Chapter 27: The Gathering of the Fairy Lords. United We Stand!

February 13th, 2026. Yggdrasil City, Alfheim. Union Building, 12:30…

On the center of Alfheim's capital, Yggdrasil City, atop the branches of the World Tree, an imposing building seemed to have been constructed out of the wood from the great tree itself, filled with many rooms and important NPCs, not to mention its massive size.

It was called the 'Union Building'. It was something that Alne, the previous capital which still existed at Yggdrasil's base, lacked, a building that stood like a 'symbol' of how the 9 Fairy Races of ALO could stand together instead of in constant conflict.

Of course, given that, sentimentalism aside, Alfheim Online was still mainly a PvP game, even if the aspect of constant skirmishes between the Races had been reduced considerably since Aincrad was added and everyone became able to fly without limits, the building was little more than a cool decoration to the scenery and a good place for Players mainly interested in beating Aincrad to restock, as if was where the Teleportation Gate of the Floating Castle connected with the mainland (Which was extremely helpful when one wanted to go back and forth between a specific territory and Aincrad without having to fly through half the world first).

Today, however, it was going to be used for the first time for the reason it supposedly existed for.

Today, for the first time since Alfheim Online started, something so outrageous many would have thought it was a joke was about to happen.

Summoned by what could arguably be called the strongest and most famous Guild of Aincrad Clearers, the 9 Fairy Lords were going to have a meeting.

On the second floor of the 5-story building, the Spriggan known as Kirito, also the leader of the United Heroes Association, and the one who was supposed to act as a mediator between the leaders of the fairy world, was trying very hard to not bang his head against a wall.

"Goddammit, Strea!" growled the gamer while trying to stop the headache the nervousness he felt was causing. "Why did you have to do this?! You know I suck at the whole 'politics' thing!"

Of course, given that the Gnome in question wasn't even there, no one answered the caped Spriggan's question, even as he let his back leaning against the wall and took a deep breath.

He knew that he had long since stopped being the antisocial loner that he was before SAO started, no one could deny that, but he was still someone that wasn't very good when situations like this one arose. Hell, Kirito knew very well that he had ended up as 'leader' of the UHA more from circumstances and his status as the strongest player back in Aincrad. Everyone could tell that, when things truly mattered, Asuna was the real brain and backbone of the guild. Kirito was more of an icon than anything else, a symbol. While the boy knew nowadays that he was getting better and that his relationship with his friends was something he treasured more than anything (Not to mention the 'special' relationship between him and the girls), the caped Spriggan would shamelessly accept that he still wasn't the greatest person you could ask about how to engage in a reasonable debate with other people.

And now, he was supposed to convince 9 individuals, that had been chosen exactly for that (Or at least been popular enough for their Race's players to acknowledge them as such), of what seemed like the plot of some crazy sci-fi movie, so that they could kindly ask for all Players in the game to come and fight against an army of super-powered AIs, with the destiny of the world as they knew it in the balance. No pressure.

…to hell with everything, he just COULDN'T do this! Say what you want, the gamer just knew he would screw it up if he walked into that room and tried to convince everyone of what was going to happen. He was NOT an anime protagonist, as much as his life seemed determined in proving the contrary, he was not going to magically win the support of a bunch of important people he had never met before in just an hour or so! Even if he managed to get Sakuya and Alicia to believe him (Which he was sure would still be difficult, given the amount of craziness that Equinox's whole plan seemed even to him), the caped Spriggan knew that there would be no way of the other Lords thinking of this as anything but him trying to waste their time or prank them in a very stupid…

Kirito's train of thought was abruptly cut when he saw five familiar faces walking down the hallway he was in, straight towards him. Blinking, the gamer once again tried to keep his calm face on as he gave a smile towards Leafa, Asuna, Yuuki, Strea and Argo, the ones who everyone had decided would help him with this while the others waited for the results (As going everyone into the meeting would have been a bit too much). Of course, Yui was also there, sitting on her little sister's shoulder with a thoughtful expression.

"Hey girls! Ready for this?" asked the gamer with what he hoped was a confident smile.

For all answer, Argo, the one who had been walking ahead of the rest, stiffened for a moment before looking at him with a noticeable blush and nodding, quickly walking past the blinking gamer.

…well, he certainly had never imagined that the info-broker could act that shyly. Maybe the kiss from yesterday affected her more than he thought…?

"Let's do our best, Kirito!" half-shouted Yuuki with a determined voice, nodding to herself all the while. "We need to make sure that they understand why we need their help!"

"Ye-yeah, that's right, Yuuki…" muttered the caped Spriggan as the Imp followed after Argo. He was about to do the same when he felt a familiar hand grasping his shoulder, forcing him to turn around. "Uh? Asuna? Is something wro…?"

The boy was brutally cut off by the Undine dragging his face to hers and stealing his breath away with a kiss that seemed very close to the definition of 'Mouth Rape', all the while a blushing and bashful Leafa watched with slight awe and Strea just smirked.

Five seconds later, Kirito finally was able to let some virtual air enter his virtual lungs as the Dual Wielder let go of him and stared at him with an indecipherable face.

"Sugu-chan told me what almost happened yesterday. And the other day." calmly informed Asuna with a smile that sent a shiver down the stunned gamer's back. "If we…no, WHEN we manage to stop virtual apocalypse we're going to talk, okay, Sensei?"

After saying those extremely sweet words, the Undine cheerfully walked past the frozen Spriggan, whose eyes moved towards the slightly ashamed Sylph near him.

"So-sorry, Onii-chan! It's just that, I co-couldn't stop thinking about it, a-and I thought it would be fa-fair to tell Asuna in case so-something ha…happened and…uhm…wegottagettothemeeting!"

Her face seeming about to burst in embarrassment, Leafa quickly ran the blank-faced Kirito, the caped boy still seeming trying to understand what had just happened.

Never mind the fact that the way in which Asuna had said 'talk' had actually excited him a bit.

Trying to keep his little remaining sanity intact, the gamer turned to look towards Strea, hoping that the AI could say something about the situation that helped his brain to work properly again…

"…Japan's birthrates have been decreasing lately, so do your best, Kirito!" were the cheerful words that came from her smiling form.

…he didn't even know why he had gotten his hopes up. Clinging to his last shred of hope, the caped Spriggan turned his gaze towards the Gnome's shoulder, hoping that the last of the virtual sisters could offer him some words that…

"Hmm…I should better start studying how to be a good big sister…I will probably have lots of siblings…" nodded Yui to herself as Strea happily hummed and walked past the unmoving Kirito.

…well, on the bright side, at least the incoming meeting didn't seem as impossibly hopeless as it had for the boy before.

After all, it seemed as if stopping the mad Super AI with an army at her beck and call was going to be the least of any mind-fucking problems he would have for the future…

0000000000000

"Well, hello there. Wasn't expecting you to enter the last, Kirito-kun." greeted a soft and familiar voice the moment the aforementioned Spriggan entered the room.

Looking around at the circular area, with a fitting round table on its center, the gamer saw that only 2 of the 9 chairs were already occupied, and by two familiar faces at that.

Sakuya, Lady of the Sylphs and the one who had talked, and Alicia Rue, Lady of the Caith Siths, were already there, sitting down and smiling his way, apparently having interrupted whatever Argo was trying to tell them.

They weren't alone, though. Besides his 'girlfriends' and the two Fairy Ladies, two vaguely familiar faces stood, standing just behind and near the older-looking woman.

"A-ah! I-it's yo-you!" pointed Recon as he almost paled at seeing him, even as the caped Spriggan squinted his eyes while idly remembering the boy that had apparently introduced his adoptive sister to Alfheim Online…and that was a bit too friendly with her.

"O-oh! E-even Kirito-sama is here! Thi-this day is awesome!" seemingly about to have a fangirl attack, Lux, the Sylph girl who had acted as a commentator in the tournament of some months ago, stopped her current action of grabbing a sweatdropping Asuna's hands to look at him with stars in her eyes. "I-I can't believe I'm in the presence of the United Heroes Association, and 4 of its original members at that!"

"U-uhm, it's not really that big of a deal…" muttered Kirito while scratching the back of his head.

"What do you mean?! Is the biggest deal of all, Kirito-sama!"

"Let her be, Kii-bou." sighed the Caith Sith info-broker while shaking her head. "If you try to talk with her she will probably explode or something…"

"…as always, your little helper is way too enthusiastic, Sakuya-chan." cheekily grinned Alicia after giving a 'furtive' wink towards the gamer, who blinked awkwardly at that. "I'm not sure if you should have brought her with you…"

"Well, you didn't want to bring anyone as entourage, so I thought I may as well bring two." calmly answered the Sylph Lord with a charming smile. "After all, Recon and Lux are both reliable in their own way, even if the former spends little time in Swilvane lately…truly, I miss when we had Leafa-chan with us all the time." looking towards the aforementioned blonde at that, Sakuya's smile widened at seeing the girl awkwardly looking away. "Kirito-kun has really stolen you away, eh? Then again, I don't think I can rightfully blame you for that…"

"Me neither." purred the Caith Siths leader with a playful smile, her tail moving happily behind her chair. "I wouldn't mind if he tried to 'steal me away' if I was her…"

"Eh?!" squeaked Leafa with both a blush and a frown on her face, even as her Race's Leader laughed happily and Recon seemed to be trying to hold back depressed tears (Without much success). Meanwhile, the caped Spriggan blinked in confusion, while also wondering why Asuna had stepped closer to him while giving the two Fairy Ladies a calculating look.

"Man, Kirito is way more popular than I thought…" whispered Strea to her older sister with a serious look. "But we better look out for things that may disrupt the group's balance for now, we don't want all our hard work going to waste…"

"Agreed. We need to make sure Papa gets used to my current Mamas before thinking about anyone else…" silently agreed Yui, the virtual sisters still knowing there was a long way ahead for them to make sure that everyone was happy for the rest of their lives.

Kirito, meanwhile, wondered why he felt once again a cold shiver run down his spine, his gaze moving over the room and meeting with Yuuki's, who was standing at Asuna's side and giving him an encouraging smile, apparently thankful of not being the center of attention from either Lux fangirlism or the Fairy Ladies teasing, even as Argo tried uselessly to get everyone back on track about what they were there for.

Luckily for him, any more amount of madness stopped when the door opened and two figures clad in red stepped inside, one familiar and the other not.

The unknown person was a man that was Sakuya's height, the red fiery hair and a short beard a clear sign of his status as a Salamander. Unlike the robes or armor that most of the players of his race favored, however, he wore unconventional clothing, like the familiar redhead accompanying him, something that seemed like the garb of a rich noble with added light armor. Slowly, his eyes moved over the room (Narrowing when they passed over Sakuya and Alicia's bored looks) and finally stopped over the gamer's blinking form, a mix of annoyance and resignation in them as he headed towards the seat farthest away from the two Fairy Ladies and sat down.

"Let's just get this over with, okay?" muttered the man with a clearly annoyed tone.

"Aww, what's the matter, Morty? Depressed today?" joked Alicia with a cheeky grin, even as the Salamander growled at her.

"I'm not in the mood for your jokes, Rue, so please refrain from doing any." spat the Lord of the Salamanders, while trying to hold back his anger. "I don't even know why I let you convince me to come…"

"Because you hate being left out of things, Mortimer." explained Sakuya with a bright smile and a sweet tone, obvious fate for anyone that had spent at least a minute with the mature woman. "That and you know your Race hasn't been the same since your brother stopped playing."

"Yeah, well, WHO is responsible for that, I wonder…?" ironically asked the man while turning his eyes towards Kirito, who was staring at him in shock before pointing his way.

"I knew there was something I was forgetting! You ARE General Eugene's brother!" exclaimed the gamer in surprise while most of the people present giggled, Mortimer growled in annoyance at that. "I tried to get to you many times when ALO opened again under Ymir, but you either weren't there or anyone who I tried to ask for you in the Salamanders' Capital would Log Out screaming when I got close!"

"That's because you traumatized 90% of our best Players out of playing ALO for life, leaving us in the ruin, you crazy Spriggan bastard!" shouted the man while standing up, glaring at the caped Spriggan even as Sakuya and Alicia exploded in open laughter and the rest just blinked obliviously. "I had to spend a month barely Logging In just to get my brother out of his ROOM! Do you know how awkward that is at our age?! And then he said he had decided to 'Explore the True Purpose of Life' because being totally crushed by you 'opened his eyes' and I haven't seen him since them! He barely even writes home anymore!"

"Uhm…I'm really, really sorry?" lamely apologized Kirito while Mortimer shouted in frustration.

"And as if that wasn't enough then you let your friend there go waving around my brother's stolen sword!" growled the Fairy Lord while pointing towards Strea, who was, indeed, waving Gram around out of boredom, making several people sweatdrop. "So yeah, forgive me if most of my Race just doesn't like you at all, Mr. 'I punch the shit out of people'!"

"…no one really calls me that…right?" questioned the gamer with a bit of nervousness while looking around, moment that the familiar Salamander that had come with his Lord choose to speak, putting a hand on Mortimer's shoulder as if to calm him down.

"Now, boss, you need to relax, you know? My good friend Kirito didn't mean you any ill will." commented Klein while everyone's attention zeroed on him. "Yeah, he may annoy people sometimes with how awesome he is without even trying. And he may always get away with whatever crazy shit he pulls off. And he may always have a lot of cute and hot chicks surrounding him and begging for his attention! But…ehm…he…" there was a moment of silence before the samurai-wannabe stared blankly towards the caped Spriggan. "Why was I trying to defend you again?"

"…thanks Klein, that was a GREAT help." growled Argo while Kirito facepalmed, Mortimer snorting and looking away.

"Klein-sempai! I feel your pain!" suddenly shouted Recon while rivers of tears fell down his eyes, his gaze never leaving the form of the katana-user.

"Recon, my boy!" kindly replied Klein while locking gazes with his latest friend, the understanding that only two poor souls whose existences was constantly ignored in favor of much cooler people flowing between them. "Snif, that's the spirit!"

"…when did those two become friends?" questioned a confused Asuna.

"I have no idea…and no interest in knowing, to be honest." deadpanned Leafa while trying to resist the urge to strangle her whiny friend.

"…I don't even know who they are besides that the Salamander is kind of a friend of yours and fought Philia in the tournament." awkwardly whispered Yuuki while fiddling her fingers.

The gamer would have tried to tell Yuuki that wasn't really her fault if it wasn't because the door chose that moment to open again, everyone's gazes moving towards it in time to see an extremely tall figure clad in blue and light blue entering the area, firmly holding a blue and gold trident on his hand.

"…well, it seems I'm not all that late to the party. Lucky me." smiled the man with a voice filled with irony, his gaze moving over the gathered group and stopping in Kirito for a moment. "Nice Superman cosplay, but it's kind of crappy."

The caped Spriggan resisted the urge to scream at that comment, feeling one of his eyebrows twitching as he stared at the newcomer. He seemed like a really intimidating man, standing almost 2 meters tall, his face having a serious look and a long X-shaped scar over it that seemed like a strange exaggeration. Also, he had noticeable muscles, which were visible because his slightly tight robes didn't cover his arms. The only real 'armor' he seemed to wear besides a strange belt with the symbol of the Undines on it was a very complex-looking crown made of what seemed like seashells and coral over the cropped bluish hair of his head.

The first to react to his appearance was, surprisingly, Recon, the young Sylph pointing at him with eyes widely open.

"OMG, it's OMG!" shouted the dagger user, as if unable to believe it.

"…what?" asked Kirito with utter confusion.

"It's as he just said. That's the Lord of the Undines, OMG." whispered Argo to the gamer while never taking her eyes off the newcomer. "And if I had to guess, Recon's surprise is because he never leaves their capital in the Crescent Gulf. Hell, I wasn't even sure he was going to come…"

"I can't believe I'm seeing you!" half-shouted Recon as if trying to hold back his shock. "When I first played ALO was around the same time you first became the Undine Lord and everyone talked about you as if you were a legend…and now I'm seeing you for real!"

"Yep, in the flesh, kid. Now close your mouth before it falls down, you look like a fish out of the water." muttered the tall man before walking to the chair at Alicia's side and sitting down, looking at everyone with a fake smile. "So, are we doing this or what?"

"We're supposed to wait for the others to show up, Guy." informed him the leader of the Caith Siths with a tired sigh, getting a blank look from the man. "…is something the matter?"

"…you're still the Lady of the Caith Siths? Man, I don't get it, you look more like a monkey than a cat." idly commented OMG while playfully moving his trident, blocking the hissing charge that Alicia tried to unleash against him before Sakuya and Lux pulled her back, even as she shouted for them to let her 'tear a new face to the bastard'. "Heh, you wouldn't be able to even if they let you. Since the moment I entered this room, I have devised at least 4 ways of beating everyone in here and get away with it…except you." he finished while pointing at the black-haired boy. "For some reason, it seems as if even bothering with you would be too troublesome, so I'm not even going to try."

The caped Spriggan decided that, for 'some reason', he really didn't like that guy.

"Hey, Argo, why did Alicia call him 'Guy'?" confusedly asked Asuna while blinking at the scene.

"Because, believe it or not, his name doesn't stand for the classical English expression 'Oh My God'." clarified the info-broker while sighing at the antics of her Race's Leader. "It stands for 'One More Guy', or so he tells everyone."

"So, who is going to…?"

Yuuki's words died on her mouth when the room's door opened once again, leaving a curious figure to walk into the room.

The young man was just a bit shorter than Klein and seemed to share a bit of his like for dressing like someone from old Japan, but that was where their similarities ended. The Spriggan's slightly dark skin, characteristic of his Race, was mostly covered by his black and grey ancient-looking clothes, the long pants and dark boots contrasting strangely with the kimono-like piece that covered his upper body, leaving only his hands exposed. His face, too, was mostly hidden from the world thanks to a hat that seemed to have been inspired by those straw-hats samurai used to wear in times of old (And in popular media), but that was most definitively not made of straw, seeming more of some black material with fading silver edges, pieces of cloth falling from the round edge of it to give a feeling of 'old and broken', blocking the man's eyes from the world and letting the present people only see part of his nose and his thinly closed mouth. On his back, hanging silently and slightly to the side, an impressive and wicked-looking halberd, easily the biggest weapon most of them had ever seen, towered silently over its owner.

Perhaps the most curious trait about him, however, was the orange-clad, and shoulder-length orange-hair of the same color, Navigation Pixie that sat silently on his right shoulder, which drew more than one person's attention, given how rare those were. In fact, besides Yui, none of the members of the United Heroes Association could quite remember having ever seen one.

Without a word, the mysterious Spriggan walked forward and sat down at OMG's side, his hidden gaze ignoring everyone and setting immediately over Kirito's standing figure, who stared back with a mix of confusion and uneasiness.

"The rumored strongest one calls for a meeting…I hope you didn't think I was going to miss it." Calmly spoke the man while his mouth twisted into an easygoing grin, even as the Pixie on his shoulder gave the other Lords a polite bow. "You're a Spriggan, after all."

"Tha-thanks for coming…" muttered the gamer, not knowing exactly what else he could say.

"So that's the Lord of the Spriggans, uh?" whispered Yuuki to Asuna, looking the man up and down. "He seems like quite a curious individual…"

"That Navigation pixie with him is quite cute…but not as cute as Yui-nee!" happily declared Strea.

"Oh, where are my manners? You and your friends probably don't know me." giving his fellow Lords a short glance, as if asking for permission to talk, the man grinned once again as he returned his hidden gaze towards the caped Spriggan. "I'm Tazal, Lord of the Spriggans. And this little fellow here…" he added while pointing to the Pixie on his shoulder. "Is Fidget."

"Pleased to make your acquaintances." monotonously said the small girl before once again sitting on her master's shoulder.

"Hmm…I wonder if she may want to talk with me later?" wondered Yui while tilting her head. "I have never had the opportunity to study how the AI from an actual Navigation Pixie works…"

"Uhm, good to meet both of you too." nodded Kirito while sweatdropping at his virtual daughter's words. "You probably already know it, but I'm Ki…"

"Kirito, one of the most famous Players around. Said to be invincible and unmatchable, with the strength to even break through things that shouldn't be possible by the game's rules. Some think he's a hacker, but the fact that he's never actually trying to steal Kills, curbstomp Bosses, getting Rare Items all the time or beating other Players for no reason disapproves this theory." quickly recited a new voice while the gamer froze, everyone turning towards the now occupied chair at Sakuya's side, the Lady of the Sylphs herself almost jumping in place, not having noticed when the newcomer sat down. "Also rumored in the ALO Forums to be the same Player that caused the 'disturbance' at the end of Gun Gale Online's 3rd Bullet of Bullets from last year, though this hasn't been officially confirmed by anyone…unless you want to go ahead and say it now?"

The caped Spriggan, for his part, stared with a mix of shock and confusion towards the kind and seemingly innocent smile of the red-haired girl that was staring at him, as tall as Asuna was. Clear brown eyes seemed to try and stare into his soul, and the headgear she wore (Which suspiciously resembled a Maid's headband) just added to the strange feeling that a happy child was trying to force some secret out of him with just her gaze. Her equipment itself was a fairly simple battle dress, white and a very light black, finishing in a skirt-like part over her hips, with battle gloves that completely covered her hands and forearms (Where white-gold armor pieces seemed to act as some kind of accessory), not to mention the high boots and long white kneesocks that completed her looks. The thing that got the most attention from him, however, wasn't the cute girl's looks, but the fact that she had a black and grey short-sword on her hips.

Or, to be more precise, two of them, identical. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Asuna's eyes widening a fraction at also catching sight of that, the rest of his 'girlfriends' having similar reactions.

It was easy to know why, though. Besides Asuna, who spent quite some time in SAO getting used to it both by herself and with his help, no one in Alfheim Online ever actively tried to dual wield. Apparently at some point, when the game came out, some people had tried it just to give up after realizing how pointless and useless it was: As ALO was very realistic when it came to its Battle System, using two swords of the same length was as difficult and impossible as it would have been in real life, mostly risking hurting oneself or losing your balance when trying to effectively use them. The main reason the Undine girl near him could easily do it even before the Sword Skills were added to the game was because of the endless times she had executed the Skills of her 'Dual Blades' back in Sword Art Online, which let her body and mind remember the movements with the mastery that could only be achieved in the virtual world.

Being that the case, though, why was this girl carrying around two swords…?

"You know, it's kind of rude to try and ask questions from someone you seem to know so much of, when the people here know so little about you, Lady of the Leprechauns." Argo's cold and calculating words snapped Kirito's attention from his examination of the newcomer, who surprisingly took these in stride and only let her smile widen.

"Eh? But I thought that, if anyone would know about me, then it would be without a doubt the great Argo the Rat, the best Information Broker in the virtual world!"

"As much as it pains me to admit it, all that I know is that you're relatively new around and that you're called 'Rain'." replied the Caith Sith with slightly narrowed eyes, clearly not amused by the girl's fake-innocent tone. "Also some rumors between your Race about you being the best blacksmith around, but I honestly think that a friend of mine holds that title…"

"I don't think it's fair to be compared with Lisbeth-sama, though." muttered the Leprechaun while looking idly at the other Lords, who were apparently absorbed in the conversation. "She HAS the advantage of her mighty God Hand, after all…"

"Okay, if there was any doubt before, that clears them. She's a SAO Survivor." thought the gamer with a small grimace, wondering what the strange girl was hoping to achieve with all of that.

After all, despite being kind of an open secret that the UHA were Survivors of Sword Art Online, mentioning the game at all was still heavily frowned upon by the gaming community. Which was that specific details like Argo's 'Rat' nickname or the exact names of the Unique Skills were only known by those that had survived the Death Game.

"…Asuna-san, do you know her?" came Leafa's hushed voice from behind the caped Spriggan.

"No, I don't think so, but why…?"

"We are not late, right?" asked a new voice coming from the door, once again interrupting the ongoing conversations away to let 2 new figures enter, one of them familiar to the Heroes.

The other was a tall figure, almost Sakuya's height, with purple hair almost as long as hers. The Imp wore a cloak with hood and long of sleeves of a plain gray color over its modified light armor, with strange designs on it, and his face was half-covered by what seemed like a skull-like mask, the visible lower part of it showing a small smile and, when combined with the rest of the attire and hair, making it difficult to say if the person was male or female, though judging by the voice they had heard it should probably be the former. To complete his quite strange appearance, on the man's back hung an impressive Two-Handed sword, silver in color and with a skull-design on the guard, which reminded Kirito of a certain Demon Hunter's weapon from an old videogame.

The other figure, meanwhile, was…

"Diavel?!" asked Asuna in shock while pointing towards the familiar man in knight-like armor, a longsword on his hip and a mid-sized shield hanging from his left arm. "You're the Lord of the Gnomes?!"

"Uhm, yeah, but I have only been for some 6 months or so…" awkwardly replied the man, whose new avatar had light-brown instead of his old blue one, his dark yellow and white armor somehow (Stats) seeming to not slow him down despite how bulky it was. "I was kind of wishing to get back into gaming for a while, so I decided to take on the still open offer and convert my 'old account'. Still, I didn't really like spending much time in Aincrad, so I decided to try and see how far I could go by helping my Race's government system…and here I am. Oh, sorry for not contacting any of you in all that time, I guess."

"It's…not really a problem, just quite surprising…" assured the blinking gamer while looking towards Argo out of the corner of his eyes, wondering if she had known this. Sadly, the Caith Sith was still silently staring at Rain as if to try and pry open her secrets. "And your friend…?"

"Oh, we're mere acquaintances, but thanks for assuming that, Mr. 'Hero for Fun'." chuckled the oddly dressed Imp while looking at the caped Spriggan and his companions, the former and his adoptive sister freezing at hearing those exact words. "I'm OverLord, Lord of the Imps, and I have to say that it's a pleasure to meet you all in person. Especially you, Miss Zekken."

"E-eh? Me?" asked a surprised Yuuki while the young man laughed merrily at her reaction, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"Of course, young miss. After all, is it a surprise that I was eager to talk with the strongest member of my Race?" rhetorically asked OverLord while tilting his head, even as he and the uneasy-looking Diavel took their seats on the table. "You're very famous in our capital, Yuuki-san. Though I guess I can't blame you for not knowing, you probably haven't been there since you created your character, right?"

"Ye-yeah, more or less…" awkwardly answered the Holy Swordswoman while smiling nervously, even as Asuna put an encouraging hand over hers.

Kirito knew how the poor Imp must have been feeling at that moment. After all, he had experienced the same kind of awkwardness back in Aincrad, in the beginning, when he met people who actually thought he was a Hero and not a cheater or a menace.

"Well then, if we're all ready, why don't we get started with this?" questioned OMG with a bored look. "Some of us have important things to do…"

"Yes, and some of us would rather not be here longer than necessary…" quietly muttered Mortimer, though not low enough for the gamer to not heard him, which made him sigh before looking around in confusion.

"But, wait, we're still missing someone, right?" questioned him as he stared at the Lords, who suddenly exchanged nervous/frowning gazes.

"To be honest, Kirito-kun, I think we should start with just us." said Sakuya towards the caped Spriggan. "I don't think anyone else is going to come."

"What?" asked a confused Leafa while staring at her Race's leader, even as Argo finally looked away from Rain to stare at the door with a complicated expression. "Why?"

"Because the 'Lord' of the Pooka is…well, let's just say no one here thinks this person is going to show up." explained Tazal while shaking his head. "Anyway, we probably should…"

"You all talk way too fast." interrupted the Lady of the Leprechauns with a calm look, turning her head to the door. "She's here."

At that exact moment, the door opened, letting two newcomers enter the room.

"Privyet, everyone. Sorry for being late." excused herself the smaller of the pair with a polite smile, even as the Heroes stared at her in shock.

She was short, perhaps even shorter than Silica. Kirito was sure she probably wasn't taller than Yui in her 'human' form by more than a couple of inches. Her long hair, which went all the way down her back, was a soft gray with just a small hint of bluish in it. Her big eyes were a light purple in color and seemed to reflect both innocence and yet an unnatural sharpness that no kid should have.

For that was what the little Pooka standing there was, a kid. Nothing in the blue and gold dress she wore, or the golden pendants that hung from her eyes, did much to hide this fact. Even the small dark-bluish beret over her head, with a strange feather-like decoration just before it, only accentuated her childishness. The contrast with someone else with a 'small avatar', like Alicia, was extremely clear, more so because ALO's randomly generated avatars usually were more or less similar in complexion to one's real-world body, to facilitate the use of these at the beginning (Height and muscle mass weren't things that could exactly be freely altered even with paying additional fees, though). That's why, for example, Leafa and Recon were more or less the same height and 'shape' of both Suguha and Shinichi. Only specific races like the Gnomes or the Caith Siths changed someone's complexion in a noticeable way (Caith Siths tended to be shorter than most fairies while Gnomes were the tallest race), but even with that once could easily tell that someone like Alicia Rue was no little kid with just looking at her. Obviously, SAO Survivors who had had their old avatars converted from their original accounts in Sword Art Online hadn't been affected by most of these changes (Race's traits like darker skin, hair color and/or point/animal ears notwithstanding).

Which meant that the little girl that just entered, and who couldn't be anyone but the Lady of the Pooka, couldn't be older than 12 or so.

Perhaps even more disconcerting, however, was her companion, who had quickly stared at everyone in the room with narrowed eyes the moment they went inside the room. While it wasn't weird that she had brought an 'escort', so to speak, for both Mortimer and Sakuya had done this (Even if no one else apparently had bothered), the fact that it was clearly an Undine and not a Pooka was.

The tall man had light-blue hair, indigo eyes, mostly white clothes and two different gloves, one fingerless and the other with a metallic guard over the arm. On his side, a long and clearly not simple katana hung, his hand over it clearly seeming ready to use it if necessary, a total contrast with the easygoing and almost childish way in which the little girl held her golden staff, the bluish jewel on its top being decorated by a wing-like carving.

The tense/surprised atmosphere that had filled the meeting room was broken by Rain's pleasant voice, the next words surprising almost everyone in there, even if some hid it better than others.

"Welcome, Seven."

"Oh, hi there, Onee-chan." greeted back the young girl while happily walking forward, taking her seat on the empty one between Diavel and OverLord, who make quite the contrast with the diminutive staff-user. "Lady of the Pooka, Seven, here for you all. Sumeragi, my bodyguard, is the good man standing behind me."

"Hnn." was all that the Undine said as answer, even as OMG stared at him silently.

"A…a pleasure…" muttered the caped Spriggan while carefully hiding his shock.

"Heh…so it's true. One of the best of us has become the miracle child's lapdog…" idly commented the Lord of the Water Fairies, though the one called Sumeragi seemed to ignore him. "Ouch, totally ignored, uh?"

"Ho-how can someone so young have become the Lord of their Race?!" asked Asuna to Argo in a shocked tone, but trying to keep her voice as low as possible, even if Kirito could still clearly hear her.

"I…don't know, and that's what annoys me. Less than 3 months ago, it seems that this girl came in and quickly became extremely popular among the Pooka. While the Lord of that particular Race had always been a title that changes a lot and without much worry, she has managed to continue being elected 3 times already, and everything I have gathered shows that she will again this month." informed the Caith Sith while looking from the newcomer to the Lady of the Leprechauns. "And this is the first thing I heard about her and that Rain being sisters…"

"Well…that's great." summarized Kirito on his mind after hearing the info-broker's words, his eyes moving over the faces of the ones filling the tense room.

All of the currently most influential players of Alfheim Online gathered in a single place, most of which didn't care/understood/respected each other, at least two of which Argo had little to no information about and one that actively hated his guts. And he had to convince them all to help him 'save the world'.

…sometimes, he almost missed his old, not so crazy life. Almost.

Deciding that the time for long and complicated thoughts had ended, the gamer raised a closed fist and 'lightly tapped' the table with it.

Spiderweb-like cracks spread from it with a powerful 'Boom', making everyone in the room jump in place and turn their eyes to him, shock, anger, curiosity, and interest in them.

He did his best to not think too deeply about what some of those looks meant in favor of putting on his 'Saitama face', with a smidge of pure seriousness added.

"Okay, I'm sure you're all wondering why we called you here, for one reason or another, so I will get to the point." declared the caped Spriggan while staring right into the soul of the gathered Lords. "We need your help to stop a virtual apocalypse."

As he saw how the different faces started to shift and felt the stares of the girls on his back, Kirito knew that the following explanation was going to be more complicated than he thought…

0000000000000

On the calm and relaxing view of the silent forests of New Aincrad's 22nd Floor, a flying bird Mob watched the trees with wary eyes, as if fearing to land because of something that inhabited them.

Then, it was unceremoniously destroyed when a white-shining arrow flying at unholy speeds pierced right through its torso, making it explode into polygons.

"Man, those Archery Skills sure are something else…" muttered Ducker while squinting his eyes towards the horizon, even as Sinon, standing at his side, lowered her bow. "And you said that that was the simplest one?"

"It was just a simple 'Swift Shot', but I feel more comfortable using it than other…'fancier' ones." explained the Caith Sith with a small sigh. "I know they're useful and that I will probably need them in the upcoming battle, but it's still difficult for me to fully grasp them. I'm too used to just shooting a different bullet to bring down my target or making multiple ones explode, I guess…"

"It's still more efficient than the 'Exploding Arrow' spell if you want to attack a column of enemies." reminded her Sachi from her place sitting on the grass some meters away, her long spear over her crossed legs. "We're going to need you to cover us from the back as much as you can…"

"You said that as if you didn't have one of the hardest roles ahead of you." replied the Caith Sith while giving the Salamander a bittersweet smile. "Everyone is counting on you being on the front using your Unique Skill all out…"

"That's because her Infinite Spear is especially useful against groups of smaller enemies, which is what we're apparently going to be facing." added Philia to the conversation as she walked towards the group, followed by the other members of the UHA that hadn't gone to the meeting and the worried-looking Sleeping Knights. "But I will be sure to watch her back at all times. That's what loyal friends are for, after all."

"…thanks, Philia. I know I can count with you and everyone at all times." brightly smiled the spear-user before turning to look towards the rest of their friends. "How did it go?"

"Good. I got them all-new weapons…and I even got a few new pieces for everyone." informed Lisbeth with a grim look, surprising the others slightly even as their eyes flew over those accompanying them, noticing how they all carried new weapons. "I also have something for Argo and you three, and I don't think Asuna, Leafa or Yuuki want to change weapons, so…"

"It's okay, Liz-san, you have done all that we could have asked from you." assured Silica with her 'kunoichi-tone', while looking for a moment to her back, from which the eight-pointed form of her new Fuuma Shuriken, Yamata-no-Orochi, hung in silence. "Now we can only do our best and hope Kirito-san can convince the Fairy Lords of aiding us…"

"He's going to have a hell of a time with that…" muttered Jun while looking down, even as his guildmates stared silently at him. "I mean, if it hadn't been because of what we saw that happened with Yuuki then we probably would have thought you were trying to pull a crazy prank on us…"

"But this is no prank. It's very real." affirmed the Spriggan girl of the UHA while tightly gripping her new blade, Masamune, the long katana seeming to reflect the light of the sun in an unnatural way. "And not only for our sake, but for that of many others…we need to win."

"Man…having the 'Fate of the World' hanging on your shoulders…no pressure, eh?" humorlessly joked the present Leprechaun while raising her right arm, God Hand materializing as she silently stared at Mjolnir, which she had used to forge all the current weapons. "How does Kirito deals with this kind of pressure most of the time?"

"Because…that's the way Kirito-sama is, for his sake and that of others." softly declared Sachi while standing up, a smile on her face. "And because he always has us to back him up too, I guess." finally, the Salamander girl turned to look at the blacksmith with a strangely serious look on her face. "…were you able to make it, Liz?"

"Uhm, yes, but…" hesitantly, Lisbeth opened her menu and materialized two items, one a new spear almost 3 meters long and with a wicked-looking tip that was almost 20 cm. long by itself, not to mention two minor extra blades at the sides of the main one. "This is Amenonuhoko, Sachi. Don't ever ask me to make you a better spear, because I'm sure I won't be able to. This thing is a monster, a beautiful monster though…and as for what you asked…why do you even want these for?"

As she finished saying that, the Leprechaun threw both the impressive spear and the mysterious item to the silent girl, who had finished putting her old weapon on her inventory, Sachi catching both of them and staring in awe at the glorious form of Amenonuhoko for a moment before raising the other object and grinning brightly at it.

Philia had to resist the very Kirito-like urge to facepalm when she saw they were a pair of triangle-shaped, orange shades.

"Let's just say they're moral support…"

"Oh, for the love of God, Sachi…"

As the present katana-user seemed to be debating between screaming at her friend or not and Lisbeth walked past them with Silica to show Sinon her new bow and Ducker his new dagger, Keita looked towards the worried and silent Siune at his side, hesitating for a second before putting a hand on her arm, making the young woman almost jump.

"Siune-san? Is something wrong? You have been acting…weird, for a while now…"

"I-I'm sorry, Keita-kun, it's just…" for a moment, the Undine let her gaze wander at the small wand-like weapon she now wielded, the Yggdrasil Top Branch that the boy at her side had given her. "…this morning, Yuuki asked me to…become the new leader of the Sleeping Knights."

"Wha-what?!" almost shrieked the Leprechaun, just barely containing himself so as to not drag the attention of the rest of the girl's guild or his own friends. "Wh-why would she do that?!"

"She…said something about 'passing the torch' and about she wanting to fight the next battle as 'one of you', though I'm not totally sure about what she meant…" replied Siune while looking to the side with a worried face. "But…I'm not sure if I can do this."

"…what do you mean?" softly asked the ex-guild leader while looking at her.

"It's just that…I don't think I can compare to how well Yuuki did leading us, even less to Ran." despairingly admitted the Healer while leaning against a nearby tree, intently watching her friends and the rest of the Heroes Association walking forward to talk between with serious looks on their faces. "I mean…look at them. It's obvious that this is extremely important for them, hell, even more for Yuuki. Virtual reality is not only the way we even got to know each other, it's also the only way in which they can even interact with other people that's not from a hospital bed! It's even the only way in which Yuuki can stay alive anymore…and I'm no longer in the same situation. How could I lead them like that?" the young woman had a lost look on her face as she stared at the silent Keita, who looked at her with the utmost attention. "Did you know I was even happily thinking about going on a trip around Japan just yesterday? To do some sightseeing and celebrate I had recovered by miracle…and now, this happens and I realize how selfishly I was thinking. While they're all still sick and can't even get out of the hospital, I…"

"Siune-san…you're not selfish. You're only human." suddenly cut her off the ex-guild leader, surprising the Undine and making her look at him with shock. "You think they didn't feel even a tiny bit jealous when you told them you got better? They sure as hell did, that's only natural, but they felt way happier from you than anything else, because you're friends. True friends." for a moment, the Leprechaun looked towards the sky with a reminiscent look on his face. "…back in SAO, I used to envy Kirito as much as I admired him. After he saved mine and the others' lives, I could do nothing but wish I was as strong as him, to be able to protect them myself…but I quickly realized he wasn't the awesome and God-like figure I originally imagined. He was just a kid who had been given powers he didn't understand, that had been as scared as any of us at some point but that had risen to the challenge because he could do it. Because he knew that becoming a 'Hero' was the best for everyone and for himself…and in a way, that's why he inspired me so much, why I decided it would be the best to stick by his side, even if anyone would think we would only slow him down or live on his shadow…"

Keita knew that Kirito had no problem accepting that he wasn't 'normal' by any stretch of the word when they returned from the SAO and ALO incidents and started once again with their 'normal lives'. Two years of doing what he had done and acting the way he had to act would do that to anyone, especially to a boy that had been 14 when he got trapped in Aincrad. Kazuto had no problems admitting to them that he wasn't totally sane and that he probably never would be unless he spent years in therapy trying to fix that, something he absolutely didn't wish to do.

But then again, weren't ALL of them like that? He knew that, no matter crazy stunt or idea the boy tried nowadays, didn't really make him react as someone 'normal' would. Be it facing a psycho serial killer in a game of guns or saving a terminally sick girl's life by turning her mind into data, the staff-user didn't react with anything more than a headache and a massive need to scold the idiotic boy by doing crazy things that would get the girls worried sick, and in turn mad as hell. Everyone else's reactions at this point were more or less along the same lines.

Hell, he didn't even think of the boy and his little sister actually going around as ACTUAL vigilantes in real life as something more than another headache! And he had even pondered about the possibility of joining them at some point, because he was sure as hell the others were thinking it and he wanted to make sure no one got hurt!

They weren't right in the head, that was for sure. Everything that happened in SAO had affected them in more ways than one. They had been called 'Heroes', and they all still took it seriously after all this time, as if it was an especial part of them. Kirito more than anyone, maybe. He was doing something that they all knew he sucked at and hated, handling a direct 'politic discussion', just because he thought it was somehow HIS duty mainly to stop the pseudo-apocalypse that was coming.

Then again, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. They were all together and such good friends because of that, after all. Even 'odd ones' like Leafa and Shino proved that it wasn't something exclusive of SAO Survivors, but a way of thinking that was 'different' and nothing more.

So, what if the 'normal people' thought of them as madmen? They were the United Heroes Association. They had gone through hell and heaven together, and would continue doing so till the end, no matter what it was.

Because that was what Heroes did.

"Keita-kun…" whispered Siune while looking at his determined expression with wonder.

"Go and talk to them, Siune-san. Ask them what they think instead of imagining it by yourself, and then you can make your decision without regrets." then, as if an afterthought, the ex-guild leader smiled at her. "Oh, and, if you're really planning to go in that trip, I and Kirito were planning in making a second Probe soon, so you could take one with you to show them whatever you see too. If you want, that is."

For all answer, the Undine suddenly hugged him, making the Leprechaun freeze in place and a bit of red to fill his cheeks.

"Thanks, Keita-kun. Really." softly muttered the Healer before smiling at him. "I will…do my best too."

And with that said, Siune headed towards her friends as she tightly gripped her wand, ready to give her best in what was to come, both in the battle and in her future.

Keita, for his part, just stared idly after her before shaking his head.

"Man…I wonder if Kirito feels like this all the time?" idly mused the boy before smiling and heading after the others, scratching Tonky's sleeping form as he passed by.

He just wished that his good friend and 'Leader' was having good luck with his difficult endeavor.

0000000000000

A silence that was starting to become very uncomfortable had filled the meeting room since the moment Kirito had finished his 'explanation', which had already stretched for more than 30 seconds as the Fairy Lords (And the ones that had accompanied some of them too) looked at him with odd, disbelieving, blanks or meditating looks.

Luckily, or not, this was finally broken by Mortimer speaking as he stared hard his way.

"So, let me get this straight…you called us all here to this 'meeting', saying something about it being very important, just to tell us that 'a crazy Artificial Intelligence plans to take over the virtual world'?" not really waiting for an answer, the Salamander Lord stood up and turned around, seeming clearly annoyed. "I can't believe I wasted the morning on this crap. I'm leaving, I have no time to waste in kids and their crazy ideas of a prank for…"

"Wait a minute, boss." interrupted him Klein with a very serious look and tone, actually making the man stop and look at him with surprise, as his ever-goofy attitude was what made him famous among the Salamanders. "I have known Kirito for a long time and, even if I can't claim to know him as well as his guildmates, I know that he wouldn't go out of his way to tell you all of this if it wasn't deadly serious."

"You're saying he's telling the truth, then? About this whole 'virtual apocalypse' thing?" questioned OMG with a raised eyebrow, idly tapping his fingers over his trident's shaft. "Because I sure as hell think it seems like he's trying to make us think that we're in some kind of American sci-fi movie or an anime."

The caped Spriggan resisted his urge to curse and/or sigh at the Undine Lord words. He had known that this was what most likely was going to happen, but having it in front of him when everyone was counting that he managed this was certainly aggravating.

No matter what, he had to get at least some of these guys to help him. Saitama-powers or not, he and his friends weren't enough to stop the incoming catastrophe alone, and…

"Well, I believe them." every single pair of eyes in the room turned towards the masked figure of OverLord, the Imp Lord shrugging at the shock and surprise reflecting on everyone's faces. "I mean, think about it. We have all heard about these kids, one way or another. Some of us even have directly interacted with them or know others that have done so. Are they, as far as we know, the ones who would do a 'prank' like this? Because I sure as hell don't think so. Besides, what would they even get out of doing this? A few giggles for a day or two? We're the Fairy Lords, for fuck's sake, we could make sure that almost all Players in Alfheim Online hate them or at least distrust them for the rest of their lives if they tried to do something like that, and I'm sure they're not stupid enough to not know that…so that's why I think they're telling the truth."

"…that guy…I really wasn't expecting that." muttered Strea with a surprised tone, talking for the first time since the meeting began. "Argo, do you know anything about him?"

"Only that he's one of the only remaining 'Original Lords' together with OMG, Mortimer, Alicia and Sakuya, the ones that have continued being elected from the beginning of ALO month after month. And that he has always been rumored to be the strongest of the Lords' bunch." her eyes moving over the other Lords, the whiskered Caith Sith seemed to ponder deeply about this. "Not wanting to judge a book by its cover, but I believe he still may be."

"I'm also willing to bet that Kirito-kun and his friends aren't trying to trick us with this." proclaimed Sakuya with a serious look, but still giving the aforementioned boy a small smile. "He's not the kind of person to do something like that. Besides, I have known firsthand one of his 'close friends' here for a long time and I know that she would never do something like this if it wasn't true."

"Lady Sakuya…" gratefully muttered Leafa while staring at her Race's Leader, blushing when she gave her a wink while nonchalantly pointing from her to the gamer, but still smiling.

"Yeah, Kirito is just too much of a gentleman to try and trick some cute girls like us!" cheerfully joked Alicia Rue before blinking and looking carefully at the male Lords. "…can't say much about you all, though."

"Alicia-san, we don't need you making 'jokes' like that right now…" sweatdropped Asuna while Argo tried to not facepalm at the attitude of the woman that was supposed to be the 'political leader' of all Caith Siths.

"Well, when you all put it like that, the boy's words seem a bit more serious than just an absurdly elaborated prank." interjected Tazal while putting a hand under his chin with a thoughtful look, before looking at the small pixie on his shoulder. "What do you think, Fidget?"

"I was not programmed to give my opinion in these kinds of situations, master." flatly answered the orange-clad being, making both Yui and Strea blink at how 'contradictory' her statement was.

"For the sake of the conversation, let's say that you were." calmly continued the Spriggan Lord, never letting his hidden gaze off Fidget. "So, what would you say?"

"…I would say that he certainly doesn't seem to be lying." shrugged the Navigation Pixie after giving Kirito another look. "Then again, I don't think the opinion of a simple and unimportant creature like myself counts much in this situation."

"…did you program her to say that somehow?" asked OMG with a raised eyebrow. "Because if you did…it's hella funny, in a twisted sort of way."

"I don't see how THAT is funny. At all." interjected Mortimer with an acid tone. "And that you're even willing to consider believing in this madness shows that…!"

"Are you being so close-minded because you have a grudge against him or you're just naturally so stupid?" questioned Seven with an even tone and a serious look, shocking many by her words and for the adult-like way in which she had spoken. "Because if it's like that, then I have no idea how you have remained Lord of your Race for so long."

"Wha…?! How dare you mock me like that, insolent kid?!" shouted the Salamander Lord, his face red from the anger. "A little girl like you shouldn't try and get in a serious adult discu…!"

"You can call me a little girl as much as you want, but it won't change that all the facts pretty much speak for themselves." coldly cut him the Pooka Lady, stopping Sumeragi from what apparently had been an impulse to attack the other man with a calm gesture of her scepter. "Or have you forgotten what happened in the Sword Art Online incident? The best minds in the world tried to hack the Cardinal System to free the trapped Players, even just to see what was happening in Aincrad, to know if people close to them were okay…" as she said this, the young girl's eyes moved a small fraction towards the silent Rain, just for an instant, so fast that no one normal could have noticed…though Kirito did. "They all failed. And every death made them lose a bit more of hope. If that thing is really back and with an awareness that has told it to take control over the VR World then you can be sure as hell it can do so with access to the hardware we're speaking of here."

Once again, a deep silence filled the meeting room, the mention of Sword Art Online having apparently filled everyone's heads with deep, sad or serious thoughts. The actual SAO Survivors present (Not counting Lux and, possibly, Rain), the members of the United Heroes Association, took a moment to remember their own experiences back in the old Aincrad, both the countless good ones and the sad and dark ones.

Eventually, the silence was broken by a long and tired sigh coming from the caped Spriggan, dragging everyone's attention towards him even as he just…slumped on himself, his head down as he seemed to make a decision.

"Please…I need your help." came the gamer's voice in an almost pleading tone, surprising many and outright shocking others, even as his tired eyes looked over everyone. "This…'power' of mine, that some call cheating and others admire…I never asked for it. Yeah, I certainly never complained about having it, who would? But the point is that I didn't ask someone for it. It was just thrown in my face for no apparent reasons, and I decided to roll with it. Everything that I have done since then has probably been crazier with every moment, but I don't regret any of it. I'm strong, strong enough to even split the heavens with my fists if I want to, literally invincible against anything and everything…and I'm also unable to enjoy 'playing' in the Virtual World anymore because of it. You all, you're not really the Leaders of an entire Fairy Race all the time, are you? You can just Log Out and continue with your lives, enjoy tranquility and normality once you abandon this world. I really can't. For many reasons, way too many to count, all directly or indirectly related to this power of mine…But I don't regret it." as he said those words, the boy's eyes moved over the girls that had come to the meeting with him, all of them feeling the intensity of his gaze and fighting the need to blush under it (Even Strea!). "Because I have gotten much more than I lost since I became this way. Rain, was it? You asked if I was the guy from the Bullet of Bullets? Yes, it was me. I had to fight against a madman who had obtained a 'power' similar yet different from mine, and that was using it to harm others. Why? Because I could do something about it. Nothing more, nothing else." Kirito slowly walked some steps away from the table, just vaguely aware of how everyone was staring at him. "I know I'm not normal, in many ways…but I also know that I can't solve everything on my own, no matter how strong I am. That was the first thing I ever learned after obtaining this power of mine. I know you may not really believe me, but please…help me. Help us…help everyone. If needed, I promise that, as long as its not something that goes against my principles, I will do any of you a favor to get your help. Please."

The caped Spriggan finished his plea while staring back at everyone with unflinching eyes.

The new silence that filled the room was quickly broken by the sudden sound of chuckling, coming from, to the surprise of many, OMG's shaking form.

"…heh…dammit boy, you really are a weird one, uh? Who goes full 'anime-like speech' like that without warning?" slamming the butt of his trident at his side, the Undine Lord gave the gamer a toothy grin. "I will hold you to that 'favor' thing for later, but for now I'm on board this crazy 'war' of you."

"That's one way of putting it." commented Tazal while leaning backwards on his chair, putting his feet over the table without a care in the world. "Eh, what the hell, the Players from my Race would probably get mad if they knew I didn't help the only widely popular Spriggan, so I'm in too. Besides, Fidget trusts you, so that should be enough."

"I never said anything along those lines, master." whispered the Navigation Pixie with a blank look, increasing Yui's curiosity and need of talking with her.

"…I'm sorry if I acted too pushy with my questions from before." apologized Rain while looking towards the blinking Kirito. "Any Leprechaun that answers my announcement will also help you, Kirito."

"If Onee-chan is going to help you then I have no reason to not do so too. Besides, I want to see if we can really stop an attack from the supposed 'unstoppable' Cardinal System." declared Seven with a big smile, interlocking her fingers and putting her hands under her chin. "You should know we Pooka area very few, even less that are actually especially strong, but we shall do our best and support…oh, and Sumeragi here will also help, right?"

"If that's your wish, then it shall be done, Seven." nodded the serious-looking Undine while many sweatdropped, trying to not think too deeply about WHAT that was about.

"…I have known most of you almost since the beginning, and while I can't claim to be best friends with any of you I know that I can trust you're doing the right thing now." declared Diavel with a serious look while looking towards the members of the Heroes Association. "Count with my Race to back you up, Heroes."

"Well then, I think that with those declarations we have all agreed to help Kirito-kun and his friends except…" at OverLord's words, all the people in the room turned towards the silent Mortimer, whose eyes twitched dangerously when all the attention was turned to him.

"…you're all crazy." growled the Salamander Lord before sighing and walking back to the table, sighing as he fell lifelessly on his chair. "Fine, I will also help with this madness if only just to not look like the jerk that didn't want to do so…but I swear, kid, if this ends up being some messed up joke…!"

"I knew we could count with you, boss!" cheerfully interrupted Klein while giving him a somewhat rude pat on the back, before giving the caped Spriggan with a thumbs-up accompanied by one of his 'dashing smiles'. "And worry not, Kirito, whatever else happens you can count with the great members of Fuurinkazan backing you up with this!"

"Ye-yes, as Klein-sempai said!" declared Recon while raising his dagger. "We will protect ALO!"

"No hesitation, everyone!" cheered Lux while pumping a fist. "Let's all become Heroes today!"

As the room descended into some sort of controlled chaos, with the Lords and everyone else arguing about how to make the 'announcement', a group of stunned girls walked near the surprised gamer.

"…goddammit Kii-bou." whispered Argo while staring at him in shock. "When did you become so good at speeches?"

"I…don't know." honestly answered the boy while shaking his head. "But hey…at least it worked, uh?"

"…if it wasn't because of how serious this situation is, I would probably kiss you again right now, Sensei." smiled Asuna while Yuuki and Strea blushed at her words, the Caith Sith of the group just looking away with a reminiscent look on her eyes and a slightly silly smile.

"Well, I don't really care about looking bad, so…!" before Strea could even take a step forward, the Imp and the Sylph had restrained her, making the girl blink. "Uh?"

"So-sorry, Strea, but this is kind of really not the time…" muttered the Holy Swordswoman as if trying to apologize.

"Yes. If I…uhm, I mean, if Asuna-san has to hold back then you can do the same!" furiously whispered the katana-user with a crimson face, gaining a chuckle from the Gnome.

"…I really hope this turns out okay." said Kirito while looking back towards the discussing Fairy Lords.

"Don't worry Papa, I'm sure it will!" assured Yui while flying to his shoulder with a confident smile. "After all, what could possibly go wrong?"

For some reason, the Hero couldn't help but cringe slightly at her words…

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"…nervous?" asked Philia with a casual tone after seeing Sinon almost fail in her latest shot, the blue-haired Caith Sith lowering her new bow with a frown on her face.

"No…I mean, yes." accepted the sniper while staring at Pinaka, her newest weapon shining under the high sun of the virtual world. "It's just…this is big, Philia. Bigger than anything I have ever imagined…" whispering the last words, the girl absentmindedly caressed the hilt of her own small katana. "How do you manage to be so calm?"

"Well, I would be lying if I said this isn't a bit overwhelming for me too…but I kind of have a trick to help with that." commented the Spriggan girl while looking upwards, a serene look on her eyes.

"A trick?" questioned Sinon with a raised eyebrow, fully turning to face her friend. "What is it?"

"To imagine a place where I feel safe." revealed Philia with a small smile, resisting the urge to chuckle at the Caith Sith's surprised expression. "What? That's all I do, really."

"I…see." muttered the sniper with a conflicted look on her face, looking to the side for a moment before staring back at the still smiling Spriggan girl. "And which place do you imagine?"

"Ah…that's funny, you know? Lately, I have been dreaming about this place…" started the katana-user while gaining a strange look on her eyes. "It's kind of a massive garden with lots of flowers, with the sun shining brightly. There is a beautiful tree in the middle, under whose shadow I sleep calmly…and then everyone comes to greet me and sit on the garden while we relax…"

"Sounds like a beautiful place." sincerely commented Sinon while smiling too.

"It is. I wonder if one day I will be able to see someplace like…"

"Hey, girls!" came Sasamaru's sudden voice from beside the log house, his worried tones making both females snap to attention. "So-something weird is going on with Heath…I mean, with Kayaba!"

Not needing to be told twice, both girls ran towards their friend as he led them towards the opposite clearing, in the middle of which the others members of the United Heroes Association that hadn't gone to the meeting and the Sleeping Knights watched as Heathcliff's body trashed on the ground, unsure of what to do.

"What the hell is happening to him?!" asked a thoroughly confused Sinon, looking with morbid fascination as the man shook in place.

"He sa-said something about trying to interface with ALO's Cardinal System to try and get an early warning…" tried to explain Keita while debating between walking near the man to see if something could be done or just get everyone out of there before something bad happened. "He was okay until he suddenly started to convulse like that for no reason!"

"Sho-shouldn't we tell Kirito or the others?" questioned a nervous Philia while staring at the fake paladin as he rolled over himself. "D-do we know how did things go on their end, by the way?"

"It seems Kirito-san managed to convince the Lords of helping us." explained Silica while staring warily at Heathcliff's form.

"Yeah, and they're going to announce it as if it's some kind of surprise even of Ymir or something to not cause panic, mainly because there may be no time to actually explain the truth to every player in the game. They're still in Yggdrasil City helping they prepare to mobilize their 'troops'." added Sachi while biting her lips. "Hey, shouldn't we…?"

"There is nothing we can do for him, Sachi." declared Liz with a slightly cold tone, her eyes never leaving the man's shaking body. "If Strea or Yui were here maybe they could tell us something about what the hell is wrong, but as they aren't…"

Suddenly, whatever else the blacksmith wanted to say was interrupted as the fake paladin shot to his feet, a disturbed look on his eyes as they swept across every single one of the players present there.

They didn't even get to open their mouths to ask anything before he spoke.

"They're here."

A sound like that of metallic nails scratching at a board filled the virtual air, making everyone scream as they covered their ears.

It as echoing through all of Alfheim.

The screeching sound hammering the Players ears for all of 5 seconds before stopping.

And then The End began.

At Alne's doors, on the massive plateau before the World Tree, virtual reality ripped open as endless rows of armored figures stepped forward, carrying all kinds of weapons.

Leading the army of Einherjar on first line, Brynhildr and Vierge stared at Yggdrasil's form with serious/indifferent looks, Eve's small form resting on the hands of the latter.

All around ALO, different-sized platoons of the soulless soldiers manifested, staring with hollow eyes towards the capitals of the fairies.

In New Aincrad's 1st Floor, just outside Starting City, another big contingent of Einherjar appeared and started to march forward, Andvari massive form closing the march as her 3 unblinking and red 'eyes' locked over the city.

"Do not let a single virtual stone intact, sisters."

"This is boring…let's make it interesting, okay, Eve?"

"Target Acquired. Starting Elimination. Mother's Will Be Done."

And with those words, the Einherjar released hollow battle cries that echoed through all of Alfheim, raising their weapons as they charged forward.

The War of Ragnarok had finally begun…

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NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW!

"Good evening, humans. I'm Vierge, previously known as MHCP-003, codename…no, it does not matter. None of that has anything to do with what I am now. So here, have your preview. Next time on One Punch-Gamer: 'War of Ragnarok'. The last battle to protect ALO begins, and the Heroes and their new allies prepare to do everything in their power to prevent the Land of Fairies from being destroyed, but…will it be enough? …silly humans, of course it won't. Once Mother activates Protocol Longinus, nothing you do will be eno-"

END OF THE PREVIEW!