The Night Sky Swordsman (Sword Art Online X OC)

Chapter 80 Sword and Fist

No one's POV

The dust cloud kicked up by the march of the army of darkness was gray against the night sky of the Dark Territory and its red stars. Commander Bercouli took his eye away from the simple eyeglass made from crystal elements and growled.

Bercouli: Well, this certainly looks like Vecta's got an obsession with you. He's sending their entire army.

Alice: I suppose we should be happy. It's certainly a much better outcome than being ignored entirely.

Alice muttered, washing away her nerves with a swig of lukewarm siral water. After proceeding about five kilors directly south through the uncharted— at least by inhabitants of the human realm—wastes of the Dark Territory, the guardian army's decoy force took its first break on a small hill.

The guards' morale was high. The dreadful magic the enemy had used on them had been briefly terrifying, but the sacrifice of a single Integrity Knight had both relieved them and filled them with determination to succeed in his memory.

But Alice had still not fully registered the fact of Eldrie's death. The time they'd spent together at Central Cathedral had not been long, to be sure, but he had given Alice tastes of his favorite wines and sweets; he'd told silly, charming jokes; and there had never been an entirely dull day with him around.

There had been times when she'd wondered whether the young man really wanted to learn sword techniques and sacred arts, or whether he just wanted to make merry. But only now, in his passing, did she realize how much his presence had lightened her heart and kept it fresh.

Alice(mind):...I took him for granted such that I barely noticed when he was around, and it's only after he's gone that I finally realize what he meant to me. Pathetic.

She gazed up at the End Mountains to the northwest jutting up against the stars and touched the coiled whip now fastened behind her waist. Now she understood how Zora felt, the way he never let go of Eugeo's sword. Alice closed her eyes, and as if waiting for that very cue, the knights' commander.

Bercouli: So shall we assume that our plans for now are to continue leading the enemy army onward, chipping away at their numbers until the last of the four remaining Integrity Knights have fallen?

She turned to the commander, who stood next to her on the northern end of the hilltop, and nodded.

Alice: That's what I am thinking. We've eliminated half of the fifty thousand members of the invasion army already, and the dark mages, the most vexing of them all, are essentially wiped out. Next, we fatigue the dark knights and pugilists who make up the bulk of their strength...and if we can topple Vecta, the god of darkness, I think it is highly likely that those who remain will enter stalemate negotiations. What do you think?

Bercouli: Yes...the only problem is who the enemy leader will be at that time. If only that Shasta boy were still alive...

Alice: So is it true, Uncle? The dark general is...gone?

Bercouli: From what I could see of the battlefield earlier, he's not around. No sign of Shasta or of his apprentice knight, the woman you fought before...

He sighed heavily. Alice knew that Bercouli had secretly had high hopes for the general and his disciple. The eldest of knights shook his head and muttered.

Bercouli: All we can do is hope that whichever dark knight took over Shasta's position has inherited some of his mind-set. Though I wouldn't bet on it...

Alice: You think it unlikely?

Bercouli: Aye. The people who live out here in the Dark Territory have no book of laws like the Taboo Index. All they have is an unwritten rule to follow the mighty. And sadly...Vecta's Incarnation is overwhelming...No buffed-up knight will serve as a true counterweight...