03x29 - The Night Before Battle

[bunniefuu]

That's...

Mentor!

I always believed in you!

Lady Alice...

The Night Before Battle

I just looked at the Eastern Gate.

There's not much time before the gate's
destroyed and the enemy pushes through.

The enemy army has about 50,000 troops.
We have 3,000.

We have to give them what training we can.

Where are the other Integrity Knights?

From above, I could only see seven outside.

That's everyone.

That's ridiculous!

There should be 31 members of the order,
including me!

Surely you're aware, Lady Alice.

That Prime Senator Chudelkin
had been used a retuning art

on knights who showed symptoms
of memory issues.

Ten of those knights have yet to awaken
from that art.

At this time, 21 knights are awake.

Four are watching over the Cathedral
and the capital,

and four are patrolling the End Mountains.

That leaves thirteen.

Our forces are already stretched too thin.

And yet, Lady Alice...

Do you intend to shield that young man
while you fight?

Of course I do.

Because I swore to protect him.

You mustn't, Mentor!

Should you encumber yourself
with such deadweight in battle,

not only will it diminish the power of your
sword, it could expose you to danger yourself!

Well, don't get so worked up, Eldrie.

Yo, little one.

I'm relieved to see
you look better than I expected.

Have your cheeks filled in a little?

Uncle.

It's been a long time.

Commander...

Uncle.

Is he going to k*ll Kirito?

It's all right, little one.

U-Uncle...

Little one, did you just see that?

Yes. It was only for an instant,
but I definitely saw the flash of a sword.

I launched an Incarnate Sword,
or rather, a dagger at that young man.

If it had hit,
it would've sliced some skin off his cheek.

If it had... hit? Which means...

That's right. He stopped it.

With his own willpower.

It doesn't look like the
young man's mind is here.

But he's not dead.

Listen.

The boy wasn't protecting himself,
but you, little one.

So he'll be back one day.
That's what I think.

Probably when you need him the most.

So you see, Eldrie.

We can look after one young man.

All right. Wait a moment, okay?

Kirito.

Even though your heart has been lost
since that battle,

you still tried to protect me
from Uncle's sword technique.

What do you think of me?

What do I think of Kirito?

No. I'm only a created being.

Who continues to occupy
Alice Zuberg's body.

A puppet who exists to fight.

I'm not allowed the luxury of feeling
anything other than the intent to fight.

But maybe...

it's because I've been suppressing
my feelings that you can't hear my voice.

If I were to unleash all of my willpower
at this moment,

would you respond?

U-Um...

W-We've brought your dinner, Lady Knight.

Thank you. I appreciate it.

U-Um, it's bread and something to drink.

You don't have to be afraid.

Are you two from the North Centoria
Imperial Swordcraft Academy?

Yes! I'm Primary Trainee Tiese Schtrinen
of the Human Guardian Army Supply Corps.

Primary Trainee Ronie Arabel, of the same.

You don't have to be so formal.

Here, I'm just another swordsman,
nothing more.

Please call me Alice.

What's the matter?

O-Oh, it's nothing.

It's just that you seem so different
from when we met you at the academy.

You... think so?

Anyway, is there something you wanted?

Yes.

Um, Lady Kni— Lady Alice, we heard that
you arrived with a dark-haired young man.

And we were wondering
if he might be someone we know.

So we thought...

Oh, yeah. That's right.

You two were friends with Kirito
at the academy, weren't you?

So it is Kirito-senpai!

Then Eugeo-senpai must...

This might be too harsh for you to bear.

But I have faith, that as Kirito's,
as well as Eugeo's juniors,

you're surely capable of accepting it.

I just... heard...

Eugeo-senpai's voice.

He said, "Don't cry. I'll always be here."

Did you two have feelings
for Kirito and Eugeo...

That's not it! I... I'm...

Lady Alice, you know the Taboo Kirito-senpai
and Eugeo-senpai violated, don't you?

Yes. I was told they
k*lled another student.

How about what led
them to break that Taboo?

No, not that much.

Kirito-senpai and Eugeo-senpai
raised their swords to save us.

If only we'd been a little wiser

they wouldn't have fought the Church to
change the law, and no one would've d*ed.

We've committed an irreparable crime!

That's why...

no matter what happens, we can't ever...

...admit we're in love with them!

No, you're wrong about that.

You've committed no crime.

Lady Alice, you...

You're an esteemed Integrity Knight,
Lady Alice, so you can't understand!

Our bodies were played with,
and our pride has been tainted by sin!

The body is nothing more
than a vessel for your heart.

The heart... the soul is the only thing
that truly exists.

And what determines
the nature of your soul...

is you alone.

I know I can do it.

Just like how Kirito showed me.

You see?

Your body and appearance
merely follow your heart.

Your heart can't be tainted by anyone.

I was born in a village in the hinterlands,
and I should've grown up to be like this.

But when I was eleven,
I was taken away as a criminal,

my memories were erased by an art technique
and I became an Integrity Knight.

There were times when I cursed such a fate.

But...

Kirito taught me that there was something
that I could do... that I should do.

And that's why I'll never hesitate again.

I've decided to accept myself as I am
and move on.

I'm sure there's a wide, long,
and straight path meant only for you, too.

Yo.

Uncle. Good morning.

About where we're going
to put that young man.

If you want,
I can ask the rearguard unit...

No.

It's fine.

I met his former pages from the academy,

and asked them to look after him
once the battle begins.

Oh? That's good to hear.
So how is that black-haired boy?

Did he react in any way, coming
into contact with people from his past?

I see.

To be honest, I can't help but feel that he'll be
the one to set the course of the coming battle.

What?

Even if he had help
from you and his partner,

defeating the prime senator
and the pontifex was an incredible feat.

I'm not sure if I'd be a match
for the intensity of his willpower.

That can't be.

When our willpower clashed yesterday,
I definitely felt it.

That boy has the same amount as, or even
more experience in actual combat than me.

What do you mean by actual combat?

Just what I said. A fight for life.

The Taboo Index prohibits
any battles to the death.

So where did that boy
gain that kind of experience?

Uncle, Kirito's actually...

My lord.

It's almost time for the w*r council.

Lady Fanatio.

Lady Fanatio... with makeup on?

It's been a long time, Alice.

I'm glad you're well.

She sounds... feminine?

I-It's been a long time.

Hey, Alice, I hear you brought
that black-haired boy with you.

Uh, yes.

I see.

Then could I see him briefly
after the w*r council?

Why?

I just want to thank him.

Thank him?

Yes.

For fighting and defeating me.

In all my years as an Integrity Knight,
that boy is the only one

who fought me all-out,
even though he knew I was a woman.

What do you mean...?

Whenever a man fights me, there's always
a slight difference in his swordplay.

When I realized that,
I hid my face with a helmet

and mastered the art of continuous att*cks
to prevent opponents from getting close.

But that was only because
I was self-conscious about my own gender.

That boy saw right through me, and didn't
hold back as he crossed swords with me.

During my battle with him, I unleashed
all of my sword skills and art techniques,

and when it was over,
all my trivial obsessions had vanished.

See? It's no wonder
I want to thank that boy, right?

Not to mention, I'm also a little annoyed.

Because when he saw my exposed face,
he didn't find any womanliness in me.

So I thought I'd try a few things... and
maybe if I do this or that, he might wake up.

I am grateful for your kind words,
but he's resting in his tent right now.

I shall pass on your regards to him later.

Oh,
my. I need your permission to see the boy?

Whenever you asked to meet with
the commander while he was on duty,

I don't think I ever refused you
due to my personal feelings.

Surely I don't need your
permission to see Uncle.

First of all, if you wished
to be beaten up by a male knight,

shouldn't you have just
asked Uncle to do so?

Oh, but he's exempt.

Since he's the most powerful swordsman
in the world,

of course he would go easy on everyone.

Oh, is that right?

Whenever he trained with me, Uncle was always
drenched with sweat from going all-out.

- My lord, is that true?
- Uncle, it's all your fault for...

Hey! It's time to start the w*r council.

For the last four months,
we've considered all kinds of strategies,

but have concluded that it will be difficult to
repulse an all-out att*ck at our current strength.

On our side of the End Mountains,

there's nothing but grassland and rocks
for 10 kilors in all directions.

If they force their way in this far, then
we'll be surrounded and massacred by the enemy.

Therefore, we...

...have no choice but to fight in this narrow
ravine, that's 100-mel wide and 1,000 mel long.

We'll set up a defensive position here,

and relentlessly repel the enemy's
advances, and strike them down.

This will be our basic strategy
throughout this operation.

Does anyone have any thoughts so far?

The enemy forces include ogre units
equipped with longbows,

as well as the even more dangerous
order of the dark mages.

What are we going to do
about their long-range att*cks?

It will be a risky gamble, but...

There's no sunlight in that ravine,
even during the day,

and not a single blade
of grass on the ground.

In other words,
spatial resources are sparse there.

If we can consume every last bit of it
before the battle starts,

in theory, the enemy will be unable
to launch any powerful art techniques.

Needless to say, the same is true for us.

However, we only have 100 or so
sacred arts wielders on our side.

Should we find ourselves exchanging art techniques,
the enemy will be sure to consume far more resources.

I see. I believe you're right,
Vice Commander.

But if the resources are exhausted,

won't we be unable
to restore the life of the wounded?

That's why I said it was a gamble.

We've brought all of our high-level
reagents and healing potions with us.

If we restrict all art
techniques to healing arts,

and use our medicines to assist, the
reagents should last for at least three days.

There's one more problem.

Lady Fanatio.

No matter how sparse Solus
and Terraria's blessings may be,

there must be a vast amount of resources in
that ravine that have built up over the years.

Who would be able to deplete that power in
the short time we have before the battle?

No, there is someone.
Just one who is capable of that.

Just one?

That would be you, Alice Synthesis Thirty.

Perhaps you haven't realized,

but your power has surpassed that
of any Integrity Knight.

I'm sure you're capable of wielding it now.

The true sacred power that can
split the heavens and rupture the earth.

All right, please look after Kirito for me,
will you?

Yes, you can count on us.

Lady Alice, we promise to protect Kirito,
no matter what.

Kirito, this could be our last goodbye.

I'll do my best, as well.

I'm going to burn every last drop
of the life that you gave me.

So if I should fall, and call your
name with the last of my strength,

will you stand up
and draw that sword for me?

If you're awake, it won't matter if the enemy
has thousands, or even tens of thousands.

Make a miracle happen again
and protect everybody.

After all, you...

After all, you defeated Administrator.

You're the most powerful swordsman of all.

Lady Alice.

Let's head out now.

Eldrie?

What is it?

You've served me well until now.

I was truly blessed to have you by my side.

You didn't choose a senior male knight
like Sir Deusolbert.

You wished to be trained by an amateur like
me because you were concerned about my heart.

Not at all!

I would never be so insolent.

It was just because I was so in awe
of your splendid sword skills.

Thanks to your support, I was able
to walk this dangerous path until today.

Thank you.

Lady Alice.

Why are you speaking in the past tense?

Why would you imply
that your path is about to end here?

I... I still haven't
learned enough from you!

My sword, my arts...
I'm still nowhere near your level!

I need you to continue training
and guiding me, forever and ever...

Integrity Knight Eldrie
Synthesis Thirty-One!

Yes...

Here are my final orders as your mentor.

Make sure you survive.
Live to see the advent of peace.

And then, take them back.

Your true life and your loved one.

November 7, 380 HE The Eastern Gate

Next time: "Battle of the Knights."