"Cordelia, keep the Chaos Drake in the upper atmosphere. Sylvie and I are going to join Kirito and Eolyne here, so drop the cycle from up there."

"Um... Are you sure about that? Empress Eydis specifically said that Sylvie and I-"

"Yeah, to come back ASAP. But she also said to follow my instructions, right?."

"...Yes sir!"

That was my conversation with Cordelia while Kirito hid the X'rphan Mark 13. After he freed the deathworm and gave chase with Eolyne, I waited with Sylvie for a minute or two, then "caught" the motorcycle attachment to the Chaos Drake with the wind elements. It was heavy to lower the cycle from the air to the ground, given that Sylvie and I had to slow its descending momentum by winning the battle of air resistance versus gravity, but once that happened, the bike was about ten feet from the ground.

But it worked.

The bike is made of a sleek, black metal. Two large wheels hold the slender frame of the bike. Grey grooves are around the bike and wheels. There isn't a thruster present like in the dragoncraft, but there's a canistered heat and wind element in the back of the vehicle. I wonder how it worked as I settled in the seat and gripped the handlerbars...then it came to me spontaneously, like a distant, forgetten memory had sprung forth.

"Hey, not that I have a problem with this, but Mother said that Cordelia and I are to return home once you're on Admina."

"Yes," I state while patting the posterior portion of the seat, "and we will follow those instructions. But until we see what we're dealing with, stay put and follow mine."

Sylvie looks conflicted between disobeying Eydis and obeying me, but sits behind me anyway. Grabbing my waist, she holds on as I rev up the engine of the cycle, manipulating the heat and wind element in the hidden canister. The more I draw back on the handlebars increases their output, thus increasing the cycle's speed. I draw back only a quarter, and the cycle shoots forward after Kirito and Eolyne.

"Wooooooo!"

"Waaaaaaah!"

You'd think that I'd feel sorry for not offering to switch places with Kirito and Eolyne, and on another plane of existence, that would be true. But they chose to run instead of fly. I chose to ride with my daughter and spend quality missed time with her alone for the first time.

So while we ride between them and the black worm, I tried figuring out what to talk about. It can't be this hard to talk to a girl my age about her interests — all my friends are close to it — but the dynamic is different. One, this is a father-daughter relationship, so things are different for me. Two, she's just as uncomfortable as I am.

Philia and Kureha told me not to act as her father, but as her peer. Easy for them to say; Kureha has spent time with Sylvie to break that barrier. I could ask Kirito for advice, but our respective kids are two different personalities.

"Jaymes, I have a question. Well, more so of wanting to hear your opinion."

"Huh? Oh, uh, go ahead."

"The Cult of Primus. Mother says they were defeated a century ago, but she always felt they were still around in the shadows. If that's the case, then how did they get into the castle so easily?"

"That's...an excellent point. I assume not just anyone can enter the castle."

"Maybe. The knights are strict on security, but the general public can enter the castle for whatever business they may have. That's exclusive the first five or so floors. The middle twenty-ish levels are for all other inhabitants, whether it be a place of leisure or is a councilor's quarters. The upper five levels are for the royal family, councilors, and guests. The only permanent residents of the castle at that point is the royal family and the Supreme Commander's. Servants aside, no one is allowed past the forty-fifth unless they're a councilor, military, or nobility of some kind that has been summoned. If they're a commoner, they must be escorted by the aforementioned groups."

So a commoner cannot enter the upper levels without someone of high standing with them. "What about the fiftieth floor?"

"When the Empress is in the castle, the throne room is accessible. Aside from that, it remains locked by the Chains of Sealing as you decreed. The only exception will be once that power comes to me one day."

"So as long as Eydis is in the castle, anyone can enter the fiftieth floor? But only certain groups can pass the forty-fifth? That...doesn't help."

"I hear the cathedral has similar security. No one's allowed past the seventy-ninth floor. But you are right, that doesn't limit who could be cult members. We have a number of enemies waiting on my rise to challenge me. Council members, regional leaders, some scrub off the streets... But it was a council meeting at the time. That does narrow the suspects down significantly. Yet..."

"If all the councilors were present, then it makes it hard to prove they would be involved. Especially if they were nearly assassinated themselves."

"That, yes, but that gives us one suspect. One was absent from the meeting." Sylvie sighs and I feel her adjust her position as if she's looking upward. "The representative of the Outer Continent colonies, Neroa Arcan."

Arcan... Arcan... "Oh, isn't that the name of one of your friends?"

"Yes. He's Notte's father and the husband to the archmage. But just because he wasn't there doesn't mean he's involved. In a sense, it invalidates being charged because he couldn't have escorted someone up to the throne room."

That's true, but... As the worm begins to descend downward, I drop my brow in thought. "In my experience, the culprit is the one with a perfect alibi and lacking evidence. We'll present this case to Eydis later. If Arcan is part of the cult, you have to assume more than that."

"...Even Notte? And Lady Iversiel?"

"Get used to suspecting everyone, Sylvie. It's not ideal, but it has kept me alive more often than not. But let's put that to the side, we got incoming."

I pump the brakes on the bike, halting the input of arts into the vehicle. As it slides to a stop on top of the hill we were ascending, we catch sight of the worm's destination. Below the hill is a steel structure three stories tall, and in front of it is a long road that goes out like a runway. There isn't much more than that, thanks to the area being bright enough despite it not being dawn yet.

"...A base?" Kirito questions as he and Eolyne catch up and observe the structure in the basin below.

"So it seems." Eolyne motions for us to get low to avoid detection. Sylvie and I follow suit, moving the bike to lower ground first, and watch as the deathworm heads further to the base until it disappears somewhere within.

"Can you all see that? Beyond the runway?" Eolyne whispers, directing our attention to the left towards the end of the runway. Stationed there is a dark-colored dragoncraft that rivals the size of the Chaos Drake Mk. 7, if not larger, especially when considering the wingspan. "Woah."

"Those wings are enormous..."

"Yes, it's been maximized for capacity, not speed. There are a bunch of supports under those huge main wings, I believe."

"Meaning...that's what shot all those guided missiles at us?"

"I think so. But if so, it means we were detected approaching Admina ahead of time. Either our information leaked somehow or they're utilizing some kind of advanced detection that even I don't know about..."

That means the Drake is already known about, so our sneaky entrance is all for nought. But Cordelia hasn't spoken of being attacked, so I'll leave her be. As for how... "It's unlikely you were leaked, Eolyne. But as for us..." I only told Eydis our plan. It was coincidence that spies noticed the X'rphan's trail from Central Cathedral, but they couldn't have known anything. Only us present on the planet, Asuna, Alice, Eydis, Kureha, Airy the elevator operator, and the three Integrity Pilots Mathias, Stica, and Laurannei, no one else knows about this... or should know about this. I turn to Sylvie, wondering who she and Cordelia could have spoken to.

No, save that for later. "Whatever happened, they know we here. They think you're dead and, since nothing has happened, Cordelia's out of range."

"...I have to investigate that base," Eolyne announces. "Of course, it'll involve some level of danger, so I can't ask you to come with me."

"Of course we will. It shouldn't be a question," Kirito replies, pointing to himself and I. He adds before Eolyne can protest, ""If I let you go alone and anything happens, I don't know what I'll say to Stica and Laurannei. Plus, maybe what I'm looking for is in there. In fact...if it's okay to use Incarnation, we don't need to sneak. I can just pull that building up out of the ground and take the walls and roof off piece by piece..."

"I endorse that plan, by the way. Kirito and I are coming, one way or another. But I really do want to see if we can lift a building."

"..." Eolyne remains silent for a few seconds, then shakes his head. "No. The people in there might know we crash-landed and partially retreated, but they shouldn't know we've found their base yet. The perpetrator might be somewhere else right now, and there's no harm in maintaining our secrecy for the time being."

"That's a good point...All right, we'll follow your orders from here on," Kirito says, in which I concur with a nod.

Eolyne looks at us suspiciously, but he accepts us. "Very well. I only have one order, though: Hold my hand and don't let go."

"H-hold your hand...? I don't think we're at the age where we need to worry about getting lost."

"That's not what I mean. We have to use Hollow Incarnation."

"H-holo...?" Kirito's so stunned that he can't process what Eolyne just said, so the commander traces the word hollow out in the air. "Hollow...? What do you mean?"

"It's the advanced form of the Incarnation-Hiding Incarnation I mentioned earlier: Incarnation that removes your existence."

"Removes your...existence... Do you mean imagining yourself being obliterated?"

"No, not like that," responds Eolyne with a head shake. With caution in his voice, he explains, It's held to be impossible to remove yourself from existence with the power of Incarnation. After all, the source of the Incarnation is yourself. It would be like trying to use the suction tube of a cleaning machine to suck up the machine itself."

"That's a good point."

"But with the level of Incarnation you can wield, I suppose you might twist that law of nature, too, Kirito. So don't attempt to erase yourself with Incarnation, even as a joke."

"I-I'll take that lesson to heart," Kirito swears with his right hand held up. "But then what is this Hollow Incarnation?"

"To put it simply, it's using Incarnation to erase yourself from another person's perception...Well, maybe erase isn't the right word...Diluting? Fusing, maybe..."

"Diluting? Fusing?"

Somewhat entertained by Kirito's confusion (and even getting a kick of Sylvie's disappointed face), I interrupt the lecture. "I got this, Eolyne. Hollow Incarnation is how Sylvie and I snuck up on you. Remember that we appeared literally out of thin air? So think of it as a cloaking spell or an advanced form of the Hiding skill from way back then."

"Oh... I think I understand now."

"Just trust that if you stick with me, the guards won't spot you. So take my hand." Kirito takes Eolyne's left hand, then the commander takes a deep breath. Moments later, the pair are gone from sight. The only reason I know they're there is because the grass under their boots hadn't shifted.

When Sylvie used this skill on me before we jumped out the Chaos Drake, she didn't explain it or prepare me for it. I grabbed her hand as asked, then we hopped out the dragoncraft, free-falling as close to the wrecked X'rphan as possible. But I understood the application when the other guys didn't notice our approach until I verified their identites.

But even for someone as strong with Incarnation as me, it strains my mind to detect Eolyne and Kirito. And when I manage to do so, it's a vague outline of wavy air that disappears after two or three seconds. Either Eolyne is stronger than the credit I give him for, or his technique outclasses me and Kirito.

Diluting is the right word. It is as though Kirito and Eolyne's body have thinned out and joined the air around us. Speaking of us, there's someone I have to deal with. Knowing this is going to lead into an argument, I turn to Sylvie and say, "Stay here and keep watch."

"Okay."

"...Huh?"

"I'll keep watch, right? Someone has to, in case they decide to go after Cordelia."

"...Yeah..." She's being oddly obedient. Is this the same girl who tried intimidating me this morning? No, she may not be following my commands, but Eydis' command to obey me. Well...at least she's listening. I nod to her and reach up to where I believe Eolyne's right hand to be. Moments later, I'm wrapped in Incarnation, hidden from the rest of the world.

Up close, the base is not as dull-looking as I took it to be. As a matter of fact, even with our combined might, I don't think Kirito and I could lift this building with Incarnation easily.

Fifty yards wide and ten yards tall, the building is part metal and part stone in frame. We come from the west side, and present there at the base-end of the runway is a giant shutter gate, similar to those that provide entrance to vehicles in a warehouse. The south side seems to be for personnel to enter. Our destination, or should I say Eolyne's destination, is the northern gate.

It's guarded by men in dark uniforms toting unexpected weapons: rifles. I mean, I'm not surprised guns exist in the Underworld; long ago, I used Incarnation to change two daggers into models of my pistols from GGO, and Sinon morphed her bow into her beloved Hecate II when we fought Subtilizer. While I haven't accessed it yet, Eydis said the Drake holds an armory of guns.

But to see others hold these rifle-like weapons and Eolyne take us right towards them without a care makes me very uncomfortable. I mean...I'm used to being shot at, but walking intentionally into danger while actively avoiding it? Only the criminally insane would do that. Trust me on that.

Yet, though our footsteps echo off the grass-turned-gravel ground, the guards take no notice of it. Not even a subtle glance in our direction. This Hollow Incarnation is more than I chalked it up to be. A cloaking spell merely hides one's form, not their sound; yet with this and how Sylvie and snuck up on the others earlier, Eolyne's description is correct. In one way or another, we're removed from the world around us.

I wonder which king came up with this art.

As we pass from gravel to stone tiles under our feet on route to the gate, I have a sudden thought. The denizens of the Underworld, through meddling of Administrator and a formerly alive employee of RATH, are programmed to follow rules. So there's no need for guards anywhere in the simulation, including Admina. You say a place is off-limits, chances are no one will infiltrate the area — unless the person has a good reason to do so. But for the most part, guards are unnecessary.

But the Dark Realm is different from the Human Empire. The people follow the rules Eydis and I instated, but for the most part, all we did was tame a wild animal. The people of the Dark Realm are subordinate to strength, not political standing. It must be why I kept the Law of Power's influence intact except for murder, stealing, and slavery.

Didn't eliminate assassination, given the security of the upper levels of Obsidia Palace. I wonder how tight security is at the cathedral, because if it is so, then our otherworld influence had a drastic effect.

We got through the ten-foot long gate without trouble. I could tell Kirito was ready for a confrontation in case the guards detected us, but we made it through without a single raised brow from the guards.

Eolyne leads us onward to the unguarded back door of the building. Being made of glass, we carefully entered the building to a dim hallway. No guards or anyone in general are present. Strange, but welcomed.

The hallway parts into two further down; it continues onward in one direction and is joined by a stairway that allows one to go up or down. We had zero time to discuss which direction to go as Eolyne tugs to the stairwell.

He lets our hands go as he braces himself against the wall. Our vision, which wavered the last few minutes, clears up and the thinning feeling evaporates. Meanwhile, the commader of the Pilothood's chest raises up and down, demanding air.

"You all right, Eo?"

"...yes, I'm fine. I'll be better soon."

He'll be okay. Using Incarnation doesn't sap one's life, and there's no magic bar in this world. It comes from the soul, and as long as he doesn't go overboard, Eolyne will recover from physical exhaustion. Kirito, however, offers him a metal bottle with a liquid inside. Removing the cap, he gives it to Eolyne, who downs it in one go. He makes a strange face afterwards.

"is it, uh...not goof?"

"It tastes like...dark-roasted cofil tea that was used to pickle siral peel..."

"I see."

"Uh-huh." Kirito and I look at each other, understanding that the real-world comparison is lemon coffee or something close. Looking away, Kirito glances at the surrounding wall along the stairwell. "There's no signs...so where should we start?"

"Where do you think?"

"Well, the basement, I guess."

"Why?"

"Because whenever you're running sketchy tests, you always do it in the basement."

I snort at that statement. Kirito's right, but he knows just as I do that a certain self-professed goddess of this world only had one level below the first floor of her sanctified Central Cathedral — the prisons where he and Eugeo were kept at one point. I remember my raid of the cathedral before we confronted Administrator and her son Hersyrian, seeing all the experiments on the various levels. It takes a special kind of nutty brains to do that above ground.

So if these guys are smarter, the two floors above us are not as important as what lies below.

Eolyne removes himself from the wall and accepts Kirito answer. "Well, let's start from the basement, then. There won't be any Hollow Incarnation from this point on, so make sure you watch our back."

"Got it."

"Lead on, Eolyne."