With the American players logging off shortly afterward, we moved the meeting to the cabin. Sitting on the floor - or in my case, standing - Kirito uses some of the bonfire ash to draw a simple map of Ruis na Rig and its surroundings on a bulletin board he made. "Think about this as if you were Mutasina. If you were going to attack this town with a hundred players, what strategy would you use?"

Ruis na Rig is a mini-Centoria in my mind. Four gates at each intermediate direction give way to four diagonal roads that separate the town into four quadrants, all leading to the center point, the cabin. Two roads wrap around the town, the Inner and Outer Perimeter Roads. The gates are made of wood, and the ten-foot-tall walls are made of stone. Aside from the southwest gate, which leads to the Muraba River on a cleared road, the town is locked in by the forest.

After half a minute of silence, Agil speaks up. "From what you've said, it sounds like this Mutasina has a real sick personality, so I doubt her forces will come rushing right up the southwest road."

"I agree," says Silica, Pina resting on her head. "Mutasina will want to minimize the loss of her allies, too, so I think she'll try to come up with a plan that will catch us by surprise. Like, hiding separate parties in the woods on either side of the road, then catching us in a pincer attack when we rush out at them."

"Feasible," Kureha pipes up, "but too simple of a plan. No offense, Silica, or to any of you, but I'm going to assume that some of you have never participated in a large-scale PvP raid, have you? Besides...you know, that one in SAO." While there have been a few PvE battles, such as the one Koharu, Kirito, Asuna, and I fought alongside Kizmel and the Dark Elves against the enemy Forest Elves on the fourth floor of Aincrad, Kureha alludes to the one PvP raid that I know of; the Assault Team versus Laughing Coffin.

Thankfully, she breezes quickly past that touchy subject. "True, it would be easier for her to lure us out, but based on what you've said, she thinks highly of you, Kirito, to come at you now at the game's beginning. Since she knows who you are and how much of a threat you are to her goal, she knows who's with you; Asuna and Jaymes. A former leader of a guild in Asuna and, if not as the squad leader of GGO's top squad, then as a former figure on the front lines of SAO in Jaymes. She won't play such a simple card. Instead," Kureha moves her finger in an arc, gesturing to the forests around the town, "we should assume that she'd have scouts to look over the area prior to the attack. I'm unsure how much information she would have gathered from the prior attackers."

"Kureha has a point," I cosign. "It's safe to assume that if she knows the Black Swordsman, she knows Lightning Flash and, specifically, the Crimson Warrior are with him." I glance in Koharu's direction, wondering if Mutasina knows about Koharu. If the coincidences line up, my suspicion of Mutasina's identity may suggest so, yet I proceed without mentioning Koharu's former title. As for emphasizing "'specifically, the Crimson Warrior,'" few outside of this group know that the Jaymes of SAO is the same Jaymes of GGO. "As for PvP battling, if she tried the lure method, it would work easily in our favor, too, by using the town to our advantage to bring them in. That's assuming she wouldn't scout the town as Kureha suggests."

"I wonder if clearing out the surrounding forest is the safest thing to do, in the end."

While murmurs arise, the rocking Argo speaks from her position along the wall. "I ain't just sayin' this because I'm using a scouting build, but you can use forests in a big free-for-all, too. Clearing out the trees to open up the land removes the danger of an ambush, but it also leaves us with fewer options for strategy."

Asuna agrees with Argo. "Indeed. The reason Schulz's ambush group burned the forest first was probably for light - and also to protect against us launching a sneak attack through the trees. I would guess that generally speaking, in the open, the advantage will go to the side with numbers."

"If we had effective use of our guns, I would agree with you, Sinon," Zeliska says. "A forest is detrimental to a gunfight, but we could take out quite a few of them by creating a clearing. At the same time, the counter-lure strategy would work as well if we could shoot them down, especially if they all came through the gates. But it seems leaving the woods alone is to our advantage."

"That's true," Sinon remarks without rebuttal.

"In that case," Yui says, "would Mutasina attempt to level the forest before launching her attack? You would need some heavy machinery in the real world, but in Unital Ring, depending on your skill level and tools, you can cut down a grown spiral pine in about ten seconds. With a hundred players, I think they could clear out every last tree within five hundred yards of Ruis na Rig."

"...Uh-huh... There's no way that the Noose of the Accursed is the only spell that Mutasina can use. If she can use other attack spells, she'll want to remove any cover to hide behind. So it seems possible that she'll open up the land around us, then put another tactic into play."

"Which means we'll be surrounded..."

"Great thinking, Yui! It's so good to have you with us!" Lisbeth hugs Yui and scrunches up her hair. It's a warming sight, but that moment is fleeting as I hear a light voice call my name.

"Master, if what Yui says comes to pass... Miss Asuna's idea could come true." Rei bows her head solemnly. I walk over and brush her hair.

"Say, Kirito, Jaymes...do you think this Noose of the Accursed might be possible to recast...or add new victims to it somehow?"

"Uh...meaning, can she maintain the hundred who are already under the spell and cast the Noose on more players?"

"Yes," Asuna says with a serious expression, and her question is something I've thought about. I have no answer for her, but Argo does.

"Why not? In the Stiss Ruins, when Mutasina said their first target was Kirito's team, Dikkos of the Weed Eaters had said, 'Why would we do that? Use this choking magic on them and make them your slaves, too, why don't ya?' And Mutasina replied, 'It is not easy to succeed at casting the Noose of the Accursed. The motions are lengthy, and the magic circle is impossible to miss. It will not work this effectively without the right situation and audience, such as a group of people who would believe an easy lie about casting a grand buff spell on an entire gathering.' She didn't say that it was impossible for the spell to add extra targets to its effect. Of course, that coulda been a bluff to make her threat more effective…"

As silence sweeps us again, I nod my head. I recalled that conversation replaying in my head when Klein spoke of him being cursed. I noted that the spell only worked because the assembly in the coliseum was off guard, but she didn't believe we would be. At that time, I forgot that casting a spell to curse people and the motion to hurt those under the curse are different. To do the latter, all she has to do is hit the end of her staff against the ground. That means...

"It might be a bluff," Asuna proposes, "but we should assume it's possible. Which means she might attempt to place the Noose upon us at some point, too. It might have lengthy motions and an obvious magic circle, but if the targets are surrounded with no escape…"

"She could do it," Koharu murmurs. "Whether it is a bluff or truth on her end, we should believe that it can occur at any possible point. Whether she clears the woods to create a place for it, or worse, she surrounds us in town... At any event, she'll earn seventy new soldiers in her army. At the same time, It doesn't sound like we're to be added to her collection, but rather...eliminated from the equation altogether."

"You know, Koharu, you bring up an interesting thought," says Klein, beer mug in hand. "You just said seventy, that includes the Bashin and the Patter, yeah? This might sound cold, but...will suffocation magic even work on NPCs who don't have physical players inside?"

Koharu, of course, cannot answer that question, but neither can the four of us who were present when the spell was cast or the two who suffered from the effect. "Uh… Um…While I know I said it was suffocating, it's not actually stopping the player's breath; it's just making it feel that way for the avatar, so…"

"Huh? Really?"

"I conclude that it is impossible for an AmuSphere signal to stop actual physiological breathing," says Yui with certainty as she sits in Liz's lap. "Respiratory control in the human body lies in the medulla oblongata, at the lower part of the brain stem. But the AmuSphere signals that allow a game program to interact with the brain only reach the cerebral cortex, the outermost layer of the brain. The cerebral cortex includes the sensory processing areas, so you might be able to create the illusion that breathing has stopped, but the AmuSphere is not functionally capable of stopping the body's respiration, and even if it were, the safety would kick in, and forcefully log the player out of the system."

I speak in agreement with the wisdom of my niece. "Yui's right. Physically, our bodies aren't suffering from whatever physiological event we experience here. Take drowning, for example." While I say that, I cannot dictate how painful and frightening Lux and Kirito's experiences were. I only witnessed it, and that in itself was fearful.

Strea, at this point, picks up the conversation. "It is plausible that the NPCs can be affected by the suffocation magic as effectively as the players are. Like me, Yui, Tia, Premiere, and the Arfas, the NPCs in this world utilize the same language engine. And as someone who frequents a player avatar, I've experienced all kinds of sensory information as you all have; not just sight and hearing, but taste, touch, and smell. Senses that are pleasing will be found pleasing to me, and the same goes for unpleasant sensations, including pain. And now, as it has been for us, the same goes for Yui. Slashed by a sword, she'll feel pain. If her windpipe is blocked, she'll suffer as well."

Strea called out her "older" sister to express the severity of the situation, but Yui doesn't seem too bothered. Her father reaches out to rub her head, and she smiles in delight. I bet he's had second and third thoughts about involving Yui in the battle; she's not as hardened as the other AIs are. And now that it is possible that the AIs can be affected, I feel my hand, formerly on Rei's black hair, now in her white hand. I reassure her with a firm grip. I care for Rei like I would a little sister, and as often I wished for her to back away from a battle, I know she won't; likewise, I know Yui. She's her mother and father's child. She won't stay behind without a fight.

Klein slaps his knee to shatter the silence. "Even if the suffocation spell works on NPCs and AIs, we can deal with it! If it's just an illusion, we can basically ignore it."

"Ah, yes. If we know it's fake from the start, there's no need to panic about it. In fact, our best chance to strike might be by allowing Mutasina to cast the magic on us. All the other enemies around us are going to fall over, so if we withstand the pain and sprint to her, we could beat her with two or three good sword skills, right?"

"I...disagree," Lux bleats out meekly as she responds to Leafa, countering her and Klein's confidence. She then looks at Kirito and me, and in his eyes, I see the statement within...and the fear as he brushes his neck.

Whether real or an illusion, the primal, instinctive fear of being choked to death in the manner Lux and Kirito were was enough to frighten a hundred players to Mutasina's side. Kirito, myself, and many in this room have knocked on death's door many times since SAO; Koharu just so happened to enter the wrong door the day she fell, and most recently, Kirito was pulled from death's grasp when Johnny Black attacked him. And I remember Lux's struggles as I tried to help her out, the only solution being to log off the server. Had Mutasina kept the spell up, he and Kirito would have escaped to the real world.

And my protective instincts kick into overdrive. I don't know Lux as well as I do most of this group, but she's the friend of several girls I care for. It need not go said that I care for Kirito. And it needs not be said that I'd want to protect everyone in this room, most of all Koharu. If we're to defend our friends...the lies of the Noose cannot go on.

We can assume that having Mutasina activate the Noose of the Accused purposely will work in our favor. Yes, if she did so, it would turn the table on her, for no one in her army can fight it. I could easily take her out at that point, or someone else could. I don't care for the hundred players if they suffer because of the plan, but it'd also free them of Mutasina's tyranny. It could avoid a devastating battle on either side if the only casualty is Mutasina.

Yet two people I care for outweighs the advantage the idea presents.

I look at the Rat. Her golden irises glance at me, glinting proudly that someone's on the same page as her. In unison, we turn to Kirito, and almost immediately, he gives up. He sighs and raises his hand. "All right, folks, listen up. Unfortunately, I don't think that Klein's suggestion will work as well as you think."

"Why's that, Kiri, my man?"

Kirito opens his ring menu to remove the iron chest armor he wears, followed by the black turtleneck shirt he wears underneath. I turn to Lux, nodding for her to do the same to her comfort level. As her brother and the girl beside her remove their shirts, Leafa exclaims, "Hey, hang on, Big Brother! You too, Lux! Why are you taking off...your...?" As everyone gets a glimpse of Kirito bare-chested, Lux's neck exposed underneath the shirt underneath her armor, their eyes grow wide as they take notice of the ring-shaped marking around their throats.

"So yeah... This happened."