Chapter 13: Hidden Feelings. A Brave Heart's Truth!

November 10th, 2024. Alfheim, between Swilvane and Alne. 17:30…

The silence that had suddenly covered the whole area was so thick that it could have been cut with a knife…or one of the many pointy weapons everyone carried around.

Well, everyone except for the lone and unarmed Spriggan with the carefree smile, who had just kind-of- threatened the army of the game's arguably strongest race, then declared something that sounded extremely silly and pointless when asked who he was.

A chorus of laughter and even some insults answered his words, once the shock had passed, coming from the whole Salamander army…except by two lonely Players, who were standing still as the rest of their comrades exploded in chuckles.

"…hey, Kagemune?"

"…yes, Chariot?"

"Isn't that the same Spriggan that was with the Sylph chick yesterday?"

"…yes, I think he is."

"Oh…just making sure." finished the other Salamander before, slowly, both started to fly backwards.

"…AHAHAHAH! Ah…good one, kid, but I think you have made a mistake." finally said the leader of the group while looking down at Kirito with an amused smile. "See, we aren't here playing to Superheroes. We're in the middle of something serious."

"Oh, yeah, I know that. And let me tell you, I find it quite…stupid." absolute silence filled the air at the bored tone of the black-haired boy, even as he sighed and shook his head. "I mean, I'm probably the least indicated person to talk about taking videogames too seriously, but to resort to spies, shady deals and betrayals just to screw over two entire groups of players, most of which don't even KNOW about this, just to gain advantage over them? Even more, to literally come to slaughter them with almost seven times their numbers, when they haven't even TRIED to do anything against you?" looking at them with disappointment, the gamer somehow made more than one of the fire fairies to feel bad. "Don't any of you know the meaning of 'taking things too far'?"

"U-uhm, sorry for interrupting you, but…" blinking, the Spriggan turned around to face the tall Sylph woman in the Japanese-style clothes, who was looking at him uncertainly. "Why are you helping us? Not that we mind, but you DO realize they're not going to back down with just words, right?"

"Well, my name is Kirito and lets just say that a…friend of mine is from your race, so I don't want this happening. Besides, I already said it, I'm a gamer playing Hero." turning around again, the boy sent another look at the apparently hopeless fight in front of him. "And what kind of Hero wouldn't save someone in need from a group of bullies?"

"Hey…now you're getting a bit TOO cocky, Spriggan." growled the man while suddenly pointing at the black-haired boy with his purple sword, the unique design and its strange tip immediately letting the gamer know that it was no ordinary blade. "See here, do you really think you can just come out of nowhere and meddle with things that don't concern you for childish reasons? We Salamanders don't need to explain how we do things to a…!"

"Man, won't this guy just shut up?" tiredly thought the boy while looking from his sword to the rest of the army, idly aware of the tense Caith Siths and Sylphs behind him looking directly at the red-haired man. "Really, couldn't he have just been mature enough to accept I was right? They ARE taking this way too far!"

"…and that's why you…wait, are you even listening?!"

"Uh?" blinked the boy at the sudden anger on the Salamander's voice, looking once again at him. "Oh, sorry, you were taking so long that I decided to tune you out…can't you summarize it in 20 words or less?"

A new kind of silence greeted the boy's cheerful question. One filled with disbelief and outrage.

"That guy…is either an idiot or has balls of steel." declared the short and blonde Caith Sith of dark skin. "Maybe a bit of both."

"You know I CAN hear you, right?" sighed Kirito while resisted the urge to facepalm.

"Okay, that's it!" shouted the Salamander's leader with annoyance. "If you want to be crushed with them so much, then be my guest, Spriggan! Salamanders, charge and end them all! But leave the Spriggan to me!" saying this, he raised the silver edge of his massive sword with one hand, putting it close to his face. "He shall fall knowing the edge of Gram!"

And with that, the red army charged forward, screaming battle cries as they pointed their weapons towards the 'doomed' group, both Sakuya and Alicia Rue tensing as their hands shot to their weapons, despite knowing that they had no chance against General Eugene, the game's best player, and his army, but not willing to just…

"…okay then. No one can say I didn't try."

And with yet another sigh, Kirito took a step forward and, in everyone's eyes, CHANGED.

The first line of Salamanders had barely enough time to blink, thinking that the reason they suddenly saw the Spriggan with imposing muscles and a face cast in darkness was an illusion, before the boy 'disappeared' from where he was standing with a sonic boom, leaving only an imprint of his feet on the ground and several shocked and staggering Sylphs and Caith Siths.

Then, Eugene was blinking in confusion as 12 of his soldiers went flying in all directions, their armors breaking and their weapons cracking, and suddenly the Spriggan was THERE, just in front of him and with a fist cocked back, his eyes turned into two white voids of nothingness that stared beyond his soul even as the punch that announced DEATH for him slowly came for…

"HYAAA!" screaming with a mix of shock, fear, and rage, the 'Demonic Sword Gram' cut forward, faster than many experts of the blade in the real world could ever achieve with such a huge blade, cutting through the gamer's body…without resistance. His form also suddenly seemed to 'vanish' after the swing, as if he had never been there in the first place. "Wha…? No…don't fucking tell me he somehow made an afterimage of…?!"

Several more screams interrupted the General from his terrified thoughts, his head snapping back to see more and more of his subordinates suddenly flying backward in all directions as a white and black blur tore through the air and them, many turning into Remain Flames BEFORE touching the ground. The most terrifying part, though, were the several craters appearing on different points of the ground around them each second, which let Eugene's already overcharged mind know that the boy was actually JUMPING at hyper speeds to attack them, not flying.

Open-mouthed, the escorts of both Race Leaders let their recently unsheathed weapons fall to the ground from the shock. The two girls in question were also busy STARING with stunned disbelief at the impossibility before them, hence why none of them noticed the descending forms of two screaming Salamanders, who had discreetly gotten away from the main group since a while back.

"IF WE TAKE THEM DOWN THEN AT LEAST THIS WOULD HAVE MEANT SOMETHING!" shouted Kagemune while aiming towards Sakuya and Alicia with a just summoned Fire Lance, Chariot shooting past him and ready to impale both women with his spear.

"Yeah! For the Sala…!"

"I cast Beheading!" cheerfully shouted Strea before closing her wings and falling down like a meteor, big-ass sword first and doing exactly as she had announced with the poor Player, only to pout as she opened her wings again to not crash. "…it's not as cool as when Kirito does it."

"There, there, you were still pretty cool, Strea-nee." comforted her Yui while patting her cheek.

"What the…?!" started Kagemune before freezing at feeling a familiar presence behind him, the edge of a katana caressing the back of his armor.

"Hey there! Remember me?" smiled Leafa while Justice's Wings hummed happily on her hands.

"Oh, this is SO much bullshi…"

"JUSTICE SLASH!" finished the blonde Sylph before cutting the battle-wizard in two and landing at Strea's side with a satisfied smile, sheathing once again her trusted blade before addressing to the once again shocked group. "Hey, Lady Sakuya! I came as soon as I could, glad you're okay!"

"Le-Leafa…?" whispered the shocked woman of dark-green hair, looking for a moment to the happy-looking Gnome and the Navigation Pixie on her shoulder. "Wait…you mean…HIM…?" pointing shakily back to the now less than 6 Salamanders, Sakuya seemed unable to properly finish her question. "…is with you too?"

"Uhm, yeah, you could say that…" awkwardly muttered the young girl before turning her gaze back to the battle (Slaughter).

"Thi-this doesn't make any fucking sense!" screamed Eugene when the last of his men was also punched to the ground and joined the many Remain Flames now littering the whole area. "What kind of cheat or hack are you using?!"

"Didn't you know…?" softly whispered Kirito while appearing behind him, his cape flapping madly at the wind as he stared at the wide-eyed General with a nonchalant look. "You CAN'T hack these games."

"UAAAAAAH!" roared the red-haired man while spinning around, ready to behead the boy…no, the ANOMALY that was the Spriggan behind him. With an almost bored look, even as his body began to fall again at the mercy of gravity, Kirito raised his hand as if to catch it…only to be surprised when the blade went THROUGH his hand as if it was a ghost, heading unimpeded towards his neck. "BEHOLD THE ETHEREAL SHIFT BEFORE FALLING, BASTARD!"

Gram slammed against the boy's neck in triumph, sending him to the ground like a meteor while Eugene grinned…before his body vanished the same instant it should have crashed on the earth, leaving the man gapping as he suddenly felt someone grabbing the hand with which he had been using his Demonic Sword, turning to the side to see Kirito looking with a spark of curiosity towards his legendary blade, the Spriggan's momentum casually dragging both of them upwards.

"A ghost sword? Man, that's really cool…"

"Who the fucking hell are you?!" screamed the man with utter despair…before feeling the boy's empty hand CRASH against his chest in the form of a fist, a small instant of insanity letting him feel as if everything around him was breaking down…

…and them he was on the ground, his body leaving a long scar on the earth before it exploded into a Remain Flame.

"….oops." muttered Kirito while landing, staring with a sweatdrop at how he was still holding the man's closed virtual hand and the Demonic Sword Gram. "I…think I should have let go before doing that." turning around with embarrassment to look at the group of shocked players and his two companions, the boy sheepishly waved the massive blade at them. "Uhm…anyone knows what should I do with this?"

"I…you…ho-how did you even kept that?" questioned Alicia with total disbelief. "It should have vanished together with Eugene…"

"…maybe because his hand is still holding it?" ventured the gamer before said hand broke down into polygons, making him let go of the sword in surprise as it impaled itself on the ground "…well, it WAS."

"…maybe you could give it back to him next time you see him?" offered Sakuya while staring at the second strongest blade on the game, her mind still trying to process what had happened.

"Oh…okay." responded the Spriggan while the Remain Flames around him started to disappear. "I will be sure of doing that soon…"

Incidentally, none of the Salamanders there would Log In or even get out of their houses for the next two days (Even those with works or something to actually DO in real life), but that's something no one really cares about.

"Honestly, O…uhm, Kirito-kun. Couldn't you have been a bit less dramatic?" chided Leafa while walking near the sheepish boy.

"…I DID try to stop them with a well-reasoned argument, you know…"

"I think you were awesome, Papa!" cheered Yui while flying to his shoulder, a big smile on her face. "Oh, oh! Next time you face an army, can I help too?! I could keep them all in place while you punch them!"

"Hey now Yui, don't go talking as if I made going around punching people my hobby…"

"Nee, Kirito, can I keep this thing until you have to give it back?" innocently asked Strea while picking Gram up, moving the Two-Handed Sword with perhaps even more easiness than Eugene. "It's pretty cool and shiny!"

"I…don't know if that's okay…but seeing as we're in a hurry and we don't know where that guy is, I guess…"

"YAY! You're the best, Kirito!"

"Strea-san, don't go around talking as if this is normal, please…" sighed Leafa while shaking her head, though there was still a soft smile on her face.

Suddenly, as the final Remain Flames vanished, the reality of WHAT had just happened seemed to finally sink on the group of Sylphs and Caith Siths, who suddenly exploded in excited and happy cheers as they surrounded the group, endless praises and questions being shot towards the awkward-looking Spriggan while Strea just kept smiling and Leafa tried to calm everyone down,

"Okay, okay, everyone, let them breathe!" Sakuya's words seemed to have an actual effect over the small crowd, who parted to allow their smiling leaders to walk towards the trio of 'Heroes' (Plus one pixie). "I gotta say, that WAS amazing, boy. You just saved not only us, but our entire races from a blow we would have needed months to recover from." offering her hand, the leader of the Sylphs only smiled even more at the caped boy as he shook it. "If it wasn't for your words and the way you're acting, I would be SURE you just used some serious hack…"

"Yeah, well, believe it or not, I didn't." commented the Spriggan while looking to the side, letting go of the woman's hand to scratch his head.

"I could tell that when I realized you were JUMPING as if you couldn't fly." spoke Alicia while looking at him with interested eyes. "But then…how are you able to do all of that?! That way of moving…and that strength! It was freaking awesome!"

"You…wouldn't believe it if I told you." opted to say Kirito while sighing.

"I have been seeing you doing all that several times now and I still don't believe it." accepted Leafa before putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I'm just glad you do it for good reasons."

"Yeah…talking about that…" Sakuya's words catching their attention, the small group turned to look at the Sylph's Lord. "What were you saying about spies and betrayals?"

Ten minutes and a 'Moonlight Mirror' Spell, (Courtesy of Alicia Rue) later, Sigurd had been made into a pariah and banished from Sylph territory for the rest of his life. That done, the gamer smiled softly while looking around, feeling quite content after a job well done.

…one could always argue that he had just basically virtually slaughtered and mentally scarred a group of men, then stolen the legendary sword from their leader, but seeing as he hadn't done any of that on purpose and only for a good cause, he could be forgiven for it…probably.

"Well, that was that." happily announced Sakuya with a satisfied smile, she and the Caith Siths' leader turning towards the group once again. "Once again, thank you all for this."

"Yep, you really saved our asses, Kirito." grinned Alicia towards the caped boy, her tail moving excitedly from side to side. "If you ever want anything in return, just ask for it!...well, maybe not right away. We still need to gather funds to prepare for our joint raid to the World Tree…"

"Indeed, that's going to take quite a good chunk of Yrd, and lots of time to gather." sighed the leader of the Sylph while Kirito blinked, before opening his menu and starting to go through it, confusing his companions and some of the curious escorts. "So forgive us if we can't repay the favor too…" then, the surprised Sakuya had to quickly raise her arms to catch a BIG bag that was thrown her way, filled all the way with money, by the sound of it. "…soon?"

"Will that be enough to help you?" asked the black-haired boy while his sister GAPED at him, both leaders' eyes going wide before shooting towards the Spriggan after actually seeing the total amount on the Sylph's menu. "I don't really need the money for anything, so it may as well help someone who does…"

One-punching everything and anything that came his way while trapped in SAO had ended up being quite positive for him in more ways than one, especially when you took into account that the boy never spent money in ANYTHING, as he didn't need potions, armors or whatever. The closest thing to expenses he ever had was when Argo asked him to help out paying for that wood house on Floor 22 for the whole guild, and he had still gone several months after that getting even MORE money. The fact that it had carried on to ALO hadn't really mattered to him, seeing as he had only entered the game to save his friends, so giving it all away wasn't really a problem.

Strea and Yui were only looking happily at him, as if moved by his selfless action, while Leafa was still trying to process that the gamer had just given away such an OBSCENE amount of Yrd as if it was nothing.

Justice's Wings hummed something that may have been a mix of cursing and shock, as if agreeing with that.

"…so, Kirito-kun." suddenly, the blinking Spriggan found himself with both Race Leaders at his sides, the women seeming to have teleported from where they had been standing a moment before as they looked at him in a way that sent a shiver down his back. "What does a strong and amazing guy like you do usually around here?"

"U-uhm, nothing much?" nervously commented the boy, Leafa trying to stop gaping behind him as she started to shake at the latest development, the virtual sisters just looking on with honest surprise. "I-I haven't been around for long, so…"

"Oh, then you aren't affiliated with anyone? Have you given any thought to work as a mercenary for a certain race, then?" ' innocently' asked Alicia while looking at the gamer with sultry eyes. "Spriggans are quite famous for such things after all…what do you say about coming to work for the Caith Siths?"

Whoever said that money and power don't attract women was either very innocent…or very stupid.

"U-uhm…well, you see, right now I'm kind of bus…"

"Indeed, Alicia, can't you see he's already helping the Sylphs?" cheerfully commented Sakuya while leaning a 'bit' too much towards the boy, shamelessly sandwiching one of his arms between her breasts (Which were slightly bigger than Sugu's) 'by mistake', making his face burn red and Leafa's jaw to fall even more. "Of course, we would be willing to extend a formal invitation for you to help us full time. Any friend of Leafa is a good friend of mine and everyone from Swilvane…"

"But I…!"

"Heeey, you would get loooots of great things if you worked for the Caith Siths, you know?" purred Alicia while hanging from his other arm, even as Strea and Yui wondered if it would be possible for Leafa's jaw to fall even lower. "We got great rewards, lots of the best food in Alfheim, and there are lots of cute cat-girls around…"

"Oi, Alicia, don't you think you're going a bit too far?" smiled the Sylph's Leader while pressing herself even more against the Spriggan.

"Hmm? No idea what you're talking about, Sakuya-chan!" cheerfully replied the Caith Sith while her tail playfully touching the black-haired boy's arm, making him shiver. "I'm only explaining things plain and simple to our good friend here!"

From a practical point of view, the best Kirito should have done at the moment was throwing off both of them and ran away as fast as he could. 'Sadly', thanks to their current position, he couldn't do that without literally throwing them off himself, and so much time surrounded by girls while in SAO had taught him enough to know that you couldn't just do something like that to a woman, especially with Saitama-level strength.

…which was kind of a contradiction, seeing how all the girls around him were quite capable and fierce when in the battlefield, and knew how to take care of themselves. Yet they still enjoyed when he treated them with respect as 'women'. Argo had once tried to explain this to him with a smile, but he had honestly lost the meaning of the conversation after 10 minutes and…

Thankfully for the caped boy's overloaded mind, his salvation came in the form of someone forcefully pulling from his cape, making both Race Leaders squeak in surprise as the Spriggan was yanked backward and they had to let go to not fall face-first into the ground. Shocked, Kirito could feel a pair of arms closing quite possessively around him as Leafa cheerfully rested her chin on his shoulder, staring at the older women with a BIG smile that, had the boy been able to see it, would have truly tempted him to just run like hell.

"I'm TRULY sorry, Lady Sakuya, Lady Alicia, but you see, my…friend's time is TAKEN already. I'm guiding him and his friend to Alne for IMPORTANT reasons, so he's not really in a position to work for anyone right now…isn't that right, Kirito-kun?"

"U-uh…? I mean, yeah, yes, she's totally right, I'm truly sorry!" quickly agreed the boy while apologizing, thankful of his little sister's quick thinking…which he wouldn't have so much if he could see her face. "W-we kind of need to get going already, to be honest! Se-see you some other time, hope you have luck with your raid! Strea, Yui, let's go!"

As soon as he finished those words, and without even bothering to ask Leafa to let go of him, Kirito JUMPED backward, spinning around in mid-air to guide his fall as best as he could towards the closest mass of forest, the blonde Sylph still hanging from his back. Giggling all the while, Strea quickly followed after them while waving goodbye at the Leaders and their escorts, Gram now hanging from her back as Yui seemed in deep thought while scratching her chin.

There were some seconds of silence after the Gnome vanished from view, through which both women kept silently staring towards where the outrageous Spriggan boy had vanished, their minds still replaying the look Leafa had given them.

Both of them were more than able to identify the look of a girl possessively protecting something she wasn't willing to let go.

"My, my, Leafa…I didn't know you were so mature already…" thought Sakuya while smirking widely.

"Eheheh…this certainly looks like it's going to be pretty interesting…" were the playful thoughts of Alicia Rue, her feline gaze kept looking towards the trees.

Still with slightly disturbing thoughts in mind, both Leaders quickly proceeded to formalize the alliance between their races…

A while later, Kirito sweatdropped as he looked towards the grumpy form of his little sister, the girl refusing to look at him as she kept walking forward with crossed arms.

"Le-Leafa, c'mon…a-are you mad at me?"

"Of course NOT, Onii-chan." answered the Sylph with an icy tone. "WHY would you even think that?"

"Okay, you are…i-it's because of what happened back there?" seeing Leafa's scowl deepening as she walked faster, her wings still recharging, the boy could only sweatdrop again. "I swear, it wasn't my fault! I didn't do anything to make them react like…THAT!"

"You mean, besides impressing them by heroically beating the crap out of the jerks about to murder them and also stealing their leader's legendary sword?"

"For the last time, that wasn't my fault! And I didn't 'steal' it; we're just having Strea take care of it till we can return it to that Eugene guy!"

"Oh yeah, because she's the best person to have taking care of something super important."

"Do-don't say that! You have only known her for two days, but she's, in fact, a much more reliable person than she looks!"

"Hey, hey, Yui-nee, look!" shouted the Gnome girl somewhere behind them, before the sound of mobs screaming and then exploding polygons echoed through the air. "Ghost sword rules!"

"Actually, I think that ability it's called Ethereal Shift, Strea-nee…"

"…she's a much more reliable person than she acts, too." added the Spriggan when he saw the 'You were saying?'-look on his little sister's face. "But really, it wasn't my intention for things to end up…like that." looking to the side with embarrassment, the gamer awkwardly scratched his cheek. "After all, if there is something that I REALLY learned from SAO was to respect women…"

"Oh? Really? Sound like you have had A LOT of interaction with girls, then…" muttered Leafa while feeling her eyes twitch.

"Well, seeing as most of my guild's members were female, I would have guessed that bit was obvious." continued Kirito, ignorant of the girl's inner turmoil or of how her katana was humming and suggesting to be used to poke his eyeballs. "Then again, seeing as I was with Asuna almost since the beginning, you could say it's something I had to learn step by step…"

The mention of the comatose girl she suspected her brother may have a crush on was enough for the blonde Sylph's anger to evaporate and be replaced with worry. They were very close to Alne already, after all, and as Justice's Wings so helpfully keep reminding her, she still hadn't actually done anything to get closer to him, or even come close to make him notice her own feelings. Maybe she really didn't have a chance with this…?

Those depressing thoughts filling her, the girl was quite happy when she saw a small village ahead of them, quickly pointing at it before making a run for it.

"Look, a neutral village! Let's rest for a bit and maybe Log Out to eat something!"

"Uh? Wa-wait, Su…Leafa!" shooting after her, the gamer was vaguely aware of Strea and Yui shouting something behind them before he reached his confused sister's side on the center of the small village. "Why did you run like that? It's not as if the village is going to go any…!"

"Something…something is wrong." whispered the Sylph with a frown, making Kirito blink as she looked around the strangely empty village. "Why isn't anyone here?"

"Eh?" his eyes sweeping over the area, the gamer noticed that there didn't seem to be even NPCs on the strange settlement. "Why would it be all emp…?"

"Kiritoooo! Leafaaaa!"

"Papa! Leafa-saaan!"

Turning around at hearing the shouts of the virtual sisters, the siblings were in time to see them stop panting near them, Yui raising a tiny hand…

Just as the massive 'jaws' of the 'village' closed around them.

"…I was about to say that there is no village on the map of this area." lamely commented the pixie even as everything around them became dark, the disguised giant worm-mob sinking into the depths of the earth.

No trace of the 'village' was left after a second.

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On the real world, on a library, Izawa Shiori blinked and looked up from the computer she was using.

"Is something wrong, Argo-san?" worriedly asked Saori while looking at her friend with concern.

"Nah, nothing Saa-chan…it's just that, for an instant, I could have sworn I hear Kii-bou cursing on the distance." shrugging, the ex-claws-user kept working on whatever she was doing, a smirk appearing on her face. "Okay then…it's done."

"A-are you sure we should be doing this?" there was a clear hint of nervousness on the former spear-user's voice, her eyes darting around the public library as if fearing someone was going to come out and arrest them or something. "Thi-this is kinda something serious, Argo…"

"Nee, you worry too much when you don't have a spear on your hands, Saa-chan." answered Shiori while sending a glance towards the portable Hard Disk Drive she had connected to the PC. "We wanted to do SOMETHING to try and also help the others, remember? And if we can't directly go and help Kii-bou rescue Aa-chan and the rest, then at least we can screw a bit with that bastard of Sugou!"

That said, the information broker let another grin appear on her face as she pushed the 'Intro' key, looking how the 'program' started to load.

She may not be adept with computers and such, but that wasn't really a problem when you had 'contacts'. Namely, Agil, who she felt owed her one for having gone to warn Kirito first instead of her. He had provided the 'program' and the email-address, Lisbeth had provided the Hard Disk, Philia the location of the old library with the somewhat outdated computers and Silica…well, she had offered moral support. Kind of. To be honest, she was still a bit too 'out of it' from their encounter with Kirito's little sister, but well, in a sense, all of them had collaborated for this.

With a perfectly innocent smile, Shiori stood up and walked out of the library followed by a hesitant Saori, their friends waiting for them outside.

It would still take 3 hours for anyone in the library to notice someone had 'forgotten' an HDD connected to one of the computers.

By then, Sugou Noboyuki would still be too busy screaming damnation against the virus that had somehow been sent to his personal email, screwing not only all his important files but also his own PC.

All in all, the girls of the United Heroes Association could count themselves as satisfied.

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Deep under the earth of the beautiful and magical land of Alfheim, there exists a massive frozen wasteland, forever trapped in a gloomy light and punished with icy winds.

Home of deadly powerful beasts known as 'Evil Gods', this massive dungeon that's as big as the 'Alne Plateau' above has many names, but there is only one, on the ancient language, that it's recognized as its true one.

Jotunheimr.

The frozen realm of the giants.

…on a less ominous and more 'videogaming' mood, this place was something that players of old MMORPGs could compare with an 'Expansion'. A dangerous place with many secrets and extremely difficult quests, the Evil Gods that roamed it giving equally rare rewards, but needing of entire and well-prepared Raids to even have a hope to be taken out, especially when you took into account that one couldn't fly in here, given the lack of either moonlight or sunlight, the artificial and dark illumination of the area coming from…somewhere. Maybe from the hanging roots of Yggdrasil than hung above the Great Void on its center, but no one was quite sure if that made any sense.

Back on track, it was through this terrible land of ice and snow that one could see how an imposing monster of 4 arms and 6 eyes, a Humanoid-Type Evil God, raised its massive blades, swinging them down to crush his newest pre…

BAM!

"…and that's another one." sighed Kirito while lowering his fist, not even bothering to see how the massive abomination flew like a ragdoll through the air for several kilometers, dying halfway through his 'flight'. "Seriously, these things are starting to get annoying…how much time have we been here again?"

"A…a bit more than an hour…" bitterly muttered Leafa while hugging herself, Strea and Yui doing the same (Though with each other) behind them as they kept moving through the massive field dungeon. "Damn…it's getting late already; we need to find a way to get out of here and Log Out quick…"

"So-sorry, everyone. I would use my powers to get us all out faster, but there are several parties of players around here, and I fear that if they saw us flying without aid on a Non-Fly zone then all our efforts may be wasted…"

"I-I don't know if that's more annoying than the co-cold, or the fact that Leafa-chan do-doesn't know how to get out of here…"

"I DO know!" shouted the blonde Sylph before lowering her face. "A-at least I know there are exits into Dungeons on the 4 cardinal points on the Alne Plateau above, but I have no idea of where exactly are we in respect to that, seeing as that thing just dropped us in here randomly…"

"I'm glad I could punch it before it vanished." accepted the Spriggan before sighing as he looked around. Of course, he could always just run around randomly until he actually FOUND an exit, but he couldn't do that without risking either losing one of the girls or getting them even MORE lost, so they had quickly discarded that idea. It didn't help either that, when jumping, the only thing he had seen was endless snow and the icy walls of the cavern seeming identical in all directions. "It's in times like this that I wish I could just punch us a way to the surface straight up…"

"O-Onii-chan, don't go thinking all destructive now…" chided Leafa while, for the tenth time, ignoring Justice's humming suggestions of embracing the boy under the excuse of being cold. "If you did that, then all our effort to stay undetected to save your friends would have been…"

A sudden and strange cry interrupted the Sylph's words, drawing the group's attention as they turned towards the source and walked above a small elevation of snow, only to be greeted by quite an unusual sight.

There was yet another one of those Humanoid Evil Gods monsters attacking, though not at them, but to another big, though noticeably smaller, beast, this one seeming like a bizarre combination of a jellyfish and an elephant. Before the surprised eyes of the group, the elephant-jellyfish could barely do anything to protect itself from the swings of the giant's swords, which seemed to take some kind of dark pleasure in hacking away at the smaller beast.

"Well…this is a first." declared Kirito while crossing his arms and tilting his head to the side, not noticing the worried look growing on Leafa's face. "Usually monsters are either trying to kill me or my friends, not each other. I guess we can count ourselves lucky and just move o…"

"Onii-chan, help him!" pleaded the blonde Sylph while grabbing the boy's shoulder, surprising him.

"What?!"

"Th-the little one, the one that looks like an elephant! You have to help him! Don't you see?!" as if to prove her point, Leafa pointed Justice's Wings towards the 'battle' with a sad and worried look. "That big one is trying to bully him to death!"

Deadpanning for a moment to his little sister, the gamer suddenly frowned and looked back to the scene. Certainly, once one stopped thinking just as a player of a videogame and tried to think like a real inhabitant of that world of fairies and magic, it truly seemed like something horrible and unfair.

The smaller beast had no way of defending itself from its bigger opponent, and it was more than clear that it hadn't started the fight, yet the humanoid monster seemed to take pleasure in slashing away at its tentacles, his 6 green-black eyes reflecting only pain and helplessness.

Like someone asking for anyone to help him, despite knowing that no one would answer his cry for…

With a sudden rush of air, both Evil Gods blinked in time to see a black and white blur shot over them and PUNCH the humanoid one on the head, turning it and its upper body into virtual gore before it exploded into polygons.

Sighing as he looked at his fist after landing, Kirito wondered if maybe he wasn't letting this Hero-thing get to his head a bit too much, especially when he had just essentially saved a killer mob that would most likely try to kill them now that its enemy was dead…but hearing Leafa's happy shouts and the cheers from the virtual sisters made him feel that it had been worth it.

He was just turning around to move out of the way when a blonde blur slammed against him, Leafa hugging him with all her might and a massive smile, her face so close it made his heart skip a beat.

It was MUCH harder to remind himself she was his (Adoptive) little sister when he looked at her avatar…

"Onii-chan, you're the best!" gushed the Sylph, ignorant of her brother's tumultuous thoughts even as Strea and Yui ran towards them, the later going back to her pixie form so as to not have to walk. "You saved that poor thing, like a real Hero!"

"I-it was nothing, really…" waved it off the Spriggan while looking to the side (And it technically was true, seeing that he had spent no effort into defeating the thing)…and blinking at seeing a big elephant-like trunk in front of his face, smelling him and the girl over. "Uhm…uh?"

"Eh?" raising her head, Leafa seemed surprised too at seeing how the strange beast was still passing its trunk over them, then over the curious and awed Strea and Yui, before using his strange 'nose' to point at the back of his jellyfish-like body, his green-black eyes looking at them with a strange shine.

"Papa, Leafa-san…I think it wants to give us a ride as thanks for saving him!"

"Yay! You're a lifesaver, Mr. Elephant-Jellyfish!" cheered Strea while hugging the trunk, which the beast quickly used to put her on his back. "Woah, that was cool!"

"Heh, isn't it great, Onii-chan?" excitedly commented the Sylph while turning to look at the Spriggan. "Maybe he knows a way to get out of…!"

The girl's words died on her throat when she, finally, seemed to realize the position she was in and HOW CLOSE she was to an awkwardly smiling Kirito, though any reaction she was going to give was cut out in favor of a squeak when the strange creature raised her red-faced body and put her on his back too.

Shaking his head before deadpanning, the gamer seemed to ponder the situation for a moment.

"So, we're going to trust in a jellyfish-elephant-thing to get us out of the frozen realm under the magical land of fairies…" shrugging, the caped boy jumped on the creature's back and joined his excited/awkward companions, the beast starting to move at a decent pace as soon as they were all aboard. "Eh, seems legit. It probably can't get any weirder than this…"

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Twenty minutes later, Kirito stood epically atop the newly baptized Tonky's head, arms crossed as the now bigger elephant-jellyfish soared the skies of Jotunheimr with his fin-like wings, the boy's cape flapping epically on the wind.

"I'm standing on a flying jellyfish-elephant that can shoot electricity over the heart of a frozen wasteland…" frowning, the gamer looked worriedly to the side. "Is it worrying that I feel as if this was something ABSOLUTELY normal?"

"Maybe…but I'm glad you helped out Tonky again back there, Onii-chan." shyly muttered Leafa while caressing the creature's back, a blush being noticeable on her cheeks as she stared at the massive cavern that was the frozen realm. "It was…very kind of you."

"Hey, I only did what anyone with even a bit of dignity would have done!" replied the Spriggan while looking how Strea and Yui kept pointing at everything they could see from there with awe. "I mean, this guy bothered giving us a ride all the way to that Giant Void on the center after we saved his life, no way I was letting those guys just kill it because it had stopped moving to digivolve."

"Heh, the look on the faces of those guys was quite funny, though!" added Strea while walking near the siblings, smiling widely. "I'm sure they will still be shaken for quite a while!"

"Yep, they got so scared of Papa that the last one even jumped into that Great Void all by himself." remembered Yui while the group cast a dubious glance towards the pitch black hole that was directly under the roots of the World Tree. "…maybe he should just have let himself be punched…"

"Yeah, I just hope they can understand I didn't do it with bad intentions." sighed Kirito while looking forward once again. "I was just trying to help…uh?...what the hell is that?"

The confused words of the boy were enough to draw the girls' attention back to the front, gasps escaping from their mouths at seeing what he was referring to.

Just under the center of Yggdrasil, hidden by its roots, there was a massive 'fortress' made of pure ice, looking like some kind of inverted pyramid. Its strange and ominous design clearly identified it as a dungeon, and a high-level one by the looks of it.

But what truly drew everyone's gaze was the soft shine of gold on the pyramid's top chamber, the lower level given its position.

There, standing gloriously as the only thing with color on the whole land of snow and ice, was a sword.

Imposing and beautiful, its golden edge seemed to inspire a feeling of awe and glory, its majestic presence seeming to imply a promise of Victory for anyone who wielded it.

Yet, it simply stood there, the holy blade impaled on that ice pedestal as if watching over the vast land of Jotunheimr, waiting for the day someone worthy of it came to reclaim it…

"…beautiful." softly whispered the Spriggan what everyone was thinking, even as Tonky flew closer to the strange ice fortress.

"I can't believe it…that's ALO's strongest blade. The Holy Sword Excaliber." muttered Leafa with absolute awe, even as their ride flew close to what seemed like an entrance on the lowest/highest point of the dungeon, revealing a door that led to its insides…guarded by a deadly-looking giant. "No one had ever found it since the game came out, many thought it was just a rumor…"

"Well…it seems that's very real." whispered Strea while putting a hand over Gram's hilt, the Demonic Sword having almost 'resonated' with its holy superior the moment they passed very close. "…but…we need to hurry and save Asuna, Keita and the rest…"

"You're right…but, what do you say if we come back for it later?" asked Kirito as Tonky seemingly understood and started to fly away, his question apparently aimed to his sister. "I can come and help you get it some other day after we save the others, if you want."

"Onii-chan…" smiling softly as she grasped Justice's Wings' hilt, reassuring the humming blade she had no intentions of replacing it, the blonde Sylph just offered him a small chuckle. "Only if you really want, 'One Punch-Gamer'!"

His face screwing into a thoughtful frown at the ironic yet accurate nickname, the Spriggan just shrugged while Yui pointed towards what seemed like a massive rock stalactite that had also been hidden under the roots, what seemed like stairs going upwards inside it.

Behind them, on the deepest level of the fortress of Thrymheim, Excaliber shone brightly for an instant, before once again going to 'sleep'.

It wasn't time yet, but soon it would arrive, the day when the True Master wielded it for the sake of the innocents again…

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November 11th, 2024. Tokorozawa's Hospital, 12:10…

Fidgeting in place, Suguha repressed yet another yawn in favor of looking towards the silent form of her brother as they walked through the white hallways of the building.

Last night, when they had finally arrived at Alne thanks to the secret passage they had discovered, it had already been quite late at night, so they had been forced to find an Inn (After taking some moments to appreciate the nightly beauty of Alfheim's capital) and call it a night, saying goodbye to Strea and Yui before getting out of their rooms, sharing a silent but content meal and taking turns to bathe before finally going to be. The young kendoka had noticed Kazuto was in a really good mood, and that still seemed to be the case that morning.

Of course, seeing as they were almost literally one step away from saving his friends, it was only normal he felt that way. In fact, she had been sure that he would ask her to log back in (Or maybe go by himself) the moment they woke up.

To her surprise, he had actually seemed pretty relaxed and in no hurry that morning. He had even taken time to call his friends and tell them how things had gone, even exploding out in laughter at some point, which had confused her greatly. When she had asked about it, he had only said that his friends had 'pranked' Sugou Noboyuki and that the guy would be most likely be screaming murder right about then.

After they finished their breakfast, she had been sure he would say it was time to go back to ALO…but she had, once again, been surprised when he had asked her if she wanted to go the hospital with him. After several moments of internal debate, she had accepted.

And that was why now there were there, heading to see Kazuto's friends. He hadn't exactly said why he wanted to visit them again when they were supposedly about to free them, but Suguha had decided to go with him anyway…because a small, selfish part of her, wanted to know 'something'.

"Here we are." softly muttered the gamer while opening the door of a room. His little sister followed, not really needing to guess WHOSE room they were visiting first.

Her suspicions were confirmed the moment she entered the room, her eyes immediately being drawn towards the hospital bed and the 'sleeping' form in it, making the kendoka's eyes widen as she forced herself to not gasp in surprise.

Despite having that Nerve Gear on her head and her skin being a slightly sickly color from the two years in coma, Yuuki Asuna was, without a doubt, beautiful. Her long chestnut hair only seemed to accentuate her pretty face even more, and she almost seemed like the princess of a fairy tale, waiting for a prince to wake her up.

At that thought, Suguha's eyes shot towards Kazuto, a part of her heart feeling darkly squeezed when she saw the soft and caring smile he was giving the girl's prone form.

She hadn't been sure before, but now she absolutely was. Even if he realized it or not, her adopted brother cared for the comatose girl more than a simple friend.

She could tell because his expression was the same one she always saw in the mirror when she thought of him.

"…she was the only one I told about our promise, you know?"

"Uh?" muttered the troubled girl, snapping out of her daze to look towards Kazuto in confusion.

"Back then, I mean. When SAO was just beginning and I was still feeling very lost and out of it because of my 'powers'…one day, when I decided to test if I could still make my way through the first Dungeon, I met her. She was fighting like crazy and almost seemed to have a death wish, as if thinking that going out while fighting would mean something…"

"Wha-what?!" gasped Suguha in shock, her eyes shooting back towards the silent girl on the bed. "How could she even think that…? Didn't she know, how much her family would suffer if she died…?"

"Sinking into despair can make someone do crazy things, you know? I remember stopping a guy from trying to jump off the fucking Floating Castle back then too…" sighing and shaking his head at the memory, the gamer didn't seem to notice the wide-eyed expression of his little sister at those words. "So…I did what Saitama would do. I saved her when she collapsed, then I got her out of the dungeon?"

"A-and what then…?" asked the kendoka with interest, her brother having not specified on the details of his meeting with the comatose girl before.

"She woke up in my arms and then slapped me." at the incredulous expression on Suguha's face, the boy could only release an awkward chuckle. "On her defense, she kind of seemed to react on instinct. She was much darker and depressed back then…but well, the point is that, two days later, when we were heading to the first Boss Fight…she broke down, in a sense. Started to blame herself for getting trapped there, thinking she was an idiot for it and more things…she seemed about to head down another spiral of absolute depression…"

"…and you did another thing Saitama would do again?" curiously asked his sister while walking closer to him.

"Nah. I just told her to stop having so many worries, then that I HAD to get out of that world…" turning his gaze towards her while saying that, Suguha felt her heart skip a beat at the smile he was now directing at her. "…because I promised my little sister we would go eat some ice-cream together."

"Onii-chan…" whispered the kendoka while trying to contain the overwhelming need of hugging him, even as the boy continued with his tale.

"After the First Boss was defeated and things went crazy because I had been 'exposed', she, well, I guess you could say she started following me around." chuckling, Kazuto scratched the back of his head at the memory, even as his adoptive sister once again looked towards the sleeping Asuna. "I remember being surprised and a bit annoyed by it, at first. She started to change really quickly after that, and seemed truly determined to become stronger. She…became the first real friend I have ever had." looking down, the black-haired boy once again sank on distant memories. "After I…screwed things up with mom and dad…with you…I realized how much of an idiot I had been that day, when we sat together laughing after finishing seeing 'The Strongest Man'…and just when we were starting to patch things up, SAO happened…" looking back to his sister with sadness, the gamer seemed to be struggling to keep calm as he talked. "…she helped me see how much I had been missing out by shutting myself from others. She helped me see things from whole new perspectives, and I'm sure I would never have gotten all our friends if it wasn't for her…Just like remembering our promise gave me the strength to keep going day by day, she gave me the hope that things would always be better as long as we kept trying. That's why…that's why…!"

Kazuto's words died on his throat when he felt the soft body of his sister embracing him, Suguha's face resting against his shoulder as she tenderly hugged him.

"It's okay, Onii-chan. We will help her…and your other friends too. All will be well."

"…yes. I know." closing his eyes and returning the hug, the gamer suddenly felt an immense peace filling him. "Thanks, Sugu."

"No, Onii-chan, thank you." she silently thought as she rejoiced in the feeling of his warmth, her heart beating like a drum as she wished they could just stay like that forever. "Now…you have helped me make up my mind."

"…well, let's go see the others, okay?" smiled the black-haired boy while softly taking her hand. "And after we see Keita and the rest, what do you say if we go get some ice-cream?"

His answer was in the form of another hug and a happy chuckle.

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A great man once said 'Patience is a virtue'.

Asuna dearly wished to impale the one who had said that with her old swords, because he clearly hadn't been trapped in that goddamned cage for two months, neither had he been forced to endure Sugou's stupidity through it all.

She was about to send her plan to hell and just get the fuck out of there when the familiar sound of incoming footsteps and an annoying voice grumbling made her smirk.

Finally, the Bastard King was back.

"…stupid hackers, if I ever get my hands on them…" stopping his rambling, Oberon shook his head and put on his characteristic 'evil' smirk as he stopped at the side of Asuna's cage. "Ah, my dear, how are you today? Finally accepting your fate, I hope?"

For all answer, the chestnut-haired girl just glared his way before crossing her arms and turning away again, as if ignoring him. This clearly didn't sit well with the Fairy King, for he immediately started to go on one of his long and, in Asuna's eyes, stupid speeches about how she would soon be his obedient wife and how he was going to become one of the most powerful men in the world thanks to his brainwashing technology.

Asuna, for her part, continued refusing to look his way…if only because she wasn't sure if she would be able to keep a shark-like smile from showing on her pretty face.

Soon, she was going to get out of there, and that stupid bastard would PAY for all the shit he had done…

And as both prisoner and kidnapper continued with their (One-sided) 'conversation', none of them noticed SOMETHING watching silently from an upper branch, waiting, hearing…

Learning.

[…aSuNa…GeNOs…]

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"Ahhh…that really was a great ice-cream, eh, Sugu?" smiled Kazuto once they entered their home, a content look on his face.

"Mou, Onii-chan, you have to stop eating so much of it!" playfully chided Suguha while mock-pouting his way. "You will get fat if you get addicted to ice-cream!"

The fact that she had actually become quite addicted to the cold dessert herself and spent several days in ALO eating all the kinds of it she could find in the virtual world was happily erased from her mind.

After all, she wouldn't get fat from eating in the virtual world.

"You wound me, Sugu, I know how to put limits on myself, you know?" complained the black-haired boy while looking at her, also ignoring the fact that he had been pretty much stopped caring about things like 'limits' since he got his 'powers' back, only being 'nice' because he didn't want to ruin Alfheim for other players. "Besides, I would never get that far even if tried!"

"Uh? What do you mean by that?" asked the younger Kirigaya with confusion…before gasping and blushing when the boy leaned towards her and kissed her cheek. "UWAH?!

"Because I have got the best sister in the world looking after me, of course!" grinned the gamer with a small blush on his own, before turning around and heading upstairs. "A-anyway….let's go and do this, Sugu! Let's save Asuna and the others!"

"…yeah…let's go…" whispered the red-faced kendoka, hanging back for a bit before slowly walking up the stairs and heading towards her room.

Once inside, Suguha let her eyes wander for a moment through her plushies, the Kendo Trophy she got from the National Championship, her poster of ALO and, the one that made her smile softly, a small card showing Licenseless Rider standing before the Sea King.

Then her eyes shot towards the kendo bag hanging from the opposite wall, a red coat, reflective glasses and her 'mask' accompanying the shinai inside, as she knew.

Her fists clenched for a moment before she relaxed them and headed towards her bed, taking off her indoor shoes and putting on her AmuSphere as she lay down.

"It's not about winning or losing…" she softly whispered to herself before closing her eyes for an instant before opening them with determination. "…LINK START!"

A sudden wave of rainbow colors later, the girl felt her consciousness flying away, leaving her body behind and not at the same time as everything around her changed.

Less than a minute later, Suguha was 'gone' and it was the Sylph known as Leafa, best flier and swordswoman of her race, who opened her eyes, staring towards the ceiling of an inn inside Alne, Alfheim's biggest city, situated just under the great shadow of Yggdrasil, the World Tree.

Putting a hand over Justice's Wings, the blonde girl felt her eyes widening when, this time, she could almost feel as if the 'humming' were actual words.

'Now or never, Master.'

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"That…doesn't look like a tree at all." commented Kirito while they followed a silent Leafa towards the supposed 'entrance' of the dungeon that was known as the 'Grand Quest', which till known no race had been able to clear and that supposedly allowed someone direct access to the top of the 'World Tree'. "I mean, yeah, it has branches and leaves up there, but…seriously, from down here it barely looks like a tree at all. More like some twisted tower or something like that…"

"Well, it IS supposed to be some kind of mythological tree based off the myth of the Tree of Life in Norse Mythology, so I suppose that's why it looks so weird." commented Yui while looking up towards the far-away branches, knowing that Asuna was trapped in one of them. "In the myths, it supposedly is what connects the 9 Realms that form all things…"

"Woah, you REALLY know about lots of things, Yui-nee!" shouted Strea with clear awe, the other AI refraining from telling her that, if she so wanted, she COULD also investigate those things…instead of spending most of her online-time reading light novels and manga. "Nee, Kirito, do you think a tree this big could exist in the real world?!"

"…I kind of doubt it, Strea." answered the Spriggan to the Gnome's cheerful question, his gaze once again wandering towards the impossibly massive 'tree', lamenting being unable to just jump up directly to where Asuna was, for he would need to break the 'barrier' the GMs had apparently put around it to do so, and he had no wishes of breaking the game's reality and risk losing his chance of saving his friends now that he had come so far. "In a sense, this is one of the many things that the Virtual World can show and that reality can't…though I wouldn't find it weird if something like it appeared on Saitama's world, to be honest…"

"Oh…there is that name again, Papa. 'Saitama'." with a puzzled face, Yui raised an eyebrow towards her father, who suddenly stopped and looked awkwardly to the side. "I forgot about it thanks to everything that has been going on, so I haven't searched for it, but I know it's kind of important…and I'm sure you're not referring to the prefecture where you live…"

"Ah, yeah! I have also been feeling curious about it since you and Leafa-san mentioned it!" added Strea while looking curiously at the gamer.

"Well…it's a bit complicated, but I promise I will tell you two and everyone else after we rescue the others, okay?" promised Kirito while they stopped in an open and, unlike the rest of the city, empty 'plaza', a massive door that apparently led inside the magical tree not far away. "It's kind of something a bit…crazy, so I want to just have to explain it once…oh, and Leafa can also help me with it, right?"

"…"

"…Leafa?" confused, the boy turned his gaze away from the virtual sisters, looking back and noticing that, while they had still continued walking towards the door, the blonde Sylph had stopped walking near the end of the circular plaza and was now staring silently at her feet. "Hey, it's something wrong?"

"…Onii-chan." softly whispered the girl while the concerned Spriggan walked near hear, the gentle humming of the katana at her side barely registering on her mind. "I…there is something I need to tell you."

"Eh? Oh, okay." sending her a supporting smile, Kirito tried to show her he was ready to help her with anything she needed. "What's it?"

"…I love you, Onii-chan."

Silence filled the air. Surprised, the gamer blinked while Yui and Strea gasped in shock, only for his face to fill with confusion.

"Uhm…I also love you, Sugu…but what about it?"

Kirito clearly wasn't expecting his words to make the girl's eyes fill with tears and her body to shake, only for her to look down again and tightly grip the hilt of her katana, a blush starting to cover her face as she tried to say her next words.

"…no…you don't get it…"

Then, without any warning, she jumped forward and closed her arms around his neck, locking her lips with his.

The black-haired boy's brain felt as if Boros had just punched it to the moon only for Saitama to punch it back again, all in the 3 seconds span the kiss lasted before the blushing and crying girl separated her face from his.

"I love you like this, Onii-chan."

Then, seemingly unable to look at him, Leafa turned around and ran while half-blindly operating her menu.

She hadn't even made it halfway through the plaza before her body vanished as she Logged Out, the Safe Zone of Alne allowing her immediate disconnection without any issue.

Kirito was still standing there like an idiot, his eyes staring at nothing while his brain tried to reboot and his mind screamed while running in circles, as if trying to understand WHAT had just happened.

On the sudden and extremely awkward silence…Strea spoke up.

"…what a twist."

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The moment Oberon was gone, Asuna couldn't help it anymore and started laughing like a manic. YES! Finally, the bastard would get what was coming to him!

With a massive grin on her face, the ex-rapier-user walked towards the door of her two-months-long-prison and, with utter calm, introduced the code that would allow her to open it.

The moment she was out, the young girl couldn't help but raise her arms high and shout with all her might.

"HELL YES! A small step for Asuna, one giant fall into suffering for Sugou 'Evil Retarded' Noboyuki!" barely able to contain her glee, the girl walked down the branch with absolute cheerfulness. "Yeah, there is absolutely nothing that can possibly ruin my mood right…!"

Suddenly, the chestnut-haired girl froze, her eyes shooting open as her battle senses screamed at her again.

Slowly, she turned around…

There, floating less than a meter from Asuna, was a…THING.

It looked vaguely humanoid, and it was just a bit shorter than her, but its body seemed to be made of twisted virtual screams, through which endless lines of code ran every second.

But the most inhuman and hypnotizing feature of the 'Entity' were its eyes.

Those two hollow circles of orange and green, which seemed to stare right into her soul…

[…hELlo…ASunA…]

NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW!

"…I…she…she just…I…did she said that…uh? The…the next chapter's preview? Ah…eh…yeah, I…I will gi-give it, n-no…problem. Ne-next time on 'One Punch-Gamer': 'Awakening!' I-it's time for…everything to…end and…the prisoners to…fight for their freedom…and…oh, screw this! SUGU, WAI-!"

END OF THE PREVIEW!