Several hours later, the sun began to rise on the horizon of the open sea; its light penetrating the damaged surface of the ship that Kirito and company, minus Asuna, were still on.As the sun reached each of their eyes, one by one, the members of the group began to stir from their forced slumber."Ugh…what happened to us", asked a curious Klein as he placed one of his hands on his back, trying to ease the pain of his impact site.
Agil was completely floor bound; the damage he sustained in the fight proving to be too much for his body to take."We were attacked by some supercharged psychopath.Is everyone okay", he asked, more concerned about his friends' welfare than his own.The girls, slowly, began to stand up, rubbing each of their injured body parts."How is something like this even possible", asked a curious Lisbeth.As Suguha looked around, she was suddenly hit with a realization."Kazuto?...KAZUTO", she exclaimed as she ran down to his bedroom.She passed by each floor, feeling more and more concerned about her brother with each passing step, until, finally, she reached the bedroom door.As she looked at the door, an ominous feeling washed over her.The door was shut, and in perfect condition, as if nothing had transpired within; a belief she knew to be false.In her mind, two things could be on the other side of the door: an unconscious, but still alive Kirito, or a mangled, lifeless body that was once her brother.
"Please…Kazuto…be okay", she whispered to herself as she began to cry while reaching for the doorknob.Just as she was about to open it, the door burst open, startling her, and knocking her to the ground."ASUNA", yelled Kirito as he emerged from the room, and tripping over his sister."Suguha?...Is everyone okay", he asked, his eyes searching for answers in his sister's.She immediately sat up, and tackled him to the ground, crying into his chest."KAZUTO!!I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE ALIVE", she yelled into his chest.Kirito wanted to know if Asuna was alright, but he knew that his sister's concern for him was genuine, and so he put his questions about Asuna's whereabouts on hold for the time being to figure out how his friends were doing after the attack.
"I'm alright, Sugu.How is everyone else", he asked curiously, praying in the back of his mind that no one had died.She looked at him, wiping the tears from her eyes before sitting up on her knees."Everyone's, for the most part, fine.We're all a bit beat up, but still alive.Agil took the worst of it, though.He can't get up, or move, at all", she replied with a half-hearted smile."What about Asuna?Where is she", she questioned in return.Kirito looked towards the ground, and shook his head in response, causing a dejected "oh" to escape Suguha's lips.After her question, she stood up, and helped her brother to his feet, and, together, the duo made their way back up to the upper floor lounge where the others were gathered.
Upon arriving at the lounge, the duo found Klein on the phone with the Japanese coast guard, letting them know what had happened.As the group of friends waited patiently for the coast guard to reach their position, they sat in silence, trying to wrap their heads around what happened."So…we all saw….and felt the same thing, right?That guy was a bona fide super powered villain.I haven't seen anyone fight or hit like that since back in SAO", stated Klein in a disbelieving voice.
Sinon looked at Klein."I may not have played SAO, but seeing Death Gun fight through my scope back in GGO, I kinda get what you mean.That fighter was definitely not completely human", she replied with a sharp glare aimed at the ground."What could he have been then", asked Silica as she rubbed her sore arm.The group all looked at their intrepid pseudo leader: Kirito.He looked at all of them, and looked into their answer seeking eyes."I don't know.I don't know who he is, OR how he became that way.And without Yui…well, we'll have to find our answers on our own", he replied with a pained look in his eyes.
"I believe I can answer your questions, everyone", said a youthful sounding voice from the corner of the room.Everyone jumped away from the voice, and stood in front of Agil to protect him while they all stood beside each other to defend each other."Who's there", asked Kirito angrily.Just then, a young looking man, of modest build, black hair, and brown eyes emerged from the shadows of the corner."Relax, everyone, I'm not here to hurt you.In fact, I'm here to help you out", he said as he held his hands up in the air as if he were under arrest."Look", he added as he turned around, slowly, revealing every part of his black suit."As you can see, I'm not armed.If you need to, pat me down, and check for yourselves", he said in a calm voice.
Klein looked at Kirito, whom gave an affirming nod, signaling Klein to move toward the man, slowly.Klein patted the man down, as per his suggestion, and found no trace of a gun.Although, while he patted around his back, he looked behind his ear; his eyes drawn to a small, circular device attached to his skull through the skin."Alright, Kirito, I don't feel any weapons on him.Although, I did notice some kinda tech behind his ear", he reported.
Kirito looked at the man, curiously."What's the tech?Some kinda recording device, or something like that", asked Kirito."That device is actually the focal point of last night's attack against y'all, as well as the knot tying all of the world's unfolding events together.I'll explain, if you'll allow me", said the mystery man.Everyone looked towards Kirito, awaiting his response."Alright…start talking", said Kirito in a stern voice.Everyone took a seat in any available chair, and prepared to listen to the man."First off, my name is Allen Alexander, and I'm a…"special class" citizen of the United States.The device behind my ear is called the OPST; otherwise known as the Omni Present Soul Translator", he began.
Kirito looked at the man in a bit of shock."Soul Translator?Like from Project Alicitization", he asked curiously.The man shrugged his shoulders a bit."Ehhh, something like that.What I am about to tell you is TOP SECRET, okay?It doesn't leave this room, alright", he said in a stern voice.Everyone looked at each other, before nodding in agreement.The man cleared his throat before speaking."The OPST was a tool that was originally designed as a fusion of the Soul Translator, and Medicuboid.It's initial purpose was purely therapeutic, in terms of operation.Basically, the device allows for people suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder to, in a sense, permanently offload any negative personalities, or 'souls', into the virtual world of their choice, while, at the same time, allowing one personality, typically the dominant personality, to retain control of the physical body", he explained.
Everyone's eyes went wide with shock, but it was Kirito who was the first to speak up."So you're saying that the device allows the user to walk around, IRL, while at the same time, being completely immersed in a VRMMORPG", he questioned exclamatorily.
Allen nodded in agreement."Essentially…yes", he said in a matter of fact tone of voice.Everyone gasped in response."That's crazy!There's no way such a device exists", exclaimed Lisbeth.Silica looked at everyone, before looking back at Allen."Wait, I'm confused.How does this tie in with what happened last night, or what's going on in the world, right now", she asked curiously."I'm getting to that.So now you know what it was originally intended for.However, there were some unforeseen side effects to the device's use.Should the user offload one of their unwanted personalities into a VRMMORPG, the soul of the body, and the soul, or souls, within the game, stay connected by the OPST.With that connection, the soul, in game, can be modified like any typical RPG, but since the connection is still intact due to the device, it is possible for the soul, in game, to help the physical body bypass its natural limiters in a similar fashion to mind over matter.Essentially, the side effects of the device was that it allowed the user to become superhuman, to an extent.The person who attacked you, last night, was most likely a user of the OPST device, given the amount of damage done to the ship", he continued.
"So the United States has been using this device to create super soldiers?!How did the creator of the OPST allow that to happen?!How the hell does this tie in with what's happening in the world, and, most importantly, HOW DID ASUNA GET WRAPPED UP IN ALL THIS", yelled Kirito, his vocal tone increasing in volume with each passing second.
Allen looked at Kirito."Rumor has it that the creator of the OPST developed the device for himself, because he had too many troublesome personalities.He also, apparently, wanted to achieve some form of immortality in his lifetime, and believed that by giving his device, flaws and all, to the government, he would achieve what he wanted.Everything I'm telling you comes from official archives kept in the Pentagon.Now, about how this ties into what's going on in the world, right now…the reason crime, and criminal resurgence has all but ceased is because the US has been using the device in the most horrific way possible", he added, his voice trailing off.
"What way is that", asked Suguha curiously.Allen sighed a bit."The OPST can only be successfully utilized by people with DID, as they possess multiple 'souls'.Should the device be activated on a person with only one mind, or 'soul', the mind is digitized into the VRMMO of the user's choice, and the body is left comatose, with no possibility of recovering until the process is reversed, and the soul rejoins the body.This is what's been going on in the world.The US has shared the OPST technology with the World Government, and the nations of the world are using it to imprison people in a VRMMORPG for even minor infractions.That VRMMO…is DCO, itself", he explained further.
Everyone looked shocked, and horrified."Wait, why is DCO the only VRMMO they are forcing criminals into", asked Silica."Think about it, miss.DCO is modeled partially after Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy.While creative license was taken into account during the design phase of the game, the only realm of DCO that was, ENTIRELY, government funded….was the Inferno.Anyone guilty, and charged, with any crime is sentenced to some expanse of time within a veritable Hellscape.As a Christian, myself, Hell is the worst place any soul can end up.Endless torture, pain, humiliation, suffering, etc; it's a realm of untold horrors where anyone ending up there begs to be free after only a few minutes within its borders", he continued.
Kirito thought on his words for a while before the gears of his brain went into overdrive, and his eyes went wide with horror."Wait…don't tell me…is…is A-Asuna…", he began to ask as his voice trailed off.
Allen shook his head in response."You needn't worry, Kirito.Asuna is safe, and sound.After she was brought to our headquarters, I used my connections to place her under heavy sedation, and have her moved to a more secure facility somewhere outside the United States' jurisdiction.As it stands, only I know where she's been moved to, and, unfortunately for you, I'm afraid I can't tell you where she is", he added.Kirito charged toward Allen, as fast as he could go, his fist cocked back, and ready to be swung."YOU BETTER TELL ME WHERE SHE IS, OR…", he yelled in anger before ending up, in pain, on the ground."What the hell…", he asked curiously as he looked up at the ceiling."Calm down, Kirito; your friend saw me wearing an OPST device, so naturally, it stands to reason that I am a super soldier, as well", he said.
Kirito got back to his feet, and glared at Allen.Just as he was about to speak, sirens could be heard in the distance, signaling the arrival of the Coast Guard, finally."We're not done here, yet, Mister Alexander", he said angrily as Suguha held onto him.She was not happy to see her loving brother in such an emotional state."Kazuto…please…calm down", she said in a somber tone as her grip on his arm tightened.Allen nodded in agreement."She's right, Kirito.You can't be emotional at this moment.I'm gonna need your help, after all", he replied with a smile.Kirito continued glaring at Allen."Help you with what", he asked angrily.Allen chuckled a bit."Isn't it obvious?I need you, AND your friends, to help me bring an end to this corrupt system, and get the world back to its old self", he said with a playful, fox faced smile.