【Youtongyou】IF WORLD

chapter of the world

1.

October 22.

Rulid Village, located at the northern end of the Human World, has entered late autumn, and Selka and Alice rushed to make winter clothes.When Selka held the leather prepared for Eugeo and Kirito but didn't know the size, she suddenly realized that more than a month had passed since Eugeo left with Kirito.

"Sister, are we really not going to look for them?" Selka gently stroked the soft animal fur in her arms. In the Underworld, which can only provide limited prey, fur is very rare. This is Selka When Ka waited for the return of the three of them with hope, he got it in exchange for the savings he had accumulated bit by bit.

Alice shook her head apologetically: "The Kingdom of Darkness is very vast, and it is very difficult to find the two of them. Eugeo has the ability to protect Kirito and himself, but... Selka has to work hard and continue to wait."

"But..." Selka looked out of the door for a while, her gorgeous lavender hair fluttered in the wind, and a handsome young knight was standing by the door with a sword in her hand: "My lord...will leave soon Bar?"

Yesterday afternoon, the visit of Eldrie Synthesis Thirty-one, known as Integrity Knight No. 31, finally broke Selka's wish to live peacefully with her sister.When Selka prepared the tea and snacks for the guests and opened the door, the conversation between Alice and Eldrie was over.

"This is the situation, Master Alice." Eldrie pressed his right fist tightly to his chest, and respectfully saluted Alice: "The "Gate of the East" guarding the human world is about to collapse. Your strength is worth thousands of horses to us, please come back to the Knights. "

Alice, who was just about to give a reply, met Selka's unknowingly uneasy eyes.Alice lowered her head a little bit. After all kinds of thoughts collided in her mind for a moment, her responsibilities to the people and her reluctance to Selka, Alice finally made up her mind: "I understand, but please give me some time. .”

"Yes!" Eldrie's eyes burst into irresistible surprise: "As expected of my master who shines enough to drive Solus back, your figure is still so noble, and your will is still the same Tenacity, I will always be proud to be your disciple!"

"If you really can't restrain yourself from saying these useless words, save it until the end of the war." Alice sighed softly: "At least I'm not Alice, an integrity knight, I'm just... that child's child." Just sister."

Afterwards, Alice never mentioned to Selka that she was leaving, and Selka acted as if nothing had happened. They fulfilled the agreement they made a few days ago and made winter clothes for the four of them together.

It wasn't until this moment that Selka realized clearly that she was about to face another parting... and it was likely to be a more dangerous and desperate parting than every time.

"No..." Selka shook her head vigorously: "I will not be bound by my sister, please follow your own will and do what you think is right. I will wait for your return no matter when. "

After speaking, Selka blinked her red eyes vigorously: "This time, I won't cry anymore."

2.

On October 29rd, when Alice and Selka were still waiting in Rulid Village, Eugeo and Kirito had already embarked on a journey to the East Gate; now it is October [-]th, Alice When he had just bid farewell to Selka and set off with Eldrie, Eugeo had already arrived in the Eastern Empire—Istavaliers, and it was only a few days away from the "Gate of the East". away.

Eugeo wanted to go back and say hello to Alice first, but he had a lot of complicated thoughts to sort out, and he wanted to calm down by himself.And he believes that no matter what, he and Alice will meet again at the East Gate, so if he apologizes, let's leave it at that time.

After leaving the "Dark Territory", Eugeo did not return to the Human World, but went directly along the "Immortal Wall" surrounding the Human World.Although the straight-line distance from the human world is shorter, it still takes a lot of time to deal with numerous identity checks.Eugeo rented a crude carriage, and lay down on the thick straw with Kirito. When he opened his eyes, he saw the high clear blue sky.

Is such a sky really false?

"What do you think he is thinking?" Quinella, who was floating aside, laughed softly.

Kirito shook his head: "Although I guess he is probably thinking about what Vector told him, but Eugeo's thoughts... I don't dare to guess anymore."

Along the way, Quinella has already solved the mystery to Kirito - about the reason why Eugeo became an integrity knight.After listening to it, Kirito could only sigh secretly in his heart, knowing this kind of thing, it's not a simple apology to settle the matter...

Sure enough, no matter how close a friend is, if they don't communicate, they can't understand each other's deepest thoughts. This may be... It's also a punishment for myself who failed to confess everything to Eugeo in time.

And Eugeo, who was lying on the car floor at this time, was indeed not entangled in the authenticity of this world. The only thing he couldn't let go of was the reason Kirito became like this.

Kirito is not "Vector's lost man" - this fact was confirmed by the dark god Vector himself.

If, as the man said, Kirito's soul comes from another world, and the Underworld is just an experimental garden with a time difference of a thousand times from that world, then the life of the people in the Underworld should be just like this to him. Something as fleeting as a mayfly.

He may be willing to lend a helping hand to these fluct lights that are too similar to humans out of benevolence, but he should not bet on his own life.

If "Eugeo" really has such a charm, then...how could I be him?

Eugeo laughed at himself sadly.

As the effect of Administrator's brainwashing gradually faded, Eugeo was able to see his own heart more and more clearly.

At first, his uncontrollable desire to attack Kirito was not so much out of loyalty to Administrator, but rather a contradiction and fear that he couldn't reach out to touch the great happiness in front of him.

He was born out of solitude.

He is the realization of "Eugeo"'s desire to be loved and recognized, but Kirito gave him everything he longed for in such a decisive way.

It doesn't bring satisfaction at all.

Eugeo looked at Kirito's empty eyes, his thin body, and his empty right arm.

Although he couldn't bear the friendship Kirito gave him, the tragedy before him was his fault.

He was not the dear friend Kirito cherished, nor could he meet his expectations. Every time he thought about this, Eugeo hated himself incomparably....

"Your Eugeo seems to be in a bad mood." Quinella floated above Eugeo, shaking her head to switch different angles to observe Eugeo's face.

"I saw it, I don't need you to emphasize it again." Kirito looked at Eugeo, then at his own body, forcibly resisting the urge to return to his body to comfort him, and could only sigh deeply in one breath.

"Do you have a clue?" Quinella flew back to Kirito: "Time is running out, "Gate of the East", that is the stage prepared for you by "Creator God", and now we are only waiting for the main character to appear on stage." Oh. "

Kirito looked at Eugeo and was silent for a long time before slowly speaking: "Quinella, look, I'm standing in front of Eugeo right now, but I can't see what he's thinking."

"so what?"

"So, it is even more impossible for me to guess the thoughts of the "Creator God" who is far away in "If World". "Kirito said seriously: "I have been trying to speculate logically on his thoughts along the way. I have carefully recalled every battle I have experienced, trying to find the rules, but thinking about it carefully, this is impossible. OK."

"Because Eugeo is a boy."

"Oh?" Quinella looked at him puzzled, an expression she had never seen on her face.

"Quinella, how many novels do you think "IfWorld" has so far? "Kirito knew that his narration was a bit jumpy, so he slowed down his speech as much as possible.

"At least it must be more than what is in Little Cardinal's library," Quinella replied.

"It's far more than that." Kirito said: "NERvGear will appear in 2022. This novel will use the full stealth game as a selling point, which proves that it appeared before the birth of full stealth technology. Although I can't be sure about "IfWorld" Whether the technological level can develop this technology in 2022, but if there is no accident, the time of "If World" should be between 2000 and 2020, that is to say... it is the period of rapid development of the novel, during this period In time, there should be a lot of excellent works emerging. "

"Therefore, in order to stand out from the brutal competition, the novel created by our "Creator God" must seek changes. "Speaking of this, Kirito showed a slightly embarrassed expression: "Although I don't want to admit it, most of the companions who have appeared by my side and occupied important plots to fight with me are girls, so Most likely, this novel is about...the harem."

Quinella gave me a sideways glance: "You girls who like you will be sad when you say something like that with that look on your face."

Ignoring the teasing meaning in her words, Kirito continued: "The appearance of Eugeo, an important male character, proves that the "Creator God" is no longer satisfied with being popular by serving a specific group.He wants to seek a breakthrough and try to unfold, so my past experience is not applicable at the moment. If I insist on using the inherent routine to speculate, maybe I will fall into the abyss of eternal doom instead. "

"So, the result of your hard thinking and meditation is that there is no result?"

"No." Kirito shook his head: "I think, since the route of logical analysis doesn't work, why don't we resort to violence."

Perhaps because he finally heard about his field of expertise, Quinella, who was still not interested just now, suddenly became interested: "Violent solution? Do you want to use violence against the "Creator God"?" "

"Of course not!" Kirito said quickly, "I mean, "Death Flag". "

In fact, from the very beginning, what Kirito said Quinella could understand was very limited, but she was only a listener.

"The so-called "death flag" refers to the various signs that appear before the death of the character. Although the author will not say it explicitly, it is a tacit matter between the author and the readers. Of course, Kirito also knows that these words are completely beyond the understanding of Underworld people, but speaking clearly, it is also a process of clarifying his thoughts: "Eugeo once had a very obvious "Death Flag" ", but it was recovered during the decisive battle with you. "

"For a person who has died once, when the "Death Flag" appears on his body again, it is the final judgment, no matter what the result is, it cannot be changed, otherwise it will be regarded as an act of fooling the readers. "Speaking of this, Kirito took a deep breath: "So, as long as I can interrupt the "Death Flag" that will appear on Eugeo at all costs, no one will be able to kill him anymore. "

Of course, this sentence is undoubtedly a Flag - Kirito added secretly in his heart.But in the world of shadows, saying nothing will interfere with the progress of the world of light, which is very convenient.

3.

November [-]nd.

Alice and Eldrie, who were riding the dragon, finally arrived at Istavaliers.Passing through layers of clouds and fog, the coercive gray door with a height of 300 Mel was completely presented in Alice's field of vision for the first time.

"The other senior integrity knights are also camping ahead. My master Alice, if you don't mind, I will let Eldrie lead the way for you!"

Alice thought that she was used to Eldrie's over-enthusiasm, and could take any of his speech indifferently, but when she actually faced it, she still couldn't help but sighed softly in her heart: "Then sorry to bother you."

"This is my greatest honor! Then please forgive me for letting the dragon fly in front of you!"

"..."

After going through a lot of hardships, Alice finally landed on the ground, and finally met the strongest and oldest swordsman in the world at the Integrity Knight's stronghold—the Integrity Knight Captain, Bercouli synthesis one.

Alice's turbulent mood and the hesitation and grief she had endured for many days broke out overnight in front of the person she admired and relied on the most, but she still held back tears and turned all words into a simple etiquette: "Greetings from Jiushu Yes, my uncle."

"Hey, you are much more energetic than I imagined, little girl." Bercouli looked behind Eldrie, and after confirming that he was indeed the only two walking together, he asked after deliberation: "Then Are the two boys here?"

Hearing Bercouli's question, Eldrie interjected: "I asked Miss Alice about this question when I was in Rulid Village, but Miss Alice said that I would talk about it together after meeting everyone, so now It must be time, right?"

Alice nodded lightly. The situation between Kirito and Eugeo is too complicated, and there are still many questions that may need to be asked to Bercouli, who has the deepest understanding of the world, so it is most appropriate to talk about it when the integrity knights gather. of.

The three of them came together to the largest tent in the stronghold, which was the gathering place for the Integrity Knights.Although not all the Integrity Knights had fought against Kirito and Eugeo, they had all heard of the conspiracy of the Axiom Church and the feat of the two teaming up to defeat the highest priest.

After Bercouli made a brief introduction, Alice took a deep breath, and then revealed for the first time the truth after the decisive battle with the final priest that only she had ever witnessed.

"Bringing the dead back to life...is it really possible to do such a thing?" Deusolbert murmured.

"Of course you can." Fizel, a young girl who was a trainee integrity knight, said disdainfully, "The sacred art of the highest priest——"Resurrection" can resurrect the dead, but that kid named Kirito obviously mastered it." There is no such advanced sacred art, and after a great battle, the environment at that time obviously will not leave enough sacred power to activate "Resurrection". "

Linel, who always advances and retreats with Fizel, immediately nodded and said in a low voice: "That's right, so... what brought Mr. Eugeo back to life is probably entirely Kirito-san's "incarnation skill." "Effect. "

Bercouli agreed with this statement: "In fact, although we can use things like "mind", we know very little about it.How powerful imagination can be in this world, I am afraid that no one has ever touched the limit since ancient times. "

"But...if it's just an Incarnation Technique, why did that man lose consciousness?" Eldrie frowned in confusion: "It stands to reason that Incarnation Techniques wouldn't cause such a serious backlash."

"Compared to these..." Bercouli looked at Alice: "I am more concerned about what happened outside the Mountain Range of the End, little girl, are you sure that Eugeo, who was recalled by Kirito, is the one who never After communicating with "Sword of the Night Sky", did you use the "Full Armament Control Art" belonging to "Sword of the Night Sky"? "

Alice nodded without hesitation: "That spell is without a doubt, it must be the "Full Armament Control Art" of the night sky, and the power that Eugeo used is even stronger than that of Kirito back then. "

Bercouli thought for a moment, then stated in a firm tone: "According to common sense, one person cannot use two divine weapons, and no one can use the "armed weapon" without in-depth communication with the sword. Complete Domination".Therefore, I suspect that the boy's soul may never leave. He guarded Eugeo's side and acted as a bridge between Eugeo and "Night Sky Sword" at critical moments. "

Alice took a light breath: "If that's the case, why hasn't Kirito woke up for so long?"

"I think it's because Kirito's deep sleep is related to Eugeo's resurrection." Fanatio, the female knight who has always been out of tune with Alice, said for the first time: "If Kirito really If you can help Eugeo consciously, then just relying on the "power of mind" is enough to wake him up, but he has been unable to wake up for a long time, maybe he himself is unwilling to wake up, I don't know. "

There was a silence in the tent.

After a while, Eldrie broke the silence: "Unreasonable! That man clearly killed Master Administrator in order to protect the people, and because of that he was burdened with Master Alice's expectations, but at this time ...and not waking up when Lord Alice needed him the most! This coward's sword is not trustworthy at all, and we don't need to waste important pre-battle meeting time on him!"

"Don't embarrass him too much, Eldrie." Bercouli stopped Eldrie's anger: "Do you remember what the little girl said just now? After the great battle that ended the mountain range, Eugeo's injuries miraculously recovered quickly."

"But...what does this have to do with the man not being able to wake up?"

Alice immediately noticed something from Bercouli's words, maybe she had already noticed it a long time ago, but she just didn't want to believe it.

"Destiny cannot be restored for no reason. If you don't rely on divine power, you can only rely on transferring the destiny of others." Bercouli continued: "It is impossible for the barren "Dark Territory" to provide such a huge amount of divine power, so we can only speculate Because... that boy transferred most of his life to Eugeo, making up for what he lost all the time. "

"If Eugeo had already been revived intact, there would be no need for that boy to do such a thing that is completely "overprotective". "Speaking of this, Bercouli paused for a moment before continuing: "Perhaps, Eugeo's resurrection is not complete. Without Kirito's destiny and enormous power of mind...his existence cannot be maintained."

"How come..." Alice's eyes dimmed instantly, and the voice that came out from the depths of her throat trembled slightly.

She didn't want to believe it was true, but Uncle's conjecture was indeed the most reasonable answer right now.

But... how can this kind of thing be accepted.

If Kirito wakes up, Eugeo will disappear, and his wish to protect it with all his might will come to naught.And if Eugeo is allowed to live like this, how long can Kirito last?Before Eugeo took him away, his life limit had already been reduced to an extremely dangerous level. Any slight accident could take his life away. This kind of thing...is really unreasonable.

"Little girl, don't be so busy being sad." Bercouli stepped forward and patted her on the shoulder lightly: "All this is just my speculation, and the facts may run counter to my imagination. And, "Mind" It is a powerful force. As long as we have hope, things may not turn around. We just need to wait here quietly for their arrival. "

"I understand, Uncle." Alice nodded, wiped away her tears, and said to everyone in front of her with a straight chest: "Everyone, I know that everyone gathered here is looking forward to Kirito and Eugeo. The power of an outstanding swordsman, but I can't trample on Kirito's wish. If it is for the residents of the human world, I believe he will pick up the sword and fight no matter how many times, but before that, please let him put This power is used to protect his most important friend."

With her right fist on her chest, Alice solemnly bowed to the integrity knights: "Surviving with Eugeo is Kirito's most important wish. Because of Eugeo's sacrifice, he has gone through countless things that I can't even imagine. Despair, he can no longer bear such a separation. Therefore, I beg you, please do not disclose any content of today's conversation."

As outstanding figures who had broken the Taboo Index, the integrity knights present immediately understood the meaning of Alice's words.

"Don't worry, little girl." Bercouli nodded, "I swear on my soul."

"So are we." Fizel and Linel said in unison.

In just a few moments, including Eldrie, who was hostile to Kirito, the integrity knights in the tent made promises to Alice.

After five days, the "Gate of the East" that has guarded the human world for hundreds of years will run out of destiny, and they are the last line of defense to protect the human world.

On November [-]th, the day before the "Eastern Gate" collapsed, Eugeo and Kirito finally arrived at the front line.

TBC