Sorry for the hiatus. I hope this chapter sates your thirst, friends.

As Rin had observed, the button that had been there during the Beta Test—no, even right after they both had logged on—was no longer in existence.

Rin and Miyu stood in a somewhat stunned silence, staring at the floating rectangles in front of them. The game menu not having a logout? That was insane. It had to be some glitch in the system. The Game Moderators were probably going crazy with all the calls they probably already had received. Miyu probably would have preferred being a GM at the moment, however, if the truth about the missing logout button had been revealed at that point.

"Let's call a GM, then," Miyu said, pressing the appropriate sequence of buttons. There was a slight ringing noise for a couple of moments, but that was expected. The requests for help from hundred, maybe even thousands, of players probably were overloading the system.

"Isn't there some way to take off the NerveGear?" mused Rin aloud. He made some grunting noises as he simulated pulling off a helmet.

"No, that's impossible." Miyu looked down to the grass. "The NerveGear intercepts all the signals the brain sends to make our avatars move. Unless someone from the outside does so, we're stuck."

"Ah, well," Rin paused in thought. "Well either my twin brother or the old man would yank it off, so I guess I'm covered." He shrugged and smiled. "How about you?"

"I have thr—I mean, two sisters and a mom. What a coincidence, they're twins as—,"

Miyu was jarred by Rin, who suddenly gripped both shoulders of his new companion.

"You have sisters? And they're twins? Dude, you have to introduce us!" The look on the boy's face was priceless. Miyu couldn't help but laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, Rin. Sure I'll introduce you, but I do have one question for you."

"Fire away, my friend. I've got nothing to hide." He posed with his left leg on a nearby rock—a fantastic impression of Captain Morgan.

"How old are you?" When met by Rin's pensive, sweaty look, Miyu figured as much. He probably was fishing in the wrong pond over here. "Because my older sisters are both sixteen."

"Older women, eh?" Rin muttered, scratching his chin, giving it some thought. There could be advantages to that, he thought. Rin paused as he considered Miyu's choice of words. "Wait. You're not even sixteen?"

Miyu's first slip of the day. Rin probably thought that the fellow player was older, considering the height of the avatar being used. But just as they were in the middle of chatting, there was a strange, loud noise.

"BWOOOOONG!" said the unseen siren. "BWOOOOONG!"

And then the two players' avatars disappeared in a flash of blue flames.

For a brief second there was the distinct feeling of falling.

When Rin opened his eyes he and Miyu were in the middle of a large paved square: the central plaza of "The Town of Beginnings". Around them were several disoriented players, looking around as they were, wondering just what was going on.

Again, the siren sounded once more before stopping completely.

Above them a single red hexagon with the words 'WARNING' flashed several times. Then, multiplying like a virus, there were more red hexagons, either with the same message or 'SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT'.

Right after that the world changed forever. This was the point where Blue Exorcist Online stopped being just some fun game.

A cold shadow passed over the ten-thousand souls that shivered with confusion in the square, and Miyu was only one of the many players who had a terrible feeling of dread crawling up their spine.

For a few seconds, everyone just looked around without a word.

After the short silence a few mumbles and mutters were heard here and there, and the commotion started to get louder.

"What's happening?"

"Can we log out now?"

"Can't they take care of it quickly?"

"I really have to log out soon…"

What happened next was the last on anyone's list

From the middle of the pattern a liquid similar to blood slowly oozed downwards. At first everyone thought it was going to engulf them all, how close it came to hovering over their heads, but instead it began morphing into another shape. The silhouette of a man formed, finally changing into, oddly enough, a person in a white robe.

A person without a face.

It reminded Miyu of the GMs that would appear during the Beta-test, but the difference between the GM avatars, namely the strange, empty space beneath the propped up hood only added to the anxiety within the crowd.

The countless players around Miyu and Rin stared wide-eyed at the figure.

"Is that a GM?"

"Why doesn't it have a face?"

Whispers much like that echoed around them.

The right hand was raised, the universal sign for silence. From the end of the long sleeve was a pure white glove, floating, disconnected from an arm of any sort, invisible or otherwise.

"Players, I welcome you all to my world." A voice, distinctly male, and unquestionably powerful. It rang with an absolute, otherworldly authority.

«My world»? The statement sounded confusing, but was clarified immediately after.

"My name is Johann Faust. Right now, I am the only person who can control this world."

The response was one of violent disgust and surprise.

"What…!?" Miyu's avatar—no, maybe also real body, stopped breathing.

Johann—Faust!

Miyu knew that name. There was no way anyone could not know that name. A pioneer in both game development and design, and a genius in the field of quantum physics and computer science, he and he alone was the one responsible for making Argus into one of the leading companies in several sectors of commerce. Faust was also the head director in charge of developing SAO and the very same person who designed and invented Nerve Gear.

Being the hardcore gamer that Miyu was, it was understandable the respect that most in the community had for Faust. The number of magazines that featured the eccentric but very cerebral man could be listed in the hundreds and were stashed in all corners of the redhead's room. Miyu even had put up a couple of posters of him beside the various anime and game posters as well.

But Faust was always a more behind the scenes genius who begrudgingly exposed himself to the media, so what exactly was happening right here?

"I believe that most of you in attendance now realize that the log out button has disappeared from the main menu. This is not a glitch. Let me repeat: This is not a glitch. It is a crucial part of Blue Exorcist Online's interface."

"Unless you complete all 100 levels of the castle, you cannot log out."

Then the next thing that Faust said blew everyone's minds.

"…also, if someone from the outside tries to take off your Nerve Gear or turn off the power…"

A moment of silence.

"The signal sensors in your Nerve Gears will emit a strong microwave, destroying your brain and stopping all of your basic functions. You will, without fail die. Already 213 of your number has left this world for good."

"This is no longer a game…" Rin looked up. "It's real?"

Miyu stared at him. Those thoughts were already going through the fellow player's mind, and

Miyu was surprised at how similar a sentiment they both had. The initial shock was enough to make most of them around them begin to break down. By this time most of the local new agencies had heard of their plight, but what could they do but hope the best and report on the situation?

In fact, what could most anyone do? Sure the hospitals could take them in, but Faust was a genius. A mega-genius. How in the world could they undo what he had done to them?

The answer was clear: nothing at all.

"This is the real world now," affirmed Miyu.

"…also, I've left a present for all of you in your inventories."

With a listless hand Miyu flicked open the menu screen, and pressed the INVENTORY button. There was a new item, and it was at the very top of the list, with the words NEW in bright yellow capitals next to it. The item in question was called "HAND MIRROR" and when Miyu, as well as everyone else touched the button, they all found a tiny mirror in their hands.

A sudden flash of light nearly blinded Miyu when the ruby eyes looked into the surface of the mirror, and the avatar stumbled backwards in confusion, landing on the ground. The mirror cracked a little when it left the confused pair of hands that inadvertently let go, and when Miyu got up, something was off.

Everything was…off. In fact, it felt like the entire avatar had been altered. It was not an incorrect observation. The avatar was in fact much shorter than before. It was almost Miyu's original height from the real world.

Wait.

Miyu snatched the mirror from the ground and gazed into it with disbelieving eyes.

No.

NO!

Miyu's real face stared back with a horrified expression.

"You're…" Rin approached the former Beta-tester with a confused, unsure look, "…you're a girl?" (おまえ。。。おまえ少女?)

"You're cute?" said Miyu before she clamped a hand over her mouth.

AHHAHAHAHAH. Who saw that coming? No one? Figures, lol.