AN: So, I originally had the goal of getting this done and out within a week, which put my deadline on the 17th, but a bunch of shit went down with my sorta psycho older sister, so… Family drama considered, I'm pretty happy with it only being a day late! Hope you all enjoy!

Review Responses:

angel2u- Dude, me and Merlenyn were talking about that literally six hours before you commented. At first I actually wasn't sure if I should be happy I'd made a character consistent enough that a reader like you knows that shit won't fly with her and she'll definitely do something, or put out that I was becoming predictable. Merlenyn assures me that it's Hanna/Marzanna who's consistent, and I'm happy to believe her. You're absolutely right though Hanna ain't gonna just let that shit slide.

November 1st, 2024- 727 days since SAO launch:

After Sasha graciously allowed them to use one of the church's rooms for the night, Hanna and Kirito can't help but watching the chaos that Sasha calls breakfast, but Hanna thinks would be more accurately be called a battlefield from their little table of to the side with Sasha and Yui before Kirito seems to feel the need to put it to words, "This is…. amazing." Then he smiles slightly, "But still, it looks like they're having fun."

Hanna nods, "Yeah…"

Sasha chuckles lightly, "It's like this everyday. No matter how many times I tell them to be quiet and settle down it just goes in one ear and right out the other."

Hanna smiles at that, "You really do like children, don't you?"

Sasha returns her smile warmly, "In the real world, I was attending university to become a teacher. The chance to guide children has always gotten me fired up, but then I came here, started living with the children and, well, having a bunch of children in your care is lot different than what I expected. It felt like I was the one relying on them instead, that they were supporting me more than the other way around, but, well, that might be fine too….. I started believing it was merely a natural result."

Hanna nods lightly as she brushes Yui's bangs away from her face, "I understand what you mean."

The sheer warmth she got just from Yui's presence surprised her. It was definitely different than the love she felt for her mate, but that was a given and just because she loved Yui differently it didn't mean she loved her less. It genuinely terrified her, how much she felt for Yui. After what she said during her little episode yesterday, Hanna was beginning to doubt there had been anyone taking care of Yui in Aincrad, by nevertheless, she'd still have to let go of her eventually, if only when they returned to the real world.

She's pulled from her thoughts when Kirito clears his throat, "Sasha… About the Army. To the extent of my knowledge, despite the overwhelming tyranny within the guild itself, they were still dedicated to helping players and maintaining order. However, those guys yesterday were basically just criminals poorly pretending to be good guys… When did the Army change so much?"

Sasha purses her lips, "About half a year ago is when their goals truly seemed to change from what I could tell. I mean, there had already been those in their group who 'collected taxes' and the like before that, but there'd also been others in the Army who cracked down on those criminals. On numerous occasions I was witness to scenes of Army members confronting one another over those criminal acts. Back then it gave me hope that the Army was doing something about their rouge members, but…. Then I started hearing rumors of a power struggle amongst the higher ups of the Army, and over time, the criminals in that guild seemed to take over whereas the honest members seemed to slowly dwindle away."

Kirito sighs as he shares a glance with Hanna, "It's to be expected I suppose. When you have a guild with over a thousand members, it's almost inevitable that there will be divides… Still, if what happened yesterday is a daily affair, it can't be allowed to continue, but I'm not sure how…. If this had been a month ago, I'd have suggested taking it to Heathcliff, but with what we've learned of the guy since then… Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if he already knows and is simply ignoring the situation…"

Hanna hums as she thinks it over, just then an idea strikes her. However before she can think it over, a clear knock echoes through the building, silencing the children instantly. Sasha stands up, clearly baffled, "Another visitor? My we're popular lately."

Kirito tilts his head, "Why'd they knock? Churches are public buildings…"

Hanna shoots him a small grin, "Probably respecting the fact the church is occupied. Perhaps we should've done that ourselves yesterday… Might've saved us some trouble."

Sasha shakes her head slightly and turns to the kids, sternly telling them, "Stay here and finish your breakfast everyone, if anything happens, you're to listen to Kirito and Hanna. I'll be back soon."

Kirito and Hanna share another glance, then with a shrug Kirito returns to his meal. Seeing that both her mate and child were happily absorbed in their food, Hanna idly turns to her own breakfast, turning her previous idea over in her head. She was fairly certain it would be relatively easy to convince him to help. For all that he was manipulative and could be selfish, even he had clear lines drawn at what was ok and what wasn't, and she knew he'd agree that extorting children firmly falls into the things that just weren't done category…

It wasn't long before a hesitant looking Sasha returned with another woman. She was tall, with long silver hair pulled back in a ponytail, and sky blue eyes, but her most notable feature, given recent events, was the female light Army uniform she was wearing. Sasha glances at her nervously, "Err, this is Yulier, she, ah, she said she wanted to talk to you two…." Seeing the kids staring with worried looks, she gives them a slightly strained reassuring smile, "It's alright everyone, just finish eating your breakfast."

The kids still seem unsure, so Hanna gently adds, "Don't worry, if she tries anything Kirito and I are here."

After yesterday, that definitely reassures the kids, who go back to their meals. Even Sasha relaxes a bit at that. The woman doesn't seem worried by her words in the slightest, so either she doesn't intend to cause trouble, or she's incredibly arrogant. Either way, she nods lightly, "Ah, as Sasha said, I'm Yulier, I'm from ALF."

Confusion washes over Kirito's face, "ALF?"

Yulier grimaces, "The Aincrad Liberation Force, also known as the Army. I find the name to be just as ridiculous as most players, so I prefer to use the abbreviation…"

Hanna snorts, "Can't blame you for that. I'm Hanna, this is Kirito, we're unaffiliated. The child is Yui."

That seems to shock Yulier, "The Hanna and Kirito? The She-Devil and The Black Swordsman?" Kirito nods lightly, and Yulier's gaze turns thoughtful, "I see… No wonder that group yesterday was dealt with so easily…"

Hanna narrows her eyes at that, "Then, are you here to complain about yesterday. Perhaps throw around threats like you're guildmates did?"

Yulier shakes her head firmly, "No, no. Not at all. If anything it's the opposite. As a matter of fact, I wanted to thank you." Hanna shares a startled look of slight disbelief with her mate, but their attention is drawn back to Yulier as she takes a deep breath before she continues, "Actually, I came here to request your assistance."

Hanna raises an eyebrow, "A request?"

Yulier nods, "Ah, I realize it may seem… Presumptuous, given your recent history with the ALF, but if you'll give me the chance to explain, I assure you it will make more sense."

Hanna shares another look with her mate, having a quick silent conversation. At the end Hanna shrugs, so Kirito gestures to one of the two empty chairs at the table, "Well then. Go ahead and take a seat, we aren't guaranteeing an answer until we've heard what you have to say, but we're willing to listen."

Yulier nods gratefully, "Of course, I expected nothing less. I'll apologize for this in advance, but it will take a bit of backstory to understand what I came here for. Our guild wasn't always known as the ALF or the Army. Originally it was called MTD."

Kirito glances at Hanna, before explaining, "The abbreviation of MMO Today. At the time SAO started, it was the biggest net-game information gathering site in Japan. The one who formed the guild was likely the sites administrator. If I recall correctly, he went by the name-"

Yulier finished the sentence, "Thinker. Yes, he's the guild's leader. Our guild wasn't always as corrupt and dictatorial as it is now, that wasn't at all what Thinker created it to be. Originally, we just wanted to share information and food evenly among as many players as possible."

Kirito sighs, "But the Army grew too large."

Yulier nods, "Yes, there were multiple internal power struggles, and a man named Kibaou ended up with a great deal of influence within the guild. Kibaou and his faction have become dominate, monopolizing all of the best mob spawn points and have gone so far as to extort people under the pretext of collecting taxes. But people started criticizing Kibaou for neglecting his obligation to clear the game.

Hanna growls angrily, "That doesn't surprise me, we're unfortunately familiar with him. He's one of the most avaricious people I've ever had the misfortune of knowing and he always seems to manage to convince other morons to follow him. Wish he would've just stayed the hell away from the front lines after the disaster he caused back on the 25th floor. I'm guessing that group of Army members that foolishly attempted to defeat the 74th floor boss were his guys?"

Yulier nods with a sigh, "Yes. He sent the highest level players under his command, however it nearly ended in disaster."

Hanna snorts, "We know. We were there that day. Who do you think beat that thing and saved their sorry arrogant asses?" She jabs a thumb in her mates direction, "Mostly him, admittedly."

Yulier pauses, "Ah, I had seen something in the paper, but given that those men report to Kibaou, I couldn't be sure of its authenticity… Well, because of that fiasco, Kibaou was strongly denounced, and we were close to dismissing him from the guild. Desperate, he resorted to drastic measures, setting a trap for Thinker." Yulier lowers her head as her eyes tear up, "Thinker's been stranded deep inside a dungeon!"

Kirito looks at her in disbelief, "Doesn't he have a Teleport Crystal?"

Hanna frowns heavily as Yulier shakes her head, "Is he too under-leveled to simply fight his way out?"

Yulier sighs, "He was too trusting. He believed Kibaou when he said he only wanted to talk unarmed. That was three days ago."

Hanna's brow furrows, "Three days? What's happened to him? Are you sure he's even still alive?"

Yulier doesn't lift her gaze, continuing to stare at the table with a worried expression, "He's in the depths of a significantly high level dungeon. He seems to be suck there, but his name doesn't have a cross on my friends list, so I'm sure he's still alive. As his second-in-command, it's my responsibility to help him… But my level isn't high enough for me to reach him. And Kibaou is using his influence to prevent the rest of the Army from helping. I'd almost given up hope…"

Yulier finally lifts her head to give them a pleading look, "But then I heard that two incredibly high leveled players had come to town. So I came here to ask for your help." She suddenly shot up from her seat, "Kirito, Hanna… I realize this is extremely rude to ask of someone I've just meet, but please, will you aid me in rescuing Thinker?"

Hanna studies Yulier intently. They didn't know her, and there was always a possibility she was lying. She seemed earnest, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. She could just be a very good actor. Normally, they wouldn't be so worried about it, but given their track record with the Army...

Kirito hesitates, "If there's something we can do, we'd like to help, but we'd need to verify your story-"

Yulier cuts him off desperately, "I know that I'm asking a lot of you! But when I think about him trapped in there, I feel like I'm losing my mind…."

Hanna tilts her head at her, "Do you love him?"

Yulier yanks get head up to gaze at her in shock, "I- I'm sorry?"

Hanna stares her down, "Do you love him? It's a simple question, Yulier."

Yulier slowly turns red, "I-... Yes. I do."

Hanna stares into her eyes for a minute, then nods, "Ok. We'll help."

Kirito chuckles, "Mm. I'd rather regret trusting someone than regret doubting them anyway."

Hanna smiles at him in agreement, "Better to be tricked, then to let someone die, yea?" She turns her smile to Yulier, "We'll do our best."

Yulier's eyes tear up again, as she stares at them with slight disbelief, then she bows her head gratefully, "Thank you… Thank you so much…"

Hanna simply nods at her, then turns as Kirito moves to gently run his hand over Yui's hair, "You'll have to stay here with Sasha for a bit, ok?"

Yui scowls adorably, "No, I'm coming too."

Sasha smiles lightly at her, "It's alright Yui, you just need to stay with me for a bit and then they'll be back to get you."

Yui shakes her head emphatically, "No!"

Kirito jokingly mumbles, "Ah, this must be her rebellious phase."

Hanna purses her lips to suppress the grin that wants to slip out at that and shoots her mate a look, but he simply stares back at her with unapologetic amusement. Shaking her head at her mate, she focuses on the little girl seated between them, "Yui, where we're going is really dangerous."

Yui shakes her head again, leaning over to cling to Kirito's arm, "I'm going too!"

Kirito looks away from the little girl to meet her eyes, and they have a quick silent conversation before Hanna sighs, "Oh, alright. But! You better do whatever we tell you to! I'm going to give you a Teleport Crystal to keep in your pocket, and if we tell you to, you're going to use it to teleport back here to the Town of Beginnings. You use one the same way we used the gate to get here yesterday, while you're holding the Crystal. And you'll stay in the back with Yulier, understood?"

Yui nods, beaming happily at them. Sasha sighs, then shakes her head with a small bemused smile, "Well, you can't very well go around saving people on an empty stomach though, so you should finish your breakfast first. There's still some left, so you should eat something as well, Yulier."

Yulier hesitantly sits back down, "Um, ok. Thank you." Taking some food from the platters in the center of the table, she starts to eat, hesitantly at first, but she's soon eating with the speed that rivals Kirito when he's gone more than four hours without so much as snacking on anything. Which is rather impressive really, for anyone not Kirito.

Sasha gives her a strange look, "I'd think the second-in-command to the Army's guild leader would be able to get food easily."

Yulier pauses, then blushes heavily, "S-Sorry. I haven't been eating or sleeping well since Thinker got trapped… I- I didn't realize how hungry I was until I started eating…"

Sasha's eyes soften with sympathy, "It's alright. Eat as much as you want, the upside to us only buying basic meals is that there's always plenty to go around."

Yulier nods hesitantly, "T-Thank you."

Once they'd finished their breakfast, they all make their way to the church entrance. The kids all follow Sasha and them to the entrance, and remembering their excitement from the day before, Hanna is fairly confident in her assumption that it's less to say goodbye to them, despite how the kids seemed to adore Kirito and herself after the previous days encounter with the Army, and more in the hopes of seeing their front liner gear. Sharing an amused look with Kirito, they both stop in front of the doors to the church and quickly equip their gear, much to the delight of the kids.

Turning back to Sasha, Hanna nods her head at her with a smile, "Thank you very much for your hospitality Sasha."

Sasha waves it away with a smile, "After the way you helped us yesterday, it was nothing. Good luck helping Yulier and Thinker."

Hanna smiles lightly at her, "Thanks. Well, until we meet again."

Waving to the kids and Sasha, the four of them head out, following Yulier. Kirito glances at her, "So where is the dungeon anyway? You haven't actually said."

Yulier glances at him quickly, "It's here. There's a secret passage inside the Black Iron Castle, which I'm sure you know the Army has taken over to use as their- our headquarters. It leads down into the dungeon, which is apparently to be hidden beneath the Town of Beginnings."

Kirito jerks a bit at that, "Eh? I didn't come across anything like that during the beta test… Hanna?'

She shakes her head, "No, I never heard anything about something like that either…"

Kirito sighs, "What a missed opportunity…"

Yulier hums, "As far as I know, it opened up a while ago as the upper floors were cleared, which may explain why it wasn't discovered during the beta. It's highly likely that the correct floor to open the dungeon was never reached. Kibaou found it sometime during his rise to power, and likely planned to monopolize it to strengthen only those loyal to him."

Kirito sighs, "So that's it… There are quite a lot of rare drops that only appear once in unexplored dungeons. Given how greedy that guy always was, it doesn't surprise me that he wanted to keep it for himself." Kirito huffs in irritation, "He and the few he allowed to know must've made quite a profit. It's a bit frustrating to know that a guy like that managed to luck out and find something like that. He certainly didn't deserve it."

Yulier nods, "I quite agree. Which is why I'm quite happy to inform you that things didn't work out as he'd hoped."

There was definitely a trace of smugness in her tone, and Hanna couldn't blame her in the slightest, nor can she quite suppress the small grin, "Then what actually happened?"

Yulier glances back at her, "Despite being on the first floor, the dungeon is incredibly difficult… Even the most basic monsters there have levels in the 60s, which is why I suspect it only opened when those floors were reached. So, it's rather obviously a given that Kibaou and his men couldn't handle it all that well. From my understanding, they got separated and chased around almost immediately, and barely escaped with their lives by teleporting out, but not before attempting to fight the mobs and using a ridiculous amount of Healing Crystals. Their reckless use of those crystals put the guild in the red and everything, which is how Thinker and myself found out."

Knowing that they made it out ok, Kirito couldn't help but laugh at the idea of those idiots getting chased around. Hanna just knew that's why he was laughing, partially because she herself could help but snicker. Yulier glances over her shoulder at them again to grin lightly with a mischievous look in her eyes, clearly understanding the humor they find in the situation.

After a few moments though, her humor to drain away and she slumps as her gloomy mood returns, "However, that's also the reason saving Thinker is so difficult. The Corridor Crystal that Kibaou used to trap him was set to a spot deep into the dungeon that he managed to reach while running around trying to get away from the mobs…"

Hanna actually stopped dead in her tracks at that, "Wait, wait, wait, wait… You're telling me, that he actually used a Corridor Crystal given to him by someone as untrustworthy as Kibaou?! I mean, I'd been wondering how Kibaou managed to trap him in a dungeon but…"

Yulier gives her an embarrassed look, "Thinker is an optimist… He's… far too trusting, despite how many times I've tried to be a bit more realistic…"

Hanna yanks a frustrated hand through her ponytail, "He and I are going to have a talk when his stupid ass is safe." She begins to march off towards the Black Iron Castle with a faster pace than before, "Come on love, Yui, Yulier, I've an idiot to scold. Then save. Then scold some more. Maybe smack him for good measure."

Though she can't actually feel his emotions without a full bond, Kirito's amusement seems to radiate from him, "I suddenly find myself feeling about a hundred times more sorry for Thinker then I did when I heard he was trapped…"

Yulier seems unsure, "Err… She- That is…."

Kirito chuckles, "Don't worry, you'll get Thinker back in one piece… He may simply have a sudden slight phobia of short females and be far less trusting than before."

There's a pause before Yulier replies, "... How slight? I wouldn't want any spontaneously acquired phobias to interfere with him working…"

Kirito hums, "Oh don't worry, it won't. He'll probably be rather weary and perhaps a bit twitchy around them, but nothing to worry about."

There's another pause, this one seeming thoughtful, "... I can live with that. Especially if he stops trusting people like Kibaou…"

Kirito laughs, "I should hope so! You literally can not stop her now."

Another hesitation, "I… see…. I'm beginning to wonder if asking you two for help should come with some sort of warning…"

Kirito just laughs again.

It wasn't long before a building came into view. Living up to its name, the Black Iron Castle was exactly that, a castle made from gleaming black metal. It was the largest building in the Town of Beginnings, it housed the Monument of Life, upon which the screen name of every single player in the game was carved, with those of the dead having a single line carved through them. Anyone could enter up until the Monument, but most of the rest of it was sealed off when the Army claimed it as their HQ. Or, that's what Hanna had heard anyway. She hadn't ever been inside the castle.

However, Yulier didn't lead them in what was obviously the main entrance, instead leading them around the back, but inside both the castle walls and moat. There was noticeably zero people on the path she led them. They walked for several for minutes before reaching a stairway that descended down towards a stone platform just above the surface of the moat.

Yulier turns to them, "We'll enter the castles sewers from here, then head to the entrance of the dungeon from there. I apologize for the roundabout route, but it wouldn't be good if Kibaou realized what was going on…"

Hanna snorts, "I'm not afraid of confronting that bastard…" then she sighs, "... If it'll make you feel better though, we'll go this way." Then she shoots Yulier a suspicious look, "... Obviously a sewer in Aincrad is just for show… But it better not have be too realistic."

Yulier shakes her head, "No nothing like that, thank goodness, considering I've been having to use it to come and go… No, it's just kinda dark and narrow…"

She gave Yui a slightly concerned glance, causing the girl to scowl, "I'm not scared!"

Hanna smiles lightly at her firm proclamation. To Yulier, they'd simply explained Yui by saying she was living with them at the moment, and she'd accepted it without question. She did however, have understandable reservations at bringing her along into the dungeon.

Hanna turns to Yulier, "It's alright. Yui's tougher than she looks."

Kirito nods with a grin, "Yup. She'll make a fantastic swordswoman someday."

Hanna shares a smile with Kirito at that, and Yulier nods, "Well then, let's go."

The first few waves of mobs, Hanna took care of so as to release as much of her frustration with Thinker and her rage towards Kibaou as she can without either of the actual men present, but after that she happily let Kirito take over. Yui seemed to thoroughly enjoy watching them fight, as she'd been bouncing on her heels lightly and making little noises of delight both when she was fighting and now while Kirito was as well.

Yulier glances at her, a hesitant look on her face, "Hanna? May I ask you something?" Hanna glances at her, then nods. Yulier takes a deep breath before continuing, "When- When I was asking for your assistance… You… You asked me if I loved Thinker…. Why?"

Hanna turns her head to gaze at her for a moment, "Because… I know what it's like to desperately want the person you love to be safe…" Her gaze shifts to Kirito as she contemplates whether she should elaborate, then sighs wearily, "Kirito isn't just my party member… He's my husband. I- That is…. There have been a few times before… when we encountered PKers… that I nearly lost him… I… I'm almost certain I'd go crazy if that happened… And I don't mean the over emotional kind of crazy, I mean straight-jacket and insane asylum kind of crazy." Like uncle Vergil had, though she doesn't say that to Yulier. She sighs quietly, "... If you love Thinker even an eighth as much as I love Kirito, then I couldn't not help."

Yulier seems to think that over for a moment, then nods solemnly, before turning her attention back to Kirito. Watching him tear through the most recent wave, she frowns slight before turning her head towards Hanna, "I'm sorry for not helping."

Hanna shakes her head with a smile, "Don't worry about it. Kirito genuinely enjoys fighting. The only reason I was doing it instead of him earlier was because Kibaou thoroughly pisses me off and it's best for me to release that frustration before I end up doing something drastic." She waves her hand near her face in a dismissive gesture, "Letting him do all the fighting is fine when the mobs are so weak."

Kirito, having finished and been wandering over, pouted as he caught the last bit, "Hey! What's with that? That's horrible. Letting me do everything…"

Hanna grins at him, "Well then, would you like to switch?"

Kirito falls silent briefly as he looks away from her, "Ah… Well... No."

Hanna flashes Yulier an amused 'I told you so' grin, which she returns. Becoming serious again, Yulier quickly opens her menu and navigates to her map before making it visible to them and pointing to what was clearly a friend marker, surrounded by the black usual when there was no map data of the area one was attempting to view. The dot was still a good distance away, but Hanna estimated they were just shy of three quarters from of the entrance to Thinkers position.

Yulier purses her lips before explaining, "Thinker hasn't moved from this position since shortly after he was transported down here, which leads me to believe he's in a safe zone. If we can use it, we can simply use Teleport Crystals to get out. So… I apologize, but I'll have to rely on you just a bit longer."

Yulier lowers her head with a frown, but Kirito waves it off, "No, it's alright. We're doing this because we want to. Besides, items are dropping as well, so..."

Hanna glances at him curiously., when she'd been fighting there had been some ok stuff dropping considering the mobs were only level 60, but there'd been nothing of particular interest, "Oh? Anything good?"

Kirito grins at her, "Yup!"

Quickly opening and navigating his menu, he materialized an item. Hanna stares at it blankly, "... That's a toad leg Kirito. There's nothing good about that."

Kirito's grin widens, "They say the stranger it is, the better it tastes! I'm gonna make Asuna cook it later!"

Hanna narrows her eyes, "You must certainly are not."

Kirito pouts, "I am!"

Hanna stares him down for a moment, then looks away, "I'm not helping you convince her." Kirito slumps at that. They both knew Asuna wouldn't cook something like that unless it was part of her bribery. Seeing Kirito trying to muster up some sort of argument out of the corner of her eye, she lifts her head, sticking her nose up with a huff, "And if you somehow manage to convince her to cook that and eat it, I'm not kissing you for a month."

Kirito tries to pull out the big guns at that point, pouting and whining in a way he knew she struggles to say no to, "But Haaannnaaa-"

Taking a sharp breath in through her nose she snatches it out of his hand, turns, and throws it down the hallway as hard as she can in retribution for him trying to pull that over something so gross, "No way! Not happening!"

Kirito makes a noise of shocked protest, "W-What are you doing?! Damn it! Fine then..." She hears him turn and accesses his menu again while he's muttering, and by the time she's whirled around he's got both arms full of the disgusting things, "How about this then!"

Hanna lunges towards him, grabbing them one by one and chucking them over her shoulders, "No! No, no, no, no!"

Kirito gapes at her, "Hanna! That's food!"

Hanna scowls, "Oh yea? You wanna eat it so bad then here!"

With that she promptly shoves the last toad leg into his mouth. He makes a muffled noise of disgust and protest, barely managing to mumble around it, "That's raw! You-"

Their bickering is broken into when they hear Yui happily say, "You smiled!" Turning their gazes towards the two, they see Yui beaming at Yulier, "That's the first time you've really smiled, nee-chan!"

Yulier gives her a startled look for a moment, then smiled softly at her, which Yui enthusiastically returns. Turning back to Kirito she realizes just how ridiculous their behavior must seem by normal people's standards. Shaking her head at her ridiculous mate, and admittedly at herself at least a little, she pulls the toad leg out of Kirito's mouth and tosses it over her shoulder.

Reaching down, she gently grabs Yui's hand with a warm smile, "Come on, let's go."

Over the course of the next two hours, the remaining quarter of the total distance steadily disappears. The monsters also steadily got stronger and shifted from aquatic type to undead type mobs. During that time, Yui began to grow tired again, and by the time they see the safe zone begin to come into view past a junction around a steady bend, she's sound asleep on Hanna's back.

Hanna tilts her head, "There's the safe zone."

Beside her, Kirito tilts his head in the manner usual to him using the listening skill, "There's one player inside."

Yulier stops in her tracks and glances back at him briefly. Turning forwards again, she stares at the light in the distance with slight disbelief, then takes off running, "Thinker!"

Kirito reaches out as though to stop her, but she's already a fair distance away. Sharing a quick glance, they both run to catch up. Their eyes had grown accustomed to the darkness of the dungeon, so the bright white light coming from the room was nearly blinding, but they could just barely make out the silhouette of someone in the doorway. They couldn't make out his face obviously, given the bright light behind him and the distance between them, but they could make out that he was waving his arms wildly, "Yulier!"

Yulier lifts her hand to wave it in greeting as she speeds up, "Thinker!"

Hanna shares a smile with Kirito, but they're startled by Thinker shouting desperately, "Stay back! That corridor is-"

Immediately both Kirito and Hanna slowed slightly as caution kicks in, but Yulier doesn't seem to hear him and continues to run straight for the safe zone. It's then, that off to the side a name appears, «The Fatal Scythe». With a 'the' at the beginning of its name, it was very obviously a boss of some sort, likely a mini-boss, given they were most certainly not at a boss room. She also realizes that with the speed the name and cursor were approaching, and Yulier's own speed, the boss would go through the junction just as Yulier reached it herself.

Hanna quickly shifts Yui from her back into her arms as she slows further, desperately calling out, "Stop! Yulier, come back!"

Kirito however, having seen the same thing she had, pushes his agility to it's limit. In the seconds between Yulier reaching the junction, and the boss meeting Yulier, Kirito manages to grab onto Yulier from behind and push his sword into the ground. Normally, the ground was labeled as an «Immortal Object», but that rule was lifted in dungeons. Thus Kirito's Elucidator quickly became an emergency brake of sorts, managing to stop them just inches from a massive scythe that effortlessly slices a large gash into the ground. Instantly the walls and ceiling begin to glow in indication of a boss fight being initiated, glowing lines of purple spreading through the space between bricks on the ceiling and the walls looking like a purple and blue night sky.

She doesn't really manage to get a look at the boss before it continues on a bit past the junction into the corridor beyond, only glimpsing a black and red cape. Kirito chases after it to buy time for Yulier and Yui to reach the safe zone.

Uneasy with leaving her mate to fight something like that alone for long, she rushes over to the stunned Yulier and quickly sets Yui down, "Yulier! Please take Yui and retreat to the safe zone! And don't leave it until we tell you it's safe!"

Yulier hesitates for the briefest second, irritating Hanna to no end, then scrambles back up to her feet, "R-Right!"

Yui turns to Hanna, "Mama…"

Yulier pulls her away however, leading her towards the safe zone, "Let's go."

Hanna only watches until she's sure they reach the safe zone, then after drawing her Falcata, she hurries around the corner to her mate. Her mate tensely stood both blades drawn, and in front of him was the boss which seemed to be the Grim Reaper.

Narrowing her eyes at the boss, she lifts her weapon into a ready stance, just then, Kirito tensely says, "Hanna... It's level 95."

Hanna tightens her grip on her sword at those words, it was only seven levels below them. Most players wouldn't be comfortable with a safety margin of seven levels for regular mobs, for a boss? Hanna shakes her head, "We can handle it. We just need to be careful."

Kirito hesitates, then nods tensely. The boss had been slowly drifting towards them as they spoke, and Kirito yanked his swords into a guard when it suddenly burst into movement, swinging its weapon at him quickly. Kirito barely manages to hold his guard, and still he gets pushed back several feet. Hanna worries about him, of course she does, but there isn't time for worry right now, so without hesitation she speeds around to it's back and begins attacking at as fast as she can. Having had plenty of practice with Osiris in the real world, when she sees it shift its grip on its weapon and begin to turn towards her quickly, she jumps back as she doesn't have her mates strength stat and definitely can't successfully block the attack she could tell was coming. She's already safety outside the range of its scythe by the time it attacks, turning towards her and swinging its weapon in the same smooth motion.

Kirito darts forward from its spot behind it to start wailing on its back. Carefully staying outside of its range while it's still focused on her, Hanna chances a glance up, clutching her jaw when she sees she'd barely touched the first of it's two health bars. Kirito only seemed to be doing marginally better with his higher strength stat. Waiting til it begins to shift its attention back to her mate, she jumps back in while he jumps away on the other side of the boss. For the next half hour they play some sort of strange version of keep away with the boss, barely managing to take a tenth of its health.

Of course, that's when things go wrong. The boss let's out a shriek towards her mate, then whirling around in a circle, catches Hanna halfway through its spin with its blade when she's just a bit to slow jumping away. She gets swept up by the blade and thrown at her mate with enough force to send them both flying back a good twenty feet. Before Hanna can even regain her bearings her mate is grabbing her around her waist and jumping back just in time for them to avoid being hit by the scythe again. In the background she can hear the other three shouting from the safe zone.

Kirito glances at her as he sets her down, "You ok?"

Hanna shakes her head to dispel the last of her disorientation, "Yea. I- I think so." Glancing up and to the left to assess the damage she hisses, "That took off a fifth of my health!"

Kirito's jaw tightens, "... Hanna-"

She shoots him a glare, "Don't you even say it! I'm not leaving!"

Kirito huffs out a breath, "... Fine. What are we supposed to do though? We might be able to force a victory with some Healing Crystals and a lot of caution, but… That was just regular attack. If that thing uses a skill…"

She can't quite stop herself from snapping at that, "I know!" Then she forces herself to take a deep breath, her mate didn't deserve her frustration and anger at the situation to be pushed onto him. Calmer, she continues. "I know. I'm not leaving you though, and I doubt we can just make a run for the safe zone. That thing is fast."

Then, off to the side, Yulier's panicked voice catches their attention, "Yui! No!" They both immediately turn towards them, only to find Yui calmly walking away from the safe zone. Yulier and Thinker were at the entrance, but there seemed to be some sort of invisible barrier stopping them from retrieving Yui, which they were both pounding on desperately, "No please! Come back! It's to dangerous!"

Without so much as glancing at each other, Kirito and Hanna reach a silent agreement and shoot to their feet simultaneously. Kirito goes to distract the boss while Hanna gets Yui back to the safe zone. However neither of them makes it more than a couple steps before Yui glances at them with a sad smile, and they quite suddenly find themselves both falling down, now under the paralysis effect.

Yui stops between them and the boss, she doesn't look at them again, but she does address then sadly, "Mama, Papa, it's ok."

Hanna didn't know what in the entirety of hell, heaven, and earth was going on, but her little girl was in between her and an incredibly dangerous boss and this was anything but ok, "No! Yui, get back! Please!"

Yui ignores her. Of course, the boss doesn't care that it's 'opponent' is just a child and swings its scythe down at her. Hanna screams, but Yui simply raises her hand. Then things get even weirder. The scythe simply bounces off of Yui's hand, throwing the boss back, and a small purple warning box appears reading, «Immortal Object». Hanna stares, unable to comprehend what she's seeing. Defying the rules of the game, Yui floats off the ground and hovers in front of the boss. Holding her hand out in front of her, flames appeared out of nowhere, condensing in her hand before forming into a massive sword covered in flames. As though burnt away by the fire, the clothes they'd given her disappear, leaving her in just her white dress once again.

Yui casually swings the massive sword above her head, then without any hesitation drifted towards the floated towards the boss and brings the sword down on it. It lifts its scythe in a block, and a loud 'CLANG' as the weapons meet, but after a moment Yui's sword cleaves through the weapon and slams into the face of the boss. For a moment Yui holds the sword there, then she drifts away and the boss is engulfed in a violent sphere of flames, disintegrating within seconds. Yui lands as the sphere shrinks, then it bursts, disappearing entirely.

For a moment there's total silence in the corridor, then the paralysis disappears. Hanna and Kirito hesitantly push themselves to their feet, sharing baffled looks. Hanna stares at the back of the little girl who seems to be refusing to look at them, then hesitantly, "Yui?"

There's another pause, then Kirito tries to get her attention, "Yui."

Finally, Yui speaks, "Papa… Mama." She finally turns to them with a sad bitter smile and tears in her eyes, "I remember everything now."

They share another look, but Yui seems reluctant to elaborate, so Hanna clears her throat, "Ah… Well, why don't we… why don't we retreat to the safe zone… So we don't have to worry about anymore mobs…"

Yui nods reluctantly, then leads the way. Upon reaching the safe zone, the barrier disappears. Thinker and Yulier, having been leaning in it in shock, both stumble out and stare at them with gaping mouths as the three pass before hesitantly following them back in and lingering by the door.

Thinker is the first to break the silence, "Who- Who is she?"

Hanna glances at him momentarily, "Kirito and I… We found her near our home… She passed out, and when she woke up she couldn't remember anything but her name… And her menu and cursor have been glitching since we found her…"

Yui smiles bitterly at that from where she'd seated herself on a big slab of black stone in the middle of the room, "They aren't glitching." She takes a deep breath, "Kirito. Hanna." The use of their actual names is like knife to Hanna's heart, but it wasn't unexpected, so though tears begin to burn her eyes, she says nothing as Yui continues, "This world, Sword Art Online, is controlled by a single, immense system. The system is called Cardinal. This system was designed to operate without any human intervention. It regulates the balance of SAO according to its own discretion. From monster and NPC AI to drop rates for items and money. Everything is controlled by the processes executed by the Cardinal program. Even the psychological care of the players was meant to be handled by the system…"

Yui lowers her head, "Do you remember… When you accessed my menu…. What my name was down as?"

Kirito hesitates, "Yui-MHCP001…"

Yui is silent for a moment, "MHCP… Mental Health Counseling Program, prototype 1… Codename: Yui…" She lifts her head with another sad smile, "That's me."

Hanna's eyes widen in shock, "A program? You mean… You're an AI?"

Yui nods in a dejected manner, "So as to not make players uncomfortable, I was given the ability to emulate emotion." She smiles bitterly as she lowers her head far enough that they can't see her eyes, and tears begin to slide down her face, "I'm not real… Nothing about me is. Not even these tears… I'm sorry, Hanna…"

Hanna's heart feels like it's being stabbed again, "Yui… If they aren't real… Then why is it you can't seem to stop…"

Yui shakes her head without replying, and Kirito finally decides to rejoin the conversation, "But you had amnesia… How does something like that even happen to an AI… I mean, I suppose if the AI's memory data got corrupted, but…"

Yui is quiet for a moment, seeming to collect her thoughts, her tears still flowing freely, "... The NerveGear has the unique ability to monitor the emotions of the players. Should they need help, I was designed to appear at their side and render aid in any way I could… That's also why I have the ability to place players under paralysis, so as to immobilize players when necessary… However, two years ago, the day the game launched… For reasons I never understood, Cardinal forbade me from interacting with any of the players. I was forced to do nothing but continue to monitor the players' mental states. Their mental states… were utterly horrible. Terror, despair, rage. People were overcome by negative feelings. Some of them went completely insane. Normally, I would have gone to them immediately... But I wasn't permitted any contact with them. I… I was forced to watch as so many of them committed suicide… Unable to render aid... Gradually, errors occurred within me, and I fell apart…"

Hanna covers her mouth, tears running down her face at what Yui was forced to go through. However, Yui isn't finished speaking, "But… Amongst the players, I saw two whose mental parameters were almost constantly different from the rest. It was you two, and you were so different than anyone else. Joy, peace… So many emotions. Good emotions. Most of which I didn't even know the name for, but they made you so happy… Though I couldn't talk to you, I wanted to get closer, even if only a little… So even though I wasn't supposed to, everyday for a month I manifested myself at the system console closest to your home and wandered around the floor… I was considerably broken down at that point…"

Understanding washes over Hanna, "So then, that's why you were near our home?"

Yui nods even as she continues to cry, "Yes. Kirito, Hanna… I've wanted to meet you for so long. It's strange, isn't it? It should be impossible for me to think like that. I'm only a program… I shouldn't possess desires other than to carry out my assigned tasks… And yet… When I saw you two the day you found me… I felt so happy…"

Hanna clutches her hands together tightly, "Yui… Having your own desires, and being able to act on them without permission… As far as I know, that's how we tell the difference between programs and people. You- You aren't just a program anymore."

Yui shakes her head, "I- I don't know if that's true… I don't know what's happened to me…"

Kirito walks forward a couple steps, stooping down and bracing his hands on his knees so as to be even with Yui's eyes, "No, she's right. You aren't just a program that the system controls anymore. So you should be able to say what it is that you want. What do you want?"

Yui's tears finally stop flowing for a bit, though they linger in her eyes, "I…" She lifts her hands towards them, as she had so many times already during their time together to indicate her desire to be picked up or held, "I… I want to stay with you forever… Papa, Mama!"

That's all it takes for her to start crying again, and Hanna doesn't hesitate to dash forward and wrap her arms around Yui, who eagerly returns her embrace, "Then stay."

She feels Kirito's arms wrap around both of them, "Right. Let's just go home, Yui."

For a moment, they blissfully hold each other, but then Yui's arms loosen, "... I can't. It's too late…"

They both pull away to look at her, but it's Kirito who gives voice to their worry, "Too late?"

Yui leans away a bit, then turns to look down at the black slab she'd been sitting on and places a hand on it, "This console grants GMs emergency access to the system. I accidentally touched it earlier when Yulier was trying to pull me into the room. It allowed Cardinal's error correction program to fix my corrupted memory and damaged language program." As she's speaking, blue lines spread out from under her hand, and some of them form what looks like a keyboard, "Surely you noticed it? That boss, though it was labeled level 95, was much stronger than it should've been. It was placed there to keep players away. I accessed the system with the console to delete the boss, but… Cardinal is running a scan over me now, because I accessed the system in such a way. Given that I disobeyed its orders and acted out, it will label me a rogue program and delete me."

Tears appear in Hanna's eyes, "No…"

Kirito shakes his head, "Isn't there some way around that?"

Yui is silent for a few seconds as she stares at the ground, but then she lifts her head and gives them a sad smile, "Papa, Mama, thank you. For everything." Tears gather in her eyes again, "This is goodbye."

Hanna clutches her eyes shut tightly, then lunges forward to hold Yui again, "No! I- I don't want that! This is just the beginning! It can't be the end already!"

Yui sniffs, "When I was alone, in that dark place, suffering myself as I watched my players' own despair, unable to help anyone… Papa and Mama… You were my only solace."

Her eyes snap open desperately as a glow seeps through her eyelids, only to find her fears already coming true as Yui begins to glow. Kirito darts forward desperately, grabbing onto Yui's hand with both of his own as though he could keep her there if he held on tightly enough, "Yui, don't go!"

Yui doesn't react, simply continues to lean against Hanna with a sad smile as she slowly grows brighter, "Everyone smiles when they're with you, Papa, Mama. Please… From now on, go and help people in my place. Share your happiness."

Hanna shakes her head as best she can without letting go of her tight hold on Yui as her tears fall heavier, "No… No! How- How are we supposed to smile if you go?!"

Yui lifts her hand and places it against Hanna's cheek, "Mama, please smile…"

And just like that, Hanna's arms are empty of her and her mate's little bundle of joy, only Yui's rapidly disintegrating hand left, still lightly pressed to her cheek. Hanna stumbles away from the slab before falling to her knees and covering her mouth with her hands, no longer able to control the sobs erupting from her.

Kirito was silent for a moment as he stared at where Yui had been, then he lifted his gaze to the ceiling as he shouted, "Cardinal! No, Kayaba!" Turning, he began to type rapidly at the keyboard displayed on the slab, "Don't think things will always go the way you want them to!"

Hanna lowers her hands from her face as hope crashes through her. Could her brilliant mate truly do something? With that thought, Hanna just barely manages to pull herself back together, "Kirito, what are-"

She can't bring herself to finish the question, as though voicing it will only make it more painful if her mate can't do the impossible. He hurriedly answers her anyway though, "If I act now- If I act now, I can probably still use this GM account to access the system."

As he continues to frantically type, a strange holographic looking screen appears above the slab, displaying what just looks like a mess of numbers and letters to Hanna. Her mate seems be able to read it though, as he gazes at it with a fierce intensity usually only seen in combat as he continues to type like their lives depend on it. In a way, they do. After a moment, a bar appears and rapidly fills in, but at the same time the whole console, both the slab and holographic display, begin to glow white, getting brighter with alarming speed. Then, just as the bar fills, the light pulses and Kirito is sent flying.

She rushes to his side in worry, "Kirito! Are you okay?"

Rather than answer, her mate roughly shoves a closed hand out to her. After a moment if simply staring at it, Hanna hesitantly brings her own hand up to accept whatever it is he's attempting to give her, and Kirito gently deposits a small ice blue tear shaped crystal.

Hanna stares at it in confusion, "What is this?"

Hanna's attention is drawn to her mate as Kirito slowly pushes himself into a sitting position, "Before Yui's admin credentials were denied, I spilt of her main program and turned it into a game object."

Hanna's eyes widen as they return to the crystal in her hand, "Then… this is…"

Kirito smiles slightly, "Yui's heart."

Tears well up in Hanna's eyes again as gently closes her hand around the suddenly fragile looking gem, then presses her hand tightly to her chest as though to protect the little girl from harm. A moment later she lunges forward to clutch her mate to her tightly with her free hand, and he gently returns the embrace, running a hand through her hair soothingly when she buries her face into his neck and starts crying again.

After a few minutes of this, she pulls away and wipes the tears from her face. Just then, a hesitant female voice speaks up, "Then… Yui-chan is… safe?"

They both turn in shock, having forgotten that Yulier and Thinker were still there during the emotional rollercoaster they'd just gone through. Though, now that Hanna thought about it, she thinks she'd heard them make reactive noises throughout the entire ordeal, but she'd been so focused on her family she hadn't consciously registered then.

Kirito nods lightly with a slight smile, "Yes. She is."

Thinker hesitates briefly, "But… When Aincrad is beaten… What will happen to her?"

Hanna gasps with shock and worry, as the thought hadn't even crossed her mind, but when she twists around quickly to look at her mate in question, he's smiling reassuringly at her, "Don't worry. I set it so she'll download directly to my NerveGear."

Hanna breaths a sigh of relief. It had been silly to doubt her brilliant mate. Though she knows he dislikes it when people see them like that, she's unable to stop herself from yanking him forward and kissing him for his brilliance.

His arms flail momentarily before he pulls away beat red, "Hanna! There are people here!"

She just laughs, even if he is being stupid about people seeing them, "Come here and let me kiss you, you brilliant idiot!"

His face scrunches up, "That's an oxymoron!"

She huffs, "You're an oxymoron!'

He gives her a utterly baffled look as he continues to struggle to keep her from kissing him in front of other people, "What's that even supposed to mean?!"

Hanna can't help but giggle, "It means that for all your brilliance, your a total moron, that's what! Now shut up and let me kiss you!"

Just then, Yulier and Thinker giggle and chuckle respectively, pulling their attention to the two. Kirito blushes even brighter, while Hanna just gives them a cheeky grin, "We're a bit busy right now."

Kirito huffs, "No we definitely are not."

Hanna shoots her mate a look, and Yulier struggles to get her amusement under control, "We should probably be heading back."

Kirito points at her, frantically glancing between her and Hanna, "Right! Exactly! We need to get going!"

Hanna laughs again, unable to help herself with how ridiculous her mate can act around other people sometimes. Then Hanna's smile slips, "... How are we gonna tell Sasha? If we come back without Yui and don't explain… I'm sure she'll draw the worst conclusions… She adores kids so much… I couldn't bare to let her think that."

Kirito looks away with a frown, then climbs to his feet, "... I suppose we'll just have to hope she believes us…"

Yulier takes a step forward, "I- I'll help convince her… If I can."

Hanna nods, then accepts her mate's hand to help her up. Straightening her clothes, she suddenly remembers something, and turns to glare at Thinker, startling him, "You and I are going to have a talk about trusting people like Kibaou."

He lifts his hands quickly in surrender as he takes a step back, then glances at Yulier and Kirito. Finding only angry agreement and amusement respectively, he gives her a nervous look, "T-That really isn't necessary. I've definitely learned my lesson-"

Hanna's glare intensifies, "Then I'll make sure the lesson sticks." He gulps nervously, and she stares him down for a moment longer before letting up and nodding decisively, "I'm sure there are some sort of rules to stop guild leaders from running off with all the money a guild has, so once we've had our talk, you are going to take as much of your funds as you can, all the members in your guild loyal to you, and cut ties with the Army." Then she gives them a dark grin, "Trust me, you don't want to have anything to do with them considering what I'm about to do." Thinker begins to protest, but she cuts him off, "Our first day back in the Town of Beginnings we had to stop a group of them from extorting children."

Shame crosses Thinker's face and he closes his eyes, "... Did things truly get so bad while I was gone?"

Yulier looks at her feet with a guilty expression, "I'm afraid so… I'm so sorry Thinker, I tried to stop them, I did! But-"

Thinker shakes his head, "I couldn't stop them Yulier, even though I was suppose to be their guild leader. Of course you couldn't. I don't blame you at all." Yulier gives him a small relieved smile, then Thinker sighs again as he turns back to Hanna before nodding, "Give us a day to get everything done. Then they're all yours. That behavior… It's got to stop."

Hanna grins, "You've got until noon on the third."

Thinker eyes her, "... For a teenage girl, you're terrifying, you know that?"

Hanna just lets her grin widen.

November 2nd, 2024- 728 days since SAO launch:

Hanna marches up the path to the guild as Kirito trails behind her in amusement. The guild they were visiting was called «Kitsunes of Chaos». It was Diabel's guild. It wasn't designed as your typical guildhall of that size though, with a entry way leading off into various facilities like the dining hall, armory, storage, practice arena, dorms, and 'offices' for the higher ups. Diabel's preferred method of manipulating people was to seem friendly with them. So the cold impersonal layout of most guilds their size didn't work for him. Instead, it lacked an entry hall, leading straight into the dining hall, which had been crossed with a tavern, with the halls to the rest of the usual facilities branching off of it instead. At the end of the dining hall, the bar rested on a slightly raised platform, and one could usually find Diabel at the dead center of the bar, the best place to easily be the center of attention or fade into the background depending on what the situation called for.

So with all that being as it was, upon reaching the front doors Hanna threw them open without hesitation and was unsurprised to find her friend in his usual spot. She didn't even slow her stride as she shoves the doors out of her way and marches straight up to him, angrily shouting, "Diabel!"

It was astonishing how quickly the guildhall fell silent at that, and her friend jerks so hard he ends up throwing whatever he was drinking straight over his shoulder, mug and all, as a panicked look takes over his formerly warmly grinning face, "Ididn'tdoit!"

She pauses right in front of him to glare suspiciously, "... Didn't do what?"

He stares at her nervously for a moment, "Uhh…. Whatever it is you're pissed off about?"

Hanna narrows her eyes further, "Why did you automatically assume it's you I'm pissed off at."

He snorts, "Self-preservation, though given the nature of Aincrad, not so much self-preservation of the living variety. Everything else is fair game though. Like my reputation. Honestly what do you expect? You came marching in here all but screaming in your 'I'm Furious and there are going to be Consequences voice'. It's just best to assume I'm the reason and start immediately denying and/or groveling in apology."

She continues to regard him suspiciously, trying to decide if he's serious or if he actually did something that would piss her off and simply trying to cover his tracks now that he realizes she didn't know. After a few moments, she comes to the conclusion he's being honest, which surprisingly isn't that rare, when it comes to her anyway, and crosses her arms, "I'm not mad at you."

Diabel breaths a sigh of relief, "Oh thank god." Then he gives her a weary look, but not with the same level of worry as before, "Ok. What'd my guild do?"

That draws uneasy shifting from the dead silent guildhall. Being the closest actual friend to their guild leader, they were… painfully familiar with how she could get when she lost her temper. She huffs, "I'm not angry at your guild either."

That draws relief from just about everyone in the hall, minus Kirito who was struggling to contain his amusement, and Diabel relaxes for the first time since she came storming in, "Oh thank god." Then he grins at her, "Well then! My dearest Hanna, given that you came in here shrieking your pretty little head off, if you aren't here because you're mad at me, and you aren't angry with something my guild's done, then you must be here wanting my help getting back at whatever pissed you off! So! How can I help you?"

Hanna doesn't hesitate with her answer, "Gather up your best players. Starting noon tomorrow, we are going Army hunting."

Diabel tilts his head in confusion, "We're what?"

Hanna huffs, "Kirito and I were a bit busy which is why we didn't come as soon as I decided what to do about it, but the day before yesterday while we were in the Town of Beginnings taking care of some personal business we came across a group from the Army extorting children under the guise of collecting taxes. After speaking to some of the people who live there we discovered that it's a common occurrence there."

Diabel's eyes darken, and there are hisses of anger from his guildmates around them. Diabel was a manipulative little shit, there was no doubt about that, but he did possess his own sense of morals, and messing with kids was a big no-no in general for him. His voice is nearly a hiss with his anger, "I see. So! What's your plan, oh brilliant leader?"

Hanna grins viciously at him, "Well, as we confirmed that day, the sort of in town fighting that guilds use for mock duels terrifies those cowards. So as I said, we, are going Army hunting, with the goal of breaking as much of their equipment as possible. Either they'll stick around while we break their shit or they'll panic and use Crystals to escape. Either way, the cost will rack up quickly, that guild, if you can call it that will collapse under debt and be forcibly disbanded. After that, it's former members will probably be too scared to try it again."

Diabel grins widely, "Oh my dearest Hanna, you let me have such fun sometimes."

She returns his grin as the members if Diabel's guild chuckle gleefully, then tilts her head, "Just remember that you can't start until noon tomorrow."

Diabel gives her a look of confusion, "Why? We could be ready to go in an hour and a half, tops."

Hanna shakes her head, "Because the leader of the Army and his faction are actually decent people. The guild simply got too big and someone who really shouldn't have it gained power. I gave them until them to take as much of the guild's stuff as the system will allow, spread the word to the members of the guild that are actually good people that it's best to jump ship, and cut ties so my plan doesn't affect people who don't deserve it."

Diabel nods slowly, "Fair enough. So, noon tomorrow it is. You and Kirito gonna be joining us, or are we on our own with this. Not that I'm complaining, I'm doing this happily."

Hanna shrugs, "We made a deal with Lizbeth, a friend of ours, that'll take up some of our time, but we'll come help when we can." Then her grin widens, "And Diabel? If you're happy to do it now, you'll probably be ecstatic to do it when I tell you the best part."

Diabel raises his eyebrows, "Oh? And what's that?"

She gives him an absolutely unholy grin, "The asshole we're screwing over, the one who came to power within the Army? It's Kibaou."

The gleeful cackle that erupts from Diabel at that would child chill the hearts of even the bravest of people.