"Alice...it is you isn't it? Alice?" Eugeo said as he slowly approached Alice only for her to knock him aside with her blade in its sheath.
"Choose your actions carefully. I have the authority to remove up to 70% of your life if necessary. And if you touch me again without permission...I'll have your hand." Alice said.
"Eugeo, please remain calm." Miriam said.
"You will remain silent." Alice said. "Now...you will be escorted to the Central Cathedral without further delay. Where I will question you...then execute you all."
She led them outside and placed them in chains, dangling from her dragon as they took off into the air.
"Okay, they've really covered their bases." Naofumi said. "Hopefully everyone is doing fine on the outside."
Meanwhile in the real world…
"Kirito…." Asuna said as she looked in on Kirito's body.
"He'll be fine. The group's with him after all." Luna said.
"Yeah, they wouldn't just let him fall apart." Sunset said.
"Thanks." Asuna said.
"Still nice of these guys to let us go in and out of this base for the time being." Kita said.
"Yes." Tsuki said.
"Still, I'm kind of surprised you guys decided to come along for this." Naomi said.
"We wanted to protect you. Of course we would come." Maiko said.
"Also, I wanted to apologize to all of you. I didn't mean to keep my life such a secret. But well, I thought that if I said anything you probably wouldn't have believed me." Naomi said.
"Please, we went to a world of Pokémon and became Pokémon and adventurers. Not like this is anything strange for us. We can handle any…" Maiko said, running into something. "Oh sorry m...m...robot?!" she said seeing it was a robot looking right at her.
"What on earth?" Lei said.
"Ichiemon...there you are." Hyperion said as the robot walked over to him. "Apologies, it wandered off when I wasn't paying attention."
"Ichiemon….?" Sunset asked.
"Yes...the name is stupid. It was this guy, Higa's, idea. But well it is the first one made." Hyperion said.
"Okay...and why is he on board?" Luna asked.
"He's a prototype for the robots we plan to build. Those fluctlights will have to go into something." Hyperion said.
"Oh...for the AIs. Right, they would need something to move around in." Aruma said.
"So...one of them will go in this?" Tanya asked.
"Oh lord no. We actually have a model that's twice as efficient and much better than this prototype." Hyperion said.
"We call it Niemon." Chihiro said.
"Like one, then two?" Saki asked.
"Sensing a theme here." Hope said.
"Can you speak?" Keebo asked Ichiemon.
"Of course it can't. It's just a normal prototype robot. It doesn't have any speaking capabilities." Hyperion said. "It's only piloted by a CPU and not an AI. It's still a work in progress. We're hoping to make them more humanoid in appearance."
"Humanoid…" Leviathan said as she looked to Fulgore.
"Not by implanting human brains in them, I'm assuming." Fulgore said.
"No...the fluctlights. These are AI's...not corpses." Hyperion said.
"Oh, phew… Good to know. Wouldn't want another UltraTech to make more monsters like me." Fulgore said.
"Fulgy." Leviathan said, taking his hand. "Monster or not, you're still the same Fulgore I know and love." she smiled.
"Aww, that's so sweet!" Viktoriya smiled.
"What's this 'Ultratech', is it a corporation?" Tanya asked.
"In a way, yes." Fulgore said.
"Ace fought their forces early in his hero career. Fulgore comes from a line of mass produced robots created using a man called Eagle." Hope said.
"Yes, as a previous winner of the Killer Instinct tournament, Eagle used his status to uphold his revolution against UltraTech. Of course, they couldn't have that. So, they… They killed him, and used his brain as a basis for the models' combat protocols." Fulgore said.
"But eventually after the defeat of Gargos, ARIA changed her view on humanity and decided to stop production of the Fulgore model and instead focused on helping humanity in many ways." Mari said.
"Fulgore here is the last known unit alive. We sorta gave him sentience when he attacked us in Valentia." Hope said.
"Thanks to Vera and I." Mari said. "And he's been a great ally to us since. Eventually he and Leviathan fell in love."
"Good thing for both of us I'm waterproof." Fulgore said.
"And ice proof thanks to your power core." Leviathan giggled.
"Yes, that does prove rather useful in such situations, wouldn't-" Mirror Match said as the group walked past two men, causing Mirror Match to stop and look back at them.
"What's up M&M?" Kagura asked.
"Nothing. For some reason, I just got sick to my stomach but...I guess it's nothing." Mirror Match said.
Back in the Underworld, the prisons…
"Well...think we've spent enough time lazing about in here for a day." Theo said. "Bout time we escaped."
"Yes, at least it wasn't like back on the World of Mana." Ace said.
"Only because Leonora had her Einherjar to bail us out. But we couldn't risk bringing her here because it could've clunked this world with data too early." Sachiko said.
"Same in Ajna's case since she has Dhar and the others inside her inner realm." Duran said.
"Hmm… I wonder…" Agito said.
"Something on your mind, Agito?" Riesz asked.
"Yeah, you guys know that my ability is teleportation, right?" Agito asked.
"Yes. We've seen Marco use it a few times when the you of our dimension was erased." Sachiko said.
"Yeah...oh but...these chains are gonna be a problem." Agito said before they heard the door opening.
"Or you could just sit there while I get you guys out." Theo said showing he was already freed.
"But...how? They confiscated our weapons." Tatsuya said.
"Yeah but...some just can't be locked up." Theo said summoning his blade.
"Ah, of course." Miriam said.
"Shh...there's a guard by the gate so we gotta keep it low." Theo whispered.
"Right, right." Asta said.
Theo quickly unlocked the chains on each of the group members and their cells as they hurried out of the prison and found themselves in a massive rose garden.
"Oh wow… It looks so nice here." Crusadermon said.
"Beautiful." Miriam said.
"We should get moving. Still...the way this Alice acted was not like how Eugeo described her." Kirito said. "Hmm...it's possible she's under some sort of mind control."
"If she was, I would've smelled it. It's pretty faint, but...this is a virtual world. Not like scents mean anything much here." Cheetah said.
"So we'll just have to fight and defeat Alice and bring her back to her senses." Cobalt said.
"Par for the course for people like us. We're used to this kind of thing by now." Sachiko said.
"Well well...you have to hand it to my lady Alice." a voice said as they saw a man sitting in a gazebo as he sipped a glass of wine. "Many thought that prison would be impossible to escape from but here you are. My mentor told me to camp out here for the night cause she predicted something like this would happen."
"Oh, so you're her student, huh?" DJ asked. "Gotta say, nice place you got here. Too bad we gotta leave."
"Yes. You will be returning to that gloomy little prison cell, but not before administering some punishment." he said.
"Heh...you wanna send us back? Not without a fight." Subaru said.
"Tch...such nerve." he said as the wind began to swirl. "For your bravado, I'll introduce myself. I am Eldrie Synthesis Thirty One. I have no territory to my name yet since I was only freshly summoned a month ago. Don't let that fact bother you."
"Trust me. Where we're from, there's no short of talented rookies." David said.
"Hmm...then I'll start easy." Eldrie said, taking out a whip. "System Call. Enhance Armament." he said as the whip glowed as he snapped it out at them, Kirito quickly blocked with his chains as it hit, breaking off part of it. "My...not many can withstand the force of my frost tail whip."
"Okay...this might be more difficult than we thought." Theo said as they engaged in combat with him.
"Eldrie...not sure how but...I swear I've heard that name before." Eugeo said.
"Really? But...he was summoned so...how does that even...whoa!" Cobalt said as he dodged.
"Haaa!" Asta said, grabbing the whip. "What are you going to do now, huh?"
"Hmm...Release Recollection." Eldrie said as the whip took on the form of a serpent as it tried to bite at them. "No wonder lady Alice was weary of you people. Your attacks have no pattern. How annoying."
"That's just part of the charm." David said.
"Wait...now I know where I heard of you. You won the Northingard swordsmanship tournament. And then the Unification Tournament. You're Eldrie Woolsberg, aren't you?" Eugeo said.
"Champion...from the Northingard Empire? Eldrie...Woolsberg?" Eldrie asked.
"If memory serves, you won every match with a single stroke of your sword." Eugeo said.
"That's absurd! I am Eldrie Synthesis Thirty One. I have never heard the name Woolsberg before." Eldrie said.
"Like I said before we fought you, you're a talented rookie." David said. "I mean, if you were able to win every single fight with one hit, then you must be pretty strong."
"Silence! Blasphemer! I was summoned to this world by the Pontifex!" Eldrie said as he dropped his whip. "I...I am here by the Administrator's will. I ascended as an Integrity Knight from the heavens I tell you!" he said groaning as a purple crystal emerged from his forehead as he shouted in pain and knelt down on the ground.
"What on earth?" Miriam said, looking at the crystal.
"Eldrie...you need to remember who you are. Your father, your mother! Remember them!" Kirito said as an arrow was fired into his foot. "Gah!"
"Kirito!" Ayase said before looking to the sky to see a knight in red armor on a dragon, firing arrows at them. "Look out!" she said as they avoided the arrows by the skin of their teeth.
"Who the heck is this guy?" David asked. "Can't you see we're in the middle of something here? Butt out!"
"Uh...don't think he cares. Move!" Ultra said as they dodged more arrows.
"He's likely another of these Integrity Knights. We need to get outta here." Eri said.
"Directed Shield!" Miriam called, summoning a large shield.
"Pitiful. Trying to corrupt an Integrity Knight is unforgivable." the man said firing a single arrow as it shattered the shield with one strike.
"You're the corrupt ones here. I said… Butt out!" David said as he fired a blast of ice at him.
"I shall pin you down and return you to your cells." he said, shattering the ice with the arrows.
"Forget fighting. We need to…" Theo said before seeing a door standing in the middle of the path. "Has that door always been there?"
"Don't question it. Just move." Revali said.
They hurried through the door, avoiding the barrage of arrows to follow.
"That was...way too close." Terra said.
"Now that they know we're here, we can't use this backdoor anymore." a voice said as a young girl stood before them. "Come this way." she said leading them down the hall.
"Thanks for the help back there." Gemini said. "So...are we in the cathedral now?"
"Yes and no. It is part of the cathedral but I have deleted the regular doorway to it. So no one can get in...unless I invite them of course." she said as the door at the end of the hall opened to show a massive library.
"Such an array of books." Miriam said.
"This library contains the history of this world, a list of all that has been created as well as all system commands, or what you call the Sacred Arts." she said.
"Seems pretty nifty. This place is really well-organized by the looks of it." Leopardmon said. "You...seem to know a lot. Who are you?"
"My name is Cardinal. I was once the progenitor of this world, but now I am the curator of this grand library." she said.
"Progenitor? Then that means…" Kasumi said.
"Wait...but I thought the gods of this world created this world." Kirito said.
"No...unfortunately, all records about gods creating this world, were all fabricated by the Pontifex." Cardinal said.
"I knew it… This order really is corrupt. What the hell is it with knightly orders twisting everything for themselves?!" David asked before looking to Leopardmon and Crusadermon. "Er… No offense."
"None taken. Don't you worry, we understand how you feel." Leopardmon said.
"However, there are three god level accounts registered in case of emergency, but the humans outside never logged in using them." Cardinal said.
"No one logged in under them? But how? Wasn't the purpose of creating an account just so the user would be registered?" Kasumi asked.
"And we just skipped over the bigger picture. That a program knows about the real world." Tsubaki said. "That means she's an outsider like the admins."
"Yes and I know most of you are outsiders too." Cardinal said.
"She's the Cardinal System. She's an autonomous program that runs this world." Kirito said. "But she's different. The ones I've met never had a virtual interface."
"I know there are self-aware types, but she takes the cake." David said.
"Wait, then we can use her to get in touch with the outside world." Ethox said.
"Of course I can't. If I could, I wouldn't be in this dusty place. Only the Pontifex has that authority." Cardinal said.
"So, until then, it's just us, by the looks of things." Sachiko said.
"Cardinal, just who is the one that created the Pontifex?" Selena asked.
"You could say...the human race did. I said there were no gods but that is not true. There were once four who came to this land when the capitol was just a tiny village." Cardinal said.
"The staff members who raised the first generation." Ayase said.
"They taught those children to live and survive in this world so they could create the next generation. As humans, they were intelligent. However, one of them had devious intentions. Thoughts of conquest and greed that passed on through the children he taught, whose descendants would right to become nobles and then lords. From these children, there was a young girl born named Quinella. She researched the sacred arts. She rose in power over the years until becoming the most powerful member of the Axiom Church, the Pontifex. She created the Taboo Index to ensure no one would surpass her. She made hunting taboo as well as outlawing murder. She still rules it all to this very day. She has redubbed herself as...Administrator." Cardinal said. "She opened the command list but I suspect someone outside helped her. But she knew she couldn't contain all of that memory so...she split half of it with a child...me."
"She… She split her memory with you?" Tatsuya asked.
"Yes. She had the Cardinal system burned into her retina and fused with it. Therefore, we both are fused with this system. You should know the system watches the players and takes action if anything disrupts the balance of this world, without any mercy." Cardinal said. "Quinella is no longer human. Her only desire is to preserve the realm in its current state...forever."
"Yeah, I think that's pretty much been established by now." Sachiko said.
"This is unforgivable." Miriam said, thinking back to Dominique's betrayal.
"You think it's unforgivable? Me and Crusadermon are Royal Knights. Looking back to how Theodore pit us against each other with false memories… It desecrates our very name." Leopardmon said.
"Can't you do something? You have half her authority." Eri asked.
"I cannot. I've been waiting for the past 200 years to catch her off guard." Cardinal said. "She is constantly on guard and such created warriors to protect her."
"The Integrity Knights…" Ethox said.
"Through the Synthesis Ritual, she made normal people into powerful beings devoted only to her. The first she used was a warrior who opposed the rules of the church. He founded a village in the outer regions. This man is Bercouli Synthesis One. One on one, Administrator and I are evenly matched. Her knights are fast and powerful. However...with you people here...there may be a chance." Cardinal said.
"Well, it's not like we have any other choice in the matter. Alice is someone we need, and if this Administrator is unwilling to give her up without a fight… Then I guess we'll fight." David said.
"Yes, we'll do everything in our power to help you." Ace said.
"But...this is Rath's experiment. Why haven't they stepped in?" Erza asked.
"Rath may be the gods here but they are not all knowing. This is a test. They're watching the stress levels of the people raised. And when they reach their peak, it'll happen. A war between the human empire and the dark territory." Cardinal said. "Administrator underestimates them. She thinks she and her Integrity Knights are enough. Even having all four guardian dragons slain. They would have been good allies. But they are many and she is few. She will not win."
"All the more reason to take her down. We may end up screwing this world over, but I'm guessing it'll be time before any final test takes place. So before then, we'll wipe her out and save the knights." Theo said.
"Ditto. No way in hell are we leaving things as they are. I take it you have no objections, Cheetah?" David asked.
"You already know I don't." Cheetah said.
"We have none as well." Ichiro said.
"Indeed, I will not let Quinella manipulate the knights as she pleases!" Miriam said.
"But...a lot of us don't have our gear." Gemini said.
"It is no issue. I can set you close to the armory. Just remember, your skills and weapons alone may not be enough to defeat the Integrity Knights. They will not stop until their objectives are complete." Cardinal said.
"We know. We are well aware of that by now." Leopardmon said.
"But...that won't change our minds." Theo said.
It was soon, after receiving two daggers and a scroll, the Cardinal created a door. "Warriors, you are the only ones who can save this world. Be it engulfed in hellfire, or vanishes completely. Or with any luck, you'll find a third path. I've done all I can. All you can do is trust in yourselves." Cardinal said.
"Don't worry. We're up to the task." Eri said.
"She's right. We can handle it." David said.
"Thank you, Cardinal." Roy said.
"Now...it's time." Theo said as a door opened up right into the central cathedral as they stepped inside. "Just wait for us, Alice. We're coming."
Act 1: Alicization Beginning
END