Chapter 11: The Army's Last Stand
October 19th, 2024
Aincrad Floor 1: The Town of Beginnings
The aftermath of the 74th floor boss battle shook the mood of the Aincrad Liberation Force. The guild headquarters became silent once the soldiers stationed there all saw Altinator and the surviving soldiers walk through the hallways. Altinator spotted a old familiar face, Kibaou, who was trying so hard to keep a straight face but failed miserably. The former commander of the Aincrad Liberation Squad had been relegated to the position of sub-leader and the rank of Commander, which was more of a ceremonial rank that was higher than Lieutenant Colonel, but lower than Colonel. Altinator dropped the soldiers off and made his way into Thinker's office to report the incident.
"It's been quite a while, Altinator," Thinker started as he motioned Altinator to sit down.
"Likewise," Altinator commented grimly. "Unfortunately, I have some bad news for you."
"Oh? What happened?" Thinker asked with a worried look on his face.
"The Army has suffered some casualties during the 74th floor boss battle," Altinator reported. "Lieutenant Colonel Kobatz and two other soldiers had fallen after a higher-ranking officer had ordered him to raid the 74th floor labyrinth."
"I see…" Thinker said, his voice trailing off. "That is very unfortunate. I should thank you for bringing this to my attention because neither I nor my Second-in-Command, Yulier, had issued these orders."
"Other than myself, who else would have enough authority to issue such orders without your approval?" Altinator asked, hoping to find some clues.
"Technically speaking, the only other person with higher authority than Kobatz is Commander Kibaou," Thinker answered. "Unfortunately for him, neither I nor Yulier had known or even approved this order and now that his recklessness has cost us some of our best soldiers, something has to be done."
"Kobatz has also informed me before his death that he was under threat of court-martial by the superior he received his orders from," Altinator continued his report.
"Is that so?" Thinker asked with a fury. "Well in that case, Kibaou would be facing expulsion from the Aincrad Liberation Force under a Dishonorable Discharge following his court-martial if these allegations are proven true."
"Agreed," Altinator said as he turned away. "I had a feeling it would happen eventually. I'm sure you're also aware of his attitude during the strategy meeting and the boss fight for the 1st floor nearly 2 years ago, right?"
"Yes, I believe some of the soldiers had brought that to my attention when the former Aincrad Liberation Squad merged with MMO Today." Thinker confirmed.
"It's your call, Thinker, but I would suggest scheduling Kibaou's court-martial and fast," Altinator stated. "The sooner we can find him guilty and expel him, the better morale will be for the Army."
"You're right," Thinker said grimly. "For the good of the guild, Kibaou must be expelled by court-martial."
Upon hearing that, Kibaou rushed out of the guild headquarters in a panic. He made his way over to the Black Iron Palace to lay low for a bit. A little over a week later, Kibaou had sent Thinker a message to meet him at a location of his choosing unarmed and with no teleportation crystal. Unfortunately for Thinker, it was at a high-level dungeon underneath the Black Iron Palace. Unknown at that time, Thinker assumed that it was for a negotiation hoping to reconcile with Kibaou without conflict. However, Thinker was trapped in a safe zone at the end of that dangerous dungeon while Kibaou escaped to take control of the full guild. Yulier escaped after seeing Thinker's message and seeing that Kibaou has taken full control in his absence, completely disregarding Yulier as Second-in-Command. Yulier had also messaged Altinator for help.
General Altinator
Hello, this is Yulier: Thinker's Second-in-Command. I had just received a message from Thinker and I'm afraid we've been outplayed. I would like to discuss this with you in person if you don't mind. Please meet me in the Black Iron Palace Prison so we can discuss this in private.
Yulier
Altinator scowled as he read the message. He immediately wrote her back and made his way over to the prison gate. The sentries there were nice to Altinator this time since the mistakes the previous sentries had made were addressed and corrected. Yulier welcomed Altinator inside and escorted him to her office.
"I'm so glad you could make it, General Altinator," Yulier said with a sigh of relief.
"I guess the situation was worse than I thought," Altinator commented. "I had spoken to Thinker about a week ago concerning what took place on the 74th floor, but I had no idea the retaliation would happen so soon."
"Neither did I," Yulier agreed. "Thinker messaged me that Commander Kibaou has arranged a meeting with him prior to his scheduled court-martial. Unfortunately, the whole meeting was a trap and Thinker is now trapped in a dungeon right below us over by the safe zone. Kibaou has now taken control of the Army, completely disregarding my authority as Second-in-Command now that the both of us are considered absent."
"I'm so sorry that happened," Altinator said as he bowed his head. "But I can't help but wonder… What motivated Kibaou to take such drastic measures in the first place?"
"I'm sure you're already aware of the Army's reputation, right?" Yulier asked to which Altinator nodded. "Our original intent was not to create a dictatorial organization. We were to share information and food to as many players in need as possible. Unfortunately, Kibaou and his supporters had gained too much power long after MMO Today merged with the Aincrad Liberation Squad.
"That would make sense," Altinator commented. "Kibaou was always a power-hungry person ever since the strategy meeting for the 1st floor boss."
"I didn't wanna believe these rumors that you just pointed out," Yulier continued. "But because of his rapid power gain, the Army had gotten too big and started to trample upon the citizens here on the 1st floor. Kibaou and his men started extorting money and items through 'taxes' as well as monopolizing all the good grind points on the floor. Eventually, the people became upset with Kibaou's lack of interest in clearing the game, so I would assume that was his motivation to send players like Lieutenant Colonel Kobatz back to the Assault Team to prove his worth."
"I never liked Kibaou to begin with," Altinator admitted. "He was the reason why my best friend is labeled a beater and compelled to go solo for the majority of our time here. If I didn't keep my mouth shut, I would've been branded a beater as well."
"I take it you were also a former beta tester," Yulier concluded to which Altinator nodded.
"On behalf of the Aincrad Liberation Force, I sincerely apologize for Kibaou's actions throughout the game." Yulier said as she bowed her head.
"I don't blame you for his actions," Altinator reassured her. "Kibaou will answer to his heinous crimes, and he will be expelled from the Army with a Dishonorable Discharge following his court-martial."
"I appreciate that so much," Yulier said, almost about to cry. "However, we still need to come up with a plan to rescue Thinker."
"Yes, of course," Altinator agreed. "I've never seen a dungeon below this prison even during my time in the beta test. We may need to explore it within the next few days to see how we can conquer it."
"Yes, that would be prudent," Yulier commented.
For the next few days, Altinator and Yulier had visited the underground dungeon only to find countless high-level monsters that are difficult for an average player to defeat. This was an internal matter for the Aincrad Liberation Force, so the Assault Team was not able to intervene without taking time away from the boss fights. Unfortunately, there were not a lot of high-level soldiers that were well enough to volunteer for this quest. On top of that, Kibaou used his influence in the Army to prevent the majority of the Army to help rescue Thinker. While thinking of another strategy to conquer the dungeon, one of the officers that were patrolling the town reported to Yulier that a couple with unbelievable strength disrupted their patrol. Curious, the two received the information of their whereabouts and marched up to their location which was the church in the Town of Beginnings. Yulier knocked on the door to which Kirito and Asuna answered the door.
"Good day. My name is Yulier," Yulier introduced herself. "It's nice to meet you."
"You're with the Army, correct?" Asuna asked cautiously. "Have you come to complain about what took place yesterday?"
"Heavens no!" Yulier answered. "In fact, I would like to thank you for putting these soldiers in their place."
Altinator stepped from the shadows with a smile on his face. "When I heard that a couple with unbelievable strength messed with the Army, I should've figured it would be you two."
"Altinator?!" Kirito and Asuna both exclaimed.
"Long story," Altinator stated. "We'll get you two up to speed in a moment."
"We have a request for the both of you," Yulier started.
Altinator and Yulier entered into the church and sat in the round table along with Kirito, Asuna, Sasha, the keeper of the church, and a young child that resembled a lot like Kirito. Kirito introduced the child as Yui. Yulier explained the situation of the Aincrad Liberation Force with Commander Kibaou just as she explained it to Altinator.
"As Second-in-Command of the Army, this is my responsibility," Yulier said with tears swelling in her eyes. "Unfortunately, my level is not high enough to conquer this dungeon and Kibaou used his influence to dissuade the rest of the Army to help."
"As a General who supports Thinker, I have agreed to help her, but even I can only do so much without outside help," Altinator chimed in. "Since this is an internal matter for the Army, I cannot ask the Assault Team or my guild to help us without compelling them to take time away from game completion."
"Then we heard that there were two players with incredible strength that came down here, so we came seeking help," Yulier finished. "Kirito and Asuna, we beg you to help us rescue Thinker."
"We would love to help you any way we can, however, we must also verify the truth of this," Asuna stated cautiously.
"I was with the Army the entire time after our fight with the 74th floor boss," Altinator interjected. "I can vouch for Yulier's credibility and trustworthiness."
After a moment of silence, Yui spoke up. "It's ok Mommy. These people are not lying."
"Yui, you can tell?" Asuna asked without thinking.
"I can't explain why, but I can tell," Yui answered with a cheerful smile.
"Well, I'd rather trust now and regret later than to doubt now and regret it even more," Kirito commented. "It's gonna work out!"
"It's just like you to say something like that," Altinator laughed.
"What do you expect?" Kirito fired back. "We're best of friends, aren't we?"
"Touche!" Altinator relented.
"We'll be happy to help you two out," Asuna said with a smile. "After all, I know how it feels to wanna save someone you care for deeply."
"I'm truly grateful!" Yulier said as she bowed her head.
"I'm coming too!" Yui shouted.
"Hey Yui, you should stay here with Sasha," Kirito insisted softly.
"I don't wanna!" Yui protested.
"I don't mind," Altinator interrupted the argument. "Besides, we'll need someone cute to lighten up the mood, don't we?"
"I guess…" Asuna said as she shrugged.
Yulier and her group made their way over to the Black Iron Palace and walked down to the dungeon underneath the palace. The group had made some small talk as Kirito began to cut down the monsters that had gotten in their way. As they moved forward, Yulier announced that Thinker had not moved from that safe zone. Kirito had finished the last of the monsters and returned to the group revealing that he had an armful of Scavenged Toad meat. Disgusted, Asuna tossed every last bit of the meat away to which Yulier smiled and laughed for the first time in a long while. Further down the dungeon, the group spotted light down at the end of the corridor. Thinker called out to the group and Yulier rushed over to meet up with him. Unfortunately, trouble brewed just down the corner.
"Don't come here!" Thinker ordered. That corridor is…"
Just then, Kirito, Asuna, and Altinator saw the shadow of an incredibly powerful dungeon boss monster hiding in the walls. Kirito rushed ahead to push Yulier out of the way just in time to dodge the scythe crashing down where they stood a second ago. The corridor colors changed, signaling a boss fight.
"Yulier, you need to get out of here right now while we hold the boss off!" Altinator ordered.
"Please take Yui with you," Asuna followed up to which Yulier obliged.
The three drew their swords and stared at the boss which was floating above them holding a giant scythe.
"Asuna, teleport out of here with the others," Kirito insisted. "Even my identification skill isn't helping much, so I bet the boss is as strong as those from the 90th floors."
"Kirito and I will buy us some time, so hurry and get out of here!" Altinator commanded. "We'll catch up as soon as we can!"
Asuna looked over to the three with Yui before responding. "I leave Yui in your care. Please teleport out of here without us!"
Before anyone could protest, the boss geared up for an attack. Altinator, Kirito and Asuna set up a barrier with their swords, hoping to deflect the scythe the best they can. Unfortunately, the boss smashed its scythe right through the barrier with ease, sending the three flying into the walls. They all lost at least half their HP, including Altinator with his 3x experience boost. Altinator gasped, fearing that he would die in the next attack. Kirito struggled to get back up while Asuna looked at Kirito in shock. Just then, Yui ran forward just as Yulier and Thinker teleported. Despite Kirito and Asuna's protests, Yui remained determined to face the boss monster alone. The boss attacked but had no effect on Yui as she was deemed an immortal object.
What the hell is this?! Altinator thought. I didn't create an AI like that! It must be the Cardinal System's doing!
Yui went ahead and destroyed the monster with a giant flaming sword. She used her admin authority as an AI to erase the boss monster, saving the three from their imminent death.
"Mommy, daddy, I remember everything now," Yui announced.
While Kirito and Asuna went to the GM console in a separate room of the dungeon, Altinator made his way to the safe zone to meet back up with Thinker and Yulier. It turned out that the two were safe, but worried about Yui. Altinator assured them that she would be fine as he took a drink from his HP potion. The three of them stormed the guild headquarters and arrested Kibaou. Due to the extreme measures Kibaou had taken, the three scheduled his court-martial immediately following Kibaou's arrest.
"Commander Kibaou, you have been charged with conspiracy, kidnapping, attempted murder, and abuse of authority," Altinator accused. "The evidence is clearly stacked against you as Commander-in-Chief Thinker is the main witness of your offenses. Even if you had a lawyer present, it would make little to no difference because of eyewitnesses who will testify against you and the evidence that resulted from your illegal orders for the 74th floor boss fight. Therefore, this court has found you guilty of these charges and will now pronounce the following punishment. You have been expelled from the Aincrad Liberation Force with a Dishonorable Discharge. With this discharge, you will be stripped of your rank and status. You will also be sentenced to life in prison until the game should be cleared. This court-martial will now be adjourned."
Just like that, Kibaou was removed from the guild headquarters and down to the Black Iron Palace Prison. The following day, the church, with Kirito and Asuna's help, held a big BBQ to celebrate the rescue of Thinker. The children adored all the food and the games that were set up for the BBQ. However, Altinator noticed that Yui was missing.
"Hey Kirito, where's Yui?" Altinator asked.
Kirito's face darkened. "Long story short, because of what happened with the dungeon boss, Yui was to be erased by the Cardinal System."
"I'm so sorry to hear that," Altinator said softly, placing his hand on top of his shoulder.
"No, it's fine," Kirito said quickly. "I managed to save Yui's files by cutting her programming from the Cardinal System and putting them into the local memory of my nerve gear as environmental data before her credentials were made invalid."
"That's a relief," Altinator commented. "I really liked her. She was a cute little girl and very sweet."
"She sure was," Kirito agreed. "Asuna has an item that I was able to retrieve to remind us of her. We call it Yui's Heart."
"That's very thoughtful of you, Kirito," Altinator said softly. "I hope I get to see her again someday."
"Yeah, me too." Kirito commented.