Fairy Dance 2

  “Kirito.”

  After a moment of silence, I called her name in return.

  “…Asuna.”

  I took the last two steps forward, opening my arms and surrounding her fragile body, squeezing Yui between the two of us. My nostrils were full of her familiar scent, and my body was met with her familiar warmth.

  “…I’m sorry it took so long,” I moaned in a trembling voice, but Asuna just stared directly into my eyes.

  “No, I knew you’d find me. I knew you’d come to save me…”

  No other words were needed. Asuna and I closed our eyes and each buried our face in the other’s shoulder. Asuna’s arms encircled my back and clung tight. Yui panted happily in between us.

  It’s all better now, I thought.

  If this was to be my final moment, I would gladly burn away into nothing without a single regret. My life was meant to end with that world. I’d kept it going just so I could reach this instant and be complete…

  No, that’s not right. This is where it starts. Now the world of swords and battle is finally over, and we can start a journey together in a new world—reality.

  I raised my head.

  “C’mon. Let’s go back to the real world.”

  After our embrace, Asuna and I still held hands, and Yui clung to Asuna’s other arm. I looked down at her.

  “Yui, can you manage to log Asuna out from here?”

  She squinted and frowned for a moment, then shook her head.

  “Mama’s current status is tied down by some complicated code. I’ll need a system console to undo it.”

  “A console,” I repeated doubtfully.

  Asuna’s voice was tense. “I’m pretty sure I saw something like that on the bottom floor of the laboratory. Oh, the lab is the—”

  “The white empty corridor?”

  “Yes. You came here through there?”

  “Yeah,” I nodded. Asuna looked pensive.

  “Were there any…weird things?”

  “No, I didn’t see anything on the way…”

  “Well…there might be some of Sugou’s henchmen lurking around. I just hope your sword will work on them!”

  “Wait—Sugou?!” Shock, and then understanding, flooded through me. “This is…Sugou’s doing? He locked you in here?”

  “Yes, but that’s not all. He’s doing terrible things here…”

  Asuna’s face was dark with a deep rage, but she shook her head and stopped there.

  “I’ll tell you the rest when we get back to reality. Sugou’s not at the office right now, as I understand it. We have to use this opportunity to crack the server and free everyone…Let’s go.”

  I had plenty of questions to ask, but bringing Asuna back took priority over anything else. I nodded and spun around.

  Asuna picked up Yui and I grabbed her hand, jogging back toward the blasted-out door frame. After a few steps I was stooping over to fit through the frame, and that was when it happened.

  Someone was watching.

  I felt a nasty tingling in the back of my neck. It was the exact same feeling I got in SAO when I was targeted, not by a monster but by another player with the orange cursor of a murderer.

  Instantly, I let go of Asuna and put my hand on my sword. Just as I was pulling the hilt, the birdcage was doused in liquid. Then, with a deep-pitched splash, a dark, sticky substance completely covered us.

  But that wasn’t quite it; I could breathe, but the act was laborious. When I tried to move, there was an incredible pressure, like being stuck in a thick, viscous fluid. My body was crushingly heavy. It was agony just to stand.

  At the same time, the color was draining from the world. The deep red of the sunset that had filled the cage was turning into blackness before my eyes.

  “Wh-what is this?” Asuna shouted. Her voice was warped as though compressed by incredible water pressure.

  Deeply disturbed by this phenomenon, I tried to spin around and hold Asuna and Yui safely at my side—but my body would not cooperate. The sheer adhesion of the air clung to me as though of its own malevolent will.

  In time, the entire world was total darkness. But…that also wasn’t entirely true. I could clearly see Asuna’s and Yui’s white dresses. It was as though every other surface of the world had been painted a perfect black.

  I gritted my teeth and focused on moving my right hand. The bars of the cage were right next to me. I tried to grab one and pull myself free of the immobilizing space, but my outstretched hand touched nothing at all.

  It wasn’t just an illusion. We had been plunged into an unknown world of darkness.

  “Yui—”

  I was going to ask her for an explanation, but she suddenly writhed in agony within Asuna’s arms and screamed.

  “Aaah! Papa, Mama…Be careful! Something…bad is—”

  But before she could finish, purple light crawled across her small body. She flashed brightly—and then Asuna’s arms were empty.

  “Yui?!” Asuna and I screamed together. But there was no answer.

  Only the two of us were left in the thick, sludgy blackness. I reached out desperately, trying to pull Asuna to my side. She did the same, her eyes wide with fear.

  But before our fingertips could touch, we were assaulted by a tremendous gravity.

  It was as though I’d been thrown into the bottom of a deep, deep swamp. I fell to a knee, unable to withstand the pressure. Asuna collapsed as well, both of her hands against the unseen floor.

  She looked into my eyes and mumbled, “Kiri…to…”

  I wanted to tell her that it was all right, that I would keep her safe no matter what. But before I could, a high-pitched, clinging voice echoed triumphantly through the darkness.

  “And how are you enjoying my new spell? It’s planned to go into the next update, but I’m wondering if it might not be a bit too strong?”

  The voice was twisted with uncontrolled glee, but I recognized it. It was the voice that had ridiculed me as a “hero” before Asuna’s comatose form.

  “Sugou!” I growled, struggling to get back to my feet.

  “Tsk, tsk! No using that name here, please. It is not fitting to speak to your king by name. You will address me as Your Majesty, King Oberon of the Fairies!”

  His voice leaped even higher into a screech by the end, and something struck my head hard. I craned my neck to see a man standing right next to me. A leg in white tights ended in a gaudily embroidered boot that pushed against my head, rolling left and right.

  Farther up, I saw a body covered by a toga in a venomous shade of green, and on top of that, a face so perfect it looked fake. But of course it was fake; it was a beautiful countenance created from scratch, so devoid of actual life that it was hideous. The crimson lips were twisted in a familiar gloating sneer.

  Despite the different form, I would never mistake this man for anyone but Sugou. The man who’d been the target of all of my hatred, the one who’d stolen Asuna’s soul and locked her in this place…

  “Oberon—no, Sugou!” Asuna shouted. She was braced against the floor, only barely able to raise her head. “I’ve seen what you’re doing here! The crimes you’re committing…You won’t get away with them, you can be sure of that!”

  “Oh? And who’s going to stop me? You? Him? God, perhaps? Sorry, sweetheart, there’s only one God in this world: Me!”

  He chuckled hideously and applied more pressure to my head. Unable to support the extra weight, I slumped to the floor.

  “Stop it, you coward!!”

  Sugou bent over, ignoring Asuna’s insult, and pulled my sword from its scabbard. He held out the tip of his finger and set the blade spinning on it, perfectly vertical.

  “I must say, Kirigaya—oh, pardon me, should I call you Kirito? I really didn’t expect you to come all this way. I don’t know if that makes you brave or an idiot. Given your current miserable predicament, I’d hazard to say it’s the latter. Heh! I heard my little songbird had escaped her cage, so I rushed back to give he
r some much-needed discipline, only to find that—surprise! A cockroach had scuttled inside the cage! Along with some other strange little piece of code…”

  Sugou trailed off and swiped his left hand to bring up the menu. He stared at the blue screen with a frown on his lips for a bit, then snorted and closed the window.

  “…It must have gotten away. What was that? How did you get up here, anyway?”

  I was briefly relieved that Yui hadn’t been deleted entirely, at least.

  “I flew here. I’ve got wings.”

  “Hmph, whatever. I can just get the answer straight from your brain.”

  “…What?”

  “You didn’t think I created this entire scheme for kicks, did you?” Sugou bounced the sword lightly on the tip of his finger, leering venomously. “With the generous help of the former SAO players, my research into the basics of thought and memory manipulation is nearly eighty percent complete. In a very short time, I will achieve an unprecedented, godly feat: absolute control over the human soul! On top of that, I’ve got a brand-new test subject to play with. What fun! I can’t wait to poke through your memories and rewrite your emotions! I’m getting chills just thinking about it!”

  “You…can’t do such a thing…”

  His claims were so absurd that I could barely process them. Sugou put his foot back on my head and tapped his toe up and down.

  “You didn’t learn your lesson—you’re plugged in with the NerveGear again, aren’t you? Which makes you no less helpless than any of my test subjects. Kids are so stupid. Even a dog knows it’s made a mistake when it gets kicked.”

  “No…no, you can’t do that, Sugou!” Asuna screamed, her face pale. “Don’t you dare hurt him!”

  “Little bird, the day is nigh that I can turn your hatred into subservience with the flip of a switch,” Sugou replied, intoxicated with his own power. He grabbed my sword and pompously ran his fingers across the flat of the blade.

  “But! Before I re-create your souls to my liking, let’s have a little party! Finally…the moment I’ve been waiting for—the perfect guest has arrived. It truly was worth testing the very limits of my patience!”

  He spun around and threw his hands wide. “I am now recording everything that happens within this space for posterity! Make sure you look good for the camera!”

  “. . .”

  Asuna bit her lip, looked me straight in the eye, and said, “Log out immediately, Kirito. You have to expose his conspiracy in the real world. I’ll be fine.”

  “Asuna!”

  For a moment, I was torn in two by indecision. But just as quickly, I agreed and waved my left hand. With this much information, I might be able to mobilize a rescue team, even without physical proof. If they could seize the ALO server within RCT Progress, everything would be clear.

  But my window didn’t appear.

  “Ah-ha-ha-ha!” Sugou bent over with the force of his laughter. “I told you, this is my world! No one can escape it!!”

  He walked around, hiccupping with laughter, and then suddenly raised his left hand. With the snap of his fingers, two jangling chains fell from the infinite blackness above.

  A wide golden ring gleamed dully on the end of either chain. Sugou took one of them and snapped it around Asuna’s wrist with a click. He gave a little tug on the chain, which extended up into the darkness.

  “Aaah!”

  The chain began to retract, and Asuna was hauled up by her right hand. It stopped at the exact point that the tips of her toes could barely touch the ground.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” I demanded, but Sugou ignored me and picked up the other ring, humming to himself.

  “I’ve got plenty of props arranged for you. This will do for now, however,” he said, snapping the other ring around Asuna’s left wrist. The second chain rattled upward, and Asuna was left dangling in midair by her arms. The powerful gravity was still in effect, and her delicate eyebrows were twisted in pain.

  Sugou crossed his arms in appreciation and whistled crudely.

  “Nice. You don’t get expressions like that with the NPC women.”

  “…!”

  Asuna glared furiously at him, then shut her eyes against the pain. He chuckled and slowly walked around her back. He grabbed a handful of her long hair and then held it to his nose, breathing deeply.

  “Mmm, that’s a lovely scent. It was quite difficult to re-create the real Asuna’s smell in-game—I had to hide an odor analyzer in her sickroom. Seems to me you ought to appreciate that kind of attention to detail.”

  “Stop it, Sugou!”

  Uncontrollable anger surged through me. Red flames raced through my nerves, and for a moment, I was able to break the weight pinning me down.

  “Gr…uh…”

  I pushed myself off the ground with my right hand. Once I’d gotten up onto a knee, I concentrated all of my strength into trying to stand.

  Sugou put a hand on his waist and shook his head theatrically. He walked over to me, mouth twisted.

  “Good grief. The audience isn’t supposed to be part of the show…Back to crawling!”

  He kicked my legs out from under me, and I crumpled to the floor.

  “Gaah!”

  All the breath shot out of my lungs. I pushed up off the floor and raised my head to see Sugou, the corners of his mouth upturned in a poisonous grin, swinging my sword down upon me with all of his strength.

  “Gakh!”

  The sensation of the thick metal piercing my body sliced away the flames that had burned through all of my nerves. The blade exited my chest and wedged deep into the floor. There was no pain, but I was assaulted by an exceedingly rough and unpleasant sensation.

  “K-Kirito!!” Asuna screamed. I looked to her, trying to tell her I was fine. But before I could speak, Sugou tilted his head back to the sky and crowed.

  “System command! Set pain absorber to level eight!”

  Suddenly I felt pain in my back—actual pain—like I’d been pierced with a sharp drill.

  “Ngk…ahg…”

  Sugou leered with delight at my obvious suffering. “Heh-heh. Oh, this is only the appetizer, my friend. I’ll bump it up in stages as we go along. If I set the absorption level to three or lower, you’ll remain in a state of shock even after logging out.”

  He clapped his hands with satisfaction and turned back to Asuna.

  “L-let Kirito go right now, Sugou!” she cried, but he showed no signs of obeying.

  “It’s brats like him that I hate the most. No skills, no power behind him, but he sure knows how to run his mouth, the little maggot. Well, we know what happens to bugs—they get pinned into display cases. Besides, are you really in any position to worry about him, little bird?”

  He extended a hand and traced Asuna’s cheek from behind. She turned her head, trying to break free, but the powerful gravity kept her from moving.

  His fingertips ran all over Asuna’s face before sliding down her neck. Her features were twisted with disgust.

  “Stop it…Sugou!” I shouted, trying desperately to push myself up again. Asuna managed a brave, trembling smile.

  “It’s all right, Kirito. I won’t let this hurt me.”

  Sugou immediately cackled in his high-pitched voice. “That’s what I like to hear. How long will you be able to maintain that pride—thirty seconds? An hour? An entire day? Do your best to prolong my pleasure, dear!”

  As he spoke, he grabbed the red ribbon adorning the collar of Asuna’s dress and ripped it right out of the cloth. The red fabric flew silently through the air like blood, landing in a limp heap next to me.

  Pure white skin peeked out from the wide tear in the bodice of the dress. Asuna grimaced in shame, the corners of her tightly shut eyes twitching.

  Sugou tilted his head in appreciation, smirking as he fondled her skin. His lips opened in a wide crescent, and a vivid red tongue snaked out. I could practically hear the sticky smacking as he licked her cheek.

  “Heh-heh
! Want to know what I’m thinking about right now?” he whispered madly into her ear, tongue still extended. “Once I’ve had my fun with you here, I’ll visit your hospital room. I can lock the door, turn off the cameras, and it will be our little paradise, just you and me. I’ll set up a nice big monitor, play the footage of today’s recording, and enjoy it all over again with your real body. First I steal the purity of your heart—and then I ruin the chastity of your body! How fascinating! What a unique form of entertainment, don’t you think?”

  His falsetto cackling bubbled over, filled the darkness, and died out.

  Asuna’s eyes went wide for a moment, but she bravely knotted her lips. The unstoppable fear turned to two clear drops that lingered on her eyelashes. Sugou flicked out his tongue to taste them.

  “Ahh…sweet, so sweet! Go on, give me more tears!”

  Blinding white rage burned through my brain. All I could see were sparks.

  “Sugou…you son of a bitch!!” I screamed, scrabbling wildly in an attempt to stand. But the sword running through me did not budge. I could sense tears forming in my own eyes now. I crawled like a miserable insect, writhing and bellowing.

  “Damn you…I’ll kill you! I swear it! You’ll die by my hand!!”

  But my screams were nearly drowned out by the sound of Sugou’s mad laughter.

  If you can just give me strength right now…

  I prayed fervently, trying to move myself even a fraction of an inch forward, pulling against the ground with my fingertips.

  If you can give me the strength to stand, I’ll give up anything. My life, my soul, anything you want. I’ll pledge it all to the devil or a demon if it helps me cut him down and return Asuna to where she belongs.

  Sugou was running his hands over Asuna’s arms and legs. Each move of his hand must have sent electronic signals of disgust to her sensory centers, because Asuna was biting her lip hard enough to draw blood as she withstood the defilement.

  Though the image entered my eyes, all my brain saw was pure, burning white. The flames of anger and desperation consumed me. My neurons were turning into ash. Once I turned into a lump of dry, bone-white matter, I wouldn’t think anything anymore. I wouldn’t have to.