S.A.O Project Alicization - OC/Male Reader Insert

Project Alicization ----- Chapter Six

July 372 HE, Underworld Human Realm
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"The Dark...Territory..." Kirito rasped, only for it to disappear among the whistling of the trees.

The place beyond the light of the Axiom Church, the land of evil dedicated to the dark god Vecta, the world that existed only in the old stories told by the village elders-just a few steps ahead of them. The thought froze Eugeo's mind, leaving him helpless to do anything but stare. It was as if all this new information flooding into a part of his mind he'd never needed to use before robbed his brain of the ability to process it.

Against the plain white background of his mind, Eugeo saw one thing sparkling fiercely-a verse from the very start of the Taboo Index. Book One, Chapter Three, Verse Eleven: "Thou shalt not cross the End Mountains that encircle the Human Empire."

"We can't...We can't go...any farther," Eugeo struggled to say through numb lips. He held out his hands, trying to motion Kirito and Alice back.

Just then, there was a heavy, sharp sound from above. Eugeo flinched and looked up at the red sky.

Against the bloodred color, he saw something white and something black, locked in a fierce grapple. They were like tiny grains, so they must have been flying extremely high-but they were clearly far larger than a human. The two objects dashed back and forth, closing in on each other and then breaking apart, the clashing of metal sounding each time they crossed each other.

"They're dragon knights," Kirito muttered.

As he said, the two combatants were huge flying dragons, with long necks and tails and triangular wings. Barely visible on their backs were knights with swords and shields. The knight on the white dragon wore white armor, while the one on the black dragon was clad in all black. Even their swords matched their color-the white knight's shining bright, while the black knight's trailed a dark miasma.

With each collision of their swords came a blast like thunder and a shower of sparks.

"I suppose the white one...is one of the Church's Integrity Knights," Alice murmured.

"Yeah, I bet you're right," Kirito added. "And the black one must be a dragon knight for the forces of darkness...He seems to be about as tough as the Integrity Knight..."

"No way..." Eugeo murmured, shaking his head. "The Integrity Knights are the strongest people in existence. They'd never fail to beat a dark knight."

"I don't know. From what I can tell, their sword skill is about even. Neither one is breaking down the other's defense," Shi noted. Just then, as if hearing what they were saying, the white knight pulled back on the dragon's reins to open up the distance between them. The black dragon swept forward, trying to close the gap.

But before the distance closed between them, the white dragon pulled into a sharp turn and lowered its head, appearing to tense and summon its strength. Its neck shot forward and its jaws opened wide. A line of brilliant white fire shot from between its fangs, covering the black dragon knight.

An explosion drowned out the sound of the howling wind in Eugeo's ears. The black knight writhed in pain and lurched to the side in midair. The Integrity Knight took the opportunity to switch out his sword for a giant bronze-colored bow and loose a similarly long arrow.