Sword Art Online Alicization Alternative: War of Underworld
Chapter 3: Final Stress Test
Nine days ago, Saturday, June 26th, 2026, days before the attack on the Ocean Turtle. A young man was FullDiving in a chair inside his office. He had loose blonde hair that is swept back and has blue eyes (closed while he dived while wearing an Amusphere. His clothes consisted of a white dress shirt, dark grey slacks, and custom-made cordovan shoes. Diving into Gun Gale Online as Subtilizer, he watched from binoculars the other players who went against his team. One of them, the cyan-colored girl he fought in the 4th Battle of Bullets, the winner of the 3rd one, Sinon. Accompanying her were two players both with photon swords, the other winner of BoB Kirito, and a chestnut-haired girl beside 'her'. Their efforts were impressive, but it was time to retreat that day. It was interesting, but it was time to prepare for their real operation in due time. The other man turned to him as he logged out.
The blonde man woke from his chair, removing the Amusphere and resting it on his forehead. He let out a sigh. Getting up, he gently straightened up his back while walking closer to the glass wall in the south. As its entire surface was switchable glass and presently transparent, it permitted an unbroken view of the waterfront from this executive room on the forty-third floor. The harbor quietly glittered in the illumination from the neighboring skyscrapers. Numerous large ships were moored at the long wharf. These intimidating silhouettes with their sharp edges were not of luxurious cruisers. They were the warships of the Third Fleet under the United States Pacific Fleet. San Diego, California's second city, had long been its base. The economy circled the gigantic naval base where over twenty-five thousand affiliated to the military resided. However, new industry sectors experienced a boom in recent years. High-tech industries dealing with information, communication, biotechnology, and such.
And there were those corporations who fused military affairs with high technology as well. Primarily entrusted with security services and training by the military, large companies, and other related sectors, these so-called private military companies even deploy manpower to fight directly on the front lines. Gabriel Miller, the chief technology officer of Glowgen Defense Systems that had its headquarters in Downtown San Diego, gazed down upon the port's night view and revealed an unconscious smile.
Having awoken from his short and deep recollection, the twenty-eight years old Gabriel Miller took his sight off himself, reflected in the mirrored glass, and walked to his work desk by the wall in the west. The moment he sat on a reclining chair made in Norway, a phone icon lit up on the thirty-inch display panel embedded on the desk's glass surface. With a tap, it showed his female secretary's face while her voice flowed out.
[Mister Miller, I apologize for disturbing your rest. COO Ferguson had requested for you to accompany him for dinner tomorrow. How shall I reply?]
"Tell him I have prior plans." Gabriel immediately replied and his usually collected secretary showed a somewhat troubled expression. The COO was the executive vice-president, after all, the second-in-command at Glowgen DS. As one among the over ten officers, Gabriel could hardly afford to turn down this invitation for a meal, normally. However, his secretary's bewildered expression vanished before a second passed and her calm voice continued.
[Understood. I will do as you say.]
The call ended, and Gabriel sank deep into the chair with his legs crossed. He could guess at what Ferguson wanted. It must have been to stop Gabriel from participating in that particular operation he had already scheduled. But the COO must think otherwise inside. That old fox must be wishing for him to nonchalantly set off to some dangerous place to earn a spot on the KIA list. After all, Gabriel was the previous president's own child and the majority shareholder.
Of course, Gabriel himself was aware of how foolish it would be for an officer to participate in an operation where live bullets flew about. Even if he did have prior experience, a CTO's job was to plan out the entire operation from the safety of the main office without any need to expose himself to the dangers of the battlefield. However, no matter the costs, he had to participate in this operation that had to be kept under complete and utter secrecy. After all, it was an issue related to what Gabriel had staked his life to seek out ever since that day he saw Alicia's soul. The operation's client was not the Department of Defense regardless of how they would benefit. It was the National Security Agency, the NSA, with whom they had few prior dealings.
The two NSA agents who visited this room a month ago managed to surprise Gabriel, who could hardly claim to be emotional, numerous times. Firstly, the operation was completely unlawful. After all, a combat team from Glowgen would board a navy submarine and launch an assault on a warship belonging to Japan, an allied nation. There was no need to concern themselves over any fatal casualties of that ship's crew either. And the objective of the operation was to steal a certain technology. Upon hearing the details, Gabriel's voice leaked out slightly, overwhelmed by surprise—or perhaps delight. It was fortunate the agents did not notice, however. Soul TransLation technology. A wondrous machine capable of deciphering humans' souls developed by a small organization called Rath in the JSDF.
Gabriel had held a strong interest in the full-dive technology born in Japan for some time now in his pursuit of souls. That was why he fought with the players from Japan in Gun Gale Online and studied Japanese. He even obtained a set of the «demonic device», the Nerve Gear, that should have been disposed of without a single one remaining by spending several tens of thousands of dollars. Of course, he didn't intend to use it himself, however. Gabriel expected development on full-dive technology to wane due to the commotion caused by that death game. However, they had quietly continued their research and finally drew near the secrets of the human soul.
The request from NSA felt like destiny to Gabriel. Glowgen DS might be one of the larger private military companies around, but that was all they were; they could hardly decline the NSA who now held even more power than the CIA in the first place. The vote for the contract was passed with a lead of two in the emergency board meeting. To prevent information from leaking, it was decided that the combat team would consist of contract employees specializing in wet work with their own dark histories to cover up. Gabriel volunteered himself as the operation commander.
Naturally, the fact that Gabriel was an officer in Glowgen was hidden from the combat team. Those people would likely betray the company at the drop of a hat if they knew, abducting Gabriel for a ransom. Gabriel had to go even with such risks. The NSA agents mentioned. That Rath had succeeded in not just deciphering the human soul, but also cloning it through STL technology. That if that artificial soul is given the codename A.L.I.C.E. was completed and loaded onto Japanese unmanned weapons, it would destroy the military balance in East Asia. He didn't care if disputes arose in the Far East, or anywhere else in the world. But Gabriel was convinced the moment he heard the name, Alice.
He would make that his own. He would procure that small media storage device, known as the light cube, with that soul on board at all costs.
"Alice… Alicia…"
Leaning against the chair with its back down, he softly murmured the two names. A faint smile appeared on his lips without his notice. The name of the company established by Gabriel's father, Glowgen, was coined together with the meaning of bringing forth light. It seemed his father had the light of happiness in mind, but what came to mind for Gabriel, his successor was no other than that golden brilliance drifting out from the dying Alicia's brow. Bringing forth light. Or the soul, in other words. It was fate, all of it. Gabriel and the eleven in the combat team would fly to Guam a week later and invade Japanese waters on a nuclear submarine from a naval base there. Before the operation began, they would switch to a small submarine on board and assault the objective, the giant ocean research mother ship, Ocean Turtle. They might occupy it without shedding blood, or with casualties resulting on either side—or perhaps both, even. Still, Gabriel's beliefs were unshaken. He knew he would get his hands on Alice and the STL technology. He just needed a simple copy of the light cube and documents from the NSA. A little longer… it was just a little longer. He would grasp the true essence of the soul that eluded him despite his multiple experiments on other humans, since Alicia, in just a little longer. He would be able to see that beautiful, gleaming cloud once again.
"…Your soul… will be so sweet…" Gabriel whispered once more, this time in Japanese, and shut his eyelids.
Captain Dario Giuliani who commanded the Seawolf-class nuclear submarine, Jimmy Carter, was a submariner down to his bones, rising to his current position from cleaning the torpedo tubes. The first he rode was an antique Barbel-class diesel vessel where the stench of oil and noise followed along with no matter where one went in her stiflingly cramp space.
In comparison, the Seawolf-class that cost more than any other submarine in the world was practically a Rolls-Royce. Giuliani had showered the ship and her crew with love ever since he was appointed as her captain in 2020. Through tough training, the high yield strength steel hull, her S6W reactor, and the hundred and forty crew members were bonded like a single being, capable of swimming as she liked in any ocean as long as it had the depth. Jimmy Carter was practically Giuliani's daughter. It was a pity he had to step down from active duty soon, forced to either work on land or early retirement, but the successor he recommended, the executive officer, Guthrie, would definitely command the ship brilliantly.
Nonetheless… As though to disgrace Giuliani's last years, a single, curiously perilous order was handed down a mere ten days ago. Jimmy Carter was a ship planned for support on special operations and possessed a variety of methods to cooperate with the SEALs. The midget submarineASDS carried on its afterdeck was one among those. There were countless times she cruised deep in foreign waters with those from the SEALs aboard. But the objective was always for keeping the peace of the states or the world and those men on board definitely felt the same sense of duty as Giuliani's subordinates as they went into the jaws of death. However, as for that bunch who boarded from Guam two days ago.
Giuliani went to see the faces of his guests at the rear section only once, but that was enough for him to get on the verge of ordering his subordinates to kick them out into the deep sea. The tens of men lay down on the floor without any sense of order, some blared noise from their headphones while others made merry, gambling over card games; not to mention the empty cans of beer scattered everywhere. There were no proper seamen in that bunch. It was doubtful they were even from the military. There was only one who seemed to have some notion of courtesy, that tall commanding officer who apologized to Giuliani for their disturbance in order. However, that man with those shockingly blue eyes...
While holding the right hand he offered and meeting his eyes, Giuliani tasted a sensation he had forgotten for a long time. That was from, yes, long before he entered the navy. He was swimming in the ocean at Miami, his homeland when a giant great white raced straight past his side. He was fortunately unharmed, but Giuliani saw that shark's eyes right before him. Those eyes devoured all light like a bottomless pit. That same hollowness extended out deep within that man's eyes…
"Captain, a reading from the bow sonar!" The sudden noise from the sonar technician pulled Giuliani out from his thoughts. "It's the turbine from a reactor, we're matching now… it matches, it's definitely the target mega-float. Fifteen miles."
Bringing his mind back, he quickly gave instructions from the combat command post, the captain's seat.
"Right, keep this depth and drop her speed to fifteen knots." The order was echoed and he felt an instant of deceleration.
"Where's that Aegis-equipped escort ship?" he asked.
"There's a gas turbine sound confirmed three miles west-southwest of the target… matching is done, it's the JMSDF's Nagato." Giuliani stared hard at the two light points shown on the large display in front.
Putting aside the Aegis-equipped warship, he heard the mega-float was an oceanic research ship without any arms. And the order this time was to let those armed thugs invade that. Not to mention how it was a ship from Japan, an allied nation. It hardly seemed like a legitimate operation with the approval of the President and Secretary of Defense. The words from those men in black suits who brought the directive directly from the Pentagon resurfaced in Giuliani's mind.
Japan is researching that mega-float for reigniting war on the states. There is no choice but to bury that research to maintain the friendship between our two countries. Giuliani was no youngling capable of eating up their words at face value. Still, he was already old enough to understand he had no choice but to obey those orders.
"Are our guests prepared?" The executive officer standing at his side confirmed in a deep voice, "They are standing by in the ASDS."
"Alright… maintain this speed and bring her up to a hundred feet!"
Compressed air pushed the ocean water out from the ballast tank and the produced buoyancy lifted Jimmy Carter's gigantic frame. The distance from the light points gently yet surely decreased.
Would there be casualties among the Japanese researchers? That seemed likely. He would probably carry the memory of cooperating in such an operation until his deathbed.
"Five miles to the objective!" Shaking off his hesitation, Giuliani commanded with resolution.
"Release the ASDS!"
The faint vibrations his body felt conveyed the release of their baggage from the afterdeck.
"Release complete… ASDS self-propulsion initiated." The submarine with a pack of stray dogs and a single shark aboard accelerated in the blink of an eye and charged straight into the belly of that giant ocean turtle floating atop the ocean.
July 6th, 2026, present time and not long after Glowlen attacked the Ocean Turtle and secured the Main Control Room.
"… Fu…" The following part of the syllable was completely drowned out by the deafening noise of hardened boots kicking away a sheet of metal.
A member of the assault team, Vassago Casals, seemed unsatisfied with denting the wall two or three times, and forcefully crushed with his foot an empty candy box that a RATH technician had probably left tens of minutes ago, before finally stopping his stream of profanity. His appearance was quite exotic, having ample, black wavy hair and a tattoo on the right side of his face As proof of the Spanish blood coursing through his veins, he ran a hand through his slightly wavy black hair, moved briskly to the console, and seized the collar of the bulletproof jacket of his teammate with one hand.
"You sucker, try saying that again." Vassago gripped an exaggeratedly skinny youth, who was as weakly thin as a whip. His golden hair was trimmed very short, and his skin was snowy white as though ill.
This man who wore a pair of rough metal-framed glasses was the only non-combatant in the team. A hacker by the name of Critter, informally employed by the Glowgen Defense Systems Cyber Operation Department [CYOP]. A self-proclaimed internet criminal with an arrest record, with an internet name instead of a real name. But Vassago was the same. Vassago was one of the 72 demons recorded in the Ars Goetia, also known as the Prince of Hell. There were no parents on Earth who would name their son that. He was also an employee of the CYOP and was not an expert on computers but in combat, of course under Full Dive. Although he was a man with a suspicious record lesser than that of Critter, his VR combat skills were quite outstanding.
In reality, The twelve members of the Ocean Turtle Assault Team, apart from their leader, Gabriel Miller, all had dark pasts and adopted new identities in exchange for being fed as [Dogs]. Like a dog in their midst, Critter expressed no fear whatsoever at being hoisted up by Vassago, replying as he loudly chewed his gum.
"I'll say it as many times as I want. Listen, this console's locked as hard as dried shit, and the laptops we brought in aren't gonna be able to calculate the unlock code until you bastards die of old age. Got it?" Critter said to Vassago, not sure if the young man understands what he means.
"I ain't talking about that, four-eyes! Weren't you saying that it locked because we moved too goddamn slowly!?" Vassago shot back loudly. If he tried hard enough, with his wild flair, he was handsome enough to be a successful fashion model, but he was quite frightening when enraged.
"Hey, hey, just telling the truth, man?" he replied to him.
"You were trembling like a leaf during combat, but you sure are one cocky bastard now!" Vassago snapped.
The other teammates snickered at the two men firing expletives at each other, instead of stopping them. Capturing the right timing, Gabriel snapped his fingers at the two men to attract their attention.
"OK, cut it out, you two. There's no time to determine who's responsible. Now we need to think about our next step." Gabriel said, his cold calm tone keeping things in order of the operation.
Then, Vassago suddenly changed to a child-like tone, "But bro, if I don't teach him a lesson…"
He wanted to tell him not to say "bro", but swallowed his words. Vassago called Gabriel this probably because they had both acknowledged each other's prowess during one-on-one VR training, but no matter how many times he heard this, it felt ill-conceived. To Gabriel, these kinds of ambiguous human relationships only based on emotions, such as friends or partners, were only convoluted synonyms.
Sooner or later, when the technology of extracting and saving souls was his, all human emotion would be able to be categorized under hue or shape through the cloud of light. As he thought, Gabriel said to the two in an authoritarian tone:
"Listen to me, Vassago, Critter. I've been very satisfied with the actions of the team until today, as we have successfully achieved our first goal of taking over the control room." Gabriel said.
Hearing this, Vassago very reluctantly released Critter's collar and put his hands on his hips, "But, bro, there's no meaning in that 'cause this important console is locked. Our final objective, the Light Cube Cluster or whatever, is on the other side of this metal wall, right?"
"Look, we're just about to discuss a way to bring this wall down," Gabriel replied.
"But, the JSDF men ain't shrinking away forever, eh? If we keep going after them, this big stupid turtle's escort, the Aegis destroyer will send the pros to attack us, and we'll be in real trouble 'cause we have only eleven men fighting and one sitting as still as cargo." As expected of a Vice-Captain hand-picked by Gabriel, Vassago possessed control of the situation at hand that was not a trait of a simple wild dog. Thinking for a moment., Gabriel shrugged.
"As it seems, our client has some kind of secret deal with the higher-ups of the JSDF. The Aegis destroyer won't do anything within 24 hours of the attack." Gabriel said.
"Whew…" Critter whistled softly. Behind wind goggle-like glasses, his light gray eyes narrowed. "So, this operation is more than just a burgl… —No, no. it's better left unsaid."
"My thoughts exactly." Gabriel lightly smiled and nodded, surveying everyone again.
"Right, let's confirm the situation. It's 1447 hours, Japan Standard Time. From infiltration to now, 40 minutes have passed. We are currently in the Main Control Room of the Ocean Turtle. Although we successfully secured the target facility, we have been unable to detain a RATH technician, and the control system here has been locked. The next objective should be securing the Auxiliary Control Room… Brigg, can you cut through the blast door?"
The hulking teammate who was called slowly stepped forward and replied, "Doesn't look good. Seems to be the newest synthetic material. Using the portable cutting saw I have, it's completely impossible within 24 hours."
"The Japanese economy is alive and well. Hans, can you breach the wall with C4?" Gabriel asked.
This time, a tall, slim teammate with a very handsome mustache waved his arms freely. "I say we forget it. On the other side of that wall is the Light Cube Cluster storage, so I can't guarantee no harm to the goods before blasting this door."
"Hmm." Gabriel crossed his arms and thought for a split-second, then continued, "Our mission is to find a particular one from an immense number of Light Cubes and take it along with its interface. We already have the ID information of the Cube. In other words, if we can operate this console, we can effortlessly find the Cube and extract it from the Cluster, and we would've been having beers on the return trip at this moment."
"Goddamn it, it's all because of that turtle four-eyes, always boasting [My crime is infiltrating the central server of the Pentagon] or whatever, but can't open a tiny lock." Vassago cursed, annoyed their mission wasn't complete yet by Critter.
"Ooh, didn't see that coming. I'm actually being told off by a gamer who's only fired a gun made of polygons." Critter mocked, feeling game to pick a fight. Staring at Vassago and Critter who were itching to fight, Gabriel intensified his tone.
"Do you all want to go back empty-handed and be ridiculed instead of rewarded?" Gabriel asked his men.
"NO!" Everyone shouted together.
"Are you all merely laymen who can't even best an amateur technician?"
"NO!" the members of Glowlen exclaimed.
"Then THINK! Prove that the round objects on top of your necks aren't filled with oatmeal!" Semi-automatically putting on the [Tough Commander] persona, Gabriel thought by himself in silence.
As the one who seeks souls, Gabriel's biggest goal was to obtain the first true artificial intelligence Alice mankind had ever created and take Soul Translation technology for himself. After he obtained those, he planned to use the nerve agent he had secretly brought in to take care of everyone else, and then escape to Australia. But, having only reached the current stage, the attack that the NSA had consigned him somewhat counted towards Gabriel's goal. Now, since system commands through administrator privileges were blocked, they must figure out another way to take «Alice»'s Light Cube.
Alice… A.L.I.C.E.
The one who told Gabriel's client, the NSA, this codename, was a RATH insider informant, [Rabbit]. Gabriel did not yet know [Rabbit]'s personal profile. But, given that the motivation to an organization and disclose its information could only be a handsome reward, he likely would not reveal himself in this dangerous situation and take action. In other words, they could not expect assistance from Rabbit, on the other side of the blast door. They must utilize the information and equipment they have now, and achieve their goal within a short time.
Time, All was time. Gabriel, who had absolute control over useless emotions such as nervousness and anxiety, could not help but feel a certain pressure when faced with a slowly approaching time limit of 23 hours. When the NSA agents had entrusted him with this top-secret seizure mission, they had said to Gabriel
"The activities of RATH have been severely wavering our vested interest and rights in the Japanese military industry. Therefore, the higher-ups of the Japan Self Defense Force are displeased with the existence of RATH. Furthermore, many of them were eager to obstruct the project." they explained to him.
RATH was mainly composed of young Self-Defense cadres who did not hold much power in politics. The NSA was very sure of this and signed a secret treaty with the CIA at the embassy and some high officials of the JSDF navy. The Aegis destroyer Nagato that protected the RATH headquarters, Ocean Turtle, will take no course of action within twenty-four hours since the attack, under grounds that [the safety of the hostages comes first]. But, after the period of standby, when considering the upcoming media coverage, the Aegis destroyer would eventually have to act. As soon as heavily armed forces came, outnumbered, outgunned, Gabriel's strike force team would likely be annihilated.
If the situation really developed into the worst-case scenario, he could still escape back to the submarine, alone. But at the same time, without retrieving the important Light Cube, his great journey to seek the soul would retreat to an irreparable state. Gabriel had already meticulously planned out his long life after this attack. First, he would take Alice and escape to Australia, concealing the Light Cube and STL technology in a villa in the Sovereign Islands on the Gold Coast. Then he would take a plane back to San Diego and report the failure of the attack to the NSA. After it had all blown over, he would return to Australia, construct an STL machine in the vast basement of his villa, and architect his dream virtual world.
The inhabitants of this world would only include Alice and Gabriel at first. But that would be much too lonely. As the goal was to study souls, he must increase his would search for young and energetic soul carriers in Sydney or Cairns, kidnap them, use the STL to extract their soul, and dispose of the unwanted shell. There would be a day when he would cross the seas and trek back to his home country — and travel to the country where Full Dive originated Japan. The unique mentality of Japanese VR gamers once deeply charmed Gabriel. Of course, not everyone was like this, but one group of gamers seemed to live there, in the VR game, as though it were more realistic than real life, carelessly casting around their real-life emotions. Whenever he thought of the sniper girl he had met in Gun Gale Online, he would feel a twinge that arose from a strong desire.
The reason was likely connected to the [Real Virtual World] that had existed for only two years in that country. With their machines being hacked by the developers, these young people experienced a death game with real aspects of life and death. The souls of these [Survivors] possessed adaptability to virtual worlds unlike anyone else. If possible, even if it were just one, he hoped to obtain them, especially the souls of the elite players who were termed [Progressors]. Although he didn't know if that sniper girl was one of them or not, he of course also wished to obtain her soul. The Light Cubes sealed with those souls would exude a shine far more precious than any gem.
An ultimate light that the tycoons of the world would be unable to buy with tens of millions of dollars. He would line them into his secret room, selecting whoever he wanted every day and loading them into his favorite world, playing with them however he wanted. What was more beautiful was that the souls extracted from humans and sealed into Light Cubes could be freely copied and stored. Broken ones, twisted ones, all could be easily rewound and ultimately sculpted into Gabriel's favorite posture. It was like cutting and polishing a raw crystal to make it shine with a supreme glow.
When he reached that stage, Gabriel's long journey would return to the beginning, as if he had been traveling in an enormous circle. Back to the moment when he was young, under the huge trees of the forest, seeing the beautiful glow of Alicia Clingerman's soul. These thoughts flashing in his mind, Gabriel closed his eyes, a slight shiver running down his back. When he opened his eyes again, he recovered his ice-cold mentality. If he analogized the souls of youths from different countries as ruby, sapphire, and emerald encircling a king's crown, then the great diamond encased in the center could only be «Alice». Only Alice, with the untouched, unblemished, ultimate soul, would qualify as his own eternal partner. Therefore, he had to think of a way to find and obtain her Light Cube, no matter what.
But without destroying the blast door to the Light Cube Cluster storage, he could not seize it through physical means. Then, he could only control it from the system. That said, even the first-rate digital criminal Critter was helpless against the lock on the console. Clacking his boots, Gabriel moved behind Critter, who was moving his two hands at top speed over the keyboard.
"How is it?"
Two hands punched the air in response, "The administrator login is really despairing. What we can do is jealousy chew our nails and peek at the fairy-tale kingdom that the Fluctlights up in the Cluster are happily living in."
Critter moved his finger; a window opened on the big screen on the wall directly in front of them and displayed a wondrous scene. It was quite unlike a [fairy-tale kingdom]. The sky was soaked in a frightening crimson and the ground was as pitch-black as asphalt. In the middle of the picture stood several primitive tents made of what appeared to be animal skin. On the side gathered ten or so chubby, bald, strange creatures, causing some unknown commotion. They were generally humanoid but no matter how you looked at them, were not human. Their backs were bent, their hands were nearly long enough to scrape the ground, while their crooked feet were very short.
"Goblins…?" Gabriel muttered.
"Oh, you're pretty knowledgeable, Captain. That's right, they don't look like Orcs or Ogres, so they should be Goblins." Critter whistled softly, saying with apparent happiness:
"But they're way too fucking large to be Goblins. These are Hobgobs, Hobgoblins." Vassago stepped beside them with his hands on his hips and added his own comment. Although he was just an expert in VR combat, he seemed to know much about fantasy RPGs.
At the place where Gabriel was looking, the fuss of the ten [Hobgoblins] escalated. Two of them seized each other's chests, twisting together in a scrambling fight, while the surrounding goblins cheered with hands raised.
"…Critter." Gabriel felt a certain faint intuition and spoke to the monk-headed man in the seat.
"Huh?" Critter asked.
"These guys… These monsters, are they a part of the system?" Gabriel asked, pointing to the screen.
"Hmm, doesn't look like it. From a certain viewpoint, these guys are real [humans]. They are artificial souls read from the Light Cubes up there… Fluctlights." Critter explained.
"For real?! What the hell!" Vassago jumped and yelled furiously. "These Hobgobs are humans!? They have the same souls as us!? My granny in Frisco's gonna die if she hears that!" Drumming with a pitter-patter on the monk-head, he shouted, "Aw, these guys are actually doing this kind of God-forsaken research. Right, are those shiny things full of these goblins, orcs, or whatever? Is our Alice-chan one of them as well?"
"No way!" Annoyed, Critter pushed Vassago's hands away and corrected, "Listen, the world called Underworld that the RATH guys created is divided into two areas. Located in the center, slightly west, is the Human Empire where normal humans live. Then, outside is the Dark Territory, where monsters like these are all over the place. Alice will of course be somewhere in the Human Empire. It's so freakin' big that it'd be impossible to find her if we keep peeping like this."
"Well, that's easy. Since they're humans, we can talk, eh? Can't we just dive into the Human Empire and ask the people there if they know an Alice?" Vassago asked
"Wow, a pig. There's a pig here." Critter jeered.
"The hell did you say?!" Vassago snapped at Critter's comment.
"I'm telling you, the people who made the Underworld are Japanese. Of course, the [guys who live there] would speak Japanese. Can YOU speak Japanese?" Critter asked. Hearing Critter's words mixed with derisive laughter, Vassago revealed a twisted grin.
"Don't take me lightly." Now, not just Critter, the entire team widened their eyes. Vassago had spoken Japanese so fluently that even Gabriel was shocked.
The young Hispanic man changed back to English and continued, "No problems with communications, eh? Got anything else to say, four-eyes?"
"Y-Yeah. Of course." Critter recovered from the surprise and snorted.
"There are tens of thousands of people living in the Human Empire. Are YOU going to ask each and… every one of them…" Vassago retorted. Critter paused his retort as though he had inspired himself through his own speech and suddenly stood up. Although his monk-head bumped into Vassago's chin, who wanted to spit out expletives, the hacker shouted unhesitatingly, "Wait. WaitwaitwaitWAIT. It doesn't have to be one man…"
Hearing this, the faint inspiration in Gabriel's heart finally burst completely into being.
"… Yeah. Accounts set up to log into the Underworld… They can hardly all be Level 1 normal citizens, can they? Right, Critter?" Gabriel asked the glasses-wearing a young man.
"Yes. Yes, boss!" Critter tapped the keyboard hard as if it were a percussion instrument; the big screen instantly rolled up lists of names, "If RATH operators wanted to log in to observe or perform internal actions, there should be identities of all classes in their accounts. Military officers… No, generals… No, no, noblemen, royalty… Could even be the King himself…"
"Wow, that's cool, isn't it?!" Vassago shouted, massaging his chin that was about to split in half, "In other words, we can use a general's, president's, or whatever high-class profile to log into the Underworld, and can make whatever commands we want! 'Army parade! Right, face! Find Alice!' or something like that."
"… Why is it that when you talk about it, something so brilliant would instantly become so stupid." Critter retorted. Continuing his muttering, Critter scrolled the list with frightening speed. However. Seconds later, along with a rare instance of profanity from him, the list was halted.
"Shit, no good. Not just direct commands from here, even using high-level accounts to log in are protected with heavy passwords. Unfortunately, it looks like we can only dive into the Human Empire as normal citizens."
"Hmph…" Clear disappointment floated onto Critter and Vassago's faces, but Gabriel remained expressionless and tilted his head slightly. There was not much time to hesitate. But, that was but a limit of the time in reality. Beyond the screen, in the abnormal Underworld, time was compressed in an astonishing ratio of hundreds of times.
In other words, the remaining 23 hours equated to over a year in the Underworld. With this much time, even if they logged in as normal citizens, after finding and capturing [Alice], it wasn't impossible to use the internal information console to extract her into the real world. But that was definitely a long task. Compared to such a time-wasting task, it would be faster to approach from outside the Human Empire.
"Critter. Are there any advanced accounts outside the Empire… prepared for the Dark Territory?" Gabriel asked curiously. If they couldn't use accounts from the Human Empire, the Dark Territory might be a better option.
"…Outside? But aren't the chances of Alice being there infinitely close to zero?" Critter asked. Although he questioned, Critter's fingers flashed quickly.
Gabriel looked at the newly opened cluster of windows, replying, "Mm, yes. But, the border is not absolutely impenetrable, is it? With the parameters given by the account, we might be able to cross the border."
"Oh, as expected from my bro! Your thoughts are unique as always! It's that… using a non-human general, or a monster general to fight your way through, right?! That's burning hot!" To the whistling and shouting Vassago, Critter shot at him with utmost hatred:
"If you want to burn, then burn, if you're the one who logs in: you'll be a goblin or orc in that world. Eh, you fit the bill anyway… Hm? Ah, this is it, this is it!", With the click of the keyboard, two more windows popped open.
"Uhh, different from the Empire, there are only two super-accounts…Yes! There are no passwords! Let's see… One of them is the Dark Knight profile. The priority level is… 70! We can use this one!"
"Ooh, that's great! I'll have that one!" Vassago exclaimed eagerly. Ignoring the noisy Vassago, Critter activated the other window.
"Then, the other one is… What's this? The profile's blank, and there's no level whatsoever. There's only a name. This… How do you say this? … [Emperor… Vecta]?" Critter read aloud, reading the English name in front of him on the large screen.
"Oh, an Emperor. Then I'll take that…" Gabriel patted Vassago's shoulder from behind, as he was just about to continue.
"No, I'll use this account," Gabriel confirmed to him.
"Eh? But bro, can you speak Japanese?" Vassago asked, wondering if the leader of the operation knew the language as well as he thought.
"Not as fluently as you can, though," Gabriel replied with three years of Japanese study. Although he had given up on reading and writing from the beginning, he was confident about conversational usage.
"Hah, you're pretty good. Then my bro shall be the Emperor, and I'll be the Dark Knight. Now we're talking! Four-eyes, when can we log in!?" Vasago asked his excitement to enter this world boiling.
Completely ignoring the noisy Vassago, Critter continued punching the keyboard. Seeing his focused scanning of information on the screen, Gabriel walked beside him.
"What is it, Critter, is there another problem?" Gabriel asked calmly:
"… Should I call it a problem, or a slight concern… There's a strange phrase all over the data, though I can't really understand it…" Critter explained.
"Oh? What phrase?" Gabriel asked once more.
Critter took a deep breath and answered Gabriel's question:
"[Final Stress Test]."
Higa considered carefully breaking the heavy silence that engulfed the Auxiliary Control Room. Asuna returned to the room after seeing Kirito. She let out a heavy sigh, the situation was as dire as Aincrad could ever be. She stood back with Rinko, there has to be a way to help him, there has to be.
"Uhh… Well, his physical body… or should I say, the condition of the Kazuto Kirigaya in the real world, is similar to what I just described… not optimistic," Seeing Asuna, whose shoulders were gripped by Rinko, tremble her thin body in surprise, Higa added in a panic, "B-but, there's still some hope!"
"…What do you mean by that?" Rinko asked with a sharp, yet seemingly praying voice.
"The Kirito-Kun in the Underworld is still logged in." Higa looked at the screen that was much smaller than the one in the Main Control Room. He moved the cursor, clicked a few times, and the picture changed: a bird's eye view of the Underworld, with the round Human Empire surrounded by the Dark Territory, appeared, "That is to say, although his Self-Image has been damaged, his Fluctlight is dynamic, and undergoing stimulation. If so, even though we are completely out of options in the real world, we can probably heal his soul within the Underworld. Because he overly blames himself, he damages his soul. If there was someone who could grant him [forgiveness]… it's hard to say…"
Higa knew that his words were unrealistic. But those were his unadulterated true thoughts. Succeeding the NerveGear was the evolution of the Medicuboid Brain-Computer Interface, the Soul Translator. Although Higa had discovered the human quantum consciousness Fluctlight through his development of that machine, there were still a great many things yet to be understood.
Was a Fluctlight a physical phenomenon? Or, was it a conceptual existence unexplained by modern science? If it was the latter, Kazuto Kirigaya's injured, an exhausted soul would probably only be able to be healed by some supernatural power. For example... someone's love.
"I'll go."
As if Higa's mind had been read. A frail yet determined voice resounded in the Auxiliary Control Room.
The people in the room gasped and stared agape at the owner of the voice. Asuna Yuuki nodded at Rinko Koujiro, who was supporting her shoulders, and took a step forward, continuing:
"I am entering the Underworld. I will find Kirito-Kun there and say to him: You've done your part; many sad and terrible things may have happened… but you've tried your best." Asuna said, looking at the screen, "I want to help him after he's done so much for me. He gave me hope and saved me so many times. I know it makes me feel weak that I need him, but I wouldn't be standing here if he didn't save me from Sogou or tried to recover my memories back in April."
Higa, who had dedicated his entire life to researching this type of psychological awakening, was dumbstruck by Asuna, her great chestnut eyes flashing with tears Kikuoka, with an expression as though he had been struck by something in his chest, immediately concealed his expression with the lens of his glasses and looked to the STL Room on the side.
"Indeed, there is still one empty STL," After saying this, the commander made a complicated expression, continuing, "But, the current state of the Underworld is in no way stable. According to the predetermined plan, by our time, there are only a few hours left until it enters the Final Load Test."
"Final… Stress? What will happen?" Rinko asked, her brows furrowing.
Higa explained, gesturing with his hands, to Rinko, who wrinkled her brow, "This… Put simply, the shell is gonna break. The endurance value of Gate of the East that has divided the Human Empire and the Dark Territory for hundreds of years will decrease to zero, and an army of monsters will pour into the Human World right away. If humans have a complete defensive mechanism, they should be able to repel them. But, in the experiment this time, Kirito-Kun has destroyed a large portion of the ruling power, the Axiom Church, so… We really don't know what's going to happen…"
"If you think carefully about it, for the situation now, one of us needs to dive in no matter what." Kikuoka muttered with his arms crossed, "As soon as the invasion begins, in the chaos, the Alice in the human world is very likely to be killed. If it comes to that, the time we gained when we painstakingly locked down the console will all be for naught… If we can let someone enter with an advanced account, protect Alice, and bring her to the World End Altar, we can extract her from there to this auxiliary console."
"You mentioned that other person Kirito saved, would they be with Alice too?" Rinko asked
"Yeah, he saved one person in his battle, do you know who it is? Think you mentioned a young boy." Asuna chimed in.
Higa nodded.
"Now back at the World End Altar, you talked with Kirito-Kun Kikouka. Before this happened, you told Kirito-Kun that already, didn't you?" Rinko asked again. Hearing Rinko's words, Kikuoka helplessly nodded.
"Mm. If he's fine, he will definitely do it. At that time, he happened to be with Alice, so… "
"So, in the months that have passed according to internal time, the chance of the two of them being together is very high… Is that what you were trying to say?"
This time it was Higa who replied, "You… could say that. If so, perhaps it would be better if we had Asuna-san dive in… Aside from her communication with Kirito-Kun, we need the combat ability to protect Alice. Among us, the one most familiar with activity in virtual worlds would be Asuna-san, definitely."
"Then, it would be best to use the highest level possible for the advanced account."
Nodding to Kikuoka's words, Higa moved his fingers across the keyboard at breakneck speed, "Hey, just pick whatever you like. Knight, general, nobility… There are all kinds of advanced accounts."
"Hey, wait," Rinko interjected, slightly nervously.
"What?"
"…The attackers, could they be thinking the same thing? Didn't you just say it? The hidden way to secure Alice is to operate from the inside."
"Ah… Indeed. This could very well become their method. In the Main Control Room below, there are two STLs. But they won't have time to crack the login passwords for the advanced accounts. They can only login as LV1 normal citizens. They just don't have the Priority to do anything in the terrible situation during the Final Load Test."
While he was quickly explaining… Higa suddenly felt a sliver of anxiety, as though he had forgotten something important. But this concern was dispersed by the quickly scrolling list of accounts. As that went on, Asuna was prepped to dive into the Underworld, changed into hospital robes, a light pink. She returned to the STL room where Kirito was. Standing near the Kirito's STL, she took out her phone and prepared to send a message to her friends. While here, she has kept her friends informed, with the Amusphere she brought with her, and messages when she had a chance. It was insane that an eighteen-year-old young woman like herself would tell revealing things about a Japanese government project to her friends, two of them young adults, but she trusts them more than Rath anyway. Taking the phone to her ear, she spoke into the receiver.
"Hi Yui-chan!" she greeted.
'Hello, mommy! Is something wrong?' the voice of Yui, a top-down A. I and Kirito and Asuna's adopted daughter spoke into the phone.
"A few things. Inform the others what's going on in ALO, it's better they know, including Suguha-chan. Also… let her know too. I feel it's not right to leave her in the dark about it."
Once her conversation was done, she took her spot on the second STL, standing upright and allowing Natsuki Aki to attach an IV bag to her left wrist.
"Are you ready?" she asked. This wasn't going to be an easy task. Asuna diving into the Underworld, locate Kirito, and deliver Alice to the World End Altar. All of this sounds crazy, but Kirito dived into ALO to look for her, so she can do this.
"Ready as I'll ever be," she replied.
Monday, July 6th, 2026, Shino Asada, better known as Sinon in Gun Gale Online and Alfheim Online, was sleeping in her school library. Her head rested on the table, her mind thinking back to a memory.
A sniper with light blue hair. The slender frame of the girl formed a strange harmony with the gigantic fifty caliber rifle. She couldn't see her opponent as she laid in the prone position with her back to her pursuer. She ran from him trying to get away, but not with distance, she hoped to get him. However, it must be as imposing as a lynx, adorned with beautiful features.
Her concentration was worthy of praise, aiming below without the slightest quiver, her right eye pressed against the scope and her index finger touching the trigger. Her opponent would love to continue gazing upon her from behind for a little more, but he had little time left too. Leaving his concealed shelter, he began walking across the ruined building's floor. Cautiously avoiding the pebbles, wood chips, and metal scraps, those small objects scattered about my feet, he drew near the girl's back in perfect silence.
The girl's back abruptly jerked. Did she sense something that made neither noise nor vibration? That intuition was marvelous, but unfortunately, it was too late. His extended right arm twisted around her slender neck as my left hand pinned her head down from the back. They constricted her with quiet yet clear intent. The «Army Combative» skill showed its results; the girl's visible life–her HP bar–began falling rapidly. The sniper squirmed desperately, but in this VRMMO game, «Gun Gale Online», it was near impossible to escape from a successful rear choke, while barehanded without a significant difference in STR. That was no different from the real world, however.
He'd predicted that this sniper with light blue hair, whom he had most looked forward to fighting… no, hunting down among the twenty-nine participants of this tournament named «Bullet of Bullets», would try sniping from above in this five-story building. The problem was, the main street on this map was within a range from both the fourth and fifth floors. He needed to swiftly decide which floor to ambush her on.
Logically, she would choose the fourth floor where she could prepare to snipe quicker. However, his intuition and judgment whispered to me the moment I saw the library on the fourth floor. My intuition told him that the sniper was likely still a young student in the real world. His judgment told me a student might avoid a library that would bring up memories of real life. That prediction was spot-on. The sniper with light blue hair wasted tens of seconds needlessly ascending that one floor and showed herself on the fifth floor's warehouse.
And now, her transient life would dissolve like that of a butterfly that went astray into a spider's only this was not a mere reduction of binary data in the virtual world, but the deprivation of actual life and soul. If only it was a live body squirming in his arm instead of an avatar. That moment would truly be ever so sweet. The sniper's HP shown at the top-right of his vision cut through the five percent mark. But the girl continued struggling in desperation to escape from the choke.
Even as her enemy, he felt her stance precious, trying her best despite her certain defeat, neither letting out useless utterances nor turning limp in resignation. While he embraced the girl tight, like a loved one, my mouth drew closer to her ear from behind and whispered.
'Your soul will be so sweet.' the man said, putting a finger to her cheeks and whipping her tears. And then he gripped and tightened. The sniper struggled and thrashed, seeing her vision blurry until she was limp in his arms.
Shino snapped awake, her breathing heavy. A nightmare, the man from Gun Gale who beat her in the 4th Battle of Bullets.
"Jeez. Not him again," she muttered. A low ping sounded before she looked down from her phone. A call notification from someone, Asuna Yuuki. "Asuna?" The last time she talked with her was a day or in ALO while she was in the Ocean Turtle with Rath, why call her? But when it went into call mode, it wasn't the sound of her friend, but a familiar child-like voice.
"Hi, Sinon. I have to tell you and the other something important. Could you please log in to ALO?" Shino put her glasses on, this must be serious if Yui is calling on behalf of Asuna. Picking up her phone and school bag, she decided to return home and log into ALO. Was there an update on Kirito's situation, it can't be good.
The Sylph city, Slyavin, the group of Sinon, Silica, Leafa, Klein, Agil, Lisbeth, and Yui were in one of the rooms in the tall towers, to discuss why they were all brought here. All in their lounge clothes, they all sat and looked at the Navigation Pixie Yui explaining what Asuna told her. Of course, they were waiting for one more person, but they'll be here.
"So you see, to repair daddy's fluctlight, Mommy has decided to dive into the Underworld." Yui finished explaining.
"Big brother," Leafa said sadly. Her brother really was suffering to the point he destroyed himself, no wonder. Silica looked sad too, Sinon remaining silent.
"Kirito-san…" Silica spoke sadly.
"It'll be alright. He'll be fine. He always comes back, doesn't?" Lisbeth asked and Sinon remained quiet, as Sinon finally spoke up.
"Is the Ocean Turtle all right? Aren't they under attack by some sketchy guys?" she asked. If it's true that some military has made a terrorist attack on the Ocean Turtle, it was dangerous. Even if they call anyone to investigate, they are putting so many people at risk, including Asuna and Kirito too.
"Isn't there something we can do to help them?" Klien asked, punching his fist to his other while Agil stood beside him, "And where is she, she should be here by now."
"I IM her after contacting all of you on mommy's orders. We should keep her out of the loop anymore.," Yui explained. Just then a door knocked and Yui spoke aloud, "You can come in…" and the door opened to reveal a familiar face. Long purple hair, red eyes, and purple clothes, the short girl pant heavy coming inside.
"Sorry, I didn't know where you were. Did I miss the meeting?" she panted.
"You made it just in time... Yuuki," Yui said and Yuuki, the Imp ALO player moved closer to the group, already in a purple dress as her lounge-wear.
"How are you doing Yuuki-chan? We haven't seen you all week since the GGO match!" Silica greeted.
"Since we dealt with those players, yeah. When I got no calls from all of you, I was worried. And then Yui IM'd me and I felt like I missed like a whole season of what she had to tell me: Project Alicization, fluctlights, Alice, Rath? What's going on, why did you guys not tell me Asuna lost her memories back in April during the whole Ordinal Scale incident?!" she snapped and everyone flipped, never hearing Yuuki get angry, "so spell it, what's happening to Kirito and Asuna?"
Yui explained about the project Kirito was working with Rath and a week ago, Kirito was attacked by one of the remaining members of Death Gun who poisoned him and to help him, Kikouka and Rath have had him dive back into the Underworld, but a military group attacked the Ocean Turtle, so to help Kirito, Asuna has dived into the Underworld to repair the damage the terrorists put on Kirito. Yuuki stood with Klien and Agil crossing her arms.
"Shoot, and I was so excited to tell Asuna that my rehabilitation is going well. So what we do for them. Kirito is my friend too, his device let me go to school again, I can't just sit around and not help my friends." Yui said, "I have my second chance to keep on living now that my health is improving. I'll help any way I can for my friends." Yuuki said with determination.
"Well about that..." Yui continued, her hands together, "We might need to call on you later on."
"We'll stay in contact with me more on IMs… we need to say your boy right?" Yuuki and the girls all blinked.
"Save our boy, I mean we want to help Kirito, but he's not our boy," Lisbeth said, cocking her head.
"Oh, I thought you girls were a part of a harem with him," Yuuki replied, the next few seconds of silence was the sound of steam from their faces as they blushed with frustration.
"WHAT THE HELL YUUKI!"
"THAT IS BEYOND INAPPROPRIATE!"
"KIRITO-SAN IS LIKE A BIG BROTHER TO ME!"
"HE'S MY COUSIN YUUKI!"
"Oh! Well, I heard from Recon that you guys were very close." Yuuki responded innocently and Leafa's fists were tightened.
"I'll kill him after the summer break, there won't be a body left when I am done beating him! First, he still bothers me on and on about if we can date. Like I'm going just out of the blue to start dating him because I moved on at best. Ugh!" and Leafa stamped her foot and got up from her seat, "I'll get some sweets, take a nice bath, and I'll plan my murder of Recon."
"Save what's left for us. What are we, some high school romance comedies where we pine over a boy?" Lisbeth asked.
"Ah, youth…" Agil beamed.
"We'll let's all meet us at our cabin next time… take care and sorry my daddy's flirting got you into trouble," Yui said apologetically.
"We don't blame your daddy Yui... A certain Sylph is going to have a hammer in a very bad place, most likely his skull…" Lisbeth replied darkly.
"Please don't kill him…" Silica sighed.
Main Control Room, Ocean Turtle, two hours and fifty-three minutes after the attack. Critter was setting up Vassago and Gabriel into the Underworld under the accounts of a Dark Knight and Emperor Vecta respectfully. They were both lying in another STL room, the ones close to the Main Control Room. Protected by two of their own men, Critter spoke into the microphone that the two could hear their hacker loud and clear.
"Alight! Let's do this!" Critter exclaimed.
The light turned off and the STL machines were gearing up, covering over Gabriel and Vassagi;'s heads glowing blue light. Gabriel closed his eyes, feeling his mind diving in like using the Amusphere. He opened his eyes, feeling his body falling through a tunnel of moving light. He looked up, seeing the blonde longed haired figure of someone, from his past… Alicia. Her face unseen, her body glowing in the light, he reached out, to her hand, to grab her once more.
October 30th, year 380, in the Dark Territory Obsidia Palace. Before the dragon came to a stop, Dark Knight Lipia Zankehl jumped down from its back and ran with full strength across the takeoff pad into the footbridge that connected to the Imperial Palace. Quickly feeling difficulty breathing, she used her right hand to remove the helmet that covered her face.
Gray-blue long hair billowed out with a flourish. Adjusting it with her left hand and tossing it behind her back, Lipia further quickened her pace. She really wanted to take off her stuffy cloak and armor but did not want the consuls crawling about the Imperial Palace to see one inch of her skin. After she sprinted through the winding corridor, between the round columns on her right, a colossal black city erected under the backdrop of the red sky appeared in sight.
Imperial Palace Obsidia was the tallest structure of all in the boundless Land of Darkness, Of course, this did not include the tabooed Mountain Range at the End, carved out of the rocky mountains and constructed over a hundred years. From the throne on the highest floor, it was said to be just possible to glimpse the Mountain Range at the End standing far away in the east, and the great gate embedded in the mountain. But, there has been no one to confirm the veracity of this rumor for hundreds of years.
After the First Emperor, also the God of Darkness Vecta, returned to the underground darkness in ancient times, the Throne of the Land of Darkness had always been empty. The great gate on the highest floor was sealed by a lock with infinite Life, left eternally unopened. Lipia turned her eyes away from the peak of the pitch-black castle and called to the ogre guards at the castle gate straight ahead:
"In the name of the Eleventh Dark Knight Zankehl! Open the gate!" The wolf-headed guards were quite well-built, but turned their heads very slowly; by the time they turned the lever of the opening mechanism, Lipia had arrived at the cast-iron gate.
The door made a deep "gu, gung" sound as it opened a sliver; Zankehl slipped sideways through the gap. She had not seen the castle for three months, yet what welcomed Lipia was the same cold air. The [Kobolds] doggedly scrubbed the corridors every day, making them spotless. As she ran, her armor clanking on the obsidian slabs, two flirtatiously dressed women showing skin here and there glided over soundlessly. On top of their shiny, wavy hair, they wore large, pointy hats announcing their statuses as Dark Sorceresses. Lipia intended to ignore them and brush past, but one of the women sharply exaggeratedly raised her voice:
"Uwa, how noisy! Is an orc or something running?!"
Then, the other responded with a slight laugh, "It can't be ee, these tremors have to be those of a Giant!"
If combat were not prohibited within the city, she would have sliced off their tongues long ago. Lipia thought. She snorted and raced on.
Human females born in the Land of Darkness usually entered the Dark Sorcery Guild after graduating from Training Schools. The Guild was an organization of extreme indulgence, teaching debauchery instead of rules. As a result, it produced people interested only in decorating themselves, just like the two who walked by. Even so, they held great antagonism towards women who chose to become Knights. When she was a youngster in the Training Schools, Lipia had been cursed with poisonous insects by a Sorceress who did not get along with her. Things settled down after she drew her sword and sliced off the Sorceress's proudly tied hair.
In any case, there were only idiots with no ambition in this country. Often competing, no matter if it were organizations or individuals, basing every decision on the degree of power, the Land of Darkness had no future. Although danger could be balanced due to the Ten Feudal Lords Meetings, it was unable to hold for much longer. If in the imminent battle with the Human World, termed the Ium Country by Orcs and Goblins, a few of the Ten Feudal Lords were to die, the balance would be broken, and everything would become chaos of blood lust once more.
The one who told of this future to Lipia, was one of the Ten Feudal Lords, the Commander of the Dark Knights whom she directly reported to, and also her loved one. And now, Lipia had confidential intelligence that he was anticipating. Therefore, she would not waste a second to curb the Sorceress' taunts. Cutting straight through the empty lobby and flying up the wide staircase two steps at a time. Even with plenty of exercises, she was panting and drenched in sweat once she arrived on the right floor.
With the Land of Darkness divided by negotiation between them, among the Ten Feudal Lords, five were Humans, two were Goblins, and the rest were vanguards of the Orcs, Ogres, and Giants. After nearly a hundred years of civil war, they finally agreed on a document similar to a treaty and ended up with regulations keeping the Five Races in equal standing. Because of this, on the 18th floor, near the top floor of Obsidia, there were private rooms for each of the Ten Feudal Lords. Lipia dampened her footsteps in the round corridor and gently knocked three times with her right hand on the door of the innermost room.
"Come in." A deep voice replied immediately. Lipia glanced left and right in the corridor; after confirming that there was no one, she quickly opened the door and slipped inside.
The decorations within the room were as low profile as possible. Breathing in the manly smell floating in the air, Lipia genuflected and bowed her head, "Knight Lipia Zankehl; I have returned."
"Good work. Come, sit." Suppressing her excitement, Lipia raised her head and looked towards the owner of the strong voice. On the other side of the round table, a man was sitting in a long armchair with his feet propped high: the Dark Knight Commander, Vixer Ul Shasta, also known as the Dark General.
As a Human, he possessed an outstanding figure. Although his shoulders were not as broad as those of an Ogre, he did not seem to lose in terms of height. His head of jet-black hair was trimmed very short, and his mustache was very neat. His bulging muscles nearly popped the buttons off of his plain linen shirt, yet there was not a hint of fat on his waist. Although he maintained a perfect body that looked not a day older than 40, since he had ascended to the topmost throne of the Knights, not many people knew that he continued to undergo a harsh exercise routine every day.
Seeing her lover for the first time in three months, Lipia had to resist the urge to fly into his embrace, instead of sitting on the sofa opposite Shasta. Shasta raised his upper body and handed one of the crystal glasses on the table to Lipia, then broke the seal on what appeared to be aged wine.
"I really wanted to have a glass with you, so I swiped a bottle from the Treasury yesterday." Winking, he poured the fragrant, crimson liquid into his glass. His expression was that of a mischievous child, completely the same as his former self.
"Th…Thank you, Your Excellency." Lipia stammered.
"How many times have I told you not to call me that when we're alone?" Shasta reminded her, Lipia blushed, feeling embarrassed that she greeted her commander any differently.
"But… I'm still on a mission." Lipia replied her hands to her front. Shasta shrugged helplessly and they clinked glasses politely. Lipia sipped the expensive wine and felt the Life she had expended on her long journey slowly recovering.
"Okay, so." After downing a glass himself, he poured himself another one and changed to a serious expression, asking in a low voice. "The [Matter of Importance] that you sent a familiar for: what is it?"
"It's…" Lipia looked to her left and right, then leaned forward. Although Shasta was often candid, he was quite vigilant. This room had many heavy protection spells cast upon it; even the Witch, leader of the Sorcery Guild, would be unable to listen in. Even though she knew this, the intel she had brought was so important that she couldn't resist lowering her voice.
Staring straight into Shasta's black pupils, Lipia said simply, "The Highest Minister of the Axiom Church of the Human World… is dead." In an instant, even the Dark General widened his eyes in shock. A long, deep sigh broke the silence.
"Is this… real…? I know it's discourteous to ask like this, and I'm not suspicious of your intel… but… that undead…" Shasta was in disbelief. The Administrator is dead? How, she's been ruling over the Human Realm even before he was born, how she died and who killed her if it was someone who killed her?
"Yes… I completely understand your feelings. I was unable to believe it myself, but after a week of confirmation, there is no error. I made sure by planting Earworms in the Central Cathedral." Lipia said.
"What? That was very reckless. If you were traced, you would've been unable to leave the capital, and dismembered by now." Shasta replied. This was a dangerous move, just to gather information. If someone from the Human Realm Empire discovered her, they would have her killed without a second thought.
"Yes. But, since a spell of this caliber has not been detected, it proves that this Intel is accurate." Lipia replied.
"Mm…" Shasta nodded. Filling his second glass of wine, Shasta's strong-willed face lowered slightly, "When, did that happen? Also, what was the cause of death?"
"About half a year ago…" Lipia confirmed, " Back in May this occurred."
"Half a year. Indeed, their guard on the Mountain Range had probably been slightly loose at that time." Shasta said, hand to his chin.
"Yes. About the cause of death of the Highest Minister… This is quite unbelievable, but they are said to be [slaughtered by a sword]…" Lipia explained.
"By a sword. You mean that someone cut that undead?" Shasta asked, still in disbelief, "Impossible."
Lipia shook her head at the slack-jawed Shasta, "I'm afraid, even if it's the undead, they have finally depleted their Life. But it was probably to save the spirit of the Highest Minister known as a God, to say some empty words like that…"
"Mm… My guess as well. But… Dead, the Highest Minister Administrator…" Shasta closed his eyes, crossed his arms, and leaned back into the armchair. After thinking deeply for a while like this, he opened his eyes with a short mutter, "Opportunity."
Lipia instantly held her breath and replied in a small voice, "What opportunity?" She immediately got an answer.
"Obviously… One of peace." As a word too dangerous to utter in this city, it quickly melted in the air of the room and dissipated.
"Do you consider it… possible, Your Excellency?" Facing the softly questioning Lipia, Shasta fixed his gaze on the red liquid within his glass, and slowly, but deeply, nodded.
"No matter if it's possible or not, we must achieve it regardless." Downing the wine with a gulp, he continued, "The Life of the Great Gate that has divided the Human World and the Land of Darkness since the world was created is about to be depleted. A large-scale invasion of the sun and land-nourished Human World awaited by the Army of Five Dark Races, you can say, is the arrow poised on the bow. In the last Ten Feudal Lords Meeting, there was a large quarrel just about dividing the land, riches, and slaves of the Human World. They are really… an incurable bunch of gluttons."
At Shasta's direct and unrestricted speech, Lipia recoiled slightly. Different from the Human World that had the Taboo Index, a thick book of the law, to rule the nation, there was only one law in the Land of Darkness. That was, seize by force. In a certain sense, compared with the other nine Feudal Lords whose thirst for power could not be quenched even if they obtained the highest authority, it could be said that Shasta's consideration of peace with the Human World was heresy. However, Lipia was deeply fascinated by this man because of his unique thoughts. Besides, unlike the servant women attending to their master, Lipia was not taken by force. Shasta had presented a bouquet on bended knee and convinced Lipia with his truthful words.
Oblivious of his lover wandering in such thoughts, Shasta continued with added gravity, "But, they underestimate the Humans too much. Especially the Integrity Knights that have protected the Human World for three hundred years."
Hearing this name, Lipia nodded, her head growing cold, "Sure… They are skillful to a frightening extent."
"They have, quite literally, the strength of a thousand in one. In the long history of the Dark Knights, countless have been slain by the Integrity Knights, but it has never happened the other way around. Their swordsmanship is so excellent, and the Divine Instruments that they carry are powerful beyond measure… I have only brought one to an impasse a few times, but I couldn't manage to kill them. Of course, my defeats definitely number many." Shasta said, "That is… due to their usage of mystifying techniques, such as releasing fire or blinding beams from their swords. Armament Full Control Art. Even though we've had our Technique Research Department study it for a long time, we're still unable to break it down. Just to go up against that skill, even a hundred Goblin Soldiers wouldn't be enough."
"Even though you say that… Our army numbers 50,000 while the Integrity Knights number only about thirty. Can we not suppress them with sheer volume…?" At Lipia's words, Shasta scratched his mustache with a sarcastic air.
"Didn't I just say that they have the strength of a thousand in one? If you calculate it, we will lose 30,000 from our army." Shasta explained/
"Why would… It can't be that many." Lipia said
"Hm, yeah. Even though this method of calculation is disheartening, we'll be pushing forward in the battle with our Knights, Ogres, and Giants, the Dark Sorcerers would be using long-range explosive attacks at the rear, and we'd eventually exhaust the Integrity Knights. But after their last Knight falls, it's hard to imagine how much we would have lost. Perhaps not 30,000, but losing half is certainly possible." The crystal glass was set onto the table with a hard sound. Shasta extended a hand to stop Lipia, who was about to refill his glass, and sunk his back into his armchair.
"…And the result, would, of course, be an imbalance in power between the Five Races of Darkness. The Ten Feudal Lords Meeting would become meaningless, and the treaty of equality between the Five Races would leave only its name. If it goes down like that, the Age of Iron and Blood that ended a hundred years ago would return. No, it would be worse. Because this time, the everlasting honeyed sea of the Humans would be in front of us. Deciding how to divide that piece of land would take more than a hundred years of war…" Shasta continued.
This was the worst future scenario that Shasta often feared and mentioned repeatedly to Lipia. What was worse, the nine other Feudal Lords apart from Shasta did not think that this was the worst future at all — on the contrary, they were looking forward to it. Lipia lowered her head, gazing at the gleaming light exuded by her pitch-black full body armor, which had been her partner ever since her entrance into Knighthood. Twice as short as other kids when she was young, Lipia could never become a Knight if she had been born in the Age of Iron and Blood; she would have been sold to human traffickers, or abandoned outside the city, ending her short life there.
Although it was shady, she was still thankful for that peace treaty, as she had not been sold into slavery but instead entered the Youth School, benefited from a late-blooming talent in swordsmanship, and ascended to a nearly unattainably high position for a Human female. Ever since she had become a Knight, Lipia had been gathering children who were abandoned by their parents from remote places rife with human trafficking and took care of them until they were able to enter school. She used nearly all of her income to run a childcare center like this. She kept this a secret not only from her colleagues but even from Shasta. She was unable to explain it herself; why would she do such a thing.
It was just that. Lipia could not help feeling odd about this country, in which power dominates all. Although she had not the wisdom of Shasta, to be able to turn her thoughts into clear words, she felt that there should be a better, more appropriate form of this country — no, the entire Underworld, including the Human World. Lipia hazily understood that this so-called new world is far beyond the peace that Shasta proposed. At the same time, as a woman, she was desperate to help the man she loved to realize his dream. But.
"But, how do you plan to convince the other Feudal Lords, Your Excellency? Not to mention… Would the Integrity Knights accept a negotiation for peace?" Lipia inquired in a small voice.
"Hm…" Shasta closed his eyes, his right hand playing with his elaborate mustache. Eventually, he murmured bitterly:
"About the Integrity Knights, there is still a turn for the better. As the Highest Minister is now dead, the main commander should now be that old man Bercouli. Although he's a sly old fox, he's still a reasonable man. The problem… still lies with the Ten Feudal Lords Meeting. On this side… although it may seem to conflict with our goal…" Deep within his raised eyelids, two sharply gleaming eyes stared at the ceiling, "Seems like we have to slash a few. At least four."
Lipia gasped in shock and leaned forward, "Four, you say, Your Excellency…? If my assumption is right, it can only be the two Goblin chiefs, the Orc chief, and…"
"The Leader of the Dark Sorcery Guild. That woman has always been filled with a wild desire for the Administrator's secret to immortality, and the day that she ascends to the Emperor's Throne. She would definitely not accept the proposition of peace."
"B-but!" Lipia objected in a strained voice, "That's too reckless, Your Excellency! Even though the Goblin and Orc elders may not stand against your sword… We do not know what kind of despicable trick the Dark Sorceress would use!"
Even after Lipia finished, Shasta was silent. But what he said completely took her by surprise, "Hey, Lipia. How long have you been coming here to me?"
"Hah? It's… A-about… Ever since I turned 21… Four years." Lipia remembered.
"It's been that long, huh. … I apologize for always keeping you in a shadow of a doubt. How about… It's time, uh, well…." Rotating his eyes and scratching his head with a rustle, the Dark Knight Commander opened his mouth roughly, "Would you, officially, marry me? If you don't mind me as a middle-aged man."
"E…Excellency…" Lipia opened her eyes, unable to speak.
She felt a heat slowly seeping out from deep within her heart, and just as she was about to unhesitatingly fly into her lover's embrace… From the other side of the thick great door, a clear, loud voice as sharp as a whip pierced right through the wide room.
"Big news! This is some BIG news! AAHH, what on earth is happening! Feudal Lords, come with me, quickly, QUICKLY!" She faintly remembered this voice: it belonged to one of the Feudal Lords, the head of the Commerce and Industry Guild. Uncharacteristic of the huge, burly figure in Lipia's memory, the scream continued completely unexpectedly:
"It's THE MOST important event EVER! — In-inside the Throne Room! The sealing lock! It's SHAKING!"
Next time: Dark Territory
Michael: And that ends Chapter three. As I said, this will be back to back with Chapter four of this and it will be while with chapter 5, a lot of new stuff, how I handle Eugeo reuniting with Ronye and Tiese, and just preparing the war and setting up Eldrie's flag. And you be shocked, I had to go back and forth with the prologue and the chapter much of this was based on from the anime, I even sat and watched the episode to get all this in just one day. And by one day, I started chapter 3 after I uploaded chapter 2. It took May the 4th I finished and I will start chapter four next. This was basically the setup of our villains, no Eugeo this chapter, or even Alice. Rath knows of someone Kirito saved but doesn't know who it is. And as this adds the anime original scenes, we got the Sword Art Online B team waiting on standby and Yuuki.
Yes, Yuuki is alive in this and you might be asking, how? Lost Song. The complete answer? Yuuki's condition in this divergence had improved so she had an extended time to live. Asuna was given Mother's Rosario, Kirito and Asuna were able to meet Suine's IRL self and learn of Rinko's name. After that, you have the whole Ordinal Scale incident where Yuuki was left in the dark that Asuna lost her memories. Yuuki learned that they needed players to help out with that boss in the Ordinal Scale and joined that battle. And Alicization, the week prior, she converted to GGO and helped Sinon and company with those GGO players they fought. That's basically all Yuuki did and was as she says for a meta-joke, a whole season of information that Asuna left her in the dark of worry she would be stressed out. And I wanted to keep this big plan hidden that I did my best not to say gender. That's really it and all of the reveals besides that anime-only one in episode 11. And that whole the girls react to Yuuki thinking they all were a harem with Kirito, what do you expect some outsider will think and they will react? This isn't even about Kirito who gets blamed in the community or even a joke in the Gameverse, this is the idea of someone spreading the wrong idea. Also, I shatter any reason or all ideas I ever ship Leafa and Recon. Also, I need some comedy before the feels trains so hopefully, you enjoyed that.
Now, this chapter might come out on May 7th, and I'm going to give this story some breathing room until next week, which gives more time for voting.
Do you really want Shasta and Lipia to live in the War of Underworld sub-arc?
See you next time and be safe.