Sword Art Online Volume 16 – Alicization Exploding Chapter 18 – War of the Underworld 45 Fanatio thought to beat some sense into her two legs that refused to listen to her, but she could not even ball her hands into fists to do so. Even with the giant chief as her opponent, the deputy commander of the Order of the Integrity Knights would never freeze up with a mere glare. She told herself so, but still, her body seemed frozen in her shooting stance with her right knee on the ground. During a bout with Knight Commander Bercouli, she could not gain any ground with her sword prepared—she went through such an experience. However, this was utterly different from that heavy yet somehow tender presence that emanated from the knight commander and enveloped her. Pain, like leather belts covered in iron thorns wrapped over her one after another, tormented her entire being. The giant chief, Sigrosig, bellowed out a strange yell as he kicked the goblins and orcs who should have been his allies aside and charged closer. Cutting the distance down below fifteen mel. He would be no challenge in a one-versus-one; that was how it should have been. Among the ten lords in the Dark Empire, Fanatio acknowledged only the might of the leader of the Order of the Dark Knights, Shasta. In a prior bout, her helmet unfortunately cracked at the end of an intense battle exceeding thirty minutes and she tasted humiliation when Shasta drew his sword back after seeing Fanatio’s bare face. However, she never considered defeat even at that time. She was under a strict restriction from Bercouli regarding the usage of the armament full control art when fighting against dark knights. Hence, she should not be falling behind anyone else. The very thought of freezing up from a mere glare was preposterous. That said, the phenomenon that exceeded Fanatio’s understanding was drawing closer before her eyes, moment by moment.