The fourth night of Unital Ring came with rain.

Unlike the counterparts in real life and the simulated world of the Underworld, rain in the Seed Nexus games is nothing more than a hinderance. Clothes got wet, but would get dry once one took adequate shelter, and it had an effect on visibility. Given Unital Ring's desire to kill us with whatever it takes, including weather, I'm pleased to report that the rain is safe to get some practice swings in.

Yeah, I have a lot on my mind, and practicing with my sword has always helped sort them. I remember one time I was doing the same thing on a bright, early morning, hours before the boss strategy meeting on the fifty-sixth floor on Aincrad, a month after Koharu's "death" and the second time I would fight a boss without her. It was that morning that Lisbeth presented me with my new set of armor and weapons. I gave the sword the name Avenger, for that was the only thing on my mind at the time.

Today, I swing for a different reason.

Shortly after telling Cordelia and Sylvie to meet us in three days, Momiji and I logged out a little before the appointed time. Asuna and Alice gave me the rundown with Kazuto, then Dr. Koujiro forced him back to our world. He looked to be in a panic and wanted to return, but the good doctor held her ground. After all, the health and safety of us teenagers, especially the three who spent an excessive amount of time in the Underworld, was of the highest priority. Kazuto even came out with physical issues due to whatever happened before he logged out.

I didn't understand the reason for it as we bid farewell to Alice and left with Momiji. In my car, we dropped Kazuto off at Shibuya Station, so I never got the chance to ask him what happened. We dropped Asuna off at her place along with wishing her happy birthday and giving her present, then Momiji and I came home. After a quick dinner made by the woman of the house, we entered Unital Ring. We just finished the customary meeting, and the rain, which had been going on for hours according to Rei, hadn't let up, so I decided to come outside.

On the porch, Kirito and Agil have a chat, though I'm too far away to eavesdrop; even if I could eavesdrop, the rain is interfering. I assume they're speaking about the lacking plan to deal with Mutasina's army. So far, all we got is using Sinon's Hecate II to snipe at Mutasina, but she can't carry it alone. The fact she instakilled the dinosaur on the first night was a miracle to begin with, but she had the Ornith helping her. Klein even noted how we can't create a rifle stand, which was an attachment in GGO. As much as I would suggest Rei and Lievre stick with her and have Sinon put a hole in Mutasina's head, i offered the painful counter to Sinon's big plan: we're in a forest, and there's no guarantee that Mutasina would show herself beyond the treeline.

So with no plan, my daughter on my mind, and my best friend's panicked state in my head, I dance along in the torrent of rain. That is, until a girl with blonde hair and a blue-hood coat puts her dagger against my photon sword. For a moment, I surprised the beam blade doesn't melt steel, but that would be a balancing issue, I guess. Who else would confront me like that other than Philia. I glance at her, seeing her worried face, then turn off the sizzling blue beam. "You should be inside."

"It is horrible out here, that's for sure, so I'd make the same recommendation for you. Yet...something's bothering you. You've been different since last night, not even I knew what was up. Then now, you look even worse." She sighs and glances back at the cabin, her eyes on the porch but her true sight is beyond it. "It should be Kureha, Koharu or Liz standing out here, but I know you too. I know when you have something on your mind that you don't want to tell anyway. Unlike Kirito, though, it's usually for a good reason, something that isn't easily resolved with others. I bet Kirito and Asuna are clueless too. But you can tell me, whatever it is, if it means sharing the burden with one other person."

I click my tongue and stare at the wet grass at my feet. It's not easy to divulge that information to the people I trust most, and higher difficulty to explain it to the girl I love now. After all, it's easy for me to dissociate myself from the Crimson Emperor for my personal benefit, but to others, they're one and the same.

Yet, Philia is right; she isn't Koharu, Lisbeth, Kureha, Kirito, or Asuna. Admitting everything to her does feel weird, but I'm left with no other choice. I sigh and look Philia in the face. "Don't freak out, okay? And keep this between us."

She holds out her pinky. "Okay. I promise."

We lock pinkies, solidifying the vow of silence. I didn't need it, I trust Philia with all my heart, but it doesn't make it easier to divulge the words I never thought I'd say as a nineteen-year-old. "...I have a daughter."

It takes Philia five seconds to process that information to make a move, and as if that's the right answer, her head swivels towards the cabin. She then shakes her head, because obviously the girl(s) who she's thinking about cannot have my child. Koharu's only been back two months, and I don't have the charisma stats to have cheated on Lisbeth before we broke up four months ago. Momiji would have castrated me if I made a move on her when we lived together. And, realistically, Liz could be a mother at this time, but it would have been an ardous task to cover that up.

So she glances at me with a confused expression. "You mean...in the Underworld?"

"Uh huh."

"With... With that Eydis chick, right?"

"Uh huh."

"And you saw her today?"

"Yes. Today I saw my daughter accidently for the first time. At first glance, she looks nothing like me, but her mannerisms are somewhat like mine. She wields a sword good too, almost beat me."

"You fought her?" Somehow that shocks her more than anything, I even jump as she steps into my personal space. Face set in a frown, she raises a fist up, and I brace myself for a rightfully deserved punch to the face. But it lands softly on the steel breastplate on me while her face drops. "I... I don't find it weird that you had a child with her. You spent centuries as king and queen, so... But if I can handle that and anything you have to tell me, you have to tell Koharu. She's not the weak girl you met, remember? She's...your partner, and you shouldn't hide that from her. Not something this important."

"Believe me, I do not mean to keep this from her. I'm still processing it myself. I need to come to terms with it before I tell Koharu, though. I'll see her again this weekend, yet I don't know what to do. How do I be...a father to a seventeen year old girl when I'm only two years older? I missed everything else to learn that."

"Then don't try to be something you can't," Philia answers with conviction. "Forget the past, be yourself for the future. It's too late to be the parent she'll remember for the rest of her life, but not too late to forge something."

"Maybe you're right," I say with some doubt in myself. Shaking it off, I turn my foot to walk back to the cabin, locking on to Kirito. I remember his issue here with Mutasina's curse. My eyes move just a tad, towards the closest window to the right of the door, and I believe I see Koharu glancing outside. "There's some things I can't talk about yet with her, including why I'm going back to the Underworld. I can only have Kureha at my side along with Kirito, Asuna, and Alice. Besides, I need her here to oversee things. I think everyone understands the chain of leadership falls to me and Kirito first, then Kureha and Asuna should something happen or we split up. Saturday, Koharu will have to spearhead the group. And right now, our biggest problem is--"

I'm interrupted by Kuro the panther's growling, but it wasn't enough to stop me from talking. What stopped me was the vibration shooting up my legs. Since I was still looking at Koharu's face, I can tell she noticed it too. I glance over at Kirito and Agil, who look alarmed as well.

"What is that, Jaymes?"

"I can tell you that earthquakes never happen in VRMMOs. Not even in the death game."

"I know... If not that, then--Woah!" Philia wobbles as a second vibration--no, a shock wave--shakes that ground. I manage to catch her and maintain my position. Once the wave passes, I give Kirito another look. If we were willing to ignore the vibration the first time, the shock wave spurs us to action.

With a course of action in mind, Kirito leaps into the downpour. "Jaymes, Philia, Agil, the east!" I nod and go into a full sprint towards Four O'Clock Gate, the others on my heel. As we run, a second shock wave shakes the ground, wobbling my partner and I. But Philia and I make it to Inner Perimeter Road and turn left down Four O'Clock Road, heading towards the confused ratlike beings called the Patter. Philia and I ignore them as we past through and arrive at the gate.

"Help me push it open!" Philia follows my orders and, on the count of three, we push open the southeast gate. As it swings open, a third wave finally gets me to fall on my knees. I sulk at getting my pants muddy (yeah, that bothers me) and take the outstretch hand in front of me. It belongs to Zeliska, who looks at me worried. "What could that be?"

"As I told Philia, there's no such thing as earthquakes in VR...and I hope UR keeps that consistent." That leaves two possibilities in my mind: a very large monster, one we're utterly underleveled and underequipped for. or some magic casted by another player. The former would be the best answer had not Mutasina's display shattered my expectations for magic this early in Unital Ring.

"Let's try to figure out what's causing it first," Kirito says. Everyone agrees with him, and we quickly sort into groups. Parties have a maximum of eight people here in UR, and everyone's here minus Argo; that leaves twenty people to split up. I make it easy: Team Jaymes is Crimson Squad minus Sinon (Me, Kureha, Rei, Zeliska, Lievre), Philia, Rain, and Strea. Team Kirito consists of himself, Asuna, Yui, Leafa, and Klein. Team Koharu is made up of Koharu, Sinon, Alice, Lisbeth, Lux, Silica, and Agil. Once she appears, Argo will join Kirito's team afterwards. Aga the...duck-platypus, Misha the thunderspike bear, and Kuro the panther don't count as members, and they follow their masters'. Sorted out, we head into the woods, Team Koharu go to Kirito's left, we go to his right.

In GGO, us Arfa-Sys masters could instruct them to scan the area, or by this time, Rei, Lievre, or Zeliska's Daisy would already do it. We'd also have flashlights, so we could see without lighting a torch and falling water snuffing it out. We have neither, so the farthest we can see is about five yards. Most of us, thanks to spending a good amount of time traveling at night, had the Night Vision skill, so the outlines of trees and bushes were visible.

I haven't felt a fifth vibration, and I have no desire to question it now. I'm trusting Kirito's instinct that the responsible party is in this direction. "Do we know what's this way?"

"I think there's a valley over here, Master!"

"That sounds so inviting in the rain," Kureha sarcastically states.

"I don't think our muskets are going to affect whatever we're heading towards," Zeliska murmurs. "It barely did anything against the frog and the dinosaur, and we still have no way to produce guns and ammo."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," Philia answers. She's slightly ahead of me, being she's more agile. She points ahead at the thinning number of trees. "We're coming out of the woods!"

"We'll stick to the edge." As ordered, we take position at the trees bordering the forest and a grassy area. I hold my hand up for them to hold their position. I look to my left, nodding for Philia to join me to scout out the area. The dark, tall grass spans out to a pair of hills hundreds of yards away, or a single hill split by a gash in the middle. The gash looks like a canyon with boulders at its floor.

Rain falls from dark swirling clouds, lightning provides brief amounts of light, and with each flash, I don't see a artificial cause for the shockwaves. My eyes return to the split hill, wondering if the source was indeed an earthquake. "Phil, you see anything?"

"Nothing... AH!" Philia grabs unto my arm as a frighthening flash of lightning hits a gigantic rock formation. Its destruction rattles the ground greater than before that Philia and I hold unto each other to stay upright. Behind us, I hear Kureha swearing and Rei's shriek followed by an angry tone from Lievre. I have to be cool as the leader of my squad, so I don't lose my outward composure, but on the inside, I may have pissed myself. But not because of the lightning.

"J-J-Jaymes..."

"Yeah, Philia... I saw it..." In the canyon, visible only during the brief flash, was a sizable creature at the canyon's floor, located at the broken rock spire. In that moment as well, I got a good luck at the shape of the creature too. I look back at Rain and Strea, and based on their fearful expression, I think they saw it too; granted, we all did, but I focus on those two for a reason that may be confirmed later.

The dinosaur Crimson Squad faced was at least thirty feet in length, but this monster easily doubled that. Flesh covered its elongated horned head. Four red eyes glowed in the darkness, its mouth split horizontally and vertically. Two arms protrude out, forming deadly scythes at the ends. Its torso is barrel shaped with an open ribcage. Beyond that, its spine trails on forever, with a multitude of legs that end as scythes as well. The tail, if it can be called that, looks like a spear. It looks like a giant centipede with the black shell covering the elongated body, but the fleshy head and the musculature underneath the shell makes it somewhat of a vertebrate.

It looks strange compared to the beasts of the forests. No, this monster should be in a boss lair or in the pits of hell. All that, combined with my sudden fear, shakes me to my core. I have no clue who's scared, though; the younger Crimson Warrior part of me is pissing himself, and, weirdly, the matured post-Crimson Emperor version of me is shaking in his boots. And not just me; Philia, still pressed against me, trembles uncontrollably. Rain and Strea, ignoring my previous order, get close to me that I can feel the warmth of their faces and dampness of their armor. Once upon a time, having three girls pressed against me like this would be heaven—but not only has that part of me departed since I came back from the Underworld, the only hormone acting right now is norepinephrine.

"No way..."

"Is that...it?"

"We've seen it before, right?" I say nothing, instead glancing past Philia to Kirito, Asuna, Klein, and their group thirty feet away. The three mentioned look scared to the bone as I am. That alone confirms my suspicions; we have seen this monstrosity before, and as told by the Crimson Emperor, Kirito, Asuna, and I recently encountered a version of it it again.

"Look at its feet!" Sinon shouts from the other side of Kirito. Following her suggestion, I push my fright aside and use the flashing lightning to get a good look at the canyon's floor. My eyesight has never been as sharp as Sinon in any world, not even our own, so I didn't nottice the twenty or so figures at the feet of the centipede. It looked like hard-bodied insects, human-sized, were fighting the gigantic insectoid. I only say that because the great beast roars and swings the right scythe-arm that cuts through a rock formation, making two or three of the smaller bugs scurry in fear. The others help their friends up and proceed to run towards the exit of the canyon.

That exit is on our direction, as Klein shouts out. If my mental calculations are right, the insects will climb the slope to our position in about a minute, followed by the big bad demon. Part of me wants to let the bugs do their thing, part of me believes that the little guys are in need of assistance. I just don't see the twenty insect creatures as enemies. Yes, Ruis na Rig is in trouble if they are the enemy, but its in trouble anyway.

"Yui, Sinon, use your fire magic and musket to stop the insect-type monsters at the front!"

"Right away!"

"You got it!"

I turn my head to see Sinon press her rifle on her check, finger on the trigger. Yui performs the action for the fire arrow. I'm not behind them, but I can dictate their target is the large pink mantis in the lead of the group, no more than a hundred yards away. Fifty yards behind it, the man-face centipede.

"Hold on!" the voice of Agil shouts. Startled by his shout, its not a moment longer before I see the larger African American rush out to the field without drawing his double-edged ax. Kirito, shocked, runs right after him, Asuna right behind. I continue kneeling, frozen by the spiraling situation.

Agil is the most level-headed adult I know. I can say that confidently because all of us in Crimson Squad, even the cool-headed Zeliska, are bonkers one way or another. Most of them are functioning adults. Klein is Klein, enough said. So to see Agil rush out, unarmed, towards the incoming mantis and its companions is a shock to the system.

"Stand down!" another order comes, but it doesn't come from me. I look at Kureha over my shoulder, confused as to why she shouted that out. Even the nonmembers of Crimson Squad, not used to having their shots called by anyone not named Kirito, Jaymes, or Asuna, are taken aback. She quickly explains as the scene ahead of us unfolds with Agil standing between Kirito and the bugs. "Those are players from Insectsite, an American Seed game like GGO. Not enemy monsters."

I never heard of Insectsite, but I know Kureha doesn't lie. Well, that's one percent of my stress alleviated. I nod to the pinked-face girl and stand up to address everyone who stayed behind on the other two teams. "We're going down, be prepared for a fight."

The situation just kept getting crazier.

As the rest of us got closer, I began to hear English coming from the insect army, but that was the least of my thoughts. The approaching centipede was hit with something akin to a smoke bomb, stunning and pissing it off for a short moment. The source of the bombs came from the most unlikely person to show up now--Argo.

We learned that Argo, Agil's wife Hyme (the orchid mantis, hence how Agil protected the group), and her friends have been chased by the enormous centipede for the last twenty or so miles, around the distance from Ruis na Rig to the Stiss Ruins. It was an accidental coincidence that they came in the direction of Ruis na Rig, but they had no choice.

"Hey, it's way better than you dying off somewhere else without us knowing," Kirito says, then looks at the hulking monstrosity within the yellow smoke. "Let's beat it. It's obvious at a glance that this is an insane boss, but we've got everyone here. If we take our time and watch for its patterns as we attack, it should be possible to beat it without losing anyone."

"That's exactly the point," Alice says confidently. "We cannot escape from every threat that exists. No matter how powerful the enemy is, there are times that you must fight. Especially when it means protecting something precious." Everyone, including Pina and the other "pets" assent to Alice's statement.

"The monster approaches. Then let's get a plan going." My ears perk at the female monotone voice, which causes my jaw and a few others in the group to fall. Standing beyond the bugs are two girls, one about Yui's height with black short hair and expressionless blue eyes. Beside her stands a white-haired woman who looks like her companion if aged up. Both wear a mixed leather-iron armor set, with the small girl holding a rapier and the woman bearing a greatsword.

Premiere and Tia, our friends from Sword Art: Origin.

"She's right," I say. "Argo, the attack patterns."

"All physical so far. It swings with its arm hooks and its tail speak, does a body charge, and bites with the mouth on its stomach."

"So the main attack is the scythes, I assume," Kirito murmurs with a pale face. He swallows his fear and states, "Me, Alice, Jaymes, and Liz will keep it occupied and stop the scythe attacks. The rest of you, attack from the sides. If we can sever its legs one at a time, it should eventually be immobilized."

"Got it!" we all say. With that done, I look at Kureha. She understands my command without a word, and gives me a confidence-boosting thumbs-up and finger-point. I know she doesn't have a clue as to why I may be afraid, but as the person who knows me best, and knows my current mental state, I'm glad she's doing it. I return the finger-gun gesture, then trot up to the two other AIs surrounded by the girls. The ground vibrates violently once I join them, indicating the monster has resumed its charge. I bite my lips tensively as I address the new girls.

"Good to see you two."

"Same to you, Jaymes." Tia's blue eyes meet my brown orbs, and a fleeting smile is on her face. It vanishes as she returns her gaze to the centipede rushing out the canyon. "Is it possible to beat that thing?"

"We've never fought anything like this before," Premiere notes.

Philia sighs. "We have. It's the same one. I don't know what Kirito is thinking, but even after facing it once, twice if we count the floor boss, there's no way we can beat it as we are."

"We did it twice, Philia," Rain says, though her voice doesn't convey a confident tone as she draws her sword. "It can be done again."

"Barely beat it twice, Rain," Philia reminds her.

"And we're nowhere close to the level that we did," Strea replies.

"We have to try anyway," Koharu assures. "At the very least, we can hope to repel it."

"Yeah." I hope we can repel it too, or even beat it, without losing a member of either group. I'm not going to think of the alternative. I stare down the incoming great monster, gritting my teeth as it roars and lightning flashes around it. Reaching for the cylinder on my waist, I walk forward a bit, igniting the photon sword. I look out the corner of my eye at Koharu, keeping the eye contact brief but meaningful, then charge at the beast on Kirito's command. Alice, Lisbeth, and two of the Insectsite players, a rhinoceros beetle and a stag beetle, follow us.

The flesh-faced monster soon looms over us, pulling back its right scythe. Muscle memory prepares to take over as I watch the timing and listen to Kirito say, "It's coming from the right! Prepare to guard!" Alice and Kirito steady themselves with their swords, the beetles with their jaw and horn, Liz with her mace, and I with my shield. Ten feet of a scythe-shaped limb flew down like a sharp wind, cutting through the surrounding grass despite not having touched the ground yet.

I should have known then and there that dodging would have been better than guarding.

When the blade eventually came down upon us, I reinforced my stance, believing that previous experience with guarding, the most out of the group, would help me. I thought six people guarding would lessen the blow and we'd take advantage. But I should have known better, because the moment the scythe came into contact with me, it felt like a grenade had exploded right in front of me.

I know the VR version of that feeling, having an powerful force rip the body apart. I feel my left arm go limp against the impact, my feet lifted off the the ground, my body lurched like a car hit my chest, then air knocked out my lungs as my back hit the ground. I didn't even get to gasp as another heaviness lands on me, but that one cries out from the impact.

I ignore it for a moment to gaze at my health bar. It was full when this fight started, and in one attack, it drops just slightly underneath fifty percent. And being that we're in raiding party, I can see everyone's health bars just beneath my party's, including the beetles. The six of us took similar amounts of damage. I have to thank the Toughness tree I built up so far and the Battle Jacket armor I'm wearing. For being starter gear in GGO, whoever Lievre looted this from had the foresight to build up its stats.

Now I turn to the form on top of me. I lean up to my waist, sitting on the ground to be eye-level with her. "Liz, you okay?"

"Y-yes." We then turn our attention to the centipede ahead of us, the flesh-covered jaws opening and closing as if its laughing at our foolish effort. And now that we've been dealt damage, the spindle cursor appears above its head. Three bars of health are shown, along with the beast's name. I feel whatever confidence I had shatter like glass. On my lap, Lisbeth shudders in fear herself. To my left, I hear Asuna's quivering whisper, and Kirito himself is frozen in place.

Its name is one I haven't seen in almost two years: The Life Harvester.

Kirito, Asuna, Philia, Rain, Strea, and myself once faced this beast as part of the story quest of the seventy-fifth floor of Aincrad, sometime between the victory of the seventy-fourth floor against the Gleam Eyes and Kirito and Asuna's marriage. Originally created by the people of the land before the Great Separation and birth of Aincrad to protect them, it soon turn its eyes on its creators, terrorzing them. A great effort was fought to annihilate the Life Harvesters, until one remained, escaping in the wake of the Great Separation. With humanity weakened by the lost of pre-Separation technology, the surviving Life Harvester has attacked again and again in a 20-year cycle, "harvesting" lives in a bid to asexually reproduce.

This beast demoralized not only the NPCs of the town, but those of the HDA and KoB. Only after we rallied both instrumental NPCs-- a dragon priestess, a cannon creator, and a famed weapons master--along with enough players did we beat this boss.

Weeks later, we faced a deadlier version, the very thing the Life Harvester was supposed to destroy in the lore: The Skull Reaper, one of the deadliest bosses we faced on Old Aincrad, and the last Old Aincrad boss we faced before Ordinal Scale's release.

The only physical difference between the Skull Reaper and Life Harvester is that the Life Harvester has flesh. However, the Life Harvester in SAO was smaller than the Skull Reaper, and this one looks to be larger than that.

I only have one question in my head: Why is a SAO boss here in Unital Ring?

I feel Lisbeth's hand gripping mine, shaking like a small puppy against a barking adult rottweiler. If she's seeking courage from the boy she loves, I'm unable to provide it as the Life Harvester raises its scythes in the air. Purple lightning flashes in the dark clouds as the beast roars, its body flashing black against the flickering light...