At that moment, Haruyuki and Kuroyukihime accelerated to the Highest Level in their transparent selves, along with Metatron. Kirito had sent them here to speak to them one last time. But first, he proceeded to congratulate them for their victory, along with Asuna.
"Congratulations, you two. You have proved to us that you have the power needed to clear this world. Especially you, Haruyuki. As one of the few Contractors in this world, you have undoubtedly demonstrated your strong bond with Metatron. That was the key to defeating us."
"Of course! After all, Silver Crow's my servant! Together, we will conquer this world!", Metatron spoke partly in jest to the two powerful swordmasters, which made Kirito exasperated.
"Hahaha… Oh yeah, Graph-san said you two were the developers…"
"Wait, he did?", Kuroyukihime asked in disbelief. "Didn't think he'd be that direct. I mean, I kinda figured it out myself, but…"
"Well… he let his tongue slip."
"Hmm…", she glared suspiciously. "That sounds unlikely given who he is, but perhaps he revealed too much this time."
"Right, that's why we called you here. To tell you everything. About how this world came to be and its purpose."
Kirito started speaking like an old man telling a tale:
"You might have heard some of this from Graph, but the accelerated world was created twenty years ago arising from a war that took place over a special AI known as The Fluctuating Light. That AI, you see… was the hope for a brighter future. And thus, three games were launched by us in order to gather young players to save the AI, though some bumps were made along the way."
He paused a bit at the last sentence, likely hinting at the accidental launch of Dread Drive.
"Yes, he has told us about the war that took place for that thing." Kuroyukihime interrupted. "But what about that message?"
"Senpai…", Haruyuki called out, knowing exactly what she meant.
"That message that was sent to Level 9's, is it true? That we had to kill five people in order to reach Level 10 and meet the developer?"
As the one who had already killed two of the Six Kings to reach Level 10, Kuroyukihime thought that the developers of Brain Burst must have a purpose behind setting up this conflict. However, those same developers appeared right before her eyes, as if to discourage her from going any further.
Kirito thought for a moment before responding:
"Unfortunately, that is true. But it is also a trap. The ones who oppose us, they were the ones who inserted that ridiculous condition to enter Level 10. It was initially meant to be granted to the player with the most potential. Thus, we introduced the Sudden Death Rule at Level 9 to prevent conflict, but those guys… they hoped that a path towards carnage would condition the player to destroy the TFL for good and fulfill their goals for them. They think that friendship and bonds are unnecessary in the grand scheme of things. Most likely, they were hoping to meet you at the end of the blood-stained path you have carved to entrust you with the final task they had failed to complete."
"In the end, things didn't go well for them.", Asuna added on. "The last Assault Linker, Dushka… she refused to commit such a heinous act once she learnt about it. In spite of her rise to the top, she valued life and swore to never take part in the murder of an AI. That's why, even though Accel Assault had been terminated, she had been roaming the network until you two put her to rest. In fact, from her timing, I suspect she was trying to send a warning to you two about DD, but it had been too late to respond."
"N-No! It can't be…", Kuroyukihime exclaimed in shock before breaking down into tears. "Then my sister and I, all the Level 9's… we were led by a lie?!"
"There was no way you sisters could reconcile, at least here in this world.", Kirito said rather bluntly, trying to comfort Kuroyukihime in his own way. "We once met your mother a long time ago, and she held the same extremist ideals that your sister did. As long as she was a part of the Kamura family, she would have never agreed to a simple peaceful solution."
"But…", Asuna interjected. "You are not to blame for this. We were foolish to think that Brain Burst was a terrible game to put you two into. Truth be told, the AI administrator we used, Cardinal, saw no progress towards the final objective in Cosmos Corrupt, the last game you were playing, and prematurely ended it. And also, the Non-Aggression Treaty established by the Kings… it worked to prevent conflict on the surface level, but it seems none of them knew what the final objective was… aside from you, Kuroyuki-chan."
"Despite everything that happened, we still wanted to believe in the power of bonds. We ourselves have shed light to many VR worlds long ago using the power which was once said to transcend the system. I once tried to shoulder everyone's hopes by myself, but I could never do it alone. That's why… I have her to support me."
Kirito made an awkward pause at the last sentence pointing to Asuna, which made her giggle momentarily. Having cleared herself, she continued:
"What Kirito-kun said is true. We needed two people who would make a pair like us, one united with a love so strong that it would conquer anything. We believed that to be the key towards clearing this game and the accelerated world."
"And our answer… was you two.", Kirito said.
"Us? I don't know much about Senpai, but I don't get why I was selected."
"We kept an eye on Kuroyuki right when she was born… no, came into this world, because of some special circumstances."
Just like Graph, Kirito deliberately avoided important details, though Haruyuki already knew some of it from what Kuroyukihime told him.
"But she was taken out of our hands at first, and our access was limited. So we decided to recruit another person with high potential who would break her free from the chains that bound her."
"The only one we knew who could do it…"
Asuna paused for a bit before continuing:
"…was you, Haruyuki-kun."
"M-Me?", Haruyuki asked, quite shocked at what he just heard.
"Yes, you were quite similar to her.", Asuna answered. "You also felt loneliness and sorrow in your life. But in spite of that, your heart carried a warm and gentle light. We then realized that you were the only one who could save her. Thus, we created Cosmos Corrupt as the ultimate playground for you two to meet and connect."
"And despite all odds, you managed to do so, not once, but twice. The second time was a miracle beyond miracles which we hadn't thought was possible. After that, we were certain. We had found the ones to entrust our final goal to."
Kirito spoke with such assurance over his choice as if fate had denied him countless times in the past.
"Hmm… that was quite a lot for me to grasp.", Haruyuki commented, still a bit astounded over what he had just heard. "To think… me and Senpai have been set up to meet from the start…"
Just then, Kirito and Asuna suddenly became transparent. They were about to disappear as a result of being defeated.
"Is that so? Sorry, but our time is almost up, so we just gave you the important bits, hahaha.", Kirito responded in a sheepish manner.
"Come on, Kirito-kun, you should have restored their memories first to make it easier for them to understand!"
"Well, I didn't want them to feel tragedy again… ok, you win, Asuna-sama.", he gave in after witnessing her angry glare.
"Sigh…I've got no choice."
Asuna first approached Haruyuki, putting her hands on his face. As she did, he briefly recalled some of his memories at Cosmos Corrupt. No, he remembered something else. It was the warm feeling he once received when he visited her at the RECT laboratories.
"Haruyuki-kun, I just wanted to let you know, out of all the acceleration users we selected, you were our favorite. And so…"
Turning over to Yuuki, who appeared behind her and seemingly nodded, Asuna continued:
"We wanted to entrust you with… the Sword Skill, Mother's Rosario. You have already seen it upfront, so you should have no problem replicating it as an Incarnate attack. Learn it, master it, take it to new heights. Make Yuuki and me proud."
Haruyuki had only been on the receiving end of the mentioned Sword Skill, but he memorized the motions, so he promised to try his best in mastering it one day and make it his own.
"Oh and… look after her for us, okay?", she continued, glancing towards Kuroyukihime. "She's kind of headstrong, always walking towards the path of danger like a certain someone, but she's a really nice and sweet girl. She needs you by her side."
"Yes, I promise!"
Kuroyukihime pouted hearing the mean comments thrown at her, but Asuna simply giggled in response. Having entrusted her final wishes to Haruyuki, she turned over to the black beauty.
"Sa… no, Yuuki-chan…", she almost slipped before calling her by a name that was unfamiliar to Haruyuki.
She wanted to give her warmth in place of the cold she felt throughout the fifteen years of her life, which she initiated with a hug and a whisper.
"We're back, our dear daughter."
These soft-spoken words evoked powerful memories in Kuroyukihime that made her shed tears. It was her memories as a young beautiful princess in another world.
"Ma…Mama…", she said in a weak voice.
She was completely spellbound by the radiance emitted, as if it were something divine that she could not resist, rendering her unable to move her body. This light she felt, it was similar to that of her sister who betrayed her long ago, but… this was more genuine, as it gently touched her heart.
"Yes, Mama's right here. Sorry we weren't able to save you sooner.", Asuna responded.
"Wait, huh? Mama?! Am I missing something here?", Haruyuki asked Kirito in confusion as he had just heard a strange word.
"You know about the situation regarding her Fluctlight, right? The truth is, we were the ones who gave birth to it in a different world we once resided in. We named her after that swordswoman you just saw."
"I see…", Haruyuki responded, a little shocked by what he just heard.
"Perhaps I should have formed a Contract with her instead.", Metatron commented. "For her to be born as a child of gods, and yet suffer so much…"
"I'm not sure about calling us 'gods'.", Kirito responded, slightly embarrassed about Metatron's snide remark. "I mean, sure, we're the developers, which basically makes us GMs, but-"
"Regardless of the authority you have over this world, you showed a different kind of strength equivalent to that of gods in our battle…"
Haruyuki ignored their conservation, and simply focused on the heartfelt reunion that transpired before him.
Asuna took hold of Kuroyukihime's hands and gazed straight at her.
"You've grown into such a beautiful butterfly…", she remarked, recalling the daughter she once had as a lovely caterpillar.
She proceeded to touch the part of her waist where a scar was supposed to be. A scar that she had obtained by protecting Haruyuki from a ramming car. She almost died trying to do so, but she ultimately recovered, all for the sake of returning to him.
"You fought really hard… and made great friends along the way… Mama's… so happy…"
Kuroyukihime had overcome both fate and the clutches of death to reunite with her beloved, which made Asuna nothing more than overjoyed. Because of Haruyuki, she could find the strength to rebuild Nega Nebulas and clear the game.
"Don't worry, you're stronger than us now. That's why…"
Asuna whispered the rest as softly as she could.
"Don't ever let go of him, okay?"
She finally kissed Kuroyukihime on the forehead, making her heart skip a beat. Asuna then disintegrated into particles of light, with Kirito following suit.
Haruyuki and Kuroyukihime returned back to the Mean Level, where they saw two bodies crumble to dust right before their eyes. They also heard two disembodied voices in unison:
"The future… lies with you two."
"Now… go forth and challenge the Castle."
"Yes… we will…", Haruyuki silently responded to them.
The fused avatar began to disappear, and in its place, two avatars appeared. Haruyuki's link with Metatron was also cut off for the time being, resulting in the loss of Metatron Wings. He decided to approach Kuroyukihime, who was currently an emotional mess. Having briefly reunited with the real parents of her soul, she had no idea how to feel.
"Senpai?"
But when Haruyuki looked at her, she saw a reflection of his old self as White Knight, having gotten back her memories of that time. She couldn't show this terrible face of hers to him. She put up her sweetest smile and meekly responded:
"…I'm fine."
They slowly descended, and were about to return to their legion. When they looked below, Graph was nowhere to be seen, presumably having logged out right after the chaos.
"As always, that guy just does whatever he pleases…", Kuroyukihime mumbled in a low voice. "He must've known I would pin him down for further details."
Just then, Niko appeared before them, having deactivated Invincible. She almost stuttered before finally speaking up:
"So, umm… I just wanted to say… congratulations on defeating those two, and-"
"Niko!", Kuroyukihime sternly called out the Red King's name. "You held back just now, right? You could've killed me anytime if you had used the Incarnate System."
"Well, I-I had no choice… I was slightly jealous of you being a chosen child and all that, but… I could never kill you even if I wanted to. Because-"
"Hmm, I see."
Saying nothing further, Kuroyukihime approached the tiny crimson avatar with her blades sharpened and crossed them behind her. As if he could not believe what he was seeing, Haruyuki attempted to question her:
"Wait… Senpai… what are you…"
"Sorry, Haruyuki-kun, but this is my only chance.", she responded silently to her beloved.
"Death By Embracing!"
She called out her Level 8 special attack, the one she had used to behead the previous Red King, Red Rider.
Pard attempted to rush to the scene to save Niko, but Akira stopped her, silently telling her to watch till the end.
"I'm done running from my past! I must face it head on!"
The sharp blades behind Niko glowed purple.
"Wha-W-W-W-Wh-"
For the first time ever as the Red King, Niko felt a genuine fear run through her body, rendering her immobile just like the condition known as Zero Fill. She was expecting those blades to cut through it.
"…Just kidding. This is an onee-chan's hug."
But the dismemberment did not happen. Instead, a soft and tender sensation came from behind her back.
"Wait, your hands…", Niko responded in shock, having just come back from her momentary loss of will, before exclaiming: "Geez, don't scare me like that!"
Kuroyukihime attempted to recreate the scenario she was in three years ago which left her traumatized to the point that she lost her will every time she remembered it. Just after saying the name of that technique, she deliberately tried to go against her own impulses, and immediately transformed the blades in her arms to real hands using Incarnate. She ventured into the abyss of her own heart and attempted to fill the hole in it using the light that Asuna gave her.
As a result, she could now materialize her hands indefinitely without discomfort. It was a risky move, maybe even suicidal, as anyone who tried this would have been completely consumed by their own darkness. But Kuroyukihime knew – no, she believed – that she would triumph over this. She had to, for the legion that believed in her.
"It's always been weird to me. Why does someone like me have a tightly-knit legion? Everyone knows each other in real life as well, but for some reason, I have been placing walls inside my heart trying to keep everyone away, which were represented through the blades in my hands, trying to destroy everything it touched. I always had Judgement Blow that I could use to bring my legion members to total submission, but I never had to use it on anyone. They were all drawn to this wretch of a Burst Linker like me through a feeling other than fear, and I even willingly accepted cooperation from other legions, despite us being enemies. Perhaps I've been misunderstanding what the black in me meant. If so, then what was my true nature? Was it really resentment and despair? Then I would've never developed feelings for Haruyuki-kun, let alone saved him."
She hugged Niko more tightly than ever, seemingly unaware that she was slowly chipping off her HP.
"Perhaps the black of this avatar did not represent rejection, but rather the acceptance of everything. Yes, I realized it when I was taking on the collective hatred of the 6 Chrome Disasters. My true nature… is the same as that of the Originator Saffron Blossom… that is, love. And these blades… they were given to me… because of the fear I once had."
"L-Let go of me!", Niko screamed loudly, struggling to escape the tight space she was in.
Having finally overcome her mental barrier she had been struggling with for years, Kuroyukihime released her grip on Niko and spoke tearfully:
"Listen, Niko. Thank you… for never giving up on me."
"Huh?"
"As you know, I had an older sister who betrayed me once. So, when I saw you hold back in that brief moment, hesitating to pull the trigger… it kinda moved me a little. I also said to you back then that I hate children, especially ones as obnoxious as you, but now… I'm happy. You are the only one who can be my precious little sister. And I swear, I will never abandon you."
"Kuroyuki…"
Niko was also filled with tears after receiving this warm embrace, and proceeded to hug her back. Seeing this made her feel a little relieved, and she called out to Rider, whose ghost had forgiven her a while back:
"I did it, Rider. I… finally…"
Just then, Fuuko also approached them slowly.
"Master!"
"You did it, Karasu-san."
She turned over to Kuroyukihime.
"Fuuko… I…"
Before she could say anything else, Fuuko put her finger on the part of her avatar where her lips would be.
"Save whatever you want to say for the real world."
She then turned back and announced to the rest of the legion members:
"Alright everyone, Operation SKS is a success! Time to head back."
"Yeah!", all of Nega Nebulas shouted in unison, though Kuroyukihime twitched after hearing the abbreviation that just came up.
One by one, they all exited the UNF via a nearby Leave Point. Kuroyukihime, on the other hand, was briefly stopped by a system message that appeared above her. She could not believe the words written on it.
CONGRATULATIONS
LEVEL 10
She checked her Instruct menu, and sure enough, the words 'Level 10' were written on her status screen. The two lights showing Red Rider and White Cosmos, that served as a reminder on her level-up screen of the two people she killed, were no longer there. Instead, it showed 'YOU HAVE REACHED THE MAX LEVEL'.
It had once been her goal with a heavy condition, the slaughter of five Level 9's, all bound by the Sudden Death Rule. She looked back in the direction of the sword king and queen. Perhaps this was their gift to her, the ultimate power needed to conquer the Castle, for which they had to offer themselves as sacrifices. They had also given her something else, a message with their address, as if prompting her to come to that place to ask any further questions.
No longer desiring to go through a path of needless bloodshed, she silently thanked them in her heart:
"Thank you… Papa… Mama…"
She touched the portal afterwards.