Long ago, Bercouli shared a drink with Administrator in her chambers at the top of the Central Cathedral.

Quinella: Have you ever sensed your own death?

Bercouli: Sensed my death? When I was still a lad, and I got smacked down by either the previous dark general or the one before him, I thought it was going to be it for me.

The pontifex giggled and lifted a crystal glass.

Quinella: But you brought his head to me quite a while ago, didn't you? I believe I converted it into one of those jewels on the floor. You haven't had any moments since then?"

Bercouli: Well, I can recall them if I did. Why do you ask? It seems a sensation that would be foreign to you, my lady.

Quinella: You don't understand, Bercouli. Every day... every day I feel death. Every time I awaken in the morning... No, even in my dreams. I feel it because I don't control everything yet. There are still enemies who live. And there is always the possibility that at some point in the future, there will be a new enemy.

Bercouli: My, my, my. It must be hard to be the pontifex.

A hundred and some years later, in a Dark Territory forest far from the human realm, Bercouli grinned to himself.

Quinella: I feel like I finally understand what you were talking about. Sensing the approach of your own death is merely the flip side of seeking the possibilities of death. In the end, you were searching for a destination you could accept, a death that was fitting, a foe so powerful that no amount of struggle would bring you to victory...

Bercouli: Just like me, now. The same way that I can keenly sense impending death approaching by the moment...

Without Administrator, Bercouli was now the oldest human being in the world. He bounced up from the floor and covered his powerful frame with a simple blue kimono. He tightened the sash, slipped on his sandals, then stuck his sword on his left.

Then he stepped through the hanging flap into the chill of early morning and headed for the messengers' tent to give the order to wake the troops.

(Meanwhile with Quinella)

Quinella who was now resting due to using too much of sacred arts. She began to see visions if Yami wasn't there at all like if he never existed at all. She would've been dead along with the clown, Eugeo dying in Kirito's arms and him being the vegetable state. She even heard Eugeo's voice when she checked up on them and their progress.

Eugeo: If Yami wasn't there then I would've been dead? That means Kirito would've been in Yami's situation?

This caused her to question if Yami was never there than means she would never given a second chance to redeem herself?

Quinella: once I regain my strength I'm join the battle.

Cardinal: if you're going then I'll join.

Quinella: seems that we'll be in the war.

(Back with the Group)

Bercouli: Seems like the real worlder on the enemy side's got quite the bold methodology. Emperor Vecta's played a risky move.

Bercouli said with his expression being extremely serious.

Kitsune: he's nothing but a freak to be sent to hell.

The enemy had run ten thick ropes from bank to bank of the crevice to use as bridges, and they were forcing their way across the hundred mel wide gorge. If they fell, they would die. It was an acrobatic act that required great stamina and willpower. If Emperor Vecta was forcing his troops to do this, either he was getting desperate, or their lives were worth less than scraps of paper to him.

Bercouli: This is war.

the ancient hero muttered, his pale blue eyes shining fiercely.

Bercouli: Unlike, Asuna and Sachi, this is no time for us to feel sorry for the forces of darkness. We have to take this chance.

Alice: Cha...nce?"

Bercouli: That's right... Renly.

The young knight bolted to attention, surprised at the sudden address.

Renly: Y-yes, sir!

Bercouli: What's the maximum range of your weapons, the Double Winged Blades?

Renly: Normally, it's thirty mels, but under Perfect Weapon Control arts, it's seventy... maybe a hundred.

Bercouli: Good... then, the seven of us are going to attack the enemy as they attempt to cross. Alice, Asuna, Sheyta, Sachi, Kitsune, Kirito, Medina, Eugeo, Saber, Raikou and I are going to focus on protection. Renly, you're going to cut down the ropes they've laid across the gorge with your divine weapons.

Raikou: Yu and the rest will proved back up as they'll switch to different sections on the enemies groups.

Sachi held her breath. The enemy would be desperate to defend their means across, but even if they piled up bodies at the stakes at the end of the ropes, those thrown blades and their curving trajectories could easily fly over their heads and slice through anything. It was a merciless counterstrategy.

But the fifteen-year-old boy knight was firm with resolve and smacked his fist to his chest.

Renly: Understood, Commander!

Next to him, Sheyta the Silent muttered.

Sheyta, It'll be fine. We'll protect him.

Everyone else next to them nodded their head.

Alice: Let's hurry.

Alice said to the seven others and turned to the hill north of them. The bloodred rays of the rising sun were already casting the curve of the horizon into the black profile.

Sachi: wait what about Yami!?

Tiese: we'll take care of him.

Ronye: since we gotten a boost on our abilities a bit more thanks to Kitsune.

Raikou: let me transformed into another form.

She quickly transformed into her Baiken form as she stretches her arms and legs.

Baiken: much better, well time to kick some ass!!

——

Hurry.

Hurry, hurry!!!

Iskahn, the leader of the pugilists guild, chanted an inward refrain as he clenched his fists.

The pugilists and dark knights were crossing the ten crude ropes that spanned the crevice, each group using five. They clung upside down with their arms and legs around the ropes, but without any proper training, their movement was awkward and slow. If they had lifelines for everyone and time to distribute them, it would help, but the emperor did not give them that luxury.

On top of that, Iskahn's request to be first had been denied. Apparently, this was punishment for his fanciful interpretation of last night's orders and for using only a small portion of his troops. He could still hear the emperor's icy voice in his ears: You will follow my orders and do nothing else.

While Iskahn worked his jaws with frustration, the quickest of his subordinates was finally getting to the middle of the rope. The man's copper skin was steaming in the chill of the early morning, and even at this distance, his dripping sweat could be seen shining in the light. It was a mad idea.

Just then, a powerful gust of wind ripped through the huge crevice.

A number of pugilists and dark knights fell into the crevice and to Iskahn they were not screams. They were howls of rage that their deaths came not in the glory of battle but in the humiliating failure of forced circus acts.

Iskahn: They're dying in vain! Not for the five tribes of darkness's long-cherished goal, the invasion of the Human Empire... but for something called the Priestess of Light!

Blood exited his mouth, his clenched teeth were drawing blood from the sheer frustration he was feeling. A few of the pugilists made it to the other side, completely out of breath from the climb across. They began helping those that were near the end as well, Iskahn let out a breath of relief at the sight.

Just then, atop the hillside looming darkly on the far side of the crevice appeared ten horseback riders. It took him a moment to realize who was riding the incoming horses and he shouted a command to all the troops.

Iskahn: Enemy attack!! Protect them! Protect those ropes at all costs!! They're only a small force! Don't let them get near the ropes!"

On the other side, Bercouli sliced one of the dark knights in half, Alter Saber killed a few others with her sword, Sachi and Asuna both used their weapons to slice the heads off a few of them, Alice was riding beside the commander with her own weapon drawn.

Medina shot out sacred arts while Kirito and Baiken cut down a few dark knights with his long black sword. Finally, Sheyta, Eugeo and Renly appeared, Sheya killed countless pugilists with her divine weapon as Eugeo was protecting Renly.

Renly drew her divine weapon, Iskahn could tell what it could do from a simple glance and shouted,

Iskahn: Stop!!

To no prevail. The rope was split in the middle, and the release of the tension holding it up left the ends writhing loose in the air like serpents. Dozens of warriors helplessly plunged into the depths of the ravine.

The image of them falling burned itself into Iskahn's eyes. Without realizing it, he said aloud.

Iskahn: So this... So this is war, huh?

For once, his second in command, Dampa, did not have a pithy retort.

Dampa: No way did they endure all that gruelling training just to die like this! The Knights on the other side continued to kill those that may it over without hesitation.

Iskahn: Forgive me. Forgive me, all right?

Iskahn clenched his fist, blood seeped through his fingers. Iskahn suddenly felt a sharp pain deep in his right eye. The breath caught in his throat. Red lights pulsed repeatedly through his vision as a second rope was cut, its ends flying through the air.
———

Gabriel Miller, Emperor Vecta, sat there amused by the sight in front of him.

Gabriel: Just as I suspected, the AI of the Human Empire Units appear to be slightly superior." Another rope was cut by the green knight. "No. Strictly in terms of adaptability, they're in a different class. Don't mess up, Critter.

Gabriel muttered looking at the sky. He didn't know that Cyclops.ISO had sneaked in the dark castle while killing the dark soldiers as he chuckles.

Cyclops.ISO: foolish little dick mortal. You'll be consumed by Hell itself.

———-
Critter, who was still manning the desk in the main control room of the Ocean Turtle, was as of that point done with the tasks of matching the Fluctlight Acceleration rate to one, the same as real-time. The task had taken as long as it had in order to soften the shock of the shift and prevent the Rath employees logged in to the Underworld from detecting that it was happening.

Critter: Syncing of the Underworld and the real world times is complete!!

Critter then logged onto the web and used the satellite connection to drop a URL into a major online gaming community in America. The link led to a teaser site that Critter had whipped up in short order. It used edgy fonts and blood-splatter effects to announce:

A limited-time Beta test for a new VRMMO in production.

The birth of the world's first true PvP slaughter experience.

Fully human avatars. No software board ratings. No Eithics Code.

The gamers in America reacted with excitement to the teaser and they quickly followed the links to log onto the game. This was Gabriel's big strategy, which he enacted at the cost of significant valuable time.

He was going to give American VRMMO Players the keys to the Dark Territory's dark knights accounts and allow them to dive into the Underworld to serve as his soldiers.

Neither Seijirou Kikouka, the man in charge of Rath, nor Takeru Higa, who'd designed the Underworld, had ever considered that such a drastic move might be possible.

But the Underworld, on a lower server level, was no more than another VRMMO game that met Seed specifications. If it was presented as a virtual world using 3-D polygon models rather than its original mnemonic visuals- and the time acceleration aspect was not active- you could use the AmuSphere to log in, touch and interact with the world's objects and even kill other characters.

And it didn't matter whether those characters were real-world people or Underworld people.

But what they didn't know within the codes is another exe summoned by Kitsune and he's just stopped half of the players from the American Servers to be mind controlled this also made Critter confused that only half logged in.

Critter: what the hell!? Who stopped half the players!?

????: well, well, well looks like we got a virgin critter helping a worthless mortal!!

Spider-Man: Time to start.

He claws up the ceiling as he checks on any soldiers that he won't get spotted and one was the entrance as he used his webs to pull him, knocking him out and webbed him on the ceiling.
——-

Somewhere on the Internet, Yui, the virtual daughter of Sachi and Yami Minamoto was watching the new connections to the Underworld from America.

Yui: Oh, no! Papa, Mama and Aunty are in danger!!

Yui had no idea her Father was alive and well inside of the Underworld since Asuna didn't get the chance to tell everyone that, so everyone thinks Yami is still dead. Yui couldn't contact Rath and tell them what was going on, she was left with no other option but to focus her senses on distant Japan across the Pacific. She called a number of other phones at the same time.
———

Shino Asada, in the real world as a junior in High school, but in the virtual world, she was a deadly sniper one of Yami's girlfriends. As soon as she heard the notification from her cell phone, she bolted upright in bed.

The clock at her bedside said it was three in the morning. Despite the unexpected wake-up at such an odd hour, her sleepiness was instantly gone: The ringtone that awoke her was the one she'd set from calls from Yami Minamoto.

Shino: Impossible? A call from Yami, who I was told died a while ago?

When she pressed the device to her ear, however, she heard the stressed voice of a young girl.

Yui: Sinon, this is Yui!

Shino: Wha...? Y-Yui?!

Yui: I will explain later. Make preparations to leave the house immediately and take a taxi. I will send the destination and quickest route through your phone. The cost of your fare will be added directly to your electronic cash account.

There was a prompt ringing sound, notifying Shino that her device had received an online deposit That detail got her moving through her apartment without hesitation as she quickly got dressed to leave.

Shino: A-A taxi? To where?

Shino asked, locking her door and heading down to the ground level.

Yui: Please hurry! Papa, Mama and Aunty are in danger!!
——-

At the Kirigaya residence, Suguha Kirigaya as quickly as possible ran out the door and into the taxi outside to be met by Yuuki Konno both who are Yami's girlfriends sitting in the back. She had been told that Kazuto, Asuna and Sachi were in danger, that was all it took to get them out the door and into the taxi.

Yuuki: Can you take us to Minato Ward in Tokyo, please?"

Yuuki immediately asked the moment Suguha fastened her seatbelt.

Suguha looked back at her home that was disappearing into the night and gave her mother a silent apology.

Suguha: Sorry, mom. I promise that I'll rescue Big Brother, okay?

Yuuki understand as she did the same to her friends since she was living Yami after her cure.
——-

Higa Takeru nearly fell to the keyboard in front of him before he jolted awake and checked the time on his wristwatch. It was just before four in the morning by Japan Standard Time. A visual sweep of the room gave him a glimpse of his fellow staffers packed into the sub-control room, looking exhausted.

Higa: It's been already ten hours since Ms. Asuna and Ms. Sachi logged into the Underworld, huh? This means that about a year should have gone by over there.

Higa: Was the World End's Altar that far from the Human Empire?

Higa muttered to himself, feeling the tiredness hitting him.

Suddenly a call from the phone in the sub-control room sounded through the small room. Kikouka who was standing in front of the phone did not react to it since he was tired as well.

Higa: M-Mr. Kiku! The phone!

Higa said, hoarse gaining the attention of the Lieutenant. He picked up the phone immediately and said.

Kikuoka: Sub Control Room. This is Kikuoka.

Into the phone. This awakened Rinko who was sleeping in a chair next to him as the voice of a young came through the phone.

????: U-uh, that's the Rath Main location STL Development headquarters, right? This is Hiraki at the Roppongi Branch. There are more who have come here. Three other people outside Rath just showed up with an appointment.

Kikuoka: Who else? Are they clients?" Kikuoka answered.

Hiraki: No. It has nothing at all to do with the clients. They appear to be just high school girls.

Them: Huh?!

Kikuoka, Higa and Rinko gasped.

Kikuoka: D-Did you say high school girls this time?

Hiraki: Yes. Like the other boy, they asked me to contact Seijiro Kikuoka of Rath Headquarters right now, but this time they told me to tell you to check the Underworld FLA rate immediately.

Higa gasped and typed at the keyboard the moment he heard those words and brought up the FLA rate of the Underworld.

Higa: I-It's the same? Since when?

Higa gasped. Kikuoka tore his eyes away and shouted into the phone receiver.

Higa: N-Names! What are their names?!

Hiraki: Uh, Yes! Actually... Unlike the boy's name... this is going to sound crazy, but... There's no way it's their real names. Uh, let's see. They told me to tell you that it's 'Sinon, Leafa and Yuuki.' I mean, they look totally Japanese to me, but...they're also girlfriends of Yami.

Just then Sinon, Leafa and Yuuki all arrived at the room where the STL on the mainland was currently stationed. They found three open STLs with the final one being occupied by an unknown person.
——-

In ALO, the friends of Asuna, Kirito Sachi, and Yami were all gathered at the formers' cabin. Yui had just confirmed that Suguha Kirigaya, Shino Asada and Konno Yuuki were all allowed into the Roppongi office of Rath.

Klein: This is something I expect from Yami but now Kirito is wrapped in some trouble now?

Klein said with the gravest tone he could muster in his normally aloof voice.

Yuna: A virtual world created by the SDF, and an AI named Alice?

Yuna asked Yui still not believing what she was told last time.

Lisbeth: That's so beyond the realm of a game,

Silica: Not only that, but they're going to load her into a fighter jet and make her wage war?

Silica murmured, looking down at her pet dragon, Pina, curled on her knees.

Yui: Apparently, for now, Rath intends to use that technology in demonstrations both domestically and internationally. But my guess is that the attackers occupying the Ocean Turtle have a more specific application in mind.

Klein: Who the heck are these attackers, anyway?

Yui: It's extremely likely that the U.S. Military or a U.S. Intelligence agency is involved."

Lisbeth: Th-The U.S. Military? You mean the American army?!

Lisbeth gasped, pulling her head back.

Yui nodded. If Alice were to fall into the hands of the U.S. military, in the not so distant future, she'd most likely be deployed in battle as an unmanned AI weapon. I'm sure Papa, Mama, Aunty and even Uncle would want to prevent that if nothing else. Because...

The little pixie stopped, alarmed. She was getting an unexpected reaction from her own emotional modelling program. Large droplets of water began to spill down her cheeks.

Tears.

Yui: I'm crying. But why...

But even this question was shoved aside by the unfamiliar sensation pushing her onward. Yu clasped her little hands before her chest and continued.

Yui: Because Alice... is proof that all VRMMO worlds, beginning with SAO, and the people who lived in them, really existed, and she's also the fruit of massive amounts of time, material, and mental resources!

She paused, everyone in the room was shocked by Yui's emotional reaction to this.

Yui: I am convinced beyond a doubt that the true objective created by the Seed package is none other than the birth of Alice. Throughout countless connected worlds, so many people have laughed, cried, grieved, and loved and because of the radiance of their souls resonated, a new form of humanity was born in the Underworld. Papa, Mama, Aunty, Uncle, Leafa, Klein, Yuna, Yuuki, Lisbeth, Silica, Agil, and Sinon. It was from the cradle woven by your hearts that Alice was born!!

Yuna's eyes along with the others began springing clear liquid that ran down their cheeks.

Yuna: Yeah. That's true, isn't it? We're connected to all of it. Time, people, and our hearts, too. Like a huge river.

Silica, eyes watery, enveloped Yui in her arms.

Silica: It's all right, Yui. We're going to rescue Kirito, Asuna and Sachi. We're going to see it that they make it out of this safely... so don't cry.

Yuna: We couldn't be there for Yami when he died but this time...

Yuna started, her eyes overflowing remembering what she was told earlier.

Yuna: We're going make sure Kirito makes it back home!

Klein: You bet. There's no way we'd ever abandon Kirito!

Klein said, voice hoarse, pulling his bandana lower, over his eyes.

Agil boobed his head deeply and pronounced,

Agil: We owe them a whole hell of a lot. This is a chance for me to make up just a little bit of that."

Yui, Everyone, thank you so much!

Yui squeaked, coming out of Silica's arms.

Yui: Thank you so much."

Klein hummed then turned to Agil and said,

Klein: Still, 50,000 VRMMO players diving from America? It could even be higher than that. And they'll all side with the enemy against the Human Empire, huh?"

Lisbeth: What if we exposed the experiment or the attack on the American VRMMO sites, and asked them not to take part in the fake beta test?

Yui just shook her head. "The reality is that this is war for a secret between the U.S. and Japanese militaries. If we were to give off any hint of that, it could very well backfire,"

Lisbeth: We can't just say they're real humans so don't kill them, right?"

Klein grunted, then smiled with his eyes closed.

Klein: Well, then all we have to do is take a page from their book! By making our own notification site for the beta test. If the Rath guys give us accounts of equal level, we can drum up 30 or 40,000, just like that!

Agil: There is one problem, you know.

Klein: What problem?

Agil: Right now, it's 4:30 am in Japan, meaning the period with the fewest connections. On the other hand, in the U.S., it's 12:30 noon in LA, and 3:30 Pm in New York. There are way more active players over there.

Klein: Hrrng...true.

Yui: Agil is right about that. We couldn't hope to gather anywhere near 10,000 people right now. If we were to use accounts of the same level as the enemy, our chances of holding our own would be extremely low, I'd have to say.

Lisbeth: But aren't there any more of the god accounts that Asuna and Sachi used? Not that we have time to level up from scratch like Kirito did.

Klein: So it's game over, huh?

Klein groaned, his hand going through his red hair.

Yui: No. Accounts do exist.

Yui started, they all snapped to the little pixie.

Yui: Accounts far more powerful in terms of level and equipment than the default accounts being used by the enemy.

Yuuki stood up from her seat and quickly asked.

Yuuki: w-where are they?"

Yui: The very accounts you're logged in with at this moment!"

Her words shocked the group. She was asking them to risk everything, their alter egos, the time they spent with those accounts.

Yui: Data conversion! All of you, as well as scores of other VRMMO players, must convert the characters that you've trained throughout the Seed Worlds into Underworld Accounts.

Klein: I get it! Never thought of that!

Klein exclaimed, his closed his fist smacking into his open palm.

Yui: That said, this particular method does have a few problems.
——-

In the neutral city Arun, it was currently 5 AM and a meeting place was packed with all the players they could contact. The room was filled with Sakuya, Eugene and Alicia Rue, all leaders of the Sylphs, Salamanders and Cait Sith respectively. Lisbeth had just told everyone what was happening and they were murmuring to themselves, the tension of the room was growing each moment.

Lisbeth: This is neither a lie nor a joke. Soon, ten of thousands of American players will unknowingly dive into the Underworld, a virtual world based on the Seed created by a certain Japanese research company, and they're going to massacre everyone who lives there!

Lisbeth's hand was over her breastplate.

Lisbeth: The residents of the Underworld aren't mere NPCs! They share the same emotions and souls as us!" Please lend us a hand to protect them! Everyone, please convert your existing character data to the Underworld!"

The crowd of fairies went silent, nobody dare utter a single word. Then it exploded with murmurs of everyone from all the different races, they were in mixed reactions to the request.

Then Sakuya, the leader of the Sakuya spoke.

Sakuya: Lisbeth, I know that you and your friends wouldn't joke around this early in the day, and the fact that Kirito and Y/n haven't logged in for more than ten days means this is no trivial matter. But... To be honest, I find it hard to believe. AIs with the same souls as humans, with the U.S. military out to seize them? Both scenarios are far too unrealistic. Moreover, didn't you also just say that there'd be several problems with conversion? Would you mind explaining what those issues are first?"

Well, the time has come.

Lisbeth took a deep breath and let her eyelids close. This was it. If she failed to make the proper case now, no one would come help.

She opened her eyes again and surveyed Sakuya, the other lords and ladies, and the thousands of ALO players behind them.

Lisbeth: That's right, The Underworld isn't operated the way an ordinary VRMMO is. There will be a number of problems upon diving in. First, the Underworld does not have a Player UI. In other words, you can't log out of your own accord.

The murmuring in the background grew louder. No voluntary logging out. It was a phrase that inevitably brought the infamous and deadly Sword Art Online to mind. ALO and all the other Seed-based games allowed players to log out with both the menu buttons and spoken commands.

The only way to log out is to 'die' in-game. But that would trigger yet another problem. The Underworld has no built-in pain absorber. If you take enough damage to your HP to zero, you're likely to feel the most excruciating pain. And finally..."

The murmurs continued.

"...at this time, the developers are unable to operate the Underworld. Which means that once you've converted your character data, there's no guarantee it can be converted back to the original game. In some cases, it may even end up in character loss."

"Hold on a second."

"What's up with that?"

"Loss?"

"Give me a break!"

"D-Don't give us that! Character loss, you say? So if they're lost, are you guys going to make good?"

"Or is this just a trap to weaken us, tribe by tribe?"

Klein went to shout something back at the crowd of outraged players. Lisbeth held up one of her hands to stop him before she spoke again.

Lisbeth: I'm sorry! We won't be able to compensate you.

This angered the players even further.

Lisbeth: We're keenly aware that money can't buy the characters you've raised until now! That's why we're pleading with you! To help us. To help our friends who are desperately fending off the American attack I the Underworld, even as we speak!

One of the fairies in the crowd angrily spat,

Player: These friends you're talking about, you mean SAO Survivors, don't you?!

Lisbeth gasped.

Player: You can't fool us! We know that you former SAO players all secretly look down on the rest of us!

Plauer 2: What do we care about invasions, artificial intelligence, or souls!

Player 3: Don't waste our time with all this talk about bringing the real world into a VRMMO!"

Player 4: You guys can deal with that kind of thing yourselves! Just as you survivors, celebrated even in real life!"

Lisbeth and the others were all taken aback but then Lisbeth looked at the ground with only a single thought going through her head.

Lisbeth: It didn't work. I completely failed to convince them.

She glanced at the leaders, they all wore cold gazes. It was as if they were demanding that she show them how serious she was. The others like the Sleeping Knights and The Moonlit BlackCats, a few other groups and a new figure who just appeared in the meeting room, all had the same stare.

Lisbeth closed her eyes, she thought of those who were fighting in the Underworld at this very moment. Asuna, Kirito, Sachi, Leafa, Sinon and Yuuki, who had left for the Underworld earlier, though she had no idea Yami was also fighting.

Her eyes shot open. She wiped away the tears.

Lisbeth: That's right, this is happening in the real world! Like you said, the of us who came from SAO might have the tendency to blur what's real and what's virtual! But I swear to you, we don't think of ourselves as heroes, or anything special!

She reached over to her right and grabbed the hand of SIlica, who was tearfully silent. She looked over at Yuna as well before turning back to the outraged players.

Lisbeth: We... We attend a school made up of only survivors. The students there have to undergo counselling once a month, no matter what. We get asked all these uncomfortable questions. 'Do you ever feel like things aren't real? Do you ever want to harm others?' And they make a lot of kids take meds against their will. We're all part of the government's potential criminal watch list.

The waves of anger subsided, leaving only a tense silence filling the dome. No one knew exactly where she was going with this, least of all Lisbeth. All she could do was put her pent-up feelings and thoughts into words.

Lisbeth: And it's not just the students at the returnee school who are being treated that way. All VRMMO players are looked upon that way, more or less. As if we're dead weight that doesn't contribute to society. People who refuse to face up to reality, not paying taxes or social security. Some people even argue that the military draft should be reinstated, so we can be forced to serve.

The tension in the room grew thicker and hotter. One little pinprick might lead to an even greater eruption of outrage than before.

Undaunted, Lisbeth pressed her hand to her chest and shouted.

Lisbeth: But there's one thing I know! And I believe it! That reality is right here!!!"

She lifted her head to the crowd as the crowd stayed silent listening to her words.

Lisbeth; This world, as well as the countless virtual worlds connected to it, in no way are they make-believe refuges! For me, this world is the reality where I have a real-life, real friends, real encounters and partings, and real smiles and tears! Don't you all feel the same way?! Aren't you all doing your best because this world is your alternate reality?! And yet, if it's just a game, if you abandon it because it's nothing but a virtual fake, then tell me, where is our truth?!!

At last, the tears burst from Lisbeth's eyes. She didn't bother to wipe them away. Not until she had said what she needed to say.

Lisbeth: All these worlds that we've grown together just like this World Tree and started to bud. And caused this flower called the Underworld to bloom. Well, I want to protect it. Please! Please... help us, please rise and fight.

She bowed to the crowd and the SAO survivors all bowed to the crowd.
——-

The Integrity Knights along with the Real worlders were cutting down the thick ropes that reached across the crevice. The screams of those who fell into the pit rang through their eyes but they didn't focus on it.

Bercouli: Let's go for the sixth one!!

Shouted Commander Bercouli. Sachi held a sword made of dreams and nocturnal in her right hand as she cut down more Dark knights and Pugilists with ease, Kitsune was behind her. The light, the super account, Sachi, produced were as cold and condensed as the deep space. And she had complete control over it, the limit was her imagination and the strength of her willpower.

Suddenly, against the dawn sky the shade of dark blood, something rather eerie descended onto the battlefield.

There were lines that shone red, a lighter shine than the sky. Many lines, in fact. Dozens... hundreds... Thousands.

Perhaps even more.

The countless descending lines appeared to be made of strings of fine pixels. But if she squinted, she could make out that the individual dots were actually a number or letter. The unidentified strings of text fell silently to a ring of a mile or so east of the battle, on this side of the ravine.

Before long, it wasn't just Nijika stopping to watch, Kitsune, Asuna, Kirito, Baiken, and the other Integrity Knights, and even the dark knights and pugilists from the Dark Territory side.

Kitsune: looks like the got backup....but only...

Kirito: 50,000 players.

Sachi: even then we don't have more backups.

When the first string met the dried, dusty earth, it writhed and massed into an amorphous clump.

It was only a matter of seconds before it assumed a human form.

The battle of Underworld as truly begun and the wheel of fate has begin to spin.

End of Volume.