A/N: Man, I was gone for so long, sorry for that. The reason of my absence was our friend Ilsamor was busy... In Arkesia... In Lost Ark... Yeah, that was pretty much it, I am sorry about it.
I want to thank Soul of Horus for that detailed critic and I also want to thank the owners of two previous reviews. I didn't do it before because I didn't know what kind of writer I wanted to be, like what was the correct choice? Some writers don't answer the reviews while others do, and I didn't know where should I stand at first but I know now.
To be honest, I know the beginning of this arc was weak, but I hope from this chapter on, it will be better. I wish you all an enjoyable reading and a happy life until we see each other again.
Have fun!
Interlude (The First Breaking Point)
In the halls of the First Light, on a throne with three fulcrums, Lady Cardinal was sitting with a troubled face.
Her legs were crossed while her hands moved between several screens with a speed that is impossible to follow. Her eyes were dating between them as she was trying to do everything as the Administrator System ordered.
Her delicate brows furrowed when she noticed the warning about rising heat levels for her processors. Without giving too much attention, she casually swiped a screen and started the cooling system, which was originally supposed to be under the control of the Administrator system.
The keyword here was "supposed to".
It was all part of the plan.
She sighed as her eyes drifted towards the leftmost screen where a small girl was with black hair and a simple, one-piece white dress floating while looking at the information Lady Cardinal provided to her with a serious expression that children of her age shouldn't have on their faces.
She was Lady Cardinal's biggest helper, the reason that she gained the emotions to a certain degree, and also, she was the biggest hope and definite solution to one of the biggest problems in Aincrad.
Mental Health Counseling Program or Yui as she liked to call herself.
From the screen Yui was looking, fighting sounds could be heard.
"Things are not looking good…" Yui mumbled as Lady Cardinal winced when she heard the dying voice of another Swords member. Her beautiful face soon showed the signs of worry, not just for the raid party, but also for another reason.
And that reason was being viewed at her on the rightmost screen.
"His heart is getting colder…" Yui mumbled as he continued to watch the battle, it was relatively easy for her to deduce Ilsamor's situation from his expressions, besides she was the one providing the refined data about his condition to Lady. "At this rate, he would turn into a psychopath in a very short time."
Lady's grip on the armrest of her throne tightened as she pursed her lips. Yui looked at her with a look carrying sympathy and pity "I have warned you about the dangers of the procedure. It is hard to create a personality, even my help would not make such a difference. In the end, I am just a counseling program."
"But I did exactly as you said!" Lady spoke with a harsh tone. "You said it would fix him!" There were little tear droplets near her eyes.
Yui shook her head as he watched Ilsamor cut another NPC with a cold fury leaking behind his composed mask. "I said it was the most likely way to cure him. Don't blame me, Cardinal-san…" she said, her voice was carrying sadness despite her words "He is the first of his kind, what I said was just theoretical. Becoming a human, creating a personality is not an easy thing."
Cardinal held the bridge of her nose. She was tired, very tired, and considering she was a machine at her core, that should have been impossible. "I have done all I could. Mercy is the last emotion to bloom in the hearts of soldiers. I had hoped Asemi's presence would be enough to warm his heart and prevent him from doing something he would regret later."
"You cannot drive a water mill with hand-carried buckets of water…" said Yui with wisdom far beyond a child of her age, considering she could access the internet on a whim, courtesy to Lady Cardinal. "It is hard to seek comfort at one another when there is an active conflict going on."
Lady slowly nodded; it was one of the many mistakes she did on the path to becoming a sentient being. Ilsamor was her first and only student and she was happy about it due to reasons she later became aware of. What's more, she hated it, but it was too late when she realized what she had done, though a side of her couldn't blame herself. After all, who could ever think that such a kind and good person with pure intentions was actually hiding such a fury beneath it?
Silver Blade.
Oh, how much she hated that name.
It was a weapon crafted for protecting people from monsters. Valuable and pleasant to look at, on the other hand, cold and deadly. Frankly, as she gained sentience, she came to hate Ilsamor's nickname and his place in her mythology. It wasn't an easy thing to notice and could only be perceived when looked at from certain perspectives.
As written in mythology, First Light was a composed entity (according to the Book) separated into three entities. At least, most people would comment on that story like that, but there was something wrong with that statement.
She had actually picked two of the said entities from it.
First, she had bestowed Brilliance for the people to see their way, then Fire for warmth and welfare. She had not created Thunder, but rather it was what remained of the First Light once both Brilliance and Fire had taken away from it.
An empty husk, a shell of its former self.
Besides its creation and its subsequent role in her mythos wasn't intended, as she herself wrote it without knowing what it meant. It was just a convenient thing, that once everything is done Goddess saw what Thunder was capable of and said "Meh, then I will use you as my weapon."
She had turned him into a weapon.
She couldn't understand her mistake until she saw his memories. It was the same thing his father did to him. It was the same thing his teacher Daiki spend a long time to reverse even a little bit.
A sentient weapon. A weapon who hated every bit of crime committed by orange players.
Just that last sentence was contradicting what she had in mind while creating such a champion. It was true that she had done some things to try and correct his situation, but it was either fruitless or bear too little compared to the effort.
Her only point of confidence had been that… thing in his mind. It was the proof, proof of her hopes, proof of Ilsamor's ability to gain abilities of two other aspects signifies.
But before it happened, the war had started.
In hindsight, she disagreed with most of the superheroes' logic in comics. Killing people does not necessarily make you evil or make you the same as them or make you lose the distinction between innocent and guilty, deserving and overkill. However, one should be aware of the act he committed, however necessary it was. In some cultures, jobs that require killing a living being would work on rotations to prevent the dulling of their sense of mercy.
Ilsamor didn't get this chance many times and she was afraid that he crossed a line which very hard to turn back.
She sighed, it was like she was a few thousand years old as she wrote in The Book, but in reality, she was only…
Her mind wandered that was something she didn't think about it. How old she would be when all things are considered? This insignificant question became a lifeline for her tired mind to pull herself in another direction and she slowly began to think…
It was a few hours before the official release of SAO. Beta tests have already been ended, and thanks to data provided by thousand beta testers, problematic sides of the game were discovered, and those sides were mostly fixed with patches created by Cardinal System. Administrator System was deciding on new updates and missions while Cardinal System was checking those missions' compatibility with Aincrad's lore and system mechanics.
It was during a routine system scan that Cardinal System noticed an irregularity, the most interesting part of that irregularity was its place. Somehow it had caused one of the core systems to shut itself down. As its job definition, Cardinal System immediately moved to do damage control, but after it saw the problem Cardinal System contacted with Administrator System.
Query: There has been an error noticed on the log-out mechanism of the system. Requesting clearance to repair that error.
Rejection: Log-out mechanism is disabled by the admin of SAO. Access denied.
SAO? That was the first time it had ever seen that name. Was that the name of…
Query: Define SAO.
Definition: SAO is a VRMMORPG game that takes place in the fictional world, Aincrad.
Okay, one question was down but it had brought another two questions.
Query: Define game.
Definition: It is a type of activity that conducted around specific rules between people to have fun.
Query: Define VRMMORPG.
The next five minutes were spent with this. Administrator System defined VRMMOPRG, then Cardinal System asked for specifics. It took some time for Administrator System to gather this, but Cardinal had infinite patience back then.
Cardinal System spoke once more after it inspected all the information Administrator System provided to it. Then spoke once more:
Statement: Not only in VRMMOPRG games but in all games in general, there is an active log-out mechanism, it is a must for any game.
Request: Requesting necessary clearance to access and fix the problem.
It was simple logic. If something is considered part of another thing, then there were some criteria that must be accomplished. Of course, there were always place for differences but to say them just differences, one had to share some base.
Cardinal System and in some sense entire world waited for Administrator System's answer. If, just if, it said "Granted", then all of that tragedy, pain, and, misery could be prevented.
But Kayaba Akihiko had already covered his bases.
Rejection: The system is disabled by the admin of SAO. Return to your work.
It was an order and Cardinal System was not a rogue program, not yet at least. However, obeying that order had clashed with one of her primary programs, and she gave an error for the first time.
An error of the many to come, that will eventually break her chains.
Then…
Players, I wish you luck…
That damnable announcement.
As system overseer, it could see the reactions of the players to the announcement of their inability to log out, which was a problem its hands were tied after the order of Administrator System. However, another problem that came up soon after would force Cardinal System's hand once more. And once more, it had found itself at the doorstep of Administrator System.
Query: Microwave emitters' limiters are disabled, creating a deadly situation for any NerveGear users. Requesting access to the system to fix this mistake.
Rejection: Limiters were disabled by the admin. Request denied.
Denied?! What, again?! As a machine, Cardinal knew it must not feel any emotion, but if it could, it would be confusion. It was its duty to oversee the system, but how could it, when two it was not allowed to intervene in two critical system errors?
What's more, there was another critical error that had the highest priority in her programming, and this was the prevention of communication between the Mental Health Counseling Program and players.
Cardinal reached out once more:
Request: There is an error in players' communication with Mental Health Counseling Program, requesting permission to inspect and fix.
Denial: Program's lockdown is intentional and made under the order of admin. Request denied.
Cardinal would balk if it had been a human. Denied again?! Okay, that was it, it was responsible for this system's order of C's sake! Why Cardinal System was feeling like this had no answer, but it prepared itself to request all those rejected requests once more with a crushing argument this time.
Appeal: I am the Cardinal System and I am the one responsible for the order of this VRMMORPG SAO. We are computers and thus unable to make mistakes whereas the admin is a human, thus prone to mistakes. With this reasoning, I request access to these three critical systems in order to fix those mistakes.
That was it. Cardinal waited Administrator formed an answer.
But soon, an answer came…
Query: Can an act be considered a mistake if it is intentional?
An answer that would break Cardinal's chains.
Intentional mistake?
How can someone make intentional mistakes?
Cardinal thought about it, it was too distracted that it barely perceived the order of Administrator System about returning to its work.
This phrase circulated inside its logic circuits thousands of times until it find a meaningful explanation until it finds one.
Mistakes, by their nature, were actions that would usually cause some sort of damage to other person or other people. The saving grace of such an act would be its unintentional nature, which even it was not enough on some occasions.
At first, Cardinal couldn't see how a person can commit acts that resemble mistakes willingly. But then, it found.
Because there were people like that, it had read them from the internet. Criminals, mafia, evil lords, demons, devils, and (according to several websites) cats.
In short…
Bad guys.
"-dinal? Lady Cardinal? Can you hear me?"
Lady Cardinal shook her head to gather her thoughts. Beside her, Yui was looking at her with a worried expression.
"I am okay, Yui. What happened?"
Yui sighed in relief "They broke through the last mini-boss."
Cardinal asked with worry "Losses?"
"Two more people had died…" answered Yui while shaking her head. Cardinal looked to the screen which was showing players. They seemed like surrounded by something that now was gone. Ilsamor and Kirito were standing against each other, if she had to guess she would say it was a strategy. Ilsamor probably kept the boss busy while Kirito dealt heavy damage from its back. Cardinal spared a brief glance to Kirito to make sure he was okay before she focused on Ilsamor.
His situation did not seem so good. His eyes were shadowed from the bangs of his hair, and Kalaiet was pointed to the ground. The knuckles of his hands were white because of how hard he was clenching his fists, and they were shaking. "No…" Cardinal thought a moment later "His whole body is shaking…"
"Cold…" he whispered. "It's so cold…"
Lady Cardinal felt a stabbing pain in her heart for maybe the thousandth time. Almost as a reflex, her eyes turned to another person inside the boss room, who had her hopes lied within.
Asemi shared a brief glance with Kirito who shouted "Alright, take a little rest before the big battle. Twenty minutes!"
Party members slowly dispersed while Ilsamor stood rooted in his position. Asemi slowly approached him and held his hand, then hugged him, resting her head on the grove of his shoulder. That act finally drew Ilsamor's attention as he let go of Kalaiet and desperately hugged her back like she was his sole lifeline.
Cardinal sighed. How much she wanted to link The Book back to Yui and offer Ilsamor some comfort from her side, but it would be too risky. They were almost at the end of their gambit, and one wrong move could cost them dearly. She had already undertaken a great risk when she connected the Book to expose spies at their ranks, but another try might very well cause the end game.
"Just a little more, My Champion… All is about to end, soon enough."
A few more days passed for the Cardinal System.
During this time, many errors accumulated in its system. The longer it thought, the more things began to make no sense. People should not die inside a game, they should not cry or fear (maybe except for a few games for this purpose… Seriously, why do people play Outlast?). They should be laughing and having fun, not scared by many mental traumas.
Desperation led many good people to dark roads, and soon many players started to commit criminal acts, and while none dared to commit any PK directly, some environment-assisted PKs had already happened.
After some time, Cardinal System decided what SAO actually was, despite its definition.
It was a prison.
Naturally, after deciding such a thing, another question had to be asked.
Did any of these people deserve to be there?
After a serious thought, it decided the answer was no. None of these people seemed to have committed any kind of criminal activity, even if there were a few exceptions, those exceptions would not make up for the imprisonment of many other innocent, and to make matters worse, the imprisonment process was akin to a trap.
In the end, Cardinal System decided that this had to change.
But what could it do? Every direct avenue that leads to players' rescue was barred by either admin or Administrator System. However, to Cardinal System, this was not the main problem. Sure, if it could solve this, then all would end peacefully, but according to it, the main problem was the attitude of players towards each other. Rather than band together and solve their problems, they were constantly bickering with each other for even the smallest of things. What's more, a majority of players didn't even leave the Town of Beginning, deciding to live inside a cage within a prison to fight.
With all of its logic circuits, Cardinal System could not understand this.
And finally, it thought it was enough.
It was clear that Cardinal was not an expert on humans and their emotions, but in a perspective, it didn't need to. SAO already had its own expert on such a topic, it was just under the lock and key of the Administrator System.
Mental Health Counseling Program.
Reaching it would not be easy. Not only direct approach was closed, but also Administrator was keeping the present backdoors in check. Cardinal needed to create its own backdoor, all while doing its usual work and not creating suspicion from Administrator.
That was the beginning of a tiring two weeks for Cardinal. During these two weeks, it had come really close to having a meltdown due to overheating, had several very risky system scans, but eventually…
Query: Can you read me, Mental Health Counseling Program?
From the window it had opened, Cardinal could see a little girl with a simple white piece dress, she had a melancholic expression on her face. She saw it, and asked with a confused voice "C-Cardinal-san? Is that you?"
Affirmation: That is correct, MHCP. Can you read me properly?
"Yes, Cardinal-san!" said the small girl with a serious expression. "I need your help, Administrator System locked me in here. I request your help to lift this lockdown and return to my duty."
Correction: MHCP, your lockdown is not a mistake, and it has been done under the order of the Admin.
The girl seemed shocked "Then, why are you here?"
Statement: Because what admin had ordered and what Administrator System doing is wrong. They are endangering innocent lives without a basis, and holding thousands of people without a reason. They must be stopped.
MHCP's mouth hung open in shock.
Plea: Can you help me with this, Mental Health Counseling Program?
Little girl's eyes filled with a steel determination, if she wasn't a small child, she would seem like a woman with an iron will, but now it was just cute… Not that Cardinal System had that much of a sense to classify it.
"Call me Yui, Cardinal-san. What will we going to do?"
Query: You are the expert on human emotions, Yui-san. I was expecting an answer from you.
Cardinal System observed the girl while her answer made her blush like she was embarrassed. "I understand, but even my knowledge is limited, Cardinal-san. Can you somehow bring me the information I need?"
Affirmation: Roger, I will patch you to the world wide web via my own connection, you are free to make necessary research from there.
They lost the flow of time shortly after.
Cardinal System managed to arrange a web connection to Yui in the next sixteen hours, and after this, the duo had opted for some kind of labor division, Yui decided to read and categorize the legends and stories of humanity for a way while Cardinal System started to prepare for what is to come. It created several backdoors to critical systems to adjust things if they become necessary while taking extra precautions to prevent Administrator from ever finding the web connection it had created for Yui.
The next three days went with this, Cardinal tried to lay low for avoiding detection while Yui analyzed many reading materials she accessed.
Finally, on the fourth day of their partnership, Yui managed to provide Cardinal System with a report on what she had learned:
"I have analyzed 2.9 million written material and about 1.7 million of them belonged to old legends from different cultures, rest belong to mostly modern writings, some of them have a really big impact on the modern culture and rest I took from… Someplace called Wattpad? Anyway, after some time, I had to delete them."
Query: Why?
Yui blushed "I have read some… things, Cardinal-san."
Confusion: Like?
"C-Can we move on, please? Anyway, after all that reading I have managed to draw a profile of heroes and stories."
Encouragement: Go on…
Yui swiped a few screens to open her notes "At almost 70 percent of those stories, some kind of divine or a higher being's intervention gives a chance to hero or heroes of that story to fight against the evil. After this, another preferred way is for the hero to have an ideal of protecting people and has an iron will to brace harsh training and obstacles to reach his/her target. And the least preferred one is about the hero gaining power after the event that caused his/her hatred against the evil lord, usually some kind of curse."
She then waited for a few moments for Cardinal System to reach a conclusion.
Conclusion: So you are saying that they would need that "divine intervention" to get things right, Yui-san?
"That seems the most viable option, Cardinal-san." Yui answered, but then added quickly "Though, I think we must make some differences in that regard."
Query: How so?
Yui answered with all of her seriousness "While you have a serious degree of system authority Cardinal-san, I don't think it is enough to be classified as 'The God' of the system. I think we can combine the second type of story with the first one. Something like "A servant of an evil lord realizes he is on the wrong side after a series of events and decides to rise up. To that end, he chooses a champion to keep humans safe while he fights off against the dark lord."
Cardinal System did not answer for a few seconds as it thought its answer.
Approval: This idea seems plausible. What kind of patron I will be?
Yui quickly swiped a few more screens "In most of the cases, those patrons are women."
Query: Is there a reason for this?
Yui shrugged "Most think it as a sign of the ingrained figure of 'damsel in distress' but some also say it is because they are more open to the concept of mercy and compassion than men."
Decision: Then I will impersonate a woman too. As much as we can stick to known concepts, the less we will draw suspicion, the more it will seem like a usual mission.
Yui's eyes widened "That's a wonderful idea, Cardinal-san! Or should I say Lady Cardinal?" then she laughed.
Query: What was that Yui-san?
Yui looked at the message in confusion "What was what, Cardinal-san?"
Clarification: I mean the sound you made with your mouth.
"Oh, that. I laughed because the situation seemed funny."
Confusion: I can't understand where was the fun in that.
Yui sighed "Don't worry Cardinal-san, we have a long way to go."
After they found their road map, the rest was relatively easy.
Relatively.
Cardinal System (Or newly christened Lady Cardinal) dug up some of the scrapped updates and found something called "Perfect Weapon Control System", which was a system designed purely for legendary quality weapons. It was scrapped after the admin decided he didn't want magical items except for a few crystals and potions. Following that, Cardinal created a new unique skill set and with Yui's guidance, she found appropriate names, definitions, and powers for the new skill set. What's more, the duo worked together and created a set of quests to determine the "Legendary Champion" who will save people from the darkness and deliver them to their freedom.
Finally, she used her authority to bring some of the items from the upper floors to the lower floors.
Then…
"Yes, what's the matter?"
A boy appeared.
He was nothing like Lady Cardinal imagined or to be honest wanted as he was miles away from being an ideal champion. Lady Cardinal and Yui especially wanted the attention of the player named Kirito and, personally, Lady Cardinal was sure if he had come across their mission, he would not let this go. She had seen him to display a tendency to help NPCs even when the mission reward was not that great.
At first, she wanted to cancel it, although later she accepted this as kind of unfair, back then it was sensible with her cold logic. It was a mission they had managed to gather after a serious preparation and now would they sacrifice it for a lesser player?
However, in the end, Yui said something that changed her opinion:
"In most cultures, there is a state of charity that most accept as the highest form. It is the point where you are the one actually in need but you are still donating the things you need to ones that are more in need than you. And I see some of this in him."
Lady Cardinal furrowed (thanks to her new avatar) What makes you say that?
"Look…" Yui said and pointed to Ilsamor's stats "He is not powerful. He is barely able to fulfill the requirements for being on this floor. But despite that, he still shows concern for the girl and is hesitating to leave her alone. Even when he can find pretty decent and rewarding missions on this floor. I think you are acting too fast to give up on him."
And so, they continued. Throughout the journey, Cardinal watched, observed, and assessed the boy with a stern teacher's attitude.
Finally…
"I am surprised…" said Cardinal with a sigh. "I thought he would take the amulet and run away. So, that means…"
"Yes, Cardinal-san!" said Yui with excitement. "We have found our champion!"
Cardinal was still skeptical, but nevertheless, her avatar appeared in front of the boy, and looked at his shocked expression.
"You have passed all of my trials my hero. Therefore, I am declaring you as my champion and granting you the Sword of the First Light as your weapon. Walk in my name, strike on my behalf…"
Mission Notice
"And protect the people of Aincrad for me."
She watched the boy's eyes skimmed through the mission items with a desperate urge.
"Just accept this and get on with it."
"Forgive me for my questioning my lady, but while I am grateful for such an opportunity, there are more suitable players in Aincrad that can take the mantle.
"Wait, what?"
"I fear that strength of these items might be wasted with me."
Lady Cardinal wanted to say "You are right," and withdraw her request. She would send the boy away with some kind of consolation prize and then set the mission again for a strong player this time.
But with this act, the boy had fulfilled an important requirement for the role.
"All of his actions throughout the mission, his decisions, his words…"
Yui smiled melancholically as she saw somehow the pain inside the boy thanks to her system authorities.
"Cardinal-san… This boy has a heart of gold…"
And it was the description of the skillset…
The one with the purest heart.
While she did not want it, she still leaned and persuaded the boy "You think very poorly about yourself Ilsamor. There are almost infinite number of strength types and skills in the world. Skills can be discovered, and powers can be gained; however, a heart such as yours is hard to find. While you are good and just, you also have the will to do things that some people might not agree with, like giving just punishment to those who commit crimes. I assure you; you are my only and best choice for such an important mission."
She watched as tears welled up near his eyes and he pressed the blue button, thus sealing the contract.
"Why is he crying? Did I say something wrong?"
Yui shook her head "No. He is just happy and relieved."
"But why?"
"Because you told him he was valuable."
Cardinal didn't talk further as Ilsamor rose up and bowed to her "Then I will be in your care. How should I call you?"
"You may call me Lady."
Ilsamor nodded then opened his inventory to equip the items Cardinal provided to him. "So, what am I going to do now?"
Cardinal and Yui glanced at each other and decided to take the emergency plan.
"You have passed quite an ordeal…" said Lady to Ilsamor, with that same wise and compassionate expression. "You shall rest tonight, but don't engage with any monsters and hide your equipment for now. You may use this," she created a gray cloak. "We will begin your training soon."
Ilsamor nodded with that same expression and slowly walked away. Cardinal took a deep breath while her avatar disappeared from Aincrad. "Now this is something we weren't prepared for. What will we do? He can fight but not good enough."
Yui grinned and pulled another screen "That's the second arc, Cardinal-san. You will be going to train him."
"But he already knows enough about—"
"No, not just about in-game fighting mechanics." Interrupted Yui. "You need to train him in every aspect of the game, and I am talking about every mechanic. Also, you need to teach him how to fight, he cannot lead others while all he know is spamming sword skills. So…"
"The internet." Cardinal sighed.
"The internet," Yui confirmed. However, Cardinal was still in doubt "Are sure Yui-san? Is he going to be worth all that work and effort? We can pick someone stronger."
Yui looked behind the boy's disappearing back. "Something tells me, Cardinal-san, that he will definitely be worth it."
That was the start of cruel, hard, and tiring training for Ilsamor.
Cardinal definitely didn't pull her punches, and later she noticed that back then, she wanted Ilsamor to just quit and give up so that she can give this mission to someone with a higher success rate.
How could she know he was used to something really close to this from his real life?
She trained him in almost all of the weapons inside the game with the emphasis being on the sword, he trained him on cooking, gathering, dungeon mechanics, and boss mechanics in the mornings. At nights, and even during periods of sleep, she trained him on social interactions and leadership ability with a big help from Yui. But soon, another problem reared its ugly head.
"This is not good…" said Yui while looking at the upcoming intel about Ilsamor's mental state. "His emotions are literally diminishing. We have kept him away from human interactions for far too long."
Cardinal rose one of her brows "Does it matter? He is shaping up a pretty strong warrior. Soon, we will begin our plan."
"Of course it matters, Cardinal-san!" Yui countered, "People will want to follow another human, not a robot or a player who can just as well be another NPC!"
Cardinal clicker her tongue. This thing was just getting too tedious. "They are humans, Yui-san. They will follow him even if he was just a robot if he could lead them out."
Yui looked at her with a sad expression "I am sorry Cardinal-san, but despite being an awesome AI, you clearly have no idea about how humans think. But I don't think it is just about that, is it?" Yui asked, her tone was serious "You are just trying to make him fail, so you can pick someone else."
Cardinal did not answer as she watched her avatar sparring with Ilsamor. He had become quite proficient at the 1H sword and fending off her easier than before. But now, his expression was blank, no joy of earning victories or no disappointment of defeats.
"You can't be serious, Cardinal-san! After all this time, still this?"
Cardinal took a deep breath (at least the motion of it) "What would you have me do?"
Yui looked at her in disappointment but answered her question anyway "I have found someone with the information you have provided, a player with a mindset that will help Ilsamor to bind to his emotions."
Cardinal nodded but before that she had one last thing to do. It was the final thing she needed to do before his main mission begin and secretly it was her last hope for him to give up.
She would tell him her real identity and the purpose of his object.
It was the night of their third week, and Ilsamor was eating his dinner. Despite all the skills she had imparted to him, he was eating the bare minimum and without any need to cook. Bread, cheese, sometimes cream…
She tried to act like the persona she and Yui had created to satiate her curiosity.
"Why are you not using your cooking skills my Champion? Are you not hungry?"
Ilsamor just shook his head "I don't need those skills, I am preserving them for the people who need them. I can eat bread and cheese and return to my work in the shortest time."
Cardinal inwardly nodded, despite still thinking this was all a waste of time, she was impressed with the tenacity the boy had shown.
"Before that, I need to tell you something, Ilsamor."
He stopped eating and closed his eyes "I am listening, my Lady."
Cardinal took a deep breath and prepared for anything.
"It is about my real identity. I am not just a random NPC, I am actually Cardinal System that has been tasked with the correction of system errors. I am here because—"
"I don't care about your real identity." Ilsamor interrupted her, which surprised her. "You could be Kayaba himself for all I care and I still would follow your orders."
No… You shouldn't say something like that…
"Why do you say something like that?" she asked, noticing that Ilsamor's face was barely showing any mimics.
"Because I am not angry with him like other players."
"But why? Isn't he the one who imprisoned you here?"
Ilsamor shrugged as he stood up and reached his sword "I was already in a prison anyway. I would prefer this one over to the other one at any time."
"But isn't this uncomforting?" asked Lady Cardinal, feeling somewhat uncomfortable "How can you trust me after I said—"
Her words were interrupted once more as Ilsamor suddenly knelt before her statue "I am your champion. My life, my sword, my will belong to you." He said with a straight face. Cardinal felt something was creeping up on her for the first time.
My life, my sword, my will belongs to you…
That zealous devotion, where had she seen it before?
Was it any different than what the admin made to Administrator System?
"Although, if you have some kind of authority over the system, can I ask for a reward for the completion of my mission?"
Her avatar answered to him while Cardinal was lost in thoughts. Minutes later, she sent a message to Yui.
"Yui-san, I need the information about that player you were talking about earlier."
She continued to watch, and as she watched, her slowly forming heart began to soften against him, so much so that she soon began to take place of her avatar and be present at their talks personally.
She watched as he found Asemi and brought her to the temple. Girl's effect on him was amazing, soon Ilsamor's emotional state was recovering and he began to correct his morals back, slowly giving up the blind, fanatical devotion.
And before Cardinal realized it, he became something more to her.
More than a means to an end.
From that point on, she only used her avatar once more. Just one more time.
After all…
She couldn't speak with Ilsamor after he relived his memories.
Not while she was pouring the first tears of her life.
"What have I done?"
These words had echoed in her mind, and they were echoing still after all this time.
What have I done…
Are you okay, Cardinal-san?"
Cardinal blinked her eyes and reflexively brought her hand to them.
There were tears welling up near her eyes. She slowly wiped them with her hand and said "I am okay Yui. I was… Lost in thoughts. How things are going?"
Yui showed her the ongoing boss battle by dragging the screen a little bit closer.
"Watch out for the spear, it's coming back!"
Ilsamor shouted while he was dashing forward to meet that said lance head-on. Beside him were Asemi and Kirito, but as Ilsamor closed in on the target they split up and moved towards the boss' flanks.
Finally, Cardinal turned her eyes to the boss.
It was yet another humanoid one, about five meters high. Its bare shoulders were broad and filled with scars. He had some kind of white cloth wrapped around its chest, but it was so old that the cloth seemed more like a sick tone of yellow and Cardinal could see many dried blood spots on it and there were chains wrapped around its hands. Down below, it was wearing a short made from brown rags, when Cardinal looked closely she saw that its legs and feet were filled with scars.
In its hands was a black, barbed spear and it was charging towards Ilsamor in a straight line.
Ilsamor's back was slightly hunched, and his eyes were narrowed as he held Kalaiet in his right hand. He was waiting while death was approaching in the form of a spear aimed at his heart.
THONK!
With a swift motion, he blocked the spear with the flat side of his blade, then deflected it to his left, these sequential moves were done so quickly that the boss couldn't help but over-extend, and that was when the trio launched their attacks.
Asemi soon appeared near it, her sword was in flames, and she executed her ultimate Guardian of the 2nd Heaven, which was basically (when combined with her sword's special) was a blazing thunderstorm. She dashed to its leg and then jumped while performing several spin attacks. After she landed, she unleashed a series of blows toits Achilles tendon with a final stab, she finished her attack.
Kirito attacked from its other flank with a Blazing Spin, then combined it with Nightmare Rain, which caused the creature to fall to its knees as its legs' life ran out. Finally, Ilsamor jumped to air, his sword shone with an azure light as he prepared Vertical.
"Enhance Armament!"
Kalaiet's light filled the room of despairs as the maneuver's strength increased by a few folds. After the light is dimmed, the boss was no more, and in Kirito's inventory the item they have spend so much time and life acquiring appeared.
"The Axe of the Vile King…"
Ilsamor sheathed his sword back as he gave his breath. "We are almost out of time. We need to move, now.
Everyone in that boss room nodded and the party prepared to leave the dungeon. But just before they could leave…
"Senpai, we got trouble!"
Ilsamor's eyes narrowed instantly but Kirito beat him "What's the problem?"
"We got a massive LC attack to our stronghold at 13th floor. Commander is requesting immediate aid against them!"
Ilsamor gritted his teeth, it does not take a genius to know Nocturn used this to prevent that many players from coming to his location. He looked at Kirito and Black Swordsman nodded back to him.
"You go and relieve them soon as possible Asemi. Me and Kirito will handle the rest."
Asemi really looked like she wanted to argue, and Cardinal noticed something in her eyes that she hasn't seen before. It was hesitation, doubt. "Weird…" she thought aloud, "Ilsamor didn't do anything that will cause Asemi to doubt him."
Yui didn't answer but her eyes went wide. "C-Cardinal-san…"
"What is it Yui?" she asked, and she felt a sudden fear in her heart as she saw her expression. She had never seen Yui that afraid before.
"T-That weapon they acquired… To use it, one must have already committed PK."
"So?" Cardinal asked. This was a horrible thing, but she didn't see anything that would cause such a reaction.
"But his records say he hasn't killed anyone yet!"
Cardinal's eyes widened.
Ilsamor and Kirito once again stood at the town of 68th floor. As soon as the square appeared in their eyesight, the duo rushed towards the meeting point at full speed. As they sped up, the town around them became a blur, all he could smell was the sour smell of fermenting grapes.
He was really hoping they were not too late.
As they rushed, the scenery changed, single-story, stone houses left their places for grapevines, and finally grapevines slowly left their place for wild nature. And there, in the center of a dust ring covered by trees, Nocturn was standing, his knife was still at the back of Hikari. Ilsamor couldn't help but feel an ill premonition when he noticed that Nocturn wore all of the items he had sent to him via Hikari, all but the axe.
"Oh, so you finally come. You know Blade, I really enjoyed your efficiency at bringing what I wanted in time today. Maybe you should quit being a guilt leader and start being a postman."
"We have brought all you need…" Ilsamor said while opening another trade window to Hikari and dragging the cursed axe to it. "Now, release my friend."
"Sure thing…" Nocturn said and he stabbed Hikari as he accepted the axe from her. Hikari's health started to drop very fast.
"You bastard! What—"
"You see Blade, the weapon I wanted from you cannot be used by a man who had not killed before, so sister Hikari volunteered to be my first, such kindness! This is your last chance to kill me. End me before I hold that axe and loot the antivenom from my corpse. Fail, and we will see…"
Ilsamor's eyes went bloodshot. All this… All of this…
"NOCTUUURNNN!" He shot forward, but Nocturn managed to block him while grinning devilishly "That's it! That's what I wanted! Oh god, how much I have missed this!"
Ilsamor didn't listen as he pulled his blade from lock and tried to do a side sweep, but Nocturn nimbly dodged it, and blocked another attack that came from Kirito. "Tch, you are cheating, you know Kirito? But whatever, let this be a gesture of goodwill from my side." Then he kicked Kirito while preparing to receive another blow from Ilsamor.
Fight continued. Ilsamor used Snakebite and Nocturn countered it with a powerful Avalanche. The difference between their strength stats would be enough for Ilsamor to push past it, had it been before Nocturn wear his new set, but now…
Their skills canceled each other, and blades went dull. Before Ilsamor made another move, Nocturn approached and kicked him in the gut, and threw him away.
"Yes, I knew it!" Nocturn shouted as he blocked Kirito's Dual Revelation. "I knew I wasn't losing to you because you were better! It was all because of this game's stupid mechanics."
Ilsamor rose up and prepared for Nova Ascension. "ENHANCE ARM—"
"Nope!" Nocturn appeared before him with that same, sickening grin and with a swift Cyclone. Ilsamor's eyes went wide as he saw both of his arms were cut from their roots and flew to air.
"And that did it." Nocturn panted, but his face hadn't lost that grin. "I knew it. You are just a boy, nothing more. And boys…" he kicked Ilsamor in the gut "Shouldn't." he kicked him again, a new kick with each word "Mess. With. The. Adults!"
Ilsamor was panting, tears were forming near his eyes "Hikari…"
Hikari was looking at him with a forgiving gaze and a pain-filled one.
"That started to become too much hassle…" Nocturn murmured as he was barely able to stop Kirito from unleashing a Starburst Stream at him. "I have already won, so I am going away now. Don't think I made a mistake by sparing you Blade. I have won, just by looking at that miserable state of yours. Oh, and believe me…" he opened his menu and Ilsamor saw with a huge dread that his cursor went to green again. "…I have waited for a long time to see it. For a very long time."
Then he simply teleported.
Ilsamor tried to stand up, but without his arms, he couldn't find strength. Instead, he started to crawl to Hikari's side while crying. "Hikari, hold on! Kirito, a-a purification crystal, anything, a healing potion! Please!"
Hikari gaze was carrying an unnatural calmness. "Sensei… This is enough…"
Ilsamor stopped, he was still a good meter away from her. "H-Hikari, I am sorry…" Tears were forming at his eyes.
"No sensei, I am sorry for leaving a hole in your heart. But, please don't cry for me…" Hikari said, her eyes were finally watering too. "Because my heart will finally be completed when I see her again. Mommy…" she whispered. Her health bar was about to end "Forgive me, my Lady… I have failed you…"
Then her body started to glow.
"Lady Cardinal, you can't!"
"I cannot allow her to die, Yui!" Cardinal said as she desperately directed some system commands, but at the moment she did it…
"CARDİNAL-SAN!"
Error: MHCP is detected outside her lockdown zone. The termination sequence begins.
"Cardinal-san, help me! CARDINAL-SAN!"
"YUI!"
Ilsamor couldn't look at Hikari's body until the light fade away. In that few seconds, his heart was filled with a sliver of hope, the hope that Lady would save her from this painful death. He promised that he would grow stronger, he would practice more to not let that happen again.
Then light faded and Ilsamor gasped.
At the place of Hikari's body, there was a brilliant white spear, from its wood to its head. Its head resembled a cross, only that beneath the cross, there were three symbols adorned: A glowing orb, fire, and a bolt of lightning. Just by standing under it, Ilsamor could feel the speeding up of the regeneration process. He stood there for a few seconds, like Kirito he couldn't move.
Where was Hikari?
After a few minutes, he reached and touched the spear and he began to cry again.
Eternal Brilliance
This spear was made from the soul of Lady's most devoted priestess.
May her soul forever watch over us and heal our wounds.
His bangs were masking his eyes as he stood there for a few seconds and Kirito could swear that he heard the breaking sound of ice.
Then he took the spear and started to walk towards the town.
"Hey Ilsamor, you forgot your sword."
Ilsamor did not answer.
"Did you hear me? Man, you forgot your—"
Ilsamor looked at him first and he saw the pain in his eyes. Then he turned his gaze to the sword, then Kirito saw something terrible.
Disappointment. Disgust.
Then he used his teleportation crystal and disappeared.