As this crossed his mind, a different type of sweet stimulation climbed up Gabriel’s spine, and the corners of his mouth lifted again.
***
How could it be like this?
He actually — turned the Dark Territory army of fifty thousand and the newly-summoned thirty thousand soldiers all into disposable pawns, and just to…
Just to capture a girl!
Ever since Knight Commander Bercouli detected the Incarnation of nothingness wielded by the existence called Emperor Vector, an intense uneasiness had come over him. But the instant that Alice was captured by the other side, he finally realized that his predictions of the enemy had only been the tip of the iceberg.
After seeing what happened tens of mel away from where he was standing, Bercouli did something he had not done for who knows how many tens of years — he let out a roar of rage.
“You bastard, what have you done with my apprentice?!!”
His words pierced the air, agitating the surroundings more than a peal of thunder could.
Yet it was completely ignored by Alice’s captor, the dragon knight, who flew straight into the southern sky without so much as a backwards glance.
Bercouli raised his beloved sword, and began to chase after the flying dragon. But the hole that Alice had blown in the enemy formation with her Art had already been filled with crimson soldiers; they approached, spitting cryptic curses constantly.
“You’d better…”
Before Bercouli could shout get away, blinding silver lights flew overhead.
Kirikirikiri, with that high, clear sound Integrity Knight Renri’s Divine Instruments, the Twin Edged Wings, flew past above.
The young knight’s sharp voice came from behind.
“Release Recollection!”
With a flash of light, the two throwing knives fused together. A cross-shaped blade flew low above the ground, whizzing forward and leaving a sharp trail, cutting down all enemies who tried to enter its path from either flank.
“Go ahead, Knight Commander!!”
Renri shouted, and Bercouli turned around to answer.
“Sorry! I’ll leave it to you!”
Then he bent over, and kicked his right foot briskly off the ground. In the next instant, his body transformed into a white hurricane, blowing a second time through the gap opened in the enemy group, at a speed several times faster than the sprints achieved by the Fist Fighters of the Dark Territory in their martial dance. But Emperor Vector’s dragon that carried Alice had already become a tiny black dot on the far-off horizon.
As Bercouli ran, he placed his left hand into his mouth and blew a high, piercing whistle.
Seconds later, a pair of gigantic, silvery wings appeared on the horizon; it was Bercouli’s dragon, Hoshigami.
But not just one dragon was flying towards him. Alice’s beloved dragon, Amayori, and the deceased Eldrie’s dragon, Takiguri, also followed close behind.
“You were all here…”
Bercouli was briefly overcome with emotion; no matter what, he couldn’t bring himself to order those other two dragons to stay here on standby.
Hoshigami turned low above the ground and glided as it approached Bercouli, extending both feet towards him. The Knight Commander seized a talon on its left foot and hoisted himself onto its back, straddling the saddle and pointing forward with the longsword in his right hand.
“GO!”
Hoshigami, Amayori, and Takiguri moved on command; three pairs of wings thundered simultaneously, and they flew into the violet dawn sky.
Far ahead of this triangular formation of three dragons, within the claws of the black dragon, a flash of golden light shined for a split second.
***
After the four thousand Fist Fighters charged across the stone bridge in one go, they quickly joined their nearly two hundred surviving partners, assembled into a formation at the Human Empire Army’s flank, and drove straight into the center of the enemy formation like a gigantic battering ram.
They formed tight lines of ten each, raised their right fists in perfect unison, and readied their stances.
“U… RA!”
With a synchronized bellow, ten fists struck out and perforated the crimson soldiers’ swords and armor. Screams and blood flew in all directions; with one strike, more than twenty enemy soldiers were knocked flying towards the back.
After this blow filled with the utmost fighting spirit, the ten people quickly parted and retreated to either side, leaving a gap, and the ten behind them advanced forward with the same stance.
“URARA!!”
This time, ten people raised their legs and delivered flying kicks in perfect unison, blowing a great number of enemies in all directions, as though a bomb had exploded in their midst.
“… Wow.”
Asuna could not help but marvel as she healed her wounded left arm with a Healing Art she had learned the night before. Even Sheyta, who was drinking water near her, seemed a bit surprised.
The Fist Fighters’ battle technique was somewhat similar to the SAO progressors’ switching tactic used during the boss fights, but their movements and cohesion were much more adept.
Ten people in a row, ten rows in a cluster; there were more than forty groups with one hundred people each that ravaged the enemy like heavy construction machinery reducing buildings to rubble.
“Don’t just sit there and watch. Even if we charge towards the south, what would we do then? Since there are this many enemies, even if we could break through them, it would be very difficult to kill them all.”
The temporarily allied red-haired enemy general stood beside Asuna, his arms crossed and face stern.
Indeed, even for the Fist Fighters who were breaking through irrepressibly, defeat would be difficult to avoid if the soldiers that outnumbered them by several times launched a flanking attack. There were at least twenty thousand summoned Americans left, in any case.
“… Then… after we break through the enemy formation and charge south of the battlefield, we’ll immediately get as far away as possible. I will then create another canyon to separate us and them.”
Asuna replied in a low voice.
— But could she really do it? Just now, she had only created a small bridge and almost expired from the effort. If she were to perform another large-scale geographic manipulation that extended all the way to the horizon, she might actually be forcefully disconnected — worse, her brain could even be physically damaged…
Asuna bit her lip, and cast away her momentary confusion. Even then, she must do it. Summoning the Americans to this world was probably Emperor Vector’s last resort. Then, if she could get rid of them, even if she were to be disconnected, they would be unable to do anything to Alice.
Just then, from the south, a soldier came running to Asuna on the north side of the battlefield.
“New orders!! New orders — !!”
The heavily injured soldier with half of his face dyed red with blood, fell to his knees in front of Asuna, and mustered all of his strength to shout his next words.
“Information from Integrity Knight Renri-sama!! Integrity Knight Alice-sama, has been captured by the enemy commander! The dragon has already flown south…!!”
“Wh…”
Asuna was dumbfounded.
Of course — she’d never thought that the current situation was intentionally created to lure Alice herself away from the Human Empire Army…!!
“The Emperor… has flown away?!”
That gruff, faltering answer was neither from Asuna nor Sheyta, but from the Fist Fighter Chief, whose remaining eye began to take on a strange glow.
“Then… Just now, that dragon… Wasn’t here simply to watch us … Hey, woman!!”
The young man’s fiery eyes stared at Asuna, and he demanded urgently.
“That Alice is the «Radiant Medium»?! Why is the Emperor so dedicated to her?! If the Radiant Medium falls into the Emperor’s hands, what the hell is going to happen?!”
“This world… will be destroyed.”
Asuna replied simply. The Fist Fighter’s expression was one of frozen incredulity.
“When Dark God Vector brings the Radiant Medium Alice to the «World End Altar»… This world, whether it’s the Human Empire or the Dark Territory, all of its inhabitants will be obliterated.”
Asuna’s voice had not fallen silent before she noticed that her words sounded exactly like the most classic RPG lines imaginable, but this was one hundred percent truth. As soon as the assault team got their hands on Alice’s soul, it was very easy to imagine the fate of the then-useless Light Cube Cluster — they would destroy it without remorse.
Then, what on earth was she to do… even her Super Account «Stacia» did not bestow upon her a flying ability. How could she follow them?
The one answering Asuna’s worries was the gray knight standing at her side, Sheyta. Returning the now-empty bottle to her belt, the icy-looking female knight said:
“Even for a dragon… it cannot fly forever. At most, half a day.”
At this, the Fist Fighter Tribal Chief stole a glance at Sheyta, then hurriedly looked away; he slapped his fist into his hand and finished her sentence loudly.
“Then just push yourselves out there and catch up to them!!”
“Catch up to them… But, aren’t you…”
Asuna looked at the enemy general’s young features in surprise.
“Aren’t you from the Dark Territory army? Why, would you go this far…”
The enemy general responded like a spoiled, abandoned child.
“Emperor Vector… certainly told us before, we Ten Lords of the Dark Land4. He only wanted the Radiant Medium. If he gets her, he won’t care what happens to us. Now that he’s got the Medium, the Emperor’s achieved his goal… In other words, the mission of the Dark Territory army has been fully completed. After this, aren’t we free to do whatever the hell we want, even if that means cooperating with the Human Empire and taking the Medium back?!!”
How — absurd.
Asuna gazed speechlessly at the young enemy general. The expression on his face was completely out of place alongside his deterrent rhetoric a moment ago; it was filled with tragic resolve.
The Fist Fighter stared right at Asuna with his left eye, and spoke quietly.
“… I can’t… We can’t revolt directly against the Emperor. His strength is overwhelming… even Dark General Shasta, who was much stronger than I am, was instantly killed without him even lifting a finger. If he suddenly gives the order for us to fight you, we must obey… That’s why, we Fist Fighters will defend against that crimson army here. You and the Human Empire Army, just chase the Emperor as hard as you can. And then… the Emperor… that bastard…”
The young man’s words were suddenly interrupted, and his expression distorted — as though tormented by a pain coming from his nonexistent right eye.
“Tell… that bastard, ‘we are not your puppets’!”
Just then, shouts came from the Fist Fighters on the south side of the battlefield. The vanguard had finally broken through the crimson army’s encirclement, and plunged into the wilderness.
“Very good…”
Zudan! The young tribal chief stomped his right foot on the ground and delivered an order in a tremendous voice.
“All of you, maintain that gap!”
Then, he turned to Asuna, and spoke simply.
“Run!! We can’t hold for too long.”
Asuna took a deep breath — and nodded.
— This person, is also a human.
It didn’t matter if he was an Artificial Fluctlight. His prideful soul was as real as any other human’s.
They had clearly severed the rope that they had used to cross the ravine, and murdered more than a hundred of his tribespeople; he should be swearing revenge against them.
“… Thank you very much.”
Asuna could only manage that, then turned around.
From behind her came Integrity Knight Sheyta’s voice.
“I’ll… stay here.”
Having anticipated this, Asuna looked back, and gave the gray-haired female knight a short smile.
“I understand. We’ll trust you to bring up the rear.”
***
Iskahn watched wordlessly as that unfathomable, chestnut-haired female knight lead the Human Empire Army, reduced to about seven hundred people, and passed through the gap in the enemy formation created and maintained by his own tribal warriors in a bloody battle, then looked away from the commotion and fixated on the Integrity Knight.
“… You’re good with this, woman?”
“I told you my name.”
Stared at with a piercing look, the Fist Fighter could only laugh bitterly and change his method of address.
“Is this really okay, Sheyta? I dunno if we can make it out of this alive.”
The slender knight shrugged, and her brand new armor clattered crisply.
“I will be the one to kill you. No chance for others.”
“Hmph, so you say.”
This time, Iskahn laughed heartily.
Wanting to help his partners avoid dying tragic deaths — he had originally chosen to work together with the Human Empire Army with this desire in mind. But now, he was putting his entire tribe’s lives on the line to protect the Human Empire people from that crimson army; how incredible. Yet his heart felt wide open, like a breeze was passing by.
Well, even if I die here, that’s not bad.
If he were to die protecting this world, his father, brother, and sisters back in his hometown would definitely understand.
“All right!! Go all out, boys!!”
A roar of “URAAA!!” resounded across the battlefield.
“Form a circle!! Defend in all directions!! Trash all the idiots who come near!!”
“You’re really in the zone, Champion.”
Dampe had already taken his position behind Iskahn once more, and his clenched left fist emitted a grinding noise.
***
While Asuna was leading the army over the southern hill and retreating to the forest garrisoned by the supply team, the young knight Renri informed her about how the Knight Commander had already taken three dragons and flown after Emperor Vector.
“… Do you think he can catch up?”
At Asuna’s sharp question, Renri’s childlike face was severe.
“To be honest, the chances are very slim. In short, the two of them are flying at the same speed, and they need the same amount of time to rest… But, Alice-sama is also riding on Emperor Vector’s dragon, so that expend a bit more of its Life. On the other hand, the Esteemed Knight Commander can switch between his three dragons to minimize their fatigue, so in theory, he can gradually close some of the distance between them…”
In other words, they could only pray that the Knight Commander would reach the Emperor before he arrived at the World End Altar.
But, even if he caught up to the Emperor —
Could the Knight Commander really defeat Super Account Emperor Vector by himself?
Since Asuna had never expected that the attackers might also log in with a Super Account, she had never asked Higa Takeru what kind of powers Vector had. But if Vector had the same type of powers as Stacia’s “Geographic Manipulation” — even for the Integrity Knights leader, winning against him in a one-on-one fight would be pushing it too much…
Just as Asuna was thinking this, Renri spoke in a more cheerful tone.
“If he catches up, the Esteemed Knight Commander will definitely save Alice-sama. After all, that man… is the strongest knight in the world.”
“… Yeah, that’s right.”
Asuna nodded fervently.
The only thing she could do now, was to believe. After all, during her battle a while ago, she had seen countless times how strong-willed the people of Underworld were.
“Then, let’s advance south together with the rest of the army. Luckily, there are only flat
plains ahead of us. We might not be able to follow Bercouli-san, but we might be able to help him later somehow.”
“Understood, Asuna-sama. I will notify everyone to prepare for a quick march.”
Renri picked up his pace, and dashed into the forest.
Seeing him off, Asuna said to herself.
Kirito wanted to protect Alice, and the entire human world.
She definitely had to protect them as well, no matter how many injuries she sustained… no matter what kind of pain she had to endure.
***
At the same time —
In the main control room of the Ocean Turtle, intelligence warfare representative Critter was ready to let the second batch of 20,000 American players dive into Underworld.
And their login location was Gabriel Miller’s current location — roughly ten kilometers away from the insertion point of the first batch.
2
“……Gah!!”
Inhaling sharply, Vassago Casals jerked up.
He shook his bundled, curly hair and hastily observed his surroundings.
Steel walls emitting a dim glow, a floor plastered with anti-slip polymer, and numerous monitors and indicators glowing hazily in darkness.
When he saw a thin man with a crew cut sitting in a huge leather chair in front of him, Vassago finally realized that he had returned to the main control room of the «Ocean Turtle», in the real world.
The crew cut man — Critter, snorted, his voice full of ridicule.
“Whoa, you actually woke up. I thought all your brain cells had decayed.”
“… Shut the fuck up.”
Vassago groaned, and examined his own body. He was currently lying on a thin mattress placed in the corner of the room, a jacket carelessly spread across his stomach.
What the fuck just happened? Vassago vigorously shook his head. This brought about a stinging pain deep in his head, making him curse again. He then turned toward the other side of the room, where a couple of team members were sitting in a circle and having fun with their cards, and asked:
“Hey, any of you got some aspirin?”
Sword Art Online Volume 17 - Alicization Awakening Page 4