Asuna

After the council meeting, Asuna invited Ronie and Tiese to the Morning Star Lookout on the ninety-fifth floor of Central Cathedral. After Kirito arrived, the four had a short chat before Asuna led them down to the ninety-fourth. She and the former personal cook of the pontifex, Hana, presented a dish Asuna was trying. A Real World technique of wrapping paper around fish and baking it, but within the laws of the Underworld. Ronie and Tiese were awestruck by the mere idea of using white hemp paper (and paper in general) and listened as Asuna and Hana explained the entire process of them trying to figure it out. Of course, the reason for the invitation was soon made known-Ronie, Tiese, along with Kirito and Hana, were to be the first tasters. While the girls sang their praises, Asuna felt the dish could be improved, and Kirito...is Kirito.

Truth be told, Asuna feels guilty over having a nice lunch while the Underworld is in the midst of confusion. First, the appearance of beasts from the Underworld's-and, for two of them, the otherworlders'-past, then the murder of the inn worker and the suspicion of a goblin residing there. Between those two events, the revelation that Eydis Synthesis Ten had attacked three knight apprentices and Renly Synthesis Twenty-Seven. Following all that, the kidnapping of Supreme Commander Iskahn and Sheyta Synthesis Twelve's daughter Leazette while Kirito and Ronie were in the Dark Territory, and at the same time, Jaymes, Medina, and Ilia handled a mysterious, previously unknown epidemic in Norlangarth. The final result? Jaymes, who is just as important to her as Kirito is, was rendered comatose, though to a lesser degree than Kirito's previous state; Eydis was ruled to be a traitor to the Human Empire, though that was done without consulting what happened in the north with Medina and Ilia; and the three present with her, the so-called First Children, revealed themselves.

When Asuna arrived with the knights in the north, she hadn't planned on the encounter. She just knew something was wrong. It was her intuition, or maybe her long-standing bond with Jaymes, that she felt he was in some sort of trouble the few days his group investigated the blue thorn sickness. Of course, she trusted Medina would back Jaymes up, but like Kirito, he has a habit of doing things himself, if it means he can protect another (usually a female). Despite Koharu's survival of Sword Art Online being revealed at the height of the War of Underworld and Medina's revival after she was struck down by Administrator, he's still overprotective of those around him. Now he has an apprentice of his own, and so does Medina. She suspects those two have thrown his overprotective senses into overdrive, which is why he beat himself up after Mia and Ilia were injured by Eydis and why he fought Eydis alone. However, for Jaymes to be defeated by the Integrity Knight he's closest to conflict Asuna. Jaymes isn't known for holding back against anyone, yet at the same time, he wouldn't want to hurt Eydis. He didn't believe she betrayed them of her own free will.

But when she saw him on the ground, beaten and unconscious, her worry quickly turned to anger, and had not the situation been as it is, she might've done more than call for an immediate retreat. They didn't fly far from the Lodend Mountains, and Medina sent a group of wayfarers to Rulid Village to check on the people. The First Children, thankfully, left the village alone.

Now days later, Jaymes remains in his state, the solution unknown. Medina has yet to reveal anything substantial to the Council, not even to Kirito and Asuna. Her loyalty to Jaymes (and possibly Eydis) has kept her mouth closed, and that extended to Ilia as well. Is it an order from Jaymes to not say anything to the Council, or is it Medina's lack of trust in the Council after hearing Eydis was declared a traitor? Or maybe it's neither, and the young woman wants to find out the truth for herself without the Empire's aid. After all, it explains why she is acting unilaterally now, only sending a message to the other Real Worlders that there's another issue in the empire and she's going to investigate.

"Um…Lady Asuna."

Asuna, registering Tiese calling her name, draws her cup of cofil tea away from her mouth. "What is it, Tiese?"

"Weren't you about to say something before we ate lunch…? Something about the Taboo Index."

"Oh…was I?"

Ronie turns to her friend and hisses at her. "Hey…Tiese! It was your fault Lady Asuna couldn't talk about her topic!"

"Ah-ha-ha-ha, I think you're right."

"Well, good going…I'm sorry about this, Lady Asuna,"

"It's fine. If you're ever curious about anything, all you have to do is ask. Anyway…as for what I was trying to ask, Kirito…your understanding is that the Taboo Index is an absolute rule, and those who break it either activate the Seal of the Right Eye or in a worst-case scenario, their minds simply collapse…Is that correct?"

"Yes, I think that's fundamentally how it goes."

"Then…whoever killed Yazen the cleaner at the inn in South Centoria either broke the seal in their eye, avoided the taboo somehow, or was never bound by the Taboo Index in the first place like Hersyrian was, correct?"

Kirito nods. "Yes, I assume it's…one of those three. The problem is if the third one is the case…then the culprit is from the Dark Territory, not the human realm. And that would require breaking the Law of Power from over there, which is just as powerful as the Taboo Index. And whether Jaymes is regarded as the emperor by the citizens or not, Iskahn is certainly seen as the strongest man in the dark lands, and he put out an order to all that they're not to commit any wrongs while in this realm."

"Um, may I ask something…?"

"What is it, Ronie?"

"On that topic…when the man in the robe kidnapped Iskahn and Sheyta's baby, he was clearly ignoring the Law of Power. He took Lea hostage, then ordered Iskahn to kill you."

"That's right. Meaning, either the kidnapper believes he's stronger than Iskahn and Jaymes, or he's following the orders of someone whom he believes qualifies as stronger, I'm guessing."

"But that just feels…so vague to me. How do the people of the dark realm determine the strength of those they ought to follow? I mean, I assume they aren't fighting each and every person individually. And with Jaymes as emperor, should his rule be absolute over Iskahn and the Law of Power? That's how it looked to me."

"Jaymes is, at this moment, no more than 'Emperor of the Dark Territory' in name. Iskahn used to be the leader of the pugilists guild. That's more like sparring or dueling than fighting…but you're right, the entire population as a whole isn't challenging him together. It's more like, each race and guild and group of people choose their strongest member to be the chief, and before the war, those leaders made up a group called the Council of Ten, who decided on laws and such. Now it's changed to the Council of Five Peoples, but it still works the same way…and out of those leaders, Iskahn is considered to be the strongest in terms of individual battle power."

"In that case, if the kidnapper believed he was stronger than Iskahn, that alone wouldn't violate the Law of Power, right? It would have to be proven by fighting Iskahn and beating him."

Kirito crosses his arms. "Mmm, I guess it depends on the strength of his belief… During the Rebellion of the Four Empires, the emperors broke the very first rule of the Taboo Index and rebelled against the Axiom Church. Their belief that the Unification Council had taken over the Axiom Church, and their self-justification that they were taking the Church back for the sake of the pontifex, overrode the influence of the Taboo Index. If the kidnapper believed in something strong enough to cause that kind of state of mind, then maybe he could overcome the Law of Power without actually fighting Iskahn. Plus, this happened while Jaymes was away, which is even bolder if you think about it."

"The emperor of Norlangarth didn't seem to care at all about what the Unification Council ordered…but that was because the imperial line had been in charge for hundreds of years. Is it really possible that someone without that kind of accumulated background could rebel against a higher power, just through the power of sheer belief?"

"That's a good point," Asuna replies. "Whether the Taboo Index or the Law of Power, it seems clear that the violator needs a very firm backbone of belief and justification to override the law. Oh, and when I say backbone, I mean spine, or backing, or mental support."

Tiese, who revealed she has a notebook of sacred words (to Asuna and the boys, just words in English), jolts it down. "O-oh."

"In fact…that's what I was trying to ask you about, Kirito,"

"What…?"

"Regardless of whether the culprit is a resident of the human realm or dark realm, it means that either the killer or the person who ordered the killer to do it has just as strong and twisted a mind as the four emperors' and this Hersyrian. What mystifies me is that if such people are out there, couldn't they have done something more drastic…something as bold as kidnapping Leazetta in the Dark Territory, but over here? That's not to demean the value of Yazen's life…but frankly if the culprit is trying to sow discord between the human realm and dark realm, wouldn't there be a more effective target for the plot?"

"Meaning, someone in a position of social power…like a noble, or a major merchant, or their family? Yeah."

"And furthermore, if they are connected to the First Children, then why hasn't an Ancient Apostle appeared over there? Why draw Jaymes over here, and you over there?" Asuna crosses her arms and looks outside. No, she doesn't believe in the 'if', she's certain the culprit in the dark realm is connected to the First Children. She's not certain of their goal, that's for sure. Only Medina and Ilia might have a clue, but Asuna doubts the two would hide that much from them, given they detailed what happened in the Windcutter's Ridge to some Council is aware of two things: the First Children are connected to the Ancient Apostles, and they are as strong as an Integrity Knight, if not stronger.

The only way to understand the ordeal is to go to the source, and that requires doing the impossible. Looking into the Ancient Apostles, even with a helpful material source, has proven fruitless in furthering the connection to the First Children, but if Asuna's belief is true, then it's worth looking into. "Kirito, I think it's worth a try."

"Er…try? Try what?"

"The past-scrying art Ayuha mentioned. If we really can see what happened in the past and attempt to use it in the room where the murder happened, we should be able to see who the killer really was."

Not much longer later, the girls and Kirito found themselves at the crime scene. Kirito, of course, had to show off, first lifting the party of four up to the southwestern corner of the Everlasting Walls with wind arts and Incarnation, then the four walked along said wall while they searched for the inn. Kirito and Ronie hadn't gone to the inn but to the guard's office where the suspected goblin, Oroi, was detained. Kirito, using knowledge of other virtual worlds, though they'd just see a sign that said INN and go inside. Thankfully Asuna thought to bring a map and directed them to the correct inn.

Once there, Kirito ordered a room for four, deciding to act as guests rather than officials from Central Cathedral. Once in their room, Asuna made them some tea, displaying yet another technique of heating cold water by trapping a heat element inside a hollow metal sphere. She told the apprentices that Alice Synthesis Thirty originally knew the spellword and told Ayuha, who told Asuna.

After teatime, Kirito leads the group to the room where the crime happened while the inn's employees are on break. He tries to open the door by the handle, but it's locked, so he does things the Kirito way, using Incarnation to pick the lock.

"Oh no…You can do that with Incarnation?" Tiese, amazed and annoyed, says.

"The keys and locks of this world aren't actual mechanical devices; they're system-based…er…I'll explain it to you one day." Kirito opens the unlocked door and motions for everyone to enter. He enters after the girls and shuts the door, then faces Asuna. "You're sure this is safe, Asuna?"

Ayuha said the art of past-scrying was dangerous, and it was just discovered yesterday. Only the Senate had used such power before. Ronie and Tiese remarked earlier after Asuna brought up the idea to use it that they heard from Medina that Hersyrian used a similar art to show Medina that Kirito slew his adopted mother, Administrator. At the time, the difference of time was nearly a month, if not more. Ayuha reported her artificers had barely made it half a minute before the strain overwhelmed them. What Asuna is attempting is going back more than a week in time.

Asuna, however, dissuades her lover's worries with a smile. "Yes, it'll be fine. We have to find whoever did this and catch them. It's what we owe Oroi for keeping him prisoner…and for poor Yazen."

"…All right. Go ahead." Kirito motions for the apprentices to stand back. Asuna takes out a folded parchment and walks to the center of the room. She memorized the words already, a testament to her real-life academic success as the top student for several years (much to Joshua's distaste the last year and a half), but a refresher is never a bad idea. When Asuna felt prepared, she pocketed the parchment and began. "System Call…"

First, she generates crystal elements to form a disc, Afterwards, she starts speaking in the 'sacred tongue'. The room suddenly darkened, and for a brief moment, Asuna pauses. The spell is beginning to hurt, but Asuna has been through worse pain. She has to do this; while she spoke of Oroi and Yazen, she's doing this mostly for her injured best friend. Catching herself, she fights through the pain and continues the spell. Momentarily, the disc begins to float and lights the room with a purple glow. Her face tensing up and her body fighting the strain, Asuna reaches for the disc.

Then for a moment, there's a voice, female, but not belonging to any of the women. "…ou are…eror's priv…serf Yaz…n't you…?"

"A-ah…no, I'm…not…holding's tena…anym…"

"…ce a serf…ways a serf…If you don't like that, then…die right here and now!" The crystal disc shatters after a scream, and Asuna collapses, caught by Kirito before she hits the floor.

Kirito took Asuna back to their original room, laid her on one of the beds, had Ronie give her water, and (though its useless to do) generated light elements around Asuna. After letting Kirito worry about her, she opens her eyes. "Yes…I'm fine."

"Don't tell stories. You should be resting,"

She rises anyway. "No, I have to hurry."

"What did you see?" he asks. "Could you find out how the killer evaded the Taboo Index to murder Yazen?"

She closes her eyes in silence for a moment to accurately remember what she saw, then whispers hoarsely, "The first thing I saw in the glass disc…was a man cleaning that room. I think it was Yazen. Then, just in the front of the image, a woman said to Yazen, 'You are from the emperor's private holdings, the serf Yazen, aren't you?'"

"The emperor's…private holdings," Kirito whispers back.

"Yes…Yazen started to nod, but then he said, 'No, I'm not the private holding's tenant anymore.' Then the second person was…almost mocking him by saying 'Once a serf, always a serf. If you don't like that, then die right here and now,' and she stabbed Yazen in the chest with a dagger…Yazen fell to the ground, and the woman left the room with the dagger. That was as far as I saw…"

Kirito stands up from the bedside and looks around the room. "The woman who killed Yazen dropped the bloody dagger in the hallway, knocked on a nearby door, and disappeared. Oroi the mountain goblin was sleeping in that room, and he got up and saw the dagger in the hallway and had picked it up to examine it when the Centorian guards spotted him and arrested him. That's what I think happened after Yazen's murder."

"But, Kirito," Tiese interrupts, "wouldn't that be too early for any guards to arrive? I would think that from Yazen's murder to the knocking on Oroi's door to Oroi picking up the dagger, it could only have taken a few minutes at most."

"True, true. The guards rushed to the inn after the fourth-district guard station received a civilian report that a demi-human was rampaging with a blade, I believe. But in fact, Oroi had only picked up the knife and wasn't doing anything with it. Which would mean the report came from the killer or a companion of hers…And you couldn't see the killer at all, Asuna?"

"I couldn't. It was like she was always just behind the view of the glass disc. Or…in fact…" She holds her mouth open, searching for the word to explain what she's thinking, but her tongue fails her. "No…I'm sorry, I can't really explain it."

"You don't have to apologize," Kirito comforts while rubbing her back gently. "You didn't see the killer, but you did hear her voice, and we learned some other things, too. Such as…the killer didn't utilize some complex trick to kill Yazen while evading the Taboo Index's rules. She just stabbed him right in the heart."

"The killer isn't bound by the Taboo Index," Ronie murmurs.

"That's what it means," Kirito agrees with a heavy voice. "Though we don't know how…"

"About that, actually. I think the killer's words are the reason she killed…she was able to kill Yazen."

"Her words…? 'Once a serf, always a serf'?"

"Yes…What if the reason the killer was able to ignore the Taboo Index is that Yazen came from the lands privately held by a noble, and he was subject to judicial authority?"

"…Oh! Then the culprit can kill not just Yazen, but any of the old former serfs we freed…That's why you said we ought to hurry."

"Yes…My first thought was that we ought to strike before another person becomes a victim…but… There are nearly a thousand former serfs in the northern empire alone—and four times that in all of the realms…We can't provide protection or safety for all of them."

"Plus, not all the people who were released from servitude stayed in Centoria. Over half left the capital and chose rural places where they could have their own land, I've heard. It would take weeks to track them all down…"

"And it's not like this place has a unified census registry,"

"But…the culprit is attempting to start another war between the human and dark realms, so they wouldn't just be looking for any old former serf to kill. There's no point in doing it unless they can pin the act on a visitor from the Dark Territory."

"Meaning we should be protecting…the dark-worlders…?"

"Yes…I was always planning to come to this inn, either today or tomorrow. I was going to invite Oroi's companions to the cathedral. It'll probably help ease Oroi's homesickness, too…"

"But there are so many more tourists out there," Ronie added, eliciting a shrug from him.

"That's true. But fortunately, we have their numbers and inn locations all recorded, so they'll be much easier to handle than the former serfs. We can't bring every last one of them to the cathedral, so I think we'll push the schedule a bit and start sending them home as early as today. If we put together armed caravans to take them to the Eastern Gate, I don't think the killers will be able to mess with them."

"Then let's get a move on," said Asuna, sliding out of the bed to her feet. Kirito comes to her aid, but she denies it and thanks him for it. "So…do you know the room where the other three mountain goblins are staying?"

"Of course. It's a four-person room on the first floor, so it's probably right below us. There should be a guard on duty in front of the door—half to guard them, half to keep an eye on them…" "That's unavoidable. It won't be necessary once they're safely moved to Central Cathedral. Let's get going."