The mass of red soldiers preparing to charge from the crater rim, the stopped Human Empire army, even Renly at their lead- all looked up at the sky in unison.

Clear in the sky, there were two figures falling toward the ground.

They were both women. One was wearing armour the same blue as the azure light and a skirt as white as a cloud. The second was wearing purple armor as a moon symbol was the back of her armor as she's the guard of Lunaria.

The first figure suddenly raised its right hand into the air, and a mass of bright light appeared in its palm. A lone string appeared in their hand, they twirled it until it landed where the bowstring of their bow would be.

The second's golden colour magnified by tenfolds, they lowed the sword below their waist. The light of the moon that was coming from the south side of the Underworld was siphoning the power emitted from it.

Like time slowed. They both finalized their charging attacks, the first pulled back the string of their bow made of light, the second slowly swiped their sword to the left.

Time resumed, an arrow made of light shot directly downward, and the second's sword fully swiped to the left. The arrow then instantly, split apart into many pieces that flew in all directions. The mass of light that shot from the sword then followed the path of the countless arrow, followed close behind it.

The beams curved and hurtled at tight angles, plunging down to the surface as blazing laser beams. A pale light then followed the path life a dome around the arrows that made a dome all ready.

Kitsune recognized the attacks that were just unleashed since his master had helped design them. These were the Solus and Lunaria, both of which were Super Accounts.

????: It can't shoot rapid-fire? That's fine. Single Shot weapons are more fitting for me, anyway.

????: That felt weird... it felt like a part of me was shot out of my body for that...

The second commented, their sword in front of them.

The two figures were using a gift like the other Super accounts, called Unlimited Flight. It was like the "voluntary flight" of ALO and there wasn't any difference between them.

Kitsune smiles as was Kirito, Sachi and Asuna both tearing up at the figures slowly descending to the ground. They touched the ground, Kitsune fell to the ground as well surprising the two.

Them: Yami!?

They exclaimed in unison.

Sachi stopped next to Kitsune along with Kirito and Asuna as the four of them were standing in front of two of their sister in laws/master's mates.

Kitsune: no master is still not awaken yet.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

In the battlefield horses were pulling the carriages that had supplies as Sinon and Yuuki spoke with Asuna and Sachi.

Sinon: Asuna, Sachi, about five kilometers south of here, you'll see what it looks like abandoned ruins.

Yuuki: I think we can attack the enemy there without being surrounded

Asuna: alright girls. No matter how huge the American VRMMO population maybe, I doubt they can get anymore right away.

Sachi: if we can beat the players they have now, the enemy won't be able to do anything, I think.

Sinon: all right, leave it to us.

Yuuki: but is Yami dead? Our brains thought he died since he didn't responded our phone calls, messages anything I even checked his room and he wasn't there and I thought he was sleeping until he wasn't in his room.

Sachi: Yami is in here.

Sinon: okay we're going to say hi.

So they walked to the carriage and opened the door to see Ronye and Tiese resting as they saw them and stand up.

Them: L-lady Solus?

Sinon: oh hello there. I may look like Solus but not on the inside. My name is Sinon.

Yuuki: I'm Yuuki nice to meet you.

Both the looked at Asuna and looked back at Sinon.

Sinon: that's right, like Asuna, I'm from the real world. And I'm Yami's....mates.

Tiese: I see it.

Ronye: they're all females.

Yuuki: and we're not the only ones.

They saw Yami in the wheelchair as they walked towards him and he looks up to them.

Yami: Sinon....Yuuki....

Kitsune then walks in as he sees his master struggling.

Yuuki: what happened?

He told them everything what happened and shocked on the situation they're in.

Kitsune: master I'm sorry what you are in.

Yuuki: so now what?

Kitsune: well we have to give chase Vecta and take back Alice before he gets to the World End Alter if he does that means the souls will be taken but the world will be nothing but an empty world with nothing.

Sachi: but how can we catch him?

Kitsune: master how created your accounts as he used bit of his powers to give you all flight so you don't have to use a dragon.

Sinon: I'll do it.

Yuuki: I'll provide the backup.

Kitsune senses another life force as he smiles but growls.

Kitsune: I must leave.

He blasted away as everyone was confused.

Asuna: where is he going?

Sachi: I don't know but it's something important.

Sinon: Don't worry about Alice... I'll get her.

Sinon said, floating into the air before she even meet the fluctlights of the Human Empire.

Yuuki smiled and floated into the air as well, Sinon smiled to herself as she faced forward.

They went in separate directions. Yuuki's account gave her the ability to sense the beings in this world and right now she sensed Leafa to the north along with two other people. The seven hundred strong human empire army headed south, raising a trail of dust behind it The army of red charging after them from the north was at least 200 times their number, Yuuki flew over them and the knights looked up at her in surprise. She catches up to Kitsune who had a serious look on his face.

Kitsune: so you're join me, Zekken?

Yuuki: yeah, I know this isn't a game but another world.

Kitsune: yes and prepare to kill a certain dark mage, she's gonna regret ever being created.
——-

Toward the north of where the Human Empire Army's current location, Lilpilin was grieving the deaths of his troops and childhood friend. He dug into the ground and pulled out the earring his childhood friend was wearing prior to her death.

Lipilin: Len.

He sadly muttered at the earring.

Lipilin: What are we fighting for? Why did you all have to die for them?

His questions went unanswered before he curled up and let out a scream of frustration.

Then right behind him was a scream that was mixing in with his own until the source crashed into the ground. The shockwave caused Lilpilin to fly forward from the unexpected wave, he clutched Len's earring so he wouldn't drop it.

????: Ouch!

The figure bolted upward, frustration completely evident in their voice.

????: Jeez! This is why I can't stand brand new equipment!"

They noticed Lilpilin gazing at them and that's when he got a good look at the one who fell down right behind him.

She was just too beautiful for him to bear.

Her body was so delicate that a mere touch might break off their limbs. Her hair shone brilliantly even in the weak sunlight, and the large eyes that gazed up at him in surprise were as pure as polished emeralds.

Lipilin: D....Don't look! Don't look at meeee!!

He screamed, covering his face with one fist and clenching the hilt of his sword with the other.

Instead of reacting to his hostility, the female got up to her feet and dusted the dirt off her.

????: Um, good afternoon. Or should it be good morning?

She asked finally standing up straight. The look in her eyes was confusing Lilpilin as he lowered his guard a bit.

Lipilin: Why aren't you running away? Why aren't you screaming? You're a human, so why not?"

The girl was startled and uncertain.

????: Why? Because you're a human, aren't you?"

Lipilin: H-Human? Me? How ridiculous! Can't you tell by looking? I'm an orc! An orc, which you lums revile as pig people!

????: But you're still a human, right?

The girl repeated, putting her delicate hands to her waist. She spoke like a parent lecturing a child.

????: After all, you and I are standing here talking. What else would you need?

She took a step forward, Lilpilin took a step backward.

????.What else?

Lilpilin stood there in shock and confusion, gasping and snorting for breath. But the girl just pushed all of that aside with a simple and spun around to survey the area.

????: More importantly.....Where are we?
———

Suguha Kirigaya, better known as Leafa, surmised that she had dropped down at a location far from the initial login coordinates. She stared up at the baleful sky overhead. Leafa has never trusted technology that was brand new, and that is exactly what her STL was, they didn't even unwrap the plastic around it.

Her login coordinates were supposed to be set to Asuna and Rain's present location, the same as Sinon's in the STL next to her. Given that they were nowhere to be seen, something must've gone wrong. But the blasted wasteland all around wasn't empty- there was a humanoid with a round body and a piglike face nearby: an Orc.

According to the colour marker that functioned for only a short period after the initial dive, this was an orc, and not one of the enemy American VRMMO players. It was an artificial Fluctlight of the Underworld, a true bottom-up artificial intelligence, as Yui described it.

It only made sense. She couldn't kill the people that her brother Kirito and Yami were trying to protect. If the artificial fluctlights died in their virtual world, their souls would be forever destroyed and never come back.

But now that she had a better look...

Leafa was used to playing in ALO, which boasted the finest graphics of any fame found in The Seed Nexus, but the realism of the orc in her presence left her stunned. The movement and dampness of that large pink stout, the texture of the metal armour and leather cloak over its huge body, and most of all, the richness of expression and intelligence in its small black eyes- these things told her all she needed to know about the authenticity of the soul behind it all.

She tried asking the orc where they were, but for some reason, it looked away in seeming embarrassment and did not reply. Deciding that starting from a more formal position might be better, she switched to a different question.
——

Leafa: Um, what's your name?

Lilpilin: I-I'm Lilpilin."

The girl grinned innocently again and repeated his name.

Leafa: Lilpilin? That's a nice name. I'm Leafa. Hello, nice to meet you.

She extended her willowy arm in his direction.

He stared hard at the little hand and growled. The girl waited for him for a good ten seconds before she finally lowered her arm in disappointment.

Lilpilin: You're a knight from the Human Empire Army, aren't you? Then I'm taking you as my prisoner. And I'm taking you to the emperor!"

His threat did not seem to frighten the girl. She looked thoughtful and eventually titled her shoulders to ask,

Leafa: When you say 'Emperor,' you mean Vecta, the Dark god, right?"

Lilpilin: Th-That's right.

Leafa: All right. Then take me to the emperor.

She said, sticking her hands out together. He was confused at first, until he recognized that she was motioning not for a handshake, but for him to chain her up.

Lilpilin then removed some rope from his waist and tied Leafa's hands together, he kept a line running out to serve as a lead.

Lilpilin: I don't understand what she's thinking...

Lilpilin: Come on.

He spun around and began to pull her along, not too roughly, but only got a few steps along when there was something like a black mist around them. A nasty stench stung his nostrils. Soon Lilpilin could not even see, and he spun in alarm.

Lilpilin: Wha...?!

came a yelp of alarm, which belonged to the girl named Leafa. Out of the corner of his eye, Lilpilin caught the sight of an arm reaching out through the thick darkness to grab Leafa's dangling hair and violently yank her upward.

Then the owner of the arm came tearing through the veil to reveal herself.

A woman who should have been dead- Dee Eye Ell, chancellor of the dark mages guild- stood there with a sadistic smile on her blue lips.

Dee Eye Ell: The smell... oh, the smell! So sweet, the fragrance of life!

Croaked Dee Eye Ell as she lifted the human girl up by the hair.

Dee Eye Ell's tanned skin, once gleaming with perfumed oils, and her thick, wavy black hair was both in a bedraggled state now. Wounds that oozed blood crossed every bit of her skin, like she'd been slashed with countless knives. With each movement, the lacerations pulled apart, sending more fresh blood spurting out. But the dark mist around the mage gathered around her wounds and began to plug them, hissing with an unpleasant stink.

The edges of her mouth curled upward.

Dee Eye Ell: What a splendid prey you've captured! Good job, pig. As a reward, I'm going to show you something amusing!"

Dee stuck the clawlike fingers of her right hand down to the collar of the hanging, anguished girl. Instantly, she ripped the lose the silver armour and pale green top she wore underneath it. The girl squirmed even more as her blindingly pale skin was exposed. Dee's smile was sadistic, and she hissed with laughter.

Dee Eye Ell: Is this your first time seeing the body of a human woman? Does a pig find this tempting? Well, the fun part is only getting started.

Suddenly, her fingers wriggled as though the bones were gone. They were no longer fingers, in fact, but the appearance of long wormlike things. Tiny mouths lined with sharp teeth opened at the ends of them, and they flopped and writhed in an unpleasant manner.

Dee: Here we go...!

Shouted Dee. The fiver worm things stretched and grew dozens of times their length and wrapped around the girl's body. With her bound and immobile, the ends of the creatures reared back and jammed their heads into her flesh to bite down.

Leafa: Aaaah!!

Blood squirted from the bites as the girl named Leafa shrieked, her green eyes bulging. She tried to brush off the worms, to yank them free, but her arms were tied down to her body.

The dark mage craned back her head and cried out.

Dee Eye Ell: System Call!! Transfer Human Unit Durability to Self!!

A shining blue glow appeared at the girl's injuries. It travelled through the long worms, marking the flow of blood, and made its way up into Dee's arm. The girl's anguish grew even starker, and her delicate body thrashed backward so hard that it seemed ready to break in half.

Dee Eye Ell: Ahhh... Incredible... It is incredible!! How rich... how sweet!!

The screeching voice pierced Lilpilin's eardrums.

Lilpilin: Wh-what are you doing? That girl is my prisoner! I'm taking her to the emperor!"

Dee: Silence, you damned pig!

Shrieked Dee, her eyes bloodshot and mad.

Dee: Have you forgotten that the emperor has given me full command? My will is the emperor's will! My orders are the emperor's orders.

The light was going out of the girl's eyes. The Paleness of her skin was turning sallow, and her arms dangled limply at her sides. But Dee's finger worms continued to wriggle and with, determined to suck out every last drop of blood.

She was going to die. His precious prisoner.

The very first human to look at him without fear or disdain.

Just then, Lilpilin's eyes bulged with shock. The ground... the blackened, sootlike earth of the Dark Territory, began to glow bright green beneath the dangling girl.

Soft, fresh shoots erupted from the ground- something that should have been possible only in extremely limited regions- and bloomed tiny flowers of many colours. Fragrant, healing scent exuded from them, and even the bloodred sunlight changed to a gentle milky white.

The rich blooming life from the little mound of grass swirled upward and into the body of the girl. Her pale skin began to flush with blood again, and her eyes went from dazed to bright. Her lifeforce had just returned in mere moments, this shocked Lilpilin.

Dee: I don't believe it! It's surging... it's overflowing again!" Screamed Dee in her awful voice. She would've already been healed by now. Dee let go of the girl's hair and turned the fingers of that hand into more of the hideous worm things.

With more wet smacks, the five new tentacles stabbed into the girl's skin.

Leafa: Aaaaah...!!

Her cry was drowned out by a gale of Dee's Laughter.

Dee: It's mine! This is all mine!!
———-

Leafa: I have to endure.

Neither in real life nor in ALO had Leafa felt such mind-numbing pain. All she could do was repeat the mantra to herself.

She'd gotten an explanation of the unique abilities of Super account 03, Terraria, the Earth Goddess, before she dived. She had Unlimited Automatic Recovery, which absorbed energy from a wide range around the user automatically and could allow her to heal the durability of herself and other people and objects. With that ability, on top of her massive total of hit points, Higa assured her that it was virtually impossible for her to die by means of HP loss.

That is why Leafa prioritized encountering Emperor Vecta, even risking the danger of becoming a prisoner, and why she swore to herself that she would never draw her sword on the Underworlders.

The woman who was constricting Leafa and inflicting agony upon her, like Lilpilin, was an Underworlder- an Artificial Fluctlight. If she sliced the woman with her sword, her soul would be forever destroyed. She couldn't fight the woman without knowing why she was injured and why she wanted to be healed this way.

On the other hand... the pain of having her life sucked away was overwhelming, so much so that she didn't have room to feel the same of most of her top being ripped away.

Was this really just a virtual sensation, with no relation to anything the real body felt?
———

Lilpilin: Stop.

Lilpilin did not initially recognize that the word was coming from his own mouth.

But then the action repeated itself clearer, the movement of his mouth and vibration of his vocal cords unmistakable.

Lilpilin: Stop!

Dee moved around Leafa's figure and said,

Dee: What's that? Are you giving me an order?" she stomped toward the orc.

Dee: Didn't I tell you, pig? This prisoner is mine now! No matter how much life I suck out of her, or if I choke the life out of her right here, it has nothing to do with you, see?"

In fact, the excess of life flowing through her was dispersing out into the air in the form of blue lights. But Dee showed no sign of undoing her wicked bondage. She chuckled, the laughter muffled deep in her throat.

Dee: But hold on. It was you who found her, after all, so maybe a slight concession is in order? All right, let's see you strip naked right now."

Lilpilin: What are you talking about?.

Dee:!Ever since I first saw you in that preposterous armour and cloak, it's always made me gag. A lowly pig looking almost human. If you strip naked on the spot, crawl around on all fours, and squeal, then I might let you have this girl back.

Zirnk.

A red light flickered on the right side of his vision. He felt a deep, deep pain in the middle of his head, like a steel needle had been jabbed all the way through his right eye.

But you're still human, right?

What else would you need?

He grabbed the necklace in the middle of his chest, ripped it off and the cloak fell to the ground. He needed to do this if he didn't want Dee to kill the girl. He reached for his leather armour's straps next. But then came a faint voice:

Leafa: Stop

He looked up with a start, directly into Leafa's eyes.

Those emerald pools, tearful with pain, shook from side to side.

Lilpilin: I'm... fine, so... don't do it!

Dee: Come on, what's wrong, pig? Just strip already! Or could it be that you're aroused by the sight of naked human flesh?

She crackled and giggled. His right hand moved from the straps and slowly made its way to his left side as he said.

Lilpilin: I'm... I'm...

Blood erupted from his right eye as he drew his sword and shouted,

Lilpilin: I'm human!!

Right as the worst pain yet lanced through his eye, and the organ burst from the inside. Lilpilin hurtled a quick draw slash right at Dee's unguarded legs. But since he attacked in the moments after he lost half of his eyesight, he failed to judge the distance correctly. The tip of the sword only grazed Dee's right shin, and Lilpilin lost his balance, toppling shoulder first into the ground. Through his upturned eye, he saw Dee Eye Ell's mouth curl into an expression of fury and disgust.

Dee: You stinking pig!

Dee tossed the girl behind her and raised her hands.

Dee: How dare you put a scratch on me!

Her fingers went from tentacles to shining black blades.

Dee: I'm going to chop you up, mix you with hay, and then feed you... to the boars!!

The orc chief waited for the array of blades to come down on him.

Tup.

Thump.

Two quiet sounds happened nearly simultaneously. Dee froze in place.

The mage's arms separated from her body just below the shoulders and fell heavily to the ground, a fact that Lilpilin only hazily registered.

Dee looked just as shocked as anyone else. Blood spurted and gushed from her shoulders as she slowly turned to look behind her. She saw the figure of Leafa along with another shining brightly. Leafa held her longsword up in the air after a swing, the second figure was in the same position except their sword was pointed forward.

The dark mage's head shook in utter disbelief.

Dee: Three humans... cutting a human... to save a pig...?

????: No,"

The second figure that revealed itself to be Yuuki covered in bright magenta light explained.

Yuuki: We're cutting evil to save a person.

Kitsune: the evil is you Dee and you're the pig, not Lilpilin.

And with a smooth, push forward, her sword took on a bright magenta effect. The tip of the blade extended over ten meters, going right through the body of Dee and the area in front of her.

The moment the blade protruded through Dee's body, the spatial power within it burst from the area within her torso. The body of Dee Eye Ell, the greatest living dark mage and highest member of the reaming ten lords, exploded leaving nothing left.

Kitsune: that's done you guys should return to the base.

He senses three more life force as he smirks.

Kitsune: looks like my luck is getting better.
——-

At the abandoned Ruins, the Human Empire Army was now awaiting for their enemies to catch up to them so the battle resumes. The battle cries of the American VRMMO Players drew everyone's attention.

Baiken, Sachi, Asuna and Kirito all stood near the back of the ruins, each hearing the American VRMMO players get closer. Artoria, Medina, Edith and Eugeo were standing farther behind them, all their weapons were drawn for the upcoming battle.

Kirito: So how many do you think there are?

Kirito asked, unable to count all the red soldiers he could see.

Everyone looked to Baiken for an answer.

Baiken: It's an estimate but I don't you should know considering I don't want to discourage you all before the battle.

The number of red players he could count now that he could focus on sensing them was beyond what he could imagine.

Asuna: Mother, tell us.

Asuna sternly turned to her mother in law, hands on her hips.

Baiken: I'm just trying to protect your wills to fight, you know?

Baiken dramatically threw his hands in the air.

Sachi: Tell us.

Sachi's stern voice caused him to freeze up. Those watching from behind were amused, watching Baiken, the strongest person they knew being afraid of Yami's girlfriend. Baiken tried backing away, but Kirito grabbed her before she could get away since she really wanted to know.

Kirito: It can't be that bad.

Kirito tried to reason with his boyfriend's mother.

"It's that bad."

"No, it isn't."

"Yes, it is."

"No, it isn't."

"Yes, it is."

"No, it isn't."

"Yes, it-"

Sachi cut in between the arguing friends, who acted like brothers and if Baiken had black hair some would probably think that as well.

Sachi: Stop it!

She turned toward her mother in law and with an even more stern voice said,

Sachi: Tell us.

Baiken: Oh, would you look at that... I need to find a way to fix my sword-

She stopped when she felt three pairs of eyes glaring at her.

Baiken: Okay, fine!"

She threw up her arms again before she continued.

Baiken: There are at least half a million American Players coming straight at us.

The reveal shocked them, he couldn't even fathom that many players in one area since SAO had only ten thousand players and the entire player base gathered together once at the beginning of the game.

Kirito: That is a lot of players.

Kirito muttered in disbelief hearing the battle about to begin.

Baiken: You guys wanted to know and I told you. C'mon, we have to get ready for the battle.

Baiken patted her son's boyfriend's back, walking past him.

At the front of the group, Renly and Medina  both pointed their arms toward the approaching red soldiers.

Them: Attack!

Theh ordered in unison. Everyone drew their weapons, Yu manifested Izanagi along with the rest of the persona users. Optimus, Soundwave Ringo, Nemissa and Figue weren't there as their time was limited so they had to return to Yami's mind to rest.

Artoria drawing her Excalibur, Eugeo drew Blue Rose Sword, both Sachi and Asuna drew their weapons near the middle of the group, and finally, Kirito drew his black sword and Baiken drew her katana.

The Human Empire Army clashed with the first group of red soldiers with loud battle cries that were much different from the red soldiers' own cries. The red players only had numbers to their advantage but that difference was allowing them to cut down all the guardsmen they clashed with.

Baiken, Kirito, Eugeo and Medina all dashed forward at the mass of red players. Kirito and Eugeo slashed through their red armour easily with their divine weapons, Medina leaped through the air and cut the heads of many of them, Baiken slashes them and with each punch was a new element discharging from her blades while the others she made flew over the army and fell in the middle of them.

Asuna dashed forward, thrust her rapier through the helmet of one warrior before turning around to thrust it into another. The speed of her attacks was impossible but that didn't matter to her as she continued killing the red soldiers.

Sachi covered her fragments of lights in focused light energy giving her more power with each of her strikes. She leaped forward, jumping right before she collided with a mass of red soldiers and sliced all their heads off in one motion. The light that killed the red players then leeched onto the next group of red players as Sachi was controlling it so it wouldn't attack any of the human units.
———

Above them was a watching figure, he stood atop one of the many stone statues. It was male and he wore tight-fitting black leather with almost no metal plating whatsoever, like a motorcycle riding suit. The smooth leather was instead studded with dull silver rivets all over.

His only weapon, which hung from his left, was a huge dagger almost the size of a kitchen knife. His face was hidden; he wore a black leather poncho with a hood that kept pulled down over his features. Where his lips were visible, they featured a smile twisted in extreme.

Vassago Casals.

After logging back into the Underworld, he deftly evade Sinon and Yuuki's wide-ranging laser attack and snuck among the Americans chasing after the Human Empire Army's decoy force. He chose not to take part in the first wave of attackers.

Vassago: Glad to see he haven't changed.

He coldly said, watching Kirito fighting the American players.

Vassago: And that punk Yami's bitches are just like them as well.

He glanced at Asuna and Sachi fighting further back than them.

Deep inside Vassago, he swore he would finish them off before this world came to an end.
———

Bercouli: Why can't I catch up? Even though I've been switching between three dragons?"

He made his long seeing glass again and saw the Emperor's dragon with Alice beneath it.

Bercouli: Can this Dark god manipulate the life of a flying dragon?"

That couldn't be possible. Directly manipulating life was the greatest of forbidden arts, something that even the late Administrator could not do.

Bercouli: No way around it, eh?

He muttered, brushing the hilt of his Time Splitting Sword.

It was cold, hard, and trusty. But he could sense that his sword was far from recovering all its life. The fatigue on the weapon from the Perfect Weapon Control art he'd used at the Eastern Gate was worse than he'd realized.

He drew the sword in one motion and held it far above his head.

Bercouli: Forgive me, nameless flying dragon.

Then his pale blue eyes narrowed, and the oldest knight in the world uttered a brief but powerful command.

Bercouli: Time Splitting Sword--- Uragiri!!

He swung the blade downward, heavily but with tremendous speed. The blue afterimages traced the path of the sword, every bit of their length shining, before going out.

In the far distant sky, the left wing of the black dragon carrying Emperor Vecta Silently separated from its shoulder joint.

Bercouli: Urgiri is 'The sword that slashes the past.' Even an emperor won't be able to rewind time!

Bercouli said to nobody but himself as the figure of Emperor Vecta became cleared as he landed on top of a rock.

Beecouli: If I fall, head back north and rejoin the unit.

He jumped off his trusty dragon and used Ariel arts to make it seem as if he was flying but he was merely walking on the air.
——-

The reason why Alice was still unconscious even after several hours was because of the special ability belonging to the Super account of Vecta. He could manipulate the residents of the Underworld- artificial fluctlights.

Technically, he overwrote their memories, altering the vector data in their fluctlights- the inspiration for his name- so that they could be placed in distant locations or given new families and still function.

Because this meant physically abducting the residents, that made the role unsuitable for worship, unlike the other gods. Therefore, in addition to his top priority gear and maximum life value, he had another layer of powerful protection: He could not be targeted with arts. The "Lost children of Vecta," a kind of folklore myth in the Underworld, referred to those who had been moved elsewhere by Vecta's powers.

And the combination of the Dark god's powers with Gabriel Miller's extreme sense of imagination- his ability to incarnate- had a synergistic effect that even Rath's engineers could not have predicted.

He absorbed a person's will without using arts. Alice's fluctlight was temporarily rendered inactive, putting her into a kind of forced coma.

The way that he devoured Dark General Shasta's tremendous Incarnation was another feat of Vecta's and Gabriel's powers combined.

And now Shasta's longtime respected rival, Integrity Knight Commander Bercouli, was plunging headlong toward the same conclusion.

Bercouli: Emperor Vecta. Not all Real worlders are demons like you...

Bercouli continued to run on the air by generating wind elements under his feet.

Bercouli: I know just from looking at the ones I met so far. But you've driven the people of the land of darkness onto the battlefield, and caused not just us, but tens of thousands of them to die senselessly.

Vecta was smirking at the approaching Commander as he got lower and lower to the ground.

Bercouli: That proves a human like you is utterly evil to the core. You must pay.

Bercouli ran around the back of Vecta's sight as he did nothing about it and simply stared forward with his smirk still on his face.

Betcouli: You will know the eight of all the lives that perished on the battlefield. With this blow.

Bercouli leaped toward the Emperor the second he was completely behind his back and infused his sword with true anger for the first time in his long lifetime. He was furious. He burned with righteous wrath.

Bercouli: I'll make it clear!

The air seared and flashed. The light his blade produced was so bright that the world lost all colour.

It was undoubtedly the most powerful single sword strike that had ever happened in the history of the Underworld. Its priority level in overwriting the Mnemonic Data of the Main Visualizer surpassed that of the system's commands themselves. It was a true automatic kill shot, nullifying any and all numerical stats that might oppose it.

Even to deplete all the nearly infinite life of the god, Vecta.

As long as it hit.

Vecta's body smoothly slid to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack as the hem of his cloak was destroyed. The entire rock top shook with a thunderous Kabooom!! Chunks of it split off and fell down to the ground below.

Bercouli: How did he evade that?

Bercouli's body did not stop moving for an instant, despite closing his eyes. He kicked one last time in midair and landed around the flank of the emperor, instantly striking on a flat place. He had missed on executing an all-consuming super attack but transitioned to his next swing in less than half a second.

Vecta dodged that one, too.

Like smoke pushed by a breeze, he simply slid along the ground without any shift in momentum. The tip of the sword scraped the surface of his armour, sending up harmless sparks.

Vecta backed up to where Bercouli activated his Perfect Weapon Control art that caused Eugeo so much pain in the Central Cathedral half a year ago.

Bercouli: I've got you! Time Splitting Sword... Karagiri!!

Without exerting any more energy than he needed to, Vecta turned around to face the invisible strike. He raised his arms into the air and stopped the attack, but the crown on his head went flying after being shattered into pieces.

Bercouli: So you can devour people's incarnation?"

Vecta lowered his hands, the force of the Karagiri entirely absorbed now.

Gabriel: Incarnation? Some melding of mind and will, I suppose.

His voice was deathly cold, a human voice stripped of all living humanity. His thin lips moved into the shape typically recognized as a smile.

Gabriel: Your mind is like a wine of aged vintage. Rich, thick, heavy... with a lasting aftertaste. It is not to my taste... but as an opening act, it is a worthy flavour."

His pale hand moved to grab the hilt of the longsword at his side. He pulled the thin blade free from the sheath; it shone with a bluish-purple light. Vecta let the weapon dangle at his side as he smiled again.

Gabriel: Now, let me drink more.
———

Maximum efficiency with minimum movement. That was how Commander Bercouli viewed Emperor Vecta's fight style, which was different from anything he'd seen before.

For one thing, his feet hardly moved. When he dodged an attack, his feet just slid across the ground a tiny bit. He also had nearly no windup for any kind of attack. The sword would be limply held in his right hand, then slither forward to strike at the shortest possible range.

Therefore, it was essentially impossible to predict his movements. The emperor's attacks were not especially quick or powerful, but they kept the vastly experienced Bercouli from countering, five consecutive times.

Bercouli: Don't mock me!

Bercouli dashed forward, swiping his sword at the Emperor who blocked it with ease. More strikes followed Bercouli's movement until they were pushed back half a meter from each other. Vecta raised his sword into the air and Bercouli did the same, and they clashed with a massive shockwave following it, throwing up a dust cloud.

The enemy's sword sank easily, without much resistance. Tall Vecta's knees bent, as if giving out to the pressure.

Bercouli: I win!

Bercouli poured all his finely honed Incarnation into his sword. The well-used steel blade began to give off a red light. The tip of the Time Splitting Sword, which pushed Vecta's black longsword lower and lower, finally touched his shoulder and dug into the surface of his armour.

At that moment, Vecta's sword flashed eerily. The bluish-purple light moved like a living thing, wrapping around the Time Splitting Sword. Suddenly, the rippling, powerful light of Bercouli's silver blade began to wilt and vanish.

Bercouli: What's going on? No, what was I going to do in the first place?

With a sharp crack, Bercouli sensed a freezing chill in his left shoulder and snapped his eyes wide open. He leaped back, sucked in a deep breath, and collected himself.

Bercouli: Did I space out during battle?

It was then he saw his pale blue clothing being stained by red, his gaze landed on a slash across his left shoulder. "You bastard, did you suck my Incarnation straight from my sword?" Bercouli growled, deep in his throat.

The only answer he got was the faintest of smiles. Bercouli clocked his tongue.

Bercouli: This is entertaining and all, Your Majesty. But not being able to cross swords makes this a tough battle. Seriously!

Bercouli grinned back. That wiped the smile from Vecta's mouth.

Gabriel: That reminds me, I haven't tried this yet.

He stuck out his sword out forward, but it was far from the proper range. The blade would never reach-nBut from the tip in the air emerged a vicious blue-black light.

Bercouli: No way, not from a distance, too?

Bercouli muttered before it happened again. His consciousness went dim, like the flickering candle flames.

The Knight Commander stood there dumbly, watching as his opponent's sword slunk its way under his left arm.

Then it jumped upward, smoothly and easily.

Bercouli's thick arm split from the shoulder with a wet, heavy squelch.

Bercouli faltered, his center of gravity thrown off. He stepped on his own left arm lying on the ground. It was the nasty, fleshy feedback he got from his foot that snapped him back to attention before the pain did.

Bercouli: Grgh...!

Bercouli placed two fingers on his right hand against the wound on his shoulder, still holding the Time Splitting Sword, and thought rapidly. The healing arts activated without a command and glowed blue and stopped the bleeding. But there was not enough spatial sacred power on this desolate rock to regenerate the arm that had been lopped off.

Bercouli: Just having that sword pointed at me stopped my conscious thought? How can I counter that? I've already used Karagiri once, so it won't work again. My other secret skill is the Memory Release Uragiri, but who knows if it'll have any effect?

Bercouli blinked to get the sweat from his forehead out of his eyes. In doing so, he came to a sudden realization:

Bercouli: I'm getting desperate. At some point, I lost all my composure. My back's against the wall. This is the place where I may die. The very tipping point between life and death. Heh!

Bercouli Synthesis One, commander of the Integrity Knights, smiled with the knowledge and certainty that he was facing a true threat to his very existence. His gaze moved from the steadily approaching Emperor to the form of the golden Knight, Alice Synthesis Thirty, lying prone to the side of their battle.

Bercouli: Little One... I suppose I wasn't able to give you the thing you truly sought after- the love of a father. I don't remember my own parents at all. But there's one thing I do know. A father is meant to die protecting his own children.nI suppose that's something... you'll never understand as long as you live, monster!!

And the oldest living knight charged, with no plan, no strategy, nothing but his trusty sword in hand.
———

5 minutes prior to Bercouli confronting Vecta, the battle against the American VRMMO players waged on. Baiken was soaked in blood next to Kirito, the two of them were separated from Yami's girlfriends fairly early on.

Baiken: All of us are going to die if we don't do something."

Y/n tiredly said, smashing the helmet of an American player with her foot.

Kirito dodged an attack and slashed them across the chest.

Kirito: I know that... But what can we do?

Baiken: Nothing much since we're greatly unnumbered.

Y/n grabbed the weapons that had fallen to the ground and threw them at the American players.

Baiken: But has that stopped any of us before?

grabbed a one-handed sword, and held it in his right hand.

Kirito:!No, let's do this.

Kirito raised his black sword, and a blue glow appeared.

Baiken iron blade glowed the same deep blue glow.

Baiken: Go!!

She exclaimed and the two swordsmen used <<Nova ascension>> the highest hitting one-handed sword skill. They worked in unison, slashing at the countless red soldiers in front of them with their blades.

Waves of blue energy emitted into the air as Kirito and Baiken made their way back to where they last saw Sachi and Asuna fighting alongside each other. Vassago watched them both, his sadistic grin grew, even more, watching them work together against the American players.
————

Asuna:nGah...uh...

As she panted, blood spilled from her mouth, pooling on the ground at her feet.

But Asuna stayed standing, using one of her swords stuck point first into the earth as support. She had lost sight of both Kirito and Baiken long ago but the pain was taking over her mind from thinking about them.

They managed to cut down the third and fourth waves of heavy lancers, but she now bore over ten wounds in various places on her body. Her red skirt was ripped and tattered, stained no different than its original colour, belonging to both her and her victims.

The fact that her body could still move, despite the puncture wounds from the lances, was impossible to believe. In fact, it was just the brutal fact of her impossible hit point total that was keeping Rain upright.

Asuna: I can't fall... Not here. My body will only give out when my mind does. That means I will be fighting forever!

Medina to her left just ahead of her was bleeding badly, her wounds seemed to be much deeper than hers. Artoria was standing behind him along with Edith who was also bloodied. Eugeo was standing with Raidou, they held their weapons up in the air, the blood messing with their view. Sachi next to her pulled her own rapier out of the ground and held it out to the approaching Red soldiers.

Asuna glanced down at her swords and pulled them out, ready to fight until the very end of the battle.

Asuna: Go!!

Twenty lancers began to charge, the earth pounding with their footsteps.

The steps accelerated. And yet, a high-pitched vibration was coming from somewhere.

Rain found her gaze drawn upward.

There was a line stretching across the red sky. A very fine string of digital code.

Asuna: Enemy... Reinforcements...?

Sachi: Oh no..

There was, at last, the smallest bit of resignation in her voice.

But... this line was not the same red colour as the previous kind they'd seen. It was a deep blue, like the colour of the sky just before dawn.

She wasn't able to surmise what that might mean at this point. She just watched along with her companions, watched wide-eyed, waiting for the results.

The line coalesced about ten years up, flashed momentarily, and turned into human form.

The twenty lancers beneath descended lightly into their midst- and turned red.

The figure instantly glowed bright orange, followed by countless strikes from an unknown weapon at first glance. The slashes then instantly severed the bodies of the soldiers, splattering their pieces onto the ground. The orange ball then returned to human form.

There stood a short, delicate profile, facing the opposite direction. A blue coat over a tube top that has several shades of blue, a silver arm guard on their right arm, thigh-exposing black shorts, and thigh-high black socks.

Sachi had seen this attack before, in a different world. It was a Sword Skill.

It was called <<Collapsing Star>> and was from SAO.

The figure straightened up again, lifted has long, straight, pure white hair and ruby-red eyes. She wears a futuristic, black and purple one-piece dress and thigh-high socks. She takes out her sword which it's blade made from silver with a red lines on the middle.

????: Sorry we're late, Sachi, Asuna.

Them: Yuna!?

Sachi and Asuna rasped, though they hadn't heard their own voices.

Everything was drowned out by the resonance of a multitude of vibrations filling the sky. It was the exact same sound that the American players had made when they appeared, but to Sachi, it sounded like a heavenly host of angels singing.

Thousands of lines of code came hurtling down out of the crimson sky like rain, glowing a vivid blue.

Baiken and Kirito both paused, their eyes locked on the lines of blue code in the sky, the enemy even stopped to watch. Baiken grinned, slashing the American players while they were busy watching the blue code fall from the sky. Kirito did the same this was a chance to whittle down their numbers in the briefest of moments while these lines of code fell from the sky.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

End of Volume
(If it's not working then it's Youtube)