May 19th, 2029

Michiko had been given silk fabrics to wear in her service to Katsuo and the Red-Handed. They could hardly be called clothes, barely covering her body. The first days, she thought, would be the hardest. The first three days she had to adapt to Katsuo's… personality flaws, and adjust to a new mode of life, one of giving into demands and doing as she was told. It was quite a shock to the system, to go from guild leader to slave girl.

Out of her suit of armor and gear her young age was also more apparent. She was tall for her age, that much was evident, but her stature and her voice made it difficult to pin down an exact age just by looking at her. She looked no older than eighteen, but in truth, she was only fifteen. And her age was something that Katsuo took pleasure in.

Katsuo was not kind, either. Every day, he would not only use her in the most disgusting ways, but would also bring her out into the grounds, and make her watch how the guild treated the slaves. She hated to admit it, but she might have actually been treated better than most.

The conditions for slaves throughout history have never been spoken highly of, but Red-Handed seemed to really enjoy putting the lessons of the past into good practice. Their slaves were not just slaves. They were all prospects. They worked them, and tortured them, and committed cruel jokes against them to break their minds as well as their bodies.

And every day, they were offered an escape. They could end their suffering and join the Red-Handed. They would still be expected to follow orders, and it was an ongoing process, but they would no longer be treated as slaves. Michiko had witnessed this in several stages just after three days.

Those who wished to rise from slavery and into the guild's ranks had to perform cruel acts themselves. They were made to beat, and rape, or even kill other slaves, and other captives. And it was never random. The guild always watched, and made them do these things to those that they seemed closest too.

One scene, Michiko swore she would never forget. She swore to remember that moment when she took off Katsuo's head.

While being made to watch the cruelties, one slave threw his hands up into the air, and fell to his knees. "I give up!" he shouted. "I can't go on. I'll do anything!" His voice was weak, and broken.

Michiko had seen this same man her first day, talking with another slave, an older woman. They seemed to be friends, but she couldn't make much out of the conversation.

A guild member and slave driver came to him, and dropped in front of him the tool of his supposed freedom. It was a sharp, steel blade, and on it, was written a name. It was the same name as the older woman.

Though he hesitated, this man went up to her, and cut her down. He didn't kill her, but he brought her close to it. The guild members congratulated him, and pulled him away at the last second.

She had thought that now that she'd witnessed how this guild works, and was used to everything, it would get easier. But she was wrong.

On the fourth day, Katsuo brought another young woman to his chambers. Her name was Xaela. This girl was just a little younger than Michiko, and stood of average height and average weight. She had shoulder length, blond hair, and the clothes she was given were identical to the ones Michiko had worn.

From conversation, Michiko had learned a great deal about her, and her story. Xaela spoke of a group she was with, including a romantic interest. Red-Handed had found them, and killed them all, except for her. She was spared and taken because Katsuo thought she looked pretty.

Katsuo was a sadistic man. When Xaela was captured, she had witnessed him collect the blood of her fallen comrades into jars, and took them with him. Michiko thought that she'd now seen the worse, but then she learned the true extent of human depravity.

In more or less words, the blood collected was used by Katsuo. Used to taunt and torture Xaela when he played with her.

Red-Handed, Michiko thought, were the worst human beings on the planet. The absolute worst. It was in one of those sessions with Xaela that she decided that none of them could be left alive. No matter if they began as slaves or picked up the sword on their own. Red-Handed had to be hunted down to the ends of Vearth, and if the game ended, then hunted to the ends of Earth as well.

One day, Xaela returned to Katsuo's chambers, but wearing the blood-stained steel armor attributed to the guild, and with her right hand painted red. Michiko wondered what it was that Xaela must have been made to do. The wondering was short though.

Xaela attacked her, thrusting her with a dagger repeatedly. Like the slave she had seen nearly killed on the third day, she was left barely hanging onto her life. Despite the strange, mutual bond that Michiko felt she had formed with Xaela, there she was, lying in a pool of blood after the same girl had delivered a world of pain and suffering to her.

As time went on, Michiko began to wonder to herself: how long? How long would it be before she was broken? Before she would drop to her knees and beg Katsuo for mercy. Who would she have to kill… who would she have to hurt for her place in the guild?

Every time Katsuo was with her, he was rougher. Every time, he hurt her more, and soon started cutting her, and choking her. By the end of two weeks, every time he touched her, she was taken just to the brink of death.

Katsuo too had begun to wonder the same questions. "How long are you going to do this, Michiko?" he asked her once. She did not respond, but merely laid on the floor, her body in pain. "I've hurt you… I've nearly killed you… and yet you remain stalwart. You have this… strange sense of righteousness. Or maybe you're just stubborn."

He moved over to her, and took her hand. In it, he placed a steel dagger. "Come on, girl. All it will take is just one moment where I can see you truly broken. Who will it be? Who would you break for? Kirito? … No? Asuna? … Come on!"

Before anything else happened, Xaela charged into the room. "Commander General, sir! Laughing Coffin is attacking! We need you." Without thinking, Katsuo got up and equipped his best gear. He left the room.

Michiko held the dagger up, and stared at it. She saw a reflection of herself in it—her bruised and bloodied face. She thought about ending it there, but instead, she opened her player inventory, and put the knife away.

"Kirito," she whispered. "Where are you?"

May 29th, 2029

Where exactly Kirito was, was getting ready. His group had left Fir'Spruce, and rode far out east. They went to other towns, recruiting heroes to rally to him. The time was near. An army was slowly forming to march on Red-Handed.

His group had even made it as far back as Eastown, where they met their most important allies in the battle to come. Eastown was now heavily fortified. It was a base on the edge of the forest, and it acted as a command center for just about every Veteran Protectors Guild mission to the east.

Kirito came to this town with a fraction of his force. The towns he had visited had all sent their soldiers to Fir'Spruce. There, a rider with a half a troop of cavalry rode up to meet him. They wore white and blue, and unlike before, their armor was now steel.

"Kirito!" the leader of the group said. The party stopped before them, and the man hopped off of his horse. He wore no helmet, and his name was Eulsam. "I thought I'd never see you around here again."

"And I thought I'd never want to talk to you again. But… desperate times and all," he said back.

"Desperate times? What brings you back to our neck of the woods?"

"A friend of mine… a party member has been captured by the player-killer guild, Red-Handed," Kirito explained. "Some of us owe him our lives. The Black Warden guild leader, Mokatso."

"Mokatso?" Eulsam said. "The vigilante guild leader from the east. I've heard of him. When Red-Handed seemed to disappear from the rest of the world, we knew something was up, but we weren't sure what. I recalled all of our troops back to the Kingdom of Newberg in case of an impending attack. When nothing came, things were even more suspicious. Spies and scouts were sent out all over the world, but returned very little information thus far."

"Yes," Kirito said. "You see, we located their headquarters. They have an army, and a heavily fortified base to the far south-east. The closest town to it is called Fir'Spruce, and has been a defensive base camp against Red-Handed for a while now. We've rode across the land, telling those willing to engage in this battle to head there. We're building an army."

Eulsam laughed. "An army you say? Well then, you've come to the right place. VPG can send a hundred soldiers that way tomorrow, and I will lead the charge on our enemies."

"Glad you could help," Kirito said. "Last time we talked, you didn't seem as friendly."

"I haven't changed, Kirito. You have. Look at you, looking for help, building up armies. You would make a good commander in the VPG."

"I don't think he's interested," Asuna said from the back. "We still tend to work with just our core group."

"Well then you wouldn't mind if I led the assault, would you? I've been waiting and planning for a time like this. And I have more experience commanding large groups of players. What say you, Kirito? Will you and your group serve under my command, at least for just this one battle?"

"I can't say for certain that we'll be following your orders, but we'll definitely consider your experience in the field when we're in combat."

"Eulsam," Asuna said. "There's something you should know about Red-Handed that we're not sure if you already do or not."

"What's that?"

"We scouted out their base of operations. They have slaves," Asuna said.

"Slaves? Yeah, I knew of it. How bad is it though? I only have so much intel—"

"It's bad," Kirito said. "Forced labor, whips, chains, you name it. They are a lot worse than we previously thought. They're unlike your run-of-the-mill PK guild."

"What I can't wrap my head around is how they've gotten so many other players on board with that system," Sinon spoke up. "They've got just as many people in their guild as they do working under them."

"And as we've been fighting them, they're numbers seem to just continue to grow," Kirito said. "We would take out one of their smaller bases, only to have two more rise up in its place."

"Then that makes this a decisive battle against the Red-Handed," Eulsam said. "Men!" He turned and shouted back to his cavalry. "Collect one hundred battle-ready soldiers from Eastown, and rest well. At dawn, we ride for Fir'Spruce!" After everyone dispersed, and before Kirito and Eulsam parted ways, he spoke to him once more. "In return for my assistance in this, Kirito, I expect you to return the favor one day. I may someday need your help, in the war against Laughing Coffin and other PK guilds. Don't forget what I am doing for you now."

Kirito shook his head. "I won't. And when the time comes, I'm sure we'll be more than ready to help you. After all, our goals are the same. We'll meet you in Fir'Spruce!"

June 2nd, 2029

Michiko was starting to lose hope. Her friends, she thought, had abandoned her. One day, Xaela entered the room, and knelt down before her. She cried, and couldn't speak through the emotions.

Michiko had nearly lost all pity for the girl. "What?" she asked her though. It was cold, like they're friendship or whatever was left of it.

"I'm sorry," Xaela finally spoke up. "Every day, being made to do those terrible things, and the way he tortured me. I couldn't take it anymore." Her hair now was different. It had grown out, and she wore it all on one side. On the other, her hair was shaved, and stylized. Piercings that had been added to her face and it marked her transition to becoming a warrior.

Michiko shook her head. She couldn't forgive her. Worse than attacking her, she knew what Xaela had become now. She was the enemy.

"The day I came in to… to hurt you," she said. "Before that, he took me out into the street. He was going to… just… right there in front of everyone while they laughed at me. I couldn't live through that. I was weaker than you."

"I cannot forgive you," Michiko said. "You don't understand." Michiko pushed Xaela's chin up to look into her eyes. "We are enemies now. I know what you have done, and nothing you went through will justify it. Not in my eyes."

"Before I came back, he made me…" She couldn't finish saying it just yet. It choked her up, and she felt sick. "I had to drink it… the rest of it. Hachi's blood. I'd already done that, and he wanted me to do one more thing… to you. I told him I wouldn't, but he insisted. Saying that he would undo what he had just done if I didn't. I couldn't just stop halfway."

"Shut up!" Michiko shouted, slapping her across the face. "We're not friends anymore, don't you get it? I swore an oath to take vengeance on all of those who unjustly murdered other players in this world. That includes you now, Xaela!"

"Good," she said. She dropped her sword before Michiko. "Then do it. Please… I can't live with this anymore. I want to die, but I'm not strong enough… not like you."

Michiko picked up the blade, and started her swing as she screamed loudly, angry and mad at what cruelty she had witnessed. Before she hit Xaela though, she stopped and threw the weapon away.

"Michiko?" Xaela looked up at her.

The warden gritted her teeth, and glared at Xaela. "Next time. Once I'm free… if I see you after that, I'll kill you then. But not here… not now."

"Hai," she said. "I understand. It's not safe for you to do so here. Promise me that you'll do it though… the first real chance you get. I just… I don't want to live anymore."

"I already said I would," Michiko said. "Quit acting like it's some act of mercy. I'm not going to do it out of pity. I'll kill you because you deserve it. Now get out…" Xaela retrieved her weapon, and left the room.

Once she was gone, Michiko screamed, and punched the floor. "I have to," she muttered. "I can't make an exception just because I know her. I have to do it… why can't I do it?"

June 12th, 2029

Fir'Spruce was now a war town. Its walls had expanded, and a second set of walls had been added. These walls stood over fifteen feet high, and the inner walls were reinforced with steel and stone. The trees from around Fir'Spruce had all been chopped down, and charred bits of the wooden exterior wall was evidence of a continued offensive effort by Red-Handed.

Tunnels had been constructed leading from the inner walls to the outer ones. The wooden parts had been destroyed and rebuilt again and again. Ballistae were lined up in the inner part of the town, as well as catapults. Reinforcements were arriving daily.

When Eulsam and Kirito's groups arrived, they lifted the spirits of the towns' defenders. Heavily armored soldiers, and heroes of two death games were welcomed with cheers, food, and water.

A group of the army's leaders met in the town hall. "Sword Art Online was neither large enough nor interactive enough to support major player battles like the one we are about to face. Our tactics are going to change with the expanded sizes of our forces." Eulsam unrolled a map of the area onto a table, and used stone carved figures that he kept on. "When we're dealing with upwards of hundreds of soldiers, we're not just going to have a massive brawl like you're used to. We'll be using lines and tactical maneuvering of our forces to outsmart our enemy. We're not sure exactly the size of their army, but we can assume that there are at least four hundred of them, based on the information we've gathered."

Eulsam set the pieces onto the map. Eight for Red-Handed, all painted red, and five for their side. "We can also assume that they have considerable intelligence on us. They've been fighting against Fir'Spruce for about two months now, and we know that they have heavy, magic-based siege capabilities." He pointed at two guard towers that were built on the north-eastern side of the outer wall. "We've been countering that with arcane magic, having arcane magic users in these towers in groups of six. Each would be capable of activating a magical barrier to block a fireball once every minute. They cycle as necessary, and so they've been capable of activating the shell once every ten seconds, and Red-Handed flame sorcerers haven't been able to penetrate the barriers yet. It's only a matter of time before they can bring in larger groups to take out the shields."

"But when their bigger groups come, they risk being in the threat range of our catapults," the captain of the town's guard said. "Wouldn't it be a bad strategy for them to send in all of their sorcerers at once?"

"Yes," Eulsam said. "But if they can manage a quick rush, and all hurl their fireballs at once, they could escape back into the forest and out of range before we can adjust our catapults aim. Normally, the archers in the towers would make quick work of any threats, but their fireballs are being thrown from out of their range. I want… four ballistae disassembled, and their weapons fitted to be mounted to those towers. We won't be able to use them on the offensive, no, but I'm not as worried about that."

"I thought the plan was to attack Red-Handed, not defend against them indefinitely."

"It still is," Asuna said. "There are more of them than us though. And they have defenses like we do. If we attack them head on, they'll wear down our forces behind defensive fortifications. By the time we get past them, we'll end up fighting one to five odds against their guild."

"Station our catapults behind those walls, and adjust them to fire at increments of thirty yards," Eulsam said. He moved one of the game pieces behind the two towers on the outer wall. Along with our weakest melee and ranged division."

"I see what you're doing," the guard captain said. "But how will we know how far the enemy is?"

"I saw it in a movie once. We're going to send scouts out to mark the backs of trees with colored paints. Marking thirty, sixty and ninety with different colors."

"Then won't the enemy be able to figure it out when they look back and see the painted tree trunks?"

"By then, it'll be too late," Kirito said. "They'll notice it just before boulders come crashing down on their heads."

"No," Eulsam said. "Not boulders." The group looked at Eulsam, not sure what he meant.

Outside, Eulsam brought the group of leaders just beyond the inner wall. "I have to give Agil credit for this one," he said. "Show them what you've got."

Agil held up a glass jar, and it was filled with a clear liquid. "Alcohol!"

"We're going to drink our enemies to death?" Sinon asked.

"No," Agil replied. "Besides, I wouldn't want to drink this stuff. It's like ninety-nine percent grain alcohol. But it does have its uses." He stuffed a rag into the top of the bottle, and lit it on fire before throwing it into a grassy area. It exploded in fire, and burned on while they continued talking.

"We have nearly two tons of this stuff ready to go," Klein said. "We'll draw out as many of the Red-Handed as we can, and lead them right up to our gates. When they all get too close, we unload with a single round of Molotov rounds. It'll splash all over the battlefield, and when they try to use their fire spells, their whole army will be set ablaze. It's a pretty sick idea."

"And when they're running around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off," Eulsam said. "Our reserve forces will charge out of the gate and finish them off. They'll be backed up by the ranged units too, who will provide suppressing fire against any archers they might bring to the battle. After the round of fire bottles, we'll load up our catapults with stone, and make it rain death at the back of their army, leaving them no escape and splitting up the burning soldiers from the healthy ones."

"And with half of their forces weak, our A and B divisions will charge in from the sides, closing their escape routes." Kirito smiled as he figured out the next part on his own. "I like this plan."

"They've been relying too heavily on sorcery as their siege weapons. And it's going to cost them. They won't have many immobile defenses up except for walls, which will crumble under our catapults. We wait it out a little longer. I guarantee right now they're scouts are alerting their leaders of the arrival of our cavalry." Eulsam crossed his arms, smug of his plans.

"Speaking of the cavalry," Lisbeth said. "When are your soldiers going to jump into battle?"

"Don't worry," said Eulsam. "I've got everything covered."

June 15th, 2029

"Michiko," Katsuo said. "What am I to do?"

Michiko looked up at him from the floor where she lay. She was not nearly as brutalized as she normally was. She thought he might just be taking a break, but now it seemed something was bothering him.

"It seems… your friends have returned to Fir'Spruce, and they have brought an army. They intend to kill me, don't they?"

She didn't respond.

"The old game of attacking and defending, and adventuring is over. They want to play a war game instead. Why are they so uptight about player killing? Do they get it from you?" He got up from the bed, and moved to leave the room. "Now I have no choice. I'm going to have to kill them all."

Later that night, Xaela came to Michiko in Katsuo's room. She sat on the bed, and sighed. "We're marching on Fir'Spruce. We should arrive by morning. Michiko… I just want you to know that I'm not going to hurt anyone else. I'll go out there, and I'll just let them kill me. I won't hurt your friends."

Michiko didn't respond at first. Xaela started to leave, and then she spoke up. "Xaela," she said. She stood up, and went over to her. "Don't go." She shook her head. "I have a bad feeling about this. They're going to win this fight, and they're going to rescue me and everyone else. But if you go, you'll die…"

"I thought you wanted me dead."

"I changed my mind… Xaela, I've been here for so long now. I've been through all of the worst kinds of torture, and I get it. I know you felt trapped, and had I been weaker, I'd have broken long ago. But you're right. I'm strong. I guess I just… can't hold everyone up to the same standards that I hold myself up to."

"Michiko, I—"

Michiko leaned forward, and kissed her. "I forgive you…" she said after the short kiss. It would have been awkward had not the both of them already been forced into doing so much with each other.

It was dawn when Fir'Spruce scouts sent in the message. The whole town was on alert at once, and everyone got into position. The Red-Handed army marched until they saw Fir'Spruce in the distance.

The army was led by a sub-commander in the guild, and not Katsuo. Katsuo himself stayed behind with the reserves. He looked out, and smiled before turning back to address the troops. "Men, women, all of you!" he shouted. "Today, we finish this nonsense! Today, no one will ever dare cross the Red-Handed ever again! We will tear through this town, and then the next, and we won't stop until we take Newberg itself! Everyone, weapons ready!"

Everyone cheered, and drew their weapons. They prepared their spells, and waited for the command. The leader waved his saber around and thrust it forward into the air. "Charge!" The whole army swarmed past him, rushing into the field.

Fireballs began to fall on the towers from a long distance, and the shields held up. "Catapults ready, sir!" someone shouted. "Awaiting order to return fire!"

Eulsam looked out from one of the guard towers, and then went back to address the army behind the gates. "Catapults prepare to fire in sixty seconds!"

As the charge went on, Kirito and his group were waiting off at a distance in the forest, watching the charge. On the opposite side of the Red-Handed army, the Black Wardens waited as well.

"Sir!" a mage shouted. "We can't hold much longer."

"We have to wait for the right moment!"

More and more Red-Handed rushed the field, and soon, about half of their forces were spread out over the firing range. One soldier looked back to see the painted trees. Then he started to run back towards the commander, waving his arms frantically to get his attention.

"Red catapults! Fire!"

A series of catapults all fired off their cargo. It hit the enemy forces closest to the gates. They were mostly unharmed, but covered in the alcohol. The fumes made them a little dizzy.

"Blue catapults! Fire!"

The next wave hit the middle of the forces. By now, the enemy commander had taken notice. He panicked and tried to shout over the commotion of battle. "Fall back!" he shouted. "Everyone fall back now!" It was too little too late, as the last set of bottles splashed around their spell casters.

They lit ablaze, and the fire trailed off across the whole battlefield. "Archers! Fire!" Dozens of archers loosed their arrows, and they rained down on the enemies closest to the gates. It was less about getting hits, and more about causing panic and chaos for Red-Handed.

After another couple seconds, Eulsam hopped down from the tower, diving into a tumble. "All troops, exit the gates. Storm the battlefield!"

As the gates opened, Leafa, from the towers cast her mass disarming spell on a large group of enemies. After that, every single one was somewhere between a full retreat, and running in circles, on fire. The defenders charged out, and took the enemy in force, slaying them easily.

"Now!" Kirito shouted. All in his group, minus Leafa charged into the side of Red-Handed's retreating forces. They moved in and clashed swords, overtaking the out-maneuvered opponents with great ease.

Kirito went straight for the commander. Upon seeing Kirito coming for him, the commander hopped off of his horse, and engaged. They clashed swords, and more joined in. The more that came, the more distance there came between Kirito and the commander, and he turned to run away.

As he turned though, he was caught by surprise. A Red-Handed sword thrust straight into his throat, wielded by Xaela. Immediately, another guild member saw this betrayal, and took a swing, chopping the girl's red right hand off. She recoiled and cried out in pain, dropping to the ground.

As the Red-Handed fell back, they stopped their retreat. Archers turned and drew their arrows, while the remaining flame sorcerers prepare to fire off more attacks. While Kirito's group and the Black Wardens fought the scrambling players, they were sitting ducks on the battlefield.

But the arrows never flew. They were met with a surprise flank. As they heard the sound of thundering hooves beating against the ground, they looked to the east of their position. By the time they were turning to fire, it was too late. The sea of blue and white armored warriors were coming down hard, spears and lances held firm, and they plowed into the now defenseless lines.

Once the initial charge was finished, many of the riders dismounted, and began fighting with melee weapons. Not a single member of the Red-Handed escaped that battle. Soon afterwards, siege weapons were being driven forward, and the raid leaders were meeting as the army started to march north.

"I thought we were done for when I saw those archers ready to fire," Sinon said. "Nice move with the horses."

"Why didn't you tell us the plan?" Kirito asked Eulsam.

Eulsam nodded. "That's a fair judgment," he said, already knowing that some may now distrust him for keeping part of the strategy a secret. "I never tell everyone all of the plan. It's an insurance policy, just in case there are spies among us. My cavalry didn't even know my plans for the initial use of catapults from behind our gates, they only knew that their mission was critical, and if they were late or if they failed, you would be in danger. They knew their job, you knew yours, and the plan worked."

"You really think some of us might be spies?" Agil asked.

"You never know, it's better to be safe than sorry," Eulsam said. "I have lots of secrets. A good strategy always has them…"

"What's our plan for the siege?" Kirito asked.

"It will be simple," Eulsam went on. He pointed out ahead. "We'll need to send out a few scouts. Sinon." Sinon looked over to him, paying close attention. "I want you to find a good perch and play guardian angel to the scouts. If any Red-Handed spot them, take them out." She nodded to him, and looked around for a good tree to climb. "Our scouts will measure distance from the walls in increments of thirty yards, just like before, and paint the backs of trees and rocks with color coding. We'll line up our siege weapons to the ninety-yard mark and start firing."

"What about their casters? Won't they start taking out our catapults?" Klein asked.

Eulsam nodded. "They'll try—"

"I figured that one out, already," Kirito said. "Arcanists like Leafa will stay with the catapults and shield them. Everyone else stays back until the walls go down."

"Precisely," Eulsam said. "This time, my cavalry will lead the charge, pouring into their base to break through any defending forces trying to line up. I want the Black Wardens to be my scouts. Once they're finished marking our distance, they'll need to find other ways into the base. When the cavalry charges, they should be in, and coming in from behind, flanking them. Everyone else should make their way into the base after that. While my forces focus on combat, you should be focused on searching the compound for any hiding Red-Handed, and breaking slaves free. In case they manage to repel our attack, I want as many hostages gotten out of there as possible. It will mean less players they can threaten to kill if this stretches out longer than today. Right now, they don't know we're coming, or at least I certainly hope they don't. It will give us a small advantage. Move out."

As Eulsam gave the order, all of the players spread out, and got to work. Arcanists tagged along with the catapults, and the Black Wardens started going out ahead of everyone. Sinon grabbed a few more marksmen and took up spots in trees closer to the enemy base, keeping an eye out for their allies on the ground. The primary forces gathered up a considerable distance behind the catapults.

Up in a tree, Sinon looked out over the filed. Pinewood was forested, but not nearly as bushy as the Ring Forest, and the terrain itself, while hilly and bearing a few small cliffs and rivers, was much flatter and more navigable overall by comparison. The trees were of fir, and pine, tall and with no dense leaves which increased visibility compared to the other forest, which was mostly of oak, birch and maple.

From her spot, she could see the wardens moving out. The scouts swapped out their usual all black, grey and green gear for light gear, colored with browns and oranges to act as better camouflage in this region. Spotting a Red-Handed scout about to cross paths with one of them, she drew her bow, and fired. It was an instant kill.

While she sat up there watching out for the Black Wardens, she glanced to her left arm, and pulled back the linen cloth that she had been covering it with. Below the two coffins and seven wolf paws, there were thirteen hands, drawn in red ink. "One… two, three… four… and five." She counted on her fingers, thinking back to the recent battle, and then said, "Six," counting the most recent kill.

It was normal for most players, especially those who made it their business to hunt player-killers, to rack up a body count. But unless they were in a situation where they had to fight several one their own, the actual number of kills by a single player managed to stay pretty low. In large scale combat, even with just as many as twenty players, some never claimed a single kill.

But the IVRTF kept track, and Sinon tracked her own. Even though she didn't know it, she was in the top fifty player-killers already. On a list that didn't distinguish between vigilantes and murderers, it was quite an accomplishment. Her kind had a name in this world: headhunters. Michiko was in the top ten, with forty-one kills so far. Eulsam, Kirito… the rest of them weren't even in the top one-hundred. And of all the headhunters, there was only one more of them in the top fifty.

In the roost today, Sinon would kill three more Red-Handed protecting the Black Wardens.

The catapults were lined up ninety feet from the walls, and as the Red-Handed started to take notice, and throw their fireballs, the arcanists defended, throwing up their shields and blocking the incoming attacks. The return fire was devastating. Red-Handed had thin, wooden walls guard their base, and not many of them. The whole compound was built into a dip in the earth, with cliffs along the backside, and only a small stretch of walls that acted as the gate.

In under a minute, the walls were leveled, and the cavalry charge came in, meeting Red-Handed who were rushing out to greet them. Unlike before the sorcerers were ready. As the fireballs started to drop on the cavalry, though, Sinon came up with a brilliant tactic. She fired an arrow into the first on, and it exploded mid-air, dealing no damage to their raid party. Archers who took notice started doing the same, and before many more attacks came, the mounted warriors had rushed into the enemy base, and were engaging them.

The Black Wardens had found their way in, and dropped in from the cliffs, tumbling and climbing from buildings to fight the Red-Handed who were scrambling around. Kirito and his group came in, along with the Fir'Spruce guardsmen and the rallied soldiers from other towns. Once inside, they got to work.

Behind the walls, the slaves were all taken and chained up, and caged up, so that they couldn't fight back. These shackles, however, were not difficult to break. Neither were the locks on the cages. As slaves were freed, many fled the compound, but a few picked up weapons, and started fighting back against the Red-Handed.

Kirito came up to the front of a large building that was believed to be the center of the compound, where the officers stayed. "Katsuo!" Kirito shouted at the gates. "It's over! Surrender now, and we'll take you in alive. If you don't come out now… we're going in for blood!"

At the top floor, there was a balcony looking over the compound. It extended from Katsuo's room, but Katsuo didn't come out. He was afraid, and waited, nervously, sitting on his bed. Michiko was with him, still unarmed. But she could hear the conflict going on outside. "Michiko," he said. "Your friends have killed hundreds today. And they'll kill a hundred more before the day ends. What about your vengeance now?"

She didn't respond.

"Answer me!" he shouted. He slapped her hard across the face, and she was knocked to the ground. After a moment, he got up, and looked out his balcony at the chaos. Turning to go back in, he shouted for Michiko. "You're my only play left. They'll let me go, or I'll—"

Suddenly, he was attacked. Michiko tackled him to the ground, and had her dagger ready. Katsuo punched her, and it knocked her off him, and over onto her back. Then he stood up, about to perform he coupe de grace, drawing his sabre and raising it up high to strike her.

Michiko was too quick, and Katsuo was foolish enough to sacrifice his footing around her. She swept his feet out from under him with a hard blow from her forearm, and got up to kick him in the head. He wore armor, except for a helmet, a useful piece of equipment that was sitting on a table next to his bed. He reeled in pain at the blow, and it took him a moment to get his bearings again.

Michiko kicked his sword away while he was down, and he took the opportunity to attack again. Before she could, he managed to pull her onto the ground by her legs, and held her down on the floor, her arms by her side. Her only move was a vicious one. She lashed out, biting him and causing him to let go to hold his now bleeding neck, and scream in pain. Michiko spat out a piece of his skin while he stumbled to his back on the ground.

Michiko, with her dagger, went to slash him, but he rolled out of the way. She got up, and he came up right afterwards with an uppercut, punching her in the gut. She groaned in pain, and dropped down to one knee, clutching her stomach, dropping her dagger. When she went to pick it up, he took her hand in his, and used his other to strike it, cracking bones in her wrist.

Through another cry of pain, she delivered a left hook, hitting him square in the headHe held his head and shook while she went for the dagger, but was quick, and dove for it, taking it before she could get to it. Things weren't looking good now. His hand moved to grab her throat, and he held the dagger to her face.

While choking her, she was unable to do much but gasp for breath. "You bitch!" he shouted. He slashed her face, leaving a deep cut on her right cheek. "Convinced me to let that little shit go!" Then he let her throat go to punch her, breaking her nose.

"I wish I did so much more to you for this." With that, he dropped the dagger, and picked her up while she was still catching her breath. He threw her across the room, into the bedside table. He picked the dagger back up, and started to move towards her.

While on the ground, she got to her hands and knees, and looked over to see his sabre on the ground. It was too far away, but she also saw his helmet. She picked that up, and threw it at him before jumping towards his sabre. She pulled it towards her, but he grabbed her by the feet, and she couldn't get a good grip. Still, she could play with the handle with her fingers.

He pushed her hard into the ground, holding her by the throat and she struggled and squirmed. He held the dagger up, and slowly moved it towards her eye. In one quick move, she pushed up with her knees, hard, causing him to be forced back a bit, even though he didn't get thrown off.

And then, she got it. With his sabre she swung hard, hitting his neck. Katsuo stumbled down, and held at his wound to try and stop the bleeding, which was a fruitless effort. Michiko grabbed him by the hair, and he squirmed. Then, she took another swing, this time taking his head right off.

As the brawl ensued outside, there was still a large enough group of Red-Handed to be able to fight back, and kill a decent amount of players. Michiko walked out onto the balcony, holding Katsuo's head in her broken hand by the hair. In the other hand, she held his sword.

As players began to take notice, she held the head up. "Your commander general, Katsuo, is dead!" she shouted. Silence gripped the battlefield. "Your best soldiers, are all dead! There is nothing left here for you to fight for! You can fight, and die with them, or you can surrender or try to run, and maybe… live!"

With that, she flung the severed head out into the courtyard. All over the battlefield, Red-Handed were dropping their weapons, and holding up their arms in surrender. More than that though, were fleeing, making a break for it in the ceasefire. Many did escape, but the armies of justice had prevailed.

The army of players all chanted in victory, thrusting their weapons up into the air. Eulsam ordered his cavalry to chase down those that fled, while the rest of the army got to binding the player-killers who surrendered. The cavalry managed to chase down quite a few players, but many of the Red-Handed did manage to escape justice that day. Surely, they would return, but for now, Red-Handed had been dismantled.

June 17th, 2029

"Mokatso's a girl," Eulsam said with a chuckle. The group of them sat around a table in Fir'Spruce after the battle. "I never would have guessed."

"She was partied with us," Kirito said. "And we didn't even know."

"But why hide it?" Asuna asked her.

Michiko looked at her, and shrugged. "The Black Wardens hide their identities. It's been a hallmark for our guild since we began. When people assumed I was a boy, I just never corrected them."

"So," Agil said. "Michiko's your real in-game name." He opened his player menu, and sent her a friend request. Shortly after, she accepted it, and the rest of the players did the same. "Do the other Wardens know your secret identity?"

Michiko nodded. "Yeah," she said. "They were the only ones until today."

Asuna looked at her, examining her face, her body… trying to figure her out. "Michiko, how old are you?"

Michiko shook her head. "I don't tell anyone my age…"

"Why not?" Eulsam asked.

Michiko shrugged. "My age isn't important. I'm Mokatso, the Black Warden, the first headhunter. I don't have an age, and I'm not a man or a woman. It's kind of my thing, you know?"

Kirito nodded. "I think I can understand that," he said. "You look… seventeen?"

Michiko sighed, and shook her head. "Not telling…"

"I'm concerned for you," Sinon said.

Michiko looked at her funny. "Why, because I keep my identity secret?"

Sinon shook her head, and put down her cup. "You were a slave in the largest player-killer guild to date. And when you came out of that room, the clothes you wore… Michiko, are you… okay?"

Michiko stayed silent for a moment, and then nodded. "I'm fine," she said. "It's something I'll have to deal with on my own, at the very least. And it's definitely not something I want to talk about. What I do want to talk about though is that girl, Xaela."

"Xaela…" Eulsam said, nodding. "Betrays her own guild and kills a raid leader. We found her on the battlefield with her hand cut off. She's fifteen, and she's horribly traumatized. We don't know what to do with her, to be honest. As a member of Red-Handed, there's no doubt she committed atrocities. She should probably be incarcerated like the rest of the captured killers."

"The players within Red-Handed aren't normal player-killers," Michiko said. "They were all slaves once." The group looked at her, paying close attention now. "It's how they work. They recruit new members from slaves, breaking them down mentally until they're willing… nay, eager to kill and torture. They're very good at it. Even I wondered at times if I should just do what they want, and start killing for them."

"That's consistent with the intel I have," Eulsam said. "I met one of their first slaves a while back. A little girl, couldn't have been older than ten. She escaped somehow, and she was how we first learned of them. I can't remember her name though… Judging from what she told me about their leader, Katsuo… I can imagine what you went through, Michiko. I'm assuming you met Xaela during your time as his slave as well?"

Michiko nodded. "Hai," she said. "She had it worse than me. I know why she broke. As part of her initiation… she had to attack me, and nearly kill me. Even so, I can't ignore the connection I made with her."

"Well even if she was a slave, even though she ultimately betrayed the Red-Handed," Eulsam said. "I'm afraid I can't afford to let her go free."

"I'm not asking you to let her off the hook," Michiko said. "But if you could keep her from the Newberg prisons, I'd be grateful."

Kirito looked up and interrupted. "These prisons, Eulsam," he said. "I'm concerned about them. I know that you have good intentions, but… I'm worried about their conditions. And who are you incarcerating? Only killers, or… thieves as well?"

Eulsam nodded to Kirito, but first turned to Michiko to answer her. "I can do that, Michiko. I'll have her join the VPG as my direct subordinate. I can keep an eye on her and make sure she behaves, while keeping her out of jail." He turned back to Kirito. "Kirito, I understand your sentiment, but I assure you, these prisons are necessary. They are populated by player-killers mostly, but also those who commit violent or sexual assaults on others. When it comes to thievery and other petty crimes, we lack the resources to dispense justice properly. When we catch thieves, we force them to return what was stolen and send them on their way." A message popped up in front of Eulsam, and he read through it before getting up. "Looks like we're ready to make our way back to Newberg. Kirito… Michiko… I'm sure we'll meet again."

"Bye, Eulsam," Asuna said. It was followed with more farewells, and Eulsam and the Veteran Protectors left the town, heading for Newberg with about a hundred and fifty prisoners.

Michiko got up next, and headed for an inn. "Michiko," Kirito called to her. She stopped and turned around. "We're going to head out of the Pinewoods, and look for new dungeons and zones. Will you join us?" With a smile, she nodded, and then continued off.