Hikaru has managed to find Keiko, Sylvia, and Mamoru, though the latter two left to Salamander territory to help Katsuo, leaving himself, Karen, Haruka, and Keiko on their own to strike their own path on what to do.
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: Reset Code Aincrad. Also, if you haven't noticed by now, I'm making it where each chapter stars a different character. Chapter 1 primarily stars Hikaru Murai and Karen Koizumi; chapter 2 does this with Haruka Uchimaya, and chapter 3 will primarily star Keiko Ayano. That is something I'm making a new feature of Alfheim's remake. I'm making it where different characters get time in the sun in this story. When I publish this chapter, I'll be opening a poll on my account, asking you guys if you want me to do things like this again in future stories or not to.
Also, this chapter is short, but it is a rather important one for later on.
Alfheim Standard Time: [10:30] August 3rd, 2025
Keiko and the group had a good amount of comfortable rest in the estate that Rika purchased for Senryaku and the Aincrad players when they make it there. They have convened in a rather interesting room which appears to have some sort of viewing platform in the center of the room
"Holy...what is this thing?" Haruka asks no one in particular, walking around the platform like the others.
"It looks similar to what we used in Aincrad a few times. Ya know, the Scrying pedestals?" Hikaru interjects, noticing a similar design of the crystal cover in the center of the platform. He recalls that one was used on floor 56 against the Geocrawler, one of Aincrad's most difficult bosses to slay.
Keiko meanwhile opens a menu that popped up in front of her when she touched the crystal tiling and a large virtual two-dimensional map spawns above the table
"Woah...did not see that coming." Keiko mutters in surprise from how she triggered this.
"This map...This is a map of Alfheim's game world. I recognize it because of those four landmarks in addition to the geological similarities of what I've seen while I've been flying." Haruka responds in a mildly calm manner, recognizing the Lugru corridor and a few landmarks near Undine territory.
Hikaru meanwhile inspects the map and he inadvertently zooms in to Salamander territory in the southeast
"Hikaru? Something up?" Kazuto asks, wanting to know why he zoomed in on the map.
"Total accident, sorry. Anyway, I noticed dots while the map was zooming in." Hikaru apologies before pointing out what he saw on the map and decides to touch it again to see if he could get it to reappear, with his touch activating something close to a scanner, showing bright red dots and orange dots throughout Salamander territory. Each orange dot has a label on the scanner called: Unidentified anomaly, while the reds are simply labeled Salamander.
"Hmm...unidentified anomalies in Salamander territory? You guys thinking the same as me?" Haruka frankly states, staring at the dots. She sees that the red dots, or Salamander players, seem to be moving at a seemingly frantic pace while the orange ones are moving rather methodically.
"Yeah, and look at how entrenched XANA's monsters are. Those formations cannot be anything more than divide and conquer. XANA truly wants the Salamanders divided and unable to make any kind of response against it." Kazuto says with the same frank tone as Haruka as he glances at the battlefield like a strategist in a war would.
"I pray that Sylvia and Mamoru are helping those guys out. They know how to fight those monsters unlike the others." Haruka quietly says, glancing at the map.
"Actually, look at that area there." Hikaru interjects, noticing a small area with multi-colored dots alongside twelve Salamanders.
The group looks where Hikaru specified in the map and notice a group of eighteen heading toward the largest Salamander encirclement.
"Puca, Cait Sith, Undine, Spriggan, Salamander. That must be Katsuo's group." Hikaru mumbles, noticing the labels of the diverse group.
"Wait...are they?" Kazuto asks no one in particular, noticing that the group dashing through enemy lines "Those guys are crazy. Look. They're charging through XANA's lines. But why?"
"It's pretty obvious Kazuto. Look there." Haruka grins, seeing that he's chasing toward a rather large group of Salamanders. "See, they're trying to rescue those Salamanders and bring them into the fold. Doing so would strengthen their position. Mamoru, Sylvia, and Katsuo know how to fight XANA and they'll have an even bigger army backing them up. It's a win-win." Haruka explains, speaking like a true strategist since she learned a great deal from the many meetings of the leader's council.
At this moment, Leafa suddenly barges in with heavy pants and face red with exhaustion
"Kirito-kun...minna...I...I need your help!" Leafa weakly states, doing her best to shout this.
"Woah, Leafa-san, are you okay?!" Keiko exclaims, rushing toward the Sylph girl.
"I...I need your help!" Leafa repeats herself weakly "I...I kept quiet about the Salamanders but Lady Sakuya's and Lady Alicia's honor guard have been attacked!"
"By who?!" Kazuto asks the Sylph girl seriously.
"Giant...giant bug like monsters." This response shocks the group, who quickly look at the map to see if what Leafa said is true.
When they zoom out of Salamander territory and pan the map over Sylph and Cait Sith territory, they find a large group of XANA's monsters swarming over an area with a small group of Sylphs and Cait Sith being scattered all over.
"So XANA has decided to branch out? Such cunning audacity. Not only does it have the Salamanders on the run, but now he's targeting the Sylph and Cait Sith?" Hikaru mumbles, reluctantly praising the AI for its surprising intellect and strategy for targeting the strongest race in terms of physical strength, the fastest race, and the race capable of beast taming.
"Ulkaios-san, Mikuya-chan, we need to go help them." Keiko seriously says, wanting to save the Sylpha and Cait Sith leaders.
"Right. Kirito, you mind staying here with Ash? I'm not sure she's exactly fit for battle." Hikaru asks Kazuto with a solemn expression, pulling out his katana.
"You sure Ulkaios?"
"Yeah. We need speed here. Besides, we need someone staying here to keep an eye on Ash and the map. Keep us informed on any changes and direct us where to go."
"Got it. I'll keep an eye on things here. Be careful." Kazuto gives a small thumbs up before walking toward the map to keep an eye on the situation.
"Leafa-san, bring us to where they are." Keiko asks the Sylph girl somberly, with her complying and brings Hikaru, Haruka, and Keiko to where the leaders' and their guards are.
Alfheim Standard Time: [11:15] August 3rd, 2025
The group of four rapidly leave the house and arrive at the airspace where Sakuya and Alicia are rather fast, to find the area swarming with Hornets and Mantas and it's obvious that the situation is remarkably grim. It looks like no one has died yet to the relief of the four players coming to their aid.
"Leafa-san, go get the leaders out of here. We'll hold off the monsters." Keiko says with a grim frown, as she wants to protect the two leaders. "Ulkaios-san, Mikuya-chan, let's go!" Keiko continues, drawing her dagger and charges into battle with her colleagues backing her up.
The group goes off to three different areas of this airspace, wanting to attract as much attention as possible to allow Sakuya and Alicia to escape. The three are also receiving audio comms from Kazuto working as a strategist, though it was never something he was explicitly good with in the first place.
"Keiko, you've got a monster charging from the rear, intercept with a spiral slash."
Keiko quickly does as directed and surprisingly slashed against a Hornet that was trying to attack her in melee combat with its proboscis.
"Thank you Kazuto-san!" Keiko says with a thankful grin, having no idea if he can hear her.
The battle continues for quite a while and is devolving badly since Keiko, Hikaru, and Haruka are getting overwhelmed before Leafa returns from evacuating the faction leaders and their guards
"Ulkaios-san, Silica-san, Mikuya-san, Lady Sakuya and Lady Alicia have escaped!" Leafa shouts, rushing toward Keiko and the others, having grouped up when they saw the last of the Cait Siths escaping.
"Right, Ulkaios-san, Mikuya-chan, let's get out of here!" Keiko exclaims seriously, flying away with Leafa and the others in tow, knowing that the battle was never meant to be won, it was nothing but a diversion until the Sylph and Cait Sith leaders got away.
Alfheim Standard Time: [12:00] August 3rd, 2025
Sakuya, Alicia, and the others have escaped the area where XANA had struck and have made it to a Cait Sith stronghold near the ocean, with the group having been escorted by guards ever since they made it in the vicinity of the area.
"We owe you our lives. Thank you very much, all of you." Sakuya politely bows toward Keiko, Hikaru, and Haruka in appreciation for them saving their lives.
"It's nothing Lady Sakuya. Leafa-san asked for our help and we couldn't refuse when we heard what you were going through." Keiko explains with a sheepish laugh at the praise from the two leaders.
"You three are still good eggs. You saved us from becoming deep fried chicken." Alicia laughs as she made her joke, though she is serious about how Keiko and the others saved her and Sakuya.
"Hehe, you certainly are...interesting Lady Alicia." Hikaru tries to share the sentiment that Alicia gave the group.
"Anyway, what were those things?" Sakuya asks, getting her serious face on.
"They're creations of a rogue AI program Lady Sakuya. Ulkaios, Silica, and I have experience fighting such things. In fact, we're trying to find our other friends. They also know how to fight them off and we need to gather them together to fight them all back." Haruka explains rather eloquently to the Cait Sith leader, gently hiding the affiliation of Sword Art Online for the time being.
"Oh boy. I'm just glad you came to help us, those things were driving up us the wall. How do you kill them anyway?" Alicia asks, with her playful personality still overshadowing the serious question.
"Each monster that belongs to that rogue AI has a ringed eye somewhere on it's physical body. The only way to destroy the monster is hit that specific spot." Hikaru says to the two faction leaders, as he doesn't want people involved in this crisis not knowing this important detail.
"Thanks for that Ulkaios. Hm...I don't recall seeing you before." Sakuya says with a smile, before looking over the young Sylph.
"He's a new player Lady Sakuya. In fact, he just started playing about two days ago." Leafa explains to the Sylph leader in a friendly manner.
"Really? He's a new player yet he's that powerful?" Sakuya asks playfully, wondering if Leafa's telling the truth about him. "Anyway, Alicia and I owe you our lives for saving us."
"Well, I don't want to say too much, but I had a nickname in the last MMO I played: Jinsoku. I was a swift, powerful warrior alongside some of my friends." Hikaru says, both hiding and revealing details of his time in Sword Art Online "Also, you don't owe us, it was only right that we help you, right Mikuya, Silica?" Hikaru continues, trying to keep a degree of modesty as he exchanges glances between the two girls, with them both nodding in agreement.
"You sure? We owe you our lives so we want to help in any way we can." Sakuya asks, wanting to be sure of this decision of Hikaru's.
"Well, we're trying to find friends of ours in this world. We don't know what races they all are in, but we know they're here somewhere."
"Do you have anything that could help in the search? Perhaps some place to gather these friends of yours?" Alicia asks, as she wants to help these three as appreciation for them saving her and Sakuya's life.
"Actually yeah. We recently bought a house in a neutral village in this territory. We named it after a city in the last MMO we played. Is there any way to post messages across the entire game world?"
"Yeah, there is such a method, but is there a message you want sent?" Sakuya curiously crosses her arms, wondering if there is a message that Hikaru will want to send among the game world.
"Two. The first involves those monsters that attacked you. Let the world know that the only way to destroy them is by attacking the ringed eyes. They are otherwise invincible."
"Alright. I know I wanted to pass that info along. Those monsters were horrifying and I don't want anyone to have to face them without knowing how to fight them. What's the second thing Ulkaios?"
"Well Lady Sakuya, there is a message that our friends would recognize when they see it. The message is: Jinsoku is calling for his allies to meet in the house named after the city of guilds. This city of guilds is located in Cait Sith neutral territory. Those who know the people: Jinsoku, Tantei, Gold Valkyrie, and White Fortress are invited to come to this meeting ground."
"Sure, I'll pass it along."
"Actually Lady Sakuya, Lady Alicia, why were you having this meeting?" Haruka asks, wondering why this was happening in the first place.
"We were planning on forming an alliance to clear Yggdrasil. But I imagine now, we'll be using the alliance to protect ourselves." Alicia chirps, revealing the original intention of the alliance before saying that it'll be shifted to defense.
"Lady Alicia, I can't go into details right now, but we need your army for Yggdrasil." Haruka seriously asks, knowing that Yggdrasil is extremely dangerous and would require an army to pull it off.
"Why? Why do you want to clear Yggdrasil?" Alicia is curious on why Keiko's group wants to go up Yggdrasil.
"One of our friends is there. We want to save her." Hikaru replies, having heard from Kazuto that Asuna was trapped in the World Tree.
"Oh, I see. Yeah, that certainly is worrying, isn't it?" Sakuya chimes in with a sad hum, glancing at the Cait Sith leader.
"Tehehe, you certainly are soft on your own Sylph players Sakuya." Alicia giggles like a cat as she speaks, noticing that Sakuya seems inclined to help Hikaru and his friends.
"Well he has a member of your Cait Sith with him. I find that compulsion enough to aid him."
"Mm, true. Alright, we can't provide much, but we'll send as many troops as possible to help you with Yggdrasil. It'll just take time to outfit our army." Alicia replies as frankly as she can to the group.
"Is there any way I can offer my assistance to you Lady Sakuya?" Hikaru eloquently inquires, wanting to get the assistance of the two leaders for the grand quest.
"Oh no, we can not ask for any assistance from you. You've saved our lives and we owe you immensely already. It'd be rude if we ask for any more help."
"Trust me when I say, we'd be helping each other here. From what I've heard, the grand quest is incredibly difficult and you'll need help doing so. I need to get up that tree soon and I need your help to do so. Tell me what you need to do that quest."
The two leaders exchange glances and they both let out a mild groan before looking toward Hikaru "We'd both need two hundred thousand Yuld for our armies. It'll take time to assemble such an amount of money to buy ancient-class equipment and it'd be costly to do, it'd probably crash both of our economies."
"I see." Hikaru mutters, opening his menu to the minor confusion of the faction leaders and pulls out a large bag with 600,000 Yuld. "Here, use this money to get what you need."
Sakuya and Alicia take the bag from Hikaru and gasp loudly when they see the contents "H-How much Yuld is in this bag?!" Alicia exclaims, utterly shocked about this.
"Six hundred thousand. If you can, acquire the equipment you need quickly and aid us."
"But I said we only needed four hundred thousand. Why did you give us this extra?"
"Split a hundred thousand each in reserve for your nations. Use it to revive your economies when all this is done." Hikaru quickly replies to Sakuya.
"W-Woah. Ulkaios, your generosity is astounding. When all this is done, I'd like to induct you as a member of my royal guard."
"Hehe, I'm afraid I must decline the offer. I'm not too fond of leadership to be honest."
"You must have misunderstood. You would not be forced to lead if you do not desire to. Your main job would be protecting me and being the last line of defense if the Sylph nation were attacked."
"Oh, I see. Would you give me some time to ponder this?"
"Of course. Now, I must be going. Leafa, would you please accompany me back to Sylvain?"
"Of course Lady Sakuya." Leafa quickly salutes in response as she spawns her wings.
"Silica, Mikuya, would you guys mind going with them? Make sure they'll be safe from those monsters, alright?" Hikaru asks the girls calmly, not wanting Leafa and Sakuya to be on their own with XANA's monsters active in this area.
"But what about you Ulkaios-san?" Keiko worriedly asks, not wanting Hikaru to be alone just as much as she doesn't want Sakuya and Alicia to be on their own, and Haruka shares the same sentiment in her expression.
"I'll be fine. The estate is not far from here so I won't have to go too far and I'll be in less danger. Lady Sakuya and Leafa are heading all the way back to Sylvain, it's quite a ways away. Just focus on protecting them alright?" Hikaru tries to reassure the girls about what priorities are higher placed here.
"Will do. We'll see you back at the estate Ulkaios." Haruka gives a friendly salute to Hikaru, despite her uneasiness about this, as she and Keiko fly away from the area with Leafa and Sakuya.