Hey everyone! Been some time, right? Sorry for the delay, things have been quite busy and a bit hard for me this month, between some personal issues and trying to find a job (Which is a bit hard during these times for me, despite my best efforts) my writing time got quite reduced, and then there is the fact that OPG is currently the 'hardest' to write of my fics, as it's the one that requires the most planning and careful revision of events, the Update got a bit delayed despite being relatively short XP
That said, at a good friend's suggestion, I have opened a Pa treon page for everyone that may want to support my writing. Mind you, I won't put any of my work behind paywalls, ever, nor 'post in advance' anything there, or stop writing because I don't get money there, it's just a small thing to see if anyone would want to help out little old me :P Imagination is free, after all, and sharing it should be made out of enjoyment, not to get something in return, and for me all of you having fun reading my craziness will always be more than enough :)
Regardless of that, you can go there now to see a publicly available cover for an unwritten idea of mine that an old friend commissioned some time ago and a bit of explanation on it, the link is on my Profile Page!
But well, with all of that aside, I leave you now with this following Interlude, everyone! Things are about to get real, and the end is coming for the real world while Kirito and the Underworldians are getting ready for the last part of their journey! Enjoy!
Oh, and remember, help filling out this story's TvTropes page is always appreciated!
Enjoy!
PS: Oh, and go check out 'PsychiK', the new SAO story from my friend KnightEstoc, if you have time! It's a hilarious cracky tale about Kirito being 'the strongest psychic in the world' XD!
Disclaimer: Neither SAO nor One Punch Man belong to me. I only use the plot of one and the idea of the other for my amusement and everyone's enjoyment!
Interlude: The Twilight of Reality
April 3rd, 2026. Ocean Turtle, Soul Translators' Inner Rooms. 14:30…
The faint sound of beeping medical equipment brought Yuuki Asuna a lot of bittersweet memories.
First time she had heard those sounds had been while recovering in the hospital after the ALO Incident, alternating between being glad to have finally returned to being annoyed at Sugou for her extra-months of incarceration, mixed with the happiness of seeing everyone again in the real world and the fire of her budding rivalry with Suguha (How much can things change, eh?)
The second time she had heard them constantly had been after discovering the truth about Yuuki's condition, every time she would go visit the young girl she had become such good friends with, remember how much she tried to crush the helplessness it caused her, only for her dearest person to end up pulling a miracle and saving the day at the end, like he always did since she met him.
And that was why, staring through the thick protective glass that separated them from the room, her heart felt unusually heavy and burdened, staring at the strongest person she had ever known, the boy she loved more than anything in the world, lying there helplessly, his skin (Or what could be seen of it that wasn't covered by clothes or under the headset) looking slightly pale.
Kirigaya Kazuto's body lay within the Soul Translator, the special bed gel in which he lay combined with the distance making him seem so motionless that it was hard to tell he wasn't dead. It was just the continuous sound and visage of the cutting-edge medical equipment connected to the machine that let them know he was alive at all, as his breathing wasn't even noticeable at that distance.
At her side, the chestnut-haired girl noticed Rika putting a hand against the glass, worry, and disbelief flooding off her eyes as she bit her lips, which made her feel even sadder. The blacksmith was by no means weak, but her friend probably was taking the sight and situation worse than her, if only because she had never seen the gamer so 'weak' before, and the mere idea that something could bring him down like that was anathema to her.
It was something she was just now realizing, in fact, even as she was keenly aware of some whimpering sounds coming from the tablet she carried and how the security cameras of the hallway and the room before them were continuously adjusting themselves and aiming towards Kazuto's unmoving form and nothing else, clear sign of how Yui and Strea weren't taking the sight any better.
All of them, every single member of their bizarre 'family', the UHA…they had grown too used to seeing Kazuto as 'invincible'. Almost without realizing it, they had just slowly come to think, despite him always trying to make a point of the contrary, that the boy would always emerge victorious of any situation, that he would always manage to solve the problems and save the day, in the end.
In SAO, in ALO, in GGO, saving Yuuki's life…and the impossible miracle he pulled off to come back and win for them in Utopia, stopping Equinox at the last moment, had just reinforced that belief even more.
That's why they had all but collapsed upon themselves when he vanished after being attacked and almost killed. Why she and Suguha had blamed themselves so harshly at their powerlessness, the young kendoka even more than her, likely because she thought she could have done something against Xaxa's monstrous power just for being the 'Bicycle Girl'. Which was foolish thinking, but understandable.
Asuna regretted having been unable to talk with her again after Shiori and Shino found her, especially given she had actually faced directly against the red-eyed monstrosity, but circumstances had forced her hand and she had been unable to just stay until she woke up. She would have to have a long talk with her after this was all over…probably give her a long hug too.
Then, she would get the entire group together and, with Kazuto present, they would have a long 'session'…technically not therapy, but there were a lot of things that they would probably be better off taking off their chests and sharing. Simple, mundane things they usually never really talked about, just so they could remind themselves that, all the craziness aside, they were still just a bunch of normal teenagers.
…they probably would go back to talking about their crazy plans for the future and the insane adventures they had lived through the very next day, but hey, it was the thought was counted.
"…Yui, Strea." mumbled Asuna while finally breaking the long silence. "How is he?"
"…stable, as far as we can read." came out Yui's hoarse voice after a short silence. "The treatment is working as it's supposed to, his brain is being healed, but…well, it's all experimental, as you know. There are no guarantees…but his Fluctlight is still completely intact, if the Soul Translator is to be believed."
"We could have just told you that, you know?" complained Kikuoka with a small frown, even as he also gazed towards the boy that was the cause of the whole mess he now found himself in, and that could get him more than simply fired if word of it ever got out to his superiors.
How did you excuse having your entire facility and all its super-secret systems and filed hijacked by two teenage girls, after all?
"I'm pretty sure they don't really trust a single word that comes out from your mouth, nor will they anytime soon, Kikuoka." snorted Rinko with a small shake, before her eyes drifted back towards the unmoving form of Kazuto. "…you know, I also thought of it the last time I saw him, but…he just looks so…unimpressive, compared with everything he has done…"
"Kirito is the strongest person we have ever met, so please, be kind enough to not judge him from how he looks while unconscious after saving two of our friends from almost being killed by a monster, Rinko-san." acidly replied Rika while clenching her fists, making the woman wince and mutter an apology while looking away. "…you two…will he really recover? He's…going to be okay, right?"
"We-well…the whole treatment is experimental, as your little virtual friend mentioned, but…we have no reason to believe it won't work, really. As you just confirmed…it's going well." doing his best to sound as hopeful as he wanted to be, Higa gestured towards the machines showing Kazuto's vital signs with a determined look. "As long as his Fluctlight continues receiving the stimulation it needs, he should be perfectly fine once his brain has finished healing…at least, in theory."
"…that's why you loaded him inside that world, right? The Underworld?" spoke Strea with that unusually serious voice that made Asuna wish things had never gotten to this point, because of how wrong it sounded on the ever-happy AI. "A way to ensure his 'sense of self' would continue active and intact despite his body being unable to let him regain consciousness…but, what if something happens to him?"
"What would it?" questioned Kikuoka with a small shrug. "We made sure he would end up 'Logging in' on one of the most harmless and out of the way places of the entire Underworld. A small farming and woodcutting village near the edge of the Human Empire…there is nothing in there that can cause any problems."
"…Kikuoka-san, have you fucking forgotten WHO you're talking about?" deadpanned the chestnut-haired girl present while glaring at him, before turning towards her tablet. "Strea, Yui-chan, can you track him down? See where he's going?"
"…no, Asuna-mama, it's impossible." mumbled the youngest-looking MHCP with a frustrated look. "The Acceleration Mechanic the world is running at makes it impossible to accurately monitor the inside of the Underworld as long as it's activated. What we saw before in the main command room was slowed-down footage of the biggest city on it for a reason…"
"Then turn it off." mercilessly declared Rika with a clear frown. "Knowing Kirito, he has somehow managed to face off against some evil plot trying to take control of that world from the shadows or something crazy like that…"
"Even if something as impossible as that could happen under our noses, there is no way Kirigaya-kun would put himself at risk inside an unknown environment while totally powerless." scoffed Kikuoka while adjusting his glasses. "After all, inside there, he's just as normal as any other inhabitant of the Underworld. None of his famous impossible abilities on the virtual world are present in there."
For a moment, everything was still as the present members of the United Heroes Association processed that, the girls' eyes widening while the two Artificial Intelligences froze, a mix of disbelief and dread in their eyes.
"…huh, they suddenly went very still…"
"…was it something I said?"
"…Gods, how have you two morons made it so high in the Japanese Government?" moaned Rinko while covering her face, just as Asuna spun around and held the bespectacled agent's shoulders with uncanny strength, making him gasp in pain.
"Are you telling me sensei has been inside there for months, without his powers, and without anyone checking what he has been up to?! For the love of…! Yui-chan, turn that Acceleration off, we're going inside there if needed just to make sure…!"
"You can't!" stopped her Higa with a panicked look, quickly looking around despite knowing they were completely alone in the observation area. "The Acceleration is the main way in which Project Alicization runs! Unless it's for a scheduled maintenance or check-up, it's never turned off, hence why…"
"…why they got Kirito inside under the excuse of an emergency maintenance. Their superiors' only direct monitoring of this facility is through the Acceleration Engine, because the Ocean Turtle is only directly connected to the mainland through the Roppongi Branch of Rath." finished Strea with an annoyed pout, Yui patting her little sister on the back to keep her calmed down. "If there is an unauthorized change in the Acceleration, like it being set down to x1 for longer than an emergency, they will know through the satellite link they have between both facilities."
"…and I'm guessing that's how sen…Kirito-kun was able to enter this Underworld last time despite the main 'computer' being here and him in Roppongi, right? Dammit." cursed Asuna after receiving a nod from both virtual sisters, Yui even bringing up an image of the 2 Soul Translators available in the aforementioned mainland facility. "…okay, change of plans. We will stick around until Sensei is better, but I want you two to try and falsify the data needed to schedule a 'maintenance' as soon as possible. I may love him, but heavens know Kirito-kun is unable to not get into trouble if alone for long enough."
"And without his powers to boot…remember last time? When he tried doing that 'Saitama-training' for real and ended on the hospital after fainting on his own doorstep?" grimacing at the memory, Rika shook his head before glaring towards the unconscious boy. "You better not be doing anything stupid in there, Kirito!"
"Heh…knowing papa, he's probably saving someone and maybe even unknowingly charming a new mama while he does it." joked Yui with a half-smile, attempting to lift the tense mood.
Her words managed to make both of the oldest females from the UHA to freeze, though, as the 'joke' was something that had happened…way too many times for them to simply take it lightly. Taking deep breaths, Asuna counted up to 3 while Rika's eyebrows twitched.
"…say, is anyone else feeling hungry?" asked Rinko out loud upon noticing their discomfort, clearly not wanting to be anywhere near the duo if they lost their nerves again…especially if the chestnut-haired girl could still summon that sword out of nowhere.
"W-we do have a very nice cafeteria in one of the upper levels." nervously commented Higa, clearly also noticing the explosive mood both girls suddenly were in. "I'm pretty sure you're both hungry, s-so…what do you say we all go grab a bite? It's not as if standing there will get Kirigaya-kun to recover any faster…"
"…sure, I could use some food, I guess. We need to restore the energy we burned to get here, after all." sighed Asuna while finally relaxing, grabbing Rika's elbow and gesturing for her to follow as she turned around, giving the two men a calculating stare for a moment before her face morphed into an 'innocent smile'. "Lead the way, Kikuoka-san, Higa-san…and remember, no trying to scream for help, okay? Also, if you could explain everything you can about that world Sensei is in right now while we walk, it would be extremely helpful."
Groaning, the pair in charge of Project Alicization nodded and started walking, quickly followed by the two girls and flanked by a tired-looking Rinko, who was once again wondering if helping out with this had been a mistake.
All the while, Strea, and Yui continued watching through the cameras showing Kazuto's room, before the latter sighed and commented that she was going to inform Yuuki of what they had found, vanishing in a swirl of data.
Barely nodding in acknowledgment, the younger Mental Health Counseling Program simply kept staring at the unmoving form of the person she, and everyone she cared for, loved the most in the world.
Who knew becoming so 'human' could be so painful…?
Kirigaya Suguha knew she wasn't someone most people would call 'normal' even before the current events took place. Maybe not even 'sane' at all.
Then again, that probably was obvious since the moment she took riding around in a bicycle with a shinai in hand dispensing justice for the innocent was a good way to deal with the feeling of helplessness that having her brother trapped in a Death Game caused on her.
Yet, despite all of that, everything had always worked out. Somehow, she, Kazuto and everyone else had always come out on top, surpassed their problems, be it personal or general ones. Hell, in a way, one could say they had 'saved the world' not long ago.
She had always just rolled with it, done her best to keep going, smiling all the way, because she was happy. Because she loved the life she and the others were leading.
But, now that things had truly taken a deadly and crazy turn for everyone involved, the young kendoka truly wondered if she shouldn't have noticed earlier that something was 'wrong' with everything happening around them.
Now, as she stood beside Justice in an alley near the hospital she and Shiori had just sneaked out of, mentally nodding to her bicycle's updates about everything that had taken place while they slept, Suguha pondered if maybe she should have noticed it wasn't that she or her friends were 'going' crazy, but that the world around them had slowly getting crazier and crazier…
"Hey, Suguha? I'm done." blinking as she came into the alley after having used a nearby convenience store to purchase some snacks and bottles of water, Izawa Shiori saw the far-away look on the other girl's eyes, making her frown. "Hey…you okay?"
"…Ar…Shiori. Please, tell me…are we crazy?"
"…that's one hella question to ask someone, you know?"
"I mean…we just escaped from a hospital as if it was no big deal, all based around a random hunch I had while sleeping. And we even knocked out a nurse that saw us getting out of the backdoor, even if we did it 'gently'…" mumbled Suguha with a small sigh.
"Yeah, remind you to teach you how to properly do a sleeper hold someday, as you saw it's hella useful…" drawled the whiskered girl while leaning against the wall beside her friend. "But, in all honesty…do you think we're 'crazy'?"
"If I think so…?" looking down, the young kendoka suddenly clenched her fists, her eyes gaining a sharp look. "No, not at all."
"Well, there you have it!"
"Bu-but…what if that's just me not accepting…?"
"Sugu, dear…your bicycle came to pick us up, almost literally." remarked an amusing-looking Shiori before, casually, raising one her completely healed hands, clenching it a few times while feeling the 'hardness' within them, the tip of unnatural claws emerging from her knuckles for a moment before, with a snort, she pushed them back 'somewhere', leaving her limbs looking completely normal again. "And I have claws growing from the back of my hands. What does that tell you about us 'not accepting sanity'?"
For a moment, Suguha just stared from the whiskered girl's nonchalant face to her bicycle at their side, Justice eagerly shaking and ringing her bell just as she did so.
'You're definitively not crazy, Master!'
"…heh, yeah, sorry about that. You're both right." nodding with a fierce smile now in her face, the young kendoka reached out to her bike, grabbing the helmet hanging on its handlebars and putting the reflective glasses folded within. "Now…let's go save Onii-chan."
"That's the spirit, Bicycle Girl!" cheered the wielder of the Berserk Unique Skill while grabbing the 'cloak' that had been also bundled with Suguha's costume, even as the younger girl grabbed her 'mask' and mounted her 'loyal steed'. "So, what's the plan?"
"There is no way we can catch up to Asuna and Rika as we are, unless Justice suddenly develops the ability to fly…"
'I…think I'm not quite there yet, Master…sorry…'
"…but we know Rath has a building in Roppongi. The one where they originally had Onii-chan doing his 'part-time work' at." finished the young kendoka with narrowed eyes while Argo stood on Justice's back and held onto her shoulders, looking down dubiously a few times before steadying herself. "Even if we can't get them to take us to this 'Ocean Turtle' from there, I'm sure there must have a way to directly contact with Kikuoka there."
"So, go with a gut feeling for another gut feeling towards a probably heavily secured building and hope for the best as we smash our way inside to try and save Kirito and the rest from whatever is coming?" chuckling, Shiori let a toothy smile bloom on her face as Suguha started pedaling, her blood pumping like it had only ever done back in SAO. "Sure! We're quite a lot like Shonen characters at this point, so…Let's do this, Leafa-chi!"
"Right back at you, Argo-san! Hang tight!"
"Wait, why would I have to…?"
"Stand-Up Peddling Modeeeee!"
"Waaaaaaaah…!"
Quite a lot of people turned around at the unexpected creams, more than one gasping and pointing in shock as they saw Japan's 'legendary vigilante' and a new one they had never seen before, speeding down the streets, the latter asking between shouts if they were actually going to just ride all the way to Tokyo.
All the while, the unseen Chains kept tightening their hold on the heavens…
"…and that's pretty much everything Yui-chan had to report about Kirito's condition." came Yuuki's worried voice out of the Skidbladnir's form as it silently floated inside Toshiyuki's (More like his father's) car, the boy in question and the rest of the former Black Cats sitting inside while he drove away with a worried frown. "I…already called the others, they will be here in ALO in a few minutes so that I can explain it to them, but now there is also…"
"Yes, Yuuki, we know." sighed the former guild leader before nodding towards the flying interactive machine, though never getting his attention off the road. "We will be there to sort things out in a while. For now, explain to everyone that those two are…okay, probably. At least, I'm sure Argo wouldn't have let Kirito's little sister run around injured. As for where they are, well…that's something we can discuss when we're all together."
"You know, I feel as if I'm doing nothing but explaining things right now…it's quite a bit frustrating." confessed the virtual girl with a small sigh, before her tone sounded once again as a semblance of her usual cheerful one. "But that's okay because I'm still helping out to recover Kirito! You will see, we will be back together in no time at all!"
The Skidbladnir 'landed' atop Saori's lap (As the girl was sitting shotgun) a moment later, turning off as Yuuki stepped away from its virtual controls. Silence reigned inside the moving vehicle for a few seconds before the only female present sighed and carefully put the machine between her feet.
"She's really feeling down about his, eh?" mumbled the spear-user with a sad smile.
"Can you blame her, Sachi?" questioned Takuya with a resigned look. "She's probably the strongest out of all of us after Kirito, hell, I think even Asuna and Leafa combined would have a hard time matching her if she went all out…and yet, she has essentially been able to do 'nothing' to help us find him since this shit went down, or at least that's how she sees it."
"Ducker is right, as much as I hate to agree with such a thing." groaned Kenji while slamming his head on the back of his seat. "Even Strea and Yui-chan have been able to do a lot, finding Koujiro Rinko, helping Asuna and Liz take over that weird secret place they have Kirito at…but she has been just sitting there in the log house, keeping us informed as a 'shortcut'. Even she knows it would only take a few minutes more for the sisters to simply jump from a place to the other after telling us things, they just…"
"…gave her something to do so she didn't feel excluded. So she could feel she also was helping out finding Kirito. We know, Tetsuo." interrupted Yonaga with a sad smile. "She knows too, but…it's still helping her, to do anything at all during all of this, so if she wants to ignore it then we should too."
What the one they always called Sasamaru said rang especially true with the boys present inside the car. After all, they probably knew much better than almost anyone what 'feeling powerless' when compared to others was. One quick look to the girl they had once regarded to as a little sister they had to protect and that nowadays had faced and beaten things that could have flattened them in a blink by herself was enough to confirm that.
Yet, none of them had ever wavered, or doubted their value inside the group…the family. They had all always stood together with the amazing females and their 'invincible' leader through everything the world had thrown at them.
They had faced Equinox directly, right beside Asuna and Leafa, and even if the virtual entity had eventually defeated them, they were all more than proud of having bought the UHA enough seconds for Kirito to come back and save the day.
This time, however, it didn't seem as if that would happen, because it was their great hero who needed some saving. This time, they all were doing their best to try and get him back home safe and sound.
Still, neglecting how one of their dearest members was feeling because of it wouldn't do. Even if they had to deal with some unexpected problems along the way…
"I really hope those two are okay…" mumbled Saori while biting her lips as she looked out of the window. "The fact they ran away from the hospital says a lot, they must have felt they had to do something urgent that couldn't wait for them to be discharged, so they had to sneak out, and without their phones on them, that means they also couldn't contact us, but…"
"Yeah, if what Sinon said was accurate, motherfucking Xaxa is still running around like an actual monster. At this point, Lea…Suguha, that is, has run into him the most and survived by a miracle, apparently." grumbled Toshiyuki as they finally arrived at his home. "I'm just really hoping they didn't run off to try and hunt him down or something. I would hate for 'third time is the charm' to work on her…and Kirito would kill us if we had let her run off to get herself killed like that."
"Keita…you know Kirito wouldn't do that. And…I have faith, both in Argo and Suguha-san." nodded the young girl as they all got off the car and, after opening the trunk, retrieved their AmuSpheres. "Whatever they ran off to do, I'm sure they had a good reason for it…maybe even something related to Kirito we don't know about yet!"
"Well, let's hope so, Sachi." sighed the oldest boy with a weak smile. "For now, let's get to ALO and meet up with everyone. Hopefully Yuuki has already filled them in about almost everything…"
A few minutes later, the members of the UHA that were the former the Black Cats entered the log house in Aincrad's 22nd Floor, unofficially their guild's base and also the place most of them called home almost more than they did to their families' houses in the real world.
Inside, everyone else but five were waiting for them, and despite how numerous the United Heroes Association (And adding the Sleeping Knights, who were, surprisingly, also there) was, the lack of those members was heavily felt in the faces of their bizarre family.
Yuuki, who had been talking up until that moment, fell silent for a moment upon seeing the newest arrivals, nodding softly towards them before continuing with her explanation, even as Keita looked towards the tallest female from the peculiar guild, who sent him a small smile upon catching his gaze.
"Siune…we weren't expecting you here." admitted the former guild leader with a bit of embarrassment.
"Yuuki called us a bit earlier; she actually already briefed us before the others came." replied the latest leader of the Sleeping Knights with a complicated expression as the young man sat at her side. "…she was devastated when Kirito-kun vanished, but…we honestly didn't expect things would have gotten this crazy…then again, with him involved, maybe that shouldn't be so surprising…"
"Life is certainly never boring when Kirito is involved, yeah, I gotta hand that to you." shaking his head slightly, Keita looked back at the wielder of Holy Sword, admiring the passionate way in which she recounted the events. "…she's really strong, eh? Not only fighting, but…"
"Since the moment I met her, yes. She always has been." smiling softly at the memory of three cheerful teenage girls jumping around her while telling her she had to join her guild, back in Serene Garden, Siune allowed her melancholic eyes to turn into a proud stare as their images were replaced by the brave Imp standing there and explained the harsh reality of Kirito's situation to the rest of the girls who loved him, the fire in her eyes never diminishing. "And she has just gotten stronger ever since…even more since she met him, Asuna…all of you. Sometimes, I fear she will completely leave us behind one day…"
"You're her family too, Siune." reminded the boy while putting a hand on her shoulder, making her look his way in surprise. "No matter what she does, where she goes or what she becomes capable of…Yuuki-chan would never leave anyone she cares for behind. That's why she's doing her best with what little she can do to help Kirito right now…I'm sure you know that, too."
"…Keita-kun…" mumbled the woman with a wide-eyed look, before her face melted into a soft and grateful smile. "You're right…thanks for reminding me of that."
For a moment, a comfortable silence blossomed between the two, their gazes locked in a relaxed and happy m…
"Gods, get a room already, you two." groaned Jun while rolling his eyes, the young Salamander freezing when his words made the pair snap out of their 'trance' and look at him, Keita with an annoyed look and Siune with one he had come to know as 'Annoyed Big Sister'. "Ah…I said that out loud, didn't I?"
"Yes…you did."
"Jun…"
Luckily for the youngest 'living' member of the Sleeping Knights, Yuuki finished with her explanations and Silica decided to speak, with a tone that somehow managed to be both somber and hopeful.
"So, essentially, we can only wait and hope for the best until Kirito-san recovers…sad to think about, but we can fully believe in Asuna-san and Liz-san. Their Ninja Ways would never let them fail him." expressed the young kunoichi with a solemn look, though one only needed to look at how tightly she was gripping the annoyed-looking Pina to know how she was really feeling. "I'm sure they will accomplish their mission."
"It may be harsh to accept, but yes, all we can do now is to wait. We have done all we could so far." nodding slowly, as if more to convince herself than others, Philia was clearly conflicted but hopeful, musing everything they had been told. "Still, to think Kirito would end up trapped in 'another world' while he's recovering…he's really a magnet for problems like this, isn't he?"
"Knowing him, he's perfectly fine and playing hero for some new girl right now." snorted Sinon while shaking her head, her eyes narrowing as she looked out of the window. "I'm more worried about where the hell those two ran off to, honestly. I was sure that Suguha-sama had finally seen reason after last night, and I definitively didn't think Argo would entertain any other crazy stunt after we…fought that thing yesterday."
"As reckless as she was these last few days because of what happened to Kirito, we all know Lea…Suguha isn't stupid. She wouldn't just rush off from the hospital like that for no reason after being told we had found him and both Asuna and Liz were on the case, as much as she would also want to be there. Our worries aside, she wouldn't make her mother go through another scare of this level if it wasn't of utmost importance." spoke Sachi with a worried but firm tone, making everyone ponder on her words with small frowns. "If anything, I think maybe we should focus in try and find them, they may need help with whatever this is…"
"Well, unless you have a way of magically tracking them, I think we're stuck on that front. And it's not as if we can ask Strea or Yui for help, they're kind of busy right now." reminded Keita with a resigned look. "And I seriously doubt that we're going to get another miraculous warning out of no…"
The former guild leader's words were suddenly interrupted by the sound of something crashing outside, followed by Tonky making a loud sound and a lot of cursing from a familiar voice. Then, while everyone was blinking towards the door, a blonde Sylph entered the room, stumbling a bit in place and shaking her head, before opening unnatural steel-colored eyes and waving shakily towards the group.
"He-hey there, everyone! Agh! …sorry, I'm a bit distracted, I and Master are a bit busy IRL right now…eat that!" posing dramatically, Justice (Possessing Leafa once again), seemingly hit an invisible foe, before her head quickly spun around to meet the bewildered group. "Yeah, sorry! Would have co-contacted sooner, but I totally…HYA! Uhm…forgot to tell master I could kinda do this without her…TAKE THIS!…without her having connected with her AmuSphere!"
"Justice-san…? Is that you? What's going on?" asked Silica with perplexity, the Sleeping Knights looking extremely lost (Being the first time they witnessed this particular 'phenomenon') while the rest of the UHA suddenly seemed to be paying full attention to the possessed avatar. "And why are you…like that?"
"DODGE…! O-okay, sorry, long story short: Master woke up completely sure something very bad was heading the idi…Kirito's way! So we prepared to sneak out and find a way to get to him! Then, Argo woke up with superpowers…LEFT SIDE! And decided to join us, probably to make sure Master doesn't get herself killed!"
"Wait…Argo what?!" shouted Sinon while everyone else exchanged dumbfounded looks. "What do you mean with superpowers?!"
"She can now grow some claws that look like some hardcore version of he-her VR weapons for re…BEHIND US!" spinning in place, and further confusing the group, Justice growled for a moment before shaking her head and looking back at them with urgency. "So we argued for a bit, then decided to go to Rath's building in Roppongi! If they couldn't take us to this Ocean Turtle place, at least they would be able to let us warn them, right?! But hey, fun thing! Seems this Kikuoka guy was still a bit paranoid about Master and ordered her to be detained on sight 'for her own sake' if she came by! So now we're kicking our way inside to try and get someone to fulfill our fucking request!"
"You mean that…you three are fighting against the entire security of Rath's Roppongi building by yourselves right now?! Are you crazy?!" screamed Philia while everyone stood up in alarm, finally understanding why the bicycle/katana/spirit-thing seemed to 'distracted'. "…wait, what's that about Kirito probably being in danger?"
"Yeah, Master isn't 100% either, but she says she can feel in her heart he's in danger, and I believe…ohshittheyhaveguns! THROW ME, MASTER!" suddenly, the blonde Sylph stood up and jumped towards the nearest wall face-first, a fierce look in her eyes. "JUSTICE CRAAAASH!"
'Leafa' slammed against the wall and shattered into polygons, a message of 'Error: Disconnection' being left in her place for a moment, leaving behind a bewildered group of virtual heroes.
At the same time, in the real world, several armed guards twitched on the ground, completely knocked out even as a bicycle rang her bell menacingly and rolled off them, back to the annoyed-looking teenage vigilante that had just thrown her.
'Hah! I took them all down, Master! Oh, and I more or less managed to explain the situation to everyone in ALO!'
"…that was dangerous." sighed Suguha while shaking her head, before offering a small smile to her loyal mount. "And thanks for that, Justice…Argo? Any luck?"
"Almost…done! ORYA!" with that last shout, Shiori's clawed hand slammed brutally against the closed door she had been hammering against one last time, all but tearing it off its hinges and sending it flying towards the opposite side of the room.
Inside, several scientists and other people that looked like they would only be in charge of paperwork raised their arms, clearly terrified, a few of them frozen where they stood beside two big machines (One of them still half-covered in plastic and other security-transport stuff).
"W-we surrender! Don't kill us!"
"We're not here to kill anyone! I have been shouting that the whole time your 'guards' have been trying to take us down!" growled the young kendoka as she strode into the room, giving a quick glance towards the two Soul Translators before pointing towards one of the researchers. "Hey you! Do you have a way to contact Kikuoka at the Ocean Turtle from here?!"
"How do you know…?! I-I mean, I don't know what you're talking about!" quickly 'denied' the panicked man.
"For fucks sa…let me, Leafa-chi." groaned Shiori before walking forward and making a point of putting her closed fist an inch from the man's face as the metallic plates that formed her unnaturally sharp claws emerged from it, making him and many others scream in shock. "Hear, lives could be at stake here if you don't stop pretending we have no idea about your secret project here and fucking connect us with the Ocean Turtle! Are we clear?!"
"Cry-crystal clear!"
"Good, then get to it!"
"…you know, you're scarily competent at making people comply with what you say, Argo." commented Suguha with slightly wide eyes. "…have you considered joining us to fight against crime?"
"Please, don't tempt me, Leafa-chi. Last night made me both miss the days I was just a humble Info Broker…but also feel oddly cathartic at punching the shit out of Monster Xaxa." sighed the whiskered girl while looking at her strange hand-weapons. "Let's first get through this whole mess, hope we're not all in prison by the end of it, and then we will talk…also, I think I'm hearing more of those guys coming."
"Great…let me handle it. You make sure to warn Asuna and Liz, quick." Having said those words, the Bicycle Girl mounted atop her signature vehicle, tightly gripped her shinai and shot out into the hallway, under the stupefied stares of the people within the room. "Whatever is going for Onii-chan is almost there already, I can feel it!"
Back in New Aincrad, Yuuki cursed with annoyance as she closed the small terminal she had been trying to use, one Strea and Yui had attached to the Skidbladnir's control panel in case of emergencies, before turning hopelessly towards the expectant group.
"It's useless, I can't contact them! That place's security must be so isolated normal calls don't get through…unless either Yui or Strea comes back here, we can't reach them through normal means."
"…yeah, she's right. Not a single call gets through to Asuna, Liz, or Rinko-san's phones." announced Keita as his avatar started moving again, the boy having just Logged Out for a moment to try and contact their friends at the secret facility without success. "Should we try and go to Roppongi to help them?"
"Wouldn't it be too late by the time any of us arrive there?" questioned Silica with a worried from. "Although…
"For that matter, how DID get there in just a couple hours by riding a bicycle?!" demanded Tecchi with clear distress, the second oldest member of the Sleeping Knights still unable to believe that particular bit.
"I don't know…I suddenly have a very bad feeling and I don't know if we should rush anything." answered Sinon to the kunoichi's question even as she bit her lips. "Maybe we should…"
The world lurched. There was no other way to describe it, as for a moment the entire virtual reality around the group seemed to twist sideways, then upside down, blur and crack before it violently went back to normal, leaving everyone stunned, shocked and disoriented, more than one having fallen down or stumbled forward at the phenomenon.
They were still trying to regain their bearings when Yuuki gasped, eyes being drawn towards the Imp girl as she reached for the golden blade sheathed at her hips' side, which had started humming dangerously.
"Excaliber…? What…is something…wrong?" mumbled the virtual survivor with utter confusion, as if trying to understand what her legendary sword was trying to transmit, just before some weird and ominous knocks on the door made everyone freeze. "Oh…I should get the door? Okay…"
"Wa-wait, Yuuki!" squeaked Keita as he felt an unusually dark yet familiar presence waiting. "Yo-you shouldn't…!"
Without listening, Yuuki opened the door, revealing the inhumanly tall and thin figure behind it, wearing a 'suit' as it loomed ominously and its tendrils waved sinisterly on its back…
"Oh, it's just our shy neighbor." pointed out the Imp while turning to look at the rest, a bit confused as for why they all looked so pale and terrified, Keita even 'bravely' putting a shivering Siune behind him…and the rest of the UHA boys also having taken cover behind the pair. "Uhm…is something wrong, Slendy-san?"
For all answer, the unnatural and slender creature pointed up towards the sky with all of its tendrils, even as it stepped back and released a sound that, despite communicating 'worry', sounded suspiciously like the laughter of innocent children.
Blinking, Yuuki stepped out the house…and gasped, quickly rushing out into the field, followed by the anomalous humanoid creature. After a few seconds of hesitation, and against their better judgment, the rest of the UHA members and Sleeping Knights followed.
Outside the log house, Tonky was looking agitated while its 'friend' returned to its side, the slender creature trying to calm down the elephant-jellyfish-butterfly as it moved from side to side and nervously gazed into the heavens. Not far from it, Charon (Sinon's hippogriff) looked equally spooked, the beast rushing around the clearing while flapping his wings.
None of that seemed to matter for the gathered group, however, as their attention and gazes were fully drawn to the bizarre sight of the virtual sky warping and distorting in a more bizarre way than they had ever seen. And given that several of them were SAO Survivors and had seen the effects of Kirito's first Serious Punch, never mind the fight in the Utopia Server, that was saying something.
However, seeing how the heavens seemed to twist into a myriad of unreal-looking Chains, wrapping around each other from a horizon to another in every single direction, was beyond bizarre already. When you added the unnatural feeling of Wrongness, of Finality and Hopelessness that the mere sight of it all seemed to instill into their very souls by apparently no reason at all, though, things go much worse…
"Wha-what the…what the hell is that…?" mumbled Sinon with a numb tone, feeling a painful squeeze in her heart, an odd feeling and need to run away and hide in fear that she hadn't felt since she faced Death Gun along Kirito.
"So-some bug…some kind of error…?" whispered Silica while her hands tightly gripped Pina, though it was clear that the kunoichi didn't even believe her own words even as her loyal friend released worried and scared sounds, red eyes fixated on the heavens.
"I don't…think so…" was all that Sachi could say, feeling the strange urge to pierce towards the sky with her spear, only to confirm how much despair-inducing and futile that would end up being.
"Not right…it's not right…" shaking, Yuuki's eyes were wide as she unsheathed Excaliber, the golden blade humming and shaking in her hands as her gaze never left the ever-extending Chains, as if some unnatural fear was gripping her very soul. "Those things…aren't ri…!"
"…guys?" gaining everyone's attention at how empty her words sounded, Philia slowly looked away from the small screen she had opened, looking deadly pale as she gulped. "I-I think we should Log out."
"…why?" muttered Keita when it became clear nobody else was going to.
"Something…something is happening outside…the sky seems to be…breaking…?"
With deadly finality, the Chains finally started to materialize within Reality itself.
"[…the time of the End has come. Who can stand against Fate's Judgement…?]"
Getting inside was easy. Much simpler than he would have ever thought.
Then again, apparently his…no, 'their' bosses had connections that were very high up. Probably a mole inside the facility, actually, which would explain a lot of things. Getting into the massive and stupidly-shaped structure in the middle of the ocean that gave the middle finger to the concept of 'secret facility' more than anything people in fiction could have come up with was the easy part.
The tricky bit was surviving and achieving their goals once they were in, obviously. They had been given equipment and outfits to go for it, but…why ruin the fun?
He had a plan, after all…
As suicidal as idly walking out into a hallway outside the main deck they had disembarked at seemed, whistling a happy tune in full view of the cameras like he didn't have a care in the world.
It didn't even take 5 minutes for several armed guards to appear at the opposite end of the hallway, aiming at him and shouting for him to stop.
"FREEZE!"
"Why, hello there, gentlemen! Isn't this a lovely day?"
"Shut up! Who the hell are you?! And how did you get here?!"
"Don't you know? I'm the Prince of Hell…"
As he calmly spoke, never losing his smile, Vassago Casals casually tiled his head to the side.
Something twisted and sharp, like some massive needle from hell, shot forward faster than any of the men could blink, turning the leftmost one's head into a messy ruin.
Almost in slow motion, their gazes turned to meet a dark and inhuman form, nightmarish red eyes peeking from within a hood and mantle that seemed more skin than fabric.
"…and this is my kingdom now."
"Pathetic…die."
Shots and screams quickly filled the hallway, the sinister man never losing his smile as he admired the one-sided carnage that ensued, like a fascinated child seeing a file of ants moving through the road.
Once silence fell again, only Xaxa's tall and monstrous form remained standing, the remains of one of the poor guards held in his left 'hand', clawed and covered with steel-like bone.
"…magnificent. It's the first time I actually see you 'work', but…you truly have become something else, eh, Xaxa?"
"Shut the hell up…PoH." growled the Mysterious Being while glaring at him, neither his skeletal face nor his blood-burning eyes seeming to make Vassago lose his unnerving smile. "Let's find Kirito…and kill him already…"
"Don't rush ahead without thinking, my friend. That's how you got your ass kicked last night, isn't it?" chuckled the unnerving man while walking forward, putting a hand on the monster's shoulder as he stared towards one of the cameras aiming right at them. "If our dearest 'Hero' is really here, we will find him and he will finally get what's coming to him. First, though, we have a job to do, remember? And you play the most important part on it."
"Right…kill everything that moves…inside this dammed place…"
"Heh, have you seen the size of this 'turtle', Xaxa? There is no way you could kill every single person working here."
"…is that a challenge, PoH? Just…WATCH ME."
Snarling those words, the creature that had once been Shinkawa Shouichi released an inhuman howl, turning around and dashing down the hallway while dragging his deformed needle-like limb through the metallic walls, vanishing from view after rounding a corner.
"…man, boss, you truly have balls of steel." joked Kanamoto Atsuchi as he walked into view from where the pair had come, twiddling his pocket knife while stopping at his side. "I mean, even I get a bit unnerved when he does all that creepy 'in-your-face' act now, but you don't even blink."
"Doing that would be counterproductive for me, Johnny. After all…the more I watch him, the more I can feel it." grinned Vassago while caressing the butcher knife hidden under his clothes, even as he raised the rifle he had been carrying (But aiming down) and shot the closest camera as if it was no big deal. "I'm this close to figuring it out."
"Eh? Figure out what?" questioned the unkempt man with confusion.
"Well…"
Alarms started blaring before the former leader of Laughing Coffin could finish his sentence, his eyes narrowed as he looked up and Atsuchi cursed out loud when the sound of doors closing nearby could be heard.
"What the fuck?! These bastards sure react fast!"
"Nah…even with Xaxa wreaking havoc, that was a bit too fast…something is amiss."
"So…what now?"
"What do you think? Nothing has changed…let's go do our 'job' while he has their attention. Heh…time for one last showtime…"
At that moment, Seijirou Kikuoka was staring in a mix of confused horror at the blaring alarms, heading towards the control room from where he had been having lunch in the cafeteria.
Flanking and quickly overtaking him, the two girls that now controlled his secret facility for all intents and purposes looked unusually grim, even as Higa and Rinko hurried to catch up.
"Okay, seriously, what the hell is going on?! You suddenly started talking with those two through your tablet and stood up looking all serious!" demanded to know the bespectacled man while both Rika and Asuna ignored him. "And now all the alarms in the facility are blaring out of nowhere! You think that won't make someone realize…?!"
"If you must know, Kikuoka-san, Argo and Suguha-chan just called us from your facility at Roppongi, Strea and Yui-chan let us know when they contacted your control room." casually revealed the chestnut-haired girl as they rounded a corner, leaving the government officer speechless. "They say something or someone is coming for Sen…Kazuto-kun, so we had them make the alarms go off in preparation for that."
"Wha…? Wait…from the facility in Roppongi? How…?"
"They kicked their way in, took down all the idiots you had stationed to try and arrest Suguha and then got your underlings to put the call on." summarized Rika as they neared the control room, making the man pale and the other two adults to exchange a disbelieving look.
"…we're all going to end up in prison once this is over." sighed Rinko while covering her face with her hands. "They all for obvious reasons, you two for utter incompetency and me for helping these girls do all of this…"
"Do-don't say that, Rinko…" hesitantly, Higa started reaching out, as if aiming to hold the woman's hand. "I'm sure this will all somehow…"
"Lieutenant Colonel, it's an emergency!" screamed a wide-eyed man as he all but shot out of the control room just as the group arrived before it, looking quite panicked. "We're under attack!"
"What?!" shouted Kikuoka as his eyes shot at him, even as the two girls grimaced and exchanged a look, walking into the room with resolute eyes. "How did it happen?! How many men?!"
"Yo-you mean you didn't activate the Full-on Emergency Alarms for that?! A-and…it's not 'men', attacking us sir…it's a monster."
Staring up at the main screen and ignoring the confused looks all the researchers inside were giving them, Asuna and Rika stared at the blackened form with nightmarish red eyes tearing through the hallways, killing everyone in his way with ease and staring from time to time at the cameras.
Time and time again, a single name raged from the depths of his throat.
"KIRITOOOOO!"
"…Xaxa. Fuck…thank Heavens Argo and Suguha warned us." sighed Asuna while forcing herself to look away from the carnage caused by the monster, closing her fist and feeling the almost mechanic-like feeling humming under it reassure her. "Strea, Yui, what do you have for us?"
"He's not alone here." informed the younger-looking of the virtual sisters while materializing on the nearest screen, scaring the hell out of the closest workers while Kikuoka and the rest entered the room and looked in horrified shock at the footage of the Mysterious Being. "There were two other men with him when he appeared. If I had to guess, he's going on ahead as a diversion or something and those two are the ones in charge of whatever true goal they're aiming for. Given what's done here, one doesn't need to be a genius to deduce what they're after, but him…"
"I don't care how that bastard knows Kirito is here…he has another thing coming if he thinks we're going to let him harm him!" growled Rika while slamming one of her fists in her open palm. "Hey, Kikuoka, what's the biggest weapon you have here?!"
"Wha…?! This is a research facility! Even if we have some armed guards, there are no big caliber weapons available here!"
"Sadly, he's telling the truth. And judging by the way bullets seem to be just crashing uselessly against him, he's not only tougher than when he fought Suguha and the rest last night, probably nothing short of a rocket launcher would take him down right now." grimaced Strea while appearing in another screen. "…Asuna, the other two with him…I saw them, but…I think you can guess who they are…"
A frozen moment of footage of both men in the hallway, even as one aimed towards the camera with a rifle. Their faces were only half-visible from that angle, but what was seen and the way one of them grabbed a knife was more than enough for the chestnut-haired girl to recognize them.
"Johnny Black and…PoH." cursing silently, not even bothering to question why the old Laughing Coffin trio was back together again, the second in command the United Heroes Association turned around, clenching and unclenching her hands as she walked past the adults, a strange fire visible in her eyes. "Liz, go protect Sensei! Don't let anyone get close to him no matter what! Strea, Yui-chan, find where those two are and let me keep them away from whatever piece of this Project they're after!"
"You got it, 'Mighty Flash'!"
"Hai, Asuna-mama!"
"They won't get even close to anything important!"
"Wha…?! Where the hell are you going?!" shouted Kikuoka while turning around to look at Asuna with wide eyes. "Don't you see there is a monster out there?!"
"Yes, I do, and as much as it pains me to have to rely on you, I'm leaving him to your men to handle for now. It's obvious that PoH didn't get here by himself just to kill Kirito-kun, so whoever helped him out wants your so-called 'secret project' for themselves. The morality of your sick objectives aside, I refuse to let them hurt the people of that world…I wouldn't be a Hero trained by Sensei if I did." sentenced Asuna with a tone that left no room for arguments, somehow every single adult in the room, even those that didn't know what was going on, feeling a 'pressure' crushing them, as if they were in the presence of someone whose Will couldn't be defied by the likes of them. "I'm going to go out there and risk my life to protect them, him…and you all too, no matter how little I may like you. Because that's what a Hero would do."
For a moment, the girl's eyes seemed to shift in everyone's eyes, as if Reality itself was glitching and something that shouldn't be possible was taking place. Then, the instant was over and she was walking out of the room with resolute steps, her right arm extended at her side as she opened and closed her hand continuously.
"Hey, Kikuoka, I'm borrowing this!" spoke Rika after a few seconds, carrying a telescopic baton in her hands, which she had just taken off one of the shocked guards' hands, her face set in a grim look as she marched out. "It's not a hammer, but it will have to do."
"Strea, you keep Asuna-mama updated and tell everyone back home what's going on! I'm going to put every single internal defense system this damn place has to its maximum output." declared Yui while her 'little sister' nodded and vanished, before she turned towards the group that still remained in the control room. "If you have anything else not directly connected to the network that could help us out here, I would really appreciate the help in saving everyone's lives."
"Ah…ye-yes, there is the prototype robot bodies we designed to carry Fluctlights, Ichiemon and Niemon." mumbled Higa as he walked closer to the screen and started typing something. "Bu-but I don't think they would be of much help?"
"…those terribly stupid names aside, show me what exactly those are. We don't know what's about to happen and anything we could use would be great…"
"…what are you waiting around for?! Go and help those girls not get themselves killed!" barked Kikuoka once he finally came back to his senses, his men nodding and rushing out of the room. "Dammit…someone should go to the STLs room too and make sure it's locked, there is no remote access for that because of the security measures…I will…"
"Do-don't worry, Kikuoka-san, I will go!" called out a nervous-looking man in a lab coat, surprising the government officer. "That thing i-is still at the other side of the facility, and we can get right into the room through one of the maintenance walkways…"
"You were…Yanai-kun, right? Are you sure?"
"Ye-yes…we need to keep the Project safe, after all, right?"
"Yes, but…have a guard go with you, this is too risky." receiving a nod, the bespectacled man looked away from Yanai, not noticing the strange smile appearing on his face for a moment as he marched out and asked for one of the two remaining armed men to help him. "Okay…what else do you need, 'Yui-chan'? If we're going to survive, we need to work together, I suppose."
"…that's probably the most sensible thing you have said today." chuckled Rinko with a hysteric edge in her voice, clearly still trying to process a seemingly unstoppable monster and killers from Sword Art Online had boarded the facility with shady intentions.
"No time for pointing out the obvious, Rinko-san." deadpanned Yui with a little smile in her face, 'dusting off' her black dress in a clear attempt to calm herself down. "We need to…"
'EMERGENCY!' signs suddenly appeared in every other screen, making the former MHCP-001's eyes widen, several researchers shouting and rushing to the nearest consoles, even as Higa froze in shock.
"What's going on now?!" screamed Kikuoka while trying and failing not to panic.
"It's…it's the Equinox Cycle, Kiku-kun." mumbled the second most important man in Project Alicization while shakily turning around. "Something…something just happened and…someone just put it into Overload Mode…from inside the Underworld."
"…the…the what cycle?" muttered Yui while looking down, her mind trying to deny the name that had just been uttered.
Every single screen's message suddenly decided to change at that moment, though, revealing a single, dark plea.
-KILL…ME…NOW…-
From a moment to the next, the World stopped making sense.
Without warning, without any premonition or bad feeling hitting anyone…the heavens ripped open, just above Japan.
No…that wasn't the correct term. It was more as if, suddenly, the very fabric of Reality had been torn apart at its seams, unmade by the same forces that had created it at the Beginning.
And from within burst the Chains, endless, metaphysical, Conceptual manifestations, finally visible for even those that existed ignorant of the truth of the Omniverse, extending forward from beyond the horizon and outside of Existence itself.
While confusion and panic slowly started filling the world, at Roppongi, two tired and slightly battered girl were staring out in shock, ignoring the people screaming or panicking around them as many pointed at the sky and took pictures or asked what was going on.
Shiori felt her claws become 'more real' as she stared up, looking down at the things before seeing their forms 'glitch' out of existence for a moment, before they came back once again.
'Master! So-something isn't right! Thi-this is…'
Suguha barely heard Justice's worried words despite literally hearing them within her head, for there was only one dark, terrifying thought filling her mind as she stared towards the warping sky.
"…Disaster-Level…God."
At other parts of Japan, several other teens were staring out at the sky with wide eyes, though with a firm resolution uniting them, before they all grabbed their phones and rushed out of their homes, some ignoring their parents' worried calls and others throwing out excuses as they contacted their friends, somehow knowing they needed each other to face whatever this was…
And while the United Heroes Association assembled, within the virtual void of the Internet, the 'ghost' of a man stared with hard eyes at the screens surrounding him, seeing reports coming from all around the world about the phenomenon, before looking back at the program he had tracking the movements and transmissions made by MHCP-001 and 002, hearing the latest bit of news about the situation within the Ocean Turtle.
Taking a deep breath, Kayaba Akihiko took his decision.
"It seems I will have to help out directly after all…Kirito."
Ignorant to everything going on, to the world sinking into chaos…or, perhaps, relishing on the distant feeling of it, a certain man walked down one of the metallic hallways of the secret facility, before stopping and raising an eyebrow. Without hesitation, he raised the rifle he carried, aiming forward to kill with the practice of a lifetime doing so…
And a blade soared through the air like a missile, cutting through his weapon and forcing him to drop it as he rolled to the side, not having lost his arm by a miracle.
Realization gleaming in his eyes as he saw the black sword embedded on the ground, Vassago Casals smiled as he turned around, staring at the figure now standing at the hallway's opposite end and looking at him with cold disgust.
"…PoH." spat Yuuki Asuna as if the very name was a disgusting curse she didn't want to ever mention.
"…yo, Mighty Flash. It's been a while, hasn't it? Not since that night in Aincrad, before that silly 'grave'." chuckled the man as he stood up and grinned darkly towards the young woman. "So…have you grown at all since then? Or are you still scaring of dirtying your hands by killing someone?"
In answer…the black form of Elucidator flew from where it was impaled on the ground, soaring past Vassago and being caught by the chestnut-haired girl before she adopted a familiar stance with it, so much that the sinister man could almost imagine a second blade there in her empty hand.
"I don't know…but I know one thing for sure: I'm not going to let you harm him…or anyone else."
His smile turning downright psychotic, the one once known as PoH whipped out the butcher knife hidden within his clothes, the simple kitchen utensil somehow seeming to crackle with menacing might despite how insignificant it looked compared to the black blade its enemy wielded.
"Yes…that's what I wanted to hear. I never was one to believe in Fate, but…facing you here may be exactly that." declared Vassago as he also took a familiar stance. "Let's go, Mighty Flash! Villain vs. Hero, one last time! Will you be victorious again…or will you be the stepping stone I need to 'evolve' once and for all?"
Silence reigned once the words were spoken, psychic grin and grim resolution being the only things visible on their faces. No further exchange was needed.
With twin roars of madness and determination, the villain and the heroine rushed towards each other, ready to clash as the World around them started to End…
"Stop."
"…hoh?"
Curiosity filling his voice, the Storyteller looked up from where he had been narrating the tale, finding the strange weapon wielded by Golden Requiem leveled straight to his hidden face.
"How do you know all of this?!"
"…really, Golden King? At this point, interrupting the story to make such questions feels so…"
The sound of an energy gunshot drowned that of the weak rain that had started falling. Impassive, the Storyteller barely seemed to acknowledge the fact that the blast had destroyed the part of the pillar he was leaning against, despite how it should have been an Immortal Object.
"Cut with the bullshit already! NO ONE should know everything you're telling me! I was wary of how much detail you had before, during the first part, but this…who are you really, Storyteller?! How do you know…how do you know the history of my f…!"
"Don't say another word, child, or you may regret it. Remember, in this world, anyone could be listening." seeing the girl fall silent immediately as she looked around, the mysterious 'old man' chuckled. "As for how I know the things I do? Is not really important. I'm but a relic, forgotten by the previous age…telling this story to you is one of the last meaningful things I will ever do."
"…how can I even trust such a vague…?"
A hand was raised, rusty and weak-looking, and a torn page materialized upon it, silencing Golden Requiem as she stared at the phenomenon in surprise.
"Perhaps this will suffice?"
"That…that wasn't Incarnation. How…?"
"A small secret that is not yet time to share…but here, Golden King, accept this as a proof of my sincerity…the missing page from Selka Zuberg's diary."
"…what?!"
"Yes. The page that she never remembered losing, the one that she never found even after remembering. The one containing her first and only full prophecy; made the very day after her life sunk into sorrow, as she cried herself to sleep in her room like any child that had just lost her closest people would…"
Reaching out with almost shaky hands, the 'robot' girl snatched the page, staring down at it.
Everything within her wanted to shout how that wasn't possible, that it was just a fake, a lie…but it wasn't.
She recognized the page's texture. She recognized the style of the writing on it.
After all, she had many times sat on the lap of someone kind but sad as she showed her the diary, lamenting to have never found the missing page in time, lamenting the things she could have prevented…
Almost with childish excitement and fear, Golden Requiem started reading the words she had never thougth she would:
'Once Upon a Time, there were Three Friends, joined by Destiny and Honest Bonds'
'But Fate destroyed their lives.'
'One taken by her Destiny, to become something more. One returned to the world he didn't know was his home, his mind forgetting but his soul yearning. One consumed by Death, warped by Bones and Ice'
'And when the Time of the End comes, as the Chains take Everything from Us…they will meet again. And when that happens…'
'One will rise above all others, to become the Hero they were always meant to be.'
'One will be forever changed, never to return to who they once were.'
'…and One will be forever lost, taken by the Chains of their Fates, for the sake of those they love…'
"…well then, Golden King?"
Shakily staring up, the girl looked back at the Storyteller, almost feeling the sad smile that she couldn't see in his hidden face.
"…ready for the last part of this tale?"
Next…
A new objective to reach…
Eugeo:…can your master really help her?
Charlotte: Yes…mother can probably wake up the Seer again.
Holding the unmoving and slowly breathing body of the tea-haired girl, the black-haired boy standing near clenched a fist.
Kirito: then it's decided…we're marching for Centoria, no matter what stands in our way.
One Path set…
Kirito:…are you sure about this?
Sortiliena: Yes. I'm going with you.
Staring back at the destroyed exit of the monsters' hideout, seeing Ronye and Tiese standing there with sadness, the undead couldn't help but grimace.
Eugeo: Let's hope that will be enough…
…and the greatest obstacle, ready to stop them…
Administrator: Hear me out, my beloved Knights…these villains, enemies of the Human World, are heading for our dear capital. They have killed your comrades and threatened our peace…their sins can't be allowed to stand.
At once, every head was raised staring right towards the Goddess of the World.
Administrator: Make sure not even the memory of them remains.
Next time on 'One Punch-Gamer: Chains of Fate':
Chapter 10: Towards the White Tower
Author's Notes: And so, this is done. Man, who would have thought we would ever get this far? Especially now that the Alicization anime's first half has ended, feels so long ago since I started this story, even longer since OPG period did…
Funnily enough, they were a lot of things in this Interlude that I hadn't written in a long time, like the bits of Keita with Siune, Justice's, well, 'Justiceness', and the UHA's interactions in general, but that still felt easy and right to fall into despite how long it had been. Also, you may notice some discrepancies on details about how the security of the Ocean Turtle is handled compared to Canon, but this is because of how much more 'paranoid' OPG Kikuoka was compared to the normal one, after everything he has seen Kirito and the UHA do XP
That said, we're approaching the last part of this crazy journey, and the end of all things is upon the UHA! Can they hold the line without their dearest One Punch-Gamer while he's still fighting within the Underworld, though? And what's the story behind the two mysterious characters behind the story? The answers to that…will come later XP!
No RWBY Omake this time, as it's an Interlude, so I will see you all next time in Eroge's next update! That said, this fic's next update may get a bit delayed, not because of external factors but because Lusus Naturae is about to end and I'm debating if I should go on an 'Update Spree' of it for its ending, which would mean writing the last chapters of it one after another to not leave everyone reading it on unnecessarily long cliffhangers :3
Until then, though, this is Saint, signing off!