Twinblade and Angel of Death

by WaterBendingQueen88

When SAO becomes a death game, many players take up their weapons and fight to escape. One of them is Taicho, a young man who wants to get back to his family for answers, and another is Haruza, a young girl who seeks redemption for herself after a real-world failure. This is their story.

7. Breaking Chains

I thank whitworth5274 for helping me.

After returning to the guard captain, he invited Haruza, Eiji, and Yuna to the headquarters deeper in the village. As they entered the gray brick courthouse-styled building, Haruza mused to herself that she expected that the leader of the prison castle town and its surroundings would be a warden, not a magistrate. It just made more sense to her.

As he led them to the third floor of the building and past a set of double doors into a spacious office, the guard captain announced, "I've returned, Magistrate. And I've brought the adventurers I told you about."

The magistrate, a portly middle-aged man in a white and red robe that gave him the look of a KoB officer, turned his head from the documents on his desk to the incoming party. "So you're the adventures I've heard so much about. I act as the magistrate of Achaion. A pleasure to meet you."

"The magistrate here is on board with our efforts to rid ourselves of corruption and has been helping us in various ways. He's going on a personal visit so that our investigation can dig especially deep, and I want you to protect him outside of town."

"It is regrettable that corruption runs rampant among those meant to act as models to the citizenry. I'd like to do what I can to help."

Seeing the yellow question mark appear above his head, indicating a quest to be taken, Haruza stepped forward and said, "We accept."

The question mark turned into an exclamation mark, and the magistrate responded, "I see. I appreciate your protection. I'll be visiting a post outside of town, and I'll be relying on those skills of yours."

"Do be careful," the captain warned. "We can't have any harm coming to the magistrate. Crime in town has even decreased ever since his appointment. You should go at once. You'll be heading inside the castle - to a post in the Inner Jail. Keep your guard up.

xxxxxxxxx

As they escorted the magistrate from the Outer Court, Haruza and Yuna took the lead, leaving Eiji with the older man. By the look of things, Eiji didn't seem bothered to talk to the magistrate. "To think you predicted Erassa's abilities. Almost like Kirito."

Yuna flashed her dagger. "Well, I am a dagger user. It wouldn't do me any good if I didn't recognize the skills of my own weapon. Besides, it was all in the guidebook, that's all."

"The ones Argo gave out?"

"It's kind of like a textbook on dagger skills, and it talks about this quest. She said a new quest or something was added to the 27th floor and that she got a bunch of Audio Crystals when she checked it out. She asked if I could record songs onto the crystals because she could sell them as information in their own way. In exchange, she gave me this guidebook... I'd asked her for advice about non-chanting skills that could be used in battle. That's why she gave me the book. She also said I'd need it in case I ran into any of the PKers that have been running around lately."

"Still, you read her perfectly."

"It's nothing that impressive. There's only so many combinations you can use from a reverse grip. Or so that guidebook said..."

"I guess you're right. My friend who also uses a dagger, she does switch between the normal and reverse grip. Maybe I..." Haruza suddenly paused and drew her sword. She watched as a black cloud descended from the brush along the side of the paved road and drew a familiar dagger. Of course, Haruza didn't need to see anything but the cursor title to know who she's dealing with. While there are many assassins that could kill the magistrate, SAO was strictly designated one special NPC per initiation of a quest, and the Enraged member in front of them can only be here. "Erassa!"

Erassa kept her hood up, but her brown eyes were visibly laced with hatred as she pointed to the magistrate. "Move. I'm wiping that villain from this world."

"Erassa! Stop," Yuna pleaded after Eiji took his place between her, the magistrate, and the two women before him. "The magistrate here is an upstanding man! He's not involved in any corruption."

"You're just being tricked. Anyone in the upper echelons of the guards in sure to be corrupt. Stand in my way and I'll erase you too."

"Haruza, let's get Erassa away from here for now. Even if we convince her, they might think we're working together." Haruza nodded and followed Nautilus's plan, following him into battle against Erassa. They managed to keep Erassas's attention on them as they led her away from the magistrate and Yuna. With their numbers, they tried going easy on her, but the assassin fought as she always has.

"You're not going to separate me from my target. I'll make quick work of you before going on to erase him too. That magistrate may present himself as a good man, but his true colors are those of a corrupt villain. Stay out of my way."

"You still don't get it? You can get justice in other ways."

"This is the only way. If you're going to get in my way, that just means I'll have to erase you first. Now die." Erassa sprinted forward with tremendous speed, her dagger held in a reverse grip. On autopilot, Haruza avoided the attack with a spin and, with her momentum, immediately counterattacked. Her blade slashed through the back of Erassa's robe, trailing a red line diagonally up to her right shoulder and dropping her to the ground.

"G...haah!"

Haruza, realizing what she had done, gasped as the NPC's hit point indicator changes from green to yellow, almost low enough to enter the red zone. "No, I didn't mean to..."

"...I don't understand," Erassa said as she winced in an attempt to stand up. "You had the right... to defend yourselves... So why... are you now sad?"

"Isn't it clear? A friend's in pain."

"I am an enemy who tried to erase you... yet you call me a friend? Finish me already. I can't erase my target in this state anyway."

"Listen well. I'm... Not... Killing a friend. Someone who'd broken bread with us."

"I feel the same way," Yuna, who now joined them, came to Erassa's side with a healing potion. "I wouldn't want to finish off a friend who praised my songs..."

Erassa glanced at the potion and its giver, then took it from Yuna apprehensively. She consumed the liquid, gagging at the taste. To Haruza's relief, the hit points start to rise. Discarding the empty bottle, Erassa stared at the adventurers with a unrelenting frown. "...I don't understand. Let me escape and I'll only attack you again. And then I'll erase you for certain."

Haruza grinned as she sheathed her sword. "So we'll get to meet again, then?" Erassa grunted at that remark, and turned on her heel. Before she vanished into the shadows, Haruza caught a changing detail about the assassin. Her hostility icon vanished.

Nautilus sighed and put his blade away. "We should hurry back too. We can't leave the target we're supposed to be guarding all alone."

xxxxxxxxx

"Excellent work today. My visit went off without a hitch thanks to your protection. It was a very valuable inspection. And you even escorted me all the way back to town. I hope to see you again next inspection."

"I'm here to escort you to your residence, Magistrate. Good work guarding the magistrate today. Come back to the usual spot in a few days. I'd like you to take the next mission as well."

Once the guard captain and the magistrate started to depart from Achaion's square, Yuna clapped her hands and faced the men. "Oh! Since we're done with work, would you two like to join us for a meal?"

The captain cleared his throat. "Hold on. You need to be a little more reasonable. Are you really inviting the magistrate to dine with you?"

The magistrate chuckled and interrupted the captain. "No, it's quite fine. As much as I'd love to accept an invitation from adventurers from foreign lands, I'm rather busy, you see. I've lately sustained myself on nutritious and filling bars. They're fine, but the lack of flavor... ah, I must get going."

"If you'll excuse us, then. Let's get going, Magistrate."

Once the captain and magistrate are out of sight, Haruza sighed in relief. After the fight with Erassa...no, the two fights against Erassa today, she was exhausted. "Glad everything turned out fine in the end. Let's keep this up in the next mission."

"Haruza! Thank goodness! You're still in town!" A boy-girl pair approached Haruza and her party in a hurried, alarmed state. One of them, the boy who spoke, is dressed in the characteristic blue and white of the Dragon Knights Brigade; his partner, a relatively new member of the guild, wore the green and grey of her former affiliation, the now defunct Aincrad Liberation Squad. He was one of the lieutenants of DKB and she was one of the strongest tanks on the frontlines, Shivata and Liten.

"Shivata? Liten? What's going on?"

"The B-teamers I sent to gather coins are in trouble! They heard there were a bunch in the dungeon and headed inside on their own!"

"With their levels and equipment, they're in danger! They'll get wiped out if we don't do something!" Haruza gasped. That hit too close to her heart. It was the Moonlit Black Cats all over again.

"All the DKB A-teamers aside from me and Lit are out preparing for the labyrinth, as are KoB... It'd take time to assemble. I know I'm asking a lot... But please... help us save them! We won't have enough for a rescue team without you!"

"Shiva and I are going around right now asking other guild members to help. A few have said yes... but it's not enough yet."

Haruza nodded. "Leave it to me. Of course I'll help you guys. Tell me where to go." Before she got ahead of herself, she looked over her shoulder to the other pair behind her. "Yuna, Naut, I can't have dinner with you two today. This is something I have to do as a frontliner."

Yuna faced her partner. "Hey, we should go too. It's times like this when we should be helping each other out. Right, Naut?"

Nautilus opened his mouth to retort, then Yuna made a face that dissolved whatever he was going to say. "...Okay. But promise me one thing. Know your limits. I want you to think about your own survival while you're out there, okay? What good is a rescue team that needs to be rescued? It happens more than you think... And I don't want it happening to you."

"Thank you. I promised. But... promise you'll protect me if something terrible happens."

Liten, looking relieved, bowed to the three of them. "Thank you, everyone... It seems you need a certain amount of progress in some guard-related quest to enter the dungeon, though..."

"I'll go talk to the captain! He should give us permission!"

xxxxxxxxx

After convincing the captain to allow them enter the dungeon named the Invulnerable Prison, Haruza and her friends rushed through. As best as possible they avoided the monsters in their path, using the map data Liten gave them as a guide. As they got to the depths of the dungeon, they came upon a safe area where two groups of players are resting near a large door; Klein and his Furinkazan guild, along with Agil and the Bro Squad.

The former of the two guild leaders spotted her first and excitedly waved. "Haruza! I thought you might show up here!"

Agil grimly crossed his arms. "It's reassuring to see you here. This is the dungeon currently on the front lines, after all."

"I got word from Lit and Shivata about what's going on. Glad to see you all are..." Haruza paused as a fourth party appeared from another path leading to Agil and Klein's positions, walking to the safe area alone.. "...Taicho?! You're here too?"

The swordsman nodded to Haruza, his lips set in a frown. "What do you think? I wanted to help too! And after talking to someone, I decided to come!" He pointed his thumb behind him to a guy in a long blue jacket. For a moment, Haruza thought he was a member of DKB, but he hasn't seen anyone like him in the blue guild...or the frontline at all.

"You're here for the dungeon as well?"

He seemed to know who she is. Granted, he came with Taicho, but Haruza didn't like how familiar he's being with her. "Who are you?"

"I'm Cyrus."

Definitely not ringing a bell for Haruza. Frowning, she placed her hands on her hips. "Are you strong enough for this?"

Cyrus crossed his arms without losing his small confidence. "Not sure if I am, but I'm definitely not weak for sure."

"That's what a guild thought. But their cockiness led them into a trap and got them slaughtered."

"Hmm you don't trust me. I respect that."

Haruza, puzzled by the statement, remarked, "What... did you say?"

"Don't worry about it. Right now we've got bigger problems to deal with." He walked up to the huge door and waited there, putting his finger on his chin and muttered to himself, "Hopefully she'll arrive soon..."

Not convinced, Haruza turned her attention to Taicho. "Where you find this guy?"

"We happened to be in the same spot when Liten was asking for help. Well, she asked me, he happened to be listening, offered his aid. And before you get too judgemental, he's fine, and you brought Yuna here. Are you sure she's strong enough for this?"

"I...hrrrgh."

"Didn't keep ya waiting too long, did I Cyrus?" From down the corridor approached a girl all by herself. Her hair brushing against the back of her outfit and her rapier hanging from a blue and white belt around her waist. She caught her breath in front of Cyrus while he leaned forward to pat her back.

"Right on time, Ada."

"You know each other?"

The girl, Ada, nodded. "Yeah. I met him on the earlier floors. We've been close to each other since then."

"I've been helping her train since the beginning. Now she's able to keep up with the frontline." Cyrus gave a small smile and patted her head as Ada pouted.

"You don't have to treat me like a little girl, you know! You've helped me a lot."

Upon her reaction, he gave a small chuckle and then looked at Haruza. "Since this is good timing, we're pretty much here to help clear the dungeon."

"I hope you're prepared and not overconfident."

"Don't worry about me. I can hold my own in a dungeon. Especially this far up now. I've grown a lot since Cyrus managed to help me out." Haruza refrained from commenting further, not seeing a point in being concerned for their well-being if they're that confident and have Taicho's backing. Especially if Taicho is backing them up.

Coming down the corridor is Liten and Shivata, followed by a couple of members from DKB. Seeing all the players outside of DKB present for a matter that's truly their own. "Thank you for gathering here today! There's not much time... Let's head in at once!"

"Please, everyone. We're counting on you! Now let's go!"

xxxxxxx

"...Agh! How are there so many of these things?!" Klein grumbled as he yanked his sword from an armored kobold. As Klein stated, the prison mobs were great in numbers and kept on coming at them. It was almost as if someone stirred the hornets' nest and they're receiving all the attention.

"Well, this is a prison-themed dungeon," Agil responded. "It might be an even bigger challenge to invade than usual. Anyway, it's time to act, not talk."

"Yessir! What a reception, though! We're getting the VIP treatment! I think I might be moved to tears!"

"Be careful to not get split up. These narrow halls are our enemies' backyard. We'll get picked off if we're not together. If you think you're in danger, run to a big room before they can surround you. And let's have each others' backs to not have to worr-"

"Agh!"

"Yuna!" Haruza turned her attention from the Kobold Jailor in front of her at that exact moment. Yuna had fallen to the ground, and Nautilus had jumped in to save her as usual. But another enemy, a Previous Knight, was coming their way to strike the swordsman. Yet she couldn't reach them from her position, nor could she expose herself to the monster she's fighting.

Then, in a blink of an eye, the two enemies troubling Yuna and Nautilus were gone, replaced by the sword-twirling Taicho. He spoke a few words to Nautilus and Yuna as they help Yuna to her feet, then he turned in Haruza's general direction. He doesn't say anything, but his eyes spoke for him — that he'll cover them in her place.

Then more monsters got in the way, splitting them from the others. With either quick thinking or not doing so at all. Nautilus banged his sword on the stone walls and followed Taicho and Yuna into the nearest of the big rooms, drawing the monsters with them.

Fearing the worst, Haruza yelled, "Don't! It's too dangerous for just three players!"

"Hey, it's dangerous! Chase after them now and you'll be the one falling, Haruza!"

She hated to admit it, but...Klein was right. Haruza groaned as she continued after Klein and the others, leaving Taicho, Yuna, and the others on their own. Eventually they came out of the narrow hallway to a wider, enemy-less area. Taking a momentary respite, Haruza found her eyes fixed on the hallway, waiting for her friends to pop out at any moment. The only thing keeping her sane is that Yuna and Nautilus are still in her party, so their HP bars are present under hers and remain in a safe margin.

Walking up behind her is Agil and Klein. The former cleared his throat and said, "We got split up from those three, but we did make the right choice."

"We just have to trust them now. That they'll escape somewhere and survive..." Klein patted her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her, which she appreciated. "Now come on. We still got to save those other guys."

Nodding, Haruza sighed and followed them away from the hallway. "I swear, we'll come to help you three... Especially you, Taicho."

xxxxxxxxx

"Are you two okay?"

Yuna adjusted her hat, then said, "Yes... All because you two have protected me this whole time. Thank you too, Taicho."

Taicho, who remained by the closed door, delayed his answer until he was sure the monsters weren't going to try to break it door. Once the coast seemed clear enough, he stood on his feet and swung his right hand to load up the map of the dungeon. It was a rather large room, with two visible levels above them. There's only two exits, the reinforced wooden doors at the poles of the room. "Yeah. Where are we? And what's this room for-"

Steel being drawn gained Taicho's attention. Nautilus pulled his sword, pointing it at a darkened area of the room. "Get back, you two! ...So there were more here?!"

"Wait! We're running away from them too!" From the shadows come three young men, all dressed in blue. Frowning, Taicho walked to Nautilus, lowering the other boy's sword with a finger.

"It's okay, Nautilus. They're the DKB dummies we're looking for. How did you three wind up here?"

"We all started running when a bunch of monsters attacked us."

"While it's great that we managed to lock the door here, now it won't open... In other words, we're locked in."

"Looks like you're all here now. And a prominent top player and two strangers mixed in too? Ah whatever — in fact, the more, the merrier." A disembodied voice echoed off the walls of the chamber, filled with malice and danger. His nerves heightened, Taicho placed his hand on his sword.

"Buxum, sir, so you're okay! Where are you? Where are you talking from?!"

...Buxum? That's a name Taicho hadn't heard in twenty floors. He was the one who lead the group of PKers and trapped Lind, Shivata, and other top members of DKB in a dungeon on that floor. Liten and three players went to rescue them, and the guy in the group nearly died at Buxum's hands in an attempt to keep the three girls alive.

"I told you about the arena you're in, remember? Well, I'm in the stands the guards used. Perfect for watching you from a safe distance."

"Then hurry and meet us! We're all okay, too! We should be near a bunch of coins if this is the arena!"

"Not happening. The bonus event is just about to start, and when it does, monsters will come flooding into that room. Oh, and I lied about you B-teasers being able to beat them. You'd need a group of top-ranking players to have a chance. You're goners. And anyway, the arena is meant to create exciting fights. The coin event won't trigger if players over a certain level are present."

"What're you talking about?! If we're in that much danger, you need to tell us how to get to those stands or wherever you are!"

"Sorry. It's time for you to fight to the death.

"Buxum, sir! This is no time for jokes-"

"Don't you get it?" Taicho shouted as he continued searching for the origin of the voice in the darkness. "He's a PKer."

"Ding, ding, ding, Mister Taicho's right. This is no joke. I've been very serious about my plan to watch you slaughter each other."

Relatively calm for being in greater peril, Nautilus said, "I don't know what's going on, but if we're in danger, we should ignore him and escape. Do you at least have a Teleportation Crystal?"

All three DKB members shook their heads. "We give all the crystals we get to the guild so that the A-team can farm more effectively. Those are the rules... so we don't have any. You have to be a little reckless if you want to progress quickly, and that means having crystals... We had to hand all ours over."

Nautilus sighed and looked at Taicho. "You?"

"Unfortunately, I only have one or two on me... But we're not completely trapped. If this was a mob trap, we'd be dead already. And there's a chance my level will stop the event from happening. In other words, there's a way out of here."

Buxum's chuckle polluted the air. "There is a way out. You're going to fight amongst yourselves. Once you're down to a certain number, I'll toss you some crystals to escape. Quite simple."

"...That's horrible!" Yuna yelled, equally with fear and anger. "You're a terrible person! Why would you do something like this?"

"I need some good footage of players killing one another to put on this crystal for a certain someone. You're my perfect marks. I'd hurry up if you want a chance of surviving. Those iron bars will unleash a flood of high-level monsters any minute now. Don't worry about being marked as a criminal. Take enough coins with you when you escape and you can wipe you record clean later. It's a tradition as old as time. Rationalizing heinous acts by framing them as the right thing to do. It's not wrong to kill each other here. You can't escape without half of you being sacrificed. Or will you all make a hopeless last stand?"

If Taicho couldn't understand the idea of killing another person, he was close to understanding the feeling of wanting to kill. After what his friend spoke about between him and another PKer five floors ago and with what happened on the twentieth, twenty-fifth, and twenty-seventh... Taicho was coming round to understand that urge, especially when it comes with the benefit of protecting others.

Haruza entrusted him to protect Nautilus and Yuna. Liten and Shivata entrusted him to find their guild members. This bastard was trying to ruin it all.

"...I'll do it." One of the B-teamers cried out. "I'm not dying in a place like this."

"I'm not going to sit back and let this happen either. It's kill or be killed right now!" Tensions started to boil between the three DKB members, and Taicho didn't have the means to stop them. Buxum had all the cards... No wonder his friend, someone possibly stronger than Taicho, sacrificed himself like that. Joe was a manipulative little shit, and Morte could talk one's ear off to death, but Buxum...he's not the one pulling the strings, but he might be just as smart as the one called "the poncho." That must be who he's doing this for.

"Yuna? What're you—"

Yuna, lute in hand, interrupted her partner. She's unable to face him, though as she spoke softly, "Just listen to me, Naut. Once the bars open, take everyone here and exit out the way the monsters enter. They'll all go after me so long as I'm singing, so all of you use that time to escape."

Nautilus' eyes widened. He stepped toward Yuna, reaching out to her shoulder. "...What? No, how could I let you do that? You're just a bystander here... You're not sacrificing yourself!"

"It's fine. This way everyone can be saved at the cost of just my own life. No half, or all of us... Finally. A use for my chanting."

"No, it's not fine!" Taicho shouted back. "We'll find another way so all of us can get out of here without killing another." Yet his own conviction waned with every word he stated. There's only two ways out of the arena...and neither are possible. They either fight one another or fight the monsters until they die.

"Yuna, please. What Taicho said is right! There's another way!"

Yuna shook her head a third time and finally faced Nautilus. Their brown eyes held each other's gaze for the longest time. For a moment, Taicho believed Yuna would relent, but then the sounds of roaring monsters and the churning mechanisms behind the raising doors broke their gaze. "I'm sorry... But I need to start singing to get their attention before the gates open. So... Goodbye, Naut." She pushed him toward the side wall, then strumed her instrument. "I'm glad we were always together ever since I was little. Thank you. Take care of yourself."

As the doors opened wider, Yuna started to play more seriously. Taicho, the three guildies, and Nautilus all stare in quiet shock as the first of the armored monsters enter the arena. On instinct, Nautilus moved, but his whole body froze, a victim again of the disconnect between himself and his NerveGear.

More monsters pour in, all heading for Yuna. Sensing their freedom, the three DKB members look for the right moment to slip though the monster horde. Nautilus grunted to himself, trying to will himself to move. Yuna kept playing as that first kobold approached her, sword primed and ready...and Taicho was a sitting duck. He wished to fight and he wished to find an escape. What was the right thing to do? To fight to save Yuna and die anyway? To retreat with everyone else, sacrifice Yuna, and possibly live? What should he do?

What would...Haruza do?

"Yuna...HRAAAAAAAGH!" With a mighty roar, Nautilus shockingly sprung forward, slashing the kobold to smithereens in one attack. Gasping for air, he bellowed, "Yuna! I'm not... letting you die!"

"Naut!" Stunned, shocked, and drowning in tears, Yuna glanced at her friend. "Thank you... but it's fine now! There's no way you can take on this many on your own!"

Haruza would fight. So will Taicho.

Grabbing his sword and running to Nautilus' side, Taicho exclaimed, "You still don't understand?! He's not alone! If you sacrifice yourself, you're going to screw everyone up! They would never recover if you were gone! I know because after my mother left, I've never recovered. I was more rebellious than I was now. I may have been smart, but I was failing at school, I kept getting in trouble, and I could talk things over with my father or little sister. My only way out was playing games and making them. Do you really want to die? It doesn't matter if we survive. You won't and it will only cause trouble to those you love. So find your will to survive and go forward!"

"...Taicho!" Yuna put her lute away and grabbed her dagger.. She joined the fray, but the monsters kept coming in increasing numbers. Soon, Taicho lost track of the DKB losers, but figured they made their escape. He stuck to Nautilus and Yuna's side, keeping his words to Yuna close to his heart, else he'd lose hope. And if there's a need for hope—

"Seeeiiiiiiyaahhhhhh!"

—it came from the second floor of the arena, cutting down the monsters in front of Taicho in a brilliant bolt of blue light. The swordswoman who cut them down stood up and faced the trio with a smirk. "Yuna! I heard your song from back there. I'm so glad I made it in time!"

"Haruza! You came!"

"Haruza..."

Haruza glanced at Taicho. Stepping back to his side, she bumped his shoulder and smiled. "Thank you, Taicho, for keeping them safe."

"And we're here too!" Six men in red and four men in assorted colors leap down after Haruza, bolstering their forces. The leader of the red group, Klein, gives Yuna a big thumbs up. "As your biggest fan, I'd never pass up a show on a stage this big! I'm giving this everything I've got!"

Agil chuckled. "Audio Crystals of your songs are sure to be huge hits. I'd love the chance to sell them, so I'm keeping you safe no matter what."

"Carrou, Obtra, Taurus, Act, JanWoo! Let's get this done! It's time for the Yuna fan club to move out!"

"Wolfgang, Lowbacca, Naijan! We're joining the fray too!"

From somewhere, Taicho can hear Nautilus' commanding voice. "You three! Get your asses over here and help us out for saving you!"

His hopes raised, Taicho tightens his grip on his sword and looked at Haruza. "Let's go, Haruza!"

"Yeah! Concert etiquette will be enforced!"

xxxxxxx

In time, Taicho, Haruza, and their companions fought out of the arena. Victorious, they quickly recovered their energy and rushed to aid Shivata and Liten's team at the dungeon boss's doors. All regrouped, the players took on the Feral Warder Chief and defeated it to clear the Invincible Prison.

In the middle of the celebrations, Shivata stepped front and center "...Can I have everyone's attention? I want to make something clear. There are still coins left in the arena. Probable a ton of them, like we were told. So about those. I'd normally need to get permission from Lind, Hefner, or Yamata, but I doubt I can message them from here... so I'm making a decision. DKB will turn all those coins into Col and distribute them to those who helped us as a way to thank you and apologize. We won't take any. Only conflict can come from those things. What happened here today could easily happen again unless we do something about them!"

With that said, Liten turned to the three elephants in the room. "Why did you do something so reckless?"

"...We thought it was the right thing to do... DKB collecting more resources means completing SAO that much quicker!"

"So what if we don't always play fair if it means freeing everyone? You realize we can't go back to the real world until we beat this!"

"With that much, we'd have all the funds needed to progress, and you can even reset you alignment with enough. Just in case, you know...?"

Shivata held his forehead as if fighting a headache. "What? You did this... for a reason like that? We made Yuna risk her life for people with such vile thoughts...?"

"It's fine!" Yuna replied. "I don't mind! I'm sure they weren't doing this maliciously. I'm sure everyone has times when they're blinded to what's around them because they're focused on something important. Naut and Father are good people, but...who knows what they might do if something happened to me?"

"Yuna... I'll talk with Lind and the others once we're back about how to deal with you. For now, let's get going."