Sword Art Online

Chapter 3

A bird was singing a song that filled the morning as it perched upon the white table.

Her right hand quietly extended, and her outstretched fingers gently touched the jade-like feathers of the bird, instantly causing the bird to take flight without a sound. The bird drew an arc flying up, and it flapped away in the direction from which the sun shone.

Rising from her chair, she took a few steps forward as if she wanted to follow the bird. But instantly, a sparkling, golden grid appeared, blocking her way. The bird continued flying through the gaps and into freedom. Higher and higher, further and further, it was going away to anywhere.

Asuna stood still and watched as the bird grew smaller and smaller until it melded with the colors of the sky, and she slowly returned to the chair and sat down.

The table and chairs, built of pure-white marble, were cold and hard. Beside the table and chairs rested a luxurious bed of the same white color. The furniture was the only thing in this "room," if you could call it that...

The floor was covered with tiles that also shine white. Walking from one side to the other took about twenty steps, but this round room was also surrounded by walls formed by a shining golden grid. The bars of her cage were set apart wide enough for Asuna to fit through them, but the system makes escape impossible.

The criss-crossing golden bars extended upwards, leaning in to form a dome. A huge ring extended from the top of the dome, and a fat tree branch threaded through it to support the entire structure. That branch extended to the sky and was part of a huge tree.

In other words, this strange room was actually a cage. It was a birdcage of unimaginable scale, but one where even the birds were free to come and go. The only person who faced the hardships of a prisoner was Asuna. Therefore, this should be called a prison.

The room was luxurious, elegant, and beautiful, yet it was a very cold tree prison.

About sixty days had passed since Asuna awakened in this place. Well, that's not even a reliable number. There is nothing to write with in this place. The days also seem to be much shorter than twenty-four hours. Even so, her internal clock makes her wake up regardless of whether it is day or night.

After waking, she would ask herself how many days it has been, but lately, she cannot even be sure of the number. For all she knows, she might have repeated the same day many times, or several years may have already passed. The longer she is trapped here, the more her memories of the time she spent with «him» seem to fade.

That time...

When Aincrad collapsed, the world was shrouded in an explosion of light. Before disappearing, Asuna and Kirito had clung together and waited until the moment they lost consciousness.

She had felt no fear. There was a conviction that she did what had to be done and had lived a life with nothing to regret. To disappear with him was a very gratifying ending, Asuna had thought.

Wrapped in the light of their intertwined souls, it didn't matter when their bodies disappeared.

When his warmth disappeared, Asuna was instantly shrouded in darkness. She reached out her hand, desperately shouting his name. But she had become caught in a relentless torrent that dragged her further into the dark. Then there were intermittent flashes of light. Not knowing where she was being transported, Asuna had screamed. Finally, a rainbow-colored brilliance appeared before her. The iridescent light spread toward her, and she fell into this place.

Hanging on a wall and supporting the Gothic-style bed was a gigantic mirror. Reflected there was a form subtly different from the one she knew. Her face, and her chestnut hair, were the same as before. But she was wearing a thin, one piece white dress that she thought was flimsy. Decorating the top of the dress, right above her chest was a blood-red ribbon. The cold piercing her bare feet told her the tiles were made of marble. She didn't have a single weapon on her back, but a mysterious transparent substance extends from her back in the shape of wings. They are more like the wings of insects than birds.

At first, she truly thought that she had come to the life after death. But now, she understood that this was not the case. Although she had tried waving her hand, she is unable to call up the menu window. This is not Aincrad but a new illusionary world, a computer-generated virtual prison. Asuna has been imprisoned here by a man's malice.

Since this is the case, she could not let herself be defeated. Her mind refused to be broken by his malice. By remembering this, Asuna endured loneliness and anxiety every passing day. But now, her determination has started to crumble. Despair has slowly seeped into her heart.

Asuna sat on the cold chair with her hands folded on the table, and she felt a turmoil in her heart as she constantly thought of him.

'Quickly...quickly come and save me, Kirito-kun...'

"That is a most beautiful expression, Titania."

Suddenly a voice sounded inside the bird cage.

"It is the face of someone about to cry. I'd like to freeze that expression, make a decoration out of it."

"Then go ahead and do it."

Asuna said, turning to face the direction the voice had come from.

From the edge of the golden cage and in the direction of the giant tree known as the «World Tree» was a door. The door opened out onto a staircase carved from another branch that bridged the distance between her cage and the trunk of the tree.

The door opened to reveal a tall man.

His gold, wavy hair flowed out from under a round silver crown that sat at the top. He was dressed in a fine, green silk mantle that was decorated with silver embroidery. Like Asuna, he, too, had wings, but his were not transparent; they were more like those of a huge butterfly. The four parts of his wings shifted between a color of black velvet and emerald-green.

His face had a beauty that could only be artificial. With a smooth forehead, a high slender nose, and eyes with irises in the same color and pattern as his wings, he was extremely handsome. However, his thin lips, twisted in an expression of utter contempt and distorted by a smile that despised everything, completely destroyed such beauty.

When Asuna saw this man, she turned away as though she had seen something filthy. She said in a flat tone:

"...You can do whatever you want as the system administrator. Do as you wish."

"Saying such a heartless thing again. Thus far, have I forced myself on you, Titania?"

"You can still say that even after locking me in here? Stop with the strange names; I am Asuna, Oberon... rather, Sugou-san."

Asuna looked up at Sugou Nobuyuki's current incarnation, «Fairy King Oberon». But this time, she didn't avert her eyes and returned his gaze with a powerful glare.

Twisting his lips in a disgusted expression, he mirthlessly said:

"Wake up already. In this world, I am Oberon the Fairy King, and you're the queen Titania. We are the players' envy, ALfheim's masters, and you shall eventually open up your heart to me.. as my partner."

"No matter how long you wait, it will be in vain. The only things I will ever give to you are my contempt and hatred."

"Well, how stubborn."

Oberon slowly extended his right hand to the side of Asuna's face, laughing.

"It is... I feel that these days..."

He tries to make Asuna face him, but she turns away.

"Then again, it's okay to make you obey by force too. It might even be more fun that way."

Asuna`s face became caught in his vice-like grip, and the fingers of his left hand approached slowly, touching her cheek as he slowly moved his fingers toward her lips. A shiver ran down Asuna`s back from this disgusting feeling.

Asuna's eyes filled with disgust, and she clenched her teeth and tightened her lips to a thin line. Oberon`s fingers repeatedly slid over her lips before they moved slowly down her neck. When they finally reached her chest, his fingers tightened on the bright red ribbon. As he enjoyed Asuna's shame and fear, his hands grasped the ribbon by one end, and slowly, slowly pulled...

"Stop!"

Unable to endure more of his touch, Asuna's voice finally leaked from her mouth.

Hearing her voice, Oberon cooed deep in his throat, but he still removed his fingers from the ribbon. He wagged his fingers before he said with a laugh:

"Just kidding. Didn't I already mention it? I will not force you. Anyway, when the times comes, you'll beg me for it anyway. It's only a matter of time."

"So foolish, do you really think that will happen?"

"Are you certain I'm just 'being foolish'? Soon you will accept my feelings, Titania."

Oberon placed both hands on the table and leaned forward suggestively. Revealing a shadowed grin, he looked outside of the birdcage.

"You see tens of thousands of people dive into and enjoy playing a game in this vast world. But alas, they are unaware. The «FULLDIVE» system was not developed just for the entertainment industry!"

At these unexpected words, Asuna became silent. Oberon spread open his arms in a theatrical gesture.

"I'm not joking! This game is merely a by-product. The FullDive machine interface, in other words the Nerve Gear and Amusphere, has a limited scope, so electronic signals focus the role of the brain's sensory sphere in order to give the illusion of environmental signals. But what happens when that limiter is removed?"

Oberon`s green eyes were full of hidden evil and ambition. Asuna instinctively flinched away in fear.

"...That is, the functions of the brain outside the sensory processing include thought, emotion, and memory. Without the limiter, these can be controlled!"

Such insanity from Oberon left Asuna speechless. After breathing a few times, she somehow managed to squeeze out her voice. "Such, such things will never be permitted..."

"Who is it that 'will not allow it'? This type of research is already being conducted in many countries. However, such a study needs human subjects to carry out the experiment. Also, what a person thinks about can only be described in words!"

Oberon gave a shrill laugh and leapt away from the table, and, after adjusting his posture, walked around Asuna.

"There are a lot of individual processes in higher-order brain function, so it is necessary to procure a large number of test-subjects. But, because this is recording the brain's behavior, it requires repeated tests, and human experimentation is not allowed. That's why this study has progressed so slowly. But one day, as I was watching the news, I found a way to get as many subjects as I would ever need, the ten thousand people!"

The hair on the back of Asuna`s neck stood on end. Oberon didn't have to say it; she could already imagine what he was going to say.

"Kayaba-senpai... he was a genius, but he was also a fool. He obviously had the ability, but he was content with just creating a game world. Even then, his SAO server could not be touched. But the moment the players were liberated, I was able to take part of that world as mine by hacking into it through the router; it was that easy."

Making a movement like he was holding a goblet, the fairy king put out his hand and swirled it, as though he were going to drink an invisible wine.

"Well, waiting for the game to be cleared took a long time. But even though I couldn't get everyone, I managed to obtain 300 test subjects. In reality, there is no facility that could store that many people, but virtual reality has more than enough room!"

Oberon continued rattling off his delusions. From the beginning, Asuna had hated this about his character.

"Thanks to the 300 players from the old SAO server, our research has made great progress in just two months! Embedding new objects in memories, techniques for inducing emotion... this technology has largely taken shape. The manipulation of the soul – truly wonderful!"

"This kind of study... do you think my father would allow it?"

"That old man has no idea, of course. This study is being conducted by a very small team and in absolute secrecy. It would otherwise become quite the commodity."

"Commodity...!?"

"A certain American company is practically drooling as it waits for this research to finish. I plan to sell technology at a very high price. Anyway, it will all be owned by RECTO, and RECTO will eventually become mine."

"..."

"I will soon became a part of the Yuuki family. First, as an adopted son, I would qualify as the successor to RECTO. As your spouse, that is only fitting. I thought it was not a bad idea for us to have a rehearsal right here and now."

A sense of disgust caused a cold shudder down her back, and Asuna slowly but very firmly shook her head.

"That is one thing I absolutely will not allow. On the day that I return to reality, I will shed light on these atrocities."

"Good grief, you still do not understand. I keep speaking freely only because you'll soon forget it all! All that is left will be..."

Oberon suddenly stopped; he tilted his head and fell silent. Then, shaking his left hand to open the window, he turned toward it and gave instructions.

"I'm coming now; wait for instructions."

The window disappeared, and he turned back to Asuna with grin.

"Be warned, for the day you fall blindly in love with me is fast approaching. Either you submit to me now, or I turn your brain into a stage for one of my experiments. So next time you see me, please be a little more submissive, Titania."

After stroking Asuna`s hair as though she were a cat, he turned away.

With her head bowed down, Asuna did not watch Oberon leave. Her mind kept replaying Oberon's last words and the horror they engendered.

'Click!' echoed through the room as the door locked itself, once again leaving only silence.

After changing back into her uniform, Suguha left the kendo clubroom. A burst of refreshing wind caressed her cheeks as she walked between the school buildings with her bamboo sword held loosely in hand.

It was half-past-one, but, because fifth period classes had already begun, the school was very quiet. At this time, first- and second-year students were in class, but third-year students could freely choose when to attend until they begun to focus on tutorial lectures for high school entrance examinations. Only people like Suguha, who already had a recommendation, were walking around.

She had leisure time, but people who are in the same year would often say sarcastic words when they met. Suguha generally does not go to school without a reason. Her kendo teacher is a strict but warm-hearted instructor. He cares about his beloved disciple, who had been recommended admission to a top-ranking school. Still, Suguha continued coming to school every day to follow his strict training.

According to him, Suguha had recently developed a subtle habit. After hearing this, Suguha thought about what might have caused it. It was probably because she enters the world of ALfheim and trains in aerial combat every day, albeit for a short time.

However, he never said that it made her worse or that it gave her a harder time. And today, she was even able to get two points off the 30-year-old male advisor, who was also one of the highest-ranked kendo practitioners in the country.

She didn't know why, but she recently seemed to be able to read her opponents' attacks more easily. Whenever she fought a strong enemy, her nerves would strain, and the flow of time seemed to slow and made everything seem much more intense.

She remembered an incident a few days ago when she had sparred with Kazuto. At that time, he had dodged one of her best attacks, one that people can't easily escape. That kind of superb responsiveness made it seem like he was experiencing it at a completely different rate than she was. Perhaps, Suguha suddenly considered, FullDive experiences affected the physical body.

She became lost in thought as she made her way to the bike rack until someone suddenly called to her from the shadows.

"Lyfa-chan."

"Wha..!"

Suguha jumped forward a step in surprise. A somewhat-thin boy wearing glasses had appeared from in front of her. He and Recon shared the common characteristic of lowering the eyebrows when troubled, but, right now, the angle of the eyebrows was even more tilted.

Suguha placed her right hand on her hip and spoke with a little sigh in her voice.

"Do not call me that while at school!"

"S...sorry, Suguha-chan!"

"That's..."

Suguha used one hand to remove the cover of her bamboo sword case before stepping forward. The boy showed a helpless smile and quickly shook his head.

"Right, I'm sorry, Kirigaya-san."

"What's going on, Nagata-san?"

"I need to speak with you; is there somewhere we can go to talk casually?"

"Here is good."

Shinichi Nagata made a miserable face and dropped his shoulders.

"Anyway, you already have a recommendation, so why did you still come to school?"

"Ah, Sugu—, Kirigaya-san, I wanted to talk to you. I had waited here since early this morning."

"Gah! You sure have lots of time."

Suguha took a few steps back and kneeled down next to a relatively high flower bed.

"What do you want to talk about?"

Nagata Shinichi sat down and, maintaining a certain distance from Suguha, said:

"Sigurd and the others want to go hunting tomorrow afternoon. There are some underwater caves, so Salamanders rarely go there."

"I told you, I prefer talking about hunting by e-mail. Anyway, I'm sorry, but I won't be participating for a while."

"Eh.. eh!? Why?"

"I'm going to Aarun."

Towering in the center of ALfheim is the world tree, and near its base lies the great neutral city, Aarun. Sylvian is a considerable distance from Aarun. It is a trip that would take several days, especially because there were areas where flight was not possible.

Nagata Shinichi stiffened for a moment but then drew closer to her and asked:

"Are you going with that Spriggan from yesterday?"

"Ah, yeah. I promised I would show him around."

"You.. you're not thinking right! I don't know why you're spending your nights with that strange guy!"

"Why are you blushing? Don't imagine weird things!"

She took her shinai and pressed it against his chest. Nagata`s eyebrows painfully drooped to their limit, and he looked at Suguha with resentment.

"I have asked you before if you wanted to go to Aarun with me, but you objected very firmly."

"That's because we'd be wiped out, no matter how many times I go with you. Anyway, that's my reason, so tell Sigurd for me."

Suguha stood up, bid him a "see you," and went straight to the bike rack. Nagata's pitiful expression, like that of a dog that was struck after a scolding, pained her a bit. Even so, rumors were already circulating around school. She doesn't want to appear any closer to him.

'I am just showing him the way, that's all.'

She told herself this to calm her beating heart. But when she thought of the teen named Kirito, his mysterious black eyes made it impossible for her to calm down.

Quickly removing the lock on her bike, which was parked in a corner of the vast parking lot, she pedaled away. The cold winter air blew across her cheeks, but Suguha simply ignored it. Leaving through the back gate of the school, she rode down a steep slope without worrying about using her breaks.

'Fly fast,' was what Suguha was thinking. Flying together with Kirito at top speed... she was getting excited just thinking about it.

Suguha arrived home shortly before two.

Kazuto's bike wasn't in the garden, he must not have returned from the gym yet.

Recently, Kazuto seemed to have recovered the physical abilities he had had before the SAO incident. But he was not satisfied, feeling a disparity in physical capabilities between his body in reality and in the virtual world.

This is definitely understandable, considering that it is impossible to replicate the abilities of a virtual character with a living body. Even Suguha understood that, as she had nearly fallen down once or twice when she had expected to catch herself with the «Flight» ability.

Stepping into the house from the porch, Suguha went into the laundry room, put her clothes into the washing machine, and pressed the ON switch. She then entered her room, where she took off her gray sailor shirt and skirt and hung them on the wall hook.

Suguha put her hand over her chest while standing in her underwear. Although she had returned home from school by riding her bike at high-speeds, her heart rate should have settled down shortly. But it is still around ninety beats per minute now.

That was not all due to exercise, but she wanted to confirm it. Suguha tried taking deep breaths to calm herself down, but her thoughts kept her BPM high. 'What was I thinking, ah, it's not that I don`t want to take him to Aarun, but I already have my brother... Really, I don't know why I'm thinking this... I'm so stupidstupidstupid!'

Coming to the conclusion that she was being stupid with her feelings, she put on a large t-shirt and shorts and settled down on her bed.

She took the Amusphere helmet off the shelf, turned it on, put it on her head, and closed her eyes. Then, after taking a deep breath, she intoned a magical spell:

"LINK START!"

After passing through the connection process and moving her consciousness to the body of the fairy swordswoman Lyfa, she opened her eyes to the Lily of the Valley Pavillion.

No one sat at the other side of the table, of course. The meeting time wouldn't be close for a while. There was plenty of time to make preparations for the journey.

Leaving the shop, the city of Sylvain was covered in a beautiful sunrise.

In consideration of those who can only log-in under specific time constraints each day, a day in ALfheim lasted only sixteen real hours long. Therefore, time here was often inconsistent with reality. The menu window has a real time display next to the ALfheim time, so people don't lose track of time; it was initially somewhat confusing, but Lyfa learned to like it.

She went around to a few shops, bought a lot of things, and got back with a little time to spare. Returning to the inn, she pushed open the door and noticed that a black figure had begun materializing at a table.

Kirito completed logging in and blinked a few times before smiling as he noticed Lyfa approaching.

"Hey, you're early."

"Yeah, I got here some time ago. I did a little shopping."

"Ah, is that so... It seems like I need to prepare too."

"I bought some general items, so you don't need worry about that, but..."

She examined Kirito`s shabby starting armor and sword.

"You'll need better equipment for yourself."

"I think so, too. I definitely think this sword is very unreliable."

"About money.. do you have any? If not, I can lend you some."

"Well..."

Kirito summoned his menu window by waving his left hand, but, after a glance, his face became stiff.

"Is it this «Yurudo» thing?"

"Yes, it is. Do you not have any money?"

"No, no, I have some.. quite a lot of it."

"Then let's go to the equipment shop!"

"Alright."

At that moment, Kirito stood up in panic, searching his body until he finally looked in his breast pocket.

"Hey, Yui, we're going."

As she climbed out of the pocket, the black-haired pixie's face appeared, looking a little sleepy and stretching into a huge yawn.

Lyfa brought Kirito to the equipment shops, but, by the time they had finished outfitting him, the streets were wrapped in the morning light.

Kirito's armor was easy enough to find, it being a pair of pants, a shirt with strengthened defensive attributes, long coat that covered him. However, Kirito had spent a long time choosing a sword, seeming unsatisfied no matter which sword he examined.

The shopkeeper would hand him a sword, Kirito would play with it before handing it back saying, "It needs to be heavier," and the process would repeat. Kirito eventually came to one that suited his taste, a great sword about as tall as him, and bought it. It was a tapered blade with a shiny black sheen that revealed an unusual weight. This was probably equipment made for an Imp or Gnome, the tall races that used these swords.

In ALO, the amount of damage dealt was determined by «Weapon Attack Power» and «Sword Swing Speed». To the player, Sylphs and Cait Siths were more favorable for speed, supplementing damage dealt with their superior speed. But power-type players could easily equip the weapons that were enormous in size and strength. This trade-off of power and speed created a balance between the different races in the game.

Sylphs with high enough skill could equip hammers and axes, but the Sylphs' hidden and permanent strength parameter didn't allow them to use those weapons effectively. Spriggans were a multi-weapon race, but Kirito, no matter how one looked at him, had a speed-type body.

"That kind of sword, will you be able to use it properly?"

Hearing Lyfa's amazed question, Kirito just nodded with a cool expression.

"That won't be a problem."

Since he was saying it was okay, she had to accept it. After paying for the sword, he hung the sheath onto his back, but because of its length, the tip almost brushed the ground.

Kirito now looked like a child imitating a swordsman and, thinking of this, Lyfa had to hold back her smile as she said: "Well, now our preparations are complete! So now, for a while, I'll be in your care."

Lyfa offered her right hand to Kirito, and, smiling shyly, Kirito also stretched out his right hand; the two shook hands.

"I as well, so please support me."

Flying out of the pocket, Yui tapped their clasped hands and said:

"Let's do our best! Our target is the World Tree!"

Burdened with a giant sword strapped to his back and Yui sitting on his shoulder, Kirito followed Lyfa until they came to a beautiful, shining, emerald-green tower.

This was the symbol of the Sylphs, the «Tower of the Wind». No matter how many times you saw it, the beauty of the tower was stunning. As she thought this, Lyfa turned to the side to see the black-clothed Spriggan glaring at the tower with an undisguised disgust. Lyfa suppressed a smile and said to him.

"Before we leave, do you want to practice braking?"

"...It's all right; from now on, I've decided to fly safely."

Kirito answered with a helpless expression.

"Also, why are we coming to the tower? Do you have business here?"

"I have no other business, but, before you start a long-distance flight, it is better to begin at higher points. You can use the height to your advantage."

"Ah, I see."

She pushed the nodding Kirito from the back and started walking forward.

"Let's go! I want to get through the forest before night arrives."

"I am not very familiar with the terrain. Could you lead the way?"

"Leave it to me!"

Lyfa patted her chest and turned to look into the depths of the tower.

There stood the Lord's beautiful mansion in morning sunlight. The Sylph Lord Sakuya was a female player she had known since a while ago. 'Since I will be leaving town for a while, I should tell her,' Lyfa suddenly thought. But the flag pole rising from the center of the building wasn't displaying the Sylph flag. This was rare, meaning that Sakuya was not home today.

"Is something wrong?"

Kirito tilted his head to ask, but Lyfa shook her head, deciding she would e-mail Sakuya later. They passed through the front door of the Tower of the Wind and went inside.

The first floor had a vast, circular lobby with shops of all kinds along the outer wall. The lobby had two mana-driven elevators in the very center that, from time to time, would suck-in or spit-out players. In ALfheim, dawn had just passed, while in reality, night was approaching. This meant that the number of players online would soon begin increasing by the minute.

She held Kirito`s hand and headed towards the right elevator that was just coming down.

Suddenly, several players appeared in front of them, blocking their way. Lyfa nearly fell, but her wings spread and steadied her.

"That was a little dangerous, wasn't it?"

Lyfa complained reflexively, but the tall man blocking her way turned out to be a familiar face.

He stood taller than the average Sylph and had a rough yet handsome face that was the result of tremendous luck or considerable investments. His body was wrapped around some heavy silver armor, and a huge broad sword hung at his waist. His wide forehead was split by a circlet, and dark green hair fell down to his shoulders. This man, whose name was Sigurd, was the vanguard of the party Lyfa had been with for the past few weeks. She saw his party members with him. Thinking that Recon might also be here, Lyfa looked around but couldn't see his eye-catching yellow-green hair.

Lyfa and Sigurd often competed for the title of the strongest Sylph swordsman. He was also a powerful politician, a part of the mainstream bureaucracy that the often shy Lyfa stayed out of. Although the current «Sylph Lord», a player chosen by a vote once a month and who also decided things like how to spend player-collected taxes, was Sakuya, Sigurd, whose fame was about even with Sakuya's, was also a part of that group of super-active players.

His massive gaming time also meant that his rare equipment and skill proficiency were far beyond Lyfa's. In a one-on-one match, Lyfa needed all of her superior maneuverability to win, and even then, it was still hard for her to overcome his strong defenses. But during a hunt, he (the vanguard), was a reliable partner. However, his self-righteous speech and attitude grated on Lyfa, who disliked restraint. Thus, although the present party was very efficient in hunting, she had been thinking that the time had been coming for her to leave it.

As he stood in front of Lyfa, Sigurd's posture displayed his arrogance to its maximum. 'It seems things will become very troublesome'— thinking of this, Lyfa opened her mouth and said:

"Good morning, Sigurd."

Despite Lyfa having greeted him with a smiling face, Sigurd was not in the mood to answer. Instead, he replied in a strained tone:

"You want to leave the party, Lyfa?"

Sigurd looked to be in an extremely foul mood; Lyfa had considered telling him that this was just a trip to and from Aarun, but, since it had become so troublesome, she instead nodded her head.

"Yeah, sort of. I was able to save plenty of money, so I'll be taking it easy for a while."

"How selfish; what about the other party members?"

"Selfish!?"

That recalled a memory in Lyfa. After a recent «Duel Event» where she defeated him after a fierce fight, Sigurd had invited her to join his party. Lyfa had accepted the offer on two conditions: she would only participate when she could, and she would be able to quit if she wanted to. Specifically, she had wanted him to know that she didn't want to be tied down with responsibilities.

Sigurd lifted his eyebrows as his words continued:

"You are a well-known member of my team. If you suddenly go and join another team, it would be like you threw mud on my face!"

"..."

Lyfa was rendered speechless by Sigurd's holier-than-thou speech. 'So that's how it really is,' she thought.

Lyfa suddenly remembered Recon's rare but serious advice after he had joined Sigurd's party as her partner.

Recon had told her to avoid getting too deeply involved. The reason was that Sigurd didn't want Lyfa for her strength, he wanted her for his party's fame. That is, he wanted to be in command of the one that had beat him so that he wouldn't lose respect.

'How could that happen,' Lyfa had laughed, but Recon had remained very persuasive: 'ALO is a difficult MMO game. As such, female players are so scarce that players have a tendency to idolize them, even if they lack combat ability. Especially you; since Lyfa-chan is such a sweet girl, you are rarer than some piece of legendary equipment that most want to own. In reality, he wants to use your presence in his team to show off and increase his status.'

Recon had said more gibberish, but Lyfa had thrown him a withering look over her shoulder and quieted him down before she seriously thought about it. But being an idol wasn't something she understood. For an MMORPG that had much to remember, she didn't want to complicate things, so she had stopped thinking about it. So far, she had remained as a member of the party without any significant problems, until today...

Looking at the angry Sigurd in front of her, Lyfa felt as though a constricting thread had painfully wrapped around her body. The main reason she played ALO was to escape all the shackles and restraints of reality, to experience flying unfettered through the sky.

But perhaps she was too ignorant, too naive. Even if everyone in the virtual world had wings, forgetting gravity was merely an illusion.

Lyfa / Suguha, recalled how, in elementary school, an upperclassman in kendo had bullied her. Although the upperclassman had been a champion since entering kendo, he couldn't beat the younger Suguha during a match. He later took revenge, attacking Suguha on her way home with the help of several friends... a shameful deed. What he had done then was like Sigurd's attitude was now, full of anger and resentment.

The results would be the same here...

Lyfa, overwhelmed by despair, bowed her head down. At this time, from behind her like a shadow and unnoticed until now, Kirito spoke up:

"Companions are not items to be used!"

"Whaa...?"

For a second, Lyfa didn't understand the meaning of this sentence. Then, Lyfa's eyes opened wide and looked at Kirito. Sigurd's voice increased in volume:

"What!?"

Kirito stepped in between Lyfa and Sigurd, and he looked Sigurd in the eye, even though Sigurd was a head taller than him. "I'm saying, you shouldn't look at other players like an important sword or armor that can be locked into an equipment slot."

"Wha... you dare to..."

At Kirito's straightforward words, Sigurd suddenly flushed bright red, and he rolled up his cloak as he moved his hand toward the hilt of his sword.

"You do not understand the situation, you filthy Spriggan! Lyfa, are you going to work with this guy now?! He's probably a «Renegade» that came here after being banished from his own territory!"

Sigurd assumed a posture to draw his sword. As he said those words, Lyfa finally lost her temper and shouted back:

"Do not say such rude words to Kirito-kun! He is my new partner!"

"What...what do you mean?"

With veins throbbing on his forehead, Sigurd replied in flustered consternation.

"Lyfa, do you mean to abandon this territory...?"

At those words, Lyfa's eyes opened wide.

ALO players are generally divided into two categories of play style.

The first use their own territory as a base, partner within their race, and give a part of the money they earn as taxes to further the development of the ethnic forces. Lyfa and Sigurd are this type of player. The other type leave their territory, use a neutral city as a base, and form parties with players of different races. The former tend to hold the latter in contempt, as the latter often lacked a sense of purpose, were abandoned and disdained, or were exiled from their race's territory as Renegades.

In Lyfa's case, her sense of being a Sylph was weak, as was her sense of belonging to this community. The reason she has stayed in Sylvain is half because of its beauty and half because she didn't want to move. But now, thanks to Sigurd's remarks, a desire to become free quickly emerged.

"Yes, right. I intend to leave here," Lyfa blurted out without thinking.

Sigurd's mouth distorted in anger, his teeth biting his lip. He suddenly drew his broad sword, glaring furiously at Kirito.

"I was going to leave you alone since you are a worm crawling around in front of me. But if you are a thief, you would do well not to be so arrogant. Walking leisurely around the territory of other races, I can cut you up any way I want without any complaint from you, isn't that right?"

Despite Sigurd's dramatic words and behavior, Kirito only slightly shrugged his shoulders.

Kirito was truly a fearless person, and even Lyfa was shocked. She prepared to fight against Sigurd, moving her hand to the sword at her waist. The air around them suddenly became tense.

At this point, Sigurd's partner moved up and whispered some words to him:

"Bad news, Sigurd. If you kill a defenseless opponent like that in front of so many people..."

Somehow, a circle of onlookers had already surrounded them, drawn by the signs of trouble. If this was a formal duel, or if he were an actual Spriggan spy, then fine. But it would be dishonorable if Sigurd instigated a fight with a tourist like Kirito, who can't even fight back in this area.

Sigurd bared his teeth in frustration and stared down Kirito before sheathing his sword.

"It would be best if we ran away and hid, Lyfa."

Ignoring Kirito's words, Sigurd returned his attention back to Lyfa.

"Because you betrayed me.. sooner or later you will regret this."

"I would have regretted it more if I stayed longer."

"If you ever wish to come back, you had better return on your knees."

Having finished, Sigurd turned and walked toward the exit of the tower. The two players accompanying Sigurd looked in her direction for a moment as though they wanted to say something, but they gave up and turned to leave.

After all three of them disappeared, Lyfa took a deep breath, looked at Kirito, and said:

"Sorry to get you involved in such a strange event..."

"No, no, it seems like I became the oil that was poured on this fire of a situation. But is this really okay with you? Giving up your territory?"

"Ah."

Unsure of what to say, Lyfa pushed Kirito's back and moved toward the elevator. After forcing their way through the crowd, they reached the elevator, and she pressed the button for the top floor. From the bottom of the translucent glass shaft, came a disc-shaped stone; a green light slowly engulfed it, and they began rising rapidly after stepping into it.

When the elevator stopped, the glass wall opened without a sound, and the white light of the morning sun and a refreshing wind poured into the room.

Leaving the shaft, she walked out onto the observation platform from the top of the tower briskly. She has been here many times in the past, but the vast panorama that stretched in all directions still made her heart soar in exhilaration.

Sylph territory was in the southwest part of ALfheim. To the west was a grassland that opens into the infinitely bright, blue sea. To the east was a deep forest that surrounded the lilac-covered mountains, and on the far side of the mountains, rising high into the sky and uniting everything in its shadow was the World Tree.

"Wow... what an amazing view...!"

Following Lyfa from the elevator, Kirito`s eyes opened wide as he looked at the scenery.

"The sky seems so close that you could almost reach out your hand to grasp it."

Seeing his eyes reflecting the scenery, Lyfa looked out with Kirito, raised her head, and looked up to the blue sky, stretching her right hand out toward the sky and saying:

"That's right. Compared to the sky, everything else seems very small."

"..."

Somewhat surprised at the sudden smile Kirito gave her, Lyfa then answered his smile, and continued:

"This is a great opportunity. I always planned to fly from here one day. Then, I had been scared to do it alone, and I couldn't easily muster the determination necessary."

"Is that so? But, this became a fighting goodbye somehow."

"In that state, I would have not been able to leave peacefully anyway. Why..."

Lyfa remarks, half to herself.

"Why am I still tied and bound even though I have wings..."

The answer to Lyfa's words came not from Kirito but from the one sitting on his shoulder, the pixie named Yui, who had just climbed out from under his coat collar.

"Being a human is complicated."

Yui answered in a silver bell-like tone; then she flew up and landed on the other side of Kirito to sit down before she took his ear in her hand and whispered:

"This kind of complex human behaviour, the desire for others, I cannot understand the psychology behind it."

For a moment, Lyfa forgot that the other was a program, stared straight at Yui`s face.

"The desire?"

"I understand that the impulse to seek another's heart is a basic behavioral principle of humans. And that's considering what I am based from. If it were up to me..."

Yui suddenly clung to Kirito's face with both hands and kissed him soundly.

"I would do this. A very simple demonstration."

Seeing what Yui just did, Lyfa`s eyes went wide; with a wry smile, Kirito poked Yui on the forehead with the tip of a finger. "But the human world is more complex than that. If you did it that directly, it would be considered harassment, and you would be banned."

"It needs style and dignity, right?"

"... I'm begging you: don't go remembering strange things."

Lyfa was amazed, and she kept watching Kirito and Yui as they talked until she finally opened her mouth and said:

"That AI is really incredible. Are all «Private Pixies» like that?"

"This one is especially strange."

Kirito said as he took Yui by her collar and placed her back in his breast pocket.

"But is it alright to desire another person's heart?"

Lyfa mulled Yui's words as she stretched.

Then, even my feelings of wanting to fly to anywhere I want in this world, deep inside, they mean that I just want to find someone? Inadvertently, her mind flashed and Kazuto`s face appeared, causing her heart to suddenly thump.

Could this be why I want to use the fairy wings, so that I can fly over obstacles in the real world and finally go into Kazuto's arms? Is that what I really want...?

"I could never..."

She was thinking too much, she decided. 'Right now, I simply want to fly. That's it.'

"Did you say something?"

"No, it's nothing. Let's hurry up and depart."

Lyfa smiled at Kirito, and she looked up towards the sky. It was the dawn of a brilliant sky, and, at the touch of the golden sun, the clouds gradually dispersed, leaving an endless stretch of deep blue sky. Today was going to be a fine day.

After using the Locater Stone at the center of the observatory platform to set Kirito's return point, Lyfa spread her wings, gently shaking the four pieces.

"Ready?"

"Yes."

Kirito, as well as Yui in the pocket, nodded confirmation, and Lyfa was just about to take off when...

"Lyfa-chan!"

She was called to a stop by a person who had rolled out of the elevator, and Lyfa let the foot that had started to float settle back onto the platform.

"Oh, Recon."

"That's so mean... you could have at least let me know before you left!"

"Sorry, I forgot."

Recon's shoulders drooped, but he took up a face with a serious expression and said:

"Lyfa-chan, is it true that you left the team?"

"It is... but about half of that decision was made in the heat of the moment. What about you?"

"I've decided; I want to pledge my sword to Lyfa-chan."

"No, I don't really need it."

Recon stumbled at Lyfa's words, his wings drooping, but he did not give up because of something like that.

"Originally, I would have said that we should just go together, but I have some things to do."

"What...?"

"There is no positive proof, so I want to investigate more. I will stay in Sigurd's party for now... Kirito-san."

Recon turned to Kirito with a serious expression on his face.

"She has a habit of jumping into trouble, so please be careful."

"Oh, I see."

Kirito seemed to be amused by Recon's expression, and he nodded his head.

"Also, I want to tell you that she is my— Ack!!"

The last words were from a scream caused by Lyfa stomping on Recon's foot.

"Do not say anything unnecessary! I think I will stay in the neutral zone for some time, but if anything comes up, e-mail me!"

Lyfa said quickly, before she spread her wings and rose gently into the air. Looking toward Recon's exposed face with some regret, Lyfa waved goodbye with her right hand.

"... Even without me, practice voluntary flight until you can do it perfectly, and don't go too close to Salamander territory! Bye!"

"Take care Lyfa! I will catch up soon!"

The avatar cried that out despite the fact that the person inside would meet Lyfa soon in school anyway; still, the strong feelings of that parting overwhelmed her with emotions, and she became flustered and suddenly changed her direction. She gazed northeast before resetting her wings to a wider angle and began gliding.

Kirito soon caught up with her, and, as he fought back a smile, said:

"Is he a friend from the real world?"

"Well, yeah."

"Mmm."

"...What was that?"

"Nothing; I just think it's nice."

After what Kirito said, the pixie hiding in his chest pocket also said.

"I am very aware of that person's feelings: he likes Lyfa. Lyfa, how do you see him?"

"I don't know!!"

Lyfa cried out loudly, increasing her speed to hide her blushing face. Although she has become accustomed to these kinds of straightforward expressions from Recon, for some reason, when in front of Kirito, she became very shy.

Recovering only to find they had already left the city and were flying above the forest. Lyfa turned around to watch the city of emerald disappear as she flew backwards.

At the thought of leaving Sylvain after having lived over a year on its streets, a feeling of nostalgia entered her heart and a pain entered her chest, but the thrill of flying into an unknown world eased the pain. Bye-bye, Lyfa said to herself before turning to face forward.

"..Let's go! I want to reach that lake in one flight!"

Lyfa pointed to the lake that sparkled in the distance, speeding up her wings.

The cold touch of his fingers sent shivers up her arms, Asuna endured.

At the center of the birdcage rested a huge bed. Oberon lay flat on the bed with his loose green toga, he took Asuna's left hand and caressed her skin as she sat beside him facing away. He enjoyed the situation where he could attack her whenever he felt like it. His perfectly created face has a fake smile stuck on it.

Just a little while ago, Oberon entered the cage and laid on the bed, he had told her to come beside him. Asuna wanted nothing to do with the man and declined, but seeing his hand manipulating something, she sensed danger heading to her.

She still fought back her disgust and obeyed; the man has severe mood swings, but she was afraid she would be deprived of even more freedom. However, Oberon was looking forward to Asuna's resistance. He wanted to savour Asuna's aversion to him, before his use of the system administrator's rights to restrict her movement. Asuna wanted to maintain her freedom within the cage at least. So that escape from there was a possibility.

But there was a limit. If he touched her body, Asuna would probably jam her right fist into his face. But Asuna didn't react; no matter how much he stroked her arm, her body was like a stone. Seeing that, Oberon was disappointed that he couldn't make her squirm, and removed his hand.

"Oh well, you're a stubborn woman too."

Oberon disdainfully said. Asuna was offended by his mere voice, as it was a perfect replica of Sugou`s so this was yet another source of dislike.

"Anyway, this body is fake. Nothing I do will leave any scars. Being in such a place all day, aren't you bored? Hey, don't you want to have a little fun?"

"You don't seem to understand. It doesn't matter if this body is flesh and blood, or virtual; it is real, at least for me."

"Do you want to say that the mind will become dirty?"

Oberon`s cuckoo-like laugh came from his throat.

"Anyway, until I've secured my position in RECTO, I will not let you out. So I think you should be wise to learn to like it. This system is actually very profound, do you understand?"

"I'm not interested. And I will not stay here forever... he will definitely come to help."

"Eh? Who? Him? The hero, Kirito?"

Hearing his name, Asuna`s body trembled a bit. Oberon laughed and sat up. It seems that he finally found the switch to break Asuna`s heart... and he started babbling.

"His real name is Kirigaya Kazuto, right? I met him, face-to-face a few days ago."

"!!"

After hearing this, Asuna looked at Oberon.

"Oh, the emaciated child actually is the Hero of SAO... ah, to be honest, I cannot believe it! Or is it that he is that kind of person, a so-called game fanatic?"

Oberon was overjoyed, and sat up as he continued on.

"I met him... and can you guess where? He was in your ward, where your real body was. As he sat in front of the sleeping you, I told him I was going to marry you this week. His face when I said that was a masterpiece!! Like a dog without a bone, that expression of hopelessness could not be reconciled. I felt like having a good laugh!!"

Oberon's body shook as his strange laugh splintered the air.

"So you really believe that guy would come and save you? We can make a bet, I don't think that guy would have even the courage to once again pick up the Nerve Gear! The chances of him even knowing you are in this game are slim. Oh, yes, I will give him a wedding invitation. He will come to see what you look like wearing a wedding dress. I think that this level of conflict would lead to his destruction. To the hero!"

Asuna bowed her head again, slowly turning her back on Oberon, looking at the big mirror beside the bed. Then she feebly dropped her shoulders, her hands tightly clutching the mattress.

Seeing Asuna this way, Oberon was very satisfied. Asuna watched in the mirror as he left the bed and stood up.

"At the time, the surveillance cameras were turned off, so it was a pity being unable to take a picture of his expression. I would have brought it if I had a picture. If there is a chance, I will try it next time. It is a separation of necessity, Titania, and even if it is a bit lonely, endure it until the day after tomorrow."

After a final laugh, Oberon turned around, and with his toga swinging, walked toward the door.

In the mirror, Oberon slowly faded away, but Asuna wept tears of joy and cheered in her heart.

Kirito-kun! Kirito-kun is still alive and well!

Since being imprisoned here, that was Asuna's greatest concern. Only she had been transferred to this world, that he had disappeared and his consciousness had been destroyed. No matter how much she denied it, these thoughts had been a poison constantly dripping in her mind.

Now, however, Oberon`s speech dispelled this concern.

Really, that guy thinks he is so smart, but in fact, he is a fool. It has always been that way. He can't seem to stop belittling others with speech. Although he often played the hypocrite in front of Asuna's parents, in front of Asuna and her older brother, Sugou's poisonous tongue against others was always used.

The same is true now. If he had truly wanted to break her heart, he shouldn't have told her about Kirito in the real world. He should have told her that Kirito had died.

Kirito is still alive and doing well in the real world.

Asuna repeated this one sentence in her mind. Each time she repeats this, the light in her heart became stronger and more stable.

If he is alive, he would not just sit around. He will find this world, he will certainly come. Therefore, she should not just be a prisoner. She must find out what she could do and act decisively.

Asuna continued to put on a sad face. Through the mirror, she could see that Oberon had reached the door and had turned around to glance at her, to confirm Asuna's situation.

The door had a small metal plate with twelve buttons arranged side by side. Just entering the numbers in the correct order would open the door.

It was a wonder how he could still do this kind of troublesome thing instead of just using his administrator's privileges to directly open the door. Apparently, Oberon has his own sense of aesthetics, he doesn't want to bring system related things here. He just wanted to be a fairy king, with an imprisoned fairy queen to abuse.

It was a stupid performance.

Oberon raised his hand, operating in front of the metal plate. From where he was standing, Asuna could not clearly see the details of his action due to system distance effect, so that when he does press a button, she will not know which. Oberon must have also taken this into account, that a cell with such a lock is safe.

This is true, for a direct view of Oberon.

Oberon used Nerve Gear to connect to the virtual world, but his time in the virtual world is limited. Therefore, there are a lot of things that he does not understand. For example, in the virtual world, mirrors do not comply with optics.

Asuna pretends to cry, straining her eyes in the mirror from close range. There, clearly reflected, is Oberon, an image with a clarity far too high. In the real world, no matter how close your eyes are to the mirror you can't see far away objects. Here the mirror is just a ultra-high resolution screen and the distance effect doesn't apply. Thus, even the activities of Oberon's fingers are clearly visible.

This was an idea Asuna had thought of long ago. However, when Oberon left the prison, she didn't have a chance to be close to the mirror. Right now, Asuna was able to take advantage of this opportunity.

... 8... 11... 3... 2... 9......

Asuna watched closely as Oberon`s white fingers pressed the code, and Asuna quickly took it to heart. The door opened, Oberon went out, and the door crashed shut. With his jade-colored fairy wings rocking, he moved along the road in the tree, eventually disappearing.

Asuna stayed in place, staring at the checkered floor of the cage.

She has only obtained the following information so far:

This is inside a type of VRMMO, similar to SAO, called «ALfheim Online» and the game is operated officially to attract a large number of players. Oberon / Sugou used the ALO server to take some of the SAO players, about three hundred people, hostage through «Brain Imprisonment» for use as subjects in illegal human experimentation. That is all.

When asked as to why he initiated such dangerous and illegal experimentation in a public game, Sugou whiningly said, "Do you know how much money it takes to run this system? It took ten million just for this one server! This way the company can have profits, and I can do my research, two birds with one stone."

So it's about money, which is good for Asuna. If it was a fully enclosed environment, there was nothing she could do. Since this world is closely linked to the real world, then there is hope.

The day in-game flies faster than in the real world, Asuna once heard Oberon say. That exact calculation was difficult, but Oberon solved it for her without meaning to.

He often visited every other day. When his business was completed, he would use a terminal system within the company to get here. Asuna knew that he has a tendency to stick to the life cycle he finds so familiar, so she didn't think his schedule ever changes. Thus, the best time to do something would be after he goes home to sleep.

Of course, there are more people associated with this plot than just him. However, this is by nature a crime, so it is hard to imagine that all the companies associated with ALO are mixed up in it. They might just be a few people, all of whom are probably directly under Sugou's command. Even so, it would not be possible to monitor the interior of ALO full time because there is no one in the working class willing to work all night.

To escape from this cage, it would be necessary to somehow slip past their eyes and find the terminal located somewhere in the system. Once I have access, it would be possible to log out, if not I can try to send a message out. Asuna laid on the bed, placed her face in the pillow, and waited for time to pass.