Chapter 22: Gabriel


Dark Territory, Southern Ruins

My arms and legs were shaking with exhaustion.

I guess that makes sense. After all, I did push myself past my limits seven or eight times against PoH in a row, after a pair of exhaustive battles against entirely too many red knights. I think I'm allowed to be tired.

So, when I collapsed on the ground and sighed irritably, I don't think anyone should be giggling at my plight, Silica!

"Stop laughing and heal me already," I complained to the young girl.

"Sorry, sorry," she said, and knelt down. I rolled my head over to see her smiling at me. "But you look really funny like that, Big Bro."

"Mrrrr."

"Is it uncomfortable to lie in the dirt like that?"

"MRRRR."

Silica giggled again and stretched out both hands. I realized her arm was in perfect condition - though her jacket hadn't been stitched together yet - and had to hide a flood of relief.

I guess I'll let her laugh at me, if it keeps her from freaking out about the painful injury she'd had.

The green light from Silica's hands and Sacred Art washed over me and I let out a huge sigh. The aches in my muscles faded a little bit and I took a deep breath to fill my lungs. Suitably fortified and ready to act alive again, I rolled over and sat up.

My head swam a bit and my arms and stomach complained, but it was good enough to get upright. "Ah, be careful," Silica scolded me, and I grinned at her.

"I refuse to ever be careful."

"Rythin!" Silica exclaimed, and threw her arms around me. "...Please. I don't want to be worried about losing my big brother."

I hesitated, then hugged her back with one arm. "Sorry I worried you."

Kirito, off to the side, raised his sword up in the air. "System Call. Transfer Durability, Right to Area."

A massive golden Sacred Art circle appeared under his feet, and the Night Sky Sword glowed the same color. Small golden particles - Life Energy - flowed from the sword into the sky, and transformed into something almost like golden rain.

Everything the golden lights touched was restored to full Life instantly. Cuts and injuries were sealed up without a trace. Severed limbs were restored, perfectly functional. In my case, the bone-deep exhaustion was erased as if it had never existed; for Silica, her clothes were stitched back up and left in a nearly pristine condition.

I got to my feet and stretched luxuriously. Mmmm! Feels like I finally got a good night's sleep. It's been a while since I felt like that. Really, I might have almost forgotten what it was like.

"Bro!" Klein said, and threw his arm around Kirito's shoulders. "Good job, man! But can you maybe save some of the heroic stuff for the rest of us?"

"You had your chance earlier," Liz said, nudging Klein in the ribs. "But... it's really over. Thank goodness. Thank goodness!"

The blacksmith girl rubbed at her eyes and held her arm over them. Even still, I could see the tears trickle down her cheeks. They had to be tears of relief, but it didn't stop Asuna from gently tugging her forward and wrapping her in a big hug with Kirito.

Ronie and Liena also ran forward to join the hug, and it didn't take long for Silica to jump for the embrace as well. Asuna didn't say anything as all the girls grasped onto any part of Kirito they could find - Liena had buried her face on his shoulder, and Ronie his chest. I guess she's feeling surprisingly lenient about things.

"You're all something else," Agil said, and thumped me on the back. I stumbled and then grinned at him.

The celebration spread throughout the rest of the players that had joined here. I saw Sakuya and Alicia Rue cheering, while Eugene nodded his head in satisfaction. The Sleeping Knights all laughed and smiled.

Renly stood by the supply carts with the other members of the Human Empire Army; Eugeo and Tiese were in a loving embrace off to the side. The blond boy seemed a little bit embarrassed but Tiese didn't care about it at all, I guess.

Some of the red knights had survived Kirito and Eugeo's combination attack. They were the ones that hadn't been swallowed up by PoH's Incarnation, so I guess Eugeo's attack didn't consider them to be enemies.

I heard the quick sound of running feet and turned just in time to catch Argo as she launched herself towards me at nearly max speed. Her arms and legs locked around me in a tight embrace, and I quietly resigned myself to having an Argo limpet for the foreseeable future.

"Ya give me too many heart attacks," she grumbled, and rested her chin on my shoulder. "It's like, ten in th' last week, an' almost all of 'em were today."

"I know, catling."

"An' not even in the fun rom-com kinda 'Ahh, I love you, my chest feels weird an' my heart flutters when ya look at me' way! These are 'Ya scare th' shit outta me, Ry' kinda heart attacks! You are takin' years off my life!"

I smiled. If Argo was complaining about rom-com tropes, then we were out of the danger area. It was a good chance to relax now that this battle seemed to be handled.

"Graaaaaohh!"

Everyone looked up when they heard the loud cry from the skies, and Klein's mouth dropped. "Wait, we have to fight a freakin' dragon now?!"

"No, we're cool," I said with a grin. "That one's on our side."

Angelus plunged from the sky and came to a halt.

"Hey, hang on a sec," Klein said.

Ritsu jumped down from Angelus's back. "Rythin!" she called out. I smiled and waved.

"We coulda had a freakin' dragon on our side the whole time?!"

Ritsu ran towards me and stumbled to a halt right in front of me. After an awkward second, Argo sighed and stopped clinging to me - only to grab Ritsu's arm and pull her into a hug with me. I smiled. "I was so worried," Ritsu mumbled.

"It wouldn't have helped, we were too close to the enemies," Agil reminded Klein.

I decided to ignore the rest of their conversation and focused on the girl in my arms. "Well, you made it," I told her. "Right on time. Don't think I didn't notice those sniper shots you took."

"Eheheh," Ritsu giggled. "My calculations were perfect, as usual!"

She was laughing, so I didn't mention how wet my shirt felt.

"I didn't know what was going on, but there were so many red knights," the AI girl mumbled. "Mister Kikuoka didn't say anything about them, but when they were hurting Lady Sheyta I knew they weren't on our side. And then I got here, and that man was making everything go crazy, and he was about to kill you -"

Ritsu's voice caught in her throat, and I gently patted her head. "Thanks for saving me," I said. "You've got a great sense of timing, Ritsu."

Ritsu peeked up at me and smiled.

"Oh my god," Argo groaned from my side. "Jus' kiss already, you useless idiots."

"Eh!?" "Catling, what?!"

A flash of light distracted me from what Argo had just said - okay, to be fair, more like I was looking for any excuse to get out of that training because let's face it, I already wasn't sure what was going on between me and Sinon. I didn't want to add another layer of problems on top of that.

A door had appeared in the middle of open space. A wooden door, that then swung open inwards to reveal a brief glimpse of a library. My confusion was slightly lessened by the appearance of the tiny librarian from earlier that had healed me back in Highest Order Bitch's room.

Didn't stop me from wanting to see the back of the door, though. Would it just be an empty frame, or...

"Cardinal?" Kirito asked. "How are you here?"

Cardinal nodded once. Then, something jumped from Ritsu's shoulder - I flinched in surprise as it passed by my eyes - and landed on a ground. Then, a beautiful woman appeared in a puff of smoke.

"Miss Charlotte!" Ritsu gasped. "You... rode with me?"

"I did," the dusky-skinned woman said. "My Master asked me to do so, that I could provide coordinates for her to link together."

...Who is this?

"Regardless, I am here now," Cardinal said. "I have urgent matters to discuss with you, Kirito and Rythin. I suppose all visitors from the Real World are invited, as are Eugeo and Alice."

My hands twitched at the blonde knight's name.

"Where is Alice?" Cardinal asked.

Kirito gritted his teeth and clenched a fist. "She was... captured, by Vecta," he said.

Ritsu gasped. "Oh no!"

"Sinon - one of our friends from the Real World - showed up," I said. "She's using a goddess account, just like Asuna. Hers allows her to fly. So she's on the case." I smiled. "She'll handle it."

"Sinon, Sinon... Oh, she's the one you said Rinko reminded you of, right?" Ritsu asked.

"Mmhm, that's right."

She smiled. "If it's one of your friends, then I know she'll save Alice," Ritsu said. And, while that's very sweet, I had absolutely no idea how to properly react to someone having that level of faith in me. So I just nodded.

Cardinal's expression didn't change. "Umu." ...Umu? "Very well. Recently, I have been inundated with requests from the real world. Specifically, someone is attempting to utilize the Fluctlight Acceleration function."

"The accelerat- Someone's trying to speed up the internal clock?" I asked. "To what?"

Cardinal shook her head. "The maximum value possible."

I stared at her. "...What? There's no way. There's no way they'd go up to 1200 times while people are still logged in. PoH was one of theirs, wasn't he? Or... do you think they have Alice?"

"There are no records of any Fluctlight being ejected from the Underworld," Cardinal reported. Well, that's good news. It means Alice didn't get taken from us.

But it still doesn't explain their actions! It would shoot themselves in the foot by logging out all of their external connections.

Then again, it wouldn't matter, would it? We'd just ejected everyone in this area, and if they're tracking the units they'd know that the northern clump of red knights are too far away to be useful anymore.

Hmm. I guess that makes sense... If they're jerks that don't care about using people and then throwing them away the instant they're not usefu-

Right, PoH worked with them.

"Never mind, objection withdrawn," I said.

"Umu." Umu... "Currently, my assumed authority as the administrator of the Underworld allows me to reject the request. However, should they utilize the master control panel override or cause some sort of system error, I will be unable to prevent it."

"That doesn't sound good," Asuna said. "So those people are still trying to get Alice..."

I gnawed at my lip. "We're running out of time. Cardinal, you're able to make those doors, right? It's hazy, but... I think I remember you opening a link between here and the access terminal at the top of the Central Cathedral."

Cardinal nodded. "That is correct. You would be able to use that terminal to log out, and to eject Alice's Fluctlight."

"Great. Thanks, Cardinal. We'll get her back and then get outta here," I said.

My eyes drifted over to the giant cedar tree that had appeared so suddenly. Hmmm... Acceleration, huh?

"...Cardinal, do you think you can help me out with something? Which would be easier for you - making a backup of every Fluctlight, or partitioning off a small section of the simulation into what's essentially a separate world for just one Fluctlight? One that can be accelerated independently?"

I had a feeling my expression was a little bit twisted.


Dark Territory, Southern Skies

Something was crushing my throat. I clawed at my throat to try to pry the iron grip away, but there was nothing there and my fingers scraped at skin.

Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the pressure vanished. "Guhaah!" I coughed and choked down oxygen. When I straightened back up, I glared at the man standing on the bat-thing. "You're Subtilizer!"

"Alice escaped?" he asked, and ignored my words. "No matter. I'll catch up soon enough. If I remember correctly, I fought you in Gun Gale Online, didn't I? Your name's... Sinon, isn't it? To think we'd meet again here."

"And you? Why are you here?"

I couldn't stop my hands from shaking, but at least my voice came out a little firm. The hand holding Annihilate Ray had gone so stiff and slippery with sweat that if I wasn't careful, Solus's bow would slip from my fingers and fall all the way down to the ground below.

Damn it...! I shouldn't be panicking like this! But there was something about the inhuman emotionless voice that made my entire body shiver.

"Because it's inevitable, why else?" Subtilizer replied. He raised his arms in the air, palms empty. "This is fate. It is the power of our souls that attract them to each other. This will tell us all kinds of things. Like whether or not one can also suck out the soul of a living human through an STL."

His thin lips quirked in a satisfied smirk. The first thing I'd seen on his face.

"And also, after not getting to taste it in BoB, finding out just how sweet your soul is."

My heart pounded in my chest so hard it felt like it was trying to hammer through my ribcage. I gasped for breath quickly, but it felt like nothing was getting in my lungs.

H-He was insane. Totally insane. That had to be the only answer.

'Your soul will be so sweet.'

I heard the echo of his voice, back when he had spoken them to me in the fourth BoB. My body felt so cold.

Something dark twisted around me and my body jerked. Black smoke stretched out from Subtilizer and coiled around my body. I looked at him in shock, and something flashed in his eyes.

They were blue, the color of ice, but they seemed to glow. The world was being distorted around him - the sound, the light, even the air I was trying to breath. It was being sucked in towards him.

Even my body. Even my thoughts were pulled towards him.

I can't. I have to resist. I have to fight.

Some corner of my mind screamed and thrashed, but it was so far away and so weak...

My body was pulled to Subtilizer's body, and he wrapped one arm around my waist. The darkness swirled, and he grabbed my wrist with his other hand.

"Sinon, have you ever considered the meaning of the name Subtilizer?"

I shook my head.

I couldn't do anything else. The darkness had surged around me and closed over my head.

"It means one who sharpens, one who thins, one who chooses... And one who steals."

A glow came from Subtilizer's eyes as his eyes turned black.

"I shall steal you, and steal your soul."

I stared at those blue eyes in the sea of blackness behind them, and I felt myself swallowed up by the impossible depths.

I had to do something, but my limbs felt heavy and my consciousness fell backwards. Like a dream where I fell over and over again, repeating forever while I didn't move.

I thought I reached out my hand, but in reality I didn't do a thing.

Subtilizer's freezing-cold hands wrapped around my neck. Terror and revulsion stirred themselves in my heart and were just as quickly sucked away into the darkness.

Stop. Don't steal it.

His face grew closer and closer. His lips parted and sucked in air. He sucked in my thoughts, my emotions, and my soul.

No...

No...!

"Sto...op..."

Something pressed at my back. Someone leaned next to my ear and whispered.

'When you need me, I'll be here, Sinon. So wake up and fight!'

My eyes snapped open fully. The hammer crashed down and struck the bullet primer of my cognition, and it roared through me all at once. The darkness that had been drowning me blew apart and I shouted.

"Get away from me!"

I tore myself away from Subtilizer as fast as I could fly backwards. The smoky darkness scattered and I gasped for breath, feeling the haze disappear from my mind. Subtilizer's eyes flickered back to normal.

"Thank you... Rythin."

I whispered it to myself with a soft smile.

He'd promised me, back at the end of last year - when I needed him, he'd be there to help me stand back up. But he was kilometers away, and he couldn't fly. That voice I'd heard had definitely been real, though. So how had he spoken to me?

...Back in the Dicey Cafe, Kirito had said something about this world, that it wasn't just polygons. That it was an entirely different reality generated by memories and imagination.

I guess... my own imagination brought him to me, then.

I smiled. I'd have to thank him in person, later.

Then, I turned my attention back to Subtilizer. Whatever weird trick he had used to smother my thoughts, it was gone now. That smoke swirled around him and he frowned in irritation.

I grabbed my bow and held it out in front of me.

If it's a battle of will and imagination, then I'll never lose! Because that's a sniper's greatest strengths!

The longbow shone with a white light, and its form changed. The wide curve of its body straightened out into the long familiar shape of a sniper rifle. The heavy weight settled into my hand and I grinned.

The Annihilate Ray was still my weapon, but its form had changed from the longbow to my trusted partner, the anti-material sniper rifle Ultima Ratio Hecate II.

I pulled back the bolt handle and leveled it at Subtilizer.

"You're not a god or a devil. You're just a human!"

I didn't hesitate to look down the sight. I was less than twenty meters away, and looking down the sight meant it was difficult to aim properly thanks to the level of magnification.

So I wasn't going to let him move!

I pulled the trigger the instant I had him centered in my sights.

The loud roar and heavy kickback were both something I'd gotten used to, after using my partner in GGO for so long. But, firing the gun in the air like this, where I was hovering? That was entirely new. I nearly spun around from the recoil and had to force myself to stay straight facing Subtilizer. I wouldn't be able to fire rapidly as long as I was trying to hover.

But as long as I hit him, it didn't matter!

I stared at Subtilizer, and my eyes widened in shock. He'd held up his hand, palm facing me, and the bullet slammed into it - only for it to disappear in a splash of darkness.

That was a bullet that could punch through two centimeters of steel, and he'd just held up his hand...?

"Don't lose..."

I exhaled, and then pulled back the bolt. The spent bullet casing ejected to the side, but I didn't pay attention to that. I slammed it back.

"Don't lose, Hecate!"

I pulled the trigger again, and Subtilizer didn't change his position.

This time, when the bullet met his palm, it blew a hole through his left hand. Blood flew through the air.

Yes! He's not invulnerable! Bullets can hurt him!

Subtilizer pulled his hand back and stared at the hole in silence. The black smoke swirling around him was starting to heal it slowly, but my Hecate had done so much damage it couldn't be easy to heal.

The smug smile on his face had been blown away with the hole in his hand.

He reached down with his right hand, and pulled out the crossbow. I couldn't stop myself from snorting. What was that little thing going to do against my Hecate?

Then the dark smoke swirled around his crossbow and I frowned.

Like the inverse of what I had done with the Annihilate Ray, the dark smoke burst apart to reveal a massive sniper rifle in his right hand. The wood had turned into metal, and I recognized it.

The Barrett XM500.

He'd chosen a sniper rifle that also used the .50 caliber rounds, same as my Hecate. But, this one was even more advanced than mine.

It was a direct challenge, and I smiled.

"Bring it on."


Dark Territory, Southern Ruins

I smiled. "That sounds good to me, Cardinal."

"I will take action as soon as I return to the terminal," Cardinal told me. I felt a small flicker of dark glee dance in my heart. Was it petty to feel this way? Oh, probably. Was it cruel? Definitely.

Was I going to go to sleep peacefully and not think about PoH's suffering ever again? Of course! Kyeheheh.

Now, onto more important matters that definitely are not thinking about Argo's comment regarding me and Ritsu, because nope I don't want to unpack that at all. Namely, praising my poor dragon.

Angelus was lying down by the wagons, half asleep; Renly's dragon was resting nearby, but Angelus had curled up by herself. When I approached, one eye cracked open to regard me, but the large red dragon didn't move.

"You're exhausted, aren't you," I murmured, reaching out and scratching under her chin the way she loved. "You've earned a nice rest, flying around like crazy today. I'm very proud of you, Angelus."

"Kyuru," the dragon trilled quietly, and I smiled.

You're basically just a big, scaly cat with wings and a fire breath, aren't you? Yes you are.

The heavy beat of wings in the air caught my attention and I turned to look south. Three dragons appeared on the horizon and rapidly grew closer. And the one holding the lead dragon's reins was...

"Alice...!" I whispered under my breath. Angelus leaned into my hand a little bit, and I rubbed along one of the scales. "Sinon did it. I knew she would, Angelus."

Angelus closed her eyes. She didn't care about anything but the scratches I was giving her. Sadly, I had to step away to greet Alice as she landed. Poor, poor Angelus.

As the trio of dragons flew down and landed among the camp, an uncomfortable feeling pooled in my stomach. Sinon should have been with Alice. She knew how important it was to make sure Alice was retrieved. Unless there was something seriously wrong, she would be escorting the VIP.

So... Where was the blue-haired goddess?

That bad feeling in my stomach only got worse when I noticed the man strapped down to the second seat in Amayori's saddle. That, plus the total exhaustion in all of the dragons' appearance told me quite a bit - and none of it good.

"Alice!" I called out, and ran towards her.

Her eyes darted towards me as she slid off of Amayori's back. I managed to get to her just in time to catch her when her knees buckled suddenly. She toppled forward and I caught her by the shoulders. She took a deep breath and then smiled at me. "Thank you, Rythin," she said.

"No prob, Big Sis," I told her.

"Don't say that," she muttered, and looked away. She wasn't mad, her ears were red. I can tell~. "First... We must take care of Uncle. He was badly wounded by Emperor Vecta!"

I nodded. "Cardinal!"

It didn't take long for us to get the old man out of the saddle, and I hissed to myself when I felt how cold his body was. And when I realized his left arm ended just above the elbow, ice ran down my spine.

"How the hells is he alive..."

I only realized I'd muttered that out loud when Alice shook her head. "I managed to wake up at the last second, but Uncle had already lost his arm. It was... bad. But your Sinon managed to arrive in time to help me save him. So, thank you."

"...Glad he's alright," I muttered. He'd gotten this hurt, huh? If I'd managed to stop Vecta earlier... Then he wouldn't have -

*Flick!*

"Oww," I whined reflexively. Then I stared at Alice, where she'd held a finger up to my forehead and flicked me. ...At least she'd taken off her gauntlet first...? "Alice?"

"Don't you blame yourself for this," she said firmly. "I believe I recognize that look on your face. It drifted across Kirito's often enough."

I...

Well, she's not wrong, but still.

Cardinal approached us with her staff in her hands and Alice's attention immediately snapped to the small librarian. "Can you heal him?" she asked without preamble.

"I will," Cardinal said.

Alice sighed in relief. "...Thank you," she murmured.

"Alice!" Kirito exclaimed, and rushed over to her. "You're safe! Thank goodness."

He grabbed her hand and smiled at her. Alice, for her part, blushed and looked away. "Y-You were worried?"

"We all were," he insisted. "Me, Eugeo, and Asuna too."

Aww, how sweet.

"Alice!" Asuna called out the blonde knight's name the exact same way Kirito had. The long-haired goddess threw her arms around Alice's neck. After hugging her tightly for a second - Alice blinked in confusion and glanced over at me, but I just shrugged since it's Asuna, she gets like that sometimes - Asuna put her hands on Alice's shoulder and looked at her. "Where's Shinonon?"

Alice took a deep breath. "She... stayed behind, a few minutes ago. She said Vecta had reappeared, and she was going to keep him busy."

Sinon was in danger, and I needed to be there.

I was moving before I realized it, striding towards Cardinal. She looked up from healing Bercouli, and I stopped in front of her. My usual hesitance to interrupt someone warred with my need to talk to her, but before I could kick my stupid socially-awkward butt into gear the pigtailed-girl cleared her throat. "Your dragon is exhausted, from flying so far. However, a Sacred Art will temporarily restore her Life and allow her to fly for a certain amount of time."

"...That's all I need," I said. Before I did that, though, I needed to talk to Angelus and ask her to help.

Angelus was half asleep when I crouched down in front of her, but she lifted her head to look at me. I patted her scales and explained the situation quickly. After I asked her if she was willing to help me fly to where Sinon was, she snorted quietly and stared at me.

"Graaoh."

"I believe that was a yes," Cardinal said drily. "Now. System Call."

"Graaaoohhh!"

The green light settled into Angelus and I could tell she felt better instantly by the roar.

"Before you go," Cardinal said, and handed me something. I blinked at the smooth oval stone she'd pressed into my hand. "You will not be able to log out without accessing a terminal. This stone is, essentially, a pre-packaged Sacred Art that will link your position with the top of the Central Cathedral. All you need to do is press your thumb into the center. However, it will only work once, so save it for once you have retrieved the user of the Solus account."

"Like a batch file that self-destructs, gotcha," I said, and tucked it into a pocket. Useful little thing.

With that in hand, I hopped up onto Angelus's back and she rose to her feet, her wings spread wide.

Okay, so at least half of that was spectacle on both our parts, but Angelus enjoyed striking fear in others - or maybe she was just vain. Either way, it got the surviving Underworld knights to drop to one knee abruptly aside from Renly, who was busy staring at a map; the VRMMO players all stared at Angelus in surprise and awe. It was warranted, too. Angelus truly was a magnificent creature.

"I'm gonna go after them," I told everyone.

Asuna smiled. "We'll take care of things while you're gone," she said.

Argo sighed, and I could see she really wanted to come with me on the flight - but she also could see just how tired Angelus had been, and the need to travel quickly came out on top. I saw it in her eyes, and the way she smiled ruefully before grinning at me. "Ya better come back soon," she said. "Else I'm gonna prank yer body in the STL."

She might even do that, honestly.

"An' don't worry about Ricchan," Argo continued. "We'll make sure she's taken care of, so get goin' already!"

"Sinon stood her ground five minutes south," Alice told me. "You'll be able to find her?"

I grinned. "You taught me enough about tracking, I should be able to." The blonde knight smiled and nodded.

Let's see...

I raised my left hand and swept it across the horizon. My fingers twitched, and I smiled to myself. "There you are," I murmured.

A connection is a connection, and in here? Memories and thoughts can become real. I just had to trace that link between us, and it would pull me right to her.

"Angelus!"

"GRAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

With a loud roar, Angelus flapped her wings and ran forward. The ground shook under her steps and when she launched herself into the air winds buffeted the supply wagons and the players below. I couldn't help but smile. Seeing the looks of awe and, if I allowed myself to imagine, admiration for sitting on top of Angelus?

It felt pretty good.


Dark Territory, Southern Skies

*Bang!* *Bang!*

The two gunshots echoed at what seemed like the same time.

Two identical bullets from the sniper rifles struck each other midair and created sparks. Then, they ricocheted off of each other and rocketed into the sky.

I didn't let the recoil get to me again. Instead, I stomped firmly on the air beneath her like it was firm stone - and thanks to my flight ability, it almost was. Across from me, Subtilizer didn't react but his winged bat creature flapped its wings desperately.

This was the first time I'd had a chance to properly have a sniper duel in an environment where I could move in every direction. ALO was similar, but the bow just wasn't the same as my Hecate; and in GGO, flight wasn't supported for pretty obvious reasons. The recoil I experienced was insane, since the Hecate was designed to be shot from a prone position with its bipod down. And, Subtilizer's Barrett was the same.

Because of that, the person that managed to aim and fire first would win!

I snapped my Hecate up - but a cold shiver ran down my spine at the last second and I jerked to the right.

A bullet roared past my hip, passing through the air where my left leg had been right before I dodged. A surprised gasp choked its way out of me.

F-Fast!? But how?!

Ah... wait. Damn. The Barrett is semi-automatic. So he doesn't need to use his bolt every time!

That dodge had been half luck, but that silly 'bloodlust sense' practice had given me just an instant to react early. I'll have to thank the boys later.

I raised my Hecate and took aim. When I pulled the trigger, though, the Barrett's muzzle flashed again. The pair of bullets raced forward and glanced off of each other again.

I pulled back the bolt and took aim again before the ejected bullet casing fell further than my feet.

The Hecate's loud bark was mirrored by the same from the Barrett. Again, the pair of bullets raced towards each other, met in the air, and shot off in different directions as sparks exploded.

The fifth and sixth bullets were the same. My eyes widened when I realized what was happening.

Subtilizer was deliberately matching my timing and aiming to fire at the exact instant I'd fired. That had to be part of his imagination becoming real - otherwise five bullets colliding in the air at supersonic speeds would be nearly impossible.

Even if I knew that, there just wasn't anything else I could do but pull back the bolt and bring my scope up again.

The Hecate II holds seven rounds. But the Barrett XM500 can hold ten. I only have this one last shot left, and if I waste it...

No. I shouldn't worry about that. Instead...

I lowered my sniper rifle and started circling to the right. Opposite me, Subtilizer did the same and we started flying around each other in tight abrupt moves.

The important thing here was that Alice made it to the camp safely, without getting caught by Subtilizer. Buying time was more important than blowing him away, and these aerial maneuvers were going to do just that.

Every few seconds I would try to bring up my scope and aim at Subtilizer, hoping to catch him unprepared, but every time I had him in my sights the barrel of his Barrett XM500 was pointed at me and I shied away. Subtilizer didn't fire each time we locked gazes - guess he was perfectly willing to wait to crush my spirits by countering my last bullet.

That assumption was shattered when a loud crack of thunder echoed and a deadly bullet spun towards me, aimed at where I was about to fly. I gasped and threw myself to the left desperately. The bullet glanced off of my chest plate and continued on into the distance. My breastplate shattered with a cracking sound.

I raised my scope to my eye and stared at him in shock. He mouthed words that he knew I could see, even if I couldn't hear them thanks to the distance between us.

'No more games, Sinon.'

Damn. He caught onto my plan!

I gritted my teeth and squeezed the trigger. Across from me, Subtilizer did the same.

Do it, Hecate! You won't be beaten!

Despite my thoughts, the two bullets met in midair and just like the others, grazed each other enough to shoot off in random directions. When I pulled back the bolt and looked down the scope again, a cold pulse of dread grasped my heart and squeezed. I'd fired all seven of my bullets. But Subtilizer still had one left and his Barrett XM500 was pointed at me!

Instead of firing it at me, though, Subtilizer stared at me down the scope of his sniper rifle. His empty blue eyes didn't change, but he flew towards me on his black bat-thing.

I tried to fly backwards faster, but that strange black smoke came from his fingertips and reached out for me. My eyes widened and I tried to get away, but in the blink of an eye it had wrapped around me. I'd managed to break free earlier, but this time Subtilizer had me and he wasn't going to let go. It even wound around neck and squeezed, just like how Subtilizer had killed me in GGO.

Subtilizer flew up right in front of me, and aimed the Barrett directly at my heart. We were still several meters apart, but at the speed the armor-piercing bullets traveled, I'd barely have time to realize he had pulled the trigger before he killed me. Those eyes that looked like blue mirrors took up the entire scope, and I gritted my teeth.

I could still move my arms, even if I couldn't fly or maneuver. But what good would that do? The Hecate II's magazine was only seven bullets, and I'd fired them all! Rythin... Kirito... Everyone, I'm... sorry I couldn't buy more time...

'That's not true. You haven't run out of ideas yet, have you?'

Rythin's voice whispered in my ear again and a few tears trickled down my cheek as my eyes snapped open.

...I can't give up. Not here, not now!

I have to believe. In myself. In Hecate. And in the boys that are connected to me!

At the same time that Subtilizer fired his final bullet, I raised the Hecate and firmly pulled the trigger. The gun glowed a brilliant sky blue, and energy swirled around the muzzle of the gun.

The Hecate II might only hold seven bullets, but this wasn't the Hecate. It was the Annihilate Ray, transformed - but it still kept the properties of Solus's bow. Properties like automatically absorbing resources from its surroundings to recharge its attack power.

So even if I'd run out of bullets, I would definitely be able to fire, right here and right now!

"Goooooo!"

As if responding to my desperate shout, a blinding beam of light erupted from the barrel of the gun and sliced through the sky. It met Subtilizer's bullet and blew it away instantly, melting the metal. That smug smile on Subtilizer's face vanished, and he tried to dodge to the right.

It wasn't enough. The beam of light struck the Barrett nearly dead-on.

The reaction was slow for just an instant - the flicker of orange flames followed by a fireball that expanded to swallow up Subtilizer -

*BOOOOOM!*

The deafening boom that accompanied the explosion made my entire body shake. The heat was intolerable this close, and my vision went dim. I felt myself drop like a stone.

But, I didn't hit the ground. Instead, when my senses returned, I was held in a pair of arms, on top of a red-scaled dragon.

"You didn't need to set off an explosion for me to find you," Rythin said with a wry grin. "I would have gotten here eventually, you know."

"Ry...thin..."

My voice rasped in my throat and I coughed. My entire body ached, and when I tried to summon the energy to fly in the air my injuries protested very firmly. A gasp slipped out of me and I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Hey, easy, easy," Rythin soothed me. "Looks like you got caught in the fireball a little bit. Next time, Shinonon, make sure you're out of range of your own bombs, okay? Don't make me get the manual. I'll do it, I have the entire thing memorized."

I peeked up at him and smiled when I saw his face, hanging over mine. "You would, wouldn't you?" I asked.

"Sure would. Now, System Call."

A green glow came from his hands where they hovered over me and I shivered as the wounds on my body faded away. That felt really weird... After a few seconds, the glow of the green orbs that had appeared on his fingertips faded away and I sat up carefully.

Rythin raised his eyebrows at me. "Anything still hurt?"

"No, I'm -" He coughed meaningfully when I cut myself off. A twinge of pain from a bruise on my wrist. "Okay, some pain, but it's nothing I can't handle."

"Then it'll have to do," he sighed. "Not enough resources for me to use a real healing Art."

I lifted off of the dragon's back and into the air. The dragon was bigger than I thought, bigger than the three dragons that Alice had flown back on. Its red scales glinted in the afternoon sun as Rythin stood on top of its back.

The dragon flew towards the cloud of smoke that had enveloped Subtilizer. I didn't hold out hope that the explosion had killed him. There was still something evil there, I could sense it.

The first thing I saw was a silhouette standing on that ugly bat-thing. My heart sank - but then the smoke cleared and I gasped.

His right arm was gone from the elbow down, blown off by the explosion. His sleeve was died red with blood. The fireball had also burned the right side of his face heavily, and blood trickled from his mouth. He must have bitten the inside of his cheek. What was very satisfying was the angry look on his face as he scowled at me.

Rythin stood on the back of his dragon, right in front of the injured man.

"Now then," he said, and I heard the rattle of chains in his voice. "What exactly are you trying to do to my sister?"

Subtilizer's lips thinned in anger. "So. You're here too."

"I recognize you, I think," Rythin murmured. "From GGO. The fourth BoB, isn't it? Subtilizer. Now, what in the gods' name are you doing here?"

"I'm hunting souls."

Rythin's eyes narrowed. "So, you're the one who took Alice. Vecta."

"Alice... Yes, her soul. And the soul of one who escaped me earlier." His eyes flickered towards me and my stomach lurched in revulsion. Then, they returned to Rythin. "And you? Why are you here? What gives you the right to stand in my way?"

The ominous black smoke reached out towards Rythin.

"Who am I?" he repeated. "I'm Rythin. Integrity Knight Synthesis Thirty-One. Survivor of SAO. One of the winners of the third BoB. Assassin. But, most importantly..."

He reached behind him and pulled something from a sheath on his back.

"Right now, I'm really fucking angry."

Rythin held a M1911A1 pistol in his hand, and had it trained unwaveringly on Subtilizer's head. The dark smoke tried to wrap around his arm, but it slid off like it couldn't get a grip on Rythin.

No. It wasn't like that.

A pitch black aura had surrounded Rythin and rippled around him. Just staring at it, I could feel how much rage was coursing through his body. That rage had swallowed him whole and stopped Subtilizer from getting a grip.

But... It wasn't just rage.

When I watched, the color surrounding him changed, from black to yellow. And then to red, and green, and blue.

The colors rippled over him in waves and merged together until he was surrounded by an aura of white light.

I saw something else flash around him - a massive tiger with black and white stripes that roared.

"I know what you are," Rythin said. "I've seen you. Seen inside you, just now. And let me tell you... Your soul will taste disgusting."

He pulled the trigger.


Tuesday, July 7, 2026

10:05 AM, RATH

"Hahahaha!"

Gabriel Miller bolted up from the STL he had used to Dive into the Underworld in search of Alice. He cackled madly, his face twisted in glee.

That had been a rush. He couldn't help but laugh! The instant that virtual bullet had entered his brain, an incredible amount of energy had surged forth. It was made of an infinite amount of colors and emotions, flooding that great emptiness inside of him.

For a moment, he had to admit, he was uncertain. A bullet could kill him, after all. And those words the boy had said before he pulled the trigger... Gabriel had honestly been worried that his soul would be consumed. The bullet had pierced his forehead and in the instant between then and now, he had seen it happening so vividly.

But when he woke up and the first thing he saw was the gunmetal grey plating on the side of the ship, he knew there was nothing to worry about. He had just been logged out by some strange, unknown factor.

"Hahaha, ha, hah..."

Gabriel finally calmed his laughter and took a few deep breaths, then got to his feet. That had been an unsatisfying conclusion, in the end. He hadn't been able to taste Alice's soul. And he had a feeling that there was still something left to unlock in the mysteries of that world.

Hmm. Perhaps, if he Dived back in, he could -

Gabriel turned and froze when he saw the tall white man lying down on the STL.

"Who's that...?"

A member of the infiltration team? There had only been two STLs, though, and Vassago had used the other.

More importantly, why was he lying in Gabriel's machine?

That was when he realized.

The blond hair, and the face contorted in absolute terror -

"N-No!"

That was his face. Gabriel Miller, CTO of Glowgen Defense Systems.

"Oh my god... That's me!"

Gabriel staggered back one step, then another.

"What is this...?"

His voice trembled as he tried to control himself. When he looked at his hands, they weren't in the shape of hands - merely two vaguely hand-shaped masses of light.

Something stroked his back, and Gabriel stiffened. He whirled around, but the only thing he saw was a young child, wearing an orange dress. Her long blonde hair covered her face, but Gabriel recognized her instantly.

"You've finally crossed over, Gabe," she said. "That's all."

"...Alicia...?" Gabriel finally managed to smile. The sight of his childhood friend filled him with emotion. "Have you been waiting here, all this time, alone?"

Alicia Klingerman, his childhood friend; and the first victim - sacrifice, Gabriel insisted - on his noble pursuit of the soul.

It had been a shame to lose her, he remembered. He'd actually seen her soul, but failed to capture it. Or, so he had thought. It turned out she had never disappeared, but waited beside him patiently.

Gabriel stepped forward, and reached out with his right hand.

Alicia's left hand darted forward and snatched Gabriel's with slender fingers, far tighter than he expected.

"Ah...!" Then he smiled. "You're so cold. Come on, let go of my hand."

"I won't, Gabe. You and I will be together from now on."

The smile faded from his face, and he shook his hand to try to get her loose. She clung tightly and refused.

"Come," she said. "Let's go."

The young girl started to sink into the ground as it turned liquid beneath her feet. The silvery pool was stained red as first her feet, then legs disappeared beneath the surface.

Gabriel gasped, and as he started to sink he tried to wrench his hand away. "No! Stop! L-Let me go!"

His protests went unheard, and Alicia dragged him down further.

"Nooooo!"

He had been dragged under up to the top of his boots, no matter how hard he struggled. From the bloody liquid, more ice-cold hands reached up and latched onto him, chilling him to the bone even through his clothes.

"Aaaah! Stop iiiiit! Let go of meeee!"

He screamed, then. Desperately, he thrust his left hand forward to shove Alicia away, but her right hand seized it in a flash. Her fingers dug into his skin and pulled, leaving furrows.

Alicia's head snapped up.

When he saw the girl's face beneath her bangs, red blood pouring from her ear, something smashed at Gabriel's heart.

"Wh-what is this!?"

"This is fear, Gabe. What you've been looking for, all this time." Alicia smiled, her eyes empty. "Isn't it awesome?"

"NOOOOO!"

Alicia's head disappeared beneath the surface.

Face contorted in fear and terror, Gabriel shrieked loudly. "Critter, come here! Vassago! HANS! BRIGG!"

No matter how loudly he shouted and screamed, the door to the other room was sealed tight. Vassago, who had Dived in next to him, didn't move from his STL.

His face was just above the floor, and Gabriel screamed.

The white hands, victims he had slaughtered just to see the look of fear on their face as they died, rose up and smothered his shoulders, neck and face.

Gabriel screamed.

Then, finally, he disappeared beneath the surface with a plop, and his world became nothing but darkness.

Gabriel Miller's scream, as he realized what awaited him for the rest of forever, rose in pitch.


In which Rythin burns a full bar of meter to activate Korosensei Install and murder a blond bitch so hard he dies forever.

And with this, as you might guess… The War of Underworld is over! Congratulations, you made it through the longest arc of the series – so long that it lasted a full season in the anime, and like… four volumes of the light novel? Four. Anyway, it's over~! Hooray! (Though, really, that means that this story is almost done…)

What actually happened to PoH (what Rythin asked Cardinal to do) will be explained next chapter, but I think you can all guess at what happened. Either way, more importantly – Alice! She's here, she's back, I like writing her interactions with Rythin because he irritates her very easily and it's fun.

Angelus is wonderful, enough said.

Sinon's fight against Subtilizer was something I wanted to focus on for a bit, because while she's not strictly speaking a member of the full cast she's still a very important person to Rythin. Keeping the fight in also kinda showed a small part of the ripples that happened with Rythin around; I changed it to him supporting her and urging her to fight instead of Kirito And Sinon's Feelings For Kirito saving her. I like the idea that she can do it herself, she just needs a little push. (Except for the part where she blew herself up. Rythin wasn't kidding when he threatened to make her read Korosensei's Guide to Practice Octopus-killing Explosives.) And for those wondering where Rythin got his Assassination Classroom pistol – yes, that is the accurate model from the show! I checked! – that'll also be discussed next chapter.

Because Gabriel dying was much more important. Sucks when you accidentally Incarnate your own death, huh.

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