This was it.

Well, this could be it. Asuna certainly hoped it would be. Provided the Human Empire Allied Forces – and no, she refused to call it HEAF because that sounded ridiculous – didn't meet any unexpected obstacles, they could end this war here and now. Well, unexpected was to be expected, but hopefully it wouldn't be overwhelming and impossible to adapt to because the matter of the fact was that, at the present moment, they were sitting ducks.

The more battle-ready and mobile units of their forces were now trekking through the ruined ravine that separated the human empire and the Dark Territory, and seeing Alice's handiwork was… well, it was humbling. Hell, some of the rock was still glowing slightly from the intensity of that death ray.

"How much further?" She asked Argo, who was sitting in the back of the wagon with her so she could focus her attention on communications.

"Eh, about another 15 minutes of walkin', but my estimate." Argo shrugged. "Then we should be in position to set up a defensive line like you and the boss ladies want."

"Do you have to call us that?" Asuna pouted.

Argo cackled. "Yer too fun to tease, Aa-chan! I can stop if ya want, though."

"That's… that's alright, Argo." Asuna sighed. Might as well let her have her fun. "Since we're getting close, we'll need to rearrange our marching order, be ready for an attack."

"Already done." Argo quipped, shooting a wink her way. "Y'know, somethin's been on my mind for a while."

"Hmm?" Asuna hummed inquisitively. "What's up?"

"Well, after this whole war thin' is over with, we gotta fight Kayaba."

"Right…"

"It's gonna be a bit underwhelmin', isn't it?" Argo asked. "I mean, think about it. We're fightin' a war with weapons that give some o' ya frickin' superpowers and then we gotta go beat up some ol' guy after this? It's gonna be a bit o' a letdown."

"You're assuming he isn't going to throw something at us to make the fight harder."

"I mean, I guess he could." Argo shrugged. "I dunno, just seems like this has a lot more at stake here than our beef with Kayaba."

"Maybe." Asuna admitted. "But we've been working towards our freedom for almost four years, Argo. I'll be very glad if it's not as hard as this is."

Seemingly content with that answer, the two of them rode in comfortable silence. Despite her reputation, Argo wasn't always talking. In fact, you knew she was comfortable around you – truly comfortable – if she was content with silence. Honestly, Asuna felt the same way; Argo was like a sister to her at this point. Four years of constant contact and friendship will do that.

"What's that?" One of the Underworlders asked, drawing their attention.

"What's what?" Asuna called back.

"In the distance… it's… purple?"

"Purple?" Asuna parroted, getting up and turning around. True to form, there was a glowing purple light coming from further down the canyon. "What is that?"

A buffet of wind blasted her as Alice descended, having rode her dragon overhead while escorting the troops.

"They're chanting a Sacred Art!" Alice exclaimed as she hovered nearby. Bercouli swooped down alongside her. "Uncle, I used all the spatial resources before! There should not be enough left for something of that magnitude!"

Bercouli grit his teeth and narrowed his eyes. "There is. They're making it!"

Asuna stared up at Alice. "What sort of Sacred Art could they be using?"

"I… I don't know!" Number Thirty responded. "Whatever it is is massive. To counter it, we would need a Sacred Art of the same magnitude!"

"We don't have that, though!" Asuna objected.

"I know that! I'm not suggesting we sacrifice our own troops to block it; that would be madness!"

"Then what do we do?"

"I'll draw it away." Alice immediately answered. "If I can bring it away from the army…"

"You don't know that it'll home in on you." Bercouli reminded her. "We can't assume that."

"Then…" Alice stammered. "We would need something of equal power to block it. Our Divine Weapons might work, but I don't know."

"It's worth a try." Asuna decided. She turned to Argo. "Send out the call. All Divine Weapon users to the front. We're gonna need to throw everything we have at this thing."

Asuna jumped off the wagon and sprinted towards the front of the convoy, inadvertently pushing past and colliding with several soldiers. She was quick to give a hurried apology, but she couldn't stop. They needed everything, including her.

By the time she reached the front, almost every Divine Weapon wielder was present. The only ones not present were Sinon and Deusolbert, but their absence wasn't a huge problem since they could use their weapons at range anyway.

"That thing's going to fire any second now." Bercouli said, grimacing as he shook his head. "My weapon's not going to be much help, so it'll be up to you all."

A faint *boom* resounded through the canyon. Out of time. They needed to act now.

"I'll siphon off as much as I can, then you guys throw what you have at it!" Kirito shouted, moving forward and pointing his ((Night Sky Sword)) down the ravine.

A beat of uncomfortable, tense silence passed as they waited for the inevitable. Asuna peered down the canyon and, soon enough, spotted the attack. It was disgusting. The Sacred Art manifested as a swarm of monstrous, worm-looking creatures, each of which flew on sickly insect wings. Not only was their appearance horrible, but the sound… oh gods, the sound. The wailing… the shrieking… it sent shivers up her spine and made her want to run away if only to escape its tortuous discordant symphony.

"Enhance Armament!" Her husband roared, and his blade obeyed, sending forth those hungering, voracious tendrils. The two forces collided and vied for supremacy. Each tendril wrestled with a worm and, for a moment, the two looked equally matched. Then it started to get pushed back. "I'm losing! It's too much!"

Fanatio was the next to step up. "Then let blinding light combat this unending darkness. Enhance Armament!"

Kirito let his Perfect Weapon Control drop just in time for Fanatio to unleash a blinding ray of light. It wasn't nearly as intense as Alice's stunt last night, but it was still painful to look at anyway. Fanatio's attack bought a little more time, but ultimately began to wane as well.

A bolt of fire, shaped oddly like a phoenix, came crashing in from the back line to add its might to the struggle. It screeched like its namesake and roared like the flames it was made of as the firebolt attempted to exert its dominance.

"It's working!" Fanatio gasped out. "Keep going!"

"Flowers, bloom!" Alice shouted, splitting her blade into its flower-like components. They added their might to the contest right alongside Deusolbert's phoenix.

Several more users added their power to the mix. Sachi threw a whirlpool of water, Klein a fiery vortex. Eugeo sent a wave of ice at it, and Eldrie let loose his serpents. At one point, Leonn turned into a treant again and braced himself in front of the group as one last line of defense..

The mass of dark worms was growing weaker, but so were they. Leonn could probably tank the rest of the hit, but she'd rather it didn't come to that. They just needed a shield to soak up the rest…

Wait. She could do that. She'd never used it before, but Liz told her what it could do. This would work. It had to.

"Release Recollection!" Asuna shouted.

While she could not see the transformation herself, others would later give the liberty of describing it to her in detail. Great detail.

Her armor began to glow before molding and reshaping itself into an entirely new set of armor. A pearly-white breastplate manifested on her chest, and her modest battle skirt extended to a long white skirt that flowed in the back. Her sleeves puffed out and cut back, leaving her shoulders bare but her arms completely covered. She would later discover that a veil would rest itself on the back of her head. The glowing did not stop at her armor; soon her entire body began to glow faintly.

Then the strangest thing happened. She began to float.

"Wha…?" Came a baffled sound from Kirito. She suppressed the urge to giggle and focused on the task at hand. She had a job to do.

She waved her hand forth, and the earth itself obeyed.

A kaleidoscope of colors erupted across the evening sky, a veritable Aurora Borealis. A heavenly chorus accompanied the lightshow, which she would admit really added to the gravitas of the situation. The earth rumbled and shook before an absolutely massive rock wall sprouted from the ground and rose up, extending as far up as the top of the canyon.

A muffled *boom* sounded from the other side as the dark magic collided with the wall.

She waited several seconds before waving her hand once more. Again, the heavens sang, the earth obeyed, and the rock wall sank into the ground, revealing an empty – if a bit charred – space before them.

Literally took a bit of earth-moving, but they'd done it. She floated back down and the glowing began to dissipate, and immediately gripped her head. Oh gods, did she have a headache right now. More of a migraine, actually. If that was the cost of her Perfect Weapon Control, she was going to have to be a bit more frugal about it. She could barely stand!

Shaking off the headache – and swearing to take a nap later – she opened her eyes to a rather curious sight.

Every Underworlder had taken a knee, and was now bowing their head in reverence. Asuna was immediately taken aback.

"W-what's going on?!" She squawked out.

"To think we would witness such a miracle…" Alice said. "Asuna, what you just did is spoken of only in sacred texts. You channeled the power of Stacia, the Goddess of Creation."

"What?!" Asuna stammered. "I'm not her! I'm not your goddess!"

"No, but clearly you are her chosen." Alice declared. "No, you have become her avatar. She has chosen you to channel her great power."

That was it. She'd forgotten how to speak. Goodbye, faculties. Farewell, sanity.

"Huh. Been a while since I've seen you blue-screen." Kirito chuckled. "I like the makeover, though."

"Huh?" Asuna looked down. Even though she'd stopped focusing on her Perfect Weapon Control, she still seemed to be wearing – she opened her inventory and her eyes shot wide open – the ((Vestments of Stacia))?! It was a complete upgrade and stat boost!

…Though the worship that came with it was going to be even more of an adjustment.

Oh boy.


Scheta Synthesis Twelve was a simple woman.

Some called her devoid of emotion, and they would be right. That was by design, for if she allowed her emotions to run free… well, the results would not be pleasant. She possessed but a single desire in life, one she knew would have no end. It was an impulse to slice and cut anything in sight: man, woman, child… ally or enemy… the object mattered not. She wished to cleave everything in half.

And she hated it.

She knew it was far from healthy. One does not build meaningful relationships with others under the pretense of mutilation. Even among her fellow Integrity Knights, there was a divide; while they bore no hostility towards her for her past, there was still trepidation in dealing with her. She was like a loaded spring, ready to lash out and cause harm on whatever poor soul found itself within range of her blade. It was why she'd requested hibernation, after all. She simply could not be trusted.

Then they awakened her… no doubt for her capacity to kill.

A war seemed a – "healthy" did not seem the right word here – appropriate outlet for her urges. During the first day, she dismembered countless goblins and giants, and still her desire to cut and slice remained unsatisfied.

It was a curse, and one she hoped would end one way or another by the time this war ended.

Yet, it would seem she would have to wait longer.

"Where's the enemy?!" The man called Klein shouted.

The end of the canyon revealed a sight none of them expected… an empty field before the beginning of a dried up, dilapidated forest. The hordes of Vecta were gone. Yes, there was proof that they were once here: trampled dirt and terrain, the imprints of boots, hooves, and feet. The enemy was here.

But no longer.

"They're gone." Kirito said, looking around and looking incredibly confused.

"They could be hiding in the forest, waiting to ambush us." Asuna suggested.

A trap? Scheta considered the possibility. They were located at the mouth of the canyon, this time from the opposite side. Most of their army was still bounded by the walls of the ravine, with only the vanguard having access to the other side of the End Mountains proper. They'd walked for at least an hour or two to reach this point, so their fighting force was technically operating at less than 100% capacity. The enemy's sacrificial magic attack would have killed many of them had the Divine Weapon wielders not stepped in, and that had taken a considerable amount of energy. The enemy still had access to flying units and all reports post-Alice's-laser-of-death suggested that the Dark Empire still had some ranged units to use.

This was absolutely the prime spot to stage an ambush.

"Well, well, well!" A voice echoed out. It sounded smug, pompous, and altogether deranged. The Aincraders seemed to recognize the voice, if the way they paled and froze in place was any indicator. "Isn't this just poetic?"

Emerging from the forest ahead were the Dark Empire's forces. Their Dark Knights took up position in front of a rather large vehicle of some make, which was pulled by some large reptilian creature. Given how lavish the structure looked, it was probably a fair guess to assume that the leader of the enemy army was sitting comfortably atop it.

Sure enough, a man dressed in ornate red armor strode forth to the front railing and smiled.

"Y'know, when I arrived here – when was it, 20 years ago or so? – I thought I was alone here. Imagine my surprise when some of my good friends from Laughing Coffin showed up, too! But I never thought I'd see you all again! Wow!"

The man cackled, and Scheta felt the overwhelming urge to cut him. Repeatedly.

"And you fell for it! AGAIN! I can't believe it!" He roared with laughter. "You probably figured you'd get the drop on us after sending us with our tails between our legs, huh? I see you over there, Blackie… I'll bet you can tell me what comes next, can't ya?"

Scheta looked over towards Kirito, whose eyes were wide with realization. Suddenly, the blood rushed back to his face and he began bellowing out orders. "CIRCLE! SHIELDERS TO THE FRONTS!"

"HA!" The man – probably a king or emperor, if Scheta had to guess – laughed uproariously. "You guessed right, Blackie! I was really bummed you and I didn't get to dance way back when, whaddya say we give it a go this time around?"

He snapped his fingers, a simple motion that seemed to echo through the barren ravine, as if amplified by some Sacred Art. Scheta watched with some amusement and more than a little horror at the hundreds, if not thousands, of troops that emerged from the cliffs and ridges up top. Pugilists descended from the rocky cliff faces, orcs stomped out from behind them in the ravine, and a veritable swarm of minions and mounted Dark Knights flew up from behind the mountains.

They were surrounded.

Completely.

"Attack, minions of the Dark Empire!" The enemy general commanded, sweeping his arm forward. "Take what is rightfully yours! It's showtime!"

The army was in disarray immediately, with enemies swarming in from all sides. Trusting her own unit to quickly get into formation, she dashed forward to buy them the time necessary to achieve it. With a swift, fluid motion, she unsheathed her blade, ((Black Lily Sword)), and got to work.

((Black Lily Sword)) was easily the sharpest blade in the land, and she suspected it retained that particular honor even among Aincrad's smiths. So incredibly thin and with such a high Object Authority level that little could withstand even a single stroke of its paper-thin blade.

What was that old saying? When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

In her case, all she had was a blade, so everything needed to be sliced.

The comparison may have fallen apart, but so did her enemies.

She ignored the screams of protests and cries of anguish as she let her urges come to the forefront. Instead, she let her blade sing, expertly diving her blade in and out, cutting and slicing and chopping and dismembering. Here, she was a musician of the bladed edge, her sword the instrument through which she imparted her art. She ducked, dived, and dodged only when necessary, choosing to let her blade part whatever threat came her way. A severed hand here. An amputated leg there. In most cases, however, she chose to simply cut instead of cleave, allowing her opponents the continued usage of all four limbs. The strikes that did not dismember instead cut through important muscle groups.

And through it all, she uttered not a single sound.

She was Scheta the Silent.

"How DARE you?!" A single voice raged against the screams of the bleeding. A small *boom* and Scheta found herself beset by a rather incensed Pugilist. "YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THIS!"

Reflexively, Scheta raised her free hand to catch the man's fist.

In hindsight, this was probably not the best choice.

"To these fists of mine, your armor's nothin' but paper!" The red-faced man roared.

As it turned out, he was right. A moment later, all armor on her left arm shattered like glass, and she could feel the bones in her arm groan under the pressure. Fresh cuts from the impact and the shattered shards of metal cut up her arm. She whipped her sword across, aiming for his exposed arm.

And yet, it did not cut through.

She quirked an eyebrow. Curious. She'd heard that Pugilists could harden their skin to become impervious, but this was the first example of one that lived up to the legend. She was intrigued.

Scheta dodged the next punch and spun around, facing her new opponent. The other Pugilists nearby parted to give the two combatants room to fight. How courteous of them.

"Huh." The red-faced man said, looking at the tiny cut on his forearm. "You may look like a girl, but you're as hard as a rock."

What was that supposed to mean?

"I am no girl." She gave her a discerning look. He looked young. Not a huge age difference but she suspected she was older than he was. "I am probably older than you."

"Should I call you "granny" instead?" The man asked, looking simultaneously perplexed and amused.

What did it matter what her enemy called her?

"I'll allow it."

"Anyway, you've gone and chopped up all my people…" He said, looking around. With every second that passed as he took a more careful look at the wounded, he looked angrier and angrier. "You maimed 'em. You were holding back!"

Was she? She supposed she could have just chopped off their heads.

"I'm gonna beat you to death personally!" He growled, his teeth gritting together.

Then he started to… dance? Lots of jumping, sliding around, and punching at thin air. His comrades around them started to hoot and chant. He seemed to take strength from the ritual, and before she knew it, his fists were aflame and he was charging her.

"HERE I COME, WOMAN!"

What happened next was over in the blink of an eye. He led with a kick – so they didn't just punch, apparently – before leading into another kick and then a punch. The first kick and last punch ended up obliterating most of what remained of her armor. While she was hardly in a state of undress, she found herself lighter and probably more nimble now. Her opponent seemed to be impressed, if nothing else. Then he started spouting something about "not going full power" and how he was "just warming up." Apparently he was going to take things seriously now.

Good. That was good. She found the prospect of fighting him… intriguing.

"Come then." She deadpanned. She was never good at emoting.

"Alright then." He growled before adopting some sort of martial artist's stance.

She could feel the carefully tempered fire and energy from here. She responded with a new stance of her own, making her body and limbs as sleek and lengthy as possible, pointing her blade back in anticipation for the coming clash.

A moment of silence passed as everyone in the clearing breathed.

Then they moved.

The ground cratered and shattered under their movement, and Scheta quickly brought her blade up, across her body, and back down. It collided with his fist, but did not cut. The ghost of a smile licked at her lips. This man displayed a will worthy of an Integrity Knight, yet he was not. He was born on the other side of the end mountains, yet she found that they shared similar traits. That determination… that fire… that urge to do better. She may not outwardly display those traits herself but she recognized and respected them in others.

She could easily take off his head, but his fists already proved a worthy challenge. She would entertain those urges longer.

This was fun.

Another Pugilist chose that moment to rudely interrupt, and the clash ended in a blast of dust, dirt, and unresolved contests. Noting that her unit had finally moved into formation, she signaled for her dragon to come get her.

"Hey woman! Don't you go thinkin' you won this fight!" Her enemy – no, her equal – spat.

She rolled her eyes. "I do have a name. Not woman."

"Whatever." He scoffed before covering his eyes. Her dragon had arrived, and swung low. An offered claw was all that was needed for her to casually grab on and leave the ground. "You better not die to something stupid. At least tell me your name! I wanna know the name of the woman I'm going to fight again! I want a rematch, you hear me?"

As she flew away and back to her unit, she told him her name and learned something important. On that day, she would learn the name of the man she would fight once more. She would learn the name of the man she found herself so drawn towards, despite being on opposite sides of a horrific war. She would learn the name of the man who sought victory in combat and would instead win her heart.

His name was Iskahn.


Argo was livid.

"It had to be fuckin' PoH!" She growled as she sat atop one of the wagons, furiously typing away. The command trio were too busy actually fighting to give proper orders, but that wasn't stopping Argo from calling out enemy movements as she saw them. "I just knew those Laughing Coffin assholes were here too!"

And to make matters worse, he was the one in charge!

The only thing worse than a PoH in charge of Laughing Coffin was a PoH in charge of an army of thousands.

"Shoot them down!" Deusolbert ordered.

Argo's gaze flicked skyward at the hundreds of flying minions and handful of dragons descending from the sides of the ravine. Their archers needed no additional direction; Deusolbert and Sinon were doing just fine commanding them on their own. That said, it was becoming increasingly clear that there were more fliers than there were archers.

One of the mounted dark knights swooped low and attempted to take out Deusolbert. The red archer thankfully dodged to the side before incinerating his would-be abductor as he was flying away. Sinon managed to snipe another one that was coming down low, causing flier and dragon to come crashing down in a plume of dust.

Unfortunately, the fliers started targeting some of the melee combatants, and more than a few of them were snatched away. So far their targets were limited to the melee infantry, but if they started targeting those maintaining the shield wall…

Things would get ugly very fast.

Argo's eyes widened and she scrambled off the wagon just as a dragon swiped at her. She ducked and rolled before righting herself. That was close. Damn lizard and its rider swung back around and charged at her again.

"Get off!" She yelled, throwing a few picks at the dragon's face. One managed to nail it in the eye and it screeched in pain before veering off.

Those lizards were getting to be a pain. Deusolbert and Sinon could only do so much against that much bulk. She spotted the elven unit nearby and got an idea.

"Leo-bou!" She shouted, catching his attention. "Think you can take care o' the dragons?"

"How exactly do you propose I do that?!" He cried out as he launched a dragonless Dark Knight back into his allies. "I don't have a bow, Argo! I'm not Sinon or Deus!"

She desperately fought the urge to facepalm. "Go big, you idiot!"

His eyes widened. "Oh."

This time she did facepalm. Once she removed her hand from her face, she saw a giant wooden hand grab an incoming dragon by the neck and slam it into the ground.

Now that SAO's resident titan shifter was in play, she could get down to business and help coordinate this clusterfuck of a defense. She needed somewhere with a high point of view so she could accurately survey the battlefield.

Fortunately, she just made one.

She quickly scrambled up Leonn and nestled herself on top of his branchy head. Either he didn't notice or didn't care, and just kept being his imposing self. Yes, it might prove to be a bit of a bumpy ride if he was going to be swatting dragons out of the sky, but for the most part she could keep herself stable. Now that she had a good spot, she took a good look at the battlefield.

Surrounded. Completely and utterly surrounded, and fighting an entirely defensive battle. The enemy outnumbered them five-to-one. The only reason, she suspected, that they hadn't been wiped out already was because of their capable defenses, courtesy of Liten's trained phalanx formations. Yuna stood smack dab in the middle of the defensive circle and was singing and playing her heart out, trying to keep everyone healed and buffed. Pina and Fafnir, with Silica mounted on the former, were flying circles around the allied forces to help defend them from aerial attacks. Every so often, Pina would douse the front line in a healing spray or Fafnir would spit a globule of poison at the approaching armies.

This couldn't continue. Not as it was, anyway. A battle of attrition was not going to go in their favor. She looked to the east, where PoH's contingent sat.

If they were going to win this, they needed to cut the head off the snake.

And if they were going to do that, they needed a push, something to give them momentum. She quickly shot off a few messages, knowing that their recipients would be too entrenched in the fighting to properly respond. That was fine, though; they didn't need to respond.

All they had to do was follow along and let Mama Argo work her magic.

[To: Sinon - When I give the signal, RR and fire up. We need to break through.]

[To: Asuna - Sinon's going to give us a little breathing room. When she does, give us some space to work with on the north and south sides. Leave east and west open.]

[To: Kirito - Get ready to push east. I'm lining up an opportunity for you.]

[To: Lisbeth - Gonna need some lava to help zone off the west. Don't block it entirely. You'll know when.]

[To: (Group - Integrity Knights) - We're gonna push east soon. Get ready to cover our asses and make a corridor heading east.]

"Alrigh', Leo-bou." Argo patted the top of his head. He grumbled curiously. "Get ready to push east. We gotta end this now."

"Phe jama-ti avas qit, Argo."

"Where's Kizmel when ya need her…" Argo pouted. "I'm gonna assume you said you'd be ready, Leo-bou."

He made a noise that sounded like a "uh-huh" so that was all she needed. Argo's eyes roamed the battlefield until she made eye contact with Sinon. The stoic archer gave her a nod.

Go time.

[To: Sinon - NOW!]

"Release Recollection!"

Argo had to shield her eyes as Sinon underwent her own magical girl transformation – because apparently Aa-chan was not the only one who could do this – as her armor became suddenly very different. Gone were the green coat and white leather armor; in their place was a positively radiant azure armor and white skirt. As if to top off the godly appearance of the avatar of Solus, a strange floating semi-circlet of swords hovered behind her left shoulder. Whether that had a practical use was yet to be determined.

More than a few soldiers nearby the transformed archer openly gawked. A quick glare from Sinon was enough to remind them that they were still in a battle and that they should focus. Argo snickered and watched Sinon aim her bow directly up and towards the sky. A brilliant arrow of light manifested in the archer's hand; she spun it around with a flourish before nocking it and firing straight up into the sky. The singular bolt screamed skyward, and once it reached its zenith…

The air exploded.


Underworld magic and Divine Weapons were broken as all hell.

Yet again, Leafa found herself instinctively flinching as Sinon unleashed the magical equivalent of an omnidirectional artillery strike. Sinon's arrow didn't just explode. No, it exploded and sent out more exploding shots in a 360-degree arc, slamming arrow-shaped mortar fire on the surrounding Dark Empire armies. Cries of horror and pain were aplenty as the enemy was cut down by the hundreds. Somehow… miraculously, none of the allied forces were hit.

Fortunately, after Alice's absolutely ridiculous laser beam of death yesterday, Leafa found herself growing accustomed to the anime-esque power levels demonstrated by her brother and his allies. She had to catch a panicked Recon and he flew backwards from the understandable knee-jerk reaction of "get me the hell away from that."

"Is it wrong that I'm hoping the ALO devs take some of this stuff for our game?" Recon asked.

"Yes." Came the resounding answer from everyone nearby.

Recon pouted. "It was just a joke, guys…"

Before anyone could give a retort, a heavenly chorus sang out from above. The Aurora Borealis made itself known once again, and an instant later, massive ravines were opened up on the north and south sides of the Human Empire Allied Forces, effectively blocking off enemy movement and crippling their ability to flank.

"Sound tactics." Eugene nodded sagely. "With the drawback Asuna's Perfect Weapon Control seems to have on her health, using it sparingly and in this fashion is incredibly efficient. Now the enemy has to circle around to attack from the east or west."

A faint slamming sound from the western edge of the defense heralded another change in the topography.

Lava.

"Is that Liz down there?" Suli asked, a hand drawn over her eyebrows as she squinted. "Since when could she do that?"

"It's her Perfect Weapon Control." Eugene explained. "She can turn areas of land into molten magma."

"Is it lava or magma, though?" Recon mused. "I always thought lava was magma once it reaches the earth's – oh hey, they're pushing east."

"What's to the east though?" Selka asked.

Leafa's eyes narrowed. A concerted push to the east, towards where the Dark Knight contingent was fighting, was a risky gambit. The Human Army was well-suited for a defensive battle, not an offensive one. They lacked mobility and thrived when they had to hunker down and weather an onslaught.

Then she saw their end goal. To the east was where PoH and his personal guard were located. They wanted to take PoH out directly. She wasn't quite convinced that the Dark Territory would stop fighting just because their leader was dead, though. Chances are, if PoH fell, they'd have to deal with whoever as second-in-command. Either that, or they would have to focus on fighting a chaotic, disorganized army… and that provided its own set of issues.

"Hold the phone, are they flying?" Leviad asked.

Leafa's head snapped around and her jaw dropped. Lo and behold, Sinon was now flying around the battlefield, sniping away at the enemies below. Not only her, but Silica was now flying around independently of her dragons. Apparently at some point, the little dragon tamer had invoked her own Perfect Weapon Control and sprouted wings, horns, and a tail. She was still very much humanoid, but now resembled some sort of half-dragon person.

Now, Leafa was not one for profanity, and reserved it for situations that truly demanded it. Here, though?

"Underworld mechanics are bullshit."


Flying on the back of a dragon was one thing. Sinon had the dubious pleasure of riding on Fafnir's back once, and the wyvern seemed to delight in making the ride as rough as possible. Granted, at the time she was in an aerial shoot-off with Deusolbert, so perhaps that wasn't the best example.

Flying under her own power, though?

This was amazing.

The way the wind flowed through and past her hair. The feeling of voluntary weightlessness. The freedom that came from no longer being tethered to the ground. It was heavenly.

Though, being the supposed avatar of the sun goddess, she supposed that made sense.

A small buffet of wind broke her from her musings as Silica rocketed past her, her purple draconic wings spurring her forward. "Come on, Sinon! We gotta cover their advance!"

"Right!" Sinon answered, flying forward and nocking several light-infused arrows. Devastating as that initial shot was, she needed precision here. Wantonly blasting apart the battlefield was not going to do her allies any favors.

Her eyes furiously scanned the battle below, watching as the heavy hitters bulldozed a path eastward. Kirito was right at the front, alongside Asuna, as both carved their way forward. Ali and Eugeo were right behind them, with the latter using his weapon to freeze entire sections of enemies in place. Leonn followed behind, his sheer bulk giving the enemy pause and plowing through any resistance that might have stalled the frontrunners.

The Integrity Knights and their units were eager to make the most of the headway. Lines of shieldbearers began to form up, seizing the new ground and preventing the enemy from retaking it.

Pushing east wasn't her objective right now, though. She needed to continue to cover their flanks, and her new airborne position was perfect for it.

She fired a cluster of three light arrows, each of which finding a target in one of those gargoyle-like minions the Dark Territory used. Silica, meanwhile, flew past the now-downed minions and crashed into a fourth, plunging her dagger into its neck before leaping off in search of more prey.

It would seem that Silica's Perfect Weapon Control made her dragon-like in other ways, too, if her predatory grin was anything to go off of.

It was a little terrifying, to be perfectly honest.

She veered to the side; Silica could handle that side. She needed to ensure that the vanguard didn't get ambushed from above. Yes, Leonn was there to swat anything down, but she could at least make sure he wasn't overwhelmed by any potential swarms of minions.

There. A minion that managed to swing past Leonn's reach and was honing in on Lokuss, who was too busy using his grapple to siphon life out of a downed Dark Empire dragon using Sacred Arts. She still found it a little creepy how quickly he was able to modify the spell used to transfer durability and channel it through his grapple. Now he had a way to drain his opponents from a distance.

She shook herself out of that train of thought and nocked an arrow. Shoot now. Creep out later.

*Fwoosh!*

The light arrow pierced the minion before it could reach its target, causing it to crash into the ground next to the Renegade loremaster. He spared a quick glance at the minion that almost ambushed him before shooting Sinon a quick grin and a thumbs up.

She nodded and gave a faint smile.

*Bzzzt!*

A magic spell – something thermal or umbral, by her estimate – clipped her shoulder, sending her spinning and spiraling. She gritted her teeth as she halted her rapid descent before looking around for her assailant.

There. The woman on the skiff flanking PoH's. The… incredibly scantily clad woman. Sinon rolled her eyes. She knew this wasn't the result of horny game developers; this was a fluctlight capable of making her own decisions. Sinon understood – at least on an objective level – sex appeal in armor choices. There was an argument to be had for distracting and confusing the enemy, but there was a fine line between a glimpse of provocative skin and… this. It was practically a fur-lined bikini.

She chose to wear something like that.

To a battlefield.

Their eyes met and the sorceress grinned maniacally before loosing another spell at her. Sinon dropped, allowing the spell to pass harmlessly overhead.

*BOOM!*

…Before it exploded behind her, blasting her forward and again causing her to lose her balance. Sinon cursed under her breath as she tumbled. Her stomach lurched in open rebellion, and Sinon found herself trying her hardest to keep her lunch down. She righted herself just in time to dodge another blast, and she growled in annoyance and frustration.

"ENOUGH!" Sinon shouted, quickly empowering a light arrow. Her eyes locked on to the still-grinning sorceress, and she fired.

The sorceress, to her credit, attempted to erect some sort of barrier. Unfortunately for her, Sinon's arrows were boosted while she was channeling her Perfect Weapon Control. Her Divine Weapon was supposed to come from the Sun Goddess herself, Solus. As such, her regular arrows (not the artillery strike ones) were fired at near-light speeds.

The effect was instant. One moment, the sorceress was chanting some Sacred Art, and in the next, there was a hole burned through her head. The light arrow stuck in the floorboards behind her, its glow faintly fading as whatever enchantment dwindled. She stared, wide-eyed, at Sinon before slumping unceremoniously to the floor of her land skiff. A few dark mages squawked in alarm and protest before rushing to her side. More of them, taking notice of their leader – or at least Sinon assumed as much – began to fire off spell after spell in Sinon's direction, eager to avenge the sorceress.

Sinon sighed, already weary of this battle.

She drew another arrow of light, ready to keep the dark mages at bay so Kirito and the others could take out PoH. Hopefully they were doing better than she was.


Despite outward appearances, things were not fine.

Kirito ducked under an axehead before popping up and slashing back in retaliation. The Dark Knight crumpled to the ground, the blackened armor tearing like tissue paper under Kirito's (admittedly overpowered) blades.

They still had a ways to go until they reached PoH's land-boat-thing, and their momentum was waning fast. Initially he'd been joined by some of the stronger fighters in their alliance, but as they pushed forward, more and more of them had to peel off for one reason or another.

Nautilus was the first to stay back, using his ((Ordinal Scale)) and engaging with someone who looked an awful lot like Morte. Bastard couldn't just stay dead, apparently. Yuna was right at her husband's side, constantly refreshing his buffs and providing healing.

Poor Morte didn't stand a chance.

Ali and Lokuss were next, the latter using his grapple to restrain one of the few remaining giants while the former kept a group of pugilists off his flank.

Eugeo froze an entire section of the battlefield with his weapon, but ended up frozen in place as a result of the gambit. He was fine, but otherwise taken out of the action. Ronye and Tiese elected to stay behind and guard him.

Scheta was dueling a single pugilist. Kirito suspected it was their leader, but couldn't afford to hang back and dwell on that suspicion. He did notice the look of excitement on both their faces, though. A little odd, given the stakes, but she was keeping what was probably a strong fighter tied up and away from the weaker members of their army.

Liz and Kizmel were tied up with a group of their own, the two women back to back as they fended off their attackers. They were holding their own for the time being, but Kirito knew that time was not on their side.

Leonn, surprisingly, was the next to stall. Up until recently, he'd been thundering behind them all and keeping the worst of the enemy's forces at bay. That came to a grinding halt when a horde of goblins and minions came from the side and started to climb on him like a swarm of wasps. In his mostly futile efforts to rid himself of the infestation, he'd blindly wandered off to the side, inadvertently trampling more Dark Empire forces.

Now it was just Asuna and Klein with him. Fortunately – or unfortunately, given the lack of reinforcements – they'd hacked and slashed their way to PoH's location. All they needed to do was get past the dinosaur-looking creature pulling the platform, climb up on top, and confront PoH. Well, that and take out any personal guards he might have with him. That didn't seem PoH's style, though. He was more of a –

Wait, there was a dino-thing pulling it. More importantly, it was guarding it.

"Oh come on!" Klein groaned.

It hissed and stood to its full height, now no longer burdened by the reins but still armored to the teeth. Literally. The thing looked like some armor-plated tyrannosaurus, but with red skin and more imposing forearms. It crouched down and rested part of its weight on those arms before roaring at them, its shrieking screech giving Kirito some pause.

"Let's do this, Leader!"

Kirito smiled, despite the chaos around him. Joining Klein were the rest of the original Fuurinkazan. Harry One. Kunimittz. Dale. Dynamm. Issin. Klein. While two of their number were markedly aged compared to their friends, they looked no less willing to fight side by side with their 'bros'. While Klein was initially stunned by their sudden appearance, an excited grin grew on his face. He looked over towards Kirito and winked.

"Let ol' Fuurinkazan take care of this ugly lizard." Klein said, his hand gripping his sheathed katana. "You and Asuna go on ahead and take on PoH. Kick his ass for me, will ya?"

"You'd better not die." Kirito warned.

"Can't get rid of me that easily." Klein quipped. He shifted into a more combat-ready stance and locked eyes with the creature, his old guild doing the same. "Time to show this bastard how we do things in Fuurinkazan!"

With a roar, they charged and engaged the beast, easily falling into their old formation. Kirito smirked and looked towards Asuna, who held a similarly fond expression. His expression hardened, just as hers did.

Time to end this.

He and Asuna ran around the battle between Fuurinkazan and the massive reptile, both having to leap over a massive tail as it swung past them. With a mighty leap – and not at all because they were too impatient to look for a ladder or steps – the front line's power couple jumped atop PoH's vessel. They landed with a *thud* and immediately readied themselves for a fight with SAO's most notorious murderer.

"Took you two long enough!" PoH cackled as he clapped.

Kirito scowled; he didn't get a good look at him before during the initial ambush, but now that he could see him clearly… he felt his stomach turn. The man was older, just like every other reincarnated Aincrader they'd encountered so far. Where the years had been kind to their friends, PoH was a different story.

The Dark Territory had not been kind to him. He had a massive scar crossing his now whitened left eye. His teeth were showing signs of rot and decay (there probably wasn't much in the way of dental care here in the Dark Territory) and his hair had grayed considerably. Yet, despite it all, it was clear that the man in front of them was still PoH… and still an incredibly dangerous individual.

His attire was eerily similar to what he wore in Aincrad. The black leathers now rested underneath a suit of sleek, lightweight armor; its sheer black appearance was broken only by the faint hues of red that stained its otherwise well-kept surface. His signature poncho was still there, and his weapon was clearly inspired by his old cleaver, ((Mate Chopper)).

"I was starting to get impatient." PoH scoffed, still reclined in his throne. He gestured towards the chaos surrounding them. "Do you like my handiwork? Took a while to get these idiots to listen to me, but I did it."

"... Are you expecting a compliment?" Asuna spat. "You're not going to get one."

PoH raised a single eyebrow and grinned. "Glad to see you haven't lost your bite, Lightning Flash. You know… I still remember seeing your blade sticking out of my chest. I'll be glad to return the favor."

"Like hell you will." Kirito growled, taking a step forward.

"THERE'S that fire!" PoH laughed. He suddenly rose from his chair. "Oh man, you have no idea how much I've missed this. Sure, conquering the Dark Empire was a treat, but it wasn't the same, you know? It wasn't as personal… not as fun!"

PoH looked positively giddy. Kirito suppressed the shiver that ran down his spine.

"...Personal?" Kirito hesitantly asked, anger rising at the implication. "Fun?! You call butchering your fellow players fun?!"

"Yes!" PoH unashamedly admitted. "I started playing this wonderful game for one reason. You wanna know what that reason was?"

Kirito gripped his swords tighter. He could spot the way PoH's body tensed, as if ready to spring forward at a moment's notice. Asuna must have spotted the same thing, because she now had her rapier poised defensively.

PoH launched himself forward. "I wanted to kill as many of you fucking Japs as possible!"

Asuna, the quicker of the two, shot forward like a bullet. The clash of blades actually created a slight shockwave, knocking Kirito off balance for a moment.

"You're sick!" Asuna accused as she traded blows with PoH. Every strike of his was crazed, while hers was furious. Neither could get a shot in edgewise, though. "Why am I not surprised you're a bigot, too?!"

"I'm sick? HA!" PoH cackled. He swung downward, catching his blade against Asuna's. "That's rich! You and your boy toy over there are the kind of self-sacrificing idiots that would willingly die for others! Who does that?! It's a dog eat dog world out there, and you two and all your friends are sick in the head for thinking otherwise!"

Asuna pushed back, and Kirito grit his teeth. He circled around, ready to hit PoH from behind.

"Not so fast, Blackie!" PoH kicked Asuna's stomach, breaking the clash and sending her sprawling. He ran at Kirito, brandishing his knock-off meat cleaver. "You're supposed to ask first before cutting in on someone else's dance!"

Kirito growled. He was really getting sick and tired of the snark PoH was giving off.

"Shut up already!" Kirito yelled, meeting PoH's cleaver with one sword before slashing his exposed shoulder with the other. PoH spun, getting away with a small cut instead of a crippling blow like was intended.

Kirito crossed his swords to block the next strike, PoH having used that spinning momentum to deliver what would have been a crushing blow to the stomach. He pushed back, breaking away to get some space. PoH wasn't letting him get away that easily, though. Kirito, spotting the renewed assault, ran forward to meet the man. The best defense was a good offense, after all.

A heavy slam from PoH's meat cleaver brought a halt to that hope, and it was all Kirito could do to block the hit, avoid falling over the railing, and tumbling into the meat grinder that was the war around them.

…Was PoH getting stronger?

Asuna crashed into his side, impaling his arm before he threw her off. Kirito felt a surge of panic fill him. He had to move quickly; he jumped and caught her just before she could fall off the side. He glared at PoH, his protectiveness over Asuna rearing its vengeful head.

"His weapon…" Asuna trailed, her eyes locked on PoH's blade. "Kirito, it's glowing."

Sure enough, PoH's cleaver was starting to glow a sickly blood red. Little motes of light were being drawn in by the blade, adding to its size and light. Asuna gasped in realization.

"He's drawing in sacred power!"

"You like my weapon?" PoH chuckled, swinging it around a few times. The massive blade sang as it parted the air like an enormous paddle. "I couldn't get good ol' ((Mate Chopper)) here, but I got the next best thing! Being in charge of the whole Dark Empire comes with its perks. See, I've been around long enough to know how things work around here. Every time someone dies – anyone – they release a little bit of sacred power. Now, I was content to let that little slut D.I.L. use it for her magical nukes, but then your archer went and killed her. Now I gotta be the one to use it all! But that's okay! I wouldn't have it any other way."

Kirito blanched, his eyes drawn towards the ever-increasing power and presence that PoH's blade emanated.

"You all have your Divine Weapons, but we here in the Dark Empire use our power a little differently!" PoH grinned. He started to stalk towards them. "See, magic here also works off of imagination and desire, and you better bet your pasty Japanese ass that I've got more than enough of both to go around! I desire nothing more than to cut you to pieces and I imagine it'll hurt like hell!"

PoH, in his crazed, manic state, started giving off an ominous aura. That was no exaggeration, either, Kirito would easily admit. There was an actual cloud of malicious energy wafting off the man, and it was starting to affect the battle around them. The severity of the fighting seemed to double, and the shouts and screams of pain began to morph into roars of rage and fury. PoH's insanity and bloodlust was literally starting to infect the rest of the battlefield. It was a wonder it hadn't spread to him and Asuna, really.

"What even is this…?" Asuna asked, her eyes darting around them.

If Kirito had to describe the feeling that surrounded them in one word, that'd be easy.

Hate.

Sheer, overwhelming, intoxicating, crippling hate.

It was actually tangible. The hate was coming off of PoH in waves and was soaking into the soldiers themselves. Even the Aincraders, for the most part, were affected. Leonn's livid roars were audible from here. Fuurinkazan's battlecries sounded like anguished cries of fury. Whatever PoH was doing, it was affecting everyone.

Everyone except the two of them.

"This is getting out of hand." Asuna said. "He needs to be stopped now."

"How?" Kirito asked. PoH's power was starting to rival Quinella's, at least so far as he could tell. The longer this battle went on, the more power he'd accumulate.

Asuna smiled. "Together."

That momentary panic settled, and determination filled his heart. "Right. Together."

They sprang forward, quickly covering the length of the vessel and closing on PoH. PoH, to his credit, wasn't surprised by the sudden burst of speed. He swung his massive blade diagonally, and Kirito met the man's blade with both of his own, using their combined weight to parry the attack. PoH's attack rebounded, and both he and Kirito were flung back.

Asuna ran in, the unspoken "switch" already heeded. She unleashed a 5-hit ((Neutron)), nailing the man straight in the chest. Kirito swung around her and lashed out, carving a deep gash across PoH's chest.

"Bastard!" PoH cursed, skidding to a stop and swinging his blade. It was more of a paddle at this point, and Kirito felt that in its entirety as he was launched to the front of the vessel. He felt a little woozy from the impact, and struggled to get back on his feet. Once his vision refocused, he saw that Asuna was in PoH's face, dueling him and keeping him occupied.

Kirito blinked and took a step forward, only to realize what was about to happen.

"Asuna, MOVE!"

She didn't even spare a glance, leaping backward and to his side in an instant. PoH looked confused for a moment before a terrifying roar split the air.

Kirito and Asuna's heads whipped to the side, where an enraged red dinosaur – what happened to Klein and Fuurinkazan…? – was grappled with an incensed Leonn as the latter staggered back from the sudden added weight. The two crashed into the skiff, and the vessel exploded. Not in the literal sense, with fire and deafening bursts of light. No, it was more accurate to say that the skiff shattered into hundreds of shards and fragments of wood. Asuna and Kirito were forcibly ejected, tumbling through the air before suddenly smacking into the rough, unforgiving earth of the battlefield.

"Ugh…" Kirito groaned. He was really getting tired of being tossed around like a ragdoll. "Asuna…?"

"I'm okay." She hissed out an answer. "I think I broke something, though."

Kirito frowned, noticing that she'd shielded him from the impact with her own body. Thanks to that, he escaped with what was probably a minor concussion and a few bruises. He looked down and saw Asuna clutching at her ribs in pain.

Yeah, probably broken. Worse yet, she was in no shape to fight.

"Fuck!" PoH's voice cursed out. "I'm getting sick and tired of shit getting in the way! First it's your bitch and now it's my own damn lackeys! ENOUGH!"

The fighting around them, Kirito noticed, slowed to a stop. The Dark Empire forces heeded their emperor's call, while the Allied Forces were glad to take a breather. PoH, on the hand, seethed, yet his manic grin remained.

He also had a gaping, bleeding hole in his chest.

How was he still standing? It had to be the sacred power he was siphoning through his blade. That was the only explanation for this, and even that was far-fetched.

"All you fuckers better back off! I wanna settle this once and for all!" PoH spat. "Just you and me, Black Swordsman. Fight me now or I'll finish off your girlfriend."

"Wife." Kirito corrected him.

"WHATEVER!" PoH snarled. "I want that showdown, Blackie!"

"Fine. On one condition." Kirito replied. Might as well see if he can pull this off. "If I win, your army stands down and surrenders."

"What makes you think you're in any position to make demands, Beater?"

Well that was a nickname Kirito hadn't heard in a long time. Kind of pricked at old wounds, though. PoH was trying to get under his skin. Not going to happen.

"You want something from me: a duel. I want something in return."

PoH grinned, but this was more the expression of someone who was impressed, not manic. That insanity was still there, though. That wasn't going away anytime soon.

"And just what do I get when I win, Kirito?"

Kirito smirked. "I thought you beating me would be incentive enough."

PoH started chuckling, which very quickly devolved into laughing. Then he started cackling, which looked to be unnerving even some of his own troops. "HAH! You know me so well, Black Swordsman. Fine. You've got yourself a deal. I can't wait to cut your head off and show it to the world."

Kirito readied his swords, ignoring the concerned stares from his allies, as well as the confused ones from his enemies. To an outside perspective, it would seem odd to decide an entire war through a single duel like this. He wasn't even sure if they would honor the deal, really.

PoH raised his cleaver, its blade glowing with that sickly crimson light. "It's showtime, Black Swordsman!"

"I'm getting really tired of that stupid catchphrase." Kirito grumbled before running at him.

The two met in the middle, and the duel was on. Kirito swung his swords, each blade crying out for vengeance against this man. The ((Night Sky Sword)) seemed to hunger with each strike, its obsidian edge constantly denied by PoH's massive cleaver. Kirito fell into a rhythm as he danced around PoH and his gargantuan weapon. He dodged where he could, and blocked where he couldn't, each impact rattling his head and jarring his bones.

PoH fought with the same ferocity. At several points in the ensuing duel, he just began swinging wildly, relying entirely on the bulk of the blade to do the work for him. With each failed attack, his eyes grew more and more frantic, more manic and unhinged. Each swing was heavier than the last, the sacred resources flocking to his blade as the minutes passed.

Kirito was losing.

Badly.

"After I get done with you…" PoH taunted during their next blade lock. Kirito growled as he struggled under the strain. This was getting to be too much. "I'm gonna put your bitch Lightning Flash, your crew, and every single Underworlder in coffins! In fact, I think I'll just chop off your arms and legs and make you watch me do it! You can count on that!"

*CRRK!*

Something snapped, and it wasn't either of their swords.


"Guys, his eyes went yellow again."

"What?" Leafa asked, looking back and forth between Recon and her brother. "Huh, you're right. He did it again."

"Did what again?" Sakuya asked.

"Whenever Kirito gets pissed or really motivated about something, we've noticed that his eyes change color." Suli explained. "We're not the only ones who noticed, either. Internet's full of conspiracy theories about it right now, since no one in game seems to realize that it's happening."

"Curious." Eugene muttered.

Leafa saw the fire in her brother's eyes and smiled.

PoH was screwed.


Kirito roared with righteous fury and pushed. PoH staggered back and was about to close in again.

"Release Recollection!" Kirito cried out.

A shockwave erupted out from him, sending PoH sprawling. As he scrambled back to his feet, PoH's eyes widened as he looked all around him. He stood up and brought his own blade up to collect the sacred power in the air.

The problem was… it was all going to Kirito instead.

"What the hell?" PoH mumbled. He started swinging his cleaver around. "Why isn't any of that comin' to me?!"

The ((Night Sky Sword)) glowed amber, much like it had during his duel with Volo. Instead of answering him, Kirito decided instead to end this, once and for all. He slammed his blades against PoH's cleaver, knocking him off balance. Then he unleashed the strongest skill he knew to date.

"((Starburst Stream))!"

Kirito's swords danced across PoH's body, both of his limbs flying off to the sides with minimal resistance. Empowered by the sacred power in the air around him, his blades effortlessly glided through PoH's body, like a hot knife through butter. PoH managed to get a solid hit or two in, but it was for naught. Kirito was a man on a mission, each swing striking home and drawing blood. He was careful not to end the man's life, however.

He was not about to take another man's life if he didn't have to.

He did disarm him, though. Literally.

By the time Kirito was done with his skill, PoH simply stood in place, hacking up blood and staring at the hole in his chest. Still alive, but barely. Yet his punishment was not yet complete.

The last thrust of his ((Starburst Stream)) resulted in his ((Night Sky Sword)) planted in the man's chest, so Kirito sent a pulse of energy and willpower into the sword. It obeyed, and released its memory. At first, nothing happened.

"What's wrong, Blackie?" PoH taunted, completely unaware of how suddenly stiff he looked. "Not man enough to finish me? Hah! As if… wait, what's happening?"

Kirito smirked before gesturing towards Asuna, who walked over and laid a comforting hand on Kirito's shoulder.

"My sword was forged from a treant boss on the 3rd floor. It's said that it was once one of the greatest and largest trees in the forest, until it grew greedy and hungry." Kirito explained. "I just released its memory."

"What…what's happening to me?!" PoH screamed as his body warped and gnarled. His boots burst open and roots sprouted from his feet. Where Leonn's transformation into a treant was graceful and symbiotic as the bark and wood surrounded and cradled his body, PoH's was disjointed and almost predatory as tree limbs sprouted from his flesh, the memory of Nerius forcing itself on PoH's body. Against his will, he began to morph into a massive tree, one that was thankfully not capable of moving (unlike the treant it was inspired from).

"Death is too quick and merciful a punishment for you, PoH." Kirito scoffed. "Maybe some day some poor soul will cut you down, but until then, you'll just have to live knowing that others will use you just as you used them. You'll provide shelter, comfort, and rest to those who need it… all things you denied others in life. You'll never take the life of another again."

Once the metamorphosis was complete, a gargantuan tree the size of the Gigas Cedar stood above the battlefield, and the fighting came to a complete halt. The Dark Empire forces, having seen their leader defeated in such an overwhelmingly powerful and symbolic way, threw down their weapons and surrendered. Some did so eagerly, while some like the pugilists did so begrudgingly. Like before, those that insisted on fighting to the death were granted just that. Honorable death by combat.

Kirito felt all the energy in his body leave all at once, and he collapsed to the side. He slumped to the floor, and he felt a pair of arms wrap around him. Asuna brought his head down to rest on her lap, and Kirito finally let out a sigh of relief.

It was over. The War for the Underworld was finished.

They won.


A/N:

No, I will not apologize for killing D.I.L. in such a casual way. WoU was doing so well with avoiding needless fanservice and then they brought her in. The skimpy armor I was willing to overlook but the groping of Leafa was too far. So yes, I had Sinon put one between her eyes.

Anyway, next chapter's coming out later this week.

Until then!