E13 - Ruler and Mediator

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(Please feel free to edit the speaker names if incomplete or inaccurate. Names are handled on a best-effort basis depending on the info on the source file. Dialogue is left as is.)
SIGN    Under the rule of the absolute Administrator,
    this world entered a long period of peace and idleness.
SIGN    But 70 years after Quinella became Administrator,
SIGN    she became aware
    that she had undergone some kind of change.
SIGN    To her astonishment, her soul's capacity
    for preserving her memories had reached its limit.
SIGN    But this only drove her to come up
    with yet another demonic solution.
[00:40] Quinella
    I appreciate your coming here.
[00:43] Quinella
    Now, this way.
[00:45] Liserice
    Yes, ma'am.
[00:48] Quinella
    If I can copy my own Fluctlight's thoughts
    and memories by overwriting this child's Fluctlight...
[00:55] Quinella
    Close your eyes.
SIGN    And so Administrator,
    through this diabolical ceremony...
SIGN    the Synthesis Ritual, a secret technique
    signifying the fusing of soul and memory,
SIGN    finally succeeded in seizing control
    of another's Fluctlight.
SIGN    But that ended up being Administrator's...
    no, Quinella's mistake.
[01:21] Kirito
    Mistake?
SIGN    That's right.
SIGN    Because after she'd taken over the young girl, for the split second that she disposed of her previous self,
SIGN    she and the girl had become two gods wielding equal authority.
SIGN    Kirito, you're familiar with my original version, are you not?
SIGN    Tell me the features of the Cardinal System.
[01:42] Kirito
    Um...
[01:44] Kirito
    To operate over an extended period of time
    without any adjustments or maintenance by humans?
SIGN    Correct.
SIGN    To achieve that, the Cardinal System has two core programs, a main and sub.
SIGN    While the main process performs balance controls...
[02:01] Kirito
    The subprocess does an error-check of the main.
SIGN    That's right.
SIGN    It wasn't just the preservation of order
    Quinella had etched into her own Fluctlight.
SIGN    Deep inside her soul, I had this thought as her subprocess...
SIGN    "I must correct this woman's errors."
SIGN    I... I steadfastly waited for that moment.
SIGN    For 70 long years!
SIGN    Ruler and Mediator
[04:12] Administrator
    And now, this child's Fluctlight is mine.
[04:16] Liserice
    System Call.
[04:19] Liserice
    Generate Luminous Element.
[04:21] Liserice
    Lightning Shape.
[04:23] Liserice
    Discharge!
[04:24] Administrator
    What?
[04:27] Liserice
    System Call!
[04:30] Liserice
    Generate Luminous Element!
[04:32] Administrator
    System Call! Generate Umbra Element. Ball Shape!
[04:37] Administrator
    - Discharge!
    - Discharge!
[04:41] Administrator
    System Call! Redefinition Object!
[04:46] Administrator
    Sword Class!
[04:48] Liserice
    System Call. Redefinition Object! Rod Class!
[04:53] Administrator
    System Call! Change Field Attribution!
[05:00] Liserice
    Impossible.
[05:01] Liserice
    She made this a restricted area
    for System Commands?
[05:19] Liserice
    I can't defeat her in this body.
[05:35] Liserice
    System Call! Generate Aerial Element!
[05:39] Liserice
    Stream Shape!
[05:43] Liserice
    There are just two locations in this world
    that even Administrator can't control.
[05:49] Liserice
    One is the other side of the End Mountains.
[05:53] Liserice
    And the other is...
[05:57] Liserice
    System Call!
[05:59] Liserice
    Generate Blizzard Gate... Zero One!
[06:04] Liserice
    ...the Great Library!
SIGN    In that instant, this place was completely isolated
    from the outside world.
SIGN    In the 200 years since, I immersed myself
    in nothing but observation and deliberation,
SIGN    working on a plan that would allow me
    to strike back against Administrator.
SIGN    But she anticipated my ambush
    and assembled a retinue of loyal and powerful followers.
[06:34] Administrator
    Through the Synthesis Ritual,
    this man will be reborn.
[06:38] Administrator
    As the ultimate warrior,
    a Integrity Knight swearing absolute fealty!
SIGN    The first to become an Integrity Knight
SIGN    was a true hero known as an extraordinary swordsman
    who hated the church's rule,
SIGN    who, with his comrades, made his way
    to a remote region and founded his own village.
SIGN    The name of that knight was Bercouli Synthesis One.
SIGN    Administrator and I are nearly on equal footing in one-on-one combat.
SIGN    But with the situation changed, it became clear that I also needed a collaborator.
SIGN    I tried to find that collaborator, no matter the risk.
SIGN    Each time, I would open a door as far away as possible,
SIGN    I would cast Sensory Sharing and other arts onto the nearby birds and insects,
SIGN    and release them all over the world.
SIGN    See.
SIGN    Her name is Charlotte.
SIGN    She's been observing the two of you ever since you left Rulid Village.
SIGN    From time to time, she did more than just watch.
[07:53] Kirito
    She guided us when we were running
    from the Integrity Knight?
[07:57] Kirito
    Th-That's right!
[07:59] Kirito
    When all my zephilia buds were cut off,
    was it you who encouraged me?
SIGN    Charlotte's the most ancient of the observation units that I enchanted and released into the world.
SIGN    Her long, long mission is finally coming to an end, now, eh?
SIGN    Since I froze the degradation of her life, I've had her working for me for more than 200 years.
[08:25] Kirito
    Thank you.
[08:28] Kirito
    So you've been searching for a human collaborator
    while barricaded in this Great Library for over 200 years?
SIGN    Indeed. But as I observed this world, even I couldn't figure it out.
SIGN    Why would the gods of the outside world turn a blind eye to the tyranny of this fake god, Administrator?
SIGN    As I pondered, and referred to the database stored inside the Cardinal System,
SIGN    I arrived at one conclusion.
SIGN    That the true god, Rath, doesn't wish for the people of this world to lead happy lives.
SIGN    Quite the opposite, in fact.
SIGN    They're observing how the people will resist as they slowly tighten a vise about them.
SIGN    That load is increasing by the day,
SIGN    until eventually, the greatest trial of all, the final phase of the load test will arrive.
[09:27] Kirito
    Final phase?
SIGN    You know it well yourself... what lies outside the realm of humanity.
[09:34] Kirito
    The Dark Territory.
SIGN    Correct. That world of darkness was created to subject the people to the ultimate agony.
SIGN    The monsters who have Fluctlights like humans, except for their greater impulse to slaughter and plunder.
SIGN    They can hardly wait to invade the realm of humanity, and commit atrocity upon atrocity.
SIGN    Most likely, that day isn't too far off.
[10:01] Kirito
    Is Administrator aware of that?
SIGN    She underestimates the forces of darkness,
SIGN    convinced that she and her Integrity Knights alone can repulse them.
SIGN    She even had the guardian dragons of the north, south, east, and west slain,
SIGN    despite their valuable fighting power, because she couldn't exert control over them.
SIGN    But it's not possible for them to defeat the forces of darkness on their own.
SIGN    Their overall numbers are too few.
[10:28] Kirito
    But doesn't that mean
    that whether or not you defeat Administrator,
[10:33] Kirito
    the path this world is destined to take
    will stay the same?
SIGN    That's correct.
SIGN    At this point, I have no way of stopping the invasion from the Dark Territory.
[10:45] Kirito
    In other words, once you've attained your objective,
[10:49] Kirito
    you couldn't care less
    what happens to this world afterwards?
[10:52] Kirito
    Is that what you're saying? Cardinal?
SIGN    Perhaps I am.
SIGN    However, I...
SIGN    For having engineered the end of the world...
SIGN    I will never accept a god like Rath!
SIGN    Therefore, I arrived at the only possible conclusion.
SIGN    That I would return the Underworld, both the human realm and the Dark Territory, to nothingness.
[11:21] Kirito
    Return it... to nothingness?
SIGN    Just what I said.
SIGN    I'm going to delete every Fluctlight stored in the Lightcube Cluster.
SIGN    Of every last resident of both the realms of humanity and darkness.
SIGN    Kirito.
SIGN    If, with your help, I'm able to eliminate Administrator,
    and regain all my authority,
SIGN    then, before I extinguish this world,
    I'll grant you a wish, to a degree.
SIGN    If there are people you'd like to save,
SIGN    I won't delete their Fluctlights,
    and leave them archived instead.
SIGN    I believe it should be possible, after you've escaped to the outside world,
SIGN    for you to secure the Lightcubes of ten or so.
[12:11] Kirito
    I... I...
[12:14] Kirito
    Cardinal.
[12:15] Kirito
    You just told me that your soul
    was a copy of Quinella's, right?
[12:20] Kirito
    Then that means that the pure blood of the nobles
    flows in your veins as well.
[12:25] Kirito
    The genes of those
    who seek their own profit and desires.
[12:29] Kirito
    So why didn't you abandon everything
    and try to escape?
[12:34] Kirito
    Why would you continue to wait alone
    in a place like this for 200 years?
SIGN    For me, as the Cardinal subprocess, all profit and all desires amount to just one thing.
SIGN    Eliminating Administrator and normalizing the world.
SIGN    In my eyes, a normalized world is no longer possible unless it's returned to complete nothingness.
SIGN    Therefore... Therefore, I...
SIGN    No, perhaps I'm wrong.
SIGN    Even I have a desire. Just one...
SIGN    In the last 200 years, there was something I was desperate to know.
SIGN    Hey, Kirito. Stand up, too.
SIGN    That should do it.
SIGN    Hey, Kirito, come over here.
SIGN    Come closer.
SIGN    No complaining.
SIGN    Raise both arms.
[13:42] Kirito
    Like this?
SIGN    Hold them in front of you and make a circle.
SIGN    Really! Do I have to spell it out for you?
SIGN    I see. So this is...
SIGN    This is what it means to be human, huh?
SIGN    So warm.
SIGN    At last, I feel rewarded.
SIGN    Those 200 years I spent weren't in vain.
SIGN    Just discovering this warmth
    is enough to satisfy me.
SIGN    I feel rewarded... more than enough.
SIGN    How long are you planning to stand there in a daze?
[14:43] Kirito
    No way.
SIGN    So? Have you made a decision?
SIGN    Are you going to accept my proposal, or reject it?
[14:54] Kirito
    All right.
[14:55] Kirito
    I'll take part in your plan. But...
[14:59] Kirito
    But I'm not going to stop thinking about it.
[15:03] Kirito
    I'm going to keep searching for a way.
[15:06] Kirito
    A solution to somehow avoid tragedy
    and allow this world to survive peacefully.
SIGN    Geez, what an absurdly optimistic person you are.
[15:15] Kirito
    After all, I don't want you to disappear, either.
[15:20] Kirito
    When you tell me to pick ten people,
    you'll definitely be among them.
SIGN    And you're also a fool.
SIGN    Who's going to extinguish this world if I escape?
[15:34] Kirito
    Hey, I'm just saying that I understand the situation,
    but I won't give up on struggling in vain!
SIGN    One day, you too will know the bitterness of giving up.
SIGN    Not of coming up short after giving your all,
SIGN    but of being forced to accept the likelihood that you'll fail.
[16:06] Kirito
    Thanks for waiting!
[16:08] Kirito
    Sorry we left you on your own.
[16:09] Eugeo
    Kirito! And also, um...
[16:13] Kirito
    Yeah, this person, Cardinal was banished
    by the current pontifex, Administrator,
[16:20] Kirito
    and she used to be another pontifex.
[16:22] Eugeo
    Pontifex?
[16:24] Kirito
    She's going to help us fight the Integrity Knights.
[16:28] Eugeo
    H-Help?
[16:29] Kirito
    Yeah, she has a goal to defeat Administrator
    and regain her status as pontifex.
[16:36] Kirito
    So... well, I guess that means we're joining forces.
SIGN    Indeed.
[16:41] Eugeo
    Then do you know if Alice...
    the Integrity Knight, Alice Synthesis Thirty,
[16:46] Eugeo
    is the same person
    as Alice Zuberg from Rulid?
SIGN    I'm sorry, but the information I can access here is extremely limited.
SIGN    I do know that an Integrity Knight named Alice was indeed born, but...
SIGN    However, what I can do is tell you how to reverse the Synthesis Ritual for producing Integrity Knights.
[17:08] Eugeo
    How do we do that?
SIGN    Simply remove the Piety Module embedded in their foreheads.
SIGN    It looks like a triangular prism.
[17:18] Eugeo
    Like the one we saw...
SIGN    The Piety Module is inserted in a way that blocks links to memories.
SIGN    This seals away the past of the person becoming an Integrity Knight,
SIGN    while simultaneously forcing absolute fealty to the Axiom Church and the pontifex.
[17:35] Kirito
    In other words, to break the spell we have to
    jog the Integrity Knight's memories of their past, huh?
SIGN    That alone wouldn't be enough.
SIGN    There's one more thing that's absolutely necessary.
[17:46] Eugeo
    Wh-What's that?
SIGN    What originally existed where the module's been embedded.
SIGN    In other words, the memory fragment most valued by the Integrity Knight.
SIGN    Administrator's a cautious woman.
SIGN    The memory fragments extracted from these knights are without a doubt stored in her chambers...
SIGN    on the top floor of the Central Cathedral.
[18:11] Kirito
    You mean...
[18:13] Kirito
    to restore an Integrity Knight to their former state,
    we'll need the stolen memory fragment.
[18:18] Kirito
    But to get our hands on it,
    we'll have to breach the knights' defenses
[18:22] Kirito
    and somehow make our way to the top floor
    where Administrator is.
SIGN    Don't be so naive as to think you can
    defeat an Integrity Knight without killing them.
SIGN    The most I can do for you is to provide you with equipment equal to that of the Integrity Knights.
SIGN    The rest depends on whether you're able to fight your best.
[18:45] Eugeo
    But what if Alice is the one who shows up?
[18:48] Eugeo
    I can't bring myself to fight her.
[18:49] Eugeo
    I came all this way to get Alice back!
SIGN    Indeed. You have a point.
SIGN    Eugeo, I understand your goal.
SIGN    Fine. Should Integrity Knight Alice be the one standing in your way, then use this.
[19:11] Kirito
    What is it?
SIGN    Whoever is stabbed with this dagger will be linked to me by an inseverable connection.
SIGN    Meaning that any sacred arts I use will affect her without fail.
SIGN    Eugeo, use this to stab anywhere on Integrity Knight Alice's body.
SIGN    In that instant, I'll send Alice into a deep sleep using my sacred arts.
SIGN    Until you've regained her memories and are prepared to remove the Synthesis.
[19:39] Eugeo
    Understood.
    If I can't talk sense into Alice, I'll use this.
SIGN    I originally created it to use against Administrator,
SIGN    and kept another one as a spare, but well... if you can succeed on your first try, it should be fine.
[19:55] Kirito
    That's a huge responsibility.
[19:58] Kirito
    What you just said, "equipment equal to that
    of the Integrity Knights," did you mean...
SIGN    You and Eugeo have your own powerful swords, don't you?
SIGN    I'm going to help you get them back.
[20:10] Eugeo
    You mean my Blue Rose Sword
    and Kirito's black one?
SIGN    I'm quite certain that your swords are being stored in the armory on the third floor of the cathedral.
[20:21] Kirito
    By the way,
    what floor are Administrator's chambers on?
SIGN    The Central Cathedral grows by the year, so...
SIGN    it should've reached 100 floors by now.
SIGN    Unfortunately, there's one more thing you need to do.
[20:39] Kirito
    Wh-What is it?
SIGN    I know you two have powerful swords,
SIGN    but that alone won't be enough to bring down the Integrity Knights.
SIGN    That's because they have the terrifying technique of amplifying their weapons' abilities multiple times.
[20:52] Eugeo
    Do you mean the Perfect Weapon Control Art?
SIGN    Weapons of the Divine Object class take on the properties of the object they're fashioned from.
SIGN    By fully releasing a weapon's memories, so to speak,
SIGN    the Perfect Control Art realizes offensive powers more potent than normally possible.
SIGN    Both of you close your eyes and think of your sword.
SIGN    All right, that's enough.
SIGN    There.
SIGN    Memorize that thoroughly.
SIGN    Eugeo... and Kirito.
SIGN    The fate of the world rests on you.
SIGN    Whether it's engulfed in hellfire,
    or sinks into nothingness.
SIGN    Or perhaps you'll find a third path.
SIGN    I've told you all that I can tell,
SIGN    and given you all that I can give.
SIGN    All you have to do now
    is follow the path you believe in.
[22:39] Eugeo
    Thank you very much, Ms. Cardinal.
[22:42] Eugeo
    I'll definitely get to the top of the cathedral
[22:45] Eugeo
    and restore Alice back to who she was.
SIGN    Now...
SIGN    Go!
[23:36] Kirito
    Next time: The Crimson Knight.