Saturday June 27, 2026 San Diego 9 Days before the attack on the Ocean Turtle
Leave this to me!
Time's up, huh?
All teams, retreat.
Move away from Grid 1-9.
That would've been the last prey for today, right?
You sure you want to end on a loss, Boss?
Battling an irregular squadron like that won't do much good, training-wise.
We wouldn't want any negative effects to carry over into the actual operation.
Let's go.
Mr. Miller. The men from the NSA have arrived.
Send them in.
Mr. Miller, we'd like to hire you, Glowgen Defense Systems, for a top secret mission.
And the nature of the mission is?
To seize the Soul Translation technology.
What is that, exactly?
It was developed by a Japanese company called Rath,
and it's a machine that can decipher human souls.
Souls?
Decipher them?
That's right.
Using this Soul Translation technology,
Rath has apparently succeeded in not only analyzing human souls, but in cloning them as well.
Should this artificial soul, code-name ALICE, be fully developed,
it could be installed into unmanned Japanese weapons,
which could disrupt the balance of military power in East Asia.
The U.S. needs to take control of that technology before that can happen.
I see.
So, tell me the specifics of this mission.
There's a mega-float for research called the Ocean Turtle, moored near the Izu Islands.
We'd like your people to break into it
and obtain the Soul Translation technology.
That will require a raid on a Japanese ship... one of our allies, you know.
We've made arrangements with the JSDF top brass.
Apparently, the JSDF isn't the monolith it appears to be.
Use whatever methods you want.
Just remember that the U.S. isn't involved in this mission in any way.
Fine.
I'll assemble the team, and lead it myself.
ALICE, your soul will be so sweet.
The Final Load Test
Main Control Room Ocean Turtle 35 minutes after the attack
Critter, you bastard... just try saying that again!
I'll repeat it as many times as you want, Vassago.
Listen up! This console is locked tighter than a pile of dried turds.
I could crunch the numbers on the laptop we brought until you die of old age, and I'd still never crack it!
You're missing the point, you damned four eyes!
You said we got locked out because we took too long to break in!
Hey, hey, all I did was point out a fact.
For someone who hung back cowering during the battle, you sure are cocky!
Okay, that's enough, you two.
There's no time to point fingers at each other.
We have to consider our next move now, all right?
Yeah, but Bro,
this guy needs to be put in his place.
I'm satisfied with what this team's achieved till now.
Our only casualty was Gary getting grazed.
And we succeeded in taking over the control room, our primary objective.
Yeah, but if we're locked out of the control system itself, what's the point?
Our ultimate target, the Lightcube Cluster, is beyond that wall, right?
That's why I'm saying we need to come up with a way to breach that wall.
Still, those JSDF guys won't stay holed up forever.
Once the real soldiers come charging in from this turtle's escort ship...
I was told that the client and the JSDF have a certain deal in place.
Apparently, the naval escort won't make a move for 24 hours after the operation's launched.
So this operation's not just a burglary, then?
All right. Now let's go over the current situation.
It's currently 1447 hours, Japan Standard Time.
Forty minutes have passed since we broke in.
Right now, we're inside the Ocean Turtle's Main Control Room.
Although we've successfully taken over our target facility,
we failed to capture the Rath tech,
and we've been locked out of the system here.
Our next objective is to take over the Sub Control Room.
Brigg, do you think you can cut through the bulkhead door?
It doesn't look too promising.
It's made of cutting-edge composite materials,
and it would be impossible to cut through it within 24 hours using the portable saw we brought.
Hans, what if we used C-4 to blow it open?
I wouldn't recommend it.
The chamber housing the Lightcube Cluster is just beyond that wall.
If we blast open the door, there's no guarantee that the contents of that room would be left unscathed.
The mission we've been tasked with
is to find a single Lightcube out of a mountain of them, and extract it along with its interface.
We already have the cube's unique ID.
Come on,
this scrawny Four Eyes has been giving us this crap about hacking into the Pentagon,
and yet he can't even crack open a flimsy system lock.
Whoa, what a shock.
I just got told off by a gamer who's only fired a gun made of polygons!
You bastard!
Do you guys want to go back empty-handed, and get jeers instead of a bonus?
Are you incompetent enough to be outdone by amateur techs?
Then start thinking!
Prove that those containers sitting on your necks are filled with something other than oatmeal!
The pressure bulkhead leading to the Lightcube Cluster chamber can't be breached.
Meaning that our only option is to control the system from here.
How's it looking?
No chance of logging in with administrator privileges.
About all we can do is peek enviously at the fairyland where the Fluctlights live in such bliss.
Goblins?
Hey, you've done your homework, Captain!
Yeah, but they seem kinda big for goblins.
Those are Hobs. They're Hobgoblins, I bet.
Critter.
Yeah?
Are these monsters part of the system?
Doesn't look that way.
These guys have artificial souls loaded into the Lightcube Cluster above.
They have Fluctlights.
Are you serious?
These Hobgoblins have souls, the same as us?
Do those Lightcubes all contain goblins and orcs like these?
Is our Alice one, too?
Of course not!
This realm called the Underworld...
is divided into the Human Empire, where normal humans live,
and the Dark Territory that lies outside it, which is teeming with monsters.
It's pretty much a given that Alice lives in the Human Empire,
but since it's so gigantic,
there's no way that we'll ever find her by just peeking in like this.
Come on, that's a total no-brainer!
If that's the case, all we have to do is dive into this Human Empire,
and ask whoever we come across, "Hey, do you know a girl named Alice?"
Wow, we have a dumbass here!
What's that, bastard?
Look, there are tens of thousands of people living in the Human Empire.
You really think you can canvas them all on your... own?
Wait. Hold on, hold on! Maybe it doesn't have to be done by one person.
I see.
The accounts set up to log into the Underworld...
It's unlikely that they'd all be Level 1 ordinary citizens.
Isn't that right, Critter?
For the Rath operators to log in and observe, or else control it from inside,
they must be set up with accounts of all ranks and professions.
Hey! How cool is that?
In other words, we should just log in as a general or president or some other big shot,
and order them to smoke out Alice, right?
I don't know, hearing you put it like that...
makes this idea sound really stupid.
Dammit, no good, huh?
They have some hard-core protection on the high-level account logins as well.
Looks like we can only dive into the Human Empire with an ordinary citizen's account.
Damn, what a letdown!
Critter, aren't there any high-level accounts set up outside the Human Empire?
Outside it?
But aren't the chances of Alice being there close to nil?
Well, yes, I guess so.
But it's not as if the borders are totally impenetrable, right?
That's my bro! Thinking outside the box!
In other words, you mean,
go in as general of those monsters and attack, right?
That would get me more fired up, for sure!
A-ha, found it, found it!
All right! No password!
Well, well...
First, here's someone with the rank of Dark Knight.
His Object Control level is... 70! We can work with that!
Hey, not bad!
That one's mine, all right?
Right, and here's another one...
What's this?
The ranking's blank, and there's no level, either.
The only setting is its name.
Now how do you pronounce this?
Emperor... Vecta?
Emperor... as in ruler?
On second thought, I'll take that one...
No.
I'm taking that one for myself.
I won't argue.
Okay, so you can take on the role of Emperor, and I'll be the Dark Knight.
Hey, I'm starting to get pumped up!
Hey! Four eyes! Can we log in yet?
What's wrong, Critter?
Is there some other problem?
Maybe it's just something that's bugging me,
but I'm looking at the data, and this odd phrase keeps popping up.
I'm not sure what it means yet.
What kind of phrase?
"Final load test."
Um... let's see.
As far as Kirito's condition in the real world is concerned,
Sub Control Room Ocean Turtle 37 minutes after the attack
like I just explained, things aren't looking too optimistic.
That said, Kirito still remains logged into the Underworld.
In other words,
even though his self-image has been damaged,
his Fluctlight itself is still active, and is receptive to various stimuli.
He's lost his own soul because he blamed himself so vehemently.
If someone in the Underworld were to offer him forgiveness, then maybe...
I'll go!
Ms. Asuna?
I'll go into the Underworld.
I want to go there and tell Kirito...
that he did a good job.
To say, "I know you went through so much sadness and pain,
but you did the best that you could."
It's true that we have one more vacant STL.
But the Underworld isn't exactly stable right now.
Because we're about to enter the last stage of the scheduled final load test.
Final... load?
What's going to happen?
The Durability of the Eastern Gate,
which divides the Human Empire and the Dark Territory, will reach zero,
and an army of monsters will flood the Human Empire.
If the humans had sufficient defenses in place,
they would've ultimately been able to drive them back.
But during this last experiment,
Kirito pretty much destroyed the ruling organization, the Axiom Church,
so who knows what will happen?
Either way, we may have reached the point where one of us will have to dive in.
Once the invasion begins,
it's possible that Alice, who's somewhere in the Human Empire, could be killed in the chaos.
If someone can enter with a superuser account,
transport Alice, under their protection, to the World End's Altar,
and from there, eject Alice's Lightcube to the Sub Control Room.
Isn't that what you asked Kirito to do as well?
If he'd made it, then I'm sure he would've pulled it off.
Because he was right by Alice at the time.
You're saying that several months later in terms of internal time,
it's highly likely that those two are still together?
I think it's safe to assume that they are.
Meaning that having Asuna dive in might be our best option.
As well as the ability to communicate with Kirito,
whoever goes will need combat ability to protect Alice in the Underworld, after all.
Then we should have her use the highest account level possible.
Well, the choices are endless, then.
A knight, a general, a noble...
There are all kinds of superuser accounts to choose from,
Hey, hold on a second.
What is it?
Isn't there a chance that our attackers could come up with the same idea?
Oh... yeah.
True, they're just as likely to catch onto this method, as well.
But they won't have time to crack the login passwords for any superuser accounts.
Their only option would be a Level 1 ordinary citizen... that's it.
What's wrong?
Never mind, it's nothing.
Everyone, I'm going to the Underworld, too. I'll be coming back with Kirito, no matter what, so don't worry.
Are you ready?
Yes.
Anytime you're ready, please.
Monday, July 6, 2026 4:56 PM Somewhere in Tokyo
Again... the guy from that day...
You have a message from Asuna Yuuki
Asuna?
Yui
Sinon, there's something that I'd like to explain to you all.
Would you mind logging into AOL right away?
Sylvain
So you see, in order to repair Daddy's Fluctlight,
Mommy has decided to dive into the Underworld.
Big Brother...
Kirito...
Oh, he'll be fine! He's always come back, hasn't he?
So, is the Ocean Turtle all right?
Aren't they under attack by some sketchy guys?
Isn't there something that we can do to help?
Well, about that...
We might need to call on you for help later on.
Main Control Room Ocean Turtle 2 hours and 53 minutes after the attack
All right, let's do this!
October 30, 380 HE Dark Territory Obsidia Palace
Knight Lipia Zancale has returned.
Dark Knight Eleventh Rank Lipia Zancale
Good work. You can have a seat.
Yes, my lord.
Don't call me "your lord" when it's just you and me. Dark Knight Commander Vixur ul Shasta
Right, but officially, I'm still on duty.
So anyway...
What's this grave incident that you had to send a familiar to alert me about?
Right. The pontifex of the Human Empire's Axiom Church... is dead.
That immortal being?
Yes.
I also found it hard to believe, so I spent a full week making sure it was true.
This is our chance.
Chance for what?
Needless to say, for peace.
Do you really believe that's possible, my lord?
Whether it's possible or not, it's something we must do, no matter what.
But...
How do you intend to convince the other lords, my lord?
And would the Order of the Integrity Knights even entertain peace negotiations?
Regarding the Integrity Knights, I believe there's a chance.
If the pontifex has been defeated, it must be old man Bercouli at the helm now.
I can't stand the guy, but I can have a dialogue with him.
It's the Council of Ten that could prove to be a problem.
I know it sounds contradictory, but we...
...may be forced to eliminate them.
Four of them, at least.
Which four are you talking about?
Would it be both Goblin chiefs, the Orc chief, as well as...
The chancellor of the Dark Mages Guild.
That woman's gotten her hands on Administrator's immortality secret,
and is most likely desires to become emperor herself someday.
No way would she accept any talk of peace.
But...
that would be far too risky, my lord!
The leaders of the Goblins and Orcs may not be our enemies,
but as for the Dark Mages,
there's no telling what tricks they might have up their sleeves!
Listen, Lipia.
How long has it been since you came to me?
Um... it was the year I turned 21, so... four years.
It's been that long already, huh?
Forgive me for putting you in such an ambiguous position for so long.
What do you say? Isn't it about time you, uh...
You know...
Officially... became my wife?
My lord!
Sorry that I'm so much older than you...
Emergency!
It's an emergency!
Th-The Throne Room!
The chain sealing it is shaking!
Next time: "Dark Territory."
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