Chapter 19: World Collision


Dark Territory, Rocky Mountain

I flew through the air, chasing Alice in the direction Asuna and Rythin had pointed me. I put one hundred percent of my focus on going as fast as possible. I'd trained the ability to fly in ALO so it was easy to reach the maximum speed the system would allow. Yes, it was entirely because I wanted to fly fast, and definitely not because I was able to avoid thinking about something else that I definitely didn't want to deal with until much later.

When I reached the site of the battle, those intrusive (and exciting) thoughts were chased away as I looked at something impossible.

The blue light surrounding my body vanished as I halted in midair to see a blonde knight in golden armor kneeling over an aged body, covered in wounds. Three dragons stood over them, their heads hanging as if in mourning. A golden glow surrounded the scene, emanating from in front of Alice.

There was no sight of Emperor Vecta at all, nor of the black dragon that had taken Alice away.

My feet touched the ground lightly and I walked forward. The sound of my heels against the bloody stone was enough to alert Alice, and the golden knight turned her head. My eyes widened as I saw the tracks of tears and red eyes; Alice had been crying, but at the same time there was fierce determination in her eyes.

The golden light was coming from where Alice's hand hovered over Bercouli's body. As I watched, I saw a few of Bercouli's cuts seal back up. It had to be some sort of healing spell.

"...Are you Kirito's friend?" Alice asked. There was a desperate note to her voice, and she winced suddenly, one hand touching her head lightly. "Have you come from the Real World...?"

I nodded. "That's right. You're Alice? I guess you've already met Asuna and the others then."

Alice closed her eyes. "Yes, that's me. ...Please, I need your help. Uncle... The Knight Commander has been badly injured, and I don't have -"

I had already knelt down next to Alice to look at Bercouli. The aged knight was fast asleep and his cheeks were pale, though his condition didn't seem to be getting actively worse. "What do you need me to do?"

"...Thank you," Alice said. Her eyes were red around the rims and small trails of tears had cleaned a small path from the dust and dirt that covered her face, but the tears had dried up and she had nothing but determination on her face.

I smiled. Like I would have hesitated for a moment. Even if she wasn't going to be family.

Alice reached out with her left hand to grasp my right. "System call! Transfer Human Unit Durability, Left to Right!"

I stiffened and let out a gasp as the Sacred Art took effect. It was like a rush of... something was leaving my body, and as I stared at my hand, gleaming balls of light rushed out of the hand Alice grasped and flowed to Bercouli's body through Alice.

More gashes on Bercouli's body started to close, but the most egregious wound, his missing left arm, was left totally alone. My hand felt strangely warm as the left side of my body started to feel a little numb. It was just a tingling in my fingertips at first, but after a few minutes I realized that my left foot had lost feeling. A chill was starting to creep over the left side of my body.

Still, it wasn't that bad. And from the visible signs of improvement, whatever resource Alice was transferring was helping Bercouli immensely. I could put up with a little bit of discomfort for that.

"Were the others safe when you left them?" Alice asked, her face tight with concentration and a little bit of pain.

I knew it was a question to distract both of us, but I didn't mind answering. "They were heading for some ruins, but the red knights from my world are closing in. They'll catch up to them soon."

"And Rythin, and Kirito?"

I smiled fondly as the memory of Rythin's smile came back to me instantly. "Rythin is... he's doing really well. I'm happy he's safe. And Kirito's how he always is."

"...I meant the fighting," Alice said, a little awkwardly.

I coughed and looked away. Right, of course that's what she meant. "They're standing in the front lines, but when I left them they just seemed tired more than anything."

Alice smiled. "Kirito never could sit still, I'm surprised he's managed to run out of energy at all."

I smiled. The tingling and cold feeling in my arm and leg had started to spread across to the right side of my body, and I flexed my left hand a few times out of nervous habit. If this kept up, despite the huge amount of Life Higa had told me the account had, I might actually get logged out.

Still, eventually Alice relaxed her grip as Bercouli's bleeding finally stopped. I shook my left hand a little bit to try to get feeling back into it, even as I looked at the blonde knight. "Why did you stop?" I asked. His left arm was still...

Alice shook her head. "Healing his arm would take too much out of us. Even with your incredible amount of Life... I can't risk it. Now that his condition has stabilized, we need to retreat and take him back to the main forces. If we can find Lady Cardinal, she should be able to heal him."

"No, Alice. You can't."

The blonde knight stiffened at my words.

Honestly, I didn't want to say the things I had to say. But still, Rythin and the others had entrusted me with the vital job of getting Alice out of the Underworld.

"You need to keep heading south, to the World's End Altar," I continued. "If you touch the cons – I mean, the crystal panel, the people on the Real World side will bring you to them."

Alice stood up and turned to me. "That Agent Kikuoka of theirs? He would be able to let me leave... but what would happen to the others I protect? Emperor Vecta... The man controlling his body was from the Real World. He will definitely return, won't he?"

I looked away. I couldn't deny that possibility. "...There's a chance he could return to this world in a different form," I said.

Alice gestured to Bercouli. "And that's why we need to return," she said. "That villain left Uncle in this state. If I'd been a second slower in healing him, he would have... But if he's only vanished temporarily, then we need every swordsman we can get. I can't leave them. I won't."

I looked Alice straight in the eyes. Her blue eyes stared into mine without wavering, and over the course of the ticking seconds I slowly realized that I recognized the expression on Alice's face. It was a very familiar one that I'd seen on Rythin's face a lot.

Alice knew this was a bad idea and the smart thing to do was leave; but, she had made up her mind. She was going to do something stupid and nobody was going to get in her way.

Well, there was no way I was going to convince her to give up at this point, so I shook my head and smiled. "Oh, alright," I said. Alice blinked, surprised by my sudden acceptance. "I guess that the safest place in the Underworld is beside Kirito and Rythin, after all."

"Ah... You're right."

Alice agreed a little awkwardly, still off-balance by me turning around.

We carefully lifted Bercouli's unconscious body and sat him on the dragon Alice called 'Hoshigami', Bercouli's faithful mount. Alice arranged a few straps so that he wouldn't fall out of the seat, and then climbed up onto her own dragon's back. "Hoshigami, Takeguri! We're returning to the camp. Sinon, what will you do?"

"I'm going to..."

I trailed off as I looked around. There was a good chance that Vecta would come back to life right here, if he was able to log in using another account. Mr. Higa had been able to put me into the Underworld at any given point, so it only made sense that the enemy could do the same thing.

If that were the case, then the best thing to do would be to wait here and do the best I could to slow him down. It would buy Alice as much time as possible to get away.

On the other hand... They probably had some way to figure out which unit was which. That's how Higa knew that I would be showing up next to Rythin and the others. That could mean that if I left Alice, Vecta could spawn back in right on top of her.

And really... if Alice were flying to the south, to escape, then we might be able to get away with it. But since she's flying north...

"I'm going to come with you," I said eventually. "It's the safest option."

Alice nodded and pulled on the reins. "Amayori!" The dragons roared and ran forward, their feet shaking the ground with each heavy step. After a few seconds they flapped their wings and soared into the air.

As for me, the blue glow surrounded my body as I concentrated and lifted myself into the air. Alice and her dragons were already a little bit ahead of me, but I could fly at the top speed the system would allow. It didn't take long for me to catch up, and I carefully matched the dragon's speed so I could fly right next to Alice.

"By the way... I never got your name," Alice said.

"Oh... It's Sinon."

"I see... Sinon, is it?" Alice nodded and looked at me. The wind pulled at her long braided ponytail and it trailed in the wind behind her, right above her cloak. "...I can tell you care for Rythin quite a bit."

I kept myself calm. In the virtual world, even one as realistic as this, I was Sinon. "Yes. I... He's like my big brother." It was still a bit embarrassing to say it out loud, though!

Alice nodded and smiled at me. "Yes, well... Just keep in mind that I do consider him to be like my little brother. So, if you do anything to hurt him, then you will have to answer to me. Am I clear?"

...Eh?

I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing happily.

"Wha- Why are you laughing?"

"N-No, it's not your fault..." I wiped at my eyes. "It's just, that's the kind of line I'd expect Rythin to say. You should let him know what you said, he'll be happy to hear it." Or he'd pout and whine that sibling should get along, but the sulky Rythin is cute too.

Alice, after a few seconds, smiled slowly and shook her head.

Yeah, I think that went... pretty well.

We flew north as fast as we possibly could. Alice's dragon could only fly so quickly, and I could tell she was getting tired; but if the Human Empire had managed to reach the ruins, it should only be another thirty minutes to fly before we reached the main forces. I could only hope we'd make it in time.

Then, in the sky behind us, dark clouds formed out of nowhere. They swirled around themselves as they grew, swiftly blotting out the crimson sky. Lightning crackled throughout the storm, and where the eye of the storm should be the clouds glowed with light that seemed to come from above.

"...He's here."

The words slipped out of my mouth as I turned around to watch what was going on. I stared at a thin, jet-black stream pour from the clouds, and a part of me shivered. It looked evil, just on that fact alone.

Alice looked over her shoulder. "Emperor Vecta... you really did come back..."

I hesitated again. Part of me wanted nothing more than to fly back at top speed and charge up Solus's bow and blow him away with a single blast. Even from this distance, if I charged up «Annihilate Ray» to the maximum power, I could blow him away before he could block it or dodge.

But, at this point... No. It's better for us to keep flying back to the camp. As fast as possible, to put as much distance between Vecta and us as possible before he can approach.

I turned and flew through the air to catch up to Alice, the wind breaking around my blue aura. We didn't have much time left...


Dark Territory, Skies South of the Eastern Corridor

Angelus soared through the skies, and the wind rushed through my hair. I couldn't help but smile; even in such a desperate situation, flying in the air would always be exciting. I knew I had to make it back to Rythin to save him as soon as possible, but still...

"Hahaha! This is amazing!"

"Isn't it?"

I smiled at Leafa's exuberance as I answered her. The blonde woman sat behind me and had her arms wrapped loosely around my waist, but when I glanced over my shoulder a huge smile was on her face.

"I can't get enough of flying," she admitted. "I know there's a huge battle going on, but the sky is always so free. And Angelus is going so fast! But I think I'm faster in ALO..."

I smiled. "So Rythin was right... The Speedaholic, they called you, I think."

She blushed. "Ehhh? He told you about that!?"

"Mmm-hm! You're the best flier in ALO, that's what he told me." I giggled. "He's very proud of you, you know."

"S-Stop it, you'll make me blush..." True to her words, Leafa's cheeks turned a little red and she scratched the back of her head. It was the same kind of nervous action that Kirito did when Alice was scolding him about doing something ridiculous... Maybe it ran in the family?

Behind us, the other Integrity Knights on their dragons soared in formation with Lady Fanatio in the lead, and the others fanning out behind her. On the ground below, an army marched. It wasn't the Human Empire Army, though; this was an army made up of the Orcs that had been stationed at the Eastern Gate. They were all short and round, with boar-like faces and ears that drooped downwards. Lilpilin had gathered them together, and though they weren't as fast as our dragons they were keeping pace really well.

We were quickly coming up on the location of the Human Empire Army's scouting camp and the great chasm Asuna had made when she first arrived, but something was wrong, and I frowned. I narrowed my eyes and held my hands up to activate the telescopic Sacred Art, and scouted the land ahead of us.

The battlefield, when I'd left it, was largely a featureless and empty plain aside from our forces and the bottomless pit Asuna had created with the powers of her goddess account. Now, though, the gap had been bridged - by multiple flat column-like surfaces that extended directly across the gap. Such a thing could only be created by Asuna! The army that had been waiting on the other side had practically disappeared, too.

A small range of jagged spikes, almost like tiny mountains, ran across the battlefield for seemingly no reason. And by that range, there was a mass of knights in crimson armor. It wasn't the exact same color of armor as the Dark Knights that I'd seen at first, but the armor itself was pretty similar. Were these reinforcements? But, as I looked closer, I realized that they were surrounding a smaller group. A group that included a lot of pugilists that looked incredibly worn out and wounded.

"Huh?" I murmured out loud. "But... aren't they their allies?"

The red knights must be the American forces Mister Kikuoka had warned me about. It didn't look like there were any Human Empire soldiers left in that circle, but... the pugilists weren't the only ones surrounded. Sitting in the center, calmly waiting, was Lady Sheyta and her dragon. I couldn't see their faces very clearly, but Lady Sheyta wasn't swinging that thin rapier of hers anymore. Plus, from what I could see, both the Integrity Knight and her dragon were horribly injured. Lady Sheyta's armor was cracked and shattered, and poor Yoiyobi could only rest her head, her scales and wings torn.

"Lady Fanatio!"

"I see them," Lady Fanatio said grimly. The second-in-command, naturally, had spotted the battle at the same time I did and had used the same far-seeing Art. "So those are the soldiers from the Real World?"

"Ritsu! Is my brother there?"

I shook my head at Leafa's question. "I can't see Kirito or Rythin, or anyone there. They must have escaped before the red knights managed to surround the forces. The only ones there are Lady Sheyta and the pugilists. If we keep flying south, then we'll probably find -"

"...We have to help them."

I looked over my shoulder to see Leafa's face set with determination. The blonde girl stared back at me, heedless of the wind tossing her ponytail around.

"We have to help them," Leafa said again. "I want to save everyone here! And if they're in trouble, then we need to stop and help them. My brother... Kirito and Rythin will be fine for just a little bit longer, I think."

"I..."

I knew it was the right thing to do. And in any other situation, I wouldn't think twice about flying down to offer my aid. But in this one instance...

I shook my head. "I'm sorry. I can't leave Rythin alone. And Angelus is exhausted. She can definitely fly the rest of the way, but if she uses any extra energy to fight the army..."

"Yeah, I get it... Hmmm..." Leafa squeezed her eyes shut and made little mumbling noises to herself. Then, she just opened her mouth and groaned loudly. "Gaaah, forget it! If I need to save them and you need to keep going, then there's only one answer!"

"Answer?"

Leafa grinned. It was a very Kirito smile, and that worried me a little bit. "Then we have to split up! Can you fly down low to the ground and let me jump off?"

I gasped. "Jump off? That's crazy! ...But you've got it. Angelus, dive!"

The dragon roared and answered my command. She plunged downwards, and the rushing winds whipped at my face, but I didn't hesitate. Once Angelus was so low her legs and belly were practically skimming the ground, I nodded to Leafa. She gave me a big smile and happily jumped off of the dragon's back.

She hit the ground and rolled a little bit, but it didn't look like she was any worse for the wear. Beautiful roses of every color and grass so green and vibrant it looked like every blade was made of shining emeralds sprang up around her as she rolled, leaving a trail in her path.

"Good luck!" she shouted as she rose to her feet and waved. I waved back and then tugged on the reins. Angelus cried out and flapped her wings, pulling back up.

As I joined Lady Fanatio and the others in the sky, Lady Fanatio's voice echoed in my head. Some sort of telepathic Art that let us communicate even when on dragonback! "Ritsu, is everything alright?

I concentrated, and formed my reply carefully. "Lady Fanatio... With Leafa by your side, she's very powerful... So..."

Lady Fanatio smiled gently at me before I could even finish the thought. "You want to go back to the boya, don't you? Very well. Between the five of us, a goddess, and the orc squadron we should be able to defeat the intruders."

I smiled happily. "Thank you very much!"

"Stay safe, Ritsu," Lady Fanatio said. "And tell Rythin I'm glad he's awake."

"I will!"

Behind me, Lady Fanatio's dragon dipped down to pick up Leafa. I waved goodbye to the other Integrity Knights and then leaned over Angelus's neck. "Let's go to Rythin, Angelus!"

Angelus roared in response and flapped her wings hard, shooting forward. I glanced down as I passed over the red knights and the surrounded pugilists. Please, hold on just a little longer! Help is on the way!

"...Angelus? Do you think you can burn those red soldiers and still have enough energy to fly for an hour?"

"Graaaohhh!"

Angelus's response after that was to take a deep breath and then bathe the field in flames. The bright beam of energy was blinding as it scythed through the American forces, killing the ones it hit directly. Explosions from the superheated rock created even more casualties, and I frowned. Strangely, the dead red knights weren't... well, dying. Their bodies were just fuzzing into static and disappearing.

But I couldn't worry about that too much longer. Red finished her run and flapped her wings as I kept flying. From here on out... it was up to Leafa and the others.


Dark Territory, Southern Ruins

The shouts of the Japanese VR players mixed with the screams of the Americans. I didn't really mind all that much, honestly. They were finally getting what was coming to them. And, since the red knights were just generic user accounts with limited equipment, no matter what they tried there was no way they could stand against our forces with well-trained users and

"Charge!" Eugene shouted. The Salamander forces that had converted with him obeyed the order and swarmed the front lines, cutting and stabbing with their glittering weapons. Plenty of the red knights collapsed, cut into several pieces or dead from having their heads crushed in with a mace.

And in the back, we were holding on pretty well there, too. There were the front lines, of course, but the players and soldiers who were in the back had formed a circle around the wagons. I could see the shining lights of a whole lot of Luminous elements healing the wounded. It sucked that we were forced to heal the injured fighters and sent them back out - pain sucks, and we were asking a lot of them to experience the pain of getting cut or stabbed, then heal up and go back to experience it again.

Looking over the battlefield, though, it looked like we had a pretty decisive advantage now that reinforcements arrived.

But... I wasn't down there in the thick of the fighting with Argo, Kirito, and the others. Instead, I'd carefully broken off to the side, undetected, and climbed up the first few steps of the ruins. It was slow going, even more so since I'd taken the time to erase my presence entirely. I was one of the best at doing that, after all, and to anyone else looking around it would be like I didn't even exist.

If it were just to get a bird's-eye view of the battlefield, I wouldn't need to go so far. But, in order to reach my target, I needed to get there without being spotted. After all, I was trying to reach the source of that unnerving feeling of killing intent I'd sensed earlier. I knew where it came from - that man in that ragged black poncho that was watching the chaos from on top of one of those stone idols. That black poncho... It was a very familiar poncho. I'd seen it from time to time.

Back in Aincrad.

PoH... What were you doing in the Underworld? Then again, what did I care? All I needed to do was get up there and kill him. He can't cause trouble if he's dead and logged out.

Besides, I know I sensed killing intent. Whatever he wanted, it wasn't anything good for me or the Human Empire.

I climbed up to the top of the ruins after a few minutes of carefully picking my path. They were old ruins, cracked and weathered with age, and it wasn't hard to find hand and footholds. The flat top of the ziggurat gave me a good view across the sky, and in the distance I could see tiny glimmers of light and a dark cloud on the horizon. I couldn't worry about the weather phenomena though, and I focused approaching the hooded man watching the battle undetected.

Of course... It was easy to do that. Quietly, my Night Sky Dagger fell into my hand and I raised it over my head. Then, I plunged it downwards to kill -

*Clang!*

"Whoa... That was close," PoH said, still somehow grinning to himself. We struggled back and forth, the edge of my blade sparking where it met the flat surface of his weapon. And it was definitely PoH, looking at the knife in his hands. Well, I say 'knife', but that was only technically, according to SAO's system. It really looked more like a butcher knife, the kind I could find in a kitchen. "I almost didn't realize you were there!"

"That was... the point!"

PoH's lips spread into a wide grin. "Kekekeh... Long time no see! And you ruined the surprise present I was going to give you, too. So c'mon, between the two of us, how did you know I was here? I thought you were down there killing people with Blackie!"

I snorted. "Would you believe I had a divine premonition from the goddesses?" PoH kicked out at my knee and I twisted to the side to avoid the blow. The killer managed to scramble out of the way in an acrobatic spin that put him on the very edge of the stone totem. "But really... It was just my training as an assassin."

For the first time, the mocking, hateful grin on PoH's face slipped. "Assassin, huh... You don't know what you're talking about! «Piece of shit!»"

Heh. He slipped into English there, huh? I get the feeling I've found someone else in the same line of work.

I twisted my knife and lunged forward, kicking off the ground hard enough to leave cracks in the stone idol. PoH cackled and swung his Mate Chopper down at me - but it was just a feint on my part. Instead, my Night Sky Dagger flashed upwards to parry his chopper. PoH's arm was thrown back and I tackled him with my arm out, knocking him off of the idol.

We tumbled through the air and then smashed into the ground roughly, sending a cloud of dust into the air. I scrambled to get him into a grapple that I'd practiced - but my armor slowed me down just a little bit, and before I could get the lock on his arms and neck a gleaming blur cut through the dust and smoke.

I dodged backwards in a flip and twisted on my heel when I landed, bringing up the Night Sky Dagger in a cautious guard. The dust settled down to reveal PoH standing there, holding his Mate Chopper down with the blade tilted towards me. "Ohoo, you've got some new moves, Rythin," PoH sneered. He rubbed at his chest and stomach, where I'd slammed my armored arm into his body.

The sudden disturbance was enough to spook our ALO and GGO allies; the front lines drew back cautiously until they formed a semicircle to my back. The red knights weren't any less cautious; they pulled back too. Now, there was another small space between our forces and the Americans, with PoH and I standing between them.

"That black cloak..."

I looked over my shoulder, carefully keeping one eye on PoH, to see Klein staring at us. His face was pale, like he'd seen a ghost. He had been getting healed by someone using a healing Art, but he'd surged to his feet at our abrupt entrance. Asuna stood beside him.

"Are you kidding…? There's no way! Not here! Am I seein'… ghosts now?" Klein croaked.

"Th-That's crazy," Asuna said. "There's no such thing…"

On their other side, Kirito gasped. "That leather poncho..."

"Kirito? What's wrong?" Eugeo asked. "Do you know that man?"

"Yeah," Kirito said lowly. "Yeah, I've run into him a couple of times. That guy... he's the leader of Laughing Coffin. That's PoH."

Eugeo frowned. "Laughing... Coffin...?"

PoH twirled his weapon in a dexterous spin, and slowly rested the blade on his shoulder. His lips curved in a mocking grin as some of the soldiers and players started to whisper questions about who he was, and what he wanted. Some people that knew us pretty well - like Alicia Rue and Sakuya - looked at each other. I'm pretty sure that they were fully aware of what kind of person would earn this reaction from us.

Then, PoH waved hello at us mockingly. "Long time no see, Blackie, Flash," he said. "Hope you don't mind... but I've brought a few more friends for everyone to play with."

More... friends? ...No. No way, he can't mean that. We just managed to get the advantage! You're lying, you sack of shit! You can't be serious!

But despite my inner denials, movement at the top of the ruins caught my attention. With a sinking heart, I looked up towards the sky and watched as red, armored silhouettes rose up and lined the edge. There were enough of them to block the entire right side of the ruins. And as I watched, the sky above the new arrivals lit up with even more red strings of code pouring down. Five hundred... Six hundred... one thousand, five thousand, ten, twenty...

As the numbers grew beyond my imagining and I gave up counting, I took a deep breath and then slowly let it out.

"Holy crap," Klein said. "We're in for it now! This batch ain't from America… or Japan. We're so screwed."

As I caught bits and pieces of foreign sentences that mixed together, I glanced over my shoulder at the other players on our side. They stared up at the waves of enemies with horror and despair.

"They're from China and Korea!" Kirito exclaimed.

"Seriously," I said to PoH. "Just, go fuck yourself, honestly."

That bastard even had the gall to laugh at me.

I exhaled slowly and gripped the hilt of my Night Sky Dagger. This was going to be rough...


Real World, the Virtual Playground

"Yui! Yui come look at this!"

I stared at the globe in our playground, the holographic representation of network connections across the world. Earlier, it had shown the incoming connections jumping from all over America to log into the Japanese servers hosting the Underworld. After Aunt Liz had given her super inspiring speech - where I definitely didn't cry before, during, or after it at all - and all the other Japanese players had converted their accounts, the connections had come from all over Japan. Right now, though...

Yui flew over and stared at the globe, her eyes wide and filled with concern. "Oh no!" she gasped. "Everyone is in danger!"

I stared at the representation and glared at it, like getting mad at it would make the red lines connecting from China and South Korea go away.

"We messed up," I sighed. "The enemy went so far as to gather all those players from America, and we never even thought they'd go out for more reinforcements. I should have seen it coming. Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

Yui reached out and gently wrapped a hand around mine, and I tried to relax. Her warm hand was soft and kind, and eventually the tension in my shoulders vanished.

"...Sorry," I said quietly.

She smiled at me. "It's okay. I'm worried about them too."

Yui didn't really look like it, though. It was super impressive how she was able to keep calm as she hovered in the air, her fingers laced between my own. When I looked at her, she pretty much radiated total faith in our parents and friends. So amazing...

I took a deep breath, held it for five point two seconds, and let it out over one point three seconds. I'm not sure why I did that, but by watching Dad I noticed he frequently held his breath and exhaled like that. So it must be important!

"Okay," I said. "The connections in question are coming from VRMMO players in South Korea and China. They don't seem to be converting their accounts like we did. Instead, they're connecting to the server using pre-made accounts like the American forces earlier. When I was monitoring their in-game communications, I noticed that this video file was frequently being shared along with the client download."

I swished my free hand through the air and pulled up the log of chats I was monitoring. From there, I selected one of them at random; the others dropped back into the background. The one I'd chosen looked like it was a chat for the «Silla» guild, and they were all talking about it. Every now and then, a linked video would pop up, with the description, 'A bunch of Korean, American and Chinese gamers made a new VRMMO and their server's been hacked by some Japanese players. They're attacking the testers in game right now.'

Which was totally not the case! Dad and everyone else were the good guys! People lie on the internet all the time, and that's why it's totally okay for me and Yui to manipulate the stock market.

The video itself was somehow taken directly from what I assumed was the Underworld, since it showed the Japanese players in shining armor. General Eugene giving the order for the vanguard to charge, Miss Alicia declaring the Americans in red knight armor as the enemies, and scenes of the red knights being slaughtered without any chance to fight back. In short, nothing but wild chaos and murder.

"They're carefully editing the footage," Yui noticed. "Keeping the clips short to only show our side fighting, avoiding the Human Empire non-combatants in the back, and not showing the full extent of the American forces. They're very clever about it, honestly. For just selecting clips, this is very well done."

I grumbled as the chat kept speeding along. It was mostly the guild members shouting about how they were definitely going to log in and teach those hackers a lesson. After a second, I swiped the chat log closed and puffed my cheeks out in irritation. "What do we do?" I asked. "...Is there anything we can do at all?"

Yui sighed. "I'm not sure," she replied. "Theoretically, we could send out a video of our own showing the opposite side of things, how our side is desperate and trying to defend people. If we can show them that the native NPCs speak Japanese instead of Chinese or Korean, then that might be enough to convince them that we're the rightful owners of this server. The problem is..."

"Creating the video with believable footage and spreading it to enough people," I said. "The first because we don't have the correct access to the Underworld, and the second because of how widespread their video is."

Unfortunately, we just didn't have the direct access to the systems that whoever made the original video did. If we were able to capture live video, then we could probably make something. I suppose we could just write a very inspirational speech, but those don't tend to do well on forums and VR chat rooms.

As for getting it out there... That wouldn't be too hard. Information gathering is my main purpose, after all! It doesn't take much to turn that into information dissemination. Mom taught me all the best tips and tricks!

"I just wish there was something we could do to help..."

Yui smiled at me and raised our clasped hands up after I made the quiet plea. "Do you know something, Din? When I had to watch Papa and Mama fight and put their lives on the line... I felt the same way. I was trapped with nothing but the increasing number of bugs my software was encumbered with, and the despair I felt rose every day. And... do you know what I learned?"

I blinked. "...No, what?"

She smiled happily. "No matter what, my Papa and Mama are the strongest! They'll never lose. So all we need to do is have faith in them. Everyone will find a way to succeed."

The way she said that... I knew I had never heard those words before, so they couldn't have a defined response in my software. Still... It made my cheeks turn warm and my stomach feel a little strange. So, I smiled back at her. "Thanks, Yui. That really helps."

"I'm glad!"

Her smile is pretty cute...

Of course, in her inspirational speech, there was something I had to comment on. Something that even as nice as she was, Yui was without a doubt, one hundred percent - no! One thousand percent wrong!

"...My dad could totally beat up your dad," I said.


Dark Territory, Southern Ruins

"You son of a bitch," I growled at PoH.

His lips twitched as he shook his head. "Not gonna argue with ya!" he said, entirely too cheerfully. "Now then..."

PoH turned around to face the new arrivals and spread his arms wide. He opened his mouth and sucked in a huge breath, and -

"As if I'd let you!"

My voice snarled out and I kicked off the ground. PoH turned just in time to meet my charge, and our weapons clashed against each other. Sparks flew in every direction, and for an instant we froze there.

Then I smirked, baring my teeth. The bloodlust was unsheathed now and it was like a large animal playing with its prey. My free hand swept out and grabbed PoH's poncho, holding him in place just before my knee swept up and buried itself in his gut.

PoH grunted and broke my grip by twisting his body and punching at my elbow. I winced as it flexed in ways it shouldn't and snatched it back before he could do more than bruise it; if I'd kept holding on, he might have been able to snap my arm.

So, he's got some sort of hand-to-hand training. In that case, I'll approach this like I would Karasuma!

I gripped my dagger tightly and crouched, dropping into a cat stance. I didn't quite have the equipment for it, but this would let me react a little bit faster. When PoH glared at me and darted forward, I pounced; my leg snapped up in a blow towards his chest -

My leg struck his poncho but the cloak-like equipment only rippled. I'd missed the strike thanks to not being able to see his surprisingly thin body. PoH cackled and raised his Mate Chopper for a heavy overhead swing. Unfortunately for him, I had been trained well. The kick missing wasn't great, but I bent my body and my heel swept up towards his head.

PoH jumped back, but I was already approaching him, bloodlust seeping from my body. I lunged forward and slashed in a combo that had been drilled into me. Slash to the chest... Missed. PoH dodged it by jumping backwards. Then, step forward and slash across the stomach... Missed. Before he can get his balance, twist the blade and stab to the ribs!

That one connected a little bit. PoH winced as my blade left a trace of red blood across his side. I'd left three gashes across his tunic, like the claws of a giant cat had raked over his ribs.

Ah! I see. There were some benefits to being in the Underworld, if my bloodlust could do things like that!

Still, first blood to me. The sound of PoH's melody started to waver a bit, and as I twirled to the side to avoid a retaliatory slash, graceful despite my armor, I couldn't help but smile. PoH was nowhere near as scary as the Reaper had been! When I fought that monster, his entire body had been shrouded in wisps of darkness until I had managed to see any of his moves. PoH's shroud was just his little poncho that had been so intimidating back in SAO.

"What's wrong?" I asked, grinning fiercely as I brought my dagger down to parry PoH's slash. We traded a few blows until a particularly powerful slash from his Mate Chopper sent me skidding backwards. "You've got all these followers, PoH! Why aren't you spreading your oh-so-important message? You must have called them here for a reason~!"

Ah. It feels so good to cause problems on purpose!

I lunged forward and PoH was clearly expecting more attacks with my Night Sky Dagger, so I switched smoothly into a different style, my free hand curled with my fingers like claws. The palm thrusts snapped out as I tried to find a gap in PoH's guard, but my strikes thudded hard against his leather-wrapped arms and the blade of his Mate Chopper. Every strike was doing its best to find that one opening I'd need to kill my target.

PoH managed to get just enough time after one of my missed swipes to lean back. He swung at my head and my eyes widened as the glowing blade swept at my neck –

I ducked down and the blade thrummed over my head. My leg snapped out and I kicked at PoH's stance, sweeping his legs out. He grunted in surprise and I smoothly twisted my body; my other leg came up and hooked around his neck and began to squeeze. As PoH fell, he knew what was going on, clearly – as I squeeze my leg, I cut off his air again. So, he scrambled to break out; his Mate Chopper glowed again and he slashed at my leg.

I had to spin my body, but at the same time it would mean losing the grip. So instead I rolled and kicked, throwing PoH bodily across the ground. He hit the ground on his back and bounced. Then, he landed in a three-point stance and slid, rubbing at his neck. On my end, I used my free palm to spin back to my feet. Before PoH could do more than straighten up, I had already jumped to him and snapped a roundhouse kick at his head; PoH blocked my armored boot with his weapon, and I landed ready to keep going. But in the meantime...

"They're just standing there! Waiting so very patiently for someone to tell them what to do! Why don't you say something?"

After dealing with all the shit PoH stirred in SAO, this felt amazing.

Of course, our grace period between the appearance of the second wave of foreign reinforcements for the red knights and their inevitable charge ran out at that moment. It made sense. After all, they were all wearing the same armor as the people they were supporting, so it was pretty clear who the enemy was. I'm honestly a little surprised it took them this long to start charging down the steps of the ruins.

It was only a few at first, but then the more and more of the Chinese and Korean knights started charging into the battle as the mob mentality kicked in. For obvious reasons I couldn't actually understand what any of them were saying, but I had a feeling it wasn't good.

Screams filled the air as the new red knights began to attack. Their weapons were the same low quality as before, but with so many more bodies in the space it was enough. Three of them could charge one of our players and even if one died, the other two could cut our soldier apart, or run them through, or any number of awful ways to die.

"Kekekeh! That's better! That's the look I want to see!" PoH sneered at me.

I punched him in the face, the heel of my palm snapping his head back. "If you have time to talk shit, try ordering them around," I snapped. "Or haven't you noticed?"

While the red knights had renewed their assault, filling the stone path ahead of us. A sea of knights stretched off into the distance, and when one was killed five more were shoved into its place. But... And this was the important part. Whatever PoH had planned to tell them, I'd stopped. And that was starting to show dividends. Their advance was slow and uncertain.

It may look like an army, but not everyone was on the same page. Of course, if PoH had been given a chance to rally the troops... I despised him. But, at the same time, he was definitely charismatic - that was how he'd been able to run the largest group of PKers in a death game. There was no doubt in my mind that given the chance, he would have been able to inspire the Chinese and Korean players.

So naturally I was dealing with him the same way we dealt with Asano. Stop the orders, and the obedient foot soldiers fall into chaos. Just a simple strike to assassinate their army.

"Everyone!" Asuna shouted, her voice ringing across the battlefield. "Fall back! Fall back now! We need to protect the Underworld soldiers at all costs!"

Yes! Perfect! My sister is the best!

It might turn the battle into attrition, making our side suffer more and increase the risk of character loss, but this way... This way they were forced to come to us. Asuna must have noticed their hesitation and made the perfect split-second decision. Plus, we wouldn't die permanently. The Underworld soldiers would.

See this is why Asuna is amazing!

The players responded to her orders, breaking off and backing away. A line of Salamander players formed between me and the front lines, effectively sealing me and PoH off from his reinforcements. Behind me, I saw Kirito and the others running up.

PoH slid backwards from the force of my attack as I battered him with palm thrusts, and instead of lunging forward to follow through I raised a hand. "System call! Generate Crystalline and Luminous element!"

This was going to feel so good.

"Tch!" PoH spat blood out to the side and glared at me from under his hood. "I'll just kill you first and then deal with Blackie and the Flash!"

I didn't respond. Instead, I started to walk forward silently. With the first step, I slammed my bloodlust back into its sheath and smiled peacefully. As I walked, my body seemed to blur its movements. I wasn't moving fast enough to leave an afterimage; but, to PoH it had to seem like I was doing the impossible. His rhythm fell into chaos, and the tension pushed him to the boiling point almost instantly. PoH swung at me with his Mate Chopper, but he only slashed one of the blurs - I'd already stepped to the side to avoid him.

"Fuck your tricks!"

PoH was definitely skilled in combat, too. As expected of the leader of the PK guild. His blade glowed a sickly red color as he spun, the blade passing through my body twice in the «Double Circle» Sword Skill.

For an instant, PoH smirked at the red lines that crossed my body. They were definitely lethal blows.

And then the reflection shattered as the mirror I'd created out of Crystalline and Metallic elements ran out of Life from his incredibly powerful slashes. I didn't give PoH a chance to react before my boot smashed into the back of his knee. "Wha-" he gasped out.

Gasped, because the instant his knee buckled and he toppled to the side, I spun and twisted. My body practically moved on its own after the many hours of practice in E Class, and the throw was textbook. PoH flipped over my back and slammed into the ground - and this time, I was in the perfect position to wrap my arms around his neck and squeeze.

"Damn you," I snarled in his ear. "Why are you here? Why are you doing this? Is it payback? Revenge for what we did your shitty guild?"

"Ghk... Wanna know... something?" PoH asked. "Fuck, what's... the slang... Heh, been in the US... too long. 'Are you stupid or something'? Try this on... for size. Remember how someone... tipped off your Assault Team ab... about Laughing Coffin's hideout? That someone was me!"

...What?!

In that instance of confusion and shock, my grip must have loosened because PoH managed to rip away from me and lash out with a powerful kick to my stomach. It knocked me back, but my armor blunted most of the impact. Sadly, the shining armor finally broke after that, leaving me unburdened. Honestly, I liked it better this way.

PoH swayed to his feet and stared at me, a wide grin on his face. He pulled back his hood to reveal a surprisingly handsome face - with how disgusting his personality was, part of me assumed that it would reflect in his appearance. But no... He had black hair, a silver ring piercing one eyebrow, and a blue tattoo that ran down his right cheek.

"It's hilarious, really," he said. "I wanted to make you guys into the cold-blooded murderers we were. The Assault Team, posing as heroes, acting all high and mighty on the front lines!"

"You're insane. That's what you wanted?" Behind me, Asuna glared at PoH as he cackled. "To make Kirito… To make him kill someone in SAO?"

"Yup. That's exactly what I wanted to do." PoH smirked. "That day, I found myself a hiding place and watched the whole thing go down. When the dumbass in black snapped and chopped down two of my fellow Coffins, I damn near blew my cover 'cause I was laughing so hard!" He chuckled as he said it, too.

Unforgivable... Unforgivable!

My bloodlust poured out, roaring as it surrounded me. Flickers of black and white stripes faded in and out of the corner of my vision.

He made Kazuto suffer. He made Kazuto bear the guilt of killing people. He made my brother shoulder that burden when he didn't have to!

I'm going to kill this man.

There weren't any more words as I snarled and launched myself forward. The ground cracked underneath my feet with the force of my kick. It was the perfect lunge for my Sonic Leap skill, and -

PoH smirked. "Rookie!"

I realized a heartbeat too late that he'd taunted me into losing control. By this point, it was too late - PoH brought back his Mate Chopper. It glowed red, and he swung.

The tip of my Night Sky Dagger passed over his shoulder. A lock of curly hair and some red blood flew into the air from where I'd grazed him. But he still dodged it!

I froze in the post-Skill cooldown. In Aincrad or the Underworld, using a Sword Skill would enforce that rigidity as punishment. So, there was no way for me to avoid the strike from PoH. His cleaver slashed towards my stomach, and he was about to rip me in half...!

Then a miracle happened.

It could only be a miracle, because it was caused by a goddess. Under PoH's foot, planted firmly on the ground for leverage, a small circle glowed and rose up. Like always, when the strong are looking ahead, that's the perfect time to pull the ground out from behind them.

Asuna gasped and fell to her knees, clutching at her head, and Liz and Silica shouted in concern. But I couldn't focus on that.

The shattered rock had shifted PoH's aim just enough that his weapon scraped along my ribs instead, leaving a gash in my tunic and blood from the wound. It was still better than getting myself cut in half, and I wasn't going to waste this opportunity!

I twisted and stabbed forward again with the Night Sky Dagger. At the same moment, PoH shouted as he swung his Mate Chopper down, and our glowing swords met - the tip of my Night Sky Dagger clashed against the edge of his Mate Chopper.

Sparks flew and my arm shook, but I stood firm. I am an Integrity Knight! I will not lose to this demon!

"What do you want?" I hissed.

PoH's smirk widened and he stood up a little bit taller, leaning forward. I shifted my blade so that it was edge-to-edge to struggle and get a little bit more leverage, but I was exhausted and PoH was fresh. I was forced back a little bit, my feet sliding in the cracked earth.

"Isn't it obvious? I wanna kill Kirito." PoH smiled. "I've been wantin' to since the first time I tried on Floor 5 in Aincrad. I don't think I ever wanted anything more."

Since all the way back then...?

A shred of memory floated to the surface, then. Of Kirito coming back during our New Year's celebration on Floor 5, shaken and immediately wrapping Asuna in a huge hug. I hadn't understood what was going on, and back then I was too shy to ask. In the end, I'd forgotten all about it until now.

That must have been...

"So what did he do to you?" I ignored the sparks flying from our clashing weapons. "Why do you hate Kirito so much?"

"Say what? Kekekeh! No way, bro! I wouldn't go to all this trouble if I didn't love the bastard!" PoH's eyes went wide. "The world's full of scumbags, in case you didn't notice. But that guy, he's someone you can totally believe in. No matter how much I screwed with him or tried peeling back that honor of his, he never took the bait. I respected that. Hell, I cheered him on! That's why… I'm gonna be the one to break him! I'll kill whoever I have to… and however many I have to, to make that happen!"

A wave of pressure rippled out from PoH's mouth as he ranted. Black, oily smoke wrapped around my blade and tried to force its way into my thoughts. My will felt weaker as it wrapped around me, and some part of me wanted to give up and let it happen.

But fuck that!

I'm used to those thoughts! They were a constant companion! PoH's little mind games aren't gonna stop me from standing right here, and stopping him!

"You're a sick bastard. That's why you're doing this. You don't respect him, you're just horny for making him suffer! So eat shit and fucking DIE already! You scum…"

I was about to throw his words back into his face. But then something shifted. The clash between our weapons definitely shifted towards me.

I hadn't wavered. I hadn't even lost strength, when PoH's poison tried to corrupt me. But somehow, PoH was pressuring me back. The reason for that... was that the Mate Choper PoH clenched in his right hand was vibrating and visibly getting larger by the second.

"Guess I finally got the hang of how things work in here!" PoH sneered. His eyes practically glowed red as a menacing aura swirled from behind him. "Now... «It's SHOWTIME!»"


First things first, the aftermath of the fight - fortunately, Sinon was able to make it in time! Bercouli's stable, though not quite out of the woods. However, the differences mean that Alice is going to run back to the battle to get him healed instead of leaving the Underworld... (Also Alice is very protective of Rythin now. Even now that he's awake.)

Cutting over to Ritsu briefly - Leafa is nice and friendly, but she has to jump off of a dragon to save everyone. Don't kid yourself, Sugu probably practiced for that back in Alfheim.

And then finally, the battle continues with Rythin on the hunt for the black-cloaked watcher. Hello, PoH. How's it going? Too bad, Rythin is also pretty good at hiding his presence. Not that it really matters when reinforcements get called in...

Many thanks to everyone that favorited, followed, or reviewed.