Chapter 16 – Walls

11/17/380

The walls of Centoria had already been into her view for a while now, but Asuna was finally able to see some of the more intricate details of the massive structure. It was almost like she was stepping into a history class, travelling back to a land of swords and castles. Though Aincrad was the floating castle, it was all so different from the historical eras of human history. The Underworld, however, save for magic and other humanoid creatures, almost perfectly resembled some sort culture from the Classical or Medieval eras. The highly decorated walls, which no doubt served both an aesthetic and a defensive purpose, now dominated her vision as she rapidly approached it.

It had now been, apparently, nearly four days since she had spawned into the Underworld. Unfortunately, it looked like she had been unconscious for much of her time here, so it only felt like her second day here. Asuna felt that it was quite refreshing to be in a different world like this. Since she rarely played anything outside of Alfheim Online and Gun Gale Online, it had been a rather long time since she had been able to experience a brand-new world. Even if Aincrad had now been brought back into ALO, and there were constant raids to get to the higher floors, the game still had not been cleared up to where SAO had originally ended. The game developers of ALO had taken their time to add new elements, as well as increasing the difficulty of the game now that there was no risk of true death, but exploring the same places could only be so fresh of an experience. Once they cleared the 75th floor again, she was certain a new rush of excitement would wash over her and many of the other SAO survivors who chose to once again dive into the floating castle which had once been their prison for two years.

Besides, the greatest thing about being here in the Underworld now was the fact that she was now reunited with Kirito. In the Real World, though they technically were together in the same place, he was still unconscious, his soul transported over to this world instead. But here, in the Underworld, he was alive and well, giving her hope that sooner rather than later, they would also be reunited in the world where both their real bodies currently lay unconscious. It had been an incredibly tough few days not knowing where Kirito was, and being completely unaware of his condition even before his disappearance. But it looked like Kirito had suffered far more than she had; in this Underworld, he had been forced to experience accelerated time, equating to two whole years where he had not seen her. Asuna could not begin to even imagine the thoughts and feelings Kirito had gone through, waking up in this world with no recollection as to how he arrived here, only knowing that he was missing those closest to him.

Asuna had taken up the job of briefing Kirito on the events that had led up to the very present, up until the moment when she dived into this world. She started with the attack in the Real World by Kanamoto Atsushi, better known to the two of them as Johnny Black, who had injected succinylcholine into Kirito's body which had caused his heart to stop. After that, he had been hurriedly transported to a hospital to receive care, but though they were able to revive his beating heart, they were unable to pull him from his comatose state. Then, he had mysteriously disappeared in the middle of the night, supposedly being transported to another hospital which had no records of him being checked in. But with the unexpected help of Koujiro Rinko, Asuna was able to sneak into Rath's headquarters, which happened to be Kirito's exact whereabouts.

The whole story telling process took a long while, but in the end, she was able to share with Kirito all the key points. Throughout the entire process, her mind had been quite frazzled, constantly jumping around to different points in time whenever she remembered something important. In the end, Kirito didn't say much; he just listened quietly the entire time, his expression mostly unchanging, except for the slight furrowing of his brow here and there. Asuna wasn't sure if this was because he didn't have anything to ask, or if he just didn't know what to ask. A lot had happened in the short time that he had been logged into the Underworld, even if it were nothing compared to the two years of accelerated time he had experienced here.

When Asuna finished storytelling, it was then Kirito's turn to talk about his journey, the one that would technically be completely fictional, but Asuna knew that Kirito saw it as nothing but factual, real experiences that he had gone through. By the time he finally recounted his entire story, which at this point seemed more like an entire novel, the sky had already darkened, and Asuna could vaguely see the piercing lights of the stars which had begun to populate the sky. Kirito's tale of adventure was full of surprises, twists, and turns. There were moments where the two of them were laughing about the incredulous things that were happening, but there were other times when she felt pain just like Kirito had experienced in those exact moments. Especially when she heard about his friend Eugeo… Asuna knew that it was worse knowing that Kirito had already experienced something very similar to this.

Putting herself in a very similar situation, she was forced to watch as Kirito had to experience what the two of them had thought was her death. Taking that fatal blow from Kayaba's sword in his stead, her hit points had plummeted past the red, instantly hitting zero and signifying the end of her time in the death game. At that very moment, as she was fading away, when she was looking into Kirito's eyes which were filled with shock, fear, grief… they had both thought that it would be the last moment when they saw each other. Miraculously, or perhaps by Kayaba's own grace, both of them had been allowed to live even after their avatars had died in the game. To this day, they were still not sure as to why they had been allowed to walk free of this prison, despite the fact that all others who had perished in the game before them had truly never woken up again.

But to have to once again experience the same episode of watching someone, who was near and dear to him, slowly succumbing to their fatal wounds – it was a type of grief she could only imagine, a feeling which she had no right declaring that she could understand. She could already hear Kirito's voice choking up when he started talking about that part of his journey, and all she could do was wrap her arms around his body, silently comforting him as the wagon upon which they sat slowly bumped across the rough terrain. Her only hope was that Kirito's hunch of being able to bring Eugeo back from his sword form was accurate, so that they could reunite, just as she and Kirito had finally done so on her hospital bed.

By the time they had both caught up with each other's stories, Centoria's walls were already looming over them. And now, they were able to see some of the other groups of people heading into the city. Some soldiers were trailing behind the former residents of the Eastabarieth Empire who had been removed from their homes to safeguard them from the threat of the Dark Territory, while others arrived alone. It looked like the wall that Asuna had created actually served its purpose, at least giving the Human Army enough time to separate themselves from the Dark Territory which had initially been right on its tail.

Even now, the preparations for a siege defensive were already underway. Fortifications were being hastily built using whatever materials were nearby, and many of the trees surrounding the walls had already been cleared out to be used for their lumber. Asuna wondered if these temporary buildings meant that there would be forces resisting the impending invasion from the ground level. Even though they were close enough to the walls that support from above would filter down to cover them, it still seemed like an odd choice. Especially if these barricades were finally broken, what would happen to these ground forces? Surely, the city gates wouldn't open up for them, since that would be equivalent to giving the Dark Territory a free pass to enter the city.

The other thing Asuna was concerned with were the flying forces of the Dark Territory: the Dark Knights and their dragons. According to Kirito's words, these were essentially the Integrity Knights' counterparts, the ones who were the most skilled of the Dark Territory's soldiers. With their own dragons capable of near endless flight, Asuna worried that the four walls, the Everlasting Walls, which separated the Human Empire into four quadrants, would not be able to stop them. If the Dark Territory's goal was to spread destruction across the entire Human Empire, then the Dark Knights could easily do that without having to contend with the Integrity Knights. By now, they might have already gone beyond the confines of the Eastabarieth Empire unbeknownst to the Human Empire's soldiers, killing tens of thousands of innocent civilians.

But Kirito had assured her of his confidence in a full frontal assault by the Dark Territory. When she asked him why he believed that, it had stemmed from the fact that the Dark Territory had not sent any troops to the three other entrances into the Human Empire. Based on the information he had gotten from the Integrity Knights, those of the Dark Territory were more concerned with proving their strength by overwhelming their enemies head-on. Their unexpected move of clambering over the mountains had been so effective because none of the Integrity knights had expected such a covert strategy, one that was so contrary to their supposed nature.

After discussing for a while, both Kirito and Asuna both agreed that because it had happened once already, and especially because it had worked so well, the Dark Territory may once again choose to use treachery to achieve their objectives, even if it seemed like a strategy unbefitting of their nature. It almost seemed like the Dark Territory were like puppets on strings, controlled by a master not of this world. As for the believability of that scenario, it wasn't all too farfetched. Considering that the Ocean Turtle had been attacked, and the fact that Asuna had logged in here as Stacia, it was entirely possible that someone else from the Real World had logged in using one of the other super-accounts.

Asuna decided to go along with Kirito, Fanatio, and Deusolbert to meet with the other Integrity Knights to figure out their next steps. However, doing so would mean that she would need to introduce herself not as Stacia the Goddess of Creation, but as Asuna, a human from the Real World. Though the two Integrity Knights that she and Kirito had been travelling with were not all too surprised at the fact that the being they revered as their Goddess of Creation was just in fact another human being, the same could not be said about any of the soldiers travelling with them. They feared approaching Asuna, and in the same vein, they also did not associate with Kirito. She hoped that one day she would be able to mingle with these other human beings in the Underworld, rather than being alienated and revered as their goddess which she was not.

Now that she would be personally meeting others, she began to mentally prepare herself. Making sure that she knew exactly what to say, taking care to reveal just the right amount of information without overwhelming the other Integrity Knights… Asuna knew it would be a tough rope to balance upon, but she would have to make the best out of her situation. Besides, she had Kirito with her to help sort things out, as well as four Integrity Knights who supposedly knew the truth behind the creation of their world. As she stepped through the city gates, she took a deep breath, firmly digging her heel into the ground to propel herself forward.

With everyone's help, the incredible sight of seeing Stacia became slightly more credible. It was mostly Kirito and Bercouli speaking, with a bit of input from both Fanatio and Deusolbert who acted more like witnesses rather than anything else. Naturally, there were those who were still in a state of disbelief and distress knowing that their gods were all fake, and that their world was essentially a complete fabrication. However, Asuna could feel the immense respect and trust that the Integrity Knights had for their leader, Bercouli. Even if they weren't exactly sure of what the truth was, they still chose to go along with the words that he had spoken, finally bringing a peaceful end to a rather chaotic introduction.

Integrity Knights completely encircled the meeting table on the 50th floor of the Central Cathedral. They had all briefly introduced themselves after finally being somewhat convinced that the "Stacia" standing in front of them was no more than a regular human being named Asuna who just happened to come from a different world. She could scarcely remember all their names by now, but she did notice that none of them were named Alice. The other person who Kirito had first entrusted with the world's secrets was nowhere to be found, and there was not a single person who had any idea where she had disappeared off to. But nearly everyone, and especially Kirito, believed that she was alive and well, fighting her own battle somewhere in the Eastabarieth Empire. Kirito was rather adamant in his confidence in her abilities, specifically when one of the Integrity Knights had said something about a worst-case scenario where she had either been captured or slain by the enemy. Raising his voice to refute his words, Asuna hadn't seen Kirito so agitated in a very long time. Just who was this Alice person to him…

Kirito had said many things about Alice when he recapped the last two years of his life here in the Underworld. The only person who was mentioned more times was Eugeo, the first person that Kirito had met. It looked like Eugeo had grown up in the same town as Alice, and the two used to be childhood friends. But then, Alice was forcefully taken away by an Integrity Knight, who was later revealed to be Deusolbert, when she was only 11 years old, all for breaking a simple law of the Taboo Index. Many years later, when Kirito and Eugeo had fallen to the same fate as her, the Integrity Knight who had taken them away was none other than Alice. After once again meeting her up on the 80th floor of the Central Cathedral, where the two boys had clashed against her, it seemed like Kirito's stories had stopped mentioning Eugeo as much, while Alice suddenly became a much bigger part of his life. From then on, all the way until Asuna logged into the Underworld, Alice was essentially a staple in Kirito's life. Numerous thoughts filled Asuna's brain unconsciously, even though she knew that Kirito would never be that type of person. She would only really know for sure if and when they were able to meet up with this Integrity Knight Alice.

After counting which of the Integrity Knights had not managed to make their way to Centoria, the bulk of the meeting began. As Asuna already knew, the entire fate of the Human Empire boiled down to how well they would be able to defend Centoria. Once this final barrier fell, there would be no other opportunities to beat back the Dark Territory's invading force. Even when the front lines were all the way back at the remnants of the Great Eastern Gate, there were thoughts that even if this front was overrun, they would still have another chance to defend at the walls of Centoria. It was never the plan to have to fall back upon this last resort, but that was the way fate had played itself out.

Now, the Human Army knew that they had no choice but to put every last effort into the defence of Centoria's gates. They had already recalled all the Integrity Knights who were stationed at other corners of the empire, bringing them here to the front lines which would be Centoria's eastern walls. This would leave the other three entrances into the Human Empire completely defenceless, but it was probably safe to assume that their enemies would not be coming in from any other direction. None of the Integrity Knights who were previously on patrol had spotted any signs of life even deep into enemy territory, so it truly looked like all of the Dark Territory's troops had come through the ruins of the Great Eastern Gate.

Unlike their previous battlefield at the remnants of the Great Eastern Gate, this impending one did not have the same type of security. The Everlasting Walls, which served to split up the Human Empire into its four cardinal directions, did not reach into the skies, unlike the End Mountains or the wall that Asuna had created. Because of that, it absolutely could not be counted as an impenetrable structure. Well, as Asuna had heard from Kirito, the End Mountains couldn't be counted as impenetrable either, after being scaled by the ogres and the pugilists which had led to the Human Army's predicament in the first place; it would be more accurate to say that only by air were they impassable.

The Everlasting Walls would be a completely different scenario. Not only were they low enough that the Dark Knights and their dragons would not be bothered by their presence, ground troops could theoretically also make their way up there quite feasibly. However, unlike a mountain, there were no footholds or handholds to climb onto, making it essentially impossible unless a massive earthen ramp was built up. Even with all this evidence pointing against the possibility of an assault on these walls, the Integrity Knights were no longer confident enough to discount this potential situation, especially after what had played out at the Great Eastern Gate.

Centoria's walls were, on the other hand, much lower in height. Ladders, siege towers, and other similar equipment would be enough to enable the Dark Territory to easily reach the tops of the walls. As the situation stood, the battle would mainly be comprised of two distinct fields: the 2.5 km of Centoria's walls where the fighting would likely be the heaviest and densest, as well as the skies above and around Centoria, where the dragons and some of the Integrity Knights would be doing their best to hold off the Dark Knights. If either of these battlefronts were lost, then the whole war, whose sole purpose was to defend the Human Empire against the invasion of the Dark Territory, would be considered completely forfeit.

At the very least, unlike fighting at Great Eastern Gate, there was no chance of being blindly flanked by armies. Unless their enemies somehow came up with an ingenious way to scale the extremely tall Everlasting Walls, they could potentially be faced with having to deal an attack on multiple fronts, thus increasing the number of battlefields and decreasing the density of their troop deployments. Even if the Dark Territory were able to do this, it would all be in plain sight, not in any way unexpected. The best thing about holding at Centoria was the limited battlespace – with only 10 km of city wall surrounding the entire city, only 2.5 km would be accessible to be attacked by the ground troops of the Dark Territory. In this way, it was structured very similarly to holding the Great Eastern Gate, which was narrow in nature and would not allow the Dark Territory to easily use their overwhelming numerical advantage to the best of its abilities.

Another issue with the defence would be holding the city gates, the very thing that had allowed them all to enter the city in the first place. There was a heated debate about whether it would be better to have some troops stationed outside, which could be easily recalled into the city if they were ever overrun. Some knights claimed that this would allow them to go on the offensive and potentially break through their enemies' lines, but Asuna, Kirito, and the other knights all argued that there would never be a chance to recall these troops that were trapped outside without opening the gates wide enough thus allowing the Dark Territory's troops the chance to infiltrate and then massacre the citizens. The gate, when closed, would become a massive obstacle as it was extremely robust, but when it was opened, there was a chance that it could be propped open, removing the final barrier to access into the city.

But even more arguments arose when these points were raised, with both sides being unable to come to an agreement as to what the balance between proactiveness and conservativeness should be. Eventually, Bercouli was forced to intervene, making a final decision on behalf of the Integrity Knights who were completely split on their opinions for battle formations. Fortunately, at least in Asuna's opinion, he sided with the arguments of conservativeness, arguing that a small force on the ground, though it may be able to gain some momentum, would still largely be unable to do much, especially against the Dark Territory's much greater numbers. At the cost of losing soldiers, or even worse, allowing the enemy to gain entry into the Human Empire's final stronghold, he decided that it was best if all of the army was stationed either behind or on top of the walls. Of course, there was still the issue that the gate itself still needed to be protected. No matter what, there would need to be some soldiers stationed at the gate itself in the case that it was broken through.

Since there would be no more entering and leaving once the battle started, it would be critical to strengthen the fortifications directly around the gates so that it would not be a defensive liability. But just like their previous battle, the ones who would be of the greatest hindrance to the possibility of a successful defence were the Dark Arts users. Seeing as they could possibly conjure up a massive Sacred Art to blow the wall to smithereens, which would also likely take the lives of nearly all the soldiers and the Integrity Knights who were defending it, they needed to do everything in their power to prevent the Dark Arts users from being able to show their true strength. Fortunately, Alice's display of raw magical talent was displayed at the beginning of the war, where most of the Dark Arts users were wiped out before they had a chance to contribute to the war. It was impossible to use the same strategy of voiding the surrounding areas of all their Sacred Power – for one, Alice, who was the only person capable of implementing such a plan, was missing; for another, the abundance of life all around the area would make it impossible to drain all of the Sacred Power.

In light of that, Bercouli mentioned that it would be the Integrity Knights' the highest priority to find out where the Dark Arts users were in the formation of the Dark Territory's forces, and quickly eliminate them before they had a chance to destroy the wall. Even if they were a much smaller force than they used to be, as long as a few skilled ones had survived Alice's initial bombardment, they could become the ultimate spear to break through the walls. Once they were eliminated, the Human Empire could be confident that the ensuing battle would be one dependent on siege warfare tactics. No matter what sacrifices had to be taken to ensure that this part of the plan was executed to perfection, they would need to do their best all for the sake of eliminating this faction of the Dark Territory. At the very least, getting rid of all the more powerful spell casters would prove to be effective towards the goal of maintaining the integrity of the wall.

From Asuna's point of view, it looked to be a relatively simple plan, all predicated on the eradication of the Dark Arts users and the assumption that all their enemy's ground forces would have no alternative methods of breaking through the walls of Centoria. Now that the meeting was over and everyone was hurrying to make sure that this message was passed onto all members of the army, Asuna could only hope that their one goal and their one expectation would play out favourably into their hands. As she followed Kirito down the steps of the Central Cathedral out onto the streets at the center of the capital city, she was finally able to gather in the sights of this incredibly beautiful place, which was no longer functioning as a proper city.

With the massive influx of refugees fleeing from towns from all over the Eastabarieth Empire, shortly followed by the Integrity Knights who made this city their final base, all the life in Centoria had been hidden away. There were no longer any non-combatants in this eastern quadrant of the city, as everyone had been evacuated to the other three. At this point, the only signs of life were soldiers walking around looking for any stragglers, while tearing down some buildings to ensure that they would have enough space if they were ever forced to defend the city from the ground after the gates were broken down.

But Asuna knew that this was no time to admire the beauty of the city she was currently in; she could only wait until after the war was over, after they successfully defended against their enemy's invasion. She and all the other Integrity Knights had already climbed their way to the top of the city wall, awaiting their enemy's next move. It didn't take very long before she caught sight of something in the distance, a mass of ever-expanding dots heading in their direction. At first, the soldiers on the wall top had some hope; perhaps it was the last dredges of their allies who had been caught up traversing through the rough terrain. But as the mass of dots continued to grow in number, there came a point when they realized that there were simply far too many of them. Just like that, without any fanfare, their enemies quickly arrived, filling their line of sight.

As the numbers stood right now, this would be an easy victory for the Human Empire, as it would be essentially impossible for the Dark Territory's troops to launch an attack on these very well defended walls of Centoria, which were not only well fortified themselves, but were also packed with soldiers as well as Integrity Knights. However, from the estimates made by all the Integrity Knights, the number of Dark Territory troops far exceeded the group before their eyes right now. In other words, it was just that the bulk of their army had not yet arrived. In time, they would come, completely swarming these fields, and becoming fully capable of launching their assault on this capital city.

Suddenly, dust rose from some of the dots, and at the same time, they quickly pulled away from the rest of the army. A few eager members of the Dark Territory's army rushed forward upon seeing their target of the city of Centoria. Not bothering to stop to rest, or even to wait until the rest of their army were in range to launch an assault, they impatiently moved ahead, looking to satiate their bloodlust.

After hearing what first Kikuoka and now Kirito had said about the residents of this world, Asuna struggled with the thought of having to fight and possibly even kill these citizens of the Dark Territory. It was like being back in SAO, where every single action she made could have a very real impact on a person's life. At this point, every single living being in the Underworld was essentially the same as a real human, even if they did not technically have real bodies, and Asuna was hesitant to harm anyone. If this whole war could be avoided and cleared up without any bloodshed, that would be the ideal situation. She was sure that Kirito had also thought about this, but had realized that the other side would never be willing to come to that kind of agreement.

Asuna also had to think about the fact that if she did not fight against the Dark Territory, then she would essentially be forcing those of the Human Empire to fend solely for themselves. She, one of the people who would not perish even if she lost her life here, was thinking of becoming a pacifist, and standing outside of the lines of fire. How could she live with herself if that were the choice that she was to make? Kirito had most definitely gone through similar trains of thoughts, and had come to the conclusion to fight on, despite the fact that he would need to take the lives of others to protect the lives of those he cared about.

Fortunately for Asuna, it seemed that her time to make the decision to take another life could wait until another time. With the meager forces rushing forward without any thought, there would be absolutely no chance of any breach or endangerment to the lives of the residents of the city. Calmly, she watched as soldiers steadied their bows, before they all released their arrows to rain down on their enemies below. Before long, the rush of bodies moving closer to the wall had stopped, and the only sounds that could be heard were cries of pain and suffering of those who had not been instantly put to death, as well as the hurried footsteps of the uninjured quickly retreating outside the defendable range of the walls.

While watching their comrades be shot to death, the rest of the Dark Territory's army managed to contain themselves, beginning to set up camp quite far from the city walls. Though technically out of range of the walls, they were not free from the rage, nor the range, of the Integrity Knights and their dragons. Asuna had doubts that this was a miscalculation on the part of the Dark Territory's commanders, but rather a bait to see if some hot-headed Integrity Knights would come forth and launch an unprovoked assault.

Though Asuna recognized that none of the Integrity Knights were this foolish, she had already come to understand that there were those in the meeting room whose temperaments roared like the stormy seas. She would expect, however, that Bercouli would be keeping an eye out for these individuals, making sure that they did not embark on a suicide mission just so that they could enact some sort of vengeance on the foes who had come to lay waste to their homeland.

"There's even more of them arriving…"

Asuna's thoughts were interrupted by the groans of a soldier who was standing some distance away, peering far into the distance. She turned towards where his gaze was set, seeing that more black dots were arriving in the distance. However, unlike the first group which arrived, these spots in the distance were kicking up a very large amount of dust. These soldiers were not approaching at a leisurely pace, nor even a brisk one. It was more like they were running for their lives, using every last bit of strength that they had.

And this one detail had Asuna thinking: what reason did the Dark Territory have to run with such speed after finally seeing their final target? They would know that it would be so unwise to launch an attack without being thoroughly prepared first. It was the exact reason that they waited until the Great Eastern Gate collapsed on its own before launching their attack. They simply knew it was far too difficult to assault the Human Empire while their guards and defences were fully poised. In much the same way, the walls of Centoria themselves should have served as a good enough deterrent that the majority would not throw their lives away without first considering the possibility of victory.

It was obvious that the first group which had attempted to rush the walls were anomalies, only posing a greater risk and liability to their own allies as they were clouded by their thirst for blood. After all, it was only a small bunch which had thrown away any regard for their lives and come forth to assault the walls. This second group which was still in the distance, Asuna was sure, solely based on the amount of dust she could see rising into the sky, was far larger. Instead of being a rogue few, it was more like an entire unit had decided that it was already time to begin their assault. That was, of course, if the ones who were running were even their enemies.

Nothing about the scene in front of her eyes made any sense. That was, until Asuna saw the shapes running in the distance as something more than just black dots. She could finally see clothing, armour, weapons, physiques. Every single one of these shapes were humanoid, not demi-humanoid like most of the tribes of the Dark Territory. They were dressed not in full metal gear, as the Dark Knights were, nor were they clothed in the robes that the Dark Arts Users wore, nor were they dressed extremely lightly like the Pugilist Guild. She already had an idea of what their enemies would look like since Kikuoka had given her a quick rundown before she stepped into the STL. And in the end, no matter how she thought about it, there was only one possibility left: the ones running towards the wall weren't even part of the Dark Territory's army, but rather they were survivors from the Human Empire who were desperate to break through so that they could reach the safety of Centoria.

As the situation stood right now, it would be basically impossible for them to make it through. Being sandwiched by their enemies from the front and the back, along with the fact that they were probably completely exhausted from running away from their pursuers, Asuna suspected that many of the soldiers were running on adrenaline alone, with absolutely nothing left in the tank. Without any help, they would all lose their lives, so very close to their final destination; their eyes would be mesmerized by the sight of the walls which would have given them protection, as they were slowly hacked to death.

Asuna looked at the soldiers around her who were on the roof. By now, they seemed to have noticed that their initial judgement of these "reinforcements" was completely wrong, now realizing that it was their comrades and maybe even personal friends. But they all stood stock still, none budging a single muscle. The tension, the despair – all kinds of emotions plastered all over their faces, yet none of them could take the first step to move. Even some of the Integrity Knights, who Asuna would have expected to have jumped into action already, stood frozen as well. Though they gripped their weapons in anger, to the point where their knuckles were turning white, they stood fixed as if they were statues themselves.

Perhaps they were all just unwilling to risk their lives for a mission which did not even have a good chance of succeeding. Perhaps they wanted to protect their lives, which would increase the chances of their eventual victory. Perhaps they were now afraid of the Dark Territory's army, which had managed to push them to the cliff edge. Everyone at the meeting knew that one false step could mean that the entire history and legacy of the Human Empire would be destroyed forever.

But Asuna knew that there was one person who would not care for the statistical probability of success, he was someone who would help anyone in need. Even if it meant risking his life, he would do whatever he could so that he could try and save everyone. If there was one person who would be willing to go down there and help, it would be him. Asuna knew that the two of them together, just like they had been in the latter stages of SAO, could accomplish anything. Turning to her right, where she knew Kirito stood, Asuna was ready to spring into action with him.

However, when she turned around, she couldn't see Kirito. All she saw was a thin strip of black cloth, heading towards the front of the wall. Fluttering in the wind, her eyes snapped to follow whatever the cloth was attached to: a figure plummeting down the wall. As usual, Kirito was already two steps ahead of her, not even thinking twice about giving his life to rescue those who were in danger. Once again, he completely neglected to think about his own safety, jumping forward to do what he felt was the right thing.

And that was exactly what she loved about him.

A/N

Originally, I was thinking that since I'd be cooped up at home, I would probably have more time to write and the chapters would come out even faster than they normally would. But then I also forgot that video games are a thing. Long story short, I bought Civ V for 10 USD. That was about a month and a half ago, which was when I was planning to post this chapter. So as you can clearly see, this 7 (well technically 10) year old game has absolutely consumed me, and still continues to do so. But as the blue sky above China is once again visible, and the rivers running through India are once again drinkable, I hope you're all staying safe at home (or wherever you're stuck).

See you all next time.

E/N

It's funny because I always harp on biri24 to hurry up with his writing because I know him well and know that even though he's a diligent man who maintains his insane work schedule even when he's working from home, I also know that he is most likely playing Civ or watching people on YouTube play Civ. Anyways, I spent like 4 weeks shitting on him for not finishing his writing and then once I got the chapter to edit, it was like immediate role reversal. Basically, biri24 and I are the same kind of trash people who don't keep promises about our deadlines.

I hope everyone is staying safe at home and you all enjoy this long-awaited chapter.