At Higa’s words, Kikuoka asked as he jiggled the clogs on his feet:
“Then couldn’t we throw in «Niemom» as well?”
“We can’t, unfortunately.”
Higa shrugged and replied:
“Although Niemom’s physical performance is stronger, he was created under the pretense that it would be piloted by an Artificial Fluctlight, and, unlike Ichiemom, he’s not loaded with a self-balancer. In his current state, he’ll fall over as soon as it starts going down the stairs.”
“I see…”
Higa’s gaze turned to the right, away from the nodding commander’s face, then saw Rinko staring at the floor with an odd expression. She then asked as if she had just returned to earth.
“But, Higa-kun, even if we manage to camouflage ourselves unlocking the partition like that, there’s still a risk of you being seen when it opens. It’s still better to bring a bodyguard with you to the cable duct, isn’t it?”
“… No, right now the JSDF staff is much too precious as our fighting strength. Besides, I’m the only one small enough to move quickly through that small, overly cramped duct. In any case, I’ll just be in and out in a jiffy.”
Even though he answered in his usual tone, his heartbeat accelerated when he thought about the details.
If he were to be found by the enemy and shot at while inside the lower section, there would be no escape. When the «Ocean Turtle» had first been attacked, Higa had only heard gunshots, but never once saw even the appearance of the enemy combatants.
— However.
I… No, the entire organization of «RATH» has much too great a debt to Kirigaya-kun.
Higa Takeru engraved those thoughts into his mind once more.
If they temporarily put aside the act of sealing away Kazuto’s memories, they had still forced him dive for three real world days, equivalent to 10 years in Underworld. That could be called the most important spark for the Artificial Fluctlights. The birth of an Artificial Fluctlight who broke the boundaries of the world, «Alice», was undoubtedly deeply related to Kazuto from the very beginning.
Furthermore, although it had been under the pretense of treatment, having him connect to an unrestricted STL ended up dealing severe damage to his Fluctlight. This was because he had fiercely battled the ruling organization of Underworld to protect Alice, causing him to lose many of his partners in the process. Therefore, as long as the chance to treat him existed, Higa had to challenge whatever risks arose. If he didn’t, he would be much too ashamed to see Kazuto for the rest of his life.
Higa Takeru clenched his fists, and nodded at Kikuoka.
It was at that time.
A fourth voice resounded in the sub-control room.
“Umm… Me too, I’m going with Chief Higa…”
Everyone’s eyes gathered on one of RATH’s staff technicians, who until now had been seated on a mattress against the wall.
He was about as short as Higa, with long hair tied behind his head. Mustering as much courage as possible, he stood a bit clumsily and continued his speech.
“I’m also quite thin… But I could at least be the chief’s shield or something… And also, I’ve always done the maintenance around the cables…”
Higa gazed carefully at the face of the man, whose voice was barely audible.
He was much older, probably in his mid-thirties. Having been aboard the Ocean Turtle for several months, his skin was pale white. If memory served, he was a man who had quit his job at a large game development company to join «RATH».
Although his fighting strength could not be compared to that of a JSDF soldier, having a companion was reassuring. Higa immediately stood from his chair and bowed deeply to this staff member.
“… To be honest, I actually don’t remember the exact location of the connector. Thanks very much for your company, Yanai-san.”
2
Having returned to the real world, Gabriel Miller slowly lifted his eyelids within STL #2.
To be precise, he didn’t return, but was unexpectedly exiled. Lying still in the gel bed, Gabriel chewed over the aftertaste of astonishment left in his mouth.
How did he lose a one-on-one battle in a virtual world? The opponent wasn’t even a human; it was an AI.
Why had he lost against that knight? Gabriel spent a few precious seconds pondering what the reason could have been.
The strength of will? The bonds between souls? The power of love that connects people…?
— Utterly preposterous.
The corners of Gabriel’s mouth lifted into a cold smile. Whether it was the real world or a virtual world, if invisible forces truly existed, then there could only be one — the force of destiny leading him forward.
In other words, his defeat had been inevitable. Because it was essential. Destiny wanted Gabriel to fight not in a borrowed avatar like Dark God Vector, but in his true form. It was asking him to descend into that world once more, the right way.
Then he shall accompany that notion to the end.
Completing his musing, Gabriel slipped quietly off the seat.
Looking towards the other STL, he was surprised that his aide Vassago Casals was still diving. He thought that he had long died and logged out, but it seemed that this man had also found something to pursue.
— Well, do as you please.
Shrugging, Gabriel opened the door leading to the neighboring main control room. The shaven-headed team member looked up from the console he was facing, then spoke in an unperturbed voice:
“You’ve worked hard, captain. Ahh, you were also done in.”
“Give me a sitrep.”
Gabriel inquired indifferently. Critter changed his expression slightly and reported:
“Well, as you ordered, I have sequentially deposited the 50,000 players gathered from different parts of the US. Half of them have been worn off, but yeah, the goal of annihilating the Human Empire Army should still be within reach. As for any uncertainties, Rath has taken the same course… We’ve confirmed a large-scale connection from Japan on the battlefield. They number only 2,000, so I don’t think they’ll pose much of a threat.”
“Oh…?”
Raising an eyebrow, Gabriel looked at the main screen.
A topographical map of southern Underworld was displayed there. A black line stretched south directly from the «Great Eastern Gate» and terminated with an “X” mark, which was most likely Dark God Vector’s, or Gabriel’s, movement log. There was more than half the journey left before it would reach the system console at the southernmost edge of the world, but Alice currently should still be at that X-marked point on the map.
After that, a thick white line was moving south as if in pursuit of the black line. That should be the Human Empire Army. They seemed densely packed together, and had stopped for now.
These white Human Empire troops seemed as though they were about to be crushed by that large, red-labeled army. Assuming that the red army was the American VRMMO players, then the blue glow that spread like a protective wall between the red and white would be the 2,000 connectors from Japan.
“Are these Japanese using the Human Empire Army’s default accounts?”
“I think so, what about it?”
“Nothing…”
Gabriel took a bottle of mineral water Critter handed to him and drank from it as he thought.
Could those Japanese VRMMO addicts have converted half of themselves — no, in a sense, a character they valued more than their real selves — into Underworld?
As if. Gabriel smiled coldly again.
Around half a month ago, Gabriel had participated in a PvP tournament on a Japanese server in the VRMMO «Gun Gale Online». Even if those youngsters, whom he had easily crushed, logged into Underworld out of interest, they’d never take the risk of losing their characters.
A mental image flashed through his mind of that blue-haired female sniper, who had been locked in his fatal chokehold but fought until the very end, but Gabriel quickly brought
his thoughts back on track.
“Good work, I’ll dive in again. Convert this account into Underworld.”
He picked up a piece of paper and a pen that were conveniently laying on the console, wrote down his ID and password, and passed it to Critter. Critter looked surprised.
“Whoa, you too, Captain?”
“‘Too’, meaning…?”
“Well, didn’t this guy Vassago come back after dying as well? And somehow he looked all happy, converted his account, and went back in.”
“Oh…?”
Gabriel’s eyes fell upon the dropped scrap of paper beside Critter’s hand. Within what seemed to be Vassago’s ID, the first three letters grabbed his attention the most.
“I see… I see.”
Kek. Rare, genuine laughter spilled from Gabriel’s throat. When Critter looked even more shocked, Gabriel clapped him on his shoulder and said:
“Don’t worry about it. He may not look it, but he has… his own tangled mess. Well then, I’ll leave the rest to you.”
Gabriel turned and headed back towards the STL Room, a contorted smile hanging off the corners of his mouth.
***
Meanwhile, Vassago Casals was grinning under his black hood while looking over the battlefield.
Standing atop the head of a god’s statue erected at the entrance of the sando into the ruins, he was able to take in all of the bloody, gruesome combat between the American and Japanese players.
No, more precisely, it was a one-sided slaughter.
In the middle of the sando entrance, 2,000 Japanese formed a gigantic semicircle, continuously shaving down the charging crimson soldiers while losing almost none of their own. One reason for this was the immense difference in the two armies’ equipment performance and level of teamwork, but the robust support system at their rear was practically decisive. Wounded players were immediately transported to the newly erected encampment inside the sando and treated with healing incantations, and then they would rush vigorously back to the front line.
The fact that they possessed such high morale within Underworld, which dealt pain equal to that of the real world, was truly worthy of admiration.
But in realistic terms, the fact that 2,000 players were willing to convert their own characters into this world to join the fight was already a great miracle in itself.
A situation like this, declared impossible even by Gabriel Miller —
Had been, however, almostly perfectly predicted by Vassago Casals.
If connecting from the US was possible, then it was likely that Japan would also send reinforcements for the Human Empire Army. Moreover, Vassago had even predicted the fact that they would achieve this by converting their accounts.
Amongst these valiantly battling Japanese players, other than «The Flash» Asuna, there were several other familiar faces. This brought him heartfelt elation.
After all, the death game that he’d given up on ever being able to enjoy again had reappeared before him in a different form.
No, even if they died in this world, the players’ real-world lives could not be stolen.
But in Underworld, there existed something absent from that floating castle, and within that floating castle existed something absent from Underworld.
In other words —
There was «pain».
But no «Crime Prevention Code».
Then, it would absolutely bring him great joy, possibly more thrilling than taking a life with his own hands.
“Kek, kekek, kekkekkek.”
Vassago couldn’t stifle the muffled cackling that leaked from under his hood.
***
— I didn’t make it.
Sinon silently gazed down at the aged knight’s wound-riddled body, and the golden-haired female knight sobbing as she hugged him tightly.
The two great dragons beside the knight were hanging their heads, as though sharing in the lament.
In order to catch up to «Radiant Medium» Alice, on whom rested the fate of the world, to Dark God Vector, who had abducted her, and to Knight Commander Bercouli, who was in pursuit of those two, Sinon had flown frantically. She had fully utilized her free-flight technique, trained intensely in ALO, and flown south at the greatest speed allowed by the system, but the battle had long ended by the time she finally caught up to them.
No — What deserved praise was Bercouli’s strength.
Because he had caught up to Vector, who had been thought unreachable, and had killed a Super Account, which had been thought invincible.
But there existed a massive injustice.
Knight Commander Bercouli’s death indicated the total demise of his soul. Yet for Dark God Vector, who had died in the same way, his soul was not bound by this rule.
Sinon knew that she must convey to Alice, who had finally ceased her weeping and now hung her head as though she had collapsed, that danger had not yet passed, but she could not find the words to do so.
After several valuable minutes passed in silence, the first to speak was the knight, Alice.
Even with tear-stained cheeks, Alice’s stunning beauty caused Sinon to hold her breath. Alice gazed into Sinon’s eyes with her own, which shone cobalt blue like the surface of water. Her cherry-colored lips moved, emitting a voice that reminded one of silvery bells:
“Are you also… from the Real World?”
“Yeah…”
Sinon nodded, and spoke with difficulty.
“I’m Sinon. Asuna and Kirito’s friend. I came to save you and Bercouli-san from Dark God Vector… I’m sorry, I didn’t make it.”
Sinon knelt down atop the summit that retained marks of an intense battle, and deeply bowed her head towards Alice. Alice, however, softly shook her head.
“No… This was my foolishness. I paid no attention to what was behind me and was seized like an infant; it is all my fault. How can my insignificant life ever compare to that of Oji-sama… to that of the great Integrity Knight Commander?”
The deep self-hatred and loathing mixed into her voice left Sinon speechless. Holding back tears with all her might, Alice asked another question:
“How is the war?”
“… Asuna and the Human Empire Army are just barely managing to block the red army from the Real World.”
“Then I will return north as well.”
Alice stumbled as she stood up, heading towards one of the dragons, but Sinon called out to stop her.
“You can’t do that, Alice-san. You must continue south, to the «World End Altar». If you are able to touch the console… no, the crystal tablet atop the altar, you should be able to hear a call from the Real World.”
“Why? Is Emperor Vector not dead already?”
“… That… is not the case.”
Then, Sinon explained the situation to Alice. Even if a Real World person died in Underworld, they would not truly lose their life.
It was very likely that the enemy within Emperor Vector’s body would gain a new body and attack again.
Alice’s reacted with thunderous fury, as though all of the emotions she had been suppressing until now completely exploded all at once.
“Oji-sama… threw his own life away to slay that enemy, and the enemy didn’t die?! He merely disappeared for a while, and soon he’ll revive as though nothing happened… Is that what you mean?!”
Alice drew near Sinon, her golden armor clattering.
“How can… How can there be something as absurd as that?! Then… for what did Oji-sama… why did he have to sacrifice himself?! A faceoff that only puts the life of one on the line… that’s just… that’s just a… travesty…”
Tears sprang once more from Alice’s azure eyes, yet Sinon could only gaze silently at her.
— I don’t have the right to say anything.
I have died too many times to count in the battles of GGO and ALO. And, like Dark God Vector, I can keep on living if I die in this world. Someone like me has no —
But Sinon, staring hard into Alice’
s eyes, drew in a deep breath and said:
“Then… Alice-san, do you mean to say that Kirito’s pain is fake too?”
The golden knight suddenly held her breath.
“Kirito is also from the Real World. Even if he dies in this world, his real life won’t be gone. However, the injuries he suffered are real. The pain he felt, his broken soul, they’re all real…”
Sinon paused for a bit, then continued as a slight smile appeared on her lips:
“I… love Kirito. Very much. So does Asuna. There are many more who love him as well. They’re worried about Kirito, all of them. They’re desperately praying ‘Get well soon’. Also, even if no one’s saying it, everyone’s thinking, ‘Why did Kirito have to push himself that far?’”
Sinon reached out, softly pressed down on Alice’s shoulders, and spoke firmly:
“Kirito got hurt in order to save you, Alice. That’s the sole reason he fought so hard. Do you even want to call his thoughts fake? No, not just Kirito, the Knight Commander too. In order to save you, he was beaten black and blue, even creating an opportunity at the cost of his life, just for you to escape the enemy’s clutches and to buy you valuable time.”
Sinon did not immediately hear a response.
Alice gazed silently at Bercouli’s body, lying on the ground.
Once again, great tears spilled her eyes — Then the golden knight shut them tightly and lifted her face as though she were desperately resisting something. She then asked in a hoarse voice:
“Sinon, if… if I go to the Real World through the «World End Altar», will I be able to come back? Will I be able to see my loved ones again…?”
Sinon did not possess the knowledge to clearly answer Alice’s pressing question. The only thing she could be sure of was that, if Alice fell into enemy hands, the entire Underworld would be obliterated and eventually completely disappear.
If they could protect both this world and Alice, they could definitely realize her wish. That was all Sinon could believe right now.
Therefore, she slowly nodded.
“Yeah. As long as you… and this Underworld, are safe.”
“I understand… I’ll head south then. I don’t know what awaits me at the «World End Altar»… But if this is the will of Oji-sama and Kirito…”