Now he had to use the flying Units. But the Dark Knights only had ten dragons. He did not know the number of trips it would take to transport twenty thousand footsoldiers.
Or maybe it was possible with magic. But according to the Dark Sorceresses he had consulted, creating a sufficient bridge for the entire army to cross was not possible. If they were all as powerful as their leader D.I.L, maybe, with more Demihuman sacrifices… But reports told that D.I.L. had been vaporized in battle by an enemy Knight’s counterattack.
— For someone full of ambition, you left the battle so quickly.
Gabriel thought with a twinge of regret. But at the end of the day, an AI was merely a piece on a chessboard, and her existence disappeared from his mind.
In other words —
That yawning chasm was something that upsetted the “game balance” of this world. This world had nothing that neither the Human Empire AI nor Dark Territory AI were incapable of fixing.
If that were the case, this likely involved interference from the real world. Somebody from RATH, probably a higher-up, had logged in with a super account like him.
They might even have the same goal. Retrieve «Alice», then eject to the real world through a system console.
Although things were getting troublesome, at this point, he could only plan accordingly.
Or rather — things were getting more interesting.
The corners of Gabriel’s mouth lifted in the slightest of smirks. After it disappeared, he turned to Lengil.
“Very well. We will set up camp here tonight. Feed the troops well; tomorrow will be a busy day.”
“Yes, sire. Your Majesty’s benevolence is truly humbling.”
Paying his respects once more, the Merchants’ Guild chief left in high spirits.
***
“From the same world as… Kirito-senpai?”
The two girls asked in unison, their red and blue eyes round.
“Th-that means… the world of the gods? The three gods who created this world… the Kingdom in the sky that the gods who govern the Elements, and the angels reside in…?”
“No.”
Asuna shook her head.
“It is a world outside of this one, but definitely not one of the gods. Because… Look at Kirito-kun, do you guys think he looks like a god or an angel?”
The girls looked towards the wheelchair again, exchanged looks, then both stifled giggles. They hastily adjusted their expressions, and nodded.
“Yes… Yes… Right, there shouldn’t be any gods who escape from the academy in the middle of the night to buy snacks… right…?”
Hearing the red-haired girl’s words, it was Asuna’s turn to gape. Really, he was still like that even in this world. Speechless and elated, Asuna felt tears on her cheeks once more.
She blinked rapidly and nodded – Right. Then, the girl with tea-colored hair asked:
“Uh… Um, this outside world… What’s… it like?”
Asuna thought for a moment, then replied:
“It’s a long story. I’d like to tell it to the person in charge of everything here. Could you please take me to them?”
“O-Okay. Understood.”
The girls agreed nervously. Asuna prepared to follow them to the back of the large caravan, then stopped to look back at Kirito again.
On his bowed face, dried tear tracks were still visible.
— It’s all right now, it’s all right now, Kirito-kun. You can leave the rest to me…
Asuna said softly in her heart, tightly gripping his left hand. Then she turned, slipped past a crate, and jumped off the back of the wagon.
Just as her white shoes touched the ground —
Golden light appeared before her.
The glint of a sword blade.
Before she could react, her body moved on instinct. Her right hand lunged for the rapier at her left waist.
Kyariin!
The sound of metal against metal shattered the dark silence of the woods.
While she had managed to deflect the strike, the unexpectedly powerful impact had numbed her entire right arm. What a heavy sword.
Scattered sparks from the collision whitened across her vision. She could barely discern the path of a second instantaneous attack.
Unblockable with a single strike.
Immediately making that judgment, Asuna charged at her opponent and launched a succession of rapid stabs.
Her third jab finally to parry the incoming strike. Switching to the offense, Asuna finally caught a glimpse of the attacker’s features.
She gasped in shock.
An astonishingly beautiful knight with snow-white skin, roughly the same age as she was, was glaring at Asuna. Her sapphire eyes emanated an animosity that seemed to crackle like electricity.
Her golden hair, seemingly fashioned from the element itself, billowed in the air. Her hefty armor and smooth longsword both gleamed a flaxen yellow.
From a distance, the girls looked on, eyes wide. Finally, they managed weak cries.
“Knight-sama, please stop!!”
“She is not an enemy, Alice-sama…!!”
— «Alice»!
Hearing this name, Asuna was stunned again.
This elegant swordswoman before her, wielding a weapon the weight of a boulder — was the world’s first true Bottom-Up AI, the highly adaptive artificial intelligence, ALICE? She was the goal of Project Alicization, and what RATH and the invaders both thirsted for — the center of everything.
But why was Alice attacking her?
Trying her best to block the golden blade, just as Asuna was thinking of what to say, a voice akin to the music of a famous violinist flared from Alice’s cherry-colored lips.
“Who are you?! What do you want with Kirito?!”
As soon as she heard those words.
Asuna tossed everything aside, feeling a certain emotion well up inside her. Specifically, it was a sudden fury.
Her reflexive retort only added fuel to the fire.
“Why…? Because he’s mine!!”
Gritting her pearly-white teeth, Alice yelled:
“What did you say?! You barbarian!!”
The two swords separated with a shower of sparks in all directions.
The golden-haired swordswoman, deftly leapt away, then immediately lunged forward with a vicious upper slash. But this time, Asuna stood her ground, and her right hand launched a familiar combo attack.
Within the nighttime forest, a gigantic crescent moon collided with streaks of comets, emitting a blinding flash.
The impact blew through Asuna’s elbow straight to her shoulder, knocking the wind and tongue out of her mouth. She was only able to match her opponent because of her super account Stacia’s rapier «Radiant Light», a «GM item» that possessed a higher priority than that of Alice’s golden longsword.
Their weapons met again, but a miniscule gap formed between them.
A deep masculine voice broke the silence.
“Ah, the scenery here is excellent. Two blossoming flowers. Ah, what a sight. What a sight.”
A pair of strong arms appeared from where previously there was nothing, their fingers gently gripping the middle of Alice and Asuna’s swords.
“?!”
As if it were sandwiched between a vise, the sword was immovable. The arms effortlessly lifted both swords along with the speechless Asuna and Alice, gently separated the two fighting swordswomen, then placed them back on the ground.
Standing there was a huge man who looked more than forty years old.
On top of what looked like a kimono, he wore defensive gear of the lowest grade.
Whether it was the iron-colored longsword hanging from his waist or the arms extending from his sleeves, both were carved with a myriad of scars. He perfectly fitted the description of a hero.
As soon as the man appeared, Alice puffed up her cheeks and began to protest as though she was suddenly younger:
“Why stop me, Oji-san! This person could
very well be a spy for the enemy…”
“I don’t think so. This young lady helped me escape from the jaws of death. I believe the same happened for you all?”
The latter question was directed towards the wide-eyed girls in gray uniforms who stood to the side.
Both of them nodded furiously, and spoke in thin voices.
“Y… Yes, Honorable Knight Commander. That woman saved us.”
“She just, with a wave of her hand, sent the enemy soldiers into the abyss… It was, simply a miracle.”
The man who had been addressed as the Knight Commander glanced at the large crevice that Asuna had created, then put his hand on Alice’s shoulder and explained:
“I saw it too. Multicolored light came down from the sky, and the ground split into a hundred mel crack. Even the Fist Fighters’ Guild couldn’t get away, and they panicked. Fact is, this young lady saved us just as our army was on the verge of defeat. This isn’t the time to fight.”
“……”
Golden longsword in hand, Alice continued staring suspiciously at Asuna.
“Then… what Oji-san wants to say is, this person is neither a spy for the enemy, nor impersonating a divine figure, and she’s the real Goddess Stacia?”
Asuna bit her lip in silence. If this Knight Commander, the man seemingly at the top, were to regard her as a god, things would become very messy.
Fortunately for her, the man’s chiseled mouth slackened a bit, and he replied.
“Probably not. If she really were a Goddess, she would be an existence far colder and crueler than the even the Highest Minister. Like, mercilessly ending the lives of those murderous wild men and all?”
Alice had no retort to that. Her hostility unchanged, she flashed a flaming glare at Asuna and placed her sword back in its scabbard with a shakin!
Asuna also had many questions. What was that for? What are you to Kirito-kun? But with a deep breath she could finally take, she suppressed her anger.
Asuna’s mission was to bring Alice to the «World End Altar» at the southernmost part of the Underworld, and eject her Light Cube from the Light Cube Cluster.
In other words, she had to convince this girl, who did not mix well with her at all, to leave the Human Empire Army. This definitely was not the time to fight.
Sheathing her weapon, Asuna spoke to the Knight Commander:
“Yes… You’re right. I’m not a goddess; I’m a human like you all. However, I do have some knowledge of your situation. That’s because I am a human who has come from outside this world.
“Outside, huh…”
The Knight Commander stroked his chin stubble, then smiled crudely.
In contrast, Alice’s eyes went huge and she demanded shrilly:
“From outside…?! Then, are you from where Kirito came from?”
Asuna was astonished. It appeared that Kirito had already explained some things about the Underworld to Alice as well.
Taking the Fluctlight Acceleration Rate into consideration, Kirito had now remained in this world for three years. Asuna could not help but wonder that how much time he had spent together with Alice in this world.
It seemed as though Alice was thinking the same thing. Before she could ask more questions, the Knight Commander stopped her with a wave of his hand.
“What comes next is probably for the rest of the Knights and Guards to hear. We’ll talk about this over tea. Besides, the enemy aren’t going to make any more moves tonight.”
“… I see.”
Alice nodded, her face stern.
“All right, it’s settled… Could you young ladies over there help us prepare some tea, and get me some liquor as well? You ladies should hear this too.”
On receiving the Knight Commander’s instructions, the young uniformed trainees replied and saluted respectfully.
Asuna wanted to see Kirito once again before she left this place, but before she could move, Alice’s piercing voice entered her ears.
“Let me be clear: from now on, no one is to enter that wagon without my permission. Ensuring Kirito’s safety is my responsibility alone.”
This is the worst.
Asuna calmed her bubbling emotions.
“… Same to you, stop calling my Kirito-kun directly by his name…”
“What did you say?!”
“… No, nothing.”
Hmph, Alice and Asuna spun away from each other, and followed the Knight Commander’s retreating shadow.
The two girls left behind — Tiese and Ronye exhaled simultaneously.
“Looks like… things are going to be rough from now on.”
Tiese suddenly raised her hands and said to her friend:
“Come on, we’ve got water to boil! Right, which wagon was the liquor in? … Come on, Ronye!”
Before she chased after the red-haired girl, Ronye murmured something that no one else heard.
“… He should be, my senpai, too…”
5
Asuna held the teacup with one hand, while gazing at the crackling bonfire.
What realistic flames.
They were not even in the same dimension as the special effects flames depicted with the rendering engines in SAO and ALO. Every spark that danced up when dry wood cracked, the thick, charred smell floating in the air, and even the warmth she felt on her face and hands, all stimulated Asuna’s senses more realistically than reality itself.
Not just the fire. The rigidity of the folding chair’s seat, the smooth feel of the wooden cup, and the rich, soothing aroma of the tea; along with the trees around them, their leaves rustling crisply in the night wind.
Since entering the Underworld, having to deal with endless drama, Asuna had been unable to fully experience this world. As she revived her senses, she was truly impressed by the STL’s «Mnemonic Visual».
It seemed that Kirito, who had been logged in without knowing that this was a virtual world, must have become well-experienced before realizing the circumstances. After all — there was not a single NPC in this world.
Asuna turned away from the bonfire and gazed towards the people gathered in the round forest clearing. Quick introductions had already been exchanged.
Sitting to her left and hogging what looked like a bottle of vintage liquor was Integrity Knight Commander Bercouli. Beside him was Integrity Knight Alice, dressed fully in golden armor. Against the fire’s orange glow, her golden locks deepened in color; Asuna could not help but acknowledge her stunning beauty.
To Alice’s left sat a shiftless youth of about fifteen or sixteen years old, who seemed to be an Integrity Knight of the highest «Class». His name was Renri.
Further down, a slender female Knight sat as quietly as a shadow. Her shining new armor seemed not to fit her at all: from time to time, she either pulled on the straps, or loosened them, looking just like a beginner in a VRMMO. But when she was introduced as Sheyta, in the split second that Asuna met her long, narrow eyes, a certain indescribable boldness seemed to lay within.
To Sheyta’s left, across the bonfire from Asuna, around ten people, addressed as Guard Leaders, sat side by side in a row of chairs. Among the tough, hardened faces, there was one female.
To Asuna’s right, the young uniformed girls from before were curled up together, sitting as quietly and as far away as possible. The red-haired girl named Tiese and the tea-color haired girl, Ronye, appeared to be younger students from the academy that Kirito had enrolled in half a year ago.
After sizing up each of the ten-plus swordsmen, Asuna was touched.
Without doubt, they were real humans.
Their appearance, actions, and even their breaths was absolutely devoid of artificiality. Furthermore, the fact that only one artificial Fluctlight, Alice, had managed to break through their «inability to defy law and order», was quite unbelievable.
She now completely understood Kirito’s wish to protect each and everyone of them.
I will inherit that will.
Asuna steeled her determinat
ion, then took a deep breath, and spoke:
“Greetings, everyone. I believe this is the first time we’ve met. My name is Asuna. I’m from the outside world.”
While it had only been eight days since her departure, Alice was beginning to miss the short, idyllic time she had spent living reclusively with Kirito in the border village of Rulid, when she would often push Kirito in his wheelchair on their way to the nearby farm.
Surrounded by a white wood fence, woolly sheep would graze nonchalantly on the green grass, and among them, the pure-white lambs would race around, full of energy.
Alice could not help but marvel at their blessed lives. Not having to worry about the world outside that fence, peacefully living in captivity, protected by humans.
She never expected that —
The people of this world were leading lives exactly like those sheep.
That otherworldly girl Asuna’s words had dealt an earth-shattering shock to all of the Knights and Guard Leaders. Even Knight Commander Bercouli, while maintaining his usual relaxed expression, must have been thoroughly shaken inside.
Asuna had called the world where the Human Empire and Dark Territory existed together using a word in the Sacred Tongue: “Underworld”. And outside — not geographically, but conceptually — was a strange realm termed the “Real World”.
Of course, the Guard Leaders successively raised various questions about that world, which seemed no different from the land of the gods.
The visitor replied. The people living in the Real World, like them, were human beings with emotions, desires, and limited Life.
And right now, at a highly specific location in the Real World, two powers were jostling for control of the Underworld.
Asuna seemed to be a messenger for one of them. Her goal was to protect the Underworld.
The other side’s goal was — to retrieve one single human from the Underworld. After that, they would undertake the destruction of the entire world, rendering everything they knew into absolute nothingness.
Hearing those words, the Guard Leaders began making a reckless racket.
What quelled this disturbance was Bercouli’s thunderous bellow.
Isn’t it the same? The three-hundred year old hero pointed out. Beyond the Human Empire lies the endless Dark Territory, with an army of tens of thousands just waiting for a chance to invade. Until today, there has not been a single one who has sat down and carefully thought about this reality. It’s just an extra world outside of ours, what are you afraid of?
Volume 16 Page 18
