Chapter 21: Prince of Hell


Dark Territory, Southern Ruins

All around me, the battle fell into chaos as the 'allies' started fighting madly, with no distinction between friend and foe. It meant our side was safe, but as PoH cackled, I realized that this was falling right into his plan.

"What... What are you doing...!?" I gasped.

"Kekekekeh! It's time for the second act!"

Everywhere I looked, the battlefield had fallen into total chaos. The red knights had originally been reluctant to fight. I'm not sure why, exactly, though I had a feeling the players from China and Korea had sensed something was wrong with the story they'd been fed. Our desperation must have shone through, or... whatever.

But as the huge demonic shadow stretched out over them, they got corrupted, or something like that. I could see a red glow coming from the visors of the red knights closest to me, and their armor was covered in a dark aura like smoke that matched PoH's Incarnation.

"Stop, everyone!"

"It's mind control, you have to fight it!"

"Look at his hand, that's the symbol of Laughing Coffin! That guy's a serial killer!"

"Snap out of it, he's controlling you!"

"He wants us to kill each other!"

PoH's little trick hadn't worked on everyone. There were a few red knights that were unaffected - but they were in the minority, and their voices were drowned out by the shouts and sounds of metal against metal.

"Guahahahah!" PoH cackled, his eyes wide.

I tried desperately to stand up, but my body just wouldn't respond. Even without the heavy metal armor, I was just too exhausted. My every muscle felt like it was made of burning lead.

Instead, I was helpless to watch as PoH walked towards me. He crouched down in front of me, and sneered at the rage on my face. "See? This is humanity. People trying to do the right thing? Don't make me laugh! They're all shitty killers, every last one of them. But don't worry. I'll make sure Blackie over there has the best seat in the house. As for you..."

I wanted to spit in his face, but my throat was too dry; I'd been sweating so much and burning so much energy I was incredibly dehydrated.

PoH raised the Mate Chopper over his head. He paused, and I watched it get bigger in real time. "Any last words, Rythin?!"

"...Suh..." I swallowed hard.

PoH sneered at me. "What's that? Wanna try that again?"

I looked up at him - and smirked. "Switch."

PoH's eyes widened and they snapped up, but it was way, way too late for him to do anything about what I had just called for. A glowing blue and silver blur sped past me and slammed hard into the side of his head. PoH collapsed to the ground like every bone in his body turned to rubber, and Argo lowered her leg from the firm kick she'd planted directly in his temple. The ribbon wrapped around her arms and shoulders waved and rippled like it was somehow angry - an emotion mirrored by the fury in her expression.

"That's my boyfriend yer talkin' to, bitch," Argo hissed. "I'm gonna end you!"

The smile on my face widened and I tried to stand up. I actually succeeded, and I felt proud of myself - until I realized that the only reason I was able to stand up was that Eugeo had helped me to my feet by bearing most if not all of my weight. "Can you walk?" he asked.

"Ggh... Maybe," I muttered. Eugeo nodded, and both of us silently agreed to not discuss how he was basically carrying me off of the battlefield by himself. Stupid body...

PoH staggered to his feet and glared at Argo. Some blood dripped from a cut on his forehead, but he was surprisingly unaffected by Argo nearly putting her foot through his skull. "You little bitch!" he snarled.

Argo's lips were set in a thin line, and she didn't let his words get to her. Instead, she held her claws up and crouched in a ready stance.

"Oh, we're doing this, are we?" PoH shouted. "I had a grudge against you, too! Sharing information and trying to be a -"

"Ya talk too much!" Argo snapped as she kicked off of the ground. Her claws swung up in a blinding gleam, and PoH had to raise the Chopper into position hastily to block her swipe. Sparks flew as her claws scraped across the flat of his blade, but Argo didn't let that stop her.

Claws weren't a good weapon for a power struggle - they were best suited for her hit-and-run playstyle - so Argo didn't even slow down. The glowing slashes seemed to hang in the air for a second, and I recognized her «Wolf Claw» Sword Skill right as she brought her other claw up to cross over the slash, layering another few diagonal lines on top of the others.

The force of the blow was incredible - I should know, I'd been on the receiving end a few times. But still, PoH just shrugged it off with the flat of his Mate Chopper. Instead of falling backwards, he just cackled as dark miasma swirled around the blade and made it grow a little bit bigger. It was bigger than a longsword now, though not as big as a greatsword.

But Argo wasn't finished with her combo. Her foot glowed like her claws, and shot into the air with a kick that snapped up against the weapon. It didn't do anything, but the Martial Arts Sword Skill was a two-hit combo. Argo used it as a springboard and twisted, kicking again with her other leg. This time, when her glowing foot hit the Chopper, it was blasted to the side like she'd hit it with a sledgehammer.

Argo flipped backwards as she kicked off of the Chopper. I had just enough time to see a nasty smile on her face as she reached out with both hands - and firmly slapped the hands of Liz and Silica, still upside down. "Switch!"

"We're up!" Liz called, and charged in with Silica in the lead.

The young dragon tamer darted in and savagely slashed at PoH, taking advantage of his stagger to slash her dagger along her ribs. She might be more used to fighting with Pina now in Alfheim, but it was easy to remember she was an SAO survivor as well.

"Rythin, are you okay?" Kirito kneeled next to me and looked me up and down. "Liena, I need help!"

"Coming!" The beautiful greatsword-wielder kneeled down next to me. "System call!"

Green light came from her hands and flooded into my body, and I had to stop myself from letting out a moan of relief. My body shivered anyway.

At the battlefield, Silica kept up her darting slashes to keep PoH from stopping Liz. The young girl suddenly broke away and dodged PoH's slash; his glowing sword hit the ground and a shockwave rippled out, but Silica had gotten away in time and was able to jump over it. The wave splashed harmlessly against Liz's shield, and the mace-wielder charged forward anyway. The head of her weapon glowed a brilliant purple and she jumped at the last second instead of swinging at PoH. She slammed it down onto the ground with both hands and the «Earthshaker» Skill activated. The ground surged underneath PoH's feet and he was thrown into the air.

"Switch!" Liz shouted, and raised her hand. Klein stepped forward and smacked it, tagging in - and then he exhaled slowly and firmly gripped the hilt of his katana. I realized he was using the «Zantetsuken» Skill right before he vanished in a flash of light and appeared behind PoH. Klein clicked his sword back into its sheath and a splash of blood sprayed into the air as a cut appeared on PoH's chest.

"You're up!" Klein called out, and raised a fist.

Agil grinned and bumped his knuckles against Klein's. "Taggin' in," he said, and gripped the hilt of his axe.

PoH staggered to his feet, and swung his Mate Chopper in a blind rage, but it smashed against the edge of Agil's axe. Agil grunted, but took another step forward closer to PoH. He used his muscular build to force himself against PoH, using brute force to approach the Laughing Coffin leader.

"Get outta here!" Agil roared, and both of them rocked backwards as the clash of Sword Skills finally repelled their weapons. "Kirito!"

"Nice combo!" Kirito called out, and dashed forward. A wide, manic grin on PoH's face answered him, and the assassin brought the Chopper down to strike his target. But Kirito didn't let that happen, and his black sword countered the descending blade. The parry shoved it to the side - but Kirito didn't stop. That skill he's so good at, chaining two Sword Skills together... He used it to bring his sword up in a simple «Slant». But, PoH wasn't able to move thanks to the post-Sword Skill freeze, and Kirito landed a heavy slash across his chest.

"Asuna!"

"Right!"

Asuna stepped forward, and as Liena helped me to my feet I couldn't help but stare at the back of the goddess avatar. Was that... I rubbed my bleary eyes. Maybe it was just because I was exhausted... but I could swear I saw a ghostly avatar with long purple hair pushing against Asuna's back as she ran. Then, the apparition hugged Asuna and whispered in her ear.

"It's okay. I'm with you. Always."

Was that... Heh. Good to see you again, Yuuki.

Yuuki's soul must have been called out by Asuna's Incarnation; as the vision vanished, a massive pair of shining white wings spread out from Asuna's back. Sure, Asuna's an angel now. Why not, right? She was beautiful, though. I wasn't going to deny that.

A pulse of white light rippled out across the field, and the black aura of PoH's Incarnation that clung to the foreign players vanished as it passed them.

"All you know is hate," Asuna shouted. "I'll never give in to someone like you! I will fight you, to the END!"

She swung her rapier in a blindingly quick «Linear» Skill, and PoH just barely managed to block it - but the force of her blow threw him off of his feet. Then, Asuna pulled back her rapier and crouched, and my eyes widened as I recognized her stance.

A pale purple light shone from her sword, mixing with the white light from Asuna's angelic wings, and Asuna aimed the tip at PoH's exposed body.

It was the starting stance for the Original Sword Skill she'd inherited from Yuuki.

Five thrusts from the top right to the bottom left.

Five more thrusts from the top left to the bottom right, intersecting in the center.

"Guaagh...!" PoH spat blood.

But she wasn't finished yet.

"Hyaaaaaaaaaah!"

Every bit of her strength was put into her next thrust, and Asuna released all of her power directly on the center of the crossing pinpricks of light. For an instant, I thought I saw another hand on the hilt of her rapier, standing to Asuna's side and adding a little bit more strength.

It was the strongest attack of Asuna's eleven-hit OSS, «Mother's Rosario».

The violet light of her sword blasted through PoH's chest and sent him flying. The force of her final blow was that strong that Asuna's final hit had been like a shooting star.

PoH spun through the air, blood following his movements, and crashed into the side of the ruins. Stone rubble collapsed around him, and I heard the metallic clang of his Mate Chopper hit the ground. As more stone blocks fell from the ruin, crashing on top of the man, I let myself smile.

Asuna, exhausted, dropped to one knee and clutched the hilt of her sword to use it as a crutch.

"Thank you," I murmured to the stunned Liena and took a few steps forward under my own power towards Asuna.

The light surrounding her body and the angelic wings faded away, but I was still able to hear her whisper. "Thank you, Yuuki."

Asuna pushed herself to her feet, and I walked up to her -

"Look out! His weapon is still absorbing sacred power!"

Liena called out suddenly, and my eyes whipped to the cloud of dust stirred up by the collapsing rubble. Sure enough, a sick red glow came from the dust, and I snarled under my breath. Bastard... Why won't you just stay dead?!

Through the cloud, I could see a man's figure rise up, the Mate Chopper held aloft. But... No, not actually. It wasn't quite like that. It was more like the Mate Chopper was lifting itself into the air, and dragging PoH along for the ride. The leader of Laughing Coffin looked like a puppet with all but one string cut.

That didn't change the red and black glow of his Mate Chopper absorbing resources - or the gigantic hole straight through PoH's chest. I could literally see through him to the ruins on the other side.

But PoH didn't seem to care that he'd taken a mortal wound that blew apart his stomach and heart. Instead, the bastard smirked and raised his head.

"You all see that?! You still think these people ain't cheaters?! Now, we caught traitors in our ranks working with the Japanese to confuse you! KILL 'EM ALL AND SEND 'EM BACK WHERE THEY CAME!"

A massive wave of killing intent exploded out from PoH; it was so intense that I nearly threw up from the feeling alone. But to make things worse, it was powered by his Incarnation - the black demon from earlier turned into a massive pitch-black pillar that shot into the sky.

The aura created a swirling pool of pollution in the sky that stretched across the entire battlefield. Just like before, it infected every Chinese and Korean that had been healed by Asuna's own Incarnation. The players that became covered in that black smoke shouted and roared, and raised their weapons in the air.

"OHHHHHHHH!"

PoH, his eyes wide and insane, thrust his Mate Chopper forward. His thralls answered the call and charged forward to battle. Some of them fought each other; some took the fight to the other Japanese players and Underworld soldiers.

Damn it... We're so close, but how do we stop this?!


Dark Territory, Northern Chasm

Her big brother needed her. Leafa could somehow sense that Kirito and Rythin were in trouble, down to the south.

But before she could go save them, there were three thousand red-armored soldiers standing in her way. The tanned fist fighters and the lady knight with the dragon were being helped by Lilpilin and his Orcs, so she was perfectly willing to stand there by herself and fight!

"Haaaaah! «Verduras Anima!»"

She swung her sword in front of her, even though there weren't any enemies in front of her. Naturally, her sword didn't cut any of their armor directly.

Even despite that, the blade glowed a brilliant emerald and a wave of matching green light soared out in front of her. The wave crashed into the soldiers in front of her and blood splattered everywhere in an arc.

Her Terraria avatar might have been able to use ultra long-range attacks, but it didn't mean she could ignore the cooldown time between Sword Skills. When she froze after swinging her sword, countless swords stabbed towards her, and Leafa let them stab her without flinching -

"Watch out!"

"Uryah!"

Silver blurs spun around her in graceful moves, and Leafa's eyes widened in surprise. The three knights wearing identical armor had jumped into the fray as well. They moved like they knew where the other two were at all times; it was almost as fluid as when Rythin, Asuna, and Kirito were fighting together. They only used quick Sword Skills but the knights tagged in and out constantly to overwhelm their opponents with their powerful swords.

It wasn't perfect, though. For an instant, she saw a gap open up where none of the and a spear-holding American lunged towards her.

Fanatio flashed past her, and stabbed through the helmet of the red knights that charged her. Another red knight raised an axe and tried to swing it down on Fanatio's open back, but Leafa jumped forward and swung her leg out in a kick. Rythin had insisted on teaching her and she learned well, so her roundhouse knocked him back into a group of his allies.

After that, she leaped forward and swung her sword with abandon, slashing through the pile of collapsed knights.

Red filled the side of her vision and Leafa turned in time to avoid the slash that was aimed towards her neck. The red knight's blade still cut through her left arm and severed it at her upper arm.

Leafa's eyes widened with pain as the STL she was using faithfully fed the pain of losing her arm back to her soul. But she refused to cry out, and even before her limb hit the ground she swiftly counterattacked with a «Horizontal» skill that cut the owner of the sword and his friend next to him in half.

Leafa panted and gasped for breath and refused to let herself feel the pain. She walked over to her arm and stabbed her sword tip-first into the dry dirt next to her. Then she picked up her arm and held it up to the severed stump.

"Haa-aah!"

With a sharp cry she stomped her right foot on the ground. A green circle bloomed under her foot followed by grass and flowers, and instantly healed her wound. Leafa flexed her reattached hand and winced - even restoring her HP back to full hadn't quite erased the lingering pain.

But she didn't care. It didn't matter what happened to her, so long as she managed to send all of these enemies back to the real world!

"«Holy shit, she's such a boss!»"

Leafa's shoulders heaved and she gripped the hilt of her sword during the English shout.

Even if she was injured, the Terraria account had infinite regeneration. All Leafa needed to do was stomp her foot on the ground to activate the special ability. That meant that as long as she didn't let herself give up, she could go on forever! It didn't matter how many swords, spears, or axes she had to ignore.

"Leafa," Fanatio said sharply, and turned to face her.

Leafa's eyes widened as red knights rushed her unprotected back. She grabbed her sword and kicked off the ground -

An arrow wrapped in fire shot past Fanatio's back. It was so close that after it blew away the three Americans and kept going to explode into a fireball, Fanatio's hair was blown around by the hot wind.

Leafa stumbled to a halt right in front of Fanatio, and the older purple-haired knight reached out to gently pat the girl's head.

"You don't need to sacrifice yourself like that, girl," she said. "It's good to be strong and keep moving forward, but when that means you're torturing yourself like that, it's not admirable. I would call that foolish."

"But... I can heal! So it's okay if I take damage. After all..." After all, her big brother wouldn't give up from something like that! Her big brother was the Black Swordsman. And even if he wasn't blood-related, Rythin was her big brother too! And he was even worse about it.

Fanatio shook her head. "Don't be ridiculous. You have people that care about you, don't you?"

"I..."

"And they wouldn't want you to do this to yourself," Fanatio continued sternly. "There is no reason to take all the pain and suffering on yourself. You can be a little selfish, girl. Rely on others from time to time. And in this case, trust us. We are trained knights. We may not be as powerful as a goddess, but we are still the guardians of the Human Empire!"

Fanatio drew her rapier and thrust forward, piercing through the throat of another red knight, and Leafa stared at the fighting.

The three silver knights had adjusted to whatever had been missing, and were now flawlessly cutting through the horde of Americans.

Fanatio stabbed and sliced and didn't flinch as the red knights died in droves around her, her rapier instantly shattering their weapons and armor.

Deusolbert stood near the path of the retreating fist fighters, shooting arrow after arrow with intense concentration.

Even without Leafa throwing herself in harm's way and letting herself be cut down over and over again, the enemies were being decimated.

"Why does it feel like I just got lectured by Mom?" she muttered to herself, and then smiled. Fanatio had a point!

"«Verduras Anima»!"

She swung her katana again, and the emerald light sliced through the air again. The curve sliced through the air and then exploded. Bodies all around her were torn apart.

A group of knights with more bloodlust than sense charged towards her. Leafa considered just letting them stab her - but Fanatio's scolding came back to her, and she jumped away.

*Kra-thoom!*

It was the right call, too. As soon as she was clear of the grouped-up knights, an arrow from Deusolbert exploded in their midst and sent them flying. They disappeared in blue polygons before they hit the ground, their screams cut off.

Leafa gripped her sword and concentrated.

"Integrity Knights are strong. But... I'm not going to let them beat me. Because... Because I'm Kazuto's... I'm Kirito, the Black Swordsman's... little sisteeeeeeer!"

She stabbed her katana forward, and the blade glowed red. A huge spear of light blasted forward that pierced through the battlefield and erased any of the red knights it touched. They vanished without having a chance to realize what had just ripped through them.

"Haah... haah..."

Once she could move again, Leafa kicked off of the ground and lunged for the next group of knights. Her sword flashed.

...

About one minute later, Leafa panted for breath. Even though she had full HP, that didn't help with the bone-tired feeling. She dropped to one knee, using «Verduras Anima» as a prop keeping her from totally falling over.

She'd done it.

Every single one of the red knights had been defeated. Leafa finally managed to catch her breath and stand up - though she winced when she did. She had been injured a few times even after trying to be a little more cautious. A lucky spear thrust had pierced through her palm, and even though she'd killed the owner of the spear and ripped it out with her teeth...

"Well done, everyone," Fanatio said. "Let's regroup with Sheyta and the Pugilists to heal the wounded."

Leafa nodded and followed the rest of the Integrity Knights after casting a glance in the direction where Ritsu had disappeared.

Darn it! She really wished the girl had stuck around, because there was no way she was going to be able to reach her big brothers in time!


Dark Territory, Southern Ruins

Chaos raged around us.

The battle lines that we had desperately held in place through the strength of the Japanese reinforcements were destroyed in an instant. The Korean and Chinese players went berserk and swung at anything in front of them.

My mind went blank for an instant as I was overwhelmed by the sudden increase of shouting and violence; the screams, shouts, and clashes of metal sounded like they were underwater. For a heartbeat, I wanted to just go to sleep - but that desire only lasted for that heartbeat. I shook my head and forced myself to focus.

For just that instant, the battlefield had gone fuzzy in my vision, but it was crystal clear again. The black vortex swirled in the sky, and tendrils of oily black smoke mixed with the golden sparkles of dying Underworld residents descended towards PoH's Mate Chopper.

"Kekekekeh!"

PoH arched backwards and laughed madly as the players fought and died around him. Red knights stabbed their swords through the hearts of players and Underworld residents, and the Japanese players desperately tried to keep the Underworld soldiers safe. It wasn't enough, and the soldiers died anyway. Their bodies dissolved into the particles of golden light that floated up into the sky and joined the rest of the death energy funneled to PoH.

I snarled under my breath and glared at the bastard. His heart was gone. It didn't exist. His Life value had to be at zero; my dagger had cut off his left hand during its Enhance Armament, and that meant his wound would bleed until he died. And also, the whole 'giant hole through his chest' thing. So how the hells was he still standing?

Even as I asked myself the question, I knew. It was the Mate Chopper in his right hand, obviously. It had to be overriding the values, somehow. Maybe it was feeding him some of the energy it was sucking up. I couldn't be certain, but it made the most sense...

"We need to get it away from him," I said. Argo blinked, then looked at me in confusion. I tilted my head and thought over what I'd said. Oh, right. I need to speak out loud. "The Mate Chopper. It's what's keeping him alive."

"That won't be enough," Asuna said.

I shook my head. "No, it's the Incarnation - once we get it away from him, he'll die without -"

"That's not what I mean," the beautiful goddess replied. I blinked. "There's too many people fighting. Even if we kill PoH right now, the war faction will just get madder. They won't stop until they've killed everyone here."

I grimaced. I should have realized that, honestly. I really was exhausted... But that's no excuse. "You've got a point," I sighed. "So we have to log them all out, then."

Liz's shoulders slumped. "All of them? That'll take forever!"

Kirito and Eugeo had been talking to each other quietly during the quick conversation. When they nodded and Kirito approached me, I glanced at him. "Got something for us?"

"We have a plan," Kirito said. "But you need to buy us some time."

I gnawed at my lip. A bad nervous habit that I needed to break but now was not the time to quit. "How long do you need?"

"To chant the Sacred Art?" Kirito asked. "...Two minutes at most."

Silica clenched her fists. "We'll get you the time you need, Kirito."

Klein grinned and slapped his bicep. "Leave it to us! Just, don't take too long, buddy."

"Heh. You got it," Kirito said. "We'll chant as fast as possible."

I nodded to him, and he raised his hand. I blinked for an instant before I realized what he wanted, and grinned widely.

Our palms met with a loud smack and we turned away from each other to take care of business.

"Lookin' cool, Ry," Argo snickered.

I cracked my neck sharply. "Time for round two, catling. Think you can keep up?"

"Nya hah hah! Let's go!"

Argo was using a high-level goddess account. The stats for Lunaria wouldn't be as high as the more 'useful' goddesses like Stacia or Solus, but she would definitely have extra combat abilities.

I was an Integrity Knight, a defender of the Human Empire. I had killed hundreds of creatures from the Dark Territory, and I wielded a Divine Object, one of the most powerful weapons in the Human Empire.

None of that mattered.

Before we could move, PoH launched himself forward. He was a black blur until he was right in front of us; my visual acuity was enough to track his movement so I had already raised my dagger into position and braced myself.

He swung the Mate Chopper down in an incredibly heavy smash. It was the size of a greatsword at this point and I could only catch his blade by bracing my Starry Night Dagger with my free hand. The edge dug into my palm and I winced as blood trickled down my arm.

The ground crumpled underneath me but I held firm against PoH's impossibly heavy strike.

"Get away from him!"

"Argo, no!" I snapped.

It was too late, though. PoH pivoted and snapped a kick out that caught my girlfriend in the chest and knocked her flying back into Liz and Klein. They cried out in surprise and caught Argo, but it didn't stop them from getting knocked over by the force of his kick.

I snarled loudly and shoved my blade to the side. PoH's Mate Chopper slid off and I kicked out at his head. My foot lashed out in a mirror of Argo's earlier blow that brought him to the ground, but PoH ducked under this one. His Mate Chopper swung up in a quick slash.

My kick carried through, smashing down on the blade. For an instant, I was perched on top of his greatsword-sized cleaver, before I used the momentum of his own swing to jump over his head.

A slash as I passed over him nicked his cheek and drew blood, but it wasn't enough. PoH just cackled madly and spun like a top on his heel. I had to twist hard in midair to avoid the red edge of his sword.

I landed on my feet and slid backwards on the loose gravel but PoH didn't hesitate. The black blur closed in on me again, but slid past me. I spotted the attack before it came and I parried the slash that tried to open up my ribs.

I turned just in time to see a massive sword swinging towards my face. I gasped and brought my dagger up, holding the parry.

"C'mon! You're boring me, Rythin!" PoH sneered into my face as he pressed me back. "Where was all that bravado from earlier?!"

"Rythin!"

Silica dashed in, faster than I thought possible, and her dagger slashed out in a «Cross Edge». PoH got stabbed in the side, but he didn't seem to care at all. Instead, he swept his leg out and hooked around my legs.

Since I was already being pressed back, I could only fall.

Silica's eyes widened as PoH suddenly turned to her. Her dagger got ripped out of his side in a spray of blood, but PoH didn't even flinch. Instead, he slashed down with the Mate Chopper, and Silica screamed.

My heart nearly stopped, but she didn't fade away. It looked ugly and painful and Silica had gone very pale, but the red cut had only buried itself in her shoulder.

Her left arm went limp and PoH wrenched the greatsword-sized cleaver out of her shoulder. Silica screamed again, and nearly collapsed on the spot. I growled -

-shit move!

I rolled to the side desperately as PoH slammed the tip of Mate Chopper down into the black gravel where my head had been. One of the standup techniques Karasuma drilled into us was enough to get me back up on my feet, but PoH was already racing toward me, the cleaver dragged through the dirt.

"I've been waiting two years for this!" PoH shouted. He swung the Mate Chopper up in a wide arc and I had to block his attack again - but this time I was off-balance and exhausted, and PoH shattered my guard. The heavy swing sent me flying.

My back slammed into the side of the ziggurat, and I coughed from the pain. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't move. I slumped to the ground.

PoH stomped towards me. "You've been a pain in my side for too long, Rythin!"

He raised his Mate Chopper in the air directly above my head.

"I wanna see Blackie's face when I kill you, right in front of him!"

The world seemed to freeze for a second. I was too far away for anyone here to get to me in time.

I had that, but... there was no way I could use it in time.

Shit, I was about to die!

PoH cackled madly and swung his Mate Chopper down.

*Bang!*

I heard the loud crash of metal against metal, and PoH's blade rocketed to the side. He nearly fell over from the sudden jerk.

But nobody was here. The only thing I could see was... a small metal object that had fallen to the ground after hitting PoH's sword.

I stared at it in confusion.

"What the hell?!" PoH shouted.

*Crack!*

This time, it was the sound of bone shattering. PoH's right arm went limp and blood spurted out.

I looked over to my left, but couldn't see anything. Then...

"No way..." I croaked.

There was the smallest black speck in the northern skies. As I watched, it got bigger and bigger until I recognized Angelus. My hands shook as I raised them, but I managed to form the telescopic Sacred Art.

"...That girl is ridiculous."

Naturally, Ritsu rode Angelus. She had a perfectly-formed sniper rifle in her hands, and aimed down the barrel.

What a girl.

"What... How...?" PoH asked, stunned.

I noticed something, and looked down at the ground. When I was fighting PoH, the ground had been unbroken black gravel. But now, there was a thin layer of white mist.

It blanketed the ground and spread out, creeping forward. It passed by PoH's feet like it was a living thing, twisting around him. My hand brushed through the mist and I jerked my hand back - cold! Though, it was surprising more than painful. And... the smell of something familiar filled the air. It smelled like...

...Roses?

PoH looked around him suddenly, and realized that something was happening. By that point, though, the mist had spread out and covered the ground everywhere I could see. The Chinese and Korean players didn't seem to notice anything.

Not that they would. They were too drowned in PoH's Incarnation. Bloodlust was all they could think about.

My eyes drifted back to the source of the mist, and I smiled. Eugeo stood with his Blue Rose Sword held between his hands, eyes closed. The mist poured from the blade in waves.

Heh. We made it in time.

"Enhance Armament!"

Eugeo's shout echoed across the battlefield. A complicated Sacred Art circle appeared under his feet and the mist exploded outwards in a rush. As the circle of mist expanded out, it took the form of tendrils that reached for everyone.

In front of me, the tendrils wrapped around PoH's leg - and then transformed into crystal-clear ice. The mist climbed higher and higher up PoH's body and encased his body in ice as it went, until the mist swirled away from his form and revealed PoH, frozen totally solid.

His face was frozen in a rictus grin, mad bloodlust in his eyes. I shook my head and leaned back against the rubble I'd been slammed against.

PoH wasn't the only one frozen by Eugeo's Enhance Armament. The battlefield had gone totally silent, and the red knights had been frozen over as well. All of the Japanese players and the Underworld soldiers had been spared, though. There was some motion in the ranks of red knights, and I realized that Eugeo had managed to only freeze the enemies that were brainwashed by PoH's Incarnation.

"Kid's got some good control over that thing," I muttered, then tried to stand up. "Hnng... Can't move. Shit."

Well, Ritsu's coming. She'll probably be able to pick me up on Angelus's back.

*Crack.*

I went very still at the sound. It was the sound of ice -

The ice surrounding PoH shattered, and the assassin reared back. "About time!" he shouted. "You gonna go after all these others that were killin' your friends a minute ago?"

"They only did that because you made them," Kirito said as he walked towards PoH slowly. Fortunately, it seemed like the assassin had lost interest in me the instant Kirito stepped forward. "That's how you do things! Turning people against each other and watching all hell break loose! That's what you did to us in SAO. Well, that ain't gonna happen here. Never again! I'll make sure of that!"

"Oh hoh," PoH smirked. "Oh, it'll happen again. Once those players thaw out, they'll go right back to slaughtering all your friends. Unless, your pals kill 'em first. There's no honor in killing the helpless, but that's the point. So give the order. Kill all the red players!"

He spat the words, spittle hitting the ground.

Kirito didn't flinch. He stayed silent, and stopped in front of PoH.

Suddenly, the man's expression went blank. "Hey, if you wanna be stubborn, that's cool with me," he said. "I'll kill you either way. But after I get done with you, I'm gonna Lightning Flash, your whole crew, and every single Underworlder in coffins! You can count on that!"

Kirito narrowed his eyes.

"Eugeo! Now!"

His shout surprised me. Wasn't that the extent of Eugeo's contribution?

Eugeo slammed the tip of his sword down onto the ground, and shouted, "Release Recollection!"

A cold wind blew, and I shivered. A blue circle appeared under Eugeo's feet again and the blast of cold wind rippled out from around him.

Thorny vines made of ice climbed up the frozen red knights. As I watched, blue roses bloomed along the vines; they were crystal clear but still, somehow, living. Too many roses to count bloomed there.

Silver particles streamed from the flowers and entered the air. I didn't quite know what was happening, but it wasn't long before I saw the results; quietly and peacefully, the red knights disappeared in glowing yellow light. They didn't shout or scream. They were just logged out.

The blue and silver particles rose into the air like glittering stars, increasing with every player that was logged out without suffering.

"You bastard!" PoH snarled. "You're gonna pay for that!" For a second, his wide smile vanished - and then, he raised the Mate Chopper in the air, his grin back on his face.

"Oh no! Stop him!" Asuna gasped.

Of course. It didn't matter how he logged them out - as long as there were resources generated by the death of units in the Underworld, the Mate Chopper could absorb the energy and grow more powerful. Kirito... You'd better know what you're doing...

Then I noticed something strange. The blanket of silver and blue lights twisted in the air - but it wasn't being drawn into the Mate Chopper. In fact, no matter how hard PoH swung it around, the cleaver didn't so much as brush past a single mote of light. It was like it was actively avoiding the demon sword.

"Damn it! What's going on? Why ain't they coming to me?"

But... why? It wasn't like PoH's Incarnation had failed him or anything like that - the purple and black aura still leaked from the hole in his chest. But instead...

Kirito raised his black sword high in the air. In the very center of the massive dark cloud PoH had called, a hole opened up and a small bit of sunlight peeked through. The ray of light caught Kirito's sword and made it gleam.

"Release Recollection!" Kirito shouted.

The silver ribbons of energy in the sky swirled downwards, in the exact the same way they had when being absorbed by PoH's sword. Instead, however, this time they flooded into the black sword in Kirito's hands, making it glow with a golden light.

"Son of a bitch!" PoH howled.

"The Night Sky Sword used to be an enormous black cedar tree in Rulid," Eugeo said. "It grew taller than every other tree in the forest, and absorbed all of Solus's energy. The sword inherited that trait."

That trait...

My eyes widened. Then, I could only laugh helplessly. Incarnation really was ridiculous, wasn't it?

PoH's Mate Chopper had the ability to absorb the energy released by the death of units. However, that wasn't what had happened. The causality was backwards!

'The unit died, so it released all of its energy' turned into 'The unit released all of its energy, so it died'. But the second case - what Eugeo's Release Recollection had done - wasn't something that PoH's blade could absorb.

But Kirito's sword could easily absorb the life energy the roses had leeched from the frozen players.

"Man, Kirito, you really are the best," PoH sneered. "No one from back in the Aincrad days to now, ever brought out the killer in me as much as you. Sucks like hell it's gotta end after all that time, but there's no better place to end it than right here."

He hunched over, and black energy surrounded his body.

"Let's you and me have some fun, Black Swordsman!"

"Okay," Kirito said. "I'm ready when you are."

For a second, neither of them moved. They just stared at each other. Like they'd said, the next strike was definitely going to end this, one way or another.

A dry gust of wind carried the scent of roses across the battlefield, and the two of them moved at the same time.

PoH held the Mate Chopper behind him as he ran forward, and it was covered in a red glow. With bursts of black energy there were suddenly three of him running towards Kirito. I recognized the Sword Skill, but I was too tired to remember what it was named. I never used it myself.

Across from him, Kirito's black sword glowed red, and I recognized the opening stance of the «Deadly Sins» seven-hit combo.

PoH's copies attacked and met Kirito's multi-hit combo. Every time their weapons clashed the ground shook, and I watched unblinkingly.

Each of the PoHs attacked and were countered by Kirito's blade; the left and right each got one attack in before Kirito's retaliatory slashes cut the clone in half. Alone now, the real PoH jumped forward and got two attacks in before he smashed his heavy blade down from above. Kirito countered it and the crash made my teeth rattle.

But, the red glow surrounding his Night Sky Sword faded. «Deadly Sins» was a seven-hit combo, and now that it was over Kirito would be frozen in the post-Skill cooldown.

PoH sneered triumphantly and stabbed forward. His unknown Sword Skill was an eight-hit combo.

That was when my dagger speared into his shoulder from behind and stopped him in his tracks.

I panted and grinned from my position, slumped over on the ground. My arm fell from the knife-throwing position.

"Forget about me?"

PoH was only frozen for a second, but that was the second Kirito needed to recover. The black sword in his right hand glowed with a red light again, deeper than the light from «Deadly Sins».

The sound of the collision was so loud it felt like my eardrums were going to shatter. The single-hit «Vorpal Strike» crashed into the last strike of PoH's combo, and the ground beneath them shattered in rapidly-expanding rings.

I let the wave of air blow past me, but I had to wince when sand threatened to get in my eyes.

When things settled down, I blinked my eyes open. Kirito and PoH weren't moving, their weapons touching. My dagger was embedded in PoH's right shoulder.

Come on. We gave it everything we had, so this has to be it! End!

*Crack.*

Maybe something heard my thoughts. Or maybe I somehow actualized my desire through Incarnation.

Either way, red cracks started to spread across the surface of PoH's Mate Chopper. The jagged lines spread across the demon sword -

Then it shattered, and scattered too many pieces to count in every direction. Kirito's Vorpal Strike wasn't finished. With a primal shout, he thrust forward; the blade severed PoH's right hand and stabbed forward.

A bright column of blue light erupted into the sky and blew away the dark vortex above. Another blast of wind rushed over me, and I closed my eyes again to avoid the dust cloud.

When I opened them, I saw something amazing. PoH's severed hand rested on the ground near me. And, in the center of the clearing, Kirito's sword was plunged in PoH's chest. Right in the center of the hole that Asuna had blown open.

But in the end, it didn't matter. The Mate Chopper was gone, and now all those injuries would finally catch up to the assassin.

PoH coughed and blood splattered from his mouth. Despite his gruesome injuries, though, he grinned widely and sneered at Kirito.

"Th-that's what I'm talking about. But you didn't get rid of me. Oh, no. You just logged me out, is all. I'm still gonna keep coming after you guys. And I won't stop. 'Till I slit you and Lightning Flash's throats, and ripped out your hearts! You can both count on that."

"No," Kirito said. "You're done for good."

His reply was a bit... emotionless.

I was about to ask what was going on, when the blade of his sword glowed the brilliant gold from before. Ripples of golden light washed over PoH's body, and Kirito drew the sword back. He took a few steps backward.

"You'll never log out of here again," Kirito said, and turned his back on PoH. "Count on that."

PoH smirked, and opened his mouth to say something.

His leering smile was cut off and transformed into shock with a squeak. His legs and body froze in an awkward position that shouldn't be possible to hold up.

His body transformed - the remains of his arms and legs started to swell and twist, and greenery burst from his leather armor. His boots twisted and became gnarled, lumpy roots that plunged down into the ground.

"My sword's made from the Gigas Cedar," Kirito said as PoH transformed further. His poncho became tough bark and the skin underneath stretched and elongated. "A huge tree in Rulid they couldn't cut down for two hundred years, until two kids finally did. I just sent the memory of it into you. When your friends see all those players logging out, they'll speed up time. Trapping you in your STL."

The bark was black and looked like it had been burnt. PoH's hair lengthened into leaves, and his limbs twisted unnaturally into twigs and branches. His body warped and expanded, tearing up the ground beneath him as the roots expanded. Everything recognizably human about him had vanished, aside from three knotholes in the vague shape of a twisted face.

Finally, PoH stopped screaming.

"It'll be years before you're let out. If you're lucky."

Kirito stopped and turned back to the assassin.

"Then again, folks might wanna build a village here. They'll need wood, and who knows? Maybe a couple kids will chop you down, too."

The tall, disgusting cedar tree didn't answer.

"Holy shit," I muttered under my breath.

Then I pushed myself to my feet. My vision went dark and blurred for a second, but I exhaled forcefully and refused to fall over.

I walked over to the tree and looked up at the branches. The shade it provided was a little refreshing, after the battle under the hot sun.

I reached out with my hand and concentrated.

Something vibrated in the trunk above, and after a second a black blur rushed towards me. My hand closed around the hilt of my Starry Night Dagger, and I studied the blade. Unleashing the Recollection of my blade had cut its Life in half, and small cracks ran through the dagger's material.

I'd have to restore it later. Instead, I wiped off the sap and carefully sheathed it behind my back.

That's PoH dealt with. Maybe a bit more, ah, gruesomely than just straight-up murdering him, but hey. That bastard threatened Kirito and Asuna's lives. Mercy was too good for him.

Now, we just have to go deal with Emperor Vecta.


Dark Territory, Southern Skies

The dark vortex in the sky ahead of us was blasted apart by a pillar of bright light, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Alice's shoulders relax.

"Kirito..."

The whispered name came from her lips and I hid a smile. I couldn't blame her, though. I just knew that whatever had created the dark vortex in the sky over the ruins, Rythin and Kirito had been able to handle it.

Behind us, the ominous dark cloud in the sky had disappeared after pouring out some jet-black stream. I'd been checking over my shoulder every few seconds to keep watch - and finally, a dark shadow was at the very edge of my vision.

"Alice," I said. "You need to go on ahead."

Alice gasped quietly. "Vecta..."

I nodded. "He's caught up. He's faster than us, so I need to keep him busy." Then I smiled. "Don't worry. I'll take him out right away and then catch back up. Just keep flying this way, and you'll find everyone by the ruins."

The blonde knight hesitated, and then looked over her shoulder at the pale man slumped in the seat behind her. If she stayed, then she would be putting Bercouli's life at risk. "...Fine," she said. "But be careful, Sinon."

"I will."

My flight came to a halt, and I spun in the sky as Alice and Amayori soared on ahead.

The dark figure on the horizon swiftly got closer and closer, and I tightened my grip on my bow. Rythin had told me once to listen to my instincts, and right now they were screaming at me to leave, to not face the person coming to me. That dark vortex had been how he was summoned to this world, and anything that disgusting could only be pure evil.

But I needed to do this. I had to stop Vecta here, before he could hurt anyone else.

It didn't take long for him to approach; Vecta was riding on top of some strange bat-like creature that flew forward faster than even my own flight. It was definitely unnatural - I didn't see it flap its wings once, but it stayed level.

As he grew closer, cold realization grasped my heart.

There's no doubt... I know him!

Vecta's next avatar was a man with short-cropped blond hair, wearing what looked like real-world combat gear and a tactical vest. A sword was sheathed on his hip, and a crossbow was holstered on his right leg.

He wasn't handsome or anything spectacular, but when his blue eyes stared at me it made me shudder. They were flat and emotionless; it felt almost like looking at a blank wall when I saw his eyes. Reflecting everything, but also consuming everything.

And, of course, Vecta had a small smirk on his face.

Those eyes... that face... I know him!

He raised his empty hands up, and I tensed up in case he tried to use some sort of magic chant or whatever system this world used. But nothing like that happened. Instead, he tilted his hands like he was wrapping them around my neck, and then clenched his fists tight.

Something clenched around my throat and squeezed, and an awful recognition swept over me. I croaked out his name.

"...Subtilizer..."

This man... he was the one that had strangled me to death in the GGO BoB.

But... why was he here?!


And with this, things are finally starting to wrap up! I promise - next chapter is the final chapter dealing with the War of Underworld.

So, I hope that everyone got a chance to have at least one moment where they showed off a bit. Probably my biggest complaint about WoU (that isn't about Incarnation itself) is that even after all the players showed up to do their thing, Liz, Silica, and the other friends didn't do anything meaningful for more than like, ten minutes. So here I wanted to make sure that they all got a chance to attack PoH. (My favorite, of course, is Argo kicking him in the face so hard he passes out for a second.)

Also you might be able to tell but I've been playing Persona 5 recently. Baton Pass is honestly a good way to switch people in and out.

The other major change comes from Leafa's segment, where she doesn't get stabbed a million times and then die because she got filled with so many weapons that she couldn't touch the ground. Instead, she just gets lectured by Fanatio. Lycoris (the game set in Alicization) gave us the best possible characterization of Fanatio and I'm going to use that for all it's worth.

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