I called out his name in a barely audible gasp.
I couldn"t possibly mistake him, of all people, for anyone else.
The peerless friend and partner always with me ever since we met in the forest south of Rulid. I could have only gotten this far thanks to Eugeo"s presence by my side. There was absolutely no chance I could mistake his face for anyone else.
However, the expression Eugeo"s eyes and mouth made as he silently stood still was unfamiliar. No, that couldn"t be considered as an expression. It was as inhuman as ice, colder than what Alice had on when we first encountered her in the Sword Mastery Academy"s large auditorium.
"Eugeo."
I called out to him once again, at a reasonable volume this time, somehow. However, the cold light that filled his two eyes didn"t even waver slightly. Not that he ignored me. He was currently sizing me up. Possibly... as an enemy to cut down.
"...It couldn"t be... it"s too fast."
Alice abruptly murmured by my side and I asked imploringly in return.
"What is... too fast...?"
"The completion of the ritual."
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Chapter 11 The Secret of The Chamber of Elders.
Sparing me a glance, the golden knight showed slight hesitation before speaking out with resolve.
"Your partner... Eugeo had already went through synthesis."
Synthesis-the ritual. Direct manipulation of the fluct light only Administrator was capable of. Robbing one of one"s memories and incorporating loyalty... to prepare one as an integrity knight.
"...No way, that"s... but it took three days and three nights for you..."
Alice calmly replied as I dismissing that thought, childishly shaking my head.
"The chief elder had said that was because I refused to recite the art necessary for it. In other words, the three-day ritual wouldn"t be needed if one recited that art... But still, this is far too fast. Only mere hours should have pa.s.sed since Eugeo fought against oji-sama..."
"That"s right... it"s not real, Eugeo couldn"t have just, so easily...... This must be some sort of illusionary art or......"
My body haphazardly tried to walk forward, not even conscious of what I was saying.
But Alice"s left hand firmly gripped my loosely hanging right arm without warning. Accompanied by a voice at my ear.
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Chapter 11 The Secret of The Chamber of Elders.
"Get a hold of yourself! You won"t be able to salvage anything by breaking down now!"
"Sal... salvage...?"
"Yes! You said this yourself, that there is a way to give an integrity knight back their original memories! By that logic, you can return Eugeo back to normal too! We wil have to get through this situation somehow to do that!!"
A feverish strength of will flowed into me from the wrist touching Alice"s palm as she continued her fierce rebukes, breathing life into my chilly, numb body. I firmly renewed the grip on my black sword that had apparently almost slipped from my hand.
Yes-Alice was right. Eugeo"s memories and personality definitely weren"t gone. They were simply denied from surfacing due to an operation performed on a part of his fluct light.
By taking back the "memory fragment" Administrator had stolen from him and getting Cardinal to recombine them, Eugeo would return to the gentle and easygoing swordsman I knew.
And for that, I needed to converse and to gather information. To persuade the personality currently manipulating Eugeo and to open a path... it might not even be impossible to gain his cooperation. I got through to Knight Alice with words in the end, despite how unapproachable she was.
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Chapter 11 The Secret of The Chamber of Elders.
"...Please leave this to me."
When I whispered so to Alice, still holding onto my right hand, the knight showed a little hesitation before she nodded.
Releasing her hand, she quickly spoke while taking a step back.
"Understood. However, do not let your guard down. That knight... is not the Eugeo you knew any longer."
"Yeah."
Alice silently widened our distance after I replied.
To be honest, no matter how strong Eugeo got after turning into an integrity knight, rendering him powerless would likely be easy with Alice"s armament full control art-transforming the Fragrant Olive Sword into countless petals and enveloping the enemy in a lethal storm. That was how overwhelming Alice"s technique was. However, I would prefer that as the last resort of last resorts, one used after all other means were exhausted. I didn"t wish for harm to come to Eugeo"s body and making two childhood friends, both with their memories sealed away, fight each other would be too cruel.
I took a step forward and stared straight into Eugeo"s eyes, the same old icy light still within them.
"Eugeo."
My third call was neither jittery nor hoa.r.s.e.
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Chapter 11 The Secret of The Chamber of Elders.
"Do you recognize me? I"m Kirito... your partner. We"ve always been together since we left Rulid two years ago, right?"
The boy wrapped in bluish silver armor kept his silence for another few seconds, then finally opened his mouth.
"...I apologize, I don"t know you."
Those were the first words from Knight Eugeo. The mellow tone of voice was exactly as I recalled, but it was tinged with an icy texture like his facial expression.
It appeared his memories before synthesis really were sealed away, but there shouldn"t had been enough time to implant the usual "summoned from the Celestial World" sort of false memories. There was a huge blank in Eugeo"s self-awareness. If I press that issue...
"But thanks."
My eyes opened wide when Eugeo betrayed my expections and continued. I asked, with more hope than sensible, in reply to the sudden cordial words.
"...For what?"
However, Eugeo"s reply- "For bringing my sword back to me."
"Eh......"
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Chapter 11 The Secret of The Chamber of Elders.
After spending a short while dumbfounded, I looked down at the right of my waist. The sacred instrument, the Blue Rose Sword, hung off there in its sheath of white leather. Looking up, I asked again.
"What do you... plan to do with this sword?"
Those green eyes blinked and Eugeo spoke as though it was only natural.
"To fight the two of you. That is what that person had wished for."
As expected-he had came down to this room to drive Alice and me away. On instructions from "that person", the highest minister, Administrator.
I stood my ground even as I felt my modest hopes going off in the distance.
"Eugeo. do you plan on fol owing someone"s instructions...
those of a person who you don"t even know, and fighting without a proper reason? We aren"t your enemies. You"ve came all this way to fight against the highest minister and rescue your precious childhood..."
"I don"t care for a reason to fight."
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Chapter 11 The Secret of The Chamber of Elders.
Something akin to emotion emerged on Eugeo"s face for the first time when he interrupted my words, disappearing immediately after.
"That person had given me what I wanted. That is enough for me."
"What you wanted...? Is that more important than Alice?"
It seemed his pale face quivered with a trace of emotion the instant he heard the name that should hold more significance to him than anything else. However, that, too, was shrouded away by cold ice.
"I don"t know. I don"t want to know. I don"t want to know about you... or anyone else. I had enough already...... is just......"
After muttering in a voice so faint I couldn"t catch it, Eugeo slowly got off the elevating disk and held out his right hand towards me.
"I have nothing more to say to you. Let us fight... isn"t that why the two of you are here?"
"......We aren"t here to fight with you, Eugeo. That"s why I won"t return this sword."
Saying so in a stifled voice, I switched my black sword to my left hand and removed the Blue Rose Sword from my sword belt with my right. With my sight fixed on Eugeo, I entrusted it to Alice, standing behind, by- 297.
Chapter 11 The Secret of The Chamber of Elders.
"You don"t have to hand it over."