Chapter 8: Raiders
The wind blew through my hair and I clung tighter to Alice's waist. Amayori might not be moving at Mach 20, but I wasn't a flesh and blood, squishy human that would go splat when I hit the ground back when Korosensei flew us around! I had a newfound respect for Karma and Nagisa's coolness. Of course, Rythin was already cool, so I didn't have to revise my estimates upwards for him!
Even sitting behind Alice, I had to close my eyes from both the wind and our hair whipping around. This was nothing like the flight we'd had on the way here, a few months ago. This was a desperate flight, rushing towards an emergency.
...
I stared at the crimson sky. The sight made my blood run cold, a very strange experience that I definitely could have done without. This... was what fear must be, isn't it?
*Thud.*
The sound of a heavy object hitting the ground made me jump and I whirled around. That had come from inside the house, so... "Rythin!" I exclaimed. When I rushed inside, I saw him slowly dragging himself towards the door; despite the fact that his eyes were still dull and empty, he was crawling inch by inch across the floor. "What are you doing? You're going to hurt yourself!"
I rushed to his side and caught him just as his arms gave out. "Is he okay?" Alice called out.
"He is, but..." Rythin looked up at me and my voice caught in my throat. "...Alice, can you call Amayori from here?"
"I already have. She should arrive in mere seconds."
I smiled at Rythin and gently ran my fingers through his hair. It always made him calm down. "I'm coming with you," I said. "As soon as Kirito is safe, I'll come right back. I promise."
Alice looked at Rythin. "He's so concerned for the safety of his friend," she murmured, but when I glanced at her while putting my coat on she shook her head. "It's nothing. Are you ready? Do you need to take his dagger?"
"It's fine," I told her. "He'll be happier with it in his hands while he waits for me to come back."
"Very well." Wind gusted around us and made our clothes swirl, and Alice jumped into the air to land on Amayori's back. The dragon flapped her wings a few more times before she landed. Alice extended her hand and I grabbed on for help climbing up - though really Alice pulled me up more than I climbed. "Hold on tight!" she shouted, and Amayori launched into the air.
...
It was only a short five minutes in the air, unlike our usual walk to town, and Amayori angled her wings down to start descending. "That's..." Alice whispered.
The smoke made it a little difficult to see, but I focused and blinked past it. Green figures were storming across the north bridge, carrying torches; the goblins - because what else could they be? - used their torches to set fire to the trees and barricades that lined the road. The invaders had passed through the first line of defense and penetrated into Rulid itself, setting even more fires as they went. The torched homes marked a line of destruction that I could use to guess how far they'd made it into town. It looked like... there was some sort of chokepoint just before the center of town. The men had piled rubble and timber as a crude barricade, and they were holding their ground in front of the stairs. We were still high up enough that I couldn't make out exactly who was guarding it, though. But even knowing Kirito was probably at the front lines...
"This makes no sense," I mumbled. "The south is completely clear of enemies, but the other villagers aren't running. What's going on?"
"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," Alice said, and patted Amayori's spine. "Amayori, wait here until I summon you!" Abruptly, while Amayori was still flying, she stood up in her saddle.
"Alice, what -" My question was unfortunately answered as Alice scooped me up in her arms and jumped from Amayori's back. I didn't scream.
"EEEEEEEEEK!"
"Stop yelling, Ritsu!"
I definitely didn't scream.
"System call! Generate aerial element!" I squeezed my eyes shut as Alice chanted, and tried to convince myself that she's done this before and it's totally fine, hahaha! "Burst!"
The crack of wind and shattering stone was the only thing I could hear as we landed, and I coughed when dust filled the air. Alice gently set me down on my feet, and I staggered a few steps and shook my head. When I opened my eyes, I had to blink away a few tears but I was totally unharmed. Whew...
...That was incredibly dangerous, Alice! Please think your actions through!
We'd landed in the center of town, right by the fountain, and it seemed like every villager that wasn't out fighting the Dark Territory invaders was huddled here. "Alice...?" someone murmured in the crowd.
Alice straightened up and turned around. She walked towards Gasuft and Mr. Barbossa, who were standing in front of the crowd with their mouths open from the shock of our very abrupt landing. When she stopped and waited for one of them to say something, Gasuft just closed his mouth and looked away. Barbossa glared at us, fists clenched. "Look. They will surround you if you stay here," Alice said without preamble. "Have everyone evacuate by the south road while you still have time!"
"Are you insane?!" Barbossa shouted. He waved his hand in a wild gesture. "My mansion - I-I mean, this village is our home!" I wrinkled my nose. He said the quiet part out loud...
"It can be rebuilt. But if you stay, you will surely be slaughtered." Alice's face was flat, without a change of expression.
I stepped forward. "Please, your lives have to be more important than your possessions. Things are replacable, people are not!"
Barbossa gritted his teeth harder, but it seemed like we'd made some progress with the stubborn idiot, because he looked away.
"We must stay, because it is what Zink, our Man-at-Arms, ordered. We are the last line of defense." Gasuft spoke up suddenly, his face downcast. "In this situation, everyone must do what he says. Even I, the village elder. Imperial law is clear on that," he added when Alice was about to argue.
Alice gritted her teeth, fist clenched, and I searched for the words I needed to convince the men in front of me when someone else spoke up first. "We should do as Ritsu and my sister say," Selka said as she walked through the crowd. "Please, Father."
"Selka," Alice breathed. Her shoulders relaxed. It must have been such good news, to know her little sister was safe.
Selka smiled at us, then turned back to her father. "Listen to them. You know they speaks the truth. Our lives are more important," she said, gesturing to the blonde. "I know we have to follow the laws of the land, but even so... If we stay, we die!"
Despite her firm expression, someone wasn't swayed. "We can't abandon our homes!" Barbossa shoved Gasuft out of the way and stomped towards her. "You're just a child, and you should mind your tongue!" Selka shrunk back as he shouted. "We will stay and protect the village!"
He loomed over Selka and the poor girl flinched. That was the worst possible thing he could have done, and Barbossa realized it almost instantly. He froze as killing intent stretched out; it wasn't refined or honed like a blade, but the natural instincts of a big sister protecting her little sister was enough to make up for that. Alice's bloodlust poured from her, and even someone like Mr. Barbossa could sense it.
"Of course! That's a wonderful thing to say," I said, and slipped forward. "The village is very important. Everyone's homes are here, with all the memories you've made together. I bet you have a favorite pillow, Mr. Barbossa. It must be very soft, right?" He stared at me in surprise, and nodded dumbly. "See? You're just worried that if you can't protect your town, all the villagers will lose their precious belongings. That's such a wonderful thing to be worried about, Mr. Barbossa. You're really an amazing noble, if you want to protect everyone's happiness like that!"
"Y...Yes, of course..." He puffed his immense chest out with pride. Selka looked at me in confusion.
I smiled sweetly. "But Mr. Barbossa, I'm sure someone as smart as you will agree - happiness that comes from objects like your pillow or your possessions can be recovered even if they're lost. I know you don't want any of your friends or families to suffer that loss, and that's incredibly nice of you! Still..." I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around Selka. "Don't you think that a pillar of society such as yourself should pick the course of action that will keep the young ones like Selka safe from harm? Everyone looks to you for guidance, after all."
"O-Of course, naturally," Barbossa said. I smiled at him, even as the steel jaws of the trap snapped shut around him. Mr. Barbossa was all about his pride, after all! So by flattering him and then gently pointing out the course of action he should take, he'd backed himself into a corner. Professor Bitch's lessons were paying dividends. Sometimes, it just took a few honeyed words.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Alice relaxing now that Barbossa wasn't looming over her precious younger sister, and I sent a quick wink her way. Alice smiled at me and straightened her back.
"E-Even though I agree with you, and think we should flee at once," Barbossa said, his piggy eyes darting back and forth, "that doesn't change what we've been ordered to do. We... We can't flee at all!"
Alice stepped forward, and all eyes in the village turned to her. "I... am a knight," she announced, "and I revoke the Man-at-Arms's order. You will all evacuate the village by the south road, at once! Those of you bearing weapons shall take the lead."
"Y-You cannot be a knight!" Barbossa stammered. "Not in this village. There's no Calling for them here! You can handle the sword reasonably well, but claiming to be a knight is outrageous!" He squinted his eyes. "What if a knight from Centoria heard this?"
Instead of answering verbally, Alice gripped the cloak she'd wrapped around herself and ripped it free. Her shining golden armor revealed, Alice grabbed her sword in both hands and slammed it down into the flagstone. "My name is Alice!" The cloak flew through the air and Alice's blue cape rippled from the wind her action had created. The symbol of the Axiom church gleamed in the firelight, and even the defenders at the edge of the plaza looked back in shock. "I am one of the three knights who oversee Centoria. An Integrity Knight... of the Church. Ranked third!"
All the villagers gaped in surprise, and Selka covered her mouth, her eyes wide with shock.
"Alice Synthesis Thirty!" Alice declared.
Barbossa fell over in shock. "You're... you're an Integrity Knight?"
"Why didn't you tell me?" Selka ran up to her sister.
Alice bowed her head. "I'm sorry I kept it from you all this time," she said. "To be honest, I was afraid to. The knighthood is both my duty... and my punishment."
"No... I always knew you were amazing," Selka said. Tears dripped down her face as she smiled. "I always knew! I always believed in you!"
Alice smiled at her little sister, until Gasuft dropped to one knee. "I will do as the Lady Knight commands," he said. "We shall evacuate."
Aww! He really was happy that his daughter was back, wasn't he?
"All those bearing weapons will lead the villagers to the south gate at once!" Gasuft said as he rose to his feet. "As soon as everyone is out, evacuate to the forest south of the clearing!"
"I need help with the wounded and the elderly!" someone shouted as he ran.
"Right behind you! Hey, you, over there! Follow us!"
"...Keep them safe, Father. Selka and Mother... Everyone," Alice said as she stared at her father and Selka.
"Alice..." he said. "Take care as well."
Selka leaned forward. "Be careful. Don't get yourself hurt."
Alice smiled and patted her little sister's head. "I'll make you proud, okay? Ritsu, stay safe."
"Don't worry! I'll make sure nobody gets hurt," I said with a cheerful salute.
She smiled. "...Okay," she said. Then, she took a deep breath and screamed out, "Amayori! BURN THEM ALL!"
A screech answered her call. There was a flash of blue light high up in the sky, behind the clouds - and then the sky burst open with a lance of bright blue flame as Alice's dragon swept down from the moon. I stared in awe at the power of a dragon as the breath attack swept across the territory just north of Rulid. The superheated dirt and grass exploded moments later.
"N-No way," Barbossa gasped.
"Alice has a dragon!?" Selka gasped.
As Amayori's breath petered out and the light faded, I clapped my hands. "Let's keep moving, everyone! We're not safe here yet. Kirito and Alice will hold them off in the north, so we have to get out of town until it's safe." I glanced at the villagers with 'weapons' that were walking at the front of the group. They were just holding pitchforks and metal hoes - simple farm equipment. If we were attacked, they wouldn't be able to -
"Iums! Kill the Iums!"
The shiver that ran down my spine at the sound of the voice had to be what Rythin and the others meant by 'their blood running cold'. The voice was rough and gravelly, and the emergence of the green-skinned humanoids from the nearby alleys confirmed my fears. Goblins had somehow managed to sneak around Rulid and entered from another direction, bypassing Alice and Kirito entirely! It was a small group - I'd only registered fifteen of them - but they'd managed to come out right in the side of the villagers and so there was nobody with weapons able to stop them.
Nobody except me. "System call!" The goblins charged forwards, their swords and axes raised in the air. I leveled my hand at them and narrowed my eyes. "Run user macro 'Formation One Version Twenty'. Run user macro 'Load'. Execute!"
The air around me shimmered as elements swirled and formed into a set of shapes. Twenty gleaming metal tubes hovered in several arrays near me, unsupported by anything. The closest end of each tube glowed with a green light. "Leave," I demanded. "Or I'll kill you."
To kill someone. It was a word that had lost a lost of meaning in my world because it was thrown around a lot without understanding. But for me? It still had that special magic.
The goblins even hesitated for a second before a deep growl came from behind them. "What are you waiting for?! It's just one little girl!" The red-skinned creature that lumbered into view carried a massive axe on its shoulder; it snarled at me and spittle flew from its jagged teeth. The pig-like snout only made its wild, angry eyes fiercer. "I, Tupur the Eye Gouger, will -"
With its bulging muscles, it was definitely stronger than me. That axe could cut me in half and delete me instantly. Even the goblins' swords and knives would be enough to kill me. But... I was used to being weak. All I needed to do...
"Run user macro 'Fire and Reload', repeat three times. Execute!"
...Was take advantage of my weakness and their lowered guard. The green lights at the end of each tube flashed brightly and a sound too soft to be heard over the shouts and screams of the villagers came from them. It was still a sound I knew intimately, however; the green lights reappeared and flashed two more times.
Each time my weapons flashed, the goblins and orc in front of me had jerked back from the impact. Blood spurted from the holes the bullets had punched through, three on each enemy - one in the heart, one in the throat, and one in the temple. The goblins all fell to the ground like boneless heaps. Even Tupurak fell backwards, dead from the bullets to the brain.
Ah. Even in this world, my 'database' of gun blueprints was just waiting for some way to build them. Now that I had that, I could deploy them at any time.
"Mission complete," I said. "Targets neutralized." I considered throwing up a peace sign, but decided that it would be too silly.
"M-Miss Ritsu...?" I turned back to see Selka staring at me, hands over her mouth. The other villagers had backed away from me a few steps, and I recognized a few of the men that had mocked me and Rythin. When our eyes met, they blanched. ...Heheheh. Serves them right. "What was that?"
I smiled at her. "Why don't we keep moving, now that the hostiles have been dealt with?" Selka gasped and nodded. "I'll explain on the way. Mr. Barbossa? Can we keep moving?"
Someone gasped and I turned around to see if we'd been attacked again, but the villagers were all staring up at the sky. When I followed their gaze, a breath of awe slipped out of my mouth too as I watched the golden flower petals flying through the air. Alice's Enhance Armament art... When the golden flowers that had flown out across the sky descended, I knew that we'd won.
"Hear me! The End Mountains separate our lands!" Even from here, everyone could hear Alice's declaration. "Step through it if you will, but as long as we knights exist, you are not to set foot here again! Make your choice! Step forward and drown in your blood, or retreat to your land of darkness!"
Selka clasped her hands to her chest and smiled. "I knew she would save us," she said.
Movement at the top of the steps nearby made me whirl, but the familiar black-clothed figure wasn't someone I had to shoot at. "Hey, Ritsu, are you - whoa," Kirito said. I lowered my hand and my floating array of pseudo-guns vanished in polygons. "What was that?"
"A special Sacred Art that Miss Cardinal helped me develop," I said. "Is it over?"
"Yeah," he said. "We won. The goblins and orcs that didn't die are retreating."
Kirito's announcement started a round of cheering from all the villagers that heard him, and the celebration spread out like a wave. As the fires in town burned and Amayori flew overhead with a roar, I could only think of one thing: Rythin would be happy that Kirito was safe.
Now that the attack had been pushed back, I wanted to go home and sleep with Rythin.
E-EH?! Sleep NEXT to! Next to! Not with! I mean, in the same bed!
I buried my face in my hands, trying not to blush at my own thoughts. Ughhhh!
...
After a week, the rebuilding had progressed really well! As I pushed Rythin's wheelchair through town, a few villagers took break from hammering planks onto walls and roofs. The charred rubble had been cleared out of the way already and despite the sides of the roads being filled with rubble and burnt planks, the roads were very clear. Gasuft had decided to temporarily put a halt to everyone's Calling until the reconstruction was complete, so it was going very quickly.
"Don't cry. I'll make you a new doll!" one girl said to her little sister as I passed them.
"Yay! Thanks!"
I smiled at the young girls as I passed by. A few of the villagers repairing their homes waved at me as I walked through, but most of them were too busy with their repairs to spend a moment. Fortunately, nobody had died during the attack, even the ones that were slow to evacuate.
Rythin and I finished our walk through town and exited from the north exit. It was only a short walk after that to reach the meeting point Alice and Kirito had already gone to; Amayori was lying down on the ground but was easy enough to see from a distance. As I got closer, I could see Alice's blonde hair and Kirito's black outfit and, after another minute walking, Selka and Gasuft.
"...You will always be welcome in Rulid," Gasuft said as I approached. Alice smiled at him. "Thank you for saving us. I'm... sad to see you go."
"I'll miss you, Alice," Selka said as she hugged Alice. Alice, in turn, patted her little sister's head. "Kirito, you'd better watch out for her, okay?"
Kirito grinned. "Sure thing."
"It's far more likely that I will be the one keeping Kirito out of trouble," Alice remarked.
"Hey!"
"Sorry I'm late, everyone," I said. "It took a little bit to gather the rest of our stuff and pack it." I didn't bring much with me; Alice had already swung by earlier to gather most of the bulky things and pack it on Amayori's back. The dragon was already armored up and ready to fly, but her eyes were closed and a bird was perched on the tip of her nose. "Are we ready to go?"
"Almost," Kirito told me. "Alice is finishing up her goodbyes."
Alice nodded to me and then turned back to her family. "One day, when I've fulfilled all my duties, I'll come back here. Not as a knight, but as Alice Zuberg. That's when I'll be able to say, 'I have come home, Father.'"
Gasuft nodded once but didn't say anything. "...Safe travels, Alice."
Alice smiled at her father and turned to Amayori. "Fly high, Amayori, and wait until we call!"
The dragon lumbered to her feet and spread her wings. Amayori got a running start and then launched herself into the air with a powerful jump that blasted all of us with wind from the blowback. I closed my eyes and protected Rythin until the wind was finished and then sighed. My hair was going to get all messed up again!
Kirito, Alice, Rythin and I began our trek to the north caves after waving goodbye to Selka. The young novice looked like she wanted to come with us, but her father said something to her. Instead of running after Kirito and her big sister, Selka just waved wildly until one of the twists and turns in the dirt path blocked her from our sight.
Alice sighed, but smiled up at the sky and tucked a lock of blonde hair behind an ear. "To think that I'd be walking this way again, after all these years..."
"Oh yeah, it's probably been a while for you, huh," Kirito said. "Eugeo said you two went this way back when you were kids, but that's when you..." He trailed off and scratched his cheek. "The last time I was here was when Eugeo and I searched for Selka. She went off to the northern caves all on her own."
"She did, did she?" Alice sighed. "I suppose I will scold her when I return."
Kirito shook his head. "She was just trying to be closer to you, any way she could find," he said. "And since you went this way..."
Alice exhaled softly, the equivalent of a massive sigh from anyone else. "...She wanted to follow in my footsteps. Well, I guess I can't be too mad, since it's my fault in the end."
"Don't beat yourself up about it," Kirito said. "You're back now, and she's super happy."
"I'm glad. Though were I given the choice, I would have preferred to never leave her in the first place."
I giggled. "You're so devoted to your little sister. It's very cute, Alice."
"C-Cute? I am not!" Alice's cheeks went a little pink.
"And that's very cute too!" I see why Karma and Nakamura had so much fun teasing Nagisa. Watching Alice get flustered really is entertaining. "How far away do you think the caves are?"
"It took me and Eugeo less than an hour to reach the caves, but..." Kirito glanced down at Rythin and sighed regretfully.
I reached out and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, Kirito. He'll wake up soon, I just know it."
"Ahh..."
I knelt down by Rythin as soon as he started to vocalize. "What is it? Are you cold?" Strangely, as soon as I said something, he stopped complaining. "...You're strange, Rythin."
We only had to walk for about two hours before the entrance to the caves loomed in front of us. The tunnel that had been collapsed had been widened so that even the orcs that Alice and I had killed could pass through with ease. Alice said she'd explored down the path and found a long-term camp there, so this wasn't something that had been done in one night.
I took a deep breath at the entrance and shivered from the surprising cold - it was October, but even a few steps into the cave felt like the middle of January. My breath puffed out in a cloud of mist as I called out, as loudly as I dared, "Reeeeeeed!"
Nothing answered my call except the echo - at first. I nearly called out again when the ground started to rumble. I looked up as a massive red dragon slowly emerged from the depths of the cave. "Whoa..." Kirito muttered under his breath. "Is it bigger?"
"You've grown, Red," I said. The dragon lowered her head to study me, but didn't react in any other way. I couldn't help but notice the green flesh stuck between two of her teeth. I guess I knew what happened to some of the goblins that fled... "I'm really sorry to bother you, but we need you again. Will you help us?"
Red exhaled, and the snorted breath nearly knocked me over, but she followed us outside.
"...Thank you," I said, resting my hands on her scales.
Once Rythin was safely mounted on her back and our belongings had been strapped down, Alice went into the cave. She came back a few minutes later shivering a little bit. "I've flooded the cave and frozen it entirely with Cryogenic elements," she said. "Now, the only way anyone will pass through it again is if I unseal it or someone with the same talent at using Thermal elements."
"That's good," Kirito said. "I feel a lot better about leaving Rulid, then."
I sighed. That was one more thing, wasn't it? I'd almost considered asking Alice and Kirito to go on without us. But... Rythin had definitely wanted to protect Kirito. He'd struggled his hardest to reach his weapon. I couldn't take him away from his best friend. And, another part of me knew, I needed to stay close to Alice. It was Rythin's last request before he fell unconscious. So, when he woke up, he was going to see that I'd done my best.
With that in mind... Of course I was going to follow them. Even as Amayori and Red lifted up almost gently into the sky, not seeming to notice the weight of two people and swords on each of their backs, I knew.
This was my current mission, and I wasn't going to fail!
...
November 2nd, 380 HE
The Eastern Gate was way larger than I had expected it to be, from the way Alice had talked about it. But, then again it made sense! After all, it had to be big and sturdy to be able to separate the Human Empire and the Dark Territory. From a distance, it looked incredibly imposing with the spikes on the top and the sleek, gunmetal grey metal sparsely decorated with swooping lines. There was a huge line in the sky directly above the gate, too - on our side, the sky was blue with white fluffy clouds, but on the other side it was an angry scarlet the color of spilled blood.
"There it is," Alice said as we flew side by side. Red was following Amayori's lead but I still held the reins so that Rythin was cradled between the reins and my chest. "The Eastern Gate."
"Bigger than I was expecting," Kirito said.
Alice nodded. "Hold here, Amayori, Red."
The two dragons flapped their wings and came to a halt, right at the gate. We hovered in the sky right above the most ornate decoration on the door, a large tower that was domed at the top. It reminded me of the Central Cathedral. But...
Up close, the gate was nowhere near as sturdy as it seemed. Cracks riddled the surface and ran from the mountain on our left to the mountain on our right. Directly in the center, where we were staring, was a massive bar that seemed to keep the gates closed. On it was a single line of English text, reading... "Destroyed at the Last Stage," I read out loud.
As we watched, the cracks spread further. Small bits of iron and stone crumbled away and fell to the ground below. The damage was getting worse, and it was getting worse by the second. Alice gasped and tugged on Amayori's reins, instructing the dragon to fly. When we reached the top of the gate and looked over the Dark Territory, all of us gasped.
A sea of flame flickered in the distance. "Those gotta be... torches, right?" Kirito asked.
I nodded. "The Dark Territory's army..."
"This way, quickly," Alice said, and swung Amayori around. The dragons flew quickly away from the gate, and the wind rushed in my ears. It snatched Alice's next words from me, but I still knew how to read lips: "We're out of time..."
Even as we rushed forward, Amayori braked suddenly. "Alice, what's wrong?" I called out. Then, as Amayori ducked her head a bit, I saw what had caused Alice to pull back on the reins so suddenly. It was a large wooden door, familiar to all of us - but we were still high up in the air, and the doorframe didn't seem to connect to anything.
And, floating in front of that door, was a small girl in familiar maroon robes. "We have much to discuss," Miss Cardinal said.
Sub Control Room, Ocean Turtle
23 minutes after the attack
The room was dim and almost silent. Compared to the main control room where the computers and machines were humming with power constantly, and especially the gunfire that had echoed through the halls until twenty minutes ago, it was a little eerie. I think I'd somehow gotten used to the white noise from all the fans and things like that. Weird.
Most of the light in the room came from the huge screens on the wall in front of me, Asuna, and the others. They were set up like the ones from the main room, but they only showed Rath's symbol, some sort of weird upside-down triangle with a large circle in the top-left and a smaller one in the top-right. They were linked together like they were supposed to represent something other than just shapes, but I had no idea what they could be.
Higa tapped away at one of the panels, the main source of light. He'd been working on it for about two or three minutes when suddenly he grinned and the screens lit up. The main screen showed a map of the Ocean Turtle, and one of the screen had a map of what had to be the Underworld, but I didn't recognize anything else.
"I patched into backup power," Higa announced. "The Sub Con's up and ready for action." Kikuoka patted him on the shoulder.
A swish of movement and a few heel clicks on the floor were my only warning that Asuna was pissed. Kikuoka turned to look at her as she approached him, but Asuna didn't hesitate to grab him by the collar of his yukata. She pulled him forward, hoisting him in the air, and glared straight at him.
"You'd better pray Kirito wakes up again," she hissed. "Because if he doesn't, I swear I'll make you pay!"
I couldn't see Kikuoka's eyes through his glasses while they reflected the overhead lights, but the backs of his sandals lifted off the ground when Asuna clenched her fist and glared. Slowly, he raised his empty hands in the air. "I know, I know," he said. "I'm going to do everything I can to bring him back. I promise."
Asuna narrowed her eyes and I patted her arm. "Okay, A-chan, he gets it," I said. "An' yer cute when yer pissed, but let's not fight, 'kay?"
She pursed her pink lips and then let go. Kikuoka gasped and staggered backwards a few steps. For her part, Asuna swayed in place and slumped into my embrace, and I rubbed her back gently. "Argo..."
"There, there, A-chan," I murmured. Tears beaded in her eyes and she wrapped her arms around me. "Big Sis is here, we'll make it through this. 'Sides, if they don't come back, you're going to have to get. In. Line."
"Take it easy," Rinko said as she put her hands on both of our shoulders. "You will get them back. But this isn't the way to do it. Try to stay calm."
Asuna smiled weakly. "You're right." I squeezed her hand. "I'm okay now. Just... overreacted there for a minute."
When her face relaxed, I gently wiped at the tears on her face. "Eh, all good," I said. "I'm worried 'bout our boys too."
"H-Hey!" The tension, which had broken when Asuna apologized, ratcheted back up by Higa's sudden yelp.
"What? What is it?" Kikuoka demanded.
Higa pointed at the screen. "It's... No way! It's another call from inside Underworld!"
"That must be Kirito," Asuna breathed. "I knew he was okay!"
Kikuoka nodded to Higa, and the blond technician hit a few keys on his keyboard. "Hello? Kirito, is that you?" Kikuoka demanded.
"Yeah, it's me. About time you guys came back online!"
His voice was a little tinny, and it echoed a little more than I expected it to... but that was definitely Kirito's voice. Asuna smiled in relief and hugged me a little tighter. "Kirito... I'm so glad..."
"Asuna? What are you doing in RATH?"
"I'm here too, Kii-boy," I chirped.
"Kana?!"
Before Kirito could say anything more, the sound of the door sliding open made me jump. I turned to see the guy who'd spoken with us at breakfast had stepped in. Nakanishi saluted and said, "Reporting in, sir. The primary and secondary bulkheads are sealed and secure. Also, all noncombat personnel have been evacuated to the bow block." His white shirt was soaked through with sweat.
Kikuoka adjusted the collar of his yukata and nodded. "Sorry, Kirito, but I have to take care of this first," he said.
"That's okay!" That voice made my eyebrows raise. It was a cheerful-sounding girl with a very familiar voice, though I couldn't quite place it. "We all understand you have priorities, Mr. Kikuoka."
"Thank you, er..."
"Oh. Ritsu, sir." Heeeey, Ritsu! Now I knew why I recognized the voice!
I leaned over to Asuna. "She's the AI gal, right?"
"That's right," Asuna said.
"Cool, cool. Sounds kinda different, though. Maybe it's the call quality?"
"Maybe."
Kikuoka had nodded and thanked Ritsu during our little whispered conversation, and then turned back to Nakanishi. "Good work, Lieutenant. About how long will the bulkheads hold?"
"Depends. If they have saws, eight hours. A few minutes if they have explosives, but they won't go with that. Not on the primary bulkhead..."
"...It's too close to the Lightcube Cluster," Kikuoka said. He adjusted his glasses and closed his eyes, apparently in deep thought. It only lasted for a second before he raised his head again. "All right. Let's see where we stand. Lieutenant Nakanishi, casualties first. Please tell me everyone's okay."
"They are, sir. Three civvies with the research team sustained minor injuries. As for our SDF unit, they suffered two minor and two heavy injuries. It's nothing life-threatening. They're being treated now."
"That's good," I muttered to Asuna. "I'm glad nobody's dead."
"What about the ship?" Kikuoka asked.
Nakanishi replied, "Not so good, sir. The bulkheads from the bilge dock to Main Control are offline and can't be accessed remotely. But the real issue," he continued, "is power. The main line was cut, so we're on auxiliary now. The good news is we have stable power throughout the ship. The bad news is we can't rotate the screw props without rebooting the whole system."
"Like a sea turtle without fins," Kikuoka mused. "With a shark nipping at its belly."
"That mental image is horrible," Asuna whispered to me.
"I thought the belly of a sea turtle was fine because of its shell?" I whispered.
"That's not - that's not the problem right now," my friend sighed.
"Yes," Nakanishi said. "They got the bilge dock, and all twelve sectors in the Lower Shaft... The bastards! They got us good." He frowned and lowered his head, probably unwillingly. The short-haired man had been like iron up until that point.
Kikuoka sat on the console. "Alright. They have Main Control, STL Room One, and... the nuclear reactor, huh?" He tilted his head and stared at the ceiling while playing with his sandals with his toes. "But they don't want to destroy us. If they did, they would have blown us out of the water by now. Next question is, who the hell are these people? Higa, what do you think?"
"Oh..." The blond researcher glanced at Kikuoka, then turned back to his keyboard and started tapping keys. "Hm. Let's have a look-see. Going by their suits and the hardware their packing, I'd say they're mercs." He'd pulled a still frame from the security cameras that showed the invaders. It was dark and indistinct, but he adjusted the brightness and contrast until several figures appeared. I knew it was a silly thought, but they looked like NPCs from GGO had come out of the game, with their combat suits, assault rifles, and helmets that covered their upper faces. "And based on their average size, pretty sure they're not Asian," he said as he zoomed in.
"Well look on the bright side. At least we're not being attacked by our own special forces," Kikuoka said. "Which, is a relief. We can also be sure of one other thing." He turned to the monitor. "Whoever these people are, they know about Project Alicization."
"Yep, you got that right," Higa said. "They broke in through the bilge deck and headed straight for the Main Control Room. They know about the STL. And, they know we have a true bottom-up artificial intelligence. They're here for A.L.I.C.E."
He didn't say it. Nobody did. But... If someone knew about Project Alicization, that meant that they'd been betrayed from the inside. That was the only way Asuna and I knew about it, anyway - Kazuto and Nick had told us what they were working on. I sincerely doubted these invaders were all dating someone on the project.
"For... me?"
The people on the other side of the call from Underworld had been so quiet that I had almost forgotten that they were there! But now another voice had spoken up. "Another girl?" Asuna asked quietly. "Hmmm..."
"Eh, you know how Kazu-boy is," I shrugged. "I'd be more surprised if a guy had spoken up, ya know?"
Asuna sighed with a resigned look on her face. "You do have a point."
"For - Oh!" Kikuoka adjusted his glasses. "You must be Alice. It's very nice to meet you, young lady."
"Ah... Likewise." I couldn't really see the other person, but somehow I could tell just by the tone of her voice. This was one proper lady. Like, a princess or priestess or somethin'! "I am Alice Zuberg, Integrity Knight of the Axiom Church." ...Eh, close enough. "And you're saying these... 'mercs' are after me?"
Kikuoka shook his head. "Not you specifically. Rather, any of the Fluctlights who've shown the same signs of development as you."
"...I see," Alice replied, in a tone of voice that implied that she didn't see.
"I think I understand," Ritsu said. "The important thing, that your occupying force is after, is the development shown by Alice's Fluctlight, and she just so happens to share a name with this Project Alicization. Does that about sum up the situation?"
"That's... entirely correct," Kikuoka said. "I'm impressed, Miss Ritsu." I'm pretty sure we weren't supposed to hear the quiet little cheer of 'Yes!' that came through over the line. Rather than address Ritsu's little outburst, Kikuoka cleared his throat. "Anyway... You were saying, Higa?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Well, if it's the Fluctlights they're after, then they're outta luck. Fortunately," he said, "I locked Main Con down in time." He hit a few buttons and the still image turned to a live video; there were two rings spinning around each other that surrounded a cube in the center of the room. The cube itself was made up of tiny cubes.
"Whoa," I gasped. "Those are..."
"That is the Lightcube Cluster," Kikuoka said.
Higa nodded. "Heheh. I fixed it so they can't interfere with the simulation or eject Alice's Fluctlight from the Lightcube Cluster."
"That's fantastic. But then, neither can we." Kikuoka still hadn't taken his eyes off of the Lightcube Cluster on screen.
"No, we can't," Higa said calmly. "No one can eject Alice's Lightcube externally, either them in Main or us in here. But that's a good thing! It's pretty much a win for our side." Higa grinned and folded his arms behind his head. "They can't access the cluster by computer, and they won't break through the wall 'cause they know they'll damage it. It's only a matter of time until the Asahi comes with backup. Then it's game over for those dumbasses. Game over."
Kikuoka sighed. "But we still don't know if we're playing the game... or getting played," he said. Higa blinked. "We're here. Where's the Asahi?"
"Waiting, sir," Nakanishi said. Oh no... I think I know what he's about to say. "The Fleet Command in Yokosuka ordered her to keep her distance and stand by until further notice." That's what I thought you'd say. "They seem to think we've been taken hostage, and are sitting tight until the attackers make their demands."
That was a total lie, though! The Asahi had started pulling away this morning, way before those guys attacked. "Politics suck," I grumbled to Asuna. "Oh, uh, not you when you were subcommander..."
"No, you're not wrong," Asuna said. "Politics sucked."
"Here's what I think. Our guests have to have a back channel to someone high up in the SDF," Kikuoka said grimly. "If I'm right, the Asahi won't move in until after Alice's Lightcube has been retrieved."
"Well, now we know. We're not dealing with terrorists here," Higa said, face pale. "This isn't good. If these guys are what I think they are, they'll have an expert with them."
"They might realize they can eject the cube from inside the Underworld," Kikuoka said. "Since they have control of STL One, they can drop someone in and use the virtual console to execute the command."
"And if they do that... then what?" Rinko asked.
"The target cube will be extracted from the Lightcube Cluster in the center of the Main Shaft," Kikuoka said. "Then, it'll be sent through an air tube to a in the selected control room." He pointed at the control panel, and I noticed a plastic-covered hatch in between all of the complicated-looking controls. "The hatch for this room is over there. The other's in Main Con. With them. But now that we know what they want, we have to retrieve Alice's Fluctlight from the Underworld before they do," Kikuoka said.
"And that's where we come in, right?" Kirito asked. "You want us to eject Alice's Fluctlight for you, before the guys on the ship can get to her."
Kikuoka nodded. "Precisely. You catch on quickly. But... What are you doing? Time was accelerated ever since Higa shut down Main. Why haven't you ejected her yet?"
"Because we were unable to." Another girl? How many did Kirito have with him?! Asuna sighed and rubbed at her forehead.
"Unable to... Wait, who is this?" Kikuoka asked.
"Cardinal. To be more specific, the operating system Cardinal that runs this world."
I blinked. "Eh? Seriously? I've heard 'a umbrellas an' swords comin' ta life, but a computer OS?" I mumbled to Asuna. Seems a little bit far-fetched.
The young-sounding voice continued. "In any event, due to lacking a connection, we were unable to properly eject Alice's Fluctlight or log Kirito out." I heard a pair of giggles and a quiet groan, so there was probably a story behind them. And, if the way my whiskers were twitching, it was a juicy story, probably with a touch of embarrassment for Kazu-boy! Not that anything would beat the time his sis told us about how they'd been mistaken for a pair of sisters when they were kids.
"Hang on a second! Before we talk about this any more, I have a couple questions for you, Kikuoka," Kirito said. "Rythin... Rythin won't wake up, and I don't know what's wrong. Please... You've gotta know something, don't you?"
...Huh? H...Huh? I m-must have misheard that, right? That was just a glitch in the system, that made it sound like Kirito was saying something silly.
Kikuoka hesitated, then sighed. "Higa?"
He nodded and took a deep breath. "The short version is... Rythin is stable now, but he's on the edge of... not, good."
O-Oh... Oh. Hey, why was the room spinning so much? My ears are ringing too. S-Stop it. I can't hear Higa tell me Nick is totally fine, nya hah hah... Warm arms wrapped around me and I realized Asuna was stroking my back. I took a deep breath and nodded.
Higa turned to the console and tapped a few keys. Two screens, each with some sort of sphere on it, appeared. "That Death Gun dude's toxin damaged Rythin's neural networks, and yours too, Kirito. That's not something conventional treatment can help. We thought the STL could stimulate the growth of a new network, so we blocked your memories and had you dive into our virtual worlds using the STL. Kirito, you went into Underworld like before, and Rythin went to our other virtual world." He turned to us, away from the screen. "You two know about that one, since you visited him earlier.
"But this time, your memories didn't get blocked. Probably because of the neural damage. Rythin went into E Class as Nick Weyr, and Kirito was plunged into the Underworld as Kazuto Kirigaya, your real-world selves. We didn't find out until just before Kana and Asuna Dove in to visit Rythin. While we could have fixed the issue when Rythin went into Underworld, blocking his memories when he went into Underworld specifically to help you, Kirito, would have been pointless. After all, his network had already been largely repaired." Higa shook his head.
"What? Hang on a second!" Rinko gasped. "What about time? It's accelerated in the Underworld. How much time has passed in there since he Dove in?"
"About two and a half years for Kirito, and slightly less for Rythin. For that whole time, they've been interacting with the artificial Fluctlights like they were real people. He also knew that once the simulation ended, his new friends in the world would be erased."
"And I've got a bone to pick with you, Kikuoka," Kirito growled. "What the hell were you thinking?"
Kikuoka sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? But we can't get into that right now."
"What are you talking about?" Kirito asked. "What could be more important than all the lives of the people you're putting at risk?!"
Higa winced. "Well... Rythin, for one." I shivered involuntarily. Stupid body. Or maybe it was just cold? Yeah, that's it, definitely. "I couldn't check the event logs thanks to all the commotion here, but it seems like something happened to Rythin right after he was put into the Underworld.
"I mentioned those protections in their Fluctlights, right? The ones that the STL uses to prevent unauthorized memory manipulation? Well, through a series of commands that even I'm not sure how they worked, those Core Protections were lowered and certain memories were removed from his Fluctlight."
"The Synthesis ritual," Alice said. "Damn you, Administrator."
My body felt cold. "Which ones?" I asked numbly.
"...Sorry to say, but it looks like he'd lost all memories of you, Miss Kana. And Asuna, and Kirito, and everyone else that he knew about from outside the Underworld. That was the only thing, though. But, those memories were restored right before Kirito and Rythin got through to us, and he was in mental distress. Blaming himself for forgetting the important people in his life."
"He failed," I whispered. "Or at least he thought he did. Nick promised me that we'd always be together, and when he forgot me..." I shook my head. "Stupid idiot..."
Higa wasn't looking at us. "By doing that, he ended up attacking his own Fluctlight. It was right about then when those jackasses cut the power line. That caused a short circuit, and the surge from that caused a spike in the STL's output. As a result... you got lucky, Kirito - you only lost a few minutes of your short-term memory. It's irritating, but you probably forgot everything we told you during the conversation, like where to take Alice. But Rythin's self-destructive impulse was actualized and his ego was... deactivated."
"Deactivated?!" Asuna and I exclaimed simultaneously. I wasn't sure when, but we'd clasped hands at some point.
Rinko frowned. "I don't get it. His ego was deactivated? I didn't know that was possible."
"Have a look at this screen," Higa said, and pressed a few buttons. "That's a Fluctlight. Rythin's Fluctlight, to be precise. That black hole right there, is where a person's self-image should be." He pulled up an image that, if I didn't know what it represented, would have looked pretty. Swirling white clouds fed into a bottomless black gulf in the center of the screen.
"A self-image," Rinko repeated. "The idea, concept, or mental image of one's self." I wrinkled my nose. Maybe those words in that order made sense to her, but not to me.
Higa nodded. "Yup. All of your decision-making passes through a simple 'Yes-No' pathway in your Fluctlight. It asks whether you should, or shouldn't do something based on whatever situation you're in." He glanced over his shoulder at Rinko, who was staring at the screen, and then leaned back in his chair. "For example, Doctor Koujirou. When you're at your favorite beef bowl place, have you ever ordered a second helping?"
"...Mm. No."
"Even if in your mind you're like, 'Damn, this is good. I could eat another bowl'?"
"Never."
"And that's your self-image pathway at work. Decisions can't lead to actions unless they go through those circuits. In Rythin's case, his Fluctlight is largely unscathed, but it's damaged in that one spot. He can't process what happens around him, he can't initiate an action. All he can do in his current state, I think, is stuff he remembers from repetition. Eating, sleeping, things like that." Rinko bit her lip, and I turned to look down the steps. The orange emergency lights acted as a path down to where Rythin and Kirito lay in the machines keeping them alive. "Right now, I don't think he knows who he is, or what he should do, and he can't speak so he can't ask for help. ...But that's just my theory."
I swallowed. "Can... Can I go see him?"
"Of course," Kikuoka said almost gently. "Why don't you and Asuna go see them?"
I nodded and took a deep breath. "Y-Yeah. We'll do that." I wasn't going to let this affect me too much.
"Asuna, Kana..." Kirito called out. "Don't worry. He's okay. Ritsu and I are looking after him, and it'll be okay."
"Thanks, Kii-boy. Means a lot. An' I'll be sure ta thank ya properly when yer both home." As I started walking down the steps, my foot nearly slipped on the steps - but Asuna caught my arm in time. "S... Sorry, A-chan," I said. "Don't know where my head is, nyeheheh."
She smiled at me and shook her heads. "I'm the one wearing heels, shouldn't I be the one tripping?"
"Yeah but you wear heels in VR too, so yer cheatin'."
Asuna sighed. "You can wear them there too..."
I snickered. "Nah, Nick's the one who should start wearin' 'em in VR. He'd look cute, y'know?"
"...He would, wouldn't he? He certainly has the legs for them."
I giggled - and then had to wipe at my eyes and sniffle. Asuna pretended not to notice, but she squeezed my hand a little harder. Stupid Nick, making me worried... Not even joking around was making me feel better. "Y-Yeah... Stupid idiot had better wake up..."
When we entered the STL room, I made my way over to Nick and just... stared at his motionless form. He was still sleeping, and I could feel his pulse when I took his hand, but it wasn't anything like when we'd Dived in using the STLs in the other room. Nick had been warm and safe, and... And he'd been so happy! I just wanted to see him again. But he was asleep! He'd lost his sense of self!
I blinked a few times and then peered over at the other room. The one where the other two STLs were - the ones Asuna and I had used to visit Nick when he was in E Class. Hmmm...
HMMM... "Hey, A-chan?"
"I'm in."
I knew I liked Asuna for a reason!
...
I lost track of the time I held Nick's hand, but... in the end, as nice as it was to spend time with him, he was still asleep. "Ya better make it up to me when ya wake up," I told him. "Dummy. Why'd ya have ta go into th' Underworld, huh? Ya coulda just come back after graduatin' and then none 'a this woulda happened..." I knew he never would have done that. He cared about Kazuto too much.
After taking a deep breath, I walked back up the steps to the Sub Control Room. Higa and the others were still talking about something or other. "How do I put this... As far as Rythin's real-world condition," the programmer said, "it's like I said before. Things aren't looking too good for him. The only thing that gives me hope is, he's still logged into the Underworld. That's good. See, even though his self-image is damaged, his Fluctlight's still active, and receiving stimuli. So there's a chance his neural network can heal."
"How can ya tell?" I asked. Rinko jumped and looked at me, then smiled.
"While you were with Kirigaya and Weyr, we talked with her. That other Fluctlight you asked me to send in with him, Ritsu?" He tapped on his control panel to bring up a few more screens. "She said she's been taking care of his physical needs like food and shelter, and that he was still able to react to a few things that happened nearby."
I nodded. Jeez, what a good girl she is! The next time I see her, my heart might start skipping beats, you know~. Hmm... Ricchan? Ri-tan? I'll have to workshop it. "So his Fluctlight's still gettin' input, but none of it's workin' thanks ta that self-image circuit thingy. Gotcha, gotcha."
Higa sighed. "So, as I was thinking. His guilt over losing his memories is what damaged his soul, right? What if... and it's a big what if... someone forgave him? That might help."
The click of Asuna's heels caught Kikuoka's attention. As my friend climbed up the steps behind me, I wrapped my arm around her waist. "Send us!" Asuna declared. "We'll go."
"Asuna? Kana?" Rinko asked.
"Like A-chan said. We'll go, so log us into the Underworld." He lost his self-image? He didn't know who he was? Heh. Was that all? I can handle that. Wouldn't even be the first time. "I wanna go in there and tell Nick that he did a good job. Tell him, 'It's okay ya forgot, 'cause I know ya remembered'."
Kikuoka turned to us and sighed. "All right. We have the two STLs you two used earlier. But the Underworld's at a critical stage. It's not exactly stable right now. It's scheduled to enter the final load test soon, the last phase of the experiment."
"Final load test...?" Rinko asked, a frown wrinkling her brows. "What happens then?"
"The Eastern Gate," Higa said, "separates the Human Empire from the Dark Territory. Once its Durability level hits zero, the monsters will invade the human side. If the humans were able to build up their defenses in time, they could drive the monsters back to their side. But now, it's up in the air. Kirito pretty much destroyed the Axiom Church, the ruling body there, so... who knows what will happen now?"
I buried my face in Asuna's shoulder. Mm, she smells nice. "Our idiots are gonna be fighting in a war, aren't they?"
Asuna patted my back. "I wish I could lie and say no."
"At this point," Kikuoka said, ignoring or not noticing our conversation, "having someone Dive in there might be the best course of action for all our concerns." He folded his arms. "Once the invasion begins, there's no telling how chaotic the Underworld will get, and there's a good chance Alice could be killed."
Asuna frowned. "Couldn't you just log her out? Now that the connection exists again?"
"With Cardinal's help, we could, but..." Kikuoka sighed. "Unfortunately, the issue is with the person herself. Alice has refused to leave the Underworld while they're about to fight a war, and Kirito said he won't force her to leave."
"Can't ya... I dunno, stop the load test or whatever?"
"Not with the system locked down," Higa said.
"Sucks. Ya think that'd be somethin' ya would want control over..."
Kikuoka coughed. "Anyway. If we send someone in using a high-level account, they can assist the Human Empire in defeating the forces of the Dark Territory, and have the power to keep Alice safe. Then, once they've accomplished their task, they can take Alice to Cardinal and have her eject the Fluctlight." He sighed and adjusted his glasses. They caught the light and hid his eyes from our sight. "It's a shame to ruin the experiment this close to completion, but... Rythin and Kirito come first. Plus, we can keep our enemies from accomplishing their goal."
"A neat double kill," Higa said with a grin. "All of that means that personally, I think if anyone's gonna Dive in, it should be Asuna and Kana. They're our best hope at breaking through to Rythin, plus they've got the combat skills to protect Alice and get her to the terminal."
"An' who better than A-chan, th' Berserk Healer - ow ow ow ow owie A-han, yer pinhin' mah 'heek!"
"You don't need to convince me about that," Kikuoka chuckled. "All right, let's find them high level accounts to Dive in with," Kikuoka said. Asuna let go of me and I rubbed at my sore cheek, then grinned up at her. She sighed fondly at me. I should... really try to focus more, huh? It was just so hard to keep my mind straight.
"Sure thing," Higa said. He typed away rapidly. "I got tons of options. A knight, a general, a noble..." As he spoke, more and more accounts filled the screen. "Whatever you two pick's gonna have high stats."
I wonder what I should be. Ooh, maybe a noble! Then I could oh-ho-ho-ho at Nick! That'd be fun. "Wait, I just thought of something," Rinko said.
"What is it?" Higa asked.
"What about the people in Main Con? If they're here for Alice, maybe they got the same idea we did."
"Yeah... Maybe," Higa said. "There's two STLs over there they can use. Thing is, the passwords I set for the high-level accounts are tough, and they won't have time to crack 'em. If they Dive in, they can only go in as a Level 1 person."
Higa trailed off and frowned, like something had occurred to him, and Rinko asked, "What's wrong?"
"Oh... Nah, it's nothing," Higa said.
Well... If he said it was nothing. As Higa scrolled through all the options, a pair of them caught my eye and grinned. "Hey, A-chan, ya thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"
"Those do look good," Asuna said.
"These, please!" I chirped with a grin.
Higa nodded. "You got it, ladies. I'll get this set up, so head on down to the STL rooms. And I'll send a message to "
Asuna and I nodded and walked down. Miss Aki met us down there and had some cute pink robes for us to get changed into; we hadn't had those or the IV bags she was getting ready when we Dived in to see Nick in E Class, but we'd only been spending a few minutes in there instead of however long it would need to rescue our boys and retrieve Alice.
Once we'd gotten changed, Asuna typed out a quick message on her phone. 'Everyone, Kana and I are going to the Underworld, too. We'll be coming back with Kirito and Nick, no matter what, so don't worry.'
Naturally, I sent a message too. "I'll tell them you say hi. Aaaand smiley face, mouse emoji, waving hand. Perfect!" I hit send and slipped the phone into my pocket. Then, Asuna and I sat down in the two empty STL units and held our arms out.
Aki swabbed Asuna's arm first with the little cotton ball, and then paused. "Are you ready for this?" she asked.
"Yeah," Asuna answered without hesitation. "Ready as I'll ever be."
"We got this," I said with confidence. Aki looked at us, and then nodded.
I'm coming for you, Nick. Just hang on a little bit longer, okay? I'm almost there.
"…I'm not leaving him alone with that Alice girl," Asuna muttered, and I sighed. That's not really the pressing issue here, A-chan…
Hooray! Everyone in Rulid is safe. Good job!
When it comes to these episodes, I'm trying to make sure that I keep everything centered on the corrected viewpoint, despite other interesting things happening with other characters. Case in point – Ritsu is going along with the evacuating villagers, so she doesn't get to see Alice and Kirito take the fight to the goblins and orcs. Hopefully, the reveal of the Sacred Art she's been working on is neat enough.
Speaking of! The Sacred Art sets and things like that. I figured that if the Sacred Arts are really just commands spoken out loud, why wouldn't there be macros or something like that? Some of the more complex Sacred Arts we see or hear about on-screen seem to happen very quickly. Especially Quinella's Arts and the daggers Cardinal made. Since Cardinal has knowledge of the command list too, it seems easy enough for Ritsu (under her tutelage) to learn to set up macros.
In other words, she's got her guns back. Yay! Just… assume that she's got a million different configurations saved because that's her gimmick and we'll roll with it.
Moving on to the real world bit with Kana and Asuna, that one's a little bit more awkward. Hopefully the stress and pressure Kana is currently under is coming through a little; I tried to have her internal monologue floating around a bunch based on small little mistakes she's making despite thinking she was fine. Nearly tripping, losing track of time, getting distracted… Things like that. Hopefully it came through.
And yes! They're going in together. I'm sure everything will be fine.
One thing that IS difficult for me to do is the Interludes from the point of view of the invaders. There's some interesting stuff, so once more I can't emphasize this enough – please watch or read the original story! You'll miss a lot if you don't! Please!
Many thanks to everyone that favorited, followed, or reviewed.
