Chapter Eight: Death

"Have you ever felt your own death approaching?"

Quinella asked almost nonchalantly as she lay on her regal couch, not even opening her eyes.

Bercouli, sitting on the floor then, paused his wine drinking before answering with a thought:

"My death? When I was less experienced, and had my clock cleaned by the Dark General, or maybe the one before him, I did think that might be it for me."

The Pontifex chuckled quietly at the answer before asking again, "But you brought his head back quite some time ago, didn't you? You haven't felt any since?"

"Hmm…" Bercouli closed his eyes as he attempted to penetrate the fog of time, then he answered with certain amusement, "Not that I can recall, nah.

"But why would you ask me something like this out of the blue? Surely Your Holiness is free of such sensations."

Quinella tsked as her eyes darted away in slight frustration, "You don't understand, do you, Bercouli?" she then sat up from the couch, crossing her legs in the process, "Every day. I sense death every day."

The knight looked on astonished, but before he could inquire, Quinella stared into her raised glass and added, "Every morning when I open my eyes…no, even in my dreams do I feel it. Why? Because I still don't control everything. Because I have enemies who are still alive. And because the possibility of a new enemy emerging at some point in the future is always looming…"

The two remained speechless for a while as Quinella looked at the knight with an incomprehensible expression, almost as if she was hurt. Why though? Was she finally exhausted after having reigned over this ever-growing empire for so long? Was she just testing his reactions? Or was it something else? Bercouli could not tell.

"Well, well…" he then replied with a wry smile, "Being the Pontifex sure isn't easy, huh?"

Before Bercouli could indulge any further in his meditation, a large alarm horn sounded over the Supply Corps camp, tearing the commander from his memories.

"Hmm…"

Bercouli hummed for a second before standing up and leaving his tent swiftly. As he then straightened his robe, the commander gave a sudden smirk.

"Your Holiness, I guess I finally understand what you meant now."

10:23 A.M. 4th of the Eleventh Month, Year 380 H.E.C. – Human Empire Army Raid Unit Encampments within the Dark Territory, Alice and Kirito's tent

"Here, Kirito!"

Ronye eagerly offered a spoonful of food to the sulking Kirito, clearly overjoyed that Alice had allowed her to treat the knight.

To her great embarrassment, however, Kirito opened his mouth merely to give a moan, but otherwise refused to eat.

The women looking on from a distance noticed his reaction and all sighed with some amusement.

"Here, let me do it." Alice stated as she tiredly got up from their breakfast, obviously still a bit worn-out from last night's non-stop talk.

"One of these days," Ronye commented with a pout, "I'll successfully feed him!"

Alice gave her a smile before approaching Kirito.

Blowing on the hot food, Alice simply said "Aaa." And Kirito devoured the food as usual, as if he had too grown accustomed to the process.

Liena observed minutely and remarked, "He looks a little healthier than yesterday, and seems to be with good appetite too."

"Perhaps," Asuna added, "sleeping besides four beauties did do him some good."

"Well, as long as he's eating his fair share, I really don't mind if we do this more often." Alice beamed. "Oh, Asuna?"

"Yes?"

"Say…is there anything in particular he likes to eat in your world? I tried to figure out his preferences, but I could only experiment on the kind of food we already have here…"

"Oh! Um…the first that that comes to mind I guess really is bread and butter! Oh wait, it should be cream." Asuna answered happily. "Actually it was he who showed it to me back in Aincrad. And I have to say, he really took a liking to that simple but tasty stuff."

"Is that so?" Ronye asked suddenly, "You see, Kirito really loves those honey pies in Centoria too! Maybe that's because it reminds him of those breads from your world?"

I see…bread it is then! Shame he can't quite have them now. But when he wakes up, I'm definitely going to impress him with the best he's ever tasted.

Alice was about to announce her decision, but then the alarm that had warned Bercouli reached the four women.

"We're out of time."

Heavy, armored footsteps could be heard approaching Bercouli as Alice and Asuna hurriedly equipped themselves with gears and dashed towards the outpost where the commander was already standing by.

Long prepared for another fight, Bercouli was at the very front of the gathered troops, looking over to the chasm Asuna had created the previous night.

"Would you look at that," he commented half-amused, half-concerned as he observed the enemy with a Sacred Art that allowed extended sight. "This enemy from the Real World certainly has some unique strategies. Emperor Vecta is taking a risk."

Without another word, Alice too aligned her hands in the fashion of a typical Sacred Art. And through the art-generated monocular, she saw what was happening: Some thousands of Mels away, as the dark forces were unable to simply leap across the vast gap, at least hundreds of them were commando crawling on ropes to the other side.

Alice dropped her art in a surprised gasp and Bercouli responded to her shock with his characteristic coolness:

"This is war." He then turned towards the other knights calmly and went on, "Asuna's from elsewhere and has her own reasons, but this is no time for us to feel sorry for the forces of darkness. We have to take this chance."

"Chance?" Alice asked puzzled.

"That's right."

Without another word, the commander turned his gaze towards the nearby Knight Renly, casting him an expectant look.

Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!

The champion of the Pugilists anxiously thought as he witnessed his forces, as well as the Dark Knights lumbering through the chasm.

Things were certainly not in his favor. Before long, ceaseless yells were heard as a huge number of the crossing troops were thrown off the ropes by powerful winds.

One after another, Iskahn counted as he watched in horror, fell into the bottomless abyss the Human Empire Army had magically produced.

"Have your people climb ropes over the chasm to reach the other side. I don't care if there are casualties." so said the Emperor apathetically.

Perhaps not even apathetically, by the tone of the Dark God, it almost appeared as if he had demanded so with somewhat a playful manner, interested to see the results rather than expecting them.

Iskahn and the newest Dark General knelt as they heeded their master's command. However, knowing the tactic was suicidal at best, counterproductive at worst, he had wished to object. Unfortunately for him, he also knew he would receive no support from his fellow head of tribe as the replacement for Shasta was a mere puppet.

"You are to keep them walking across the tight rope no matter what."

Tearing himself from that recollection, Iskahn gritted his teeth as his thoughts remained on the Dark Emperor.

They're dying in vain! Not for the goal of the five tribes of darkness, the invasion of the Human Empire…but for this "Priestess of Light" nonsense!

The champion of the Pugilists then turned his attention back to the troops and thought nervously: Hurry up! Before something else happens! Just make it over, all of you!

After some enormous efforts and at least twenty percent casualty simply from the unrelenting winds, the first troops had finally crossed over. Some were Dark Knights, and some Pugilists and even some surviving goblins from the previous battle. The exhausted troops lay on the edge of the chasm with labored breathings before turning to help their still-crossing comrades.

At the sight of the initial success, the army on the other side exulted, glad that their objective was at least somewhat achievable. However, as Iskahn let out a sigh of relief, he noticed with great terror dust clouds approaching the meager, worn-out forces across.

"Enemy attack!" Iskahn yelled as he recognized the unfolding danger, "Protect them! Protect the ropes at all cost! They are only a small force! Don't let the enemy get near the ropes!"

Despite the warning, there was nothing his army could do. The powerful Dark Knights and Pugilists, more than tired after only commuting, were being slaughtered.

Bercouli, riding on horseback, swung his great Time-Splitting Sword easily as he scattered the enemies. With little effort, the Knight Commander crushed one Dark Knight after another, advancing rapidly as the element of shock practically gained victory for him.

Following close behind was Asuna and the other mounted knights. Some Pugilists, staying true to their unyielding reputation, attempted to resist the blitzing Human Empire Army. A number of them formed a phalanx, hoping to defend with a tight formation. Regrettably for them, that was the one mistake they should not make when facing Knight Sheyta.

The ever cold and resourceful woman charged forth with her horse. And with a few lightning slashes and the concomitant buzzing noises, the once dangerous fighters were reduced to masses of flesh alongside the broken armors Bercouli had left behind.

As the dark forces gasped in fear Sheyta landing next to more of their worn-out comrades, Knight Renly appeared right next to her.

At the sight of Renly's Twin Edged Blades, all Iskahn could do was a cry of "Stop!" which did little to stop the divine weapon from flying straight towards the defenseless ropes over the chasm.

In no time, the spinning blades tore through all the ropes hanging between the two sides and disaster befell the dark forces. Hundreds of their soldiers, already too far and too late to turn back were hurled into the bottom of the endless ravine. The very few who had enough time to reach the other side arrived only in time to be also massacred by the Integrity Knights.

As expected of them, some yet attempted to prevent the inevitable. But what hope had they against Knight Alice? With the unstoppable velocity of cavalry, she needed no effort at all to break through their defenses. At the same time, Bercouli, still in the lead, left a trail of utter destruction and blood wherever he passed, sparing none who stood.

Watching helplessly from afar his army fell from thousands to hundreds, Iskahn cried out bitterly.

"This…is war? You call this a fight?" he screamed as his deputy restrained him from rushing towards his collapsing army. "No way did they endure all those grueling trainings only to die like this!"

Forgive me…please forgive me…

Meanwhile, spectating the battle on his lavish throne, Vecta merely sneered at the sight.

"Just as I expected, those from the Human Empire seem to be somewhat superior. No…strictly in terms of adaptability, they are in different classes."

Don't let me down…Critter.

00:05 7th July, 2026 – Ocean Turtle, Main Control Room

"Syncing of Underworld and Real World times is complete!" Critter, the invaders' master hacker announced elated after hours of hard work.

"Now, control of the 'darkened Lightcubes' lies in the palm of my hand…"

And so, as he continued his digital battle, he gained access to something considered impossible, if not despicable. With a sinister grin, the computer expert pressed "Confirm"

At the same time, Yui, Kirito's adoptive but most precious daughter was monitoring the development of the Underworld via her many connections.

Noticing a sudden change in the Underworld's artificial souls, Yui's face paled.

"Oh no! Daddy and mommy are in danger!"

03:02 7th July, 2026 – Shino's apartment

Alarmed but somewhat annoyed by the sudden shivering of her phone, Shino, otherwise known as Sinon, brought it to her face tiredly.

Just who could be calling this late…?

To Shino's absolute shock, the name on her phone showed – "Kirigaya Kazuto"

Quickly pressing the "answer" button, Shino heard a trembling voice:

"Sinon! It's Yui!"

"Yui?"

"I'll explain later! Get ready to leave and take a taxi!" the young girl urged. "I'll send you the address and the fastest route to get there!"

Though Shino complied reluctantly and rushed out of her door, she was still totally bewildered.

"A taxi? Where to?"

"Please hurry! Daddy and mommy are in grave danger!"

At the same time, just outside of the Kirigaya residence and also warned by Yui was Suguha, A.K.A. Leafa, who had now just hopped onto a taxi.

"Please, to the Minato Ward in Tokyo."

Sorry, mom…but I promise I'll rescue Kirito…

"Okay so what on earth's happening?"

Shino asked worriedly yet impatiently as she finally met up with Suguha outside of RATH's Roppongi branch.

Now connected to a conference call with the two girls in real life, Yui answered frightfully.

"You see, I was keeping a look out on the Underworld, and I noticed something incredibly weird. The number of residents in the world barely changed, apart from death tolls created due to the war there. But the active Lightcubes have suddenly surged!"

Even more confused now, Suguha spoke up, "Wait a second, what war?"

"It's the Underworld…The Human Empire Daddy was protecting and no doubt where Mommy is now sided with is fighting the ultimate war against the Dark Territory. They outnumber the Human Empire Army, but even that is no longer the problem! The people who are now occupying the Main Control Room of the Ocean Turtle must have found some ways to reactivate the deceased Fluctlights or "darkened Lightcubes" meaning they now can summon a vast, essentially undead army in the Underworld to attack Daddy!"

Suguha covered her mouth in surprise, and Shino asked after a gasp, "What can we do?"

"Go to the RATH branch here, and tell them you request to speak to Kikuoka Seijirou. Tell him to check on the FLA rate, he should understand by then."

"Do we just relay them the message?" Suguha asked nervously.

"If I guessed correctly, they should have at least two more STL devices here." Yui answered after some thoughts, "if things go well, they'd need you and your experiences in virtual worlds to help reverse the situation in Underworld!"

As Yui had predicted, Kikuoka was surprised by the sudden appearance of Kirito's allies. After a swift negotiation, and Higa admitting his remissness, Kikuoka quickly ordered his subordinates in Japan to lead the two girls to the only two STL devices available.

"But that's not all, Mister Kikuoka!" Yui demanded before the man in charge of the Alicization Project could hang up.

"What is it?"

"Am I correct in assuming the invaders' objective is to steal Alice's Lightcube?" the girl asked with some seriousness.

"That would be correct, Miss Yui." Kikuoka answered as he sensed her understanding of the situation was more than what he had expected.

"There might just be a way to secure Alice's life after all."

"What? How?"

"As of right now, neither the Sub-Control Room, nor the Main Control Room can eject a Lightcube out of the cluster due to Mr. Higa's command some hours ago. So the only way for anyone to take Alice out of Underworld now is to get her to the World End's Altar by force. Is there not a way for you to lock Alice's Underworld ID to Daddy's STL? By doing so, the only way to eject her would be either Alice herself voluntarily uses the Altar or Daddy being logged out!"

Kikuoka considered her words a bit, but then said, "That is an ingenious idea, but with the Main Control Room now occupied, we haven't access to enough computer resource to do something so complicated, both the Lightcubes and the STL are incredibly complex machines."

"Except you can connect the computers here in the Roppongi branch to do it." Yui answered flatly.

"Well, the security of the Ocean Turtle does not allow any outside computer to share its processing capabilities, even if they are RATH property, the Underworld server simply would not allow anything other than the Lightcubes or the STL to connect. Wait…"

"I figured so. And you abandoned the idea earlier because there wasn't anyone capable of connecting via the STL to the Underworld. But now we have Sinon and Leafa, who are more than capable. The loophole in your system, the fact that the STLs can connect to the Underworld server, and that they are themselves able to connect with external computers, would make this operation possible."

Thoroughly amazed by Kirito's young daughter, Kikuoka sighed and replied. "You should work for us…in any case, your plan should work just fine. Sinon and Leafa, I assume the two of you are still listening in?"

After the two girls made their presence known, Kikuoka said, "Alright, so here's to run it down. The second the two of you are connected to the Underworld, the Ocean Turtle will be able to share the computer powers over there via the STL, at which point we shall begin. If things run smoothly, we should have Alice locked with Kirito's STL within no more than an hour. As we no longer need her Lightcube in our hands to secure it, you must find ways to make sure she stays away from the World's End Altar to prevent any possibility of her being forced to use the Altar to log out to the Main Control Room. However, since the enemy remains oblivious to our tactics, and the fact that they now possess even greater power than before, their forces would still attempt to take Alice or destroy the Human Empire, if you can, fight them to the best of your abilities. Is that clear?"

"Alright!" The two girls right next to the STL machines responded in unison.

"One last thing," Kikuoka said before commencing their operation, "Miss Yui, how are you so certain Kirigaya's STL, in effect, his soul would be willing to accept the linkage with Alice. Normally, this is as simple a mission as it gets, but with his Fluctlight damaged as it is, we are sailing through uncharted territory now."

Yui kept silent for a second, but then she said:

"Because Alice and Underworld, it is where Daddy's destiny really lies. Strictly technically speaking, I am no more certain than you are…but if there's anything I know, it's fate. Like that day Daddy and Mommy found me in Aincrad. The day we became a family…it must also be the same when Daddy had crossed over to Underworld, the day he had decided to love that world and the day he had met Alice. After so many years…so many battles, Alice is the true end of Daddy's path. He has to go there."

For a moment, not just Yui, but also Shino, Leafa and even Kikuoka was speechless, stunned by Yui's proclamation.

"Well then…" Kikuoka answered. "Good luck."

As fighting the Integrity Knights and the elite Human Empire troops seemed suicidal, the few remaining dark forces hurriedly retreated, fleeing along the edge of the chasm. Alice suggested they give chase; however, knowing the Dark Territory forces could endeavor to cross again, Bercouli ordered the imperial army to stand by. At that point, neither was willing to risk any man by attempting to cross, yet they dared not venture to flank each other either. The ground around them was too open so no movement could be concealed.

Before any plans could be made, a development entirely unforeseen occurred. At first, the fleeing Pugilists left over on the side of the Human Empire's had assumed it to be Asuna's Sacred Arts. Soon though, it became quite evident that the reason the earth was shaking was a little more malicious than anticipated.

Unlike Asuna's terraforming arts which made and remade the ground with a burst of aurora, what was happening now was plain vibration. There was neither divine light nor a new deity. For over a minute, the ground, atop which the routed Dark Territory Army stood, shook violently.

Finally, in a display that terrified both armies, numerous armored hands burst out from the earth. Staring on with great fear, the Dark Army remained frozen as it witnessed an armada of decaying, rotten soldiers crawling their way out right in front of them. Those newly arisen soldiers were utterly monstrous even when compared to the Dark Army. Few had any skins left, decomposition had clearly already begun as the odor of rotten flesh spread all about, and most of them treaded with varying degree of lumber.

The undead soldiers, however, did not look too unlike their counterpart serving the Dark Territory. As they stepped closer and closer towards the Pugilists and Dark Knights, it became evident that they must once have been residents of the land of darkness. Iskahn remarked that he could see rather plainly quite a number of the oncoming corpses were Orcs and Goblins. Yet, they did not speak. They attempted no communication.

After a while, the whole sea of army had completely risen from the earth. Shadows crept over their faces as the burning sun was behind them. One of the few remaining goblins broke formations. Why? He recognized someone from the Death Army.

"Brother…is that you?" that said goblin asked with a trembling voice as he remembered vividly his brother's demise earlier in the war.

The goblin walked only steps from what looked like his brother resurrected, hands extending, hoping to embrace his lost family. But that was not to be. That decaying, mindless of a brother let out a raucous screech, shocking all that was present. And suddenly, he, no…it raised its rusted axe and chopped its erstwhile brother in halves.

At that point, the entire Death Army roared, raising their weapons in a violent display before all charging towards those few hundreds of Dark Territory Army.

"Wait…you guys aren't on our side?" stammered one of the Dark Knights, before he too was slashed so violently, not only was his body minced to pieces, the parts which once formed his body flew in all directions and the crimson spilled a red carpet for the Death Army.

Chaos then ensued. The forces of darkness, which was fleeing from the Human Empire Army failed to maneuver swiftly enough to engage the new threat.

Exhausted and stupefied, they barely offered resistance as another slaughter befell them.

Witnessing the situation with worries, and knowing after the Dark Knights they would be next, Bercouli dismounted as he muttered to himself, "Just what are those monsters…"

Clearly sharing his concern, Asuna wasted no time in raising her sword. With a glow, her divine weapon summoned the stunning aurora once more and the earth moved. Instead of another chasm, a mountain was erected just along the lines of battle. As the rocks sprung up, the undead soldiers that were in the way were torn apart by the rising spikes. More followed that fate as the expanding ground shot missiles of rocks towards them.

After the dusts cleared, the dark forces, once again narrowly survived, looked on flabbergasted as they realized a mountain, at least a couple hundred Mels in width, and some forty Mels in height, shielded them from destruction.

Asuna felt as though a lightning had struck her head, tearing her very brains apart with a searing sting. With an agonizing lament, the goddess-like woman dropped to her knees, feeling the forewarned effects of terraforming.

She held her head as she trembled in pain, struggling to stand up.

I can't fall apart now…

Grinding her teeth, Asuna raised her sword again despite being aware of the risks of consecutive attacks.

However, just before her shuddering hand called forth another terraforming art, a pair of gauntleted hand held hers.

"Alice?" Asuna exclaimed in shock.

Shaking her head, Alice calmly said, "Don't overdo it, Asuna. Leave the rest to us Integrity Knights."

Still kneeling on the ground, Asuna lowered her head in shame, "But those monsters were clearly summoned from the Real World! No one else could produce such a force; they are enemies that came from my world."

"That may be so." Alice answered as she turned to face those undead soldiers who are now climbing cover the hills. "But they are merely a bloodthirsty lot, haphazardly flailing their swords, there's nothing to fear even if there are thousands of them."

"Exactly!" Bercouli agreed confidently as he stepped towards the pair, giving Asuna a thumb up in the process. "How about sharing a little bit of the glory?"

Asuna looked up a bit timidly to Alice, but the blonde knight merely nodded in agreement, as did Knight Sheyta and Renly when she turned towards them.

"Thank you…all of you."

"All right!" Bercouli cried out with unconcealed excitement as he drew his massive sword, "All troops, form a phalanx! We're going to punch through!"

While the Human Empire Army hurrahed and began a quick march forward, their enemy-turned-cobelligerents were not doing very well.

Just as they had faced the Integrity Knights, the Pugilists were ready for another round as a window of rest was granted to them. Some fought valiantly. With no more than a heavy punch was any of them capable of decapitating an undead soldier. But they far outnumbered the cornered dark forces. Even if a single Dark Knight or Pugilists could bring down two or three of the rotten warriors, they could always surround them with four if not five more.

Seeing one disaster unfolding after another, Iskahn was at his limits. His faced twisted in rage as he yelled angrily, forming a fist so tight blood poured out.

Strangely, it was not his hand that produced the greatest pain he suffered. He felt an intense agony as the vision of his right eye turned red. Scripts indecipherable blocked his sight as he slowly spat out, "I…I have to tell the Emperor that we are aborting the mission."

Before his deputy, the trusted Dampa, could interrupt, a great sound drew their attention. Emperor Vecta, mounted on his giant dragon quickly flew past them and began circling around the battlefield, either looking for something, or as Iskahn guessed, was also enjoying the sight.

A leader not only actively pushing his subordinates to death but also taking pleasure in their struggles? That, finally pushed Iskahn off the edge.

With a cry like never before, Iskahn's crimson vision turned ever brighter, and ignoring whatever pain he was suffering, he inserted his fingers into his eye socket and grabbed with all his courage his very eyeball.

"Ch- champion!" Dampa ran close, hoping to stop his leader from some kind of madness.

However, Iskahn dismissed him with the wave of his left hand before it too formed a fist.

The rest of his forces then watched with horror as Iskahn literally snatched his own eye out, the sound of mangling flesh and dripping blood indicated his operation was complete.

Looking at his eyeball with the remaining eye, Iskahn crushed it before exhaling deeply. He then turned towards Dampa, "The Emperor didn't give us any order regarding those damn undead soldiers. Isn't that right?"

"Yes, that's correct…but."

"Then even if we were to slaughter them, the Emperor wouldn't have a damn thing to say about it."

"Champion…"

Iskahn then addressed the rest of his forces aloud,

"Listen! Once a bridge goes up over the valley, charge in with the entire army! Whatever it takes, we're going to rescue our people on the other side!"

"Huh? Bridge?" Dampa asked incredulously, "How will we…"

"It's obvious." Iskahn replied coolly as he turned to face the valley "Ask someone who can do it for us."

In no time, flames engulfed the strongest of all Pugilists as he started running, "If I can't cross the ropes, I'll just have to jump it myself!"

Arriving at the very edge, Iskahn leapt with such might the ground cracked right after he was propelled forward. Now practically gliding across the gap, Iskahn extended his hand in an effort to balance himself as well as in the hope of reaching the other side.

Winds whooshed past him. However, despite having poured all his Incarnation into it, the valley still proved too wide. Less than ten Mels away from his target, it was obvious that Iskahn had exhausted all the initial force and began swiftly descending.

"Champion!"

Dampa yelled, bursting his muscles as he tore parts of the ground up and threw a rock at least the size of a small hill towards Iskahn.

Quickly making use of it, Iskahn stepped on that rock for less than a second and boosted once more. Again, the great flames of the champion exploded, and with a thunder, he finally leapt across.

03:02 7th July, 2026 – Ocean Turtle, Sub-Control Room

That they had to connect an AI's consciousness to an actual person's STL was definitely a wild idea, even for Rinko. She had witnessed the births of artificial lives, she had been an architect of Aincrad, but this was next level. After all, man and the created were supposed to be different, segregated somehow.

In any case, she quickly took part seeing that they had no other option. Whatever Kirito did, it appeared, would always be something of a surprise to her.

As Higa announced happily after another hour that their operation was a success, Rinko sighed with relief and Kikuoka almost collapsed from the anxiety.

"Well, at least now we can rest assured no one will be using that girl as a weapon any time soon." Rinko stated calmly. "Only…"

"Only what?" Higa asked curiously.

"We may have scored one by linking her with Kirito. But they won't know that. The Human Empire could still be crushed by their new tactics."

"I guess you're right." Higa answered as he slumped down his chair. "But compared to Alice falling into the wrong hand and enslaved as an AI for unmanned weapons, this is still way better."

After a while, Higa spoke up again as he stared thoughtfully into his display unit. "That's right; Alice isn't just a control AI for UAVs anymore. She is a new form of humanity born in a true alternate world that surpasses even Aincrad."

And you realized that long ago, didn't you, Kirito?

As Higa proceeded to monitor the information on the young man, something unsettled him:

A small spike on a line of near complete flatness.

That was impossible; Kirito's consciousness was displayed there, why were there movements?

After a surprised gasp, Higa enhanced the picture and called out. "Doctor Rinko…could you take a look at this for me?"

Rinko complied, stepping near the monitor and examined closely.

"What is this fluctuation?"

"It means his missing consciousness was active for just a moment. But there's no way that could happen. I would say perhaps his 'consciousness' was somehow there the whole time, only incapable of control, but this line – what we are seeing here – indicates his normal, functional control over his mind and body in the Underworld not just his thoughts, it can't have been active."

"Now wait a minute…is this not the time Asuna dived to the Underworld?"

"Well yes…but hey, there are a few other ones further back, what else can it mean?"

Rinko paused for a moment before speaking again. "I can't be sure. But doesn't that one here mean he reacted because someone close to him showed up?"

"There might be a correlation, but surely something as complex as a person's soul cannot be repaired by such poetic sentiments…something else must have happened to create these spikes."

Rinko was about to retort, but Higa was drowned in thoughts as he started talking quietly to himself. "This is Kirito's self-image we are talking about…The self, the subject, the image that defines you as you…could there be a backup of that pattern somewhere? …no, that's not possible, we never once duplicated his Fluctlight."

"Hey, wait a moment." Rinko interrupted, but went unnoticed by Higa, who went on. "Even if there was a backup, it would be impossible to extract it and be copied over. Is there any active pattern that can be connected to his Fluctlight? Where…where is it?"

"Higa! Listen to me!"

"Oh…" the man froze. "What is it?"

"You keep mentioning the self and the subject as if they are concrete things. But aren't they just philosophical concepts for expressing relationships? Humans are social creatures after all. The others who exist in you and the you that exists in others; in a way, they are all connected, like a network. Wouldn't you agree?"

"The you…who exists…in others…" Higa slowly stammered before his eyes lit up. "That's it! A backup self-image! We have it! We have the data we can use to restore Kirito's shattered subject! It's inside the Fluctlights of the people closest to him!

"We need an STL and the people who know him." Higa ranted speedily as he paced around the room, "Kikuoka, the girls diving from Roppongi and Asuna are closely related to Kirito, right?"

"Yes, that would be so. They are his family."

"We can do it! We might be able to restore his self-image then!" Higa yelled excitedly as he explained. "If we extract the image of Kirito saved onto their Fluctlights and connect it to the areas he's lost…that should do it!"

"The areas…he's lost?" Kikuoka questioned.

"Yes, Kirito's condition was certainly exacerbated by that short power surge. But the core issue was that his self-image was damaged. In essence, his soul was partially destroyed by itself. If we restore the damaged parts, then he is sure to recover."

Before either Rinko or Kikuoka could give their opinion, Higa's face paled as a realization dawned upon him.

"Wait…"

"What is it?" Rinko asked with concern.

"If we restore his Fluctlight this way, not only will it have to trigger Kirito's memories first, boosting the risk for further damage, if in the unlikely case he rejects such networks to those girls, it will destabilize their connection to the Underworld too!"

"How do you mean by triggering his memories?" Kikuoka inquired.

"The connection essentially starts by stimulating his Fluctlight. When the procedure begins, his conscious will have to go through all kinds of memories and thoughts, even those lying in his unconscious mind."

"That's certainly risky." Rinko added as she stepped closer. "But let us not forget, this man is the liberator of Aincrad and one of the most brilliant minds there is. If it weren't for Kirito, Alice's Fluctlight wouldn't have become what it is now. That by itself is such a great achievement. All we can do is to proceed with as much caution as we can, then, we have to have faith in Kirito."

"Alright then," Kikuoka said after some considerations. "We are going to do this. After all, we got him in this position in the first place, if there's a chance we can treat him, we have to take it.

"Higa, start the operation right now. Let's hope Asuna and the rest can repair whatever damages his soul has sustained."

As Iskahn narrowly stepped onto the other side, the Integrity Knights had reached the Death Army.

Even without using any Sacred Arts, Asuna was, by all accounts, still a goddess in the flesh. With ease, she drew lines of light as she thrusted again and again, destroying hundreds of the undead soldiers.

Different in style, but equally deadly was Alice's assault. The Integrity Knight danced elegantly in the crowd of corpses as she slashed rapidly, not sparing any of those monstrosities. If the undead ever got close enough and attempted to pin her down, she would simply jump out of their ring and destroy the whole gang with a swift cut.

Renly and Sheyta began working as pairs. Whenever the young man was exposed after unleashing his Twin Edged Blades, the wordless knight would step forward and cut down the approaching enemies.

Naturally, the regular troops also joined in. Despite their numerical inferiority, they were indeed the elites of Bercouli's choice. Even if they were nowhere near the knights' ferocity, they still managed to meet the undead soldiers without fears.

However, the full effect of the undeads' numbers as well as that of Asuna's hobbled Art began to surface. The said Art was capable only in raising a mountain hundreds of Mels wide. Now, another great portion of the Death Army came pouring in from the flank as they managed to circumvent the barrier.

Whatever advantage they had in training or determination meant little when caught in a pincer.

"Stop…"

Asuna watched in fear and shock the Death Army began cutting down solider after soldier. Some were surrounded first before being impaled from all sides. Some other had their weapons snatched away before being torn to pieces by those decaying hands.

"Stop…"

The Integrity Knights and herself held on, but the line was gradually crumbling. Not only were they being pushed back, the sheer number of death was staggering. The death toll she witnessed in the mere ten minutes of this battle had already surpassed the worst boss fight in Aincrad.

"STOP!"

Nearly breaking down, Asuna gave a sudden war cry as she drew her sword once more. The radiant blade was thrusted, piercing through seas of corpses as she tried her utter best to stop the wave. But alas, even the mighty can make mistakes. While blitzing through the lines of battle, a puddle of blood cost her balance and Asuna was stopped in her track. And in a war, any mistake is considered too great.

Before Asuna could react, more of the dead soldiers had crept up to her. She leapt away almost instantly, but that was not enough to prevent one of them from chopping her hand off. Breathless and hurting, Asuna knelt on the ground and stared frightfully as those horrors surrounded her.

Just a second before she was overwhelmed, a burst of flame appeared and crushed the head of a looming undead. More explosions then followed. It took less than a minute for all of those monsters to be scorched to ashes as consecutive attacks sounded.

Suddenly rescued, Asuna looked up and saw a grinning, muscular figure.

"Ha, they're all soft." Iskahn remarked with amusement.

Asuna questioned in her mind: someone from the Dark Territory?

More of the corpses then swarmed the area. Seeing no other way out, Iskahn let out another scornful tsk and with a burning fist, he struck the ground like a meteor and a flash burst from that spot.

The ensuing explosion created a conflagration that stretched to the skies as flames consumed the approaching dead soldiers. Within seconds, some hundreds of them were reduced to cinders.

"Amazing…" Asuna exclaimed quietly as she marveled.

Though before she could put more thoughts into what just happened, she was pulled up suddenly.

"Let's make a deal." Iskahn stated bluntly.

"A deal?"

"Yes." The man looked past her, signaling something behind. "You are the one who made those ridges and that giant chasm, right?"

"I am."

"Then listen. Put a bridge across the gap behind me. It can be narrow, as long as it's sturdy. Do that and my 4000 Pugilists will fight with you until we annihilate every one of those damn zombies."

"The Dark Territory will fight with us?" Asuna questioned with doubt.

"I don't think this man would lie about his own army."

Asuna turned back, and saw Knight Sheyta walking towards them.

"Oh? It's you." Iskahn acknowledged with a grin.

Sheyta gave him a nod before looking at Asuna quietly. "We need not question his intent."

"Alright then." Asuna nodded. "I'll do it."

Her divine sword was raised and in seconds, great, vibrant auroras materialized in the skies again and descended towards the abyss.

The moment those celestial lights touched the edges, the rocky walls shook, then like extending fingers, the materials grew out and bridges began forming. Seconds later, the mass from both sides met, connecting the two edges.

Following that immediately was a burst of war chants. The Dark Army on the other side hurrahed excitedly as their chance for glory finally came.

Alice wasn't paying much attention to this new development as she was mired in battle herself. But catching a glimpse of the clash between their former and latest enemies, she understood the situation straightaway.

In another moment, two more corpses jumped towards her only to be evaded agilely. The Integrity Knight then cut horizontally and two decaying heads met a second death. But that was not the end. Before she had a moment to catch her breath, some hundreds more again started going her way.

These things…they are trying to surround me again…

Alice thought angrily, getting more irritated by the seconds.

"Out of my way…OUT OF MY WAY!"

She then poured all her power in her blade and slashed. Some twenty or more monsters that were closest got cut in halves instantly. And seeing the ever growing herd, she decided to change tactics.

"System Call!" bright crimsons appeared on her hands as she pulled them back and formed lustrous arrows. "Discharge!"

The arrows hit their target hard, and a burst blew away a portion of those monstrosities with a gap emerging in their encirclement.

Alice looked past their line and saw an opportunity.

I can incinerate all of them at once from the top of that hill!

"Move!"

Alice swung her sword and started dashing towards the edge of the war zone.

The Knight Commander at the back however, sensed trouble. "Little one, don't run off!"

Before Bercouli could interfere, another undead warrior blocked his way and prevented any help he could provide.

Alice did not hear him, and having moved past the last of the dead soldiers, she was finally away from all barricades and alone on the plain. Just before she turned back to face the enemies though, something happened.

A vast shadow approached, before Alice could even comprehend, Emperor Vecta's gigantic dragon had snatched her from the field. The creature was powerful. Not only did it blow away some dozens of soldiers just by flapping its wing, the claws that had captured Alice were so strong even the knight could not shake off.

"Little one!" Bercouli cried out.

Too late. He could only watch as the dark god had already begun ascending with Alice clear in his grasp.

When Alice came to her senses, she drew her sword again and prepared for an attack. "Enhance Armament…"

But the Dark Emperor was no mere soldier, before the knight could even finish her chant, he turned from his saddle and a blackish wind was unleashed from his palm, suffocating and deadening her.

"Damn you! What are you doing to my apprentice, you bastard?" Bercouli cursed, trying to catch up, but was again blocked by more walking corpses.

A voice behind him called out:

"Release Recollection!"

In no time, a blade accompanied by buzzing noises tore through the hundreds who stood before Bercouli and his path was clear.

"Lord Commander! Please go on ahead!" Knight Renly exclaimed.

"Sorry! I'll leave the rest to you!"

Charging forward, Bercouli summoned the three dragons with a whistle. And in less than a minute, the great creatures arrived and allowed him flight.

When his dragons picked up speed, Bercouli readied his sword and thought silently.

Alright then…Emperor Vecta…I had hoped we could avoid this, but now that you've put even my apprentice at risk, this can only end with either yours or my death.

Author's notes:

From this chapter on, the story will begin to diverge from the original anime a bit more dramatically. As you can see, there is no army coming over from America that would serve to destroy the Human Empire. The reason I had to rewrite that part of the story is that it's just plain stupid (sorry for being forward, but I just can't find another word for it) The whole Alicization thing is supposed to be a top secret, state-of-the-art kind of technology. It helps heal Kirito's brain, which was totally impossible for any other kind of medical methods and it literally slows down time.

I refuse to believe that anyone with an Amusphere can just log on and navigate it like a game. It would be completely unfair and non-sensible if say other people could have joined SAO in Aincrad without being trapped in the game and by the NerveGear - which is basically what's happening with the American, Korean and Chinese players. The only people who can enter Underworld should be those with access to the Soul Translator (which also fits the lore in Underworld as they appear either as the Goddesses or the Dark God) Anyway, see you next time.

Btw, just updated for a comment: Thank you, Master Riziul, I really appreciate your comment, and glad to see someone else enjoying this pairing

Playlist:

"illusions of illusion"
"Selka"
"a sword of bravery in her heart"
"on the counterattack"
"project Alicization"
"Iskahn"
"Bercouli"