Underworld, March 378 HE Part 3

Their skin was a dull grayish-green with patches of bristling

hair. Each head was clean and bald; the only hair there proved to

be needlelike clumps protruding from their ears. They had no

eyebrows, either, just jutting foreheads hanging over bizarrely

large eyes that threw off a cloudy yellow light.

The creatures were alien in appearance and yet completely familiar to me from over the years.

They were undeniably goblins, those low-level monsters that

appeared in nearly every single fantasy RPG. My recognition

brought a certain amount of relief, too: Goblins were usually designed for novice players to practice their skills on and earn experience, and they were almost always weak pushovers.

But my relief lasted for only the brief moment until the nearest

one to me and Eugeo noticed us.

The look I caught in its yellow eyes froze me down to the marrow. I saw a bit of suspicion and surprise, then cruel delight, and,

lastly, boundless hunger. There was enough malice there to make

me feel as helpless as a fly trapped in a spiderweb.

The goblins weren't programs, either.

This realization hit me with an overwhelming terror.

They had souls, too. Just like Eugeo and me—up to a point—

they had the same kind of intelligence shaped by fluctlights.

But why…? How could such a thing be?

In the two days I'd been in this world, I had come to a rough

estimation of exactly what Eugeo, Selka, and the other people

who lived here were—artificial fluctlights controlled not by the

brains of flesh-and-blood people but by saved images of such,

stored on man-made media. I couldn't begin to imagine what sort

of media it was that could record a human soul, but if the STL

could read one, it stood to reason that it could also copy it.

Chillingly, I similarly surmised that the source of the copies

was an infant's fluctlight; that archetype soul was then copied

countless times so they could be raised in this world as babies.

This was the only hypothesis that could explain the contradiction

inherent in the Underworld's residents: They possessed true intelligence, and yet there were far more of them than actual STL

units. Rath's true goal, their blasphemous attempt at playing

God, was to create true AI—actual human intelligence. And they

were doing it by using the human soul as a mold.

That goal seemed to be 90 percent complete by now. The

depth of Eugeo's thoughts surpassed mine, and the complexity of

his emotional urges was profound. In other words, Rath's vast,

arrogant experiment might as well be complete.

But if the simulation was still running, that meant Rath was

still unhappy about something in the project. I couldn't begin to

guess what that would be, but perhaps it had something to do

with that Taboo Index, the set of rules that these people were fundamentally incapable of breaking.

At any rate, this theory did put a rough explanation to Eugeo's

existence. He and his kind were just as human as us, with their

own souls and everything—they simply existed on a different

physical plane.

But then…what were these goblins? What was the stinging

malice that sprayed from those yellow eyes…?

I couldn't believe—didn't want to believe—that their souls

were based on a human's. Perhaps Rath had caught real goblins

in the real world and put them in the STL seat, I thought

bizarrely.

The goblin and I shared a look for not even a second, but it

was enough to terrify me to my core. I stood stock-still, unsure of

what to do, and then it unleashed a screech that might have been

a laugh. It got to its feet.

And then the goblin spoke.

"Hey, look! What's going on today? It's another two fresh little

White Ium younglings!"

Instantly, the dome was full of high-pitched screeching. One

after another, the goblins got to their feet, brandishing machetes

and looking at us hungrily.

"What now? Shall we capture them, too?" the first goblin

cried. From the back came a ferocious roar, and all the goblins

stopped laughing. They spread apart in two directions to clear a

path for a much larger individual, one who seemed to be some

level of leader.

This one wore metal scale armor and a headpiece around its

forehead sporting bright feathers. Under that, its reddened eyes

were full of an overwhelmingly evil and icy intelligence. Ugly yellow teeth jutted from its leering mouth. The goblin captain

rasped, "You can't sell the male Iums for beans. Just kill them for

their meat."

For a moment, I wasn't sure at which level the word kill should

be taken.

I ought to be able to rule out actual death: a fatal wound to my

real-life physical body. My body was sitting in an STL in real life,

far from the danger posed by these goblins.

But I couldn't assume that death here was just a bad outcome,

a minor setback like in any other VRMMO. Outside of the exception of the Axiom Church elites, there was no resurrection magic

or items here. If they killed me here, that was probably game over

for this Kirito.

So if I died, what happened to my consciousness?

Would I wake up in Rath's Roppongi office to a greeting from

Takeru Higa, the operator, and a fresh cup of water? Would I just

wake up in another forest, all alone, to start from scratch? Or

would I float through the world as an immaterial ghost, fated to

watch its outcome?

And if that happened, what fate awaited Eugeo and Selka, who

were sure to be killed with me?

Unlike the self-owned storage media that was my physical

brain, their fluctlights were probably stored on some kind of massively high-capacity memory system. Was it possible that when

they died…they were simply deleted?

Though…Selka. Where is Selka?

I shut off my existential line of thought and focused on the

scene before me.

At the goblin captain's orders, four followers began to walk toward us, machetes in hand. Their steady pace and toothy, sadistic

smiles said that they meant to kill us long and slow.

The twenty-something goblins left around the pond screeched

the others on, excitement in their eyes. In the back, I finally spotted what I sought: Hard to see against the gloom was the black

nun's habit of Selka's, lying on a crude cart. She was tied down

with rough ropes and her eyes were shut, but from the color of

her face, she was only unconscious, not dead.

I thought back to what the captain said: the male "Iums"—that

probably meant "human" to them—couldn't be sold, so kill them

here.

That meant that the women could be sold. They were going to

take Selka with them back to the land of darkness and sell her.

And if we didn't do anything about the state of affairs, Eugeo and

I would die. But in a way, Selka's fate was crueler than death. I

couldn't just chalk this up to being part of the simulation. I just

couldn't. She was a person just like me. A girl, only twelve years

old.

That meant…

"There's only one thing to do," I muttered. Next to me, Eugeo's

frozen body twitched.

I would save Selka, even if it meant paying the price of this

temporary life.

It wouldn't be easy. They far outnumbered us, thirty goblins

with machetes and armor, and we didn't even have sticks. But I

had no other choice. It was my careless comment that had

brought about this situation.

"Eugeo," I said under my breath, keeping my gaze forward,

"we have to save Selka. Can you do this?"

I heard him murmur in the affirmative. As I expected, reserved and gentle Eugeo had a strong core.

"When I count to three, we'll rush the front four with a body

slam. We're bigger than them, so we can win as long as we don't

falter. Then I'll knock the left fire into the pond, and you do the

right. Don't lose your glowing grass. When the fires are out, pick

up a sword and guard my back. You don't have to beat them if

you don't need to. I'll work on taking out the big guy."

"…I've never swung a sword."

"It's just like an ax. Here goes…one, two, three!"

We got a perfect start, racing down the ice without slipping. I

could only pray that luck held out to the very end of this maneuver.

"Raaaaah!!" I bellowed.

A moment later, I heard Eugeo echo, "Waaah!" It was a bit

more like a scream, but it did the trick. The four goblins stopped,

their yellow eyes bulging. Then again, their surprise may have

had more to do with the "Ium younglings" engaging in a suicide

charge, rather than the ferocity of our yelling.

At the tenth step, I sank down, lowered my right shoulder, and

charged like a football tackler for the gap between the leftmost

goblin and the one next to him. Thanks to the size difference and

element of surprise, I knocked both onto their backs, where they

slid across the ice, arms wheeling. To the right, Eugeo's tackle

was equally effective, sending the other two spinning like turtles

in their shells.

We continued toward the goblin force, picking up momentum.

Fortunately, their reaction time was poor, and most of them, including the captain, were still staring at us in shock.

That's right, keep gaping, I thought savagely, racing through

the goblin ranks toward the final few yards.

Just then, the goblin captain showed off the intelligence that

separated him from the others and snarled, "Don't let them near

the—"

But he was just a bit too late. Eugeo and I leaped onto the fire

braziers, kicking them over toward the water. The flames plunged

into the black water, shooting up a cloud of sparks and emitting

white steam where they fell.

For a moment, the dome was totally dark—until a faint white

light pushed back the blackness. It was coming from the cattail in

Eugeo's left hand.

Then the second stroke of luck occurred.

The crowd of goblins all around erupted into shrieks. Some

covered their faces, while others turned away and cowered.

Across the pond, even the goblin leader was leaning back, holding

out his hand to shield his eyes.

"Kirito…What is this…?" Eugeo gasped, stunned.

"I think…they're weak to that light. Now's our chance!"

From the piles strewn around the pond, I picked up a crude

longsword that was more like a flat sheet of metal, as well as a

scimitar with a heavy tip. I pressed the latter of the two into

Eugeo's free hand.

"That weapon should work the same way as an ax. Use the

light to push them back, and swing that sword at any that venture

too close."

"Wh-what about you?"

"I've got him."

I plunged forward at the goblin captain, who glared furiously

through the slits of the fingers he held out to block the light. I

tested the sword in my hands with a quick swing back and forth.

It felt less sturdy than the appearance suggested, but it was certainly much easier to use than the Blue Rose Sword.

"Grurah! Filthy Ium brats…You think to challenge the great

Ugachi the Lizard Killer?!" he roared, watching me close the distance toward him with one baleful eye. He drew an enormous

machete from his waist with his other hand. The blackened blade

was covered in menacing stains of blood and rust.

Can I win this fight?!

Although we were of equal height, he was clearly heavier and

stronger than I was. But the next moment, I gritted my teeth and

plunged onward. If I didn't defeat him and failed to save Selka,

that would mean that all I'd accomplished in this world was setting her up for the most gruesome of fates. Size wasn't an issue. I

had killed countless foes three or four times my size in the old

Aincrad. And back then, I knew for a fact that death was permanent.

"I'm not going to challenge you—I'm going to beat you!" I

yelled, half to him and half to myself as I closed the last stretch of

distance.

My left foot plunged forward, and I swung the sword diagonally at his left shoulder.

I wasn't taking the foe lightly, but even then, his reaction was

quicker than I had expected. He ignored my strike and swiped

sideways with the machete, which I just barely evaded by hunching down. I felt a few hairs rip out as it passed. My own swing had

struck true, but all it did was crush his metal shoulder pauldron.

Sensing that if my momentum died, he would overpower me, I

stayed low and spun around the enemy, swinging horizontally at

his exposed side. The feedback was solid again, but this time it

merely broke five or six metal scales free without even piercing

the crude armor.

I hissed a silent insult at the sword's owner to polish his

weapon properly, as the counterattack just barely hurtled past my

head. The heavy end of the machete drove deep into the ice underfoot, and another chill ran down my back as I was forced to

know the goblin's strength.

Single attacks weren't going to do the trick. I strode in hard,

intending to counter before the goblin captain recovered. My

body moved largely on its own, repeating the movements I'd performed countless times in a different world: the special attacks

known as sword skills.

The result was not in the least what I expected.

My sword took on a very faint red light. My body darted at a

speed beyond the physical laws of the world. It was as if an unseen hand had just pushed me on the back.

The first slash rose from the lower right, clipping the enemy's

left leg and arresting his movement.

The second swipe from left to right dug into the target's

breastplate and lightly gouged his flesh.

The third slice from the upper right hit the enemy's left arm,

raised in defense, and loudly severed it just below the elbow.

The spray of blood from the arm stump looked pitch-black in

the pale glow. The severed limb spun through the air and landed

in the pond on the left, splashing loudly.

I won! I thought, equal parts triumphant and shocked.

That attack wasn't just a mimicry of the three-part longsword

combo Sharp Nail. It was the real thing. The blade took on a red

light as it flew through the air, and an invisible force accelerated

my movements. They were visual effects and system assistance by

any other name.

Sword skills existed in the Underworld. They were written into

the system that controlled the world. You couldn't explain this as

a recreation based on the mind's imagination. I was barely even

conscious of the movements as I executed them. The system read

my first motion, activated the skill, and adjusted my movement

accordingly. It couldn't happen any other way.

But that just led to a new question.

The day before, I'd tried to use the Horizontal skill on the Gigas

Cedar with the Blue Rose Sword. That was an easier skill than

Sharp Nail; it was nothing more than a flat swipe. But the system

hadn't helped me then. The sword didn't shine, my body didn't

speed up, and the weapon clumsily struck far from my intended

target.

So why did it work now? Because this was a real battle? If so,

how would the system determine if it was a "real" fight or not…?

All these thoughts ran through my head in the blink of an eye.

In the old SAO, there would be no true window of opportunity. I'd

be hit with my own post-skill delay, while the enemy suffered

from a knock-back effect following huge damage.

But even with sword skills, the Underworld was not a

VRMMO. I had very nearly forgotten that basic truth already.

Unlike a 3-D-modeled monster, the goblin captain did not

stop moving whatsoever after I cut off his arm. The gleaming yellow eyes swam with no fear, no hesitation—just pure hatred.

Black blood streamed from his wound as a roar shot from his

mouth.

"Garruaah!!"

The machete in his other hand swept forward.

I wasn't able to cleanly evade the horizontal swipe of heavy

metal. The end of it merely brushed my left shoulder, but it was

enough force to knock me over six feet backward to slam onto the

ice.

At last, the captain crouched, put the machete in his mouth,

and squeezed the stump of his left arm with his remaining hand.

A horrendous creaking emerged. He was stopping the flow of

blood with sheer pressure. That was not the action of a straightforward AI. I should've realized this the moment he'd introduced

himself with the name of Ugachi. This wasn't a battle between

player and monster—it was a fight to the death between two

armed warriors.

"Kirito! Are you down?!" Eugeo called from a distance, keeping the goblins at bay with the scimitar in one hand and the lit

cattail in the other.

I tried to tell him that it was just a scratch, but my tongue was

too stubborn to comply. I merely wheezed and nodded. I put my

hand to the ice, trying to get up.

Instantly, a burning sensation like all the nerves in my left

shoulder catching fire shot through my upper half, causing sparks

to fly before my eyes. Unstoppable tears flooded from my eyes,

and a groan tumbled from my throat.

What tremendous pain!

It was far beyond what I could stand. All I could do was curl

up on the ice, panting quickly. Somehow, I managed to turn my

head to look at the shoulder. The sleeve of the tunic was ripped,

and an ugly wound gaped in the exposed skin. It looked more like

I'd been gouged than sliced. The skin and the flesh beneath it was

torn right out, replaced by gushing blood. My arm was equal

parts numbness and burning, and my fingers were as immobile

and unfeeling as if they belonged to someone else.

This can't be a virtual world, I wailed to myself.

A virtual world was supposed to eliminate all the pain, suffering, ugliness, and dirtiness of reality, providing an environment

of sheer cleanliness and ease. What was the meaning of so thoroughly simulating pain this awful? In fact, it seemed worse than

real life. In the real world, my brain would produce chemicals to

knock me out as a defense mechanism against shock, right? No

human being could withstand pain like this…

Maybe that's not quite right, I thought wryly to myself, trying

to avert my eyes from the carnage.

Kazuto Kirigaya was completely unfamiliar with real pain. I'd

never suffered a major injury in my life, and when Grandfather

forced me to start kendo, I quit before long. The physical rehab

after SAO was tough, but thanks to the high-tech training machines and supplemental drugs, I hardly had to deal with any

pain.

And my virtual experience was even softer. With the pain-absorbing functions of the NerveGear and AmuSphere, I lived such

a sheltered experience that wounds in battle meant nothing more

than a loss of abstract HP. If pain like this existed in Aincrad, I

would never have left the Town of Beginnings.

The Underworld might be built of dreams, but it was also built

of reality's nightmares.

At last, I understood the meaning of the words I had said however many days ago in Agil's café: Reality was where true pain,

suffering, and sadness existed. Only those who withstood and

survived the endless repetition of those things could be strong

here. Ugachi the goblin knew that, ages before I'd even considered the possibility.

Through tear-blotted eyes, I saw Ugachi finish staunching his

bloody arm and turn to me. The fury exuding from his eyes

seemed to set the air shimmering with heat. He moved the machete from his teeth to his remaining hand and swung it loudly.

"…Even tearing you to pieces and devouring your flesh will not

remove this humiliation…but that doesn't mean I won't do it."

He swung the machete over his head as he approached. I tore

my eyes away and glanced at Selka, trussed up in the far distance.

I had to stand and fight, but my body wouldn't listen. It was as if

the fright and hesitation in my heart took the form of physical

shackles that bound me in place…

The heavy footsteps came to a stop before me. I sensed air

moving, the approach of an enormous blade bearing down on me.

It was too late to evade or counter. I gritted my teeth and waited

for my last moment in this world.

But no matter how long I waited, the guillotine never struck.

Instead, I heard the sound of quick footsteps on ice and a familiar voice—

"Kiritoooo!!"

My eyes shot open and caught sight of Eugeo, leaping over me

to attack Ugachi. He swung the scimitar wildly, driving the enemy

back a few steps.

The goblin was initially startled, but he regained his poise

quickly, nimbly reaching out with the machete to block Eugeo's

attacks. For a moment, I forgot my pain and yelled, "Don't,

Eugeo! Just run!!"

But he was bellowing and swinging the sword, apparently beside himself in the moment. Thanks to years of swinging that ax,

the speed of his strikes was stunning, but they were on a predictable rhythm. Ugachi focused on defense, enjoying the resistance of his prey, and finally growled and swept Eugeo's support

leg out from under him with a toe. As Eugeo lost balance and toppled, the monster confidently pulled back his machete.

"Nooooooo!!"

He swiped effortlessly before the scream left my lips.

The machete hit Eugeo in the stomach and threw him back to fall

heavily at my side. I turned over to his direction, feeling a blinding pain in my shoulder but summoning the strength to ignore it.

Eugeo's wound was far worse than mine. A jagged line was

carved straight across his torso, pulsing rivulets of blood. The

piece of grass still clutched in his hand illuminated the vague

sight of organs deep within the injury, moving irregularly.

He coughed and gurgled, producing a bloody froth. His green

eyes were already losing focus, staring emptily into thin air.

But Eugeo did not stop trying to get up. He exhaled short

bursts of misty red breath, willing strength into trembling arms.

"Eugeo…it's okay…just stop…" I mumbled. Eugeo had to be

suffering far more than I was at this moment. He couldn't be in

his right mind.

Just then, his unfocused eyes stared right at me, and he uttered blood-flecked words: "Wh…when we were…kids…we made

a promise…You and I…and Alice…would be born on the same

day…and die on the same day…This time…I'm going…to keep…"

The strength drained from his arms at last. I promptly reached

out to support his frame with both hands. Eugeo's slender but

muscular weight. The moment it sank into me—

A series of white flashes blinded my vision. Vague shadows

floated onto that blank screen.

Beneath a vivid red sunset, walking down a road through

barley fields. Holding my right hand was a young boy with

flaxen hair. Holding my left, a girl with golden braids.

Yes…we believed the world would never change. We believed

the three of us would always be together. And we failed to protect

her. We were helpless. I would never forget that despair, that lack

of power. This time…this time I would…

I didn't feel the pain in my shoulder anymore. I lay Eugeo's

limp body down onto the ice, reached over, and grabbed the handle of the longsword.

When I lifted my head, Ugachi's machete was in the process of

coming down on me. I swiped sideways and knocked it away.

"Grruah," he grunted in surprise, backing off a step, and I rose

to my feet and tackled him. The goblin took a few more steps

back.

I pointed the sword in my hand at the dead center of my target, took a deep breath, and exhaled.

Yes, I was an amateur when it came to physical pain. But I

knew about anguish that was far more horrific than that. This

wound was nothing compared to the pain of losing a loved one.

This machine might manipulate memory, but the pain of loss

never truly left.

Ugachi roared in fury and impatience. His screeching underlings fell silent around us.

"White Ium…Learn your place!!" he roared, rushing at me

with the machete. I focused just on the point. My ears rang, and

everything else on the outside of my vision disappeared. It was

the speeding up of the senses, a sensation like brain cells blowing

out that I hadn't experienced in a very long time. In this world, I

guess it was more like my soul burning.

I lunged forward to avoid the diagonal swipe, bringing my

sword up to slice off the enemy's remaining arm at the base. The

massive limb and its machete spun through the air to land amid

the goblins, who shrieked at the sight.

Ugachi, missing both arms now, locked me with yellow-eyed

rage and even more shock as he faltered. Black liquid gushed

from the fresh wound, landing in the water and sending up

steam.

"…No…no Ium whelp could possibly…" he moaned. Before he

could even finish his sentence, I was racing forward.

"No! My name is not 'Ium'!" I screamed, the words coming

straight from my unconscious mind. My whole body whipped forward, from my toes through my fingers, to the end of the sword.

It glowed again, light green this time. An invisible hand shoved

my back. The charging skill, Sonic Leap.

"I am…Kirito the Swordsman!!"

The sound of air ripping hit my ears just after Ugachi's massive head floated high into the air.

It flew straight up, then spun in place as it fell into my left

hand. I clutched the feathered headdress like a rooster comb and

held up the bleeding trophy.

"I have taken your leader's head! If any of you still wish to

fight, come now, or flee to your home of darkness!"

On the inside, I was urging Eugeo to hang in there, while outwardly, I glared at the goblins with all the malice I could muster.

The death of their leader had made the group quite antsy. They

looked at one another, screeching nervously.

Eventually, one stepped forward, a club bobbing on his shoulder.

"Ge-heh! If that's the case, then if Aburi kills you, he can be

the next—"

I didn't have the patience to listen to his taunt all the way

through. I raced forward, still holding the head, and used the

same skill to sever him from right flank to left shoulder. Another

spray of blood issued forth, and a moment later, his top half slid

off the bottom to land on the ground.

That seemed to settle the issue at last. The remaining goblins

let out high-pitched wails and breathlessly raced for the dome's

exit on the far side from where we came in. They kicked and

shoved one another in the hurry to escape through the tunnel and

were soon gone from sight. The echoes of their footsteps and

screeching faded away, and a cold silence fell within the icy dome.

That prior heat might as well have never been there.

I took a deep breath to hold the returning pain in my shoulder

at bay, and tossed aside the sword and severed head. The only

thing that mattered now was getting to my fallen friend.

"Eugeo!! Hang in there!!" I called, but his pale eyelids didn't

even twitch. Faint breath was going through his parted lips, but it

might stop at any moment. Blood still oozed from the ghastly

wound in his stomach, but I didn't know how to actually stop it

from continuing.

With cramped fingers, I made the sigil and tapped Eugeo's

shoulder, praying as I looked at the window that appeared.

His life power now read 244/3425. Even worse, it was dropping a point every two seconds. That meant I had perhaps eight

minutes left before Eugeo's life bled away forever.

"Hang in there; I'm going to save you! Don't die on me!" I

pleaded, getting to my feet. I raced as fast as I could to the cart

placed to the side of the dome.

It held barrels and boxes with unknown contents, a variety of

weapons, and a trussed-up Selka. I grabbed a knife out of one of

the boxes and quickly cut her ropes.

I lifted her light body and set her down on the floor for a quick

examination—no noticeable wounds. Her breathing was much

steadier than Eugeo's. I put my hands on the shoulders of her

habit and shook her as firmly as I dared.

"Selka…Selka! Open your eyes!!"

Her long lashes twitched immediately and flipped open to reveal wide brown eyes. She started to shriek, not able to recognize

me from the weak light of the cattail over at Eugeo's side.

"N-no…nooo…!"

She waved her arms, trying to push me off her, but I held

tighter.

"Selka, it's me! Kirito! It's all right; the goblins are gone!"

She stopped struggling as soon as she heard my voice. Her

hand reached out, trembling, to trace my cheek.

"Kirito…Is that you…?"

"Yeah, I came to save you. Are you all right? Are you hurt?"

"I…I'm fine…"

Selka's face scrunched up, and she flung herself desperately

around my neck.

"Kirito, I…I…!"

I heard her suck in a fierce breath near my ear, about to begin

bawling as only a child could—so I abruptly lifted her into my

arms and spun around to run again.

"Sorry, hold back the tears for a bit! Eugeo's really hurt!!"

"Wha…?"

She tensed up in my arms. I raced back for Eugeo, kicking the

chunks of ice and junk littered around by the goblins on the way.

"Normal measures aren't going to help him in time…You have

to save him with your sacred arts, Selka! Hurry!" I urged, setting

her down next to him. She held her breath and reached out a hesitant hand. When her fingers brushed the terrible wound on his

torso, she shrank back.

A few seconds later, she shook her head, the braid waving back

and forth.

"I can't…It's too deep…My sacred arts…aren't good enough…"

she lamented, touching his pale cheek this time. "This can't be

happening, Eugeo…You couldn't have done this…for me…"

Tears tracked down Selka's cheeks and landed softly in the

pool of blood atop the ice. She pulled her hands back to her face

and started to sob. I knew it was cruel, but I had no choice but to

yell at her.

"Crying won't help Eugeo! I don't care if it doesn't work; just

try it! You're going to be the next Sister for the village, remember? You're going to take over for Alice!"

Her shoulders twitched and slumped. "I…can't be like her…

She mastered a sacred art in three days that I can't memorize

over an entire month. The only thing I can heal…is the tiniest little scratch…"

"Eugeo…" I started to say, faltered, then allowed the emotion

welling up within me to burst free. "Eugeo came to save you,

Selka! He risked his life to come here and save you, not Alice!"

Her shoulders shook again, harder this time.

All the while, Eugeo's life was plunging toward zero. We had

only two minutes, maybe one. An agonizingly long moment of silence passed.

And then, Selka abruptly looked up. The fear and hesitation in

her eyes from just seconds earlier was no more.

"Normal healing arts won't work in time. I'll have to attempt a

dangerous high-level art. I'm going to need your help, Kirito."

"A-all right. Just say the word—I'll do anything."

"Give me your left hand."

I reached out, and she gripped it with her right. Next, she used

her other hand to hold Eugeo's where it lay atop the ice.

"If this art fails, both you and I might die. Just be aware of

that."

"If it happens, make sure it only happens to me…Ready when

you are!"

She nodded, gazing at me with powerful intent. Then she

closed her eyes and sucked in a breath.

"System Call!"

A heavenly, pure sound filled the dome of ice.

"Transfer Human Unit Durability, Right to Left!!"

A high-pitched whir followed the echoes of the voice. It

swelled—and then a pillar of blue light surrounded Selka.

It was blinding, far stronger than the cattail's light. Sky-blue

filled the dome from end to end. I squinted a bit, but a strange

sensation coming from the hand holding Selka's made me open

my eyes wide again.

It felt like my body itself was melting into the light and flowing

right out of my hand.

In fact, little motes of light were visibly passing from my body

through my left arm and into Selka's hand. With blurred vision, I

saw the trail of light pass through Selka, grow stronger, and funnel down through Eugeo's hand.

Transfer Durability. The sacred art must be designed to allow

people to pass their life to another. I was certain that if I opened

my window now, I would see my number sinking fast.

I don't care; use all of it, I prayed, focusing hard on my left

hand. Selka was acting as a conduit and booster for all that energy, and it was taking its toll on her. It made me recall the enormity of what it meant for pain to be the payment in this world.

Pain, suffering, and sadness. Clearly these things, unnecessary

in a virtual world, had some deep link to the very purpose of the

Underworld's existence. If Rath's engineers were hoping to find a

breakthrough by tormenting the resident' fluctlights, then my unexpected presence and salvation of Eugeo were unwanted interference with their project.

If that was the case, then they could eat shit for all I cared.

Soul without a physical body or not, Eugeo was my friend. I

would not let him die. Not like this.

As the life flowed out of me, a terrifying chill began to descend.

My vision grew darker and darker, but I tried desperately to track

Eugeo's condition. The wound across his belly was noticeably

smaller than before we started. But it was not completely healed,

not by a long shot. Even the bleeding was still ongoing.

"K-Kirito…can you…keep going…?" Selka said under her

breath, pained.

"I'm fine…G-give Eugeo more!" I answered promptly, though I

could barely see anymore. There was no feeling in my right hand

or foot. My left hand was the only part of me that beat with a hot

pulse.

If I lost my life in this world, it wouldn't bother me a bit. If I

saved Eugeo's life, I could withstand twice the pain that I had earlier. The only regret I'd have would be failing to see what became

of this world. What if those goblins were only the vanguard?

What if the invasion from the land of darkness only intensified? I

couldn't help but worry for Rulid, being situated right at the most

vulnerable place. I knew I would lose my memory once I logged

out, and it would be impossible to get back in.

But no. Even if I died…

Eugeo had seen and swung a sword at the goblins, too. He

would do something about this. He would warn the elder,

prompting more guards, and alert the neighboring towns and

cities of the danger. I knew it with every fiber of my being.

For that reason as much as any other, I could not let him die

here.

But on the other hand, my life was draining out of me. I could

tell very clearly, despite my fading senses. Eugeo's eyes were still

closed. Even the gift of my entire life would not be enough to heal

his wounds and call him back from the brink of death?

"Oh, no…no…If we keep going, your life will run out…" Selka

wailed, as if off from a distance.

I wanted to tell her not to stop, to keep going, but my mouth

was frozen. It was getting hard even to think anymore.

Was this death? A pretend death of the soul within the Underworld…or could the death of my soul kill my physical body, too?

It was cold enough to make that idea plausible to me. I felt so terribly alone…

Suddenly, hands touched my shoulders.

They were warm. My insides began to melt before they could

freeze entirely.

I—I knew these hands. As delicate as birds' wings but powerful

enough to seize the future when no one else would.

…Who…are you…?

The feeling of soft breath on my left ear met my silent question. Then I heard a voice so familiar and nostalgic that it made

me want to cry.

"Kirito, Eugeo…I'll be waiting for you always…I am waiting

for you at the top of Central Cathedral…"

A golden shine like starlight filled my insides. The surge of

overwhelming energy permeated every last inch of my body and,

looking for an exit, spilled forth from my left hand.

5

A light, percussive sound dispersed far above the spring haze.

Eugeo finished his fifty ax strikes and wiped the sweat from

his brow, and I tossed him the flask of siral water.

"How's the wound feeling? Giving you pain?"

"After a whole day of rest, it's all the way better now. Just left a

bit of a scar. In fact…maybe it's my imagination, but I feel like the

Dragonbone Ax is way lighter now."

"I don't think it's your imagination. Forty-two of those fifty

swings were right on the mark."

Eugeo's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and his face crinkled

into a grin. "Really? Then I guess I'll win today's bet."

"We'll see about that." I laughed, took the Dragonbone Ax, and

gave it a one-handed swing. It did seem to be much easier to control than I remembered.

Two nights had passed since the nightmare in the cave beneath the End Mountains. With Eugeo on my right shoulder—

having been revived with Selka's sacred arts—and the head of the

goblin captain slung over my left, we returned to Rulid far past

sundown. The adults were gathered in the square, debating

whether to form a search party, as we arrived. After the initial

wave of relieved outcry, there came a thunderous scolding from

Elder Gasfut and Sister Azalia. The unthinkable situation of three

youths breaking the village laws seemed to have thrown the

adults into a panic.

But that lasted only until I thrust the severed head under their

noses. When they saw Ugachi's hideous head—larger than ours,

with yellowed eyes and ugly, jagged teeth—they fell silent at first,

then erupted into greater shock.

After that, Eugeo and Selka explained about the goblin band

camping out in the northern cave and how they were probably

scouts from the land of darkness. The elders wanted to laugh it

off as the overactive imagination of children, but the presence of

the monstrous head the likes of which none of them had ever

seen prevented them from dismissing our story. The discussion

turned to the defense of the village, and we were released to drag

our weary feet back home.

In my room at the church, Selka tended to my wounded shoulder, and then I collapsed into sleep. Both Eugeo and I were exempt from working the next day, and I took that opportunity to

stay in bed. By the time I woke up after the second night in bed,

the pain and fatigue were entirely gone.

After breakfast, the similarly hearty-looking Eugeo and I

headed for the forest, where he had just finished his first set of

fifty swings.

I looked at the ax in my hand while he sat down a short distance away.

"Say, Eugeo, do you remember…when the goblin in the cave

slashed you…? You said something strange. That I was friends

with you and Alice years ago…"

He didn't answer right away. After a long silence, a pleasant

breeze rustled the nearby leaves, and his voice seemed to hang on

to the tail end of the wind.

"…I remember. It's not possible…but for some reason, I remembered it very clearly then. You, Alice, and I were born and

raised together in this village…and on the day Alice got taken

away, you were with us…"

"…I see," I replied, and fell into brooding.

You might explain it as memory confusion in an extreme situation. If Eugeo's mind and personality were made of a fluctlight

just like mine, it was possible that in the moment of life and

death, his mental banks made a few mistaken connections.

But the problem was that I'd experienced the same memory

confusion at the same moment in time. When I saw Eugeo dying

before my eyes, I had a vivid sensation of growing up with him in

Rulid Village—along with memories of Alice, the golden-haired

girl whom I'd never met.

It was impossible. I had very clear and detailed memories of

living in Kawagoe City of Saitama Prefecture as Kazuto Kirigaya,

with a sister named Suguha, up until the day I woke up in this

world. I couldn't believe that my background was fictional. I

didn't want to.

Was this phenomenon just a kind of shared hallucination between Eugeo and me in that instant and nothing more?

But that left one thing without an explanation. While Selka's

sacred art attempted to save Eugeo's life by transferring my life to

his, I felt a fourth presence with my fading wits. Someone said,

Kirito, Eugeo, I'm waiting at the top of Central Cathedral.

I couldn't simply claim that voice was the product of my exhausted mind. I had never heard the term Central Cathedral before this. I had never even heard of, much less been to, a place by

that name in any world, real or virtual.

So the voice had to actually be coming from someone else, not

me, Eugeo, or Selka. Was it a stretch to suggest that it was Alice,

the girl taken from the village six years earlier? And if so, was this

impossible past where I grew up with Eugeo and Alice in Rulid

also real…?

I decided to stop thinking in circles about what had filled my

head since yesterday morning and said, "Eugeo, when Selka used

the sacred arts on you in the cave, did you hear someone's voice?"

This time, his reply was quick. "Nope, I was completely unconscious. Did you hear something, Kirito?"

"No…just my imagination. Forget it. Well, I've got to get to

work. I'm shooting for at least forty-five hits."

I faced the Gigas Cedar, banishing the swirling thoughts that

plagued me. My hands gripped the ax, and my mind dedicated all

its concentration to the task at hand.

The ax followed the precise trajectory I envisioned, striking

the exact middle of the crescent-shaped cut in the tree.

Our quota of a thousand swings for the morning session ended

thirty minutes earlier than it usually did. We had barely any fatigue and required very little rest. The number of clean hits was

far more than last week, and if it wasn't my imagination, it actually looked like the cut in the giant tree was deeper than before.

Eugeo stretched with palpable satisfaction and suggested that

we take an early lunch, sitting down on his usual root. I joined

him, and he pulled two of the same old rolls out of the cloth and

tossed them to me.

I caught one in each hand, grimacing at the stony toughness of

them, and said, "If only the bread had softened up, the way the ax

is lighter now."

"Ha-ha-ha," Eugeo laughed, taking a big bite and shrugging.

"Sadly, it seems to be the same as before. Anyway…I wonder why

the ax seems so light all of a sudden."

"Who can say?" I replied, but truthfully, I had a good idea

from when I'd checked out my own window last night. My Object

Control Authority, System Control Authority, and maximum life

were all much higher than before.

I was pretty sure I knew why. By driving off that goblin

brigade—in other words, completing a difficult quest—I had undergone what a normal VRMMO would call a "level-up." I was

not in any hurry to repeat the process, but at least I'd been rewarded for braving that dangerous battle.

This morning I'd asked Selka about it, and she, too, had

claimed that, oddly enough, she was now much better at the sacred arts she'd struggled with just last week. Although she hadn't

taken part in the battle, the level-up effect made sense if you presumed that the three of us were treated as a party.

I suspected that, like mine, Eugeo's Object Control Authority

had risen to around forty-eight. There was no way I wasn't going

to try my idea again.

I rushed to finish my two rolls of bread and got to my feet. I

strode over to a large knot in the Gigas Cedar's trunk, feeling

Eugeo's eyes on me as he chewed, and pulled out the Blue Rose

Sword from where we'd left it the other day.

I grabbed the leather package and tried to lift it, half-certain I

was right and half praying I was.

"Whoa…!"

I nearly tipped backward, and carefully steadied myself. The

overloaded barbell weight that I remembered had now shrunk to

that of a thick metal pipe instead.

It still put strain on my wrist. But if anything, that weight was

now comforting, reminiscent of the swords that I used so lovingly

in the later stages of old Aincrad.

I undid the string that bound the leather and squeezed the hilt

of the beautiful sword. As Eugeo looked on with the bread stuck

in his mouth, I gave him a little grin and drew the blade with a

spine-tingling shinng!

Unlike its bucking bronco routine of the other day, the Blue

Rose Sword settled into my palm with all the grace of a sheltered

lady. It truly was a stunning weapon. The sticky texture of the

white leather grip, the translucent cast of the blade that trapped

the light in intoxicating patterns, the fine decoration of rose vines

—these things could not be represented in the old-fashioned

polygonal way. It made perfect sense that old Bercouli would

have tested a dragon to steal a sword like this.

"W-wait, Kirito…You can lift that sword now?" Eugeo asked,

stunned. I swiped it back and forth to show him.

"The bread isn't any softer, but it looks like this sword is

lighter, at least. Watch this."

I faced the Gigas Cedar and crouched, drawing back my right

leg to face sideways and pulling the sword straight back at level

height to maximize rotation. When I held it there, the sword

began glowing a faint blue.

"Seii!"

I shot forward. The system added the velocity as I intended,

hurtling the sword with tremendous speed and precision in the

one-handed sword attack Horizontal.

The Blue Rose Sword flashed like sideways lightning, striking

the target with pinpoint accuracy and tremendous impact. The

Gigas Cedar's massive bulk rattled, and the birds gathered in the

branches nearby all took flight.

It was so satisfying to indulge in the feeling of body and blade

being one again. I followed the line of my right arm with my eyes,

down to where the bluish-silver blade was stuck halfway into the

blackened tree.

Eugeo's eyes and mouth bulged open. The half-eaten piece of

bread fell from his hands and landed on the moss. But the woodcutter boy wasn't even aware it had happened.

"…Kirito…was that…a sword art?"

Well, well. That suggested that the concept of sword techniques did exist here—though I didn't know if he was referring to

system-designated "sword skills" or something more organic. I

put the sword back into its sheath and chose my words carefully.

"Yeah…I think so."

"That means…before the god of darkness spirited you away,

your Calling must have been a man-at-arms…or even a sentinel at

a larger town. I mean, they only teach official sword arts to garrison sentinels."

Eugeo's green eyes sparkled with excitement as he spoke, chattering much faster than usual for him. In that instant, I realized

that despite being a woodcutter and doing his Calling for six years

without complaint, what Eugeo's soul cried out to be was a

swordsman. His admiration for the sword and thirst to control it

at will were etched into the deepest parts of his heart.

He approached me on stumbling feet and looked me in the

eyes. His voice trembled.

"Kirito…what style of swordsmanship do you use? Have you

forgotten the name…?"

I thought it over briefly, then shook my head. "No, I remember. My sword is the Aincrad Style."

The name just came to me, of course. But once I said it, I realized that it couldn't be called anything else. All my skill had been

learned and honed in that flying fortress.

"Ain…crad…Style," he repeated, then nodded. "It's a strange

name. I've never heard of it, but I suppose it might be the name of

your teacher or the town where you lived…Kirito, will…"

He looked down and mumbled. But when his head rose again

a few seconds later, there was powerful intent in his eyes.

"Will you teach me your Aincrad Style swordfighting? Of

course, I'm not a soldier or even a village guard…so it might be

breaking some rule somewhere…"

"Is there a verse in the Taboo Index or the Basic…Imperial

Laws that forbids a non-soldier from training with a sword?" I

asked quietly.

Eugeo bit his lip and muttered, "There's no verse like that…but

holding multiple Callings at once is forbidden. It's only people

with man-at-arms or sentinel Callings who train with swords. So

if I start training…it might be seen as neglecting my own Calling…"

His shoulders fell, but his hands were balled into fists that

trembled with the tension in his arms.

I could practically see the battle raging inside him. All these

people living in the Underworld, these artificial fluctlights massproduced somehow by Rath, all shared one trait that the people

of the real world did not have.

It was my belief that they could not disobey the higher rules

written into their consciousness. They were incapable of breaking

the Axiom Church's Taboo Index, the Basic Imperial Law of the

Norlangarth Empire tasked with managing the realm, and even

the village standards of Rulid passed down through the years.

They couldn't do it.

That was why Eugeo had to subdue for six long years his raging desire to rush to save his friend Alice. He suppressed his own

feelings and swung his ax—against a tree that would never be

felled so long as he lived.

But now, for the first time, he was attempting to carve his own

path. Perhaps his request to learn how to use a sword was not just

out of a childhood dream but something much deeper…A means

to gain power in the pursuit of his ultimate goal: saving Alice

from captivity.

I watched Eugeo tremble in silence and thought, Hang in

there, Eugeo. Don't give up—don't give in to what binds you.

Take a step…take your first step. You're a swordsman.

The blond-haired boy suddenly looked up as though he heard

me. His pristine green eyes pierced my own, shining with intent.

Through gritted teeth, he rasped, "But…but I…want to be…strong.

So that…I never make…the same mistake again. To get back…

what I've lost. Kirito…teach me how to use a sword."

Something powerful welled up in my chest, and I had to fight

it down to maintain control. I grinned and told him, "All right. I'll

teach you everything I know. But the training will be harsh."

I let my smile turn impish and held out a hand. Eugeo's mouth

softened at last, and he clasped it.

"That's just what I'm hoping for. In fact…it really is what I've

wanted…for ever and ever."

His head dipped again, and a few clear drops fell, catching the

sunlight. He stepped forward before I could even register surprise

and thudded his forehead against my shoulder. I felt his whisper

through my body more than heard it.

"I just…figured it out. I've been waiting for you, Kirito. Waiting here in the forest for six long years for you to come…"

"…Yeah."

My own voice was barely audible. I reached around and

thumped him lightly on the back with my left hand, still holding

the sword in it.

"I'm pretty sure that I woke in this forest…in order to meet

you, Eugeo."

I hardly even recognized that I had said the words, but I was

certain they were the truth.

The Gigas Cedar—steel giant, tyrant of the forest—toppled without much fanfare just five days after I began training Eugeo in the

ways of the Aincrad School.

Mostly, it was because the tree made for the perfect practice

dummy. With each demonstration of Horizontal and Eugeo's

subsequent practice attempts, the slice in the tree's trunk grew

visibly deeper. The momentous event occurred when the cut was

about 80 percent of the way through the tree.

"Seyaa!"

Eugeo hit the trunk with a perfectly executed horizontal slice,

and it let out an eerie creaking the likes of which it had never

made before.

We looked at each other in shock, glanced up at the branches

of the Gigas Cedar far overhead, and froze in place. It was falling,

very slowly, toward us.

In fact, it produced the illusion that the tree was not falling on

top of us but that the ground was tilting forward. Such was the

unreality of the sight of a thirteen-foot-wide tree giving in to

gravity and toppling over.

The two and a half feet of trunk still connected—eighty cens, in

this world's measurement—was unable to bear the force of the

rest, and it splintered and sprayed flecks like charcoal. The tree's

dying wail was louder than the force of ten consecutive thunderbolts, and the sound carried through the center of town all the

way to the guard outpost at the northern end of the village, from

what we were told.

We screamed and split in different directions. Ever so slowly,

the black mass split the orange of the late afternoon sky and finally crashed to earth. The thunderous impact threw me high into

the air, and when I landed on my rump, my life went down by

about fifty points.

"I'm amazed…I didn't realize there were so many people here," I

mumbled, taking the mug of apple ale from Eugeo's outstretched

hand.

Red fires ringed the center square of Rulid, illuminating the

faces of the people gathered within it. Beside the fountain, an impromptu troupe of musicians played a jolly waltz with hide

drums, very long flutes, and an instrument that looked like a set

of bagpipes. The stomping and clapping of the people dancing

along swirled up into the open sky.

I sat at a table off to the side, keeping time with my foot, possessed by a strange urge to leap into the midst of the people and

join in the dancing.

"I don't think I've ever seen so many villagers in one place, either. There's even more people here than during the Great Solemnity prayer at the end of the year," Eugeo said, smiling. I held out

my mug and we shared yet another toast. The bubbling cider-like

drink was the weakest kind in the village, but downing a long

swig of it was enough to make my face hot.

When the village elder and other dignitaries learned of the

tree's fall, they had no choice but to convene a village meeting,

right after the previous one last week. They came together and argued passionately about what should be done with Eugeo the

Carver and me.

Frighteningly enough, many argued that we should actually be

punished for completing the task of cutting down the tree a whole

nine centuries ahead of schedule, but at the merciful suggestion

of Elder Gasfut, a village-wide celebration was arranged, and

Eugeo would be dealt with as the law dictated.

I couldn't actually tell what the law dictated in this particular

case. I asked Eugeo what it meant, but he just laughed and said I

would find out soon enough.

Based on that reaction, it seemed clear that he wasn't going to

be persecuted. I drained my mug, picked up a meat skewer dripping with juices from a nearby plate, and took a massive bite.

In fact, all I'd eaten since coming to this world was that dreadful hard bread and the weak vegetable soup at the church—this

was the first real meat I'd had. The tender beef substitute,

slathered in its rich sauce, was so succulent, savory, and flavorful

that I considered it worth cutting down the Gigas Cedar for this

taste alone.

Of course, all was not well. In fact, I felt now that we had arrived only at the very start. I glanced over at the Blue Rose Sword,

hanging proudly on Eugeo's belt.

Over the last five days, he had used the Gigas Cedar as a practice target for the basic One-Handed Sword skill Horizontal. As

the impromptu "Aincrad Style" name would suggest, it was a system-recognized sword skill from the old Sword Art Online

VRMMO.

It made sense that you could recreate the action. When I visited Gun Gale Online, which was based around gun-fighting, I

managed to make my way through a few very sticky fights by

using sword skills. But that was only by retracing my avatar

movements—there were no flashes of light or system-assisted acceleration. It simply wasn't a gameplay system there.

But the Underworld fully facilitated sword skills. Make the

designated motion and envision the movement of the entire skill,

and then the sword would flash and speed away. On our first day

of training, I was worried that I might be the only one capable of

doing this, but by the second afternoon, Eugeo executed his first

successful Horizontal, proving that any citizen could use sword

skills if they fulfilled the requirements.

The problem was why it worked. There couldn't be any connection between Rath's STL virtual-reality Underworld and the

late Argus's SAO game. If anything, perhaps the answer lay in the

man who'd brought me this fishy job with Rath and had once

been part of the government's SAO task force…

"That can't be," I muttered to myself as I took on a second

skewer. If my imagination was correct, then he wasn't just a go-

between but someone inextricably linked to the core of all these

events.

But there was no way to figure out any of that from here. I'd

have to leave Rulid and go to the central city, far to the south, to

gain more information.

The biggest impediment to the plan had just been cut down.

There was only one thing left to do.

I finished off the meat and vegetables on the skewer and called

out to my partner, who was watching the villagers from his seat

across the table.

"Hey, Eugeo…"

"Uh…what is it?"

"After this—"

But a high-pitched shout interrupted me.

"Aha, here you are! What is the star of the festival doing sitting

over here?!"

It took some time for me to recognize that the girl with her

hands on her hips was Selka. Instead of her usual braids and

black sister's habit, she had her hair tucked behind a headband

and wore a red vest and green skirt.

"Uh, well…I'm no good at dancing," Eugeo mumbled.

I shook my head and hand as well. "And I've got memory

loss…"

"It will come back to you once you try it!"

Her little hands grabbed ours and launched us out of our

seats. Selka dragged the two of us to the middle of the square and

pushed us forward. A cheer erupted from the crowd, and we were

swallowed into the midst of the dance.

Fortunately, it was no more complex than the dances at the

school sports festivals, and by the time they'd switched through

three partners, I was getting the hang of it. Moving my body to

the simplistic rhythm started being fun, and my feet got into the

act.

The more I danced with the laughing, red-cheeked girls with

features somewhere between Eastern and Western, the more I

fell under the strange suspicion that maybe I really was a wanderer who had lost his memory.

In fact, I had danced in a VR world before, with the sylph warrior Leafa, the Alfheim avatar of my sister, Suguha. I saw her

smile on my dancing partner's face and felt something inside my

nose sting.

A rush of keen homesickness overcame me. Meanwhile, the

music sped up to a manic pace, then abruptly ended. I looked at

the musicians and saw that the stage next to them now featured

an imposing old man with a majestic beard. It was Gasfut, elder

of Rulid and Selka's father.

He clapped his hands and spoke in a strong baritone.

"My fellows! Please forgive the interruption, but you must

hear me!"

The villagers raised their mugs of ale and apple liquor in a

cheer, quenched their dance-induced thirst, then fell silent. The

elder looked out over the crowd.

"The deepest desire of our founding ancestors has been fulfilled at last! The devil tree that stole the blessings of Terraria and

Solus in the fertile land to the south has been felled! We will have

fresh new barley and bean fields and grazing pastures for our cattle and sheep!"

Cheers drowned out his speech. He held up his hands, waiting

for quiet to return.

"I call forth the one who achieved this feat—Eugeo, son of

Orick!"

He beckoned to a corner of the square, where a nervous-looking Eugeo stood. The short man next to him must have been his

father, Orick. Aside from the hair color, they looked totally unalike, and he appeared more confused than proud.

Eugeo proceeded forward at the urging of the other villagers,

not his father. He rose next to the elder and turned to the crowd.

The third and largest cheer yet erupted. I clapped, too, not to be

outdone.

"In accordance with our rules," the elder began, and the village

fell silent, "for completing his Calling, Eugeo is granted the right

to choose his next Calling! He may continue as a woodcutter, or

plow the fields after his father, or tend to cattle, or brew ale, or do

business, or whatever he chooses!"

What was that?!

I felt the afterglow of the dance rapidly fading.

This was no time to be holding hands and dancing with girls. I

should have been giving Eugeo one final pep talk. If he announced he would start growing grain, my plan would be completely ruined.

I watched him with bated breath. He looked down, uncomfortable, scratching his head with one hand and clenching and un-

clenching the other. I began to wonder if I should rush the stage,

put an arm around his shoulders, and announce that we were off

to see the big city—until I heard a small voice at my side.

"Eugeo's…going to leave the village…"

Selka had come to stand next to me at some point. There was a

faint smile of both sadness and happiness on her lips.

"Y-you think so?"

"I know so. Why else would he hesitate to give his answer?"

As if he heard her, Eugeo's hand reached down to grip the hilt

of the Blue Rose Sword at his waist. He looked up, first at the

elder, then at the rest of the village, and stated clearly and loudly,

"I'm going…to be a swordsman. I will join the garrison at Zakkaria, train my skills, and one day reach Centoria."

After a few moments of silence, little waves of murmuring

broke out. It didn't seem to me to be adulation. The adults were

craning their necks toward one another, muttering darkly.

Eugeo's father and two other young men who I took to be his

brothers looked more pained than anything.

Once again, it was Gasfut who brought order. He lifted a hand

to silence the crowd, and with a stern expression, he said, "Eugeo,

surely you don't…"

Then he paused and stroked his long beard. "No…I will not ask

why. It is your church-given right to choose your next Calling.

Very well—as elder of Rulid, I recognize that the new Calling for

Eugeo, son of Orick, is a swordsman. If you wish, you may leave

the village and train in the sword."

I heaved a long sigh of relief. Now I would be able to witness

the core of this world with my own eyes. If Eugeo had chosen to

remain a farmer, I was prepared to head out on my own, but with

a lack of knowledge or resources, I couldn't say how many

months or years my trip would take. A weight left my shoulders

as my concerns of the last few days evaporated.

The villagers seemed to have accepted their elder's decision,

and they began a hesitant round of applause. But before it could

swell any louder, a sharp bellow cut across the night sky.

"Not so fast!"

A large young man strode through the crowd and leaped on

the stage.

He had rough features and short hair the dull brown of dead

leaves. But the simple longsword at his left side was what stuck

out to me first. It was the guard who always stood watch at the

southern waypoint of the village.

He puffed out his chest as a challenge to Eugeo and shouted,

"It is my right first and foremost to seek employment in Zakkaria's garrison! Eugeo cannot be the first to leave the village

ahead of me!"

"Yeah! He's right!" came a follow-up shout from a man behind

him. He had the same color hair as the youngster but was much

older and larger around the middle.

"Who's that?" I asked Selka. She made a face.

"That's Doik, the old head guard, and his son, Zink, who has

the position now. Their family likes to claim they're the most experienced in the village."

"Ah, I see…"

I wondered what was going to happen now. Gasfut listened to

Zink and his father and raised a hand to calm them down. "But

Zink, you have only been at your man-at-arms Calling for six

years. According to the laws, you cannot enter the dueling tournament in Zakkaria for another four."

"Then Eugeo should wait for four years, too! He's not as good

at the sword as I am! It makes no sense that he should go first!"

"Mmm. Then how will you prove this claim that you are superior to Eugeo in skill?"

"Wha…!"

Zink and his father both went red in the face. The elder of the

two was nearly steaming from the ears as he bellowed, "I won't

stand for such an insult, even from the elder of Rulid! If you're

telling me that a mere woodcutter can swing a faster sword than

my son, then let's have them prove it right here and now!"

A few irresponsible villagers shouted, egging him on. Sensing

that there was more entertainment to come from this impromptu

festival, they raised their mugs and stomped their feet, crowing

about a duel.

To my astonishment, within moments Zink had challenged

Eugeo to a duel, which Eugeo could not very well refuse. A space

before the stage was cleared away, and they faced off. In disbelief,

I turned to whisper into Selka's ear, "I'll be right back."

"Wh-what are you going to do?"

I didn't answer. Instead, I made my way through the crowd in

the direction of the fountain and raced up to Eugeo. While his opponent was as unruly and indignant as a bronco, Eugeo seemed

more confused that it had come to this. His features relaxed when

he saw me.

"Wh-what should I do, Kirito? Look what's happened!"

"I don't think you can get out of this with a simple apology at

this point. Anyway, is this duel going to be a true sword battle?"

"Of course not. We have to stop before drawing blood."

"Ahh…but if you can't stop the sword in time and hit your target, that might end up killing your opponent. Listen—aim for

Zink's sword, not Zink. Give him one Horizontal on the blade and

that should do it."

"A-are you sure?"

"Absolutely. I guarantee it."

I pounded him on the back; gave a quick bow to Zink and his

father, who were staring at me suspiciously; and returned to the

line of spectators.

At the podium, Gasfut clapped and called for silence.

"And now, outside of the original plan, we have a duel between

Zink, our head man-at-arms, and the carver…er, the swordsman

Eugeo! You are not to lower your opponent's life through direct

strikes. Is that understood?!"

Zink loudly drew his sword from his waist, and, a bit later,

Eugeo reluctantly drew his. The gasp from the village crowd was

no doubt due to the beauty of the Blue Rose Sword as it shone in

the firelight.

Even Zink seemed to be overwhelmed by the aura of the

sword. His head tilted back briefly before he regained his posture.

With an even more hateful glare than before, the young guard

jabbed a finger at Eugeo and said, to my surprise, "Does that

sword really belong to you, Eugeo?! If it's borrowed, I have the

right to force you to use a different—"

But Eugeo interrupted with righteous fury. "I got this sword in

the northern cave, so it belongs to me now!"

The crowd murmured, and Zink seemed to be at a loss for

words. I figured that he would demand proof of ownership from

Eugeo, but he didn't. In a world without thievery, perhaps the

simple act of stating that something was your own property was

all the proof needed. Even doubting that statement might be seen

as a violation of rights.

I had no idea if that was correct or not, but Zink didn't push

the issue any further. He spat into his palms and held his sword

up high.

Eugeo, meanwhile, held his blade perfectly still at eye level,

drew his left side back, and crouched.

As hundreds of villagers watched in silence, Gasfut raised his

hand high, then brought it down as he commanded, "Begin!"

"Raaaah!!"

As I expected, Zink was the first to charge. He bellowed and

raced forward to deliver a vertical slice from overhead. It was so

forceful that I feared he might really intend to hit Eugeo.

"…!!"

I gasped. Zink's sword changed directions in midair. He had

gone from an overhead swing down to a sideways swipe from the

right. As a feint, it was crude, but the timing was awful. I'd advised Eugeo to hit Zink's sword with a Horizontal, but it would be

very hard to deflect a flat swing with a flat swing. He could easily

miss and wind up losing…

"Y-yaaaah!!"

The shout was rather inferior to Zink's. And Eugeo's sword

skill was not Horizontal.

He set his sword at the right shoulder. The blade glowed deep

blue. He made one earth-shaking stomp and sliced at a sharp

forty-five-degree arc. That was the diagonal sword skill Slant—

but I had never taught him that.

Eugeo's attack, which came out a single pulse later, shot forward with lightning speed, striking Zink's sideways swing from

above. Even in the moment that the steel blade shattered miserably, I couldn't help but question myself.

No doubt Eugeo had been practicing with a stick or something

else when he went home at night. During that practice, he'd become aware of Slant—but there was nothing hesitant or amateur

about that movement. If anything, the way he became one with

the Blue Rose Sword was graceful, beautiful.

If he continued to build experience, learned a multitude of

skills, and grew through actual battle, what sort of swordsman

might he end up being? If…if I ever had to cross blades with him,

would I actually emerge the victor?

The villagers marveled and applauded the flashy and unexpected conclusion, but it was the cold sweat running down my

back that held my concentration.

Zink and his father retreated in stunned disbelief, and the

music started up again. The festival was even more rousing than

before, and it did not disperse until the church bell rang ten

o'clock.

It took another three cups of the apple beverage for me to forget about my unease and rejoin the intoxicating dance circle. In

the end, Selka had to drag me back to the church. At the door,

Eugeo looked at me in mild exasperation but promised that we

would begin our journey in the morning. I stumbled up to my

room somehow and toppled onto the bed.

"Just because it's a festival doesn't mean you have to drink

that much, Kirito. Here's some water," said Selka, offering me a

cold cup fresh from the well. I downed it, feeling it cool off my

brain, and exhaled. In Aincrad and Alfheim, the best you could do

was pretend you were feeling drunk, but here in the Underworld,

the alcohol was real. I made a mental note about that for next

time. At my side, the young girl looked worried.

"Wh-what?" Selka asked suspiciously, noticing that I was staring at her. I tipped my head in embarrassment.

"I…I'm sorry. You probably wanted to speak more with Eugeo,

huh?"

Selka's cheeks suddenly went cherry red. She was still dressed

in her nicest outfit. "Why would you bring that up?"

"Because by tomorrow morning…Actually, I should apologize

for that first. Now it looks like I'm pretty much taking Eugeo out

of the village. If he had been a woodcutter here for the rest of his

life, he might have, well…started a family with you, eventually…"

Selka sighed theatrically and sat down next to me on the bed.

"Honestly, what do I even say about that?" she wondered,

shaking her head in utter exasperation. "Well…fine. Yes, I'm sad

that Eugeo will be leaving the village…but I'm also happy. Ever

since Alice went away, he's been living his life like he's given up

on everything, but now he's smiling again. He made up his mind

to go searching for my sister. I'm certain that on the inside, Father was happy, too…to learn that Eugeo hadn't forgotten about

her."

"…I see…"

She bobbed her head and looked up at the full moon outside

the window.

"Actually…I didn't go into the cave hoping to copy my sister

and touch the soil of the land of darkness. I knew I wasn't capable

of that. I knew…but I just wanted to get a bit closer to her. To go

as far as I could…up to the point where I couldn't go any farther,

and then I'd know for sure…that I can never be Alice's replacement."

I pondered the meaning of her statement, then shook my

head. "No, you're really something. A normal girl would turn back

at the bridge out of the village, or in the woods, or at the cave's

entrance. But you went all the way down into that dark place and

found a goblin scouting party. You did something that only you

can do."

"Something that…only I can do…?" she asked, her eyes huge.

I nodded. "You aren't a replacement for Alice. You have your

own unique talents, Selka. So focus on developing those."

In fact, I was certain that Selka's talent for the sacred arts was

about to take a huge leap. She had helped defeat the goblins with

Eugeo and me, so her system authority level had to be higher

now.

But that wasn't the crux of the matter. She had sought the answer to who she was and found one. That, more than anything,

would give her incredible energy. Belief in oneself was the truest

power of the human soul.

It was time for me to find the answer to the question I'd been

putting off.

Who or what was this sentient consciousness calling itself Kirito, or Kazuto Kirigaya? The fluctlight residing in a biological

brain—the "real" me? Or a replica saved on storage media, read

from my brain by the STL?

There was only one way to find out.

The Underworldians like Eugeo and Selka, with their artificial

fluctlights, could not break the Taboo Index or Basic Imperial

Law. But just because I could run afoul of this world's taboos was

not proof that I wasn't an artificial fluctlight. I hardly knew any of

the individual taboos in the index. The rules hadn't been written

into my soul.

Instead, I had to find out if I could break my own rules that I

lived by—my own set of personal morals. I'd been considering

this topic for several days, but it was actually quite difficult. Attacking the villagers or stealing their possessions was out of the

question, and I didn't feel right insulting someone just to confirm

a personal suspicion. There was only one thing I could think of.

I turned and stared right into Selka's face.

"…What?" she asked, blinking. I put a hand on her cheek and

silently apologized to Asuna and Yui. Then I audibly apologized

to Selka, leaned closer, and placed a light kiss on her white forehead, just before the headband.

She twitched, then sat still. I pulled away after three seconds

and saw that she was glaring at me, cheeks red all the way to the

ears.

"What…did you just do…?"

"Let's call it…a swordsman's oath," I suggested weakly. On the

inside, I savored a new factual certainty.

I had just carried out something that the real me would never

do, thus proving that I was the real me. If I were a replica fluctlight, my body would have stopped automatically a few inches

from Selka's forehead.

She continued staring at me, rubbed her forehead, and sighed.

"An oath…? I don't know if that's how you do things in your

country, but if you had kissed my…instead of my forehead, an Integrity Knight would be coming for you right now. That's against

the Taboo Index."

Her voice had gone quiet at one point, and I couldn't make out

what she'd said, but I wasn't going to ask. Selka shook her head

again, grinned in annoyance, and asked, "So…what did you

swear?"

"Isn't it obvious? That I'll go with Eugeo, save Alice, and bring

your sister back to this village. You have my word…"

I paused, then slowly said the words.

"…as Kirito the Swordsman."

6

The next morning was brilliantly clear.

Eugeo and I headed down a southern path we would not see

again for quite some time, savoring the weight of the lunches that

Selka had packed for us.

When we reached the split in the path that headed into the

Gigas Cedar's woods, I noticed an elderly man standing there. His

wrinkled face was covered in white hair, but his back was

straight, and his eyes were sharp.

As soon as he saw the man, Eugeo burst into a dazzling smile

and began to trot.

"Old Man Garitta! You came to see me off! I'm so happy—I

didn't get to see you yesterday."

That name was familiar to me. If I recalled correctly, it was the

previous carver of the Gigas Cedar.

Garitta smiled kindly under his heavy whiskers and placed his

hands on Eugeo's shoulders. "Eugeo, in all my life, I only deepened the Cedar's cut by the length of a finger, and now you've

toppled the beast…Tell me, how did you do it?"

"With this sword," Eugeo said, pulling the Blue Rose Sword

from its sheath just an inch and letting it click back into place.

Then he glanced at me. "And most of all, thanks to him…my

friend. This is Kirito. He's really pretty crazy, actually."

I shook my head modestly, wondering what kind of introduction that was supposed to be. Garitta moved over to me and gave

me a piercing, knowing stare—then beamed.

"So you are the lost child of Vecta I heard about. Yes, I see…

You have the face of change."

No one had ever described me that way before, and I wondered what he meant by it. The old man gestured to the forest at

his left and continued, "Well, I hate to delay your travels, but

could you stand to help me? It won't take long."

"S-sure. You don't mind, Kirito?"

I couldn't see a reason to refuse. The old man smiled again

and headed down the path into the forest, beckoning us onward.

I'd been walking down the path for only about a week, but it

filled me with rich nostalgia now. After twenty minutes, we arrived at a wide opening.

The tyrannical tree that had split the heavens in the midst of

this clearing for centuries was lying still on its side. Narrow vines

were already climbing over its pitch-black bark, beginning the

process that would one day, in the distant future, break down the

tree and return it to the earth.

"What is it about the Gigas Cedar, Garitta?" Eugeo asked, as

the elderly man proceeded toward the tip of the fallen tree. We

followed after him, but the branches of the Gigas Cedar and the

trunks of the other trees it had toppled in its fall were like a maze.

I was stunned to find, on closer look, that no matter how narrow

the Cedar's branches might get, every single one was still intact,

even the ones stabbing into ground and rock. The toughness of

that bark was simply astonishing.

With great difficulty, we made our way through the branches,

picking up scratches on our exposed arms, and at last reached

Garitta, who was standing calmly up ahead. Eugeo wiped his

sweat with the palm of his hand and grumbled, "So what are we

supposed to be looking at?"

"This," the old man said, pointing at a branch extending directly out of the very tip-top of the Gigas Cedar's trunk. It was

very, very long, without a single side branch, and the end was

pointed as sharp as a rapier.

"What about this branch?" I asked. He reached out his knotted

hand and caressed the end, which was about two inches wide.

"Out of all the Gigas Cedar's branches, this one absorbed the

most of Solus's blessings. Cut this loose with that sword. You

must sever it in one strike. If you hack at it several times, it may

break apart."

He made a chopping motion with his hand about four feet

from the tip of the branch, then stood back.

Eugeo and I looked at each other and decided to follow his instructions. I took Eugeo's lunch from him and stepped back as

well.

When he pulled the Blue Rose Sword from its scabbard to

shine in the sunlight, the old man let out a muted gasp of wonder.

There was a note of longing, it seemed, something that suggested

that if he'd gotten his hands on that sword when he was younger,

his life would have been different. But when I looked at his face in

profile, it was placid, impossible to read.

Eugeo brandished the sword but didn't move after that. The

tip quivered a bit, reflecting his inner indecision. Perhaps he

wasn't confident that he could cut through a branch the width of

his wrist in one swing.

"I'll do it, Eugeo," I offered, and reached out. Eugeo nodded

and willingly handed me the hilt. I handed over the lunches, and

we switched spots.

I didn't even think. I just looked at the black branch, lifted the

sword, and brought it down. With no more than a slight crack

and the briefest of sensations, the blade passed through my target

spot. I used the flat of the blade to stop the long branch from

falling and flipped it up into the air. It came down, spinning, and

landed in my outstretched free hand. The weight pushing down

against my wrist and the icy chill of it caused me to falter.

I gave Eugeo the sword back, then held out the black branch

with both hands for Garitta to see.

"You should take this with you," he said, producing a heavy

cloth and carefully wrapping the branch in it. When it was safely

covered, he tied a rawhide cord around it.

"There you are. When you get to Centoria, take this branch to

a craftsman in north District Seven named Sadore. He will be

able to fashion it into a mighty sword—one that is every bit an

equal to that beauty there."

"R-really, Old Man Garitta? That's wonderful! It was worrying

only having one sword between the two of us. Right, Kirito?" said

Eugeo excitedly. I nodded and agreed, but the branch was a bit

too heavy for me to throw my hands into the air with exuberance.

We bowed to express our gratitude, but the old man only

beamed.

"It's a meager parting gift. Take care on your travels. It is not

only the benevolent gods who watch over these lands now…I

think I will stay here and look at this tree some more. Farewell,

Eugeo. Farewell, young traveler."

We headed back up the little path to the main road and found

that where the sky had been clear blue earlier, there was now a

storm cloud forming over the eastern edge.

"The wind's getting a bit damp. We should probably move on

while we still have the chance."

"…Good idea. Let's hurry," I replied, and fastened the

wrapped-up Gigas Cedar branch to my back with the cord. The

rumble of thunder in the far distance resonated with the weight

of the branch, casting a bit of gloom over my mind.

A pair of swords.

Was it a sign from the future, a portent of something?

I stopped in my tracks briefly, wondering if I should just bury

the bundle deep in the forest somewhere. But I didn't know what

I was afraid of or why.

"Come on, Kirito, let's go!"

I looked up and saw Eugeo's smiling face, dazzling with anticipation of the wider world ahead.

"Yeah…here I come."

I caught up with the other boy. He may have been someone I'd

met just a week ago, but he felt like a friend I'd known all my life.

Together, we headed south, our pace brisk—down the road leading to the center of the Underworld, where the answers to all the

mysteries lay.