The Right Eye Seal, May 380 He Part 3

"A…aah… aaaaaaaaahhh!!" Raios screamed, his eyes bulging as

far as they could go. "My…my arms!! My arrrrms!! The blood…

the blood!!"

Just minutes ago, Raios had coldly told Humbert to stop whining and staunch the bleeding himself—apparently he was not

made of sterner stuff himself. His eyes swiveled here and there

until he at last spotted Humbert huddled a short distance away,

and he tottered over on his knees.

"Humbeeeert!! Blood!! Stop my bleeding!! Take off your rope

and tie my arms!!"

While Humbert typically acted like he was Raios's servant at

these moments, he was unable to acquiesce in this instance. He

cradled his own left arm, tied around several times with that special red rope, and shook his head in rapid motions. "N-no! If I ttake this off, my life will drop!!"

"What?! Humbert! You dare defy my orders…"

He stopped abruptly.

The two ropes used to tie up Tiese and Ronie were both tied

around Humbert's stump. To stop the bleeding in Raios's arms,

he'd need both. But without any treatment to stop his bleeding,

removing the ropes from Humbert's arm would make the blood

flow again, decreasing his life. And that—the intentional or unjustified lessening of another's life—was a grave breach of the Taboo

Index.

"But…my blood…Humbert, you…Taboo…But…my life…" Raios

babbled in a panicked falsetto. He looked back and forth frantically from his own gushing blood to the ropes tied around Humbert's wound.

As the heir to a third-rank noble family, Raios Antinous was

placed in a hard spot, forced to choose between his own life and

the Taboo Index. An amalgamation of his own swollen self-importance, he naturally valued his own life above anything else.

But at the same time, he could not disobey the absolute authority

of the Taboo Index. That would make him no better than Eugeo,

whom he'd attempted to execute.

"Aaaah! Taboo…Life…Blood…Tabooooo…!" he wailed.

Kirito approached him, then stopped two mels short and

reached out for Tiese and Ronie on the bed. He touched their

shoulders to reassure them, nodded, then started to untie the

rope that bound Ronie's top. Eugeo assumed he would use it to

stop Raios's bleeding, but the knot was very tight. All the while,

the first seat's howling and thrashing grew more frantic.

"Bluh…Tab…Lie…Ta…Live…Tab…" he grunted, back arched,

barely forming words anymore. Kirito untied the rope at last and

took a step toward the flailing man.

"Life, tagboo, live, daboo, dab, da, da, da-da-da-da—"

Raios's voice was turning abnormal. It sounded less human

than animal, perhaps, or like the repetition of some broken tool.

"Da-da-da, dah, dah, dih, dil, dil-dil-dil, dildildildildi

"

The sound cut off.

Raios Antinous toppled straight backward. The blood was still

flowing from his severed arms, meaning that he still had some

essence of life left, but Eugeo sensed that Raios was no longer

alive.

Likewise, Kirito, Tiese, and Ronie—who had been untying the

other girl's ropes—were all frozen in shock. It was Humbert who

first approached Raios to examine his strained rictus of a face.

"Aiiiie!" he screamed in terror. "R-R-Raios is…d-d-dead! K…

k…killed…killed!! M-murder…Mo…mo…monster!!"

He crawled away from Kirito, then got to his feet, knees quaking, and rushed out into the common room. After that he exited

to the hallway, as his footsteps and shrieks faded toward the

stairs.

Eugeo had no idea what would happen next or what they

should do. So many things had happened in such short succession that even his exploded eyeball seemed trivial. For now, he

returned the Blue Rose Sword to its sheath and somehow managed to stand.

He met Kirito's eyes, nodded without a word, then plodded toward Tiese on the bed.

Then his feet stopped. Eugeo was a criminal now, guilty of cutting off Humbert's arm in violation of the Taboo Index. To that

sixteen-year-old girl, he might be just as bad as Raios…perhaps

even more detestable.

He slumped his head, unable to look up at her, and started to

back away.

A small body slammed itself into his chest.

Red hair pressed hard against his uniform, and he heard an

anguished voice cry, "I'm sorry…I'm sorry, Eugeo…I-it's all my

fault—"

He shook his head, cutting off Tiese. "No, it's not your fault. I

was…I didn't think it through. None of this is your fault."

"B-but…but…"

"It's okay. You and Ronie are safe, and that's what matters. I'm

the one who should apologize…I'm sorry for putting you through

this terror," he said, and patted the maple-red hair. Tiese began

to bawl in earnest, and next to them, Ronie was weeping into Kirito's shirt in the same way. Eugeo's partner looked over her head

at him and nodded.

Eugeo was going to nod back, but at that very moment, Kirito

winced, as if someone had pulled on his hair. He looked left and

right, then up at the ceiling.

When his eyes bulged, Eugeo followed their direction—and

then he saw it.

On the ceiling of the bedroom, near the northeast corner,

floated what looked like a purple board. It was similar to a Stacia

Window but much larger, and round. On the inside, someone was

watching the room…no, watching them. He couldn't tell if they

were male or female, young or old. The skin was pale and white,

and the eyes were like glass marbles.

…Where have I…?

...I've seen that face before. Long ago.

In that instant of recognition, the white face opened a mouth

like a bottomless pit. Instantly, Kirito hissed into his ear, "Don't

let the girls hear it!"

Eugeo promptly folded his arms around the sobbing Tiese's

head. Kirito did the same to Ronie.

" Singular Unit Detected. Tracing ID," spoke the person on

the other side of the purple window in a bizarre voice. It sounded

like sacred arts chanting, but he didn't recognize any of the vocabulary from class. After a few seconds, the face said, " Coordinates Fixed. Report Complete."

And with that, the window vanished entirely. It was a freakish

experience, but Eugeo's mind was too exhausted to feel shock or

fear at this point. He exhaled and decided to leave the interpreta-

tion up to Kirito.

Outside the windows, the storm was receding, so the only

sound in the room was Ronie's and Tiese's sobbing. Eugeo

hugged his page tight and looked down at the floor.

There lay the corpse of Raios Antinous, frozen with his back in

an extreme arch, thrusting his mangled arms outward. Kirito had

cut off those arms, but Eugeo had done the same to Humbert, so

they were both in the same boat. His mind replayed the sound of

Humbert's voice:

Murderer. Monster.

Those words had appeared in his grandma's old stories, the

ones she'd told Eugeo and his brothers to frighten them when

they were little. The inhuman creatures in the land of darkness

had no laws or taboos to keep, and they would murder even

within their species, she said. Eugeo learned that fact for himself

in that icy cave two years ago.

That's right…I'm just like those goblins now. I let my rage

control me, and I struck down Humbert Zizek…a fellow student

at my own school.

So shouldn't I at least judge and punish myself, to prove that

I am not like those goblins in at least one tiny way? If I am a

monster, do I really have the right to seek comfort in Tiese's

warmth…?

He clenched his left eye shut and gritted his teeth—and that

was when Kirito reached over and clamped his hand on Eugeo's

shoulder.

"You're human, Eugeo. Just like me…You make mistakes, you

try to find the meaning in them, and you keep struggling…like a

human does."

The words prompted a sudden flood of warm liquid from

Eugeo's left eye. He was afraid it had started bleeding like the one

on the right, but when he carefully lifted the eyelid, he saw that

the light of the lamp on the wall was glimmering and gleaming,

broken into flickering pieces.

It wasn't blood he was looking through but tears. They fell

down his cheek and landed in succession on Tiese's hair. After a

few moments, she looked up at him. The hazy red of her eyes reminded him of leaves in the fall, laden with the droplets of morning dew.

His trainee page—at least for now—smiled the faintest of

smiles, pulled a white cloth out of her pocket, and pressed it

softly to his cheek. As the tears fell one after the other, Tiese

silently continued to wipe them dry.

5

"…It is a terrible shame," murmured Miss Azurica, the dorm supervisor. She thought for a moment, then added, "I was certain

that you two would be our school representatives at the end of the

year."

"That was my plan, too," said Kirito, bold as ever. Unable to

muster that same courage, Eugeo looked upward, feeling his left

eye getting hot.

The May sky was utterly blue and cloudless, washed clean by

the storm overnight. Birds crowded the green, budding branches,

chirping brightly. It was the perfect day to lie down on the central

lawn and take a nap—but they would never sleep at this school

again.

Eugeo and Kirito had spent the night behind the heavy gate they

had just left: the holding cells in the basement of the Swordcraft

Academy faculty building. For hardly ever being used since the

very founding of the school, the cell was quite thoroughly clean,

and the bed was as nice as those at the primary trainee dorm, but

Eugeo didn't get a wink of sleep.

Kirito, in characteristic form, worked hard through the night

trying to heal Eugeo's ruptured eye with sacred arts, but without

a catalyst, the best he could do was seal it up. Restoring its function was too difficult. He still didn't know why the eye had collapsed like that without an external cause. After a number of experiments, the spatial power dried up, and even Kirito's stubbornness had to be set aside.

At last the morning broke, and the sun shone through the nar-

row window. At the ringing of the nine o'clock bells, they were released at last. They figured that some imperial guardsmen had

come to take them away, but to their surprise, it was merely Miss

Azurica, the supervisor at the primary trainee dorm.

Kirito's statement caused the twentysomething teacher's expression to soften. Then she turned to Eugeo. Those silver-blue

eyes, which put him in mind of polished metal, always made

Eugeo nervous due to their resemblance to Sister Azalia's back

home, but this time he stayed firm and met her gaze.

Azurica started to say something, then shut her mouth. Instead, she pulled an object out of her pocket—a pale-green

sphere. It looked like a glass ornament, but it wasn't. It was a

crystal of holy power, harvested from the school's Four Holy

Flowers.

She squeezed the precious catalyst between her fingers and

crushed it. The sphere shattered, the tiny pieces sparkling as they

fell. She held out that hand to Eugeo's right eye and began to

chant spell words.

"System Call. Generate Luminous Element…"

The chanting was far faster than any they'd heard from their

sacred arts teacher. Eugeo and Kirito paused in shock as she

smoothly assembled all the requisite words, until a warm light coalesced on Eugeo's wounded eye.

"Open your eye," she whispered. Very hesitantly, Eugeo lifted

the eyelid that had been sealed for sixteen hours at this point.

When he realized that his sight had returned in full capacity, he

let out a gasp of surprise and delight. After several turns in place

to assure himself that everything was truly normal, Eugeo came

to his senses and bowed.

"Th-thank you, Miss Azurica."

"That's quite all right. More importantly, Disciple Eugeo and

Disciple Kirito…I have something to say to you before you are

handed over," Azurica announced. For a rare moment, she looked

hesitant, then placed one hand each on their shoulders. "You are

going to be judged for turning your backs on the Taboo Index and

harming the life of others. But do not forget—the Taboo Index…

the Axiom Church itself was created not by God but by man."

"Uh…wh-what does that…?" Eugeo started to ask.

Even small children knew that it was Stacia, god of creation,

who forged the Earth. It was equally known that the Church that

ruled the world was a holy creation as well.

"That is all I can say for now. But…I'm sure you will soon learn

the truth of the world for yourselves," Azurica said. Then she

winced and closed just her right eye. Eugeo could sense that she

was feeling a sharp pain there.

"Disciple Eugeo…you broke a seal that I could not. That means

you'll go places I could not reach…Trust in your sword and your

friend," she said, then turned to the other boy. "Disciple Kirito.

Here at the end, I still do not know just whoyou are. But I know

that when you reach the tower, something will happen. I will be

here, praying that you find the light."

Somehow, Kirito seemed to understand this mysterious statement. He nodded and enfolded Azurica's hand on his shoulder

with both of his own, moving it to his chest. "Thank you, Miss

Azurica. I'll come and see you again sometime. Then I can tell you

everything you want to know."

Then he pulled her dainty fingers up to touch his lips. She

blinked several times in surprise, and unless it was Eugeo's imagination, her cheeks seemed to color just a bit. She smiled faintly.

Kirito made that face like someone was tugging on his hair

again, but she didn't seem to notice. She gently pulled her hand

free of his, then removed the other one from Eugeo's shoulder.

"Let's go, then. Your escort is here."

The grounds of the school, usually bustling with students going to

and from class, were eerily empty and quiet. Instead, Eugeo spotted something unexpected in front of the training hall. His freshly

healed eyes bulged.

It was a huge creature, shining in the light of Solus. Not only

was the metal armor on its chest and head gleaming, but so were

the silvery-white triangular scales that covered its body. He didn't

need to see the folded wings jutting up like twin towers or the

long curved tail to know that it was a dragon. It was the largest

and most powerful spiritual creature in the human empire, the

mount of the Axiom Church's almighty Integrity Knights.

The dragon's rider was nowhere to be seen. Unperturbed by

the massive dragon watching them from above, Miss Azurica

walked the two boys to the entrance of the training hall and

stopped.

She looked at both of them in turn, gave them a firm nod, then

spun on her heels. As she strode away, tall boots clicking, both

Kirito and Eugeo bowed deeply in her direction. Only when the

footsteps were gone did they raise their heads, check on the

dragon, and turn to the door.

"So…if there's a dragon…then does that mean our escort is…an

Integrity Knight?" Eugeo whispered with a slight quiver. His partner snorted in his usual fashion and reached for the closed door.

"We'll find out soon," he said, pushed it open, and marched inside. Eugeo steeled his courage and followed.

It was gloomy inside, as the windows meant to bring in light

were closed. Naturally, there were neither students nor instructors within the training floor and its stands.

On the wall across from the entrance, there was a painting

based on the creation myth, that of the three goddesses of light

vanquishing Vecta, god of darkness. But in the middle of the

large, empty hall, facing toward the painting and away from

them, there was a person.

Years ago, Eugeo had seen an Integrity Knight close up—when

Alice was taken away. He'd called himself Deusolbert Synthesis

Seven and was nearly two mels tall. Whoever this was, they were

far smaller. In fact, Eugeo was actually taller.

The blue cape that hung from the shoulder clasps was embroidered with the Axiom Church's insignia, a combination of cross

and circle. But the most striking feature of the figure was the

long, flowing golden hair. It reflected a deeper, richer glow than

even Raios's, gleaming like molten gold in any level of light.

The Integrity Knight did not move, so Eugeo and Kirito shared

a glance before starting forward. They crossed the training hall in

a straight line, coming to a stop five mels before the short figure.

"…Elite Disciple Eugeo of the North Centoria Imperial Swordcraft Academy, at your service," he said awkwardly.

"Kirito, ditto."

Normally that would be when Eugeo would think, Don't be

lazy—introduce yourself properly!but not even an inkling of that

thought occurred to him now. And not due to nerves. As he gazed

at the blue cape and golden hair, swaying gently in the breeze

from the open door, a strange sensation started coming over him.

Where have I…?

The combination of blue and gold. It was…strangely…familiar…

Several seconds later, this constricting hesitation turned to

full-blown, heart-stopping shock.

"Axiom Church of Centoria, Integrity Knight—Alice Synthesis

Thirty."

The knight did not turn around for the introduction. But there

was no way he would mistake that voice. He'd heard it nearly

every day in the first ten years after his birth.

And the name. The last part was unfamiliar, but he couldn't

miss the word Alice.

It couldn't be a coincidence. Eugeo stumbled forward, legs

numb, and mumbled, "…Alice…? Is that you…? Are you…

Alice…?"

Kirito reached out quickly from his side, but Eugeo slipped

past his grasp to approach one step closer. The hair and cape rustled, sending forth a faint, light scent. It was gentle and familiar,

like a field of flowers under the sun. It was the smell of his old

friend's blue apron dress.

"Alice!" he called, firmly this time, and reached for her shoulder. She would turn around, greet Eugeo with that fond old smile,

mischievous and smug—

A glint of light shattered that hope into dust.

A tremendous force smashed Eugeo's right cheek, knocking

him clean off his feet to land heavily on the training hall floorboards.

"Eugeo!" Kirito cried, helping him up, but Eugeo was so

stunned he didn't even register his friend's presence.

Somehow, there was a longsword in the knight's outstretched

hand, even as she kept her back to them. But it was still sheathed,

not naked. She had removed the sheath from its holder and used

the end of it to strike Eugeo's cheek.

The knight smoothly lowered the sword and said, "Choose

your words and actions carefully. I have the right to remove up to

seventy percent of your life. The next time you attempt to touch

me without permission, I will cut off your hand," she said, her

voice as crisp, clear, and harsh as snowmelt water when she

turned around at last.

"…Alice…"

Eugeo couldn't help mumbling that name one last time.

The Integrity Knight with the golden sword could be nobody

else but the grown Alice Zuberg, daughter of Gasfut and sister of

Selka, once taken away from Rulid as a child—Eugeo's childhood

friend.

Naturally, she was not dressed the same. On her torso, shoulders, and waist was thin, light armor of finely detailed metal, and

below that, the skirt extended practically to her ankles. But there

was no mistaking that face.

Long, pristine blond hair. Clear, pale skin. But most of all, the

incomparable deep blue of her slightly tapered eyes, a color that

he'd never seen in anyone else's, even in Centoria.

But the look in those eyes was not what he remembered. The vibrant curiosity of her childhood Rulid days was gone, replaced by

nothing but cold authority that fixed on Eugeo as he sat on the

floor.

Her pink lips moved, producing that beautiful, cruel voice

again. "Ahh…I intended to strike you for thirty percent of your

life, but I achieved only half that. If you have the agility to disperse that damage, then I can see why you were able to achieve

elite disciple status…and the boldness to attempt murder."

The way she spoke, it was as if she'd read Eugeo's Stacia Window without touching him, but he couldn't even begin to guess

what that meant.

He just couldn't accept the words he was hearing. Kind, caring

Alice would never say these things. Further, it made no sense that

she had no reaction to his name, had struck him on the face without a second thought, and then—most of all—that she was standing there as an Integrity Knight, of all things.

He was going to call out again, to ignore her warning—when

Kirito whispered into his ear.

"That knight must be the Alice you've been searching for."

Even in these bizarre circumstances, his partner's voice was

calm and collected, and it brought a measure of rationality to

Eugeo's bewildered mind. He managed to bob his head, to which

Kirito whispered again, "Let's follow her orders for now. As long

as we get into Central Cathedral, even as criminals, we should be

able to argue our case."

Get into the cathedral.

It took Kirito's suggestion to get this point into Eugeo's head.

His dream of going through the two tournaments in triumph and

being named Integrity Knight was dead, but violating the Taboo

Index had actually brought him here to his goal more than a year

ahead of schedule.

Get into Central Cathedral and meet Alice.The order was

backward now, but that was everything Eugeo wanted. He didn't

know why she was acting like a totally different person now, but

at the very least, he'd achieved half his goal. And once he got into

the cathedral, he was sure to find a way to turn Alice back to her

old self.

Eugeo's mind was back under rational self-control, and Alice

was putting away her sword. She started walking for the main

doors, cape trailing in the breeze.

"Stand and follow."

Disobedience was not an option. Kirito helped Eugeo up to his

feet, and they followed her in silence.

Once out of the hall, Alice headed straight for the waiting

dragon and patted its fearsome snout. Then she retrieved some

strange tools from the large cargo bag behind the saddle. They

looked like three heavy leather straps connected by chains—

shackles. Just like the tool used to bind Alice eight years ago.

She brought over the shackles, one in each hand, then commanded Kirito and Eugeo to stand up straight. The order was far

quieter than when Raios screamed that he would execute Eugeo,

but it had a deep, irresistible quality to it, as though she were

speaking God's own words.

"Elite Disciple Eugeo. Elite Disciple Kirito. You are hereby arrested for violating the Taboo Index and will be brought in for

questioning and sentencing."

She wrapped the restraints around them as they stood at attention. The leather straps went around their arms, chest, and

waist, and soon they were completely immobilized. She then returned to her dragon, still holding the chains connected to their

backs, and fixed one chain to each of the large armor clasps on

the beast's powerful haunches. Kirito was tied to the dragon's

right leg and Eugeo to the left.

The Integrity Knight named Deusolbert had tied Alice to his

dragon's leg the same way. But it was a day's flight from Rulid all

the way to Centoria. If she was just dangling in thin air the entire

time, it was hard to imagine a more terrifying, strenuous experience for an eleven-year-old.

Somehow, Alice was now an Integrity Knight herself, tying

Eugeo to her dragon just as she had once been tied. The lack of

any hesitation in her actions forced Eugeo to face the truth: Alice

the knight was both Alice Zuberg and a different person entirely.

Some great and terrible power had changed her.

Like Kirito said, they might be able to learn the secret behind

this change if they went to Central Cathedral. But the real question was, could they actually turn Alice back?

And even more pressing—what if the same thing happened to

him? What if he forgot everything and turned into someone else?

What if he forgot his life in Rulid, the journey to Centoria…even

his memories at the academy…?

For a moment, he was plunged into deep fear and panic.

Then a pair of footsteps approached from behind, and both he

and Kirito turned to look.

Stumbling forward, uncertain and yet insistent, was a pair of

primary trainees in their gray uniforms: Tiese Schtrinen with her

long red hair and Ronie Arabel with her brown hair cut short.

The hesitance of their footsteps was actually due to the objects

they were carrying. Tiese had a longsword in a white leather

sheath, while Ronie carried a similar weapon in black. It was

clear at a glance that these were their personal swords, which had

been left behind in Raios's bedroom.

Tiese's palms were split and bloodied where they held the

sheath, and it was no wonder—even Eugeo and Kirito had to steel

themselves to lift the swords, they were so heavy.

"Tiese…"

"Ronie!"

The girls responded with faint smiles through the pain. But it

also drew the attention of Alice, who left the dragon's side to examine the girls. Eugeo recalled the stinging pain of the blow on

his still-numb cheek, and he shouted, "No, Tiese! Don't come

closer!"

But the trainees did not stop. They crossed the last ten mels of

distance, blood dripping on the cobblestones, then fell to their

knees in front of Alice.

After a lot of heavy breathing, Tiese was first to look up, face

resolute, and said, "L-Lady Knight…we beg of you!"

Ronie followed in a quavering voice. "We ask your permission…to return their swords!"

Alice stared down at the girls until, eventually, she bobbed her

head. "Very well. However, weapons cannot be given to the guilty.

I will take them. If you wish to speak to them, you will have one

minute."

She took the Blue Rose Sword in her right hand and the black

sword in her left and easily lifted them up, apparently not feeling

the weight whatsoever, then returned to the dragon and stashed

the weapons in the storage bag from which she had pulled the restraints.

Tiese and Ronie clasped their bloodied hands before their

chests, relief seeming to numb them to any pain. They unsteadily

got to their feet and rushed to their tutors' sides.

"…Eugeo…"

Tiese leaned close, her red eyes puffy from crying. It took all of

Eugeo's willpower to meet her gaze, rather than look away.

He had cut off Humbert's arm right in front of them last night.

When the same fate befell Raios, he screeched in an unearthly

manner before perishing. Tiese and Ronie were physically unharmed by the experience, but the mental shock and trauma had

to be great.

To her, Eugeo was no longer a trustworthy mentor, but a criminal who had broken the Taboo Index. He was locked in chains,

the only just fate for someone guilty of his sins.

But then—

Fat tears welled up in Tiese's maple-red eyes and spilled down

her cheeks.

"Eugeo…I'm so sorry…This is…all my fault," she squeaked,

clenching her hands. "I'm sorry…If only I hadn't…been so stupid…"

"No…that's not true," Eugeo said, stunned. "You did nothing

wrong, Tiese…In fact, what you did for your friend was right. All

of this…is my fault. You have nothing to apologize for."

She stared back into his eyes, so straightforwardly that she

seemed to glimpse the very depths of his soul, and put on a brave

smile.

"Next time," the young page said, quavering but resolute,

"next time I will save you. I…I'll work my hardest, become an In-

tegrity Knight, and come save you…so just be patient. Wait for

me. I swear…I swear…"

A sob stuck the words in her throat. Eugeo could do nothing

but nod.

On the other side of the dragon, Ronie and Kirito finished a

similarly short conversation. She put a small package into Kirito's

chained hands and tearfully said, "This is…a lunch for you. If you

get hungry, please eat…"

Whatever Kirito said in reply was drowned out by the sound of

the dragon's wings flapping.

"It is time. Step away," Alice commanded from the saddle. She

whipped the reins, and the dragon stood. The chains pulled upward and left Eugeo nearly in the air.

Tiese and Ronie took a few steps backward, tears tumbling

from their eyes. The silver wings beat the air, whipping the girls'

hair around.

The dragon took a few rumbling steps to pick up speed. The

girls sprinted after them, but soon they stumbled and dropped to

all fours. Then the beast's powerful legs launched off the surface

and into the air.

As it ascended in a spiral, Tiese and Ronie grew smaller and

smaller. Eventually they disappeared into the gray blur of the

cobblestones, and even the entirety of the North Centoria Imperial Swordcraft Academy began to fade.

The dragon, Integrity Knight on its back and criminals hanging from its legs, started a direct flight to the Axiom Church's

towering Central Cathedral at the heart of everything.