Volume 16

  Wait, maybe our ambush plan has already been exposed? If it has, then should I have the entire army retreat further south, and wait for another chance?

  Unable to come up with a proper conclusion, Renri stood still. Then, a rough voice entered his ears.

  “I never thought that they would’ve predicted us going south and laid an ambush here ahead of us…”

  Knight Commander Bercouli and Alice had just returned from the northern hill a kilol away.

  Renri viewed them both as possessing strength that towered far into the clouds above, but no longer could he detect even a sliver of calm on their faces, and especially not for Alice. She looked as though she were ready to fly for the supply team at once.

  Looking to the north over Bercouli’s shoulder, behind the hilly area, Renri could almost clearly see the giant dust cloud of the approaching army.

  The Knight Commander closed his eyes for a moment, then quickly revealed his bluish-gray gaze, and boomed:

  “Renri, tell the main army to back off. Lil’ miss, get to the supply team right now. I’ll hold off the enemies coming from the north.”

  “But, how, exactly? … There are more than five thousand soldiers, Oji-sama! And didn’t you say that swords don’t work against them…”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll find a way. Just go!! Lil’ miss… no, Alice, you were the one who decided a fight to the death until our very last warrior falls!!”

  Leaving those words with her, Bercouli immediately turned to the north.

  His right hand, rough as the gnarled trunk of a tree, slowly drew the Time Piercing Sword from his left waist.

  By the aged blade’s fading gleam, one could clearly tell that the sword only possessed a miniscule amount of Life left.

  ***

  Sparks were thrown three times into the darkness.

  The girl with tea-colored hair, who was seeing Vassago for the first time, parried all of his strikes.

  Vassago had even used a combo skill. Therefore, when the sword flew from the girl’s hand on the third strike and stabbed into a nearby tree, the assassin couldn’t help but whistle appraisingly.

  Even so, the dark-haired girl readied her fists, but Vassago dropped her with a sweep of his leg. Landing hard on her back, the girl let out a pained gasp.

  “Ronye ——— !!”

  A red-haired girl appeared from the wagon; shrieking, she rushed over.

  Gripping the dagger in his right hand, Vassago pressed its tip against the throat of the girl apparently named Ronye, in order to restrain the red-haired girl. As though struck by fear, her slim legs stopped cold.

  “Kek… Kekek.”

  A muffled cackle slipped out from his mask.

  — This is it. This is the feeling.

  This is the joy of playing with someone’s life and relationships with a blade. This is why I just can’t stop player-killing.

  “… I won’t kill her, as long as you stand and watch right there.”

  Whispering to the red-haired girl, he crouched next to the girl called Ronye.

  Behind him, about thirty bloodthirsty soldiers were inching closer, step by step.

  Tears of fear and humiliation beaded within Ronye’s eyes. Her fierce determination sank into the depths of despair, and ——

  ………?

  Suddenly, Ronye’s eyes shifted focus from Vassago’s face to the sky.

  Something was reflected in her watery iris.

  — Light.

  Milky white, radiant particles descended, slowly, gently, softly, like snow.

  As a weird shiver ran down his spine, Vassago slowly lifted his head.

  The night sky was pitch black. The stars were blood red.

  In such a background, there floated a small silhouette — and yet its presence was ludicrously huge.

  — That’s a person. A woman.

  She wore a breastplate gleaming with a shine akin to that of a pearl. Her gauntlets and boots were of the same sheen.

  Her long skirt was sewed together with countless small pieces of cloth, fluttering like wings. Her hair flying in the wind was in fresh chestnut color—

  “Stacia… sama.”

  Ronye murmured from below.

  These words did not reach Vassago’s ears. The instant he had caught a glimpse of the woman’s face descending from the sky, the assassin had leapt to his feet as though he were being yanked upwards.

  Freed from Vassago’s grasp, Ronye immediately backed away to where the red-haired girl was, but he did not even bother to look.

  The silhouette floating in the air stretched out her right arm.

  She gently swept her delicate hand across.

  Laa ———————–

  Resembling a chorus of thousands of angels, an overpowering harmony shook the world.

  Spectrums of polychromatic light swallowed Vassago.

  The ground beneath his feet vanished.

  As he fell into the infinite darkness, Vassago thrust both hands upwards, trying to grab onto the tiny silhouette.

  “Fuckin’ really? … C’mon, fuckin’ really?”

  A trembling voice slipped from his mouth.

  That face.

  That hair.

  That atmosphere.

  “Isn’t that… ≪The Flash≫ from KoB?”

  ***

  The Knight Commander Bercouli stood still as he raised his beloved sword.

  Before him, there yawned an enormous chasm in the earth, over a hundred mel wide. He gazed far towards the horizon to his left and right, but there was no end to be seen. The depth was unpredictable; bits of rock here and there dropped into the abyss, yet no sign of impact against the bottom reached his ears.

  Tens of seconds ago, this rift in the earth did not exist.

  From the sky, variegated rays of color had poured down with a grandiose harmony, and as they touched the ground, it began to fracture.

  There is absolutely no way to trigger such a groundbreaking change, not with one thousand Ascetics, or even ten thousand Ascetics. Perhaps not even the Highest Minister Administrator herself.

  This is the power of a God, a holy act.

  Following Dark God Vector, another God is descending to the mortal world.

  Bercouli thought with respect and fear, but he soon dismissed that notion.

  On the other side of the chasm, the five thousand Fist Fighters were standing stock-still, thunderstruck.

  If a God was determined to help the Human Empire, possessing the right to freely manipulate the lives and deaths of humans, they could have split the ground directly under the Fist Fighters, mercilessly plunging them to the depths below. This crack, however, was created with a safety margin in mind, enough for all of the Fist Fighters running at full tilt to stop.

  From this, the Knight Commander detected a sense of hesitation towards wiping out a multitude of lives.

  In other words, this was done according to human will.

  3

  — Faster.

  — Faster, quickly get me to the ground, to where Kirito-kun is.

  Yuuki Asuna had logged into the Underworld with Super Account 01, ≪The Goddess of Creation Stacia≫. Protected by the fall-cushioning mechanic only available on the first log in, she repeated her lover’s name in her mind.

  Almost an hour had passed since an unknown armed group had stormed the independent marine biology research mega-float, the ≪Ocean Turtle≫.

  “I’ll go,” Asuna had declared to Kikuoka Seijirou and company, and FullDived using Soul Translator No. 5. Higa Takeru located her insertion coordinates, which should have been right above where Kirito was now. When she landed, her lover would definitely be waiting there for her.

  Accompanying her nearly insane yearning, a stabbing pain racked Asuna’s head. She grimaced on reflex, resisting the discomfort.

  She had been warned about the side effects that would occur with usage of the ≪unlimited landscape alteration≫ ability, the administrative authority given to the Stacia account. T
he area’s Mnemonic Data was absurdly large; as the data instantly transferred repeatedly between Asuna’s STL and the Main Visualizer, which stored the data of the entire Underworld, her Fluctlight would overload.

  As RATH’s chief engineer, Higa had strictly told her not to recklessly change the landscape too much — to stop whenever she felt a headache.

  Below her were a thousand men from the Human Empire, and two enormous crowds from the Dark Territory that were approaching them from both the north and south. As soon as she realized that, despite the advice, she had immediately chanted the commands.

  She put the cluster from the north to a halt by opening a long, wide valley in front of them. But for the thirty men drawing near the location where Kirito might be, she had no choice but to erase the ground they were standing on.

  They are all human beings with real souls. They are the true bottom-up AIs that Kirito has strived for two years in this world to protect.

  Perhaps this sharp pain is their intense fear and grudge flooding into the STL.

  Even so, Asuna closed her eyes tightly, then opened them wide and freed herself of her hesitation.

  Her priorities had been determined for years.

  For Kirito — Kirigaya Kazuto, she would commit any sin. She would accept all deserved punishment.

  At long last, the descent came to an end in tens of seconds that each felt like an eternity; the tips of her pearly boots touched the black earth.

  She was in a wooded area filled with twisted bushes. Without a moon, there were only ominously shimmering red stars, faintly shining down from the night sky.

  Asuna shook the remaining headache away and straightened her back. Right next to her feet, a dark, deep hole opened in the ground, into which she had plunged an armored knight-like Dark Territory man. It would be rather dangerous to leave it there, but she had difficulty handling the landscape again in a such a short time.

  She heard the neigh of a horse nearby; looking in that direction, she realized that a few large wagons were standing behind the bushes, seemingly hiding.

  — Where…? Where are you, Kirito?

  Just as Asuna was desperate to the point of nearly crying out his name, a trembling voice called to her.

  “… Stacia… sama?”

  She turned her head around, and saw two girls leaning against each other as they stood. They were both wearing gray jumper skirts, just like school uniforms.

  Their faces were a little strange. They did not look Japanese, nor they did they look Western. Their skin were smooth and cream-colored; the girl on the right had hair in maple leaf red, and the girl on the left had hair in a dark coffee brown.

  Two timeworn long swords hung from their belts.

  The red-haired girl opened her mouth slightly, and a small voice slipped out once more.

  “Are you… God?”

  Perfect Japanese, yet her intonation was very subtly foreign. Thus, Asuna felt she had glimpsed the Underworld’s three-hundred year independent history.

  — Kikuoka-san, Higa-san, look at what you’ve created.

  — To Rath, this might only be a simulation, but this entire world and the people living here, are genuinely alive.

  “… No… Sorry, I’m not a god,” Asuna answered as she gently shook her head.

  The girl with dark brown hair wrung her hands. “But, but,” she whispered. “You’ve kindly saved my life with a miracle. You’ve saved all of us from those scary soldiers from the Dark Territory… You’ve saved the Guards, the Ascetics… and Kirito-senpai.”

  When she heard that name, Asuna gasped, and a violent twinge shot through her heart.

  She straightened her body that almost lost balance, and finally squeezed out a feeble voice, her lips trembling.

  “I… I just came here to meet him, Kirito… Please tell me… Where is he? Let me meet him… Take me to Kirito, please.”

  Fighting back her tears, Asuna begged. The dumbstruck girls’ eyes widened, finally exchanged looks, and nodded.

  “… Yes. Please follow us.”

  The surrounding swordsmen clad in uniform armor formed an open circle, staring at her from a distance; Asuna walked through its center as the girls showed her the way.

  She was taken to the back of a wagon. A thick, canvas-like curtain was hanging from the roof, and she could not see inside.

  “Kirito-senpai is insi…”

  Without waiting for the red-haired girl to finish, Asuna pushed the curtains aside with both hands and jumped onto the deck. She stumbled as she advanced.

  Hanging from the roof of the cabin, a small lantern threw dim light onto stacks of wooden boxes and barrels. She slipped through the tiny space between them, getting deeper and deeper into the wagon.

  Suddenly, she was hit by a nostalgic smell, as warm as the sun, as refreshing as a slight breeze over grasslands and forests.

  Silvery light reflected into Asuna’s eyes, which adjusted to the darkness.

  It was coming from a wheelchair made of a metal frame and pieces of wood.

  In the chair, there was a figure in black, sitting spiritlessly, its body sagging like a shadow.

  “…………Gh.”

  Overwhelmed by a storm of emotion, Asuna was struck dumb. Even though she had envisioned a multitude of scenarios, the words for their reunion became stuck in her throat.

  Now lying in the STL No.4 on the Ocean Turtle in the real world, the one she loved most was there, in the form of his soul.

  Hurt, damaged, but certainly alive.

  Back when Kirito met me again in the hospital in Tokorozawa, when I didn’t wake up even though I was released from the death game SAO, Kirito must have suffered the same pain, and was as determined as I am now.

  — It’s my turn. I’ll definitely save you, no matter the cost.

  Softly exhaling her stuck breath, Asuna whispered:

  “…… Kirito-kun.”

  The right arm was missing from his emaciated body. Hugging the black and white swords, his left arm jerked when Asuna’s voice resonated.

  His face stared downwards, and his eyes were empty; both trembled in tiny spasms.

  “Uh……”

  A broken, hoarse voice slid from his parched lips.

  “Uh… Aaaa… Aahh……”

  Taka, taka. The wheelchair was shaking. His left arm stiffened, and tendons puffed up on his neck.

  Two tracks of tears slid down his bowed face and dropped onto the scabbards in his arms.

  “Kirito-kun… Enough, that’s enough!!” Asuna shouted.

  She kneeled, and gently but tightly, hugged her lover. From her own eyes, she also felt warm liquid gushing out without end.

  Seeing each other once more, curing Kirito’s soul, his consciousness would return—

  It would be a lie if she said she had not hoped so.

  However, Asuna understood that the damage dealt to Kirito’s Fluctlight was deep. Kirito’s Fluctlight core, or self-image, had been destroyed. As long as they did not reconstruct it somehow, no matter how much input he was exposed to, he could not articulate a proper output.

  Higa’s voice resounded in her mind.

  — It seems that he has some accomplices… I mean comrades. They’re artificial Fluctlights, of course. And most of his comrades died when they fought the Church, so in the end he severely blamed himself when he succeeded in contacting us. In other words, he attacked his own Fluctlight.

  Desolation, regret and despair had cut a bottomless hole into Kirito’s heart.

  — Even if that hole were infinite emptiness, I will fill it up. If I can’t manage that by myself, I’ll enlist the help of those who connected their hearts with you. There just isn’t any loss that can’t be replaced with love.

  Asuna felt her determination replenish: she would not let Kirito feel any sorrow again, not a shred of it.

  — I will protect this world, which Kirito loved and lived in. I’ll protect it from the mysterious attackers… and even from RATH.

  After hug
ging Kirito tightly for one last time, Asuna stood up straight.

  She spun around; and as tears flowed down her cheeks, she smiled at the two observing girls.

  “Thank you. You two have been protecting Kirito, haven’t you?”

  The dark brown-haired girl nodded humbly, and replied with a question in a trembling voice:

  “Excuse me, may I… have your name, please? If you’re not Stacia-sama, then… who are you?”

  “My name is Asuna. I’m a human like you. And just like Kirito, I come from the outside world… for the same purpose.”

  4

  “All I can say is… I’m rather surprised.”

  On the second floor of the imperial throne carriage, beside Gabriel who overlooked the sudden crack in the ground, came a voice that seemed quite relaxed.

  He turned towards the voice and saw, popping up from one of the various hatches in the deck, the burly face of a middle-aged man. He recalled that this was Lengil, the head of the Merchants’ Guild. Lengil joined his long sleeves and performed a sincere salute.

  While he seemed to be one of the few remaining General Units, this man did not seem like he possessed any notable fighting prowess. What was the matter? Gabriel raised an eyebrow in acknowledgement. Lengil glanced left and right, but his body remained facing Gabriel. He saw that Vassago was not around, but did not say anything else and saluted once more.

  “Your Majesty. The moon will rise soon… If there are no further orders to be executed accordingly, I humbly request that the troops be allowed to rest and dine.”

  “Okay.”

  He peered into the black, gaping chasm again.

  The scouts that had been sent to report on its size had not yet returned. In other words, it wouldn’t be just a few mel. And by the looks of it, it seemed that a hole of this depth was not one that could be easily filled in with raw civilian manpower.

  Predicting that the enemy army had managed to infiltrate the southern parts, where Vassago and his subordinates were, there was now an extremely high chance that they would all be eliminated if they did nothing. But even if Vassago himself were to die here, he would still awaken in the real world.