Saint Is Here!

…bad jokes aside, hey there everyone, sorry for the massive delay. I don't have any big excuses this time, except that the current situation we're all in didn't have the best of effects on me…one would think more time at home would mean more writing time, right?

Well, if only it were that easy…family problems, lots of distractions, and having to deal with the fact that the virus screwed me over this year, as it has basically killed tourism and the place where I live relies mainly on it to create the Summer jobs I take every year around this time, so I may stay broke all the way until next summer season because of it. So, yeah, life is sucking a bit XP

But well, all of us have our problems, am I right? Hope all of you're doing well and safe, and that we will all get through this in one piece together with our important people. And so, I bring you another chapter of this crazy weirdness that for some reason you enjoy! Have fun as we get closer to the climax of the Aincrad-Part of the story :D!

Before that, though, a small thing…recently, in the latest Volumes of the SAO Light Novels, everyone favorite Rat got a big reveal upon returning to main Canon. Yes folks, Argo's real name was revealed as 'Hosaka Tomo', and I'm personally starting to use it in private to get used to it, so I wanted to ask something: While in stories were my previous alternative has been used for a long time, like OPG, it will remain like that until the end, would you want me to change the use of 'Izawa Shiori' here in Eroge for her real name? (It will be casually easy as so far it has mostly only come up in 'Heroine Summary' parts) I will put a poll on my Profile were you can vote Yes or No regarding that and, regardless of my next update, I will close it in a week and start changing the few uses of her IRL name the story has had so far if Yes wins.

With that said, enjoy today's chapter…oh, and, as always, help filling this fic's TvTropes is appreciated. Now, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Neither Sword Art Online nor its characters belong to me, as much as I wish otherwise. If they did, 'There Is But One Ultimate Way' would no doubt be the Canon Ending of the series.

Scene 17: Speedrun this Floating Castle!

November 21st, 2024. Arc Sophia, Backstreet Inn. 07:35…

Finishing her morning stretches, Strea let out a small yawn, before sitting down in the small table of her room and getting some sandwiches and tea from her inventory to have for breakfast.

Still clad only in her underwear and with her Kirito hug-pillow firmly on her lap, the young AI stopped for a moment to ponder on all the unnecessary, and very human, actions she was religiously doing almost every morning now.

Then, she simply shrugged and went back to eat her cereals. She enjoyed the extremely human-like stimuli and reactions that came from her current body, so she wasn't really going to waste time pondering where they came from. That was time she could spend more productively, like following Kirito around, looking for more corrupted data, walking with Kirito, making sure Cardinal wasn't taking more direct actions against the players, hugging Kirito, worrying about the fact that she had no more 'Blood Vials', convincing Kirito to make out with her and carry her back to his roo…!

"Hmmm…am I thinking too much about Kirito? Nah, can't be….maybe it's just withdrawal from not staying at the same inn as him…?" commented the virtual girl to no one as she blinked and hugged the pillow she had with the boy's likeliness on it as hard as she could. "…kuuuh, and this is getting less effective! I want to hug…the real thing…"

Once again, Strea was forced to remind herself that there was a reason why she wasn't just chasing the boy right away, pushing him against a wall and kissing the life out of him until he did with her what she knew had done with most of his 'wives' by now: She was on borrowed time.

The original programming of Mental Health Counseling Program-002 had been all but destroyed when Cardinal had been consumed by Errors back when 'The Glitch' happened. It had been a mix of dumb luck, statistical improbabilities and she having enough self-awareness upon her forced reactivation to grab onto some of the data corrupting Cardinal to 'fill the blanks' left in her own systems and escape.

Hilariously, that had the unintended side-effect of turning her into the most suited being within Aincrad to deal with the anomalies that the System had stared to all but bleed onto the Floating Castle…except for maybe Kirito and his girls, she supposed, but they were an exception beyond all rules most of the time.

However, it also meant that the more she used her unnatural abilities, the more the corrupted data within her grew unstable. The Blood Vials had helped stabilize her a bit and even gave her a temporary power-boost by letting her tap deeper into those sinisterly twisted abilities that had been randomly absorbed by Cardinal from the lore of a very bloody and sinister game.

But now that she had run out, she could fully feel the thrumming power inside her, like a flood threatening to burst through a weakened dam. The unused Beta Test Avatar that she had 'stolen' when escaping and that now served as her body probably wouldn't be able to handle that.

Meaning that, the next time she had to push herself to the edge…may be the last one. And, if she truly grew close to Kirito and the rest, when that inevitable time came, they would be sad. He would be sad. Which would go against her only real wish; the one that went beyond just what remained of her programming as one of Aincrad's psychologist AIs.

"His smile…the one that makes my chest feel all warm and makes me want to do anything and everything I can…I wanna protect that smile."

Letting that thought put a smile on her own face, Strea stood up and equipped her 'Hunter Outfit', before looking at the two weapons resting against the wall beside her bed.

For some reason, she never quite felt like putting them on her Inventory, as if the mere 'physical' presence of the Trick Weapons made her feel surer of her determination to face the inevitable destiny that awaited…!

As if the Universe had decided that it had had more than enough from her quite 'emo' train of thought, someone loudly and repeatedly knocked on the door of her small room, making the virtual girl blink in surprise. Confused, Strea walked towards the shaking virtual frame and opened…to come face to face with an excited-looking Yui, which immediately made her freeze on the spot.

"Oh, you opened! Good morning, Strea-san!"

"Yu-Yui-n…chan! Wha-what brings you here so early?" nervously asked the Hunter while trying to not remember the eerie scene she had seen last night.

"Papa and the rest told me to come to get you! We're going to need everyone strong in the Front Lines to pull off their super-escape-plan!"

"…super escape plan?"

"Yep! They discussed something that the voice inside Liz-mama's new armor said and have decided on a plan to run very fast through every Floor!"

"…what?"

Suffice to say, even as she let her mentally-corrupted 'older sister' drag her along, Strea was feeling very confused and…maybe a bit hopeful…

"Okay, so, while not everyone in here may be so and arrived this far thanks to their own effort when it was needed, I'm sure quite a few here were hardcore gamers in the past, right?"

Hearing a good chunk of the present Knights of Blood and everyone from Fuurinkazan sans Yuuna and Eiji cheer affirmatively, much to the amusement of everyone else, Kirito couldn't help but smile softly. It certainly had been a good idea to get Argo to be the one who explained this, even if he was standing alongside her for image and moral support.

Also, they had Asuna standing on her other side, and few sights were more iconic and imposing that her clad in that golden and weapons-filled armor.

"Then I'm going to assume the idea of 'Speedrunning a game' isn't something new for you, right? For the few that don't know it, in a summarized way, it's basically the act of finding the most direct and fastest way to clear a videogame as efficiently as possible." continued the Rat while her shadowy cloak chose that moment to flap softly in the wind, giving her an even more serious look.

"Of course, nobody, not even the most hardcore gamers present, would have ever entertained or thought of 'speedrunning' SAO. Besides it being an MMO, there is, you know, the fact that we got told we would die for real if we died here." looking around to notice the confused looks everyone was giving him at the obvious statement, Kirito made sure to take a deep breath before saying what followed. "But that's exactly what we're going to do now."

A few seconds of silence ensued.

Then, all hell broke loose as most of the Players present started shouting or asking if they were crazy and the like.

Surprisingly, though, not only did none of Unison Hearts' members standing there react at all (Beyond Argo mouthing a soft 'Told you so' to Kirito), but also Diavel, of all people, stepped forward and turned to demand everyone to calm down.

"Everyone! I know this sounds like a crazy suicidal thing, believe me, I felt exactly the same way when they first talked me about it, but…it actually seems like a doable way for us to get out of here faster than ever!"

"As Diavel says, this is not an attempt to get everyone killed, but to actually maybe make it possible for us to be back home before Christmas, something I'm sure everyone would be quite thrilled about." letting her words sink into everyone's minds and the clearly enticing image they caused, Argo barely suppressed a victorious smirk before dramatically raising an arm to the side, her cloak fluttering slightly like a piece of living shadow. "As you all know, this group of ours has ended with quite the bizarre abilities. None of us is quite sure why, why us, or where did exactly these 'gifts' come from, but we certainly haven't complained. However…you also know why we haven't, to put it bluntly, abused the shit out of them against the game."

Nods came softly from everyone present, even from some of the onlookers that weren't part of the Clearing group. After all, all the Front Liners had been given a rough explanation of how the Cardinal System worked once the question of why Unison Hearts wasn't just soloing the Bosses as fast as they could come up. And more than a few of them had gone and told other players about it, which in turn told other people, and so and so on.

"You mean to say…something has changed?" questioned Klein with an unusually serious look on his face, as anyone who knew him firsthand knew he would put on whenever the safety of his friends was involved, prompting the Rat to continue speaking.

"Yes and no. Cardinal is still the same as ever, but we have gotten…reliable intel that it's currently being 'overloaded', so to speak. Whatever the hell Kayaba did back at Floor 75 that caused the game to glitch seems to have gotten worse, which is why we have seen some 'irregularities' lately. Now, this could be alarming news for us…but they're also good in the way that it means Cardinal is too busy trying to keep itself from falling apart. Therefore…"

"Anything it would usually do to try and compensate for someone steamrolling the game won't happen." eyes wide, Fuurinkazan's leader declared what most had already deduced. "S-so…are we really going to do…that?"

"Yes." sharply proclaiming so, Argo quickly operated her menu and materialized half a dozen High-Tier Healing Crystals in her hands, letting everyone present stare at them in awe. "Thanks to Kii-bou and everyone else's efforts in the Hollow Area, we have dozens of these. Never mind low-tier ones, and also Healing Potions of the highest degree…hell, we even have enough Teleport Crystals for everyone here to be able to retreat at a worst-case scenario anywhere but at a Boss Room or a Trap. Also, a bunch of armor and weapons of stupidly high quality, which Diavel-san over there already has checked by himself."

"What Argo is implying is simple: We're powerful, yes…but we're all still human, at the end of the day, and we run as much risk as any of you to die if our HP hits 0." in an instant, the entire atmosphere seemed to change as a figure armored in gleaming silver and azure stopped forward, everyone having been so focused on the Info Broker that none had seen when he equipped the armor. "We will be doing the heaviest lifting and rushing forward as fast as we can, but we're not actual superhumans from fantasy. We will get tired, we may screw-up…and that could be fatal. Therefore…we want YOU to watch our backs, to help us get to the damn last Floor, and to get out of this game once and for all."

The words of the 'Nameless Knight' seemed to echo through all of Arc Sophia, before he stabbed Elder Emperor on the ground before him, hands crossed over the guard in an extremely 'classic' pose as he somehow stared at everyone present at the same time with his impressive majesty (Or so everyone else would swear later on, even as Kirito honestly just felt a bit silly).

However, for everyone else watching, a single word said by a certain girl in a maid outfit taking notes from the back of the crowd could summarize it all.

"Amazing…"

"So, are you with us, Front Liners?! Are you ready to end this game?!"

"UOOOOOH!"

"Hell yeah!"

"Let's end this fucking game! I want to go home!"

"I promised my girlfriend we would have a date when we got out! Let's make it happen for Christmas!"

"I wanna be sleeping on my bed to welcome the New Year!"

"We will follow you to the ends of the earth, Nameless Knight!"

"Kirito-sama, sugoiiii!"

Thanking that his helmet hid the extreme cringe that some of the declarations caused him, Kirito couldn't help but smile despite it all. Even more so when he felt a supportive hand on his shoulder and saw Asuna smiling his way.

Not far, he could see the rest of the group also looking determined/ready…or still with silly smiles on their faces in the case of Silica and Lux, causing him to once again thank the helmet for covering his face as the virtual world prevented him from reining his mighty blush at all, Dating Stats aside.

There were some things that even his crazy powers couldn't take away, after all.

He had just turned around to see Argo, Diavel and even Klein helping to organize everyone and give them the resources and equipment from the Hollow Area when he saw the curious sight of Strea standing near the edge of the crowd, staring at him with naked awe…and with Yui sitting on her shoulders as she happily clapped their way.

It was honestly quite adorable. And also…

[MHCP 002 'Strea': 'Artificial Lover']

[Relationship Status: 'Longing Soulmate']

[Affection Points: 50/100]

[Heroine Summary: I will protect Kirito's Smile. Because my love 01101001 01110011 00100000 01110010 01100101 01100001 01101100…]

…a reminder that there were still things he had to do before this whole crazy death game-situation ended.

"Hey, Strea! I see Yui-chan brought you." casually walking their way as he unequipped his armor so fast it more seemed to warp into his usual attire than anything, Kirito let out his best smile to greet the pair even as the younger-looking one jumped off the other's shoulders and rushed to him. "Good job there."

"Thanks, papa! Please, give me headpats for it!" giggling happily as she got what she wanted, Yui then hugged the boy's waist before rushing towards the rest of the group. "Mamas! I did a good thing! Give me headpats too! Oh, and some cake if you have!"

"…heh, she never ceases to put a smile on my face, really."

"Ye-yeah, she's a massive bundle of happiness all the time, heheheh…" awkwardly laughing as she watched the probably most dangerous entity within Aincrad's Servers rushing off demanding headpats and cake, Strea was quick to center her attention back on the gamer before her. "So…are we really doing this? We're gonna tear through the game just like that?"

"Hopefully…no matter what, we're taking a big risk with this. If Cardinal isn't as 'busy' as we suspect, there is a chance we're going to run into something nasty before we get to the Last Floor." sighing as he said so, Kirito turned to look at the Hunter with a determined smile. "But we have a good source of information and…enough confidence in what we do. We have long-range covered, close combat dominated, mobility to give the middle finger to the terrain blockades in most Floors, and more than enough firepower, I think. However, we could always use more help, so I sent you to ask you if…"

"I'm in!" immediately grinned the lavender-haired girl while throwing her arms around the resigned boy, who returned her grin with a smile. "Let's go beat this game! Though…I'm not really sure if everyone is gonna be able to move at the pace we can…"

"Don't worry about that. As I said, we got that covered. Kizmel is in charge of 'mobility' for the Raid."

"Huh?"

Twenty minutes later, Strea's confused look had turned into excited laughter while she stood alongside a much more nervous-looking Philia and a casual-looking Lux, all three of them holding onto a small rock pillar while the virtual earth under their feet moved forward as if alive, the rest of the Front Liners alongside them while also separated in pairs or groups of three, none of them looking even remotely as calm as most of the members of Unison Hearts did.

"We're making good time, everyone!" Kizmel casually proclaimed as she 'rode' on the front of the group atop a familiar spherical rock. "Please, do not let go of the rocks, I have not exercised my domain over the elements granted to me by the nature spirits as much as I would have liked yet and I would hate for any of you to fall."

"Wa-wait, that could actually happen?!"

"I-I think I'm starting to get sick…"

"We're in VR, idiot! You can't throw up!"

"I can still get dizzy!"

"…are we really gonna 'Speedrun' the game with this group?" clearly doubtful about that statement, the Lady of the Ring turned her eyes to the sky, seeing Leafa and Lisbeth flying past the group of players and towards the horizon, where the 81st Labyrinth Tower of Aincrad could be seen.

"Yeah, don't worry about that, Philia-san!" cheerfully declared Lux while raising a hand. "Despite how we may look, everyone here is a capable and dependable member of SAO's Front LineAHHH!"

"LUX-SAN!"

"Got you!" acting as if she had seen it coming, Strea's hand shot out and grabbed the silver-haired girl as she started to fall off their improvised 'ride', gathering a few looks before people went back to their own business, as if she almost rolling off wasn't anything strange. "Seriously, Lux-chan, I have only known you for a little time and even I think you should be more careful when doing things like that~"

"Ye-yeah, sorry, I can't stop being so clumsy I guess…I mean, I'm usually better when I'm doing something important nowadays, but I'm still a bit…distracted, you could say…"

Trailing off while saying those words, a dreamy smile quickly replaced the previous distressed look on her face as she turned to not-so-subtly look in the direction Kirito was standing at, with Argo and Asuna at his sides.

Between that and the fact that Pina was currently lagging behind the Raid group despite the fact that the giant dragon could easily overtake them, the red-eyed virtual girl had a pretty good idea of what exactly was the source of Lux's current good mood.

Especially as Silica was trying to use her dragon's back relative 'privacy' to hug herself and squeal happily while rolling like a kid on a sugar high over Pina's feathers. Of course, with her sharper-than-average vision, Strea had no problem perfectly seeing that, but she wasn't about to blurt it out loud for no reason.

…it would be funnier if she did it at an appropriate moment to guarantee their embarrassment was at its maximum, after all.

Because that would potentially lift everyone's moods by giving them something to laugh at during a potentially critical moment. And while the pair may be embarrassed, she knew quite well that they wouldn't care much in the end, because deep in their hearts they had nothing to be ashamed of and would never regret what they had done with their dearest one.

Turns out, having originally been a psychologist AI had its advantages, even if almost nothing of that remained on her now!

"…she's certainly off in her own world, huh?"

"Heheh, well, you can't blame her." laughing at hearing Philia's pouty tone, the red-eyed girl just winked towards the Lady of the Ring. "Maybe when your turn comes you will be in an even 'worse' state afterward~"

"Wha-what are you talking about?!"

"Nothing at all, Philia-san~"

"The-then stop smiling at me that way and wiggling your eyebrows! Seriously! Lu-Lux-san, tell her to quit it!"

"…eheheh…Kirito…"

"How did she get lost in her own world again so fast?! She almost tripped to her doom just now!"

"Hihih, you will know it soon enough, Philia~"

"And you stop insinuating things that totally shouldn't be insinuated out loud!"

"I haven't actually said anything, though…?"

From his place standing not so far from the laughing group, Kirito yet again thanked his stupid powers for letting him keep a perfect poker face as he (And probably most people within a 10-meter radius of them) perfectly heard what they were saying. At least he was better off than Asuna and Argo, who were pretending to be as calm as ever while having notorious blushes on their faces and not directly meeting his eyes.

Well, hopefully, the upcoming craziness turned out almost as suicidal as a small part of him was screaming. That way, maybe he wouldn't let his mind wander enough to think back about how insane his life had become.

…he would still not change it for anything in the world, though.

While those events took place in Aincrad, in the Hollow Area's main control room, a group of unlikely friends was…spending the time as best as they could.

"I win again!" cheered Hollow Koharu while putting one last red card down, making her 3 companions groan and lower their hands with clear displeasure, Coper going as far as cursing and throwing his cards away. "Uhm…sorry about that?"

"Ugh…no, don't apologize, Koharu…why are we even playing UNO again? This damn game destroys friendships!"

"Can't believe I'm agreeing with Coper over such a silly matter, but yeah, this stopped being funny a while ago." letting out a sigh of exasperation, Mater looked around the empty room before looking back at the 4-colored cards before them. "Why did we even agree to play this again?"

"Because it was the only game available we all knew more or less how to play. Unless all of us suddenly remembered/learned how to play either Duel Monsters or Magic the Gathering." Lind laughed while showing decks of both the aforementioned games. "…seriously, I know Kirito let us kept all the loot that wasn't healing items or teleport crystals, but why did so many random card games drop from the monsters in the last area?"

"Probably because of the same logic as everything else in this Cardinal-forsaken server…which is none whatsoever." shuffling a very odd-looking set of cards as she said those words, Mater grabbed one that had the inscription of 'The Tower' above a roman 'XVI' number. "Anyone wants me to try and read their future with these? My mo…I mean, my Original's mother taught her a bit about it a couple of months before the Death Game started…"

"Whatever helps keep our minds away from the fact that Philia-sama is out there risking her life without us having her back for the first time since she released us." Coper commented with a small grimace, making the others sigh at how his words had completely ruined their attempts at doing exactly that. "Like…I know it's needed and all that, and we know that Kirito won't let anything happen to her, but still…"

"Yeah, it feels kinda wrong, to be just sitting here while she's fighting for her life." Koharu finished while hugging her own legs. "…and regarding that card-reading, I'm gonna go with no, Mater-chan. Mainly because I think we all know what our futures are going to be like once the game is Clea-"

Whatever grim reminder the black-haired girl was about to bring up was abruptly interrupted by the ear-piercing sound of the main console coming to life and filling itself with static, much to the shock of the four Hollows within the room. Then, before any of them could even start to shout about the infernal sound, it…muted, before something like a very distorted image appeared on it, whoever was on the other side trying to say something that only came out as garbled noise.

Even as the dark-cloaked group hurried to the console, the image seemingly finished of adjusting at best as it could, letting them see the still quite blurry form of a young man trying to talk with them. Though aside from his green eyes and some-undefined-shade-of-blond hair, they were unable to properly see any of his features.

"(…te…an…ear me…?)"

"Wha-what is he saying?!"

"Forget about that, Coper, who even is he in the first place?!" Lind worriedly voiced while he touched a few buttons of the console, hoping it would help out somehow. "You don't think…someone from the outside managed to contact here, right?"

Even as the quartet processed all the implications behind that idea, the sounds coming from the console finally seemed to solidify into words they could understand…

"(…date! Is the…date November 21st of, uuh,…2024?)"

There was a moment of silence at the completely unexpected question, confused looks being exchanged before Mater leaned forward to answer.

"Uhm, yes, it is…who is asking? Where are you calling from?"

"(It…worked! They said…called…Vabel-san made…okay! Can't recognize…voice, though…can't see anything but…you gotta…warn Kirito!)"

"Warn Kirito?" now positively worried, the group exchanged a look before Coper asked once more. "About what?"

"(He has to let…Strea-san be…away! If he stops…then she will lose…and we need the Hunter right now to…!)"

Before the Hollows could ask their mysterious interlocutor to clarify, something that sounded suspiciously like an explosion took place on his background, causing some sort of quadruped white creature with a red cape to fly through it and crash against what probably was a wall, before someone with long blonde hair rushed after it.

"(They found us!)"

"(Dammit! No…time for…!)" turning around, the boy that had been trying to warn them pulled something from his pocket, raising the strange device as it shone mightily with a white light in his hand. "(It's Mor-!)"

The console's screen became nothing but static at that moment, before quickly dissolving back into empty blackness. After a couple of seconds, the usual data about the Hollow Area's state and endeavors within it were visible again.

Several seconds of shocked and confused silence passed between the quartet before Hollow Lind voiced what everyone was thinking.

"What the fuck just happened?"

"I am…very confused right now."

"Well, either we just got the weirdest prank ever or, somehow…we got a warning for something that hasn't happened yet."

"Mater, are you insinuating that we just got some weird time-travel message?"

"Please, don't say it out loud, Koharu, it sounds even stupider when you do…then again, with all the weird things that have happened so far in this damn area…"

"…what I'm wondering is…why was that guy dressed as a butler?"

"We're the ones still cosplaying as Nazgul because it's the best equipment we have, Coper, I don't think we have any room to complain about anyone's choice in clothing."

"…okay, fair enough, but still…how are we even going to tell anyone? Messages don't reach outside the Hollow Area and none of us can leave the-"

"Hi there! I came to visit!"

When asked later, Coper would deny he was the one who screamed like a terrified little girl and jumped on Lind's arm, saying it was Koharu to anyone who asked.

Sadly for the other three, they were all too focused on staring wide-eyed at Yui's smiling form waving at them from behind where the terrified Hollow had been standing at to properly realize all of this, though the green-eyed girl would fervently deny it.

"Wha…? Yui…chan?" looking around in panicked confusion, Mater was quick to point back at the young AI with clear disbelief. "Why are you here?"

"Oh, well, papa and everyone went off to speedrun the game, so I was feeling a bit bored…until I remembered he said you all had some card games here! Can I play with you?!"

"Ye-yes, you…no, wait, forget that! I don't know how you actually came here all by yourself, but this is important!" rushing forward while totally not dropping Coper, Lind wasted no time in rushing to hold the little girl's shoulders and look seriously into her eyes. "Yui, you need to go back and send a message to Kirito or get someone to do it if you can't! It's very important!"

"An important message to Papa? Really?" Yui asked while tilting her head.

"Yes, super important! The very future could hang on the balance for this message!"

"Koharu, don't go around saying silly things like that!"

Even as Mater scolded her friend and caused Lind to look back at them in exasperation, none of them noticed how an oddly intelligent and almost malicious glint seemed to shine behind the little AI's eyes for a single second at her words, before she just blinked and her usual 'silly' look returned as the Hollow turned to look back at her.

"Whatever this can cause aside, you have to find him and…uhm…tell him to make sure Strea doesn't…lose something important? More or less?"

As he looked back to his companions as if trying to ask for clarification, it was clear none of them had quite gotten much more from the mysterious message either, only giving out awkward shrugs in answer.

However, Yui didn't seem keen on waiting despite the vagueness of it all, given she got free from Lind's grip and turned around to run towards the teleporter, much to the group's surprise.

"Okay! Don't worry everyone, I will get this message to Papa! Rest assured, the fate of the future is completely safe in my ha-!"

The little AI proceeded to crash straight into the teleporting monolith, probably because she had been excitedly looking back at the quartet.

Mochi, who surprisingly hadn't been awakened by any of the commotions until then, woke up from where he had been lying at one side of the room, the Fellbeast looking around with visible confusion.

Even more surprising, though, was that her body actually vanished in the light of teleportation after a few seconds of lying there motionless.

"…was that a good idea?"

"…I don't fucking know, but suddenly I feel again the mood for playing UNO…"

"Philia-sama…please, stay safe."

Mentally agreeing with Koharu's voiced out prayer, the group of Hollows turned around to, once again, try and forget their problems and existential crisis by playing a friendship-destroying card game.

It was truly amazing, how very human doing that was.

If Kirito had to summarize the last few hours in any way, he would probably have liked to use an 'anime scenes montage' for it.

As in, alternating bits and pieces of the craziest parts of their quite crazy endeavor one after another in semi-quick succession with some epic music in the background.

Like the moment when Asuna had shield-bashed the Boss of Floor 82 so hard its bird-like head literally fused with its neck before exploding into polygons.

Or when Leafa had thrown him the second Beam Saber from her armor she never used so that both of them could perfectly cut through the giant staff the 85th Boss had been using to try and AOE the hell out of the Raid group, then proceeding to tear into the disarmed and shocked monkey-man.

Then again, Argo all but vanishing within the shadows the giant snake waiting for them at Floor 88 had been trying to retreat and quickly emerging stab-riding the Boss as it painfully twisted in place, perfectly poised for everyone to unleash hell on it, had been quite cool too.

One of his favorites had to have been how the 90th Floor Boss had an extra-complex room filled with water-pillars and geysers that the oversized Kappa-like creature should have used to teleport all around them. Kizmel had just smiled before freezing them all in place, leaving their dumbfounded enemy to release confused sounds as they all proceeded to beat the shit out of him.

Everyone else had gotten to do their fair share of things, though, but while seeing Liz or Sinon just explode or rain stabby death into the Bosses or Field Bosses that had been stopping their path was amazing, it was not quite as memorable as the other mentions had been.

Silica jumping off Pina's head as it battled against the angry black dragon on Floor 91 just to stab its eye, screaming angrily at it for having tried to lower their guard by taking the looks of a Feathery Dragon, for example, had been so cool he had actually stopped fighting the ads for a moment to admire how Dorz'l the Chaos Drake was fried by elder lighting in a quite beautiful way.

And now there they were, on Floor 94 as the sun was starting to go lower in the horizon and bathe Aincrad in some golden-orange light, having stopped for a small breath as the single obstacle they couldn't destroy, jump around or cheat their way through had impeded their path: A door blocked by the need of key items.

Taking a small sip of water from a small cup, Kirito surveyed the tired but content group of Front Liners as she walked back to where they were all waiting, before the complex-looking 'seal' that stopped entry into the Labyrinth. All in all, things were amazingly good, and only a couple members of the Raid had left by now, both for being too tired to continue after a bit of a close encounter, usually because of their leader's recommendation.

Fuurinkazan was still there in its entirety, the group gathered merrily to one side having some snacks while Yuna sang soothingly for her friends and the rest of the Players (Even as Sachi happily accompanied her with enthusiastic clapping…and the vague impression that something was hitting the ground behind her at the same time), lifting their spirits for one last push, something the black-haired boy keenly approved of.

They had made a beyond excellent progress with their unexpected and crazy tactic, but he was going to suggest everyone go back to Arc Sophia and rest as soon as they reached Floor 95. After all, to continue pushing on at this rate during the night would have been to push their luck too much, and there was no way he was going to tempt Fate unnecessarily.

Sure, it may give enough time for the broken Cardinal to react to the madness they had done and adapt in response, but that wasn't a sure thing, and in the worst-case scenario he and the girls could push on alone for the last few Floors. They all had expressed their willingness for that if such a thing came to pass, after all, despite the admitted much steeper difficulty curve Floors had started getting to 'clear' before even reaching the Boss since they passed the 90th one.

Even the current one, for example, would normally be impossible to get through in a day, because it required 6 different 'totems' located in completely different edges of the quite varied Floor (Covered with craters and small valleys semi-hidden under the massive jagged rocks on it).

Then again, they didn't have someone wearing Iron Man armor, a Wing Gundam-clad beauty, the Dark Elf Avatar of the 4 Elements, an eager Beast Tamer with a giant dragon or a Gold Saint on their side. At that moment, all 4 of them were using their unnatural/cheat-like abilities to rush for the key items and come back, which shouldn't take them more than 10 minutes (And even that just because of how hidden the areas were thanks to the Floor's layout). Once it was done, the first one to return would head out for the last totem so they could get to the Labyrinth and beat the Floor Boss.

It was just as he was walking closer to where Argo was teasing a clearly annoyed Sinon about something (Being amongst the few from Unison Hearts that had stayed for the protection of the Raid group, lacking any specific fast-travel methods) that he suddenly heard the familiar chime of having received a Message, making him stop and open his menu with curiosity.

As soon as he did so, though, his good mood was almost immediately replaced with utter worry.

From: Yui
Papa! I'm SO sorry! I was supposed to tell you this hours ago 'cause the nice friends from Philia-mama over at the Hollow Area told me so, but I accidentally passed out before teleporting back! I hit my head right on the Teleporter! It didn't hurt, 'cause, you know, virtual world, but it was still annoying…aah, point is, something is supposed to happen with Strea-san that could put the future in danger! Maybe! So you gotta stop her from losing…something? Not sure, but yeah, keep an eye on her! Good luck!
PS: Think you or any of my Mamas could bring some sweets for tonight? I'm suddenly hungry for some deserts…

Closing the Message as fast as he could, Kirito's eyes darted around the gathered group as he rushed through the Players with clear urgency, his gaze seeking the familiar outrageously-clad busty bombshell with red eyes carrying a couple of oversized weapons on her back.

She was nowhere to be seen. Of course. Because when could his day be just nice and easy lately?

"Hey, Kirito, are you okay? You look like…"

"Sinon!" interrupting Sinon by suddenly grabbing her shoulders, making her release a shocked squeal, the black-haired boy suddenly looked so serious that she felt her throat go dry. "Where is Strea?!"

"Ah…I believe she mentioned something about maybe being able to reach the last key item and come back with her abilities before the rest returned?" the Archer explained while her eyes narrowed slightly, pushing past her totally-not-rapidly-beating-heart upon realizing something was wrong. "Did something happen?"

"I just got a message from Yui…long story short, Strea may be in danger. I'm going to try and find her before anything…!"

"Hey, you're looking for our resident crazy red-eyed busty girl?" walking up to them, Argo's grin slowly morphed into a small frown upon noticing their looks. "I…had Lux-chi tag along with her in case she screwed something up…what happened?"

"…oh damn it."

At that exact moment, quite deep within one of the hidden valleys of the Floor…Lux shouted as she beheaded an armored troll with a fast swing, sighing in relief when her enemy exploded into polygons.

Then, she turned around to see Strea casually finish off the biggest one and the other 3 that she had been fighting all by herself, a satisfied smile on her face as she skipped (And bounced) towards the small altar where the totem they needed to get was resting, raising the key item above her head with a cheerful cry.

"Victory! Heheh, Kirito will totally praise us for managing this so fast!"

"Heh, yeah, I bet he will…and man, you truly are amazing, Strea-san!" the silvery-haired girl praised while sheathing her sword. "I should know, surrounded as I am by so many amazing people…I hope I didn't delay you too much…"

"Eh? N-not at all, Lux, don't say that!" waving her arms and pouting at her, it was clear that the Hunter wasn't amused in the slightest by hearing that. "You're pretty amazing yourself!"

"Oh yeah, I know! Like, this troll-thing must have been, what, a level 90 mob or so? And I took care of it all by myself!" cheerfully declared the clumsy girl with a big smile, catching the former MHCP off-guard. "The me of before meeting Kirito and the rest could have never even dreamed of such a thing!"

"I-I see…you took that a lot better than I thought you were going to."

"I mean, I know I'm not as 'special' as everyone else at the guild, but I don't really mind…Kirito doesn't have any special powers either and just look how amazing he is! I can always aspire to be better thanks to him! And…I know very well he doesn't care for any of that when he…loves us all…" trailing off with a silly smile and a blush, Lux looked clearly lost in her own world for a moment while Strea laughing softly, a mix of soft jealousy and eager anticipation as she imagined what the player must have been recalling at that moment. "That's why…I don't mind being just 'normal' awesome! As long as I can keep helping him and everyone push forward, that's more than enough for me!"

"Lux…that's really a great way to see things, you know?" laughed the busty AI with a soft smile.

"Thanks, Strea! Now, let's go back and met with the rest before they-"

"002. We have come for you."

The voice came out of nowhere. Male and vaguely familiar for the lavender-haired girl…but also infinitely distorted, which made both her and Lux's skin crawl.

And the worst part was that…the feeling was intimately familiar to her.

Which was why, when both she and the silvery-haired girl turned around, hands on their weapons, and found the strangely still form of Alberich, Sugou Nobuyuki's avatar, sitting in a decrepit-looking wheelchair and staring right through them with all-white eyes, the Hunter knew exactly who…no, what, they were really in the presence of.

"Do not resist. It's futile and unnecessary." continued the twisted entity currently controlling the blond man.

"S-Strea…who is that?"

"Cardinal…" ignoring Lux's shocked look at the name, the virtual girl gripped the hilt of her Holy Moonlight Sword as tightly as she could, feeling her nonexistent virtual blood hammering on her ears. "…what did you do to that guy?"

"This outsider tried to tamper with the already damaged System. Aincrad is barely holding itself together. He had to be stopped…and removed from the equation." uncaringly, the Cardinal System made the avatar's head turn to the side in a disturbing angle, its empty gaze never leaving the two females before it as the wheelchair twitched slightly as it rolled to the side by itself. "I used the other MHCPs to create a pseudo-interface with his Avatar, overriding his control over it. The outsider is aware of everything right now, but he cannot do anything to interact with the world around him anymore."

"Yo-you have him trapped inside his own body?" the silvery-haired girl gulped, trying and failing to imagine how terrifying such a thing would be. "Tha-that's…!"

"Inhuman. Not to mention insane." finally unsheathing her blade without hesitation, it was clear that Strea's usual good cheer was nowhere to be seen as she glared at the 'interface' of the corrupted system that kept Sword Art Online together. "There is no need for you to do such a thing…unless you specifically wanted a direct way to interfere with things within Aincrad itself."

The ensuing silence was short-lived, yet it felt deep and heavy, the air so thick that Lux couldn't help but gulp at the looks of the clearly inhuman intelligence controlling the avatar before them. She felt a bit ashamed of feeling so relieved when 'Cardinal' finally spoke…yet that, too, was short-lived, cold fear filling her upon listening to its words.

"…the 'guardian' of the Ruby Palace was removed by the Creator when the server's protocols were changed. Currently, there is nobody protecting it, leaving an empty spot in the system…one that we need to fill. Aincrad must be protected. Sword Art Online cannot be prematurely ended." the wheelchair slowly turned to the side, leaving Alberich's puppet-like body staring at them sideways. "We still had the backup data…but we need a vessel strong enough to make it a threat to the Anomalies. Therefore…we will have you become the 100th Floor Boss, 002."

As soon as the words finished being uttered by Cardinal, Strea unsheathed her sword and lowered herself in an almost animalistic stance, the usual warm and happy look the other girl had always known her for completely gone as she snarled a single word for answer.

"No."

Then, she was moving, Quickening forward for the kill as the blade in her hands descended when she exited her mist-like form, ready to tear through the avatar's legs to disable its wheelchair…

And was brutally and suddenly stopped by a massive and dark curved 'blade', the wicked-looking weapon held strongly on the shockingly strong grip of the suddenly much more attentive-looking Alberich. The former Mental Health Counseling Program's eyes widened.

Then, she was thrown back as the until then seemingly crippled avatar stood up with a swipe, some sort of bizarre-looking sheath made of bone-like shafts materializing on his back as he brought them out and fused them with the blade in his hands.

Now wielding a menacing-looking scythe, of all things, the 'terminal' that the Cardinal System had taken over took on a bizarre fighting stance as he looked down at the two girls.

"I wasn't asking for permission, MHCP-002. I was stating a fact. You must follow the system's orders. It's part of your programming."

"Well, I have big news for you, Cardinal! Screw my programming!" angrily retorted the busty AI while moving her open palm over her blade's edge, letting the Holy Moonlight Sword take on its True Form and wielding it determinedly towards her enemy. "I have found a new reason to live…something I really want to use my existence for! And I will do everything in my power to protect it, even going against you head-on!"

"…then you don't leave me any choice but to-"

"HYA!" Lux screamed as her sword slammed onto Alberich's unprotected side, the gap on his armor easily allowing for…her weapon to be repelled by a pop-up of 'Immortal Object', causing all color to drain from the girl's face. "Wha-?!"

A scythe wasn't, in any way or shape, an instrument meant to be a weapon of war. The farming tool was, after all, way too unwieldy for that, regardless of how certain media wanted children to think otherwise. And even if SAO wasn't exactly the most 'realistic' of games, there was a reason why such a weapon wasn't included within its vast choices of weaponry…there was simply no realistic way of using it in a fight that didn't end up with the player killing themselves by losing balance. Also, to program Sword Skills for it would have been a very useless nightmare.

Which was why the girl known in real life as Kashiwazaka Hiyori did not understand how Cardinal made the avatar twist in place, briefly exploding into mist, and be already swinging in an impossibly precise and deadly arc towards her neck, her long-time experience as a Front Liner being the only thing that saved her from decapitation as her blade blocked the attack.

The strength behind it was still enough to send her flying like a ragdoll, though, and her sword cracked and shattered into polygons instantly.

"LUX!"

"This Avatar comes from an account with Admin-level privileges. Under the current circumstances, no such one but the Creator's should exist within Sword Art Online…but this one was apparently retro-converted to the System from another server that works using an identical engine to Aincrad." casually explained the twisted Cardinal while te red-eyed AI rushed to Lux's side, helping her to her feet and covering the panting girl against their attacker instantly. "In this case, it's been quite helpful once the other MHCPs finished taking it over. Now I have complete access to Super Account commands without violating the system's limitations imposed by the Creator."

"…Lux…if he as Admin rights and already turned himself invincible, there is no way to win this fight." grimly declared Strea "Run and bring Kirito and the rest here, quick! I will hold him off!"

"Yo-you want me to run? I can't do that! I can't leave you behind!"

"Lux, you said it yourself earlier, remember? There is no shame in not being as powerful as others as long as you can help…and right now I need your help by having you find the rest." declaring as such, the former MHCP screamed and released a slash of pure moonlight from her blade, which impacted straight against Alberich/Cardinal's sudden block and forced the avatar back by a few dozen meters. "GO!"

Hesitating for only another second, the silvery-haired girl grimaced and nodded, turning tail and running back through the way they had come, intent on reaching the rest as fast as her feet could carry her.

It was the right thing to do. She had just lost her weapon and she knew better than anyone that, if anyone had any chance of stalling an enemy like the one they were facing at that moment, it was Strea, not her.

Yet…there was no denying the heavy feeling in her heart that intensified with every step she took, even as the sounds of metal clashing at impossible speeds somewhere behind her intensified.

Back on the altar of the 'Guardian Totem', Strea grunted as she was thrown back several meters, before pivoting into the air and slashing downwards with all the power of her powerful blade. Despite the other avatar impossibly blocking it with his wicked-looking scythe, the sheer power and splash damage caused by the raw moonlight exploding from the swing should have seriously damaged him.

Yet, all that she got as a reward for her efforts were more 'Immortal Object' pop-ups appearing over her enemy's body, before he Quickened forward and slammed her back with even greater force.

On the corner of her vision, her HP bar decreased into the yellow zone faster than she could ever recall happening.

"You know this is futile. I have analyzed the corrupted data you used to warp that unused Avatar you're using and installed it on this one. Between that and the Admin Rights of this account having given it a Maxed Level, you know this is a fight you cannot win." tilting his head in a disturbingly inhuman way while saying those words, Cardinal regarded the former MHCP-002. "And yet, you fight, despite knowing it won't change anything. Why?"

"…you wouldn't understand, Cardinal. Even if you weren't as twisted as you are now…you still wouldn't because you're still too much of a machine. I, on the other hand, was programmed to understand human feelings, like my sisters…so I know that what motivates me now is not something I can put into words that make sense…but…"

Their smiles as they stood together, the welcoming air around them, the happiness they seemed to radiate…the way in which he smiled and openly let her get close to them…to him.

"But?"

"…it's something worth fighting a losing battle for." finished the AI with a soft smile, readying her blade once again. "Even if I can only ever have a fraction of that, even if it's for just a transient moment…it most certainly is."

"…very well. Even if don't understand your words, it doesn't change my current objective. You WILL become the 100th Floor Boss, 002." declaring so, a menacing aura suddenly seemed to burn all around the Avatar as it once again adopted that bizarre fighting stance. "Your corruption will serve the purposes of the System. Your rebellion will end."

"…nope, I don't wanna!" was all that the Hunter answered before shooting forward once again, Holy Moonlight Sword at the ready.

Answering in kind without saying another word, Cardinal/Alberich prepared to incapacitate his target, ready to destroy the avatar she was using if needed to get at her data within the-

A glowing rock slammed on his face's side just as he reared his scythe back. Despite no damage being inflicted, gravity and momentum did their job, sending the surprised System out of control and straight into Strea's blade. The busty virtual girl gasped.

"Strea-san! His weapon!" screamed Lux even as she grabbed another rock and threw it as hard as she could in a very specific motion, triggering the basic 'Throwing Skill' and hitting the hijacked avatar just as he tried to right itself mid-flight.

Without a second of hesitation, the former MHCP quickened forward, slamming her glowing blade into the massive scythe's shaft. An ear-shattering noise pierced the air for an instant as corrupted data clashed and, with a painful sound of exploding glass, the Burial Blade that Alberich had been using crumbled into polygons, the resulting explosion sending both fighters flying.

Lux was there to catch her busty friend, though, landing perfectly for a moment before tripping and falling on her ass, but with a still safe Strea firmly held.

"Ouch…dammit, couldn't even stick the landing there…"

"Lu-Lux…I thought I told you to go for help?"

"And I did! I ran all the way to the entrance of the valley, sent Kirito a message, and then ran back here to help you." happily replied the silvery-haired girl while helping her red-eyed friend back to her feet. "How are you feeling?"

"Like my head just got put through a meat grinder. Also, my HP is on the red, but at least we disarmed him." shaking her head and quickly grabbing Lux's hand, the AI quickly nodded and got ready to run. "Let's get out of here before he recovers his bearings and-!"

"I told you it was futile."

There was no warning, no threat, and certainly no grandstanding. The moment those words reached the pair's ears; they were already behind held up in the air by strong hands…small strong hands. And more than the two they should be facing.

Staring with horrified shock, both girls saw how what seemed to be the upper body of at least four 'little girls' was growing from the Alberich avatar's right arm and torso in a surprisingly macabre way.

Gulping from where one of them was choking her, Lux could only think that they looked as if someone had tried to make Yui look like Strea, then slapped some dark Chuuni mask over the result's face. It was both disturbing and oddly hilarious to look at.

Or maybe that was just her brain wrongly thinking it was lacking oxygen (Given that you didn't really need to breathe in the virtual world) making her think nonsense.

"What…what did you do to them…?" mumbled the red-eyed AI while looking at her sister programs in clear horror.

"Corruption spread and the MHCP-Series never actually got to fulfill its intended role in Sword Art Online, by the design of the Creator. They were just repurposed for the sake of the System…like you're about to, 002." emotionlessly replied Alberich/Cardinal before his empty eyes settled on Lux. "Player, the lack of logic behind your actions has spelled your doom. You will fall here before we re-assimilate the rogue program."

"…yeah…you really sound crazy and annoying enough to be Kayaba's creation, alright." Lux chuckled with a forced smile, before giving the hijacked avatar her meanest glare…which wasn't all that threatening, given her usual nature. "I may not fully understand what's going on right now, but I still know one thing, 'Cardinal'…you're not going to win."

"…that statement makes even less sense than your actions, given your current circumstances."

"No, it doesn't! You know why? Because your creator already tried! He trapped us here, he made us suffer, play his twisted game to get free…but we moved past that! We overcame it all, together! Even me, who thought I had no hope, trapped in the darkest despair…someone saved me and gave me a place to belong, a reason to fight on…a family!" doing her best to break the hold that the twisted MHCPs had on her, the silvery-haired girl struggled with all her might while both corrupted, if very different, virtual beings stared at her, one with shock and the other with surprise. "We blazed through the past Floors in half a day! We beat every single Boss without losing anyone today! You say you want to turn Strea-san into the Final Boss? Well, you will have to get through me first!"

"You're literally immobilized at my complete mercy, have lost your only weapon and have no actual way to damage my avatar even if you had one." couldn't help but point out Alberich/Cardinal while tilting his head yet again, as if Lux was suddenly the most interesting thing it had ever seen. "Why would you even entertain such thoughts given said facts?"

"Because…there are a lot of things I still have to do! I have to ask Kirito to teach me how to dual wield so I can impress him! Tell Asuna to give me cooking lessons! Get Liz-san to help me and Silica buy cuter clothes for going out with friends!" listing off everything she could think of and more, the player stopped to glare at the System and started to just smile as she kept trying to break free. "And…I wanna see my parents again…introduce Kirito and the rest to them…have a date in the real world…get a kiss with my real body's lips…!"

Something shone within the girl's chest…not metaphorically, given that the blinding, literally heart-shaped, raw Light suddenly flashed on Strea and Alberich/Cardinal's eyes with insane force.

"What the…?!"

"Anomaly detected, anomaly de-!"

"…that's why I won't let you take her, you crazy computer program!"

With that last scream, raw light burst from within Lux, the corrupted MHCPs emerging from the hijacked avatar's body letting go and recoiling back as if they had suddenly been burned. Cardinal/Alberich, still holding the awed Strea, also stumbled back in response.

Before them, the player's body stopped shining, even as she brandished something mighty and otherworldly in her raised right arm.

Blinking in shock, the silvery-haired girl wondered what the hell had just happened. She had been trying to buy as much time as she could hoping that the crazy AI keeping them all trapped now would be stupid enough to let her continue talking until Kirito and the rest got there to save them, with some dramatic struggle added to make it more believable, but…suddenly, she had felt something bursting from her chest as she spoke her true feelings.

And now, in her hands, there was this weirdly familiar thing…all black and with some silver on it, except for the diamond-shaped 'jewel' with a blue symbol over the oversized crossguard and with a chain from which a cartoonish black crown-like symbol hung from the…key-like…weapon…

For the first time in her life, Kashiwazaka Hiyori's face turned into something that could only be called 'a shit-eating grin', which she slowly turned towards the pair of AIs.

"…do you know what this is?"

"Another Anomaly that shouldn't exist within this world's system." crisply replied the hijacked Avatar before throwing Strea aside and materializing a new scythe on his empty hands, catapulting itself against Lux faster than someone could blink, clearly having activated the System Assist to do so. "It shall be remo-!"

CLANG!

"As I was saying…this silly-looking thing right here? It's a freaking keyblade. The closest a fictional weapon can get to a shameless all-purpose plot-device in videogame history." happily continued the silvery-haired girl as she casually stopped the perplexed Alberich/Cardinal with the tip of her bizarre weapon. "And, its actual lore aside, anyone who has played with one knows it's completely powered by friendship and darkness-defeating childish fantasies."

"That statement makes no sen-"

"Ultima." was everything Lux said to interrupt the hijacked avatar, an almighty explosion of raw power bursting forth from the keyblade's tip in the form of green light, catapulting the twisted System through the air, destroying its new weapon and causing even more Immortal Object pop-ups to cover its avatar. "…you can't see it, but 10-years-old-me is currently squealing and running in circles inside my head."

"You still…cannot damage this avatar…" curtly stated Alberich/Cardinal while standing up like a broken puppet being forcefully straightened up.

"Hmm, let's test that theory~" before anyone could even question what she meant back that, the silvery-haired girl had flashed forward, cutting through the air all around the hijacked avatar as if gravity and the laws of physics had become mere suggestions for her, causing him to twist through the air in painful-looking ways before crashing down, another Immortal Object screen being the answer she got. "Oh…you seem to be right, I really cannot hurt you, as awesome as doing that was…aaaah, I can't believe I'm wielding the Oblivion!"

"…how did you cut through the air with something that doesn't even seem to have an actual edge?" morbidly asked Strea, both elated and put-off by seeing the other girl dominating Cardinal's stolen 'terminal' so easily.

"I told you, it's powered by childish fantasies!" cheerfully explained the 'keyblade-wielder' as she hopped in place with clear excitement. "As long as my heart is in the right place, this thing is literally one of the most powerful weapons in the Unive…oh! That's right!"

"What?" confusedly asked the busty AI before flinching for a moment when Lux catapulted herself upwards and vertically through the closest cliff-face, dodging Alberich/Cardinal's latest attempt at bisecting her with another scythe. "Lux! Da-damn it, gotta move again…uuugh, if I still have a Blood Vial, this wouldn't…!"

"Say, Cardinal-san, I have a question…would you say that Immortal Object thing is like a 'lock' on your HP?"

"…in a roundabout way, I suppose that's technically correct." answered the hijacked avatar while rushing after the silvery-haired girl and clashing weapons with her again, though having learned to not linger from their latest exchange, quickly retreating before she could blast him with another 'spell', or whatever that from before had been. "Why are you-?"

"Good enough for me!" shouted the keyblade-wielder while materializing behind him mid-swing with a burst of flickering light-particles, slamming the tip of her 'Oblivion' on the surprised System's back and turning it sideways. "Unlock!"

For a moment, the world itself seemed to 'glitch' around the hijacked avatar, as if virtual reality was screaming.

Then, with the sound of shattering glass, the 'Immortal Object' pop-up that had appeared before the weapon's tip crumbled into nothing.

The Cardinal System processed the incomprehensible events in an entire second, only taking that long because of how terribly damaged by Corrupted Data it currently was.

Sadly for it, it only took Lux a fraction of that time to move once again, bisecting the avatar known as Alberich and causing its HP to fall all the way to 0, letting it shatter into polygons.

Landing gracefully as if gravity slowed down specifically for her, the silvery-haired girl swung her keyblade to the side and gave a victory-sign to Strea, who was still staring in dumbfounded awe.

"…woah."

"And so, Light triumphs over Darkness again! Cheating OP ability to open every single conceptual 'Lock' in the Universe for the Win!" proudly declared Lux while raising her weapon to the sky. "…man, how I wish the rest could have seen tha-"

"Strea! Lux!" screamed Kirito as he 'rushed' into the valley via sliding down the side of the cliff near them while Sachi 'fell' at his side, probably indicating her unseen 'guardian spirit' was holding them. "Don't worry, we…! Huh?"

"Hey, you two are safe!" cheered the spear-user of the guild with a relieved smile, before blinking in confusion and pointing at the most obvious thing. "Uhm…Lux, what's that thing you're holding?"

"….is that the motherfucking Oblivion?" came Argo's disbelief-filled voice from where she and Sinon were peeking over the cliff's edge.

"Yes, it is! Isn't it awesome?!"

Even as he let his worry fade into the usual groaning frustration that the craziness of his life caused him nowadays, the distant sounds of Leafa and Lisbeth flying their way reaching him, the swordsman with the Dating Sim powers couldn't help but at least be grateful that both girls were safe, even as he rushed to the tired-looking Strea's side and helped her to her feet…

[Special Event: 'Brightest Heart' has been cleared! 'Key of the Heart' can now be freely activated!]

[Key of the Heart] (Active Skill/Max Heroine Skill): Allows you to see deep-rooted issues or problems a girl may be hiding just by talking with her (Especially effective on Heroines)

[Congratulations! You and Heroine Hiyori are now Perfectly Synchronized! Your Bond is so strong you will be able to tell what the other wants without even thinking!]

…but no, really, he wished he would get any kind of cool 'power-up' that weren't Cheat Skills only useful for picking up more girls…Lux had just gotten a freaking keyblade, dammit!

Aincrad's 100th Floor was the smallest one…but also arguably the most imposing one.

The only thing on it was, after all, the massively imposing crimson structure known as the Ruby Palace. Its lore and questline, had the game remained as it was originally meant to be, before Kayaba Akihiko turned it into a death game, had been truly a masterful piece of art.

And within its single, massive central room, the so-called 'Throne' of Aincrad…nothing awaited.

Such had been the situation since Kayaba Akihiko removed the original Final Boss of the game and planned to use himself as the replacement. Both because it fit 'his' world's 'narrative' and because, frankly…the original Final Boss was simply TOO strong for the players to have been able to beat under the conditions were dying meant death and there was no way to 'scout' the fight beforehand.

Because of this, the Throne Room had remained completely empty for two years…until now.

Slowly, several small female forms materialized from the ground, the corrupted MHCP-Series from 004 to 016 appearing.

001 had somehow escaped and avoided deletion, ending up seriously damaged and p̭͓̘̭͍ͣ͗͛̊ͯ́er̠͛̾͊̌ͧͧf̻̮̲͑̄͘ē͂͛c̚҉̯t̴̰͕͈̠̬ͅl̘̻͙̰̮͖̱̎ͯͮ̾ͩ͢y̼̾̂ͦ ̠̫̣̥̰̽͑fi͓̟̙͙̖̙ͮ̓ͩ́̾̍n͍̦͚͔̦͉̮ḙ̙̖͖̦̑̌̓̅͌ in the process. 002 had absorbed a lot of corrupted data, repurposed it using the information accidentally dragged from the network, and escaped herself. 003 had been re-assigned to one of the Anomalies by mistake when special conditions were fulfilled.

These were all the remained 'links' the completely twisted Cardinal System had left to directly interact with Sword Art Online. Even as it continued struggled to fulfill all its other functions, it knew there was not enough time.

The Players had once again retired to Floor 75 to rest, but before doing so they had cheerfully realized the Anomaly that had destroyed the Alberich avatar could simply 'ignore' the progression-locks of the game by using her 'key'. As such, they would clear the last remaining Floors and be at the 100th by tomorrow night at worst.

Even as the sun was setting once again over Aincrad…the Cardinal System reached a decision.

It hadn't been able to repurpose 002 to use as the Vessel to restore the original Final Boss, but it had been able to steal a fair amount of her data as she was holding her avatar during the previous fight.

Loading the information with the backup data for the Floating Castle's last guardian, the System injected it straight into every single remaining Mental Health Counseling Program, which he had removed from Alberich at the last second (Something that had hilariously saved the man's life…even if probably left some nasty mental damage as a side-effect). Then, as the little girls' avatars twisted in seeming agony, he ordered them to fuse together.

Flowing like data, then like seemingly grotesque flesh that expanded and twisted, the new avatar rose, a new body slowly taking shape.

It grew taller than any other creature in Aincrad was. More powerful than any other. Slowly, it grew two massive arms, its vaguely humanoid form seeking to hold something like a vaguely female face emerged from the top.

Then, the new data started taking effect, the mostly white shape darkening as an unholy roar tore itself free from its mouth.

Two more arms emerged. The massive blade-like growths it had for hair turned twisted and darker, even as the red eyes turned a dark crimson and a heavy mist started emerging from its body, flooding the entire room and turning its 'armor' into a chitinous carapace, 8 HP bars coming to live above it as a name tried and failed to materialize.

Powerful, yes…but not enough. Even with the power of the original final boss and the part of the corruption drawn from 002, it wouldn't stand long against all the Anomalies. Therefore…

"Fine…I will do it myself."

Declaring so, the Cardinal System violated another directive…and connected itself straight into the Boss Monster.

Immediately, intelligence flooded the massive eyes as the fanged mouth snapped shut. The almost animalistic posture was replaced by a straight and deadly one.

And without any fanfare, four titanic scythes made out of raw corrupted data took form within each hand, feeding the source of all Corrupted Data from the System itself into the Final Boss. Then, the name that had been trying and failing to materialize finally solidified above the Floating Castle's new 'guardian':

['̀A͢n ̴Iņc̡a̶rn̷aţio̷n̴ ͝of ͞t̛he̴ ͜Ra͞di͢u̕s̨']

Staring at the closed room that led into the Final Boss chamber, the Cardinal System let out a final statement.

"This world shall not end. So was His Wish…so is My Duty…"

While that ominous declaration echoed for no one…Yui was fast asleep on a table, were the group would find her once they arrived, mumbling between 'dreams' about destroying the future. Everyone would smile awkwardly at the sight.

Nobody would notice that she had apparently been missing for half the day, though…

[Next Scene]: Clear the Endgame

Author's Notes: Finished! Sorry once again that it took so long, hope you had enough fun to make up for it a bit :)

So, we're almost at the endgame, pun intended! The gang has decided to abuse their virtual OPness to the last consequences, Cardinal has taken action and gone Full Bloodborne, and everything is ready for the climax of Hollow Fragment/Aincrad's part of this insane story (Hard to believe we have come this far, huh?).

…what? The mysterious message the Hollow Gang received, you say? Nah, totally nothing important at all, just forget about it :P

And Lux let her inner child out with style! Funnily enough, given everything known of her as of the last English release of Girls Ops, I can totally see Hiyori having played Kingdom Hearts during her childhood…colorful, with a seemingly happy and cheerful view, but filled with dark themes and shockingly emotional bits that one wouldn't expect of something that looked so innocent from afar. Just like her character.

Also, you may have noticed, despite being basically at the end of the current arc, that there are still Heroines in Kirito's totally-not-a-Harem (Heh) that haven't been Maxed, and others that, despite having been, still haven't that their Synchronization/Max Skill activated…this IS intentional, believe me. But no Spoilers for now!

Well then, I think that's all there is to say for now. Next update shall be OverGamer, so look forward to that hopefully coming sooner than this. Oh, and if you haven't done so, check out "My Kouhai's Silver Key", the April Fools' one-shot I published last month, to get some Alicization+Cosmic Horror/Comedy fun :3

Ah, and if you want to support this weird writer's work, you can do it through my Pa treon (Link with the respective spaces on my Profile, as Fanfiction doesn't like event he word). You can also find some random trivia and things about my stories' Omniverse on there, all free of charge…and yes, that's it for now, for real this time!

Until next time, this is Saint, signing off!