Alicization Rising Page 5

  “…An observation unit…,” I muttered, looking at the bookshelf Charlotte had vanished into. Her mission was simply to watch the actions of the two of us. But for the two years since leaving Rulid, Charlotte had been tugging on my hair and occasionally whispering her own advice to me. In a sense, she’d been a closer companion during this journey than even Eugeo.

  Thank you, I whispered inside my mind, bowing toward the shelf. Then I looked back to Cardinal and said, “So basically…you’ve been stuck here in the Great Library, using familiars as your eyes and ears, searching for a possible human helper for over two centuries…?”

  “Correct. I cannot view the violation index of individual humans from here. I have to keep an ear open for rumors of strange events, then send observers out to watch the people who were likely to have caused them. It is a very tedious, laborious process. More than once or twice, I have found promising people, only to see them hauled off and made into Integrity Knights. I have no emotions, but I’ve certainly learned enough about disappointment and patience. In fact…in the last decade, I’ve even begun understanding the concept of resignation,” she said, her lips turned upward into a grin weighted with two centuries of life.

  “While I sat back and watched the world, Administrator has been busy creating a proactive system of defense, securing powerful knights to do her bidding. In fact, that is the true purpose of the Four-Empire Unification Tournament that you and Eugeo sought to enter.”

  “…So the warrior who wins that tournament doesn’t earn the glory of being promoted to Integrity Knight…”

  “He or she is forced into becoming one. Their prior memories are placed behind a wall, and they become powerful, unthinking puppets for the pontifex’s bidding. The families that produce Integrity Knights are given eye-popping payments and elite noble titles, so those lower nobles and merchants are happy to teach their children the sword, even if ultimate success means they will never see those sons or daughters again. The knights themselves are assigned to duties that will ensure they do not make accidental contact with those families. They are cut off from their pasts.”

  “…So that’s what you meant when you said they were intentionally isolated…”

  “Yes, I was speaking of this system. Of the thirty-one Integrity Knights, half were brought in for violating a taboo, and the other half were tournament champions. Eldrie Synthesis Thirty-One was the latter.”

  “I see…So that’s how it works…,” I said, exhaling gloomily.

  So it was actually a good thing that neither Sortiliena, the student I served as page, or Eugeo’s Golgorosso had been triumphant at this year’s tourney. If Sortiliena had beaten Eldrie and gone on to win, then I would have encountered her in the rose garden as an Integrity Knight with her memory removed.

  And there was more. If the incident with Raios and Humbert had never happened, and Eugeo and I had become school champions as we’d planned and then gone through the tournament and won—or if we’d never escaped those cells and had been taken in for questioning—then Eugeo could have ended up as the thirty-second Integrity Knight, even if my natural fluctlight kept me safe. We would have fallen right into a terrible trap. I shivered.

  Cardinal quietly went on. “Over these two centuries, Administrator has steadily shored up her defenses, while I have nearly lost all hope. So yes, I began to wonder why I was even bothering…”

  Her brown eyes stared up at the distant ceiling of the library. She blinked a few times, as though imagining warm sunlight streaming from the cold rock dome.

  “…The world I saw through my observation units was beautiful and radiant. The children ran happily through the fields, girls blushed with romance, and mothers smiled at the babes in their arms with loving sentiment. If the furniture-maker’s daughter whose body I possess had been allowed to grow like normal, she could have had all those things. She would have led a life untroubled by the workings of the world and, after sixty or seventy years, ended her life in bliss and satisfaction, surrounded by her family…”

  Her voice stopped in a whisper, her eyes downcast. Cardinal’s tiny body swayed a little—or at least, I imagined it did.

  “…I cursed my prime directive, that drive to correct the main process that was etched into my soul. I realized I was an old crone, just before my natural death. All the sparkle of life had faded from me, like a wizened, weak tree, counting down the seconds until my life span was gone. Strangely enough, even my way of speaking began to reflect that view. As I spent my days endlessly listening to the bustle of humanity through my familiars’ ears, I pondered why the gods from the outside world would abandon it to its fate under Administrator’s heel…Stacia, Solus, and Terraria are false gods created to suit the Axiom Church’s ends, but within the list of system commands, I spotted on multiple occasions the name of the true god: Rath. I learned that Rath was a collection of gods…and I learned of their soulless approximation of a god, Cardinal—and that its two directives had been burned into Administrator and me. The more I learned of the underpinning ways of this world, the more mysteries appeared.”

  “W-w-wait a second,” I pleaded, unable to keep up with her story’s momentum. “So…are you saying you were able to learn that this is a simulation created by Rath, and that the original Cardinal is a program with a main and a subprocess, using conjecture alone?”

  “It is not so surprising. Between two hundred years of time and the Cardinal System’s built-in database, anyone would reach the same conclusion.”

  “Database…? I see. So any non-Underworldian vocabulary you’ve been using came from there.”

  “As well as the flavor of that corn soup you enjoyed. I expect that your understanding of many of these terms is not the same as mine…but at the very least, I believe my conjecture is accurate. The Underworld is far too incomplete to be the creation of an all-powerful god, and given the way Administrator’s hideous corruption and tyranny are allowed to continue…there was only one possibility: that Rath, the true god, does not seek the happiness of the Underworldians. On the contrary…this world exists so they can observe how its people resist when they are slowly, slowly drawn into a massive trap. You may not realize that in recent years, the border regions of the human realms have been increasingly inflicted with plagues, roving beasts, poor crops, and other causes of premature death. These effects are caused by a stress parameter that even Administrator is incapable of altering.”

  “Stress…parameter? Actually, you mentioned something like that before, too. Something about a stress-test stage.”

  “Aye. Strictly speaking, the stress level rises from day to day…but the final phase of the test the database speaks of wouldn’t be anything like a mere plague.”

  “So…what’s going to happen…?”

  “The forces that cradle the egg of the human realm will finally break. I’m sure you know what exists beyond that eggshell.”

  “The Dark Territory…?”

  “Indeed. That land of darkness is a device created to inflict the ultimate agony on the people of this world. As I mentioned earlier, the denizens of the darkness—goblins, orcs, and so on—are like human beings, only their fluctlights have been given the prime directive of slaughter and pillage. Their societies are arranged by a power hierarchy where the spectrum of strength divides everything. Although primitive, their military is mighty. They have barely half the population of humankind, yet each individual is easily more powerful than a human being. Even now they wait outside the empire, looking forward to the day that they invade the territory of the Iums, as they call you, and wreak untold suffering. That day is close at hand.”

  “A military…”

  The thought put more than a shiver down my back. The goblin captain I faced in the cave under the End Mountains two years ago was a true and mighty fighter. The thought of thousands upon thousands of them spilling into peaceful towns froze my innards. I shook my head rapidly in disbelief. My throat dry, I said, “…Th-there are many guardsmen and knights in the
human lands…but they don’t stand a chance. Especially not when the sword techniques here are focused on presentation…”

  Cardinal promptly nodded in agreement. “As I expected…I suspect that in Rath’s plans, the humans would have formed a military equal to the Dark Territory’s by now—one nurtured on constant minor skirmishes with invading goblins, promoting healthy authority level growth in its fighters, with practical swordfighting and group strategy. But as you know, the situation is far from that ideal. Swordsmen pursue only the visual look of their styles without a single honest fight, and the nobles meant to lead any theoretical armies are pampered and self-obsessed. And all of this is a result of Administrator and her Integrity Knights.”

  “…What do you mean?”

  “The Integrity Knights have the highest authority level and Divine Objects for weapons and armor. They are mighty indeed. Just eight of them are enough to fully patrol the End Mountains and drive off any invading bands of goblins. But that means that centuries have passed without any ordinary citizens being faced with the experience of battle. They lead lives of safe, comfortable stagnation, knowing nothing of the impending calamity that awaits them…”

  “…Does Administrator know that the final phase of this stress test is about to begin?”

  “I suspect that she does. But she is confident that she and her thirty knights alone will be enough to fight off the hordes of darkness. So confident, in fact, that she had the guardian dragons of the four cardinal directions slain; they should have been valuable allies in the fight, but she could not stand that they were not under her command. I have no doubt that your partner would be sad to hear that the legendary white dragon from his fond myths was actually killed by Bercouli himself, once reforged as an Integrity Knight.”

  “…Probably shouldn’t let him know, then,” I muttered with a sigh. I closed my eyes, envisioning the mountain of bones I saw in that cave, then looked up again. “So what’s the score? When the forces of darkness invade, can Administrator and her Integrity Knights actually fight them off?”

  “They cannot,” she said bluntly. “The Integrity Knights are fierce warriors with many years of experience, but there are simply far too few of them. And Administrator’s sacred arts are virtually godlike in their ability to disrupt the land, but as I said earlier, using them means putting herself within range of those foes. And while individually, they may fall far short of Administrator, there are as many users of system commands—what you might call dark magic, in this case—as stars in the sky. She might burn a hundred with lightning in one moment, and then be engulfed by a thousand fireballs the next. I do not know if that would actually kill her, but it is clear that she would eventually be forced to retreat to this tower.”

  “Um…wait a sec. Are you saying that…whether or not you and I beat Administrator, the ultimate fate of this world will be the same?” I asked, stunned. “That even if you regain the full powers of the Cardinal System, you won’t actually be able to fight off the forces of darkness?”

  She nodded gravely. “That is what I am saying. At this point, I have no means of preventing the invasion from the Dark Territory.”

  “…So…as long as you fulfill your purpose of deleting the malfunctioning main process—meaning Administrator—then…whatever happens to the world after that is none of your concern? Is that what you’re saying…?” I rasped.

  Cardinal pursed her lips, her eyes somewhat mournful as she stared through her little round glasses at me.

  “…That may be correct.” Her voice was so faint that it nearly blended into the minute sound of the lamp’s flickering flame. “Indeed…if you look at it from the standpoint of the many souls that could be lost, my goal could be taken as an abandonment of the larger picture…But if you and I sit here and do nothing, then eventually…whether in a year or two or longer, the forces of darkness will invade. They will trample and burn fields and towns, and they will kill many people. It will be a hell that I haven’t the words to describe—the ultimate expression of tragedy and cruelty. However…even if I recover all my powers and had the proper command to burn all those monsters into ash at once, I would not use it. They did not ask to be made monsters. As I said, you will not arrive at an answer even after a century of thinking. For you see…if Administrator had never come about here, and humanity had traced the path it was meant to follow, then at this time it would be the forces of man forming an army to invade the Dark Territory and commit unspeakable atrocities to their peoples, instead!”

  Her soft voice got harder and harder until it cracked like a whip by the end. “In either case, the end of the world will involve great bloodshed. For that outcome was the design of the god Rath. And I…I cannot accept such a god. I will not accept this outcome under any circumstances. So when I learned that the arrival of the stress test was unavoidable, I landed on one simple conclusion. I would eliminate Administrator before that happened, restore my powers as the Cardinal System…and reduce the Human Empire, the Dark Territory—the entire Underworld—to nothingness.”

  “Reduce it…to nothingness…?” I repeated. Belatedly, my eyes bulged. “What does that mean…?”

  “Just what it sounds like. I will delete all the fluctlights in that cradle of souls, the Lightcube Cluster. All of them, from both the human and dark side.”

  The determination on Cardinal’s young face was so stark that I was unable to speak for several moments. Over time, the concrete facts of her final solution began to form a proper image in my head.

  “So you’re saying…that if the horrible agonizing deaths of many people is an inevitability, that it’s better to put them all into a painless death before it reaches that point…?”

  “Painless death…? No, that description is not accurate,” Cardinal said, pausing briefly as if consulting an internal database. “Unlike you humans from the upper world, whose records are stored on a different medium than the lightcube, the souls of the Underworldians can be obliterated with an instantaneous command. They will simply vanish without a clue, and without any greater resistance than the flickering of a candle…which does not change the fact that it is still an act of murder…”

  There were traces of deep resignation and powerlessness in her voice, as if this conclusion had been reached only after a very long period of consideration. “Of course, in ideal terms, the best outcome is for this world to continue free of Rath’s meddling, fashioning its own history. After a few more centuries, perhaps even a peaceful accord between humanity and the Dark Territory is possible. But…I suppose you would know best of all that total independence from our god Rath is nothing but a pipe dream, wouldn’t you?”

  I bit my lip to think, surprised by the sudden question. I didn’t know where in Japan the actual Lightcube Cluster that housed the Underworld was installed. But naturally, the cluster and all of its attendant machinery required a considerable amount of power to run. In that sense, true independence was functionally impossible.

  And Rath wasn’t running the Underworld as a charity. If my conjecture was accurate that Seijirou Kikuoka was part of the SDF, and deeply connected to the foundation of Rath, then the Defense Ministry must have a concrete goal in mind for it. Even if Cardinal recovered all her power, opened an external channel, and demanded independence for the Underworld, Rath would never accept it.

  In fact, thinking about it now, even if I made it to the top of Central Cathedral, contacted Kikuoka, and begged him to preserve the current state of the Underworld, there was zero assurance that he would agree. To Rath, all these artificial fluctlights were test subjects. In fact, this particular Underworld was just one of a number of attempts.

  Ultimately, if the artificial fluctlights wanted true freedom and independence, there was only one way to gain it—to take the fight to the people in the real world.

  I had to stop myself from taking that line of thought any further—it was too frightening. I looked up at Cardinal and nodded, my neck stiff. “…You’re right. It’s not possible. Thi
s world is too dependent on the outside people and energy sources to ever be independent.”

  “Aye…we are like fish in a bucket, waiting to be fried in a pot. The best we can do is jump out now to certain death,” Cardinal said, resigned. But I did not immediately support her conclusion.

  “But…I’m not totally sure. Maybe you’re right that vanishing instantaneously is a better answer than dying in agony. But I’ve become too involved with the people of this world to accept that as the only correct way.”

  The smiling faces of those who’d shown me kindness in Rulid and Centoria flashed through my mind’s eye. I had no desire to see them slaughtered by the forces of the Dark Territory, of course, but would helping Cardinal delete everyone’s souls really be the best choice?

  I bit my lip, unable to accept this sudden, unwelcome thrust of reality. Gently, Cardinal said, “Kirito, if I am able to regain my full powers with your help, I can fulfill your wishes, up to a degree, before I eliminate the Underworld. If you single out the names of those you wish to save, I will freeze their fluctlights and save them, rather than wiping them clean. Then, after you escape to the real world, you can save the lightcubes that contain the souls in question. I doubt that ten would be impossible to set aside. It may not be the best possible solution for you, but it is better than you can expect.”

  “…!”

  I sucked in a sharp breath, surprised by her answer. Was that even possible?

  If lightcubes didn’t need power to maintain their stored information, and you could safely extract them from the cluster without harming the contents, then the fluctlights themselves shouldn’t ever degrade. It would take time, but if the Soul Translator tech became commonplace, I could theoretically thaw them out and see them again in the future.

  The problem was the step before that. Could I really sneak multiple cubes out of the cluster at the very core of the Rath laboratory? According to Cardinal, they were two inches to a side. I couldn’t hide several in my pockets at once. Even if I could carry them in a case, ten was about the limit of what I could extract.