But she has no blade, Eugeo protested, right as Kirito mumbled, “No way—”
There was a flash of light, and the little tree sitting atop the hill vanished.
“?!”
A moment later, there was a rush of thick, sweet fragrance, and then it was totally gone.
In Alice’s right hand was now a familiar longsword. A weapon made entirely of shining gold, from blade to hilt to sheath. A cross-shaped pattern of flowers decorated the hilt.
Right in that moment, Eugeo didn’t understand what had happened.
The tree vanished, and the sword appeared. Did the tree change into the sword? But Alice did not give any commands. Whether it was a simple illusion or some kind of ultra-high-level matter-conversion art, it should have been impossible without a verbal command.
But…not unless the tree changed its form based on only Alice’s thoughts, making it…
Kirito reached the conclusion a split second before Eugeo did. He snapped, “Dammit, that’s not good…Her sword might already be in Perfect Control mode!”
Alice stared down at the stunned boys, holding her sword flat with both hands. She drew it crisply, the blade a deeper golden yellow than the sheath, gleaming as it reflected the light of Solus.
In an instant, Kirito was rushing forward. Whatever power it was that Alice’s sword held, he was determined to force close combat before she could utilize her Perfect Control over it. He tore up the hill, blades of grass flying, and crossed nearly the entire distance within ten steps.
Eugeo tried his hardest to follow after his partner, still clutching the chain around his neck. Kirito wasn’t going to draw his weapon. Like he said, he was going to block Alice’s first attack with his body, which would give them just a tiny amount of time to hold her back. It was absolutely imperative that Eugeo take advantage of that window to hit her with the dagger.
Nothing in Alice’s expression changed with the black swordsman charging up at her. She calmly, almost carelessly, pulled her sword back.
Kirito wasn’t yet within sword range. Was it a ranged attack, like Deusolbert’s and Fanatio’s? If so, she might stop Kirito at a distance, but it would still leave Eugeo with enough time to get in close with the dagger.
Eugeo peeled off from Kirito and kept running at a different angle.
Alice’s right hand swung forward—and the golden blade disappeared.
“?!”
It did not actually disappear. It was more like a disintegration. The sword split into hundreds, thousands of pieces that hurtled at Kirito like a golden storm.
“Aaagh!!”
Kirito was knocked clean off his feet by the shining swarm. Eugeo gritted his teeth and raced onward, determined to make use of the momentary diversion his partner created.
But the golden wind did not stop there. With a sound like rustling leaves, it abruptly darted left in midair to engulf Eugeo next.
The force was irresistible. It felt like a giant swatting him with the palm of its hand, knocking him over on his right side.
Each individual fragment, less than a cen in length, was tremendously heavy. Eugeo instinctually covered his face with his left arm as he landed on the grass and felt a searing pain there. It was all he could do not to scream and roll around in agony.
The swarm of gold pieces, having easily stopped them, flew back to Alice’s side, where they hovered around the knight rather than returning to sword form.
In fact, on closer examination, all of the shards were cross-shaped combinations of even smaller diamond-shaped pieces. It was the same as the design on the hilt of the sword—the shape of the flowers from the tree.
“Are you mocking me? Why else would you run for me without drawing your weapons?” she asked, still without the slightest hint of emotion. “I held back on that attack, as a warning. The next time, I will eliminate your life. Use all the power you possess, for the honor of those knights you already defeated.”
She…held back? And that tremendous power was the result…?
As Eugeo watched in horror, the golden flowers audibly bristled with metallic sounds in unison. The tips of the petals, which had previously been rounded and smooth, were now sharper than the end of a rapier. It wouldn’t just be a body blow anymore; those points would split the skin and sever bone.
Deep fear plunged Eugeo’s limbs into numbing, icy water. Even a single one of those golden flowers could take his life down to dangerous levels if it struck the right spot—and there were at least two or three hundred circling around in the swarm. It was impossible to deflect them all with a sword, and probably just as difficult to evade the practically sentient multitude. Alice’s Perfect Weapon Control was almost too perfect, and all-powerful…
Yes. It was too perfect.
Perfect Weapon Control of a Divine Object was very powerful, but even that had its limits. The core of the power was extracting the “memory” of the weapon’s material and turning it into an exaggerated physical property: heat, cold, toughness, speed. For it to specialize in one area, by necessity it had to sacrifice power in others.
Fanatio’s Perfect Control was so developed in terms of compressing light to that powerful beam that it was overturned by Kirito’s simple mirror response.
Whatever the nature of the little tree that was the core of Alice’s weapon, if the sum of its potential was split among so many tiny objects—focusing on accuracy—then the attack power of each individual petal must be small. It just didn’t add up that those little objects less than a cen across could have the weight of a giant’s fist.
In order for that to be possible, the slender little tree with orange flowers had to be an ultra-high-priority object, even more powerful than the Gigas Cedar that was the basis for Kirito’s sword…
Nearby, Kirito lifted his head, his face a pale mixture of astonishment and horror as he arrived at the same conclusion as Eugeo. But not knowing the meaning of the word resignation, he turned determined eyes toward Eugeo and mouthed, Chant.
Getting through the storm of petals by orthodox methods was impossible. The only way was to immobilize the actual wielder through the Blue Rose Sword’s own Perfect Control. Earlier, Alice was swinging around the naked hilt to match the movement of the flowers. That suggested that the mass of petals wasn’t moving solely of her own control.
From his prone position, Eugeo subtly laid a hand on the hilt of the Blue Rose Sword and began to recite the Perfect Control chant at a barely audible level. If Alice noticed him and attacked, he’d be totally defenseless, but Kirito would handle that.
As he expected, Kirito bolted to his feet just at that moment and called out in a loud, deliberate challenge, “I apologize for treating a proud Integrity Knight in a manner lacking in proper respect! Kirito, student of the sword, seeks a proper duel of blade against blade with the Integrity Knight Alice!”
He thumped his right fist against his chest and dipped his head, then grabbed the hilt of his sword from his left side. After drawing his pitch-black weapon with a vicious shing, he held it up in a stance, as if to split the golden aura that surrounded the knight.
Alice gazed at him, her blue eyes all-knowing, then blinked and said, “Very well. I shall ascertain the nature of your wickedness from the way you fight.”
She motioned with the hilt. With a sound like waves, the cloud of golden flowers gathered within reach like a little dust devil and assembled themselves into the shape of a perfect, unbroken blade. They made a ch-ching! sound and fused, returning to the form of that golden sword.
As she approached, regally holding her sword at chest level, Kirito moved his blade low and said, “It is inevitable that one of us will fall once we cross blades. Before that happens, answer me this: I see that your divine weapon takes its form from the tree that was on the hilltop previously. How does such a small tree hold such incredible power?”
It was obviously a stall for time, but Kirito really did want to know the truth behind the golden sword’s Perfect Control. Eugeo was curiou
s, himself. He listened in as he continued reciting.
Alice took three steps forward before coming to a halt. She paused, then opened her mouth to speak.
“It would be pointless to tell you just before you die…but I suppose I shall do you this favor on your path to Heaven. The name of my weapon is the Osmanthus Blade. As the name suggests, it was once nothing but a simple osmanthus tree.”
Osmanthus was a type of small tree that bloomed tiny orange flowers in the fall. It hardly grew at all around Rulid, but Eugeo had seen a few in Centoria. It certainly wasn’t a one-of-a-kind specimen like the Gigas Cedar.
“As you said, it is merely a small tree—except for its age. The place where Central Cathedral stands now was once, in the distant past, the Place of Beginning, which the creation goddess Stacia gifted to humanity. In the center of the little village was a beautiful spring, with a single osmanthus tree growing on its bank…according to the first chapter of Genesis. That tree is the origin from which this sword was forged. Do you understand? This Osmanthus Blade is the oldest thing in existence.”
“Wh-what…?” Kirito gasped.
She continued, “This sword is a reincarnation of the tree that God herself placed. Its quality is ‘everlasting eternity.’ Even a single fallen petal will split stone and tear the earth where it lands…just as you experienced for yourselves. Do you now understand what it is you face?”
“…Yeah, I get it,” Kirito replied obligingly. “So it’s the first indestructible object that God placed, huh…They just keep upping the ante with these things they pull out. But I can’t waste my time being amazed by it.”
He brandished his black sword high, now seemingly rather insignificant in comparison to a tree-based weapon of a much higher notoriety. “Integrity Knight Alice…let us fight!”
The black swordsman leaped off the ground, audibly ripping his way through the air. He charged with such speed that it was hard to believe he was the one going uphill.
Kirito likely believed that if he could start his combination attack within close range, no matter what Alice’s weapon was, he could seize the advantage. Fanatio’s ability to respond in kind was a product of her unique personal mastery of the combination arts and surely was exceptional among the knights.
As Kirito and Eugeo expected, Alice pulled her sword back overhead in honest response to Kirito’s high slice. She couldn’t block him if he segued that high attack to a mid-level one next.
The downward burst of black lightning met with the Osmanthus Blade, sending up pale sparks.
But the second attack did not instantly emerge.
Alice’s sword barely budged, but Kirito bounced backward, as though he had tried to smash a boulder with a stick, and lost his balance.
“Whoa…”
The slope played havoc with his feet, forcing him to take several wobbly steps, while Alice pursued with the grace of rushing water.
Her left hand extended fully, all the way to her fingertips. The golden sword drew back straight behind her, leaving her front wide open. It was an old-fashioned style, not nearly as practical as the Aincrad style, but between the flowing blond hair and waving skirt, there was a kind of painterly beauty to the sight.
“Eiii!” she cried, swinging the sword forward in a semicircle. The speed was tremendous—but the movement was too grand.
Kirito had recovered his balance and had plenty of time to hold up his sword.
Grakk! The two swords clashed. Once again, it was Kirito who spun away from the impact like a top. He put a hand to the grass to avoid falling off his feet as he slid down, nearly to the foot of the hill.
At last, Eugeo understood the nature of what he was seeing. The weight of each blow was off the charts.
With his high-priority divine weapon and special Aincrad combination attacks, Kirito had bested a number of Integrity Knights to this point, but the Osmanthus Blade was likely several times heavier than Kirito’s black one. At that speed, it was hard enough just to survive the attack, much less deflect the impact.
And that wasn’t all. As the first impact had proven, even when Kirito was the one attacking, he wound up getting knocked off balance. The outcome was obvious.
Realizing this for himself, Kirito scrambled to his feet and took several hasty steps in retreat. Alice glided after him.
It was as one-sided a fight for Kirito as had ever happened in the last two years.
With her flowing, methodical beauty, Alice attacked again and again. The young man did his best to block and was knocked around miserably each time. He might have fought back had he been able to dodge, but for the great size of her swings, Alice’s aim was extremely fast and accurate, such that Kirito could never evade her cleanly.
Eugeo finished his command, following the two with bated breath. He would have to unleash his Perfect Weapon Control while his friend was still able to block the attacks.
After just five blows, Kirito was already pressed up against the western garden wall. There was nothing but hard marble behind him and nowhere else to run.
Alice pointed the tip of her sword at her trapped foe, expression as cool as ever, and said, “I see. You are only the second to evade my strikes for so long. No doubt, you have great determination and belief that propelled you up the tower. But you are far short of destabilizing the Church. And I cannot allow you to endanger the peace of the realm.”
There was no weakness to exploit in the golden knight’s regal stance. Even from behind, Eugeo felt that she could react and stop his sacred arts.
Say something, Kirito. I just need a moment, a chance, Eugeo thought as he ran, but his partner just glared at her fiercely with his back to the wall and held his silence.
“Then prepare yourself,” she said, lifting the Osmanthus Blade up to point straight at the heavens.
There was a moment’s silence.
Then, with a terrible air-ripping noise, golden light appeared.
Forcing his eyes as far open as possible, Kirito moved his hand at blurring speed.
A metallic clash. Sparks.
He didn’t absorb the blow, but he diverted it. Sword met sword at the slightest possible angle, just enough to shift the trajectory of Alice’s unfathomably heavy swing.
The Osmanthus Blade ran through a spot just a single cen to the left of Kirito’s head: smooth marble wall. A few strands of black hair flew into the air and vanished.
Then he leaped at her. He held down her right hand with his left and locked his other arm around hers. At long last, that succeeded in getting a facial reaction from the previously unshakable Alice.
Now.
“Enhance Armament!!” Eugeo screamed, thrusting the Blue Rose Sword into the grass at his feet.
In an instant, the ground was white with ice. The wave of frost raced forward and swallowed Kirito and Alice where they stood, about ten mels away.
A rush of icy vines grew up their legs. They formed blue crystal chains that wound around the two bodies. Kirito’s black clothes and Alice’s white armor were soon covered in thick ice.
Kirito, Alice, I’m sorry!
He continued pumping out more and more ice vines. After seeing what Alice could do, no amount felt like enough to hold her down.
The crackling vines gripped tighter and tighter until they eventually changed into a single thick pillar of ice. The giant crystal, multifaceted like a raw gemstone, glistened quietly with the two combatants trapped inside. The only thing extending from the block was Alice’s hand and the Osmanthus Blade in it, stuck into the wall. Frozen in time within the blue ice was a look of slight surprise on Alice’s face and sheer determination on Kirito’s.
One prick of the dagger on her extended arm, and it was all over.
Eugeo let go of the Blue Rose Sword and stood up. The Perfect Weapon Control would be undone now, but that huge block of ice wouldn’t melt naturally for many minutes. He squeezed his little dagger and took a step forward, then another…
When his third step landed, golden light
exploded.
“Ah…!”
To his shock, Alice’s trapped sword was disintegrating into countless petals again.
With a stately, harmonic thrum, the storm of golden flowers circled the pillar. The tiny cross-shaped blades swarmed and chiseled the ice as Eugeo watched helplessly. If he jumped into that fray now, he would lose his life before getting a single step closer.
The flowers shredded the ice until there was just a thin layer left, then fluttered up higher into the air. With a delicate crack, what was left of the ice pillar crumbled to the ground.
Alice thrust Kirito toward Eugeo with the hand that was grappling with him, brushed loose a bit of ice still stuck in her hair, and, as if nothing had just happened, said, “Did you not seek to reach a conclusion through a sword competition? It was an amusing diversion…but mere ice cannot hope to contain my flowers. I will fight you next, so stay there and wait your turn.”
She extended her right hand, and the cloud of petals instantly coalesced back into their original—
“Enhance Armament!!” screamed Kirito.
However it was that he had found the time to recite the chant, Kirito’s black sword sprayed out darkness.
It plunged not for Alice herself—but for the Osmanthus Blade, just before it was whole again.
“Wha…?!”
For the first time, Alice was startled.
The surge of darkness scattered her golden petals and ruptured her control over them.
With an ear-shattering roar, dueling storms of black and gold rumbled and soared. They tangled, swirled, and slammed against the marble wall behind her.
“Eugeoooo!!” Kirito screamed.
That was right: This was the final chance.
Eugeo pulled the dagger from its hiding spot and charged.
Just eight mels to reach Alice.
Seven.
Six.
And then something happened that no one could have predicted.
The abnormal surge of the melded powers of divine Perfect Weapon Control slammed into the Central Cathedral wall so hard, cracks and splits began to form.
With an earthshaking rumble, the massive marble edifice, seemingly indestructible just like the Everlasting Walls, began to crumble.
Alicization Rising Page 20