Sword Art Online - Volume 9 - Alicization Beginning Read online

  As soon as she allowed them, Kirito who was irritated enough not to say a word as he started biting the fish pie, then said in a muffled voice while still chewing,

  “That cave…… if we find a lot of ice, then we won’t have to hurry to eat tomorrow’s lunch.”

  Swallowing his food, Eugeo turned to face him and answered,

  “But thinking about it, even if we successfully get the ice, how do we maintain its Life in the first place? If it all melts before tomorrow’s lunch then there is no point to it, right?”

  “Mu……”

  ‘I didn’t think about that,’ Kirito’s shoulders drooped, then Alice said with an unconcerned face,

  “If we bring it back in a hurry and keep it in my house’s cellar, just a night wouldn’t be a problem at all. You two, you should have thought just this from the beginning.”

  After they had their usual thoughtlessness pointed out, Eugeo and Kirito tried to hide their embarrassment by greedily stuffing their mouths with food. Even though they had enough time, Alice still ate at her usual fast pace before drinking Siral water.

  After folding and fitting the white cloth neatly into the empty wicker basket, Alice stood up. She then walked to the nearby stream with three cups in her hands, and washed them quickly in the river.

  “Uhyaa.”

  She raised an odd voice while finishing her work, and when she came back, Alice widened her hands, which were wiped dry using her pinafore, toward Eugeo.

  “The water in the river is so cold! It’s like the well water in mid winter.”

  What he saw were her small palms which had turned completely red. Unintentionally, he stretched his hands and wrapped it around Alice’s, certainly to exchange the warmth from his hands with the cold in hers.

  “Wait…… stop it.”

  Her small cheeks turned to the same color as her palms, and Alice pulled her hands back. At that time, Eugeo finally realized that he had done something his usual self would never do, and shook his head in a hurry.

  “Ah…… no, that’s…”

  “Well, shouldn’t we be heading off now, sir and madam?”

  ‘Did you intend to help me out of that situation?’ Eugeo was grinning while saying that and lightly kicked Kirito’s leg, and after his rude action, he lifted the water bag to his shoulder, and walked into the cave without looking back.

  It was hard to believe that the source of the Ruhr river, the clear stream that the three had been following up until this point, would really be this small. With a diameter of about one and a half mels, the small river overflowed from the cave opening on a high cliff; to its left side, there was a bare rock about the same size stretched out, he stepped on it and walked into the cave.

  Eugeo was thinking, Bercouli had stepped on this rock three hundred years ago, as he tried his best to proceed into the cave’s interior. Suddenly the surrounding temperature dropped, he rubbed his arms which extended from the short-sleeved tunic.

  He proceeded for about ten steps while affirming the two footsteps from behind following him.

  At that point, Eugeo realized he made a major mistake, he dropped his shoulders and looked back.

  “Oh no…… I didn’t bring a lamp. Kirito, did you bring one?”

  Even though he was only about five mels from the entrance, the ambience was dark enough that he was no longer able to distinguish the expressions of the two. In the complete darkness inside the cave, it was very natural to entrust his hope to his partner to deal with stuff he himself had forgotten, but the response was, “How could I realize something that you also didn’t realize?” in a tone full of strange confidence.

  “R…… Really, you two……”

  While Eugeo was thinking how many times he had heard that amazed voice today, he looked toward the faintly shining golden hair. Alice looked at her sides a few times before thrusting her hand into her pinafore pocket and pulled something thin and long out. It was the ear of grass she had picked up when they started their adventure.

  She held the grass in her right hand, with her left palm supporting its tip, Alice closed her eyes. Her small lips moved, a strange ritual verse in sacred words that Eugeo didn’t know started playing in the air.

  Finally her left hand quickly sliced the complex symbol, a pale soft light lit at the swelled round tip of the ear. The light then increased its intensity immediately, and kept the darkness of the cave away at the considerably distance.

  “Ooo.”

  “Wow……”

  Kirito and Eugeo unintentionally let leak sounds of amazement at the same time.

  Even though they already knew Alice had been studying the sacred arts, they almost never had a chance to see it with their eyes. According to Sister Azariya’s teachings, all the rituals which had their sources of power from the god of life Stacia, the sun god Solus or the earth god Terraria —— except the dark arts which were used by the servants of the god of darkness Vector —— existed to protect the order and tranquility of the world, so they should not be used indiscriminately.

  The sacred arts were used by the Sister and her pupil only when the medicinal plants in the village were unable to cure the sick or injured. As Eugeo understood this well, he turned to Alice, who held the ear of grass lit in a strange color, and inadvertently asked,

  “Ah, Alice…… using the arts like that, is that alright? Wouldn’t you get punished for it……?”

  “Hmph, if just this much would get me punished, I would have been hit by lightning ten times already.”

  “…………”

  After saying that, Alice thrust the shining grass in her right hand toward Eugeo with a smile. He received it without thinking before ‘Hiee’, and realized,

  “I-I’m first!?”

  “Of course, or would you let the weak girl walk in front? Eugeo is in front of me, Kirito is behind. Don’t waste anymore time, let’s hurry up and move.”

  “Y-Yes.”

  As if he was pushed by momentum, Eugeo raised the small torch and fearfully proceeded into the cave.

  The winding flat shelf of rock seemed to steadily continue extending. The walls were illuminated in a bluish grey as if they were wet. Occasionally, he was worried by the small rustling movements in the dim part where the light didn’t reach. However, no matter where he focused his eyes on, he couldn’t find anything resembling ice at all. While there were pointed grey things which looked like icicles hanging on the ceiling, he knew they were rock just at a glance.

  After walking for several more minutes, Eugeo called out to Kirito behind him,

  “Hey…… certainly, you said there should be icicles once we entered the cave, right?”

  “I said? Something like that.”

  “You said!”

  As he approached his partner who averted his eyes feigning ignorance, Alice used her right hand to stop Eugeo and quickly whispered,

  “Hey, bring the light a bit closer.”

  “……?”

  Eugeo brought the ear of grass near Alice’s face. She rounded her lips before blowing a deep breath toward the light.

  “Ah……”

  “Look, you see it right? Our breath turns white, like in winter.”

  “Wow, really. And I have been thinking that it has been cold for a while now……”

  Ignoring Kirito’s complaint, Eugeo nodded alongside Alice.

  “Even though it is summer outside, it’s winter inside this cave. Surely there is ice here.”

  “Yeah, let’s check a bit further.”

  Eugeo turned his body, he had the feeling that the cave interior was getting wider little by little as they went deeper, he returned to his cautious movements while advancing.

  What they heard, aside from the faint sound of their leather boots rubbing the rock, was only the sound from the flowing stream of groundwater. Even though they had approached its source, the flow hadn’t weakened at all.

  “……If we had a boat, going back would be quite easy.”

  To
Kirito who carefreely said that from behind, Eugeo rebuked him with “Don’t talk so loudly.” As they had already entered further than they had planned, of course, what came to his mind was——

  “——Hey, if the white dragon really comes out, what should we do?”

  Alice whispered as if she could read Eugeo’s mind.

  “Of course…… what else, but to run aw……”

  The answer to the whispered question was overlapped by Kirito’s reckless voice,

  “It’s-al-right. The white dragon chased Bercouli because he stole its treasured sword, didn’t he? It sure wouldn’t mind us taking icicles. ——Hmm, but if possible I’d want to peel a scale from it though……”

  “Oi, what are you thinking about, Kirito?”

  “That is, if we go back with a proof that we have seen the real dragon, Jink and his gang would die from jealousy.”

  “Don’t joke! I’ll tell you now, if you get chased by a dragon, we will just leave you and run away.”

  “Oi, your voice is too loud, Eugeo.”

  “That’s because Kirito said something strange……”

  Suddenly his foot made an odd noise, and Eugeo stopped talking. Parin, it was the sound of something breaking under his foot. He put the light in his right hand closer to his right foot in a hurry before unintentionally letting leak his voice.

  “Ah, look at this.”

  Alice and Kirito bent down to look, Eugeo moved his toe off the spot. The water accumulated on the rock had turned into a thin ice spreading over its smooth grey surface. He stretched his fingers to pick up a piece of the thin transparent film.

  After putting it in his palm for a few seconds, it melted into water droplets, the three looked at each other and inadvertently smiled.

  “This is ice, no doubt about it. There is sure to be a lot more up ahead.”

  Eugeo said while illuminating his surroundings, a great deal of blue light bounced off the similarly frozen water. And it sank into the pitch black darkness of the cave, deep within……

  “Ah…… somehow, there’s a lot of light there.”

  It was just as Alice said, Eugeo moved his right hand, from the countless spots of light, he could see them flicker and blink palely. As he had completely forgotten about the white dragon, he half trotted in that direction.

  Based on the time they took, it seemed they had proceeded about a hundred mel deeper. Suddenly, the left and right walls ended.

  At the same time, a breathtakingly fantastic scene appeared before their eyes.

  Wide. It was hard to believe they were in an underground cave, as it was an extraordinary huge open space. Its size was certainly a few times larger than the village square in front of the church.

  The curved wall, which almost surrounded the entire environment, no longer looked like the wet grey wall they saw until now, but was covered in a transparent, thick, light blue layer. Then, after looking at the floor’s surface, Eugeo understood, I see, so this is the source of Ruhr river., it was a huge pond —— no, a lake would be more suitable. However, the water’s surface didn’t shake in the slightest. It was frozen firmly all the way, from the bank to the middle.

  Among the trail of white haze over the lake, strangely shaped columns protruded out, their height easily exceeded the height of the three children. They were tapered tip, angulated hexagonal columns. It was like the crystal of raw ore that Garitta-jiisan showed Eugeo before. However, these were much bigger, and far more beautiful. The numerous transparent thick blue columns absorbed the sacred light from the ear of grass Eugeo was holding, before releasing it in six directions, which were also reflected further, illuminating the entire vast dome. The numbers of the columns increased as it approached the center of the lake, and became fully obstructed at the very center.

  It was ice. The surrounding wall, the lake below the feet, the strange hexagonal columns, everything was made out of ice. The blue wall stretched up vertically, and closed up together at a far height, looked like a chapel’s dome.

  The three forgot the cold which pierced their skin, stood still for several minutes while exhaling white breath. Before long, Alice faintly said in a trembling voice,

  “……With this much ice, we could cool the food of the entire village.”

  “Or rather, it could even turn the village into mid winter for a while. ——Well, let’s go check inside.”

  As soon as Kirito spoke, he advanced several steps before putting his foot on the ice lake. He gradually put his body weight on it, and eventually stepped on it with both feet, there was not a sound of the thick ice cracking.

  He’s always like this. Even though Eugeo had the duty to object to his partner’s recklessness, this time his curiosity was superior. But if there really is a white dragon inside, I still want to peek at it no matter what.

  Holding the sacred light higher, Eugeo and Alice chased after Kirito. Cautiously avoiding making loud footsteps, they moved from one shadow of the huge icicle to another with the center of the lake as their destination.

  ——This is great, if we see the real dragon, this time a story about us would continue for many hundred of years, wouldn’t it? And if, just if, we could do what Bercouli couldn’t…… by bringing anything from the dragon’s treasure hoard back with us, wouldn’t the village chief reconsider our Sacred Task……?

  “Mugu.”

  As Eugeo was expanding his day dreaming while still walking, his nose bumped into the back of Kirito’s head, who had suddenly stopped; with his face in a frown,

  “Oi Kirito, don’t suddenly stop like that.”

  However, there was no reply from his partner. Instead, a low groan came out,

  “……What’s that……”

  “Eh……?”

  “Just exactly what is that!”

  Eugeo tilted his head at the same time as Alice beside him, and looked forward from Kirito’s side.

  “Just what are you talking abo……”

  Alice, who saw the same thing as Eugeo couldn’t finish her words.

  It was a mountain of bones.

  All of them were bones made out of blue ice. They shone rigidly as if they were crystal sculptures. Every single one of them was big, the various shape of bones stacked on top of each other, made a mountain higher than the height of the three children. On top of it, was a huge lump which told them who this grave belonged to.

  A skull, Eugeo could understand with just a glance. Its empty eye sockets, elongated nostrils. The horns stretched out from the back, the countless number of sword-like fangs lined up on the overhung jawbone.

  “The white dragon’s…… bones?”

  Alice whispered in a low voice.

  “It’s already dead……?”

  “Ah…… But, its death is not due to natural causes.”

  The answer came from Kirito who had regained his composure, Eugeo rarely saw his partner like this, as Kirito was always painted by various other emotions.

  Kirito moved a few more steps, from his feet, he picked up a huge talon which seemed to have come from the dragon’s front feet.

  “Look…… there are a lot of wounds here, the tip was also neatly cut off.”

  “It fought against something……? But, a living thing which could kill a dragon……”

  The same question Alice asked floated in Eugeo’s mind. Speaking of the «Northern White Dragon», it’s the one that lived in various places at the Mountain range at the Edge, which encloses the entire world, protecting the Human World from the forces of darkness, it’s the world’s strongest protector. What kind of living thing could kill something like that……?

  “Fighting with animals or other dragons shouldn’t give these kind of wounds.”

  Kirito said while tracing his thumb pulp on the blue talon.

  “Eh……? Then, what……”

  “These are the sword wounds. What killed this dragon was —— human.”

  “B-But…… well, even Bercouli, the hero who won the tournament in the
capital still couldn’t do it and had to run away. It’s absurd, even the swordsmen from everywhere……”

  Speaking until that point, Alice seemed to notice something and sank into silence. A moment of silence fell onto the ice lake which was now turned into a huge tomb.

  A few seconds later, a whisper filled with fear flowed from her small lips,

  “……The Integrity Knight……? The Integrity Knight from the Axiom Church killed the white dragon……?

  Part 3

  An Integrity Knight, the ultimate embodiment of law and order, and also the symbol of goodness, killed the white dragon, which was also the protector of the Human World. That kind of story was, in the eleven years that Eugeo had lived, never thought of, so he didn’t think he could accept it easily. After suffering from the question he couldn’t swallow or chew for a while, he sent a glance beside him, requesting an answer from his partner.

  “……I don’t understand.”

  However, Kirito’s mutter was also painted in great confusion.

  “Maybe…… it’s possible that the Land of darkness also has a very strong knight, and that knight killed the white dragon…… But, if that’s true, it’s odd that until now there’s not even once that the forces of darkness had crossed past the Mountain range at the Edge. ——At least, this isn’t the act of a thief though……”

  After he finished speaking, Kirito stepped toward the dragon’s remains and gently put the talon back on the mountain of bones. Next, he dragged something long out of the bottom of the bone mountain.

  “Uo…… so absurdly heavy……”

  He showed it to Eugeo and Alice after he staggered as he dragged it for about a mel.

  It was a long sword, with a silver grip and a scabbard made of white leather. Its rain guard was decorated by an inlaid delicate blue rose, with just a glance, they understood that it had a much higher value than any sword in the village.