Ulrich has now found all of his friends except for Amaterasu and Asuna, luckily, they are both in the same general area: Aarun and the World Tree. However, an old 'friend' has returned and is causing utter devastation across this world of Alfheim. Will Ulrich and his friends, both new and old, be able to rescue Asuna, free the other trapped SAO players and protect the players from this new threat?
Rated: AU Fiction T
Disclaimer: I don't own anything apart from the words that I write and the characters that I create. Credit goes to the original creator of the SAO universe; credits also to the creators and contributors to the Code Lyoko series and related works.
Author Notes: If you want to understand this story fully, I would highly recommend reading my previous work: Code Aincrad.
Once again, I need to give credit to Latiosus for Beta reading this chapter.
"I didn't bolster the Salamander army because...well...I had little desire to." Katsuo states frankly, with a little laugh.
"You'd better keep that quiet from the Salamanders Yamakage, they really will make you a renegade if they find out." Sakuya laughs with him.
"I suppose so; I pray everyone here will keep it secret." Katsuo addresses everyone, with mock seriousness.
"You'll need to make it worth it Yami-nii-chan." Okamoto sneers.
"Yami-nii-chan?!" Katsuo exclaims in surprise.
"Okamoto! I thought I told you already that kind of behaviour was inappropriate!" Izanagi scolds.
Everyone that was gathered here, save Izanagi and Yamakage, was doubled over with laughter at Okamoto's comment.
"Yamakage, I am so sorry about Okamoto, she tends to be rather inappropriate a lot..." Izanagi says sadly.
"I see..." Katsuo mutters in disbelief.
"Believe it or not Yami, she did that to me earlier." Sylvia smiles, trying to comfort Katsuo.
"My goodness! Is that the time?! We need to get going!" Leafa exclaims.
Alfheim Standard Time: [20:50] August 2nd, 2025
"Right, we're going to quickly return to our nations and log out." Sakuya says, Alicia and their royal guards agreeing, quickly flying away from the area to return to their nations.
"Guys, let's head to a place where monsters can't target us easily...do you have any recommendations?" Katsuo asks, directing the comment more at Leafa than the others.
"There's a mountain pass nearby, totally uninhabited by players and monsters. We'll stay there until tomorrow." Leafa replies.
The group begins their flight to depart the meeting grounds to the mountain pass described by Leafa and arrive after 15 minutes of flying. They touch down immediately after they arrive when Izanagi and Okamoto log out right away, so they could go to sleep for the next day.
"Aio, everyone, we're logging out, I'll see you tomorrow" Leafa says, with Kirito nodding in agreement.
"Sure, see you tomorrow, Leafa, Kirito." Karen says.
Kirito and Leafa log out so they can sleep for the night, leaving Ulrich, Karen, Sylvia, and Katsuo alone in the mountain pass.
"I wonder if they know we can't log out..." Katsuo mutters under his breath rather pessimistically.
"Oh yeah...today was so eventful that I forgot about that restriction..." Karen says in a sad tone, remembering that they can't log out.
"Now that we're alone...Karen, Sylvia, Katsuo; I was hoping to ask you all a question…" Ulrich asks, in a rather serious tone.
"What's the question Ulrich?" Katsuo asks, sensing the seriousness in Ulrich's voice.
"I've been sort of running in the dark ever since I came to this world this morning. Could you help me fill in some gaps?" Ulrich pleads.
"What exactly do you mean?" Sylvia asks in confusion.
"Are you trying to ask us to fill in the two month long gap between your disappearance in Aincrad and your reappearance today?" Karen guesses, rather confident.
"Yeah, I'm missing two months' worth of time, what happened during those two months?" Ulrich's eyes flicked between the faces of his friends.
"Well...where do I start?" Katsuo asks himself relatively unsure, since he was diving into unfamiliar territory.
"Let me start Katsuo...okay...what's the last thing you remember before arriving here Ulrich? That'll help me out." Karen asks politely.
"I remember...being in the secret dungeon on floor 1 of Aincrad, but after the teleport...nothing, that is, until this morning" Ulrich says, a little unsure of himself.
"So that's what you remember last. Okay, what happened then didn't end in a teleport Ulrich. If Kazuto was right about it, Cardinal refused to allow you to be created as an item and be stored in Kazuto's NerveGear, so...Cardinal absorbed you into its code" Karen says.
"Wait...if Cardinal did absorbed me… how am I in Alfheim? I would still be in Aincrad if I was in its code."
"I can see how you'd think that, but Cardinal isn't just a program, it's a network of sorts." Karen explains.
"A network...? So there's more than one of me now?" Ulrich starts feeling depressed as he registers that he had lost his individuality.
"Um...not exactly, Kazuto thoroughly scanned your code, and you only seem to activate when a specific pre-requisite is fulfilled. But we haven't been able figure out what exactly that is to be honest." Katsuo interjects.
"We only have theories...but I want to test one I have. You said you materialized this morning. Do you know when Kazuto started playing?" Karen asks.
"Leafa told me he started playing last night" Ulrich says.
"Hmm...he started playing last night and you appeared the morning after..." Karen says slowly, then begins thinking to herself.
"What are you thinking Karen?" Sylvia asks.
"Hmm...I'm not certain here, but Ulrich's pre-requisite could be that we all need to exist in the same game world." Karen says.
"Are you certain Karen? Because that seems too convenient, and why would that happen only when we're together?" Katsuo asks.
"...I'm not particularly sure, but with the evidence we have, this scenario seems the most likely. You all know Ulrich would've come to help us when we were trapped here. But he never appeared until today. And think about it Katsuo, Ulrich has been with us for three years, we've been through thick and thin, we survived the odds and became very good friends during our time in Aincrad. Ulrich could've sub-consciously created that pre-requisite so that we'd need to be together if he was to arrive in that world."
"That does makes sense Karen, and I did notice that you were much stronger Ulrich, we've duelled before in Aincrad, but the maneuvers you did here were very remarkable, I was shocked I got my ass kicked so easily here when you had to really work for it in Aincrad," Katsuo explains, before growling out "but you brought up the most crucial fact here Karen: There are a little over three hundred players still trapped in virtual reality. We need to find whoever did this and break his or her spine piece by piece..."
"Katsuo, you seem far more irritable than ever before." Sylvia looked at the salamander warily.
"Huh? …Sorry, it's this natural anger of the Salamanders, it takes over sometimes..." Katsuo flicked an apologetic smile at Sylvia.
"I guess with us still trapped here in virtual reality...the race we play as sometimes become dominant over our personality..." Karen looks slightly concerned.
"Ulrich, I want to ask you a question, do you hold any sort of anger toward Katsuo? I want to figure out if this applies to you, because the Sylph and Salamanders have been enemies ever since this game started." Sylvia looked at Ulrich who quickly shook his head.
"No, the one time I held anger towards him was when he was still Yamakage, the major who tried disrupting the alliance."
"I can understand that Ulrich, I was working with the Salamanders to try destroying the alliance before it started then. But I am not working with them now. I'm working with my friends so we can escape this world and return to reality." Katsuo says.
"Anyway, going back to Cardinal and my code...if you're right, I can only appear when everyone's together in the same world?" Ulrich asks one more time just to ensure he had all the details correct.
"I can't be certain, but with the evidence we have, I think I can say yes." Karen states, though with a little uncertainty.
"I see anyway...How are we going to pass the long night time actually?" Ulrich says with well-founded concern.
"We sleep here for the night; we don't have much choice in the matter to be honest. We'll have a shift system, Two of us will sleep, while the other two guard us, and we'll change it after a few hours." Karen says.
"Do we have any sort of camping equipment? Even if this is a virtual environment, I don't want to sleep on rocks if I have the option." Sylvia frowns slightly, not liking the idea of sleeping on hard rocks.
"I thought ahead Sylvia, I bought six camping units, they're constantly reusable thankfully, we can set up four units, pick our tents and half of us will sleep with our guards keeping watch." Karen hid a smile at the relieved expression on Sylvia's face.
"How are the pairings going to go? Me and Ulrich?" Katsuo asks, trying to get things planned out.
"Not exactly Katsuo, you and Ulrich are our best, we can't have you both be in the same shift, we'd be weaker when Karen and I took over." Sylvia points out.
"Katsuo, you and Sylvia will pair up, I'll pair up with Ulrich on this one" Karen says.
"Why do you want to pair up with Ulrich, Karen?" Katsuo asks.
"Well, I do remember that Ulrich works well with my strategies, so if players do decide to attack us, we'll make a good pair." Karen says. "That and...I don't want to lose to Sylvia again..." Karen whispers to herself.
"That makes sense, Ulrich did synchronize best with your strategies compared to the rest of us." Katsuo concedes before asking, "Alright then, what are the team names? And who is going to get the first shift?"
"I'll name my group Delta, Katsuo's group is India. Delta will get the first shift; go enjoy your rest Katsuo, Sylvia."
"Sure. Be careful Karen, Ulrich." Katsuo nods to the pair before going to his tent to sleep until his shift.
Katsuo and Sylvia go to their tents so they can rest for their upcoming shift. Katsuo falls asleep almost immediately, with Sylvia falling asleep ten minutes later.
"Okay, let's keep watch over this area." Karen says optimistically, and quietly to try not waking Katsuo and Sylvia.
Ulrich examines the pass they're staying in to try finding a defendable position with a perfect view of both sides. After a few minutes of searching, Ulrich finds a small alcove built into the mountain pass which would be perfect for an archer or two to pick off enemies without being seen. He approaches Karen to inform of it;
"Karen, there's a small alcove there, let's go up there so we can watch over the others in a better location." Ulrich whispers to Karen.
"Sure." Karen shrugs.
They walk towards the alcove and realize that there's no visible way up to the alcove, so Ulrich and Karen will need to find a different way to get to the alcove, since there's no sort of walkway or ladder.
"Hey Karen, how much confidence can you put in your strength stat?" Ulrich asks.
"Compared to you, my strength is very weak, but my strength is relatively decent. Why?" Karen asks.
"I'd appreciate it if you could give me a small push up there." Ulrich says.
"Hmm...I'm not entirely sure if I can pull it off, but I can certainly try my best..." Karen eyes the alcove, with doubt on her mind, unsure of her abilities.
However, Karen does her best to give Ulrich a boost up to the alcove, but is having difficulty because of her lower strength attribute.
"Ugh...I don't think I can do this Ulrich..." Karen says in simulated pain.
"Okay...let's switch then, I'll give you a push up to the alcove and you can lift me up when I get you there." Unrich compromises.
"Are...are you sure?" Karen looks at the Sylph in disbelief.
"Yeah, we don't have much choice." Ulrich states.
Ulrich gets down on his knees and cups his hands together to prepare to give Karen a lift to the alcove. Karen reluctantly steps on Ulrich's hands and she is lifted to the alcove at a slow pace. When Karen gets to the alcove's height, she jumps above the alcove and lands on it shortly afterward. She then crouches down and stretches her hand to get Ulrich up to the alcove. They sit back to back to create a good viewing point. They pass the time with various conversations, primarily about Ulrich's reappearance in their lives after the two months after they left Aincrad.
Alfheim Standard Time: [3:30] August 3rd, 2025
"Ulrich, I think it's high time we wake up Katsuo and Sylvia so they can take over our shift." Karen says.
"Right, I'll go wake them up, and then tell them how to get up here." Ulrich says while jumping down to the base.
Ulrich calmly walks toward Katsuo's tent and when he gets there, however, Karen had some thoughts in her mind during his trek to Katsuo's tent.
"I wish our shift didn't end so quickly...I was enjoying the chat to be honest...I wish I could've kept it up..." Karen thinks.
"Hey, Katsuo, time to wake up." Ulrich called out to the swordsman.
"mmm?" Katsuo blinks blearily at Ulrich.
"It's time to wake up Katsuo, it's your shift." Ulrich called again.
"oh...right..." Katsuo says while equipping his dark red and black colored full plate armor which showed his status as a major.
Katsuo was awake and alert within a minute, beginning a walk around the campsite.
"Katsuo, that's not needed, we found a good alcove hidden that gives a good vantage point." Ulrich says.
Ulrich points to the west and Katsuo notices Karen sitting there.
"Understood, I guess Sylvia and I will set up there, it does seem like a good point to keep watch." Katsuo says while walking toward the alcove, and flies up to reach it.
"Why did I not think of that?!" Both Ulrich and Karen resist the urge to face-palm.
Karen uses her wings to fly down to the base and walks toward her tent to sleep for the night with her head down in utter embarrassment over what just happened. Ulrich then walks toward Sylvia's tent to inform her of her upcoming shift.
"Sylvia, wake up, your shift just started." Ulrich says.
"I'm awake already, I heard you walking around, and I already prepped my gear." Sylvia says angrily as she leaves her tent.
"Then I assume you know where to set up for your shift?" Ulrich asks in a mildly confused tone, he doesn't know why Sylvia's so pissed off.
"Yeah, I heard that when you were talking with Katsuo." Sylvia says in the same tone.
Sylvia then departs to the alcove and flies above it and set up the back to back view with Katsuo that Karen and Ulrich used to secure both entrances.
"Why is she so angry...? Is she merely annoyed that she was woken up so roughly, or is it what was mentioned earlier, with the race's default personality sometimes overwriting our personalities? Well...I'll worry about it later" Ulrich says quietly, with regret in his voice. "I...I have a good idea of what's bugging her but...I can't worry about it right now...I have a bigger problem in front of me..." Ulrich hears a voice say from within his soul but ultimately, he ignores it for now.
Alfheim Standard Time: [7:30] August 3rd, 2025
Katsuo and Sylvia finish their shift and go to wake up Karen and Ulrich, to discuss their plans, because it could bring up too much suspicion for them to be in the same place all night to Leafa, Okamoto, and Izanagi.
"Karen, you have to agree that it'll be troublesome if we stay here, we need to find a settlement somewhere with an inn, if Leafa and the others ask why we're there, we can say we went there to log out before our we went to sleep." Katsuo says logically.
"I agree, let's find a neutral territory settlement and head to the inn...not only for that reason but for decent sleep..." Sylvia mutters to herself angrily.
"You know that no matter what, they will question on how we mysteriously went from that mountain pass to a nearby neutral territory settlement." Karen points out.
"We can just say we left in the early morning, to avoid danger, just in case." Ulrich replied.
"I suppose that's the only reason that works for now." Karen says quietly.
"There's something else we need to contemplate also..." Katsuo says quietly.
"What is it Katsuo? Is it important, because we should get moving." Karen says seriously.
"I'll talk about it along the way."
Alfheim Standard Time: [8:00] August 3rd, 2025
Ulrich, Karen, Katsuo, and Sylvia summon their wings and begin their flight east to find a neutral settlement to stay in for a time. They fly through the clear blue skies of the world of Alfheim and find a rather large settlement thirty minutes to the southeast of their current position.
"Okay Katsuo, what did you want to talk about?" Karen asks.
"I'm worried that the Cait Sith and Sylph armies will not be sufficient for clearing the World Tree. I led a large Salamander force supplemented with Undine mercenaries highly skilled in healing magic to that tree a while back...we got utterly annihilated within minutes after we entered that place, the guardians picked us off one by one," Katsuo explains frowning as he remembered the guardians. "I was the sole survivor...and that was because I fled like a chicken..." Katsuo mutters rather awkwardly.
"So...what would you recommend Katsuo?" Sylvia asks.
"We'll need assistance from more nations, there's a very strong possibility the Cait Sith and Sylph will not stand a chance. I'm very close to General Eugene and his entire battalion, I could try asking him to aid us in our fight, but we'll need more than that I'm afraid. The Undines and Spriggans will be very helpful, they have very powerful healing and illusion magic respectively, and we can use that to our advantage."
"Katsuo, that is a VERY tall order, you know that right?" Karen clarifies.
"We may not have a choice. We'll need to go to Gadan, Kirimachi, and Yamiako; the Salamander's, Undine's, and Spriggan's capitals. I can try contacting General Eugene and ask him to meet with us, as diplomats, we'll have to fly to the Undine and Spriggans however."
"Actually, I just remembered this, but we've actually met the leader of the Undines." Karen mutters to herself, resisting the urge to smack her head once again for being dumb.
"Really?" Sylvia's head snapped around as she stared at Karen.
"Yeah, I can't believe I forgot, but Izanagi is the leader of the Undine, and he keeps close relations with the Spriggan leader. I'm sure that if we ask, he'd be willing to provide us with some of his best healers and ask the Spriggans for their best. So we'd just need to speak with General Eugene and get his military battalion."
"Katsuo, are you sure about this? Will General Eugene really ally with us just because you ask?" Ulrich asks.
"I'm not certain, but if I'm given no other option, I can challenge Eugene, and make a condition that if I win, he must work with us." Katsuo says relatively unsure of himself; knowing Eugene's strength firsthand.
"What if he doesn't keep his word?" Sylvia asks in a worried tone.
"That won't be a problem, the general always keeps his word, no matter what the situation is." Katsuo explains, his thoughts flickering to a certain 'Black Swordsman'.
"Okay, I'll trust you on this Katsuo," Karen sighs, "not that I have much choice." She mutters.
They continue their flight and land at a small settlement on the far edge of the Ancient Forest and spot the Dragon Valley roughly two hours to the east of their current location. They all head to the inn of the town to get some good rest for their upcoming event.
Alfheim Standard Time: [13:00] August 3rd 2025
Ulrich and his friends enjoy a very good rest with the few hours they've had to do so, as they woke up at 12:00. Katsuo contacted General Eugene as soon as he woke up requesting an immediate meeting outside a sacred Salamander meeting ground called Fellyre Shire. The group departs the town and flies to the Fellyre Shire which takes around a half hour.
Alfheim Standard Time: [13:30] August 3rd 2025
They arrive at the abandoned Fellyre Shire and are quickly surrounded by a large number of Salamander military soldiers led by General Eugene. The military units possess 2 different crests: one of which belongs to General Eugene, and the other is the crest of the Salamander Major: Yamakage.
"General, why would you bring such a large military force?" Katsuo asks in minor anger, feeling double-crossed.
"I brought in our two units in case you manage to succeed against me. I have a very good feeling you're going to have a condition if you win against me Yamakage." Eugene says wisely.
"You're right General Eugene, I want to challenge you and I have a request you must obey if I win."
"How bold of you Yamakage, however, if I win, you must obey a request I have."
"Let's state our conditions before we begin our battle, so we know what to expect after this battle."
"Excellent, if I win, you must leave your companions and rejoin the Salamanders, morale has quickly begun dropping since you departed, I intend to have you return to stabilize things. I'll reinstate you as a Major if that happens." Eugene compromises at the end.
"I see, if I win Eugene. I want you, and our military units to help the Sylph and Cait Sith clear Yggdrasil." Katsuo calls out.
"You'd want to pair up the Salamanders and Sylph? That's a very disastrous combination Yamakage, particularly because you used to be a rather infamous Sylph hunter yourself." Eugene replies.
"I hardly see the distinction anymore after traveling with Aio, we, Salamanders don't need to be enemies with the Sylph. Working together with them will prove that." Katsuo says proudly, but a little nervously about having the full extent of his military service being revealed so casually...
"Let's discuss this after our battle ends, shall we?" Eugene says with a tone ready for battle, drawing his Demonic Sword Gram.
"Certainly, I presume this will be a one on one battle?" Katsuo says eagerly, drawing his sword and shield set: Final Heaven.
"Of course, this will be a test of skill. We'll fight in the air to keep things clean between everyone gathered." Eugene says before taking off into the sky.
Katsuo takes off into the sky as well and takes up a stance to counter the DSG's ability of Ethereal Shift.
"I know of the Ethereal Shift ability, if I try to defend with only my shield, he'll phase through it and strike me down. I imagine Eugene has developed a strategy to counter the dual blades advantage but maybe not...If I want to beat Eugene, I need to use Dual Blades...I just wish I knew how to use that talent properly..." Katsuo says to himself then withdraws Final Heaven and takes out his two swords: Onyx Shark and Titanium Heart.
"So you plan to use dual blades like the Spriggan Kirito? I'd like to see what talent you have with that combat style." Eugene smirks at the Major.
"I'm very good at being adaptable, I'm just as good as Kirito is, if not better." Katsuo says confidently.
"...I'm pushing myself into a corner here...I only used dual blades two other times, I'm no master like Kazuto or Ulrich...thankfully, I've seen Kazuto use dual blades back in Aincrad many times, I think I can pull it off" Katsuo thinks to himself.
General Eugene then charges towards Katsuo with remarkable speed, to try preventing the advantage that Kirito had over him last time in the Valley of Butterflies. He is rushing to prevent Yamakage from getting the chance to get to use his dual blades and use it to prevent the Ethereal Shift from occurring. Katsuo however decides to take up the strategy Ulrich used against him in the Valley of Butterflies: using superior speed. Katsuo quickly dodges the attack by flying above Eugene and begins his assault against him, by trying his best to use a modified style of Kazuto's signature ability with dual blades: Starburst Stream, that he named Fusion Lance. This ability is not system administrated, so Katsuo is forced to use Fusion Lance with his skill and adaptability solo.
"I will not let you win General! Fusion Lance!" Katsuo shouts, and after inflicting the first hit, Eugene is not able to move in any way.
"What's happening?! I can't move!" Eugene says in surprise.
Katsuo doesn't answer, but he applied a paralysis effect to Onyx Shark and continues using the skill and succeeds in using seven hits and at the end, he adds all the strength he has into the eighth hit. The combo sends Eugene crashing down to the ground that whips up a big sandstorm in the area. When the sandstorm clears, Eugene's remain light is seen.
"Looks like I'm the winner." Katsuo says proudly, sheathing his weapons.
Karen runs toward his remain light and casts the revival spell that Sakuya taught her via PM the day before, and barely manages to revive him before the time ran out. When Eugene is revived, he wears a very disappointed face; he just lost two battles since yesterday.
"General Eugene, will you keep your word?" Katsuo asks in a serious, yet...nervous tone.
Eugene stands up ashamed of his repeated defeats but says reluctantly
"Yes, I am a man of my word; the Salamander Alpha Battalion will assist you in clearing Yggdrasil alongside the Sylphs and Cait Siths." Eugene pulls a face at the idea of helping the Sylpha, having no choice but to work with the very people he once attacked.
"Thank you General, here, take the Yuld I saved up and boost Alpha Battalion's combat power" Katsuo says while spawning a bag with Yuld.
Eugene grabs the bag and upon inspection, it contains a large amount of Yuld equalling roughly 500,000.
"Yamakage, how did you get this much Yuld? I never knew your job as Major paid this much" Eugene asks in shock.
"The job didn't pay as much as I expected, I got this much Yuld from hunting and a source I don't really want to talk about" Katsuo says, not wanting to reveal his SAO connection.
"Fair enough, I'll go outfit the Alpha Battalion with ancient class weaponry and depart to Aarun. We'll set out tonight"
"I'll look forward to your assistance General" Katsuo says with a bow.
Eugene then takes a glance towards Karen.
"You appear to be a very intelligent person; I hope you will be among the people overseeing the plan to clear Yggdrasil." Eugene nods with respect.
"I will be working as strategist, combat is not my speciality, my speciality is developing strategies. In the last fighting MMO I was in, I was the lead strategist." Karen smiles proudly.
"I see." Eugene says quietly.
Eugene and Salamander Battalion Alpha depart Fellyre Shire, with Ulrich, Sylvia, Karen, and Katsuo gathering to discuss the victory Katsuo earned for the group.
Alfheim Standard Time: [14:00] August 3rd 2025
"Congrats Katsuo, you haven't lost your edge, that's good to know." Karen says while laughing a little.
"Leave me alone Karen..." Katsuo growled angrily, misunderstanding her intention, since she's laughing.
"What's the problem Katsuo?" Sylvia asks curiously.
"...It seriously seemed like she was mocking me..." Katsuo says quietly.
"That wasn't my intention; I was trying to encourage you in my own special way." Karen apologised, stifling her laughter, although most of her company could hear it, courtesy of a high hearing skill level. "Anyway, you seem rather close to the General, would you mind sharing?" She says in a semi-pushy tone, not wanting to force him to answer.
"Well...it happened two months ago..." Katsuo says quietly.
Katsuo's Flashback:
Alfheim Standard Time: [11:00] June 8th 2025
"I've been in this unknown world for five days; I have no idea where Karen, Sylvia, Kana, and the others are, if they're even in this world at all. I've been wandering aimlessly through this apparently massive desert since I arrived, I'm just thankful I had a small supply of usable food from my time in Aincrad. However, despite that, none of my damn weapons can be used in this world, so I've had to resort to hand to hand combat to fight any monsters that decide to attack me. However...now I'm out of food and my strength is fading by the hour, if I don't find a settlement or another player soon, I'm not going to make it..." I say weakly from five days of walking through the desert. I wander through the desert trying to find some sort of settlement or something for a proper bed and food. "Okay...I can't go on like this...I'm losing all of my strength from this heat, starvation, and the fact I've fought off forty eight monsters over the last five days with my hands only...I..." I think to myself very weakly, collapsing to my knees outright from starvation and the fact the heat from this desert is real to me. Before I lose consciousness, I hear a voice call out to me
"Get up; I refuse to let a Salamander die in such a pathetic manner." I hear the voice demand with the authority only a commander could muster.
I however am unable to respond because of the fact I passed out at this point.
Alfheim Standard Time: [15:00] June 8th 2025
I wake up in an inn room with someone by my bedside with red scruffy hair and is wearing red armor with gold trims.
"So you finally woke up, you've been out for four hours." The man says calmly.
"Wh...Who are you?" I ask nervously.
"My name is Eugene; I'm a General of the Salamander faction. I rescued you from the desert." Eugene says nonchalantly.
"Oh...thank you...I guess. I suppose I owe you my life." I nod to the general.
"You can repay that debt by joining the Salamander army. What is your name youngling?" Eugene says to me seriously.
"I...I don't think I should give my SAO profile name while I'm here...I need to improvise...I know!" I say to myself a little nervously. "My name here is Yamakage, I'm glad you saved my life General Eugene." I say with a bow, as I got up.
"Well Yamakage, if you're feeling better, let's depart. We have training to do." Eugene says calmly, but it makes me panic slightly.
"General...I don't have any weapons or armor; I'll be at a giant disadvantage." I say quietly, since I inspected my inventory the first day I got into this world.
"Very well, I'll bring you to the armory inside our barracks; I'll get you a set of armor, a sword and a shield. The equipment I'll give you will match your rank: Corporal."
"I...Th-Thank you so much General. I will not let you down, not after you've gone to so much trouble to help me"
"Hmm, before we do this, I brought some food; go eat before you begin training." General Eugene says calmly.
"R-Right..." I say with a small embarrassed laugh.
Alfheim Standard Time: [15:00] August 1st 2025
"It's been around a month since I arrived in Alfheim Online. Because of the fact General Eugene saved my life out in the desert, I owed my life to him and I demonstrated my fierce loyalty to the entire nation by becoming the perfect soldier. I quickly advanced through the ranks and became a major three days ago because of my excellent combat skills and all of the strategies that Karen taught me of back in Sword Art Online, with nearly every soldier in the Salamander faction developing great respect for me, though a Salamander corporal named Horizon is spiteful of me because of my rapid promotions, among others. I was assigned to the Salamander Alpha Battalion when I made it to the rank of First Sergeant, with me becoming a sub-leader of the Alpha Battalion upon reaching Lieutenant, which is when I was first assigned to lead my unit in the Alpha Battalion to try clearing the Grand Quest with Undine healer mercenaries assisting us. A good amount of my service record was built upon me fighting the Sylph nation, with me being called one of the most infamous Sylph slayers of all the Salamanders, even more so than Kagemune. Today, General Eugene, myself, and the entire Alpha Battalion is being sent to target a secret Sylph & Cait Sith alliance meeting and prevent it from being formed. If it wasn't for our mole: Sigurd, we never would've learned of this in time to stop it, and the Sylph and Cait Sith would have what they'd need to clear Yggdrasil. Our scouts have recently uncovered that a Spriggan, two Sylphs, and an Imp have been making unusual movements around the Sylph nation...I'm going to send a team after those four, G-Takusu ought to be sufficient. I do not anticipate G-Takusu having what it takes to actually defeat those four at all, but I need him to stall that team until we attack the meeting ground. Failure is not an option, even though our entire battalion nearly numbers a hundred, I never like taking risks. If G-Takusu fails to buy us enough time, or someone from his unit squeals, it'll make our upcoming attack that much more difficult..."
(End Flashback: Return to general POV)
Alfheim Standard Time: [14:30] August 3rd, 2025
"...So, the reason why you're so loyal to General Eugene is because he saved your life?" Karen asks curiously.
"Yeah, anyway, do any of you feel like we're being watched?" Katsuo says.
"Yeah, it feels like it's coming from the west." Ulrich says.
Ulrich and Katsuo quickly begin their flight and notice four players in the distance. Karen and Sylvia fly to their current location and notice the four players hiding behind a sand dune. Karen throws her spear toward the sand dune, which quickly forces the players to fly up to dodge the spear. Katsuo, Ulrich, and Sylvia then quickly draw their blades and charges at the players, but when they get close, they find Kazuto and the others. Karen flies over to where she threw her spear and picked it up, who flies over to Kazuto and the others.
"Ash, that was a little excessive!" Leafa says angrily.
"That's what you get for following us! You should be glad I intentionally missed." Karen growls angrily.
"You intentionally missed hitting us when you threw that spear?" Izanagi asks in surprise.
"Yeah, I did that to surprise you and get you to fly so Ka-Yami, Aio, and Mina would finish you off." Karen says proudly, but with a moment of nervousness when addressing her friends.
"That does seem like something you'd do Ash." Kazuto admits, knowing her reputation back in Aincrad.
"Why were you all following us? You should've just came out and told us you were coming. That would've prevented this." Ulrich pointed out angrily.
"I noticed that you all were acting suspicious last night, so I logged in early right when you left, so I created a tracer to follow you while I waited for the others. Izanagi, Leafa, and Kirito all logged in not long afterward, and I told them you all left, so we followed you discreetly." Okamoto tells them in a serious tone, which surprises everyone else.
"You're pretty crafty Okamoto; you're surprisingly intelligent despite your tendencies." Karen says.
"Thank you; I'm not always childish, when I need or want to be, I can be very serious. Considering this situation, I'm going to need to be like this. I'm pretty good with developing strategies on the fly too."
"You're good with developing strategies? Can I see what you developed? My mother was a professional military strategist, and I have a lot of talent in the field as well."
"Yeah, I have a book of the strategies I made" Okamoto says while opening her inventory and spawning the said book.
Okamoto tosses the book to Karen who then opens and reads it thoroughly, and gasps in shock a few times during the inspection.
"Ash, is something wrong?" Katsuo asks.
"Yami...yeah...some of these strategies are amazing, I'm surprised I never thought of some of these, on paper, these strategies seem very easy to apply in the field and are very effective." Karen flipped rapidly through the pages.
"You said your mother was an actual military strategist? You're so lucky Ash. Right Izanagi?" Okamoto says motioning to Izanagi.
"Izanagi, you and Okamoto know each other in real life?" Karen began to notice how the pair seemed to have an understanding.
"Well, now that the cat's out of the bag, yeah, we're related in real life. Since I'm revealing secrets, I'm also the leader of the Undine." Izanagi says quietly.
"Izanagi...that's a bit of an open secret." Karen says with a sigh.
"Wha...Ash, you told them?"
"Yeah, it came out while on our way over here, anyway, I've been meaning to ask, would you be willing to provide us with some of your best healers Izanagi?" Karen asks.
"Hmm… if you can agree to a little condition of mine, I'll send you the best healers I have." Izanagi says.
"What's the condition?" Katsuo asks, wariness beginning to creep into his voice.
There's a moment of silence before Leafa suddenly called out to the others.
"Oh yeah! I need to make lunch for me and my brother!" Leafa exclaims, remembering the time before logging out instantaneously, since the Fellyre Shire is a safe zone like the cities.
"Okay...the condition is: I barely know any of you, even you Ash. If you want my assistance, I need better understanding of you all, real life identities included. I will reveal mine and Okamoto's as a breather. My real name is Kazuma Takara, Okamoto's name is Airi Takara. What are yours?" Kazuma says.
"Kazuma?! Airi?! I can hardly believe it! It's been years since I've seen you two, it's me Karen" Karen says in a freaked out, yet happy tone, learning the identities of Izanagi and Okamoto. Karen didn't recognize either of them since they sound so different from the last time she saw them.
"Karen?! Wait...weren't you trapped in Sword Art Online?!" Kazuma asks in shock, apparently not knowing that Aincrad ended, with three hundred people are still trapped in virtual reality.
"Nee-chan, it's been so long since I last saw you" Airi says happily, running to embrace the 'sister' she hasn't seen 'alive' in three years.
"It's a long story...but that game ended about two months ago, but around three hundred players from SAO are trapped here." Karen shakes her head sadly.
"I'm sorry to hear that Karen, anyway, who are your friends?" Kazuma asks.
"My name is Ulrich Stern, you may find it difficult to believe, but I'm not from this world, I came from another dimension." Ulrich says.
"That doesn't faze me, I'm a bit of an avid believer in stuff like that. How long have you been in our dimension?" Kazuma asks, totally unfazed.
"Wow, I'm surprised, anyway, I've been here about three years." Ulrich says in obvious shock.
"I'm Katsuo Viperia, I'd like to say 'pleased to meet you' but we already know each other well enough." Katsuo says nonchalantly, but with a little laughing.
"Yeah, that is true." Kazuma responds with laughter.
"My name's Sylvia Miyagawa, I hope we can continue to work together, Kazuma-san, Airi-chan." Sylvia says politely.
"Eh...drop the formalities Sylvia; it gives me a really bad itch having to deal with it." Kazuma sighs and shrugs.
"Sure, Kazuma, but aren't you being hypocritical? You were rather formal before now." Sylvia says with a small laugh.
"Like I said, I don't like dealing with it, that doesn't mean I can't do it at all." Kazuma says slightly angrily.
"I'm Kazuto Kirigaya, and if you wouldn't mind Kazuma, think we can continue using our game names? Just for secrecy's sake?" Kazuto says.
"Sure, Kirito, I'll keep calling you all by your game names, at least, with Leafa and strangers around. Airi, I need you to keep everyone's secrets also, got it?" Kazuma says seriously.
"Got it, I won't spill your secrets, this time around; I have an obligation to keep this secret." Airi says seriously.
"Kazuma, Airi, since you two play this game, is Ophelia in the game as well?" Karen asks in a nostalgic tone, finally being reunited with some of her childhood friends, though everyone else is mildly clueless about this.
"Yeah, she plays too. In-game, she works for the Spriggan Royal Guard, her name is Yūgana. We may run into her when we meet with the Spriggan leader"
At this moment, Leafa logs back in to ALO.
"Welcome back Leafa, are you ready to go?" Kazuma asks.
Alfheim Standard Time: [15:00] August 3rd 2025
"Yeah, what's our destination by the way?" Leafa asks.
"Yamiako, we have the Salamander Alpha Battalion assisting us, and Izanagi promised us the assistance of the Undine, so we just need to contact the Spriggan nation. After we do so, we will begin gathering in Aarun." Katsuo says.
"It'll take ages to reach the Spriggan territory from here, is there a closer place we can meet a diplomat or something?" Leafa asks with a sigh.
"Izanagi?" Katsuo asks in a question kind of tone.
"Hmm...I can contact the Spriggan leader and ask her to send a diplomatic envoy to Rainbow Valley supplemented with a warrior battalion" Kazuma says quietly, trying to think of an answer.
"I'm okay with that, I just want to leave Salamander territory fast...I keep feeling like I'm going to get PKed here..." Leafa shivers slightly as her eyes darted around, searching for red, aside from Katsuo.
"Okay, let's get to Rainbow Valley." Karen says optimistically.
Kazuma sends a message to the Spriggan leader to quickly mobilize a diplomatic team with a military battalion to discuss a plan to clear Yggdrasil.
They begin their flight from Fellyre Shire to reach Rainbow Valley that lies west of Undine territory.
Alfheim Standard Time: [17:00] August 3rd 2025
The group makes it to a small settlement half way to the Rainbow Valley where they decide to take a break for their wings to recover, though Leafa, Kazuto, Airi, and Kazuma log out immediately for them to eat dinner in the real world, with Ulrich, Karen, Katsuo, and Sylvia heading to the inn to eat some food and pass time with conversation.
"Ulrich, I've been noticing that your stamina and strength seems to be increasing by the day, is that supposed to happen?" Katsuo asks mildly confused.
"How would I know? I haven't been able to make heads or tails about this situation. But could it be related to the fact Cardinal digitized my code?" Ulrich says mildly angrily.
"Actually that brings up an interesting point, why did Cardinal digitize your code? Such a thing would suggest that Cardinal had some sort of further purpose for you" Karen says seriously.
"Karen, didn't you say that I might've be recreated as a sort of guardian? From what I remember of XANA, that AI never gives up when he starts a goal, and it seemed rather evident in Aincrad. Also, if Cardinal truly is a network like you said, XANA's going to exist in any game that was based off SAO's original file, but even then, he could easily transfer himself to the internet if he feels like he's going to be in danger." Ulrich says calmly.
"Back in Aincrad, Kayaba told us that he created a firewall in Cardinal's programs, which it oversees, but if XANA does exist in Alfheim, he's been suspiciously quiet, we've all been here two months and none of his monsters have been seen anywhere." Karen says.
"Ulrich, you sure that XANA still exists? I'd say he was erased along with Aincrad." Katsuo says confidently.
"I wouldn't know, but the vague memory I have of XANA is his unyielding determination." Ulrich says quietly.
"Ulrich, since we're speaking of things from your past, have you managed to contact Aelita or your other friends?" Karen asks.
"...Who?" Ulrich asks in confusion.
"You've forgotten Aelita and your friends? Is that a side-effect or something?" Katsuo asks in surprise.
"...To be honest, aside from you all, XANA, the world name: Aincrad, and a few minor things, I've forgotten everything now..." Ulrich says sadly.
"That's...bizarre, I can't understand why that happened, maybe your new role needs maximum resolve, so you're only left with a few memories." Karen says quietly. "But...you had good memory of what happened before, I don't get why you can't seem to remember now..." Karen continues, mildly freaked out.
"I don't let it bother me, I know my goal, it's to help you all reunite, which I say I've been doing an excellent job at." Ulrich says calmly, but slightly conceitedly at the end.
"Shut up jerk...you've done a decent job finding us, but that's nothing to brag about...jackass..." Katsuo says, feeling slightly annoyed at Ulrich's sudden conceitedness.
"Katsuo? Is your Salamander anger taking you over again?" Sylvia asks worriedly.
"...Not exactly, the Salamander anger might be enhancing it, but it's pure anger against this jerk's conceit right now..." Katsuo mutters.
"Sorry about that Katsuo, I was trying to be a little funny there." Ulrich looks apologetic.
"You're not forgiven..." Katsuo growled, apparently still a bit pissed off.
"Alright boys, knock it off...we need to get back to business. We need to meet with the Spriggans, and then, we can go find out where Kana and Asuna are." Karen cuts in, trying to diffuse the situation.
"Karen, we know where they are, why do we need to bring up discussion about them?" Sylvia says calmly.
"Sylvia, you must be kidding me, we can't fully trust rumours here. We need hard facts at this point, especially with things here seriously getting hectic."
These complaints are beginning to increase when shouts from outside are heard suddenly, which surprise Ulrich and the others.
"What's going on out there?!" Katsuo says in shock.
The group leaves the inn and see five tall bug like monsters, about...eight meters high, attacking players in the settlement, with one noticeable icon: the spiralled eye which indicates it's one of XANA's monsters.
"Oh my god! It's one of XANA's monsters! He really is in Alfheim!" Sylvia gapes at the spiralled eye.
"We never saw one of those in Aincrad; it has to be a new creation of his." Karen eyed the monster with curiosity.
"We know how to slay these monsters, there's no reason to be alarmed." Ulrich says calmly, while drawing his katana and charging at one of the monsters.
However, the monster he charged at quickly entraps him with its legs, then uses its hidden drill on him, which instantly depletes Ulrich's HP, making him turn into a remain light with a heavy wind gust.
"Ulrich!" Karen, Katsuo, and Sylvia shout in surprise.
"Karen, we could really use your Sleuth skill right now." Katsuo says, with the monsters staring him down a little.
"Katsuo, I don't have that skill anymore! My unique skill was lost when I transferred to this game. Ulrich lost his Triangulate, Triplicate, and Super-sprint unique skills as well." Karen growls, losing one of her most important and strongest abilities was annoying for her.
"Damn it...I guess we'll have to try doing this without it, not that it helped a whole lot with XANA's monsters..." Katsuo mutters angrily.
The group of three draw their weapons, with Karen and Sylvia surrounding the monster at both sides and willingly let themselves be ensnared to keep the monster off-balance, with Katsuo using his great-sword to do a clean cut stab at the monster while it kept Karen and Sylvia restrained. Karen then ran toward Ulrich's flame and casted the resurrection spell, which brings him back to life, with Ulrich possessing a very negative frown, ashamed he died so easily.
"Ulrich, next time, do not charge off on your own, you suicidal idiot!" Katsuo shouts in anger, but eyed him with worry.
"Save the chat for later Katsuo! We need to slay the other monsters!" Karen snaps back angrily.
"Ulrich, I trust you saw what we did, Karen and I will act as the distraction. You and Katsuo slay the monsters!" Sylvia says.
"Yeah, I saw how, let's slay these monsters!" Ulrich says calmly, and in defeat.
Ulrich and the others quickly slay these new monsters in the same method Katsuo, Karen, and Sylvia used to slay the first one. However, with the last two, they group together and successfully trap all four of them.
"Damn it! They caught me off-guard!" Katsuo cursed in anger.
The monsters are about to activate their drills when a combination of magic and sword skills suddenly make them explode into pixels. Ulrich and the others see Kazuma and Leafa at a distance and Kazuto and Airi are seen with their weapons out; with Airi laughing like a cat.
"You all owe us big" Kazuma says also laughing.
"Everyone! You came in the nick of time, you have my thanks" Karen says respectfully.
"How did you know how to slay those monsters Izanagi, Okamoto, Leafa?" Karen asks.
"I didn't know to be honest, I improvised. But...what were those things?" Leafa says nonchalantly.
"I don't know the name of them but Aio, Yami, Mina, and I faced similar creatures in Sword Art Online." Karen states calmly.
"You four were in Sword Art Online?" Leafa asks curiously.
"Yeah; Aio, Ash, Mina, and I were in SAO before we started playing this game." Katsuo says calmly.
"We're trying to find our last two friends and then clear Yggdrasil, We theorize that Oberon would be able to help us find our last two friends that are somewhere in this world." Sylvia says, making up a pretty good lie.
"Okay...but how are these creatures here if they were in SAO?" Leafa asks curiously.
"I don't really know, but I have a good feeling that the AI who created these monsters is active in Alfheim...things are going to be even more hectic." Katsuo says quietly.
"Just like Aincrad...XANA acted as an inert AI program until it had the capability to fight back." Ulrich says quietly, with mild anger that Cardinal allowed this to happen again.
"If this...XANA is in Alfheim Online, we need to hurry to Rainbow Valley, the Spriggans may not be aware of this!" Kazuma pointed out in worry.
"Let's get flying, it'll take a good hour to reach the edge of Rainbow Valley from here." Karen says in concern.
Alfheim Standard Time: [18:00] August 3rd 2025
Ulrich and his companions rush to reach the Rainbow Valley and make it after an hour of flight, where they find the Spriggan diplomatic envoy, taking heavy fire from flying monsters that look like Manta rays and hornets; there is evidence of casualties among the Spriggans because of Remain Lights that dotted the field. Upon investigation, the Spriggan leader, which appears to be a female player because of the heavy embroidery on her clothing, is surrounded by five other Spriggans with everyone else fighting these monsters to little avail, as they don't know the weaknesses of these things.
"Aio, Yami, Ash, Mina, protect the Spriggan leader! Kirito, Okamoto, Leafa, you're with me! We need to defeat those monsters!" Kazuma barks out.
"Izanagi, I think you should be protecting the Spriggan leader with Ash, Mina, and Okamoto, you'd be leaving yourself short-handed to fight the monsters. Let me, Yami, Kirito, and Leafa handle these guys, Yami, Kirito, and I know how to fight these things." Ulrich called back before they all flew off.
"Hmm… very well. We need to protect the Spriggan leader, if she perishes here, the Spriggans will classify this as an act of war against the Undines. We cannot let that happen!" Kazuma says aggressively to the group.
Kazuma, Karen, Sylvia, and Airi fly toward the Spriggan leader while Ulrich, Kazuto, Leafa, and Katsuo fly toward the rest of the Spriggan military unit that's fighting the monsters.
"Izanagi! If I find you planned this, I'm going to make you regret it!" The Spriggan's leader says angrily.
"Don't worry Lady Muraoka, I did not plan this, but listen, we're here to protect you" Kazuma says charismatically, trying to calm her down.
"I see, well either way, having your help will be great." Muraoka says calming down.
"Ashikaga, Minatoya, Okamoto, we'll be staying here to guard Muraoka." Kazuma says seriously.
"What about Ulkaios and the others? They're risking their lives against these monsters!" Sylvia asks worriedly.
"They'll need to get by on their own, I highly doubt there will be any reinforcements coming our way." Karen says concerned.
"Muraoka, is there any way for you to bring in more Spriggans? We could use the reinforcements." Kazuma looked at the Spriggan leader, hoping against all odds that she had brought more players with her.
"The royal guard I brought with me were the only ones within a four hour radius of this location, there is no one else nearby that can reinforce us… we're on our own." Muraoka shook her head sadly.
While Karen and the others are guarding Muraoka; Katsuo, Kazuto, Ulrich, and Leafa are leading what remains of the Spriggan attack force and their team. However, these new monsters belonging to XANA are insanely powerful, they can't land any successful hits on these monsters, they're just too damn agile.
"These monsters are too fast! We can't land any blows on them!" A surviving member of the Spriggan combat squad shouts.
"They're too powerful! We need to get Lady Muraoka out of here!" Another Spriggan member says.
"This area's swarming with monsters! We can't execute the evacuation until we secure an escape route!" Katsuo shouts at the two of them.
"Damn it all! That damn Undine leader will be the death of us all!" The voice apparently came from the Spriggan's royal guard leader.
Katsuo quickly flies over to that player and punches him in the face, the royal guard leader drifted backwards slightly from the force.
"Don't question your leader's orders! We must fight!" Katsuo barks angrily.
"We're severely undermanned, how are we supposed to fight these things?!" The Spriggan royal guard leader shouts in anger over the situation and Katsuo punching him.
"Target the ringed eyes on the monsters! Kirito, Yamakage, and I will demonstrate!" Ulrich shouts with pride.
Kazuto, Katsuo, and Ulrich target the monsters' ringed eyes and they explode into pixels after they stab the location of the ringed eye. This increases the morale of the remaining Spriggans, and victories are increasing as they now know the weakness of the enemy monsters, however casualties for the Spriggans are still constant, at this rate, the monsters will break through and target Muraoka and her personal guard.
"Listen Salamander, we're going to lose Lady Muraoka at this rate, we need reinforcements!" The Spriggan combat leader says.
"Look, we just need to fight a while longer, once we establish a clear line, we'll evacuate Muraoka and her guard, and my name is Yamakage." Katsuo says very seriously.
"Yamakage, even if that's true, we're down over forty men! We can't keep them back much longer!" One of the remaining Spriggan fighters says.
"Guys, our reinforcements may have finally arrived!" Ulrich shouts, looking to the west.
The Spriggans look to the west and notice a medium sized group of large monsters.
"My god! Those are Grand Wyverns; they're the most deadly enemies in this area. They're crazy hostile, we're screwed!" The Spriggan leader shouts in fear and anger.
"I don't think so." Ulrich replied, looking confident.
The wyverns mobilize in force and begin solely targeting the foreign entities that attacked the Spriggans, much to their surprise. A single one of these wyverns fly toward them, with Katsuo and Ulrich intercepting the Grand Wyvern just in case it is hostile toward them and the Spriggans.
"You may find this difficult to believe, but we have been ordered to protect you." The wyvern somehow says, but Ulrich notices a very bright blue color in its eyes.
"Cardinal I presume?" Ulrich asks, noticing the blue color of the eyes.
"Correct...I am not as powerful as the one you knew in Aincrad, but I can still manipulate monster AI to an extent. I'm slowly manipulating the AI zone by zone. The one advantage I possess for now is that I was able to get the jump on XANA before he built up his strength, however, he is growing in power, it won't be long before he is able to unleash his monsters in full force." Alfheim's Cardinal says calmly.
"Cardinal, either way, your help is much appreciated; we were nearly done for before you got here." Katsuo says, nodding to the AI in the monster.
"It is the least I can do. While I have my Wyverns distracting XANA's monsters, get the Spriggan leader out of here." Cardinal says before releasing control of the individual wyvern and it resumes its new order of fighting XANA.
Katsuo and Ulrich return to the group to inform them that the Wyverns are going to be stalling for time.
"Alright everyone! Fall back to Muraoka's position and begin evacuation!" Leafa shouts.
The Spriggan military unit, Ulrich, Katsuo, Kazuto, and Leafa fall back to the plateau where Muraoka and her guard are to begin the evacuation.
"What the hell is going on? Are there Cait Siths nearby? I can't think of any other reason as to why Wyverns are helping us." Muraoka says in surprise.
"Let's just say...the Wyverns had a change of heart and desire to destroy the monsters that invaded its territory." Ulrich says calmly, trying to hide the real reason of their assistance.
"Muraoka, let's just be thankful we have allies buying us time. Let's get out of here" Kazuma says seriously.
"Yeah...let's go" Muraoka says semi-calmly.
Ulrich and his extended group flee the area while the Wyverns are buying time for them by distracting XANA's monsters. They fly to a secure area north of the meeting ground when Muraoka and the remnants of the Spriggan royal guard touch down followed by Ulrich and his group.
"You all have my gratitude for getting me out of there alive; I just wish my royal guard was in better shape..." Muraoka bows slightly with a slight grimace as she remembered the slaughter her guard went through.
"Muraoka, I'm aware this might not be the best time for this but, I'd like you and your forces to assist me to clear Yggdrasil." Kazuma says calmly.
Muraoka takes a look at Kazuma's group, her royal guard, and the surrounding environment before saying.
"You've always been a decent colleague Izanagi, as much as I'd like to say no, you helped me many times when the Spriggan nation was in danger, I need to repay you for that. I'll provide you with my royal guard as soon as we can regroup. When do you plan on going up Yggdrasil?" Muraoka replied instantly.
"We're gathering our allies as we speak, we'll be attempting to clear Yggdrasil within three days' time, the Cait Sith and Sylph is currently outfitting their armies as we speak, the Salamander Alpha Battalion is already marching to Aarun, and around 45% of my Undine healers are on-route and have already linked up with the Alpha Battalion, the others are still preparing." Kazuma answers in report format.
"Impressive Izanagi, you always were the sort to prepare everything before bringing it to the table. I'm afraid my forces will be the last to arrive at this rate. As you know, Spriggans aren't very strong compared to the other races as a whole, I need to reinforce my capital's security, and then I'll join you in battle." Muraoka informed the Undine.
"I'm looking forward to it my friend." Kazuma says with a laugh.
"Leader...I wish to travel with Izanagi if you'll allow it." A female Spriggan player wearing silver and black colored dress armor asks sheepishly. Katsuo and the others recognize this female Spriggan fighting against the Mantas in the air.
"Yūgana, you want to travel with Izanagi's group?" Muraoka repeats for clarification.
"Yes, I saw what Izanagi's friends were capable of, they the most diverse fighting force I've ever seen. Aside from the Gnomes and Leprechauns, this group has members from every race in Alfheim: Cait Sith, Imp, Puca, Salamander, Spriggan, Sylph, and Undine." Yūgana says, still sheepishly.
"Hm...very well Yūgana, you may travel with your family, keep them safe." Muraoka says before departing.
Alfheim Standard Time: [19:00] August 3rd 2025
"Yūgana, it's good you again sister, I haven't seen you in this game in since you were appointed to Muraoka's royal guard." Kazuma says while lightly hugging his sibling.
"Same to you brother, and Muraoka is a good person to work with surprisingly." Yūgana says happily.
"I hate to leave you all hanging like this, but I need to leave for the night. I'll be back tomorrow." Leafa says before logging out.
Because this is a safe zone, Leafa logs out immediately leaving Ulrich and the others.
"Okay, with Leafa not here, let's get introductions out of the way. Everyone, this is my younger sister: Ophelia Takara." Kazuma says calmly.
"My name is Karen Koizumi, I'm glad to see you again Ophelia." Karen smiles at the female Spriggan.
"Karen, I haven't seen you awake in years, whenever I visit your hospital room, you're always asleep." Ophelia says sadly.
"Sorry about that Ophelia" Karen says apologetically.
"I'm Ulrich Stern, nice to meet you." Ulrich says calmly.
"Ulrich Stern...I think I heard about you from other SAO players that left Aincrad. You were one of the best right?" Ophelia asks.
Ulrich is about to talk before getting stopped by Katsuo.
"Ulrich, don't you dare!" Katsuo growls a warning to Ulrich, recognising the look on his face.
"Knock it off, both of you!" Airi says angrily before whacking them both with her battleaxe.
"OW! That was uncalled for! And why'd you hit me?!" Katsuo shouts in anger while wincing in pain, while Ulrich is simple rubbing the back of his head in pain.
Ophelia begins laughing at their misfortune.
"Hahaha, Airi, you're as lively in this game as ever I see." Ophelia says, unable to hold back her laughs.
"Anyway...I'm Katsuo Viperia...pleased to meet you..." Katsuo says, a hand rubing the now glowing red spot where Airi's battleaxe had connected with his head.
"My name is Sylvia Miyagawa, pleased to meet you." Sylvia says with a bow.
"I'm Kazuto Kirigaya." Kazuto says simply.
"Kazuto, now I know I've heard of you, you're the dual blade swordsman of Aincrad. You're a bit of a living legend." Ophelia says calmly. "I assume you've all been trapped here since Sword Art was cleared? But what I don't understand is why you're trapped when the others are fine." Ophelia asks in confusion.
"That's what we want to know…" Katsuo mutters angrily, more to himself than to anyone else.
"Kazuma, Airi, we should get going as well actually...but Kazuto, Karen, Katsuo, Sylvia, Ulrich, do you want me to try relaying messages to anyone on the outside?" Ophelia asks compassionately.
"Ophelia, I'd appreciate it if you could let my family know that their little girl is okay and that is doing whatever it takes to return to them." Karen says sadly.
"Could you try contacting my sister and tell her I'll do whatever it takes to reconcile the three year absence I've had to deal with? Her name's Madoka Miyagawa." Sylvia says sadly.
"I'm not trapped here like Katsuo and the others, I don't need messages relayed." Kazuto says simply when they look at him.
"I don't need a message relayed to anyone..." Katsuo shrugs.
"Same here." Ulrich says.
"Okay, Karen, I'll pass your message to your parents when I see them, and Sylvia, I'll do some tracking to find your sister, don't worry, I'll pass the message to her." Ophelia says seriously.
Kazuto, Kazuma, Airi, and Ophelia log out for the night leaving Ulrich, Katsuo, Sylvia, and Karen alone. Shortly after they logged out, a group of Wyverns native to this area fly toward Ulrich's group.
"Ulrich Stern, Katsuo Viperia, Sylvia Miyagawa, Karen Koizumi, we've been ordered by Cardinal to escort you to a safe location and protect you." A wyvern with very bright blue eyes addresses the group.
"Where will we be going to?" Karen asks.
"We've been ordered to bring you to a small mountain pass to the northwest of here, you'll be safe there. Cardinal has successfully managed to overwrite the AI of half the monsters here in Rainbow Valley, where XANA's activity is heaviest." The wyvern says replies.
Ulrich and his group reluctantly follow the wyverns to the mountain pass and find that the pass leads to a dead-end about fifty feet in, and the surrounding mountain is too high for monsters to fly over, so this is a perfect defensive point.
"You'll be safe here for the night, my brothers and I will guard you from XANA." The wyvern says.
"I appreciate it, but what about our friends? They logged out in the area where we were before." Karen asks in concern.
"Cardinal is changing their log-in coordinates to this general area, they will spawn eight feet in the air, so there will be a tiny bit of warning if they log in above you. It also prevents lasting injury on their part." The wyvern says before flying over to an alcove to guard Ulrich and the others.
"We've got a fortified area with wyverns protecting us; we won't need to worry about shifts tonight." Karen says optimistically, opening her inventory and bringing out four tents and bentos. "Let's eat some food and then go to sleep."
"Wow, it's been such a long time since I've had your cooking Karen, I'm looking forward to this." Katsuo says happily, since they didn't eat last time they slept near the Sylph meeting ground.
Karen passes a bento to each of them for them to eat, and they all eat in a different way: Katsuo is devouring the bento like an animal, scaring the others. Ulrich is eating slowly and calmly, since he's used to Karen's cooking, and because of his samurai upbringing he lived with the last few couple of years. Sylvia is eating like a typical elegant Japanese woman, similar to Ulrich's style but much more formal. Karen is eating casually like Katsuo but nowhere close to how he is. After they finish eating, Karen passes a camping unit to the others and they quickly set up the tents and go to sleep for the night, guarded by the Wyverns.
Alfheim Standard Time: [2:00] August 4th 2025
Ulrich has just woken up with Ophelia's and Airi's assistance
"Wake up Aio." Ophelia says calmly, with a motherly tone, surprisingly for a 14 year old.
"...give me five minutes..." Ulrich rolls over in his sleep.
"Get up you lazy oaf!" Airi barks out at him.
"Okamoto, be nice." Ophelia says in a motherly tone.
Ulrich finally wakes up and slowly walks out of his tent to find everyone in the group up and about, apparently waiting for Ulrich to wake up.
"Why the hell are you waking me up this early…?" Ulrich demands blearily, still half asleep.
"We've all been getting bad feelings since we left and it's been keeping us up, so we wanted to get to Aarun as quickly as possible." Kazuma explains quickly.
"If you're ready Aio, let's get going, our armies have already begun their march to Aarun surprisingly." Karen says.
"I've been brought up to speed about this situation by Izanagi and Ash, if we leave now, we'll make it to Aarun in about two hours, we should try gathering some intel on the World Tree dungeon." Ophelia says calmly.
"If that's true, let's get going." Sylvia says calmly.
Ulrich and his friends walk toward the entrance of the pass and begin the flight to Aarun to gather information on the dungeon before the entirety of the armies of the Sylph, Cait Sith, Salamander, Undine, and Spriggan arrive to begin the operation.