4

Solus sank and rose, and the usual schedule of life returned.

Normally, Eugeo would return to his work on the morning after a rest day with a gloomy outlook, but today, he was more relieved than anything. He’d had enough adventures for now—chopping at the tree was just fine, thank you very much. He headed out the south gate of town and met up with Kirito at the barley field next to the forest.

Eugeo spotted a tinge of relief in his partner’s features, as well as recognition of the same in himself. They shared bashful grins for a moment.

They retrieved the Dragonbone Ax from the shack a short ways down the forest path, then continued on for a few minutes to reach the Gigas Cedar. The sight of the slit carved into the massive trunk would normally remind them of the unchanging nature of their lives ahead, but today that was a reassurance.

“Okay, the one who gets the least number of good hits has to buy the siral water again.”

“Really? Aren’t you tired of always having to pay, Kirito?” Eugeo teased, continuing their ritual as he lifted the ax. The first blow struck loud and true, a good sign for the day ahead.

All morning they delivered stout blows to the tree with uncanny accuracy. Neither one wanted to admit that the reason for his unusual concentration was a desperate attempt to keep the visions of yesterday out of his head.

When they had finished nine sets each of fifty consecutive swings, Eugeo’s stomach rumbled. He looked up to the sky, wiping the sweat from his brow, and saw that Solus was nearly to its apex. One more set of swings, and Alice would come by with their lunch. Only this time, they’d be able to take their time eating the pie and drinking ice-cold milk. The thought brought a twinge of pain to his empty stomach.

“Whoops…”

If he thought too hard about food, his aim would slip. Eugeo rubbed his sweaty palms with his towel and took careful grip of the ax handle.

The sunlight abruptly dimmed.

Great, not a passing shower, Eugeo thought, looking up.

Through the expanse of the Gigas Cedar’s branches, he could see blue sky, and at a significantly low elevation, a fast-moving black shadow. His heart wrenched up into his throat.

“A dragon?!” he yelled out. “Hey, Kirito! That was—!”

“Yeah, the Integrity Knight from yesterday!” his partner cried, frozen with fear.

Before their eyes, the platinum-clad knight on the dragon brushed over the branches of the tree and vanished in the direction of Rulid.

What is he doing here? Eugeo wondered amid complete silence. Even the birds and insects seemed to be holding their breath.

Integrity Knights were the guardians of order who purged the enemies of the Axiom Church. Given that there were no rebellious groups threatening the four cardinal empires that made up the realms of man, the only enemies for the Integrity Knights to battle were the forces of darkness. So all the tales said they always fought beyond the End Mountains, a sight Eugeo had witnessed for himself the day before.

That was the first time he’d ever seen a real Integrity Knight. One had never actually come to the village in his life. So why now…?

“You don’t think…Alice…?” Kirito murmured.

Suddenly, the sound of that eerie voice from yesterday filled Eugeo’s mind again. The strange arts spoken by the person with the bizarre features sitting behind the purple window. His spine went as cold as if someone were dripping freezing water down it.

“You’re kidding…They wouldn’t…Not for just that…” he gasped, looking to Kirito for reassurance, but the other boy was staring grimly in the direction of the knight. After a few moments, he looked back into Eugeo’s eyes and said, “Let’s go!”

He grabbed the ax from Eugeo’s hand and raced northward.

“H-hey!”

Something bad was going to happen. Eugeo could feel the dread seeping into his skin as he took off after his partner.

They made their way down the familiar path around tree roots and rocks until they joined the main road into town through the farm fields. There was no sign of the dragon flying overhead. Kirito slowed slightly and called out through the green shoots to a farmer who was staring agape at the sky.

“Mr. Ridack! Which way did the dragon rider go?!”

The farmer turned toward them with a start, as though waking from a dream. He blinked several times, then answered at last, “Oh…oh, yes…It went and landed in the center of the village, I think…”

“Thanks!!” they shouted briefly, and resumed their sprint.

Here and there on the road and in the fields, villagers were grouped together to stare. No doubt even the elderly in the village had never seen a real Integrity Knight before. They all just stared in the direction of the village, uncertain of what to do. Eugeo and Kirito continued running through their midst.

They sprinted through the south gate, paced the short lane of shops, then ran over the little stone bridge, and finally came within view of it. The boys stopped still, the breath catching in their throats.

The long, curving neck and tail of the dragon occupied the northern half of the square outside the church.

Its massive wings were folded on either side, nearly hiding the church building from view. The beast’s gray scales and occasional piece of armor reflected the light of Solus, making it look like an ice sculpture. Its bloodred eyes stared down impassively at the village square.

And standing before the dragon was the platinum-clad knight, shining even brighter.

He was taller than anyone in the village. Every inch of the knight was covered in thick plate that shone like a mirror and fine silver chain to cover the joints. The helmet, fashioned to look like a dragon’s head, sprouted one decorative horn at the forehead and two backward from either side of the skull, with a heavy faceplate hiding the knight’s face.

At the knight’s left side hung a longsword with a silver handle. On his back, an enormous brown bow a good mel and a half in length. It was undoubtedly the very same Integrity Knight they had seen kill the black dragon rider from the mouth of the cave yesterday.

The knight stared silently through the cross-shaped slit in the faceplate toward the south end of the square, where a few dozen villagers had their heads hanging toward the ground. When he saw a girl carrying a picnic basket toward the back, Eugeo felt his shoulders ease with relief. It was Alice, wearing her usual blue and white apron dress, watching the Integrity Knight through the crowd of adults.

Eugeo nudged Kirito with his elbow, and they crouched down as they snuck up right behind Alice and softly called her name. Their friend spun around, her blond hair waving, about to say something to them in alarm. Kirito put a finger to his lips to silence her. “Quiet, Alice. You should get away from here at once,” he whispered.

“Huh…? Why?” she whispered back. Apparently she had no inkling of the danger she was in. For his part, Eugeo hadn’t realized it until Kirito had brought it up, either.

“Well…I think Integrity Knight is…” Eugeo started to explain, and then paused. A few soft murmurs from the villagers filled the silence. He looked over and saw a thin, tall man striding from the town hall toward the square.

“Oh…Father,” Alice mumbled.

It was the elder of Rulid, Gasfut Zuberg. His slender frame was covered in a simple leather tunic, and his black hair and whiskers were neatly trimmed. Despite having inherited the Calling of village elder only four years ago, the sharpness of his gaze earned him the respect of all the inhabitants of Rulid.

Gasfut proceeded before the knight, alone and unafraid, then clasped his hands in front of him and bowed in the manner of the Axiom Church. Then he straightened up and said in a crisp, loud voice, “I am Zuberg, the elder of Rulid Village.”

The Integrity Knight, standing a full two fists taller than Gasfut, nodded with a faint clank of metal armor, then spoke at last.

“I am the Axiom Integrity Knight overseeing the northern Norlangarth territory, Deusolbert Synthesis Seven.”

The voice had an unnatural ring to it, a quality that identified the speaker as something other than a mortal human being. The metallic sound echoed across the square, silencing all the residents of the village. Over twenty mels away, Eugeo grimaced as he felt the knight’s voice pierce his forehead rather than his ears, burrowing into his mind.

Even Gasfut stumbled back half a step, overwhelmed by its force. But he quickly recovered, regaining his posture and proclaiming, “It is the utmost of honors that an Integrity Knight, protector of all human lands, should set foot in our humble, distant village. We wish to offer you a feast of welcome, however meager it might be.”

“That will not be necessary. I am here on official duty,” the knight boomed, the gaze from the slit of the helmet as cold as ice. “I am here to apprehend and escort Alice Zuberg, daughter of Gasfut Zuberg, for her crimes against the Taboo Index, so that she may be judged and her sentence carried out.”

Alice’s body shook. But neither Eugeo nor Kirito could move a muscle, much less say anything. The knight’s words were echoing, repeating in their heads.

The elder’s body also lurched. What could be seen of his facial features from his distant profile were skewed with emotion.

After a long silence, Gasfut spoke again, his voice no longer smooth with authority. “My lord knight…what crime is it that my daughter has committed?”

“She has broken Book One, Chapter Three, Verse Eleven of the Taboo Index: venturing into the Dark Territory.”

The villagers listening to the exchange abruptly broke into uneasy murmuring. The children’s eyes bulged, and the adults muttered sacred mantras and made sigils to ward against evil.

At last, instinct pushed Eugeo and Kirito into motion. They muscled Alice out of the way and stood shoulder to shoulder, blocking her from the view of the other villagers. But they could do no more than that. If they moved too quickly, they would draw the attention of the adults just in front of them.

The only thing in Eugeo’s mind was a question that repeated over and over: What do we do? Terror bubbled in his chest, demanding immediate action, but he had no idea what action that should be.

All he could do was watch as Gasfut the elder stood, still and silent, his head hung low. It’s all right, he’ll do something, Eugeo thought. He hadn’t spoken much with Gasfut, but among the people of the village, the elder was most respected by all, after perhaps Old Man Garitta.

However…

“In that case, I will call my daughter here. I wish to hear her story for myself,” the elder said when he raised his head at last.

No! You can’t let the knight see Alice, Eugeo thought wildly. The Integrity Knight lifted a heavily armored hand. Eugeo’s heart leaped into his throat when he saw that the index finger was pointing directly toward them.

“That will not be necessary. Alice Zuberg is right there. You and you…” He pointed at two men in the midst of the crowd. “Bring the girl to me.”

The villagers parted before Eugeo’s eyes. Only he and Kirito stood between the knight and Alice now.

Two familiar villagers walked up through the empty space. Their skin was pale and lifeless, their eyes oddly empty. The men pried apart Kirito and Eugeo and pushed them aside, each grabbing one of Alice’s arms.

“Ah!” she yelped, then bravely clamped her mouth shut. A weak grin dimpled her usually rosy cheeks, and she nodded to the boys to indicate that she was all right.

“Alice…” Kirito mumbled, right as the men roughly yanked her forward and the basket fell from her arm. The lid opened, spilling the contents onto the cobblestones.

The men dragged Alice away toward the Integrity Knight before she could scoop it up. Eugeo looked down at the toppled basket.

All the pie and hard bread was wrapped in white cloth, with the rest of the basket completely packed with fine ice chips. Some of the ice had spilled out to glitter in the sunlight. Within moments, it began to melt atop the hot stones, fading away into dark little stains.

At his side, Kirito sucked in a sharp breath. Eugeo raised his head and watched them drag Alice away. He gritted his teeth and tried to force his immobile legs into action.

The two men released Alice next to the village elder, then stepped back and knelt. They clasped their hands and hung their heads in a gesture of obedience to the knight.

Alice looked to her father, her face pale. Gasfut briefly gave his daughter a pained look, then lowered his head again.

The Integrity Knight nodded, then pulled an odd tool from the back of his armor. It was a thick metal chain with three parallel strips of leather attached, ending in a large ring.

The knight handed the tool to Gasfut with a heavy clank.

“I command the village elder to punish the guilty.”

“…”

The elder stared at the shackles, dumbfounded. Just then, Kirito and Eugeo reached the knight. The imposing helmet turned slowly to face them.

The cross-shaped slit in the front of the helm was entirely dark, but Eugeo felt the power of that gaze on his skin. He automatically looked away and tried to say something to Alice, who was just ahead of them, but his throat was scorched, incapable of speech.

Kirito was similarly downcast, breathing rapidly, but then his head shot up and he spoke in a loud but tremulous voice. “Sir Knight!!”

He took another breath. “A-Alice did not enter the Dark Territory! Her hand merely brushed the surface! That was all!”

But the knight’s response was brief. “And what else is necessary?”

He waved to the kneeling men, commanding them to take the boys away. They stood up and grabbed Kirito’s and Eugeo’s collars, pulling them off. Kirito struggled helplessly. “Then…then we’re guilty, too! We were in the same place! If you’re going to take her away, take us with her!”

But the Integrity Knight did not heed them.

That’s right…If Alice broke a taboo, then we ought to be punished with her, Eugeo thought. With all his heart.

But the words would not come out. He tried to shout like Kirito, but all he could do was emit rasping exhaust, as if he had forgotten how to speak.

Alice looked back at him. She gave a small smile and nodded, as if to say it was all right.

Her stone-faced father slipped the menacing restraints over her body. She grimaced as the three leather straps wrapped tightly around her shoulders, stomach, and hips. When the last was tightened, Gasfut took a few unsteady steps back. The knight approached Alice and picked up the chain dangling from her back.