Alicization Beginning

  And my virtual experience was even softer. With the pain-absorbing functions of the NerveGear and AmuSphere, I lived such a sheltered experience that wounds in battle meant nothing more than a loss of abstract HP. If pain like this existed in Aincrad, I would never have left the Town of Beginnings.

  The Underworld might be built of dreams, but it was also built of reality’s nightmares.

  At last, I understood the meaning of the words I had said however many days ago in Agil’s café: Reality was where true pain, suffering, and sadness existed. Only those who withstood and survived the endless repetition of those things could be strong here. Ugachi the goblin knew that, ages before I’d even considered the possibility.

  Through tear-blotted eyes, I saw Ugachi finish staunching his bloody arm and turn to me. The fury exuding from his eyes seemed to set the air shimmering with heat. He moved the machete from his teeth to his remaining hand and swung it loudly.

  “…Even tearing you to pieces and devouring your flesh will not remove this humiliation…but that doesn’t mean I won’t do it.”

  He swung the machete over his head as he approached. I tore my eyes away and glanced at Selka, trussed up in the far distance. I had to stand and fight, but my body wouldn’t listen. It was as if the fright and hesitation in my heart took the form of physical shackles that bound me in place…

  The heavy footsteps came to a stop before me. I sensed air moving, the approach of an enormous blade bearing down on me. It was too late to evade or counter. I gritted my teeth and waited for my last moment in this world.

  But no matter how long I waited, the guillotine never struck.

  Instead, I heard the sound of quick footsteps on ice and a familiar voice—

  “Kiritoooo!!”

  My eyes shot open and caught sight of Eugeo, leaping over me to attack Ugachi. He swung the scimitar wildly, driving the enemy back a few steps.

  The goblin was initially startled, but he regained his poise quickly, nimbly reaching out with the machete to block Eugeo’s attacks. For a moment, I forgot my pain and yelled, “Don’t, Eugeo! Just run!!”

  But he was bellowing and swinging the sword, apparently beside himself in the moment. Thanks to years of swinging that ax, the speed of his strikes was stunning, but they were on a predictable rhythm. Ugachi focused on defense, enjoying the resistance of his prey, and finally growled and swept Eugeo’s support leg out from under him with a toe. As Eugeo lost balance and toppled, the monster confidently pulled back his machete.

  “Nooooooo!!”

  He swiped effortlessly before the scream left my lips.

  The machete hit Eugeo in the stomach and threw him back to fall heavily at my side. I turned over to his direction, feeling a blinding pain in my shoulder but summoning the strength to ignore it.

  Eugeo’s wound was far worse than mine. A jagged line was carved straight across his torso, pulsing rivulets of blood. The piece of grass still clutched in his hand illuminated the vague sight of organs deep within the injury, moving irregularly.

  He coughed and gurgled, producing a bloody froth. His green eyes were already losing focus, staring emptily into thin air.

  But Eugeo did not stop trying to get up. He exhaled short bursts of misty red breath, willing strength into trembling arms.

  “Eugeo…it’s okay…just stop…” I mumbled. Eugeo had to be suffering far more than I was at this moment. He couldn’t be in his right mind.

  Just then, his unfocused eyes stared right at me, and he uttered blood-flecked words: “Wh…when we were…kids…we made a promise…You and I…and Alice…would be born on the same day…and die on the same day…This time…I’m going…to keep…”

  The strength drained from his arms at last. I promptly reached out to support his frame with both hands. Eugeo’s slender but muscular weight. The moment it sank into me—

  A series of white flashes blinded my vision. Vague shadows floated onto that blank screen.

  Beneath a vivid red sunset, walking down a road through barley fields. Holding my right hand was a young boy with flaxen hair. Holding my left, a girl with golden braids.

  Yes…we believed the world would never change. We believed the three of us would always be together. And we failed to protect her. We were helpless. I would never forget that despair, that lack of power. This time…this time I would…

  I didn’t feel the pain in my shoulder anymore. I lay Eugeo’s limp body down onto the ice, reached over, and grabbed the handle of the longsword.

  When I lifted my head, Ugachi’s machete was in the process of coming down on me. I swiped sideways and knocked it away.

  “Grruah,” he grunted in surprise, backing off a step, and I rose to my feet and tackled him. The goblin took a few more steps back.

  I pointed the sword in my hand at the dead center of my target, took a deep breath, and exhaled.

  Yes, I was an amateur when it came to physical pain. But I knew about anguish that was far more horrific than that. This wound was nothing compared to the pain of losing a loved one. This machine might manipulate memory, but the pain of loss never truly left.

  Ugachi roared in fury and impatience. His screeching underlings fell silent around us.

  “White Ium…Learn your place!!” he roared, rushing at me with the machete. I focused just on the point. My ears rang, and everything else on the outside of my vision disappeared. It was the speeding up of the senses, a sensation like brain cells blowing out that I hadn’t experienced in a very long time. In this world, I guess it was more like my soul burning.

  I lunged forward to avoid the diagonal swipe, bringing my sword up to slice off the enemy’s remaining arm at the base. The massive limb and its machete spun through the air to land amid the goblins, who shrieked at the sight.

  Ugachi, missing both arms now, locked me with yellow-eyed rage and even more shock as he faltered. Black liquid gushed from the fresh wound, landing in the water and sending up steam.

  “…No…no Ium whelp could possibly…” he moaned. Before he could even finish his sentence, I was racing forward.

  “No! My name is not ‘Ium’!” I screamed, the words coming straight from my unconscious mind. My whole body whipped forward, from my toes through my fingers, to the end of the sword. It glowed again, light green this time. An invisible hand shoved my back. The charging skill, Sonic Leap.

  “I am…Kirito the Swordsman!!”

  The sound of air ripping hit my ears just after Ugachi’s massive head floated high into the air.

  It flew straight up, then spun in place as it fell into my left hand. I clutched the feathered headdress like a rooster comb and held up the bleeding trophy.

  “I have taken your leader’s head! If any of you still wish to fight, come now, or flee to your home of darkness!”

  On the inside, I was urging Eugeo to hang in there, while outwardly, I glared at the goblins with all the malice I could muster. The death of their leader had made the group quite antsy. They looked at one another, screeching nervously.

  Eventually, one stepped forward, a club bobbing on his shoulder.

  “Ge-heh! If that’s the case, then if Aburi kills you, he can be the next—”

  I didn’t have the patience to listen to his taunt all the way through. I raced forward, still holding the head, and used the same skill to sever him from right flank to left shoulder. Another spray of blood issued forth, and a moment later, his top half slid off the bottom to land on the ground.

  That seemed to settle the issue at last. The remaining goblins let out high-pitched wails and breathlessly raced for the dome’s exit on the far side from where we came in. They kicked and shoved one another in the hurry to escape through the tunnel and were soon gone from sight. The echoes of their footsteps and screeching faded away, and a cold silence fell within the icy dome. That prior heat might as well have never been there.

  I took a deep breath to hold the returning pain in my shoulder at bay, and tossed aside the sword and severed head. The only th
ing that mattered now was getting to my fallen friend.

  “Eugeo!! Hang in there!!” I called, but his pale eyelids didn’t even twitch. Faint breath was going through his parted lips, but it might stop at any moment. Blood still oozed from the ghastly wound in his stomach, but I didn’t know how to actually stop it from continuing.

  With cramped fingers, I made the sigil and tapped Eugeo’s shoulder, praying as I looked at the window that appeared.

  His life power now read 244/3425. Even worse, it was dropping a point every two seconds. That meant I had perhaps eight minutes left before Eugeo’s life bled away forever.

  “Hang in there; I’m going to save you! Don’t die on me!” I pleaded, getting to my feet. I raced as fast as I could to the cart placed to the side of the dome.

  It held barrels and boxes with unknown contents, a variety of weapons, and a trussed-up Selka. I grabbed a knife out of one of the boxes and quickly cut her ropes.

  I lifted her light body and set her down on the floor for a quick examination—no noticeable wounds. Her breathing was much steadier than Eugeo’s. I put my hands on the shoulders of her habit and shook her as firmly as I dared.

  “Selka…Selka! Open your eyes!!”

  Her long lashes twitched immediately and flipped open to reveal wide brown eyes. She started to shriek, not able to recognize me from the weak light of the cattail over at Eugeo’s side.

  “N-no…nooo…!”

  She waved her arms, trying to push me off her, but I held tighter.

  “Selka, it’s me! Kirito! It’s all right; the goblins are gone!”

  She stopped struggling as soon as she heard my voice. Her hand reached out, trembling, to trace my cheek.

  “Kirito…Is that you…?”

  “Yeah, I came to save you. Are you all right? Are you hurt?”

  “I…I’m fine…”

  Selka’s face scrunched up, and she flung herself desperately around my neck.

  “Kirito, I…I…!”

  I heard her suck in a fierce breath near my ear, about to begin bawling as only a child could—so I abruptly lifted her into my arms and spun around to run again.

  “Sorry, hold back the tears for a bit! Eugeo’s really hurt!!”

  “Wha…?”

  She tensed up in my arms. I raced back for Eugeo, kicking the chunks of ice and junk littered around by the goblins on the way.

  “Normal measures aren’t going to help him in time…You have to save him with your sacred arts, Selka! Hurry!” I urged, setting her down next to him. She held her breath and reached out a hesitant hand. When her fingers brushed the terrible wound on his torso, she shrank back.

  A few seconds later, she shook her head, the braid waving back and forth.

  “I can’t…It’s too deep…My sacred arts…aren’t good enough…” she lamented, touching his pale cheek this time. “This can’t be happening, Eugeo…You couldn’t have done this…for me…”

  Tears tracked down Selka’s cheeks and landed softly in the pool of blood atop the ice. She pulled her hands back to her face and started to sob. I knew it was cruel, but I had no choice but to yell at her.

  “Crying won’t help Eugeo! I don’t care if it doesn’t work; just try it! You’re going to be the next Sister for the village, remember? You’re going to take over for Alice!”

  Her shoulders twitched and slumped. “I…can’t be like her…She mastered a sacred art in three days that I can’t memorize over an entire month. The only thing I can heal…is the tiniest little scratch…”

  “Eugeo…” I started to say, faltered, then allowed the emotion welling up within me to burst free. “Eugeo came to save you, Selka! He risked his life to come here and save you, not Alice!”

  Her shoulders shook again, harder this time.

  All the while, Eugeo’s life was plunging toward zero. We had only two minutes, maybe one. An agonizingly long moment of silence passed.

  And then, Selka abruptly looked up. The fear and hesitation in her eyes from just seconds earlier was no more.

  “Normal healing arts won’t work in time. I’ll have to attempt a dangerous high-level art. I’m going to need your help, Kirito.”

  “A-all right. Just say the word—I’ll do anything.”

  “Give me your left hand.”

  I reached out, and she gripped it with her right. Next, she used her other hand to hold Eugeo’s where it lay atop the ice.

  “If this art fails, both you and I might die. Just be aware of that.”

  “If it happens, make sure it only happens to me…Ready when you are!”

  She nodded, gazing at me with powerful intent. Then she closed her eyes and sucked in a breath.

  “System Call!”

  A heavenly, pure sound filled the dome of ice.

  “Transfer Human Unit Durability, Right to Left!!”

  A high-pitched whir followed the echoes of the voice. It swelled—and then a pillar of blue light surrounded Selka.

  It was blinding, far stronger than the cattail’s light. Sky-blue filled the dome from end to end. I squinted a bit, but a strange sensation coming from the hand holding Selka’s made me open my eyes wide again.

  It felt like my body itself was melting into the light and flowing right out of my hand.

  In fact, little motes of light were visibly passing from my body through my left arm and into Selka’s hand. With blurred vision, I saw the trail of light pass through Selka, grow stronger, and funnel down through Eugeo’s hand.

  Transfer Durability. The sacred art must be designed to allow people to pass their life to another. I was certain that if I opened my window now, I would see my number sinking fast.

  I don’t care; use all of it, I prayed, focusing hard on my left hand. Selka was acting as a conduit and booster for all that energy, and it was taking its toll on her. It made me recall the enormity of what it meant for pain to be the payment in this world.

  Pain, suffering, and sadness. Clearly these things, unnecessary in a virtual world, had some deep link to the very purpose of the Underworld’s existence. If Rath’s engineers were hoping to find a breakthrough by tormenting the resident’ fluctlights, then my unexpected presence and salvation of Eugeo were unwanted interference with their project.

  If that was the case, then they could eat shit for all I cared. Soul without a physical body or not, Eugeo was my friend. I would not let him die. Not like this.

  As the life flowed out of me, a terrifying chill began to descend. My vision grew darker and darker, but I tried desperately to track Eugeo’s condition. The wound across his belly was noticeably smaller than before we started. But it was not completely healed, not by a long shot. Even the bleeding was still ongoing.

  “K-Kirito…can you…keep going…?” Selka said under her breath, pained.

  “I’m fine…G-give Eugeo more!” I answered promptly, though I could barely see anymore. There was no feeling in my right hand or foot. My left hand was the only part of me that beat with a hot pulse.

  If I lost my life in this world, it wouldn’t bother me a bit. If I saved Eugeo’s life, I could withstand twice the pain that I had earlier. The only regret I’d have would be failing to see what became of this world. What if those goblins were only the vanguard? What if the invasion from the land of darkness only intensified? I couldn’t help but worry for Rulid, being situated right at the most vulnerable place. I knew I would lose my memory once I logged out, and it would be impossible to get back in.

  But no. Even if I died…

  Eugeo had seen and swung a sword at the goblins, too. He would do something about this. He would warn the elder, prompting more guards, and alert the neighboring towns and cities of the danger. I knew it with every fiber of my being.

  For that reason as much as any other, I could not let him die here.

  But on the other hand, my life was draining out of me. I could tell very clearly, despite my fading senses. Eugeo’s eyes were still closed. Even the gift of my entire life would not be enough
to heal his wounds and call him back from the brink of death?

  “Oh, no…no…If we keep going, your life will run out…” Selka wailed, as if off from a distance.

  I wanted to tell her not to stop, to keep going, but my mouth was frozen. It was getting hard even to think anymore.

  Was this death? A pretend death of the soul within the Underworld…or could the death of my soul kill my physical body, too? It was cold enough to make that idea plausible to me. I felt so terribly alone…

  Suddenly, hands touched my shoulders.

  They were warm. My insides began to melt before they could freeze entirely.

  I—I knew these hands. As delicate as birds’ wings but powerful enough to seize the future when no one else would.

  …Who…are you…?

  The feeling of soft breath on my left ear met my silent question. Then I heard a voice so familiar and nostalgic that it made me want to cry.

  “Kirito, Eugeo…I’ll be waiting for you always…I am waiting for you at the top of Central Cathedral…”

  A golden shine like starlight filled my insides. The surge of overwhelming energy permeated every last inch of my body and, looking for an exit, spilled forth from my left hand.

  5

  A light, percussive sound dispersed far above the spring haze.

  Eugeo finished his fifty ax strikes and wiped the sweat from his brow, and I tossed him the flask of siral water.

  “How’s the wound feeling? Giving you pain?”

  “After a whole day of rest, it’s all the way better now. Just left a bit of a scar. In fact…maybe it’s my imagination, but I feel like the Dragonbone Ax is way lighter now.”

  “I don’t think it’s your imagination. Forty-two of those fifty swings were right on the mark.”

  Eugeo’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, and his face crinkled into a grin. “Really? Then I guess I’ll win today’s bet.”

  “We’ll see about that.” I laughed, took the Dragonbone Ax, and gave it a one-handed swing. It did seem to be much easier to control than I remembered.