Sword Art Online - Volume 17 - Chapter 21.2

Chapter 21.2
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…”
Alice gently spread her pure white skirt as she knelt to the ground. She reached out and warmly caressed Bercouli’s hair, then softly touched her lips to his forehead.
When she stood up again, an entirely different aura emanated from the knight’s entire body.
“Amayori, Takiguri. Please endure a bit more.”
After saying this to the two dragons, Alice turned to Sinon.
“What… will you do then, Sinon-san?”
“This time, it’s my turn to put my life on the line.”
Sinon smiled slightly and continued:
“Dark God Vector will probably revive here. I’ll try my best to defeat him… or at least buy you enough time.”
Alice bit her lip softly, then deeply bowed her head.
“I’ll leave it to you. I will absolutely not betray your intentions.”
After watching the two dragons fly into the southern sky, Sinon took into her hands the white longbow hanging from her shoulder.
The group that had attacked the «Ocean Turtle» was likely a private military contractor under the aid of an American government agency. One of the combatants had used Super Account 04, «Dark God Vector», to attack Alice.
In the real world, Sinon, a mere high school student, stood no chance against an opponent like that.
But in this place, as long as it was a one-on-one battle in a virtual world —
No matter who I face, I must win.
Swearing such a vow to herself like that, Sinon awaited the moment in which the enemy would dive in once more.
***
As he yanked back his right fist, its final bone let out a parched crack.
Fist Fighter Guild Chief Iskahn looked away from the spread-eagle body of a soldier whom he had struck dead center in the armor, glancing at his right hand in silence.
Gone were the iron knuckles capable of smashing all to smithereens. In their place was a deeply swollen sac of skin covering shattered bones and torn flesh, smeared with blood.
His left fist had transformed into the same state not long ago. His feet were covered in bloody bruises. He could no longer run, let alone kick.
“You fought like a true warrior,  Champion .”
The hoarse voice of his aide, Dampe, caused Iskahn to look behind him.
After completely losing both arms, the hulking man sitting on the ground had kept up the fight solely by headbutting or body-slamming the enemy, as evidenced by the sword wounds on his face and body. His eyes, once shining with fighting spirit and wisdom, were now clouded over, making clear that Dampe’s Life was nearing exhaustion.
Iskahn raised his shattered fist in a gesture of respect towards the warrior’s soul, then replied:
“Yeah, if we die like this, we won’t be ashamed once we meet our ancestors in the afterlife.”
Dragging his feet, he shambled to his aide’s side, collapsing his hindquarters onto the ground.

After a lengthy, fierce battle, the crimson legion that once numbered over twenty thousand had now been reduced to around three thousand. But in exchange, there were only around three hundred surviving Fist Fighters. Moreover, every one of them had been maimed and mangled. They were even unable to assemble into a complete formation, merely curling up into a group and waiting to be slaughtered.
But the sole reason that the three thousand enemy soldiers tightly surrounding them hadn’t launched their final assault was —
A knight and a dragon, still battling like demons right before Iskahn and Dampe’s eyes.
***
Her physical body and mental spirit had already been expended far past their limitations.
Despite everything, as soon as the shadow of an enemy appeared within her murky vision, Integrity Knight Sheyta Synthesis Twelve still raised her right arm, which felt filled with lead, and swung the Black Lily Sword.
The heavy din of sliced air was heard.
The needle-thin blade sank into an enemy’s shoulder plate. Its recoil, like innumerable iron needles digging into her flesh, traveled from her wrist to her elbow.
“Ha… AAHHHH!!”
The gravelly bellow of rage exploding from her throat was as divorced as could be from her nickname of «Silent». Her sword pierced through the bulky armor and tore a straight line, cleaving the enemy’s body in half.
Once the soldier collapsed, cursing in an unintelligible tongue, Sheyta wrenched her weapon from his body, wheezing crudely.
The reason behind her exhaustion was due in part to the nearly unlimited number of enemies, and also due to the uncanny way the red soldiers felt to her on the other side of her sword.
Her Incarnation hardly had any effect. Though the enemy’s weapons and armor simply weren’t worth mentioning when compared against Sheyta’s Divine Instrument, whenever she sliced them apart she would always feel a troubling resistance. Their attacks were the same. They would clearly rely only on brute-force, crude slashing movements, but that caused Sheyta difficulty in predicting their next maneuvers.
She was practically fighting phantoms. This army was like a mass of men that weren’t here at all, but shadows being projected from afar instead.
Battling them wasn’t fun at all. Sheyta found as she executed these shadows that she, who was born only to slash, could experience nothing more than an intense repugnance.
— Why?
— No matter whether my opponents are shadows or bodies, or even stone statues, I ought to be satisfied as long as they’re solid enough. I’m merely a puppet who knows naught but to slash…
The Black Lily Sword was a Divine Instrument that contained the highest Priority within its ultra-thin blade. It was a tool created solely to sever, just as Sheyta herself was. If either of them failed to continue slashing, their very significance as an existence would be lost.
Highest Minister Administrator had transformed a black lily, which Sheyta had retrieved from an ancient battlefield in the Dark Realm, into a sword. When she then bestowed the sword unto Sheyta, she had spoken thusly:
— This sword is the manifestation of the curse engraved within your soul. A curse by the name of a murderous urge, created by fluctuations in the parameters of personality inheritance. Slash, slash, and keep slashing.
Only when you walk this bloodsoaked road to the very end will you discover the key to releasing this curse… Possibly.
At the time, Sheyta did not understand what the Highest Minister meant.
She merely obeyed her directive and slashed her way along that road, for years and years that seemed like an eternity. Then, at last, she encountered her destined opponent. It was someone harder and tougher than anyone or anything else she had ever encountered by way of her sword: that Fist Fighter.
She wished to battle him once more. Only through battle might she eventually understand something.
Driven by this thought, Sheyta parted from the Human Empire Army and remained at this battlefield. Yet she seemed unable to battle that red-haired warrior again.
She swallowed her last mouthful of water and tossed away the empty waterskin while looking behind her.
She saw, sitting atop a boulder far away, the Fist Fighter Chief, with his entire body covered in wounds. Inexplicably, sorrow drifted into his left eye as he stared fixedly back at her.
Sheyta suddenly felt her chest sting.
— What is this pain?
— I should be longing to kill this man. I want to taste that all-consuming battle again, then slice off those fists that are harder than diamonds. That should be all I desire. Yet, why is my heart… What is this stirring feeling…?
Crack .
A feeble noise suddenly came from her right hand.
Sheyta raised the Black Lily Sword, inspecting it silently. At the very center of the jet black blade that looked capable of absorbing all light ran a fissure finer than spider silk.
Ahh…
I see.
Sheyta inhaled deeply and smiled.
All of her questions dissolved in that moment. Sheyta finally understood the meaning behind Administrator’s words, and what her curse had been.
A wave of rumbling came from the ground. She glanced behind her, only to see an enemy soldier charging at her, brandishing a crude warhammer.
Sheyta fluidly sidestepped the enemy’s first strike and her right hand thrust the sword directly into the red armor’s center.
Her final attack had been, true to her name, silent. As if merely gliding, the Black Lily Sword slid into the enemy’s heart and deftly took his life — then, beginning in the middle, it silently dissolved into countless flower petals and dispersed in all directions.
Sheyta mournfully brought her lips to the scattering sword hilt and whispered:
“… Thank you, for all this time.”
In that instant, she seemed to detect a faint whiff of a flower’s fragrance.
To her right, the dragon Yoiyobi, her longtime companion, crushed an enemy with a swing of its tail.
The dragon’s gray scales had been dyed red by the blood gushing from its innumerable wounds, and its talons and fangs were shattered and incomplete. It had long depleted its flames, and its movements had slowed to a pace uncharacteristic of its original agility.
Sheyta made sure that the enemy’s assault had paused, then walked to her beloved dragon’s side and brushed her right hand over its neck.
“Thank you too, Yoiyobi. Tired too, right?… Get some rest.”
Then, Sheyta and her dragon supported each other as they started towards the small hill where the remaining survivors of the Fist Fighters’ Guild had gathered.
Staying seated on the ground, the Fist Fighter Chief raised his right hand, which looked so swollen that it could burst at any second, and greeted Sheyta.
“My bad… I let your precious sword break…”
Sheyta shook her head at his apology:
“It’s fine. For I finally see, I see why I’ve been cutting everything apart…”
She dropped weakly to her knees, raised both hands, and took the young warrior’s face softly in her ten fingers.
“It was to find what I do  not  wish to cut. I’ve been fighting to find what I wish to protect. That’s… you. So I don’t need the sword anymore.”
In an instant, the Fist Fighter’s left eye widened, and a transparent droplet of liquid welled up from within. On the contrary, this made Sheyta slightly surprised.
The youngster clenched his teeth tightly together and muttered, his throat choking up:
“Ah… fuck. I wanna start a family with you too. We’ll definitely have a strong kid. A kid stronger than my ancestors, stronger than me, who can become the strongest Fist Fighter for sure…”
“No. That child will become a knight.”
The two stared at each other for a moment, then both smiled. With a hulking man gazing at them warmly, Sheyta and Iskahn embraced, then sat down next to each other.
Three hundred Fist Fighters, one Integrity Knight, and a dragon waited in silence as the crimson soldiers gradually closed their encirclement.
***
“Seems like… game, set, and match. Don’t it?”
Klein said as he and Asuna were returning to the rear encampment. “Yeah,” she replied.
Both of their wounds were being treated by a mage amongst the Japanese players using the Sacred Arts she had just learned. She was unable to amplify the efficacy of the Arts with her imagination like an Underworld Ascetic could, but since her character level was high, her converted character had received very high Arts-practicing authority that resulted in a plentiful healing ability.
“Thank you so much for coming to help us.”
Asuna thanked the female mage, and thanked Klein, who was standing beside her, as well.
“Thank you too, Klein. I really don’t know how best to thank you…”
Watching Asuna become momentarily tongue-tied, Klein embarrassedly rubbed his nose.
“Hey, don’t treat me like a stranger. I owe you and that bastard Kirito so damn much that this is far from enough… He’s here too, right?”
Klein couldn’t help but lower his voice. Asuna nodded slightly.
“Yeah. Go meet him after the battle. If he listens to some of your dirty jokes, Klein, he might just be unable to resist the urge to roast you and wake up.”
“Hey, that’s kinda cruel.”
A smile stretched over Klein’s perpetually bright face, but his eyes showed obvious concern. He, too, knew how severe the wounds in Kirito’s soul were.
— Ah, but, really…
After everything was over and done with, after they had repelled the enemies from Underworld and the «Ocean Turtle», if Sinon, Leafa, Klein, and the rest of the original SAO Progressors, along with Sakuya, Alicia, and the people from ALO… then Alice, Tiese, Ronye, Sortiliena, and the others all surround Kirito, then there’s no way he wouldn’t wake up, was there?
She had to keep fighting, so that when that moment came, she could greet him with a smile.
As soon as her wounds had closed themselves, Asuna thanked the mage player once again and stood up.
Like Klein had said, the fate of the battle was now certain and undoubtable. The number of red American players had already decreased to near that of the Japanese players, and they were acting as though they’d completely lost their earlier fighting spirit, repeatedly launching suicide attacks.
But this battle within these ancient ruins was merely a skirmish.
The crucial point was «Radiant Medium» Alice, who had been abducted by Emperor Vector. While Knight Commander Bercouli and Sinon were hindering his progress, they had to catch up to Vector and take Alice back. Therefore, they must pick out the elite among the elite from the converted players, borrow the Human Empire Army’s horses, and head south as fast they could.
If they were able to catch up, even if the enemy  was  using a Super Account, he couldn’t be a match for an elite, handpicked force comprised of the top players from Japan. The overwhelming strength that they possessed enabled Asuna to declare that.
The valiant swordsmen had equipped blades, shields, and armor reflecting a polychromatic shine, resembling the Einherjar 18  of Norse mythos…
Asuna wiped away her forming tears and looked away from the front line, towards the very rear.
The supply team’s horse-drawn carriages had already been pulled near the ruins’  sando  entrance, and a temporary encampment had been erected there. Asuna felt that the sight of wounded Japanese being healed by the Underworld residents’ Arts also held indescribable worth.
“… It’s okay, everything will be fine… for sure.”
Asuna’s spoken thoughts earned a vigorous reply from Klein, beside her:
“Of course. All right, let’s get a move on.”
“Yeah.”
Asuna nodded, then turned towards the front line again —
But her attention was grabbed by something that brushed past the edge of her vision, causing her to jerk violently to a halt.
— What is that. Something black… pitch black, like a stain…
Asuna’s eyes wavered for a moment, then she finally saw it.
The gargantuan god statues lining the two sides of the  sando  in the ruins.
Atop the statue nearest them to the right side stood someone.
Because the statue was reflected against the light, they could only make out a swaying black silhouette, almost like it was about to melt into the crimson sky of the Dark Territory.
Was it an American who had deserted the battlefield? Or a scout from the Japanese?
Startled, Asuna looked closer, and it was only then that she noticed that the silhouette was swaying because the person was dressed in a half-length black cloak. The poncho’s hood had been pulled all the way down, so the person’s face was completely invisible.
But.
“Hey, Klein. That man…”
Klein was just about to take off for the front line, but Asuna tugged on his sleeve with her right hand and pointed with her left.
“That man standing there, do you feel like you’ve seen him before?”

“Huh…? Whoa, he’s watching the show from up there. Damn, who  is  that?… He’s wearing a cloak. I can’t even see his face, let alone… remember…”
Klein’s voice suddenly broke off.
Asuna turned to look, only to see that Klein’s stubbled, scuffled face had been drained of all color, white as a sheet of paper.
“Hey, what’s wrong? You know him? Who is that?”
“No… How. No way, that’s… Am I looking… at a ghost…?”
“A-A ghost…? What do you mean?”
“Be… Because, that black cloak, no, that leather poncho… is LaughCof’s…”
The instant she heard that name.
Asuna felt her brain freeze in the blink of an eye.
LaughCof. Officially known as «Laughing Coffin». From the middle to the end of the death game SAO, it had been the strongest red guild, spreading terror throughout the floating castle Aincrad.
A great number of infamous PKers, including «Red-Eyed XaXa» and «Johnny Black», were under its wing, and it had passed its venomous hand over innumerable normal players… Finally, after a fight to the death against a crusade team comprised of the Progressor players, they were successfully destroyed.
During that battle, nearly every single member of «Laughing Coffin» was either killed or sent to the Black Iron Palace, but one man escaped. It was the guild leader, the man who had mysteriously vanished when the guild’s lair was ambushed, and also the man who had, either by his own hand or through indirect methods, killed the most players in SAO. His name — «PoH». That murderous demon had frequently clad himself in a black leather poncho and wielded a large dagger that resembled a meat cleaver. Yet two years later he had come to Underworld, now standing and looking down upon Asuna and Klein.
“………. No way.”
Asuna could only muster a hoarse whisper at this moment.
It’s fake. I’m looking at a ghost.
Go. Go away.
But, as though it were mocking Asuna’s wish, the black silhouette wavering like a mirage slowly raised its right hand. It then lightly waved its hand back and forth, as though teasing her.
What followed —
Could only be described as her worst nightmare.
A new silhouette materialized beside the man in the black poncho. Then another, and another.
Atop the roof of the immense palace ruins connecting to the back of the statue, a crimson legion silently appeared. To the left of the palace roof, tens of silhouettes floated into being.
— Stop. Just stop.
Asuna prayed desperately. She feared that she could not withstand greater despair than this.
And yet.
The new crimson legion continued to appear without ceasing, as though it were literally endless. One thousand, five thousand, ten thousand.
By the time their number broke thirty thousand, Asuna gave up on an estimate.
Impossible.
More than fifty thousand Americans had just been painfully ejected. It was impossible that so many troops could be located in such a short time, and they could not be Japanese. If a fabricated announcement had been disseminated within Japan, Klein and the others would have been the first to know.
These were phantoms. They were all incorporeal shadows created with Arts.
At some point, the Japanese players, who were about to completely demolish the American players on the front line, had stopped fighting and turned to look towards them. The spacious battlefield was filled with an eerie silence.
Garble, garble.
The chatter coming from the red army that had filled the palace rooftop to maximum occupancy was blown into Asuna’s ears like a sinister wind.
Asuna was momentarily unable to decipher exactly what language the mixed, intertwined chattering noise was in. She desperately focused her hearing, and finally managed to detect some words that were uttered more loudly than others.
— Bigeobhan ilbon-in. 19
— Uli nalaleul jikyeola. 20
— Ganchuu renmen. 21
Not English. Not Japanese either.
At that moment, Klein let out a completely unrecognizable moan.
“Ah… This is bad… This is really bad… That huge army isn’t from Japan or America…”
Asuna felt cold sweat run down her back as she listened to his next words:
“……… It’s from China and Korea.”