Okay, slight name change for Arcanos's Order. I'm going with Darkfallen instead. I feel that this name makes more sense since Arcanos is a being of darkness (a demon) but fell from Sinestra's grace by siding with Zeta. Also I made bit of a mistake with the meeting place for the Seven Kings. It happens in the Chiyoda Ward, not the random place I picked. You'll find out why I changed it back to Chiyoda in this chapter. With that out of the way, enjoy!

Chapter 43: The Kings of Pure Color

May 31, 2057

Lelouch was feeling a little antsy within his quarters, at least more than usual with him being a double agent and deep in the enemy's base. Ever since last night, the half-demon has sensed a different tone in the air among his "comrades", something ominous. It would appear that Morgan le Fay was correct after all. The Darkfallen were onto him and were waiting for their chance to strike.

He had to get out of the base quickly, no later than today. But he couldn't be rash about it. He was vastly outnumbered and too far from his friends to call for help. But the half-demon refused to simply give up and accept this cruel fate. He wouldn't be a former Paladin of Umbris if he didn't have the courage to act. After all, the only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed.

Lelouch kept a close watch on his door while putting on his cape and gloves. There should have been another patrol passing through the hall ten minutes ago. During his time here, he managed to memorize all the patterns of each patrol squad so he could more easily navigate through the base to gather information for Scathach. This all but confirmed his suspicions that Arcanos and his Dark Council had seen through his ruse.

While he knew some magic, he was nowhere as skilled as Rias or Morgan. Even then, though, Arcanos must have placed wards throughout the entire base to prevent teleportation. That meant Lelouch would have to get more creative with his escape.

"And I've got the perfect tool for the job," he thought to himself as he fastened his gunsword to his waist. "My Geass magic should allow me to bypass the guards and get to him. After that, we'll have to make our escape fast."

Geass magic was a lost magic that only a handful of people, even among demons, could use. This magic was very peculiar as its power varied depending on the user, with the only consistent trait being that it affected the mind. In Lelouch's case, his Geass allowed him to force a person into an absolute order through direct eye contact. There were limits to this power though, like his Geass only able to affect the same person only once before they become immune to it.

Humans were the easiest to manipulate with Geass while demons and fairies (depending on their strength and mental defense) were a little trickier. However, demon lords, as well as exceptionally powerful demons and fairies, were completely immune to his Geass. There were even some humans, like Scathach and Lianna, whose wills were strong enough to make them immune as well. Luckily that shouldn't be a problem here since Geass users were so rare.

Once he finished his preparations, Lelouch quietly opened his door and peaked into the hall. He didn't see anyone there, but he couldn't afford to lower his guard. He then closed his door as silently as possible before taking a left to go deeper into the army base. His room was on the fourth floor, same as Morgan's. His "accomplice" was one floor below, locked in one of Sugou's labs.

Something about that human unnerved the half-demon. He seemed way too obsessed with the human soul as well as seeking vengeance against the Darkness Duo. If Sugou was still in that lab, then Lelouch would be more than happy to take him out before he becomes a threat to his friends.

"Of course that might be harder now that he's got an Earthbound Immortal," Lelouch said in disgust as he kept moving. "I should count myself lucky that this place is too small for them to be summoned. But even then, that Immortal of his must give him some additional benefits that I don't know about."

He soon reached the staircase that led to the lower floor. Unfortunately there were two demons guarding it. There wasn't anything unusual about them, so it was possible that he could avoid a fight. Steeling his resolve, Lelouch made his approach towards the guards, who immediately blocked the stairway.

"Hold it, half-breed," one of the demons said bitterly. "You don't have authorization to go any farther. Leave or we will report this to Lord Arcanos. I'm sure he would be thrilled to remind you of your place."

Lelouch let out an amused chuckle at the statement, taking the duo by surprise. "Oh really? Well fortunately for you, I'm on bit a tight schedule so I can't play around with you two." He quickly focused his mana into his eyes and smiled confidently. Suddenly the red symbol of the Geass appeared in both his irises. "Lelouch vi Britainnia commands you, ignore my presence and anything that happens here!"

Both demons protested before falling silent as the Geass manipulated their minds to suit Lelouch's needs. Almost immediately their irises gained red borders, a sign that the Geass had worked. They then slackened their weapons and briskly moved aside.

"As you wish, my lord," the second demon replied obediently.

Lelouch gave his thanks, his cocky smile not fading, before descending down the stairs. It was good that that was relatively simple, but he had to be quick. Geass magic doesn't affect demons for very long. Soon both those ordinary guards will be able to shake off its effects and will attempt to stop his escape. He estimated that he had about an hour before they snap out of it. If everything goes well, then he and his accomplice will be long gone before then.

He soon reached the fifth floor, which had a lot more guards on patrol, more than he anticipated even. He couldn't risk Geassing them all as that would surely lead to him getting caught. Luckily he had a back-up plan for this.

Ducking into a corner, he quickly muttered the incantation for an invisibility spell, hiding both him and his clothes from sight. He had been practicing this spell for months for such an occasion and even ran a few tests by messing with random patrols. While it wasn't as potent as Morgan's version, it would certainly get the job done as long as he was careful.

It didn't take long for him to reach the lab, though he did have a few close calls with the guards, the door of which was electronically locked but Lelouch was able to bypass it by mixing with a few wires to allow him entry. The lab was full of rather impressive equipment, having different kinds of monitors and machines that helped with whatever foul experiments Sugou and White Cosmos were doing. None of the machines looked human made. The Darkfallen must have acquired them from Eternus, but it was a mystery to the half-demon on how that transpired.

He hurried to the furthest console located in the back of the room and canceled out his spell as the door closed behind him. Directly behind it was a young man, around twenty years old, chained into a machine by his arms and legs. He had a modest build and looked to be close to Lelouch's height. His hair was a greyish brown with two bangs parting around his face while one dangled right between his eyes. His outfit consisted of a light blue jacket, a black shirt, blue jeans and brown boots. He looked exhausted with how much he was slacking against his restraints. Lelouch couldn't really blame him though. Not everyone has to fight against a madman to keep their mind their own.

"Hang on, Eiji Nochizawa," the half-demon said solemnly. "You'll soon be free."

It's about time you showed up, said a new draconic voice within the demon's mind, not bothering to hide its annoyance. My mana reserves were starting to run out. If that Sugou continued any further, we might have lost him."

Lelouch chuckled as he began the release protocol on the console to free the boy before him. "Relax, Rebellion," he said dismissively. "As if I'd ever let that happen. You really should have more faith in my strategy."

The dragon let out a growl. Your confidence isn't exactly reassuring. We're still up against two demon lords, their dragons, and the Earthbound Immortals. It would take a miracle for us to escape.

"Then it's a good thing that I'm known to be a miracle worker," Lelouch declared confidently as he finished unlocking Eiji's restraints.

Untethered to nothing, the young man started to fall backward but Lelouch was able to catch him before he hit the floor. Slowly, Eiji opened his eyes. They were unfocused at first but soon managed to clear up. His head was killing him, which was unfortunately a regular occurrence given the nature of his imprisonment.

"Nnnn," he groaned as he tried to collect himself. Eiji then glanced over at the other male. "You…you're Lelouch, right? Is it time to go?"

"Correct," Lelouch confirmed with a nod. "My cover's been blown and I'm sure Arcanos is getting an idea for why Sugou hasn't been able to rewrite your mind during this past month."

In order to protect Eiji's mind from Sugou's technology and keep him from becoming a mindless pawn to the Darkfallen, Lelouch implanted his dragon card, the Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, into the young man. Thanks to its mana acting as a shield, Eiji, formally known as Nautilus of the Knights of the Blood Oath (which was the strongest guild in Aincrad), was able to resist the madman's attempts to rewrite his mind.

"Did you get anything useful?" Eiji questioned as he sat up.

"Unfortunately no. I couldn't get any hints on what the Darkfallen are planning," Lelouch said grimly. "You should take it easy. You've been locked up for so long and probably haven't eaten properly in weeks."

Despite the cruel conditions he endured, Eiji was able to slowly rise to his feet. He was a little unsteady but managed not to keel over. He held his aching head with one palm, hoping to soothe the pain he felt. "I can manage," he said dismissively. "I can already feel Rebellion Dragon channeling his mana into me to help support my body. Once I get my suit back, I'll be just fine."

Hmph. Things I do for you two, the dragon scoffed. Both boys could picture Rebellion rolling his eyes. We should get out of here before Sugou or Cosmos return. None of us are strong enough to defeat even a single Earthbound Immortal and their masters.

"Agreed," Lelouch replied. "Let's go."

Brain Burst was very unique among fighting games. Discounting its acceleration abilities, Brain Burst didn't match players up by connecting to a server but rather through the location of the player's real-world body. Burst Linkers could not be paired up in a fight unless they were in the same specific section in the real world, which the game designates as an "area".

Area sizes were different in the city center than compared to other regions in Japan. For each of Tokyo's twenty-three wards, each ward tended to have two to four areas. For example, the Suginami Ward was divided into three areas, with each one having a matching list that revealed every Burst Linker that was currently within that area. A player could choose an opponent from that list to challenge or decide to go into Standby mode and wait for an attack.

There were around sixty areas within Tokyo's twenty-three wards. Since almost all of the one thousand Burst Linkers lived in central Tokyo, there usually were around ten to twenty people on the matching list in a single area (not counting time of day or place).

The next unique feature of Brain Burst was its VR duel stages, which were recreated from images captured by the network of high-resolution security cameras that was set up around the real world, otherwise known as the social camera network. Even now, Marth still didn't know how two people were able to hack into such a secure system all for the sake of their game. This feature was pretty much a double-edged sword. While it probably made generating the game's various environments easier by swapping certain assets, it also ran the risk of revealing the true identities of the Burst Linkers. Because of this system, buildings and roads—regardless of what kind of illusion Brain Burst put on them—were essentially in the same place as their real-world counterparts. If two duel avatars appeared close to each other in the Accelerated World, then that meant that they were close to their real-life locations.

It is considered to be the ultimate taboo to have your real name or face revealed within the Accelerated World. If that happened, you would be relentlessly attacked by obsessive Burst Linkers until eventually you lose all your burst points, causing you to not only lose Brain Burst forever, but any memories associated with it. Kuroba was almost a victim of this when she was being harassed by Cyan Demon, one of Arcanos's lackeys, which had pushed her to recruit Marth as her protégé. Funny how such a small thing led to everything that the Dark Swordsman has done over the last year or so.

However, when compared to the other wards, Chiyoda was the only one that was not divided into smaller areas. That made it one of the biggest areas within the Accelerated World. Despite its rather large size, there pretty much no Burst Linkers using it as their territory. That was because 20 percent of the Chiyoda Ward area consisted of the Imperial Palace, a building where an ordinary citizen could not go (though Rias joked that she broke into it once just to mess with the humans there before she found Marth in the park. Hey she may care about humans, but that doesn't mean she can't have some fun with them. Naturally the authorities couldn't find her, and she made sure to destroy any trace of her break-in.)

Anyway, back to the Imperial Palace. This isolated rule was carried into the Accelerated World as well. In every stage within Chiyoda stood the Imperial Palace in a form that matched the stage's theme. However a barrier was constantly present around the moat, barring any entry into the palace. With how big the area map was, any long-range player could snipe at their opponent once and just run around until time runs out to be declared the winner. Because of this difficulty, it was no surprise why most Burst Linkers choose to have their duels in the other wards.

However, that didn't mean that Chiyoda was totally worthless. Because of the area's location in the middle of Tokyo, the risk of getting your real identity exposed was extremely low. Thus, this made the Chiyoda Ward a great place for negotiating rather than fighting. If powerful Burst Linkers that weren't on the greatest terms wanted to talk with each other without risk of being outed, the vast and empty area of Chiyoda was very appealing.

It is for that reason that at 4:40 PM, Marth Storm-Furuta, otherwise known as Black Wolf and the Dark Swordsman; Kuroba Yukiko, the Black King Black Lotus, leader of Nega Nebulus and one of Marth's two Drivers; Fuko Kurasaki, aka Sky Raker and Legion deputy, as well as the artificial intelligence C.C. and Marth's foster mother, Rias Morningstar were sitting around a table in Fujimi Nichome, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. They were simply waiting for the clock to reach the appointed time while safely concealed by the Crimson Sorceress's magic.

The meeting they were waiting for wasn't a simple talk between different Legions. No, for at 5:00 PM, there would be a meeting between the Seven Kings of Pure Color, something that has only happened once before in the eight-year history of the Accelerated World.

"Not that I'm complaining," C.C. spoke up as she leaned back into her chair and stared into the open umbrella above her. "But is there a reason why we're out here instead of waiting inside Rias's car."

Rias Morningstar, otherwise known by her human persona of Rias Hagino, did have a moderately sized car with a scarlet red that matched her blazing hair. She didn't use too often since she felt it was cheaper to just take the subway, but always kept it around in a garage near the apartment in case she ever wanted to take a quick drive. Fuko had sat on the passenger side in the front while Marth had the unfortunate luck of sitting between Kuroba and C.C. in the back. During the whole drive, Marth wanted to be anywhere else, even trapped in the Floor 75 boss room of Aincrad than be stuck between those two girls.

C.C. has gotten rather flirty with him recently, even deliberately entering his bedroom with one of his shirts that were barely big enough to cover her. While she was certainly beautiful, it definitely made him rather uncomfortable, which is probably why the greenette kept doing it. Another possible reason was to annoy Kuroba, which if earlier wasn't clear, definitely succeeded as the Black King has gotten even more clingy and less tolerant of the android.

Although Marth did have to give praise to C.C.'s creator. Her speech pattern was totally natural and didn't sound artificial at all. Her robotic body was very realistic as well. Not only was it able to produce body heat, but it also didn't feel very metallic. Even her breasts felt real, at least they did whenever C.C. pushed them against his arm, which she very much did throughout the entire car ride. Naturally Kuroba's response was to do grab her boyfriend by his other arm and pull him closer to her (and her chest), though C.C. retaliated by pulling the half-demon back to her. Marth felt like he was stuck in a game of tug-of-war and he was the rope. Needless to say, he didn't really enjoy the trip, although Klein would certainly be jealous once he inevitably hears about it.

"So we can stretch our legs a little while we wait," Rias answered while taking a sip of her tea that she and her son prepared. Tea was one of the only things that Marth could make without thoroughly messing it up. His cooking skills were absolutely atrocious. Anything that could go wrong does go wrong whenever he's in the kitchen. Hence why Asuna always tended to make Marth's dinners for him whenever Rias was away on a business trip. "Besides, it's such a nice evening. It would be a shame for us to be confined in a stuffy car than out in the fresh air."

Fuko simply giggled at that. "Oh please," she said in amusement. "I think we all know the real reason why we're outside." She tossed a glance at a nearby tree, where Marth was casually lying on a branch near the trunk, seemingly taking a nap. "I bet you had fun on the way here, right, Marth?"

"Not. In. The. Mood!" the Dark Swordsman chided in annoyance, not even bothering to open his eyes. "You do realize that aside from my mom, I'm the only one here who can use his powers in the real world without the Fenrir Effect? I can take you on a little flight and 'accidently' drop you."

Despite the clear threat, Fuko didn't look fazed. In fact she looked even more amused. "I think you're forgetting that I'm a fairy too," Sky Raker replied. "Once I awaken my blood, I'll be able to use my powers too."

Kuroba, on the other hand, simply folded her arms and let out a huff. "If you're going to have any 'flight accidents', may I recommend a certain green-haired AI that doesn't know her place?" she offered.

"Why, whoever are you talking about?" C.C. said innocently but with a snarky smirk on her face.

The Black King sent a death glare at the android, who didn't even flinch in response. You could practically feel the sparks coming from them. It made Marth question why this was even happening to him. This never happened back when he was with Yuuki. Also, while he was a little socially awkward due to not having many friends growing up (twice), he had a feeling that C.C.'s affection for him wasn't genuine, almost like she was doing it to get a rise out of both him and Kuroba. He prayed to Sinestra that it wouldn't escalate any further.

When have you ever been that lucky, my prince? Photon suddenly spoke up. You have this presence that just draws people to you. I wouldn't be surprised if it led to multiple girls vying for your affection.

Marth let out an exasperated groan as he rolled his eyes. "Not you too, Photon. Do I look like an anime protagonist who ends up with a harem?"

Do you want me to answer that truthfully? I am part of you through our pact after all. I think you should just enjoy yourself with it, just so long as you keep it confided to girls outside your family.

It took everything the Black Wolf player had to not release the bile that suddenly rose to his mouth. With great difficulty, he managed to force it back down but was forced to sit back up and unleashed a fit of coughs. He couldn't believe his own dragon just said that. Just the mere thought of seeing his dear sister in a romantic way was enough to upset his stomach. He may love his sister, but not in that way.

Well that's reassuring, the Photon Dragon continued in a casual tone. You may be royalty, Lord Marth, but even you should not get too carried away with your position. There are some lines that shouldn't be crossed.

Marth simply smacked himself in the face, ignoring the small flash of pain he got in response. "You say that, yet you just said I should cheat on my girlfriend. That's not how I roll. In fact, I got into a misunderstanding because of that."

It's not cheating if Lady Kuroba is part of your little harem, Photon justified. She can be your primary lover while any other girl can be your secondary ones. You could even try roping in Fu…

Okay, Marth has heard enough from the peanut gallery and promptly shut his mind off from his dragon to end the conversation right there. Seriously, while Photon shared some personality traits with him, like a sense of honor and charisma, he also shared the teasing side of Klein. And unfortunately for the Dark Swordsman, he can't exactly threaten violence against a spirit of a divine beast to get it to shut up like with a certain samurai.

"I don't even see Fuko in that way, anyway," Marth thought to himself. "Photon probably said that because she saved me from Lucius."

He found himself glancing down at his palm and found it to be trembling a little. Great, just the simple thought of the other Galaxy Eyes master was enough to scare him. Fear was kind of an old friend to him. It clung to him tightly during the two years of his time trapped in SAO, motivating him to survive no matter what happened. It would occasionally return when he was trapped on Temporal Island and during the Demon War. But the fear that never went away, was the fear of whatever lurked inside him.

Subconsciously reaching for his upper breast, he felt his heart beating, each thump being firm but calm. And yet, whenever that power took over, his heart would become erratic. It would feel as if molten lava was poured onto it. It was almost as though the pain was deliberate to make that strange power even stronger through his anger and frustration. Three times has it emerged, though he had a close call against Gandora back in Okinawa. Had Kuroba not appeared when she did, there was the possibility that that power would have activated as a self-defense mechanism.

Not even Rias knew why he possessed this dark power, this curse. She did promise that she'll search through her tomes to see if she can find anything out about it and if there was a way to remove it. Hopefully it shouldn't be as difficult as curing his deterioration.

As if on que, Marth felt another flash of pain from his chest, right around where Fenrir's core and his heart were. Each fit was slowly getting progressively worse. If this kept up, he might end up unable to fight because the pain of his condition would make it too difficult for him to focus. But he can't let that stop him. Arcanos and his Darkfallen agents were still out there, lurking in the shadows. He has to find out what they're planning and put a stop to it, even if it costs him his life.

Some of his memories were still a little hazy, at least regarding why he even agreed to having Fenrir's core crystal implanted in him. Just what was Klaus thinking when he suddenly showed up before the Dark Swordsman on that fateful day? Did he know the side-effects of such an act, and if so, why didn't he say anything?

Suddenly pain flared throughout Marth's head without any warning.

Don't blame Klaus. He isn't at fault for this. I am. This is all my fault. I'm sorry.

That wasn't Galaxy Eyes talking to him. The voice sounded similar to his own, yet different in a subtle way. He had heard this voice a few times before. It was…

"Fenrir?" he muttered aloud in surprise.

"Pardon?"

Marth turned his head to the left and saw that Kuroba had somehow managed to climb the tree he was on and sit right next to him, without even tipping him off. He must have been really out of it for that to happen as there weren't many people that could escape his notice thanks to his Hypersense. His girlfriend looked at him in concern, a look that was rather common given the circumstances. It was saddening to see her like that.

The migraine quickly faded, and the Silver Aegis never responded back. They seriously need to find a better way to communicate with each other. Marth was in enough pain from his deterioration already. He didn't need any more to worry about.

"It's nothing," he passed off with a forced smile. "So, you ready for this?"

Kuroba looked a little disgruntled about the topic change but slowly nodded her head. "Yes," she said firmly. "It's been three years since I last saw the other Kings of Pure Color together. Last time was when I beheaded Red Rider and made myself the Greatest Traitor of the Accelerated World. I'm sure some of the Kings would love to have my head over that act of betrayal, but I think I can manage. This has to be done after all."

"Yeah," Marth replied before remembering something. "Oh wait, didn't you say that one of the Kings is your guardian? You don't seem to remember them too fondly so will you be able to be in the same room as them."

The fairy flinched a little and balled her hands into tight fists. "That…might be a bit harder." She kept her head low, her bangs covering her eyes. "As much as I'd like to take this opportunity to sever her head and cut her to ribbons, I'll try my hardest to restrain myself. We need her help if we want to defeat this new Chrome Disaster."

He wanted to believe her, very much so, but he knew what it was like to hold a grudge against someone. He told his girlfriend that she shouldn't be afraid to lean on him if her feelings are getting too overwhelming and keep her from making a mistake. Kuroba appreciated that and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek as a reward.

"Though even if the other Kings won't help," Kuroba continued, "I'll still do everything in my power to protect you, Marth. I promise not just as your guardian, but as your partner. I won't let that crazed armor do anything to you."

Marth simply smiled in response. "Thanks, partner." There were times he said that to the girl before, but he didn't truly mean it until after the battle against Gandora, where Kuroba risked everything to save him from the shadow beast. It was that fateful night where he finally decided to open up to someone he loved again. He won't make the same mistake again. He refuses to lose any more people he held dear.

It soon became 5 o'clock, prompting the group to enter the Gallery of the Accelerated World. The duel they were entering in as observers was Blue Knight against one of his close associates, so there was no fear of the Black Legion getting ambushed in a battle royal. The timer was set to the usual thirty minutes and the field was set as the Demon City stage, very fitting for what one of the main topics of this meeting will be.

The sky was filled with a yellow-green light while the ground was covered in blue-black tiles. The clusters of buildings were decorated with fanged protrusions with a thick fog moving about. In the distance, Marth could spot the outline of the Imperial Palace, blocked off by its near-invisible barrier. Seeing the palace in this world always made him feel uneasy. It was like something dark was being kept there. Kuroba did mention that a player could get into the castle in the Unlimited Neutral Field, but there weren't many who dared to investigate it.

The group soon reached the lawn of the remains of the inner citadel of Edo Castle. There wasn't a single plant in sight, instead just steel pillars all formed a large circle. One of them on the opposite side looked noticeably shorter, maybe around fifty centimeters. And on it was a duel avatar.

Its entire body was made of pure blue armor, one fit for a knight to wear. It gave the avatar a gallant figure, dragon-like horns stretched out on both sides of the visored helmet while a two-handed longsword hung from his left hip.

Blue Knight, the leader of Leonids, looked remarkably relaxed, both his arms crossed. He looked around Marth's height, but his entire being gave off such an intense presence. It reminded him a lot of the demon lords and Scathach.

"So that's Blue Knight," Marth said slowly as he kept a close eye on the swordsman for any sudden moves. "Ruler of the Shinjuku and Bunkyo areas. Otherwise known as Vanquish and Legend Slayer."

"I never thought I'd come across another human with such a presence in this era," Rias added. She had dawned her mask just for this meeting to protect her son's identity. "Quite impressive I must say."

Black Lotus took a few steps forward, undeterred from her fellow King's fierce air, and waved her right sword lightly. "You're the host today, so I'll let you save face and say my greetings first. You look suffocating as always, Knight."

Marth simply rolled his eyes. He wasn't really surprised by that, not in the least. Kuroba was enemies with the other Kings so she wasn't really bound by formalities when addressing them. He just hoped she wouldn't go too overboard with it.

"Now that's not a greeting, Lotus," Blue Knight said in a clear and cool voice of someone in their early teens. "I haven't seen you in two and half years, and you're just as crabby as ever." His armor clanged as he shrugged his shoulders, while the bloodlust he had been radiating vanished without a trace. It would seem that he can be at least somewhat reasonable.

There were two slender blue figures dressed in traditional Japanese armor standing on opposite sides of the Blue King. Judging by their body type, they were both female. They looked ready to draw their swords against Lotus, something that was ultimately futile since she was currently in the Gallery, meaning she didn't have an HP gauge at the moment.

"You who sneers before our Vanquish does not deserve the title of king!"

"The traitor should be grateful she's even allowed in this place!"

And the bloodlust was back, but from Blue Knight's little sycophants instead. If Marth were younger, the sudden tension in the air might have made him flinch a little, but he had seen scarier things than this. He probably should be on his best behavior since he was Kuroba's protégé, who was not on good terms with the other Kings, but he decided to have a little fun with them. However, Fuko beat him to the initial punch.

"Goodness," Sky Raker said with a giggle. "I don't see you for a while and you manage to find your big-girl pants, hmm, ladies?" She moved over to her Legion Master, standing to her right, her high heels clacking against the hard floor. She then stretched out the palm of her right hand towards the warriors and waggled her fingertips. "I'm more than ready to hang you both from the top of the government building again at any time."

The half-demon couldn't help but chuckle at that before moving to Kuroba's left. When he came to a stop, he casually rested his right hand on his hip and cracked a wicked smirk. "Funny how you two seem to act so tough when Lotus is logged into the Gallery," Marth said goadingly. "I bet things would be very different if this was a battle royal."

As expected, that seemed to have gotten under the two female warriors' nerves as they were practically fuming. If this were a cartoon, they'd probably be spewing steam or something.

"You little punk!" the first avatar exclaimed bitterly as she reached for her sword. "Say that again! I dare you."

Marth, however, wasn't fazed in the slightest. "What?" he said in false innocence. "I'm just calling it like it is."

Both Kuroba and Fuko looked surprised by his attitude but were reasonably impressed as well. Maybe he has been spending too much time with them though as he wasn't usually this trollish. Then again, he always did like ticking people off back in Alfheim. Not only did that tend to make them make mistakes, but he found their reactions quite humorous. Ah, the benefits of games where you can have the façade of an arrogant snob, or any kind of persona you wished.

Surprisingly, the Blue King let out wry laugh. "Let's stop right there, Cobalt, Manga."

Both of his subordinates reluctantly stood down and stepped backward in sync. Their names were Cobalt Blade and Manganese Blade. Given their similar names and appearance, they must be very similar in the real world as well. The Blue King must be truly impressive to have such staunch allies as his closest aides.

"So then, Knight," Kuroba spoke up. "Maybe you could get me a chair so that you're not the only one sitting?"

"Whoops. Excuse me." With a wave of his hand, the Blue King signaled his two aides.

They immediately took on fighting stances and set their hands on the hilts of their swords once more. Marth instinctively reached for his swords, bracing for an enemy attack, only to watch as the two Blade avatars moved in a blur of motion and reduced the remaining six columns to the same height as the on Blue Knight was on.

It was rather impressive since the Demon City stage was well-known for its abnormally hard-terrain objects. To see the two avatars slice these large pillars with such ease really told of their strength. But that meant that their Legion Master was even stronger than that.

Sky Raker, the radiant avatar who carried no weapon of any kind, brought her mouth to the Dark Swordsman's ear. "Chopping down immobile pillars is a parlor trick, Marth. Nothing more. Get freaked out by that, and you'll be sorely punished."

"Oh really?" he challenged. "I wouldn't mind that. Gives me a chance to go against your Gale Thruster. I wonder how some boosters of yours would do against my wind."

Fuko let out a sadistic chuckle. "Who knows?" she said simply. "But you certainly always manage to stay interesting." She then went over to Kuroba, who was now sitting on the pillar closest to them.

"You sure have some interesting friends," Rias commented. "It takes me back to the War of Light and Shadow."

"I see," Marth replied. "One of these days, you really need to tell me more about my first life. I want to know exactly what I did so long ago."

"Of course," the demoness said with a nod. "I'll tell you everything that I know, one day."

C.C. let out a heavy sigh. "If you two are done reminiscing, we have a meeting to focus on," she said with a bored expression.

The trio made their way over to the Black King, with Marth and C.C. standing by Lotus's left while Rias stayed in the back. The two warriors also retreated behind their master. The brief silence was then broken by Black Lotus herself.

"Now then, greetings to the inviting kings are now finished, so how about you all show your faces already?" she said in slight exasperation. "One hundred seconds have long since passed, you know."

She was right as the counter was now at around 1,600 seconds. There didn't seem to be anyone else here though. Wait, no, he could sense other people lurking about through his Hypersense. They were here all along. He then heard a voice that felt both innocent childishness and immoveable strength echo in the air, followed quickly by a gentle footfall.

"Dang. What's with that tone, Lotus? And here I was being respectful."

Marth turned his head to the right and saw two silhouettes appear on the adjacent stump. The first was a dark red avatar whose appearance resembled that of a carnivorous beast. She had triangular pointed ears and a long tail. She was none other than Blood Leopard, a senior member of the Red Legion, Prominence.

Seated on her left arm was a small crimson avatar, the one who had just spoken up. Two antennae stretching out like pigtails. Round, cute eye lenses. Curved, smooth armor on her limbs. Her coloring and her tiny size made her resemble a ruby. She was the leader of Prominence, ruler of the Nerima and Nakano areas (and the self-proclaimed little sister of Marth and Thorrnn). The Red King, Scarlet Rain, whose real name was Yuniko Kozuki.

Niko didn't have her massive firepower containers (which had given her the nickname "Immobile Fortress"), equipped but she still possessed a similar fire to that of Blue Knight. It wasn't from the Incarnate System. No, it was simply an aura made from the weight of her battle history. As for the other red duel avatar, Marth had met Blood Leopard a few times as well, though he wouldn't say they were particularly close, just simply acquaintances.

Prominence was the only Legion that had a cease-fire treaty with Nega Nebulus thanks to their joint operation of defeating the fifth Chrome Disaster. After that incident, Yuniko has only hung out with Marth and Thorrnn a handful of times. While she did seem to enjoy playing the little sister, she did keep her distance at times, most likely because they were in separate Legions.

"Just me and the king from Promi," Blood Leopard said firmly. "Greetings omitted."

Niko jumped down from her lieutenant's arm sat down on the steel stool while Leopard stepped back to her rear, hands on her hips.

Now three of the kings have been assembled. Blue Knight was sitting on the centermost of the seven amputated pillars, which were all arranged in a semicircle. The Black King faced him on the right end and to her right sat the Red King.

"Heh. Heh-heh-heh…"

Marth gritted his teeth as he heard the throaty, high-pitched laughter echo through the fog. He had heard this laughter before, one that was filled with scorn and ridicule. It was near impossible for him to track down as he could sense its maker constantly move about, their body concealed in the thick fog.

"Heh-heh…King, hmm? I do believe that king is supposed to be short for the Seven Kings of Pure Color, if my memory is correct? However, the coloring of the little one is a tad too cheap to be red."

It was obvious that was an insult directed towards Scarlet Rain. Niko was the only second-generation king among the rulers of the seven major Legions. When Red Rider, the previous Red King, was beheaded by Black Lotus in a cowardly attack and banished from the Accelerated World because of the sudden-death rule used for fights against level 9 players, it was Yuniko who managed to revive Prominence and declared herself the new master. Her avatar was more scarlet than pure red, but that shouldn't mean she couldn't declare herself a king.

"Honestly," Marth said tiredly. "I would have figured that you'd know better, Yellow Radio. Scarlet Rain reached level 9 using her strength, her power. Color is such an arbitrary term. It has nothing to do with becoming a king."

His comment managed to get a giggle out of both his mother and Fuko. As for Niko herself, she had simply cracked a smile.

"Wolf's right but let me add just one thing. If you want to talk cheap, your banana color would give me a good run for my money. But we don't have time for this so just come out already," the Red King said firmly. She snapped the fingers of her right hand and pointed towards the middle pillar in line with her.

It turns out there was a tiny paper doll standing on the pillar that was assumed to be empty. It was a dummy avatar used for observation, similar to the one Kuroba had used to gather information in the Accelerated World when she was still in hiding. The Yellow King simply took advantage of the Gallery's functions to change his avatar into something hard to notice.

Almost immediately afterward, a puff of white smoke shot from the doll's center. The smoke was then carried away by the slight wind from the stage, revealing a slim, clown-type duel avatar with a rather garish yellow appearance standing in the center of the pillar. He wore a hat with large, curved horns jutting out from either side and a face mask with thin eyes and mouth cut into the form of a smile. His limbs were long and attached to rounded shoulders and hips. It was probably Marth's least favorite king, the Yellow King, Yellow Radio, leader of the Cosmic Crypt Circus and ruler of Taito, Arakawa, Adachi and Akihabara.

"Heh-heh!" the clown cackled as he ran a thin finger along his chin. "Banana color, what a terrible thing to say! I personally would like to offer up the example of uranium, you see? But, well, I suppose there's no helping it. Everyone knows that the monkey and her child love bananas, now don't they? Heh-heh."

Marth just looked at the giggling clown in disgust. He was the one that set a trap not only for Niko, but Kuroba as well. The half-demon has still not forgiven him for taking advantage of Lotus's guilt to get her to briefly Zero Out. While Yellow Radio may seem like a pushover, he could definitely hold his own against the Black King in close combat, even though his avatar was built for midrange attacks. Radio didn't have any attendants with him.

"And that's four," C.C. commented.

"Curious, I did not expect the rogue AI of Brain Burst to be here."

Marth let out a gasp as he heard heavy footsteps from behind. The intense vibrations felt like it shook the entire stage. He spun around just in time to see a large avatar split the fog and step forward.

The avatar was big, though not quite as big Frost Horn, much less Yuniko with her Enhanced Armament deployed. It was truly incredible to see. His mask, shoulders, lower body, they were all covered in armor reminiscent of thick boards. His hips were thin and tense, clearly showing that his movement was not restricted. His right hand was empty, but his left hand carried an equally large and sturdy shield. His armor was a vibrant green, deeper than Emerald Fencer's. It was the Green King, who Marth had only seen previously in a replay video of a past fight.

"That's Green Grande," Fuko whispered to him. "He's the leader of the Legion 'Great Wall'. Their territory covers Shibuya all the way to Ota. His nickname is Invulnerable."

"Right, because his HP has never once gone yellow," Marth murmured while releasing a breath. Something about that sounded very familiar to Heathcliff and Zelgius, the co-leaders of the Knights of the Blood Oath, otherwise known as Akihiko Kayaba and Brandon Lowell, the men behind the SAO Incident that killed over 4,000 people.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Kuroba puffing out her nose in indignation. "To begin with, he's not been in that many duels. Apparently, he earned the points he needed to make it to level 9 almost entirely by hunting Enemies solo. However, that's still pretty impressive."

No kidding. The Enemies, regardless of their size, were definitely difficult for a single player to defeat on their own. Even if a player was able to defeat them, they would only get a handful of burst points as a reward. To hear that a Burst Linker managed to reach level 9 just by grinding from monster kills was a feat all on its own.

C.C. let out a huff as she turned away from the large avatar. "Don't read into it," she passed off. "I'm only here because Black Wolf caught my interest. I don't really care about the state of the Accelerated World."

"I see," the Green King replied before turning his stony gaze to the dual-wielder. "You should be honored, Black Wolf. C.C. has never once been interested in a Burst Linker before. You must be quite special to succeed where even we kings failed."

Marth was taken aback by the sudden praise. He certainly didn't expect to get any from one of the Seven Kings of Pure Color. Maybe there were some decent kings out there. At the moment, Green Grande certainly made a good first impression.

"Uh, thanks," he said formally. "Though I kind of wish she'd respect my personal space sometimes."

"Oh really?" the greenette said smugly. "Because I think you quite—" She thankfully didn't get to finish her remark as Fuko quickly covered her mouth with one hand to silence her. The other kings didn't need to know that the AI was currently living with the Dark Swordsman.

The Green King took the pillar between Niko and Knight and set himself down heavily. Like the Yellow King, he didn't bring any subordinates from his Legion. He didn't say anything else and no one made a comment about it. It would appear that he was more of the silent type.

Suddenly Marth tensed up as he sensed a huge amount of bloodlust. No, that wasn't right. It was more decisive than that. It was the will to remove…a declaration to judge and banish someone from the Accelerated World.

High-pitched footsteps could be heard coming from the north, heading right for the semicircle of kings. A single silhouette emerged from the dense fog. Focusing his vision, he could that it was a female avatar with long hair and skirt-shaped armor swinging. Her waist was constricted impossibly thin and her legs were like needles.

Her footsteps were like swords piercing the earth, most likely sounding so sharp because her heels were twice as high as Sky Raker's. The instant her feet stepped into the ring of pillars, the deep fog hanging over the area was largely blown over, as if the combined ferocity of the kings' auras were too much for it to handle.

The new arrival looked more queen than king, and that was a compliment. What seemed like hair was actually armor shaped like a veil stretching out from the circlet on her forehead. Her face mask was pointed and beautiful, her shoulder and chest parts looking both feminine and intimidating. Partitioned armor in the shape of a long skirt stretched down from a high position on her waist, exposing her long, slender legs in gaps that nearly went up to her hips.

If there was a word Marth could use to describe her, "bewitching" was the most appropriate. While she may be beautiful, she was certainly not inviting. Various parts of her body, including her tiara, were edged with thorny adornments, the spiked ends glittering. In her right hand was a bishop's staff that was about a meter and a half long. At its tip was a rose vine with remarkably long needles. Her entire armor was a mysterious purple that seemed to shimmer hypnotically each time it caught the light.

She was the Purple King, Purple Thorn. Out of all the kings that were gathering here, she would definitely be the one the most bitter to the Black Legion. After all, Black Lotus was the reason her boyfriend, Red Rider, was banished from the Accelerated World two and a half years ago.

"This…might have been a mistake," Marth thought to himself.

Do not worry, my prince, Photon spoke up in assurance. If things get out of hand, Black Rose, Clear Wing and I will get you all to safety. We won't let any harm befall you.

Marth prayed that it wouldn't be needed as he braced himself for what was to come.

To be continued

Okay, this got way longer than I intended. I was hoping to get the meeting done in this chapter but that would probably make it over 10,000 words long. Even I've got my limits. Anyway, next chapter should hopefully cover the entire meeting and show more of what Lelouch is doing. I might even show what's going on with Elie or Altina. You'll just have to wait and see. I'll see you guys next time!

P.S. Also if anyone leaves a review that isn't constructive or clearly tells me what you think of my chapters (either good or bad, just keep it civil if its a negative review), they'll be immediately blocked, no exceptions. I am sick of getting spam reviews as they do not tell me how to improve or what people think of my writing. Please, if you want to leave a review, at least make your thoughts clear and not try to artificially inflate the review count. I don't want my reviews to be mostly spammed. There's no satisfaction in that for me. I thoroughly enjoy it when I get reviews that tell me what people think of my work. I don't get that feeling from spam reviews. For the last time, please stop doing that. It was not funny the first time, and its not funny now. I am trying to be civil and not flip out. Thank you.