A/N: Hello. :) This is where I make my special intro for my Insurrection story. Like anime openings usually do, they give out what'll happen in the story, especially the symbolisms of it all. If you can figure out what they mean, then feel free to P.M. me or send a review as to your interpretation of it. Other than that, I hope you enjoy the story. :)
Chapter 2: The Demon Tree
At the Ocean Turtle, Kikuoka has stunned the group with two revelations. The first being that he needed Korai, Yuuki, and their friends in order to create A.I.'s that can kill in order to render wars that would normally kill people at the expense of both sides obsolete. In the process, it would cost the A.I.'s their rights, something that greatly irked the group, Yuuki, Korai, Asuna, and Kirito most of all. The next bit of news proved to be a heavy hitter. They found a soul trapped within the Medicuboid. And it belonged to none other than the Sorcerer himself. This made Korai the most stunned of the group as he dealt him a fatal blow. This was one of the moments where he didn't want to be right at all.
"What?! But how?! He was killed dead at Yokohama!"
"That's right. He was. But somehow or another, he planned for it like he usually does. In fact, while we were moving the Medicuboid, we noticed a flash drive hooked up to it. That's how we found the soul inside it."
"Well, did you find out how that soul got in that drive to begin with?"
To answer, Korai's question, Higa spoke up to him before he looked towards the young man as he motioned to a small white cube on the desk embedded within it.
"That's what we were working on. But we didn't get any answers. Eventually, the doc settled on the idea of moving the soul back into the drive before placing it in this light quantum gate crystal, or light cube."
Looking at it, Korai felt intrigued by the design as he turned back to Kikuoka as Yuuki spoke to him.
"Hold on. Light cube?"
"Yep. But in their world, it actually appears as a crystal of some kind. That's supposedly how Cancer was communicating with us just now."
"So, whatever soul archetype enters the 'crystal'... they get sent in there?"
"For extraction, yes."
Taking this to heart, Korai began to wonder how they found out the soul's identity to begin with as he turned to the Lieutenant Colonel in charge of the project.
"Well, how exactly did you guys figure out who it belonged to?"
"Well, this morning, we moved the soul to the flash drive and decided to load him up into the light cube since it wouldn't accept the Soul Translators. Once it got loaded up, though, we heard the voice of it speaking to us, wondering where it really is. At that time, we were using a voice scanner to identify it. As luck would have it, it was the very same voice that appeared in one of Kurahashi's few working cameras. Like our other souls, he wanted to get out, but once we told him he can't, he welcomed the idea all too suddenly and decided to enter the project itself."
As she heard about how the Sorcerer entered the framework with ease, Yuuki knew from experience that he must be planning to lure them in. Although, the way it could turn out might just as well be beyond even his sight. After all, the future often is. Still, she needed Kikuoka to verify it.
"So, he's basically waiting for us right about now?"
"Considering how you're the last people he saw before now, it wouldn't surprise me."
As Yuuki tensed her hand at this, remembering how close he came to doing away with Korai, her husband found himself in a dilemma. On one hand, the way Kikuoka intends to use these A.I.'s is wrong. On the other hand, the Sorcerer's ideas for them are even worse. At this point, the best option he could play is to side with the lesser of two evils, as much as he hated it.
"Well, if it's bugging you that much, we're in. For now."
As Korai delivered his answer, Kikuoka became very surprised to hear this answer, considering his history with the Sorcerer along with what occurred between him and the Lieutenant Colonel not too long ago.
"What? You're serious?"
"But don't think that any of us agree with how you're planning to use them, got it?"
As Korai said this to Kikuoka, the two entered a deathly staring contest before the latter smiled as he adjusted his glasses.
"I understand completely, Mr. Kayaba. Now then, let's get down to business."
Play LiSA Music: "Thrill, Risk, Heartless"
First, it showed a purple glow-in-the-dark allusion of a giant tree before it faded, showing another which showed a blue rose, only to quickly change to yellow flowers before a ripple appeared and changed into that of the Lycoris flower with the pink color before a ripple dissolved it into cherry blossoms with a red color before another ripple appeared to change it to a tree with a green color. Then, another ripple came and changed it to black before two red eyes appeared in the shadows as a man in a hood can be shown bearing a smirk before they flared brightly, turning everything to white before six swords were planted on the ground. After which, it showed the shadows of the swords' owners in the order of Kirito, Asuna, Eugeo, Alice, Korai, and Yuuki before the screen showed the background of Centoria in the sunset before it went up to the night sky as the words "Sword Art Online: Insurrection" appeared in the background before the stars in the night sparkled to change the background to white.
The white background then changed to show an overlay of Kirito as it showed him in the first day of the death game, running in the field at sunset before it showed him meeting with Asuna in a hood before it showed her taking a hit for him by Heathcliff only to make him enraged as his eyes flared yellow before impaling Heathcliff. Afterwards, it showed him and Asuna in ALFheim Online with Yui in a cabin that they once had in SAO.
Next, an overlay of Korai appeared and showed him as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop in the dark of the night in SAO before showing him meeting Yuuki in ALFheim at the tree as she smiled while holding two fingers up before it showed him and the Sorcerer IRL in the Yokohama Hospital as he dodged his swords that were concealed before the fight took them to the top of the building where a silhouette of Korai ran him through with his own weapons before showing Korai and Yuuki alone together in his building before showing them going with Kirito and Asuna to the others under a cherry blossom tree where Shino, Suguha, Rika, Keiko, Klein, and the others were for the picture as they smiled before the screen went up to show a blue sky before coming down to show the town of Centoria before it zoomed out to show Kikuoka, Rinko, Kurahashi, Kira, Shigemura, and Higa overseeing Centoria from the Ocean Turtle.
Then, a woman with long, lavender hair and purple eyes started to rise from her bed with no attire worn as she noticed a door opening in the cracks to show a man dressed in a white shirt with a black coat entering in as he gave a smile her way.
Next, it showed Kirito, Asuna, Yuuki, Korai, Sachi, Klein, Shi-Eun and the others, along with their children and a man in a white robe, long hair, and blue eyes, entering a building in Centoria that appeared to be a training room before it then showed a girl with red hair and red eyes, a girl with brown hair and light blue eyes, a woman with raven-colored hair and green eyes, and a woman with long, brown hair and purple eyes holding their swords at the ready before they engaged Eugeo, Kirito, Korai, and Yuuki in that order. As Yuuki dodged a swing from her opponent, the screen went up to the ceiling, and then down to show a man with silver hair, Eiji, an Integrity Knight in red armor beside him, Yuuna, Alice, an Integrity Knight in light purple armor beside her, a man with dark blue hair, and a woman in the same armor as Alice, only the gold color was in white and the blue color was black, and her hair was bleached blonde with red eyes marched forward before a closeup of their faces were shown.
After a closeup of the woman with red eyes, her image could be seen in a cup of tea before it was picked up by a small woman with a robe and a staff as she looked up to the ceiling of her hideaway.
Then, it showed Yuuki, Korai, Akihiko, and Shiki in a glowing garden as blue light went up to the night sky before a row of flowers started to bloom. That light then changed into silhouettes of countless people falling as the background changed into Aincrad as the hooded figure gave a smirk towards them.
Next, it showed Kirito, Asuna, Alice, and Eugeo both letting their swords glow blue for the boys and green for the girls as they engaged against the Integrity a knight in red armor before the combination of their attacks caused an explosion that engulfed the screen before showing Kirito and Eugeo doing a fist bump before the both of them put their swords in their scabbards and walked away with Asuna, Alice, Yuuki, and Korai walking beside them as the background showed Yuriko, Karai, Kito, Ashi, Ayame, Saki, Shiki, and Akihiko looking to the horizon on a grassy plain, with the son of Korai seemingly unaware of the soul of his grandfather by the same name watching over him.
End LiSA Music: "Thrill, Risk, Heartless"
July 18, 382 H.E.
At a forest somewhere, the sun was hovering above the trees as birds chirped in the air before Yuuki and Korai, the both of them in their real world state, were found to be together in their nakedness as were Asuna, Kirito, Sachi, and the others. And although none of them noticed yet as they appeared to be sleeping, each of the ladies had a child in their arms with the exception of Yuuki who had a twin set of one boy and one girl. For a moment, they each reveled in their sleep until Yuuki's nose twitched as a butterfly landed on it. This triggered her to begin to react as she was preparing to sneeze.
"Ah... ah... achoo!"
As she sneezed the butterfly away, Yuuki then began to open her eyes, however slowly as the sunlight began affecting her eyesight before looking down to notice the twins on top of her chest. One of them, the boy, had brown hair and silver eyes just like her whereas the daughter had raven hair and grey eyes. Seeing the two of them cuddling her breasts, Yuuki became a bit admittedly embarrassed, but mostly surprised as to where they came from, which, at the moment, seemed to be out of nowhere.
"What the...?"
Just then, she heard Asuna sneeze far away before she turned to see her wake up groggily as she looked around in a sort of groggy state before noticing a small child with her hair color and similar female extremities as she immediately became surprised.
"Wha—? Uh..."
As she looked at her more, though, Asuna couldn't help but adore her as she held the sleeping child in her arms and smiled at her, however strange and sudden her appearance was. It wasn't long before the others woke up with Rika noticing a baby boy with brown hair on her chest, Keiko taking notice of a little girl with light brown hair and silver eyes, Shino seeing a young girl with dark hazel eyes and short, raven hair, a little boy with blue sapphire eyes for Suguha's case, and Sachi being blessed with a young girl with raven hair and light blue eyes. As Yuuki noticed this before looking to the children on top of her, though, she turned to her husband and shook him awake as she whispered.
"Korai. Look at this. They're so cute."
However groggy he was, Korai groaned as he opened his eyes before they sat up with Yuuki holding onto them before he spoke confusedly.
"Huh? Where did you find those kids?"
"That's just it. They were all over us."
"What? Seriously?"
"Seriously. Look around."
As Yuuki showed Korai the other ladies with their babies, he came to be surprised as they were surrounded by tykes.
"Geez... where did they all come from?"
As he asked that, Korai began to recall their time at Yuuki's birthday before he realized why they popped up the way they did.
"Oh, wait. Kikuoka said that he used the STL on newborns. What if... what if when we used them... our own kids were using them, too?"
"Wait. For real?"
As Yuuki heard the idea out loud, it did make sense. And seeing as it was the most likely case, as well as a happy one, she couldn't help but become very ecstatic as she now had the answer as to what gender their twins would be in the real world. And she showed that excitement as she hugged them.
"This is so cool. It's like a dream come true."
However, Korai didn't feel the same as he groaned before Yuuki took notice of it with concern.
"Huh? What's the matter?"
"Last time we had a kid, I had to change diapers."
As Korai moped about it, Yuuki began to realize how silly he is before she giggled at that reply. However, it also brought up their current "clothless" situation as Yuuki looked at their whole group with not one shred of clothing on.
"Speaking of diapers, I think we might need some clothes. Do you know how to equip them?"
As Yuuki looked to her husband, he seemed certain he had the answer.
"Let's see..."
With that, Korai tried to scroll down, but nothing popped up. When he noticed this, he tried over and over again with no success. As it began to frustrate him, Yuuki had an idea as she spoke up.
"It's alright. You can just let me try."
With that, Yuuki got her pointer and middle finger together before tracing a blue "S" in the air, summoning a purple menu and surprising Korai before it showed Yuuki tapping on the clothing material, summoning a purple villager's outfit with long sleeves and pants before she looked at him.
"You probably should've stuck around for what he had to say to us on when we get in."
As Yuuki motioned to the others putting on their clothes that they summoned, Korai began to hold his head down in embarrassment as he spoke.
"Why me?"
Far away, Kirito didn't want to believe the situation of the children as he spoke up to Sachi.
"No way. There's no way all those kids are mine."
"How can you be so sure about that?"
"Look, it's just not possible for one guy to have that many at one time."
To disprove this, Rika had an idea as a smirk came over her.
"Well, why don't we see for ourselves? Excuse me!"
As she spoke to the children, they all turned to see Rika, including her own kid as she spoke.
"Do any of you know who he is?"
With one look, they instantly recognized him before a smile came over their faces and they all replied in unison.
"Daddy!"
Hearing that all at once made Kirito put on a look of shock as Suguha smiled.
"It's not really that bad, Kirito. After all, you do have Yui."
"But this is different! I don't know how to change diapers!"
As Suguha smiled at his panic, Yuuki couldn't help but smile at the scene with Korai finally dressed up in a silver outfit that he's been sent before Yuuki spoke up.
"Well, if it comes to that, maybe you can teach Kirito."
"Oh, great. Cause I'd hate to run out of diapers to change."
"Oh, don't be such a spoilsport."
With everyone all ready to go, though, Yuuki became very confused on where they were.
"So, uh... where do we all go from here?"
As it made the group groan in frustration, the children became puzzled for their reaction.
Later, they all took a direction forward in the forest before they encountered a river where they washed up the little children with one of the twins each being held by their parents while the others were beside their mothers while Asuna's and Sachi's child was beside her father, much to Kirito's relief as having one of his kids beside him was preferable to a whole bunch of them at once.
"Y'know, once they're not swarming you all over, they're actually kinda cute."
This made Asuna pout a bit before she spoke.
"What do you mean? Are you saying they weren't cute before?"
Hearing the tone in Asuna's voice, Kirito began to be nervous and tried to correct himself as Sachi smiled at how nervous he was getting.
"Uh, no! I didn't mean it like that!"
As they walked forward, Yuuki heard her little girl speak up to her as she clutched on her shirt and tugged it.
"Mommy... do you know who we are?"
Yuuki only gave a smile to her daughter as she spoke while tickling her belly.
"Of course! You're Shiki..."
As Shiki laughed from being tickled, Korai spoke to the boy as he held him high in the air.
"And you're Akihiko."
While he held him up in the air, Akihiko became excited as he was lifted up in the air like he was flying. At that moment, however, they heard a clang of an axe from far away before they all looked in that particular direction. As they did, Sachi became interested as she spoke up to Kirito.
"What was that?"
"I don't know. Maybe someone's working?"
Not long afterward, another clang appeared before Shiki became nervous as it was the first time she's heard it.
"There it is again..."
As Shiki became nervous momentarily, Yuuki cradled her in her arms as she spoke up.
"Hey, easy, Shiki. It's just someone working somewhere. Maybe we can go say 'hi.'"
As Rika has finished washing her son's hair, she found it to be a relief that they weren't the only ones around.
"Well, I don't see why not. Maybe he can help me come up with this little guy's name. He's really picky."
Keiko can easily see why as she spoke up.
"Well, it is easy for him to be confused just by calling him Kirito."
To prove her point, Rika's son tried his best to say it with little success.
"Ki... to?"
"It's Kirito! As in 'Kirito Jr!'"
Hearing that, Shino thought the child had a mind of its own as she spoke from afar.
"Well, why don't you just call it Kito? It seems to be easier."
"But it's lazy! And I'm not a lazy person!"
Keiko wouldn't exactly believe that to be truthful given what she usually does when she's not playing VRMMO's.
"Uh, I wouldn't exactly say that."
"Oh, what do you know? He's my kid, so I get to decide what his name is."
Suguha considering who helped her have the kid in the first place, she quickly brought it up if for no other reason than to take her temper down a peg.
"Well, Kirito helped give that baby life, too. Actually, its Soul, but anyway, he gets to decide on the name, too."
"Oh, alright. What do you think, Kirito? Should our pride and joy be called 'Kito?'"
As Kirito looked at the baby boy in Rika's arms, he saw his smiling face as he spoke to him.
"Well? Are you okay with it?"
As an answer, the boy nodded as he spoke with a smile.
"Uh-huh. I like 'Kito.'"
"Alright. Then it's settled."
Being overruled in the vote, Rika dejectedly agreed to it as well.
"Whatever. I guess it's not that bad..."
As Rika pouted, the group heard another round of swinging and clanging before Shino spoke up.
"Okay. I think we need to check up on that noise before we get stuck trying to decide on another name. Agreed?"
As everyone nodded and replied "yes" in unison, Keiko actually smiled as she held her daughter.
"The rest of us actually decided on our own kids' names anyway."
As they walked towards the sound of the commotion, Keiko was holding her daughter on her shoulders like a piggyback ride as she spoke with Shino and Rika.
"I was thinking of calling her Ayame. What do you think, Shino?"
"That sounds sweet. For me, I was thinking of calling my daughter Ashi."
"Wow! That sounds so cool!"
As Rika grumbled at having to be stuck with the name Kito, although she's getting used to it as she made a small smile at her son, Asuna was speaking with Kirito about the name of her daughter as Sachi had settled on calling hers Karai.
"Hey, Kirito?"
"Yeah, Asuna?"
"What do you think we should name our daughter?"
As Kirito looked at her, he saw his daughter's giddy face which was somewhat similar to Yuuki's. Seeing that was enough to help him come up with the name as he replied.
"How about... Yuriko?"
As Asuna smiled at the suggestion, Yuriko tried to reach her hands out to her father as she grunted before the mother took notice and smiled.
"Oh, look. She looks like she wants to be held by you now."
"Wow. She must be digging that name."
As the newly christened Yuriko reached out to him, hoping to feel her father's embrace, her prayers were answered as Kirito gently held her in his arms before they heard more swinging and chopping. Although, this time, they heard someone shouting as the owner of the voice seemed to speak the number.
"47!"
As they got closer, they noticed a young man with blonde hair chopping away at a very giant tree. Judging from its size, it didn't seem like he was making good progress.
"And... 50!"
And with that final swing, the young man hit the tree where the mark was made before collapsing backward onto the ground before Yuuki spoke up from afar.
"Uh, wouldn't that be 48?"
As she said this, she inadvertently got the young man's attention as he looked behind him to see Yuuki and Korai (paired with Akihiko and Shiki), Kirito and Asuna who held Yuriko, Sachi with Karai, Suguha with her son called Saki, Shino with Ashi, Keiko with Ayame, and Rika with Kito before he stood up, confused at the large number of them before he spoke up.
"Who are you guys? Are you from around here?"
As they tried to think of how to go about it, Korai was stuck on who this person was.
"Hmm. He must be one of the Soul Archetypes Kikuoka talked about. But if Cancer knew about who we are, then why doesn't he know?"
With that, the boy simply walked forward before he inquired them of their identities.
"Do you guys have names?"
Sachi was the first to speak up as she walked towards him and introduced herself along with the others.
"Sure. My name's Sachi. This is my daughter Karai."
As the young man looked at her, Karai simply smiled before she held her hand out.
"It's nice to meet you."
"Yeah. Same here."
Seeing how taken the young man was with the little girl, Sachi proceeded to introduce the rest.
"And this is Yuuki and Korai with Akihiko and Shiki. And this is Kirito. He's actually our husband."
"Wait, 'our?'"
"Yeah, even I admit it's complicated."
As Sachi giggled it off for a bit, Kirito sighed before he spoke up.
"Yeah. Anyway, we came from that forest over there, but we're not sure where we are or anything."
"The forest... oh. You mean from the south? Did you walk all the way from Zakkaria?"
As an answer, Yuuki piped up.
"I think so. But, uh, thing is, we don't really know how we got here. Same thing for where we lived. They're a total blank."
As Yuuki said that, the young man looked at them before he had a theory as to who they were, surprising Korai.
"Well, I think I know what you guys are."
"Huh? You do?"
"Yeah, but I only heard the stories. I never thought I'd meet a real life lost child of Vecta, let alone a whole group of them. I can't believe it."
Confused about the name, Rika spoke up to the lad as she scratched her head.
"Vecta? Call me crazy, but I think you're making up words."
"Isn't that what they're called where you guys are from? When someone disappears from the village then suddenly turns up in a forest or field, that's what they're called, a child of Vecta."
This made Suguha interested as she piped up.
"And who exactly is this Vecta person?"
"The dark god, Vecta, likes to prank humans by snatching them up, stealing their memories and plopping them down somewhere far away from home."
Hearing that, Yuuki wouldn't exactly call it the most ideal way to blend in, but it seemed to make the most sense for him.
"Oh. I guess that musta been what happened to us. But, uh, as long as we're talking villages, where do you live?"
"My village is called Rulid and it's behind those trees. But we don't get many travelers, so there's no Inn."
"Oh, man."
This made Shino a bit concerned, considering their number.
"Then what can we do? We do have a lot of mouths to feed."
Fortunately for them, the young man had an idea as he spoke to her.
"I think if we go to the Church and explain the situation to Sister Azalia, she might agree to put you guys up."
This made Sachi relieved as she spoke up.
"I see. Thank you for your help."
But, as she and the others tried to go to the village, the young man spoke up in protest.
"Oh, but wait. You guys are strangers in these parts. I don't think the guards at the gate are gonna let you in so easily."
This made Rika grumble as she muttered.
"Of course, they won't!"
However, the young man seemed to know a way to solve the problem.
"You know what? If I go with you guys and talk to them, they should understand."
This made Korai and the others relieved once again for a moment before he realized there might be a drawback.
"Hold on. There's gonna be a 'but', isn't there?"
"Yeah. I can't go yet. I have to finish my work first. And I won't be done for another four hours."
As this earned another exaggerated moan from Rika, she began sinking to the ground before Korai had an idea, considering his field of expertise before he looked to him.
"Well, sure. We can wait a little while. Which, apparently, is more than we can say for Rika here. You okay with that?"
"Sure. You guys can sit anywhere you like and I'll get to work."
Rika, not willing to be spending those hours doing nothing, however, wanted to be more active.
"Forget that. I'm gonna go look in the forest to see if there's anything interesting. C'mon, Kito."
As Rika took Kito with her, Sachi looked at Karai before her daughter spoke up.
"Can we go look in the forest too, Mommy?"
"Sure. I don't see why not."
As Sachi held Karai up with her shoulders and walked off, the young man spoke up, catching the remaining group's attention.
"Oh, I haven't told you my name, have I?"
Upon realizing that, Korai spoke up to him.
"No. I don't think you have."
As an answer, the young man held his hand out to Korai before he spoke.
"My name is Eugeo. How do you do?"
"Just fine, thanks."
With that, Korai shook Eugeo's hand, the group already having made one friend since their visit to the Underworld.
As Eugeo worked, while Sachi, Karai, Rika, and Kito went exploring in the forest, Kirito, Asuna, Shino, Keiko, Korai, Yuuki, and their children remained behind under the shade of the giant tree with Yuuki and Korai being offered a few pieces of bread before Eugeo spoke up.
"You guys must be hungry."
"Oh, thanks."
While Yuuki felt grateful, Korai felt the bread to be less than satisfying as he noticed its textures.
"Hmm. Isn't it a little stale?"
"Yeah, sorry. The only good thing about this bread is it keeps for a long time."
As Yuuki looked at the bread, she honestly couldn't see any reason why Korai considered it stale. But when she tasted it, however, she felt a hard, rough texture as she winced and widened her eyes before she reacted, much to Eugeo's expectations.
"Ow! That didn't feel good at all..."
"I tried to warn you. I get them from the bakery every morning on my way here, but it's so early, they only have day-old bread. And I don't have time to go back at noon for fresh ones."
This made Asuna speak up as she had plenty of experience in cooking in SAO before.
"Well, maybe I can help cook it for you."
As Asuna suggested it, however, she received a stunned look from Eugeo before she tried to figure out what was wrong.
"Huh? What's wrong?"
"Nothing. It's just... someone used to bring me lunch every day, but that was years ago. Oh, well."
As he bore a sad look on his face, Shino could tell someone was on his mind as she spoke up.
"Well, why'd they stop? What happened?"
For a while, Eugeo seemed reluctant to tell, but worked up the nerve as he sighed before he spoke.
"She was my childhood friend. She was the same age as me. When we were little, we would play together all the time. And, after I received my calling, she would bring to me lunch every day without fail. But then..."
At that moment, Eugeo ended up with the biggest grin on his face before he spoke up.
"The most amazing thing happened. The two of us went to explore a cave up north. And she would've crossed into the boundary of the dark territory by accident if it wasn't for one of the Integrity Knights there. It was a place no human was allowed to enter ever. The Taboo Index forbids it. The very next day, the Integrity Knight that saved us came to our village. And he offered her the chance to do some good at Centoria by being an Integrity Knight."
Hearing this, Yuuki became very intrigued as she perked up.
"Whoa, really? That's so cool!"
"Yeah. It was. Except... since I have my calling, I couldn't join her."
"Oh. Sorry."
"But one day, I'll finish my calling and train with Alice."
Hearing that name, Korai automatically knew who he was talking about.
"Alice...?"
At the base, Asuna became interested in the name as she spoke up to Kikuoka.
"Alice?"
"That's right. I was stunned when I found out. Her having that name is quite the coincidence. The name Alice, you see, also happens to be the name of the concept that was the foundation for R.A.T.H. and this project."
This made Yuuki speak up to him next as she became interested.
"Concept of what?"
"An A.I. that is highly adaptive and autonomous. Like Cancer, she had her own acronym. More specifically, an Artificially, Labile, Intelligence, Cybernated, Existence. Our goal, ultimately, is to turn an A.I. into an Alice of sorts. Therefore, we called it 'Project: Alicization.'"
"Is this Eugeo guy talking about her?"
At that moment, Eugeo spoke up to Korai again.
"I'm sorry."
"Huh? What for?"
"I didn't mean to dump all that on you guys."
Ashi didn't feel it was necessary to apologize.
"It's okay, Eugeo. At least we know Alice is okay."
As Ashi comforted Eugeo, Asuna spoke up about her again while she held Yuriko tightly to keep her from capsizing.
"So, uh, how long ago exactly did it happen?"
"It was my eleventh summer 10 years ago. Want some water?"
As Eugeo passed his canteen to the group, Korai took it and held onto it as he replied.
"Sure. Maybe later."
With that, Eugeo smiled at the others before he got up.
"Well, lunch is over, so I better get back to work. I still have to meet my quota for today."
This got Yuriko interested as she looked at him with curious eyes.
"What is your calling, mister?"
"You'll see. Like one of you figured out, it's not very exciting."
Considering the size of the tree, Keiko began to suspect Rika might've been right to take leave with Kito.
"Gee. I wonder why..."
Hours later, the group that left returned and saw Eugeo still swinging his axe at the giant tree, making almost zero progress as Korai spoke up.
"Really? Chopping down trees is your calling?"
"Yeah. Officially, my title's supposed to be 'woodcutter.' The problem is, I haven't cut down a tree in the eleven years since I received my calling."
This got the whole group surprised as Rika spoke up from afar.
"For real? Why the heck not?"
As he took notice of the group that left a while ago, Eugeo stuck to his topic.
"Well, my job is to work on this tree. It's called the Gigas Cedar. The villagers call it something else, though. The Demon Tree. They call it that because it sucks up all of Terraria's blessings from the land around it. Rulid has always wanted to plant more wheat fields, but as long as this is here, nothing good will grow. The village had that dragon bone axe sent from the capitol and appointed a woodcutter to work on it every day until it came down. That's my job."
This even made Kirito intrigued by it as he spoke up.
"So, you've been chopping away at it for eleven years now? After all that time... this is as far as you got?"
"Hardly. I'm actually a seventh-generation woodcutter. That's our calling. Someone's been chopping away on it, every single day for 300 years, in fact."
This made Yuuki widen her eyes first before the others followed as she made a small squeak of exclamation before she spoke.
"300 freaking years of that, and that's all it did?!"
This made Korai spark an idea in his head as he stood up before he spoke up to Eugeo.
"Hey, Eugeo. How about you let me take a crack at it?"
"Huh?"
"Well, you did give me and Yuuki part of your food, so I think it's only fair if we pitch in to help you work, too."
This made Yuuki desperate to refuse as she piped up before Eugeo spoke up.
"Hey, don't drag me into this!"
"Oh, I don't know. I mean, the Taboo Index doesn't say I can't have someone help, even though it is my calling and all. Try it, but it's much harder than it looks."
As Korai picked up the dragon bone axe, he gave a smile to him as he spoke up.
"You'd be surprised."
With that, Korai took his axe out and held it over his head before he charged it with a light crimson color, surprising Eugeo as Korai yelled out and swung the axe, hitting it dead center on where the cuts were made. And as a result, it got halfway through it, stopping just in the middle of where the dead center of bark would shield the tree. However, due to the recoil of the swing, Korai ended up stifling his moans as he fell on his bosom, the axe falling to the ground with his hands red. As Korai tried to hold in the yell of pain, Yuuki tried to check on him.
"Uh, you okay?"
"Yep. Just a little tough..."
Eugeo, surprised as he was with what just happened along with the group, pointed out the flaws in what led to the injurious recoil.
"I tried to warn you. Besides, you put way too much tension in your shoulders and hips. Relax and let the momentum do the work for you. Other than that, it was a nice hit."
As Korai looked deep into the wound, however, he became appalled to find out it actually dealt far little damage than he felt it did.
"Really? Doesn't look that way to me."
"Well, what'd you expect? Give it another shot before you forget."
As the hours went by, Korai had gotten to make a few more good dents in the Demon Tree. After those hits, Yuuki felt she could do better than that as she finally agreed to swing the axe with the small number of their children watching them strike it while the others would play on the field with their mothers and their father. When Yuuki felt she'd had enough, it was Kirito's turn.
"50!"
And with that one swing, he'd made smaller progress as he took a deep breath before Eugeo spoke up.
"Okay. That's 1,000 strikes."
This got Sachi interested as she just placed the sleepy Karai in her arms.
"Really? You guys did that many today?"
"Uh-Huh. 250 from me, 250 from Korai, 250 from Yuuki, and the rest goes to Kirito. Add the thousand I did this morning and that makes 2,000 strikes total. That's the daily quote for my calling."
This made Rika moan as she spoke up.
"Aw, just end this already..."
Despite Rika's complaining, Eugeo found it to be comforting for his standards.
"You're a natural at this, guys. Thanks to your skills, I had an easy day today."
This made Yuuki speak on the contrary as she took note of the tree still standing.
"I dunno if I'd say that. Whether or not we came to help, I'm starting to think it'd take twice as much years as it did to chop this goliath down in the first place."
"Think so? Then you need to see something."
As Eugeo opened up the menu the same way she showed Korai before, she widened her eyes as it showed about 232,316 out of 320,826 in its durability.
"It's only gone down by about 50 since last month. That's normal, actually. It's a strong tree. So what if we didn't make a lot of progress today? In the end, it doesn't make much of a difference at all."
"Then why even bother?"
"Well, I sorta have to. It's my calling, after all."
As Yuuki tried to protest against it, she remembered the Taboo Index reminding them to stay in it before she sighed as Eugeo spoke up.
"Let's go."
Later, they all went to the cabin in the woods where Eugeo put his axe there for future use as Shino spoke up.
"Aren't you gonna lock that door?"
"What for?"
"Well, someone might steal it, don't you think?"
"Now, who'd do that? It clearly states in the Taboo Index that theft is forbidden, remember?"
This got the group relieved as Sachi spoke up while Korai remembered what Kikuoka spoke about it.
"Well, that is true..."
"Kikuoka's right... these guys really do follow it to the letter."
As they went to the Rulid Village, the Sun was setting as they walked by with the children held up on their parents' shoulders while Yuriko, Karai, and Shiki were holding the hands of their parents before a stranger came in front of them and spoke mainly to the woodcutter.
"Hey, Eugeo. Who are your new friends?"
"Hey, Jink. This is Korai, Yuuki, Kirito, Asuna, Suguha, and Sachi, just to name a few. I think they may be the lost children of Vecta."
This made Jink suspicious as he looked to Yuuki.
"Is that true? You can't remember anything?"
"Nope. Not ringing a bell."
"Did you forget your calling, too?"
"Uh... Yeah."
"It was probably a lousy calling anyway. Bet it was as lame as Eugeo's here. He's got one of the most pointless callings in all the land."
As Jink poked fun at Eugeo, belittling him, Korai gave a glare towards him as he continued to boast his superiority.
"Now, mine, I'm a man at arms, and let me tell you—"
Before Jink could finish, Korai piped up.
"I didn't forget mine. I'm a swordsman."
Jink, considering his attire, found it hard to believe.
"A swordsman? A scrawny, weak-looking pipsqueak like you?"
"Well, looks can be deceiving. You never know."
As if to challenge, Jink held out his sword and scabbard in front of him as he spoke up.
"Go on, then. Show us your skill."
"Alright. But you're asking for it."
With that, Korai was standing amidst a small tree with Jink's sword as he geld it above his head before he generated the same light crimson effect and cleaved through the bark in half, splitting it apart and leaving Jink and Eugeo stunned before the latter spoke up.
"That was amazing! I didn't know you had skills like that! Maybe you were a sentinel in some big city."
"Well, I guess so."
As Jink stood baffled, Eugeo turned back to him and spoke up.
"Jink, well you let them in? I'd like to show them around the village now."
As Jink continued to stand baffled, Rika smiled at him before she spoke up.
"Should've backed out when you had the chance."
Later on, Eugeo got around to showing the group around as they stopped by to see little children at a daycare of sorts as Karai met one of the bigger boys with a little girl and another boy alongside Yuriko, Akihiko, and Shiki. And when they were met with an elderly woman carrying a bucket behind her, Saki and Suguha each shook hands with her while Rika, Kito, Keiko, Ayame, Asuna, Yuriko, and the others smiled at her before they finally reached the Church as Kirito spoke up, with Rika feeling it to be mutual.
"I'm tired."
"You're tired? How do ya think I feel?"
Eugeo saw no need for them to worry, though, as he assured them it is the place.
"Well, we're here."
"Phew! Finally."
Sachi, beginning to sense an overwhelming presence of authority, turned to Eugeo and spoke up.
"Are you sure they're gonna be okay with all this? There's just so many of us..."
"It'll be okay. Let's talk to the Sister and get you guys sorted out."
With that, Eugeo took the opportunity to knock before moments later, a door opened to reveal a woman with silver hair and glasses dressed in a black dress with a white apron before she spoke.
"What do you all want?"
As they struggled to answer, Yuuki vouched to explain as Kirito noticed a little girl behind her with dirty blonde hair and sapphire eyes looking at Eugeo who looked away for a moment.
"Well, we just woke up in the forest and we had no idea where we came from or how we got there."
Later, as it turned out, they did have room for all there's newcomers. The only downside was that they had to be split into groups. For example, Yuuki, Korai, Shiki, and Akihiko got one room while Kirito, Sachi, Suguha, Karai, and Saki got another with another remaining room left for Shino, Asuna, Ashi, and Yuriko, with the final one being occupied by Keiko, Ayame, Rika, and Kito. To be sure they had equal treatment, the first people to have their rooms turned out to be the last as the little girl handed them the necessities.
"Here. I brought you guys a pillow and a blanket each. Prayers begin at 6:00, breakfast is at 7:00. I'll come check on you, but please try to get up on time. Do not be late for prayers. You do not want to make Sister Azalea mad."
Having gone through the sort of thing with her mother and Aiko before, Yuuki saw no need to worry as she spoke.
"Noted."
"Also, we have a curfew after the light's out, so mind that."
However, she heard whispering on the side of her before turning her eyes to see Ayame and Kito by the door and they decided to retreat with the former speaking.
"She saw us! Run!"
As they retreated back to their rooms, the young girl sighed before she spoke to Yuuki.
"Honestly. Now, then. Do you have any questions?"
"Nope. We're all good. Thanks for taking us in."
This made her smile before she spoke to the husband in particular.
"Well, good night then. You guys know how to put out the lamp, right?"
"Yeah. And I'm not letting any of my kids get to it. I hope our sleep alright, too, Selka."
Having heard her name, Selka granted him her own smile before she walked out.
Later, at night, as Yuuki slept with Akihiko on her belly, Korai was looking out at the moonlight, not knowing that Shiki was watching as his mind was on his argument with Kikuoka.
"So that's it? Your plan is to make all those A.I.'s your weapons of war?"
"Now, Korai. I'm trying to help save my men's lives. They have families to get back to, and every one of them that goes is on my head. So I simply can't risk any more of them going into any more wars until this project is complete."
"What about them? Those Soul Archetypes? They have families, too. And if you can't see any value in that, then you're just as much a craphead as the Sorcerer ever was."
This made Kikuoka unexpectedly curious as he snapped.
"Don't ever compare me to him!"
Seeing he struck a nerve, Korai became surprised for a moment before he spoke onwards.
"Why not? You're the one who let him go into that project of yours doing who knows what in the first place. Now for the last time, are you going to help us? Because if not, whatever else he does, it's on your head."
As Korai dwelt on that memory prior to their dive, Shiki tugged on her father's shirt before he turned to her as she spoke.
"Daddy? Are you okay?"
Seeing the concerned look on her face, Korai sighed before he held her close to him.
"Yeah. Just got a lot on my mind. But, shouldn't you be sleeping?"
"I couldn't... see, I had a nightmare."
"Really? About what?"
"Well, there was a lady in this giant castle, and she lived there, all alone. It was so sad..."
"Is that all?"
Shiki only shook her head before she kept going.
"There was another man with her. He looked so scary..."
As Korai heard this, he looked out the window, wondering if she could be talking about the Sorcerer. The first few days since his battle with him, he had his fair share of nightmares. And the only person who could give him the comfort he needed on those days was his wife, Yuuki. Now it felt like SAO all over again, but the consequence of losing a life is uncertain here. Hopefully, Korai won't have to find out.
"Don't worry, Shiki. Your mother and I will take care of you and your brother. Just like we take care of each other..."
Far away, at a White Castle, a woman with light violet hair stripped bare of clothing laid on the bed as she gave a smile before footsteps came as the voice of the owner spoke up.
"Of all the places to be sent..."
In confusion, the woman slowly opened her eyes before she yawned and sat up before seeing a figure in a black jacket with a white buttoned shirt inside as she spoke curiously.
"Who... are you?"
The figure then bowed down to her before he spoke up with a smile.
"You need never fear, Lady Quinella. I have come to put you at ease. You may call me... Saber."
A/N: Hello. Just to recap, each girl in Kirito's harem has at least one child, and in case it got to be too much for you, I'll make a reminder for you. Ashi is a daughter of Shino, Yuriko will be Asuna's daughter, Kito is Rika's son, Ayame will be Keiko's daughter, Saki is Suguha's son, and Karai will be Sachi's daughter. To simply avoid confusion, their ages were accelerated up to six years of age by Kikuoka. As they are each children of Kirito, I'm planning on having them each have an arc of their own depending on the episode as time elapses quickly. But don't worry. it'll still focus on Eugeo and Alice's P.O.V., as well as Yuuna and a certain friend of hers that'll appear officially in the next chapter. I think we both know who he is. ;)