"As you have noticed, there had been an irregularity during your stay at Aincrad.", stated Kayaba. They felt his gaze sweep through them, shining into their very core. Few were able to meet his gaze, or whatever was behind the hood, throwing a shadow over this form´s face.

People who have fallen unconscious went mostly ignored, only a few players had the spirit and began to pull them to the sides, leaning them against the stairs at the outer parts of the dome which were leading down to the obelisk from the archways of the surrounding buildings. Kirito carried the light girl to the side while putting her uncle beside her. He didn´t even buckle under the combined weight of Mr Nishida and one of his companions.

Only certain kinds of people have been affected by Kayaba´s appearance, the old and young primarily, perhaps some mentally weak too.

"A few hours earlier an earthquake shook the walls of dungeons and safe zones alike. Since then the game experience had been severely limited as some areas have changed, landscapes riddled with debris and new hindrances. New mobs made themselves known and created sudden and needless death under unfair circumstances. For that, I offer you my sincerest regret and compensations are in order, for it is the task of the game master to keep his creation in check. Mistakes have been made...not that they could have been avoided. In fact, and I hope that after some consideration you will draw the same conclusion...it is less a mistake than an…opportunity. One for greatness and a new adventure past the borders of only Aincrad."

The deep voice cut through any mental barrier, and those trying to ignore the imposing figure´s speech were forced to listen anyways. Many focused on keeping their weapons pointed upwards, be it long-reaching polearms or even short daggers. This simple action required most of their willpower as they focused all their might on not shaking.

"This won´t end well, he is talking in riddles …he makes himself appear aloof and cut off from the common people. This won´t sit well with those feeling threatened.", muttered Kirito. He already saw many of the people shift uncomfortably from one foot to the other. "He is expecting something…"

"Talking down from up there, acting all high and mighty, as expected of the great Akihiko Kayaba. You come before us, despite everything we did to satisfy that sick fantasy of yours and act as if nothing happened, expecting us to listen to you spewing nonsense?!", shouted someone from amidst the crowd.

The emblem of his army-green cloak was ripped away, leaving a gaping hole in its stead. Still, the small dwarf of a man appeared to wear this mark with pride, flaunting it for everyone to see. Those recognizing it wondered why that man was in armour. Many folks looked at him with contempt…some, however, hidden in plain view within the crowd, especially within the place occupied by the Aincrad Liberation Army, gazed at him with admiration.

Standing among the yellow and red player base, those originating from either the Black Iron Prison or being criminals still on the loose, his own icon identified him to be a green player instead. Green players in prison were a different kind of breed, for they tried to use cunning and intelligence to get what they wanted. It was also what had landed them behind bars.

However, this didn´t discourage him from making his voice heard as he scratched his spiky hair, smirking before glaring upwards.

He was someone corrupted by the simplistic nature of SAO, seeing the path of the sword as a means to express his desire to dominate and lead. That those strong enough were justified in taking what was rightfully theirs, that those strong enough and only them were able to rule. And only those he accepted himself were truly strong, those who fit into that narrow worldview of his. Everyone else was a cheap imposter.

Hence… many of his kind became infected with an illness known as arrogance.

Keeping up a neutral facade, Kayaba responded in kind.

"Player Kibao! Once a member of the so-called Aincrad Liberation Squad. A valiant name, one with great promise in speaking to the common men´s hope; a group able to focus the player base's wrath on themselves and let it loose on the enemy. However, he has fallen from grace during the early times of SAO for over-eagerness and a lack of consideration as guild leader, leading to the eventual formation of the well-known Aincrad Liberation Army…not under his leadership anymore. Due to spite, he became irrational and radical, culminating in a short-lived betrayal-"

"-Nobody believes you, you stuck-up monster, and even if…what of it? I am not any different than everyone else here trying to survive. Cut the crap out with me being responsible for everything! You! It was you who made us do it, everything was you! You imprisoned us in this world of yours, where we were led to the slaughter bank like sheep, waiting for our eventual demise! Anyone abiding by the rules set by you is a traitor!", screamed Kibao back. His voice was overshadowed by Kayaba´s.

"Don´t blame your own insignificance and uselessness, your lack of patience and honesty on the game which is neutral to the core and picks no favourites. It is an equalizer, the only true equalizer from which the people benefit in that accursed world we were born in.", pointed the red-hooded god out.

The booming rebuttal came as a shock to them. Was Kayaba willing to enter a discussion with Kibao? No…it would tarnish the image of a god. It must have been within his expectation that some players will take up arms against him. His lack of consideration for the people was even pointing…at that…-

"-he wants to provoke us. Directly.", concluded Kirito, nibbling at his thumb.

"The circumstances require a change of pacing, which is why I decided to show myself once again. It will also require closer…cooperation between the game master and players. I believe communication will be the right path towards a shared goal, the more so since we have entered…uncharted waters…"

"But why incite conflict? If he wants to cooperate he could have chosen much more subtle routes. From deceit to simply changing some questlines."

The man with a will of steel broke his facade because of an annoyance like Kibao? He knew Kibao could get under someone´s skin pretty easily despite actually being a half-decent guy, making him the leader of the frontlines before Heathcliff took the task upon himself after Kibao lost much of the person he once was, before Floor 25…

"Uncharted waters...could it actually be true...my theory...", marvelled Kirito amazed.

A person´s arms cramped as he let his sword fall to the ground, the poor-quality blade getting stuck between two pave stones and shattering in the process.

A knight, clad in armour, let his spear fall as he pressed his hands on his helmet. He fell to his knees, the clattering of full-plate armour resounding through the dome.

A teenager pulled her hood closer, violently gripping the fabric as she clenched her teeth.

A man-at-arms, in the same uniform as Kibao, its emblem ripped away gripped his weapon harder, his bones cracking.

"AHHHHHHRGH!"

Energy accumulated.

A sword skill!

Whooosh!

An orange glinting chakram flew through the air at speeds making it difficult to follow.

Set off by the shout more followed as javelins and throwing knives flew through the air.

They´d realize soon enough it took more than a couple of toothpick-sized javelins and some dull throwing blades to take care of all their problems.

"A call for a demonstration?", questioned Kayaba out loud. Lightning fast, his white-gloved hand was in the air, before he uttered in a low tone: „System Call, create crystalline element, Type: Barrier"

Out of nowhere, a turquoise glowing barrier appeared before him, letting -what to him was nothing more but thrown cutlery - bounce off. The metal gear fell back to the ground again, clattering against the granite tiles.

"CHEATER! Face us like we had to face Aincrad, you prick!", shouted Kibao. Much to Kiritos concern, the fool´s rambling earned him shouts of agreement from the people in the crowd. All people who wouldn´t have survived past floor 50 or so? What were they thinking, playing hero, or were they really so dumb as to forget whose law this world was defined by? This wasn´t anything where the numbers of players counted much, it boiled down to stats.

"Cheating?", humoured him the hooded wizard. "Oh, you manage to amuse me so often, all of you!"

"Oh, your all talk but in the end you´re just watching us from high up there, satisfying some kind of perverted fetish!", declared Kibao, pointing his mace at the Admin, strangely accurate in his description, wasn´t it for the final raid team members on floor 75th knowing it better. Emboldened by the rising support of the people, Kibao continued in his quest. If this continued he would have the ALA behind him, and so much more.

"Thinker won´t be able to stand in my way again.", mused Kibao, gripping his blunt weapon tighter.

"Then...perhaps another demonstration is in order. One that I didn´t consider at the beginning, still hoping for things to turn out civil in the end."

Stepping back, Kibao raised his mace: "Who is with me!"

His shout was answered, first by his own underlings standing within his reach, then others also stepped forward from the endless sea of players surrounding the teleportation obelisk, leaving their positions.

The rebellious spirit of Kibao was spreading towards others, at first only those without guilds, most often they only entered a temporary group so as to not play solo, a deadly undertaking once your life was at stake.

"Hey, what are you doing, keep formation, keep formation! That is an order!", came the sudden shout from one of the ALA lieutenants. The shield wall around the unarmed players was broken as soldiers of the Aincrad Liberation Army walked past their comrades.

Kirito shook his head as he stepped forward out of the crowd. Kayaba on the other hand didn´t move a finger during the events.

"You´d have thought the grand genius wouldn´t have wanted people to just interrupt him. He told me he liked the classical twists, so where was his villain monologue? Perhaps this was a monologue all along, he didn´t take Kibao seriously as a conversation partner.", thought Kirito, stroking his chin while gazing upwards. His neck actually hurt from all that looking up the entire time. A thing he still had to adjust to, likewise the others were also rubbing their necks. They were all on edge, despite their behaviour of putting up brave fronts, and raising arms and shields into the air. They were no warriors. They were children with spiky sticks, fighting not for a common cause but out of fear and anger.

"Exactly that behaviour shows that they were on edge, they acted like a threatened animal pushed into a corner.", thought Kirito. With fear as their motivation, they´d only rush headless into the wall that was Kayaba, you couldn´t lean on negative emotions as you could on positive ones. They wouldn´t succeed.

"Will everyone just calm down for a sec!", shouted the raven-haired boy over the nervous mutterings.

Immediately taking the reins, Kibao shoved aside those walking toward him.

"Haven't seen you in a long time. You´ve got guts, Beater! Just appearing here out of nowhere.", greeted the former commander Kirito. The spiky-haired man was smirking. "Have you grown balls since the first floor or what? Nice, I like that attitude of yours!"

Kirito clicked his tongue at that.

His smile morphed into a dangerous grin, baring his teeth. "Oh, I haven't forgotten you, Thinker must be so thankful to you for saving his sorry ass from the dungeon. I would have led the ALA back to its former glory so you just wait…", he whispered into Kirito´s ear.

Snickers were heard throughout the crowd. Enjoying the attention, Kibao turned to the people.

"It appears he has something to say, so let´s hear him!", cried the macer out. His battle-lusted voice was affecting his growing number of supporters as they agreed with loud howling.

"You are shifting the responsibilities away from you, Kibao.", stated Kirito. While not loud there was conviction behind Kirito´s words.

"Huh?", asked Kibao, almost mocking the black swordsman. "Responsibility. Responsibility? Do you lot hear this, a solo player, a beater, a beta-tester and a cheater, talks about responsibility?"

It earned a chuckle from the spiky-haired man.

"Have you gone crazy in the Black Iron prison...no, you went crazy a lot earlier. I can understand trying to shift responsibility. You want the gold yet not the punishment for failing! You desire nothing but prestige for standing at the top. What happened to the self-righteous prick I met on the first floor? You were an asshole alright, but at least you have tried to do your best and stood in for your people! Now you just let others walk the path in front of you while taking their gain! A hollow shell is all that remained of you after that two-headed giant tore your comrades apart. You have amounted to nothing but sowing disappointment and hate between those that should stand united! You are not the hero you think yourself to be!", reprimanded Kirito the laughing man. Kibao´s smirk was wiped off his face as he walked closer while gripping Kirito´s coat, pulling him closer.

"Boy, the one who thinks himself a hero is you.", he muttered in a low tone," otherwise you wouldn´t come to call me out on every action I take. You even have special powers...dual wielding, or how the skill is called. What, don´t look at me like I am only brawn but no brains, I have plenty of information stemming from people sent to keep an eye out on you. Only because you didn´t show me personally do you think I didn´t catch wind of it? I´ll actually hope to see it so I can wipe that smirk off your pretty face myself."

"Enough! Do you still think of this like a game, trying to do your petty little power games amongst those you think are equal to you?! You are like a little-", burst Kirito out, only to look into Kibao´s angry expression.

"A Game! Do you think this is real, any of this?! Are you a nutjob?! This isn´t real, none of it. It is a prison with walls we just have to tear down. At this very moment, the warden stands before us. This is our chance! A chance we have to use for we owe it to all our comrades who suffered until now. Our only chance to end this quickly, none other had it before us. To hell with the Beta testers. To hell with the other players who just idly stand there! Who stands with me?! Who is going to act now!", screamed Kibao atop his lungs, not letting Kirito intervene another time. At the worst, Kibao´s whole momentum could be stopped by the brat.

"Never again will I feel that misery I felt a year before. I will rise above it this very moment! And the others will finally respect me for it", screamed Kibao inside his head, making his blood pump. Raising his mace high into the air, he shouted.

Other players began to slowly retreat to the far corners of the plaza, backing up against the system-created walls.


"What is that fool Kibao doing, does he really think he stands a chance against Kayaba in this form? This is nuts. Suicide! Even Kirito couldn't...and they´re trying the same move twice?", thought Asuna. as her guild members tried to create a path through the oncoming crowds. Yet the safe zone regulation actually prevented from touching the masses too hard, making it nigh impossible to actually perform their task. The system saw their attempts of forming an alley of shields as a violation. They were locked in place...

"The regulations shouldn´t be that restricting, it's almost as if the system doesn´t want us to intervene!", cursed the leader of the Knights.

Her guess proved to be somewhat correct, as they were too late to stop Kibao´s foolhardy plan of attack.

"Tanks, form a solid wall and block anything he throws against us. DPS, get to the flanks and if he comes closer, just stab with all your might! Use hit and run tactics, switch and strike! Ranged units…Fire!

The rebels launched their chakrams or javelins into the air, some even threw poison darts after the red hooded figure.

To no avail. Even if the summoned crystal barrier was gone, nothing hit Kayaba, the weapons seemingly having a mind of their own.

"Is that all? Well then let me demonstrate...Deep freeze Integrator Unit; Group; imminent hostile elements."

The command had a strange ring to it.

The words were...laced with power.

"He has turned into stone!", suddenly exclaimed one of the rear guards, pointing at a chakram thrower.

Indeed, what remained of him was a stone statue. No paralysis nor any previously known status effects explained the alignment. Something new, possibly high-levelled. Perhaps something no mob in Aincrad wielded but the game master himself.

Those not having raised their weapons were relieved, and so were many of the red and orange players. Only those belonging to Kibao´s group began to scatter, running for any kind of exit from which they could escape divine punishment. Kibao remained frozen in shock, only to realize he and his ground force were unaffected by the spell. Only those ranged fighters had been cursed.

"There are far more pressing matters to attend to than a few unruly children which cannot deal with the cards they´ve been dealt with. I hope there will be less friction in the future.", concluded Kayaba his demonstration. "Only those directly attacking me have been deep-frozen. Take this as a sign of good-will, that I do not desire to be unfair. However, this leads to my reason for gathering all of you here. Furthermore…while I do not intend to meddle with all of you in this form too much, let me make one thing clear. From what I have observed…It was the beta players which managed to keep many people from dying in the first days of Aincrad. They were the individuals capable enough to publish guide books and help people truly in need. Do not blame those helping for a path another one has taken. It is and has always been a freedom of choice what you could have done in Aincrad. It is no coincidence after all that the quality of life elements are so deeply developed. All players could have lived their simple lives in the confines of Aincrad, yet you chose to fight for freedom and take the risk of failure on your shoulders. Ultimately those who died sacrificed themselves in an attempt to further their group's goal…or chose to leave the game on their own accords through suicide have made a decision. It was…a choice. Something everyone can do independently. Do not sully their decisiveness with doubt and smearing the deed and its intent on other people. Such behaviour is disgraceful to their sacrifice. "

"Freedom of choice…suicide? What the hell is he talking about. They were forced to do it because we couldn´t save them fast enough. Someone protecting himself with the system aid shouldn´t be allowed to talk like that!", seethed Kirito internally as he chose to keep a neutral expression.

He did however notice the lack of a reaction as people were seriously considering such a ridiculous notion.

The barrier of people seemed to vanish as the KOB finally managed to reach the centre, together with the now arriving Divine Dragon Alliance.

Red from embarrassment, Kibao shouted at the newcomers:" There you are! Cowards!"

Before chaos could ensue, Kibao was pinned down by two men of the DDA.

"Wait, why are you not frozen? And where´s the safe zone mechanism which has hindered us coming through?", exclaimed Asuna sharply. Meanwhile, the rebels or what remained of them were intercepted by Army Loyalists.

"Well, I´d say it is where he wants it to be. And now he seems to be on our side.", came the gruff voice of a teenager blowing a strand of his shoulder-length black hair away from his field of view. He was lean despite the obvious amount of muscles, creating the image of a young athlete. He was just as ambitious and competitive.

"I agree with Akemi, Kayaba was always in full control of the situation, it was more of a test. To see who calmly listens and who´ll resist any attempts of reason.", spoke a black swordsman that stepped up behind the KOB´s new leader.

"Well...for Kayaba to take the word reason in his mouth, it´s a bit natural to not trust him...", added Asuna, hugging Kirito shortly.

"Yeah, it really seems farfetched. Yet whatever transpires out there is more chaotic. At least we get some help in dealing with the situation, even if it's only in the form of information.", muttered the tank of the DDA.

"But tell me, what´s the top player and leader of DDA doing here with us? Socializing was never your thing?", asked Kirito, narrowing his eyes.

"Neither was it yours, yet I see you doing lovey-dovey things with the vice commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath. Isn´t that a funny turn of events...solo player?", celebrated the young man with a complete lack of interest in his voice. Both stared into each other´s eyes.

"Captain!", exclaimed a young woman, making her way towards the athlete standing tall above the crowds. She had dark hair, wearing two short braids at the sides of her head which lightly shook because of her movement. Her armour consisted of scattered metal plating, covering the vitals and appendages and of the traditional dark blue robes, a trademark of the DDA. However, there was a lot of personalization in comparison to the normal foot soldier, for example, an unusual green-red scarf alongside other green and red leather elements scattered around her uniform and a pair of glasses over her eyes. Her clothing also looked rather…

"Why is she walking around half nude?!", asked Kirito himself, trying not to look suspicious at the revealing outfit the lancer-girl chose. He had occasionally seen people in Aincrad with these sorts of tastes, hell, in other video games it was commonplace but alas, SAO was no normal video game, this situation was only the latest proof.

Strapped on her back was a large halberd similar in looks to the one her captain wielded. A weapon!

"Keep your eyes on that, Kirito, that is a good start…", muttered the young man. What´s wrong with that woman?

She as well as Akemi of them had an icy air around them and Kirito couldn´t discern it if was actually their weapon forged from rare kyberite crystals from the freezing dunes which gave it off, or if it was actually the lack of emotion portrayed on their faces. Her style of clothing and her aura did not fit together.

"Looking a lot less sociable than Schmidt...", thought Kirito carefully, taking a friendly stance towards the newcomer.

"I don´t believe I have seen you anywhere near the raids nor the DDA parties present at strategy meetings.", greeted Kirito as he observed the girl. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen you at the front lines at all...and I´ve been wandering them for a fair share of my time. So, I am-"

"Kirito.", noted the girl. "A coat as black as his hair, two swords strapped to his back and talking eye to eye with two of the most influential people in SAO, it is the only option left to be someone with such high infamy. I´ve heard much of you from Akemi."

"Oho, I hope it was only good then.", sweat dropped Kirito as he glanced between the Leader of DDA and the girl, yet both their expressions remained stoic, not a twitch in their facade. "He is making me suffer on purpose…"

"Of course. Your ability is well known among the high ranks, even the common soldiers talk much of you, even if there are many exaggerations. It is said you are one of the strongest players in all of SAO. A fact that I desire to test out as soon as possible, much as my superior does.", continued the girl, her features never changing, only to quickly add, "Not that I intend to take his prey!"

"No worries Sinon, prey is prey, and the better hunter will get their shot.", he answered, his voice turning icy. "Failure within the Dragon Lancers however won´t be tolerated. You have one shot at a hunt...or you´re dead. Metaphorically speaking."

"Ahh, yes. The dragon lancers. Something of a merry elite adventure society within the DDA. The Lancers are known for rather...extensive roleplay. The elite strike teams of the DDA are comprised solely of Dragon Lancers. It is a wonder however that they accepted a girl, they are rather archaic in design and behaviour…and she didn´t strike me as the type for roleplay. The girl must pack some serious skill then, to be approved in their ranks.", mused Kirito. "Sinon it is!", he broke the silence as he stretched out his hand.

The girl glanced at it shortly, before taking it.

They shook hands.

"A worker alright. Her hands feel quite rough. It must have translated from her real life into this new world of Aincrad", reasoned the black swordsman. "Not at all like the dragon lancers. They were elite gamers; their hand must feel like they´ve never done much work. I remember them in the beginning, quite shy and as scared as any other. They´ve actually coped well with the situation, as have many hardcore gamers, even if that was in their own strange way, one that definitely wasn´t received well by the ordinary inhabitant of Aincrad."

SIGH

"I believe there has been enough time to recollect yourself after the less than effective attempt of deflecting reasoning. Now, time is scarce, more so when unwanted changes come faster than anticipated. The sea outside is growing more chaotic as we speak. It already influenced the course of this castle, changing it. Soon, we will arrive at new shores.", resounded the deep voice from the skies. His mind seemed somewhere else as he began to recount his findings

"I will keep this short then, seeing as you need time for yourself, my presence unsettling more than needed. You must have already realized some rapid changes within Aincrad´s ecosystem as well as yourself. There is an easy explanation. While not simple, I believe we have...been transported to a new, unknown place. A place where what was once digital...now is reality. Touch, smell, hearing, sight...it all has adapted to your new bodies, some features originating from even before Aincrad. You are now able to now directly experience what Aincrad is like. Not only that, likewise your stats have translated to your new bodies, enabling you to survive Aincrad...and anything that comes after. This message has been recorded for the announcement tab and has been posted together with a relating event where everything I have brought to light will be shared with the players for free. Furthermore, everything you are able to find out, you can add to the leader board yourself. This is my present for you all. One among others you will come to know in the following days, explaining the…advanced and more realistic feathers of this new situation. Believe me, I can guess...and simulate in my head how chaotic this all will turn out for you. Let me find words for consolidation. Until this mystery has been worked out so that we may return to Japan...and Earth, I say you will best all that stands before you. All of you, you managed to survive the Swordland, brave heroes have been moulded out of you, at the very least people able to defend themselves."

His last words turned into whispers, his words able to reach the ears of the players as his body began to disfigure under lightning and red smoke. The red dome slowly vanished as did Kayaba's oppressing presence.

"So, I was right...unbelievable...", thought Kirito befuddled. It was silent on the great plaza. Everyone was left to their own thoughts...if there even were any. Many were simply shell-shocked, repeating words from Kayaba´s speech over and over in their heads so they could make sense of them.

"What isekai bullshit is he talking about.", asked Kibao. The guards previously holding him let go as they themselves lost their bearings for a moment.

Isekai seemed to snap a lot of the players out of their thoughts as the silence changed into shouts of outrage and despair.

The place sunk into chaos again...it was almost like on the first day again. Discussions of distraught people and simple shouts of denial were all that filled the place.

Those players organized into larger guilds tried to keep the order, yet that was not possible with so many voices overlapping.

A distraction.

Now, Pk-players began to act.

The clashing of metal was heard throughout the plaza as brawls broke out. Those players formerly imprisoned wrestled for control of weapons to defend themselves while the smarter ones, together with those who were still free at that point of SAO, began to slip away, causing mayhem and confusion in the process by slashing wildly into the crowd. The more shambolic the situation got, the better for them.

A cry to the left as a knife was stabbed in someone's thigh.

A shout to the right as a sword found its way into the gap between to armour plates.

"We´ve got ourselves some dubious figures at hands! Let´s see if they´re this rebellious on the scaffold too.", shouted a voice through the sea of noise.

Kirito, who stood beside Sinon, both of them pushing a criminal down to the ground, realized that it was actually not from the previously closed-off area. It was from farther away.

"Weren´t all players teleported into the safe zone? No one should come from that far away, especially not with the intent to fight." muttered the black swordsman as he stood up and peered through the crowd.

No wonder the people backed off again. There was a line of sharp steel blocking their escape paths; four spear walls actually coming from all cardinal directions, with uniformly armoured men standing behind the weaponry. They wore the colours of the city, the town of beginnings. The insignias of the banners waving on top of the rooftops could be seen printed on the linen clothes beneath their breastplates.

"Men of the watch! Don't let any of these scoundrels pass!", shouted the speaker again as a roar of agreement came from the soldiers. They closed in slowly, their wall never wavering.

Some of the escapees were discouraged and backed up, others didn´t even snap out of their stunned silence. Clearly, they knew of the city guard. Who didn´t? But it was only the city guard of the first floor…

"That was the warden…or was his title captain. Nonetheless, he offered the quest to lose the yellow and red status within the town of beginnings and relatively lucrative bounties for players who had gathered enough infamy in the system´s data and stayed in the vicinity. A rather generic NPC found on every floor. But he never left the vicinity of the city house, much less with a small army at hand.", contemplated Kirito.

Redoubling their efforts, and realizing the safe zone restrictions were gone, the fights grew more desperate and vicious.

Bystanders tried to flee the mayhem, yet with all escape routes closed off, they simply huddled together, trying to make themselves small, hiding in the shadows of plants or beneath simple stone benches.

Kirito ran towards the next pair of interlocked blades, a spear wielder belonging to the army fending off someone wielding a dagger, poisoned from the looks of the ominous yellow fluid which shone in the sun's light, covering the small steel blade. The element of reach has already been lost in favour of the dagger user, putting the soldier into a tight spot.

"Leave him alone.", muttered Kirito, blindsiding the criminal as he swung his blade at the back of the red player. The surprise was successful as Kirito utilized one of the many blind spots, showing the inexperience of the other combatant. More of a surprise however was the red liquid gushing out from the wound on his back. The leather rags, identifying him to be a prisoner of the Black Iron Palace, were cut through neatly, revealing a deep cut and crimson red flesh.

The blood dripped on the ground as the player stood up with a crazed expression in his eyes, tears welling up. He screamed madly as he threw himself at Kirito, who in shock, struck again. Flesh was cut, akin to cutting a piece of steak with a sharp knife. Fighting began to cease as more and more people threw their weapons to the ground in shock, criminals among them. Many players had thrown their arms away in shock at the pools of red liquid forming on the floor, only the NPC´s continued to advance, spears raised.

"W-What. Kiri-rito-kun.", mumbled Asuna as she closed in behind him, looking at the two halves which had been human mere seconds ago.

"H-haha…", laughed Kirito weakly as he grasped his face. Feeling it. His skin felt alien. This shouldn´t have happened. "Realistic features he said…"

Asuna quietened down after that as she just stood behind the raven-haired youth. He was in no good shape. Of course, if she thought about it. In the game, one could without problem cut through skin. It was only marked in neon red light. If Kayaba´s words are to be trusted, and they are now in a real… other world…how could human flesh withstand the power of swords made out of material unknown to earth. Gathered from high-level mobs…it was in no way comparable to iron or steel…which already could cut humans with ease. Looking back at the dead body…

"Not even the bones gave any meaningful resistance…", muttered the girl.

"Madam. Madam!", came a shout from the side-lines. "They broke a hole through the guards on the south and are on the run. No Idea where to but I´ve sent some boys to follow them. But that Captain…he´s making a ruckus. He and his soldiers seem dead set to deal with us too!"

Asuna, torn between her boyfriend and her newly gained status turned around. "Captain?"

"The Captain of the Watch, Earnest, wants the one responsible for this bloodbath.", responded the Knight…his voice no more than a whisper. He was obviously still shell-shocked.

The city guard was barely able to slip in between the masses of players and keep a defensive position.

"And by that notion, I also desire to know why a bloody heavily armed battalion stands in the centre of my city!", cried said captain out. Accompanying the small man were several guards, all of who looked sceptically around the chaotic scene. Their facial features seemed so human.

Asuna was startled again as she was spoken to, the captain looking her dead into the eye. "And who are you lot supposed to be?", he asked curiously, his gruff tone however intimidated the girl a bit more than expected. Not to forget, this place was a bloodbath moments ago.

"Hm, I am waiting miss. Your subordinate has spoken to you so you must have some sort of information willing to share.", continued Earnest, already deeming the girl not important as he looked away from her, letting his sharp brown eyes wander through the cowering and kneeling people. "Just what in Cardinal´s name happened here.", he muttered confused.

"Kayaba...,", joked Kirito from the side-lines, his voice brittle if not hollow. Yet his complexion was already better, the shaking had subsided.

"And who might this "Kayaba" individual be?", probed the captain. Perhaps there was still someone around willing to share some insight. Coming closer to the battered boy, the captain mustered him. He wasn´t any older than his nephew, yet he was armed with a sword and wearing a traveller's gear. Come to think of it, there weren´t only soldiers perched together on this plaza, the elderly and more curious children were too.

"A group like this…just why did they come here? They obviously wield the power to travel through the gates…yet each one of them is vastly different from the other. Wait…the gates…are they the ones from the Exodus? So, they didn´t die on that suicide mission after all…", contemplated Earnest, growing cautious again.

"No one you should concern yourself with. He has been our problem for two years and some of us have enough experience in dealing with him already.", stated Asuna, making her comeback.

"Ahhh, the cat bares her fangs. But pray tell me, how can it not concern me if a little army of mercenaries such as yourself magically appears in my city without me noticing and causing bloodshed on the main plaza? Not to speak about the giant red dome manifesting out of thin air and blocking our sight. The city was in turmoil and because of it, many accidents happened.", began Earnest to list his reasons, not letting Asuna the time to counter, "And now, as if this wasn´t enough, there are dozen if not hundred criminals on the loose in my city with the ability to make my men look like ragdolls. One of them just waltzed through the spear wall as if it was made out of straw. Do you know of the danger you are putting these citizens through!?"

He looked once again over the crowd, those who were glancing at him immediately looked away. "A mighty bunch of mercenaries those are.", snorted the captain. "Clad in iron, they hide in the damn bushes."

His men chuckled at that, even if the situation was not at all humorous.

"Sir Earnest, please, let us talk this through.", came another voice. Behind Kirito arrived a green-robed man, only protected lightly with some padded armour beneath his coat. Putting his hand on the black swordsman´s shoulder, he greeted him with a nod, as he did with Akemi who was glancing at them from the side-lines and Asuna.

Earnest straightened his back while entering a more respectful pose, his men too, holding their weapons straighter.

"Lord Thinker. It is a pleasure to see the lord of the Black Iron Palace well. Are you in any way associated with these mercenaries?", asked Earnest. He almost sounded concerned. It wasn´t wise for any respectable person to associate with these suicidal nutjobs.

"Yes, we are well acquainted; comrades even and to some of them, I owe my life. It is good to see you too, Earnest. If we could discuss this further within the confines of four walls, I´d appreciate it.", whispered Thinker, only heard by those important figures in close proximity.

"I´d be a fool to shrug off an invitation the Iron Palace. Very well then, onwards I say.", laughed the captain nervously, before turning serious again. "I trust you and your army lot have this under control. It won´t be good for the city council to see me slacking off."

"Of course, I´ll immediately send some groups to aid in keeping the order of the city. My Vice-Commander will personally see to it.", responded Thinker.

"What the fuck is going on?!", muttered Kibao, taking a seat on the ground near them. He was covered in blood, splashes of it covering his uniform and face. His mace must have made more of a mess than a precise cut from a sword.

"At least your ego deflated during this.", remarked Kirito, venom in his voice.

"I agree. Not only that, but be thankful there weren´t any more casualties you inflicted upon us! It is a miracle that I and my guild maintained good relations not only with other players but the local NPCs too…otherwise who knows what could have happened? I do not long to see any more blood on our hands than there already is.", spat Thinker angrily.

Kibao didn´t even have the heart to retort as Thinker simply cut him off:" Not the time for this right now. We have far more serious problems. My men can only do so much, less in the state they are in now. And Kayaba said time was already pressing. What other reveals he has planned, I do not know, but as we are now, we shouldn´t face them. We need organization. Kayaba isn´t even of immediate concern with the NPCs right in front of the four boulevards leading to the plaza."

Looking at Kirito for help, he saw the black swordsman also on the ground, defeat clear on his face. His sword was lying a bit farther off to the side, the dark red forming a stark contrast to the icy blue.

"No wonder…no, he wouldn´t be much of a help anyways", muttered Thinker as he looked at Asuna who, while appearing more collected, was most definitely putting up a facade, one that might break. No good option. He alone couldn´t do it as well.

Weighing his options between a roleplaying duellist from the DDA and an experienced yet shaken vice-commander of the Knights of the blood oath, he gritted his teeth as he closed in on Asuna, shaking her out of her dreamy state.

"Miss Asuna. I need you with me now, there´s only so much I can do to calm down the masses. There are already some lads walking around bringing some order into this mess…and believe me, if I say I myself am a mess I haven't yet attended to…but we aren´t the only ones in such a state but we are in a position to do something right now.", he reasoned with the distraught girl, who was still glancing back and forth between her husband and him, though averting her eyes quickly once she met his.

Meanwhile, Kirito stood up.

Asuna hurried quickly to his side.

"Are you alright?", she asked quickly.

"No, not really…", he replied honestly, "but I´ll manage…as will you. Go with Thinker please, he needs you more than I. Someone has to take the reins and I won´t be a welcomed sight while you´re at it."

Asuna wanted to disagree but was met with a pat on the shoulder and Kirito walking off. Trying to follow him didn´t work as the Leader of the Aincrad Liberation Army himself pulled at her arm.

"What are you doing, he needs me now…as do these people. But you understand if I say that I care for him first and foremost, don´t you!", argued Asuna, glaring at Thinker.

His own gaze hardened. "That I do, believe me. I know as much as you and anyone here in a leading position do that we owe nothing to those we chose to lead. Yet with Heathcliff´s current absence there is a hole in the unity of the frontlines we have to fill. If the frontlines falter, so do the backlines.", berated the head of the Army. And from my personal experience a suggestion. I won´t force you to heed it but everyone needs a rest once in a while, some time to think. Choosing it to be now is unfortunate but I can guess he had little time to do so as of late.".

"Are you insinuating something?", asked Asuna, disregarding the first part of Thinker´s sentence. She already had enough to worry about.

"I am trying to. Do not forget that Kirito had been a solo player for most of his time…while a change of pace is what he needed at the moment…forcing yourself on him is not the right move now. He´ll return, we both don´t doubt that. Then you can talk. Now we have to make head and tails of the situation."

Asuna remained quiet, leaving things unsaid. "I didn´t choose to lead these people. And if he is allowed to take a time out now…why do I have to be still here."


"Out of my way, or I´ll tear you-hnggg!"

The chubby man who was rearing up before Klein jumped back, letting his weapon fall as the samurai began to draw his katana from its scabbard.

"No backbone at all. It´s like they completely forgot any of their training…maybe I am being too harsh on him. Not all of them have fought against people, much less with blood involved.", sighed Klein. He allowed his tense muscles to relax as he lessened the grip on his katana, exchanging a wary look with Dale who had his longsword drawn. It was pointed at a crazed teenage couple. Resorting to force was the last means they were willing to take…no, they weren´t even willing to follow through with their threats after the massacre…but this pot was about to blow over if no one took the lead. Maybe the situation had already blown over as the first drops of blood stained the ground. The corpses, roughly two dozen, were still lying on the floor. They were mostly prisoners from the dungeons which too have been teleported to witness Kayaba´s speech…and which they tried to escape.

Some people were lying on the ground whimpering while holding their injuries, a girl was even staring in shock at two of her fingers which she held in her hands.

"Poor thing…those bastards are going to pay."

Klein clenched his teeth

At least she was one of the lucky ones. They followed her wailing and managed to give her a potion to drink. Others were supplied with healing crystals, which showed their miraculous properties as they had in the game.

Yet…some others have fallen unconscious…and went overlooked, ignored by panicked players or thought dead. Others were still in pain from after-effects some of the poisons showed, even though the antidote had done its job.

Without armour and only a few wielding weapons, the murderers and criminals outdid them, it was an embarrassment to everyone able to handle a sword within the ranks of the guilds.

What weapons they had were stolen from the many careless lower-level players, and if they managed to get a hold of the yellow or red player, the clearing guilds cut them down without any resistance. No one wanted this. Killing. All that blood, sometimes even innards… made them throw up.

"This is just bullshit. Complete crap. Why was this happening?!", muttered Klein, his fingers once again tensing around the leather-bound hilt of his katana.

"Klein, what do we do with those knocked out?", asked Agil as he hurled two human shapes to the ground. The display made other players back off, intimidated by the tall burly man.

They eyed him warily, before backing off each other. Their weapons weren´t drawn, yet they watched even each other. Most stood only for themselves…smaller guilds formed protective circles.

Of those awoken, children were crying and the old were shivering, shaking their heads.

"Ah, Agil-san, who are those people with you?", asked Klein as he swiped some sweat from his forehead, not bothering to take a look at the knocked-out figures.

Agil scratched his back as he replied: "Well, they´re some colleagues of mine, truth be told I haven't interacted much with some, but they´re here to help. Didn´t want to stand by idly or make more problems. Pretty bold of them, so I organized them, and gave them some spare steel from my Inventory. Loaned of course."

"Haha, only you would still think of your business at times like these.", laughed Klein a bit. "Honestly, we need all the hands we can get."

Though…could they hold themselves in a fight? Klein didn´t ask.

Agil nodded at the muttering Klein. Looking past his assembled militia he overlooked the situation.

Insults were traded between civilian players and security members of the guilds, interrupted only by the bashing of metal.

In fear of another brawl breaking out, the masses moved away from the noise, only to see familiar faces step up at the podium leading towards the teleport obelisk. Some armoured men around them were banging their weapons against each other, drawing attention to the spectacle.

"That´s Asuna, the Lightning Flash!", shouted one of the frontliners, pointing at Asuna. Others joined in as they let their weapons rest and all their attention was pulled towards the new event.

A tradesman in leather armour noticed the lean man standing beside her, recognizing the messy brown hair and the bulk of army men closing in behind him.

"Oi Oi, isn´t that Thinker of the Army!", shouted another stall owner as she shook the tradesman energetically. Agil shoved both of them gently aside as he scanned the surroundings.

"If Asuna´s there…. where is Kirito?", mumbled the tall man.

The looks of the people pierced the formed shield barrier, directly meeting Thinker and Asuna, who both wilted at the attention. They were used to it, but the pleading looks now seemed to get through to their usually tough minds.

"…", the silence stretched on, beginning to grow uncomfortable as no one of the two people knew what to say. Yet the crowd remained silent, their eyes glued to the two popular figures. A beacon of light on the horizon, so bright none could take their eyes off.

The two people´s will was now akin to a moth-infested piece of cloth.

Thinker finally managed to clear his throat, his armour rattling because of the gesture. It was the only sound aside from the wind picking up.

As he began to talk, the ringing of the bells interrupted him before he could begin. They looked around. The sky was already red, not that unhealthy crimson the artificial dome consisted of but a beautiful tone of pink. It has already been that long? Did they even look at the time as they arrived here? When did they arrive here? They couldn´t remember, their memories a blur.

"…Very well then. I believe none of us is in good shape.", began Tinker," Damn, I don´t even know what to say. We have to calm down first after this incident…I believe more chaos won´t do us any good. Tell me people…what have we done before this happened? We stayed in Aincrad for two years with death looming over all of us…this won´t stop us forever. Everyone that has made it this far has been both brave and lucky…and while much of our luck seems to have run out…we are still brave. So, I hope at least. For now, it is as Kayaba said. We have survived."

Despite it coming off as words spoken by an inexperienced man…it actually managed to calm the people down. Perhaps it was the exhaustion, perhaps it was the simple truth without long-winded evasions they spoke which did the job, whatever it was, it worked with a huge bulk of the people.

"I believe we are in an exceptional situation…one we now need to wrap our heads around first.", spoke Asuna, taking over." We have to arrange ourselves with it…until then…well, we´ll figure something out. At first, we have to remain here. Please…we don´t need any more trouble…just help each other clean up this mess…while I and some guild leaders talk to the one in charge here. Any news about our situation will be made public on the notice board in our system as soon as we get them! You just have to endure this a while longer!", declared Asuna. She too didn´t manage to appear stoic.

The crowd looked each other tiredly into the eyes, wariness sweeping over their features. At first, nothing happened, before some players staying closest to the corpses began to move. A few people have begun to carry off the dead as some water flasks were pulled out of inventory spaces and splashed on the puddles of half-dried blood. Others began to drink, sharing food and water. Soft words were spoken, reaching Asuna´s ears as mutterings, and even some weeping noises came from the crowd. The setting sun created much shade as many began to use it as shelter and hide away like stray dogs…far away from home.

Others did just lay down on the cold stone tiles…looking at the clouds and letting the coolness from the stone affect them.

"This is it?", asked Asuna as she saw the entire plaza covered in a veil of serenity. It was peaceful, maybe even more so than she remembered it to have ever been "All it took…were some words of encouragement?"

"At the right moment it can have a larger impact than you might think.", came Thinker's worried reply. "Oh, trust me, they just needed someone to take control, many of them can relax for an hour or so before the situation comes crashing back into their minds. They´ll adapt eventually, but first, we need to get them something graspable they can adapt to. We survived as Kayaba said. No one from those gathered here is keen on conflict…now that the waters calmed they won´t lash out. Let us hope we can brace ourselves for the next storm together…so that next time something happens we don´t turn on each other.

"Yeah… ." The NPC told us he would be waiting at the black Iron palace?", responded Asuna as she turned to the matter at hand, away from the uncertainty of the future.

"Yes, so he said. First off, we need to separate city and players, however.", said Thinker as he waved a guardsman to him. "Get some men to patrol the four main streets from here. I don´t want anyone entering, not city watch and least of all civilians. Keep them out and keep things civil! We shouldn´t worry much about our people leaving… ."

Shooing the soldier away, Thinker could rest his mind with this taken care of. While the other guilds apparently aren´t well known down here, from the words of the captain, however, the army is. The city guard wouldn´t mess with them if it wasn´t absolutely necessary. They needed to get information out of the …former…NPC as fast as possible

"Care if I´d join?", asked a messy Akemi. The Dragon Lancer had some blood on his blue coat, yet it didn´t seem to bother him much. There were even handprints?

"Oh no, don´t look at me like that. It wasn´t I who caused my cloak to get messy, it was the young lass we accepted into our ranks recently. But no worries, she´s being taken care of already."

"Sinon? Is everything alright with her?", asked Asuna worriedly.

"Oh, vice commander, you still have the nerve to worry for others. Admirable. She accidentally struck down an enemy and has had quite the violent reaction to the blood spilling and the head rolling."

"Oh god…hopefully you are right and she´s okay.", said Asuna, thinking back to how despondent Kirito looked earlier. It still didn´t sit right with her to leave him alone

"Oho, yes. No worries, I believe her to be in good hands.", replied Akemi dryly, his tone somehow making Asuna narrow her eyes, as if he intentionally left something unsaid.


"Have you calmed down, Asada-san?", asked the raven-haired boy as he handed her a cup of tea. Granted, it wasn´t the best blend in the whole Aincrad as they were in the town of beginnings, the lowest of starter areas, but it was the best that col could get you here.

Sinon silently sipped on her drink as Kirito also tasted his. He wasn´t one to say taking drugs was good, especially not to deal with trauma, but right now…this wasn´t exactly classified as a drug.

"…right now, I really need this. This tea had previously only had some buffing functions as well as some nice flavour text and item description, aside from that Asuna made far better blends…"

Now however it appears that the description of the item had been made real as he felt the torrent of thoughts within his mind calm down. He wasn´t one to ask how it worked, he was going to simply report it to the leader's board and let some experts figure it out. He guessed that it will become a highly sought-after item in the future.


Green Toldrun Tea

A herbal blend giving off a sweet aroma even able to pacify smaller rodents and monsters. Gathered on the grassy plains outside the city wall, created from a few herbs mixed together, it is a simple to cook tea with a calming effect most teas don´t have, making it a popular product among the local good society to reduce stress and possible fear. It is also applicable as medicine over longer periods of time, making it a common sight in an apothecary´s bag. While the effort going into the production is not enough to justify the high price, its miraculous effects are.


"Is everything to your satisfaction?", asked the service lady kindly, bowing down slightly to show them a genuine smile. She was a mature woman, her blonde hair bound together into a ponytail, her dark blue eyes looking at Kirito.

"Scary these NPC´s. They look and act human yet at the same time their features also seem so unnatural, perhaps perfect at times, strangely symmetrical… that piercing eye colour…it really is another world."

They hadn´t come to see familiar faces once they left the scene, yet met plenty of "humans" on their way out. The guards didn´t stop them and many of the curious and fearful onlookers who wanted to see what had caused the ruckus in the town were dispersing at the sight of the heavily armed players.

"Yes, very much so! Please take this as a sign of good faith.", spoke Kirito smilingly as he dropped some extra col into the hands of the woman who in turn happily thanked her customer before rushing off to her chef.

Kirito laughed lightly, still hearing the excited shouts from the Kitchen.

They didn´t even need to walk this far away from the plaza to…enter this whole new world. While inside the plaza that oppressive atmosphere made it difficult to breathe now…well it was almost liberating to sit here in this café. There were neatly trimmed bushes, some red and white flowers poking out of the greenery, shielding them from curious glances while the larger parasols were still spanned wide, even if no sun was glaring down on them. Perhaps it was because of the heating applications positioned right beneath the fabric. Instead of a flame, there was a large red gem oozing off hot air, combating the chilly breeze setting in.

"If I didn´t know any better I ought to say we´ve beaten Aincrad and are in the real world once again…", uttered Kirito, only for his eyes to widen. This tea was working wonders, normally he wouldn´t slip up and talk his thoughts out loud.

"…Yes. It´s just…everyone here seems so real. While you could speak with all NPCs in the game, all non-quest-givers just gave you generic dialogue. Now? They talk about market prices, the weather and a whole lot of topics I wouldn´t even have guessed concerned them.", added Sinon, picking up on Kirito´s line of thought.

"Yeah, most dominantly about that incursion at the main plaza…", spoke Kirito.

Sinon lowered her eyes.

"…Hey, you wanna talk about it?", asked the swordsman.

"I´d rather not…I´ll manage as I always did.", she replied, her voice similar to a whisper. "Thanks for the offer though."

"Yeah, I get you. We´ll manage.", responded Kirito.

Both of them took a smaller sip out of their cups, small smiles gracing their lips.

They allowed their thoughts to drift towards more pleasant memories…or wonder at the new yet familiar surroundings.

"Though, where does the light go? There is no sun here, only a large rock ceiling forming the fundament of the second floor. It must come from somewhere."

Such were questions able to take Kirito´s mind away from the situation as he contemplated the nature of the new world. Now he had at least the time to do so.

"Asada-san?", mumbled Kirito curiously.

"Hmm…listen. Either call me Sinon or call me Shino, Asada-san is far to formal for my taste.", answered Sinon pointedly.

"Well…you see…actually…how did you choose your clothing style?", asked Kirito, a red hue finding its way to his cheeks.

"-Pffttt hahahahaha, so that's what it is all about. Well…it noticed you staring…even the mightly black swordsman gets distracted easily enough. No need to freak out, I won´t tell your girlfriend. Actually, it is quite functional. Before I joined the Alliance, I had been collecting bounties a lot as a side job. It was paid handily. And how to better defeat men than by distracting them.", shrugged Sinon, flaunting her exposed skin. "I don´t respect anyone showing fear or holding back…so I too fight with every weapon I got. Holding back will only get you killed"

"She really talks about these things a bit passively. Better not pry into that…for now."

When Kirito looked at the shopping windows of the store across the street again, Sinon shook internally as she put her hand on her arm and gripped it violently.


"So, these are your so-called…representatives?", murmured Earnest as he stroked his chin, twirling the little hair which grew there. He looked at the three people gathered in the room, sitting opposite him at the steel table. The Black Iron Palace was something else, it drew a form of respect out of Earnest he didn´t quite understand himself. It began when he stood before the tall gates leading into the interior, its dark colours driving out any warmth in his body. Mighty gates of black-coloured wood. In a similar fashion, the stone from the wall was too coloured dark green, contemplating the guards that would be patrolling the property around and inside the castle, though, strangely were absent or all out at the scene…which would be unwise, to say the least. More mystery and fewer answers…

"Well…what else to expect with heroes of myth such as these?", asked Earnest himself, not able to hide a smirk.

They stared at each other in silence, as Earnest was sure none of them knew what to say.

The three leaders looked each other in the eye before Thinker pulled at the collar of his more formal suit-like uniform, straightening it out.

"I present to you Asuna. She has earned herself many titles and is revered by my people as the Lightning Flash. She will be representing a guild known as the Knights of the Blood Oath, an order of brave individuals fighting for our safety and freedom in the highest levels of Aincrad. Her status as of now is vice-commander."

Asuna gave a light nod, her eye contact with earnest wavering only for a short moment.

"On my other side is a man known as Akemi. He is the leader of the Divine Dragon Alliance, a massive military organization rivalling the Army in size. He also leads a specialized squad of lancers into direct combat. They are also active at the higher levels of Aincrad."

Akemi simply continued his staring contest with captain Earnest, not giving any insight into his mood.

"…So, Lord Thinker…Lord Akemi…Lady Asuna. I take it right you have reconquered many of the higher floors on your fabulous quest on reaching the highest level?", asked the captain as he swallowed nervously. But who could blame him, he only heard legends of the towers which connected one floor to other floors, protected by powerful guardians. The area was even off-limits to the guards, only fools or lost wanderers would go there as powerful monsters stalked the area. There was nothing to gain from sending young people to their deaths as long as the threat remained stationary.

But, one day, unknown adventurers ventured out towards what lay behind the horizon, set on finding their way upwards. To the people, it became known as The Exodus. Thousands of people, nobodies really, decided to challenge the guardian. To ascend. He hadn´t realized it…but if what Thinker insinuates is true? Assuming they did indeed manage to slay the beast guarding the tower…and repeating said process dozens of times… then there was a powerful force nobody of them could stop amidst his city. Not only that but powerful outlaws were now hiding in the city as well, as all were transported by Cardinals will. And this Kayaba person still remains an enigma.

"Heck, I am not even a religious person! Oh, I had a feeling alright, seeing those strange clothed and armed people at the main plaza, but this is too much of a headache. I can´t deal with them, nobody here can…but what did I expect from the reports of a giant red dome forming in the centre of town out of thin air but difficulties. I thought only a few individuals were stronger than average, able to take a piece out of my men, it wasn´t reassuring, much less so since they appeared to be hunted criminals, but this? If every one of them survived the ascend…and they climbed Aincrad higher…then"

"Yes, indeed we have. At our current state, we managed to defeat the guardian of Floor 75.-", affirmed Thinker as he saw the shock in the guard's eye.

"S-So you have gone already this far in two years' time?!", coughed the man up. He felt like he had aged 50 years…and he was only 30. Perhaps this is old age for these adventurers, looking at how they danced with death every day. Truly, was this the reason their leaders were so young yet experienced?

Asuna and Akemi looked each other in the eyes before Akemi leaned over to hear what she had to say.

"They definitely remember. They remember the time when they were NPCs. Simple NPCs. I didn´t have the need to talk with this Earnest here, but it appeared his bounty missions were popular with many players who had joined the Army. Not only that but criminals wanting peace too had to go through him for them to regain their green status. What is his take on the story, of people spawning in and teleporting through the city on a daily basis?"

Akemi nodded gravely as he resumed his motionless position, staring at Earnest, whose demeanour had changed slightly. He was squirming under the stare Akemi gave him.

"Sir Earnest…", began Thinker, trying to dig for information and having listened to the keen observation of the vice commander," might you be willing to share some insight with us? We will give ours too…partially at least, and cooperate with the city's security forces. For that, however, we need you to answer our questions first. It is very important and we will repay you in the future, double if you wish so."

"This offer…it sounds like a deal with the devil…", muttered Earnest out loud, his gaze sharpening. His gears began working as he remembered his position. His own entourage of guards who were nervously shaking also grew warier. The conversation went over their head completely…but they drew their own conclusions.

At that Thinker chuckled ominously. "Believe me, captain, we have some experience in that matter."

It did not raise the captain´s mood.

"If I am allowed to be honest? This goes way above my pay grade. I guess…I´ll bring this forth to the city council…I don´t think there is much we can do about your situation. But what of the security in the city? If even your less-than-well armed common criminal can take out my men with ease I fear we don´t really have anything to stop them and guarantee the safety of the city. Not to mention all the heavy-armed people standing right before the doorstep. I am already waiting for a barrage of questions from the mayor to hit me so it is best he can talk with you personally. You can make him listen to that proposition of yours.", said the captain. Talking to these people managed to calm the captain down. "They are not at all like your typical mercenary. Perhaps the title knight does hold true…", he mused.

He was already content with the superb food he received and the wine he still has an aftertaste for hours to come. From how they talked and what they told, they needn´t consult him, technically they could force themselves on the city, alone the fact that they didn´t wage war on the town made them alright in his book.

"And I do remember the time where those crazy self-declared adventurers walked around town and helped the people, so they have my vote…", grumbled Earnest to himself. "Though…coming to the city guard first before taking their proposition to the other influential people might seem suspicious… well, whatever, they´ll figure it out, they have some smart heads amongst them!"

He wasn´t one to increase his workload more than he needed to. Anyways, what could he do now that they had practically myths walking among them? He couldn´t do shit…and he would be sure to make it known to anyone who thought differently.

"I´ll take my leave then and let you rest…my lords…my lady", added the captain jokingly at the end before he and his entourage of city guards left the meeting room, their footsteps echoing through the entire Black Iron Palace. "In all honestly, they were likeable people. Better at least than most of the half-rich aristocracy around here, given that those assholes delegated most of their own duties down to us."

There were some laughs from Earnest´s soldiers as they walked down the empty corridor.

Change was in the air, so thick that he could practically feel it. This might even be the time he considered change…to be good.


"The Architecture is nice and all, but did it really have to be built not sound proof…I still hear them talking even if they left!", complained Akemi, scratching his ear. Finally, they were among themselves again, though the mighty halls of the palace were somewhat intimidating even to him.

"Well…it probably was designed more as an eye-catcher inside a game than a real, hospitable building.", deadpanned Thinker, "the black marble tiles however do make it difficult for masses of people to gather here and not disturb each other due to the excessive noise…maybe we should add some soundproof and dampening material…", contemplated the leader of the army.

"I don´t want to repeat this on every floor what we´re about to do…just why do they have a city council? Our player base spans 75 floors, if every city and village has one how can we make any meaningful progress…", lamented Asuna as she leaned on the cool iron table. At least it was strangely comfortable.

"We won´t have to do this personally anymore vice commander, after founding this grand ultimate guild we´ll be delegating tasks. We do have 6000 players left, after all, some must have a knack for administration or so…we´ve seen that many are non-combatants at last, with only about 500 men at the foremost frontlines…", sighed Akemi. "Well, at least your boyfriend is doing something right, he has already begun re-exploring the city. Few others also have become active."

"Hmmm?", asked Asuna as she noticed that indeed new pages had been created at the noticeboard. "A review…of a café? A look at the scenery at the Tal river? Talking with an NPC…I somehow expected something more spectacular to h-ha-happen!", said Asuna as her breathing hitched at the last moment, making Thinker look up from his own version of the Notice board. In retrospect, of course, Kirito wouldn´t have left the town alone to look at the Fauna, not to forget about the strange corruption spreading outside the city wall, but nonetheless, these articles have been very helpful, probably more so to those who haven´t spoken with the new NPCs yet. So why was she choking the life out of Akemi?

"You knew! Didn´t you? That Sinon was with Kirito!", shouted the vice commander. "Are you in cahoots with her? Did you just wait for the opportune moment?!"

"She appears to be lively and back to normal, can we focus on the important matters now.", mused Akemi loudly as he barely held back the arms of that oni-turned woman trying to grasp his neck.

"Yes indeed, to speak of, not that we doubt your leadership skills, yet where is Heathcliff? His aura of confidence would be a welcomed help right now. Holding a speech revealing your insecurities once will make you more likeable and enables the public to identify with you. Doing it twice? The public will doubt you…you can never trick the devil twice after all.", said Thinker as he looked Asuna deep into the eyes. They needed a strong and firm hand now…as a sort of interim government.

"…No. Of course, they would ask! I didn´t even have time to contemplate what to do and when to reveal it!", sighed Asuna in her head. "No…they know me, I can tell them. I should tell them. Yes, better them than a rowdy crowd, now we might be able to think of something together! They are my colleagues after all."

The silence made the other two-guild leaders a bit wary as they eyed Asuna strangely.

"Well…there has been a situation during the 75th floor-boss fight concerning the commander…", spoke Asuna, her face hardening.

"…Oh, my condolences, I did not expect that.", corrected Thinker his error swiftly. Of course, Heathcliff would have taken control of the situation quickly, but a buffoon like Kibao managed to do it first. This meant the paladin was not able to do so. Indeed, Heathcliff must have found his end at the blades of the –

"No, that´s actually not it…", interrupted Asuna Thinker´s thought process.

"Yes indeed, I am in the best of health, though a bit breathless after finding my way through these lightless halls.", spoke the man himself. "Especially thanks to you, vice commander, as my burden has been lifted tremendously as you substituted me. For that, I show my sincerest gratitude."

The two iron doors swung open as an older man with grey hair bound into a ponytail marched in. Despite him being clad in ruby red armour and four armed knights in tow, they made almost no sound, much to the surprise of the three leaders. Like the captain of the watch who left earlier, walking over the marble tiles would cause noise enough to be heard by the trio. However, they did not.

"H-Heathcliff, it is a pleasure to see you!", exclaimed Thinker, his tone reserved. He eyed the four individuals behind Heathcliff strangely. As he saw it, until now, the interface didn´t change much, as such they could discern between players and NPCs because of the gem-like icons floating above gamer´s heads.

"What baffles me is that they are no players. Had he already made his own moves? …I might not have been much in the lore of Aincrad…but they don´t seem to belong here. They don´t carry the banner of the town of beginnings…and there is no other large city with its own standing troops. Was he on another floor after Kayaba´s speech already? If So, do the teleportation crystals work as intended then? He must have made allies in another city already."

Thinker wanted to stand up and shake the man´s hand, Asuna held him back, however, one hand was on his shoulder…the other on her… rapier handle.

The Dragon Lancer glanced at Asuna

Blue particles glowed as Akemi took his lance from his back, his stance shifting. The blade glowed, loading up with the energy to unleash a sword skill.

An uncomfortable silence enveloped the room.

The four knights didn´t move, and neither did Heathcliff.

The surroundings did, however, and the occupants of the room were left feeling strangely light.

"So, it begins.", whispered Heathcliff.


AN: Did…did I mention my update schedule is messy? Yeah...sorry. Nonetheless, I present to you chapter 3 of my surprisingly well-received fanfiction.

(sorry again for the wait, i´ll try to be better).

Coming back to responding to comments (Oh boy, some are quite old…sorry)

ultima-owner: In the long run, definitely. Though for now there is still much work to be done and times will be a bit stormy.

Gabedane: Indeed, it is quite the drop…the question remains for whom…or what (as it will be seen next chapter). Cardinal will be covered a bit later…though more as a side character for now. And the crimson mage will form an equivalent to another group of beings…seeing as there are plenty of heroes in Aincrad already.

Coronadomontes: Thank you very much!

Guest: Yeah, I am doing my best already but for now…seeing how I am with motivational issues I don´t want to trouble any beta reader…though perhaps it might also lead to a boost of motivation. I am still in consideration.

Ptl: 1. No, won´t change at all. Though as it is with two forces (Perhaps even not so differently, will be revealed in time)…there will come a time where some mixtures will be created, 2. Not the ROTSH magic…they will learn to use something else however to bend reality to their will 3. No Sword skills outside Aincrad (A fact that will be experimented on by the players…satisfactory results can be expected.

Guest: Thank you, I am at it.

Bashleyz: Thank you

jvoni herrera: More trauma. Definitely more trauma. (Just watched Vinland Saga…so I´ll try to take my trauma up a notch or two). There will be some interaction…as the barrier between the two systems is less obvious than it is first observed.

Thank you all for the comments and the continued support. Just so you know, the chapter has been lying at my workspace for quite some time "finished" already…but polishing gets "bleh" sometimes. Like you read the same passage over and over…and you know you have to read it over and over…but it is annoying. And motivation dwindles. And then a new idea pops into your mind which you put on hold. (No seriously, in the months I havn´t written I created about three dozen new folders, and only few are filled with half-written chapters)

See ya in a week! (I´ll try to quicken up the process…so I have set myself a deadline…[plus minus 2 days…rather plus than minus.]

And thank you all for the 100 Favs and the 143 Follows

(: