Chapter 316: Golden Knight

Underworld.

It is a world made of Kayaba Akihiko's <SEED>. It is something that far surpasses his previous works. Inside this virtual worlds, there exist real "souls". They could think, act, and decide independently—just like a normal human. Kayaba Akihiko's prodigy allowed humans to birth souls.

It should be something on the realm of gods, yet he did it. He defied all odds.

"Kayaba... You really are playing god."

Shiro could sympathize. When he's bored, he would do exactly like that, all in the guise of "interest". Although, his actions didn't have any adverse effects. The same could not be said for Kayaba.

Every single detail in this world is made to be realistic. Knowing Kayaba worked discreetly without Rath knowing, this became a masterpiece.

"It is a world..."

Strangely, it is considered a world. It has complete laws and only lacked a [Will].

"Alice..."

After scanning the entire world, he located the person he was looking for. She is a small girl wearing a white dress. Her pure blue pupils could captivate many people.

Instantly, he switched to his knight attire.

"Wah..?!"

The girl accidentally let go of her sword. She was about to chase after it when she saw a knight holding it.

"You have to be careful, jou-chan."

"I'm sorry, mister!"

She did a bow and 'fearfully' looked at his eyes.

"Hey, hey. I don't eat humans... nor am I an Integrity Knight."

"Fue?!" The girl was shocked. "I thought you are one with your attire..."

In this world, Integrity Knights has the highest authority, save for the Senate and Quinella herself.

"Here."

Shiro gave back her wooden sword before patting her head. In that brief moment, he 'knew' Alice's original fate. She did not belong to the "locked future". She disappeared during the early stages of "its" invasion. If he changes the nature of her disappearance, it would work.

This is the only way to know whether he'll mess up the future or not. By leaving variables to the people that have disappeared until that future, he could "fool" time itself.

In the first place, he couldn't change the established future since he 'traveled' there already—thus the need to be more discreet with the variables. Nevertheless, things wouldn't have changed whether he established it or not. His knowledge of the future helps greatly in the current situation than him not knowing anything.

"Ojou-chan... Do you want to be a knight?"

"A knight..?" Her eyes sparkled upon that prospect. "I want to be one!"

"Then... Do you want to learn my knight arts?"

"Yes!"

Shiro pulled out the [Fragrant Olive Sword] from its sheath. He didn't have many opportunities to use it with his abundance of UR-rated items, but he's thankful for its assistance back when he was weak.

"Cool..!"

"Right?"

*****

Starting that day, he stopped by the same place and taught the girl to be a knight. She started as someone who had improper stance, balance, and grip. That was to be expected from a kid who was role-playing before. Though, she corrected her mistakes slowly.

Time flew swiftly. Due to the [Fluctlight Acceleration], five years have passed in this world. The small girl became a teenager. As for her mentor, his appearance didn't change one bit. He still has the same bright smile plastered on his face while sparring against her.

Bam-!

Bam-!

Their wooden swords clashed. Both sides made sure to control their strength and not cause the sword to break. Once a knight loses their weapon, they'll become vulnerable.

Bam-!

"Kh..!"

The teenage girl was struck in her abdomen. She didn't expect her mentor's sword to slip and inflict damage.

"Don't be disheartened, ojou-chan. You have sufficiently learned from me."

The 99-hit <<Sword Skill>>, <Sword Dance>. Shiro's swordsmanship as Fenrir and Magus changed its essence, making it something else. The teenage girl wouldn't realize it, but his swordsmanship contained something else.

"I'm not disheartened. It's... I'm wondering how you made that maneuver."

"It's quite tricky. You have to induce your opponent to look at your hand. Make an obvious feint, and that'll lead to his responses being obvious. Since it became obvious..."

"The openings are easier to spot."

It is one of the ways to better read your opponents. Whether they take the bait or not tells a lot about their expertise, too.

"Ojou-chan, it looks like I am leaving today. For good, that is."

"Sensei?!"

The teenage girl was shocked.

"Why—?"

"It is something that has to be done. Time and destiny is a fickle thing, you know?" Shiro jokingly said. "I have to settle something."

"...I see."

She was downcast.

"Can I see you again?"

"Maybe. It's up to you whether we could meet again."

She couldn't understand his incomprehensible words. Still, it did not prevent her from tearing up.

"Partings is a part of one's journey. You have to accept that inevitable. That's why... Enjoy your journey as much as you can. Time is limited."

She did not hear the rest of his mumblings.

"Do you recall the knightly oath?"

"A knight protects the people. They serve as the guiding light towards the right."

There are no nobles in Underworld. At most, there are city lords. This culminated the belief that knights protect the common populace, just as how the Integrity Knights do so.

"I am confident you could be that light. That's why..." Shiro unstrapped the sheathed [Fragrant Olive Sword] and handed it to her. "Take care of this sword, okay?"

"Un..!"

With that, Shiro vanished without any warnings, leaving the girl behind.

"Sensei..."

*****

The girl accomplished many feats. She won the sword competition and was granted a chance to become the 32nd Integrity Knight. However, an error occurred. Her module couldn't be manipulated by Quinella through any means. This gave the girl a chance to escape from the tower.

She was deemed a heretic. A line of text was engraved to her pupils as if to show that.

Still, her brilliance never dimmed. She exposed the cathedral's shady practice and cut through all 31 Integrity Knights. When her blade reached Quinella, she reversed everything the pope had done.

Suddenly, a black portal sucked her body. She couldn't resist no matter what she does—be it system commands, arts, and so on. With that, the girl's lightcube simultaneously disappeared from <Ocean Turtle>.

...

Light.

Brilliance.

Guidance.

Protect.

"Knight..."

The knight's consciousness grew stronger. The concept of time is not within the "place" she was in. Her sole protection was the golden light membrane formed by her blade.

"Remember."

"A knight serves as the light towards the right."

Those words woke her up. With every bit of her strength, she broke through the endless darkness. Countless flower petals surrounded her in this endeavor. Slowly, they began disappearing. The might of this darkness wasn't something to be scoffed at.

"I am a knight..!"

She didn't know when, but the darkness around her receded. She could now see an endless sea of stars.

"What..."

She was reminded of her mentor's eyes. They are just like this—full of brilliance.

"Ah..?!"

Suddenly, a force pulled her to a certain world. The nearest world caught her in its "attraction force". The girl already spent her strength coming out of the darkness.

Helplessly, she could do nothing but fall down. The remaining flower petals shielded her from the impact.

"I'm falling..!"

In the vast expense of blue, she realized it is what her mentor called "sea". What's strange, however, is the fact that a huge ship is fighting against a dragon.

"Release Recollection!"

She let out the final power she could muster. Her final skill invocation made the petals grow in number once more.

BAM-!

She fell directly on top of the dragon. The latter had to endure the impact she gathered since she was pulled into this world. Unsurprisingly, it instantly died.

"What?! Osial..."

"This..."

The golden petals soon disappeared, leaving the girl whose sword is stabbed on Osial's head. She used it to remain standing.

"This wyvern... no, dragon... It's evil in nature."

With a glance, she understood Osial's nature.

"Who are you?"

The girl lifted her head. She saw a group of 'people' on that ship. Another blonde-haired girl took the initiative to ask her a question.

"I am... Alice Zuberg."

The meeting between two otherworlders began.