Sword Art Online Volume 17 - Alicization Awakening

by Reki Kawahara

  No answer. Nothing at all.

  Just because of their inferior appearance, five thousand tribesmen died in vain, just like that.

  Rirupirin hugged the earring in his fist to his chest, and knelt wretchedly on the ground. A raging, melancholic, crushing sorrow flooded his heart — when they melted into tears and sobs —

  At that moment.

  A gaton came from behind.

  The Orc chief stood up and spun his head around, startled, then saw, fallen on the ground and creasing her brows, a human woman. Bright golden hair and pure white skin, wearing a grassy-colored outfit and shining armor… not someone from the Dark Land, but surely a Human Empire girl.

  Instead of shock at her sudden appearance, or fury at seeing a human, the first thing that Rirupirin felt was a shame that said, “don’t look at me”.

  Because the girl before him was simply too beautiful.

  She was definitely the first young female white Ium he had seen close-up, and was so different from the tall, rough-boned, ashy-skinned females of the Dark Land that he thought she looked almost to be from a different species. Her hands and feet looked so fragile that they might snap at the slightest touch, her hair still gleaming under the weak sun, her large eyes looking straight ahead dumbfoundedly, like crystal-clear emeralds.

  Rirupirin cursed himself for having such awestruck thoughts about the beauty of this weak race.

  At the same time, he was scared that the girl’s eyes might fill with revulsion.

  “Dun’… Dun’ look!! Dun’ look a’ me!!”

  He shouted as he blocked his face with his left fist, clutching the hilt of his sword with his right.

  Before she could scream, he would cut her head off.

  As he prepared to draw his sword, Rirupirin felt the earring gripped in his left hand pierce his palm. A feeling like he was being held back by Renju made him stop his movements, and then he heard a surprising sound — or voice.

  “Err… Good afternoon. Good morning, perhaps?”

  Standing up swiftly and patting down her shorts, the girl smiled gently.

  Hiding behind the shadow of his fist, Rirupirin watched in surprise and blinked several times.

  There was not a sliver of revulsion or scorn in the girl’s eyes, not even fear. To white Ium children, the Orcs of the Dark Territory were supposed to be man-eating spirits.

  “W… Why?”

  The words that leaked out of his mouth sounded desperate, completely uncharacteristic for one of the ten Lords of the Dark Land.

  “Why aren’t ya runnin’ away? Why aren’t ya screamin’? Yer jus’ a hooman, why?”

  The girl looked surprised and perplexed.

  “Why… Because.”

  Then, as if affirming that the world is flat and the sky is red, she continued matter-of-factly:

  “You’re a human too, aren’t you?”

  In that instant, Rirupirin could not understand why his spine trembled. Gripping the hilt of his sword, the demihuman chief spoke in a panting voice:

  “H… Hooman? Me? What kinda stupid stuff is that? You can tell jus’ by lookin’ a’ me! I’m an Orc! An Orc called a pigman by ya Iums!!”

  “But, you’re still a human, though.”

  Placing her hands on her slender hips, the girl sounded like a parent teaching her child.

  “See, we can talk to each other. Other than that, what more do you need?”

  “Wha’… more…”

  Rirupirin couldn’t retort anymore. The confident words spoken by the green-eyed girl were too abnormal to the Orc chief who had lived with burning inferiority and resentment towards humans.

  … If you can talk, you’re a human?

  Is that the only requisite of being a “human”? Goblins, Ogres, and Giants could all speak languages. But the four races that included the Orcs had been called “demihumans” ever since the beginning of the Dark Territory, strictly divided from the humans.

  Rirupirin could only breathe roughly as he stood there dumbfounded. With a “Let’s not worry about that yet”, the girl swept his shock and chaos aside as she surveyed their surroundings.

  “… Where… is this?”

  ***

  Leafa/Kirigaya Suguha noticed that she had apparently appeared far away from her original login coordinates, and looked towards that ominous, red tinted sky.

  Since hearing that the STL Unit 6 she was using was a new machine that hadn’t even been taken out of its PVC wrapping after being moved in, she had felt uneasy. Suguha never competed with newly purchased shinai, and likewise, she never trusted newly unpackaged electronic devices. Because somehow, she’d always had an abnormally high chance of getting defective electronic hardware.

  When she had logged in, like Sinon, who entered with STL Prototype Unit 1, her location should have been set to where Asuna was dived in, but since she could see neither of the two, something had certainly happened before she arrived. But that didn’t mean that this desolate place was completely empty; before her stood a single rotund, pig-faced humanoid — in other words, an «Orc».

  According to the color cursor that was only effective for an instant after diving in, this Orc should not belong to her current enemy — the American VRMMO players, but he was an “Artificial Fluctlight” living in Underworld, the “bottom-up” artificial intelligence that Yui had described.

  After hearing Yui’s explanation about the people of Underworld, Leafa was determined not to draw her sword against them unless absolutely necessary.

  That was obvious — how could she kill the “humans” that her brother Kirito wished to protect? If an Artificial Fluctlight died in this world, their soul would be completely destroyed, unable to be revived.

  Furthermore —

  Even for Leafa, who was already familiar with ALO’s top-notch graphics, the complexity of this Orc’s model, which also existed inside much of The Seed Nexus, was shocking.

  The twitches and breaths of his great pinkish nose, the texture of the metallic armor that wrapped around his giant frame and its leathery mantle, and most of all, his two beady black eyes and the richness of his expression were even more proof of the unquestionable, true presence of the soul living within him.

  She had asked this Orc, who timidly turned his face away for some reason, about their surroundings, yet had not received an immediate answer. Deciding to start with a more present issue, Leafa raised another question.

  ***

  “Well… What’s your name?”

  Taken aback, the Orc chief uttered a reflexive, unconscious answer to the white Ium girl’s second inquiry. Maybe his name was the only thing he didn’t hate about himself.

  “I… I’m, Rirupirin.”

  He immediately regretted saying it. Because before, when he traveled to Imperial City Obsidia for the first time, the human knights and sorcerers had burst into laughter upon hearing the name Rirupirin.

  But, the girl only smiled innocently, without any kind of hidden emotion, and repeated Rirupirin’s name in a clear voice:

  “Rirupirin… What a great name. I’m Leafa. It’s nice to meet you, please take care of me.”

  Then, she performed an bewildering action for the umpteenth time.

  She extended her soft, white, right hand straight out.

  Shaking hands — of course he knew about this habit. It was common among Orcs as well. But he had never heard of an Ium shaking hands with an Orc.

  — What the hell is with this person? Is this a trap, or some Sorceress’s magic? Have I fallen for a Bewitching Art without realizing it?

  Staring at that small, outstretched hand, Rirupirin could only moan without moving. The girl watched Rirupirin for nearly ten seconds, then let her hand fall with slight disappointment. Seeing her like that, he felt a stabbing pain in his heart for some reason.

  If he kept talking to the girl… No, just looking at her, he didn’t know what would happen to his brain. Rirupirin had decided he did not want to kill this puny human before him anymore, b
ut to find another solution that did not require brainpower, he spoke:

  “Yer… a Guardian of the Hooman Empire army, no, a knight. I wanna take ya prisoner. Take ya ta the Emperor!”

  Even though she was young, the armor she wore and the long sword equipped at her left waist were unlike anything given to a soldier, no matter how he looked at them. Their intricate designs and gleaming material were likely of much higher grade than Rirupirin’s equipment.

  The girl did not show a trace of fear at Rirupirin’s roar, as though she was thinking about something, then finally shrugged and asked:

  “The Emperor you’re talking about is Dark God Vector, right?”

  “Y… Yeah.”

  “Got it. Okay then. Take me to the Emperor.”

  She nodded, brought her hands together, and stuck them out. This was very clearly not a gesture to shake hands, but one encouraging him to tie her up.

  — What the hell is she thinking?

  Rirupirin took a sash from his belt, and roughly — but a bit loosely, tied the girl’s wrists. After pulling on the end of the rope to tighten it, he remembered that the Emperor was no longer at the army encampment of the Dark Land.

  But, if he continued to think about complicated things, his brain would be fried. Even if the Emperor wasn’t there, there was still that Dark Knight aide with the disgusting expression, or someone like the Commerce Guild leader Lengil who would know what to do.

  A few seconds after he turned, he began to walk as he pulled on the sash with slight care.

  Suddenly, a thick black haze appeared around him. A revolting smell pierced his nose. Everything instantly became invisible, and Rirupirin scanned his surroundings on alert.

  “Ah…?!”

  That short, surprised utterance was without doubt from that girl who called herself Leafa.

  Flicking his head around, Rirupirin saw an arm sticking out from deep within the thick fog and pulling violently at Leafa’s tied hair.

  Then, the owner of the hand appeared out of the haze.

  The woman who should have died — Dark Sorceress’ Guild Leader D.I.L. stood there, her lips curved in a cruel smile.

  ***

  Why can’t I catch up to him?

  Bercouli, the leader of the Integrity Knights, felt as surprised as he was desperate.

  His three dragons had been in pursuit for more than two hours.

  They had flown over the forest, where the Human Empire Defense army was camping, and the wide circular depression, passed through the ruins lined with strange, giant statues, and burst into the uncharted southern region of the Dark Territory, but the distance between them showed no signs of decreasing. Having abducted his beloved apprentice Integrity Knight Alice, Emperor Vector’s dragon still remained a miniscule black dot on the distant horizon.

  The Emperor and Alice were riding together on a single dragon.

  Conversely, Bercouli continuously switched between Hoshigami, Amayori, and Takiguri, trying his best to minimize their fatigue. In theory, he should have caught up by now.

  Why can’t he catch up then? Is the Emperor able to freely control his dragon’s Life?

  Impossible. Not even the Highest Minister Administrator could control Life as she wanted, that should be the greatest taboo.

  Of course, he couldn’t fly indefinitely. He had to let his dragon rest at least twice before reaching the «World End Altar» at the southernmost edge of the Dark Territory. But Bercouli’s dragons also needed to rest. Since their speed was equal, he would never be able to close their distance.

  It — won’t end.

  Bercouli was unable to use an Art that could reach all the way to the horizon. To break this current situation, the only possibility was to —

  The Knight Commander gently caressed his beloved sword at his left waist with his right hand.

  A reliable, gritty, ice-cold feel. But just from its touch, he could feel that its Life was far from completely replenished. The extensive Armament Full Control Art he had used at the Great Eastern Gate had expended more than he had expected.

  The tactic that Bercouli was about to use, the ultimate pinnacle of the Divine Instrument «Time Piercing Sword», would expend an astronomical amount of Life.

  He could use it only once. And the strike had to be more precise than threading a needle in order to hit its target.

  Bercouli gently caressed Takiguri’s neck, and leapt lightly beside it onto Hoshigami’s back.

  Even if he wasn’t holding its reins, he passed his consciousness to his partner who had fought alongside him over the years, and carefully adjusted his altitude.

  He aimed at the black dot like a grain of sand on the far off horizon.

  Although he very much wanted to aim at the Emperor himself, at this distance he could not even see his silhouette, so the risk of missing was too high. He must see through his movements, and concentrate all of his energy on one wing of his dragon.

  Standing straight up on his stirrups, Bercouli slowly moved his right hand and drew his longsword, forged entirely from a single material, out from its worn leather sheath.

  The blade he held to the right of his body emitted a weak glow. The Recollection Release Art directly activated without an incantation and the longsword swayed like steam, drawing innumerable afterimages behind it with the dragon’s advance.

  The Knight Commander looked steely as the corner of his mouth twitched, gently apologizing to the innocent dragon.

  Then, narrowing his pale blue eyes — Bercouli, the world’s eldest knight, uttered a sharp cry.

  “Time Piercing Sword — Unseen Slash!!”

  With a heavy zoom, he swung the blade down heavily but surprisingly quickly. Countless blue afterimages flashed along in the direction of the slash, then disappeared one by one.

  Far off in the distance, the left wing of the black dragon ridden by Emperor Vector was silently severed off from its roots.

  ***

  “It smells… I can smell it… So sweet is the fragrance of Life…”

  Clasping the human girl’s hair and lifting her entire body up, D.I.L.’s lips emitted a fractured voice.

  Rirupirin could only watch dumbly at the Dark Sorceress, whom no matter how much he hated, it still didn’t feel enough.

  Her dark skin, once gleaming with the sheen of fragrant oil, and her once magnificent black curls, were now in a horrible state. Her entire body was utterly covered in wounds seeping blood nonstop, incurred from sharp blades. With D’s every move, a few wounds would split open, spurting more blood. But the black haze surrounding the Sorceress would quickly gather around the wound, secrete a nauseating smell, and stem the blood flow.

  The source of the smoke was a small leather pouch hanging from D’s waist. Upon closer inspection, when the pouch was open, strange insect-like things would occasionally poke their heads out to spray the thick fog. It must be a Dark Art that inhibited Life decrease.

  Glancing at Rirupirin, who had pinched his nose out of disgust, the corners of D’s mouth lifted.

  “What excellent prey. I commend you, pig. As a reward, I’ll show you something nice.”

  Right after she said that —

  D slid her talon-like right finger into the girl’s collar, who made a pained expression as her hair was hoisted further up.

  With a relentless noise, the silver armor and light grass-colored shirt were suddenly torn apart and fell to the ground.

  As the pure white skin on her upper body was exposed, the girl’s face contorted even further. Watching her, D panted sadistically and revealed a wild grin.

  “How is it? It’s your first time seeing a human woman’s body, is it? This might be too tempting for a pig! But the show’s just getting started…!!”

  The five digits on D’s right hand suddenly began to wriggle and writhe like they had suddenly lost their bones.

  Somehow, her fingers had already transformed into glistening, slippery worms. At their ends, concentric circles of thin, saw-like mouths opened
wide, writhing disgustingly.

  “Watch…!!”

  As D shouted, her five fingers — no, five long worms stretched far beyond their original length and wrapped around the girl’s upper body. They not only stopped her from moving; the ends raised their sickle-shaped necks — and stabbed into her skin.

  “AH…!!”

  Blood spurted in all directions as the girl called Leafa screamed, her green eyes wide. She tried to peel off the worms with her hands, but her upper body was entangled and her wrists were tied up by Rirupirin’s sash.

  The blood flow from her five wounds suddenly seemed to stop, but the reality was different. Rirupirin realized that the worms on D’s right hand were emitting swallowing sounds; they were drinking her blood.

  The Dark Sorceress lifted her head and began to recite a shrill incantation.

  “System call!! Transfer human unit durability… Right to Self!!”

  Pop, blue light burst from the girl’s wounds.

  Then, as if synchronizing with the flow of blood, it was sucked into D’s hand through the worms. The girl’s torment intensified, and her thin body arched backward as though it were about to snap in half.

  “Ah… Powerful… Powerful!! How rich… and sweet!!”

  A piercing screech shattered Rirupirin’s eardrums.

  This pain jolted the Orc chief back to his senses, and he shouted as if panting:

  “Wha’… Wha’ are ya doing!! This girl is my prisoner!! I wanna take ‘er ta the Emperor!!”

  “Shut up, you stupid pig!!”

  D screamed arrogantly, her eyes bloodshot.

  “Have you forgotten that the Emperor has given all operational command to me?! My will is the Emperor’s will!! My command is the Emperor’s command!!”

  Gu. Rirupirin was at a loss for words.

  Hadn’t this operation ended in failure a long time ago? He wanted to retort. But the Emperor had disappeared from the battlefield without giving any orders. Now, there was no one to overturn D’s perspective of her “power”.

  As Rirupirin watched, dumbstruck, the girl emitted silent screams and her movements began to weaken. On the other hand, the countless wounds on D’s skin began to adhere together, bit by bit, and close.