeo. He took it without thinking,

then blanched.

"I-I have to go first?!"

"Of course. Are you going to make the delicate little girl lead

the way? Eugeo goes in front, and Kirito in the back. Now let's get

going before we waste any more time."

"R-right."

More out of her momentum than any desire of his own, Eugeo

held up the tiny torch and started treading farther into the cave.

The flat rock ledge curved here and there but kept a certain

width as it went. The dark gray walls shone as though wet, and

every once in a while, he felt the sensation of something small

moving around in the darkness, out of sight. But no matter how

hard he looked, there was nothing resembling ice. Sharp gray

protuberances hung from the ceiling like icicles, but they were

clearly just rock stalactites.

A few minutes later, Eugeo muttered over his shoulder to Kirito. "Hey…you said the icicles were supposed to be right inside

the cave's entrance, right?"

"Did I say that?" his partner replied, playing dumb.

"You did!" he snapped. Alice held out a hand to stop him.

"Hey, bring the light closer to me."

"…?"

Eugeo held out the stalk to Alice's face. She rounded her lips

and blew softly toward the light.

"Ah…"

"Did you see that? My breath is white, like in the winter."

"Oh, geez. No wonder it's been feeling colder," Kirito grumbled. Eugeo ignored him and nodded to Alice.

"It's summer outside but winter in this cave. There must be

ice," she claimed.

"Right. Let's go in a bit farther."

He turned and resumed his careful progress down the cave

tunnel, which seemed to be steadily widening. The only sounds

that could be heard were the scraping of their shoes against the

rock floor and the streaming of the brook beside them. Even so

close to the source, its flow was the same strength.

"If we had a boat, it would be so easy to get back!" Kirito piped

up from behind. Eugeo hissed at him to stay quiet. They were already much deeper into the cave than they'd originally planned.

So far, in fact…

"What should we do if we really come across the white

dragon?" Alice whispered, reading Eugeo's thoughts.

"I guess…we'll just have to run away…" he whispered back, but

it was drowned out by Kirito's next oblivious comment:

"It'll be fine. The dragon chased Bercouli because he was stealing the sword, remember? Well, I'm sure the dragon won't mind

if we're only taking icicles. But then again…if possible, I sure

would like one of its old scales…"

"What in the world are you thinking?"

"I mean, just think of what'll happen if we bring back proof

that we saw a real dragon. Zink and the others'll die of jealousy!"

"That's not funny! And just so you know, if you get chased

around by a dragon, the two of us are running off and leaving you

behind."

"Don't shout so loudly, Eugeo."

"That's your fault for talking nonsense, Kirito…"

Eugeo fell silent when he heard a strange sound at his feet. It

was a cracking sound, like he had stepped on something and broken it. He brought down the light and checked under his right

foot, then gasped.

"Oh! Look at this."

Alice and Kirito leaned down to peer at where his toe was

pointing. A little puddle of water pooled on the smooth gray rock

had a thin layer of ice over its top. He reached out and plucked

free a piece of the clear film.

Within seconds, the ice melted into water in his palm, but it

was enough to bring smiles to the trio's faces.

"That's ice, sure enough. There must be more ahead," Eugeo

said, holding out the light. A number of other frozen puddles reflected it back. And up ahead, much farther into the darkness of

the cave…

"Oh…there's a lot shining up there," Alice pointed out. When

Eugeo moved his hand, countless tiny sparkles flickered ahead.

They forgot all about the dragon and trotted farther down the

tunnel in that direction.

After what felt like another hundred mels, the walls on either

side suddenly vanished.

And the trio was faced with a breathtakingly fantastical sight.

It was huge. A vast chamber that seemed impossible for a subterranean cave. It was at least twice as large as the square in front

of the church.

The chamber's walls, which curved in a spherical shape, were

not the damp gray of before but were covered by a thick, palewhite film. The floor itself was an enormous pond—no, a lake. It

perfectly explained how the Rul River came to be, except that the

surface was completely still. It was frozen solid from the banks all

the way to the center.

Out of the misty lake jutted oddly shaped pillars here and

there, easily taller than the three children. They were hexagonal,

with pointed ends. Eugeo was reminded of the crystal that Old

Man Garitta had shown him once, years ago, only these were

much larger and more beautiful. The numerous pure-blue pillars

absorbed the holy light that Eugeo's grass stalk emitted, then

sprayed it all around to reflect off the other surfaces, such that

the entire domed space glowed with light. The number of pillars

increased toward the center of the lake, making it impossible to

see to the middle.

Ice. The walls around them, the lake below them, the strange

looming pillars—everything was made of ice. The blue walls

stretched up to form a rounded top far above, like the ceiling of

the chapel.

They stood still for minutes, breathing out white mist, forgetting the chill that stung their skin. Eventually, her voice trembling, Alice mumbled, "I think there's enough ice here to chill all

the food in the village."

"More like enough to turn the village to winter on its own.

C'mon, let's go in farther," Kirito suggested, and took a few steps

forward to test out the lake ice. He carefully added more and

more weight until he was standing on it with both feet, but the ice

was so thick that it didn't even creak.

Normally it was Eugeo's job to reel in his partner's reckless

ideas, but curiosity won out in this case. He couldn't help but

wonder if there really was a white dragon up ahead.

Eugeo held up the holy light, and he and Alice followed after

Kirito. Carefully, silently, they traveled toward the center of the

lake, moving from the shadow of one giant ice pillar to another.

This is amazing. What if I see a real dragon? Will our story

be told for centuries, like the others'? And if we're able to do

what Bercouli couldn't…and bring home a piece of the dragon's

treasure, will the village elder rethink our Calling and give us a

new one…?

"Mmph!" Eugeo had been so wrapped up in his fantasies that

he smacked his nose right into the back of Kirito's head after the

other boy came to a halt. "Hey, don't just stop like that, Kirito!"

But his partner did not respond. He heard only a low moan.

"…What is this…?"

"Huh…?"

"What the hell is this?!"

Curious, Eugeo and Alice both peered around Kirito's sides to

see what was ahead.

"What's the big idea, Kiri…" Alice started—and then she saw

what Eugeo saw.

It was a mountain of bones.

Bones made of blue ice. The fierce shine coming off them

made the bones look like carved crystal. The vast collection held a

variety of bones of all shapes and sizes, all of which were far

larger than a human. Together, they formed a pile that easily

dwarfed the three children, and resting at the top was an especially large piece that told them exactly what kind of bones these

were.

Eugeo understood at once that it was a skull. It had empty

sockets and long, narrow nostrils. At the back were jutting

growths like horns, and the gleaming jaw featured many, many

fangs the size of swords.

"The white dragon's…bones?" Alice whispered. "It's dead…?"

"Yeah…but it didn't just die," Kirito answered, calm once

again. Eugeo could tell, through his intense familiarity with the

boy, that there was an emotion present that he rarely exhibited.

Kirito took a few steps forward and picked up an enormous

claw that once may have been the dragon's forearm. He lifted the

heavy thing with both hands and showed it to the others.

"Look…see how damaged it is? And the end is chipped clean

off."

"Was it fighting with something? But what could possibly kill a

dragon…?" Alice wondered. Eugeo had the same question. The

white dragon of the north made its home in the mountains that

surrounded the world, one of the great ultimate guardians that

protected mankind from the forces of darkness. What kind of

creature could kill such a beast…?

"These wounds aren't from fighting an animal or another

dragon," Kirito muttered, tracing the blue claw with the thick of

his thumb.

"Huh…? Then what was it…?"

"These are blade marks. A human being killed this dragon."

"B-but…but even Bercouli the hero, champion of the tournament in Centoria, could only run away from the dragon. How

could any swordsman achieve such a…?" Alice started, then fell

quiet as a thought occurred to her. Silence settled on the icy lake,

now revealed to be a massive grave.

Seconds later, tiny lips unleashed a fearful whisper.

"…An Integrity Knight…? Did an Integrity Knight from the

Axiom Church slay the white dragon…?"

3

An Integrity Knight, the ultimate realization of law and order and

symbol of goodness, killed a white dragon that served as protector of the human world. In eleven years without ever doubting the

way of the world, Eugeo had never considered a concept as difficult as this. He agonized over a suspicion he could neither swallow nor chew, and he shot his partner a pleading glance.

"…I don't know," Kirito muttered, no more certain than Eugeo.

"Perhaps…there was an incredibly strong knight from the land of

darkness who came and killed the dragon…But if that was true,

then it doesn't make sense that the armies of darkness never once

crossed the End Mountains to attack. And it certainly doesn't

seem like whoever did it was after treasure…"

He walked over to the dragon's remains and placed the claw

back on the pile, then reached down and dragged out something

long from the bottom.

"Whoa…this is really heavy…"

He unsteadily dragged the object about a mel and showed it to

Eugeo and Alice.

It was a longsword with a white leather sheath and platinum

pommel. There were fine inlaid patterns of blue roses here and

there on the handle, making it clear from a glance that it was

more valuable than any sword in the village.

"Oh…could that be…?" Alice wondered, eyes wide. Kirito nodded.

"Yeah. It's got to be the Blue Rose Sword that Bercouli tried to

steal from the sleeping dragon. I wonder why whoever killed the

dragon didn't take it with them…"

He crouched down and, grabbing the grip with both hands,

tried to lift it, but the best he could do was get the tip a few dozen

cens from the surface of the ice.

"…I can't!" Kirito shouted, and dropped the sword. It clattered

heavily to the ice, causing fine cracks to form in the thick layer. It

had to be unbelievably heavy for such a slender weapon.

"What do we do with it?" Eugeo asked. His partner shook his

head as he stood up straight again.

"It's no good. We couldn't get this back to town even if the two

of us carried it together. All it takes is a few swings of that ax to

get us wheezing, remember. But it does look like there's other

kinds of treasure down under the bones…"

"Yes…but I don't feel in the mood to go taking it out of here,"

Alice murmured gravely. The boys shared her opinion.

They wanted a tiny little prize from a sleeping dragon to show

off to the other children, but taking treasure from this place

would be little more than grave robbing. The taboo in the Index

about stealing applied only to other humans and not here, but

just because something was not in the Taboo Index did not mean

it was justified.

Eugeo looked again at his friends, then nodded. "Let's just

take the ice, as we planned. I'm certain that the white dragon

would have allowed us to do that, if it were alive."

He walked over to a nearby icicle and kicked at one of the

countless ice crystals growing from its base like plant buds. It

cracked off cleanly, and he picked it up and offered it to Alice,

who lifted the lid of the empty basket and tossed it inside.

For the next few minutes, the trio gathered up shards of ice to

put into the basket. When the base of that pillar was clean, they

moved on to the next one to repeat the process. Before long, the

large basket was completely full of little blue ice crystals that

sparkled like precious stones.

"There…we…go." Alice grunted as she lifted the basket. She

stared down at the mass of twinkling light in her arms. "It's so

beautiful. It seems like a shame to take it home and have it all

melt."

"I don't care, as long as it keeps our lunches fresher," Kirito

opined crassly. She made a face at him, then held out the basket.

"What? I have to carry it back, too?"

"Of course you do. It's quite heavy."

Eager to stop them before they started bickering like usual,

Eugeo suggested, "I'll take turns carrying it with you. We need to

get going back to the village or we won't make it by the evening.

It's been nearly an hour since we entered the cave, wouldn't you

say?"

"Yeah…It's hard to tell the time when you can't see Solus.

Can't you use a sacred art that will tell us the time or something?"

"There's no such thing!" Alice snapped, and turned her head

away in a huff to glance at the exit to the side of the vast ice lake.

Then she turned to the opposite wall to look at another exit.

She frowned.

"Umm, which one did we come through, again?"

Eugeo and Kirito both pointed confidently—at different exits.

Once they had exhausted the other possibilities—that there

should be footprints (the smooth ice surface left no marks), that

the exit the water flowed through was the right one (it was flowing out of both), that the direction the dragon skull looked was

the exit (it wasn't pointed toward either)—Alice finally suggested

an option that seemed promising.

"Remember how Eugeo stepped on that little puddle and

broke the ice? We should find it a short distance down the correct

tunnel."

It was a good point. Eugeo cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment that he hadn't thought of that himself and said,

"Okay, let's check the nearer tunnel first, then."

"I still think it's the other one," Kirito grumbled. Eugeo pushed

him on the back, held up the glowing stalk, and walked forward

toward the water-carved tunnel.

Once they were out of range of all that reflective and refractive

ice, the formerly steadfast sacred light seemed weak and unhelpful. It hastened their pace down the tunnel.

"…Getting lost so we can't find the way back. Who are we, the

Berrin brothers from the old tale? We should have left a trail of

nuts behind us. No birds in the cave to eat them," Kirito groused,

but it was an empty attempt to hide his worry. Oddly enough,

Eugeo found it reassuring to learn that his best friend could actually be worried in this situation.

"Don't be silly, we didn't have any nuts with us to start with. If

you want to start making use of our lessons, why don't you leave a

piece of clothing at every branch in the path?"

"No way, I'll catch a cold," Kirito complained, and mimed a

sneeze.

Alice smacked him on the back and said, "Stop being stupid

and start watching the ground. We don't want to miss the puddle.

In fact…" She paused, then frowned, her brows arching. "We've

walked quite a long ways, and I haven't seen any broken ice. Do

you suppose it was the other direction?"

"No, I think it's farther ahead…Oh, hey, quiet."

Kirito put a finger to his lips, and Eugeo and Alice clamped

their mouths shut. They listened carefully.

Beneath the quiet trickling of the brook next to them was a different sound. It was wavering between higher and lower pitches,

like a mournful flute.

"Is that…the wind?" Alice wondered. Eugeo thought it did

sound quite a bit like the wind rustling through branches.

"We're nearly outside!" he shouted in relief. "We picked the

right way! Let's go!" He took off at a trot.

"Don't run, or you're going to slip and fall," Alice warned, but

she was skipping, too. Kirito took up the rear, his expression suspicious.

"But…is that the sound the summer breeze makes? It sounds

more like…the rattle of winter…"

"It'll blow that hard in the canyons. Let's just get out of this

cave already," Eugeo said. He sped through the cave at an easy

run, the light in his hand jiggling wildly. The desire to get back to

the village and his comfortable home was rising within him. If he

got some of the ice from Alice and showed his family, they would

be stunned.

But ice melts so fast. Maybe we should have taken one of

those old silver coins instead, he thought, just as a little light appeared in the darkness ahead.

"It's the exit!" he cheered, only to immediately sour. The light

was reddish. They'd gone inside just after noon and could have

spent only an hour inside—but maybe it had been much longer

than he realized. If Solus was already descending to the west, they

might not make it back to the village by dinner unless they rushed

the entire way.

Eugeo sped up. The high-pitched whistling was now loud

enough that it overpowered the sound of the river, bouncing off

the cave walls.

"Wait, Eugeo, wait! Something's wrong! It's only been two

hours; it shouldn't be so…" Alice called out, but he did not stop.

He'd had enough adventure. All that mattered now was getting

home.

He turned right, then left, then right again, and the red light

filled his vision. The exit was just a few dozen mels ahead. He

slowed down as he shielded his dark-accustomed eyes, then finally stopped.

There was the cave mouth.

But the world through it was not the one Eugeo knew.

The sky was entirely red, though not from the setting sun. In

fact, he couldn't see Solus anywhere. It was just an endless expanse of a dull, dark red, like the juice of overripe grapes or

lamb's blood.

Meanwhile, the ground was black. The eerie mountain range

in the distance, the bizarrely shaped rocky outcroppings closer up

—even the water surfaces here and there were as black as cinders.

Only the trunks of the gnarled dead trees were white, like polished bone.

A cutting wind set the dead branches to whistling, a mournful

howl that droned on and on. It was clearly the source of the

sound they'd heard within the cave.

This world, so forsaken by all the gods, could not possibly be

the human world that Eugeo knew. Which meant that the landscape before them was…

"The Dark…Territory…" Kirito rasped, only for it to disappear

among the whistling of the trees.

The place beyond the light of the Axiom Church, the land of

evil dedicated to the dark god Vecta, the world that existed only

in the old stories told by the village elders—just a few steps ahead

of them. The thought froze Eugeo's mind, leaving him helpless to

do anything but stare. It was as if all this new information flooding into a part of his mind he'd never needed to use before robbed

his brain of the ability to process it.

Against the plain white background of his mind, Eugeo saw

one thing sparkling fiercely—a verse from the very start of the

Taboo Index. Book One, Chapter Three, Verse Eleven: "Thou

shalt not cross the End Mountains that encircle the Human Empire."

"We can't…We can't go…any farther," Eugeo struggled to say

through numb lips. He held out his hands, trying to motion Kirito

and Alice back.

Just then, there was a heavy, sharp sound from above. Eugeo

flinched and looked up at the red sky.

Against the bloodred color, he saw something white and something black, locked in a fierce grapple. They were like tiny grains,

so they must have been flying extremely high—but they were

clearly far larger than a human. The two objects dashed back and

forth, closing in on each other and then breaking apart, the clashing of metal sounding each time they crossed each other.

"They're dragon knights," Kirito muttered.

As he said, the two combatants were huge flying dragons, with

long necks and tails and triangular wings. Barely visible on their

backs were knights with swords and shields. The knight on the

white dragon wore white armor, while the one on the black

dragon was clad in all black. Even their swords matched their

color—the white knight's shining bright, while the black knight's

trailed a dark miasma.

With each collision of their swords came a blast like thunder

and a shower of sparks.

"I suppose the white one…is one of the Church's Integrity

Knights," Alice murmured.

"Yeah, I bet you're right," Kirito added. "And the black one

must be a dragon knight for the forces of darkness…He seems to

be about as tough as the Integrity Knight…"

"No way…" Eugeo murmured, shaking his head. "The Integrity

Knights are the strongest people in existence. They'd never fail to

beat a dark knight."

"I don't know. From what I can tell, their sword skill is about

even. Neither one is breaking down the other's defense," Kirito

noted. Just then, as if hearing what they were saying, the white

knight pulled back on the dragon's reins to open up the distance

between them. The black dragon swept forward, trying to close

the gap.

But before the distance closed between them, the white dragon

pulled into a sharp turn and lowered its head, appearing to tense

and summon its strength. Its neck shot forward and its jaws

opened wide. A line of brilliant white fire shot from between its

fangs, covering the black dragon knight.

An explosion drowned out the sound of the howling wind in

Eugeo's ears. The black knight writhed in pain and lurched to the

side in midair. The Integrity Knight took the opportunity to

switch out his sword for a giant bronze-colored bow and loose a

similarly long arrow.

It flew through the air with a faint trail of fire behind it and

landed smack in the middle of the black knight's chest.

"Ah…!" Alice let out a little shriek.

The black dragon, the film of its wings mostly burned away,

began to plummet. The knight tumbled from the dragon's back,

spraying blood as he fell directly toward the cave where the children stood.

First came the black sword, sticking blade-first into the gravel

nearby. Next was the knight, landing barely ten mels away from

the trio. Lastly, the black dragon struck the rocky mountain a

considerable distance away, shrieking one last time before it fell

silent.

The three children watched in silence as the black knight

struggled painfully to sit up. They could see the deep hole torn

into the shining breastplate. The knight's head, covered with a

heavy helmet that hid the wearer's features, turned to face them.

A trembling hand stretched out, pleading for help. Then an

eruption of blood spilled from the throat of the helmet, and the

knight collapsed to the ground with a clatter. Red liquid continued to pool beneath the still body, spreading along the black

gravel.

"Ah…ah…" Alice continued to gasp at Eugeo's side. She stumbled forward, as if compelled, out of the mouth of the cave.

Eugeo couldn't even react. On his other side, Kirito hissed,

"No!!" Alice twitched and tried to stop, but her foot stumbled and

she toppled forward. Both Eugeo and Kirito reached out on instinct, trying to grab Alice's dress.

Their fingers just missed and touched only empty air.

Alice tumbled to the cave floor, her blond hair flying, and

grunted.

She just fell over. That was all. It wouldn't have affected her

life more than one or two points, if they checked her window. But

that wasn't the problem. When she fell forward, the fingers of her

right hand landed about twenty cens over the very clear boundary

line between the bluish gray of the cavern rock and the cinderblack ground. Her white palm brushed the black gravel. The surface of the Dark Territory.

"Alice!" the two boys cried together, reaching down to grab

their friend's body. It was the kind of thing that she would scold

them for under normal circumstances, but they were too desperate to drag her back into the cave to think about consequences.

When they lifted her back up, her eyes were still fixed on the

fallen knight. Eventually they fell to her hand. The puffy palm

had a number of little pebbles and grains of sand stuck in it. They

were as black as a brand.

"…I…I…" she stammered. Eugeo reached out both hands to

hers in a trance. He rubbed away all the grit and desperately tried

to reassure her.

"D-don't worry, Alice. You didn't actually leave the cave. You

just brushed it with your hand. That's not a taboo, right? Right,

Kirito?"

He looked up at his partner, pleading. But Kirito wasn't looking at either Eugeo or Alice. He was down on one knee, focusing

hard on their surroundings.

"Wh-what is it, Kirito?"

"…Don't you feel it, Eugeo? Someone…something…"

Eugeo frowned and looked around as well, but there wasn't

even a bug in the cave with them, much less another person. All

he saw was the black knight ten mels away, presumably dead. The

victorious Integrity Knight was nowhere to be seen in the sky.

"It's just your imagination. Come on, let's…"

Take Alice back down the other path of the cave, Eugeo was

going to say, but Kirito grabbed his shoulder. Eugeo grimaced

and followed his partner's gaze, then froze solid with terror.

There was something near the ceiling of the cave.

A purple circle, rippling like the surface of water. On the other

side of the fifty-cen-wide circle was the vague image of a human

face. The face was simplistic, so much so that it was impossible to

say if it was male or female, young or old. The skin was pale,

without a single hair on the entire head. The wide-open eyes contained no visible emotion. But Eugeo knew instinctively that it

was not looking at him or Kirito but at the stunned Alice between

them.

The face's mouth opened and spoke odd, unintelligible words

through the purple portal.

"Singular Unit Detected. Tracing ID…"

The marble-like eyes blinked, followed by that strange voice

again.

"Coordinates Fixed. Report Complete."

The purple window abruptly vanished. Eugeo belatedly realized that the thing's words resembled the mantra of sacred arts,

and he looked first at Kirito and Alice, then at his own body.

Nothing had changed.

But the incident was much too bizarre to ignore. Eugeo shared

a look with his partner, then they helped Alice up and cradled

their trembling friend as they proceeded back into the cave. The

group began to run in the direction from which they'd come.

Eugeo couldn't exactly remember how they'd made their way

back to Rulid.

When they got back to the lake where the dragon's bones slept,

they crossed right through it to the exit on the other side. They

ran back through the long cave in a fraction of the time it had

taken them originally, tripping and sliding on the wet rock many

times, and by the time they leaped out into the light again, the afternoon sun was still pouring down from above.

Yet Eugeo's unease could not be forgotten. The thought of that

eerie white face poking out of the purple window behind them

spurred him onward without rest.

The birds chirped peacefully in the forest branches and the

schools of little fish darted here and there in the brook beside

them, but the trio marched on in resolute silence. They crossed

the hill that was supposed to be the northern pass, then the twin

ponds, and finally reached the north end of Rulid Bridge.

When they at last reached the foot of the ancient tree where

they'd met in the morning, relief was palpable. They looked at

one another and managed weak, nervous smiles.

"Here, Alice, look," Kirito said, holding out the heavy basket. It

was full of the summer ice that was the goal of their little adventure—and Eugeo suddenly realized that he'd forgotten all about it.

He tried to hide his sheepishness by advising, "You should put

that in the basement as soon as you get back. Then it might last

until tomorrow."

"…Okay, I will." She nodded obediently, taking the basket and

looking at the two boys. At last, her confident smile returned.

"Look forward to tomorrow's lunch. I'm going to make sure you

get a proper reward for all your hard work."

Neither of the boys was cruel enough to point out that it was

Sadina who would be treating them to a good meal. They shared a

look, then nodded.

"…What was that pause for?" she asked suspiciously.

They patted her shoulders from either side and chimed,

"Nothing! Let's go home!"

They walked back to the center of town under the true sunset

now. Kirito headed for the church where he lived, and Alice went

to the village elder's house. Eugeo arrived at his home on the west

side of the village just seconds before the bell rang six.

All throughout dinner, Eugeo was silent. He was certain that

his older siblings had never had such an adventure—not even his

parents or grandparents—but for some reason, he didn't feel like

boasting about the events of his day.

He didn't know how he would describe that land of darkness

he had seen; nor the battle between the Integrity Knight and the

foe on the black dragon; nor, most of all, the bizarre face that had

appeared from nowhere. In fact, he felt afraid of how his family

would react when they heard the story.

That night, Eugeo went to bed early, hoping to forget everything he had seen at the end of his adventure. If he couldn't, the

awe and respect he felt for the Axiom Church and Integrity

Knights might turn into something else altogether.

4

Solus sank and rose, and the usual schedule of life returned.

Normally, Eugeo would return to his work on the morning

after a rest day with a gloomy outlook, but today, he was more relieved than anything. He'd had enough adventures for now—

chopping at the tree was just fine, thank you very much. He

headed out the south gate of town and met up with Kirito at the

barley field next to the forest.

Eugeo spotted a tinge of relief in his partner's features, as well

as recognition of the same in himself. They shared bashful grins

for a moment.

They retrieved the Dragonbone Ax from the shack a short

ways down the forest path, then continued on for a few minutes

to reach the Gigas Cedar. The sight of the slit carved into the massive trunk would normally remind them of the unchanging nature

of their lives ahead, but today that was a reassurance.

"Okay, the one who gets the least number of good hits has to

buy the siral water again."

"Really? Aren't you tired of always having to pay, Kirito?"

Eugeo teased, continuing their ritual as he lifted the ax. The first

blow struck loud and true, a good sign for the day ahead.

All morning they delivered stout blows to the tree with uncanny accuracy. Neither one wanted to admit that the reason for

his unusual concentration was a desperate attempt to keep the visions of yesterday out of his head.

When they had finished nine sets each of fifty consecutive

swings, Eugeo's stomach rumbled. He looked up to the sky, wiping the sweat from his brow, and saw that Solus was nearly to its

apex. One more set of swings, and Alice would come by with their

lunch. Only this time, they'd be able to take their time eating the

pie and drinking ice-cold milk. The thought brought a twinge of

pain to his empty stomach.

"Whoops…"

If he thought too hard about food, his aim would slip. Eugeo

rubbed his sweaty palms with his towel and took careful grip of

the ax handle.

The sunlight abruptly dimmed.

Great, not a passing shower, Eugeo thought, looking up.

Through the expanse of the Gigas Cedar's branches, he could

see blue sky, and at a significantly low elevation, a fast-moving

black shadow. His heart wrenched up into his throat.

"A dragon?!" he yelled out. "Hey, Kirito! That was—!"

"Yeah, the Integrity Knight from yesterday!" his partner cried,

frozen with fear.

Before their eyes, the platinum-clad knight on the dragon

brushed over the branches of the tree and vanished in the direction of Rulid.

What is he doing here? Eugeo wondered amid complete silence. Even the birds and insects seemed to be holding their

breath.

Integrity Knights were the guardians of order who purged the

enemies of the Axiom Church. Given that there were no rebellious

groups threatening the four cardinal empires that made up the

realms of man, the only enemies for the Integrity Knights to battle were the forces of darkness. So all the tales said they always

fought beyond the End Mountains, a sight Eugeo had witnessed

for himself the day before.

That was the first time he'd ever seen a real Integrity Knight.

One had never actually come to the village in his life. So why

now…?

"You don't think…Alice…?" Kirito murmured.

Suddenly, the sound of that eerie voice from yesterday filled

Eugeo's mind again. The strange arts spoken by the person with

the bizarre features sitting behind the purple window. His spine

went as cold as if someone were dripping freezing water down it.

"You're kidding…They wouldn't…Not for just that…" he

gasped, looking to Kirito for reassurance, but the other boy was

staring grimly in the direction of the knight. After a few moments,

he looked back into Eugeo's eyes and said, "Let's go!"

He grabbed the ax from Eugeo's hand and raced northward.

"H-hey!"

Something bad was going to happen. Eugeo could feel the

dread seeping into his skin as he took off after his partner.

They made their way down the familiar path around tree roots

and rocks until they joined the main road into town through the

farm fields. There was no sign of the dragon flying overhead. Kirito slowed slightly and called out through the green shoots to a

farmer who was staring agape at the sky.

"Mr. Ridack! Which way did the dragon rider go?!"

The farmer turned toward them with a start, as though waking

from a dream. He blinked several times, then answered at last,

"Oh…oh, yes…It went and landed in the center of the village, I

think…"

"Thanks!!" they shouted briefly, and resumed their sprint.

Here and there on the road and in the fields, villagers were

grouped together to stare. No doubt even the elderly in the village

had never seen a real Integrity Knight before. They all just stared

in the direction of the village, uncertain of what to do. Eugeo and

Kirito continued running through their midst.

They sprinted through the south gate, paced the short lane of

shops, then ran over the little stone bridge, and finally came

within view of it. The boys stopped still, the breath catching in

their throats.

The long, curving neck and tail of the dragon occupied the

northern half of the square outside the church.

Its massive wings were folded on either side, nearly hiding the

church building from view. The beast's gray scales and occasional

piece of armor reflected the light of Solus, making it look like an

ice sculpture. Its bloodred eyes stared down impassively at the

village square.

And standing before the dragon was the platinum-clad knight,

shining even brighter.

He was taller than anyone in the village. Every inch of the

knight was covered in thick plate that shone like a mirror and fine

silver chain to cover the joints. The helmet, fashioned to look like

a dragon's head, sprouted one decorative horn at the forehead

and two backward from either side of the skull, with a heavy faceplate hiding the knight's face.

At the knight's left side hung a longsword with a silver handle.

On his back, an enormous brown bow a good mel and a half in

length. It was undoubtedly the very same Integrity Knight they

had seen kill the black dragon rider from the mouth of the cave

yesterday.

The knight stared silently through the cross-shaped slit in the

faceplate toward the south end of the square, where a few dozen

villagers had their heads hanging toward the ground. When he

saw a girl carrying a picnic basket toward the back, Eugeo felt his

shoulders ease with relief. It was Alice, wearing her usual blue

and white apron dress, watching the Integrity Knight through the

crowd of adults.

Eugeo nudged Kirito with his elbow, and they crouched down

as they snuck up right behind Alice and softly called her name.

Their friend spun around, her blond hair waving, about to say

something to them in alarm. Kirito put a finger to his lips to silence her. "Quiet, Alice. You should get away from here at once,"

he whispered.

"Huh…? Why?" she whispered back. Apparently she had no

inkling of the danger she was in. For his part, Eugeo hadn't realized it until Kirito had brought it up, either.

"Well…I think Integrity Knight is…" Eugeo started to explain,

and then paused. A few soft murmurs from the villagers filled the

silence. He looked over and saw a thin, tall man striding from the

town hall toward the square.

"Oh…Father," Alice mumbled.

It was the elder of Rulid, Gasfut Zuberg. His slender frame was

covered in a simple leather tunic, and his black hair and whiskers

were neatly trimmed. Despite having inherited the Calling of village elder only four years ago, the sharpness of his gaze earned

him the respect of all the inhabitants of Rulid.

Gasfut proceeded before the knight, alone and unafraid, then

clasped his hands in front of him and bowed in the manner of the

Axiom Church. Then he straightened up and said in a crisp, loud

voice, "I am Zuberg, the elder of Rulid Village."

The Integrity Knight, standing a full two fists taller than Gasfut, nodded with a faint clank of metal armor, then spoke at last.

"I am the Axiom Integrity Knight overseeing the northern

Norlangarth territory, Deusolbert Synthesis Seven."

The voice had an unnatural ring to it, a quality that identified

the speaker as something other than a mortal human being. The

metallic sound echoed across the square, silencing all the residents of the village. Over twenty mels away, Eugeo grimaced as

he felt the knight's voice pierce his forehead rather than his ears,

burrowing into his mind.

Even Gasfut stumbled back half a step, overwhelmed by its

force. But he quickly recovered, regaining his posture and proclaiming, "It is the utmost of honors that an Integrity Knight, protector of all human lands, should set foot in our humble, distant

village. We wish to offer you a feast of welcome, however meager

it might be."

"That will not be necessary. I am here on official duty," the

knight boomed, the gaze from the slit of the helmet as cold as ice.

"I am here to apprehend and escort Alice Zuberg, daughter of

Gasfut Zuberg, for her crimes against the Taboo Index, so that

she may be judged and her sentence carried out."

Alice's body shook. But neither Eugeo nor Kirito could move a

muscle, much less say anything. The knight's words were echoing, repeating in their heads.

The elder's body also lurched. What could be seen of his facial

features from his distant profile were skewed with emotion.

After a long silence, Gasfut spoke again, his voice no longer

smooth with authority. "My lord knight…what crime is it that my

daughter has committed?"

"She has broken Book One, Chapter Three, Verse Eleven of the

Taboo Index: venturing into the Dark Territory."

The villagers listening to the exchange abruptly broke into uneasy murmuring. The children's eyes bulged, and the adults muttered sacred mantras and made sigils to ward against evil.

At last, instinct pushed Eugeo and Kirito into motion. They

muscled Alice out of the way and stood shoulder to shoulder,

blocking her from the view of the other villagers. But they could

do no more than that. If they moved too quickly, they would draw

the attention of the adults just in front of them.

The only thing in Eugeo's mind was a question that repeated

over and over: What do we do? Terror bubbled in his chest, demanding immediate action, but he had no idea what action that

should be.

All he could do was watch as Gasfut the elder stood, still and

silent, his head hung low. It's all right, he'll do something, Eugeo

thought. He hadn't spoken much with Gasfut, but among the people of the village, the elder was most respected by all, after perhaps Old Man Garitta.

However…

"In that case, I will call my daughter here. I wish to hear her

story for myself," the elder said when he raised his head at last.

No! You can't let the knight see Alice, Eugeo thought wildly.

The Integrity Knight lifted a heavily armored hand. Eugeo's heart

leaped into his throat when he saw that the index finger was

pointing directly toward them.

"That will not be necessary. Alice Zuberg is right there. You

and you…" He pointed at two men in the midst of the crowd.

"Bring the girl to me."

The villagers parted before Eugeo's eyes. Only he and Kirito

stood between the knight and Alice now.

Two familiar villagers walked up through the empty space.

Their skin was pale and lifeless, their eyes oddly empty. The men

pried apart Kirito and Eugeo and pushed them aside, each grabbing one of Alice's arms.

"Ah!" she yelped, then bravely clamped her mouth shut. A

weak grin dimpled her usually rosy cheeks, and she nodded to the

boys to indicate that she was all right.

"Alice…" Kirito mumbled, right as the men roughly yanked her

forward and the basket fell from her arm. The lid opened, spilling

the contents onto the cobblestones.

The men dragged Alice away toward the Integrity Knight before she could scoop it up. Eugeo looked down at the toppled basket.

All the pie and hard bread was wrapped in white cloth, with

the rest of the basket completely packed with fine ice chips. Some

of the ice had spilled out to glitter in the sunlight. Within moments, it began to melt atop the hot stones, fading away into dark

little stains.

At his side, Kirito sucked in a sharp breath. Eugeo raised his

head and watched them drag Alice away. He gritted his teeth and

tried to force his immobile legs into action.

The two men released Alice next to the village elder, then

stepped back and knelt. They clasped their hands and hung their

heads in a gesture of obedience to the knight.

Alice looked to her father, her face pale. Gasfut briefly gave his

daughter a pained look, then lowered his head again.

The Integrity Knight nodded, then pulled an odd tool from the

back of his armor. It was a thick metal chain with three parallel

strips of leather attached, ending in a large ring.

The knight handed the tool to Gasfut with a heavy clank.

"I command the village elder to punish the guilty."

"…"

The elder stared at the shackles, dumbfounded. Just then, Kirito and Eugeo reached the knight. The imposing helmet turned

slowly to face them.

The cross-shaped slit in the front of the helm was entirely

dark, but Eugeo felt the power of that gaze on his skin. He automatically looked away and tried to say something to Alice, who

was just ahead of them, but his throat was scorched, incapable of

speech.

Kirito was similarly downcast, breathing rapidly, but then his

head shot up and he spoke in a loud but tremulous voice. "Sir

Knight!!"

He took another breath. "A-Alice did not enter the Dark Territory! Her hand merely brushed the surface! That was all!"

But the knight's response was brief. "And what else is necessary?"

He waved to the kneeling men, commanding them to take the

boys away. They stood up and grabbed Kirito's and Eugeo's collars, pulling them off. Kirito struggled helplessly. "Then…then

we're guilty, too! We were in the same place! If you're going to

take her away, take us with her!"

But the Integrity Knight did not heed them.

That's right…If Alice broke a taboo, then we ought to be punished with her, Eugeo thought. With all his heart.

But the words would not come out. He tried to shout like Kirito, but all he could do was emit rasping exhaust, as if he had forgotten how to speak.

Alice looked back at him. She gave a small smile and nodded,

as if to say it was all right.

Her stone-faced father slipped the menacing restraints over

her body. She grimaced as the three leather straps wrapped

tightly around her shoulders, stomach, and hips. When the last

was tightened, Gasfut took a few unsteady steps back. The knight

approached Alice and picked up the chain dangling from her

back.

Eugeo and Kirito were dragged to the center of the square and

pushed to their knees. Kirito pretended to wobble toward Eugeo

so that he could whisper into the other boy's ear. "Listen, Eugeo…

I'm going to attack the knight with this ax. I'll try to hold him off

for a few seconds, and you take Alice away to freedom. If you rush

to the barley field to the south, you can hide among the stalks and

slip into the forest. That should give you good enough cover."

Eugeo glanced down at the Dragonbone Ax still clutched in

Kirito's hands and found his voice at last.

"B-but…Kirito…"

You saw the way that Integrity Knight used his sword and

bow yesterday. He'll kill you in no time…just like that black

knight.

Kirito read Eugeo's unspoken thoughts on his face and continued. "It's all right. The knight didn't execute Alice on the spot. I

don't think he can kill someone without a trial or whatever. I'll

look for my chance to escape. Besides…"

He turned his burning gaze upon the knight, who was checking that the restraint straps were on tight. With each tug of a

strap, Alice's face twisted in pain.

"…Besides, if we fail, so what? We'll get hauled in with Alice

and wait until we have a chance to escape. All that matters is that

if Alice gets taken away on that dragon, we'll never see her again."

"I…don't…"

He had a point. But it was so brash and reckless it didn't even

qualify as a "plan." Wasn't that just rebellion against the Church?

The very greatest of crimes, outlawed in Book One, Chapter One,

Verse One…

"Why would you hesitate, Eugeo?! Who cares about taboos?!

Are they more important than Alice's life?!"

Kirito's impassioned but restrained voice lashed his ears.

And he was right.

Deep down, Eugeo's mind screamed at him.

The three of us were born in the same year, and we decided

we'd die in the same year. We swore to always help one another.

Each of us lives for the other two. So there's no reason to hesitate. Which is more important, the Axiom Church or Alice? The

answer is obvious. It should be obvious. It's…it's…

"Eugeo…What's wrong, Eugeo?!" Kirito nearly screamed.

Alice was looking at them, distraught. She shook her head.

A strange, unfamiliar voice broke from his throat. "It's…it's…"

But he couldn't finish the sentence. He couldn't even formulate the words that came next into his head. A sharp pain winced

behind his right eye. An odd itching that refused to go away was

blocking his thoughts. Wince, wince. Bloodred color covered his

vision. The sensation of his limbs faded.

The village elder noticed the change in Eugeo and weakly

waved his arm to the two men standing behind the boys, commanding, "Take them out of the square."

Hands grabbed their collars and resumed pulling.

"Damn…let go! Elder! Mr. Gasfut! Do you really want him to

take Alice away?! Are you fine with that?!" Kirito raged, knocking

away the man's hand. He prepared to charge with the ax.

But his simple leather shoes would not take a single step forward. Something impossible had happened.

Having finished checking Alice's restraints in the distance, the

Integrity Knight merely glanced at Kirito, and the Dragonbone Ax

gripped tightly in the boy's hands clanged and flew high into the

air. The knight hadn't touched his sword or his bow. He hadn't

even moved a finger. Yet as though his own will were a physical

blade, he had struck the ax from Kirito's hands, sending it flying

to the edge of the square.

Kirito fell onto his back with the momentum of that strange

collision. A number of villagers immediately set upon him and

held him down.

His cheek forced into the cobblestones, Kirito screamed,

"Eugeo! Please, you have to go for me!"

"Ah…uhh…" Eugeo grunted. His body shuddered.

Go. You have to go. You have to steal Alice from the knight's

hands and run into the forest, a tiny voice commanded in his

head. But then came that stabbing pain behind his right eyes

again, robbing him of his agency. Another voice clanged inside

his head along with the pulsing red light.

The Axiom Church is absolute. The Taboo Index is absolute.

Disobedience is forbidden. No one is exempt from the law.

"Please, Eugeo! At least get them off me! Then I can—!"

The Integrity Knight did not watch what was happening in the

square. He fixed the end of the chain to another chain connected

to his dragon's saddle. The creature lowered its head, and the

knight swung up to straddle it. The silver armor shone again.

"Eugeo!!" Kirito screamed at bloodcurdling volume.

The white dragon rose, stretched it wings, and beat them.

Again and again, it pounded the air.

Alice was tied directly to the dragon's saddle. She stared at

Eugeo and smiled, her blue eyes seeming to be saying good-bye.

The updraft of the beating wings brushed her golden hair, which

sparkled just as brightly as the knight's armor in the sun.

But Eugeo couldn't move. He couldn't speak.

He couldn't budge an inch, as though his feet were rooted

right into the ground.